The Temporary Solution

If you pay even a cursory attention to the news you are bombarded by the fact that the national debt is in a crisis mode and I don't have to be an economist to know that if making $10,000 in, hundred thousand dollars in debt that I'm sunk. If I owe more than that in the toast. So imagine if our million dollars and I'm still making $10,000. What I mean. I can even have word to describe that it's hopeless, but I'm sure he did not get out of bed this morning so I can give you a lesson in economy and economics because that is far from my field, but I am an expert in spiritual economics. I know biblical economics 101 and that's what I want to talk to about today because the Bible is very clear. Every human being is ever born. Except one was born with a huge debt around the neck and it is indescribable when each one of my beautiful grandchildren were born there will born written on their foreheads always an eternal death that can never be repaid by them.

If each one of my wonderful grandchildren would work hard, doing good things. From the moment they're born for the rest of their lives they could never pay that spiritual debt and we inherited this debt because of Adam and Eve's decision, it became our debt. It should become part of who we are we born with it again just take that example of making $10,000 a year and owing $1 million and I can work for the rest of my life and I would not even make a dent right unless unless what it is God of this hypothetical example.

I'm giving the word on this is so beautiful it really is is a great word release gives me hope unless somebody who's far richer than me sells their assets and pay my debt that that's biblical economics 101.

The Bible said each one of us are born with a debt of sin and the price tag for that debt of sin by which we are born is a term of judgment. There is no way out. There is no way of paying it back. There is no way of borrowing from someone to pay back that that there is no amount of hard work, good work ingenuity that can take care of that death either was Martin Luther, the great reformer who can always put things in an amazing way. He said of hard work can get people to heaven than horses and donkeys will be at the front of the line. If you read anything about England in the 1700s. If you read any of of Dickens books you read about this debtor's prisons that people who owed money and cannot pay go to that prison. It was a hopeless condition was desperate situation and that many of the people who ended up in these debtor's prisons.

They lived and they died in those present unless it is a beautiful word again unless unless somebody sacrifices to pay their debt and set them free. Otherwise, it's hopeless. And today we see so many people particular the movie stars and the famous singers and all those people who are trying to ease the pain of their feelings of indebtedness with which they born by doing a lot of good works and charitable works. And that's why that the Hollywood community consumes more drugs than anybody else. Why that empty feeling that debtor's prison with which they don't know how to deal there is a great deal of difference between a believer serving and giving of themselves because of the debt they feel to God, and they do it out of gratitude out of Thanksgiving for salvation out of gratitude and thanksgiving for what Christ has done. This is a world of difference between that and the nonbelievers who are trying to do things and do charitable works for publicity and to ease that internal pain this and the only person was ever born without the debt of sin is the Lord Jesus Christ and that is why he is the only one who is qualified to pay the debt of everyone who would come to him and asked for that payment to be this limit on this one. This is important will born with the same genes in the same genes keep us in that spiritual debt is prison until we come to the only one who is qualified to pay our debt that set us free. Is he when Jesus hung on the cross and said it is finished, he was saying that I have paid the debt in full for everyone who would receive me as her only Savior and Lord. We have been seeing throughout the series of messages on the greater sly is that when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and try the do-it-yourself religion when they tried always should lead to God the why should the be the one-way syndrome they got themselves and their descendents.

All into trouble and then they try to cover the debts with fig leaves, they tried to come to God in their own way. They try to cover up for their sin. But they failed. And finally, God is the one in his mercy and his grace had to make garments of skin to close their sin and this is the first time in human history. Do we see the first animal sacrifice, bloodshed is mentioned in all of human history.

Today thousands of years later people are still trying to use fig leaves to cover their sin through all sorts of charitable works in human effort than in receiving the applause of men and acceptance of society. But as soon as the fig leaves whether the pain that emptiness the burning conscious set sin. Why, because God is the only one who can provide a covering for all of the sin of all humanity.

God was, is and always will be the only one who could cover the scars of sin we been exploring in the series of messages. The importance of understanding the greater sly because for the first time, at least in modern history. The greater sly is penetrating deep into so-called evangelical churches jumped out of the mainline churches and now it's invading evangelical churches the greater sly which says that there are many ways to God and yet the word of God is so clear there's only one way out of sin and the punishment of sin and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The most innocent lamb of all that Jesus is not just a founder of religion been seeing this, that Christianity is not just a religion among other religions that not all religions are going to lead to God in heaven but rather that the Christian faith, and only the Christian faith declares that God did all that I don't have to do anything to become accepted by God that all of my good and hard work comes after salvation, not before.

And that is all of the serving in all of the giving of ourselves not to get us in God's good side, but rather done in gratitude and thanksgiving for what he has done in effect in the next message.

I'll be talking about grace grace since the Christian faith apart as the only one true faith and therefore when there's only one true faith. All the others a false do you know why God slew a lamb for Adam and Eve in the garden.

