All of the ground is sinking sand. All of the
ground is sinking sand. on the ground is When
darkness seems to hide his face, I rest in his
unchanging grace. In every high and stormy hell,
my anger haunts within the veil. Good morning,
good morning, good morning. It's Easter Sunday
morning. Now, we come together every Sunday to
celebrate the resurrection, but today is the
day, once a year, that we get to drill down on
it and say, this is the day that Jesus rose from
the dead. This is the day that the tomb was found
empty. This is the day that God showed us something.
He showed us something that we had not yet seen.
The victory of Jesus Christ over death. Praise
the Lord. You're going to see that story unfold
throughout our service today. And it's going
to be a fun, amazing time as we learn and celebrate
the Lord. You want to remember, if you would,
the families involved with the car accident that
took place the night before last. There was a
tree that fell on an electrical line. The electrical
line that fell on a car. A man, a Sunday school
teacher from Northwest, lost his life. Pastor
Richards was very injured in the hospital. So
if you would pray for them. And all over the
world. There was a man in South Africa who the
police managed to rescue him. He'd been picked
off by rebels during a worship service and taken
into custody. And then the police found him and
got him out safely. Praise God for that. And
then there are other stories as well, some of
which you'll hear a little later. But the bottom
line is God is at work. He's doing amazing things
in our lifetime. It isn't over until it's over.
It's never too late, right? It's never too late
until it's too late. Praise God it's not too
late for us. We are here today for the Word of
God, for the living Word of God, Jesus Christ,
to recognize Him, recognize what He has done,
and that is to overcome death once and for all.
And we'll praise Him as we sing and as we listen
to the story and as we go to the Word. And even
as we spend time together, it's all about Jesus.
Let's pray together and then we'll work. Father
in heaven, you are king. You are in charge. I
think about that night when Jesus was struggling
with the course ahead and he knew what had to
be done but strained to do it. Sometimes I feel
like that. But Lord, knowing, knowing the pathway
that you have laid out for us, knowing how you
have given us victory. makes me able in a way
that I cannot explain. I praise you this day
for all that you've done in our lives and the
lives of this church and the families that are
here and the families that are here represented.
We pray for the ones who promised to be here,
wanted to be here, were headed this way, and
one thing or another restrained them. We pray
that they will be with us just as soon as you
are ready to break them free from whatever it
is that held them back. We pray for our Our sister
Chris this morning, she's struggling with her
back. It's been ongoing. It's getting a little
better and a little better each day. And she's
heartbroken that she can't be here. We pray for
Pastor Richard and his family and her family,
the man who was in the car with them who passed
away very quickly under terrible circumstances.
We pray for those who are living in this world
who are in any way captive, which is completely
unnecessary. because you have shown the way to
freedom. We pray for us that we would be found
strong. I know somewhere in a service, somewhere
on this planet, someone will get excited and
they'll cry out, Hallelujah, praise the Lord.
Somewhere on this planet, this day, someone will
stand and sing out with all the voice that they
have, whether they know the notes or the melody,
whether it sounds... professional or not, they
will sing out all the voices they have because
there is nothing that they can do except praise
the God of heaven who's done this amazing thing.
Somewhere, someone will give their heart. All
that they are, all that they have left, all the
days, all the minutes, follow you completely.
Someday, we're going to come into a place where
everyone who will gather who have done all those
things will look back at the days and say, Oh,
I'm so glad I said hallelujah. I'm so glad I
surrendered my life. I'm so glad I gave each
moment. I don't know if it will be here, Lord.
I suppose there will be somebody here who will
get very excited. There will be somebody here
who will sing when they don't normally sing.
There will be somebody here who will rise and
raise their hands and honor you. Someone will
cry out hallelujah. Someone will honor you with
their voice. Someone will commit their heart
and their time to you. I pray it will be here.
Indeed, Lord, I pray that it will be every single
one of us in your will, as you see fit, we submit
this time to you. We praise you, Lord. The Son
has risen. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.
Come on! Thank you. inside happen here, and real
quick, I want to preface this with a, we're not
doing the typical Easter story today. We know
that Jesus died on the cross to save us from
our sins, and that he rose again and beat death
once again. So, what we're doing today is we're
going to add on to that, and we're going to give
you the reason why once we accept the fact that
Jesus rose again and defeated death, why we can
move on with that and we can live the life that
he wants us to live. So pay attention to these
pieces. Amen. I still believe in amazing grace.
Ephesians 2 .8 and 9 says, For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and this is not your
own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result
of works, so that no one may boast. Titus 3 .5
says, He saved us not because of righteous deeds
we did, but because of his mercy. He saved us
through the washing of rebirth and renewal by
the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously.
