I want to share with you what I believe to be the most important message of all time. It is not just the greatest message of 2020, not the greatest message of the 1900\u2019s,\u00a0but the greatest message of all time. I want to share this message with you by starting in the very first book of the Bible \u2013 Genesis.<\/p>\n
Genesis starts by telling us the creation story. In the creation story we learn of the first man and the first woman \u2013 Adam and Eve.\u00a0God placed\u00a0Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,\u00a0and he gave them specific instructions. God said to Adam in\u00a0Genesis 2:16-17 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, \u201cFrom any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0This seems rather simple. God gave Adam plenty of trees to eat from, but He did say stay away from one\u00a0tree\u00a0\u2013 God even told Adam what would happen if he ate from the tree (\u201cyou will surely die\u201d).<\/p>\n Genesis 3 is known as the \u201cFall of man.\u201d As the Bible continues, the serpent (Satan) deceived and tempted Adam and Eve, and they ate of the only tree that God forbade them to eat from. Remember what God said would happen if they ate of that tree? God said they would surely die. This is where sin entered the world. The first sin was when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden tree in the garden. In the New Testament, Paul tells us in Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one-man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.<\/em>\u00a0Because Adam\u00a0sinned,\u00a0we are now all born sinners. The Bible tells us that we are all sinners. In\u00a0Romans 3:23 we are told\u00a0All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.<\/em>\u00a0We fall short \u2013 like an arrow falling short of a target. We fall short of what God wants of us. The Bible also tells us in\u00a0Romans 3:10 There is no-one righteous, not even one.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n So, if we are all sinners \u2013 what is the big deal? Let me remind you of the consequence of Adam\u2019s disobedience\u2026you will surely die.<\/em> The consequence of sin is that we will die. You have probably notice in your lifetime that people\u00a0live,\u00a0and people die \u2013 this is a result of sin. The Bible tells is in the\u00a0Old Testament\u00a0The one who sins is the one who will die <\/em>(Ezekiel 18:20).<\/em> We also learn in the New Testament For the wages (punishment) of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord <\/em>(Romans 6:23).<\/em> I\u2019m\u00a0glad this verse does not stop with\u00a0For the wages of sin is death.<\/em> It\u00a0goes on to talk about a\u00a0free gift \u2013 eternal life<\/em>\u00a0This\u00a0free gift\u00a0of eternal life comes in the form of what God did for us.<\/p>\n You now see that because of sin we are going to die. You might be thinking \u2013 \u201cWell \u2013 we all die \u2013 what is the big deal?\u201d The big deal is that it doesn\u2019t have to end like that. We can have this\u00a0free gift\u00a0of eternal life that the Bible is talking about. Eternal life sounds pretty good and if eternal life is a gift \u2013 you might wonder \u2013\u00a0\u201cHow do I get it?\u201d<\/p>\n The Bible tells us For God so loved the world, that He gave (gift) his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him <\/em>(John 3:16-17). <\/em>The Bible also tells us in\u00a0Romans 5:8 that God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.<\/em>\u00a0The\u00a0free gift\u00a0that God gave to us was in the form of His only Son, Jesus.\u00a0The gift was given \u2013 not earned. You and I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0work our way to heaven.\u00a0We\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0do anything that will get us to heaven. God provided a way for us to have eternal life through His Son, Jesus\u2019 death on the cross.<\/p>\n So, the gift is Jesus\u00a0and\u00a0his life sacrifice on the cross.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a free gift. How do you get this\u00a0free gift? Look at the word in John 3:16 that starts with the letter\u00a0\u201cB\u201d \u2013 Believe. The Bible tells us that\u00a0\u201cwhoever believes in Him (Jesus) should not perish but have eternal life.\u201d\u00a0So how do you get this\u00a0free gift?\u00a0BELIEVE IN JESUS!\u00a0You don\u2019t have to memorize the five happy hops to heaven. You\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have to jump through hoops.\u00a0You simply\u00a0have to\u00a0BELIEVE. You may still be a little confused. You may wonder \u201cBelieve what exactly?\u201d The Bible tells us in\u00a0Acts 16:31 Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.<\/em> The Bible also reminds us\u00a0If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved <\/em>(Romans 10:9-10).<\/em>\u00a0You wonder\u00a0\u201cBelieve what exactly?\u201d Believe that Jesus died on the\u00a0cross,\u00a0and\u00a0believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Believe this,\u00a0and the Bible says you will be saved. The word \u201csaved\u201d might be a little confusing to you. You might wonder \u201cSaved from what?\u201d Remember we talked about the gift of eternal life. The opposite of eternal life is eternal death. When we believe in Jesus we are saved from eternal death and will now have eternal life with God forever.<\/p>\n You might think that your life is bad, and God can\u2019t forgive all the bad things in your life. If you think this maybe this will give you some comfort. Paul the author of most of the New Testament said\u00a0\u2026Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst<\/em> (1 Timothy\u202f1:15)<\/p>\n No sin or sins are so terrible that God can\u2019t forgive. God will forgive your sins. See here what 1 John 1:9 says If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.<\/em><\/p>\n Let me break it down for you:<\/p>\n Let me ask you: Can you admit that you are a sinner? Sure,\u00a0most of us can do that because we know the wrong things that we do on a regular basis. Do you want this gift\u00a0that God offers of eternal life? If so,\u00a0I want to encourage you to BELIEVE. By believing in Jesus death,\u00a0burial\u00a0and resurrection\u00a0you\u00a0will have a relationship with God that will last forever.<\/p>\n Do you want to surrender your life to Jesus? If you do,\u00a0maybe a prayer like what I have written below is one that you would like to pray. You can make this prayer your own,\u00a0it doesn\u2019t need to be exactly how I have written.<\/p>\n Heavenly Father,<\/em><\/p>\n I know that I\u2019ve sinned against You. I realize that the penalty for sin is death. Thank you for sending Your Son, Jesus, to die, shedding His own blood on the cross in my place. I confess my sins to You and ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died and rose again,\u00a0so that I can be forgiven and live forever with Him. Here and now, I surrender my life, my plans, my goals to Jesus Christ. By God\u2019s strength, I will seek to live for God the rest of my life.<\/em><\/p>\nWe are all sinners<\/h2>\n
God\u2019s gift<\/h2>\n
I\u2019m a bad person<\/h2>\n
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Surrender<\/h2>\n