Salvation Truths | Part 1

Well, once again, good morning. You'll notice

that there's three of us from our elder team

up here this morning. And roughly once a quarter

or so, we have an elder panel. And we believe

that this is really helpful in the life of the

church to be able to understand that God has

equipped the men who lead our body to teach and

that we are of one mind as we lead by his grace.

we recognize as well that it's a helpful thing

to hear from multiple people in many cases. And

in the case of this morning, we're going to be

diving into some rich truths. This morning can

often feel like spiritual no man's land for many

of us. We've come off of a rich study in the

Reformation, celebrating the faithfulness of

God, and we also begin anticipating the Thanksgiving

and the Advent seasons. Many of us find ourselves

intentionally slowing down. eager for a more

intentional pace of life and reflection, which

is ironic because there seems to be more chaos

at the same time. Many of us, although we would

never admit it out loud, would say that we're

anxious. We're anxious about relationships, work,

end -of -the -year bills, whether or not we're

going to get that big bonus, family who may or

may not be coming, which may or may not be invited,

extra meals to cook. And we can say that it sometimes

feels overwhelming at best. Last week, Jeff teased

that today we'd be talking about heaven and hell

on our elder panel. And in a matter of speaking,

we still will be. However, rather than diving

into a complex study on what heaven and hell

is and its implications for us, which we will

do at a later date, we wanted to walk it back

into something that's even more foundational

to our understanding of those two things and

as actually crucial for us in our daily life

as believers. particularly in this season of

reflection and celebration. We daily war against

the flesh. In one moment, we can find our hearts

saying, Lord, I want faith like John Knox, or

yes, Lord, Semper Reformanda, use me. And sometimes

in the very next moment, find ourselves flailing

and grieving over repeated sins and wondering

if we are, in fact, found in Christ. We cry out

with the psalmist and we say, how long, oh Lord,

my iniquity has overwhelmed me. They are a burden

too heavy to bear. Our heads tell us that this

is just part of walking by faith, that we are

not yet perfected, that we will be one day and

that we are experiencing seasons of spiritual

flourishing and spiritual drought as we labor

on to glory. But in our hearts, we long for the

day when we will see Christ face to face. And

if we're honest, we often fail because we neglect

to dwell on what actually ties all of this together.

This morning, we're going to spend time exploring

and studying the doctrine of salvation as it's

laid out in God's Word. The work of Christ once

and for all to redeem holy, undeserving sinners

to himself, the God of the universe, on no merit

of their own. These are truths that are familiar

to us. For many of us, we are not hearing this

for the first time, but it is critical for us

to understand where we started in order to understand

where we are going. This salvation ultimately

defines not only who a person is, but their eternal

destiny. Without it, sinners are doomed for guilt

to endless pains, sentenced at the end of this

life by their merit to an eternity without God

in hell. Our call to worship this morning from

the book of Isaiah foretold an Israel who is

saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation.

He says what is true, apart from him, there is

no salvation. That only in the Lord there is

salvation and that only in the Lord all the offspring

of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.

Did you catch that? In the Old Testament, all

the offspring of Israel shall be justified and

shall glory. Spoiler alert for where we're going

this morning. We just read corporately from Micah's

prophecy together. He will tread our iniquities

underfoot. You will cast all our sin into the

depths of the sea. And a thousand years later,

Martin Luther was gripped by similar language

in Romans 1. For I am not ashamed of the gospel,

for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone

who believes. First, to the Jew, and also to

the Greek. Roughly 25 years later, John Knox,

who we learned about several weeks ago, was transformed

by the words of this foretold Savior in John

17, who said, Since you have given him the Son,

authority over all flesh, to give eternal life

to all who you have given him, this is eternal

life, that they know you, the only true God,

and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. The glory

that you have given me and I have given to them,

that they may be one even as we are one, I in

them and you in me, that they may become perfectly

one, so that the world may know that you sent

me and love them even as you loved me. Hear the

language of adoption that is springing forth.

I desire that they also, whom you have given

me, may be with me where I am, here's why, to

see my glory that you have given me you have

loved me before the foundation of the world.

Friends, the salvation that has been foretold

that we have seen and that we look forward to

experiencing in full one day in glory is found

only in Jesus Christ. I know that is something

that most of us would affirm here this morning,

but we cannot preach that enough, particularly

this day and age. There is salvation, and God's

word says, in no one else, for there is, No other

name under heaven given among men by which we

must be saved. None. We are foreknown by Christ.

We are saved by Christ. We are found in and perfected

by Christ. It's important for us to recognize

this morning as we dive into our panel that salvation

is not an intellectual exercise. It's not simply

a doctrine to understand in the classroom, but

it is real, transformative, saving. and a gift

given from eternity past to mankind by the maker

of the universe, not in micro -segments distilled

over a long period of time, but once singularly

and for all through the incarnate one foretold,

Jesus Christ. It cannot be earned. It has been

paid for in full, and it is offered freely to

us, and it is secure for all eternity because

it has been authored by God himself. It is inextinguishable

because its purchaser has defeated death. Is

this starting to sink in yet? If it's not, our

hope is that as we continue to walk through our

time together this morning, that this would be

something that stirs our hearts and sets it aflame

to understand who God is and what he's done for

us. Salvation isn't simply personal. It's not

designed to be open and clutched as if it were

a thing to be lost. It's a gift to be shared,

to be proclaimed. We were sent to the ends of

the earth, to all nations. As we see on screen,

Jesus is a savior for the nations. We don't proclaim

it that we would receive anything more from it,

but that we would share it for the glory of one

who has given it. And salvation is not just for

the Jew, not just for the Greek, not just, hear

this, not just for the American, but it is for

all nations. Salvation is the cornerstone of

the Reformation and is the heart of the Advent

season. If you missed it in Reformation, don't

miss it over the next five weeks. Don't miss

it for the rest of your life. And so this morning

we look back at what God has done through the

Reformation. We give thanks for the clear understanding

of salvation that we have because of the text

that we hold in our hands, in our vernacular.

We clearly understand this because what was fought,

what was paid for, do you remember that there

was blood that was shed, not simply by Christ,

but for those who believed that this was transformative.

There was a cost that was paid for us to be able

to understand what we do today. This freedom

and understanding of who we have and why we worship

with an eternal intercessor has been paid for.

We look forward with anticipation and joy to

celebrating the first coming of our Messiah,

the anointed one, the foretold savior of the

nations. This is Christmas. We get excited about

this. We should get excited about this. Are you

excited about this? And so. That would be a yes

or no. Think about it. Thank you. It's good.

