1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,840 Good morning. 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:04,440 John spoiled it, my name is Brad. 3 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:08,040 Today's scripture reading is from Philippians 4 00:00:08,040 --> 00:00:11,240 chapter two, verses one through 18. 5 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:15,280 And if you're using the pew Bibles, that's page 1009. 6 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,120 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, 7 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,120 if any consolation of love, if any fellowship 8 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:28,120 with the spirit, if any affection and mercy, 9 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,360 make my joy complete by thinking the same way, 10 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,560 having the same love, united in the spirit, 11 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:36,800 intent on one purpose. 12 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:41,560 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit. 13 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,040 But in humility, consider others as more important 14 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:45,560 than yourselves. 15 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,360 Everyone should look to his own, not to his own interests, 16 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:51,760 but rather to the interests of others. 17 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,840 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, 18 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:59,200 who existing in the form of God did not consider equality 19 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,240 with God as something to be exploited. 20 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,080 Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form 21 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,640 of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. 22 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,880 And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself 23 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,880 by becoming obedient to the point of death, 24 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,120 even death on a cross. 25 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,680 For this reason, God highly exalted him and gave him 26 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:23,720 the name that is above every name, so that at the name 27 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,800 of Jesus, every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth 28 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,640 and under the earth, and every tongue will confess 29 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:34,640 that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 30 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:39,400 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, 31 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,520 so now, not only in my presence, but even more in my absence, 32 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,680 work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 33 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,600 For it is God who is working in you, both to will 34 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,720 and to work, according to his good purpose. 35 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,440 Do everything without grumbling and arguing, 36 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,880 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God 37 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:02,080 who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, 38 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,560 among whom you shine like stars in the world, 39 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,520 by holding firm to the word of life. 40 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,600 Then I can boast in the day of Christ, that I didn't run 41 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,760 or labor for nothing, but even if I am poured out 42 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,680 as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, 43 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,320 I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 44 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:24,480 In the same way, you should also be glad and rejoice with me. 45 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:27,120 This is God's word. 46 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,720 Well, I have a confession to make. 47 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:35,760 This week, we had an awesome opportunity 48 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,240 to head on up to Diamond Arrow, and just spend 49 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,240 just a couple of days, a couple hours, really, 50 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:44,960 I mean, it was really two days concentrated, 51 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,560 with men, both from the village, as well as from around 52 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,120 the district, and we just had an amazing time together. 53 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:55,800 This morning was awesome, but there's something about 54 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:58,640 being in a small room with a lot of men who are singing 55 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:02,200 at the top of their lungs, it just shakes the roof, 56 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,000 and you feel like, wow, the power in there, 57 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,600 and the Lord did a lot of great things in the lives 58 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:10,960 of those people who were there. 59 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:13,840 We had an opportunity to also have quite a few guys 60 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,440 come out from Joshua House, which is a transition house 61 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:19,760 from guys who are coming out of prison, 62 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,800 and are looking to get integrated into the world, 63 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,120 and so they go to Joshua House, and they get ministered to 64 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:29,960 and loved, we had maybe 16, 18 guys come up from there, 65 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,280 and it was such a privilege and honor to be with them, 66 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,800 and to be a part of that ministry. 67 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:37,120 So what's my confession? 68 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,680 Well, my confession is, I was asked to speak there, 69 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,240 and so I had an opportunity to prepare a message, 70 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,000 and I put my time into it, and if you know me, 71 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,240 you know that I'm a manuscript guy, 72 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,800 and I love to have every word laid out and crafted. 73 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,320 Well, this morning, I have tabs in my Bible, 74 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:00,880 and I have a pad, and it's just got a few bullet points, 75 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:05,880 and so the story behind that is that at the beginning 76 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,400 of this year, when I was reflecting on what I, 77 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:11,760 and praying what I hope the Lord might do in me, 78 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:16,040 and work in me, I had prayed that he would work in me 79 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,040 the skill, the ability to preach, 80 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,520 not tied to word-for-word notes, but an outline, 81 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,760 and so when I got back, and I was preparing, 82 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,600 and I did not have the mental strength or energy 83 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,760 to put into making it word-for-word, 84 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,960 that's when I said, oh Lord, not now, not today. 85 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,960 When I prayed that, I meant later, at some point, 86 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,520 by the end of the year, that would be awesome, 87 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:48,520 and so grace upon grace, yes? 88 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:55,280 Now, this may not land for us here today, 89 00:04:55,280 --> 00:04:59,760 but if we were to suddenly lose our cell phones, 90 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,000 because we're fairly reliant upon our cell phones 91 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,920 in our directions, at least I am, 92 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,800 even if I'm going to places I know I already know, 93 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:09,360 and I've already been there, I'll still put them 94 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,160 into the navigation, because I want to know 95 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:15,360 how long it's going to take, I want to see the traffic, 96 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:16,200 and all that stuff. 97 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:17,760 Well, there was a time before 98 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,600 where we didn't have that technology, right? 99 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,960 And you used to have to buy maps, 100 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,640 and you would fold them out across your car, 101 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:28,680 pull over, and you'd, right? 102 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:31,720 And so I want you to imagine that I have a map, 103 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:37,600 and on that map, I want to go to Yellowstone National Park. 104 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,440 National Park, it's beautiful, Yellowstone. 105 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:42,680 I want to go see Old Faithful. 