1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:03,200 Well, good morning Crossing Church. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:05,200 How are you doing today doing? Alright. 3 00:00:06,300 --> 00:00:09,900 Good to be in the house, the Lord good to be with the people 4 00:00:09,900 --> 00:00:12,300 of the Lord, the house of the Lord. 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:17,200 We have 11 different houses all across all our, our locations 6 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,300 thankful for each and every one of you. 7 00:00:19,500 --> 00:00:22,100 Every one that's inside every one that's online. 8 00:00:22,100 --> 00:00:27,500 We're so thankful for you. And if our if our locations are 9 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:32,500 front yard, well then, Crossing Camp is our backyard and you 10 00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:38,600 know, it's where we play and we enjoy each other's company, but 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,700 it's so much more than that yesterday afternoon. 12 00:00:42,700 --> 00:00:46,400 I had the opportunity to be at Crossing camps, high school 13 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:50,300 week, it's three of our locations are having high school 14 00:00:50,300 --> 00:00:52,400 camp this week. Eight of them will have high 15 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,500 school Camp. I believe a little bit later on 16 00:00:54,500 --> 00:01:00,400 there are 260 young people there and you know, I mean, Yeah, 17 00:01:00,700 --> 00:01:03,900 pretty incredible and you and they had just finished their 18 00:01:04,300 --> 00:01:08,500 session and they were all out in small groups underneath trees 19 00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:12,700 finding shade different places inside outside and I had to 20 00:01:12,700 --> 00:01:16,300 think about that a while because you know what's happening is 21 00:01:16,300 --> 00:01:18,800 they're unpacking stuff, you know. 22 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,600 They're talking about their lives and how that interfaces 23 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,800 with God's word and, you know, they're doing business with the 24 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,800 Lord and with each other and ground is being taken up. 25 00:01:29,900 --> 00:01:33,400 You see it in the baptism videos, people being baptized 26 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,000 out there, it's just absolutely incredible, so thankful for 27 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,500 that. So God's working in the front 28 00:01:38,500 --> 00:01:40,300 yard, he's working in the backyard. 29 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:45,800 And God works incredibly through his people. 30 00:01:46,100 --> 00:01:49,700 And I've really enjoyed so far being a part of this series in 31 00:01:49,700 --> 00:01:52,300 Romans Book of Romans is so rich. 32 00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:55,200 It's so much. There's so much there that 33 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:58,300 answers. Our deepest questions about what 34 00:01:58,300 --> 00:02:01,200 is the Lord doing? What's How to how does this all 35 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:03,000 work? What are the mechanics of these 36 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,100 things? And I have the opportunity to 37 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:10,800 preach on Romans for this morning and it's called our 38 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:16,100 confession So I was thinking a lot about that, about our 39 00:02:16,100 --> 00:02:19,300 confession going through some scriptures about that, how 40 00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:23,400 Romans 4 relates to it. And I got to thinking what are 41 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,800 the most important words you will ever say? 42 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:32,300 Some of you are going to give that a little bit of thought, I 43 00:02:32,300 --> 00:02:34,400 think you're giving it more thought than you need. 44 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,000 Don't think that's really a very hard question. 45 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:43,000 I think the most important words you will ever say, Our three 46 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:49,600 words, I love you. I don't think there's any 47 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,600 question of how powerful those are. 48 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:55,900 We use those words in a lot of different contexts. 49 00:02:55,900 --> 00:03:00,200 I know that I do. I say Dad said that often to my 50 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,200 parents. Usually they were the ones that 51 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:08,800 started it because you know especially as a teenager you not 52 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,900 really coming out with that. So me it was mostly a response. 53 00:03:12,900 --> 00:03:15,800 I love you too because they would say they love me but they 54 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:19,500 instilled that in me. So I got used to saying that to 55 00:03:19,500 --> 00:03:21,600 them a lot. It was not something that was 56 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:25,500 left. Unsaid Then I have siblings, you 57 00:03:25,500 --> 00:03:29,100 know I had five brothers and sisters had a brother and and 58 00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:34,100 four sisters and over the years we would never let a 59 00:03:34,108 --> 00:03:36,800 conversation go. We would never end a text 60 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,300 message with any other words than I love you. 61 00:03:40,500 --> 00:03:43,800 Because you never know. You know, and I have 2 of those 62 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,700 siblings left. There's only half of us that 63 00:03:46,700 --> 00:03:50,300 haven't gone on to glory and so you don't, you don't want to 64 00:03:50,300 --> 00:03:52,700 ever miss that moment. You know that you want those 65 00:03:52,700 --> 00:03:57,700 last words to be the best words? I love you. 66 00:03:57,700 --> 00:04:00,700 I love you, too. I say that to my very close 67 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:03,000 friends. I say it non-stop to my 68 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,800 grandchildren Kiss, Can't Help It. 69 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:13,000 But when I say it, To my wife. It means more. 70 00:04:14,900 --> 00:04:17,800 It's not that the love that I have for all those other 71 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,600 relationships is invalid. It's valid. 