WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.640 All right, y'all. We didn't have the video this Sunday, and that's all right. 00:00:08.099 --> 00:00:11.560 ! It just throws everything off, and we're not going to be able to continue, all right? 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:19.920 now, it's my little 60 seconds of kind of mentally preparing to get up here and face all you people. 00:00:21.400 --> 00:00:25.420 I'm kidding, y'all. It's all right. We're messing around. All right. We are going to continue our 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:30.520 series on Colossians today, so we're going to look at that, and so if you don't mind, just grab your 00:00:30.520 --> 00:00:36.960 Bible. If you don't have one in front of you, grab a copy from the seat back or look on with someone 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:43.100 else. If you need to use the Bible app on your phone or tablet, that's fine as well, but just let's try 00:00:43.100 --> 00:00:48.460 to get every set of eyes looking at the Word of God. Colossians chapter 1. We're going to continue 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:54.480 on where we left off. We covered verses 1 through 20 last Sunday. We're going to pick up in verse 21 00:00:54.479 --> 00:01:00.319 today, and we're not going to get very far. We're going to get down to verse 23, all right? So we're 00:01:00.319 --> 00:01:06.879 going to have some fun with these three verses, but let's dive in and see what Paul was trying to teach 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:14.219 this church in Colossae about Jesus. Before we get into the text, while some of you are still turning 00:01:14.219 --> 00:01:21.239 there, there's a show from Australia that's represented on the screens right now. How many of you have ever 00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:27.399 seen this? I think it's on Amazon Prime if you happen to have that. It's called Hunted. Anybody 00:01:27.399 --> 00:01:32.060 ever seen this? I think they had a British version as well. I haven't seen that, but the Australian 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:41.280 version was highly entertaining. It's a reality show where regular people try to disappear for 21 days 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:48.219 while a team of elite investigators, professional investigators, tracks them down from a headquarters 00:01:48.219 --> 00:01:58.780 using every tool possible, phone data, cameras, drones, bank transactions, everything, internet history, 00:01:59.260 --> 00:02:06.780 all that, and they go back to before the 21 days even started. So they are unleashing all the power that 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:15.879 quote-unquote big brother government has and trying to track down these 21, I'm sorry, about, I think it's 10 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:19.460 people. I don't remember exactly how many people it is. However many people are on the screen there. 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:25.900 But they try to disappear for 21 days while this team of pros tries to track them down. It's very 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:34.659 entertaining. They'll go off the grid, they'll ditch their phones, hide in the bush, depend on their 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:42.620 network of people, friends to take them in and hide them out. But sooner or later, the hunters catch up. 00:02:42.620 --> 00:02:52.800 Because the reality is, in our world today, it's really hard to disappear. Everything leaves a trace. 00:02:54.060 --> 00:03:01.780 Every step, every move, every word is tracked in our society today. And I'm not trying to scare you, 00:03:02.480 --> 00:03:08.379 it's just the reality of the digital age in which we live. So it's hard to go off grid, 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:14.699 and this show kind of proves that out. You can delete something from your phone, but it stays in 00:03:14.699 --> 00:03:21.560 the cloud. Your internet leaves cookies. Has anybody ever seen this? I didn't put this in the script 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:27.800 today, but has anybody ever seen the humorous video where late at night a guy's doorbell rings 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:31.800 and somebody comes up, she knows what I'm talking about, somebody comes up and he says, 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:38.560 hey sir, I've got your cookies here. And he says, what? He said, no, I've got your cookies here. He's 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:45.700 got a little box of cookies. And he said, I didn't order any cookies. He said, yes, you accepted the 00:03:45.700 --> 00:03:51.700 cookies. I said, what are you talking about? He said, well, every time you go on a website, it pops up 00:03:51.700 --> 00:03:58.040 and says, do you accept these cookies? And you clicked okay every time. So he said, oh, okay, well, I guess 00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:02.179 I'll take your cookies. So he said, I know it meant real cookies. So he hands him a box of cookies. 00:04:02.500 --> 00:04:06.560 Then he looks back and says, all right guys, come on up. And truckload after truckload of cookies 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:15.000 pulls up. Awesome. I don't exactly know what cookies are, but I feel like they're tracking me and it 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:22.959 makes me nervous. Anyway, that's the world in which we live, right? Spiritually, Paul says the same 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:35.479 thing about us. We've all got a record. Everything we've thought, said, or done leaves a trace and it 00:04:35.479 --> 00:04:44.879 goes on our permanent record. We can hide it. We can deny it. We can say we're reformed from it. 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:55.139 It's water under the bridge, but we cannot erase it. And it can always be held against us. 00:04:56.519 --> 00:05:10.480 But there's good news. When Jesus saves us, he doesn't just cover our past. He erases it. 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:26.060 He does the impossible. In the eyes of God, it can't be tracked anymore. It's gone. Sin, hatefulness, 00:05:27.420 --> 00:05:37.640 lust, selfishness, deceit, fear, all the fruits of the evil and wickedness that lies inside every one of 00:05:37.639 --> 00:05:44.939 us in this room. And there's a lot of fruit in our lives of that kind of stuff, isn't there? 