[0:00] Good morning, church. A couple of things before we get going. Forgot my notes.
[0:10] That's the first thing. You would have just been hearing the meanderings of a 56-year-old man about life without those notes on God's Word.
[0:22] A couple of things. Just want to follow up on what Chris said. One of the things that we do with these laptops is we fill them with Bible programs that are readily and cheaply accessible here and send them overseas.
[0:36] We also make sure that these laptops are synced in a way that they can receive videos better. It just gives more opportunity for training because even in poor places, internet is everywhere, right?
[0:51] So it's such a fantastic opportunity to get training tools into the pastors. The other thing that I want to comment on, and I'm going to take a quick drink, is the billeting thing.
[1:09] I know it's kind of an inconvenience to such a way. You're turning your house into an Airbnb, but you are receiving a great spiritual blessing. I can honestly say when I first started out preaching, I'd get billeted.
[1:24] So in case you guys didn't know, I was trained out of Chicago. And from Chicago, they were flying me down to Florida, Louisiana, up in different parts of California.
[1:36] And probably the best blessing was being able to be in these homes and getting to know these different saints from different parts of the world. But the majority of the people that we will be hosting are the churches that are on the island.
[1:51] And a lot of these churches are filled with new believers as their church plants. And I think this would be a great opportunity for us just to welcome them into our home and just to be able to encourage them, to actively encourage them in their faith, just as they're planting a new church.
[2:09] Planting church is hard work. So there's one work that's going on in the Comox area where I expect the majority of the team to come from. But there's still, if you guys remember, Nathan Giesbrecht.
[2:22] He is planting on the West Shore. And you know, it's just a small church. But I know it's a big blessing. And sometimes you have those relationships. Not everyone, but of those people that I've been billeted with, I still email, kind of Facebook, just still keep in touch.
[2:41] And I don't know if you guys know, but even Madeline here went down to Florida for a flight school thing that she did. And I was able to hook her up with one of the guys that I knew down there that I'd still kept in touch with just through the blessing of billeting, right?
[3:00] So God use it. So I just would like to encourage you to maybe just pray as husband and wife and just say what a blessing it would be to open your hearts. I think if you talk to the Wynn Stanleys, I know Dustin and Jody do it quite a lot.
[3:13] And I know Josh does. There's a blessing in there. There's just an opportunity. And I want you to have that opportunity and to have that blessing. So this morning we are on a four-part quick little sermon series.
[3:32] And it's kind of on what does the Christian life look like when it first begins? And if you remember, the first sermon was the idea of the new birth.
[3:43] That when we become saved, that Jesus Christ just doesn't renovate our life. He transforms our life.
[3:53] He takes what was old and it now becomes new. Horatius Bonar, who I've taken the sermon, the topics that he deals with in his book as he looks at the Christian life, that's why I've kind of modeled this sermon series.
[4:12] He writes that this new life in Jesus is something deeper and truer than our old life. This new life, it changes our affinities.
[4:26] So much so that our affinities are with God, are with the things above, and its sympathies are divine. It sides with God in everything.
[4:39] The second part of the sermon, in case you guys didn't know, our sermons are put on Apple Podcasts. So if you're ever wanting to catch up, if you've got an iPhone, Apple's got it, you just punch in Squamish Baptist Church, and there we are for the whole world to see.
[4:55] And all the world to be able to hear the sermons. But you're able to hear these sermons. But that second sermon is, what happens at salvation? Jesus died for us.
[5:06] The Holy Spirit indwells and gives us this faith to believe in him. John 14, 23, Jesus says, Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.
[5:17] My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. What a precious promise that is.
[5:28] And last sermon, the big idea that we went under, that holiness is the ground upon which our lives are grounded in.
[5:43] That it's the soil. And by pursuing holiness, and if you remember, we use that acronym. What was that acronym? Action, right? Action.
[5:54] There were six actions that we take that help us cultivate that soil for our lives to grow, to be strong and rooted in God.
[6:07] So this morning, we're going to get into a real topic about an issue that is exceptionally central to our Christian life, and that is sin.