Are we awake? It's rainy. It's cloudy outside.

So as we ready our hearts and our minds to proclaim

the good news of this gospel until the second

coming, let's delight in what God has done as

we dig in this morning. So this morning as we

spend time together, we're going to explore several

practical applications of salvation in the life

of a believer, particularly through the lens

of the Westminster Confession. We recognize this

morning that while the confession itself is not

scripture, it's not salvific, we do recognize

that the codification of biblical truths within

it in a singular place is incredibly helpful

for the application and understanding within

the global church for us to better understand

the gift of grace that we've received. And so

we're going to dive in to better understand God's

effectual calling, justification, and faith.

And so our hope this morning is that we will

grow in our zeal for being more kingdom -minded

as we live as saints together. So are you ready?

I don't know if they're ready. Are we ready?

Let's go. So first question, I'm going to toss

to Adam. So I feel like this is the game. She

was like, Adam, thanks for being with us today.

Where are you coming from? Thank you for having

me across the valley. It's great. Yeah. Very

good. So there seems to be a struggle that people

have with the idea of an effectual calling, that

God is the one who calls people out to be saved.

So can you talk to us about what this means and

what it is and why it should be a source of comfort

and not a source of contention for us? Yeah.

First, before I even dig into that one, Grant,

thank you for an excellent intro. Many of the

things that he said already, we're just going

to talk about a little bit more, but he's covered

all of them. So praise the Lord. You made our

jobs easier. As Grant said earlier, we'll be

talking about these things. I appreciate you,

brother. Effectual calling. So this doctrine,

it really highlights the necessity for submission

to an almighty creator, an almighty savior. You

know that there's a debate. Well, some of you

know or are aware of it. The Armenian, not Armenian,

Armenian position, man chooses to follow God.

right? Versus the Calvinist position that no

man can be saved unless God initiates and then

sustains. But there should be agreement on a

couple of things here, even if you're less familiar

with those names or history. So let's parse it

out. Effectual calling has two aspects. Let's

deal with that first part, effectual. That means

that what is being done is successful. To be

effectual means that what is being done is successful.

The opposite of that would be Just open, that

the calling unto salvation among people while

open to all, who knows? Who knows what's going

to happen because it's not effectual. It's just

open. There's a distinction there. And the thing

is, that's not entirely false because we know

the gospel is an open call, but there's an issue

that we need to see in the first part. If we

say that God's calling of the elect is effectual,

then we're affirming that when God gives a command

to be saved, That no one can thwart it. Think

about that. What if God commanded somebody to

be saved and said, nah, I'm good. That would

be a crazy world to live in. Now who has the

power of salvation? Man does. So the effectual

calling is very important when we affirm, again,

God's sovereignty as creator and also as savior.

Now, later we're going to talk about perseverance

and assurance. But this here, this effectual

calling, it's the groundwork for those aspects

of faith. If God's calling were not effectual,

we'd be saying that what God wants, he doesn't

necessarily get. So effectual here means that

God is able, he will do it. And when it comes

to preparing the heart to answer to his call,

he will do it. And our end now is that second

part. So factual is the first one. Second part

is calling. That involves a response. Some of

you are too young to know what it looked like

to have a phone on the wall with a cord. Some

of you do remember. Some of you even remember

the I was right on the cusp. We had one, but

thankfully those died out quick. When somebody

calls, you answer, right? You answer. Now, today,

you can send them to voicemail. You get all kinds

of things. Back in the day, you actually answered

the phone, even if it was one of those whatever

weird calls. You answered. So on our end, the

calling involves a response. Now, we know we're

not robots, right? We're not robots. But we would

not be able to answer that call if God had not

softened a sinful and rebellious heart so that

we could answer that call. So when you think

of an effectual calling of salvation for the

believer, you need to think of God who prepares

his people to respond. Because if he didn't,

then a passage like Romans 3, 10 through 12,

it would be binding on everyone and there would

be no salvation. Here's what Romans 3, 10 through

12 says. There is no one righteous, not even

one. There is none who understands. There is

none who seeks for God. All have turned aside.

Together they become worthless. There is no one

who does good, not even one. So apart from God

first moving to draw us toward himself, we have

no hope. And that's why Ezekiel spoke of God

giving his people new hearts, hearts of flesh,

removing the heart of stone. And it's so that

his people would walk in his ways to follow after

him. So that effectual calling of believers,

it doesn't negate a human response. It doesn't

negate our responsibility, but it places that

response of a human. subsequent to or really

after God's initiation of enabling a believer

to answer that divine call to repent and to be

saved. The encouragement is at the right time,

God moves in the hearts or the inner man of people

to begin that incredible process of saving them

unto eternity. And that miracle, think of this,

that miracle is able to occur whenever the truth

of the gospel is proclaimed. That's incredible

news. Amen. Yeah. And it's a great reminder for

us to not only remember the first time that that

phone rang and the joy that we found in picking

it up and like, oh, there's someone on the other

end. But also to ask, you know, in that metaphor,

if the phone is ringing, are you going to leave

it on the hook or are you going to answer? If

God is calling you, what are you waiting for?

So in the spirit of continuing to lay a foundation,

Jeff, let's talk about justification a little

bit. This is one of the core doctrines of the

Reformation, which you walked us through. It

is. And so what is it? Why does it matter to

us? And this is a good recap in case you were

asleep for the two weeks of the Reformation series.

Here's a good refresher. Nobody slept through

that. Come on. Exactly. Amen. Amen. Well, okay,

as many of you know, the passion that stirred

the Reformation 500 years ago was the recovery

of the great doctrines of Scripture. And following

after the issue of authority, which is first,

sola scriptura, the doctrine of justification

was the most foundational of all the recovered

doctrines. And the reason for that is very simple.

It answers the most important question that any

human being can ask in this life, and that is,

how can I be made right with God? There's no

more important question. How is it possible that

an infinitely holy God can accept me, a sinner,

and declare that I'm righteous in his sight?

Knowing the answer to that question means everything.

