News Not Advice

INTRODUCTION

Happy Easter! My name is David Sorn, and I’m the Lead Pastor here at Renovation Church.

Do you ever just feel overwhelmed with how much advice there is out there?

I do.

NO matter where you turn…social media, TV, the internet, your family…somebody is giving you advice on how to be happy, good, or healthy.

And advice about food has got to be the absolute worst, right?

Cuz your dad advises you that you need to eat all meat diet

And then your friend tells you that, no, “A plant-based, whole-food vegan diet is the way to go”

And your co-worker keeps telling you to focus on your gut health

And you keep getting these ads on your phone about intermittent fasting

And Instagram tells you what you really need is a cleanse!

That sounds fun!

At some point, I’m like, Gahhh….I’m just gonna go to Culver’s and call it a day.

Advice can be overwhelming because there is so much of it, and often it’s so contradictory.

And it feels a whole lot like, “You should, should, should, and that feels heavy”

But what feels better than advice is NEWS.

When someone just tells me, here’s what happened, it’s the truth, this is what you need to know.

No debating, no wondering, it’s just the truth of what happened.

That feels better.

And in many ways, “news” is what Christianity is all about, and it’s what sets it apart from every other philosophy or religion.

Let me show you what I mean in the Bible today.

Acts 10:39-43

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We’re going to read a passage out of the Book of Acts in the Bible.

Acts is the story of how the Christian church got started after Jesus ascended back to heaven.

And the passage we’re going to read today is a part of a message that Peter, who was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, was giving to a group of people who wanted to know more about Jesus .

Let’s take a look

(Acts 10:39-43) – NIV

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

(News not Advice)

Okay, keep this open cuz we’re going to start talking through it.

This is an amazing passage because it’s a really succinct summary of who Jesus is and what He did.

And there are 4 truths we learn about Jesus in this Acts 10 passage

#1: JESUS’ RESURRECTION HAD WITNESSES

The first one comes right from the beginning of verse 39.

How does verse 39 start?

Peter says, “We are witnesses”

4 Truths about Jesus from Acts 10

#1: Jesus’ resurrection had witnesses

Peter, who’s giving this message in Acts 10, was an eyewitness to the fact that Jesus resurrected from the dead on Easter.

And this is super important.

And it’s part of what makes Christianity different from every other religious system.

The beginnings of the Christian movement happened right out in public.

In Mormonism, Joseph Smith purportedly discovered the golden plates alone, and he alone could translate them to write the book of Mormon.

In Buddhism, the Buddha’s enlightenment happens while he’s meditating by himself under a tree.

In Islam (and I’ve personally read and studied the Koran)

And I’ll tell you that the Koran says that Muhammad, and Muhammad alone, received the revelations for the Koran, mostly in a cave, again, by himself.

But Christianity happens right out in public…with tons of references to known historical people and places

And it’s not just a founder saying, they “had a revelation,”

In Christianity, there were over 500 eyewitnesses that saw Jesus after He resurrected.

And what that means is Christianity, unlike every other philosophy or religion is news to share, not advice to give.

You can study Confucianism, Hinduism, or even become a secular humanist, and what you’ll find is that they’re mostly giving you advice for how you should live.

But Christianity at its core, is not advice, but news.

It’s not a new moral system, or new list of do’s & don’ts, or a new philosophy.

It’s grounded in something that actually happened (in evidence)

And if that’s true, if Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and He died on the cross, and rose from the dead, that that deeply matters…for every single person in this room and beyond.

#2: JESUS WASN’T KILLED FOR GIVING ADVICE

Okay, what else do we see about Jesus?

Verse 39, again.

Acts 10:39

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We love to dive deep into the Bible here!

Which I encourage you to do as well!

Iin fact, if you want to know more about what this Book actually says, we would love for you to take that Bible you’re holding with you today (that’s our gift to you!)

Inside the front cover, there is even access to a reading plan, that starts you with the easiest parts of the Bible first!

Okay, let’s look at verse 39 again.

(Acts 10:39) - NIV

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross,

(News not Advice)

If you read the Bible, you see that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and at the age of 30, He started teaching people in Jerusalem and all around the surrounding areas.

But only 3 years after he started, the religious leaders have him executed by the Romans.