[6:22] As we are grown new believers, we are inhabited by the Holy Spirit. As we ground ourselves in holiness, we have an adversary.
[6:32] The biggest thing that is going to come against us is sin. You know, today, if you were to seek out any modern books on preaching, they're going to tell you, Pastor, don't use that word sin.
[6:52] Sin is a very bad word. No one wants to be thought of as being sinful. Use terms such as flawed or broken or they acted inappropriately or exhibited poor judgment.
[7:10] Their current values don't exactly align with ours right now. The most interesting one I found was back when Trudeau got caught with one of his scandals, and one of the CBC reporters said that he is ethically challenged.
[7:30] Right? The truth ends, sin is not something I love to talk about, but sin is something we must talk about. The fact of the matter is, sin is ugly.
[7:42] But sin is not simply being flawed or broken. It's not simply acting inappropriately. It is not simply exhibiting poor judgment.
[7:55] Sin is not about being aligned with current values. And sin is not simply being ethically challenged. Sin is not a minor issue.
[8:11] Sin is not a little slip up. Sin is a serious offense against a holy God. The Bible clearly teaches that sin is the reason for all the brokenness in the world that we see.
[8:33] Sin is the reason for the suffering that we see in this world. Sin is the reason for all the racial injustice we see in this world.
[8:48] Sin is the reason for all the physical pain that we see in this world. Sin is the reason for all the sin. We have seen all of us personally seen sin attack our bodies.
[9:06] Sin attack our bodies. Cancer. All those things are a part of the sin kingdom. Sin. Sin. Sin. And I think if you and I are honest with ourselves, sin is the reason for much of the turmoil in our lives.
[9:28] Sin is the reason for the turmoil in our families. Sin is the reason for the turmoil that even exists in our hearts.
[9:43] And if you're ignorant about this thing, you need to open your eyes. Sometimes we overlook life thinking that is the way it is. But it just, it wasn't meant to be that way.
[10:01] There's not supposed to be discord in our families. The fact is, sin is never small.
[10:12] And it is never inconsequential. And many of the heartbreaks in our lives are even due to the sins of the previous generations.
[10:22] And I'm not talking about curses, because my father was a sinner, but his sin had direct influence in my life.
[10:35] When my father left my family, it automatically put us to poverty. It put a deep longing in mine and my sister's heart for love.
[10:49] A deep desire for family. My sister purposely turned towards drugs. That was the place that she went to, to fill that hole that was meant to be there for the love of her father.
[11:07] And to this day, she does not know the love of her father, and yet she desperately desires it. But listen to me here.
[11:25] There is hope. There is real hope because of the cross of Jesus Christ. And there is real hope, not just because it is a place where we find forgiveness, but it is also the place where we can experience the grace of God.
[11:50] It is the place where we are empowered to live a life in victory over sin.
[12:01] So I am going to give you a few ground rules for this sermon. One, I am not going to coddle you. I am not going to sugarcoat the truth for you.
[12:15] I believe the best way to take on this subject is to take the subject head on because the reality is we are in a battle. The passage that Chris read to us, notice he was entitled, it is the spiritual armor.
[12:32] God has given us armor to wear because life is this battle. We are in a spiritual battle and the stakes are high.
[12:43] But here is the good news. You and I are not fighting for victory. We are fighting from victory. Do you get that? We are not fighting for victory.
[12:55] The victory has already been won at the cross. Amen. Hallelujah. Give me an hallelujah. Thank you. The victory has been won. But now we learn to fight from that victory.
[13:12] Today, I am calling you to fight. This sermon just isn't called fight. I am calling on you to fight.
[13:24] As you will note, each letter of the word that I am going to be using will be coming from the word fight as we go through what some of the wrong approaches to sin are.
[13:36] And we are going to look at some of the right responses through the power of the cross. You got that? Do you guys all have notes? You got notes, right? I don't know if we handed them out today.
[13:48] I know we have a problem with the printer. But it begins with fight. So just write F-I-G-H-T on the top of your paper. We are going to go from there. So first letter of the word fight is F.