And so it became a major front in the battle

lines for reform in the church. Now, coming out

of Rome, the claim was that justification happens

through the sacraments of the church. in a cooperative

effort between God and man, whereas the Reformers

insisted that the Bible is very clear on this

subject, that we are declared righteous solely

on the basis of God's grace and the crediting

of Christ's righteousness to our account. And

we receive his righteousness as a gift from God

by faith alone. It can't be earned. It can't

be merited by us. There's not any amount of good

works we can do to receive that. And to understand

this, you guys, all you have to do is turn to

God's word and take a stroll through the book

of Romans. And you wonder why Rome didn't do

that. It's a letter to them, to the Romans, right?

But they didn't do it. Starting in chapter 3,

verse 20, by the works of the law, no flesh will

be justified in God's sight. That is not unclear,

is it? Verses 23 and 24, for all have sinned

and fall short of the glory of God, being justified

as a gift by his grace. Through the redemption

which is in Christ Jesus. Verses 27 and 28. Where

then is boasting? It is excluded. For we maintain

that a man is justified by faith apart from works

of the law. And then if you go on to chapter

5, you hear this in verse 1. Having been justified

by faith, we have peace with God through our

Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 9. Having now been justified

by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath

of God through him. This is not unclear, folks.

And then if you go all the way to chapter 8,

you read what scholars refer to as the golden

chain of redemption. Four truths that are unbreakably

linked together. For those whom God foreknew,

he also predestined to be conformed to the image

of his son. And those he predestined, he also

called. And those he called, he also justified.

And those whom he justified, he also glorified.

They can't be broken up. And so understanding

this fully, you guys, and understanding the beauty

of this has really important implications for

our life. It gives us a deep assurance that our

standing before God is secure because it's not

based on our ability to stay in his grace, which

is what Rome teaches. So our status as justified

in his sight, it doesn't depend on how our feelings

that fluctuate. It doesn't depend on our moral

performance. Our status is maintained perfectly

by an all -powerful God who never changes and

never reneges on his promises. And that's good

news. So that means we can have peace and joy

in our daily lives. Even on days when we feel

unworthy of his love or have doubts, we can have

peace and joy because of what God has said in

his word. And it gives us a right sense of humility

because when you haven't earned his mercy and

you know you don't deserve to be saved, than

pride and boasting is done away with. And in

its place comes gratitude. In its place comes

worship as we meditate upon the immensity of

the gift that we've received from him. Yeah,

amen. It's so sweet that you guys have both talked

about beauty and we understand the beauty of

the gospel. And it's part of our hope this morning

is we'll do that. And particularly as we walk

into what... many would say is the most beautiful

time of the year visually. It's decorations go

up, there's lights, there's sparkle, all those

things. And in their origins, we'll talk about

this more over the coming weeks, were actually

designed to help us remember the beauty of sinners

saved by grace. And so it is, again, something

that is transformative for us. And so as we move

through the next several weeks, don't miss that.

And so speaking of beautiful things, Adam, let's

talk a little bit about faith. We often equate

faith with trust. Is there any other aspect that

we should consider? Yeah, from the Star Wars

dialect. Or perhaps a common misunderstanding

regarding saving and justifying faith. Why does

it matter? Yes. Thank you for the translation,

Jeff. Yeah, regarding faith. Thank you, Grant.

I don't want to overcomplicate it, and I'm not

going to try to do that. But I think there are

some aspects of faith or trust that we often

overlook. I've heard many a believer, when they're

talking to somebody who's struggling with their

own faith, focus upon this idea of faith as if

you can easily increase it or just hold on to

a certain amount of it. And I understand what

people mean when they talk about it that way,

that some people may have great faith to move

mountains. Others may find their commonality

with Thomas, who asked the Lord to help his unbelief.

But something that's not often discussed when

we consider saving faith, I think, is an understanding

of our own complete disability. Yeah, I'm talking

about faith. But think about your own disability.

And many of us, we don't think we have disabilities,

right? But we do. See, I seem to hear Christians

constantly encouraged with words like, you just

need to trust. If you've ever heard that before,

or just believe it'll all work out in the end.

Might have heard that. Now, it's true that for

those in Christ, it will. It will all work out

in the end. But for here and now, I think. more

believers need to start with a recognition of

their own condition, their own condition as a

basis for finding encouragement. So the whole

nature of being justified, as Jeff beautifully,

since we're using that word, beautifully explained,

is that you were guilty. You needed to be declared

righteous or not guilty. So when you think about

that aspect of saving faith, it's that you recognize

your inability. to save yourself and then along

with that you recognize the one who is able you

are unable god is able to save and so that's

the encouragement you know the one that you put

your faith or your trust in is the one who is

able to save you in the midst of your inability

to save yourself that's the good news that's

the fantastic news that's where hope rests that's

the truth of the gospel And you have to start

with your disability. You have to start with

your lost condition. And that's not a one -time

thing. You don't just start there before you're

saved. You have to remind yourself all the time.

You are unable. God is able. You can't think

about life in Christ apart from Christ. You have

to look at yourself first before you look at

him, but you're not going to see how beautiful

he is. If you think you're so great, right? You're

like, oh, what do I need? I'm doing all right.

Christ isn't going to be wonderful to you. But

if you look at how you are unable, you are disabled

to save. Then when you look to Christ and you

look to his ability to save, you're going to

say, wow, wow, that's incredible. That is how

you continue to build your faith. So believers

who are looking to build faith, when you study

God's word and keep studying and listen to sermons

and. Pick up the Bible to read for yourself and

maybe get nerdy with commentaries every once

in a while, but not too crazy. Because, yeah,

that's a whole other panel. Maybe for another

elder panel we'll talk about that. But don't

neglect the foundational truth that you cannot

save yourself and that God is powerfully able

to save. And coming back to that again and again

and again, day in and day out and week in and

week out and year in and year out, every Advent

season, but also every day, that is going to

help continue to build your faith in the one

who is able to save sinners. Yeah. Amen. Speaking

of ability and things that only God is able to

do, Jeff, let's talk a little bit about... on

the heels of that, of adoption and what that

looks like in relationship to faith. So as we're

running with the idea of beauty. Yes. Yeah, it's

a beautiful, practical implication of salvation.

And so what should we do? What should we seek

to remind ourselves about the nature? of being

adopted into God's family. And what does that

even mean for starters? Well, I actually don't

think I can describe the beauty and the wonder

of adoption any better than the Westminster Catechism

has done it. So listen to what it says. And as

I read this, see how it's built on the foundation

of justification. Without that, it's meaningless.

So here's what it says. All those that are justified

are received into the number of God's children.

