Easter: What now? Romans 8:31-

All of the ground is sinking sand. All of the

ground is sinking sand. on the ground is When

darkness seems to hide his face, I rest in his

unchanging grace. In every high and stormy hell,

my anger haunts within the veil. Good morning,

good morning, good morning. It's Easter Sunday

morning. Now, we come together every Sunday to

celebrate the resurrection, but today is the

day, once a year, that we get to drill down on

it and say, this is the day that Jesus rose from

the dead. This is the day that the tomb was found

empty. This is the day that God showed us something.

He showed us something that we had not yet seen.

The victory of Jesus Christ over death. Praise

the Lord. You're going to see that story unfold

throughout our service today. And it's going

to be a fun, amazing time as we learn and celebrate

the Lord. You want to remember, if you would,

the families involved with the car accident that

took place the night before last. There was a

tree that fell on an electrical line. The electrical

line that fell on a car. A man, a Sunday school

teacher from Northwest, lost his life. Pastor

Richards was very injured in the hospital. So

if you would pray for them. And all over the

world. There was a man in South Africa who the

police managed to rescue him. He'd been picked

off by rebels during a worship service and taken

into custody. And then the police found him and

got him out safely. Praise God for that. And

then there are other stories as well, some of

which you'll hear a little later. But the bottom

line is God is at work. He's doing amazing things

in our lifetime. It isn't over until it's over.

It's never too late, right? It's never too late

until it's too late. Praise God it's not too

late for us. We are here today for the Word of

God, for the living Word of God, Jesus Christ,

to recognize Him, recognize what He has done,

and that is to overcome death once and for all.

And we'll praise Him as we sing and as we listen

to the story and as we go to the Word. And even

as we spend time together, it's all about Jesus.

Let's pray together and then we'll work. Father

in heaven, you are king. You are in charge. I

think about that night when Jesus was struggling

with the course ahead and he knew what had to

be done but strained to do it. Sometimes I feel

like that. But Lord, knowing, knowing the pathway

that you have laid out for us, knowing how you

have given us victory. makes me able in a way

that I cannot explain. I praise you this day

for all that you've done in our lives and the

lives of this church and the families that are

here and the families that are here represented.

We pray for the ones who promised to be here,

wanted to be here, were headed this way, and

one thing or another restrained them. We pray

that they will be with us just as soon as you

are ready to break them free from whatever it

is that held them back. We pray for our Our sister

Chris this morning, she's struggling with her

back. It's been ongoing. It's getting a little

better and a little better each day. And she's

heartbroken that she can't be here. We pray for

Pastor Richard and his family and her family,

the man who was in the car with them who passed

away very quickly under terrible circumstances.

We pray for those who are living in this world

who are in any way captive, which is completely

unnecessary. because you have shown the way to

freedom. We pray for us that we would be found

strong. I know somewhere in a service, somewhere

on this planet, someone will get excited and

they'll cry out, Hallelujah, praise the Lord.

Somewhere on this planet, this day, someone will

stand and sing out with all the voice that they

have, whether they know the notes or the melody,

whether it sounds... professional or not, they

will sing out all the voices they have because

there is nothing that they can do except praise

the God of heaven who's done this amazing thing.

Somewhere, someone will give their heart. All

that they are, all that they have left, all the

days, all the minutes, follow you completely.

Someday, we're going to come into a place where

everyone who will gather who have done all those

things will look back at the days and say, Oh,

I'm so glad I said hallelujah. I'm so glad I

surrendered my life. I'm so glad I gave each

moment. I don't know if it will be here, Lord.

I suppose there will be somebody here who will

get very excited. There will be somebody here

who will sing when they don't normally sing.

There will be somebody here who will rise and

raise their hands and honor you. Someone will

cry out hallelujah. Someone will honor you with

their voice. Someone will commit their heart

and their time to you. I pray it will be here.

Indeed, Lord, I pray that it will be every single

one of us in your will, as you see fit, we submit

this time to you. We praise you, Lord. The Son

has risen. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Come on! Thank you. inside happen here, and real

quick, I want to preface this with a, we're not

doing the typical Easter story today. We know

that Jesus died on the cross to save us from

our sins, and that he rose again and beat death

once again. So, what we're doing today is we're

going to add on to that, and we're going to give

you the reason why once we accept the fact that

Jesus rose again and defeated death, why we can

move on with that and we can live the life that

he wants us to live. So pay attention to these

pieces. Amen. I still believe in amazing grace.

Ephesians 2 .8 and 9 says, For by grace you have

been saved through faith, and this is not your

own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result

of works, so that no one may boast. Titus 3 .5

says, He saved us not because of righteous deeds

we did, but because of his mercy. He saved us

through the washing of rebirth and renewal by

the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously.

