WEBVTT 00:00:02.170 --> 00:00:05.950 Sins atoned and Heavens gained because of Calvary's 00:00:05.950 --> 00:00:08.449 love. Thank you, Christina, for singing this 00:00:08.449 --> 00:00:12.970 morning of that wonderful love of God. Would 00:00:12.970 --> 00:00:15.349 you open your Bible with me please to Romans 00:00:15.349 --> 00:00:21.469 chapter 15, where we find a text of Scripture 00:00:21.469 --> 00:00:25.469 that we'll use as a basis for our thinking this 00:00:25.469 --> 00:00:33.780 morning about the good gifts of God. We'll begin 00:00:33.780 --> 00:00:36.920 reading in verse 5 of Romans 15 where it says, 00:01:02.570 --> 00:01:08.430 to the glory of God. Seeking acceptance is a 00:01:08.430 --> 00:01:12.909 normal drive for most people, and I do mean a 00:01:12.909 --> 00:01:19.450 drive. We desire for others to accept us, and 00:01:19.450 --> 00:01:23.250 it's amazing what we are willing to do so that 00:01:23.250 --> 00:01:27.269 we feel we are accepted. We want to feel worthy. 00:01:27.349 --> 00:01:30.849 We want to feel like we fit in, that others aren't 00:01:30.849 --> 00:01:34.969 rejecting us. And so some of us change the way 00:01:34.969 --> 00:01:40.629 that we look, the way that we talk, the places 00:01:40.629 --> 00:01:47.670 we go, how we think, sometimes even the standards 00:01:47.670 --> 00:01:52.409 that we live by. Because we have a drive, a need 00:01:52.409 --> 00:01:57.170 to be accepted by other people. All of us have 00:01:57.170 --> 00:02:02.370 experienced at one time or another the pain rejection. 00:02:04.109 --> 00:02:07.930 And we learn to develop defense mechanisms to 00:02:07.930 --> 00:02:14.870 try to avoid that pain. Rejection is destructive. 00:02:18.189 --> 00:02:21.330 In 1952 there was a probation officer in New 00:02:21.330 --> 00:02:25.590 York who tried to find an organization that would 00:02:25.590 --> 00:02:30.080 take care of a 12 year old boy. Although this 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:32.620 boy had a religious background, he could find 00:02:32.620 --> 00:02:35.979 no organization, including major denominational 00:02:35.979 --> 00:02:40.680 groups, that were willing to take him in. The 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:44.979 probation officer, a Mr. Carroll, wrote, his 00:02:44.979 --> 00:02:48.879 case was reported to me because he had been a 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:53.360 truant. I tried for a year to find an agency 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:56.560 that would care for this needy youngster. Neither 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:59.199 Catholic, Protestant, nor Jewish institutions 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:02.659 would take him because he came from a denomination 00:03:02.659 --> 00:03:06.560 they did not recognize. I could do nothing constructive 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:12.659 for him." Well, if only the principles of Christian 00:03:12.659 --> 00:03:15.879 love had been applied to that young man in the 00:03:15.879 --> 00:03:20.300 Bronx back in 1952, history might have been written 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:23.259 differently. For the name of that twelve -year 00:03:23.259 --> 00:03:28.639 -old boy was Lee Harvey Oswald. Rejection is 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:33.699 destructive, and once it destroys the individual, 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:36.719 it works through the individual to destroy the 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:42.360 society in which he or she lives. Many people 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:45.939 are afraid to come to God because they're afraid 00:03:45.939 --> 00:03:50.520 of the ultimate rejection. They are fearful that 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:55.840 God may reject them. Sometimes that's an emotional 00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:00.919 fear that comes out of a rejection in the past 00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:04.840 by some authority figure, a parent perhaps, or 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:07.639 a teacher, or someone significant in the life. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:12.099 And that emotional feeling carries over to God. 00:04:12.860 --> 00:04:15.500 And so people are afraid that God, the ultimate 00:04:15.500 --> 00:04:20.319 authority, may also reject them. Sometimes it 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:24.120 comes out of a sense of guilt. There is a personal 00:04:24.120 --> 00:04:27.779 unworthiness that is felt. And because of that 00:04:27.779 --> 00:04:30.279 and the knowledge that God is good and God is 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:34.899 holy, a person may be afraid to come to God out 00:04:34.899 --> 00:04:38.660 of fear of rejection. Sometimes that fear of 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:41.379 rejection arises because of a misperception of 00:04:41.379 --> 00:04:45.579 what God is like. For some see God as stern, 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:54.500 as angry. as distant. The story is told in one 00:04:54.500 --> 00:04:58.319 of Spurgeon's books about a minister in his day 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:02.180 in England who went to take some money to a woman 00:05:02.180 --> 00:05:06.199 in his congregation who was exceedingly poor. 