Harvest Church Arroyo Grande

Never Give Up

0 (1s): Good morning. Would you stand and worship with us? If you're out on the patio, would you stand there as well? If you're at home, would you stand and would you rate lift your hands as we worship you this morning? God, we thank 1 (12s): You, father. Praise you. 0 (15s): And we lift your name. Hi 1 (17s): . 1 (4m 33s): Hi, the phrase go up. 1 (12m 30s): 2 (14m 13s): Thank you, Lord. It's a good day. It's a good day to be in the house of the Lord. And we bless you today. Thank you for the opportunity to gather with friends and family. Lord, we are so, so thankful for church and so thankful for where we live and for what you're doing in our midst. Lord God, it's a new year. And with new year comes new opportunity and hopefully a refreshing renewing of our hearts and minds, Lord, and we pray God that 2022 would be amazing. And God that we just continue to be grateful for all that you're doing in our lives. 2 (14m 55s): Lord God, as we open up to Hebrews chapter six today, instead of your word, we just pray God that your word would penetrate our hearts and minds. Lord that you gave me the grace to communicate truth. When your hearts and with your mind Lord, at the end of the day, Lord God that we would have heard something from you, receive something from you and that we'd be encouraged by you, Lord God, because you're good. And so thank you for this time. Thank you for this day in Jesus name. Amen. Hey, turn to Greg grease. Somebody next. See you before you sit down. Good job. 1 (15m 35s): Beautiful water. Beautiful. Jesus. 1 (16m 1s): 2 (16m 29s): All righty. Come on in. We will be wrapping up Hebrews chapter six. I was told that before we get into the message, I was told that I should re-introduce myself cause I've been gone for a couple of weeks. So my name is pastor Steve. I was told that some new people have joined the church in the last couple of weeks and they don't know who you are. So I am pastor Steve, one of the pastors here at the church. And so it's a pleasure to be back I, so three weeks ago for each I wasn't feeling good, but I took a COVID test and it was came back negative. And so I preached, and then a couple of days before our Christmas Eve service, I was feeling pretty lousy, again, pretty gnarly. And so I took another COVID test and it came back positive. 2 (17m 9s): So I decided that I would stay home and get better. And so I called Ron pastor Ron D and said, Hey, you're on for Christmas Eve. And so he preached on Christmas Eve and then I think Jeremy priests the next day or on the 26th and then last week Ron was scheduled to preach. So he preached and anyway, so I'm, I'm happy. So happy to be back. It feels, it feels like a long time, right? You Ms. Church and family and friends for two weeks and it's just really, really good to be back and I'm feeling so, so, so much better this real quick, what a year 20 well, 20, 20 and 2021 just crazy last couple of years. 2 (17m 52s): And now we're already in 2022 and we posted something on social media, just about all of the things that God did in 2021. And so I just want to recap that and just as a way to be reminded all that God had done and to appreciate our, our, our church, our staff, our elders pressures, it just takes an army to do all of the stuff that God has called us to do. And we're so excited. And so I just kind of going through my, we, we baptized 36 people last year. I don't think we've ever baptized 36 people in the same year. So that was incredible. 2 (18m 33s): We tried something new and because of COVID, we decided to just to have our Easter service, we always do an outdoor Easter service. And so typically it's out in the park and we're going to be back out in the park by the way, this year 2022. So we'll be back at the heritage square park there. And, but we did our Easter service on the back lot and it doesn't seem very big, but we set it up with tons of chairs and lots of people showed up and it was just an incredible Easter celebration. So that was fun, good stuff going on there. We had something, we did something that we'd wanted to do for a long time, but just haven't been able to pull it off. We had youth led services. So we did two of those where the youth did announcements helped with preaching, did music worship and all that sort of thing, ushers and greeting and that sort of thing. 2 (19m 14s): So that was incredible. We began the journey over at 1 0 2 in may. So we thought we would done we'd be done already, but you know, that was just my inexperience and optimism. Thank you very much pre optimism there. I was trying to think of a more negative word, but that it's optimism. Thank you. So, but we have made great progress at 1 0 2. In fact, I took a little phone video and we've, can we show that video really quick just to kind of, we can show you, maybe you'd never been in there, but this is kind of where it's at right now as a Friday, It's really coming together. 2 (20m 7s): So yeah, that's the video. So, you know, we spent months and months waiting on a permit and months and months doing work. And then finally we were able to call the drywallers in and, and now they're, they've got it all hung and now they're taping and texturing. And so hopefully by the end of the month, we'll be done with, you know, all the drywall work. And then there's a little bit of finished work that needs to be done and then painting and then floors. And then we're pretty much ready to go. So hopefully I'll put this kind of out loosely, I guess I've, you know, I've mistakenly said, you know, we're going to be in anyway sometime maybe sometime, maybe let's all hold the solution, maybe March. 2 (20m 46s): So that's hope, but Marx is going to be here before we know it it's our January. So anyway, this is going to be good. So a lot of good stuff, including one or two, we hosted our very first harvest fall festival on October 31st and just tons of people came out and just had a wonderful time. And it was the first time doing it. And man, so many people made that possible was wonderful. We saw growth in attendance within the church as a whole, but mainly with our kids with our Sunday school department, but fifth and sixth grade, that ministry has exploded as well as the junior high and high school tons and tons of kids show up here every week just to be part of the Bible studies and groups that we have going on. So we're super excited about that. 2 (21m 27s): They show up and pull out the basketball hoop every week. We just know they show up, they just show up and they own the place and we just, we think it's great. And so a lot of really good stuff there. We had multiple, multiple Bible studies going throughout the year, 20 home groups happening last year. I knew young professionals group multiple, as I said, multiple teen Bible studies and several other groups meeting on our campus throughout the weeks. I could have done any of this without your help. It takes, like I said, it takes an army of people just to pull it all off and to keep the place, you know, presentable and you know, people teaching and leading and all that sort of stuff. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 2 (22m 8s): So we so appreciate it. Thank you to you that staff, the elders, mostly just thank God he's been so faithful. It's been incredible to see what God did in the midst of, you know, pandemic and all of this stuff. That's been happening in our culture, in our community, in our world. We've just watched God just be faithful. It took on this project, had our biggest giving year ever a million, 1,000,400 thousand came in to cover cover expenses at 1 0 2, as well as just regular operating expenses. And I think the first year, so we're this year we're celebrating our 19 year anniversary and we had our first service in March of 2003. And so March will be 19 years. And is that right? Is that the right math? 2 (22m 49s): I think it's the right math. And so our first year, I think we brought in like totally for the year, like less than a hundred thousand dollars and we didn't need a lot. We had 12 people in the chairs back in the day, so we didn't need it. We rented a school and you know, we didn't need a lot. I was working full-time and, but we've, we've just watched God grow our budget, grow the ministry. And the budget just means it's just an indication of that. The ministries, you know, expanding and that sort of thing. So we're just, we're grateful for what God is doing. So I'm excited about 2022, how many is excited? About 20, 22. You're like ready to have 20, 21, 20 20 and in the rear view mirror and just ready to move forward. I'm super excited. I think God's going to do great stuff. 1 0 2 and with continually with the outreach and mission stuff that we do. 2 (23m 30s): And so I'm super excited about that. And so I just wanted to give you a brief update on kind of what happened in 20. I probably missed a ton of stuff, but, but that's, that's the deal. So we're, we're back to Hebrews chapter six and a. So if you want to turn there, we're going to get through the rest of Hebrews chapter six today. And we're seeing that, you know, much like maybe in the current culture, there was this difficulty in their life and it was causing them to the Hebrew people back in the first century, there was difficulty in, they were having a hard time continuing to trust that Jesus is the Messiah embracing their decision to believe that Jesus is Messiah. 2 (24m 12s): And so there's this encouragement from the writer of Hebrews to not give up, like never give up. They were waffling. And as often we do as believers, as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ circumstances hit us. We begin to get a little unstable little waffling and our commitment and our faith. And God reminds us that we, we can trust him that we don't have to give up. We can move forward by his grace and in his strength. And so we've titled the message today. Never give up. It's just kind of the theme. As in the beginning, I think it was October, November. I started preaching and it was a similar title of messages for the first couple of weeks. You know, don't give up, Jesus can be trusted. 2 (24m 54s): And so we see the theme, you know, it's a theme, but it, it may be the theme. Like the biggest theme in all of Hebrews for all of Hebrews is never give up. And so we see the author continually encouraging the people, continually challenging the people. And so it's part of my job in the pulpit is just to continue to encourage and challenge and build us up, build people up in their most holy face that we can continue to March forward. Being the people that God has called us to be making the right decisions that God has called us to make. And so the challenge today never, never, never, ever give up. 2 (25m 35s): It's just one, never in the title, but you know, sprint is never give up, never give up. So revisiting Hebrews chapter six, verses 11 and 12, we covered this a few weeks ago. And last time I spoke, believers are encouraged to never give up. And so we, he, we read the Hebrews six, 11, and 12, and this is what it says. Our great desire is that you will keep on there. It is keep on loving others as long as life lasts in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. So in the Christianity, our, our hope is Jesus. And then God has given us a hope in this life and for eternity. 2 (26m 18s): So we put our faith and hope in Jesus. We hold on to this person who is Jesus, who is our, the, the, the source of our hope and who is our hope. And we hold onto him as we journey through the seasons of life, hoping that we will by God's grace never give up. And so it's interesting that the writer of Hebrews challenges, the people to love others, as long as life lasts, keep on loving others. As long as life lasts. I wonder why he focused his writing on challenging the people in the midst of their kind of waffling. Why did he challenge them to continue to love others? 2 (26m 59s): Well, that the Bible new Testament is the message. There is that we're to love God and love others. And so when we are loving others, we're not. So self-absorbed, I've noticed when we were self-absorbed. We, we think the world kind of revolves around us and we get easily frustrated because people aren't living up to our standards or whatever it may be. So the, the, the writer is encouraging the reader in the first century and all the way through the 21st century to love others. Again, loving others, keeps us from getting self-absorbed reminds us the world doesn't revolve around us, or reminds us of the plights of others when we stop. 2 (27m 42s): And just think about the plights of others, the things that people are going through and really begin to pray for people, loving them by praying for them. Boy, I don't know about you, but it changes my whole perspective. I'm like my, my problems though, they may be big at times they begin to come into perspective and I'm able to think about others' problems instead of my own problems. And, and I'm able to do what God has asked me to do as a follower of the Lord. Jesus Christ, not just as a pastor, but just as one of his kids. You know, just like if you're a believer in Christ, you're one of his kids and he's called you to love him and love others. And in doing so, you keep your perspective fresh. You're able to have a tender heart before the Lord. So we going to keep loving others. 2 (28m 23s): Otherwise we become self-absorbed. So maybe cynical, angry, maybe a little bit selfish and also spiritually dull and indifferent. We see that in verse 12, it says, then if you're loving others, you will not become spiritually dull and in different isn't that just a subtle trap where you become spiritually doled during this COVID couple of weeks off that I had, and my mind was just not where it should be in order to really read and enjoy the scripture. So I try to read, get through maybe a few verses and I'd be like, forget about it. I can't absorb any of this stuff, you know? And I was just so tired. I just didn't. So for like, I don't know, like 10 days, I didn't read the scripture much, you know, maybe tried a couple of times, but I was so ready when my mind was refreshed, you know, to open up the scripture. 2 (29m 14s): And I just started reading the scripture. I'm like, oh my goodness, I've so needed. This I've needed to be refreshed by the word of God. I had become probably spiritually Dole because I've not been in church. I had not been reading the word and I don't think I was indifferent. I wasn't indifferent, but that's the slippery slope, right? You become spiritually dull and you become indifferent. And you're like, I don't care about what God wants to do. I don't care what God's calling me to do that. I, whatever, you know, take it or leave it, Lord. I don't really care. So the goal is that we would love others, love God and not become spiritually Dole. And in different verse 12, then you will not become spiritually adult and indifference dad instead. 2 (29m 57s): And this is important and said, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and enduring. So how do we hang in there? How do we never give up? What do, how do we resist the urge to give up? We've all experienced it and felt it, number one, we must exercise faith. And in Durance, if you're just coasting in your walk with the Lord and not really exercising faith and endurance, you're going to, you're going to begin to get spiritually Dole and indifferent. It's just the way it works. God's called us into this active relationship whereby we're active participants in this relationship with God, we're talking to him, praying, reading the word, actively involved, doing the stuff that he's doing in the earth, involved in the kingdom, work in the earth. 2 (30m 46s): And so we must exercise faith and endurance. We've got to have a growing faith. And if, if you're walking with God at all, and if you're reading the scripture at all, you see that God's always calling his people to, into an active faith. Like, like he's not, he doesn't want us to just rest on what we've done in the past. In fact, he won't allow us to do that if we're really paying attention, but he wants us to have an act of faith. Like what has God wants to do in my life today? It's a new year. What does God wants to do in my life this year? I don't want to just rest on my past accomplishments or experiences. I want to figure out what God wants me to do this year, without faith it's in possible to please God. 2 (31m 27s): And so he gives us opportunity to step into areas in our lives that require a great deal of faith. And we must learn to endure temptation testing and hardship. That's part of everybody's experience, right? Testing, temptation hardship. We, so we have to figure out how to endure so that we don't give up when we're being tested, because we will be tested when we're being tempted, because we will get tempted whenever there's hardship, we've got to figure out how to navigate those things so that we don't give up. The apostle. Paul is a great example. When he writes to us from a Roman prison cell in Philippians chapter three, and he writes these things, he said, Philippians three 14, I press on like, I'm never giving up. 2 (32m 13s): It doesn't matter that my circumstances are dire. I press on what to what's he doing to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us. So this is faith and endurance and action. He's like in a prison, right? Like unjustly. So he's there. He's like, okay, God, I'm here. What what's next? Right. Do you want me to do while I'm here? And because of his faith and his endurance, he's like, all right, some prison abyssal. So I'm going to encourage people who are outside outside of these walls and encourage them in their faith with the Lord, Jesus Christ. 2 (32m 59s): God promises that if we remain faithful and persevere, we will receive the heavenly prize of salvation. But beyond that, a life here in the earth that is so wonderful and fulfilling, it's rich and good. Not without 17 temptation trials and difficulty, but a life that is worth living a satisfying, rich and satisfying life. We're going to read about Abraham and here just a moment in his, how he died, having lived a rich and satisfying life. So Paul had this heavenly vision, a part of that heavenly vision impacted the way that he lived his life day to day. 2 (33m 45s): And part of that meant that, Hey, I'm going to do, I'm going to be about my father's business. I'm going to write these letters, these epistles, and I'm going to get them out to the churches so that they might be encouraged. Paul chose to have faith. And he chose to endure in the result. He had a faith and he endured victoriously to the end. So we have to make some choices in our life about what we're going to do with this faith in Jesus Christ. Are we going to have faith all the way to the end? Are we going to endure all the way to then we have to make some choices. It says, okay, in the face of hardship, I'm not quitting. I'm not giving up. I'm moving forward. Maybe things are unfolding the way that I think they should unfold ball probably didn't expect to be spending some time in jail, but he did. 2 (34m 30s): And so, Hey, it doesn't matter. God knows. He just decided to move forward. And he had great joy. And he had a host of other things that went along with his faithful in Durance. He just had this incredible joy. In fact, we read about it in Philippians four, four, he says always be full of joy. Always. He said, always, always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again, rejoice. And so there was something brewing in him, something of revelation about this life and the eternal life that he was heading toward and moving, moving forward in, he just, he trusted Jesus. He, and, and that trust in Jesus meant that he had joy. It didn't matter what was happening externally around him, even internally with his body, he had joy, any challenged, the church, listen to everything that God asks us to do or requires of us requires that we're filled with his holy spirit. 2 (35m 21s): It's a supernatural work of God. Maybe you don't feel like having joy. Say, Lord, the word says here, always be full of joy. Well, how do I have joy in this circumstance and situation? Would you do a work in me? Maybe just make this your prayer. Lord, would you do a work in me that my joy might be restored? That I might rejoice in all things? Not that we can't grieve loss. He's disappointed about some things in life and, and walk through some hardship that way. But at the end of the day, we need to say, Lord, I need you to restore the joy of my salvation, the joy. I want the joy of the Lord to be my strength. I want to have just an incredible joy. As I go through this season of life, he had joy and he wasn't worried, worry will kill faith and endurance, right? 2 (36m 13s): We, we don't have to be fearful. We don't have to be worried. We can be filled with joy and trust the Lord, Philippians four six says this. Don't worry about what, say it with me. That's that seems very hard to me, right? I can find a thousand things to worry about, but in the Lord, if I'm trusting him, if I'm exercising, faith and endurance, and I really don't have anything to worry about, I can trust that his plans and purposes are unfolding in my life and my kids' lives and my marriage and the ministry that God has called us to. Don't worry about anything instead, pray. This is what, what do you do with your worry? You, you pray about it. You just turn it over to the Lord, pray about everything, tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. 2 (37m 0s): So we're worried about something and say, Lord, I don't want to be worried about this. I can't carry this. All the worry in the world's not going to change anything anyway. So Laura, what do you want me to do about it? I don't want to be worried. A warrior is going to kill my Juul. I just want to trust you have joy, not be worried about anything. And then Paul was grateful. He was grateful. Gratitude will stoke the fires of faith and will give you endurance. So we have to choose to be filled with gratitude, even in a life that's not perfect. It's filled with imperfections in fact. And so we need to choose to be grateful. Listen to Paul, his writing to the church there in Philippians four. He says how I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. 2 (37m 42s): He could have been cynical, frustrated, upset, angry, because he's sitting in a jail cell and everybody else is out. You know, lollygagging around how I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you've always been concerned. See the optimism. He's like optimistic, believing that the people of God love him, that he's not in this alone, believing that God hasn't forgotten about him. That God's with him in the midst of his difficulty. I know you've always been concerned about me, but you didn't have the chance to help me. So Paul chose gratitude over grumbling, faith and endurance. All of these things play right into our ability to exercise faith and have insurance. He was content. This is something that we all need to grow in, right? 2 (38m 24s): But he chose contentment, even though he didn't have anything really in the way of worldly goods, family, as far as we know, might've been married at one point, but wasn't married while he was following Jesus. So he didn't have a lot, but he just chose to be content. And we know that he learned contentment and that's really probably the path for most of us. Most of us, we have to learn, learn some things. He learned contentment. I think part of the deal is he wasn't living for this life only, but he was living for eternity. So he's like, Laura, it doesn't really matter what I have here. I got rewards and riches in the kingdom. So you know what I need Lord. 2 (39m 4s): So I'm going to just be content with what you do. Give me, and then move forward in my calling in my life as a follower of Jesus Christ, Philippians four, 11 and 12, not that I've ever was ever a needy. He tells them thrive. I have learned how to be content with whatever I have, how many he had needs, but he decided to look at it through a different lens and said, I might be hungry, but I'm not gonna worry about it. God knows. And we'll see that here. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything I've learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty with plenty or little I, you just decided, Hey, I'm going to be content. 2 (39m 46s): I'm not going to be anxious and be worried. I'm not going to let it kill my joy. I'm going to just be content. The Lord is my provider, Jehovah, Jerry. He knows what we need. He knows what I need. All of this was possible because we know from Philippians four 13, that he was, Paul was strengthened by Christ. And this is how all things are made possible through our strengthened life. As followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We're filled with his presence. The holy spirit takes up residency in our lives. And we're walking with God, Philippians four 13 says I can do all things. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. So again, everything that we're reading about in the scripture and everything that I'll ever teach about or challenge you to, it requires that we rest in the Lord, that we're filled with the holy spirit, that we walk in an intimate, close relationship with Jesus. 2 (40m 38s): So he, that he can give us what we need. So Paul had any eternal prize, the promise of the promise of eternity in mind, but he experienced a supernatural ability in the meantime, to just rest, if anybody should have given up, I mean, it should have been him. You know, he was stoned and shipwrecked and beaten and all kinds of stuff. You know, all kinds of hardship, Peaky. If anybody had, you know, the ability to you should can throw Paul. Yeah, you can throw in the towel, but he didn't, he didn't. And, and the early church didn't and for 21 centuries, now people have not given up on Jesus. 2 (41m 19s): The church is expanding all over the globe. And even in persecution around the world, the church is expanding people, just refusing to give up all of God's people have a price to look forward to. So if you're in, if you've accepted the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ, if you've accepted his message, his truth and welcomed dementia, you've got it. You've got a prize waiting for you. Something to look forward to you equally. True. All of God's people have a life of testing and trial. Just, just the reality. Nobody's surprised by that, right? Anybody surprised by that testing and trial and anybody gone like a day without testing a trial, maybe a day, right? 2 (42m 1s): But if you've gone a little bit without testing and trial, it's common. Just expect it. You know, don't be derailed by it. Just know that it's common and God will give you the grace for it and he'll help you through it. So, because that's true, all of God's people have the capacity in Christ to live above the fray and to never give up in this life. We have the power to press on and never give up as we grow in faith. And as we learn to endure hardship, so how do we never give up? We must exercise faith and in him and endure hardship and exercise, faith and endurance for number two, as we continue on our texts, let's look at, God's promised you Abraham, as we look at God's promise to Abraham, there's plenty of transferable principles to our life during the 21st century, things that we can learn from Abraham's experience. 2 (42m 58s): And so let's take a look at Abraham. Why? Because the writer of Hebrews points to Abraham as a great example of never giving up. So we already looked at Paul and now we're gonna look at Abraham Hebrews six, 13 through 20 says for example, there was God's promise to Abraham since there was no one greater to swear by God took an oath in his own name saying, I will certainly bless you. And I will multiply your to send this beyond number. Then Abraham waited patiently and he received what God had promised. So how do we never give up? Number one, we must exercise faith and endurance. 2 (43m 39s): And number two, we must wait on God patiently. That's never fun. I got called into the ministry at 18 years old and I thought, oh, I'm going to go right in. I'm going, I'm going, 12 years later, I finally entered into full-time vocational ministry. Got it. And it got so more to do in my soul and my spirit and my mind, everything. So it took, you know, 12 years, we, when we moved to this facility, we rented it and renovated it and poured all kinds of money into it. For 12 years, people would say, why are we pouring money into a building that we don't own? I said, we will own it. Just relax. And 12 years later, we bought it and own it. And then I'm now releasing one or two, and I'm pouring tons of money into that. 2 (44m 22s): And maybe we'll own that. I I'm hoping we will. I think the owner wants to sell it to us and someday maybe we'll get it. And we've been praying for years for this camp back that God would give us that as well. So yeah, we just have to wait patiently for God to unfold his plan and purpose in our lives. So Abraham or Abraham, as it was before he got his name change was 75 years old. When God first promised to bless him, Dennis is 12. So 75 years old, but you know, Abraham lived to be 175 years old. So it's got a middle middle-aged right? So maybe how many considered themselves middle-aged here? I don't answer that. But if you're middle-aged God, God's got some stuff you want us to do with you. 2 (45m 5s): If you're on the older end of things are on the younger end of things. God's got some stuff he wants to do with you. We're going to see that throughout the course of Abraham's life, God was working in him, giving him promise for providing for that promise, preparing him for that promise. So Genesis 25, 7 and eight tells us Abraham live for 175 years. And he died at a ripe old age. And I love this part. Having lived a long and satisfying life, but I want that on my appetite epitaph, he lived a long and satisfying life. I want to know that my life was purpose filled, that I honored my wife and my kids and my Lord in the ministry that God has called me to long and satisfying life. 2 (45m 51s): That's a great goal for all of us, no matter how young or old we are. We want to know that at the end of it all, whether we live to be 175 or 75 or somewhere in between that we lived along and satisfying life. He breathed his last enjoined, his ancestors in death, the versa has so Abraham middle-aged that 75 years old is given a promise, 75, the Lord promises to bless him. At this point, he and his wife are child lists. They don't have any kids. And then the angel, the Lord comes along and says, Hey, I'm going to bless you and give you descendants. So he's like, all right. So you know, and the Lord told them, Hey, leave your, everything is familiar and move to the land that I call you to. 2 (46m 34s): And he said he moves to cadence. So he's there with his wife for 10 years and 10 years in Abraham, Abraham and Sarah are both kind of like over it, 10 years in like, Lord, where's the promise. So they kind of take things into their own hands. And Sarah gives Abraham her servant and they have a baby together, Ishmael, but, but ish, my, he was not the son of promise, right? They thought he was a son of promise. They kind of took things into their own hands, but he was not the son of promise. And so 24 years after Abraham received the promise from the Lord, God shows up again. So now he's 99 years old. So now he's getting a little up there, right? He's still, he's still 80 years away from his earth, 76 years away from his end of his life. 2 (47m 17s): But he's getting up there. Genesis 17 when Abraham was 99 years old, God changed Abraham's name, Abram's name to Abraham. When he told him again of the promise to bless him. So he's 24 years in the waiting for this fulfillment. That's that's in everybody's calendar. That's that's a long time. Do you want me? I was talking with a guy after first service. He said, I've been waiting for this promise from the Lord for eight years. I said, well, that's not uncommon not to discourage you, but eight years, you know, just keep trusting the Lord and believing that God's going to do something. And you know, it's just, God's up to something in us. In our circumstances, he's growing us up, teaching us things, preparing us for whatever it is that he has for us. 2 (48m 3s): And so for Abraham, he had to wait 25 years, Genesis 17, one through six, when Abraham was 99 years old Lord appeared to him and said, I am El Shaddai. God almighty served me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants. So this guy's 99 years old now. And he's hearing this again. Like, God, the clock is ticking. What am I going to do here at this Abraham there, Abraham fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, this is my covenant with you. I will make you a father of a multitude of nations. 2 (48m 46s): What's more, I'm changing your name. It will no longer be Abraham, which means exalted father. Instead, you will be called Abraham, which means father of Manny for you will be the father of many nations, verse six. I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations and Kings will be among them. So 24 years after the pop promise, God is back re communicating that promise God is God has spoken something to him and he's waited 24 years. But know this in the waiting. God is not been silent. He's not been absent. He's been at work in our lives. 2 (49m 25s): Preparing us when I got called the ministry at 18 and I had to wait 12 years. It was because there was a lot of work that needed to be done here before I was ready for full-time vocational ministry. So God is up to something. You got to believe that God is up to something in your circumstances in your life. And you can trust him. You can have faithful endurance and wait patiently for his timing. And so God is about to deliver on his promise to Abraham and Sarah. And, and so let's remind ourselves, what do we need to do to never give up. Number one, exercise, faith and endurance, exercise, faith, endures, exercise, faith, endurance, exercise, faith, and endurance, and then wait on God patiently. 2 (50m 6s): So what happened now that they've exercised faith and endures and waited patiently on God. What happened next? This is what happened next Genesis 21, 1 through five. The Lord kept his word. That's who God is. He keeps his word. The Lord kept word and did for Sarah. Exactly what he promised. That's the, that's the goodness of God. The perfection of God, the thoroughness of God, we can trust him. And we never, ever needed to give up. She became pregnant and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. 2 (50m 47s): This happened at get this just the time God had said it would. And Abraham named their son, Isaac eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham can circumcise him as God had commanded. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. Hallelujah. Twenty-five years of waiting, waffling a little bit, trying to make the promise happen on, on the, in their own strength. God's gracious through all of that and the promise. So you think after all of that Abraham and Sarah would, they'd be like on easy street, like we've conquered where Victoria is. 2 (51m 30s): We've got the promise, right? At a hundred. God's not done with Abraham at a hundred, or she'd be 90, I guess. I think that's an app say God's not done with Sarah. So we see that God is at work with people all the days of their lives of you're feeling old and tossed aside. You're not, you're not tossed society. You might be getting older, but you're not tossed aside. We're all getting older day by day. So in Genesis 22, because God was not done with Abraham and his promise to him, God asked Abraham to do something, to sacrifice his son, to sacrifice his beloved son Genesis 22, 2 God said, take your son. 2 (52m 22s): Your only son. Yes, Isaac, whom you love so much and go to the land of Moriah, go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you. Hm God's ways are not our ways. His thoughts are way above our thoughts. Something happened in that 25 years of waiting. I mean, God was obviously a priority to Abraham. He moved out of his land and into Canaan and trusted the Lord and waited on the Lord. But there was something being developed in him. As he, as he waited, as he faithfully endured, as he waited on God's timing, there was something being developed in Abraham that allowed him to listen to the Lord and to be obedient, to do this very heart wrenching thing. 2 (53m 14s): He'd waited 25 years for this promise. And now God's saying, go sacrifice him. What does that even mean? God, what, what does that mean? And so he gets, his son gets the fire and the firewood, and they begin to head to the place of sacrifice and there's no animal to sacrifice. And so Isaac's like, Hey dad, you know, we got the fire and the bundle of what he said, don't worry, God will provide you. As you read Genesis 22, all of the chapter, you see that Abraham had a SIG sincere confidence that even if he sacrificed his son, that God would resurrect him. 2 (53m 55s): He knew that he was coming back with his son. There was no doubt in his mind. He, he didn't question God, he didn't. He just did what God asked him to do, because he knew that God had resurrection power to bring his son back to life. He knew that God had promised the son. He knew that this would be the, the through the son that he would become, you know, the father of many nations. I mean, there was a lot happening. And yet he had to faithfully do what God had asked them to do. So Abraham took Isaac. And even when he was about to offer his son as a sacrifice, praise the Lord, the angel of the Lord appeared to him. So he's, he's bound his son. He's on the alter. And he's about to do the deed. 2 (54m 36s): And it says the angel of the Lord told him, lay down, the knife do not hurt the boy in any way for now. I know that you truly fear God, you have not withheld. Even your beloved son from me. I didn't even know. I don't even know where to go with this because maybe, maybe the Lord has called us to sacrifice something in our own lives. And we're like, Lord, I've been working my whole life for this. I've been building my whole life for this. This is, and the Lord just saying sacrifice it. I don't know what it is. Cause I don't have like a word for thus sayeth the Lord. But I, I, I know that if God's asking you to sacrifice something for his kingdom and for his will, that it's, it's going to be difficult, but it's going to be okay. 2 (55m 23s): After Abraham passed this test, God told them he reiterated Genesis 2217. I will certainly bless you. I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And so this promise comes so he's 75 years old. You're going to become the father of a great nation. Many nations tries, you know, 10 years later to kind of make things happen. It's not the right path. He thinks he's got the son of promise. When he's 99 years old, he speaks it again at a hundred. 2 (56m 5s): He finally sees the car. What are you, what are you waiting on the Lord to do in your life? What do you feel like the Lord has communicated to you? Don't give up never ever give up exercise, faith and endurance wait, and God's timing and just trust he will do. Let's get back to Hebrews chapter six. As we wrap up these last few verses and one final point, it says now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question, that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath. So that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure something about there's something, something of confidence that comes when we are faithfully enduring, waiting on God's timing, trusting him and believing in there's something about this surety that we can have that God wants us to have. 2 (56m 58s): The enemy wants to lie to us and tell us, oh, you're on your own. God has forgotten about the promise. He's not paying attention to your life. You're on your own. But the Bible and God communicate to us that he wants us to be perfectly sure and confident, perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence. We need to have great confidence in God, as we hold to the hope that lies before us, the hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor. And we need that in these difficulties of life, we needed something to anchor us to the truth, to the person of God. 2 (57m 44s): Something that won't allow us to drift too far or get too, too far away from what God has for us. We need to be anchored with that hope. And that happens through faith and Durance or just trusting God waiting on his timing. Therefore we who have fled to him for a refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain, into God's inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal Friess in the order of and number three, never give up. We must have great confidence in God. And I think where we fall short as human beings, myself included, is that we get our eyes on our selves. 2 (58m 28s): We get our eyes on our own capacity, our own ability, our own strengths, our own weaknesses. We get our eyes on ourselves. I know pretty much all the pastors in the area, just because we hang out together and that sort of thing. And every one of us is cut from a different cloth. Every one of us have different gifts, set, different strengths, different talents has different weaknesses. In fact, I went to high school with a couple of the guys at AIG, and if I look back at their lives and if they look back at my life and they say, there's no way that dude is cut out for, for, you know, pastoral ministry. And I'd say the same thing about them, but even more so about me is I look back at my life and my calling at 18 I'm like I was so ill prepared. 2 (59m 13s): And if I looked at my own weaknesses, I, I, I came from a broken family. I wasn't pure my early days as a young man, struggled academically until honestly halfway through college. When I finally figured out how to apply myself and I finished, you know, halfway strong. And, but you know, there were tons of, I had tons of insecurities, tons of insecurities. It was just, I was fearful of speaking in front of anybody. It was just not my thing. You know, I just, I didn't. So to imagine. So the problem is that we get our eyes on our own insecure, insecurities, our own insignificance, all our own problems, our own issues. 2 (1h 0m 0s): And we forget that God is the one who qualifies. God is one who calls people. God is the one who equips with spiritual gifts and empowers with strength and the holy spirit. God is one who does all of that stuff. And we're just vessels. We're like conduit, like, okay, Lord, just plug me in wherever you use me, wherever. And when, and then throughout the whole course of our life in ministry, we just continue to trust in the Lord. I was talking to a guy he's not a pastor in the area, but I talked to him a couple of weeks ago and he's like, I'm a great preacher. He told me I'm a great preacher. I'm thinking to myself, holy cow, I don't know any preacher would say that, but whatever, because I feel like I've been doing this for a long time. 2 (1h 0m 41s): And I feel like every time I get up in the pulpit, I'm like, Lord, you have to do something. Like, I feel like I'm prepared, but I don't want to do this in my own strength. You have to empower what I'm saying. You have to speak through me. You have to encourage the people. Am I, I can't imagine ever saying I'm a great, I would never, I just wouldn't do it. And, and I think there's a, there's a little bit of, there's probably a lot of danger around that statement because no matter what our position or what our gift sets or what we're called to, we just have to do everything with great humility, with great dependence on the holy spirit. We have to be filled with the love of God for God. And for people we have to just be, it's just a, it's a process where we just die constantly to our flesh, to our own capacity, to our own ability. 2 (1h 1m 30s): So, so we need to keep our confidence in God. And as we do that, then we will never give up. We will have faith to endure. We will trust God's timing that things are unfolding, where they should. And we will, we will have great confidence in God and not in us. As soon as we get our confidence in ourselves, we're just, we're doing worship rec problems are coming and it's not, not good. So, so with that, just take that all in and choose a fresh this year to not give up. What does God want to do in your life this year? And this in this new 20, 22 year, what does God want to do? 2 (1h 2m 11s): You're not too young. You're not too old. You're none of that. You're called and equipped by God. Do the specific thing that he's asked you to do. So what does he ask you to do? And then just begin to walk in that humbly depended on the Lord, knowing that you're not all that none of us are, none of us are, you know, perfect or without flaw. We all just move forward by God's grace doing the stuff that he's called us to do. So be prayerful. As we worship in this last song, let's get the worship team up. And as we wrap up, just be thinking, thinking about it, be thoughtful about that. In what area have you been tempted to give up? 2 (1h 2m 51s): Maybe it's your walk with the Lord, but just never, never give up Lord as we get ready to sing this last song and worship you. I thank you. That you've called us since you've adopted us and Lord, maybe there are people here who have just been kind of coming to church and hearing the preaching and part of things, but they, haven't never, they've never made that commitment to follow you Lord, and to become a child it's opposite child into your family. I pray that if there are people here today that have never accepted the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ, that they would do that today. And if you're here today and you want to do that just in the quietness of your own heart, if you're ready to come into the kingdom of God, into the family of God, you do that simply by asking God for his grace, his forgiveness, you recognize your humanity and your need for salvation. 2 (1h 3m 49s): And you say, Jesus, I am imperfect in every way. Bible calls it sin. I'm a center Lord, but I know God that you will forgive me if I ask and that she want to forgive me. And so Lord, I ask that you would forgive me and you just say, Lord, I want to be in your family. I want to be filled with your holy spirit, even though I don't even know what that means yet, Lord, I want it. I want to walk with you. And I want you to walk with me. I want to follow you all the days of my life. And as you make that, the cry of your heart and your prayer to the Lord, God hears you. And he welcomes you into his family. And you begin on this journey. That's lifelong and into eternity and you get to follow Jesus and he gets to lead you and save you and redeem your life. 2 (1h 4m 33s): And so that's you here today, do that in the quietness of your own heart. But then after the service, sometime today, tell somebody that you gave your life to Jesus. And that you're a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And then at the end of the month, we're doing a baptism and baptism is a public declaration saying Lord to the world, to my friends, family, and everybody. I'm a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ and get baptized and move forward with your life with Jesus. So Lord bless those who need salvation today. We've all been there, Lord and bless, bless those who are just discouraged and maybe feel like giving up for they wouldn't pray. They would be faithful by your power and during with your power, trusting your timing in their lives, Lord, and keeping eyes on you. 2 (1h 5m 18s): So thank you for this time. We bless you Lord, as we worship, help us to worship in spirit and in truth, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Let's stand and worship. 1 (1h 5m 44s): Ah 0 (1h 10m 10s): Thank you, Jesus. Thank you that every battle belongs to you. Thank you that we are going to see a victory. God, I pray that your word would penetrate our hearts today that something would stick and with sink and God, and that we would leave this service today in remembering that you are good and remembering that you want to do something, a fashion each and every single one of us this year. So we love you and Jesus name. We pray. Amen.

