1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:02,480 Well, good morning, Crossing Church. 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:04,080 How are you doing this? Fine day. 3 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:08,039 That sounds great. It's good to see you. 4 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,360 It's good to be in the House of the Lord and with the people of 5 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:13,840 the Lord. And I want to welcome everyone 6 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,239 that's joining at all of our locations all around this 7 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:18,480 region. And if you're inside or online, 8 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,440 we're so thankful for you as well. 9 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:25,440 And you know, this is a, the Crossings kind of a big 10 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,320 operation, a lot of moving parts, a lot of people working. 11 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:34,160 Staff, volunteers, just so many people all the time, just just 12 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:38,080 giving their their time, their talent, their treasure, their 13 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:42,480 ability to keep everything working and running. 14 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:50,200 And you know, this morning we all came in and we were we do a 15 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:54,480 rehearsal and then after that rehearsal basically everything 16 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,120 in this room, everything that was public address PA. 17 00:00:58,750 --> 00:01:01,950 Just quit. Just broke. 18 00:01:03,550 --> 00:01:06,630 And so these guys are running around and they basically 19 00:01:06,630 --> 00:01:10,430 hotwired this thing. OK, So what you're experiencing 20 00:01:10,430 --> 00:01:14,390 right now is just the effort, the this incredible effort of 21 00:01:14,390 --> 00:01:17,950 people that are that go unnoticed, that are in the back. 22 00:01:17,950 --> 00:01:20,950 And I just want you to take a moment, look back there and 23 00:01:20,950 --> 00:01:23,710 thank those guys for all the work that they do. 24 00:01:26,460 --> 00:01:31,420 Just absolutely incredible and so thankful that God places 25 00:01:31,420 --> 00:01:35,660 those people in our path. And you know, God has a place 26 00:01:35,660 --> 00:01:38,540 for you to serve in this body as well. 27 00:01:39,420 --> 00:01:45,980 So three weeks ago we touched on the spiritual line that we cross 28 00:01:45,980 --> 00:01:51,260 when we come to accept Christ. And you know, I was preaching 29 00:01:51,260 --> 00:01:55,940 that weekend and Paul uses these two really powerful words. 30 00:01:56,350 --> 00:02:01,430 In Romans to describe this because the first part of 31 00:02:01,550 --> 00:02:05,670 chapter 3 is really negative, because it just it just tells 32 00:02:05,670 --> 00:02:09,310 you the truth about sin and what sin does to you. 33 00:02:09,669 --> 00:02:11,790 And I mean it's very discouraging. 34 00:02:11,790 --> 00:02:15,870 And then you get to this middle part and this middle part has 35 00:02:15,870 --> 00:02:20,070 these two little words and these two little words are but now and 36 00:02:20,070 --> 00:02:22,950 if it wasn't for those two little words, where would we be? 37 00:02:24,170 --> 00:02:27,330 But now, this is what Christ has done. 38 00:02:27,330 --> 00:02:31,170 This is what Jesus has done in our lives, and we have this new 39 00:02:31,170 --> 00:02:33,770 reality that we live in because of that. 40 00:02:33,890 --> 00:02:37,850 Two weeks ago we discussed that it wasn't about how much faith 41 00:02:37,850 --> 00:02:41,730 you have, but who your faith is in. 42 00:02:41,730 --> 00:02:44,890 And the power of faith is in its object. 43 00:02:44,890 --> 00:02:48,290 You put that faith in yourself, you're going to be disappointed. 44 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,800 But you put that faith in God. You put that faith in his Son, 45 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,240 Jesus Christ. You will not be disappointed 46 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,720 because he is faithful even when we're not. 47 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,760 We learned about the inconsistency of Abraham, but he 48 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:07,120 was still credited as a righteous through God, through 49 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:09,440 Jesus Christ, because he had faith in him. 50 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,880 And that's what God is expecting from us today. 51 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,520 Last week, Clayton discussed about peace. 52 00:03:18,110 --> 00:03:22,310 And about hope that we can have in Jesus, and that's a wonderful 53 00:03:22,310 --> 00:03:26,630 thing to know and be reminded of from Romans 5, that God 54 00:03:26,630 --> 00:03:29,190 demonstrates his love for us and that while we were still 55 00:03:29,190 --> 00:03:33,350 sinners, Christ died for us. What a thing to have peace over 56 00:03:33,350 --> 00:03:36,110 what what hope we can have in that. 57 00:03:36,110 --> 00:03:40,030 But isn't it true that a lot of times we just don't feel that 58 00:03:40,030 --> 00:03:43,230 way? I would imagine that there's 59 00:03:43,230 --> 00:03:46,270 many of you that are watching or that are here in this room. 60 00:03:46,890 --> 00:03:50,210 And you would, if you were being honest, you would say, I really 61 00:03:50,210 --> 00:03:56,490 don't feel that peaceful. I really don't feel that joyful. 62 00:03:58,930 --> 00:04:03,010 I I don't have that hope that I need to have in Christ. 63 00:04:03,170 --> 00:04:07,530 Not today, because circumstances are closing in. 64 00:04:07,530 --> 00:04:11,290 They're they're encroaching me and they're robbing me of that. 65 00:04:12,930 --> 00:04:14,930 When I think about that, I think about. 66 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,720 An event that happened in my life back when I was in Indiana. 67 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:23,440 There was a knock at my door one evening and Alice and I answered 68 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:28,520 the door and it was a a friend, Julie Adams, who attended our 69 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:32,920 church and had accepted Christ maybe a year before now. 70 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:38,760 Julie Adams was a chain smoker and she was in her early 30s and 71 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:44,440 and and she's just weeping. She's just crying as we invite 72 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:49,390 her in to sit down. And what she shares with us is 73 00:04:49,390 --> 00:04:53,350 that after she accepted Christ and she knew that when she did 74 00:04:53,350 --> 00:04:56,150 that, that the Holy Spirit came to live within her. 75 00:04:56,630 --> 00:05:01,110 And and she was saying, you know, so I prayed to God to take 76 00:05:01,110 --> 00:05:04,870 away this addiction I have to tobacco. 77 00:05:04,870 --> 00:05:09,630 I didn't want to smoke anymore. And I just keep going back to 78 00:05:09,630 --> 00:05:11,910 it. Like I'll, I'll try to stop and 79 00:05:11,910 --> 00:05:13,390 I can't and I'll try to stop again. 