Grace & Peace: A Journey Through the Book of Colossians - Part 1: Salvation Reframed | Pastor Pablo Morales

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. beginning of a new series

in the book of Colossians. From the rest of the

month and part of August, we'll be studying the

New Testament, the book of Colossians, and I

call this series Grace and Peace, a journey through

the book of Colossians. And you will see through

the study why the title exactly with these words.

But before we start, would you please join me

as we pray? Lord, as we prepare to open this

ancient book, something that was written to the

very first Christians, the first generation of

Christians in history, we want to reconnect with

your truth. We want you to speak into our hearts

wherever we are. And I'm asking you, Lord, that

the truth that you want to speak to us will reach

deep into our hearts. And use me, Lord, beyond

anything I can do on my own. Use me in your strength,

in your grace, in your power. In Jesus' name

I pray. Amen. The book of Colossians, for us

to understand what we are going to be doing in

the study today and the following studies, we

need to look at the background of the book first.

So we will spend the first few minutes looking

at that. But first let me ask you a question.

Are you experiencing God's grace and His peace?

Or kind of? Because what we'll discover in this

study is that God's grace and his peace are two

things that God wants us to experience, to define

our lives. But somehow, as we follow the Lord,

these two things can become easily compromised

and suddenly, like a person that starts limping

because their leg is hurting, we start following

God, but with a limping faith. And what God wants

us to understand through the book of Colossians

is that grace and peace are two things that he

wants us to experience here and now. He wanted

the first Christians in history to experience

it, and he wants you and me to experience the

same thing. So I first want to invite you to

travel with me. from Bangkok all the way to Turkey.

You will see that in Turkey there's a little

section, a valley, you can see there in the map,

that is a beautiful valley, and as you get into

that area, you will see a growing city, and some

ruins of here and there, a few things surrounded

by this big... Mount that is right there, hardly

excavated at all. And as you start walking around,

you will see a sign that says very clearly, Colossae,

right there. And that's when it hits you. What?

Is this the city to which Paul wrote the book

to the Colossians? This thing? Yes. Right now

you cannot see it because it's all covered and

a few ruins there. But to really understand it,

you have to travel not only to Turkey, but you

have to travel in time to the year 60 of our

era. So many years from now, all the way down

to the year 60, this whole region was known as

Asia Minor. And there were three cities in that

valley. Colossae, Herapolis, and then Laodicea.

And these three cities were very close to each

other. And the Apostle Paul had traveled through

that area. In fact, in the last missionary trip

that he took, he went all the way through Asia

Minor, all the way to Greece, and then he came

back to Jerusalem. But that's when... He was

sent to prison and eventually to Rome and eventually

he died, decapitated at the hands of the Romans.

And even though he had never started any church

in these three cities, the Christians that heard

the message from him actually started spreading

the gospel. And after the Apostle Paul went through

this whole area, Churches were started. Christians

started believing now in the Lord, and then churches

were established in these three cities. One of

them was the church of the Colossians. But what

is interesting is that what happens is that the

apostle Paul now is in Rome. He's in prison there,

and he meets in prison a guy whose name is Onesimus.

Onesimus was from that town, Colossae. And he

had escaped there. He was a slave that had escaped

his master, had run away, and got all the way

to Rome. And now, he ends up in prison. And he

has a roommate right there, the Apostle Paul.

And the Apostle Paul is going to waste no time.

He wants to tell everyone about Jesus and about

salvation in Jesus. So he tells Onesimus about

the gospel. And Onesimus believes in Jesus. But

as it turns out, the more they talk, the more

they realize they knew people in common. In fact,

the master of Onesimus that he escaped from,

his name was Philemon. And Philemon was a friend

of the Apostle Paul. In fact, Everything seems

to indicate that it was the Apostle Paul who

had led Philemon to know Christ. So now Paul

says, what? Your master is Philemon? Wow, this

is going to be complicated. Because if Onesimus

has to go back to his hometown in Colossae and

go back to his master, his master now is like

two Christians coming together now. But then

the Apostle Paul, while he's in Rome, he gets

a visit from another friend. His name was Epaphras.

And Epaphras was the guy who had started the

church in Colossae. He had preached the gospel.

People came to know Christ, including Philemon

now, was part of that community of Christians.

So Paul starts thinking, wow. You started that

church that Philemon attends. And Onesimus is

going to go back there. So tell me more about

what's happening with the church. And at that

moment, the Apostle Paul starts hearing all the

concerns. Because even though these people came

to know Jesus, they were following him. Somehow,

there were these other teachings that started

infiltrating the church that were distorting

the gospel. They were adding to it. And now it

was compromising the experience of these Christians

to live in the freedom of God's grace and God's

peace. So the apostle Paul says, you know what?

