1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,880 Good buddy. Good morning everybody. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:04,800 Happy to be here again with you guys. 3 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:06,640 I'm so blessed to be amongst you guys. 4 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:10,480 Also, I'm blessed because my buddy Wes is here like John, 5 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:14,360 John Michael was saying he's one of my best friends and we work 6 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,080 together. And so I'm so blessed every time 7 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:21,040 he gets to come out and be here and and hear me preach and I'm 8 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:23,800 amongst you guys. You know, God is God is so good 9 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,800 that sometimes we have to be reminded of things and we have 10 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,640 to be humbled. And sometimes I, I forget that 11 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:37,520 I'm still a charismatic and I was there during the worship and 12 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,280 the Holy Spirit was just moving in me. 13 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,600 And God is so good that he tells us to test the spirits. 14 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,760 And she gave a word for somebody today. 15 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,520 And you gave your scripture. And John Michael had originally 16 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:51,840 asked me. He said, hey, man, can you 17 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:54,480 preach something more uplifting to the body? 18 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,480 And as somebody who comes from a Hellfire and brimstone 19 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,800 background, that's like asking me the camel to go through, I 20 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,280 have a needle for me, right? But praise God, you know, God is 21 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,240 good and he always gives us what he wants for the people. 22 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:11,720 And the sermon title today is unshakable trust, living in the 23 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:15,360 assurance of God's love. So just as she was giving that 24 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:17,760 word to somebody today, I don't know who it was, but for 25 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,720 somebody, just know that God is speaking to somebody today 26 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,520 because that was the the the title of my sermon today. 27 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:25,160 And John Michael read in the scriptures. 28 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:27,520 And we're just going to be just reassuring that. 29 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:31,600 So whoever it is here today that is just struggling, or if you 30 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,240 are whoever multiple people that you're struggling, thinking 31 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,080 about how you fit in God's Kingdom, just know that if you 32 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:43,560 are saved, God loves you that his, his sacrifice wasn't for 33 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,520 nothing, right? So let us pray before we, we, we 34 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,800 get started. Father God, we give you thanks, 35 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:50,800 Lord, for today, Lord, we thank you for your word. 36 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:52,080 Lord, we thank you for your people. 37 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:54,760 Lord, we thank you for your sacrifice on the cross. 38 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,080 Lord, we thank you for all that you do Lord, we thank you for, 39 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,360 for everything that you have done in each and every one of 40 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:02,840 our lives here today. Lord, we pray Lord, that if 41 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,840 there is someone here that hasn't accepted you into their 42 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,000 lives, Lord, and in your in their hearts, Lord, that you 43 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,520 just threw this message today that you just reached Lord, and 44 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,400 that you use this as an opportunity to save someone's 45 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,080 soul. And for those of us that are 46 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:18,920 saved here today that you just reassure us, Lord. 47 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:21,800 And for that individual, whoever or the individuals that are 48 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:24,760 struggling in their faith today, Lord, let this message be 49 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,880 encouragement and just something that you can hold on to in their 50 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,480 lives, that they can just know that you are God and that your 51 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,240 truth of the word is true for them today like it always has 52 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:35,400 been, Lord. They can rest in their assurance 53 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,240 that you have saved them, Lord, and that they are destined to be 54 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,680 with you one day, Lord. And I thank you, Lord, again for 55 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,920 your sacrifice, that we can be called friends of of Jesus, 56 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:46,080 friends of God, Lord, and that you call us friend. 57 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,800 Lord, we thank you all this and we pray all this in your name, 58 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:53,720 Jesus, we pray Amen and Amen. So the theme today is trusting 59 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,520 in God's justifying grace, present spirit, sovereign 60 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,000 purpose, and unbreakable love. And I'm just encouraged again, 61 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:02,840 because he said something that was so true. 62 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,320 We could just find so much love and joy in the spectrum of 63 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,120 Christianity, right? The the people of God, sure. 64 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:13,560 You know, there are more charismatic leaning and they're 65 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,200 more reformed leaning people. And praise God, we can call them 66 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,760 brothers and sisters, right? And I know we've had 67 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:23,040 conversations in the past about the Eastern Orthodox and our 68 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:25,560 brothers and sisters in those other different faiths. 69 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:30,040 But you know, we're, we're all one body and it's beautiful and 70 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,720 I just love that. I love the the rainbow of just 71 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,240 God's beautiful people. And it's, you just see it 72 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,120 throughout his creation. So today we stand on one of the 73 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,400 highest peaks of Scripture. We're going to be in Romans 74 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:44,960 chapter 8. And I invite you guys to just 75 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:47,040 follow along with me as we go along. 76 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,160 This chapter is often called the Great 8 because of how it 77 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,520 anchors the believer in the unshakeable love and promises of 78 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,160 God. It begins with no condemnation 79 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,840 and ends with no separation. And in between, it gives us 80 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:04,160 every reason to live with confident, unshakable trust. 81 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:08,480 Whether you're weary from guilt, struggling in pain, feeling 82 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:12,160 forgotten, or questioning God's plan if you're suffering from 83 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,760 loss, Romans 8 speaks directly to our souls. 84 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,200 Let let us allow its truth to shape our view of God, ourselves 85 00:04:20,399 --> 00:04:22,760 and life. So we're going to begin with 86 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:28,520 Romans chapter 8 verses one through 4, Romans 8 verses one 87 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,400 through 4. And it says, therefore, there is 88 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,160 now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 89 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,800 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you 90 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:41,320 free from the law of sin and of death. 91 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,000 For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the 92 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,480 flesh, God did, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful 93 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:54,080 flesh as an offering for sin. He condemns sin in the flesh so 94 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,760 that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in US who do 95 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:02,280 not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit in 96 00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:03,920 Christ. We are not just slightly 97 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:08,160 forgiven, we are completely acquitted, just as John Michael 98 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,560 was saying earlier, right? We're not guilty, we're free. 99 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,680 The penalty has been paid in full. 100 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:17,680 There is no now condemnation. None. 101 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:22,520 Not from God, not from Satan, not even from your own past. 102 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,000 So many people struggle with this truth. 103 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:29,080 Not just new Christians, but seasoned Christians as well. 104 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:30,880 And let me just tell you, brothers and sisters, we could 105 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:32,680 stand assured in the word of God. 106 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:36,040 It is true. There is now no condemnation for 107 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,880 those of us who find ourselves taking in the body of Christ. 108 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,320 We need to be reminded of God's truth in our lives and so many 109 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,880 struggle with this. You are not condemned now. 110 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:49,680 We are not condemned spiritually. 111 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,600 That doesn't mean that we don't have people in our lives who say 112 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,200 when we do something that we shouldn't be doing that say hey 113 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,160 man, hey brother, you shouldn't be doing that. 114 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:02,440 Or even our own flesh. When we sin, we stand before God 115 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,320 and we say, man, I shouldn't have done that. 116 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,000 I feel so guilty for the actions that I have done. 117 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,120 That's a good thing, yes, but because we stand righteous in 118 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:12,840 the Lord, we can run back to Christ. 