72 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:25,000 But when I say it to her, it carries a deeper weight much 73 00:04:25,100 --> 00:04:27,700 deeper weight, much more meaning. 74 00:04:29,300 --> 00:04:33,600 Let me explain that. I remember when we were first 75 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,700 dating, I was 18 years old and I had this personal rule, you 76 00:04:37,700 --> 00:04:40,500 know, when you're when you're 18, you're just so smart. 77 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:46,000 And you just know so much and you know, you have all of these 78 00:04:46,300 --> 00:04:49,700 ideals and you know here's what I'm going to do because this is 79 00:04:49,700 --> 00:04:51,600 what's going to make me better than everybody else. 80 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:56,400 And and so I had some of those personal rules and one of those 81 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:00,000 rules was I wasn't going to say those three words to anyone but 82 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,900 the one And so I was very careful. 83 00:05:04,900 --> 00:05:10,900 I dated a lot, but I didn't say that ever To any girl that I 84 00:05:10,900 --> 00:05:14,400 dated, I felt that way sexually also felt that way with the 85 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:18,800 profession of my love and for some of you today that may be 86 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:23,200 viewed as old-fashioned or narrow-minded, but it was just 87 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:24,900 one of the rules that I sought to live by. 88 00:05:24,900 --> 00:05:26,500 I'm not trying to say that you're wrong. 89 00:05:26,500 --> 00:05:29,300 If you did, if you said that to a lot of people, I'm just saying 90 00:05:29,300 --> 00:05:32,900 that was me. Now, we hadn't dated very long. 91 00:05:32,900 --> 00:05:36,800 Maybe I don't know five or six times and she comes out with it. 92 00:05:39,300 --> 00:05:46,100 She just says it. And I am in a pickle. 93 00:05:48,500 --> 00:05:52,500 Because I wasn't ready to say that I just wasn't ready to say 94 00:05:52,500 --> 00:05:55,900 that. And you know, I'm this this man 95 00:05:55,900 --> 00:05:59,100 of conviction with these other ideals that I have. 96 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:06,800 And and she says that and You know, the problem with this is 97 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,800 that when you say this is a statement, it is a loaded 98 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,100 statement like a gun. I mean it is a loaded statement, 99 00:06:14,100 --> 00:06:18,400 it demands as a response because with that statement there is 100 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,400 always a question. There's a question underneath 101 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,500 you just can't say I love you and you go. 102 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,800 You know what do you do? I mean, I mean your stock 103 00:06:35,100 --> 00:06:40,800 Because it demands this response, this forward response 104 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:42,900 and I wasn't ready for that response. 105 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,200 And I didn't want to say that yet and I was trying to hold on 106 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:51,500 to those personal ideals and it made for this really awkward 107 00:06:51,500 --> 00:06:55,000 moment. It was terrible. 108 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,800 I still remember it. I tried to explain myself. 109 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,900 How do you think that went? You know, this 18 year old 110 00:07:02,900 --> 00:07:05,400 saying? Well you know, I kind of made 111 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:09,200 this you know through the God card did everything didn't 112 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,400 really matter because all I did was hurt her feelings. 113 00:07:16,100 --> 00:07:19,100 It wasn't long before I got a clue. 114 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,300 And I responded. With the only response that you 115 00:07:24,300 --> 00:07:26,600 can give. That's correct or adequate. 116 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:32,000 I love you too. Now I've never stopped loving 117 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,600 her. Never stop telling her, how much 118 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:38,200 I loved her. I told her that today a few 119 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,300 times already. And neither is she? 120 00:07:43,300 --> 00:07:47,700 But I have to confess to you that when I said it, I had no 121 00:07:47,700 --> 00:07:53,700 idea, no understanding of all the implications of it, not any 122 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:58,500 understanding at all. So just a couple of weeks ago 123 00:07:58,500 --> 00:08:02,000 June 4th we celebrated 40 years of being married. 124 00:08:02,900 --> 00:08:08,800 So five years, a dating, 40 years of marriage, she knows me 125 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,500 better than anybody else living on the earth. and we have 126 00:08:12,500 --> 00:08:17,400 experienced a lot in those 45 years, 40 years of marriage, 127 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:21,200 particularly I mean, there are a lot of high points, you know, 128 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,600 there was a marriage itself, there was an engagement and then 129 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,400 there were all the other, like, Monumental moments, like 130 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:34,400 mortgages and children, hospitals, and all the Indus 131 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:36,500 endless things that come after that. 132 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:40,799 But it all began. With Alison saying those three 133 00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:45,100 words. And then with me catching up 134 00:08:45,100 --> 00:08:48,900 later responding with that forward response. 135 00:08:50,100 --> 00:08:54,300 Let me tell you what it did do as much as we didn't know, as 136 00:08:54,300 --> 00:08:58,300 much as we didn't understand it. Defined where our hearts were in 137 00:08:58,300 --> 00:09:02,700 that moment. Now, when we accept Jesus 138 00:09:02,700 --> 00:09:06,300 Christ, as our savior and our Lord, what do we do? 139 00:09:07,700 --> 00:09:12,900 We connect that with an act that somebody does to us. 140 00:09:12,900 --> 00:09:17,100 Like we go down in these Waters of baptism to be immersed, 141 00:09:17,100 --> 00:09:19,500 right? But before we're ever immersed, 142 00:09:19,500 --> 00:09:24,200 and there's always somebody there with us where we don't, we 143 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:26,000 don't self-serve this stuff, right? 