Making Sure My Children Are Good

Amen.

Amen.

I'm excited for this next generation because you're here in this house and you're raising up some godly children.

We know it's not easy raising a child, but the Bible says if you train up a child in the way they should go, when they're older, they won't depart from it.

They may veer off a little bit, but I'm holding true to what your word says.

And there's no perfect parent.

All of us are in this together, but God is faithful.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, welcome to church, everybody.

Wherever Jesus you are.

Amen.

Welcome to church.

But my name's Brandon.

I know uh Pastor Nicole introduced me earlier, but my beautiful wife and I, Judy, we serve as the campus pastors.

And I have all of my kids and my nephew with me here.

Uh, they're all with me.

They're getting taller than me, so you may not even recognize them.

Um, but I'm so glad to have them with him.

But if if you are new, welcome to Faith Church.

Also, I want to welcome our online audience that is joining us, even our Wilkett campus as well.

Can y'all give it up for the Wilkett campus that's joining us?

Just really quick, if you're watching online, I want to encourage you.

I know it could be uh back during COVID, you got into a habit of not coming to church.

But we want to encourage you to come back.

There's something about being in the house.

I know some of you may not be able, but if you are able, if you are in the vicinity of New Milford, Wilkett, or our New York City campus, we are having a welcome home Sunday.

And it is literally for those who may not know the Lord or for those who haven't been in a while, there is something about being in the house of God and fellowshipping with fellow believers.

I was telling our Wilkett campus as a pastor, I have the opportunity to look at people in the eye, and I can tell by looking at them whether everything is okay or not.

And I'll ask them, is everything good?

And some of them have broken down in front of me, and we've prayed right there in the name of Jesus for that situation to change.

I want to see you here in this house, here at Wilkett, New York City.

Come to the house of God.

Amen.

Amen.

But welcome.

I also want to give honor to our lead pastors, Pastors Frank and Lisa Santora.

Can we give it up for our pastors?

Pastor Frank will be back on the 13th, but he also found out that he's having his second grandchild.

So we want to say a special congratulations to Pastors Joey and Brianna, who are expecting.

We love you guys.

I know they may have stepped out, but their young people were excited about this announcement.

Come on.

Amen.

Well, let's get ready to dive into the word.

We're in a series called I Got a Word, and I Got a Word that I want to share with you guys.

Amen.

So let's go on and get our Bibles out.

If you're in need of a paper Bible, just raise your hand and our amazing ushers will get that to you.

It's so much fun to be in the house of God.

We have fun in here, right?

Because the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Amen.

Well, let's go on and make our Bible confession.

You guys ready?

Hold your Bibles up high.

One, two, three.

This is my Bible.

It is my primary source of spiritual nourishment.

I will read it every day and become all that God wants me to be.

My mind will be renewed, my life will be transformed.

I will become fully surrendered to Christ.

Therefore, I will hide his word in my heart so I can be all that God has destined me to be.

Amen.

You guys sound awesome.

I want you to go with me to the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews.

No one's brewing coffee.

It's a book.

All right, Hebrews.

Hebrews.

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

Chapter 9, beginning with verse 16.

Hebrews chapter 9, beginning with verse 16.

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

I'm reading from the New King James Version.

If you want to follow along with me, if you got it, say I got it.

If you need some more time, say hold on, Pastor.

All right.

I always say this, don't be ashamed to go to the table of contents.

We all have to start somewhere.

And they have tabs as well.

Yes.

All right.

But amen.

There's something about a paper Bible, something about turning those pages.

Amen.

Hebrews 9, 16.

You guys ready?

For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

For a testament is enforced after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.

Therefore, not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.

For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.

Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of ministry.

And according to the law, almost all things are purified with blood.

And without shedding of blood, there is no remission.

Even as we just prayed over our young people, I want to speak to you from the subject matter: making sure my children are good.

Making sure my children are good.

I'm not speaking of us as parents.

This is God speaking to us.

There's a lot more that's going for you than is trying to come against you.

God has initiated something that hopefully you will gain some understanding on today that will cause you to shout and get excited and walk with confidence.

I've learned as I pass a certain age threshold, I'm talking or I'm thinking a lot about legacy, about the future.

Lord, let me take inventory, let me glean, let me learn from others.

My oldest son just got his driver's license on Monday.

