GOSPEL :: FAMILY :: MISSION
We have talked about believing & applying, powerlessness, hope, and surrender. The goal of the first four weeks was to get us to the point where we are ready to seek God and trust him to change us. This week we are going to start digging deeper into our struggles by discussing the principle of self-examination.
I want you to imagine that you’re sitting down with someone you love dearly. Maybe it’s a friend, or a relative, or a coworker, or a spouse, or your child. Now imagine that you know that this is the very last conversation you will have with them in person on this Earth. Now ask yourself, what would I say to them? What would I regret not saying if this was the last time I ever saw them?
Last week we talked about how the truth that though we are powerless to change ourselves, we are not without hope for change. There are two ways to live: (1) on our own strength according to our own wisdom and (2) on God’s strength according to God’s wisdom.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the anxiety that comes with the storms of life? Or struggled with trusting God in the midst of your fear or felt totally consumed with doubt and despair?
Last week we talked about how we are powerless to change ourselves. Though we are powerless to change ourselves, we are not without hope for change. When we look at our struggles, we often feel helpless in our sin. But this is right where the heart of the good news meets us: “While we were helpless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). God can and will liberate us from the power of sin.
One of my deepest desires is to see people grow closer to Jesus; help people experience the power of changed lives; and to equip people to set the world on fire through the proclamation of the gospel. In other words, intimacy with Jesus is a life-changing experience that sets us on fire with the gospel.
The foundation of spiritual growth is acknowledging that we are powerless to change ourselves. Because we are self-reliant people, we try (repeatedly) to stop doing things we shouldn’t and start doing things we should, using nothing but our own effort and willpower.
There’ve been many seasons of my life where I’ve experienced devastating grief and sorrow. Many seasons where my hopes have been crushed against the rocks of unmet expectations. And in the midst of those sad and hopeless seasons, the Lord has been so kind to lift my heart and remind me that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection trumps all the false gospels that I so easily and foolishly fall into believing.
Believing the gospel and applying the gospel go hand in hand, but the order is important. Of first importance is what God has done for us in Christ. God’s grace toward us in Christ is the foundation of all our obedience and application. Yet, in the midst of all the practical instruction, we must not lose sight of the principle that the gospel changes us from the inside out. Without that, we are doing little more than whitewashing tombs.
Today we will examine Luke 23:50 – 24:12 and as we do we’ll consider the truth and the implications of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. And the big idea here is that, the truth of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection inspires great hope and great courage amidst our momentary suffering.
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