Sermon
Romans 8:29-39 | Grace: Hyper Conquerors in Christ
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Are any of you tired of that video yet?
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Can you start saying the words ahead of time?
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You know, kind of where it's going to be with us for a while.
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You spent a couple months so far in the book of Romans,
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and we're going to be, finishing, finishing out Romans eight this morning.
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And so if you have a Bible and brought one with you on a smart device
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or whatever turned there, Romans eight, I'll give you a moment to get there.
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And before we open that up, let me just give you a little bit of,
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family business as far as the church is concerned.
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Kaylee Dubay has been serving
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this church on staff for over four years.
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And, hey, there's gone by fast for years.
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And just this school year,
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she accepted a full time position at Stone Creek Elementary.
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So for the past seven months, she's working full time there
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and then still leading all things children's ministry here.
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To say that's a big task is an understatement.
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And she has been working very hard for a very long time.
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And I'm so proud of you. And I thank you.
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You've done a great job.
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You and Sean have served together for a long time.
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But what's happened?
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Because as we grow,
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we need to make a change.
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And Kaylee and I have talked about this, and she's good with it.
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But we're making a change as far as Kaylee's role here to.
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She won't be on paid staff as she has been.
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Michael Rondon, who has been our youth pastor, is moving into the position
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of next gen ministry to oversee birth through eighth grade
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and to administrate and coordinate the whole thing.
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And Kaylee is stepping aside as far as being a paid staff member.
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Still loves the church, loves us, loves your kids,
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and still involved, but in a way that allows her,
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a little bit of breathing room in her.
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I know you love her.
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Say that again.
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Jeff's in there. You. Absolutely.
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So it's it's it's within.
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And this needs to happen.
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But also, it's a little bit of a sad heart, too.
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So after the service, just make sure you give Kaylee a hug.
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Tell her you love her.
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Thank her for all of her ministry and her years of service,
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and we're going to celebrate her next week a little bit as well.
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But just want to let you know that ministry is still in good hands.
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Okay.
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It's still in really good hands and we're excited.
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What God's doing?
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But I didn't want this to happen without your knowledge.
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I want you to be able to love her and celebrate her in that we're good.
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Okay, Cathy. You good? Yeah.
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All right.
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Hey. Romans eight.
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Before we were going to be in, verses 29 through 39 today, but.
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But I need to go back to verse 28 to kind of set the stage for us.
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We need to set the table before we eat.
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So in setting the table, verse 28, and we know that
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for those who love God, all things work together for good,
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for those who are called according to his purpose.
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Here's what I know.
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That's a promise from God that he is synergize all things
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for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose.
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But here's the thing.
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Our trust in that promise
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will be based on our belief
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of the character of God.
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Our trust in that promise
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is going to be the foundation of our trust
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in that is going to be on what we believe to be the character of God.
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If we don't trust the character of God, we will not trust the providence of God.
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Do you understand?
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Providence is God's way of working
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within natural systems to work out his good and perfect will.
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Not. Miraculously, that's when he overrides those systems,
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but providentially working within them to accomplish his good purpose and will
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and our trust that God is providentially working.
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All things, synergize all things providentially
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for good is going to be based on how much we trust his character.
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If you don't trust his character, you don't trust his providence.
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That makes sense to you, doesn't it?
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Anytime we start to doubt
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the providence of God,
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it's really a statement that we're starting to doubt his character
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because we don't trust him.
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And and so so all of this, these promises
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to synergize all things together for good.
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Our trust resides in the trust of his character, of his heart
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and understanding what it is.
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He is working all things together for good for.
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And that's what gets us to verse 29.
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So because I trust his character, I'm going to believe this verse,
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that he's synergize all things together
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for those whom he for new.
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He also predestined to become, to be conformed to the image of His son
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in order that he might be the firstborn amongst many brothers.
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So we're going to get into this in a minute.
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We're going to deal with some some issues here that some people bicker about a lot.
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But before we get there, I want you to understand
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that verse 29 tells us that verse 28 says
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he synergize all things together for good and the good.
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He synergize all things together for is to conform us to the image of Jesus.
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See, we often think that because God has promised to work
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all things together for good, it means our ease and our comfort.
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That's how we translate good.
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Like God's going to synergize this pain for my pleasure.
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God is going to synergize this difficulty for my comfort.
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God is going to synergize this turmoil for my ease.
