WEBVTT 00:00:05.109 --> 00:00:12.710 All of the ground is sinking sand. All of the 00:00:12.710 --> 00:01:12.750 ground is sinking sand. on the ground is When 00:01:12.750 --> 00:01:18.609 darkness seems to hide his face, I rest in his 00:01:18.609 --> 00:01:25.129 unchanging grace. In every high and stormy hell, 00:01:27.189 --> 00:01:50.010 my anger haunts within the veil. Good morning, 00:01:50.090 --> 00:01:52.689 good morning, good morning. It's Easter Sunday 00:01:52.689 --> 00:01:55.230 morning. Now, we come together every Sunday to 00:01:55.230 --> 00:01:57.370 celebrate the resurrection, but today is the 00:01:57.370 --> 00:02:00.010 day, once a year, that we get to drill down on 00:02:00.010 --> 00:02:02.689 it and say, this is the day that Jesus rose from 00:02:02.689 --> 00:02:04.989 the dead. This is the day that the tomb was found 00:02:04.989 --> 00:02:08.069 empty. This is the day that God showed us something. 00:02:08.530 --> 00:02:10.770 He showed us something that we had not yet seen. 00:02:11.210 --> 00:02:14.889 The victory of Jesus Christ over death. Praise 00:02:14.889 --> 00:02:16.789 the Lord. You're going to see that story unfold 00:02:16.789 --> 00:02:18.729 throughout our service today. And it's going 00:02:18.729 --> 00:02:22.330 to be a fun, amazing time as we learn and celebrate 00:02:22.330 --> 00:02:24.909 the Lord. You want to remember, if you would, 00:02:25.110 --> 00:02:28.110 the families involved with the car accident that 00:02:28.110 --> 00:02:31.870 took place the night before last. There was a 00:02:31.870 --> 00:02:34.449 tree that fell on an electrical line. The electrical 00:02:34.449 --> 00:02:37.009 line that fell on a car. A man, a Sunday school 00:02:37.009 --> 00:02:39.729 teacher from Northwest, lost his life. Pastor 00:02:39.729 --> 00:02:42.330 Richards was very injured in the hospital. So 00:02:42.330 --> 00:02:44.620 if you would pray for them. And all over the 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:48.719 world. There was a man in South Africa who the 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:52.199 police managed to rescue him. He'd been picked 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:54.860 off by rebels during a worship service and taken 00:02:54.860 --> 00:02:57.639 into custody. And then the police found him and 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.340 got him out safely. Praise God for that. And 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:02.319 then there are other stories as well, some of 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:05.060 which you'll hear a little later. But the bottom 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:08.099 line is God is at work. He's doing amazing things 00:03:08.099 --> 00:03:11.669 in our lifetime. It isn't over until it's over. 00:03:11.969 --> 00:03:14.689 It's never too late, right? It's never too late 00:03:14.689 --> 00:03:17.430 until it's too late. Praise God it's not too 00:03:17.430 --> 00:03:19.129 late for us. We are here today for the Word of 00:03:19.129 --> 00:03:21.330 God, for the living Word of God, Jesus Christ, 00:03:21.449 --> 00:03:23.310 to recognize Him, recognize what He has done, 00:03:23.389 --> 00:03:26.169 and that is to overcome death once and for all. 00:03:26.389 --> 00:03:29.009 And we'll praise Him as we sing and as we listen 00:03:29.009 --> 00:03:32.229 to the story and as we go to the Word. And even 00:03:32.229 --> 00:03:35.469 as we spend time together, it's all about Jesus. 00:03:36.530 --> 00:03:40.099 Let's pray together and then we'll work. Father 00:03:40.099 --> 00:03:45.819 in heaven, you are king. You are in charge. I 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:48.240 think about that night when Jesus was struggling 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:50.580 with the course ahead and he knew what had to 00:03:50.580 --> 00:03:55.120 be done but strained to do it. Sometimes I feel 00:03:55.120 --> 00:04:00.879 like that. But Lord, knowing, knowing the pathway 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:02.960 that you have laid out for us, knowing how you 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:07.300 have given us victory. makes me able in a way 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:11.400 that I cannot explain. I praise you this day 00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:13.199 for all that you've done in our lives and the 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:14.800 lives of this church and the families that are 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:16.819 here and the families that are here represented. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:20.319 We pray for the ones who promised to be here, 00:04:20.420 --> 00:04:22.779 wanted to be here, were headed this way, and 00:04:22.779 --> 00:04:26.060 one thing or another restrained them. We pray 00:04:26.060 --> 00:04:28.480 that they will be with us just as soon as you 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:30.339 are ready to break them free from whatever it 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:34.639 is that held them back. We pray for our Our sister 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:36.699 Chris this morning, she's struggling with her 00:04:36.699 --> 00:04:38.420 back. It's been ongoing. It's getting a little 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:40.519 better and a little better each day. And she's 00:04:40.519 --> 00:04:43.180 heartbroken that she can't be here. We pray for 00:04:43.180 --> 00:04:46.060 Pastor Richard and his family and her family, 00:04:46.139 --> 00:04:48.139 the man who was in the car with them who passed 00:04:48.139 --> 00:04:52.220 away very quickly under terrible circumstances. 00:04:53.699 --> 00:04:55.699 We pray for those who are living in this world 00:04:55.699 --> 00:04:59.879 who are in any way captive, which is completely 00:04:59.879 --> 00:05:03.500 unnecessary. because you have shown the way to 00:05:03.500 --> 00:05:07.420 freedom. We pray for us that we would be found 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:09.740 strong. I know somewhere in a service, somewhere 00:05:09.740 --> 00:05:13.100 on this planet, someone will get excited and 00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:15.439 they'll cry out, Hallelujah, praise the Lord. 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:21.500 Somewhere on this planet, this day, someone will 00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:23.939 stand and sing out with all the voice that they 00:05:23.939 --> 00:05:26.899 have, whether they know the notes or the melody, 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:30.110 whether it sounds... professional or not, they 00:05:30.110 --> 00:05:31.709 will sing out all the voices they have because 00:05:31.709 --> 00:05:34.069 there is nothing that they can do except praise 00:05:34.069 --> 00:05:35.949 the God of heaven who's done this amazing thing. 00:05:37.810 --> 00:05:40.910 Somewhere, someone will give their heart. All 00:05:40.910 --> 00:05:42.670 that they are, all that they have left, all the 00:05:42.670 --> 00:05:47.329 days, all the minutes, follow you completely. 00:05:49.029 --> 00:05:52.870 Someday, we're going to come into a place where 00:05:52.870 --> 00:05:54.970 everyone who will gather who have done all those 00:05:54.970 --> 00:05:58.439 things will look back at the days and say, Oh, 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:00.620 I'm so glad I said hallelujah. I'm so glad I 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:02.800 surrendered my life. I'm so glad I gave each 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:05.800 moment. I don't know if it will be here, Lord. 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:08.980 I suppose there will be somebody here who will 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:10.660 get very excited. There will be somebody here 00:06:10.660 --> 00:06:12.379 who will sing when they don't normally sing. 00:06:12.579 --> 00:06:14.540 There will be somebody here who will rise and 00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:16.600 raise their hands and honor you. Someone will 00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:19.779 cry out hallelujah. Someone will honor you with 00:06:19.779 --> 00:06:21.899 their voice. Someone will commit their heart 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:24.459 and their time to you. I pray it will be here. 00:06:25.529 --> 00:06:27.410 Indeed, Lord, I pray that it will be every single 00:06:27.410 --> 00:06:32.189 one of us in your will, as you see fit, we submit 00:06:32.189 --> 00:06:36.370 this time to you. We praise you, Lord. The Son 00:06:36.370 --> 00:06:40.529 has risen. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:07:08.680 --> 00:11:55.110 Come on! Thank you. inside happen here, and real 00:11:55.110 --> 00:11:58.169 quick, I want to preface this with a, we're not 00:11:58.169 --> 00:12:00.909 doing the typical Easter story today. We know 00:12:00.909 --> 00:12:03.129 that Jesus died on the cross to save us from 00:12:03.129 --> 00:12:05.690 our sins, and that he rose again and beat death 00:12:05.690 --> 00:12:09.909 once again. So, what we're doing today is we're 00:12:09.909 --> 00:12:12.330 going to add on to that, and we're going to give 00:12:12.330 --> 00:12:17.190 you the reason why once we accept the fact that 00:12:17.190 --> 00:12:21.000 Jesus rose again and defeated death, why we can 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:23.320 move on with that and we can live the life that 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:25.580 he wants us to live. So pay attention to these 00:12:25.580 --> 00:12:31.320 pieces. Amen. I still believe in amazing grace. 