WEBVTT 00:00:01.550 --> 00:00:03.310 I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles, please, 00:00:03.450 --> 00:00:12.189 to Romans chapter 5. We continue our study in 00:00:12.189 --> 00:00:15.570 Romans chapter 5, dealing with the blessings 00:00:15.570 --> 00:00:21.070 that accompany justification by faith. Because 00:00:21.070 --> 00:00:24.250 we have not a few people who are new with us 00:00:24.250 --> 00:00:27.129 since the last time that we were in Romans 5, 00:00:29.899 --> 00:00:32.560 I think it would be wise for us to review a little 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:34.700 bit this morning so that we can set the stage 00:00:34.700 --> 00:00:39.280 for what we're going to look at. If you have 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:41.200 an outline in your worship folder, you will notice 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:43.880 that it has three points on it. No poem this 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:46.820 morning, just three points. And we're going to 00:00:46.820 --> 00:00:49.520 cover point number one, but we'll reserve points 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:52.840 number two and three until another time. I think 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:54.600 the review will be helpful to all of us, but 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:57.439 especially to those who are new with us, our 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:00.770 collegiates and others. so that you can get up 00:01:00.770 --> 00:01:02.710 to speed with us as we come into this marvelous 00:01:02.710 --> 00:01:08.769 section of Romans 5. It's like a garden that 00:01:08.769 --> 00:01:12.670 is filled with beautiful flowers for us to admire 00:01:12.670 --> 00:01:17.230 and to enjoy. These doctrines and truths that 00:01:17.230 --> 00:01:19.989 are revealed in chapter 5 are precious truths. 00:01:20.890 --> 00:01:23.930 I think this must be one of the most compact 00:01:23.930 --> 00:01:26.890 and filled passages in all of the Word of God. 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:31.299 Let's read together the 11 verses you followed 00:01:31.299 --> 00:01:34.180 along in your Bible as I read, and then we'll 00:01:34.180 --> 00:01:37.319 talk about the setting of it. Therefore, having 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:41.519 been justified by faith, we have peace with God 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:45.140 through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:50.519 we have obtained our introduction by faith into 00:01:50.519 --> 00:01:54.540 this grace in which we stand, and we exult in 00:01:54.540 --> 00:01:58.269 hope of the glory of God. And not only this, 00:01:58.409 --> 00:02:01.750 but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing 00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:05.810 that tribulation brings about perseverance. And 00:02:05.810 --> 00:02:09.090 perseverance, proven character, and proven character, 00:02:09.349 --> 00:02:13.349 hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the 00:02:13.349 --> 00:02:16.349 love of God has been poured out within our hearts 00:02:16.349 --> 00:02:19.150 through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 00:02:20.389 --> 00:02:23.189 But while we were still helpless at the right 00:02:23.189 --> 00:02:27.159 time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:30.259 hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps 00:02:30.259 --> 00:02:33.479 for the good man someone will dare even to die. 00:02:34.060 --> 00:02:38.139 But God demonstrates his own love toward us in 00:02:38.139 --> 00:02:41.120 that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.800 us. Much more than having now been justified 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:48.639 by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath 00:02:48.639 --> 00:03:04.400 of God through him. And not only this, but we 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:08.680 also exalt in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:03:09.020 --> 00:03:12.259 through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:16.800 The theme of the book of Romans is the righteousness 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:22.319 of God. the righteousness which is God's because 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:25.580 he is God. In other words, his attribute of righteousness. 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:30.340 There's a marvelous aspect of God's being that 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:35.060 should cause us to respond with praise. His justice, 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:42.219 his purity, his righteousness are all brothers 00:03:42.219 --> 00:03:48.530 and part of the family of God's holiness. We 00:03:48.530 --> 00:03:51.789 marvel at this attribute of God's. It means that 00:03:51.789 --> 00:03:56.650 he has no wrong in his person and he can do no 00:03:56.650 --> 00:04:00.569 wrong. He is just and right in everything that 00:04:00.569 --> 00:04:04.009 he does. We accept that by faith. Jesus prayed 00:04:04.009 --> 00:04:09.110 in the garden, O righteous Father. And never 00:04:09.110 --> 00:04:11.550 was the righteousness of God more displayed than 00:04:11.550 --> 00:04:14.430 in the work that he accomplished on the cross 00:04:14.430 --> 00:04:20.040 within a few hours after saying that. But the 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:21.980 theme, the righteousness of God, has another 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:23.939 meaning in Romans, and I think this is really 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:27.519 the more emphasized of the two. And that is the 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:30.019 Romans tells us how we may have the righteousness 00:04:30.019 --> 00:04:34.040 of God ourselves. That is how we can be right 00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:37.399 with God through the righteousness that God gives 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:43.120 us when we trust Jesus Christ. In Romans chapters 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:48.899 1 through 3 in general, the theme is sin. And 00:04:48.899 --> 00:04:51.819 the apostle reveals to us how much we need the 00:04:51.819 --> 00:04:55.420 righteousness of God. No one can go to heaven. 