I first noticed the title of this musical, Almost There.
I thought about how Jesus once told a Jewish teacher
that he was almost there
in terms of entering the kingdom of God.
It took place in the context of several Jewish leaders
basically attacking Jesus.
They were bombarding him with questions,
trying to confuse him.
Trying to make him look bad.
Well, Mark, the Gospel of Mark tells us
how a scribe, a scholarly teacher,
he was involved.
He asked Jesus a question about
what's the greatest commandment?
I want you to look with me on the screen
how Jesus answered.
Jesus answered,
the most important is,
hear, O Israel,
the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
And you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your strength.
The second is this,
you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.
Now, when that scribe heard the answer,
something changed.
The light came on for him.
And he responded,
not as a critic,
but as an honest seeker
who understood that Jesus had spoken truth.
Look at what he said.
And the scribe said to him,
you are right, teacher.
You have truly said that he is one
and there is no other besides him.
And to love him with all the heart
and with all the understanding
and with all the strength
and to love one's neighbor as oneself
is much more than all
whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
He's on board with Jesus.
He understands.
Jesus is speaking words of truth,
of wisdom.
Well, Jesus took it that way.
Look at how he responded to this scribe.
And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely,
he said to him,
you are not far from the kingdom of God.
Jesus was telling him in effect,
you're almost there.
You're almost in the kingdom of God.
Now, when Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God
throughout his ministry,
he was talking about more than a future kingdom,
sort of like what we would think about heaven.
Jesus was talking about,
when he spoke about the kingdom of God,
living under the kingdom of God,
living under God's authority.
Jesus was talking about living as a follower of himself
as a person's Lord and Savior,
and living under God's authority.
When Jesus told this man that he was not far from the kingdom of God,
he was saying two things.
Look with me.
It was a word of encouragement.
Think about it.
You are not far from the kingdom of God.
You are almost there.
Why would he say that?
Well, that man believed correctly.
He believed that Jesus was speaking the truth.
He believed that God was more concerned
with us having a heart of love for him
and people
than just following a bunch of rules of a religion.
This man was almost there
because he believed the truth.
He had some right beliefs.
But almost there is not there.
He was not a part of the kingdom of God
because he was not trusting Jesus.
He was not a follower of Jesus.
I am confident
that almost everyone in this room today,
you believe what the Bible says
about Jesus coming into this world,
which is what we celebrate at Christmas.
I have no doubt
that just about everyone in this room,
you believe the Christmas story
as spelled out in Scripture.
You believe
the things that we have
been singing about
or heard sung
about Jesus.
Such beliefs,
thinking rightly
according to the truth of Scripture,
makes us
almost there
in terms of being a part of the kingdom
because you cannot
become a follower of Jesus
without knowing
who he is
and the truth about
why he came.
But
until a person
puts
their trust
in Jesus
as their own Savior
and Lord,
you remain
almost there,
not
there
in the kingdom of God.
And so that makes
what Jesus said
more than just a word
of encouragement.
It was a word
of warning.
You are not far
from the kingdom of God,
but you are not
there.
If you're not there,
you are outside
the kingdom of God.
Jesus was telling
this well-informed
teacher
that it was not enough
to just believe
correct doctrine,
right facts
about God.
It's not enough
just to say,
I believe the Bible's true.
Jesus was telling him,
it's not enough
for you to just
have a favorable
impression of me.
And that applies
to everyone.
Believing all
the right things,
the right facts
about God,
about Jesus,
about the Bible,
it is very important.
And I'm not
in any way
downplaying it.
But it's not enough
for us just to have
this intellectual knowledge,
this factual information
and be a Christian.
James tells us
that demons believe
the facts about God.
Look at this
from James chapter 2.
You believe that God
is one,
you do well.
Even the demons
believe and
shudder.
They tremble.
The only way
that we can be right
with God
and a part of His kingdom,
a part of His family,
now
and forever.
It's to have our faith,
our trust,
our confidence
in Jesus
as our Savior.
And if we do that,
we'll recognize
that He really is
King Jesus,
the Lord,
and we'll submit
to Him,
to His authority
and really seek
to follow Him,
be faithful followers
of Him.
If a person
does not know God,
through a personal
relationship
with Jesus,
it doesn't matter
how close
they are.
For a person
to be
or for a person
to die
almost there,
believing a lot
of what the Bible
says.
For a person
to die
like that
almost there.
Or for a person
to believe nothing
and shake
his fist
at God,
the end result
will be the same.
They will be
eternally separated
from God
in hell.
And we all need
to let this sink in
because it applies
to us,
to our family members,
to our friends,
to everyone.
As we come together
this morning
to celebrate
the birth of Jesus,
the coming
of God's Son
into this world,
I want to encourage
you to think
about yourself,
about your relationship
with Jesus.
Make sure
that you are
now
in the kingdom
of God,
which means
that you are living
under His authority.
You are truly
following Jesus,
your Lord.
You know,
the only way
for anyone
to know
that they have
a right relationship
with God,
the only way
for anyone
to know
for a fact
that they
are a part
of the kingdom
now
is to have
that true
faith,
trust,
confidence,
commitment,
love
for Jesus.
He is the way
to the Father.
Jesus made it clear
on one occasion.
He said to him,
I am the way
and the truth
and the life.
No one comes
to the Father
except through me.
That last sentence,
no one comes
to the Father
except through me,
also can be said,
anyone can come
to the Father
through me,
through Jesus.
If you are not
a Christian,
you can come
to faith in Jesus
right now.
Admit your need
that you're not.
Turn from your sin.
Change your mind.
Put your trust
in Jesus
as your Savior.
Trust him
that when he died
on the cross,
which is why
he came into this world,
that he was dying
for you,
paying the penalty
for your sins.
If you know Christ
as your Lord
and Savior,
let this be a time
of worshiping him,
thanking him,
renewing your commitment
to him
as your king.
I also want to encourage
Christians in this room,
if you have family members,
friends,
people you work with,
people you go to school with
who are not Christians,
there is no better time
than this season,
the Christmas season,
for you to talk with them
about their relationship
with the Lord.
I encourage you
to ask God
to help you
get prepared
to share the gospel
with them
and ask him
to prepare them
and work through
your love,
your friendship,
your sharing the gospel,
the call of them,
that person you love
and care about,
the faith in Jesus.
Would you pray with me?
Father,
help all of us
in this room
being here today
to worship Jesus,
celebrate the true meaning
of Christmas.
Help us all
to think about
where we stand
in relationship
to being
in your kingdom,
in your family.
Father,
for anyone in this room
who does not know Christ,
call them to faith
right now.
Do that miraculous work
in them right now.
Open their eyes
to see Jesus
as he really is,
your son
who died on the cross
for their sin.
Father,
help all of us
right now
to evaluate
just how faithfully
we are living
under your authority,
under King Jesus.
And if there's changes
that we need to make,
help us to make them
now.
And in an attitude
of prayer,
let's all just listen
to the Lord
and respond to him
in the way
that we need to.
I'd be happy
to pray with you
here at the front
in the next few minutes.
Let's just listen
to the Lord
prayerfully,
carefully,
and respond to him.