Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. beginning of a new series
in the book of Colossians. From the rest of the
month and part of August, we'll be studying the
New Testament, the book of Colossians, and I
call this series Grace and Peace, a journey through
the book of Colossians. And you will see through
the study why the title exactly with these words.
But before we start, would you please join me
as we pray? Lord, as we prepare to open this
ancient book, something that was written to the
very first Christians, the first generation of
Christians in history, we want to reconnect with
your truth. We want you to speak into our hearts
wherever we are. And I'm asking you, Lord, that
the truth that you want to speak to us will reach
deep into our hearts. And use me, Lord, beyond
anything I can do on my own. Use me in your strength,
in your grace, in your power. In Jesus' name
I pray. Amen. The book of Colossians, for us
to understand what we are going to be doing in
the study today and the following studies, we
need to look at the background of the book first.
So we will spend the first few minutes looking
at that. But first let me ask you a question.
Are you experiencing God's grace and His peace?
Or kind of? Because what we'll discover in this
study is that God's grace and his peace are two
things that God wants us to experience, to define
our lives. But somehow, as we follow the Lord,
these two things can become easily compromised
and suddenly, like a person that starts limping
because their leg is hurting, we start following
God, but with a limping faith. And what God wants
us to understand through the book of Colossians
is that grace and peace are two things that he
wants us to experience here and now. He wanted
the first Christians in history to experience
it, and he wants you and me to experience the
same thing. So I first want to invite you to
travel with me. from Bangkok all the way to Turkey.
You will see that in Turkey there's a little
section, a valley, you can see there in the map,
that is a beautiful valley, and as you get into
that area, you will see a growing city, and some
ruins of here and there, a few things surrounded
by this big... Mount that is right there, hardly
excavated at all. And as you start walking around,
you will see a sign that says very clearly, Colossae,
right there. And that's when it hits you. What?
Is this the city to which Paul wrote the book
to the Colossians? This thing? Yes. Right now
you cannot see it because it's all covered and
a few ruins there. But to really understand it,
you have to travel not only to Turkey, but you
have to travel in time to the year 60 of our
era. So many years from now, all the way down
to the year 60, this whole region was known as
Asia Minor. And there were three cities in that
valley. Colossae, Herapolis, and then Laodicea.
And these three cities were very close to each
other. And the Apostle Paul had traveled through
that area. In fact, in the last missionary trip
that he took, he went all the way through Asia
Minor, all the way to Greece, and then he came
back to Jerusalem. But that's when... He was
sent to prison and eventually to Rome and eventually
he died, decapitated at the hands of the Romans.
And even though he had never started any church
in these three cities, the Christians that heard
the message from him actually started spreading
the gospel. And after the Apostle Paul went through
this whole area, Churches were started. Christians
started believing now in the Lord, and then churches
were established in these three cities. One of
them was the church of the Colossians. But what
is interesting is that what happens is that the
apostle Paul now is in Rome. He's in prison there,
and he meets in prison a guy whose name is Onesimus.
Onesimus was from that town, Colossae. And he
had escaped there. He was a slave that had escaped
his master, had run away, and got all the way
to Rome. And now, he ends up in prison. And he
has a roommate right there, the Apostle Paul.
And the Apostle Paul is going to waste no time.
He wants to tell everyone about Jesus and about
salvation in Jesus. So he tells Onesimus about
the gospel. And Onesimus believes in Jesus. But
as it turns out, the more they talk, the more
they realize they knew people in common. In fact,
the master of Onesimus that he escaped from,
his name was Philemon. And Philemon was a friend
of the Apostle Paul. In fact, Everything seems
to indicate that it was the Apostle Paul who
had led Philemon to know Christ. So now Paul
says, what? Your master is Philemon? Wow, this
is going to be complicated. Because if Onesimus
has to go back to his hometown in Colossae and
go back to his master, his master now is like
two Christians coming together now. But then
the Apostle Paul, while he's in Rome, he gets
a visit from another friend. His name was Epaphras.
And Epaphras was the guy who had started the
church in Colossae. He had preached the gospel.
People came to know Christ, including Philemon
now, was part of that community of Christians.
So Paul starts thinking, wow. You started that
church that Philemon attends. And Onesimus is
going to go back there. So tell me more about
what's happening with the church. And at that
moment, the Apostle Paul starts hearing all the
concerns. Because even though these people came
to know Jesus, they were following him. Somehow,
there were these other teachings that started
infiltrating the church that were distorting
the gospel. They were adding to it. And now it
was compromising the experience of these Christians
to live in the freedom of God's grace and God's
peace. So the apostle Paul says, you know what?