And I'm proud of all of my children that are making huge strides.

But that thought process, are they good?

If something were to happen to us today, would they be okay?

Am I the only parent that's thought in these terms?

Let us pray.

Father, we thank you for everyone that's here in this room and watching online that you would speak to our hearts.

I confess before every single person, I cannot do this without you.

I need you, Father.

I pray that you would speak through me as your servant.

And I pray that your people would be receptive and open to your word, that all of us would glean and grow and be encouraged.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

You guys may be seated.

Thank you so much for standing.

As always, I like to provide some context to the scripture that we just read.

I always teach this that it's important when you're reading the word of God to receive context.

Because if you try to isolate a scripture outside of its context, you can find yourself operating in error and potentially heresy.

So it's important to make sure that you read a scripture in context.

So in this particular book, Hebrews, the author is unknown.

Many have speculated and have taken stabs at who wrote this book, but suffice it to say, no one really knows who wrote this book.

But what is clear is the audience that was receiving this letter was primarily Jewish.

Not that they were only Jewish, because how many of you know the Bible can speak to all of us?

But the audience, based on what was covered in the letter, were somehow struggling with letting go of the law and embracing grace.

Letting go of the Old Testament and not entering into the New Testament, the new covenant that had been prepared and ratified through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

But even as we look at this particular scripture, one theme, or this whole book rather, one theme that is consistent from start to finish is Jesus.

And the superiority of Jesus in the New Testament versus the Old Testament law.

I've said this before and I've probably said it a thousand times.

I'll say it again.

The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed.

The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.

Everything that you read in the Old Testament is a foreshadowing or a type of what is to come in the New Testament.

How many of you are thankful that Jesus has already come?

And he's already died and he's already risen.

But something that the writer addresses is the superiority of Jesus over several things.

He starts off in the very, he or she starts off in the first chapter saying that in various ways and in various times, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets, but in these last days has chosen to speak to us through his son.

And that son is Jesus.

And Jesus said, I must go when he left the disciples, because if I don't go, I can't send you the comforter.

But if I leave, I will send you the comforter, the Holy Spirit.

He's gonna live on the inside of you.

He's not going to speak on his own accord, but he's only gonna speak that which I have told him to say, and he will lead you into all truth.

But the first, the next one that the writer teaches us when it's talking about the superiority of Jesus is the superiority of Jesus over the high priest system that was established in the Old Testament.

A high priest was somebody that was taken among men.

They had to be part of a tribe called the Levites.

Now, just to help you guys understand, when God first called somebody, he called a man by the name of Abram in Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

And this Abram had a son, his son's name was Isaac, Isaac had a son, his name was Jacob, and out of Jacob there were 12 tribes of Israel.

Everybody with me.

Out of these 12 tribes, there was one tribe that received the assignment of being priest.

And a priest's job was to mediate on behalf of the people.

And there were specific services that this priest was called to do in God's system of creating a way for people to come in contact with God, to come into fellowship with God.

It started off as a tent, which was a meeting place, then it went from a tabernacle and eventually into a temple.

I don't have time to go into all of the details of what was inside, but if you read the beginning of chapter 9, it will tell you.

But this high priest, he had weaknesses.

Because not only was he sent to atone for the people's sins, the high priest, once a year on the day of atonement, but he also had to atone for his own sins.

And what they would use during this time was animal sacrifices.

And the animal sacrifices, it was very specific which animals could be used.

These animals could not have any spot, wrinkle, or blemish.

They had to be the very best.

But they still had limitations.

The limitations that these sacrifices had, even though they were offered in faith, they could only cover a person's sins, but they couldn't take away a person's sins.

You guys with me?

This is why when we get to the New Testament and you have John the Baptist, he sees Jesus and he says, Behold the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

See, I want you to understand, and Paul expounds on this in the book of Galatians.

He says, the law was our tutor, it was our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ.

We wouldn't know our need for Christ until we understood the law.

And when I say the law, there are over 600 laws and commands that the people were called to follow.

For the sake of this conversation today, I want us to just focus on 10, the Ten Commandments.

How many of us in this room can say with honesty that we've kept all of those 10 commandments from our youth?

We can't.

All of us have fallen short.

But here's the question that I asked when I was in a place of discovery trying to figure out which religion I was going to choose.

