The Joy of the Gospel | The Joy of Sanctification

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Our hope is that through these messages you'll grow deeper in your faith and experience the life-changing hope of Jesus.

Now let's jump into this week's teaching.

And as as a church, that it binds us together, that your your blood is what binds us together, even with brothers and sisters on a different continent.

And Lord, we pray this morning that you would just receive all the glory, all the honor, all the praise as we open your word together, Lord, would you just reveal yourself to us and help us to be formed into the image of your son?

So you name we pray.

Amen.

Well, good morning.

C3, going to be with you this morning.

Got a question for you.

How many of you have had had young kids who love to play dress up?

Anybody have young kids who love to play dress up as they were growing up?

Yeah, I know my family definitely did.

Like they're, you know, just like their imagination just kind of runs wild as they put on a different costume, as they, you know, become a princess or a superhero or a fireman or or cowboy or whatever.

Um our oldest daughter, Sadie, just turned 11 this week.

And I was looking back at old pictures, and this is actually a picture, I think, from her third birthday.

That's me and her dressed up there.

Um, and I don't know if any, does any you know what costumes we're wearing there?

Does anybody know what we're wearing?

Yell it out.

PJ masks.

The PJ Masks, of course.

That's who we are.

I don't know if you're familiar with the PJ masks, um, but I just need to tell you, because they're it's pretty incredible what the PJ masks are, okay?

So just imagine a moon comes up on your screen and you just hear this narrator say, night in the city, and a brave band of heroes is ready to face fiendish villains to stop them from messing with your day, right?

That's what happens.

That's what that's what PJ Masks are.

Amaya becomes Owlet, Greg becomes Gecko, Connor becomes cat boy, and together they're the PJ masks, and they're they're fighting, they're fighting the night ninjas and all that kind of stuff.

Really fun.

But my my kids love to dress up in these costumes specifically.

Actually, there's one more picture, I think.

There's there's Sadie and Olivia dressed up in PJ masks.

They those girls mean business, you know?

Like, that's what it is, you know?

And honestly, like this is it's not just Amaya becomes Alette when they put the costume on.

It's Sadie becomes Owette.

You know what I'm saying?

It's Olivia becomes gecko.

That's what happens whenever they put on these things.

And maybe you've been around a kid who's who's like that.

Like they they put on, and it's like, I no, I'm not just dressed up as Iron Man.

I am Iron Man right now, you know?

Like there's there's like a certain like personality.

They start embodying this person.

They start having their powers and their castle and their truck or whatever it might be.

Like they are that person.

But you and I know that's not really the truth, right?

Actually, it makes me think of this video of this kid right here.

It means in it's really fast.

Let me show let me see how fast.

See, you guys, you guys just laughed.

That poor kid, you're laughing right now, right?

But it proves my point, right?

It proves my point.

Just because you put on the cape doesn't mean you are that person.

You know what I'm saying?

Like, it doesn't mean it.

But here's the thing, I think my kids enjoy dressing up so much because, like all of us, like the idea of becoming becoming someone better or becoming an improved version of yourself.

Like it's it's something we all desire, right?

Actually, I'm coaching, you know, U6 soccer.

We just finished up, had our last game.

One of our kids, like him and his brother play on our team, and he ripped a shot from beyond midfield and scored.

It was like, you know, part skill and you know, 90% luck, you know, like that kind of a thing.

And he's like, he's like, yeah, this is awesome, you know, like losing his mind, like this is the best thing.

His brother comes up and says, it was like your leg had a power-up on it, you know?

Like, that's what it was.

Like that there's something about it that just makes us want to be a better version of ourselves, you know?

And we've been studying through the book of Philippians, we're talking about this joy of the gospel.

We've we defined joy in this way it's the lasting emotion of gladness that grows from delighting in God and resting in his promises.

And this joy is received when our lives are radically transformed by Jesus.

Like when we encounter Jesus in such a powerful way, like Paul has, that like we we can't stay the same anymore.

Like we, there's there's an obvious, like a night and day difference.

But this isn't just a one-time event for us either.

Like this is this is a journey, it's a process of that of this joy that we're entering into.

And so there's an important word on that definition right there.

