Taylor Brown

April 5, 2026

Respect the Office

Because He is King, I Will Obey

Taylor Brown

April 5, 2026

Respect the Office

Introduction:

What Does God Want Me to See and Know This Easter? (Ephesians 1:15-23)

The HOPE THAT IS FOUND in Belonging to Christ. (Eph 1:18a)
The UNENDING RICHES THAT ARE AVAILABLE in Christ. (Eph 1:18b)
The RESURRECTION POWER of Christ. (Eph 1:19-20a)
The SIMPLICITY OF SUBMITTING TO THE KINGSHIP of Christ. (Eph 1:20b-23)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:00-00:05
Please turn your Bibles to where Sydney just read, Ephesians chapter one, verses 15 through 23.
00:06-00:10
Ephesians chapter one, verses 15 through 23.
00:12-00:16
You know, kids are so easily distracted, aren't they?
00:17-00:19
Their kids, their heads are often in the clouds.
00:20-00:22
They're not thinking about what they should be thinking about.
00:22-00:25
They're not looking where they should be looking.
00:25-00:28
They don't know important things that they need to know.
00:29-00:33
I know this from first-hand experience with my own kids, Sam and Emmy.
00:33-00:40
Sam and Emmy are so easily distracted, and it can be so hard to get their attention.
00:41-00:47
Sometimes I physically have to put my hands on their faces to redirect their focus.
00:47-00:49
Why do I do that?
00:49-00:55
'Cause I want them to see something so that they will know something.
00:56-01:02
Sam makes a huge mess and he's not cleaning up despite my many pleas for him to clean it up.
01:02-01:07
I have to gently put my hands on his face to redirect him to the disaster zone.
01:08-01:14
I want him to see the mess so he will know that he needs to clean up the mess.
01:15-01:21
Emmy throws a temper tantrum about something completely unreasonable and she's not listening to reason.
01:22-01:26
I lovingly put my hands on her face to redirect her focus to my eyes.
01:27-01:37
I want her to see the seriousness of my face so that she will know that she needs to say sorry, she needs to ask for forgiveness, and stop her pouting.
01:38-01:46
My kids are so easily distracted, and they need parental reminders from their mom and dad.
01:47-01:50
But if we're honest, we're not much better than kids, are we?
01:51-01:53
You and I are easily distracted.
01:54-01:58
You and I do not think about what we should be thinking about.
01:58-02:01
You and I do not look where we should be looking.
02:02-02:06
You and I do not know important things that we need to know.
02:07-02:15
You and I need our Heavenly Father to lovingly grab a hold of our faces and redirect our focus.
02:17-02:25
You and I need to see and know important truths that God wants us to see and know.
02:26-02:33
You and I need to truly see Jesus Christ for who he is so that we can truly know him both now and forever.
02:34-02:45
You and I need to truly see what is expected of us in this book so that we will know what responsibilities we need to carry out from day to day.
02:45-02:47
We're at the end of our latest series.
02:49-02:49
Respect the office.
02:50-02:53
Jesus' roles determine my responsibilities.
02:53-03:00
Last Sunday, we saw that Jesus is the ultimate prophet who perfectly represents and speaks for his Father.
03:01-03:10
When you truly see Jesus as prophet, you know that you must listen and believe whatever he says.
03:13-03:25
This past Good Friday, Pastor Jeff showed us that Jesus is our great high priest who laid down his own life, who shed his own blood as a sacrifice for our sins on the cross.
03:26-03:36
When you see Jesus as priest, you know that you must confess your sin, you must repent of your sin, you must ask for forgiveness of your sin.
03:38-03:51
This morning we will see that Jesus Christ is the king of all, who is high above any ruler, any president, any CEO, any billionaire, and nothing and no one can compare to Jesus Christ.
03:51-03:58
And when you see Jesus as King, you know that you must obey whatever he says.
04:00-04:10
As is our custom at Harvest, please pray for me that I'll faithfully proclaim God's word, and I will pray for you that you will faithfully receive God's word.
04:13-04:18
Father, we come to you, And we thank you for what this day represents.
04:20-04:27
We thank you that because of your son, because of what he has done, we can have true hope.
04:27-04:30
We can have true life.
04:31-04:36
And if there are people in this room who do not have true life, may you seek and save the lost today.
04:36-04:39
May you bring the dead to life.
04:39-04:42
May you give faith where there previously was no faith.
04:42-04:48
And for the rest of us, Lord, may we be comforted, may we be encouraged, may we be challenged and built up by your word.
04:48-04:52
I thank you so much that you watch over your word to perform it.
04:52-04:54
Your word never returns to you empty.
04:54-04:57
It always accomplishes the purpose for which you sent it out.
04:57-05:00
And Lord, I trust you and we trust you this morning.
05:00-05:03
We ask that you would do a great and mighty work in all of our hearts.
05:04-05:08
We ask all these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, amen.
05:10-05:19
In the original Greek, the apostle Paul writes, one long run-on sentence in Ephesians chapter one, verses three through 14.
05:19-05:26
Have you ever listened to a family member or friend who breathlessly tells you a story, they're really, really excited, they just wanna get it out?
05:26-05:30
That was me growing up, no one could understand any story I was telling growing up.
05:31-05:33
That is the Apostle Paul in this passage.
05:33-05:40
He is so blown away by who Christ is and what he has done for the Ephesian church.
05:41-05:48
He gives a huge list, they have been redeemed, they have been rescued, they have been adopted into the family of God.
05:48-05:54
They have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and on and on the list goes.
05:56-06:03
In Ephesians chapter one, verse 15, Paul takes a deep breath, so he can go on for another run-on sentence.
06:04-06:07
So let's read the beginning of Paul's second run-on sentence.
06:08-06:10
In chapter one, verses 15 through 17.
06:10-06:12
of Ephesians.
06:12-06:38
He says, "For this reason, because I have heard "of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love "towards all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks "for you, remembering you in my prayers, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, "the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom "and of revelation and the knowledge of him." Paul isn't indifferent to the Ephesian church.
06:39-06:40
He isn't like, eh, whatever.
06:41-06:46
He has a deep love for these people because he ministered in Ephesus for years.
06:46-06:50
He personally led many of the Ephesians to Christ.
06:51-06:55
And since the day he left Ephesus, he has been receiving reports about them.
06:55-06:56
He's been checking in on them.
06:56-07:01
He's been hearing about their deep faith in Christ and their love for one another.
07:03-07:13
All that the Ephesians have been given in Christ and all they've been doing for Christ Paul to constantly give thanks and pray for them?
07:15-07:16
What is he praying for?
07:17-07:19
What is he asking for on their behalf?
07:21-07:35
Well he tells us in verses 17 through 18 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know.
07:38-07:39
Let's stop there for a minute.
07:39-07:41
pick up the rest of Paul's thought very soon.
07:42-07:44
What is Paul's prayer for the Ephesians?
07:45-07:48
To see so that they will know.
07:49-07:57
To see important truths with the eyes of their hearts so that they will know these truths in their hearts for the rest of their lives.
07:59-08:09
The truths that Paul wants the Ephesians to see and know are the same exact truths that you need to see and know on April 5th, 2026.
08:11-08:14
Some of you are here because you really wanna be here.
08:14-08:20
You couldn't wait to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord with other brothers and sisters in Christ.
08:21-08:23
Others of you would rather be someplace else.
08:24-08:26
You're really hoping, I won't talk for too long.
08:27-08:37
You're really hoping that this service will be mercifully short so you can get back home, eat Easter lunch, hunt for some eggs, and pass out from a food comb on the couch.
08:38-08:42
And if that's you, I want you to hear a loud and clear message from me.
08:42-08:44
I am so glad that you're here.
08:45-08:48
I have been praying for you all week long.
08:48-08:54
I have been praying that you would see and know what God wants you to see and know.
08:55-09:01
Whether you are excited or unenthused to be here, you need to ask yourself one question this morning.
09:02-09:06
What does God want me to see and know this Easter?
09:07-09:11
What does God want me to see and know this Easter?
09:12-09:15
Number one, your outline, the hope that is found in belonging to Christ.
09:16-09:19
The hope that is found in belonging to Christ.
09:22-09:26
Let's return to Paul's thought that we left hanging a minute ago in verses 16 through 18.
09:27-09:45
He writes, "I do not cease to give thanks for you, "remembering you in my prayers, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, "the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom "and of revelation and the knowledge of him, "having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, "that you may know." What does he want them to see and know?
09:46-09:50
What is the hope to which he has called you?
09:51-09:57
Paul wants the Ephesians to see and know the hope that is found in belonging to Jesus.
09:59-10:02
Have you ever noticed that the hardest words to define are the simplest?
10:04-10:06
We use words like hope every single day.
10:07-10:08
But what does it actually mean?
10:08-10:10
What is hope?
10:12-10:13
There are actually two definitions for hope.
10:14-10:18
There is the worldly definition and there is the biblical definition.
10:19-10:24
There is the wrong definition and the right definition.
10:25-10:30
And your personal definition depends upon your status relationship with Christ.
10:33-10:38
If you do not love and follow Jesus, hope is only wishful thinking and nothing more.
10:39-10:42
Hope is crossing your fingers and wishing for the best.
10:43-10:47
Hope is knocking on wood and longing that nothing bad will happen to you.
10:49-10:52
You have no basis for this hope beyond your desire for it.
10:54-10:57
That kind of hope is no hope at all.
10:59-11:09
In the next chapter of Ephesians, Paul says that until you trust in Christ for salvation, you are without hope and you are without God in the world.
11:11-11:16
So that is the wrong and unbiblical definition of hope.
11:17-11:21
Let's talk about the right and biblical definition of hope.
11:22-11:28
According to God's word, hope is confident expectation in the character and plans of God.
11:29-11:34
Hope is confident expectation in the character and plans of God.
11:34-11:48
When you trust in Christ and belong to him, you have a confident expectation that every single one of your sins have been wiped away, have been paid for, that your past, present, and future offenses are no longer held against you.
11:49-11:57
When you trust in Christ and belong to him, You have a confident expectation that God will keep every single promise in this book.
11:57-12:06
When you trust in Christ and belong to him, you have a confident expectation that you are bound for heaven and not hell.
12:09-12:13
These hopes aren't maybes or mightbes that you're unsure of.
12:13-12:16
These are firm and fixed realities that cannot change.
12:18-12:23
If you're a true born-again believer in Christ, You have no need for wishful thinking.
12:23-12:25
You have no need for crossing your fingers.
12:25-12:27
You have no need for knocking on wood.
12:28-12:37
When you truly belong to Jesus Christ, you see that he is trustworthy, and you know that there is a 0% chance that he will fail you.
12:40-12:43
What does God want me to see and know this Easter?
12:44-12:48
Secondly, the unending riches that are available in Christ.
12:49-12:53
the unending riches that are available in Christ.
12:57-13:07
At the end of verse 18, Paul goes on to pray that the Ephesians would see and know what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.
13:08-13:14
If I were to ask you to come up with your net worth off the top of your head, would you be able to do it?
13:16-13:19
Some of you uber savvy and prepared individuals exact number.
13:20-13:25
This would also be really easy for you teenagers and college students because your net worth is practically zero.
13:26-13:27
You own nothing really.
13:28-13:30
Others of us would need to sit down and crunch the numbers.
13:31-13:33
Subtract our debts, add our assets.
13:35-13:39
Do you realize that all of your assets will belong to someone else?
13:40-13:43
All of your stuff will be passed on.
13:45-13:52
Maybe you've already thought about the family heirlooms, the keepsakes that you wanna pass down to your kids, your grandkids, your friends, your relatives.
13:52-13:57
Maybe you've already been the beneficiary of a very small or a very big inheritance.
13:59-14:01
You inherited a house and all that came with it.
14:02-14:06
You inherited a decent chunk of money that you were not expecting.
14:08-14:19
No matter what you've inherited in the past or what you plan to pass down to others in the future, these things pale in comparison to the inheritance that God gives to his children.
14:20-14:21
I mean, think about it.
14:21-14:22
What is God's net worth?
14:24-14:25
It's limitless.
14:25-14:26
It's incalculable.
14:26-14:28
What does God own?
14:30-14:32
You are the first service, so I'll give you some grace.
14:32-14:33
Let's try that again.
14:34-14:36
What does God own?
14:37-14:41
So if you belong to him, what do you stand to gain?
14:42-14:43
Everything.
14:45-14:46
God isn't a cheapskate.
14:47-14:53
If you're a born again believer in Christ, God doesn't put you on a weekly allowance plan that is based on your performance.
14:54-15:08
God's not up in heaven thinking, "Well, I was gonna loosen the purse strings a bit more "and give Taylor more this week, "but he really let me down, he really failed me, "so too bad for him, maybe next week, if he behaves better." That is not how God operates at all.
15:09-15:11
He is unbelievably generous towards you.
15:12-15:15
He's unconditionally loving towards you.
15:18-15:21
I know what some Christians in this room and watching online are thinking right now.
15:21-15:23
Taylor, that sure sounds nice.
15:25-15:26
But that's not my experience.
15:27-15:31
You're saying that I have everything, but I feel like I have nothing.
15:33-15:35
Life isn't going very well for me right now.
15:37-15:40
I get that, and I felt that.
15:41-15:43
You may feel like you have nothing.
15:44-15:47
You may feel like you are running on empty.
15:48-15:52
You may feel like you have nothing left to give.
15:53-15:59
But I want you to see and know all that is available to you in Christ.
16:00-16:04
In Christ, you have unlimited access to God the Father in prayer.
16:04-16:10
You can come to him 24/7 to bring your request, your Thanksgiving just to talk to him.
16:11-16:14
You've been given the very word of God.
16:14-16:18
You can talk to God in prayer and God talks to you in his word.
16:19-16:23
You've been filled with the Holy Spirit who leads, guides, and comforts you.
16:23-16:29
You have a protective and older brother named Jesus who is constantly interceding for you in heaven.
16:32-16:37
As a pastor, I hear so many people tell me, I just want more of God.
16:38-16:40
I just want more of the Holy Spirit.
16:40-16:42
I just want more from God.
16:43-16:48
Listen, in Christ, you have been given everything that God has.
16:49-16:50
You have been given all of him.
16:51-16:55
God cannot give you more of himself because he's given you all of it.
16:58-16:59
Do you really believe that?
17:01-17:03
Do you really live like you believe that?
17:05-17:07
No gift has been reserved.
17:07-17:09