I'm going to write a letter to these Christians

to make sure that they are going to walk in God's

grace and his peace. And I'm going to teach them

everything they need to understand so that they

will not be deceived. But then he says, but I

also want to write another letter to Philemon

to tell him about Onesimus and to encourage him

to receive him, not as the bad guy that escaped,

but a new fellow believer and welcome him as

a brother in Christ. So he starts writing these

two letters, but how is he going to send them

there? He's in prison. Well, he has another friend,

Tychicus. And he says to Tychicus, I have a mission

for you. Will you take these two letters, go

to Colossae, take this letter to the church,

take this one to Philemon, and introduce the

church to Onesimus. So Onesimus is going with

you. And they both go together. And that is how

we receive the copy of the letter to the Colossians

that we're going to be studying in the following

weeks. Now, of course, You need to see this by

yourself. I just summarized it for you. But let

me read some of the sections of the letter so

that everything that I told you comes from the

text and now you see it come alive. This is what

the book says. The Apostle Paul is saying at

the beginning of this section in chapter 1 and

then chapter 4. By the way, this letter to the

Colossians, was written for prison and so was

the fishens the philippians and philemon and

because these four letters were written from

prison from rome they are known as the letters

of the prison letters they all have that same

context but here is what paul says i want you

to know colossians how much i have agonized for

you and for the church in Laodicea, and for many

other believers who have never met me personally.

He's agonizing. Because he's realizing, what?

These people are teaching you that? And they

are deceiving you with this? Oh no! He's agonizing

for them. And then he says, I'm telling you this,

so no one will deceive you with well -crafted

arguments, for though I am far away from you,

my heart is... With you. And then he tells about

the people he's sending. Tychicus will give you

full report about how I'm getting along. He is

a beloved brother and a faithful helper. Who

serves with me in the Lord's work. I have sent

him to you for this very purpose. To let you

know how we're doing. And to encourage you. And

yeah. I'm also sending Onesimus. A faithful and

beloved brother. One of your own people. He,

Antiochus, will tell you everything that's happening

here. But also there's Epaphras, a member of

your own fellowship and servant of Christ Jesus.

He sends you his greetings. And he always prays

earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong

and perfect, fully confident that you are following

the whole will of God. I can assure you. That

he prays hard for you and also for the believers

in Laodicea and Hierapolis. Yes, that is Apostle

Paul writing to these Christians in the city

of Colossae. You see the background now? You

understand what all of these things are coming

together? And by the way, I always love studying

the background. Of the Bible and understand what's

going on in the culture. What is the archaeological

evidence of that place. All of these things I

always found fascinating. So anytime I get a

chance to throw it in there. I give it to you

so that you can also taste. The flavor of God's

words. Amazing. But why would the Apostle Paul.

Take the time. To write while he's in prison.

Organize all these people so that these letters

can get to these Christians. Why is it so important

that they get it? Well, for that, we have to

look at the very beginning of the letter. And

this is where everything will start coming together.

So we go to chapter 1. And here we'll start understanding

the purpose. This is what the Word of God says.

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will

of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and

from our brother Timothy. We are writing to God's

holy people in the city of Colossae, who are

faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May

God, our Father, give you grace and peace. And

that is the beginning of the letter. Everything

he says after that is the explanations of all

the things that we'll be finding in these studies.

Even though the word shalom was a common, and

it is today, greeting among the Jewish Hebrew

speaking community. And many of these letters

will start with a greeting. Something unique.

about the Christian conviction, was that grace

and peace were the very things that Jesus came

to give us. These are things that God wants us

to experience. And he tells the Colossians from

the very beginning, look, God our Father wants

you to experience these things. And I am concerned

that you are not experiencing them because of

all this false teaching that has started infiltrating.

Grace and peace are the very same things that

you and I need in this walk. Grace is that assurance

that you know 100 % beyond a doubt that God loves

you and accepts you. You're never afraid that

maybe he's going to get tired of you and give

up on you and say, you know, out. I don't like

you anymore. No. You feel completely accepted

and forgiven by God. And peace is the assurance

that his presence will never leave you. He's

with you until the end. And therefore, the future

is certain. Not because of the circumstances

that come and go, but because God is with you.

And therefore, it's going to be okay. Grace.