Romans 3 .24 says, And all are justified freely

by his grace, through the redemption that came

by Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15 .10 says, By

the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace

towards me was not in vain. Indeed, I labored

harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace

of God that was with me. Amen. Lord has promised

good to me. His word I will secure. He will my

shield and portion be. In him we have redemption

through his blood, forgiveness of our wrongdoings,

according to the riches of his grace which he

has lashed on us. Hebrews 10 .19. Therefore,

brothers and sisters, that we have confidence

to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.

Matthew 26 .27 -29. And when he had taken a cup

and given thanks, he gave to them, saying, Do

not drink from it, all of you, for this is my

blood of the covenant. which is being poured

out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say

to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the

vine from now on until the day when I drink it

from you new in my Father's kingdom. 1 John 1

.7 But if we walk in the light as he himself

is in the light, we have fellowship with one

another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses

us from all sin. victory in Jesus, my Savior

forever. He sought me and bought me with His

redeeming blood. oh is Just is the flow that

makes me white as snow. No other ground I know.

Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the

blood of Jesus. We love the blood of Jesus. John

20, 11 through 18. But Mary was standing outside

the tomb weeping. And so as she wept, she stood,

she stooped, excuse me, and looked into the tomb.

She saw two angels in white sitting, one at the

head, one at the feet, where the body of Jesus

had been lying. They said to her, Woman, why

are you weeping? She said to them, Because they

have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where

they have laid him. When she said this, she turned

around, and saw Jesus standing there, and did

not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her,

Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?

Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, Sir,

if you have carried him away, tell me where you

have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus

said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him

in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus

said to her, Mary Magdalene came announcing to

the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that

he had said these things to her. That because

he lives, I can face tomorrow. 1 Peter 1 .3 says,

For indeed he was crucified because of weakness,

yet he lives because of the power of God. For

we are also weak in him, yet we will live with

him because of the power of God directed toward

you. Romans 6, 10, and 11. For the death that

he died, he died to sin once for all. But the

life that he lives, he lives to God. Even so,

consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive

to God in Christ Jesus. Who caught the sun when

you swam in the morning? And who taught the ocean

you can only hunt this far? All because of the

old ready cross. Romans 5 .8 But he demonstrates

his own love towards us, in that while we were

yet sinners, Christ died for us. John 3 .16 For

God so loved the world, that he gave his only

begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall

not perish, but have eternal life. For God did

not send the Son into the world to judge the

world, but that the world might be saved through

him. 1 Corinthians 1 .18 For the word of the

cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,

but to us who are being saved it is the power

of God. Hebrews 12 .2 Fixing our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of faith, who for the

joy set before him endured the cross, despising

the shame, and is set down at the right hand

of the throne of God. I'll never do that again.

Jesus died my soul to save Soon I'll cherish

the old rugged cross. Till my trophies at last

I lay down. Sin had left a crimson stain. He

washed it white as snow. So when it was evening

on that day, the first day of the week, and when

the doors were shut where the disciples were

for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in

their midst and said to them, Peace be with you.

And when he had said this, he showed them both

his hands and his side. The disciples then rejoiced

when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them

again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent

me, I also send you. And when he had said this,

he breathed on them and said to them, Receive

the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any,

their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain

the sins of any, they have been retained. At

this time, children and their leaders can go

to their classrooms. Kids, let's walk victoriously

in the resurrection of the Lord. Now what was

heard? At the tomb that day, just shut all the

soldiers' feet as they guarded the grave. One

day, two days, three days had passed. Could it

be that Jesus breathed his last? Could it be

that his father had was saved? Turned his back

on the sun, disguising him. All hell seemed to

whisper, just forget everything. And the father

looked out down to his son and said, Come on.

Thank you. You bring to me a trail of galaxies

and dream of me. What kind of love is riding

on my soul until the end? We choose to wear a

crown of leaves and stars to bring light on.

What God does tells me I'm the reason he can

sing. challenge that I sit up here on the front

row worshiping the Lord, especially on Easter

Sunday, and I'm crying like a baby. And then

at a certain moment in time, I have to go, okay,

got to stop, got to stop. We have to get up and

preach in a minute. And so I'm struggling down

there to drink water and overcome. God is so

good. And we are so blessed. And I think there's

really like, at this point, there's nothing I

can say, but I have been given something to say.

And so I'm excited to be up here. And so I'm

going to share it with you. I'm a big fan of

an Underdog story. You know what I mean when

I say that? An underdog story. It's a story where

the guy that looks like he can't possibly win

comes out on top. I don't watch much professional

football anymore, but a lot of times when I do

watch professional football, I'm looking for

who is the underdog, the team that's surely going

to lose, and I'll root for them the entire game,

and occasionally they'll win, and boy do I love

it when they win. David was like that, or at

least people think he was anyway. He was an underdog.

He was this little boy, a young man anyway, who

went up against this giant with a giant spear,

right? And he went out with five smooth stones

and a sling against a big guy like that. The

stories of underdogs are told even today. For

example, we had a really kind of cool moment

when we were a young church, really while East

Toledo was kind of still blended with us. Our

team had lost every single softball game all

throughout the year. We lost every single game.