Romans 3 .24 says, And all are justified freely
by his grace, through the redemption that came
by Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15 .10 says, By
the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace
towards me was not in vain. Indeed, I labored
harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace
of God that was with me. Amen. Lord has promised
good to me. His word I will secure. He will my
shield and portion be. In him we have redemption
through his blood, forgiveness of our wrongdoings,
according to the riches of his grace which he
has lashed on us. Hebrews 10 .19. Therefore,
brothers and sisters, that we have confidence
to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.
Matthew 26 .27 -29. And when he had taken a cup
and given thanks, he gave to them, saying, Do
not drink from it, all of you, for this is my
blood of the covenant. which is being poured
out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say
to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the
vine from now on until the day when I drink it
from you new in my Father's kingdom. 1 John 1
.7 But if we walk in the light as he himself
is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses
us from all sin. victory in Jesus, my Savior
forever. He sought me and bought me with His
redeeming blood. oh is Just is the flow that
makes me white as snow. No other ground I know.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the
blood of Jesus. We love the blood of Jesus. John
20, 11 through 18. But Mary was standing outside
the tomb weeping. And so as she wept, she stood,
she stooped, excuse me, and looked into the tomb.
She saw two angels in white sitting, one at the
head, one at the feet, where the body of Jesus
had been lying. They said to her, Woman, why
are you weeping? She said to them, Because they
have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where
they have laid him. When she said this, she turned
around, and saw Jesus standing there, and did
not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her,
Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, Sir,
if you have carried him away, tell me where you
have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus
said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him
in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus
said to her, Mary Magdalene came announcing to
the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that
he had said these things to her. That because
he lives, I can face tomorrow. 1 Peter 1 .3 says,
For indeed he was crucified because of weakness,
yet he lives because of the power of God. For
we are also weak in him, yet we will live with
him because of the power of God directed toward
you. Romans 6, 10, and 11. For the death that
he died, he died to sin once for all. But the
life that he lives, he lives to God. Even so,
consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive
to God in Christ Jesus. Who caught the sun when
you swam in the morning? And who taught the ocean
you can only hunt this far? All because of the
old ready cross. Romans 5 .8 But he demonstrates
his own love towards us, in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. John 3 .16 For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish, but have eternal life. For God did
not send the Son into the world to judge the
world, but that the world might be saved through
him. 1 Corinthians 1 .18 For the word of the
cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power
of God. Hebrews 12 .2 Fixing our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of faith, who for the
joy set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God. I'll never do that again.
Jesus died my soul to save Soon I'll cherish
the old rugged cross. Till my trophies at last
I lay down. Sin had left a crimson stain. He
washed it white as snow. So when it was evening
on that day, the first day of the week, and when
the doors were shut where the disciples were
for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in
their midst and said to them, Peace be with you.
And when he had said this, he showed them both
his hands and his side. The disciples then rejoiced
when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them
again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent
me, I also send you. And when he had said this,
he breathed on them and said to them, Receive
the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any,
their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain
the sins of any, they have been retained. At
this time, children and their leaders can go
to their classrooms. Kids, let's walk victoriously
in the resurrection of the Lord. Now what was
heard? At the tomb that day, just shut all the
soldiers' feet as they guarded the grave. One
day, two days, three days had passed. Could it
be that Jesus breathed his last? Could it be
that his father had was saved? Turned his back
on the sun, disguising him. All hell seemed to
whisper, just forget everything. And the father
looked out down to his son and said, Come on.
Thank you. You bring to me a trail of galaxies
and dream of me. What kind of love is riding
on my soul until the end? We choose to wear a
crown of leaves and stars to bring light on.
What God does tells me I'm the reason he can
sing. challenge that I sit up here on the front
row worshiping the Lord, especially on Easter
Sunday, and I'm crying like a baby. And then
at a certain moment in time, I have to go, okay,
got to stop, got to stop. We have to get up and
preach in a minute. And so I'm struggling down
there to drink water and overcome. God is so
good. And we are so blessed. And I think there's
really like, at this point, there's nothing I
can say, but I have been given something to say.
And so I'm excited to be up here. And so I'm
going to share it with you. I'm a big fan of
an Underdog story. You know what I mean when
I say that? An underdog story. It's a story where
the guy that looks like he can't possibly win
comes out on top. I don't watch much professional
football anymore, but a lot of times when I do
watch professional football, I'm looking for
who is the underdog, the team that's surely going
to lose, and I'll root for them the entire game,
and occasionally they'll win, and boy do I love
it when they win. David was like that, or at
least people think he was anyway. He was an underdog.
He was this little boy, a young man anyway, who
went up against this giant with a giant spear,
right? And he went out with five smooth stones
and a sling against a big guy like that. The
stories of underdogs are told even today. For
example, we had a really kind of cool moment
when we were a young church, really while East
Toledo was kind of still blended with us. Our
team had lost every single softball game all
throughout the year. We lost every single game.