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And that's not what God means by good.
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What God means by good is to conform us to the image of His Son.
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We have to understand that
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because if we think that God's going to
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synergize, work together, all things together for my ease and comfort.
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How many of us can give testimony that you know what?
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Sometimes my life doesn't turn out that way, right?
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But through all things,
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we can reflect the image of Christ to the world.
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Does that make sense?
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That's the good God is working us towards
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and synergize us toward so that we have to.
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And so let's just let let's go back now and put 29 and 30 together.
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For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed
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to the image of His son,
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in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
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And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called.
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He also justified in the same jealous fire also glorified.
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There's a
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there's a lot of people
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that want to sit down and talk about this whole idea
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of predestination or free will, and that's what they get out of these verses.
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Well, let's debate is it predestination or is it free will?
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Does God predestined some to heaven or predestined some to hell?
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If so, it doesn't seem like people have much choice.
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And there's others are like, you know, God just it's all free will.
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You choose God?
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And that's up to you. Listen,
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let me explain to you
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when Paul uses these words foreknowledge,
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predestination, calling, justification.
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Gloria Fication. Those are the biggies.
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Yes, God for knows all things.
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We call it omniscient, all knowing.
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So God knows ahead of time
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everybody who's going to respond to him.
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You understand that?
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Listen, here's the deal we have to get this foreknowledge
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does not necessarily imply content
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or consent.
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Foreknowledge is not imply consent.
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You can know your kid's going to sneak out and be an idiot,
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but does that mean you consent to it?
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No. Okay, so
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so foreknowledge doesn't necessarily imply consent.
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God has, for all he knows, all things,
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and what he knows is what he has called.
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He has predestined everybody.
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Second Peter three nine the Lord is not willing or not
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slow to fulfill his promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient
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toward you and me, not wishing that any should
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what he don't want anybody perish.
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He doesn't predestined anybody to perish.
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But all that all should what come to repentance?
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So his predetermined destination is repentance.
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That's what he wants for everybody.
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He, in his
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foreknowledge, knows those who will and those who won't.
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Just because he knows someone doesn't mean that he consents to those who won't.
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That's their choice.
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So his foreknowledge knows all.
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He is predestined.
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Every person that's been created by him to live with him.
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And though that is his predestined
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destination, ultimately that's what he desires.
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So then he calls.
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Let's go back.
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Those whom he predestined, he also called.
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So he puts out the call to everyone
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and calls them to respond.
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Romans three.
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Sorry.
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Revelation 320 behold, I stand at the door and knock.
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I'm calling.
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I want you.
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If you open the door and let me in.
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We'll have fellowship.
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So? So he knows who will and who won't.
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His predetermined death desire is that we
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all are a part of his family through faith.
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He calls us to respond.
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And those who respond, he justifies
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for those who foreknow it predestined to become the image of the son on earth.
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Those might be the firstborn of his, of the brethren, of the brothers,
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those who whom he predestined, he called, those he called and respond
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with, or are justified were made right with him
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through faith by his grace,
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not of our own doing.
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And whoever he justifies, he,
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he, he also has glorified. Now
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God's know it foreknowledge knows who is going to open the door and who's not.
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Who's going to reject that,
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though he knows, doesn't mean
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that he has determined solely.
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He's determined that the desired destination is a relationship.
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And so he calls and whoever opens the door of their free
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will because God has initiated that,
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he enters.
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And because of what Jesus did on the cross has justified made them right with God.
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And whoever is justified through faith because of God's grace.
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The Paul says, is is glorified.
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Now the word of glorified means completely made new.
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It's the glorification that happens when we are with God in heaven.
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All things new.
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And Paul talks about it as if it's already happened.
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Now listen, I have been justified
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through Jesus with the father.
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So God looks at me through faith because of his grace, as if I had never sinned.
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Now Paul says, I am right now glorified.
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Now here's my problem.
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I looked in the mirror this morning.
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And though he talks about me
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as being glorified, I don't feel glorified.
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Anybody else?
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Yeah.
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So why would he say that?
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Here's why.
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He says that because of who God is.
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Let me just expand on who this God is.
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God is what we call omnipresent.
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God is.
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God is.
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So God get this that he's outside the space time continuum.
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If I can just blow your mind for a minute.
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There was a time when time wasn't.
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All of time exists within God.
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He's bigger than time.