144 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,300 There's no drive-up window baptism. 145 00:09:29,300 --> 00:09:32,800 So there's somebody in the waters of Baptist, treat every 146 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,600 location, maybe not in the water and the case of Monmouth because 147 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,300 they use a tank, And somebody's on the outside, but there's 148 00:09:39,300 --> 00:09:41,400 somebody who's right there with you, right? 149 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,700 It's not really something you do baptisms, not something you do, 150 00:09:44,700 --> 00:09:47,000 it's something that is done to you, right? 151 00:09:47,300 --> 00:09:51,400 But before you're ever put down in that water, something else 152 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:53,400 happens, right? And you know what it's called 153 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:58,600 our confession. So we give a confession now we 154 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,900 don't have to come up with that confession on our own because 155 00:10:02,100 --> 00:10:06,700 the person who is baptizing us says it to us and then we repeat 156 00:10:06,700 --> 00:10:09,900 it after them and I know that there may be a word or two, 157 00:10:09,900 --> 00:10:15,300 that's different in what people say but ultimately is I believe 158 00:10:16,300 --> 00:10:22,600 That Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God and I want 159 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:30,000 him as my Lord and my savior. Goes all the way back to Peter's 160 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,100 confession and caesarea Philippi, I believe you are the 161 00:10:33,100 --> 00:10:35,900 Christ, you're the son of the Living God. 162 00:10:36,100 --> 00:10:39,300 And then, that intentionality of, I want him as Lord, and 163 00:10:39,300 --> 00:10:41,000 Savior. And by the way, you can't have 164 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,900 Jesus as your savior, unless he's your lord, and you can't 165 00:10:43,900 --> 00:10:47,500 have him as your lord, unless he is your savior. 166 00:10:47,500 --> 00:10:50,200 He has to be both or he can't be either. 167 00:10:51,100 --> 00:10:54,800 And so what we are doing is confessing our intentionality, 168 00:10:54,800 --> 00:11:02,000 this is what we want. Now, those words, Define a 169 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:06,400 relationship that you are discovering in your heart. 170 00:11:07,700 --> 00:11:11,800 You really don't know anything about being in an intimate 171 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,100 personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 172 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:17,900 When you come into an intimate personal relationship with Jesus 173 00:11:17,900 --> 00:11:22,000 Christ, almost nothing, right? Pretty ignorant. 174 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,100 We all are even if you think you're a Bible student and you 175 00:11:25,100 --> 00:11:28,300 think you've learned all these things and maybe you grew up in 176 00:11:28,300 --> 00:11:31,600 a church and you think I've got a lot of this figured out. 177 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:36,500 Truth of the matter is you just don't Any more than I had, it 178 00:11:36,500 --> 00:11:40,300 figured out or Alison, had it figured out when we confess our 179 00:11:40,300 --> 00:11:43,400 love to each other. We had to learn that in the 180 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:46,300 journey. We had to learn that as that 181 00:11:46,300 --> 00:11:56,900 relationship unfolded. So when we experienced this 182 00:11:56,900 --> 00:12:01,700 personally, with Jesus Christ, we are discovering something in 183 00:12:01,700 --> 00:12:06,300 our heart and then we are responding to what Jesus has 184 00:12:06,300 --> 00:12:12,200 said to you from the cross through his blood and in his 185 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,500 resurrection. Because when Jesus was nailed to 186 00:12:15,500 --> 00:12:19,900 the roof, Timbers of that cross and holding his arms out, he was 187 00:12:19,900 --> 00:12:24,700 saying to you, I love you and he was showing you how much Which 188 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:29,600 he loved you in what he was going through and he showed you 189 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:34,000 the price of loving you as that blood came out of his body. 190 00:12:36,100 --> 00:12:41,300 That was his statement. When you go into the Waters of 191 00:12:41,300 --> 00:12:44,700 baptism and you give your confession, you're not making 192 00:12:44,900 --> 00:12:47,400 the statement. You're responding to the 193 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:49,600 question that's underneath the statement. 194 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:54,000 Because when Jesus says that to you when he says, I love you. 195 00:12:54,100 --> 00:12:58,600 It can't just stand there. It Demands a response and 196 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:03,600 there's only one response and that response is I love you too. 197 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,500 And that I love you, too. Looks like I believe that you're 198 00:13:08,500 --> 00:13:10,800 the Christ, the son of the living, Living God and I want 199 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:18,800 you as my Lord and my savior. So the Apostle Paul is in. 200 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:22,300 Now, he's in Romans 4, and he's already established a lot with 201 00:13:22,300 --> 00:13:27,500 us about how there's no partiality between Jew and 202 00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:31,500 Gentile that were all Sinners. That we all need the grace of 203 00:13:31,500 --> 00:13:34,400 God. That if we try to earn our way 204 00:13:34,700 --> 00:13:37,200 into salvation, we never can that. 205 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:39,900 We don't deserve it. We can't earn it but we can Even 206 00:13:39,900 --> 00:13:43,700 as a gift and he's been teaching us about Grace. 207 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:49,400 But he's going to go a little bit deeper into this idea of 208 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:53,600 Grace, he's going to use Abraham as an example. 209 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,100 And I'm going to read to you first from the Old Testament. 210 00:13:57,200 --> 00:13:59,300 And this is a scripture that he's referring to at the 211 00:13:59,300 --> 00:14:03,000 beginning of Romans 4. I'm going to set up, set it up, 212 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,800 so you know what's going on. He's cause he's talking about 213 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:09,100 Abraham, Abraham from the Old Testament. 