Hello, I am Gavyn. I am the tech director and I'm one of the leaders in the men's
ministry. So if you want to help with tech, come find me. But today I
was asked to share a message on God's holiness and then you know obviously in
relation to Thanksgiving. You know this week we're being intentionally thankful.
We're thankful for family, friends, material things, but you know ultimately
we're thankful for God. You know he's the number one thing we can be
thankful for. He's given us those things, the family, friends, you know material
things. He's given us salvation. He loves us, but ultimately it's because he is. So
God himself is worthy of praise just based on who he is, his character, before
even all the things he's done for us. You know people can deserve praise or you
know glory from things that they've done or they can deserve praise just for
being great awesome people and their character and you know all those
attributes. There's a you know in the in the scripture we see important you know
repetition of moments that occur. There's times when people have visions or their
spirits have actually entered heaven and we see this this cool repetition of God
and his holiness. In Isaiah 6 we read that Isaiah has a vision where God's in
a throne high above the temple and his just the hem of his robe fills the
temple. You see you know a sign of his glory and around him a cherubim and they
actually sit they they declare while Isaiah is seeing this vision, holy holy
holy is the Lord of armies his glory fills the whole earth. Then the
foundations of the temple shook and the temple was filled with smoke. On top of
that Isaiah hears this great awesome message you know the temple shakes and
he gets filled with dread. We'll touch on that a little bit later but you know
the first thing that those cherubim the angels say is how holy God is. Then they
declare his glory throughout the earth. It's kind of similar to talking about
Pastor Nathan saying you know Pastor Nathan is a good God-fearing pastor. He's
obedient to Christ and also he pastors our church and has influenced many
lives. You know starting with the person as as their character is important
because then that shapes the rest of the message. Similarly with God you know he's
this all-powerful all-knowing being starting with what his character is and
who he is really shapes what you know that power means what that knowledge
means. You know on the contrary if I was talking about Pastor Nathan I say Pastor
Nathan is an evil lazy pastor but he pastors our church and he's influenced
many. You know the second half means something completely different. So
you know if God were unholy not even evil but just unholy think of like the
Greek gods they kind of selfish. They're sometimes good they're sometimes bad. You
know you'd kind of lose all sense of hope all sense of peace because you're
just kind of like oh I hope I please this God. I hope they keep their promises. I
hope I don't anger them. And then on top of that the world doesn't have anything
to give us hope. When we're trusting in money all that really leads to is greed
and anxiety. If you're trusting in power results in the same thing. And on top of
that with an unholy God you know that idea of our God has made great promises
like with the flood and we can trust that you know our we're not going to be
wiped out again by the flood. With an unholy God they could just decide I'm
gonna start over with the universe just because I don't like you guys and we
can't really do anything about that. So hope is definitely one of those things
that I feel that unbelievers just kind of lack you know the real sense of hope
that we can trust in that we have. That time when like you're going through
crazy trials and you can still go like I don't care. The worst that can happen is
I die. Whereas for them it's more I've got 80 years hopefully I make a name for
myself hopefully I get enough money to pass on to my kids but that's really it.
When evil happens they just go huh evil happens. I can't really change anything
about that. And then there's also people who kind of believe in a in a higher
power is just out there. Sometimes they do nice things for me if I'm good maybe
they'll do something nice for me. But with God with who he is it really
changes you know the praise that we give him the honor that he deserves the glory
that he deserves. There's another moment in Revelation where we John tells us
about a time where his spirit actually entered heaven. Revelation 4. His spirit
enters heaven and he sees this great throne room. God sitting on the throne
there's these 24 elders and thrones around him and then there's also these
four angels with covered in eyes they have animal-like appearances kind of
crazy but constantly day and night they are praising God in verse 8 saying holy
holy holy Lord God the Almighty who was who is and who is to come. The response
of those elders around God at that moment is they just fall at his feet
they cast their crowns at his feet you know giving all glory to God and they
say in verse 11 our Lord and God you are worthy to receive glory and honor and
power because you have created all things and by your will they exist and
were created. You know those those elders really understood what's what those
angels were saying you know holy holy holy Lord God Almighty and their instant
response is going any glory I could have received that's all yours God that's all
you don't even think about me you know you know talking to humans in that sense
but don't even I don't even deserve any glory it's all God's you know it's it's
God's holiness really is ultimately what makes him worthy of praise and glory. An
example of a human you know giving God praise we can read from David or hear
from David you know a man after God's own heart just that reality that God's
holiness just results in us praising him and at times trembling. I'm gonna read
Psalms 99 if anyone wants to open up it's gonna read through the whole Psalms
it's a great Psalms about God in his holiness and then our response to that
the world's response to that. So in verse 1 the Lord reigns let the people's
