← ArchiveSunday, July 29, 2018DateJuly 29, 2018Speaker—TextLukePassages in this sermonPhilippians 41:11Luke 29:22Luke 1513:25Luke 2216:00Colossians 116:482 Corinthians 617:04Psalms 4217:42TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00I thank my God every time I remember you, to live as Christ and to die as Gain. He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. My name is Josh, lead pastor here at Bethel.0:30If I have not met you yet, there's time at the end of the service. Today's message is a continuation of our journey through Philippians. It's a book in the New Testament, halfway through the New Testament in your scripture. So if you have your Bibles with you, I encourage you, I challenge you, I mandate that you join me in the word of God. I want to confess, I don't have any words of wisdom for you that will change your life.0:58But we have the word of God. And the word of God transforms, not the word of man. So Philippians chapter 4 this morning. What would you do if you could only had one message to encourage someone? If you only had one text, one phone call, or one letter that you could write? And you knew that this message would stay with someone for the rest of their life.1:28They would hang on to this. It would challenge them and it would encourage them in their time of need. How long would it take you to reflect, to edit, to erase, to rewrite? How much time and effort would you put into that message, that text, that tweet? Now, what if you were in jail or you knew that this might be the last communication you had with this person, this group that you loved so much?1:53How much of your heart would you pour out into this letter? This is exactly the scenario that we encounter this morning. Paul, the Apostle Paul, in jail, writing to a group of people that he loves dearly, knowing that he might not hear from them or be heard from again. Writing and saying, let me encourage you to remain firm in your faith.2:23I really get the feeling that Paul's trying to draw a picture for the church. He's saying, look, this is how you stand firm in your faith. Even if I face death, even if I die, this is how you remain firm. And he's almost drawing for them, if you will, a table or a ladder or a stool to stand on. Because if you were here last week, he said, forget what is behind that we press on, we pursue, we reach out for the goal of the upward call in Christ Jesus.2:50So you can almost picture the church striving through faith, by faith, for righteousness. And Paul is now saying, as you strive, as you reach up, these are the four legs that you stand on. So I want to simply give you four things to stand on as you stand firm in your faith this morning.3:13So look with me at Philippians chapter four, beginning in verse four. This is an outflow of what Paul says in verse one. He says, in this manner, stand firm in the Lord. My dear friends, my brothers who I love and long to see again. Verse four, Philippians. Rejoice in the Lord always.3:44I will say it again. Rejoice. Now we're going to come back to this. He says in verse five, let your graciousness, which is not as harsh of a word that King James, New King James translates it, I believe best. Let your gentleness be evident to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything through prayer, petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God.4:10And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence, and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things.4:30Lastly, very simply, do what you have learned and received and heard from me and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.4:54Father, we confess this morning that it is only by, through faith alone in Christ alone, by your grace alone, that we can dwell on things that we can dwell on things that are excellent, things that are true and lovely and praiseworthy.5:16And Lord, we know that if we dwell upon those things, they will always lead us to the cross of Jesus Christ. Lord, where there is darkness here in this place, remove it. Where there are struggles, be the lifter of our heads. Lord, where we are weak, give us strength. Where we rebel, correct us that we would not be hearers only of your eternal truth, but by your spirit, we would be doers.5:44We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. God wants you to stand firm in your faith. God has not saved you to sink or to sulk, but he saved you to stand firm. And we're going to get to how he saves us. But Paul gives us four legs to stand on, to stand firm in our faith.6:09And if we're honest, these are the first two we would not even, if we were making a top ten list, we would not even include. Look what he says here in verse four. Out of the immense knowledge and the pool of resources that Paul has, he's telling the church, I'm about to die for my faith. Don't worry. Stand firm. This is how you stand firm. Verse four. Rejoice.6:40Rejoice. Celebrate. Now, if you were making a top ten list of letting someone know this is how you remain firm in Jesus Christ, this is more than likely not on your top ten list. So why would Paul tell us not to forget to celebrate? Because he knows you and I are going to forget to celebrate. Some of your translations say rejoice in the Lord.7:09Again, I say rejoice. Some of your translations say celebrate. Some of your translations, you might have just brought your Greek New Testament today. And it says Cairo or Kairis, which is, it means to