106 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,200 And so I've taken a red Sharpie, 107 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:49,920 and I found Yellowstone on this map of the United States, 108 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:51,720 and I put a red mark on it. 109 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,680 So I have a map, and I have the mark, 110 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:00,280 but I'm still missing one bit of information, aren't I? 111 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:03,360 And that bit of information will help me get 112 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,520 from where I'm at to where I want to go, 113 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,480 and that information is obviously where I'm at. 114 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:13,000 Where am I at on the map? 115 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,560 Because until I determine that, 116 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,560 I don't know how to get to Yellowstone. 117 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:20,560 I don't know the best route to take. 118 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,680 Well, salvation, and that's gonna be our topic 119 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:26,040 this morning, is salvation. 120 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,080 It's similar in the sense that salvation 121 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,560 has some waypoints along the way. 122 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:36,520 And the Bible doesn't use salvation in a single way, 123 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:40,120 but it actually uses it in a few different ways. 124 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,560 And today's scripture actually had one of those. 125 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:48,280 And so I want us to walk through and understand salvation 126 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:50,440 a little bit better by the end of today. 127 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,080 And so the first point that I'll have you write down 128 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:58,080 if you're taking notes is salvation began 129 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:00,360 in the mind of God. 130 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:05,040 Salvation began in the mind of God. 131 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,560 So let's talk a little bit about God. 132 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:12,560 God is love, we're told in 1 John 4, 8. 133 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,520 And in John 17, Jesus is praying, 134 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:18,160 and he's praying to the Father. 135 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:20,240 And in the middle of his prayer, 136 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:21,920 he says something like this. 137 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:26,920 He says, you loved me before the foundations of the world. 138 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,680 Father, you loved me before time. 139 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:37,680 So God is love, and God incarnate in Jesus 140 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:39,080 is praying to the Father and saying, 141 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:40,800 you loved me before time, 142 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:42,800 before the foundations of the world. 143 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,360 Well, that's because the very nature of God, 144 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:48,480 what we call the Trinity, 145 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:50,200 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 146 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,000 we sang about it earlier. 147 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,520 The Trinity is this relational community. 148 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:58,880 In and of itself, it's a relational community 149 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,240 of self-giving love. 150 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:06,240 Three persons in one essence, what we call God. 151 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:12,960 And God gives out of who he is. 152 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:14,520 And even within the Godhead, 153 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:19,520 he has existed in a community of love for all time. 154 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,520 As far back as you could go in before, 155 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:24,240 he has existed in love. 156 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:29,040 God gives out of who he is, 157 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:34,040 and therefore, when it came to the moment of creation, 158 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:36,440 God gave out of his love. 159 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:41,440 It was the overflowing fountain of the triune God of love 160 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,560 who poured out in self-giving love, 161 00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:47,720 and all things came to be. 162 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:50,160 Everything was made. 163 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:53,960 If you have your Bibles, 164 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,360 turn with me to the book of Ephesians, chapter one. 165 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:02,360 Because not only did it begin in the mind of God, 166 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:03,760 because God is a God of love, 167 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:05,800 and out of that self-giving love, 168 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:10,800 he has created everything, God giving out of who he is. 169 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:16,560 But Ephesians, chapter one, verse three, reads this. 170 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:24,320 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 171 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:29,320 who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 172 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:31,320 in the heavens in Christ. 173 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:36,320 For he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. 174 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,720 He chose us in him before the foundation of the world 175 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:45,720 to be holy and blameless in love before him. 176 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,320 There's those same words, the foundation of the world. 177 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:52,320 Jesus said, Father, you loved me 178 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:53,840 before the foundation of the world. 179 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,040 And Paul in the book of Ephesians says, 180 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:58,320 we who are in Christ were chosen 181 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,720 before the foundation of the world in love. 182 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:04,560 That's interesting. 183 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:09,760 Before the foundation, before creation, before time, 184 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:14,320 God in his love looked forward and chose those in Christ 185 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:18,240 to be loved and saved. 186 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,360 It began in the mind of Christ. 187 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,680 God chose those who would believe in Christ 188 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:28,480 to be his own, his children. 189 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:29,880 In fact, it goes on. 190 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:33,080 He predestined us to be adopted as sons 191 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:37,080 through Jesus Christ for himself, 192 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,480 according to the good pleasure of his will, 193 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,080 to the praise of his glorious grace 194 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:45,280 that he lavished on us in the beloved one. 195 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,480 Salvation first began in the mind of God. 196 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,480 And number two, if you're taking notes, 197 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,080 we also see that salvation worked its way out 198 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:00,680 in perfection in the work of Christ, 199 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:02,080 the work of Christ. 200 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:09,080 I'm gonna read out of 1 Peter chapter one. 201 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:10,680 You don't have to turn there, but just listen. 202 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:13,480 1 Peter chapter one, beginning in verse 18. 203 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,880 For you know that you were redeemed from your impotence 204 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:18,880 and your sin, and you were redeemed 205 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:20,480 from your empty way of life, 206 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,280 inherited from your ancestors, 207 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:26,480 not with perishable things like silver or gold, 208 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,680 but with the precious blood of Christ, 209 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:33,280 like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. 210 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,680 He was foreknown before the foundations of the world, 211 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:41,280 but was revealed in these last days. 212 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:42,680 Through him you believe in God, 213 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:45,080 who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, 214 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:49,280 said that your faith and hope are in God. 215 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:54,280 We know of salvation through the work of Christ 216 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,080 that God became flesh and dwelt among us 217 00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:59,080 in the person of Christ, 218 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,080 that the second person of the Trinity, 219 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:06,080 the Son of God, took on the body of a man of flesh 220 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:08,080 and walked on this earth. 