“Salvation is not
a choice. SLIDE 1
It's a command!”
Scripture Romans 10:8-13
I read very little as a student. I only began to read at all once I became a follower of Christ. Besides the Bible being my constant companion, one of the most influential books in my early faith journey was SLIDE 2
"Disciple" by Juan Carlos Ortiz (tell who he is).
In the 90's I went to a conference at our SLIDE 3
ABAC in Greenlake Wisc. where he was one of the main speakers. He would not arrive till the 3rd day of the event. When I saw my name tag on a registration table, I also saw one for Juan Carlos Ortiz - SLIDE 4 this famous Latin American preacher, evangelists, and author, and thought to myself, "why not"? So for the next 2 days I wore his name tag. I was stunned at how many people came up to me, including people of Hispanic decent and told me how much my books had meant to them and how they were looking forward to hear me speak. I have to say, I never thought anyone would seriously think that Mid-west born, very white, 20 years younger - Jeffrey, could possibly be mistaken for Juan Carlos Ortiz, but I sure enjoyed it. When he arrived, I gave him his name tag - told him the story - and we both had a good laugh. END SLIDE 4
His
preaching did not disappoint. Just last week I saw his books on my shelf in my
office. Over the years I have thinned my shelves only to books that are more
recent - or to ones that still have great meaning to me - his book is still at
the top of my list and I picked it up and thumbed through it re-reading my
highlights, of which there were many, and some parts that I had not
highlighted. It once again brought inspiration about what it means to be a
disciple of Jesus Christ. I will preach today and next week, many of the
thoughts that come from scripture as written and taught by Juan Carlos Ortiz
through the lens of someone wearing a name tag that says Jeff Cooper, a
disciple of Jesus Christ!
The
book begins, "What is a disciple? A disciple is one who follows Jesus
Christ. But because we are Christians does not necessarily mean we are His
disciples, even though we are members of His Kingdom. Following Christ means
acknowledging Him as Lord; it means serving Him as a slave. It also means
loving and praising." The title of the first part of this book is
appropriately titled, "NEW WINE"!
Luke
6:46 Jesus said, "Why do you call me, 'Lord,
Lord,' and do not do what I say?"
There is an immediate problem for those who speak Spanish.
The word "Lord" is Señor which is equivalent to our word Mr. - Señor
Jesus = Mr. Jesus. In English as have 2 words - Mr. and Lord. But that is not
all that helpful as Lord only has meaning for us related to the 'Lords of
England' which doesn't carry any real weight for us.
What did Jesus
mean when he spoke that word to a Greek speaking people 2000 years ago? kurios (kurios) = meant maximum authority,
the one above everyone else - with a lower case 'k', it was the word slaves
used to address their masters. With an upper case 'K' it is how Caesar of Rome
was referred too. On the street you would say "Caesar is Lord!" and
the response would be "Yes, Caesar is the Lord". No wonder Caesar
persecuted Christians, because they would respond, "No, Jesus is the Lord!"
They were committed to an authority greater than Caesar - the earthly king.
Jesus is at the center of the gospel - there is no getting around it.
Even today, I
and others preach that you need to accept Jesus, but the greater and first
truth is that Jesus accepts us.
Revelation
3:20 Jesus says, "Here I am! I stand at the
door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and
eat with him, and he with me." We are so self centered we think
that we are doing Jesus a favor by opening the door and inviting him in. NO! He
is favoring us with a lavish grace by knocking at the door of our heart! We
don't share Jesus because someone is lost without him. We share Jesus because
it will grow the kingdom where He is Lord.
Acts 2:36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has
made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah."
Zacchaeus - How would we approach him today
VS. how Jesus approached him. P19
Matthew - Matt 9:9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw
a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and
followed him.
Rich Young Ruler - "Go sell all you have and come follow me."
"He went away sad."
Luke 9:59-62
A Man - He said to another
man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my
father." Jesus said to him, "Let the
dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
Another Man - Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
You follow
the command or you don't. If you don't follow your superior officers command,
what happens? You are court marshalled. And in the case of disobedience to
Jesus, you are dishonorably discharged - cast out of the military.
The kingdom
of God does not accept naturalized citizens. You have to be born into the
kingdom. Suppose the laws of the US were like that. Picture one person of the
more than 2,000,000 people from Central and South America trying to enter the
US in 2022.
Nicholas is going through all the
proper channels and would be a good and hardworking citizen. Nicholas comes to the
immigration office and says "I want to be an American."
"Where were you born?"
"El Salvador"
"Then you cannot be an
American, because all Americans must be born on American soil."
"But Sir! I really want to be
an American!"
"Where were you born?"
"El Salvador"
"I just told you Nicholas, the
ONLY way to be an American is to be born in the United States of America."
"Oh Sir! How can I do it? I
really truly want to be an American."
"Well, the only thing you can
do is to die, then be born again, but this time make sure you are born in
America. That is the ONLY way! We do not accept visitors. We do not accept
visas anymore. You have to be born HERE!"
SLIDE 5
In John 3 Jesus had nearly that
exact same conversation with Nickolas (Nicodemus) with the implication, even if
you are a Pharisee, even if you are a land that calls itself "The Savior =
El Salvador" you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven - the only way in to
heaven, into my eternal kingdom is to be Born Again through ME!
END SLIDE 5
CONCLUSION
John
14:5-6 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we
know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am
the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me."
MORE REMEDIES
Have you heard about the farmer who
went to a government official specializing in animal health? The farmer sought
help from the "expert" because ten of his
chickens had suddenly died. SLIDE 6 The government expert instructed the farmer to give aspirin to
all the surviving chickens.
Two days later, however, the farmer
returned. Twenty more chickens had died. What
should he do now? The expert said quickly: Give all the rest castor oil.
Two days later, the farmer returned
a third time and reported 30 more dead chickens.
The government expert now strongly recommended penicillin.
Two days later a sad farmer showed
up. All the rest of his chickens had now died. They were all gone.
"What a shame," said the
expert, "I have lots more remedies!"
END SLIDE 6
The world offers many so-called remedies to the problem of sin. There is only one qualified physician to deal with this problem, and he is an obstetrician - he is the only one who can deliver you and make you become born again. He is El Salvador - The Savior, and his name is Jesus!
Romans
10:8-13 "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is,
the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth,
"Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe
and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As
the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to
shame." For there is no
difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly
blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved."
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