No blessing has been withheld.
17:10-17:13
No grace has been kept back from you.
17:15-17:19
Even if you are financially poor, you are spiritually rich.
17:20-17:25
Even if you feel empty, you have been filled with the fullness of God.
17:27-17:31
If the past 12 years, my wife and I have shared a joint bank account.
17:31-17:41
And whenever we open that account, For some reason, PNC Bank put her name in bold letters on the top of the checks and me in smaller letters underneath of hers.
17:43-17:44
I'm told that's not how it usually goes.
17:44-17:45
Am I right?
17:46-17:47
It's very emasculating.
17:48-17:51
I think PNC laughs at me every time they print those checks for us.
17:52-17:53
But here's the thing.
17:54-17:56
My checks clear just as well as Kate's does.
17:58-18:03
My card withdraws money out of our account just like Kate's card does.
18:05-18:14
I have unlimited access to a bank account with my wife, but I also have unlimited access to an even greater account.
18:14-18:18
I share the resources of someone even greater than my wife.
18:18-18:21
I share the infinite riches of an infinite God.
18:22-18:31
On our account, his name is huge and mine is teeny tiny small, but I still get to access those riches whenever I want to, whenever I need them.
18:33-18:37
And the same is true for you if you've been adopted into the family of God.
18:38-18:48
And the same can be true of you today if you let go of the unsatisfying garbage of this world to grab a hold of the infinitely satisfying treasures of heaven.
18:51-18:56
God wants you to see and know the riches that are available to you in Christ.
18:58-19:01
What does God want me to see and know this Easter?
19:02-19:04
Thirdly, the resurrection power of Christ.
19:05-19:07
The resurrection power of Christ.
19:11-19:21
In verse 19, Paul prays the Ephesians would see and know what is the immeasurable greatness of his, God's power towards us who believe.
19:22-19:23
Power.
19:25-19:28
Power is such a foreign concept to so many people.
19:28-19:34
Power is such a foreign concept to most people who fill churches Sunday after Sunday.
19:34-19:38
Most Christians feel so powerless.
19:40-19:44
They feel powerless to resist temptation so they give in without a fight.
19:45-19:49
They feel powerless to serve the church so they sit on the sidelines.
19:50-19:54
They feel powerless to share the gospel so they stay silent.
19:55-20:03
They feel powerless to be the husbands and wives they've been called to be, so they settle for being passive rather than active.
20:04-20:09
They feel powerless to be godly parents, so they make excuses.
20:12-20:13
How about you?
20:15-20:17
Do you feel powerless?
20:20-20:22
If you feel powerless, you're not alone.
20:23-20:24
I certainly feel that way.
20:26-20:31
I certainly feel that way as a homeowner because I am not a handyman whatsoever.
20:32-20:39
If there's something broken at your house, I wouldn't recommend calling me as your first, second, 20th, 100th option.
20:40-20:45
When something breaks at my house, I mostly feel powerless to address it.
20:47-20:52
Recently, the toilet paper roll holder ripped off our downstairs bathroom wall.
20:52-20:56
I wasn't surprised, it's the bathroom my kids use the most and they're not gentle with the toilet paper.
20:57-21:00
It's like they're on the Price is Right rolling down the toilet paper.
21:05-21:10
I walked into the bathroom, I assessed the damage and I'll be honest with you, I felt an initial wave of powerlessness.
21:12-21:16
And I thought, well, guess what's gonna be savages in keeping toilet paper on the bathroom sink from now on.
21:18-21:22
But then I thought to myself, wait a minute, I own a drill.
21:23-21:24
I own wall anchors.
21:25-21:31
I have a teeny tiny screwdriver set that can be used as teeny tiny screw that locks this toilet paper holder into place.
21:33-21:38
I realized that I already had all that I needed to fix this issue.
21:40-21:41
And guess what?
21:41-21:42
I did fix it.
21:44-21:45
Thank you.
21:48-21:52
The next time you come to my house, I'll show you the glories of the toilet paper holder.
21:57-22:09
Whenever you feel that initial wave of powerlessness as a Christian, remember that you already have all that you need to face the issue in front of you.
22:10-22:13
What you already have is far better than a cheap set of tools.
22:14-22:17
You have the very power of the God of the universe.
22:19-22:24
And Paul tells us in verses 19 through 20 what this power is truly capable of.
22:24-22:38
He says that he wants the Ephesians to see and know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead.
22:41-22:47
The power of resurrection isn't just something that Jesus experienced and no one else will ever again.
22:49-22:57
The power of resurrection is something that everyone who trusts in Christ experiences right now.
22:57-23:03
It is something that you will experience for all of eternity if you've given your life over to him.
23:04-23:07
Please catch this because this is truly life-changing.
23:08-23:20
If you have trusted in Christ for salvation, that same power that brought him back from death and raised him from the grave 2,000 years ago resides within you.
23:21-23:26
That same power raised you from spiritual death and gave you new life.
23:27-23:36
That same power will enable you to share the gospel, not caring what anyone thinks about you, not worrying about what the response will be.
23:37-23:43
That same power will inspire you to not believe the lies and discouragement of the enemy.
23:43-23:49
That same power will motivate you to love your wife, respect your husband, serve your children.
23:50-23:56
That same power will equip you to use your spiritual gifts in the life of the church.
23:58-24:01
Yes, in and of yourself, you are powerless.
24:02-24:14
In and of yourself, you cannot do anything of value for anyone, but in Christ, you have access to the death-defying, life-giving power the God of the universe.
24:14-24:19
It is at your fingertips whenever you want it, whenever you need it.
24:24-24:33
Do not insult the sacrifice and resurrection of your Savior by believing that he has left you unequipped for the responsibilities you've been given.
24:36-24:41
At this point in the message, you may be thinking, wasn't this supposed to be about seeing and knowing Jesus as King?
24:41-24:42
when is that part gonna come up?
24:44-24:47
Well, I'm gonna take a page out of Pastor Jeff's preaching book.
24:47-24:49
Everything I've said so far has been the introduction.
24:50-24:51
Here's the actual sermon.
24:52-24:53
Don't worry, it'll be short, it won't be long.
24:55-24:56
Everything leading up to this has been the warmup.
24:57-24:57
Here's the main event.
24:58-25:01
What does God want me to see and know this Easter?
25:02-25:06
Finally, the simplicity of submitting to the kingship of Christ.
25:08-25:11
the simplicity of submitting to the kingship of Christ.
25:17-25:23
When you hear the gospel story, it's usually concluded with the resurrection of Jesus.
25:25-25:26
Usually goes like this.
25:26-25:30
Jesus, God himself, took on flesh and came to this earth.
25:30-25:31
He lived a perfect life.
25:32-25:36
He had a three year long ministry filled with miracles and sermons.
25:36-25:41
He was crucified in the tomb for three days, rose again, roll credits, the end.
25:44-25:45
Is that actually the end of the gospel story?
25:47-25:57
There is a major event that is missed, and that is the ascension of Christ, which is a fancy theological way of saying that Jesus went back to heaven.
25:59-26:05
Paul wants the Ephesians as well as you and I to see and know the importance of the ascension.
26:06-26:26
In verses 20 through 21, he says, the same power that raised Christ from the dead also seated him at the Father's right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
26:28-26:33
Through his crucifixion, Jesus is the Savior who destroys the power of death.
26:34-26:39
Through his resurrection, Jesus is the victor who destroys the power of death.
26:41-26:48
Through his ascension, Jesus is the king who defeats the power of those who challenge his rightful rule and authority.
26:50-27:00
Yes, Satan and the forces of darkness seem to be winning right now, but I promise you they have lost already because they cannot compete with the one who sits on heaven's throne.
27:01-27:13
Yes, people do and can resist the king right now, but one day, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
27:15-27:16
You have two options.
27:17-27:23
You can willingly bow the knee right now, or you can be forced to bow in eternity.
27:25-27:35
You can joyfully proclaim that Jesus is your savior, your Lord in the present, or you can begrudgingly admit that you were wrong and he was right in the future.
27:38-27:45
No matter what you say, no matter what you do, you cannot change the reality of this universe's political situation.
27:46-27:49
Jesus Christ rules and reigns.
27:50-27:55
But your position, your side of this political reality can change.
27:56-27:58
Will you choose team pride?
27:59-28:00
The captain of that team is Satan.
28:01-28:04
Spoiler alert, that team is gonna lose big time.
28:06-28:14
There is team submission, and the captain of that team is Jesus Christ himself, who wins every single game in an absolute shutout.
28:16-28:17
What will you choose?
28:19-28:22
Will you resist, or will you submit?
28:24-28:29
Let's wrap up by reading more about the kingship of Jesus in verses 22 through 23.
28:29-28:48
Paul writes, "And he, God the Father, put all things under Christ's feet and gave him his head over all things of the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." Jesus Christ is the head, the ruler, the boss, the king of the church.
28:49-28:56
He's in charge around here, not me, not Pastor Jeff, not Pastor Rich, not the elders, not you.
28:56-28:59
Jesus Christ is head over the church.
28:59-29:03
He is in charge of every true church across the face of this planet.
29:04-29:11
And the church should be a living example of what it looks like to submit to the kingship of Jesus.
29:12-29:16
The church should be on the front lines displaying the love of Christ.
29:16-29:21
The church should show a watching world what it looks like to obey the word of God.
29:24-29:29
How are most Christians doing at setting that example of submission in 2026?
29:32-29:32
Not the best.
29:33-29:42
Most professing Christians act like they know Jesus, but they live like they do not know Jesus.
29:43-29:49
Many professing Christians seem to care more about their own personal opinions than the authoritative word of God.
29:50-29:58
Most professing Christians seem to love themselves more than the lost, more than their fellow church members.
30:00-30:04
Do you profess to know Jesus, but make Jesus look bad?
30:08-30:13
Do you give others around you a totally inaccurate picture of what it looks like to submit to King Jesus?
30:15-30:21
If your answer to those questions is yes, it's time for repentance, it's time to change course.
30:22-30:31
Earlier I said that God can never give you more of himself and that's 100% true, but you can always give God more of yourself.
30:32-30:34
God withholds nothing from you.
30:35-30:37
What are you withholding from him?
30:39-30:40
Is it your finances?
30:42-30:47
Do you foolishly think that all the money in your account belongs to you when it actually belongs to God?
30:48-30:49
Is it your time?
30:50-30:57
You've been wasting the most precious gift you've been given, time, by spending it on yourself and no one else.
30:59-31:00
Is it social media and entertainment?
31:01-31:06
You're constantly consuming garbage, yet you act surprised that garbage comes out of your mouth?
31:07-31:09
Is it your status and reputation?
31:10-31:16
You care so much about what people think of you that you're willing to tear others down and lie your way to the top.
31:17-31:22
Listen, care about nothing and no one more than Jesus.
31:24-31:26
The Christian life is so simple.
31:28-31:31
Do you want me to share the not so secret secret of the Christian life?
31:33-31:34
Doesn't seem like you want it, no one said anything.
31:35-31:38
Do you want the not so secret secret to the Christian life?
31:39-31:40
All right, fine, I'll share it with you.
31:41-31:43
Just do what Jesus says.
31:46-31:47
Just do what Jesus says.
31:48-31:50
Obey his word.
31:50-31:56
Life is so much simpler when you submit to Jesus in every single way.
31:56-32:00
It's so complex to figure out other masters to follow.
32:00-32:06
It's so unsatisfying to be the boss of your own life 'cause if you are honest enough to admit it, you are clueless.
32:07-32:08
You have no idea what you're doing.
32:09-32:10
You have no idea what's going on.
32:13-32:17
Yes, the Christian life is simple, but it's also challenging, isn't it?
32:18-32:24
It is absolutely pride crushing to admit that you know nothing and Jesus knows everything.
32:25-32:29
It's humbling to acknowledge that he is in control and you are not.
32:30-32:35
It's difficult to follow Jesus, not cater to your own personal preferences.
32:37-32:39
I have to tell you, you will feel miserable.
32:40-32:48
You will feel directionless until you see and know that submitting to Jesus is the only way to lasting joy.
32:50-32:52
The worship team can now make their way forward.
32:54-32:59
Do you see and know that Jesus is the ultimate prophet?
33:01-33:05
He spoke the truth 2,000 years ago and he still speaks the truth to this day.
33:06-33:10
Do you see and know that Jesus is the high priest?
33:10-33:17
He laid down his own life, he shed his own blood on the cross to wash away your many sins.
33:19-33:22
Do you see and know that Jesus is the king of all?
33:23-33:31
He resurrected from the grave, he ascended to heaven where he sits at the Father's right hand, where he rules and reigns right now.
33:32-33:37
This position of prominence proves that He is God and you are not.
33:38-33:45
This position of prominence proves that He is a rightful claim over your life and you have none.
33:47-33:52
If your heart is still unyielded to Christ, if your knee is still unbowed, what are you waiting for?
33:53-34:00
There is no better time to obey Jesus' command to believe in Him than this very moment.
34:02-34:06
There is no better opportunity to trust in Jesus for salvation than right now.
34:08-34:16
There is no better day than Easter Sunday to draw your line in the sand and say, today is the day when I gave my life to Jesus.
34:16-34:19
Today is the day when everything changed for me.
34:21-34:29
If you turn from your sin and you place your faith in Jesus, the old you will die.
34:30-34:33
never to be seen or heard from again.
34:34-34:43
A new you will rise from the grave with Christ, and one day you will live with Christ forever and ever.
34:45-34:51
That is the ultimate truth that God wants you to see and know this Easter.
34:52-34:53
Let's pray.
34:56-34:59
Father, this amazing news often seems too good to be true.
35:00-35:10
How could a holy, perfect, all-powerful God care about weak people like us?
35:11-35:15
People who have rebelled against you, who've wanted nothing to do with you.
35:16-35:34
Lord, instead of just turning your back on us, instead of just consigning all of us to hell forever, You sent your one and only Son to become one of us, to live the perfect life we could never live, to die the death that we deserved to die.
35:36-35:38
Lord, let this news never become old to us.
35:39-35:40
May it never become normal.
35:41-35:42
May it always blow us away.
35:43-35:49
And Lord, I do lift up those of us in this room who are still resisting, who are still doubting.
35:51-35:54
God, I can't change anyone, but you can.
35:56-35:57
I know you can save.
35:58-35:59
I know you can bring the dead to life.
35:59-36:02
Lord, I ask you would do that this very moment.
36:04-36:05
Lord, we thank you for who you are.
36:05-36:09
We thank you for what you've done, and we thank you for all that you continue to do for us.
36:10-36:13
We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read Ephesians 1:15-23