221 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:10,680 He came here with a purpose and a plan. 222 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:12,280 And the question always is, 223 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,280 was that the plan B? 224 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:18,080 Because why did the work of God through Christ 225 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:19,480 have to even happen? 226 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:22,480 Well, there was a fall of man. 227 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:25,680 God's good creation that he created 228 00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:27,880 out of this overflowing fountain of love 229 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:31,880 that was founded for all eternity in the triune God, 230 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:34,680 well, that creation rebelled. 231 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,880 And through not an act of recapitulating 232 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,280 or reflecting God's self-giving love, 233 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:45,680 instead they chose self-centeredness 234 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:47,280 and self-glorification, 235 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:49,480 and they took the fruits for themselves, 236 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:51,280 and they were wise in their own eyes, 237 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:52,880 and they saw what they wanted, 238 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:54,880 and they took it in that act of rebellion. 239 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:59,280 God's good creation fell into destruction and decay. 240 00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:02,880 You saw humanity, 241 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:05,680 which was made in the image of God, 242 00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:07,280 turn on one another. 243 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,880 That began with that act of rebellion, 244 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:13,480 but the next act was murder. 245 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:16,880 And then it spiraled out of control, 246 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:21,080 down throughout time and the ages, 247 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,480 and God's good creation was lost to sin. 248 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,480 The fall of man made it necessary for the incarnate, 249 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:33,080 the second person of the Trinity, 250 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,480 to come and rescue man from the fall of man. 251 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,080 And rescue mankind. 252 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:40,580 But was it a surprise, that's the question, 253 00:13:40,580 --> 00:13:44,480 was it plan B, was plan A, 254 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:46,780 that everything would go as it was in the garden, 255 00:13:46,780 --> 00:13:48,680 and be good? 256 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:50,680 This says in First Peter, 257 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:54,380 before the foundations of the world, Jesus was chosen. 258 00:13:55,980 --> 00:13:57,080 That's interesting. 259 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:01,480 Jesus was chosen before the foundations of the world. 260 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:05,280 In fact, Pastor John MacArthur says 261 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,980 that God's plan of salvation for sinful mankind 262 00:14:08,980 --> 00:14:12,480 was determined and decreed before man was even created. 263 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:16,580 The promise was made, 264 00:14:16,580 --> 00:14:20,380 the promise that in the second person of the Trinity, 265 00:14:20,380 --> 00:14:25,380 stepping down into earth on this rescue mission of humanity, 266 00:14:25,580 --> 00:14:30,380 the promise was made that God would save eternal, 267 00:14:30,380 --> 00:14:32,180 and grant eternal life to all those 268 00:14:32,180 --> 00:14:34,480 who put their faith in Christ. 269 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:38,480 The promise was made to God the Son. 270 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:43,680 The book of Titus, chapter one, 271 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:46,880 reads this way. 272 00:14:53,380 --> 00:14:55,480 That's the one I didn't mark, there we go. 273 00:14:56,380 --> 00:14:59,080 Titus chapter one, verse one and two. 274 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,980 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, 275 00:15:02,980 --> 00:15:06,280 who was chosen before the faith of God's elect, 276 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,780 and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, 277 00:15:09,780 --> 00:15:11,780 in the hope of eternal life, 278 00:15:11,780 --> 00:15:16,780 that God who cannot lie, promised before time began. 279 00:15:18,180 --> 00:15:23,180 Eternal life that God promised before anything was made. 280 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:24,780 Eternal life that God promised 281 00:15:24,780 --> 00:15:26,680 before any one of us was created, 282 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:28,680 or our ancestors or forefathers, 283 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:31,280 or the original parents, Adam and Eve, 284 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:33,680 God had promised eternal life. 285 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:36,180 And that's what John MacArthur is referring to, 286 00:15:36,180 --> 00:15:38,880 that promise was made to God the Son. 287 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:44,180 That we will create humanity, we will create mankind, 288 00:15:44,180 --> 00:15:47,180 but there will be a fall, and they'll need a rescue, 289 00:15:47,180 --> 00:15:52,180 and if you go, then all those who put their hope and faith 290 00:15:52,180 --> 00:15:54,780 and are found in you will be granted eternal life. 291 00:15:54,780 --> 00:16:01,580 That's the promise that was made before time began. 292 00:16:01,580 --> 00:16:03,580 And so we see in the work of Christ, 293 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,880 that he said, I'm going, I'm gonna save them, 294 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,080 I'm gonna win them back, I'm going on that rescue mission. 295 00:16:13,180 --> 00:16:16,780 Another pastor, Presbyterian pastor named J. Vernon McGee, 296 00:16:16,780 --> 00:16:19,280 I don't know if you guys ever listened to J. Vernon McGee, 297 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,680 when I was a kid, man, back seat of the car, 298 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,580 my parents would crank J. Vernon McGee all the time, 299 00:16:24,580 --> 00:16:27,680 I remember that voice and that kind of AM radio sound. 300 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,780 He says, when we begin to deal with words like 301 00:16:32,780 --> 00:16:38,080 foreordination, election, predestination, foreknowledge, 302 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,480 I feel like we, with our infinite minds or finite minds, 303 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,480 treat God as if he was some great big computer. 304 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,380 He isn't that at all. 305 00:16:48,380 --> 00:16:51,780 He has a heart bigger than the whole universe. 306 00:16:51,780 --> 00:16:54,080 When I was in seminary studying theology, 307 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:56,880 it seemed pretty important to know whether or not 308 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,880 foreknowledge comes before foreordation, 309 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:04,080 but frankly, since that time, I have not been concerned 310 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:06,080 with which comes first. 311 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:11,880 I realize now that the important thing is that Christ 312 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:14,880 was foreknown before the foundations of the world, 313 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,880 but was made manifest in these last times for you. 314 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,380 To put it very simply, the cross of Christ was not 315 00:17:21,380 --> 00:17:24,880 an ambulance sent to a wreck. 316 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,080 Christ was the lamb who was slain before the foundations 317 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:32,580 of the world because God knew all the time that Vernon McGee 318 00:17:32,580 --> 00:17:36,380 would need a savior and he loved me enough to provide 319 00:17:36,380 --> 00:17:39,880 that savior before I was even born. 320 00:17:42,380 --> 00:17:45,080 I don't need a computer to go over this. 321 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,280 I only need a God with a great big heart of love 322 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:52,680 who provided redemption by his grace alone. 323 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,180 And so we see from the mind of God and the work of Christ, 324 00:17:59,180 --> 00:18:04,180 salvation, the perfect obedient son suffered at the hands 325 00:18:04,180 --> 00:18:08,680 of sinners and in Philippians chapter two, 326 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:11,680 which is our scripture that we read this morning, 327 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,680 we are told to adopt the same attitude as Christ 328 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,680 in his incarnation and his suffering, 329 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:22,680 that Christ who existed in the form of God did not consider 330 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:26,680 equality with God as something to be exploited. 331 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:30,680 Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form 332 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:34,680 of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. 