Why would God give these commandments if he knew that no one could keep them?

What was his purpose?

His purpose was to reveal what sin is.

How would I know that coveting is wrong without the law?

How would I know that feeling is wrong without the law?

How would I know that adulterers or all of these things are wrong without the law?

No doubt these sins or these things can be committed, but sin is not imputed or charged to your account unless there's a law.

Everybody with me.

But when I look at Moses, Moses was given a command and an assignment to help mediate between God and the people.

And how many of you know he made some mistakes along the way?

He wasn't perfect.

He got frustrated with these people because they were called a stiff-necked people, even though they had seen God do miraculous signs, and before you point the finger, all of us in this room can sometimes have cases of amnesia where we forget what the Lord has done for us.

When we're in a trial.

But the reason why Jesus is superior to Moses, because there was one time where Jesus took Peter, James, and John onto a mountain.

And he was transfigured before them.

In other words, he wanted to give them a foretaste of his future glory.

So the Bible says that he became dazzling white.

No bleach could get it any whiter.

He became dazzling white, and the Bible says that there were two men that appeared.

With Peter, James, and John, and Jesus.

Moses and Elijah.

Now, Peter, y'all know Peter.

Sometimes he can speak out of turn.

You gotta give it to Peter, man.

He had great enthusiasm, but sometimes he would speak with ignorance.

That's why sometimes it's just safe to be quiet and don't speak.

Amen.

When you don't know what to say, just be quiet.

Be slow to be uh slow to speak and quick to listen.

But he spoke and he got excited.

Now, what's interesting, how did he know who Moses and Elijah was?

He had never met them before.

Elijah was caught up in a whirlwind, and that's how he left his planet, and Moses went up on a mountain and he was no more.

Which leads me to believe you will recognize your loved ones when you get to heaven.

But he got excited and he said, Lord, why don't we build a tabernacle?

One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

As soon as he got done speaking, guess who came into the picture?

God.

And God said, This is my beloved son.

Listen to him.

And after God said that, the only person that was present was Jesus, Peter, James, and John.

What was he trying to say?

You were trying to put Moses and Elijah on the same playing field as Jesus, but Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets, and both of these point to me.

So I, everything that was spoken and preordained in the past is now being fulfilled through Jesus.

Bro, you gotta be quiet.

He was superior to Moses.

The writer of Hebrews also tells us that Jesus is superior to angels.

You do know that Lucifer was a beautiful angel in heaven that was created by God.

Last I checked, the thing that is created is lesser than what created it.

So he was created as a beautiful angel and he was in charge of worship in heaven until his heart was lifted up in pride and he was cast out of heaven with a third of the angels.

But Jesus, he limited himself when he became human.

He is seated at the right hand of the Father.

And we know this because these angels have limitations because the Bible says if the enemy knew what crucifying Jesus would accomplish, he would never have crucified him.

But what he didn't realize is when you did this, you fed right into my plan of redeeming my people and bringing my family back into company with me.

So he is superior to angels, superior to Moses, and he is superior to the sacrifices.

The reason why he's superior to sacrifices is because once these sacrifices were killed, they could be used no more.

But what you have to understand about Jesus, when he sacrificed himself, first of all, he didn't have his life taken from him, he laid down his life.

And if he lays down his life, he has the power to pick it back up again.

But the reason, come on, somebody, the reason why his sacrifice is unique is because his sacrifice was offered through the eternal spirit of God.

And the reason why that's important is his sacrifice doesn't have an expiration date.

In other words, you could have given your life to Christ back in the 1900s, or you can give your life to Christ on this day in 2026, regardless of when you do it, the blood can still be applied to your life.

And the same Jesus that was available then is the same Jesus that's available now.

It doesn't have an expiration date on it.

So the question I have to you, what are you waiting on?

The blood has already been ready.

And the blood speaks.

He was superior.

But as we look at this text, something that stands out to me, I was in Bible study.

And really and truly, if I'm honest with you, something that I really appreciate about our lead pastor is what he teaches and how he teaches the word of God.

Ever since I've been here at Faith Church, there's been so much that I've gleaned from our pastor.

But one thing that I have really honed in on uh for many years now, and I feel like I'm never gonna come to a full understanding of this because it's just so vast and so amazing, is our sonship in Christ.