tremble he is enthroned between the cherubim let the earth quake the Lord
is great in Zion he is exalted above all the peoples let them praise your great
and on spiring name he is holy the mighty King loves justice you have
established fairness you have administered justice and righteousness
in Jacob exalt the Lord our God bow and worship at his footstool he is holy
Moses and Aaron were among the his priests Samuel also was among these
calling on his name they called to the Lord and he answered them he spoke to
them in a pillar of cloud they kept his decrees and the statutes he gave them
Lord our God you answered them you were forgiving God to them but an avenger of
their sinful actions exalt the Lord our God bow and worship at his holy mountain
for the Lord our God is holy you know David's really getting the picture in
verse 1 he's telling them you know let the people tremble let the earthquake
let them praise your great and on spiring name because he is holy you know
God's holiness really should arouse that praise and it should bring force
trembling just the power of that that idea that God Almighty is holy nothing
compared to what we ever see we don't see any people we don't see any things
that are even like perfect in that in that aspect just holy like God and it
really is one of those things where it's like praising God is one of the most
important things we do it's probably one of the one of the biggest reasons we
were created is just to praise God to share that loving relationship with him
it's one of the things it's like other than you know leading someone to
salvation which is mostly God's doing it's one of the most like important
things compared to raising children compared to just fellow shipping it's
God you know he's the most important so why not why isn't pleasing him the most
important thing in our life we're often too focused on our troubles on our day
to day problems and we're not really focused on eternity and our relationship
with the an eternal being all-powerful being who loves us you know it's if we
wanted to really be focused on that I think there's that there's that teaching
in the Bible you know pray without ceasing and sometimes you kind of go
like yeah what does that mean how am I gonna talk to someone all day if I'm
just like most of the time I'm just driving for work and then I get to a
customer and I work on a machine or something but if I'm just starting my
prayer with how holy God is with how amazing he is I could do that all day if
it edifies me brings me joy brings him joy just a win-win there and then on
top of that now that I have that mindset of how amazing God is the rest of my
prayer is just you know it's already in the right mindset it's already put me in
the right position it's definitely put him in the right position of holy holy
above all and you know that that there is one way to just worship God all day
throughout my life in verse 4 and 5 David said the mighty King loves justice
he enacts fairness and he administers righteousness because he is holy you
know these are things that our spirit should long for that are that we should
really be thriving for you know justice fairness righteousness but it's
definitely something that our flesh dreads and tries to get away from you
know we got our secret pleasures our secret sins that we want to hold on to
but you know when you're when you're really feeding your spirit that's
something that you're gonna be focusing on it's all these all these attributes
when our hearts are aligned with God these things will fill us with joy and
just praise you know there's that idea of like when say you hear that Hitler
dies you're like yes that's good he was a terrible man the things he did were
terrible justice was enacted that's something that you know God feels too
when justice is enacted then in verse 8 God forgives Moses and Aaron but he's
also avenging their sinful actions because he is holy our response to God's
holiness should be unending praise but also trembling you know praise knowing
that God's promises will never fail his promises of salvation his second coming
you know promises of unending joy and no sorrow in heaven those are awesome
amazing things but you know we should also be fearful because we got to know
that justice will be enacted on our sins and the sins of our loved ones God you
know God is holy he is just he can't reside with sin we can't have a you know
a true real deep relationship with him if we're holding on to sin you know
before you're saved you're you know everything you do is just filthy rags
but it's it's the Holy Spirit who's transforming us and actually making what
what we do matters so you know on that on that note of comparing ourselves to
God the next speaker will be John and he'll be talking about our depravity in
comparison to God and his holy nature but for now we'll worship we'll worship
God's holy name how we all doing good good sorry gonna mess up your thing here
all right for those of you who don't know me my name is John I am the men's
ministry leader here at Hosanna it's a pleasure to be here tonight and to give
this very depressing message not really well it is it could be very depressing
no I was asked to give the message on sin man's depravity the low fault the
lowly sinful nature now sin has corrupted every single part of nature
every single thing since the fall in Genesis 3 every part of man every part
of woman has been corrupted by sin everything that was created by God has
been corrupted by sin Genesis tells us that because of the fall the ground was
cursed the cursed ground caused and produced thorns and thistles intense
labor pains were to be upon the woman giving birth and the pain would be very
very bad and the Bible does say that we will eat the bread by the sweat of our
brow meaning we're gonna have to work really hard for our food it won't be
easy sin has darkened our minds how so selfishness pride deceit all has entered
our hearts because of sin Jesus said in mark 7 for from within out of people's
hearts come evil thoughts sexual immoralities thefts murders adulteries