00:04:55.939 --> 00:05:00.740 No one can be related to God unless he is perfectly 00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:04.800 righteous. And what those chapters tell us is 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:08.360 that all of us are perfectly unrighteous. We're 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:12.300 all sinners. He speaks first about the pagan 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:17.689 idolater. He says that those... who have turned 00:05:17.689 --> 00:05:22.629 from the truth to the lie, have now degraded 00:05:22.629 --> 00:05:26.509 themselves in their idolatry to the point of 00:05:26.509 --> 00:05:30.930 perversions. And the course that he outlines 00:05:30.930 --> 00:05:35.269 in Romans chapter 1 is really a history written 00:05:35.269 --> 00:05:40.050 in advance of our own civilization today. For 00:05:40.050 --> 00:05:43.110 the Western civilization was founded on the truth 00:05:43.110 --> 00:05:47.459 of God's word, and yet has strayed from that 00:05:47.459 --> 00:05:50.800 significantly. I don't know that it could be 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:52.839 said that Western civilization was a Christian 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:57.540 civilization, but many of its principles were 00:05:57.540 --> 00:06:01.699 founded by what the Word of God teaches. But 00:06:01.699 --> 00:06:04.360 today we worship a new God, man himself. It's 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:08.040 called humanism. Man has deified and enthroned 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:13.019 himself, and the result of that most perverse 00:06:13.019 --> 00:06:19.110 of all idolatries is immorality of the most wicked 00:06:19.110 --> 00:06:22.129 kind. And that is where our society is today. 00:06:22.649 --> 00:06:26.610 The value of life itself is as nothing in our 00:06:26.610 --> 00:06:31.829 world. Whether you talk about the slaughter in 00:06:31.829 --> 00:06:36.629 Lebanon yesterday, or you talk about the slaughter 00:06:36.629 --> 00:06:41.670 of millions in our own nation by abortion, human 00:06:41.670 --> 00:06:46.240 life is worth nothing. Why is that? Because of 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:49.620 the religion of humanism, idolatry, the worship 00:06:49.620 --> 00:06:54.879 of man. He goes on to say that those who are 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:58.920 moral pagans are likewise under God's condemnation. 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:03.139 They have a conscience within that gives them 00:07:03.139 --> 00:07:05.439 direction. They don't answer to their own conscience. 00:07:07.379 --> 00:07:12.120 He says that the moral idolaters are stirring 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:15.339 up God's wrath until that day when his wrath 00:07:15.339 --> 00:07:19.560 will be revealed. And then he moves on to a third 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:22.040 group, and here he talks about the Jews, the 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:25.240 moral Jews, those who are part of the covenant 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:27.480 of the law, they're bragged and boasted in the 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:30.860 law. Yet the apostle says the very law that they 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:34.540 boast in condemns them. And so the conclusion 00:07:34.540 --> 00:07:39.339 is that all are under sin. Every person who's 00:07:39.339 --> 00:07:44.000 ever been born into the world except Jesus Christ 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.560 because of his unique virgin birth. All of us 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:51.399 are sinners. We need the righteousness of God 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:54.279 if we're going to be right with God. And then 00:07:54.279 --> 00:07:56.939 beginning with about verse 21 of chapter 3, the 00:07:56.939 --> 00:08:00.399 apostle changes his theme to salvation. And he 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:02.620 begins to explain, after painting the picture 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:06.500 as black and as bad as it can be, he begins to 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:10.540 paint a new picture. A picture with life and 00:08:10.540 --> 00:08:14.160 forgiveness through Jesus Christ. And he tells 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:17.420 us how God has provided for us perfect righteousness 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:21.199 so that we can be saved. He has done that, not 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:23.819 by overlooking our sins and kind of sweeping 00:08:23.819 --> 00:08:27.300 them aside and ignoring them, but rather by dealing 00:08:27.300 --> 00:08:29.800 with them once and for all through Jesus Christ. 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:33.620 Remember there are three major doctrines mentioned 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:37.039 there in the last part of chapter 3? One of them 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:41.480 is that of redemption. You and I, by our sin, 00:08:41.620 --> 00:08:46.299 were enslaved to that way of life. We were sold 00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:50.220 under sin, dominated by it. But by the grace 00:08:50.220 --> 00:08:52.940 of God, the price has been paid, the blood of 00:08:52.940 --> 00:08:57.159 Christ, and we have been bought, purchased out 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:01.820 of the slave market, and released. so that in 00:09:01.820 --> 00:09:04.519 liberty then we might willingly give ourselves 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:09.340 in service to Jesus Christ. Another doctrine 00:09:09.340 --> 00:09:13.179 he mentions is that of justification. Not only 00:09:13.179 --> 00:09:16.860 has God released us from our sins, but he has 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:23.559 declared us righteous in his sight. That is, 00:09:23.700 --> 00:09:26.879 justification is a legal declaration of God. 00:09:27.970 --> 00:09:31.629 whereby the one who comes to him through Jesus 00:09:31.629 --> 00:09:35.909 Christ is said to be righteous in his sight. 00:09:36.470 --> 00:09:39.629 A marvelous thing. It doesn't mean that my life 00:09:39.629 --> 00:09:41.769 is always righteous, that I never sin again. 00:09:41.870 --> 00:09:44.549 It doesn't mean that at all. That's sanctification. 00:09:44.629 --> 00:09:48.250 That's another subject. But this is a legal declaration. 