[14:00] So the first instruction is face your sin. Face your sin. Confront it. Don't hide it. Face it. The first sign of this battle is to face your sin.
[14:13] First step. Now, it's not easy. The fact of the matter is we're all prone to downplay our sin, aren't we? We rationalize it. Oh, it's not that big of a deal.
[14:27] Well, everybody else is doing it. Or worse, we deny it altogether. What sin? I'm fine.
[14:38] That's often said by the man who lives in a house that is burning down all around him. I'm okay. I've got it under control.
[14:54] Let's be clear. Rationalizing, excusing it, denying it is not going to do anything. Scripture is very clear that we need to bring our sin into the light.
[15:07] We need to confront it head on and deal with it according to God's word. Ephesians 5.11 says, Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
[15:24] Do we have that slide up there, Shane? There's blood on the PowerPoint? All right.
[15:37] All right. So I'm going to read that verse again. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. I want you to key on those two words, expose them.
[15:49] What does that mean? That means shine a light on them. The fact of the matter is ignoring sin does not make it go away. The fact of the matter is it allows it to grow in the dark.
[16:02] It allows the roots to grow deeper. It allows it to fester. It allows it to become more destructive. That is where bitterness starts to come in.
[16:14] Sin has three effects. One, it separates us from God. It breaks that relationship.
[16:24] Not saying sin makes God reject us. When we sin, we're rejecting God. You got that? God is never going to reject us.
[16:35] But it's like putting a big boulder between us and God. It affects that relationship. Second one, it damages our relationships with one another.
[16:49] When I cause offense to you, I just can't go over and act like it's normal. There's an offense.
[17:01] We need to deal with it. And if there's one thing that I see sadly more and more when we identify people who are dealing with sin, is that sin robs us of the joy and peace that God so richly wants us to have.
[17:19] Do you get that? God wants you to have joy, peace. Psalm 19 talks about that. Not only does he want you to be saved, but he wants you to live in wisdom so you can experience and live a joyful life here on this world.
[17:36] I'm not teaching a prosperity gospel here. These are promises that God has come, has given us. Now, some of you might be thinking, well, BK, I'm a Christian.
[17:51] I don't need to worry about sin, right? Jesus took care of that on the cross. And yes, Jesus did take care of that on the cross, and we praise him for that.
[18:03] But that doesn't mean we excuse it or ignore it. Even as Christians, we can't go, we can't let sin go in check in our lives.
[18:15] Bonar made this very interesting observation. He was talking about people who live outside the realm of the Christian faith. And he said that when men live in sin, they often harbor a secret thought that this isn't the way things are to be.
[18:32] You don't need to be a Christian scholar to know that when you look out into this world today, you can say, it shouldn't be this way.
[18:45] It shouldn't be this hard to talk to my wife. It shouldn't be this hard to discipline my child. It shouldn't be this hard that wars need to be constantly raging in this world.
[19:03] What the Romans and the Greeks, they defined it as, this is how they defined sin.
[19:16] This is before Jesus. This is outside of the Hebrew influences in their lives. This is what Socrates and Plato, and they thought about these things. They defined sin as the conflict within and the desire to have victory over the unruly will and the irregular appetite.
[19:38] That they recognize even in themselves, the things that I want, I shouldn't want. Like it is wrong for me to covet my neighbor's wife. It's wrong.
[19:49] I don't want to do that, but why do I do that? Why do I pursue this destruction of tendencies that I have these flashes of anger that I don't have friends?
[20:02] So they recognize this. They knew that there was something inside of them was in rebellion against the good. Now, what was happening there is what Paul defines, if you remember back in Romans 2, 14, 15, that even though we're not taught the law, we know the law, right?
[20:27] We have a conscience. But what they tried to do is they tried to mortify the flesh. So they thought the spirit was good, the flesh is bad. So if I just beat my flesh, I can get myself into submission.
[20:46] And the rebellion would go away. In fact, there's letters written about the depression of some of these men from way long ago because they could not get rid of their sin.
