1 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,360 This is ERC Sundays, the messages at Emmaus Rd. 2 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,240 Church in DeWitt, Iowa. ERC is a Church of people 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,320 striving to grow in Jesus and make him known to others through 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,520 our faith, words and actions. Find out more about our church 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,360 at emmausrdonline.org. Here's this week's message. 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:28,560 Good morning. Good morning. 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:33,280 It's good to see that you all have made it before spring again 8 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,440 in 2026 happens. I don't know what's happening, 9 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,920 Kristen. I think you spoke a lot of truth 10 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:43,880 even when you were just kind of talking about upcoming 11 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:45,240 opportunities and stuff like that. 12 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,520 But where you failed to speak the truth was because of 13 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,480 whatever we think is going to happen. 14 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:54,680 I'm not leaving today. So you know, there's that. 15 00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:02,720 But anyway, well, welcome to our series and perhaps the greatest 16 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,400 chapter in the Bible as it's been described. 17 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,720 I forgot my little clicker. There we go. 18 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:13,120 So, but welcome to Romans 8. We have been in, I think this is 19 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,360 the 7th or the 8th week we are in this chapter. 20 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:20,920 And this is really a, a fairly brilliant chapter of the Bible. 21 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:22,600 I mean, the whole Bible is inspired. 22 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,520 It's the word of God. But this chapter in particular 23 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,320 is brilliant. And I know that to be true 24 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:34,760 because last week Dom, who's one of our seminarians, well, we 25 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:36,240 only have one, but he's a seminarian. 26 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,240 And so anyway, do we have more than one? 27 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:40,280 No. No. 28 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:41,640 Anybody else want to go to seminary? 29 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:43,880 It's a blast. Hebrew and Greek. 30 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:46,560 No. OK, fine. 31 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:47,880 Talk to me afterwards. I'm here. 32 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:52,560 I'm not leaving anyway. So yeah, one of the reasons why 33 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,320 I know this chapter is brilliant is because Dom was preaching on 34 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,400 Romans 828 last week. And then we took a bunch of time 35 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,440 during the podcast this last week to continue to dive into 36 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,440 Romans 828. And then I came upon it this 37 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,480 week and I was like, we're not done. 38 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,400 We are not done, friends. There is more to mine out of 39 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,840 that. And in fact, it is kind of at 40 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,680 the heart of the things I'm going to be talking about today. 41 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:22,200 And so, yeah, one verse, just carrying on and on and on. 42 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,720 That's not a bad thing. That's not a bad thing at all. 43 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,880 We should always dive deep into God's word, mining out 44 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,800 everything that we can from it. And so that's how I know Romans 45 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,400 chapter 8 is absolutely brilliant because we just keep 46 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:40,360 on staying in the same place. So this morning, though, if you 47 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,040 know me, you know I'm what we would call like a three-point 48 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,120 preacher. I don't have three points. 49 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:51,080 I have dose points. And so first of all, we're going 50 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:55,240 to go back into Romans 828 and we're going to see, we're going 51 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:57,360 to ask the question, what does it mean to love God? 52 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,400 What does it look like? What does it mean to love God? 53 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,600 And then if you don't read Greek, there's a Greek word 54 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,600 behind me and it says to Telestai. 55 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:07,960 And we're going to get into all of that too. 56 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,240 So without any further ado, why don't we just read the three 57 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:14,920 small, the short verses that we have? 58 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,080 And it's still too much content for what we have time for today. 59 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,680 And that's why I show you that so you know where we're going 60 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,400 and you know that I know that I'm not covering all of the 61 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,320 details of this text, even though it's only three verses. 62 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:41,200 Go, go. Hey, there we go, and I'm done. 63 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:47,640 Think outside the box. I am so glad you made it here 64 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,200 this morning. You have no idea. 65 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,560 You have no idea how happy it makes me that you are here to 66 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,720 give that joke. By the way, if you don't know 67 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:02,920 Megan, she is extremely good. She, her timing is impeccable. 68 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,080 And I know that because she's I've known her for years and 69 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,440 she's in my life group. And so yes, that happens all the 70 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:11,960 time. Why am I not surprised? 