Rest in the Finished Work of Christ | 2 Corinthians 5:21 Sermon

Communion is about resting in the finished, sufficient work of Jesus and living a life that reflects that you have trusted that and nothing else.

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Amen.

Amen.

Let's pray together.

God, uh, when we sing and say things like your mercy is more, we're saying what the Bible says.

The Bible says all through it, but a couple places specifically, like in Romans, it says where sin did abound, grace did abound all the more.

That means that no one in this room has screwed up so much or sinned so much that you've given up on them.

So we're not a forsaken people, we're a remembered people.

And so before we disqualify ourselves, before we say and think things like, if I walk into church, the building will fall down.

No, it won't.

No, it won't, because the grace of God exceeds the sin of humanity.

The Bible tells us then again in Ephesians chapter 2 that you're rich in mercy.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

It says that we by nature are dead, spiritually dead.

We're incapable of doing anything.

But God, who's rich in mercy, made us alive.

You acted upon us with sufficient power, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

You exercise that power to raise us from being spiritually dead, incapable to being capable.

That's because of your mercy.

The gospel is always about what God's rich in, and that's mercy.

So we've come today to remember your mercy, not presume upon it or take it for granted, or insult the spirit of grace, but to remember your mercy.

And so, God, just brood over and be with your people now.

We pray this in Jesus' name, and everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

You can have a seat.

You can have a seat.

And uh as I said from the Baptistry, today's a communion Sunday at our church.

Uh we we purposely chose Labor Day weekend because we're going to cease from our labor and rest in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Now, it's also a family worship day, which means we have our children with us.

We have a great children's facility and a great preschool and children's ministry.

Uh, and and at a certain age, they're over there, like the real little ones are over there.

But but from a certain age, like like age five up, we want them in here today.

So if you're here and you're saying between the ages of you're you're under the age of 12, would you say amen real loud right now on three?

One, two, three.

That's you could do better than that.

Let's try that again.

On three, everyone, 12 or under, say amen.

One, two, three.

There you go.

I'm glad you're here, first of all.

Let me explain to you what we're doing today and why we're doing it.

We're going to receive communion, boys and girls, which reminds us of the body and the blood of Jesus, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, not just for payment, but for provision.

And we'll talk about that more in just a little bit.

But one of the things that God provides is this thing called rest.

Because of what Jesus has done, we can stop trying to work on ourselves to make ourselves more religious because God did not come to make us more religious.

He sent Jesus to make a relationship available, okay?

And religion's not going to get you there anyway.

So if you're trying to be religious, give up today in Jesus' name.

Amen.

And so what do you say when you say rest?

I'll give you an example.

Like when I was y'all's age, you little you people are 12 and younger, when my mom or somebody would say to me, Oh, you need to rest.

Like I'm not when I went to school a long time ago and they had a rest period in school, and we had mats that we had to take.

And because I lived in a trailer, we couldn't afford a mat, we took a towel.

And I remember thinking, this is kind of different.

Everyone has a cushy mat.

I'm laying on a towel.

This is not encouraging to me.

But you had to lay there and be quiet.

They called it FOB, flat on back.

And so my mom picked up on that and she was like, it's time for FOB.

And I was like, that's the dumbest thing in the world.

Because when you're seven, you fight against that.

When you're 55, you look forward to that.

Matter of fact, I've got FOB tattooed on my chest.

You just can't see it.

As a matter of fact, we had FOB at my house yesterday, all right?

From about 412, because my wife and I are different when it comes to resting.

She rests with the blinds open, the door open, with as much sunlight pouring in.

Oh, this nourishes my soul.

And I'm like a bat.

What are you doing?

No, I said, you're just heating everything up, and we gotta pay to cool it off.

And she's like, You're like an old man.

Be quiet.

I'm like, oh, why is it so bright in here?

And she said, if you don't like it, you can go to another room where I'm not.

And I said, because I don't like it, I will.

I went into our bedroom where the blinds were drawn, and I have a blackout curtain.

Yes, I'm like Elvis.

I have a blackout curtain.

And I got clothespins and pinned the curtains together so not one drop of sunshine could get into the bedroom and wake me up.

The last thing I remember was laying down.

Alabama was curb stomping Duke.

And so I was just flipping around watching different football games.

And about 4:12, I looked over at the clock and I felt it coming.

And I just took a deep breath and just offered myself up.

The next thing I knew, it was 6:35.

And my wife was like, What do you want for supper?

And I was like, what day is it?

Am I late for school?

Did I sleep through a final exam?

You know, do you mean you wake up and you just panicked?

Because there's it's it's it's it's possible to rest so deeply that you lose track of where you are.

This is the kind of rest that the Bible talks about.

As a matter of fact, God punishes people in the Old Testament who disobey.

He says in Psalm 95, these people will never enter my rest.

And in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, he says there's a rest for the people of God.

That's not being lazy, it's about trusting in something besides yourself.