Love God, Hate Evil

0 (2s): Good morning. 1 (4s): Let's all stand together. Sing 4 (14m 19s): Lord. It is always a privilege and a joy to gather together as brothers and sisters in Christ. For the purpose of lifting up the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus. So Lord, we choose to just humble ourselves before you today, but we know that there's a lot more growth that we need in our lives personally. And we just want to be open to the voice of your spirit. Holy spirit, I pray that you would, as you are faithful to do all the time, just a touch our hearts, help us to understand and, and be touched by you. And Lord, we ask you father, just to rule and reign in our midst today in our lives today, we just counted a joy. 4 (15m 7s): We counted a joy to walk before you, and to know you in Jesus name, we pray God's people said, Hey, man, go ahead and please be seated. Thank you so much. Worship team. I Heather Hosanna. Good to have you guys here. So of course the first thing I have to say is happy new year. My name is Ron, and actually Steve asked me if I would share this morning, maybe a month ago or so. And so what I'm going to be sharing with you, something that's really kind of been on my heart for the last couple of months. And I, I want to tell you sort of ahead of time that parts of it are a bit serious. 4 (15m 52s): So maybe sobering, I guess, just cause of, of where we are and in time and in our nation. But I want you to know this. I am super grateful and thankful and joyful about all that God has done in 2021. It's been a great year that we just finished up and I am so optimistic and so encouraged by 2022, knowing that God has great things for us in our future. And so in the midst of, of sometimes what looks like challenging circumstances or trials and tribulations, or, you know, we face God is good all the time and he's going to press us in, move us forward, fill our hearts with joy and peace and just confidence in who we are in Christ and the things that he is doing in our lives personally, and, and what he's doing in the world, you know, in America and in the, in the world. 4 (16m 53s): So what I'll be talk about today, here's the title of the message. The title is love. God hates sin, love God hates sin, and it comes out of two scriptures. I'll give you the verses today. We won't be having the scriptures up on the monitors. Sorry about that. But I would encourage you if you have your Bible with you, go ahead and open up to the scriptures. I'm about to give you, or if you have a device, you know, get it keyed up. So we're going to be looking at Jeremiah chapter nine, Jeremiah chapter nine verses 23 and 24 and also Proverbs chapter six verses 16 through 19. So again, that was Jeremiah 9 23 and 24 Proverbs chapter six, 16 through 19. 4 (17m 35s): If you're a note taker, I'll be given out some various scripture references. Feel free to write them down if you want to. All right, Lord. Yes. We ask you to anoint your word today. Lord, your word tells us that you watch over word to perform it and it will not return void, but it will accomplish what you please thank you that your word is living. It is powerful. It is dynamic and we invite your word to have your way in us today. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. So as we grow in our walk with the Lord, we're on all on this journey just year by year, day by day, month by month, where, you know, kind of growing in our walk with the Lord and our understanding of who God is. 4 (18m 21s): One of our main goals is to learn more about the things that God loves and also to learn about the things that God hates. And in the process, we are meant to experience transformation. That's kind of that one word sort of explains the Christian experience. It's it's a life of transformation coming to love the things that God loves and hate the things that God hates. We're being conformed into his image. So I want to be very, very clear from the start. God does not hate people. God does not hate people. He loves people. God loves people. We know that, but God definitely hates evil. 4 (19m 1s): And he is against those who participate in and promote evil. What God truly hates is the destruction and the suffering and the bondage that evil brings upon people and upon nations. So today we will be looking at three things that God loves and we will be looking at seven things that God hates total of 10 things. We ready for this. Okay. So first of all, why would God loves certain things? He knows. 4 (19m 41s): God knows that these things will bring about goodness and blessing and joy into our lives personally and into our nation collectively. Secondly, why would God hate certain things? Because he knows that these things will bring about pain and suffering and destruction into our lives personally and into our nation collectively. And if unchecked, these things will bring about God's judgment as well. Israel, the nation of Israel, sort of a case in point of this as we'll look at in the future. So the interesting verse in Amos, chapter five, verse 15, it says this hate the evil and love the good as disciples of Jesus Christ. 4 (20m 30s): We are learning. We're learning to love God more and more. And so part of loving God more and more is knowing what we're going to be talking about today, knowing what he loves and knowing what he hates and then being transformed into his image. Someone has started out with the three things that God loves the word actually that she's in Jeremiah chapter nine is delights God delights in these things. So I'm reading from Jeremiah chapter 9 23 and 24. Thus says the Lord let, not the wise man boast in his wisdom. Let, not the mighty man boast in his might, but let and let, not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this that you understand that it knows me that I am the Lord who practices steadfast, love justice and righteousness in the earth for in these things. 4 (21m 26s): I delight declares the Lord. So there we see in Jeremiah chapter nine, the things that that God delights in our loves God delights in steadfast, love God, delights, injustice, God delights in righteousness. We're going to be looking at those just to affirm this in Psalm chapter 33, verse five, it says, God loves righteousness and justice and the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. All right. So I want to talk about that first thing, steadfast, love it. It's defined in the Hebrew language and this is its actual definition. It's kindness. Goodness and faithfulness. 4 (22m 7s): Does that sound familiar to you? It should because it, it, it sounds like the fruit of the holy spirit. So when the holy spirit takes up residence in us, he brings about this transformation whereby the character of God is instilled in us in the believer. And so again, steadfast love kindness, goodness, and faithfulness sounds a lot like Galatians chapter 5, 22 and 23, but the fruit of the spirit is love joy, peace, patience. And here's those three words, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And because God is love. 4 (22m 47s): I mean, not only is this character love literally his, his personage. He is love. God is love. His default is always to invite us into his love. First John chapter four, verse 16, God is love. And he abides in love, abides in God and God in him. Interesting story. This was when Moses had this confrontation with God and God was revealing his, his character to Moses in Exodus chapter 34, verse six. It says the Lord passed before him, before Moses and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 4 (23m 37s): So what impact should that have on our lives personally? Well, for me, it compels me to draw closer and closer to the Lord because I need to know his love. I need to experience his love and truthfully, the closer I get to him, the greater blessing that I get to enjoy my life personally, remember that Jesus was talking about, he was actually asked this question, what is the greatest commandment of all? You remember that in mark chapter 12, verse 30 says, you shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 4 (24m 18s): So they come together. In fact, the truth is we can't actually love others until we have that love relationship with God. First, first, John chapter four, verse seven, beloved, let us love. One another for love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. So that's the impact on my life or our lives personally. What impact should this have on our nation as a whole? So in Psalm chapter 33, verse 12, the verse says this simply this blessed or blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. So God wants to bless us individually and corporately in our community. 4 (24m 58s): And our nation blessed is the nation whose God in the Lord whose God is the Lord in Psalm 1 44, verse 15, happy are the people whose God is the Lord steadfast love. Secondly, what else does God delight in? He delights in justice. What is justice? Justice is that, which is just and right, and true and lawful. So justice is based upon a foundation and the foundation is his rules and statutes and precepts and commandments and judgments and laws that were all revealed to the nation of Israel in Exodus and Leviticus in order to bless them and give them a foundation as a nation, as a people, Psalm chapter 19, love these verses beginning with verse seven, it says the law of the Lord is perfect. 4 (25m 60s): Converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure. Making wise the simple, the statutes of the Lord are right rejoicing. The heart, the commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening. The eyes, the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous all together. More to be desired, are they than gold? Yes. Than much fine. Gold sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb, moreover by them, your servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward. 4 (26m 43s): I just so appreciate the fact that in God's word, he has revealed to us initially to Israel and to us as well. What justice is the foundation for justice, his, his laws, his precepts, his commandments. And, and so we base our life upon that foundation. In fact, this is what our American system of justice originally was supposed to be based upon. It is based upon God's justice. You may have heard it said that we are a nation of laws. Have you ever heard that before? We're a nation of laws and that justice is blind, meaning it is absolutely fair. There's an interesting statue. I believe of a, of, of a woman who has a blindfold across her eyes and she's holding a balance. 4 (27m 30s): And that balance is supposed to be an example of the justice of God. It's, it's blind it. In other words, it doesn't favor show favoritism towards one person over another. And when a new president takes, he swears in as an oath of office, what is, what does he do? He actually places his hand on a Bible and he swears allegiance to our constitution and our courts, the laws that give us a foundation, which ultimately come from God again, Amis chapter five, verse 15. I read it a moment ago. Hate evil love. 4 (28m 10s): Good. And then it says, maintain justice in the courts. So what impact should this have on our lives personally, or, or maybe as a nation? So we honor God by honoring and obeying his laws as they are revealed to us in his word in the Bible. And we honor God by honoring and obeying the laws of the land. To the extent that man's law does not supersede God's law. God's law is Supreme. So God delights in justice, which is why he has revealed his law to us. I don't know how familiar you are with the Bible, but my encouragement in 2022 is to make it your goal, make it your aim, to read through the Bible in a year and don't skip anything. 4 (28m 59s): In fact, when you get into Exodus and especially Leviticus, it's kind of overwhelming because God's very meticulous and deliberate about setting out what justice is, what his law is. And, and it will bless our lives. God delights in justice, which is why he has revealed his law to us. So we, then we are responsible to keep an obey his law, which is where righteousness comes into play. So remember I said, God, delights in steadfast, love. He delights in injustice and he delights in righteousness. So righteousness simply means righteous acts. As, as we've seen that justice is the foundation that God has. 4 (29m 41s): Righteousness is our response to the foundation that God has established. So Psalm 11 verse seven says this. It says the Lord is righteous. And he loves righteousness. As God was establishing the nation of Israel, he says to them and Deuteronomy chapter four, verse one, and now, oh, Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I'm teaching you and do them that you may live and go in and take possession of the land that, that the Lord, the God of your fathers is giving you. So the, the, the premises, this is that as we walk in obedience to God's law, his justice, we receive the blessing as a result of that. 4 (30m 31s): And also he says this to Israel and Leviticus chapter 18, verse four, he says, you shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord, your God, you shall never keep my statutes. And my rules, if a person does them, he shall live by them. I am the Lord. The Bible talks a lot about this abundant life that he wants us to experience, or part of that abundant life just simply comes from knowing and understanding what God delights in, and then simply applying that to our lives. So what impact should this have on our lives personally, Proverbs chapter 21, verse 21, it says whoever pursues, righteousness and kindness will find life righteousness and honor, Isaiah chapter 32 verse 17, the effect of righteousness will bring peace. 4 (31m 25s): And the result of righteousness is quietness and trust forever. How much do we need all those things? I want to live in peace and quietness. I want to trust in the Lord. And so this has all the effect of righteousness. Well, what impact should this have on our nation? Proverbs chapter 14, verse 34, righteousness exalts, a nation Proverbs chapter 16, verse 12 here, he's talking about leadership of a nation. The throne is established by righteousness. So we see not only the blessing on our lives, personally, as a result of walking in obedience to God's law, his word, but we see the blessing upon our nation corporately as, as well, Isaiah chapter 54, verse 14 in righteousness, you shall be established. 4 (32m 19s): You shall be far from oppression for you shall not fear. And from terror for it shall not come near you. You know, coming out of tap, coming out of 20, 20 and 2021. What would you say are main things that people are kind of walking in right now? I'd say they're walking in. What does he say here? We're walking in oppression. We're walking in a lot of fear and people are just terrified. I find by the things that are coming upon us of the unknown, God says, you know, as you walk with me in righteousness, he says, I'm going to establish you. 4 (33m 6s): I'm going to give you a firm foundation. So that you'll be far from oppression. You won't fear, and I'll keep you from terror. The things that would terrorize us. So the truth is God knows that we need help. We need help with this. So this is what he has done for us. So I love the fact that our relationship with God is not simply based on a book of rules. And that's how he chooses to reveal the truth to us. But what he's also given us, he's given us our savior, which is Christ the Lord to help us in this. He's given us the holy spirit that dwells within us so that we are able. 4 (33m 50s): So we have the power to walk in the things that I'm talking about this morning, Jeremiah chapter 23, verse five behold, the days are coming declares. The Lord, when I will raise up for David, a righteous branch, who is he talking about there? He's talking about Jesus Christ. Our Lord, the days are coming declares. The Lord, when I will raise up for David, a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. Now we're not fully fully there yet, but when Jesus Christ returns at his second coming, we're going to walk in that fully. 4 (34m 30s): But right now, we, as I said, we have the holy spirit. That's been given to us by faith in Christ to help us this. And this first you're very familiar with I'm sure, Isaiah chapter nine, verse seven of the increase of his government and of peace. There will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forever more. And once again, he's talking about Jesus Christ, our savior, all right. So I'm going to repeat myself just for a moment. God loves certain things. So God delights in certain things because he knows that these things will bring about goodness and blessing and joy into our lives personally, and to our nation collectively, remember, God is not against us. 4 (35m 23s): He's not against anyone. God is for us. God delights in steadfast, love justice and righteousness. All right? So here's where we transition, transition into some, some difficult things. God hates certain things. So why, why? Because he knows that these things will bring about pain and suffering and destruction and bondage into our lives personally, and into our nation collectively. And because God loves us so much, he has warned us about the consequences of heading down the path of these things I'm going to be talking about. All right. So what are the things that God hates prior to chapter six, verses 16 through 19, these six things the Lord hates, yes. 4 (36m 10s): Seven are an abomination to him. A proud look, allying tongue hands, that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies and one who sows discord among brethren. All right. So what does God hate? We're given a list of seven things here. He hates a proud look, allying tongue hands, that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift and running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies and one who sows discord among brethren. 4 (36m 51s): All right. So I want to look at these each individually. Proud look. So basically this reveals a prideful heart, a proud look, reveals a prideful heart. And, and I got to say, God hates pride. He opposes pride while why, why does God hate pride? Because pride is might sound a little odd. Pride is demonic. Pride will cause a person or a nation to stand in rebellion against God because the pride of man creates conflict and strife and the breakdown of relationships. And ultimately the breakdown of a nation. 4 (37m 33s): When I said a moment ago, that pride is demonic. Think about this. As we are told in Isaiah chapter 14, what the downfall was of Lucifer, Isaiah 14, for you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the Mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north. I will ascend above the Heights of the clouds and I will be like the most high. What, what a, what a picture of pride that is. So Proverbs 13, 10 pride we're told leads to conflict. 4 (38m 17s): In fact, I would say in my, in my life, in my experience, anytime I had really a, a difficult conflict with somebody is because either I'm, I was walking in pride, I was stubborn, unwilling to budge either that or the other person was stubborn and unwilling to budge. If he's basically saying the root of conflict is pride, Proverbs chapter 28, verse 25, he was of a proud heart stirs up strife. First, John chapter two, verse 16 for all the Jews in the world. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life is not of the father, but is of the world. 4 (38m 58s): And finally, James chapter four, verse six, God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble as we go through these seven points, these seven things that God hates. I want to try to bring kind of where we are the current events of our day and look at this. So as a nation statistics show, in fact for decades, maybe, maybe a hundred years or more, we've kept track. There's been groups that keep track of the number of Christians that are in America. So as a nation, we are more secular than at any time in American history. 4 (39m 38s): So they measured. They measured that by interviewing people, asking questions, you know, do you believe in God, you believe in the Bible and they have all these criteria. Basically what we see is there's a, there's a downward spiral that we, as a nation, we are more secular than at any time secular, what do I mean by that? We are unbelieving. We are atheist. We are agnostic. We, we do not have faith in God to the degree we did in the past. So what does that mean? That means this basically every man does what's right in his own eyes. So who's who was to set this standard for justice or righteousness. If God has no place in the lives of the people of our nation, I get to determine, I get to determine my basis for righteousness and truth. 4 (40m 29s): So, so I see this is where pride has its root and brings out strife and confusion. All right. So the second thing that the Lord hates, it says a lying tongue. So this is lying with the intent, the intention to deceive. So we're not talking about, you know, a white liar. We're trying to maybe protect somebody from some, no, he's talking about lying with the intent. The intention is to deceive. So why does God hate lying? Well, I'm going to say it again because lying is it's demonic. And it undermines trust between people and it leads to confusion. And it leads to the breakdown of relationships and ultimately the breakdown of a nation. 4 (41m 15s): You remember Jesus was confronting the religious leaders of his day. And this is what he said to them in John chapter eight, verse 44, he said, you are of your father, the devil and the desires of your father. You want to do when he speaks, he speaks a lie because he speaks from his own resources for, he is a liar and he is the father of lies. Why does God hate lying again? Because it brings about division Proverbs, chapter 13, verse five, a righteous man hates lying. 4 (41m 59s): Ephesians chapter four, verse 25, therefore put away lying. Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor. We are members of one, another interesting as we look forward and as the prophecies within scripture kind of reveal, what's going to be happening in the last days in the future. There's this person who comes on the scene. Sometimes he's called the man of peace or the antichrist. When he comes on the scene, guess what? One of his main tactics will be lying in second Thessalonians, chapter two, verse nine, the coming of the lawless one, speaking of the antichrist is according to the working of Satan with all power signs and lying wonders, all right, what are we facing now? 4 (42m 51s): What is our current situation? You know, I, I just feel like in the last couple of years, it seems like we can't trust anyone. We, we can't trust our leaders. We can't trust the media. We can't trust, you know, the experts and what are we left with confusion and strife. We don't trust people anymore. Thirdly, God hates hands. That shed innocent blood. Why? Because it's murder that is to take the life of an innocent person. 4 (43m 31s): So why does God hate murder? Because it is demonic and it creates fear and confusion because murder is the destruction of human life, which is precious to God because we've been created in God's image because shedding innocent blood will ultimately bring about God's judgment upon the nation who promotes it. John chapter eight, verse 40 verse 44. Once again, Jesus is speaking to the religious leaders of his day. He said, you are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father. You want to do, he was a murderer from the beginning. 4 (44m 12s): And of course in the 10 commandments, Exodus chapter, 20 verse 13, you shall not murder. Now, when we talk about the shedding of innocent blood, I, I I'm sorry, but I can't ignore the fact that since 1973, this is from 1973 to 2017. They measure, they count the number of abortions in the United States of America. So in that period of time from tooth at 1973 to 2017, 62,000,502, 904 abortions have occurred in our country. I'm not blaming anybody. If I blame anybody, I blame myself. 4 (44m 53s): But th th this is not about politics. We have to face the reality of our current situation. Why should we hate this? Because it is the shedding of innocent blood that taking over human life. And we hate it because God hates it. Now, as we get to the end of these seven things, I just want you to know I'm going to offer some solutions. Okay? I don't want us to be overwhelmed by this list. It is over. I trust me when I was studying this, it's overwhelming to me. And I honestly really didn't want to share this message with you today, because it is hard to hear, but I feel like God, just wouldn't. 4 (45m 35s): He wouldn't let me go a different direction. What else does God hate? He hates a heart, the devices, wicked plans. So that is a person or a group who plots evil, a person or a group who plots evil. So these are carefully laid plans intended to bring harm or injury to another person or to another person's property, or to undermine the peace and the order and the safety of a society. So why does God hate devising wicked plans? Because devising wicked plans is you can say it with me, it's demonic. And because it leads to chaos and anarchy, violence, and suffering, and ultimately it can lead to the downfall of the peace and safety and order in a community and ultimately in a nation Ephesians chapter six, verse 11, why is it demonic? 4 (46m 31s): He says this put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil. What are the Wiles of the devil wicked plans? There's a great example of this in the old Testament, in the book of first Kings chapter 21, this is a story of Ahab king Ahab, the king of Israel. And right next to the palace, there was a vineyard and it belonged to a man named Naboth and Ahab. Ahab really wanted neighbors. Vineyard was close to the palace. He said, Hey, boss, I'd like to have your vineyard. I'll, I'll buy it from you. I'll give you a better vineyard somewhere else. He says, I want to put a vegetable garden next to my palace. 4 (47m 14s): And they both said, no, no, I'm not going to do that. So Ahab went home to his palace, pouting and frustrated because neighbors wouldn't sell him or give him his vineyard. So then Jess Ebell comes on the scene. Joseph Bell says, I'll get you named boss vineyard. So she wrote number. We're talking about wicked plans. We're talking about devising wicked plans. So she wrote letters and they have his name, sealed them with his seal and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where they both live in her letter. She commanded call the citizens together for fasting and prayer and give neighbors the place of honor. 4 (47m 55s): And then see two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God, and the king, then take him out and stone him to death. And that's exactly what they did to neighbors. So when Joseph Bell heard the news that named boss had been killed, she said, Hey, Hab, you know the vineyard Naboth, wouldn't sell you. Well, you can have it now because he's dead. So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of neighbor to claim it a person or a group who plots evil. So here's something interesting as we look to the future, once again, I'm going to be talking about this, this person that's going to come on the scene. 4 (48m 40s): He's called the antichrist. When the antichrist comes on the scene, guess what? Another one of his main tactics will be devising wicked plans. We see this in Daniel chapter eight, verse 23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise talking about the antichrist, having fierce features who understands sinister schemes. In other words, he devises wicked plans. So again, talking about sort of what we're facing in the world today, current events, one of the plotting of evil that's really grown significantly in recent years as human trafficking. 4 (49m 25s): For example, in 2021, there was a earthquake in Haiti, 200,000 people were killed in that earthquake. So the real result of the earthquake was that there were a lot of orphans, both their parents, both mom and dad were killed in the earthquake. And there's all these small children roaming the streets that have no parents. And so what these human traffickers did again, wicked plans, devising wicked plans is a set up a storefront. And the sign on the storefront said orphanage. And so good. Meaning well-meaning people would take these orphans, these children who lost their parents and bring them into this place that says orphanage on the storefront. 4 (50m 13s): And it was actually a ring for human trafficking. Another thing that God hates, feet that are swift running to evil that is creating mischief with an evil intent, creating mischief with an evil intent. So why does God hate feet? They're just swift in running to evil. You can say it with me because it is demonic. It creates anarchy destruction to people, destruction, to pop property. And ultimately it can lead to the downfall of a nation. 4 (50m 54s): Isaiah chapter 59, verse four, no one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and they speak lies. They conceive evil and bring forth inequity, their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity wasting and destruction are in their paths. Proverbs chapter 10 verse 23 to do evil is like sport to a fool. 4 (51m 34s): Proverbs 24 8. He devises to do evil shall be called a mischievous person. All right. Back to some of the current events that we're facing right now. I'm not exactly sure how the communication is done through social media, through an app or whatever, but you've seen it on the news where the word goes out. Okay, we're going to gather together at this store and we're going to break the windows in mass. We're going to break the windows. We're going to run in. We're going to break the glass. We're going to steal the jewelry or anything that is valuable. And then we're going to run out as quickly as we possibly can, is this mob mentality feet that are swift running to evil. 4 (52m 18s): We're witnessing looting and rioting and destruction and mayhem in many of the major cities across our country. Another thing God hates. Number six of false witness who speaks lies. So earlier we talked about lying, but now there's a different level. It is a false witness who speaks lies. So why is this such a bad thing? Because it is it's demonic. And because it can destroy a person's good reputation. And ultimately it will bring down a nation's sense of justice and a nation sense of security. 4 (52m 60s): Genesis chapter three, verse one, the serpent. So this was Satan in the garden, right? The serpent said to Eve, did God really say that you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden? Of course we may eat. So she responded, of course, we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we're allowed to eat. God said, you must not eat it or even touch it. If you do, you will die. The serpent replied, you won't die. God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it. 4 (53m 42s): And you'll be like, God, knowing both good and evil, a false witness who speaks lies, Exodus chapter 20 verse 16, another one of the 10 commandments. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. So one of the interesting things we're facing now as a nation, current events, it's the same called cancel culture. You've probably heard of it, right? And that is it's designed to destroy a person's reputation to take them out. How did they do that? 4 (54m 23s): They'll do it for political reasons. They'll do it for ideological reasons. They don't want to hear what you might have to say. If your ideology is different from theirs. So they will expose you. They will spread lies about you for the purpose of destroying your character, destroying your reputation. Finally, number seven, a person who sows discord among their, and God hates this. A person who sows discord among their brother. And why is this such a bad thing? 4 (55m 2s): Because it's demonic because it undermines trust and unity. It creates division and discord in a family to a church, to a community, to a nation. I know we're just coming out of the holidays, Christmas and new years where families commonly get together. And invariably, there's some family member that just wants to create division in the family, right? Does create drama. And what does it do? It's sows discord within that family, James chapter three, verse 14, if you have bitter envy, and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 4 (55m 47s): This wisdom does not descend from above. It is earthly. It is sensual and it is demonic for where envy and self-seeking exist. Confusion. And every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure it's then peaceable, gentle, and willing to yield full of mercy and good fruits without partiality, without a policy. Now, the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace, Amos chapter three, verse three, how can two walk together unless they are one of Satan's schemes or plans is to sow discord to create this unity, current events. 4 (56m 37s): So we're living in a culture of division. The division could be based on race, skin, color, political views, ideology, even vaccine status. Now is a point of division. And this is being promoted incessantly. And I believe call me crazy. I feel like it's by design it's it's demonic. All right. I want to bring a conclusion to all this because I know this is a, this is overwhelming. And yet this is the, this is what we're facing. And in 2022, as I mentioned earlier, as I began, I'm very optimistic. 4 (57m 19s): I'm filled with lots of joy as we face 2022. But, but in thinking about this and how we're impacted by it right now in our day, it is not only overwhelming, but how do we respond? How do we supposed to respond to this in John chapter 16, verse eight, Jesus is speaking. And he's speaking before the day of Pentecost, when the holy spirit was given, he says, and when he, the holy spirit has come, he will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. So how do we respond to the mayhem that we're facing right now? Basically we let God by the work and power of the holy spirit, just to bring that conviction, bring that sense of, of righteousness and justice that we're seeking. 4 (58m 9s): Just as I said in the beginning, God doesn't hate people. We don't hate people. I don't, I don't hate anybody. I'm trusting and relying on the fact that God is working in, moving in our midst to accomplish his purposes. Romans chapter eight, verse 31. How do we respond? If God is for us, God is for you. If God is for us, who can be against us? It, all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us, acts chapter 17, verse 30. It says this God overlooked. People's ignorance in the past in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 4 (58m 55s): You know, I've found as I've walked with the Lord 40 years now, there's really only one person that I can control. And that is myself. There's only one person I can judge. And that is myself. I, as I've grown with the Lord, I don't judge anybody. I only judge myself. And with that, I say, Lord, search me and know my heart and see if there's any wicked way in me and then lead me in the way of her lasting. So that's where this, this idea of repentance comes into play. So how do we respond to all these things? We trust the work of the holy spirit in our lives personally and in the world. And we just have this humble heart of repentance towards God every day. And then lastly, this is Paul's instruction and Ephesians chapter six, because honestly the things we face it truly can be overwhelming, but here's what he said. 4 (59m 45s): He said, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil for, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness. And they have any places, therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand, stand, therefore having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace and above all taking the shield of faith with which you'll be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end, with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. 4 (1h 0m 46s): I know there's a lot there in that verse, but that's what, how God would have us respond to our current situation. I'd like to go ahead and invite the worship team to come back out again. What I want to do now is I want to sort of respond to all this. And part of responding is if by chance there's anyone here in the sanctuary or in the loft or in the patio or watching online, you've never given your life to Jesus Christ before you don't know God, but you want to know him. God has really made it so simple. If we would simply admit that we have sinned against God, there is a God in heaven who created all things. 4 (1h 1m 31s): And we admit that we have sinned against God. And secondly, we simply believe the gospel. We believe that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. We believe, I believe that he went to the cross and died for my sins personally. And I know that I need him. I need Jesus to cleanse me and forgive me of my sins. And so how do I respond? I confess Jesus. I need you. I need you in my life. As my Lord, as my savior, I need to be forgiven. I need your salvation. I need the life that the abundant life that you talk about as we close with these songs, go ahead and stand. 4 (1h 2m 14s): Why don't you, if you've never done that yet, I would encourage to do that today. Invite Jesus Christ into your life to be your Lord and savior. And even while we're singing, just have this, have this conversation with God. So simple, Lord, we just thank you for the life that you've given to us in Christ. Lord, thank you that you are for us are not against us. Lord, thank you that we are more than conquerors in Christ. Jesus, thank you that you came to set the captive free and to open the prison doors, to those who are bound up. And so Lord help us to be as a positive, positive work for good in the world that we face right now. 4 (1h 2m 57s): Lord, as we see chaos and mayhem all around us, but help us not to be overwhelmed, but help us to be that force for good in the world. Help us to represent you well in the world today. Help us to love people no matter what they've done, who they are, what they believe, help us to love people in your name. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. 5 (1h 3m 29s): I sing praises to your Phrases, to your 0 (1h 3m 42s): Name 5 (1h 3m 44s): That so much. 0 (1h 3m 53s): Oh 5 (1h 3m 55s): To you. That's so great then on Your name? 5 (1h 7m 6s): Ms. Bins. oh, always flags me. 5 (1h 8m 43s): Hi. You are born in darkness. Cannot hide You crushed the Know who stands behind And goes. 5 (1h 10m 49s): B stands me. God of hate is always by my side. Cast me shot No goes before me. 5 (1h 12m 20s): I know who stands behind he is a friend goes before me stands. P .