214 00:14:09,100 --> 00:14:14,000 Now Abraham, when we read about him in Genesis 15 is an old man. 215 00:14:15,700 --> 00:14:19,100 And his wife is well past years of childbearing. 216 00:14:20,300 --> 00:14:23,200 And they wanted nothing more than to have children. 217 00:14:24,100 --> 00:14:29,200 But they have been infertile. And he has waited on the Lord 218 00:14:29,900 --> 00:14:34,200 and nothing has happened. And so he's making his own 219 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:38,100 plans. And he looks at the people that 220 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:42,200 work for him and his chief servant is a man by the name of 221 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,100 Eliezer. And so he determines that he's 222 00:14:45,100 --> 00:14:46,600 going to give all of this wealth. 223 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:50,300 That he has to his chief servant Eliezer. 224 00:14:50,300 --> 00:14:58,200 And while he's thinking that we read Genesis chapter, 15 verses 225 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:01,000 4 to 6. It says, then the word of the 226 00:15:01,008 --> 00:15:05,000 Lord came to him. Abraham, this man will not be 227 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:10,200 your Heir, but Son, who is your own flesh and blood will be your 228 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,800 heir. And he took him outside and 229 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,300 said, look up at the sky and count the Stars. 230 00:15:16,300 --> 00:15:20,200 If indeed, you can count them and then he said to him. 231 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:26,700 So shall your Offspring be? And here's the kicker verse 232 00:15:26,700 --> 00:15:29,600 ready, verse 6. This is the one that he uses in 233 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,400 Romans 4 and Abraham believed the Lord. 234 00:15:33,700 --> 00:15:39,800 And he credited milord credited to him Abraham as righteousness. 235 00:15:42,500 --> 00:15:45,600 That's a lot to believe, think about it. 236 00:15:46,700 --> 00:15:51,000 This is believing in a God who can do the miraculous believing 237 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:55,400 in a God, who can take something that's not possible and make it 238 00:15:55,500 --> 00:15:58,500 possible. And the Bible says that that's 239 00:15:58,500 --> 00:16:02,100 what Abraham did in that moment, he believed God. 240 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:07,700 Now I want us to look at Romans, Chapter 4, verses 1 to 3, where 241 00:16:07,700 --> 00:16:12,600 he brings this up, he says What then shall we say that Abraham, 242 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,300 our forefather according to the flesh discovered in this matter? 243 00:16:17,300 --> 00:16:21,900 if in fact, Abraham was justified by works, He had 244 00:16:21,900 --> 00:16:26,400 something to boast about, but not before, God, what does 245 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,000 Scripture say? Abraham believed God. 246 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,800 And it was credited to him as righteousness. 247 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,000 There's the quote now, let's understand it a little bit more 248 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:44,100 going to Verses 4 and 5. It says now to the one who works 249 00:16:44,500 --> 00:16:48,600 wages are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation, 250 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:50,900 right? So like if you work for someone, 251 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:53,800 they are obliged to pay you for that work, right? 252 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,800 You should have an expectation that you should receive wages 253 00:16:57,800 --> 00:16:59,900 for that. But then Paul goes on. 254 00:16:59,900 --> 00:17:02,900 However, To the one who does not work. 255 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,400 But trust God, who justifies the ungodly. 256 00:17:06,700 --> 00:17:10,900 Their faith is credited as righteousness. 257 00:17:11,900 --> 00:17:16,700 So, Paul points out that this righteousness, wasn't something 258 00:17:16,700 --> 00:17:21,400 that Abraham had earned but it was given to him on account of 259 00:17:21,408 --> 00:17:25,400 his belief right makes very very clear. 260 00:17:25,700 --> 00:17:29,600 He didn't earn that didn't deserve that but God gave it to 261 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:33,600 him because he chose to Believe God even though God was telling 262 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:35,300 him something that was unbelievable. 263 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:41,000 Now another word for this belief is Faith and we use that word a 264 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,000 lot in Christianity. Don't we talk about faith a lot. 265 00:17:45,100 --> 00:17:49,000 Well, faith is the substance of a relationship based on belief. 266 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,000 So that word faith is really talking about your relationship 267 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,700 with God. But your relationship with God 268 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,800 is all determined by. What you believe about God or 269 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:04,200 Christ is determined by what you believe about. 270 00:18:04,300 --> 00:18:14,400 Jesus Christ. the power of Faith though is often misunderstood I 271 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,200 think we misunderstand this all the time and this is why I 272 00:18:17,208 --> 00:18:19,700 believe that. Because so many people say, wow, 273 00:18:19,700 --> 00:18:24,300 I wish I had more faith or I wish I had better, Faith, or I 274 00:18:24,308 --> 00:18:27,800 wish I was less hypocritical in my faith. 275 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:32,100 And what people? Or if that's you and it is you 276 00:18:32,100 --> 00:18:36,400 sometimes, and it is me, sometimes are missing their that 277 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,500 the power of faith is not in the faith itself. 278 00:18:39,500 --> 00:18:41,700 The power of faith is in its object. 279 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:45,800 It's not about how much Faith you have. 280 00:18:46,300 --> 00:18:50,000 It's about who your faith is in. You see that Abraham is putting 281 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,500 his faith in God. So God's telling him something 282 00:18:53,500 --> 00:18:56,700 that's impossible. But he's choosing to believe God 283 00:18:56,700 --> 00:19:01,100 even in the impossible because he has faith in God. 284 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:03,800 And that's what God wants from us as well. 285 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:07,500 Right now. The truth is, we all have the 286 00:19:07,500 --> 00:19:10,600 exact same amount of Faith. Now, some of you are going, wait 287 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:12,000 a minute. Know that person next to me, has 288 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,300 a whole lot more faith than I I do know they don't, they have 289 00:19:15,300 --> 00:19:16,900 exactly the same amount of Faith. 