The Gospel Message – Part 1

Peers and grandma wants you cannot come to God on your own terms. Right you come to God the way he says you don't come and he says you must come through a blood sacrifice.

Not just any blood sacrifice, but the sacrifice of his son Jesus on the cross you listening to Nan Graham lots Bible teacher for this weekly addition of living in the light and her message today from Genesis chapter 5 titled the gospel message from the metaphor of track and field and reminds us of the baton, which is the gospel message. When we are to pass along in this race of life peers and with today's message is exciting is in track and field, I think, is the 4 x 100 relay race and I'm going to try to describe it to you without messing it out, but that really raises only a quarter-mile long. I didn't realize how you they ran as quickly, but that got the measurements and it's only about 1/4 of a mile long and is made up of four segments, each team has four runners in each one of those runners runs one of those segments and when the first runner is in the starting box and when the gun goes off then that runner just explodes out of the starting blocks and is clutching a baton and he runs his segment on the race and when he comes in the second part of the second is already in motion and the first runner passes the baton to the second runner the second runner grasp at the time he runs his segment he comes in third on who's already in motion.

He passes the baton dam and so on until the race is run so the team that wins the race is not only the team that runs the swiftest but the team that passes the baton. The smoothest, because if you Bible lets you lose precious seconds. If you drop it you disqualified. So it's an exciting race to watch and maybe the most exciting of the 4 x 100 relay races ever in Olympic history took place in 1936 at the Olympics in Berlin.

It was at the height of the Nazi Germany era out of Hitler himself presided over the Olympics and over the games and so the crowd is filled with Nazis and Germans are Core System people that come from around the world watching the American team as forerunners from my understanding I can remember is the day before two days before two of the runners were removed from the race and the word has it that is because they were Jewish, and so to other American runners were put on that relay team that had not been practicing with a relay team.

One of them was Jesse Owens and had already won three gold medals about Olympics.

So this race took place in front of a packed out stadium with out of Hitler residing over filled with hostility.

They hated Americans and after that scores out of Hitler refused to receive him even though he greeted all the other gold medal winners and Jesse said that didn't hurt as much as it did when he came home and Pres. Roosevelt refused receiving so he had incredible career. He died in 1980, but before he died he gave his life to Christ.

As I understand it, so I can't wait to go to heaven and tell Jesse I are in the race of life currently and we have our segment and where to pass the baton to the next generation. And it's the baton of truth, but I want to make it more specific than that and presented to you as the baton of the gospel and that you are not receive the gospel from whoever went before Sue ever passed it to you.

We receive the gospel for ourselves and then we are responsible for passing the baton of the gospel to somebody else and specifically will challenge you to pass it to someone in the next generation so the baton is the gospel and I want to take you back to the starting blocks okay. I want to take you back to the very beginning of this race and if you turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 5 I want to go back and just refresh you as to what's taken place in chapters 1, two and three. Okay, I know you know it, but just to set the stage and in Genesis chapter 1 in the beginning God created everything right. There was nothing creative that he didn't create. He made everything and day by day by day until the sixth day. It says that God created man in his own image and that means that God created man with the capacity to know him in a personal relationship. That's what sets us apart from the animals that you know that we can share different body parts, but human beings, human people have the capacity to know their creator in a personal relation and so that's chapter 1 menu come the chapter in chapter 1 is like a telescopic view of creation. Chapter 2 is more like a microscopic view just zeros right down on creation of man itself and gives us more details and we find that when God created man, he created him of the dust of the ground. He breathed his own life into him and man became a living person and then God created Eve from man.

He gave Eve the woman to man and that was the first couple, Adam and Eve.

So Adam and Eve in chapter 2 lived in the garden of Eden. They lived in the presence of God. Think about they knew God face-to-face. They knew the sound of his voice. They knew the touch of his hand. They saw the light in his eyes when he saw them, they saw the expression on his face when he was talking a knew what it was to know his strength and wisdom is a work side-by-side with them and they knew God in a personal relationship. Hands down, no doubt about it. God was alive. God was real, present in their lives and they knew him as a living person that was paradise that was the garden of anything menu come to chapter 3 and the devil disguised the some old serpents like it must've been something beautiful. I think it would freak Eve out. But anyway come slithering often talks to her in either all the animals talk better. She was so integrated she did know they didn't because she didn't flinch from this like Dr. and he said you know they have God sadden tempted her to disobey what God said and rejected God rebel against God. She did and she led her husband Adam to do the same. And when they disobeyed God that I don't know if they were clothed in garments of light or what it was but suddenly they knew they were not good and they ran into the bushes and try to have themselves with fig leaves trying to hide from God in their guilt and their shame in God, who so loved his children search them out to wasn't going to leave them cowering in their sin and say comes and he searches them out and he does several things.