The lasting emotion of gladness that grows from delighting in God and resting in his promises.

This is a one-time thing, it's an ongoing growth in joy from a life that's lived with the risen Christ.

And here's the here's the thing.

I think if we took a poll out here and I asked you, hey, when were you saved?

I would get a number of different, you know, responses.

I don't, it might be because of your upbringing or because of your background.

There might be a number of different ways that you respond to that.

Maybe it's you think of the first time you heard the gospel, and or you maybe you think of the first time you responded to the gospel.

Maybe you prayed a sinner's prayer and prayed Jesus into your heart.

Maybe you did something like that.

But I think the majority of us right here would probably say, we would think of the day we were baptized, you know?

We would think of the day that we entered into that water grave and we rose to a new life, you know?

We would think of that.

And for sure, like that's a that's definitely a day that we would say, yeah, that's that's the day of your salvation, right?

You responded in faith and responded in baptism in this way.

But there are actually three tenses of salvation.

Um, and Paul's actually talking about this in all of Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

There's this first tense that, hey, you were saved.

Like you were saved whenever you put your faith, when you placed your faith in Jesus, you were justified before him.

And this is like, this is what we would typically say is the gospel.

You know, this is how like most churches would say this is the gospel.

Jesus came and did all these things for you that you could not do for yourself.

He went to the cross willingly on your behalf and on mine, and he paid the price in full, right?

That you have been justified by his blood.

And this is really like, this is the example of Jesus that we've just come through last week as we looked at Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 11.

Philippians 2:5–11

We we look to his example who didn't he didn't consider equality with God, something to hold to his own advantage, but he emptied himself and he humbled himself and he became obedient to death, even death on a cross.

This is what our God has done.

You've just you've been justified before God because of the blood of Jesus.

But then there's a second, a second tense of salvation, and it's you are being saved.

And it's this idea of sanctification, like you are being saved, you're sanctified.

So not only are you free from the penalty of sin in justification, but you also free from the power of sin in your daily life.

And this is what Paul's getting at in our in our text today.

And then there's another another sense of this of this salvation that comes that says, Hey, you will be saved.

Like you will be, this will come to its full, its full fruition whenever the presence of sin is removed and you're in the presence of God Himself in heaven.

Whenever the new heaven and new earth are ushered in and the presence of sin is ushered out like completely, it's completely gone, and you're you're not you're not around it anymore.

And that's what Paul gets to at the end of this, at the end of this little section when he says, I'm I'm being poured out like a drink offering, and I'm thinking about the future glory.

I'm gonna rejoice because I'm thinking about the future glory that is to come.

Like that I'll be united with with Christ.

And here's the thing, I I read this, read this quote this week.

Like God is not He's not satisfied with just declaring us righteous.

No, God wants to form true righteousness in us as we are formed into the image of His Son.

Now, make no mistake, we are saved by grace through faith in the resurrected Jesus Christ.

But then upon salvation, you and I, we are filled with the promised Holy Spirit.

And this Holy Spirit then forms us into the image of Christ Himself.

Like it continues to form us, leads us into transformation, into the image of Christ.

The biblical word for this that we're focusing on this morning is this word sanctification.

And it's a big word, and I want to simplify it as much as I can into this definition.

It's the process of being formed into Christ's image.

Like sanctification is the process by which God, God actually makes us what he has declared us to be in Christ.

Righteous.

Like this is this is what he's doing, and this is a process, not an event.

Like, so you can say, like, you are what you are, but you are not what you will be in Christ.

You are not yet the finished product.

Like you will continue to grow in him if you belong to Christ.

You will continue to become like him.

And this is something we celebrate as a church.

The fact that we are all in process of being formed into Christ's image.

So yeah, we we mess up, and there's messy people in the church, and there's a you know, there's a lot of people who would say, I like the church, but I just don't like the people.

And it's kind of like, well, they kind of go hand in hand, you know.

These people are a group of messy people who are still trying to figure this out.

You know, we're always like fighting against the struggle of sin and trying to trying to instead cultivate the work of the spirit in our own hearts and lives.

We're all in the process of being formed into Christ's image, and no matter how much you have grown in grace, you still need to grow in grace.