Choose for Yourself

1 (2m 12s): I give my whole life to honor this. Who was, say crown him for 0 (2m 35s): she . 1 (10m 54s): Jeez, His mercy and the Jeez, we cried the whole. 1 (12m 39s): Thank you God, for your holiness. Thank you for the gift Of salvation. Thank you for the gift of 0 (12m 50s): Just 1 (12m 52s): Covering for our sentence. Lord, I can be made right with you. 2 (13m 42s): All right. You may be seated. Well, good morning. Glad to see so many of you here. We had a debate among staff. How many people would come the day after Christmas? So it's glad to glad to see you all. I love about you, but why am I driving this morning? And just seeing the sun on the green Hills was just amazing. Anybody else see that and enjoy that. Nice to see that fresh grass, you know, starting to grow. And just seeing that as I was driving in, reminds me of the road trips that I used to go on. 2 (14m 24s): We haven't been able to go on as many road trips with our girls and they tend to get car six, where I'm looking forward to the age where we get to go on road trips as a family. I can remember all the road trips growing up, going to Yellowstone or driving out to Minnesota with a family. It was just a good time. And I think over the years, road SERPs have changed in my mind a little bit. They've changed because now we use Google maps or different or car navigation systems to get there. I can remember the day before the days when, when you had to write out the directions on a piece of paper or have a roadmap next to you. So you knew where you were going, which road to take or intersection or highway. 2 (15m 5s): And, and I think we've lost a little bit of the road trip. The fun that comes with that kind of a sense of adventure as you're going out there. And I think we were more focused too, because I can remember like, okay, need to turn on, need to turn on this highway and you have to be focused. Okay, don't pass that highway. Cause there's no, there's no nothing that pops up a red light that says, you've, you've missed your exit. You've missed your exit. And so I just, over the years, going on this road trips, you, you look for the intersections. You look for the fork road, the forks and the rows of the change in highways. And now we kind of set the program and our car just yells at us, which way to go and which way to turn if only life was that easy. 2 (15m 53s): If only there was a big right-hand turn right in front of us, that says, you need to go this way. Now, if only life was that easy, it also makes me think of something that was very, very popular twenty-five years ago, twenty-five years ago, the Christmas and Thanksgiving season that the tickle me Elmo doll was the hot ticket. Does anybody remember the tickle me Elmo doll? Yes. Okay. I was, I was in high school, so I, I didn't get a tickle me Elmo doll, but it's this doll that you, you, you, you touched her, you squeeze the nose and it would say Elmo would laugh. And he would make funny noises. 2 (16m 34s): It sold for 29, 28, 99 in the store. But for whatever reason, that year, 25 years ago, it went bonkers. They sold out nearly of the 400,000 Elmos that they made. And it's reported that that doll began to scalpers were selling them for $1,500. Each there's a report that in Denver, one was sold for $7,100. Over $7,000 was paid for this Elmo doll. It was the gift for that year's Christmas season, 25 years ago, there's even a report that on December 20th, there was a raffle charity that had one and it was purchased for $18,000. 2 (17m 20s): This is how hot the tickle me Elmo doll was a man at Walmart. Working at Walmart was injured by a stampede of 300 people trying to get to the tickle me, Elmo dolls, all for this doll that you squeeze his nose or tickle on it. And it laughs and giggles. And it's programmed to do that. The next year they made a doll that was called love me, Elmo. And you, what that Elmo does is when you squeezed it, when you push the button, it said, it would say your Elmo sweetheart, or Elmo loves you or hugs and kisses. That's what was programmed into this Elmo doll. If only life were that simple, where God says worship me and he pushes a button on us. 2 (18m 4s): And we say, we worship you God, but it's not right. It's not that easy. We weren't created that way. We weren't created with a button with which God pushes and we instantly respond in worship and adoration to him. That's not the way that we are. We have choices and we are, we weren't programmed by God. We're not programmed by our DNA. Our DNA will tell us if we're male or female or tell us our height or our color of our eyes, the color of our hair, but it won't tell us it won't give us directions on the choices that we have in front of us. And so this morning, we come to the text in Joshua chapter 23 in chapter four, and I titled it, choose for yourselves, choose for yourself. 2 (18m 51s): That was a choice that was put in front of the people. Let's pray. Before we open up the scripture Lord, we want to consider the year that is almost past us and consider 20 20, 20 22. That is at our doorstep. Lord. I pray that this, this text just from Joshua 23 and 24 would be our, really our guideposts, our, our, our, our signs posts telling us which way to go. Lord prayed. You speak to us each individual in this room, each individual who's watching online or in the law for, in patio. 2 (19m 32s): Lord, may your word go forth powerfully in Jesus name? We pray. Amen. So I, I often go back this time of year, as we're looking into the next year, you know, new year's is a time to think of your goals for next year and all the, the things that you want to do that you want to change in your life. And I always, I often come back to this text, consider 2022. And these are the words of 110 year old man. Who's on, who's going the way of the earth. He is at the end of his life. And he recognized that, and he has these things to say, I think we need to take them with some weight. 2 (20m 16s): Joshua 24 verse 29 says now it came to pass. After these things that Joshua, the son of nun, servant of the Lord died being 110 years old. And this is the Joshua that was born in Egypt as a slave. And he knew what it was to S to have to build idols or do things for the Egyptian gods. He, he, he was a slave in Egypt. He saw what the gods of Egypt required for those who worshiped him. That was his first 40 years of his life for the next 40 years of his life. He served at as Moses, his right-hand man, his assistant. 2 (20m 57s): He served Moses for those 40 years and he witnessed what the God of Israel would do and where the God of Israel wanted to take the people. And he saw the way that the, the people for those 40 years, as they wandered in the wilderness, continued to serve these other gods. The last 30 years of his life could be the most exciting. It was the 30 years as that he was the leader over Israel. After Moses had passed away, he was put in charge of the leadership. He was the one that was to bring the people into the new promised land. He was the one that was to go forth and, and fight these battles against the, the, the people that live in that land, those nations. 2 (21m 40s): And he has some very heavy words. And because these are his dying words, I think they have some weight to him. Now, just as a side note, we see that he dies at 110 and on his tombstone, if he had a tomb. So it would say Joshua son of nun, servant of the Lord. And this week I got to get coffee with a friend. And I, and I, and I asked him a few directive questions. What do you want your headstone to say, what do you want to read on your headstone? Because if you know how you want you at the end of your life to go, then you know, what path and what directions to take along the way. 2 (22m 20s): Joshua says servant of the Lord, Solomon and Ecclesiastes he's. He looks back on his life in that book. And he looks back on his mistakes and his failures, his, the vanities of life and the values that he, that he wanted to have the, he looks at pleasure and the practical wisdoms. And he says this at the end of . He said, let us hear the con the conclusion of the whole matter fear God, and keep his commandments for this is man's all for God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, they all gave on blessings to their sons. 2 (23m 4s): As they're dying words, Jesus, on the cross, his dying words were, it is finished to tell a star there's a weight to that. So we come to Joshua chapter 23, and let's look at these verses. As we recognize that these are the words of a, of a dying man who served as the Lord, his whole life, Joshua 23 verses one through three. It says now it came to pass a long time. After the Lord had given rest Israel from all their enemies roundabout, the Joshua was old and advanced in age and Joshua called for all of Israel, for their elders, their heads for their judges and for their officers and said to them, I am old and well advanced in age. 2 (23m 52s): You've seen all that. The Lord, your God has done to all these nations because of you for the Lord, your God is he who fought for you. And as you go on in Joshua chapter 23 and 24, which we won't cover every verse this morning. So I would encourage you to read that maybe over the next coming days, as you look down at the new years, but Joshua 23 chapter, 20 days full of reminders and warnings for the people, Joshua had assembled a number of the leaders. And he said, these are the reminders that I want you to have. And these are also the warnings and Joshua in verse six of 23, he says, therefore, be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, Les, you turn to aside to the left-hand or to the right-hand or to the left, Joshua Joshua was reminding them to mind the crossroads of life. 2 (24m 46s): Keep those in mind, don't turn to the left or don't turn to the right, keep away from those alternative paths. You, the word of God is, is a straight and narrow path and we don't want, and Joshua is reminding them not to turn to the left to the right. Speaking of the GPS roadmaps a year, a number of years ago, I had a very, one of the firsts GPS is out there that gave directions and it was really rudimentary. And it was a little tiny scream about this, about this big. And I was on a Roach, a motorcycle road trip from here all the way out to Houston, Texas. I was going to go visit my brother out there. And it ended up being a very long day. 2 (25m 29s): I left Los Cruces, New Mexico at about six in the morning, ran out of gas in the middle of Texas, went through a rain storm. And as I'm pulling into Houston, Texas about midnight, this my GPS begins to give me directions and I wasn't paying close enough attention. It had given kind of two directions right in a row. And I missed the second one. And so it began to reroute me and I pulled me off the interstate and I'm going through, it's raining and I'm going. And I'm going in. I pull off into this neighborhood. And I later I found out that the, the GPS had taken me into a neighborhood. I should not have been at at nine o'clock or that late at night. And that section of town, my brother who lived there, it was like, that's not the neighborhood to be in because as I didn't mind the directions that were right there in front of me, we have to mind the crossroads. 2 (26m 17s): Joshua was saying Joshua 23, verse eight also says, but you shall hold fast to the Lord. Your God, as you have done to this day to keep the course, keep the course, a friend of mine in Santa Barbara. He, he he'd, he'd sailed to Hawaii. He got a little schooner and he'd sailed to Hawaii. He said, one of the things you have to do when you're aiming for an island, that's thousands of miles away is make sure that every day, your course is true. He said to miss Hawaii, by a degree or two would have been hundreds of miles and he would have altogether missed it. But so you have to keep the course hold fast to the Lord, your God, Joshua 23, verses 11 and 12. 2 (27m 3s): He says, therefore, Terek take careful heed to yourselves that you love the Lord, your God, or else. Indeed, if you will go back and clean to the remnant of these nations, Joshua was saying, if you don't devote yourself to the Lord, you'll begin to wander. You'll begin to stray from the path. You'll be go back into all the things that you were doing. All the things that the nations around you were doing worshiping these other gods verse 14 says behold, this day, I'm going the way of the earth. And you know, in your hearts and in all your souls, that not one good thing has failed. You not want a good thing has failed of all the good things, which the Lord, your God spoke concerning. 2 (27m 46s): You all have come to pass for you. Not one of them has failed. Josh was reminding them to remember that God is so good. God is so good. God keeps his promises. He promised them that they would have this land. He promised them that they would give God would give them rest over these other nations. As we come to chapter 24, Josh was going to give a proclamation at this place called Shekim. And whether these are two different speeches or one there's some debate. It, it they're, they're the, they're the last speeches. 2 (28m 26s): They're the last declarations of a dying man. So Joshua chapter 24 verse one says, and Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to check him. And he called for the elders of Israel for their heads, for their judges and for the officers. And they presented themselves before the Lord check him was a historical place. Check them is where Abraham having left or of the Kaldi's left his Homeland. God made him promises. And God called him out of that country to go into the land of Canaan, to give, go into land. A promised land and years of delay had, had, had kept him back until he entered into Keenan. 2 (29m 7s): The land of promise. And there, once Abraham was in where God had called him to go, God appears to him a second time. And after God appeared to him, Abraham set up an altar and worship God there and check them, check them is, is a historical place. It's where previously Joshua 30 years prior as they entered into the promised land that he had had them set up another altar there at Shekim. So at Shekem he is, he's going to give them once again, he's going to re remind them of God's goodness, in verses 12 or two through 13, we'll summarize it. And just say that God brings to mind all the things that God has done for them. 2 (29m 48s): He reminds them of his goodness. He reminds them of that. They were chosen people. He reminds them that they were taken to this special place. He reminds them that all that they were given in this land is good land flowing with milk and honey, a land where they didn't have to build walls. It was all there for them. He reminds them how they were delivered from their enemies, how God fought for them. And he reminds them of their history. And I think so often we forget our history too. We forget our own individual histories. Have you forgotten what God's done for you? 2 (30m 29s): Maybe as we look into 2022, we re remember all that God has brought us through this past year and years prior, God has done so much for us. And it's easy to forget those things. As you look in to the future, as you try to, as we try to look into the future, we forget all that God has done for us and with us and through us. I think that's especially true for, for those of us. Who've grown up in the church. I shared this with the youth group. I think we have to keep a sensitive heart. When you've grown up in the church, you forget all that God has saved you from and all that God has kept you from all the hurt and the pain, the loss Psalm 1 0 3 is an amazing song. 2 (31m 13s): It says this. It says, bless the Lord. Oh my soul. And forget not all of his benefits who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is restored or renewed. Like the Eagles, forget not his benefits, but after reminding them, Joshua now brings him to the place of the choice where Josh was going to say, choose for yourselves. It's going to be a charge as well as a choice in Joshua 24, verses 14 and 15, it says now therefore, fear the Lord serve him in sincerity and truth and put away the gods, which your fathers served on. 2 (32m 2s): The other side of the river in Egypt serve the Lord. Joshua has to say, put away those idols. Those idols are there in and amongst you put those away, get rid of those things. And I believe our culture today still saturates us with idols. No, not the little idols, as much as they, maybe they had back in those days, no longer little figurines or statutes or those, those are still around. We can still see those, but the idols are those things that we put so much identity in. I believe at our, I had our identity can become an idol. It can become a God that we begin to serve when it's something other than God, when our identity is identified or attached to something outside of God, when our identity, our identity is wrapped up in our political affiliation, it becomes an idol. 2 (32m 53s): When our social media following becomes our identity or our position at work or our abilities or skills or achievements, those things can become the idols of today. It became our identity. I remember when I was a swimmer at UCFB, I wore a sweater. I wore that shirt like almost every day or the sweatshirt. I walked around campus with that big UCS B swimmer jacket. I wanted everyone to know I was a swimmer. I identified as a swimmer. I was proud to be a collegiate athlete until the Lord began to show in my heart that you are, that is you become your identity. Tell the day that I had to go and tell the coach, the coach, I need to step down from the swim team. 2 (33m 35s): I want to get involved more with this group called campus crusade for Christ. And I took that sweatshirt up and I folded it up. And I didn't allow myself to wear that because I didn't want to be identified as that anymore. I wanted to be identified as a follower of Christ. Those things that we just begin to, I, they begin to become idols in our life. And they're, they're tough. They're harsh masters. When we allow those idols to rule our life, what about money or consumerism? Letting that become an idol? It doesn't matter how much money or if you have a lot of money or you're broke the pursuit of money in the acquisition of these things is an idol for many in our culture. 2 (34m 19s): Many people trust their money more than they trust God. And it's not that money is bad. We don't want to say that it's not, it's a tool and it's something to be used correctly. I quit. I guess the question I ask is, do you, do you have money or does money have you entertainment? I believe in, in our culture has become an idol. It's just, we're just obsessed with entertainment. And we have Netflix and all these different things, which we can just be entertained around the clock. I mean, I still remember the days where the TV went blank and I'm not that old. I don't think I remember the TV went blank at night and there was no program on here. 2 (35m 0s): What do I do now? But now we have around the clock, just a myriad of different things to entertain us. And not that that's bad once again, it's not that entertainment is bad, but it's when it's let, when we let it become all consuming in our lives is where we need to have some caution comfort. I believe is another one of those things. Are we seeking to make our lives as comfortable and safe as possible? When comfort becomes your idol, that's all you seek for. And these things, I don't believe they're evil in and of themselves. They're just the improper focus of time that we put into them. And we make these things become greater than they should be in our lives. 2 (35m 44s): Let's look at verse 15. Joshua gave the warning to put those things away. Now in verse 15, it says, and if, if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day, whom you will serve whether the gods, which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river or the gods of the Amorites whose land you live. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. I saw some of you of your mouth. That verse that's it's it's one of those verses that's memorized in me. It's it was, it was a plaque on my door growing up. It was a plaque that went to after my dad passed away. 2 (36m 25s): My mom bought a new house that went onto her door, and now it rests. And it's posted on our door as well. And Joshua gives the charges has choose for yourselves. He says, whom will you serve for Joshua? That choice was easy. Joshua had made that choice long ago in, in, in the English. We use the future tense to choose, to make that choice. Choose for yourselves. We, we, we say that's a future sense, but in the Hebrew tent has a fuller meaning. 2 (37m 9s): Francis Schaeffer said, he said it expresses a continuous action involves the future, but it also can point to the past. Joshua's undoubtedly affirming. I have chosen and I will choose Joshua had done that by the small and big choices that he had made along the path of 110 years of living. Joshua could make this statement because he had lived a life that continuously chose to serve the Lord. Joshua chose to fight against the Amalekites choosing when it might cost and everything, including his life. 2 (37m 50s): Joshua chose to reject the golden calf. Choosing when the flesh might be satisfied. Joshua chose to serve the Lord by serving Moses, choosing a humble place. Joshua chose to be believed. God's promises about the promised land choosing against the majority. Joshua chose to recognize the leadership of the captain of the Lord's army there on that bank, choosing to surrender to God and Joshua chose to take leadership of Israel to lead them into the land, choosing faith, instead of unbelief, those are the decisions that Josh Joshua had made. But now he says, but as for me and my house, and he was saying, I am willing to go alone. 2 (38m 37s): Are we willing to go alone? When the culture around us goes different directions, Joshua had made this decision. It didn't matter what others would choose to do. It didn't matter that if he and his house were the only ones that would continue to serve the Lord, a song came to mind as I was studying. That says, though, no, the no, the, no one go with me still yet. I will follow. We'll get to sing that later. Joshua and the decision had been made. He had put his hand to the plow, as Jesus mentioned, and he would not turn back. There was a guy named Mike rider, who, who DISA, discipled me throughout college and, and, and afterwards, and he called this a super decision. 2 (39m 26s): He called this a super decision as decisions. You, you, a decision you make once that you will not stray from, from Mike rider, the decision that he shared with us, one of those decisions was that he would have a daily devotion time with the Lord. Didn't matter if he had, you know, had to get on a plane ride at 4:00 AM, he would wake up early enough to have a quiet time with the Lord. That was one of his super decisions. One of his other super decisions that he shared with us was that he was going to be at church on Sundays, whether he felt like it or not, he was not going to let the circumstances affect him being at church and the fellowship. Good job, everybody. Christmas day after Christmas day, his other super decision was that he and his wife and his family would allow a college group to meet at his house every week. 2 (40m 17s): And he did that. They did that for about 15 years, even when their kids were little, until her kids were in college and pass college, he held a, a college group at his house in which with a lot of my me and my friends were discipled. Those are the super decisions that he had made. And I think about the super decision that these 40 martyrs of Sebastian made it back in 3 28 D there were a Roman Legion, which is now modern day Turkey, Turkey, and it was these 40 Christian soldiers. There were in the Roman army. And so the, the, the, the commander realized, Hey, we might have an Allegiant allegiance issue. Are these Christians gonna, you know, take this, take, which, which side are they gonna take? 2 (41m 1s): If things really go down. And so he said, we can no longer have these 40 Christian soldiers here in my army. I want you to bow down and pledge to Caesar is Lord the Caesar's God. And these 40 soldiers said, we will refuse. We are 40 Christian soldiers. So the commander had them beaten and scourged, they will not turn back. So he said, I will punish you then by putting on a frozen lake naked, it was 40 Christian soldiers saying a tune of 40 Christian soldiers for Christ. 2 (41m 43s): And they were there on that naked on that frozen lake, no one turned out. They were there huddled together, forties, Christian soldiers for God, surrounded by guards, not allowing them to leave. They decided to let's let's up the ante. So they put up hot tubs, they put up these tubs of hot water around it. So if you got too cold and you just want to jump out, you wanted to claim the authority of Caesar and renounce your Christian faith, and you can do that. And they made it easier with having these little hot tubs around. Well, for one of those soldiers, back in 3 20 80, it was all too much. And he, and he ditched his fellow soldiers and he ran, he jumped into a hot tub. 2 (42m 23s): And sadly, because of the temperature he died instantly, he was, he was overcome and they began singing the song 39 brave soldiers for Christ. What was all too much for one of the soldiers, one of the guards that was on the edge and hearing 39 soldiers for Christ. And he said, no, it needs to be 40. And he said, I once made that profession of faith to believe in Christ. And so what he did is he took off his, his uniform stripped off his clothes and he jumped back into and he jumped into those forties, 1 39 soldiers making it once again, 40 foot soldiers for Christ and those 40 soldiers for Christ all died in the ice that night, they took a stand. 2 (43m 12s): So Joshua brings us to this thing, or you have to choose for yourself, choose for yourself this day, whom you will serve. But he says, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, I guess, looking at 2022, what and whom will you serve the culture around? This is long departed from serving the Lord. It's becoming actually, serving the Lord. What will your choice be? You're not an Elmo doll. You're not an Elmo loves you there. God gets to push a button. And you said, Lord, I'm choosing to obey. You know, it's a free will choice. 2 (43m 54s): And it's a place this morning where we get to look back on the choices and where they've OLED. And to look into the, into the distant horizon and say, Lord, where do you want me to go? What choices do you want me to make this year? So who or what we choose to serve this year? So transition now to communion it's commune and Sunday, the fact is that none of us are strong enough. None of us are strong enough to live out this journey day by day. None of us have the wisdom that we need to even direct our own paths or our own lives. 2 (44m 38s): None of us have a lived or able to live a perfect life as Jesus did. That's why recalled to remember Jesus, his perfect sacrifice that he paid the penalty for our sin. We need to remember that the lamb of God's body was broken for us, that the lamb of God's blood was shed for us. Remember that by his death, we have been freed from the penalty of sin. Remember his resurrection and chew and choose to live in a way that speaks that he is coming back with that. We walk in freedom, righteousness, obedience, faith, hope, love. So with the elements in our hand in John chapter six, Jesus made the first of his seven. 2 (45m 25s): I am statements. And the first of his seven, I am statements. He said, I am the bread of life. And Jesus was speaking to all his disciples. He had a large group disciples outside of, outside of the 12. And Jesus said to them, assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink of his blood, you will have no life. Whoever eats of my flesh and drinks, my blood has eternal life. And I will raise him up at the last day. Many of his disciples heard that eating his flesh and drinking his blood. And they were, they turned away. Many of his disciples, the larger group of disciples began to leave him. 2 (46m 9s): It was too hard of a statement to S to take. So Jesus looks at the 12 and John six, and he said this, he said, do you also want to go away? So do you also want to go away? What are you going to choose? You're going to choose to follow those others. You got to love Simon Peter, because he's the one who, who, who sings out and speaks to the 12. He says, Lord to whom, shall we go? Or to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And also we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the son of the living, God, that's what we do, but eating of the bread and drink of the cup. 2 (46m 59s): When we realize how good we have it to where else, or to whom else would we serve? Where else would we go? Let's take the bread. First Corinthians, Paul writes a letter to them and says for, I received from the Lord, which I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed, he took bread. And we had given thanks. He broke. And he said, take eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Let's do this this morning. And remember it. So Jesus, In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is my new covenant in my blood. 2 (47m 58s): Do this. As often as you drink in remembrance of me for us, often as you eat this bread and drink of the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Let's pray. Lord, help us not to forget your benefits. What would help us not to forget your blessings that come along with serving you, Lord, oh God, you are good. 2 (48m 43s): And you do good. And you have paved the path you've gone before us Lord. And you were the light unto our feet and the light into our path. Lord would give us wisdom to recognize those things in our lives this morning that have become idols or, or gods help us to realize the path that they have taken the path that they have made a stray down. Let us renounce those things, Lord and get rid of those things in our lives. Lord, give us wisdom to recognize your goodness in the path that leads to eternal life, help us to make the choice. 2 (49m 29s): Lord that honors and serves you. Lord Jesus name. We pray. Amen. 1 (49m 47s): Did you all stand with me? I have decided to follow the cheese. I have to follow cheese. I have to follow the cheese. 1 (50m 15s): Still alive. 1 (51m 27s): I have decided to follow and cheese. I have these two follow on cheese. I have to follow the cheese. No attorney, no turning, no turning 0 (51m 56s): Back. 1 (52m 2s): No turning back.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

1 (4m 54s): Jeez. 1 (6m 17s): When Christ was for 0 (6m 22s): Choose 1 (6m 41s): Is, is Fall on your knees. 1 (8m 38s): on 2 (9m 25s): Hello. We're so thankful that we get to gather together and honor, and acknowledge what you accomplished over 2000 years ago in bringing Jesus Christ, our savior, the Messiah into the world. And Lord, as we think about that, we pray that our hearts would be open a fresh to the, the living work that you're doing in us. Lord, we thank you that what you're doing in our lives it's, it's growing, it's constant, it's dynamic. And so Lord that each one of us here today, each one of us here tonight would just have our hearts open and ready to receive all that you have for us. Lord, bless our time together. Thank you that you promise it where we gathered together in your name that you are here in our midst, the Lord, we welcome you. 2 (10m 9s): And we thank you. And we bless you in Jesus name. We pray and God's people said, amen. Amen. Go ahead and have a seat, please. All right. So in addition to what Curtis shared earlier in welcoming you, I also want to welcome you because what typically happens either at Christmas and Easter time is a lot of people wind up coming to church that don't normally come to church. So if that's you, thank you so much for being here tonight and maybe a friend invited you a family member. We're just so delighted that you're here with us. We, we hope that you do really sense and experience the love of God in our midst. 2 (10m 53s): What I'm going to do tonight is actually actually going to read a, a children's book to you in just a minute. But before I get to that book, I want to introduce you to a good friend of mine. And so I gotta, I gotta go get him. All right. So here's my friend. All right, his name, his name. I'll pick it up so you can all see his name is brownie. I gotta get out of here where everybody over here. So I'm looking at the monitor up on the wall. So hopefully you can all see it and, and people online as well. This is brownie. So I'm going to give you a little background on brownie. You might think to yourself, well, why, why in the world would pastor Ron bring a bike with him to, you know, Christmas Eve service? 2 (11m 38s): The answer is it's a prop and it gets your attention and it makes you want to know why that, why did he bring that? Well, let me give you a little history on brownie. So, you know, in our family growing up, there's, there's four kids. And so it was my, my oldest sister, her name is Ruth and the year was about 1960. And my mom and dad figured, okay, it's time for my sister to learn how to ride a bike. So my dad went down to Ken's bike shop on Monterey street and found a used bike and the bike he bought his brownie. So that was right around 1960. So you do the math help me out here was that 61 years ago. 2 (12m 19s): And it was used then. So what, what's the history of, of brownie? So my, my sister Ruth learn how to ride a bike on brownie as well as my other sister, Trina. And I learned how to ride a bike on brownie as well as my brother, Gary. So somehow I wound up with brownie and my family. So DJ and I have four kids. So guess what? Jamie, Bethany, Leah and Seth all learned how to ride a bike on, on brownie right here. So Leah, our third daughter, she's kind of the personality where she thought in the neighborhood where we were living at the time, she thought, well, I'm going to teach all the neighborhood kids how to ride a bike too. 2 (12m 59s): So she'd gather up all the kids in the neighborhood that didn't know how to ride a bike and she would, would teach them how to do it. So think about it, parents, moms, and dads, grandmas, and grandpas. Think about it. Do you remember when you would get your child for the first time on a bicycle and you'd grab the seat and then you start running behind them and you're holding on holding on and you're encouraging them all the while you're saying something like, you know, you can do this and you got this and, and you're helping them get enough speed. And then, and then you let go and then they crash and burn, right? That's part of the process. 2 (13m 40s): Thinking about riding a bike though, what does it take? It takes three things. It takes a little bit of faith that I can do this a little bit of trust. I've seen other people riding bikes, so I know it can be done and some confidence, okay, I don't have it yet, but I have the ability to be successful in riding, riding a bike. So riding bike for the first time takes what it takes. Some faith. It takes some trust. It takes some confidence. So I know it's very simplistic, but help me out here believing in the story that I'm about to tell you requires some faith. It requires some trust and some confidence in God's story about the birth of his son, Jesus Christ. 2 (14m 28s): And I can promise you this, if you will place your faith and trust and confidence in Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, you will never regret that decision. And so I don't know where you are. You may have been walking with the Lord for a long, long time, and you might be a new, a new believer. You may not be a believer yet. My hope and my prayer for you is that you'd up your heart and life to see what, what God would have to say to you and believe the story about his birth. So this story that I'm about to read this children's book called crisis saviors born. This story has impacted every person who has ever lived in the past, in the present and on into the future. 2 (15m 12s): The truth is you can't ignore it and you can't get around it because God loves you so much. The story I'm about to share with you. It is not a myth. It is not a fairy tale. It is not wishful thinking. It is not fiction. It is reality. It is absolutely true and absolutely accurate. And it is the story about God sending his son into the world as savior of the world. So won't you join me now, the pictures are going to be up on the screen and I'm going to read to you this book Christ. 2 (15m 53s): The savior is born young Mary with Joseph felt time drawing near both knew God. The father was leading them here. They searched the whole town for a safe place to stay. But all that they found was a stable with hay, although all alone and most likely afraid they clung to God's plan as they trusted and prayed at just the right time and in God's chosen place. A new born soon cried in the parents embrace as bright stars shone down from the dark sky above Christ. 2 (16m 38s): Jesus was born. He's the gift of God's love. And then Mary wrapped Jesus at all, snugly and tight while angels in heaven, rejoiced at the sight. God wanted the whole world to hear his good news, but how should he tell them? And whom should he choose? He could have told Kings or the rich or the smart. Instead he picked shepherds the lowly of heart. The Lord sent his angels to dark fields that night, the shepherds fell down at the bright holy site. The angels announced, do not fear. 2 (17m 18s): This is true. Good news of great joy straight from heaven to you, Christ. The savior is born Jesus, the king Christ. The savior is born praises. We sing, they glorified God and gave praise to his name while shepherds on earth joined in all the acclaim. The shepherds found Jesus, as angels had said, all swaddled and loved and with hay for a bed, they knelt down to worship right there in that place. Then left to tell all of God's wonderful grace in all were amazed at the news. 2 (17m 59s): They were told by these joyful shepherds us stories, soul bold. Then out of the east, Wiseman came from afar. They followed a big, bright and beautiful star, gold incense, and myrrh at his feet. They laid down their gifts for the king born in Bethlehem town. They looked one last time at the Christ child sweet face and saw there for certain, the God of all grace. They left then for home on a bright starry night, perhaps they heard songs of God's angels in flights Christ. 2 (18m 40s): The savior is born Jesus, the king Christ. The savior is born praises. We sing great story. Jesus. The savior is born. You might be thinking, I don't know. I don't think I really need to save your life's going pretty well. Feeling good about myself. But reality is what we're going to discover is we all need a savior, no matter where we are in life, how good things are or even how bad things are going. Think about this for a moment. What if hypothetical? What if you inherited in your DNA, in your chromosomes, through your family line, a corrupted gene that will absolutely cause you to have a severe disability and will eventually cause you to suffer and die preset story, huh? 2 (19m 36s): And there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. You didn't cause it, you simply inherited this genetic defect and this defect is incurable. Unless, unless God intervenes this story that I just read to you, Christ, the savior is born. It's all about God's intervention into a human dilemma. Human problem. It's all about God's remedy God's solutions. God's way of saving you from a defect that you did inherit. See the defect is a sinful nature and you were born with this. 2 (20m 18s): I was born with this. All of the human race inherited this through Adam, this defect, the sinful nature and the sinful nature that we've inherited has corrupted our relationship with God. And the truth is that without Jesus, we are separated from God. From a human perspective, it is incurable. From God's perspective, he has provided the cure, the solution, the antidote, the vaccine, if you will, to completely restore and heal you from this defect, you see the reality is we are all in desperate need of a savior and his name is Jesus. 2 (21m 11s): The cure, the remedy, the solution, the antidote, the savior is Jesus. And that's what this story is about. God's solution for sin and a restored relationship with God don't know how much you know about Christianity or, or, or other religions. We tend to sort of group them all together. But the reality is Christianity. Following Jesus as Lord and savior. It's all about a relationship with God. It's not about ritual or religion at all. It's about a relationship. And yet you might be wondering how can a little bitty baby save the world. 2 (21m 55s): Now here's the part of the story. It's, it's a bit difficult to hear because you see baby, Jesus didn't stay in that manger. He didn't stay a baby, but he grew up and he became a man. And as a man, he fulfilled the purpose for which he came into the world to be the savior of the world, the Messiah. So how did he accomplish this? He did it by laying down his life as a ransom, as a payment for many, you see the sin of the world has the sin of the world was placed upon him upon Jesus. 2 (22m 38s): He died so that we can be freed from our sinful nature so that we can have our relationship with God restored through Jesus Christ. We are reconciled to God. That's the word? The Bible uses. It's a great word. We're reconciled to God. What that means is this. We are friends with God, the one who created all things that heaven in the earth, and we are accepted by God through Jesus Christ. Great verse in first Timothy chapter one, verse 15 in the Bible, it says this, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 2 (23m 26s): So difficult story. So I'm going to trust moms and dads, grandma, and grandpa. If your kids ask a little bit about what I'm talking about here, I'm going to let you fill in the blanks and broaden that story a little bit. So-so now I want to get back to the Christmas story, the fun and the joy of the Christmas story. Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus. I think it's a wonderful thing to gather each year. I've been doing this since the early eighties, and I always look forward to gathering together on Christmas Eve and hearing the story. Once again about Jesus' birth. Christmas is also all about giving gifts, right? I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning when I wake up and I looked down at the foot of my bed and guess what's going to be there a stocking, a Christmas stocking. 2 (24m 16s): I don't know where it came from, but there it is. Every year I want to open up my stocking and then I'll watch, want to watch my kids, my grandkids, you know, opening up their gifts. I love to give gifts. At Christmas time. We love giving gifts to one another because God gave to us the greatest gift of all eternal life through Jesus Christ. Our Lord, a couple more verses. One is in Romans chapter six, verse 23. It says this, the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ. Jesus, our Lord, the beauty of the gospel story, the story of Jesus is all about a gift. 2 (24m 56s): It's not something that we earn or work towards or try to be good enough to receive. We just simply accept the gift that God has given to us through his son. Jesus, second Corinthians nine 15. It says this. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. And of course the verse that most of us know many of us know. In fact, if you know John three 16, I want you to go ahead and speak it out and say it with me, John three 16 for God. So loved the world that he gave. His only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 2 (25m 39s): John three 16, God so loved the world that he gave. He gave Jesus. He gave the gift of his son. The verse, right after that, John three 17 is equally as impactful. It says for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved to love story. Beautiful, beautiful love story. So here's my question to you today. Tonight, have you received God's gift of eternal life through his son? Jesus Christ. I hope that you have, as we get ready to close, as I close my part of the gathering tonight, the worship team is going to come up. 2 (26m 22s): In fact, if I could go ahead and invite the worship team back up to the front, but, and as we sing these last closing songs, if you have not yet invited Jesus Christ to be your savior, I would encourage you to do that. And it's so simple. God has made it so simple. It really can be boiled down to ABC a, an admit, admit that you have sinned against Scott. Just acknowledge it. And the way we do that is through prayer. It's it's through just a quiet conversation with God. There's no one way no right way to do it. 2 (27m 2s): It's just an honest acknowledging Lord, God almighty. I admit, I admit and acknowledge that I've sinned against you and now be believe that Jesus Christ God's son came and died as a payment, as a remedy for your sin and that he was buried and rose again the third day. So we simply believe what the Bible tells us about who Jesus is and what he accomplished for us on the cross. And finally see call upon the name of the Lord and you shall be saved. How do you do that again? 2 (27m 43s): It's it's just simply being honest with God, Lord. I have not yet done this in my life, but I, I want you to be in my life. I need your solution. I need your restoration, your reconciliation. I want to have a re my relationship with you restored. And if you'll do that, and again, as we have these last two closing songs, if you've not yet done that just while we're, while we're singing, just have that conversation with God and invite him in invite Christ, the savior to be your Lord and God will do amazing, amazing things. 2 (28m 23s): Lord, we are so thankful. The gift that you gave to us over 2000 years ago is still fresh and, and living and impactful Lord. It's a story that never gets old. So Lord, we are so thankful that you gave to us the gift of your son and Lord. My hope, my prayer is that each and every one of us would come to know you as Lord and savior and just walk with you day by day in that living relationship, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Let's all stand. Shall we going to continue to sing a few songs together tonight? 0 (29m 2s): She had your candles. Let's go ahead and turn those on as well as let's sing silent night together. juicy. 0 (34m 48s): .