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So if you can.
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You understand. I'm saying, like there's a time when time was that.
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You understand that?
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No you don't. It's too big. I don't understand it either.
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We understand the words, but we can't get our minds around that.
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But because God is outside of this space time continuum,
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he talks about things that are in our future as if they've already happened.
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Because for him, they have.
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So he sees us.
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He's already at that point when we're glorified with him in heaven.
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And so he talks about us as if you're in me through my son.
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You're glorified. It's a done deal.
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You don't have to hope that happens one day.
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It's a done deal.
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And so that's what he's saying.
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He said so listen, God is synergize all things together
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for the good so that you look like my son because he's desired you.
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He's called you.
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You've opened the door.
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You're right with me through my son.
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And you stand now glorified before me.
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It's amazing.
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Definitely amazing.
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No, a lot of people use these verses
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to debate predestination or for or free will.
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Listen, I will never have that conversation with you
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because these passages are not about the debate of predestination.
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These verses are about the assurance of culmination.
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This is where it's headed.
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It's not so that we can debate destination or free will.
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Listen.
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If you could know,
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there are some things in Scripture that are just in tension with each other.
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They're not in contradiction. Their intention.
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And if
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we could understand everything that's in tension in Scripture,
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if we could understand all of that about God, God wouldn't be very majestic.
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I'm comfortable living with the tension that is in Scripture
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because it says to me, My God is so big.
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Listen.
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Any of you men who are married, can
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you understand everything about your wife?
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You know,
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they give testimony.
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We don't even understand a thing about a wife.
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How can we think we can understand everything about God?
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There are things about God that cause tension.
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Like I don't understand.
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And personally, I'm comfortable living in that tension
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because it just shows me. Here's the deal.
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I can make a case from Scripture and convince you
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about predestination that God has chosen from the beginning
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who will come to faith and who will not like.
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It's his decision and it predestined.
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I can make a biblical case from that.
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I can also make a biblical case that you wouldn't be able to argue with that.
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It's about our free will.
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I can make a case for both biblically,
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that's tension.
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And I'm comfortable living in that tension, because what Scripture tells me
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is not about the process, what Scripture tells me.
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It's about the culmination.
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Do you understand?
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For you and I,
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he is knocking on the door of your heart.
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He's chosen you already,
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but he knocks on the door.
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He has chosen you.
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But yet Jesus says, whoever will come, let him come.
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So there's still the choice.
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And that's the tension.
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Watch what he says.
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Where am I?
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Verse 31.
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What then shall we say to these things?
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If God is for us, who can be against us?
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Okay, so so what's your response as he says, what's your response?
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What are you gonna say?
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Now, we don't know exactly what Paul's talking about.
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He could be talking to all of Romans up to this point.
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He could be talking about. So what do you say now?
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What is it now?
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You deserve wrath.
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But, Jesus, what do you say now?
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He could be talking about everything we've talked about in the book of Romans.
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Or he could just be talking about what we've talked about in in Romans eight.
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And what do you say now?
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Now there's no condemnation because of Jesus.
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So what do you say about that?
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What do you say now?
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Now you've been adopted. All the rights and privileges. A son is yours.
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You're a career with Christ. What do you say?
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What do you say now? Romans 828.
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All things God synergize us for the good so you'll look like Jesus.
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What do you say about that?
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That's what he could be talking about. Everything in Romans eight.
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Or he could just be talking about this whole
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foreknowledge, predestination call justification and glorification.
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What do you say about that?
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What he's doing is he's asking you for a response.
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He's asking me for a response no matter what it is.
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He's. What do you think? What's your response?
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And then he answers his own question.
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If God is for us, who can be against us?
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Now, a lot of people could be against us.
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That's the answer.
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Right.
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If you ever had someone against you.
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Do you have had someone against your faith?
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Have you ever had someone against the way you're trying to live?
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There's a lot of people. Could be.
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But the the question is not.
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Well, nobody can be against it. Well done.
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A lot of people could be against it, but who cares?
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Who cares? That's the point of it.
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Who cares who's against me? Why?
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Because God's for me.
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And God's already made his declaration over me.
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He loves me. He gave his son for me.
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I'm right with him.
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So your opinion. You.
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Do you really think I care about your opinion?
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Like whenever I say stuff like that, my wife is like Carl.
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Like, don't be mean.
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You should care.
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Sometimes,
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I guess, but.
