Our Core Values & Beliefs:  Sanctification 1 Peter 1:3-8, 1 Peter 2:1-3 Pastor Daniel Reese

Good morning. If you have your Bibles, 1 Peter is where we're going to be.

1 Peter chapter 1 here in just a second.

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

Tonight is the closing of the Olympics in Paris.

And for the last two weeks, we have seen athletes from all over the world

compete against each other for one goal, gold medal.

Now, I haven't seen all the events, but I've come to realize

that I like it when the Olympics are in the states

and not overseas because I don't get as many spoilers throughout the day.

The competition is the same, but the experience for me watching the Olympics is different.

It's impossible, almost impossible, to not find out who wins the gold

the day before you watch it at night time.

And those athletes train for years to be the best in their respective sport.

They sacrifice and they try to perfect their form, their endurance

almost daily to win that gold.

Even professional athletes have claimed that winning a gold medal in the Olympics

means more to them than winning an NBA championship.

And so every four years, we get to see, I don't count when our Olympics, sorry,

but every four years we get to see passion and competition

as these athletes compete for that coveted prize.

This morning as we continue our series on our values and our core beliefs,

we are going to be looking at sanctification.

And sanctification is the training that we go through as Christians

to obtain the ultimate prize.

And Peter is going to tell us right out of the gate what that prize is

and then in the next chapter he's going to tell us how to obtain it.

So I'm going to invite Bella, right, to read our passage this morning

and then we're going to dive in.

So first Peter chapter one, we're going to start in verse three.

I'd encourage you to stand as we honor the Lord's word together.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

according to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,

kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for salvation,

ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while if necessary,

you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith,

more precious than gold, that perishes, though it is tested by fire,

may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him.

Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy

that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith,

the salvation of your souls.

Amen. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for Bella and I thank you for her willingness to read your word.

I pray that you give her a deep desire to study it and know it and hide it in her heart.

I pray, Father, that as we look at the process of sanctification and how you do that in us,

I pray, Father, that you'll open our hearts to see where we can be better.

We ask all these things in your name. Amen. Thank you, Bella.

So as we consider Peter's words, specifically here in the first chapter,

I hope you see what he is doing.

This is his first letter and right out of the gate, right after the introduction,

he jumps into what we have to look forward to as believers in Jesus.

We've been born again into a living hope.

We are given an inheritance that is imperishable.

He's talking about salvation, eternity in heaven with our Creator

because of what Jesus has done for us.

He starts with the prize, not the process that you will have to go through to get it.

Now, I would assume that every athlete, that ever wins a gold medal,

would say that all the hard work that they went through was worth it.

All the sacrifice, all the pain that they suffered through,

they would do again because they now have the prize.

The prize was dangling in front of them. They knew what was at stake, right?

This is what Peter is doing. He is showing us the goal.

And he's telling us that this inheritance and the process that you will go through to get it

is more precious than gold. When it comes to sanctification,

keep your eyes on the end.

Sanctification is a process, and that process lasts for as long as you are breathing air on this earth.

It never ends this side of eternity.

And if you are like me, your walk with the Lord will have really sweet seasons of following Him.

Followed by really painful ones.

But as I've gotten older, and as I've grown in maturity,

I'm more grateful for the painful ones once they're through, once they're over,

because I've realized that it's through those painful seasons that I've grown the most.

I have to keep my eyes on the end, though.

I have to know and believe that those seasons, those difficult seasons,

are a testing of my faith to prove that it is genuine.

Sanctification is not for bandwagon fans.

It's easy to be a fan when things are good.

It's easy to be a fan when your team is winning.

It's hard to continue to be a fan when things are hard.

That's why I have so much respect for you Bears fans.

It's been 39 years since your team had a championship.

And yet here you are, faithful, faithful, faithful, loyal.

So I want us to consider the end goal as believers in Jesus.

The reason I assume you come to worship every single week is because you want the prize.