00:05:45.719 --> 00:05:52.879 There's a lot of sin that has popped its way into our lives. When we look back from the time you were 00:05:52.879 --> 00:06:04.259 a little kid all the way up to now, God wipes the slate, washes it with his blood. Not just what's in 00:06:04.259 --> 00:06:13.099 the past, but what's in the future. So when God the Father looks at you, he sees his son's washed 00:06:13.099 --> 00:06:21.300 blood, blood washing all your sins clean. That's why the sacrifice happened. We're jumping ahead a 00:06:21.300 --> 00:06:27.480 little bit, but that's okay. I want to nail this point down that even though you'll remember what 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:33.759 you've done. Others might remember what you've done or who you are. When God the Father looks at you, 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:41.520 says, nope, that's my perfect child. Because it's not their righteousness that makes them perfect. 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:48.560 It's the righteousness of my son. The Bible word is imputed, not a word that you and I use most days. 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:58.100 But it's been transferred. It's been stamped onto ours. God's righteousness on our lives 00:06:58.100 --> 00:07:07.660 blows my mind. How could God see his son's, Jesus's righteousness when he looks at my life? 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:14.620 That's what Jesus did for us. So he doesn't just press a button and clear our history. 00:07:14.620 --> 00:07:23.139 He writes a whole new story. He rewrites our story. So that's what we're talking about today 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:28.579 when we dive into the rest of Colossians, or the next few verses of Colossians 1. 00:07:29.540 --> 00:07:33.879 Is this thing going to work? Here we go. All right, if you'll take me to the, here we go. 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:38.519 Christ over all. That's our series through Colossians. That's kind of the theme of this entire letter 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:45.459 that Paul wrote to this church in Colossae so long ago from his house arrest. He was a prisoner of Rome 00:07:45.459 --> 00:07:52.459 and he wrote this to this church as an edification or an uplifting encouragement to them, a reminder 00:07:52.459 --> 00:08:00.379 to keep Christ at the center of it all, ruling over it all. Last Sunday, we looked at the first 20 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:07.419 verses of Colossians. We highlighted verse 17. He holds it all together, right? Who's in control, 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:15.160 church? Y'all didn't sound very convincing. Who's in control? Yes, he is. That's right. He is in 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:20.540 control. Who's holding it all together? Your relationships. Who's holding it together? 00:08:21.620 --> 00:08:26.620 Your health. Who's holding it together? Say, man, he's not doing a very good job. He's doing it 00:08:26.620 --> 00:08:32.200 exactly according to his will. And there's a reason behind it all. And we can trust, even when things 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:39.320 aren't perfect on this earth, we can trust he's got it all together. It hasn't surprised him. It hasn't 00:08:39.320 --> 00:08:48.200 gotten out of his control. So we looked at Christ over the cosmos last Sunday. That should say week 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:53.400 two and I forgot to change it. That's all right. So in today, we're going to look at Christ over us. 00:08:53.660 --> 00:08:58.660 Last Sunday, we kind of went broad with it. Christ over the ordered, created universe, 00:08:58.659 --> 00:09:04.219 the cosmos. Yes, we believe God rules over everything. He created it. He rules over it. 00:09:04.279 --> 00:09:10.860 He's restoring it. He's bringing order back to it. But he also rules over you and me, 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:20.199 Christ over us. So let's look at Colossians chapter one and verse 21. Once you were alienated from God, 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:31.740 alienated. That's a big word, isn't it? Relationship broken. That's what that means. 00:09:32.900 --> 00:09:39.980 Considered you an illegal alien. That's a talking point in the news today, isn't it? What we're doing 00:09:39.980 --> 00:09:47.840 about illegal immigrants or aliens. That's the language that God used here with us. He said, 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:54.460 you were the illegal immigrants. You were the illegal aliens. You were living in my world against 00:09:54.460 --> 00:10:04.340 my laws. You had gotten here illegally, so to speak, and you were not in accordance with my laws. 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:12.040 I had every right to wipe you out. But instead, I made a different choice. 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:25.099 I sacrificed my son to restore the relationship, to make you legal. So once you were alienated from God 00:10:25.099 --> 00:10:34.919 and you were enemies with God in your minds because of your evil behavior, you weren't all warm and fuzzy 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:44.439 about God. He was the other side. You couldn't meet his expectations. You couldn't obey his laws. 00:10:45.579 --> 00:10:52.039 You were enemies. That's the reality of it. We like to look back. And I love what Gus said in his 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:57.139 baptism testimony last Sunday. He said, I never remember a time when I didn't believe in Jesus 00:10:57.139 --> 00:11:01.439 because my parents taught me this. My dad would tuck me in every night and pray and read scriptures 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:07.940 with me. And that's wonderful. We do the same thing with our children. But until they come to that moment 00:11:07.940 --> 00:11:14.480 of saving faith in Christ for themselves, not just because their parents taught it to them, 00:11:15.420 --> 00:11:18.280 then the relationship between them and God is still broken. 00:11:19.760 --> 00:11:25.580 And they're actually enemies. We were all enemies with God until we accepted Jesus' payment. 00:11:25.580 --> 00:11:32.560 Then the payment that he made on the cross was then applied to us. See, I can go and I can take all 00:11:32.560 --> 00:11:41.580 your bills and I can pay them. But until you accept it, it does no good for you because you can go down 00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:47.980 and you can pay the same bills if you'd like. That'd be silly. But so often we try to do that with Jesus. 