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I'm not suggesting be a jerk and don't care.
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I'm not saying that.
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But like, Paul is going to develop this further.
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Like, as if God is for us. Who cares?
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Verse 32, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all,
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how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
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Listen, Paul's making both
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a logical and a theological argument.
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He's saying, If God gave you his son,
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why would he hold anything else back from you that you need?
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Does that make sense?
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He gave you his son,
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so why would he hold anything else from you?
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Think about it like this.
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The most expensive diamond in the world.
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It's called the pink.
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The pink lady.
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Okay. The most pensive diamond in the world.
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I think it's 52 carats, $72 million.
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Can you imagine
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it now?
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Now, consider for a moment the one who own that says to you.
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There's just something about you.
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And I so value you and treasure you.
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I'm captivated by you.
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I want to gift you this diamond
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gives you that $72 million diamond,
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and you're taking it back.
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And think about it for a moment.
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You're holding this diamond in your hand,
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and you say the gift to the gift or of that diamond.
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This is
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some think
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I don't want to carry it out of my pocket, though.
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And I don't want to get all smudgy.
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Can I have.
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Will you give me a little black velvet?
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You know, a little case to put it in.
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Can you imagine after they just gave you that diamond?
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Can you imagine the saying?
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What do you want me to give you for free?
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A little baggie?
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Are you kidding me? Who do you think you are?
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Why would I just give that to you?
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That makes no sense.
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Why do we approach God that way?
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He just gave us his son.
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Why did we come before him and think.
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Can can I bother you for something? No.
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Like, could you at all see it in your heart?
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Do you understand?
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He just.
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Paul saying this is both logical and theological.
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Someone gave you his son.
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God gave you his son.
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Why would he keep anything else from you?
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Now? Apparently,
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we have the freedom
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to ask the father for anything
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because he didn't spare his own son.
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And so, if you have a need, I will boldly tell you to ask.
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Just ask.
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Be bold in that.
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And the reason I can be
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so bold in telling you to be bold is because I know you're not asking me.
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You're asking God.
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If you're asking me for something, you better temper your ask.
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Yeah.
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Do you understand?
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I will not give my son for you.
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I won't get my bulldog for you.
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I don't know that I'll give you my sandwich, let alone you know.
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And so you can ask God boldly.
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But in your ask, you trust his character,
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and you know that his answer to your ask
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is going to be in line with what energizes you into the image of Jesus.
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So sometimes that ask will be in line with his synergy to make you like Jesus.
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And he will say, absolutely.
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Thank you for trusting me and asking.
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And other times you will say no
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because to say no
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is works a greater good of the image of His Son in you.
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Do you follow?
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So ask.
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The verse to leave off,
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and I don't remember.
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He didn't say, okay, so look at verse 33.
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So who shall bring any charge against God's elect?
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It's God who justifies.
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Verse 34, who is to condemn Christ?
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Jesus is the one who died.
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And more than that was also raised.
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He was at the right hand of God, who in is indeed is interceding for us.
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He says, look who's going to bring a charge against us.
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Well, like we just said, a lot of people.
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Anybody can bring a charge.
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So for me,
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you know,
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the uniqueness of the charges against me
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are pretty significant because here's the deal.
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I have this role as pastor,
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and people have brought a
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lot of charges because they don't agree with my faith.
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You understand?
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It's a lot of church hurt out there, a lot of religious people out there,
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a lot of non-religious people out there who would make charges.
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Okay, I get it.
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But not only as a pastor.
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I'm also a high school coach.
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And anybody who coaches the high school understands
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they're going to be a lot of people
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like players, moms.
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It's like, just,
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like.
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You could never please anybody,
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you know, like as a pastor or a coach, right?
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Eric?
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Is the point is, nobody's going to make a charge.
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This is a legal term. Par sock. Right.
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And he says, who's going to sustain a charge?
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You cannot.
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So you can make a charge against God and against his people.
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You can make it.
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Anybody can make a charge.
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Anybody could file a claim.
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But can you sustain it in court?
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Not even a little bit.
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Who's going to sustain a charge against God?
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Go ahead and try.
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And God has made his declaration about me spiritually.
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You want to make a charge against me spiritually?
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God's always made his declaration.
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You can't sustain a charge against me.
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So your opinion, Paul says, I'm not saying this.
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I'm not being mean right now.
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Like my wife would say.
