1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:02,720 Well, good morning, Leamington EMC. 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:04,400 It's great to be with you this morning. 3 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:09,240 I left my house at 6:00 AM this morning, and so if my hair is a 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:10,560 little out of place, I'm just kidding. 5 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:14,560 We'll be fine. My name is Paul Pendleton. 6 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,760 I'm one of four pastors at Straffordville EMC. 2 are lay 7 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,960 pastors, and two are on staff. I'm one of the two on staff. 8 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:25,000 And as I'm sure you've gathered by my name so far, I am not like 9 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,720 the others. I am not Deech, and I don't just 10 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:31,960 mean my last name, my first name too. 11 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:34,680 I have a bone to pick with some of you people. 12 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:37,440 One of the first things I learned when I was hired at 13 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,720 Straffordville is that I was the only Paul at the church. 14 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,600 And when I came here today, I talked to your administrator, 15 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,400 your treasurer, and I said are there any Paul's in this church? 16 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:51,000 And they said no, not one. When I asked why at our church, 17 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,520 they said they only named their children after their favorite 18 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:59,000 biblical characters. However, no one could tell me 19 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:00,880 what they had against the Apostle Paul. 20 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,720 I mean, he wrote over half the New Testament and is referred to 21 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,440 as the greatest apostle. Unbelievable. 22 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:08,000 So why? Why are they all? 23 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,640 Why when there are already so many Peter Jacobs Abes? 24 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,000 Why are there no Paul's? There's even one guy in our 25 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,240 church. His last name is Peters. 26 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,440 He has five other brothers, not one named Paul. 27 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:21,520 Guess what? They named him? 28 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:24,240 Peter. Peter Peters. 29 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,840 Are you kidding me? Did Meno Simons make a no Paul 30 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,200 policy for his followers? That's my question. 31 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:32,920 Well, just to get back at you, I'm preaching out of the book of 32 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,720 Romans today written by the Apostle Paul. 33 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:37,720 I'm just kidding. I'm not that petty. 34 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,720 I am preaching out of that familiar passage this morning in 35 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,600 order to remind you or perhaps for the first time for some of 36 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:50,920 you really explore a theme that is a deep down to the core of 37 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,000 Christianity. And I hope you like to drill 38 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,080 down or or bite down to the core of your faith because that is 39 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:00,720 where we form our core convictions. 40 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,120 You see when I was growing up, my mom was a nurse and she had a 41 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,200 core conviction. An apple a day keeps the doctor 42 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,560 away and everyday she would put an apple on my plate or in my 43 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,280 lunch box. And now today I love apples. 44 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,720 But back then I struggled to eat anything that wasn't chocolate 45 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,280 covered or candy coated. I don't know if you can relate 46 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:24,200 to that, but the apples my mom gave us were neither. 47 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,440 They were the real deal. And in order to ensure that we 48 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,080 ate them and didn't throw them in the garbage, she made us 49 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:34,440 prove to her that we ate them. So after we ate our apple, we 50 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,240 had to put the apple core back in our lunch box to bring back 51 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,040 home for inspection. And inspected she did. 52 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,440 And we had to eat it all the way down to the core or face the 53 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,760 consequences. And she would say this, you had 54 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,920 to eat your apple all the way down to the core in order to get 55 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:55,840 all the nutrition that the apple could offer. 56 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:01,720 So as we begin to unpack our key text today in Romans 831 and 39, 57 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:05,880 I want you to think about your own faith journey and ask 58 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:11,840 yourself, am I getting all that my faith in Jesus can offer? 59 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,520 Am I living according to my core convictions? 60 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,360 You see, if you want to live an abundant life and make a 61 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,880 difference on this earth, you need to develop core 62 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,280 convictions. Of course, you have to identify 63 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:27,680 them first. If you don't know what your core 64 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:32,040 convictions are, well then how do you know who you are or what 65 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,480 you stand against? I know that's blunt, but your 66 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,320 convictions are the truest things about you. 67 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:43,360 You are your convictions, or more accurately, you become your 68 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,880 convictions. For better or for worse, your 69 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:51,760 deepest held beliefs will define who you become and who you are. 70 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,520 So let's discover where we start. 