I'm going to write a letter to these Christians
to make sure that they are going to walk in God's
grace and his peace. And I'm going to teach them
everything they need to understand so that they
will not be deceived. But then he says, but I
also want to write another letter to Philemon
to tell him about Onesimus and to encourage him
to receive him, not as the bad guy that escaped,
but a new fellow believer and welcome him as
a brother in Christ. So he starts writing these
two letters, but how is he going to send them
there? He's in prison. Well, he has another friend,
Tychicus. And he says to Tychicus, I have a mission
for you. Will you take these two letters, go
to Colossae, take this letter to the church,
take this one to Philemon, and introduce the
church to Onesimus. So Onesimus is going with
you. And they both go together. And that is how
we receive the copy of the letter to the Colossians
that we're going to be studying in the following
weeks. Now, of course, You need to see this by
yourself. I just summarized it for you. But let
me read some of the sections of the letter so
that everything that I told you comes from the
text and now you see it come alive. This is what
the book says. The Apostle Paul is saying at
the beginning of this section in chapter 1 and
then chapter 4. By the way, this letter to the
Colossians, was written for prison and so was
the fishens the philippians and philemon and
because these four letters were written from
prison from rome they are known as the letters
of the prison letters they all have that same
context but here is what paul says i want you
to know colossians how much i have agonized for
you and for the church in Laodicea, and for many
other believers who have never met me personally.
He's agonizing. Because he's realizing, what?
These people are teaching you that? And they
are deceiving you with this? Oh no! He's agonizing
for them. And then he says, I'm telling you this,
so no one will deceive you with well -crafted
arguments, for though I am far away from you,
my heart is... With you. And then he tells about
the people he's sending. Tychicus will give you
full report about how I'm getting along. He is
a beloved brother and a faithful helper. Who
serves with me in the Lord's work. I have sent
him to you for this very purpose. To let you
know how we're doing. And to encourage you. And
yeah. I'm also sending Onesimus. A faithful and
beloved brother. One of your own people. He,
Antiochus, will tell you everything that's happening
here. But also there's Epaphras, a member of
your own fellowship and servant of Christ Jesus.
He sends you his greetings. And he always prays
earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong
and perfect, fully confident that you are following
the whole will of God. I can assure you. That
he prays hard for you and also for the believers
in Laodicea and Hierapolis. Yes, that is Apostle
Paul writing to these Christians in the city
of Colossae. You see the background now? You
understand what all of these things are coming
together? And by the way, I always love studying
the background. Of the Bible and understand what's
going on in the culture. What is the archaeological
evidence of that place. All of these things I
always found fascinating. So anytime I get a
chance to throw it in there. I give it to you
so that you can also taste. The flavor of God's
words. Amazing. But why would the Apostle Paul.
Take the time. To write while he's in prison.
Organize all these people so that these letters
can get to these Christians. Why is it so important
that they get it? Well, for that, we have to
look at the very beginning of the letter. And
this is where everything will start coming together.
So we go to chapter 1. And here we'll start understanding
the purpose. This is what the Word of God says.
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will
of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and
from our brother Timothy. We are writing to God's
holy people in the city of Colossae, who are
faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May
God, our Father, give you grace and peace. And
that is the beginning of the letter. Everything
he says after that is the explanations of all
the things that we'll be finding in these studies.
Even though the word shalom was a common, and
it is today, greeting among the Jewish Hebrew
speaking community. And many of these letters
will start with a greeting. Something unique.
about the Christian conviction, was that grace
and peace were the very things that Jesus came
to give us. These are things that God wants us
to experience. And he tells the Colossians from
the very beginning, look, God our Father wants
you to experience these things. And I am concerned
that you are not experiencing them because of
all this false teaching that has started infiltrating.
Grace and peace are the very same things that
you and I need in this walk. Grace is that assurance
that you know 100 % beyond a doubt that God loves
you and accepts you. You're never afraid that
maybe he's going to get tired of you and give
up on you and say, you know, out. I don't like
you anymore. No. You feel completely accepted
and forgiven by God. And peace is the assurance
that his presence will never leave you. He's
with you until the end. And therefore, the future
is certain. Not because of the circumstances
that come and go, but because God is with you.
And therefore, it's going to be okay. Grace.
Peace. Do you have that assurance? Are these
assurances that the gospel brings. Becoming shaken.