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What is the difference between worldly hope and biblical hope?
What are the riches and blessings that have been made available to you in Christ?
What does it mean that you share in the resurrection power of Jesus? How should this truth change how you live from one day to the next?
How are you failing to submit to the kingship of Christ right now?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

April 3, 2026

Respect the Office

Because He is Priest, I Will Confess

Jeff Miller

April 3, 2026

Respect the Office

Introduction:

Psalm 32:5 – I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Proverbs 28:13 – Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Conceal or Confess? If You Want to Confess: (1 John 1:5 - 2:6)

You Have to Be Done LYING About Your Sin. (1 John 1:5-10)

3 Lies You Have to Stop Claiming:
1. I BELIEVE in God. (When You Don't LIVE Like It.) (1 John 1:6-7)
2. I'm a GOOD Person. (1 John 1:8-9)
3. I Don't SIN. (1 John 1:10)
You Have to Come to JESUS. (1 John 2:1-2)
Your LIFESTYLE Proves Your Sincerity. (1 John 2:3-6)

Hebrews 4:14 - Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:00-00:09
Open up those Bibles to the passage that Levi just read, 1 John 1.
00:12-00:14
While you're turning there, let's just quiet our hearts for a moment.
00:14-00:19
And I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to faithfully communicate God's Word.
00:21-00:29
And I'll pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us from His Word tonight.
00:29-00:31
All right, let's pray.
00:33-00:44
Father in heaven, I pray that this time would allow us to feel the weight of what it is we're remembering here tonight.
00:46-00:48
We're so distracted with so many things.
00:50-01:02
I just pray, Father, by the power of Your Spirit, everything is off our minds and hearts except your word.
01:06-01:14
And that we would be honest enough with ourselves to see things as you see them.
01:18-01:24
Thank you, Father, for the sacrifice that was made.
01:26-01:29
You spared not your own son.
01:34-01:38
We pray in the glorious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen.
01:40-01:41
Amen.
01:41-01:46
We're in this series, this short series called Respect the Office.
01:49-01:54
That if Jesus presented a resume, it would have a lot on it.
01:56-02:00
But there are three roles in particular.
02:02-02:07
We're just sort of slowing down and looking at, and last Sunday Pastor Rich talked about Jesus as prophet.
02:08-02:10
He is the word of God.
02:10-02:14
Who God is, is represented in Jesus.
02:16-02:22
Tonight, we're going to see that Jesus Christ is our priest.
02:25-02:27
What is a priest, anyways?
02:28-02:36
Well, in the simplest terms, the prophet represented God to man.
02:37-02:42
And the priest represents man to God.
02:43-02:50
And in the Old Testament, the priests offered sacrifices from sinners to God at the temple.
02:51-03:12
So tonight, as our minds naturally think of Jesus Christ on the cross, what you need to see in your mind in that moment when Jesus was on the cross, was He was not only the the sacrifice that was being offered for sin.
03:12-03:17
At the same time, He was the priest who was offering the sacrifice.
03:19-03:28
Jesus Christ, as our priest, came to deal with our sin.
03:32-03:51
There is one thing you must do Before you can receive forgiveness, before you can have a relationship with God at all, there's one thing you have to do.
03:52-03:53
You have to confess.
03:55-04:09
And if you're a Christian, if you are truly born again, and you're sitting here tonight, and you're wondering why your walk is so weak, why you aren't the strong Christian that you thought you would be by now.
04:13-04:15
Maybe you stopped confessing.
04:16-04:19
Look at verse 9 again.
04:21-04:30
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
04:34-04:36
We're going to talk about confess tonight.
04:37-04:39
What does it mean to confess?
04:41-04:44
Well, in the Greek, it's a compound word.
04:44-04:54
It literally means, "say the same." In other words, to confess means that you're agreeing with God.
04:56-04:58
Agreeing with God that you are a sinner.
04:58-05:02
Agreeing with God that your sin is wrong.
05:05-05:06
I agree with God.
05:07-05:08
It's saying I'm guilty.
05:09-05:11
I'm not a good person.
05:11-05:16
I look at my actions and I do things that are just shameful.
05:18-05:21
I hear the words that come out of my mouth sometimes.
05:22-05:24
What is wrong with me?
05:27-05:27
Shameful.
05:29-05:38
So I look into my heart and I realize, there's something broken in me.
05:40-05:41
There's something evil in me.
05:44-05:47
How is it that I can be so full of selfishness?
05:47-05:51
How is it that I can be so full of hatred sometimes?
05:52-05:53
How is it that I can be so full of lust?
05:55-05:56
Why is that?
06:00-06:01
Confessing is agreeing with God.
06:05-06:10
And the three hardest words that you will ever say, it's not, "I love you." Those ones are hard.
06:10-06:12
But there are three harder words to say.
06:13-06:24
And those words are these, "I have sinned." To get to the point where you are saying this from your heart, "I've sinned.
06:25-06:26
I have sinned.
06:27-06:30
You know, I was thinking about that a lot this week and preparing for this message.
06:31-06:32
Why is that so hard?
06:35-06:46
I mean, it's clear in the Bible, it's clear from observation that we have a problem, but why is it so hard for me to get to that place where I say, "I have sinned"?
06:46-06:49
Why is it so hard for you to admit that, to confess that?
06:52-06:53
I think it's a lot of things.
06:55-06:57
I think the big reason is pride, right?
06:58-07:02
To admit that you're a sinner is also an admission of weakness.
07:02-07:06
I'm not the morally strong person that I want to think that I am.
07:07-07:15
Maybe it's hard to confess that I am a sinner because deep down the reality is we actually kind of like our sin.
07:16-07:19
We would miss it if it wasn't in our lives.
07:19-08:13
is that. If you're sitting here tonight and you're like, "Well, I don't feel like I love my sin. I want out of it, but I feel trapped in it. I'm in bondage to it." That's hard to confess. That something is so ruling over you. "I don't want to do this, but I keep doing it. What is my problem?" You know, I think really for a lot of us, it's hard to say I have sinned because it's just so hard to not see yourself as the hero in your own story. Sometimes you're the bad guy. So am I. Acknowledging sin is uncomfortable. It's offensive. And it just it goes against our natural inclinations.
08:17-08:18
Here's the reality from God's Word.
08:20-08:21
Unsaved people.
08:22-08:29
People who don't sincerely know the Lord, are always going to try to downplay sin.
08:31-08:32
It's not that big of a deal.
08:33-08:36
And one of the ways they do that is by trying to redefine sin.
08:36-08:40
We won't call it sin, we'll call it something else and kind of soften the blow.
08:41-08:46
But the big one is, unsaved people conceal their sin.
08:47-08:48
Let's keep it hidden.
08:48-08:50
Let's make sure nobody finds out about it.
08:50-08:52
They conceal their sin.
08:55-09:05
Saved people, on the other hand, according to that passage Levi just read, saved people confess their sin.
09:08-09:10
So tonight I just want to ask you one question.
09:12-09:12
What are you doing?
09:16-09:18
Conceal or confess?
09:19-09:20
Which one are you?
09:25-09:32
Bible's so clear about this and what's at stake in this.
09:33-09:40
Psalm 32.5 says, "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.
09:41-09:49
I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin." Do you see that?
09:51-09:52
Conceal or confess.
09:55-10:20
Same thing, Proverbs 28.13 says, "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper. But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." So what are you doing with your sin? Are you concealing it? Or are you confessing it?
10:23-10:33
So on your outline, if you're taking notes, it says at the top, "Conceal or confess?" And there might be some people in here that are honest enough to say, you know what, I'd rather just conceal it.
10:34-10:37
And I would say respectfully, I don't know why you're here tonight.
10:41-10:42
You should have stayed home.
10:45-10:48
But I do know that there are some people here tonight that are like, you know what?
10:51-10:53
It's gone on beyond too long.
10:54-10:54
I need to confess.
10:56-10:57
I need to confess.
10:57-11:03
Well, I'm so glad you're here, if that's you, because I want to help you with that, from the Word of God.
11:03-11:07
So on your outline, if you want to confess, number one, this is where you have to start.
11:09-11:11
You have to be done lying about your sin.
11:11-11:12
You have to be done with that.
11:13-11:16
You have to be done lying about your sin.
11:18-11:19
Again, look at verse five.
11:20-11:29
He says, "This is the message we have heard from Him "and proclaimed to you, God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
11:30-11:31
God is light.
11:32-11:38
We could spend a whole sermon series talking about that, but the bottom line is this, that represents life.
11:39-11:40
That represents holiness.
11:41-11:43
There is no death in God.
11:43-11:45
There's no unholiness in God.
11:45-11:46
There's no sin.
11:46-11:48
There's no darkness of any kind in God.
11:49-11:54
A man, on the other hand, I probably don't have to sell you on that, do I?
11:57-12:04
And you see, when we talk about confessing, yes, you absolutely must confess with your mouth.
12:07-12:10
But, it has to ultimately start in your heart.
12:12-12:18
Because you can say something with your mouth that isn't actually true in your heart.
12:20-12:27
And when you say something that's not true, that's called telling a lie.
12:28-12:30
And that's where John starts here.
12:31-12:32
Like, you want to confess?
12:33-12:33
You've got to be done lying.
12:36-12:46
You see, three times in this passage, he says, "if we claim" or "if we say" "if we say" "if we say" He's pointing out the lies We tell ourselves.
12:47-12:48
He goes, you've got to stop that.
12:49-12:50
Let's look at them quickly.
12:51-12:53
Three lies you've got to stop claiming.
12:54-12:55
You've got to stop these.
12:55-12:57
Number, or letter A, sorry, letter A.
12:58-13:00
Here's a lie that a lot of people are saying.
13:01-13:02
I believe in God.
13:05-13:07
When you don't live like it.
13:09-13:15
People are saying, yeah, I believe in God, but they don't live like they know Him at all.
13:16-13:18
It's a lie, right?
13:18-13:19
Not my opinion, look at verse six.
13:20-13:31
He says, "If we say we have fellowship with Him, with God, while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
13:32-13:35
If we claim we have fellowship with Him," do you know what that is?
13:36-13:40
That's the guy or the girl that says, "Oh, I believe in God.
13:41-13:42
"Oh yeah, yeah, I believe in God.
13:42-13:43
I know God.
13:44-13:49
I mean, yeah, I'm a Christian." But he says they walk in darkness.
13:49-13:54
They're living in some secret, sinful lifestyle.
13:57-13:59
And John points out here, look, you're living a lie.
14:00-14:02
You're just, you're living a lie.
14:03-14:05
