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 --> 00:00:30,320 Well, this week what we are going to be doing is we are 7 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:34,600 going to be finishing up a 10 week series in the book of 8 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:40,920 Romans, specifically chapter 8. Now I'll tell you that if you 9 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,480 haven't been with us, you're like, wait, I came at the end of 10 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:44,800 the series. I thought you were supposed to 11 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,400 start something on on Easter. Well, you wouldn't be wrong. 12 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,720 That would be typical. But there is nothing typical 13 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:52,960 about this church or me, if you've noticed. 14 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:58,360 So anyway, man, I'm going to do everything I can to, to drag you 15 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,640 forward into the conclusion of this. 16 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,959 And so I will do my very best to to keep you up on what's going 17 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:06,840 on. I have some confidence that will 18 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:08,920 happen because you are smart people. 19 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,200 Nobody nodded. Nobody's like, yes, I am. 20 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:17,880 This is going great. I love this. 21 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:20,880 Well, anyway, for those of you who have been with us for the 22 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:25,320 last 9 weeks, going into this week, my my hope and my goal for 23 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:28,680 you is that what you would see is you'd see that everything 24 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,480 that Paul has been building up to this resurrection logic that 25 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,760 he's been building, I hope you will see the fulfillment of that 26 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:38,280 in the resurrection in Jesus Christ. 27 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,880 And so yes, let's find the logical implications of this. 28 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:46,720 And that sounds very scholarly and teachery, I understand. 29 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,600 But there are logical implications and reasons why the 30 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:53,880 resurrection should affect everything we do every single 31 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,120 day. Because here's the thing, I 32 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,280 there are, there are a lot of people who would freely tell you 33 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,000 that they're Christians. Great. 34 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,360 And there are other people who if you press them a little bit, 35 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,919 because it's very private to them, OK, if you press them a 36 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,880 little bit, they'll say, yeah, I'm, I'm a Christian. 37 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:20,600 But I have met so many Christians who fail to live with 38 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,120 resurrection logic dictating their lives. 39 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,440 What I mean by that? Well, if the resurrection of 40 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,720 Jesus Christ is true, it means that I I do not need to fear the 41 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:36,840 future, nor do I need to regret the past. 42 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,200 I don't have to do either of those things. 43 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,720 And if the resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, I don't have to 44 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:47,160 base my identity on how I perform or, or, or the things 45 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,560 that I do because Jesus has already done all the important 46 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:55,840 performing and achieving for me. And if Jesus Christ and the 47 00:02:55,840 --> 00:03:00,960 resurrection is true, it means that I am free from uncertainty 48 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:07,400 and I am free from shame because He has guaranteed life beyond 49 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,120 this and He has covered all of my sins. 50 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,840 Therefore, I get to live a little bit differently. 51 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:21,200 Or at least I should. Here's the thing, friends, I am 52 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:27,720 quite sure that, well, let's put it this way, I walk around the 53 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,960 world as if Jesus Christ is alive. 54 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,760 I do, and I suspect that's part of the reason why I am the way I 55 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:38,960 am. I'm a little weird because I 56 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:43,000 believe a dead man is alive. That makes me weird amongst the 57 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,600 general population. But here's the thing, friends. 58 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,240 There are too many Christians who don't live with that kind of 59 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,000 freedom. They don't live with the freedom 60 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:55,240 of man. My Savior isn't dead. 61 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,720 He is very much alive, and it's provable. 62 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,920 He's alive. We don't live like that. 63 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,680 And and the problem is when we don't live with resurrection 64 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,600 logic, what happens is our identities, they become very 65 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:14,040 fragile, very fragile indeed. You ever criticize somebody and 66 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,600 they just blow up? I mean, you're like, well, that 67 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:19,000 wasn't the best lasagna I've ever had. 68 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,959 And they just lose their mind. You want to know why? 69 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:25,920 It's because their identity was clearly found in something other 70 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:28,880 than the resurrected Jesus Christ, right? 