80 00:05:13,390 --> 00:05:14,990 And I can't. I just keep going back. 81 00:05:15,300 --> 00:05:17,540 And I. And she had convinced herself 82 00:05:17,540 --> 00:05:21,100 that she was not a Christian, that if she had truly accepted 83 00:05:21,100 --> 00:05:25,380 Jesus Christ, if the Holy Spirit was really in her life, then she 84 00:05:25,380 --> 00:05:28,700 would be able to have victory over that God would take it away 85 00:05:28,700 --> 00:05:31,100 from her. And yet that hadn't happened. 86 00:05:31,540 --> 00:05:35,380 And so whatever little voice in her head was saying was that 87 00:05:35,420 --> 00:05:37,340 you're really never, never were a believer. 88 00:05:39,540 --> 00:05:42,540 And I remember seeing that pain of anguish on her face. 89 00:05:42,540 --> 00:05:48,660 And I go, yes, Julie, sometimes, Sometimes when we come to 90 00:05:48,660 --> 00:05:53,060 Christ, he just removes things. You could use the word he 91 00:05:53,060 --> 00:05:56,900 delivers you from things. Sometimes that happens, but most 92 00:05:56,900 --> 00:06:00,740 time it doesn't happen. Most of the time he doesn't just 93 00:06:00,740 --> 00:06:03,300 take it away from you. And there's a reason for that, 94 00:06:04,700 --> 00:06:10,930 because it's in the struggle. Where you daily turn over that 95 00:06:10,930 --> 00:06:14,130 addiction, that circumstance, that challenge, you turn that 96 00:06:14,130 --> 00:06:17,050 over to the Lord, and you keep turning it over to the Lord. 97 00:06:17,250 --> 00:06:21,210 In the process of that, slowly but surely you start. 98 00:06:21,570 --> 00:06:25,450 God gives you mastery over it, but in the process, you're 99 00:06:25,450 --> 00:06:28,730 drawing closer and closer to God, and you're relying on God 100 00:06:29,010 --> 00:06:32,650 and don't sell God short. Sometimes things happen quickly, 101 00:06:32,650 --> 00:06:35,450 sometimes it takes a long time five years later. 102 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:40,080 She was no longer smoking. And I remember talking to her 103 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,920 and she said, she said, you know, I, yeah, I'm not, I'm not 104 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:45,680 smoking anymore. She didn't even, you know, come 105 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:47,880 to declare anything. She just, I just noticed it. 106 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:51,520 I asked this is what she said. And I asked her this question. 107 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:58,400 Do you feel that the process of relying daily on Jesus Christ, 108 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,600 as you went three steps forward and two steps back and as you 109 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:04,680 struggled this, do you think it brought you closer? 110 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:09,510 And she says there is no doubt. There's no doubt that that's 111 00:07:09,510 --> 00:07:13,990 what happened in her life. Now what I I tell you that story 112 00:07:13,990 --> 00:07:20,110 because we are all inconsistent and we are all hypocritical. 113 00:07:20,750 --> 00:07:26,910 But God is and has always been faithful, and sometimes we feel 114 00:07:26,910 --> 00:07:32,110 that that inconsistency it it disqualifies our faith in some 115 00:07:32,110 --> 00:07:37,560 way or our hypocrisy does that. And I want this time that we 116 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:42,600 spend together to reinforce the truth that God is faithful. 117 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,600 And we're going to do that in Roman 6, because Roman 6 takes 118 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:51,360 us to the actual mechanics of crossing that line, what it 119 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,400 looks like, what is spiritually happening in that moment? 120 00:07:55,270 --> 00:07:59,150 And I believe that in the by discussing that moment, we have 121 00:07:59,150 --> 00:08:02,710 the opportunity to dig down deep into this physical, tangible 122 00:08:02,910 --> 00:08:07,750 expressions of this reality of crossing this line. 123 00:08:07,750 --> 00:08:11,110 Now we understand crossing lines, right, because if you 124 00:08:11,110 --> 00:08:13,630 ever put your signature on a mortgage, you did that. 125 00:08:15,070 --> 00:08:18,110 You know when you're where you're in the in the bank office 126 00:08:18,150 --> 00:08:21,230 and they bring you like 160 pages that you have to sign. 127 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:23,920 And you just keep putting your signature on all of those. 128 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,640 When you walk out of that office, you cross the line, you 129 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:30,440 cross the line. And you did that through your 130 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,039 signature, right. When you repeat vows at a 131 00:08:34,039 --> 00:08:38,520 wedding and you started saying this is what I will do, this is 132 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:45,920 what I promised to do, you are crossing a line right when you 133 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,320 if if you're in trouble with the law and the judge pronounces 134 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,560 sentence. You're crossing a line. 135 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,120 I I've been in a in a courtroom before. 136 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:59,440 I've testified in court before and I remember in one situation 137 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,040 where the judge actually repeated this, that understand 138 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,520 that if you plead guilty, you're waiving your constitutional 139 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:08,320 rights. That's powerful when you hear 140 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:12,840 that you're what you're waving your constitutional, you are 141 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:16,840 crossing a line because you're going to lose your freedom, 142 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:20,440 right? I know that when I have 143 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:24,680 officiated a funeral and we go from the church or the Funeral 144 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:29,040 Home procession to the cemetery, we get to the cemetery and 145 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:32,720 there's a thing that is done at cemeteries called the committal. 146 00:09:34,590 --> 00:09:37,270 One of the things I say there is our hearts still cling to this 147 00:09:37,270 --> 00:09:40,270 body because we cannot disassociate it from the beloved 148 00:09:40,270 --> 00:09:41,830 one that dwelted and animated it. 149 00:09:42,030 --> 00:09:44,830 But it is only a worn out garment that this person is cast 150 00:09:44,830 --> 00:09:46,630 aside. Hence, while referencing it 151 00:09:46,630 --> 00:09:49,550 because of all the tender memories that gather about it, 152 00:09:49,550 --> 00:09:52,950 we can sign it now to its original element, looking to the 153 00:09:52,950 --> 00:09:55,750 fashioning of that immortal body which is in Christ Jesus. 154 00:09:57,070 --> 00:09:59,750 And then after people spend a little bit more time there, they 155 00:09:59,750 --> 00:10:02,390 get back in their cars without that person. 