You want the salvation of your soul.

We sing about it. We think about it. We talk about it.

And we find our hope in it.

Jesus never promised that this life would be easy once we receive Him.

In fact, He said the opposite.

He said, in this world you will have trouble.

Take heart. I've overcome the world.

The words I hated the most when I was playing basketball in high school was,

get on the baseline.

That meant that we were about to do a whole lot of running.

I hated it. It felt like a punishment.

Every day we would get on the baseline and run sprints.

When we got in trouble, we would get on the baseline and run sprints.

If one of our teammates was late to practice, all of us would get on the baseline and run sprints.

I hated my coach for that.

I thought we should be working on the fun stuff.

Let's work on our shooting. Let's work on our dribbling.

Let's work on developing plays.

But nope, we'd be on the baseline running sprints.

The first game came and we were watching the other team warm up.

And if you've been on a basketball court, you know what that's like.

They were taller than us. They were bigger than us.

I was watching most of them dunk the basketball just during a layup warm up.

We were already defeated and the game hadn't even started yet.

And we got into the game, the first quarter, they were up by 15 points or so.

Second quarter came and we kind of held our ground, but we were still down by 15 to 20 points or so.

Second, we all had our heads down at halftime.

We're all defeated at halftime.

By the time we got to the fourth quarter, I noticed a change.

They couldn't keep up with us because they were winded.

We ended up winning that game by over 10 points.

We weren't as flashy, we weren't as skilled, but we were far better conditioned.

I now understood the point of the baseline drills.

They were for the fourth quarter.

I now didn't dread running because I knew what the purpose was for.

That's how I view sanctification.

The mountaintop experiencers are great. They're flashy, but they can't sustain you.

Those flashing moments that we point to and look back on as defining moments in our faith, they're valuable.

I would contest that without the day-to-day discipline of training and righteousness,

those mountaintop experiencers are going to get further and further away from each other.

Keep your eyes on the end because you can experience God.

I have experienced God in the Valley too.

I'm sure you've told your kids or have been told at one point when you were a kid,

you were something along the lines of, that's not how we act in this family.

You ever been told that?

We have been adopted into God's family by His redemptive grace.

Since it is a new way of life, sometimes we fail and sin and the Spirit will say to us,

no, no, no, no, no, that's not how we act in this family.

That's not how we're going to go about this thing.

We take those changes in our lives through God's grace because we are His sons and daughters.

We don't change so that we can become His son or daughter, but because we already belong to Him.

And this purpose of learning how to act in God's family is known as sanctification.

It's growing in holiness because Christ has declared us holy.

It is daily overcoming the power and the presence of sin in our daily lives through the power of the Spirit

and the work of the Word.

It is becoming adjusted to functioning in God's family.

And it doesn't happen overnight.

And the reason it doesn't happen overnight is because you weren't always a part of God's family.

In fact, we were alienated from God at one point.

We were God's enemy.

We were children of disobedience is what the Scripture tells us.

But God saved us and now we are a part of God's family.

And learning how to live as God's child in God's family will be tough and it will take time.

And overcoming our sinful behaviors and living obediently as His child is what the Bible calls sanctification.

Sanctification is sanctifying ourselves from ungodliness and associating ourselves with God and His Word.

Sanctification is being set apart through God's Word as Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17.

He said, sanctify them in your truth.

Your Word is truth.

Sanctification as living is those who have been brought from death into life according to Romans 6.

Sanctification is possible only through God, only through His grace.

Now, we have a passage of Scripture that spells out sanctification in more detail.

In 1 Peter 2 verses 1 through 3, I'd encourage you to turn the page there.

1 Peter 2:1–3

Maybe I don't know where your Bible lands.

And in this passage we have three things that are necessary for us to live lives that are continually being sanctified.

In 1 Peter 2, after Peter has shown us the prize that he said in chapter 1, he tells us how to obtain it.