71 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:23,400 Anyway, where are we at again? Again, audience participation 72 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:27,000 welcome, but not always helpful. Not always helpful. 73 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:39,560 Oh my gosh, friends, good ish. No, I'll take one of those. 74 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,480 Thank you very much. And you're like, you're the 75 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:44,520 pastor. You're supposed to have the 76 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,440 whole Bible memorized. Don't say that. 77 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,160 That's not that's not a thing that we do anyway. 78 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:53,800 We're going to be reading from actually if you, if you want a 79 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:58,000 Pew Bible and I, we are on page like 944 nine. 80 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:02,640 Well, no, nine, yeah. 940-4945, yeah, 944. 81 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,560 So if you want to grab one of those or if you have a phone 82 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,680 that you use for with a Bible app, I strongly encourage that. 83 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,960 It helps keep you in the word often as it sends reminders and 84 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:13,680 things like that. But we're going to read Romans 85 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:19,240 828 or 828 through 30. Man, we are starting off strong 86 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,960 today. We are really getting after it. 87 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,880 All right, reading in Jesus name. 88 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:32,080 And we know that for those who love God, all things work 89 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,320 together for good. For those who are called 90 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:40,160 according to his purpose, for those whom he foreknew, he also 91 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:45,560 predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son in order 92 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,200 that he might be the first born among many brothers. 93 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:52,680 And those whom he predestined he also called. 94 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:55,320 And those whom he called he also justified. 95 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:59,720 And those whom he justified, he also glorified. 96 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,400 Here ends the reading of God's Word. 97 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:06,520 May it be blessed. So I'm going to keep moving 98 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:11,200 despite the box problem. And I would like to start. 99 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:15,840 I'd like to start with a story that I think makes a lot of 100 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:19,200 sense. There was a very young man, 5-6 101 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:20,440 years old, kind of somewhere in there. 102 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:26,000 Notice I didn't say 6-7. You guys have infected me this 103 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,280 morning with something madness, some kind of madness. 104 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:34,040 We are going to tighten up, I promise. 105 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:38,640 Thank you. Thank you. 106 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:44,960 OK, so young man, around 5 or 6 years old and what happens is 107 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:49,320 he's got a dad and he so he go, he goes outside one day and he 108 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:53,040 finds this super cool shiny rock and he is so proud of this 109 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:54,240 thing. He just loves it. 110 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,760 So he brings it back to his dad and he's like, dad, I'm going to 111 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,320 give you this rock. And dad's like well, thanks son. 112 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:03,960 And then his son looked at him and says, now can I have a 113 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:06,800 cookie? OK, go have a cookie. 114 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:09,280 And then the next day the kid goes out because he loves 115 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:12,840 exploring and stuff and he finds like the best stick ever. 116 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:16,600 And if you're not a a boy, you don't understand why that's 117 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:19,280 cool. Like we turn sticks into awesome 118 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,840 things when we're young. It is not simply a stick. 119 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:23,320 It is a sword. It is a shotgun. 120 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,960 It is something cool girls, you may not get that, but we do It's 121 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,600 awesome. So he finds this great stick and 122 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,640 he brings it to his dad and he presents this stick and he's 123 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:35,160 like, dad, this is the best stick ever. 124 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,400 I want you to have it. And his dad goes, thank you, 125 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,160 son. And then the son looks at him 126 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,240 and says, can I have a cookie? OK, go have a cookie, son. 127 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:48,240 Third day, son goes out and he's just kind of roaming around and 128 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,360 he finds this big, like, fully blown dandelion. 129 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,000 I know it's not a flower, I understand, but this kid loves 130 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,320 it. And he brings it back to his 131 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,960 dad. And his dad goes, thank you for 132 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:02,000 the dandelion. Did you want a cookie? 133 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:04,480 No, no, Dad, I I don't want anything. 134 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:06,360 I just, I just wanted you to have that. 135 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:13,640 Here's the point of that story. The point of that story is that 136 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:19,080 the dad understood at the dandelion point that his son 137 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,720 really loved him because he wasn't looking for anything in 138 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:25,000 return. He just wanted to give him 139 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,720 something, right? That's how his dad understood 140 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,720 that his son loved him. And so here's the thing, I know 141 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:38,600 that oftentimes we are more like the first two days of that kid 142 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:41,880 bringing God something and then asking for something in return. 