00:11:48.300 --> 00:11:53.960 He went and paid our sin debt. But so many people say, nope, I don't believe it. I'm going to go pay it 00:11:53.960 --> 00:12:00.460 myself. I'm going to die and suffer the penalty for all my law breaking for all time because I refuse 00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:08.259 to accept the payment that Jesus already made. So we were actually enemies with God until that faith 00:12:08.259 --> 00:12:18.740 in us was born. But now, verse 22, since you have placed your faith in Christ, now he has reconciled you, 00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:28.340 relationship restored by Christ's physical body through his death to present you wholly in God's sight 00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:38.000 without blemish and free from accusation. You can't be accused by anybody now because Jesus made things 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:44.580 right between you and God. Now there's no more accusation. The devil can't shake his fist at you 00:12:44.580 --> 00:12:52.920 and say, yeah, but remember what you did. Remember what you said. Remember what you thought. Remember 00:12:52.920 --> 00:12:59.860 what you wanted. That's who you really are. Anybody, the devil ever done that to them? Am I the only one? 00:13:00.040 --> 00:13:09.440 Yeah, Sonia, you and me. Yep, right there. It's so true. You know what he is? A deceiver. 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:15.300 Remember, he's lying to you. He's trying to get you to believe that that's who you really are. 00:13:15.700 --> 00:13:25.480 God's telling you, no, no, no, no. That's who you were. Now under my blood, with my new birth, 00:13:25.680 --> 00:13:32.900 I've literally given birth to a new person in you. I'm creating this new person. God is making you 00:13:32.900 --> 00:13:38.720 different. So don't believe the devil's lies. Remember all the time? Remember last week? 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:47.000 Remember last night? That's who you really are. Jesus is saying, no, no, no. I'm remolding you. 00:13:47.520 --> 00:13:55.840 I'm training you in a new way. My spirit is in you and I'm molding you and changing you and training 00:13:55.840 --> 00:14:04.440 you to become like me. That's the new you. So he says in verse 22, now he's reconciled you 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:12.600 through his death to present you holy in his sight, free from accusation without blemish. And if you 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:22.860 continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel, 00:14:23.260 --> 00:14:28.060 this is the gospel that you have heard and has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:33.899 and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. So Paul's saying, this is what I've sold out to. 00:14:34.299 --> 00:14:40.199 It's preaching this message. Paul was one of those people that just had to give it 110%, 00:14:40.199 --> 00:14:45.859 whatever he was doing. Probably if he was, you know, playing fantasy football back then, 00:14:45.979 --> 00:14:49.199 he would have been winning the championship every year because he'd just go all in. 00:14:51.139 --> 00:14:55.079 Fantasy football is on my mind because I'm losing and the guys in this church are beating me right now 00:14:55.080 --> 00:15:02.060 and it's driving me nuts. Y'all just lucky Paul ain't playing in our league, man. 00:15:03.660 --> 00:15:10.620 Paul was just all in on whatever he did. So when he was before Christ, he was all in killing Christians. 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:15.860 He was all in as the strong arm of the government. He was their hatchet man. He was going out 00:15:15.860 --> 00:15:24.280 trying to destroy this illegal religion. Then Jesus got a hold of him. And I'm sure in the darkness 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:29.379 of night, Satan would come back to him and say, there's no way you could change. There's no way 00:15:29.379 --> 00:15:36.480 this is real. This isn't the real you. You know who you are. You're a wicked, evil, hateful man. 00:15:38.179 --> 00:15:45.319 Paul's saying, God has made me new. And if he's made me new, he can make all of you new. And so he went 00:15:45.319 --> 00:15:53.799 all in with this new identity. He's saying, this is what I'm about. I am a servant to this news, 00:15:53.799 --> 00:16:00.599 this good news. We call it the gospel. So this is where we leave off. 00:16:02.339 --> 00:16:12.539 Jesus redeems your past, reconciles your present, and reframes your future. That's the whole big idea 00:16:12.539 --> 00:16:18.979 of this talk today. For the next few minutes, I want to show you from God's word how Jesus can redeem 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:24.500 your past like he did for Paul, like he did for me, like he has for so many in this room, how he can 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:33.220 reconcile you to your present and how he can reframe how you see your future. So let's look at it. 00:16:33.560 --> 00:16:43.039 Number one, your past is who you were. Look back at verse 21. Once you were alienated from God 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:50.219 and you were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior, sin doesn't just show up on your 00:16:50.219 --> 00:16:59.319 record. It breaks the relationship. Sin doesn't just show up on your record. It breaks the relationship. 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:03.759 You can have a record with the government, right? 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:12.700 By the way, most of us have some sort of record. That's how they do background checks. When you go 00:17:12.700 --> 00:17:17.980 and get fingerprinted for something and where you get background checks, there's some kind of record 00:17:17.980 --> 00:17:22.819 and they'll see, is there any criminal history or activity on that record? Maybe some of you have 00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:29.680 some, maybe some of you don't. Regardless, having a record with God is different than having a record 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:39.320 with the government. You might get arrested for, you know, I don't know, disturbing the peace or 00:17:39.320 --> 00:17:44.720 something when you're in high school and you go out and do something dumb. And that stays on your record, 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:50.500 right? But that doesn't mean that the relationship between you and the government is broken for all 00:17:50.500 --> 00:17:59.600 time. With God's laws, it's different. God expects perfection. He expects you to never break one 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:08.319 law of his. Good luck with that. I can't. I can't do it. Neither can you. We're all imperfect. 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:15.359 Why does he have such unrealistic expectations? Because that's who he is. He's perfect. He's saying, 00:18:15.459 --> 00:18:20.759 if you want to be like me, if you want to have a relationship with me, if you want to live in my 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:28.539 world, perfection is the standard. Well, he knew we couldn't reach that. But that's the reality of who 00:18:28.539 --> 00:18:37.119 we were. The relationship was broken. There was no path forward. And some of us, we've got to get 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:43.619 back to that in our minds. We've got to remember. Some of you, it's been too long and you've deceived 00:18:43.619 --> 00:18:49.980 yourself into thinking, well, I wasn't really all that bad. I've always kind of been a good guy. 00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:57.740 always kind of been a good girl. Yeah, nobody's perfect, but I've always been pretty good. 00:18:58.860 --> 00:19:06.220 And when we start that kind of thinking, it undermines what Jesus actually did for us. 