1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:29,800 And our text tonight will be verses one through 6, Romans 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,320 chapter 5, verses one through 6. Grateful that we can be here in 9 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,720 the middle of the week and be encouraged by one another and 10 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,520 helped and fed by God's Word. It's just what we need in the 11 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:41,400 middle of the week. A lot of things we're going 12 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:42,640 through, a lot of things we might need. 13 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,800 And so we just trust God's timing and His Providence when 14 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,360 with His Word because that's how it works. 15 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:52,400 How many times have you gone to the Bible and you open it up and 16 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,080 it you read just what you needed for that moment in your life? 17 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:58,320 That's God, friend, that's the Lord. 18 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,280 His word is alive and He knows exactly where you are. 19 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,640 He's not looking for you. He knows exactly where you're at 20 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,640 and His word is timely. So Romans chapter 5 is where 21 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:15,320 we'll be tonight. Most of us have considered a 22 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:20,920 good church as one that, as many of us have said, is a gospel 23 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,280 preaching church. Many of you have probably used 24 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:28,040 that description of a good church before a gospel preaching 25 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:30,600 church. Well, let me ask this. 26 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:35,440 What exactly is a gospel preaching church? 27 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,000 What is a gospel preaching church? 28 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,320 What do we mean when we say that? 29 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:42,560 That would be a description of a good church? 30 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:46,920 Is it a church that does a good job at faithfully preaching the 31 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:51,760 gospel so sinners get saved? That's part of it, indeed, of 32 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:54,800 course. Is it a church where the gospel 33 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,960 is the only aspect of God's word that is preached? 34 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:04,080 How do you save people spiritually profit from their 35 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,039 gospel preaching church? I mean if it is just the gospel 36 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:11,480 to the to the lost being preached well, why do I do? 37 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:16,440 How can saved people profit from that kind of gospel preaching 38 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:20,280 church? Well, the gospel, which means 39 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:26,040 the good news of Jesus Christ, is not just for sinners, but 40 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:30,440 also for the Saints, which a St. is someone who is saved. 41 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:34,920 Someone who is in Christ is not someone who lived a pompous 42 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:37,960 moral life, if you will. It is a saved person. 43 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,120 If you're born again tonight, you're a St. according to the 44 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,520 Scriptures, you're a St. And so the gospel is not just 45 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:49,480 for sinners, but for us. And so you might think, well, 46 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,040 how we're saved, we need the gospel. 47 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:57,360 Still. A church must faithfully preach 48 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,640 the gospel of our Lord and Savior to its saved membership 49 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:06,920 because the gospel is to influence and change every 50 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:11,600 facet, every nook and cranny of our of our lives. 51 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:16,440 It is not just to take us from death unto life, but it's to 52 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,120 take us from death unto life into sanctification, into the 53 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:25,600 image of Jesus our Savior. Thus, churches who don't preach 54 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:30,120 how the gospel effects their lives are typically filled with 55 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,280 Saints living in carnality and defeats. 56 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,240 They're living in carnality, worldliness, fleshliness, and 57 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,200 therefore defeats in their born again life. 58 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:48,200 But churches like ours who do preach how the gospel effects 59 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:52,440 their lives can be seen to be filled with Saints living in the 60 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:56,880 glorious victory of our risen Savior. 61 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,200 So that's a gospel preaching church. 62 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,840 A a church that preaches the gospel to the lost, yes, but 63 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:07,120 preaches the gospel even to us to learn how to live in light of 64 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:11,560 the gospel or because of the gospel taking root in our lives. 65 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,360 The very letters of the whole, the very letters the Holy Spirit 66 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:19,720 inspired the the apostle Paul to write unto the churches they 67 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,120 contain how the gospel of Christ that saved them was to then 68 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,520 transform them. I mean, that's the majority of 69 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,720 what the Apostle Paul writes in his letters that we have here in 70 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,760 the New Testament is how the churches are to live because of 71 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:39,200 the gospel, how the gospel is a a typing of format or template 72 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,040 that they are to apply in every area of their. 73 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,000 And so such is the case with the letter known as the book of 74 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,440 Romans, where I believe God wants us to be tonight. 75 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:56,760 Romans teaches us that God is righteous in all that he does, 76 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:02,720 He's sovereign, He's just, he's right, He's holy in all that he 77 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:07,400 does. And Romans teaches us whom God 78 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:13,680 has justified, that we are to live the Christian life the same 79 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:19,280 way we got saved, by faith. We are to continue to live the 80 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:23,320 Christian life the same way we got saved, and that is by faith, 81 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,880 in other words, by faithful obedience to the Word. 82 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:28,840 That's how we're to live the Christian life. 83 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:31,520 And no, it's not about we cannot get saved again. 84 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:36,560 We're eternally secure. But as we obeyed the gospel, we 85 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,560 obey the God of the gospel, and that's called faith. 86 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,200 OK, so let me ask this. Does the gospel teach us 87 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:45,960 anything other than how to get saved? 88 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:50,040 Does the gospel teach us anything other than just how to 89 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,280 get saved? We understand that we should 90 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:55,880 glory and have joy in the fact that we are saved. 91 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:01,440 But can we still glory and celebrate victory in Jesus and 92 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:07,920 have joy and tribulations and in hardships, in difficulties and 93 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:12,480 afflictions also? Can we still glory in the gospel 94 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,120 the same way as when we got saved? 95 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,840 Can we still glory and still have the same spirit in 96 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:23,600 tribulations, in the drama, in your life, in afflictions and in 97 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:28,320 hardship also? Well, if so, how? 98 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:31,800 So? How does the gospel teach us to 99 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:36,720 glory in tribulations? The gospel does not just teach 100 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:41,680 us how to get saved, it teaches us more than that as well. 101 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,080 So let's look at our text, verses one through 6 of Romans 102 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:51,320 chapter 5. Paul writes here and we'll see 103 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,680 the word therefore beginning in verse one. 104 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:58,480 And he's referring back to the doctrine of justification by 105 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,720 faith that he just laid out for us in chapter 4. 