One of your greatest identities as a child of God is you are his son or daughter.

If there's anything that you put on your social media, on your profile, it should be I am his child.

More than I am a husband, more than I am a father, more than I am a CEO or I'm a college student, I am his son, and that's where everything else receives its place and direction.

I am his son.

What I want you to understand, ladies, is when I talk about sonship, I don't want you to feel like you're excluded because it's not about gender, it's about position.

See, you were seated with Christ in heavenly places.

When you gave your life to Christ, you became a joint heir with Christ, ladies and men.

That's why the Bible says there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave, nor free, nor male nor female.

We are all one in Christ.

So even though you may struggle transitionally, your position remains the same.

And to be honest, when you really get a hold of your position, it will motivate your condition.

Because when I know who I am in Him, there are certain things that I will not do, there are certain places that I will not go, there are certain conversations I will not engage in because that's not who I am anymore.

I've been crucified with Christ.

It's no longer I who live, but Christ that lives on the inside of me.

Am I speaking to somebody?

But he left us an inheritance, an inheritance.

You know, Paul in Philippians chapter 2, he says.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Something interesting.

He says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.

You know why I love that?

Because sometimes my will is against his will.

And sometimes he has to corral me a little bit.

Sometimes he has to correct me.

Sometimes he has to discipline me.

Can I get a witness?

But he says, work out.

I want you to pay, don't miss this.

He didn't say work for.

He didn't say work for your salvation.

I want to encourage you, saints of God, when you come into the kingdom, you are not working to earn your salvation.

Your salvation is received by grace through faith.

There is nothing that we could do on any merit that could earn his grace or his mercy.

It was lavished upon us.

But he says, work out.

In other words, there's a deposit that has been made.

I have to begin to draw out all of the contents of this inheritance so that I can experience the abundant life that he promised me.

I have to draw it out.

Which brings me to my first point.

First of all, or actually, let me help you to understand this before I get to the point.

You do realize that there is a drastic difference between being created by God and being a child of God.

All of us were created by God, whether we like it or not.

When you were in your mother's womb, it was God who was crafting you, who was molding you, who was shaping you.

So just as we were praying over these kids, I want them to know no matter who your mother or father is, that does not determine your value and your worth because you were created by God.

So whether you know your parents or you don't know your parents, the Bible says, when your mother and father forsake you, the Lord will take you in.

So your value is given by God.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him.

You are His masterpiece.

You are His workmanship.

He knows the hairs that are on your head, even though they're missing.

He knows.

I like to say that.

Amen.

For all my bald brothers out there.

But in John 1:12, he says, to as many as received him, who's him?

John 1:12

Jesus.

He gave the right to become a child of God.

It's not until you accept Jesus that the rights and the privileges are bestowed upon you.

Can we go deeper?

Watch this.

First of all, I want us to go back to our text and let's find out about this inheritance that I'm speaking of.

First of all, in our main text, I talked about, or the writer talks about, a testament.

A testament is defined as a clear proof, a legal will, or a major section of the Bible.

You have the Old Testament, you have the New Testament.

Everybody with me?

I want to focus on one part of this definition: a legal will.

Are you with me?

A legal will.

What is a legal will?

I don't want to assume that everybody knows this.

A legal will, formally called a last will and testament, is a legally binding document that states how a person wants their property and assets distributed after they die.

Oh, can we get into this?

Now I'm giving you the physical definition of a legal will, but there's a reason why the writer of Hebrews is using this as an illustration to help us understand what Jesus has made available to us.

This was a physical legal will, but how many know there's a spiritual legal will for us as well?

And before anything manifests in the physical, it must start in the spiritual.

For we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen.

For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

So watch this.

The key components of a legal will, first of all, there must be a testator.

The person who writes and creates the will.

Come on, somebody.

There must be an executor.

This is the person chosen to manage the estate, pay any debts, and distribute assets.

Then you have the beneficiaries, the people or groups, the people or groups, the people or groups.

I may not be a Jew, but I was engrafted in because of their unbelief.

So come on, hold on.

People or groups who receive the property or money, and then you have guardianship.

There are some children that are not ready to receive the inheritance because they won't know what to do with it.

So they need a guardianship, and this is instructions naming a person to care for minor children.

How many of you know that God calls us to come to Him as a little child?