71 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:33,240 Resurrection logic tells me that that when people don't live that 72 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,560 out, there's a lot of fear of the future. 73 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:37,120 There's a lot of fear of the unknown. 74 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:41,480 And so you meet these people. Some of you are those people, no 75 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:43,600 offense, but you meet these people and they try to like, 76 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:47,600 control and micromanage everything because they think 77 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,840 that's the only way they can be safe. 78 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,840 That's not resurrection logic. That's not it at all. 79 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:56,480 And you meet these people, Lord help them. 80 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:00,440 And I mean that, man, they walk around with all this hidden 81 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:04,200 guilt and they walk around with all this hidden shame and it 82 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:11,440 just eats them up. But no, no, it's a powerful 83 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:15,000 word, No, And I like using it, especially with all the littles 84 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:17,840 I hang out with all the time. But it's a powerful word. 85 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:20,640 And then God's word says no to all of that. 86 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,160 No, you are called to live differently. 87 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,600 You are called to live with resurrection logic, not just in 88 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:31,680 your head, but in your heart. And when you do that, man, life 89 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,400 changes. And I can say that for sure 90 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,800 because it is absolutely changed my entire existence. 91 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:41,600 So with that in mind, we're going to figure out what 92 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,920 resurrection logic looks like at the end of Romans chapter 8. 93 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:46,920 And this is kind of how that's going to go. 94 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,760 First and foremost, the resurrection is the love that 95 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:53,080 conquers all. Second, the resurrection is our 96 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:57,040 unshakable security. And 3rd, the resurrection is the 97 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,800 ultimate proof that God is absolutely for us. 98 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,800 So we are going to read that and we're going to figure that out 99 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,720 in Romans 8, verses 31 through 39. 100 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,240 You can check that out on the screen or if you have a Bible or 101 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:12,880 your phone app or however that works. 102 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:15,560 That's great. Sorry, I'm sniffling. 103 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:19,000 That last song really got me. So sorry. 104 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,160 My bad. I'll try not to. 105 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:29,520 Usually that's Matt's thing. He's the 10. 106 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:35,560 He's catching strays. Oh, man, you can tell it's 107 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:37,080 second service. I'm off the rails. 108 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:38,800 All right? It's fine. 109 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:39,840 It's fine. We're going to get back on. 110 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:43,800 We're going to be good. All right, so Romans 8, 31 111 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,800 through 39, and we read this in Jesus name. 112 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:51,640 What then shall we say of these things? 113 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,160 If God is for us, who can be against us? 114 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,680 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us, how 115 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:05,000 will he not also with Him graciously give us all things? 116 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,040 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? 117 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:12,200 It is God who justifies, who is to condemn. 118 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:17,240 It is Jesus Christ who died more than that, who was raised, who 119 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:21,800 is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us, 120 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,360 who shall separate us from the love of Christ, Shall 121 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,920 tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or 122 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,480 nakedness, or danger, or sword, as it is written for your sake, 123 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,320 We are being killed all the day long. 124 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,920 We are slaughtered as sheep to are we as regarded as sheep to 125 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:43,200 be slaughtered? No, in all of these things we 126 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,560 are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 127 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:50,800 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 128 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,520 rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor 129 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:58,560 height, nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation, will be 130 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,280 able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our 131 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:06,520 Lord. Amen, man, Paul's on fire. 132 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,000 May that word be blessed and praised forever. 