106 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:06,520 OK, so in light of all that, in verse 1, he says therefore the 107 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:13,360 being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our 108 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:15,200 Lord Jesus Christ. I don't want to rush through 109 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,200 that. I mean, that's amazing. 110 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:21,520 We have peace with God. We're justified because of the 111 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:26,760 Lord Jesus Christ by whom? The same Lord Jesus Christ also, 112 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:34,040 we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and 113 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:38,640 rejoice in hope of of the glory of God. 114 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:46,360 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that 115 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:52,920 tribulations do this. Tribulations worketh patience 116 00:07:53,760 --> 00:08:02,760 and patience, experience and experience hope and hope maketh 117 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:08,200 not ashamed or disappointed, because the love of God is shed 118 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,760 abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. 119 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:17,960 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ 120 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:20,960 died for the ungodly. Want to preach a message 121 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,560 entitled We Glory and Tribulations? 122 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:27,400 Also, yes, it's a title. That's a question for editing 123 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:29,320 purposes. OK, there's a question mark 124 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:30,640 there. Or for your notes. 125 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,159 We Glory and Tribulations also is the title. 126 00:08:34,159 --> 00:08:35,320 Tonight. Let's pray one more time. 127 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:40,240 God, thank you for your word. God, I pray that you just take 128 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:44,280 it now and help us tonight. God, you know what we're going 129 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,920 through, what we've been through, and the storm that's 130 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:50,720 ahead. And so, God, I pray you'd use 131 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,640 this for our edification in Christ's name, Amen. 132 00:08:56,400 --> 00:09:02,200 We see in verses 1 and 2 that we glory in the gospel of Christ 133 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:08,000 because we've been placed in right standing with God by 134 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:09,480 faith. And I think that's easy to 135 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,720 understand. We glory and we we celebrate the 136 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:17,720 victory that's in Jesus because Jesus Christ has placed us in 137 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:21,200 right standing with the God of all of eternity. 138 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,640 And we have come into right standing by faith. 139 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:28,360 We have believed the gospel. We were drawn by the gospel and 140 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,840 we gave into the gospel. OK, so we placed our faith in 141 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:33,960 Jesus Christ. So we have been justified. 142 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:38,760 The gospel teaches us that we have been justified because of 143 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:40,680 Christ. And as was just mentioned, 144 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:45,320 Romans chapter 4 is where Paul really gets into dealing with 145 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:49,720 the doctrine of justification. And so we're not in Romans 4 146 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:53,320 tonight, but what is the doctrine of justification? 147 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,000 What does it mean, church, to be justified? 148 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,280 And so this is what happened to us the moment we got saved. 149 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,760 This is what happened to us. The doctrine of justification is 150 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:08,600 the act of God whereby he declares the believing Sinner 151 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:13,280 righteous in Christ on the basis of the finished work of Christ 152 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:16,040 on the cross. It's nothing we've done. 153 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:20,040 That was all God's work, a work that would have been impossible 154 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,280 for us to do. Let me read that again. 155 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:26,600 Justification is the act of God whereby he declares the 156 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:31,720 believing Sinner righteous, guiltless if you will, nothing 157 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:38,440 held against you by God, because we're in Christ, and it's all 158 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:43,000 happened because of the finished work of Christ on the cross, Him 159 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:47,240 taking your punishment. God declares us righteous. 160 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:50,160 We're justified. Some have summarized the 161 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:55,040 definition of justification or being justified as God the 162 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:59,400 Father viewing me just as if I'd never sinned. 163 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:03,720 That's amazing. It's hard for us to see people 164 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:06,360 that way, and so that's hard for us to really fathom and 165 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,800 understand. God really views me just as if I 166 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:14,200 had never sinned. The justification of our souls 167 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:18,000 absolutely could not have occurred apart from Christ the 168 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:21,560 Son of God, living a sinless life and dying the sinner's 169 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:24,640 death. Justification is not something 170 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:28,040 we work for or that we grow into. 171 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:32,280 It's not something where God says, OK, you'll be justified as 172 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:35,880 you as you continue to come along and, and, and to obey me. 173 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:38,800 No, it's, it's something that we could have never done brought 174 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:40,600 about on our own. It's something that 175 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:44,280 instantaneously takes place when we get saved. 176 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:45,840 It's something nothing we grow into. 177 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:50,520 It's instantaneous upon our faith in Christ alone. 178 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:55,040 The gospel also teaches us that we have peace with God. 179 00:11:55,040 --> 00:12:01,040 We see here in our verses verse #2 by whom also we have access 180 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:04,560 by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope and 181 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:08,200 the glory of God. We have access and we have peace 182 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,760 with God. The gospel also teaches us that 183 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,960 Christ allows us to have peace with God. 184 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:18,400 The Bible teaches in verse 10 of this same chapter, Romans 5, 185 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:22,560 verse 10. For if when we were enemies we 186 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:27,000 were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, the Bible 187 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:31,080 teaches that prior to justification we were enemies of 188 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:33,680 God. The Bible also says this in 189 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:36,840 chapter 8 of the same book, verse 7. 