143 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,360 See, God, I brought you this. What are what are you going to 144 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,360 give me back? But we need to be more like the 145 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:52,560 child on the third day. The thing is, when we are the 146 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:55,640 child on that third day, what we're doing is we're act, we're 147 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,800 actually exercising mature love. That's what we get to do. 148 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:03,960 It's a mature love. And I think too often there are 149 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,360 Christians, and I've known plenty of them, and I've been 150 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:09,360 one of them myself on not great days. 151 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:13,920 And it's not so much that we love God for just who he is, but 152 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:16,520 it's more like we're like, hey, God, I did this thing, can I 153 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,440 have a cookie? And that's not really mature 154 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,000 love. See, because The thing is, real 155 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,760 love, mature love, it doesn't love because of any potential 156 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,040 benefits. It loves just for the sake of 157 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,320 the beauty of the object of affection. 158 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,280 That's what real love does. That's what mature love does. 159 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:40,920 Yeah. Let me say it this way. 160 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:45,480 Let's move forward. So drive me crazy. 161 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:51,960 No, let me say it this way. When you start dating somebody 162 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,120 or, or something like that, what happens is there's a lot of 163 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,920 excitement there. And some of that excitement 164 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:03,640 comes just because of maybe some perceived, I'll say it this way, 165 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,960 some, some perceived affection benefits. 166 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:08,680 I don't think I need to say more than that. 167 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,000 And so that's where it kind of starts for a lot of people. 168 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:18,480 But The thing is, that's not mature because mature love 169 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:23,680 shifts from receiving benefits to just loving that person for 170 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:27,360 simply who they are. And when mature love develops, 171 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:31,320 what happens is we see love that lasts a lifetime. 172 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:35,120 We see marriages that last a lifetime when there is mature 173 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,640 love. However, on the other side, we 174 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:41,240 see the opposite. When there isn't mature love, 175 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,400 when the relationship is still just transactional. 176 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:46,040 I did this. Give me a cookie. 177 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,800 When the relationship stays transactional, the relationship 178 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,320 always fails. Every single time it fails. 179 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,040 Why? Because it was never really 180 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,000 about a deep, mature love. It was never about loving them 181 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,440 just because of who they are. It was about what am I getting 182 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:06,160 in return? And that's transactional love. 183 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:10,200 And that's not helpful. And I'll say this, some 184 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:14,080 relationships are actually meant to be transactional, and that's 185 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:16,920 OK. Let me give you an example. 186 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:21,240 My relationship with my insurance guy is completely 187 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:23,760 transactional. It really is. 188 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:26,320 I think he's a nice guy. Like I don't know him. 189 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:29,920 We don't hang out outside of like ever. 190 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:33,880 We don't hang out. And and here's the thing, like 191 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:37,400 if he seems like a really decent guy, but if somebody else were 192 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,000 to come along and to give me a better rate, I'd be like, see 193 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,360 ya, peace out. We're no longer in a 194 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,320 relationship that's a transactional relationship. 195 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:48,320 And some of them are built that way and that's OK. 196 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:54,160 But I think the crazy thing is, and it is insane, we treat our 197 00:11:54,160 --> 00:12:00,160 spouses that way. Sometimes we treat our children 198 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:04,440 that way and they feel it as if your love could be taken away 199 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:08,720 because they didn't perform. And worse than all of that, we 200 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:15,080 can treat God that way. If you're not sure, if you've 201 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:17,920 ever done that, let me just help you out. 202 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:20,560 Maybe it sounded something like this. 203 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:25,520 God, I read my Bible, I prayed, now bless me. 204 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:34,600 God I worshipped, now help me. God I, I, I, I went to church. 