Holy Week Afterthoughts

This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God.

For more information about Grand Parkway, visit GrandProquay.org.

Let's pray together.

Lord, we've come to uh uh to ponder and to remind ourselves and remember what we take away from Holy Week.

We don't want to run past that like it's just another thing on the church calendar that we endure, and then okay, what's next?

And so, Holy Spirit cause us to ponder deeply what all God accomplished as a way of reminder this morning.

The cross is about love and leverage.

You loved us, and you you you you you leveraged your nature to accomplish what only you can, and you were glad to do it.

And so, Holy Spirit, illuminate the scriptures today.

So it's not just words on a page, it never is that.

It's the breathed-out word of God.

It's life and power, it's clarity when we get a little foggy and a little fuzzy.

It cuts through all the nonsense and says, This is the truth, and this will set you free.

So, Lord, we want to walk out of here this morning more free than when we walked in because we heard God's word preached and taught.

This is our desire, Holy Spirit.

Make it our experience, we pray in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

You can have a seat.

If you've got a Bible, I want to invite you to take it and open up to uh to Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Uh on Good Friday, we were in the first part of Romans uh chapter 8.

And I want to, on this day, I want to be in the back end of Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Now, if you're our guest, I want to apologize.

Sometimes you come if you're a little bit late, it's hard to find a seat together.

Bear with us.

Uh, our people are accommodating, they'll slide in if you're slipping in late.

But also want to acknowledge all these people over here in these kind of uh muted blue t-shirts.

These are our students.

They had a great, you can cheer for that, yes.

Uh they had a great weekend.

This was our white weekend, uh, where we basically had an apologetics conference for students uh uh in a language that they would understand.

Elijah Lamb was our guest.

I think he's still here today.

He's gonna be speaking out in the warehouse here in just a little bit.

Uh and and so we're glad to have him here, and we wish nothing but favor and blessing upon him.

Uh I slipped in and sat in the back on Friday night, and I heard him say about four times, I'm kind of a nerd, and I thought, this is perfect, okay?

This is incredible.

Uh, and so anyway, if you're wondering, hey, is this like the handmaid's tell over here?

No, these are students.

Uh, they all wear blue instead of red.

Amen.

No?

Oh, okay.

There we go.

Uh now, now, by the way, for preachers, coming after Easter is a big thing because I got asked a lot this week, hey, what are you gonna do?

What are you gonna do?

What are you gonna do?

And I was like, what do you mean you're gonna won't?

Because most of what they do is that after Easter, they do a series on marriage or something like that to kind of get your attention.

And I just said to my friends, I'm not here to market Jesus, but to worship him.

And they said, Well, do you have like a handout you're giving people to tell them about your church?

I'm I'm not here to market my church, we're here to be the church.

And my friends were like, McLeod, you're kind of an old man.

All right, whatever.

Uh, but anyway, I want to talk to you this morning about holy week afterthoughts.

Holy week afterthoughts.

In other words, what can we know to be true as a result of what happened on Good Friday and on Saturday and on Resurrection Sunday?

What can we just kind of, hey, let's get our head around this and let's don't run past this.

Uh, I want to read from Romans chapter 8, starting verse 31.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

The Bible says this.

What then shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how we also not with him graciously give us all things?

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

It is God who justifies.

Who is to condemn?

Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that who was raised, who's at the right hand of God, who's indeed who indeed is interceding for us, who shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword, as it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all the day long.

We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

Knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

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 in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now, what do you mean when you say holy week afterthoughts?

I mean just some things because that Jesus Christ was real, he lived the life that he lived, which was sinless according to the Bible, so he could be sacrificed as our Passover lamb, because he was crucified on the cross, he was dead, he was buried, he raised, he rose again on the third day, just like he said.

And we'll touch on this in just a minute, that he ascended back into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father and He makes intercession for you.

Okay.

Well, what does all that mean for us?

It means five things this morning.

Number one, it means that God is for us.

God is for us.

Now, when I say us, that's not a universal us, and I don't want to be a jerk if you're visiting today.

If you're like still exploring Christianity and you're like, I don't know about this whole thing.

There's a lot of crazy stuff coming out of that book.

When I say God is for us, I I'm I'm talking to the Christian, to the believer.

You say, What do you mean?

It's easy to come to church nowadays, and we've so lowered the bar that when we say us, we use such inclusive language that's like, oh yeah, that's everybody in the world.

We're all God's children.

No, we're all God's creation, but we are all not by nature God's children.

If that makes sense, say amen.

You were created by God, but you were born, I was born as a sinner in sin by nature and by choice I did sin.