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:13.720 And it actually lessens how great and how good God is. Because you start to see yourself 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:21.059 as better than you are. The reality is everyone in this room, even the people we would look around 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:28.500 and say, oh man, he's such a good guy. Man, she is such a wonderful, sweet, kind lady. The truth is, 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:39.680 even those people are just as bad as any of the rest of us. It's true. Because we've all had a 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:53.039 relationship broken with God. None of us had any hope. We were all enemies, illegal aliens in God's eyes. 00:19:54.160 --> 00:20:01.759 The same sacrifice had to happen for their sin as it did for yours. So never believe this idea 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:06.259 that anybody's better than you or that you're better than anybody else. 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:13.379 God sees us all as equally guilty and equally condemned in his eyes. 00:20:15.619 --> 00:20:23.099 Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1 down through verse 3 teaches us the same concept. You were dead 00:20:23.099 --> 00:20:30.720 in transgressions and sins. You were following the ways of this world, not following the ways of God. 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:38.779 You were following everything that was counter to God. So sin doesn't just show up on your record. It 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:44.700 breaks your relationship. And your sins didn't make you bad. They made you broken. Do you understand 00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:51.720 the difference there? Say, well, he's a bad person. Now, we're all bad. Why? Because bad is the opposite 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:57.720 of good. Only God is good. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was we were broken. 00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:09.660 Sin. Sin breaks. Sin is bad. But what does it cause? It makes us broken. God made it perfect. 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:18.960 God made it whole. Sin broke it. Sin ruined it. And it's been doing it in all of our lives ever since. 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:24.240 Why are all the bad things happening in the world today? Why did that death happen in your family? 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:33.880 Why do bad things happen? Because sin breaks. Sin ruins. This world is experiencing century after 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:41.319 century of sin and brokenness. And it just keeps getting worse and worse and worse. We keep seeing 00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:47.880 the results of it. And they show up and say, how do these things happen? Because sin breaks things. 00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:59.020 And that's the problem. That's why we need a healer. That's why we need somebody to fix it. Because we 00:21:59.020 --> 00:22:09.180 can't. So this is who we were. Our sins didn't just make us bad. They made us broken. But God doesn't 00:22:09.180 --> 00:22:14.480 leave us there. He doesn't leave us there. Let's go to number two. Your present is who you are now. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:20.039 Now I'm talking to everybody in the room that has placed their faith in Jesus Christ. 00:22:20.620 --> 00:22:25.700 And I don't begin to think that everybody in this room has done that. You may consider yourself a good 00:22:25.700 --> 00:22:30.120 person. You may believe in God. You're here in church this morning. That's great. That's a feather in 00:22:30.120 --> 00:22:33.900 your cap. But a feather in your cap doesn't do anything for your eternal destiny with God. 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:39.500 You got to do it his way. You got to follow his commands. He said, I am the way, the truth, 00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:44.299 and the life. You got to find your truth in him. He alone can give you life. And you've got to follow 00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:48.940 his way. What does that mean? His way says, if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:55.500 and you will believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved from your sins. 00:22:55.579 --> 00:23:00.619 You've got to turn to him. Say, I'll place my faith in Jesus. So if you have done that in this room, 00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:04.920 then I'm talking to you right now. And Paul's talking to you. This, the people in Colossae that had done 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:09.120 that. If you have not done that in this room, please come talk to me afterwards. I'm not going 00:23:09.120 --> 00:23:12.140 to try to beat you over the head with the Bible. I'm not going to try to take up all your time. 00:23:12.320 --> 00:23:17.759 I just want to show you what God's message to you, God's invitation to you to become a child of God. 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:28.000 So who we are now, verse 22. Now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death. 00:23:28.120 --> 00:23:33.600 What does this word reconciled mean? It means being brought back together. You were cut off. 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:40.919 Now you're connected. You were cut off from God. Now you're connected to God. You have a connection. 00:23:41.559 --> 00:23:44.159 You ever meet somebody and it just feels like you have a connection with them? 00:23:44.779 --> 00:23:48.459 That's what you can have with God now. That's what you can have with the almighty, 00:23:48.719 --> 00:23:54.799 the creator of the universe, the one who designed you. The relationship can be restored. You can have 00:23:54.799 --> 00:24:01.719 a connection with God again. And so that's what he's saying. Now you are reconciled. You were guilty. 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:10.140 Now you're covered in grace. You've gone from guilty to grace covered. How amazing is that? 00:24:11.100 --> 00:24:17.460 I was guilty. It wasn't that I was wrongfully accused. Oh no, we were rightfully accused. 00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:24.259 We did all those things we were accused of. We did all those things other people have accused us of, 00:24:24.259 --> 00:24:28.960 usually. And even if we didn't, there's more we've done that they didn't know about. 