119 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:15,040 We can run back to the Holy Spirit and say, forgive me, 120 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,560 Lord. And, and, and often that's how 121 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:21,200 we can separate those of God and those who are not of God. 122 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,000 Because when John Michael says to me, brother, you've crossed 123 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,480 that boundary, if I'm a true Christian, a believer, sanctify 124 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,160 with the indwell, with the Holy Spirit, I say thank you, 125 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,320 brother, I needed that. I needed that in my life. 126 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,200 Those that fight against the Spirit of God, you have to 127 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,360 question yourself, why are they fighting against the Word? 128 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:42,560 Why are they fighting against the Spirit of God? 129 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:46,000 And if you find yourself today as that person and you're saying 130 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,040 to yourself, I'm fighting with the Spirit, I'm trying to 131 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,800 justify my actions, you have to look and analyze where you stand 132 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:57,360 with God at this very moment. This is the very essence of the 133 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:00,320 gospel, that there is no condemnation now for the 134 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,520 believer. Not that there will be none in 135 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,040 some far off future, but there is none now. 136 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,160 God sees you in Christ, not in yourself. 137 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,520 The law has been fulfilled, justice has been satisfied, and 138 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:16,160 therefore you are free. Free from condemnation, free 139 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:20,640 from fear, and free to draw near to your God with confidence and 140 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:22,840 peace. Written by Charles Spurgeon, the 141 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:27,000 preacher of preachers. You're not on trial if you are 142 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,920 in Christ, your record is clean. Stop living. 143 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,400 Stop living under shame or some self giving pressure to prove 144 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:34,960 yourself. And I know how difficult that 145 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:37,520 can be through the sermon. A lot of times you're going to 146 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:39,320 hear me say easier said than done. 147 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,800 But just know that when we get to those moments that's and you 148 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,800 find yourself saying the same things, you can run to the Holy 149 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:48,200 Spirit and lean on the Holy Spirit to help you in those 150 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:50,560 times. Stop trying to earn God's 151 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,560 approval because guess what? We all fall short of the glory 152 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,520 of God. We are all sinful and we all 153 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:02,120 fall short of the glory of God. Now, grace doesn't lead to 154 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:07,240 laziness, it leads to worship. Gratitude fuels holiness. 155 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:11,000 Live in freedom and gratitude. We should be falling on our 156 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,320 knees. We should be crying out to God. 157 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,800 We should be saying thank you. And you know what we say. 158 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:18,840 How can I share this with someone else? 159 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,920 How can I share this gift that God has given me to with someone 160 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,240 else? It fuels us to go out and say, I 161 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:29,880 need to preach the gospel. You are welcomed at God's 162 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:31,600 throne. Come confidently. 163 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,799 Approach God boldly in prayer. Just know that you are forgiven. 164 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:39,360 You can pray when you struggle. Go to God, go to God. 165 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:41,919 So often we're trying to figure out how we can do these things 166 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:44,039 on our own. We're trying to figure out how I 167 00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:47,280 can fix these situations. How can I fix my marriage? 168 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:52,280 How can I fix my, my son, my daughter, my, my work situation? 169 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,800 How can I fix my boss? And we're lacking one thing 170 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,600 prayer. We're so trying. 171 00:08:58,600 --> 00:08:59,880 We're trying to figure out everything. 172 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:04,080 We go to ChatGPT, we go to the Google, we go to our friends, we 173 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:06,720 go to all these people and we say, I need help with this. 174 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:11,160 But the one person we should be going to, we don't and we should 175 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:13,000 be. We need to have boldness and 176 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,400 know that God is good and that we are his children and we 177 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:18,960 should be running to him in those times and asking for Ben 178 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,240 saying, I don't understand how to do this. 179 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,000 I can't do this on my own. I need your help. 180 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,400 Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16 says let us then approach God's 181 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,400 throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and 182 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:34,600 find grace to help us in our time of need. 183 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,000 I didn't say it. It's not me. 184 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,160 Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has 185 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:44,640 eternal life and will not be judged, but has crossed over 186 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:48,560 from death to life. John chapter 5, verse 24, He 187 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:52,280 gives us life. If anyone is in Christ, the new 188 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:55,880 creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here. 189 00:09:56,160 --> 00:10:00,240 Second, the Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17, he who began a good 190 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:03,080 work in you will carry it on to completions. 191 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:05,120 Philippians chapter one, verse 6. 192 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:06,960 Who's going to complete it? Me. 193 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:12,600 Me on my own strength. No, the God that we serve, the 194 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,240 God that we serve, we can trust and be confident that the 195 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,160 completion of this work is not in me, it's in God. 196 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:24,120 The God, the God who died on the cross of Calvary is not a liar. 197 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,760 He's giving you this confidence. He is giving you this promise. 198 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,040 Hold on to it, cling on to it. When you struggle and you're 199 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,280 weak and you find yourself questioning God, questioning 200 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,440 where you are in in your walk with God, hold on to the promise 201 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:39,680 that he is going to complete the work in you. 202 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:44,480 It's not you, it's him. My sheep, listen to my voice. 203 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:49,120 Praise God, I know them. Praise God and they follow me. 204 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:51,960 Praise God, I give them eternal life. 205 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,440 Praise God and they shall never perish. 206 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,200 Praise God, no one will snatch them out of my hand. 207 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:01,760 Praise God my Father who has given them to me. 208 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:06,480 Praise God is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of my 209 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:08,600 Father's hand. Praise God. 210 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,560 John chapter 10 verse 27 through 29. 211 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:15,480 No one can snatch them. Last I checked, you were 212 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:19,000 someone. Last I checked you were someone. 213 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:22,200 And guess what? Your hands are too short to bop 214 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:23,560 the God, right? That's right. 215 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,120 Our second point, Life in the Spirit. 216 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,440 Romans chapter 8 verse 5 through 17. 217 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,240 Romans chapter 8, verse 5 through 17. 218 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:39,360 For those who according to the flesh set their minds on the 219 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:43,160 things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, 220 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,720 the things of the Spirit. For the mindset on the flesh is 221 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,360 death, but the mindset on the Spirit is life and peace. 222 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,440 Because the mindset on the flesh is hostile towards God, for it 223 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,920 does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even 224 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:00,920 able to do so. And those who are in the flesh 225 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:05,160 cannot please God. Stop right there for a second. 226 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:10,160 Here we have this section where Paul is showing us that those 227 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,040 that who do not have God can do nothing to please God. 228 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:16,680 They can't because they don't have God. 229 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,440 And he's making a bold proclamation that they don't 230 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,200 live in the Spirit, right? And he's giving you this, this 231 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,240 section right here and showing you what it's like to live apart 232 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:29,680 from God. And you say, wow, there's 233 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:32,840 nothing they can do to please God. 234 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,920 But he's talking about people who don't have Jesus, people who 235 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:38,880 don't have the Holy Spirit and dwelling in them. 236 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,440 Look, because right after that he says this, However, you are 237 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,440 not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. 238 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:48,320 He's making a bold proclamation there. 