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I'm going to come to a text with
you at this very moment, and I 

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want to give you a fresh look 
into the gospel of Jesus Christ,

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the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
Not in the gospel accounts, but 

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I want you to hear how one man 
who experienced the grace of 

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God, an unlikely candidate to be
a follower of Jesus Christ, was 

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used to tell others how they can
also become trophies of His 

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grace. 
And so if you do have a Bible in

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your hands, maybe you don't look
over to the person next to you. 

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I'm sure they'll be open to 
sharing in the book of Titus 

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chapter 2. 
In Titus chapter 2, we will read

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in verse 11. 
Here's what the Holy Spirit says

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in His word. 
For the grace of God has 

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appeared, bringing salvation for
all people, training us to 

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renounce ungodliness and worldly
passions and to live self 

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controlled, upright and godly 
lives in the present age, 

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waiting for our blessed hope, 
The appearing of the glory of 

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our great God and Savior Jesus 
Christ, who gave Himself up for 

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us to redeem us from all 
lawlessness, and to purify for 

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Himself a people for His own 
possession who are zealous for 

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good works. 
Declare these things, exhort and

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rebuke with all authority. 
Let no one disregard you. 

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I want to obey this command 
today in your presence by 

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declaring these things in your 
hearing. 

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The beauty of the Christian 
message is that it is so simple 

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to understand. 
In fact, it is so simple and 

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direct it actually offends some 
people. 

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It disturbs them for many 
reasons. 

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One of those reasons is because 
it's humbles the intellect. 

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The essence of what it means to 
be a believer is to be 

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understanding of one sin and 
realizing that there's nothing 

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within yourself that can grant 
you right standing before God. 

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It essentially calls you to 
surrender and trust in self you.

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You cannot look to anything in 
your pedigree, in your family 

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heritage, in your performance. 
It's simply you looking at 

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yourself and determining I am a 
child of wrath, that if I look 

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to my left or to my right, I may
seem like a good person, but if 

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I stand in the presence of God's
moral perfection, I am doomed. 

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If He holds me according to His 
measure and His word and His 

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command, I will never be able to
attain His acceptance. 

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And it's it's not that God 
places something on us that is 

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unrealistic because He is 
sadistic. 

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It's because His Holiness 
demands it. 

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He is the Creator of all things.
He has determined every aspect 

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of our universe. 
And as imperfect as it is, He is

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the originator, not the author 
of the imperfections. 

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We are the author of the 
imperfections in this life. 

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He's given us a choice from the 
beginning of time. 

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Will you continue to fellowship 
with me or go your own way? 

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Understand this, love has a 
choice and our parents chose to 

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walk away from him inheriting A 
fractured universe because of 

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our disobedience. 
And So what it means to become a

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Christian from the beginning is 
understanding that I am not just

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a Sinner, but I am an object of 
His wrath. 

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That as the judge of the 
universe, if He holds me to 

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account, I will have no chance 
to be deemed innocent. 

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And yet at the same time, I 
realized that in His great love 

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He extends a payment. 
He extends his hand of 

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fellowship, and He asks you in 
your humility to reach out as 

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though you're drowning in the 
ocean and receiving the rescue 

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that you desperately need. 
But here's what I want to make 

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mention of in the verses that we
read. 

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For the grace of God in verse 11
has appeared. 

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It came 2000 years ago. 
It was prophesied about since 

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the beginning of time. 
And this book, though it is not 

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a science book, though it is not
strictly a history book, it is a

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book that defines redemptive 
history, where we went wrong, 

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how we continue to do wrong, and
how God brought a remedy. 

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And so we know that from the 
beginning of time, God has 

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promised the human race that 
there would be a Savior to come.

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I'm going to bring salvation. 
It has appeared. 

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We don't need to look anywhere 
else. 

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We don't have to guess. 
It already came and we're on 

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this side of the cross. 
You see how we're safe today is 

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we look back and we see what 
Christ has done and we believe 

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on that truth by faith, how they
were saved before Christ as they

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looked forward and they said, 
OK, there is someone coming who 

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is going to redeem us. 
I believe that it has appeared, 

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but notice this also. 
It has appeared bringing 

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salvation for all people. 
Salvation in Christ never 

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discriminates. 
It doesn't have a certain 

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category of wrongdoers that can 
never be accepted. 

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When Jesus Christ came to rescue
sinners, He had every sin in 

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mind and He had every Sinner in 
mind. 

