You Can’t Fix This on Your Own | Phil Kniesel

We’ve all tried to fix things on our own, and often it just makes things worse. This message looks at the deeper issue behind that struggle and why self-improvement isn’t enough to deal with sin and brokenness.

As we walk through Scripture, we’re reminded that salvation isn’t something we earn or figure out. It’s something Jesus has already done for us. This message helps us understand why Jesus is the only one who can truly save and what it means to trust Him with our lives.  

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Transcript

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- Hey, this is Phil Kal, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.- Who here is a fix it person? Something breaks and you're right there ready to tackle it, tear it apart, and put it all back together, hands up across our campuses. Who's that person? Okay, you people are awesome. . Now, who is more like me? When something breaks you think, who should I call? ? You people are also awesome . I think we've all been there where we're trying to fix something beyond our skill level and we're like, I can do this. I watched a YouTube video, I understand plumbing, and then two hours later, water is everywhere except in the pipes and you're on the verge of wanting to smash the pipes. Welcome to life. All you did was advance the problem. That's a pretty accurate picture of humanity. Something broke. And ever since humanity has been trying to fix things ourselves, whether it's through effort, morality, success, religion, distraction, whatever, most of the time we just make things worse. And the Bible addresses this. The Bible has an answer to this and gives us insight into how this all started. It takes us back to a moment, to a decision that changed everything. And I'm continuing our series today entitled The Non-Negotiables, where we have been looking at the things Christians believe. These are core to what it means when we say we are Jesus followers. And these are non-negotiable across the Christian Church worldwide. We've looked at the Bible and the Trinity, and by the way, the team here has created and will be creating notes for each of these messages and you can access them from our message tab on our website if you're interested. My goal in this series is that you are not only informed and inspired but equipped to talk about these things. So take advantage of that. And what I'm gonna address today is the core of Christianity. It centers on what you believe about Jesus and what you do with what God did through Jesus simply said, I want to unpack this central belief. Salvation is found in no one else except Jesus. And that's a bold claim. It's anti-cultural, it's exclusive. And we don't like exclusive claims in our world because don't all roads lead to God? Like can't someone take one path of enlightenment, someone else follow another path or even another God? And then don't we just all end up at the same place? Christianity says, no, but how did we get there and how did this all play out? Like I said, it started with a moment, a decision that changed everything. And I wanna take you back to Genesis, the first book of the Bible, and we are introduced to the first people God created. Adam and Eve, they were living in a place we have yet to experience and we won't experience until God makes all things right. They were living in complete wholeness. They were fully alive. They didn't have shame, fear, they had no insecurity. There was like zero pretending it sounds awesome, but in a moment everything changed and it was all because of one choice. Let me take you to Genesis chapter three. Now, the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? The woman said to the serpent, we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden and you must not touch it or you will die. So here we have the fourth voice that is introduced in the Bible shortly after creation. Up until now, we have only three voices, God, Adam, and Eve. And the fourth voice is the voice of hell and this voice reinterprets God. And yeah, I get it. It's kind of weird that Eve is talking to a snake. Many theologians believe that the serpent could have been supernaturally used by a spiritual being. In fact, the book of Revelation calls Satan, the ancient serpent. And so it makes sense, but let's not miss the crux of what is happening. The serpent is created by God so therefore not equal to God. He's the fourth voice and begins his deceitfulness by questioning God, did God really say? And he goes on. You will not certainly die for God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil. And so the serpent begins by questioning God and then he contradicts God and finally he brings full fledged temptation. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hi from the Lord God among the trees of the garden, but the Lord God called to the man, where are you? He answered, I heard you in the garden. And I was afraid because I was naked. So I hid and he said, who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat? The man said the woman you put here with me. Typical guy, Hey, it's her fault the woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it. The fourth voice shows up and what he says is, God is not truthful, God is not good. And God is not righteous or said another way. The voice lies to them to think negatively about God, sly about God and lightly about God. They were tempted with this idea that God was holding something back from them, that life would be better if they were in control, if they defined good and evil for themselves. Here's what's kind of wild. Botanists say that there are approximately 60,000 different species of trees in the world using that number. For Genesis three, God says to Adam and Eve, you can eat from 59,999 trees except one. And the human race judges the goodness of God as if he is holding something from us when he has given us 59,999 things gifts. And yet some say God is not good. And in that moment the enemy focuses on the one thing you can't do. He leaves out the 59,000 trees you can't eat from from and says, you surely will not die. The fourth voice removes the consequences about sabotaging their relationship with God and they believed it. One choice and sin entered the picture and