1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,040 Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Englewood 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:05,920 Baptist Church in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,119 Thank you so much for tuning into our podcast. 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,320 You're going to hear from God today as we share from his word 5 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,080 about important issues facing your life that can guide you 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:22,440 according to the Bible. Well, marry Mommy's day. 7 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,400 Englewood. Didn't know what to say, did 8 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,040 you? Threw you off. 9 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,040 Take your Bibles and turn to Romans chapter 3. 10 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:32,520 Don't you appreciate our worship team? 11 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:34,040 Amen. Yeah. 12 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:38,280 Thank you all very much. Hey, thanks for being here on 13 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:39,760 Mother's Day. Appreciate you all. 14 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,160 It's a right and honorable and biblical thing for us to do to 15 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:45,960 honor our mothers and fathers. So I'm glad we could do that for 16 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,280 a moment. I know that you're ready to take 17 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,920 mom to lunch. And so just bear with me for a 18 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,760 few minutes, please. A very important message today. 19 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:57,040 Maybe you're going to make your mom cook. 20 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,680 Surely not. Surely not. 21 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:03,520 I don't know who Shirley is, but tell her no. 22 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:06,840 You know, my mother was just not a very good cook. 23 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:11,120 I know some of you, a great mom cooks, bless her heart. 24 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:14,360 And she knew that she, she, she cooked like 5 really good 25 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:17,400 things. Now, I married a woman who's an 26 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,120 incredible cook. And one of the things that she 27 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,120 does is she also makes my mom's five things for me. 28 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:27,720 She'll do that at holidays and she'll do that at special 29 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,800 moments. And I, I, I'm at those moments, 30 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:32,720 all bets are off. I'm gorging myself. 31 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,080 I've just, I've probably send the scent of gluttony on those 32 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,080 days because I'm going to eat about all I can eat on those 33 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,160 special moments with those special dishes. 34 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,120 I was thinking about that. You know, later this year, we're 35 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,320 going to go down to Brazil, about 40 of us. 36 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,520 And we're going to have the opportunity to go to a Brazilian 37 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:51,360 steakhouse. I don't know if you've been to a 38 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:55,200 Brazilian steakhouse, a real 1, a real Brazilian steakhouse, a 39 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:59,520 steakhouse or a show. Roscaria is a, is an all you can 40 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:01,880 eat meat fest. I mean, this is fantastic. 41 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,640 You got a green card or a red card and you keep that green 42 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:07,720 card and they just keep bringing you meat. 43 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,280 They just keep bringing you meat and they'll sit there and 44 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,560 they'll carve it off and put it on your plate and put it on your 45 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:16,080 plate until you just like to die from the meat sweats, you know, 46 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,840 like to pass out. So you all, you all hungry, you 47 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:25,640 all getting there. Well, the passage in Romans 3 48 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:28,000 today is a lot like that, frankly. 49 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:34,080 I mean, it's just verse after verse full of of real meat for 50 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,400 us to chew on. According to one theologian and 51 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,600 commentator, Leon Morris, who's written a pretty brilliant 52 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,800 commentary on Romans, he says it's possibly the most important 53 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,720 single paragraph ever written. It's a pretty powerful 54 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,600 statement, isn't it? So incredible, incredibly 55 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,840 important that we need to carefully study it today as we 56 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:58,680 continue in our series justified in our study of Romans, Martin 57 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,800 Luther adds about this passage. Martin Luther says it's the 58 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,440 chief point and the very central place of the epistles and of the 59 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:07,640 whole Bible. I mean, you got to go, wow. 60 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:10,840 I mean, that's pretty heavy. And so we need to pay close 61 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,600 attention. Now for those of you who are our 62 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:16,160 guest, we've been studying the book of Romans verse by verse 63 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,160 for the last several weeks and we've already been told by the 64 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:21,760 Bible that we are all great sinners. 65 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,440 Doesn't matter your background, doesn't matter who you are, that 66 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,680 this is a universal problem of humanity that we do things that 67 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:30,640 are contrary to God's word and God's will. 68 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,520 And so we need to be very careful in our culture today, in 69 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:38,160 our world today to we talk about being a self-made man or a 70 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,320 self-made person. Be very careful about trying to 71 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:43,080 be a self-made person because too often you're going to end up 72 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,720 worshiping your own maker, just yourself. 