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And there's not one thing that 
anyone has ever done that 

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discounts them from actually 
being accepted in the Beloved. 

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It is for all people. 
And that in itself is an offense

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to some. 
How is it that you can say that 

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so and so in history that has 
brought massacres to countries 

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and nations and societies? 
You're saying salvation is 

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available to them. 
Yes, it is, according to the 

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Bible. 
Or may you may think of people 

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you know personally that are 
undeserving of any grace, an 

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ounce of mercy. 
And yet the Bible says it's 

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available. 
And you may be even sitting here

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looking at your own heart 
saying, brother, if you only 

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knew the corruption that I enjoy
and the pain that I've caused 

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and the indifference in my heart
towards the things of God, you 

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would question if I am worthy 
and I'm here to tell you're not 

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worthy. 
That's the point. 

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None of us are. 
All of us are equal in the sight

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of God, and we're comforted by 
this truth that salvation is for

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all people. 
Do you have salvation today? 

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Do you know for certain I am 
accepted? 

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My name is written in the Lamb's
Book of Life. 

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I have a testimony. 
I was something. 

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I was someone, but Christ 
intervened and now I am 

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something and someone else. 
You don't have to do anything in

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preparation to encounter the 
person of Jesus Christ. 

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Listen carefully. 
You don't become holy to be 

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accepted in Christ. 
You come to Christ so that he 

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can make you holy. 
That's the beauty of the gospel.

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And that's why in part also it's
offensive. 

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Again, there are many reasons 
why it's offensive, though the 

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the essence of the message is 
gorgeous. 

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It's beautiful, it's wonderful. 
Why are some people offended? 

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There's got to be something that
I do. 

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There's some kind of 
contribution that I have to 

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make. 
There's something that I must 

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invest in in order for me to 
attain this. 

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And the whole message is no, you
give up and you look to Christ. 

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But notice this salvation is not
just this invisible ticket that 

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you inherit that one day will 
appear when you give your final 

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breath and you stand before the 
living God and say, well, on May

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whatever day, 2000, whatever 
year, I gave my life to Christ 

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and here I am. 
My name is in the registry, 

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right? 
That's not salvation. 

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And Paul wants to clarify that 
because look at verse 12. 

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This grace that has appeared in 
verse 12 trains us to renounce 

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ungodliness and worldly passions
and to live self controlled, 

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upright and godly lives in the 
present age. 

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So here's what I want to tell 
you about this grace. 

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As wonderful as it is, as 
glorious as it is, as free as it

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is, if you really accept it, if 
you really understand it and 

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apply your faith to it, it will 
change you. 

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It demands change. 
It transforms you. 

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Look at this. 
Look at this language verse of 

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it trains us to renounce 
ungodliness and worldly 

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passions. 
You've heard many testimonies of

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people here who are getting 
baptized saying I'm not perfect,

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I'm not where I'm supposed to 
be, but here I am wanting to 

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obey Christ. 
Yes, that fits with what the 

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Bible says a Christian looks 
like. 

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It's not about immediate 
perfection once you profess 

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Christ, but it is about a 
miraculous instant 

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transformation of your heart 
direction. 

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Once you taste this grace, now 
you have this strength and this 

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motivation to say, I want to 
renounce this ungodliness. 

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I want to walk away from this 
sin. 

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I no longer want to live in 
enmity with God. 

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And it trains you, you, you 
develop in your understanding of

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who he is, his beauty, his 
wonders, and that compels you 

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now to move away from sin more 
and more and more. 

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And here's the beauty of this 
verse. 

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He trains as a good trainer, is 
patient, doesn't give up on us 

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so easily, and when we 
understand who Christ is, he 

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walks with us in this journey 
the moment you confess Him, and 

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is committed to work in and 
through you until you meet face 

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to face. 
It trains us to renounce 

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ungodliness and worldly passions
and to live self controlled, 

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upright and godly lives in the 
present age. 

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Here's another thing to mention.
Why are Christians different? 

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If a If a believer is truly a 
follower of Jesus Christ, there 

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is a difference between them and
the world. 

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Those who do not profess Christ,
can I tell you the true 

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motivation? 
If they really understand this 

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book, they really understand the
will of God. 

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The reason why they don't go 
there or do this or act this way

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is because of grace. 
It's the mercy of God, the 

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kindness of God, the 
long-suffering of God that 

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encourages and stimulates 
holiness. 