We're not called to be child-ish, but we're called to be childlike.

And that's something you must never lose.

Your complete dependence upon God.

No matter how sophisticated you are, no matter how many degrees you have behind your name, no matter what your retirement account says or how much money you have in the bank, you still need the Lord.

And we need his wisdom.

The requirements for this legal will to be valid, writing, the document must generally be in writing.

It can't just be spoken, but it's got to be written down as well.

Thank God we have the canon of Scripture.

Thank God we have the Word of God.

But David said, Lord, I've hidden your word in my heart that I may not sin against you, because I don't just know it on the paper, but I'm hiding it in my heart.

So the document must generally be in writing.

Next, the testator must sign it and date it.

The testator must sign it and date it.

See, something I realized is Jesus wrote a check with his blood.

And we all cheered when he rose because it meant that the check cleared.

It didn't bounce.

It was sufficient to take care of whatever, oh, whatever debt was in place, it was sufficient.

So it requires a signature, it must have witnesses.

It must typically be signed by two adult witnesses who were not beneficiaries.

See, this is why I thank God for the Godhead.

Because you have God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and they all bear witness with one another.

Then it must have capacity.

The testator must be of legal age and of sound mind when signing it.

Come on.

This is the truth as I'm covering all of this.

And it saddens me if any of you have experienced this.

How many of you know when it comes to someone dying and an inheritance being leaved or being left behind, it can sometimes bring out the worst in family members?

People won't talk for years because of how an inheritance was distributed.

And when these conflicts arise, if that is a situation that you find yourself in, you need to travel to Ephesians 6 and realize that you wrestle not against flesh and blood, but you wrestle against principalities and rulers of the darkness.

The person in front of you or the family member is not your enemy, but the enemy truly is Satan.

And Paul said something.

I'll just deviate here for just a second.

Paul said something in 1 Corinthians 6 that we should pay mind.

What was happening in that particular letter is believers were taking other believers to secular courts.

Almost as if they were going before Judge Judy.

Come on, somebody.

He says, Why don't you accept wrong or why don't you allow yourself to be cheated?

Even though you're entitled to this, am I not your provider, whether you have this or not?

Sometimes it's expedient to let it go so that you can be a witness to the family that you're trying to reach.

Will you just allow yourself to be cheated?

You know what?

The Lord dropped that in my spirit as I was counseling a couple in marriage counseling.

How many times do you feel justified when you're having an argument or a bitter disagreement with somebody?

Will you allow yourself to be cheated?

Will you allow yourself to accept wrong?

Will you allow yourself to stay in character, even though the other smiles may be operating in the flesh?

Be who God has called you to be, despite how they're acting.

And the same is true with your child.

And I gotta be honest with you, I've made some mistakes in this area, but I've had to come to an understanding, I gotta maintain my integrity and be the man of God that He's called me to be in all circumstances.

And that ain't easy.

That ain't easy when you're raising children.

I love my kids over here, but they have their moments.

No, but they're awesome.

All of them.

But for many of us, we found ourselves in that situation.

And this is what you kind of think to yourself, man, all of this could be dissolved if the person was still here.

If they could just provide a little bit of clarity, even though things were written down, if they could just be here.

But I want you to understand something.

It's even difficult on the part of the person who's riding the wheel to decide who receives what, lest you offend somebody.

But you want to know something about Jesus?

His resources are unlimited.

He didn't have to worry about that.

Come on.

Because he owns a cattle and a thousand hills, so no one's gonna feel left out because I have an unlimited supply of resources.

And not only that, not only did Jesus step in and write out this will, write out this testament, write out this inheritance, but he also died so that it could come into being, but he also lives to make sure the contents are being carried out the way that he intended.

This is what brings me to my first point.

Jesus is our testator, he's our executor, and he's also our guardian.

He's all three at one.

He's the one who wrote it, he's the one that's making sure it's being carried out effectively, and he's also the one that watches over us.

You know that the Bible says that he is our high priest.

You know how I spoke about how the priesthood was established through the Levites.

But the writer of Hebrews begins to expound how there was another priesthood that was established, a priesthood after the order of Melchizedek.

You may not know who Melchizedek is, but if you go to Genesis chapter 14, when Abraham was returning from a great battle, the Bible says he met this man on the way named Melchizedek.