In fact, at one point, we were up 10 runs in

one of the last games. We thought, we're finally

going to win a game. And the other team came

back and scored 11 runs in the final. And we

had lost every single softball game. And they

went into the tournament and won every game to

go all the way to the finish and beat the Goliath

team at the end, who had never won a game by

less than 15 runs. So they beat everybody all

year long by 15 runs minimum and most teams by

30 runs. And then we beat them in the final game

to win the championship. And we were just blown

away. God is sometimes like that. He takes what

seems little and turns it to be great. And I

love that. And I can do a dozen of those stories.

And I always kind of weep and cry when I see

something like that happen. And I think. why

am i crying this is so cool why am i crying that's

because i'm kind of there's a sorrow in it And

I know why that is. And we're going to look at

that briefly. This is going to go by quickly,

but there's quite a bit in here. So I hope you

brought attentiveness and your thinking cap.

In John chapter 16, these are not our verses

John 16 · chapter mention

for the day, but in John chapter 16, we see the

John 16 · chapter mention

disciples wanting to go to Jesus and ask him

about what's about to happen before the crucifixion.

They want to go to Jesus and ask Jesus, what

are you talking about? What exactly? And this

is what it says in John 16, 17 and following.

It says, some of his disciples then said to one

another, what is this thing he is telling us

a little while and you will not see me. And again,

a little while and you will see me. And because

I go to the Father. What does he mean by that?

So they were saying, what is this that he says,

a little while? We do not know what he's talking

about. Jesus knew that they wished to question

him. And he said to them, are you deliberating

together about this, that I said a little while

and you will not see me? And again, a little

while and you will see me? He's talking about,

of course, his death, burial, and resurrection.

Truly, truly, I say to you that you will weep

and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will

grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.

Key in on that phrase from your grief will be

turned into joy. Whenever a woman is in labor,

she has pain because her hour has come. But when

she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers

the anguish because of the joy that a child has

been born into the world. Therefore, you too

have grief now, but I will see you again. And

your heart will rejoice. Listen to this. And

your heart will rejoice. And no one will take

your joy from you. That is an incredible statement.

That at the death and burial of Jesus, they would

grieve. But at the resurrection of Jesus, they

would receive joy. And they would receive joy.

And that that joy would never be stolen from.

Now understand that these 11 disciples and those

gathered around Jesus in that day. That most

of them. would die a martyr's death. And yet

Jesus would make the statement that no one would

take their joy away from them. That's a pretty

incredible statement. Now the text for the day

then speaks to us in a time when we are in the

same place. In a sense, in a very real sense,

we are waiting for Jesus to come again. Yet we

have the same promise of the disciples that our

joy will not be taken away from us. So if you

have your Bibles, grab them right now. Or if

you've got an electronic Bible, pull it up. And

if not, it's okay. I'm going to read the text

to you. I do encourage you to bring one. But

if you don't, it's okay. And then we're going

to go maybe a little who to holler amen. Take

a breath right now. Let it out loud like you

roll a Yahtzee or something. Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Thank you. This is God's word. Romans chapter

Romans 8 · chapter mention

8, beginning in verse 31, says this. It says,

What then shall we say to these things? I dove

right in while you were still turning there,

and it's okay if you hadn't gotten there yet,

because we're going to take a break for a second

and look at what he means when he says, What

then shall we say to these things? Well, what

are these things? That's not the verses that

we just read from John 16, obviously. It's what

he's been talking about up until this point in

the book of Romans. So he says, what then shall

we say to these things? In other words, what

should our response be? Or what should we do?

What now? Then what? Is what he's saying in response

to these things. Let me give you briefly, this

is going to go by really fast. I apologize for

that in advance. You can listen to it on the

podcast later if you personally need it. Again,

after this fact. In Romans chapter 5, Paul is

Romans 5 · chapter mention

talking about justification. by faith. It's chapters

1 through 5. He talks about how bad off man is,

a picture of humanity's sinfulness. That's really

the first three chapters. And then how all have

sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We

know that verse, hopefully. If you haven't ever

heard it before, you just heard it now. Romans

3, 23, where it says all have sinned and fall

short of the glory of God. but God did not leave

us in despair. No, he takes us straight to the

foot of the cross, as Paul talks about. We are

justified by faith in Romans 3 .28. Justification

is a gift of God's grace in Romans 3 .24. Through

faith in Christ, God declares us righteous, not

because of our own goodness, but because of his

son's finished work. Then he says, we have peace

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's

Romans 5 .1. We stand in grace rejoicing in the

hope of the glory of God, Romans 5 .2. He says

we have a new identity in Christ in Romans 6.

Paul makes it clear that justification leads

to transformation. If you say you've been saved

and God has made it as if you never had sinned,

that's what justification is like. He makes it

as if you had never sinned, then you should live

a certain way now. There's a response to that.

We are changed completely in the moment of our

beginning of our justification. transformed.

