This morning, I want to build on top of what we've done so far. So on Monday, we looked at who we are in Christ. The gospel is not just something we do. The gospel is who we are. Yesterday, we looked at divine appointments and recognizing that this is not about me. This is about the work that God is doing, and He's setting those divine appointments for us. Our job is just to articulate the gospel. So this morning, I want to focus on articulating the gospel. I don't know if you have sensed this or not, but in my early attempts in our ministry in Denver trying to give people the gospel using the Romans Road or a simple ABCs to the gospel, it seemed as though it wasn't working very well. And to just simply say people are hardened to the gospel, to me, seems to impugn the power or the efficacy of the gospel. And I really believe that the problem is not that the gospel isn't penetrating. I'm concerned that those plans or means of giving the gospel, short and sweet, were designed multiple years ago. when the average lost person came to the table with a little more Bible background. And in this gospel-ignorant world, I believe that the average person needs more information to be able to make a credible decision. I'm gonna teach you today what we call the Exchange Gospel Presentation. We use a little tool we call the GPS, Gospel Presentation System. And today, for the very first time, we're going to release a new app that we've been developing, and I would love to introduce you to it. You don't need to download it right now. I'm just afraid we're gonna crash the servers if we all try to do that at one time. But the address is, app.exchangemessage.org, and the app is designed to help you have a tool in your hand to be able to kind of help you walk through the gospel with someone. I'm going to use it this morning to walk through the Exchange Gospel presentation. It's just a simple introduction to God as a person. I think you're going to find it to be very thorough and very God-centered. It focuses on an introduction to Him and how to have a close relationship with Him. I'd love for you, as we're walking through this this morning, to imagine you holding this tool in your hand and walking through the gospel with a friend that you just put on your Find Five list. I've made slides so that you can just watch as we go through it and then access it later. Since the exchange is a personal experience, the first step is to personalize the app. This first section is the reader mode and it's an introduction designed to draw the reader to experience the app for himself. Each section ends with a next topic button that guides the reader through the app. The Exchange is all about relationships, and so you can share the Exchange app with a friend through a link or social networking. You can also personalize the app to your friend from you and choose the specific Bible translation you would like to share. As your friend interacts with the app through a personalized link, if she wants to ask you a question about what she's reading, she can just touch the photo icon at the bottom of each section, and this will generate an email that you and your friend can communicate. We really believe that it's important not just to give people information, but to stay engaged with them and use the information as connecting points for further conversations. There are two modes in the app. The reader mode functions as an interactive gospel track and gives a full explanation of the gospel. Interactive illustrations throughout help demonstrate the various concepts that we talk about and hold the attention of the reader. It takes about 12 to 14 minutes to read through the entire app and experience all of the interactive illustrations. The presenter mode lets the app function as a presentation tool, removing the majority of the text and allowing you to show your friend the concepts of the gospel through the main points, the scriptures, and the interactive illustrations. You can toggle back and forth between the reader mode and the presenter mode by touching the menu button in the left-hand corner. You'll find the reader mode or the presenter mode buttons at the bottom of the sharing slide out tray. You can always tell you're in the presenter mode when the monitor is displayed on the right hand upper corner. In order to be able to have a close relationship with anyone, you have to spend some time with them, get to know them. The same thing is true about a relationship with God. The Exchange app will introduce you and your friend to four simple truths about God and will help your friend to be able to form a close relationship with Him. You can explore those topics by touching the icon at the top of each page. The content page will show you God is holy. He cannot tolerate your sin. God is just. He can't overlook your sin. He has to judge it. And God is loving and has reached out to us through His exchange that He's made with us with Jesus. And finally, God is gracious and offers salvation as a gift. Each point of the gospel is supported by a scripture passage. Under each passage, you'll find a more button. When you touch it, a slide out will come out with more scripture about that particular concept. When you touch it, or excuse me, at the top of the More button slide out, you're going to find a translation switch. When you touch that, you can toggle back and forth between the King James or the ESV version of the Bible. Okay, I'm done with explaining how the app works, and now I'm just going to walk through the gospel with you. And the app will still be going, and it'll just show you the various points of the gospel as we talk about it. The first thing a person needs to know about God is that God is holy. The word holy means separate or set apart. And God is separate from everything. One of the best words to describe the concept of holy is unique. There's no one like God. But one of the things God is separated from is sin. In fact, the Bible tells us that sin separates us from God. This first point is about a relational alienation that all of us have with God because He's perfectly holy and we're sinful. This concept of God being holy can be kind of summarized in this little interactive illustration. God is completely holy. He tolerates no sin. But that leads us to a logical question, which is, okay, what is sin? And again, we