everything changed. Sin at its core is not just breaking a rule, it's breaking trust. It's humanity saying, God, I don't need you to define my life. I wanna do that myself. I want autonomy. I want self-sufficiency. And because of that, everything Adam and Eve knew became fractured. They hid from God the very one they were created to walk with. They felt shame, something they had never experienced before. They blamed each other, wrecking the close relationship between the two of them. Everything fractured. And we all know how that feels. Every time we do life on our own terms, every time we break trust with God, we have the same response. We hide, we wrestle with shame, we shift blame. We wreck the closest relationships to us. And maybe, maybe that's been your week, it's been a rough one for you. You made a choice. There's been consequences. You feel the weight, the shame, the guilt. You're walking in the brokenness that sin brings and you're trying to fix it. I want you to notice something even after this devastating moment for humanity. So we read Adam and Eve made their own clothes outta fig leaves, but later in the same chapter we also read this, the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and cloth them even in their moment of rebellion. God didn't withdraw. He moved toward them. I mean, they tried to fix the things themselves, but clothes made of fig leaves don't last. So God fix the problem by clothing them with garments. And this is significant because an animal had to be sacrificed so their shame could be covered and don't miss that. It's the first hint right at the beginning that sin brings death and that God will provide a covering. And this message, this truth, it runs all the way through the Bible. And in this act, God was inviting them back into a relationship. And so if it's been a rough week, a rough month, maybe a rough year friend, God is calling out to you. He's inviting you into or he's inviting you back into a relationship with him. For Adam and Eve, their one decision broke something for all humanity and they couldn't fix it no matter how hard they tried. And what began with them didn't stay isolated. As already said, sin is a reality for all of us. Romans says, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So it's not just them, it's us as well. And we know this because the issue isn't just that we occasionally do wrong things. It's that something in us is off. Like you ever notice, you don't have to teach a child how to do wrong. Like you don't sit your your kid down and say, okay, son, today you're gonna learn how to lie. They just kind of know. And as we grow up, we don't have to teach ourselves how to be off, we just kind of know it looks different. Yeah, we upgrade from lies to carefully worded truths, from tantrums to attitude, from stealing toys to cutting corners on our taxes. And because of that, we all know the effects of sin. It shows up as the guilt. You can't shake as patterns. You can't break as things that feel off. We have this constant pull toward wrong. You wanna know one of the most frustrating things about living in Alberta besides a weekend of snow in April? , one of the most frustrating things about living in Alberta are rocks that chip or crack your windshield. They're enough to make you sin verbally. Seriously, hands up, cross our campuses. How many of you currently have a rock chip or a cracked windshield on your car? ? That's to what I'm talking about. Welcome to Alberta. For me, it's almost inevitable the moment I replace my windshield, I'm gonna be on highway two or the Anthony Henday and within a week I will have another chip or crack. My record, by the way, is two days. Two days after replacing one. Bro, that's rough. I can't stand cracked windshields. And here's the thing, you can still drive with a cracked windshield. Everything is just a little distorted, but eventually that crack spreads and spreads and takes over your windshield. That's a lot like sin. It distorts what true life should be about and it always spreads and sinful, groan takes on a whole other realm. The apostle Paul tells us, therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, that's Adam and death through sin. And in this way, death came to all people because all sin, sin produced death. And it came to all. And here's the thing, we can't fix death. We try to fix a lot of things, but this one we can't. I recently watched a documentary, it was entitled Don't Die. And it's about a man who wants to live forever and all the things he's doing daily to make that a reality. I'm like, bro, I'm telling you, you can't fix death. And so instead we do self-improvement. That's kind of a buzzword in our culture. Make yourself better, make yourself more productive, more beautiful, more useful, more impactful, more healthy, more you fill in the blank. But this doesn't address what's wrong, which is why the Bible doesn't offer us self-improvement as the solution. It offers us a savior. Paul writes, for the wages of sin is death. There it is. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. God's solution to our sin. Problem to death was Jesus, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believed in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Friends, Jesus didn't come to improve your life. He came to save you, to rescue you, to free you from the consequences of sin and death. Peter says it this way, salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to humankind by which we must be saved. That word saved in Greek is the word soso. And that carries a lot of layers. It means rescued from sin and its consequences. It means restored to wholeness. It means reconciled into relationship with God. It means redeemed through Jesus alone. Salvation is found and no one else except Jesus. That's not a popular idea in our culture because our culture prefers multiple options and flexible truths. We're used to customizing everything from our coffee orders to our streaming playlists. So why can't we do that with Jesus? Peter's statement that Jesus is the only way to be saved is actually a stumbling block. Jesus is a challenge to many. It's why the favorite curse word on so many shows and movies is his name. And it drives me absolutely crazy and there's a reason for that because Jesus is a stumbling block