Spiritual Maturity Is Not Optional if You Want Spiritual Victory

0 (22s): I was lost, but he brought me a book. Here's the book. thank you. 0 (3m 15s): That we are your children and that we get to wish like you, we love you, father. We thank you. 0 (3m 43s): . 0 (7m 2s): Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. That you say thank you for stopping that you are here. 0 (7m 34s): so that's 1 (11m 24s): Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Lord king of Kings. We worship you. We are gathered because of you only because of you. Jesus. Do we have the capacity, the access, the ability that desire for death worship you in spirit and in truth. God refresh us in that revelation. Lord God, that truth your word, Lord, help us never to get far from that truth, Lord God, but to keep it in our sites and build our lives upon it. Lord, thank you God. 1 (12m 5s): Holy God. Thank you for what you're doing today, Lord for you will do today as before we just avail ourselves to you. Holy God. You're king oh king Lord king. Lord. Help us to live as though you're the king submitted humble, grateful worshipful dependent Lord. Thank you, Lord God. As we get into your word today and Hebrews chapter six, God, we want to grow in our understanding of the word and our understanding of you. 1 (12m 48s): We want to take steps forward, build upon a foundation of truth and grace Lord, but beyond the foundation, Lord God, we want to build something of glory for you, Lord out of our lives. And so Lord give us the grace and the wisdom to do that. Help us. We pray. Lord. We love you Lord in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Go and say hello to your neighbor. We'll come back just a moment here, neighbor. Thanks Barry. Love you buddy. 0 (13m 48s): so 1 (15m 2s): It's refreshing to just watch the people of God connect and fellowship together and just smile and love on each other. So I didn't want to interrupt that. It's it's good. It's part of God's plan. That's why God tells us not to forsake the gathering together of the saints. We need each other. We needed that encouragement, that connection, that love that, that is shared. We need that. And we're going to see a lot of people potentially this Christmas season that we don't see for a while and that we don't see typically during the, the year. And, and so take that a little bit of that with you and just bless people with that fellowship and watch what God will do. 1 (15m 50s): We're in Hebrews chapter six and we titled the message today. Spiritual maturity is not optional. If you want spiritual victory, spiritual maturity is not optional. If you want a spiritual victory, the two go hand in hand, a little five-year-old boy was in his kindergarten, his Sunday school class. And they were in the class talking about the creation, how God created the heavens and the earth and sort of guy Johnny was particularly intrigued by the fact that he was created from one of Adam's ribs. And a few days later, a little Johnny was in his bedroom and he was laying down kind of rubbing, you know, holding his side. 1 (16m 36s): And his mom said, Johnny, what's going on? And he said that my side really hurts. I feel like I'm going to have a wife. Sometimes we just don't understand spiritual truth. We hear something and we'd go in all the wrong directions. And spiritual maturity is not optional. If we want spiritual victory, the end of Hebrews five, the writer wrote about spiritual maturity to his readers. You wrote to the Jews who had read it then. And he writes to us now he called the people and he was kind of car. She called them spiritually Dole, spiritually Dolan. 1 (17m 19s): He said, you don't just, you just don't seem to listen. They had been believers long enough that they should be teaching others, but instead they needed others to teach them again. The basics of the faith, the writer said that they're like infants still on milk. They'd never pressed on and desired spiritual meat, graduating to solid food because of their stunted growth, because of there's tons of growth. They lack the skill needed to know the difference between right and wrong. Did you hear that because of their stunted growth, they lack the skills needed to know the difference between right and wrong. 1 (18m 6s): And that's why we say spiritual maturity is not optional. If you want spiritual victory, maturity and victory go hand in hand, but maturity, spiritual maturity helps us to know the difference between right and wrong helps us to discern in the moment in the crucible, in the difficulty in the temptation helps us to understand the difference between right and wrong and then choose the right path. And Hebrews chapter six, we're going to be covering verses one through 12 today, just about half the chapter. It'll pick it up next time. The writer says in Hebrews six one. So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. 1 (18m 50s): Let's go on instead and become mature in our understanding. That's really what we're called to do. As believers, as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ to move forward into mature understanding Jesus said, go and make disciples. Jesus said, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit, teaching them to obey all the things that I've commanded. He goes on. Surely we don't need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil really means dead works. Remember he's speaking to Jews who had converted to Christianity. 1 (19m 30s): They believe that Jesus was the Messiah. There was completely Jews, spiritual Jews are completed Jews. And so he's saying, Hey, we need to move from dead works and place our faith in God. Surely we don't need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds that works in placing our faith in God. Number one, spiritual maturity develops as we repent from dead worse and put our faith solely in God. Spiritual maturity develops as we repent from dead works and put our faith solely in God. Dead works are the works we do to gain God's favor. 1 (20m 14s): We have God's favor because of what Christ accomplished. He went to the cross, taking the penalty for our sin upon himself, paying the penalty so that we might be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. So we have favor with God because of Jesus. Not because of what we do. Dead works are the things we do in hopes that God will see us and then receive us based on the work we do. Now, there's a place for good works. And we're going to talk about that, but it's not to gain the favor of God or the acceptance of God. That favor and acceptance is solely because of what Jesus did on the cross. He was born. That's what we're celebrating this week. We're celebrating the birth of the Lord. 1 (20m 56s): Jesus Christ. See the incarnation came. We just were seeing about, he came as a child to bring a message to live among us, to become like us, to relate to us, to teach us ultimately to die for us and then to be resurrected and be seated at the right hand of the father. And continue that work from there did works are the teachings. We are the things we do in hopes that God will see us and receive us based on the work we do. That's why it's called dead works. Did worser called dead because that is precisely what they are. They're dead. They don't accomplish what they hope to be, do or accomplish what people hope they would accomplish. 1 (21m 42s): They don't give us favor with God. The blessing of the Lord, Jesus Christ gives us favor with God dead. Things don't produce anything. The Bible tells us faith without works is dead. Why? Because dead things don't produce anything. James, 2 26 in the new living translation says just as the body is dead without breath. So also faith is dead without good works. So there's a place for good works. It reflects our new life in Christ. It declares that we are new in Christ, but those words don't Krantz has access to the father. 1 (22m 24s): Jesus does dead faith doesn't result in salvation because dead faith isn't faith at all dead faith is faith without works. Dead. Faith doesn't result in salvation because it's dead. Dead works. Don't result in salvation either because salvation is a gift of God's grace, not of works. Lest anyone should boast Ephesians two, eight and nine in the ESP says for by grace, you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God. Not, not a result of work so that no one may boast. 1 (23m 4s): So spiritual maturity develops as we repent from dead works and put our faith solely in God. It changes our whole motivation. When we're putting our face solely in God, we're saying, God, I trust you for my salvation for my new life. But out of that new born again, life experience, I'm going to be living for you and doing good works for you. Demonstrating my faith by my good work so that my faith isn't dead because faith without works is dead good work. So the result of a genuine faith, let me say that again. Good works are the result of a genuine faith. We do good because we are in Christ. We follow his example in his earthly and ministry. 1 (23m 46s): Jesus went around doing good works. Supernatural works in power by the spirit of God. We're empowered by that same spirit. And so we have the capacity by God's grace to do good works from the motivation to bless God and to bless others is we're called to love God and love others. And so out of that, commandment out of that, that call by God. We do good works because he's good. And we want to reflect him and live a life of good works, demonstrating our faith. We do good works because we are in Christ. Dead works are just that. They're dead. Dead works again. It's all about motivation. What are, why are we doing what we're doing? 1 (24m 26s): Dead works are just that they're dead. They don't help us in our relationship with God because they're motivated to gain access or favor from God access to God favor from God. So that doesn't help us because essentially we're saying, Hey, forget about the finished work of Christ on the cross. I'm going to do my own thing. Well, the reason Christ came to die on the cross is because we couldn't do our own thing. We can't do enough good in our own righteousness and our own good works to get grant or to gain access to the father. So Jesus came. And so when we say we're going to try to gain favor from the father by doing our good works. We're essentially saying that the cross wasn't good enough. 1 (25m 6s): Jesus wasn't good enough. Dead works are just out there dead. They don't help us in our relationship with God. If anything, they take away from a genuine relationship with God, right? Cause they shifts the focus again, because the only way we can have a relationship with God is because Jesus made it possible. This is why we celebrate Jesus every Sunday, but especially at Christmas and on Easter because of what Jesus made possible through his shed. Blood on the cross, let's move on Hebrews six, two, you don't need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 1 (25m 50s): And so the author writes about four different things, kind of foundational things you don't need further instructions about these things. One commentator wrote when we consider the rudiments or the basics, one by one, this that we see in verse two, it is remarkable how little in the list is distinctive of Christianity for practically. Every item could have its place in a fairly Orthodox Jewish community. Each of them indeed acquires a new significance in a Christian context. But the impression we get is that existing Jewish beliefs and practices were used as a foundation on which to build the Christian faith. 1 (26m 31s): And so these, this prince, these things are important. They're part of our foundation and our heritage, but we must move on. These four things listed in verse two are the foundation. We need to understand them, but beyond the foundation, what goes on top of a foundation? Imagine building a building, he put the foundation in and then just leave it there. What good is that foundation? If there's nothing built upon it, or you build a foundation because you want to build a building, right? You'd get the foundation laid so that you can build something on top of it. And that's really what our lives are meant to be doing. 1 (27m 11s): Building a found building on that foundation of truth, building a life that glorifies God, it honors the Lord. We need to have the foundation. We don't get away from the foundation. The foundation is essential. You don't even really see that foundation in a building, but you know, if it's not there, right? You know, if the foundation is not there because you try to build anything without, without a foundation. And as soon as there's, there's an earthquake or a storm, everything begins to fall apart. All right? So we need to have the foundation in our lives because if we don't have the foundation in our lives, these things that will impact your in just a moment. Then as soon as the storm hits our lives and everything will fall apart, our faith was shaking. 1 (27m 57s): We won't continue to believe God or trust God or worship God, we won't do any of those things because our foundation is shaken and we'll fall apart. This is the reason potentially that the Jewish people were were waffling. They, they, they, they, they had, they were trying to commingle their, their old life and their new life. They understood truth, but they understood it incompletely. And they wanted to move forward with that foundation. But under misunderstanding that foundation and not wanting to give their lives fully to Jesus, they begin to waffle and waiver. 1 (28m 37s): Maybe you're here today where you're saying, man, I want to go to church. And I know I need that foundation, but I also don't want to give up my old life. I'm not sure I want to do that. I mean, I don't want to get radical about Jesus. I, I, I know I need the foundation and I need all of that and I need fire insurance and that sort of thing, but I don't want to get radical about Jesus. And so there's this attempt to commingle. This is what the author is addressing here. This co-mingling of the old life, the old religious system that a lot of these Jews were entrenched in. They recognize that it was incomplete and that Jesus was the Messiah. So they moved to Jesus began to worship Jesus declaring him as God. But then they begin to waffle and then begin to lose their faith in God. 1 (29m 22s): And they begin to backslide as it were. And so they had maybe the foundation where they misunderstood the foundation. So we're going to look at the foundations and, and, and talk about those and unpack him and just see what God will speak to us about the foundation. So again, these four things, listen to verse two are the foundation. We need to understand the foundation so that we can build a building. We need to have that foundation solidly in place so that we can build a building on top of that. And so God willing, verse three, Hebrews six, we will move forward to further understanding. Again, further understanding applies a building on the foundation. It requires something of us. This faith requires something of us. 1 (30m 4s): That's why Jesus, when he called the disciples, he said, come follow me. I'll make you fishers of men. In other words, you're going to have to abandon that old, old way of living. Remember what happened after the crucifixion and the burial of Christ disciples said, Hey, I'm going to go fishing, right? I'm going to go back to the old life, right? 'cause they, they, they were shaking in their understanding and shaking in their faith. And what did Jesus do? He went after them, right? And then when they saw Jesus and fresh, they followed him. Number two, spiritual maturity develops as we move forward to further understanding, further understanding beyond the rudimentary teaching concerning baptism, the laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead and the final judgment to be thorough today, though, let's briefly recap these teachings that the writer of Hebrews is challenging his readers to move from. 1 (30m 59s): He's not telling his readers to forget about them because you can't ever forget about the foundation. It's essential, but he's saying from the foundation, you must build, you must build something. There must be something evidence, fruit of your faith. So he doesn't want them to forget about the foundation, but to move forward, to move from, to build onto, with further understanding. So let's unpack these four things, baptisms and notice the word is plural. The word in the Greek for baptisms, there is about T's most. It's not a hard word to remember, but it refers to ceremonial cleansing. 1 (31m 41s): It. Doesn't refer to the baptism that we read about when the believers of God get baptized in the faith. It's referring to a, a washing, a purification effected by means of water. So the people being tempted to slip back into Judaism and dead works, or maybe trying to commingled Judaism and Christianity, there it is again, but there's a difference between ceremonial washings prescribed by the mosaic law and Christian baptism. So they're using baptism baptisms in the plural. Speaking about ceremonial washings. Remember the religious leaders approached Jesus and said, Hey, we're, we're confused or offended that your disciples don't wash their hands. 1 (32m 28s): They don't follow this. The ritual of ceremonial hand washing before they eat. And Jesus challenged them and said, Hey, it's not what goes into a man that him, but what comes out of him, defiles him. And he's talking about all of the wretched things that are in a man's heart. So he said, Hey, it's not so much important that we be that we're careful about what goes into us, but it's what comes out of us. Some of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So there's a difference. There's the ceremonial hand washing was a traditional man. It was mosaic law. It was something that was external. What God was wanting to do through baptism was transformational. It was internal. It was the whole being God. 1 (33m 10s): The difference between ceremonial hand cleaning and baptism was completely different. But yet they're trying to, co-mingle the two trying to maybe get along with both camps. Have you ever tried to do that? You want to get along with the world, but you also want to get along with the church. This is what they're trying to do. They're trying to hold on to their old life and their new life and trying to co-mingle that you don't mix. It's like oil and water ceremonial washing. Doesn't do what baptism does. Let's look at first, Peter three 18 through 21. It says Christ died once for our sins and innocent person died for those who are guilty. 1 (33m 54s): Christ did this to bring you to God. When his body was put to death and his spirit was made alive first, 19 Christ then preached to the spirits that were being kept in prison. It's a whole nother sermon that we'll get to. Eventually they had disobeyed God while Noah was building the boat, but God had been patient with them. Eight people went into the boat and were brought safely through the flood. Those flood waters were like baptism that now saves you. But baptism is more than just washing your body or ceremonially cleaning. It means turning to God with a clear conscience because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead Christ is now in heaven, where he sits at the right side of God, all angels authorities and powers are under his control. 1 (34m 41s): So baptism reflects something of transformation that's happened in our lives. It's a declaration that we understand that Jesus died for us and has adopted us. And we are identifying as followers of the Lord. Jesus Christ. The significance is incredible. And so if you're here today and you know, Jesus, but you've never been baptized, you've never made that public declaration of your faith through the waters of baptism. You need to get baptized, not for salvation, but out of obedience, Jesus was baptized, right? John baptized him in the Jordan and he modeled that for us. 1 (35m 23s): So maybe that's going to be the thing that kind of decides for you or helps you decide or helps you to make the break, because maybe you've been a little incognito about your faith in Jesus Christ. Nobody maybe knows that you're a Christian, it's your workplace, or maybe even in your neighborhood or among your family members. Baptism is a public declaration. Ceremonial hand cleaning was just something that everybody did. If you were a Jew, right? Baptism indicated that you were now a follower of the Lord. Jesus Christ, Hebrews nine 10 says for the old system deals only with food and drinks and various cleansing ceremonies, physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established. 1 (36m 15s): So the better system is Jesus. Jesus is the better system because he instituted a new covenants, baptism and water is part of that new covenant that God has called us into. So that's baptism or baptisms. Next is laying on of hands. We demonstrated that just this morning when we laid hands on Daniel and praying for them. So it's something that we see in the scripture. And it's something that we practice as the church. And it's something that was a foundational. And we'll see why in the early church. And, and to this day we lay hands number one to a point leaders, right? 1 (36m 55s): First time of the fire, 22 says, do not be hasty and laying on of hands nor take part in the sins of others, keeping yourself pure. So what that means in the context of that is when you're declaring a person to be a leader or announcing a person to be a leader, you lay your hands on them, kind of annointing them declaring them to be a leader. So this is one of the ways in which we use the laying on of hands for, for healing, the sick in mark, one 40 through 42, a man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. If you're willing, you can heal me and make me clean. He said, move with compassion. Jesus reached out and touched him. 1 (37m 36s): Now there's plenty of examples of Jesus healing people by just speaking it. But then there's other examples of Jesus laying his hands on people and healing them. Jesus reached out and touched him. I am willing. He said, be healed instantly. The leprosy disappeared. And the man was healed. So a lot of us need to remember that God has called us to lay our hands on people so that we might pray for them. So they might get healed. I was at work years ago and I'm in front of mine, was sick at work. And he was in the middle of everybody. And I said, Hey, can I pray for you? And I put my hands on him to pray for him. And I'm just agreed for God's healing and just did it in front of everybody. 1 (38m 18s): It didn't matter. It doesn't matter. Was it Andrew Annis this week? And we were, I was praying with a brother just in Johnny's Andrew, Andrew, and he's a brother and a gal that I just met. And we were holding hands, laying hands on each other. We were agreeing together. So the laying on of hands, it speaks of community. It speaks of agreements and acts nine. Remember on, on the road to amass, Saul of Tarsus got knocked off his, his horse and or his donkey or whatever he was riding or on the road. He got blinded. So, and, and I S went and found Saul acts nine 17. He laid his hands on him and says, brother saw the Lord. 1 (38m 59s): Jesus, who appeared to you on the road has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the holy spirit. So two things happen there and an isolate his hands on him and he received his sight and he was filled with the holy spirit. So that's another reason that we lay hands on somebody for the receiving of the holy spirit. We see that throughout the new Testament for the receiving of the holy spirit acts eight, 18 and 19. When Simon saw that the spirit was given, when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power. Let me have this power to, he explained so that I, so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the holy spirit. So Simon was misled in his understanding, but he saw something that happened that transpired when the apostles laid, the disciples, laid their hands on people, they received the holy spirit. 1 (39m 51s): Let me see the same thing. When the apostle Paul in acts 19, then when Paul laid his hands on them, the holy spirit came on them and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. So there's the holy spirit came upon these people as a result of the laying on of hands. There's some kind of something happened. Supernaturally. When we lay our hands on people, people begin to speak in tongues and prophesied. They're filled with the holy spirit and the fruit of the spirit. They begin to live out of the, that new life where one person is filled with the holy spirit, more promised that salvation that will be filled with the holy spirit. We're also told to be continually filled with the holy spirit, because we constantly need to be filled with the holy spirit. So maybe you're here today and you need somebody to lay hands on you that you might be filled with the holy spirit again. 1 (40m 35s): Or maybe you just ask the Lord, God come. But if you don't have the faith of the grace upon you to believe that God will do that, come forward at the end of service, and we'll pray over you. We'll lay hands on you and pray that the Lord fills you with his holy spirit. Then all the fruit that he desires and is designed to come out of, you will begin to flow out of you. A lot of us are working in our natural manner, natural strength. I'm trying to do the work and the will of God. And what we really need is the holy spirit. We're frustrated because our lives are fruitless. We're trying to do all of these things in our own strength. And we, what we need is we need the power of the holy spirit. We need the power of the holy spirit. Earlier this week, I had thrown my back out and, and it was just hurting for days. 1 (41m 25s): And, and then I got a cold on Thursday and, and I'm talking to my elders. And two, two of the elders and their wives were both have been to the hospital and been sick and been dealing with all kinds of stuff. And I recognized that we were under a spiritual attack. And so we just began to pray. I reached out to some people and we just began to pray. And, and I took a COVID test yesterday. Cause I was thinking, man, if I got COVID, I can't go to church. I can't do it. You know, puts me out for the, to the end of the year. And I don't want that. So I took a COVID test and thankfully it came back negative. And so I just knew is I said, okay, Lord, I'm not feeling good in my back's thrashed. 1 (42m 10s): And I got this cold, am I supposed to press on? I felt like the Lord said, yeah, press on. So I just knew that the holy spirit was going to do something to, to restore me by this morning. And I'm feeling better this morning. I'm all doped up on medication, but I'm feeling better, got a cough drop in my mouth, you know? But so sometimes the Lord calls us when we're not feeling up to it physically to do the stuff that he wants us to do spiritually. And he will empower us to do that. He'll give us the grace to do that. So don't just give up if you're feeling weak or in capable in your natural man, press and say, Lord, what do you want me to do? 1 (42m 52s): And, and how do I trust you to move forward and just see what the Lord will do? Maybe you just feel inadequate and you say, Lord, I don't feel adequate for the, what you've called me to do or for the life that you called me to lead. Well, good. That's actually a good, humble thing. Place to be. None of us should feel adequate in our own man and our own strength. None of us should feel that way. We never approach ministry with, from our own adequacy. We always approach ministry from a place of brokenness and dependence and contrition and humility, approaching everything that God calls us to do with gentleness, with just a humble dependence on him and just leave the fruit up to him. 1 (43m 36s): So if you're feeling inadequate, don't give up, just ask the holy spirit to fill you. And when you do the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. All of those things and the spirit of God will work through you and a power. The power of God will begin to flow through you in ways that you don't even understand. You'll say stuff that you never thought you could say or thought you would say or thought, you know, that you'll say things that were never in your mind to say the things maybe you don't even understand that you're saying you'll begin to pray with a greater level of faith and confidence. You'll be able to act with greater obedience, all of those things. So that's baptism and laying on of hands. 1 (44m 16s): And there's the resurrection of the dead. We need to understand the resurrection of the dead. I'm never going to get through this message today. The resurrection of the dead first Corinthians 15 22, 12 through 23, just unpacks the, and then you can go to second Corinthians chapter five. I'll read a little bit from that as well, but we need to understand what happens after we die. It's part of the foundation of our understanding and faith that gives us confidence to live in the here and now for Jesus. We need to understand what God has in store for us. So let's just read some verses a scripture in first Corinthians chapter 15. But tell me this. 1 (44m 57s): Since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead for if there is no resurrection of the dead then Christ has not raised either has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then boy, all of our preaching is useless and your faith is useless and we apostles will be lying about God for, we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, but they can't be sure if there's no resurrection of the dead. And if there's no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised in your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. And in that case, all who have died, believing in Christ are lost. 1 (45m 37s): And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, that we are meant to be petty pitied. We are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been, he has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. Verse 21. So you see just as death came into the world through a man and we're getting to the good stuff. Well, it's all good stuff. Now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam. Everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life, but there is an order to the resurrection. 1 (46m 18s): Christ was raised as the first of the harvest that all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back, he's coming back, who I'm ready for that? Boy, I tell you, I'm ready for that. 42 through 44 first Corinthians says, well, let's go into 35 years, but someone may ask, how will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have? And this is something that we talk about in Memorial services all the time, but maybe it's something we should be talking about when people are still alive as well. What a foolish question. When you put a seed into the ground, imagine of literal seed, put it into the ground. 1 (47m 1s): It doesn't grow into a plant unless it dies first, right? And what you put into the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body. He wants it to have a different plant grows from each kind of seed. So we are essentially a seed that will be planted and God will give us a new body resurrected and new life in the same way. Verse 42, jumping out of verse 42. It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live for ever. 1 (47m 43s): Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies will solve a body, but there'd be spiritual bodies. That'd be like Christ's body will have a natural human body. We're not going to be spirit bodies. That's a contradiction in terms, spirit bodies, where we're going to be spiritual bodies in heaven for just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. 1 (48m 24s): So you're going to have a body in heaven. You'll be recognizable in heaven. If you die as a hundred year old, you'll probably have some would say that you'll have your body, the body of your most, your best life part of your life. Maybe when you were 35 or 40 or 52. I hope I don't have my 52 year old body. I want my 35 year old body could still run marathons and didn't hurt. And that'd be all right. I don't want to live for eternity in this broken thing, but I want my eternal body, my resurrected body. 1 (49m 9s): And then I will be happy, happy, happy to live forever and ever. Amen. Now let's look at eternal judgment. The last on the list of Hebrew six, there are two judgments. There's the Believer's judgment. And as we've been kind of alluding to this all along about building on that foundation, we will actually stand before the Lord, the believers judgment and give an account for our lives, whether we built on that foundation or not. And then we will receive rewards or not based on what we have built by God's grace in his strength for his glory, right? 1 (49m 49s): Doing it in our strength for our glory. We're doing it in God's strength for his glory, the believers judgment where believers will stand before the Lord to give an account for our lives. Our fruit will be judged. And then interesting. Second Corinthians five 10 says for, we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. So this is speaking to believers in second Corinthians, chapter five, speaking to believers, people who have come to faith in Christ, in Christ, we will stand before the Lord and give an account for lives. So we get saved. 1 (50m 30s): What have we done? And what's the fruit of our salvation. What's the fruit of our faith. What have we done with our faith in Jesus Christ that we'll get judged and we will receive whatever we deserve, not heaven or hell, because that's already decided by Christ, right? We're saved by grace through faith, but our works and the fruit of our lives will be judged. And we see that throughout the scripture, in the old, the new Testament, we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this early body. There's two judgments, the believers judgment, and then the final judgment or the great white throne judgment. 1 (51m 12s): This is for an believers we see in revelation, chapter 20, there's a judgment for an believers. These are people who have not excepted received the grace of the Lord. Jesus Christ. You're in one or two camps as a human being, you are a believer or you are an unbeliever. You are in Christ, or you are out of price outside of Christ. You're in Christ. You have eternal life. If you're outside of Christ, you do not. You will spend eternity in one or two places, either heaven or hell, depending on your decisions here in the earth. 1 (51m 53s): Revelation 2011 through 15 says, and I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it, the earth and the sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small standing before God's throne in the books, the books were opened, including the book of life and the dead were judged. According to what they had done as recorded in the books, the sea gave up its dead and death and the grave gave up their dead and all were judged according to their deeds, then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. 1 (52m 34s): This lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found recorded in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. So those are the two judgments, the believers judgment, where God will open up the books and read and evaluate and judge our life work. And there's the unbelievers judgment. Spiritual maturity develops as we move forward to further understanding. So we need to understand that those things, that's the foundation that allows us to build a solid life for Christ. 1 (53m 16s): So we, we, we drive around the only time you see a foundation without a building is because somebody ran out of resource, right? Something got shut down, somehow your resource by the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He will give you the resource, the strength that you need to build upon your life, but you got to do it his way. And according to his plans with his foundation, you don't want to get to heaven with just foundation, get to heaven. Great. But you don't want just a foundation. You want to have built something with your life. 1 (53m 56s): Spiritual maturity develops as we move forward to further understanding, I might stop right there. What time is it? Hmm, just take a look real quick here. Hang with me another five minutes or so. And we'll get through the rest of this. So again, spiritual maturity develops as we move forward to further understanding, meaning we need to understand this truth and then go on and the maturation process and grow in knowledge and application knowledge and application. So it's not just about learning information. It's about the application of that truth that we see in the rest of the Bible. 1 (54m 37s): Back to Hebrews six, four, it's impossible, verse four for it's impossible to bring back to repentance. Those who are once enlightened. Remember these people are beginning to backslide a bit. Those who've experienced the good things. These are believers who are beginning to backslide. It's impossible to bring back to repentance. Those who were once enlightened, they receive the light of Christ. Those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the holy spirit who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come and who then turn away from God. It's impossible to bring such people back to repentance, but by rejecting the son of God, they themselves are nailing into the cross once again, and holding up, holding him up to public shame. 1 (55m 23s): So again, this verse is speaking to believers. People have had a real encounter based on the scripture, based on the context. These are people who have had a real encounter with Jesus based on the text and the context of the whole of Hebrews and this chapter. These are people who've known. God, see this verse is speaking about, believe these verses are speaking about believers who have turned away from God who potentially have become apostate. And so there's a warning. The writer's giving to these people who are beginning to backslide, wanting to commingle their old life with their new life, because it's a slippery slope that will cause them to fall away from the Lord. 1 (56m 4s): Altogether. Apostate is a person who renounces religious belief. So this first is speaking of two Jews who are potentially rejecting the finished work of Christ on the cross, and then are returning to a system of law and of dead works. Part of that system of law and dead works is sacrifice the sacrificial system, the animal sacrifices that are part of the old covenant. So they would, as part of that, going back to the Jewish way of doing things, they would go back to animal sacrifices there by rejecting what Jesus has done as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He, he was crucified and gave his life as the final once for all finished and done sacrifice on the cross. 1 (56m 46s): And so by rejecting Jesus and going back to the old system that becoming a POS state falling away from the Lord. And, and this is what the scripture says about them. These people, speaking of the Jews would re would return to religious Jewish practices. Maybe it's like the people of Israel wandering through the wilderness. They been delivered out of Egypt. They are wandering through the wilderness. They continually complain against the Lord. They're rebelling against the Lord. They're building idols in to worship rejecting God is their leader and Lord and guide and king. And so he made them wander in the wilderness until that whole generation died off before they entered into the promised land. 1 (57m 31s): So these people, speaking of the Jews would return to Jewish religious practices like animal sacrifices to make it Tillman for their sands. You imagine. So it's a slap in the face to Christ because they're rejecting the sacrifice of the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. They're rejecting the savior of the world. The Messiah, John 1 29 through 34 says the next day, John, this is John. The baptizer saw Jesus coming toward him and said, look, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John recognized that he was sent as a 4runner to identify, to prepare the way for Jesus. And then to identify him. He is the one I was talking about when I said, man, coming after me, who was far greater than I am free, existed long before me. And I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel. 1 (58m 18s): Then John testified, I saw the holy spirit, descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn't know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me the one on whom you see the spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the holy spirit. I saw this happen to Jesus. So I testify that he is the chosen one of God. So John, this Jewish man declared that Jesus was the Messiah, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and these people who had once believed that are now rejecting that and going back to their old way of living. How does a person know if they're an apostate, maybe you're here today and you're worried that you might be an apostate. Maybe you've committed a sin, done something, and you feel like you might be an apostate. 1 (58m 60s): Maybe you've committed the unpardonable sin. If you're worried, if you're worried, if you're here today and you're worried that you might have sinned this way, you're probably, haven't why, because an apostate, somebody hardened their heart toward the things of God. And God can only cause people to come to a place of repentance through the good work of his spirit in their hearts, through a tender heart, through a broken heart, a contract hearts. So if you're feeling maybe on, maybe I've committed the unpardonable sin, you haven't because your heart is to confess your sin to the Lord and repents and apostate. It has a hard persistently unrepentant, heart Titus one 12 through 16. 1 (59m 43s): Speaking of the people of Korea, maybe this is a good example for us. We just studied Titus verse 12. It says even one of their own men at profit from creed has said about them. The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals and lazy gluttons. This is true. So reprimand them sternly to make them strong in the faith. They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people have turned away from the truth. That's what's essentially happening here in Hebrews. Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure, but nothing is pure to those who are corrupted unbelieving because their minds and conscience are corrupted. Such people claim. They know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient worthless for doing anything good. 1 (1h 0m 26s): So Hebrews six helps us as we wrap this up here with a helpful picture for us, verse seven, when the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God's blessing. But if, and this again speaks of the building upon the foundation, but if a field bears, thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn the field and burn it. So it's a picture for us. If the field produces good things, it has God's blessings. But if the field bears thorns and thistles, it will be burned up. 1 (1h 1m 8s): Speaking of the final judgment, you will know a person by their fruit at the end of it all, we'll stand before the Lord and God will judge our fruit. So this passage is not speaking to someone who has fallen into sin, but has repented. It's not what this passage is. Speaking to a repentant person has a tender heart and unrepentant person. Their heart is very hard and unreachable Proverbs 24 16 says that godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked, the godly matrix, seven times number. 1 (1h 1m 50s): When Jesus speaking to Peter about forgiveness, he said, how much, how, how many times do I need to forgive? 70 times seven, essentially Jesus saying like me over and over again, my grace is sufficient. So if you're have struggled in your faith, struggle with sin, but have repented and continue to repent. Then this verse is not speaking to you. Hm I'll just read the last few verses here. Dear friends, even though we're talking this way, we really don't believe it applies to you. 1 (1h 2m 31s): Isn't that good news. He makes a point. The writer makes a point and then encourages them. We are confident that you are meant for better things. Things that come with salvation, the life of fruitfulness for God is not on Jassy will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts in order to make certain that you, what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually Dole and indifferent. That's what he's calling these people out of, challenging them to move from. 1 (1h 3m 14s): Then you will not become spiritually Dolan indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and endurance, faith and endurance. We're saved by grace through faith. That faith is demonstrated by our Endurant by our good works. We're saved solely by the grace of God, but that grace is demonstrated by our faith. And that faith is demonstrated by our good works, our endurance, our ability to trust God and believe God all the days for our lives. Spiritual maturity is not optional. If you want spiritual victory, number one, spiritual maturity develops as we repent from dead works and put our faith solely in God. 1 (1h 3m 55s): It's invite the worship team forward. We're going to sing another song here in number two, spiritual maturity develops as we move forward to further understanding and number three, spiritual maturity develops. When we refuse, when we refuse to give up, when we refuse to give up, I was talking to someone earlier this week about 1 0 2 and all of the challenges and hurdles one or two is our new worship center that will hopefully be hoping to March drywall starts this week. Good things are happening. But he said, Hey, you know how how's it been the pro I said, I said, when you just refuse to give up and continue to trust, God, God always comes through. 1 (1h 4m 41s): And so that is true for our lives. As believers in Christ, we need to not give a brief fuse to give, continue to move forward, continue to repent and move forward as a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and then watch what God will do. Right? All the promises of God require patience endure. It requires that we wait on God and trust his timing and not our own that we don't, that we refuse to give up. Where have you given up, have you given up on your walk with the Lord? Have you given up on your marriage, have you given up on your kids, have you given up on your influence, your fruitfulness. 1 (1h 5m 26s): Don't give up, don't give up, let's go and stand up and worship. Lord. We refuse to give up. We refuse to give up Lord. So God, as I stretch out my hands and pray over us, Lord God, I just pray for endurance in Jesus name, strong faith in Jesus name, God that we would build on that foundation, that we would make sure that foundation is in place. And that we believe that the truth about who you are and about, about the di the proper doctrines that we're to build our lives and ministries upon Lord God, that we would move beyond that Lord. 1 (1h 6m 9s): Now that we would put those in place and then build in Jesus' name that we build in Jesus' name, we would build and not grow weary that we would never give up. So Lord help us to worship today in spirit and in truth. And as we worship, Lord God, let it be a declaration that says, God, I'm never giving up. Things may get difficult, but I'm not giving up. There's going to be 20, 22 is going to be a good year or because we haven't quit. We haven't given up corporately as a church and individually, If you need prayer during this last set of worship, be people down here who will be praying for you. 1 (1h 6m 50s): I'm not going to pray for you, cause I don't want to get too close to you with my cold, but there's others. You need people to lay hands on you so that you might be healed or filled with the holy spirits said you might be encouraged that you might receive from God, what you need then come on forward and people will pray for you. Let's worship. 0 (1h 7m 17s): the 3 (1h 11m 4s): starting today. We will praise your name. We thank you that we were here at church today, or sitting at home and watching that'd be thank you. That your presence you were with us everywhere. Somebody love you in Jesus name. We pray.