290 00:19:16,900 --> 00:19:19,800 It's not about how much Faith you have, it's about who or what 291 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,100 your faith is. In the thing, is we put our 292 00:19:23,100 --> 00:19:25,900 faith in all sorts of things, right? 293 00:19:26,100 --> 00:19:28,500 And a lot of those things disappoint us. 294 00:19:30,900 --> 00:19:34,000 The issue is not having more faith. 295 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:38,100 The issue is taking Faith out of the bank of yourself and putting 296 00:19:38,100 --> 00:19:41,900 it in the bank of God is putting your faith in the right place 297 00:19:42,100 --> 00:19:45,700 because the power of faith is in its object. 298 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,500 Right. So you can have faith in your 299 00:19:50,500 --> 00:19:53,600 employer. Now, all of our other locations, 300 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,500 I'm you know, I'm speaking in Quincy and there's people that 301 00:19:56,500 --> 00:19:58,700 are older in this congregation right now. 302 00:19:58,700 --> 00:20:03,000 That remember Motorola, you can put your faith in your employer. 303 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:10,200 And then you can get laid off. Right, or the plant can close. 304 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:14,300 Some of you have been counseling, some of you been 305 00:20:14,300 --> 00:20:17,000 counseling multiple times because you can put your faith 306 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:22,100 in your spouse and you can be cheated on. some of you are 307 00:20:22,100 --> 00:20:24,700 really really committed to your politics but you can put your 308 00:20:24,700 --> 00:20:30,100 faith in government and be completely let down But when you 309 00:20:30,100 --> 00:20:33,300 put your faith in God, you're putting your faith in the right 310 00:20:33,300 --> 00:20:38,000 place, we can put our faith in all sorts of things, but we want 311 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,500 to put our faith in God, we're putting it in the right place. 312 00:20:40,500 --> 00:20:43,300 Now, here's the spot where we get tripped up. 313 00:20:44,300 --> 00:20:47,300 If I were to say, what is the quality of your faith? 314 00:20:48,100 --> 00:20:52,500 Now, first of all, that's wrong. Because the quality of your, how 315 00:20:52,500 --> 00:20:54,100 do you know your faith has quality? 316 00:20:54,100 --> 00:20:58,200 Well that it's we understand the quality of a thing by what it 317 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:04,000 produces or you know like what we've done and it's a Works 318 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,500 statement. So the idea of the quality of 319 00:21:06,500 --> 00:21:09,700 Faith doesn't really doesn't really ring true here. 320 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:17,000 But if we were to think about that, What would we say about? 321 00:21:18,300 --> 00:21:21,100 Abraham because when we read Romans for, if you were read 322 00:21:21,100 --> 00:21:24,700 that whole chapter, it says that he did not weaken in his faith, 323 00:21:24,700 --> 00:21:28,400 there's another sentence that said he was fully persuaded in 324 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,200 his faith and I'm thinking to myself, well, how many times 325 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,000 have I weakened in my faith? You should probably ask me how 326 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:36,700 many times have you done that today? 327 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:40,400 Because I'm weak in my faith all the time. 328 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,400 How many times are you not fully persuaded in your faith? 329 00:21:44,900 --> 00:21:48,800 That happens to me all the time where I start having doubts. 330 00:21:49,100 --> 00:21:52,500 My face starts bouncing around right because I'm very 331 00:21:52,500 --> 00:21:57,300 inconsistent in my faith and yet, here's Abraham with these 332 00:21:57,300 --> 00:21:59,100 statements like you didn't weaken his face. 333 00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:02,400 He's fully persuaded in his faith and I'm going. 334 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,700 I'm no Abraham, I am completely inconsistent. 335 00:22:05,700 --> 00:22:08,100 What is going to happen to me? Listen, I've got good news. 336 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:13,700 News for you because so is Abraham, he was completely 337 00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:18,900 inconsistent in his faith. You know, after the Genesis 15 338 00:22:18,900 --> 00:22:22,400 statement, if we go back to the life of Abraham, you're going to 339 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,200 find out that he did. He struggled in his belief that 340 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,800 God was going to be able to provide a son to him and so did 341 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:32,400 his wife. And so he ended up having 342 00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:36,300 relations with a maid servant named Hagar in his house, that 343 00:22:36,300 --> 00:22:39,800 produced a child. And God said, nope, that's not 344 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:43,000 what I was saying. Does that sound like an 345 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,200 unshakable faith? Is that sound like quality 346 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:47,200 Faith? Does that sound like being fully 347 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,600 persuaded in his faith? Does that sound like a person 348 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,500 who didn't weaken in his faith later on? 349 00:22:54,500 --> 00:22:58,800 After that child was born, Abraham sent both mother and 350 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:01,000 child out into the desert to die. 351 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:05,900 Does that sound like a man who's really faithful to God who's 352 00:23:05,900 --> 00:23:08,700 trying to 100? God, God had to save them. 353 00:23:11,300 --> 00:23:14,900 In the desert. Later on after that because his 354 00:23:14,900 --> 00:23:18,400 wife was very beautiful even though she was elderly, both the 355 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,700 king of Egypt and abimelech, another king. 356 00:23:23,100 --> 00:23:29,000 Desired her to be their spouse. And she was with Abraham, and 357 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,100 they asked about the relationship with Abraham and 358 00:23:32,100 --> 00:23:34,100 Abraham was afraid of the king of Egypt. 