Sermon

Complain, Argue, Do Nothing | March 23, 2025

White Rock Fellowship Sunday Sermons

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  1. You can have a seat

  2. for just a second

  3. if you would.

  4. And I think the

  5. worship man, you

  6. guys can have a seat

  7. too if you want to,

  8. but uh, I'm gonna

  9. do a little nah.

  10. I don't really know

  11. what I'm gonna do.

  12. We'll figure it

  13. out as we go.

  14. But, uh, one thing

  15. I love about the

  16. real church of

  17. Jesus Christ is that

  18. scripture teaches

  19. us that, uh, the

  20. amazing lead pastor

  21. with the awesome

  22. jokes isn't the

  23. head of the church.

  24. The elders controlling

  25. the bank role

  26. are not the head

  27. of the church.

  28. Jamie, the pastor's

  29. wife might be the head

  30. of, no, I'm not saying

  31. that's not true.

  32. You're good, Robin.

  33. You can have a seat.

  34. Your hands are tired.

  35. No worries.

  36. But Jesus is the head

  37. of the church and he

  38. speaks to his people.

  39. And you may not

  40. realize it, but we've

  41. already sort of had

  42. church, so like we

  43. could just leave now.

  44. Just kidding.

  45. No, not was

  46. it kidding?

  47. Not kidding.

  48. I think it's

  49. sort of legit.

  50. But I've been

  51. wrestling this

  52. week and uh, it's

  53. just interesting.

  54. It may be where we go

  55. this morning, because

  56. early in this week

  57. I had this really

  58. cool passage I read

  59. and I was like, man,

  60. this is kind of cool.

  61. And so I spent some

  62. time, as I normally

  63. do, uh, this is what

  64. the Holy Spirit has

  65. to deal with with me.

  66. I'll get inspired

  67. by God's word

  68. and be like, man.

  69. And then I will start

  70. my voice recording

  71. and I just start

  72. going walk all over

  73. my house, talk.

  74. And I'm sure

  75. the Lord's like,

  76. please stop, dude.

  77. Just stop.

  78. What are you

  79. doing ? Right?

  80. But I built out

  81. this amazing sermon.

  82. It was gonna be really

  83. great in Galatians.

  84. It was really cool.

  85. And then I went to

  86. school that day and

  87. a kid came up to me

  88. and said, Hey, uh,

  89. what do you think

  90. about this verse?

  91. And it was the same

  92. verse I'd been working

  93. on all morning.

  94. And I was like,

  95. cha-ching, that's

  96. what I'm supposed

  97. to preach on.

  98. Yes.

  99. So I was ready and

  100. then I read this

  101. other passage and

  102. I was like, PO.

  103. Ooh boy, this is

  104. also pretty good.

  105. God, you got some

  106. good stuff in here.

  107. And then a kid later

  108. that day, you can

  109. guess it, right, was

  110. like, Hey, Mr. Wait,

  111. what about this?

  112. And then I was like,

  113. oh, Wyatt Rock's

  114. getting two sermons.

  115. Wyatt Rock.

  116. Oh no.

  117. That's how I did.

  118. So I spent all week

  119. playing with this and

  120. messing with this as

  121. I think I'm gonna get

  122. to heaven one day.

  123. And the Holy

  124. Spirit's gonna be

  125. like, Hey Andy.

  126. Sometimes just

  127. the ping pongs

  128. entertaining, you

  129. know what I mean?

  130. I just like watching

  131. you do this.

  132. Uh, 'cause it's my

  133. job as I see it, as a

  134. pastor, as a shepherd

  135. to get face on my

  136. face before the Lord

  137. and just say, Lord,

  138. what do we wanna

  139. say to your people?

  140. And so I've got

  141. a lot of stuff

  142. I want to say.

  143. In fact, I built

  144. out this really

  145. cool slideshow that

  146. unpacks this passage

  147. from Ephesians

  148. that I really want

  149. to talk about.

  150. You guys hear

  151. that little ring?

  152. Is that just my ears?

  153. I dunno if we

  154. can, that's not

  155. just your ears.

  156. This is my voice

  157. melodious to you

  158. this morning.

  159. No.

  160. No, no.

  161. Yeah.

  162. Nice.

  163. Thanks Lamar.

  164. Good save.

  165. Good save.

  166. Uh, but that's

  167. probably case

  168. in point.

  169. I'm gonna do something

  170. low key this morning.

  171. I think.

  172. Now here's the problem

  173. with saying low key.

  174. I know this generation

  175. up here is like,

  176. oh wait, low key.

  177. Yeah.

  178. Okay.

  179. And some of you are

  180. like, okay, he's just

  181. gonna do something.

  182. Low tech and chill.

  183. I mean low tech

  184. and chill, unless

  185. it's cool and

  186. then it's low key.