00:12:31.820 --> 00:12:34.720 Ephesians 2 .8 and 9 says, For by grace you have 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:36.700 been saved through faith, and this is not your 00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:39.120 own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.740 of works, so that no one may boast. Titus 3 .5 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:46.240 says, He saved us not because of righteous deeds 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:49.480 we did, but because of his mercy. He saved us 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:51.840 through the washing of rebirth and renewal by 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:55.139 the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously. 00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:00.080 Romans 3 .24 says, And all are justified freely 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.659 by his grace, through the redemption that came 00:13:02.659 --> 00:13:07.879 by Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15 .10 says, By 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:10.940 the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace 00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:13.840 towards me was not in vain. Indeed, I labored 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:16.919 harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace 00:13:16.919 --> 00:14:59.580 of God that was with me. Amen. Lord has promised 00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:13.120 good to me. His word I will secure. He will my 00:15:13.120 --> 00:16:33.360 shield and portion be. In him we have redemption 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.019 through his blood, forgiveness of our wrongdoings, 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:38.100 according to the riches of his grace which he 00:16:38.100 --> 00:16:41.399 has lashed on us. Hebrews 10 .19. Therefore, 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:44.120 brothers and sisters, that we have confidence 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:46.320 to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus. 00:16:47.019 --> 00:16:51.320 Matthew 26 .27 -29. And when he had taken a cup 00:16:51.320 --> 00:16:55.840 and given thanks, he gave to them, saying, Do 00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:59.080 not drink from it, all of you, for this is my 00:16:59.080 --> 00:17:03.000 blood of the covenant. which is being poured 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:06.640 out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:08.940 to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the 00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:13.599 vine from now on until the day when I drink it 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:17.119 from you new in my Father's kingdom. 1 John 1 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:20.759 .7 But if we walk in the light as he himself 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:22.900 is in the light, we have fellowship with one 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:26.440 another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses 00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:36.230 us from all sin. victory in Jesus, my Savior 00:17:36.230 --> 00:17:43.470 forever. He sought me and bought me with His 00:17:43.470 --> 00:18:57.900 redeeming blood. oh is Just is the flow that 00:18:57.900 --> 00:19:05.619 makes me white as snow. No other ground I know. 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:11.480 Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:40.039 blood of Jesus. We love the blood of Jesus. John 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:48.259 20, 11 through 18. But Mary was standing outside 00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:51.700 the tomb weeping. And so as she wept, she stood, 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:55.019 she stooped, excuse me, and looked into the tomb. 00:19:55.589 --> 00:19:59.130 She saw two angels in white sitting, one at the 00:19:59.130 --> 00:20:01.630 head, one at the feet, where the body of Jesus 00:20:01.630 --> 00:20:06.529 had been lying. They said to her, Woman, why 00:20:06.529 --> 00:20:11.769 are you weeping? She said to them, Because they 00:20:11.769 --> 00:20:15.009 have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where 00:20:15.009 --> 00:20:24.049 they have laid him. When she said this, she turned 00:20:24.049 --> 00:20:27.220 around, and saw Jesus standing there, and did 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:30.359 not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 00:20:30.420 --> 00:20:33.259 Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? 00:20:35.019 --> 00:20:39.480 Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, Sir, 00:20:39.640 --> 00:20:42.140 if you have carried him away, tell me where you 00:20:42.140 --> 00:20:45.440 have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:49.000 said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:54.890 in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus 00:20:54.890 --> 00:21:08.869 said to her, Mary Magdalene came announcing to 00:21:08.869 --> 00:21:11.170 the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that 00:21:11.170 --> 00:22:20.329 he had said these things to her. That because 00:22:20.329 --> 00:22:24.150 he lives, I can face tomorrow. 1 Peter 1 .3 says, 00:22:36.910 --> 00:22:39.250 For indeed he was crucified because of weakness, 00:22:39.529 --> 00:22:42.630 yet he lives because of the power of God. For 00:22:42.630 --> 00:22:45.269 we are also weak in him, yet we will live with 00:22:45.269 --> 00:22:47.710 him because of the power of God directed toward 00:22:47.710 --> 00:22:51.670 you. Romans 6, 10, and 11. For the death that 00:22:51.670 --> 00:22:55.009 he died, he died to sin once for all. But the 00:22:55.009 --> 00:22:58.250 life that he lives, he lives to God. Even so, 00:22:58.269 --> 00:23:01.049 consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive 00:23:01.049 --> 00:23:16.059 to God in Christ Jesus. Who caught the sun when 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:23.460 you swam in the morning? And who taught the ocean 00:23:23.460 --> 00:24:45.430 you can only hunt this far? All because of the 00:24:45.430 --> 00:24:49.049 old ready cross. Romans 5 .8 But he demonstrates 00:24:49.049 --> 00:24:51.650 his own love towards us, in that while we were 00:24:51.650 --> 00:24:55.750 yet sinners, Christ died for us. John 3 .16 For 00:24:55.750 --> 00:24:57.809 God so loved the world, that he gave his only 00:24:57.809 --> 00:25:00.390 begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall 00:25:00.390 --> 00:25:03.730 not perish, but have eternal life. For God did 00:25:03.730 --> 00:25:06.349 not send the Son into the world to judge the 00:25:06.349 --> 00:25:08.690 world, but that the world might be saved through 00:25:08.690 --> 00:25:13.549 him. 1 Corinthians 1 .18 For the word of the 00:25:13.549 --> 00:25:16.490 cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, 00:25:16.730 --> 00:25:19.569 but to us who are being saved it is the power 00:25:19.569 --> 00:25:24.109 of God. Hebrews 12 .2 Fixing our eyes on Jesus, 00:25:24.250 --> 00:25:27.730 the author and perfecter of faith, who for the 00:25:27.730 --> 00:25:30.809 joy set before him endured the cross, despising 00:25:30.809 --> 00:25:33.700 the shame, and is set down at the right hand 00:25:33.700 --> 00:26:01.150 of the throne of God. I'll never do that again. 00:26:29.559 --> 00:26:59.619 Jesus died my soul to save Soon I'll cherish 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:09.640 the old rugged cross. Till my trophies at last 00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:18.380 I lay down. Sin had left a crimson stain. He 00:27:18.380 --> 00:27:34.670 washed it white as snow. So when it was evening 00:27:34.670 --> 00:27:37.630 on that day, the first day of the week, and when 00:27:37.630 --> 00:27:39.710 the doors were shut where the disciples were 00:27:39.710 --> 00:27:42.829 for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in 00:27:42.829 --> 00:27:45.690 their midst and said to them, Peace be with you. 00:27:45.990 --> 00:27:48.690 And when he had said this, he showed them both 00:27:48.690 --> 00:27:51.809 his hands and his side. The disciples then rejoiced 00:27:51.809 --> 00:27:55.329 when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them 00:27:55.329 --> 00:27:58.450 again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent 00:27:58.450 --> 00:28:02.170 me, I also send you. And when he had said this, 00:28:02.289 --> 00:28:05.430 he breathed on them and said to them, Receive 00:28:05.430 --> 00:28:08.569 the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, 00:28:08.789 --> 00:28:12.269 their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain 00:28:12.269 --> 00:28:19.029 the sins of any, they have been retained. At 00:28:19.029 --> 00:28:21.269 this time, children and their leaders can go 00:28:21.269 --> 00:28:24.109 to their classrooms. Kids, let's walk victoriously 00:28:24.109 --> 00:28:54.890 in the resurrection of the Lord. Now what was 00:28:54.890 --> 00:29:01.599 heard? At the tomb that day, just shut all the 00:29:01.599 --> 00:29:07.759 soldiers' feet as they guarded the grave. One 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:15.019 day, two days, three days had passed. Could it 00:29:15.019 --> 00:29:22.240 be that Jesus breathed his last? Could it be 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:29.339 that his father had was saved? Turned his back 00:29:29.339 --> 00:29:37.119 on the sun, disguising him. All hell seemed to 00:29:37.119 --> 00:29:42.940 whisper, just forget everything. And the father 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:48.740 looked out down to his son and said, Come on. 00:30:35.529 --> 00:31:45.940 Thank you. You bring to me a trail of galaxies 00:31:45.940 --> 00:31:56.440 and dream of me. What kind of love is riding 00:31:56.440 --> 00:32:17.119 on my soul until the end? We choose to wear a 00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:22.940 