205 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:36,920 I did it. And in fact, I did it two weeks 206 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:39,960 in a row. Now fix this situation that I'm 207 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,640 in. God, I volunteered, I gave, I 208 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,000 did all these things now give back to me. 209 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:51,760 You see all those ways are just simply transactional ways of 210 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,560 being in a relationship, transactional ways of attempting 211 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:59,720 to love and it's nothing more than pain in order to get paid 212 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,120 back. Thank you for removing the box. 213 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:05,920 I just see him celebrating in the back. 214 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:11,600 You're the best. No, but but that's the thing, 215 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,400 we, that's not mature love, that's not maturity at all. 216 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:19,480 That is, and I'm going to say this gently, that is an infant 217 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:23,200 Christian. I'll say it more bluntly, that 218 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:27,240 is a baby Christian. That's a baby Christian move. 219 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:30,360 And, and I'm going to give you some really good advice. 220 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:35,080 And I say this with all due respect and love in my heart and 221 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:39,320 real care for you. I mean it, grow up. 222 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:51,640 Grow up instead of I know Jesus died for my sins, but no, no 223 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:54,280 more of that. Grow up. 224 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:59,480 God has seen the worst of me and he sent his Son to die for me. 225 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,720 I love him, my eternity is secure. 226 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:07,320 I have nothing to fear in this life or the next. 227 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,720 I love Him, my Lord and my Savior. 228 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:16,840 He loves me unconditionally. I love Him, and because I love 229 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,120 him, I want what He wants. I want to go where He wants me 230 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,080 to go. I want to see people the way 231 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:25,640 that He sees people. I want my heart to break for 232 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:28,040 what breaks his. I love him. 233 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:33,240 Do you see the difference? Maybe more importantly, do you 234 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,840 feel the difference in those two different things? 235 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,600 See, a transactional relationship, it always wants 236 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,000 more. It always wants more proof. 237 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,600 And in fact, transactional relationships, most of the time 238 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,320 they function around what have you done for me lately? 239 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:56,320 That is not how God loves us. Because if God said what have 240 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,080 you done for me lately? Even our best praises are 241 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:03,720 nothing more than filthy rags. God doesn't love us that way. 242 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:08,120 He loves us in our imperfection. He loves us in our sin and man, 243 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,000 we ought to love God the same way. 244 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,880 If we're going to grow, if we're going to grow up, we've got to 245 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:18,600 do that in love. We're not going to will 246 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:34,040 ourselves into it. This is not the sermon that's 247 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:43,960 going on the podcast. This is how this works. 248 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:47,480 This is how this is supposed to work biblically, growing in love 249 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:51,000 and growing in maturity. Second, Peter 318 says, But grow 250 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,480 in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus 251 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,040 Christ. Do you see it grow in grace, 252 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,960 grow in knowledge? So I'm going to be incredibly 253 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:05,240 pragmatic about this because often times we'll say things or 254 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:08,400 I'll talk to somebody and what'll happen is maybe they 255 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,040 even kind of like what I say or they're they're thinking about 256 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,360 it, but they'll come back and they'll say, but Pastor Chris, 257 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:16,600 you didn't give me any boxes to check. 258 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,400 You didn't tell me what to do. You didn't tell me how to do it. 259 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:22,200 So here's the thing. I'm going to relieve you of any 260 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:24,760 of that stress, and I'm just going to tell you how to do it 261 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,720 right so that way you can walk out without excuse. 262 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,080 Lucky you. Here's how it starts. 263 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,840 We start with baptism. We start with baptism. 264 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:39,480 Be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and the gifts of 265 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,760 the Holy Spirit. In your baptism, you are buried 266 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:44,720 with Christ. That's what the Bible says. 267 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:48,200 And then that means you are resurrected with Christ into new 268 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:52,280 life. Be baptized #2 join a life 269 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:54,920 group. I know that sounds like I'm just 270 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,440 advertising for something we do, but Christian community matters. 271 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,640 Christians were never meant to be an island. 272 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:05,880 That is, I don't think you can read this Bible and then go home 273 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,880 and say, you know what? I don't need to go to church 274 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:09,359 anymore. I don't need to be in community. 