190 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:41,720 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is 191 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,680 not subject to the law of God, and neither indeed can be so, 192 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:49,440 this meant that we were completely separated from God. 193 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,880 There was no relationship, there was no peace before we were 194 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:58,720 justified by the power of God. But Christ has allowed it to be 195 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:04,200 so that we are brought back into a peaceful relationship with 196 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,520 God. Therefore, because we were 197 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:13,240 enemies of God, we didn't belong to Him, and therefore we 198 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:17,480 couldn't obey Him, we couldn't love Him, we couldn't follow 199 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:21,240 Him. Sin literally stood between US 200 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:25,120 and knowing God. Because we were enemies, we were 201 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:30,200 at enmity with God, but upon our faith in the finished work of 202 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:33,880 Christ on the cross, we have peace with God through Christ 203 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,040 alone. Peace with God. 204 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:39,560 Here's a basic definition for having peace with God. 205 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:45,120 I am in good standing with God the Father because of Christ his 206 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:47,440 Son. I am in right standing with God 207 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:51,440 the Father, not because of me, not because of some religion, 208 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:55,080 not because of some degree of morality, but because of the 209 00:13:55,080 --> 00:14:00,040 perfect life of the Son of God, and the death that satisfied the 210 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,600 wrath of God. Jesus says in John 14, six, I am 211 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,080 the way, the truth, and the life. 212 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:12,600 No man cometh unto the Father. Christ says, but by me it is 213 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:14,640 good to be in good standing with God. 214 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,240 I mean, if there's anybody you want to be right with and all of 215 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,280 your life and all of the universe, it is God. 216 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:24,040 And if you're here tonight and you're lost and you're dead in 217 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,720 your trespasses and sins, God has positioned you and he's 218 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:31,920 giving you an opportunity even this hour to be drawn to Christ 219 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,920 and be saved because the gospel is being preached. 220 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,520 The book of Romans makes it very clear that the gospel preached 221 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:41,560 is how God draws lost sinners to himself. 222 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,120 So if you're here tonight, this message is also for you, so stay 223 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:48,640 tuned. So the gospel not only teaches 224 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:50,880 us that we have peace with God because of Christ, but the 225 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:57,080 gospel further teaches us that we have access to God's grace 226 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:01,760 because of Christ. The very shedding of the blood 227 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:06,640 and and death of Jesus Christ has granted all who are saved 228 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:13,000 unlimited access to the Father. When Christ died, he tore the 229 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:18,760 veil into through which the Jews could only get a glimpse of God. 230 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:23,240 And when Christ died, he tore down the wall through which no 231 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:27,200 Gentile could even get a glimpse of God. 232 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:33,040 Having access into God's grace means, according to a gentleman 233 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,840 by the name of Rain Hummel, who runs a Christian camp in New 234 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:39,440 England. Here he says this, this is, this 235 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,160 is what having access to God's grace means. 236 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:47,800 You can be as close to God as you want to be, but you have to 237 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:50,560 be in Christ. You have to be in Christ and you 238 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:54,160 can draw as close to God. You can become as intimate and 239 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:58,280 close knitted to God in a relationship as you choose to 240 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,680 be. God wants to draw you ever 241 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,680 closer. But it is US who also must step 242 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:07,440 toward God in our daily relationship and lifelong 243 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:09,440 obedience. That's what it means to have 244 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:12,480 access to God's grace. You can get as close to God as 245 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,640 you want to be because of Christ. 246 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:23,400 Because of Christ, thus we believe we are eternally secure 247 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:28,680 in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit uses the word 248 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:33,680 hope in verse 2 where He says wherein we stand. 249 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:39,200 We stand in this grace and rejoice in hope of the glory of 250 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,440 God. The word hope is used multiple 251 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,400 times in the book of Romans. As you read Romans, I think 252 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:49,000 you'll find it at least 6 to 12 times just in this one book, The 253 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,720 word hope. Hope is a theme of Romans. 254 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:58,880 Hope is a theme of the gospel. The world has a definition for 255 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:03,280 hope that is different than God's definition. 256 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:06,720 And so the world's definition for hope would be maybe 257 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:11,680 something like this, simply desiring something to be true. 258 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:15,599 When you ask maybe a Catholic, if they know for sure that 259 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:17,960 they're right with God and that they'll go to heaven when they 260 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,400 die, often their answer is, well, I hope so. 261 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,760 I, I hope so. You ask a child if we're having 262 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:28,480 pizza for dinner tonight, they say, well, I hope so. 263 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,200 They're desiring something to be true. 264 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:35,160 And the answer's no, we're not because we already ate. 265 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:38,160 I would love for that to be true. 266 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:41,760 But anyway, desiring something to be true. 267 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:45,440 This is the kind of hope as I mentioned, a religious person 268 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:46,440 has. I hope so. 269 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:49,520 But the biblical definition church catch this night. 270 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:55,360 The biblical definition of hope is this, possessing A secured 271 00:17:55,360 --> 00:18:02,160 assurance in which we currently live and our promise to further 272 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:06,720 inherit hereafter. It is a secured assurance that 273 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:08,880 we have right now. It's not a maybe. 274 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:13,520 It's not I wish. It is a secured assurance we 275 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:16,360 have right here in this moment as we sit and gather in this 276 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:20,760 place tonight in which we currently live and our promise 277 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:24,480 to further inherit and experience even more when this 278 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,000 life is done and we get to heaven. 279 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,840 That is what hope is. It is a is, it is a confidence 280 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,760 and a risen Savior and he's already alive. 281 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,240 We don't have to hope. He's alive, He's alive. 282 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,080 He's seated on the right hand of the throne of God in heaven. 283 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:46,000 So Jesus Christ literally is our hope right this moment and shall 284 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:50,440 also be in our death. This is why we glory in the 285 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:54,360 gospel of Christ, because he has placed us in right standing with 286 00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:57,200 the Father. And so therefore we glory in 287 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,520 this. What does it mean to glory? 288 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:05,200 Glory it is it is living in celebration of the victory that 289 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:07,800 is in Christ. We are in victory. 