Well, let me add my good morning. My name is Sam. If I haven't had the chance to meet you yet,
hopefully I will. As Jimmy has already expressed, we have just finished four weeks of soaking in
our vision as a church and trying to get clear on where it is that God is leading us. And I get the
joy of a little gap, a little breath for us before we launch all into the craziness and excitement
that is Christmas. And so we're going to soak in Romans 8 for two weeks. And as I've started
preparing this week, I kind of wish that we were soaking in Romans 8 for about 10 weeks,
because there is a lot in there that is just incredibly life-giving. But we've got two,
so we're going to try and make the most of it. So let me pray and ask that God would
say the things that he needs to say so that we can get the life that he wants to put into us today.
Father God, we thank you for gathering us. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the
gift that we can open it, confident that we are loved by you because of Jesus. Please give us the
ability to focus our hearts and minds now and to hear what it is you want to say. Amen.
Now, in a room this size, I can fairly confidently say that there would be some people in this room
who would identify as Christians. So you love Jesus. He's important to you. He's a big part of
the way you make decisions about your life. He's fairly central. It's not a question for you. You're
in. That's who you are. There would also be some people in this room who aren't sure where they
stand. It could be that you kind of want to be in, but you're not really sure if you're in,
or maybe you're not sure whether or not to take that final step to say, okay, I want to be a
Christian. I want to make that part of who I am. And then as well as those two groups,
there would be in a room this size some people who aren't Christians, who are confident that
they're not Christians, who might even be confident that they don't want to be Christians. They don't
want to follow Jesus. But there is something that all three groups would have in common.
And that is the awkwardness around the gap between the things that Christians say
and the lives that Christians live. If you're a Christian, it could be that that is a source of
doubt for you. It could be your own gap between this is what I know Jesus says, and this is what
I did this week, or the way I treated my mother, or the way I treated my boss, or the way I responded
to the person who overtook me in traffic. You know the gap. And for you, if you're a Christian,
it could be that that is a gap that makes you ask questions about just how real your faith in Jesus
really is. If you're not sure if you're a Christian, this doubt, this guilt could be why you're not
sure. You might have this nagging question of could God actually love someone like me when I'm so far
away from the obvious and explicit standard that he gives. If you don't want to be a Christian,
it could be because of all those Christian hypocrites who say one thing and don't deliver. Or maybe it's
just too intimidating. Jesus sounds great, but to actually sign up to try and live what looks like
an impossible standard. Gandhi expressed it when he used these words. He said,
I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Said from the outside, but it's not just outsiders throwing stones. Christian musician Brennan Manning
said, the greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus
with their lips and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world
simply finds unbelievable. If you've been a Christian for more than a few minutes, you know this tension.
You know this struggle. It's not just the expectations that others have placed on you. It's your own
expectations of what your life as a Christian would be like. You know it doesn't always line up.
You know you fail. You know you make mistakes. You know that driving pressure of guilt to try harder,
to serve more, to give more, to go to church more, that guilt that weighs us down and is sometimes even
used as a motivator. I remember when I was growing up as a teenager, that was when I first started really
engaging what Jesus was about. I would hear testimonies, so stories of how people had placed
their trust in Jesus. And almost without exception, they could be summarised as,
before I met Jesus I was bad, I met Jesus and now I'm good. Now I don't think it was malicious,
but I would hear these stories time after time after time. And I mean, even apart from the pressure
to have to be good, to measure up to this picture that was being painted,
I was feeling pressure to go and develop a drug habit so that I had a decent bad as contrast to
my good for afterwards. Like I thought my testimony is not legit unless there's some, you know, real
light and shade in there. I've got to go and invest some time in my bad so that my good looks better,
or maybe so that it lowers the bar of good. It can drag the whole thing this way and then maybe the
pressure won't be so crushing. It seemed like it then as a teenager, and to be honest with you,
sometimes it seems like it now. The thing that's apparently supposed to change when you become
a Christian is your behaviour. That's supposed to be the obvious shift. Christians have a worldwide
reputation for being hypocrites. And if we're honest, it's probably a fair criticism.