133 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:15,240 So yeah, that's fine. Nope. 134 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:19,960 Nope, not fine. It's been said by somebody much 135 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,080 smarter than me, but I don't know who, That divine love has 136 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:26,360 triumphed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 137 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:31,280 I love that divine love has triumphed in the resurrection of 138 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,280 Jesus Christ. Now I find something's 139 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:36,320 problematic, though. I'm just going to use you guys 140 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,480 as my complaint window, and here's what it sounds like. 141 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,559 I find it deeply troubling when people talk about the 142 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:47,680 resurrection, they talk about the love of God, and they always 143 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:54,120 put it out somewhere else as if I should not be able to benefit 144 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:59,440 and grab that for myself. Today we talked about it as this 145 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:01,960 future thing. Like, yeah, I know it's really 146 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:03,880 hard today, but someday you'll be in heaven. 147 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,360 OK, great. That's true, but what does that 148 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,720 do for me right now? Because right now I got real 149 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:13,840 problems. Right now I've got real stress. 150 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,760 Right now I've got real pain. What is that doing for me today? 151 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,160 See, The thing is, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is 152 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:26,160 not just proof of life after death and some future benefit. 153 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:28,320 And please don't hear your pastor blasphemy. 154 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:31,480 All of that is lovely. And I believe that that's great. 155 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:39,520 But I'll go out on a limb and say this, that if the conquering 156 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:44,880 love of the resurrection of Jesus Christ doesn't change how 157 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:48,280 you interact with this world, man, you are missing it. 158 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:54,640 You are just missing it. You are falling short because 159 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:59,120 what is in your head? Sure, I can intellectually 160 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,760 accept that Jesus died for my sins and he is alive. 161 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,640 Man, that's got to move down into our hearts and it's got to 162 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:07,000 move into our soul, into our guts. 163 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:11,680 So that way when trouble comes, when all this stuff comes, man, 164 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:16,400 I have got somebody who I know loves me and is on my side right 165 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:18,200 now. I need that right now. 166 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:21,320 I don't, I don't need that when I'm dead and alive in heaven. 167 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,360 I need that right now. And I bet you do too. 168 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:28,960 And so when people talk about God's love that way, it's just 169 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:31,720 not enough. And I think they're misspeaking 170 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:35,440 because I've read my Bible and it says that God loves me and 171 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,880 he's for me right now and he's working right now. 172 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:45,000 Man, can you feel that? Here's the thing, if if that's 173 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:49,800 you, if you are not taking this gospel logic and applying it in 174 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:52,720 your head and going through your heart and out of your mouth, 175 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,520 you're missing it. And I would encourage you dig 176 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:04,960 deeper, pray, join a group. I mean, do something. 177 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:08,480 Dig deeper into your faith. He's right there. 178 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:11,840 And here's the thing. I I could tell you all that and 179 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:13,400 I could say, well, good luck with that. 180 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:15,720 And I'll leave and we all get out of here early. 181 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,760 Or I could try and help you, which is what I'm going to do 182 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,840 because otherwise bad pastor. Yeah. 183 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:26,000 OK. So let me help you this way. 184 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,880 I'm going to give you a quote from somebody who's way smarter 185 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,720 than anybody in this room. No offense, I just think it's 186 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,280 probably true. If I'm wrong, you can come talk 187 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:37,120 to me afterwards and blow my mind. 188 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:44,200 But Agustin, he read Romans chapter 8 and and he understood 189 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:45,920 the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 190 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,800 He understood that in his soul. And so this is what he says 191 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:50,400 about the end of Romans chapter 8. 192 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:56,240 He says love is the weight that carries the soul upward. 193 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:01,120 Man, if I could write like that I would have so many books. 194 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:05,400 But he said love is the weight that carries the soul upward. 195 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:08,680 Now it seems obvious to me, but I feel like I need to say it 196 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:12,600 anyway. It is God's love for us that is 197 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:15,320 doing all the heavy lifting, not our love for Him. 198 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:17,920 OK, let me just get that out of the way. 199 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:23,040 It is His love bringing up us up into His grace and His mercy, 200 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:27,360 that conquering love, when it is received, it has the perfect 201 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:31,480 ability to not just guarantee something later, but to change 202 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:36,040 us right now. And it should, It really should. 