290 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,280 We have victory in Jesus. He's conquered sin, death, hell 291 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:15,120 and the grave and we celebrate this, I mean this also through 292 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:18,720 our souls that we don't have to maybe guess if we're right with 293 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:22,640 God or heaven is our home. Christ has placed you in right 294 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:24,680 standing with God. There's nothing else you need to 295 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:29,280 do to get more saved. Christ gets you all the way in 296 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:35,360 by your faith. We celebrate this. 297 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:38,560 We glory in Christ. Amen. 298 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:46,960 And so. But the Christian life isn't 299 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:53,080 always an ocean of calm waters, is it? 300 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:01,040 The Christian life isn't always a smooth, glassy sea. 301 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:04,760 In fact, the Christian life can be filled with various 302 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:10,840 tribulations and storms. Christ said in this life you 303 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:16,080 will have much tribulation, but fear not I have overcome the 304 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:22,120 world, so how can we still glory? 305 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:30,880 When people we love, admire, or trust break our hearts, how can 306 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:34,960 we still glory? When the Doctor gives us 307 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:40,600 troubling news? How can we still glory when we 308 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:44,560 are tempted to hate ourselves because of sinful choices we've 309 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:46,880 made? To be bitter against yourself. 310 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,440 How can we still glory when we don't know how our finances are 311 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,640 going to make it or how far they're going to bring us? 312 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:03,040 How can we glory in the midst of legitimate persecution for 313 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:08,000 believing the gospel? How can we glory in tribulations 314 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:14,680 also? How does the gospel teach us to 315 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:18,240 glory in tribulations is the question tonight. 316 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,680 And so secondly, we'll see in verses 3 through 5 that we can 317 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:28,720 also glory in tribulations by faith because we are anchored by 318 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,960 the gospel of Christ no matter what. 319 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:35,360 Let me say that again, we can also glory in tribulations by 320 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:41,200 faith because we are anchored by the gospel of Christ no matter 321 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:44,520 what. Notice verses 3 through 5. 322 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:48,440 And so we it says in verse 2 that we glory in the hope that 323 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:52,200 is in salvation in Jesus Christ. And verse 3, and not only so, 324 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:57,840 but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulations 325 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:05,480 worketh patience and patience, experience and experience hope. 326 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:09,920 And hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed 327 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,920 abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 328 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:18,200 So let's look at these 3 verses. Brother Anthony's going to put 329 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,800 on the screen here in a moment a picture. 330 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:24,000 And how many of you know what that is? 331 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:25,600 The whole picture. What is this? 332 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:30,480 Well, there's just one here who knows what that is. 333 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:31,760 You guys don't know your state flags. 334 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,080 You don't sit at home looking at these all day. 335 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,160 OK, This is the Rhode Island state flag. 336 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,600 My my native land. OK, All right. 337 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:45,200 And so on this photo here of the Rhode Island state flag, we have 338 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,640 an anchor, an anchor in underneath it. 339 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:52,080 It has the word hope. And so this is just a visual. 340 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:54,000 I'm not preaching on the state of Rhode Island. 341 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,200 I'm not complimenting the state of a Rhode Island. 342 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:57,960 I'm not saying anything like that. 343 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,880 It just gives you the perfect picture of what I what I believe 344 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:03,000 this passage is speaking about tonight. 345 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:08,120 Hope is common, commonly symbolized by an anchor. 346 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,160 OK, so I want you to think of an anchor. 347 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,800 I want you to try real hard to visualize a gold anchor. 348 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:21,560 OK, OK, so an anchor. Let's define an anchor, shall 349 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:22,160 we? Class. 350 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,880 Just in case you're wondering what it is, an anchor is a 351 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:31,800 massive double sided hook made out of corrosion resistant 352 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:36,280 metals such as stainless steel, galvanized steel, or high 353 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:40,240 tensile steel. An anchor provides water vessels 354 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:46,240 with stability, security, and hope, while the intent is for 355 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:51,000 the vessel to remain relatively stationary upon the water's 356 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,880 surface. So when an anchor is deployed 357 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:59,880 into the water and sinks down into the sea bed, the hooks will 358 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:04,320 penetrate into the seabed of the of the seabed and drag until the 359 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:08,800 thickness builds up sufficient resistance there on the seabed. 360 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,040 It could be muck and mire and sand and dirt. 361 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:15,160 It can it can take grip of a solid rock of a stone there at 362 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,040 the seabed. Whatever it is, it'll pull all 363 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:22,240 of that along until there's sufficient resistance built up 364 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:27,240 within the seabed. So in order for resistance to 365 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:31,240 build up enough on the seabed to make the vessel relatively 366 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:37,080 stationary, the vessel the the the boat or the water on top of 367 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,880 the on on the surface, there needs to be pointed into the 368 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:46,640 wind that might be blowing above the water surface in order for 369 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:51,480 the anchor to do its job, to dig into the seabed or the lake bed 370 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:54,120 or what what have you. In order for the anchor to do 371 00:24:54,120 --> 00:25:00,480 its job, wind needs to have some influence on the water vessel. 372 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,240 That ship needs to be pointed toward the wind and maybe those 373 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:08,480 sails or or or what have you there are gently being blown to 374 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,880 tug that anchor beneath the surface for it to get its grip 375 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:19,120 and to do its job. In order for Christ, our anchor, 376 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:25,840 to do His job in your life, He uses the winds of tribulations 377 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:30,480 blowing against your life for you to discover further that He 378 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:35,240 truly provides stability, security, and hope. 379 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:38,840 That you further find out that that not only is He the 380 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:43,440 salvation of your soul, but He is the guardian of your life. 381 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:47,440 And He does much more for you than just holding you eternally 382 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:51,800 secure in His salvation. You discover that He works, that 383 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:56,360 He's stable, that He's secure, that your hope truly is in the 384 00:25:56,360 --> 00:26:00,000 right place. And so this is proven when the 385 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:05,240 anchor is dropped, we can glory in Tribulations Church because 386 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:10,160 the same Christ who saved our souls, justified us, gave us 387 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:12,880 peace with God, gave us access to all. 388 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:17,320 His grace is also working to strengthen our confidence in the 389 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:22,040 hope we already have in Him. This is the gospel. 