Why?

Cuz, the way many people talk about Jesus today, he doesn’t sound like a guy that would get killed by religious leaders & the state…

Cuz people today talk about Jesus like He was a guy who came to give really good ADVICE.

But I assure you if all Jesus did was give good advice on how to be a good person and how to love your neighbor and how to serve the poor, there is zero chance that they would have killed him.

Think about people who give advice today..

Nobody is issuing death threats to mom-bloggers for giving you advice.

But Jesus didn’t give advice. He proclaimed news, and became news.

And here’s where we must look deeper into what the Bible actually says

4 Truths about Jesus from Acts 10

#1: Jesus’ resurrection had witnesses

#2: Jesus wasn’t killed for giving advice

He was proclaiming news…

Because Jesus said that He was the Son of God.

(John 10:30-33) – NIV

30 I and the Father are one.”

31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

And Jesus said that HE was the only way to get to heaven

(John 14:6) – NIV

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

And the people hated this, so they killed him

In fact they brutally executed him, on a cross.

4 Truths about Jesus from Acts 10

#1: Jesus’ resurrection had witnesses

#2: Jesus wasn’t killed for giving advice

But Jesus allows Himself to be killed, because His primary mission in coming to earth was (not to give advice) but to die for our sins.

He was taking the punishment that we deserved.

And by believing that He died in our place, we can have our sins forgiven…because Jesus will have then taken the punishment for us.

That is the essence, the core, of what Christianity is actually about

Christianity is not foundationally about good advice, or a new moral way of living.

If Christianity were just about being a good person, then why did Jesus have to die?

This is a really important question:

If you could get to heaven simply by being a good person, then why would God ever let his Son Jesus die a brutal death on the cross?

But we keep turning Christianity into just “good advice” in America because then we don’t have to think about the hard stuff.

And also if Christianity is just about doing the “right things,” then we’re get to still be the hero of the story….and WE LIKE THAT!

And that’s what our hearts want…to save ourselves.

To get to heaven some day and hear, you did it:

You were pretty good person.

Definitely better than your neighbor.

You voted right!

Kind to others!

C’mon in! You did it!

But that’s not what this says

When Peter is telling this gathered crowd in Acts 10 about Jesus, what does He say?

He doesn’t say, “If you all want to go to heaven, here’s how you can be good little boys & girls.

He doesn’t give them a list of good advice, he tells them good news.

He says, “The Son of God, Jesus, came to earth, died on the cross for your sins, and resurrected from the dead to prove that that it worked…

…And if you believe in Him, you can be saved”

Christianity, at its core, is not advice, it’s news.

It’s what happened.

It’s what already has been done…not what you need to do.

It’s not about what you can do for God, but what God did for you.

And that’s really freeing!

TESTIMONY

You know, we like to share A LOT of testimonies and personal stories at this church, so I want to pause for a minute, and invite about Maren to share her story of how this Good NEWS about Jesus changed her life.

(TESTIMONY)

#3: JESUS WILL BE THE JUDGE

Thank you for sharing your story.

When Christians talk about Jesus saving them, they’re referring to the truths of verses 42 & 43.

Let’s look at verse 42 in the Bible again.

Acts 10:42

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Let’s take a look

(Acts 10:42) - NIV

42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

And this is the 3rd truth we’re learning about Jesus today.

4 Truths about Jesus from Acts 10

#1: Jesus’ resurrection had witnesses

#2: Jesus wasn’t killed for giving advice

#3: Jesus is the judge

This is a tough one.

But we’re learning what the Bible actually says.

So the Bible says that when you and I die, we will face Jesus as our judge.

Which, we probably all agree that justice is a good thing, right?

I mean certainly justice is necessary for other people, right?

If someone commits a crime against you (say they steal your awesome minivan), we absolutely believe there should be justice!

You would despise a world that had no justice.

And the same is true for eternal justice.

But what if we sin? What if we’ve committed a crime against God’s law on how to live.

The Bible says there will be justice for our sins, and there will be court in heaven for what we’ve done.

In Romans it says:

(Romans 3:23) – NIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

That means because God is holy, His standard is perfect…

…and therefore, there must be justice, punishment for every sin.

But as that passage says, “We all sin,” so unless someone is going to take the punishment for us, we’ll all stand guilty in front of God.

