We start Pentecost this Sunday, Study the book of Acts and James it’s time for Action!

 

“Jesus Came To Save The Lowly”

John 3:17 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.

          Don't you just love to condemn others, it just makes one feel so much better about themselves when we can put others down and in their place.  O I'm sure you don't ever do this because that would be breaking the eighth commandment not to mention the second greatest commandment we learned from Mark 12:31, you know, love one another.  The problem with the whole world is that everyone breaks this commandment almost daily.  But, Jesus who could say a lot about all of us did not.

Isaiah 57:17–21 ¹⁷Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.  ¹⁸I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, ¹⁹creating the fruit of the lips.  Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him.  ²⁰But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.  ²¹There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Do you fear God, and do you fear getting God angry at you?  We should fear God and fear His anger, God has wiped out the world, flattened cities, and swallowed up thousands.  Yes, God can have a devastating anger.  We just don't fear God.  We don't fear God because we have only read about His anger and we have not experienced it.  We don't realize it will happen again when God finishes what He started and clears away the old to replace it with the new.  We call it end times, but really, we should call it beginning times.  Beginning a time of real peace, no sin, real joy, no sadness, real life, and no sickness.

We are forgiven, so is it ok to sin?  The Ten Commandments and the greatest commands that God and Jesus gave us are just nice things to show on plaques for the atheist to feel guilty about and have them taken down.  Maybe we should take them down because we Christians don't follow them.  When we fight to keep them up do you think we are just making ourselves look self righteous?  Hey!  Look at the other guy, I'm glad I'm not like him!  We are all sinners and we all need help.

Isaiah 57:15–16 ¹⁵For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.  ¹⁶For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made.

          Jesus didn't come into the world to condemn it.  Rather Jesus came to save the lowly sinners that we are.  We are always in need of a savior, who can save us from the evil one and save us from ourselves.  We are forgiven but it is important to know we are forgiven when we are contrite.  Contrite is that we actually feel sorry for our sins.  This is called part of repenting and the other part of repenting is that we work with the word of God and the Holy Spirit to stay from our sins.

          Jesus justifies us to the Father and then with the Holy Spirit and the word of God we are sanctified.  Being sanctified, that is made holy, makes us acceptable to our Father in heaven.  And, this is our path to heaven through Christ who works to keep us as His own.

          Think about this, we have a God who says He loves the world, the world has only sinners in it and despite our inequities our God still loves us deeply.  How do we know God loves us?  God the Father gave up His only son so that all who believe will be saved to eternal life.  How do we know He wants an eternal relationship with us?  Our Father in heaven did not send His Son to condemn us but rather to give us His word to show that we are saved through His Son!

          The one high and lifted up!  That is Isaiah telling us about Jesus Christ who inhabits eternal life!  This is awesome! Our Christ came to die for our sins, Christ came to rise from the dead, and Christ came to ascend into heaven.  And, feeling for our contrite lives Christ came to take us to where He is so that we to can inhabit eternal life, and have a loving eternal relationship with our God.  Amen.