359 00:23:34,100 --> 00:23:38,000 And he was also afraid of this man named abimelech, and he told 360 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:43,500 them that she was his sister. Does that sound like a man with 361 00:23:43,500 --> 00:23:45,800 this unshakable? Fearless fake? 362 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:51,800 No. There is no perfect life. 363 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:56,200 There Abraham. Listen was still a sinner in 364 00:23:56,200 --> 00:24:01,400 need of a savior just like you. Just like me. 365 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,300 If there's something you want to tweet out of this sermon and 366 00:24:06,300 --> 00:24:08,400 should be, this Faith isn't work. 367 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:14,600 It's a relationship with the one who did the work because faith 368 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,200 is in its object. In the power of faith is in that 369 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:22,200 object, whatever work we do is only a response to what was 370 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:24,500 already done for us that we could never have done for 371 00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:28,900 ourselves. The relationship we have is more 372 00:24:28,900 --> 00:24:34,400 powerful than our works. Now look at verse 23 to 25. 373 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:40,500 The words, Paul says, it was credited to him were written, 374 00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:45,400 not for him alone, but also for us, oh, this is for you. 375 00:24:46,100 --> 00:24:48,900 You're not just reading about somebody else, this is for you. 376 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,300 To whom God will credit righteousness for us, who 377 00:24:53,300 --> 00:24:56,600 believe in him, who raised Jesus, our lord from the dead. 378 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,800 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to 379 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:03,200 life for our justification. Now what that is called as the 380 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:07,500 gospel The gospel is that Jesus died for our sins? 381 00:25:07,500 --> 00:25:11,600 He was buried he rose again on the third day for our sins. 382 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,800 Jesus came into this world for that purpose, to die for our 383 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:21,400 sins. He paid for our sins in full. 384 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:26,800 He even used that word from the cross paid in full. 385 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:31,400 There was nothing that we could do and then he rose from the 386 00:25:31,408 --> 00:25:34,100 dead to prove his power over sin and death. 387 00:25:34,100 --> 00:25:38,100 But listen to this, it wasn't to prove his power over sin for in 388 00:25:38,100 --> 00:25:41,800 his life because he didn't have any sin in his life or death. 389 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,600 Death was only temporary. Very for him, it was to prove 390 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:49,600 his power, over your sin. It was to prove his power, over 391 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:53,500 your death to provide you with eternal life. 392 00:26:00,100 --> 00:26:05,100 So, how can that be? How in the world do I apply 393 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:10,000 Abraham to the Cross? Didn't he live way before the 394 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,600 cross? Yeah, I actually did. 395 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:15,300 Here's what I'd like for you to do just pretend that this Podium 396 00:26:15,300 --> 00:26:19,200 that I'm preaching from is across just for a moment just 397 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,100 just pretend that it's across and then if you come over here, 398 00:26:24,900 --> 00:26:26,900 I'm going to consider this the past. 399 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,700 Okay? So this is 2000 BC that's when 400 00:26:30,900 --> 00:26:33,600 Abraham lived, 2,000 years before Christ. 401 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:38,600 So that's a lot of space between Abraham and the cross. 402 00:26:38,700 --> 00:26:44,700 How could God forgive Abraham sin after Abraham had been dead 403 00:26:44,700 --> 00:26:49,600 for 2,000 years? How about over here? 404 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,400 This would be 2080. Okay. 405 00:26:55,700 --> 00:26:58,800 So, this is 2000 years on this side of the Cross. 406 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,100 This is where you and I are right now, right? 407 00:27:01,700 --> 00:27:05,600 We're in this Millennium right now, how in the world is the 408 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:09,800 cross and what Jesus did on the cross, able to take care of the 409 00:27:09,808 --> 00:27:13,900 sin that you're going to commit today, because he died 2,000 410 00:27:13,900 --> 00:27:18,100 years ago, me and help you to understand the power of the 411 00:27:18,100 --> 00:27:22,600 Cross, Abraham was a sinner and just Because he believed God 412 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:25,900 didn't stop him from being a sinner, he still sends a lot. 413 00:27:26,100 --> 00:27:30,800 But the power of the Cross is its magnetism, it has this 414 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:35,500 magnetism, it has this magnetic power of pulling all the sin 415 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,700 toward it. So that means all the sin that 416 00:27:38,700 --> 00:27:42,000 was created, all the sin that was committed in the in all 417 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:47,800 those years before the cross. The Cross pulled, that's in 418 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,000 Ford. It was rolled forward. 419 00:27:50,900 --> 00:27:56,700 And so when Jesus died on the cross, he died for the sin of 420 00:27:56,700 --> 00:28:00,200 Abraham and even before that, all the way back to Adam. 421 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,900 The same exact magnetism works for us today. 