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:09.899 With the sum of money in his hand he went to 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:12.300 her door one Friday and knocked on the door, 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:17.730 but no one came. Believing, because of what he 00:05:17.730 --> 00:05:20.189 could hear and sense, that she was there, he 00:05:20.189 --> 00:05:24.970 knocked again, and still no one came. He continued 00:05:24.970 --> 00:05:29.990 knocking, and finally left, believing that indeed 00:05:29.990 --> 00:05:33.810 she must not be at home. Well, that Sunday he 00:05:33.810 --> 00:05:37.230 saw this dear lady, and he went up to her and 00:05:37.230 --> 00:05:41.269 said, I came by your house on Friday to bring 00:05:41.269 --> 00:05:43.689 some money because I knew that you were in need. 00:05:44.379 --> 00:05:48.180 And she said, oh, what time did you come? And 00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:51.699 he said, well, I was there about noon. She said, 00:05:52.180 --> 00:05:55.139 I heard you knocking, but I was afraid it was 00:05:55.139 --> 00:05:59.699 the landlord coming for his rent. And thus she 00:05:59.699 --> 00:06:04.500 did not go to the door and receive what she might 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:07.680 have had. Some people are that way with God. 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:10.970 They feel God knocking in the heart. and they're 00:06:10.970 --> 00:06:13.810 afraid to go to the door because they don't understand 00:06:13.810 --> 00:06:18.750 who God is or what he wants to give. Acceptance 00:06:18.750 --> 00:06:21.970 is a good gift which God gives to those who come 00:06:21.970 --> 00:06:27.189 to him in humble and honest faith. What a wonderful 00:06:27.189 --> 00:06:33.209 gift God desires to give to each of us. Acceptance. 00:06:34.569 --> 00:06:38.370 Acceptance in the sense of receiving with approval. 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:43.959 Not receiving with conditions. Not letting in 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:47.079 the front door, but just wait there until you 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:54.399 drip dry. No, God receives all the way. God embraces. 00:06:54.579 --> 00:06:58.939 God welcomes. That's the kind of acceptance we're 00:06:58.939 --> 00:07:02.759 dealing with. This kind of acceptance is not 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:07.699 an unemotional acceptance. Indeed, the Scriptures 00:07:07.699 --> 00:07:11.000 tell us that in heaven there is joy among the 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:15.439 angels every time someone comes to Jesus Christ 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:19.959 in faith and is accepted by God. It is an emotional 00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:24.120 thing in heaven and it is on the earth as well. 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:30.220 Acceptance with God is provided by Jesus Christ. 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:35.360 In the text read earlier in the service, Ephesians 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:39.139 chapter 2, it said, but now in Christ Jesus, 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:45.660 in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off 00:07:45.660 --> 00:07:52.079 have now been brought near by the blood of Christ. 00:07:53.740 --> 00:07:56.120 That verse points out the basic problem we're 00:07:56.120 --> 00:07:58.839 dealing with this morning, and that is the barrier 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:04.720 that separates us from God. Yes, indeed, there 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:07.879 is a barrier that separates us from God. It is 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:12.560 a legal claim that is issued against us because 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:19.759 we are criminals in God's universe. We have transgressed 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:25.240 the moral law of God. And because of that, there 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:31.060 is an issue between us and Him. It is an issue 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:35.320 of sin. in our hearts. The