390 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:26,520 This is the good news. Tribulations prove that our 391 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:32,320 hope, that our confidence is in the right person, it's in the 392 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:36,640 right foundation, and it is the gospel that teaches us this. 393 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:41,360 We are justified. He has given us peace with God. 394 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,360 He's given us all access into His grace. 395 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:51,800 God uses tribulations to strengthen a few things in your 396 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:57,280 life. The Bible says the end of verse 397 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,000 3. Knowing that tribulations 398 00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:06,080 worketh patience and patience, experience and experience hope. 399 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:09,640 So let's consider patience for a moment. 400 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:13,880 God uses tribulations to strengthen our patience toward 401 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:15,960 Him. He uses tribulations to 'cause 402 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,640 that anchor to go deeper into your life and making your 403 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,800 patience more active in your life. 404 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:27,640 Patience represents our level of trust in God. 405 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:32,920 Patience is easier to come by when we trust something or 406 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,560 someone to do their job. Isn't that true? 407 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,200 Patience is easier to come by when we are completely trusting 408 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,760 in someone else or something else to do its job. 409 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:49,800 But we won't really know how much we trust God without 410 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,520 tribulations. We won't really know how well 411 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:57,200 that anchor holds and that chain holds without tribulations. 412 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:02,840 Tribulations, they actually expose where we don't trust God 413 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:10,440 so that he might prove that Christ is in fact an anchor that 414 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:13,720 can be trusted for matters that are actually smaller than 415 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:18,920 salvation, matters that are smaller than the work of 416 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:23,320 salvation. And so tribulations expose our 417 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,800 heart. They expose where we're at. 418 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:31,360 You can tell what's in a tea bag when it's dropped into hot 419 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,720 water. And God uses tribulations to 420 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,240 really show us what's really in our hearts. 421 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:43,080 God uses the strengthening of our patience or trust to provide 422 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:48,600 us with personal experience. Patience leads to experience and 423 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:52,920 to provide us with personal experience with the anchor. 424 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,920 I'm telling you, I wouldn't want to get on a ship where there's a 425 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:58,320 captain who's actually never tried out the anchor. 426 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:00,080 I wouldn't want to listen to him. 427 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:02,640 I don't want to want to stay on his ship if I asked him. 428 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:05,520 Have you ever used an anchor? Have you ever tested this 429 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,960 anchor? Well, no, I haven't, but I know 430 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,440 in theory that it should work, right? 431 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:14,640 And So what God is doing within tribulations is opening a door 432 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:19,560 of opportunity for you to grow in your own experience and 433 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,920 further experience with the Lord Jesus Christ. 434 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:27,360 Our church is blessed to have several tradesmen in the 435 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,720 membership and even here tonight, electricians, plumbers, 436 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:37,640 welders, carpenters, etcetera. You know, you probably attest to 437 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:41,720 this. Tradesmen typically don't have a 438 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:48,000 lot of respect for inspectors who have no experience in their 439 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,440 trade. And typically the inspector, 440 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:55,040 he's been hired, he's maybe making it's an entry level job, 441 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:58,720 perhaps maybe there. And he's been trained to learn a 442 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:01,920 book, he's trained to learn a manual. 443 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,920 He's trained to know what what the codes are and where this 444 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,880 should be positioned and the angle that that actually needs 445 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:10,800 to be at. And all the work you did over 446 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:13,320 here that actually is not allowed to go into that room and 447 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:15,080 you need to bring it over here instead. 448 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:19,120 And he walks in, he has no experience doing what you did 449 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,560 and you have a lot more wisdom and knowledge about the work and 450 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:23,720 what actually is functioning properly. 451 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:27,000 But all he is doing, all this is to him, your electrical work, 452 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:29,600 your plumbing work, your welding work, all it is to him. 453 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:33,200 He understands it barely. Just in theory. 454 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:37,680 He knows enough to come in and tell you that the book says, OK, 455 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:42,120 this is OK, this is wrong, this needs to be better, right? 456 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:43,560 Is that true? Is that typically? 457 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:47,320 Do you guys love Inspection Day? Brother Jay, Brother John, can I 458 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,320 get a witness? They have little to no 459 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:55,360 experience in their trade. It's God's plan for every one of 460 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:59,480 His children to have first hand experience with Him so they can 461 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,840 be effectively used by Him and helping others. 462 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,920 God doesn't just want us to know about Him in theory. 463 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:09,400 He doesn't want us to just know in theory that yeah, that anchor 464 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:13,400 should work and that we understand biblical things just 465 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,440 from a textbook level. He wants us to have personal 466 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:21,480 experience knowing that He does in fact work when we glory in 467 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:25,600 our tribulations by faith. The one of the some of the the 468 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,280 worst Christians, if I might say, are the Christians who know 469 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:31,240 how to be critical. And they know how to be critical 470 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,080 because there's a lot of things about the Bible that they know 471 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:36,800 in theory, but they don't understand where you're coming 472 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:38,760 from. They don't have any experience 473 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:42,160 with God. It's all, it's all academic. 