to many other worldviews have their own thoughts on Jesus. Buddhism teaches that Jesus was not God, but an enlightened man like Buddha Hinduism teaches that Jesus is an incarnation of God. Like Krishna Islam teaches that Jesus was a man and a prophet, but was inferior to Muhammad Jehovah. Witnesses say that Jesus was merely the Archangel Michael a created being that became a man. Mormonism teaches that Jesus was only a man who became one of many Gods new age guru. Deepak Chopra says Jesus is a state of consciousness we can all aspire to. Scientology teaches that Jesus was an implant forced on Thetan about a million years ago. Christians believe Jesus is God. And when it comes to salvation, the Bible is unmistakably clear. There is one name and one name, and one way salvation is found in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given to humankind by which we must be saved. That's non-negotiable. And God in his love sent Jesus as the solution to the sin problem. God's plan of salvation was accomplished by what Jesus did on the cross. And this is known as the atonement, which is the voluntary sacrifice of his life, the shedding of his blood to pay for our sins and the freedom from death for all humanity. Because Jesus didn't just die, he rose. And this act reconciles humanity back to God when we repent and turn to him. You can think of the atonement as this at one meant, which signifies the bringing together the reconciliation of humanity with God. A w Tozer said the suffering of Jesus was corrective. He was willing to suffer in order that he might correct us and perfect us. It began with his wounds and ended in our purification. It began in his bruises and ended in our cleansing. The apostle Paul writes, God made him. This is Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. He became sin for us. So Jesus didn't just die, he died in our place, which means that every sin, past, present and future was placed on him on the cross. And that was because the debt of sin had to be paid in full. And listen, this wasn't just a down payment. He paid it once and for all forever. So everything you have done and everything you will ever do is covered by what Jesus did for you on the cross. It's why he uttered the words while he was on the cross. It is finished. So friend, the sting, the grip and the hold of sin no longer exists because of what Jesus did. It is finished, which means you can be free, you can be forgiven, you can have life both now and forever. It's what those we are baptizing this weekend are declaring. In fact, we've baptized over 60 people since January and they all declare if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here. The Bible says in Hebrews that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. And so just like it was in the garden where God had to kill an animal to make a covering for Adam and Eve, Jesus became that sacrifice. The covering that began in Genesis finds its fulfillment in Jesus. And when he rose, he proved that sin and death don't get the final word. Salvation isn't found in religion, in effort, in sincerity, in any way other than in a person. And that person is Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the first and the last. He is the alpha and Omega. He is the name above every other name. He is the destroyer of the power of death. He is the maker of all things. He is the restorer of all things. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. He is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the lion of Judah. He is the righteous judge. He is the chain breaker. He is the prince of peace. He is the resurrection and the life. He is the same. Yesterday, today and forever, he is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is coming again in glory. He is Jesus friends. This is Jesus. Praise him. You know Paul, Paul says this, once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior, yes. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you wholly in his sight without blemish and free from accusation, you're not just pardoned, you're brought back into a relationship with God. You are made clean. You are free. Which means the cross was God's greatest victory. Sin and death were defeated. And because of this, the enemy, that serpent was also defeated because of the cross. Justice was satisfied because of the cross. Mercy was released because of the cross. Love was demonstrated because of the cross. We have life and this is a non-negotiable in Christianity. And here's where it lands. Okay, Paul writes this, for it is by grace. You have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It's the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast. This is kind of the best part of it all. You don't have to earn salvation. There's no version of your life where you earn your way to God. You don't have to climb your way there. You don't have to perform your way there. You don't fix yourself enough to qualify. It is by grace and grace alone. Salvation is a gift. And gifts by definition are received, not achieved. Meaning you don't wake up each day trying to earn God's love. You wake up already being loved, not because you've proven yourself, but because of what Jesus has already done. And it's why we can sing songs like this in the history of the church. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found was blind. But now I see that's it. Hope city is because of the amazing grace of God that you are saved, that you can be saved. It's because of what Jesus did on the cross. That you are forgiven and set free. That you can have shame, sin and guilt taken away. That you can walk in freedom, purpose, and life that you are declared holy right and justified. Think about these words, Amazing grace.- How- Sweet the sound that saved the rich, that saved a mess like me, I once was lost, but now I'm found. Praise God. I was blind. But now I see, I want us to sing this across our campuses today as Pastor Brett comes and lead us. Sing this as your testimony, as your song. Brett lead us.- Thank- You Jesus. I once was lost, but now I'm found. Is this your story? Is this your testimony? Friend?- Let- Sink was grace that taught my heart.- Jesus,- Thank you for your grace. Let's say my chains are gone. I been sets for you.- My chain are gone. I've- Been set free.