73 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:52,080 Jonathan Edwards, the great catalyst for spiritual awakening 74 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,720 in our nation in years past. So if there would be ground for 75 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:57,880 you to trust in your own righteousness, then all that 76 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,840 Christ did to purchase salvation and all that God did to prepare 77 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:05,920 the way for it is in vain. And so we recognize already, and 78 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,080 we've already seen that Christ has already performed the needed 79 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:11,440 saving work. The universal problem has a 80 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,200 solution. The universal problem of sin has 81 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:18,160 already been solved by Jesus. But, and that's what, by the 82 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,640 way, what makes the gospel, what we would call good news for 83 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,040 those who may not be familiar with that or even great news. 84 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:28,320 But the question then for us is how do I receive, how do I 85 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:32,920 personally receive the benefit of that great news? 86 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,600 You've heard testimonies, you you all hear evidence about 87 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:37,800 every week with people being baptized and sharing their 88 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,720 testimonies. The baptism doesn't save them. 89 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,360 They're testifying of Christ who has already saved them. 90 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,440 But you hear this evidence, you see these testimonies every week 91 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,160 of how they received this. And So what we see is, is that 92 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,400 we have to believe it. We truly must faith it. 93 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:56,160 We just need to faith it. Look at chapter 3, verse 21. 94 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,040 Let's dive into this because we, we got to cover some territory 95 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:00,200 here. And I want to get you out in 96 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:02,680 time to make mom go home and cook you a big meal. 97 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:08,880 So surely you're not doing that. I know Taco Bell, Waffle House, 98 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:09,480 right? That's it. 99 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,600 Romans 321. Be funny if you see me there. 100 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,200 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from 101 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,600 the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. 102 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:27,240 The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all 103 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,080 who believe and I just have a few things I want to talk about 104 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,880 what faith in Christ leads to because and you'll see them on 105 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:36,800 the back your your Worship guide or you can download them online. 106 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,840 But faith in Christ truly is the only true path. 107 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:41,560 But it's the true path to several things. 108 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:43,880 First of all, it's the true path to being right. 109 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:50,080 And so after describing in previous verses our horrible 110 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,040 sinful condition, Paul now gives glorious hope. 111 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,360 Just look at the 1st 2 words of this verse, this first verse 112 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,680 here. But now, in other words, in 113 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,560 contrast to what we've been talking about, now there's hope. 114 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,800 Since we made such a mess of ourselves, how in the world 115 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:12,480 could a holy righteous God ever declare us as right? 116 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,880 Job asked the question in Job 9. He said truly I know that it is 117 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:21,800 so, but how can a man be in the right before God? 118 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:24,600 I mean God himself must intervene. 119 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,600 This is the only way this works. God himself must intervene to 120 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,040 rescue us from his own wrath. And that's why it says, but now 121 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,160 the righteousness of God has been manifested and the way that 122 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,200 verb is written in the in the original language, it means that 123 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,880 God made his righteousness to be manifested. 124 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,040 He did this. We couldn't do this, we couldn't 125 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,680 make this happen. We couldn't force him to do 126 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:48,240 this. We could not achieve 127 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:51,280 righteousness on our own. We could never become 128 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:54,840 righteousness enough to fulfil the demand by God because of our 129 00:06:54,840 --> 00:06:57,760 sin. So God had to provide the 130 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,480 required God kind of righteousness through his Son 131 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,520 that that verb manifested in its original meaning means to shine 132 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,320 or to light up. It can refer to the rising of 133 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:11,960 the sun. So God literally has to light up 134 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,360 or he lit up his righteousness so that we might be able to see 135 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,560 it, so that we might be able to have access. 136 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:22,400 Says the Old Testament spoke of it, but then we recognize Jesus 137 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,560 fulfilled it. Paul writes to several churches 138 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,760 about these matters and Ephesians chapter 2 he says, but 139 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:31,840 now in Christ Jesus you were once were far off have been 140 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,760 brought near by the blood of Christ to the Colossians in 141 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,720 Colossians 1. He is now reconciled in his body 142 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,800 of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and 143 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,720 blameless and above reproach before him. 144 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,800 So God's righteousness is manifested it literally. 145 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,280 It's invading the world so that we can see it. 146 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:55,520 But now, through the Messiah, Jesus can change everything. 