crown of leaves and stars to bring light on. 00:32:23.660 --> 00:32:31.400 What God does tells me I'm the reason he can 00:32:31.400 --> 00:36:59.190 sing. challenge that I sit up here on the front 00:36:59.190 --> 00:37:01.250 row worshiping the Lord, especially on Easter 00:37:01.250 --> 00:37:04.309 Sunday, and I'm crying like a baby. And then 00:37:04.309 --> 00:37:05.809 at a certain moment in time, I have to go, okay, 00:37:05.849 --> 00:37:07.210 got to stop, got to stop. We have to get up and 00:37:07.210 --> 00:37:09.150 preach in a minute. And so I'm struggling down 00:37:09.150 --> 00:37:11.530 there to drink water and overcome. God is so 00:37:11.530 --> 00:37:14.929 good. And we are so blessed. And I think there's 00:37:14.929 --> 00:37:17.130 really like, at this point, there's nothing I 00:37:17.130 --> 00:37:19.329 can say, but I have been given something to say. 00:37:19.369 --> 00:37:21.630 And so I'm excited to be up here. And so I'm 00:37:21.630 --> 00:37:24.150 going to share it with you. I'm a big fan of 00:37:24.150 --> 00:37:26.340 an Underdog story. You know what I mean when 00:37:26.340 --> 00:37:28.440 I say that? An underdog story. It's a story where 00:37:28.440 --> 00:37:31.039 the guy that looks like he can't possibly win 00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:33.960 comes out on top. I don't watch much professional 00:37:33.960 --> 00:37:36.219 football anymore, but a lot of times when I do 00:37:36.219 --> 00:37:37.579 watch professional football, I'm looking for 00:37:37.579 --> 00:37:40.179 who is the underdog, the team that's surely going 00:37:40.179 --> 00:37:42.139 to lose, and I'll root for them the entire game, 00:37:42.219 --> 00:37:44.119 and occasionally they'll win, and boy do I love 00:37:44.119 --> 00:37:47.480 it when they win. David was like that, or at 00:37:47.480 --> 00:37:49.679 least people think he was anyway. He was an underdog. 00:37:49.699 --> 00:37:52.079 He was this little boy, a young man anyway, who 00:37:52.079 --> 00:37:54.139 went up against this giant with a giant spear, 00:37:54.400 --> 00:37:56.440 right? And he went out with five smooth stones 00:37:56.440 --> 00:37:59.159 and a sling against a big guy like that. The 00:37:59.159 --> 00:38:02.440 stories of underdogs are told even today. For 00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:05.940 example, we had a really kind of cool moment 00:38:05.940 --> 00:38:08.960 when we were a young church, really while East 00:38:08.960 --> 00:38:13.039 Toledo was kind of still blended with us. Our 00:38:13.039 --> 00:38:16.019 team had lost every single softball game all 00:38:16.019 --> 00:38:17.300 throughout the year. We lost every single game. 00:38:17.340 --> 00:38:19.639 In fact, at one point, we were up 10 runs in 00:38:19.639 --> 00:38:20.980 one of the last games. We thought, we're finally 00:38:20.980 --> 00:38:22.900 going to win a game. And the other team came 00:38:22.900 --> 00:38:24.699 back and scored 11 runs in the final. And we 00:38:24.699 --> 00:38:26.739 had lost every single softball game. And they 00:38:26.739 --> 00:38:29.420 went into the tournament and won every game to 00:38:29.420 --> 00:38:31.320 go all the way to the finish and beat the Goliath 00:38:31.320 --> 00:38:35.019 team at the end, who had never won a game by 00:38:35.019 --> 00:38:37.619 less than 15 runs. So they beat everybody all 00:38:37.619 --> 00:38:39.980 year long by 15 runs minimum and most teams by 00:38:39.980 --> 00:38:42.739 30 runs. And then we beat them in the final game 00:38:42.739 --> 00:38:45.280 to win the championship. And we were just blown 00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:48.679 away. God is sometimes like that. He takes what 00:38:48.679 --> 00:38:53.179 seems little and turns it to be great. And I 00:38:53.179 --> 00:38:56.460 love that. And I can do a dozen of those stories. 00:38:57.300 --> 00:39:00.539 And I always kind of weep and cry when I see 00:39:00.539 --> 00:39:02.780 something like that happen. And I think. why 00:39:02.780 --> 00:39:05.219 am i crying this is so cool why am i crying that's 00:39:05.219 --> 00:39:08.030 because i'm kind of there's a sorrow in it And 00:39:08.030 --> 00:39:09.769 I know why that is. And we're going to look at 00:39:09.769 --> 00:39:11.269 that briefly. This is going to go by quickly, 00:39:11.449 --> 00:39:13.030 but there's quite a bit in here. So I hope you 00:39:13.030 --> 00:39:15.730 brought attentiveness and your thinking cap. 00:39:16.110 --> 00:39:18.630 In John chapter 16, these are not our verses 00:39:18.630 --> 00:39:20.489 for the day, but in John chapter 16, we see the 00:39:20.489 --> 00:39:23.750 disciples wanting to go to Jesus and ask him 00:39:23.750 --> 00:39:26.409 about what's about to happen before the crucifixion. 00:39:26.510 --> 00:39:28.429 They want to go to Jesus and ask Jesus, what 00:39:28.429 --> 00:39:30.090 are you talking about? What exactly? And this 00:39:30.090 --> 00:39:33.090 is what it says in John 16, 17 and following. 00:39:33.190 --> 00:39:35.429 It says, some of his disciples then said to one 00:39:35.429 --> 00:39:37.519 another, what is this thing he is telling us 00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:40.159 a little while and you will not see me. And again, 00:39:40.219 --> 00:39:43.420 a little while and you will see me. And because 00:39:43.420 --> 00:39:45.099 I go to the Father. What does he mean by that? 00:39:45.239 --> 00:39:48.219 So they were saying, what is this that he says, 00:39:48.360 --> 00:39:50.599 a little while? We do not know what he's talking 00:39:50.599 --> 00:39:53.000 about. Jesus knew that they wished to question 00:39:53.000 --> 00:39:54.940 him. And he said to them, are you deliberating 00:39:54.940 --> 00:39:57.420 together about this, that I said a little while 00:39:57.420 --> 00:39:59.599 and you will not see me? And again, a little 00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:01.820 while and you will see me? He's talking about, 00:40:01.860 --> 00:40:03.280 of course, his death, burial, and resurrection. 00:40:04.010 --> 00:40:07.010 Truly, truly, I say to you that you will weep 00:40:07.010 --> 00:40:09.869 and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will 00:40:09.869 --> 00:40:13.050 grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. 00:40:13.190 --> 00:40:15.449 Key in on that phrase from your grief will be 00:40:15.449 --> 00:40:18.309 turned into joy. Whenever a woman is in labor, 00:40:18.469 --> 00:40:21.369 she has pain because her hour has come. But when 00:40:21.369 --> 00:40:23.869 she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers 00:40:23.869 --> 00:40:26.789 the anguish because of the joy that a child has 00:40:26.789 --> 00:40:30.130 been born into the world. Therefore, you too 00:40:30.130 --> 00:40:33.440 have grief now, but I will see you again. And 00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:35.320 your heart will rejoice. Listen to this. And 00:40:35.320 --> 00:40:39.460 your heart will rejoice. And no one will take 00:40:39.460 --> 00:40:43.579 your joy from you. That is an incredible statement. 00:40:43.639 --> 00:40:46.239 That at the death and burial of Jesus, they would 00:40:46.239 --> 00:40:48.840 grieve. But at the resurrection of Jesus, they 00:40:48.840 --> 00:40:51.340 would receive joy. And they would receive joy. 00:40:51.519 --> 00:40:54.019 And that that joy would never be stolen from. 00:40:54.099 --> 00:40:56.579 Now understand that these 11 disciples and those 00:40:56.579 --> 00:40:58.880 gathered around Jesus in that day. That most 00:40:58.880 --> 00:41:04.539 of them. would die a martyr's death. And yet 00:41:04.539 --> 00:41:08.719 Jesus would make the statement that no one would 00:41:08.719 --> 00:41:11.820 take their joy away from them. That's a pretty 00:41:11.820 --> 00:41:14.659 incredible statement. Now the text for the day 00:41:14.659 --> 00:41:17.519 then speaks to us in a time when we are in the 00:41:17.519 --> 00:41:20.920 same place. In a sense, in a very real sense, 00:41:20.980 --> 00:41:26.110 we are waiting for Jesus to come again. Yet we 00:41:26.110 --> 00:41:28.889 have the same promise of the disciples that our 00:41:28.889 --> 00:41:31.030 joy will not be taken away from us. So if you 00:41:31.030 --> 00:41:33.570 have your Bibles, grab them right now. Or if 00:41:33.570 --> 00:41:35.010 you've got an electronic Bible, pull it up. And 00:41:35.010 --> 00:41:36.469 if not, it's okay. I'm going to read the text 00:41:36.469 --> 00:41:38.030 to you. I do encourage you to bring one. But 00:41:38.030 --> 00:41:40.309 if you don't, it's okay. And then we're going 00:41:40.309 --> 00:41:42.489 to go maybe a little who to holler amen. Take 00:41:42.489 --> 00:41:44.309 a breath right now. Let it out loud like you 00:41:44.309 --> 00:41:46.510 roll a Yahtzee or something. Romans chapter 8. 