don't want to leave anything to the definition of our friend might have, because most people come to, you know, they're thinking of sin as something deliciously wonderful. Do you know what I mean? I mean, that's kind of how we paint sin in the culture that we live in. And so, what we're going to do is help our friends see the Bible teaches that sin is the transgression of the law, or literally, sin is lawlessness. It's born in our rebellion against God and His law. The law is actually a reflection of God's nature. and teaches us that the essence of sin is offending God. You see, each one of those laws represent God, and this law set in stone is a reflection of this invisible attribute of God. God's law not to have any other gods beside Him, is there because of His character. There is no other God. So when I put something in my life that is more important to me than God, or even on the same level as God, it's offensive to Him, and it separates me from Him. God's law not to commit adultery is because God is a faithful, loyal, covenant-keeping God. When a man commits adultery, he is not only hurting his spouse, but he is offending a holy God. God is truth every time we lie. we separate ourselves further and further from the God of truth. Now, that leaves every single one of us in a dilemma, because the Bible teaches us that we've all sinned, and we all come short of the glory of God. Imagine you and your friend having a contest to see which one of you could jump across a wide canyon. No doubt, one of you would jump further than the other. but neither would make it all the way across. Both of you would come short of the other side. And that's the same way it is with trying to be holy enough to meet God's holy standard of perfection, His glory. The Bible tells us that we all sin, we all come short of the glory of God. Now, there's more to God's character than this, but think about it. If this were the only thing we knew about God, Who would be able to have a relationship with Him? And the answer is no one, because the Bible teaches us that there's not a just man on the earth that does good and sins not. We know a lot of really good people, but we don't know any perfect people. The Bible teaches us that not only is God holy, but that God is just. I believe that this is one of the neglected truths about God. The fact that God is just is good news. We all want a just God. But frankly, it becomes bad news to us as we walk into sin, because the Bible says that in His justice, God must judge every sin, and every one of us is a sinner. As the just judge of all the earth, God's going to do the right thing on judgment day. Because He is just, He cannot overlook a single sin, and He judges every single person by the same standard. The Scripture tells us that what we earn because of our sin is death. Another logical question, what kind of death are we talking about? Because even people going to heaven die physically. Well, in Matthew chapter 25, Jesus showed his disciples and us a picture of God's judgment at the end of the world. Then shall He say to them on His left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. I like to think of this as a good news, bad news verse. The good news is this place of fire that we call hell was prepared for the devil and his angel. God is not willing that any should perish. He doesn't want people to go to hell. The bad news is, in this verse, we see some people going to hell, those on his left side. If I were you, I'd want to know who those people are. In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, in one of the last chapters of that book, there's a list of eight different kinds of people that are being cast into this everlasting punishment. But the fearful and unbelieving and abominable and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Now, that immediately answers the question of what kind of death are we talking about. It's this second death. What we earn because of our sin is this lake that burns with fire and brimstone. Now, that's a pretty rough list, and I would imagine that you or your friend would be looking at that list and saying, I haven't done most of those things. But think about this for a minute. How many murders does someone have to commit before we consider him a murderer? Yeah, just one. You commit one murder, you're a murderer. So how many lies do you think I would have to tell before God would consider me a liar? And the Bible says that all liars are going to have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. And I certainly know that I've told a lot more lies than just one. Immediately the question comes to mind, whoa, I thought God was a loving God. How could a loving God send people to hell? We have to remember that God is just, and in His justice He cannot overlook sin. Think about this. Imagine a judge in a courtroom judging a murder trial, and it's obvious that the defendant is guilty. Would it be justice if the judge looked at the guilty defendant and said, look, I know you're guilty, but you seem like a nice guy to me. I think I'll let you go free. Would that be justice? No, we understand that. Justice means that he must find him guilty and give him the appropriate punishment. Now imagine that same judge in the same courtroom, only the defendant is the judge's brother. Now, I know it wouldn't happen that way, but the illustration will help us. If he looked at his brother and he said, I know you're guilty, but you're my brother. I love you. I can't condemn you to prison. I'm going to let you go free because I love you. Now, is that justice? No. You see, love does not undo the necessity for justice. God does love you. And He does want you to spend eternity with Him in heaven. But God cannot overlook sin. Because of His justice, He must judge our sin. And that brings us to the good news, that God is loving. and that God has reached out to us and provided a way for us to be close to Him, and that way satisfies His holy, just nature. It's all wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ. Who would you say Jesus Christ is? The way you answer that question will determine where you spend eternity. In fact, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is God, come to earth in the flesh. He lived a perfect life, and the reason He came to earth is so that He might give Himself in exchange for