Do you know why he did this to provide a covering, but he also was saying that this lamb is pointing to the most innocent lamb of all, the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world. Permanently, the Messiah, my son, who will sacrifice himself in order to permanently forgive and cover the sin of everyone who would come to him the slaughter of that animal was a visual lesson for Adam and Eve. It was a visual reminder to look forward to what God will do in order that he may set their descendents, free from sin that they got us into. And the reason animal sacrifice is practiced almost by every culture, every religion throughout the world for the thousands of years is because it followed from what God did in the garden of Eden as the humanity scattered on the face of the earth, so that their understanding of what God did of what they inherited from the first parents. Nobody had to tell them that it transmitted from the time of Adam and Eve and that is why the message that you and I must take to the ends of the earth across the street and across the world. Is this you don't have to sacrifice animals anymore to be accepted by God that the true Lamb of God came from heaven dawdled across shed his own blood so that he may pay for the wages of the sin of everyone who would come and accept the payment is for the handle it for the Buddhist. It's with a Muslim is for the atheist and is for the agnostic and is not only for the church people slaying of an animal to provide a covering for Adam and Eve's sin was only a temporary basis. That was God's temporary solution and it was a picture of what is to come. It was a shadow of the real thing that is coming in as a visual reminder of the cost of sin. It was an arrow that is pointing the way to the coming of the Lamb of God… That was God's chosen way of doing things could not have done it some other way. Yes, of course, but as a waitress to know it. In fact, God always has one way and only one way of doing things. Did you know that God never gives you a birthday he never offers you a smorgasbord. God always had one plan for salvation. God always is an exclusive and not inclusive. God always says either my way or the highway. Our culture does not apply craft and everyone who tries to twist the words of God. Anyone who tried to put words in God's mouth. They not only bring trouble to themselves will bring trouble on the surroundings everyone.

This is why I don't like this and I don't believe this or I don't accept this or I don't feel this is the right way they are sunk. This even Adam and Eve's descendents, the next generation. The first generation they ran into exactly the same trouble as millions of people run into today. Nothing is changed. We tell you about the question that faced Adam's children was either going to choose to follow God's only way that he has instituted or are they going to try to come to God their way and that was a challenge and believe it or not, Cain and Abel represent all of humanity because one chose to come to God.

God's way and the other one decided that he's going to come to God his way and people are been doing that ever since.

You see when God promised Adam and Eve, the Savior, and he said that he will crush Satan's head.

It was in Genesis where but Adam and Eve did not know when God is going to give them the Savior was going to crush Satan's head right. He didn't tell them there's gonna be thousands of years down the road he just said this is what's gonna happen. And so to their mind. This animal sacrifice is a reminder and forces them and causes them to anticipate the way to look forward to the day when that they come they did not know.

So when their firstborn came they thought he must be the one is going to crush Satan's head.

And so they named him Cain which means here here as attainment. As they thought that he must be the one who does that say that that's promised in Genesis 350, but far from it. Cain refused his parents teaching. He rejected God's plan of salvation. Cain refused to follow God's temporal solution for sin, and so he decided the dogs to be going too fast to just allow one way to come to him and he said to himself.

I know God said to come to him with an animal sacrifice, but I know better.

By the way, that makes Cain the very first Unitarian Universalist member in the world and all of his descendents have been going to churches that believe that all the roads lead to heaven all the ways will lead to God. All religions are equal. God said when you worship me, you come with an animal sacrifice in the shedding of blood of an innocent lamb. Why because the shedding of the blood is a reminder for them to look forward to that day. It is appointed to the coming Messiah in the shedding of his blood on the cross. But what that can do is is I don't like this business of only coming to God one. What I don't like this in tolerance of one way to go. I don't like this business of bigotry in this exclusivity. I don't like this narrowmindedness of only one way I'm going to come to God my way.

I'm gonna offer grain instead of slating an innocent lamb I'm going to do what I think is right and I think of I live right Nevada just be good in Mont Eisen God would have no choice but to accept me. I'm going to tell God what he should have. I'm going to live the way I think is good way to live. In fact, God better listen to me by my angry about this business of coming to God through Jesus Christ.

So much so that I'm going to call every one of his followers.

I want to call them names. I'm going to call them and tell her that I'm not call them to get some gonna call them narrowminded.

I'm gonna call them prejudice. I'm going to call them every name that I can think off now I'm going to eliminate because their very presence condemns me sounds familiar and so came got out and killed his obedient brother able man will offer the sacrifice. The way God said it should be done, so he eliminated his brother who came to God. God's way you see Rome. In Romans a near run emperors there were tolerant people. They really were. There were tolerant of every God that comes down the pike that were tolerant of every religion you got a new God, right, come on then, welcome. The more the merrier. The only thing that really rattled the cage of these pesky Christians who were saying is only one way to God. One way to heaven. One way to salvation, and so light came. They burnt the Christians, they threw them to hungry lions.