By decisions that you have made. By memories
of your past. Is there anything. That is now
compromising your experience of God's grace and
his peace. Because if so. Then the study today.
Is going to be the foundation for you and for
me. It's going to give us. First, the foundation
of understanding salvation from the perspective
of what God says salvation is. And once you reframe
salvation from his perspective, suddenly grace
and peace emerge victorious against any force,
influence, or teaching that tries to suppress
it. And this... Is what was happening to the
people in the church of Colossae. There was a
group of Judaizers who were Christian Jews. Who
were saying to the Gentiles, the non -Jews. Look
guys. We are happy that you believe in Jesus
like we do. And that's all nice. Yeah, he's the
savior. But. If you truly want to be saved. You
need to believe in Jesus. Plus. Become a Jew.
Because only we Jews. Can experience true salvation.
So you have to first start. Guys sorry. Go and
get circumcised. And secondly. All of you. Have
to start obeying the Mosaic law. With all the
rituals. And everything that we Jews have. Then.
God will accept you. That was a teaching. That
the Judaizers were. infiltrating in the church.
And Paul is there agonizing when Epaphras is
telling him everything that's happening. He's
like, no, please don't tell me that those guys
got to your church too. But then, on the other
hand, you had the pagan worship of Colossae where
most of these people came from. They were Christians
surrounded by family. co -workers, children,
spouses, people that were still worshiping the
Greek and the Roman gods and deities. They were
worshiping the spirits. They were going to the
temples. They were doing all of these things.
And some Christians that were now following Jesus
were saying, yeah, yeah, it's good to follow
Jesus, but you know, we also need to worship
those angels. And don't forget to also pray to
that statue just in case. So you're all covered.
And some of these people were implying that you
following Jesus was not enough. That your future
was not going to be securing him because there
were things you were missing. There was new revelation
you didn't have. There was assurance and security
that could come from these other places. And
you needed to get it too. So the peace was also
compromised. And grace and peace, as it turns
out, are the two legs of following Jesus. If
you cannot walk with grace and peace, your walk
becomes compromised. And I recently had to go
through therapy to recover the movement of my
knee. I can walk without limping now. But I can
tell you, when you start limping, all your body
starts aching because you start using muscles
that are not supposed to be used for that. And
you start using a leg that you're not supposed
to do. And before you know it, you feel more
unwell. It's not just the knee anymore. And the
same thing happens spiritually. When grace or
peace have been compromised, You start compensating.
And before you know it, you are following Jesus,
but you feel just not right. You feel heavy.
You feel sad. You feel discouraged. All of these
other things are happening. And now you start
doing things, looking at things you shouldn't
look. Engaging in relationships you shouldn't
engage. You start doing things that you know
it's like, I don't even enjoy this thing. Why
am I doing it? And now you start compensating
with behaviors that do not belong to who you
are in Christ. And all of this becomes compromised
in a way that the Apostle Paul there is in prison
saying, Oh no, this is not what Jesus saved you
for. This is not the gospel. You don't need Jesus
plus. You don't need to pray to Jesus and also
this. No. So in the following section, he is
going to help them understand salvation and reframe
it. Because he believes that if you truly understand
salvation, oh, grace and peace like therapy,
you will start recovering the movement of those
legs. And before you know it, you are feeling
so much better. There's no pain anymore when
you walk. If this is so important, I do not know
you. But I would like to know. What this is.
And it's so important. That he tells the Colossians.
In this section of chapter 1. We have not stopped
praying for you. Since we first heard about you.
We ask God to give you. Complete knowledge of
his will. And to give you. Spiritual wisdom and
understanding. Because it's this understanding.
Of the spiritual things. That is going to be
the antidote to this problem. And secondly, the
way you live then will always honor and please
the Lord. And your lives will produce every kind
of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as
you learn to know God better and better. Your
relationship with God will be better. You will
feel healthier. I mean, if you really get this
right. you are going to be in a better place
spiritually. So pay attention. I do not know
you, but the Apostle Paul already got my attention.
What is it? What is it that I need to understand
so I can walk with the leg of grace and peace?