333 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:37,680 And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself 334 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:40,680 by becoming obedient to the Lord. 335 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:44,680 Obedient to the point of death, even to death on a cross 336 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:48,680 while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 337 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:51,680 And for this reason, God highly exalted him 338 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,680 and gave him the name that is above every name. 339 00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:00,680 The perfect obedient son suffered at the hands of sinners 340 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,680 so that we might be saved. 341 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:08,680 You read a lot in Paul's writings. 342 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,680 One of his favorite phrases is the phrase of in Christ. 343 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:14,680 He even said in that Ephesians one 344 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,680 that we are chosen in Christ. 345 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,680 What's this in Christ that he talks about? 346 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:22,680 Well, most of you guys have probably heard 347 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,680 or read the story or if you were in Sunday school, 348 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:27,680 you probably heard it over and over again, 349 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,680 but the story of Noah in the ark, right? 350 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,680 So Noah lives in a time where there's great wickedness 351 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,680 in the land and God has determined because he is just 352 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:39,680 and holy that wickedness must be punished. 353 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:43,680 And it's not that later in I think his first 354 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:46,680 or second Peter, it talks about how Noah was a great 355 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:48,680 preacher of righteousness. 356 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:51,680 And so it's not as if the wickedness did not have 357 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:53,680 an opportunity to repent, it just refused to repent, 358 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:55,680 it refused to come to God. 359 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:59,680 And so Noah was commanded, hey, get ready 360 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,680 because judgment is coming by water. 361 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:05,680 Water will come upon the earth and it will be my judgment 362 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:07,680 against all the wickedness and you can get ready, 363 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:12,680 you can build an ark, basically a floating city of refuge. 364 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,680 And you and your family along with some of God's good 365 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,680 creation can go into the ark when judgment comes 366 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,680 and the waters of judgment come and you can be saved. 367 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,680 Now that sounds crazy, right? 368 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:31,680 That sounds crazy. 369 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,680 Standing in the middle of dry land, 370 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,680 in the middle of a country, water's gonna come, 371 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:40,680 it's gonna reach that high that I need a massive boat 372 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:42,680 and then there's the whole animal thing and they're all 373 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:46,680 gonna come to me and I'm supposed to take care of them. 374 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:48,680 That's just craziness. 375 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:51,680 I don't know that you would do that, 376 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:53,680 I don't know that I would do that. 377 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:55,680 What does Noah do? 378 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:58,680 He does it. 379 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,680 Not only does he do it, he does it for anywhere between 380 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,680 50 and 100 years making preparations. 381 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,680 Could you imagine the perseverance? 382 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:10,680 How much you must trust that word to do it for 50 383 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:14,680 to 100 years of your life just to prepare? 384 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,680 While everyone around you mocks you. 385 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,680 Build that boat, Noah, yeah! 386 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,680 Come on, build that boat. 387 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,680 We haven't seen rain in forever. 388 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,680 Noah by faith built the boat. 389 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:31,680 Noah by faith got in the boat. 390 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:37,680 Door shut and Noah by faith was saved through the waters. 391 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:42,680 And this is a picture of what it means to be in Christ. 392 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,680 Christ endured the waters of judgment on the cross. 393 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:51,680 Yeah, the boat was made of wood, 394 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,680 the cross was his wooden structure 395 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,680 that he endured judgment on. 396 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:00,680 Christ went to the cross and endured judgment. 397 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:02,680 He went through the waters and anyone who is in Christ 398 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:07,680 is safe, saved through the waters of judgment. 399 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:12,680 And so to be in Christ is by faith to be hidden 400 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,680 from the judgment that we all deserve, 401 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:22,680 rescued from the waters in Christ. 402 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,680 But that means Christ actually endured the waters. 403 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,680 Because while Noah and his family were on the inside 404 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:30,680 of the boat, the outside of the boat was getting hit 405 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,680 and rocked and thrown all about, right? 406 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:38,680 And Christ, whipped, beaten, scourged, taken to the cross, 407 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:43,680 hung for you and I, endured the waters of judgment 408 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:46,680 so that we might be safe inside. 409 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:49,680 And so we see salvation beginning in the mind of God 410 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,680 and working itself out in the perfect way 411 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:56,680 through Christ and his work on this earth. 412 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,680 But that brings us to the last little bit, 413 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:01,680 which is our journey. 414 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:04,680 What's our journey with salvation? 415 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:09,680 And the first point in our journey that I wanna talk about 416 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:11,680 is justification. 417 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:15,680 Justification. 418 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:19,680 In Ephesians chapter two, 419 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:21,680 beginning in verse eight. 420 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,680 For you are saved by grace through faith 421 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:30,680 and this is not from yourselves. 422 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:34,680 It is God's gift, not from works, 423 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,680 so that no one can boast. 424 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:40,680 You are saved by grace through faith 425 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,680 and this is not from yourself, it is God's gift, 426 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,680 so that no one may boast. 427 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:50,680 Justification is when we, by faith, 428 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:53,680 because of the grace of God in Christ Jesus 429 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:55,680 and the message of the gospel, 430 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:57,680 hearing the message of the gospel, 431 00:23:57,680 --> 00:23:59,680 we respond in faith to God 432 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,680 and he declares over us the righteousness of Christ. 433 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:05,680 All that is Christ's merit, 434 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,680 for all that he did in enduring the waters of judgment 435 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:14,680 is pronounced on us, righteous, clean, blameless, 436 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:19,680 pure and in justification we are made right with God 437 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:21,680 through our Lord Jesus Christ. 438 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,680 And that means the sin stain that we carried 439 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,680 for all of our life is erased. 440 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:32,680 We're no longer under the law. 441 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:36,680 The law exposed our sin because every time we broke the law, 442 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:38,680 we were guilty, we were lawbreakers 443 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:41,680 and so we walked under shame and guilt. 