00:24:30.220 --> 00:24:35.619 So my mom always said, any moms always say that to their kids? Well, I didn't do what you think I did. 00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:40.299 Yeah, but you did a bunch of stuff I didn't know about. So just consider this correction for those 00:24:40.299 --> 00:24:47.680 things, right? That's how I was raised. You didn't achieve reconciliation. You received it. 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:53.759 Okay. Ephesians chapter two and verse 13. It condemned us just a minute ago in Ephesians. And 00:24:53.759 --> 00:25:00.759 now it says, now you who were once far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 00:25:01.380 --> 00:25:06.620 When Jesus made that sacrifice, man, you Christians are always talking about blood. What is the deal 00:25:06.620 --> 00:25:12.759 with this thing? You and blood, right? You got to trace it all the way back. It's sacrifice. Sin brings 00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:22.779 death. Sin brings loss. Sin breaks. That was always the picture with death and sacrifices. 00:25:23.879 --> 00:25:30.500 And then Jesus said, I'm the last one who has to bleed. I'm the last one who has to die. My death, 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:38.079 my sacrifice, the blood that I shed, that is enough now to cover all your sins. Y'all, I'm convinced. 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:42.660 And I'm not alone. Billy Graham. Anybody ever heard the name Billy Graham in here? Yeah, 00:25:42.660 --> 00:25:47.000 I figured. All right. I'm in good company. Here we go. If you say something and you say, 00:25:47.060 --> 00:25:53.400 Billy Graham said it too, it helps your cause a lot, right? Billy Graham believed that 90% of the 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:59.820 people who sit in American churches today don't have a real relationship with Jesus. Look it up. 00:25:59.940 --> 00:26:06.960 Google it. I'm not making it up. Now, was he crazy? I don't think he was crazy. 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:15.259 So I'm convinced there are people in our churches and churches like ours today 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:20.779 who think they've got God figured out, but they don't have a real understanding 00:26:20.779 --> 00:26:25.120 of who they were, what he did for them, 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:30.120 and what it means to have a real relationship with Jesus. 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:39.119 It's more transactional for them. It's a transaction. Well, I repented of my sins. 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:47.019 God gives me forgiveness, and now we're good. That's not how it works. God's there to make a new you. 00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:59.339 The old you couldn't work. It had to go away. God has to make a new you. If he's not making a new you, 00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:07.839 then you've got to look back, put yourself under the magnifying glass and say, am I really saved? 00:27:07.839 --> 00:27:11.240 Am I really a child of God? 00:27:12.879 --> 00:27:14.659 Because he's not changing me. 00:27:16.199 --> 00:27:20.379 That doesn't mean he's going to change every little part of you at all the times that you want him to change it. 00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:22.480 Well, God, give me more self-discipline. 00:27:23.179 --> 00:27:27.039 God, make me a healthier person. God, make me a less angry person. 00:27:27.139 --> 00:27:28.359 Well, some of that takes time. 00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:32.740 But if you're not seeing fruit of the Spirit, then you've got to look back and say, 00:27:32.740 --> 00:27:38.200 have I really put my faith in Jesus? Or is this a transaction between me and God? 00:27:39.059 --> 00:27:45.839 So, Ephesians 2.13, you who were once far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:50.140 You've been far away, and he's brought you to be family. 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:53.660 That's why we call it the family of God. 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:57.359 Old Christian songwriter Bill Gaither wrote a song, 00:27:57.420 --> 00:27:59.400 I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. 00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:03.620 I've been washed in his fountain, cleansed by his blood. 00:28:04.400 --> 00:28:07.519 Now I'm a joint, Jesus isn't the only heir anymore. 00:28:07.620 --> 00:28:11.700 Now I'm a joint heir with Jesus as we travel along this earth. 00:28:11.980 --> 00:28:14.259 I'm part of the family, the family of God. 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:17.759 So you were far away, and now you're family. 00:28:19.460 --> 00:28:22.540 Think back to those records we talked about at the beginning. 00:28:23.340 --> 00:28:24.300 Those digital records. 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:28.980 As fast and far as those people try to run, 00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:33.660 the hunters back at headquarters, 00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:37.080 all they had to do was hit a few computer buttons, 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.900 and they could figure out where they were. 00:28:40.620 --> 00:28:44.100 Well, it looks like he has a cousin in this part of Australia, 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:48.340 and it looks like we saw him on a closed circuit camera, 00:28:48.560 --> 00:28:50.259 and they were hopping a bus for this area, 00:28:50.360 --> 00:28:52.980 so we're pretty sure he's going to go visit this cousin, 00:28:53.120 --> 00:28:55.120 try to stay there, so they'd show up at that house. 00:28:55.120 --> 00:28:55.880 Boom, there they are. 00:28:55.880 --> 00:28:59.020 There's a record everywhere. 00:29:00.340 --> 00:29:03.040 Jesus doesn't just clear your history. 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:06.880 Jesus rewrites a whole new story. 00:29:07.340 --> 00:29:09.500 Jesus recreates a whole new you. 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:11.100 That's how it had to be. 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:17.779 You or I were too flawed. 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:19.259 We were too broken. 00:29:19.619 --> 00:29:22.219 We were born into the wrong family. 00:29:22.699 --> 00:29:24.659 We were born into the family of sin. 00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:27.619 God had to rebirth us. 00:29:27.619 --> 00:29:31.639 That's why it's called a new birth. 00:29:32.059 --> 00:29:34.179 That's why the Pharisees showed up to Jesus saying, 00:29:34.519 --> 00:29:36.019 you're talking about being born again. 00:29:36.119 --> 00:29:36.979 What does this mean? 00:29:37.379 --> 00:29:39.799 Are we supposed to crawl back into our mom's wombs? 