They have his name put on them. The spirit of

his son is given to them. They are under his

fatherly care. They are admitted to all the liberties

and privileges of the son of God. And they're

made heirs of all the promises and fellow heirs

with Christ in glory. Honestly, words cannot

explain, if you break that up, how mind -blowing

those promises are. You start with the idea that

we don't deserve to be plucked out of our sin

and justified in God's sight. That's completely

an act of mercy and grace. But the fact that

he goes so far above and beyond just saving us,

which would be enough. Amen? It'd be enough if

he just saved us. But he goes so much farther

to the fact that the length of adopting us into

his family with all of those blessings and all

of those privileges being stacked one upon another.

It's beyond words. This should drive you guys

to incredible worship. In Galatians 4, we're

told that when we're redeemed, we receive the

adoption as sons. Because you are sons, Paul

writes, God has sent forth the spirit of a son

into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Therefore,

you're no longer a slave, but a son. And if a

son, then an heir through God. And that language

is so beautiful. For all those who trusted in

Christ and are found in him, you are, believe

this, a beloved son or daughter of the Most High.

Believe that. And imagine this now. This means

we can have confidence to approach the living

God in the same way that a child feels utterly

confident in running toward his or her earthly

father and jumping into his arms. We've been

given a whole new identity. We belong to God.

As Peter tells us in his first epistle, we are

made legal heirs to an inheritance which is imperishable.

undefiled, and will never fade away, being reserved

in heaven for us. Those are amazing promises.

Now, because of all this, here's how we ought

to respond. We ought to strive to please our

Heavenly Father, not to earn His love. He's already

given that to us. He showed us by sending His

Son into the world to die for us how much He

loves us, but we strive to please Him because

of His great love for us. And we strive to live

in a way that represents our new identity in

Christ. And now here's the last thing, the church

application. We strive to live in a way that

pleases God because we're adopted into this new

family and we're given all these new brothers

and sisters in Christ. And we strive to love

and serve them as a reflection of our Father's

great love. Yeah, amen. And I think it's important

for us to remember, even on the heels of our

study in Ecclesiastes, If you struggle with the

idea of adoption, it's probably because, as we've

been learning through Ecclesiastes, that we look

at things through our vantage point and through

the world's vantage point rather than through

what God has set forth. And so when we try to

understand adoption through the lens of a broken

family or a broken world or an imperfect earthly

father, it's going to be difficult. And so as

Jeff just reminded us, shift your perspective,

and particularly this time of year, look at...

adoption through the lens of how God has written

it, how God has ordained it. And that will become

beautiful. And I think particularly as we walk

into this time of year where many of us struggle

with the loss of loved ones, we struggle with

strained family relationships, that does not

exist in the kingdom. Your relationship for those

who are in Christ with the Heavenly Father is

perfect. It's beautiful. And there is nothing

broken about it. It's quite the opposite. So

be encouraged. And if you struggle, ask, like,

where's my perspective on this? Is it earthly?

Is it bogged down in the sins and strife of this

world? Or is it set in heavenly things above?

So the concept of sanctification is often misunderstood.

So Adam, what are some common misconceptions?

And what does the believer need to know about

sanctification? A lot. You've got 12 minutes.

I'll try to take less than that. Yeah, there

are many misconceptions when it comes to sanctification.

I'll give you one example. Some people have believed

that sanctification occurs immediately at the

point of salvation. But let's clarify some terms

then. Like, what does salvation mean? Salvation

is the nature of being saved. That's the definition

for salvation. How about sanctification then?

Sanctification is the act of being made holy,

sanctified, being cleansed. And then glorification,

that's another fun word, right? Glorification

is that work of being made finally free from

sin. Finally free from sin, okay? So salvation,

being saved. Sanctification, being made holy.

Glorification, finally free from sin. Good on

those terms? Okay, so salvation then is a status

change. Salvation for the believer is a status

change and it cannot be reversed. You were going

from death to death and then at the point of

salvation, now you're going from death to life.

You're allowed to talk in church. Death to life,

yes. You're moving towards eternal glory rather

than eternal damnation. That's the status change

that happens in salvation. Then sanctification

means that we're in process. We're moving in

that direction. The compass has been set. We're

going in that way, but we haven't arrived at

the end of the journey yet. And so glorification

then is that future state. It's being finally

freed from sin and suffering. It's the destination

of where we're trying to land. And we know that

God will take us there. We just don't know when.

Another thing that Ecclesiastes, since you brought

it up, constantly makes us think about. We don't

know when, but we know it's going to happen.

So there's sometimes a misunderstanding between

those terms and especially between sanctification

and glorification. And we need to distinguish

between the hope of glory, our final eternal

state, and the nature of life, this side of glory,

which means growing in the likeness of Christ.

I think people misunderstand how sanctification

works because it's not a work that God does by

himself. You catch that? It's not a work that

God does by himself. And it's really a grace.

That's how the Westminster Catechism terms it.

It's a grace that stirs us up to work according

to his will as we seek to become more like Christ.

I think it's difficult after we've been saved

because we still have that remnant of sin. That's

why sanctification is necessary, though, right?

You get saved, but sin isn't all the way dealt

with. So sanctification is that continual cleansing

and removal of that sin until we appear in glory.

And that's the final aspect where we've all been

cleansed. So here's just two. Two. I'll finish

with this. Two encouragements about sanctification.

It's first this. God is the initiator and he's

the sustainer of our being made holy. He's the

initiator. He's a sustainer of our being made

holy. How do we know this? Philippians 1 .6 says,

I'm confident of this very thing that he who

began a good work. will carry it and perfect

it until the day of Christ Jesus. He initiates.

He sustains. Romans 8, 28 through 30. God is

working out all things for his glory, for the

good of his people. And the good involves his

people being conformed to the image of Christ.