71 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:57,680 Do you want to know what the Apostle Paul score conviction 72 00:03:57,680 --> 00:03:58,880 was? Here it is. 73 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:03,480 Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. 74 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,720 That wasn't just the foundation upon which Paul built his life. 75 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,720 He banked all of eternity on it. You see, the last few verses of 76 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,440 Romans eight form the pinnacle or the mountaintop of all of 77 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,040 Paul's words to his readers. And these words were intended to 78 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,000 lift our hearts to a new understanding of our key theme 79 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,120 today, which is God's grace. Why is this important? 80 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,440 It's important because very few Christians understand what grace 81 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,360 is really all about. Very few Christians comprehend 82 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:40,280 what God has promised to do in our lives because of grace. 83 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,160 To be honest, it's life changing for the believer. 84 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,920 Let's dive in now and look at the fact that Paul poses 5 85 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,360 rhetorical questions in this section of the last few verses 86 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,200 of Romans 8. And these five questions point 87 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:59,360 us to the clearest description in the entire New Testament of 88 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,720 what it means to live by grace. Here they are. 89 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:09,200 Who can be against us? Who will provide for us? 90 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,160 Who can accuse us? Who is it that condemns you? 91 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:17,520 And finally, who can separate us from God? 92 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,920 And I believe the answers to those questions are the best 93 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,720 description of grace in the entire New Testament. 94 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,240 You can summarize grace really in one sentence. 95 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,680 God is for us. God is for us. 96 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,080 I want to challenge you to meditate on that truth all next 97 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:37,560 week. I think it can revolutionize 98 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:41,160 your life in light of the fact that God is for us. 99 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,440 Let's look at 5 things we need to learn about grace today. 100 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:50,280 The first thing we learn is that grace means I can always count 101 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:54,320 on God's power. Paul asked in verse 31. 102 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,360 What shall we say then in response to this? 103 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:01,800 If God is for us, who can be against us? 104 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,160 If God is for me, who can be against me? 105 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,480 Frederick Douglass, he was a black slave reformer. 106 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,760 He once said one plus God equals a majority. 107 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,680 And what he meant was that nothing should ever discourage 108 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:22,400 believers when we recognize the fact that God is on our side. 109 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:31,000 Sorry, have you ever felt as a child or a parent if we could 110 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,480 just get that one guy on our team then we would win. 111 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,360 Some of you who follow sports who are as old as me might 112 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,280 remember when a future Hall of Fame hockey player got traded 113 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:43,920 from the Edmonton Oilers to the New York Rangers. 114 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,800 The Rangers had not won the Stanley Cup in 40 years. 115 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:51,240 So you can forgive this overzealous and sacrilegious New 116 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,920 York Post headline. The Messiah has arrived. 117 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,800 They truly believe that this larger than life leader could 118 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,680 take their team back to the promised land, and he did. 119 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:08,280 Not only that, if you think about it, if confidence backed 120 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:12,920 by talent can help A-Team or a business find success, how much 121 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:17,520 more confidence should we have as believers when the greatest 122 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,960 power in the universe is backing us? 123 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:24,520 That, in a nutshell, is the message behind verse 31. 124 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:29,120 The power of God is so overwhelming that no enemy of 125 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:33,600 ours can stand against it. Do you believe that the Apostle 126 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,680 John confirms this in first John 4/4? 127 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:42,080 You, dear children, are from God and overcome them because the 128 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,520 one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the 129 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:49,040 world. So what is it in your life right 130 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,240 now that's overwhelming you? Financial problems, Emotional 131 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:57,560 problems, Past trauma, perhaps a relationship problem? 132 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,760 The Bible says the greater is he that is in you than the he that 133 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:05,480 is in the world. God's power is part of God's 134 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:10,360 grace, and grace means I can always count on God's power and 135 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:15,680 nothing, nothing in this world can overwhelm me if I put it in 136 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,760 the hands of the Lord. Why is this important? 