Because if that is what God wants for me, I want
it too. Tell me, Paul, what is it so I can have
the grace and peace from God? He's going to tell
us. But before I tell you. I have experienced
throughout the years. As I share the gospel with
people. Disciple them. Go through counseling
with people. And start working. In growing understanding
and maturity. I realize that not everybody. Has
the right understanding of salvation. And the
study today is so significant. Because for many
people. Salvation is a destination. Hey, when
I die, I'll go to heaven. Great. So until then,
I'll just wait until I die and I hope I don't
lose the ticket. And they live their life thinking
that salvation is what will happen after they
die. And often they suffer insecurity thinking,
oh, maybe I'm not going to make it. Maybe I'm
not good enough. Maybe I really messed up and
now God is not going to like me anymore. Salvation
is not a destination. It's so much more than
that. Other people think, well, salvation is
a preference. You know, it's like, I'm following
Jesus. I love Jesus. But, you know, Jesus, honestly,
is one way to God among others. I mean, I have
very good friends from other religions. They
are very good people, even nicer than some Christians
I know. You know, and in reality, I mean, that's
their culture, that's where they grew up. And
as long as they believe that, and they are good
people, they get a chance too. And other people
think of salvation as an uncertain future. It's
like, God loves me. And I'm so happy He does.
But I wake up tomorrow morning and I think, God,
do you love me? God, have you given up on me?
And often this person does the kind of prayers
they pray. Because they're always doubting whether
God really loves them or not anymore. And they
are in that space. Needless to say, you never
have peace. You always have fear. If this represents
your understanding of salvation, then this study
is great. Because the Apostle Paul is going to
tell us right now. Three foundational things
that you and I need to understand. First one,
salvation is not a destination. Salvation is
a change of realm. Yeah, there's a destination.
The new heaven, the new earth will be with the
Lord forever. Yeah, all of that. But at the core,
what salvation is, is a change of realm on the
spiritual. And he's going to describe what we
know here on the physical things of reality.
And he's going to describe the spiritual level
of reality. And the moment you ask Jesus to save
you, something happened. Would you look at this
verse with me and read it out loud together?
The two slides that I'm going to show you. This
is what he says together. He has enabled you
to share in the inheritance that belongs to his
people who live in the light. For he has rescued
us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred
us into the kingdom of his dear son who purchased
our freedom and forgave our sins. What happened
when I believe in Jesus? He gave me a ticket
so I won't lose it so when I die I go to heaven?
No. When I believe in Jesus, the apostle Paul
says, he transferred you from where? The kingdom
of darkness. He transferred me from the kingdom
of darkness into what? The kingdom of Jesus.
I lived there before. Now I belong to this realm.
The kingdom of light. The Bible talks about two
kingdoms. The kingdom of darkness and the kingdom
of God. The kingdom of light. And the kingdom
of darkness, the Bible describes it as a realm
that has authorities and principalities. Highest
authority in this kingdom of darkness. That opposes
God. Is known as Satan. The devil. Lucifer. And
he with his authorities. And principalities.
Oppose God and deceive people. So that they will
not come out of oppression. Into the freedom
of God. And all of us. We're born in that realm.
Because the Bible says that Satan is the prince
of this world. The authority that he gained over
the world, we gave it to him the moment we humans
trusted in him rather than God. And at that moment,
that authority, he established his kingdom of
darkness. And Jesus came specifically to break
the power of Satan over our lives so that we
could be transferred from that kingdom into his
kingdom. So one thing that I want you to understand
is that to follow Jesus is already here and now
a transformation of where you belong and where
you exist as an individual. Sometimes I walk
here on the surrounding area to the ECB campus.
And for those of you that know the area, know
what kind of area this is. And as I walk around,
I often think of this picture. You know, a little
beam of light moving around in darkness. Because
I belong to Jesus. He's my king. They do not
know Jesus. They belong to the kingdom of darkness.
And the gospel, the good news, is the message
that there's a way of escaping that oppression
and being transferred to the place that God wants
you to experience His grace. Jesus forgave our
sins. He said in Colossians. If you do not start
realizing That your salvation is. A change of
existence. A realm. You are going to be missing.
Part of the big picture. And you will not be
equipped. To make. To face. The struggle of the
darkness. Against you. But this is powerful.
And it will have. Two very important implications.
We'll see them in a second. But I would like
to first ask you this question. Where are you?
In the kingdom of darkness or in the kingdom
of light? And you cannot say, well, kind of in
between. There's no third kingdom. If you have
no peace, if you do not know God's grace, chances
are you are here in the kingdom of darkness.
And the only way to come out of there is to repent
of your sins. And believe and trust Jesus' love
for you that he came to die for your sins. And
if you ask him to save you, he will and he will
transfer you from the kingdom of darkness into
his kingdom. Where are you? You need to know.
