Crossing family. How good was that baptism video?
I just do not ever want us to take that for granted because we
don't deserve that kind of grace.
But man, he's giving it to us. If you are.
Here for the first. Time or the first time in a
long? Time.
We are so incredibly glad that you are here.
You are here on. Potentially a sermon on the best
chapter in scripture. Yeah, I said this a couple weeks
ago. There's Romans 5, there's Second
Corinthians 5, and there's Romans 8.
And I'm just incredibly glad that you're here to hear it.
Hopefully somebody invited you. Somebody told you that our
church loves you. And I hope that what you
experienced today will change you to those of you who are part
of the crossing nation. Gathering at all of our
different locations, those of you watching online, and to
those of you who are part of our inside family, God bless you.
We welcome you, and we're incredibly thankful that we get
to do ministry with you. I want to do a quick.
Recap of. Romans Chapter 7 and then we're
going to jump right into Romans chapter 8.
The big issue in Romans Chapter 7 is how do people who were
holding on to the law and those who were not holding on to the
law? Figure out a way to get along
and the Jews who received the law who received.
The Old Testament, we're kind of proud of their position for
having the. Instruction from God.
But they weren't following it. They weren't really living by
it. In fact, the law revealed.
Just how sinful and messed up they really were.
All it did on the good side is reveal how good and righteous
God. Is it would be kind of like.
Me telling my oldest. Son to not hit the my youngest
son and. Then him hitting him.
Anyway, any parents in the room? OK, so I've given him the law
and he's disobeyed it. But to.
Go a step further. The oldest son claims
superiority. Over the younger.
Son because after. All dad is the one who gave.
Me the instructions about not hitting people.
That was what was. Happening in this church.
So Paul has been moving these people inside of this division
issue, trying to unify them, and then he gets to Romans chapter
8. And he.
Gives us a picture of God that you and I can't fathom.
The scariest part of. Writing this sermon.
Is that it's just such a good. Chapter.
And yet it's so hard for us to own it, to walk in it.
There's a story in scripture of the sower who goes out to sow
seed, and some falls on the hard path.
And some falls up amongst the rocks, and some falls amongst
the thorns, and then some falls on the good soil.
And the. Crazy thing about Romans. 8.
Is it just is so hard for it to get all the way into us just how
good God is because. You and I, we.
Struggle in our relationship with God because we need a
better picture of Him. And if you can, allow Romans 8
into your heart. It would give you an unshakeable
faith. So I preach this to you not as a
person who's arrived, but a person who's on the journey.
Trying to take it all in Romans. Chapter 8, verse.
One, therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus the
law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of
sin and death for what the law was powerless to do because it
was weakened by the flesh, So what the law couldn't do, God
did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to
be a sin offering. So Jesus wrapped himself in the
stuff that looks like you and me.
He identified with sinful man to become a sin offering for you
and me. And so he condemned sin in the
flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law
might be fully met in us who do not live according to the flesh,
but. According to the Spirit.
Now when he says but now, so right.
Here where? He says.
There is now. He is pointing back for those of
you who've been on this. Sermon series The whole.
Time He's pointing back to two. Verses that are critical to
understanding Romans chapter. 8 He's pointing back to Romans 321
and Romans 7 verse six. But now, apart from the law, the
righteousness of God has been made known to which the Law and
the prophets testify. The answer to this question Who
does? Who is this righteousness apart
from the law that the law and the prophets testify?
Who has been made known? This is literally.
The Sunday School answer. Jesus, when you read the Old
Testament saying hey. That guy right here.
Then the second thing Romans 76 But now, by dying to what once
bound us, the law, we have been released from the law, so that
we serve in a new way of the Spirit.
Not in the old way of the written code.
So I'm. Going to take.
You all the way. Back to right here.
But now there is no condemnation, no condemnation.
If you are in a relationship with Jesus Christ, there is no
condemnation over your life. This takes place both vertically
and horizontally. In other words, vertically in
the heavenly court. On judgment Day, those in Christ
Jesus will receive a favorable sentence.