203 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:40,080 And so I'm going to give you a visual because I'm a visual 204 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:41,560 learner. That's kind of how I work. 205 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:45,720 I'm going to give you a visual of like what this probably looks 206 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:49,480 like based on Augustine's understanding of Romans chapter 207 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:52,280 8. So what we have is we have the 208 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:56,560 cornerstone, we have the cornerstone that we can trust 209 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:01,040 and we can build our entire lives on that cornerstone and we 210 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:04,400 will always be level. We will always stand tall when 211 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:07,080 we build our life on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. 212 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:11,560 So we have Jesus Christ life and death and resurrection. 213 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,320 And what is that doing? It is a heavyweight. 214 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:21,560 It is an infinite weight of love that presses down onto the 215 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:23,080 world. And what does it do for the 216 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,640 believer? It brings up, it brings us up it 217 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:30,560 it brings us above all of these things that Satan and this 218 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:33,760 broken world and even we ourselves do to our do to 219 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:37,040 ourselves. It brings us above those things. 220 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,040 Now I'm not going to read that whole list, but let me just give 221 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:42,720 you the categories of everything. 222 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:47,680 Then that says it's death. That's that's a good one kind of 223 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:50,720 need to be above that. I would like to be above ground. 224 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:59,400 In fact, that's a joke. Spiritual forces and battles. 225 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:02,240 I mean, not everybody is super sensitive to that, but like, 226 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:05,000 man, you get some Holy Spirit work done in you and you're, 227 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:06,440 you're feeling some of those things. 228 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:08,720 Time. It's typically working against 229 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:10,880 us. Space, physical and emotional 230 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:15,480 suffering, violence, social injustices, My goodness, 231 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,320 friends, these things, the reality of these things, it's 232 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:22,800 they're real and they're and they're hard, they're difficult. 233 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:29,920 But for the believer in Jesus Christ, all of those things by 234 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,480 his Holy Spirit will fall below our lives. 235 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:38,640 Now I should say, and we've said it from the stage a couple times 236 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:42,680 over the last couple weeks, does that mean, dear Christian, that 237 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:44,680 you're never going to have any problems in your life? 238 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,120 No, no, that's not what that means at all. 239 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,480 I would be, I mean, if you believe that I got a bridge to 240 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:56,880 sell you, I do. But but no, we experience 241 00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:59,760 trouble and we experience hardship and, and I understand 242 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:03,480 that and so does Jesus. In fact, he said the student is 243 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:09,000 not greater than the master. Therefore, we ought to expect 244 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:13,280 that we will endure some suffering, however, from God's 245 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,240 resurrection. Love does mean that all the 246 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,160 worse that this world can do to us. 247 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,320 You know what it's doing. It's just drawing us upward. 248 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,760 And you say, but Pastor Chris, when the worst things happen to 249 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:27,640 me, I don't feel like I'm being drawn upward. 250 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:29,400 I feel like I'm being pounded into the ground. 251 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:35,360 I understand, I do. But I had a pastor tell me once, 252 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,600 and I've never forgotten and I never will, that God has a 253 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,440 really unique way of weaning us off of this world. 254 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,920 Now, the Bible often talks about rejoicing your suffering. 255 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,880 Really. Because when if I got a speeding 256 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:55,800 ticker, I wake up and my knees hurt because I'm old or all this 257 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:59,600 kind of stuff, I don't go sweet, thank you, Lord, that's awesome. 258 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:05,200 Come on, be realistic. But what does he mean rejoice? 259 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,680 And suffering means that as we experience the hardship of this 260 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,880 world, what's going to happen is God is going to continuously 261 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,960 lift us closer and closer to resurrection reality. 262 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:20,320 Because that's the end game for God is resurrection reality, not 263 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:24,000 just for his Son, Jesus Christ, but for every single person who 264 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,560 believes in him. And when you get that into your 265 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,920 head and into your heart, it creates an unshakable 266 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:34,440 confidence, an unshakable security, because the blood of 267 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:36,560 the lamb has been spilled on your behalf. 