God‘s Rest is Available to You - Part 2

1 (3m 26s): We worship you. Jesus. We thank you that we will praise your name forever and we praise your name today. 2 (11m 33s): Gotcha. Thank you. That's your name is powerful Lord and yeah, we invite your powerful name to move in our midst, Lord, God, you've already begun and we just pray that that would continue. God. I pray that there were where, where there is a disconnect between us and you corporately or individually, Lord God that there would be in Jesus name. I pray God that we would connect to you in a fresh and powerful way where we need to repent of our sins. I pray that we would repent of our sins, God, where we need to acknowledge that we have separated God, that we would acknowledge that and draw close to you. God, that we would allow your spirit to dwell in us on hindered God that we would be convicted of sin and of righteousness, God of your presence, Lord God, that we would honor you all the days of our lives. 2 (12m 25s): God, that we would dwell in you and that you would dwell in us. God, thank you that you do inhabit the praises of your people. I pray that we would always be a people who worship you in spirit and in truth, God, that we would be available to you 24 7, God, that we would be humbled before you grateful for you. God, that we would always understand who you are and who we are in light of your grace in our lives. Lord DOD. So God keep us humble. Keep us filled with the love of God, the grace of God, the compassion of God, or give us, give us the desire to love people in our community. 2 (13m 5s): To love you wholeheartedly, Lord, God, God, we just invite your presence all over this campus Lord. And for whoever's watching online, God, we pray God that you would download grace and truth and supernatural power to us. God that we would be different as a result of this gathering, this corporate gathering of worship today, God, that we would be impossible for us to leave the same, but that there would be change and transformation in our lives because we've gathered, we've prayed together. We've worshiped together. We've looked at the word and studied the word together. We declared that we will submit ourselves to your spirit and your word, Lord God. 2 (13m 47s): So God to change me, change us, transform us where we need to be transformed. Lord God, be glorified in this process. We pray. Thank you for what you're doing. We love you Lord in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. You may be seated. We're going to be in Hebrews chapter five today. Hebrews chapter five. We'll be looking at the last part of Hebrews chapter four as well. Thank you, Amanda. And so we'll be in a couple of different chapters looking again at the last few verses of chapter four, but then unpacking all of Hebrews chapter five. So if you have a Bible and you would like to turn in your Bible to those chapters, that would be great if you don't and they're going to be up on the screen. 2 (14m 29s): So, so that's going to be really good. I'm excited about what God wants to do today. I was up around my property, walking and praying this morning. And as I was praying and walking, I came upon this, all of this debris up on the highway. We live on highway one up on, on the Mason and our house is down about 150, 200 yards off of highway one. And I, as I walked up to the highway, she's me not how be one, but Willow. As I walked up to Willow, I noticed all of this debris everywhere and I was up there to pray, but I see all of this debris. So it's like somebody took a newspaper and just chucked it out the window. And it just went everywhere as well as a bunch of other trash and I'm OCD. 2 (15m 11s): So anytime I see trash, I got to stop and pick it up. I don't like trash. And so I stopped to pick it up and I was reflecting on the trash. I was like, why, who would do this? Why, why throw your trash out on the road on somebody else's property? Who does that? You know? So I was just kind of, kind of frustrated in my soul. And I thought, you know, if I just spend a moment and clean it up, it will all be good. You know? So I took about five, 10 minutes or so, and just gathered up all the trash. I'm having to crawl under the trees on my hands and knees to get the trash from underneath the trees. And, but once I got it all cleaned up, I was able to look at it and I just, I found myself resting again. There was something, something about that trash that was interrupting my ability to pray and my ability to rest in the Lord. 2 (15m 57s): I thought there's a parallel here. I think we allow trash into our lives. Either people put trash into our lives or we bring trash into our lives, but somehow we get trashed in our lives and it interrupts our rest in the Lord. It interrupts our ability to press in as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ, that trash hinders us. And I got this clarity, this kind of revelation that if we'll just take the time, whether it's trash, somebody else has trashed our life with or trash that we have trashed our own lives with. If we will just deal with it. I think we have a disconnect in our walk with Jesus because of trash residue that we've allowed presence in our lives. 2 (16m 46s): Why don't we just clean it up? Why don't we just clean it up? How do we clean it up? If it's like trash baggage in our lives? Well, I find cleaning up means for me, extending grace to somebody who's trash, my life, choosing to love, choosing to extend compassion. And as soon as I begin to actually do what Jesus would do, as soon as I begin to act like Jesus would act and do what Jesus would do and speak like Jesus would speak all of a sudden, there's just the rest of God. 2 (17m 26s): The peace of God, the joy of God, it just, it just settles in me. And all of a sudden I've got clarity, any kind of anger or disappointment or disillusion. It just begins to dissipate and wonderful and profound things happen, but we have to be pro we have to be proactive. And so we have to identify, we have to be OCD about it. So it got, I don't, I'm not allowing this trash in my life. I'm getting rid of it. I'm going to clean it up. I'm going to confess it. I'm going to deal with it. I'm going to get it out in the open. I'm going to throw it away. I'm going to eliminate it from my life. We're talking about rest again this week, last week we said, God's rest is available to us. 2 (18m 9s): But even as I say that again, this week, it's just, it's such good news for us, especially in light of just this crazy holiday season that we find ourselves in it's December, it's almost Christmas again. And here we are, our trees are up. We did the live nativity. We did the, you know, Christmas tree lighting out front. It's been crazy. Lots of things happening every weekend and all throughout the weeks as we get ready to celebrate December 25th, the birth of Christ. And to remember that in the midst of all the chaos, the rest of God, the peace of God is available to us. 2 (18m 50s): How did you do this week? How did we do this week? Reflecting on the message last week, trying to apply it to our lives. How do we do? I did okay. There were moments where I forgot all about the rest. I forgot that it was even available. I forgot that I even needed it. I was just, I found myself uptight at different points. And, and then when I would return to the truth about who God is, that rest would just settle back on me and settle back in me. And it's, it's, it's, it's this supernatural work of the spirit that God wants to accomplish within us. It's really pretty profound. 2 (19m 31s): We've been waiting for six months, you know, kind of doing a ton of work over at 1 0 2 and trying to get a permit. And as I mentioned, I think I mentioned last week that we got the permit and that was like a huge load off, you know, and all through that process. I just had to keep going back to Lord and say, Lord, okay, you know the timing we're just going to trust you. And then when it happens, we're like, okay, thank you, Lord. We trust your timing. And then we had, we were able to call for an inspection. So when you get your permits, you gotta get to start getting a project inspected. So we had done plumbing and electrical and HVAC and Firespring all this different stuff. And so we needed to call for an inspection so that we could continue with the project can continue with the project until you get the sign off. 2 (20m 15s): So we had the inspection this week and Tuesday, we got the building signed off and they said, Hey, you can start insulating. And then you can start dry walling. And then you can start wrapping this thing up. And so there was such a joy. Yeah. There were such joy, such, such gratitude at, at God's goodness. You know, we get uptight about his timing, but as soon as he shows up and does in his timing, what he intended to do all along, well, we just were reminded God's he's not done here. 2 (20m 56s): He's not forgotten about us. He's not left us alone. He's got a plan that is unfolding. And so we need as Christians to stay in that place of rest when we don't understand his timing. And now we've got a few months ahead of us still, and I'm sure we're going to be back in this place where like Lord, what's going on and we're going to have to be reminded that God is still on the throne. And when it's right, we'll open the doors over at 1 0 2 and we'll begin to have church services. But in the meantime, we've had a couple of prayer meetings there. Oh goodness. And that place just got covered with black ink verses of scripture all over the walls. 2 (21m 37s): They're all covered up now, mostly. But man promises from the word promises from God that we're holding onto and recording on the walls of that building. We, we wrote names of people. I bet you there's hundreds of names of people that we've recorded in their names, that people, that people, that we're praying for, that God would touch them. They would experience the salvation of God, the rest of God, the peace of God, he, the healing of God. And so there's literally hundreds and hundreds of names that we've recorded there. And there's going to be another opportunity. We're going to open things up again. Soon. We we've had two prayer meetings and a lot of you have been there. We're going to do it again. 2 (22m 17s): And you're going to have an opportunity and you can stop by anytime during the week and just write names on wood. Don't write it on the dry wall, write it on the word, right? Write it on the wood. And it'll be there forever and ever. And, and just we'll, we'll just watch what God does. There's there's rest for the people of God. When we trust his timing, his plan, his purposes, and his provision. Last week, we talked about God's rest this week. We're talking about God's rest is again, what is the rest that we're talking about? 2 (23m 0s): Well, there's a temporal rest. Then there's the eternal rest. The temporal rest is for the here and now, like right in this moment. So if you're stressed out, anxious, angry, frustrated, resentful, God's rest is available to just scrub all of that stuff from your lives. I shared this story a couple months ago about the letter that I wrote to my dad forgiving him of a lifetime of disappointment. And I shared that when I wrote that letter and forgave, my dad, my soul was scrubbed. 2 (23m 43s): This is, this is the work of God that he wants do in our lives on a regular basis. But we've got to, we got to get rid of the rubbish. We gotta get rid of the trash. We have to address it, deal with it. Extend grace, ask for forgiveness and move forward in the grace and the goodness of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So that we can experience the temporal rest. That leads to the eternal rest of the living. God temporal rest means peace in the midst of the storm. It means faith instead of fear, trust instead of anxiety, joy, instead of worry, I shared these last week. 2 (24m 26s): And as I was getting ready to prepare the message for this week, I re-read this. And I thought we got to say it again. We forget. We got to remind, we got to say it again because I need to reminding, we need reminding about this temporal rest in what that means to us, temporal rest trust. God's his faithfulness, his provision, his love, his goodness, temporal Rast, trust the living God eternal rest, man, what is waiting for us? We get a taste of it here in the here and now. And we're meant to get a taste of it in the here and now we're meant to live in that rest in the here and now, but it takes us to this eternal rest, which means no more pain or sorrow sin or temptation sickness or death darkness. 2 (25m 12s): There will no longer be a curse on anything, but the grace of God rests on everything. Eternal rest means we will see Jesus face to face and we'll be in his presence forever more. So last week we said, this is how you get there. This is how you experience the rest of God. God's rest is available to you by faith. God's rest is available to you through obedience and God's rest is available to the tender hearted faith, obedience. And tenderheartedness that kind of leads us into the law. We're going to kind of relook at Hebrews chapter four, the last few verses verses 14 through 16. 2 (25m 55s): Then we're going to get into Hebrews chapter five and unpack the rest of that. And we're going to look at five points today that help us to understand how the rest of God is available to us. So let's reread Hebrews four 14 through 16. It says. So then since we have a great high priest who has entered heaven, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. Number one, God's rest is available because we have a high priest who is victorious. The scripture says that we have this great high priest who entered having, how did he enter heaven? Why was he able to reenter heaven? 2 (26m 35s): Why? Because he had finished victoriously the work that God sent him to the earth to accomplish. He secured salvation for mankind. He entered heaven. Victoriously Jesus entered heaven. After completing the work he was sent to do securing salvation, he won the victory over sin and death for his people. So because of the victory of our great high priest, Jesus, the Lord, the rest of God is available to us. The Bible says there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Jesus. Why? Because our sins are forgiven. And so the condemnation that goes to the, that settles on the unrepentant. 2 (27m 17s): Isn't for the believer, for those of us who have confessed our need for Jesus who have repented of our sins and who have drawn close to the Lord. So we have this incredible rest. Even when we mess up, we say, Lord, forgive me for that misstep for whatever it was and washed a fresh over me with your grace. And then as we allow, God's grace to wash over us. And at times when we need to forgive ourselves, sometimes it's harder for us to forgive ourselves and forgotten to forgive us. And so when we forgive ourselves and we allow God to forgive us, the rest of God, the peace of God, just settles on us. Jesus won the victory over sin and death for his people. 2 (28m 0s): What exactly does that mean? Let's take a look at first Corinthians 1554 through 58. The apostle Paul explains to us what this means since then, verse 54, first Corinthians 15. Then when our, our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies, that will never die in that sound good. This scripture will be fulfilled. And then there's a quote from Isaiah 25 verse eight. It says death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death. Where is your victory? Oh, death. Where is your sting for sin? 2 (28m 41s): Is the sting that results in death and the law gives sin its power. But thank God. He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. It means we get victory over sin. Doesn't mean we're not going to send any longer, but we'll send less and less and less as the sanctification process of the living. God at work in our lives takes place. As we trust to trust the Lord, as we yield to God, we sin less and less because we want to become more and more like the living God and we are becoming more in that sanctification process. We are becoming more and more like the living God. 2 (29m 22s): So my dear brothers and sisters verse 58, be strong and IM moveable. So we're studying Hebrews and the writer of Hebrews is speaking to a people who are not being strong, but they're being wishy-washy, they're second guessing their commitment to Christ. And maybe you're here today. And you've second guessed your commitment to Christ. You're not sure you're wishy-washy you're you're, you're, you're kind of, you're kind of in limbo a little bit. Maybe you're feeling a little lukewarm. You're not on fire for Jesus, but you're not obstinate toward him. You just don't know what to do. This truth in the scripture, in the Hebrews and in Corinthians is a reminder to us to stand firm, to be strong in the power of his might and be IM movable, always work enthusiastically for the Lord verse. 2 (30m 10s): The verse continues for you now that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. Jesus was victorious for us. He's given us new life, a brand new purpose. He's given us eternity to enjoy him. He has been victorious on our behalf. He has given us victory over sin and death. So we don't have to be slaves to sin. We don't have to be fearful about death because we just graduate from this broken down sick body that we encounter that we inhabit. And we graduate into a, a body, a, an eternal body that is no longer sick. 2 (30m 54s): I was talking with a gal last week after church and she said, I've got Ms. I had no idea she had Ms. But she been battling Ms for a long time. Now I talked to so many people or I got a text this morning from somebody who said, Hey, Mike, I woke up in my, I can't walk my hips out. I'm going to be watching church from home. I'm like, man, I can't wait until these bodies get swallowed up in victory. Right? Like I I'm so over him. Right. You know, even in our healthiest, I'm just, we're just over it. We're like, Hey, can we exchange, you know, trade up. Let's do that. But that would be good. Jesus' victory makes that great exchange possible that we, we trade up and we get glorious bodies moving forward in the new and the next life. 2 (31m 37s): And Hebrews four 14, the writer encourages his readers to hold firmly to what they believe. I think it's always so important for us to go back and be reminded. What is it that I believe what captured my attention when I first gave my life to Jesus, why did I give my life to Jesus in the first place? So that life can get hard, right? Challenging. We run into all kinds of problems, physically, relationally, spiritually, all kinds of problems. And sometimes we just need to revisit this where the writer is saying to the Hebrew people revisits. Remember what it is that you believe about Jesus. So what do they believe about Jesus? What is it that we in this 21st century world that we live in, what do we believe about Jesus? 2 (32m 21s): What we believe that Jesus died for our sins and praise God for that. And we can never get, we can never distance ourselves from that need, from that desperate need for the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Maybe we have a less of a need possibly than we did then, but we're still desperately in need because the Bible says, if we break one law, we're guilty of breaking all the law. So we're desperately in need of the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus, that he was the Messiah. They were willing to go against their, their, their Judaism, their Judaism, their beliefs. As Judy, as, as, as Jews, they, they, they were willing to go against their religious teachers and their families to decide and proclaim that Jesus was the Messiah. 2 (33m 9s): They took a big hit in their culture by believing and choosing and proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah. We've done the same thing we've said. I believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the living, God, that he's the savior of the world that he was sent by God. They believe that. And we believe that we find rest in the Lord. When we continue to hold firmly to what we believe, we lose that rest in that peace and that joy. When we begin to waffle and doubt and question and move away from those foundational essential trues that brought us to Christ in the first place God's rest is available because we have a high priest who is victorious. 2 (33m 52s): Number one, number two, God's rest is available because we have a high priest who is compassionate. Oh, that's good news for us. Isn't it? He is compassionate. How many need some compassion from the Lord? Like we need it. We always need it right back to Hebrews chapter four, verses 15 and 16. It says that this high priest of ours understands our weaknesses for he faced all of the same testings we do yet. He did not sin. He has compassion because he knows exactly what we're dealing with in this life. So let us come. Boldly verse 16 says, let us come boldly to the throne, to the throne of our gracious God in there, we will receive mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. 2 (34m 40s): So it's when we need it. Most that often we're pulling back from God. Like when we need his grace and mercy, the most were, we find it difficult to press into him. But when you're needing it, the very most, that's when you need to press in the very most pressing into the grace and the mercy of the Lord at Jesus Christ. The Lord is compassionate and merciful. Slow to get angry and fill with unfailing. Love. The Psalm says the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Slow to get angry and fill with unfailing love and his earthly life in ministry. Jesus was a man of compassion and we can look at our own lives and see where God has been. 2 (35m 25s): So compassionate, gracious, kind, loving patient with us. His compassion it's incredibly broad and effective in lives, but we see it in his whole earthly life ministry. He, he, he demonstrated compassion. He modeled compassion so that his followers then and now, so that we can see how he lived in reality with others. He had compassion on the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. While everybody around her wanted to see her pay for her sin. Casting stones at her Jesus had compassion for her. 2 (36m 8s): He showed compassion to the hungry, the sick, the needy, the sinful. This is what compassion is. Compassion is the deep awareness of the suffering of another accompanied by the wish to relieve it deep awareness and the desire to relieve it. Somehow I was talking with a guy this week, a guy from the community, and we were just right over here behind 1 0 2. And I was talking to him, I've gotten to know him a little bit. And I said, Hey, how are you doing? What's going on in your life? He said, you know, my, my life is getting worse by the day. 2 (36m 50s): It's like, it goes, it's going from bad to worse every single day. And he explained to me about his marriage and about his, his business and about his relationship with his kids and just how his whole world is falling apart. I said, man, God, God wants to and help you. And to restore you. And it wasn't like this preachy thing, but I was just like with such compassion. I was like, man, there's, there's hope. It's like somebody walking around in the darkness and you you're able to turn on a light for them and say, man, there's actually help. And, and a hope that's available to you. And I, I asked him, I said, what is, where are you at spiritually? What do you believe about God? He said, well, I used to go to church. And he mentioned a Christian Church in town. 2 (37m 32s): And he said, I used to go. But about six years ago, I stopped going. And I, I just have been kind of falling away. I said, man, if you, if you choose to just invite Jesus back into your life, I didn't know what it will look like, but he will begin to restore. He will reconcile. He will heal. He will we'll move powerfully and profoundly in your life. If you'll just avail yourself to him, just invite him back into your circumstance. Just watch, just watch what he will do. I say, Hey, I said, can I pray for you? He said, oh, sure, sure. You know, I've, I've found that if you will just ask, most people, let you pray for them. 2 (38m 12s): I was talking to a guy after service this morning and he was at a restaurant and he talked to me about all the people that he had just been praying for at the restaurant. He saw somebody who was taking, I pray for you and you pray for them. Everybody says, yes, everybody wants prayer. And so he prayed for them and they would just be encouraged and built up and, and whatever. And so I prayed for this guy out here and, and I just prayed. My hearts sometimes were maybe nervous with some praying, maybe for someone who doesn't know Jesus or his backslidden, or I just pray with them. Like, they're a believer like a brother. I just pray. Like they're all in, you know? 2 (38m 53s): And I just invite God to do whatever that is that he wants to do in their lives. And I just take my Liberty because they said yes, and, and God's got great stuff in store for him. So I just began to pray. And after we prayed, he said, oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate you. And so I just encouraged him afterwards. I said, man, God's got purpose and plan. He, the world needs the rest of God. The compassion of God. And we, as followers of Jesus were where Jesus was skin on. And we get to go out and reach people and love people, communicating grace and truth. And just, and when we get to watch what God will do, and we just humbly make ourselves available. 2 (39m 36s): Compassion is the deep awareness. Maybe you're struggling with compassion. Maybe you got jaded hard or whatever. Just ask the Lord to change your mind about that. He will change your mind. He will soften you up and he will give you compassion for people who are perfect strangers for people in your family, God will just begin to change your hearts. Jesus had compassion on the woman with the issue of blood. She just reached in the crowds and, and, and touched the hem of his garment and healing power went out and who, who, who touched me? He said, and the woman identified herself. And he blessed her. 2 (40m 16s): The lay man at the pool of Bethesda was healed because Jesus had compassion. Jesus resurrected, a widow woman's son and Lazarus at the fed, the multitudes all because he was compassionate, loving, and gracious. What is Jesus done for you? Where is Jesus being compassionate in your life? Maybe we need to revisit that truth. Revisit that revelation, that those memories of things that God has done, because in remembering that we will, we will well up with compassion. We'll well up with gratitude. We'll say thank you, Lord, for the ways in which you've been compassionate to me, Lord, help me to be compassionate with others. He's been compassionate and that he has forgiven you and he's forgiven me and he continues to forgive you. 2 (41m 0s): And he continues to forgive me. He's been compassionate and that he's constantly kind, he's loving and patient he's been compassionate and that he speaks the truth to us in love. So we might be arrested with that truth. Confess our sins, turn away from iniquity, sin, whatever it is. That's, that's a polluting our lives. See he out of his great compassion. He will speak the truth in love. Somebody said after first service, as I teach through Hebrews, he said, he said, I think Hebrews is more of a sermon than a letter. It's like that writer is preaching to these people. As I preach a Sunday morning to you, I it's, it's, it's a message that redeems and rescues and salvage is and, and speaks life in grace. 2 (41m 50s): It's meant to be in Jesus' name. What is Jesus done for you? You need Jesus to do right now. And you're in this moment. And what do you need him to do? Where do you need the compassion of God? Just invite him. Like I invited my friend to invite Jesus in. I'm inviting you to invite Jesus in. Maybe you're feeling distant, disconnected from the Lord. Don't you don't have to. Maybe there's some rubbish, some trash. She just needs to be dealt with confess. Forgive, let go, and watch what the Lord will do to restore the rest of God, to you. 2 (42m 33s): God, God wants to do something and he wants to do it today. And this was the reason for my prayer. I believe that God wants to address some of the stuff in our lives today. I don't wait for a new year's resolution. Don't wait for another day to make your decision to settle some stuff. Let's allow God to do what he wants to do in our lives. Now let's be ready and humble and teachable today and now, and just watch what God will do. You will, you will be changed. 2 (43m 14s): You will have this rest that we've been talking about. You will experience the grace of the living. God, the compassion of God God's rest is available because we have a high priest who is compassionate. Let's jump into Hebrews chapter five. We've got a few minutes to get through the rest of this message. Every high priest, Hebrews five one says this. Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sin. So number three, God's rest is available because we have a high priest who is our mediator. 2 (43m 57s): Another word for mediator is interceptor. He mediates on our behalf. He he's the go-between between us and the father. He made that inner, that, that mediation possible by the shed blood that he offered on the cross because he died for us. We have become, we've had righteousness imputed to us. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. And so we've had access granted to us, to the father of Jesus. And now Jesus continually makes intercession for us. He intercedes for us. 2 (44m 38s): He's still connected to us, committed to us and he understands intimately. What we need first Timothy two five says for there is one God and one mediator who can reconcile God and humanity. The man Christ Jesus. We need that reconciliation work at salvation and all through the sanctification process. We need that reconciling work where by we come by faith through the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ into this relationship with God. And we stay there because of that reconciliation work, that ongoing work it's once and for all. 2 (45m 19s): And then continual it's it's it's you're saved once and for all. And then we're continually by God's grace reconciled by the, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus has been big Torian. He's compassionate. And he continues to reconcile. He's reconciled to a reconciled us to the father. He he's involved in the, in the process. Ongoing is my point. He did it once and he continues to do it. He loved us then, and he continues to love us. Now he loved us then, and he will love us for all eternity. He is connected to us. He is our forever eternal mediator between us and the father. 2 (45m 59s): Speaking of earthly priests. Now see, we're seeing in comparison and in Hebrews five, a comparison between our great high priest, who is Jesus Christ, the Lord, and now in earthly priests, we're seeing the difference. Remember the writer's writing to Hebrews who understood Judaism. They understood the priesthood. And so he's making a connection between the earthly priesthood and the eternal priesthood of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And he is able to deal speaking of earthly priests, verse two, Hebrews five, and he's able to deal gently with ignorant and Weyburn people because he himself is subject to the same weakness. That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as theirs. 2 (46m 41s): So we see the difference between the earthly priests and the eternal king of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus Christ. The great high priest is that he is sinless. Number four, God's rest is available because we have a high priest who is sinless. So he understands what we've been through and is endured the testing and temptations that we have. And yet he is been sinless. He is sinless. He's victorious over sin. And in Christ, we have the ability to be victorious over sin. And we'll get to a couple of verses that, speak to that here in just a moment. But Peter number, Peter, Jesus, I'll never leave. You. I'll never deny you a Peter. Actually tonight before the cockroach, you're going to die three times. 2 (47m 21s): As you know me, Peter said this about Jesus. Peter knew Jesus well, intimately. And this is what he said. Peter said, Jesus never said he never said nor ever deceived anyone. Jesus was pure through and through no matter what the world threw at him, he was pure. He was sinless through in, through Paul wrote in second Corinthians five for God made Christ who never sinned to be the offering for our sins so that we could be made right with God through Christ. First John three, five and six says, and you know that Jesus came to take away our sins and there is no sin in him. 2 (48m 4s): And I love verse six. It says in anyone who continues to live in him will not sin or continue to sin. Not that we will be sinless, but we will send less and less. Why? Because we're in Christ. If we abide in him and he abides in us, we will bear much fruit. Our lives will be fruitful. We'll become more and more like Jesus, less and less. Like our old man will be sanctified more and more will become more like Jesus sitting less and less. But it says, but anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. So if we're in a lifestyle of sin, maybe we don't even know him or understand who he is, what he came to do for us. 2 (48m 50s): What he came to complish he came as the sinless lamb of God to take away the sins of the world to offer us salvation in Christ so that we might not just have fire insurance that we avoid hell, but that we enter into relationship for now. And for all eternity with him and where our lives are just being transformed, where we're like, man, I don't even want to do the stuff that I used to do. It's not immediate. I just, I don't want it. It's not in me to want it. That's that's transforming. I see that happen all the time in people's lives are like, I don't even want my, what I'd used to do. It's not appealing. There's nothing about it. That's appealing anymore. 2 (49m 30s): That's the transformational process that God wants to bring us through verse four and no one can become a high, a great, a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work just as Aaron was now, we're seeing a comparison between Jesus and the earthly priest, the Bruce sort of Aaron. That was why Christ did not honor himself. By assuming he could become high priest. No, he was chosen by God. Who said to him, you are my son today. I become your father. Or today I reveal you as my son. There was a work that God was accomplishing in the earth for us. And in another passage, God said to him, you are a priest forever. 2 (50m 9s): In the order of milk Hassidic deck, get some milk has a deck. And chapter seven will impact that. Man, we'll get to chapter seven. Number five God's rest is available because we have a high priest who is eternal. He's not going anywhere. He's the same yesterday and forever. He's alpha and omega the beginning and the end. He is eternal while Jesus was here on earth, verse seven, it says he offered prayers and pleadings with a loud cry and tears to the one who could rescue him from death number in the garden of . And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God, even though Jesus was God's son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered when he went to the cross and this way God qualified him as a perfect high priest. 2 (50m 58s): Perfect. And that he was sinless. He was a Taurus. He was compassionate. God qualified him as a perfect high priest. And he became the source of eternal salvation for all, who would all those who obey him and God designated him to be a high priest in the order of milk has a deck. So the writer of Hebrews is re-introducing revelation and truth about this Jesus, this Jesus that they chose to believe, but then he challenges them. He challenges. And I think the challenge speaks to the reason that they're waffling, that they're struggling in what they are believing in. And they're lukewarm and, and undecided verse 11 says there's much more. 2 (51m 41s): We would like to say, to say about this, but it's difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually Dole and don't seem to listen. There's a connection there. Unbelief was connected to their lack of ability to press in and grow as sons and daughters of God growing in grace and truth. You've been believers so long. Verse 12 says, now that you so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again, the basic things about God's word. You're like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. So again, this is the reason, or at least part of the reason of their way, wordiness for their waywardness in the faith. 2 (52m 28s): They just refuse to grow up and understand truth and to press in and understand what God speaks to us in his word and the pages of scripture from Genesis to revelation, they just refuse to engage into, continue to learn and grow. And they just grew stale and their connection to God and their commitment to God. And they began to get way word and, and they're they're tossed to and fro, and they can't decide. Verse 13 says for someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. So he's saying, Hey, grow up, learn to do what is right. 2 (53m 10s): Grow up. Verse 14, solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skills you're recognize the difference between right and wrong. Often we miss the rest of God. The peace of God. We miss the blessings of God because we don't know that truth well enough so that we easily buy into lies. We believe lies that the world will throw at us, that the enemy will throw at us. A Bible says that Satan is the father of lies. So that's what he does permanently, constantly full-time as he allies to us. And if we don't know the truth, while I forgot to buy into the lies, and then we're going to get wayward in our faith, we're going to begin to doubt with the scripture, say, and we're going to get Luke warm and we're going to begin to grow distant from the Lord. 2 (53m 57s): We will never experience the rest of God in that place. So maybe you're brand new in the faith. And God's grace is on. You always be growing, always be growing. When I was first in the ministry here, full-time vocationally 22 years ago, I showed it to a pastors meeting. I'm the, like the youngest guy there. You know, I'm the youngest guy by like 20 years of that meeting. And I remember somebody said, Hey, the only cure for youth is just time. But I had to that it's time plus a commitment to maturity so we can grow older, but not real mature. 2 (54m 38s): And so the challenge from the scripture is that we would grow old and the grace of God and grow mature and the truth of God. And then all the days of our lives, we experienced that rest, that deep contentment and satisfaction that comes from trusting God, knowing God and believing God, that's what I want for me. That's what I want for us. That's what I always want for us. Moving forward as God does the good stuff that he wants to do through us in this village and in this community and in this world. Amen. Amen. Let's go and stand up and pray. And we're going to sing some more Lord as we pray. We thank you for your word. We thank you that it is more than capable to speak to us. 2 (55m 23s): Challenge us, bring us to a new level of trust in you, Lord, a new level of rest and confidence in you. I, I just want us to rest in you and that's, that's what you want. Lord. You want us to just find our rest in you. And so in the midst of the storm, we just have this confidence, this trust Lord, when things are going sideways, physically or relationally or emotionally or spiritually Lord, we just find this place of rest. So I just speak grace over every person listening, gathered in attendance, grace, or God help us to get the rubbish out of our lives so that we can arrest in you in Jesus name. 2 (56m 6s): Amen. Let's worship 0 (56m 11s): we have 1 (1h 3m 51s): We thank you, father that we get to be in your house today. We thank you for the word that was shipped. That'd be take time today to prioritize you. That'd be thinking that you love us, that we think you, that you sent your son to die for us so that we could live forever with you. God, in that we could sing glory. I got to Europe to you every single day. And so God, we love you and praise you. Thank you for being in church today. If you'd like prayer, we have an amazing prayer teams. You can make your way forward. Otherwise have a wonderful day.