  187. You know what

  188. I'm saying?

  189. So we'll just kind

  190. of work this out

  191. as a blending.

  192. But I spent a little

  193. time this week over

  194. in Ephesians chapter

  195. two, specifically

  196. in the ESV.

  197. And I think what

  198. I'm just gonna do is

  199. unpack a little bit

  200. with you, low tech.

  201. Let's forget the

  202. distracting visuals.

  203. We spent the morning

  204. really together as the

  205. church being reminded

  206. of the gift that God

  207. gives us in rescuing

  208. us, in saving us from

  209. sin and death, walking

  210. with us through the

  211. hills, the valleys,

  212. all the things

  213. that we experience

  214. in this life.

  215. And there's a

  216. passage in Ephesians

  217. chapter two.

  218. That I think, uh, I,

  219. this week as I walked

  220. through it for me, you

  221. know, we were at this

  222. funeral last weekend,

  223. thanks to everybody

  224. holding down the fort

  225. while we were gone.

  226. And when you walk

  227. through the valley

  228. of the shadow of

  229. death, when you're

  230. walking with people

  231. who experience

  232. death in this life,

  233. you're reminded of

  234. what really matters.

  235. You know, it's not

  236. shoes, it's not cars,

  237. it's not 4 0 1 ks.

  238. It's not hair, right?

  239. There's stuff

  240. that just doesn't

  241. matter, but there

  242. is some stuff that

  243. really does matter.

  244. And Paul says in

  245. the ESV and gala,

  246. or, uh, Galatians,

  247. Ephesians chapter two,

  248. he says this awesome

  249. phrase, he says,

  250. but you were dead.

  251. You were dead in

  252. your trespasses

  253. and your sin.

  254. You were dead.

  255. And I did some

  256. work in the Greek

  257. because I think it's

  258. fascinating to dig

  259. a little bit right.

  260. And I discovered that

  261. this, uh, Negroes

  262. word in the, in the

  263. Greek is this really

  264. cool word picture.

  265. Here's the picture

  266. of this word in

  267. the Greek, when the

  268. scripture says you

  269. were dead in your

  270. trespasses and sin.

  271. This is the picture.

  272. It paints

  273. dead.

  274. I was really

  275. bummed, right?

  276. 'cause I was

  277. gonna be like,

  278. oh, there's gonna

  279. be layers of God.

  280. It's just dead.

  281. Right?

  282. Dead.

  283. You were dead

  284. in your sin.

  285. Paul's talking to

  286. the church in Ephesus

  287. and he's like,

  288. guys, you were dead.

  289. Dead.

  290. And you know, I

  291. think sometimes as

  292. followers of Jesus, we

  293. sort of, uh, we just

  294. sort of forget that

  295. apart from salvation

  296. through Jesus Christ

  297. in a relationship

  298. with him, we're dead.

  299. And I think we make

  300. the mistakes sometimes

  301. in the scriptures of

  302. trying to make things

  303. sort of like, uh.

  304. Metaphor or allegory

  305. or word picture that

  306. we were dying or dead.

  307. It's the contrast

  308. between enjoyment

  309. and pain and

  310. joy and stuff.

  311. Now it's just dead.

  312. Here's a

  313. spiritual reality.

  314. Apart from

  315. relationship with

  316. Jesus Christ.

  317. We are dead

  318. in our sin.

  319. Oh, we're living

  320. in this life.

  321. We're walking around

  322. with this flesh,

  323. but man, we're dead.

  324. Men walking, right?

  325. Our execution and our

  326. destination is set for

  327. death and destruction

  328. because of our sin,

  329. trespass, and sin.

  330. That says in Ephesians

  331. chapter two, verse

  332. one, our trespasses

  333. and our sin.

  334. Because of that,

  335. we are dead, and

  336. we forget that.

  337. You grow up in

  338. the church, you're

  339. like, eh, whatever.

  340. Take it.

  341. Leave it.

  342. Kind of find some

  343. stuff we like, but

  344. death, eternal death.

  345. Apart from

  346. relationship with

  347. Jesus Christ and

  348. trespass and sin.

  349. It's interesting that

  350. both words get used in

  351. that scripture, right?

  352. Because you would

  353. think you'd just say

  354. sin or something like

  355. that, but, but it's

  356. separated and it's

  357. two different words.

  358. The word in trespass

  359. is like, uh, pato or

  360. something like that.

  361. Really fun to say

  362. for trespass, and

  363. it literally is, is

  364. from two root words

  365. that mean to be

  366. beside and then to

  367. fall away or to fail.

  368. And so this word

  369. trespass really is

  370. a picture of, I was

  371. maybe beside, but

  372. I made choices and

  373. my actions, I went

  374. the other direction.

  375. I fell away.

  376. I failed.

  377. I walked away

  378. from where I was.