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I'm being like, so you're
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what's the old adage the lion doesn't care about the opinion
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of the sheep?
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Who's going
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to sustain the charge against God?
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It's Jesus who died and who was raised and who is,
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who is at the right hand of God interceding
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for us like right now,
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the son Jesus is standing between you and the father,
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and Jesus is pleading your case
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to him, to the father right now.
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He's interceding for he's pleading on your behalf.
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Can you imagine?
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Now, I love the opportunity to pray with you and for you.
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And there's a group of us that meet at first Tuesday of every month
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that pray over the needs of you.
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If you let us know, and your church, it would be so much more power
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if you were to come and pray with us for you and your church.
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But we stand and we love that.
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But can you imagine Jesus himself
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interceding for you?
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How much like you don't need me to go to God.
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You don't need a priest.
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You don't need a saint, a patron saint for any of that stuff.
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You can go to God because the son is interceding for you.
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And why do we need the son to make intercession for us?
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Because we have an accuser against us.
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Revelation 12 verse ten.
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And I heard a loud voice
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in heaven saying, now the salvation and the power,
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and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.
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For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down,
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who accuses them day and night before God.
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The reason we need an intercessor before God other than us, who is Jesus,
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is because we have the devil against us, who stands before the father day
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and night saying stuff like this
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God, you know,
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you know what Carl did?
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You know what a failure he is.
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You know what a sinner he is.
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You know, he still struggles with, you know, he's still messed up.
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You know,
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you can't
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you shouldn't move on his behalf.
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You should be offended at him.
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You should be disappointed at him.
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You should have discouragement in your heart because that's the guy
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you chose.
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Are you kidding me?
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That's what the devil does day and night.
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And in the midst of that, Jesus like.
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Father,
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see Carl through me
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and so well, the devil makes all these accusations day and night.
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God the father goes, la la la la la la la la la la.
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Shut up!
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I don't pay attention to the thing you say.
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Jesus is there interceding.
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No, father.
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Now I covered him, remember, I covered him, I covered him.
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You got some else to say? I covered that to.
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Do you understand?
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That's why
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you can approach his throne of grace with confidence.
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Because we know that will receive grace and mercy to help us in our time of need.
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Scripture says
-
interceding for us.
-
And so, Paul, in a summary statement,
-
he wraps this thing up with this who
-
who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
-
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
-
or nakedness, or danger or sword?
-
He says, who's going to separate us from his love?
-
And then he lists seven things that are pretty bad things.
-
He lists seven things that would make the ordinary person question God's love.
-
If you've
-
ever lived in the seasons of troubles and tribulations
-
and distress and persecution and famine and want and need
-
and nakedness and danger and peril, if you've ever lived in those seasons,
-
at some point probably we've asked God why,
-
if you love me, why do you allow this?
-
If you love me, why did you let my family, my wife, my child?
-
If you love me, why right?
-
So Paul doesn't say these things won't come.
-
He says just when they come.
-
Don't let these things make you question God's love.
-
Because he gave you his son, and he synergize even those things
-
to make you in the image of his son,
-
who suffered.
-
So when you and I go through these seven very terrible things,
-
we have confidence in God's character
-
that he synergize even those things to make us into
-
the image of his son, so that when we go through those things,
-
the question we ask ourselves is, I'm going through trouble right now?
-
Is my response that trouble look like Jesus
-
as a response to his troubles?
-
I am really hurt by people.
-
Does my response in the midst of that hurt look like Jesus's response
-
when he was hurt by people?
-
Where in scripture do we read that
-
Jesus got so stressed and angry he just couldn't sleep at night?
-
Where do we read the Scripture?
-
Where he laid his head on his pillow and was still haunted by the injustice
-
that was done?
-
Where do we read in Scripture where he just lost his mind
-
over what God would allow?
-
We don't.
-
And so Romans 828, for
-
we know that God is centralizing all things to make us look like Jesus.
-
And sometimes we all go through tribulation
-
and distress and persecution, or famine, or nakedness and danger and sword,
-
because God synergize all those things to give us
-
the opportunity to look like Jesus in this world.
-
It doesn't mean he makes things good and easy.
-
It means he makes us look like his Son and our responsibility,
-
and is to trust the character of God
-
and in those moments, respond like Jesus,
-
dare I say in those moments to post
-
like Jesus.
-
You follow. You.