This includes both the sentencing and the execution of
judgment. And if the vertical is solved,
then the horizontal is served as well.
Because if God will not condemn us, what right does anybody on
earth have to? Condemn us.
You may not know this about me, but I have been to.
Court yuppers. And I've had to plead my case on
a couple of. Issues one time.
Was for a speeding ticket. A couple times I didn't have to
show up to court because I had an attorney who got me out of a
speeding ticket. God bless him.
But one time I did a bad thing and I had to show up.
And here's the tough part. I was waiting for a sentence
knowing I was guilty. I was hoping for him to say I
was. Innocent knowing I was.
Guilty apart? From Jesus Christ.
When you and I. Die when you and I face the
judgment. We arrived there knowing.
We are guilty. No one is good.
Except him. But because of Jesus's work on
the cross and us receiving that work by faith, we show up to the
court knowing that he has made it right.
He has paid the sentence, He has served the time.
He has made us right vertically with God.
And if God is not going to condemn us, and He's the one who
has the right to condemn us, what right does somebody here on
earth have to? Condemn you.
Now let me keep going. Who is this for?
Who gets to experience this? No condemnation reality.
What do you got to do to get that?
That sounds pretty fantastic. You ever heard of somebody going
on a nice vacation or getting cool tickets to go somewhere?
Be like well, how do you? Get that?
Well, you got to know somebody. Well, who's the somebody?
I don't know if I'm at liberty to tell you who they are, but
they know me, and that matters. So I get to go.
But you you don't. You see these people?
Getting this. No condemnation treatment.
Who gets that? How do I get that?
We got to know somebody. The difference is.
The person you get to know is doing everything in its power.
To be made known this. No condemnation, life is.
For you, I got good news. For you.
If you're rich. If you're poor, if you're
pretty, if you're ugly, if you're skinny, if you're fat.
Let me pause on fat for a second.
I make. Jokes in my sermons and it.
Seems like the only thing about my sermon you remember.
Is when I make fat jokes, so when I.
Was hanging out with a guy. This week he goes, You know what
my wife's favorite part of the sermon is when you said which
ones went in? Scat or Fat Clayton or Skinny
Clayton? She reached over and.
Touched my belly in service. She reached over people to touch
my belly in service. So listen.
If you don't, learn other things in the sermon.
I'll stop being funny, OK? I'll make this old school
church. All right, now who's this for?
It's for rich people and poor people.
Pretty people and ugly people. Skinny people and fat people.
Those of you who grew up with the right family.
Those of you who grew up in the wrong family.
Those of you who have the right upbringing.
Those of you who have the wrong upbringing.
Those of you who have it together, those of you who are
trying to fake it like you have it together, Those of you who
are messed up, those of you who see yourself as big sinners and
those of you who see yourself as little sinners, this is for you.
Turn your neighbors, say this is for you I'm talking about.
You this, no condemnation status with God is for you.
Whether this is your first time or the first time in a long
time, this no condemnation that you can have with God.
This right relationship that you can have with him is for you.
Well, how did God make that happen?
How did he turn that into a reality?
Here's what happened. God gathered up all of the sin
in all of human history. And he gathered it into one
place, and he laid it on Jesus and Jesus.
Took it all so that you could have no condemnation when it
comes to your relationship with God.
It's like. You pull the confetti cannon in
your basement and confetti's everywhere.
Or maybe it's glitter everywhere.
Or you know, if you're a person who's had water in your basement
and you have water. Everywhere.
What do you do? You get the broom out and you
you go around the edges and then you start pushing it to the
middle in sections and then you push it from the other side.
And then you start to walk around it until you've created
into one mound. And then you either you sweep it
up if it's confetti or you suck it up if it's water.
You you gather it into one place.
That's what he did with. Your sin.
He took all the sin of human history before the cross, and he
and He gathered it into one place.
He took all of your sin, the sin that you, you were doing, that
you didn't even know. Was a sin.
