No Condemnation | Pastor Chris Kouba

Grab your Bibles, open them up with me to Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

I want to add my word of greeting to David's earlier.

My name is Chris Kuba.

I have the privilege of being the lead pastor here at United City, and I want to take a moment just to give a special word of greeting to all of the men at the Ramsey Unit and all of the women at the Plain State Correctional Facility.

We are so grateful to be able to bring this message to you.

God is doing some pretty cool stuff, particularly at Plain State.

We've got a group of women that I know are headed there each and every week that are discipling many of you who have made decisions, and we just are praying for you, asking that God continues to move and excited to see how he's going to continue to use our prison ministry in the days ahead.

I do the third week of July.

Would love to have any of you consider going with us in the future.

It's always a great time just to be up in the mountains and to be together with so many of you.

And last year I did something that I've wanted to do for a really, really long time.

Talked about doing it, but but never really actually did it.

But finally last year, actually went through with it.

And I had the opportunity to climb up the Sangro de Cristo Mountain Range, which is a mountain range of 13,450 feet.

It is a nine-mile hike with an elevation gain of about 4,500 feet.

We had to get up really, really early, the group that went to do this.

We left at about 5 30 a.m.

in the morning and began the trek.

It's about a six-hour hike to get all the way up to the top.

As you go and get past tree line, you kind of get past the point where there basically is no actual uh trail.

You're instead kind of making up your own trail as you towards the end, in fact, are literally just climbing uh on your hands and knees up to go to first the false peak, and then ultimately you can get up to the real peak.

And it is absolutely spectacular in every single way.

Once you get all the way up there, uh you're able to see for miles around.

It is just a beautiful setting, a beautiful hike.

There's just this sense of accomplishment, if you've ever done something like that, that just begins to set in as you're doing it with people that you are with.

It is an absolute blast in every single way.

Sky Ranch, which is located at the base of these mountains, kind of realize that people were really into this.

And so they know that one thing people like to do is to go and hike the mountain.

But another thing that may be even more important than hiking the mountain is getting a shirt that proves that you hiked the mountain, right?

Uh and so therefore they made these shirts that you can buy in the bookstore, you can buy in the gift shop, that basically proves you can wear around saying that you got to hike Horn Peak.

Billy Martin is a church member here, been a longtime church member uh at our church.

Uh Billy didn't do the hike.

Billy had no interest in doing the hike.

Billy mocked most of us, in fact, that actually went on the hike.

Billy, uh again, a longtime member here.

And what Billy threatened to do prior to us going on the hike, because he knew how excited that we were to experience it, but he also knew that we were really looking forward to getting our picture taken with our shirts that we had bought in the bookstore, uh, showing that we had gone on the hike.

He threatened to buy all of the shirts prior to us going on the hike.

And he would be willing to do that, actually, all right?

Spend his own money, buy all of the shirts so that when we got back, we wouldn't be able to go and wear our shirts, wouldn't be able to buy a shirt or wear one.

Not only that, he threatened to not only buy the shirts but to wear it when we get back just to show everybody else.

And his point was, you can't prove that I didn't go on that hike, right?

He wanted all of the benefit with none of the effort.

He wanted all of the credit without any of the work.

Let me just tell you today we're about to read what I believe is the cliff of the mountain, if you will, of all of the scriptures.

I believe Romans chapter 8 potentially is the greatest chapter in all of the Bible.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Let me just give you a couple of descriptions that have been said about this chapter.

It's been called the inner sanctuary within the cathedral of the Christian faith.

The tree of life in the midst of the Garden of Eden, the highest peak in the range of mountains.

What I want to ask you to do today is not do what Billy did and act like you got a t-shirt, even though you're gonna be impressed.

Instead, what I want to ask that you will do today is that you'll climb the mountain with us.

We're gonna spend three weeks looking at Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

I firmly believe that literally you could spend an entire month just reading this chapter every single day, and God will show you something even more about Himself by just simply reading this one chapter of Scripture.

This chapter of Scripture begins to talk about the greatness that we experience as believers, but it also is very honest about the struggle that exists as believers.

This is a chapter that begins to tell us about the power and the working of the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us if we follow Jesus and how the Holy Spirit helps us in this battle, in this journey that we walk with Christ.

The point that I want you to see today, the principle that I want you to take away from this message today is this Pardon leads to power.