  379. That's that image

  380. of sin as trespass

  381. in the scripture.

  382. The Bible says We're

  383. dead because of our

  384. trespasses, because of

  385. our choosing to walk

  386. away, to fall away,

  387. to not be beside the

  388. path that Jesus is

  389. calling us to walk in.

  390. It's kind of

  391. specific sin in

  392. our life, right?

  393. But then the word sin,

  394. armadillos word is,

  395. is one that gets used

  396. for a lot of things in

  397. in the sin category.

  398. But one way we unpack

  399. this word is this idea

  400. of missing the mark.

  401. So we have trespass,

  402. this specific

  403. individual sin in

  404. my life that dooms

  405. me to death, but

  406. also there's this

  407. overarching general

  408. sin in my life.

  409. 'cause I'm part

  410. of a fallen race

  411. of humanity that

  412. has completely

  413. missed the mark.

  414. In some sense,

  415. deliberate sin in

  416. my life is trespass.

  417. And then.

  418. Sin as a big general

  419. picture is just

  420. not quite living

  421. up to the standard

  422. God has for me.

  423. And so the scripture

  424. says really loud

  425. and clearly like you

  426. were dead because

  427. of your choices.

  428. To be disobedient

  429. to God and to to

  430. walk against the

  431. holy God's direct

  432. and clear will for

  433. how we should live.

  434. But you're also dead

  435. because you can't and

  436. you don't measure up.

  437. And Paul goes in and

  438. explains a little

  439. bit of why, right?

  440. Because we're

  441. following the stuff

  442. of this world.

  443. He says, we're

  444. following the prince

  445. of the power of the

  446. heir who's at work

  447. in the world around

  448. us and the sons

  449. of disobedience.

  450. We have a world

  451. that's just drawn

  452. us and pulling us

  453. to walk contrary

  454. to what God says.

  455. So we're gonna

  456. trespass all the time

  457. if we're following the

  458. world's way of living.

  459. It.

  460. And we have a

  461. real enemy who is

  462. actively trying

  463. to destroy, right?

  464. To try to just bring

  465. destruction and lead

  466. us away from God.

  467. He speaks lies

  468. and deception.

  469. It's one of the

  470. reasons we gotta stop

  471. and pray together as

  472. the church to, to pray

  473. for God's protection,

  474. to pray for God's

  475. presence, but also

  476. to pray for God's

  477. perspective, right?

  478. Because the devil

  479. is constantly lying

  480. to us and telling us

  481. twisted versions of

  482. the truth, to lead us

  483. away from endurance

  484. and perseverance

  485. and faithfulness and

  486. following Christ.

  487. And sometimes we gotta

  488. come alongside each

  489. other and pray, man,

  490. I wish I had an answer

  491. for your situation.

  492. I wish I could

  493. snap my fingers

  494. and fix everything,

  495. but I can't.

  496. But God is faithful.

  497. He was faithful then.

  498. It's a good

  499. word, right?

  500. He'll be faithful now.

  501. Don't give up for

  502. at the proper time,

  503. you'll reap a harvest.

  504. Galatians six,

  505. nine would've been

  506. a great sermon.

  507. I'm just saying.

  508. Okay.

  509. Um, so we have

  510. trespass, we have sin,

  511. we have following this

  512. world and following

  513. really the deception

  514. of the enemy.

  515. And it says, we were

  516. formerly people who

  517. gave into the cravings

  518. of the flesh, right?

  519. The cravings of

  520. the sinful nature.

  521. We just did stuff to

  522. make the body happy

  523. and the mind happy.

  524. Ephesians says that

  525. we were chasing

  526. physical pleasure

  527. experiences, thrills,

  528. highs, emotions, we're

  529. chasing all those

  530. things to satisfy

  531. our flesh, but we're

  532. also chasing thoughts

  533. and imaginations that

  534. set itself up against

  535. the knowledge of God,

  536. ideas and concepts

  537. that the world gave

  538. us, not the Lord.

  539. And those things

  540. became destinations

  541. and goals and

  542. objectives that we

  543. chased after for

  544. all we were worth.

  545. Right.

  546. So we gave into these

  547. things, chasing after

  548. the flesh, after the

  549. body and the mind.

  550. And scripture says,

  551. , we became and were

  552. deserving of death.

  553. Children of wrath like

  554. the rest of mankind,

  555. children of wrath,

  556. meaning there's no

  557. condemnation for

  558. those who are in

  559. Christ Jesus, but

  560. for those who are

  561. not in Christ Jesus,

  562. there is absolutely

  563. condemnation and

  564. destruction and

  565. the wrath of God

  566. as a consequence.

  567. And then there's

  568. this phrase, and it

  569. might be the greatest

  570. phrase ever uttered

  571. in human history.

  572. You know what it is in

  573. light of all of this,

  574. dead in your sin.