00:41:47.230 --> 00:41:51.030 Thank you. This is God's word. Romans chapter 00:41:51.030 --> 00:41:53.610 8, beginning in verse 31, says this. It says, 00:41:53.710 --> 00:41:56.010 What then shall we say to these things? I dove 00:41:56.010 --> 00:41:57.469 right in while you were still turning there, 00:41:57.530 --> 00:41:59.010 and it's okay if you hadn't gotten there yet, 00:41:59.030 --> 00:42:00.789 because we're going to take a break for a second 00:42:00.789 --> 00:42:03.170 and look at what he means when he says, What 00:42:03.170 --> 00:42:05.510 then shall we say to these things? Well, what 00:42:05.510 --> 00:42:07.889 are these things? That's not the verses that 00:42:07.889 --> 00:42:10.030 we just read from John 16, obviously. It's what 00:42:10.030 --> 00:42:13.309 he's been talking about up until this point in 00:42:13.309 --> 00:42:17.119 the book of Romans. So he says, what then shall 00:42:17.119 --> 00:42:18.619 we say to these things? In other words, what 00:42:18.619 --> 00:42:20.960 should our response be? Or what should we do? 00:42:21.019 --> 00:42:25.840 What now? Then what? Is what he's saying in response 00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:28.539 to these things. Let me give you briefly, this 00:42:28.539 --> 00:42:30.260 is going to go by really fast. I apologize for 00:42:30.260 --> 00:42:31.880 that in advance. You can listen to it on the 00:42:31.880 --> 00:42:34.860 podcast later if you personally need it. Again, 00:42:35.019 --> 00:42:37.840 after this fact. In Romans chapter 5, Paul is 00:42:37.840 --> 00:42:41.119 talking about justification. by faith. It's chapters 00:42:41.119 --> 00:42:44.400 1 through 5. He talks about how bad off man is, 00:42:44.500 --> 00:42:46.800 a picture of humanity's sinfulness. That's really 00:42:46.800 --> 00:42:49.539 the first three chapters. And then how all have 00:42:49.539 --> 00:42:51.159 sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We 00:42:51.159 --> 00:42:52.679 know that verse, hopefully. If you haven't ever 00:42:52.679 --> 00:42:54.300 heard it before, you just heard it now. Romans 00:42:54.300 --> 00:42:58.619 3, 23, where it says all have sinned and fall 00:42:58.619 --> 00:43:02.719 short of the glory of God. but God did not leave 00:43:02.719 --> 00:43:05.739 us in despair. No, he takes us straight to the 00:43:05.739 --> 00:43:07.739 foot of the cross, as Paul talks about. We are 00:43:07.739 --> 00:43:11.480 justified by faith in Romans 3 .28. Justification 00:43:11.480 --> 00:43:16.019 is a gift of God's grace in Romans 3 .24. Through 00:43:16.019 --> 00:43:18.440 faith in Christ, God declares us righteous, not 00:43:18.440 --> 00:43:20.420 because of our own goodness, but because of his 00:43:20.420 --> 00:43:24.179 son's finished work. Then he says, we have peace 00:43:24.179 --> 00:43:26.659 with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's 00:43:26.659 --> 00:43:30.219 Romans 5 .1. We stand in grace rejoicing in the 00:43:30.219 --> 00:43:34.179 hope of the glory of God, Romans 5 .2. He says 00:43:34.179 --> 00:43:37.159 we have a new identity in Christ in Romans 6. 00:43:37.579 --> 00:43:39.900 Paul makes it clear that justification leads 00:43:39.900 --> 00:43:42.380 to transformation. If you say you've been saved 00:43:42.380 --> 00:43:45.400 and God has made it as if you never had sinned, 00:43:45.400 --> 00:43:47.119 that's what justification is like. He makes it 00:43:47.119 --> 00:43:49.780 as if you had never sinned, then you should live 00:43:49.780 --> 00:43:51.679 a certain way now. There's a response to that. 00:43:51.719 --> 00:43:53.880 We are changed completely in the moment of our 00:43:53.880 --> 00:43:57.269 beginning of our justification. transformed. 00:43:57.869 --> 00:44:01.389 We are dead to sin and alive to God in Romans 00:44:01.389 --> 00:44:04.769 6 .11. Sin no longer has dominion over us. Sin 00:44:04.769 --> 00:44:07.010 cannot reign over us. It cannot capture us or 00:44:07.010 --> 00:44:09.530 control us because we are under grace, Romans 00:44:09.530 --> 00:44:12.750 6 .14. We've become servants of righteousness. 00:44:13.010 --> 00:44:17.690 We're not slaves to sin anymore. And then beginning 00:44:17.690 --> 00:44:20.010 in Romans 7, he talks about, which is right before 00:44:20.010 --> 00:44:23.039 our text for the day, He talks about how freedom 00:44:23.039 --> 00:44:27.019 from the law and power of sin is now a thing. 00:44:27.539 --> 00:44:30.159 Paul explains the law's role. It revealed sin 00:44:30.159 --> 00:44:32.119 to us. It makes it clear. God said, don't do 00:44:32.119 --> 00:44:35.760 that. Do this instead. And people did what God 00:44:35.760 --> 00:44:37.679 told them not to do. And they failed to do what 00:44:37.679 --> 00:44:39.559 God told them to do. We've done the same thing. 00:44:39.980 --> 00:44:44.079 The law is holy, but it's made fruitless. It 00:44:44.079 --> 00:44:45.900 doesn't have the power that it could have had 00:44:45.900 --> 00:44:48.699 because our flesh is weak, Paul says. And even 00:44:48.699 --> 00:44:51.280 though we struggle, we are not condemned because 00:44:51.280 --> 00:44:54.860 we have a Savior who delivers us. Oh, Paul says, 00:44:54.980 --> 00:44:57.719 oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver 00:44:57.719 --> 00:45:00.139 me? I thank God through Christ Jesus our Lord 00:45:00.139 --> 00:45:03.579 in Romans 7, 24 and 25. And then into chapter 00:45:03.579 --> 00:45:06.320 8, getting very near our text for the day, here's 00:45:06.320 --> 00:45:09.300 where Paul opens the floodgates of God's gospel 00:45:09.300 --> 00:45:14.019 assurance. Life is in the Spirit of God. There 00:45:14.019 --> 00:45:16.840 is therefore now no condemnation to them who 00:45:16.840 --> 00:45:19.579 are in Christ Jesus, Paul writes in 8 .1. We 00:45:19.579 --> 00:45:22.099 are set free from the law of sin and death in 00:45:22.099 --> 00:45:24.920 8 .2. The Spirit of God dwells in us, giving 00:45:24.920 --> 00:45:28.239 us life in 8 .9 -11. We are children of God, 00:45:28.300 --> 00:45:32.059 adopted in His family, Romans 8 .15. The Spirit 00:45:32.059 --> 00:45:34.800 testifies with our spirit that we are His, 8 00:45:34.800 --> 00:45:38.159 .16. As children, we are heirs of God and joint 00:45:38.159 --> 00:45:41.750 heirs with Christ, Romans 8 .17. Even in suffering, 00:45:41.829 --> 00:45:45.130 we have a hope that does not disappoint. 8 .18 00:45:45.130 --> 00:45:49.510 -25. The Spirit helps us in our weakness, interceding 00:45:49.510 --> 00:45:52.070 for us when we don't know how to pray. That's 00:45:52.070 --> 00:45:55.969 26 and 27. And then that glorious promise, all 00:45:55.969 --> 00:45:58.809 things work together for good to them that love 00:45:58.809 --> 00:46:01.210 God. We talked about that on Tuesday. Romans 00:46:01.210 --> 00:46:05.849 8 .28. We are part of God's eternal plan, foreknown, 00:46:05.909 --> 00:46:08.929 God knew in advance. predestined, God chose in 00:46:08.929 --> 00:46:12.530 advance, called, God called, justified, God made 00:46:12.530 --> 00:46:14.650 it as if we had never sinned, and glorified. 00:46:15.090 --> 00:46:20.369 It's a done deal in heaven's courtroom. And then 00:46:20.369 --> 00:46:25.230 we come to the text for the day. But in summary, 00:46:25.309 --> 00:46:29.230 all that we have looked at, God has said through 00:46:29.230 --> 00:46:32.570 Romans 8 and all the verses and chapters before 00:46:32.570 --> 00:46:37.190 it that there is forgiveness for our past. You 00:46:37.190 --> 00:46:38.809 don't have to look at what you did and you don't 00:46:38.809 --> 00:46:41.349 have to be what you did. You don't have to look 00:46:41.349 --> 00:46:43.829 at what was done to you or be affected by what 00:46:43.829 --> 00:46:46.190 was done to you. There is forgiveness for our 00:46:46.190 --> 00:46:47.789 past. For everything that we are a part of and 00:46:47.789 --> 00:46:50.730 anyone did anything to us, we can be made clean, 00:46:50.849 --> 00:46:53.150 made new. All things made new, there is forgiveness 00:46:53.150 --> 00:46:56.170 for our past. And there is power for our present. 00:46:57.030 --> 00:46:59.070 I stood on the dock just this last week with 00:46:59.070 --> 00:47:01.130 a man and he said to me, you're telling me that 00:47:01.130 --> 00:47:04.389 if I start to follow the Lord, that I start to 00:47:04.389 --> 00:47:07.170 go to church and behave as a Christian, that 00:47:07.170 --> 00:47:10.230 all my problems will go away, that everything 00:47:10.230 --> 00:47:13.210 will be made right. And I had to say to him, 00:47:13.309 --> 00:47:16.550 no, that's not exactly how it works. God does 00:47:16.550 --> 00:47:18.130 not promise that if you will come and follow 00:47:18.130 --> 00:47:20.190 him, that all of your problems will go away and 00:47:20.190 --> 00:47:22.210 that everything will be made perfect. But he 00:47:22.210 --> 00:47:23.989 does promise that he'll be with you through every 00:47:23.989 --> 00:47:26.809 one of those problems. And he promises in this 00:47:26.809 --> 00:47:29.809 moment of forgiveness and a cleansing that all 00:47:29.809 --> 00:47:33.769 things old will fall away and all things new 00:47:33.769 --> 00:47:36.000 will come. I don't exactly know what God would 00:47:36.000 --> 00:47:37.820 do in your life if you turn your life over to 00:47:37.820 --> 00:47:39.699 the Lord, but here's what I can tell you. If 00:47:39.699 --> 00:47:41.480 you would just turn your life over to the Lord 00:47:41.480 --> 00:47:43.900 and begin to act like a Christian in order to 00:47:43.900 --> 00:47:45.900 get those blessings, in order to see God's power 00:47:45.900 --> 00:47:47.940 at work in the presence, in order to see God's 00:47:47.940 --> 00:47:49.539 future that he has aligned for you, if that's 00:47:49.539 --> 00:47:55.239 the only reason that you would do it, then it's 00:47:55.239 --> 00:47:57.659 probably not going to do anything at all. There 00:47:57.659 --> 00:48:01.079 is power in the present for the one that recognizes 00:48:01.079 --> 00:48:04.119 that God has right to be Lord because he came 00:48:04.119 --> 00:48:06.719 in the flesh as God the Son, Jesus Christ, and 00:48:06.719 --> 00:48:09.840 died on the cross for sin and rose again. That 00:48:09.840 --> 00:48:12.179 he is Lord because he created the entire universe. 00:48:12.300 --> 00:48:14.659 That he foresaw your existence. That he brought 00:48:14.659 --> 00:48:19.440 you to this moment in time right now. And if 00:48:19.440 --> 00:48:21.159 you will recognize that and submit to him, there 00:48:21.159 --> 00:48:24.000 is forgiveness for your past and power for your 00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:27.079 present. And there is glory for your future. 00:48:29.500 --> 00:48:32.940 That's the good news. That's the gospel we preach. 00:48:33.360 --> 00:48:35.920 And it's enough to make a Baptist shout, which 00:48:35.920 --> 00:48:38.380 is saying something, because what I've noticed 00:48:38.380 --> 00:48:40.539 about most of you is you're fairly reserved in 00:48:40.539 --> 00:48:43.019 worship compared to other people, compared to 00:48:43.019 --> 00:48:45.199 those who have recognized this power in the present. 00:48:47.619 --> 00:48:51.719 What we saw in John 16 was Jesus was saying he 00:48:51.719 --> 00:48:53.900 was going to leave them and he was going to come 00:48:53.900 --> 00:48:56.880 back. And that great joy unending would result. 