137 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:24,640 In this age of anxiety, we sometimes lose hope because we 138 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:26,800 do have people who are against us. 139 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,160 The Bible says the devil is against us. 140 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:31,520 He wants to attack us. He wants to get us down, He 141 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:35,200 wants to destroy us. However, the Christian never 142 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:40,080 needs to be intimidated. If God is for us, who can be 143 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,200 against us? Now I'm going to get a little 144 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:44,880 personal here. If that's OK, then I'll walk 145 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:46,320 away from my notes just for a second. 146 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:50,760 I had been a pastor for probably 25 years, the lead pastor of a 147 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:55,120 Church of about 220 people. Our church had grown from about 148 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,760 85 people to about 220 people really over the course of about 149 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,320 three years. And and then it started to 150 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,480 plateau. I went to the church board and I 151 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:07,280 kept saying we've got to do something. 152 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,440 We either have to plant another church, we were 90% full, or we 153 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:16,240 have to build onto the church or we have to start sending out 154 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:19,320 missionaries into the community. We have to do something. 155 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:24,760 And their response was no to all of my suggestions. 156 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,840 No. And it started to to really 157 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:32,560 press down on me, really, really disturbed me that that we 158 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:34,760 weren't trying to expand the Kingdom. 159 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:39,440 And I actually began to get very anxious and then suddenly every 160 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:44,920 little slight against me seemed to be really overwhelming and I 161 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:48,440 began to have anxiety. This is why it's important 162 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:51,480 because even pastors get anxiety. 163 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,440 Pastors struggle. I don't know if you know this, 164 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,720 but during COVID, 50% of pastors resign from their church due to 165 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:02,000 stress and anxiety. What did they forget? 166 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:06,320 What did I forget? In Philippians 413, the apostle 167 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:10,720 Paul declares confidently, I can do all things through Christ who 168 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,160 strengthens me. Grace means that I can always 169 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:17,520 count on God's power. Commit that verse to memory. 170 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:21,360 I I mean that when I say that and access it whenever fear 171 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:26,080 overcomes what you're trying to accomplish for God's Kingdom or 172 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:29,440 whenever you face an enemy or even an abuser. 173 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:34,000 Remember, because of God's grace, you can count on God's 174 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,840 power. The second thing we learn about 175 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,120 grace comes from Romans 8 verse 32. 176 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:41,880 We're just going through the verses now, which teaches that I 177 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,240 can always count on God's provision. 178 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,440 Here the apostle Paul writes he meaning God did, who did not 179 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,640 spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all. 180 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:57,800 How will he not also along with him, generously give us all 181 00:10:57,800 --> 00:10:59,880 things? I want you to think about this. 182 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:04,760 If God loved me enough to send his Son to die for me, then 183 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,720 surely he loves me enough to care for all my needs. 184 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,560 Most people think I don't want to come before God and talk 185 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:16,360 about him with my finances or about my emotional needs or any 186 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:19,760 small problem I've got. I only want to give God the big 187 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:22,920 the big things. Well, this verse says the exact 188 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:26,520 opposite. God, your loving Heavenly Father 189 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:30,040 not only solved your biggest problem when He sent Jesus 190 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:33,320 Christ to die for you on the cross, but He most certainly 191 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:37,000 wants to take care of all your little problems as well. 192 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:40,480 What Father doesn't want to fix all of their children's 193 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,240 problems? I can't think of one thing I I 194 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:45,840 wouldn't do to help my kids if I could. 195 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:50,320 The point is that because of God's grace, I can always count 196 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,880 on God's provision. God wants to provide for my 197 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:56,280 needs. Can you imagine somebody buying 198 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,760 you a house and you say, well, thank you, Would it be OK if I 199 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:04,160 lay down in the bed at night? Do you think they'd answer, no, 200 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,200 of course not you can. It's your bed, You've already 201 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:12,000 received the gift. So when God saves you, you get 202 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,360 to experience the full benefits of salvation. 203 00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:19,480 Here's my question. Are you accessing all of God's 204 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,480 grace? Some people ask about verse 31. 