Genesis 14 · chapter mention

And what was interesting about this Melchizedek is he had no genealogy.

Typically, when someone was introduced in the Bible, there would be a genealogy that would follow who they are, like how they came into being, who their parents were, so that you could determine what they had rightful ownership to.

But this Melchizedek had no beginning of days nor end of days.

It was the Son of Man in a shadow and type.

This man was so powerful that the Bible says that Abraham paid a tithe unto him.

Wait a minute.

I thought the Levites were supposed to receive the tithes and that they were to use that tithe so that they could be taken care of, since they did not have an inheritance amongst the people, but they would receive this tithe because that was their provision.

But why is it that Abraham paid a tithe unto this Melchazadech?

But this is what I want you to understand.

When he paid a tithe, so did Levi.

Levi was not yet born yet.

Levi was going to come from his body.

So the writer expounds on this in Hebrews chapter 7.

Hebrews 7 · chapter mention

When Abraham paid a tithe unto this Melchizedek, so did Levi.

Why am I teaching you this?

Because when I tithe, I'm not tithing unto a Levitical priest, I'm tithing unto Jesus, whose priesthood is everlasting.

And this priesthood is forever.

That's why it's superior.

But not only is he the executor, he's making sure the contents, but he's also our guardian.

When speaking of salvation, in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 18 through 19, the apostle Paul declares, Now all things are of God who has.

2 Corinthians 5:18–19

Somebody say has.

How many of you know everything in God has already been done?

It's already completed, it's already finished.

And because it's already done, you just have to receive it and walk in it.

It's already been done, it's already been accomplished.

And by the way, I don't mean to offend anybody, there is no purgatory, there is no waiting place, there is no further need of remission of sins, which some from a Catholicism background teach.

If that were the case, then his payment was not sufficient.

But last I check, he said it's finished, and when he said it, I take that to the bank.

But he says, now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and he has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

That is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

See, this is why I say that God and Jesus are the testator, because God was in Jesus reconciling the world to himself.

And by the way, you can't claim to know God and not accept Jesus because these two are one.

Jesus said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father.

Me and the Father are one.

Isn't it interesting?

People don't have a problem accepting the notion of God, but when somebody starts talking about Jesus, that's why we get offended.

But Jesus had a conversation with some religious leaders and he told them, Before Abraham was whom you're holding on to, I am was present.

And he was speaking about himself because when God was about to go into Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go, Moses asked him, Who shall I say sent me?

And God said, I am.

Jesus was putting himself on the same playing field as God.

Also, you guys remember when Jesus was crucified and he rose.

You guys remember Thomas?

And remember, he said, Unless I see the nails in your hand or the piercing in your side, I will not believe.

And Jesus appeared unto them and he showed them and he said, Stop believing.

But as he showed him this, guess what happened next?

Thomas began to worship him.

Why didn't Jesus say, No, worship God, because he was God in the flesh?

Are you with me?

1 Timothy 2 5 says, For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

How many of you face a trial right now?

I'm not asking what it is, but a trial.

It could be a financial trial.

You could have received a negative diagnosis this week.

Maybe it's a trial in your marriage, a trial with your children, a trial for your career.

I want you to know something.

Your Jesus, your high priest is interceding for you.

Come on, come on, give God glory in this place.

Your Jesus is interceding for you.

And I want you to know something.

Even when you're not praying to him, he's praying for you.

Even when you are faithless, he remains faithful because he can't deny himself.

And it's not like he has to sleep because he neither sleeps nor slumbers.

So it doesn't matter what time of the night you need intercession, he's interceding for you.

And what's powerful about his intercession, when you look at the book of Job, Job, not Job, Job, in the Old Testament, Job went through a lot of trials.

If you've ever read this book, a lot of trials.

So much so that many have pondered how in the world did he get through what he went through.

And he's very transparent in the book of Job about the suffering that he was experiencing.

But if you've ever read the book of Job, there's something you have to keep in mind.

He did not understand the theology of demonology.

He didn't understand demonology.

In other words, he wasn't privy to the conversation that Satan and God were having.

From his viewpoint, he thought it was God that was bringing these calamities into his life.

But the one difference between Job and us is we have received something that he didn't have.

Now, even what he had, he was still able to overcome.