268 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:40,400 And he has proven that he's for you because he's alive. 269 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:46,400 Yeah. Now that brings us into our 270 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:50,240 second resurrection logic idea. And we need to get this. 271 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:55,880 So I'll do my best. At the end of Romans chapter 8, 272 00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:00,360 what Paul does is he asks this list of rhetorical questions, 273 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,160 meaning that when he asked the question, you ought to already 274 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,119 know the answer because, well, it seems obvious enough if 275 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:12,520 you're trusting in Jesus Christ. But it was pointed out to me at 276 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:15,920 our Food for Thought Bible study on Thursday mornings, which by 277 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,280 the way, if you have free time at 10 AM on a Thursday, you 278 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:20,640 should totally go. It's great. 279 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,560 It's at Fieldstone and we do lunch afterwards, which is 280 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:27,680 awesome. So anyway, it was pointed out to 281 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:29,960 me at that Bible study by Sharon Rush. 282 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:33,560 And she looked at these verses and she said, huh, I never 283 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,920 noticed that before. Well, say more, Sharon. 284 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:40,560 OK. And she's like, do you realize 285 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:45,280 that these rhetorical questions that Paul is asking are the same 286 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:51,920 questions that Satan asks us? Let me work that out for you. 287 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:56,240 The gospel says if God is for us, who could be against us? 288 00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:02,800 And Satan comes in and he says you think God is for you, He 289 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:04,280 wouldn't be for Someone Like You. 290 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:09,440 How many times have you failed over and over again? 291 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:15,320 You sure he's for you? And the gospel says, how will he 292 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:19,480 not also with him graciously give us all things? 293 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,560 Why do you lack so much of what you want? 294 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,640 Why do bad things still happen to you if he's going to give you 295 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,120 all things? Seems like you're not getting 296 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:34,160 much of anything out of this relationship. 297 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:39,840 The gospel says, who shall bring any charge against God's elect? 298 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:44,680 Who is to condemn charges? Condemnation, of course. 299 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:48,320 Look at your life. Why wouldn't God charge you? 300 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,480 You have failed over and over again, and I've heard your 301 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:53,400 prayers just like He has. And guess what? 302 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,840 You've promised to avoid that sin. 303 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:57,800 You promised to get better and you haven't. 304 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,080 Of course God's going to charge you for that. 305 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,760 You broke your promise. And then the last rhetorical 306 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,840 question, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 307 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,480 Don't you feel separated from God already? 308 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:16,440 Remember when you were a new Christian and you had all the 309 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,560 feels and you would cry during songs and you would read your 310 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:23,040 Bible all the time? Seems like you lost the feels. 311 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,840 Seems pretty separate from you. He must have moved away. 312 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:42,280 Enough, enough of that nonsense. I have lived and fought those 313 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:53,480 questions over and over again. Enough done with that, done with 314 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:57,240 Satan twisting the gospel, trying to make me feel like I am 315 00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:59,480 less than something that God has already said. 316 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:03,680 You are this, done with it. I hope you are too. 317 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,480 Because guess what? When you do, when you finally 318 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:09,120 get done with that junk man, you'll be free. 319 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,600 You'll be free and it's a good life. 320 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,880 It's a really good life. So despite the lies, there 321 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:21,160 stands just an insurmountable amount of evidence that God's 322 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,920 love is for us. It never fails, it never 323 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:29,240 falters, it doesn't quit. It is always in the highest 324 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,320 gear. And so the resurrection is the 325 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:37,000 public evidence and it is the vindication that Jesus Christ, 326 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:43,040 there is a final and a legal guarantee to your salvation. 