Pardon leads to power.

Let's begin reading in Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 1, I would argue might be the greatest verse in all of the Bible.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

It says, There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

If you've been with us in the study of Romans that we've been doing for the last few months now, you know that this is a pretty profound statement because our initial series when we started this book was called The Ugly Truth.

And what we looked at was how Romans 1, 2, and 3 go to great lengths to tell you how you are all condemned.

It told you how you are all under God's wrath, you are all under his judgment.

Turn with me to Romans chapter 3 to see the summary in Romans 3, beginning in verse, beginning in verse 13.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

It says, Their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive.

The venom of ass is under their lips, their mouth is full of curses and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, and their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.

There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Look at verse 23.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The idea is this you all stand condemned before God.

You all on your own stand judged before God.

Which is what makes Romans chapter 8, 1, chapter 8, verse 1, one of the greatest verses in all of the Bible.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Let me read it again.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

I've said it over and over again.

You can't understand the depth of the good news until you understand the depth of how bad things actually are.

But when you realize how bad things actually are, it makes the fact that it says, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Become one of the most amazing verses that you could possibly ever hear.

First of all, look at the timing.

It says there is therefore now.

That means right now, when you become a believer in Jesus, this verse is true about you.

It doesn't mean that there's a five-year waiting period where you're on probation to see how it goes before they decide whether this is actually true about you.

It's not whenever you've apologized to enough people or you experience enough suffering along the way, and then this gets to be true of you.

It's not at all in any way whenever your out deeds uh outweigh your bad deeds, then this is true.

Instead, there's therefore now, right now, this is true.

I had a buddy of mine uh who was in ministry and he tells the pretty interesting story uh about how his boss, he was running an errand with his boss, his boss was driving the car.

Uh, and as they were driving uh the car, as they're driving, he got pulled over for a uh he was speeding, and so the police officer pulls him over and goes through the typical license and registration and all that kind of stuff.

Goes back to the car, and when he comes goes back to his car, checks and runs the plates and all that stuff.

When he comes back, you could t my my friend said he could tell in the passenger seat something was up.

Because the police officer walked up and asked his boss as well as my friend to both get out of the vehicle.

He then pulls my friend's boss aside, starts asking him some questions, and sure enough, he looks up and he's reading him his Miranda rights and he's arresting him because of an outstanding warrant that had been out for his arrest.

You see, what happened was is that a few months prior to this, he had traded in a car to the dealership.

And whenever he had traded in that car, he assumed that they were gonna take care of all of the paperwork, but he did not check to verify that they had done so.

And sure enough, that dealership did not transfer the title and did not transfer the ownership legally out of my friend's boss's name, and so therefore began to use that vehicle as a loaner car, and that car began to be driven on all the different tollways, and each time no one was paying those tolls, they were just flying through those tolls because it was a loaner car.

And as a result of that, all of those charges were so significant it triggered something that then made a warrant out for this person's arrest, and a simple traffic stop ended up my friend having to bail his boss out of jail.

Folks, I want you to know there's not gonna be a time when all of a sudden there's gonna be some unknown to you charge, some unknown to you sin, some unknown to you issue is gonna all of a sudden pop up that's gonna undo all of the things that God is gonna be doing in your life.

I want you to understand something.

There when it says there there is now, it means right now, no condemnation.

None, zero, zilt, nothing.

There is nothing that's gonna come up that is gonna surprise God, as though he's gonna be all of a sudden wondering if he's gonna take back and say, No, you're actually condemned.

Instead, he knows all the things you've done in the past, he knows all the things you're gonna do in the future, and he says this there is therefore now no condemnation.

None.

Folks, you gotta hear me.

You have to hear me.

Some of you are living in guilt and shame that is not yours.

Some of you are rehearsing an identity that has already been paid for.

Some of you are continuing to live as though the legal condemnation is no longer, that no longer do you have to be bound to your sin, but you're still living as though you need to feel condemned for your sin.

He says, There's no condemnation.

Legally, there's no condemnation.

In your feelings, instead, I can now live with confidence, knowing that my story is his story.

Let me show you how this plays itself out.