But what does God say to the one who's unsure? What does God say to the one who is crushed by guilt
and struggling? What does God say to the one who's pointing the finger at the Christian and calling
them a hypocrite? Into the pressure to be good enough, into the fear of failure, and into the hurt
and anger that comes from being hurt and mistreated by those who claim to follow Jesus,
God says this. Romans 8 verse 1.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. See, what changes when someone
becomes a Christian, first and foremost, is not behaviour. It's verdict. You see, the line that's
drawn when somebody starts following Jesus is not good to bad. It's, they are declared innocent.
Condemnation is the thing that's removed. Christians are set free.
But set free from what?
Because the hypocrite charge comes because sometimes we say, and sometimes people hear,
that what we've been set free from is the bad that we used to be. But it can't be that.
It can't be that we've been set free from being bad because otherwise none of us can stay.
That's not our experience. But even more than that, if we look back just a few verses into Romans chapter 7,
which Rach read out for us when we were singing before, we've got the apostle Paul giving his testimony.
And it's not a good, bad testimony. I mean, remember, this guy is possibly the greatest missionary
the world has ever known, possibly the greatest church planter and pastor of all time.
And listen to his frustration.
That his heart's desire to obey God just doesn't line up with his day-to-day actions.
And this is even for a guy that most of us would have looked up to when it comes to his godliness.
Listen to his own words. He says, verse 15 of chapter 7,
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do.
And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
As it is, it's no longer I myself who do it, but it's sin living in me.
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.
For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing.
Now, if I do what I do not want to do, it's no longer I who do it, but it's sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work.
Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being, I delight in God's law.
But I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind, making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
What a wretched man I am.
Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
You can feel the burden that he is carrying.
In his inner being, in his deepest desire, he wants to live for God.
He wants to honour God with his actions, but he looks at his day.
He looks at the things he's done and thought and said, and it's just not the same.
Remember, this is a man who encountered Jesus dramatically.
He met Jesus in a blinding light with an audible voice.
There's no question for him about whether or not Jesus is real.
His desire is legitimate.
But day to day, his life is one of frustration and struggle, and he longs for rescue.
But he finds it.
Verse 25,
In Jesus, there is deliverance.
There is freedom.
But that can't mean that he will no longer do these things that are frustrating him.
Because having just thanked God for this freedom that he's found in Jesus,
the very next thing he says, this is the verse before we get to chapter 8,
the very next thing he says in verse 25, he says,
Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Having been rescued,
so then I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law,
but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Having been rescued, there is still a battle going on for Paul daily.
His desire and his actions still do not meet up in the way that he wants them to.
He still lives the life in this tension of guilt and failure.
Even though he wants to do what is right,
his natural inclination is to go back to the way he used to live without Jesus,
to live for himself.
And if you're a Christian,
you know this battle.
It doesn't take a lot of self-reflection
to recognize that we are not what we should be,
not even what we want to be.
You know the crushing guilt of failure,
especially in light of all that God has done for us in Jesus.
But you need to listen again to Romans 8.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus,
because through Christ Jesus,
the law of the Spirit who gives life
has set you free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law was powerless to do,
because it was weakened by the flesh,
God did by sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh
to be a sin offering.
And so he condemned sin in the flesh
in order that the righteous requirement of the law
might be fully met in us,
who do not live according to the flesh,
but according to the Spirit.
You have been set free from condemnation
if you are a Christian.
There is no fear of retribution.
There is no worrying that there will be
some sort of payment you have to make.
No penalty. Why?
Because it says Jesus has taken your condemnation.
He has taken your penalty and you are free.
That's what you're free from.
You are free from sitting there at the end of a day
where you have had a fight with someone,
where you know you have dishonored God,
and feeling like somehow God is going to punish you
for that one.
Because it says there is no condemnation.
It's gone. It's done.
It's dealt with. It's exhausted.
God sent Jesus in the likeness of sinful flesh.
That's a really important phrase.
It's telling us that Jesus was flesh.
He was human.
But the like bit is the sinful.
He was human, but he wasn't sinful like us.
Which means he was the sufficient substitute.
God sent someone like us
so that he could take our place.
So that instead of sitting there covered in guilt,
we can actually hand those things over to Jesus.
That's what's going on in the cross.
This is what it means to be a Christian.
This is the measure of whether or not
you are legitimately in.
This is the thing you've got to choose on
if you're unsure
whether or not you're going to follow Jesus.