We are dead to sin and alive to God in Romans

6 .11. Sin no longer has dominion over us. Sin

cannot reign over us. It cannot capture us or

control us because we are under grace, Romans

6 .14. We've become servants of righteousness.

We're not slaves to sin anymore. And then beginning

in Romans 7, he talks about, which is right before

our text for the day, He talks about how freedom

from the law and power of sin is now a thing.

Paul explains the law's role. It revealed sin

to us. It makes it clear. God said, don't do

that. Do this instead. And people did what God

told them not to do. And they failed to do what

God told them to do. We've done the same thing.

The law is holy, but it's made fruitless. It

doesn't have the power that it could have had

because our flesh is weak, Paul says. And even

though we struggle, we are not condemned because

we have a Savior who delivers us. Oh, Paul says,

oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver

me? I thank God through Christ Jesus our Lord

in Romans 7, 24 and 25. And then into chapter

8, getting very near our text for the day, here's

where Paul opens the floodgates of God's gospel

assurance. Life is in the Spirit of God. There

is therefore now no condemnation to them who

are in Christ Jesus, Paul writes in 8 .1. We

are set free from the law of sin and death in

8 .2. The Spirit of God dwells in us, giving

us life in 8 .9 -11. We are children of God,

adopted in His family, Romans 8 .15. The Spirit

testifies with our spirit that we are His, 8

.16. As children, we are heirs of God and joint

heirs with Christ, Romans 8 .17. Even in suffering,

we have a hope that does not disappoint. 8 .18

-25. The Spirit helps us in our weakness, interceding

for us when we don't know how to pray. That's

26 and 27. And then that glorious promise, all

things work together for good to them that love

God. We talked about that on Tuesday. Romans

8 .28. We are part of God's eternal plan, foreknown,

God knew in advance. predestined, God chose in

advance, called, God called, justified, God made

it as if we had never sinned, and glorified.

It's a done deal in heaven's courtroom. And then

we come to the text for the day. But in summary,

all that we have looked at, God has said through

Romans 8 and all the verses and chapters before

it that there is forgiveness for our past. You

don't have to look at what you did and you don't

have to be what you did. You don't have to look

at what was done to you or be affected by what

was done to you. There is forgiveness for our

past. For everything that we are a part of and

anyone did anything to us, we can be made clean,

made new. All things made new, there is forgiveness

for our past. And there is power for our present.

I stood on the dock just this last week with

a man and he said to me, you're telling me that

if I start to follow the Lord, that I start to

go to church and behave as a Christian, that

all my problems will go away, that everything

will be made right. And I had to say to him,

no, that's not exactly how it works. God does

not promise that if you will come and follow

him, that all of your problems will go away and

that everything will be made perfect. But he

does promise that he'll be with you through every

one of those problems. And he promises in this

moment of forgiveness and a cleansing that all

things old will fall away and all things new

will come. I don't exactly know what God would

do in your life if you turn your life over to

the Lord, but here's what I can tell you. If

you would just turn your life over to the Lord

and begin to act like a Christian in order to

get those blessings, in order to see God's power

at work in the presence, in order to see God's

future that he has aligned for you, if that's

the only reason that you would do it, then it's

probably not going to do anything at all. There

is power in the present for the one that recognizes

that God has right to be Lord because he came

in the flesh as God the Son, Jesus Christ, and

died on the cross for sin and rose again. That

he is Lord because he created the entire universe.

That he foresaw your existence. That he brought

you to this moment in time right now. And if

you will recognize that and submit to him, there

is forgiveness for your past and power for your

present. And there is glory for your future.

That's the good news. That's the gospel we preach.

And it's enough to make a Baptist shout, which

is saying something, because what I've noticed

about most of you is you're fairly reserved in

worship compared to other people, compared to

those who have recognized this power in the present.

What we saw in John 16 was Jesus was saying he

was going to leave them and he was going to come

back. And that great joy unending would result.

And then what happened? He left them. He was

crucified on the cross. And as we sang in the

Psalms and heard the text today, there was a

moment in time, though they wanted to believe

what Jesus said. They wanted to expect a return,

expect something great to come out of it. But

there he was hanging on the cross, barely able

to catch a breath, ripped to shreds and nailed

to wood. You could just hear the evil spirits

whispering to every mind, it's done. All that

he said, it means nothing. He's got nothing,

you see. And there were the men crucified on

either side of him calling out, you saved others,

save us, save yourself. Can't you, can't you

do anything? Can't you bring us down from this

cross? And the soldiers mocking him and the people

gambling for his clothes and one indecency after

another piled on until, Can this possibly be

the son of God? Can he be the one that's going

to save all people? And they wept and they ached

and they mourned because he left them just as

he said he would. But on that third day, he came

back and they rejoiced and they, as he promised,

received a joy unending. And then. And then we

come to our text for the day. And Paul writes,

as we have already read in verse 31, what then

shall we say to these things? What is our action

plan? What will we now do in light of everything

that's been laid out for us? All that I've said

to you in seven chapters and 30 verses, all of

those conclusions that can easily be made based

on what God has done, what then shall we do?