One of the things he does.

He makes them confess with them done and they blamed others, but he still have them. You put it out on the table and then God pronounced judgment on them, including the snake, but he pronounced judgment on Adam and Eve and we will go into the specifics and then he killed an animal and he clothed them in the skins of the wild animal to cover them in their sin and their shame, teaching them, listen to me that in order to cover themselves before God, but had to be shipped so Genesis doesn't teach us all the details of that, but that lays down the premise that without the shedding of blood is no remission of sin.

There's no carbon before God. There's no hiding place. I and so they were covered in the skins of an animal blood had to be shipped so they could be covered and then God remove them from the garden of Eden. But an angel there with the sword that turned every which way so they couldn't come back and eat of the tree of life in their forever in their sin if you thought about that just for their own protection. He did let them come back in, but they were separated from the presence of God but God before he drove them out.

He gave him a promise and he said they would come a seed of the woman who would crush the serpent's head meeting that he would destroy the power of Satan once and for all. But in the process, his heel would be bruised. He would be wounded, and it's a beautiful prophecy sort of obscure actually, but of the Redeemer who would come, the Savior, the Messiah, even our Lord Jesus Christ. He would come and destroy the power of Satan through his cross through his own death through his racket resurrection but in the process, his heel would be bruised and he would be wounded at the cross. So as out a prophecy of the sea become a Savior who would come take away their sin and bring them back in a right relationship with God so they were driven from the presence of God without hope in their hearts that promise to cling to in the knowledge that they had known God face-to-face, and that the starting blocks.

That's where the race begin that the gospel that they could know God in a personal relationship and they could come back into God's presence through blood sacrifice and that there is a God to know he loves you, and you must have a personal relationship with you and blood is necessary for you to come into his presence. And that's the gospel as they received it face-to-face from God himself and are driven from the garden. From the moment they stepped out of the garden for the rest of their lives that they would gripping the baton of the gospel. But now, having received it face-to-face. It would be relayed face to face.

I sing gospel but now it's going to be relayed. Face to face, and so we see it. First of all, requiring a deep conviction of the truth had to be convinced of the truth and they were. You could never tell Adam and Eve that there wasn't a God, you could never tell Adam and Eve that you can know him in a personal way. You could never tell them that he didn't love them. You could never tell them that the blood wasn't necessary that there are other ways to God. They knew right then receive the gospel face-to-face, but now there are driven from the garden and Adam and Eve have three sons, Cain and Abel and Seth to set aside sets for moments and just look at Cain and Abel came as their firstborn, and Cain rejected the gospel baton. He didn't receive it and I don't know why because I think he had the same testimony in a home that Abel had he had the same witness but he rejected the God and God said you had to come to blood sacrifice. Cain said you know I want to come to God for my own good works, probably God, not best in my best not to be good enough for him. I'm not going to come the way God says I'm going to come the way I want and that was his attitude so he didn't come back to God. The way God said and Cain was an interesting person.

He built an incredible civilization. His descendents were known as builders and artisans and musicians.

In fact, the Wall Street Journal, at one point said that it could be the long lost golden age of Atlanta's and so they were incredible society, but they were godless Abel on the other hand received that baton of the gospel and I don't know why, except of example within the home. But Cain had the same example. So it just shows that you are what you are by your own choice right. They both have the witness of their parents. They both knew what their parents and told them about the garden of Eden. They both knew that from what their parents said that God is real, that you can come back to God through blood sacrifice. Cain rejected it. Abel accepted it and so Abel brought to God a sacrifice of blood sacrifice in an God received a sacrifice able you that he come into a right relationship with God so they both had the witness at home, but Abel received it, and Cain rejected it. Some just wondering maybe just to take you back for moment who first told you about the cross, who first told you that there is a God up in heaven and that he loves you, and that he sent his son Jesus to die for you that when you come to him to the way of the cross that you can come under personal right relationship with God. Can you remember who passed the baton of the gospel to you this. Take a minute thank God for that person. And for me it was within my home and mother and daddy.