Peace. Do you have that assurance? Are these

assurances that the gospel brings. Becoming shaken.

By decisions that you have made. By memories

of your past. Is there anything. That is now

compromising your experience of God's grace and

his peace. Because if so. Then the study today.

Is going to be the foundation for you and for

me. It's going to give us. First, the foundation

of understanding salvation from the perspective

of what God says salvation is. And once you reframe

salvation from his perspective, suddenly grace

and peace emerge victorious against any force,

influence, or teaching that tries to suppress

it. And this... Is what was happening to the

people in the church of Colossae. There was a

group of Judaizers who were Christian Jews. Who

were saying to the Gentiles, the non -Jews. Look

guys. We are happy that you believe in Jesus

like we do. And that's all nice. Yeah, he's the

savior. But. If you truly want to be saved. You

need to believe in Jesus. Plus. Become a Jew.

Because only we Jews. Can experience true salvation.

So you have to first start. Guys sorry. Go and

get circumcised. And secondly. All of you. Have

to start obeying the Mosaic law. With all the

rituals. And everything that we Jews have. Then.

God will accept you. That was a teaching. That

the Judaizers were. infiltrating in the church.

And Paul is there agonizing when Epaphras is

telling him everything that's happening. He's

like, no, please don't tell me that those guys

got to your church too. But then, on the other

hand, you had the pagan worship of Colossae where

most of these people came from. They were Christians

surrounded by family. co -workers, children,

spouses, people that were still worshiping the

Greek and the Roman gods and deities. They were

worshiping the spirits. They were going to the

temples. They were doing all of these things.

And some Christians that were now following Jesus

were saying, yeah, yeah, it's good to follow

Jesus, but you know, we also need to worship

those angels. And don't forget to also pray to

that statue just in case. So you're all covered.

And some of these people were implying that you

following Jesus was not enough. That your future

was not going to be securing him because there

were things you were missing. There was new revelation

you didn't have. There was assurance and security

that could come from these other places. And

you needed to get it too. So the peace was also

compromised. And grace and peace, as it turns

out, are the two legs of following Jesus. If

you cannot walk with grace and peace, your walk

becomes compromised. And I recently had to go

through therapy to recover the movement of my

knee. I can walk without limping now. But I can

tell you, when you start limping, all your body

starts aching because you start using muscles

that are not supposed to be used for that. And

you start using a leg that you're not supposed

to do. And before you know it, you feel more

unwell. It's not just the knee anymore. And the

same thing happens spiritually. When grace or

peace have been compromised, You start compensating.

And before you know it, you are following Jesus,

but you feel just not right. You feel heavy.

You feel sad. You feel discouraged. All of these

other things are happening. And now you start

doing things, looking at things you shouldn't

look. Engaging in relationships you shouldn't

engage. You start doing things that you know

it's like, I don't even enjoy this thing. Why

am I doing it? And now you start compensating

with behaviors that do not belong to who you

are in Christ. And all of this becomes compromised

in a way that the Apostle Paul there is in prison

saying, Oh no, this is not what Jesus saved you

for. This is not the gospel. You don't need Jesus

plus. You don't need to pray to Jesus and also

this. No. So in the following section, he is

going to help them understand salvation and reframe

it. Because he believes that if you truly understand

salvation, oh, grace and peace like therapy,

you will start recovering the movement of those

legs. And before you know it, you are feeling

so much better. There's no pain anymore when

you walk. If this is so important, I do not know

you. But I would like to know. What this is.

And it's so important. That he tells the Colossians.

In this section of chapter 1. We have not stopped

praying for you. Since we first heard about you.

We ask God to give you. Complete knowledge of

his will. And to give you. Spiritual wisdom and

understanding. Because it's this understanding.

Of the spiritual things. That is going to be

the antidote to this problem. And secondly, the

way you live then will always honor and please

the Lord. And your lives will produce every kind

of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as

you learn to know God better and better. Your

relationship with God will be better. You will

feel healthier. I mean, if you really get this

right. you are going to be in a better place

spiritually. So pay attention. I do not know

you, but the Apostle Paul already got my attention.

What is it? What is it that I need to understand

so I can walk with the leg of grace and peace?