  575. Trespass.

  576. Dead chasing after

  577. the world, dead,

  578. trying to satisfy the

  579. flesh and the mind.

  580. Children of

  581. wrath doomed

  582. for destruction,

  583. hopeless, helpless,

  584. but God.

  585. But God interjection

  586. into humanity into

  587. the moment of total

  588. utter destruction,

  589. hopelessness,

  590. and despair.

  591. We were

  592. dead , but God.

  593. That's epic, guys.

  594. But God, God who

  595. Scripture says right

  596. here as the following

  597. phrase, who is rich

  598. in mercy, but God,

  599. who is rich in mercy.

  600. 'cause of his crazy,

  601. epic, awesome love.

  602. That's my

  603. translation, made

  604. us alive in Christ.

  605. But God who is rich

  606. in mercy, and maybe

  607. it's an important

  608. distinction, right?

  609. Mercy and grace, you

  610. know the difference.

  611. They're different and

  612. sometimes we just use

  613. 'em interchangeably,

  614. and I get that.

  615. And they're kind of

  616. bookends of, of God's

  617. epic work in this

  618. passage in Ephesians

  619. chapter two, mercy.

  620. Mercy is not

  621. getting what you

  622. deserve, not getting

  623. what you deserve.

  624. Grace is getting what

  625. you don't deserve.

  626. Getting what you

  627. don't deserve.

  628. Mercy.

  629. I deserve punishment.

  630. I deserve death.

  631. Children of wrath.

  632. That's what I

  633. have earned.

  634. The wages of

  635. sin is death.

  636. This is what

  637. I deserve.

  638. I've lived after

  639. chasing the things

  640. of this world.

  641. I've lived after,

  642. trying to satisfy

  643. the sinful nature,

  644. the body, the mind,

  645. chasing after the

  646. enemy, and letting

  647. me, letting him

  648. speak truth claims

  649. into my life.

  650. I've done all

  651. of these things.

  652. I deserve death.

  653. So we're not talking

  654. about grace right now.

  655. We're talking about

  656. God's rich in mercy,

  657. that he does not give

  658. us what we deserve,

  659. but God who is rich

  660. in not giving us

  661. what we deserve.

  662. Now, don't make a

  663. mistake here and think

  664. that means in this

  665. life, the choices,

  666. the situations that

  667. we bring about by

  668. our sinfulness, don't

  669. have consequences

  670. that follow us in

  671. this existence.

  672. They do.

  673. There are consequences

  674. because God is

  675. rich in mercy.

  676. Doesn't mean you kill

  677. somebody and then you

  678. get to do whatever

  679. you want because

  680. you prayed and asked

  681. him to forgive you.

  682. but don't miss this

  683. little reality.

  684. We're so foolish

  685. because all we measure

  686. is the temporary

  687. god's measuring the

  688. eternal here, guys.

  689. He's looking at the

  690. big picture of the

  691. stuff that matters,

  692. not the short term.

  693. We make choices in

  694. this life that have

  695. consequences that

  696. sometimes we can't

  697. escape, and though

  698. he is merciful not

  699. giving us what we

  700. deserve, his mercy

  701. is on a grander scale

  702. than we ever think.

  703. It's on the scale

  704. of eternal death

  705. and eternal life.

  706. God is merciful

  707. and those who come

  708. to Christ come to

  709. faith in Him, who

  710. confess him as

  711. Lord and believe

  712. that he is Lord.

  713. Those people do not

  714. get what they deserve

  715. for all eternity.

  716. We're so shortsighted.

  717. We're looking at the

  718. temporary and we're

  719. like, God didn't fix

  720. my little problem

  721. with my dumb choice.

  722. No, no.

  723. Forget that nonsense.

  724. Look at the big

  725. picture of things.

  726. To come to faith in

  727. Christ means you don't

  728. get what you deserve.

  729. Eternal death.

  730. You don't get that

  731. because of what

  732. he did, because

  733. God is rich,

  734. abundant in mercy.

  735. And you might

  736. be like, why?

  737. Well, the next phrase

  738. says, because of his

  739. epic, ridiculous,

  740. crazy, great love

  741. for us, right?

  742. Why?

  743. 'cause he loves you.

  744. 'cause he loves you.

  745. I have two sons that

  746. I love like crazy and

  747. I keep finding myself

  748. doing things for them

  749. that I set back and I

  750. say, wow, maybe that

  751. was like not even in

  752. their best interest.

  753. And maybe I shouldn't

  754. have bailed 'em

  755. outta this or helped

  756. them with that

  757. 'cause they need

  758. to learn and grow.

  759. But I have a hard

  760. time not doing it

  761. because I love them.

  762. And this'll shock you.

  763. Not all the guys

  764. at my house are

  765. always worthy

  766. of amazing love.