00:48:57.039 --> 00:48:59.019 And then what happened? He left them. He was 00:48:59.019 --> 00:49:01.360 crucified on the cross. And as we sang in the 00:49:01.360 --> 00:49:04.159 Psalms and heard the text today, there was a 00:49:04.159 --> 00:49:06.440 moment in time, though they wanted to believe 00:49:06.440 --> 00:49:10.739 what Jesus said. They wanted to expect a return, 00:49:10.940 --> 00:49:12.679 expect something great to come out of it. But 00:49:12.679 --> 00:49:16.639 there he was hanging on the cross, barely able 00:49:16.639 --> 00:49:20.079 to catch a breath, ripped to shreds and nailed 00:49:20.079 --> 00:49:24.750 to wood. You could just hear the evil spirits 00:49:24.750 --> 00:49:28.969 whispering to every mind, it's done. All that 00:49:28.969 --> 00:49:31.969 he said, it means nothing. He's got nothing, 00:49:32.050 --> 00:49:36.630 you see. And there were the men crucified on 00:49:36.630 --> 00:49:38.869 either side of him calling out, you saved others, 00:49:39.050 --> 00:49:42.190 save us, save yourself. Can't you, can't you 00:49:42.190 --> 00:49:44.030 do anything? Can't you bring us down from this 00:49:44.030 --> 00:49:47.889 cross? And the soldiers mocking him and the people 00:49:47.889 --> 00:49:50.789 gambling for his clothes and one indecency after 00:49:50.789 --> 00:49:53.780 another piled on until, Can this possibly be 00:49:53.780 --> 00:49:57.719 the son of God? Can he be the one that's going 00:49:57.719 --> 00:50:03.659 to save all people? And they wept and they ached 00:50:03.659 --> 00:50:06.599 and they mourned because he left them just as 00:50:06.599 --> 00:50:11.400 he said he would. But on that third day, he came 00:50:11.400 --> 00:50:14.320 back and they rejoiced and they, as he promised, 00:50:14.360 --> 00:50:21.760 received a joy unending. And then. And then we 00:50:21.760 --> 00:50:25.340 come to our text for the day. And Paul writes, 00:50:25.579 --> 00:50:31.300 as we have already read in verse 31, what then 00:50:31.300 --> 00:50:34.760 shall we say to these things? What is our action 00:50:34.760 --> 00:50:37.860 plan? What will we now do in light of everything 00:50:37.860 --> 00:50:40.159 that's been laid out for us? All that I've said 00:50:40.159 --> 00:50:43.579 to you in seven chapters and 30 verses, all of 00:50:43.579 --> 00:50:45.780 those conclusions that can easily be made based 00:50:45.780 --> 00:50:48.860 on what God has done, what then shall we do? 00:50:49.340 --> 00:50:52.639 What should we say? And in that same verse, he 00:50:52.639 --> 00:50:55.019 finishes the verse by saying this. If God is 00:50:55.019 --> 00:50:59.400 for us, who is against us? What power in all 00:50:59.400 --> 00:51:03.300 the world would stand against us? He who did 00:51:03.300 --> 00:51:05.960 not spare his own son, but delivered him over 00:51:05.960 --> 00:51:11.139 for us all, how will he not also with him, with 00:51:11.139 --> 00:51:14.079 Jesus, freely give us all things? And you know 00:51:14.079 --> 00:51:18.000 what the answer is to that question. The one 00:51:18.000 --> 00:51:21.639 who delivered his own son for us, he will indeed 00:51:21.639 --> 00:51:25.619 give us all things freely with him. There is 00:51:25.619 --> 00:51:28.260 no way that it can be conceived that he would 00:51:28.260 --> 00:51:32.519 not deliver all things to us as he does to Jesus 00:51:32.519 --> 00:51:35.659 and to us with Jesus. Verse 33 says, who will 00:51:35.659 --> 00:51:37.960 bring a charge against God's elect? Shall we 00:51:37.960 --> 00:51:42.300 say it together? No one! No one will bring a 00:51:42.300 --> 00:51:45.199 charge against me. I am in Christ. Go ahead, 00:51:45.340 --> 00:51:48.960 find fault if you will. For I am cleansed. I 00:51:48.960 --> 00:51:51.219 am a soldier and a child of God in the house 00:51:51.219 --> 00:51:53.519 of God receiving the keys to the kingdom. And 00:51:53.519 --> 00:52:01.360 no one will bring a charge against me. God is 00:52:01.360 --> 00:52:04.860 the one who justifies. Go ahead. Say I am wicked. 00:52:04.940 --> 00:52:07.719 Say I am a fool. Say I am weak. Say I speak poorly. 00:52:08.480 --> 00:52:11.460 God is the one who justifies. He is the one who 00:52:11.460 --> 00:52:13.480 has cleansed me from all sin. Not because of 00:52:13.480 --> 00:52:16.800 my good works. Or because of the awesome and 00:52:16.800 --> 00:52:18.920 fearfully and wonderfully made person that he 00:52:18.920 --> 00:52:21.440 made me? Not even because of that, but because 00:52:21.440 --> 00:52:23.980 of the righteousness of Jesus Christ who was 00:52:23.980 --> 00:52:26.199 crucified on the cross to pay for sins. Verse 00:52:26.199 --> 00:52:30.619 34. Who is the one who condemns? Let Satan come. 00:52:30.920 --> 00:52:33.820 Let the accuser arise. Let him walk through the 00:52:33.820 --> 00:52:36.239 doors of this church building and say, you are 00:52:36.239 --> 00:52:38.860 not saved. And you spit in his face and say, 00:52:38.900 --> 00:52:41.380 you are dirt under my feet. I am saved by the 00:52:41.380 --> 00:52:48.210 holy power of a risen Savior. Who is the one 00:52:48.210 --> 00:52:53.449 who condemns? Christ Jesus is he who died. Yes, 00:52:53.469 --> 00:52:56.809 rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand 00:52:56.809 --> 00:53:00.449 of God, who also intercedes for us, and he will 00:53:00.449 --> 00:53:04.289 not fail to do so. Verse 35 says, who will separate 00:53:04.289 --> 00:53:07.489 us from the love of Christ? Who will separate 00:53:07.489 --> 00:53:10.250 us from the love of Christ? As they were crucified, 00:53:10.469 --> 00:53:14.230 their joy was retained. They hung on crosses, 00:53:14.369 --> 00:53:16.889 were boiled in pots, stretched out by horses, 00:53:17.070 --> 00:53:22.170 burned alive. And joyfully so, because Jesus 00:53:22.170 --> 00:53:28.369 Christ had risen indeed. While he was still alive, 00:53:28.530 --> 00:53:31.769 Jesus' brother James thought he was nuts. He 00:53:31.769 --> 00:53:34.889 said, crazy. And he and the others and their 00:53:34.889 --> 00:53:36.690 mother came and they tried to pull Jesus out. 00:53:36.690 --> 00:53:39.110 He's in there teaching again. He's teaching he's 00:53:39.110 --> 00:53:41.170 the son of God. He's teaching he's going to be 00:53:41.170 --> 00:53:44.230 resurrected. He's teaching faithful living, following 00:53:44.230 --> 00:53:46.289 the Lord despite persecutions. He's teaching 00:53:46.289 --> 00:53:48.889 a kingdom that is not of this earth, but a kingdom 00:53:48.889 --> 00:53:53.369 that is of heaven. That is of eternity. We've 00:53:53.369 --> 00:53:56.170 got to stop this, mom. He's nuts. He's wacko. 00:53:56.630 --> 00:53:59.769 And they came. And they tried to pull him out. 00:54:01.130 --> 00:54:04.909 And he didn't come out. He says, those that gather 00:54:04.909 --> 00:54:06.989 around me, they are my brothers and sisters and 00:54:06.989 --> 00:54:13.119 my mother. The kingdom of God is real. She stood 00:54:13.119 --> 00:54:17.639 at the cross and wept. James wasn't there. At 00:54:17.639 --> 00:54:21.559 least as far as we know. But you know, after 00:54:21.559 --> 00:54:25.460 Jesus came back to life and James saw him alive, 00:54:25.760 --> 00:54:30.460 he didn't call himself a Jew anymore. He called 00:54:30.460 --> 00:54:33.460 himself a Christian. He became a follower of 00:54:33.460 --> 00:54:38.010 the living Christ and he received the joy. though 00:54:38.010 --> 00:54:40.090 he was not a disciple of Jesus while Jesus was 00:54:40.090 --> 00:54:43.489 alive. He abandoned everything he knew, his lifelong 00:54:43.489 --> 00:54:46.690 religion and processes, and turned himself over 00:54:46.690 --> 00:54:50.929 to worshiping the living Christ. The man who 00:54:50.929 --> 00:54:55.349 knew him from birth, probably, knew him most 00:54:55.349 --> 00:55:00.409 of his life, since he could remember, called 00:55:00.409 --> 00:55:04.920 him crazy, and then was redeemed. You ever know 00:55:04.920 --> 00:55:08.539 anybody who called following Jesus crazy and 00:55:08.539 --> 00:55:10.360 then was redeemed? If you think you haven't, 00:55:10.360 --> 00:55:13.699 you're wrong because that was me for over 25 00:55:13.699 --> 00:55:17.420 years. Yeah, they're all over. We all did it. 00:55:17.659 --> 00:55:22.960 It's nuts. Except it's not really nuts. It's 00:55:22.960 --> 00:55:25.480 actually right. Who will separate us from the 00:55:25.480 --> 00:55:28.139 love of Christ? Will tribulation, that means 00:55:28.139 --> 00:55:30.179 when you go through trouble, or distress, that 00:55:30.179 --> 00:55:32.420 means when you're internally troubled. Or persecution, 00:55:32.679 --> 00:55:35.320 that's when you're attacked for your faith. Or 00:55:35.320 --> 00:55:38.659 famine, you go without food. Or nakedness, you 00:55:38.659 --> 00:55:41.260 go without proper attire or even clothing. Or 00:55:41.260 --> 00:55:44.719 peril, you're faced with possible death. Or sword, 00:55:44.960 --> 00:55:47.039 you're actually put to death or stricken down. 00:55:47.320 --> 00:55:50.440 Will any of those things separate us from the 00:55:50.440 --> 00:55:54.119 love of Christ, he asks? Verse 36, just as it 00:55:54.119 --> 00:55:56.340 is written, for your sake we are being put to 00:55:56.340 --> 00:55:58.860 death all day long. That's Psalm 44, verse 22. 00:55:59.079 --> 00:56:01.460 We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered. 00:56:01.719 --> 00:56:06.300 Verse 37 says, but in all these things, we overwhelmingly 00:56:06.300 --> 00:56:08.920 conquer through him who loved us. Let's be really 00:56:08.920 --> 00:56:11.440 super clear about what we just said. We just 00:56:11.440 --> 00:56:13.760 said that if we should be found in tribulation, 00:56:13.880 --> 00:56:16.400 distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, 00:56:16.519 --> 00:56:19.179 or sword, if we should be put to death in this 00:56:19.179 --> 00:56:22.219 lifetime, if we should find death, a horrible 00:56:22.219 --> 00:56:24.739 death, stressed out by horses or burned alive 00:56:24.739 --> 00:56:28.219 or boiled in a pot, strung up on a cross, hung 00:56:28.219 --> 00:56:31.550 in our backyards. shot through our windows, persecuted 00:56:31.550 --> 00:56:34.150 unto death in any way, shape, or form, if that 00:56:34.150 --> 00:56:37.210 should be true, in those things we will be found 00:56:37.210 --> 00:56:41.489 as victors. If you are struggling with the events 00:56:41.489 --> 00:56:43.510 of your life, and you're like, man, I don't like 00:56:43.510 --> 00:56:47.269 my circumstances, understand that you are victorious. 