And so communion is about resting in the finished, sufficient work of Jesus and living a life that reflects that you have trusted that and nothing else.

And so I want to just take one verse out of 2 Corinthians 5, just read one verse and tell you just a few things about it before we come to the table.

This is what 2 Corinthians 5 21 says.

For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Incredibly consequential words.

Let me point three things out.

Number one, on the cross, perfection took on imperfection.

What do I mean?

He becomes sin for us.

He doesn't just die for sin, uh, but he comes, becomes sin for us, which is why God the Father looks away, because he can't even look upon sin.

And so in the cross, we can say, hey, look how much God loves us.

Yes, because verse 21 begins with, for our sake.

We can say, hey, look how much God loves us.

But you also have to say, look how much God hates sin.

And so the first thing I want you to think about is that on the cross, perfection took on imperfection.

So if you're here today and you're trying to be perfect, I got two words for you right out of the Bible.

Good luck.

Secondly, in Jesus we experience capacity.

The Bible says, so much with so little.

It says this, so that after it says, for our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin.

Why?

So that in him.

Let's just stop right there for a second and just let your let your mind marinate in those words.

So that in him.

See, in Jesus we experience capacity.

So that in him, Ephesians says in chapter four that surely you were taught according to the truth that is in Jesus.

There are things that you find in Jesus and in a relationship with Jesus that you cannot find anywhere else.

So if you're here today and you do not have a relationship with Jesus, you've probably read the Bible and thought, there's no way I could live like that.

And I would agree with you.

None of us could.

But once a person becomes a Christian, they are in Christ.

And so in him we find a capacity that we could never find in ourselves.

Thirdly and finally, by faith we become what we could never be on our own.

The Bible says it like this in our verse, our meditation for today, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Can you imagine meeting somebody new in your work group this week?

And they say, Hey, Tom, tell me about you.

I don't really know you.

And you go, Well, I graduated AM, class of 72, blah, blah, blah.

By the way, y'all played that powerhouse, Texas State.

That's a good game.

And you're telling them about that.

And then you get to the end, you run out of things.

I'm married, I got three kids.

And well, besides that, Bill, you should know I'm righteous.

Can you imagine someone saying that to you?

You'd be like, You're kind of self-righteous.

No, this is not self-righteousness.

This is what the Bible says.

So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

When I say by faith, we become what we could never be on our own, righteous.

This word means acceptable and approved by God.

So here's what I'm gonna say.

And I'm gonna say, let's think about it for a minute.

If you're here today and you're you're you're a Christian, now it doesn't just mean I believe in God or the Sky Fairy or whatever.

That means that at a point in your life, you're like my friend Kaylee, she trusted Christ in Christ alone when she heard the gospel and she heard, oh, this is this is what I want, right there.

If that's ever happened to you, the Bible says because of what Jesus has done, not through your efforts, but you are righteous.

What does that word mean?

It means acceptable, approved by God.

Acceptable and approved by God.

So, Christian, if you come to one of these three stations here in the front or one of the two in the back corners, you're not coming to say to God, I'm gonna do better.

Please be patient with me.

You're coming to say, because of the death of Jesus on the cross, in my place and for my sins, I'm accepted by God and I'm approved by God.

That's not arrogance, that's not pride.

My wife said to me when we first started dating, I can't, I don't know if you're arrogant or you just actually believe the gospel.

I said, You gotta watch me.

And the same should be said of you.

Because to be to be righteous is not to be better than anybody else.

Look at me.

It's not to be better than anybody else.

I'm not better than anybody in this room.

Matter of fact, you're all probably better than me.

But I am approved and accepted by God because of what Jesus did on the cross.

Now we like to take time because the Bible says take time before you receive the elements.

We like to take time to get our head and our heart calibrated for what we're about to do.

And one of the ways we do that is that Clyde, our worship pastor, will come and he'll just play.

He may sing something over you, he may sing a hymn or verse or chorus.

And during this time, look at me.

I do I don't want you to sit there and just think, what a piece of work you are, and how blah blah blah.

No, no, no.

I want you to meditate on two words approved and accepted.

Approved and accepted.

To be righteous is not to be better than, it's just to rest to the fact that I'm approved by God, and so everything I do is not so that.

I don't do good so that God will look down and kind of go, all right, you're doing better.

I give you about a 78 for today's grade.

No.

I'm approved and I'm accepted for all time by the God who knows me the best.

And because of that, I just rest.

I'm not phony, I'm not self-righteous, I don't try to say one thing and then do another.

No.

Up or down, thinner flush, feeling good, high as a kite, low as a gutter snipe.

I'm still accepted and approved by God.

The Bible tells us, hey, before you come to the table to remember the Lord in communion, to take some time to examine yourself and to discern the body, to remind yourself, I'm part of something bigger than just me.

Christianity is not an individual pursuit.

It's not my truth and your truth and her truth and his truth.

It's one truth, it's God's truth.

And by your coming today, you submit to that.