In fact, at one point, we were up 10 runs in
one of the last games. We thought, we're finally
going to win a game. And the other team came
back and scored 11 runs in the final. And we
had lost every single softball game. And they
went into the tournament and won every game to
go all the way to the finish and beat the Goliath
team at the end, who had never won a game by
less than 15 runs. So they beat everybody all
year long by 15 runs minimum and most teams by
30 runs. And then we beat them in the final game
to win the championship. And we were just blown
away. God is sometimes like that. He takes what
seems little and turns it to be great. And I
love that. And I can do a dozen of those stories.
And I always kind of weep and cry when I see
something like that happen. And I think. why
am i crying this is so cool why am i crying that's
because i'm kind of there's a sorrow in it And
I know why that is. And we're going to look at
that briefly. This is going to go by quickly,
but there's quite a bit in here. So I hope you
brought attentiveness and your thinking cap.
In John chapter 16, these are not our verses
for the day, but in John chapter 16, we see the
disciples wanting to go to Jesus and ask him
about what's about to happen before the crucifixion.
They want to go to Jesus and ask Jesus, what
are you talking about? What exactly? And this
is what it says in John 16, 17 and following.
It says, some of his disciples then said to one
another, what is this thing he is telling us
a little while and you will not see me. And again,
a little while and you will see me. And because
I go to the Father. What does he mean by that?
So they were saying, what is this that he says,
a little while? We do not know what he's talking
about. Jesus knew that they wished to question
him. And he said to them, are you deliberating
together about this, that I said a little while
and you will not see me? And again, a little
while and you will see me? He's talking about,
of course, his death, burial, and resurrection.
Truly, truly, I say to you that you will weep
and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will
grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.
Key in on that phrase from your grief will be
turned into joy. Whenever a woman is in labor,
she has pain because her hour has come. But when
she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers
the anguish because of the joy that a child has
been born into the world. Therefore, you too
have grief now, but I will see you again. And
your heart will rejoice. Listen to this. And
your heart will rejoice. And no one will take
your joy from you. That is an incredible statement.
That at the death and burial of Jesus, they would
grieve. But at the resurrection of Jesus, they
would receive joy. And they would receive joy.
And that that joy would never be stolen from.
Now understand that these 11 disciples and those
gathered around Jesus in that day. That most
of them. would die a martyr's death. And yet
Jesus would make the statement that no one would
take their joy away from them. That's a pretty
incredible statement. Now the text for the day
then speaks to us in a time when we are in the
same place. In a sense, in a very real sense,
we are waiting for Jesus to come again. Yet we
have the same promise of the disciples that our
joy will not be taken away from us. So if you
have your Bibles, grab them right now. Or if
you've got an electronic Bible, pull it up. And
if not, it's okay. I'm going to read the text
to you. I do encourage you to bring one. But
if you don't, it's okay. And then we're going
to go maybe a little who to holler amen. Take
a breath right now. Let it out loud like you
roll a Yahtzee or something. Romans chapter 8.
Thank you. This is God's word. Romans chapter
8, beginning in verse 31, says this. It says,
What then shall we say to these things? I dove
right in while you were still turning there,
and it's okay if you hadn't gotten there yet,
because we're going to take a break for a second
and look at what he means when he says, What
then shall we say to these things? Well, what
are these things? That's not the verses that
we just read from John 16, obviously. It's what
he's been talking about up until this point in
the book of Romans. So he says, what then shall
we say to these things? In other words, what
should our response be? Or what should we do?
What now? Then what? Is what he's saying in response
to these things. Let me give you briefly, this
is going to go by really fast. I apologize for
that in advance. You can listen to it on the
podcast later if you personally need it. Again,
after this fact. In Romans chapter 5, Paul is
talking about justification. by faith. It's chapters
1 through 5. He talks about how bad off man is,
a picture of humanity's sinfulness. That's really
the first three chapters. And then how all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We
know that verse, hopefully. If you haven't ever
heard it before, you just heard it now. Romans
3, 23, where it says all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God. but God did not leave
us in despair. No, he takes us straight to the
foot of the cross, as Paul talks about. We are
justified by faith in Romans 3 .28. Justification
is a gift of God's grace in Romans 3 .24. Through
faith in Christ, God declares us righteous, not
because of our own goodness, but because of his
son's finished work. Then he says, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's
Romans 5 .1. We stand in grace rejoicing in the
hope of the glory of God, Romans 5 .2. He says
we have a new identity in Christ in Romans 6.
Paul makes it clear that justification leads
to transformation. If you say you've been saved
and God has made it as if you never had sinned,
that's what justification is like. He makes it
as if you had never sinned, then you should live
a certain way now. There's a response to that.
We are changed completely in the moment of our
beginning of our justification. transformed.
We are dead to sin and alive to God in Romans
6 .11. Sin no longer has dominion over us. Sin
cannot reign over us. It cannot capture us or
control us because we are under grace, Romans
6 .14. We've become servants of righteousness.