Because if that is what God wants for me, I want

it too. Tell me, Paul, what is it so I can have

the grace and peace from God? He's going to tell

us. But before I tell you. I have experienced

throughout the years. As I share the gospel with

people. Disciple them. Go through counseling

with people. And start working. In growing understanding

and maturity. I realize that not everybody. Has

the right understanding of salvation. And the

study today is so significant. Because for many

people. Salvation is a destination. Hey, when

I die, I'll go to heaven. Great. So until then,

I'll just wait until I die and I hope I don't

lose the ticket. And they live their life thinking

that salvation is what will happen after they

die. And often they suffer insecurity thinking,

oh, maybe I'm not going to make it. Maybe I'm

not good enough. Maybe I really messed up and

now God is not going to like me anymore. Salvation

is not a destination. It's so much more than

that. Other people think, well, salvation is

a preference. You know, it's like, I'm following

Jesus. I love Jesus. But, you know, Jesus, honestly,

is one way to God among others. I mean, I have

very good friends from other religions. They

are very good people, even nicer than some Christians

I know. You know, and in reality, I mean, that's

their culture, that's where they grew up. And

as long as they believe that, and they are good

people, they get a chance too. And other people

think of salvation as an uncertain future. It's

like, God loves me. And I'm so happy He does.

But I wake up tomorrow morning and I think, God,

do you love me? God, have you given up on me?

And often this person does the kind of prayers

they pray. Because they're always doubting whether

God really loves them or not anymore. And they

are in that space. Needless to say, you never

have peace. You always have fear. If this represents

your understanding of salvation, then this study

is great. Because the Apostle Paul is going to

tell us right now. Three foundational things

that you and I need to understand. First one,

salvation is not a destination. Salvation is

a change of realm. Yeah, there's a destination.

The new heaven, the new earth will be with the

Lord forever. Yeah, all of that. But at the core,

what salvation is, is a change of realm on the

spiritual. And he's going to describe what we

know here on the physical things of reality.

And he's going to describe the spiritual level

of reality. And the moment you ask Jesus to save

you, something happened. Would you look at this

verse with me and read it out loud together?

The two slides that I'm going to show you. This

is what he says together. He has enabled you

to share in the inheritance that belongs to his

people who live in the light. For he has rescued

us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred

us into the kingdom of his dear son who purchased

our freedom and forgave our sins. What happened

when I believe in Jesus? He gave me a ticket

so I won't lose it so when I die I go to heaven?

No. When I believe in Jesus, the apostle Paul

says, he transferred you from where? The kingdom

of darkness. He transferred me from the kingdom

of darkness into what? The kingdom of Jesus.

I lived there before. Now I belong to this realm.

The kingdom of light. The Bible talks about two

kingdoms. The kingdom of darkness and the kingdom

of God. The kingdom of light. And the kingdom

of darkness, the Bible describes it as a realm

that has authorities and principalities. Highest

authority in this kingdom of darkness. That opposes

God. Is known as Satan. The devil. Lucifer. And

he with his authorities. And principalities.

Oppose God and deceive people. So that they will

not come out of oppression. Into the freedom

of God. And all of us. We're born in that realm.

Because the Bible says that Satan is the prince

of this world. The authority that he gained over

the world, we gave it to him the moment we humans

trusted in him rather than God. And at that moment,

that authority, he established his kingdom of

darkness. And Jesus came specifically to break

the power of Satan over our lives so that we

could be transferred from that kingdom into his

kingdom. So one thing that I want you to understand

is that to follow Jesus is already here and now

a transformation of where you belong and where

you exist as an individual. Sometimes I walk

here on the surrounding area to the ECB campus.

And for those of you that know the area, know

what kind of area this is. And as I walk around,

I often think of this picture. You know, a little

beam of light moving around in darkness. Because

I belong to Jesus. He's my king. They do not

know Jesus. They belong to the kingdom of darkness.

And the gospel, the good news, is the message

that there's a way of escaping that oppression

and being transferred to the place that God wants

you to experience His grace. Jesus forgave our

sins. He said in Colossians. If you do not start

realizing That your salvation is. A change of

existence. A realm. You are going to be missing.

Part of the big picture. And you will not be

equipped. To make. To face. The struggle of the

darkness. Against you. But this is powerful.

And it will have. Two very important implications.

We'll see them in a second. But I would like

to first ask you this question. Where are you?

In the kingdom of darkness or in the kingdom

of light? And you cannot say, well, kind of in

between. There's no third kingdom. If you have

no peace, if you do not know God's grace, chances

are you are here in the kingdom of darkness.

And the only way to come out of there is to repent

of your sins. And believe and trust Jesus' love

for you that he came to die for your sins. And

if you ask him to save you, he will and he will

transfer you from the kingdom of darkness into

his kingdom. Where are you? You need to know.