474 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:45,640 They're, they understand deep theological truths, but they 475 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:50,360 have very little experience in going through hardship, trusting 476 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:54,680 God, having victory over addiction, seeing somebody 477 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:57,440 saved. They have little experience in 478 00:31:57,440 --> 00:31:59,240 this. And so therefore they have no 479 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:04,240 empathy, they have no patience, they have no grace, they have no 480 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:05,760 understanding. They, they don't even know how 481 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:09,800 to bring you, you from point A to point B because of a lack of 482 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:13,240 experience. God, we need to glory and 483 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,120 tribulations because God is giving us a gift. 484 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:20,120 He's handing you experience. He's letting you experience that 485 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:23,520 He is a sure and steadfast anchor. 486 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:26,840 Understand that God's will for every Christian is for us to be 487 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:31,400 servants of Christ, that we are to represent him in ministry to 488 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:34,160 people. We cannot accurate accurately 489 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:38,480 represent Christ to others if we don't have much confidence or 490 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,720 experience with him. The greatest servants of Christ 491 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,920 are the ones who have experienced the faithfulness and 492 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:48,800 they've experienced the integrity in the security, the 493 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:52,480 hope of Christ. The anchor can can give in the 494 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:57,000 tribulations of life. Listen, tribulations. 495 00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:03,720 They take believers from Bible theory to actual experience with 496 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:11,880 God, and tribulations provide a more superior education than 497 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:14,160 Bible seminary or Bible college does. 498 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:20,040 Tribulations provide superior preparation for ministry because 499 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:24,720 it is there in the tribulations of life where the Bible become 500 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:31,360 goes from theory to real, from theory to real. 501 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:37,720 We can glory in tribulations also, church, because God uses 502 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:42,520 all of it to reinforce the faith we placed in our anchor, Jesus 503 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:44,920 Christ on the day of our salvation. 504 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:49,120 He's reinforcing your faith. He's strengthening your faith. 505 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:52,200 He's trying to get to show you that that anger can go deeper. 506 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,160 It's not just there for show. It's there when you need a 507 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,880 crisis, there as you need him. And he's, he's on board the 508 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,080 ship. He's in your life, but he's not 509 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:03,040 just there to look pretty. He's there to be used in your 510 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:07,320 life and to help you become even more stable and have depth in 511 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,400 your life as a Christian. And it's tribulations where that 512 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:14,199 happens the most. Glory in tribulations, Be 513 00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:18,000 thankful for tribulations. Rejoice in the Lord in 514 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,159 tribulations because this is what He's doing. 515 00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:25,600 The good news of our tribulations is the same good 516 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:30,000 news of our salvation, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. 517 00:34:30,199 --> 00:34:34,120 Tribulations, friend, of course they are the bad news, but 518 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:38,080 Christ is the good news. We can glory in tribulations 519 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:42,560 also because Christ is present and at work beneath the surface 520 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:45,440 of our lives. You see, you and I, we are 521 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:50,840 simply passengers on the secure ship of grace, sailing upon the 522 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:54,280 waters of life. And when we came aboard, we were 523 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:57,600 actually right to assume that everything on the ship of grace 524 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:00,600 functioned properly, including the anchor. 525 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:02,560 That was a right and safe assumption. 526 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:05,920 I haven't been on many ships. I haven't been on many boats, 527 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:08,840 but the ones that I have gotten aboard, I just assumed that 528 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:12,120 everything worked properly. It's called getting on by faith, 529 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:14,280 not understanding all the insurance and outs. 530 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:17,600 I'm not the captain of the ship, but I assume that everything 531 00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:20,160 works properly, including the anchor. 532 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:25,960 Our Savior is the anchor that we deploy by faith into the water 533 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:30,600 to work beneath the surface. The faithful word of God is His 534 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:33,200 gospel. The faithful word of God of his 535 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,440 gospel is the foundation of the sea. 536 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:40,840 The sea bed produces when the anchor goes to work. 537 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:45,760 Christ wants to dig in further to the implications of the 538 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:50,320 gospel in your life, and the anchor uses the winds of your 539 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:56,000 tribulations blowing against the ship to prove that the reality 540 00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:00,400 of the gospel will hold you secure no matter what. 541 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:04,800 The wind is used, the tribulation is used for your 542 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:08,840 advantage. That's only possible with God. 543 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:11,440 That's not too possible with the unsaved. 544 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:15,160 Yes, they can grow in maybe some some grit and maybe some 545 00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:18,840 character in life for sure, but they can't come to know that 546 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:22,800 Christ holds them fast. They can't come and draw closer 547 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,400 to God in a love relationship with Him because they're at 548 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:29,960 enmity with God. Their tribulations can humble 549 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:33,200 them and get them to consider a greater purpose in life, like 550 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:37,600 coming to know the Lord. But this is how God takes the 551 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:42,280 tribulations of life and uses them to your advantage. 552 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:47,000 Tribulations don't change the fact that you're justified. 553 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:52,160 Satan wants you to think in the midst of your tribulation that 554 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:55,360 God has lost track of you. We're just watching. 555 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,400 I was watching a short documentary the other night, 556 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:03,240 the, the the Fitzgerald ship and the Anderson ship on Lake 557 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:07,360 Superior in Michigan. And many of you know about that. 558 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:11,560 I believe Cassandra's grandfather was on Anderson that 559 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:13,800 night. One of those ships there, the 560 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:16,440 one of course, that did not go down, the Fitzgerald went down. 561 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:20,800 And one of the things that was the first thing to go was the 562 00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:23,960 radar system in the midst of that storm on Lake Superior. 563 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:26,760 God's radar system of you doesn't break. 564 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:29,400 He, he knows exactly where you are. 565 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:33,680 In fact, he's behind you. He's above you, He's beneath 566 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:37,120 you, He's before you. That is where the Lord is. 567 00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:39,680 But Satan wants you to think that God has lost track of you 568 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:42,440 in the storm. And Satan also wants you to to 569 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:44,480 believe that God doesn't love you either. 