Look at why this is the case in verses two through four.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

For God is done with the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

By sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemns sin and the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

This sums up what was described in Romans chapter 5, when we we saw that it was through Adam sin entered the world, and because of that one sin all men died.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

In the same way, the Bible tells us in Romans 5, that because of Jesus, because of his death on the cross, and because of his resurrection, that now all of us get all of his benefits for what he did.

Let me read it to you again.

Romans 5, 17 and 18.

It says, For if because of one man's trespass death reign through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

It is our identification and union with Christ that we receive all of the benefits of his death and all of the benefits of his resurrection, and therefore we move from being condemned sinners who are not able to fulfill the law to now freely forgiven believers who've received his grace and can now walk, knowing that even though we are not yet perfect, even though the series title On the Way is the description of who we are, we can do so with confidence, knowing that our status has not changed.

It's Jesus and what he has done for us that gives us the confidence to live it out.

But look at what it says there.

It talks about the fact that we've received the Holy Spirit.

You see, the Holy Spirit begins to work inside of us to remind us what it is that's been done for us.

According to the U.S.

Constitution, it says that the President of the United States has the authority to pardon someone.

He does this all the time.

Many of the times you don't even know who it is, and you it doesn't make any difference to you.

Of course, we know that it's also controversial at times because there's some high-profile people who we know have been accused of a crime and they've been convicted of that crime, and the president has the ability to pardon their sentence.

Now, whenever a president pardons someone, it doesn't mean he is saying, hey, the criminal system got it wrong.

He actually is innocent, he he he just was proven guilty even though he's really innocent.

That's not what he's saying.

He's instead saying, I'm not validating whether he is right or wrong in what he did, but I am saying what he has been convicted for, he no longer has to pay the penalty for.

Folks, what I want you to see is that that's exactly what took place for you at the cross through Jesus.

It wasn't like he looked at you and thought, man, you you're getting kind of a bad rap.

Like it's it's unfair that you're having to pay for all the things that you've done.

And it really wasn't that bad.

I know you meant differently, I know you meant better, and so therefore, I'm gonna I'm gonna pardon you because I don't think you really deserve all of this.

No, no, no, no.

He knows you deserve 100% of all that you have coming to you.

He knows that you are 100% guilty and condemned before him.

However, he in his grace and he in his mercy is offering you a pardon where he is saying, they are guilty, but I'm gonna pay their guilt.

You are, you are, you are should be punished for your crime, but I'm gonna step in and I'm gonna pay that punishment.

Jesus, because of what he has done on the cross, we can celebrate it because ultimately what it represents for us is the fact that we have been pardoned and we are free as though we did not sin.

Look at what the Bible tells us in verse five.

It says, For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh.

But those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit.

For to set the mind on the flesh is death.

But to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot.

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you.

Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.

If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you.

You feel the tension that exists.

You feel this choice that you now have between choosing the things of the flesh and choosing the things of the spirit.

You choose the things of the flesh, it's gonna lead to death.

You choose the things of the spirit, it's gonna lead to life.

And what he's saying is that before you were a believer, you didn't have a choice, you just chose sin.

Now that you're a believer in Jesus, the Holy Spirit indwells and lives inside of you, which gives you the opportunity to fight against your sin.

Let me stop for a second here.

I want to kind of speak to you a little bit about the Holy Spirit because you probably grew up in a church that had one of two extremes when it comes to the issue of the Holy Spirit.

Maybe for you, you grew up in a church like I did where basically the Holy Spirit was never talked about.

You were scared to death of the Holy Spirit, you didn't really understand it, you just knew you didn't want to have anything to do with that, all right?

And so therefore you talked all about Jesus and you never mentioned the Holy Spirit.

On the other hand, maybe you grew up in a church where the only thing you talked about was the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit was over-emphasized and it was all about your relationship with the Spirit.

What I want you to see is that the Bible is very, very clear, even though it doesn't use this word, that the God exists as Trinity.

There is one God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is not an it, the Holy Spirit is not a force.

The Holy Spirit is not like the force that is in Star Wars, okay?

It's not like this mystical thing kind of going around that's really hard to understand, but you want to like tap into it, okay?

The Holy Spirit is mentioned 19 times here in Romans chapter 8, which gives us a really good indication of what the Spirit is about and what the Spirit is like.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

The Holy Spirit, we see most of the time in the Bible, it is presented a lot of times in terms of what he does.