Like, no, no matter how long you've been walking with the Lord, you still need to walk with him.

You still need to become like him, you still need to be formed into his image.

Paul talks about this transformation all throughout his writings.

He talks that in Galatians chapter 4, he says, My my little children for who I'm in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

In Romans chapter 8, verse 28, we know this one for we know that that God who loves the for those who God who love God, all things work together for the good, and for those who are called according to his purpose, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed into the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Romans 8:28

And then in Romans chapter 12 he says, Hey, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Even in Philippians chapter 1, you can flip back over in your in your scripture journal to Philippians chapter 1, verse 6.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention Philippians 1:6

He says, I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.

And this is how he starts our text in Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Read verse 12 and 13 with me in Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Several things I want to point out in these couple verses as we kind of jump into this text.

The first thing is Paul says, work out your own salvation.

You need to understand, he doesn't say, work for your own salvation here.

Right?

Like this is where people get get stuck sometimes, where we can easily fall into works-based righteousness, that it's all up to me.

Like I've got to, you know, check off the list if I want to be like earn my way into heaven.

But that's not at all what Paul is saying here.

He's not saying work for your salvation, but work out your salvation.

And Paul is emphasizing that we need to work out the full completion of what Christ has already made here, what he has already provided here.

We work it out of us.

Like he's talking about this act of sanctification, of continuing to be formed into Christ's image, like continue to be changed into his likeness.

This is a daily practice of putting to death the deeds of the flesh, of our sinful nature, and instead cultivating the work of the Spirit inside of us.

And in doing so, our salvation that's been given to us freely by the grace of God, what's inside of us begins to work its way outside of us, where it's evident to all people in our walking, in our talking, in our working, in our doing, in our thoughts, and in our actions.

And he says, to work out your salvation with fear and trembling is what he says.

I'm trying to think of the last time I did something with fear and trembling.

You know?

I don't know if you think about the last time you did something with fear and trembling.

Yeah, I was thinking, I was thinking back, and I remember like vividly the first game that I was playing kid pitch, you know, when I step into that batter's box, and that kid on the other side is throwing really hard, a really hard ball, and he's throwing it in all kinds of different directions.

So I'm shaking in my boots, like I don't know if this is gonna hit me in the cheek right now or if this is gonna be a strike.

I have no idea, right?

And so I step up to the plate, it's the you know, whatever, bottom of the seventh, the last inning, and we're down one, and the bases are loaded, and there's two outs, and I'm I'm approaching that at bat with fear and trembling, you know what I'm saying?

Like, I and I don't know if I'm if I have more fear and trembling or if my mom in the stands has more fear and trembling.

Like, come on, like you got this, you can do this, you know what I'm saying?

But the reason why you approach that situation with fear and trembling is because it's so important to you.

It's so it has such importance to you.

This is what Paul is saying about this process of sanctification.

It is vital.

Like we need to we need to approach this, we need to work out our own salvation with the same kind of urgency and the same kind of the same kind of uh weight to it.

Like it needs to be something that's that's vital for us.

And one preacher says that that this um this fear and trembling is actually actually the dual motivation for holiness.

Fear and trembling.

Not the fear and trembling which drives us to hide from God because he's going to punish us, but the fear and trembling that instead drives us to seek God because of the certainty that we cannot effectively do what he wants us to do without his help.

And that's what Paul says right after this in verse 13.

In verse 13, he says, For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

And see that this is like the key thought of this, the rest of this text.

This is the key thought of what Paul's trying to communicate here.

It's God who is doing this good work in you.

Like the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.

Like we are simply the willing and submissive vessel in his hands, the one who is just at his at his bidding, the one who is just submitted to his will, the one who is constantly trying to bring him honor and glory.

He's the one who's making it happen.

He's the one who's doing all the work.

It actually reminded me of of this video.

I think we've got one more video right here.

I love that.

Striking the pose every time.

That video's gonna keep playing.

Keep watching this.

I need you to notice something about this.

Like, this is pretty cute, you know.

But you know, you notice who's doing all the work, right?

Like that kid at some level is like, I'm Spider-Man, you know, like he's embodying what we talked about earlier, right?

He is indeed Spider-Man, and then he goes like that, and he flies across the room and strikes a pose, you know?

