BROADCASTS.com

Published: April 21, 2015, 2:43 a.m.

Intro: Welcome to Freedom Church!!\xa0 (NEXT Sunday)

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April is an exciting month\u2026 celebrating a new Season.\xa0 (Easter, Baptism, New faces\u2026)

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Thankful today\u2026 that we serve a God who never changes BUT who is always doing NEW things!

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New things in your life as well\u2026(Our Prayer for you)

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Today:\xa0 We are continuing our series \u201cJesus is____\u201d \u2026Where we have been looking at some misconceptions of Jesus and laying out the TRUTH of who Jesus really is!

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\u2026And the fact that discovering Jesus, will completely alter our very existence!

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Recap: We\u2019ve learned that Jesus is ALIVE\u2026 and GRACE.

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Transition:\xa0 Today we are going to look another defining characteristic of Jesus that should be a great comfort to us all\u2026

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Message Title:\xa0 \u201cJesus is a friend of sinners\u201d

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(I can be a neurotic neat freak\u2026 compulsive cleaner\u2026 BUT MY WIFE\u2026 her mom\u2026 HIVES!)

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Most of us do this! Someone is coming over\u2026frantically shoving stuff in drawer\u2019s\u2026 cabinets\u2026 disguising the disorder of our homes. (As if our mess\u2026 will alter the relationship)

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Transition:\xa0 If were honest, we even do this with God.\xa0

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We live with this assumption that until we get our lives in order, God will want nothing to do with us!

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(Break down as you read)

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Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town.\xa02\xa0There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich.\xa03\xa0He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd.\xa0

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4\xa0So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. 5\xa0When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name.\u201cZacchaeus!\u201d\xa0he said.\xa0\u201cQuick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.\u201d

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6\xa0Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.\xa07\xa0But the people were displeased. \u201cHe has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,\u201d they grumbled.

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8\xa0Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, \u201cI will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!\u201d

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9\xa0Jesus responded,\xa0\u201cSalvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.10\xa0For the Son of Mancame to seek and save those who are lost.\u201d Luke 19:1-9 (NLT)

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Transition:\xa0 In this moment with Zaccheaus, Jesus shatters that assumption that we often live with\u2026 That we have to clean up, before God will show up.

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We\u2019ve learned over the past 2 weeks that we cannot earn God\u2019s love.\xa0

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There is no amount of giving, serving, reading, praying, doing\u2026 that can tip the scales in our favor!

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No in fact you will find God consistently trying to open your eyes to the fact that there is no scale!!

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So that is settled.\xa0 Living right, does not make us right.\xa0 Jesus makes us right.

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Transition:\xa0 So Jesus wants a relationship with me, despite all the things I have done and will ever do? Yes!\xa0 Jesus is a friend of sinners!!

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But wait a minute\u2026 what do I do about the sin that I STILL struggle with?

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Do we just keep sinning\u2026 doing whatever we want\u2026 because Jesus loves us?

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No.\xa0 There is a solution to the sin problem in our lives\u2026 but as we live in the tension between what Jesus did for us\u2026 and the sin we still struggle with\u2026 we have to understand some things.

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As a Friend of Sinners, there are 4 things Jesus wants us to know:

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1.\xa0 You are not WHAT YOU DO

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Sin is a big deal.\xa0 Sin controls us.\xa0 Destroys us.

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Rebelling against God\u2019s standards only brings pain, suffering, and ultimately death.\xa0

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It separates us from God. (That is why God hates SIN.)

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\nOh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?\xa0\n\xa0\n25\xa0Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 7:24-25 (NLT)\n\xa0\nOur sin does not DEFINE us, what JESUS defines us. \n

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\nWhen we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.7\xa0Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.\xa08\xa0But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:6-8 (NLT)\n

Our value, identity and purpose were ALL determined\u2026 BEFORE we even met Jesus. And THAT NEVER CHANGES!!

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We all have areas where we are prone to deviate from God\u2019s standards\u2026 THAT is why we need grace\u2026

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When we focus too much on rules (doing right) and not enough on Grace\u2026 we teach people that what they do is more important than who they are.

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2.\xa0 Sin is NOT as POWERFUL as you think.

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\nSo now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.\xa02\xa0And because you belong to him, the powerof the life-giving Spirit has freed youfrom the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 8:1-2 (NLT)\n\xa0\nYou see, when we focus on how strong grace is\u2026 and how the cross took the POWER of sin away\u2026 We will realize how weak sin actually is!\n\xa0\nBut you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you\u202610\xa0And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life\xa0because you have been made right with God.\xa011\xa0The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Romans 8:9-11(NLT)\n

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There is new life pumping through your spiritual veins\u2026 Sin has lost its power!

