[0:00] Good morning, everyone. Please turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 5.!
[0:16] If you are new this week, we began Romans chapter 5. Please read along with me, beginning in Romans 5.
[0:33] Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, we have also obtained access by faith and into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
[0:52] More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope.
[1:06] And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
[1:22] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. But God chose His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[1:39] Since therefore we have now been justified by His blood much more, shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son much more now, that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.
[2:03] More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Dear Holy Heavenly Father, we thank You for these words, these words that You have given to us.
[2:21] Father, these are profound words, these are deep words, these are words that affect us mightily. And I pray as the first church in Rome heard, those in that first century would have been moved as well.
[2:34] Well, it's not just simply that we have peace with God, we have so much more. So Father, this morning I pray that You would awaken stodgy hearts, that You would awaken brains, so that they might hear the words that are spoken this day.
[2:55] And Father, give my words power as they preach Your Word. We ask You for these things in Your most holy name. Amen. So before we dive into this text or an understanding of this text, I want to ask you a question that is going to sit under this entire message.
[3:19] And this question is this. Do you believe, actually believe right now this morning, that God is at peace with you?
[3:33] Do you believe that you are at peace with God, that God is at peace with you? Not God is less disappointed than usual. Not that God is willing to tolerate you for another week if you behave.
[3:50] And not holding back lightning because you had a decent seven days. What I mean is complete peace.
[4:03] Do you believe that there is absolutely no wrath hanging over you? Do you believe that there is no barrier between you and God? That there is no grudge in God's heart for you?
[4:18] And that God is not distanced in His posture towards you? Do you believe this? The reason I ask this question, because often we as Christians don't act like this is true.
[4:34] We've just heard we're at peace with God. But some will argue, they will offer, they will say, yes, Jesus forgave me.
[4:46] But they still carry on as if they're under some sort of spiritual probation. I'll make it up to you, God, this week. I really mean it. They'll say, I know I'm saved.
[4:58] But they will believe that God does not enjoy them. They'll think God is more frustrated than pleased with them.
[5:11] And that when it comes to sitting down for dinner with the family of God, they believe that instead of entering the warm home, they should be on the porch looking in.
[5:26] I'm saved. But I don't deserve that beautiful family picture I see before me. Well, today's text of Romans 5 exists to destroy that lie.
[5:44] This text is written to destroy that lie that you are somehow unfavored, less than, not enough to God.
[5:56] Last week, we walked through Romans 5, 1-4, and Paul walked us into this courtroom of heaven and said, listen, because of Jesus, the case is now closed against you.
[6:09] That's why he begins in verse 1, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That justified means to be declared righteous.
[6:24] It's a legal term. It doesn't mean not almost righteous. It doesn't mean getting there. It doesn't mean put some elbow grease into it.
[6:37] It means righteous. In Christ. Fully. And from that, Paul said, there are incredible consequences for the believer.
[6:53] Right? If we're at peace with God, the war is over. God is not against us anymore. Verse 2, we looked at now, because the war is over, we have access to God. The door is open.
[7:05] And the third point from last week's sermon was, we have assurance from God, that even in our suffering, now strengthens us in our faith.
[7:19] And it's never proof that God has abandoned you. It's proof that God is with you. In other words, justification is not simply, you don't go to hell.
[7:34] Justification is you now live in a totally different relationship with God than you could have ever hoped. But here's the question that every honest believer has.
[7:48] And maybe this is where you are today. Okay, BK, I hear you. I have peace with God. I hear you.
[7:58] I even have this access to God. I'm welcomed in the door. I believe you. You say I have assurance from God. I want that.
[8:11] But the question that sits in the back of our minds is, can I lose it? Can I lose that peace? Can I lose that hope?
[8:23] Can I lose that access? Can I lose that assurance? Because the reality of our lives tell us that we still sin.
[8:36] We still struggle. We still fail. And we start to ask, is there a point where God says, that's it.
[8:48] I'm done with you. Well, my friends, Romans 5, these verses that we've just read, is God's answer to that fear.
[9:01] Today we're finishing this section, and Paul is going to give you two final pillars of unshakable confidence in Christ. Here's where we're going. We're going to look at that we are indeed indwelt by God, and that number two, we are preserved by God.