So he's shown us the price.

He's shown us the goal.

And here in chapter 2, he's going to show us how to obtain it.

The first three verses, he says, so put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

Like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation.

If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

So we've seen the prize.

We know it to obtain for and the first step to get it is to renounce sin.

At the most fundamental level, this is exactly what sanctification is.

A daily renouncing of sin.

And as you can see here, he gives a list of five things to put away.

But what is most important to notice at the beginning is the reason he gives for putting away in renouncing sin.

When Peter says so put away, this command is not alone.

By using the word so for those of you English majors, he is pointing back to what he has just dealt with in the previous passage.

So is a conjunction.

It's a connecting word.

This means that Peter is giving the command to put away sin.

To renounce sin solely on the basis of something that he previously stated.

Peter stated that that these believers were born again.

And that the gospel had been preached to them.

All our indicators of the salvation, which has already occurred.

So because they've been born again, Peter says that they should put away sin in their lives.

Renouncement of sin according to Peter is something that actually should be taking place because of salvation.

But because of the tendency to fall into those sins again, Peter reminds them.

He reminds us to put away these sins from themselves because they have been saved.

Several times throughout this letter in 1 Peter, he describes the Christian life this way.

That we should be living obedient and holy lives simply because of the salvation that we have experienced and received.

Oftentimes in this letter of 1 Peter, the only reason he says that we should live a godly life is because of salvation.

And really, that's the only reason he needs. That's the only reason he needs because true salvation will always lead to sanctification and to holy life.

True salvation always results in a godly life.

When God saves us, inevitably we live saved lives.

Now, if you're wondering why it is a problem to continue to live in sin.

It is because it is an eternal issue. You're not saved if you're not being sanctified.

So after giving the reason for renouncing sin, what does it actually mean to renounce sin in the first place?

Well, Peter says that we are to put away sin.

He doesn't mean put away like we put away leftovers into the refrigerator.

He doesn't say put away as in we're going to put away dishes into the cabinet only to be used again.

The kind of putting away here that he's referring to is putting away something for good.

In the Greek, the command put away denotes something like taking off and laying aside old clothes.

So Peter is picturing Christians taking these sins off like he would take off old clothes.

And then casting them far away.

Not taking them to Goodwill for somebody else to put on, but putting them away.

That's what you do with old clothes that are no longer wearable.

You take them off and you throw them in the garbage.

That's what Peter says to do with these sins.

To renounce them, to put them away from us, to get them out of our sight, to stop wearing them,

to be rid of them all together. That's what he's saying.

He has a list of five sins that we should put away from ourselves.

And the important thing to notice here is that these sins that he is about to mention that affect relationships with people,

namely people in the church.

Peter isn't listing these things in random order.

Or just because he thinks that these sins are worse than adultery or stealing.

He lists these sins here because these are sins that will harm our fellowship with others, especially Christians.

And renouncing these sins are absolutely essential to our sanctification because sanctification cannot be done alone.

It can't be done on an island. Sanctification is meant to be done in Christian community.

If we have these sins present in our lives, we are hindering our own sanctification and the sanctification of others.

So when we go through this list, if you happen to notice even slightly that these sins may be present in your life

and in a way that you view others, in a way that affects relationships, then pray as you hear them

that God would create in you a clean heart according to Psalm 51.

That he would renew a right spirit within you.

The first one is Malice.

Malice is best defined as the intention or desire to do evil.

It's like premeditated murder.

It is the planning of committing sin.

Malice is a force that can destroy Christian fellowship.

This should not even be named amongst the congregation of believers.

Malice is a grave sin because its intention and desire to commit sin is prevalent even before we do it.

If we intend to gossip about someone, hey, let's get together for lunch.

We want to talk about such and such.

Or we say in our hearts, man, next time I get in front of them, I'm going to let them have it.

Or if we intend to mistreat someone or disrespect someone in the church, then we have a problem with Malice.