I don't know who you think you're fooling, but it's not God.
14:07-14:08
And this is a hard truth.
14:11-14:14
that I think tonight we need to confront ourselves with.
14:15-14:18
Not everyone who claims to know God actually does know God.
14:20-14:23
Not everyone who claims they know God is actually heading to heaven.
14:26-14:33
Not everyone who's sitting in a church, not just tonight, any church, week after week, not everyone sitting in a church is saved.
14:37-15:04
I got to tell you, I talk to a lot of people who will be talking about a family member of theirs, their brother, or their adult children, or their parents, and we'll be talking about these family members, and I'm like, "Well, do they know the Lord?" And they'll say, "Well, yeah, they're Christians." And then they say, "But they haven't gone to church "in years, they're not interested in praying.
15:05-15:08
They really don't want to have any spiritual conversations.
15:09-15:12
You know, I invited them to Good Friday service and they absolutely didn't want to come.
15:14-15:15
But yeah, he's a Christian.
15:18-15:24
I mean, yeah, he's living in adultery right now.
15:25-15:26
Oh, he's foul-mouthed.
15:27-15:29
And he is such a heavy drinker.
15:32-15:32
But he's a Christian.
15:35-15:36
Based on what?
15:37-15:39
What are you basing that on?
15:39-15:41
And you know what the response usually is?
15:41-15:47
Well, one time we were in a church and they said they believed in God.
15:48-15:51
They like raised their hand in a service one time.
15:54-15:55
But what does the Bible say?
15:56-15:58
Do you see that in verse six?
15:58-16:03
If we say we have fellowship, but we're walking in darkness, what does your Bible say?
16:04-16:05
It says you're lying.
16:06-16:06
It's just not true.
16:10-16:12
But on the other hand, look at verse seven.
16:12-16:25
He says, "But if we walk in the light, "as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, "and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." Walking in the light.
16:26-16:27
No hidden sin.
16:29-16:35
No secret sin that you hope to heaven nobody finds out about.
16:43-16:46
You sin, you confess.
16:48-16:49
You are walking in the light.
16:50-16:51
You're like, yeah, I did sin.
16:51-16:53
That was wrong what I did.
16:53-16:54
It was wrong in God's eyes.
16:54-16:55
I've sinned against my family.
16:55-16:56
I'm confessing that.
16:56-16:58
I'm getting with God on this.
16:58-17:04
I'm getting accountability on this to help me drag this to the light.
17:07-17:09
So what's your plan tonight?
17:09-17:10
Are you going to conceal?
17:12-17:13
Or are you going to confess?
17:20-17:23
You're walking in the light or you're walking in darkness?
17:26-17:28
There's no middle ground, by the way.
17:29-17:33
The Bible doesn't talk about walking in half light or half dark.
17:33-17:36
What typifies your life right now?
17:37-17:39
Which one describes you?
17:40-17:42
Are you walking in the light?
17:45-17:47
Or is there a whole lot of stuff that you're trying to keep concealed?
17:51-17:53
Well, John says, "Stop lying.
17:54-17:54
"Stop lying.
17:54-17:59
"Your claim of believing in God means nothing if your life is characterized by sin.
18:00-18:03
All right, so that's a lie you have to stop claiming.
18:03-18:06
Here's another lie you have to stop.
18:07-18:08
Letter B, I'm a good person.
18:11-18:12
I'm a good person.
18:12-18:14
Well, let's see what the Bible says about that, verse eight.
18:14-18:22
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
18:23-18:25
We claim we're without sin.
18:26-18:27
I'm not that bad.
18:28-18:32
I mean, I'm actually a good person.
18:33-18:39
Like deep down, you know, deep down, I have a good heart.
18:40-18:42
I'm a good person deep down.
18:44-18:45
God knows that.
18:48-18:49
Here's what God knows.
18:51-18:54
God knows that you were born with a sin nature that you inherited from Adam.
18:55-18:58
that's been passed down from generation to generation, and you got it.
19:02-19:02
Don't believe me?
19:04-19:07
Sometimes I have people challenge me on this, like I don't think that we're born with a sin nature.
19:08-19:09
I don't think that that's true.
19:09-19:11
I don't think that we are born with a sin nature.
19:11-19:13
I'm like, have you ever been around a kid?
19:14-19:15
Ever?
19:17-19:18
(congregation laughing)
19:19-19:21
That's exactly what I'm talking about.
19:25-19:28
That's exactly what I'm talking about, that little sinner tried to hijack the sermon.
19:31-19:33
You just proved my point, little lamb.
19:40-19:43
And look, if you don't have kids, there's plenty of people around here that do have them.
19:43-19:45
I'm sure they'll let you hang out.
19:47-19:49
I'm sure they might ask you to watch them for a few days.
19:55-19:56
Who has ever taught a kid?
19:58-19:59
I mean, think of a little toddler.
20:00-20:01
Think of little Joey back there.
20:02-20:06
Does dad ever sit down with him and say, "Listen, listen, Joey, I'm gonna teach you "something important here.
20:07-20:12
"If you learn how to lie convincingly, "you're gonna go far in life, all right?
20:13-20:17
"I guess, son, what I'm saying is "always cover your tracks, okay?
20:18-20:25
"Because if you got away with it, then you've mastered the art of deception.
20:26-20:29
Has any dad sat down with their kid and taught them that?
20:29-20:30
I sure hope not.
20:30-20:31
You're a monster.
20:31-20:33
You're a monster if you're teaching your kid how to sin.
20:34-20:36
But you don't have to.
20:37-20:45
How is it that these kids automatically know how to sneak, how to lie, how to steal, how to be selfish?
20:45-20:46
How do they know that?
20:47-20:50
Like, were they reading some manual in the womb?
20:50-20:51
Like, what is going on here?
20:54-20:55
We're born with a sin nature.
20:57-20:59
So if you're like, "Well, you know what?
21:00-21:01
I'm really not that bad.
21:01-21:05
I'm not really a bad person." The Bible says you're deceiving to yourself.
21:05-21:09
You're telling a lie, and then you're turning around and believing the own lie that you just told yourself.
21:12-21:13
You say you have a good heart?
21:15-21:30
Actually if that's your stance, if that's your stance here tonight, to think that you're You're really a good person, I've got to tell you, you're in a hopeless situation when it comes to the gospel, because you're not going to confess.
21:32-21:36
What can God do for someone who doesn't think that they need Him?
21:39-21:40
It's a hopeless situation.
21:44-21:45
Look at verse nine again.
21:45-21:56
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, excuse me, forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
21:59-22:02
I did a lot of reading this past week in preparing for this.
22:02-22:12
And you get to this verse, and these scholars and commentators are like, is this verse for believers, or is this verse for unbelievers?
22:16-22:28
The answer is yes. The answer is yes. Confession is like repentance. Think about repentance.
22:29-22:44
Is repentance something you do when you first come to Christ? Yeah. But if you're a true born again believer in Christ, when do you stop repenting? Never. In Matthew 3.8, Luke 3.8, both say the exact same thing.
22:45-22:49
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
22:49-22:53
Repentance is to be the lifestyle of the follower of Jesus.
22:54-22:56
And confession is exactly the same.
22:56-22:59
In coming to Christ, you have to confess.
22:59-23:07
And if you're a Christian, your life is typified by constant acknowledgment of your sin before a holy God.
23:11-23:18
regular occurrence in our walk with Christ, Christians are characterized as confessors.
23:20-23:23
A true Christian is always going to God.
23:23-23:25
"God, I hate my sin.
23:25-23:27
God, this is what I did.
23:27-23:29
I messed up.
23:29-23:29
I sinned.
23:30-23:33
God, specifically, here is what I did.
23:34-23:35
God, I need to change.
23:35-23:37
God, I'm confessing that.
23:38-23:42
Thank You for the forgiveness that You've purchased through Your Son, Jesus Christ, God.
23:42-23:49
I need the power of Your Spirit to help me repent." That is how a Christian confesses their sin.
23:51-23:54
And John says that God's response is to forgive and purify.
23:56-23:57
Why does He do that?
23:59-24:00
Because you're worthy?
24:03-24:03
Not hardly.
24:04-24:09
John says he does that because he, he is faithful and just.
24:11-24:17
See, God's forgiveness is based on his promise, not your performance.
24:17-24:21
God's forgiveness comes to you on his terms, not your terms.
24:22-24:28
And God's forgiveness, the assurance that we have that we are forgiven is because of God's integrity.
24:30-24:39
that I can say, "I know that I have the promise of heaven," not because of me, I know I have the promise of heaven because I believe in a God who always keeps His word.
24:41-24:42
And this is what He's promised.
24:45-24:50
So if you're sitting here tonight, you're like, "Yeah, I'm a good person." You're really not.
24:52-24:59
As long as you think you are, you're not going to understand what the cross of Jesus Christ was all about.
25:01-25:03
Three lies you need to stop claiming.
25:04-25:07
Letter C, same vein here, right?
25:07-25:08
Letter C, I don't sin.
25:11-25:12
I don't sin.
25:13-25:15
Believe it or not, I've met people that have made that claim.
25:15-25:16
Look at verse 10.
25:16-25:30
He says, "If we say we have not sinned, "we make him a liar and his word is not in us." If we claim we have not sinned, that's the person, And again, I've met these people, they're like, "Sin?
25:33-25:43
I don't sin." Well, you did just call God a liar then because He says differently.
25:46-25:50
It's one of the interesting things about sin, wouldn't you say?
25:50-26:00
interesting, that we tend to minimize our sin and we maximize other people's sin.
26:02-26:08
Ours is so small and insignificant, but somebody else's, oh boy, they really blew it.
26:14-26:16
God wants to deal with you about your sin.
26:18-26:24
And you can't confess Jesus as a Savior if you say you don't have what He saves from.
26:27-26:36
And if you refuse to acknowledge your sin, you refuse to admit, you refuse to confess your sin, then the cross means nothing.
26:38-26:45
And we come to a service like this, we think of Jesus Christ on the cross, and we're really left wondering why did he die in the first place?
26:48-26:49
Concealer confess.
26:53-26:53
What are you doing?
26:58-26:59
Concealer confess.
26:59-27:01
Are you going to leave tonight lying to yourself?
27:04-27:07
Or are you going to finally agree with God?
27:12-27:23
So if you want to confess, if that's you, and I want to help you, first of all, you gotta stop lying to yourself, you gotta stop lying to God, you gotta stop lying to everybody, you gotta stop the lies.
27:23-27:27
Number two, you have to come to Jesus.
27:30-27:33
Confession is about the person of Jesus Christ.
27:33-27:47
Look at verse one, he says, in chapter two, "My little children, I'm writing these things to you "so that you may not sin." But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
27:49-28:01
John says, "Look, I'm writing this so you don't sin." God's Word doesn't allow us to have a dismissive attitude about sin, which a lot of Christians have.
28:02-28:05
It's like, "Well, yeah, I sin, but it doesn't really matter.