And he just went around the edges.
And he pushed it in. On the sins you you knew were
wrong, he went around the edges, and he and he gathered it into
one place. He He took the sins you feel.
Bad about and he. Swept it to the.
Middle and. And then he he took all the sins
that you don't. Feel bad about?
That's one of the things about Jesus I don't.
Get is he died for the parts of me that I know that are wrong,
but I don't feel bad about feeling them.
And he gathered it in the. Middle there's another thing I
don't get. About Jesus he.
He gathered the sins I. Haven't even done yet.
Here's another thing I don't get about Jesus.
He He gathers the sins that I committed after I gave my life
to him. After I knew better, after I
believed better, He. He gathered those two He
gathered your tomorrow sins in your in your next week sins.
He He gathered your next month sins.
He He gathered your next year. Since he gathered every sin for
all of human history from now until the time he comes back, He
gathered it into one place, and he put it all on the one person
who didn't deserve it. He's that good.
Our God is just that good. Satan tries to steal, but God
comes to bring freedom. Jesus sucks out the venom of
sin. He draws out the venom into his
veins. He's like a bomb squad that
takes all the sin of human history into the middle of
nowhere and then detonates it on himself so that nobody else is
scathed. Well, how did he do this?
Well, it's because he became inverse.
What am I at now? Verse 3?
He became a sin offering. The sin offering happened in the
Old Testament. This is why the Old Testament
matters. The sin offering is where they
would place the sins of humanity on an animal.
It was a way for them to transfer the guilt, transfer the
weight, transfer the betrayal, transfer the pain.
And they would put it on an animal.
They would call an animal the sin offering and it included.
Both their intentional sins and their unintentional sins.
But it also included their sense of ignorance.
I didn't mean to do it. I knew I shouldn't have done it,
and I didn't know it was. Wrong and they?
Put it on this animal and then as the animal went away, the
people experienced 2 things. As the animal left their
presence, they experienced forgiveness.
For both the Commission of the sins they committed and the
omission of the things that they were supposed to do, it is
possible to sin by not doing the thing that God calls you to do,
because when God calls you to it, you are supposed to do it,
and that means he died for. Those things too.
So they experienced A forgiveness, but they also
experienced a purification, in other words.
Through the sin offering, the people became worthy to
experience full participation in life with God.
He made us worthy to be around the one we harmed.
He made us so right with God that we can be in the presence
of the one we offended, of the one we let down.
There's some of you. You've messed up so much in your
life. You are under the impression
that you could never be made right with God because of what
you've done. But you are not made right with
God based on everything that you have done.
You are made right with God because of everything that.
He has. Done.
That's how good our God is. Romans 8.
This is where we're at verse 14. For those who are led by the
Spirit of God are the children of God.
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live
in fear again. Rather, the Spirit you received
brought about your adoption to sonship, and by him we cry.
ABBA. Father, hear me, God does not
make you a second class citizen. That's what we would expect.
Okay, I get it. There's no condemnation.
You've made me right. I'll just be a second class
citizen in the Kingdom of heaven forever because of everything
I've done. He'll let me into the house, but
he'll never make me his. He says the spirit he puts
inside of you makes you a a son or a daughter.
And by this spirit we get to cry ABBA father.
We get to say this is what it's getting at.
We get to say Daddy, there was an old preacher of a successful
church. Who was a suit and tie?
Kind of. Guy.
And every time he showed up to preach, he was.
Wearing a suit and tie, he. Hired a young buck preacher to
come in. And start preaching alongside of
him, and he was. More of a blue jeans and button.
Downs kind of guy. And the old preacher kind of got
frustrated, the young preacher at the church, and he said,
don't you think you should be bringing your best to God on
Sunday? What would you do if you got
invited to go meet the president of the United States?
Wouldn't you dress up to meet him?
And the young preacher looked at the old preacher and said I
wouldn't if. He was my dad.
There's an attorney in. Our church, who I love dearly
and every. Time I go visit.
Him. I dress up because I.