What should we say? And in that same verse, he

finishes the verse by saying this. If God is

for us, who is against us? What power in all

the world would stand against us? He who did

not spare his own son, but delivered him over

for us all, how will he not also with him, with

Jesus, freely give us all things? And you know

what the answer is to that question. The one

who delivered his own son for us, he will indeed

give us all things freely with him. There is

no way that it can be conceived that he would

not deliver all things to us as he does to Jesus

and to us with Jesus. Verse 33 says, who will

bring a charge against God's elect? Shall we

say it together? No one! No one will bring a

charge against me. I am in Christ. Go ahead,

find fault if you will. For I am cleansed. I

am a soldier and a child of God in the house

of God receiving the keys to the kingdom. And

no one will bring a charge against me. God is

the one who justifies. Go ahead. Say I am wicked.

Say I am a fool. Say I am weak. Say I speak poorly.

God is the one who justifies. He is the one who

has cleansed me from all sin. Not because of

my good works. Or because of the awesome and

fearfully and wonderfully made person that he

made me? Not even because of that, but because

of the righteousness of Jesus Christ who was

crucified on the cross to pay for sins. Verse

34. Who is the one who condemns? Let Satan come.

Let the accuser arise. Let him walk through the

doors of this church building and say, you are

not saved. And you spit in his face and say,

you are dirt under my feet. I am saved by the

holy power of a risen Savior. Who is the one

who condemns? Christ Jesus is he who died. Yes,

rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand

of God, who also intercedes for us, and he will

not fail to do so. Verse 35 says, who will separate

us from the love of Christ? Who will separate

us from the love of Christ? As they were crucified,

their joy was retained. They hung on crosses,

were boiled in pots, stretched out by horses,

burned alive. And joyfully so, because Jesus

Christ had risen indeed. While he was still alive,

Jesus' brother James thought he was nuts. He

said, crazy. And he and the others and their

mother came and they tried to pull Jesus out.

He's in there teaching again. He's teaching he's

the son of God. He's teaching he's going to be

resurrected. He's teaching faithful living, following

the Lord despite persecutions. He's teaching

a kingdom that is not of this earth, but a kingdom

that is of heaven. That is of eternity. We've

got to stop this, mom. He's nuts. He's wacko.

And they came. And they tried to pull him out.

And he didn't come out. He says, those that gather

around me, they are my brothers and sisters and

my mother. The kingdom of God is real. She stood

at the cross and wept. James wasn't there. At

least as far as we know. But you know, after

Jesus came back to life and James saw him alive,

he didn't call himself a Jew anymore. He called

himself a Christian. He became a follower of

the living Christ and he received the joy. though

he was not a disciple of Jesus while Jesus was

alive. He abandoned everything he knew, his lifelong

religion and processes, and turned himself over

to worshiping the living Christ. The man who

knew him from birth, probably, knew him most

of his life, since he could remember, called

him crazy, and then was redeemed. You ever know

anybody who called following Jesus crazy and

then was redeemed? If you think you haven't,

you're wrong because that was me for over 25

years. Yeah, they're all over. We all did it.

It's nuts. Except it's not really nuts. It's

actually right. Who will separate us from the

love of Christ? Will tribulation, that means

when you go through trouble, or distress, that

means when you're internally troubled. Or persecution,

that's when you're attacked for your faith. Or

famine, you go without food. Or nakedness, you

go without proper attire or even clothing. Or

peril, you're faced with possible death. Or sword,

you're actually put to death or stricken down.

Will any of those things separate us from the

love of Christ, he asks? Verse 36, just as it

is written, for your sake we are being put to

death all day long. That's Psalm 44, verse 22.

Psalms 44:22

We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

Verse 37 says, but in all these things, we overwhelmingly

conquer through him who loved us. Let's be really

super clear about what we just said. We just

said that if we should be found in tribulation,

distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril,

or sword, if we should be put to death in this

lifetime, if we should find death, a horrible

death, stressed out by horses or burned alive

or boiled in a pot, strung up on a cross, hung

in our backyards. shot through our windows, persecuted

unto death in any way, shape, or form, if that

should be true, in those things we will be found

as victors. If you are struggling with the events

of your life, and you're like, man, I don't like

my circumstances, understand that you are victorious.

You have been given a joy in Christ. If you are

in Christ, you have been given a joy in Christ

that the things that you are experiencing cannot

touch. And if you do not have a joy internally,

a joy in Christ, that the things that you are

experiencing cannot touch, then I ask you, where

is your joy coming from? Is it coming from a

risen Savior? You know that he went to the cross

for the joy that was set before him, right? Do

you think that that's like he's going to come

back to life and then he's going to go to heaven

and he was joyous when he got to heaven? Was

that the joy that was set before him? Because

he knew he was going to go to heaven. That was

already done, whether he died there or died elsewhere.

