Judges Week 11 • Judges 19

Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.

This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons.

We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear

the latest message.

Thanks for listening.

I hope you had a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving.

I can tell you with great confidence that this past Thursday, the closest thing to a vegetable

that touched my plate was macaroni and cheese.

If you're saying macaroni and cheese isn't a vegetable, I know, right?

Like, that's as close as it got.

I did something this morning that I shouldn't have done, but I typically weigh myself every

Sunday to kind of see what I've done and either maintaining or losing a little bit of weight.

And this Sunday, I was five pounds bigger than last Sunday, so it was a good week for me,

right, with all those macaroni and cheese vegetables.

As we dive into our message this morning, a couple of things that I want to point you guys

to.

First off, if you were here with us on campus, I hope you got one of these little communion

cups as you walked in.

If you didn't, you're not going to hurt my feelings.

Get up right now.

Go ahead and head back to the back of the auditorium.

Grab one for you or for everyone in your family, because we will be taking the Lord's Supper

at the very end of the message.

Now, if you're at home and you're watching us online, hopefully you got Pastor Dave's email

this week.

If you didn't, that's okay.

Go and get something out of the kitchen.

And if you don't have any grape juice or whatever, it's fine.

It's all about what this means, not about exactly what it looks like.

Get some water.

Get a couple saltines.

We'll be good to go as we celebrate what God has done in our lives.

Also, I want to point everyone that's on campus here to something, as you walk out today, as

we look forward to 2021, and it will be here, I promise, right?

Like, we will get there.

One of the conversations that we're having is how do we continue on what God's doing through

our church and missions all over the world.

And there's one thing that you can begin to pray about.

There's some flyers on the table as you leave in the lobby about Greece.

There's some trips that are planned through the South Carolina Baptist Convention to go

and to work with refugees in Greece.

And so if that would interest you, grab one of those flyers.

It'd be a good opportunity for you to begin to pray through that.

And if you have any questions, maybe we can get those answered for you.

But on a day-to-day basis, what we would like to remind you and encourage you to do is

to pray for missions of what's going on.

Several weeks ago, we had a missionary from East Asia that was here.

East Asia represents the largest unreached region of our world.

And so we have some prayer calendars out there for East Asia.

I've got one on my desk here at the office.

And each day, it reminds me of a new people group that I can pray for.

It shares me their name, a picture of someone from that people group,

and then specifically how I can pray for them.

And so maybe that's a good thing for you to grab.

Maybe it's something that you want to give to someone as a part of their Christmas gift this year.

Be a wonderful opportunity.

But then also, right, if that's not enough, we've got these pamphlets for our 2020 week of prayer

for the Lottie Moon Christmas offering that are out there,

where it's an intentional time of praying from November 29th through December 6th

of all of our international missions work that are there, and those are out there as well.

So lots of stuff that you guys can be praying for and that you can be doing.

Well, if you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Judges chapter 19.

Judges 19 · chapter mention

As you turn there, this will be our last week in Judges, our last message in Judges.

Judges goes through chapter 21.

We're not going to get 20 and 21 this morning.

We're going to finish up in 19.

Next week, we will start our Christmas series.

I'm really excited as we're going to do something a little bit different than I've done before

as we celebrate the birth of Christ, as you guys can tell with the decorations in here.

We are ready to go.

We added a new inflatable at the Bradbury house, right?

We got our minion inflatable in the yard.

And my wife looked at me yesterday and she said, you know, this has to stop at some point, right?

And I said, yeah.

So we worked out an agreement.

We compromised, even though we talked about that you shouldn't last week, right, with God.

But we compromised with each other and I know that I'm limited now to three additional inflatables.

So I'm going to make them count as we go forward with this.

But we're excited about being in the Christmas season.

Well, as we wrap up the series in Judges, the last week and this week is a little different

than the previous weeks.

So throughout the series, we looked basically at nine weeks of looking at different Judges.

Some Judges we looked at for multiple weeks.

Some Judges only got a week.

Some Judges just got mentioned just for a brief moment.

But what a commonality or common theme throughout the book of Judges is that the people did what

was evil in the sight of the Lord.