[9:19] So if you're looking for the main points of the sermon, those are the only two points we're getting into. One, that we are indwelt by God. Number two, we are preserved by God.
[9:31] Now, I want you to understand, Paul is not telling us that these words are only for the elite Christians, that these words are only for the pastors, the missionaries, those Christians who get up at 5 a.m.
[9:46] and journal and listen to worship music all day long. No, what he's saying is that you, if you have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ, this is already yours.
[10:02] Today is about assurance. Today is about God saying to you, I am not letting go of you.
[10:14] If you want to know what this sermon's about, it's about Paul teaching that God is never going to let go of you.
[10:28] Now, let's look at the text. We're going to be beginning in verse 5. So we're going to, we're indwelt by God, and what that means is that there is this love that is poured out from Romans 5.5, and it says, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
[10:53] Now, if you remember, Paul has just walked us through a spiritual train reaction in verses 3 and 4. He's already told us that suffering leads to endurance.
[11:06] Endurance leads to character, and character leads to hope. But now Paul anticipates a question. He's anticipating a question that the readers would be anticipating.
[11:19] He said, can hope really hold? Is hope really enough? Because let's be honest, we've all been disappointed.
[11:30] Am I right? We've been disappointed. We hope for a job. We hope for healing. We hope for specific actions from our spouses, our children.
[11:46] We hope for reconciliation with friends and family members. We hope for relational breakthroughs. And it did not always happen.
[11:59] So now what? So Paul steps in and says, not this hope. The hope that I'm talking about is a hope will not collapse.
[12:10] This is a hope will not shame you. Why? Because this hope doesn't depend on any earthly circumstance. This hope that he's talking about rests on God's love, which has been poured into your heart by the Holy Spirit.
[12:28] Amen? Amen. Now I want to give you three characteristics of this hope that Paul's talking about. Three characteristics.
[12:40] So the one, the first he says, is that hope will not put us to shame. This is a confidence that this hope will never collapse. Now, this phrase, put us to shame, is a courtroom language.
[12:54] It means being exposed as false when the evidence comes out. What Paul is saying is that will never happen to you. And what he means here is that no believer will ever stand before the judge of God in heaven and hear, sorry you didn't make it.
[13:10] Right? That's that shame he's talking about. You imagine? You followed. You believed. And he gets there. You didn't cut it.
[13:24] You'd feel the shame because you've come with this confidence. You're not going to hear, you didn't make it, you almost had it, but not quite.
[13:37] The hope that Paul is talking about here means there will be no last minute collapse. There will be no embarrassment. There will be no reversal of verdict.
[13:50] Why? Here's the glorious truth, is your hope is not anchored in your record. Your hope is anchored in the love of God. Your hope is not anchored to your record.
[14:07] Your hope is anchored to the love of God. That justification isn't a theory waiting to be proven. It's a verdict that's already been rendered in heaven, my friends.
[14:19] You've already been declared righteous. If you are in Christ, the gavel's fallen. You've heard the, you're justified.
[14:31] You're free to leave the court. The fact is, you are not waiting for peace. You have it. And are you ready for the best news of all?
[14:44] You're not hoping to be loved. You are already loved. Loved. You're not hoping to be accepted.
[14:56] You are already accepted. So listen. We've heard that voice.
[15:09] When guilt whispers. When we sin. When we don't obey. When we don't trust. We hear this voice.
[15:21] You're going to mess this up. We need to answer. You can't shame me. For something Jesus already paid for.
[15:35] Jesus has me. You don't. The second characteristic of this hope is read in here. It says, because God's love has been poured into our hearts.
[15:50] And I want you to pay attention to this one wonderful, amazing word in here. Poured. Poured. Notice it doesn't say, because God's love has been dripped into your hearts.
[16:05] The text doesn't say, God's love has been rationed into your hearts. God's love has not been trickled down into your heart.
[16:16] No, no, no. Think floodgates are open at a dam. All right? It is rushing into you. This isn't God giving you a cautious dose of affection to see how you handle it.
[16:32] He's pouring his love into you. Another word that he uses in Ephesians is lavish. He lavishes. Remember Ephesians 1, 7, 8 says, in him we have redemption through his blood, that we have salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ.
