SUNDAY SERMONS

 

Who Needs Christ?

Acts 26:24-29  At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane."  25  "I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable.  26  The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.  27  King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."  28  Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"  29  Paul replied, "Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."

What did the king Agrippa need most?  Not money, not power, not culture. He needed Christ.

Who needs Christ?

Here is a single mother in the home. She has the children to  raise in the right way, the home to be cared for, the meals to be prepared. But what does she need most? She needs a Saviour.

Here is a man with many business cares besetting him. But what does he need most? He needs a Saviour.

Here is a criminal facing a prison sentence. But what does he need most? He needs a Saviour.

Here is a man in the far East bowing down before an idol of wood or stone. What does he need most? He needs a Saviour.

What does the richest man in the world need? He needs Christ, the only Saviour.

What does the poorest man in the world need? He needs a Saviour.

And there is only One under heaven who can save him and His Name is Jesus.

Why does everyone need Jesus?

I.                 WE NEED JESUS BECAUSE OF THE PAST .

Romans 3:23-24  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  24  and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

a.  In the past we have sinned. We have sinned many times and in many Ways.

b.  We need to do something about those sins.

Sometimes a man will commit a sin and spend the rest of his life trying to cover it up. But there is only one covering for sin.

c.   The old song tells us what it is.

There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,

And sinners plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

We are told the white ants of Africa are very destructive. A man sits down at night in his favorite chair. The next morning he sits in that chair and it collapses. During the night the white ants have crawled up the legs" of the chair. No one sees them but they eat away the heart of the wood. It is the same way with sin. Sin comes into a man’s life, the World doesn’t see it, but it eats his life away.

A girl who had been reared in poverty was brought to a Rescue Home in New York. As she grew up she had gone down into the depths of sin and depravity. The first night she was in the home the matron who made the rounds found the girl’s bed empty and the girl sleeping under the bed. She asked the girl why she was not in the bed. The girl pointed to the clean sheets and said, “I could never get in that bed. I have never seen anything so clean.”

d.  In like manner sin stamps us as guilty and unclean.

e.  Then we look at God’s' holiness and realize we don’t deserve His notice. But God is so gracious and merciful He takes our sin away and gives us His righteousness.

f.     Our yesterdays have been filled with sin.

g.   But Jesus says, “Come unto Me and I will remove your sin as far as the east is from the west. I’ll cast your sin into the deepest sea, I’ll put it behind my back and remember it no more forever.”

h.  That means that you need Jesus.

i.     In the past there are your unfulfilled promises

One day, in a high moment in God’s house, you said, “I’ll give myself to Him.” One day a great blessing came to you and you said, “I am not worthy of the least of His mercies, I know I ought to live for Him.” One day you saw a Christian die, and you said, “I want to be ready when my time comes.”

But you haven’t kept these vows, the days are going by, life is passing. You need Jesus.

j.      So as we look at the past, we see every reason why we should be Christians,

k.   we see our need of Jesus, the one true Friend.

l.     We need Jesus because of the past!

 

II.              WE NEED IESUS BECAUSE OF THE PRESENT

Psalms 46:1-4  God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  2  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,  3  though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  4  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

a.  I need His help in everyday living, Without Jesus I would be lost in a fog.

b.  The Christless man is living, but not at his best.

c.   He needs Jesus who says, “Come and walk with Me, I know all about life. I have been where you are. I know all the pitfalls and temptations of life, I can help you, I can see you through.”

In the Russian-Japanese war a Japanese colonel was captured by the Russians and condemned to be shot to death. They asked him if he had anything to say before he was killed. He took some money out of his pocket and said, “I

want you to give this money to the Russian Red Cross.” When they asked him why he wanted to give money to his enemies he replied, “Some years ago a missionary came to my country and told me about Jesus Christ. I took Him as my Saviour. Now I want to follow His example by forgiving my enemies as He did when He died upon the cross.”

d.  Where did he learn this? He learned it from Jesus.