sinfulness of the 00:08:35.320 --> 00:08:41.559 human heart and the human will hinders our acceptance 00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:47.639 by a righteous and holy God. Because God must 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:54.139 punish sin. God is a holy God and he must punish 00:08:54.139 --> 00:08:59.279 sin while at the same time he desperately loves 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:05.700 us. and desires to accept us. It seems to put 00:09:05.700 --> 00:09:08.860 God in a dilemma of sorts, doesn't it? On the 00:09:08.860 --> 00:09:11.159 one hand, there is an issue and a barrier between 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:13.639 us. On the other hand, He desires with all of 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:16.299 His heart to reach out with His arms and receive 00:09:16.299 --> 00:09:25.100 us. That brings us to God's provision. Because 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:29.279 God Himself squarely confronted the legal claim 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:34.039 against us. On the one hand, it was a claim that 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:38.899 He enforced as a holy judge. On the other hand, 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:42.960 it is a claim that He Himself dealt with as a 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:48.240 loving Savior. Because God loves us and desires 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:50.980 to spare us of the punishment that we deserve, 00:09:51.779 --> 00:09:57.139 He provided Jesus Christ as a substitute to bear 00:09:57.139 --> 00:10:00.659 our punishment. That's why it says in Ephesians 00:10:00.659 --> 00:10:05.720 2, You've been brought near by the blood of Christ. 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:11.039 That blood that Jesus shed on the cross was the 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:16.980 blood of sacrifice on behalf of others. Not dying 00:10:16.980 --> 00:10:20.299 for his own sin, he had none. He died for the 00:10:20.299 --> 00:10:24.940 sin of the world. And it is by that blood, the 00:10:24.940 --> 00:10:29.039 price, the substitutionary sacrifice, that God 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:35.100 has dealt with the sin issue so that now he can 00:10:35.100 --> 00:10:42.120 righteously receive us and accept us. That brings 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:46.879 us to the crucial point of appropriation. Our 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:51.600 acceptance becomes personal. That is, it is my 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:54.950 personal experience to be accepted by God. when 00:10:54.950 --> 00:10:59.730 I as a person repent of my sin and place my trust 00:10:59.730 --> 00:11:05.769 in Jesus Christ alone for my pardon from the 00:11:05.769 --> 00:11:07.850 transgressions I have made against the law of 00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:13.730 God. It becomes my personal experience when I 00:11:13.730 --> 00:11:18.009 repent of my sinfulness and I turn to Jesus Christ 00:11:18.009 --> 00:11:22.440 alone and place my faith in Him. In doing so, 00:11:22.620 --> 00:11:27.019 I receive a pardon from God, a pardon for the 00:11:27.019 --> 00:11:31.279 crimes against him, a pardon for the transgressions 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:38.320 that I've committed against his law. In his book 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:41.460 Peace Child, Don Richardson records a moving 00:11:41.460 --> 00:11:45.379 account of how he and his family discovered the 00:11:45.379 --> 00:11:49.120 key to unlock the hearts of the Sawi people in 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:53.960 Irian Jaya. As they got into that culture and 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:59.100 began to preach the gospel to them, they began 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:01.899 to realize that there was a cultural barrier 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:06.399 to those people understanding God's gift of His 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:09.919 Son, the sacrifice on their behalf. Because in 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:13.419 their culture, any demonstration of kindness 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:20.820 was viewed with suspicion and distrust. If one 00:12:20.820 --> 00:12:23.440 person or one family did something kind for another 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:26.399 person or another family, the immediate response 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:33.700 was suspicion. How do you explain God's kindness 00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:37.460 toward us in Christ to a people whose whole culture 