00:29:40.959 --> 00:29:44.519 Jesus said, no, that's not it. 00:29:44.879 --> 00:29:45.879 Don't do that. 00:29:47.899 --> 00:29:49.239 That's not what it's about. 00:29:49.959 --> 00:29:53.219 It's about spiritually rebirthing you, 00:29:53.220 --> 00:29:55.600 and that's why when Satan comes to you and says, 00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:56.779 I know who you really are, 00:29:56.940 --> 00:29:58.940 say, no, no, no, that was the old me. 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:00.440 God killed it. 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:03.720 That one died on the cross with Jesus. 00:30:04.120 --> 00:30:05.539 God's rebirthing me. 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:07.259 He made me a new person, 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:09.700 and now I'm growing up with Jesus, 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:11.200 and he's teaching me how to live. 00:30:11.819 --> 00:30:13.500 He's teaching me how to talk like him. 00:30:13.920 --> 00:30:15.380 He's teaching me how to walk like him. 00:30:15.539 --> 00:30:17.039 He's teaching me how to act like him. 00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:18.640 This is a whole process, Satan. 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:19.539 You wouldn't get it. 00:30:19.539 --> 00:30:22.119 That's how we can respond, 00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:25.859 because now we're family with God. 00:30:26.599 --> 00:30:27.599 He brought us in. 00:30:29.220 --> 00:30:29.420 So, 00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:36.420 Jesus' blood pays it in full. 00:30:37.980 --> 00:30:39.859 It's like Satan could print out 00:30:39.859 --> 00:30:42.659 all of the sins that we've ever done, 00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:45.299 and he could bring it to God's courtroom, 00:30:45.859 --> 00:30:46.920 and he could say, 00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:49.039 I remember the day when Delbert did this. 00:30:50.539 --> 00:30:51.200 And Delbert says, 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:52.440 yep, I did it. 00:30:53.420 --> 00:30:55.579 And God gets out his big old heavenly stamp 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:56.039 and said, 00:30:56.500 --> 00:30:57.659 no problem. 00:30:57.879 --> 00:30:58.920 Jesus paid that in full. 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:01.500 Carson Murphy 00:31:01.500 --> 00:31:04.180 punched that guy that day. 00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:06.019 We're all like, 00:31:06.059 --> 00:31:07.339 Carson, what were you thinking, man? 00:31:07.460 --> 00:31:08.480 Jesus said, paid in full. 00:31:09.319 --> 00:31:10.980 Carson didn't punch anybody that I'm aware of. 00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:12.879 I just wanted to pick on him for a minute, 00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:14.059 because his face was looking at me. 00:31:15.539 --> 00:31:16.579 Don't make eye contact. 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:17.819 I'm calling you next. 00:31:17.819 --> 00:31:21.139 Whatever it is, 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:24.359 you fill in the blank with whatever really happened in your life. 00:31:25.619 --> 00:31:27.700 Jesus paid it in full. 00:31:30.819 --> 00:31:32.500 Jesus paid it in full. 00:31:32.500 --> 00:31:35.299 And you don't have to owe him anything. 00:31:37.180 --> 00:31:38.059 Except your life. 00:31:40.119 --> 00:31:41.460 But why wouldn't you give it to him? 00:31:42.839 --> 00:31:44.099 Why wouldn't you give him control? 00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:46.640 Why wouldn't you say, 00:31:46.720 --> 00:31:46.940 God, 00:31:47.160 --> 00:31:49.559 I know you prove that you love me. 00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:51.460 You have my best interests at heart. 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:54.000 You're shaping me into a new person. 00:31:54.619 --> 00:31:55.559 Show me how to do this. 00:31:56.259 --> 00:31:57.279 Show me how to live this life. 00:31:57.279 --> 00:31:59.359 And that's your future. 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:02.859 Your future is who you are becoming. 00:32:04.139 --> 00:32:04.740 Verse 23, 00:32:04.859 --> 00:32:07.039 if you continue in your faith, 00:32:07.599 --> 00:32:09.319 established and firm. 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:12.139 That's what God's making us now. 00:32:13.019 --> 00:32:14.099 Establishing us. 00:32:15.059 --> 00:32:17.519 Giving us firm ground on which to walk. 00:32:18.460 --> 00:32:21.899 Continuing in this faith that he birthed in you. 00:32:22.600 --> 00:32:25.340 Salvation is not a one-time transaction. 00:32:25.860 --> 00:32:28.540 It is a lifetime transformation. 00:32:29.960 --> 00:32:32.960 God's relationship with you is not transactional. 00:32:33.540 --> 00:32:35.140 You don't go to the God store 00:32:35.140 --> 00:32:37.440 and trade your sin for his forgiveness. 00:32:37.700 --> 00:32:38.800 That's not how it works. 00:32:39.340 --> 00:32:41.660 God's transforming you into a new person. 00:32:42.019 --> 00:32:43.880 So if he's not transforming you, 00:32:44.140 --> 00:32:45.820 are you really a child of God? 00:32:46.540 --> 00:32:48.360 That's what we have to ask ourselves. 00:32:49.120 --> 00:32:50.620 And that's where James teaches us, 00:32:50.619 --> 00:32:52.659 look, I'll show you my faith 00:32:52.659 --> 00:32:55.479 with the works that God's doing in my life. 00:32:56.639 --> 00:33:00.339 Nothing that I can do can earn God's forgiveness. 00:33:00.659 --> 00:33:02.159 But once I've been forgiven, 00:33:02.659 --> 00:33:04.399 transformation starts to happen. 00:33:04.639 --> 00:33:06.359 And then the works show up. 00:33:06.819 --> 00:33:10.500 Because God's spirit will not sit silently your whole life. 00:33:11.399 --> 00:33:13.879 God's spirit will not just go sit in a corner 00:33:13.879 --> 00:33:15.959 and be content to just watch you 00:33:15.959 --> 00:33:18.099 live the rest of your life for yourself. 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:19.679 That's not how it works. 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:22.000 God's spirit will be active. 00:33:23.180 --> 00:33:24.660 He wants to take over. 00:33:25.320 --> 00:33:26.820 He wants to transform you, 00:33:27.120 --> 00:33:28.519 turn you into a whole new person. 00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:30.539 So when we listen to that voice 00:33:30.539 --> 00:33:32.799 and we allow him to guide us, 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:35.660 then he transforms us into something else. 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:39.080 Philippians chapter one and verse six puts it this way. 00:33:39.480 --> 00:33:42.259 He who began a good work in you 00:33:42.259 --> 00:33:45.279 will carry it on to completion 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:48.079 until the day of Jesus Christ. 