celebrate, to be graciously celebratory. You know why Paul wants us to celebrate? I have to believe deep down he's writing to either First Baptist Church, Philippi, or First Press. He knows that this is an established church.7:37And the more established we are in our faith, we tend to forget to celebrate what God has put in our lives. So Paul reminds us, look, wake up. Celebrate publicly. The Philippians would have understood this to mean a public declaration and a public celebration of the grace of God in their life. So if you think that God's just allowing you to, if you think right now, well, I'm celebrating in my heart, you don't see it. But there are many celebrations going on right here.8:07That's not what Paul's saying. He's saying that the celebration, the joy of the Lord, it comes out of us. And if it's not coming out of you, it's probably not in you. It's okay to celebrate the things of the Lord. I would even say it this way. We should celebrate and rejoice more than the world because we have more to celebrate than anyone else. We have not less. You have, if you know Christ, you have more to celebrate than the rest of the world combined.8:36Think about that. We need to teach the world how to celebrate. They need to walk up to us and say, you guys, stop it. Stop celebrating. Things are going bad for you. You're suffering. You're struggling. What is this rejoicing about? And we would say, man, if you just knew Jesus, you would understand that you are whole and you are complete and you have everything you need.9:02Rejoice, church. Again. I'll say it. Paul says, rejoice. Why? Why should we celebrate? Do you remember what the angels said when they announced the birth of Christ in Luke chapter 2? They come down and they're singing, I guess. I don't know what they're doing.9:31Probably we just, we assume they're singing and they say this. Don't be afraid. For look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy. Not minuscule joy. Not some happiness when you feel like it. But great joy. When Christ enters the world, joy enters the world. When Christ enters your life, joy enters your life.10:02It's okay to celebrate. I'm going to say it this way. It's not just okay to celebrate. You should be celebrating. Because God celebrates. Don't forget to celebrate because you have reason to celebrate. You know, there's something powerful when people get together and celebrate something. I remember in 2004, I spent time in Peru journeying and living like a hobo, really. They would give us a map and they would say, you go to this city.10:32We don't know anything about it. So we would, we would take the train. And when it was stopped, we would take the bus. When it was stopped, we took the taxi. When it was stopped, we would jump on the, like the livestock truck. And when it was stopped, we would walk. And not knowing where we were going. And by God's grace, he always provided. But one of the destinations was Cusco in lower central Peru. And the year before, their local club, Cienciano, had won the Copa Sudamericana, which is, I don't, the BCS national championship.10:57How about that? I'm trying to put it in Southern terms. Okay. And so every time that they would have a game that next year, they would have this huge inflatable movie screen. And the whole town of several hundred thousand would come out to watch the games. And it was fantastic. And it was, you would get caught up in the emotion.11:26So this is what we see by celebration. One, the more you celebrate together, the more you celebrate together. Does that make sense? So when you celebrate what God is doing in your life, the more I hear that, the more I want to celebrate. And the more I celebrate what God is doing in my life, the more you celebrate. So it is for the edification of the saints that we are called to celebrate. If you are grumpy, that is not from Christ. Your grumpiness grieves the spirit.11:56You say, well, I don't like that. That's the point. Right? That's not me calling you out. I don't, I can't see your face from here. That's the Holy Spirit working in your life. Celebrate. Rejoice. We have much to rejoice about. And when we celebrate, it pulls people, not only celebratory, but it pulls us together as one. I felt like I was Peruvian. I'm jumping around like, yay, ole, ole. And they're looking at me like, gringo, stop.12:26I have my, I still have my Peruvian national jersey today, 15 years later, whatever it is. But there's something about celebrating that brings people together. That's a picture of the church that we are drawing. And even this morning, as I'm talking to people, as they're walking the halls, hearing about what Christ is doing, asking a gentleman here, I say, hey, how's your granddaughter? She has cancer. He says, wait, no, she doesn't. I said, no, you don't understand.12:56She had cancer. He says, you don't understand. She doesn't. I'm like, Lord, that's awesome. And hearing stories, this morning, hearing stories of you celebrating and boasting in Christ. But this is what we know about celebration. It brings people together around the thing that you're celebrating. So when we rejoice, when we celebrate, we must now celebrate that which God celebrates. And you say, well, does God celebrate? By all means. What does God celebrate? Look at Luke 15.13:25You can listen. You remember the parable of Jesus saying there's a hundred sheep. One sheep runs away, falls away, did something, and he's lost. This is the