And because of that, my sin separates me from God.

So don't just come to a church and hear something and go, me too.

I'll claim that as well.

Because then we says, hey, if God is for us, I want to clarify who the us is.

And so I want to go back to the beginning of the chapter.

I I remember when they said I read this years ago and it just dawned on me, and my mind was like, I wonder what that would look like on an envelope.

This is Romans chapter one, starting in verse one.

You just imagine there's this long, I think it's called a salutation or something like that.

But imagine getting a letter in the mail, and this is in the left corner of the envelope, kind of the return address.

This is the way he starts the book of Romans.

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets and the holy scriptures concerning his son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.

Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship.

Here's why to bring about the obedience of faith.

There's obedience that comes with the faith.

You can't just say, I have faith and live in disobedience the rest of your life.

That's not Christianity, okay?

To bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name.

That's why we do what we do.

It's not our name, it's his name, okay?

Among all the nations.

No pressure there.

Including you who are called.

Now, here's the thing.

If you're here today and you're like, man, I am not a believer, I'm a skeptic, I'm a jaded cynical, whatever, know this.

You're always welcome to church.

You don't have to fake it.

You don't have to put on the blue, you don't have to put on the blue t-shirt and go, I'm just gonna socialize until my parents drop them car keys on me, then I'm out of here because I got other people I can socialize with.

Here's here's the great part of the uh of the gospel.

Verse 6, he says, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

I believe that's a reference to people who have yet come to faith, but but but but they are going to eventually come to faith.

Does that make sense?

Say amen.

This is why we're not harsh or judgmental or we don't hate on people.

Because Paul's like, hey, listen, I'm talking to these believers who are gathered in Rome, but that that doesn't exclude anybody.

You you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

Uh if that's you, that is eventually going to happen.

This is all in the upper left-hand corner of the return address of the envelope.

And then he addresses it to these people in verse 7 to all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ.

To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.

He is writing to the Christian, to the church that is gathered, that is accumulated there in Rome.

And he says, What shall we say to these things?

What shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

What we should say is not just God is for us, but that God is for me.

You should ask yourself today, how do you feel when you say to people, Oh man, God is for me?

Do you like, mm, that kind of makes me twinch a little bit on the inside.

That feels a little too, I don't know, uncomfortable.

Uh, but but you also should ask, what are these things?

What shall we say to these things?

Now, I want to go back and read verses 28 to 30.

Uh, but really, these things, I believe, refers to all the way back to the past four chapters: five, six, seven, and eight.

But I think a good summary of those is is found in Romans chapter eight, verse twenty-eight, which says this, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good.

For those who are called according to his purpose, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers, and those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he also called, he also justified, and those who be justified, he also glorified.

And so what?

This is how, uh, like it in the end of verse six, when he says, uh, including you who are called to belong to Christ Jesus, if God has a call on you, okay, he's not just gonna say, Hey, it's just it balls in your court.

I'm not gonna kick the door down, I'm a gentleman God.

No, no, no.

If God has a call on your life, he is going to convert you and see you all the way through to glory, okay?

Does that make sense?

Say amen.

And so that's why we don't roll up on people heavy and hard and be like, I tell you what, if you if you don't pray the prayer, you're gonna go to hell.

Hell's not a real big motivator for people, okay?

We don't even, most people don't even think that even exists.

The life that you and I live ought to be the greatest motivation, it ought to provoke other people to envy and jealousy because they see the way you love and enjoy God.

And they're like, man, there's something about you that I cannot deny.

I do not, I do not have that, and I'm curious about it because we have algebra together, okay?

These things.

What shall we say to these things?

These things are a demonstration of the fact that God is for us because God can only, only God can do these things, and not only that, he was glad too.

He was glad too.

You didn't buy a formula or a book at the bookstore and read it and took it as your own and then charged God with it like you're some lawyer trying to win a case against God.

When you if God before us, so the first thing I want to say is, hey, when it asks the question, what shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, it's not really a question, okay?

It's it's a rhetorical.

It's a, hey, because God is for us, it it it the cross, if the cross does anything, it establishes firmly forever that God is for the believer, okay?

Now, when you don't believe that God is for you, it doesn't matter who's against you, they'll always be bigger than you.

When you don't believe that God is for you, it doesn't matter who's against you, they'll always be bigger.

You always have this sense of impending doom, like what's it matter, man?

It's just futility is an epidemic in America because we don't believe what the Bible teaches.

And here's the second thing I want us to take away.

Uh, I don't want us to run past Holy Week into what's next, okay?

It's simply this the cross is an indication of God's posture towards us.