-
How in the world is this possible?
-
I mean, does this sound like our our normal modus operandi?
-
Is this is this how we normally respond when stuff happens?
-
Okay, I'll go on.
-
Verse 36 and 37
-
for your as it is written for your sake, we're being killed all day long.
-
We are. We are like sheep to be slaughtered.
-
That's a direct quote from Psalm. 4422.
-
And I don't have time to get into that.
-
But you Bible students might want to dive into that psalm.
-
It's profound.
-
It says no.
-
And all these things were more than conquerors through him who loved us.
-
How do you how do you respond?
-
Like how do you
-
how do you embody the image of Christ for the wounded going through all this stuff?
-
And Paul says, we can't, but but in Christ we're more than conquerors.
-
And this is a profound statement
-
that Paul has just made about being more than a conqueror.
-
Here's why.
-
When he uses
-
this, this whole idea more than conquerors
-
is this Greek word that he kind of puts a couple Greek words together.
-
Harbor Nick.
-
Oh, two different words.
-
This is what they mean.
-
The word hypo hyper means super or more than Nick.
-
Oh, is that from the Greek god Nike,
-
which means conqueror?
-
And so he puts these two together.
-
He says, you're just not a conqueror.
-
You are a super conqueror.
-
You're just not a conqueror.
-
You're a hyper conqueror.
-
Like, here's how you know the difference.
-
A conqueror gets through the battle,
-
realizes they've won, and rejoices in the victory.
-
I'm a conqueror, a hyper conqueror, a super conquer.
-
Paul says you're more than conquerors is one who knows ahead of time.
-
They're already a conqueror, and they rejoice in the midst of the battle.
-
Do you understand the difference?
-
Most of us live life.
-
We're in these troubles and difficulty, the trials and tribulations,
-
and we think, God, get me out of this. Get me through it.
-
And when God does one, we're a little bit surprised at a word.
-
And two, we're like, oh yes, now I'm a conqueror.
-
And the super conquers, say God in the midst of it before you do a thing.
-
I am already a hyper conqueror.
-
I will rejoice in the battle.
-
Again, stand.
-
Most of us have decided I want to live as a conqueror.
-
Because I want God to fix.
-
Paul says that is not who we are in Christ.
-
We are hyper conquerors in the midst of it.
-
Has that been your experience?
-
If not, as they say,
-
we're leaving money on the table.
-
Let me put it to you in terms of cards
-
in the car world, a conqueror is one
-
who can get us from point A to point B I I'm on this journey.
-
I'm on traveling. I need to get from point A to point B.
-
You can do that in a lot of different cars.
-
For instance, you could do that in a Chevy Spark,
-
get you to point A to point B, you conquered the journey.
-
Good for you.
-
You you used all of your 84
-
horsepower to do it.
-
Did you make it
-
through?
-
Probably not
-
with a lot of confidence or speed or elegance, but.
-
And isn't that how we go through difficulties sometimes?
-
God, I just I just want to get to the end of this,
-
and you just putt along
-
and you just plod along like, man,
-
I hope the engine.
-
That's a conqueror.
-
You know what the super conqueror is?
-
The Hennessey Venom F5,
-
only 24 made.
-
$7 million or so.
-
The Hennessey Venom F5 6.6l twin turbo V8.
-
I wrote it down 1817 horsepower,
-
speed of 311 miles an hour.
-
That's a super conquer,
-
you understand
-
something? Most people have come to Jesus
-
and they just leave it a as a as a Chevy Spark.
-
And they got these hills, they got to climb and they just plugged
-
along, praying that the engine didn't give out in their own road back down hill.
-
And when they make it to the top, they're like, whoo
-
hoo, boy, I don't ever want to do that again.
-
Oh, you're a conqueror.
-
I guess you made it. Is that really it?
-
When Paul says you're not a Chevy Spark?
-
You're a Hennessey Venom F5.
-
You got 1850 horsepower under the hood.
-
You don't go 311 miles an hour.
-
You can make it up the hill and then another one after that.
-
With no problem.
-
You get to the end destination not just making it,
-
but making it with power and speed and style.
-
Like, that's a super conqueror.
-
And my fear is that so many of us have settled
-
for a Chevy Spark faith
-
and never embraced the Hennessey Venom F5.
-
Faith.
-
I want to make it to the end, but I want to make it to the end
-
knowing that as I go through it, I got power to spare.