We're not slaves to sin anymore. And then beginning
in Romans 7, he talks about, which is right before
our text for the day, He talks about how freedom
from the law and power of sin is now a thing.
Paul explains the law's role. It revealed sin
to us. It makes it clear. God said, don't do
that. Do this instead. And people did what God
told them not to do. And they failed to do what
God told them to do. We've done the same thing.
The law is holy, but it's made fruitless. It
doesn't have the power that it could have had
because our flesh is weak, Paul says. And even
though we struggle, we are not condemned because
we have a Savior who delivers us. Oh, Paul says,
oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver
me? I thank God through Christ Jesus our Lord
in Romans 7, 24 and 25. And then into chapter
8, getting very near our text for the day, here's
where Paul opens the floodgates of God's gospel
assurance. Life is in the Spirit of God. There
is therefore now no condemnation to them who
are in Christ Jesus, Paul writes in 8 .1. We
are set free from the law of sin and death in
8 .2. The Spirit of God dwells in us, giving
us life in 8 .9 -11. We are children of God,
adopted in His family, Romans 8 .15. The Spirit
testifies with our spirit that we are His, 8
.16. As children, we are heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ, Romans 8 .17. Even in suffering,
we have a hope that does not disappoint. 8 .18
-25. The Spirit helps us in our weakness, interceding
for us when we don't know how to pray. That's
26 and 27. And then that glorious promise, all
things work together for good to them that love
God. We talked about that on Tuesday. Romans
8 .28. We are part of God's eternal plan, foreknown,
God knew in advance. predestined, God chose in
advance, called, God called, justified, God made
it as if we had never sinned, and glorified.
It's a done deal in heaven's courtroom. And then
we come to the text for the day. But in summary,
all that we have looked at, God has said through
Romans 8 and all the verses and chapters before
it that there is forgiveness for our past. You
don't have to look at what you did and you don't
have to be what you did. You don't have to look
at what was done to you or be affected by what
was done to you. There is forgiveness for our
past. For everything that we are a part of and
anyone did anything to us, we can be made clean,
made new. All things made new, there is forgiveness
for our past. And there is power for our present.
I stood on the dock just this last week with
a man and he said to me, you're telling me that
if I start to follow the Lord, that I start to
go to church and behave as a Christian, that
all my problems will go away, that everything
will be made right. And I had to say to him,
no, that's not exactly how it works. God does
not promise that if you will come and follow
him, that all of your problems will go away and
that everything will be made perfect. But he
does promise that he'll be with you through every
one of those problems. And he promises in this
moment of forgiveness and a cleansing that all
things old will fall away and all things new
will come. I don't exactly know what God would
do in your life if you turn your life over to
the Lord, but here's what I can tell you. If
you would just turn your life over to the Lord
and begin to act like a Christian in order to
get those blessings, in order to see God's power
at work in the presence, in order to see God's
future that he has aligned for you, if that's
the only reason that you would do it, then it's
probably not going to do anything at all. There
is power in the present for the one that recognizes
that God has right to be Lord because he came
in the flesh as God the Son, Jesus Christ, and
died on the cross for sin and rose again. That
he is Lord because he created the entire universe.
That he foresaw your existence. That he brought
you to this moment in time right now. And if
you will recognize that and submit to him, there
is forgiveness for your past and power for your
present. And there is glory for your future.
That's the good news. That's the gospel we preach.
And it's enough to make a Baptist shout, which
is saying something, because what I've noticed
about most of you is you're fairly reserved in
worship compared to other people, compared to
those who have recognized this power in the present.
What we saw in John 16 was Jesus was saying he
was going to leave them and he was going to come
back. And that great joy unending would result.
And then what happened? He left them. He was
crucified on the cross. And as we sang in the
Psalms and heard the text today, there was a
moment in time, though they wanted to believe
what Jesus said. They wanted to expect a return,
expect something great to come out of it. But
there he was hanging on the cross, barely able
to catch a breath, ripped to shreds and nailed
to wood. You could just hear the evil spirits
whispering to every mind, it's done. All that
he said, it means nothing. He's got nothing,
you see. And there were the men crucified on
either side of him calling out, you saved others,
save us, save yourself. Can't you, can't you
do anything? Can't you bring us down from this
cross? And the soldiers mocking him and the people
gambling for his clothes and one indecency after
another piled on until, Can this possibly be
the son of God? Can he be the one that's going
to save all people? And they wept and they ached
and they mourned because he left them just as
he said he would. But on that third day, he came
back and they rejoiced and they, as he promised,
received a joy unending. And then. And then we
come to our text for the day. And Paul writes,
as we have already read in verse 31, what then
shall we say to these things? What is our action
plan? What will we now do in light of everything
that's been laid out for us? All that I've said
to you in seven chapters and 30 verses, all of
those conclusions that can easily be made based
on what God has done, what then shall we do?