[21:02] So how do we face our sin today? One, it starts with acknowledgement. It's simple, right? Don't hide it. It's there. Stop pretending it's not there.
[21:13] Be honest with yourself and with God. And what do you do? What does that look like? It's called confession. Confess it. 1 John 1, 9 tells us, If we confess our sins, He, God, is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[21:34] Notice that confession is the first step. You have to bring sin into the light. You've got to expose it. You have to confront it. And that takes humility.
[21:44] It requires honesty. It requires a willingness to say, God, I have messed up. I have sinned against you and I need your help.
[22:00] This isn't about beating up yourself. It's not about mortifying the flesh. It's not about wallowing in guilt.
[22:11] Hang your head low like a Charlie Brown type character. This is about dealing with sin the way God commands us to.
[22:24] By confessing it and bringing it under the authority of Christ. Start confronting it. Trust that God is faithful to forgive and that God is faithful to cleanse.
[22:44] Do you guys believe that? Do you believe that God can do that? That God not only desires to forgive, but He wants to clean you?
[22:59] This is exactly how we're to deal with our sin. If you somehow believe that God is somehow not faithful or not strong enough to forgive you or cleanse you, you have the absolute wrong view of God.
[23:22] So the first thing is, A, you need to face your sin. No games. You want to get right with God. You want to live this life of holiness. You need to face your sin.
[23:32] The second I in fight is, Invite accountability. Invite accountability. The fact of the matter is, this fight is not meant to be a fight alone.
[23:44] Listen, God never intended for you to battle against sin alone. The fact of the matter is, you can't do it on your own. I can't do it on my own.
[23:56] That's why God gives us a what? A church. He gives us the body of Christ to come together. We need each other.
[24:09] Accountability is not about judgment. Accountability is not about condemnation. Accountability is not about shame. Accountability is about love.
[24:22] It's about caring for someone. It's wanting to hold their hand during the darkest moments of their life. It's wanting to be there. Even in the darkness, when they're crying, and you just cry with them.
[24:36] It's when they can't hold their hands up to pray, you hold their hands up for them. James 5.16 gives us an instruction on this.
[24:48] It simply says, Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
[25:03] There is power in prayer. There's power in community. There's power in a church. There's power in a church of people who come in confession.
[25:16] When you bring your struggles into the light and share them with your trusted brothers and sisters in Christ, you break the power of isolation, you break the power of darkness, and you break the power of secrecy that sin thrives on.
[25:34] Right? If you want to talk about what is the fertile soil for sin, I just gave it to you. Isolation, darkness, and secrecy. If you want your sin to grow, keep living there.
[25:49] But let me be clear. Accountability isn't about airing all your dirty laundry to everyone that you meet.
[26:00] And sometimes you meet new believers. They're kind of excited about it. So they start going around at small group and they're talking about all their stuff. That's not what I'm talking about. It's about you finding someone that loves you and trusts you, can hold you accountable.
[26:16] Maybe they don't even love you yet, but someone that you know. Do you love Jesus? And when you know that person loves Jesus and you know they're trustworthy, can we meet?
[26:27] I need this accountability. Will you pray with me? We need someone who can walk alongside us as we pursue holiness.
[26:43] And here's the thing, man is always prone to want to deal with sin through our own human efforts and rituals. And you guys have done them. Don't deny it.
[26:53] You've done it. Come on. Who here hasn't made a promise to God? God, I won't do it again if blah, blah, blah. Right? I'm so sorry. I'm so shameful. I'm not going to go to church.
[27:05] I'm just so bad and evil. Oh, I'm so bad. God, you know, that doesn't work. Even as I stated, even in the time of Rome, devotees, they punished themselves with fastings.
[27:21] Ah, I sinned. I'm going to deny myself that dinner to show to God that I'm really sorry for my sin. They used to flagiate, whip themselves.
[27:36] The fact is, you can make up all the rituals you want, but they will never bring you the freedom that you need. We need to support wisdom and prayers of others.
[27:53] Let me ask you a question. Do you have that type of person in your life? Do you have one, two, maybe three people that walk with you in life?