147 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,040 So we were lost with no hope. We had no way to do this. 148 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,400 There was no way this was going to have, no way I could be 149 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:03,760 right. But Christ Jesus did what we 150 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,880 could never do for ourselves. And so through our faith union 151 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:11,040 in him, we can have right standing before God. 152 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:16,000 And so though we are not righteous in ourselves, God 153 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:22,160 chooses to act. God chose to act to see us as 154 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:29,440 right in Christ Jesus if we just have faith in Him, if we 155 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,159 believe, Philippians 39 says, and be found in him. 156 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:36,559 Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but 157 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,200 that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness 158 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:44,760 from God, that depends on faith. Faith's a big word. 159 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:48,760 You might be here and you believe things about Jesus, but 160 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:51,400 you don't believe in Jesus. And so this is an important 161 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:53,160 message for you to listen to for a few minutes. 162 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:56,640 We are given a righteousness. We cannot earn it. 163 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:01,000 We're given this righteousness. We are justified as a 164 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,800 theological word for it. We're justified in Christ. 165 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,800 Wayne Grudem, who writes, who has written many books, he's a 166 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,120 theologian, has a systematic theology about this thick that 167 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:13,800 those of us who teach in seminaries or work through 168 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:16,440 seminary education, almost all have probably read that book or 169 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,160 been exposed to it. He defines justification this 170 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:24,120 way. It's an instantaneous legal act 171 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:31,960 of God in which he thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ's 172 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:36,800 righteousness as belonging to us and declares us to be righteous 173 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,720 in a sight. It's an amazing transaction that 174 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:44,680 takes place. Faith in Jesus and believe in 175 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:45,920 Him. Faith in Him. 176 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,320 You said as a verb, faith in him, believe in him. 177 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:51,520 That's all the word believe means in the English 178 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,040 translations of the Bible. It just means to have faith. 179 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:59,680 Faith in Jesus and God can declare you forgiven. 180 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:03,320 He can declare you justified. He can declare you in right 181 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,640 relationship with Him, not because of you, not because of 182 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,160 something you do, but based upon the sinless life, the death, the 183 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,200 resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. 184 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:14,840 Again, Paul writes to the churches about this. 185 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:18,240 He writes to Corinth and he says for our sake he made him to be 186 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:22,680 sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the 187 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:26,080 righteousness of God. But don't mistake this. 188 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:31,440 This is not some easy beliefism. This is not some light generic 189 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:37,160 faith or knowledge about Jesus. This is a true belief in a 190 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,720 specific particular person, Jesus Christ and what he's done. 191 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:44,680 The word faith or to believe means to trust. 192 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:48,520 It doesn't just mean to know, it means to trust in, it means to 193 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,160 depend upon, it means to commit to. 194 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:53,520 This is an entire being experience. 195 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:55,360 This isn't just some knowledge thing. 196 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,480 I mean, there are people who don't believe in Jesus as the 197 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,720 Lord and Savior, who believe in Jesus as a historical person. 198 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,440 He was a good prophet. He was a moral teacher. 199 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,000 He was actually somebody who lived. 200 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:08,360 I mean, there's a lot of evidence that points to the fact 201 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:12,600 that somebody named Jesus lived and died and that that he was 202 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:14,520 real. And so people believe that, but 203 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:17,160 they don't believe that he can do anything for them. 204 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:22,720 So believing about Jesus is not the same as faithing in Jesus. 205 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,280 So we're not right before God because we work for him somehow. 206 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,760 We're right before God because we trust in the work that Jesus 207 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:34,560 Christ has already done. So if you love being right all 208 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:36,000 the time, anybody know that person? 209 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,680 If you love being right all the time, I know people who are 210 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:44,720 often wrong, but never in doubt. Think about that for a minute. 211 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:47,920 Could be on some people's tombstones, I know. 212 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:52,120 But if you like being right all the time, trust in Jesus and 213 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:53,840 you'll be made right for all of eternity. 214 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:56,720 It's the only way, the only way you're going to get there 215 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:00,680 because He's the only true path to being right. 216 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,960 Listen to Romans 322, the second-half of that verse 22, 217 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:10,600 for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short 218 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,080 of the glory of God. A verse that many of us know and 219 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:15,840 we would actually use as we share the gospel with somebody, 220 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,680 but we often forget verse 24. Don't just memorize verse 23, 221 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:23,800 memorize verse 24 too. And are justified by His grace 222 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:27,560 as a gift to the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 223 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,000 This is massive. So not only is he this path to 224 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,960 being right, just faith in Christ is the only true path to 225 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:38,960 freedom. Listen everybody, and remember 226 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:41,360 the context of Romans. You have Jews and Gentiles 227 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:43,720 making up this church, and Paul's been spending a lot of 228 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,680 time in these first chapters talking about the needs of both 229 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:50,000 of these groups. And so everyone, Jew and Gentile 230 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:55,040 alike, fall short of God's glory and require God's grace gift 231 00:12:55,200 --> 00:13:00,600 found in Christ alone, because there's only one true path to 232 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:04,240 eternal freedom. And and you got to see and 233 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,880 understand what some of this means for the the word used for 234 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:12,760 sin Here it is, is the most commonly used Greek verb and it 235 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,000 means to miss the mark. But we, we, we missed the mark 236 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,280 in a couple of different ways. And so we can fall short. 