- I've been set- Free. Yes, Lord,- My God, savior is mercy.- Amazing grace. Let's sing that one more time. My chains are gone. I've been set free- Jesus for this,- God, for this reality. We walk freedom. Praise God. Your chains are gone. You've been set free. Love that Roman says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Let me remind you what that means. Again, it means rescued from sin and its consequences. It means restored to wholeness. It means reconciled into relationship with God and it means redeemed through Jesus alone. And when you confess Jesus', Lord, you know what you do? You step out of the role of being in charge and you say, my life is no longer mine. I trust you Jesus, completely with it. And so in closing, I want to speak to two groups of people. First, those of you who haven't made the decision to follow Jesus, the question is simple, yet loaded. Are you ready to follow Jesus? Neutrality is a decision. Delay is a decision. The Bible says, today is the day of salvation, meaning don't put it off while you have a chance. And friend, today is your day. Jesus is inviting you by his grace to follow him based on what he has done for you to bring you into right relationship with God and free you from sin and death. Will you make the best decision of your life? And in a moment, I'm gonna pray and allow you to pray along with me in making this decision. I'm just gonna ask if every one of you cross our campuses could bow your heads and close your eyes please. And if you feel like you wanna make this decision today, I'm gonna ask you to be a little bold. If you're saying, I wanna make the decision to follow Jesus, you're saying, today is the day. I know I need to do this. I'm gonna ask you to raise your hand for just a moment so I can see you and then pray along with me. If that's you, you wanna follow Jesus today, just raise your hand across this place, across our campuses. Thank you. I see the hands. Praise God. Thank you. Thank you. I see you on the balcony. You can put those hands down. Let's pray. Jesus, today I see my need for you. And I thank you for going to the cross. I thank you for dying for my sins. I thank you for rising and offering me life and hope both now and forever. And so today I put my hope in you. I put my faith in you. I put my trust in you. I desire to make you Lord and leader of my life. Thank you that your sacrifice on the cross took away all my sin. And thank you that you didn't stay dead, but you rose and you offer me life both now and forever. And so I'm so grateful that today I can begin that journey with you. And so today I pray that that seed that has been planted in these hearts who raise their hands, I pray today, God, that you solidify that, that they walk out of here in confidence in assurance, knowing their past is gone. The old is gone, the new has come, and they walk forward in you. Jesus. I wanna say way to go, friend. That was you. Awesome, awesome. And if you could, if you could just take your phone out and tap the disc on the CAC in front of you. We got a digital booklet we would love to get into your hands, talks a little bit more about knowing and following Jesus. And we would just love to give that to you and also get to know you. But I said I want to speak to two groups of people. That's the first group. Now I want to speak to those of you who have already made the decision to follow Jesus. Peter writes this, and I love these words. He says, though you have not seen him, you love him. Isn't that true? And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and joy, glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. I just wanna remind you, friend, you've been saved by grace and you don't need to strive. And so your next step is to be transformed in how you do life. After following Jesus, you live differently. And maybe you're still finding yourself struggling in areas you wish you were done with or you wanna move on from things that just seem to hijack your walk with him. Freedom is available. And so let me ask you, are there areas you're still trying to control? Or are you letting Jesus be Lord? And if so, what are they? Just take some time to surrender them to him. Allow His grace to set you free. Let me pray for you. Jesus, I'm so grateful for all of us who have made that decision to follow you. I'm grateful that we have this forgiveness of sins that in your mercy and in your grace, we are set free and that we have this hope both now and forever. But I pray for those individuals who are truly feeling like they've made that choice, but they feel stuck. They're not living as a new creation. Help them to understand that the old is gone. I pray for those that just need to give you complete surrender, complete control. God, may they do that. Lord, I pray that they don't live in shame, in guilt. I pray that you release them and set 'em free today. And they walk forward in the confidence, in the assurance, in the grace, in the mercy, and in the power that comes through a relationship with you. And so God empower these people. Let them know what their choice to follow you actually means and how it transforms their life, how it totally takes 'em from old to new. And may that be the story of every single one of us. And so God, I pray over every individual, every couple, and every family as they go into this week. Lord, I ask that they may just walk in the fullness, in the strength, in the joy of the Lord. I pray that they know Jesus, that they are saved and set free. I pray that they walk in that freedom and I pray that they don't get sabotaged or hijacked by sin. I pray that they are greater and more efficient because of you. So I ask this over and for them in the wonderful and the powerful and the credible and in the saving name of Jesus. Amen. You know, if you want prayer over anything today, we're gonna have a prayer team available down at your front, left after the service. They would love to connect with you in prayer. If you raised your hand, I encourage you to get prayed for this morning. Hope city hears a non-negotiable salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to humankind by which we must be saved. And that name is Jesus walking the hope and in the truth of that very statement this week. Love you guys. Praying for you. Thanks for being in church today.