God‘s Rest is Available to You

0 (1s): It was a great celebration last night. How many made it last night? It was good. Good, good stuff. The live nativity, the tree lighting, the Christmas carols. We just had a wonderful time. Last night, I think last night was the 17th annual Christmas parade. And when that, that Christmas parade first started, it was so small that they didn't even close down the streets. And, and then it has just grown over the years. And for a number of years, pastor Mark Valdez, and I have been announcing the parade right in front of the church. And it's just been delightful to see God grow that thing. 0 (41s): And we pulled into town about three o'clock prayed, started at five. We got here about three and we see every, all the trees are lined with, or streets are lined with chairs and people getting ready for the festivities. It was just really, really cool hundreds and hundreds of people showed up. It was really, really fun. So thanks to all of our team who worked to pull everything off tech teams, children's ministry, youth, just everybody behind the scenes working to make it beautiful. And I'm always nervous. Yeah. When Santa does the countdown, 10, nine, I'm always nervous. First of all, we couldn't find Ron he's flipped a switch and a, so Santa is out there and I'm like, where is Ron? 0 (1m 22s): Ron is he's missing an action. You know? So it turns out Ron was right where he was supposed to be. So I was, I did, I forgot what I thought it was going to be switched somewhere else. So, so anyway, the countdown happening when we lit the tree and it was just delightful. So good job, everybody. It's been such a crazy holiday season, a crazy year. So far with everything going on at 1 0 2 and little update with 1 0 2 are, I want to choose our new worship center, just up the streets. That's about one minute walk from here. And we've been praying for a building permit six months into our project there. And on December 1st we got a Christmas miracle and we got our building permit. 0 (2m 5s): So that was really, really great. We've been working on it for six months. And so we've done all of the rough electrical, plumbing, mechanical, all that kind of stuff, new HVAC system, all kinds of stuff is in. So we, we called for an inspection. So Tuesday we'll get all of that inspected and hopefully we pass muster and they'd give us the permission to kind of begin to insulate everything and drywall everything and do all the, all of the finishing touches. So we had originally planned to get it done pretty quick. And then as these things go, they it's taken longer than expected. And so thank you for your patience. I, I think we'll be in by Easter. 0 (2m 45s): Of course, then we usually have an outdoor Easter service. So I don't know if we'll be in for Easter or not, but that's, that's probably the deal. So anyway, it's been super busy. And so we're, we're going to be talking about rest today. As we get into Hebrews chapter four, it's it's, it's timely for this seasoned. A lot of us were here late last night and then early this morning, getting ready for things. And with Thanksgiving events happening, it's just been a, it's been a, it's been, it's been very, very, very much a busy time of year. I, I got up earlier this week and I got up early to do some work and about nine o'clock in the morning, I told my wife, I said, you know, I think I need to nap 9:00 AM. 0 (3m 27s): She said, okay, go ahead. So I crawl in bed and in my defense, I had restless dreams at that night, all that night. I hadn't been fighting in my dreams. I haven't had a fight since like junior high school, but I was fighting in my dreams and I kept waking up and kept saying stuff out loud. And my wife was nervous. You know? She's like, Hey, are you okay? You're okay. But I was like in a real fist fight in my dream. You just had dreams like that. Fist fights. No. Okay. Whatever. I don't know where it came from. Either dreams were odd, but anyway, so I had got some pretty restless sleep in the night. And so, so at nine o'clock, I crawl back in bed for some more rest and woke up at 10 30. And of course my wife's on the phone with my sister. She said, you're not going to believe what your brother did. 0 (4m 10s): It's a good time for napping. Isn't it. So we're gonna be talking about talking about rest today. And the title of the message today is God's rest is available to you. God's rest is available to you when God talks about rest. It's a two fold rest. And as we said, he Hebrews chapter four, what kind of learn more about it? But it's a fold rest. There's a temporal rest here in the earth for those who trust in the Lord. And then there's this eternal rest where we will spend eternity with the Lord in heaven. And so it's temporal rests means that in the day-to-day rhythm and routine of our lives, we can find peace in the Lord, no matter what's happening. 0 (4m 54s): When we are intentional, we can find the rest that God has Forrest temporary rest means peace in the midst of the storm. We've had some storms this year and some difficulties this year, our good friend Jr. Passed away a couple of weeks ago. We just did a service yesterday. A lot of you saw on the prayer chain about a three-year-old little girl who drowned on Thanksgiving. And so we've known the parents since they were little guys and so difficult stuff. A lot of people just dealing with difficult stuff. And the reality of the gospel of our relationship with Jesus is that he offers us rest in the midst of the storm. 0 (5m 41s): Temporal rest means faith. Instead of fear, it means trust instead of anxiety, it means joy instead of worry, but we have to choose it. We have to decide to overcome our worries with the joy of the Lord temple rest trust. God's love it. Trusts God's forgiveness. His provision, his goodness temporal rests puts us in this place where we just have confidence in who God is. And so no matter what happens, we can just rest in the Lord. So that's the temporal rest that is available to us who trust in the Lord. And then there's eternal. 0 (6m 20s): Rest in eternal rest means no more pain or sorrow and we're sin or temptation, no more sickness or death. No more darkness. Imagine that no more darkness because the son of God will light up the heavens eternal rest means there will be no longer a curse on anything at the fall. There was a curse that covered the earth and to humanity and in the new heavens and the new earth and eternity, there will be no longer a curse on anything. Imagine not a curse on anything, not in your relationships, not in your personal physical bodies, not on the earth that is polluted and dying all around us. 0 (7m 10s): Imagine just life, life abundantly throughout the earth through this new heavens and the new earth eternal rest means we will see Jesus face to face and we will be in his presence forever. More. I'm looking forward to seeing Jesus face to face. I just cannot wait for that day. And for all eternity, when we get to see our savior face to face. Well, as we wrapped up Hebrews chapter three last week, we read that because of Israel's unbelief because they did not believe they were not able to enter God's rest. God rescued the nation of Israel out of Egypt. After hundreds of years of bondage and slavery, with the intention of leading them into their place of rest, the promised land, the land of Canaan, but because of their unbelief, they were not able to inherit the promise, the promised rest that God had for them. 0 (8m 6s): Imagine God working miracles to deliver the people of Israel out of this place of bondage and slavery and parting their red seas, giving them the access, helping them to escape from there, the Egyptians who were pursuing them and taking them on this journey and through all of that, just the subtle hardening of heart rebelliousness and sin developed. And they missed their opportunity to enter into God's place of rest. They failed to enter that rest. Why? Because they, again, rebelled, they sinned and they disobeyed God and therefore forfeited their blessings of God on earth and in eternity. 0 (8m 47s): So when the book of Hebrews talks about rests, it is referring to God's promise to grant his people ultimate in heaven, but Believer's also get a taste at temporal rests in the here and now. And that's really good news, right? I mean, it's going to be amazing in heaven, but isn't it amazing in the here and now that we can rest in the Lord, that we can experience his peace. And his joy has clarity that we can get wisdom for our circumstances for our lives. And we can know without a shadow of a doubt as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ, that the presence of God has taken a residency in us that the holy spirit lives in us in all of the blessings that go with that. 0 (9m 33s): All of the fruit of the spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. The fruit of the presence of the living. God allows us to rest even in the midst of very challenging and difficult life circumstances. So Canaan was the place of temporal rest for Israel. We are meant to have a Canaan type of experience with the Lord before ever going to heaven. Our Canaan experience is the place of faithful rest, where God has trusted. God is believed and where God is followed all the days of our lives. 0 (10m 13s): And from this place of trust and this place of faith and this place of discipleship, we experienced a supernatural and it's nothing short of supernatural. This rest that we're talking about that is available to us as believers, as followers in the Lord, Jesus Christ. It's nothing short of supernatural. I say this all the time, everything that God asks us to do requires is supernatural grace and power to accomplish that everything that God has done in our lives from salvation to filling us, to keeping us all of that as a supernatural work of God in our lives, taking care of us as his sons and daughters is from this place of trust and faith and discipleship. 0 (10m 55s): We experienced a supernatural ability to endure and enjoy life here in the earth. And there's plenty to enjoy here in the earth, but man, how much better is our permanent place of rest with the Lord? So for the believer earth is not our home. It's our temporary place of rest until, until we get to heaven, heaven is our place of permanent rests. So how can we enjoy God's rest here like today, and also in eternity that the chapter Hebrews chapter four helps us to understand how to attain that rest. You guys ready to Hebrews chapter four verse one says God's promise of entering his rest still stands. 0 (11m 41s): So we got to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it for the, this good news that God has prepared. This rest has been announced to us just as it was announced to them, their ancestors people in the wilderness experience, the good news of rest was communicated to them, but it did them no good because they didn't share the faith of those who listened to God. Some manuscripts read, they didn't combine what they heard with faith. And that's part of the journey as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We have to take in the message of the good news, the gospel. 0 (12m 21s): We have to read the Bible from, start to finish, take it in and then add faith to it, making the decision choosing by God's grace to believe what we're reading about and believe what God wants to accomplish in our lives. And so it's by faith that we move forward as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We come to come to Jesus through faith, but then we walk with him by faith for the rest of our lives and things don't ever change. We always walk by faith and not by sight. God's rest is available. Number one, God's rest is available to you by faith. This is how we experience it simply by faith. 0 (13m 5s): Verse three says for only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said in my anger, I took an oath. They will never insure my place of arrest. So we keep seeing Psalm 95 quoted in these couple of chapters that we've been studying three and four. It's a warning to the people of Israel and also a warning to all believers, everywhere that if we're not careful entering into this place of rest can be missed. If we don't understand the process of entering into that. So Hebrews 11 one says faith is the confidence. What is faith? It's the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. 0 (13m 51s): It's like last night, when we're getting ready to light the tree, I'm hoping the thing will light up. I had faith that it would eventually light up, but in the more serious things of life, we have these hopes and longings and dreams. And Ron talked about writing the names of people in 1 0 2 on the walls, believing we've got this hope that these people would get touched by the Lord that they'll come to faith in Jesus Christ, that they'll give them themselves to the Lord. And so we have these hopes. Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. Even if it takes years, it will happen. As we put our trust in the Lord, it gives us faith. 0 (14m 32s): It gives us a shore. It's about things. We can not see faith walking by faith and not by sights. Hebrews 11, six says, it's impossible to please God, without faith, we can please God, by his grace. As we put our faith in, as we put our faith in him for salvation, for help in the day to day that we're, we're trusting that we're filled with his presence and with his power to overcome sin sickness, all of the things that come before us in this life, it's impossible to please God, without faith, Ephesians two, eight and nine says for by grace are you saved through faith. 0 (15m 18s): And so we're saved by grace through the faith that we put into that grace gift that the Lord has given to us and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. So the unbeliever, the unbeliever will never enter into this rest because we enter into it first and primarily through this thing called faith. Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen is the assurance of things we can not see at all by faith. We worship an invisible God by faith. We show up on Sunday morning to worship and invisible God by faith we'd gather. And we pray for one another, believing that God is at work in the world by faith. 0 (16m 3s): We move forward as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Hebrews four, three continues. Even though this, this rest has been ready since he made the world, we know it is ready. Be even though, so verse four, we know it is ready because of the place in the scripture where it mentions the seventh day on the seventh day, God arrested from all his work. And so God invites humanity into this place of rest. So after the creation account got arrested from all of his work, he got invites us into that place of perfect rest with him, verse eight. But in the other passage, God said they will never enter my place of rest. 0 (16m 45s): Speaking of the faithless. So God's rest is there for people to answer, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So there's faithlessness and disobedience. Number one, God's rest is available to you by faith. Number two, God's rest is available to you through obedience. So we're not saved by our obedience. We're saved by grace, through faith, in the finished work of the Lord, Jesus Christ. When we believe that he died for our sins, we enter into this faith relationship with the Lord, this discipleship process, where we begin to follow him all the days of our lives. And so that's the process. 0 (17m 26s): We get saved and baptized. We get filled with the holy spirit. We get the blessing of walking with God and knowing that our sins are forgiven and that he he's adopted us into his family. So that's, that's how we are saved. But this place of rest is available. As we, as, as we choose to as disciples of a living, God be obedient to him. So we're, again, we're not saved by our obedience, but it is an indication. It's an indication of what's going on. Our obedience is an indication of our commitments, our faith, and our hearts toward God. Do we really follow him? Do we really follow him? 0 (18m 6s): It, it will be proven by our obedience. That question will be answered by our obedience or by our disobedience. Do we really follow him as evidenced by our obedience to him? Do we really believe him? That question will be answered by the evidence of our lives. Do we obey him out of our belief in him? Do we really believe him? Or are we just offering lip service? What do we think about this? Jesus, do we really love him? It's easy to say. I love you, Jesus. 0 (18m 46s): But Jesus had some things to say about what those words actually mean in John 14, 15. Jesus said, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. If you let me will keep my commandments. Jesus is saying, listen, you will be obedient to me. If you love me, if you genuinely love me, you will be obedient. John 14, 21 says this. Jesus said those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. So those who accept and then choose to obey his commandments. Those are the ones who love him. 0 (19m 27s): And because they love me. Jesus said, my father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them in John 14, 22 and 23, Jesus replied all who loved me will do what I say. He just keeps driving this home. All who love me will do what I say. There's obedience naturally connected to our love relationship with the living. God, we can't be disobedience to God and still declare that we love him because if we truly love him, we will do what he's asked us to do. All who love me will do what I say. 0 (20m 8s): My father will love them and we will come and make our home with each of them is the promise in John 14, 22 and 23 verse 24 says anyone who doesn't love me will not obey me. He just continues to drive it home. Anyone who doesn't love me will not obey me. And remember my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the father who sent me. So there's a direct connection that direct correlation, obedience and love, love, and obedience. They go hand and hand in hand and the great in Matthew 28, 18 through 20 Jesus came and he told us his disciples. 0 (20m 53s): I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. And often we'll stop the quote there. We won't go on to verse 20 where it says, teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you and be sure of this. I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And so he's calling us to teach people to be obedient and he's promising his presence is ever present presence and help in our time of needs. When we're trying to be obedient to his commandments and all of the commandments, kind of the law and the prophets, they all boil down to the word. 0 (21m 39s): Love. God has called us to love him. And he's called us to love one, another everything in the old and the new Testament calls us to love. And so that's part of the obedience that God has called us into that we might love him wholeheartedly and that we might love others, whole heartedly. So it's a challenge, but God promises to be with us, giving us the ability and the grace to do the things that he's asked us to do. So rest is the result of faith. Number one, rest is the result of obedience. Let's take a look at what verse seven says for seven Hebrews four says, so God set another time for entering his rest. 0 (22m 21s): And that time is today. Now is the day to enter into his rest. Got announced this through David much later in the word's already quoted in Psalm 95. Today, when you hear his voice don't harden, your hearts. Number three God's rest is available to the tender hearted, had a young guy call me up this week. And he said, Hey, I'm thinking about the ministry. I'm thinking about going into full-time vocational ministry. He said, what can I do to get prepared, to begin, to get prepared for full-time vocational ministry? So we talked about a lot of different things, and I said, you know, probably the most important thing that will sustain you among other things. 0 (23m 4s): But one of the most important things is, is that you keep your heart tender. I said, it's a rough business. The ministry, it's a people business. And if you don't work to keep your heart tender, your heart will subtly kind of harden up. And I, I told him, I said, you won't be able to serve God or others if your heart is not tender. So you'll have to constantly be forgiving people, loving people, asking for the grace to extend to people. I said, I I've met. I know way too many people. Most of the guys and gals in my Bible college. And a lot of them in my seminary training, most of all of them have washed out of ministry over and over again. 0 (23m 47s): I I'm watching people wash out of ministry. It's a tough job. I told this young guy and I said, so I said, this is what I always tell people who are interested in ministry. If you can do anything else, go do that, right? Like anything else to do, if you can do anything else and be happy to do that. But if you can't do anything else and you still feel called to the ministry, then pursue the ministry and then God will give you the grace to do it. But you've got to keep your heart tender before the Lord so that you can minister effectively for the longterm so that you can do it for the rest of your life. God's rest is available to the tender hearted verse eight says, now if Joshua Yeshua has succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest. 0 (24m 37s): Still to come first eight points, two points, people back to Jesus. Joshua took the people of Israel into the promised land to enjoy temporal rest. But this verse I believe is pointing us to Jesus. Who's made a way for us to enjoy eternal rest in the Lord. And so this writer is challenging. These believers who are beginning to waffle in their faith about the Lord, Jesus Christ. Remember there are Jewish people who have decided to believe that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, and now they're waffling in their commitment to Christ waffling in their faith in Jesus. 0 (25m 18s): And so he's challenging them. He said, listen, they've Joshua could have done what was needed. Then Jesus wouldn't be needed or necessary, but we know that indeed Jesus was necessary for God. So loved the world that he sent his one and only son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So verse eight points the people back to Jesus. And that's really what a spiritual leaders job. A Christian leaders job is to continue to point people back to Jesus, to re re we need to be reminded constantly that Jesus he's the way the truth and the life. And no man comes to the father except through him. 0 (25m 60s): We need to be reminded that there's rests in the living Christ, that we can find peace in the living God that he is walking with us and that he sustains us so that we can endure and enjoy life. Jesus. He has secured an eternal place of rest and that's available to each of us. When we put our faith in the finished work of the Lord, Jesus Christ verse nine says, so now there is a special rest, and this is talking about a Sabbath rest, still waiting for the people of God. This Sabbath rest requires faith. It requires obedience and it requires a tender heart to experience. 0 (26m 43s): And we need to realize that Sabbath rest is actually an act of worship. We're deciding I'm going to take some time. I'm going to take the day and I'm just going to give it to the Lord as my act of worship. And so I could be busy doing a hundred other things, fixing the house, working extra hours at the job, running errands. I could be doing all of these different things, but I'm going to make sure that I have this Sabbath rest. God commanded us to honor the Sabbath day of rest, recognizing that we needed downtime in our lives margin in our lives. But we also needed that special day each week to reconnect with the Lord. 0 (27m 23s): And as believers we do that daily. We connect with the Lord on a regular basis as we walk with Jesus. And as he walks with us, as we abide in him and as he abides in us, we bear much fruit. So Sabbath rest is an act of worship. And we're called into this place of rest. How many times, how many times are we just running crazy, like burning the candle at both ends and God has, he's like calling to us rest, stop, settled down. You can trust me. You can rest in me and you don't have to kill yourself going crazy. 24 7. It's a, I think it's a trick of the enemy. 0 (28m 3s): Keeping everybody so busy and chaotic that we, we miss out on. God's very best for us. We're busy doing it, a thousand things and even seemingly good things or even seemingly spiritual things. But we're not taking that time of Sabbath rest, where we're connected to Jesus being filled by the holy spirit, being empowered to do what he's calling us to do so that we can move forward with a, a tank that is full and not depleted. God's wanting us to rest. He's wanting us to experience that temporal rest in this life so that we can move from this place into the eternal rest that he has for us. And he wants to take as many people with us. 0 (28m 45s): He wants us to take as many people with us as possible. That's why he's given us that great commission verse 10 says for all who have entered into God's rest have rested from their labors just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey, if we disobeyed God as the people of Israel did, we will fall. So another opportunity to listen to the holy spirit, through the inspired words of God, we have to be careful that we're living as obedient, sons and daughters of the living. God, it goes hand in hand with our commitment to love him and follow him for the word of God. 0 (29m 25s): Verse 12 says for the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two edge sword cutting between soul and spirit between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. This is why we encourage the church and we encourage one another to open up the Bible every day. Even if it's just for a little bit, I'm making a commitment to read a chapter or two or three in the day. Why? Because the word of God exposes the condition of our heart. And if we're not careful, our hearts will subtly grow hard calloused. 0 (30m 7s): And in that place where no good to God or to other people, it's hard to serve God or others with a calloused heart. And so as we open up the scripture, it's it begins to point out to us what needs to be fixed. Maybe you read a great faith story in, in the Bible, pick many. We're going to be going through a bunch of them and Hebrews chapter 11. But you, you read a face story and you realize, man, my faith is nothing like Noah's faith. I mean, he spent all those years building that boat. My faith is nothing like Moses faith. I don't have any faith like John, the Baptist. I don't have any faith like Mary. I just don't have. And you can look at those stories and be built up in your most holy faith and say, I want to be more faithful. 0 (30m 49s): Like Mary light, John, like Moses, like, no, I want to be more faithful. And then you are challenged in the right direction. So the word of God exposes the condition of our hearts and points out where we're being faithless disobedient and hard hearted verse 13 says nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. And he is the one to whom we are accountable. So God knows everything anyway. So why don't we just come clean and say, God, I'm struggling to be faithful in this area to have faith for this area. God, I'm struggling to be obedient in this area. 0 (31m 31s): God, my heart's hardening up in this area of my life. God, I need you to help me in every area so that I can be faithful and obedient and tenderhearted. And as you invite the Lord into your struggle, into your battle, he is there to help. And we see that in verse 14. So then since we have a great high priest who has entered heaven, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. Hold firmly by the grace of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Our high priest is for us. It says that in the scriptures that he's forever making intercession for us at the right hand of the father, he says in verse 15, this high priest of ours understands our weaknesses for he faced all of the same testing we do yet. 0 (32m 20s): He did not sin. So we've got this challenge to call upon the living God, to make sure we're thinking properly about this Jesus that we're choosing to believe. This is the outline from last week that we're choosing to believe the truth about Jesus and that we're keeping our courage and remaining confident in all of these things require the supernatural work of the holy spirit in our lives. Verse 15. Again, this high priest of ours understands our weaknesses. That's really good news. He experienced all of the temptations and the difficulties in life. And yet he did not sin. He'll give us the grace to sin less and less as we call upon him. 0 (33m 4s): As we invite him into our circumstance, he's our great high priest. So let us come. Boldly verse 16 says, let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There, we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. So maybe you're here this season and really struggling to rest to be at peace. Maybe you're here and you're just, you're not able to exhale. There's just so much pent up, worry and frustration, whatever. 0 (33m 44s): It may be so much that you're holding onto you. God wants you to confess that to him, release that to him, be filled with his presence so that you can experience this temporal rest. And ultimately this eternal rest in Christ, it's available. Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There, we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it. Most I'm gonna invite the worship team up. I'm going to invite you to stand and what we're going to pray together. And I'm just going to lead us in a couple of prayers as we stand up. And so let's just as we stand, let's close our eyes and Lord, we just want to say, thank you for this rest that is available. 0 (34m 30s): It's temporal for the here and now and it's eternal for all of time and eternity Lord. So we thank you for that Lord. I pray for my friends who are listening, gathered for this message Lord and I pray that each of us would be able to rest, especially in this holiday season. If we can arrest, find a place, this, this place of rest during the holiday season, we can do it the rest of the year. So Lord help us to find that place of rest, where we're filled with faith, obedience and a tender heart. Lord, Lord, maybe there, there are people here who've never entered into that rest at all. 0 (35m 10s): There are people here who don't know you, Jesus. The one who makes that rest possible. Maybe there are people here who don't have a relationship with you at all. And I pray for those people. We've all been there. Lord, I pray that our friends who don't know you would come to faith in you. And if you're here and you don't know Jesus, or if you're listening to this message and you don't know Jesus, if you would like to get to know Jesus, if you'd like to receive the salvation, a gift of the Lord, Jesus Christ. You simply say, God, I need you. I need you to forgive me. I'm you, you say I'm putting my faith in you. 0 (35m 51s): God, I'm choosing to be obedient to you. I'm choosing to keep a tender heart before you Lord. So we come into my life and we forgive my sins. When you call me your son, when you call me your daughter, will you adopt me into your family? And as you declare before the Lord, your desire to follow Jesus, to make him your king and Lord, he will come into your life and he will lead you all the days of your life. He loves you. Thank you, Lord. Part of a decision to follow Jesus's baptism. It's a public declaration of one's faith to follow Jesus maybe, or maybe if you've been a Christian for a long time. 0 (36m 36s): And part of your disobedience is that you haven't been baptized yet. We'll baptize you any Sunday that you would like to get baptized. We can do it today. We'll fill up the trough and baptize you today. But if you've never been baptized, we encourage you to get baptized. If you're a brand new believer like today, you got, you became a believer and got saved. The Bible calls it. If you became born again and you would like to get baptized, you're basically declaring, I am a follower of Jesus and I would like to get baptized so that my solidify and declare my decision. Then we will baptize you and look forward to that. So if you'd like to get baptized, talk to a leader here or fill out a communication card and we will get you baptized. Amen. All right. Let's worship some more. Okay. 2 (44m 33s): You are holy God. You're you're so other than we are you're you're just greater than we can fathom. Thank you for thank you for the rest that can be found when we lay down our crowns Lord and we give it all to you. Jesus, thank you God, for a great word today. Thank you for this gathering of, of, of your people. And I just pray that your word would marinate in us as we leave and we just walk away changed, ever being sanctified, made into the people that you desire to your bride. 2 (45m 19s): Lord

What Do We Do with Jesus?