00:09:48.330 --> 00:09:51.629 God sees me as in Christ, and as far as he's 00:09:51.629 --> 00:09:56.830 concerned, I'm without sin. And then there's 00:09:56.830 --> 00:10:00.610 the doctrine of propitiation. It's the basis 00:10:00.610 --> 00:10:04.350 of justification. Propitiation simply means that 00:10:04.350 --> 00:10:07.950 God's holiness, God's justice has been satisfied. 00:10:08.610 --> 00:10:12.090 The demands of the law for death upon the lawbreaker 00:10:12.090 --> 00:10:20.549 have been fully executed on Jesus Christ. So 00:10:20.549 --> 00:10:23.470 that now God is satisfied and he is able to save 00:10:23.470 --> 00:10:27.929 the sinner. who comes to him. Now of those three 00:10:27.929 --> 00:10:32.610 doctrines, which one is the one that Paul zeroes 00:10:32.610 --> 00:10:35.549 in on? Those of you who are new might not know, 00:10:35.830 --> 00:10:38.029 but if you've been here a while, you should know. 00:10:38.649 --> 00:10:45.509 Is it propitiation? Is it redemption? Or is it 00:10:45.509 --> 00:10:49.070 justification? But I should have given you a 00:10:49.070 --> 00:10:52.200 hint when I lifted my eyebrows. You see, it's 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:54.159 justification. That's what he begins to talk 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:58.340 about now. And in chapter 4, he illustrates justification. 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:02.019 And he goes back to the Old Testament and he 00:11:02.019 --> 00:11:05.200 picks out the most prominent figure as far as 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:07.940 the Jews were concerned of the whole Old Testament. 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:12.759 That's Abraham. And he begins to show that Abraham 00:11:12.759 --> 00:11:18.490 was justified not by his works. not by his circumcision, 00:11:18.610 --> 00:11:22.570 not by keeping the law, but by faith. Now there 00:11:22.570 --> 00:11:24.490 are those who said that Abraham was justified 00:11:24.490 --> 00:11:28.649 in God's sight by being a good man. But the apostle 00:11:28.649 --> 00:11:31.529 says if Abraham were justified by his works, 00:11:31.690 --> 00:11:35.649 then he could boast before God. Furthermore, 00:11:35.870 --> 00:11:38.549 he says, if a man is saved by his works, it means 00:11:38.549 --> 00:11:41.990 that God owes him salvation. And God will have 00:11:41.990 --> 00:11:45.409 none of that. Salvation is by grace. It's a free 00:11:45.409 --> 00:11:50.210 gift. And so he quotes from Genesis chapter 15 00:11:50.210 --> 00:11:53.649 where it says, And Abraham, what? What did he 00:11:53.649 --> 00:11:57.690 do? He believed God, and it was counted to him 00:11:57.690 --> 00:12:01.529 for what? For righteousness. In other words, 00:12:01.549 --> 00:12:05.309 Abraham trusted, he believed the promise that 00:12:05.309 --> 00:12:08.789 God gave to him, and God said, Abraham, you aren't 00:12:08.789 --> 00:12:12.230 righteous, but because you trust me, I'm going 00:12:12.230 --> 00:12:15.429 to count that faith as righteousness, and here 00:12:15.429 --> 00:12:21.049 it is. justification, and he saved him. Then 00:12:21.049 --> 00:12:22.909 there were others who said, well, Abraham was 00:12:22.909 --> 00:12:27.129 saved by his circumcision, by the ritual, the 00:12:27.129 --> 00:12:29.990 rite that he went through. And so the apostle 00:12:29.990 --> 00:12:33.909 reminds us that Abraham was declared righteous 00:12:33.909 --> 00:12:37.470 when he was 85 or 86 years of age. That's when 00:12:37.470 --> 00:12:40.009 he believed that promise in Genesis chapter 15 00:12:40.009 --> 00:12:44.509 and was declared righteous before God. But it 00:12:44.509 --> 00:12:47.269 wasn't until he was 99 years of age that God 00:12:47.269 --> 00:12:49.409 commanded him and all of his household to be 00:12:49.409 --> 00:12:54.470 circumcised as an evidence, a token, of the covenant 00:12:54.470 --> 00:12:58.389 that they had made with God. And so it was 13 00:12:58.389 --> 00:13:03.269 years between salvation and that rite, that ritual 00:13:03.269 --> 00:13:07.230 of circumcision. Now why is that important today? 00:13:08.009 --> 00:13:10.750 Because, dear friends, there are untold thousands 00:13:10.750 --> 00:13:14.059 and millions of people in this world today who 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:17.279 are depending upon ritual and rites to get them 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:23.159 to heaven. It may be the rite of baptism. It 00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:26.379 may be the rite of communion or some other ritual. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:29.159 It's a part of their religious heritage. And 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:31.480 they think that somehow God is going to find 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:34.440 them more acceptable because of that. And it's 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:38.840 not true. You and I come to God the same way 00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:42.179 Abraham did, by faith in Jesus Christ and by 00:13:42.179 --> 00:13:45.620 faith alone. And remember those who said that 00:13:45.620 --> 00:13:47.860 Abraham must have been saved then by keeping 00:13:47.860 --> 00:13:51.139 the law. And once again, the apostle gives us 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:56.000 a simple lesson in history. He said, don't you 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.419 remember that Abraham lived 600 years before 00:13:59.419 --> 00:14:04.259 Moses? The law was not even given in Abraham's 00:14:04.259 --> 00:14:06.000 day. How could he have kept the Ten Commandments? 00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:10.659 And so he concludes he was justified by faith. 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:14.480 And then he says, This was written not just for 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.259 him, that he believed God and it was counted 00:14:17.259 --> 00:14:21.259 to him for righteousness, but for you, who will 00:14:21.259 --> 00:14:25.480 believe on him who raised Jesus Christ our Lord 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:30.360 from the dead. You see, we are illustrated in 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:35.059 that particular chapter without any question 00:14:35.059 --> 00:14:38.440 whatsoever that justification, being right with 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:43.389 God that is, comes by faith. And then in chapter 00:14:43.389 --> 00:14:45.649 5, he begins then to explain the blessings that 00:14:45.649 --> 00:14:49.070 come with that. Justification is basic salvation. 