Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about why Jesus came to earth and what it means for your life today. Before time began, God loved you. Before you were born, God loved you.
Before he made the mountains and set the stars in place and the courses of the planet, God loved you.
Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message. Life according to Jesus. I want to invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me once again to 1 John chapter 4. Five times in this letter of 1 John, the apostle emphasizes that Jesus literally, physically came, and for what purpose?
Why did he come? By now, John is an old man. Looking back and reflecting upon his experience with Christ. And John was saying, We could never forget. We will never forget what Christ has done for us.
Now, there are many reasons. that I believe In Jesus. I believe in Jesus. because of the historical evidence. I believe in Jesus because of The powerful scripture, and yes, you can trust the Bible.
I believe in Jesus because of personal experience. Knowing him and trusting him. Building my faith upon the truth of God's word. But the thrill of knowing and loving Jesus never fades for me. For God has given us a living and vibrant faith that will last.
Beyond The critics. And I believe the Bible after studying it seriously for many years now, I believe the Bible more than ever. I believe in Jesus now more than ever. I am discovering new reasons to believe, not new reasons to doubt. And that is why my love for Christ is growing day by day.
I don't intend to burn out in my love to Christ. I intend to burn on in my love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Why did Jesus come?
Well I want you to see in 1 John. chapter 3 actually in verse 5 that jesus came to be Our sin bearer. Look at verse 5 of 1 John 3, and we're going to look at these five times in 1 John when he said Jesus came and why he came. You know that he appeared. to take away sins.
And in him There is no sin. He appeared. And with that, implicit within that truth is that he was not born at Bethlehem, but he came from eternity. He is the Son of God, the eternal Christ. And as a result, Because he is now made manifest, he has now appeared, he makes God knowable and visible.
So the Son of God, God the Father, sent the Son. To bear our sins. That is to take away our sins. This is the constant theme of the New Testament. When John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the world, he said, look, look at the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
That's his introduction to the world. Before that, The prince of prophets, Isaiah, spoke of the Savior, the Messiah who would come. And in Isaiah 53 and verse 6, All we, like sheep, had gone astray. We, every one of us, had turned into our own way. But the Lord laid on him all our sins, all of our iniquities.
We are told that in 2 Corinthians 5. And 21. That he who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God. Hebrews 9, 26, that he put away sin in himself, that Jesus died for our sins. 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 24, the scripture tells us once again that Jesus bore our sins in his own body at the cross.
He took our sins. He is our sin-bearer. But how does Jesus forgive sins?
Well, notice in 1 John 3:5 that the apostle is very clear in pointing out that Jesus was sin-free. He knew no sin. He never participated in sin. Why? Because only a sinless man could die.
For sinful man, and bear our sins. And so when Jesus came, he came to the cross. When he entered into the city of Jerusalem that day, Amidst that The hailing of the hallelujahs. He came presenting himself. and preparing himself.
To die on the cross. He is the sin. bearer.
Now, do you still carry your sin? Or Have you allowed the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? To take your sin away. Because Jesus is our sin-bearer. He came to take away our sins.
In Him, we have been cleansed, changed, covered by His grace. All of our sins. are forgiven. What does 1 John tell us? By the blood of Jesus Christ.
He forgives us of all of our sins. The past really is the past. Our future truly is secure in heaven. We live today with peace and purpose in our hearts. There is joy for the journey, there is life.
Every single day we have been saved from hell and we are on our way to heaven. We are right with God because Jesus is our sin bearer. The sinless one has taken our sins and removed them as far as the East is from the West. That's why Jesus came. He came to be our sin-bearer, but there's another reason that Jesus came, not only the bearer.
of my sins, but he came to be the breaker of my chains. Look at 1 John chapter 3 and verse 8. And once again, at the end of that verse, he tells us why Jesus came. The reason the Son of God appeared, same word. was to destroy The works of the devil.
Now, every person because of sin is in the grip of Satan. Sin devastates us in two ways. Not only does it make us guilty before God and therefore condemned in our sin before a holy God, but sin enslaves us. in habits and addictions and lifestyles. That not only dishonor God and defame his name, but destroy our own lives.
Sin enslaves, and therefore, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. to set us free not only from the penalty of sin, but from the very power of sin. Jesus liberates us for life. from the guilt, from the slavery. of sin, and this is something we can never do ourselves.
Not by any self-improvement method or technique. Not by personal willpower. But by the power of Jesus Christ, we are set. Free. The scripture tells us that he reversed the curse.
Restored what was lost when mankind sinned. When Jesus died, he destroyed the power of sin and Satan. At the cross, Satan did his very best to destroy Jesus and his mission on earth. In fact, in the Garden of Eden, When Judas was about to turn Christ over to the authorities, to the Roman authorities, Jesus said in Luke 22 and verse 53, that this is your hour. And then he spoke of the power of darkness.
The power of darkness that invaded The light. of his truth and of his love. Yet on the cross Jesus died, and when he died, he defeated All that Satan had tried to do. Not only to man, but to the God-man. And as a result of his cross, He demolished the works of the devil.