Just want to be. Respectful to him.
But his kids don't have to dress up to see him.
Because his kids get to call him dad.
When you come into a right relationship with God through
Jesus, you get to start calling him dad.
You get to sit on his lap, have that kind of loving
relationship. Well, now that I'm in this.
Relationship with God and. He's my dad.
How do I talk to God when I don't know what to say?
How many of you have ever been in a spot?
Where you don't know how to pray.
You've ever found yourself in a spot and you don't know what to
pray. You've ever found yourself in a
spot, and you don't even know what words to use for the pain
you're navigating, The frustration you're feeling, the
hurts you're feeling, and you're going.
I know I'm supposed to call you dead, but I don't even know how
to put what I'm feeling into words to talk to God.
What do you do when you don't know what to say?
What do you do when you don't know what to pray?
This is. How good our God?
Is in the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself
intercedes for us with wordless groans.
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for God's people.
In accordance with the will of God.
I'm going to teach you something here for a second.
Imagine this is a table. Okay, you can tell I didn't do
well in art school. And I want you to call this.
Table your prayer. There is this word inside of
this. Passage.
I just read the word is help. In the same way, the spirit.
Helps us in our weakness. The word helps is the Greek
word. Tsunanti lombonomi.
Tsunanti lombonomi you don't have.
To remember, but you might as well say it.
Tsunanti Lombonomi. It means something specific.
Pay attention. It means together on the other
side, to take hold. So here's you and your prayer
life. I don't know what to say.
I don't know how to say it. I don't got the words to put it
together. You can't lift up the prayer by
yourself. If I stand here, I'm a strong
guy. I can't get this thing off the
ground. But soonatti lombotomi, the
Spirit helps us now. Remember what it says.
Together on the other side, the Holy Spirit comes together with
you. On the other side of you and he
lifts the prayer to God with you.
He says what you can't. Say he.
Mutters the words you can't put together.
He prays on your behalf to help you navigate the pain you are
experiencing, and he intercedes with perfection because he knows
and understands the will of God. What do you say when you don't
want this? Don't know what to say?
You say nothing at all, knowing that the Spirit He has placed
inside of you is. Praying on behalf of you, that's
how. Good our God is do you wish
your? Prayer life was better.
Do you find yourself at a loss for words when you don't know
what to say? When you find yourself wordless
and empty and inadequate? When you feel overwhelmed by the
weight of what you're facing? When you find yourself ill
equipped to speak to a holy and perfect God?
The Spirit. Helps he comes.
Alongside of you together, on the opposite side, And he takes
hold of you, and he takes hold of your prayer.
Romans 828 And we know that in all things God works for the
good of those who love him, who have been called according to
his purpose. We used to have a guy in our
house. Named Ryan Garrity.
And Ryan Garrity. He's not good at a lot of
things. But.
Boy, can he cook. That's a profile shot.
I'm living proof. Of what the?
Cooking of Ryan Garrett. Can do.
You may not believe me now, OK. He's such a good.
Cook that he's. One of those guys that can go
into a. Kitchen or a pantry and go.
What do we have? How many of you guys?
Your wife has said what do we have?
And it's been a good. Meal, you know.
I mean, I I can whip something. Together, Ryan.
Garrity can whip something. Together, Ryan Garrity can send
you to the store to get things, and you can forget things and
bring some of the wrong things. And he can still put on a
spread. You guys may have heard me talk
about this. Did you know that?
There's mayonnaise in Portillo's.
Cake I think that was, I think. It was made by a descendant of
Ryan Garrity. I know we're going to make a
cake. What do we got?
Mayonnaise. Put it in, put it in.
We got a We got a guy in our church.
He invited me over to his house. We had Philly cheese steaks and
he put Philadelphia cream cheese on the on the bun.
Yeah, you're looking at me right now like I'm stupid, but I weigh
more than you. So I don't.
Know if that worked first. My point is the right Maybe
you're smarter for not being as fat.