00:14:49.830 --> 00:14:52.809 But along with that salvation come blessings 00:14:52.809 --> 00:14:56.210 that are beautiful and marvelous to consider. 00:14:56.789 --> 00:15:00.070 The first one is found in verse 1 of chapter 00:15:00.070 --> 00:15:03.690 5, where he says, Therefore, having been justified 00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:08.909 by faith, we have what? Peace with God. Now that's 00:15:08.909 --> 00:15:13.399 not tranquility of spirit. That's the peace of 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:17.720 God. Christians can know that too. But he's talking 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:20.919 here about peace with God. That is the peace 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:24.419 that is the word describing our relationship 00:15:24.419 --> 00:15:28.879 to God now. Before we were enemies of God. We 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:31.639 were hostile toward God. We were bold against 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:36.360 God. And God's holy response was inevitably wrath 00:15:36.360 --> 00:15:40.750 and judgment. But now Jesus Christ has come to 00:15:40.750 --> 00:15:44.649 make peace. And when we come to God through him, 00:15:44.710 --> 00:15:48.009 we have peace with God. And that's a permanent 00:15:48.009 --> 00:15:52.450 position that can never change. Never again can 00:15:52.450 --> 00:15:57.090 a person be at war with God when once peace has 00:15:57.090 --> 00:16:00.669 been declared. As far as God is concerned, the 00:16:00.669 --> 00:16:05.710 war is over. It's settled. We have peace. Does 00:16:05.710 --> 00:16:07.730 that describe your relationship with God today, 00:16:07.809 --> 00:16:12.230 or are you still trying to make it on your own 00:16:12.230 --> 00:16:14.610 in some way? You're still hostile and rebellious 00:16:14.610 --> 00:16:18.309 against God, perhaps. Dear friend, today God 00:16:18.309 --> 00:16:21.970 provides peace through Jesus Christ, peace for 00:16:21.970 --> 00:16:25.929 you. And then he says the second blessing that 00:16:25.929 --> 00:16:29.830 we have by justification is that of access, or 00:16:29.830 --> 00:16:33.990 what he calls an introduction to God. That goes 00:16:33.990 --> 00:16:37.669 back to a picture that is not too familiar to 00:16:37.669 --> 00:16:40.610 us in our democracy. Let's suppose we live under 00:16:40.610 --> 00:16:43.750 a monarchy for a moment, and the king is in his 00:16:43.750 --> 00:16:48.269 palace. You, as an ordinary citizen, have no 00:16:48.269 --> 00:16:53.970 right to go before the king. But there's a man 00:16:53.970 --> 00:16:56.429 in the court of the king who is a friend of yours, 00:16:56.629 --> 00:16:59.850 and he says to you, would you like to meet the 00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:04.549 king? Come on. And so he takes you into the courtroom 00:17:04.549 --> 00:17:08.990 and personally introduces you to your sovereign. 00:17:09.869 --> 00:17:12.470 Dear friend, that's what Jesus Christ did for 00:17:12.470 --> 00:17:15.730 us when we trusted him as Savior. He gave us 00:17:15.730 --> 00:17:18.630 access to God himself so that we may now come 00:17:18.630 --> 00:17:23.009 boldly before God. God does not intend for us 00:17:23.009 --> 00:17:27.369 to slink into his presence. He doesn't want us 00:17:27.369 --> 00:17:29.569 to come with our tail between our legs, so to 00:17:29.569 --> 00:17:33.670 speak. God wants us to come boldly and confidently 00:17:33.670 --> 00:17:38.809 into his presence. If we don't, then we're coming 00:17:38.809 --> 00:17:43.509 in unbelief. Did you hear what I said? If we 00:17:43.509 --> 00:17:46.130 do not come boldly into his presence, we are 00:17:46.130 --> 00:17:50.670 coming in unbelief. Rather let us come boldly 00:17:50.670 --> 00:17:52.289 to the throne of grace. Now that doesn't mean 00:17:52.289 --> 00:17:56.710 to come brashly or arrogantly. But we are to 00:17:56.710 --> 00:17:59.210 come with confidence that God is hearing us and 00:17:59.210 --> 00:18:02.069 that we are received. because of Jesus Christ. 00:18:04.069 --> 00:18:06.769 And then he says, the third blessing, is that 00:18:06.769 --> 00:18:12.069 we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. When 00:18:12.069 --> 00:18:14.809 he says we exult in it, we rejoice, and he means 00:18:14.809 --> 00:18:19.829 this is something we brag about. You don't brag 00:18:19.829 --> 00:18:21.670 about something unless you verbalize it, and 00:18:21.670 --> 00:18:23.509 that's the thrust here. He's saying this is something 00:18:23.509 --> 00:18:26.069 we talk about with a lot of confidence and joy 00:18:26.069 --> 00:18:31.819 and excitement. God's glory is coming. Do you 00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:34.240 realize that because you have received Jesus 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:37.700 Christ as your Savior, that someday you're going 00:18:37.700 --> 00:18:41.339 to share in his glory? That's your calling. That's 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:44.779 your destiny. Now, those who have not trusted 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:49.160 Christ do not have that future. Theirs is just 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:52.200 the opposite. It's God's condemnation. But for 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:56.019 those who do trust the Savior, it's glory that's 00:18:56.019 --> 00:19:00.259 coming. Now, that's a great thought. It means 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:02.059 that someday you and I are going to be body, 00:19:02.140 --> 00:19:04.500 soul, and spirit, just like the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:07.880 Now as you look up here this morning, you don't 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:11.339 see a lot of glory, do you? Well, frankly, I 00:19:11.339 --> 00:19:14.259 don't see a lot of it back there either. Why 00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:17.960 is that? Because our bodies are lowly bodies. 00:19:19.339 --> 00:19:23.819 Our bodies are affected by sin. But someday, 00:19:23.940 --> 00:19:27.000 when Jesus Christ comes back, we are going to 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.299 get new bodies. that are said to be bodies like 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:34.359 his body of glory, Philippians 3, 20 and 21. 