greed evil actions deceit self-indulgence envy slander pride and
foolishness all these evil things come from within and defile a person so we
can learn a lot from mark 7 but sin has affected the way that we think of
others sin has affected our our thinking so much to the point that it becomes
pointless because it's a part of it's apart from Christ sin is completely
separated sin is nowhere near Christ we think selfishly about our time we think
selfishly about so much of everything that we have when somebody asks us for
help for any type of thing the first thing we think or the third first thing
we ask ourselves is what do I get out of this now just imagine if Christ did that
every time we would sin we would do something and Christ would say what do I
get out of that that's the selfishness that we have in our hearts because of
the sin now it's not bad to have your own time now it's not bad to have your
own time with your family and all that but it's the selfishness the first
thought that comes to our heart that corrupts our mind and it just continues
to fill our hearts all the sin now some have said that the that the fall into
sin has destroyed our capacity to reason meaning we don't think correctly because
we let sin well sin already entered our heart but we don't think correctly
because sin is what is leading us sin is it's destroying it destroys every single
one of us now sin has set our wills over God's wills what does that mean sin has
caused us to want to set our morality over God's morality we think God well we
say God you know what we know what we're doing here you could sit this one out
that's the sin because we think we're better than God we think we can do
things before God now the world says the Christians shouldn't judge the LGBTQ
community because God says not to judge well that's the world putting its own
will in front of God's because it's so sinful it's filled with sin they're
putting their own standard in front of God now as Christians we do the same
thing when we're sinning we're trying to hide it we're trying to to keep in the
darkness we're trying to make sure nobody finds out the things that we're
doing but as soon as somebody does and they call us out what do we say you
can't judge us only God can judge us but God is a loving God right we're putting
our will in front of God's will that's what sin causes sin causes us to love
the wrong things and to fail to love what is good the corrupt the corruptness
of the sin is what makes us bad now sin has made us unable to fully please God
in his sight meaning we cannot fully please God because we are just full of
sin we are sinners we are dead in our sins it's like Gavin was saying is we're
so full of our sin that no matter what good we do oh well I'm nice to this
person well that is just filthy rags those acts are just like filthy rags we
being born into iniquity and in sin especially from the time when we're
babies the Bible does say that we're in the womb we're evil how many of you guys
have seen a baby steal a piece of candy or steal a toy I've seen it countless
times is it the fact that we taught them to do that or is it the fact that they
were born into sin they naturally would do it without even thinking and that's
the type of thing that we see and as us being older we are held captive by a
love for sin the unfortunate thing is we love sin and we do not seek God because
our sin loves darkness we love the darkness and those who are in flesh
cannot please God so for continuing in our flesh and we continue to do all the
sins that we're doing and we don't try to repent and turn it's not pleasing to
God it's just hurting God but because of our sin nature it is impossible to save
ourselves to do so we would need a sovereign grace of God's salvation I'm
not here to teach him on that one I'm here to give the negative message of sin
we do need a Savior with how sinful we are how much sin is filled in our hearts
we need mercy with how dead to our sins we are we are dead to our sins and we
deserve death we deserve all the wrath that God has put before all of us
because we are so lowly sinful people who are selfish prideful evil people we
deserve death the scriptures say for the wages of sin is death and death is
exactly what we will get that is a promise that we will one day face death
well you again you guys might say I'm a good person I love my family I'm a good
neighbor I treat people with respect great we all fall short of the glory of
God because of our sin our righteous acts are like that of filthy rags but
because of our depraved nature we naturally reject Jesus Christ in his
gospel we are foolish sinners who by nature would rather do what we want than
to do what our Creator wants us to do the man we would rather listen to
ourselves than listen to the man that died rose again three days later and was
resurrected we would much rather listen to ourselves some might say I didn't
physically see Jesus raised from the dead therefore I do not believe you're a
fool what does the evidence say what is the evidence point to I wasn't there
when Jesus was healed when he when he healed the sick when he raised the dead
cool it's foolishness what does the evidence say the evidence says that
we're all sinners and we deserve death this man died for our sins there is a
way that seems right to a man but its end is the way to death if we continue
in the way of the sinful flesh it will lead to death and separation of God if
we do not want to choose God God will let us willingly choose the other way
God will not go against us God has given us free will to do what we want and
unfortunately a lot have chosen to reject Christ and to live in their sins
we just would much rather our personal self over Christ now the total the
totally depraved man is shown in Romans chapter 3 there's six ways that we can
see the depraved lowly sinful man the first one is no one is without sin every
single one of us has sin no one can escape sin number two is no one seeks
after God number three there is no one who is good no not one number four the