So oftentimes we get asked, like, why am I going

through this trial? Why am I going through this

struggle? Why am I still dealing with sin? Because

God is conforming you, if you're a believer,

to be more like Christ. Your difficulties are

pushing you towards him. Your frailties show

you your need for him. That's good. That's sanctification,

this side of glory. Now, second thing, I said

two things. Second thing, God's initiator, he's

a sustainer. Number two is we are active. We

are active in our own sanctification, but by

the strength that God provides. And he provides

it by the Holy Spirit and by his word. Philippians

2, 12 through 13. Give a very hard couple of

verses here. But my beloved, as you've always

obeyed, not only in my presence now, but much

more in my absence, work out your salvation with

fear and trembling. For it is God who is at work

in you, both to will and to work for his good

pleasure. So in sanctification, our activity

should be laser focused on putting personal sin

to death. and walking in the newness of life

in Christ. And we do that because he is at work

in us that we would willing to work for his good

pleasure. So we rely on his help and we put every

effort into walking in his ways. That's what

sanctification should be about. Yeah, amen. And

it feels like the appropriate time to say, and

this was sponsored by the commercial for discipleship

and biblical counseling, because that is really

how those things are fleshed out on a practical

level. It's why it matters. And, you know, we

joke that if you have questions, adamandokilbible

.com. But in this case, it's actually true. Like,

if you don't understand what it means, that's

this guy, for those of you who are visiting with

us today. But if you don't understand what it

means to work out your salvation with one another,

or if you do understand and you're struggling

with it, that is why discipleship matters. That

is why counseling biblically matters. Because

in case you haven't heard it loudly enough this

morning, God's word is true. It's effective.

It is impactful and transformative for us. So,

yeah, Adam, thank you for that, brother. So you

talked a little bit about distinctions. And as

we've laid a foundation for things that are broad

and foundational for us, Jeff, let's talk a little

bit about distinctions and talk a little bit

about heresy. And, you know, heretical, we're

not going to talk heresy, talk about heresy.

But heretical views of Christianity erase the

necessity of repentance. Why is this an absolute

necessity and critical in the life of a believer?

Yeah, repentance is one of those biblical words

that tends to bother the average unbeliever who

doesn't know or trust God's word. To their unredeemed

ear, repentance sounds judgy and it sounds old

-fashioned. But for those of us who do know and

trust the scriptures, we know that repentance,

is an essential component of salvation in fact

in our own church covenant we describe salvation

this way having been brought by divine grace

to repent and believe in the lord jesus christ

and to follow after him so you have three words

there repent believe and follow it all starts

with divine grace but then it's repent believe

and follow those are components of what it means

to truly be saved and truly be found in christ

And that repentance piece involves a sincere

turning away from sin and turning towards God.

And this should be done in ever increasing measure

as we walk in the spirit, as we abide in Christ

more deeply over the years. This is something

that should grow in our lives. Having a repentant

heart requires us, you guys, to do self -examination.

Asking the Holy Spirit. To make our sin known

to us. Asking him to reveal to us all the ways

that we've fallen short. And yes, that can be

something that's painful at times. But so, so

necessary. Because we want to be 100 % honest

with God about our sin. Newsflash, he already

knows. But we want to be honest with him about

it. And we can be honest with God about our sin.

Because we are his children. Because we're already

assured of his love. And we're assured of our

place in his family. He's not going to forsake

us, even when, again, we feel unlovable. Even

when we've gotten off track, God will not forsake

us. So we seek to recognize and deal with our

sin on a regular basis. We don't ignore it. We

don't try to justify it. We don't slough it off

as if it doesn't matter. Instead, we live out

the process and the promise in 1 John 1, 9, which

says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful

and righteous. to forgive us our sins, and to

cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But before

that, John says, if we say that we have no sin,

we're deceiving ourselves and the truth is not

in us. And I think that's true of a person who

professes to know Christ, but then doesn't see

the need for ongoing repentance. That person

is self -deceived and the truth is not in him.

So repentance is an ongoing part of spiritual

growth and renewal for any true believer. With

the help of God's Spirit, we stay committed to

the idea of putting sin to death in our bodies,

and we keep on laying aside those parts of the

old man that Adam talked about that keep coming

up, springing up in our lives. And when they

spring up, we don't just ignore it. We call it

what it is. It's sin. We repent of it. We confess

it to our Father, and we trust in His promise

of forgiveness, and then we realign ourselves

with God's will. That's the process of repentance.

And man, I hate to say this. It's a lifelong

practice. Until we get to glory, we'll continue

to do it. Make it a habit. It's a good thing.

Yeah, amen. Yeah, that's so encouraging. Yeah,

it's rich. I think it's interesting. You guys

have both talked about both the collaborative

effort in sanctification and the need. to actually

willfully repent and so in that i think it does

it brings up the question of good works and this

is part of why as we look at salvation why sometimes

we struggle as humans in our finite understanding

to understand how good works are actually not

a part of the equation of salvation itself and

while it's an outpouring of it So, Adam, can

you help us understand why we shouldn't trust

in those good works, whether it be the practical

process of sanctification or repentance or even

trying to work towards salvation? But can you

also clarify maybe why our works are unqualified

to pay for our sins? Yes. Big question, but an

important one. Really, the roots of this question

deal with justification, and Jeff handled that

really well. We know that good works do not save.

Yet we always have to remind ourselves of that

because we are prone to forget it. Even if you

didn't grow up in a Catholic church, you're still

prone to rest on your own merit and not on Christ.

That's human nature, sinful nature. But here's

a reality. You said, okay, what about our works

makes them unqualified? Even our best works,

I don't know if you've heard this, hopefully

you have, but even our best works. need to be

cleansed. Even our best good deeds need to be

cleansed because we're not glorified. Remember

that word glorified? And it means we're finally

freed from sin. So that means even your best

works are still tainted with what? Sin. We're

not freed from sin yet. So even when we do good

things for the Lord, it still needs to be washed

clean by the blood of Christ. Isaiah 64, 6 says,

all of us have become like one who is unclean.

And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy

garment, and all of us wither like a leaf, and

our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.

And that passage reminds us that even when we

do good, wonderful things, we are yet sinners,

and we need to be saved by grace, not by works.

We also know, though, that we're called to pursue

the good works that God has created beforehand

for us. Ephesians 2 .10, we are his workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus for... Good works, which

God prepared beforehand so that we would walk

in them. James chapter two, verse 18. Some will

say you have faith and I have works. Show me

your faith without the works and I'll show you

my faith by my works. So here's something to

consider. Your good works, they don't prove that

you're saved. Good works don't prove that. However,

listen to this. Your desire. to pursue good works

as an act of worship, that shows the inner reality

of being saved. So if you struggle to pursue

good works out of gratitude, you probably are

struggling with worship. If you're not pursuing

good works because you want to honor the Lord,

you're probably not wanting to honor the Lord

in other areas. At times, sin is going to tempt

you to trust in your flesh. You're going to say,

I am good because I did X, Y, and Z. I did these

things to serve the Lord. You're going to make

that your basis for confidence and salvation.