What should we say? And in that same verse, he
finishes the verse by saying this. If God is
for us, who is against us? What power in all
the world would stand against us? He who did
not spare his own son, but delivered him over
for us all, how will he not also with him, with
Jesus, freely give us all things? And you know
what the answer is to that question. The one
who delivered his own son for us, he will indeed
give us all things freely with him. There is
no way that it can be conceived that he would
not deliver all things to us as he does to Jesus
and to us with Jesus. Verse 33 says, who will
bring a charge against God's elect? Shall we
say it together? No one! No one will bring a
charge against me. I am in Christ. Go ahead,
find fault if you will. For I am cleansed. I
am a soldier and a child of God in the house
of God receiving the keys to the kingdom. And
no one will bring a charge against me. God is
the one who justifies. Go ahead. Say I am wicked.
Say I am a fool. Say I am weak. Say I speak poorly.
God is the one who justifies. He is the one who
has cleansed me from all sin. Not because of
my good works. Or because of the awesome and
fearfully and wonderfully made person that he
made me? Not even because of that, but because
of the righteousness of Jesus Christ who was
crucified on the cross to pay for sins. Verse
34. Who is the one who condemns? Let Satan come.
Let the accuser arise. Let him walk through the
doors of this church building and say, you are
not saved. And you spit in his face and say,
you are dirt under my feet. I am saved by the
holy power of a risen Savior. Who is the one
who condemns? Christ Jesus is he who died. Yes,
rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand
of God, who also intercedes for us, and he will
not fail to do so. Verse 35 says, who will separate
us from the love of Christ? Who will separate
us from the love of Christ? As they were crucified,
their joy was retained. They hung on crosses,
were boiled in pots, stretched out by horses,
burned alive. And joyfully so, because Jesus
Christ had risen indeed. While he was still alive,
Jesus' brother James thought he was nuts. He
said, crazy. And he and the others and their
mother came and they tried to pull Jesus out.
He's in there teaching again. He's teaching he's
the son of God. He's teaching he's going to be
resurrected. He's teaching faithful living, following
the Lord despite persecutions. He's teaching
a kingdom that is not of this earth, but a kingdom
that is of heaven. That is of eternity. We've
got to stop this, mom. He's nuts. He's wacko.
And they came. And they tried to pull him out.
And he didn't come out. He says, those that gather
around me, they are my brothers and sisters and
my mother. The kingdom of God is real. She stood
at the cross and wept. James wasn't there. At
least as far as we know. But you know, after
Jesus came back to life and James saw him alive,
he didn't call himself a Jew anymore. He called
himself a Christian. He became a follower of
the living Christ and he received the joy. though
he was not a disciple of Jesus while Jesus was
alive. He abandoned everything he knew, his lifelong
religion and processes, and turned himself over
to worshiping the living Christ. The man who
knew him from birth, probably, knew him most
of his life, since he could remember, called
him crazy, and then was redeemed. You ever know
anybody who called following Jesus crazy and
then was redeemed? If you think you haven't,
you're wrong because that was me for over 25
years. Yeah, they're all over. We all did it.
It's nuts. Except it's not really nuts. It's
actually right. Who will separate us from the
love of Christ? Will tribulation, that means
when you go through trouble, or distress, that
means when you're internally troubled. Or persecution,
that's when you're attacked for your faith. Or
famine, you go without food. Or nakedness, you
go without proper attire or even clothing. Or
peril, you're faced with possible death. Or sword,
you're actually put to death or stricken down.
Will any of those things separate us from the
love of Christ, he asks? Verse 36, just as it
is written, for your sake we are being put to
death all day long. That's Psalm 44, verse 22.
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
Verse 37 says, but in all these things, we overwhelmingly
conquer through him who loved us. Let's be really
super clear about what we just said. We just
said that if we should be found in tribulation,
distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril,
or sword, if we should be put to death in this
lifetime, if we should find death, a horrible
death, stressed out by horses or burned alive
or boiled in a pot, strung up on a cross, hung
in our backyards. shot through our windows, persecuted
unto death in any way, shape, or form, if that
should be true, in those things we will be found
as victors. If you are struggling with the events
of your life, and you're like, man, I don't like
my circumstances, understand that you are victorious.
You have been given a joy in Christ. If you are
in Christ, you have been given a joy in Christ
that the things that you are experiencing cannot
touch. And if you do not have a joy internally,
a joy in Christ, that the things that you are
experiencing cannot touch, then I ask you, where
is your joy coming from? Is it coming from a
risen Savior? You know that he went to the cross
for the joy that was set before him, right? Do
you think that that's like he's going to come
back to life and then he's going to go to heaven
and he was joyous when he got to heaven? Was
that the joy that was set before him? Because
he knew he was going to go to heaven. That was
already done, whether he died there or died elsewhere.