156 00:10:04,590 --> 00:10:07,950 And they go home. They've crossed the line. 157 00:10:09,190 --> 00:10:14,670 A relational line. It's true, isn't it? 158 00:10:14,670 --> 00:10:18,630 And what does it mean? It means that we're 159 00:10:18,630 --> 00:10:22,470 understanding that everything is going to be different now. 160 00:10:25,670 --> 00:10:28,750 Now, before we go into Paul's words in Roman Six, I want us to 161 00:10:28,750 --> 00:10:31,460 look backward. Into the Old Testament because 162 00:10:31,460 --> 00:10:36,460 this idea of crossing the line wasn't a new or a novel idea. 163 00:10:37,060 --> 00:10:40,380 In the book of Exodus, Moses draws a line in the wilderness, 164 00:10:40,380 --> 00:10:44,540 Sand and Exodus 32 versus 25 and 26. 165 00:10:45,380 --> 00:10:47,940 We read this. Moses saw that the people were 166 00:10:47,940 --> 00:10:52,460 running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and 167 00:10:52,460 --> 00:10:54,780 so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 168 00:10:55,020 --> 00:10:57,780 He stood at the entrance to the camp and said. 169 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:04,160 Whoever is for the Lord, come to me, and all the Levi's rallied 170 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:05,280 to him. This is when they made the 171 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:07,880 golden calf and did all of that stuff. 172 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,120 And there you can see this line that's strong, that's crossing 173 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:16,600 the line in the book of Joshua. Joshua said these words in 174 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,920 Joshua 2414 and 15. He said, now fear the Lord and 175 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,200 serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods. 176 00:11:24,510 --> 00:11:28,790 Your ancestors worship beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt 177 00:11:29,070 --> 00:11:33,150 and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems 178 00:11:33,150 --> 00:11:38,230 undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you 179 00:11:38,230 --> 00:11:42,110 will serve, whether the gods your ancestors serve beyond the 180 00:11:42,110 --> 00:11:46,150 Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are 181 00:11:46,150 --> 00:11:49,310 living. But As for me and my household, 182 00:11:50,030 --> 00:11:54,190 we will serve the Lord. He's drawing a line in the sand 183 00:11:54,190 --> 00:11:59,070 and he's stepping over it. When Elijah will face the 184 00:11:59,150 --> 00:12:01,470 prophets of bail on Mount Carmel. 185 00:12:02,470 --> 00:12:07,190 In First Kings chapter 18, verse 21, it says this Elijah went 186 00:12:07,190 --> 00:12:11,910 before the people and said how long will you waver between two 187 00:12:11,910 --> 00:12:15,430 opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. 188 00:12:15,710 --> 00:12:21,190 If bail is God, follow him. But the people said nothing. 189 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,480 And I think that might be a little bit of a commentary on 190 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,440 our lives. Sometimes we don't want to be 191 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:30,280 perceived as stepping over a line or taking a side. 192 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:33,560 We just want to stay quiet. We want to be diplomatic. 193 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:35,400 We want to be friends with everybody. 194 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,880 But there comes a time when you have to quit straddling the 195 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:44,280 fence. And it doesn't mean that you're 196 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:48,080 going to be consistent. It doesn't mean that you're not 197 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:51,710 going to be hypocritical. But it does mean that you are 198 00:12:51,710 --> 00:12:55,350 declaring a side. And when you declare a side, 199 00:12:55,350 --> 00:12:58,190 you're saying I'm not going to be living that way anymore. 200 00:12:58,190 --> 00:13:02,110 I'm going to be living in a new reality, under a new set of 201 00:13:02,110 --> 00:13:06,750 rules. With that in mind, what I want 202 00:13:06,750 --> 00:13:10,590 us to do is look at what Paul writes to us in Romans chapter 203 00:13:10,590 --> 00:13:12,390 6. And I'm going to start in verse 204 00:13:12,390 --> 00:13:15,350 one. What shall we say then? 205 00:13:16,510 --> 00:13:19,550 Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 206 00:13:20,270 --> 00:13:24,750 By no means we are those who have died to sin. 207 00:13:24,750 --> 00:13:27,030 How can we live in it any longer? 208 00:13:28,070 --> 00:13:31,470 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ 209 00:13:31,470 --> 00:13:34,390 Jesus were baptized into his death? 210 00:13:35,510 --> 00:13:40,070 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death, 211 00:13:40,950 --> 00:13:44,430 in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the 212 00:13:44,430 --> 00:13:49,510 glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 213 00:13:50,910 --> 00:13:54,430 Now, Paul isn't drawing a line in the sand, he's drawing a line 214 00:13:54,430 --> 00:13:58,150 in the water. Because if it talks about dying 215 00:13:58,150 --> 00:14:02,270 with Christ, you know what? Are we actually dying with 216 00:14:02,270 --> 00:14:04,870 Christ? Or are we doing an illustration 217 00:14:04,870 --> 00:14:07,030 of the death of Christ? Think about this for a second. 218 00:14:09,990 --> 00:14:14,910 There's a contrast between these two realities that the apostle 219 00:14:14,910 --> 00:14:16,630 Paul's talking about death and life. 220 00:14:16,630 --> 00:14:18,900 They couldn't be any. Any starker. 221 00:14:19,020 --> 00:14:22,300 And he says what you're doing is you're crossing from death into 222 00:14:22,300 --> 00:14:27,100 life, and baptism is a perfect illustration of that crossing. 223 00:14:28,100 --> 00:14:32,020 So what happens? So a person has this new reality 224 00:14:32,020 --> 00:14:33,900 that that comes into their heart, right? 225 00:14:33,900 --> 00:14:37,980 They hear the message of Jesus. And when you hear that message, 226 00:14:38,100 --> 00:14:41,860 it affects you and you decide. You make a decision in your 227 00:14:41,860 --> 00:14:44,940 heart that you want to lean into that truth that you you want to 228 00:14:44,940 --> 00:14:47,360 believe that. And you want to move in this new 229 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:51,840 direction of your life, right? And then and you realize that 230 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,280 that's that's different from the the life that you've been 231 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,000 leading. That's called repentance. 232 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,160 You're moving, you're changing, You're turning. 233 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,080 And then when you get in that water, you confess. 234 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:05,720 Christ, someone actually leads you through that, right? 235 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:08,240 So there's these words you say where you're saying, I'm not 236 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:10,280 going to trust in myself. I'm trusting in him. 237 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:13,800 I want him to be my savior and my Lord. 238 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,530 Right. And then this person baptizes 239 00:15:17,530 --> 00:15:20,530 you. Now what is that actually 240 00:15:20,530 --> 00:15:23,290 happening there? Well, you start going down into 241 00:15:23,290 --> 00:15:25,370 the water, right? And as you're going down into 242 00:15:25,370 --> 00:15:27,170 the water, it's symbolic of dying. 