422 00:28:04,900 --> 00:28:08,400 The sins that you haven't even committed yet. 423 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:12,200 That you haven't asked forgiveness for yet are paid for 424 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:16,100 by the cross, because all of your sin is being rolled 425 00:28:16,100 --> 00:28:21,200 backward, because in this one moment, all of the sin past 426 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:25,900 present and future are pulled together in this one moment and 427 00:28:25,900 --> 00:28:29,200 what Jesus did when he died on that cross, when he shed his 428 00:28:29,208 --> 00:28:34,200 blood, that blood covered all. The sin of the world past 429 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,900 present and future. It was enough. 430 00:28:37,100 --> 00:28:41,200 It was enough for God to say, I'm canceling, the debt for 431 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:46,800 those who believe in my son, that is the power of the cross. 432 00:28:48,300 --> 00:28:50,100 Now the question comes. What? 433 00:28:50,100 --> 00:28:55,400 Unlocks this incredible power? To take away my sin, this 434 00:28:55,400 --> 00:29:00,500 terrible cost, my sin demands, the eternal life, that replaces 435 00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:05,200 my inescapable judgment. It's in the response. 436 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:10,600 That's where it is. What unlocks the power of the 437 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,300 cross. The response does. 438 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,200 You see what Jesus did is the statement. 439 00:29:19,300 --> 00:29:21,600 What he did on the cross was a statement. 440 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:27,300 But the statement underneath, it has a question that is 441 00:29:27,300 --> 00:29:31,100 inescapable and that question demands a response. 442 00:29:31,100 --> 00:29:34,700 Jesus is saying from the cross, I love you. 443 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:41,300 And then he waits. For a response. 444 00:29:45,100 --> 00:29:47,800 I wonder how many of us are keeping him waiting? 445 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,900 I wonder how many of us because of all of the excuses and all 446 00:29:52,900 --> 00:29:56,000 the rationalizations in our minds are keeping him waiting 447 00:29:56,100 --> 00:29:58,900 for that response. That response that is four 448 00:29:58,900 --> 00:30:02,000 words. I love you to it Demands a 449 00:30:02,008 --> 00:30:04,800 response. He is looking for the same thing 450 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,500 from you that he did from Abraham. 451 00:30:07,500 --> 00:30:10,200 Do you believe him? Do you believe in him? 452 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:13,700 Will you believe him will you believe in him? 453 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:22,600 You see I was fully persuaded. When I responded to Allison's 454 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,700 three words. I didn't say them just because I 455 00:30:26,700 --> 00:30:28,700 didn't want her. Have her feelings hurt anymore. 456 00:30:30,300 --> 00:30:34,500 I had to think through it but I was fully persuaded but I have 457 00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:41,400 no idea what those words meant. Listen to me, as a matter of 458 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:45,200 fact, after 40 years of marriage and five years, a dating, I 459 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:49,600 still don't know. I am still learning it. 460 00:30:51,100 --> 00:30:53,100 I will learn it till the day. I die. 461 00:30:54,100 --> 00:30:59,200 That has not changed the nature of our relationship, even with 462 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,600 all of our inconsistencies and shortcomings, we are still 463 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:09,000 standing in our relationship with God, is stronger than our 464 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,500 marriages, and I'll tell you why. 465 00:31:12,900 --> 00:31:17,800 Because God never fails. You see in my marriage, I fail 466 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:21,700 and then and and in my marriage, my wife fails. 467 00:31:22,300 --> 00:31:25,400 Sometimes we file it, we fail at the same time, sometimes a 468 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:29,000 different times and there has to be a lot of forgiveness going 469 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,600 both ways. But in my relationship with God, 470 00:31:31,700 --> 00:31:34,500 forgiveness only goes one way because there's only one person 471 00:31:34,500 --> 00:31:37,500 in that relationship. That's failing and we never stop 472 00:31:37,500 --> 00:31:41,200 failing but God never starts stops being faithful. 473 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:46,100 So, our relationship to God is always more powerful than any 474 00:31:46,300 --> 00:31:52,300 Earthly relationship. Because we're so inconsistent 475 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:56,600 but he is perfectly consistent. It's like the song says, this is 476 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,800 my testimony. From Death To Life. 477 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:06,300 Because Grace rewrote my story. I'll testify by Jesus Christ, 478 00:32:06,300 --> 00:32:07,700 the righteous. I'm Justified. 479 00:32:07,700 --> 00:32:12,000 This is my testimony. This is my testimony. 480 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,700 I want to I want to leave you with one statement. 481 00:32:16,300 --> 00:32:19,000 There's not a person listening to me, that doesn't use those 482 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,700 three words or those four words, right? 483 00:32:21,700 --> 00:32:27,500 Now, Think about who you're saying them, too. whether you're 484 00:32:27,500 --> 00:32:31,600 saved or lost, whether you have a relationship with Jesus or you 485 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:37,000 don't you use those words, they are the ultimate power words in 486 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:42,400 humanity, But if you want those words to mean more than they've 487 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:47,200 ever met before. You need to have an intimate 488 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:49,500 personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 489 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:55,400 Because on our best day, when we don't have Jesus, I love you 490 00:32:55,400 --> 00:33:01,200 only carries a certain amount of power. but when we have Jesus in 491 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:07,200 our heart, Everything is transformed, even our power to 492 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:11,500 love to be loved and to respond to love. 493 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,100 So, think about those relationships that you would 494 00:33:16,100 --> 00:33:18,500 qualify as I love you relationships. 