327 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,720 It is very done. And the resurrection tells us 328 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:51,720 that Jesus Christ has spilled his blood for all of us, and as 329 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:56,600 we believe in him, we are free, we are forgiven, we are sons and 330 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:58,840 daughters of the God on the Most High. 331 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:02,440 And as Jonathan Edwards once said, the resurrection is 332 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,320 evidence that God is holy for us. 333 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,760 Amazing, isn't it? Therefore, the security that 334 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:13,520 every believer has in Christ is perfectly aligned and it's 335 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:18,720 perfectly placed because the fact that Jesus is alive is the 336 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,280 fact that we need to be able to move forward in this life and 337 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,800 power and enjoy despite our circumstances. 338 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:29,080 Doesn't mean we rejoice necessarily when we're in pain, 339 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:33,080 but man, it does mean that we have a deep seated joy because 340 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:35,560 of what Christ has done for us and what He's doing for us 341 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:37,800 today. That I can move through this 342 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:39,360 world. I can move through those 343 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:42,080 temptations and those troubles and I can do it with power. 344 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:48,960 You bet, you bet. And that is not just for a 345 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,800 pastor. The same Holy Spirit that dwelt 346 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:57,320 inside the apostles is the same Holy Spirit that dwells inside 347 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,680 you today, Christian. So therefore you have this 348 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,280 imbued power inside of you. Are you accessing it with 349 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,400 resurrection logic from your head to your heart? 350 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:12,200 Is it moving through you? And I hope it does. 351 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,400 I hope it does. It is very possible. 352 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:21,200 I'm just a guy. The resurrection of Jesus 353 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:25,520 Christ. It is the cosmic reversal of 354 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:30,040 everything that Romans 8 lists as potential pitfalls for us and 355 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:33,160 potential hardship. It is the cosmic reversal of all 356 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,240 those things. And because Jesus Christ has 357 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:40,000 spilled his blood and he is alive, we too live, not just 358 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:45,920 later, but we live right now. Now, I've got one more thing for 359 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,440 you. We're on to our kind of final 360 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:53,080 resurrection logic. But I kind of thought like, man, 361 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,560 I know me, I've probably been shouting at these guys for 20 362 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:03,440 minutes. Sorry, I'm a weirdo, but I 363 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,680 thought maybe I would kind of get this, this last resurrection 364 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:08,640 logic, the ultimate proof that got us for us. 365 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:13,080 I thought maybe I would maybe calm down a little bit and just 366 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,840 give you an illustration. I'll try. 367 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:22,600 So imagine with me for a moment. You are out shopping. 368 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:27,520 OK, so you're out shopping and you pick up a couple items. 369 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,080 You don't need the cart, you don't need the the basket. 370 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:32,000 It's things that you can fit in your hand. 371 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,400 And so you're kind of walking around and what you do is you 372 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:39,240 find the lane with an actual human being to check you out. 373 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,320 And you're like sweet love that for me. 374 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:45,040 I kind of like humans a little bit, enough to interact with 375 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:49,360 them still. So you do the right thing, you 376 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:51,440 do the right thing and you go to the checkout with the human 377 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,160 dude. I, I laid a joke on that one in 378 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:59,560 the first service and everybody just like do that nothing. 379 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,440 Anyway, So you go to the check out with the person and you put 380 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:09,280 your little items on the on the belt and person looks at the 381 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:17,320 belt, looks at you down at the belt, and then they look at you 382 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:20,840 and they say, you know what? I've got that. 383 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,960 Excuse me, what did you say? I've got that. 384 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:32,760 And the cashier pulls money out of his pocket, sticks it in the 385 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:38,520 till done. And you're like, why would you 386 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,520 pay for me? And he just smiles at you 387 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,600 kindly. You're like, OK, sweet, thanks. 388 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:48,080 Love that. I, I need to go to more cashiers 389 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:53,800 because this is a great system. Well, so you're feeling really 390 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:55,680 good. You're like, I got my items. 391 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,440 I don't even need a bag. I can lightly walk away around 392 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:00,800 right now. I don't even have to carry 393 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:02,040 anything. I feel great. 394 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:04,240 This guy paid for my stuff. This is awesome. 395 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:10,480 But there becomes a problem when you get to the door and of 396 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:16,000 course, of course they are there and they're like, excuse me, 397 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:18,040 where's your bag? Where's your receipt? 