[28:07] Do you have a trusted brother or sister that can hold you accountable as you work through this sin that has been holed up in the darkness?
[28:19] If you do not have someone, I challenge you to ask God to lead you to that person. If you're unsure, ask me, Dave, Chris, as elders here.
[28:32] we can lead you to mature saints that can walk with you through these challenges of life. If you are visiting here and part of a church where you cannot be honest about your struggles, my advice is find another church.
[28:54] We're not here to judge. We're here to walk with you in freedom of Jesus Christ. Amen? Amen? Find a church community where you can receive encouragement and where you can grow and walk with your God.
[29:13] Accountability is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of wisdom. So fight. First, fight.
[29:24] Face your sin. I invite accountability. And G, I was going to call it Dree, that doesn't really make sense. But G is grasp God's grace.
[29:35] Grasp God's grace. I'm tongue-tied. Embrace forgiveness and the freedom that Jesus Christ offers. Embrace forgiveness and freedom.
[29:48] If you want to spend some time here, or I want to spend some time here because this is crucial. One, when we sin, let's be honest, we all sin and it's so easy to fall into the trap of self-condemnation.
[30:05] We want to punish ourselves. We just don't, we want to shame ourselves. We think that if we wallow in guilt long enough, maybe, just maybe, we'll be more righteous or more worthy of God's forgiveness.
[30:20] Ever been there? You're in sin, you don't feel worthy, but I'm going to wallow in it and you somehow think that I might be more worthy of it at the end. Here's the punchline. You're never going to be more worthy of it.
[30:36] Why? Because that's not the gospel. That is not the gospel that Jesus Christ preached when he walked on this earth for over 30 years.
[30:50] Romans 8.1 declares, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Amen? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
[31:11] You see, we come back to the gospel because the gospel is all about grace. It is about unmerited favor. His forgiveness freely offered to us through the cross of Jesus Christ.
[31:27] Now, I want you to notice that it says no condemnation. It doesn't say there's just a little bit of condemnation. It doesn't say there's just some condemnation.
[31:38] No, it says absolutely no condemnation. How much is none? None. Zero.
[31:48] Zero. You see, self-condemnation is the trap of the enemy. When you're feeling that way, that's Satan in your ear.
[32:00] He's whispering to you. It's designed to keep you from fully embracing the grace and freedom that Christ has won for you. That is Satan attacking the grace of the gospel.
[32:13] Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. Bonar writes that we know it's not of the Lord when there is not one thought of grace or divine free love when we struggle with our holiness.
[32:34] When you're struggling with holiness, if there's not one thought of grace or divine free love in your thought process, that's not God talking to you, that's Satan talking to you.
[32:47] God's grace is not a license to sin. The fact is, we can't live in victory if we're constantly living under the burden of guilt and shame.
[33:01] Church, instead of living under that burden, we're called to grasp God's grace with both hands.
[33:12] grace. And let me be clear, this grace is not a license to sin. This grace is not a get out of jail free card that lets you do whatever you want.
[33:25] No, the grace, the power that God gives you is the power to overcome sin. The grace that God gives us is the power to live in freedom.
[33:37] You see, when you truly understand that you are indeed forgiven, that you've been set free from the power of sin, that you were locked in that cage, you had those shackles, and now that they're removed, you know you've got to live differently, right?
[33:55] You're no longer working for God's favor. You're now working from a place that you've already received God's favor. Are you with me on this?
[34:06] Same point, you don't earn victory, you work from victory. Same thing here, you're not working for God's favor, you're living from a place, hey, I've already received it.
[34:19] I'm already walking in God's favor, man. I don't need that religious stuff that you're talking about. And my friends, having this mindset makes all the difference in the world.
[34:31] And I'm not talking about it like it's a magical aura mindset, it's living in truth. This is what the Bible teaches. You see, when you grasp God's grace, you're able to live in the freedom that Christ has purchased for you.
[34:46] You're no longer bound to sin, you're no longer held captive in that cage of guilt and shame. You're free to live the life that God has called you to live.
[34:58] Grace is the foundation of our walk with God. And it's by grace you have been saved. And it's by grace that we continue to grow in holiness.