205 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,440 How do we know that God is for us? 206 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,840 Well, verse 32 tells us how we know that God is for us. 207 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:32,720 He sent His Son to die as a sacrifice for us. 208 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:37,200 Could you do that? Allow your child to die so that 209 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:39,960 a stranger, perhaps even an enemy, could live? 210 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:45,480 If our God could do that for us, is there anything He wouldn't do 211 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:48,560 for those who put their faith in His Son Jesus Christ? 212 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:53,040 Grace means I can not only count on God for His power, but I can 213 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:57,000 also count on His provision. Psalm 37, four says delight 214 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:01,160 yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your 215 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,840 heart, not just your needs but your desires. 216 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,320 The scriptures say we can. We can pray for anything that 217 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,560 doesn't say God will always grant everything you always ask 218 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,520 for. We are like small children to 219 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:16,760 God, so sometimes we ask for things that really aren't 220 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:18,840 necessary and maybe are a little crazy. 221 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:23,880 But if we are aligned with God's Word and God's desires, if we're 222 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:27,640 really delighting ourselves in the Lord, that means we're 223 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:31,480 putting Him first in our lives, wanting Him to be #1 wanting Him 224 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,640 to live through us. And I want God's will more than 225 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:38,320 anything else then. And then my desires are going to 226 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,640 be aligned with His will. And He will give you the desires 227 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,960 of your heart, Psalm 8411 tells us. 228 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,960 For the Lord God is a son and a shield. 229 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:50,600 The Lord bestows favor and honor. 230 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:54,640 No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is 231 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,680 blameless. Do you have to be perfect for 232 00:13:57,680 --> 00:13:59,160 God to bless you? No. 233 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,960 Why? Because God has justified you. 234 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:07,880 He has declared you you perfect through the sacrifice of His Son 235 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:10,160 Jesus Christ. Not that you are perfect, but 236 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,400 He's declared you perfect because of what Jesus has done 237 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,280 for you. No good thing does he withhold. 238 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,240 Grace means I can always count on God's provision. 239 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,840 He will always take care of me. He will always meet my needs. 240 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:30,200 My response to this then is to ask over 20 times in the New 241 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:31,520 Testament. I'm commanded. 242 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:35,800 Ask and it shall be given. Seek and you will find whatever 243 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,680 things you asked for in prayer. Believe that you received them 244 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,160 and you shall have them. The believer who trusts God 245 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,960 lives a life without limitation. Paul guarantees that in 246 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,960 Philippians 4/19. He says, My God shall supply all 247 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,520 your needs according to his riches and glory by Christ 248 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:57,720 Jesus. So one whose resources are 249 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:02,240 limitless has promised to provide for all our needs in 250 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:04,520 life. He wants to help us. 251 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:09,480 God wants to meet your needs. Grace teaches me I can always 252 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:13,080 count on God's power in my life and I can always count on His 253 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,200 provision. There's a third thing we need to 254 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,720 learn about grace this morning. It's that I can always count on 255 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,280 God's protection. It's found in the question who 256 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:25,440 will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen. 257 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:28,920 It is God who justifies, who can accuse us. 258 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,080 Many people want to put you down, to accuse you, to 259 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:33,840 criticize you for being a Christian. 260 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,360 But who is the chief accuser? The answer is found in 261 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,720 Revelation 12/10. Then I heard a loud voice in 262 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:44,480 heaven saying, now have come the salvation and the power and the 263 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,800 Kingdom of our God and the authority of Christ, for the 264 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:52,200 accuser of our brothers who accuses them before our God day 265 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:56,280 by day has been hurled down. Of course he's talking about 266 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:00,200 Satan who's continually accusing us before God. 267 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:05,520 But thankfully, we read in verse 33, it is God who justifies. 268 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,000 Grace means I can always count on God's protection, not just 269 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,200 his power, not just his provision, but His protection. 270 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,000 I want you to imagine a courtroom scene in heaven. 271 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,200 God sits in the judgment seat. Satan is the prosecuting 272 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:22,560 attorney. He's bringing all this evidence 273 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,680 against you. Look at what they've done. 274 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,360 How can they claim to be Christian? 