0 (0s): Okay, man. Well, welcome. Welcome. My D who read the most recent headline. Did you guys read the headline that about the post Thanksgiving inflation? Did you guys read about it? It's mostly in the midsection, but it's, but it's definitely, definitely happening. Nobody else read about that? Just curious. How many eight, wait, how many ate way too much during the holidays? Holy cow. I'm still stuff from yesterday. We had Thanksgiving on Thursday, like most people and I'm at my in-law's house. And then we had a double birthday party at my house yesterday with two of my grandkids to my grand boys. 0 (41s): And then, huh, Friday, Friday. Thanks. And then Saturday I'll get it straight eventually. And then Saturday we were at my mom's house. If 30 people doing more food. And so I'm just totally stuffed. So I'm ready to stop eating for a few days. I probably won't. I mean, let's be honest. It's a good, but Hey, we're in Hebrews chapter three, I'll be reading out of the new living translation today. They were answering the question. What do we do with Jesus? What do we do with Jesus? I mean, that's really the challenge that the writer of Hebrews is issuing. He's challenging these believers, these are Jewish believers, beat people who are Jewish, but believe that Jesus is the Messiah. 0 (1m 29s): And yet in their belief, they begin to waffle and have a second thoughts and second guessing their, their decision to, to really serve Jesus wholeheartedly. And so we're, we're going to work today on answering that question. What do we do with Jesus? Number one in your notes, we're going to see this in Hebrews chapter three, verse one. I'm going to ask you to think carefully about him. Think carefully about Jesus. Why? Because in Hebrews three, one, it says this. And so dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and our partners with those called to heaven, the writer says, think carefully about this Jesus, whom we take glare to be God's messenger and high priest. 0 (2m 16s): So the writer again is speaking to believers. If you look at the English standard version or the king James version, it inserts the word holy. And so the writer is speaking to a holy group of people, brothers and sisters in the Lord. People made holy by the work of Jesus on the cross. And we're going to celebrate communion at the end of service today, celebrating that work that Jesus accomplished on the cross. He made possible for people to, he made it possible for people to be made holy by his sacrifice. And so the writer of Hebrews is speaking to God's people he's speaking to his church. 0 (2m 56s): So he's speaking to them then, and he's speaking to us now. So what do we do with this Jesus, he's admonishing us to think carefully about this Jesus, whom we declared to be God's messenger and high priest. Maybe some of us are here today, and we need to rethink about this Jesus about this person, about the work and miracles in life of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Maybe we need to rethink because maybe like he's Jewish believers, we're waffling in our connection to and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so maybe the answer for us is to rethink, to reevaluate, to reconsider who we believe Jesus to be last week, the writer of Hebrews instructed his audience and Hebrews chapter two. 0 (3m 49s): So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it Hebrews two one. So we've got to think and listen, and be reminded about what we believe about Jesus in the thinking and being reminded and listening to the truth. We will be refreshed in our spirits as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So in thinking carefully about him, we ask killies Jesus, who is Jesus, this person that we're going to celebrate here at Christmas time, the person that we celebrate at Easter, his birth, and then his resurrection, who is this Jesus. 0 (4m 31s): Well in our study, Hebrews chapter one actually outlines that information for us and tells us very clearly who this Jesus is. And so I just kind of made some notes as I re-read Hebrews chapter one, to remind us and to remind myself who this Jesus is. We read from Hebrews one that God speaks to us through Jesus, God speaks to us through his son. We read that God promised everything to the son as his inheritance. Why does Jesus get everything? Well? We know that Jesus created everything as we read through Hebrews chapter one. 0 (5m 11s): So we know because he created everything. He actually inherits everything. Everything belongs to him. It says through the son, he created, God created the universe through the son. God created through Jesus. God created the universe. So Jesus gets it all because he, well, he created it all. Verse three tells us that the sun radiates God's own glory. The sun radiates the beauty and the glory of the living. God also, Jesus sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. So he created it all and he sustains it all. 0 (5m 56s): We also see that Jesus cleanses the repentant of their sins. We know that he is seated at the right hand of the throne of a majestic God in heaven, we see that he is greater than the angels. We see that the angels actually worship Jesus. We see that God, the father declared this information, this truth, this revelation about the son and Hebrews one eight, God, the father said your throne, oh God, capital G God endures forever and ever. So the father is calling the son, God, your throne, oh God, in yours, forever and ever Hebrews one eight, the sun rules with a sector of justice. 0 (6m 41s): So we know that he is just, and we see that he loves justice and actually hates evil. Did you know, there's some things that Jesus actually hates. He loves justice, but hates evil. We see that the oil of joy has been poured out on him more than on anyone else. So imagine the most joyous person in your life. The most joyous person that you know, personally, the oil of joy has been poured out on Jesus. More than on any one else. He is filled with joy. We know that Jesus laid the foundations of the earth and made the heavens with his own hands, laid the foundations of the earth and made the heavens with his own hands. 0 (7m 25s): I don't know about you, but I'm getting a bigger perspective, a greater understanding about who this Jesus is. As I read through this one chapter Hebrews chapter one, we see that Jesus is eternal. He will remain forever. He is always the same and he will live forever. Use the same yesterday today and forever. Another verse says, God will make his enemies, his footstool. So every enemy of Christ will be made his footstool. In other words, Jesus is victorious over everybody and over everything. So who is Jesus? He is the king. He is the king of all Kings. 0 (8m 7s): He is the Lord. He is the Lord of all Lords. He is God. In the flesh. He is the great high priest. He is the savior of all who call on his name. He is the judge of the university is a victorious. He will have the last word. What do we do with this Jesus who the scriptures declare so powerfully that he is God and king and savior and Redeemer that he is judged. And the one who will have the last word we have to think carefully about him. Every time I opened the scripture and think carefully about Jesus, I'm built up in my most holy faith. 0 (8m 49s): I'm reminded of the glory of God through Jesus, the power of God through Jesus. The awesome wonder of God through Jesus. What do we do with this? Jesus think carefully. And maybe you're here today. As I said earlier, you need to rethink, maybe you need to reevaluate what it is that you believe about. Jesus. Maybe you've held him too loosely or have had him in a box in your life. Maybe you just haven't properly understood the person work of the living. God, I heard a sermon recently that was disturbing and disheartening at the same time, this gala was teaching or preaching and leading a service. 0 (9m 43s): And she was talking about the throne room of God, this place where the angelic hosts cry out. Holy holy, holy is the Lord. God almighty this place where there's adoration and praise going before the throne constantly. And she concluded that the angels around the throne room of God are probably texting each other distracted, just kind of doing what humans might do. She joked that they're probably having a farting contest in the throne room of heaven. It is unbelievable what people will say and declare, she said, got us a lot more fun than we give them credit for being. 0 (10m 36s): And this was her point it's it's. It is a gross injustice to talk about the throne room. That way to talk about God, that way with such little regard, for his holiness, for his power, for his authority, for who he is. And it's disheartening that in, in, in our culture, there are people who hold that understanding. And I don't know about you, but if I had that understanding or if I held that understanding, I would be very flippant about my faith. Very flippant about my purity, very flippant about anything having to do with my walk as a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 0 (11m 18s): Because well, if that's what they're doing around the throne room of God, and God's not very serious, he doesn't take sin very serious. Doesn't take life very serious. We need to think carefully about Jesus. Number one, number two, we need to choose to believe that truth about him. We have to believe that truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. And so that means we don't get our information about Jesus from popular culture. We get the truth about Jesus from the pages of scripture, the 39 old Testament books of the Bible and the 27 new Testament books, 66 books of the Bible from Genesis to the revelation. That's where we get our information about Jesus. 0 (11m 60s): This is where we get our information revelation about the one that has saved us and has redeemed us. We have to choose to believe the truth about him. We can only believe the truth. If we hear the truth and read the truth and work, to understand the truth. As we think carefully about him, Hebrews three, one again says, and so dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and our partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus, whom we declare to be God's messenger and high priest. So the truth that we're beginning to see about Jesus is that he is God's messenger, that he is a high priest. 0 (12m 44s): A better translation for messenger is actually a possible apostle means sent one. We see that God sent Jesus, sent him into the earth in the incarnation, born of a Virgin. As a baby, came into the earth to live, to die, to resurrect and to ascend, to make atonement for our sins, John 17, 18, and Jesus' prayer to the father. He said, gee, just as you sent me father into the world, I am sending them into the world. Jesus was sent with a message and now he sends us as his messengers. 0 (13m 29s): As we get ahold of that revelation, that Jesus came with a message and has given us that message to proclaim. We realized that we've had great purpose in the earth. I was talking with a gal this morning who attend church here. And she was in a coma for six days and they thought that she was going to die. So they were going to unplug her and take her off of life support. And as she was hearing this in her coma, her eyes began to Twitter, a blink and, and shut her. And, and she, she awakened from her coma and they, when they took her off of life support, she lived and she was here at church this morning. There's there's purpose in our living. 0 (14m 10s): God has kept this woman alive. He has kept us alive, not just to warm a seat in church, but to do the supernatural and wonderful work that he has called us to. He has sent us. He is sending us into the world with his message. Hebrews three, two says for, he was faithful. Jesus was faithful to the father who appointed him just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God's entire house. Well, why does Moses come up? Why Moses is esteemed in the Jewish faith as the giver of the law. And so the people who have given their life committed their life to Jesus are now waffling and thinking. 0 (14m 53s): Maybe I should go back to Judaism. So there's a comparison. That's beginning to take place in the text here. And this is what it says. So we, we, we read about the faithfulness of Jesus alongside the faithfulness of Moses, but it says in verse three, but Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses. Just as a person who builds a house, deserves more praise than the house itself, or every house has a builder. But the one who built everything is God. We go back to Hebrews one, two again, and it says, it declares that through this Jesus, that God, it was God created the whole universe. So every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God we're speaking of Jesus there. 0 (15m 36s): Verse five. Moses was certainly faithful in God's house. As a servant, we're getting a clearer understanding of Moses role in his job in the earth. He was here as a servant. His work was an illustration. The verse goes on of the truths. God would reveal later. So Moses brought the law. The law was given so that we would recognize our desperate, desperate need for God's grace, because as the law was given, people realize never ever can we keep the whole law. In fact, the Bible says, if we break one part of the law, we're guilty of breaking all of the law. So it's impossible for us to find righteousness in a good standing with God, through the keeping of the law. 0 (16m 22s): The law was given so that we might recognize our desperate need for God. Moses had a role to play as a servant when doing the will of God. It's a reminder to the reader in the first century that the law did not actually originate with Moses. He was just a messenger to bring the law. Exodus 31 18 tells us that the law was written with the finger of God. God actually wrote on the stones of, on the tablets of stone with his finger, writing out the CA the 10 commandments. So Moses was a servant. That is all he is. He is not deity. So the writer's attempting to put Moses in his proper place so that the people might keep Jesus in his proper place. 0 (17m 11s): So Moses was a servant. That is all, he's not deity like Mary, the mother of Jesus. There's this effort to esteem Mary beyond her proper role. But Mary was just a servant doing the will of God. And she is not deity like John, the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ. He was there to prepare the way for Christ and for the new covenant, John declared about Jesus, John three 30, he must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. John understood his role as a servant, preparing the way for Jesus pointing his followers to Jesus, that they might find salvation in him. 0 (17m 54s): John went on to say, whoever believes in the son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. So John was pointing to the sun to Jesus, and he said, whoever believes in this son has eternal life. But then the language changes a little bit. He says, whoever does not, oh, bay, the son shall not see life. So the believing and the obeying go hand in hand, you can't really say, we can't really say we believe if we're not actually obeying our obeying indicates what we actually believe about Jesus and the word of God. 0 (18m 36s): If we really believe Jesus and the word of God, then it's followed by obedience. If there's no obedience, then there's no real belief. And so what is it that we believe about this? Jesus, what do we do with him and is, is our, is do our, does as our life reflects actual belief through our obedience, John understood that Jesus was the son of God, the savior of the world and that his job, his only job was to point people to Jesus, Mary and Moses also prepared the way for Jesus. 0 (19m 20s): That was their job, your job. My job is to point people to Jesus. We're not here to warm a seat on Sunday morning. As much as I love seeing all of your faces, we are here for purpose in the earth. What has God equipped you to do? Donald Guthrie wrote the mission of the servant. Great though. It was prepares the way for the far greater mission of the sun. So whatever your earthly mission in life is, the mission of the sun is far greater Supreme over anything else we might attempt to do Hebrews three, six, but Christ says the sun is in charge of God's entire house. 0 (20m 3s): And we are God's house. If we, we are God's house. If we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ. So what do we, what do we do with this? Jesus? Who do we say that he is? Who do we believe that he is? Who do we declare by our obedience? That he is, what do we do with this? Jesus. Some have said, I'm not going to do anything with Jesus, but in declaring, you're not gonna do anything with Jesus. You're saying I'm ignoring Jesus and I'm not going to follow him. So in your non-decision, you've made a decision in your declaration to be middle of the road. 0 (20m 45s): You decided what will you do with Jesus? I would encourage you to think carefully about him. Your eternity hangs in the balance, what you do with Jesus, determines your eternal place and states, I think carefully about him. Number two, choose to believe the truth about Jesus. You want to know truth about Jesus. Read Hebrews one, read the pages of scripture, the 66 books of the Bible that declare the person work of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Even the old Testament points us to the person work in the and grace of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Number three. 0 (21m 25s): What do we do with Jesus? Keep your courage and remain confident in him. Keep your courage and remain confident in him. This is a battle for us. Isn't it to stay courageous as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ, especially in our culture is becoming less and less. As culture is becoming less and less, God centered and more and more secular. And so it's harder to keep our courage because we're swimming against the tide against the culture. People don't understand Christians. They don't understand the Bible. They don't understand why we would serve Jesus. And so it's more difficult to keep courage and remain confident in him. 0 (22m 6s): So how do we keep our courage and remain confident? Let's look at the rest of Hebrews chapter three, because in there there's plenty of challenging statements, plenty of warnings that help us to see our courage and remain confidence. Hebrews three seven. That is why the holy spirit says, and there's a quote here from Psalm 95, 8 through 11. This is what the holy spirit says today. When you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts. Maybe you're here today and your heart is hardened a bit toward the Lord. Maybe you've been disappointed, frustrated, saddened by the things that are happening in the culture in the world. 0 (22m 52s): Maybe you're disappointed at God's response. Maybe you're disappointed in the way that God has handled. Your life has allowed things to happen in your life. And maybe there's a subtle hardening of the heart. It's a subtle thing. It's something that creeps in little by little and it's hard to even detect until we begin to realize that we're distant from the Lord that were angry with the Lord that were frustrated with the Lord. And the result of those things is a hardening of the heart. It's a, it's like a, a self protection Lord. I, I'm not sure if I can trust you so I'm not sure I want to let you in Lord. I'm not sure I believe you. 0 (23m 33s): So I'm going to protect my I self from you. And there's a subtle hardening of the heart. If you're there today, the only remedy for a hard heart is just brokenness and contrition where you're saying, Lord, I, I don't understand these things have happened. I don't understand why things have unfolded the way they have unfolded in my life. If I don't understand, but God I'm choosing to trust you. I talked with my sister sure. In Oklahoma earlier this week, last week and she's 41 and from birth, she's had physical problems. So for four decades, she's had physical problems. 0 (24m 15s): She's going in Monday morning, tomorrow morning at seven o'clock because they're trying to save her left eyes. She's already completely, mostly blind in her right eye. And she's pretty well blind in her left eye as well. And they're going in just to do what they can to salvage any site that she might have in her left eye. So she told me, she said, I just, I feel like, I feel like God's picking on me. I feel like I just want to give up. And it's hard for me to believe she just lost. You know, we, we shared the same dad. We just lost her dad. She was devastated by that. She lost her mom. 0 (24m 55s): And year before that it's been one hit after the other for her. And she's struggling with her faith. And I said, I don't understand why God's allowing these things. I don't have answers for you, but I know that God loves you and I'd like to pray for you. And so I just prayed for her. And I just asked the Lord's grace and mercy and, and help for her situation. And after I pray with her and she said, you know, my mom used to pray for me just like that. And would always encourage me. Thank you so much for praying for me. You know, we don't always have to have the answers, but we've got to hold on to our confidence, our faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Many things will happen in this life that we just flat do not agree with or understand. 0 (25m 41s): Be careful not your hardened your heart today. When you hear his voice, don't harden, your heart as Israel did, when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness there, your ancestors tested and tried my patients, even though they saw my miracles for 40 years. So the people of Israel watch God deliver him, deliver them out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved for hundreds of years. Now, he's taking them through the wilderness, into the promised land and that there for 40 years, because of their hard hearts, their rebellious attitudes and their, their, their inability to believe God. 0 (26m 21s): And so, even though God delivered them and showed them miracles by providing water and food and clothes that didn't wear out and shoes that didn't wear out as they walked around for 40 years, they, they, they weren't touched by the miracles of God, much like the new Testament, when God would through the work person, working power of the holy spirit through Jesus life, he would heal people, resurrect people from the dead, do all kinds of wonderful, supernatural things. They were people who just had a hard heart toward him and just flat refuse to believe him. So I don't think it's a miracle that we need in our lives that we'll change our mind. It's a decision to change our minds where we say, God, I don't understand, but I am choosing to believe I am choosing to walk by faith and not by sight. 0 (27m 17s): I am choosing to love you. I'm choosing to believe you. I'm choosing to be obedient. I'm choosing to follow you. Verse 10 says, so I was angry with them. God was angry with them. And I said, their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them. And we see the kindness of God throughout the old Testament, throughout the new Testament, the patience of God, the faithfulness of God, to his people. And it didn't matter. They continue to refuse him to refuse obedience, to refuse, to acknowledge him as Lord and as king. 0 (27m 60s): So in my anger, I took an oath. They will never enter my place of rest. And so because of their sinfulness, their disobedience, their rebellion, they wandered tell a whole generation of unbelievers died off so that they might finally enter into the promised land. He said, verse 12, be careful. Then be careful than dear brothers and sisters make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving turning you away from the living God. And so we have to be aware of what's going on internally. What's going on in our hearts, in our minds and our lives spiritually. What is happening? Are we keeping a tender heart and available heart, a humble heart? 0 (28m 41s): Or are we hardening up getting cynical? I know that I'm getting a hard heart when it becomes cynical or critical. My wife's like what's going on with you? Does she can read it like, you know, cynicism and criticism, critical spirit. She's like, what's going on? I don't know. I'm just having a bad day. And then I'll realize that my heart is hard enough about something. And I just need to confess and repent and yeah, she'll point out my furrowed brow she'll do, she'll do a furrowed brow. She'll go kind of look at me like that. Can you see him? I'm like, what are you doing? I'm like, oh, I know what you're doing. So I'm a furrowed brow. 0 (29m 21s): And she'll, she'll, it's an indication that I'm, you know, getting grumpy about something. And so she'll remind me in the most gracious way possible she'll remind me, be careful. Then dear brothers and sisters make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving turning you away from the living God. So we, to be careful, he said, you must warn each other every day, verse 13 while it's still today. So that none of you will be deceived. And that's the problem with sin and the heart hardening of a heart. There's a deception that's taking place. And when we choose to open up the scripture and allow the scripture, the truth of God's word, to inform our understanding, to inform us spiritually, then we can't be as easily deceived verse 14 for if we are faithful to the end, trusting God, just as firmly as when we first believed we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 0 (30m 21s): Remember what it says, verse 15 today, when you hear his voice, don't harden, your hearts as Israel did when they rebuild. And so we have this opportunity today to examine our hearts, examine our lives, to choose, to believe the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ, to choose, to walk by faith and not by sight to refuse to be rebellious verse 16 says, and who was it? Who rebelled against God? Even though they heard his voice, wasn't it? The people Moses led out of Egypt, remember where God has brought you and she's not to be rebellious. And who made God angry for 40 years? Wasn't it? The people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness and to whom was God speaking. 0 (31m 4s): When he took an oath that they would never enter his rest. Wasn't it? The people who disobeyed him. So we see verse 19 that because of their unbelief, they were not able to enter his rest. Listen, you and I will never keep our courage. We will never remain confident in Jesus. If we allow rebellion, sinfulness disobedience, if we allow those things into our life, we will begin to suffer with unbelief. We will begin to suffer with doubts, with anger and all sorts of things that will draw us away from the goodness of God. 0 (31m 47s): We will instead fall into unbelief and ultimately be defeated at the very least deflated in our faith. So what do we, what do we do with Jesus? Think carefully about him. Choose to believe the truth about him and keep your courage and remain confident in him. As we talk about Jesus, we're going to take communion. Hopefully everybody received their elements. I think mine are there somewhere. If you do not have elements, go ahead and raise your hand and we will make sure that you get elements. So keep your hand up. We've got a couple people working on that right now, before we take communion, I want to challenge us if you're here today and you, you don't know Jesus, you, you, you haven't known what to do with him up to this point. 0 (32m 52s): I want to give you a chance to come to know him. I want to give you a chance to understand who he is so that you might think properly about him and respond properly to him. So if you're here today and you are saying, man, I don't know this Jesus, but I recognize my need for him is the elements of being past that. I just want us to close our eyes and we'll just pray for a moment. And so Lord, your word has gone out and people who have heard it may need to get saved and write with you Lord. And so I pray God that if there are people here today that need that Lord, that they would submit their lives to you, that they would say yes to you. 0 (33m 38s): And you're here with everybody's eyes closed. This is how you say yes to Jesus. You declare your need for him. You say, Lord, I need you. I need you to forgive my sin. I need you to come into my life. I need you to adopt me into your family. I need forgiveness and grace and love. And as you make that declaration of your heart to the Lord in prayer, he hears you. Scripture says, if you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, that God raised him from the dead. You will be saved. So if you're here today and you need salvation, salvation from judgment, the Bible says the wages of sin is death, spiritual death, spiritual separation. 0 (34m 26s): We talked about that a lot last week, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord, if he needs salvation in the quietness of your own heart receives him. And then after the service tell somebody that you received the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Maybe you're here today and you've received him, but your heart has been hardened. And you've been filled with some rebelliousness and disobedience and you need to rethink think clearly about Jesus and then make some decisions based on truth about him. If you're here today and you felt distant from the Lord, I want you to consider reconsider re committing your life to the Lord and where that can be done just by simply acknowledging Lord. 0 (35m 12s): I've been distant from you. I, my heart's been hard. I don't know why I've been rebellious and disobedient, but Lord, I don't, I don't want to be rebellious and this will be any longer Lord, would you please lead my life? And I commit Lord to submit my life to you and to follow you and to love you and to allow you to love me. And so, as you declare your heart's intents to the Lord, he hears you. Bible says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful. And just to forgive us, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So anything that has been committed, that is a sin can be forgiven as you confess those things to the Lord. And so if you're here today, I'm going to ask you before we take communion, not to take communion. 0 (35m 52s): If you haven't trusted the Lord for salvation, this is a believers' time to remember, to reflect on Jesus and what he accomplished on the cross. It says in first Corinthians 1123 for I pass on to you. What I received from the Lord himself on the night, when he was betrayed the Lord, Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me. Let's go ahead and take away from, Oh, thank you, Lord. 0 (36m 42s): Thank you for your sacrifice. You're willing sacrifice. You're obedient sacrifice. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for taking my place. Thank you for taking our place. Thank you Lord. In the same way, verse 25 says he took the cup of wine after supper saying this cup is the new covenant between God and his people and agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me, as often as you drink it for every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again. 0 (37m 26s): Let's go ahead and take the cup. Thank you for the cup Lord that represents the blood that was shed for our sins, that they might be cleansed in that supernatural transaction, that supernatural exchange or righteousness has been imputed to believers and the sin of those believers have been imputed to you and you took them and died. 0 (38m 6s): You died for all of the sins of the world, that whoever believes in you, you might be saved. Thank you, Lord. I pray that everyone who hears the message of the gospel, whether here or an Azerbaijan or an Africa or Mexico, or in Greenland or wherever we have people stationed for the gospel or God all over the globe, Lord God that people would hear and respond to the message of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Thank you for this. We love you, Lord. We bless you in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Worship team. Come forward. We're going to sing another song and then we'll close things up. 2 (38m 56s): Just stand as we worship God, we worship you in this place. We thank you that your holy we think of that God has need us. 3 (39m 51s): your holy word. 3 (42m 32s): We thank you for your holiness.