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:39.180 In that day, in every respect, you will be like 00:19:39.180 --> 00:19:42.940 Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean you'll be God as 00:19:42.940 --> 00:19:45.200 he is God, but you'll be like him, for you'll 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:50.299 see him as he is. And not only that, you're going 00:19:50.299 --> 00:19:53.619 to live in a place that is specifically created 00:19:53.619 --> 00:19:57.000 to reflect the glory of God. It's called the 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:00.299 New Jerusalem. It's that which Doris Adams sang 00:20:00.299 --> 00:20:03.119 about a few moments ago. It's described in Revelation 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:09.579 21 and 22. It's a city that is built specifically 00:20:09.579 --> 00:20:12.940 to reflect the glory of God to his new heaven 00:20:12.940 --> 00:20:17.619 and new earth, the new creation. Personally, 00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:22.099 I believe that that new Jerusalem is going to 00:20:22.099 --> 00:20:26.559 be the only source of light to that new creation. 00:20:27.339 --> 00:20:31.819 There will be a need for sons because Jesus Christ 00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:35.380 is the light or the lamp of that new Jerusalem. 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:40.359 From his person is going to radiate such splendor 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:45.079 and such glory that it's going to go through 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:48.880 that city and out into the universe that God 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:52.299 is going to create. It's a marvelous thought. 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:55.839 We talk about the streets being of gold. It's 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:58.900 not gold like we have today. This is a transparent 00:20:58.900 --> 00:21:03.759 kind of gold. We're able to see through it. The 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:06.940 city is not a little thing either. If you were 00:21:06.940 --> 00:21:08.859 to put that city described in those chapters 00:21:08.859 --> 00:21:11.039 in Revelation down on a map of the United States, 00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:13.099 it would cover two -thirds of the United States. 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.839 Now that is the city that God is preparing for 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:24.220 the bride of his son, the church of Jesus Christ. 00:21:24.910 --> 00:21:28.170 We might call it home, because that's going to 00:21:28.170 --> 00:21:31.950 be home. Jesus said, I go to prepare a place 00:21:31.950 --> 00:21:34.650 for you. That's where he's going. He's preparing 00:21:34.650 --> 00:21:38.390 a place for you and for me. And maybe that's 00:21:38.390 --> 00:21:41.670 why the songwriter said, Oh, that will be glory 00:21:41.670 --> 00:21:47.029 for me. When by his grace I shall look on his 00:21:47.029 --> 00:21:52.289 face, that will be glory. Be glory for me. Because 00:21:52.289 --> 00:21:53.789 that's part of it, too. We're going to be able 00:21:53.789 --> 00:21:57.490 to see his face. We'll behold his face, according 00:21:57.490 --> 00:22:01.549 to Revelation chapter 22. The hope of the glory 00:22:01.549 --> 00:22:04.809 of God. But it goes on to say we have a fourth 00:22:04.809 --> 00:22:07.869 blessing of our justification. The working of 00:22:07.869 --> 00:22:11.470 God. Now I can hear somebody say, oh, fabulous, 00:22:11.569 --> 00:22:14.769 that means prosperity and success and good health. 00:22:15.609 --> 00:22:17.730 Well, that's not what he talks about here. He 00:22:17.730 --> 00:22:20.890 says that God is using our troubles to work in 00:22:20.890 --> 00:22:23.670 our life. That's not quite so exciting, is it? 00:22:25.029 --> 00:22:30.269 Or is it? Just think about that. The troubles 00:22:30.269 --> 00:22:32.569 that you and I pass through in this world are 00:22:32.569 --> 00:22:38.289 God's tools to work in our lives. Therefore, 00:22:38.430 --> 00:22:41.549 he says, we exult in them too. Do you brag about 00:22:41.549 --> 00:22:43.529 your troubles as much as you brag about heaven? 00:22:44.849 --> 00:22:48.049 Well, I do. That's what he says here. He says, 00:22:48.069 --> 00:22:51.450 we brag and boast and glory in heaven, the glory 00:22:51.450 --> 00:22:54.910 of God. But he says, we also brag, we boast, 00:22:54.950 --> 00:22:57.710 we glory in our troubles because we know something. 00:22:58.630 --> 00:23:01.990 God is working in our lives. And here's what 00:23:01.990 --> 00:23:04.750 he's doing. Out of those troubles, he's bringing 00:23:04.750 --> 00:23:11.269 patience. The ability to endure, to bear up under 00:23:11.269 --> 00:23:15.880 a load. And he said, out of that patience, He's 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:21.619 bringing proven character. A proveness, in other 00:23:21.619 --> 00:23:29.400 words. Showing that you passed the test. Sometimes 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:35.460 it doesn't work that way. Have you noticed that 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:38.940 we have a lot of shooting stars in the evangelical 00:23:38.940 --> 00:23:42.480 world these days? Let me explain what I mean. 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:46.180 Jesus told a parable about a sower one time. 00:23:46.220 --> 00:23:49.299 Remember that parable? A man went out to sow, 00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:51.720 and as he sowed, the seed fell on four different 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:54.779 kinds of soil. One kind was a superficial soil. 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:58.859 He says the plants took root. The roots went 00:23:58.859 --> 00:24:03.299 down, but they hit rock, stopped growing, and 00:24:03.299 --> 00:24:06.579 when the sun came out, there was no moisture, 00:24:06.779 --> 00:24:09.220 there was no depth for the plants. Therefore, 00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:13.140 the plants withered, they blew away. And Jesus 00:24:13.140 --> 00:24:16.880 himself gives us the meaning of that. He said 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:19.119 that's like the people who hear the word of God 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:22.599 and who immediately receive it with a lot of 00:24:22.599 --> 00:24:31.400 joy. And then when troubles come, they're like 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:34.819 the plant and they blow away because they have 00:24:34.819 --> 00:24:40.099 no root. It reminds me of a shooting star. They 00:24:40.099 --> 00:24:43.319 get saved, and oh my, we're dazzled by the brilliance 00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:50.299 of that testimony. And then, it's gone. When 00:24:50.299 --> 00:24:54.299 trouble comes. Why is that? It's evidence that 00:24:54.299 --> 00:24:59.099 the person never really was saved. The word of 00:24:59.099 --> 00:25:03.839 God was received superficially, but not genuinely. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:07.960 For the child of God, troubles prove him to be 00:25:07.960 --> 00:25:10.529 a child of God. Now that doesn't mean that we 00:25:10.529 --> 00:25:14.130 will never fail in a trial. We all have experienced 00:25:14.130 --> 00:25:17.990 failure, haven't we? We've all disappointed the 00:25:17.990 --> 00:25:22.890 Lord and we've disappointed ourselves. That's 00:25:22.890 --> 00:25:26.009 part of growing. But the fact is that God brings 00:25:26.009 --> 00:25:30.289 us out of that. And he proves to himself and 00:25:30.289 --> 00:25:34.210 he proves to us that we are genuinely his children. 00:25:34.390 --> 00:25:36.430 Troubles do that. God is working through our 00:25:36.430 --> 00:25:39.059 troubles. to give us patience and endurance, 00:25:39.380 --> 00:25:43.140 which in turn proves our character, that we are 00:25:43.140 --> 00:25:49.160 children of God. You know, sometimes we judge 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:52.259 things too soon. And some of you may be sitting 00:25:52.259 --> 00:25:55.140 there today in the middle of a trouble, and you 00:25:55.140 --> 00:25:59.200 see defeat and failure, and you say, well, maybe 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:03.559 that means I'm not a child of God. Well, that 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:05.079 may be something you need to examine in your 00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:09.019 life. You may not be a child of God. But don't 00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:14.079 judge an unfinished product. If you go into a 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:16.460 factory and you look at any product halfway through 00:26:16.460 --> 00:26:17.660 the line, you're going to look at it and say, 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:20.619 what a pile of junk. What is that supposed to 00:26:20.619 --> 00:26:25.000 be? Is it deficient? No, it's just not finished 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.539 yet. When it gets to the final assembly line, 00:26:29.950 --> 00:26:32.049 it begins to fall into place, and then it comes 00:26:32.049 --> 00:26:35.670 out what it's supposed to be. Don't judge yourself 00:26:35.670 --> 00:26:38.450 in the middle of a trouble. Let God work in that, 00:26:38.529 --> 00:26:40.849 and when it comes out to the end, if you're a 00:26:40.849 --> 00:26:44.509 child of God, it'll be proven. It'll be proven. 00:26:45.250 --> 00:26:48.369 And he says as that confidence then builds up 00:26:48.369 --> 00:26:51.450 in us, again we focus on the hope, and it reassures 00:26:51.450 --> 00:26:53.630 our hearts before God that we're his children, 00:26:53.769 --> 00:26:57.009 that Christ is coming, and that heaven is a reality. 00:26:57.589 --> 00:26:59.779 And we're going to be there. See, that's the 00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:02.299 process. God is working through your troubles. 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:07.299 God still loves you. Don't ever think that God 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:09.039 doesn't love you because you're having problems. 00:27:09.960 --> 00:27:12.240 In fact, God never loves you any more than when 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:16.180 you're right in the middle of whatever it is 00:27:16.180 --> 00:27:20.500 that's the pressure cooker in your life. He says 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:22.779 that hope is not going to disappoint us. Why? 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:25.099 Because God loves us, and that brings us really 00:27:25.099 --> 00:27:29.140 to what we want to look at this morning. We're 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:31.960 going to look at it and be on our way. He says, 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:37.559 Hope does not disappoint, verse 5, because the 00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:40.519 love of God has been poured out within our hearts 00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:44.200 through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 00:27:44.700 --> 00:27:46.700 Do you know that the moment you were saved, the 00:27:46.700 --> 00:27:50.619 Holy Spirit came to live in you? God himself 00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:53.480 and the person of his Spirit came to indwell 00:27:53.480 --> 00:27:56.960 you. And at that moment, he brought his love 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:02.420 to make it real in your life. God wants you to 00:28:02.420 --> 00:28:05.880 sense and to know in your experience his love 00:28:05.880 --> 00:28:10.980 for you. Do you? When he says it's poured out, 00:28:11.059 --> 00:28:14.039 he means it's like an oil gusher. You've seen 00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:17.140 pictures of that, haven't you? When they drill 00:28:17.140 --> 00:28:20.539 down into the earth and they strike oil. We've 00:28:20.539 --> 00:28:22.740 all dreamed that that might happen in our backyards, 00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:26.579 I suppose. And when they strike the oil, with 00:28:26.579 --> 00:28:30.019 a roar and a blast, it goes into the air and 00:28:30.019 --> 00:28:32.779 it comes down and it covers everything. And what 00:28:32.779 --> 00:28:35.460 he says is, the moment that you trusted Jesus 00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:38.740 Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit came into 00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:42.339 you and he brought a gusher of God's love. And 00:28:42.339 --> 00:28:45.619 it overflows your life and out through your life 00:28:45.619 --> 00:28:49.180 to touch other people. That's God's plan. God 00:28:49.180 --> 00:28:53.500 wants to make his love real to you. Do you feel 00:28:53.500 --> 00:28:57.980 it this morning? Why is it that people don't 00:28:57.980 --> 00:29:02.880 feel the love of God? Why may you be here and 00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:07.680 not really sense that God loves you? Let me just 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:11.059 suggest a reason or two. One reason may be because 00:29:11.059 --> 00:29:15.880 you're tired. Did you know that when we are physically 00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:19.839 run down, it affects us so that we don't respond 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:23.859 quite right, even spiritually? Your need really 00:29:23.859 --> 00:29:25.720 is not to go to a prayer meeting. Your need is 00:29:25.720 --> 00:29:28.319 to go home and go to bed and sleep. Please don't 00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:30.460 sleep here. Go home and go to bed and sleep. 