00:56:47.889 --> 00:56:50.550 You have been given a joy in Christ. If you are 00:56:50.550 --> 00:56:52.389 in Christ, you have been given a joy in Christ 00:56:52.389 --> 00:56:54.949 that the things that you are experiencing cannot 00:56:54.949 --> 00:56:58.880 touch. And if you do not have a joy internally, 00:56:59.059 --> 00:57:01.099 a joy in Christ, that the things that you are 00:57:01.099 --> 00:57:03.739 experiencing cannot touch, then I ask you, where 00:57:03.739 --> 00:57:06.780 is your joy coming from? Is it coming from a 00:57:06.780 --> 00:57:11.239 risen Savior? You know that he went to the cross 00:57:11.239 --> 00:57:15.159 for the joy that was set before him, right? Do 00:57:15.159 --> 00:57:16.360 you think that that's like he's going to come 00:57:16.360 --> 00:57:18.300 back to life and then he's going to go to heaven 00:57:18.300 --> 00:57:21.000 and he was joyous when he got to heaven? Was 00:57:21.000 --> 00:57:24.050 that the joy that was set before him? Because 00:57:24.050 --> 00:57:26.409 he knew he was going to go to heaven. That was 00:57:26.409 --> 00:57:28.570 already done, whether he died there or died elsewhere. 00:57:28.570 --> 00:57:30.369 He was going to heaven because he is the eternal 00:57:30.369 --> 00:57:34.429 God in flesh. So he was going. I submit to you 00:57:34.429 --> 00:57:37.670 that it's your joy, my joy, this kind of joy 00:57:37.670 --> 00:57:39.829 that Paul's talking about, that was set before 00:57:39.829 --> 00:57:44.070 him. But in all these things, whatever our suffering 00:57:44.070 --> 00:57:48.130 may be, we overwhelmingly, there we go, overwhelmingly 00:57:48.130 --> 00:57:51.929 conquer through him who loved us. Verse 38 says, 00:57:52.110 --> 00:57:56.710 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, 00:57:56.869 --> 00:58:00.969 nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, 00:58:01.190 --> 00:58:03.550 nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor 00:58:03.550 --> 00:58:07.050 depth, nor any other created thing will be able 00:58:07.050 --> 00:58:10.010 to separate us from the love of God, which is 00:58:10.010 --> 00:58:15.389 in Christ Jesus our Lord. You're going to go 00:58:15.389 --> 00:58:19.139 through it. You're going to face it. But whatever 00:58:19.139 --> 00:58:21.340 it is, it can't touch you. I told you I like 00:58:21.340 --> 00:58:25.579 an underdog story. I told you I often cry. And 00:58:25.579 --> 00:58:30.199 I think I recently discovered why. Because when 00:58:30.199 --> 00:58:32.699 I think about the story of David and Goliath 00:58:32.699 --> 00:58:36.559 specifically, I often think of David as a Goliath 00:58:36.559 --> 00:58:38.679 and I resonate with him. And I'm like, you know 00:58:38.679 --> 00:58:40.519 what? I was a lost person. I was a liar and I 00:58:40.519 --> 00:58:43.579 was a thief and so on. And so I was definitely 00:58:43.579 --> 00:58:46.599 an underdog. I was on my way to hell. I was an 00:58:46.599 --> 00:58:49.099 underdog. And God brought me out and he saved 00:58:49.099 --> 00:58:51.519 me. And so now I'm on my way to heaven. And that's 00:58:51.519 --> 00:58:53.239 a great turnaround story. And all of that is 00:58:53.239 --> 00:58:56.659 true. But I just realized as I was preparing 00:58:56.659 --> 00:59:01.179 this message, I just realized that the story 00:59:01.179 --> 00:59:06.599 of David and Goliath, in that story, David's 00:59:06.599 --> 00:59:12.739 not the underdog. David's not the underdog. Goliath 00:59:12.739 --> 00:59:17.659 was the underdog. And he didn't overcome. He 00:59:17.659 --> 00:59:19.679 didn't have victory. Goliath was the underdog, 00:59:19.800 --> 00:59:25.940 and he died to a boy, a man nine feet tall with 00:59:25.940 --> 00:59:31.500 a spear as large as a weaver's loom, that no 00:59:31.500 --> 00:59:33.920 one in all the armies that they had faced before 00:59:33.920 --> 00:59:36.199 would even come out to face. A boy came out and 00:59:36.199 --> 00:59:40.079 faced him, and he was destroyed. A boy stood 00:59:40.079 --> 00:59:42.099 on his chest and cut his head off with his own 00:59:42.099 --> 00:59:47.449 sword after taking him down with a sling. You 00:59:47.449 --> 00:59:54.210 see, we're not the underdogs. We're the power 00:59:54.210 --> 00:59:57.489 of God on earth. He is working in us the Holy 00:59:57.489 --> 00:59:59.829 Spirit power that is in you. The gifting that 00:59:59.829 --> 01:00:02.429 God has given you, it cannot be overcome. It 01:00:02.429 --> 01:00:04.769 cannot be stolen from you, not by anything. You 01:00:04.769 --> 01:00:07.289 face Satan himself. If he rips your face off, 01:00:07.409 --> 01:00:09.809 he translates you immediately into an eternal 01:00:09.809 --> 01:00:14.170 heaven that he cannot enter. He doesn't want 01:00:14.170 --> 01:00:16.750 to hurt you because if he really hurts you, you 01:00:16.750 --> 01:00:20.190 go where he can't go. You escape his wrath, the 01:00:20.190 --> 01:00:24.389 demons, the evil spirits, Satan, the world system, 01:00:24.670 --> 01:00:27.530 the violence, the persecution, the peril, the 01:00:27.530 --> 01:00:30.110 soldiers, the enemies, all of it. They're all 01:00:30.110 --> 01:00:33.250 defeated already. The outcome is predetermined. 01:00:33.250 --> 01:00:35.650 Jesus said, I will go away from you. It'll be 01:00:35.650 --> 01:00:37.750 for a short while. You will grieve and then your 01:00:37.750 --> 01:00:40.329 grief will be turned to mourning. I submit you 01:00:40.329 --> 01:00:43.900 for 25 years of my life, I grieved. I grieved 01:00:43.900 --> 01:00:48.460 my own wickedness, my own plots and plans, my 01:00:48.460 --> 01:00:51.000 own schemes. I grieved what people did that I 01:00:51.000 --> 01:00:52.500 didn't like, the things that went on around me. 01:00:52.579 --> 01:00:55.960 They vexed me internally. I felt crushed and 01:00:55.960 --> 01:00:58.360 my heart turned to stone as I thought about the 01:00:58.360 --> 01:01:00.159 terrible things that were going on. And some 01:01:00.159 --> 01:01:03.469 of them, I was the one doing it. I remember having 01:01:03.469 --> 01:01:06.329 traumatic flashbacks of violent fights that I 01:01:06.329 --> 01:01:07.989 had when I was in high school, traumatic flashbacks 01:01:07.989 --> 01:01:10.150 of things that I said that hurt people, things 01:01:10.150 --> 01:01:12.929 that I did, blood that I caused to be spilled. 01:01:16.070 --> 01:01:20.969 And all that while, I was the underdog, and I 01:01:20.969 --> 01:01:26.429 was losing the fight. I was going to hell. I 01:01:26.429 --> 01:01:27.949 would sit there judgmentally and think about 01:01:27.949 --> 01:01:29.210 what other people were doing. I really never 01:01:29.210 --> 01:01:31.130 thought about how I lied or cheated or stole. 01:01:31.630 --> 01:01:33.210 In fact, that made me feel kind of good about 01:01:33.210 --> 01:01:34.929 myself when I thought about that. But then when 01:01:34.929 --> 01:01:37.230 I saw the hurt it caused, I regretted that people 01:01:37.230 --> 01:01:39.409 were hurt. Or when somebody caught me, I would 01:01:39.409 --> 01:01:44.969 say, I'm so sorry. But I really wasn't. I submit 01:01:44.969 --> 01:01:47.110 to you that the great enemies of God's people, 01:01:47.230 --> 01:01:49.989 the outcome is predetermined. When Jesus went 01:01:49.989 --> 01:01:52.230 to the cross, when Satan tempted Jesus, there 01:01:52.230 --> 01:01:53.929 was no question that he would stand up to the 01:01:53.929 --> 01:01:56.190 temptation. Not because he couldn't sin, because 01:01:56.190 --> 01:01:58.170 he was tempted the same way men are. But because 01:01:58.170 --> 01:02:00.230 he wouldn't sin. Because he knew what was at 01:02:00.230 --> 01:02:06.320 stake. And now, so do you. Jesus did not come 01:02:06.320 --> 01:02:09.980 to condemn, but rather they are condemned already 01:02:09.980 --> 01:02:12.179 by what they have done with the Son of God. That's 01:02:12.179 --> 01:02:18.360 John 3, 17. The question is, what have you done 01:02:18.360 --> 01:02:21.639 with the Son of God? I'd love to be able to say 01:02:21.639 --> 01:02:23.420 to you today that if you truly turn, if you haven't 01:02:23.420 --> 01:02:25.099 already, you truly turn your life over to the 01:02:25.099 --> 01:02:26.920 Lord, that suddenly everything will get better. 01:02:30.139 --> 01:02:33.380 It may. It happens. There are a number of underdog 01:02:33.380 --> 01:02:35.280 stories like that. I was thinking about that 01:02:35.280 --> 01:02:39.139 Scottish farmer. I think Anselm was his first 01:02:39.139 --> 01:02:42.679 name in South Africa. And he and his wife, her 01:02:42.679 --> 01:02:44.119 name was Jill. It's funny, I remember her name 01:02:44.119 --> 01:02:46.639 and don't remember his. But anyway, their farm 01:02:46.639 --> 01:02:49.659 was going bankrupt. He was a drinker and a party. 