Because that will be the first step in knowing

whether you can walk with grace and peace. The

next foundational thing that the Apostle Paul

is going to tell them is that now that you belong

to the kingdom of Jesus, you are here. Your salvation

is not just a change of favor. Oh, God loves

me. That's nice. Well, he doesn't love me anymore

today. No, it's not a change of favor. It's a

change of status. What do I mean by this? Well,

in the following verses, he's going to tell us

what it was like when we were in the darkness

and how that changed that now we are in the kingdom

of Jesus. And I'm also going to ask you to read

these slides with me together. This is what he

says. This includes you who were once far away

from God. You were his enemies, separated from

him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet, now

he has reconciled you to himself through the

death of Christ in his physical body. As a result,

he has brought you into his own presence and

you are holy and blameless as you stand before

him without a single fault. It's like, what?

Really? Are you telling me that when I was in

the kingdom of darkness, I was God's enemy? Because

of all my sinfulness and choices and everything

I've done? Me, God's enemy? Yeah. Wow. I don't

want to be God's enemy. God doesn't want you

to be His enemy either. He wants you to be reconciled

to Him. That's why Jesus came. So, when he transferred

me to the kingdom of light, to his kingdom, now

I'm reconciled to him? Yes. Like, how much? Like,

give me a percentage. Like, 60 % reconciled?

70 % reconciled? 100 % reconciled. No. How could

that be? Yeah. Now you are holy and blameless

in his sight without a single fault. That's impossible.

Me? No fault? Just talk to my wife. I know all

my shame and guilt. I know what I've done last

year and the year before. Exactly. All those

things that are in your mind, that's what Jesus

died for. All of it. 100%. God never sees you

in his kingdom anymore as damaged goods. He sees

you as reconciled. He sees you forgiven. And

this realization is... So amazing. That he says

in the following verse. You were dead because

of your sins. And because of your sinful nature.

Was not yet cut away. But then. God made you

alive with Christ. Forgave. What? All our sins.

The moment Jesus saved you. He made you 100 %

reconciled with God. And therefore, he does not

need your help in saving you. Did you hear that?

Jesus does not need your help in saving you.

He already did it. He paid the price. And this

concept is at the core of understanding what

grace is. Grace is undeserving. It's a gift we

do not deserve. But God loves us and demonstrated

his love for us in this while we were still sinners.

Christ died for us. And it was his death that

paid for my guilt. This section seems to escape

so many people that the Bible mentions it time

and time again, especially the Apostle Paul,

because of these Judaizers were visiting all

these churches trying to say, Jesus plus this,

plus that. If you are struggling with that, and

you are feeling like maybe you are not good enough

for God to save you, maybe you need to cooperate

a little bit more, Get a little bit better and

then maybe God will save you. If that is what

you are struggling with and that is keeping you

from experiencing his grace. I want you to simply

listen to these words from the New Testament,

the book of Hebrews. Echoing exactly what Paul

just said to the Colossians. For by one sacrifice,

one his own. He has made perfect forever those

who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also

testifies to us about this. First he says, this

is the covenant I will make with them after that

time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their

hearts and I will write them on their minds.

Then he adds, their sins and lawless acts, I

will remember no more. No more, no more, no more.

And when these have been forgiven, sacrifice

for sin is no longer necessary. I don't need

your help. Thank you. No longer necessary. You

want a sacrifice for me so I like you better?

No longer necessary. My sacrifice was enough.

This is why the gospel is called great news.

So I have to ask you, are you trying to add to

the cross? And I ask you because I have experienced

the agony of the heart of the one who is there.

So close, yet so far. I remember sitting with

this godly man who was struggling in his life.

And as we are praying together, he is confessing

these things to the Lord and releasing his shame.

But we get to a point. He was stuck. And as we

pray, I said to him, do you receive the full

forgiveness of Jesus over your shame? And even

though I was expecting for him to say, yes, Jesus,

I accept all your forgiveness. To my surprise,

this follower of Jesus says to me, no, I can't.

So I ask again, did you accept the full forgiveness

of Jesus over all of your shame? And he says,

no, I can't. Because what I have done is too

shameful. And at that moment, he starts weeping

and weeping with sorrow. At that very moment,

I realized this was a man that didn't understand.

The gospel. Jesus died for all of your shame.

He doesn't need your help. One sacrifice was

perfect. The Lamb of God. He came to take away

the sin of the world. He doesn't need to love

you more. He does already what he needs from

you. Is to trust him. Trust in his embrace. And

that is what opens up the door now for you. For

goodness starts flowing from you. I remember

the story of this young woman that was so ashamed.