00:29:32.420 --> 00:29:39.299 That may help you. It could be sin. Sin has a 00:29:39.299 --> 00:29:42.059 way of hardening our hearts. In Hebrews chapter 00:29:42.059 --> 00:29:46.900 3, he warns us against hardness of heart that 00:29:46.900 --> 00:29:50.779 comes by the deceitfulness of sin. Do you know 00:29:50.779 --> 00:29:54.480 sin can begin to encrust our hearts or to callous 00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:57.539 our hearts so that we don't sense God's love 00:29:57.539 --> 00:30:00.279 like we used to and we don't love God like we 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:03.619 used to? Oh, what a terrible condition that is. 00:30:04.839 --> 00:30:06.920 And friend, if that describes you this morning 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:10.259 as a Christian, then your need today is to come 00:30:10.259 --> 00:30:12.440 to the Lord in repentance and confess that to 00:30:12.440 --> 00:30:17.220 Him. Then there are some people who do not feel 00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:19.259 that God loves them because they have never been 00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:23.220 loved by anybody. One of the most important things 00:30:23.220 --> 00:30:26.680 for a parent to do is to raise a child so that 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:30.480 he knows he's loved unconditionally. It doesn't 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:32.140 mean the spankings are in order occasionally. 00:30:32.819 --> 00:30:36.400 I think we all know that. But we need to raise 00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:39.500 our children so they know we love them. Children 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:44.289 who have been starved for love. have a hard time 00:30:44.289 --> 00:30:47.289 later if they become Christians realizing God's 00:30:47.289 --> 00:30:50.650 love for them. Because they don't know how to 00:30:50.650 --> 00:30:54.650 emotionally get a hold of it and to feel it. 00:30:55.490 --> 00:30:59.369 Or how God wants to heal that. And he can and 00:30:59.369 --> 00:31:02.970 he will. And then there are those who don't love 00:31:02.970 --> 00:31:05.150 themselves. And so their response is, well, how 00:31:05.150 --> 00:31:08.430 can God love me? I don't love me. I talked with 00:31:08.430 --> 00:31:13.119 someone like that recently. He does not like 00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:18.079 his body, the way that he's created. And because 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:22.660 he does not love himself, he does not comprehend 00:31:22.660 --> 00:31:28.079 how God can love him. You know what God wants? 00:31:28.180 --> 00:31:32.160 He wants that person to love himself in the right 00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:35.779 sense, to accept himself as a special creation 00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:41.509 of God, so that God then can Help him to understand 00:31:41.509 --> 00:31:44.910 and to feel and to experience his love. We don't 00:31:44.910 --> 00:31:46.950 often talk about feeling God's love. We're so 00:31:46.950 --> 00:31:50.410 scared of emotions. And that's too bad because 00:31:50.410 --> 00:31:53.990 emotions are part of us. And God wants us to 00:31:53.990 --> 00:31:58.890 experience his love. Do you this morning? Or 00:31:58.890 --> 00:32:01.009 do you sit there with a heart that's cold and 00:32:01.009 --> 00:32:07.450 unfeeling? That is not God's will. The Holy Spirit 00:32:07.450 --> 00:32:10.789 is in you to make real God's love in your life. 00:32:11.849 --> 00:32:15.490 God has proven that love objectively. What has 00:32:15.490 --> 00:32:20.910 he done? Well, he tells us here. He says, while 00:32:20.910 --> 00:32:23.289 we were still helpless at the right time, Christ 00:32:23.289 --> 00:32:28.690 died for the ungodly. Do you wonder if God loves 00:32:28.690 --> 00:32:30.950 you? Then think back to what you were before 00:32:30.950 --> 00:32:35.619 you were saved. The condition you were in. And 00:32:35.619 --> 00:32:38.900 how repugnant your sins were to you, let alone 00:32:38.900 --> 00:32:43.220 to a thrice holy God. And then realize this, 00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:46.299 while you were ungodly, and while you were helpless, 00:32:46.359 --> 00:32:49.460 and you were a sinner and an enemy, that Christ 00:32:49.460 --> 00:32:53.359 died for you. And then doubt no longer, friend, 00:32:53.400 --> 00:32:56.279 that God loves you. He has demonstrated his love 00:32:56.279 --> 00:33:03.980 in a way that you cannot deny. He says in verse 00:33:03.980 --> 00:33:08.019 7, One will hardly die for a righteous man. In 00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:14.059 other words, for a stiff, self -righteous, hard 00:33:14.059 --> 00:33:16.920 kind of a person. There aren't very many people 00:33:16.920 --> 00:33:18.759 that will die in the place of a guy like that. 00:33:20.119 --> 00:33:22.319 He says there might be some who would dare to 00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:24.460 die for a good man. That's the guy that wears 00:33:24.460 --> 00:33:31.039 the white hat. You know. The good old boy. The 00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:33.990 friendly, generous, kind -hearted person. There 00:33:33.990 --> 00:33:36.349 may be a few who would give their lives for that 00:33:36.349 --> 00:33:39.250 kind of a person, but he says, God has proven 00:33:39.250 --> 00:33:43.430 his own special kind of love for you. And while 00:33:43.430 --> 00:33:48.170 you were a sinner, not righteous, not even good, 00:33:48.329 --> 00:33:54.890 Christ died for you. Have