He was going to heaven because he is the eternal

God in flesh. So he was going. I submit to you

that it's your joy, my joy, this kind of joy

that Paul's talking about, that was set before

him. But in all these things, whatever our suffering

may be, we overwhelmingly, there we go, overwhelmingly

conquer through him who loved us. Verse 38 says,

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,

nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present,

nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor

depth, nor any other created thing will be able

to separate us from the love of God, which is

in Christ Jesus our Lord. You're going to go

through it. You're going to face it. But whatever

it is, it can't touch you. I told you I like

an underdog story. I told you I often cry. And

I think I recently discovered why. Because when

I think about the story of David and Goliath

specifically, I often think of David as a Goliath

and I resonate with him. And I'm like, you know

what? I was a lost person. I was a liar and I

was a thief and so on. And so I was definitely

an underdog. I was on my way to hell. I was an

underdog. And God brought me out and he saved

me. And so now I'm on my way to heaven. And that's

a great turnaround story. And all of that is

true. But I just realized as I was preparing

this message, I just realized that the story

of David and Goliath, in that story, David's

not the underdog. David's not the underdog. Goliath

was the underdog. And he didn't overcome. He

didn't have victory. Goliath was the underdog,

and he died to a boy, a man nine feet tall with

a spear as large as a weaver's loom, that no

one in all the armies that they had faced before

would even come out to face. A boy came out and

faced him, and he was destroyed. A boy stood

on his chest and cut his head off with his own

sword after taking him down with a sling. You

see, we're not the underdogs. We're the power

of God on earth. He is working in us the Holy

Spirit power that is in you. The gifting that

God has given you, it cannot be overcome. It

cannot be stolen from you, not by anything. You

face Satan himself. If he rips your face off,

he translates you immediately into an eternal

heaven that he cannot enter. He doesn't want

to hurt you because if he really hurts you, you

go where he can't go. You escape his wrath, the

demons, the evil spirits, Satan, the world system,

the violence, the persecution, the peril, the

soldiers, the enemies, all of it. They're all

defeated already. The outcome is predetermined.

Jesus said, I will go away from you. It'll be

for a short while. You will grieve and then your

grief will be turned to mourning. I submit you

for 25 years of my life, I grieved. I grieved

my own wickedness, my own plots and plans, my

own schemes. I grieved what people did that I

didn't like, the things that went on around me.

They vexed me internally. I felt crushed and

my heart turned to stone as I thought about the

terrible things that were going on. And some

of them, I was the one doing it. I remember having

traumatic flashbacks of violent fights that I

had when I was in high school, traumatic flashbacks

of things that I said that hurt people, things

that I did, blood that I caused to be spilled.

And all that while, I was the underdog, and I

was losing the fight. I was going to hell. I

would sit there judgmentally and think about

what other people were doing. I really never

thought about how I lied or cheated or stole.

In fact, that made me feel kind of good about

myself when I thought about that. But then when

I saw the hurt it caused, I regretted that people

were hurt. Or when somebody caught me, I would

say, I'm so sorry. But I really wasn't. I submit

to you that the great enemies of God's people,

the outcome is predetermined. When Jesus went

to the cross, when Satan tempted Jesus, there

was no question that he would stand up to the

temptation. Not because he couldn't sin, because

he was tempted the same way men are. But because

he wouldn't sin. Because he knew what was at

stake. And now, so do you. Jesus did not come

to condemn, but rather they are condemned already

by what they have done with the Son of God. That's

John 3, 17. The question is, what have you done

with the Son of God? I'd love to be able to say

to you today that if you truly turn, if you haven't

already, you truly turn your life over to the

Lord, that suddenly everything will get better.

It may. It happens. There are a number of underdog

stories like that. I was thinking about that

Scottish farmer. I think Anselm was his first

name in South Africa. And he and his wife, her

name was Jill. It's funny, I remember her name

and don't remember his. But anyway, their farm

was going bankrupt. He was a drinker and a party.

You can hear this story, by the way, in the movie

Faith's Like Potatoes. If you've never seen it,

I highly recommend it. And he gave his life to

Christ in a small church service. And he began

to faithfully live for the Lord and study his

Bible and pray. And over time, their farm was

no longer going bankrupt. They started to have

crops when nobody else was having crops. And

that made them reasonably wealthy. They opened

an orphanage and began to take in kids. There

was tons of them because there was a famine and

people were dying and bad things, vicious things

were happening. So there was tons of kids who

didn't have parents. They started taking them

in and opened a big orphanage. In time, God called

him to preach the gospel. Eventually, some years

after he got saved, 200 ,000 men from all over

South Africa came to his huge farm to hear the

gospel preached. Now, I'm not saying you're going

to be a huge evangelist or win 200 ,000 men to

Christ. I don't even know if anybody got saved

that day for sure. But his was a great turnaround

story. And one stands before you today, raised

a liar and a deceiver and a thief. 25 and a half

years old, started attending East Little Baptist

Church and just listening to the gospel be preached.