00:12:37.460 --> 00:12:41.600 says any kindness is to be viewed from a distance 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:46.879 and with distrust? Until the day, as you know, 00:12:46.980 --> 00:12:51.379 that they discovered a cultural secret. a key 00:12:51.379 --> 00:12:55.980 to that culture. That was a tradition among the 00:12:55.980 --> 00:13:03.000 Sawi people that if a father gave his own son 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:09.960 to his enemy, that sacrificial deed proved that 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:14.840 that father could be trusted. And immediately 00:13:14.840 --> 00:13:17.519 when they learned that tradition among the people, 00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:21.360 they saw the parallel to what God had done for 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:27.820 us, giving His Son. The tradition also said that 00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:30.039 anyone in the village who touched the head of 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:34.299 that peace child, anyone who touched the child 00:13:34.299 --> 00:13:37.120 would be identified with that child and would 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:39.960 have from that point on friendly relationships 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:43.159 with the Father who gave the Son to that village. 00:13:44.940 --> 00:13:48.519 What a beautiful picture God built into that 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:52.320 culture of what he would do through Jesus Christ. 00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:58.480 Anyone who comes to Jesus Christ and by faith 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:01.639 as it were touches him is immediately brought 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:06.039 into a loving relationship with God. A relationship 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:10.419 of acceptance. Acceptance with God is provided 00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:12.980 by Christ, but we see something else in our text. 00:14:13.389 --> 00:14:19.190 that acceptance with God requires my acceptance 00:14:19.190 --> 00:14:23.330 and your acceptance of other believers. I come 00:14:23.330 --> 00:14:26.750 back to our text in Romans 15 and verse 7, accept 00:14:26.750 --> 00:14:34.690 one another just as Christ also accepted us. 00:14:35.269 --> 00:14:38.769 Accept one another. What is the basis for this 00:14:38.769 --> 00:14:43.990 command? It is just simply this. that one who 00:14:43.990 --> 00:14:48.629 has been forgiven by God and accepted, embraced 00:14:48.629 --> 00:14:54.389 by God cannot any longer rightly reject another 00:14:54.389 --> 00:15:02.269 whom God also has accepted. And so he says, accept 00:15:02.269 --> 00:15:06.610 one another. Now obviously he is not talking 00:15:06.610 --> 00:15:09.750 about situations where there is moral compromise. 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:15.200 He is not saying that we are to accept others 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:22.460 who are in doctrinal heresy or false teaching. 00:15:23.940 --> 00:15:27.899 He is saying that within the family of God there 00:15:27.899 --> 00:15:33.019 is to be an acceptance. Just as we have been 00:15:33.019 --> 00:15:37.620 accepted by God, we are to accept others. And 00:15:37.620 --> 00:15:44.330 often that acceptance requires forgiveness. It 00:15:44.330 --> 00:15:46.309 may be that there's a husband and wife here this 00:15:46.309 --> 00:15:47.970 morning who are going through this kind of a 00:15:47.970 --> 00:15:51.590 crisis. And right now, because of the failure 00:15:51.590 --> 00:15:55.529 of one or the other in some issue, there is not 00:15:55.529 --> 00:15:57.929 a full acceptance on the part of the spouse. 00:16:00.250 --> 00:16:02.610 We need to deal with what the Word of God says 00:16:02.610 --> 00:16:07.429 to us here. That where there is forgiveness and 00:16:07.429 --> 00:16:10.210 there is acceptance by God, there is to be full 00:16:10.210 --> 00:16:15.759 forgiveness and acceptance by us as well. There 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:18.919 ought to be no issue that arises within our marriage 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:21.399 relationships that causes us to separate from 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:25.120 one another To hold the spouse off until the 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.440 spouse proves himself. Aren't you glad that God 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:32.159 doesn't do that with us? And yet there are husbands 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:34.940 that do that to wives and wives to do that to 00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:40.159 husbands God says to us in our homes accept one 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:46.450 another Just as Christ accepted us with forgiveness 00:16:46.450 --> 00:16:50.289 and compassion and understanding accept one another. 