444 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:45,680 Condemned to die for our sins, anyone who sinned must die. 445 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,680 And then Christ comes and through his grace 446 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:53,680 and the message of the gospel and we believing in faith, 447 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:55,680 we receive his righteousness 448 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,680 and the law no longer has power over us. 449 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,680 No longer has power over us to say guilty or shame 450 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,680 or you must die, no longer. 451 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,680 In Christ we have his right to be forgiven 452 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,680 no longer, in Christ we have his righteousness, 453 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:16,680 his claim is ours, his merit that he has earned, 454 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:19,680 has been given to us in Christ 455 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:23,680 and therefore we are justified before God. 456 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:26,680 Romans chapter five, verse one says, 457 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,680 therefore since we have been justified by faith, 458 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,680 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 459 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:34,680 We couldn't have peace before. 460 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:36,680 We couldn't have peace when we were condemned. 461 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:38,680 We couldn't have peace when we were under the law 462 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,680 and condemned to die for our sins. 463 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,680 But now that through Jesus and through faith in Christ 464 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,680 and his work we have peace with God 465 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,680 and we have also obtained access through him 466 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,680 by faith into the grace in which we now stand 467 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,680 and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 468 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:58,680 That's Romans five, one and two. 469 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:02,680 This is the work of God by grace. 470 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:06,680 In justification we do nothing. 471 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:10,680 Justification, that's what grace means. 472 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,680 It is given to us a free gift, 473 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:15,680 a pardon that is offered. 474 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:21,680 We did not before the foundations of the time 475 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,680 dream up a plan of salvation for ourselves 476 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:25,680 and put it into work. 477 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:26,680 We didn't do that. 478 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:30,680 And without that there's no offer of pardon. 479 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:32,680 God did all of that. 480 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:36,680 And God sent his son, Jesus, the second person in the trinity 481 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,680 to step down in flesh, lived a perfect obedient life 482 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,680 to the father, went to the cross, 483 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:46,680 died for our sins, took on himself our guilt. 484 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:47,680 We didn't do that. 485 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:50,680 We deserve to die. 486 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,680 We deserve to be abandoned to the grave. 487 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:54,680 He did that. 488 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:59,680 By grace, justification, our justification. 489 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,680 If you have come to Christ by faith 490 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,680 in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the work that he has done, 491 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:07,680 you are justified before God. 492 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:09,680 You are declared righteous. 493 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,680 You have peace with God through your Lord Jesus Christ. 494 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:13,680 It is done. 495 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,680 There's a song we sing, it's really one of my favorites 496 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:18,680 and me and my wife last night were watching 497 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,680 the behind the scenes, how it was written. 498 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:23,680 And it's this song, All Sufficient Merit. 499 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,680 And the chorus, I love it, man. 500 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:28,680 I probably shouldn't even try to say it 501 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:29,680 because I'll just break down. 502 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:33,680 But it's a combination of both what Jesus said on the cross 503 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:35,680 as well as what Revelation says 504 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:38,680 when the final consummation of all things is. 505 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:40,680 And it is done. 506 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:42,680 It is finished. 507 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:43,680 It is done. 508 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:44,680 It is finished. 509 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:45,680 It is done. 510 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:46,680 It is finished. 511 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:49,680 No more debt. 512 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:51,680 I owe. 513 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:55,680 Because it was paid in full by the work of Christ. 514 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:57,680 That is what justification is. 515 00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:00,680 And so if you by faith said, I, 516 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:02,680 you receive that gift, that grace 517 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,680 that God has provided through all of his work 518 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:07,680 and his foreknowledge and his foreplanning, 519 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,680 you receive it and you're in Christ 520 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:11,680 and you are like Noah in that ark, 521 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:13,680 saved from the waters of judgment. 522 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:18,680 But then there's more to the journey 523 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:23,680 because we're told in Ephesians chapter one, 524 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:26,680 verse 13, that something else happens 525 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:31,680 when we step into that grace by faith. 526 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:34,680 We're told in verse 13 of chapter one, 527 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:38,680 in him you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit 528 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:40,680 when you heard the word of truth, 529 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:42,680 the gospel of your salvation, 530 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:44,680 and when you believe the Holy Spirit 531 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:47,680 is the down payment of our inheritance 532 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,680 until the redemption of the possession 533 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:52,680 to the praise of his glory. 534 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:55,680 In him you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit 535 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:57,680 when you heard the word of truth, 536 00:28:57,680 --> 00:28:59,680 the gospel of your salvation. 537 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,680 You're born again, brought into a family, 538 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,680 declared righteous, made a son, full inheritance, 539 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,680 and you receive the down payment on those promises 540 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:11,680 in the Holy Spirit. 541 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,680 And that leads to the next waypoint in your journey, 542 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:16,680 which is sanctification. 543 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:19,680 Sanctification. 544 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:21,680 If justification, if you have put your hope 545 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,680 and faith in Christ, then in justification 546 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:27,680 you can say, I am saved. 547 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:33,680 But in sanctification we also say, we're being saved. 548 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:36,680 We're being saved. 549 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,680 Our scripture in Philippians chapter two 550 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,680 has two verses I wanna focus on for a few minutes, 551 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:47,680 and that's verse 12 through 14. 552 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,680 Chapter two of Philippians, verse 12 through 14. 553 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:53,680 Therefore, my dear brothers, therefore, 554 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:55,680 is pointing backward, and he just came out 555 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,680 of that beautiful song poem about Jesus 556 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:01,680 and how we are to imitate Christ's attitude. 