Be very careful because that drumbeat of intolerance as it gets louder and louder and louder is going to lead the persecution of Christians in this country. Beloved, listen to me. Don't be surprise when the call you names for the sake of the truth. Don't get bamboozled when they refused to receive your loving kindness. Don't fret when they falsely accuse you of intolerance, don't panic when they exclude you don't get bent out of shape when they tell you that you are narrowminded and out of touch, you keep on loving them, you keep on serving them.

You keep on praying for them. You keep on interceding for them. You keep on reaching out to them you keep on explaining the truth to them.

And just as there was a confusion in the mind of Cain toward his brother able. There's a whole lot of confusion in the mind of those who say yes Jesus is my Savior, but is not the world safe all the religions have their own saviors. They don't fallacy falsehood. Jesus is the only Savior for all of humanity. Cain thought that his brother able was self-righteous and he hated him for that.

He thought that his brother able think that is better than him is not true.

Cain thought his brother Abel is a goody two shoes and Cain thought that he just intolerant of other ways of coming together and so he killed him. He did not understand that all that able was doing, is that he was taking God at his word.

All that able was doing is obeying God all that able was doing is trusting in the word of God. All that able was doing he believed God, but this is an important reminder for all of us will redeem the really is. I'm constantly have to remind myself because it's very hard to imagine how we come across to an unbelieving person we been falsely maligned and therefore the average nonbelievers really think that we are self-righteous. They think we're better than that would not only more intelligent, that we know more. We don't register God at his word and they can to if you want to escape the judgment and that is on the message we have let me remind you again that we all every one of us born with a debt of sin hanging around next and the difference is that we have accepted that payment on the cross to be a payment for us and we need to tell them that they need to come to the only one who can pay their debt. Now think about this message. This week, and in my mind. Harken back to the story that I have read long long time ago, two-story about Lord Collington of Dublin.

It was during one of those tough economic times that Ireland really was renowned for all kinds of famines and all kinds of economic distress until recent times, and so Lord Collington devised a plan in order to teach his tenants who owed him a lot of money in back rent. He wanted to teach them how faith and trust in God's word brings joy and release from guilt and sin and forgiveness and eternal life, and how insistence on one's own way with key people in the debtor's prison. He devised this incredible plan.

He told all of his tenants who owed him a lot of money. Many of them were huge amounts of the way they can pay. He said I will forgive your debt if you come to my office on a certain day prior to 12 noon on the designated day.

He sat in his office and he opened the office door was right open on the street in the morning time. A lot of the tenants came in. They crowded the little Street. They stood outside they were milling about them. They were talking in the think is really gonna mean this is the think you will do this in the and they start talking the whole crowd of but it wouldn't go in. There was a man who was coming running late for some reason in about 11:55.

He comes running in their asking the question walk straight through the door and he said sir, can you give me my receipt Lord Collington asked him he said do you really expect me to forgive you your debt and immensity. Yes sir, because that's what you promised. I do believe me, the man said yes sir, I believe you, you're the man who keeps his word at your reputation and so he asked the man he said are you a good man are you industrious are you a hard-working and the man said the notice said nothing about the answer. So you just believe what I said on your here for your receipt. Is it indeed I answer Lord Collington brought paid in full on the receipt and handed it to him and right at that moment 12 Moonstruck and the man ran into the street where all the debtors were standing there milling around and he cried out, is that I've got it I've got it.

I've got about three when the others saw this, he ran to the office door but it was after 12 o'clock noon and the door was shot beloved. The Bible said now is the acceptable time now is the hour of the open door. The day will come when the door will be shut never to be open again. I have one verse. It motivates everything that I am motivates my goals, my life, everything I do and it was about the time when our entered the ark, 420 years. He preached and he called people to come and enter the ark they wouldn't.

Then he entered with his family in the Bible said, and God shut the door, forwards, and I figure that Noah, being a man in the emotional and if he sees his neighbor suffering in the flood that we would have enough self compassion.

We don't open the door but you see, God is the one who shut the door and if we have a message that we take to every person that we come in contact with come to God before he shuts the door.

Father, I am so overwhelmed that you received me that you open my blind eyes and operating other single person in this room while watching would stand outside in the street milling about in the streets of life and refused to enter in the open door. The father, above all, let our life motive to take as many people through that open door as it is possible, but I confess to you that the reason our Christian walk in our Christian life is limping along the way is because we are focused on all the problems of life and all the needs and we have forsaken the kingdom of God and the righteousness of God in the plight of those who desperately need to hear the gospel. Father I pray in the name of Jesus that you would wake us up before it is too late. We thank you for your mercy. We thank you for your grace and we thank you for your sovereignty and we surrender to you a fresh in Jesus name, amen. Thanks for listening to this message from Dr. Michael. You sat recently featured on leading the way.

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