He says in verse 31, what shall we say to these things?

If God be for us, who can be against us?

And then verse 4 32, he says this He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Now, when I say the cross is an indication of God's posture towards us, uh I let me ask this question What word or words is your heart most drawn to in this in this verse?

For most people, it's all things.

Let's be honest.

It's like, oh, how will we not also with him graciously give us all things?

Ah, this is not some prosperity gospel nonsense, okay?

Uh this this when it says all things, don't think anything you want, okay?

Uh uh just think scope, not desire.

Scope, not desire.

We need scope, like, like, like, like anything, like I like, like just just just think spouse, house, roof, chickens, sex, rain, friends, barbecue, enchiladas, torchis, queso, all a sign of God's grace.

Yes.

Yes.

Now, when the Bible says, now all things, don't take that student to go, okay, I got a promise in the Bible, and God, I'm gonna leverage it against you to get what I want.

Think this as a 16-year-old, is there anything in this world that I have to send in order to experience because God would withhold it from me?

And the answer is no.

It's not desire, it's scope.

Is there anything that God would say, you know what?

I wish I could do that, but I just can't, okay?

No, the cross is an indication of God's posture towards us.

It highlights God's provision for his people.

It's not some prosperity gospel free for all.

It's a rhetorical question, which means, hey, I'm not asking this to get an answer.

I'm asking this to make a point.

That being, if he did this, what will he not do?

If he did this, what will he not do?

Okay?

Uh and again, and the task is really the privilege of the Christian is to relate to God as if you really believe it.

Uh now I asked you earlier what word or words is your eye drawn to?

And for most people, it's all things.

And I get that, I'm not hating on you, but for me, it's the word graciously.

How we not also along with him graciously give us all things.

This is when you have to have a deeper understanding of the nature of God to realize how gracious that He is.

Uh, if you're a parent, your kids don't know this, but you enjoy Christmas more than they do, and you usually did most of the giving and hardly any of the receiving.

Amen.

We're not bitter students, we're not.

And y'all don't get this.

Y'all are like, I need an iPhone 16 probe, my friend's got one, I ain't got one, I still got an iPhone 7.

I'm not a loser, dad.

No.

You do not understand the graciousness of God until you get children.

And then you choose to give to them, and you're like, hey, you know, I mean, do you how many of you parents give your kids a list of things you want for Christmas?

They're laughing at you.

And and and really, you don't get really, we're not laughing at you, it's just you won't understand it.

Like many of you come to me and said, Hey, do you really tell your kids don't buy you anything?

No, I don't need anything.

My kids can write me a letter for Christmas, or they or they can make something.

That's it.

I don't really, I don't want much beyond that.

Uh why?

Because of the word graciously.

Graciously.

How will he not also along with him graciously give us all things?

Graciously means this to freely give and to give generously.

To freely give and to give generously.

It's one thing for you to give.

It's one thing.

Another thing you'll never experience is we don't ever coerce people around giving.

We don't ever dim the lights and say, okay, now we're in trouble.

We need you to dig deep today.

Play some check write music, Clyde.

No.

Matter of fact, people have asked me many times, hey, you don't take up an offering.

I'm like, sure, we receive an offering every Sunday.

But that is the smallest thing in the kingdom.

We're not gonna construct our services like it's the biggest.

Why?

Because we we worship a God that who graciously gives all things.

This got really like branded in my mind years ago.

We have two daughters, as you know, and they're about five years apart.

They were about eight and I don't know what, three.

Uh, and we would go, my in-laws lived in Pensacola, Florida, and they would say, My oldest would say, I want to go to Mama D and Papa's house real quick.

How long are we gonna be gone?

Two hours.

Like, it's an eight-hour drive, kid, okay?

So we would go to Mama D and Papa's in Pensacola, Florida, and then we'd come back every day.

My mother-in-law would open her yapper, she couldn't help herself, and she would say, Girls, you want to go to the outlet mall?

And I'm like, Shut it.

By the way, the word outlet is the most overused word in the English language.

It don't mean nothing.

It's just, it's just a lower overhead version of the mall, just as expensive.

And so in Foley, Alabama, there was a huge outlet mall.

I mean, like, like sections of it.

You had to get a directory and walk around.

Okay, we would go to the Foley Outlet mall, and my mother-in-law letting them kids go to every store.

And I'm like, she would say, now y'all have got five dollars to spend.

I'm like, that ain't gonna buy nothing.

They're gonna go to every store with five dollars, and they're gonna go, I don't know, I think about them.

So after that, I'm just like, for the love, can we go back home?