Of course in my grandparents had told me about Jesus. But the interesting thing was I was watching a movie on television. That was a betrayal of the life of Christ was on a good Friday. I can remember the year was when I was seven, eight or nine years of age, came to the cross and I knew that Jesus said that for me. I knew I was a sinner somehow adjusts you know God the Holy Spirit worked in my heart and and I asked Jesus to be my Savior and I put my faith in him and I came into that personal right relationship in came the way he requires you, you cannot come to God on your own terms right you come to God the way he says you don't come and he says you must come through a blood sacrifice. Not just any blood sacrifice, but the sacrifice of his son Jesus on the cross. Next, the gospel and are you convinced of the truth of it.

You know that you know that the gospel is for real. God is there God large you got is reach down to you in the person of Jesus Christ you received them by faith and you know your convinced of the truth of the gospel and in that case and Abel's case.

Not only was he convinced of the truth of analogy to receive it.

But now he had to have the courage to stand up for those conviction because he brought his blood sacrifice to God and got accepted. It, and Cain brought the fruit of his hands and what he had done and God didn't acceptance and Cain got into a royal rage.

He was angry with God for not accepting his God sought them out shows how much God loved Cain he came to Keynes it came, sin is crouching at your door. You're getting ready to self-destruct. You must come to me the way I say you must come to me through blood sacrifice and Cain just went off and he was. He refused. So he called his brother out of the field and he must've had a big argument and Abel stood by his convictions. He did not back down and I'm just reading into it a little bit but I believe that's obvious because of what happened next. Cain killed Abel so right there in the very first generation we have and we can put it this way, the first martyr person who actually gave his life for the sake of the gospel and he could have said oh my goodness, Cain.

I'm so sorry. You know this is necessary and this is the way our worship and you worship in a different way and you can come to got into it, but Abel must've stood up to and said this is what God says not what I say you have to come to into a blood sacrifice in so Cain took his life. Hebrews 11 for says by faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did by faith. He was commended as a righteous man.

When God spoke well of his offering, and by faith he still speaks. Even though he is dead. So what does Abel speak even though he's there and I thought about that and I think one of the things is that you have to have courage to stand by your convictions.

You have to have the courage to speak out about what you believe, even if you rejected by those within your own family even though it provokes persecution even if it requires the ultimate price of your life. Abel still speaks.

Even though, is that the gospel is worth living for, and the gospel is worth dying for, and we see that it Abel's powerful testimony and I believe that set the stage for generations to come and were going to look at some of these generations.

In chapter 5, but Abel just laid down the gauntlet. This is what it takes. This is the gospel is true, you receive it and you cling to it and you're going to run with it, but you must be convinced of the truth to the point that you have the courage to back up those convictions with your very life's a powerful witness and I want to point out that Abel was single. He was married. If you have any children but I believe that he passed his face.

He passed the baton of the gospel to his younger brother Seth.

Seth was born after Abel died, but Abel still spoke. Even though his dad remember what Hebrews said, and I believe Seth occurred that witness loud and clear.

He heard yes from his parents, but he also knew that his older brother given his life for the sake of the gospel and I think it greatly impacted Seth and so I just want to point out that Abel passed the baton of the gospel to the next generation. But it wasn't his physical child who's in the next generation that you can think of and pinpoint.

Maybe it's a niece or nephew or neighbor's child or someone in your Sunday school class or someone in the classroom in front of you are, you know children that you meet in other places and he doesn't even have to be the younger generation just somebody else, God puts on your heart. And Abel is a single person gave his life for what he believed, but I believe that's what impacted Seth to take that baton of the gospel for himself and Seth doesn't say anything so I'm reading into that but I know he received the baton of the gospel because he's recorded in Genesis chapter 5 in Genesis chapter 5 is a unique genealogy that records the remnants of those who receive that baton of the gospel and pass it to the next generation. And Adam is included in this genealogy, whereas in chapter 4 Keynes genealogy lists and manage some of their accomplishments and they were very interesting. They were from very progressive and it was an incredible civilization. But it was without God and so God doesn't record the years of their life and atoms not included in that genealogy. He's included in the one in chapter 5 because this is a spiritual remnants. These are the men of faith from generation to generation to generation to the years of their lives are carefully recorded because they mean something once in chapter 4 were all wasted is just like a nevermind and so God now is zeroing in on these men in chapter 5, and we see that not only are they convinced of the truth of the gospel, nor do they have the courage to stand up for it, but now they're going to live it out and they live out their commitment of the gospel and they live it out in a wicked world and if you look over in chapter 6, verse five. This describes the world that these men in chapter 5 are living in the Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time so the civilization these men are living in was one that was absolutely hostile to the gospel God in this wicked evil like our day you look at our culture a look at our world, and I wonder, can it get any worse. It just seems that were saturated in immorality and evil and deception and wickedness at every level and every corner every area.