243 00:15:27,730 --> 00:15:32,490 Like you're dying like Jesus died when he was crucified on 244 00:15:32,490 --> 00:15:36,570 the cross. And in this metaphorical sense, 245 00:15:37,370 --> 00:15:38,970 you're showing that to everybody else. 246 00:15:38,970 --> 00:15:41,450 I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me, and you're kind of 247 00:15:41,450 --> 00:15:45,010 dying with him. In this this picture of his 248 00:15:45,010 --> 00:15:49,090 death now when you're under the water, it's a picture of burial 249 00:15:50,850 --> 00:15:56,330 like you've been buried, like Jesus was buried and hopefully 250 00:15:56,330 --> 00:15:58,690 you don't have someone baptizing you that just believes in the 251 00:15:58,690 --> 00:16:02,450 death and the burial. Hopefully you have someone that 252 00:16:02,450 --> 00:16:04,210 also believes in the resurrection. 253 00:16:05,570 --> 00:16:08,810 I've seen some where people, you know, they feel like there's a 254 00:16:08,810 --> 00:16:10,370 lot of sin there. I'm going to have to hold them 255 00:16:10,370 --> 00:16:13,120 down a little while. I've seen people like, even 256 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,840 agitate them a little bit, you know, kind of like let's see if 257 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,280 we can get everything out of the folds of their clothes, You 258 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,360 know, You know, I've heard, I've actually heard pastors say hold 259 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:24,040 them under till they bubble. I don't know. 260 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:28,880 But anyway, death and then burial and then out you come, 261 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:36,080 raised with Christ, death, burial and resurrection. 262 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:39,000 People aren't usually smiling or happy. 263 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,320 I don't know if you noticed this, that when they go down 264 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:43,920 into the water, they have more of a sober look on their face 265 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:45,560 when they come up out of the water. 266 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,240 There's incredible joy, very, very different realities 267 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:50,840 actually happening in that moment. 268 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,160 So this is what we're illustrating in the waters of 269 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:58,640 baptism. So Paul has already made it 270 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:03,000 clear that belief for faith is our heart response. 271 00:17:03,340 --> 00:17:06,460 To this declaration of the cross, what Jesus did through 272 00:17:06,460 --> 00:17:11,339 the cross, but associated with that is this tangible symbol of 273 00:17:11,339 --> 00:17:16,460 that belief, right? You're actually seeing a picture 274 00:17:17,220 --> 00:17:21,460 in like a physical picture of what is actually happening from 275 00:17:21,460 --> 00:17:25,339 a spiritual standpoint, right? And I think we need that. 276 00:17:25,500 --> 00:17:28,060 Human beings need something tangible, something they can 277 00:17:28,060 --> 00:17:31,540 hold on to something. That that affects them in that 278 00:17:31,540 --> 00:17:35,740 way and it's it's like a signature on a mortgage. 279 00:17:36,020 --> 00:17:39,500 It's like the rings you exchange in a wedding. 280 00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:43,460 There's something tangible, physical associated with this 281 00:17:43,460 --> 00:17:47,900 new reality and you're saying I am stepping over the line. 282 00:17:49,980 --> 00:17:53,220 So how important in this movement of stepping over the 283 00:17:53,220 --> 00:17:57,620 line is baptism? Now I could, I could talk about 284 00:17:57,620 --> 00:18:00,990 this a long time. And it's something that people 285 00:18:00,990 --> 00:18:06,510 tend to argue about, right? Like, well, do do do I become a 286 00:18:06,510 --> 00:18:10,670 Christian? Like, like when I I kind of 287 00:18:10,670 --> 00:18:13,830 realized the kind of that I need to follow Jesus. 288 00:18:13,830 --> 00:18:16,670 And I I believe that in my heart of my Christian At that moment, 289 00:18:17,190 --> 00:18:19,510 am I a Christian? When I share that, am I? 290 00:18:19,950 --> 00:18:21,670 Do I become a Christian when I confess that? 291 00:18:21,910 --> 00:18:24,590 Do I become a Christian when I'm going down in the water Baptist? 292 00:18:24,870 --> 00:18:27,790 Do I become a Do I not become a Christian until I come up out of 293 00:18:27,790 --> 00:18:30,300 the water? Like you know and and people 294 00:18:30,300 --> 00:18:31,980 think about this. I'll tell you what the only 295 00:18:31,980 --> 00:18:34,260 people that argue about this are already saved. 296 00:18:37,420 --> 00:18:40,700 It's true. Because people who want Jesus to 297 00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:42,740 be their Lord and Savior, they're just saying, would you 298 00:18:42,740 --> 00:18:46,260 just tell me what I need to do because I just want Jesus in my 299 00:18:46,260 --> 00:18:47,980 heart. I just want Jesus to be my 300 00:18:47,980 --> 00:18:50,180 savior. It's it's everybody else that 301 00:18:50,180 --> 00:18:52,980 tries to you know, be be all theological. 302 00:18:52,980 --> 00:18:57,420 I'm going, hey, it says it, do it. 303 00:18:58,610 --> 00:19:01,130 You want to argue about it, Argue with Jesus someday? 304 00:19:01,130 --> 00:19:02,450 Okay. Don't argue with me. 305 00:19:05,250 --> 00:19:07,970 So I'm not going to go into that in great detail, but I will go 306 00:19:07,970 --> 00:19:09,890 one verse with you. Okay, one verse. 307 00:19:10,650 --> 00:19:14,930 And that is verse five right after the ones I just spoke to 308 00:19:14,930 --> 00:19:18,090 you about. It says for if we have been 309 00:19:18,090 --> 00:19:23,650 united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be 310 00:19:23,650 --> 00:19:27,290 united with him in a resurrection like his. 311 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,640 Well, none of us actually died the way Jesus died, right? 312 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:34,560 None of us were crucified on a wooden cross. 313 00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:38,080 And so we know that what Paul's talking about is the symbol of 314 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:42,000 baptism, right? And none of us were transported 315 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:44,440 back to Jerusalem to walk out of a tomb. 316 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:47,880 That's what Jesus did. But symbolically, that's what's 317 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:51,600 happening when we're coming up out of the water being raised 318 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,720 with Jesus. What I want you to see is how 319 00:19:54,720 --> 00:20:00,640 this synthesis constructed. This is an if, then if we've 320 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,240 done this, then this is what will happen. 