sinful man's speech is corrupted by sin everything that we say and everything
that we do is all corrupted by sin the sinful man's actions are corrupted by sin
everything we do physically is all corrupted by sin and the sinful man has
no fear of God the only way we can be forgiven is by mercy by grace and by
salvation through one man Revelation 21 8 says but the cowards faithless
detestable murderers sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their
share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second
death as sinners we deserve all of that we deserve to be put in the lake of fire
our hearts are so evil so corrupt we do not fear God naturally what does that
mean we have every action that we do we do not fear God we don't think of what
God would want us to do we just do it therefore we don't we don't fear God we
have gotten so far into our sin we don't even have the fear of God in our hearts
now if you guys are wondering what the fear of God is the fear of God is an
Old Testament expression for respect and reverence for God and is the beginning
of all knowledge but since we are so sinful and full of sin we do not even
fear God we produce deceit damage and destruction as sinners we love darkness
rather than light because our works are evil now I'm sure we all know who Joseph
Stalin is I'm sure you guys have heard this story a billion times when Joseph
Stalin was on his deathbed it was said that he he was he just sat up raised his
fist to the heavens and just lay back down he was doing that to curse God now
Stalin was very evil he had a five-year plan called the godless five-year plan
now that plan was supposed to do away with religion and put in all the
atheistic science now Joseph Stalin did not fear God just because Joseph
Stalin did not fear God does not mean that he will escape the consequences of
his sins because the one who sows to his flesh will heap destruction from the
flesh those who practice sin are slaves to sin we are all sinners cannot save
ourselves we cannot save ourselves through our own will we need someone
greater someone holier someone who has mercy for all of us our hearts are the
root of the problem of sin because we are so sinful in nature we deserve death
we deserve punishment we see the effects of sin every single day all of nature we
see the effects of sin in our when we see sickness when we see somebody going
through sicknesses that's an effect of sin when somebody's dying slowly dying
of any type of disease sickness cancer that's the effect of sin now it doesn't
mean that it's oh well it's okay because God's gonna deal with it no it's still
painful to see but the fact that we are all sinners and we need a Savior but I
won't give you guys that message I won't ruin it because we have Cedric doing it
but I just want to pray out and then we'll go ahead and continue worship
Lord I just thank you so much for this time Lord I just pray that you just open
our hearts and open our minds Lord any sin that is causing us to just turn away
from you Lord I just pray that we just break from that and just follow you Lord
I just pray that we fall at your feet every single day worshiping you without
even thinking without even doing anything I pray that we wake up and just
praise you Lord I pray that we just continue to repent from our sins that
we're doing Lord fill us with your spirit and continue to bless us Lord and
show us that our heart is so evil that we need a Savior and show those who
don't even know you Lord that they are sinners too that they also need a Savior
there's nothing they can do that can save them father please please bless
those who are giving the gospel to those and just to continue to point that there
are sinners who need to be saved and we do have a Savior Lord thank you so much
in Jesus precious name we pray amen good evening church so my name is Cedric
Evans and if you don't know who I am I lead the young adults ministry here at
Hosanna yeah yeah if you are 18 and between the ages of 18 and 29 I have a
great place for you to join so my message that I have been blessed to share
is gonna be a little bit more uplifting than John's but we're thankful for his
message so it's talking about God's mercy and when we talk about God's mercy
it's more than just one person saying to another person you know what you did
this wrong I forgive you water under the bridge let's move on it's so much more
than that because in the Christian faith when we talk about mercy what we're
actually talking about is the gift of God's undeserved kindness and
compassion as in to say there is nothing that we in ourselves have done that
warrants God giving us the compassion or kindness that is owed to us as in
there's nothing that we can point to and say because of this God you should treat
me in this way but rather God is saying I'm going to treat you in this way even
though you don't deserve it God showing us mercy and God showing us
mercy is one of those pivotal areas within Christianity I like to say as to
why we are thankful why are we so thankful about Christ why are we so
thankful about salvation and everything else that God has provided for us so
just now we've heard from John we've heard about the message of sin and how
it's more or less just about corrupted every aspect of life every aspect that
God intended to be beautiful and how mankind ourselves we really dropped the
ball on this one we have committed many many sins against God and against his
commandments against his statutes such that as it's been proven and shown in
the scripture we deserve death for it that because we have sinned against God
because of all this we deserve a punishment yet God comes in to say I
know what you've done I know what has been done but I don't want that for you
I don't want you to experience the judgment that is coming I don't want you
to have to go through any of that first Timothy chapter 2 verses 1 through 4
says first of all then I urge that petitions prayers intercessions and
thanksgivings be made for you for kings and all those who are in authority so
that they may lead a tranquil and quiet life and all godliness and dignity this