And we got glimpses of it, but we never got the specific details, right?

Like we never got like, what is it that they were doing?

Like what was someone doing that was so horrific?

We could hear where they practice idolatry and they had forgotten about who God is and what

God had done.

But what exactly were these specific stories?

And so that's what we started looking at last week.

And that's what we're going to continue to look at this week in chapter 19.

Now, I want to tell you this kind of parents at home, parents that are here.

Chapter 19 might be one of the hardest chapters in Scripture in the details of what it talks about.

And because I understand that we've got various age groups with this, I'm going to try to work

my way and be sensitive to that, to hopefully not create any unwanted questions after this

is over with.

But the heaviness of this in chapter 19 is one that as you read through it, as I read through

it this past week and studying it, it just, it hurt my heart.

But as we go through this, what I want us to continue to draw from this is to think of all

that God does as He redeems His people.

To think as all God does is as you see the horrific scenario that's about to unfold before

us, as you look at all of the horrific scenarios that are playing out all over the world, some

in our own community, some in our country, some all over this world, the evil and the depravity

that is there.

But that through it all, what God is continuing to do is God is continuing to redeem people.

And He's redeeming people who don't deserve it because no one deserves it.

And so let's, let's jump in right here, Judges 19, starting in, in verse one.

In those days when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote

parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.

So let me just say this.

He owns her.

This is a slave for him.

Verse two.

And his concubine was unfaithful to him.

And she went away from him to her father's house at Bethlehem in Judah and was there for some four months.

Then her husband arose and went after her to speak kindly to her and bring him, and bring her back.

And he had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys.

And she brought him into her father's house.

And when the girl's fathers saw him, he came with joy to meet him.

All right, let's pause here for a moment also.

You're going to see words like husband and father-in-law.

And don't get it confused to what you and I know as a norm of 2020 husband and father-in-law.

This is still, this woman, is his property that he owns.

And his father-in-law, the girl's father, made him stay and remained with him three days.

So they ate and drank and spent the night there.

And on the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and he prepared to go.

But the girl's father said to his son-in-law,

Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and after that you may go.

So the two of them sat and ate and drank together.

And the girl's father said to the man,

Be pleased to spend the night and let your heart be merry.

And when the man rose up to go, his father-in-law pressed him till he spent the night there again.

And on the fifth day he arose early in the morning to depart.

And the girl's father said, Strengthen your heart and wait until the day declines.

So they ate, both of them.

So here's the players that we meet in this story.

There's a man who owns a woman, culturally accepted.

She is his slave to please him and to do what he commands her to do.

Because he is a piece, she is a piece of property for him.

And then you meet her dad, who treats her the exact same way.

Now, there's some cultural things that are happening within this.

Now, the irony of the phrase is, but to help us understand what Scripture says,

was she was unfaithful to the man who owned her, right?

And we don't know that scenario, but she was unfaithful to him.

So she leaves to go find haven from her dad who allowed her to be sold.

And what does dad do when the man who bought her comes to his house?

Hey, come sit on the couch and let's eat some food and drink together.

Right?

This is the depth of the depravity of what we begin to see in this family.

We see that a woman who has been treated like a piece of property, like an object,

who in this tries to break away from this sense of little of value that she has in and of herself,

runs from a man who's going to identify as her husband, but is not her husband at all.

To go find safe haven from her dad to protect her.

And the dad says, no, no, no, no, just come in.

Like, let's get some chips out.

Let's get some Coke out.

Like, let's just watch TV and hang out here, boy.

Right?

Like, I've got a great relationship with my father-in-law.

I do.

I love him.

He loves me.

He sent me a text message of encouragement this morning before the 930 service.

And I value our relationship.

This isn't it.

All right?

This is so far beyond unhealthy, it's not funny.

It's disgusting in what we find.

And what I want us to see here is that this is just how the Levite lived.

This was normal.

There was cultural rules put in place to accept the normalcy of this situation.

And here's why we know that her running from him and being unfaithful to him meant that she, that he could have her killed.

Her running to her dad and her dad bringing her in meant that her dad could be killed.

And it would have been legal.

And this is what we find in and among God's people.

This is how the Levite lived.

This is how the father fought.