Because the Bible says towards the end of the book of Job that God came to him in a whirlwind, and I like to say, God opened up his cape and he revealed his glory, everything that he created, and how things operate and work in the universe, and he was so touched by it that he could not say a word.

And he literally uttered before God, I have spoken in ignorance.

And the reason why he came to this conclusion, because after he discovered how wise and intelligent and how powerful God is, I know despite what I'm going through, you have me.

And you know my future, and you will never leave me nor forsake me.

But watch this.

Job said something in Job chapter 9 that we should pay close attention to.

Job 9 · chapter mention

He says, if only I had a mediator.

If only I had a go-between between me and God, somebody that could plead my case, somebody that could sympathize with my weaknesses.

Well, guess what, people of God?

We have that in Jesus.

He was tempted.

Come on, give him glory.

He was tempted.

He can sympathize with our weaknesses because he was tempted in all points, but yet he never sinned.

He knows what it's like to lose a loved one, Lazarus.

He knows what it's like to be betrayed or to go to somebody that you thought had your back in the middle of a trial and they didn't.

He knows what that's like, Judas.

He knows what it's like to be beaten, to be abused, even though you did nothing wrong.

He knows what it's like to be lied on, to be mistreated.

He knows what it's like to be slapped in the face, even though you created the hand that was slapping you.

He knows, oh God, he knows what it's like to be spat in the face, even though you created the spit that the person is using to spit on you.

He knows.

So whatever you're going through, whatever trial you find yourself in, count it all joy.

Isn't that what James 1 2 tells us?

Count it all joy when you go through various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

And let me tell you something.

Even though that person may be gone, the Bible says to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord, to live is Christ and to die is gained.

The enemy did not get the upper hand because that person maintained their integrity.

He's not only our mediator, he's also the author and the finisher of our faith.

Hebrews 12, 2 teaches us that Jesus, he's the author, he's the finisher.

But as I bring this in for a close, I want to drop one more point.

To receive God's inheritance, it requires the physical death of the testator and the death of the individual who's looking to receive it.

Let me say that again.

To receive God's inheritance, it requires the physical death of the testator and the death of the individual.

Will you go with me to Romans?

In fact, can you pull it up on the screen?

Romans chapter 7.

Romans 7 · chapter mention

Let's read this together.

It says, Do you not know, brethren?

For I speak to those who know the law, that the law has dominion over a man as long As he lives.

Next.

For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law of her husband as long as he.

But if the husband he is released from the law of her husband.

Watch this.

So then, if while her husband lives, she marries another man, she would be called an adulteress.

But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no longer an adulteress, though she has married another man.

Can we keep going?

Therefore, my brethren, you also have become to the body of Christ that you may be to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit unto God.

See, the only way that I can be distant or divorced from the law is I have to die.

And when I die in Christ, see, that's why baptism is so powerful.

Because it is an outward illustration of an inward reality.

And by the way, baptism's coming up on September the 20th.

It is an outward expression of an inward reality.

So when you give your life to Christ, guess what?

You were buried with Christ in baptism.

You thought it was just a death and just going into the water, and maybe there wasn't any more significance that comes with that, but what you have to understand is you are divorcing the law, so you can be married to grace.

Can I illustrate this for you?

Oh gosh.

You remember the woman who had the issue of blood?

Everybody remember that story?

She had this issue for a long period of time.

And when she came upon Jesus, because she was an outcast because of her condition according to the law, she was not even supposed to be out in public.

The law condemned her and kept her isolated.

But she determined, she heard that Jesus was a healer.

So she said to herself, If I could just touch the what?

The hem of his garment.

I discovered something in the book of Numbers.

In the priestly garments, on the edge of the garment was a tassel.

And this tassel was meant to be a reminder of the commandments of God.

See, the very thing that she touched was condemning her.

But the only difference was it was attached to grace at the same time.

So law and grace clap hands with each other and she went away healed.

What is the point that I'm trying to make?

Is you have to die.

You have to die.

And the more that you die to yourself, the more you will receive the contents of the inheritance that Jesus purchased for you to walk in.

This is why he said you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me.

Because in denying yourself and in being dead to yourself, you can be alive unto God.

The testator has already died.

The inheritance is already made available to you.

But now it's contingent upon you accepting Jesus and dying so that when you rise, you can walk in a newness of life.

Will you stand with me here in this house?