And therefore, our hearts can be transformed. And he sets the captive free. He emancipates us. He gives us power to overcome sinful habits, and addictions, and behavior, and lifestyle that is so destructive. Jesus called Satan a liar and a murderer, and his weapon is deception, the lie.
Now, Jesus is the truth, and because Christ is the truth, he has destroyed Satan and exposed his lies and removed the power of sin. We now have freedom. Christ. We've been set free. In Hebrews 2 verse 14, since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things.
That through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the the devil. And deliver all of those who, through fear of death, were subject to lifelong slavery. The fear of death. The final enemy. terrorizes and and enslaves us in fear.
But because of what Christ has done at the cross and the power of his resurrection, he has defeated death and the chains. that bind us. We are free. Aren't you ready to be changed and breathe the new life, the air of new life in Jesus Christ? I've got good news for you.
You can break free and you can break through in your life because Jesus not only has given his life for you. for us. He has given his life to us. And we are free. Indeed.
You shall know the truth. And the truth. Shall set you free. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message. Life according to Jesus.
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Are you feeling tired? frustrated and spiritually dry? Maybe you're wondering if there's more to your walk with Jesus than just trying harder. there is. That's the encouraging truth Pastor Jack Graham shares in his book, Powering Up.
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Now, let's get back to today's message, life according to Jesus. Jesus is the bearer of my sins. My sin Bearer. He is not only my sin-bearer, he is. The breaker of my chains.
But not only that Jesus is the lover. my soul. That's why he came. Look at 1 John chapter 4 and verse 10. In this is love.
Not that we have loved God, but that he loved us. and sent his son to be the propitiation. For our Sense. What does it mean? That this love Brought about the propitiation of our sin.
The word propitiation is a word which means, if I could just simplify it, satisfied. You see, God's holiness. His righteousness based upon the law and the commandments must be satisfied, must be Fulfilled.
So how can a holy God who cannot even look at sin, who is of pure eyes than to behold iniquity according to the scripture, how can God who is holy forgive sinful man? He did it by Propitiation, and that's a big word, but it simply means that God provided a substitute. Just as we're taught and conditioned in the Old Testament of the substitutionary sacrifices and propitiation and atonement of sins as they brought animals, bulls, and sheep and the like for a sacrifice, there came to this earth the ultimate sacrifice, the Lord Jesus himself, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. And because of this propitiation, now God and man can walk together heart to heart, hand in hand. And therefore he is the lover of my soul.
We have received this love. God is love. You didn't gain anything. You didn't do anything to get this love. You can't do anything to keep God from loving you because God is love.
He is infinite love. I've loved you with an everlasting love. Before time began, God loved you. Before you were born, God loved you. Before he made the mountains and set the stars in place and the courses of the planet, God loved you.
We love him because he first loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation of our sins. He satisfied the demands of holiness with his righteous love. He's the lover. of my soul. Romans 5:8, God demonstrated his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The meaning of the cross, the message of the cross, is propitiation, it is substitution, it is sacrifice, because He loved me. He paid the highest price possible to give me the greatest gift possible, which is forgiveness and eternal life. Paul said in Galatians 2.20, his love. He loved me, rather, and gave himself for me. This love should be returned.
As we respond with loving faith and give him our hearts. And you know, the more we contemplate his love... The more we consider his cross, As we survey the cross in this wondrous love, the more We love him. And if you don't love Jesus the way you ought to love Jesus. If you're not this hour experiencing a passionate, emotional, heartfelt love, For the Lord Jesus, I can tell you exactly what you need to do.
You need to get a place alone and get on your knees. And once again, consider the cross and remember what Christ has done for you. how much he has loved you. how he first loved you when you were unlovable and even unlikable. What we need to do is to get in the presence of God and to let Him love us and let His love fill our souls and that love will flow back in praise and adoration and loving commitment to Him.
We never get over his love. We will never forget the reality of his love. Jesus is. The bearer of our sins. Jesus is the breaker of our chains.
Jesus is the lover of our souls. And Jesus is the maker of our lives. Look at 1 John 4 and verse 9. This is why he came. In this, the love of God was made manifest.
There's the same word again. He wasn't a phantom, he really came. And this is why he came, that God sent his only son into the world, that we may have life, that we may live through him. He said, I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. Our greatest need is life.
Why? Because sin brought death, and the wages of sin is death, spiritual death. Ultimately, the second death, eternal separation from God in hell and in judgment forever.
Now, I know it's not polite to talk about death. in sophisticated company. I mean, if you want to clear a room at a party, just start talking about death. But Jesus came to take away the fear. He said in John 11, I am the resurrection and the life, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
He came to give us eternal life. And while we will die physically if Christ does not come in our lifetimes, we will live eternally because He has given us life. And eternal life is in His Son, and it begins right now. You don't have to wait to heaven. In fact, until you get to heaven to find out if you have eternal life, it will be too late then.