237 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:21,880 It can mean like falling behind in a race. 238 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:23,640 Everybody else has left you behind. 239 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:27,920 Or it can mean that you never reached the goal, you never 240 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:31,400 reached the the the finish line. Or it could mean, and this is a 241 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,680 common illustration, that it's like an arrow that you shot 242 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:36,440 that's always shooting short of the target. 243 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:39,040 And so this is the idea of falling short. 244 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:42,400 We never get there. We never get there on our own. 245 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:44,920 And and I want you to think with me because you're going to miss 246 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:46,920 the target in at least two different ways. 247 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,920 One way is bad aim. Sometimes we're not shooting at 248 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,240 the right things, we shoot at the wrong things in life. 249 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,000 The people, people think that they can handle this on their 250 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:00,080 own. They think they can do this 251 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:01,760 themselves. I'm a self-made person. 252 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,440 I can do this. I'm pull myself up by my own 253 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:06,240 bootstraps and handle life all by myself. 254 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,920 I don't need God. And so they have the wrong aim. 255 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:14,360 Their aim is themselves. They are their God or something 256 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,800 else has become their God. Money or power or popularity or 257 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:23,360 whatever it is and they're shooting at the wrong target. 258 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:27,240 And notice in this verse, it's very clear we're fall short of 259 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:30,840 something very specific. We fall short of the glory of 260 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:32,760 God. That's the target. 261 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:40,760 My target is to bring God glory. Now don't miss this because what 262 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:43,680 that suggests is, is that we don't understand God's glory. 263 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,440 We fall short of it. We don't understand Him. 264 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,440 We don't understand what He deserves from us. 265 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:53,520 So think about how we articulate God's mission here at Inglewood. 266 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:57,680 We say this very clearly. God is going to bring glory to 267 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:00,800 himself, and we're to join him in redeeming the nation's. 268 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:05,000 Because here's the bottom line. God will bring glory to himself 269 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,560 with or without me, with or without you, and with or without 270 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,600 Inglewood. But He wants us to be a part of 271 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,840 it. He wants us to bring Him glory. 272 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,640 And when we sin, we fall short of doing that. 273 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:21,040 We're not glorifying God in our sin, so we're falling short of 274 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:24,360 this. But another way we miss or fall 275 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:28,800 short of the target is through a lack of power to shoot the arrow 276 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,520 at its intended mark. In the Lords picture, somebody 277 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:34,960 who's taking good aim at the target, but their bowstring is 278 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:38,800 not strong enough to drive the arrow all the way to the target, 279 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:41,400 and it falls short. See our personal strengths not 280 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,000 enough. Our personal efforts are not 281 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:44,600 enough. Our works are not enough. 282 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,200 My own efforts are not enough. The arrow is always going to 283 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:49,760 fall short. I cannot save myself. 284 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:55,640 I'm always going to fall short. And in our sin, we miss. 285 00:15:56,480 --> 00:16:00,400 We miss God's glory. We fall short of who we're 286 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:03,880 supposed to be of, of the reason you exist, the reason you 287 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:05,840 breathe today, you're falling short of that. 288 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,760 You're missing that target. And it's interesting too, 289 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:10,920 because even the verb tense, oh, I could go deeper. 290 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,720 Sorry, I sound like a professor this morning, But the verb tense 291 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,080 here is even exciting because it means that the lost people who 292 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:19,480 are doing this are doing nothing but this. 293 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:22,160 Don't miss that. They're doing this over and over 294 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,000 and over and over and over and over and over again because 295 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:25,080 they're living for something else. 296 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,240 This is all they do. They're, they're preoccupied 297 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:30,520 with this. Their whole life centers around 298 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:34,280 doing something else other than bring God's, bring God glory. 299 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:36,000 They're bringing them self glory. 300 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,640 They're, they're, they're selfish, they're self-centered, 301 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:40,960 they're worried about everything this world has to throw at them. 302 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,480 And they're not focusing on who they need to focus upon. 303 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:49,520 So we fall short of God's glory and sin over and over. 304 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,520 So how in the world, how can I find freedom from this never 305 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:54,240 ending cycle? It's like an addiction. 