A certain preacher’s son was killed in a tragic accident caused by the carelessness of another man. The preacher was broken hearted but he sat down and wrote a nice letter of forgiveness to the man responsible for his son’s death. Where did he learn this? He learned it from Jesus.

e.   If anyone has wronged you, just leave it with the Lord.  He can handle the matter better than you can.

f.     We need a Comforter in this present time.

In the Upper Room Jesus said to His disciples, “I am going away, I am going to leave you.” Their hearts were broken with sorrow, but Jesus said, “I will not leave you comfortless, I will send you the Comforter.” He was referring to the Holy Spirit who abides in the Christian’s heart and speaks comfort to him in time of sorrow.

Someone painted a picture of a young woman sitting in deep sorrow. Her husband had just died. Father Time stood by her, looking down upon her in compassion. The title of the picture was, “The Mender of Broken Hearts.”

Time is the only comforter the lost man has, but the Christian has a Divine Friend to comfort him.

g.   We need an intercessor in the present time...

Hebrews 7:25  Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

h.  So as we look at the present we see that life is too big and too hard for us.

i.      We need a friend, we need Jesus everyday. And He says, “I’]l be with you, I’ll go with you to the end.”

 

III.          WE NEED JESUS BECAUSE OF THE FUTURE!

1 Corinthians 15:52-58  in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  53  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  54  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."  55  "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"  56  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  57  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  58  Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

a.  In the future there is Death!

We are reminded of this on every side. Every newscast speaks of death, every funeral procession reminds us we are headed in the same direction. If the Lord Jesus tarries, death will come to every one of us.

Look at the leaf on the tree. It will not last. One day when the autumn winds blow it will fall.

Look at that beautiful rose in the vase. It will not last, it will soon droop and die.

In the midst of life there is death, that is why we need Jesus in the future.

They call this world “the land of the living.” No, it is the land of the dying. One day, one night, death will creep up on you and me. And it is then we’ll need a Saviour to take our hands and lead us home.

Thank God, We have a Friend who says, Psalms 23:4  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Because death is coming we need Jesus.

b.  In the future there will be Judgement

In the Polish cemeteries the names of the dead are carved on the tombstones just as is the custom in America. They believe that on the last day the good people will be called to life and the bad to eternal doom. But on some of the stones there is no name. Those who are living hope the angels will pass over these graves and leave their occupants sleeping. But that cannot be, no one will escape. God will bring everyone into judgment.

At the judgment some will rejoice as they hear the Lord say,

Matthew 25:21  "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

c.   But others will mourn as they realize they are doomed forever, because they have left Jesus out of their lives.

d.  People go to hell for just one reason, their rejection of Jesus Christ.

e.  ln the future there is eternity.

Can you count the stars of the heavens?  … Can you count the grains of sand beside the sea? … Can you count the drops of water in the ocean? Then you can’t count the years of eternity.

f.    Now the question is — are you going to spend these years With Christ or in an endless hell?

Let me close this sermon with the story of “The Man Who Died for Me.” Out on the Pacific coast in the years gone by a man was dying of tuberculosis. He was mean and vile and evil. A good Christian woman came in to minister to his needs and he cursed her. She waited on him for two weeks, preparing his meals and taking care of his house, but he didn’t show her any gratitude. One day the Woman brought her little girl with her, and left her just outside of the house While she went inside to serve the man. The man heard the little girl and said to the woman, “Who is that out there?” When the woman told him it Was her little girl he said, “Bring her in the house.” When the little girl came and stood by the man’s bedside he put his hand upon her head and said, “Once I had a little girl. She loved me as no one else has ever loved me, but she died and since that time I have hated everyone.” The woman told him that Christ had taken his little girl to heaven and was keeping her there for him. Then the man said, “Please pray to Him for me and tell Him I want to see my little girl again.” Soon the good Christian woman was able to lead the man to Christ. Some of his friends came in from the mine and he said to them, “Boys, you know how the water runs down into the sluice boxes and takes away the dirt and leaves the gold. Well, that’s what the Man did who died for me. He has taken away all my sin and has saved me.” Two weeks later the man died, but before he died he said to his friends, “Good-by, boys, I am going to see Lucy and the Man who died for me.”