As I am. But I'm just telling you, I know
good food. You wouldn't guess that putting
some Philadelphia cream cheese on some bread before you have a
Philly cheese steak would be the right idea.
You wouldn't think putting mayonnaise in your chocolate
cake would be a good move, but when?
God. Goes into the kitchen of life.
He can take even your worst moments.
And whip up something good. That's how good our God.
Is There is nothing that our God can't redeem.
There is nothing that our God can't repurpose for his glory
and for our good. I've seen God take broken
marriages and use it to help other people put their.
Marriages back together. God can redeem things.
He is working for their good. Behind the scenes, I've seen
addicts turned into Ministry leaders and mentors at Regent.
I've seen them take infertile people and make them wonderful
Foster and adoptive parents. I've seen God take the very
worst of us and turn it into the best part of us.
And who can do? That only God can.
God promises that your pain will not be without purpose when you
place it in His hands. Now I know you'd like a life.
Without pain, so would. I but that.
Place is called heaven, and we're not there yet.
But what God does? Promise is that he will.
Come to you in the middle of your.
Pain. And if you will give him your
pain. And you will give him your sin.
He can redeem it. For his glory and for your good,
and nobody else can do that. So, Paul.
Gets to the end of Romans chapter 8.
And he goes what? Shall that's never what?
Shall we say then, in response to these things?
If God is for us, who can be? Against us.
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all,
how will he not also, along with Jesus, graciously give us all
things? Who will bring any charge
against those whom God has chosen?
It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who
condemns? No one.
Christ Jesus, who died more than that who was raised?
The life is at the right hand of God is also interceding for us.
So right now the Holy Spirit is inside of you interceding on
behalf of you. And Jesus is sitting next to the
Father, interceding on behalf of you.
If God's for you, what can't he do?
Who can be against you? He's just that good.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake,
we face death all day long, we are considered as sheep to be.
Slaughtered. No, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I'm convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels
nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth or anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord. This does not mean that in this
life we will not have trouble. It does not mean that we will
not experience hardships and heartache.
Some of us will live lives where things do not go up and to the
right. Some of us will live lives where
we experience hardships due to our belief in Jesus.
However, the things that happen on this earth cannot separate
you from the love of God. Nothing can interfere with what
he has done on your behalf in advance.
Here's what I'm saying. If God's for you, who can be
against you now? Hear me?
I'm not saying God's for your business.
I'm not saying God's trying to help you buy a boat.
I don't want you going home tattooing this and saying, you
know, I've been trying to get a girlfriend because my wife's not
enough. He's not for that either.
Here is what God is for. He is working nonstop, never
sleeping. He is working for your good and
for His glory. He never takes a day off trying
to repurpose your pain. He never takes a day off of
loving you, caring for you, providing for you, putting
breath in your lungs that you and I don't deserve if God is
for your salvation. If he's for your justification,
if he's for your eternity, who can stop him?
No one. No one.
If God is pursuing a relationship with you, who can
get in the way? If he was willing to send his
son to die on the cross for you, what won't he do on your behalf?
He's already. Given you his very best.
And there might be some of you right now at this point in time
in the message. Who are going well?
This message. Is good for somebody, but you're
not quite sure it's good for. You because you're like me.
You got a past and the hardest part of my.
Relationship with Jesus is getting over my sin.
Because I'm. Fully aware of how jacked up and
messed up I am and you might be thinking, well that's great news
for all the. All the one O 1 centers.
But you got a doctorate and stupid.
I got multiple doctors and I got an honorary one too at the
county jail in Lee County, Iowa, you might be thinking.
But man, Satan. Satan.
Never seems to take a day off either.
Maybe Satan can stop me from experiencing this, so I'm going
to read to you. Romans 837.
Through 39 again. Know in all.
These things. We are more than.
Conquers through him Who? Loved us for I'm.
Convinced that neither death nor life pause.
God never stops loving you even when you're dead.
All the people who are in hell. All the people.