This is how not only this woman, but very much most of the women were treated as an object.

And it's just simply how they saw things.

It's simply what the culture looked like.

And if you're like me, you're like ladies in the room like watching this, you're like, no, no, no, no, uh-uh.

Right?

Like dads in the room are like, nope, no, no, you kill me before you do that to her.

Right?

And I'm taking some of y'all out with me, you know?

But this is the situation which we find because this is how they saw life.

And what I'm going to appeal to us this morning is that as we, as we walk through this, as you and I walk through life as Christians, right?

The Levite's culture saw this and said it was okay.

And as Christians, you and I, we should see things differently.

We should see things differently.

It's going to be the whole point of the message this morning is how we see God is going to determine how we see other life as a whole.

But we do.

We're called to see not just some things, but everything different.

All right?

So here's a few challenges for us this week.

The Bible, God's Word tells us that we're to see work differently, right?

That when we work, that you and I are to work as if we are directly working for God, right?

So that manager you don't get along with, that manager that you think treats you unfairly, that manager who constantly speaks down to you.

Like all of those things may be true.

But if your attitude is, well, then I'm not going to do as good of a job as a Christian because of how I'm treated.

I can tell you that God's Word says your attitude is sinful and it's wrong and that you're to work as if God is your boss because that's who you're representing in the workplace of where he's put you.

Now, we're supposed to look at money differently, right?

Jesus tells us, no, pay your taxes.

But he also says, give to God.

In fact, he says all of this, we really, all of this is God's anyways and that he's just entrusted it over to him.

So you and I should see our money differently than the way that the world sees money.

You know, like you and I, we talk a lot about self-image, about how we view ourselves and having a healthy self-image specifically of our physical bodies.

Do you know that?

That we should see our physical bodies differently, right?

Like, we should work to take care of our physical bodies, not so that we can wear skimpy clothes and show them off, but that we should work to take care of our physical bodies and use them to glorify God.

Because there should be nothing, right, that stops us from sharing the gospel and in going and being mobilized so that it is a benefit of us that we make sure, right, that we are physically speaking, taking care of ourselves.

But what we want to look at this morning, that you and I need to see life differently.

We see life differently.

And what I want to talk about, kind of the theme of this morning, I want to be on the sanctity of life, that you and I as Christians, that we acknowledge that there is a special nature that comes from all human life.

And that in that, that we value it, that we respect human life, and that you and I are working toward the understanding that there's a spiritual aspect that plays out in this.

In Scripture, it's referred to as the Imago Dei.

It's why this life is so important.

In Genesis chapter 1, verse 27, it says,

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image.

In the image of God, he created him.

Male and female, he created them.

That from the very beginning in creation, and we can look at some gender equality stuff that's going on here,

in the value of male life, in the value of female life.

But the reason why life as a whole is so important, because human life, unlike anything else, is made specifically in the image of God.

All right?

God created the animals, and the sun, and the mountain, and the trees.

And we need to be respectful of all of creation.

But there is something sacred in human life, and it is because human life and human life alone is made in the image of God.

And so what we see in this, what you and I need to work through as we look at life as a whole,

is every race, every language group, every generation, every sex, all made in the image of God.

And this is going to, when we read chapter 19, in light of that, it should begin to do something to us.

That we'll see begin to happen, is the breakdown of the understanding of the Imago Dei.

The daughter, the woman in the story, is not being viewed in the Imago Dei.

Instead, she's viewed as a piece of property.

But we, as Christians, okay?

Not we as Americans.

Not we as moral people.

But we, as Christians, must see life differently than the rest of the world has seen as being made in the image of God.

And so in that, what we find at this base level is this sense of equality, of value amongst others.

In fact, what you and I, what I would challenge you to, is we will see people differently.

But we don't need to see people differently in the way that the world defines us.

We need to see people differently about how the gospel defines us.

And so, so Paul says in Galatians 3, 27,

For as many of you, as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.

And so that in that, there is neither Jew nor Greek.

There is neither slave nor free.

There is no male and female.

For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

So that when you and I see each other, what we begin to understand is that you and I, there's neither slave nor free.

So we wipe out socioeconomic.