And over time, I was there for a while, over

six months. I began to realize that there was

a truth in this. And if there's a truth in it,

there's something I have to do. And one Sunday

I said to myself, you know, I think I'm going

to give my life to the Lord. And whether it was

evil spirits or my own selfishness, I made an

excuse. I said, no, I'm going to talk to my wife

first. Because we had a lot of trouble. Our relationship

was not really good then. And I didn't do it.

And the next Sunday I came again and I felt the

Lord saying, give. Give your life to me. Come

on, follow me. I'm going to transform you. That's

what happens when you're justified, when you're

saved. You're transformed. I'm going to make

you new. I'm going to put all that behind you.

It's going to be something brand new. And I said,

ah, but I didn't talk to my wife. I made an excuse.

So that Sunday afternoon, driving along the Portage

River down to our favorite pizza restaurant in

Bowling Green, I brought up the topic. And I

said, I think I'm going to give my life to Christ.

And she said, well, what does that even mean?

What's going to happen? And I said, I don't know.

But I do know this. Everything's going to be

different. And she said, well, you do what you're

going to do and then I'm going to do whatever

I got to do. And I was like, well, that didn't

sound very hopeful. Maybe encouraging if you

take it the right way, but our relationship was

rocky. And so I really didn't. I'm like, oh,

great. So what she's basically saying to me,

there's a half decent chance if I become a Christian,

I may lose my wife. But I was pretty sure because

I was a jerk that there's a half decent chance

if I didn't become a Christian, I was going to

lose my wife. So I don't really think that was

that much. And I gave my life to Christ and everything

went behind. Do I still sometimes suffer doubt

or fear like anybody else? Do I still sin? Sure.

Maybe I shouldn't. You can judge me now if you

want. But your judgment will fall to the floor

useless. It's nothing. Because who justifies

the risen Savior? He went away for a short time.

When he came back, he turned their mourning into

joy. He's been back ever since. You may not physically

see him walking around today, but he's back.

And he's standing at the right hand of the Father

making intercession. The question is, will you

allow him to make intercession for you? He'll

never fail you. He'll never fail to cleanse you.

He'll never fail to deliver joy into your heart

if you allow it. He'll never fail to show up

for you. He'll give you Holy Spirit gifts that

cannot be held back. And yeah, at some point

in time you may be persecuted unto death. Can

you imagine? If you're here and you're not saved,

I imagine you think that if you were... like

hung on a cross or burnt alive, whatever, that

there's no possible way that you'd be able to

maintain your composure. That's the way I would,

like when something would really go bad, like

I would blow up, right? Like I would break stuff,

throw stuff, yell. I would run away. I'd peel

my car, burn my rubber on the street outside

my house to just prove my point, all those things.

Now I'm dying. I'm dying on a cross. I'm going

to be boiled alive. I'm marching to my own death.

How could I possibly endure? Don't you understand?

You're being told. by the God of heaven right

now, that your joy is untouchable. Your Goliath

is only destructible. The outcome is predetermined.

David didn't say, I'll go fight him. I'm tough

enough. I can take him. He basically said, this

battle belongs not to me, but to the Lord. I'm

asking you today, if you haven't done so already,

surrender your life into the hands of the living.

And say, whatever I see God doing, whatever Jesus

wants me to do, that's what I'll do. Whatever

he wants me to be, that's what I'll be. I can't

tell you. I don't know your story exactly. Some

of you, I know your story. I believe you profess

Christ. If you have not truly given your life

over into the hands of the Lord, do so now. Be

forgiven for your sins and have a joy that will

go on through with you. How will he not give

us everything? He already sacrificed his son

for us. Of course he will give us everything.

There is no other way. The victory is determined.

The only question that remains is, which side

of the battle will you be on when all the fighting

stops? I saw a meme on Facebook this week. I

loved it. And it's loud to quote it. This is

my final illustration. There's a man standing

up in a tie and a suit on a stage. He probably

was preaching a sermon. I don't even know. And

he said, there's only two things you've got to

worry about in life. Anybody see it? Only two

things you've got to worry about in life. I share

it. I might have passed it out to some others.

Okay, so there's only two things you've got to

worry about in life. That is, are you sick or

are you healthy? If you're healthy, you've got

nothing to worry about. If you're sick, then

there's only two things you've got to worry about.