321 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,960 Do you see that? It uses the words if, then. 322 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:12,280 If you've been united with a death like his, you'll certainly 323 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,200 be united with him in a resurrection like him. 324 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:17,120 Do do you know what that's called? 325 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:23,080 It's called a promise. It's a promise like if you do 326 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:29,040 this, then he'll do this. And you can stand on that. 327 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:30,400 I see. That's what we do, He stand on 328 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,120 promises, right? They become a firm foundation 329 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:36,880 for us to stand. And I really love the idea that 330 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:40,720 I get to stand on that promise because I've united with him in 331 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,000 this picture of death, burial and resurrection. 332 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,240 Now while some people want to argue with that, that's fine. 333 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:48,360 I'm going to stand on that promise because that's what it 334 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:51,760 says in the fifth verse. How many of you? 335 00:20:53,740 --> 00:20:56,580 Are relying on the mercy of God. I want to see that by a show of 336 00:20:56,580 --> 00:20:57,940 hands. How many of you are relying on 337 00:20:57,940 --> 00:21:00,740 the mercy of God? Some of you did like, aren't you 338 00:21:00,740 --> 00:21:01,700 just like. No, I'm not. 339 00:21:01,740 --> 00:21:04,300 It's like come bring it. God judge me. 340 00:21:04,380 --> 00:21:06,900 Come on. Bad idea. 341 00:21:07,900 --> 00:21:11,100 I'm telling you I'm relying on the mercy of God like about 342 00:21:11,100 --> 00:21:14,620 everything. Because I'm so inconsistent. 343 00:21:14,860 --> 00:21:20,140 Because I'm such a hypocrite. I need the mercy of God. 344 00:21:20,180 --> 00:21:22,420 I need the mercy of God all the time. 345 00:21:24,290 --> 00:21:28,770 But if I get a chance to stand on a promise, I'm doing it. 346 00:21:29,850 --> 00:21:31,370 I'm not going to mess around with that. 347 00:21:31,370 --> 00:21:35,970 I'm going to take that opportunity and stand on that 348 00:21:36,210 --> 00:21:40,610 promise. And what a promise, because 349 00:21:40,610 --> 00:21:42,570 we're all going to have to depend on God's mercy. 350 00:21:44,530 --> 00:21:46,810 But there comes a time when we get to stand on a promise. 351 00:21:46,810 --> 00:21:49,890 Do it. And I want everyone to be able 352 00:21:49,890 --> 00:21:55,630 to stand on that same promise. Now there's a there's a shift in 353 00:21:55,630 --> 00:22:00,110 Roman six at this point. When we get past the fifth 354 00:22:00,110 --> 00:22:04,230 verse, we we get into the sixth verse and things start to 355 00:22:04,230 --> 00:22:07,110 change. He actually shifts to a new 356 00:22:07,110 --> 00:22:11,670 illustration in verse six. It says four. 357 00:22:11,910 --> 00:22:16,830 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the 358 00:22:16,830 --> 00:22:19,630 body ruled by sin might be done away with. 359 00:22:20,290 --> 00:22:24,090 That we should no longer be. Here's the word everybody say. 360 00:22:24,090 --> 00:22:31,650 That word slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been set 361 00:22:31,650 --> 00:22:36,210 free from sin. Now, anytime we hear this word 362 00:22:37,010 --> 00:22:40,650 in American culture, we understand it through the lens 363 00:22:40,650 --> 00:22:43,610 of that culture, right? Because that's our culture. 364 00:22:43,610 --> 00:22:47,370 We understand about enslavement, we understand. 365 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:49,840 About what the Civil War was fought over. 366 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:52,840 We understand all of these different things in our own 367 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:58,640 context, but what we have to also understand is that we are 368 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:02,920 not reading a book from the 1840s, fifties and 60s. 369 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,160 We're reading a book that is 2000 years old. 370 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,600 And we have to understand it in the context that the Apostle 371 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:13,920 Paul wrote it in. Because. 372 00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:17,560 Because the idea of slavery was a very different concept in his 373 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:19,600 time. And I want you to remember the 374 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:23,760 three words that Clayton taught us early on in this series on 375 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,440 Romans. And that is this context is 376 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:30,400 king. So if you're you're taking notes 377 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,760 and you're writing, you have to understand this idea of context. 378 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,480 And we can have trouble with scripture when we try to 379 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:41,600 Americanize it, we try to push it into our own. 380 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:47,320 Context or culture? Paul actually takes this a step 381 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,720 further. He makes it very clear in verse 382 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:54,280 19 where he says this. I am using an example from 383 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:58,480 everyday life. This was everyday life in the 384 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:03,480 Apostle Paul's time. This idea of of Middle Eastern 385 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:08,120 slavery at that time because of your human limitations. 386 00:24:09,420 --> 00:24:12,260 Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity 387 00:24:12,700 --> 00:24:15,580 and to ever increasing wickedness, so now offer 388 00:24:15,580 --> 00:24:19,020 yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to 389 00:24:19,420 --> 00:24:25,860 holiness. So when he says these things, 390 00:24:25,860 --> 00:24:31,060 and he uses other words, uses the word mastery in verse nine, 391 00:24:31,060 --> 00:24:35,380 he uses the word rain in verse 12, and to get a better 392 00:24:35,380 --> 00:24:37,860 understanding or deeper understanding of the intention 393 00:24:37,860 --> 00:24:40,970 of the author. We need to understand that he is 394 00:24:40,970 --> 00:24:46,450 talking about whatever controls you or what you allow to control 395 00:24:46,450 --> 00:24:49,930 you. And so this is an illustration 396 00:24:49,930 --> 00:24:53,690 that Paul's using for that. Now we sing songs about it, 397 00:24:53,930 --> 00:24:58,250 don't we? Like I'm no longer a slave to 398 00:24:58,250 --> 00:25:02,050 fear. I am a child of God. 399 00:25:02,610 --> 00:25:04,970 When you get to the bridge of that song, it says I am 400 00:25:04,970 --> 00:25:07,290 surrounded by the arms of the Father. 401 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:11,320 I am surrounded by songs of deliverance. 402 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,440 We've been liberated from our bondage. 