us. The Bible tells us that this substitution or this exchange is a real double cure for our sin. If you can imagine this hand representing me and my sin. Because of my sin, I have to go to hell. This hand represents Jesus and his righteousness. Because he lived the perfect life, because he perfectly fulfilled the law, he earned a place in heaven. And the Bible says, that Jesus Christ came and stood in my place and invites me to go stand in His place. If you can imagine a bullet of punishment coming through the room aimed straight at me. It's as if Jesus Christ stepped between me and that bullet of punishment and took the punishment in His own body. The Bible says that God made Jesus to be sent for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. It's an exchange. He literally trades places with us. If you could just imagine this chart, I think it'll help you visualize God's exchange for us. On the cross, God made Jesus to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Jesus. You then have Christ record. Now think about this. He's holy. He's perfect. He has a perfect relationship with God. The reason we need to be preaching the gospel to ourselves all the time is because that is my standing before God. Today, I stand before God redeemed. justified. I have been given the righteousness of God. The Bible calls it righteousness and true holiness. My new nature has been recreated in, and we then can be accepted by Him because of this exchange. You might be saying to yourself, wait a minute, that's just too good to be true. Surely I have to do something. 1 John 1, verse 7 says, the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. Now think about that. Does that mean all of the things you've ever done in the past? Well, it says all, of course. What about the sins that you're going to do in the future? We all know ourselves, and we know that we sin. What about those sins? You say, well, I can't mean those. I haven't even done them yet. How can He forgive me for something I haven't done? Think about this. The blood of Jesus Christ, that's talking about His death. That was 2,000 years ago. How many of your sins were future when Jesus died? The Bible teaches us that the blood of Jesus Christ, His death, paid for all of our sins, past, present, and even future. That's good news. In fact, Jesus said on the cross, it is finished, literally paid in full. If it's paid in full, what's left for you to pay? And the answer is nothing. Now that's great news, but the good news even gets better because the Bible tells us not only did Jesus die and take my sin penalty, but that He rose again, defeating sin's penalty and delivering me from it. The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ was seen by over 500 eyewitnesses. Jesus really is the Son of God. Jesus really did live a perfect life, die in my place, and came back from the grave because Jesus Christ has conquered sin and hell for us. The Bible teaches us that the last truth about God that is important for us to know is that God is gracious and offers this gift of salvation from sin and hell as a gift. The Bible teaches us, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. I love that verse. It puts gift right in the middle, and it says grace is the gift of God. It's not something that I do myself. It's not something that my works accomplishes. It's a gift from God. So if it's a gift, then what do we do? And the Bible says, receive. But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. Now sometimes I tell people, watch me close when I quote that, because sometimes I miss it. Read it this way. But as many as received eternal life. Is that what it says? How about this one? As many as receive forgiveness of sins. Is that what it says? No, it says as many as received Him. Don't dumb this down. This is not just about getting eternal life. It's not just about having your sins forgiven. It's about having a Redeemer. Jesus Christ is the only one that can save us from sin. By the way, He does forgive sins. He does give us a gift in heaven. It all comes with Him. and then notice that we get that receiving, or we do the receiving by believing on Him. So if the most important decision in the world is summed up with this one word, believe, we have to make sure we define that biblically. Some people think in terms of the word believe means to understand and to acknowledge that something is true. Let's analyze that definition with this story. In 1859 and 1860, the famous acrobat Charles Blondin stretched a tight rope 190 feet above the raging waters of the Niagara Falls. He walked across it several times. He actually used a wheelbarrow and pushed it across. And they say that one time when he was working with the wheelbarrow, he walked over to the crowd and said, how many of you believe? Now that's the word we're trying to define. How many of you believe that I could put a man in this wheelbarrow and push him across? Well, the crowd wanted to see it. And so they all started chanting, I believe. There's a man in the front row with his hand up in the air. I believe. someone, Blondine just looked at him and said, you sir, come get in the wheelbarrow. The guy bolted the other direction. Now what was wrong? He said he believed. Maybe he believed that Blondine could put someone someone else in that wheelbarrow. But he wasn't willing to trust Blondine to take him across. And I find it's that way with a lot of people in Jesus. They believe that Jesus lived and died and rose again. They believe that Jesus died for sins. If you ask him, who is Jesus? He's our Savior. But they've never personally chosen to put their trust in Jesus. I like this definition. of belief that Charles Spurgeon wrote in a little book called All of Grace. He summed it up in three words. The first is the word understand, that you have to understand that God cannot overlook or tolerate your sin, that He gave His life in exchange for you, and that He wants to give you eternal life. But also, you don't really understand or believe something if you understand it and don't agree with it. So you have to personally agree, I'm a sinner. I need a Savior. And that third point or that third concept is the most important. Trust. Choosing to depend on God for yourself. that I wanna receive this exchange and let Jesus Christ forgive my sins. I like to use a two-chair