Now THIS is exciting!

 

“If coming to know Christ is the greatest thing that has happened to you, it only makes sense that the greatest thing you can do for someone else is to introduce them to Him.”  Bill Bright 

Did you watch Sunday’s Super Bowl? It was a nailbiter, particularly if you were a Chiefs or Eagles fan. In the nearly seventy Super Bowls only about a dozen have been close like Sunday night’s game. 

  Can you imagine though if after the Chiefs win that there is no confetti, no party streamers, and no presentation of the Lombardi trophy? Kansas City had something like half a million fans lining the parade route last  Tuesday to welcome the victors home. But what if there had been no victory parade, no celebration…nothing?

  What gets you excited? What news do you find that you just have to share? Do you share with everyone when your team wins? Or, when you graduated from high school or college? How about when you got engaged? Or, had your first child? Everybody gets excited about something, right? So what is it that does that for you? When we’re excited, we have to share it.

  Many years ago we had a woman attending our church who was given a terminal cancer diagnosis. Her doctor told her, “Just go home and prepare your will…your terminal.” I’ll never forget my conversation with her later. What could I say?

  Fortunately, she got a second opinion, and what the first doctor diagnosed as terminal cancer, turned out to be cysts which though serious, were safely surgically removed with no further complications. Do you think that she was excited? Do you think that she had to share her good news with everyone? You better believe it!

  As Christians, we have much better news, the greatest news. Prior to salvation, we were doomed to a Christless eternity. Now we’re forgiven but not just for the sin we committed in the past but for every sin that we will commit in the future. We have a new Father and a new family, one that is so huge it will fill all of heaven. We will never be alone ever again. Jesus has promised to always be with us. We have a new citizenship and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We’re given a new nature so we desire things that are good and wonderful and have eternal value. We even have a new body awaiting us. And the list goes on and on and on.   

  What we have is better than winning the Super Bowl, the World Cup, the World Series, the Stanley Cup, the Mega Lottery all rolled into one, plus so much more. All of those things are only for this life, yet salvation is for all eternity. Redemption is the best thing that will ever happen to any of us.

  Those words from Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade, have echoed in my heart since I read them a few weeks ago. What a powerful insight! “If coming to know Christ is the greatest thing that has happened to you, it only makes sense that the greatest thing you can do for someone else is to introduce them to Him.”

  Sadly think about all of the things that we talk about BUT Jesus. I’m not talking about being some religious nut. The last thing a lost world needs is another religious wacko. Yet our world desperately needs those who are born-again to share the gospel. The gospel is this world’s only hope.

  Today we’re celebrating our 5^th Anniversary in this building. We built this building as a tool. We built it to be a place where believers can get a bigger view of our awesome God as we study God’s Word together so they leave here to share Him with all those they come in contact with. We want it to attract those who haven’t yet met the Lord Jesus so that we can introduce them to our Savior. As a church family, we want to be Jesus’ PR people.

  African-American pastor, E.V. Hill, pastored Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in L.A. for over forty years. One of his most well-known sermons was entitled: When is God at His Best?

  He began his message by referring to the book of Genesis. He talked about creation and described what happened during those first seven days in such amazing detail. Then he said, “This was amazing. It was powerful—but it wasn’t God at His best.” He turned to Exodus and talked about how God delivered the Hebrew people from bondage. He described the plagues, miracles, and the parting of the Red Sea, and again, Hill said, “This was powerful and amazing but it wasn’t God at His best.” He followed this same line of reasoning with the birth of Christ, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. Each time he’d say, “This was powerful and amazing but it wasn’t God at His best.” So when is God at His best? At the end of his sermon, Pastor Hill finally answered that question:

  But God is at his best when he saves lost souls. Would you like for me to tell you when He was at His best? It isn't even in the Bible. God was at His best nearly 51 years ago, with a little country boy, whose mother couldn't make enough money to feed him, and who some people in the country helped raise. At 11 years old, walking down Grandma Jodi's lane, this great, big, old God came all the way down and got right into my heart. Then He got up in my head. Then He got all over me. I didn't know what was happening to me; I didn't understand it. I had to go home and tell Mamma about my experience. She said, "I think God has saved you, boy."

  That is God at his best — when He saved me. When He — the great God of the universe — came all the way down and got into the heart and spirit of an 11 year old boy. Every time He saves a lost soul, that's God at His best. Not the moon and stars. Not the hills and mountains. Not the trees and valleys. Not the rivers and lakes and oceans. But God picking up a drunkard and making him a preacher, picking up a prostitute and making her a singer, picking up people down and out and putting them on their feet, causing us to stand and say, "Glory, He saved me. I'm saved."

  That's God, the Savior, at His best. God is at His best when He's saving. I am but a wretch. It took a miracle to put that sun in place. It took a miracle to put the moon in space. But when He saved my soul, cleansed and made me whole, that was God at His best.”

  At Grace Church, we’re committed to being part of God at His best! That’s what must excite us! We’re committed to sharing with those around us how they can be part of God at His best! Our DNA is sharing how others can meet our Savior so they too can experience God at His best! 

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.