Even Greater | Ps. Nate Capshaw

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

Amen.

Amen.

Hey, good morning.

How's everybody doing?

Doing good?

Alrighty.

Alright.

It is um it's such an honor to be here.

It is such an honor to be in this house.

And I don't just say that because I'm up here on a platform preaching.

I say that because week in and week out, we have the opportunity to worship our Lord together.

We have the opportunity to come to Him and bring our praise.

We have the opportunity to hear His word being preached every single week.

We have the opportunity to gather with one another.

May we never take this opportunity for granted.

It is such an honor to be in this house.

Are you guys thankful for your pastors?

Are you thankful for Pastor Keith and Pastor Megan Pittman?

I thought you were gonna try and get me, but I got you now.

Pastor Keith, Pastor Megan, we love you so much.

We're so thankful for your friendship, for your leadership, the way that you pastor us.

I'm thankful personally for you.

Uh, and I'm so thankful that, and humbled honestly, that uh you would entrust me with the opportunity to come up here today.

Can we thank our pastors for for all that they do for us?

Larry, how you doing?

You hanging in there?

All right, cool.

Like Pastor Keith said, my name's Nate.

I'm one of the pastors here, so thankful that you're here this morning.

Uh, if it is your first time here, I want to extend a special welcome to you.

Uh, if you're tuning in online, if you're joining us, uh welcome.

So glad that you're here.

Uh, make sure you let us know that you're here.

Uh, especially if you're in the building, too.

Make sure you come out uh and meet one of us out in the courtyard.

I'd love to shake your hand.

I'd love to hear your story and uh hear how you came about Celebration Church and see if there's anything that we can do for you.

Today we are continuing on in our new series called Grace to You.

Grace to You, where we are looking at the book of Romans, this beautiful letter written by the Apostle Paul.

And it is such a uh rich and profound piece of work by the Apostle Paul.

It is chalk full of foundational truths, and probably my favorite letter by Paul.

I'm gonna go ahead and let you guys know that there is absolutely no way that we're gonna be able to cover everything in the book of Romans in these next few weeks.

It's just not gonna happen.

So, a couple things that you can do.

One, obviously, if you've never read the book, I'd encourage you to do so.

I think every single Christian should immerse themselves in this book because it has such foundational and rich truths to our walk.

And I truly believe that it can transform your life.

Secondly, join us for After the Message, our podcast, a new episode that premieres every single Thursday during this series.

And it's just a great conversation.

Uh Pastor Keith was on last week, and we had a lot of fun during that one, but it gives us a little bit more time to talk a little bit more around the context of what's going on, and uh, we have some outside voices that come in as well.

Today we're gonna be looking at uh Romans chapter five.

Romans chapter five.

And uh, if you are new to the faith, first of all, you're in the right place.

And Romans is towards the end of your Bible.

Uh and if you don't have a Bible, we have one for you out in the courtyard that we'd love to gift you on your way out.

Uh, if you've been walking with God for a long period of time, you're also in the right place.

Isn't that great that we can have both trajectories of faith sitting next to each other in the same house?

That's such a blessing, and it's not common.

So praise God for that.

Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

We're gonna be beginning in verse number 12.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world.

Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

Yes, people even sinned before the law was given, but it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break.

Still, everyone died from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even those who do not disobey an explicit commandment of God as Adam did.

Now, Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ who is yet to come.

But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift.

For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many, but even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.

And the result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of this one man's sin.

For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but God's free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.

For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many, but even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness.

For all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death to this one man, Jesus Christ.

This is God's word for us today.

If you are taking notes this morning, you can write down even greater.

Will you bow your heads in prayer with me?

Heavenly Father, we're so thankful for the moments that we share.

God, we're thankful for your word, Lord.

We're thankful for this house.

We're thankful for all those that you have brought here today.

God, we need your grace.

God, we need your love.

God, I need your grace.

God, I need you to speak.

Lord, we can say all we want, but unless you speak, it's meaningless.

So I pray that you would be with us this morning.

It's in Jesus' name and everybody said.

Amen.

Uh Gregor Mendel was born in the year 1882 and is what is referred to now as the Czech Republic.

Mendel came from humble roots and his family were farmers.

He was brilliant, however, and aspired to study some of the great topics mathematics, science, uh, you know, philosophy.

However, because the family struggled financially, he wasn't able to get the higher education he desired.

So he did what anybody would do in the 1800s when they couldn't afford an education.

He became a monk and he served in a monastery.

Because in the monastery, you were able to receive uh the education, the higher education for free.

But it's because you you served there.

Well, Mendel actually decided to go back to his farm boy roots and started to tend the garden.

But he didn't just tend it, he he actually started to study it.

And he actually started to apply those mathematics and science that he was learning.