Because that will be the first step in knowing
whether you can walk with grace and peace. The
next foundational thing that the Apostle Paul
is going to tell them is that now that you belong
to the kingdom of Jesus, you are here. Your salvation
is not just a change of favor. Oh, God loves
me. That's nice. Well, he doesn't love me anymore
today. No, it's not a change of favor. It's a
change of status. What do I mean by this? Well,
in the following verses, he's going to tell us
what it was like when we were in the darkness
and how that changed that now we are in the kingdom
of Jesus. And I'm also going to ask you to read
these slides with me together. This is what he
says. This includes you who were once far away
from God. You were his enemies, separated from
him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet, now
he has reconciled you to himself through the
death of Christ in his physical body. As a result,
he has brought you into his own presence and
you are holy and blameless as you stand before
him without a single fault. It's like, what?
Really? Are you telling me that when I was in
the kingdom of darkness, I was God's enemy? Because
of all my sinfulness and choices and everything
I've done? Me, God's enemy? Yeah. Wow. I don't
want to be God's enemy. God doesn't want you
to be His enemy either. He wants you to be reconciled
to Him. That's why Jesus came. So, when he transferred
me to the kingdom of light, to his kingdom, now
I'm reconciled to him? Yes. Like, how much? Like,
give me a percentage. Like, 60 % reconciled?
70 % reconciled? 100 % reconciled. No. How could
that be? Yeah. Now you are holy and blameless
in his sight without a single fault. That's impossible.
Me? No fault? Just talk to my wife. I know all
my shame and guilt. I know what I've done last
year and the year before. Exactly. All those
things that are in your mind, that's what Jesus
died for. All of it. 100%. God never sees you
in his kingdom anymore as damaged goods. He sees
you as reconciled. He sees you forgiven. And
this realization is... So amazing. That he says
in the following verse. You were dead because
of your sins. And because of your sinful nature.
Was not yet cut away. But then. God made you
alive with Christ. Forgave. What? All our sins.
The moment Jesus saved you. He made you 100 %
reconciled with God. And therefore, he does not
need your help in saving you. Did you hear that?
Jesus does not need your help in saving you.
He already did it. He paid the price. And this
concept is at the core of understanding what
grace is. Grace is undeserving. It's a gift we
do not deserve. But God loves us and demonstrated
his love for us in this while we were still sinners.
Christ died for us. And it was his death that
paid for my guilt. This section seems to escape
so many people that the Bible mentions it time
and time again, especially the Apostle Paul,
because of these Judaizers were visiting all
these churches trying to say, Jesus plus this,
plus that. If you are struggling with that, and
you are feeling like maybe you are not good enough
for God to save you, maybe you need to cooperate
a little bit more, Get a little bit better and
then maybe God will save you. If that is what
you are struggling with and that is keeping you
from experiencing his grace. I want you to simply
listen to these words from the New Testament,
the book of Hebrews. Echoing exactly what Paul
just said to the Colossians. For by one sacrifice,
one his own. He has made perfect forever those
who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also
testifies to us about this. First he says, this
is the covenant I will make with them after that
time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their
hearts and I will write them on their minds.
Then he adds, their sins and lawless acts, I
will remember no more. No more, no more, no more.
And when these have been forgiven, sacrifice
for sin is no longer necessary. I don't need
your help. Thank you. No longer necessary. You
want a sacrifice for me so I like you better?
No longer necessary. My sacrifice was enough.
This is why the gospel is called great news.
So I have to ask you, are you trying to add to
the cross? And I ask you because I have experienced
the agony of the heart of the one who is there.
So close, yet so far. I remember sitting with
this godly man who was struggling in his life.
And as we are praying together, he is confessing
these things to the Lord and releasing his shame.
But we get to a point. He was stuck. And as we
pray, I said to him, do you receive the full
forgiveness of Jesus over your shame? And even
though I was expecting for him to say, yes, Jesus,
I accept all your forgiveness. To my surprise,
this follower of Jesus says to me, no, I can't.
So I ask again, did you accept the full forgiveness
of Jesus over all of your shame? And he says,
no, I can't. Because what I have done is too
shameful. And at that moment, he starts weeping
and weeping with sorrow. At that very moment,
I realized this was a man that didn't understand.
The gospel. Jesus died for all of your shame.
He doesn't need your help. One sacrifice was
perfect. The Lamb of God. He came to take away
the sin of the world. He doesn't need to love
you more. He does already what he needs from
you. Is to trust him. Trust in his embrace. And
that is what opens up the door now for you. For
goodness starts flowing from you. I remember
the story of this young woman that was so ashamed.