239 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:51,640 He's saying you as a Christian are not those people. 240 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:57,160 You can please God if indeed the Spirit God of God dwells in you. 241 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,000 But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not 242 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,000 belong to him. If Christ is in you, though the 243 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,800 body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of 244 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,360 righteousness. But if the Spirit of him who 245 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,640 raised Jesus from the from the dead dwells in you, he who 246 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,800 raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal 247 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:18,240 bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 248 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:24,200 So then, brethren, we are under obligation not to the flesh, to 249 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,240 live according to the flesh. For if you are living according 250 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,720 to the flesh, you must die. But if by the Spirit you are 251 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,640 putting to death the deeds of the body, not by me, but by the 252 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:38,560 Spirit, you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will 253 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:42,360 live for all who are being led by the Spirit of God. 254 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:46,880 These are sons of God. For you have not received the 255 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:50,240 spirit of slavery, leading to fear again, but you have 256 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:54,280 received the spirit of adoption as sons, by which we cry out 257 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:59,680 ABBA, Father, the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that 258 00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:03,920 we are children of God, and if children heirs also heirs of 259 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:08,480 God, and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with 260 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:11,680 Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him. 261 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:16,720 So what does Paul do? He gives us not only a 262 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,600 reassurance to us, He paints a picture of who? 263 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:21,480 Who do you constantly hear in those verses? 264 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:26,640 You see Father, you see Son, and you see Holy Spirit and he 265 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,280 interchanges them constantly because he's giving us a 266 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,840 beautiful picture of God's omnipotence and how we fit in 267 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:34,680 there. Those of us that are saved by 268 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,040 God's grace. He's giving us the reassurance 269 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:41,520 by saying the beautiful picture. We are intertwined when we 270 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,960 become Christians into the beautiful picture of not only 271 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:48,400 God's Trinity, but who we are as family. 272 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,120 And that's beautiful. That's beautiful. 273 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:53,520 Praise God. The Holy Spirit just doesn't 274 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,440 make us better people. He gives us new life. 275 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,360 He rewires our desires and reminds us that we belong to 276 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,800 God. We begin the sanctification 277 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,320 process in our lives. The Holy Spirit begins to 278 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:08,760 conform us and change our lives to be more like Christ. 279 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,640 We are not perfect, but we don't need to be. 280 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:15,880 Throughout all of Scripture and time, God has used flawed men 281 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,320 and women to share the truth of God. 282 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:22,760 And it's amazing because in this, Spurgeon said when talking 283 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:27,360 about this, this this versus here, he said, you here you see 284 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:33,240 a picture of familial aspects. So in the Old Testament, it was 285 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:38,000 more of a a relation of God and of obedient servant, right? 286 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,440 God gave you the law, you competed the law. 287 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:46,680 But here it's talking about us as family, as family to God, 288 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:50,360 family to Jesus. The relationship has changed 289 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,360 from one of just obedience to family. 290 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:55,480 And that's beautiful. Praise God. 291 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:59,200 Because sure, if you had a king, you would serve the king and you 292 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:01,880 would do what the king said because you're under obligation 293 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:03,960 to do what the king tells you to do. 294 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,600 But if the king was your father, how much more would you be 295 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,840 willing to go to what he says and obey what he says to do in 296 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:12,760 your lives? Because he's your father, 297 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:16,120 especially if he's a generous good blessing. 298 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:18,600 Father, you run and you say, yes, Father. 299 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,160 Yes, Father, Yes, Father. My dad is a great dad. 300 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:25,320 And I've never had an I've never had a reason not to obey what he 301 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:26,880 told me to do. He never gave me a reason 302 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:31,240 because he's a loving father. What more, the Father of all 303 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:36,000 fathers, the God who is in heaven, who sacrificed his only 304 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,920 Son for us so that we may be made righteous in the sight of 305 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:43,360 God. The Spirit leads gently but 306 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,040 persistently. Obedience keeps our hearts 307 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,320 tender and our lives aligned. Walk in obedience to the 308 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,720 Spirit's promptings. You're not an orphan, you're 309 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:54,360 adopted. You can go. 310 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:58,680 You can call God ABBA Father, Replace your fear and anxiety 311 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:01,840 and anxiety with confidence as God's child. 312 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,839 Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the 313 00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:08,839 flesh. Galatians chapter 15, verses 16 314 00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:12,040 through 18. God sent the Spirit of his Son 315 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:13,960 into our hearts, crying ABBA, father. 316 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:18,240 Galatians chapter 4, verse 6. So Paul is reassuring us again 317 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,640 outside of Romans, that we can call God our Father. 318 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:27,280 I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my 319 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,640 statutes. Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 27. 320 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:33,440 So who's putting his spirit in me so that I can walk upon the 321 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:34,880 statutes? Is it me? 322 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,400 No, it's God. So that brings us to our third 323 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:42,840 part, our third suffering with hope. 324 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,520 We're going to read Romans chapter 8, verses 18 through 27. 325 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:53,120 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time 326 00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:57,000 are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be 327 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,080 revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the 328 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,640 creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 329 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:08,440 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but 330 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,520 because of Him who subjected it, and hope that the creation 331 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:15,240 itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption 332 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:17,800 into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 333 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:22,040 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the 334 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:24,520 pains of childbirth together until now. 335 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,880 And not only this, but also we ourselves having the first 336 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,640 fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grow within ourselves, 337 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,560 waiting eagerly for our adoptions as sons, the 338 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,640 redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved. 339 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:43,520 But hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he 340 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,120 already sees? But if we hope for what we do 341 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:49,680 not see with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 342 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:54,480 In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do 343 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:58,280 not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself 344 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,800 intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 345 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:05,400 And he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the 346 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,760 Spirit is, because he intercedes for the Saints according to the 347 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:10,960 will of God. And again you see that beautiful 348 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:16,000 picture of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God the Spirit in US. 349 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,000 The Holy Spirit intercedes for the Spirit that's within us, 350 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:22,440 Jesus Christ just painting this beautiful picture of how we've 351 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:27,240 been adopted into this formula. Just beautiful, even when life, 352 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:30,320 I'm sorry. Suffering is real, but it's not 353 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:33,080 the end. Pain now is preparing glory 354 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:34,800 later. Even when we don't know how to 355 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:38,160 pray, the Spirit intercedes for us with groans deeper than 356 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:40,760 words. Just because you can't hear God 357 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:42,960 doesn't mean he is. He isn't working. 