306 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:57,760 And the, the bottom line is what Paul's going to say to us is she 307 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:04,240 can't not by yourself. No way you're ever going to get 308 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:08,119 free on your own God. You must do it. 309 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:12,760 God is manifesting the opportunity and it says, and we 310 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:15,440 can be justified in this passage. 311 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:20,000 See God issues a judicial decree to declare those who are in 312 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:24,280 Jesus Christ justified through faith in Him. 313 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:27,520 See now the image of a judge would have been really clear to 314 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:29,600 people who lived in Rome. They wouldn't have a problem 315 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,920 with this because the imperial governor said on an elevated 316 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:36,840 blue and white platform made out of marble called the bema. 317 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:39,480 Some of you've heard that word before when you talk about 318 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:42,920 second coming stuff. But he'd sit upon the bema or 319 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,560 the seat of judgement. Paul stood before a bema in 320 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,720 Corinth when people falsely accused him of things, and he 321 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:53,560 was found innocent. One day too, we will all stand 322 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:57,320 before the bema, seat of the Creator and Judge of the 323 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,400 universe. And so we recognize that since 324 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,840 we all fall short of God's standard, then they're the only 325 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:05,880 way we're going to get out of this. 326 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,080 The only way we can be free is we're going to have to be 327 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:12,320 justified by some other means. I'm never going to muster up 328 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,520 enough strength to do this on my own, right. 329 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:22,880 So by His grace, as a gift, people struggle with that. 330 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:28,480 They want it to be harder. Sometimes the only way to obtain 331 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:30,560 freedom is to receive it as a gift from Him. 332 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:36,400 We're declared just as a gift by His grace through the redemption 333 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,800 of the Lord Jesus Christ, though we personally stand guilty, I 334 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:42,800 mean completely devoid of righteousness before God in and 335 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:45,760 of ourselves. We, we are declared just by this 336 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,800 incredible, miraculous, supernatural transfer of the 337 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:54,120 account from Jesus to me. And so then he says through the 338 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:57,480 redemption, there's another word that is in Christ Jesus. 339 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:01,080 The word redemption literally comes from the idea of paying 340 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:06,480 the price necessary for freedom. Often times it comes from the 341 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:08,680 image of slavery or indentured servanthood. 342 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:15,720 Christ paid the price necessary to free us from the bondage and 343 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:19,680 the debt of sin because the only way to avoid debtors prison, the 344 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:23,080 only way to be not be put to death as a a debtor who couldn't 345 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:25,840 pay his debt was for somebody else to pay your debt. 346 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,840 Somebody had to pay the bill. And God's perfect holiness 347 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:32,520 demands payment. Now see if people don't like 348 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:34,680 that because they just want God to be loved, well, God is 349 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,960 perfect love. God is also perfect truth. 350 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,080 He's also perfect holiness and all parts of those things much 351 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,640 more, but all parts of that perfect nature have to work 352 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,800 together. And so the demand for sin has to 353 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,240 be paid. And we are hopelessly unable to 354 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:53,040 pay enough to secure our own freedom out of our own goodness. 355 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:54,360 There's just not enough in there. 356 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,800 We need a Redeemer to pay our debt. 357 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:01,720 And, and frankly, that's the gospel. 358 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:07,200 The good news is we have a Redeemer and his name is Jesus 359 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:10,120 and he's paid the price completely for us. 360 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:17,800 Now, surely, surely at this moment, on Mother's Day, right 361 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:22,320 now, right here, right now, surely because of that, you want 362 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:26,440 to receive this gift and believe like you've heard others testify 363 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:31,040 about, surely what's stopping you? 364 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,840 God paid the price. He paid the full price to 365 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,000 himself by himself. He did it himself to satisfy the 366 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,240 demands of his own holy, righteous nature. 367 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,360 I mean, what an incredible story. 368 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:47,880 And since the wages of sin is death, the Bible says we'll see 369 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:49,120 that verse here in a little while. 370 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:55,040 In our study, the redemption price that had to be paid was 371 00:20:55,040 --> 00:21:02,280 also death, the death of God's own Son, God's incredibly 372 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:07,600 gracious gift. It's a free gift being offered 373 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:12,520 to us, but it cost God everything Peter wrote about it. 374 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,960 Listen, Peter says, knowing that you were ransomed from the from 375 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,960 the feudal ways inherited from your forefathers, not with 376 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,960 perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious 377 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:28,520 blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 378 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,480 Our freedom comes by His grace, and you cannot earn His grace. 