When you become a Christian,
Jesus takes your condemnation
and sets you free.
What changes is not your behavior.
What changes is your verdict.
What changes is what God sees
when he looks at you.
You are no longer somebody
deserving of condemnation.
That possibility is gone.
What changes is the way that God sees you.
You are set free from guilt
and fear and shame forever.
What makes a Christian a Christian
is the freedom from condemnation.
Freedom from punishment.
But the fact is
it's even more than a verdict change.
It's more than just going from guilty to not guilty.
It's an identity shift as well.
It's not like, you know,
the hammer's over your head
and God just takes it away.
It's more than that.
He does at least that.
But then there is an identity shift.
Condemnation is removed
but then it's replaced with something.
Fear is removed
but it's replaced with something.
Instead of punishment
God gives us his spirit.
God gives us his life-giving power
to strengthen us,
to lead us,
to comfort us.
And then he says in verse 14
those who have the spirit,
those who are led by the spirit
are children of God.
You're not just no longer the naughty child.
You're now his child.
You're now adopted into the family.
Verse 15,
the spirit you receive
does not make you slaves
so that you live in fear again.
It's not exchanging one fear
for another fear.
Rather,
the spirit you receive
brought about your adoption
to sonship
and by him we cry,
Abba, Father.
The spirit himself
testifies with our spirit
that we are God's children.
Now,
I just want to pause here
for a second
because I think
the whole adoption metaphor
has a different connotation
in our context.
I grew up as one of five kids
and my oldest sister
was adopted in our family.
She was fostered
from when she was three weeks old
so I don't know life
without her as my oldest sister.
She's more part of our family
than I am.
But if I'm honest,
there was the odd occasion
where, you know,
as siblings,
we would give her a bit of stick
about being adopted.
Now, I'm not condoning this.
You know,
I've had to repent of this
at some point
and I'm thankful
that there is no condemnation
for this.
But there was points
where my oldest sister,
Tally,
would, you know,
be a bit emotional
or be a bit dramatic
and we would let her know
that the reason
she was going through
this situation
was because she was adopted.
Just to be clear,
I love my sister.
She's great.
But what it does say
is probably something
that is true
even if it's not spoken of us.
There is a part of us
that kind of looks at adoption
as this concession.
It's not quite the same
as being, you know,
born of the flesh,
being a natural-born child.
That's the way
that we view it
in our modern context.
I mean, reality is in Australia
it's almost impossible
so we barely view it at all
but the way we view it
is we would never say that out loud
but there's just this bit of us
that does a double take.
How do I treat you then
if you're adopted?
How do I refer to you?
Is it my sister
or is it my adopted sister?
Is it my half-sister?
Is it my step-sister?
We think through these qualifiers
to make it different
but in the first century,
adoption was nothing like that.
adoption existed
as a means for people
to choose
the child that they wanted
to carry on their family.
They would choose somebody
who would be the inheritor
of their estate.
They would choose somebody
who they wanted to be the one
that would bear their name
going forward.
It's a privilege.
It almost needs to be escalated
like everybody else needs
a little prefix
to brother and sister
because adopted was chosen.
God adopted us.
That means God chose us.
That means that it's not just
are you not in trouble anymore?
God has chosen you
and drawn you into his family
so that you might inherit from him.
It's verse 17.
We're now heirs of God
and co-heirs with Christ.
Not just condemnation gone.
Condemnation is gone
but now in the place of condemnation
is all the promises of God.
The promises of eternal life.
The promise of forgiveness.
The promise of access.
The promise of eternal love
and fellowship.
The promise of everything good.
God has exhausted condemnation.
He's poured it all out on Jesus
as our sin substitute
and instead we have been drawn
into his family.
And all of that
for a bunch of people
who still make mistakes
who will continue to make mistakes
at least until they die
or Jesus comes back.
Sure one day Christians
will be made perfect
but it won't be this side of heaven.
We're going to talk about that
a little bit more next week.
But until then
what you see is what you get.
Christians are
and will be
imperfect.
So if you're a Christian
you need to hear
and believe these words.
There is now
no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
If you're sitting in this room
and you're unsure
whether or not you're in
whether or not you want to be in
you need to hear
that if you follow Jesus
the first thing he will do
is remove the possibility
of condemnation.