There's neither Jew nor Gentile.

So we can wipe out race and we can wipe out culture.

There's neither male nor female.

And I want to say this, so we can wipe out gender on this.

Now, that doesn't mean that these things don't matter to us, okay?

They beautifully matter to us.

And here's why it matters to us.

I heard a pastor say one time that race, we should not see people by their race or their nationality or by their gender.

And I disagree with that.

And here's why I disagree with that.

Because God perfectly made me how I am.

And so God is glorified in that, right?

So that when I go into the Indian restaurant down on St. Andrews that I love to go to,

and what's beautiful about going in there is you will, if you listen to the languages that people are speaking,

you'll hear from people from all over the world in there.

And I can celebrate God because of the diversity of which God brings, right?

I can look into the beautiful diversity as God has wired me and God has wired my wife.

And I can celebrate the beauty of diversity.

But that in the beauty of diversity, there's the equality of what God gives, right?

So I am not greater than my wife.

And she is not greater than me.

That I, as an American, am not greater than someone from India.

And they are not greater than me.

That this is what we see.

But what we do begin to see people differently is in the lost and the saved.

That we do understand that when we look through people through the lens of the gospel,

what we should be able to see and walk away from it is people who have the gospel and people who need it.

And people who we should be drawn to even though they are different than us.

I do want to pause for a moment and talk about this.

Most of the time when sanctity of life is mentioned, it's concerning the unborn and the argument for pro-life as Christians.

And what I want to be careful of, and I want to make sure that you hear me clearly, is this.

I'm pro-life, all right?

I believe in the value of life.

But in the argument for us as Christians, we cannot simply have the argument of sanctity of life with the unborn.

But it must be of all life, of the equality that's there.

But God does.

God does speak about the beauty of life.

Life that takes place at conception.

But even for us, we define life, you and I do, by time because that's all we know.

Right?

So we define life as conception, right?

Until death.

That's what we do.

But the Bible goes beyond that because God is not bound by time.

So God's word says this.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance.

In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Right?

The beauty of the wholeness of how big God is.

God said, yeah, there's value of life in the womb.

But I, as God, see the value of life even before the womb so that I determine the days before then.

Right?

You see the great picture of what God is painting.

Right?

To sum it up in his heart, right, of God's love for the world.

It's the first verse that we learned in our Sunday school classes growing up or the VBS that we went to.

Or we'd see it on the sign at the baseball game, right?

John 3, 16.

For God so loved the what world.

That he gave his only son.

That whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Right?

We see the value of God, of what God places on life as a whole.

And so for you and I, what we must do is embrace the sanctity of life and what's there.

But what's happened here in Judges, what's happened from the very beginning,

what has plagued creation since the fall is the devalue of life.

Brother takes the life of brother.

What we see here in Judges 19 is a separation that one life is greater than the other.

And we see what I like to refer to as a culture of them.

And when there's a culture of them that is prevalent, then I can remove myself because I'm not a part of those because those are them.

And now I'm separated from them.

And the hard thing is this, that in Christianity, what we should be is we should be drawn to the thems.

We should be drawn to those that have been outcasts, drawn to those who are broken, drawn to those who are different.

Why? Because we have the hope of the gospel and that we understand the Imago Dei.

So we celebrate the beauty of the diversity as we look to eliminate the culture of the them.

But we see this downfall that begins to happen.

We see the downfall that happens in the life of this man and in the life of the father.

And we see the victim that is this girl.

So they leave.

The dad releases his daughter back into slavery.

And so they set off on a journey.

And they head toward a city, but the man doesn't want to go into this city because it's a Canaanite city.

And he doesn't trust what will happen if they enter into a non-Israel city.

So instead, they go to another town and they decide to stay there because it's part of the Israel, of the Jewish people.

So this is where they're going to be.

But as they enter in into this town where they say, well, this is our people, so we'll be safe, we'll be good here.

They notice that things are different.

They notice that it's not like they were used to before.

And the scripture says what was different is this, that no one's speaking to them.

No one's talking to them.

No one's looking at them.

And finally, there's this older man, the Bible tells us, that comes out and he extends them the gift of hospitality.