He was going to heaven because he is the eternal
God in flesh. So he was going. I submit to you
that it's your joy, my joy, this kind of joy
that Paul's talking about, that was set before
him. But in all these things, whatever our suffering
may be, we overwhelmingly, there we go, overwhelmingly
conquer through him who loved us. Verse 38 says,
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other created thing will be able
to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. You're going to go
through it. You're going to face it. But whatever
it is, it can't touch you. I told you I like
an underdog story. I told you I often cry. And
I think I recently discovered why. Because when
I think about the story of David and Goliath
specifically, I often think of David as a Goliath
and I resonate with him. And I'm like, you know
what? I was a lost person. I was a liar and I
was a thief and so on. And so I was definitely
an underdog. I was on my way to hell. I was an
underdog. And God brought me out and he saved
me. And so now I'm on my way to heaven. And that's
a great turnaround story. And all of that is
true. But I just realized as I was preparing
this message, I just realized that the story
of David and Goliath, in that story, David's
not the underdog. David's not the underdog. Goliath
was the underdog. And he didn't overcome. He
didn't have victory. Goliath was the underdog,
and he died to a boy, a man nine feet tall with
a spear as large as a weaver's loom, that no
one in all the armies that they had faced before
would even come out to face. A boy came out and
faced him, and he was destroyed. A boy stood
on his chest and cut his head off with his own
sword after taking him down with a sling. You
see, we're not the underdogs. We're the power
of God on earth. He is working in us the Holy
Spirit power that is in you. The gifting that
God has given you, it cannot be overcome. It
cannot be stolen from you, not by anything. You
face Satan himself. If he rips your face off,
he translates you immediately into an eternal
heaven that he cannot enter. He doesn't want
to hurt you because if he really hurts you, you
go where he can't go. You escape his wrath, the
demons, the evil spirits, Satan, the world system,
the violence, the persecution, the peril, the
soldiers, the enemies, all of it. They're all
defeated already. The outcome is predetermined.
Jesus said, I will go away from you. It'll be
for a short while. You will grieve and then your
grief will be turned to mourning. I submit you
for 25 years of my life, I grieved. I grieved
my own wickedness, my own plots and plans, my
own schemes. I grieved what people did that I
didn't like, the things that went on around me.
They vexed me internally. I felt crushed and
my heart turned to stone as I thought about the
terrible things that were going on. And some
of them, I was the one doing it. I remember having
traumatic flashbacks of violent fights that I
had when I was in high school, traumatic flashbacks
of things that I said that hurt people, things
that I did, blood that I caused to be spilled.
And all that while, I was the underdog, and I
was losing the fight. I was going to hell. I
would sit there judgmentally and think about
what other people were doing. I really never
thought about how I lied or cheated or stole.
In fact, that made me feel kind of good about
myself when I thought about that. But then when
I saw the hurt it caused, I regretted that people
were hurt. Or when somebody caught me, I would
say, I'm so sorry. But I really wasn't. I submit
to you that the great enemies of God's people,
the outcome is predetermined. When Jesus went
to the cross, when Satan tempted Jesus, there
was no question that he would stand up to the
temptation. Not because he couldn't sin, because
he was tempted the same way men are. But because
he wouldn't sin. Because he knew what was at
stake. And now, so do you. Jesus did not come
to condemn, but rather they are condemned already
by what they have done with the Son of God. That's
John 3, 17. The question is, what have you done
with the Son of God? I'd love to be able to say
to you today that if you truly turn, if you haven't
already, you truly turn your life over to the
Lord, that suddenly everything will get better.
It may. It happens. There are a number of underdog
stories like that. I was thinking about that
Scottish farmer. I think Anselm was his first
name in South Africa. And he and his wife, her
name was Jill. It's funny, I remember her name
and don't remember his. But anyway, their farm
was going bankrupt. He was a drinker and a party.
You can hear this story, by the way, in the movie
Faith's Like Potatoes. If you've never seen it,
I highly recommend it. And he gave his life to
Christ in a small church service. And he began
to faithfully live for the Lord and study his
Bible and pray. And over time, their farm was
no longer going bankrupt. They started to have
crops when nobody else was having crops. And
that made them reasonably wealthy. They opened
an orphanage and began to take in kids. There
was tons of them because there was a famine and
people were dying and bad things, vicious things
were happening. So there was tons of kids who
didn't have parents. They started taking them
in and opened a big orphanage. In time, God called
him to preach the gospel. Eventually, some years
after he got saved, 200 ,000 men from all over
South Africa came to his huge farm to hear the
gospel preached. Now, I'm not saying you're going
to be a huge evangelist or win 200 ,000 men to
Christ. I don't even know if anybody got saved
that day for sure. But his was a great turnaround
story. And one stands before you today, raised
a liar and a deceiver and a thief. 25 and a half
years old, started attending East Little Baptist
Church and just listening to the gospel be preached.