And it's pretty stinging cute.

I can't say the kid's not doing anything, because he's definitely doing something.

But really, in the grand scheme of things, who's the one doing all the work, right?

It's his dad who's doing all the work, who's carrying him to and fro, who's the one who's who's making it all happen.

And this is the key of what of what Paul is saying.

Like, you can be formed into the image of Christ because it is God who is doing the work in you.

Like it is ultimately him who is who is doing this work in you.

It's it's not up to you ultimately.

Like, this is not done by, as one commentator by says, by by simple imitation.

It's actually done by incarnation.

Like it's God who is working in you, who has taken up residence in you, and who is now living through you.

I love what Paul does next in our text.

Because Paul gets super simple and he gets very specific with us.

And it's I love it because it's like it's one of those things where it's like, I don't, I don't have to wonder about how this needs to be applied in my life.

I don't have to try to make the connection of what it looks like to work out my own salvation.

I don't have to rely on my own wisdom to make this connection here.

Paul makes it for me.

And just like he told us the secret ingredients of relationships last week was to was to have the same mind of Christ, in these verses he tells us, hey, here's the what of sanctification.

Here's what it actually looks like.

Right now, here's a very, very vivid example.

This is what it is.

Verse 14, one of the hardest, hardest verses to apply to your daily life and to my daily life.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, without complaining or arguing.

I don't know about you, but like those words that he says to do all things without seem like the most natural thing to do sometimes in my life.

You know what I'm saying?

Like, and I I don't have to tell you this.

If you have kids, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

You know, grumbling, like you have you know exactly what I'm talking about, you know?

And I don't know if you if you are like me and you have you have a child or you have four children that all like to do this, that their first words in response to you telling them to do is aren't actually words at all.

They're more just like moans, you know, just like uh, you know?

Anybody, any parents in the room, can can you agree with me on that one, you know?

Like that's what it is?

Just like, ugh, like this is what you're asking me to do every time.

It's just like these groans every single time, all right?

And I'm not, this is not meant for you to then take this, take these words and weaponize them, okay?

This is not this is not meant for you to do that, okay?

But if you have a junior high or high school student, then they've actually like created a word that goes with it now, and it's the word br.

Like that's what they do all the time.

You know what I'm saying?

Like that seems to be what complaining, what grumbling sounds like realistically, is what it's br.

And this is actually it's pretty, it's a pretty good word that Paul uses right here.

It's the same word that's used of the Israelites when they're wandering through the wilderness, when they start grumbling against Moses and against God, in effect, against God.

And they're like, like literally, like they're just like complaining.

Like, you remember how good we were eating in in Egypt?

Like it was great.

Yeah, while you were slaves for 400 years?

Like, that's what you want to go back to?

That's what they're complaining about.

And it's this is the same word, and it's actually this word here is like an onomatopoeia.

You know what I'm talking about?

Like where it's not actually a word, it's just more of a sound that we've given a name for, you know?

And it's this grumbling, like this is what they're doing to Moses.

Bruh, like, why don't we have some good food to eat?

I'm just stuck with this manna every time.

What is it?

I don't even know what it is, you know?

Like this is this is what's happening.

And this is this is where we like this is what Paul says.

Let none of that be present in you.

Do all things without grumbling.

The next word Paul uses is the is the word disputing, which is obvious, which is uh can be used as like um to describe something that's like useless arguing or ill-natured disputing.

And he's back to this practical issue of unity that he had brought up just you know, just a few verses before.

Do you remember that that issue of unity?

Like the solution of our unity was to live lives of humility.

And this is like back to it.

He's like, this is what happens when we're so concerned with ourselves rather than the other person.

We start arguing about things that are just petty, little things that weren't that aren't worth arguing about.

This is what Paul's saying.

Like, don't do like do all things without this kind of arguing, without this kind of grumbling.

Like, don't let it be present in your relationships.

And maybe we should just leave this right here, and I should walk away, and we should say, All right, go get a tattoo of Philippians chapter 2, verse 14, and start living it out, you know?

Philippians 2:14

Like, go write it on your door frames of your house right now, because this is like this is huge right here.