358 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:45,280 Don't interpret. Silence is absence. 359 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,200 So those of you that are praying and not hearing that, that voice 360 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,760 and not hearing your answers to your prayers, don't interpret 361 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,640 that as absence. I made that mistake in my life 362 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:56,720 before. I remember there was a time 363 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:58,960 where I was praying on to God for things and I was praying, 364 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,320 earnestly praying, and I just didn't hear anything. 365 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:04,920 And I was praying for several different things and I felt like 366 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,120 I wasn't being hurt. And I continued to struggle and 367 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,040 struggle and struggle with this prayer weeks and weeks and 368 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,200 weeks. And then ultimately I said it to 369 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,280 myself, you know what? I'm just going to stop praying 370 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,280 for that stuff. And as soon as I did that, I 371 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:22,000 mean as soon as I did that, the doors start opening up just. 372 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,160 Amazing stuff. Miriam becomes pregnant. 373 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,080 I get a new job at work. I mean, just all this stuff 374 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,520 starts flooding in. And it made me feel ashamed. 375 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:34,520 It made me feel ashamed that I stopped crying out onto God. 376 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,760 And it humbled me because I had to be reminded that it's not in 377 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:42,320 my time, it's in God's time. And I had to be reminded that 378 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,560 not all my prayers for things that I want are things that are 379 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:46,040 going to be beneficial to my life. 380 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,200 And so I also have to be OK when God says no and I have to be 381 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,720 reminded of that, that sometimes God knows what's best for me and 382 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:55,680 I all the time he knows what's best for me. 383 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:57,400 And I need to be reminded of that. 384 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:03,040 And at that very moment, I said to myself, man, O wretched man, 385 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:06,720 that I am, that I, I, I, I actually took my eyes off of God 386 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:08,720 even for that split second and said, you know what? 387 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:11,760 I'm tired of this. And I had to be humble for it. 388 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,920 And I thank God for that. God doesn't waste your tears. 389 00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:18,960 Suffering is the soil in which deep faith grows. 390 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,160 Let your trials drive you deeper into prayer and hope. 391 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:25,400 At that time, I realized that all the suffering that I was 392 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:26,920 going through, it strengthened me. 393 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:30,360 Even though I had to go through that moment, it drew me closer 394 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:34,080 to God because at that moment I realized I needed to pray more. 395 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:37,520 I needed to pray more earnestly because He answered my prayers 396 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:39,680 not when I wanted, but when He wanted. 397 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:41,400 And I had to go and say, you know what? 398 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,760 Forgive me, Lord, forgive me. And those things, they, they 399 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:46,560 strengthen us. They strengthen us. 400 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,960 They make us cry out to God and say, I need you because I don't 401 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:51,960 know how. I don't know how I'm going to 402 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:53,600 get through this next trial in my life. 403 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:57,400 I've tried everything on my own. I'm still struggling and I don't 404 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,880 know what I'm going to do. And we cry out to God and he 405 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:01,400 reaches out to us and he reaches us. 406 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,800 And sometimes in that lowest moment of our lives, he saves 407 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,080 us. The light momentary, this light 408 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,240 momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal 409 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:13,640 weight of glory beyond all comparison. 410 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,400 Second of Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 17. 411 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,760 These things sharpen us. They sanctify us. 412 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,640 They remind us that we need God, we need him. 413 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,960 If we didn't have any trials, we wouldn't need to run to him. 414 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:28,920 But we need these trials, We need these hardships in order 415 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,360 for us to run to God and say, I'm just a man. 416 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:37,080 I'm just a man. The Lord is near to the broken 417 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,760 hearted and saves those who are crushed in the spirit. 418 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,520 Psalm chapter 34, verse 18. If you find yourself today 419 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:47,440 crushed in your spirit, you've you've had a loss, you're going 420 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:49,280 through some hardships, you don't know what you're going to 421 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:51,120 do. Cry out to the Lord. 422 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:53,640 He saves those who are crushed in spirit. 423 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:57,680 And that's not my words. Again, it's not my words, it's 424 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,000 God's word. And once again, I say it like I 425 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,160 said, easier said than done. We're human beings, right? 426 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:06,480 We tend to want to do things on our own accord, but God is good, 427 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:14,960 Amen. That leads us to point #4 Romans 428 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:19,480 chapter 8, verse 28 through 30. And we know that God causes all 429 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:23,680 things to work together for the good to those who love God, to 430 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:25,840 those who are called according to His purpose. 431 00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:29,920 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become 432 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:33,080 conformed to the image of His Son, so that he would be first 433 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,600 born among many brethren. And these whom he predestined, 434 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:39,200 he also called. And these whom he called he also 435 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:41,680 justified. And these whom he justified, he 436 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:43,760 also glorified. Amen. 437 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,160 I know that this can be off topic for some people, you know, 438 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,120 they don't really like getting into predestination and 439 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:51,760 election. That's I'm not here to argue any 440 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,520 of that. What I'm here to tell you is 441 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:55,920 that you can trust in God's promises. 442 00:23:56,360 --> 00:23:59,320 And so our our fourth point today is God's sovereign's 443 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:01,800 purpose. Even when life feels chaotic, 444 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:04,520 God is not confused. He's sovereign. 445 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,680 His plan is still unfolding. He's working in all things, even 446 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,200 the hard things for our ultimate good and all think God's work 447 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,240 for the good of those who love him who have been a called 448 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:19,240 according to his purpose. Those of us who are saved here 449 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:21,160 today, we can trust in that promise. 450 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,320 When we don't understand why, when we don't understand why 451 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,120 we're going through these situations, why we're in this 452 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:30,560 struggle, we can trust in God that he knows, right? 453 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:33,640 The guy who created everything is going to work out this plan, 454 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,280 not only for our benefit, but to his glory. 455 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:41,960 Amen. So you don't need to know 456 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:44,640 everything. Just trust the one who does. 457 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:48,120 So we're under control. You know, I, I often talk about, 458 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,840 you know, as as a person who preaches and teaches people come 459 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:56,680 to us for answers, right? And they want solid concrete. 460 00:24:57,120 --> 00:24:59,200 I need to know how you feel about this. 461 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:01,240 I need to know what you think about this. 462 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:03,640 I need to know what the word says about this. 463 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:08,000 And that can be challenging at times, but I've learned, I once 464 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:14,040 heard a sermon where a preacher was talking about why did God 465 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,840 choose men to be the head over the woman? 466 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:22,120 And he was like, you know, often times people have asked me, why 467 00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:24,720 did God choose men to be the head of a woman? 468 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,680 And I'm going to tell you today, I don't know. 469 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,920 Because he decided that that's how we have to be. 470 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:33,720 That's what he decided. He's God. 471 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:36,280 Who am I to question that? And at that moment I was like, 472 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:38,880 man, because I was just waiting for him to come with this and 473 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:40,440 this verse and that verse and never. 