Why I Believe Everyone Needs This Message

Series

1. My thoughts from my study and application of God’s word have been left with you. I hope they have made you think about what is right and wrong and caused you to examine the truth. I leave these thoughts with you with hopes of a positive result in your life.

b. Jesus said in Matthew 7:24, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them may be compared to a wise man who built his house upon the rock.”

3. Jesus Is the Son of God – The Old Testament points to Him and the miracles prove it.

4. I Am Lost Without Jesus – His death, burial, and resurrection were for my salvation. Only through Jesus can I be right with God.

5. I Must Live By Faith – To be right with God I must trust Him and do His will.

6. I Must Fulfill My Responsibility in the Church – I must help others grow and work with them to reach the lost.

"God is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish"

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"What shall a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul?"

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"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

a. Peter says in 2 Peter 3:9, “God is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” God wants us in heaven with Him and has given us direction through His word so we can make it there.

b. Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:4 that God “desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” Let’s seek to find this most valuable truth that God has given us for our salvation.

c. It doesn’t matter who we are or what we’ve done or how far down we have sunk or how horrible our sins, God wants us with Him. In Luke 19:10 it says that Jesus came to “seek and to save that which was lost.” We need to get to know Jesus who weeps over our souls and rejoices over our salvation. God is seeking us, we need the message that offers us salvation.

a. Jesus tells two parables in Matthew 13:44-46 that center on the value of the gift of God. The kingdom of heaven, He says, is like a treasure hidden in a field and a man, overjoyed with what he has found, sells all that he has and buys the field. And, again, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who finds a valuable pearl and sells everything he has to acquire it. Both of these parables indicate how much the kingdom of God is truly worth. What God is offering us is worth everything we have.

b. It is easy to lose sight of what is truly important. The world wants us to believe that lasting value is in wealth or physical beauty or fame or grand achievements but true value extends beyond this temporary life into eternity. God offers us the key into this eternal home.

c. In Matthew 16:26 Jesus sums it up for us, “What shall a man be profited, if he gains to whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

d. We need this message from God because it lays out for us the road to heaven, there is nothing more valuable than that.

a. Fear is not the only motivator in serving God. Sometimes that is all we focus on and it is sometimes used as a tool to manipulate others but it is not nor should it ever be our ONLY motivation to follow God.

b. Sufficient proof has been presented in these lessons to indicate that God loves us and wants us in heaven with Him and that Jesus gave His life willingly for us. These should stir in us a desire to serve God out of love because He first loved us.

c. However, the reality is: There will come an end to our opportunities to give our lives to God. We will not live forever, eventually we will pass from this life and face God in judgment and our opportunities will be depleted.

d. God is waiting for us. It says in Acts 17:27 that if we grope for Him He will be found because He is not far from any of us. In Matthew 7:7-8 it says we should keep on asking, seeking, and knocking because God will answer and we will find what we are seeking and the door will be opened. God is anxious to give to us, He is patiently waiting for us to come. How long will we make Him wait?

e. Remember Satan is also working. He is doing all he can to convince us that we should wait. The devil says to us, “Go ahead, let another opportunity go by, there’ll be more chances, later.” Eventually, there will be no more opportunities, don’t wait.

(1) An example of this is found in Luke 16:27-31 where Jesus tells of the rich man and the poor man who both die and pass into the unseen realm. The rich man ends up in torment and the poor man in paradise. The rich man requests that he be allowed to return and warn his brothers about this place (before it is too late). He had lost his opportunity and he wanted his brothers to take advantage of theirs.

(2) The response given the rich man is: “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.” Will we listen? Will we examine the truth and act upon what we find before it is too late?

f. We need this message because it is our only hope and our only answer. Let’s act upon it.

A. John wrote his gospel so that we might read and believe in Christ resulting in eternal life through Him. Let’s honestly look at the evidence and make the choice that leads to eternal life.

B. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light.” Jesus is calling us so that we might inherit eternal life. Will we come?