01:02:49.760 --> 01:02:51.739 You can hear this story, by the way, in the movie 01:02:51.739 --> 01:02:53.280 Faith's Like Potatoes. If you've never seen it, 01:02:53.300 --> 01:02:57.639 I highly recommend it. And he gave his life to 01:02:57.639 --> 01:02:59.960 Christ in a small church service. And he began 01:02:59.960 --> 01:03:02.179 to faithfully live for the Lord and study his 01:03:02.179 --> 01:03:05.619 Bible and pray. And over time, their farm was 01:03:05.619 --> 01:03:09.699 no longer going bankrupt. They started to have 01:03:09.699 --> 01:03:13.920 crops when nobody else was having crops. And 01:03:13.920 --> 01:03:15.420 that made them reasonably wealthy. They opened 01:03:15.420 --> 01:03:17.420 an orphanage and began to take in kids. There 01:03:17.420 --> 01:03:19.019 was tons of them because there was a famine and 01:03:19.019 --> 01:03:21.659 people were dying and bad things, vicious things 01:03:21.659 --> 01:03:23.000 were happening. So there was tons of kids who 01:03:23.000 --> 01:03:24.239 didn't have parents. They started taking them 01:03:24.239 --> 01:03:26.699 in and opened a big orphanage. In time, God called 01:03:26.699 --> 01:03:30.110 him to preach the gospel. Eventually, some years 01:03:30.110 --> 01:03:33.369 after he got saved, 200 ,000 men from all over 01:03:33.369 --> 01:03:36.010 South Africa came to his huge farm to hear the 01:03:36.010 --> 01:03:38.349 gospel preached. Now, I'm not saying you're going 01:03:38.349 --> 01:03:40.929 to be a huge evangelist or win 200 ,000 men to 01:03:40.929 --> 01:03:42.369 Christ. I don't even know if anybody got saved 01:03:42.369 --> 01:03:45.449 that day for sure. But his was a great turnaround 01:03:45.449 --> 01:03:49.869 story. And one stands before you today, raised 01:03:49.869 --> 01:03:53.510 a liar and a deceiver and a thief. 25 and a half 01:03:53.510 --> 01:03:55.190 years old, started attending East Little Baptist 01:03:55.190 --> 01:03:57.389 Church and just listening to the gospel be preached. 01:03:58.379 --> 01:04:00.360 And over time, I was there for a while, over 01:04:00.360 --> 01:04:04.159 six months. I began to realize that there was 01:04:04.159 --> 01:04:07.480 a truth in this. And if there's a truth in it, 01:04:07.500 --> 01:04:10.179 there's something I have to do. And one Sunday 01:04:10.179 --> 01:04:11.440 I said to myself, you know, I think I'm going 01:04:11.440 --> 01:04:13.780 to give my life to the Lord. And whether it was 01:04:13.780 --> 01:04:15.639 evil spirits or my own selfishness, I made an 01:04:15.639 --> 01:04:17.000 excuse. I said, no, I'm going to talk to my wife 01:04:17.000 --> 01:04:20.619 first. Because we had a lot of trouble. Our relationship 01:04:20.619 --> 01:04:24.619 was not really good then. And I didn't do it. 01:04:24.840 --> 01:04:26.619 And the next Sunday I came again and I felt the 01:04:26.619 --> 01:04:28.659 Lord saying, give. Give your life to me. Come 01:04:28.659 --> 01:04:31.280 on, follow me. I'm going to transform you. That's 01:04:31.280 --> 01:04:32.599 what happens when you're justified, when you're 01:04:32.599 --> 01:04:33.800 saved. You're transformed. I'm going to make 01:04:33.800 --> 01:04:36.260 you new. I'm going to put all that behind you. 01:04:36.280 --> 01:04:38.480 It's going to be something brand new. And I said, 01:04:38.559 --> 01:04:40.500 ah, but I didn't talk to my wife. I made an excuse. 01:04:41.059 --> 01:04:43.699 So that Sunday afternoon, driving along the Portage 01:04:43.699 --> 01:04:45.519 River down to our favorite pizza restaurant in 01:04:45.519 --> 01:04:47.079 Bowling Green, I brought up the topic. And I 01:04:47.079 --> 01:04:49.019 said, I think I'm going to give my life to Christ. 01:04:49.099 --> 01:04:50.159 And she said, well, what does that even mean? 01:04:50.780 --> 01:04:53.059 What's going to happen? And I said, I don't know. 01:04:53.820 --> 01:04:56.679 But I do know this. Everything's going to be 01:04:56.679 --> 01:05:00.670 different. And she said, well, you do what you're 01:05:00.670 --> 01:05:02.610 going to do and then I'm going to do whatever 01:05:02.610 --> 01:05:05.210 I got to do. And I was like, well, that didn't 01:05:05.210 --> 01:05:08.889 sound very hopeful. Maybe encouraging if you 01:05:08.889 --> 01:05:10.530 take it the right way, but our relationship was 01:05:10.530 --> 01:05:12.230 rocky. And so I really didn't. I'm like, oh, 01:05:12.269 --> 01:05:13.610 great. So what she's basically saying to me, 01:05:13.670 --> 01:05:15.369 there's a half decent chance if I become a Christian, 01:05:15.429 --> 01:05:18.070 I may lose my wife. But I was pretty sure because 01:05:18.070 --> 01:05:20.230 I was a jerk that there's a half decent chance 01:05:20.230 --> 01:05:21.550 if I didn't become a Christian, I was going to 01:05:21.550 --> 01:05:22.789 lose my wife. So I don't really think that was 01:05:22.789 --> 01:05:26.909 that much. And I gave my life to Christ and everything 01:05:26.909 --> 01:05:30.699 went behind. Do I still sometimes suffer doubt 01:05:30.699 --> 01:05:33.380 or fear like anybody else? Do I still sin? Sure. 01:05:35.860 --> 01:05:38.260 Maybe I shouldn't. You can judge me now if you 01:05:38.260 --> 01:05:40.920 want. But your judgment will fall to the floor 01:05:40.920 --> 01:05:44.000 useless. It's nothing. Because who justifies 01:05:44.000 --> 01:05:47.320 the risen Savior? He went away for a short time. 01:05:47.599 --> 01:05:49.519 When he came back, he turned their mourning into 01:05:49.519 --> 01:05:52.539 joy. He's been back ever since. You may not physically 01:05:52.539 --> 01:05:55.179 see him walking around today, but he's back. 01:05:55.719 --> 01:05:57.440 And he's standing at the right hand of the Father 01:05:57.440 --> 01:05:59.019 making intercession. The question is, will you 01:05:59.019 --> 01:06:01.159 allow him to make intercession for you? He'll 01:06:01.159 --> 01:06:04.619 never fail you. He'll never fail to cleanse you. 01:06:04.820 --> 01:06:06.900 He'll never fail to deliver joy into your heart 01:06:06.900 --> 01:06:08.760 if you allow it. He'll never fail to show up 01:06:08.760 --> 01:06:12.199 for you. He'll give you Holy Spirit gifts that 01:06:12.199 --> 01:06:16.760 cannot be held back. And yeah, at some point 01:06:16.760 --> 01:06:18.340 in time you may be persecuted unto death. Can 01:06:18.340 --> 01:06:21.519 you imagine? If you're here and you're not saved, 01:06:21.739 --> 01:06:24.500 I imagine you think that if you were... like 01:06:24.500 --> 01:06:27.000 hung on a cross or burnt alive, whatever, that 01:06:27.000 --> 01:06:29.539 there's no possible way that you'd be able to 01:06:29.539 --> 01:06:32.559 maintain your composure. That's the way I would, 01:06:32.599 --> 01:06:33.880 like when something would really go bad, like 01:06:33.880 --> 01:06:36.079 I would blow up, right? Like I would break stuff, 01:06:36.159 --> 01:06:39.019 throw stuff, yell. I would run away. I'd peel 01:06:39.019 --> 01:06:41.739 my car, burn my rubber on the street outside 01:06:41.739 --> 01:06:44.320 my house to just prove my point, all those things. 01:06:44.619 --> 01:06:47.260 Now I'm dying. I'm dying on a cross. I'm going 01:06:47.260 --> 01:06:49.239 to be boiled alive. I'm marching to my own death. 01:06:49.420 --> 01:06:51.820 How could I possibly endure? Don't you understand? 01:06:52.239 --> 01:06:54.929 You're being told. by the God of heaven right 01:06:54.929 --> 01:06:59.610 now, that your joy is untouchable. Your Goliath 01:06:59.610 --> 01:07:06.329 is only destructible. The outcome is predetermined. 01:07:08.030 --> 01:07:10.289 David didn't say, I'll go fight him. I'm tough 01:07:10.289 --> 01:07:13.369 enough. I can take him. He basically said, this 01:07:13.369 --> 01:07:17.250 battle belongs not to me, but to the Lord. I'm 01:07:17.250 --> 01:07:19.269 asking you today, if you haven't done so already, 01:07:19.449 --> 01:07:22.409 surrender your life into the hands of the living. 01:07:23.879 --> 01:07:26.559 And say, whatever I see God doing, whatever Jesus 01:07:26.559 --> 01:07:28.440 wants me to do, that's what I'll do. Whatever 01:07:28.440 --> 01:07:30.860 he wants me to be, that's what I'll be. I can't 01:07:30.860 --> 01:07:33.360 tell you. I don't know your story exactly. Some 01:07:33.360 --> 01:07:35.340 of you, I know your story. I believe you profess 01:07:35.340 --> 01:07:37.900 Christ. If you have not truly given your life 01:07:37.900 --> 01:07:41.860 over into the hands of the Lord, do so now. Be 01:07:41.860 --> 01:07:45.239 forgiven for your sins and have a joy that will 01:07:45.239 --> 01:07:49.400 go on through with you. How will he not give 01:07:49.400 --> 01:07:51.699 us everything? He already sacrificed his son 01:07:51.699 --> 01:07:53.940 for us. Of course he will give us everything. 01:07:54.260 --> 01:07:58.960 There is no other way. The victory is determined. 01:07:59.980 --> 01:08:03.239 The only question that remains is, which side 01:08:03.239 --> 01:08:06.119 of the battle will you be on when all the fighting 01:08:06.119 --> 01:08:09.760 stops? I saw a meme on Facebook this week. I 01:08:09.760 --> 01:08:12.559 loved it. And it's loud to quote it. This is 01:08:12.559 --> 01:08:14.599 my final illustration. There's a man standing 01:08:14.599 --> 01:08:16.600 up in a tie and a suit on a stage. He probably 01:08:16.600 --> 01:08:18.520 was preaching a sermon. I don't even know. And 01:08:18.520 --> 01:08:19.720 he said, there's only two things you've got to 01:08:19.720 --> 01:08:21.479 worry about in life. Anybody see it? Only two 01:08:21.479 --> 01:08:22.520 things you've got to worry about in life. I share 01:08:22.520 --> 01:08:24.300 it. I might have passed it out to some others. 01:08:24.859 --> 01:08:26.119 Okay, so there's only two things you've got to 01:08:26.119 --> 01:08:30.100 worry about in life. That is, are you sick or 01:08:30.100 --> 01:08:32.340 are you healthy? If you're healthy, you've got 01:08:32.340 --> 01:08:34.720 nothing to worry about. If you're sick, then 01:08:34.720 --> 01:08:35.880 there's only two things you've got to worry about. 