  767. It's just when the

  768. college guy comes

  769. back, Jed's fine.

  770. But you know

  771. what I'm saying?

  772. Like right at the

  773. end of the day.

  774. But see, that's the

  775. crazy thing about

  776. love and God's agape,

  777. unconditional love

  778. that he has for us.

  779. He loves you.

  780. Why?

  781. Because he loves you.

  782. Yeah, but, but why?

  783. Because he loves you.

  784. It's really fun to

  785. watch people who

  786. love each other and

  787. try to really dig

  788. into the why, right?

  789. Because at some

  790. point in time they

  791. come to a place

  792. where they're like,

  793. yes, you can show me

  794. the pros and cons.

  795. I understand, but

  796. dang it, I love him

  797. and I can't explain

  798. why I just do, right?

  799. What if God

  800. just loves you?

  801. He just loves you

  802. and he shouldn't.

  803. I know who some

  804. of you are.

  805. I look in the mirror

  806. and I know who I am.

  807. What is God thinking?

  808. Loving me, but he

  809. loves us because

  810. of his great

  811. love, but God.

  812. Who is rich in mercy,

  813. not giving us what

  814. we deserve because

  815. of his great love.

  816. And don't miss

  817. this phrase, even

  818. when we were still

  819. transgressors, even

  820. while we were yet

  821. sinners, even while

  822. we were still living

  823. in rebellion and sin.

  824. And this Ephesian

  825. scripture says, even

  826. when we were dead in

  827. our transgressions,

  828. he made us

  829. alive in Christ.

  830. Super important

  831. phrase.

  832. It wasn't when you

  833. finally got your act

  834. together that he made

  835. you alive in Christ.

  836. It wasn't when

  837. you finally earned

  838. it because you

  839. sacrificed enough

  840. goats, you did enough

  841. self-denial, you

  842. begged, you pleaded.

  843. You were

  844. desperate for God.

  845. And so he made you

  846. alive in Christ.

  847. No.

  848. While you sucked and

  849. you were a sinner.

  850. While you were dead,

  851. that's when he acted.

  852. When you could

  853. do nothing, he

  854. did everything.

  855. You did nothing

  856. to receive life

  857. from death.

  858. You could do nothing.

  859. 'cause see, if

  860. you deserved it,

  861. it wouldn't be

  862. mercy, right?

  863. Because by

  864. definition, mercy

  865. is only not getting

  866. what you deserve.

  867. And if you deserve

  868. to not die well

  869. then it wouldn't be

  870. mercy from the Lord.

  871. Would it 'cause

  872. that would be unjust

  873. that you would die.

  874. But we were justified

  875. in facing eternal

  876. death because of

  877. our sin and God who

  878. is rich in mercy,

  879. while we were dead,

  880. stepped in, but

  881. God and he made us

  882. alive in Christ.

  883. The contrast between

  884. dead and alive is

  885. as far of a spectrum

  886. as you can get.

  887. And let me say

  888. this, man, I've been

  889. praying this prayer

  890. a little bit lately.

  891. Like, Lord, please

  892. restore to me the

  893. joy of my salvation.

  894. It's a prayer.

  895. David prayed because

  896. here's what happens

  897. in this life.

  898. We forget we

  899. were dead.

  900. We forget we

  901. were dead.

  902. And we start measuring

  903. all the good things

  904. we've done compared

  905. to the bad things

  906. other people do.

  907. And pretty soon we

  908. get to a place where

  909. we warrant God's

  910. goodness, we actually

  911. deserve better than

  912. what we're getting out

  913. of this thing where

  914. maybe I'm pretty good

  915. and maybe what God

  916. did for me isn't as

  917. significant as what

  918. I thought initially.

  919. People who are

  920. rescued from death

  921. are changed forever.

  922. They're transformed.

  923. Their perspective

  924. shifts.

  925. I'm reading about

  926. some, these guys

  927. coming out of the

  928. Hamas, uh, hostage

  929. stuff from death

  930. to life, right?

  931. Forever changed

  932. the perspective.

  933. Never.

  934. Now you can get numb

  935. and you can chase

  936. and you can medicate,

  937. but man, if you're

  938. paying any attention

  939. at all, you were dead.

  940. And now you're alive.

  941. That's as far

  942. as we can get.

  943. The devil has done

  944. an amazing job of

  945. tricking us into

  946. thinking we were

  947. kind of alive and

  948. now we're more alive.

  949. Or maybe we're never

  950. really that dead to

  951. begin with, 'cause

  952. of the grace and

  953. goodness of God.

  954. No, no, no.

  955. If we don't repent of

  956. our sin, if we don't

  957. come before him and

  958. confess Jesus as the

  959. Lord of our life,

  960. believe in our hearts,

  961. God raised him from

  962. the dead, and repent

  963. and come into faith

  964. in Jesus Christ and

  965. believe in Him as the

  966. payment for our sin.