We must put it away and cast it far from us.

The next is deceit.

Deceit is speaking or acting with the motive of deception.

It is lying or living in a manner that is deceptive.

We cannot live our lives together lying to one another.

And we cannot live lives that are deceptive.

We cannot live lives that are untruthful.

We are to be those who present God's truth to each other.

We are to be those who present God's truth to the unsaved, both by our words and by our actions.

We are to be lovers of truth, not deceitful.

We must renounce and put away deceit from us.

The next one is hypocrisy.

We cannot live double lives.

In Greek theater, a hypocrite was one who played different parts in a drama.

It is no mistake that Peter names hypocrisy right after he names deceit.

They go hand in hand. They are together.

We must be honest about our faults.

We must be honest about our shortcomings.

And our behavior in the church, in our behavior at home, and in our behavior in the workplace should be consistently the same.

If you are a jerk at home, be a jerk at work.

Right?

At least be consistent.

But don't be a jerk at home and pretend everything is okay here at the church.

Let's be sanctified.

We must put away hypocrisy from ourselves.

The next is envy.

Envy is synonymous with jealousy.

It is a desire to have equality, a possession, or other desirable attribute which belongs to someone else.

It is when we desire what belongs to someone else.

It might be a position in the church.

It might be nicer clothes.

It might be somebody else's boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife.

It might be a nicer home or shiny or vehicle, but we must put away envy from ourselves.

It cannot live here.

It cannot live here.

And finally, we have slander.

It is defined as making a false statement about someone.

It is lying about another person.

It's gossiping about them.

Or any type of speaking that is false or unhelpful.

Paul says in Ephesians that we should speak only that which is good for building up.

And slander is the opposite of this.

If it does not build up, it should not be said.

And I am just as guilty of this at times as many of you are.

In fact, it's more satanic than any sin on this list.

For the word devil in the New Testament actually means slanderer or one who slanders.

So committing this sin is contributing to Satan's notorious schemes, his continuous schemes.

We should put this sin away from our lives.

Get it away from us.

Throw it in the garbage.

These are all sins that should not be found in our lives.

But like old clothes, we should put them away and never see them again.

Renouncing sin is something we did at our conversion and it's something that we must continually do throughout our Christian life.

The moment that you were saved was only the beginning of a lifelong process of sanctification unto God.

To be set apart from sin daily for God's glory.

So how do we renounce these sins?

We repent when you see a present in your life.

And then you begin to pray for a clean heart.

Ask for trusted brothers and sisters in Christ to keep you in check.

Be accountable to them.

Mutually watch your lives and confront each other with grace and correction when these sins are present.

For our sanctification, we must renounce sin.

The next step in sanctification is nourishing your soul.

Nourish your soul.

After challenging his readers to renounce sin, he says that they should be longing for the Word of God.

The pure spiritual milk.

Peter had described in verse 1 what sins they should not commit.

And then he turns to the positive and says these are the things you should be doing.

So stop doing these things and start doing this.

That in and of itself teaches us that sanctification is twofold in a sense.

It is overcoming sin and it's doing good things.

It is not enough to avoid committing sin and resist temptation.

We must also be doing good things.

That we should be craving and longing for the Word of God.

Peter uses a familiar image here of a newborn baby longing for his mother's milk.

He's using that to illustrate how the believer should long for the Word of God in order to partake it, in order to grow by it.

He tells his readers that they should do something just like newborn infants do.

The phrase long for carries a great deal of weight in the original language.

It speaks in a tense desire, a longing for something.

What is the object of your longing?

The pure spiritual milk.

And of course he's referring to the Word of God and nothing else.

It was the preaching of the Word of God that brought about their salvation.

It was the preaching of the Word of God that brought about their salvation.

It was the preaching of the Word of God that brought about your salvation.

And now it is a Word of God that they are consistently longing for.

It is pure.

Meaning it's stainless.