01:08:36.600 --> 01:08:39.340 Am I going to get healthy or am I going to get 01:08:39.340 --> 01:08:41.600 worse? If you get healthy, nothing you've got 01:08:41.600 --> 01:08:44.340 to worry about. If you get worse, then there's 01:08:44.340 --> 01:08:45.779 only two things you've got to worry about. Am 01:08:45.779 --> 01:08:48.439 I going to live or am I going to die? If you're 01:08:48.439 --> 01:08:49.600 going to live, there's nothing you've got to 01:08:49.600 --> 01:08:51.500 worry about. If you're going to die, there's 01:08:51.500 --> 01:08:53.199 only two things you've got to worry about. Am 01:08:53.199 --> 01:08:54.479 I going to go to heaven or am I going to go to 01:08:54.479 --> 01:08:57.359 hell? If you're going to go to heaven, there's 01:08:57.359 --> 01:08:58.939 nothing you're going to worry about. If you're 01:08:58.939 --> 01:09:00.220 going to go to hell, there's only two things 01:09:00.220 --> 01:09:02.399 you've got to worry about. Well done or extra 01:09:02.399 --> 01:09:07.920 crispy. There is no other outcome. Will you give 01:09:07.920 --> 01:09:11.279 your life to the Lord? I ask the praise team 01:09:11.279 --> 01:09:12.520 to come forward. We're going to have a hymn of 01:09:12.520 --> 01:09:14.439 invitation. This is the final song of our service 01:09:14.439 --> 01:09:16.800 today. This is your opportunity to make public 01:09:16.800 --> 01:09:19.159 any decision that you're making right now. So 01:09:19.159 --> 01:09:20.720 I'm going to stand down here at the front. And 01:09:20.720 --> 01:09:22.500 if you're giving your life to the Lord in earnest 01:09:22.500 --> 01:09:23.699 for the first time ever, then you're going to 01:09:23.699 --> 01:09:24.939 walk down here. You're going to take my hand 01:09:24.939 --> 01:09:27.060 and say, Pastor Dan, beginning today, I'm living 01:09:27.060 --> 01:09:30.960 for the Lord Jesus Christ nonstop. If you've 01:09:30.960 --> 01:09:32.399 already done that, but you realize you've been 01:09:32.399 --> 01:09:34.140 backside, you've been walking away, you've not 01:09:34.140 --> 01:09:37.100 been trusting in Jesus, you probably know that 01:09:37.100 --> 01:09:39.560 that kind of steals your joy. that that kind 01:09:39.560 --> 01:09:40.640 of takes you to a place you don't want to go. 01:09:41.159 --> 01:09:42.979 So would you all stand with me? If you're comfortable 01:09:42.979 --> 01:09:45.060 to be able to do so, sing this song and respond 01:09:45.060 --> 01:09:47.399 as the Lord is leading you to do so. I'll be 01:09:47.399 --> 01:11:33.569 right down here to receive you. Thank you. As 01:11:33.569 --> 01:13:16.600 you see these next verses, you come. We're going 01:13:16.600 --> 01:13:18.520 to stop saying it this time. We're going to pray 01:13:18.520 --> 01:13:20.180 together in a moment, and that's going to conclude 01:13:20.180 --> 01:13:23.380 our services for the day. But all day long today, 01:13:23.640 --> 01:13:26.960 he's still Jesus. All day long tomorrow and every 01:13:26.960 --> 01:13:31.199 day yet until he returns, he's still Jesus. He 01:13:31.199 --> 01:13:33.800 went to the cross. He paid the price. Has he 01:13:33.800 --> 01:13:36.819 not paid the entry fee to be a part of your life? 01:13:36.899 --> 01:13:39.319 I think he has. If you didn't even believe in 01:13:39.319 --> 01:13:41.659 the cross, you knew that Jesus created everything 01:13:41.659 --> 01:13:43.359 from the beginning. Nothing was created except 01:13:43.359 --> 01:13:45.260 that which was created through him. The entry 01:13:45.260 --> 01:13:48.109 price was already paid. And lots of people did 01:13:48.109 --> 01:13:50.270 figure it out. And there were those who half 01:13:50.270 --> 01:13:52.409 figured it out. And there's only part that figured 01:13:52.409 --> 01:13:54.250 it out. And a lot of their stories are included 01:13:54.250 --> 01:13:55.869 in the Bible throughout the Old Testament. They 01:13:55.869 --> 01:13:58.510 figured out that there was a way that God would 01:13:58.510 --> 01:14:01.050 make. Abraham was not saved because of the sacrifice 01:14:01.050 --> 01:14:03.829 that he made. He was saved because he trusted 01:14:03.829 --> 01:14:06.390 that God would eventually provide a way to save 01:14:06.390 --> 01:14:07.869 him forever. Everybody who ever went to heaven 01:14:07.869 --> 01:14:10.550 ever has gone through Jesus. Everybody who ever 01:14:10.550 --> 01:14:11.949 went to heaven ever has gone through the way 01:14:11.949 --> 01:14:13.989 that God would make. That you're in this room 01:14:13.989 --> 01:14:16.119 and you're going to heaven by that way. The way 01:14:16.119 --> 01:14:19.720 is clear. Nothing can steal it from you. You 01:14:19.720 --> 01:14:23.539 ought to have joy. God wants to provide that. 01:14:23.739 --> 01:14:25.699 I know there's mourning. There are times of mourning. 01:14:25.699 --> 01:14:27.640 There's time to mourn. The Bible says there is 01:14:27.640 --> 01:14:29.699 a time to mourn what you're going through. But 01:14:29.699 --> 01:14:33.279 even in mourning, there is joy. I'll share two 01:14:33.279 --> 01:14:35.260 quick stories with you, and we're going to pray 01:14:35.260 --> 01:14:37.079 and we'll be done. The first one, real quick. 01:14:37.300 --> 01:14:39.380 The first one was me had a baby. It served our 01:14:39.380 --> 01:14:41.979 family for a long, long time. Her name was Jo. 01:14:42.520 --> 01:14:45.449 Jo was a pretty devout Christian. but she had 01:14:45.449 --> 01:14:48.750 some pretty significant health concerns. For 01:14:48.750 --> 01:14:50.470 about 10 years, I didn't even know she was a 01:14:50.470 --> 01:14:51.850 Christian, because I see she's pretty devout. 01:14:52.010 --> 01:14:55.310 But she saw us growing in the Lord. She didn't 01:14:55.310 --> 01:14:57.449 really go to church much. She was in her Bible, 01:14:57.569 --> 01:14:59.369 but we didn't really know it, that kind of thing. 01:14:59.430 --> 01:15:00.909 And after I shared it with her, we talked about 01:15:00.909 --> 01:15:02.789 it, I shared the gospel with her, she found out 01:15:02.789 --> 01:15:04.850 she was already saved by her profession. And 01:15:04.850 --> 01:15:07.550 we spent a lot of time talking about God after 01:15:07.550 --> 01:15:11.609 that. But as the time was going on, Joe was declared 01:15:11.609 --> 01:15:16.619 completely disabled. by a psychologist's recommendation. 01:15:17.439 --> 01:15:19.460 Because the psychologist said that after she 01:15:19.460 --> 01:15:22.500 had been viciously dragged out the drive -thru 01:15:22.500 --> 01:15:24.579 window at her big boy that she was working at 01:15:24.579 --> 01:15:25.619 while she was working at the drive -thru window, 01:15:25.779 --> 01:15:29.340 the big boy had been running, grabbed her leg, 01:15:29.399 --> 01:15:32.260 and it ripped her bodily out the drive -thru 01:15:32.260 --> 01:15:35.939 window. Part of one lung, had one hand that didn't 01:15:35.939 --> 01:15:39.180 work right, had other physical ailments and stuff. 01:15:39.520 --> 01:15:41.520 And the psychologist said that she should be 01:15:41.520 --> 01:15:44.520 upset. She should be sad. She should be mourning 01:15:44.520 --> 01:15:46.300 and struggling psychologically every single day 01:15:46.300 --> 01:15:49.000 because of what she had gone through. And she 01:15:49.000 --> 01:15:51.279 wasn't. And they examined her over the space 01:15:51.279 --> 01:15:53.260 of about a year and a half. And they said, you 01:15:53.260 --> 01:15:55.840 know, this is not reasonable. At some point in 01:15:55.840 --> 01:15:56.960 time, you're going to have a complete massive 01:15:56.960 --> 01:15:58.819 break because you're not mourning like you should 01:15:58.819 --> 01:16:02.119 be or whatever. And instead, she had joy. She 01:16:02.119 --> 01:16:07.500 was more than okay. Comical, even. Every day 01:16:07.500 --> 01:16:10.020 that we knew her. And she eventually went to 01:16:10.020 --> 01:16:12.939 be with the Lord, as far as we know. And another 01:16:12.939 --> 01:16:15.720 story, this one I just heard this morning. If 01:16:15.720 --> 01:16:17.220 you want more details, you can talk to Brother 01:16:17.220 --> 01:16:19.260 Kress. I was up there at Kairos weekend. There 01:16:19.260 --> 01:16:21.260 was a man named Greg. He gave me his name. I 01:16:21.260 --> 01:16:22.279 didn't tell him I was going to share this, but 01:16:22.279 --> 01:16:23.779 I'm going to get in trouble for it. I'm not going 01:16:23.779 --> 01:16:25.239 to get in trouble, am I? Okay, I'm good. Greg 01:16:25.239 --> 01:16:29.739 was in prison for 39 years. He still is. And 01:16:29.739 --> 01:16:32.979 still is in prison now. He denied the living 01:16:32.979 --> 01:16:36.359 Christ, denied the existence of God. He went 01:16:36.359 --> 01:16:39.539 in prison at 21, so now he's 60. That's how the 01:16:39.539 --> 01:16:41.739 math works out. And he hired us this weekend, 01:16:41.779 --> 01:16:44.180 this last weekend. He gave his life to the Lord 01:16:44.180 --> 01:16:47.319 and was so overwhelmed emotionally after giving 01:16:47.319 --> 01:16:49.699 his life to the Lord that he just sobbed like 01:16:49.699 --> 01:16:51.640 a baby and couldn't speak at the closing service. 01:16:51.979 --> 01:16:53.739 I submit to you, sometimes you're sobbing like 01:16:53.739 --> 01:16:56.220 a baby and it's joy. And that's what's going 01:16:56.220 --> 01:16:58.659 on there. That's what's going on. When I'm crying 01:16:58.659 --> 01:17:01.380 up here on the front chair, I'm sobbing in joy. 01:17:02.079 --> 01:17:05.140 God wants to turn lives around. That is a message. 01:17:05.380 --> 01:17:07.159 I don't want to say it this way, but I'm going 01:17:07.159 --> 01:17:10.119 to. That is a message that will sell. You tell 01:17:10.119 --> 01:17:13.800 people there is an enduring joy in Jesus. And 01:17:13.800 --> 01:17:15.460 when they know they don't have that and they 01:17:15.460 --> 01:17:18.100 see this up and down like an echocardiogram of 01:17:18.100 --> 01:17:19.779 their life, they're at the high and they're at 01:17:19.779 --> 01:17:21.699 the low and there's everywhere in between struggles. 01:17:21.939 --> 01:17:26.739 And Jesus weathers the storms. Jesus continues 01:17:26.739 --> 01:17:30.020 to fill your sail with a driving wind that will 01:17:30.020 --> 01:17:31.619 take you forward to the moment at which you meet 01:17:31.619 --> 01:17:35.340 him. He alone can judge us and he alone provides 01:17:35.340 --> 01:17:38.520 that joy and praise God for it. Don't spend $39. 01:17:39.300 --> 01:17:43.000 years in a prison of your own making, or in real 01:17:43.000 --> 01:17:46.020 prison, because you're denying the truth of God. 01:17:46.579 --> 01:17:48.619 Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, 01:17:48.720 --> 01:17:50.819 and then let's go tell everybody we possibly 01:17:50.819 --> 01:17:53.220 can that this is available. It is good news.