And over time, I was there for a while, over
six months. I began to realize that there was
a truth in this. And if there's a truth in it,
there's something I have to do. And one Sunday
I said to myself, you know, I think I'm going
to give my life to the Lord. And whether it was
evil spirits or my own selfishness, I made an
excuse. I said, no, I'm going to talk to my wife
first. Because we had a lot of trouble. Our relationship
was not really good then. And I didn't do it.
And the next Sunday I came again and I felt the
Lord saying, give. Give your life to me. Come
on, follow me. I'm going to transform you. That's
what happens when you're justified, when you're
saved. You're transformed. I'm going to make
you new. I'm going to put all that behind you.
It's going to be something brand new. And I said,
ah, but I didn't talk to my wife. I made an excuse.
So that Sunday afternoon, driving along the Portage
River down to our favorite pizza restaurant in
Bowling Green, I brought up the topic. And I
said, I think I'm going to give my life to Christ.
And she said, well, what does that even mean?
What's going to happen? And I said, I don't know.
But I do know this. Everything's going to be
different. And she said, well, you do what you're
going to do and then I'm going to do whatever
I got to do. And I was like, well, that didn't
sound very hopeful. Maybe encouraging if you
take it the right way, but our relationship was
rocky. And so I really didn't. I'm like, oh,
great. So what she's basically saying to me,
there's a half decent chance if I become a Christian,
I may lose my wife. But I was pretty sure because
I was a jerk that there's a half decent chance
if I didn't become a Christian, I was going to
lose my wife. So I don't really think that was
that much. And I gave my life to Christ and everything
went behind. Do I still sometimes suffer doubt
or fear like anybody else? Do I still sin? Sure.
Maybe I shouldn't. You can judge me now if you
want. But your judgment will fall to the floor
useless. It's nothing. Because who justifies
the risen Savior? He went away for a short time.
When he came back, he turned their mourning into
joy. He's been back ever since. You may not physically
see him walking around today, but he's back.
And he's standing at the right hand of the Father
making intercession. The question is, will you
allow him to make intercession for you? He'll
never fail you. He'll never fail to cleanse you.
He'll never fail to deliver joy into your heart
if you allow it. He'll never fail to show up
for you. He'll give you Holy Spirit gifts that
cannot be held back. And yeah, at some point
in time you may be persecuted unto death. Can
you imagine? If you're here and you're not saved,
I imagine you think that if you were... like
hung on a cross or burnt alive, whatever, that
there's no possible way that you'd be able to
maintain your composure. That's the way I would,
like when something would really go bad, like
I would blow up, right? Like I would break stuff,
throw stuff, yell. I would run away. I'd peel
my car, burn my rubber on the street outside
my house to just prove my point, all those things.
Now I'm dying. I'm dying on a cross. I'm going
to be boiled alive. I'm marching to my own death.
How could I possibly endure? Don't you understand?
You're being told. by the God of heaven right
now, that your joy is untouchable. Your Goliath
is only destructible. The outcome is predetermined.
David didn't say, I'll go fight him. I'm tough
enough. I can take him. He basically said, this
battle belongs not to me, but to the Lord. I'm
asking you today, if you haven't done so already,
surrender your life into the hands of the living.
And say, whatever I see God doing, whatever Jesus
wants me to do, that's what I'll do. Whatever
he wants me to be, that's what I'll be. I can't
tell you. I don't know your story exactly. Some
of you, I know your story. I believe you profess
Christ. If you have not truly given your life
over into the hands of the Lord, do so now. Be
forgiven for your sins and have a joy that will
go on through with you. How will he not give
us everything? He already sacrificed his son
for us. Of course he will give us everything.
There is no other way. The victory is determined.
The only question that remains is, which side
of the battle will you be on when all the fighting
stops? I saw a meme on Facebook this week. I
loved it. And it's loud to quote it. This is
my final illustration. There's a man standing
up in a tie and a suit on a stage. He probably
was preaching a sermon. I don't even know. And
he said, there's only two things you've got to
worry about in life. Anybody see it? Only two
things you've got to worry about in life. I share
it. I might have passed it out to some others.
Okay, so there's only two things you've got to
worry about in life. That is, are you sick or
are you healthy? If you're healthy, you've got
nothing to worry about. If you're sick, then
there's only two things you've got to worry about.
Am I going to get healthy or am I going to get
worse? If you get healthy, nothing you've got
to worry about. If you get worse, then there's
only two things you've got to worry about. Am
I going to live or am I going to die? If you're
going to live, there's nothing you've got to
worry about. If you're going to die, there's
only two things you've got to worry about. Am
I going to go to heaven or am I going to go to
hell? If you're going to go to heaven, there's
nothing you're going to worry about. If you're
going to go to hell, there's only two things
you've got to worry about. Well done or extra
crispy. There is no other outcome. Will you give
your life to the Lord? I ask the praise team
to come forward. We're going to have a hymn of
invitation. This is the final song of our service
today. This is your opportunity to make public
any decision that you're making right now. So
I'm going to stand down here at the front. And
if you're giving your life to the Lord in earnest
for the first time ever, then you're going to
walk down here. You're going to take my hand
and say, Pastor Dan, beginning today, I'm living
for the Lord Jesus Christ nonstop. If you've
already done that, but you realize you've been
backside, you've been walking away, you've not
been trusting in Jesus, you probably know that
that kind of steals your joy. that that kind
of takes you to a place you don't want to go.