28:05-28:10
I'm forgiven in Christ." we just sort of dismiss it.
28:12-28:13
John goes, "No, no, no, no.
28:14-28:35
I'm writing these things to you so that you are turning from sin." He goes, "But if anybody does sin, and you will," spoiler alert, "you will," John says, "when you sin, you have an advocate, if you're in Christ." And this is one of the most beautiful pictures in all the Bible.
28:36-28:39
You know, it's a courtroom scene actually.
28:39-28:45
Revelation chapter 12 says that Satan is the accuser of the brethren.
28:45-28:46
Do you know what Satan does?
28:47-28:52
He goes before God, and if you're a follower of Christ, Satan accuses you before God.
28:53-28:55
Satan's like, he's no good.
28:57-28:58
Did you hear what he said?
28:58-29:00
That's one of your guys?
29:00-29:01
Did you hear what he said?
29:02-29:03
That's what Satan does.
29:03-29:06
Satan, he's a slanderer, he's an accuser.
29:06-29:10
But you see, when Jesus Christ is your advocate, he is your defense attorney.
29:11-29:22
That when Satan says, "Do you see what a miserable person this is?" Jesus steps up and says, "He did sin, "but I took his sin on myself when I died on the cross." He's forgiven.
29:22-29:25
He is not guilty because I paid that penalty.
29:27-29:28
And Satan goes to the next person.
29:28-29:30
You see what a miserable person she is?
29:30-29:31
Do you hear how she talked?
29:31-29:32
Do you see what she did?
29:33-29:43
Jesus says, "I died for her." All of the sin that was committed by her, Jesus said, "When I was on the cross, I paid the penalty." She is not guilty.
29:45-29:50
That's what it means that Jesus as our advocate, and that is way better than Edgar Snyder.
29:53-29:55
Owen might not think so.
29:57-29:58
If you know, you know.
29:59-30:00
Look at verse two.
30:03-30:10
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
30:11-30:12
Propitiation.
30:12-30:15
Oh, that's like one of the best words in the Bible.
30:15-30:20
John's just hitting like all of the most awesome concepts in a row right here.
30:21-30:27
Propitiation, your Bible might translate it, atoning, sacrifice, but this is a concept that you really need to understand.
30:28-30:29
Propitiation just simply means this.
30:30-30:34
God is satisfied with what Jesus did on the cross.
30:35-30:36
That's what it means.
30:36-30:43
When Jesus was on the cross, God was pouring out his wrath on Jesus for my sin and for your sin.
30:44-30:47
God put all of the wrath that I deserve on Jesus.
30:47-30:50
And that is awesome news because you know what that means?
30:50-30:52
God has no more wrath left for me.
30:54-30:57
And if you're in Christ, he has no wrath left for you.
30:57-31:07
And Christian, you've gotta get this in your head I've talked to so many Christians that are like, "I just really feel like God's mad at me, "and I feel like God's so disappointed in me." He's not!
31:08-31:16
It's not like God poured out His wrath on Jesus, and then God turns around and sees you sinning, and is like, "Oh, I'm still mad!
31:17-31:20
"I gotta punish her now, too!" That's not how it works.
31:22-31:23
Propitiation, God is satisfied.
31:24-31:29
He has no wrath for you if you've truly received Jesus Christ.
31:32-31:47
And not just for you, not just for you, look at verse two, he goes on to say, "Not for ours only, "not for our sins only, "but also for the sins of the whole world." Again, this is where a lot of scholars get caught up.
31:50-31:55
I just, you're like, "Oh, you think you're smarter than those scholars." No, I don't.
31:55-31:57
I think they're too smart sometimes.
31:58-32:01
I think they make this way too complicated.
32:03-32:04
You know what I mean by that?
32:04-32:16
You know, I was reading, and I heard some pastoral panel thing, they were talking about this very verse, and they were like, what is being talked about here for the sins of the whole world?
32:16-32:19
Is he talking about the elect?
32:19-32:20
Like it's just for the elect?
32:22-32:25
Is this speaking to limited atonement?
32:28-32:33
You're making this way more complicated than it needs to be.
32:33-32:34
Do you know what this means?
32:35-32:36
Do you know what this verse means?
32:36-32:38
I'll tell you what this verse means.
32:39-32:39
Right here.
32:41-32:49
What this verse is saying is I can confidently say to anyone, when you believe in Jesus, you will be forgiven of your sins.
32:50-32:52
You will be adopted as a child of God.
32:52-32:54
I can say that to anybody, because it's for the whole world.
32:54-33:04
I can say that here, I can say that in Thailand, I can say that in Blonox, it doesn't matter where I am, this truth holds, Jesus forgives sin.
33:06-33:08
Let God figure out all that other stuff.
33:10-33:14
My job is to tell the world, and your job too.
33:16-33:17
Concealer confess.
33:19-33:19
Conceal or confess.
33:21-33:31
At this point, if you're still wanting to conceal, you're committed to walking out of here like, "Yeah, I just can't, I can't come clean about my sin.
33:31-33:38
"Not to God, not to anybody." Well, it's not gonna go well for you.
33:39-33:45
Remember what the Proverbs writers say, that if you conceal your sin, you're not gonna prosper.
33:46-33:48
It's not gonna go well for you.
33:51-33:57
But if you want to confess, that's business that you have to do with Jesus.
33:59-34:16
Not only confessing who you are as a sinner, but confession includes saying who He is, agreeing with God who Jesus is, agreeing with God that Jesus is your advocate, agreeing with God that Jesus is your propitiation, agreeing with God about that.
34:17-34:24
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
34:28-34:34
So this night more than any other probably reminds us why Jesus is the only one who can take your sin away.
34:35-34:36
Nobody else can do that.
34:38-34:46
Nobody else can make you be pronounced not guilty in the courtroom of God.
34:49-34:50
Conceal or confess?
34:52-34:59
Well, if you want to confess, number three, your lifestyle proves your sincerity.
35:02-35:04
Your lifestyle proves your sincerity.
35:05-35:07
Look at verses 3 through 6 again.
35:08-35:13
He says, "And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
35:15-35:20
Whoever says, "I know Him," but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
35:21-35:27
But whoever keeps His word in him, truly the love of God is perfected.
35:28-35:34
By this we may know that we are in Him.
35:35-35:41
Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
35:44-35:48
I'm sure if the hospitality team grabbed every person on the way out, do you wanna confess?
35:48-35:50
I'm sure they would get 100%.
35:50-35:51
Yeah, I confess.
35:51-35:52
I can, yeah, I confess.
35:58-36:02
We'll find out if it's sincere by how you live, right?
36:03-36:05
That's why he says it in verse three.
36:05-36:06
He says it at the end of verse five.
36:07-36:08
We know that we have come to know him.
36:09-36:10
We know that we are saved.
36:10-36:12
Like what's the evidence?
36:12-36:15
How do I really know if I'm saved or not?
36:15-36:16
How would I know that?
36:16-36:17
He tells you right here.
36:17-36:19
Here's how you know that you're saved.
36:19-36:20
You keep his commands.
36:22-36:28
The proof that you know God is just simply you do what he says.
36:32-36:34
It's not just what you claim.
36:37-36:38
Are you saved?
36:38-36:38
You know the Lord.
36:39-36:40
And people say, well, you know what?
36:40-36:46
I was baptized 17 years ago at First Baptist Church of so-and-so.
36:47-36:47
Goody.
36:49-36:51
That's not evidence that you're saved, though.
36:53-37:05
Or somebody says, "Well, I go to church almost every week." I mean, not when Declan has lacrosse, but every other week I'm in church.
37:05-37:06
Great.
37:08-37:10
I strongly encourage church attendance.
37:10-37:13
I think that's a good thing, but that's not evidence of salvation.
37:14-37:17
Evidence of salvation is I do what God tells me to do.
37:19-37:22
It's just that simple, according to John.
37:24-37:30
I believe, I believe not verified by what you say, I believe is verified by how you live.
37:30-37:32
Are you gonna conceal or are you gonna confess tonight?
37:33-37:34
Which is it?
37:36-37:51
Because obviously, if you really agree with God that sin is evil, you're going to be constantly confessing and forsaking sin.
37:55-37:57
So do you live a life of confession?
38:01-38:04
Do you agree with God about your sin?
38:06-38:19
And do you agree with God concerning what He said the crucifixion of His Son accomplished for the person who will turn to Him?
38:22-38:23
Our worship team would make their way back up.
38:26-38:54
And our communion servers, we're gonna close our time around the Lord's table And you do not have to be a member of Harvard's Bible Chapel to take communion, but you do have to be a born-again believer in Christ. This is for believers.
38:58-39:02
And fellow Christians, it is gathering around the Lord's table.
39:02-39:06
Well, this is a time to confess everything.
39:08-39:11
Everything that John said in this passage, we get to confess that right now.
39:13-39:21
When we take these elements, what we're saying, what we're confessing, I confess that my sin is evil and wrong in the eyes of God.
39:22-39:23
I confess that.
39:24-39:27
I confess that Jesus Christ died for my sin.
39:29-39:35
I confess that God is satisfied with the work that Jesus accomplished on my behalf.
39:37-39:40
I confess Jesus Christ is my advocate.
39:41-39:46
I confess that I need His Spirit to make me who God wants me to be.
39:49-40:00
I confess that I will prove that I believe when I obey God in every area of my life.
40:03-40:16
Hebrews 4.14 says, "Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.
40:18-40:22
Let us hold fast our confession.
40:24-40:36
We're going to ask, when you're ready, if you would come down to the center aisles and receive the elements from one of our pastors, and you can return to your seat by the outside aisle.
40:37-40:49
I'm going to ask that you hold on to it, and let's confess together tonight, church, that We are agreeing with God in all these things.
40:52-40:54
So please come, take the elements.
40:56-40:57
This is our confession.
40:59-41:05
This is our agreeing with God that Jesus is who God said He is.
41:06-41:09
And that Jesus accomplished what God said He accomplished.
41:11-41:16
The Bible tells us on the night that Jesus was betrayed, He took bread and he broke it and he gave thanks.
41:17-41:20
And he said, "This is my body, which is broken for you.
41:21-41:45
Eat this in remembrance of me." After the meal, Bible tells us that Jesus took the cup and he said, "This cup is my blood, the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sin.
41:46-41:48
Drink this in remembrance of me.
41:50-41:51
What are you doing tonight?
41:54-41:56
Conceal or confess?
41:59-42:01
Jesus has quite a resume.
42:04-42:06
As the prophet, he is the word of God.
42:08-42:11
As the priest, he takes away our sin.
42:12-42:15
I want to invite you to come back in two days on Sunday.
42:15-42:26
Pastor Taylor is going to talk about the other role that Jesus has, the King of Kings.
42:27-42:28
You don't want to miss that.
42:30-42:31
You are loved.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 John 1:5-2:6