#4: JESUS OFFERS FORGIVENESS

But, thankfully this doesn’t end at verse 42, let’s look at verse 43

Acts 10:43

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Let’s take a look

(Acts 10:43) - NIV

43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

This is the 4th glorious truth about Jesus

4 Truths about Jesus from Acts 10

#1: Jesus’ resurrection had witnesses

#2: Jesus wasn’t killed for giving advice

#3: Jesus is the judge

#4: Jesus offers forgiveness

This is incredible news.

The reason that Jesus came…was to die on the cross in your place….and to take the punishment & justice that you deserved for your sin.

And the Bible says, right here in verse 43, that if you believe in Him, and put your faith in Him (that is turn over leadership of your life to Him), you can be forgiven of everything you’ve ever done.

Why?

Because God’s righteous justice for your sins will then go onto Jesus on the cross, and not on you.

So you will be not guilty! The punishment will have gone on Jesus!

BUT (the flip side of that is)… if you reject that gift of forgiveness, then God’s justice will come to you

And then, when you stand in front of Jesus some day at judgment, He will have to pronounce you guilty because His justice was never removed from you.

And thus you will not go to heaven, but to hell.

That’s as tough as it gets to say out loud, but that is indeed what the Word of God says.

I’m not doing right by you if I don’t tell you that.

But forgiveness is available.

And remember this isn’t advice, it’s news.

And the News says, “The Son of God came to earth, and He lived the perfect life we couldn’t.

And He allowed himself to be killed on the cross…as a perfect sacrifice for us…taking the punishment for our sins.

And He rose from the dead on Easter, 3 days later, proving that it worked, and that He’s alive today!

And all that….means that you can be forgiven! (no matter what you’ve done!)

You can have that weight lifted from your shoulders.

You can be made right with God!

You can have a relationship with Jesus even…

In fact, He is so real, that He can transform your life, right now, when you let Him in.

A couple of years ago, in New York City, they had a public service campaign posted in all of their elevators, and it simply said this:

(Stay Safe, Stay Put)

Because whenever elevators stalled or stop working, people kept trying to pry the doors open, and get out, and climb out to save themselves, but they kept falling and dying.

And they wanted people to know that they just had to stay put, press the button, call for help, and an expert would come and save them.

The same is true here.

You cannot save yourself…by just being good.

But if you cry out to God, and ask Him to forgive you, and believe that Jesus did just that on the cross, and invite Him to take your life and lead it, He will come and save you

Because Jesus is alive today.

And He is so gentle, and so kind, and so wise, He will lead you to so many good things.

But you’ve got to press the button!

You’ve got to say, “Jesus I believe, forgive me. Come and save me”

And I want to give you an opportunity to do that right now

In fact, let’s do this.

Let’s just have everyone, just for a minute, close your eyes and bow your head.

(News Not Advice)

If you need to make this decision for the first time today…to tell Jesus that you need His forgiveness for your sins…to make Him the Leader of your life…to accept His gift of Eternal life…

In just a minute, I’m going to ask you to stand up

No one’s going to be looking at you at all, that’s why we had everyone close their eyes.

But sometimes in life, we just need that moment…that moment where we press the button.

To say, “God come save me. I give you my life”

If you need to tell God for the first time today that you do believe, and you want to follow Him and be forgiven.

Then I invite you to stand where you are right now (and keep standing).

The Bible tells us that in this moment we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths.

Repeat after me

Dear God

I confess to you, that I have sinned against you.

But God I believe, that you sent your Son Jesus, to take my place

And God I thank you, for forgiving my sins.

And now I commit, to following you, with my life.

As everyone still has their eyes closed, for those of you standing up, you just made the most important decision of your life, and I believe that requires some more information…

And we want to get you some more resources and next steps so you know what to do next (this is so important)…

…so I want the ___ of you, to walk over to that door TOGETHER on your left where my friends are waving.

You won’t walk there alone.

There are many others standing with you, and our follow-up team is going to walk out at the same time with you

And then, for just a couple of minutes, I am going to give you some extremely important resources & next steps to get you started on the most important journey of your life (and then you can come back in the service).

You can start walking.

Okay, as they walk, let me pray.