Am I going to get healthy or am I going to get

worse? If you get healthy, nothing you've got

to worry about. If you get worse, then there's

only two things you've got to worry about. Am

I going to live or am I going to die? If you're

going to live, there's nothing you've got to

worry about. If you're going to die, there's

only two things you've got to worry about. Am

I going to go to heaven or am I going to go to

hell? If you're going to go to heaven, there's

nothing you're going to worry about. If you're

going to go to hell, there's only two things

you've got to worry about. Well done or extra

crispy. There is no other outcome. Will you give

your life to the Lord? I ask the praise team

to come forward. We're going to have a hymn of

invitation. This is the final song of our service

today. This is your opportunity to make public

any decision that you're making right now. So

I'm going to stand down here at the front. And

if you're giving your life to the Lord in earnest

for the first time ever, then you're going to

walk down here. You're going to take my hand

and say, Pastor Dan, beginning today, I'm living

for the Lord Jesus Christ nonstop. If you've

already done that, but you realize you've been

backside, you've been walking away, you've not

been trusting in Jesus, you probably know that

that kind of steals your joy. that that kind

of takes you to a place you don't want to go.

So would you all stand with me? If you're comfortable

to be able to do so, sing this song and respond

as the Lord is leading you to do so. I'll be

right down here to receive you. Thank you. As

you see these next verses, you come. We're going

to stop saying it this time. We're going to pray

together in a moment, and that's going to conclude

our services for the day. But all day long today,

he's still Jesus. All day long tomorrow and every

day yet until he returns, he's still Jesus. He

went to the cross. He paid the price. Has he

not paid the entry fee to be a part of your life?

I think he has. If you didn't even believe in

the cross, you knew that Jesus created everything

from the beginning. Nothing was created except

that which was created through him. The entry

price was already paid. And lots of people did

figure it out. And there were those who half

figured it out. And there's only part that figured

it out. And a lot of their stories are included

in the Bible throughout the Old Testament. They

figured out that there was a way that God would

make. Abraham was not saved because of the sacrifice

that he made. He was saved because he trusted

that God would eventually provide a way to save

him forever. Everybody who ever went to heaven

ever has gone through Jesus. Everybody who ever

went to heaven ever has gone through the way

that God would make. That you're in this room

and you're going to heaven by that way. The way

is clear. Nothing can steal it from you. You

ought to have joy. God wants to provide that.

I know there's mourning. There are times of mourning.

There's time to mourn. The Bible says there is

a time to mourn what you're going through. But

even in mourning, there is joy. I'll share two

quick stories with you, and we're going to pray

and we'll be done. The first one, real quick.

The first one was me had a baby. It served our

family for a long, long time. Her name was Jo.

Jo was a pretty devout Christian. but she had

some pretty significant health concerns. For

about 10 years, I didn't even know she was a

Christian, because I see she's pretty devout.

But she saw us growing in the Lord. She didn't

really go to church much. She was in her Bible,

but we didn't really know it, that kind of thing.

And after I shared it with her, we talked about

it, I shared the gospel with her, she found out

she was already saved by her profession. And

we spent a lot of time talking about God after

that. But as the time was going on, Joe was declared

completely disabled. by a psychologist's recommendation.

Because the psychologist said that after she

had been viciously dragged out the drive -thru

window at her big boy that she was working at

while she was working at the drive -thru window,

the big boy had been running, grabbed her leg,

and it ripped her bodily out the drive -thru

window. Part of one lung, had one hand that didn't

work right, had other physical ailments and stuff.

And the psychologist said that she should be

upset. She should be sad. She should be mourning

and struggling psychologically every single day

because of what she had gone through. And she

wasn't. And they examined her over the space

of about a year and a half. And they said, you

know, this is not reasonable. At some point in

time, you're going to have a complete massive

break because you're not mourning like you should

be or whatever. And instead, she had joy. She

was more than okay. Comical, even. Every day

that we knew her. And she eventually went to

be with the Lord, as far as we know. And another

story, this one I just heard this morning. If

you want more details, you can talk to Brother

Kress. I was up there at Kairos weekend. There

was a man named Greg. He gave me his name. I

didn't tell him I was going to share this, but

I'm going to get in trouble for it. I'm not going

to get in trouble, am I? Okay, I'm good. Greg

was in prison for 39 years. He still is. And

still is in prison now. He denied the living

Christ, denied the existence of God. He went

in prison at 21, so now he's 60. That's how the

math works out. And he hired us this weekend,

this last weekend. He gave his life to the Lord

and was so overwhelmed emotionally after giving

his life to the Lord that he just sobbed like

a baby and couldn't speak at the closing service.

I submit to you, sometimes you're sobbing like

a baby and it's joy. And that's what's going

on there. That's what's going on. When I'm crying

up here on the front chair, I'm sobbing in joy.

God wants to turn lives around. That is a message.

I don't want to say it this way, but I'm going

to. That is a message that will sell. You tell

people there is an enduring joy in Jesus. And

when they know they don't have that and they

see this up and down like an echocardiogram of

their life, they're at the high and they're at

the low and there's everywhere in between struggles.

And Jesus weathers the storms. Jesus continues

to fill your sail with a driving wind that will

take you forward to the moment at which you meet

him. He alone can judge us and he alone provides

that joy and praise God for it. Don't spend $39.

years in a prison of your own making, or in real

prison, because you're denying the truth of God.

Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,

and then let's go tell everybody we possibly

can that this is available. It is good news.