is good and it pleases God our Savior who wants everyone to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of truth this is what's the this is what's on the heart
of God this is what he instead wants for us instead of experience a set of us
experiencing a harsh punishment a punishment that is well deserved he
says instead of destroying man I want to save man instead of condemning you I
want to save you and bring you to me he wants to save us and bring us to him
Hebrews chapter 2 verse 17 through 18 therefore he had to be like his brothers
and sisters in every way so that he could become a merciful and faithful
high priest in matters pertaining to God to make atonement for the sins of the
people for since he himself has suffered when he was tempted he is able to help
those who are tempted this is how see many times we forget you know God he
he's holy he's he's all of this and there have been many people across the
world who question you know how can it be possible that God would just you know
get get rid of sin or get rid of the punishment for sin and so on and when
you study the scriptures you learn it's all been done in Christ it's all been
done in God saying there's no way you could ever pay for sin and at the same
time experience a perfect and holy union that I want with you there's no way you
can do it not in your own strength not in anything that you can do it's been
stated many times tonight our works are like filthy rags yeah at times we've
done good at times we've you know been a nice person and all that many other
times we can all testify even myself that we've dropped the ball we've been
less than kind and less than supportive and we've outright just sinned against
God ultimately all all sin is ultimately against God and so because of that God
says I'm gonna go in your stead I'm gonna come down from heaven I'm going to
take on flesh I'm going to go before all of it before the wrath that is coming
I'm going to take it so that you don't have to so that we don't have to there's
more to it than God just saying you know okay you feel bad that's cool water
under the bridge if God did that that's what we would call sweeping it under the
rug and that's not holy that's not just in accordance to God's nature because of
that God said he would help us and he will make a way for us he would come and
be our atonement and why he would do so Ephesians chapter 2 verses 4 through 5
but God who is rich in mercy because of his great love that he had for us made
us alive with Christ even though we were dead and trespasses you are saved by
grace the ultimate answer is love love is the reason that God did all of it and
when we talk about God's mercy is one of those subjects where if you're going to
talk about one you have to understand the why of it you have to understand how
mercy God's mercy is so beautifully intertwined with God's love it'd be as
if I said hey make sure you go out and buy napkins and you don't know why the
why is I spill something on the table and I need naps and to clean it up and
this is where it is with God God has given us his mercy he's shown us this
amazing compassion and the why is because of the love that he asked for us
God said I will lay down my life for all mankind no one's going to take it Jesus
himself said that he doesn't he's not having his life taken no one's forcing
him to do it but rather Jesus God said I'm going to give my life for you and
this is one of those moments even in the Bible where you realize wow there's a
lot of love that God has in his heart for for us all I got into a discussion
with a friend a while back and one of the things that he said is that why was
why did it all happen why did you know the the the gardens happen why did the
sin happen all that so why do you allow it to happen just so that he could die
on the cross for us one of the things I said to that was you wouldn't truly know
to what extent God loves you if it didn't happen and I truly believe that
with all my heart I believe that if the cross didn't happen we wouldn't truly
truly have an understanding a full understanding of just to what extent
God would go to for us from Ephesians chapter 2 verse 4 the Greek word there
for rich is plusioy and it means abounding in wealth and I find it
really interesting that this is the word that is connected to mercy if he's in
chapter 2 verse 4 but God who is rich in mercy because of his great love that he
had for us plusioy is connected to the word mercy as in to say God's mercy for
us is exceedingly great than what we may be aware of it's more than enough for
all mankind and it's made possible through what Christ did on the cross
when I think about the cross I think about this beautiful picture I mean well
not even a picture it is what happened I think about how it's a moment where we
see the perfect love of God but we also see the righteous wrath of God in one
moment the wrath that came to punish sin but also the love that said I'm going to
take it so that they don't have to I'm going to take it so that mankind doesn't
have to and as a result of all that as a result of all that he did we get to
experience the mercy we get to experience that undeserved kindness that
undeserved compassion
honestly it's one of those moments that I was thinking about earlier I'm like man
praise God for it if praise God that we are not asked to do anything for
salvation we're not asked to do anything to experience that mercy to experience
that undeserved compassion that undeserved kindness that undeserved love
that all he's just saying is look a work has already been finished a work has
already been done now now is the time for mercy now is the time for mercy if
you so choose it's on us to just accept the mercy that God has laid out for us
the groundwork is already laid out it's done it's finished but God says now walk
in the mercy that I have blessed you with mercy is one of those things that
the more you ponder on it the more you can really go crazy thinking wow God
even while I was still a sinner you wanted to give me mercy even while I was
cursing you you wanted to give me mercy even while I was described in the Bible
