What God can undo in your life

Advent Sermons 2015 - Part 5

Speaker

Daniel Ralph

Date
Dec. 20, 2015
Time
11:00
00:00
00:00

Description

Sunday morning message after the Nativity.

Related Sermons

Transcription

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.

[0:00] Actually, no, I'll stick it here and then I won't go too many people's ways. I think you have to agree that they have done an exceptional job this morning.

[0:11] So I think a big round of applause for them again. Thank you. I didn't realize that we had so many really talented children who could read so well, who could sing so well, who could play musical instruments, who could sing on their own and dance.

[0:39] Man, they are probably the grooviest moves that I have ever seen. Again, really good dances as well. And even with a special edition of Kimmy the midwife.

[0:50] I noticed. Did you see how... Somebody shouted out, that's the fastest delivery in history. So Kimmy, if you ever feel like a change from being an accountant, midwifery.

[1:06] Well, I'd like to just spend a few moments to speak to you this morning. And the message is really very simple, that Christmas is really about Jesus, who is the right person who came at the right time for all the right reasons.

[1:21] But it's as simple as that. Jesus is the right person who came at the right time for all the right reasons. And I said as I began that if the world didn't need Jesus, then God wouldn't have sent him.

[1:35] So God must have had a very special reason or a particular reason for sending Jesus into the world. And I think the reason is very specific. And so the question is, why do I need Jesus?

[1:48] Why is Jesus important? Why do I need him? Why do I need him?

[2:21] Why do I need him? Why do I need him? Why do I need him? Why do I need him? Why do I need him? Why do I need him? And he says, why do I need him? And all you have to do is put it on. And as you walk into the room, it tells everybody in the room, as they look into that screen, exactly what you're thinking of them.

[2:36] and it also tells them everything that you have ever thought and the screen also plays the video of everything that you would like to do and everything that you have done since you were born now if i bought you that present would you wear it the reason why god sent jesus into the world is not so much because of what we need doing for us but actually for the amount of things we need undoing the reason you wouldn't wear it is the same reason i wouldn't wear it see as a child i go from having things done for me to then wanting to do things for myself then i get to the age and stage perhaps like you where i don't want anything anymore i'm just you know you get to christmas you think well what you know what do i need i don't need anything but then there's something very specific and i think this is why god sent jesus because he knew that it wasn't about what we needed doing as much as it was about what we needed undoing and the reason why we wouldn't wear that screen above our head is because we all know deep down in our heart there's plenty of stuff that we wouldn't want anybody to know about but the trouble is god does but god hasn't come to expose it he's come to remove it so you may be sat here this morning thinking i don't you know i don't want god to do anything for me i don't need god to do anything for me fine but is there anything that god can undo for you and undo permanently remove it permanently it says that the reason why god sent jesus into the world is because he loves us but love we're told god's type of love keeps no record of any wrongs now wouldn't you like to be loved like that by god who keeps no record of any wrongs whatsoever even the wrongs that we have against god and so why do i need jesus why do you need jesus why is jesus important well in a very special way he's the only person who can love us and remove the things that spoil us there's lots and lots of things that spoil us and jesus has come to remove those things and to make us right with god i'll give you an illustration i'm not a big fan of disney but every now and then i've found myself weeping over a bell or you know snow white um but the princess and the frog is one of my favorite stories it depends which story you read but i do like it a lot and you know the story it's of a prince who's under a curse and so he's a frog but the frog is a prince he's just so happens to be a prince under a curse and the only way to be released from this curse is to be loved and so the princess comes along and kisses him and releases him from the curse so that he is no longer an ugly frog that the princess has to kiss but a beautiful prince that she will one day marry now i know this morning you won't consider yourself as ugly frogs but what if the stain on you was a curse where you know the people around you don't want to love you and you don't can't find too much love for yourself and god comes into the world and he loves you in such a way that it releases you from that curse it releases you from that stain it makes you who you are in fact i am absolutely convinced that every single one of you here in this room knows deep down in your heart that you are more than what you presently are you know it way way down that you are way more than you presently are the trouble is is that you labor under a curse and you long to be loved to be set free from that curse and that is exactly what the cross of christ does the trouble is is sin gets in the way and sin is this saying no to god now here's the problem god is life and sin separates us from god so sin separates us from life okay god is life sin is saying no to god so sin separates us from god and so sin separates us from life and jesus came to remove the sin so that we may have life and life in abundance the type of life that god actually wants to give us so you sat here and you've listened and the message is really fairly clear and fairly straightforward you may be thinking do you know i don't need god to do anything for me but is there anything that you need god to undo that'll stop you entering into that wonderful relationship with him you see if sin is saying no to god then sin is the very thing that stops us from enjoying god in this world and in the one to come and if we're not in relationship with god now then we won't be in relationship with god when we pass from this life into the next so it's really a serious issue isn't it of why jesus is important and why i need jesus you see i don't really need jesus to do anything for me i need jesus to undo a lot of things for me i need him to undo all the things that stop me getting close to god and being with god in this life and in the next god knows that you're more than capable for 101 different things in your life but the one thing that none of us can do is undo the past and there's so much in my past and perhaps a little bit in yours which is the very thing that stops you entering into this new relationship with god and the only way that you can is for somebody to come in and love you in such a way where you are released from it jesus is the one who kisses us who loves us on the cross and on the cross releases us from the curse and stain that we're under imagine something having something incredibly beautiful and then you get a horrible stain on it and you say to your friend it's useless i don't want it anymore throw it away it's good for nothing well god considers you more precious than that but does he say you're good for nothing or want to throw you away no he's come to love you in such a way that you are released from the stain so that you're made perfect and right with him you see being a christian isn't about being perfect all of a sudden believe it or not it's actually about being made perfect in jesus so that when i get to stand before god god doesn't see me he sees him jesus came to give his life for my life so that when i stand before god all god sees is the perfect life of jesus that's why i need him that's why he's important and so the call here is fairly simple you need to come to jesus you need to turn to jesus jesus uses the word repent it literally means turn you need to turn from whatever it is that you're following whatever it is that you're trusting in whatever it is that you're hoping in and turn to jesus you need to turn from your way to his way imagine for a moment you're all stood facing this wall and i ask you to turn to that wall well it's one movement you have to turn away from this one in order to turn to that one and in the same way when jesus christ calls you to turn to him he's not just asking you to turn to him but in turning to him you turn away from all of that you're currently trusting in and following the call is simple follow the one who loves you follow the one who came for you follow the one that you need and follow the one who will never leave you nor forsake you the call is for you to come to jesus this morning i'll leave that with you but i'll put the call out that you are to come jesus command you to come out of love and so if you want to come to me and speak with me after then please do so amen now and and and and and and and and and and and