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Then why does it seem to have such a hold in my life\u2026 Because we are so focused on NOT SINNING\u2026 DOING RIGHT and NOT DOING WRONG\u2026 that we become more and more aware of our sinful nature.

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(Donut \u2013 and weight loss)

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The more you starve the appetite for sin\u2026 the more you don\u2019t want to sin\u2026 the more you realize how weak it is, and how strong God\u2019s spirit is inside of you! (Pornography)

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Jesus sees our sin more clearly than anyone, yet He LOVES us more than anyone.

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What does that tell you about the power of sin?

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We don\u2019t focus on our sin\u2026 to stop sinning.\xa0 We focus on Jesus and His grace and let His spirit teach us a new way to live\u2026 and we will find ourselves struggling with sin less and less.

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3.\xa0 There is a new way to LIVE.

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\u201cIn God\u2019s mind, Jesus\u2019 death on the cross solved the sin problem, and now we can get back to the abundant life God originally created for us.\u201d \u2013 Pastor Judah Smith

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The reality of sin\u2026 reveals that there is an alternative\u2026 a DIFFERENT WAY to live your life!

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But now that you\u2019ve found you don\u2019t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God\u2019s gift is\xa0real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master. Romans 6:22-23 (MSG)

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It\u2019s not change your behavior\u2026 than you can have a relationship with God.

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It\u2019s meet Jesus.\xa0 Surrender to Jesus\u2026 and HIS spirit will lead you into a new way to live!

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Zacchaeus and all his scheming, striving, rule following AND rule breaking\u2026 couldn\u2019t find the new life that He experienced when he met Jesus\u2026 THAT is when his life changed.\xa0

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Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God\u2019s right hand.\xa02\xa0Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.\xa03\xa0For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.\xa04\xa0And when Christ, who is yourlife, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

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\n5\xa0So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don\u2019t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.\xa06\xa0Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.\xa07\xa0You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.\xa08\xa0But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.9\xa0Don\u2019t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.\xa0\n\xa0\n10\xa0Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.\xa011\xa0In this new life, it doesn\u2019t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Colossians 3:1-11 (NLT)\n

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4.\xa0 Our sinful world needs more FRIENDS and less JUDGES.

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The other 3 deal with us\u2026 This one deals with how we approach the world around us.\xa0

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Just like there is this tendency to think we have to get our lives in order BEFORE God wants anything to do with us\u2026 We can very easily slip into this mindset when it comes to the people around us.

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(The Church and Grace AND Truth) \u2013 The truth part gave people the right to focus on the sin in other peoples lives.

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They are both personified in Jesus.\xa0 We just need more Jesus. And Jesus saw people\u2026 not sin.

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\n\u201cFor this is how God loved the world: He gavehis one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.\xa0John 3:16 (NLT)\n17\xa0God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 (NLT)\n\xa0\n(The woman caught in adultery\u2026)\n\xa0\nThen Jesus stood up again and said to the woman,\xa0\u201cWhere are your accusers? Didn\u2019t even one of them condemn you?\u201d11\xa0\u201cNo, Lord,\u201d she said. And Jesus said,\xa0\u201cNeither do I. Go and sin no more.\u201d John 8:10-11 (NLT)\n\xa0\nThat wasn\u2019t a threat\u2026 but a declaration of Freedom.\n\xa0\nYou will find people who live and believe differently than you\u2026 even contrary to God\u2019s plan and standard.\xa0 Or job is not to pity them, rebuke them, or make projects out of them\u2026 Just be their friend.\xa0 \n\xa0\nAs you follow Jesus\u2026 and just love people\u2026 people will want to know your Jesus. \n\xa0\n

Let\u2019s not be too quick to preach what Jesus said\u2026 before we LIVE how Jesus LIVED.

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And it wasn\u2019t his perfection that attracted the lost to Him\u2026 but the way he befriended them.\xa0 Saw value in them.\xa0 Loved them.

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Big Idea: Jesus is a Friend of sinners\u2026 He doesn\u2019t identify us by our struggle with sin, but defines us by HIS love.\xa0

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Challenge:\xa0 We still deal with sin\u2026 we all continue to sin\u2026 but the power OF sin was forever dealt with.\xa0 It doesn\u2019t have to be a factor in your life\u2026 holding you back.\xa0

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\n\u2026Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.\xa02\xa0We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith Hebrews 12:1-2\xa0(NLT)\n

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Salvation:\xa0 God take control of my life\u2026 It\u2019s the easiest thing you will ever do, but I will cost you everything.\xa0