[16:50] We have the forgiveness of our trespasses and our sins according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us. the gospel isn't only that God loves the world.
[17:08] The God is that God has poured that love into you. The gospel isn't only that God loves the world.
[17:20] The gospel is that God has poured that love into you. And what this means is it's not just nearly, merely knowing that God loves you.
[17:33] It's experiencing that love. One writer writes, when theology becomes touch, when truth warms the soul, that is the Spirit's work.
[17:47] Why do I say these things? Because many believers live like God's love seems to be stored somewhere else. Sometimes, sometime, if I'm good enough, I'll finally be able to experience it.
[17:59] And maybe he's just talking about heaven. But Paul says, right here, the love of God has already been poured into your heart.
[18:13] This means that the very center of your being is now filled with divine affection. So we have this one, hope, this one identification of hope, is that it does not put us to shame.
[18:30] Number two, it's been poured into us. And the third character of this hope, it says, through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
[18:42] What Paul is saying is God moves in. The hope that Paul was talking about that God moves in. And this is a staggering part. It said, the same God who stood against you in judgment in the courtroom now comes in and lives within you.
[19:00] When you are justified, the Holy Spirit just doesn't visit you. He moves in. He's not a feeling. He's not a symbol. He's not a seasonal presence. He's God in residence.
[19:12] So what Paul says in Ephesians 1, 13 to 14, he says, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance.
[19:26] That word sealed means ownership. It means protected. It's heaven stamp. It's heaven's tattoo that says, this one is mine.
[19:42] So Christian, the reality is you're not trying to hold on to God. The fact of the matter is God is holding on to you from the inside out.
[19:55] That is why your hope cannot fail. Because the one who guarantees it just doesn't live around you, but that he lives in you.
[20:09] So let me get to the quick of it. The reality is assurance comes from the inside out. Here's the reality. Many believers understand justification intellectually, but they haven't felt love experientially.
[20:28] Maybe this is you. Maybe you believe you're saved, but you may believe that you're not cherished. This is why verse 5 exists. The Holy Spirit takes the love demonstrated at the cross and presses it deep into your heart until it feels personal.
[20:50] You know how he does it? Look at verse 6. He says, you read, Christ died for the ungodly. You know what the Spirit says? That's you.
[21:02] That's me. I was once ungodly. We sing, Jesus loves me, this I know.
[21:14] And the Spirit can tell you, yes, he does. And he always will. See, Romans 8.16 says the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children children of God.
[21:34] This is what we call the inward testimony of the divine love. The Spirit is the living reminder that you are not just tolerated, you're treasured.
[21:51] When you meet with your growth groups this week, answer that question to one another. Do you feel tolerated by God or do you feel treasured by God?
[22:11] Picture with you, with me for a moment, a dry riverbed. Riverbed is cracked, dusty, it has no life.
[22:21] that is our heart before Christ. We can produce no fruit, we can do no righteousness before God.
[22:35] But God in his grace causes this rain to fall. And it's not a drizzle, it is a downpour of grace and water surges through every channel filling, every crevice overflowing the banks.
[22:55] We see this in California all the time. When we live, it's 40 degrees during the summer, there is no rain, but when the rain comes, you keep thinking, wow, that's gonna rain for a long time. The problem is there, the ground doesn't absorb the water, it kind of keeps it on the top and it floods.
[23:12] The love of God goes through, it penetrates our heart and it still floods. That's how amazing it is. That's your heart before and after the Spirit.
[23:26] Before Jesus Christ, we experienced guilt, we experienced shame, we experienced emptiness. Now that you are in Christ, you are flooded with love, you are filled with the living presence of God.
[23:41] You see, that is the supernatural work of God in a justified heart. maybe this is where you are right now.
[23:55] You believe God loves people in general, but you're not quite sure if he loves you in particular. Maybe you've been suffering through long prayers that have been unanswered.
[24:13] Maybe the silence of God, you've been asking God to show himself and you're not seeing it, or perhaps you professed I love Jesus, but you chose a point of a trail and the fork and the road.