00:16:52.929 --> 00:16:55.110 This application is especially important, too, 00:16:55.110 --> 00:16:59.129 I think, in blended families. I was a part of 00:16:59.129 --> 00:17:02.370 a blended family 25 years before the term was 00:17:02.370 --> 00:17:06.069 known. I didn't know I was until years later. 00:17:07.950 --> 00:17:10.230 But my mother, who was widowed, married again. 00:17:12.069 --> 00:17:15.109 And we became, at that point, a blended family. 00:17:15.390 --> 00:17:19.509 I had a stepfather. Well, I can tell you in my 00:17:19.509 --> 00:17:22.589 own experience that it was very easy to accept 00:17:22.589 --> 00:17:28.210 him. Wonderful Christian man. It was no problem 00:17:28.210 --> 00:17:32.869 for me as a teenager at 15 to welcome this man 00:17:32.869 --> 00:17:35.150 into our home. It frankly took a lot of pressure 00:17:35.150 --> 00:17:37.049 off of me. I didn't have to be the head of the 00:17:37.049 --> 00:17:42.299 house any longer as the 15 -year -old. But sometimes 00:17:42.299 --> 00:17:45.019 that is a problem, especially when there are 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:48.019 other children involved and there's a blended 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:53.200 sibling relationship, not just a blended parental 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:57.359 relationship. We need to learn to accept one 00:17:57.359 --> 00:18:00.960 another and realize that though people come out 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:04.680 of different traditions and different backgrounds, 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:09.619 if Jesus Christ has accepted them and forgiven 00:18:09.619 --> 00:18:12.529 them, We can learn to do that too in our blended 00:18:12.529 --> 00:18:17.769 family relationships. But obviously the direct 00:18:17.769 --> 00:18:20.650 application of this is to the Church of Christ. 00:18:22.509 --> 00:18:26.329 For here we are a blended family as well. We 00:18:26.329 --> 00:18:28.569 come out of many different backgrounds, lots 00:18:28.569 --> 00:18:33.990 of different ideas here. We are to learn to accept 00:18:33.990 --> 00:18:36.829 one another in our differences, which are superficial 00:18:36.829 --> 00:18:40.500 and non -essential. I appreciated the prayer 00:18:40.500 --> 00:18:43.720 of Steve Hinkle this morning when he asked that 00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:47.059 God would enable us to reach out to those who 00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:50.200 are from different ethnic backgrounds or racial 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:54.240 backgrounds. There is no place in the family 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:57.779 of God for discrimination and prejudice and bias 00:18:57.779 --> 00:19:02.859 based upon those kinds of things. We are to accept 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:08.009 one another just as Christ has accepted us. The 00:19:08.009 --> 00:19:12.609 purpose of this is that the body of Jesus Christ 00:19:12.609 --> 00:19:15.869 might be unified. He talks about that at the 00:19:15.869 --> 00:19:19.069 end of verse 5. Notice he says that God would 00:19:19.069 --> 00:19:22.009 grant you to be of the same mind with one another 00:19:22.009 --> 00:19:25.349 according to Christ Jesus. In other words, we're 00:19:25.349 --> 00:19:31.329 to all be tuned in to Christ Jesus. And as we 00:19:31.329 --> 00:19:33.650 are, we'll be of the same mind. We'll be listening 00:19:33.650 --> 00:19:37.869 to the same person, to the same voice. Let's 00:19:37.869 --> 00:19:41.569 suppose this morning that every one of you had 00:19:41.569 --> 00:19:46.150 a transistor radio and it was hooked into your 00:19:46.150 --> 00:19:50.910 ear. And there may be someone here listening 00:19:50.910 --> 00:19:55.289 to what's happening in one of the sports drafts 00:19:55.289 --> 00:19:57.589 and there's somebody else listening to Top 40 00:19:57.589 --> 00:20:00.109 and somebody else who's listening to a Christian 00:20:00.109 --> 00:20:02.269 station and somebody else who's listening to 00:20:02.269 --> 00:20:05.349 a classical station. My, though we'd be here 00:20:05.349 --> 00:20:07.509 together in one place, we're all listening to 00:20:07.509 --> 00:20:12.089 something different. He says be of the one mind 00:20:12.089 --> 00:20:14.609 with one another according to Christ Jesus. That's 00:20:14.609 --> 00:20:20.490 where you tune on the dial. Christ Jesus. And 00:20:20.490 --> 00:20:23.049 he says in verse 6, that with one accord you 00:20:23.049 --> 00:20:28.349 may with one voice glorify God. So you see it's 00:20:28.349 --> 00:20:31.769 oneness that this acceptance is purpose to prove. 