00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:49.819 When the day of Jesus Christ, 00:33:49.899 --> 00:33:50.720 when that comes back, 00:33:50.920 --> 00:33:51.899 when Jesus comes back, 00:33:52.019 --> 00:33:53.319 we get to go home to heaven. 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:54.220 It's wonderful. 00:33:54.399 --> 00:33:55.240 We get to live forever. 00:33:55.579 --> 00:33:57.960 Get our forever started with the father. 00:33:58.259 --> 00:33:58.859 It'll be awesome. 00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:00.160 But until then, 00:34:00.359 --> 00:34:03.180 God's got a good work going in your life and in mine. 00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:04.019 And he says, 00:34:04.019 --> 00:34:05.920 I'm going to carry it on to completion. 00:34:06.579 --> 00:34:08.420 I'm not going to do a halfway job. 00:34:08.840 --> 00:34:12.219 I'm going to complete the work in you. 00:34:13.420 --> 00:34:17.039 He didn't start your story to stop halfway through. 00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:19.460 Second Corinthians puts it this way. 00:34:19.460 --> 00:34:23.380 We all are being transformed into his image 00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:25.460 with ever increasing glory, 00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:27.760 which comes from the Lord. 00:34:28.900 --> 00:34:31.860 We all are being transformed into his image 00:34:31.860 --> 00:34:33.760 with ever increasing glory, 00:34:33.960 --> 00:34:34.940 which comes from the Lord. 00:34:35.099 --> 00:34:37.059 So the glory of your life 00:34:37.059 --> 00:34:39.519 is not anything that you or I could accomplish. 00:34:39.780 --> 00:34:42.139 The glory of your life is God's glory. 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:44.260 All the praise, 00:34:44.920 --> 00:34:45.699 all the glory, 00:34:46.240 --> 00:34:47.880 all the good things 00:34:47.880 --> 00:34:49.380 that people pat you on the back for, 00:34:50.019 --> 00:34:52.440 that all points back to Jesus. 00:34:53.240 --> 00:34:55.380 Every exploit we read about in the Bible, 00:34:55.940 --> 00:34:56.480 in the Bible, 00:34:56.579 --> 00:34:57.800 all those wonderful stories 00:34:57.800 --> 00:34:59.139 that we read about in the Old Testament, 00:34:59.420 --> 00:35:00.519 all the wonderful things 00:35:00.519 --> 00:35:01.960 that we read about in the New Testament, 00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:04.059 it all points back to Jesus. 00:35:04.059 --> 00:35:05.840 It all glorifies God. 00:35:06.360 --> 00:35:07.699 Sometimes through sin, 00:35:08.039 --> 00:35:09.500 sometimes through brokenness, 00:35:09.940 --> 00:35:11.280 through being apart from God, 00:35:11.400 --> 00:35:13.440 it brings it back to God and says, 00:35:13.559 --> 00:35:14.720 God is so much better. 00:35:15.539 --> 00:35:16.720 God can heal this. 00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:18.639 God can redeem it. 00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:20.079 God can transform it. 00:35:21.359 --> 00:35:23.659 So faith is not a moment. 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:25.259 It's momentum. 00:35:26.980 --> 00:35:30.299 This is an onward progress. 00:35:30.859 --> 00:35:32.199 It's transformation. 00:35:32.199 --> 00:35:35.419 It's not a transactional moment 00:35:35.419 --> 00:35:36.599 where you said, 00:35:36.679 --> 00:35:36.839 yep, 00:35:36.899 --> 00:35:38.279 I got saved back then. 00:35:38.379 --> 00:35:40.500 You are being saved. 00:35:41.019 --> 00:35:44.019 That started an eternal process in you. 00:35:44.759 --> 00:35:45.539 Guess what? 00:35:45.799 --> 00:35:46.719 You keep sinning, 00:35:46.799 --> 00:35:47.159 don't you? 00:35:48.199 --> 00:35:49.939 I don't believe I'm the only one. 00:35:49.940 --> 00:35:52.420 I think we all keep sinning. 00:35:53.059 --> 00:35:55.079 So God keeps cleansing us. 00:35:55.780 --> 00:35:57.960 It's an ongoing salvation. 00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:01.860 Once for all time, 00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:02.480 he died. 00:36:03.059 --> 00:36:04.519 But his spirit's work 00:36:04.519 --> 00:36:06.500 continues to work in us 00:36:06.500 --> 00:36:08.840 until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:36:08.840 --> 00:36:12.280 So there's momentum there. 00:36:12.940 --> 00:36:14.240 Sometimes the momentum slows 00:36:14.240 --> 00:36:15.740 when we stop listening 00:36:15.740 --> 00:36:16.840 to the Holy Spirit. 00:36:17.320 --> 00:36:18.820 And then it picks up the pace again. 00:36:19.220 --> 00:36:20.680 When God's work in us 00:36:20.680 --> 00:36:21.440 ramps up 00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:22.160 and we see 00:36:22.160 --> 00:36:23.600 seasons of fruitfulness 00:36:23.600 --> 00:36:24.500 and transformation. 00:36:26.280 --> 00:36:27.519 1 Thessalonians, 00:36:27.640 --> 00:36:29.280 the last scripture we'll read today, 00:36:29.700 --> 00:36:30.420 says this, 00:36:30.420 --> 00:36:32.380 the one who calls you 00:36:32.380 --> 00:36:33.139 is faithful 00:36:33.139 --> 00:36:35.119 and he will what? 00:36:36.300 --> 00:36:37.760 The one who calls you 00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:38.440 is faithful 00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:39.880 and he will what? 00:36:41.240 --> 00:36:42.099 Have y'all ever heard 00:36:42.099 --> 00:36:42.980 a black church before? 00:36:43.240 --> 00:36:43.980 Anybody ever been 00:36:43.980 --> 00:36:44.700 to a black church? 00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:46.420 Yeah, we got a few. 00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:46.940 All right, good. 00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:47.800 I need y'all to kind of 00:36:47.800 --> 00:36:49.059 be my loud voices here, okay? 00:36:49.280 --> 00:36:50.400 The ones who've been there, 00:36:50.460 --> 00:36:50.960 you've seen it. 00:36:51.420 --> 00:36:52.539 They do it a little different here. 00:36:52.539 --> 00:36:52.960 All right, 00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:53.700 there's a thing 00:36:53.700 --> 00:36:55.760 that they'll say often 00:36:55.760 --> 00:36:56.539 in a black church 00:36:56.539 --> 00:36:57.260 and it's this. 00:36:57.940 --> 00:36:58.519 I'll say, 00:36:58.619 --> 00:36:59.300 won't he do it? 00:36:59.659 --> 00:37:00.340 And y'all say, 00:37:00.420 --> 00:37:01.000 yes, he will. 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:02.720 Yeah, they knew. 00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:03.240 They knew. 00:37:03.680 --> 00:37:04.400 Won't he do it? 00:37:05.780 --> 00:37:06.659 Won't he do it? 00:37:07.800 --> 00:37:08.840 What is he gonna do? 00:37:08.900 --> 00:37:09.880 Now, you can't take that 00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:10.340 to say, 00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:11.940 man, I need $100,000. 