[24:28] I love this world. You love Jesus, but you went down this world and you're what? Can Jesus love me back? Can he take me back? See, here's the thing.
[24:42] God's love for you does not ebb and flow with your emotions. God's love for you is not measured by your circumstances. God's love is not even measured by your sin.
[24:55] God's love is anchored in the cross and it's made real by the Spirit. Even when you don't feel it, he's still there, pouring, reminding, sustaining.
[25:07] One writer aptly writes, the believer's heart is not a desert to be irrigated occasionally. It's a fountain that never runs out because the Spirit never moves out.
[25:23] So the question isn't, is God still loving me? The question is, am I believing what he already said? You with me on that? Question isn't, is God still loving me?
[25:38] The question is, am I believing what he already said? My advice to you is stop treating your life as if you're in the courtroom still.
[25:51] Still hoping for a plea of innocence, of not guilty. Don't argue, I know you've been there, right?
[26:02] You're retrying your case. righteous. The verdict has been in. See, God has declared you righteous, he's indwelt you with his spirit, and he's flooded you with his love.
[26:21] That's awesome. You see, that's the fourth result of justification. We're indwelt by God. God pours his love into us.
[26:36] And now in this passage, we're going to read how Paul brings it all home. Because if peace with God is yours, if access and assurance and indwelling are yours, then the question is, can I lose it?
[26:51] Can I lose all these wonderful benefits? Can anything undo what God has done? Well, Paul answers that next, and his answer is one thunderous, no way Jose.
[27:06] Let's look at the final section. Verse, the section point five, it's called Preserved by God the proof of unbreakable love. Let me read it to you.
[27:17] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly, for one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[27:36] Since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. Notice that, much more.
[27:48] For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, here we go again, much more now that we are reconciled.
[28:00] Shall we be saved by his life? Here we go. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation.
[28:13] You can almost see Paul, his heart's palpitating, he's pumping, he's getting intense. He's taking us from peace to access and now from assurance to love and now he brings it home with an incredible truth.
[28:28] You, as a believer in Jesus Christ, are preserved by the unstoppable love of God. You are preserved by the unstoppable love of God.
[28:39] The love that justifies is the same love that keeps you. The love that saved you is the same love that sustains you.
[28:51] And the Christ who died for you is the same Christ who will never leave you. Note the context. While we were still, if you look at verse six, it says, while we were still weak.
[29:08] Verse eight says, while we were still sinners. Verse ten, while we were enemies. God didn't die for us because we were good.
[29:21] Christ died for us when we were weak, when we were sinners, when we were enemies of God.
[29:33] And what Paul is saying here is, if God did all this for you, when you were weak, a sinner, an enemy of God, you were at war with him.
[29:46] When you were at your worst, he died for you. now that you're his, how much more will he love you? This is an argument called from the greater to the lesser.
[29:59] If the death of Christ reconciled us while we were hostile, then the life of Christ will certainly preserve us now that we're reconciled.
[30:11] This, my friends, is called the logic of grace. And here's the proof. Verse seven, for one will scarcely die for a righteous person.
[30:23] But God shows his love for us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Human love says I'll sacrifice for someone worthy.
[30:38] Divine love says I will sacrifice for someone wicked. You see, at the cross, God didn't just make a promise.
[30:51] God demonstrated something. God demonstrated his love in a way that left the universe that could never anticipate. That through the death of his son, God showed his love.
[31:07] That word make visible means to display. Show means to make visible, to display publicly, to provide evidence for. So, what he's doing is if you're ever worrying about the doubt of Christ, you'll look at the cross.
[31:24] The cross is the evidence. It is the proof. It is the public display that guess what? He loves you. It's not a sentimental symbol.
[31:37] It's an objective fact that we can go back there. How much does Christ love me? This much. So, when the spirit pours God's love into your heart, the cross is what he points to.
[31:57] Now, notice, and I said this when I was reading much more. It says, much more shall we be saved. Now, Paul takes his readers into deep assurance, right?
[32:08] He uses this word much more. He's saying, if God did the harder things, which was justify you through Christ's death, of course he's going to do the easier things.
[32:24] Of course he's going to keep you saved through Christ's life. You with me? It was harder for him to die for us.