He will never let you go.
He will offer you peace
in his unconditional
and irreversible love.
So does that mean
that God doesn't care
what we do?
Does that mean
behaviour is irrelevant?
It's unimportant?
Does that mean
that Christians
should be comfortable
with the title hypocrite?
At least I'm a forgiven hypocrite.
Look back at verse 3.
What the law was powerless to do
because it was weakened
by the flesh
so the law wasn't
wasn't capable
of enabling us
to be good enough for God.
But the problem wasn't the law
it was weakened by the flesh
it was weakened by you and me.
The issue was the way
that we approach the law
as this oppressive force.
But what the law was powerless to do
because it was weakened
by the flesh
God did
by sending his own son
in the likeness of sinful flesh
to be a sin offering
and so he condemned
sin in the flesh.
Here's the key bit.
Verse 4.
Why did he do that?
Why did he take away condemnation?
What was the point?
Was it just so that we could
dance around and go
hey I can't get in trouble?
Verse 4.
In order that
the righteous requirement
of the law
might be fully met
in us
who do not live
according to the flesh
but according to the spirit.
In order that
that's why Jesus died.
That's why God
takes away condemnation.
So that we don't walk
through life
feeling crushed
by expectation
and guilt.
Jesus died in your place
and set you free
so that
you could start
the process of change.
So that with the verdict
already decided
so that with the punishment
possibility gone
with the security
of being a child of God
you could then
begin the process
of growing
in your holiness.
Now I've been struggling
all week to figure out
how to articulate
what I feel
when I say that.
Because it feels
like attention
doesn't it?
Hey there's no condemnation.
Jesus has died
so you can be forgiven
regardless of what you've done
or will do.
And nothing you can do
can undo
what Jesus has done.
But hey by the way
the whole point
was so that you would
start doing some stuff.
So that you would change.
So that you would be
a little bit different.
I mean
isn't that like
an irreconcilable tension?
Doesn't it sound strange
to be completely free
with conditions?
It feels like
an oxymoron.
The best word
that I can give for this
I was going to say
it's kind of
an apparent tension
a perceived tension
but I think what it is
is it's an experienced
tension.
Because we do experience this.
We know that God
has died for us.
We know that forgiveness
is in Him alone
and yet
even knowing that
we experience the guilt
of maybe wandering
too far in one direction
and holding these things apart.
So I'm either forgiven
or I'm guilty
and I need to try harder.
We really struggle
to hold those things together
but Paul
writes them
in this chapter
which is
designed
to make you feel secure
as a follower of Jesus.
Every verse in this chapter
is supposed to feed you
and make you walk out of here
feeling invincible
because God's love for you
cannot be taken.
Because His power
dwells in you
because no failure
no opposition
nothing can stop you
from God's good plan.
And in the middle of that
with a straight face
He says
you need to become
more like Jesus.
He puts a standard in there.
So He doesn't see it
as a tension
and yet we experience it
that way.
And the reason is
I believe
because the issue
isn't with the rules
themselves.
The issue isn't
with the command
to love your enemy
or to love your neighbour
or to honour your parents.
The issue
is that the laws
and the rules
and the standards
which are good
feel oppressive
because we never
ever meet them.
Because we hold them up
as a means
by which we might
somehow please God
or make Him happy
they become something
that has power over us.
which means
we've heard forgiveness
but we haven't understood
what we've been freed from.
That's what it says
at the beginning
of chapter 8
we've been freed
from the power
of the law.
The power of the law
is that it can crush us
with guilt
and oppression.
The power of the law
is that
it can hold us captive
but can't actually
deliver the thing
that we want
to please the God
who made us.
See the reason
this is an experience
tension
is because
we look at the law
as if it still
has power
without understanding
that what Jesus
does on the cross
as well as remove
penalty
as well as
draw us into
His family
is transform
the law
into what it's
always supposed to be
a good gift
from God
to show us
what it looks like
to walk the life
that He designed.
It goes from being
this oppressive
bar that we have
to meet
to being a map
to guide us
through life.
Augustine
articulates it
very helpfully
he says
law was given
that grace
might be sought
grace was given
that law
might be fulfilled
the law
was never
going to deliver
but it drives us
to Jesus
who does
and Jesus
takes us
back to the law
to show us
what it was
always supposed
to do anyway
to lead us
to show us
that there is
blessing
in loving
your enemy
that God
will bless you
as you seek
to obey Him
and do things
the way
that He designed.