403 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,440 We're the sons and the daughters. 404 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:21,920 Let us sing our freedom. Sounds like the writer of that 405 00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:28,000 song was reading Roman 6. Now, when the Israelites were 406 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,320 delivered from slavery in Egypt and Moses led him through the 407 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:36,800 wilderness, they were free. I I mean, think about what 408 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:37,960 happened here. Okay. 409 00:25:38,730 --> 00:25:41,650 That God sent Moses to deliver the people right? 410 00:25:41,690 --> 00:25:44,530 And there were these 10 plagues that happened. 411 00:25:44,530 --> 00:25:48,650 The final plague was the death of the first born, and it made 412 00:25:48,650 --> 00:25:51,090 the Egyptians increasingly miserable. 413 00:25:51,650 --> 00:25:56,570 And Moses was saying, let my people go, and he wouldn't let 414 00:25:56,570 --> 00:25:58,090 him go. But when he got to that 10th 415 00:25:58,130 --> 00:26:02,650 plague that broke the back of the Egyptians and they opened up 416 00:26:02,650 --> 00:26:05,370 the gate, they didn't just open up the gates of Egypt, They 417 00:26:05,370 --> 00:26:07,650 allowed Israel to plunder their treasure. 418 00:26:08,060 --> 00:26:10,300 And Israel actually took their treasure out in the wilderness. 419 00:26:10,300 --> 00:26:14,060 They they made the Ark of the Covenant up from the gold of 420 00:26:14,060 --> 00:26:23,180 Egypt, and they were free. They walked out 2,000,000 and 421 00:26:23,180 --> 00:26:26,940 their their flocks and their herds all went out 2,000,000 for 422 00:26:26,940 --> 00:26:31,980 they were free. They were no longer slaves and 423 00:26:31,980 --> 00:26:34,340 they had and they start to journey to the Red Sea and they 424 00:26:34,580 --> 00:26:37,660 they go to the shore of the Red Sea. 425 00:26:39,150 --> 00:26:41,310 And they can see that the Egyptians have changed their 426 00:26:41,310 --> 00:26:43,790 mind. Maybe it's not that they want to 427 00:26:43,790 --> 00:26:46,150 enslave them again. Maybe it's they just they just 428 00:26:46,150 --> 00:26:49,390 want revenge for what happened and and they want to kill them. 429 00:26:49,630 --> 00:26:54,550 Either way, here comes the army and what does God do? 430 00:26:54,550 --> 00:26:59,030 He opens the Red Sea and the Israelites cross the Red Sea on 431 00:26:59,030 --> 00:27:04,270 dry land. And the Egyptians pursue them 432 00:27:04,750 --> 00:27:07,350 even into the depths of the Red Sea. 433 00:27:08,260 --> 00:27:11,620 But after the Israelites were on the other side, what did God do? 434 00:27:11,900 --> 00:27:15,140 He closed the Red Sea over them and drowned. 435 00:27:15,740 --> 00:27:20,780 The Egyptians drowned the army. And when the Israelites were on 436 00:27:20,780 --> 00:27:24,900 the other bank and they looked down, all that was left were 437 00:27:24,900 --> 00:27:27,540 bodies of those who had pursued them. 438 00:27:28,100 --> 00:27:30,780 And what does it mean? It meant there was no one 439 00:27:30,780 --> 00:27:33,500 pursuing them anymore. They were no longer slaves. 440 00:27:33,820 --> 00:27:36,120 They were free. They were free when they were 441 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:39,320 released out of Egypt, and they were free when no one else was 442 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:42,520 pursuing them. But what you need to understand 443 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,000 is that they were not free inside. 444 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,440 They were free outside, but not inside. 445 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,040 And the reason for that is that's all they ever knew. 446 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:57,800 That was all their parents, knew all their grandparents, knew all 447 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:00,560 their great grandparents and their great, great grandparents 448 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:06,190 for over 400 years. They had been enslaved. 449 00:28:06,950 --> 00:28:13,790 No one knew how to be free, and so they were still enslaved in 450 00:28:13,790 --> 00:28:16,110 their hearts. Now we should understand that 451 00:28:18,910 --> 00:28:24,350 because of our inconsistency. So when you accept Jesus Christ 452 00:28:24,350 --> 00:28:28,790 into your heart and life, you confess him, you go down to the 453 00:28:28,790 --> 00:28:31,790 waters of baptisms, you come back up out of the water, You've 454 00:28:31,790 --> 00:28:34,870 been resurrected with Christ. You have your Your sins are 455 00:28:34,870 --> 00:28:36,710 gone. Your sins are paid for. 456 00:28:36,910 --> 00:28:40,790 They've been washed away, is what it says in the book of 457 00:28:40,790 --> 00:28:44,150 Acts. But are you free in here? 458 00:28:46,350 --> 00:28:50,190 The truth is, you're free. But you don't feel that way, do 459 00:28:50,190 --> 00:28:50,990 you? You know why? 460 00:28:52,110 --> 00:28:55,550 Because you were born into this life of sinfulness. 461 00:28:55,830 --> 00:28:58,800 Your parents are sinners. Your grandparents are sinners. 462 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:00,280 Your great grandparents are sinners. 463 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,320 Your great, great grandparents are as far back as you can go, 464 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:07,080 all sinners. This is our native habitat, sin. 465 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:12,320 And so even though we've been set free and even though we've 466 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:16,720 crossed that line, there is still this feeling, this this 467 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,360 reality that we're still not free. 468 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:23,760 And so it's a battle, right? It's a battle because I still 469 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,790 have appetites and. I still have fears, and the 470 00:29:26,790 --> 00:29:29,390 lower story keeps creeping in. And I have this battle with 471 00:29:29,390 --> 00:29:38,830 myself that I face every day. You know, there's a lot of 472 00:29:38,830 --> 00:29:40,390 churches. They only have communion, like 473 00:29:40,390 --> 00:29:43,350 once a month or once every six months or once a year. 474 00:29:43,350 --> 00:29:45,030 You're right. You know what I'm talking about. 475 00:29:45,590 --> 00:29:46,950 And we have communion every week. 476 00:29:46,950 --> 00:29:50,470 And some of you might go, Why do they do that every single week? 477 00:29:52,510 --> 00:29:57,210 Well, I'll tell you why. When I when I accepted Jesus and 478 00:29:57,210 --> 00:30:00,930 I was baptized into Christ, I I came into contact with the death 479 00:30:00,930 --> 00:30:03,570 of Christ, the blood of Christ. It washed away my sins. 480 00:30:03,570 --> 00:30:07,250 It was a beautiful thing, right? But just because I've done that, 481 00:30:07,250 --> 00:30:09,370 just because I've crossed the line, does that mean that I 482 00:30:09,370 --> 00:30:12,370 don't sin anymore? Does that mean that I'm totally 483 00:30:12,370 --> 00:30:14,290 consistent? I'm not a hypocrite, that I 484 00:30:14,290 --> 00:30:15,930 don't do anything wrong? No. 485 00:30:16,170 --> 00:30:18,770 I I've probably done stuff, stuff today. 