00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:38.480 oneness of mind, oneness of heart. We are to 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:41.119 be careful that we be not divided by listening 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:43.900 to other voices, but to the voice of Christ Jesus. 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:49.140 You say, well pastor, all of that's good theory. 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:51.359 That's a nice idea, but how do you live that 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:54.930 out? How am I supposed to accept this brother 00:20:54.930 --> 00:20:57.710 in Christ or this sister in Christ or how am 00:20:57.710 --> 00:21:00.569 I supposed to accept my wife or my husband under 00:21:00.569 --> 00:21:03.190 these circumstances when he or she thinks that 00:21:03.190 --> 00:21:08.829 way or does this or that? How do we learn to 00:21:08.829 --> 00:21:12.869 accept one another? By the power of God. Acceptance 00:21:12.869 --> 00:21:16.930 doesn't come naturally to us. What comes naturally 00:21:16.930 --> 00:21:19.150 is rejection. That's why it's so prevalent in 00:21:19.150 --> 00:21:26.910 the world. Acceptance comes when we ask God to 00:21:26.910 --> 00:21:29.410 give it to us. Notice what he calls God in verse 00:21:29.410 --> 00:21:36.809 5. The God who gives perseverance and encouragement. 00:21:38.829 --> 00:21:41.390 The God who gives what we need so that we can 00:21:41.390 --> 00:21:44.829 accept one another. He gives in the first place 00:21:44.829 --> 00:21:47.769 perseverance. The word means to abide under a 00:21:47.769 --> 00:21:51.369 load. Whenever I think of this word I think of 00:21:51.339 --> 00:21:55.140 the picture of Atlas, who stands there with his 00:21:55.140 --> 00:21:58.619 neck bowed and on his shoulders the world sits, 00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:02.640 according to mythology. But he bears up under 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:07.819 that load. God calls us to bear up under the 00:22:07.819 --> 00:22:11.380 load of accepting one another, and he gives us 00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:14.759 the perseverance, the endurance to do it. And 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:19.039 frankly, it takes endurance to accept others 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:22.779 who are different over the long haul. It does. 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:27.900 It doesn't happen easily. And we all fail at 00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:30.599 times. We come short of accepting like we should. 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:34.740 But God gives us perseverance so that we can. 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:38.680 God also gives us encouragement, it says here 00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:43.660 in our text. The word encouragement is this word 00:22:43.660 --> 00:22:49.720 parakaleo or paraclete. It's that word for comforter 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:53.539 in John where the Holy Spirit is called our comforter, 00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:58.720 our helper. It means to call along beside someone 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:04.519 else, a helper. God says, I will come alongside 00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:07.140 you and give you what you need. I'll give you 00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:11.640 encouragement. I think of a coach when I think 00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:16.180 of this word. A coach who comes alongside the 00:23:16.180 --> 00:23:19.180 player and whispers in the ear words of encouragement. 00:23:19.900 --> 00:23:22.559 I've got a son who is playing Little League. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:27.220 And I've appreciated particularly one of the 00:23:27.220 --> 00:23:31.400 fathers who's coaching that team. Oh, he's kind 00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:36.059 of a loud guy. And just if he yelled at you, 00:23:36.059 --> 00:23:38.220 you'd stop and shake a little bit because he's 00:23:38.220 --> 00:23:40.400 just got one of those voices that penetrates. 00:23:41.419 --> 00:23:45.640 But when he yells at the boys, he doesn't yell 00:23:45.640 --> 00:23:49.519 unkind things. But when they get up to bat, he 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:51.940 says, come on now John, you're a hitter. Get 00:23:51.940 --> 00:23:55.119 it out there. You're a hitter. Every boy in that 00:23:55.119 --> 00:23:57.519 team's a hitter. And some of them haven't hit 00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:01.240 the ball yet. But they're hitters. Why? Because 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:04.259 the coach says they are. He's there to encourage 00:24:04.259 --> 00:24:06.519 them. He's there to pat them on the rear end 00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:09.970 when they need it. God says, I'll give you encouragement. 