And then my youngest would go, I want to go to the place where they throw the rolls.

And I was like, we're not doing that.

Uh, because it used to be a sign they had to change it because somebody sued.

Imagine that in America.

But there's a restaurant in Foley, Alabama called Lambert's.

And Lambert's is not is famous for it's the it's the place, the home of throwed rolls.

And seriously, they would walk around with a basket full of these hot rolls right out of the oven, and they would throw them to you across the restaurant.

And Sophie was standing up, she was three, and I said, roll here.

And the guy was probably easily from here to that white thing on the wall over there.

And that guy just said, Here you go, and hit her right in the forehead.

She's like, had a greasy spot with a butter hitter.

And I'm just like, pick it up, three 10-second rolls.

She like picked it up.

And that's so Lambert's was known for the throw, the plate, the home of the throw rolls.

Some guy got hit in the eye and he sued.

I'm still looking for that person.

So they don't throw rolls anymore.

They come around with tongs.

Would you like a roll?

I'm like, back up and fire it at me like a flashball.

Like, we can't, we got sued.

But here's the thing I want you to know at Lambert's.

They have that.

And then they have these things called pass-arounds.

Passarounds are people come around with a stock pot, which is about this deep, about that big around, and they got it on their arm, and they've got like a spoon, and it's full of different vegetables, and they're free.

So they came to our table.

Poor fools didn't know who they were coming to, and they had a pot of fried okra.

And they said to my two girls who love fried okra, they go, Would you girls like?

I'm like, don't talk to them like babies, okay?

They're about to get their chow on up in here.

And they said, Would you girls like some okra?

And so we'd like pushed everything off her plate.

I would like some okra.

And the lady put a big old spoon on there, and so we'd like, I would like some more okra.

Put some more on there.

Mass and pushed her plate over there, got a big load of it.

I'm such a bad father, I let my kids eat fried okra for an early dinner that night.

And they come back around with more stuff.

Green beans.

Now imagine this.

If they come around with okra and a pair of tweezers and reach it down and said, First of all, do you girls want some okra?

Go, I want some okra.

And got one little piece of okra with some tweezers, put it on there and said, Now, if you'd like some more, you can order off the menu.

It's$3.99 per side.

Now, some of you think God's that way.

In your mind, you have experience with either God or people, probably with people, that cause you to think that God's some stingy miser, and He's got a big old pot full of everything you need, and He's passing it out with tweezers.

There you go.

Cut it in little pieces, take your time.

And I'm just saying to you that God is the God of the passarounds.

He's got a big pot full and a big old spoon.

And Matthew, I saw that lady coming back around about 20 minutes later, and I'm like, no, no, don't come back, okay?

My kids don't need any more okra.

They were done, and my youngest go, I want I got a roll.

I'm like, you still got a shiny spot on your forehead where you had the last one, okay?

So when the Bible says, How will we not also along with him graciously give us all things?

Don't let your you don't let your appetite be drawn to all things.

Let your understanding be drawn to graciously.

Oh my gosh, graciously.

Because if you're not careful, students, you don't believe God's gracious, you got to take matters into your hand and get stingy, and you end up with a man that you never should have been with just because you didn't trust God.

Happens all the time.

Happens all the time.

See, the cross is an indication of God's posture towards us.

Thirdly, God's mind about me is unchangeable.

God's mind about me is unchangeable.

What do you mean?

It's verse 33.

Hear this.

He says, Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

It is God who justifies who is to condemn.

Who will bring any charge against God's elect?

Okay, that means this.

Let me just say this: there's nobody that God listens to more than himself.

Let me say it again.

There is nobody that God listens to more than himself.

He loves the sound of his own voice and the reality of his truth.

And so there's nobody that God listens to more than himself.

Now, many people act as if there's somebody somewhere that is going to tell God something about you, and if he does that he doesn't know, and this is going to somehow change his mind about you.

Here's why that is ridiculous, and why you should get this tattooed on your back that God's mind about me is unchangeable.

That is not arrogance, it's identity.

And it's the little word justifies.

Hear it again.

Verse 33.

Who shall bring any charge against God's intellect?

You know who charges God's chosen people more than anybody?

You do.

The person you see in the mirror is the person that charges you the most.

The person you see in the mirror that looks at you and says, What are you thinking?

I thought we were done with this.

If anybody found this out, oh my gosh.

Who shall bring any charge?

Not a charge, but any charge.

You know that if you're a Christian, there's nothing somebody can tell God that's going to change God's mind about you.

They're not going to bring up something.

Oh God.

Remember 1986?

