The Journey to Jesus

Life...from start to finish it’s the most important game any of us will ever play. But what are the rules? How do we win? Do we get any “do-overs”? The answers to these questions may surprise you! No matter where you are across the board, as Christians we need to know how to navigate the ups, downs, twists, turns, and learn how to win the Game of Life!

I believe the answer is Jesus! Jesus Christ is the only person in history who completely reveals salvation to us. He provides the way to forgiveness of sin, reconciliation to a Holy, Sovereign God, and gives us unlimited do-overs in this game of life.

The question I would like to ask you today is, “What kind of Journey have you been on?”

Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 17. Here is a little recap of Jeremiah- The people of Judah at this time had been turning to false gods and foreign alliances for protection. Instead of trusting God, they chose to turn to worldly, selfish things. They were not on a Journey to Jesus! So, Jeremiah contrasts the way of the wicked with the way of the righteous.

Jeremiah 17:5-8- Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

The essential truth God wants us to take hold of if we are going to be on The Journey to Jesus is:

We cannot trust in both God and…(Luke 16:13)
If we turn to anything (a person, spouse, child, etc.), we intentionally turn away from God. We all must make a choice of who or what we will serve.

So how do we stay focused on this Journey called life? I believe the Bible explains what we must do if we want to stay on mission and finish well. We must realize:

1) It All Begins With Jesus (Colossians 1:15-20).

2) Focusing On Ourselves Will Never Reveal God’s Will
(Romans 12:1-3).

3) We Were Made By God And For God (Ephesians 4:17-24).
Until we understand this, life will never make sense.

Result- Jesus is not just the starting point of our lives; He is the source of life. To discover our purpose in this life we must turn to God’s Word (the Bible), because it is the instruction manual, given to us by God, on how to have purpose in our lives. Scripture gives us three insights into our purpose:

1) We find our identity through a relationship with Jesus
(Ephesians 1:11-12).

2) God called to us long before we ever called to Him
(Romans 8:29-30).

3) Without Jesus, there is no forgiveness of sin
(Romans 5:8-11 & Acts 4:10-12).

Closing- The person who accepts Jesus is blessed because his trust and confidence is in Christ. The person who trusts Jesus will be given the gift of faith, they will find their purpose, their lives will be full of strength, grace, and mercy, we know this because the Bible clearly states in Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If you haven’t put your Full trust in Jesus Christ today, would you make Him your priority this morning? If you do- He will show you the purpose of your life, He will help you better enjoy this Journey we call life, and He will guide and direct you to the greatest, game-winning finish you could ever possibly imagine.