474 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,080 And you know, here we go and just exegeting the text. 475 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:45,800 And he was like, because God chose it that way. 476 00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:48,000 And sometimes we brother, sister, we have to be 477 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,560 comfortable with that. We have to be comfortable with 478 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:55,200 not knowing what God has planned for us, but trusting that his 479 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:57,480 plan will work out for our for his glory. 480 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:01,560 And that can be again, easier said than done, right? 481 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:03,840 Easier said than done. But we can trust in the Holy 482 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,480 Spirit. And that's so comforting for me 483 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:11,440 now where I am in my walk with God that I can, I can put my 484 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,640 hands up and say, I don't know God. 485 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,480 I don't know why, I don't know why. 486 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,520 But ultimately I know that you will reveal this to me at some 487 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:21,760 point, why you have me in this situation. 488 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:26,240 And often times, sometime down the road, a month later, two 489 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,920 months later, a year later, 10 years later, you can look back 490 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,920 and be like, aha, that's why I had to go through that. 491 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,080 You know, I had to go through that because God was sharpening 492 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:37,920 me. He was strengthening me and 493 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,760 preparing me for the road ahead. And guess what? 494 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:44,160 I can help someone else who's going through that same struggle 495 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,440 through that same time. Maybe I can give him a word that 496 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:48,680 will help them through that time. 497 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:53,360 God is the ultimate Redeemer. He takes what the enemy meant 498 00:26:53,360 --> 00:26:57,240 for evil and turns it for good. Trust that He is weaving even 499 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:01,280 your mess into His masterpiece. I think about, and I share this 500 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:04,120 a lot with people I think about because the world doesn't 501 00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:06,400 understand things the way we understand things, right? 502 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,160 They don't understand God and they look at things and they say 503 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:11,320 this is bad. That was bad. 504 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,520 That's sure it might have been bad things happen in the world. 505 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:17,200 We're human beings, right? They look at things like the 506 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,920 Spanish Inquisition and they say evil. 507 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,560 Sure it was it was bad. They think the Holocaust, evil, 508 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:28,160 evil things happen, but how often God uses those things for 509 00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:30,640 his glory. You see the spreading of the 510 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:34,240 people across different worlds and people were able to be saved 511 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:36,480 because this and ultimately that's what matters. 512 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:39,720 No matter what evil happened in the past and what, no matter how 513 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:43,800 many people died, that stuff is horrible, sure, but people are 514 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:46,360 being saved through this. You think of you think about 515 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:48,440 stories like Corey Tenbaum, right? 516 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:52,520 And she was in the mix and during the the the Holocaust and 517 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,880 she was preaching Jesus to these people while she and flee 518 00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:02,440 infested where she was at. You know, God used that she was 519 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:07,000 able to to years later talk to her captor and he saved. 520 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,840 He was saved. So just God's ways are not our 521 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:13,960 ways, right? And we often struggle with this 522 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,760 and we say that's bad, or this was bad. 523 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:19,280 I was hurt and this thing happened to me. 524 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:21,840 And why did God allow this thing to happen to me? 525 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:24,600 And why did this happen? If he's so good, why did he let 526 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:26,720 evil happen to you? But you don't see the bigger 527 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:28,560 picture. Man is flawed. 528 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,840 Man is falling. People do bad things because 529 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,120 they're not, they're not God, but God is good. 530 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,120 And you can have one or two reactions. 531 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:40,600 You can stay in that bad thing, and you could just plant your 532 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:44,000 seed there and say, I'm this way because this bad thing happened 533 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,600 to me. Or you can give it on to God and 534 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,920 you can use that as a testimony. Like Corey Tenbaum, how many 535 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:54,200 people have been pushed in their faith because of her story? 536 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:57,000 How many people? Yeah, exactly. 537 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:58,760 Praise God. Pray we have one here. 538 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:03,320 Praise God for that. You know, and growing up, we had 539 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,440 a, you know, I grew up in a Spanish speaking church. 540 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,600 So there was a missionary that all the Puerto Ricans, all those 541 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,840 Caribbean people knew. His daughter was murdered. 542 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:18,720 She was cut into pieces. And he went, that preacher went 543 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:23,240 to the prison where that man was and he preached to that guy and 544 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:26,800 that guy became saved and he prayed for that man and he 545 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:28,800 hugged that man. It was a big news article and 546 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,000 everything at the time. This is like back in the 547 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:38,480 probably in the 70s and that man went on to preach and and help 548 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,880 save so many people through his testimony pointing back to Jesus 549 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:46,200 because it wasn't him. It was the grace and the Holy 550 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,960 Spirit that was in him that was able to forgive this man. 551 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,440 And so many people were pointed to Christ just through that 552 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,720 testimony because how can you tell a man whose daughter was 553 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,880 killed by another man who he forgave? 554 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,200 What can you tell that guy that he was wrong, that he should 555 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,280 have continued to hate that man? How can you say that? 556 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,240 Instead, what what happens is you see, I've suffered far less 557 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:11,880 than that. I want that same grace. 558 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,680 I want that same humility. I want that same spirit that 559 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:18,760 resides in that man, in me so that I can forgive others. 560 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,600 That's what happens. Just know that you are being 561 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:25,720 conformed to the image of Christ and that's the end game. 562 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:28,440 Find peace in God's long term plan. 563 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:31,280 And again, easier said than done. 564 00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:35,120 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever 565 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,200 you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the 566 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:40,560 testing of your faith produces perseverance. 567 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,960 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and 568 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,840 complete, not lacking anything. James chapter one, verse 2 569 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:51,200 through 4. After you have suffered, he will 570 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:55,800 restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you first to Peter 571 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,720 chapter 5, verse 10. Again, I didn't say that that's 572 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:02,240 the word of God. He who began a good work in you 573 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:05,880 will carry it on to completion. Philippians chapter one, verse 574 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:07,680 6. And I have this quote from 575 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:09,960 Augustine, who's an early church father. 576 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:14,640 Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to his love, 577 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,040 and the future to his Providence. 578 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:21,720 In other words, we survived the past because of God's mercy. 579 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:25,160 We are currently being taken care of because of His love for 580 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:28,840 us, and we can trust that He will take care of us because of 581 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:31,320 His Providence. That same guy that took care of 582 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:34,400 us in the past now is going to take care of us in the future. 583 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:42,160 That brings us to our our fifth point, Romans chapter 8, verse 584 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:49,400 31 through 34, 31 through 34. What then shall we say to these 585 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,680 things? If God is for us, who is against 586 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:54,840 us? He who did not spare his own 587 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:59,120 Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will he not also 588 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:01,040 with him freely give us all things? 589 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:03,720 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? 590 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,040 God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who? 591 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,400 Who is the one who condemns Christ? 