you received that love, 00:33:54.950 --> 00:34:00.069 my friend? Will you no longer reject it, but 00:34:00.069 --> 00:34:03.920 will you receive it today? God has so loved you 00:34:03.920 --> 00:34:07.160 that he has provided by grace a way for you to 00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:11.199 be right with himself. If you have trusted Christ 00:34:11.199 --> 00:34:14.559 and the love of God is in your heart, are you 00:34:14.559 --> 00:34:18.699 returning that love to him? Or as God examines 00:34:18.699 --> 00:34:20.219 your heart today, are you something like the 00:34:20.219 --> 00:34:23.519 church at Ephesus? Or just filled with all kinds 00:34:23.519 --> 00:34:27.679 of activity and good things? But you lack one 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:33.199 thing. You've left your first love. But love 00:34:33.199 --> 00:34:35.719 for Jesus Christ is not there like it ought to 00:34:35.719 --> 00:34:40.559 be. Will you realize today what a heinous sin 00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:44.360 that is? Oh, I convict my own heart in that. 00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:49.780 I judge myself in it. But my heart does not leap 00:34:49.780 --> 00:34:52.699 more readily with love for Jesus Christ than 00:34:52.699 --> 00:34:57.320 it does. Will you today as a Christian say, Father 00:34:57.320 --> 00:35:00.900 God, I have been away from you. But I come back 00:35:00.900 --> 00:35:03.219 today because I want that love to be warm and 00:35:03.219 --> 00:35:14.139 real in my life. Remember the prodigal? This 00:35:14.139 --> 00:35:21.179 boy was selfish. He took his inheritance early. 00:35:21.260 --> 00:35:25.039 They went out and wasted it. And when he got 00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:28.239 down so low that he was in a pig pen ready to 00:35:28.239 --> 00:35:32.000 eat, the husks that they were eating, he said, 00:35:32.059 --> 00:35:38.099 I'm going back home to my father. And I'll tell 00:35:38.099 --> 00:35:40.219 him that I'm no longer worthy to be his son, 00:35:40.260 --> 00:35:42.940 but I'll be one of his hired servants. But I 00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:46.480 know my father will care for me. He got out of 00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:48.320 that pig pen and he went back home. But do you 00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:53.079 remember what the father was doing? The father 00:35:53.079 --> 00:35:55.320 was standing there at the portal, looking down 00:35:55.320 --> 00:35:59.280 the road for his son. Who knows how many days 00:35:59.280 --> 00:36:02.739 that father stood there longing with an aching 00:36:02.739 --> 00:36:04.980 heart to see the figure of his son come over 00:36:04.980 --> 00:36:08.420 the horizon on that road. And finally there he 00:36:08.420 --> 00:36:11.820 came. The father didn't even wait for him to 00:36:11.820 --> 00:36:14.179 get back home. He rushed to meet him and threw 00:36:14.179 --> 00:36:17.000 his arms around him and the son started to spurt 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:21.280 out his little speech. Father, I've sinned against 00:36:21.280 --> 00:36:23.460 heaven and against you. I'm no longer worthy 00:36:23.460 --> 00:36:26.079 to be called your son. And he got that far. And 00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:28.579 the father said, I love you. And he brought forth 00:36:28.579 --> 00:36:31.420 the best robe in the house and put it on him 00:36:31.420 --> 00:36:35.239 and shoes on his feet. I tell you, there are 00:36:35.239 --> 00:36:37.139 some Christians I'm talking to this morning that 00:36:37.139 --> 00:36:41.920 are prodigals. And you're in the pig pen. And 00:36:41.920 --> 00:36:45.420 you know that God loves you. And God does love 00:36:45.420 --> 00:36:49.719 you. He's on the portal, as it were, looking 00:36:49.719 --> 00:36:53.440 out there longing for you to return. Will you 00:36:53.440 --> 00:36:56.880 get out of the pig pen and come back home? And 00:36:56.880 --> 00:37:00.059 let God warm your cold heart and soften your 00:37:00.059 --> 00:37:03.019 calloused heart and get you back to that place 00:37:03.019 --> 00:37:08.199 where you may experience his love. Father, help 00:37:08.199 --> 00:37:14.519 us today, I pray, to respond to the Holy Spirit's 00:37:14.519 --> 00:37:19.480 speaking and to take whatever steps, to make 00:37:19.480 --> 00:37:22.119 whatever decisions necessary to be in the place 00:37:22.119 --> 00:37:25.159 where we're right with you. and who are able 00:37:25.159 --> 00:37:30.179 to experience your love so graciously poured 00:37:30.179 --> 00:37:37.619 out into our lives by the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' 00:37:37.739 --> 00:37:44.179 name, amen. We're going to close by singing a 00:37:44.179 --> 00:37:48.039 verse or so of number 290. It's about the love 00:37:48.039 --> 00:37:52.260 of God. But as we sing this, I trust the Spirit 00:37:52.260 --> 00:37:54.599 of God has said something to every one of us 00:37:54.599 --> 00:37:57.860 this morning and that we will confirm in our 00:37:57.860 --> 00:38:03.039 lives and answer positively as we ought to. If 00:38:03.039 --> 00:38:04.840 there's a need for you to make some kind of an 00:38:04.840 --> 00:38:08.079 open and public commitment this morning, we encourage 00:38:08.079 --> 00:38:11.019 you to do that. It may be to publicly profess 00:38:11.019 --> 00:38:15.599 your faith in Jesus Christ. Or it may be, as 00:38:15.599 --> 00:38:17.820 a Christian, that you want to publicly say to 00:38:17.820 --> 00:38:20.679 the Lord and for others, that today you're coming 00:38:20.679 --> 00:38:22.780 out of a pig pen and back to the Father's house 00:38:22.780 --> 00:38:26.880 to be in fellowship with Him. It may be as a 00:38:26.880 --> 00:38:28.960 Christian you want to be baptized to follow the 00:38:28.960 --> 00:38:32.480 Lord in obedience, or that you want to be a part 00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:34.420 of this church. But if the Spirit of God has 00:38:34.420 --> 00:38:38.420 been dealing with you about a commitment, He's 00:38:38.420 --> 00:38:40.099 been telling you to make that an open and public 00:38:40.099 --> 00:38:42.860 thing, this is the time to do it as we sing number 00:38:42.860 --> 00:38:47.340 290, The Love of God. Will you join me and stand, 00:38:47.480 --> 00:38:50.019 please, as we sing together? And if the Spirit 00:38:50.019 --> 00:38:54.739 of God has spoken, then come right now. I wait 00:38:54.739 --> 00:38:55.739 for you here in the front.