-
What am I worried about right now?
-
In the trouble and distress and difficulty?
-
What am I worrying right now about your opinion?
-
About the world's opinion about me? What am I worried, right?
-
I got strength to spare.
-
I'm a hyper super more than conqueror.
-
In the midst of it, I'm going to rejoice because I know it's already done.
-
Thank you. Understand what I'm saying?
-
And my fear is that we've settled for a Chevy Spark faith.
-
God, I know you gave Jesus
-
for me and I'm thankful for forgiveness.
-
Could you please see it within your good
-
heart to maybe
-
I just want to make.
-
As your Christian experience,
-
as your faith has been, has your life, maybe you're separated from Christ.
-
You don't even have a Chevy Spark.
-
Has it looked and felt more like a Chevy Spark existence
-
than a Hennessy Venom F5?
-
Do you realize what you've been called to
-
and gifted?
-
David, don't say anything else about this.
-
You're in the first service I'm seeing. You must.
-
Don't miss something.
-
I think I got it.
-
What he says.
-
Verse 38.
-
For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers,
-
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height,
-
nor depth, nor anything else, all creation will be able to separate
-
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
-
Who have been adopted by God.
-
I'm a coworker with Christ, and nothing going to separate
-
from his love.
-
I'm a I'm not just I'm a super conquerors.
-
Nothing are going to separate me from his love.
-
I go back to verse one now.
-
There's no condemnation.
-
There's no failure in my life that's going to separate me from his love.
-
I'll go back to verse 15.
-
I've been adopted by God.
-
I'm forever loved as his child knows.
-
I'm going to separate him from that love.
-
I go to verse 28,
-
God is synergize in all things together so that I'll look like his son.
-
He's not going to abandon me now.
-
There's nothing will separate me from his love.
-
I go to verse 30 and 39, death.
-
That's not going to separate me.
-
Separate me from his love. I've got eternal life,
-
rulers and authorities and powers
-
and he's talking about the forces of hell and Satan himself.
-
They're not going to separate me from them.
-
So they've already been conquered and defeated.
-
No charge they bring against me can stand.
-
No created thing will ever separate me from his love.
-
Jesus proved it on the cross.
-
Romans five eight God shows his love for us in this.
-
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
-
Nothing's going to separate me from that.
-
And this is all accessed through faith by his grace.
-
For by grace you've been saved through faith.
-
This not of yourselves.
-
It's not your own doing.
-
It's the gift of God, not the result of works.
-
Nobody can brag about it.
-
God initiated Augustine that God did it.
-
We just respond to receive it.
-
Can you imagine this?
-
Hennessey.
-
Venom F5. Faith,
-
strength and power to spare.
-
Not because you deserve it. Not because I deserve it.
-
Not because we weren't just, but because of God's grace.
-
His love is so profound.
-
And so that's what drives me back to where I started this whole thing.
-
Grace really is greater than anything you want to put in a blank.
-
It's the free gift of God.
-
And if this isn't
-
your experience, that's not God's fault.
-
It's the free gift.
-
Through faith, by grace.
-
And this great thank you, Lord.
-
That's all I can say is thank you, Lord.
-
And so, my dear friends,
-
if this has not been reflective of the faith that you live with,
-
why not?
-
A complete transformation
-
of who I am, of who you are,
-
is available to us
-
freely
-
through faith,
-
because of God and by his grace.
-
And I invite you.
-
It's not my invitation.
-
Is Jesus's invitation into a super hyper
-
conquerer faith
-
because of who Jesus is.
-
And so
-
I invite you.
-
Let's pray. And.
-
If what we've talked about
-
has not been your experience,
-
I want to offer you the invitation
-
that Jesus has offered.
-
To be made new,
-
fully understand this
-
what I'm saying fully and completely new.
-
To allow yourself to be conformed into the image
-
of the Son Jesus.
-
And to receive, by God's grace, freely,
-
a super hyper conquering faith.
-
Towards that end,
-
I invite you in this moment in prayer
-
to say, God,
-
I'm realizing what it is
-
I am and you are.
-
I am weak,
-
I fail.
-
And I've just been surviving.
-
And I want more.
-
I acknowledge who you are,
-
and I accept who you are
-
to be the God and the leader of my life.
-
I confess my sin to you.
-
Jesus.
-
I accept what you did for me on the cross.