592 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:14,440 Jesus is he who died, yes, rather who was raised, Who is at 593 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,960 the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us? 594 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,240 If God is for us, who can be against us? 595 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:25,640 The one who gave his Son for us will withhold nothing good from 596 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:28,000 us. Jesus now sits at the right hand 597 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,240 of the Father, interceding for you and for me. 598 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,680 The cross is the guarantee of the continuing, unfailing 599 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:38,920 generosity of God. If he did not spare his own Son, 600 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,760 He will never abandoned those for whom that Son died. 601 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:46,680 Christ Jesus is our intercessor, not our accuser. 602 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:50,280 The only One who could condemn us died for us. 603 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:52,600 John, stop. Just think about that. 604 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:55,680 He died for us. And if we don't believe in the 605 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:59,960 assurance that He gave for us, that we are not condemned, His 606 00:32:59,960 --> 00:33:04,160 sacrifice was for nothing. If we don't believe in His 607 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:06,240 promise, we're spitting in His face. 608 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:08,240 We're saying that we don't believe you. 609 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:12,160 If we're saying it's not enough for me, I need more, we're 610 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:15,520 saying it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough for the God who 611 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,280 created all things and that sacrifice. 612 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:22,120 We need more. I rebuke that in the name of 613 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:24,680 Jesus, right? That is nothing. 614 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:27,280 If you're thinking like that, you need to correct your 615 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:30,560 thinking. The same God who died on the 616 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:34,280 cross of Calvary confirms that he is our intercessor. 617 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,880 We can run to him. We can cry out to him. 618 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,320 We can cry out to to our Lord and Savior and say I need you. 619 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:45,960 I am weak, I am failing. I don't know what to do. 620 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:48,480 I need your intercession right now for me. 621 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:51,400 We can do that. We are His children. 622 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:57,120 He is for us. Let me say, with all the 623 00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:01,480 affinity of His heart, with all the omnipotence of His love for 624 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,800 us, with all His boundless wisdom arrayed in all the 625 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:09,400 attributes which make Him God. He is for us, eternally and 626 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:14,719 immutably for us. Martin Luther, He is for us. 627 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:18,560 You may be attacked, but you are never abandoned. 628 00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:22,480 Face opposition with courage. Face those hardships knowing 629 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:27,040 that you are a child of God. There's somebody here who's 630 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:29,560 struggling, struggling in their faith. 631 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,800 And I just want to reassure you. Or there are several people here 632 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,639 struggling with their faith. Just know that He is for you. 633 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:38,719 You are sealed with the Holy Spirit. 634 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:41,239 He died on the cross of Calvary for you. 635 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:43,960 His promises are true. We can run to Him. 636 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,960 Let this be your shield in battle and your song in peace. 637 00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:51,159 Declare it daily. God is for me, not against me. 638 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:54,360 Don't blame God for your hardships, but ask the better 639 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:58,760 question of why. Pray on to God, seeking why this 640 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:02,080 trial has been placed before you and pray for guidance to seek 641 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:05,600 how you can glorify God in these times when you're struggling. 642 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:07,720 You don't know why. Ask why am I going through this 643 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:12,120 and for what reason do you have me in this trial so that you can 644 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:15,000 glorify God again? Easier said than done, right? 645 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:18,360 Because when you're in the midst of that, it's hard to be like, I 646 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,800 need you God, because you're so worried and you're so focused on 647 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,480 whatever you got going on, whatever hardship you have 648 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:26,640 becomes the overwhelming thing in your mind. 649 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:30,760 But we need to turn to God. I often think about the 650 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:34,440 difference between happiness and joy and you say, what do you 651 00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:35,800 mean? There's a difference? 652 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:38,840 And, and if you look at the etymology of the words, which is 653 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:42,160 a fancy way of saying what they, this the root of the word 654 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,840 happiness and whether it be hap or happenstance is a 655 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:50,200 circumstantial thing. In fact, hap comes from a word 656 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:53,880 that means luck. So you're happy because of the 657 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:56,840 circumstance you're in. But joy is different. 658 00:35:57,240 --> 00:36:01,080 Joy is an almost, if you look at the root words, the etymology of 659 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:06,240 it, it's almost a divine thing. Joy is divine and we get, we 660 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:10,000 receive joy from God, not happiness, joy because it's 661 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,720 everlasting, it's long, it's, it's divine. 662 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,160 It's something we cannot always comprehend. 663 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:19,480 So when we're struggling in the midst of our struggle, if we 664 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:24,200 have joy in God, right, we still have that joy in God, we will be 665 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:27,280 able to overcome those hardships because we can rest in his 666 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:29,280 assurance. He provides that joy. 667 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:32,280 It's divine in nature. You can have joy because you 668 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:35,880 know that ultimately whatever is going on in that struggle, God 669 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:38,600 is going to use it for your benefit and to glorify Himself. 670 00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:43,280 Jesus is interceding for you. He knows your weakness and 671 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:45,960 carries you. Take comfort in Christ's 672 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:48,200 intercession. Like a child runs to a parent 673 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:52,080 when they're scared or lost, so too we should run to Jesus who 674 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:54,360 intercedes for us before the Father. 675 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:57,800 Praise God. And again, easier said than 676 00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:00,800 done. The Lord is my light and my 677 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:02,720 salvation. Whom shall I fear? 678 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:07,840 Psalm chapter 27 verse one. Therefore, He is able to save 679 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:12,160 completely for those who come to God through him, because He 680 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:14,440 always lives to intercede for them. 681 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:18,240 I didn't say that Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 25. 682 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:21,440 That is the word of God. We can trust in His assurance. 683 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:26,320 And that brings us to point #6 unbreakable love. 684 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,080 Let's Romans chapter 8 verse 35 to 39. 685 00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:33,480 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? 686 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:39,880 Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or 687 00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:45,360 nakedness or peril or sword, just as it is written for your 688 00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:48,040 sake, we are being put to death all day long. 689 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:52,120 We were considered a sheep to be slaughtered, but in all these 690 00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:56,960 things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us through 691 00:37:56,960 --> 00:38:01,040 me, not through me through him who loved us. 692 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:06,920 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 693 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:11,240 principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor 694 00:38:11,240 --> 00:38:16,200 powers, nor height, nor death, nor any other created thing will 695 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:20,960 be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ 696 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:25,760 Jesus our Lord. Praise God, praise God. 697 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:30,320 You know, when I was preparing this sermon, I was, I got to 698 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:33,440 this point of the sermon and I was thinking to myself, myself, 699 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:35,800 how can I make this more palatable? 700 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:40,880 How can I make this so it doesn't sound the way it's read? 701 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:44,400 And the Holy Spirit just was moving as I was preparing. 702 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:47,680 And I said, no, you need to give the word the way it is. 703 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:51,680 And we can trust and be comforted in his work. 704 00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:55,080 And thank you, Lord, that you have given me the strength and 705 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:59,160 the courage because for so long, and this is true for so long in 706 00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:03,840 my in my walk in my Christian life, I struggled so hard with 707 00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:08,280 this because I wanted and I was taught that I needed to be 708 00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:11,800 holier and I needed to do things to make me holier. 