And so therefore, it's helpful for us to see what the Holy Spirit does, how does he act in our lives?

The Holy Spirit, for example, seals our redemption, meaning this: we know that when we die and we stand before God, we will be able to experience heaven because the Holy Spirit has gone before us and sealed our redemption.

The Bible tells us the Holy Spirit guides us, he convicts us of sin, he reminds us of the things of Christ, he counsels us, he comforts us.

We're gonna see next week in Romans 8 26, the Holy Spirit prays for us when we don't know what we're supposed to pray for.

The Holy Spirit is something that indwells us, the Bible says.

In Romans chapter 8, verse 9.

Romans 8:9

I want to read this verse to you again.

It says, You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.

If, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Again, let me take a little aside here to give you a little a theology.

It's very important, particularly in Houston, Texas, I've seen, because what you a lot of times see is people will say that you can be saved, but you don't have the Holy Spirit.

And the idea is that if you are a super Christian, if you are really spiritual, you're saved, but then you experience a second blessing.

That's when you're filled with the Holy Spirit.

It might even say that the evidence of you being filled with the Spirit is that you speak in tongues.

I would tell you this, Romans chapter 8, 9, and the authority of God's word, I firmly believe this.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

There is no second blessing.

You either have the Holy Spirit and you're saved, or you don't have the Holy Spirit and you are not saved.

Let me tell you why this is important.

The Holy Spirit isn't something that you seek to attain.

Instead, the Holy Spirit, just like all of the Christian life, as you learn more and more about who he is, then you become more and more like him as you begin to live out your Christian faith.

Folks, please hear me.

The Holy Spirit is not meant to be confusing.

But the Holy Spirit is and does represent the power that raised Jesus from the dead, is the same power that is available to us, which is why the pardon that we receive from Jesus leads to power.

Number one, you have the power to fight sin.

You got the power to fight sin.

Sin no longer has to own.

You control you, dominate you, and lie to you.

Sin will always take you further than you ever wanted to go, and it will always keep you longer than you wanted to stay.

But please hear me.

If the Holy Spirit is living inside of you, that doesn't have to be your story forever.

Instead, you can fight and war against your sins.

Some of you are waking up, already living defeated lives, instead of recognizing that the power of the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, giving you the ability to fight and to war against your sin.

Folks, what this means is it allows me to be honest about my issues instead of trying so hard to conceal my issues.

The Bible actually encourages us to confess your sins one to another.

Because the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

The idea is this as I confess my sin, as I bring the darkness into the light, it allows the Holy Spirit through God's word and through the community to begin to take shape in my life and to bring change in my life.

If I keep things quiet, if I begin to conceal my sin, then I am not allowing the Holy Spirit living inside of me to bring apart bring about the necessary conviction in my heart, where God is saying, Hey, I want to I want to deal with that.

I want to wrestle with that.

Verse 12 and 13 of Romans 8 says, So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die.

But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Verse 13 refers there to a term John Owens, the famous Puritan preacher made famous calling called the mortification of sin.

What this means is, is because we've been pardoned, you have the power to fight and to destroy your sin.

John Owens says it like this Do you mortify?

Do you make it your daily work?

Be always at it while you live.

Cease not a day from this work.

Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.

Every day.

You don't have to wake up defeated, but rather you can get ready for a battle knowing the victory has already been won.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, you can fight against your sin.

Second thing I want you to see, you have power over today because of the pardon that's been given to you.

Number two, you have power over guilt and shame.

You have power over guilt and shame.

Some of you are still living in guilt and shame.

You're punishing yourself because of past actions or performance.

But in Christ, there is nothing that you could ever do to make God love you more.

And there is nothing that you could ever do to make God love you less.

Some of you are masters at making a list.

You get your little imaginary list out, or maybe an actual list, and you write down all the good things that you did that day.

You write down all of the bad things that you did that day, you go and you look and you give yourself a grade as though basically God gives you and per and treats you based upon how well you performed that day.

Can I advise you if you're a believer in Jesus?

What you instead need to rip that piece of paper up and throw it out, and instead get a brand new piece of paper and just simply write these words on your list, no condemnation.

That is what is true of you.

That is what is actually uh written on the your heart by Christ.

That's what he thinks about when he looks and sees you.

He doesn't judge you based upon your performance.