Now a life
that lines up
with God's law
is not the means
by which you
become a Christian
it's not even
the measure
of whether or not
your Christian faith
is genuine
but it is
what it looks
like
to live
as somebody
who's been
freed.
That's why
it says
in verse 12
therefore
brothers and
sisters
we have an
obligation
okay we're
free
but brothers
and sisters
we have an
obligation
but it's not
to the flesh
to live
according to it
the flesh
is death
the flesh
delivered
nothing for us
the flesh
is that guilt
and oppression
for if you
live according
to the flesh
you will die
but if by the
spirit
you put to death
the misdeeds
of the body
you will live
the obligation
of the Christian
is to live
free
you can't
accept freedom
from God
and then put
the shackles
back on
that's rejecting
freedom
you can't
hold them
together
the obligation
we have
is to
recognize
that what
Jesus
has done
is released
us
to begin
obeying
those laws
not as
oppression
but as
encouragement
as opportunity
it's no longer
a weight
to be carried
it is a torch
to guide
the way
because the
reality is
before Jesus
there wasn't
even the
possibility
of obedience
that's what
makes the
rules and
laws so
oppressive
verse 7
says
the mind
governed by
the flesh
is hostile
to God
this is the
life before
we know
Jesus
it does not
submit to
God's law
nor can it
do so
those who
are in the
realm of
the flesh
cannot
please
God
without
Jesus
the word
that hangs
over our
life
that summarizes
everything we
do
even the
apparently
good things
is death
we are
incapable of
ever pleasing
our creator
in our own
strength
but having
removed
condemnation
he gives us
his spirit
that we might
know the
blessing of
walking the
path that he
designed for
us
that we
might understand
what he
meant when
Jesus said
I've come
that you
might have
life and
have it to
the full
now the
struggle with
sin is going
to continue
as long as
with this
side of
heaven it's
still going
to be
reality
verse 10
he says
it again
he says
if Christ
is in
you
even though
your body
is subject
to death
because of
sin
that is
it's still
around
you're still
dealing with
the pain
and consequences
of your
own
disobedience
and stupidity
in that
context
the spirit
gives life
because of
righteousness
the war
will continue
to wage
but it's
a battle
that's
already
won
because
verse 11
if the
spirit of
him who
raised
Jesus
from the
dead
is living
in you
he who
raised
Christ
from the
dead
will also
give life
to your
mortal
bodies
because
of his
spirit
who lives
in you
the power
of sin
and failure
its power
to condemn
us
both within
our conscience
and before
God
is nothing
compared
to the
power
of the
Holy
Spirit
that
raised
Jesus
from
the
dead
the
same
Holy
Spirit
that's
now
living
in us
empowering
us
to
progressively
win
the battle
against
sin
it's
not
that you
become
a
Christian
here
and your
holiness
level
is here
and then
you're
going to
be on
a pretty
straight
45 degree
angle
until one
day you
hit
perfection
that'd
be nice
because at
least you
could chart
your progress
you might
have moments
like this
and flatline
you might
win
your struggle
against sin
and then
lose
and then
win
and then
win
and then
lose
and then
lose
and then
win
and then
it's not
a clean
line like
that
but however
the line
goes
the possibility
of condemnation
is gone
the power
of sin
when you
lose
to drag
you deeper
and further
and to
create doubt
is gone
because however
your line
goes
it will
end up
in the
same
place
as
everybody
who
trusts
Jesus
verse 29
says
those God
foreknew
he also
predestined
to be
conformed
to the
image
of his
son
God's
doing
the work
and then
verse 30
those he
predestined
he called
those he
called
he justified
that's the
condemnation
removed
and those
he justified
he glorified
that's heaven
it's
inevitable
because the
condemnation
is gone
the end
point of
your life
is heaven
if you
trust in
Jesus
there is
no tension
between
God's grace
to us
and our
obligation
in this
passage
this chapter
is assuring
us
it's building
our confidence
in what God
has done
so that when
we fail
when we
struggle
there will
be peace
that we
might
continue
and that
peace is
found
in living
by his
spirit
living by