And the reason that he was studying it was he was interested in the character traits that were being passed down from one plant to the next.

As a matter of fact, he is recorded as studying over 28,000 different kinds of pea plants.

Mendel was uh the one who actually discovered the principles for the rules of heredity, and they later became known as Mendel's Laws of Inheritance.

Like many authors, like many artists and great thinkers of their time, that he wasn't appreciated, and it was only after his death that he was given the name the father of genetics and uh helped propel that study to what we know today.

Genetics, what we inherit, unfortunately, is not just our eye color or our skin tone or our good or bad traits.

Unfortunately, no matter who you are or where you come from, we have all inherited from Adam sin.

You are most likely familiar with the story, so I'll be brief.

But God creates the heavens and the earth.

And he creates man as well, and he places him in the garden.

But he he doesn't just place him there to defend for himself, he actually gives him the proper instructions he needs to live a fulfilled life.

Not only does he do that, but he also prohibits things and asks Adam to abstain from certain things.

Well, as the story goes, Adam directly disobeys this mandate from God, and sin immediately enters the world and begins to wreak havoc and contaminate everything.

Shame is induced for the first time ever.

A fractured relationship between God and man occurs, and then ultimately condemnation by expulsion from God's presence.

Sin begins to go to work immediately.

Romans 5, however, says something interesting about this in verse number 13.

Yes, people sinned even before the law was given, but it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break.

Something to chew on, something interesting to ponder.

Sin came into the world, not counted as sin, and yet the consequence of sin still remained.

You're always tired.

Maybe you have headaches all the time, maybe you're you're groggy or your mind is not clear.

You happen to come across the nutritionist who tells you that's what hack what's happening is you're not getting the proper nutrients you need.

So what the nutritionist does is create a plan, a proper diet for you to receive what you need in order for your body to function at its proper level.

The consequences were there, but now the standard is there.

Now the nutritionist has provided you with the diet so that you can live to the standard in order to live an optimal life.

Sin is referred to as missing the mark.

But if there's no mark, it can't be counted against.

However, the consequences still remain.

Are you tracking with me?

So what happens is God introduces his law.

And if you've ever read the law, it is intense, it is extensive, it is complex, and it is impossible to uphold.

And that's precisely the point.

You see, God is so holy, so sacred, so set apart, that in order for you to even be on the proper level, if you will, you would have to uphold the law to the T perfectly your entire life.

And it can't happen.

Because sin is powerful.

Sin ushered in the law.

It gave birth to shame, it separated us from God, and it ultimately condemned us to death.

You see, God's law could never get rid of sin, it could only expose it.

Sin is indeed powerful.

But even greater, even greater is God's wonderful grace.

Last week, Pastor Key told us that grace is the upgrade, and it is, it's the last upgrade you will ever need.

You can search every facet of God's grace, and you will never scratch the surface of how wonderful it is.

It is incomparable to sin.

It transcends it.

It is unrivaled.

Somehow in our theology, we've come up with this narrative that God and Satan are duking it out in this grand boxing match.

And we're in the arena watching, hoping that God comes through and wins.

I'm here to tell you today, my friends, and remind you that the war is over.

I'm here to remind you that it is finished.

You cannot compare God's power to the power of sin, and his wonderful grace cannot be compared to it as well.

My question to us is, are we living like it?

Are we living as if we are triumphant over sin?

And I'm not just talking about your bad choices, I'm talking about everything that makes us fall short of God's glory.

Let me put it to you this way: Does anybody else on the planet besides me watch baseball?

Jeff.

Jeff watches baseball.

I know Jeff watches baseball.

But I asked that because not many people watch it anymore.

However, it's a great game.

Anyways, uh, the way that you win, obviously, is by scoring more runs than your opponent.

And the way that you score more runs than your opponent is you have to circle all four bags and touch all four bases.

What happens often when a player hits a home run, a ball that goes over the fence, and I'm sorry if I'm being too fundamental in here, I'm just making sure we all grasp this.

A ball goes over the fence, the runner then's to proceed to run around the bases.

However, what you will notice is the scorekeeper often puts the score up before the runner has touched home.

The runner still has to run the bases, but he does so in victory.

This is our relationship to sin in our life.

We have victory over it, but we still have to run the bases.

Are you tracking with me, church?

I personally believe that a proper understanding of God's grace will provide for you the fullness of life that you are seeking.

I also believe that an improper understanding will be detrimental to your walk with God.

Grace is not in the business of excusing sin, it is in the business of eradicating it.

God is turning over what Satan tried to turn back.

God is restoring his kingdom to its original place.

Jesus did not come to this earth, forsake his heavenly abode, go through trial and trouble, suffocate in his own blood on the cross so you and I could do whatever we want and ask for forgiveness later.

Jesus did all of that to get rid of shame.

Jesus did all of that to restore our relationship with our Father.