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

Rich Sprunk

March 29, 2026

Respect the Office

Because He is a Prophet, I Will Believe

Rich Sprunk

March 29, 2026

Respect the Office

Introduction:

Hebrews 1:1-3 - Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high...

The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:14-22):

Will Speak God’s Words – But they did not all listen

See: John 12:49-50 and John 14:10, 24
Will be Like Moses – But they did not all believe

See: John 6:32-35 and John 6:51, 57b-58
Will Die if He Lies – But they killed Jesus for telling the truth

See: John 8:26b-28 | Psalm 22:7-8, 16-18 | Psalm 22:22-25

Jesus is the Prophet – Will You:

Listen to Him?
Believe Him?
Speak His words?

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:00-00:01
Good morning, Harvest.
00:03-00:05
It's a joy to be with you this morning.
00:06-00:11
Open your Bibles, please, if you haven't already, to Deuteronomy chapter 18.
00:12-00:16
It's where we will be studying God's Word this morning.
00:18-00:37
And as is our usual, sometimes usual custom, I would ask, please, that you pray for me, that I would clearly, accurately preach God's Word, and I will pray for you that your hearts will be open to receive it.
00:37-00:37
Let's pray.
00:43-01:18
Gracious and holy Father, I pray, Father, you would open our hearts and minds to receive your word, that we would be absolutely convinced beyond all doubt that your word is true and that Jesus is your prophet who speaks your truth to us through your word, through your spirit at all times.
01:19-01:30
And I pray as we believe and trust in Him, you would transform our lives and make us more like Him every day.
01:30-01:33
We pray in Jesus' great name, Amen.
01:35-01:44
So in preparation for Resurrection Sunday, we are beginning a three-part series examining the three offices of Christ.
01:45-01:47
the office of prophet, priest, and king.
01:49-01:53
And we begin this morning with the first of these, which is prophet.
01:55-01:59
Now, we may listen to a lot of modern day prophets for advice on how to live.
02:00-02:12
The experts, the doctors, the internet influencers, the media talking heads, podcasters, entertainment celebrities, even astrologists and politicians.
02:14-02:16
The sources of information are endless.
02:17-02:24
And now we have AI at our fingertips to synthesize and summarize the sum and substance of human experience.
02:27-02:40
Now to be clear, I'm not talking about doctors who say eating this one food three times a day cures sleep apnea or the weird trick that cures tinnitus caused by eating this one food three times a day.
02:40-02:47
Now I'm talking about the major life information, answers to questions like, "Who am I?
02:48-02:49
What's my purpose?
02:50-03:03
What's the best way to live?" And when it comes to that kind of information, few to none of the infotainment talking heads can really help us, because they can only tell us what they know.
03:04-03:11
I'm not suggesting they aren't intelligent, but what they say may or may not be true.
03:12-03:15
But you say like, well, no, hold on, hold on Sprung.
03:15-03:20
I've heard it said that all truth is God's truth, wherever it's found.
03:22-03:24
Well, let's think about that for a minute.
03:25-03:29
God's word is perfect, pure and true according to Psalm 19.
03:30-03:44
So I have a metaphor this morning for us, For God's word, I think that everyone can relate to the delight over opening a brand new container of Play-Doh.
03:45-03:46
It's all one color.
03:47-03:49
Nobody's played with it yet.
03:49-03:51
It's not mixed up with other colors.
03:52-03:57
It's just fresh and clean, and it's ready for my artistic expression.
04:00-04:04
But you know, the inevitable happens, doesn't it?
04:04-04:19
Soon, what was once pure and clean, it's all mashed together with a lot of other colors and that original color becomes unidentifiable.
04:22-04:23
I think you get the point.
04:25-04:29
How do you discern God's truth in a mishmash of worldly ideas?
04:30-04:37
How do you extract the truth once it's all blended into futile human thoughts?
04:40-04:45
Well, this is the problem with the infotainment experts.
04:46-04:53
Their learning and experience and perspective is just a conglomeration of worldly thinking.
04:54-05:09
They can make educated guesses as to how to live and what's going to happen, but ultimately every single one of them is going to reach a point where they have to say, "I don't know." And some of them are speaking directly out of the pit of hell.
05:10-05:13
And those folks will drag you down to hell with them.
05:14-05:20
So you see, that's why when it comes to the astrologists and the mediums and perhaps the to celebrities and influencers.
05:22-05:33
Verse 14 of this morning's passage says that, "As for you, the Lord, your God, has not allowed you to do this." So to whom or what can we turn?
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Where can we get truth for an accurate world view?
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Because we need a perspective that is outside of ourselves.
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Outside of this world, really, and that's what God's Word is.
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It is the specific and special revelation of God about himself.
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It comes from the throne of God.
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The problem with the world is, people in the world, they look at the Bible and like, "Well, yeah, that's just one more system of thought like any other." In fact, it's probably even not as good as what AI can tell us now.
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They have a low view of scripture.
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We need to have a high view of scripture.
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And as we learn from the word that was just read, we can get the truth from the prophet.
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It is to him we must listen.
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But what is a prophet anyway?
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What does a prophet do?
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We typically think of prophets as forecasting future events, often in a cryptic or mystical way, like that Nostradamus guy.
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But biblically, that is only a partial description of what a prophet does.
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Basically a biblical prophet speaks God's words to people.
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The Old Testament prophets revealed three basic messages.
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The first was that God sent many prophets to his people to rebuke them for breaking the covenant and worshiping idols.
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This was perhaps the prophet's most important function, to remind the people of Israel that they, and only they, were in a covenantal relationship with the Lord God Most High.
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and they were violating His covenant in a high-handed way.
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Time and again He warned them to return to Him, or they would face the ultimate covenant punishment of being expelled from the Promised Land.
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Not only did the prophets warn Israel and Judah that they would be punished by pagan nations for their idolatry, God also spoke to them about a future restoration, both near and at the end of the age.
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And indeed, after the exile, they would return to the promised land.
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And the nations that assaulted and tormented Israel in their exile, they would in turn be punished and overthrown by God.
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And then finally, the Old Testament prophets spoke of the coming Messiah, a sometimes suffering, but ultimately victorious anointed servant.
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The anointed one would bring salvation to his people.
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He would inaugurate a new covenant between God and his people.
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And the prophets gave many clues that would help the people identify the anointed one when he arrived.
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Now, what did God expect his people to do in response to the prophets' messages?
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expected, well no, he commanded them to repent and believe the messages to return to him and live in accordance with the covenant he made with them at Mount Sinai. And yet the Old Testament records a nearly continuous account of Israel's idolatry. They worship the idols of the nations around them. They And they sought out and listened to the words of false prophets, mediums, fortune tellers, and diviners.
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They did not listen.
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They did not believe.
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They became futile in their thinking and their worship.
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They mixed God's truth with the religions and lifestyles of the surrounding nations, and they ended up with the equivalent of this, gudo.
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It's just a mash, a mishmash of ideas.
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And when the prophets exposed their sin and their hypocrisy, they took offense and they put them to death.
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So God, after bearing with his people for hundreds of years, he brought the covenantal curses down upon their heads and inflicted the ultimate punishment.
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He exiled them from the promised land.
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Now God of course kept his promises and he returned them to the land.
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And roughly 400 years after that, the anointed one who was known before the foundation of the world, he was made manifest in the last times for the sake of all who would believe in and through him.
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We of course know from the New Testament that Jesus is the promised Messiah.
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He's the Son of God who fulfilled all that was spoken of Him by the Old Testament prophets.
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As the writer of Hebrews says, "Long ago and at many times and in many ways, "God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.
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"But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, "whom He appointed the heir of all things, "through whom also He created the world.
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"He's the radiance of the glory of God God in the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.
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After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." And this verse summarizes the three offices of Christ that we're going to be studying this week.
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First is prophet.
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"In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son." And then priest, he has made purification for sins.
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And then finally king, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
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So how do we know Jesus is the prophet foretold by Moses?
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What evidence is there to conclusively connect Jesus to the promise of a prophet just like Moses?
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Well, first the prophet will speak God's words.
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Look at verse 15 of chapter 18 in Deuteronomy.
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Verse 15 says, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers.
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It is to him you shall listen." Thus the prophet would be raised up by God from among the Israelites.
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And the gospels of Matthew and Luke establish that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary, and he was adopted by Joseph.
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And both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David.
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Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
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His birth was attended by an angelic announcement.
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And then when John baptized Jesus, God the Father announced that Jesus was his beloved son with whom he was well-pleased.
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All of these events attest that Jesus was indeed raised up by God the Father from among the Israelites.
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And these events disprove the idea that Jesus was merely a self-appointed and possibly deluded religious figure, as some people think he was.
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And then verse 18 tells us that God's words would be in his mouth.
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"I will put my words in his mouth and He shall speak to them all that I command Him." Now, we've already established that the prophets spoke God's words to the people.
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But whereas they prefaced their statements with, "Thus saith the Lord," Jesus spoke as the Lord, out of the oneness that existed between Him and the Father.
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For example, in John 12, verses 49 and 50, Jesus said, "For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment, what to say and what to speak.
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And I know that his commandment is eternal life.
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What I say therefore, I say as the Father has told me." And then in John 14, verses 10 and 24, he said, "The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
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And the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me." As further proof of his prophetic office, Jesus spoke God's words in the way that the Israelites requested.
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What I mean is this, In Exodus chapters 19 and 20, God descended in a dark cloud on Mount Sinai with thunders and lightnings and the mountains shook.
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And out of that cloud, God spoke the 10 commandments to the people.
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And when all the people saw the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the trumpet that they heard and they were seeing the mountain shake and the ground shaking beneath their feet, They were terrified and they stood far off and they told Moses, they said, "You speak to us and we will listen, "but do not let God speak to us lest we die." Certainly Moses continued to speak to the people and gave them God's commands during their journey to the promised land and during their wandering for 40 years in the desert.
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And then in his final address to them in the book of Deuteronomy.
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But in chapter 18, verses 16 and 17, Moses told the people that God would send a prophet in direct response to their request at Mount Sinai, to let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, or see this great fire anymore, lest I die.
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So how did Jesus, in his speaking, demonstrate that he was the prophet sent by the Lord?
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Well, there's three events that directly identify Jesus as the prophet.
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And all of them occurred, not coincidentally, on a mountainside.
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First, he was on the mountain when he was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.
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and while talking with Moses and Elijah, and a bright cloud appeared and God said, "This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.
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Listen to him." And the three disciples were like the Israelites of old, terrified by the voice of God.
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But when they looked up, they saw only Jesus.
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Second, the most direct connection A connection between the prophet and God speaking in the 10 commandments out of a stormy cloud is found in Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount.
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Jesus, seeing the crowds, went up on the mountain.
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And when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
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And he opened his mouth and taught them.
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And what did he teach them?
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Well, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exegeted the law, including most of the 10 commandments.
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The greatest commandment, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and then to love your neighbor as yourself.
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In that sermon, he showed the people that righteousness was not about outwardly keeping rules, but inward devotion to God that flowed from a broken and contrite heart.
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a heart that revealed itself in confident dependence on God.
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Instead of fire and terror, Jesus spoke to the people face to face on the mountain, just as they requested of Moses so long ago.
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He revealed God to be merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
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And when Jesus finished, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority.
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And yet, as so often happened in Israel's history, they did not all listen.
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Yeah, there were those who did, but it seems for the most part, people were going out to Jesus for signs and wonders.
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The crowds were fickle.
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They were ambivalent about him.
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and the religious leaders were so hostile, they wanted to kill him.
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In Jesus, Israel got what she asked for hundreds of years earlier, a prophet speaking God's words to them face to face.
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And even though his teaching astonished them, they eventually decided that Jesus really wasn't the prophet or Messiah they wanted after all.
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They wanted a vending machine God.
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They wanted a Messiah-o-matic and give them what they wanted.
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You see, the divide between what the people craved and who Jesus is, is revealed in a third event that demonstrated the prophet would be like Moses.
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The third thing Jesus did on a mountainside that proved He was the prophet like Moses is this.
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He fed well over 5,000 people with bread and fish.
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According to John 6, after everyone had eaten their fill and 12 baskets of leftovers were collected, the people said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world." And a day or two later, the people went looking for Jesus in Capernaum because they wanted more bread to eat.
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Jesus knew what they wanted and he told them, "Do not work for the food that perishes, "but for the food that endures to eternal life, "which the Son of Man will give you.
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"For on Him, God the Father has set His seal." And then the people said to him, "What must we do to be doing the works of God?" And Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." So the people said, "Jesus, what sign do you do that we might believe you?
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What are you going to do for us, Jesus, that will persuade us to believe in you?" And then they said, "Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness.