That wasn't vacation.

That was just a drunken melee.

God, you got that on the record?

Any charge.

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

Here's why you don't have to sweat that.

The next sentence.

It is God who justifies.

To justify is to make righteous.

Nobody can undo what God has done.

And by the same token, nobody can do what only God can do.

So here's what the Bible teaches students and adults is that God is the only one that can make you right with God.

You can't get there on your own efforts.

That's called religion.

This is called a relationship, okay?

And most, again, the person when it says, who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

Typically that's us.

God knows what he's done, he did it knowing everything you had ever done, and he did it anyway.

I love what J.I.

Packer wrote in his book, Knowing God.

He wrote this.

This is from chapter three.

Not that I don't have the whole thing highlighted and go back and read it about four times a year just to remind myself.

But here's a little snippet from it.

He said, There's unspeakable comfort.

Now, by the way, J.I.

Packer, when he wrote this, was an old man.

He wasn't like somebody in a coffee shop, you know, all liquored up on angst and caffeine.

This was a man that had walked with God for a long time.

And he said this.

So here's why I'm saying this.

Older people, it's okay for you to feel to believe that God feels this way about you.

There's unspeakable comfort, the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not innervate, which means to drain.

In knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good.

There's tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery can disillusion him, can disillusion him about me in the way I'm so often disillusioned about myself and quench his determination to bless me.

And I'm just asking you this morning, are you willing to believe that?

Are you willing to take that on and just understand that's part of my identity?

When the Bible says that he justifies, that means that it's signed, sealed, and delivered.

No one can break the seal.

Ephesians 4 30 says, I've been sealed by the Spirit to the day of redemption.

And so I better learn to enjoy this God and know this God that has called me and chose me so that I can reciprocate what this life looks like to everyone else around me.

Here's the fourth thing I want us to remember that robust theology is helpful.

Robust theology is helpful.

But the latter part of verse 33, he says, Who shall bring any charge against God elect?

It is God who justifies.

Who is to condemn?

Christ Jesus is the one who died.

Here's the theology part Christ Jesus is the one who died.

More than that was raised, and who's at the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us.

When I say robust theology is helpful, this is what I mean.

The accomplishments of Jesus Christ are listed here in ascending order, with an emphasis falling on the last one.

And most often in the church, we put the emphasis on the first one.

Let me say, when I say ascending order, think about steps.

They're here and then here and then here and then here.

If it was descending, it would be here, boom, boom, boom, going down.

They're in ascending order.

What do you mean?

Hear them again.

It's the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension, and then intercession.

The crucifixion, Christ Jesus is the one who died.

This is the message the church in America preaches most and most often and repeats.

And it's a great message.

That's why we gather on Good Friday just to ponder the consequences of the cross.

Christ Jesus is the one who died.

But if all you have is that, and you get in a conversation with another religion, it's going to be conflictual most of the way.

So don't stop at the crucifixion.

Remember it is sins.

Step up, because he says, more than that, who was raised?

More than that, who was raised?

This is the resurrection.

He's like, yeah, you know what?

I heard about crucifixion, resurrection.

That was last week.

Appreciate you reminding me, Pastor Neil.

I'm good.

Okay.

Don't stop there.

Get to the next one: the ascension, who is at the right hand of God.

Now, when I say the ascension, what do I mean?

That Jesus, the Bible documents this, it's a verifiable reality.

That Jesus was telling his people, hey, his disciples, I gotta go so that the comforter, the paraclete, the Holy Spirit is gonna come.

And he'll be with you forever and he'll lead you into all truth.

And so the Bible says, look at me, that Jesus ascended back into heaven.

Okay?

What does it mean that he ascended, that he descended if he uh also ascended?

He went back into heaven.

And the Bible teaches right now that he is seated at the right hand of God.

And not only is he seated there, just kind of hanging out, kind of going, that was so trip, wasn't it?

No, he's interceding for Christians.

That means he's praying for you.

So Christ Jesus is the one who died, crucifixion, more than that who was raised, resurrection, who's at the right hand of God, the ascension, and who is interceding for us, intercession.

Now, I said the accomplishments of Christ are listed in ascending order, with the emphasis falling on the last one.

The last one is intercession.

So here's what I want you to take away from this morning.

If you believe the Bible, and you should, that Jesus Christ not only lived a sinless life, died in your place and for your sin, substitutionary atonement, but he was buried and he rose again from the dead on the third day, just like the Bible says.

Doesn't stop there.

He is, and this is where you lose other world religions.

They do not have a personal God.

So you should understand ascension and intercession.