275 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:11,839 You won't find that in God's Word. 276 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:16,119 And so if it's not that man, go to men's night, go to women's 277 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:21,040 nights, go to Bible studies, do something to engage your faith 278 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,319 inside of a community. This is how God wants to grow 279 00:17:24,319 --> 00:17:26,079 you. Serve with others. 280 00:17:26,079 --> 00:17:28,319 Serve with your brothers and sisters in Christ. 281 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,800 Serve right? There are so many places where 282 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,920 God is already working, where He is doing good work through 283 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:39,040 broken people like just you, just like you and me. 284 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:42,680 And The thing is, maybe you're like, well, I'm not gifted to do 285 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:45,880 any of the things that I could volunteer for. 286 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:48,520 You know what? See a need, Fill a need. 287 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,920 Maybe we aren't filling all the needs here at Maeus Rd. 288 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:53,360 Church. And in fact, that's probably 289 00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:55,480 true. We are far from perfect. 290 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,040 Well, guess what? You just became the executive of 291 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:01,240 that board. Congratulations. 292 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,560 See a need, Fill a need. Serve with your brothers and 293 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,640 sisters in Christ. Because The thing is, every 294 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,000 single day, in order for God to grow us, He's asking us to make 295 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:15,240 it a little bit less about us and a little bit more about 296 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:17,880 somebody else. That's good for us to do. 297 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,240 And pray. Yes, I know that seems obvious. 298 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:27,000 Pray. 1st Thessalonians 517 says pray without ceasing. 299 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,520 Why pray? Because prayer is your intimate 300 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,120 connection to God. You want to talk about building 301 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:35,120 a relationship? You want to talk about building 302 00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:37,920 love. Guess what you can't do with 303 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:41,000 your spouse or a friend. You can't build and create 304 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,480 mature love without communication. 305 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:46,720 So pray when you're at the dinner table. 306 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,280 Pray when you wake up. Pray when you go to sleep. 307 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:53,280 Pray when your kids are driving you mad, you'll need it. 308 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,920 Pray when your boss is the worst. 309 00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:59,720 But just pray. Have that intimate connection 310 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:03,360 and communication with God. Watch what He does with it 311 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:06,840 because it builds love. And finally, friends, dig into 312 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:12,200 His word every single day. You know, I talked about this 313 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:16,480 before, but most people when, when they're in a bad 314 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,720 relationship and they they're honest about it, one of the 315 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:22,920 things, the key things that they say is my partner stopped 316 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:27,720 pursuing me when we were dating, man, they were, they wanted to 317 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:29,920 be around me all the time. They're always active. 318 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:31,520 They're always wanting to be around me. 319 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:36,880 My partner doesn't pursue me anymore, friends. 320 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:41,360 We have to pursue God inside of his word, have to pursue God 321 00:19:41,360 --> 00:19:42,920 inside of his word every single day. 322 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,600 And we as we seek him every single day, we will fall more 323 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:48,480 and more in love with him every single day. 324 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:52,440 Because I promise you this word, this word of God's man. 325 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:56,280 If your heart doesn't melt at this, when you read what Jesus 326 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,720 has done for you and you read the extent that God is gone for 327 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:02,600 you, if that doesn't melt your heart, friends, I don't know 328 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:07,800 what will. This is how again, I just was 329 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:09,800 very pragmatic with you. I gave you the ways. 330 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:13,960 Right, but this is how we grow into mature love. 331 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,920 This is how verse 29 would say that we are conformed to God's 332 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:19,680 grace. It's how we mature. 333 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:22,080 These are the ways that we do it. 334 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,600 And let me go back because maybe I offended some of you. 335 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:28,760 I do. I love baby Christians. 336 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:30,480 Now, I'm not just talking about babies. 337 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,040 I'm talking about baby Christians new to their faith. 338 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:35,760 And here's why I love them. There's good reason for it. 339 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,960 Oftentimes they're incredibly enthusiastic, which I am too, if 340 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:43,000 you haven't noticed. They're incredibly enthusiastic 341 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:44,880 about their faith. And there's an energy there and 342 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:46,520 that's a lot of fun and that's really cool. 343 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:49,600 And there's a, there's a, there's a simple faith that they 344 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:51,680 have. They just simply believe. 