Even within the church and can it get any worse, and sometimes we think is so bad it's too bad. How can I raise godly children baton of the gospel to the next generation so there convinced of the truth of it and they run the race with integrity and purity and cannot do it is to our but it can't be any harder today than it was for them in that cane civilization.

The thing that makes it so hard today is a social media all the things that are slow to parents today. But God is still God and the gospel still has power to change live so these 10 men in chapter 5 are recorded for all eternity as men who took that baton of the gospel in the past of the next generation surrounded by like a Nazi arena. You know people that hated them were hostile to them hated the things of God, godless, and yet they did it and that remnants of faith was preserved. So the first I want to pick up is fiendish hey had some strange names in this genealogy.

I'll tell you that. Let me just go to chapter 5, verse one. This is the written account of Adams line, when God created man, he made them in the likeness of God.

That means is that capacity to know God in a personal relationship, he created them male and female just get back would you be say that very clearly in chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 5 he created them male and female he doesn't make mistakes. He blessed them, and when they were created. He called the man when Adam and Linda hundred and 30 years. They had a son in his own likeness and what that means not only creating the image of God with the capacity to know God in a personal relationship.now with the sin nature. So in Adams likeness every child born after Adam is born with this image of a disease of sin.

So even before you commit a sin, you have the tendency to sin, because were all sinners, we have that disease of sin that's to be created in the likeness of Adam. He had a son in his own image. She named him Seth after Seth was born Adam lived 800 years that other sons and daughters. Don't worry about all these long years, you know, before the flood. These people lived a very long time and I think it was one of God's ways of just enabling the population to increase but they only belong down before the pollution and then environmental issues and the disease is in such so when 705 years he became the father of English, and we know nothing of English from chapter 5. So go back up to chapter 4 verse 26. Seth also had a son any negative Danish at that time, men began to call on the name of the Lord and that doesn't mean they were just reciting the names of God. It means they were calling on the names of the they were worshiping God as he reveals himself to be through his name to worshiping God is the Almighty.

The all-powerful worshiping God is Elohim, the creator of all things. Worshiping God is Jehovah. The personal God and just whatever his name was worshiping him and his character as it was revealed through his name so it was worship of God worth ship attributing to God through their praise and worship, but also through their obedience and through their seeking out of God and their desire to please him and Danish obviously made the commitment to worship God think they were following his example. So what caused fiendish to worship God. When nobody in the civilization was doing that what caused him to receive that baton of the gospel and pass it on to others and reading in the business, but of course I think it was example, he saw his home. I think it's what he saw from Seth and what set the scene from enabling what people got from his parents. So I think it was something just the reality of faith and worship that he saw was in his home environment. I wonder also if it's because of what he saw in cane because came to still be alive and finishes lifetime so cane would've been his uncle and cane was a bitter mean, angry person he he wondered.

He never had PC never had purposely built a very interesting progressive society.

But he was never happy. You know somebody like that somebody is rejected God. But you see up close and personal. And maybe they're wealthy maybe they're successful, maybe a lot of people know their name and under somebody you look in their eyes and their hollow and they have no joy, no peace, no happiness and you think yourself. I want to be like that and I think that was Beamish looking at his uncle came to want to be like that and seeing his father. In contrast, his father, the testimony of his uncle able his grandparents, Adam and Eve and I believe the English learn to worship within the home.

Where did you learn to worship God attribute worse to God by just lifting your heart and praise, but also living your life in obedience to him so that your will you live your life is an act of worship. When you step out from behind your parents shadow and make their faith your own if that's a decision you're making. Today we want to hear from you, to encourage and pray with you.

Take advantage of the free resources to help you in your walk of faith in christ@engramlots.org. Thank you for joining us today for living in the light featuring the Bible teaching message of engram was