379 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,600 You have to receive it as a gift, not the meticulous 380 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:38,480 observance of your religion won't get it. 381 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:41,120 You can be here every single time the doors open. 382 00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:44,760 That's not enough. You can actually be in a Connect 383 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,720 group every week and you should be. 384 00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:54,160 But that's not enough. We have to trust, We have to 385 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:55,480 believe. We have to commit. 386 00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:02,400 We have to faith in Jesus so that meticulous observance of 387 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:04,680 religion won't do it. Salvation is not about trying 388 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,360 harder. Salvation is not about doing 389 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:08,640 more. It's about receiving God's grace 390 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:10,720 and being absolutely transformed. 391 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:14,920 In fact, there's an old creed, you know, it's been around 392 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:16,760 forever. But people will say this. 393 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:18,480 People will still say this to me sometimes. 394 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:20,200 God helps those who help. Who? 395 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:25,640 Yeah. That's neither the gospel nor is 396 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,680 it in the Bible. It's not true. 397 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:36,600 There's a price to pay for us to be purchased into freedom, a 398 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:40,320 price to pay for God's wrath. We were bought with a price. 399 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,320 Corinthians. First Corinthians tells us the 400 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,200 most expensive gift ever conceived or offered. 401 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:48,680 And he is offering you that free gift. 402 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:53,040 My friends, I kid you not right now on Mother's Day right here 403 00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:57,040 at Inglewood Baptist Church right now and my prayer, we, 404 00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:59,000 some of us have been begging for this all week. 405 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,960 I'm telling you, a couple of us have been burdened all week for 406 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:04,400 this to where we we're praying right now that your heart and 407 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,760 your mind are being pierced by the Holy Spirit to where you 408 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:11,320 know these words are true, but you got to be willing to receive 409 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:18,040 it. Verse 25, whom God put forward 410 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:20,080 as a propitiation. There's your big word for the 411 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:25,320 day, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to 412 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:27,360 receive, to be received by faith. 413 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:30,120 This was to show God's righteousness because in His 414 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:33,400 divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. 415 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:37,040 It was to show His righteousness at the present time so that He 416 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:41,880 might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in 417 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,000 Jesus. The third thing you got to see 418 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,120 is faith in Christ is the only true path to justice. 419 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,720 You'll see what I mean. God put forward Christ Jesus, 420 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:56,040 God the Son. His sacrifice involved far more 421 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:57,720 than just a physical death, though. 422 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,000 He died on the cross. And that blood sacrifice was, 423 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,200 was, was a part of this. But there's also this idea of 424 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,480 propitiation. And this is a hard word because 425 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,840 to be honest with you, there's not an adequate English 426 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,360 translation for this word, either in the Greek or frankly 427 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:17,000 in the Hebrew, where it actually comes from in the beginning. 428 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:22,640 But the idea of a propitiation is to appease the wrath of God 429 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,760 towards sin. And so the Son of God bore the 430 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:30,720 penalty from God the Father and paid our price. 431 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,160 We should have had to pay. We should have been on the 432 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,160 cross. So what you call this is a penal 433 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,920 substitution. In other words, He substituted 434 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,080 himself so that we didn't have to die on a cross. 435 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,560 We don't have to suffer eternal death if we'll believe in Him. 436 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:50,480 He was our substitute. But this word also refers in the 437 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:55,080 Old Testament to the mercy seat in the Tabernacle or the temple. 438 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,560 In fact, the Hebrew word kapuram, from which they get the 439 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:03,320 holiday Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is is a part of what 440 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:07,440 this word meaning comes out of. So you had this annual special 441 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:11,040 blood sacrifice that was only that was made in the Holy of 442 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:15,840 Holies to appease God and to pay the ransom for the nation of 443 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:20,320 Israel's sin. And so the word propitiation can 444 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:25,600 basically mean the cover of atonement to appease the wrath 445 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:30,520 of God toward our sin. There was also a scapegoat, if 446 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:32,480 you'll remember, and they would lay their hands upon the 447 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,120 scapegoat, symbolically laying all their sins upon this animal, 448 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:38,520 and then they would cast it out into the wilderness so that 449 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,480 would bear their sins away from them, as far away as possible, 450 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:48,160 to take away their iniquities. So we stand before a judge, a 451 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:52,520 perfect judge, whose wrath has to be satisfied. 