It's clean.

It's free from contamination.

It is spiritual.

Meaning it's more than just milk because it deals with our inner being.

But it is like milk.

It's like milk because we can take it in and be nourished by it.

So to sum up what Peter is saying in this part of the verse,

in the same way that a newborn infant longs for their mother's milk

to satisfy their hunger and be nourished.

So we should long for the Word of God in order to be nourished for our sanctification.

Let me stop right here and ask.

Have you ever longed so much for the Word of God

that you would rather read his Word than eat a meal when you're hungry?

Have you ever had a desire like that?

When you first wake up in the morning, do you have a hunger for the Word?

Or are you scrolling through Instagram, checking Facebook,

making sure your Snapchat streak stays intact?

Do you long for God's Word like you long for coffee or a good workout?

Peter says this is the kind of intense longing for the Word of God that we should have.

We should crave it because we need it.

We need it.

That's why a newborn infant does.

Because they need it.

They need the nourishment from it.

That's the idea here.

The Word of God gives Christians sustenance, nourishment, and growth.

Just like milk gives sustenance and nourishment and growth to a newborn baby.

But what is the purpose of longing for the Word of God?

Why is it such a big deal to long for and crave the Word of God?

According to Peter, we should long for the Word of God so that we grow up into salvation.

Once again, that's what sanctification is.

It's growing up into salvation.

And why will longing for the Word of God result in growing in our salvation?

Because once we long for the Word of God, we will partake and be nourished by the Word of God.

I'm sure that you don't believe that you hunger for no reason.

You're not hungry just because you want to be.

You hunger so that you will eat.

Your physical hunger is an indicator to your consciousness that you need nourishment.

So what do you do when you're hungry?

You go get something to eat.

Same principle here.

We must crave and intensely desire the Word of God so that we will read it, so that we will study it and take it into our lives.

We are to have a hunger and craving for God's Word because we need it.

We can't make it through the day.

Of course, we are already saved, but salvation is ongoing.

That's where sanctification comes into play.

We are being saved daily from the power and the presence of sin in our lives.

And we need to crave and hunger for the Word of God like a newborn infant so that we will partake of it in order to be nourished and strengthened to live the Christian life.

So how can you crave the Word of God?

First, understand your utter dependence upon the Word of God for your sustenance and growth.

You don't have anything else in this world.

You don't have anything else in this world that can take its place and cause you to grow spiritually.

So measure your spiritual strength and growth by your time spent in the Word of God.

If it doesn't bother you to go without the Bible for a few days, then something's definitely wrong.

You must understand that transformation affected by God's Word cannot be replaced by anything else.

Second, understand that craving is directly correlated to tasting.

I'll never forget.

It was several years ago, but I'll never forget the first time I tried a 45-day aged steak in a steakhouse in Brooklyn.

It changed my life.

I think about it all the time.

Every time I have a steak, I think about that one in Brooklyn.

I began to research how do I age my steaks.

I was willing to invest in refrigerators and climate-controlled things so that I could age my own steaks.

But I never had a hunger for it until I tried it.

And as you taste the Word, as you feast on the Scripture, you will notice a deep desire for more of the Word of God in your life like you never before.

The more you read the Word, the more you want to read the Word.

The more you study it, the more you want to study it.

And you find out just how great the Scripture really is.

You will keep coming back for it just like you would your favorite meal.

If you don't have a hunger for the Word, then perhaps it's because you've never tasted it.

For our sanctification, we must long for the Word of God.

Finally, for sanctification to occur, we need to examine our lives.

Once Peter has challenged the believers to renounce their sin and crave the Word of God, he finally calls them to examine themselves.

Notice the if in this verse.

Most of the time in the Bible, it's the smallest words that make all the difference.

Peter is saying that if we have tasted that the Lord is good, we should be renouncing sin and craving the Word of God.

This verse functions as an examination for sanctification.