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Why do I do what I do? 
Because I am loved by Him. 

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Why do I do what I do? 
Because He first loved me and 

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now I can love him. 
That's the greatest force to 

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true holiness, to true 
conformity and transformation. 

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The Bible says it's grace. 
The love in his eyes, the wounds

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in his hands and feet and the 
Pierce side. 

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That is the thing before me 
always that encourages me to 

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live for His glory. 
So if you're motivated by an 

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ungodly fear, the terror of 
being judged, Pascal's Wager, I 

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don't even know if this is 
really real, but just in case it

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is real, I'm going to live 
religiously and and I'm not 

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going to lose if I do that, 
really. 

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So let me just do this. 
That's not the gospel. 

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The gospel is the grace of God 
has appeared. 

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You've accepted it. 
It's working in you and that is 

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the means for you to live a holy
life. 

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But there's something else about
this gospel in verse 13. 

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It doesn't just train you, it 
tells you to wait. 

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It encourages you for something 
to come. 

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Hasn't just appeared in the past
on this side of the cross. 

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It also has a message for 
tomorrow. 

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Look at verse 13. 
Waiting for our blessed hope, 

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the appearing of the glory of 
our great God and Savior Jesus 

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Christ. 
Where does it say in the Bible 

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that Jesus Christ is God? 
Well, there's one verse. 

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Memorize it. 
Christian. 

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Paul called Jesus our great God 
and Savior. 

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But notice that in the context 
of the Gospel, Christians who 

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really understand the message, 
the Christian message, have this

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hope, have this inner awareness 
that yes, in the past Christ did

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something for me. 
Yes, today he is working in me. 

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But there is something tomorrow 
that awaits. 

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What's the crescendo of the 
Christian life? 

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What's the climax of the 
Christian faith? 

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The appearing of Jesus Christ, 
the appearing of Jesus Christ. 

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And so when you collect the data
in the Old Testament, especially

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the literature that predicted 
Christ, then you understand that

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the mission of God in the flesh 
is not just to come and judge 

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and rule and clean up this 
world, the mess that we made, 

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but it's also and primarily to 
clean you and me up, to cleanse 

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our hearts, to renew us. 
And that's why he came to die. 

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You know, He could have 
immediately come and establish 

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his rule in his reign, get rid 
of all of us and start all over.

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He could have. 
Who says he couldn't? 

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But instead, he first comes to 
you and I as enemies of Him and 

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redeems us and makes us subjects
of his Kingdom more than 

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subjects, servants in his 
Kingdom more than servants, 

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friends in his Kingdom more than
friends, children adopted. 

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And he give. 
Think about this. 

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He gives us the privilege now, 
in this window of time in human 

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history, to operate as agents of
hope and truth, ambassadors of 

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this Kingdom, to tell others, 
this is for you. 

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This is free. 
You can come in. 

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I'm not going to. 
I'm not going to have either. 

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Welcome to the club, and I want 
to tell you what it says here in

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verse 14 as a final thought. 
Who gave himself for us to 

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redeem us from all lawlessness 
and to purify for himself a 

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people for his own possession, 
who are zealous for good works. 

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It's almost as though he brings 
it full circle. 

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He talks about grace being 
manifest, us experiencing that 

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salvation, and then He almost 
clarifies what the salvation 

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entails. 
It delivers us from all 

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lawlessness, all not some 
lawlessness, all lawlessness, 

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and it purifies us unto himself.
But here's the most beautiful 

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attribute of the salvation, a 
people for his own possession. 

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He owns us, which means, which 
means at least two things. 

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One, when you become a follower 
of Christ, you surrender your 

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rights, all of them. 
That's another reason why this 

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gospel is offensive. 
It demands everything of who you

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are. 
It's not intellectual ascent. 

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It's not just you doing 
something on Sunday morning 

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instead of sleeping in. 
It's about you saying, if you 

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save me in this way, I gladly 
surrender everything, 

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everything. 
And it's not this begrudging, 

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slavish, defeat dragging way of 
life. 

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It's you entering into the 
reason why you exist to begin 

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with. 
So he owns you. 

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So everybody who is, who is 
baptized today, they made a 

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decision. 
I let go of my ambitions, my 

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dreams, my ideas of what's good,
what's bad, my criteria, my 

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standards. 
And now I give everything to 

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Christ. 
He is my Lord. 

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He is the commander in chief of 
my brief existence on earth, and

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I gladly do it. 
On what basis? 