He ascended back into heaven, went back into heaven, and he is seated at the right hand of God the Father, and he makes intercession for us.

Interceding for us.

And so when I get in a conversation with people from another religion, I just ask them this one simple question, and none of them can answer it.

I just say, hey, does your God pray for you?

And it's all like conkydong.

They're like, well, what do you mean?

Does your God pray for you?

Does your God intercede for you?

Well, I don't know what you're talking about.

My God, Jesus Christ, the Trinity, the triune God of the Bible, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, uh, He intercedes for me.

With groanings and utterings that are too deep for words.

If you ever want to have an interesting conversation with God, just ask the Holy Spirit, hey, hey, uh, what is Jesus praying for me these days?

Because it's not, it's it's not enough.

Stop.

So am I losing you?

Y'all look like you walked out of Walmart and forgot where you parked.

It's here somewhere, honey.

It's a minivan.

Uh yeah, yeah.

See, the church preaches crucifixion, resurrection, and those things are great.

But the ascension and intercession, look at me.

Those things are personal students.

Because the ascension and intercession, it nullifies your desperation.

What does that mean?

That means when you can just melt down next time, oh mom, oh my gosh, you would not believe.

They they unfriended me on socials.

Your mom should look at you and go, hey, Jesus is interceding for you.

You don't need these skinks to be your friends.

Things I would say to my daughters.

Because you know, this is close your ears, adults.

You know who was meanest to my kids?

They're church friends.

It wasn't the pagans across the street.

It was the girls that went to this church right here.

Yes.

And I knew it, and I knew their parents, and I had to pastor their parents, and I did.

I didn't hold it against them.

And I would say to my kids, hey, Jesus is interceding for you.

You're not gonna be friends with people forever.

What am I said to be?

Do I have to be friends with everybody in the youth group?

No, that's impossible.

You have to be a Christian to them.

I wish y'all could see your little faces.

Y'all are like dead seal, your eyes are who added us out.

And some of you queens, some of you drama queens, act like we don't know who you are.

We know.

Everybody knows.

You're welcome.

You're welcome.

Email me.

You don't want this smoke.

I will cite you chapter and verse, your name, who you run with, you 11th grade girls, there's a power cell.

Oops, I did it again.

Robust theology is helpful.

By the way, there's eighth grade girls and tenth grade boys, it's everywhere.

Please don't go get all hurt and go out there.

We hate Pastor Neil.

No.

Hey, hey, just ask yourself this question.

Did Jesus Christ die for you to treat people the way you treat them?

That's all.

That's all I'm saying.

I'd say to my kids, hey, these some of these people aren't even Christians.

Just because they go to church don't mean they're Christians.

Robust theology is helpful.

Why?

This is what ensures that the verdict Christ died for is applied to us and there's no fear of accusation or condemnation on our part from people or God.

The more you understand the degree to which God accepts you, the more you can endure human rejection.

But if you don't understand, you don't have good theology, you will always have the fear of man on you.

Matter of fact, I'm such a bad parent.

I told one of my daughters one time in her bedroom she was upset, and I said, Hey, babe, this is an answer to prayer that this girl treats you like this.

You don't want friends like this.

This is not a friend.

Move on.

That's easy when you're old.

Are you saying I'm old?

Yes.

I get it, babe.

I understand that.

Uh I just want you to understand that when you understand, when you have a good, robust theology, not only did Jesus died, he rose from the dead, but he ascended back into heaven and he intercedes at the right hand of the Father on your behalf.

Pretty soon you start you start thinking like this.

Who is who is the Lord is my light and my salvation?

Whom shall I fear?

Of whom shall I be afraid?

Here's the last thing I want to say to you this morning that God will never not love me.

God will never not love me.

End of story.

Verse 35.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or sword, as it is written, for your sake we're killed all the day long, and we regard as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

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 in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The love of God, not the toleration of God, but the love of God is experienced in and because of Christ Jesus our Lord.

And so our experience in life are not an indication of whether or not God really loves us or the absence of God's love.

Does that make sense?

Because sometimes you can go through hardship and you're like, I thought God loved me.

Yes, hear this, okay?

We're almost done.

You still with me?

Say amen.

Sometimes God loves you so much He puts you in hardship to remind you what you're capable of.

And in this life, you gotta be capable of more than being rescued.

You got to be capable of being righteous when people around you are acting unrighteously.

Yes.

You say, no, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Did you just say that a God who loves me puts me in hardship?

Absolutely.

Read John 14, 15, and 16.

It's all red letter.

Get to the end of chapter 16.