Very promiscuous lifestyle that she had growing
up. And she started feeling so filthy that she
says, when I would take showers, I would just
do this washing extra times with the soap. Because
I would imagine that by doing so, I could wash
away the filth that I felt inside. And I knew
it was not doing it, but it was a way of trying
to give me comfort. So then she decides that
she needs to start going to church because she
needs God. And as she's going to church, she
says, I was trying very hard at getting good.
And when she said that phrase, I thought, that
summarizes it right there. I'm trying to get
good. You know, I know I'm not good, but I'm
trying to become good. Because if I become good,
then God will love me. And after she tried that
for a long time, didn't give her grace nor peace.
And one day, as she was sitting there in a spiritual
retreat with the church, the person speaking
says, there's nothing that you can do that you
can offer for God to save you. Nothing. Try hard.
You can't. The only thing that you can bring
to God is you. Your repentant heart, your broken
heart, that's all you need. Are you trying to
get good? Are you trying to become good? That
will give you more headaches. Goodness is not
something you try to become. It's something that
flows from you once you experience God's grace
and God's peace. It's like this. The painter
doesn't paint to become a painter. The painter
paints because he's a painter. The singer doesn't
sing to become a singer. The singer sings because
he's a singer. You do not become good so that
you can do good. You are good, forgiven by Jesus,
transformed by his power in his kingdom. And
because you are in his goodness, now goodness
flows from you. That is the power of grace. And
until that clicks, all your efforts will be in
vain. So are you trying to add to what Jesus
has done? If your answer is yes, then that tells
me you're not walking in his grace. But finally,
salvation is a change of power. Because now you
are in the kingdom of Jesus, the authority and
power that Satan had before in your life has
changed. Would you read this with me out loud?
He canceled. the record of the charges against
us and took it away by nailing it to the cross
in this way he disarmed the spiritual rulers
and authorities he shamed them publicly by his
victory over them on the cross and this one you
have died with christ and he has set you free
from the spiritual powers of this world he has
set you free from the oppressors that deceived
you, that enslaved you. The moment he took you
from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom
of light, not only you changed realms, not only
you changed status, completely forgiven and 100
% reconciled, but now the authority of Jesus
is yours. And you now have been given authority
over the entities of darkness. That's why we
do not act or walk in fear of them. If you came
from a background in which you worship the spirits,
in which at your home you will do rituals so
the spirits will protect your home. If you saw
dark shapes or figures moving around your spaces,
If Jesus saved you from the kingdom of darkness
into the kingdom of light, fear no more. Those
spirits have no authority of your life. If they're
invading your thoughts, if you're invading your
dreams, you have the authority in Jesus' name
to say, I command you in Jesus' name to leave.
You have no authority. In my life. I belong to
the kingdom of Jesus. He is my king. You deal
with him. We no longer fear the spirits. Because
we know. Who we belong to. And we know that Jesus.
Had victory over them on the cross. And he has
completely. Now deliver us. From the oppressing
power. Of darkness. So if you are struggling.
With darkness. And fear in your life. What exactly
is that you are fearing? I'm here. To encourage
you. Bring that to the Lord. Today. Because Jesus
did not die on the cross. And resurrected on
your behalf. So that you will not. Experience
his grace and his peace. He wants you to experience
it. But first you have to reframe your understanding
of what it means to be saved. If this is what
your life is described like. Something more broken
rather than wholesome. Something empty rather
than filled. Then today is the day. For you to
become realigned with the Lord. Reconciled with
Jesus. And let His grace and His peace actually
lead the way. Because this is what the Apostle
Paul wrote to you and to me. That to be saved
means that I exist in a new realm. I have a new
status. I have a new power. And because that
is true, I can walk with grace and peace wherever
I go, no matter where I am, because I'm a child
of God with Jesus as my king. This time of worship
is God's invitation to you. Would you trust him
with your shame, with your guilt, with your regrets?
with your fear? Will you rest in his embrace?
Will you trust in his presence that he will be
with you tomorrow and your future? Release anything
that is holding you back. Lord, it's in your
powerful name that we are asking you. Will you
encounter us in this place of worship? Not just
our voices and our hearts being lifted up to
you, but you reaching down to us. Because there's
many things that need to be broken right now
in your presence. Grace and peace to you from
God our Father. That is what you want us to experience.
And that is what we're inviting. In Jesus' name.
you will find giving options on our website.
And remember to join us next week. God bless
you.