345 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:55,720 And God actually calls us to believe quite simply, because 346 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:58,520 nothing is terribly complex about salvation. 347 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:00,920 So he calls. But here's the thing, here's 348 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:05,840 where it gets really sad and I've watched it and Lord help 349 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:10,320 me, I've seen it in this building when you are still a 350 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:16,320 baby Christian, 5101520 years into having this faith and you 351 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:21,400 are just stuck in this infancy and and you're still living for 352 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:23,880 yourself. And here's different ways you 353 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:25,920 can see that. If you're not sure if you're 354 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:27,720 still a baby Christian, guess what? 355 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:30,120 I'll give you some ways. Again, very practical. 356 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,120 If you're still living for yourself, baby Christian. 357 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,120 If you still have identity issues, how do you know you have 358 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:41,680 identity issues? Because nobody's allowed to 359 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:43,880 criticize you without you blowing up. 360 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,360 Because your identity is not firmly built in Christ. 361 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:52,120 It's not level and steady because you are a child of God. 362 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:55,840 No, you're all over the place with your identity because you 363 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:59,600 are not brought up into who Christ says you are, baby 364 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,880 Christian. When things go wrong or you're 365 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,760 like, Oh my gosh, the Lord is punishing me. 366 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:11,160 It must be the Lord punishing me because of course, it's not as 367 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:16,640 though I didn't know that he put his Son on the cross for my 368 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:21,360 sins. Come on, guys, God has already 369 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:23,960 punished his Son. He's not punishing you. 370 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:29,280 And if that's your mindset, baby Christian, well, guess what, 371 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,600 baby Christians, it is absolutely time to grow up. 372 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:37,280 Because to have a mature love for Goddess, to trust Him on the 373 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,640 hills and in the valleys. To have a mature love for 374 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,200 Goddess, to find our identity in Him. 375 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:48,240 Not in our performance, not in our bank accounts, not in our 376 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:52,280 career achievements. To have mature love is to want 377 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,480 what He wants, to seek after his heart. 378 00:22:55,760 --> 00:23:00,840 And to have a mature love of God is to see the infinite beauty in 379 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,640 the Father and the Son and in the Holy Spirit. 380 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:10,920 To deeply desire to dwell with Him, to trust in Him even when 381 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,040 it looks like your prayers aren't getting answered at your 382 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,000 pace, even when it looks like life isn't going your way. 383 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,560 To love Him despite the circumstances. 384 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:28,000 That's a mature love. Now again, you might say to me, 385 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:32,800 all well and good, but am I supposed to just will myself to 386 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,320 love God more? Oh, I'm going to love God so 387 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:36,280 much. It's going to be great. 388 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:40,560 Is that how that works? No, not really. 389 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:47,000 Let me thank you. Let me tell you a story to maybe 390 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,320 kind of illustrate how this works. 391 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:54,080 There was A and I'm a former art teacher, so this story makes a 392 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:58,000 lot of sense to me. But there was a master sculptor. 393 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:03,360 Everybody around knew that this guy was a genius. 394 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:06,960 He could make the most beautiful, lifelike things 395 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:11,960 seemingly without flaw, without, I mean, they were perfect. 396 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:16,960 This sculptor, he took on an apprentice and The Apprentice 397 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:19,720 watched him work. And for weeks and weeks and 398 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:22,160 weeks, he watched the sculptor work. 399 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:25,720 And after a while The Apprentice would look at him and say, all 400 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:31,920 right, it's done, isn't it? No, no, it's not finished yet. 401 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:36,040 And every single day for weeks on end, this apprentice just 402 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:38,480 kept on asking him at the end of the day because he thought it 403 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,280 was great. It's done, isn't it? 404 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:46,360 No, not yet. And then one day, the sculptor, 405 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:49,960 he kind of brushes off his hands, gets the dust off and he 406 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:54,080 looks at it and he says it is finished. 