Rumors, Part 3: Jesus Doesn't Want Me

(Job 42:5-6)(Msg) "I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor." Week 3 – Rumor: Jesus doesn't want me. Two Rumors of Jesus – How We See Jesus 1.  A locked gate.        We believe:  God can't be reached. 2.  An endless ladder.         We believe:  God requires a lot from me.    Rumor:  God doesn't want me. (Ephesians 2:8-9)  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."     Mercy – not getting what you did deserve     Grace – getting what you did not deserve(Romans 6:23)  "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." How Jesus Sees You1.  You are accepted. (John 15:16)  "You did not choose me, but I chose you…" (1 Peter 2:9)  "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (Psalm 27:10)  "Even if my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will receive me." (Acts 15:8)  "God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us." 2.  You are forgiven.(John 3:17)  "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (Micah 7:18-19)  "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?  You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.  You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." 3.  You are invited.(Revelation 3:20)  "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 22:17)  "Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." (John 6:28-29)  Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"  Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (Romans 10:9)  "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." For more information on the vision of Freedom Church, please visit our website at www.freedom-church.org.