486 00:30:21,290 --> 00:30:24,610 Things that are not in keeping with honoring God today. 487 00:30:26,690 --> 00:30:29,130 And do I just have to say, well, that I took care of that back 488 00:30:29,130 --> 00:30:32,930 then when I was 8 years old at Westwood Country Club when I was 489 00:30:32,930 --> 00:30:36,810 baptized in their pool? No. 490 00:30:37,690 --> 00:30:41,970 I need a place where I connect with what saved me. 491 00:30:42,730 --> 00:30:44,410 And you hold those emblems in your hand. 492 00:30:45,370 --> 00:30:48,690 You hold this piece of bread that reminds you of the. 493 00:30:49,650 --> 00:30:54,130 Body of Jesus that was broken for you, and you hold that cup 494 00:30:54,770 --> 00:30:58,890 which reminds you of the of a covenant paid in His blood for 495 00:30:58,890 --> 00:31:02,730 the remission of your sins. And when I take those emblems, I 496 00:31:02,730 --> 00:31:05,490 have an opportunity, even as a believer, to come in contact 497 00:31:05,490 --> 00:31:09,010 with what washes me and cleanses me and makes me new. 498 00:31:12,250 --> 00:31:17,170 I need those physical, tangible things to remind me that I have 499 00:31:17,170 --> 00:31:23,560 crossed the line. The key verse in this chapter is 500 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:27,400 in the 23rd. It's the 23rd verse familiar 501 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:34,680 verse to many, and it says for the wages of sin is death, but 502 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:40,840 the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 503 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:45,730 It couldn't be any starker. That this is what we deserve. 504 00:31:45,730 --> 00:31:50,650 The wages of sin, what you earn, right? 505 00:31:51,050 --> 00:31:55,170 But the gift that I could never earn, never deserve, never live 506 00:31:55,170 --> 00:32:01,410 up to today or any day. The gift of God is eternal life 507 00:32:01,970 --> 00:32:08,170 through Jesus Christ, my Lord. You see, I'm in a battle with 508 00:32:08,170 --> 00:32:10,290 life and death. So are you. 509 00:32:11,260 --> 00:32:13,420 And that's why I'm so glad there's a cross in the story. 510 00:32:13,420 --> 00:32:16,180 Because Jesus death brought me life. 511 00:32:16,540 --> 00:32:19,620 And when I die with him, I am raised with him. 512 00:32:20,460 --> 00:32:24,140 Living a life, Living the life that he's expecting me to live 513 00:32:24,140 --> 00:32:28,140 though, is another thing. It's really hard. 514 00:32:28,740 --> 00:32:33,460 You see, I have a new desire and a new life that I aspire to. 515 00:32:33,460 --> 00:32:36,500 Isn't that true about you? You, if you've accepted Christ, 516 00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:38,260 you have this new life that you want. 517 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,240 That you that you want to live up to, that you want to aspire 518 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:43,080 to, that you want to be consistent in. 519 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:46,720 You don't want other people to view you and label you as a 520 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:48,520 hypocrite. None of us want that. 521 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:54,680 But we have a hard time doing that because we can't earn our 522 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,840 salvation. It's a gift given to us, but we 523 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:04,740 can declare our intention. We can declare our hearts desire 524 00:33:04,740 --> 00:33:07,380 when we step over the line. That's what we're doing. 525 00:33:07,460 --> 00:33:09,820 We're saying this is the desire of my heart. 526 00:33:10,020 --> 00:33:12,780 This is the intention of my heart. 527 00:33:15,380 --> 00:33:18,940 There's a poem. It's an old poem called The 528 00:33:18,940 --> 00:33:23,100 Fellowship of the Unashamed. Now, the story and its 529 00:33:23,100 --> 00:33:27,620 authorship are unclear. We don't know the actual name of 530 00:33:27,620 --> 00:33:30,180 the person who wrote it. What we do know, however. 531 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:33,560 Is that Louise Robinson? Chapman, who was a veteran 532 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:40,640 missionary in Africa from 1920 to 1940, wrote that this poem 533 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:46,360 was found among the papers of a young pastor in Zimbabwe after 534 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:49,440 he was martyred for his faith in Christ. 535 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:56,520 And I want you to hear the declaration of his intention, he 536 00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:00,860 wrote this. I'm part of the fellowship of 537 00:34:00,860 --> 00:34:04,620 the unashamed. The die has been cast. 538 00:34:05,100 --> 00:34:09,020 I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. 539 00:34:09,540 --> 00:34:13,780 I'm a disciple of his, and I won't look back, let up, slow 540 00:34:13,780 --> 00:34:18,260 down, or back away, or be still. My past is redeemed. 541 00:34:18,580 --> 00:34:21,980 My present makes sense. My future is secure. 542 00:34:22,350 --> 00:34:26,510 And I'm done with and finished with low living, site walking, 543 00:34:26,510 --> 00:34:31,429 small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, 544 00:34:31,550 --> 00:34:34,949 mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals. 545 00:34:35,469 --> 00:34:38,909 I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, 546 00:34:39,030 --> 00:34:41,790 promotions, plaudits, or popularity. 547 00:34:42,300 --> 00:34:46,380 I don't have to be right or first, or tops, or recognized, 548 00:34:46,380 --> 00:34:50,380 or praised or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on his 549 00:34:50,380 --> 00:34:54,980 presence, walk by patients, lift by prayer and labor by Holy 550 00:34:54,980 --> 00:34:59,180 Spirit power. My face is set, my gate is fast, 551 00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:02,740 my goal is heaven. My Rd. may be narrow, my way 552 00:35:02,740 --> 00:35:07,700 rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable and my mission 553 00:35:07,700 --> 00:35:10,630 is clear. I will not be bought, 554 00:35:10,790 --> 00:35:15,390 compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or 555 00:35:15,390 --> 00:35:18,110 delayed. I will not flinch in the face of 556 00:35:18,110 --> 00:35:22,390 sacrifice, or hesitate in the presence of the deluded or 557 00:35:22,390 --> 00:35:25,740 delayed I. I I will not flinch in the face 558 00:35:25,740 --> 00:35:28,460 of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of my adversary. 559 00:35:28,540 --> 00:35:31,500 I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at 560 00:35:31,500 --> 00:35:34,260 the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of 561 00:35:34,260 --> 00:35:37,700 mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let 562 00:35:37,700 --> 00:35:41,780 up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed, up, paid up, 563 00:35:41,860 --> 00:35:44,020 and preached up for the cause of Christ. 564 00:35:44,140 --> 00:35:48,940 I am a disciple of Jesus, and I must give until I drop, preach 565 00:35:49,060 --> 00:35:53,100 until all know, and work until he comes, and when he does, come 566 00:35:53,100 --> 00:35:55,260 for his. No, he'll have no problems 567 00:35:55,260 --> 00:35:59,100 recognizing me. My colors will be clear. 