And he says, no, no.

Well, you can come into my house.

And then he gives him a warning.

He says, but whatever you do, don't go into the town square.

Don't go in there.

Bad stuff happens there.

Let's look down at verse 22 of chapter 19.

So as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door.

And they said to the old man, the master of the house, bring out the man who came into your house that we may know him.

All right.

In the sensitivity of the room, they're not asking to learn what his name is, okay?

They want to victimize him.

Bring him out so that we may know him.

Verse 23.

And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, no, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.

Since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing.

So we think here, all right, maybe there's somebody that gets it.

Maybe there's a hero.

Maybe there's someone who stands for righteousness.

Maybe there's someone that can point toward this.

But no.

Verse 24.

Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine.

Let me bring them out.

Violate them and do with them what seems good to you.

But against this man, do not do this outrageous thing.

And in my mind, I can't fathom what's taking place.

A dad who is so surrounded by a culture of evil.

He says, no.

You're not going to do this to him.

But you can do this to them.

And part of them is his baby girl.

And what we see taking place in Judges, what we see taking place throughout society since sin entered is the evolution of sin.

We see sin that begins and starts and then it grows and changes into something that it never was before.

But at the heart of it, it's the exact same thing.

And so what we see in the evolution of sin where we fall into that still today is we believe the lie, number one, that sin is controllable.

That I can control my sin.

That I've got struggles.

Like we call it pretty stuff, right?

I've got my weaknesses.

I've got my struggles.

I've got the battles that I face.

But you know, they're just that.

They're struggles.

No, you don't have struggles.

You have what's killing you.

And it's sin.

And it's not controllable.

It's uncontrollable.

And you can't maintain it.

But we also, but a little sin's okay.

So not only is it uncontrollable, but we begin to believe the lie that a little sin is okay.

Like culturally speaking, it's okay.

Culturally speaking, it's okay to cheat on your wife, right?

Which is what's happening at the very beginning of this.

It's okay culturally to have this until we end up in this scenario where you and I say,

no, we could never do anything like this.

But you and I are playing this same battle in the evolution of sin where we think I can control this

or just a little bit of this is okay and begins and presses forward and continues to move forward

until this is what we see in our society.

So back to the conversation of the sanctity of life.

You see a moment and a situation in here where another dad says one life is more valuable than another.

You see a man that chooses one life is more valuable than another.

I want to ask you this.

Is there ever a life?

Do you know of any one that you think is less valuable than you?

Now, not what we say, but really at the heart of hearts, those who deserve less than what you deserve.

Is there life that you and I that we view as property?

And here's what I mean by that.

This past January, I had a truck.

It was a 2007 Ford F-150.

I loved that truck.

I'd had that truck for about 10 years.

Truck had 250,000 miles on it.

I'd driven it out to hunting trips in Arkansas and in Mississippi.

And I loved this truck.

My kids loved the truck.

Their stories and family vacations were all tied into this truck.

I loved it.

And one day I got in this past January and I cranked it up and I started riding down the road.

And it started, I'd get about 35 miles an hour and it'd start shaking.

Right?

Well, if I got up to over 40 and you handed me a glass of milk,

like it would have made you a milkshake.

Like it was that bad.

And so I took the truck to a friend of mine that I know.

I took it to his shop and I said,

Hey man, help me figure out what's wrong with my truck and please try to get it fixed.

I love this truck.

He said, okay.

So the next day he calls me and he says,

Boy, I kind of need to give you the update on your truck.

He said, you know, your truck is valued at about $1,500.

But it's going to take about $4,000 to get your truck fixed.

What do you want me to do?

Now I'm going to tell you, I love that truck.

I got memories tied into that truck.

But what I told him is, don't do anything to that truck.

I'm getting rid of that and getting me a new one, right?

And I went and I picked it up and I drove it all the way to another guy that I know in Aiken.

And it took me two hours to get there going 35 miles an hour, shaking the whole way there.

But I walked away from that truck and I walked right to my new truck, right?

And here's what I know will happen.

In several years, I'll do the same thing with the other.

Why?

Because the old truck stopped giving me what I needed.

The old truck stopped doing what I needed it to do.