-
And I receive
-
through faith, by grace
-
a right standing before you.
-
Father
-
and I receive the gift
-
of a hyper super conqueror faith no longer
-
do I want to live as Chevy Spark.
-
Life.
-
I want to be a super conqueror
-
that rejoices in the battle.
-
Because I'm being made
-
into the image of your son,
-
tell him I trust your character. God,
-
because I know you love me.
-
The Bible says, keep your eyes close to me.
-
Just be in prayer.
-
The Bible says that God looks to and fro about the earth
-
for those whose hearts are firmly his, that he may strongly support them.
-
He's looking for you right now.
-
His name is called Elroy, the God who sees.
-
He's looking for us right now.
-
To solidify
-
your commitment, not just in your heart,
-
but to solidify that commitment.
-
So I can pray with you.
-
So, Jeff. So David can.
-
Would you just. I'm going to pray over you specially.
-
Just a minute.
-
Would you just raise up your hand and say, I prayed that prayer.
-
I want to be a super conqueror.
-
I want what God offers me.
-
Thank you. Good. Just keep it up for me. A pray over your hand.
-
I'm gonna pray over. You're raising your hand.
-
Thank you.
-
Good for you, good for you, good for you, good for you.
-
Just keep them. Keep them. Let me see.
-
This isn't for me.
-
It's for you. I just want you to solidify this.
-
I want you to allow me the opportunity, the privilege to put.
-
Thank you.
-
Good good good good good.
-
There you go. Thank you.
-
Just keep your hands off them and just let me just receive
-
this prayer, agree with me and pray you guys with your hands. It.
-
Father, I thank you for these with their hands up
-
that their body is representing the position of their heart.
-
They want you.
-
They want to receive all you have.
-
Thank you that it's not contingent upon what we've done about what they do,
-
but just and receiving every great show in the name of Jesus right now.
-
Do what you said you would do.
-
I pray a measure of your grace that is so profound
-
and so unknown to them, that it would wow them with who you are,
-
that they would receive it as a free gift.
-
This hyper conqueror of faith,
-
that they would be allowed to be the image of you in this world.
-
That they would feel your presence in such a mighty way, such a profound way.
-
Father, that they would be so overwhelmed and impressed with you,
-
so grateful
-
for what you've done in their lives and for them that they would walk and move
-
and think and respond and be hyper conquerors in this world.
-
That is your desire.
-
You said that you're looking for people right now whose hearts are firmly yours.
-
God, see these hands?
-
See these people now in the name of Jesus, strongly support them
-
according to your word,
-
God. Thank you.
-
Thank you for these.
-
Thank you for this time. We love you.
-
In your name I pray. Amen.
-
Listen,
-
it's good for us to be this good to go through His Word.
-
His word is alive and active, sharpened to an end to a sword.
-
It recreates us, his spirit, us through his word.
-
This is good, if you may.
-
If you prayed some prayer like that.
-
Jeff, David, and we'd love to talk with you.
-
To pray with you again. I'll be here. We'll be in the welcomes.
-
Just come talk to us and let us just pray specifically
-
if that'd be good.
-
If you just want to spend time praying yourself,
-
there's a prayer in my back there. Nobody's in it.
-
You just need a little bit of time. Just a you and God to
-
stick her ahead and see if anybody needs some prayer.
-
And I know Bob and Jennifer would love to pray with you too. And
-
anyway, don't let this moment
-
I love you.
-
It's good for us to be together on this week.
-
Now go through Romans eight again and then read Romans nine Romans.
-
We just there's four sections to Romans write God's wrath, God's grace,
-
God's plan, and God's will.
-
We just finish this, that God's the God's grace part.
-
Now we're going to get into God's plan in Romans nine.
-
And it gets really pretty deep.
-
And I'm going to actually geek out over this stuff.
-
So I hope you don't mind, but it's going to be fun.
-
And I want you to read,
-
try to get your minds ready for what God's going to reveal to us in Romans 911.
-
Okay,
-
I love you.
-
I'm proud of you fellas. One more song.
-
You guys doing a great job.
-
All of our band's up at camp. Yep.
-
You guys doing a great job.
-
We're running lean and lean.
-
This morning is good,
-
but I'm sure we're going to sing something about Jesus and love.
-
You will be me.
-
We're going to go back a few years, right?
-
Stand up. Let's sing. Let's be happy.