00:37:12.240 --> 00:37:12.760 Won't he do it? 00:37:12.800 --> 00:37:13.260 Yes, he will. 00:37:13.340 --> 00:37:14.000 No, he may not. 00:37:16.059 --> 00:37:17.760 But the one who calls you 00:37:17.760 --> 00:37:18.460 is faithful 00:37:18.460 --> 00:37:20.000 and he will complete 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:20.559 the work 00:37:20.559 --> 00:37:21.639 that he started in you. 00:37:21.639 --> 00:37:22.539 So to that, 00:37:22.659 --> 00:37:23.280 we can say, 00:37:23.680 --> 00:37:24.480 won't he do it? 00:37:24.900 --> 00:37:26.500 Yes, he will. 00:37:27.420 --> 00:37:28.460 That's what it's about. 00:37:28.460 --> 00:37:31.880 God doing it in us. 00:37:32.039 --> 00:37:34.119 The one who started your story 00:37:34.119 --> 00:37:35.360 is the one 00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:36.460 who's gonna finish it. 00:37:37.539 --> 00:37:37.780 So, 00:37:38.780 --> 00:37:39.679 Jesus. 00:37:43.220 --> 00:37:44.480 Let's do it one more time. 00:37:44.740 --> 00:37:45.300 Won't he do it? 00:37:45.619 --> 00:37:46.340 Yes, he will. 00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:46.960 All right, good. 00:37:47.059 --> 00:37:47.760 Just gonna make sure 00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:48.800 we're all on the same page there. 00:37:49.800 --> 00:37:51.320 Jesus redeems your past, 00:37:51.579 --> 00:37:52.699 reconciles your present, 00:37:52.840 --> 00:37:54.740 and reframes your future. 00:37:54.739 --> 00:37:55.539 You're not gonna be 00:37:55.539 --> 00:37:56.319 the one doing it. 00:37:56.799 --> 00:37:57.759 He's gonna be the one 00:37:57.759 --> 00:37:59.399 doing it through you. 00:38:00.219 --> 00:38:01.159 You're not the one 00:38:01.159 --> 00:38:02.099 who has to make sense 00:38:02.099 --> 00:38:02.819 of all the present. 00:38:03.739 --> 00:38:05.639 He's gonna do it for you. 00:38:05.899 --> 00:38:07.159 You leave it in his hands. 00:38:07.699 --> 00:38:08.459 You're not the one 00:38:08.459 --> 00:38:09.479 who has to go back 00:38:09.479 --> 00:38:11.859 and try to make your past 00:38:11.859 --> 00:38:13.239 better than it was. 00:38:13.939 --> 00:38:14.879 He's redeemed it all. 00:38:15.879 --> 00:38:16.759 He's not acting 00:38:16.759 --> 00:38:17.719 like it didn't happen. 00:38:18.179 --> 00:38:19.819 He's using it all 00:38:19.820 --> 00:38:20.940 to show you 00:38:20.940 --> 00:38:23.480 just how bad you were 00:38:23.480 --> 00:38:25.760 and just how different 00:38:25.760 --> 00:38:26.500 he can make you. 00:38:27.140 --> 00:38:28.360 Just how new 00:38:28.360 --> 00:38:29.240 of a creation 00:38:29.240 --> 00:38:30.640 he can make you. 00:38:32.200 --> 00:38:33.019 Won't he do it? 00:38:34.220 --> 00:38:34.920 Yes, he will. 00:38:35.059 --> 00:38:35.460 Let's pray. 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:37.360 God, you're over us. 00:38:38.980 --> 00:38:39.880 You're over all, 00:38:39.960 --> 00:38:40.880 but we're gonna zoom in 00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:41.460 and we're gonna say 00:38:41.460 --> 00:38:42.559 you're over us. 00:38:44.019 --> 00:38:45.059 You're over me. 00:38:47.000 --> 00:38:48.420 You're over every man, 00:38:48.539 --> 00:38:49.180 woman, and child 00:38:49.179 --> 00:38:50.099 sitting in this room. 00:38:53.779 --> 00:38:56.259 And when you rule over us, 00:38:57.099 --> 00:38:59.500 shame does not define us. 00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:02.659 Sin cannot control us. 00:39:03.879 --> 00:39:06.219 And failure can never finish us. 00:39:09.339 --> 00:39:10.980 There is nothing on this earth 00:39:10.980 --> 00:39:13.399 that is greater than you, 00:39:13.639 --> 00:39:14.759 nothing on this earth 00:39:14.759 --> 00:39:15.940 that is more powerful than you, 00:39:16.099 --> 00:39:18.219 and nothing that can steal us 00:39:18.219 --> 00:39:18.919 out of your hand. 00:39:19.739 --> 00:39:21.119 You're holding it all together, 00:39:21.239 --> 00:39:22.379 and that means us. 00:39:23.919 --> 00:39:25.440 God, allow us to leave 00:39:25.440 --> 00:39:26.199 our past, 00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:27.359 our present, 00:39:27.500 --> 00:39:28.199 and our future 00:39:28.199 --> 00:39:30.460 fully in your control. 00:39:31.599 --> 00:39:32.500 Submit to it. 00:39:34.599 --> 00:39:35.359 Say, God, 00:39:35.399 --> 00:39:36.179 not my will, 00:39:36.259 --> 00:39:37.159 but yours be done. 00:39:37.159 --> 00:39:40.839 put to death the old me. 00:39:40.839 --> 00:39:43.779 With your death on the cross, 00:39:44.079 --> 00:39:46.079 I embrace the new life 00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:47.279 that you are making in me. 00:39:49.539 --> 00:39:50.599 With our heads bowed 00:39:50.599 --> 00:39:51.279 and our eyes closed 00:39:51.279 --> 00:39:53.059 for just another moment or two, 00:39:53.619 --> 00:39:54.819 I want to invite you 00:39:54.819 --> 00:39:56.159 into a moment of prayer. 00:39:56.159 --> 00:39:59.819 whatever this looks like 00:39:59.819 --> 00:40:00.480 in your life, 00:40:01.119 --> 00:39:59.819 whatever this looks like 00:39:59.819 --> 00:40:00.480 in your life, 00:40:01.119 --> 00:40:03.039 maybe many of you 00:40:03.039 --> 00:40:03.859 have been walking with God 00:40:03.859 --> 00:40:04.559 for many years, 00:40:04.659 --> 00:40:05.719 and you just need a reminder 00:40:05.719 --> 00:40:08.779 of what God's done for you 00:40:08.780 --> 00:40:10.580 and what he wants to do 00:40:10.580 --> 00:40:11.660 in the days you have left. 00:40:12.960 --> 00:40:14.019 But maybe there's somebody 00:40:14.019 --> 00:40:14.880 in the room who says, 00:40:14.980 --> 00:40:16.040 today for the first time, 00:40:16.280 --> 00:40:17.560 I need to place my faith 00:40:17.560 --> 00:40:18.880 in Jesus for real. 00:40:20.340 --> 00:40:20.820 Say, God, 00:40:20.840 --> 00:40:21.880 I want you to save me. 00:40:22.579 --> 00:40:23.500 I want to enter into 00:40:23.500 --> 00:40:24.619 this kind of relationship 00:40:24.619 --> 00:40:25.039 with you. 00:40:25.260 --> 00:40:26.059 I understand 00:40:26.059 --> 00:40:28.700 that I'm not good enough 00:40:28.700 --> 00:40:29.400 and I need you. 00:40:30.820 --> 00:40:31.460 And if that's you, 00:40:31.519 --> 00:40:32.519 would you slip your hand up now 00:40:32.519 --> 00:40:33.440 and I'd love to pray for you. 00:40:36.500 --> 00:40:37.019 Thank you. 00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:38.539 I always want to invite 00:40:38.539 --> 00:40:41.039 the congregation 00:40:41.039 --> 00:40:43.200 to respond to Jesus 00:40:43.200 --> 00:40:44.840 and we all need to respond to him 00:40:44.840 --> 00:40:46.039 however he sees fit 00:40:46.039 --> 00:40:46.760 in this moment. 00:40:47.820 --> 00:40:49.119 So I'm just going to let you 00:40:49.119 --> 00:40:50.019 for a moment longer 00:40:50.019 --> 00:40:50.700 pray, 00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:51.640 have some quiet time 00:40:51.639 --> 00:40:52.199 with God 00:40:52.199 --> 00:40:54.799 while June plays 00:40:54.799 --> 00:40:55.339 on the organ. 00:40:56.879 --> 00:40:57.940 God, have your way 00:40:57.940 --> 00:40:58.659 in our hearts.