conclusion to that. When the shepherd has found the one lost sheep, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders. And coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors, saying to them, rejoice. Have you heard that before?13:54Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep. I want you to listen to this very clearly. If you are a Christ follower, if you have put your faith in Christ alone by grace alone, not of your works, nothing you do, it's everything that Christ has done, I want you to know that God rejoiced when you came to faith. Think about that. The fact that we could bring joy to the creator, we can.14:22And maybe you're here today and you are on the other side. You are walking in darkness right now and you don't understand it. I want you to know very clearly, the Bible says about your sinful condition, you're not hurting, you're not sick, you're dead. Our sin kills our relationship with God. It doesn't hurt it. It doesn't damage it. It is severed. And Christ is pursuing you this morning. And I believe God has the balloons ready to celebrate if you put your faith in the creator, in his son this morning.14:52We need to celebrate what God celebrates. And he rejoiced the day that you put your faith in Christ. And we should rejoice when someone else follows Jesus. Church, celebrate. Now, some of you are thinking this, well, I don't feel like celebrating.15:19Pastor, if you knew what was going on in my life, you wouldn't be so happy. You're young and foolish. Well, don't forget that we should celebrate what God celebrates. Secondly, don't forget that we celebrate even when we don't feel like it. We don't feel like it. Yeah, we live in a very feely world today.15:47And I'm not going to get grumpy. I told us we shouldn't, so I'm going to skip that. We're going to redirect here. Luke 22 says this, Jesus, when he took the cup and after giving thanks, Eucharisto, the same word Paul uses here to rejoice.16:00Jesus took the cup and giving, rejoicing, celebrating over that cup. He said this, take this and share it among yourselves. What was that cup?16:30It was the cup of suffering. Jesus takes the cup of suffering and he rejoices. I have to believe that Jesus didn't feel like rejoicing in that moment. Paul, Colossians 1 says this, I rejoice as I suffer for you. He what? I rejoice, I celebrate in Christ. I rejoice through the spirit as I suffer from you.17:002 Corinthians 6, he says, Although I am saddened, we are always rejoicing. Listen, this is vital for our faith. There will be days and even moments, maybe today is that day, that you don't feel like rejoicing in Christ. And you know what happens on those days? Those are the days that your mind has to tell your heart that it has fixed his eyes upon Jesus.17:26And because I have fixed my eyes upon Jesus, I will rejoice. I believe this is what the psalmist is saying in Psalm 42. The psalmist says, Why, my soul, are you dejected? It's almost like his mind is speaking to his heart. Why, my soul, are you dejected? And why are you in so much turmoil?17:56Now listen to this. Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God. It's almost as if the heart doesn't feel like rejoicing and the soul is saying, Why are you downcast? Put your hope in God, yet I will rejoice. Christian, the joy of the Lord is a mark of faith in your life18:24because it does not depend upon your circumstances. And it does not depend on how you feel. I love the fact that God's truth is greater than my feelings. You know what I find out about my heart often? Is my feelings are broken. Many times. And we need our mind to tell our heart, Why are you downcast?18:53Rejoice in the Lord, my Savior and my God. Want to stand firm in your faith? Don't forget to rejoice. Don't forget to rejoice. And if you're rejoicing and you're celebrating in Christ, freak someone out, that's okay. Maybe they need that wake up. Maybe the more you rejoice, the more they rejoice. And the more they rejoice, the more I rejoice. And the more we rejoice, the greater the gates of hell shake. Stand firm in your faith.19:24Look what he says secondly. Not only are we to celebrate publicly and vocally, but let your graciousness be known to everyone. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. I think the better translation here is gentleness. Now isn't that odd? Paul is, this is the last communication he might have to the church of Philippi. And he's telling them, first, don't forget to celebrate. I mean, he could have said, don't Sunday school, church attendance, prayer, reading your Bible, next steps.19:51There's lots of things he could have said, but rejoice and be gentle. Be gracious. What is, what is gentleness? One commentator, Hanson, defined it this way. Gentleness means not insisting on every right letter of law or custom, but having a yielding, gentle, kind, courteous, and tolerant spirit.20:19In essence, what Paul was saying is, if someone bumps into you, they jump back and say, ah, you're gentle. You're gracious. And if we're honest, that's probably not what people think of us. This is just a, if I'm, if I'm truly honest, this is an odd, an odd foundation of faith Paul is giving. Look what he says. Even as the Lord is near.20:49He doesn't say make your bunker. He doesn't say the apocalypse is coming and you need a year's worth of food. He says, the Lord, the time is near. So what? Be incredibly gracious. Be incredibly gentle. Why? Why does Paul want us to