495 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:24,900 And maybe the first thing we need to take care of is Empower 496 00:33:24,900 --> 00:33:30,300 those words with the response, the only fitting response that 497 00:33:30,300 --> 00:33:37,800 comes. after the statement that Jesus said to you, we're moving 498 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:47,700 to a time of decision. The book of Hebrews, The Book of 499 00:33:48,100 --> 00:33:53,700 Romans is It's heady stuff. It's deep stuff and it starts to 500 00:33:53,700 --> 00:33:56,200 unlock a lot of these. What you might consider 501 00:33:56,200 --> 00:34:02,400 Mysteries of the Bible and inhumanity, and sin, and death, 502 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,200 and Grace, and all these things that the Apostle Paul is 503 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:11,199 explaining to us and I'm, I know that it might sound a bit to you 504 00:34:11,199 --> 00:34:13,900 like, wow, this is just, this is just deep water. 505 00:34:13,900 --> 00:34:17,000 It's just hard to get through, it's really not. 506 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:22,800 It's really not actually a child could understand it. 507 00:34:25,100 --> 00:34:29,100 Before I could read. Before I could right. 508 00:34:30,199 --> 00:34:35,800 I knew this truth. But I didn't know it from what I 509 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:38,199 read, I didn't know it from reading the Bible. 510 00:34:38,699 --> 00:34:42,400 I was too young for that. My parents read it to me. 511 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,000 But I didn't learn it from reading the Bible. 512 00:34:48,300 --> 00:34:51,100 I didn't learn it from the Bible storybook that my mother would 513 00:34:51,100 --> 00:34:55,100 read to me from I learned it from a song. 514 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:03,700 Best song ever written. Jesus loves me. 515 00:35:05,900 --> 00:35:08,900 This, I know. There it is. 516 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,500 For the Bible tells me so little ones to him belong. 517 00:35:14,500 --> 00:35:20,600 They are weak. And so my but he is strong. 518 00:35:22,900 --> 00:35:25,200 And to say it over and over. Yes. 519 00:35:26,900 --> 00:35:33,900 Jesus loves me. The Bible says, where two or 520 00:35:33,900 --> 00:35:36,200 three are gathered there, I am in the midst of them. 521 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:42,100 So Jesus is here right now. Requires belief requires Faith 522 00:35:42,100 --> 00:35:44,300 to understand the truth of that statement, but he's here right 523 00:35:44,300 --> 00:35:47,800 now. And he knows that you're here 524 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:51,900 right now and he knew your name when he was dying for Abraham 525 00:35:51,900 --> 00:35:58,300 sin. The question is, if you're here 526 00:35:58,300 --> 00:36:02,200 and you know that That Jesus loves you. 527 00:36:03,100 --> 00:36:07,100 What are you waiting for? If you've never entered into an 528 00:36:07,100 --> 00:36:10,100 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ, there's going 529 00:36:10,100 --> 00:36:13,700 to be somebody right over there. I would love to talk to you. 530 00:36:13,700 --> 00:36:15,700 Let me, let me just clue you in that person. 531 00:36:15,700 --> 00:36:17,500 Whoever that is not any smarter than you. 532 00:36:17,500 --> 00:36:21,000 They're not any better than you, not any more righteous than you, 533 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:24,600 because we're all the same. He just knows where the water is 534 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:28,800 not the best tree water, but the Living Water and he would love 535 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:31,900 for you. To be able to share in that. 536 00:36:35,700 --> 00:36:41,300 You've never done that. quit putting it off because the 537 00:36:41,300 --> 00:36:46,600 statement Demands a response, if you have done that many of you 538 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:51,400 have, It doesn't stop you from being pulled down. 539 00:36:51,700 --> 00:36:54,800 Feeling the gravity of the lower story, right? 540 00:36:55,300 --> 00:36:57,800 You may be dealing with some circumstances right now. 541 00:36:57,900 --> 00:36:59,800 Maybe even deal with them a long time. 542 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:02,600 Maybe there's something fresh going on in your life or 543 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:06,700 somebody that you love their life and you're just wrestling 544 00:37:07,500 --> 00:37:11,800 struggling. And you're trying to manage it, 545 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:15,700 you're trying to deal with it. Maybe it's a simple problem 546 00:37:15,700 --> 00:37:21,400 could be anything in your life. That's what these steps are for 547 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:27,000 for you to come up. And cast your cares upon Him. 548 00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:31,800 The Bible says, because he cares for you just to lay it down. 549 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:38,500 At his feet. And for all the other things 550 00:37:38,500 --> 00:37:43,700 that you might be dealing with you, what you need the most. you 551 00:37:43,700 --> 00:37:49,900 need to be reminded and Jesus will remind you. 552 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:55,800 Up here on your knees. And in your heart, he'll say. 553 00:37:57,100 --> 00:37:59,700 You know. I love you. 554 00:38:03,300 --> 00:38:06,800 And when you hear that and you could respond your prayer. 555 00:38:07,100 --> 00:38:09,800 Does it need to be eloquent? It doesn't need to be deeply 556 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:14,100 theological. It just needs to be and I love 557 00:38:14,100 --> 00:38:17,300 you too. And if you know that he loves 558 00:38:17,300 --> 00:38:22,500 you and you love him too, everything else is going to be. 559 00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:26,800 All right would you stand with me? 560 00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:33,300 Heavenly Father and Jesus name, would you please just take this 561 00:38:33,300 --> 00:38:35,100 moment. Help us. 562 00:38:35,100 --> 00:38:38,000 Father to have the courage to open the doors and windows of 563 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,500 our hearts. And just allow your spirit to 564 00:38:41,500 --> 00:38:45,100 come in. Father to convict us enough to 565 00:38:45,100 --> 00:38:49,800 create movement. So that we can approach you 566 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:53,600 because you came all the way from Heaven to Earth to be here 567 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:58,600 with us. Help us father to be ready to 568 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,200 respond in Jesus name.