the spirit
is not
perfect
living
but it
is active
living
look at
verse 12
this is where
I want to
finish
therefore
brothers and
sisters
we have
an obligation
but it's
not to the
flesh to
live according
to it
for if you
live according
to the flesh
you will
die
but
this is what
it looks
like
but if
by the
spirit
you put
to death
the misdeeds
of the
body
you will
live
put to
death
the misdeeds
of your
body
that's
fairly
serious
language
you don't
tend to
kill anything
through
being passive
actively
fighting with
and killing
sin in your
life
actively
resisting
the things
that try
and drag
you away
from what
Christ
has done
for you
this is
not competing
with verse 1
no condemnation
and put to
death
sit next
to each
other
how do
we know
the deep
confidence
of being
loved by
God
through
Jesus
death
and
resurrection
how can
that verse
there is
no condemnation
be imprinted
on us
so deeply
that we
might never
forget
that truth
by putting
to death
the misdeeds
of the body
by living
according to
the spirit
and if that's
the key
what does
that look
like
for you
how do
you do
it
how do
you kill
sin
verse 2
through
Christ
Jesus
the law
of the
spirit
who gives
life
has set
you free
from the
law of
sin
and death
for what
the law
was powerless
to do
because it
was weakened
by the
flesh
God
did
by sending
his own
son
in the
likeness
of sinful
flesh
to be a
sin
offering
and so
he condemned
sin
in the
flesh
Jesus
is the
one
who
kills
sin
it's not
something
you have
to do
he empties
of it
of its
power
he condemns
it
he puts
it on
the cross
and leaves
it behind
in the
grave
we must
stop
trying to
do this
on our
own
the
greatest
source
of guilt
for the
Christian
the greatest
source
of
discouragement
for somebody
who's trying
to follow
Jesus
is trying
to do
what God
doesn't ask
you to
do
if you
want to
kill
your
sin
if you
want to
put it
to death
if you
want to
stop
being
controlled
by it
then hand
it over
to Jesus
because he
condemns it
in the
cross
he defeats
it
he destroys
it
confess it
to him
specifically
explicitly
don't hold
on to it
don't
don't try
and improve
a little
bit
before you
lay it
bare
before him
don't be
like oh
hey God
I was being
really greedy
with my
money a few
months ago
I'm in a
slightly better
place
please forgive
me for that
greed
before
you don't
mean it
you mean
look at how
well I did
God
you're trying
to kill
it yourself
don't hold
on to it
hand it
over
confess it
to him
to the
one place
where it
can be
killed
the cross
of your
saviour
Jesus
because as
a child
of God
no matter
how many
times you
come to
Jesus
with sin
that you
need to
confess
no matter
how many
times you
fail
you will
always be
welcomed
as a
child
no matter
how many
times you
come to
him
in
inadequacy
and
weakness
there is
no
condemnation
for you
when you
confess
and hand
your sin
and failure
to Jesus
you will
always find
grace
always find
forgiveness
and as
Romans 8
promises
in him
there you
will find
life
and peace
right now
we're going to
share in the
Lord's Supper
together
the whole
point of
this meal
is Romans 8
it's for
us to
remember
that
because
of
Jesus
life
and
death
there's
no
condemnation
for those
who
trust
in
him
it's
an
opportunity
for us
to put
to death
sin
right now
as we
eat
and drink
for us
to
specifically
and explicitly
hand to
God
the things
we know
are not in
line with
those who
claim to
follow him
hand them
over
and watch
him put
them to
death
as these
elements come
around I
want you to
hold on to
them so
that we
can eat
and drink
together
but as
they're
coming
around
prepare
yourself
to hand
over
whatever it
is that
you need
to hand
over
is there a
sin that
you've been
carrying
yourself
maybe a
really deep
one that
you've been
keeping secret
is there a
weight of
guilt that is
driving you
right now that
you need to
let go of
is there a
fear of
judgment
get ready
to hand
them over
to the
one who
loves
unconditionally
and then
once everybody's
got the
elements we're
going to eat
and drink
and celebrate
together
all
how to
forget
what
you
have
to
hold on
and
have
what
you
have
to
give
time
and
give
a
speech
and
give
them
and
if
you
have
them
have
to
invite
them
to
franchise
and
offer
them
is