557 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,680 And he says, therefore, in light of that, my dear friends, 558 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:07,680 just as you have always obeyed, so now, 559 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:11,680 not only in my presence, but even more in my absence, 560 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:16,680 work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 561 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:19,680 We're gonna stop right there in verse 12. 562 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:22,680 Work out your own salvation in fear and trembling. 563 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:27,680 Now, you and I, we like extremes, don't we? 564 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,680 We're all in, we're all out. 565 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:34,680 We're hot, we're cold. 566 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:35,680 We like extremes. 567 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:40,680 And in this life, there are a couple extremes 568 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:41,680 we need to talk about. 569 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,680 There's an extreme over here and an extreme over here, 570 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,680 and we tend to vacillate between the two of them. 571 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,680 And in fact, you can see them right here in 12 and 13. 572 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,680 He says, work out your own salvation. 573 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,680 And if you take that out of isolation, you go, 574 00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,680 all right, I know what I'm supposed to do. 575 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:02,680 Get working, get working. 576 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:05,680 I got lots to do, and man, my list keeps filling up, 577 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:07,680 and I'm starting to get burdened, 578 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:09,680 and I'm feeling a little tired, and I can't do it, 579 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:11,680 and I keep failing, and I keep coming up short. 580 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:13,680 But instead, get working. 581 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:15,680 I gotta work out my own salvation. 582 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:17,680 I gotta figure out how this works. 583 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:20,680 That's one extreme. 584 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,680 That's a legalistic extreme. 585 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:24,680 I have to keep all these things. 586 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:26,680 I have to keep up on all of the commands 587 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:28,680 and make sure I'm doing everything, 588 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:29,680 and did I talk to so-and-so, and did I love them, 589 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:31,680 and did I do this, and did I do that, 590 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:33,680 and oh my gosh, God won't accept me or love me, 591 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:35,680 or he might be frowning at me right now, 592 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,680 or I might lose my justification. 593 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:38,680 And this is why it's important to know 594 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:39,680 where you're at on the map. 595 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:44,680 If you have passed through the waters in Christ, 596 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:45,680 you are justified. 597 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:47,680 Don't worry about it. 598 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:51,680 Move on to sanctification. 599 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:55,680 And when you fail, and when you come up short, 600 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:57,680 and in your legalism, you're like, 601 00:31:57,680 --> 00:31:59,680 man, I can't keep up with all of this. 602 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,680 Just remember where you're at on the map. 603 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:04,680 Remember where you're at on the map. 604 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,680 Don't always think you're hopping back to the first step. 605 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:10,680 You're at the second step, justification. 606 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:13,680 Your part, verse 12. 607 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:14,680 I have to work out my own salvation. 608 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:16,680 It does say that. 609 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:18,680 So you can't ignore it. 610 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:20,680 It says work out your own salvation. 611 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:22,680 But what does the next verse say? 612 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:32,680 For it is God who is working in you, 613 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:37,680 both to will and to work according to his good purpose. 614 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:41,680 I'm working out my salvation, and God's working in me, 615 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:43,680 but not, and God's working at the same time. 616 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,680 He was already working, right? 617 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:49,680 Because the command is work out your own salvation, 618 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:51,680 because God's already working. 619 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:53,680 He's already at work within you. 620 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:54,680 He's working to will. 621 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:56,680 He's working to change your desires, 622 00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:58,680 so that the things that you used to desire, 623 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:00,680 the things that you used to go to, 624 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:02,680 the sins that you used to run to, 625 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:04,680 the things that you used to do, 626 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,680 the things that you used to go to, the sins that you used to run to 627 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,680 and find solace in or comfort in, 628 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:11,680 you no longer want. 629 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:13,680 You hate them now. 630 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:15,680 And you're beginning to move away from them 631 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:18,680 because he's putting new desires in your heart by the Holy Spirit. 632 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:19,680 He's renewing you. 633 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:23,680 He's making you new. 634 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:27,680 He's making you new through the Holy Spirit. 635 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:30,680 And yet, there is a part you play. 636 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:31,680 There is a part. 637 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:35,680 Two nights ago, when I had the opportunity to speak at the men's retreat, 638 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,680 one of the things I kind of camped out in 639 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:41,680 is the idea in Galatians chapter five 640 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:44,680 where it talks about the acts of the sinful person, 641 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:47,680 but it also contrasts that with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. 642 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:49,680 And in the fruit of the Holy Spirit, 643 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:52,680 it talks about walk in the Holy Spirit 644 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:54,680 or walk and step with the Holy Spirit 645 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,680 or keep step with the Holy Spirit. 646 00:33:57,680 --> 00:33:58,680 So it's interesting. 647 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:00,680 We both have the Spirit, 648 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:03,680 and yet we have to keep in step with the Spirit. 649 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,680 And I use the illustration of a traditional dance, right? 650 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:09,680 In a traditional dance, you might have two partners. 651 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:12,680 You might have one who would lead 652 00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:15,680 and one who follows or responds. 653 00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:18,680 And in this dance with the Holy Spirit, 654 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:20,680 the Holy Spirit leads. 655 00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:23,680 He begins to change our desires, and he begins to speak, 656 00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:26,680 and he shows us in the Word things that we are to obey. 657 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:29,680 And as we listen to his calling, 658 00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:33,680 as we move with him, that dance begins to take on beauty 659 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:36,680 and shape, and we begin to move around. 660 00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:38,680 But what happens when we feel the conviction 661 00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:41,680 of the Holy Spirit or we read the truth in the Bible 662 00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:42,680 and we say no? 663 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:45,680 Well, that dance starts to fall apart a little bit. 664 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:47,680 It gets a little bit messy, 665 00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:51,680 and it gets a little bit harder to keep in step. 666 00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:53,680 But the Bible then says, get back in step. 667 00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:57,680 Repent, come back, get in step with the Holy Spirit, 668 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:00,680 and allow him to make those changes in your heart. 