stand firm in faith and be gentle? Because our heavenly father is gentle. And the more I model gentleness, the more I am modeling the character and the nature of God.21:17And this is what the world needs to see. Because one of the accusations against God from those that were living in rebellion, us, right? You, me, is that God, you are intolerant. You are evil. How dare you? God, if you love me, this wouldn't happen. You are anything but gracious and gentle.21:45You know what those accusations normally are? Those are thrown and spewed at God because we don't want to admit our sin. Because those that truly know Christ, what happens when you confess your sin? We know that he is gracious and gentle God and he forgives. And the more I draw closer to my father, the more gentle I realize that he is. Because the more sinful I realize that I am.22:15And in that, we need to model gentleness to the world. And I know what you're saying. You're saying, but they don't deserve gentleness. I'm glad you think that. Because this word is most often used as an attitude of kindness where the normal or expected response was retaliation. What Paul is saying here in verse 5, if you look, he's saying, let your graciousness, let your gentleness be known.22:41When it's not expected, when you should retaliate, when they curse you and you should curse them back, let your gentleness shine through. What he's saying is when the world examines you, they come back saying, man, Josh is gentle. We don't deserve it. But he's kind and he's gracious.23:10And why is that important? Because that's what mercy is. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. And gentleness is saying to someone else, you do not deserve this and I don't want to do it. But the Lord has radically saved me and I have committed my life to follow him and model righteousness. So I will be gentle. That's difficult. You want to stand firm in your faith? Celebrate God's grace in your life.23:39You want to stand firm in your faith? Be gentle to others because God is gentle and gracious to you. And third, look what Paul says here. Now we're going to get into some more likely spiritual, righteous, religious answers. He says in verse 6, It's a very easy thing, right? Don't worry about anything. Anyone worry about anything this week? Okay, we have some honest answers.24:08Some of you should be worrying that you're not honest right now. But don't worry because we should give that to the Lord. Isn't it interesting, after celebration and graciousness, that the Bible addresses anxiety? Something that we all struggle with. Now, psychologists will say that this is not only an ancient phenomenon, our worries or our anxiousness. Listen to what you're doing to your kids and your grandkids. Psychologists will say, this is a 2018 study.24:38A recent study shows that adolescents and young adults are five to eight times more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression. Okay, so from what point? You ready for this? More than the Great Depression. More than kids who lived at the height of the Great Depression. You know what kids in the Great Depression were struggling? You know what their worry was? I'm not going to eat. You know what our worries is?25:08I can't figure out the Wi-Fi password. Really. You know, I was camping out in a bush and I still lost on Fortnite. I mean, those are some of the greatest worries. Some of you are worried. We're worried about things that we should have no worries about. I believe that we create false worries in our life. That we're putting agendas and pressures on our kids already at five, six, and seven. Look, you need to do this in baseball. You need to do this in soccer.25:38Or look, you need to get these grades because you need to make this life for yourself. And they are stressed out of their mind. Five to eight more times worse than living in the Great Depression. I'm greatly depressed by that. What are we doing, church? We're not evolving. We're digressing. And Paul addresses this. And here's the good news. You should have a direct spiritual link between our worries and our prayers.26:06You know what that link is? Look at verse six. Don't worry about anything, but in everything, pray. When you worry, you pray. That is our direct link. How are worries and prayers related? When you worry, you pray. That simple. The more we worry, the more we pray. And then we will see an inverse relationship between prayer and worry.26:32Look what he says in verse six. How we remain firm in the faith. Don't worry about anything. Yeah, that's difficult. But in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses, that word means, which is better than anything, will do what? It will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.27:01You see, the inverse relationship, the more you worry, the more you pray, the less you worry. Because prayer is the relief for our worries. So you might say, well, how do, Pastor, how do I know what to pray about? Very simply, if it matters to you, it matters to God. If it shouldn't matter to you and you pray, God will reveal that.27:30So if it shouldn't matter, God will let you know through his spirit. If it matters to you, pray. As you pray, God's spirit will work in your life. If it doesn't matter, you pray, you worry, you pray, and it leads to peace in your life. Paul says, if you pray, you will remain firm. But we struggle with prayer if we're honest, don't we? We struggle with sitting and listening and focusing and saying, Lord, I need to spend time in prayer.27:56We oftentimes, we pray before we eat, we pray before we work. But if we see prayer as God's word sees prayer, that we understand that prayer is our work. So what does this look like in our life? Prayer is not passive resistance against worry. Prayer is an outright assault on worries.28:24Prayer is going Rambo on your worries. Look what Paul said. Look at the language. It doesn't say that if you pray, God will pat you on the back and say it's going to be okay. Look what prayer does in verse 7. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will what? Will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.28:50Request to the Lord lead to peace in our life. And the Philippian church here would have understood peace because in Philippi was a guard, a garrison of Roman troops. Have you ever heard of the Pax Romana, the Roman peace throughout the empire? You know how you have peace? Some people think if we meditate enough, if we sing kumbaya enough, if we get on the peace train, that we'll just fall into peace.29:18That's not what the scripture says. You know how the Romans kept peace? With soldiers, with swords. You know how peace, we find peace in the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are the peace makers, not idlers, the peace makers.29:42So how do we make peace in our life? By prayer. It will guard us. This word for these Roman garrisons is almost as if when we pray, God says, okay, now I'm going to send my garrison of peace to guard your mind, guard your heart, guard your life. Anyone want God to guard them? Yes. Sign me up for that.30:11That's what prayer does. Prayer brings the peace of God in our life. How do we stand firm? We pray. That is an offensive against spiritual warfare, against dark principalities in our life. It's almost as if Paul is drawing out our life as a castle that we have built, and yet God is guarding that in our lives. What good is a beautiful house or a beautiful structure or a kingdom that you've built if there's no protection?30:36Don't you think that God's going to protect his people? Yes. Yes, by all means, pray. If you worry, pray. If you rejoice, pray. If you're grumpy, pray. If you're sad, pray. In all things, pray. And when we do, the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will do what? Will guard.31:05Will guard. You want the protection and the offensive of God in your life? Pray. Pray. Pray. Thirdly. Fourthly. And finally, Paul says this. How can we stand firm? Look at verse 8. He says, finally, brothers and sisters, not only should you celebrate, not only should you be gentle and it be evident to all, not only should you pray and find the protection of God in your life, but simply do what you have learned.31:31Practice what was preached. So what should we proclaim? Brothers and sisters, verse 8, whatever is true. Focus on the whatevers, the hossas in Greek, right? Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. If there is any moral excellence, if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell, consider, think deeply on these things.31:58Do what you have learned and received and heard from me and seen in me. And if you dwell on the righteousness of God, the peace of God will be with you. Anyone drive here today? Anyone, anyone saddled up your horse?32:28And what good is your car without an engine? You might have washed it yesterday, waxed it, new rims, maybe even those spinner rims. But what good is your car without an engine? What good is hearing the word of God without faith and doing? Paul simply says, do it.32:56If you want to be firm in your faith, live out what you have learned. Practice, not practice what you preach, practice what was preached. Practice the word of God. Think about these things. Meditate on them day and night. And I was thinking about an old fable, a legend, about three men and their backs. I want to leave you with this story. I think it sums up very clearly how we should reflect and meditate upon the word of God.33:21First man had two sacks, one tied around the front of his neck and one tied around the rear of his neck. And someone came up to him and said, hey, old man, what are in your sacks? And this is his response. He said, in the sack on my back are the good things that my friends have done. That way they're hidden from view. In the front of the sack are all the bad things that have happened to me.33:50And every now and then I'll open the sack in front and I will look and I'll read and I'll meditate upon those bad things in my life. And this young man, I asked the older gentleman, he said, how's that working for you? And he bowed his head in disgust and said, honestly, I haven't gotten very far in life dwelling on the hurt and the bad that others have caused.34:11So he goes on his way. There's a second man who's old and wise, maybe has a white beard, looks like Rip Van Winkle. And the young man sees him and stops him and says, hey, I passed your friend and he had two sacks. He said, sir, what is in your sack? And the second man said, well, in the front are all the good things that I've done.34:40So I like to see them. And so what I do is I'll pull them out and I'll show them off to people. The sack in the back, I keep all my mistakes in there and carry them all the time. Sure, they're heavy and they slow me down. But, you know, for some reason, I just can't put them away. The first man carried the