In other words, if we are daily being sanctified, we should be seeing evidence of these two things in our lives.

Of course, if you know your Old Testament, even remotely, you will recognize that the phrase tasted that the Lord is good has its origins in Psalm 34.

There, the Psalmist gives a loud, open, outstretched, broad invitation to anyone within his voice to experience the Lord God.

In the Psalm, it says, taste and see.

In Peter, it is you have tasted.

So if Psalm 34 is an invitation to experience the Lord, then Peter assumes that you've already responded to that invitation.

So if you have been saved, if you have responded to the invitation in the Psalms, we should be able to see clear evidence of renouncing sin and craving the Word of God daily in our lives.

If we have responded to God's invitation to experience him, our lives should demonstrate a positive response to that invitation.

I was once asked a stunning question.

I've been asked it many times, but I remember the first time I was asked it.

We were having lunch and talking about Scripture, and he asked me, is it a sin to doubt your salvation?

Is it a sin to doubt your salvation?

He struggled with the assurance of his salvation at that time, and he asked me in that restaurant, if it was a sin.

Is it a sin to doubt your salvation and have no assurance of salvation?

As I ponder this, I answer this way, well, it really depends on what brought about the doubt in the first place.

I went on to explain that the Scripture does command us to seek assurance for our salvation and to rest in that assurance.

But if your doubt arises from an inconsistency in your Christian life, then that's a good doubt to have.

If you see no evidence of renouncing sin and craving the Word in your daily life, then you have great reason to doubt your salvation.

But sometimes we backslide, don't we?

At least I do.

And God will give us grace to move forward on His path as we seek His strength and power to do just that.

But if you don't see sanctification and transformation in your life, if you have seen no evidence in your life that you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good,

then there are basically two options on the table if you're not living a sanctified life.

Option one, you are spiritually sick and unhealthy.

You are malnourished in your soul if you see no regular transformation.

What do you feel like doing when you're sick?

Nothing.

Do you act like yourself when you're sick?

No.

Do people want to be around you when you're sick?

No.

Now apply all those questions to your spiritual health.

Are you doing anything in your Christian life?

Are you doing anything in your Christian life?

If not, you may be unhealthy.

If you're not craving the word and renouncing sin in your life, I urge you to go to the great physician who knows your heart.

Get as much of his prescription as he gives you, as you can.

Go to the word as often as you can to get healthy.

That's option one.

Maybe you're unhealthy.

Option two, you are unsaved.

Not only does the unsafe person have no desire for the word of God,

he has no desire for God according to Romans 3.

Obedience cannot proceed from a heart that has not been changed.

Perhaps you don't see evidence of these things in your life either.

And I ask you, can you honestly think of a time in your life when you realized you were a sinner

and surrendered your life to Jesus Christ for salvation?

Those are the two options that encompasses most people in this room.

Many of us are unhealthy.

Many of us are unhealthy.

And some of us are just unsaved.

I'm not going to tell you which one you are.

That's what you have to do.

Let's pray that prayer in Psalm 51, renew a right spirit within me.

The living hope, the inheritance is the goal.

Running baselines and putting in the work and being disciplined and getting into his word and praying and seeking after him.

That's the work that goes into obtaining the goal.

It doesn't save you.

It doesn't save you.

But a truly saved soul will live a godly life.

And so we're going to sing one more song.

I'm going to pray for us.

And if you're unhealthy in this place.

If you're unhealthy in this place.

If your spiritual health is lacking.

If you were spiritually sick.

Take the prescription today.

Maybe you sit there in your chair and you just pray that over and over again.

Psalm 51, God renew the right spirit within me.

Maybe you need to spend some time renouncing some sin in your life.

Not to pick it up again.

Maybe you need to come to the altar and lay those things before him.

But don't pick them up as you leave.

And if you've seen no evidence of Christian, of walking a Christian life in your life.

Will you surrender your life to him today?