as being your enemy you had a plan to make sure that I can enjoy your mercy
it's for that that is for that reason that we're all here tonight for that
reason that we're all here to worship that we're all here to say thank you
Lord thank you for your gift of mercy I know I have sinned I'm sorry but I thank
you for Christ I thank you for this compassion that I don't deserve this
infinite love that I didn't ask for but I so desperately need and so desperately
crave in my life thank you for just laying that on me and letting that be
more and exceedingly great than all that I am and all that I can do thank you
that's the reason we're all here tonight the reason we're here to say Lord thank
you for the mercy and with that we we praise him and we worship him so let's
worship the Lord evening church so I am pastor Rick if you don't know who I am
and I have the pleasure of speaking with you guys about God's grace and
salvation I have honestly the best job out of all of these unfortunately John
got the worst but I just want to recap what we've seen so far we have seen
God's holiness his character the thing that he is which is beyond our
understanding we've seen the depravity of man sinful wicked deserving of
instant death the thing that we don't realize that we don't we don't deserve
second chances we don't deserve another day but why do we why do we get that
what Cedric just shared God's mercy all coming from his love his mercy and not
immediately destroying Adam and Eve the moment that they sinned not starting
over and anew no we not only have a holy God but we have a loving God and I get
to share with you what he did from his love how he gives a salvation so
starting in John 3 16 and 17 it says this for God loved the world in this way
he gave his one and only son so that everyone who believes in him will not
perish but have eternal life for God did not send his son into the world to
condemn the world but to save the world through him here's the truth God offers
us salvation through Jesus Christ God's grace upon us stems and comes from his
love for us the whole reason he's merciful on us the whole reason he does
everything for us and gave us Jesus the whole reason he came down was because he
loved us not wanting anyone to go to hell he came and bore our sins on the
cross 1st Peter 2 24 says he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree
so that having died to sins we might live for righteousness by his wounds you
have been healed think of this God our Creator holy beyond understanding lowered
himself to his own creation to become his own creation nothing is compared to
who God is nothing's comparable we can't understand him and yet he lowered
himself Philippians 2 6 through 8 says who existing in the form of God did not
consider equality with God as something to be exploited instead he emptied
himself as assuming the form of a servant taking on the likeness of
humanity and we had when he had come as a man he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death even to death on a cross he is God unable to be
fully understood by our small little brains and he who is so holy and
glorious Moses couldn't even look at his face but had to see his afterglow see
his backside as God passed by and that still made him shine bright to the rest
of the people he that God the only God lowered himself to his creation served
us and died for us and then defeated death three days later and from this
from beating death from fulfilling the law Jesus then imputes or gives and
covers us with his righteousness no longer stuck in the depravity of
mankind that we are in sin but given the righteousness of God which fulfills the
law 2nd Corinthians 521 says he made the one who did not know sin to be sin for
us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God as followers of
Jesus God doesn't see our sin anymore he sees Jesus's righteousness now yes we
fail and we repent but we are covered we are imputed we are given Jesus's
righteousness we gain salvation we gain freedom from the law Roman 614 says for
sin will not rule over you because you are not under the law but under grace
salvation the beautiful thing I would say thank God for this but salvation is
so much more than just not going to hell that's the common thing Oh salvation so
I just don't go to hell no salvation is so much more we are in
dwelled with the Holy Spirit God's Holy Spirit the third person of the Trinity
comes and lives within us he's our assurance our down payment towards our
salvation until the new heaven the new earth our perfected bodies and honestly
those that aren't tamed with sin to come that he's that it Ephesians 1 13 through
14 says in him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard
the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and when when you believed the
Holy Spirit is the down payment of your inheritance until the redemption of the
possession to the praise of his glory we are filled with God the promise and the
assurance down payment on what is to come and not only that the Holy Spirit
was promised promised by Jesus to do what John 14 26 be our helper but the
counselor the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name will teach
you all things and remind you of everything I have told you he comes to
guide us in our lives we aren't just left with salvation but God comes and
guides us and shows us how to live reminding us of Jesus's words God's
words reminding us how to live righteously oh man so many things to be
thankful for we also become members of God's family first John 3 1 through 2
says this see what great love the father has given us that we should be called
God's children and we are the reason the world does not know us is that it didn't
know him dear friends we are God's children now and what we will be has not
yet been revealed we know that when he appears we will appear like him because
he will because we will see him as he is we are no longer enemies of God but
instead we are family we are in God's family adopted and he is our father this