The old truck brought more complications into my life.

The old truck just wasn't worth it anymore.

And so in that, I discarded it as a piece of property to obtain a new one.

And the sad truth is, that while you and I have never owned a slave,

while you and I can't fathom the depth of depravity that is here in Judges 19,

that you and I have viewed life in the exact same way.

As long as you can give me what I want and what I need and what I feel like I deserve,

then there's value for you in my life.

But the moment that you break that is the moment that I can discard you to the side

and move on to the next piece of property.

It's the same heart.

It's the same sin.

Just manifest in different ways.

So the men, they take the concubine.

They take the daughter.

And they keep them for the entire night.

Can you imagine what took place?

What happened?

Can you imagine the scars that will never go away?

Can you imagine the hurt and the pain that was there?

The next morning, after a night of terror, the concubine is released.

You know where she goes?

Right back to the man who released her.

But she doesn't even go into the building.

Instead, like a dog that's been left outside,

she curled up on the porch and that's where she lay.

A victim, taken advantage of,

told and treated that she's worthless,

finds herself here.

Where was the man who wants to claim that he's her husband?

Where's the man who this is his beloved property?

Where was he during all this?

Was he going to the authorities saying,

this isn't right?

Was he walking through the streets looking for where she was

so that he could bring her back?

Mm-mm.

He got a good night's rest

and woke up that morning

and began to prepare for the journey

that they would have to get home.

The depth of brokenness

when sin continues to evolve.

So he gets her home,

kills her,

cuts her up,

and sends her body

all over different parts of Israel.

And culturally, he was saying something.

And here's what he was saying.

I'm owed for what was taken from me.

And so as I scatter these out,

I promise that revenge would be mine.

And I'll be honest with you.

This is a hard passage of Scripture

to kind of wrap up judges.

It's a hard passage of Scripture

to come into the week of Thanksgiving

and kind of go through

and wrap my mind around it.

So I started reading this past week

and navigating through

and getting to the end of this.

You're like,

God, help me understand the reason.

Help me understand the purpose.

And like I said,

you can go through and read chapter 20

and chapter 21,

but what God kept reminding me of was this.

Like, Bo, these are the snapshots

of what I'm dealing with

in the heart of my people

throughout Judges.

And this is what I'm dealing with

in the heart of people today,

that they're missing out

on the Imago Dei

created in the image of God,

that they're looking out

and they're doing what is right

in their own eyes.

And then it struck me, right?

The message,

the theme of Judges

is not that people did

what was evil

in the sight of the Lord.

That's not the theme.

That's a part of it.

But that's not the theme.

Here's the theme then.

Here's the theme today.

In spite of all of that evil,

God continues to save.

God continues to save.

God continues to save.

And so the society did

what was evil

in the sight of the Lord.

And God sent a judge

and he saved.

And he sent a judge

and he saved.

Time and time again.

And so that today

you and I can look

at our own lives.

You and I can look

at culture.

You and I can look

at society.

You and I can look

at all of these things.

And the truth

of all of this

is

God

continues

to save.

No one then

deserved it.

No one now

deserves it either.

But God continues to.

Scripture tells us

in Romans 3.23

For all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God.

What I love

about this verse

it's the great equalizer

of what sin brings.

It doesn't say

for men like these

have sinned

but it says

for all

that all of us

as repulsive

as you think this is

you and I

are linked

into the same category

as all of these people

and everyone

who's ever

been created

who's ever

walked this earth

other than Jesus

all falls into

Romans 3.23

We've all sinned.

We've all fallen short.

There's this sin

problem that's there.

And so

because of that

this sin problem

creates a verdict.

It creates

a destination.

Not for just

evil men like this

but for us

for Romans 6.23

says

for the wages

of sin

is death

but the free gift

of God

is eternal life

in Christ Jesus.

So whether

if you think

your sins

are rated G

compared to what

this looks like

right?

When there's one

when there's one

there's a determination

of your outcome

and it is death.

So what does

God do?

What does God

give?

What does God

offer?

He brings

us

Christ.

Romans 5.8

God shows

His love

for us

in that

while we were

still

sinners

Christ

died

for us.

We talk about

the fact

that God

doesn't change.