Be cautious. Be on guard for that. When we come

back to the truth that our good works or our

good deeds, they don't save. When we pursue good

works with an aim to worship Christ, to show

and to evidence our gratitude for him, in that

we have great encouragement to make it our aim

really to please him. That's what we should be

aiming for. That's going to show up in all aspects

of your life. How do you respond to your spouse

in moments of difficulty or your coworkers, your

friends, your authorities? And maybe it's not

moments of difficulty. Maybe it's moments of

their need. Maybe they need something and how

you respond is going to say a lot about you.

Your responsibility or your responses when you

need to serve, when you see those, where's Laura?

Church center, planning center, online, whatever

it's called now, service opportunities, right?

This segment is sponsored by Planning Center.

I'm trying to help you out. Yeah, Planning Center.

There we go. When you see those needs pop up,

when you see acorn prep night pop up or volunteers

needed for acorns pop up or volunteering with

the impact team or serving with the care team,

bringing meals, all kinds of, there's so many

different ways to serve. But pursuing good works,

it should be normal. for the believer because

the believer is grateful. It should be normal.

And their gratitude motivates their eyes and

their ears really to be open for opportunities,

not just waiting to be asked to do something,

but pursuing and seeking because it's an act

of your worship. And you shouldn't just be aiming

for things that are easy or just fit your bill

or whatever because there's no such thing. Rather,

you should be seeking to serve in whatever way

God would open the door for you. And so you may

say, but I'm an ear. I can only do things that

an ear does. Sometimes you need to be a hand

because, like Paul said, I become all things

to all men that some may be saved. So you seek

to serve in any way that God would open the door

for you. And we do it, again, as Grant and Jeff

have said, not as a means of salvation at all.

but as a response of gratitude that our hope

is still in Christ because we worship him in

what we do. That's the reality. You don't worship

him with thoughts and feelings and emotions.

Those are real things, but that's not the substance

of worship. The substance of worship is your

whole life. So yes, your thoughts, feelings,

and emotions matter, and what you do with your

hands and where you go with your feet, that also

matters. You need to have them match. Amen. Yeah,

Adam, thank you. That idea of gratitude in how

we respond is so helpful. And man, I wish that

there was a time coming up sometime soon where

we could focus on gratitude. Oh, wait, Thanksgiving's

coming. But in all seriousness, that's part of

why we've talked about wanting to have this conversation

as a body now in light of where we've been, in

light of where we're going, coming forth. And

so friends, I think as we move towards celebrating

Thanksgiving in just a very short number of days,

To think about that, not just the thankfulness

for the immediate things around you, but thankfulness

for the good works that God has called us to

in Christ. And I think, Adam, your expectation

to even consider our own lives within the body

of Christ at Oak Hill, are we thankful in the

ways that we serve? Just let that sit for a second.

Are you thankful? If you served this morning,

were you thankful for the opportunity? If you

are serving next week, are you thankful for that

opportunity? Not just to bless one another, but

to actually give thanks to God for what he's

done. It's really rich. So I have one more question

for each of you. But before we do that, take

a deep breath. I know this is, yeah, good. You

can breathe in church too. You have two for me.

Exactly. I do have two. Jeff has two more. Yes,

that's right. You will not be cut off. Did you

see that? He will not be cut off. That's hilarious.

You're correct. But it's really good for us to

recognize, okay, we've laid a foundation. We've

talked about some really practical things. But

as we look at these next couple of questions,

we're starting to look a little bit more outward,

long -ranging for the life of the believer. So

we've talked about good works. Jeff, let's talk

about the perseverance of the saints. This is

a very, for many of us, an abstract topic that

we kind of throw around and we're like, oh yeah,

we're going to persevere. What does that mean?

So how should this bring comfort to us? What

makes this doctrine so comforting? What do we

often miss as we think about this? Yeah, it's

one of the most comforting doctrines you'll find

in all of Scripture, the promise that we have.

For example, and Adam already quoted it from

Philippians 1, Paul says that he is confident

in this thing, confident, that he who began a

good work in you will perfect it until the day

of Christ Jesus. So if he started a work in you,

that means he's chosen you, he's called you,

he's brought you to life, he's justified you

in his sight. He will finish his work in you.

He will accomplish all that he wants to do through

you right up until the day that he calls you

home. That's the promise we have. We will persevere

in saving faith until that day. Now, going back

to the Westminster Catechism, the catechism gives

us five, I think, astonishing reasons why this

is true, rooted in these five things. You ready?

Our perseverance is rooted, first of all, in

the unchangeable love of God for us. Secondly,

in his eternal decree that he marked us out long

before the foundation of the world was laid.

Number three, our inseparable union with Christ.

Nothing can separate us from his love. Number

four, Jesus' continual intercession for us, which

he does from the right hand of the Father. And

five, the spirit and seed of God abiding in us.

Those are five powerful reasons why we will persevere.

Because of all those things I just mentioned,

the catechism says the believer can neither totally

nor finally fall away from a state of grace,

but each one is kept by the power of God through

faith unto salvation. And this comes out of a

promise that Jesus gives us in John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

He says, I give eternal life to my sheep, and

they will never perish. And no one will snatch

them out of my hand. My father who's given them

to me is greater than all and no one is able

to snatch them out of my father's hand. And then

he says this amazing thing. I and the father

are one. We will keep you. And that is quite

a promise. Now, let me not ignore an important

truth. There is in the New Testament, we're given

multiple warning passages about being deceived.

Warnings to make sure that your faith is real

and not contrived. In fact, Paul told the Corinthians,

test yourselves to make sure you're in the faith.

Peter said we should be diligent to make our

calling and choosing certain. So this is an important

thing to consider, but those verses do not contradict

God's promise of perseverance for the saints.

If your faith is genuine, if you're not lying

to yourself, if you're not playing a game trying

to fool God or fool others, If you truly trust

in Christ and in the promises of God, and there's

evidence of spiritual fruit and transformation

in your life, then you belong to God's family.

That evidence means you've been chosen, called,

and justified. If you're part of his family,

you're part of his family forever. And you will

persevere to the end. God's love, God's sovereign

power will see to it. But make sure that your

calling and your choosing is certain. That is

a real command in scripture. But let this be

a comfort to you. Amen. Yeah. Are you encouraged

yet? Yeah, we should be. Yeah, it's really rich.

Thank you, brother. So this is, as you just shared,

this is a comforting doctrine. It's amazing.

And yet we still struggle with assurance. And

some of this is a condition of our humanity.

So Adam, what should we remember to help encourage

our hearts in light of what Jeff has just shared?