I'm going to sit right here.

I'm going to ask any elder in the room to be available.

Let us minister to you.

Let us join you on your path to wholeness.

Let us join you on your path to healing.

And let us pray for you.

Let us minister to you.

This is not one of those Sundays where we just sit there and do nothing.

All of us have something to confess.

All of us have something to renounce.

All of us have something to surrender.

And so I'm going to pray for us.

I'm going to pray the Spirit of God shows us place.

Pray the Spirit of God speaks to your heart.

And as he does so will you walk in obedience.

Father, I pray right now that your spirit will dwell in this room.

That as we sing, as we pray, as we worship, that we will walk in obedience.

And examine ourselves and see if there's any indicators whatsoever that we have tasted and seen that you were good.

So Father, I gave you this time.

I ask you to work.

I ask you to minister.

I pray that you will use your people.

Strengthen us through the power of your spirit.

We ask all these things in your name.

Amen.

I suspect that after that message,

some of us have a deep conviction in our heart that we need to taste and see that the Lord is good.

So that He changes the appetites of our heart.

So whether you sit or stand, or kneel, or come to the altar,

echo what Pastor Daniel said, please just respond to the Lord.

We're going to take our time here.

We're not in a hurry.

Because this is important.

In the morning when I arrive.

In the morning when I arrive.

In the morning when I arrive.

In the morning when I arrive.

In the morning when I arrive.

In the morning when I arrive.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world.

Just give me Jesus.

When I am alone.

When I am alone.

When I am alone.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world.

Just give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world.

Just give me Jesus.

Jesus.

Jesus.

Jesus.

Jesus.

When I come to town.

When I come to die.

When I come to die.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world.

Just give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

You can have all this world.

You can have all this world.

You can have all this world.

Just give me Jesus.

I pray for evidence in your life of sanctification.

That you'll renounce sin.

You'll find nourishment for your soul and his word.

And that you will daily be examining yourselves for transformation.

If you surrendered your life to the Lord today.

My encouragement to you is to let us know.

And what a great day to do it.

Because let's get you in the water tonight.

So tonight at five o'clock, meet us down at the Wapsae.

Is the river good?

We're a little worried about being high, but we're good.

Five o'clock tonight.

We're worshiped.

We'll hear awesome testimonies.

I think we're baptizing 15 people tonight.

Yeah.

That's good.

We'll hear testimonies.

We'll see baptisms and then we'll eat together.

Nothing fancy.

We're going pizza.

So come hungry for that.

That's at five o'clock tonight.

I get there a little early just to find a parking spot there.

Also, just want to remind you on September 6th, we're having Jason Gray and come here in this room.

And he's bringing Jordan St. Cyr and Bay Turner.

Those tickets are available.

We sent out an email this week with the link.

If you need that link, you can find it on our app.

We're not going to publicize this for a couple weeks to the community.

We want you to have first dibs at it.

And so buy as many as you can and invite somebody with you.

And then in a couple of weeks, we'll make that public just to make sure we have this room.

So that's on September 6th, September 8th.

A couple of days later, we'll have a church meeting in the evening, followed by some fellowship.

We're going to reveal the results of our church survey to you.

It's going to be a great discussion and a great time.

All right.

Finally, this is good news.

I'm going to call Teagan up here.

Come on.

Teagan has been diligently taking notes and drawing pictures of me, right?

During our sermon time.

And so she won our July drawing from Sandy.

And so she gets some, she gets the whitey's gift card.

And so you're not, hey, you're not allowed to share that with your sister.

That's all you deal.

Awesome.

All right.

Give it up for him.

I've had a great time being in the presence of the Lord with you.

I hope you have as well.

If we, if you can, if we can do anything for you this week, please let us know.

If we can pray for you right now and you just didn't feel comfortable coming forward.

I encourage you to do that as well.

We'll stick around for a few minutes.

Otherwise, save me a cream filled donut.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.