is part of that salvation thank God and the beautiful thing we get perfected
bodies the next thing to come right filled with the Holy Spirit as a
downpain with the next thing to come perfected bodies that are no longer
tainted with sin that we still struggle with today but instead in these
perfected bodies we will be living with God Philippians 321 for more
confirmation on this says he will transform the body of our humble
condition into the likeness of his glorious body by the power that enables
him to subject everything to himself we even have each other as family members
not only are we in God's family and we will gain a new body that no longer
desire sin and is perfect and lives forever and you don't have to worry
about those achy bones and problematic like cancer and other diseases but
instead we are part of the family of God which means we are each other's family
as humans we desire relationship and friendship and that's what we have
together 1st John 1 7 says if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light
we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us
from all sin we have fellowship with one another as Christians we are connected
to each other through Jesus we belong to a loving family not a dysfunctional one
but a perfect and loving one a beautiful saying that I've know most of us have
heard where blood is thicker than water that's actually a shortened version of
the original and is incorrect because it makes you think that family is more
important than friends but here's the truth the full saying means the exact
opposite the blood of the Covenant is thicker than the water of the womb think
about that the blood of Jesus Christ the blood of that covenant and the covenants
we make with others the one that we enter into and as a family are in
covenant with Jesus that blood is more important so your family members sitting
here are more important than your unbelieving family members they are
closer and the ones that we should be closer with and we gain this through
Jesus we choose Jesus that means we also choose to be a part of the family of God
another thing is we gain hope a hope for future of heaven with God in a perfect
place with no sin 1st Peter 1 chapter 1 verse 3 says blessed be the God and
father of our Lord Jesus Christ because of his great mercy he has given us new
birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the dead
we don't have to worry about death we don't have to worry about the fear of
what happens next we get to proclaim first Corinthians 1555 which says where
death is your victory where death is your sting we don't have to worry anymore
why because we have eternity with God to look forward to Revelation 21 1 through
5 says this then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away and the sea was no more I also saw the holy city
the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared like a bride
adorned for her husband then I heard a loud voice from the throne look God's
dwelling is with humanity and he will live with them they will be his people
and God himself will be with them and will be their God he will wipe away
every tear from their eyes death will be no more grief crying and pain will be no
more because the previous things have passed away then the one seated on the
throne said look I am making everything new he also said right because these
words are faithful and true heaven where there's no more pain no more sorrow just
fullness of joy praising and worshipping our God and creator who is holy God's
grace his salvation is so amazing and everything we should be thankful for
there is so much more than just not going to hell there is so much more than
I've even covered that comes from God's grace and salvation there is so much
more to be thankful for with that if you're here tonight and you don't know
Jesus but you want to you've heard how holy God is you understand as humans
where we are stuck in our sin in depravity but then you've heard of God's
mercy his grace and his salvation and you want to enter into his family and
you believe him and you believe these I have two verses for you Romans 10 9
through 10 if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved one believes with the
heart resulting in righteousness and one confesses with the mouth resulting in
salvation and I want to give you that chance to confess that you believe in
Jesus so with everyone please close your eyes and if you want to give your life
to Jesus you want to confess that you believe God and he is who he says he is
please feel free to raise your hand and for any of those that are online saying
yes and confessing please follow after me in prayer Lord thank you so much
thank you for not destroying me Lord I am a wretched sinner who's not
deserved of heaven not deserved of you is just is wrong but Lord you are holy
and good and you are also loving Lord you are God and I believe you are who
you say you are I put my trust and faith in the work that you did on that cross
Lord come into my life guide me fill me with your Holy Spirit Lord I trust and
believe you in Jesus name we pray amen and with that for anyone who has joined
the family of God welcome we love you so we'll go ahead and pray and just praise
God and thank him with another worship song Lord we as the family of God love
you so much and thank you for all that you've done for us Lord for those that
have come to know you tonight and all around the world Lord I pray that they
are blessed and that other Christians would come along and lift them up and
edify them and disciple them and point you towards you Lord in Jesus name we
pray amen are you thankful for the Lord amen we're gonna close tonight with
communion because after looking at the infinite holiness of God that is just
beyond our comprehension contrasted with the depravity that we that we have
within us a depravity of man which led to God's mercy not giving us what we did
deserve which was death a final punishment but instead giving us grace
giving us what we definitely didn't deserve and that is salvation through
his son and that salvation was affected to us through his death on the cross as