Instead, he allows you to experience uh the blessing of following him, not out of duty, but out of joy, all because God is one who removes that guilt and he removes that shame by the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of you.

Number three, the power to change.

The power to change.

Can't tell you how often I hear this.

You know, if I just, if my job was different, then things would be different for me.

If I wasn't sick dealing with this, then I would be different.

If I wasn't so busy during the season, then I would be able to be different.

If it wasn't for this relationship that I had, then if it wasn't for the bad luck, on and on and on, it's basically saying this I'm gonna experience change in my life when all of these things outside of me get fixed.

Can I tell you what the Holy Spirit does when he lives inside of you?

He says that he can bring change regardless if all this other stuff gets fixed.

That's why he says the Holy Spirit brings the fruit of the Spirit, which is love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and gentleness and faithfulness and self-control.

These are the things that God begins to bring in our hearts and brings in our lives that are not dependent upon all the external things around us are changed.

Folks, please hear me.

God wants to bring change in your life, but it's gonna come on the inside.

Last thing I tell you is this number four, the power over death.

Power over death.

According to Romans 8, 10 and 11.

The effects of sin on our mortal bodies still exist, and all of us one day are gonna die.

Whether you're a believer or not, you will one day die.

Death is no respecter of persons, it's gonna fall on the sinner, it's also gonna fall on the saint.

But because of Jesus' death and his resurrection, you don't have to fear death.

Instead, you can know that you have the power over death, even though you will die.

Let me explain it to you.

John 13, John 3, 16.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.

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

This past week, uh one of our oldest uh and longest standing church members went home to be with the Lord, Mary Lee Layton Taylor.

She was 98 years old, and she was a church member for 82 years at this church.

82 years.

Mary Lee was a very spunky, opinionated, fun lady.

Uh Mary was a Mary Lee was a widow, uh graduate of Baylor University, didn't have any children of her own, but she loved this church.

Uh she's seen here with Buddy and Jean Thames.

They were her primary caregivers in the later years of her life, uh, as well as other members of our church that loved Mary Lee so well.

Uh Mary Lee's funeral service is going to be tomorrow.

We're going to have the opportunity to celebrate her life amongst her family and her friends.

Mary Lee, every night, as Jean would be leaving the house, towards the end of her life, she would always say the same thing.

As Jean would leave and tell her bye, she would say, If I don't see you tomorrow, I'll see you in heaven.

You have a good night.

Mary Lee knew that her time on earth was nearing an end.

Mary Lee wasn't nervous about that.

Mary Lee wasn't scared of death.

The Bible says that whenever you die, you will either perish or you will have eternal life.

You see, Mary Lee is now able to be with her Savior.

She's able to be with the one that she worships.

She's able to be face to face, now being able to see with sight what she believes so strongly by faith.

And because of that, she's now experiencing the blessing of eternal life.

You see, whenever you have Jesus and the Holy Spirit that is living inside of you, then you don't have to fear death.

Instead, you know that yes, even death may take me, but 1 Corinthians 15 says, death is not the last enemy.

It doesn't have the final say.

Because ultimately Jesus is resurrection and the Holy Spirit sealing our redemption allows us to face even certain death with certainty.

Let me ask you the question today What's going to happen to you at your funeral?

You're going to die one day and you're going to have family and friends gathered and going to say some nice things about you, but they're either going to be overcome with grief because you're perishing.

Or they're instead going to be filled in the midst of their tears with hope because of the promise of eternal life.

Can you say, like Mary Lee did?

I don't see you tomorrow.

I'll see you in heaven.

Do you know Jesus?

That's the only way that you can know that to be true.

Do you have a relationship with him?

Is he the Lord and Savior of your life?

Does the Holy Spirit live inside of you?

The only way that happens is when you receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

Would you bow your heads and would you close your eyes all across this room?

If you're watching me online, I want to invite you to do the very same thing.

Do you have the power that comes with being pardoned?

For some of you, you've got guilt and shame that defines your life, but you're trying really good, trying really hard to do a lot of good deeds to move that guilt and shame out.

It's never gonna work.

For some of you, you're trying really hard to perform before God so that He can accept you.

The Bible says that all of us stand condemned before a holy God.

But God in his mercy and his grace and his one and only Son Jesus as a sinless sacrifice on the cross.

He's taken your shame, he's taken your pain and your punishment.

