Transcript Radical: Part 2 - Stand Firm For Truth

Radical: Part 2
Too Hungry for Words
Matthew 28:18-20
Goers
Senders
Disobedient
Special Ops Missions
“Put on dark pants and a jacket with a hood on
it. We will put you in the back of our car and
drive you into the village. Please keep your
hood on and your face down.”
Big group, small room
This is what you find...
One light bulb...
No sound system
No band
No guitar
No entertainment
No cushioned chairs
No heated or air-conditioned building
Nothing but the people of God & the Word of
God
Sufficiency of God’s
Word
1st century underground house churches
African jungles
African plains
South American rain forests
Middle Eastern apartments
21st century underground house churches
Church under a tree
Church in the jungle
House church in
Indonesia
Iranian Underground
Church
Sufficiency of God’s
Word
Big Question: But is
God’s Word enough for
us?
Sufficiency of God’s
Word
Big Question: If we had an
evening, late-night, or all-night
prayer meeting how many people
would come? What
reasons/excuses would be given
by those who didn’t attend?
What is the Gospel?
The Gospel is the revelation of who God is,
who we are, and how we can be reconciled to
Him. Yet in the American dream, where self
reigns as king (or queen), we have a
dangerous tendency to misunderstand,
minimize, and even manipulate the gospel in
order to accommodate our assumptions and
desires.
Who God really is
Culture says: “God is a loving
Father...”
Culture says: “God wants you to
be happy...”
God according to culture
Who God really is
Creator and sustainer of all things - Psalm
24:1-2; Psalm 36:6; Psalm 104:24-30
Knows everything - I John 3:20
Just in His wrath - Romans 3:5-6; John 3:36
Hates sin - Habakkuk 1:13
Perfectly loving - I John 4:16; John 3:16
Watered down Gospel?
Do you think that American
churches have by and large
watered down the Gospel? If so,
why?
Who we really are
Spiritually dead - Ephesians 2:1,5
Who we really are:
Excuses
“Well, I have always loved God!”
We may have loved a god that we made up in
our minds, but the God of the Bible, we hate.
Who we really are
Captives of the Devil - John 8:34; 2 Timothy
2:26
Slaves to sin - Romans 6:17
Enemies of God - Romans 5:10
Separated from God - Ephesians 2:1,3
Who we really are
What can we do to
save/change
ourselves?
Who we really are
“No one who is morally evil can choose good,
no man who is a slave can set himself free, no
woman who is blind can give herself sight, no
one who is an object of wrath can appease
that wrath, and no person who is dead can
cause himself to come to life.”
Who we really are
Question: What is our natural
reaction when we hear in the
Gospel what we really are?
Modern Gospel says...
“God loves you and has a
wonderful plan for your life.
Therefore, follow these steps, and
you will be saved.”
Biblical Gospel says...
Because of what you are,
you are radically
dependent upon God to
do something in your life
that you could never do.
What (or Whom) we
really need
Climbing to God on the mountain or God
coming to us from the mountain
People who have died for
the Gospel
Indian Christian, skinned alive, “I
thank you for this. Tear off my old
garment, for I will soon put on Christ’s
garment of righteousness.”
People who have died for
the Gospel
Christopher Love, beheaded, “Wife...today
they will sever me from my physical head, but
they cannot sever me from my spiritual head,
Christ.” As he walked to his death, his wife
cheered for him and he sang.
Were these braver than
Jesus?
“And going a little farther he fell on his face
and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me;
nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will”
(Matthew 26:39).
Q# What was the “cup?”
God’s Wrath and
Judgment against sin
Radically receive such a
Radical Gospel
Accept Him?
Does He “need” us? Puny savior begging us?
Repeat a prayer?
Go to “church?”
Question: So we earn our
way to Jesus by radical
obedience?
Ephesians 2:8-10
The free gift of God’s grace gives us a new
heart, new desires, new longings so that we
now desire to follow and love God.
Response to the Gospel
Right response: “Unconditional surrender of all
that we are and all that we have to all that He
is.”
Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was arrested,
Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the
gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the gospel.”