Embracing Nothingness: Jesus as Our Savior

Devotional

Day 1: The Gospel as a Liberating Promise

The gospel is not a command that burdens us with the impossible task of avoiding sin; rather, it is a promise that liberates us by focusing on Jesus' role in saving us from our sins. This shift in perspective allows us to rely on Jesus as the hero of our story, rather than on our own efforts. When we understand the gospel as a promise, we can let go of the pressure to be perfect and instead embrace the grace that Jesus offers. This grace empowers us to live in freedom, knowing that our salvation is not dependent on our ability to avoid sin but on Jesus' sacrifice and love. [02:41]

Hebrews 10:14-17 (ESV): "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,' then he adds, 'I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.'"

Reflection: In what areas of your life are you still trying to earn God's favor through your own efforts? How can you shift your focus to rely on Jesus' promise of salvation today?

Day 2: Embracing Our Nothingness

Embracing our nothingness is crucial to experiencing God's love. Like the prodigal son, we find salvation when our unworthiness meets God's compassion. Our nothingness is not something to boast about; it is simply the state in which we can fully experience God's love. By acknowledging our limitations and weaknesses, we open ourselves to the transformative power of God's grace. This humility allows us to depend on God, recognizing that it is His love and mercy that sustain us, not our own strength or righteousness. [15:04]

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (ESV): "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you feel weak or inadequate? How can you invite God's love and strength into that area today?

Day 3: Victory Through Faith and Dependence

Victory over sin is achieved through faith and dependence on God, not through our strength. Our good works are a result of God's preparation, not a means to earn His favor. We must seek a transformation of our nature, where we no longer find pleasure in sin but instead, desire to live a life centered around God. This transformation is a process that requires us to continually rely on God's grace and guidance, trusting that He is at work in us to bring about His purposes. [12:34]

Galatians 2:20 (ESV): "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Reflection: What is one sin or habit that you struggle to overcome on your own? How can you practice greater dependence on God to find victory in this area?

Day 4: Decreasing for Christ to Increase

The sweetest moments with God come when we decrease, allowing Christ to increase in our lives. It is in our nothingness that we truly experience the power of God's love. By continually returning to the place where our nothingness meets God's love, we can experience the joy of salvation anew each day. This requires a daily surrender of our own desires and ambitions, making room for Christ to take the lead in our lives. [21:18]

John 3:30-31 (ESV): "He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to decrease so that Christ can increase? What practical steps can you take to make this shift today?

Day 5: Continual Reaching Out to God

Our relationship with God should be characterized by a continual reaching out to Him, allowing His love to transform us. This dependence on God is the victory over sin that we seek, as it allows us to partake in His divine nature. By maintaining an open and receptive heart, we invite God's presence into our daily lives, allowing His love to guide and shape us. This ongoing relationship with God is the foundation of our spiritual growth and transformation. [24:03]

Psalm 63:1-3 (ESV): "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you."

Reflection: How can you intentionally reach out to God throughout your day today? What specific practices or habits can you incorporate to deepen your relationship with Him?

Sermon Summary

In our journey of faith, we often grapple with the concept of sin and our relationship with God. A profound truth that we must internalize is that sin is the only barrier that separates us from God. Many of us come to church with the hope of overcoming sin, believing that a good day is one where we do not sin. However, the essence of the gospel is not about our ability to avoid sin but about Jesus saving us from our sins. This subtle yet significant difference shifts the focus from our efforts to the promise of Jesus' salvation.

The gospel is not a burdensome command but a liberating promise. When we make it about our ability to avoid sin, we risk turning it into a law that weighs us down. Instead, we should embrace the promise that Jesus will save us from our sins, making Him the hero of our story. Each day presents us with challenges and temptations, but it is an opportunity for Jesus to save us, not for us to save ourselves. Our role is to depend on Him, allowing Him to be the hero who rescues us from the pits of sin.