He says in verse 33, These things have spoken unto you, so that in me you may have peace, because in the world you will have tribulation.

Our experiences in life are not an indication of the reality of God's love or the absence of God's love.

Again, he didn't say we won't go through stuff.

He said, Here's why.

If you read that list, Paul's experienced every one of these except the sword.

And by the way, that's how he dies later.

He dies at the sword.

Now, here's the other thing.

When I say God will never not love me, God will also not impale his nature upon my need to be loved.

This is what makes the cross so glorious.

The cross upholds the holiness of God, the righteousness of God, and the justice of God, while all at the same time demonstrating the love of God.

He doesn't lay down or violate any of those attributes, his holiness, his righteousness, or his justice, to express his love for you and me.

It may as well read like this Given all of this, who shall separate us from the love of God?

Because what this comes down to is just a battle of whose.

Who's?

Who's this?

Who's that?

You say, What do you mean?

Think of God as the one who is for us, who spared not his own son, who justifies, who died, who was raised, who's at the right hand of God, who is interceding for us.

Now, tell me again who's going to be against me?

Who's going to condemn me?

Who's going to bring a charge against me?

Who is going to go before the God who knows me the best, who knows the everything about me, and tell him something about me he does not know.

This is what the Bible means when it says, who will bring a charge against God's elect?

Shadur Sanders slid in the draft over the weekend.

I don't know if you knew it or not.

National crisis.

Everybody's trying to figure out, oh my gosh, why did this happen?

Is it him?

Is it his father?

Blah, blah, blah.

But I just say this when he finally got drafted by the Cleveland Browns, he just celebrated.

He said, I'm not gonna focus on the negative, I'm gonna focus on the positive.

I'm just seeing it as an opportunity to prove people wrong.

But I'm grateful for the opportunity.

Who, when I thought about this line, who shall bring a charge against God's elect?

The God that knows you the best is the one that has justified you, made you right with him.

So there's nobody or nothing to fear.

Now, again, if God is all these things, who's interceding, who died, who's raised, who at the right hand of God, who makes intercession, then who's gonna condemn you?

Who's gonna separate you from the love of God?

I say this my who is bigger than your who.

And here's what it comes down to, and I'm done.

In your life, you will have to ask and answer the question is the who that you believe in bigger than all this stuff that's gonna come against you.

Does it make sense?

Say amen.

It's just what it comes down to.

And God just says, hey, here's the deal.

Here's what I put all my money on.

God will never not love me.

Why?

Because He is the God who's for us, He's who spared not His own Son, who justifies, who died, who was raised, who's at the right hand of God, who is interceding for us.

Who?

Who?

Who?

He's very personal.

And look at me.

He's very available.

I want to end where I started off reading from Romans chapter one.

And I said, let me be very clearly here.

Then I say God is for us.

This is not universal language.

You can't just say, Oh, I heard a guy say God's for us, and I claim that is mine.

No, no.

Hear this part right here: Romans 1, verse 6, including you who are called to belong to Christ Jesus.

Romans 1:6

This is why we don't do pressure or guilt or manipulation.

We believe that God is revealing Himself to people every time the Bible is taught.

And so if you're here this morning and you're like, you know what?

I've heard all these things and I've appreciated all these things, but I've never surrendered my life to this God.

Then maybe today's the day that God is calling you.

That's between you and the Holy Spirit.

So I'm gonna voice a prayer here in just a second.

Some questions come on the screen.

We love to engage our mind every time we teach the Bible here.

And so I want you to just ask yourself, hey, is today the day that God's kind of calling me?

Uh from going from just I believe in God to I have a relationship with God.

Let's pray together.

If you're a guest, just relax.

We like to teach the Bible.

And then give you some soul space to think about it.

Just to ask God, hey, what where did I get where did I feel a little pinched today?

Where did I like, uh Lord, we just want to be still for just a moment.

We're always moving and doing.

We need to get still.

Let the let the rain kind of soak in, let the ground soak up some of this before we move on to what is next.

And so, Holy Spirit, just brood over us now.

Brood over us in love.

Holy Spirit, the reason we sing with confidence, our adoption song is because we've been adopted.

That you saw us as we were, incapable, and you said, I'll take that one.

You claimed us when no one wanted us, and you did for us what no one else could do.

You justified us, you did not just forgive us, you didn't just die and then rise from the dead and go, you guys, take it from here.

No, you ascended back into the heavens, your rightful place, and reclaimed your glory that you gave, some of the glory you gave up to be here.

And now you're interceding for us, all of us that are that are believers.

And so, Holy Spirit, uh, we're we're mindful today there's things that apply to the believer that don't apply to the unbeliever.