He's paid for it on the cross, and he now invites you the opportunity to receive him by faith to be your Lord and to be your Savior.

If you want to give your life to Jesus today, I want to invite you to pray this simple prayer of faith with me, right where you are.

Just pray these words, dear God.

I admit that I am a sinner.

I admit that apart from you, I stand condemned before God.

But I believe you sent your son Jesus to die on a cross for me, and that you rose from the dead, and right now I receive you into my life.

To be my Lord, to be my Savior.

Thank you for forgiving me of all of my sins, changing me.

Continue to keep your heads bowed and your eyes closed.

In just a moment, we're gonna have a time of invitation.

We are a church of next steps.

We believe everybody has a next step, and maybe for you today, if you just prayed to receive Jesus, your next step is to come forward and tell one of our staff members of the front or on the sides that you've given your life to Jesus.

Let us pray with you, let us talk with you, let us celebrate this decision with you today.

Others are here today and you need to join United City Church.

God has led you to let this be your place where you identify and you call home.

If that's you today, would you lead the way?

By your coming, you're gonna help encourage others to do the same.

Maybe some of you need to be baptized to maybe get your baptism on the right side of your salvation.

You've already given your life to Jesus, but you've never followed through in believers' baptism.

That's your next step today.

Would you come forward and let us know about that so we can schedule your baptism at a later date?

Others may need prayer today.

Maybe you're walking through challenges, you're walking through difficulties.

It feels like the grips of the old life are coming after you and you need help today by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We want to pray that God moves and works in your life, that you experience the power that comes with change, the power that comes when guilt and shame aren't the defining things in your life, but instead you're able to experience the power that comes from Jesus and the Holy Spirit working inside of you.

If today you need prayer for yourself or for somebody else, I want to invite you to come forward as well.

Father, I pray you'd move in these moments we have left together.

Call people to respond to you.

It's in Jesus' name that I pray.

Amen.

Would you stand up?

And as you stand, our team is up front, ready to.

God really is our everlasting God.

He's so faithful in times of trial, in times of triumph.

He is here for you, he's here for me.

It's an amazing truth that we can cling to today, that God is with us.

You do not navigate this season of your life, no matter what you may be going through alone.

The Bible tells us that God is never too far away for us to reach out to him.

In fact, it tells us that we need to consistently reach out to him, knowing that he is our ever-present help in time of need.

He has fearfully and wonderfully made you and I, and we have the opportunity today to respond to his blessings, his grace, and his love for us in a unique and meaningful way.

So today, if you heard that message about God being our everlasting God, and you would like to make Jesus the everlasting God of your life by placing your faith and trust in him, you can text the word you see next to the number 55498.

There is nothing that we would love to do as a staff more than to hear your story, hear about how Jesus is moving in your life, even help you navigate the season, your next step, maybe whatever God may be leading you to do in your future, whether that be baptism or joining the church, maybe jumping into our growth track process.

I just want to let you know we have been where you are.

And it is so, so important that you allow us the opportunity to link arms with you on your faith journey, coming alongside of you right where God has you, to disciple you, equip you, and encourage you in your faith.

We're so, so thankful for how God is moving in your life.

We're so thankful that uh He has given you a purpose.

We're so thankful that that purpose is being made known more and more in your life.

If there's anything that we can do for you, we want you to reach out to us again.

You can text UC Next to 55498.

We're so thankful to bring you this service.

I pray that you have an awesome week.

As we look ahead to this next week, I want you to cling to the truth that God is our everlasting God in times of trial and times of triumph.

And as we look ahead to this next week, I just want to pray a blessing over you and your family this morning.

Lord Jesus, we're so thankful for you.

We're so thankful for who you've called us to be.

God, we're so thankful that you have met us exactly where we are at our greatest moment of need.

God, we're so thankful for the grace that you have extended to us even right now on this Sunday.

God, thank you for the word that Pastor Chris just gave us.

Thank you for your holy Bible.

God, I pray that your word would be written on our hearts and would be so close to our tongues that we speak it throughout our week.

God, whatever we may come in contact with, whatever we may be going through this week, I pray that you would meet us exactly where we are with grace and mercy.

Would we glorify you in all that we say and all that we do?

It's in Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

United City Church, I'm thankful for you.

We will see you next Sunday.

God bless.