Who died outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ
he never stopped loving. How good is the heart of God
that he never stops loving you? So whether you're dead or
breathing, he doesn't stop neither angels or demons.
You might be going, man, I got demons in my life.
I got demons trying to stop me. You might be thinking, man,
you're super intune to the spiritual world and you think
that there's demonic activity in your home.
And because there's so much demonic activity in my home,
God's love can't get through. Not true.
Because even angels and. Demons don't have the.
Power. To stop God from loving you.
Neither the present nor the future.
Well, God, because of what I'm going through right now, I've
probably given you reason to stop loving me, and some of you
are going, but I got. I'm doing it right now, but I
have a track record of doing it. Right.
And then doing it wrong and doing it right and then doing it
wrong and I don't know where I'm going to be at in the future.
And it's the story of the people who call the crossing home
they'll be. People have a great.
Run following Jesus and then they fall off the Cliff.
And while they are on their way to rock bottom or hitting rock
bottom, Satan introduces this lion to their spirit.
After all the good things you've done, how could you have done
what you did? And there's no way that God
loves you now. But he says.
Even what you do in the future can't stop me from loving you,
whether you were on the mountaintop.
Or in the. Valley or you have hit rock.
Bottom God predecided. To love you, that's how good.
He is or anything else in all. Creation, that means anything.
Will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our. Lord, what is being conquered?
How are we more than conquerors? And what are we conquerors over?
We are more than conquerors because of Him.
And what are we conquerors of our sin, our past?
Our failures, our condemnation, our hell have been conquered by
King Jesus because God sent him on my behalf.
Nothing can stop God from loving you, which means God can be
trusted because he did what nobody else can.
Do God can be trusted because he's never given up on you.
God can be trusted because he has forgiven you, purified you.
And nothing will stop him from loving you.
That is how good God is. Room to a time.
Decision. I mean, I was chasing a booger
the whole. Sermon, it's just all I wanted
to do is. Like God bless.
Me with someone who? Cares about Kleenex?
Be honest. You go home with a booger, your
word's coming down and try and preach a 30 minute sermon.
Probably should have held the moment there.
That's just how good he is. So hear me this.
Invitation time is not about whether or not God loves you.
This invitation time is whether or not you love him.
Our life. Is supposed to.
Be a response to him. I want to say I don't know how.
You could go home and live the same, but I I know how because
I've done it. I don't know how you could hear
about God being that. Good on your behalf and.
And go back to being stupid. But I I I've done it.
But we need moments. Like this to shut.
Down and quiet. The whispers of our soul and the
whispers of. Satan and.
Allow God's piercing. Truth all the way into your
heart. So those of you who are.
Christians, we must live. A life in response to this kind.
Of work. To this kind of love on our
behalf, and if you're willing to humble yourself just a little
bit and go, God, I I got to get some things ironed out.
I got to get some things squared away.
Because your life communicates whether or not you have received
and whether or not you actually do love God, it sends a clear
message. Hell is full of.
People that God loves. It's just also full of people
who chose to not love God back. They never wanted to receive
what he did on their behalf. They never wanted to receive
what he did to make them right and as Christians.
We must do everything in our power to respond to that message
and to champion that message everywhere we go.
That's why the gospel is called good news, because have you ever
heard better news than that? So just a few moments, I'm
encouraged if you're a Christian and you, you got some stuff
going on, or maybe you got some stuff you need to.
Sort out. Would you come up here and just
get down on your knees? Do everything in your power to
get right with Him. And to those of you who are in
this room and those of you who are watching online who have
never started an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus
Christ, don't put it off. He did all of that on your
behalf, but you have to receive it.
The good news is, he is ready to receive you.
Right now, would you stand with me, God, I'm asking that you
would do something that only you can do in a way that only you
can do it to bring about a change to make the kind of
difference in our lives that only you can make.
And God, I pray that you would do a work in our church, right?
Now. A work that doesn't just change
us. But a work that changes our
families, a work that doesn't just change our families, A work
that changes our community got do a.
Work. In each of us in your name I
pray. Amen.