568 00:35:59,460 --> 00:36:06,940 Now that is a statement of intention, and some of you are 569 00:36:06,940 --> 00:36:12,020 saying that is not who I am, but it can be who you want to be, 570 00:36:14,540 --> 00:36:21,380 what you strive to be. You're over the line, and you 571 00:36:21,380 --> 00:36:27,400 are not alone. Because he is with you and we 572 00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:31,880 are with you. We're moving to a time of 573 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:40,300 decision. I take that for granted that I 574 00:36:40,300 --> 00:36:42,660 say that every time I preach that. 575 00:36:42,660 --> 00:36:46,860 Everybody that's on our stage says that when they conclude 576 00:36:46,860 --> 00:36:51,060 their sermon, we're moving to a time of decision. 577 00:36:54,610 --> 00:36:57,770 Because if you go to a lot of churches, what's going to happen 578 00:36:57,770 --> 00:37:01,250 is they'll sing some songs, a personal preach, they'll have a 579 00:37:01,250 --> 00:37:05,250 prayer, that they may sing a closing song and have a prayer 580 00:37:05,250 --> 00:37:09,570 and it's time to go home. But the most important person 581 00:37:10,610 --> 00:37:15,690 participating in a service of worship isn't me or the band. 582 00:37:16,810 --> 00:37:20,730 It's you. And there has to be a moment 583 00:37:22,010 --> 00:37:28,760 where you're confronted. There has to be a moment where a 584 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:34,040 line is drawn in the sand. There has to be a moment where 585 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:37,160 you hear the words of Moses saying who is on the Lord's 586 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:42,440 side. A moment where you say, I don't 587 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:44,760 know what you're going to do in your home, but As for me in my 588 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:46,600 house, we're going to serve the Lord. 589 00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:51,680 A moment where you hear the words of Elijah saying how much 590 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:54,850 longer you going to. Sit between two opinions. 591 00:37:56,610 --> 00:37:58,370 It's time to quit straddling the fence. 592 00:37:58,370 --> 00:38:03,650 And that's what this moment is about, because you need a 593 00:38:03,650 --> 00:38:08,810 tangible way to say I have stepped over the line. 594 00:38:12,290 --> 00:38:15,330 I'm not going to accept Christ in a cowardly fashion. 595 00:38:18,050 --> 00:38:20,010 I'm going to accept him in a bold fashion. 596 00:38:23,060 --> 00:38:28,260 And it's bold, let me tell you. It's bold to step out from a 597 00:38:28,260 --> 00:38:33,140 crowd where you're anonymous, where you're invisible and you 598 00:38:33,140 --> 00:38:40,340 suddenly become visible. It's bold when you declare with 599 00:38:40,340 --> 00:38:44,380 your mouth, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the 600 00:38:44,380 --> 00:38:48,100 living God, And I want him as my Lord and my Savior. 601 00:38:48,260 --> 00:38:51,540 And people hear you say it. It's bold. 602 00:38:52,580 --> 00:38:55,820 When you put place yourself in the hands of someone, someone 603 00:38:55,820 --> 00:39:01,700 who might have shared that with you, and you allow yourself to 604 00:39:01,700 --> 00:39:04,620 be immersed in water, buried with Christ, and raised to walk 605 00:39:04,620 --> 00:39:14,620 in newness of life, it's bold. But there comes a time when we 606 00:39:14,620 --> 00:39:21,340 can't just sit there anymore. There comes a time when we have 607 00:39:21,340 --> 00:39:25,240 to declare. The desires and the intentions 608 00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:28,880 of our heart. And we can't keep using the 609 00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:32,080 excuse that we won't be consistent Or I don't want to be 610 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:36,320 a hypocrite because you are anyway and you will be tomorrow 611 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:41,520 anyway. But at least you can put a 612 00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:45,720 marker down and you can say I'm not going to live that way 613 00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:51,080 anymore. I'm going to live this way. 614 00:39:52,460 --> 00:39:57,060 Because of the way he died for me, if you've never made that 615 00:39:57,060 --> 00:40:00,020 decision for Christ, and you want to do that today, there's 616 00:40:00,020 --> 00:40:02,020 going to be somebody right up there by that baptistry would 617 00:40:02,020 --> 00:40:05,260 love nothing more than to be able to share those moments with 618 00:40:05,260 --> 00:40:11,300 you and rejoice with you. And the angels in heaven will 619 00:40:11,300 --> 00:40:15,140 sing, and they'll shake the foundations of heaven when they 620 00:40:15,140 --> 00:40:20,060 sing over the joy of your decision. 621 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:25,120 And there's many of you here today that have made a decision 622 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:28,120 for Jesus Christ. You've accepted him into your 623 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:31,240 life, but that doesn't mean that you don't get stuck down in that 624 00:40:31,240 --> 00:40:34,080 lower story. It doesn't mean that you start 625 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:37,320 thinking about how you can fix things rather than turning them 626 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:41,760 over to Jesus. And just like I need communion 627 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:46,280 even though I was baptized, you need a moment where the computer 628 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:49,080 gets turned off and back on, where you reboot. 629 00:40:49,610 --> 00:40:52,090 And realize I am his and he is mine. 630 00:40:52,210 --> 00:40:54,610 Regardless of what I've done, regardless of what's been 631 00:40:54,610 --> 00:40:57,850 happening in my life, I just want to get back to that right 632 00:40:57,850 --> 00:40:59,570 place. And when people come up here and 633 00:40:59,570 --> 00:41:02,410 they get down on their knees and they cry out to God, that's 634 00:41:02,410 --> 00:41:04,770 what's happening. And God takes their burdens. 635 00:41:04,770 --> 00:41:08,690 And when they get up off their knees, they're lighter than they 636 00:41:08,690 --> 00:41:11,330 were before and they leave victorious. 637 00:41:13,490 --> 00:41:19,010 And today, whatever it is, that's on your heart. 638 00:41:19,970 --> 00:41:27,050 Here is an opportunity to put a step, a physical, tangible 639 00:41:27,050 --> 00:41:30,130 expression of what is really happening. 640 00:41:31,090 --> 00:41:35,290 Would you stand with me in Jesus name? 641 00:41:35,290 --> 00:41:39,930 Heavenly Father, I pray you'll take advantage, full advantage 642 00:41:39,930 --> 00:41:45,810 of this moment. I pray that you and we would 643 00:41:46,490 --> 00:41:48,970 cooperate to open the doors of our hearts and. 644 00:41:49,210 --> 00:41:52,010 Some of those doors, they have rusty hinges and they have 645 00:41:52,010 --> 00:41:55,050 broken locks. And maybe they don't just open. 646 00:41:55,050 --> 00:41:57,690 Maybe they need to be pried open. 647 00:41:57,690 --> 00:42:01,610 Maybe they need to be almost forced open. 648 00:42:03,450 --> 00:42:06,970 But Father, that's something that you have the strength and 649 00:42:06,970 --> 00:42:11,250 power to do. So help us in this moment to be 650 00:42:11,250 --> 00:42:14,890 more like you and less like ourselves. 651 00:42:16,330 --> 00:42:18,170 In Jesus name, Amen.