00:24:10.089 --> 00:24:12.309 I'm going to be with you. I'll be along beside 00:24:12.309 --> 00:24:15.569 you as you learn to accept others who are different 00:24:15.569 --> 00:24:19.069 than you are. I'll give you the endurance and 00:24:19.069 --> 00:24:23.109 I'll give you the encouragement. Our motive for 00:24:23.109 --> 00:24:25.589 doing this, it says in verse 6, is the glory 00:24:25.589 --> 00:24:30.029 of God. He says, may God grant the sameness of 00:24:30.029 --> 00:24:34.779 mind, this oneness to you. to the glorify God 00:24:34.779 --> 00:24:37.880 and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:41.539 one another, he says. The glory of God is to 00:24:41.539 --> 00:24:46.359 be our motive. What a great motive. Not to glorify 00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:49.480 ourselves, not to boast, and look what a broad 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:53.799 -minded, wonderful person I am. But for the glory 00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:57.680 of God, we learn to accept others who may be 00:24:57.680 --> 00:25:01.200 different than us in some respect. If Jesus Christ 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:07.460 has accepted them, we are commanded, we are required 00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:19.599 by God to accept them as well. The Church of 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:23.339 Jesus Christ is to be a place where people belong. 00:25:27.180 --> 00:25:29.579 I don't watch the program because I don't care 00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:34.000 for some of the insinuations, situations that 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:40.299 arise within it. But the program Cheers is a 00:25:40.299 --> 00:25:44.779 very popular one. And the theme song for a while 00:25:44.779 --> 00:25:48.200 was very popular. And the reason is because in 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:50.539 that theme song they talk about what a bar is 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:56.299 like. And the basic thrust of it is that when 00:25:56.299 --> 00:26:01.079 you go there, people accept you for who you are. 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:07.700 The fact is, if there's any place in the world 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:09.960 that ought to be like a bar in that respect, 00:26:11.640 --> 00:26:17.359 it's a church. Where we belong and where we are 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:21.039 accepted in Jesus Christ in spite of our shortcomings, 00:26:23.019 --> 00:26:28.279 In spite of our superficial differences, in spite 00:26:28.279 --> 00:26:33.140 of our weaknesses and our feelings, it's there 00:26:33.140 --> 00:26:36.160 that we ought to be accepted. And that's the 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:39.180 kind of a church we want to build here, where 00:26:39.180 --> 00:26:43.880 there is acceptance of others whom God has accepted. 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:48.200 What is your attitude toward other believers 00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:54.440 today? Other believers who are different now. 00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:56.880 I know it's great to accept people who are like 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:59.619 you People who think like you do and therefore 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:03.980 are right It's easy to accept people who are 00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:05.900 right, but what about those who are wrong just 00:27:05.900 --> 00:27:09.079 plain wrong in some of the things they think 00:27:09.079 --> 00:27:13.799 If Jesus Christ has accepted them were to accept 00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:21.660 I Wonder who it may be in your circle of associates 00:27:22.269 --> 00:27:27.410 friends, a family, who today needs a hug from 00:27:27.410 --> 00:27:33.750 you, an emotional hug at least, saying, I accept 00:27:33.750 --> 00:27:37.109 you in Christ Jesus. Just the way you are. You 00:27:37.109 --> 00:27:39.849 don't have to do anything to improve. You don't 00:27:39.849 --> 00:27:41.930 have to jump through this hoop. You don't have 00:27:41.930 --> 00:27:46.930 to live up to this standard. I accept you just 00:27:46.930 --> 00:27:50.490 the way you are. Is it your wife who needs that? 00:27:52.650 --> 00:27:58.650 Is it your husband, your parent, your child, 00:27:59.690 --> 00:28:06.769 a friend? Accept one another just as Jesus Christ 00:28:06.769 --> 00:28:11.490 has accepted you. Have you been accepted by Jesus 00:28:11.490 --> 00:28:16.269 Christ? Do you know that you have? You say, well, 00:28:16.269 --> 00:28:19.410 I hope I have. Dear friend, you can know you've 00:28:19.410 --> 00:28:24.150 been accepted by Jesus Christ. Hope so salvation 00:28:24.150 --> 00:28:28.190 is not good enough needs to be a no -so salvation 00:28:28.190 --> 00:28:33.809 Have you been accepted by him? you see the question 00:28:33.809 --> 00:28:37.930 can be Answered by another question that would 00:28:37.930 --> 00:28:41.230 say have you accepted God's offer of pardon? 