  967. There is condemnation,

  968. there is death.

  969. That's what scripture

  970. teaches loudly, and

  971. nobody wants to preach

  972. that, and nobody wants

  973. to say you're going

  974. to Hell without Jesus.

  975. We want to say, Hey,

  976. you can get better and

  977. better in this life,

  978. and you can become

  979. more skilled as a

  980. person and have better

  981. abilities to love your

  982. neighbor as yourself.

  983. But we forget to

  984. say, Hey guys,

  985. you were dead.

  986. Paul reminds the

  987. church in Ephesus.

  988. You were dead,

  989. dead, dead, dead,

  990. dead, dead, dead.

  991. But the mercy of

  992. God made you alive

  993. in Christ Jesus.

  994. And then he says,

  995. it is by grace that

  996. you are saved that

  997. none may boast.

  998. Yeah, says a lot

  999. of places in the

  1000. New Testament, it

  1001. is by grace that

  1002. you are saved.

  1003. His mercy does not

  1004. give us eternal

  1005. death that we deserve

  1006. through Jesus.

  1007. There is now no

  1008. condemnation for those

  1009. who are in Christ.

  1010. Right?

  1011. But that's not the

  1012. end of the picture.

  1013. Not only.

  1014. Were we dead?

  1015. But God in his

  1016. mercy rescued us

  1017. and saved us from

  1018. what we deserved.

  1019. He also

  1020. is gracious and

  1021. he gives us what

  1022. we don't deserve.

  1023. We're not just

  1024. rescued from death.

  1025. We're given

  1026. eternal life.

  1027. We're not just

  1028. rescued from being

  1029. aliens and foreigners

  1030. and rebellious

  1031. people doomed

  1032. for destruction.

  1033. We're given status

  1034. as sons and daughters

  1035. in the family of God.

  1036. We're brought

  1037. to his table.

  1038. We're invited to

  1039. Heaven's Christmas

  1040. party as family

  1041. members because

  1042. of God's grace.

  1043. We deserve death.

  1044. And he's merciful

  1045. and he didn't give

  1046. us what we deserved.

  1047. But the heart of our

  1048. God is so crazy big

  1049. with his love for us.

  1050. He also takes it a

  1051. step further and gives

  1052. us abundant life in

  1053. him for all eternity.

  1054. And I gotta say, man,

  1055. as followers of Jesus

  1056. Christ, if we could

  1057. step back out of our

  1058. circumstances, which

  1059. is super hard to do,

  1060. but step back out

  1061. of our circumstances

  1062. just long enough to

  1063. view our circumstances

  1064. in light of the

  1065. eternal reality of

  1066. what Jesus did for

  1067. us, our circumstances

  1068. become very small.

  1069. Our trials in

  1070. this life become

  1071. really small.

  1072. What Paul say, man,

  1073. they're all kind of

  1074. meaningless and they

  1075. are far outweighed

  1076. by the glory that

  1077. awaits us in Christ.

  1078. Jesus loves you.

  1079. He came and he

  1080. paid the price.

  1081. That's what the

  1082. season of land is.

  1083. Preparation

  1084. for Easter, the

  1085. resurrection of Jesus.

  1086. Good Friday, the

  1087. ridiculously awesome

  1088. payment of Jesus

  1089. making us alive.

  1090. Him kicking open

  1091. the tomb to give

  1092. us victory over

  1093. sin and death

  1094. for all eternity.

  1095. Easter's an amazing

  1096. season, but the whole

  1097. gospel message is

  1098. summed up in what Paul

  1099. said to the church in

  1100. Ephesus, you were dead

  1101. in your sins, but God,

  1102. he stepped in and he

  1103. didn't give you what

  1104. you deserved, and he

  1105. made you so alive that

  1106. you're getting what

  1107. you don't even and

  1108. couldn't ever earn

  1109. status and eternity of

  1110. joy and hope with him.

  1111. That's the gospel.

  1112. And that's why

  1113. we get together

  1114. as the church.

  1115. That's why we sing

  1116. songs about the old

  1117. rugged cross that

  1118. actually matter

  1119. to us because that

  1120. cross bought us that

  1121. life from death.

  1122. And there's really two

  1123. groups of people in

  1124. that whole passage.

  1125. Paul's addressin,

  1126. people who are

  1127. dead and people

  1128. who are alive.

  1129. There isn't sort of

  1130. like this in between.

  1131. It's not like

  1132. Christian coma

  1133. status, right?

  1134. Death or life.

  1135. What camp do you

  1136. find yourself in?