Yeah, that doctrine, it is so, critical in the

life of a believer. Jeff, that was great. That

was a great answer. So mine is predicated on

everything that he just said. Okay. So bearing

that in mind, because without that doctrine,

without the doctrine of the perseverance of the

saints, we would be living in limbo. We would

be living unsure of our eternal state. Wow. I

don't even understand how anyone from a supposed

Christian background. And yes, I'm poking at

a Catholic doctrine. I don't understand how anyone

could live there and say, yet I will still trust.

It's crazy to me. We would then, obviously, as

the Catholic Church has done, try to find some

hope in what we do, right? That's where we would

try to find our hope and what we're doing. We

would try to find our security by doing something,

right? That's what we would do. And I'm not trying

to pick on the Catholic Church to be pugnacious

or difficult, but I'm trying to point out why

it's so critical and why so many saints would

have laid their lives down to fight over these

things several hundred years ago. The perseverance

of the saints, it is a key doctrine for believers,

yet believers are still going to struggle with

assurance. Why? Because we doubt. We can't see

the end. We're somewhere in the middle because

Faith, as scripture says, is hope in things we

cannot see, yet are utterly convinced by. So

if someone, though, were not completely convinced,

then assurance would be very shaky, right? Or

if somebody was pretending to hope outwardly

to others and then inwardly they're doubting,

that would also be a difficult life to live.

You could imagine then that, as Jeff pointed

out, there's special nuanced cases of people

who are being self -deceived. And then we are

by nature doubters because we only can see things

physically. If we can't see the end, then we're

going to be nervous about that. You can imagine

why assurance is so important to consider. Now,

many of the answers today you've heard have focused

on God's greatness, God's ability to save, his

power to redeem, his power to transform hearts,

his power to sustain us to the end. And this

issue here about assurance, it's no different.

If you want to address assurance, you have to

look at the character of God and not yourself.

The character of God and not yourself. Yes, you

need to inventory yourself. Do you delight in

him? Do you yield to him? Are you dependent upon

him? Those are things you should consider because

if you don't, that's your answer, right? If you

don't delight in him, that's your answer. If

you don't yield to him, that's your answer. If

you don't want to be dependent upon him, that's

your answer. But as Jeff pointed out, if you

are yielded to him, then you look to his character

first before addressing yours. How often did

David cry out to God for help in the midst of

discouragement, only to then encourage his own

heart with truth about God's character, that

God is a stronghold, a place of refuge, a protector,

a vindicator, a faithful God. who keeps his promises.

When you're dealing with assurance, I want to

help believers not just inventory their own failures.

We all have them. Anyone who says they don't

is lying and they misunderstand glorification,

right? Because being glorified means freed from

sin. Everyone else, all of us, all y 'all, to

quote people from the South, we're all in process.

Sin is not fully dealt with yet. So we might

have insecurities. We're not going to ignore

those and our sin issues, but I want to help

people look to the character of God who rescues

sinners. How many of you are familiar or remember

the story of Jesus with Matthew? Matthew chapter

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

9. I'm going to read these verses. Verses 9 through

13. As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man

called Matthew sitting in the tax office, and

he said to him, follow me. And he stood up, and

he followed him. Then it happened as Jesus was

reclining at the table in the house, behold,

many tax collectors and sinners came and were

dining with Jesus and his disciples. When the

Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples,

why is your teacher eating with tax collectors

and sinners? But when Jesus heard this, he said,

it is not those who are healthy who need a physician,

but those who are sick. Go and learn what this

means. I desire compassion and not sacrifice,

for I did not come to call the righteous, but

sinners. Friends, that's Christ. That's the heart

of God. You and I, we are sinners. We fail. We

don't fully have God's heart. And so we judge

immensely, even the failures that we see in ourselves.

But because of Christ, God's perfect judgment

against sinners It's satisfied because he took

on our sin and our shame. So believers should

focus more on the incredible sacrifice of Christ,

slain for sinners, when they consider their own

assurance of salvation. It's his power. It's

his sacrifice. It's his resurrection that keeps

and holds sinners as saints. So we would do well

to lift our eyes to him when we consider assurance.

And so I'll leave you with this. Assurance is

not your grip on God, but God's grip on you.

Amen. Yeah, Adam, that's so helpful. And I think

it's instructive for us to remember that we have

to fix our eyes on Jesus. We cannot. We cannot

succeed without that. And as an encouragement

for each of us in the body, one of the things

that we hear most commonly in the life of a believer

is, I'm struggling with my assurance of salvation.

Yeah, we hear, yeah, I struggle with sin, but

it's something that almost all of us in the process

of our life as Christians will wrestle with at

some point. And yet it's not widely talked about.

For some reason that still, we try to wrap our

minds around, we struggle with, we feel ashamed.

It's like, I can't walk through this, but it's

because we fix our eyes on ourselves, as you

said, and not on Jesus. And so the encouragement

in that is that if you are struggling with your

assurance of salvation, Come talk to an elder

about it. Talk to someone who's discipling you

because it is something, again, let's fix our

eyes on Jesus together. Let's walk through this.

Don't bury it. Don't pretend like there's something

wrong with you because guess what? There is.

There is something wrong with you and with each

of us and we need that savior. So let's work

through that together. So last, actual last question

for you since you will not be cut off. In light

of all that, Let's talk about something that

is also difficult for us. We've had to deal with

a lot as a church body this year, is the idea

of grief and how this relates to salvation. And

sometimes this feels like an odd disconnect for

us, like those two are unrelated to one another.

So the question for you is, why don't believers

grieve like the world when another believer dies?

or maybe or, what actually happens when a believer

dies? Yeah, we have had to deal with this in

the last year with Jared Dawson and then with

Chris Jackson, and we've all walked through that

together. It's been hard. The question points

us right to what Paul said to the Thessalonian

church back in the first century when they were

struggling with the death of loved ones. And

he said, we don't want you to be uninformed,

brothers. Okay, when Paul says that, that's important.

We don't want you to get this wrong about those

who are asleep. So that you will not grieve as

do the rest who have no hope. And then he explains,

for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,

even so God will bring with him those who have

fallen asleep in Jesus. So as believers, it's

not as though we don't grieve. We do and we should

because we've lost a loved one. But it's different

for us because for those who've died in Jesus,

and that's the critical right component, died

in Jesus, we know that there's a great reunion

ahead, that we will not only see them again,

but enjoy glory with them forever and ever. So

we hold on to this hope, and it's a hope that

is certain because it's rooted in the promises

that God has given us in his infallible word.

