Saturday, November 12, 2005
Come on Ride the Train, pt. 1 Sermon Notes
taken from Pastor outline notes, no video available.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:20; John 18:36
You know, I like trains. Unfortunately, I grew up after train travel had been mostly discarded for airplanes. I like planes, just not flying on them. Well, maybe an F-4 or an F15, or even a 16. I like bus rides. Granted, they do little for my back, but I like them. Riding on Buses and trains you get to see the territory you are going over. You get to feel part of it. Riding in the air makes you apart from it, separated.
God wants us to get on his train. His train is to the kingdom, the Spiritual Kingdom, of God. It is to the eternal rest, the greatest place ever. He wants us to jump on His train and ride it out to its terminus. There are several other trains in the station, and we have to figure out which one to get on. What we need to realize, and what the competition does not advertise, is the destination. God advertises the destination--eternal rest and salvation. The other guys just talk about the stops on the way--lust, greed, avarice, addiction, gluttony, etc. Well, they use codewords like all you can want, all you can handle, no limits, etc. However, the destination for every train where God is not the conductor is a very warm place, shall we say.
We have some questions before us as we talk about God's train to salvation, to the eternal kingdom. First: how do we get on? We get on via confessing that we don't like where we are. Most likely, we have found ourselves at a crossroads after riding another train. We dont like the looks of the neighborhood. So, we call out, can I get a ride to somewhere better? God answers, yes, come and ride my train.
Next: where and wwhat is my ticket? Well, the ticket to get on the train is faith. Simple faith and admission of ones sins. That is the ticket to get on the train. However, the ticket to the kingdom is salvation and redemption. That ticket is belief, more faith again. That f word of faith, so easy to say, so hard to keep and understand.
How do I get the ticket, how do I pay for it? "Hear the good news: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The ticket is free. All it costs is admitting you need help, admitting you are lost and admitting Jesus is the only way out of this bad neighborhood we are in. The cost to us is free, the Cost to God is total: He paid it with his most precious asset: His Son. Those of you with children, think about that: paying for something with your children. That is the most precious and valuable gift we can offer as parents (speaking metaphorically, I have no children). This ticket is very costly, but free to us.
However, it does come with some restrictions. The ride will not always be easy. We are to leave our baggage (temptation, issues, addiction, etc.) behind. We cannot take the past with us. We cannot look back over what we have done before and hold it against ourselves. We can only take with us our hearts and minds. It will be a rough ride, it may be a long ride. There will be some dangerous gulleys and rises. However, the rack is sure and the path is straight. And, we have the light of the Word to guide us. Next week, we will talk about getting tickets and the conditions of entrance to the kingdom. Hint: God just loves Souvenirs!!!!!
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:20; John 18:36
You know, I like trains. Unfortunately, I grew up after train travel had been mostly discarded for airplanes. I like planes, just not flying on them. Well, maybe an F-4 or an F15, or even a 16. I like bus rides. Granted, they do little for my back, but I like them. Riding on Buses and trains you get to see the territory you are going over. You get to feel part of it. Riding in the air makes you apart from it, separated.
God wants us to get on his train. His train is to the kingdom, the Spiritual Kingdom, of God. It is to the eternal rest, the greatest place ever. He wants us to jump on His train and ride it out to its terminus. There are several other trains in the station, and we have to figure out which one to get on. What we need to realize, and what the competition does not advertise, is the destination. God advertises the destination--eternal rest and salvation. The other guys just talk about the stops on the way--lust, greed, avarice, addiction, gluttony, etc. Well, they use codewords like all you can want, all you can handle, no limits, etc. However, the destination for every train where God is not the conductor is a very warm place, shall we say.
We have some questions before us as we talk about God's train to salvation, to the eternal kingdom. First: how do we get on? We get on via confessing that we don't like where we are. Most likely, we have found ourselves at a crossroads after riding another train. We dont like the looks of the neighborhood. So, we call out, can I get a ride to somewhere better? God answers, yes, come and ride my train.
Next: where and wwhat is my ticket? Well, the ticket to get on the train is faith. Simple faith and admission of ones sins. That is the ticket to get on the train. However, the ticket to the kingdom is salvation and redemption. That ticket is belief, more faith again. That f word of faith, so easy to say, so hard to keep and understand.
How do I get the ticket, how do I pay for it? "Hear the good news: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The ticket is free. All it costs is admitting you need help, admitting you are lost and admitting Jesus is the only way out of this bad neighborhood we are in. The cost to us is free, the Cost to God is total: He paid it with his most precious asset: His Son. Those of you with children, think about that: paying for something with your children. That is the most precious and valuable gift we can offer as parents (speaking metaphorically, I have no children). This ticket is very costly, but free to us.
However, it does come with some restrictions. The ride will not always be easy. We are to leave our baggage (temptation, issues, addiction, etc.) behind. We cannot take the past with us. We cannot look back over what we have done before and hold it against ourselves. We can only take with us our hearts and minds. It will be a rough ride, it may be a long ride. There will be some dangerous gulleys and rises. However, the rack is sure and the path is straight. And, we have the light of the Word to guide us. Next week, we will talk about getting tickets and the conditions of entrance to the kingdom. Hint: God just loves Souvenirs!!!!!
# posted by Mark : 4:17 PM