  1137. Are you a person who

  1138. doesn't know Jesus

  1139. Christ as Lord and

  1140. Savior, who hasn't

  1141. repented and asked

  1142. him for, asked him

  1143. for forgiveness and

  1144. confessed him as the

  1145. Lord of your life?

  1146. Man, there's a reason

  1147. you're hearing this

  1148. message because

  1149. as mean as it sounds

  1150. for me to say it, I

  1151. love you enough to

  1152. tell you the truth.

  1153. You're on your

  1154. way to hell.

  1155. Jesus said it.

  1156. The church ought

  1157. to always say it.

  1158. If you don't know

  1159. him as Lord and

  1160. Savior, that is

  1161. the destination.

  1162. And you don't know

  1163. when you're gonna go.

  1164. And you can plan a

  1165. million things and

  1166. you can try to get

  1167. all kinds of things

  1168. lined up and control

  1169. whatever you think

  1170. you can control a man.

  1171. There's a day coming,

  1172. scripture says, where

  1173. every man, woman,

  1174. child is gonna stand

  1175. before the throne

  1176. of God and give an

  1177. account of his life.

  1178. And all of us are

  1179. gonna be like,

  1180. well look at my

  1181. transgressions and

  1182. my, my trespasses

  1183. and my sins.

  1184. And we've got nothing

  1185. except that Jesus

  1186. steps in our place

  1187. and says He's mine.

  1188. He's confessed me

  1189. as Lord repented

  1190. of his sin and my

  1191. payment covers that.

  1192. He's been a maid alive

  1193. and there are

  1194. people who are alive

  1195. and this is a sad

  1196. group sometimes.

  1197. And here's why.

  1198. 'cause these

  1199. alive people,

  1200. they listen to so much

  1201. crap from the enemy.

  1202. And they get so caught

  1203. up in what the world's

  1204. selling, that they

  1205. walk over and they

  1206. pop open a coffin and

  1207. they lay in there and

  1208. they sit and they feel

  1209. sorry for themselves

  1210. and they sulk about

  1211. their reality.

  1212. And I'm not saying

  1213. this world isn't hard.

  1214. It's hard.

  1215. Jesus said it's hard.

  1216. But guys, we've been

  1217. made alive through

  1218. Christ and there

  1219. is nothing this

  1220. world throws at us.

  1221. There is no

  1222. circumstance,

  1223. no situation.

  1224. There is nothing

  1225. that should be able

  1226. to rob God's people

  1227. of the joy of the

  1228. life, of the hope of

  1229. shining in the midst

  1230. of the darkness.

  1231. 'cause we're alive.

  1232. You're in the midst

  1233. of eternity right now.

  1234. Don't do that stupid

  1235. thing where you

  1236. think, when I die,

  1237. I go to, you know,

  1238. no, no, you're

  1239. an eternal soul.

  1240. You're not going

  1241. to, you're not

  1242. gonna stop being an

  1243. eternal soul man.

  1244. You're on this

  1245. trajectory now.

  1246. Be alive and man,

  1247. don't get caught

  1248. up in all the

  1249. dumb distractions

  1250. of this life.

  1251. But instead, get

  1252. out there and

  1253. share some life.

  1254. Like, can you imagine?

  1255. Just, just take

  1256. two seconds.

  1257. Can you imagine a

  1258. whole bunch of God's

  1259. people who are alive

  1260. in Christ actually

  1261. believing the people

  1262. that they're hanging

  1263. out with are dead

  1264. and they're on

  1265. their way to die?

  1266. Like if you knew

  1267. somebody was in a line

  1268. standing there that

  1269. led to a gas chamber

  1270. to die, and you

  1271. knew they could come

  1272. stand in this line.

  1273. I mean, if it was that

  1274. simple, which one of

  1275. us is, is callous and

  1276. numb enough to stare

  1277. at that person and

  1278. be like, huh, glad

  1279. I'm in this line.

  1280. Sucker, right?

  1281. What a mess.

  1282. God's people, man,

  1283. they, we gotta have

  1284. a heart for the lost.

  1285. And we gotta have

  1286. a heart that says,

  1287. man, there are

  1288. people who are dying

  1289. and I am alive.

  1290. And while I'm alive,

  1291. I'm gonna do whatever

  1292. I can to try to share

  1293. hope and life and

  1294. truth and bring some

  1295. people from the world

  1296. of darkness and death

  1297. over here to know

  1298. Jesus and be alive.

  1299. Sorry man.

  1300. That's just the

  1301. ramblings of my

  1302. heart this morning.

  1303. Um, we have, we really

  1304. have only things

  1305. to be grateful for.

  1306. This is the truth,

  1307. don't get me wrong.

  1308. I had a lot of stuff.

  1309. I'm struggling with

  1310. tension, pressure,

  1311. weight, but I really

  1312. only have things

  1313. to be thankful for.

  1314. 'cause I'm not dead.

  1315. I'm made alive through

  1316. Christ because of his

  1317. mercy and his grace.