275 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:33,000 How can you love them? How can you promise to meet 276 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:35,960 their needs when they've done all these things? 277 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:38,640 But the Bible says we have a defense. 278 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:43,880 And who's that attorney for the defense first, John 21, My dear 279 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,160 children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. 280 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:51,600 But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in 281 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:56,880 our defense, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 He is the atoning 282 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:01,200 sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the 283 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:05,440 sins of the whole world. Scripture says that Jesus Christ 284 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,200 is our defense attorney. What a beautiful truth. 285 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:12,079 However, if you've got the judge and the defense attorney on your 286 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:16,160 side, and the price for your crime was already paid by Jesus 287 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:20,160 Christ, then your accuser, Satan does not have a case. 288 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:23,400 Lot of people, lot of Christians live in guilt. 289 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,119 Always, always living in guilt. I'm not good enough. 290 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:31,920 The scripture says you are. Have faith in what Jesus Christ 291 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:34,720 did for you. Believers will never have to 292 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:38,000 face our due penalty because, well, you've passed from a life 293 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:39,760 of judgement into a life of freedom. 294 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:44,280 You are free. Remember Job, The Bible says he 295 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,680 was a righteous man. God says to Satan, look at Job, 296 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,200 let's use him as a test case. Have you, have you considered my 297 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:53,240 servant Job? That's what he says. 298 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:54,800 Look at what a righteous man he is. 299 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:58,840 God is kind of bragging about his servant Job, and Satan says 300 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:01,680 this. Does Job fear God for nothing? 301 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:05,280 Satan replied. Have you not put a hedge around 302 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,960 him and his household and everything he has, but now 303 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,480 stretch it out your hand and strike everything he has and 304 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,120 surely he will curse you to your face. 305 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:21,080 But God knows the conviction deep down of Job's heart that 306 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:24,280 nothing can separate him from the love of God. 307 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:28,520 The key to the book of Job is, is the question, why does a man 308 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:32,600 serve God? Does Job serve God for nothing? 309 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:36,360 Well, Job lost everything, his wealth, his health, his family 310 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:38,720 as the devil was allowed to take it all away. 311 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:43,080 And yet Job kept his integrity and he remained true to God. 312 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:47,440 And Satan was accusing him. And Satan tries to accuse you 313 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,760 before God. I'm sure you feel it at times he 314 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:53,400 tries to accuse you and make you feel guilty. 315 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:57,960 But someday, someday, God is going to settle all accounts. 316 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:00,440 Do you know that? Even the false accusations that 317 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:03,400 have been made against you, God is going to settle that score as 318 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:06,160 well. Do you feel unfairly attacked? 319 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:10,160 Grace means I can always count on God's protection. 320 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:13,640 And that leads us now to the fourth thing that we can learn 321 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:17,000 from grace. I can always count on God's 322 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,760 pardon. We find this in verse 34. 323 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,440 Who then is the one who condemns? 324 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,440 What's the answer? No one, Christ Jesus who died 325 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:29,640 more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of 326 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,720 God and also interceding for us. Who shall condemn us? 327 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,040 No one. The question is, have you 328 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:41,000 received your pardon? Have you stopped beating 329 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,360 yourself up? The point is that grace teaches 330 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:46,480 me. I can always count on God's 331 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,400 pardon. I'm not going to be perfect. 332 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,720 Christians aren't perfect. We're just forgiven. 333 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,360 He's saying, who is it that condemns you? 334 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:58,360 Well, it's not Jesus Christ. So many people grow up feeling 335 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:01,720 that God hates them or God is against them. 336 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:05,000 That's the opposite of what Scripture actually tells you. 337 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:08,120 He died for you. He loves you. 338 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:12,040 He's justified you. And as the previous verse said, 339 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,360 as the previous verse said, so live like it. 340 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,240 Accept your pardon. You are free. 341 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,840 How do we know that? Romans 81 says therefore there 342 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:26,080 is now no condemnation. If you're a Christian, you are 343 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,600 living without condemnation. It doesn't mean you're perfect. 