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Have you got more bread?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly I say to you, "it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, "but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
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"For the bread of God is he who comes down "from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life." The people responded to Jesus' assertion with grumbling.
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First, because he said, "He's the bread that comes down from heaven." They're like, "We want food.
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We want bread.
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We don't want you." But their grumbling increased because of Jesus' next extraordinary statement.
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He said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
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"If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.
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"And the bread that I will give "for the life of the world is my flesh.
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"Whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
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"This is the bread that came down from heaven, "not like the bread the fathers ate and died.
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"Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." Well, this was just all too much for the Jews.
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This was just too bizarre.
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Jesus was speaking of himself as eternal nourishment, and all they could think about was their temporary physical hunger.
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Like the Jews in the wilderness who grumbled about God providing manna for 40 years, the crowds and even many of Jesus' disciples grumbled about Jesus being the true bread of God.
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Like Moses, Jesus led and fed the people in ways that revealed His prophetic office.
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But they did not all believe.
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They took offense at Him.
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Many turned back and no longer walked with Him.
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So Jesus asked the 12 if they too wanted to leave Him.
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But Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go?
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You have the words of eternal life.
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And we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.
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You see, Peter recognized Jesus is more than the prophet.
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He declares Jesus is the anointed one, the Son of God, because Jesus spoke God's words of eternal life.
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And what was the most important thing that Jesus said during his earthly ministry?
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What did he explicitly prophesy at least three times?
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And what did he emphasize in other ways multiple times to his disciples?
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That he would be mocked and flogged and crucified and that he would be raised to life the third day.
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It's a pretty extraordinary prophecy.
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But you see, this was extremely perplexing to the disciples because they said, "Jesus, you're telling the truth." And along with the words that he spoke and the signs and wonders that he performed, all of this amply demonstrated that Jesus was in fact the Messiah.
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There's no way he could be a false prophet because they knew that a false prophet will die if he lies.
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Look at Deuteronomy 18.20.
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"The prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name, that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die." The religious leaders, particularly the Pharisees and their lawyers, they insisted that Jesus was a liar.
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They claimed he was merely witnessing about himself and that his testimony wasn't true.
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Well, Jesus countered that by saying that God the Father is also born witness about me and that he who sent me is true and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.
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They did not understand that he'd been speaking to them about the Father.
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So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak just as the Father taught me." In this passage from John chapter 8, Jesus hints at what the religious leaders are planning to do to him.
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They want to kill him, and he knows that their murderous maneuverings will result in his crucifixion.
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You see, this is the supreme irony.
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A prophet will die if he lies.
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But they killed Jesus for telling the truth, just like they did the prophets of old.
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And when Jesus was lifted up on the cross, his opponents thought he got what he deserved.
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They were certain he was a false prophet, because if he wasn't, he wouldn't be suffering a vicious and humiliating death at the hand of Gentiles.
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He was on the cross, the chief priests and other religious leaders mocked Him, saying, "He saved others. He can't save Himself.
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Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe." And yet in the midst of His agony, Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" His enemies might have said, You're forsaken because you're a liar.
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Everyone who gets hung on a tree is accursed.
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The fact that we were able to get you crucified is proof that you, Jesus, are accursed by God.
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You're no prophet.
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But by crying out the first line of Psalm 22, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
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Jesus continues to speak the word of God in a way that reveals that the cross is the culmination of his earthly mission.
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Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm.
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It summarizes the Messiah's humiliation and exaltation.
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Let's look at a few passages.
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Verses seven and eight.
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All who see me mock me.
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They make mouths at me.
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"For they wag their heads.
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"He trusts in the Lord.
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"Let Him deliver him.
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"Let Him rescue him, for He delights in him." Then verses 16 and 18, through 18.
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"For dogs encompass me.
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"A company of evil doers encircles me.
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"They have pierced my hands and feet.
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"I can count all my bones.
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"They stare and gloat over me.
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"They divide my garments among them.
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"For My clothing they cast lots." And finally, verses 22-25, "Reflect the Father's care in the midst of Jesus' great suffering and His resurrection." He says, "I will tell of Your name to My brothers, and in the midst of the congregation, I will praise You." Stop there for a minute and think about that.
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Christ is on the cross, and he's telling the name of God to his brothers.
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In the midst of the congregation, he is praising God.
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All you who fear the Lord, praise him.
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All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him.
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All you offspring of Israel, for he is not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, "And He has not hidden His face from him, but He has heard when he cried to Him.
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And from you comes my praise in the great congregation, my vows I will perform before those who fear Him." You see, even in the throes of death, Jesus preached to all who would listen and believe.
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If those who heard Jesus cry began themselves to recite this Messianic Psalm, perhaps the realization began to take hold that what they were reciting was happening right before their eyes.
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The psalmist's words are being fulfilled here and now, just as Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, "then you will know that I am He." And perhaps the horrible realization set in, we've killed the Messiah.
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And perhaps that is why, as Luke records, all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, they returned home beating their breasts.
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We have killed the Messiah.
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But what looked like an accursed death to the crowd instead a triumph over death.
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On the cross, Jesus put death to death, and in his resurrection, he offers eternal life to all who would believe in him.
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All that Jesus said came to pass.
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He said he would die, and he did.
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He said he would return to life, and he did.
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He is the reliable and trustworthy prophet.
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Every word He spoke was true.
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And He is still our prophet today.
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We have His word.
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We have God's word and His Spirit to lead us into all truth.
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You know, everyone who preaches is obligated to faithfully and accurately speak in the name of the Lord Jesus and to preach His words, not our own.
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In this way, Jesus is still our prophet.
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He indwells his people to speak to his people from his word.
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Therefore, now that you know that Jesus is the prophet, will you listen to him?
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Will you daily cast off worldly thinking and unbiblical ideas and commit to reading and meditating on God's word?
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Are you willing to jettison old patterns of negative thinking and replace them with what the Bible says about your worth and your purpose in Jesus Christ?
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Will you conform your thinking to God's truth and Jesus' example and teaching?
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Or will you continue to seek advice from the influencers and false prophets clamoring for your attention?
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Will you look for guidance?
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Will you look for guidance in the gudo that shapes and drives the lives of so many people?
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The skeptic will say, "Ah, I don't believe anything in the Bible is true.
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It offends my reason.
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I'm an independent thinker.
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I don't need a God or a religion to tell me what to do." But that same person has no problem with the collective hive mind telling them what to think.
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And they'll employ artificial intelligence to do their thinking for them.
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So much intelligence, so little wisdom.
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The short of it is, if you refuse to listen to what Jesus says, If you take offense at him and his words, you're just like the Israelites and the religious leaders in past time.
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You're essentially putting him to death in your heart and in your mind.
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Now, there are probably very few people in this room that hate Jesus.
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And if we took a survey of the people in this room, probably most of you would agree that, Yeah, we shouldn't be committing the kinds of sins which the world heartily approves.
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We shouldn't be following all that chatter out there.
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And yet how many of us choose to remain on friendly terms with the world and feel free to indulge in all its whims and entertainments and pleasures so long as we avoid open sin.
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The most dangerous sin is the idea that we can listen to worldly prophets advocating for the lusts and pleasures of the world and follow along and yet still be devoted to Christ.
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Beloved, you cannot listen to and serve multiple masters and still walk uprightly before Jesus Christ.
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You must listen to Christ and serve Him only.
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Jesus is the prophet. Will you believe in him? In some ways I have laid this sermon out like a closing argument in a court case. You've heard from the witnesses Moses, God the Father, Peter, and of course Jesus himself. And you have evidence to consider more than 5,000 people fed on a mountainside. Jesus transfigured on a mountain. And of course Jesus crucified on a cross just as he said he would be.
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And then this singular fact. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures and according to his own prophetic words. He to pay the penalty for their sins and remove the penalty of death.
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And rising again, he offers forgiveness of sin and eternal life for all who would believe in him.
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So you've heard the evidence.
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You must now render a verdict.
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Will you believe that Jesus is everything he says he is, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?
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He's the one mediator between God the Father and humanity.
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He is the only priest, prophet, and king.
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And Jesus is the only name given among people under heaven by which we can be saved.
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If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
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With the heart one believes and is justified.
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and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
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Jesus is the prophet.
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Will you speak His words?
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As disciples of Christ, we are all prophets of His gospel.
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We are to proclaim His life, death, and resurrection until He returns.
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This is no mystery religion.
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There is no hidden knowledge in the Scriptures.
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There are no secret rites to perform.
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The words of Christ are all out in the open.
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And we have the awesome privilege of possessing the oracles of God, the word of God.
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We have God's words in our hands.
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It's not always been true, but it's true for us.
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Do we have the ability to read it, to reason through it, to engage with it by the help of the Holy Spirit?
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We can personally and intimately know God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
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Jesus reveals the truth so that we can repent of our sins, trust in His finished work on the cross and receive the gift of eternal life now and forever.
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And we have the responsibility of repeating his words clearly to others so that they may hear and believe in him by faith too. God forgive us for shirking our responsibility to share the gospel and for being insensible to the the spiritual condition of the lost and the dying.
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We must speak His words.
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We must share the good news of what He has done.
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We are like beggars dressed in fine linen telling other beggars where to find bread and new garments.
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It is the most loving and kindest thing we can do.
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as our worship team returns to the stage.
39:45-39:46
I will conclude with this.
39:49-39:52
Not everyone will listen to us.
39:53-39:55
But then they didn't all listen to Jesus either.
39:57-39:58
Not everyone will believe.
40:00-40:02
But then they did not all believe in Jesus either.
40:04-40:08
We are not responsible for the results of sharing the gospel.
40:09-40:11
The results are for God to work out.
40:13-40:18
Our responsibility is to faithfully speak the words of God from Scripture.
40:19-40:24
For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
40:25-40:25
Let's pray.
40:28-40:31
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.
40:32-40:36
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
40:37-40:40
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.
40:42-40:45
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
40:47-40:49
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.
40:51-40:54
The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
40:56-41:04
Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight.
41:04-41:08
O Lord, our rock and our Redeemer.
41:09-41:09
Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read Deuteronomy 18:14-22

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Can you assess how deeply worldly ideas influence your thinking? What about how deeply they influence your view of Scripture? How about your walk with Christ?
What expectations do you have of God? That is, what do you want from Him, and what do you want to hear from Him? How do these questions and your answers relate to Israel’s history with the LORD?
It was said the sermon was constructed like a closing argument, requiring a verdict. Imagine you are a jury member – was enough evidence and testimony presented to render a judgment that Jesus is the Messiah? If not, what further evidence would you seek? Where would you look for that evidence?
What are some reasons we don’t take seriously our responsibility share the Gospel of Christ with others? How valid are those reasons?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

April 20, 2025

What is Finished?