452 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:57,200 This price has to be paid, and the only just price and penalty 453 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,520 is death. So the crucifixion of Jesus was 454 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:05,880 the sacrifice, it was the public sprinkling of blood, much like 455 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,600 in the day of, on the Day of Atonement at the altar and the 456 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,200 mercy seat. Here we see the the sprinkling 457 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:14,960 of blood to pay our penalty. So my only hope, my only hope, 458 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,640 the only hope, the only true path, the only hope is to be 459 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:24,040 declared just and acceptable to God by the precious gracious 460 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,920 gift that He's offering to you in Christ Jesus. 461 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,720 So we receive this gift through faith in Christ who took our 462 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:36,400 punishment, satisfying the heavenly courts requirement that 463 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:40,360 justice be served. And if someone doesn't take our 464 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:41,680 punishment, you got to hear me clearly. 465 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:43,760 I'm going to be as blunt and as clear as I can be. 466 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,160 If someone does not take our punishment, we are still under 467 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:51,400 God's wrath and we still must pay the price eternally for our 468 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:52,920 sin. Listen to what John says. 469 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:55,520 Listen to what Jesus says in John 3. 470 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,520 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. 471 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,720 Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the 472 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:10,200 wrath of God remains on him. If you reject Christ, you're 473 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:13,880 still a target of God's wrath, whether you believe that or not, 474 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:17,160 because you have offended the King of the universe, and he 475 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,880 will punish your sin. Let me be even more clear. 476 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:24,400 You will go to hell to pay your own price. 477 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:30,360 That's not my belief alone. That's what the Bible teaches, 478 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:34,240 clearly. But the good news is praise the 479 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:37,640 Lord for good news. The good news is that Jesus 480 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:41,920 already satisfied the Father's righteous anger and wrath on our 481 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,840 behalf, and we can now have peace with God if we have faith 482 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,520 in him. We can be reconciled to and no 483 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:53,840 longer have the enemies of God. The Bible says, but mercy is 484 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,920 neither earned nor deserved. It it, it cannot be demanded. 485 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,240 It's only offered as a gift. It it can't even be 486 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:04,080 reciprocated. It can only be received. 487 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:08,040 Look at verse 27. It says, then, then what becomes 488 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:11,560 of our boasting? What you got to boast about? 489 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:15,800 Then it is excluded. By what kind of law? 490 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:19,400 By by a law of works? No, but but by the law of faith, 491 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:22,520 where we hold that one is justified by faith, that parts 492 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:25,160 from the works of the law. Or is God the God of the Jews 493 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:26,880 only? Is he not the God of Gentiles 494 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:28,640 also? Yes, of Gentiles also? 495 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:33,160 Since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith 496 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:37,760 and the uncircumcised through faith, Do we then overthrow the 497 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,080 Law by this faith? By no means. 498 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:41,640 On the contrary, we uphold the law. 499 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:47,600 So what we see in conclusion is that faith in Christ, very 500 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:53,440 simply, it's the only true path. There is no other. 501 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:58,200 The gospel should humble us. We didn't work for it. 502 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:02,160 We don't deserve it. We're not righteous on our own. 503 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:06,360 So we don't brag about being saved. 504 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:08,280 We're just thankful. We should be the most humble, 505 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:13,480 grateful people on the planet because of what God has done and 506 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:15,480 and remember the context here of Jew and Gentile. 507 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:19,120 The gospel also should unite us as believers in that humility. 508 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,440 Regardless of your background, regardless of what you used to 509 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,520 believe, regardless what you didn't believe, regardless of 510 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:25,160 where you where you're coming from. 511 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,120 We're one in Christ when we believe together, like the 512 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:30,960 church in the book of Acts, The gospel changed not only our 513 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:33,480 vertical relationship with God. The gospel changes our 514 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,200 horizontal relationship with one another, which is one of the 515 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,960 reasons that we say in our vision statement here that we 516 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:43,160 must be and make other disciples who love God and also who we 517 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,600 love others. And we work to fulfill God's 518 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:49,520 mission so we can rest in his grace. 519 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:52,480 We can rejoice in the work of Christ. 520 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:55,800 We while we still grow in him together, while we still learn, 521 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:57,840 while we still grow in our discipleship. 522 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:03,280 And we tell other people this incredible good news, but 523 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:09,920 listen, only by faith and only by faith in Christ, nothing 524 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:15,160 else, nobody else, no other source, only by faith in Christ 525 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:17,600 can you become all that you were created to be and fulfill your 526 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:19,600 life purpose. You want to know why you're 527 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:21,720 breathing today? Trust in Christ. 528 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:23,920 Christ is the perfect fulfillment. 529 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:25,680 He's the perfect fulfillment of the law. 530 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:27,200 He's the perfect fulfillment of the Scripture. 