So would you all stand with me? If you're comfortable
to be able to do so, sing this song and respond
as the Lord is leading you to do so. I'll be
right down here to receive you. Thank you. As
you see these next verses, you come. We're going
to stop saying it this time. We're going to pray
together in a moment, and that's going to conclude
our services for the day. But all day long today,
he's still Jesus. All day long tomorrow and every
day yet until he returns, he's still Jesus. He
went to the cross. He paid the price. Has he
not paid the entry fee to be a part of your life?
I think he has. If you didn't even believe in
the cross, you knew that Jesus created everything
from the beginning. Nothing was created except
that which was created through him. The entry
price was already paid. And lots of people did
figure it out. And there were those who half
figured it out. And there's only part that figured
it out. And a lot of their stories are included
in the Bible throughout the Old Testament. They
figured out that there was a way that God would
make. Abraham was not saved because of the sacrifice
that he made. He was saved because he trusted
that God would eventually provide a way to save
him forever. Everybody who ever went to heaven
ever has gone through Jesus. Everybody who ever
went to heaven ever has gone through the way
that God would make. That you're in this room
and you're going to heaven by that way. The way
is clear. Nothing can steal it from you. You
ought to have joy. God wants to provide that.
I know there's mourning. There are times of mourning.
There's time to mourn. The Bible says there is
a time to mourn what you're going through. But
even in mourning, there is joy. I'll share two
quick stories with you, and we're going to pray
and we'll be done. The first one, real quick.
The first one was me had a baby. It served our
family for a long, long time. Her name was Jo.
Jo was a pretty devout Christian. but she had
some pretty significant health concerns. For
about 10 years, I didn't even know she was a
Christian, because I see she's pretty devout.
But she saw us growing in the Lord. She didn't
really go to church much. She was in her Bible,
but we didn't really know it, that kind of thing.
And after I shared it with her, we talked about
it, I shared the gospel with her, she found out
she was already saved by her profession. And
we spent a lot of time talking about God after
that. But as the time was going on, Joe was declared
completely disabled. by a psychologist's recommendation.
Because the psychologist said that after she
had been viciously dragged out the drive -thru
window at her big boy that she was working at
while she was working at the drive -thru window,
the big boy had been running, grabbed her leg,
and it ripped her bodily out the drive -thru
window. Part of one lung, had one hand that didn't
work right, had other physical ailments and stuff.
And the psychologist said that she should be
upset. She should be sad. She should be mourning
and struggling psychologically every single day
because of what she had gone through. And she
wasn't. And they examined her over the space
of about a year and a half. And they said, you
know, this is not reasonable. At some point in
time, you're going to have a complete massive
break because you're not mourning like you should
be or whatever. And instead, she had joy. She
was more than okay. Comical, even. Every day
that we knew her. And she eventually went to
be with the Lord, as far as we know. And another
story, this one I just heard this morning. If
you want more details, you can talk to Brother
Kress. I was up there at Kairos weekend. There
was a man named Greg. He gave me his name. I
didn't tell him I was going to share this, but
I'm going to get in trouble for it. I'm not going
to get in trouble, am I? Okay, I'm good. Greg
was in prison for 39 years. He still is. And
still is in prison now. He denied the living
Christ, denied the existence of God. He went
in prison at 21, so now he's 60. That's how the
math works out. And he hired us this weekend,
this last weekend. He gave his life to the Lord
and was so overwhelmed emotionally after giving
his life to the Lord that he just sobbed like
a baby and couldn't speak at the closing service.
I submit to you, sometimes you're sobbing like
a baby and it's joy. And that's what's going
on there. That's what's going on. When I'm crying
up here on the front chair, I'm sobbing in joy.
God wants to turn lives around. That is a message.
I don't want to say it this way, but I'm going
to. That is a message that will sell. You tell
people there is an enduring joy in Jesus. And
when they know they don't have that and they
see this up and down like an echocardiogram of
their life, they're at the high and they're at
the low and there's everywhere in between struggles.
And Jesus weathers the storms. Jesus continues
to fill your sail with a driving wind that will
take you forward to the moment at which you meet
him. He alone can judge us and he alone provides
that joy and praise God for it. Don't spend $39.
years in a prison of your own making, or in real
prison, because you're denying the truth of God.
Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,
and then let's go tell everybody we possibly
can that this is available. It is good news.