407 00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:00,720 The Apprentice looks at him and he said, all right, I got to 408 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:04,200 know. How did you know that it was 409 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:09,760 finally done? And the sculptor said when there 410 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:14,720 was nothing left to remove, when there was nothing left to add, 411 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:19,960 when nothing was left undone. Only the beauty that I had 412 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:24,600 intended all the way from the beginning, that's how I knew 413 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:34,240 that it was finished. You see, it is easy to be in a 414 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:41,680 deep, mature love with God when you can see that He as the 415 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:45,080 sculptor, He looks at your raw form. 416 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:50,960 He sees all the flaws, but he sees things that nobody else can 417 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,400 see in you. And in fact, he sees those 418 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:56,920 things and he's willing to spend his life. 419 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,840 He's willing to shed his blood and his energy and everything 420 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:05,280 that he has to shape you, to mold you, to make you the 421 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,280 perfect thing that he can see inside of you. 422 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:15,720 And that's exactly what Jesus did when he hung on the cross. 423 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,160 He didn't say I'm done, I'm finished. 424 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:24,840 No, he said, it is finished. This is the Greek word to 425 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:28,800 telestye. It is finished to Telestye and 426 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:33,320 and it's it's like him saying I have made them into my 427 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,400 masterpiece, I have secured their beauty, I have shaped them 428 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:40,920 perfectly and I have made them absolutely righteous before my 429 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,200 father. I have done that. 430 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:48,080 I have put in the work, I have put in the sweat, I have spilled 431 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:52,000 my blood for that very purpose, to shape them and to form them 432 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,440 and exactly who you knew they could be. 433 00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:58,680 That's what Jesus has done for us. 434 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:05,280 He has given His entire life, all of His energy, everything to 435 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,720 shape you into God knows who you can be. 436 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:14,920 And listen friends, I understand that on some days that doesn't 437 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:20,120 feel like you, that you feel that less than perfectness. 438 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:26,760 I know you do, because I do too. But here's verse 30 tells me 439 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,320 that I know everything I just said is true. 440 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,120 Let me explain that to you. It says. 441 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:36,240 And those whom He predestined, He also called, and those whom 442 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,720 He called, he also justified. And those whom He justified, He 443 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:42,520 also glorified. So let me ask you a few things. 444 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,520 Do you notice the process here? It is a process. 445 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:48,400 It's a chain of events. Who's doing the work? 446 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:54,040 It's not me, it's not you, it's him doing all of the work and 447 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:57,200 and do you see the perfectly, the perfect consistency of his 448 00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:59,760 effort? It's perfect throughout this 449 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:03,640 chain of events that God is always doing in our lives. 450 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:05,400 And let me ask you one more question. 451 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:12,400 What tense is this in English class, friends, It is in the 452 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:16,160 past tense. How is that possible? 453 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,400 Because we are very much in the present tense. 454 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:22,320 How is it possible that God has predestined and called and 455 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,920 justified and glorified? How is it possible? 456 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:28,320 That's in the past tense to telesty is how that's possible. 457 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:32,960 It is finished, it is done. When Christ gave his blood on 458 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:38,000 the cross, he said it's finished and he meant that it is done. 459 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:43,480 And when you can take that truth, when you can take that it 460 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:47,080 is Finnish language and you can put that into your heart and you 461 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:49,200 can let that indwell into your soul. 462 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,800 When you start meditating on who God has made you to be, how he 463 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,120 shifts your identity, how he shapes you into exactly what 464 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,360 you're supposed to be. Man, doesn't that melt your 465 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,480 heart? Doesn't that melt your heart to 466 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:07,480 know that He was perfect and he looks at you and he sees all 467 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:12,480 your imperfections, and despite those imperfections, He loves 468 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,960 you enough to give his own life? Doesn't that melt your heart? 469 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,320 That's how mature love is created. 470 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:27,920 Dwelling deeply, enrichedly on the fact that God gave his one 471 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,920 and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not 472 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,400 perish. To have eternal life. 473 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:40,320 My friends, if you are still hanging out in Christian 474 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:48,520 infancy, I'm asking you, I'm begging you to think more, to 475 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:53,080 think more about how God has loved you, to think about 476 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:56,920 everything he's done for you. Man, that'll, that'll change 477 00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,160 your heart. I know it has mine. 478 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:09,000 Let's pray our Father in heaven. It is so good to know, to have 479 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:13,280 confidence, to have assurance that you have done everything 480 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:17,320 necessary to buy our lives, to buy our salvation. 