570 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:47,440 It's amazing. Tribulations don't change the 571 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:50,280 fact that you're justified. Tribulations don't change the 572 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:52,160 fact that you have peace with God. 573 00:37:52,480 --> 00:37:55,880 Tribulations don't change the fact that you have access into 574 00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:58,800 God's grace. God uses tribulations to prove 575 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:02,880 to you even further that Christ has always been the correct 576 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:07,600 object of your faith and you can only come to find that out when 577 00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:10,840 you let him use those tribulations to prove that. 578 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:14,920 In the same book, Romans chapter 8, we know these verses, verses 579 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:18,880 35 through 39, the Holy Spirit says through Paul, who shall 580 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:20,600 separate us from the love of Christ? 581 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:24,160 Who hears Christ? But who? 582 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,000 Who shall separate you? God doesn't know him. 583 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:29,280 Whoever that is that you think can separate you from the love 584 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:33,320 of Christ, shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or 585 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:37,200 famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it is written, for 586 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:39,000 thy sake. We are killed all the day long. 587 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:41,320 We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 588 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:45,000 But nay, in all things we are more than conquerors through Him 589 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,800 that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither 590 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:52,640 death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 591 00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:55,680 things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor 592 00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:59,760 any other creature, shall be able to separate you from the 593 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:04,200 love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. 594 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:08,120 Nothing can separate you, and it's the tribulations where 595 00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:12,080 you've really, really come to realize that nothing can conquer 596 00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:16,720 God's grace in your life. He brings you into a deeper 597 00:39:16,720 --> 00:39:22,080 understanding of soteriology. People think I have a deep 598 00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:26,360 understanding of soteriology because I study my Bible from 599 00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:29,920 cover to cover. OK, but it's still theory. 600 00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:34,080 You won't come to understand the depths of His eternal security 601 00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:40,360 until you go through it. Verse 5 at the beginning helps 602 00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:42,280 us understand something else as well. 603 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:49,480 The Bible says here, and hope maketh not ashamed. 604 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:55,240 Hope, hope maketh not ashamed. The anchor maketh not ashamed. 605 00:39:55,240 --> 00:39:59,080 Brothers and sisters, tonight we will not be disappointed, which 606 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:02,920 is what the word ashamed means. We will not be disappointed by 607 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:04,760 the faithful integrity of the anchor. 608 00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:08,440 Christ will work. Christ will work. 609 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:14,480 Christ our Savior will work in various tribulations. 610 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:17,440 It's not just certain ones, it's not just something to a certain 611 00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:19,840 degree. He will work in any tribulation 612 00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:22,720 in your life. The psalmist says in Psalm 119 613 00:40:22,720 --> 00:40:27,960 verses 116 and 117, he says, Uphold me according unto thy 614 00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:32,080 word, that I may live, and let me not be ashamed. 615 00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:36,160 There's the word again, or disappointed of my hope, which 616 00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:40,960 was the word of God is hope. Hold thou me up and I shall be 617 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:42,520 saved. This is a resolve in the 618 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,320 psalmist heart. Hold on me up and I shall be 619 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:47,160 safe. I know I'll be safe if you hold 620 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:50,440 me up, God, and I will have respect unto thy statutes 621 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:52,400 continually. He's saying here that in the 622 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:55,760 difficulty of life, I believe you will hold me up, God, and I 623 00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:58,440 know that on the other side of this, I will have a greater 624 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:02,680 respect for you in your word than I did on this side of the 625 00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:05,480 tribulation. And that's what God wants in 626 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:08,800 your life, to have a deeper fear in reverence for Him, have a 627 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:13,200 deeper understanding of His ability in your life. 628 00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:19,240 Is there any assurance to be had prior to any upcoming 629 00:41:19,240 --> 00:41:24,200 tribulations That gives us confidence that God has our best 630 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:27,320 interest in mind. God has your best interest in 631 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:29,560 mind with what you're going through. 632 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,320 We're talking about God here. We're not talking about someone 633 00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:34,480 who's unsure of themselves, someone like us who doesn't 634 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,000 always have the best interest of others in mind. 635 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:39,920 Is there anything we can be assured of before the storm 636 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:41,760 comes that he has our best interest in mind? 637 00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:45,200 Listen friend, if you're not in a tribulation right now, there, 638 00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:48,960 there's one coming because God wants to do this in your life. 639 00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:51,800 It's nothing to be afraid of. It's not going to be oh man, 640 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:56,240 God's got 1 coming for me. Glory and tribulations. 641 00:41:56,240 --> 00:42:03,760 Also, the definition of love is having someone else's best 642 00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:07,600 interest in mind. God has already settled and 643 00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:10,400 proven His love to us. It's already settled. 644 00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:15,880 So that brings us to our last point tonight, verses 5 and 6. 645 00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:19,840 The Bible says and hope maketh not ashamed. 646 00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:21,920 We're not going to be disappointed with the anchor 647 00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:26,520 because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy 648 00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:30,280 Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without 649 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:35,120 strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 650 00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:38,560 We see 3rd and lastly tonight that we can also glory in 651 00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:45,000 tribulations because God's love for us was settled when Christ 652 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:48,960 died for us. God already proved He has our 653 00:42:48,960 --> 00:42:54,000 best interest in mind when He sacrificed His only Son on the 654 00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:56,520 cross for us. It's finished. 655 00:42:56,920 --> 00:43:02,040 It's proven the love God has for us was settled on the cross 656 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:10,480 while we were still His enemies. We weren't like we we weren't 657 00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:14,480 pleasing to God and He still died for us. 658 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:19,880 Christ was completely intentional in His choice to die 659 00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:22,720 on our behalf. God knew what He was doing. 660 00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:25,680 He laid Himself down on the cross. 