But we're also mindful that everyone's invited to believe.

And so we're not exclusive, uh, we're we're we're biblical.

We say what the Bible says.

So, Holy Spirit, apply this where necessary and needed.

We pray in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

If you're our guest today, let me say thanks for being here.

You're always welcome.

Always welcome.

If you have any questions about anything you saw or heard, some of our pastors will be available down front.

Uh, when you're dismissed here in a minute, we'd love to answer any questions you may have.

Pray with you if you're going through anything.

That that that applies to everybody.

But if you're our guest, all we ask of you is you just text the word welcome to that number on the screen behind me, okay?

Give us a record of your visit, and we ask you for that whenever you're ready to let us know that you're here because we want you to help you take your next step, okay, in your spiritual journey.

All right.

We always have things going on in the life of our church.

We make you aware of those by way of our video announcements.

So check out the screens this morning.

Here's what's happening at Grand Parkway Baptist Church.

The varsity is for all adults ages 60 and over.

Come join us on May 22nd for lunch and to connect.

At Grkway, we believe you are the most experienced people and that you are still in the game.

Register online today and invite friends.

The event starts at 10:30 a.m.

and the cost is$10 per person.

Camp Arc is a three-day camp designed for preschoolers ages 18 months to children entering kindergarten.

It will be June 17th through the 19th from 9:15 a.m.

until 1 p.m.

each day.

This year, we will be learning about God's mercy through the story of Jonah and the big fish.

Registration opens today and for the first two weeks is reserved for Grand Park Way regular attenders.

A login will be required to register.

Check your email for the link or scan the QR code on Flyers in the Kids Lobby.

The cost is$75 for the first child and$60 for each additional child in a family.

Have you ever wanted to serve on an international mission team but haven't had the opportunity?

We have a fantastic ministry here at Graham Parkway that touches the world every week.

On Tuesday nights from 6 to 8:30, we host English as a second language classes in the student building.

We have students from about 12 different countries placed in seven different levels.

We are always looking for people to serve on our hospitality team, welcoming students and serving snacks, conversation partners who assist students with practicing speaking, subs and lead tutors in a class.

You do not have to speak another language to serve, nor do you have to be a teacher by profession.

Training and materials are provided, so you just have to be willing and have a heart for international students.

Long-term, meaningful relationships are formed and we touch students' lives in many more ways than just teaching them English.

We would love for you to come check us out during the next two weeks or join us for our year-end dinner on May 20th.

In addition, we offer ESL Bible study classes on Sunday mornings at 10:30, one for men and one for women.

If you have a friend or family member who wants to improve their English in the context of our Sunday Bible studies, they are welcome to join at any time.

Classes continue all summer.

If you have questions, please come join us at the Mission Center in the lobby after the service today.

For more information or to register for these events, please visit our website at gramparkway.org.

If you have any questions or want someone to pay for you, find one of our pastors or elders at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

Now, two things.

First of all, I said meet at the mission center if you have questions or you're curious about ESL.

The mission center, if you go out the doors to the right, it's right here behind that wall right there.

It's a big flat screen TV and a little alcove there.

Uh ESL meets on Tuesday nights at the student building, uh, but also on Sunday morning we have men's and women's Bible uh reading classes, and they happen in in the building, our old sanctuary building.

We would love for you to be a part of that.

We love people that are new to our country.

We want to help them assimilate.

One of the best things we can do to help them assimilate is learn the English language.

That's why we have ESL.

Okay, does that make sense?

Say amen.

All right, let me talk to my students before you get out of here.

I ain't mad at you.

I ain't making fun of 11th grade, and Ian and Annie don't come to me because I know how it works.

Like, oh way back, somebody said to me, Hey, we got some drama with some of our girls.

Would you be praying?

I said, Okay, I'll be praying.

All right, does that make sense?

Hello?

I'll fight every one of you as soon as we're done here, and I'll enjoy it.

Here, here, look at me.

I always think you're capable of more.

That's all.

And it's not hate, it's love.

Now, if you question that, come see me.

I'll talk.

I'm a nice person, all right?

I'm being serious right now.

Don't ever let everybody say something you're like, but don't go home and blow it all out of proportion, all right?

I just think the gospel makes you capable of more.

That's all I'm saying.

Alright?

Would I conclude our service with a smoking blessing if you would stand to your feet?

Hold your hands out.

We're all capable of more.

Because the gospel makes you capable of more.

With gospel responsibility comes gospel capacity.

Depart now and demonstrate and display this capacity that is yours in Christ because of Christ.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Bless you.