Here's what

this means.

God

can't

forget

Romans 6.23

because

there is sin

there must

be death.

Because

there is sin

there must

be a punishment.

And so

God provides

not only

the punishment

but God

provides

Him

who will

absorb it

for us.

So that

while we were

sinners

Christ

died

for us.

and then

Romans 10

Romans 10:9

verse 9

if you

confess

with your

mouth

that

Jesus

is

Lord

and

believe

in your

heart

that

God

raised

Him

from

the

dead

you

will

be

saved

for

with

the

heart

one

believes

and

is

justified

and

with

the

mouth

one

confesses

and

is

saved.

So

that

it's

you

and

I

that

we

know

this

that

we

know

that

Christ

died

for

us

there's

a

response

the

response

is

a

confession

the

response

is

belief

it's

to

in

those

that

I

not

only

believe

who

Jesus

is

but

that

I

confess

it

and

it's

not

just

words

that

come

out

of

our

mouth

but

it's

the

positioning

of

our

hearts

and

the

positioning

of

our

lives

that

say

I

surrender

to

you

it's

not

just

enough

to

have

the

head

it's

the

connection

of

the

head

and

the

heart

that

leads

to

the

life

and

then

the

hope

that

we

have

what

we

can

cling

to

every

single

moment

is

that

when

we

fall

into

the

trap

of

believing

I

can

control

my

sin

when

we

fall

into

the

trap

of

saying

but

it's

just

a

little

bit

we

can

be

reminded

of

Romans

10

13

for

everyone

who

calls

on

the

name

of

the

Lord

will

be

saved

not

maybe

not

hope

to

not

stands

a

chance

for

but

will

be

saved

yesterday

at our

at our

house

it was

decoration

day

you know

and so

we

put up

our

tree

and

we

put up

ornaments

we

hung up

our

stockings

we

decorated

the

yard

I

decorated

the

yard

Aaron

took

care

of

the

tree

but

one

of

the

special

things

that

I

get

to

do

every

single

year

is

I

get

to

put

out

the

nativity

scene

and so

we're

putting

out

the

nativity

scene

and the

very

last

piece

is the

one

that

reminds

us

a little

baby

that's

placed

into a

manger

and so

this

Christmas

we'll

sing

songs

about

Jesus

we'll

talk

about

his

miraculous

birth

we'll

see all

that is

there

but may

we not

forget

that

this

boy

who

stepped

out

of

heaven

and

stepped

into

a

manger

would

take

a

journey

to

the

cross

and so

we

always

take

Lord's

Supper

together

on

Christmas

Eve

as a

reminder

and we

will

do

that

again

this

year

but

this

year

we

want

to

start

off

the

Christmas

season

a little

bit

differently

by

taking

the

Lord's

Supper

together

as we

enter

in

so

hopefully

you've

got

your

cup

and

you'll

notice

there's

two

layers

if you

can

just

peel

off

that

top

layer

there's

a little

wafer

that's

there

and this

wafer

will represent

the bread

for us

that'll

represent

the body

of Jesus

the body

of Jesus

that would

be nailed

to a

cross

and

scripture

tells us

that on

the night

that

Jesus

was

betrayed

that he

gathered

with his

closest

followers

and he

took

some

bread

and he

broke

it

and he

passed

it out

to all

that was

there

and he

said to

them

this is

my body

which was

broken

for you

do this

in remembrance

of me

and then

scripture tells

us

that in the

same way

he took

the cup

that he

took the

wine

and he

said

that this

represents

not the

old

but the

new

covenant

that is

found in

him

that is

you and

I as

we

believe

and as

we

confess

that the

blood of

Jesus

covers

us

washing

away

of our

sins

and sealing

us

for

eternity

with

him

and he

says

this

blood

represents

the

new

covenant

do

this

in

remembrance

of me

thanks again

for listening

to the

Willow Ridge

Church

weekly

podcast

we hope

that you

enjoyed

listening

to this

week's

message

if you'd

like to

learn more

about who

we are

or explore

additional

resources

visit us

online at

www.willowridgechurch.com

or by searching

for Willow Ridge

Church on

Facebook and

Instagram