[32:37] The easier now is he keeps us saved through his life. This word saved. Notice in verse nine it said, saved from wrath.
[32:53] Justification by Christ's blood means the wrath of God will never fall on you. the disappointment of God will never fall on you.
[33:04] The dislike of God will never fall on you. You see there's no double jeopardy in the court of heaven. The punishment has been paid.
[33:16] When Jesus said it is finished he didn't mean it started. It's finished. It's settled. The account has been paid.
[33:32] Now notice he says much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life. So Jesus didn't just die to save you he lives to keep you.
[33:46] His resurrection isn't only proof of victory it's called the power of preservation. That's why Hebrews 7 25 says he being Jesus is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them.
[34:13] That is our father that is Jesus Christ in heaven sitting at the right hand of God making intercession for us. what does this tell us?
[34:24] It tells us that their security doesn't depend on how tightly you hold on to Christ it depends on how tightly Christ holds on to you.
[34:41] All right for some of you I want to address a theological point. There is a doctrine that is known as the perseverance of the saints.
[34:52] It means that those who God saves God will hold. Now there's a lot of confusion in regards to this. Perhaps you've heard once saved always saved.
[35:08] That is a term we tend to use but I'm here proposing this day that is actually the wrong term to use. To believe that once saved always saved.
[35:22] It sounds reassuring but Romans 5 isn't talking about this. Romans 5 is talking about a savior. You see once saved always saved can sound like if I prayed the prayer if I walked the aisle if I signed a card if I made a decision if I've accepted Jesus into my heart it doesn't matter what I do after because Jesus holds me.
[35:47] this is not the gospel Paul is preaching here. The Bible doesn't teach once saved. The Bible teaches if saved always saved.
[36:00] You with me on that? The Bible teaches if saved always saved. Big difference. The first says salvation is something that you did once.
[36:12] The second says salvation is something God is still doing in your life. Salvation is active. It's not past tense.
[36:25] The first version which is the false version says I made a decision. The true version says God made a covenant. God elected to save you.
[36:38] One looks back to a moment. The other looks up to a master. here's the truth. Salvation just doesn't start something.
[36:51] It keeps something. See the same love that justified you is the same love that sanctifies you and it's the same love that will glorify you.
[37:06] You with me? If he's going to justify you he is going to sanctify you and he's going to glorify you. That's why Paul earlier says in Philippians 1 6 and I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
[37:37] That's why Paul can say much more now we shall be saved by his life. Christ isn't just the one who died for you.
[37:54] Christ lives for you. And guess what? He's interceding for us right now.
[38:06] He is keeping you. He is strengthening you. He is pulling you through. We don't persevere because we're strong.
[38:20] We persevere because God is faithful. Amen? R.C. Sproul said it best. He says, we're not saved because we hold tightly to Christ. We're saved because he holds tightly to us.
[38:35] So we're never to confuse security with complacency. God's preservation doesn't make you lazy.
[38:46] God's preservation makes you alive. We can't always ask that question. How do we know if I am saved?
[38:58] Do you long for the things of God or do you long for the things of this world? It tells you right there who your master is. It doesn't mean you're perfect in that but that's your heart's longing.
[39:11] That's why even when you go down the way of the world the Holy Spirit is like gripping you. You don't feel comfortable. There's this fight that's going in you whether it be in a relationship a work situation that's ungodly.
[39:25] You don't want to be there. The believer who knows you secure doesn't say I can do what I want.
[39:43] The believer says how could I ever walk away from a love like this. That my friends is called perseverance. That is the proof of unbreakable love.
[39:56] Let me call your attention to verse 11. I want you to see how Paul ends this whole section. He says more than that again.
[40:12] So if you don't understand what I'm saying more than that he's been talking about a truth but there's so much more to this truth. We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation.
[40:33] Notice the progression. In verse 2 we rejoiced in the hope of God's glory. In verse 3 we rejoiced in suffering.
[40:44] Now in verse 11 we rejoice in God himself. This is what's called the pinnacle of peace.
[40:54] we're not just enjoying the gifts and the blessings God gives us. We're enjoying God.
[41:08] You've gone from guilt in the courtroom to glory in the presence of God. It means you want to run from that porch and you want to sit next to God on that table and receive the blessing not of just what he's giving you but the glory he provides you.