A Warning against Drifting Away

3 (12m 37s): You are indeed the everlasting. God, God, you changed not your you're immutable. You're faithful. You're good Lord. Thank you for the opportunity to gather and worship your name, Lord, and that God has. We focus our attention on the word this morning. I pray that you would speak to us. Lord, you've got eternal truth that you want to communicate to us. It's it's eternal and yet pertinent to our lives today right now in this moment. So Lord, I pray that we would, that myself included that we'd just be open and available to your truth, Lord God, that he would encourage us and build us up and challenge us where we need to be challenged. Lord God, that it would just be strong truth for us today. 3 (13m 19s): Encouraging and gracious truth for us today. We love you, Lord. We thank you for this time in Jesus name. Amen. All right, turn around and greet somebody that you've never ever met before. I appreciate you brother. Thanks, sir. I appreciate you buddy. See you next round. Thanks Jim. Let me buddy. I wasn't sure if I was ready. 2 (14m 19s): Alrighty. 3 (14m 23s): Hebrews chapter two, somebody told me that I should tell the Hebrews joke about how, you know, the Bible tells us that it's the man's job to make coffee because of the book of Hebrews. But I said, I'm not going to tell that Joe is not going to do it for this response right here, because it's just not as funny as it used to be. So I'm not going to tell you the Hebrews Joe, we're going to skip that all together. Amen. Hey, we are in Hebrews chapter two, though. Somebody even said, you should say Hebrews too much coffee because you're in Hebrews two. 3 (15m 4s): And I said, no, I'm not going to tell that joke. I'm not going to go to that. I'm not going to go down that road. So I'm not going to talk about coffee and that sort of thing today, we're going to be talking about. And in fact, we've titled the message, a warning against drifting away, a warning against drifting away. For thousands of years, it's been a temptation of the followers of God to drift in their faith, to drift in their conviction, to drift as followers and become more and more like the world. Instead of like saintification, it's supposed to do is supposed to, we're supposed to become more and more like Christ and less and less like our old man, less and less like the world I was in Hawaii, about 10, maybe 12 years ago, something like that and flew in for a pastors conference. 3 (15m 49s): And I knew it was just going to be a crazy busy week. And so if I was going to get into the water, I knew that I needed to get into the water right away. So I get to the hotel, unpack stuff, go down to the beach and rent a board. And I go out surfing and I'm out there for probably, I don't know, maybe a couple hours, something like that. And it's time to come in. And I, I come into the shore from the water. I'm like, where am I? I, I was looking for the place to return my board, but it was nowhere, nowhere in sight. And so I'm asking, Hey, where do I return my surf board? And they're looking at all the boards are kind of marked with stickers or colors or something like that. 3 (16m 30s): So they can, you can identify where you return. It. There's a lot of places to rent boards down there. So I, I finally find out and they said, Hey, you're about a mile up the beach. You got, you you've drifted and you didn't realize, but you gotta, you gotta take that board about a mile up the beach. And somebody recommended that I get back in the water and paddle over. But for whatever reason, I decided just to walk it over. And, but it's interesting. That's how life is. If we don't have a point of reference, like for me, I should've kept an eye on a point of reference so that I didn't drift, but I didn't do that. I just got out there and I just was having fun and I drifted and didn't even realize it. So the same is true for us as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 3 (17m 12s): We actually have to have a point of reference so that we don't spiritually drift and get off target and forget who we are and forget what we believe and forget what God has called us to in this life. And so for us, the Bible is a reference point. It continually brings us back to truth. And so if you're struggling with something that you've heard about God or about the Bible, just go back to the Bible and read for yourself what the scripture says. And I, I find that to be extremely helpful, clear setup, a kind of misunderstandings or the false conclusions that that one might arrive at by just listening to someone else, teach or listening to the culture. 3 (17m 56s): I was listening to an interview by Oprah Winfrey recently, and she said that she was a Christian, but then she went on to define what it means for her to be a Christian. And she said, it means for me to be tolerant and loving and to be like a, a warm light or something like that, you know nothing about Jesus. So Oprah's Christianity has nothing to do with Jesus. And I'm afraid if we don't make the Bible, our reference point than our Christianity will become anything, but what Jesus defines it to be declares it to be. 3 (18m 36s): We need to make sure that the Bible, that the spirit of God through the word of God is defining our Christianity. She went on to say that I'm a Christian. If you want to be become a Christian, I can show you how to do that. But she said, I, I respect all religions. And again, just sending a totally confusing message to her audience about what Christianity is all about. There's a drift in the culture where we are redefining terms that we've always understood that to be the truth. What does it mean to be a Christian? When, what does it mean to be a follower of the Lord? Jesus Christ, culturally, what? 3 (19m 17s): There's a thousand things that we're trying to redefine in, in progressive Christianity, they're redefining Jesus. And the way to way to, to salvation there, they're saying now, progressive Christians are saying now that Jesus is not the only way to heaven, that he's not the way in spite of what the scripture says, that he's not the way the truth and the life and that no man comes to the father, except through him. They're saying that there's that in fact they would say progressive Christians would say that we're all little gods and you don't have to go far to find this type of teaching, that there are many ways to have in that we're all little gods. And that we're kind of the master of our own universe, sort of understanding of teaching. 3 (19m 59s): It's crazy because the, these, these are people who claim to be followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Christians, but their message about crisis completely convoluted and contrary to the truth of what the Bible says. So we have to be careful that we're returning to our source of reference the Bible, the turtle, living God breathed, word of God, to understand what we are, who we are in Christ and what we believe we have to keep coming back to this source in this resource, Hebrews two, one in the new living translation says, so we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may, or we may drift away from it. 3 (20m 55s): So that the author of Hebrews is writing to Jewish believers in the Lord, Jesus Christ, Jewish people who have trusted Jesus, believe that Jesus is the Messiah. And so he's challenging them to pay close attention, careful attention to the truth that they had heard. What was the truth that they heard that Jesus is the way the truth and the life no man comes to the father except through him. That was the gospel. The truth was, they heard, they heard that they were are sinners. And apart from God's grace, there is no hope for eternal life. There's no hope to go into the father and they heard it and they may, they believed it and they received it and they began to walk in it. 3 (21m 43s): But then something happened. Something began to cause their faith to wane and change and shift. And they began to drift and they didn't really even realize that they were drifting. But over time they had drifted much like on the, in the, in the water. I, I, I drifted a mile, had no idea, no idea, no point of reference, no idea that I had drifted. So if we don't have a point of reference in the word of God, then we will drift and we will become more and more like our culture. Thank you more and more like our culture believing more and more like our culture and reject the gospel truth. The truth of the word of God. 3 (22m 23s): So how do we avoid drifting spiritually? Number one, we must listen carefully to the truth. So this is, this is why we always say open up your Bible every day. Like read your Bible every day. If you don't, you will subtly drift in your perspectives. Your understandings, your convictions will change. Your life will no longer line up with the word of God. If you don't make it your effort and your goal to open up the scripture on a regular basis, I just finished up nine months in what we call the journey. It's a nine month discipleship process. We're about 10 of us went through this nine month journey. 3 (23m 6s): And we had our commencement yesterday. We didn't call it a graduation because the commencement is actually a declares that, Hey, I'm not done. I'm actually just finished with this, but I'm moving forward. I'm continuing on in my journey as a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So we don't call it graduation because on this side of heaven, we're never done pursuing truth and opening up the scripture and praying for clarity and wisdom that we might serve. Jesus. If we don't do these things, we will subtly drift. I don't know about you, but when I'm struggling spiritually, the last thing I want to do is open up the Bible. It's like nothing in me wants to open the Bible. 3 (23m 46s): I just want to kind of be in my own little pity party and feel sorry for myself and be angry or be whatever it is that I'm dealing, dealing with her going through. But as soon as I avail myself to the word of God, I soften, I get tender. I get broken. I get contract. I, I I'm reminded of God's faithfulness of his goodness and my heart is drawn back to him. And so this is why the enemy of our souls, his job is to steal, kill, and destroy. He's trying to distract us from the word of God, the truth of God, because he knows that it will build you up in your most holy faith. 3 (24m 26s): It will restore to you joy and peace, clarity, direction, vision, wisdom, all of those things. So how do we avoid drifting spiritually? We, we have to listen carefully to the truth. So if we go back thousands of years, this has always been the case with the followers of God. They've always had this temptation to drift to just slowly but surely drift away from the reality of the truth of the good news of the gospel. Listen carefully to the truth. Hebrews two, two says for the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm talking about when angels on Mount Sinai gave the 10 commandments to Moses. 3 (25m 12s): This is what he's referencing here. He's so we're going back thousands of years to 1500 BC when Moses received the commandments, he said for the message God delivered so that the 10 commandments through angels has always stood firm and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So let me kind of give you some backstory here. As we listened to Stephen, who is about to get martyred in acts chapter seven, he's giving his defense to the Jewish council. He's talking about the history of the people of God and explaining to them what they've gone through and how they ended up here acts 7 38 through 43. 3 (25m 58s): It says Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God's people in the wilderness when the angel spoke to him and Mount Sinai. And there, there Moses received life giving words to pass on to us. So again, Mount Sinai is where the 10 commandments were given the angel of the Lord spoke. It communicated it. And this is what their response was, verse 39. But our ancestors refuse to listen to Moses. So they've been delivered they're on their way to the promised land and they're refusing to listen. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt, right? Egypt represents our old man, our old way of living our old life. 3 (26m 41s): And we're, we're tempted for everybody throughout history tent. We're tempted on some level to go back to our old way of living our Egypt. And that's exactly what was happening with the people of God. They wanted to return to Egypt. They told Aaron, make us some gods who can lead us for, we don't know what has become of this Moses who brought us out of Egypt. So they made an idle shaped like a calf and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made before. It's just a matter of things. We can erect something, something of our own design and worship it and allow it to be the focal point of our lives. 3 (27m 27s): And that's honestly what a lot of us do in this Western culture. We build a life for ourselves, erecting monuments, to the things that we accomplished in this life, removing Jesus from the throne of our lives and from the center, the central point of our hearts and lives. And we instead replace him with things that we declared by our actions are more important to us than Jesus. So they made an idle shaped like a calf and they sacrificed to it and celebrate it over this thing they had made. I'm sure none of you have made an idle shaped like a calf offered sacrifices to it. 3 (28m 10s): I'm sure none of you have done that, but what kind of idols have we created? Have we erected in our lives? What kind of idols, whether it be things or people or relationships, what kind of experiences? It can be a host of things. What have we erected as idols in our lives? We're, we're guilty often of the same things that people have been guilty of for thousands of years, verse 42, then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods in the book of the prophets it's written was it was it to me. 3 (28m 52s): You were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those 40 years in the wilderness. Israel was it to me that you were bringing those, no, you carried your pigging gods. The shrine of Molek, the star of your God and the images you made to worship them. So I will send you into exile as far as way as far away as Babylon. So we, we see that God judged the disobedience that, that drift last week, last week, we talked about not giving up in our faith as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. This week, we're talking about not drifting, not fading away, following fall, falling away from the plans and purposes of God. 3 (29m 38s): So this has been going on from the beginning, from the, until today for thousands of years, people have been drifting. So we just read about Moses and the people in the wilderness and their idolatry. So 1500 years later back to Hebrews chapter two, it's interesting that we're, we just read about something that happened 1500 BC. And now we're talking about reading about something that happened in the, just after the time of Christ and, and we're, we're here now 2000 years after the death and resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And so human nature hasn't changed much in thousands of years back to Hebrews two. 3 (30m 20s): So verse three, what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself. So we're not talking about a message that was communicated from the angels to Moses, to the people. We're talking about a message now that was communicated through the son of God, but the second person of the Trinity God, in the flesh, he has come in the flesh to bring us the gospel message, the new covenant by which we are saved and, and understand God through this new covenant. So what makes us think if we can, that we can escape. If we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself, and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak. 3 (31m 8s): So the first, first disciples, the first followers, the first generation of believers heard the message directly from Jesus' lips. They watched his life in ministry. They watched him be crucified, buried in the resurrected. And now they're proclaiming that truth. Second generation to the next generation. They're proclaiming that truth. What makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself, and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak. And God confirmed this message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the holy spirit whenever he chose. So you can just bring the message, but he confirmed. 3 (31m 49s): It was signs and miracles and wonders. He, he healed people, resurrected people from the dead. He ministered life in grace, causing people to be delivered from demonic, oppression and possession. He did wonderful and supernatural things. And the truth is that God continues to do those wonderful and super natural things. I was just talking to a gal this morning, who she was, she broke her pelvis about a year ago. She stepped off a train, broke her pelvis and she was in a deep, deep, just a bunch of pain. And she just, she has prayed one day. She just said, Lord, I need you to heal me. And she just felt this warmth over her pelvis. And it just, she was healed in a moment. 3 (32m 31s): God is still working supernaturally. So if God chooses to work supernaturally in your life to bring you to a place of healing, great. But if it's not just the fact that you have turned your attention to him and recognize your need for him is the greatest miracle of all. Salvation is the greatest miracle of all. And when God fills us with the readiness to receive him and walk after him, there's a miracle that is unfolding right before our eyes. And so Jesus preaches his message. People hear it. And then they proclaim that message to the next generation. They talk about the signs and wonders in them. Wonderful, miraculous things that happen as the spirit gave the ability they're saying, listen, this is not something we have made up. 3 (33m 14s): This is truth that you believe because you saw the miracle working hand of God in Jesus life. And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the holy spirit whenever he chose. So how do we avoid drifting spiritually? Number one, we must listen carefully to the truth. Number two, don't ignore your great salvation. Don't ignore your great salvation. This is what these people were doing. They were ignoring what God had done for them, even though they had received it. At one point, they were now ignoring it going on as if nothing had happened living as if their lives had not experienced the living God going on as if they had never been forgiven of their sin. 3 (34m 10s): Don't ignore your great salvation. The writer saying this salvation was made possible through a great sacrifice. Jesus himself, God himself saw your need, your need. Every one of our need. He saw our need and made himself the sacrifice for your salvation. Yet many, many ignore it. We've lost our first love. Maybe we got saved a year ago or 10 years ago or 50 years ago. And we've lost. We've drifted where we don't feel convicted about sin any longer. We don't feel the, the call to share that gospel message with others. We don't feel the call and the responsibility to pray for people, encourage people and speak life and truth into people's lives. 3 (34m 56s): As we're filled with the spirit of God, out of the overflow of who we are as followers of Jesus Christ, we have a hard enough time just making it a church on Sunday. I don't ask me to read my Bible everyday because I can't do it. I don't have time to do it. Don't ask me to serve somewhere because I don't have time to do it. I'm busy with everything else busy with everything else. And so we ignore essentially, we ignore what Jesus has done. We've said that it's like old news. It's like that happened last year or last decade, or that happened when I was a child and we ignore it. Like it never happened at all. We take it for granted. We live as though nothing happened. Imagine being saved from a drowning scenario. 3 (35m 39s): I remember when I was a kid, I was in the ocean and I paddled or not paddled out, but swam out or got pulled out. And I was cleaning to peer piling. I was cleaning for my life. I, the water, the waves were coming up over my head and they'd go back down. I'd yellow water would come back up, cover my head. Water would go back down. I'm yelling. I'm just this little kid out there and I'm going to die. If somebody doesn't rescue me and this lifeguard grabs me, throws me on his board and paddles me in, saved my life. 3 (36m 20s): Imagine hanging from a cliff and someone saves you by lifting you out of that. Predicament. Those stories. Aren't even good examples of what Jesus has done. They're just not good examples. They barely scratched the surface of what Jesus has done. No, no. Imagine what Jesus has saved you from by his grace, because he is good. Not because you are good. Imagine no light, complete darkness. Imagine no hope. Only desperation. 3 (37m 4s): Imagine intense heat and constant thirst. Imagine you have nothing at all to quench your thirst, nothing at all, to ease your suffering. No opportunity to make things better. No comfort, no joy, no companionship, no end to your agony. No end to your anguish. No end to your torments. Imagine weeping and gnashing of teeth. 3 (37m 48s): Imagine the eternal smell of sulfur burning, sulfur and dark thick smoke that barely allows you to take a breath. Imagine total devastation, complete fatigue throughout your whole body with no remedy, no help in sight. The penalty for sin, the wages of sin is death. It's separation from God. His separation from all that is pure and right, and holy it's separation from it. Every good and perfect gift that God has poured out upon us. 3 (38m 32s): The separation it's devastation, it's spiritual death, but, but thank God. The free free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Our Lord to save us from eternal destruction that the Bible talks about in the old Testament, the new Testament. Imagine Jesus. The only one with the power to save. The only one with the power to save is Jesus. And he sees our desperate need before the foundations of the world. 3 (39m 12s): He knows our desperate need. And his plan is to save us, to re deem us not from a temporal death like drowning or falling off a cliff, but from an eternal separation, spiritual death that offers only desperation and helplessness and loss and agony and devastation. The only one who was able and was willing to take your place and pay the penalty for your sin was Jesus. Now imagine your gratitude. 3 (39m 56s): Imagine now being refreshing your soul and your spirit and your mind and your hearts of what Jesus has accomplished. We, we drift and we forget what, what Jesus did for us. Accomplishing salvation, extending grace and love to us. We forget, and we minimize it and we forget about it. And we drift from that reality. This is why we've got to open up the scripture, the pages of scripture every day, every day, so that we don't drift and take for granted and forgets what he's done. Imagine your gratitude. Now, imagine yourself ignoring what Jesus has done and going about your life as though nothing has happened. 3 (40m 50s): It's hard to fathom the condition of a heart of someone who just flat refuses to be grateful and to live differently. He rose to five and furthermore, it's not angels who will control the future world. We're talking about four in one place the scriptures say, and this is a quote from Psalm eight, four through six. It says, what are mere mortals that you should think about them or a son of man that you should care for him yet for a little while you made them a little lower than the angels and crown them with glory and honor, you gave them authority over all things. 3 (41m 45s): So initially this almost was speaking of humans, humans in general, humans made in the image of God, the ideal human, but then sin in the world took over. And the writer of Hebrews applies this Psalm to Jesus as does the apostle Paul, the apostle Paul also applies this Psalm to Jesus in first Corinthians 1527, where it says, God has put all things under his authority. Now, when it says verse eight, Hebrews two, all things, it means it means nothing is left out, but we have not yet seen all things put under their authority. You, what we do see is Jesus, who for a little while, was given a position a little lower than the angels in the incarnation, Jesus humbled himself. 3 (42m 41s): And because he suffered death for us, he is now crowned with glory and honor, yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for every one that we all might come to faith in Jesus. If you confess your, if you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, that God has raised him from the dead. You shall be safe. You confess and believe and are baptized. You will be saved. Yes. By God's grace. Jesus tasted death for everyone firsthand for God, for whom and through whom everything was made chose to bring many children into glory. 3 (43m 21s): And it was only right, that he should make Jesus through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation. How can we ignore that? Great salvation? How do we keep from drifting? I mean, it's, it's, it's a common thing to all believers. It's easiest stepping off the stage. It's just something that happens unless we're intentionally stopping the drift. How do we avoid drifting spiritually? Number one, we've got to listen very carefully to the truth. Number two, don't ignore this great salvation. Number three. Remember your supernatural adoption. 3 (44m 4s): You have been supernaturally by God's grace. As righteousness has been imputed to us. That's a supernatural work of God that imputation, that righteousness has been given to us Jesus taking on the sin of the world so that righteousness might be imputed to us. So we might be adopted into his family. So now Jesus, and the ones he makes holy have the same father we've literally been adopted God. The heavenly father is our father. 3 (44m 44s): That's why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters for. He said to God, I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people. He also said, I will put my trust in him. That is I and the children. God has given me verse 14 because God's children are human beings made of flesh and blood. The sun in the incarnation also became flesh and blood for only as a human being. Could he die being fully God becoming fully man taking on the sin of the world. The penalty of that sin dying on the cross, going into the tomb three days later, resurrecting from the dead. 3 (45m 24s): I mean, Jesus, his person that we celebrate coming up here in about five weeks, Christmas, it's, it's the we're celebrating the incarnation. All that Jesus did as he came in the form of a baby, a child for only as a human being, could he die? And only by dying, could he break the power of the devil who had the power of death all in this way? Could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. And yet we want to go back to Egypt where we have been enslaved or we have suffered in slavery spiritually. And in other ways we've suffered. And yet there's something about the drift. 3 (46m 5s): Something about forgetting something about growing kind of cynical and cold in our heart. That makes us to want to go back to that old way of living. We didn't get saved out of Egypt because Egypt was worth staying. And we got saved because it was desperate and empty and there was no life there for 16. We also know that the sun did not come to help angels. He came to help the descendants of Abraham, you and me. Therefore it was necessary for him to be made in every aspect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful high priest before God, then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 3 (46m 55s): Since he himself has gone through suffering a testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested, he's able to help us. When we are being tested, we will be tested. I talked to a handful of people this week and every one of them are going through some form of testing, difficult times in their businesses and their family lives spiritually speaking difficult. In desperate times, I had a conversation with a friend in between services and just Monday, he lost his father on Tuesday. 3 (47m 38s): He lost his uncle. They two years ago, he lost his mother. There's just been blow after blow hit after hits difficulty after difficulty testing, after testing. And we can all tell our story about the difficulties of the last couple of years. We can all talk about how difficult and hard our lives have been. But we need to understand that it's not God who's abandoned by banning us in our time. It's but it's God. Who's reaching out to us in our time of need because he is able to help us into strengthen us and to give us courage in our time of testing. Listen, things are not going to get easier. 3 (48m 19s): As we move toward the second coming of Christ. Things are just not going to get easier. The days will get darker. Temptation will become worse. The culture will become more sinful, more dark, more antichrist. We will have to fight harder than we've ever fought. Be more focused than we've ever been. Stay in love with Jesus, through the thick and thin and not allow anything to cause us to give up or to drift from our faith. Because if we're drifting now, we're when things get worse, we'll never have the stamina to endure and to continue to trust God. 3 (49m 2s): And so we're called to listen carefully to the truth of the word of God. Do not ignore our great salvation. This life is temporal it's it's it's temporal. I shared last week that I keep hearing about friends of mine, people my age, younger, and even older and younger who have passed away. I just found out earlier this week that a friend of mine, 53 years old, passed away from a heart attack. So I asked my brother, did he know Jesus? 3 (49m 42s): And he said, no, he didn't know Jesus. So people are dying and we have to tell him about Jesus. We have to tell him about Jesus. We have to live, not forgetting truth, not forgetting what God has done for us, but remembering that we've been adopted. Save for such a time as this to stand firm. As followers of the Lord, Jesus tries to not give up when things get difficult, because things will continue to be difficult. As we try to stand for Jesus tried to be salt and light in this life. 3 (50m 24s): And in this earth, he will continue to be difficult. Listen to this story yesterday about a Muslim Muslim young man who grew up his whole life Muslim, but he heard something about Jesus. And he was interested in Jesus in the Muslim faith. Jesus is a prophet. He's nothing more than a prophet, but he, he was intrigued about this. Jesus and his friend invited him to a, a meeting called the crusade and Muslims said, you're, you're inviting me to something that is called a crusade. 3 (51m 4s): You know your history, you know, that's not a good thing. You said, oh, well, there's going to be free peace. I said, okay, I like free pizza. So he went and got free pizza and he heard the message about the Lord Jesus Christ and went home and read all through. He found a Bible. He had a Bible at the bottom of his closet somewhere, pull it out, read the gospel of Matthew, start to finish in one sitting. And he heard the gospel. He read the gospel. He responded to the gospel and he went to his dad and he said, Hey dad, I I'm a Christian. His dad said, no, you're not. You're a Muslim. You were born a Muslim. You'll always be a Muslim. 3 (51m 45s): You'll die a Muslim. He said, no, dad, I'm a Christian Bible says that if I believe on Christ, that I'll be saved. And I've done that. I've given my life to Jesus. And he said, if you choose Jesus, I reject you as my son. And in that moment he was rejected. He said, dad, if I've got to choose between you and Jesus, I have to choose Jesus. And he's been rejected from his family ever since there's a cost to following Jesus. It's not all kumbaya and rainbows and butterflies. It's theirs. There's a cost to it. 3 (52m 27s): No, there's plenty of wonderful things that happen as we follow Jesus, but there's a cost. And that cost is going to increase over time. A warning against drifting away, listen carefully to the truth of the word of God. Don't ignore your great salvation. Remember your supernatural adoption with that. I'm gonna invite the team back up and we're gonna pray and worship. And so let's go ahead and stand up and I'm just gonna lead us in prayer as the team comes forward. Lord, thank you for the challenge that you've issued to us. And it's, it's the same challenge that you've been communicating to your people from the beginning. 3 (53m 14s): God, I pray that we would never give up that we would not allow ourselves to drift in Jesus name. God. I pray that we would stand firm when we're being tested. And when difficult times are upon us, Lord God, financial, relational. When there's death, when there's disappointment, Lord God, I pray that we would draw close to you. God, that we'd find our greatest strength when we've got nothing left in the natural, but have to rely completely on the supernatural goodness and power and presence of the living. God that in our weakness, your strength would be made. 3 (53m 56s): Perfect. And when there is no reason for joy, we'd be filled with joy. When there's no reason in the natural to have confidence in you, God, that we would be loaded with confidence, believing faith. Faith-filled godly. People who decide no matter what the culture throws at us, no matter what life experiences we're walking through. God, we have this cited to follow you. Whatever that means for us, Lord, help us to be willing to walk through that. Gotcha. Thank you for truth. 3 (54m 36s): Thank you for salvation. Thank you for adoption. We love you in Jesus name. Amen. Let's worship

Harvest Church 11-21-21

Don‘t Give Up - Jesus can be Trusted Part 2

0 (0s): I get to lift your name. Hi, please seem to you this morning, world. 0 (2m 18s): Israel. 1 (5m 6s): . 1 (7m 15s): We can hear the 2 (15m 8s): Your name is powerful. Thank you. Lauren. Got to remind us of all of the ways in which we are reminded that you are powerful. You were resurrected from the dead to live forevermore. God, you, you are in our midst. Lord, God powerfully encouraging us and challenging us and moving in our lives. Lord God, you are a healer and a provider and you and you are indeed the soon coming king, Lord God. You're powerful, Lord God. So be powerful in our midst today, Lord, with the preaching of the word, you've already been powerful. 2 (15m 53s): Lord God, to just send the worship through song Lord, and as we pray and as we fellowship together throughout the day, Lord, God be, be powerful, Lord God, God help us to be a blessing and encouragement to one another and help us to be a blessing to you. Ultimately, Lord God, that we would be excited about you and grateful for you. God, move in the minister all over this campus, Lord, and then whoever's watching online. Lord, we just pray. There. Just be a blessing of grace poured out upon them. Lord God, each of us, Lord God would experience your power and your grace in a fresh way today. God, we love you. We need you. Thank you for your power in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. 2 (16m 33s): You may be seated. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 2 (17m 16s): I was muted. Yeah, that was my fault. I clicked the button the wrong way. Sorry. So we're in Hebrews chapter one, starting over Hebrews chapter one, talking about not giving up. We got a five-point message. I started to give three weeks ago and we weren't able to finish it. So turn to Hebrews chapter one, we're going to get through this message today. Titled don't give up. Jesus can be trusted. And as we were singing this last song, I thought I thought the reality that we can trust Jesus is seen in the powerful move of God all over the earth. 2 (17m 59s): As from the time that he was born in the way that he impacted the first century, all the way through this 21st century that we're in. We've just see the power of God, the holding power of God in the universe where people trust him. And this, this letter is written to Jews who had believed that Jesus is the Messiah. They, they believed when Jesus came and taught and when he was crucified and when he was resurrected, they decided to believe they put their faith in their trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ. They believe that he is indeed who he says he is and who the scripture declares him to be. 2 (18m 40s): And so as they move along in their faith, as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ in the first century, they're, they're experiencing persecution from family and, and others who don't understand their decisions, who don't understand why they've decided to follow Jesus. And so this passage in Hebrews one, and then throughout the scripture in Hebrews one, all the way through the end, it's about the declaration, that, that Jesus is God and that he is worth following and that he is worth everything that we endure to follow him from the first century, all the way to this century. And until he comes again. 2 (19m 20s): So don't give up, Jesus can be trusted. The enemy is always trying to get us to give up, to give up on God, to give up on our marriages, to give up on important things in our life. Somebody asked me recently, they said, how have you endured these last two decades of ministry? What, what do you do when you feel like giving up? How have you endured and stayed in the ministry for the last 20 years? I said, I just, I just keep showing up. I just, I keep showing up. I've realized, and I haven't always understood this, but if I just keep showing up it's number one, it's an act of worship and praise to the Lord. 2 (20m 1s): It's a declaration that I, that that is is it's it's me declaring that. I believe God. I believe that God has called me that he is in this, that he is working in our lives and ministry and that he's doing something good. Sometimes we want to give up and the answer is just giving it a little more time. I was running a yesterday as kind of an illustration and I wanted to give up, I, I was tired mentally and physically, and I just didn't want to finish my run. And I was wanting to give up, but I knew if I could just make it to the next corner, then that would have the energy to make it the rest of the run. 2 (20m 44s): There was something about this stretch that was difficult. It was, it was a hill. It was just a difficult stretch. But I knew if I just got to that corner and turn the corner, that things would get better. And that's exactly what happened. I got to the corner and was able to finish and actually add, added a leg to the, to the, to the run, just to make it a little extra longer. I think there's truth about just not giving up. If you want to, if you want a good marriage, just continue to show up in your marriage. If you want a great marriage, show up and figure out how to serve your spouse, get up every day and figure out to serve your spouse. You'll have a long marriage and you'll have a great marriage. If you want to have a long walk with the Lord and a great walk with the Lord, continue to show up and then figure out how to serve the way that God has called and equipped you to serve. 2 (21m 32s): But don't give up. Jesus can be trusted. Number one, Jesus can be trusted because he is God. And this is the declaration to a people who have experienced him as God. They've experienced him as Lord and savior, but they were doubting. They were in the face of a difficulty in their life. They began to doubt and who hasn't done that. We've all in the face of difficulty. Begin to doubt God's faithfulness. We doubt his existence. Maybe we doubt who he is. And so this text today, and as we teach through Hebrews is designed to build us up in our most holy faith. Jesus can be trusted. 2 (22m 12s): Number one, because he has God verse three, Hebrews one says this, the sun radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God. And he, Jesus sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the sun is far greater than the angels. Just as the name. God gave him as greater than their names. God is declaring that the son, Jesus is God. We see the same thing in Philippians chapter two, verses five through eight. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had though. 2 (22m 55s): He was God. He did not think of equality with God has something to clean to. Instead he gave up his divine privileges. He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on the cross. Jesus fully God, fully man, born of a Virgin lived taught, modeled, performed miracles was crucified and then resurrected from the dead. And now he sits at the right hand of the father forever making intercession for us. 2 (23m 36s): He is God. And he can be trusted in his death, Jesus and pukes righteousness. This is this, it shows the both the divinity of God, but also the goodness of God. He imputes righteousness to us and that he took our sin. So our sin was imputed to him. He became sin for us and he in exchange imputed righteousness to us. And so we become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, because of God's goodness. And because of his plan, when we begin to doubt his goodness and begin to doubt his divinity, we, we need to return to the gospel and return to the pages of scripture and be reminded. 2 (24m 17s): His righteousness has been imputed to us. Our sins have been imputed to him. Jesus can be trusted because he is God Hebrews one verse five says for God, never said to any angel, what he said to Jesus, you are my son today. I become your father. God also said I will be his father. And he will be my son. And when he brought his Supreme son into the world, God said, let all of God's angels worship him regarding angels. He says, he sends his angels like the winds, his servants, like flames of fire. But to the sun, he says your throne, oh God endures forever. 2 (24m 57s): And ever you rule with a Sceptre of justice. I wonder what Jesus' closest friends said about him. If you think about his life, he spent 33 years in the earth and he lived with people. He experienced relationship with people. He ultimately declared that he was God in the flesh that he was the Messiah. The son of God. I wonder what others around him thought about him. What his closest friends thought about it. And the people who knew him most while the beloved John, the apostle John declared this about Jesus. He declared Jesus to be a full of unfailing, love and faithfulness. 2 (25m 42s): John also said from his abundance, we have received one gracious blessing. After another John calls Jesus, the stairway between heaven and earth. In other words, Jesus is the way the truth and the life. And no man comes to the father except through him. This is what John declared. This is what he believed. This is what he understood. After walking with Jesus for a few years, watching Jesus teach and perform miracles, watching Jesus crucify, be crucified and resurrected from the dead. He calls me. He said, that's that man right there. He's a stairway between heaven and earth. He is the way the truth and the life. No man comes to the father except through him. 2 (26m 23s): These are strong declarations spoken to by a man who had walked with Jesus, watched him die. Witnesses. Resurrection then served him all the days of his life. Even through suffering and persecution. When they tried to kill John and they couldn't kill him. And they exiled him to the island of Patmos and then serve Jesus his whole life. And in his old age received the revelation. And he in the revelation saw Jesus and he spoke and wrote truth about the Lord. Jesus Christ. John didn't give up. He believed that Jesus was indeed living for worth living for and worth dying for. He believed he didn't give up. 2 (27m 4s): Even after they tried to kill him and exile him, he would not give up. John declared in the revelation, all glory to him, all glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us, he has made us a kingdom of priests for God, his father, all glory and power to him forever and ever a man. He goes on. Look, he comes with the clouds of heaven. There's something powerful about a person's testimony about the person and work of the Lord. Jesus Christ. You have a testimony of God God's working in your life into that. Testimony is powerful to encourage. Even as John is encouraging us this morning, look, he comes with the clouds of heaven and everyone will see him. 2 (27m 49s): Even those who pierced him and all the nations of the earth will mourn for him. Yes, a man. So John believed his that Jesus' earthly life and ministry was real and genuine. And he believed in Jesus plan to return again and come back to the earth. After time of the time of redemption and judgments, don't give up, Jesus can be trusted. He can be trusted because he is God. He is not a God. One of many gods. He's out of small G God. He is a capital G God, the creator and sustainer of all things don't give up. He can be trusted because he has God. 2 (28m 29s): Number two, Jesus can be trusted because he is just, we get that from Hebrews one nine, where it says you love justice and hate evil. What does it mean? That Jesus is just, it means that if Jesus tells you that your sins are forgiven, then your sins are forgiven because he is a, just an, a righteous judge. And he can't, he can't ally. He can't say things that aren't true. And, and, and try to make you believe that they are true. He is a just God who declares to you that your sins are forgiven. What does it mean? That he's just, it means he is perfect, perfectly righteous. 2 (29m 10s): He judges the wicked and grants mercy to the repentance. He can do no wrong. It's impossible for him to be unfair. It's impossible for him to be unfaithful. It's impossible for him to forget his promises to you. He is a just judge. You can always be counted on to do the right thing. If he makes a promise to you, he will be faithful where he directs. He will guide and provide. When he speaks, his words can be trusted. This is why we pray. This is why we read this scripture because we believe when we commune with God that he listens and he's responding to us, he's adjust and good God. And when he says our sins are forgiven and when he adopts us into his family and welcomes us into a relationship with him, it's true. 2 (29m 57s): And we can take that to the bank. It's a powerful truth. It's a powerful truth. We met over in 1 0 2, our new worship center on Wednesday night at six o'clock and about 30 people gathered. And part of the purpose of gathering was to write verses of scripture on the, on the framed walls, inside that new space, they're going to get covered up shortly. So we wanted to get in there with black markers and write out the promises of God on this, on the walls in there. So that they're forever in the framing of that building as a foundation, as part of the building, the strength of that building is the word of God being recorded on the studs and on the walls. 2 (30m 39s): In that space, we record promises because we believe them. We believe the promises of God. And so we write them and we also believe that God desires to seek and save the loss. And so we have this wall of faith where we wrote down. I wrote down, I think about eight names of people that have been on my heart. People that I'm praying for, believing God to save or to touch or to heal or to minister to in some way. And so we wrote their names down. If you missed last, this last week, we're gonna probably meet again in probably a week from Wednesday and do it again. You'll have the opportunity to come and worship in that space. You'll have an opportunity to come and pray in that space and record the promises of God in that space and write the names of the people that you're praying for and believing God for in that space. 2 (31m 29s): So when we gather in worship, we'll continue to pray for those people and pray that God ministers to the people that we have put the people in our hearts that we put on that wall, declaring that these people will be touched by the living. God, you can't do any of that stuff unless you believe that Jesus has God. And that he's a just God. And that he's faithful to minister. When we call out to him, it's his desire that he would minister to people that he would reach people. We can trust that he is just and faithful. When he speaks, his words can be trusted. Jesus is adjusts and righteous. 2 (32m 9s): God, if we have any other perspective of God, we're missing it. We're we're, we've got a, a reduced version of the person of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We need to allow not the world to define who Jesus is, not our imagination to define who Jesus is, but we need to allow the scriptures, the word of God to define who Jesus is. Then it becomes big again, in our perspective, he doesn't change ever, but he becomes big and our perspective and we've grown in our faith and we grow in our ability to trust him. Verse nine continues Hebrews one, therefore, oh God, your God has anointed. You pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on any one else. 2 (32m 50s): You know, that righteousness and joy go hand in hand. It says that the oil, the, the, the pouring out of the oil of joy is poured out on him more than on any buddy else. Jesus can be trusted. Number three, because he is joyous. Bible says, it's the joy of the Lord. That is our strength. I remember seeing a picture years ago of this joyful Jesus, this picture of Jesus. And he's got this big grin on his face. I thought this is an accurate, I think is an accurate portrayal of who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Years ago, a friend of mine was in the movie and he played Jesus. It's it's called the Matthew movie. And Dennis Marciano was, or excuse me, Bruce Marciano. 2 (33m 32s): Dennis' brother was playing Jesus. And it was the word for word, speaking of the gospel of Matthew, and he declares true throughout the whole movie. And as he's speaking, you see this joy all over his face. You see, as he portrays the life and message and work of the Lord, Jesus Christ, he's got this joy filled face. It's not water that people in the regions were drawn to him. He had this presence about him that was magnetic. It drew people in, he had this countenance about him. That was not offensive, but it was, it was welcoming. And then he would minister to people and he was, he would speak truth. 2 (34m 13s): And even in his truth speaking, he did it in such a gracious and gentle way, much like he maybe does with us when there's correction that needs to come into our lives. He just, he speaks with such tenderness and gentleness. He is joyous. And even now, as I said, he's at the right hand of the throne of God. He's interceding for us wanting our wanting the very best for us. So he's not a, he's not a mean ogre. He's not a tire and Twitter. What's your picture. When you pray to Jesus, what are you seeing in your mind's eye? What are you seeing? What are you envisioning? 2 (34m 54s): What we envision will indicate how we pray or the faith with which we pray. If we see that Jesus is joyous and that he's loving and gracious and wants to be involved and is involved in the inhumanity. If you, if we see him that way, we will pray with greater expectation, with greater faith, with greater passion, with greater ability to believe in, see what God wants to do. We'll just pray with greater faith. But if we see him as a menial ogre, as a tyrant, then we won't pray much at all. What is your picture of Jesus? What is your picture of Jesus? You see a smiling Jesus, or do you see a sour? 2 (35m 36s): Jesus, he's our savior after all, he's our savior. After all, while we are sinners, Christ died for us in our desperate need. Christ died for us. I was up at French hospital on Thursday to visit a friend Jr Ramy, a guy that's been coming to our church for a lot of years. And he just passed away this morning. We had a chance to pray for him. We weren't actually able to get into his room, but we prayed as friends and family for him outside. And we just prayed for God's peace upon his life, because as you get to the end and he knew that his days were numbered, sometimes there's a fear and there's an anxiety, no matter how much faith we have, there's an anxiety around dying. 2 (36m 29s): It's maybe not being with Jesus so much, but it's about the process of dying. It's a scary and unknown thing. So people find, find themselves in a fearful place. I remember talking with Don gainer, he had the, you know, Donna been serving the Lord for 80 plus years and loved Jesus, but he's still the unknown. It was just unsettling for him. And so remember praying over and over again, throughout the course of my life in ministry, praying for people who are passing from this life to the next. And they're an, there's just uncertain. There are things that happen in this life also that just make us uncertain about the goodness of God. But when we can remember that Jesus is our savior and that he's redeemed us and he's got good plans and purposes for us that he's our friend and intercessor that he has for us and not against us. 2 (37m 20s): Then we can have a greater measure of peace. And so it was my prayer for Jr that he would just have the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. And sadly, I didn't get a chance to talk with him before he passed, but I got a text message this morning that said he had gone to be with the Lord. The text message said, he's gone. He is now with Jesus. And that's the reality. When all of our lives wrap up, we will one day breathe. Our last I was on Facebook. I don't have a Facebook account, but I stuck on my wife's Facebook account. And that was on Facebook and at a Ray Grady high school. 2 (38m 0s): They've got a, I think it's a Facebook page called fallen angels. And they list all of the different people who have passed away from graduating classes, going back, you know, from the beginning of the school. And as I looked through, I saw people from my people that I've known since junior high school, people that I went to junior high and high school with actually some back to fifth, sixth grade in the area, people who have passed away, people who are no longer with us, I felt life is so short. And we just never know how much time we have. We have to, in this brief time that we've got in the earth, we've got to be all in with God and believe that Jesus is who he said he is being fully present with him and allowing, be fully present with a Sherry's adjust judge, but his desires that we would escape his just judgment and receive his great grace. 2 (38m 59s): I did a Memorial service for a guy that I've known since I think sixth grade did the service for him earlier this year. And as friends gathered, it was tough to talk about our friend, Josh, who had passed away. It was tough because in the end, he's struggled. He knew Jesus, but he struggled the, he knew Jesus, but he struggled to believe and to follow wholeheartedly. But I know that he know, I know that. I know that. I know that he knew Jesus. I thought about Jesus, earthly, life and ministry. And he's. He was always going after those who were struggling, those who are sick, those who are outcast, those who were in need of his grace and healing, Jesus was always going after those people. 2 (39m 48s): And so I know that in the course of our lives, as we struggle, God is going after us. God is wanting to minister to us. God is wanting to bring his light and life to us. Hebrews one 10 says, he also says to the son in the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing. You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same. You will live forever. So point number four, we can trust Jesus and not give up because Jesus is eternal. Jesus can be trusted because he is a terminal. 2 (40m 29s): Listen, he's not going anywhere. He's always been any will always be. If we can imagine life in the earth, like a long parade. And Jesus is in the, the announcement, the announcement, a booth up top, and he's watching it from start to finish. He sees everything in the parade of life from start to finish. And so he's never perplexed by anything. Never confused by anything. Never surprised by anything he's eternal has always been, will always be. He's not going anywhere. He can be trusted. He's not surprised by anything because he's seen everything. And so anything that may be a surprise in your life is not a surprise to him. 2 (41m 10s): And so put the full weight of your trust in him. And when surprising things happen, because surprising things, well, they always happen and say, God, I didn't know this was coming, but you did. He promises never to leave us nor forsake us. Verse 13, Hebrews one. And God never said to any of the angels, sit in the place of honor at my right hand, until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet. Therefore angels are only servants. Spirits sent to care for people who will inherit Sal vation. Jesus is eternally working to bring people to salvation. Number five, Jesus can be trusted because he is our salvation. 2 (41m 51s): This is the heart of who he is. This is why the incarnation, why he came into the earth to live and to die and to be resurrected for us because he wanted us saved. Jesus wants what is best for us. Jesus made salvation possible. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for you. And for me, if he can be trusted to save us, Jesus can be trusted in every other area of our lives. Maybe you're here today and you just feel like giving up. Maybe you feel like giving up on your faith. Some things have happened that have discouraged you dissuaded. You have hindered your ability to trust and believe God, I would just say, give it another day. 2 (42m 35s): Sometimes we want to give up and we just need to give it a little time. Maybe you say, okay, Lord, I feel like giving up, but I'm going to give it one more day. I find that if I am feeling discouraged and I go to bed and I wake up the next day, what the scripture says, it's true. His mercies are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness. If you're here and you're tempted to give up on your marriage, or you're tempted to give up on your kids, you're tempted to give up on relationships or a job. I would say, just give it another day and then pray and say, Lord, I know that your it's not your will for me to give up. I want to press in and believe, but I need your grace. Everything that God asks us to do requires that we're filled with his spirit and with his power, with his truth and with his wisdom so that we can walk it out. 2 (43m 21s): Don't give up. Jesus can be trusted with Alex. Go ahead and stand up. And we're going to pray. And Lord, thank you that you are indeed our salvation. God, you are faithful to seek and to save those who are lost, Lord God, we give you praise for that. Thank you that you are eternal and that you are the same yesterday today and forever God, that means we can trust you and believe you and follow you wholeheartedly. So help us to do so. Lord, thank you that you are joyous. That is such good news. 2 (44m 2s): Lord, God help us to have a different perspective of you. God help us to think differently about you. Help us to believe you. We pray, Lord God, thank you that you were just thank you, God, that you are, God, God, we trust you and God in those moments where we are doubting and fearful, I pray that you would strengthen us now that you'd reveal truth to us and that we wouldn't the lies of the enemy. We wouldn't give into the difficulty of life, Lord God, but that we would keep our eyes on you continually and constantly. 2 (44m 42s): Thank you for this time. Lord, thank you for the opportunity to open up your word, Lord God, we just invite you to speak to us continually through this time of worship. Lord, help us to worship in spirit and in truth, we pray Lord in Jesus name. Amen. Let's worship 0 (50m 28s): Gabi pays you this morning. We worship you. We lift your name. Ha.