This is a direct, simple, straightforward command.

Write this down, memorize it.

And maybe this week it's ask, ask somebody to hold you accountable in it.

You know, like not just assume that somebody's gonna hold you accountable in it, but like, like literally say, hey, I want to try to be better at not complaining this week.

Can you call it out of me when you hear it?

Like you're around me more than anybody else is.

Can you just call it out of me whenever you hear me complaining about a situation?

Can you just say, hey, Philippians 2, 14?

And then you can just walk away.

You don't need to say, see, because this is what you were doing.

You were complaining about that situation, and now you need to stop complaining about that situation.

You just need to be thankful for what you have.

You know, you don't need to go into any details, you just need to remind them of the word.

Do all things without grumbling or complaining.

But there's a deeper implication than just for you personally applying this to your life.

Because Paul tells us the why of sanctification.

Like the what of sanctification, the specific what in Philippians chapter 2 is do all things without grumbling and disputing.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

And then he says this in verse 15.

So that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world.

This word blameless carries that meaning of above criticism, right?

No one can find reason for fault.

Innocent and pure means those who are thoroughly wholesome in character, single-minded.

And this is the implication.

When we are formed into the image of Christ, when we are sanctified, we are reflections of the character of Christ in this world.

And if I'm just gonna be honest with you, when the character of Christ shines in this world, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Because that's not how the world works.

The world does not reflect his character.

That's what Paul says about our world.

He says, we're in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.

What's interesting about these words in verse 15 is that Paul is carrying forward the wilderness language.

He's already talked about like do all things without grumbling, like, don't be like the Israelites who are grumbling in the wilderness.

But actually, these words right here, like after they after they were found to be grumbling against the Lord, the Lord in Deuteronomy chapter 32 says that you are not my children anymore.

Deuteronomy 32 · chapter mention

And he says, Instead, you are a quick crooked and twisted generation.

He's bringing back to memory.

Do you remember what happened to the Israelites?

Do you remember the attitude they chose?

Do you remember how they they were not submissive to my work?

They were not like accepting of my work, and now, like, even though it was inconvenient for them, and now they were declared not my children anymore, but instead a crooked and twisted generation, like don't let that be for you.

Like, don't refuse the work of the Spirit in your life to be formed into the image of God, because the implications are huge for us.

He says, like, the way that we live when we are sanctified is not just something we have on the inside, but it's something that shows itself on the outside.

This is what he says.

He says, you will be able to shine like stars in this universe, in this world, in the midst of this crooked and twisted generation.

This is this teaching of Jesus when he says in Matthew chapter 5, in the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Like you realize this, don't you?

Your sanctification, your being formed into the image of Christ, your process of being saved, it's not just for you.

It's for them.

It's for all who will see you.

It's for all who will interact with you.

It's for all who come into contact with you, who are in relationship with you.

It's so that they may see you and see how you live and how you speak and your attitude and your decision, your priorities, and ultimately they will see Christ in you.

And they will say, I want what you have.

Like this is what is at stake here.

This is the why of your sanctification.

It's for them.

And the question that we need to ask ourselves is, can they really see him in me?

Like, can they really see Christ being formed in me?

Like each and every day, not perfectly, but faithfully.

Can they see him being formed in me?

And Paul moves on and says, You want to know how to do this?

You want to know how to do this, the how of sanctification.

He says this in verse 16.

Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Like, how are we going to be sanctified?

How are we going to continue to be saved?

How can we be formed in the image of Christ each and every day?

It's by holding fast to the word of life.

Like, here's the truth: the Bible has, is, and always, always will be our source of truth, of absolute truth, of guidance, of help.

The question for us is like, do we treat it as such?

Like, are we submitted to the word as if it is the most important thing?

As if it is the like the most important truth, the most absolute truth.

Like if the Bible is our source of truth, then we should go to it first.

The question is, do you go to it first?

We need help.

We need direction.

We need assistance.

I'm gonna be honest, like sometimes I don't.

Sometimes it's not my first my first response to go to the word.

Sometimes my first response is to rely on my own strength.

Sometimes my first response is to ask a trusted friend or mentor.

Sometimes my my first response is to go to some other expert who's done this.