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Because the grace of God has 
appeared not to reach for His 

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grace, not to win His affection.
No, He already showed it to you 

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when your back was turned 
towards Him. 

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But it also means the second 
thing, a people for His own 

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possession. 
He owns you, yes, but He will 

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keep you. 
He will hold on to you. 

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He will never let you go. 
If you truly have repented and 

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believed on Christ, there 
shouldn't be a moment where you 

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doubt Him renouncing you. 
But what if I fail while you're 

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being trained? 
What if my heart grows cold? 

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You're being trained. 
What if I am a Lord and tempted 

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by things that hurt Him? 
He still owns you and He will 

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work in you day by day and 
moment by moment. 

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There might be moments where you
look at yourself, say I don't 

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recognize myself in a good way, 
and there might be other times 

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where you say I'm ashamed of 
myself. 

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Either way, it does not change 
his ownership of you. 

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He is committed to your 
conformity. 

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He is committed to holding on to
you and nothing snatching you 

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out of his hand. 
So again, the gospel is not 

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performance enhancement. 
It's not behavioral 

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modification. 
It's about you giving your heart

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and your future to a good and 
gracious king. 

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And I like how Paul ends here. 
Yes, a people for his own 

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possession who are zealous for 
good works. 

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Why am I zealous like this 
little guy here? 

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Zealous because of this grace. 
I wonder if you know this grace 

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today. 
I'm not asking if you know it. 

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Theologically, Satan has the 
most accurate, robust theology, 

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and he will be tormented forever
because of his rebellion. 

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Did you taste it? 
Is it real to you? 

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As I've been speaking the past 
1520 minutes, could your heart 

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actually say Amen? 
I know what you're talking 

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about, preacher. 
Or is all of this foreign to 

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you? 
Is it alien? 

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Is it strange? 
Is it confusing? 

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Yet you understand the mechanics
of it, You understand the core 

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message, but it doesn't 
resonate. 

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Can I ask you one more question 
and I'll end it here? 

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Do you sense a little 
conviction? 

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Is there something in you that 
says, I may not understand 

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everything fully, but I want it?
There's this strange realization

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that this is indeed true, or at 
least could be true. 

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May encourage you to do 
something. 

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Both visitor and frequent 
visitor. 

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We had people here say that 
they've sat in these pews for 

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months and years and not really 
understood it. 

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Do not turn off your conscience.
Do not dismiss what may be 

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taking place in your heart. 
Like Brandon said, something 

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miraculous can happen the moment
you just humble yourself. 

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That's it. 
You need a preacher to walk by 

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you. 
As valuable as I might be, 

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Christian friends and family, 
they can point us in the right 

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direction, but it ultimately 
boils down to this. 

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00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:48,840
You humbling yourself and 
saying, Lord, if this is true, 

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00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,680
show me. 
Lord, if this book is of you, 

311
00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,200
show me. 
Lord, if you truly love me, show

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me. 
If you're willing to forgive me,

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00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:02,280
show me. 
Make this real to me and I'll 

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00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:05,320
tell you he will. 
Let's pray. 

315
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,200
Thank you, Father, for this 
incredible service. 

316
00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,200
Thank you for these precious 
Saints who stood before us 

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today, and more importantly, 
they stood before you. 

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Help us also leaving this place.
Be bold and zealous for good 

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works. 
We pray even now that there 

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would be a fresh wave of 
revelation concerning your grace

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for each of our lives. 
And Lord, we pray that this 

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Church, by Your grace, would 
continue to see salvations, 

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00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:41,840
people coming to know you, 
people saying this grace has not

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00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:45,840
just appeared in history, it 
appeared to me and I'm changed 

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because of it. 
Lord, we ask that as we 

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celebrate our fellowship, you 
bless the food, that the joy 

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that's being realized in the 
hearts of those who made this 

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00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:57,560
decision today would be shared 
in our hearts as well. 

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And Lord, for those who don't 
know you in this place, move in 

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their hearts. 
Every means possible was used 

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00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:07,680
today to communicate truth. 
Your ordinances, songs, 

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00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:14,240
preaching, people who have 
testimonies, only you can do the

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work of conviction. 
And we pray that it would be 

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00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:19,440
real today. 
Lord, we love you and we honor 

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00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:22,360
you with all of our hearts. 
We give you praise for this 

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00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:25,000
time. 
In Jesus name we pray, Amen and 

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00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:25,360
Amen.