  1318. And God calls me to

  1319. be somebody who passes

  1320. that out to some other

  1321. people around me.

  1322. So, hey, I know the

  1323. technology's not

  1324. gonna work, but, uh,

  1325. let's get the worship

  1326. team back up here.

  1327. I'm gonna close

  1328. this in prayer.

  1329. We're gonna sing,

  1330. uh, that last song,

  1331. old Rugged Cross, my

  1332. Salvation, whatever

  1333. the title of that is.

  1334. Sounds good.

  1335. Um,

  1336. I, I wanna say

  1337. this real quick.

  1338. I, I'm not an

  1339. altar call guy.

  1340. I, I've just kind

  1341. of come to this

  1342. reality in my life

  1343. and maybe shame on

  1344. me for it for sure.

  1345. I don't say that

  1346. proudly, but I've been

  1347. in churches so many

  1348. times in my life, my

  1349. whole life really, and

  1350. I've watched so many

  1351. of the same people

  1352. come up and get down

  1353. in front of the altar

  1354. and weep and mourn,

  1355. and then go out and

  1356. just do the exact

  1357. same things every

  1358. day, all the time.

  1359. In this cyclical

  1360. moment, I've

  1361. watched some people

  1362. come and pray and

  1363. be transformed.

  1364. So, like I said, shame

  1365. on me for not maybe

  1366. encouraging us to

  1367. pray more than we do.

  1368. Um,

  1369. I don't know, but

  1370. here's what I do know.

  1371. I do know that the

  1372. Holy Spirit has been

  1373. speaking this morning

  1374. and moving here with

  1375. us, and you know what

  1376. he's saying to you.

  1377. And maybe this morning

  1378. you're somebody who's

  1379. dead and I wanna

  1380. invite you, if you're

  1381. dead, to just sneak

  1382. up here and kneel

  1383. down at this altar

  1384. and pray and ask Jesus

  1385. to make you alive.

  1386. It's as simple as

  1387. saying, Jesus, please

  1388. forgive me for my sin.

  1389. And I recognize what

  1390. you've done for me

  1391. and I'm reaching

  1392. out for your mercy

  1393. for what I deserve.

  1394. And if it's okay,

  1395. I'd like to ask for a

  1396. little grace getting

  1397. what I don't deserve.

  1398. But if that's you

  1399. this morning, I

  1400. wanna invite you

  1401. while we sing to,

  1402. to come and kneel

  1403. up here and pray.

  1404. And maybe you're

  1405. somebody who's alive,

  1406. but you find yourself

  1407. saying, man, joy

  1408. in my salvation.

  1409. I don't even know

  1410. what that means.

  1411. My head's standing

  1412. with my face in the

  1413. corner, and I'm just

  1414. staring at darkness

  1415. all the time instead

  1416. of living in the

  1417. life that God gave

  1418. me to share and to

  1419. spread the message

  1420. of hope in life.

  1421. And maybe you need

  1422. to come and say,

  1423. Lord, forgive me and

  1424. do some work in my

  1425. heart to set me a

  1426. little bit on fire,

  1427. for hope and life to

  1428. the people around me.

  1429. I don't know what you

  1430. need to do, and you'll

  1431. get no condemnation

  1432. from me or anybody

  1433. else in this room.

  1434. But I'd like to

  1435. invite you to stand

  1436. as I pray, and we're

  1437. gonna sing this song

  1438. as a prayer to the

  1439. Lord of gratitude

  1440. and thanksgiving

  1441. and praise.

  1442. And if you need to

  1443. come and pray, we'll

  1444. invite you to do that.

  1445. Don't walk out this

  1446. place going back

  1447. through the motions

  1448. of how you do life,

  1449. whatever camp you

  1450. find yourself in,

  1451. Lord Jesus, thank

  1452. you for your word

  1453. and for your truth.

  1454. Thank you for

  1455. your mercy.

  1456. We deserve death

  1457. and destruction,

  1458. but you're rich in

  1459. mercy and you love

  1460. us, so you offer

  1461. us an opportunity.

  1462. To choose Jesus

  1463. the way, the truth,

  1464. and the life.

  1465. Thank you and

  1466. God, you've given

  1467. us crazy amazing

  1468. grace unmerited

  1469. favor things that

  1470. we didn't deserve.

  1471. We get to be

  1472. in your family.

  1473. We get to experience

  1474. eternal life.

  1475. Lord, forgive us for

  1476. not being people who

  1477. can't contain our joy

  1478. and help us to walk

  1479. in life with you.

  1480. I pray that you

  1481. would hear this

  1482. prayer from your

  1483. people as we sing.

  1484. And Lord, if there's

  1485. people here who need

  1486. to come and do some

  1487. business with you, I

  1488. pray you give 'em the

  1489. courage to do that.

  1490. In Jesus' name, amen.