[41:34] This is what justification looks like when it's fully experienced and it turns believers into worshipers. So the truth at the end of this sermon is if God loved you when you were his enemy how could he ever stop loving you now that you're his child?
[42:01] Let's be honest your failures don't surprise him. Your sins don't threaten him. Your justification isn't on probation.
[42:12] Your justification is under protection. You are preserved by the same power that saved you. You are kept by the same Christ who redeemed you.
[42:25] You are loved with the same love that sent his son to the cross for you. So stop wondering if you can lose what Christ has finished.
[42:38] The reality is he didn't earn the salvation and guess what? He can't unearn it. either. As Jesus himself said no one will snatch them out of my hand.
[42:51] I always hear people saying well what happens if you walk away from that hand? Yeah whatever. Like you're so much more powerful than God. Now I want you to think for a moment who's receiving this letter.
[43:07] It was written to a church both made up of Jews and Gentiles and you've got this group of Gentiles who've always felt on the outside.
[43:20] Is this same love for me? do I get to sit at the table? Do I have to go sit at the children's table? I don't quite get to sit with the adults and where the real fun's going on.
[43:36] I got to be 12 and sitting with my five and six year old brothers. Right? no fun. But if you notice Paul makes absolutely no distinction between Jew and Gentile here.
[43:54] There's no second class. It's the same. So what glorious peace with God looks like isn't just forgiveness it's fullness.
[44:11] peace. You're not standing in a courtroom anymore. You're standing in grace. You're not waiting for a verdict. You're rejoicing in a relationship. You're not asking if you're still loved.
[44:23] You're basking in a love that never ends. Therefore since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[44:41] the war is over. The door is open. Strengthen suffering strengthens us. Love fills our hearts and the cross secures our place forever.
[44:55] forever. But we always ask is it really that secure? Can one man's death on a cross 2,000 years ago really truly guarantee my eternity?
[45:13] security? And then we ask if I'm really that secure. Why do I struggle with my sin? Why do I struggle with my desires of this world?
[45:26] Why do I struggle with anger? Why do I struggle with pornography? Why do I struggle with gossip? Why do I want all these things that are so trashy and not good for me?
[45:38] And my friends those are the right questions to ask. And I'm here to tell you that the next section Paul is going to start answering every single one of them.
[45:56] And he begins with therefore just as sin came into the world through one man Paul is going to take us back into the courtroom and opens the record books on human history.
[46:11] And he's going to show us that our peace with God isn't fragile but it's actually founded on the very structure of redemption himself.
[46:24] So if I can prepare you for my next message if today's message is about the blessings of salvation next month will be about the backbone of salvation.
[46:36] Why this peace with God can never be undone. So my words to you this morning is take heart. The story doesn't end with peace it continues with permanence it continues with this act of powerful relationship where God pours his love into us securing us empowering us.
[47:00] What more could we want? Let's pray. God dear father I know there's so many thoughts that go through our heads in the day-to-day lives and how we live whether we've grown up in church and asked these same questions or we're new to the faith and we're struggling through those questions or maybe I'm just being introduced to this Christian faith and how does it work?
[47:25] What works do I need to do to be a Christian? Father I pray that they hear there are no works. I pray that they hear that you did the work.
[47:39] I pray that they understand that they are truly unrighteous before you but you still died for them even when you made war against them or they made war against you.
[47:54] Father I pray that each and every believer here would truly understand that their assurance and fullness is not because we made one decision but we have this spirit that lives in us that not only testifies but it drives us.
[48:09] And it's Father why we need to continue weighing ourselves. Am I in the flesh or am I in the spirit? It's a hard thing to be in the flesh and to think that you know the flesh and just knowing better doesn't save you.
[48:33] So Father I thank you for our stories. Thank you for the stories that draw us to you. For some it was repentance, for some it was a recommitment.
[48:47] Father I pray that we would have no shame in our story. For those who walked away and came back and for those who have been away for years or decades it does not matter.
[49:01] The same love that was poured into them then is still existing and I pray that it they understand that you live in them now desiring these wonderful truths of God.
[49:12] God bless you