344 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:33,080 You still sin, you still make mistakes. 345 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:38,520 When you do, you confess, you repent, and remember your 346 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,960 judgement has already been paid for by Jesus Christ. 347 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:47,360 No condemnation for everybody. Well, no, no, not for everybody, 348 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,440 for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Jesus 349 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:55,200 Christ the law of the Spirit has set me free from the law of sin 350 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,040 and death. Freedom from condemnation is 351 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:01,440 only true for the Christian, only for the Christian. 352 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:06,840 It is Jesus gift to you the believer, but you need to 353 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:10,720 receive it fully, you see. Well how could that be true? 354 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:16,400 First Peter 318 says for Christ died once for all, the 355 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,320 righteousness, the righteous story for the unrighteous to 356 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,800 bring you to God. He was put to death in the body, 357 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,840 but made alive by the Spirit. So Jesus Christ was the 358 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,160 righteous dying for the unrighteous. 359 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:30,320 Who's that? Us. 360 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,680 When he was on the cross, He took every sin that you and I 361 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,920 have ever committed, past, present and future, and He took 362 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:42,720 our condemnation. He was condemned so that we 363 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:46,880 might live without condemnation. What is required of me? 364 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:51,880 John 318 says whoever believes in him is not condemned. 365 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:54,080 It's belief. And what is belief? 366 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:57,400 It's trust. How do we know someone trusts 367 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,560 the Lord? They follow Jesus. 368 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:01,800 That's what Jesus said to us. Follow me. 369 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:05,640 The Bible says that's what grace is all about. 370 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,520 It's by grace we are saved through faith. 371 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,320 See, when I put my faith in God's grace, I experienced no 372 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:15,320 condemnation. Grace means I can always count 373 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,320 on God's part. Who then is the one who 374 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,680 condemns? Verse says no one. 375 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:24,800 Jesus Christ, who died more than that, was raised to life at the 376 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,520 right hand of God, and he is also interceding for us. 377 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:33,000 Can you believe that Jesus Christ is praying for you? 378 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,120 He's interceding for you right now. 379 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,000 Even when you make mistakes, He's praying for you. 380 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,800 Scripture teaches that Jesus is our high priest. 381 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:44,600 Did you know in the Old Testament there were no chairs 382 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:47,840 in the temple? The priest never sat down. 383 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:50,000 Why? His work was never finished. 384 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,040 He was always sacrificing continually for the sins of the 385 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:55,920 people. And then at the end of his 386 00:22:55,920 --> 00:23:00,960 shift, another priest would come in and continually sacrifice for 387 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,680 the people because people are continually sinning. 388 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,400 But when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He paid it all. 389 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,280 Past, present and future. His work has been finished from 390 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,480 the cross. He said it is finished. 391 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,280 Our crime has been paid in full. And that's the difference 392 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,360 between every other religion and Christianity. 393 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,240 Other religions are based on what you have to do in order to 394 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:28,840 please God. That's the rules, that's the 395 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:31,800 religiosity. But the Christian life is not 396 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,800 based on doing. It's based on what's been done 397 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,560 for us. Our penalty has been paid 398 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:41,160 through Jesus Christ. And grace means I can always 399 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:45,160 count on God for His power, His provision, His protection, and 400 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,560 His pardon. And the 5th and final thing 401 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:51,560 about grace that I can learn is that grace means I can always 402 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,840 count on God for His presence. Do you know how comforting that 403 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:57,640 is? He is always with me. 404 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,840 He will never leave me. In verses 35 to 38, the question 405 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:06,400 is who can separate us? Who shall separate us from the 406 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:10,120 love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or 407 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:14,600 persecution or famine, or nakedness, or danger or sword? 408 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:17,160 Let's take note of the word trouble. 409 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,040 Jesus said in John 1633. In this world you will have 410 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,520 trouble, but that can't ever separate you from the love of 411 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:25,840 God. You're going to have trouble in 412 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:29,440 this world, and no trouble you encounter will ever separate you 413 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,080 from Jesus Christ. How about the word hardship? 