531 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:28,840 He's the perfect fulfillment of your life. 532 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:35,360 And so he's the only true path to transforming salvation. 533 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:42,080 Now, many of you know the song and many of you know the story, 534 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:48,880 but I was just reminded about the former slave ship captain 535 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:54,680 who was miraculously saved and actually became a pastor. 536 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:03,280 You know, John Newton did not write perhaps the most famous 537 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:08,560 hymn, at least in the last few centuries, in honor of his own 538 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:14,640 self-made righteousness. These verses resound from a 539 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:19,640 formerly empty soul that was filled from above. 540 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:26,400 Filled from above by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 541 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:32,240 Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound that saved a 542 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:37,240 Wretch like me. Like me, like this one, I once 543 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:43,600 was lost but now I'm found. Was blind but now I see twas 544 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:47,800 grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears 545 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:51,600 relieved. How precious did that grace 546 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:56,320 appear? The hour, the hour, the moment, 547 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:03,000 the second I first believed. Been praying, been begging God 548 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,640 this week that this morning would be that first moment you 549 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:10,640 believed. I know that some of you have 550 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:15,600 come here to be with Mama or Grand Mama and you weren't 551 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:18,320 expecting anything other than endurance to get to lunch. 552 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:25,760 But my prayer for some of you is that you believe in Him, you 553 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:31,400 trust in Him, you commit to Him, and that you will be able to see 554 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:35,280 for the first time. Let Him remove your blindness 555 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:43,880 and let Him set you free. I just ask you to faith, to 556 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:47,080 faith in Him, to just faith in Him. 557 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:51,240 Father, I pray, Lord, that right now Your Holy Spirit would run 558 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:56,400 rampant in our hearts and minds. Father that Lord, we would be so 559 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:01,880 overwhelmed in the reality of Your presence that there would 560 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,720 be no doubt. Because, Father, my prayer is 561 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:10,360 for all of us to be able to say that when we've been there 562 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:15,440 10,000 years with you, bright shining as the sun, that we'll 563 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:19,960 have no less days to sing your praise than when we very first 564 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:23,880 began. My Father, I want everybody to 565 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,800 be there. So, Father, I pray if there's 566 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:30,960 somebody here right now who's never trusted in Jesus Christ as 567 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:33,520 Lord, Lord and Savior, their penalty has not been paid. 568 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,320 I pray, Father, this morning will be the morning of faith. 569 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:42,800 They'll understand You're giving them a gift of grace right now, 570 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:48,040 and they need to receive it. A Father in a moment when our 571 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:50,840 offering plates are past, Lord, I pray that this is much more 572 00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:54,600 than some monetary moment that Father, when that plate is in my 573 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,400 hands, that I, I won't necessarily think about what 574 00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:00,760 money is supposed to go in there or the next steps card that goes 575 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:02,200 in there. But Father, I'm also going to 576 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,920 think, what can I put before you, Lord? 577 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:07,400 What can I offer to you from my life? 578 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:11,560 How can I live for you in a greater way? 579 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:13,920 Maybe, maybe they need to be saved, Father. 580 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:16,520 Maybe they need to be baptized. Maybe they need to join the 581 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:18,520 church. Maybe they need to be praying in 582 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:22,159 a different way, Father. So I just pray, Lord, that 583 00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:28,000 before we go, that Father, our focus will be not on going, but 584 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:34,000 on you right now coming to you. So Father, bless us as we have 585 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,560 this moment of invitation. Bless us, Father, as people come 586 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:43,320 forward to pray, to receive you, to learn about baptism or some 587 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:46,719 other commitment of discipleship, that Father, we 588 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:51,280 might honor you in all that we do Thank you, Father, in 589 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:55,000 Christ's name, Amen. May I ask you to stand? 590 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:57,000 Our worship team is going to lead us our next steps. 591 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,040 Room is open. There'll be pastors here. 592 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:00,720 You can come and talk to one of us. 593 00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:02,240 You can come pray at these steps. 594 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:05,200 You can go straight to that room and have a private prayer time 595 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:07,960 and conversation with a counselor who loves you and just 596 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:10,960 wants to share with you. But don't leave here without 597 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:14,200 focusing upon what God would have you offer him today. 598 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:19,000 What do you need to give him? Is it salvation, baptism, 599 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:22,360 membership, commitment? Don't wait. 600 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:24,800 You respond as soon as we begin to sing. 601 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:33,280 Thank you so much for listening today, and I also hope that 602 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:35,800 you'll go to ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com 603 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,880 as well as our app and find many other resources that will bless 604 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:41,040 you and your families. Thank you once again.