Or maybe your first response is to hit up Chat GBT and say, What would you do in this situation?

You know what I'm saying?

Like sometimes we don't immediately go to the word first, but if if the word is absolute truth, then we go to it first.

We need to go to it first.

And if the Bible is absolute truth, then we need to trust it most.

And the question again is like, do you trust it most?

Above every other every other bit of wisdom and knowledge that could come your way.

Like, does does the word have the final say?

Is it your most trusted source?

Is it your most trusted ally?

Like sometimes we like to say, well, did God really say that?

Did God really mean that?

Rather than just submitting to it and trusting that He that He revealed Himself in His Word and He said what He said so that you and I could live, could live in the midst of this twisted and crooked generation.

And then if the Bible really is true, then do you submit to it daily?

Like do you really submit to it daily like it like it really is true?

A good question of self-evaluation here would be this like who wins when when the Bible and you disagree?

Who wins that argument?

Like, do you just do things your own way, turn a blind eye, write it off, like justify your own decisions or your actions, or do you submit to the word of the Lord and let it have the final authority in your life?

See, like this is what it takes for you and me to be formed into the image of Christ.

This is what it looks like for sanctification to happen, to continue to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, to do everything without grumbling or complaining, to make any impact or any imprint in the world around us, to shine like stars in the universe around us, it will take us being absolutely and utterly dependent on his word, the word of life.

And here's the row, I think.

I think sometimes we can hear a message like this, and some of you in the room, we can fall one of two ways, I think.

Sometimes we can be like, yeah, feel pretty good about that, you know.

I feel like I'm doing that pretty good, you know, and we can start start have like just having a big head.

And I think the Lord needs to bring some humility.

I think we need to go back and read all of Philippians chapter 2, you know, to get back to that.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Like, don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to, you know, think of yourself with sober judgment, realizing who you were as you approached the throne of grace and what you have received freely from him.

But I think sometimes we can get in, we can hear a hear a message like this and we can immediately count ourselves out.

Like, yeah, that's not for me.

Yes, that's not for the person with my history, with my baggage.

Like the enemy comes and starts whispering guilt and shame over what you have done or where you are right now, over your he reminds you of your sin, of your patterns of sin, your shortcomings, how you can't seem to get it right.

And so we just we let today just be a regular day, you know.

Let this message go in one ear and out the other, and we convince ourselves this isn't for me, this is for somebody else.

We look at the end result and say that could never be me.

But to do so would be to miss what Paul's saying here.

Because I think the core of what Paul's saying here is, hey, you can because God is.

You can be formed into the image of Christ because it is God who is working in you.

The God who spoke and the moon appeared in the sky.

The God who used his words to create everything that you have that you have seen.

The God who used a staff in the hand of a skittish, skittish, and stuttering leader to part a sea from side to side and make it dry ground for his people to walk on.

Like, that's the God that's working in you.

The God who rolled away the stone and who walked out of that tomb, it's that God who's working in you.

Like, so no, we're not gonna sit here and say I can't do this.

Because it's not you, it is God who is working in you.

Like the love of God meets you right where you are, but the love of God will not leave you where you are.

The question this morning, I think, is like, will you submit to his power and to his rule in your life?

I read a story this week of a of a woman named Mabel.

Pastor went to this care facility to visit some of the patients there, and as he walked onto one floor that like the particularly bad uh cases were, you could he said you could just smell the stench of, you know, like what smelled just like urine up in this floor, and he saw this woman sitting in a wheelchair, bound to this wheelchair, and she was blind, and she was her hearing was going as well.

She had big hearing aids on both both of her uh ears.

She was bound to this wheelchair.

She was, she had cancer that was eating away the side of her cheek to the point that her eye was drooping and her mouth was drooping, so there was just drool constantly coming out of her mouth.

And he came to, he went up to her and and had a flower and handed her a flower, and it was Mother's Day.

He said, Happy Mother's Day, here's a flower for you.

And this woman picked it up with her hand and put it to her face to try to smell it and said, Oh, thank you so much.

It's lovely.

But can I go give it to somebody else?

Because I'm blind, you know, I can't see it.

And he said, Of course, you know, we can go find somebody else to give it to.