[35:12] So if there's one piece of pastoral advice that I could give you today is grasp the grace that Jesus Christ freely offers you. Grasp the grace that he offers us in the gospel.
[35:28] Hold on to it with both hands. fight for it. Let it transform you from the inside out.
[35:42] And don't ever, ever, ever let the enemy deceive you into thinking that you must earn God's favor. Here is the truth.
[35:52] You are loved, you are forgiven, you are free if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen? I'm going to tell you right now when I meet a miserable Christian I already know why they are miserable.
[36:10] It is because they are trying apart from being sinful because they are not experiencing the joy of what it is to live in the freedom of Jesus Christ but they are trying to earn back God's gift.
[36:26] There is one lady I know she works tirelessly in the church and I knew her she goes to my friend's church she works tirelessly and I remember my friend asking you know her what's the what's the deal with her she signs up first for everything all these times but she's never serving with a bright happy face or anything like that oh I'm just so tired serving for the Lord I said no no no I said she's still trying to earn back the love that Jesus has freely given her don't be that person accept the love accept it so out of our fight we have face your sin invite accountability grasp God's grace and three and four which is H hold fast to the word hold fast to the word of God arm yourself with truth the fact is we are in a spiritual battle and we need to be armed for the fight the word of God is our weapon that's it in fact in Ephesians the word sword that he uses there is not like this big broad sword that you take with two hands and you can vanquish everything it's not like a long sword that you can point really far it's actually a short sword but a person who's skillful with a short sword can deflect all the big swords it's quick it's easy this sword this weapon it's the truth that exposes the lies of the enemy it's the light that drives out the darkness it is the power that enables us to stand firm in the face of temptation that's why
[38:31] Ephesians 16 17 calls us to take up the sword of the spirit which is the word of God when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness what did he do did he argue with Satan no did he debate with Satan nah in fact he didn't even really converse with Satan when Satan made an accusation he just quoted the truth of scripture it is written what he said with those words he discerned he disarmed the devil's schemes and so we must do the same why let's be clear the enemy is relentless he's going to come at us with everything he's got he's going to use temptations he's going to bring fear into our minds he's going to lie to us and he's going to cast doubt that did
[39:41] Jesus really is he really going to do what he said he's going to do see the fact of the matter is if you're ground in the word you're not going to be knocked off course if you'll hold fast to the word if you arm yourself with the truth of scripture you can stand firm I quote reduced to a formula they're supposed incapable of being so set down what he means is these actions that I suggest aren't just a formula we don't read a verse like it's a magical incantation which protects us with an aura it is an actual truth that we claim that we know that we understand therefore Satan's lies mean nothing because we know the truth amen that's what it is says forgiveness of sins and believing
[40:46] God's testimony to the finished work of the cross is not simply indispensable to a holy life but it's also indispensable in imparting an impulse a motive and a power that nothing else can do there is no power like the power we have in the word of God amen that is the ultimate truth you see the word of God isn't just information it's power it's life it's truth that sets us free when you don't know truth you cannot recognize the lies when you know God's promises you can stand firm in the doubt and fear and when you know his commandments you easily walk in obedience so let me ask you do you feed regularly on the word of God are you allowing it to shape your thoughts your attitudes your actions or is your bible simply collecting dust on a shelf somewhere or in a in a public place so you can show people look
[42:00] I do have a bible I remember we had a big bible the forefront of our house growing up before we were saved I do not remember a time that was ever opened it was a family heirloom what's more important that family heirloom or the truth that those words contain right hard to believe it was the words that changed my life not this nice big pretty bible church make a commitment today to deepen your knowledge of god make a commitment to let it dwell richly in you make a commitment to memorize it meditate on it let it soak into your soul use it as a sword in the fight against sin it it it it it it it it it it it fortifies our faith and it keeps us on the path of righteousness it's never to be neglected and it's never to be taken for granted so in our fight we are to face our sin we are to invite accountability we are to grasp god's grace we are to hold fast to the truth and what do we think the