Jesus did all of that so that we can go from condemnation to righteousness.

Are you thankful that Jesus did that for you?

When Jesus was talking to Peter and he was telling him, On this rock I'm gonna build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail, that was not a defensive statement.

That was on the offense.

What Jesus was saying is, My kingdom is coming and there's nothing the enemy can do about it.

Why?

Because God's grace is even greater.

God's grace is even greater.

We don't have the bad news about hell.

We have the good news about the kingdom of God.

You may say, look outside, Nate.

Just take a peek outside.

It doesn't look like we're winning the war.

I understand that.

But the last time I checked, we walk by faith and not by sight.

The last time I checked, the weapons that we use are not the world's weapons.

Are you losing hope?

I understand that.

And I'm not here to explain away your trials.

I'm here to tell you why you're facing them.

Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

Earlier in the chapter, verse number three.

We can rejoice too when we run into problems and trials, for we know they help us develop endurance.

Not we think, not we hope, we know they will help us develop endurance.

And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

And this hope will not lead to disappointment.

Do you see the pattern here?

I think so many of us are losing hope because we spend so much time avoiding our problems.

Because, especially in the American society, we don't want to be uncomfortable at all.

Don't send me through the trial, don't send me through the problem, I'm gonna run away from it.

What I read here in Romans 5 is quite the opposite.

I read that we can rejoice in that.

Why?

Because it develops endurance.

And what happens when we develop endurance?

We develop character.

And whenever we develop character, what happens?

Then you get your hope.

It's not the other way around.

And we can rejoice in that because God's grace is even greater.

I know you're suffering.

I know you're experiencing loss in your family.

I know that you're struggling with that person at work.

That person.

I understand that.

I know you're still wrestling with sin and you can't shake it.

God's grace is even greater.

Some of you are probably sitting here right now, and God may be revealing things to you that you've never considered.

And that's great.

But I'm sure some of you are sitting here right now thinking, I've heard this before, Nate, it's the same old song and dance.

Go deeper.

May I lovingly say to you that you don't need any more theological knowledge.

You need the realization of God's love for you by his Holy Spirit.

Bible facts are great.

Memorizing scripture is amazing and you should.

But your coworker is in desperate need of God's love.

And the only way that that's gonna come to fruition is through you.

Bible facts and Bible knowledge is not gonna win your coworker for Christ or the guy at your gym who is dead on the inside.

We need to have a realization of God's wonderful grace because it is even greater.

I believe that will transform your life.

My biggest struggle, speaking of theology, isn't necessarily the idea of creation, the creation story.

It's not so much the virgin birth.

My biggest biblical struggle isn't the doctrine of the Trinity.

The thing that I wrestle with the most is that I'm a friend of God.

God calls me friend.

Verse number six in Romans chapter five.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from condemnation.

For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his son.

So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God.

Because of our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

What if we lived as if we were friends of God?

I know for me, I if I'm honest, I don't live the majority of my life that way.

I strive, I grit my teeth and hope that it works for the better.

I worry about things that I should not worry about, all the while forsaking the fact that God calls me friend.

Do you know why I struggle with this?

Do you know why it's hard for me to believe?

Because I know who I am apart from Christ.

I know the things that I've done, I know the people that I've hurt, but while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

His grace is even greater.

Notice what the right time was in Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

It's not when You got your act together.

It's not when you were able to finally fulfill all the Ten Commandments.

It's not even when you started going to church.

It was when you were vehemently opposed to God.

It's when your back was turned to Him.

Christ came in the nick of time because His grace is even greater.

Adam brought death.

And because of that, we inherited sin through our birth.

Jesus brings life.

And because of that, we inherit right standing when we are reborn.

Shame is erased.

The relationship with God is restored.

Condemnation turns to righteousness.

Not because of anything that I have done, but all because of Jesus.

God's grace is even greater.

If you're here in this morning and you don't think that you're a friend of God, you're not alone.

You're not alone.

I want to give you an opportunity to respond to God's incredible, wonderful, powerful grace.

If you know that you need God's grace right now in any aspect of your life, just raise your hand.

That's all I'm asking.

Any aspect of your life if you need to realize it right now.

God, you see every single person, you know every single circumstance.

I pray right now that your spirit would be so real in their lives.

They would feel your love.

They would know that you love them and that you would walk with them from henceforth.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Now I know we want to rush out of here, but can we take a minute and a half of our time and celebrate God's grace together?

Let's all stand to our feet.

Let's worship God, and then we'll close.

Jesus, we thank you for your love.

We thank you for your grace, and we worship you right now.

In your name we pray.

Thanks again for listening.

We hope you enjoyed today's message.

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If you'd like more content like this, or you'd like to connect with us, go to celebration at overhill.org.

We hope you join us next time.