So he grabbed her wheelchair, started wheeling around, went to one of the wings that he felt like there'd be some patient that was a little more alert.

Once he did, he rolled up his chair and Mabel extended this flower to this other patient and said, Here, this is from Jesus.

The pastor said he started going back multiple times a week to visit Mabel.

And as he did, he kind of heard her story, learned that she was 89 years old.

She had been in this facility for 25 years.

She didn't have any close relatives, so nobody was coming to visit her regularly.

She grew up on a farm where she managed the farm with her mother, and then her mother passed away, and then she ran it by herself until her eyesight started fading, and she ended up in this facility.

But through all their conversations, Mabel never seemed to complain about anything.

Her pain, her sickness, her situation.

The pastor would come and he would read scripture, or he would come and he would like bring an old hymnal from the church and start and they would sing a few songs together.

Anytime there was a lull in him turning a page or him, you know, getting stuck on the melody of a of a song, Mabel would continue on and would recite it from memory.

And then one particular week the pastor was stressed out, frustrated, irritated, just felt like he couldn't do anything right, couldn't get anything right, couldn't like, couldn't get his mind on straight either.

And he just thought, had this thought come in.

Like, what does Mabel think about?

All those hours, all those minutes, all those days, just sitting just bound to her wheelchair or to her bed.

Like, what does she think about?

What goes through her mind?

So he went to her and said, Mabel, what do you think about all the time?

Like you've been here for years and years and years, and what like what constantly is going through your mind?

And she just simply replied, I think about my Jesus.

I think about how good he's been to me.

Man, he's been awfully good to me in my life.

You know, I'm one of those who's mostly satisfied.

Lots of folks wouldn't care much for what I think.

Lots of folks would think that I'm kind of old-fashioned, but I don't care.

I'd rather have Jesus.

He's all the world to me.

And then Mabel began to sing an old hymn.

Jesus is all the world to me.

My life, my joy, my all.

He's my strength from day to day.

Without him I would fall.

When I am sad, to him I go.

No other one can cheer me so.

When I am sad, he makes me glad.

He's my friend.

And the pastor was writing this down, he reflected, and he said, You know, that was a real person who really lived.

And the question is, how?

Like, how, in the midst of what she's going through, in the midst of her circumstances, in the midst of her pain and her struggle and her loneliness, like, how can she just start singing hymns?

You know?

And he said, I think the reason is because she had power.

She was an ordinary person, an ordinary human being who received supernatural power to do extraordinary things.

And church, hear me.

That same power is yours for the taking today.

It's available for you today.

Because of what Jesus has done on the cross once and for all.

Like you can be filled with his spirit, to be formed into his image.

You can continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Because of what he has done, because it is God who works in you to will and to work for his good pleasure and purpose.

Man, if you need to submit your life to the Lord today, we've got everything you need to make that decision.

We've been celebrating the last several weeks with brothers and sisters in Christ who have come and said, I need to submit to the Lord, I need to be justified before him, and who are now being sanctified, being formed into his image over a long journey with him.

Man, if you need to start that journey today, we'd love to talk with you.

Or maybe, maybe today is a day that you need to say, Man, I have not been submitting to the work of the Lord in my life.

I need help.

I need a community of people to lift me up.

I need prayer.

There's gonna be people in the back, be up front.

We'd love to pray with you as you continue on this journey to be formed into the image of Christ.

Let me pray for us.

Lord, we're so thankful.

So thankful for what you have done for us.

So thankful for the life that you lived in our place, the death that you died in our place.

And Lord, we're so thankful and we celebrate and we lift our voices today because you are alive forevermore, and it's your power that now lives within us.

Lord, that motivates us, that calls us forward to be a better version of ourselves.

Lord, we are we are who we are, but we are not yet who we will be because of your power that's working in us.

So Lord, continue to shape us, to form us into your image, to the image of your son.

It's in your powerful name we pray.

Amen.

Let's stand and sing this morning.

Thanks again for listening to the Carterville Christian Church podcast.

Our prayer is that today's message has encouraged you and drawn you closer to Jesus.

To learn more or get connected with our church family, visit Carterville Christian.com.

We'd love to walk alongside you in your journey of faith.