[43:25] T is trust in the cross trust in the cross rest in Christ victory the last step is to trust in the cross this is where it all comes together the cross of Jesus Christ is the ultimate source of our victory over sin sin at the cross Jesus took our place at the cross Jesus bore the full weight of our sin not just my sin your sin the sin of our fathers our mothers our grandmothers everyone forward and backwards he bore the full weight he endured the punishment that we deserve in doing so he triumphed over sin he triumphed over death and he triumphed over the powers of darkness and because of that through him we are more than conquerors let's look at Colossians 2 13 to 15 it says when you were dead in your sins
[44:30] God made you alive with Christ he forgave us all our sins he has taken it away nailing it to the cross and having disarmed the powers and authorities he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross amen you see the cross is where the victory was bonar writes the cross heals it possesses the double virtue of killing sin and quickening holiness it makes all the fruits of the flesh wither while it cherishes and ripens the fruit of the spirit which is love joy peace long suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance who here doesn't want that fruit ripened my friends the cross isn't simply a historical event it's a present reality the cross is the source of our strength it is the source of our hope and it is the source of our victory when we trust in the cross we are no longer slaves to sin the cross breaks the power of sin in our lives and empowers us to live in the newness of life you see what
[46:07] I've shared with you today is not about striving in our own strength it's about resting in the victory that Christ has already won to trust in the cross means to daily remind ourselves that our identity is in Christ it means that our sins have been forgiven and it means that we have been set free and it's a call to live in the reality of the finished work of Christ allowing his victory to shape every aspect of our lives let me ask you are you trusting in the cross or are you still trying to battle things on your own do you continue to make promises to God that you can keep church let me challenge you stop striving stop struggling and start resting in the finished work of
[47:16] Christ you will never earn that victory the victory has already been won trust in the cross trust in the Savior who died for you trust in the God who loves you more than you can ever imagine next Sunday I want to spend more time on what that means to trust on the cross I want to give you some practical points of application what it means to trust in this cross as I conclude I want to urge you to take these imperatives to heart the fact of the matter is sin is a formidable enemy but we are not without hope or help we are called to fight we are called to face our sin we are called to invite accountability we are called to grasp grace we are called to hold fast to the word and we are called to trust the cross each of these imperatives is a step toward living in the victory that
[48:23] Christ has already secured for us to us remember the battle against sin is not one you can fight alone and it's one that you're not meant to fight alone we're to fight it here together so let us fight the good fight let us walk in the victory Christ has purchased for us and let us live as those who have been set free as a church together amen boner reminds us this to him is one of the greatest and most gladdening discoveries forgiveness itself is preciously chiefly as a step to holiness remember on the cross your sin has been nailed there your debt has been paid in full and that you are no longer a slave to sin so quit acting like one sin is not something to be taken lightly and neither is the power of the cross let us pray father it's funny we live in this world where there is this tension of resting in the cross yet we are called to fight we are called to act in obedience to you we are given a power that transcends any earthly power that gives us hope and strength father
[50:02] I pray for the new believers just as they had their DNA not rewired but given a new DNA they've got this new birth and there's so much to learn and understand and I pray that beyond all things that they seek your word they seek someone to walk with them to teach them how to read your word what your word says it's filled with over 1600 years of writing actually more like 35 includes many different languages many different nationalities but every single one of them was driven by the Holy Spirit to write these words of truth down so that we may understand what you choose to have us understand you reveal knowledge that we need to live in truth to live in peace to live without being under the power of sin father for those that are
[51:10] I was going to say struggling with their sin for those who are being destroyed by their sin I pray that they would bring it into the light that they would seek accountability to help them to walk hand in hand through these problems oh father father we need your truth to dissipate the lies we need your truth to instill the hope which Satan means to diminish God I pray that this is a church where we are all loved we are not judged but this is a place where we come to live out our faith in a real and authentic way and that is being under the spirit of God under understanding the power of your word Jesus
[52:12] I ask that you would continue to pray for us like you did in the garden of Gethsemane that we would hold fast to our faith and that we would never deny you and all of God's people said Amen