That's the only reason we can have hope, because

it's rooted in God's promises. We trust and we

rejoice that our loved ones who have died in

Jesus are right now perfectly free from sin,

glorification. They're free from temptation and

all the trials and difficulties of this life.

Good for them. Amen? Amen. The Westminster Catechism

puts it this way. They have been made perfect

in holiness. They've been received into the highest

heavens. And they are right now beholding the

face of Christ in light and glory. So every death

of the believer is simply an entrance into that

glory. As it's often described, we graduate from

this life of tears into a much, much, much better

phase of existence. And listen, there's so many

passages I could point to you to for this, but

I'll give you a couple just fantastic ones. Philippians

1, 21 to 23, Paul says, for me to live is Christ,

good, and to die is gain. And then he goes on

to weigh the good parts of living on the earth

and the better news of dying in Christ. And so

he says, if I'm to live on in the flesh, this

will mean fruitful labor for me. That's good,

right? More ministry, more worship. And he says,

I don't know which to choose. I'm hard pressed

from both directions, but having the desire to

depart and be with Christ because that's very

much better. And that's true of a believer. In

2 Corinthians 5, he says, while we're at home

in the body, we're absent from the Lord. Still,

he says, as believers, we'd prefer the opposite.

We'd prefer to be absent from the body and be

at home with the Lord. Why? Because to be with

the Lord is where our truest home is. That's

something we've got to get into our minds and

hearts. That's our truest home. Perhaps the most

beautiful passage on this in the entire Bible

is actually Old Testament. Psalm 116, 15, here's

how God sees our physical passing from this earthly

life into eternity. He says, precious in the

sight of the Lord is the death of his godly ones.

Why is that so? Because we're brought into Christ's

immediate presence, and he rejoices in that.

Did you catch that? Imagine this thought. Your

graduation into his presence is actually precious

to him. So as we get older, and I'm feeling it,

and the reality of our physical death begins

to creep up on us, it's my prayer that you and

I as believers will remember these important

truths. And when we do lose someone that we love,

like Jarrett, like Chris, that we think rightly

about it. And we grieve the loss, yes, but not

as the world grieves. We hope in Christ. Yeah,

yeah, amen. Yeah, Jeff, that word hope is something

that we miss so often. We think of salvation

as just a box of tick or irrespective of that,

but in that, it should motivate us to hope in

Christ. Brothers, thank you so much. What a rich

meal that we've been able to share together today.

It's such a joy to sit and to learn from you

both about what salvation is and to walk through

this together. And thank you, Grant. Joy. We

created a meal. Does that mean there was sauce

on it? I'm gonna go with yes. It just got personal.

So in light of all of this, let's, how do you

follow that? In light of all this, let's walk

it, let's walk it back. As we've talked about

effectual calling, we've talked about faith,

adoption, justification, sanctification, repentance,

good works, perseverance, assurance, death, grief,

and hope. Ask yourself this question right now.

Are you in Christ? Are you saved? For most of

us, the answer, Lord willing, would be yes, which

is good. Amen. But ask yourself, do you have

every confidence that if you were to walk out

that door or even, God forbid, you were to drop

dead in the next five minutes, that you would,

as Jeff just said, be received with joy by your

maker? This is a question that we have to ask.

And again, we don't ask this out of despair or

fear, but out of hope and confidence that that

pardon has been sealed by Jesus Christ for mankind.

And so as we look at the next several weeks as

we move towards the end of the year, this is

a great time to stop and to take stock of your

spiritual condition, to ask, do you believe that

Jesus Christ is the only Savior and that in him

is found your very life? And so friends, the

invitation then is if you are not in Christ,

if you are not found in him and saved with every

hope of eternity, would you come find one of

us? after service? Would you go to someone who's

discipling or who you know without a shadow of

a doubt is in Christ? And would you say, as we

see in scripture, how must I be saved? Call on

him. Ask that he would save you. And so then

the application and encouragement for you is

if you are in Christ, are you hiding your light

under a basket? Are you holding on to it like

you're gonna lose it or are you walking out and

spreading the gospel because it has changed your

very existence and your hope of glory? Are you

gonna walk through Christmas like it's any other

year and are you gonna forget that that call

remains open to those who God is drawing, that

it remains for all nations? Are you looking for

ways to share the gospel of salvation with those?

who just like you and I do not deserve it. It's

a good chance for us to stop and take stock and

ask, do we have pride in our hearts? Do we hold

on to something and say that I have contributed

in some way to this? If you're proud, why? Do

you run to Christ? As Adam and Jeff have exhorted

us so well this morning, do you fix your eyes

on him and not yourself and your own condition?

Stop navel gazing. and glory gaze instead. So

in light of that, friends, be encouraged this

morning. Our hope is that your hearts would be

full of joy and hope as we look towards Jesus

Christ, the Savior for the nations, that he is

good, he is glorious, he is perfect, and that

should cause us for the rest of our days, however

many there may be, to wonder and to marvel at

his great work for us. So let's go to the Lord

in prayer. And we'll have an opportunity to respond

in song and through giving together as we close

our time. Father, Son, Spirit, we come to you

this morning and we thank you for your perfection.

We thank you that apart from Jesus Christ that

there is no way to be saved. That there is no

good in us. Father, we thank you that there is

a hope of glory for those who would trust in

this great and glorious gospel. Father, I pray

this morning that if there are those who are

clinging tightly to their own merit, that you

would convict them that they cannot live apart

from you. that you would soften their hearts

and that you would open their eyes and cause

the scales to fall off, that they would find

joy in their entire identity being wrapped in

Jesus Christ. Father, for those who are weary

this morning, who are doubting, would you, by

your spirit, encourage them that their hope is

found in you and not in themselves? Father, we

thank you that your word has clearly laid out

for us areas in which we need to grow, areas

in which we need to turn from our sin, areas

in which we need to cling tightly to you, and

areas in which we need to look forward to what

is yet to be. And Father, we pray for a supernatural

understanding in our finite minds that would

give us hope as we walk through this life to

delight in the glory of God. and salvation through

Christ and Christ alone. We praise you for our

time together this morning. We ask as we respond

in worship through song and through giving that

you would be pleased with the attitudes of our

hearts, that we would worship you with abandon

as we rehearse for the day when we will meet

you face to face. It's for your name, your glory,

and our good we pray.