The story of our lives should be one where Jesus is the hero, saving us from sin daily. This requires us to embrace our nothingness and depend on God's love and grace. Like the prodigal son, we find salvation when our unworthiness meets God's compassion. Our nothingness is not something to boast about; it is simply the state in which we can fully experience God's love. We must avoid the pitfalls of self-reliance and instead, continually reach out to God, allowing His love to transform us.

The victory over sin is not achieved through our strength but through our faith and dependence on God. It is not about performing good works to become good but about partaking in God's nature. Our good works are a result of God's preparation, not a means to earn His favor. We must seek a transformation of our nature, where we no longer find pleasure in sin but instead, desire to live a life centered around God.

Ultimately, the sweetest moments with God come when we decrease, allowing Christ to increase in our lives. It is in our nothingness that we truly experience the power of God's love. By continually returning to the place where our nothingness meets God's love, we can experience the joy of salvation anew each day.

Key Takeaways

1. The gospel is a promise, not a command. It is not about our ability to avoid sin but about Jesus saving us from our sins. This shift in focus allows us to rely on Jesus as the hero of our story, rather than on our own efforts. [02:41]
2. Embracing our nothingness is crucial to experiencing God's love. Like the prodigal son, we find salvation when our unworthiness meets God's compassion. Our nothingness is not something to boast about; it is simply the state in which we can fully experience God's love. [15:04]
3. Victory over sin is achieved through faith and dependence on God, not through our strength. Our good works are a result of God's preparation, not a means to earn His favor. We must seek a transformation of our nature, where we no longer find pleasure in sin. [12:34]
4. The sweetest moments with God come when we decrease, allowing Christ to increase in our lives. It is in our nothingness that we truly experience the power of God's love. By continually returning to the place where our nothingness meets God's love, we can experience the joy of salvation anew each day. [21:18]
5. Our relationship with God should be characterized by a continual reaching out to Him, allowing His love to transform us. This dependence on God is the victory over sin that we seek, as it allows us to partake in His divine nature. [24:03]
** [24:03]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:32] - The Barrier of Sin
[01:17] - Understanding the Gospel
[02:41] - Promise vs. Command
[03:59] - Jesus as the Hero
[05:21] - Daily Dependence on Jesus
[07:26] - The Role of Faith
[09:03] - Embracing Nothingness
[11:29] - Childlike Dependence
[13:11] - Victory Through Faith
[15:04] - The Prodigal Son's Lesson
[17:23] - Misunderstanding Nothingness
[19:28] - The Power of God's Love
[21:18] - Decreasing for Christ to Increase
[24:03] - Continual Reaching Out to God

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:

Matthew 1:21 - "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Hebrews 7:25 - "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."
Luke 18:13-14 - "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God."

Observation Questions:

According to Matthew 1:21, what is the primary purpose of Jesus' coming into the world?
In Hebrews 7:25, what does it mean that Jesus "always lives to intercede" for us?
How does the story of the tax collector in Luke 18:13-14 illustrate the concept of justification? [18:15]
What does the sermon suggest is the difference between seeing Jesus as a hero versus relying on our own efforts? [03:59]

Interpretation Questions:

How does the understanding of the gospel as a promise rather than a command change one's perspective on sin and salvation? [02:41]
What does it mean to embrace our "nothingness" in the context of our relationship with God, and how does this relate to experiencing His love? [15:04]
How can the concept of Jesus being the hero in our daily struggles influence our approach to overcoming sin? [05:21]
In what ways does the sermon suggest that our good works are a result of God's preparation rather than our own efforts? [32:00]

Application Questions:

Reflect on a recent situation where you tried to overcome a challenge on your own. How might the outcome have been different if you had relied on Jesus as the hero of your story? [05:21]
Consider a time when you felt unworthy or like "nothing." How did you experience God's love in that moment, and how can you seek to experience it more fully in the future? [15:04]
Identify a specific sin or temptation you struggle with. How can you practice daily dependence on Jesus to save you from this sin? [06:15]
Think about your daily routine. What practical steps can you take to decrease your focus on yourself and increase your focus on Christ? [21:18]
How can you remind yourself that your good works are a result of God's preparation and not a means to earn His favor? [32:00]
Reflect on a time when you felt proud of your own efforts. How can you shift your perspective to give glory to Jesus for His role in your life? [03:15]
What is one specific way you can reach out to God more often in your daily life, allowing His love to transform you? [24:03]

Sermon Clips

The gospel is not Sundeep will not sin or Sundeep did sin, and the good day is not when Sundeep did not sin and the bad day is not when Sundeep did sin. The good news, the gospel, is in Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, and it's a subtle difference but to me, it's a very important difference. [00:15:05]

The gospel becomes a command rather than a promise. I can make it a command; it can become a law that becomes burdensome. Sundeep must not sin, Sundeep will not sin, and I wake up every morning and say, "Lord Jesus, I don't want to sin today." [00:02:41]

Jesus is the hero, and Sundeep is the one who got saved. And so all day long, it becomes a story about the hero who is Jesus, who is saving me. He's pulling me, he's grabbing ahold of me and getting me out of one pit and the other pit and the next pit and the other pit. [00:04:05]

The gospel is a promise. The promise is that Jesus will save me from my sins. And so that's a good day because otherwise, I can look at my track record and get proud because I did okay today. I did not sin in this way, I did not sin in that way. [00:03:01]

The sweetest times I have had with God is when I genuinely go to God and say, "God, pay no attention to me. I'm here for you. I'm here to admire you. I'm here to adore you. This is not about me. I don't want to even be part of the conversation. I want to decrease, I want Christ to increase." [00:21:18]

I have to embrace that the most beautiful life to live is the life where I am nothing. And so I, again, if you see the story of the prodigal son, it is so meaningful to me. It is when the prodigal son realized his nothingness and his unworthiness that he could get up and come home. [00:15:04]

The victory over sin that we're looking for, our faith, it is our dependence on God. That's what gets me the victory over sin, not me bypassing the pit. And I find that there are two ways in which I can bypass the pit: either pushing God's hand away and say, "I got this," or looking at life as a repeated chance to say many times a day, "Lord, I need your help." [00:12:34]

I want to keep meeting you on that road where nothingness meets your love. I feel that whenever the prodigal son felt like leaving the home again, maybe because the father corrected him again, maybe he found out how strict the Father's love really was, he may have packed his bags and left the house. [00:24:03]

I want to taste of that nature more and more. I'm not gonna get fooled by good works. No amount of good works is gonna make me have that nature, but I want that. So I want to keep meeting you on that road where nothingness meets your love. [00:24:03]

I have told myself, "Lord Jesus, I don't want victory over sin." I'm not saying that's the wrong idea. Of course, it's there to get victory over sin, to overcome sin. But how do I overcome? It's by Jesus saving me. Lord, I want salvation from sin. I want to be saved from sin today. [00:09:03]

I want to give the space away for you. I want to step back. I want to make you the hero. I want to keep you the hero of the story now that I've got this email, now that I got this thought of bitterness, now that I got this spirit of anger. Lord, I want you to be the hero. [00:24:03]

I want to keep meeting you on that road where nothingness meets your love. I feel that whenever the prodigal son felt like leaving the home again, maybe because the father corrected him again, maybe he found out how strict the Father's love really was, he may have packed his bags and left the house. [00:24:03]

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Embracing Nothingness: Jesus as Our Savior

Devotional

Day 1: The Gospel as a Liberating Promise

Day 2: Embracing Our Nothingness

Day 3: Victory Through Faith and Dependence

Day 4: Decreasing for Christ to Increase

Day 5: Continual Reaching Out to God

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Embracing Nothingness: Jesus as Our Savior

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