troubles of the world in front and looked at them often.35:09The second man carried and rejoiced on what he had done, the good things, and showed them off. Maybe you know someone like that. Well, after several hours passed by, a third gentleman comes down the path. And this young boy asked the old man, he said, sir, surely you're different. What's in your sack? And this third man said this.35:37He said, the sack in front is great. He said, in this sack, I keep all the virtues, all the blessings I've experienced, things that are true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and commendable and excellent and praiseworthy. And he says, for some reason, the weight of that sack is not a problem. And he said, that sack is like a sail for ships.36:05It keeps me going forward. And the young boy said, well, sir, what's on the back of the sack? And this old wise gentleman said, well, that's easy, son. He said, there's nothing in it. It's empty. He said, I cut a big hole in the bottom of it. And in that sack, I put all the bad things I could think about myself or hear about others. They go in one end and they come right out the other.36:32So I'm not carrying around any extra weight at all. We need to be like this third man. We need to put our troubles and cares and give them to Christ. And when we do, the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard our hearts. And maybe you're here today and you're carrying the weight and the hurt that others have caused you in that front sack.36:57And you pull them out often. I hear it much in our community. Well, I'm not coming back to church because the church has hurt me. Someone that called themselves a Christ follower. They were anything but gentle. They were spiteful in their words, stung to the very core of who I was. And you pull that out often and you reread it and you put it back. I want you to know that today God's calling you to let go and trust him.37:26Maybe you're here and in the front of your sack, you're carrying all the good things that you think you've done. The times you've given to charity and you've helped and for those that are in need and the times that you serve in church and the list can go on and on and on and on. And you pull those good things out with regularity. And if you get, if you're given the chance, you might even share those with someone. Hey, look what I've done. I want you to know that today's God's asking you to let go of the things that you've done and to hold firm on the glorious truths of Christ.37:58Why is this important? Practice what was preached. Why does God want you to stand firm in your faith? Because there's a day for each and every one of us that you will stand before your creator and give account.38:23What are you going to say on that day? Are you going to say, Lord, you know my struggles. You know the hurt. Lord, look at the sack that I have been keeping for you. Scripture says that because of your sin and my sin. If that is our answer, God is going to say, depart from me because I don't know you.38:51Maybe you will on that day say, God, look at all the good things I have done. Lord, the years I have labored for you. I've cast out demons in your name. Lord, I've spoken truths. I've been dwelling on truth and things that are lovely. Lord, look at what I've done for you, God. The response is going to be, don't you know that no one's good but God? Depart from me for I never knew you.39:22But because of the gospel, we know that we have all sinned and that God, not wanting our relationship with him and your relationship to be permanently severed, sent his son to take your place. To live a perfect life, a life that we should have lived. But by all means, I failed and you failed. The Bible says that all of us have sinned a lot and not come close to the glory of God.39:50And on that day, we're going to stand and say, God, you know, I'm a sinner and I do not deserve your gentleness. I don't deserve to be in your presence. And if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, on that day, Jesus is going to say, but father, I took his place. Because father, I live the perfect life.40:19And I died on the cross for Josh for this day. That when I knew that he could not stand in your presence, I will stand in his place. And if you put your faith in Christ, not only will your sins be forgiven. Listen, every sin you have ever committed, have, are, and will will be forgiven in Christ. But he will give you his righteousness also. And that one day we can stand before our creator and say, God, I don't deserve to be here.40:47But I have put my faith in your son by his grace. So, Lord, I believe. And he will say, because of his son, well done, good and faithful servant. I really believe that God's not, if he says that to me and not by faith, I know he will. He's not going to say it because of me. He's going to say it because of Christ. He's going to say, well done, y'all.41:17Good and faithful servants. And with tears, we're going to say, God, we don't deserve it. And he's going to say, I know you don't. But Josh, I celebrated when you put your faith in my son. Who from the foundations of the world made it possible for you to stand and stand firm. Church, do not forget to celebrate. Do not forget to be gentle like our father is gentle.41:47Do not forget to pray and let the peace of Christ guard your hearts. And very simply practice what the Lord has given us in his word. Let's pray.More sermons on Luke →