669 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:05,680 I'm gonna guess that most of us in this room are at step two. 670 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:09,680 We're in the process of sanctification, 671 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:12,680 and the Lord is, by his Spirit, in each one of you, 672 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,680 speaking to you about areas and places 673 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:17,680 that you need to move through, be it sin, 674 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,680 be it insecurities or places where you have fear 675 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:23,680 and you keep shrinking back into fear 676 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,680 instead of going with the Lord where he's leading you. 677 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:30,680 The Bible says keep in step with the Spirit. 678 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:32,680 Keep in step with the Spirit. 679 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:34,680 Walk in the Spirit. 680 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:36,680 Don't walk in the ways of the flesh. 681 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:39,680 Don't walk in the sins of the flesh. 682 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:43,680 That's what's happening right now if you are at that place. 683 00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:45,680 But there's another danger, though. 684 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,680 If we then go to the other extreme and we say, 685 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:53,680 oh, we only read verse 13, God's working and willing. 686 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:56,680 And so, you know that besetting sin 687 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:58,680 that I keep struggling with? 688 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,680 I guess he's not working on that right now. 689 00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:04,680 He's not gonna deal with that right now. 690 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:08,680 So now you go over to this license or this fatalism 691 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:10,680 of well, God will do what God's gonna do 692 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:11,680 when God wants to do it, 693 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:14,680 and I guess I don't have a part in that. 694 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:16,680 You have to take 12 and 13 together. 695 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:17,680 And you know what? 696 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:23,680 The Bible does not go to great lengths to clarify 697 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:28,680 the relationship between man's free will and God's sovereignty. 698 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,680 It just does not go to great lengths to clarify it. 699 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:35,680 It says both back to back. 700 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:36,680 Do your part. 701 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:38,680 God's doing his part. 702 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:39,680 Do your part. 703 00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:40,680 God's doing his part. 704 00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:43,680 This isn't a salvation issue. 705 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:44,680 This is a sanctification. 706 00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:47,680 It's not a salvation, it's not a justification issue. 707 00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:49,680 This is a sanctification issue. 708 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:52,680 What God is doing in you and trying to make in you 709 00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:56,680 because you have believed in faith. 710 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:58,680 He says for us, on our part, 711 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:01,680 to work it out with fear and trembling. 712 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:03,680 Fear and trembling. 713 00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:04,680 Why fear and trembling? 714 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:09,680 Why is our part to be done with that attitude? 715 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:12,680 I probably told this story before, 716 00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:16,680 but when I was young, I pretty much went wherever my brother went 717 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:19,680 and did whatever my brother did. 718 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:23,680 And my brother wanted probably to get rid of me. 719 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:27,680 And he tried multiple times. 720 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:30,680 There was a time where we were playing in the bedroom 721 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:34,680 and my mom had like an eight drawer, Chester drawers. 722 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:36,680 Do people still own those things anymore? 723 00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:37,680 Yeah, Chester drawers. 724 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:39,680 Yeah, Chester drawers. 725 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:43,680 And he pulled out all of the drawers all the way, 726 00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:45,680 so all the weight was on the front. 727 00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:49,680 And he told me to lay down in front of it 728 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:52,680 while he climbed on top of it. 729 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:55,680 And that whole thing came right down on top of me 730 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:58,680 and I scream and mom comes in and, 731 00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:02,680 oh, oops, oops, I'm sorry. 732 00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:05,680 And I would believe that that was an accident. 733 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:07,680 I would totally believe that was an accident. 734 00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:12,680 Except the next time we're in the backyard 735 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:16,680 and my brother, well, he loved to do anything active 736 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:18,680 and so he saw a tree in our backyard 737 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:20,680 and he's like, I'm gonna climb that tree. 738 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,680 Well, I need a rope because he had just seen some guys 739 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:25,680 trimming trees down the road 740 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:28,680 and they had climbed up the tree and they had ropes 741 00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:29,680 and he's like, I need a rope. 742 00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:33,680 So he went into the garage and he couldn't find a rope. 743 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:37,680 But what he had found was some old telephone wire, 744 00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:39,680 a spool of it my dad had probably for speakers 745 00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:41,680 or something like that, telephone wire. 746 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:44,680 And so he stretches it out and he finds a metal hook 747 00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:46,680 and he ties it to the end and he thinks, 748 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:48,680 those guys were throwing it up over the branch 749 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:50,680 and it would go around and it would wrap on 750 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:52,680 and I could, oh, I'm gonna do that. 751 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:55,680 Well, behind the tree in our backyard 752 00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:58,680 between our house and the house behind us 753 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:02,680 were super high power lines, electrical lines. 754 00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:07,680 And my brother Mike, if you're listening online, 755 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:15,680 he got that thing going and he threw it up to that tree 756 00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:17,680 and it went right over the tree 757 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:21,680 and wrapped around the top line on this high powered line. 758 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:23,680 And instantly you could hear the zzzzzzz 759 00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:25,680 and this thing's dancing around. 760 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:30,680 So he runs over and grabs it. 761 00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:33,680 Yeah, and then he's like, oh, that thing's moving. 762 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,680 And this thing's not very insulated. 763 00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:37,680 It's just sitting there. 764 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:39,680 And then he runs and he's like, you know what? 765 00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:40,680 I'm gonna get it down. 766 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:45,680 He's like six or seven or maybe eight, eight years old. 767 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:46,680 I'm gonna get it down. 768 00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:50,680 So he runs to the garage and gets my dad's metal ladder 769 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:53,680 and runs out and props it up. 770 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:56,680 And then he's like, I forgot something. 771 00:39:56,680 --> 00:40:00,680 And he says, John, come here. 772 00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:02,680 Because that line is dancing around. 773 00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:05,680 He grabs the line and he hands it to me and he says, hold it. 774 00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:10,680 And I'm like four years old and it's like zzzzzzz. 775 00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:13,680 And at one point I'm like, I can't do this anymore. 776 00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:14,680 I'm terrified. 777 00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:19,680 So I throw the line and it spins out, comes back, 778 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:22,680 hits the ladder and the ladder goes bam. 779 00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:24,680 It flings it into the fence. 