709 00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:14,640 And why are you doing this? And why are you doing that? 710 00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:18,360 And I struggled and I struggled and I prayed and I prayed and I 711 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:21,680 prayed and I said, God make me holier, make me holier, make me 712 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:25,960 holier, make me holier because I thought that there was something 713 00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:29,440 I could do within myself to make me a better man of God. 714 00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:34,760 And I struggled. And then as I'm reading and I 715 00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:38,040 get to this point, it just opened my mind and I was just 716 00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:40,800 enlightened and the and the Spirit flowed through me and I 717 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:43,040 just was just so thankful to God. 718 00:39:43,040 --> 00:39:45,920 And I realized, wait a minute, wait a minute. 719 00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:48,960 There's nothing I can do to make me closer to God. 720 00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:50,640 He's already given me the promise. 721 00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:52,480 He sealed me with the Holy Spirit. 722 00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:55,400 I believe in his sacrifice. I am redeemed. 723 00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:58,840 I'm covered by his blood. He has washed me white. 724 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:02,720 I am righteous before his eyes. That's his promise, not me. 725 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:05,440 What can I do to make me more righteous in His eyes? 726 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:08,600 Absolutely nothing. How can I become holier? 727 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:12,120 By trusting in the Spirit of God, believing His Word, 728 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:15,960 completing His Word. And there's a difference of 729 00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:20,480 following His, His word by obligation, then willingness to 730 00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:22,440 do it. And when I understood the 731 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:26,080 difference, it changed who I was fundamentally, not only as a 732 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:29,640 person, but as a as a Christian. I understood that there was 733 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:32,880 nothing I could do in order to become more righteousness in his 734 00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:35,320 eyes. And I struggled for a long time, 735 00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:39,040 brothers and sisters, by by his grace, he he gave me this word 736 00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:41,240 came and is true today as it was back then. 737 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:44,400 There's nothing I can do. And I just took confidence in 738 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:47,280 knowing this because guess what? There's nothing I can do, 739 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:50,800 nothing I can do, nothing anyone can do to snatch me from his 740 00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:52,840 arms. Nothing. 741 00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:54,640 Nothing. Praise God. 742 00:40:54,720 --> 00:40:57,200 You know why? Because if that were true, his 743 00:40:57,200 --> 00:40:59,440 sacrifice on the cross would be for nothing. 744 00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:03,560 That would be for nothing if I was able to do it on my own 745 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:07,840 accord, if me as a human being was able to snatch myself back 746 00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:10,560 from his grasp, how would that make of the God look? 747 00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:12,600 How would that make my God look? Weak. 748 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:16,360 Weak and pathetic. But no, my God is eternal. 749 00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:19,640 He's the King of kings, the Lord of Lords. 750 00:41:20,240 --> 00:41:23,440 He died on the cross of Calvary so that we may be made righteous 751 00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:26,120 in his sight. And there's nothing I can do to 752 00:41:26,120 --> 00:41:27,440 do that. And guess what? 753 00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:30,680 He confirms it. And he goes in death, Paul, 754 00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:32,800 right here through the Holy Spirit, right? 755 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:36,560 He goes in death to make sure that he mentions everything I 756 00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:39,000 can think of and says, guess what? 757 00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:41,880 None of that. For I am convinced that neither 758 00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:48,000 death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things 759 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:53,600 present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor death, 760 00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:58,680 nor any other created thing. Last I checked, everybody in 761 00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:04,440 here is a creation will be able to separate us from the love of 762 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:08,280 God. Praise God, praise God. 763 00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:14,960 I am so thankful to God because you saw a wretched man like me, 764 00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:19,800 a chubby little bald guy from the greatest state on this 765 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:23,960 planet. Why are you guys laughing? 766 00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:29,800 He saw me in my wretchedness and he found me. 767 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:34,560 And he and praise God for that. And he, he found me and he took 768 00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:37,600 my heart of stone and he made it a heart of flesh. 769 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:42,680 And I can run to him as His Son with confidence. 770 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:46,600 And when I fall, I fall hard because guess what? 771 00:42:46,640 --> 00:42:50,440 I'm I'm held to a different standard as a Christian, as a 772 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:53,520 teacher, as a minister. And I fall hard. 773 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:55,920 But guess what? He still reaches me. 774 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:58,400 It's the same for each and everyone of you here. 775 00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:02,120 Those of you that are struggling in your faith, just know that 776 00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:06,440 you are a child of God. Paul gives us a list of 777 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:10,200 everything that might try to separate from God's love and and 778 00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:14,640 boldly declares that none of it can praise God. 779 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:18,520 Feelings change. God's love doesn't. 780 00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:23,000 Preaches love to your own heart. When you feel unloved or 781 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:27,600 abandoned, stand on truth. God's truth is the same always 782 00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:29,200 and forever. Amen. 783 00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:34,320 When life is hard, let praise be your protest against despair. 784 00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:38,400 Worship in every season. I'm just now learning as a 42 785 00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:43,520 year old man that there's something so intricate and 786 00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:50,280 beautiful about singing worship to God and how intricate it is 787 00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:53,760 in our lives. And when God, when you're 788 00:43:53,760 --> 00:43:59,000 struggling, praying and worshipping God, singing to God 789 00:43:59,240 --> 00:44:02,680 can do something so profound in your life because it just 790 00:44:02,680 --> 00:44:04,760 humbles you. You know, as we were singing the 791 00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:08,600 songs earlier today, I just be felt overwhelmed by the by the 792 00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:12,240 Holy Spirit and it humbles me. It humbles me because I could 793 00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:14,000 have all the knowledge in the world. 794 00:44:14,040 --> 00:44:16,120 I could have all the biblical knowledge. 795 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:22,200 I can recite verses and contexts and Koine Greek and Hebrew and 796 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:25,160 Latin and the Vulgate. I know a lot of that stuff, but 797 00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:27,960 it means nothing before the throne of God. 798 00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:31,720 And when that Holy Spirit just hits you right in the center of 799 00:44:31,720 --> 00:44:35,720 your heart and he reminds you of who you are, and you're just a 800 00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:39,920 man like a flower, you spring up and one day you'll be gone. 801 00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:43,120 But God's word is eternal. Praise God. 802 00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:44,960 And we have to be reminded of that. 803 00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:48,200 So when we come before the throne of God, when we worship, 804 00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:52,720 let's worship in truth, let's worship in spirit and say, and 805 00:44:52,720 --> 00:44:55,680 even then, I don't know how I should be worshiping God. 806 00:44:56,040 --> 00:45:00,360 Your, your, your, your, your word guides us in that. 807 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:02,680 Yes. But me as a person, I struggle. 808 00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:05,960 I struggle with worship. I'm a pretty introverted guy. 809 00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:08,040 I don't like attention. I don't like people looking at 810 00:45:08,040 --> 00:45:11,920 me or I don't like it naturally the natural man in me. 811 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:16,600 But who am I when the Holy Spirit is moving in me to open 812 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:18,760 my mouth and to worship and to sing? 813 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:22,600 I praise God I we're blessed that we're in a congregation now 814 00:45:22,600 --> 00:45:27,480 that I don't know what it is about the way it's set up or I 815 00:45:27,480 --> 00:45:30,840 don't know, but when these people sing, it feels like we're 816 00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:33,560 in heaven. I mean, just truly like it, just 817 00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:36,640 I'm amazing and I'm just so humbled by it. 818 00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:41,760 And I find myself when I'm sitting in those pews and I hear 819 00:45:41,760 --> 00:45:45,920 Leilani sing and I hear other people singing and I all my 820 00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:49,200 worries just wash away because I'm focused on God. 821 00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:51,440 I'm focused on, on, on the worship. 822 00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:53,240 And we need to be reminded of that. 823 00:45:53,480 --> 00:45:55,760 And I know for some of us that are men, that can be a little 824 00:45:55,760 --> 00:45:57,240 difficult. You know, hands in pockets. 825 00:45:57,240 --> 00:45:59,680 I'm cool. You know, I got my beanie on, I 826 00:45:59,680 --> 00:46:01,240 got my hat on. You know, I don't want to look. 827 00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:04,960 I want to look weak. You know, I'm, I hunt people. 828 00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:08,640 I hunt not people, but I hunt, I fish. 829 00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:11,880 I hope nobody's talking to people. 830 00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:16,200 And I, I hunt, I fish, you know, you know, I love America, you 831 00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:19,440 know, but we need to be reminded of who we are. 832 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:24,280 I love America, by the way, but we need to be reminded of, of 833 00:46:24,280 --> 00:46:26,840 who we are in Christ. And sometimes we need to humble 834 00:46:26,840 --> 00:46:30,480 ourselves. Brother, when I hear you singing 835 00:46:30,480 --> 00:46:35,000 the doxology every time it just does something right in my 836 00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:38,720 heart. Yes, I'm like man, that that, 837 00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:41,840 that baritone that he has man, I'm like, praise God. 838 00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:45,000 It just every time I hear it, I'm like, man, I've heard I love 839 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:47,120 the doxology and I hear you singing. 