Jesus God in the flesh came to pay the price for every sin you've ever
committed every sin you did today and every sin you will ever do for the rest
of your life and it's because of that great love we get to go to heaven we get
to know we're saved and we get to live as God's people today and one of the
things the Bible has told us to do is when we gathered together to remember
him in communion in communion we share of the bread and the juice and the bread
represents the body of Christ that was broken the bread we use in communion is
an unleavened bread because biblically leaven is a is a symbol of sin because
what does leaven do to bread puffs it up and so we have bread cracker if you will
just it's it's it's without that leaven in it it's not puffed up because it
represents the body of Christ that was without sin of any kind who was perfect
and holy forever and always and yet he was the one that took the full wrath of
God for us as his body was brutalized on the cross and then as we partake of the
juice in communion that's his blood represents his blood being shed for us
that not only did we not go to hell as was shared but then we get all of these
blessings that come from the blood of Christ as he said to his disciples in
ID Institute at communion this is the blood of the new covenant not the old
one that was just a temporary covering a sweeping under the rug but the blood of
the new covenant washed us clean permanently and forever and that is a
wonderful thing to remember it is a wonderful thing to be thankful for so if
the men of the communion board will come forward right now we're gonna get ready
to to pass out communion to those of you that are here I will ask that as we come
through with the bread first and then the juice that you would hold on to
both emblems until we're done serving everybody and then I'm gonna come up and
we will pray and partake together and during the time of us passing out
communion right now we are gonna be worshiping and so please as we've done
this whole night stay in the attitude of worship and praise and thanksgiving to
God Lord we're so grateful for you God has been shared tonight so much Lord
there is so much to be thankful for especially when we look at who we are
compared to your holiness and God yet you you chose to die for us you chose to
come in and be the atonement to die on that cross Lord and the greatest act of
love that was ever shared simultaneously the greatest expression of God's wrath
and how you feel about sin and yet Lord you took it so that we wouldn't have to
and so Lord on the eve of our national celebration of thanksgiving God we're
thankful for our country and the pilgrims and all the food but God what
we're most thankful for is your death for our sin your resurrection that
defeated the power of sin and death and the opportunity that if we would just
put our faith in you to believe in who you are we would be forgiven and we
would be saved forever thank you so much it's in Jesus name
amen father God we are so grateful to you we're so grateful God that you went
to the cross that you gave your body to be brutalized in our place Lord were
you quite literally took the death penalty that was due to us upon yourself
Lord as the word says you were beaten and you were mocked and the crown of
thorns that was was thrust upon your head Lord that you were scourged whipped
Lord that you were forced to carry your own cross all the way to Golgotha where
you were then nailed to that cross Lord such an incredibly painful trial but
Lord sin deserved nothing less and yet God you were without sin you took that
punishment in our place Lord you gave your body in our place and God we are
eternally eternally grateful eternally thankful because God there was no way
we could have paid for ourselves we're too but too depraved Lord so God we
remember that your body was given for us that you willingly laid
down your life to be the sacrifice to pay the price of our sin Lord we love
you and we thank you for all of it it's in Jesus name let's partake together
Lord as was said you didn't just die on the cross to take what we deserve but
Lord your blood was shed establishing a brand new covenant God pure blood
without sin perfect blood was shed Lord that Lord we would be cleansed by the
blood our sin would be washed away permanently that Lord when you would
look at us through the death of your son Jesus Christ you would see us spotless
without blemish you would see us as sinless perfect people as your son was
and Lord we know that that's a future promise when we go to heaven Lord and
we have our new bodies and Lord will be in that perfect paradise but today here
Lord we all know we still struggle with sin and yet Lord because of your great
love through our faith in Jesus Christ you look upon us today as your children
as your spotless children and God it's because of what you did on the cross so
we remember Lord your shed blood that paid the price that washed us clean and
made possible Lord the restored relationship between us your creation
you our Creator God may we be thankful for everything but most thankful for
that Lord we love you and yes again we thank you it's in Jesus name we pray
let's partake together well God bless all of you we're
entering into this season where it's simultaneously great celebration but
also great difficulty for some people and so I would encourage all of us as we go
forward remembering God getting ready to celebrate his birth and all that don't
forget the people around you that might be hurting during this season don't
forget the people around you that might think they don't have a lot to be
thankful for love them share with them the hope that is in Jesus Christ be
thankful people and then by example show others that they too can experience a
hope that is beyond all understanding and that in that they could find
thankful thankfulness and joy and peace and all of that as well so we're gonna
close in in one more song I believe and again praise God for he is holy praise
God for his mercy and his grace praise God for our salvation amen God bless you
guys