780 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,680 Mom comes running out. 781 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:28,680 Everyone's screaming, get to your room. 782 00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:33,680 They call PG&E out and they're like, your sons are so lucky. 783 00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:35,680 They should have died today. 784 00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:38,680 There's no way that insulation could hold it. 785 00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:41,680 But my brother, you know, hold on. 786 00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:46,680 I say all that because from that day on, 787 00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:50,680 electricity terrifies me, like terrifies me. 788 00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:54,680 I'll go to jump my car, you know, if the battery runs down. 789 00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:58,680 And I know it by now, but every time I check the order, 790 00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:01,680 like what's the order you put these things on? 791 00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:04,680 Because I don't want to see a spark and I don't want to feel anything. 792 00:41:04,680 --> 00:41:11,680 Like I have fear and trembling because of the work of electricity that's going on. 793 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:13,680 Other people don't. 794 00:41:13,680 --> 00:41:16,680 There's a guy I watch on YouTube, his name is the handyman. 795 00:41:16,680 --> 00:41:19,680 And he says, you know, he's an electrician, trained electrician. 796 00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:22,680 He's like, the way we test whether it's active or not, you know, 797 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:26,680 in the house if he's changing on a switch is we just touch it a little bit. 798 00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:28,680 And he's doing this on camera. 799 00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:33,680 I'm like, no, please, no. 800 00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:36,680 I have fear and trembling. 801 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:43,680 It's not because electricity is bad or evil or, you know, it can't be in some way good. 802 00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:51,680 It's just I have experienced the terror of what the power of electricity can do. 803 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:58,680 And I have a healthy fear of it, maybe an unhealthy fear. 804 00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:06,680 But he says for us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling for God's working in you. 805 00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:09,680 Know the power that's at work within you. 806 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:13,680 Don't take this lightly, the sanctification process. 807 00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:17,680 Don't think that that power is ineffective. 808 00:42:17,680 --> 00:42:21,680 But understand that that power is at work in you and therefore you must respond. 809 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:26,680 Paul talks about this in Romans where he's saying, you know, grace, there's so much grace in Christ. 810 00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:28,680 Oh, my gosh, there's so much grace. 811 00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:30,680 Does that mean we should go on sinning? 812 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:31,680 No, right? 813 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:32,680 Everyone say no. 814 00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:36,680 No, we don't go on sinning. 815 00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:38,680 Are you kidding me? 816 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:44,680 That would be a mockery of the power of the grace that is at work within you. 817 00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:48,680 That would be to belittle it as if it's nothing. 818 00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:54,680 Oh, it's so great and powerful and it's working to will and work within you. 819 00:42:54,680 --> 00:43:00,680 And so when you do your work, when you do your part, do it with fear and trembling. 820 00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:08,680 Do it with a purpose and an understanding that God is at work within you right now if you're in Christ. 821 00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:15,680 And he's working to sanctify you, to purify you, to present you blameless before him. 822 00:43:15,680 --> 00:43:20,680 Yes, we have the righteousness of Christ and now he wants to clean us up. 823 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:23,680 And he's going to spend your life doing it. 824 00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:26,680 The cleaning up is not the prerequisite for the righteousness of Christ. 825 00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:27,680 You already have it. 826 00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:31,680 But it's the process, each and every one of you, and I don't care how old you are. 827 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,680 I know how old some of you guys are. 828 00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:35,680 I don't care how old you are. 829 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:39,680 It's happening right now and you still need it. 830 00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:43,680 You still need it. 831 00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:46,680 Waypoint one, justification. 832 00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:49,680 Waypoint two, sanctification. 833 00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:56,680 And we're on our way to our Yellowstone, which is glorification. 834 00:43:56,680 --> 00:43:59,680 You are saved. 835 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:01,680 You are being saved. 836 00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:06,680 And one day you will be saved. 837 00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:10,680 In our glorification, it will be the final removal of sin. 838 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:22,680 In our glorification, both the power of sin was broken in Christ, but the presence of sin will be removed. 839 00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:29,680 I mean, don't you guys feel that sometimes where you're like, I know the power is broken, but why are you still here? 840 00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:33,680 Who let you in the house? 841 00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:38,680 Glorification is out of the house, gone forever. 842 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:41,680 The presence of sin, gone. 843 00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:50,680 And in that verse I read out of Romans chapter five, the first part said, since we've been justified by faith, we have peace with God. 844 00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:59,680 But then the second part says, we have also obtained access through him by faith into the grace in which we now stand. 845 00:44:59,680 --> 00:45:02,680 Sanctification. 846 00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:08,680 And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 847 00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:10,680 Glorification. 848 00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:21,680 We hope that one day God will be glorified in us to such a degree that he will remake our very frame, our very body to shine like stars. 849 00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:25,680 Our big brother, Jesus went there already. 850 00:45:25,680 --> 00:45:27,680 We're sons of the king. 851 00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:34,680 And he says, one day I will do away with sin altogether and I will make you complete and whole. 852 00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:51,680 It will be the final recreation to restore us back both to the presence of God as well as to our original vocation with God, to walk with God and to co-air and co-rule with God all of creation. 853 00:45:51,680 --> 00:45:52,680 And it's coming. 854 00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:59,680 It's what our forefathers, it's what the fathers of the faith, it's what many generations before have put their hope in. 855 00:45:59,680 --> 00:46:17,680 It's what some of our dear saints here at Village are now experiencing in Christ is his nearness as they wait for their ultimate glorification, a resurrected body. 856 00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:21,680 Most of us are probably in that process of sanctification. 857 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:38,680 Some of us may need to hear the gospel afresh, to understand the good news of Jesus Christ and for the first time put our faith and hope and trust in it so that we might be justified, declared righteous. 858 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:45,680 And if you do that, just know that you're on your way now in sanctification with a hope of glorification. 859 00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:52,680 God will make good on his promise because his promise wasn't to us. 860 00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:55,680 His promise was to his son. 861 00:46:55,680 --> 00:47:00,680 His promise was within himself and within his self-giving love. 862 00:47:00,680 --> 00:47:01,680 I will do this. 863 00:47:01,680 --> 00:47:12,680 I will grant eternal life to all who have found themselves in Christ, who all have gotten into the Ark of Christ and pass through the waters of judgment. 864 00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:17,680 I will give it and God makes good on his promises every time. 865 00:47:17,680 --> 00:47:19,680 Amen. 866 00:47:19,680 --> 00:47:21,680 So I challenge you as we close. 867 00:47:21,680 --> 00:47:23,680 Where are you on this journey? 868 00:47:23,680 --> 00:47:28,680 If you are in the sanctification process, I want to challenge you. 869 00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:30,680 I want to implore you and exhort you. 870 00:47:30,680 --> 00:47:33,680 Keep in step with the spirit. 871 00:47:33,680 --> 00:47:40,680 But know that the hope is not in our absolute perfection here from sin. 872 00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:43,680 Here now, the struggle you're in right now. 873 00:47:43,680 --> 00:47:47,680 The hope is not in perfection now in the sense of no presence of sin. 874 00:47:47,680 --> 00:48:00,680 The hope is in the glorification when Christ returns of our bodies, the eradication of the presence of sin and the new life as coheirs and co-rulers in God's new creation. 875 00:48:00,680 --> 00:48:10,680 Will you pray with me?