481 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,480 Father, there's no work left to do. 482 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,320 You've completed it. It is finished. 483 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:32,640 So Lord I I pray that as we come to the table, as we come to 484 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:38,720 receive your body and blood broken and shed for us, oh Lord, 485 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,640 that we would fall in love with you all over again, knowing it 486 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:48,200 cost you everything to love us. Father, may we return that love 487 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,760 over and over again. May we grow up in grace and 488 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:55,560 knowledge because of your spirit and by what you've done. 489 00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,560 Father, we pray all these things in Jesus name, Amen. 490 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:05,080 Friends, as I just mentioned, it is a Communion Sunday. 491 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:13,440 So man, I, I'd love for us to just be so very present with 492 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,560 that. So very present with that. 493 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:20,080 And part of that is just hearing what God's Word says. 494 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:24,080 So I'm going to take the time to do that. 495 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:27,400 I'm going to take the time to read God's Word directly to you. 496 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:32,720 Let it dwell richly in you. When they place, when they came 497 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:35,200 to the place called the skull, they crucified him there along 498 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:38,240 with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left. 499 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,080 Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what 500 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:44,640 they're doing. And they divided up his clothes 501 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,160 by casting lots. The people stood watching and 502 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,800 rulers sneered at him, and they said he saved others, Let him 503 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:56,320 save himself if he is God's Messiah, if he is God's chosen 504 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:59,320 one. The soldiers, they also came up 505 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:02,040 and they mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 506 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:05,760 and said if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. 507 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,360 There was a written notice above him which read this is the king 508 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:13,200 of the Jews. One of the criminals who hung 509 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:15,920 there hurled insults him, Aren't you the Christ? 510 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:21,280 Save us, save yourself. But the other criminal rebuked 511 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,960 him. Don't you fear God, he said, 512 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:27,520 Since we are under the same sentence, we are punished 513 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:30,600 justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. 514 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:32,840 But this man has done nothing wrong. 515 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,680 And then he said, Jesus, Remember Me when you come into 516 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:41,920 your Kingdom. Jesus answered him, Truly, I 517 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:44,760 tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. 518 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:49,080 And then from noon until 3:00 in the afternoon, darkness came 519 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:51,560 over all of the land. And about 3:00 in the afternoon, 520 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:55,600 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eli M Eli Lemis Aboxenai, which 521 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,720 means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 522 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,080 And later, knowing that everything had now been finished 523 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,200 and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, I'm 524 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:08,000 thirsty. A jar of wine vinegar was there, 525 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,200 so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on the stalk of a 526 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,000 hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus's lips. 527 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:19,200 When he had received the drink, Jesus said it is finished to 528 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:23,200 telestye. And with that he bowed his head 529 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:27,240 and he gave up his spirit. Friends, when we come to the 530 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:30,920 communion table, God calls us to self examination. 531 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:36,440 What does that mean? That means that we have a chance 532 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:39,520 to do business with God. We have a chance to confess 533 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:42,880 because in first John 19, the Bible tells us that if we 534 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:46,960 confess our sins, He is just and He is righteous and He will 535 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:51,920 forgive us of all of our sins. Confession matters and you don't 536 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:56,240 have to do it to the world. You just give it to God, leave 537 00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:58,680 it at the foot of the cross. So we're going to take just a 538 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:01,840 little bit of time here so that you can do that with the Lord, 539 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:04,840 and then we'll come to his table. 540 00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:14,360 Thanks for listening to the ERC Sundays to support work God is 541 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:19,320 doing an Amazed Rd. church. Visit amazedrdonline.org/giving.