Very promiscuous lifestyle that she had growing

up. And she started feeling so filthy that she

says, when I would take showers, I would just

do this washing extra times with the soap. Because

I would imagine that by doing so, I could wash

away the filth that I felt inside. And I knew

it was not doing it, but it was a way of trying

to give me comfort. So then she decides that

she needs to start going to church because she

needs God. And as she's going to church, she

says, I was trying very hard at getting good.

And when she said that phrase, I thought, that

summarizes it right there. I'm trying to get

good. You know, I know I'm not good, but I'm

trying to become good. Because if I become good,

then God will love me. And after she tried that

for a long time, didn't give her grace nor peace.

And one day, as she was sitting there in a spiritual

retreat with the church, the person speaking

says, there's nothing that you can do that you

can offer for God to save you. Nothing. Try hard.

You can't. The only thing that you can bring

to God is you. Your repentant heart, your broken

heart, that's all you need. Are you trying to

get good? Are you trying to become good? That

will give you more headaches. Goodness is not

something you try to become. It's something that

flows from you once you experience God's grace

and God's peace. It's like this. The painter

doesn't paint to become a painter. The painter

paints because he's a painter. The singer doesn't

sing to become a singer. The singer sings because

he's a singer. You do not become good so that

you can do good. You are good, forgiven by Jesus,

transformed by his power in his kingdom. And

because you are in his goodness, now goodness

flows from you. That is the power of grace. And

until that clicks, all your efforts will be in

vain. So are you trying to add to what Jesus

has done? If your answer is yes, then that tells

me you're not walking in his grace. But finally,

salvation is a change of power. Because now you

are in the kingdom of Jesus, the authority and

power that Satan had before in your life has

changed. Would you read this with me out loud?

He canceled. the record of the charges against

us and took it away by nailing it to the cross

in this way he disarmed the spiritual rulers

and authorities he shamed them publicly by his

victory over them on the cross and this one you

have died with christ and he has set you free

from the spiritual powers of this world he has

set you free from the oppressors that deceived

you, that enslaved you. The moment he took you

from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom

of light, not only you changed realms, not only

you changed status, completely forgiven and 100

% reconciled, but now the authority of Jesus

is yours. And you now have been given authority

over the entities of darkness. That's why we

do not act or walk in fear of them. If you came

from a background in which you worship the spirits,

in which at your home you will do rituals so

the spirits will protect your home. If you saw

dark shapes or figures moving around your spaces,

If Jesus saved you from the kingdom of darkness

into the kingdom of light, fear no more. Those

spirits have no authority of your life. If they're

invading your thoughts, if you're invading your

dreams, you have the authority in Jesus' name

to say, I command you in Jesus' name to leave.

You have no authority. In my life. I belong to

the kingdom of Jesus. He is my king. You deal

with him. We no longer fear the spirits. Because

we know. Who we belong to. And we know that Jesus.

Had victory over them on the cross. And he has

completely. Now deliver us. From the oppressing

power. Of darkness. So if you are struggling.

With darkness. And fear in your life. What exactly

is that you are fearing? I'm here. To encourage

you. Bring that to the Lord. Today. Because Jesus

did not die on the cross. And resurrected on

your behalf. So that you will not. Experience

his grace and his peace. He wants you to experience

it. But first you have to reframe your understanding

of what it means to be saved. If this is what

your life is described like. Something more broken

rather than wholesome. Something empty rather

than filled. Then today is the day. For you to

become realigned with the Lord. Reconciled with

Jesus. And let His grace and His peace actually

lead the way. Because this is what the Apostle

Paul wrote to you and to me. That to be saved

means that I exist in a new realm. I have a new

status. I have a new power. And because that

is true, I can walk with grace and peace wherever

I go, no matter where I am, because I'm a child

of God with Jesus as my king. This time of worship

is God's invitation to you. Would you trust him

with your shame, with your guilt, with your regrets?

with your fear? Will you rest in his embrace?

Will you trust in his presence that he will be

with you tomorrow and your future? Release anything

that is holding you back. Lord, it's in your

powerful name that we are asking you. Will you

encounter us in this place of worship? Not just

our voices and our hearts being lifted up to

you, but you reaching down to us. Because there's

many things that need to be broken right now

in your presence. Grace and peace to you from

God our Father. That is what you want us to experience.

And that is what we're inviting. In Jesus' name.

you will find giving options on our website.

And remember to join us next week. God bless

you.