Let me say this: if you're in our services right now and you're not yet there, you don't have a relationship with God, you're not a Christian.

Relax.

Relax.

No one's got to hate on you.

You just enjoy this and just kind of ask God, hey God, if you're real, reveal yourself to me.

We believe God speaks a language that you understand.

And we believe that you're created by God for a relationship with God.

And so we trust that.

We don't come down heavy on people.

I'm not gonna try to guilt you or manipulate you, manipulate you.

I I'm so averse to that I can't even say the word.

But I will say this you were created by God for a relationship that Jesus dies on the cross to make available.

Okay?

And so none of you has outsended the grace of God.

Let's take a moment and just kind of get our head and our heart calibrated.

Let me voice a prayer.

God, thanks for the cross.

We it's not just payment for our sin, it's provision for everything else in our life.

And so we look to you and we trust you.

We're humbled and we're mindful today.

So, Holy Spirit, just kind of brood over us while Clyde plays and gives us some silent space just to think and reflect.

We do this now in Jesus' name.

Sometimes hymns of the faith use language we're not familiar with.

And so sometimes you can feel like, ah, man, I'm not a good person.

I don't even understand what that means.

Here's what that means.

None of us, by the way, are good people.

We can do good stuff, but we by nature aren't good.

We're sinful and we've fallen.

Here's what that old hymn simply means is that God is wooing and calling everyone to Himself.

He's saying, Don't let your sin stand between you and me because I've done something about your sin.

And because of that, you can come to me and find forgiveness.

God has the grace to accept who you are and the power to change you into who the Bible says you can be.

That's what we've come to remember and celebrate today.

So if you're prepared to help us serve communion, would you move to your stations at this at this point?

And let me tell you how we do communion here at Grand Parkway.

It is it's the service.

And so uh these people are moving to our stations.

There's two in the back corners, there's three along here.

Uh, and in just a minute, people will, I'll say, Hey, let's let's come to the table together.

And people will come and we'll serve you the elements.

And if you'd like us to pray for you, just say, hey, pray for me.

Uh I'm going through this right now.

We'd love to pray for you, okay?

But if you're like, hey, I'm good, and so I'm just gonna come receive the elements and then go back to my seat and just continue to worship, that's great as well, okay?

Uh again, we practice open communion, which means if you're a Christian, you have a relationship with Christ, you're more than welcome to come and receive the elements with us and celebrate communion, okay?

In the back corner back here is is Wade and Amy.

Wade's our executive pastor.

Back here is Travis and Robin.

Uh Travis is our connections pastor.

Over here is Pete and Josie Rosa, straight out of Puerto Rico.

Amen.

And over here is Johnny Williams.

Uh, these are all people that are part of our church, some on staff and some just lay people.

We'd love to serve you, but we come and let's remember and celebrate and just rest in what Christ has done on the cross in our place and for our sin.

Let's remember together, church.

Do me a favor and have a seat just for a moment.

Clyde's just gonna play, relax.

We're just about done.

Uh well, we don't like to hurry.

We think when you hurry, it grieves the spirit of God because what you're saying to God is my ideas and what I want to do are better than your ideas and what you want to do.

You don't want to be that person.

Uh, and so just take a moment before we get out of here and you start your Labor Day activities and just ask the Lord what He said to you today.

He's always speaking.

You say, Well, you didn't really preach.

You don't need a preacher to hear from God.

It helps if you have one.

It actually preaches the Bible.

Uh but God speaks a language you understand.

Matter of fact, the Bible says that creation testifies to the reality of God.

So just ask yourself what do I take away from this morning?

One of the things I want you to take away is that you were created by God, not just for a relationship with God, but to be a part of the church.

So if you don't have a church, I would love for you to consider making this your church.

Which means by default that I get to be your pastor.

Uh and I want to be your pastor.

That means I don't yell at you, I'm not, I'm not a yeller.

But but when you see me, whether it's at the grocery store or the gas station or here at this church, you think, man, that guy's for me.

He loves me, he prays for the flourishing of me and my family.

That's what being a pastor is.

And so if you're here today, you don't have a church home, uh, you're always welcome here.

Okay?

You don't have to dress up, you don't have to fake it, you don't have to do any of that.

Uh hopefully you've had a chance to pull one of those guest cards in your row in the seat back pocket, fill it out.

If you haven't, do that before you leave and just drop it in one of those wooden boxes.

Uh that's also where we'll receive our offering.

Uh, and so if today's the day you worship God uh through through through obedience when it comes to giving, that's where you take care of that.

But for right now, just take the next 30 seconds and just kind of marinate in what God's saying and doing.

We like to close our services with a spoken blessing.

So let me ask you if you would just stand to your feet and hold your hands out.

God loved you so much, he didn't put you on the way away.

He had the capacity to pay it in full, and he did, and he did that so you could be free.

Depart now and live in the freedom that Christ died for you to have.

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

Amen.

Bless you.

Enjoy each other on your way out.