He will be there for you

Some years ago an incredible thing happened in a football match. PELE was playing for Santos de Brazil, in Colombia, and he was sent off.

The crowd was so furious that the situation escalated into almost a riot. In the end, the ref had to be substituted and Pele was allowed back on the field. And this was only a friendly!

No-one, normally, likes to be substituted. But today we're going to talk about someone who of his own accord took our place, who did us good and gave us life.

Read Isaiah 53  and underline each time you see the words 'we', us', 'our', 'he' and 'him'.

It's amazing just what Christ had to go through in our place. We were the guilty party; we should have gone to the cross and been put to death for our sins. But Jesus stepped in and took upon himself the penalty and punishment for our bad deeds.

There's not a single person in the whole wide world who can stand before God and say they're perfect. The Bible says we've all done bad things and so we can't get near God at all.

We deserve nothing but death. That's not too encouraging, is it? There's no way out for anyone; we all deserve to die.

But right there God's love is revealed. Jesus Christ took everyone's sin to the cross. He took our sicknesses and the punishment for our evil ways was laid upon him.

When we accept what He did for us, we're also accepting this substitution for our sin. Now, this doesn't mean we're all shiny clean and bright, so to speak! But God sees us that way because Jesus fulfilled the sentence for us. He was our substitute and thanks to this, we have eternal life.

I need to remind you of something else: Jesus died and rose for YOU - but you have to make His death and resurrection your own. Otherwise you're playing around, and you can't save yourself.

If you don't accept this substitution you'll bear the consequences for your sin. You'll be tried and found guilty.

I know many haven't accepted what Jesus has done for them. What about you? Talk to God and ask Him to make what Jesus did on the cross precious to you. Ask him to be YOUR Saviour.