00:28:44.049 --> 00:28:46.769 It is when you and I repent of our sin and trust 00:28:46.769 --> 00:28:50.650 in Jesus Christ That we accept God's offer of 00:28:50.650 --> 00:28:55.170 pardon and when that issue of sin has been settled, 00:28:55.369 --> 00:28:58.690 then God accepts us without question in Christ. 00:28:59.849 --> 00:29:08.849 In Christ He accepts us. The story is told about 00:29:08.849 --> 00:29:11.210 a situation that arose when Andrew Jackson was 00:29:11.210 --> 00:29:14.210 president of the United States. A man was given 00:29:14.210 --> 00:29:17.750 a court trial and was found guilty and condemned 00:29:17.750 --> 00:29:22.339 to die. But for whatever reasons, President Jackson 00:29:22.339 --> 00:29:26.700 offered to that man a pardon. And the condemned 00:29:26.700 --> 00:29:31.019 man refused the pardon, choosing rather to die. 00:29:32.619 --> 00:29:35.940 Prison authorities, the Attorney General of the 00:29:35.940 --> 00:29:38.960 United States, and many others, earnestly endeavored 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:43.079 to convince this man to accept the pardon. They 00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:46.339 tried to impress upon him the fact that it would 00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:49.779 not only spare his life, But if he didn't accept 00:29:49.779 --> 00:29:52.660 the pardon, it would be an insult to the President 00:29:52.660 --> 00:29:57.259 of the United States. But the man persisted. 00:29:57.660 --> 00:29:59.640 Finally, the Attorney General took the matter 00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:03.160 to the United States Supreme Court and asked 00:30:03.160 --> 00:30:06.319 them if they could not force this man to receive 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:09.200 the pardon that the President had offered him. 00:30:09.980 --> 00:30:13.220 The court ruled that, in fact, the pardon was 00:30:13.220 --> 00:30:19.009 merely a printed piece of paper. until the man 00:30:19.009 --> 00:30:26.990 accepted it. And he went to death. So God offers 00:30:26.990 --> 00:30:29.829 you a pardon today because of the blood of Jesus 00:30:29.829 --> 00:30:36.549 Christ. Will you accept his pardon? Let's pray 00:30:36.549 --> 00:30:43.650 together. Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. 00:30:45.420 --> 00:30:48.680 As you sit there, I wonder, have you accepted 00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:54.220 the pardon? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ 00:30:54.220 --> 00:31:00.099 for your salvation? If not, would you do it at 00:31:00.099 --> 00:31:03.200 this very moment? Just tell God that you know 00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:05.500 that you need to be pardoned and you receive 00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:10.440 the one he offers in Christ because of his death 00:31:10.440 --> 00:31:16.609 for you. And if that is your decision, will you 00:31:16.609 --> 00:31:20.230 let us know? Give me a call this week at the 00:31:20.230 --> 00:31:23.450 office and say, Pastor, on Sunday I accepted 00:31:23.450 --> 00:31:28.210 that pardon from God. I'd love to talk with you 00:31:28.210 --> 00:31:33.130 about that. Most of us have accepted that pardon 00:31:33.130 --> 00:31:36.269 who are here this morning. The question is then, 00:31:36.809 --> 00:31:42.549 having been accepted by God, Are we accepting 00:31:42.549 --> 00:31:50.329 others in Christ? Father, I pray that there may 00:31:50.329 --> 00:31:54.990 be a desire in the heart of every one of us who 00:31:54.990 --> 00:32:00.690 is a Christian to be as wide open in our reception 00:32:00.690 --> 00:32:06.829 of others in Christ as you are. Forgive us when 00:32:06.829 --> 00:32:12.799 we allow petty differences opinions to bring 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:19.940 division. When we are prejudiced or biased because 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:25.480 of superficial things that do not matter, but 00:32:25.480 --> 00:32:29.660 teach us in our families, in our homes, in our 00:32:29.660 --> 00:32:34.240 church, in our relationships, to obey your word 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:39.740 and to accept one another just as your son. has 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:47.480 accepted us to the glory of your name. Amen.