840 00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:49,240 I'm like, man, it's just something to me just humbles me 841 00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:51,800 and praise God for that. So let's just be reminded of 842 00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:55,080 that perfect love casts out all fear. 843 00:46:55,080 --> 00:46:57,000 First to John chapter 4, verse 18. 844 00:46:57,280 --> 00:47:01,800 Stay rooted in his embrace. Fight fear with the reality of 845 00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:05,200 God's love. When you're anxious, a lot of us 846 00:47:05,200 --> 00:47:07,200 struggle with anxiety. I struggle with anxiety. 847 00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:11,280 We need to turn to God. We need to give it over to the 848 00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:14,080 Holy Spirit and say, I don't know, I'm struggling right now. 849 00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:17,920 Please help me. I have loved you with an 850 00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:21,320 everlasting love. Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 3. 851 00:47:22,400 --> 00:47:25,080 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. 852 00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:27,360 No one will snatch them out of my hand. 853 00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:30,640 My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. 854 00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:33,560 No one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 855 00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:38,760 I and the Father are 1 John chapter 10, verse 28 through 30 856 00:47:39,080 --> 00:47:41,520 words from our Lord and Savior Himself. 857 00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:44,120 Again, are you going to call him a liar? 858 00:47:44,120 --> 00:47:46,360 Are you going to say he's a liar? 859 00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:49,720 Absolutely not. Instead, we should be thanking 860 00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:52,920 God instead of working around how we can figure out how this 861 00:47:52,920 --> 00:47:57,040 verse doesn't mean what He says. And I think maybe if we use this 862 00:47:57,040 --> 00:47:59,200 verse, maybe he. No, no, no, no, no, no. 863 00:47:59,360 --> 00:48:02,600 We can have confidence before the throne of God that He saved 864 00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:06,560 us and that his sacrifice is eternal and it was enough. 865 00:48:07,480 --> 00:48:08,000 Amen. Amen. 866 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:11,280 So conclusion, we should be walking in assurance. 867 00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:15,360 Romans 8 is not just a theological mountain that people 868 00:48:15,360 --> 00:48:20,040 have been going back and forth about for 2000 years, right? 869 00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:23,240 It's a spiritual shelter for the storms of life. 870 00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:25,960 When we're struggling, open up the word. 871 00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:28,920 When we don't know how, turn to Romans chapter 8. 872 00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:32,560 When you're struggling with your anxiety, when you're feeling not 873 00:48:32,560 --> 00:48:35,840 enough, when you're feeling ashamed, turn to the word. 874 00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:40,080 It begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation. 875 00:48:40,560 --> 00:48:43,680 In between. We find life in the Spirit, hope 876 00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:47,480 and suffering, purpose and pain, and confidence in God's love. 877 00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:52,520 So today, I pray that we can trust deeply in the God who 878 00:48:52,520 --> 00:48:57,600 justifies us, the Spirit who empowers us, the Savior who 879 00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:02,280 intercedes for us, and the Father who loves you forever. 880 00:49:03,800 --> 00:49:07,440 Let the Word of God be your anthem, your confidence and your 881 00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:10,200 comfort. Live in unshakeable trust 882 00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:13,880 because nothing can shake the love of God. 883 00:49:14,600 --> 00:49:17,240 Amen. Praise God, let's bow our heads 884 00:49:17,240 --> 00:49:18,880 so we can just pray over the Word. 885 00:49:20,320 --> 00:49:21,840 Father God, we give you thanks, Lord. 886 00:49:22,520 --> 00:49:25,680 We give you thanks for your word, Lord, because it is true, 887 00:49:25,680 --> 00:49:28,440 Lord, and it never comes back. Not true. 888 00:49:28,880 --> 00:49:32,920 We thank you, Lord, because you have given us confidence and we 889 00:49:32,920 --> 00:49:36,000 can know we can trust in the unshakeable love that you have 890 00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:40,120 given us, Lord, that nothing, nothing can separate us from 891 00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:42,800 your, from your love. Those of us that have been saved 892 00:49:42,800 --> 00:49:45,800 by your grace and your mercy, Lord, we thank you for your 893 00:49:45,800 --> 00:49:48,920 grace and your mercy that finds people like us, just normal 894 00:49:48,920 --> 00:49:51,000 people. And you just change this over, 895 00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:53,800 Lord, because we trust in you. We trust in the word that you 896 00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:56,040 have given us. We trust in the promises that 897 00:49:56,040 --> 00:49:58,680 you have given us. Lord, I pray right now that if 898 00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:02,880 there is any amongst this, Lord, that hasn't received that 899 00:50:03,400 --> 00:50:06,800 unshakable love, Lord, that confidence, Lord, I pray right 900 00:50:06,800 --> 00:50:11,600 now that they understand that Jesus Christ, God, came down 901 00:50:11,760 --> 00:50:17,240 from heaven and became a man and died on the cross of Calvary for 902 00:50:17,240 --> 00:50:20,760 our sins, Lord, For all those things that we have done against 903 00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:24,640 you, all those wrongs that we've committed against you, Lord, all 904 00:50:24,640 --> 00:50:28,320 those things in the past that we have done, they can be washed 905 00:50:28,320 --> 00:50:30,440 away through your sacrifice, Lord. 906 00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:34,280 If we just believe in your word, Lord, and we have confidence in 907 00:50:34,280 --> 00:50:37,240 your word, You will be, you will mark us as righteous, Lord. 908 00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:40,920 And if there's any among us, Lord, that have not put their 909 00:50:40,920 --> 00:50:43,960 faith in you, Lord, I pray right now, Lord, that you just 910 00:50:44,240 --> 00:50:46,520 intercede for them with the Father, Lord, and you give them 911 00:50:46,520 --> 00:50:49,760 this opportunity, Lord, to receive you as Lord and Savior, 912 00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:52,320 Lord, as King. And we pray that you just do 913 00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:55,520 this miracle, Lord, because it is a miracle that you change us 914 00:50:55,520 --> 00:50:59,280 over into family, Lord. Let us just be reminded of that 915 00:50:59,280 --> 00:51:02,400 as well, Lord, that we are family and that when we 916 00:51:02,400 --> 00:51:05,640 struggle, we can run to our Father, Lord, and that he takes 917 00:51:05,640 --> 00:51:10,120 us in his hands, Lord, and He just glorifies himself through 918 00:51:10,120 --> 00:51:11,880 us through our struggles and our pains. 919 00:51:12,080 --> 00:51:14,480 All of it is to glorify you, God. 920 00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:17,800 And we thank you, Lord. I pray over our Salt family, 921 00:51:17,800 --> 00:51:20,800 Lord, that you just continue to grow them and strengthen them, 922 00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:22,480 Lord, and draw them closer to you, Lord. 923 00:51:23,000 --> 00:51:25,720 I pray over my brother John Michael, Lord, who's just been a 924 00:51:25,760 --> 00:51:28,640 blessing not only to this congregation, but to me as well, 925 00:51:28,640 --> 00:51:31,640 Lord, and to my family. I thank you for him and placing 926 00:51:31,640 --> 00:51:34,040 him in my life. Lord, I thank you, Lord, for his 927 00:51:34,040 --> 00:51:37,040 wife, Lord who's just so good at just helping him. 928 00:51:37,240 --> 00:51:40,120 Such a great help man and a leader Lord amongst the the 929 00:51:40,120 --> 00:51:43,440 women here and that she's just a, a shining example of what a 930 00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:45,680 woman of God should be. Lord, I pray over his children, 931 00:51:45,680 --> 00:51:48,880 Lord, that you just help them, Lord and just strengthen them as 932 00:51:48,880 --> 00:51:51,520 well. I pray over all the the the 933 00:51:51,640 --> 00:51:54,880 married couples in this church, Lord, as they go forward that 934 00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:57,880 they just be blessed by you, Lord, as they begin to have 935 00:51:57,880 --> 00:52:00,600 children, Lord and and raise children. 936 00:52:00,600 --> 00:52:02,960 They've raised them, Lord, in the ways of God, Lord, that we 937 00:52:02,960 --> 00:52:06,080 can send out a generation of believers out into Gloucester 938 00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:09,480 and Matthew and and Deltaville and all the surrounding area, 939 00:52:09,480 --> 00:52:12,760 Lord, that they may proclaim your glory and your honor. 940 00:52:12,760 --> 00:52:15,920 Lord, I pray over those of us who are older, Lord as well, 941 00:52:15,920 --> 00:52:18,920 Lord, that you just strengthen our faith in you, Lord, as we go 942 00:52:18,920 --> 00:52:22,360 forward being a beacon of light amongst this community, Lord, 943 00:52:22,600 --> 00:52:26,080 that people can see the people of this church and say, I want 944 00:52:26,080 --> 00:52:29,440 that whatever they have, I want that, Lord, that they just be a 945 00:52:29,440 --> 00:52:32,320 blessing to the community in this area and everywhere they 946 00:52:32,320 --> 00:52:34,760 go. Lord, just testify to your glory 947 00:52:34,960 --> 00:52:38,000 and to your mercy. Lord, we ask you all these 948 00:52:38,000 --> 00:52:39,720 things. Lord, in the name of the Father, 949 00:52:39,720 --> 00:52:42,280 Son and the Holy Spirit, we pray Amen and Amen. 950 00:52:42,280 --> 00:52:47,480 Thank. You, my brother, I love you man. 951 00:52:47,480 --> 00:52:50,760 I love you too. Would you stand so I can bless 952 00:52:50,800 --> 00:52:55,480 you as you go? Lord, we thank You for Your 953 00:52:55,480 --> 00:52:59,000 Word, and we thank you so much for the fellowship that we have 954 00:52:59,000 --> 00:53:03,040 around it and the unity that we have in it, the comfort that 955 00:53:03,040 --> 00:53:06,840 comes from it. Holy Spirit, You know exactly 956 00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:09,560 what each of us needed. You know exactly how to care for 957 00:53:09,560 --> 00:53:11,800 your flock. You're the Father who knows each 958 00:53:11,800 --> 00:53:15,040 of His children individually. You see us clearly. 959 00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:18,120 You know us deeply. I pray that You will continue to 960 00:53:18,120 --> 00:53:20,480 cause Your Word to marinate inside of us, that You would 961 00:53:20,480 --> 00:53:23,480 open up the eyes of our hearts and bring us even more light and 962 00:53:23,480 --> 00:53:24,400 revelation. We don't. 963 00:53:24,680 --> 00:53:27,160 Although we might walk away from the gathering for this morning 964 00:53:27,160 --> 00:53:29,160 now, we don't walk away from You or from Your Word. 965 00:53:29,640 --> 00:53:32,800 We carry Your power, Your presence, and the truth that you 966 00:53:32,800 --> 00:53:36,280 brought us with us. Throughout the week will we pray 967 00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:38,760 in advance for friends, for family, for loved ones, and for 968 00:53:38,760 --> 00:53:41,600 persons of peace. Help us to simply testify to 969 00:53:41,600 --> 00:53:45,240 what we see, what we've known, what we've enjoyed, the new 970 00:53:45,240 --> 00:53:47,680 birth, the new life, and the gift that came from Jesus. 971 00:53:47,680 --> 00:53:51,960 We love you God, We thank you in Jesus name, and now the Lord 972 00:53:51,960 --> 00:53:55,680 bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face Shinedown 973 00:53:55,680 --> 00:53:59,880 upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance 974 00:53:59,880 --> 00:54:03,120 upon you. I give you great peace in Jesus 975 00:54:03,120 --> 00:54:06,320 name, Amen. We just missed.