414 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,000 In the Greek it literally means stress. 415 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:37,480 How many people feel stress? Everybody. 416 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,560 Our relationship with Jesus may be stressed, but that's not 417 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:44,440 enough to separate you from the love of Christ. 418 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,520 Persecution describes what other people do to you, it says. 419 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:50,880 And not even famine or nakedness. 420 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,280 People who are naked in that time just they couldn't even 421 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:58,680 find have money to to buy any clothing or or have anybody make 422 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:01,560 them clothing. They were just so lost danger or 423 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:04,040 sword. Nothing can separate us from the 424 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:07,960 love of Jesus as it is written for your sake. 425 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,760 We face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be 426 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:14,160 slaughtered. What does that verse have to do 427 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,480 with what we're talking about? Well, Paul, here, the apostle is 428 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:22,160 quoting from Psalm 4422. He's referring to the Jews as a 429 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:25,480 nation suffering and being scattered all over the world. 430 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:29,600 They've they've lost the land of Israel for years. 431 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:34,440 And Paul uses an illustration to ask if all that happened, should 432 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:36,640 we lose hope? No. 433 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:41,160 In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who 434 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,840 loved us. So many Christians live in 435 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:47,760 defeat. Paul now shares another one of 436 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:51,960 his deep convictions. For I am convinced that neither 437 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:56,360 death nor life, neither angels nor demons, the present or the 438 00:25:56,360 --> 00:26:00,600 future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything 439 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:03,640 and all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God 440 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:05,840 that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 441 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,200 Isn't that incredible What a great chapter Romans 8 is? 442 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:14,880 He starts with no condemnation, and he ends with no separation. 443 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:19,880 Absolutely nothing can ever separate the believer from God's 444 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:23,080 love. Nothing you can ever do will 445 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,400 make God stop loving you. He loves you on your good days 446 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:30,920 and your bad days as a parent, you know that, right? 447 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,000 My daughters sometimes were awful to us. 448 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,400 You know, parents. Parents get that sometimes, 449 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:38,280 right? Especially moms. 450 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:40,160 Oh boy, what my wife had to put up with. 451 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,160 It's incredible. My daughter said some awful 452 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:45,160 things to them, never to me. I don't know why. 453 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:48,360 Probably because she had to discipline them. 454 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:52,200 Anyway, she never, never stopped loving them. 455 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,520 Scriptures teach this over and over. 456 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:58,680 Our final scripture proof from comes from John 1027. 457 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:02,200 This morning it says this. My sheep listen to my voice. 458 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:04,400 That's how you know you're following Jesus. 459 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,200 I know them and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, 460 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:12,520 and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my 461 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,240 hand. What comfort it is to know that 462 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,440 we can lose everything in life, but we can never lose our 463 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,960 relationship with our heavenly Father. 464 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:25,320 But just like your kids and my kids, they can walk away. 465 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:32,120 We can walk away from God. He never stops loving us, but we 466 00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:36,000 can choose to blasphemy. I think it's difficult to lose 467 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,280 our salvation, but it's it's it's possible we can we can 468 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,800 reject Jesus, but he never rejects us. 469 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,600 You are secure in God's love because of this Amazing Grace. 470 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:52,320 The love depicted in Romans 831 to 39 architects today. 471 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:54,560 It's it's not a sentimental love. 472 00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:59,120 It's a love that's bound by blood and sweat and tears. 473 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:02,800 It was a costly love. It's a love that's been knocked 474 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,480 down but gotten back up every time. 475 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,560 And when we worship, we don't just sing in the present tense. 476 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,440 We sing out of our past tense memories and our future tense 477 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,840 dreams. We sing out of the sum total of 478 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:17,880 our lives. Each song spans our lifetime. 479 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:22,400 So the older we get, the more capacity we must worship God. 480 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,440 I don't think I'll ever know the kind of persecution that Paul 481 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:29,360 endured, But each of these experiences was an event. 