illustration. Imagine two chairs. The one on the left represents you and your good works, trying to get yourself to heaven. The one on the right represents Jesus and his finished work on the cross. If you're sitting in the chair representing yourself, what do you have to do to get into the chair representing Jesus? What do you have to do that first chair before you can sit in the second chair? You have to get out of it. You have to stop trusting in what you can do and start putting your trust in Jesus. Now, imagine if I tried to sit in both chairs. I mean, I want the best of both worlds. Put a little trust in myself and a little trust in Jesus. Now, why did I leave the chair representing my own good works? Because I doubted it was enough. In fact, when I don't completely sit in the chair representing Jesus, it displays that I'm doubting that Jesus is enough. A split trust is really no trust at all. It's really doubt. It's only when we put our trust in Jesus Christ alone. There's another word the Bible uses to describe this decision. It's the word repent. The word repent means to change your mind, to admit that you are wrong and God is right. It may be that until now you've been thinking that your sin isn't bad enough to send you to hell. You'll have to change your mind about that. Maybe you've been thinking that if I do enough good works, it'll outweigh my bad works, and I'll make my way to heaven. The Bible says that our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. You have to change your mind about that. The decision you need to make is simple. You need to put your trust in a Redeemer, the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Imagine a point of no return on a river where the current from a large waterfall is too powerful for a boat to navigate safely. It's marked clearly with warnings because if a boat passes that point, it's bound to be pulled by the current over the roaring falls. Imagine absentmindedly rowing past that point. Suddenly you realize that what you've done, and you try to turn around, but it's too late. No matter how hard you row, you're still being pulled inch by inch to impending doom. Suppose someone from the shore sees your problem and throws a rope right across your lap. Now you have a choice to make. Will you continue to try to rescue yourself, only to go to sure destruction? Or will you drop the oars of self-effort and grab the rope of safety? Jesus is that rope. If you could imagine that that water is like your sin, it's pulling you to destruction. Your oars are like your own efforts. And I know people work hard at trying to get to heaven. The problem is our hard work is not enough. Jesus is like that rope. And the decision that is before you and your friend when you use this app is to help your friend see that Jesus is the only means of rescue. He is the only Redeemer. Ultimately, this decision takes humility. The Bible says God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. The need is to humble yourself and admit that your sin is an offense to our holy God. The need to admit that you can't save yourself from His justice and humbly put your trust in Him and His finished work on the cross. I like to ask people two simple questions when I've given the gospel. The first question is just, do you believe that Jesus loves you and would save you from your sin and give you eternal life if you ask Him? If a person says yes to that question, then I ask them the same question Jesus asked many of the people that were in His day. Then are you willing to follow Jesus and put your trust in Him right now? The best way to put your trust in Jesus is just to tell Him in a prayer. We offer a sample prayer for people, but frankly, I always try to give them the concept that it is not a prayer that saves someone. It's their choice to place their dependence upon Jesus alone for this penalty. And I tell people, you can use this prayer as a guide, but it would be even better if you just kind of talk to Him from your heart. Tell Him that you want to put your trust in Him alone. We got a story recently from a woman who was talking to someone, and they had finished lesson three of our four-lesson Bible study, and they sent a text message, and they said, you know, last night when I was doing the Bible study, I told God, God, I can't do this life by myself anymore. I need you. Would you come into my life and help me? And then the girl text on the bottom, did I just get saved? You see, salvation is really simple. It's just a matter of recognizing, I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. Jesus is a Savior, and He is the only one who can save me. I hope that you'll consider taking this app, using it with someone that you know that needs the gospel. I would suggest that you read through the reader mode, and you can actually swap back and forth yourself as you're trying to learn how to do it, so you can see a full explanation, kind of remove the explanation, look at just the main points, the Scripture, and the various pieces of the illustrations. I also would like to just suggest to you that we have a four-lesson Bible study that takes these same four truths. God is holy, God is just, God is loving, God is gracious. And we all know that many people need more than one touch with the gospel before they're saved. And we love the Bible study because it kind of builds those multiple touches into the relational fiber that you have with your friend. And so if you can just imagine the first time you talk to your friend, just kind of introducing them to the concept of the exchange that Jesus has made for them, and then asking them, would you be willing to do a four lesson Bible study with me? And then going through that Bible study. Listen, it's not the tool. It's not the format that saves someone. It's the power of the gospel. All we have to do is make a decision to share it with someone. Father, I pray that you would encourage our hearts this morning with the truth and the power of the gospel. And Lord, I just want to thank you today that you are a loving Savior. that you are a powerful Savior, that you saved even me. And Lord, I just want to praise you today for the power of the gospel, and I pray that you would give each of us more and more confidence in the power and the efficacy of your word and your gospel. We pray these things in your name. Amen.