You can know eternal life today. Jesus said this is eternal life in John 17 and that is to believe. To know the Father and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We can have it right now. And our life transcends death as we are instantaneously transferred from this old life and these old bodies that are declining and deteriorating into a brand new life.
I know that I'm going to heaven, not because of what I've done, but because. He is the maker of my life. He is the giver of my life. And that life is eternal. And people are only prepared to live when they are prepared to die by receiving Jesus as Lord and life.
Savior and God.
So Jesus came. Jesus is. The bearer of my sins. The breaker of my chase. the lover of my soul.
The maker, the giver of my life, and finally, he is. The Savior of my heart. 1 John 4, 14. And we have seen and testified that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior. The Saviour of the world.
Why a Savior? Because that was our greatest need. to be saved. In fact, if I could just Summarize the Bible in two words. All of the message of the Bible in two words, it would be these two words.
Jesus. saves. He said. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. He came to be our Savior.
That salvation Which means the forgiveness of sin, that Christ comes to live in us, that we have a hope and a future in heaven for Him, is promised and provided in Christ and Christ alone. That is the witness. of the scriptures, the testimony of believers. Peter said it in Acts 4:12, that there is no other name given among men by which we can be saved, must be saved, but the name of Jesus. In Jesus only are we saved, and He is able to save all who come to Him.
I said he is able to save all. Who come to him. And his salvation is made possible because of what he has done for us to everyone. His love and his grace invite everyone. And I reject.
totally and completely any idea. Or any theological concept or structure that says Jesus only died for the elect or the select. I often ask some of my friends who believe this kind of theology. If that is true, what does the Bible mean in 1 John 2, 2 when it says he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also the sins of the whole world? Jesus died for all.
His blood was poured out for everyone. And anyone. Certainly, we know that God is sovereign, that God strategically draws unto himself. We know that God has by his grace elected unto salvation those who believe. But we must maintain balance between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility.
And I am confident as I read the Bible, according to 2 Corinthians 5:15, he died for all. As the scripture says, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should. Come to repentance. That whosoever will May come. And as the old gospel song says it so well, whosoever will.
Surely. means me. He is the Savior of all who will come to him. And he has brought you to this place today. That you may know him and love him and follow him.
Why? Because he is. the bearer of our sins. The breaker of our chains. The lover of our souls.
The maker of our lives. and the Savior. of our hearts. The Father sent the Son. to be the same.
of the world. You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message. Life According to Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, God empowers you to love when it's hard, forgive when it hurts, and persevere when you're worn out. He equips you to live with joy, peace, and boldness no matter what circumstances you face.
in his insightful book Powering Up, Pastor Jack Graham shares how you can live the life God intends for you. We want to send you a copy of Powering Up as a thanks for your gift of $10 or more. To request your copy of Powering Up, just text Power to 59789. We are incredibly excited to share that we have a new way to connect with PowerPoint. We've just launched a brand new texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here.
Imagine getting all the latest news, inspiring devotionals, and helpful reminders for the Bible in the Year podcast, all delivered right to your phone. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting Connect to 59-789. You'll receive a reply back, and that will add you to our text group. Just text Connect to 59789.
Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?
Well, our PowerPoint today is really the point of all points. Jesus came to earth to be our Savior and our God, to be the Lord of our lives. And why do we need a Savior? Because we have sinned and broken God's commandments. We are lost without God and without hope.
We desperately need a Savior. And Jesus is our Savior. That's the message of the Bible.
Now, I know it's not really popular today to talk about people being lost and people sinning. No one seems to really want to hear that today, but it is a fact that we have all broken God's commandments, we have all sinned against God, and we cannot save ourselves. The Bible tells us: if you could just really reduce the message of the Bible to two simple words, it would be this: Jesus saves.
Now listen to that. Jesus saves, because that is the message of the faith. That is the message of the Word of God. The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. And this salvation is promised and provided in Christ and Christ alone.
Acts four twelve puts it this way And there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Now this salvation is possible for everyone. No one is excluded. Jesus didn't die just for People like you and me. He died for all. Jesus came to be the Savior of the world, and God's desire is that no one would perish, that every man, woman, boy, and girl would be saved.
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Listen to Romans 10.9. The Scripture says, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
So Why don't you confess Christ today? Right now, where you are, invite Jesus into your life by confessing Him as your Lord and Savior and asking Him to come into your life. Pray a prayer like this: Lord Jesus, I do believe. I receive you as my Lord and my Saviour. Forgive me of all my sin.
change my heart. Live in me. And may I know that I'm going to heaven because of what you have done for me. Pray and invite Christ into your life, and I promise you he will hear your prayer. and welcome you into his eternal kingdom.
You can be saved. You can be forgiven. Christ will live in you and you will have an eternal hope in heaven. And if you're praying that prayer today and receiving Christ into your life, then I want to tell you that's the greatest decision you could ever make. And that is today's PowerPoint.
Remember when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Powering Up as Our Thanks. Just text the word Power to 59789. And join us again next time when Dr. Graham brings a message about how to build your life on the truth of God's Word.
That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