661 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:30,960 I imagine this, if I may please, that as the soldiers in Christ 662 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:35,360 approached the cross, there was some sovereignty about the Lord 663 00:43:35,720 --> 00:43:39,320 that the soldiers realized they should probably just let Jesus 664 00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:41,600 go. And there's the cross. 665 00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:47,480 They let Him go and he just put himself on it and crawled all 666 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:51,880 the way on it and got himself settled on that cross for us. 667 00:43:52,720 --> 00:44:00,440 There wasn't a get down there. It was let me do this and he 668 00:44:00,440 --> 00:44:03,480 laid down. That's what I imagine the Bible 669 00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:06,000 doesn't say or describe that. That's exactly how it happened. 670 00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:08,120 But he laid himself down for, oh, he loves you. 671 00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:10,680 He has your best interest in mind. 672 00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:14,360 And God already proved He has our best interest in mind 673 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:17,800 because He poured out His love in our hearts. 674 00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:21,200 When the Holy Spirit came in at salvation, He emptied it. 675 00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:25,280 Nothing left. He poured it out into our 676 00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:27,520 hearts. And This is why we have a love 677 00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:30,360 for Him we didn't have before we were saved. 678 00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:33,560 He poured it into us. He had to pour His love into us. 679 00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:35,920 That's how sinful and enmity we were with Him. 680 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:38,320 He had to pour His love into our hearts. 681 00:44:38,440 --> 00:44:41,120 One of the clearest signs, I remember asking this to a man 682 00:44:41,120 --> 00:44:43,680 who just had gotten saved several years ago that we were 683 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:46,480 discipling. And I said, what's one thing you 684 00:44:46,480 --> 00:44:48,480 think has changed since you got saved? 685 00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:51,720 He said, I want to read the Bible. 686 00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:55,920 I didn't have that desire before I believed on Christ. 687 00:44:56,120 --> 00:45:00,200 I I love his word that didn't exist before the Holy Spirit 688 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:04,280 gave you a love for God. Christ poured out his innocent 689 00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:07,920 blood for us with no intention to regather and take it away 690 00:45:07,920 --> 00:45:10,400 from us. Christ literally died to not 691 00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:14,440 only save our souls, but the Bible says here to make us 692 00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:18,120 godly, to make us godly. And I'm almost through tonight. 693 00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:20,560 This is the gospel to the Saints. 694 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:25,240 He died not just to take you to heaven, but to make you godly 695 00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:29,800 even before you get there. And that work will be completed 696 00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:32,880 in heaven and perfected. You see, tribulations are not a 697 00:45:32,880 --> 00:45:36,280 retraction of God's love commitment, but a means to 698 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:40,000 reinforce and mature confidence in His love for us. 699 00:45:40,640 --> 00:45:43,960 A godly Christian is one who has it settled in their heart that 700 00:45:44,120 --> 00:45:47,160 the love of God is good enough for them, therefore, they don't 701 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:51,400 need to go looking for satisfaction by any other means. 702 00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:54,680 Tribulations are a means through which God reinforces our 703 00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:58,600 confidence and hope in Him and thus makes us godly and mature 704 00:45:58,600 --> 00:46:02,680 believers who look like Jesus Himself. 705 00:46:03,040 --> 00:46:07,560 Consider the words to this hymn called He Will Hold Me Fast. 706 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:14,880 When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast. 707 00:46:15,400 --> 00:46:19,440 When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast. 708 00:46:20,080 --> 00:46:25,240 I can never keep my hold through life's fearful path, for my love 709 00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:28,440 is often cold. He must hold me fast. 710 00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:34,160 Those He saves are His delight. Christ will hold me fast. 711 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:37,800 Precious in His holy sight, He will hold me fast. 712 00:46:38,200 --> 00:46:42,800 He will not let my soul be lost. His promises shall last bought 713 00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:48,560 by Him at such a cost. He will hold me fast, He will 714 00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:51,280 hold me fast. He will hold me fast. 715 00:46:51,960 --> 00:46:57,600 For my Savior loves me so He will hold me fast. 716 00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:02,960 So how can you glory in tribulations also in the same 717 00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:05,800 manner that you got saved by faith. 718 00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:10,400 It was by faith you confessed you were a Sinner in need of 719 00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:13,040 Christ. It was by faith you asked Christ 720 00:47:13,040 --> 00:47:16,600 to save you and he did. Perhaps you're here tonight. 721 00:47:16,600 --> 00:47:18,920 You're saying, I don't think there's ever been a time in my 722 00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:23,160 life where I literally asked Christ to save my soul. 723 00:47:23,160 --> 00:47:25,680 There's been times where I asked him to to save my body. 724 00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:29,440 There's been times where I asked him to to heal me, different 725 00:47:29,440 --> 00:47:32,000 times where I've been laid up in the hospital bed or at home. 726 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:36,000 I just and he did. He healed your body, but that 727 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:37,760 doesn't mean you're in right standing with God. 728 00:47:38,800 --> 00:47:42,880 You need to ask Christ to come into your soul to heal you from 729 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:49,960 sin and he'll do so by faith. It is by this same exact faith, 730 00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:53,640 the same exact faith faith that you can believe and assume that 731 00:47:53,640 --> 00:47:57,080 God has your best interest in mind and tribulations also 732 00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:01,840 because he does. What's God's best interest for 733 00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:05,040 all of us You're wondering I'm closing here. 734 00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:07,720 Forget this. What is God's best interest for 735 00:48:07,720 --> 00:48:10,520 all of us? Christlikeness. 736 00:48:12,560 --> 00:48:14,560 So that's it. That's pretty big. 737 00:48:14,880 --> 00:48:17,880 That's pretty good. And we know that all things work 738 00:48:17,880 --> 00:48:20,640 together for good to them that love God to them who are the 739 00:48:20,640 --> 00:48:23,080 called according to his purpose. The good is Christ. 740 00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:27,640 All things work together for your Christlikeness, so take 741 00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:30,880 this home with you tonight. Christlikeness is the guaranteed 742 00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:36,240 good news in the midst of the bad news of your tribulations. 743 00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:41,560 It's about for prayer. If the Lord has spoken to you 744 00:48:41,560 --> 00:48:45,160 tonight about how you're weathering the tribulations, 745 00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:48,400 would you respond in prayer to Him? 746 00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:50,520 We don't. We don't need a piano to talk to 747 00:48:50,520 --> 00:48:54,240 the Lord, although it is nice and it might set the mood, but 748 00:48:54,240 --> 00:48:56,600 just grab a hold of the Lord tonight in prayer. 749 00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:00,320 Are you in the middle of a tribulation, In the middle of a 750 00:49:00,320 --> 00:49:04,120 hard time? As we speak tonight, talk to 751 00:49:04,120 --> 00:49:07,560 God, acknowledge that this is what He's doing in your life. 752 00:49:08,040 --> 00:49:11,120 Patience, experience, hope, patience, experience, hope. 753 00:49:12,360 --> 00:49:15,120 Maybe you're not at the moment in a tribulation, but if any 754 00:49:15,120 --> 00:49:18,680 Christ like character is going to develop in you, there's a 755 00:49:18,680 --> 00:49:24,160 storm coming. Yes, the Gospel teaches us more 756 00:49:24,160 --> 00:49:30,120 than just how to get saved. We're justified, forgiven by 757 00:49:30,120 --> 00:49:33,080 God. We're at peace with God. 758 00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:38,600 We have access to His grace. Our hope is Christ no matter 759 00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:41,040 what. Thank you for listening to the 760 00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:43,640 sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church. 761 00:49:44,080 --> 00:49:47,280 If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we 762 00:49:47,280 --> 00:49:50,400 can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at 763 00:49:50,560 --> 00:49:55,280 info@mylibertybaptist.org. Or you can visit us this Sunday 764 00:49:55,480 --> 00:49:59,200 at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA. 765 00:49:59,440 --> 00:50:02,280 May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.