398 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,680 Oh, I didn't get a receipt. And they're like, you're going 399 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:25,600 to have to come with Easter. And you're like, no, and you're 400 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,760 pleading your case. You're working hard to like, no, 401 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:30,960 the cashier paid for my stuff. I promise. 402 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:33,640 All this kind of stuff. And eventually security walks up 403 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,560 because now there's a scene and they like, they walk you because 404 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:42,840 that's how they walk. I don't know, that's how they 405 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:45,480 walk, I guess. So they walk you to the little 406 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:47,440 room with like weird glass window. 407 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:49,360 And I know that because I've been in one. 408 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:51,200 Don't ask me why, that's a different story. 409 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,040 Sorry. So they walk you into that 410 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,600 little room and man, as you're walking there, what happens is 411 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,680 you are frantically looking at the checkouts and you're like, 412 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:04,560 where's the cashier? Where is the cashier? 413 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:06,600 I, they can prove I'm innocent. Where are they? 414 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,280 Poof, gone. Cashier is nowhere to be found. 415 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:12,360 Lucky you. Great. 416 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:14,560 Now I have nothing to prove my innocence. 417 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,920 I have no way to prove that this all has been paid for me. 418 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:22,200 I have no proof. Well, they really give you the 419 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:26,200 business and they're like, we're pressing charges and three days 420 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:30,520 later, three days later, you're standing before a judge still 421 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:35,320 with no proof, no way to prove that you were paid for, no way 422 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,840 to prove your innocence. And out of nowhere, out of 423 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:43,960 nowhere, the cashier walks in and the cashier walks up to the 424 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:45,640 judge. And it's like, hey, judge, Nope, 425 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:47,000 hold on. Wait. 426 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:52,400 I am standing right in front of you and I am proof that that was 427 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,840 paid for. I am proof that this person is 428 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:57,160 innocent. Do you see it? 429 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:01,400 Do you see that the cashier is Jesus? 430 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:04,480 Do you see that the payment was the cross? 431 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:09,120 And do you see that his presence standing in front of the judge 432 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:15,360 is the resurrection for you? Do you see it because when Jesus 433 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:19,800 walks into the room and you've been accused, he walks in alive. 434 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,440 He walks in alive and well and he is standing before the judge 435 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:27,480 and he is interceding for you. You have no reason to fear. 436 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:29,160 You have no reason to have guilt. 437 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:33,800 You have no reason to have shame the the the risen Son of God, 438 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:37,800 the resurrection of Jesus Christ tells you and it tells me that 439 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:45,680 we are free. Love that idea of Jesus walking 440 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:49,840 him to the judge for me because I need it, man. 441 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:53,400 I need him to represent me. I need him to tell the judge of 442 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:56,720 my innocence and he does and he can because he's alive. 443 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:06,040 So what are we going to do with that? 444 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:12,880 Is it just here or by the Holy Spirit? 445 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:21,620 Is it moving down into here? Can the truth of the 446 00:28:21,620 --> 00:28:25,740 resurrection move all the way down from your head into your 447 00:28:25,740 --> 00:28:29,140 heart? By the power of the Holy Spirit 448 00:28:29,140 --> 00:28:34,180 will pray for it. And you don't know it yet, but 449 00:28:34,180 --> 00:28:36,380 I'm going to tell you, hopefully you don't think it's weird. 450 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:40,000 I have been praying for you all all week. 451 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:43,640 And I don't say that just because I'm a pastor. 452 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,560 No, I've been praying for all of you all week. 453 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:54,000 And here's what I'm praying. I'm praying that Jesus's 454 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,960 resurrection love, that it goes all the way with you. 455 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,840 I've been praying that Jesus's resurrection security holds you 456 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:09,800 tight so that you walk out of here held by him, but also free. 457 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:14,400 And I am praying, and I will continue to pray that Jesus is 458 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:19,000 resurrection proof. It puts the love of God so 459 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,320 squarely in your head and your heart that you can't help but 460 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:24,920 move out of here in absolute freedom and joy. 461 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:30,440 That is my prayer for you. May God do it. 462 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:37,240 Thanks for listening to the ERC Sundays to support the work God 463 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:38,760 is doing. An Amazed through church. 464 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,360 Visit amazedforonline.org/giving.