482 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:34,040 It was an event that revealed more of God's love and more of 483 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:37,040 God's grace. So if you're in a tough place 484 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:41,280 today, take heart. No one likes tough times in the 485 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:43,880 present tense. But as author Mark Batterson 486 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:49,840 writes, those tests add tenor to our testimony, and those are 487 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:51,840 often the memories we cherish the most. 488 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:54,240 Isn't this weird? Our great grandparents love 489 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:57,960 telling stories about adding water to ketchup to make tomato 490 00:28:57,960 --> 00:28:59,600 soup during the Great Depression. 491 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,720 Did you ever hear that? Using the outhouse in frozen 492 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,160 temperatures and walking through a foot of snow to school that 493 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,960 was uphill both ways? We look back on challenges with 494 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:15,480 a touch of nostalgic pride. According to one poll, 60% of 495 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,280 those who survived the blitzkrieg that was during World 496 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:23,000 War 2 remembered it as the happiest times of their lives. 497 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:25,600 Why? Because it's the tough times, 498 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,840 the trouble, the hardship, the persecution, the famine, the 499 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:32,240 nakedness, the danger in the sword that test our love. 500 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:36,520 But it's also how it's proved the love of Christ was improved 501 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,040 by his miracles. As impressive as those miracles 502 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:42,080 were. His love was proved on a Roman 503 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:45,160 cross and it's proven to be fail proof. 504 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,520 The cross is God's way of saying over my dead body. 505 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:53,560 No matter what trouble or hardship or persecution you 506 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:58,440 face, this too shall pass. More importantly, Jesus is with 507 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:02,360 you and He is for you. So what if we decided to take 508 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:06,240 God at His word today? What if we decided to believe in 509 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:09,600 God's gift of grace? The apostle Paul did, even 510 00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:13,040 though his life was way more difficult than anything you will 511 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,720 ever have to face. Job did even though he lost 512 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:20,560 everything. What if you decided today to get 513 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:25,960 back to the core conviction of God's grace that nothing can 514 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:27,760 separate you from the love of Christ? 515 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:32,600 What would happen in your life? Here's what would happen because 516 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:37,480 of God's grace, we won't ever have to worry about opposition 517 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,040 from God. We don't ever have to worry 518 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:44,160 about dire situations from God. He has promised to provide. 519 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,400 We don't ever have to worry about any accusation from God. 520 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:50,080 He's not against me, He's for me. 521 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:52,840 He defends me when Satan accuses me. 522 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:55,960 We don't ever have to worry about condemnation from God 523 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:57,880 because Jesus took our punishment. 524 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:02,240 And as a result, we don't ever have to worry about separation 525 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:03,320 from God. Why? 526 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:08,080 He will never let us go. Isn't that a wonderful truth? 527 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,480 God is for us. That's what grace is all about. 528 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:16,080 It's summed up in these 4 words. God is for us. 529 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:20,640 Would you pray with me that that message lands today? 530 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:23,800 And I pray that this is an encouragement to you today. 531 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:29,360 Whatever you're dealing with, Let's pray, dear Lord, this gift 532 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:33,880 of grace for the believers beyond all of our dreams. 533 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:38,360 We now know, Lord, that this is a gift of grace. 534 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:42,200 And what it means is we can count on your power and your 535 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:46,760 provision and your protection and your pardon and finally your 536 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:50,200 eternal presence. And Lord, we ask that if there 537 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:53,200 are any here today, we've not accepted that gift of grace 538 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,920 today, that they would receive it and start to live as a free 539 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:02,000 person in your son Jesus name. Lord, we also ask if there are 540 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,080 any here that have not decided to follow your son, that you 541 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:09,400 would compel them today to make that choice, to decide to follow 542 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:13,440 you into freedom and eternity by declaring your son Jesus to be 543 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:16,840 Lord of their lives and by believing that you raised him 544 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:19,960 from the dead. Together, Lord, may we all 545 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:23,520 prepare our hearts for what we're about to do to celebrate 546 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,680 the gift of grace you've provided through communion. 547 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:31,640 We pray this in Jesus precious name, Amen and Amen.