Glorification: The Hope is Real

Jeff Miller

April 20, 2025

What is Finished?

Introduction:

John 19:28-30 - After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Revelation 16:17 - The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

The Hope is Real: The Truth About Heaven (Revelation 21:1-8)

Everything is New. (Rev 21:1-2)
Every day is in God’s Presence. (Rev 21:3)
Everything that Hurts is Gone. (Rev 21:4-5)
Everything is Yours. (Rev 21:6-7)
Romans 8:16-17 – The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Everyone is Not Going. (Rev 21:8)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:00-00:17
After this, "Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture, 'I thirst.' A jar full of sour wine stood there.
00:17-00:22
So they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.
00:22-00:34
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished.' And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
00:36-00:46
Over this past month, we've been examining God's word to see that the Son of God came to finish some things.
00:47-00:50
And we've been trying to just answer one question.
00:52-00:53
What is finished?
00:54-00:57
Jesus made the declaration, it is finished.
00:57-01:05
So what is, well, I guess to put it all in one word, salvation?
01:08-01:16
The way of salvation, it's done, the work is done, and we've been spending time looking at different facets of salvation.
01:18-01:21
First we saw justification, the guilt is gone.
01:21-01:25
You realize Jesus has taken your sin away.
01:27-01:31
There are no grounds for punishment when you're in Christ.
01:32-01:33
The guilt is gone.
01:33-01:34
He's made you righteous.
01:36-01:40
And then we saw reconciliation, the relationship is restored.
01:42-01:43
By nature, you are not God's friend.
01:44-01:47
The Bible says by nature, we are enemies of God.
01:47-01:51
Jesus Christ came to restore the relationship with God.
01:53-01:55
Pastor Taylor, a couple of days ago, talked about redemption.
01:57-01:58
The price was paid.
01:58-02:01
There was a literal price that was paid.
02:02-02:09
You see, you have sinned against God, and it wasn't as if God was like, oh, that's okay, don't worry about it, I'm just gonna forget about it.
02:09-02:09
No, no, no.
02:10-02:13
As Pastor Taylor pointed out, you owe God an infinite debt.
02:16-02:19
And God paid that himself through the death of his son.
02:21-02:24
It is finished.
02:27-02:33
You know, you think of those words on the cross, it is finished.
02:33-02:44
You know, that's not the only time that Jesus declares that something is finished.
02:46-02:48
It's only the first time.
02:50-03:00
Do you know the next time Jesus says it is finished is when God pours out judgment?
03:02-03:06
Revelation 16, 17, it's the last bold judgment.
03:06-03:12
The book of Revelation talks about there's seal trumpets and trumpet judgments and bold judgments.
03:12-03:15
The last judgment of God is poured out.
03:16-03:17
Look at this.
03:18-03:28
Revelation 16, 17, the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne saying, it is done.
03:32-03:34
That's the next time Jesus says it is finished.
03:36-03:39
Today I wanna talk about the last time he says it.
03:40-03:49
You know the last time Jesus declares Something is finished as after He creates a new heaven and a new earth.
03:52-03:55
Revelation chapter 21, I want you to turn there.
03:59-04:00
Revelation chapter 21.
04:06-04:10
Revelation chapter 21, look at verses five and six.
04:10-04:17
It says, "And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new.
04:18-04:40
"Also," he said, "Write this down, "for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done." Like, wait, wait, what is he talking about here?
04:42-04:48
What is finished, the promise of glorification?
04:50-04:54
That is, the hope is real.
04:56-04:58
The hope is real.
05:00-05:01
We're gonna talk about hope today.
05:03-05:10
Because when we talk about hope, We use it in a different way than the Bible uses the word hope, right?
05:10-05:15
When we say hope, what we mean is wish, right?
05:15-05:16
You know what I mean?
05:16-05:19
Like we say, I hope it doesn't rain today.
05:19-05:20
What are we saying?
05:21-05:22
I wish that it doesn't rain.
05:22-05:26
Or we say like, I hope that the pirates win today.
05:28-05:28
What are we saying?
05:29-05:32
We're saying that our theology allows for miracles.
05:35-05:38
But you see, that's not how the Bible uses the word hope.
05:40-05:46
Biblically, church, listen, hope is the confident anticipation of receiving Jesus' promises.
05:47-05:51
Biblically, hope, it's in the bag, it's happening.
05:52-05:55
I'm just waiting for it to take place, but it's gonna happen.
05:56-05:58
I'm not wondering if it's gonna happen.
05:58-06:03
I can't wait, I know it's going to, and I'm just waiting for that to happen.
06:03-06:04
That's biblical hope.
06:05-06:10
That's the receipt that we hold onto that says it's coming.
06:10-06:15
I know that it's coming, and I can't wait for that day.
06:15-06:17
That is biblical hope.
06:19-06:21
See, that's what we're here to celebrate today.
06:24-06:26
Actually, every Sunday, we celebrate this.
06:26-06:35
And actually, for the Christian, You celebrate this every day of your life, that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
06:37-06:40
We've been spending so much time talking about the fact that he died for our sins.
06:40-06:46
Yes, that's true, but three days later, he rose from the dead to give us the promise of eternal life.
06:47-06:49
And the Bible says that he went back to heaven.
06:49-06:50
And you're like, well, what's he doing now?
06:50-06:52
Do you know what Jesus is doing right now?
06:53-06:54
Like right now, do you know what he's doing?
06:55-06:58
He told us in John chapter 14 what he would be doing.
06:59-07:12
He says, "I go to prepare a place for you." Right now, Jesus Christ is building a place for his people in heaven.
07:14-07:18
We're gonna talk about heaven today, the place of our hope.
07:20-07:22
Do you know what heaven's like?
07:27-07:36
Sadly, there's so much confusion about heaven because people embrace ideas about heaven that just aren't in the Bible.
07:37-07:45
I think for a lot of people, their ideas of heaven come more from a Bugs Bunny cartoon than from what God actually said.
07:47-07:53
There's just so much nonsense about the people believe about heaven that's just not true biblically.
07:53-07:55
You know what number one is, by the way?
07:55-08:07
The most nonsensical, wrong, false thing that people believe about heaven that's just absolutely not true is that good people go to heaven.
08:08-08:10
You have to be a good person to go to heaven.
08:10-08:15
That's just bombarded onto us from society.
08:15-08:20
Good people go to heaven, good people get, well, that's not true.
08:20-08:24
If that was true, heaven would be empty.
08:26-08:29
We're going to talk more about that in a bit.
08:31-08:33
But no, you do not get to heaven by being a good person.
08:35-08:41
But you know, even Christians, honestly, even Christians are clueless about heaven.
08:43-09:03
Just grab your Christian, your average churchgoer, and say, "Well, what's heaven like?" you're gonna get answers like, "Um, well, I thinkin' Grandma's there." They're like, "Well, what do you do in heaven?" "Well, I guess you, um, I guess you play a harp, right?
09:04-09:12
"And then you sit on clouds." And, um, yeah, that's all I got.
09:14-09:21
Like, well, maybe, um, maybe you've been getting your theology about heaven from Bugs Bunny from a far side cartoon.
09:24-09:32
But I think many Christians aren't really excited about heaven because they don't know what the Bible actually says about it.
09:34-09:37
We had a funeral last week for the oldest member of our church.
09:37-09:38
He was two weeks shy of 99.
09:39-09:40
And she's having a good day.
09:41-09:45
What a great celebration of her life and a celebration of the fulfillment of her faith.
09:47-10:00
But I think a lot of people, even that we're sitting in that funeral, might not have been excited because they don't really know what she's experiencing in heaven, what is coming in the future in heaven.
10:04-10:05
We need to educate ourselves, church.
10:07-10:08
I mean, think about it this way.
10:09-10:11
Imagine if I booked you a three-month vacation.
10:14-10:14
Imagine that.
10:14-10:15
If I booked you, I'm like, you know what?
10:15-10:16
You've been working hard.
10:16-10:16
You know what?
10:18-10:19
I'm gonna get you the plane tickets.
10:20-10:27
You know, you just bring your wife, jump at the airport and get on the plane, three month vacation on me.
10:30-10:31
Would you wanna know where you're going?
10:34-10:35
Would you wanna know what you'd be doing?
10:36-10:39
What if you said, "Oh, thanks Pastor Jeff, that was really nice of you.
10:40-10:40
Where am I going?
10:40-10:52
What am I doing?" What if I said, "Don't worry about it, you'll like it." No, I want to know where I'm going to be spending three months of my life.
10:52-10:54
And I'm like, oh, it'll be nice.
10:56-10:58
What am I gonna be doing there?
10:58-10:59
Fun stuff.
11:01-11:05
Wouldn't you want more information of where you're going to be spending three months of your life?
11:05-11:10
Okay, reminder, heaven is eternal.
11:12-11:18
Wouldn't you like to know what it's going to be like for eternity?
11:20-11:25
If you do, you're in the right place this morning because that is exactly what we're gonna be seeing from God's word.
11:26-11:27
So on your outline, take some notes.
11:29-11:30
The hope is real.
11:31-11:32
The hope is real.
11:33-11:34
The truth about heaven.
11:36-11:38
The truth about heaven.
11:40-11:43
Number one, write this down, everything is new.
11:44-11:45
Everything is new.
11:49-11:51
Verses one and two in Revelation 21.
11:51-11:58
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more.
11:59-12:09
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
12:11-12:11
Stop there.
12:12-12:13
New heaven and new earth, why?
12:13-12:14
Why do we need a new heaven and new earth?
12:15-12:34
Well, because this is talking about what's happening future, and at this point, the heaven and earth now, the one that you're like sitting on right now, will be vaporized by God's glory, according to 2 Peter chapter three, according to Revelation 20 11.
12:36-12:38
He talks about this new Jerusalem.
12:40-12:41
Like, what is New Jerusalem?
12:42-12:46
What's the capital city of the new heaven and the new earth?
12:46-12:54
And John describes it as coming down from heaven onto this new earth.
12:56-12:58
It's a fascinating study.
12:58-13:00
You can really dig into it on your own.
13:02-13:07
Just to give you a little overview, verses 15 and 17 give us the dimensions.
13:07-13:09
And by the way, these are literal measurements.
13:09-13:10
The Bible's clear about that.
13:11-13:16
But New Jerusalem is a massive city and it's shaped like a cube.
13:17-13:22
And each wall is 1,380 miles long.
13:25-13:29
And each wall is 216 feet thick.
13:29-13:31
You're like, can you give me a frame of reference?
13:31-13:32
Yeah, absolutely, I can.
13:34-13:40
If you were to take this New Jerusalem and put it on our current earth, just drop it onto North America.
13:42-13:51
If you were to drop it onto North America, it would go from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America.
13:52-13:56
It would go from the Atlantic Ocean.
13:57-13:59
I'm still trying to adjust to that, I'm sorry.
14:00-14:04
It would go from the Atlantic Ocean to Colorado.
14:06-14:09
That is the size of New Jerusalem.
14:10-14:12
You're like, why do I need to know this?
14:12-14:20
Look, that is the place that Jesus is preparing for you right now.
14:23-14:34
And this passage describes the final and eternal heaven, and over and over he uses the greatest word possible that he could use to describe.
14:35-14:39
anything, and it's the word new.
14:42-14:43
New, look at verse five.
14:43-14:45
This is the best verse in the Bible.
14:46-14:50
And I know somebody would say, well, actually, Pastor Jeff, it's all God's word.
14:50-14:51
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.
14:52-14:53
But this is the best verse in the Bible.
14:56-15:06
It says, "And he who was seated on the throne "said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" No.
15:09-15:12
Look, that is... that is awesome!
15:15-15:21
And we can relate to that, can't we? Because there's nothing like getting new stuff, right?
15:23-15:24
Don't we love new things?
15:25-15:26
New shoes.
15:28-15:29
A new car.
15:30-15:31
New jeans.
15:33-15:34
A new phone.
15:35-15:42
I'm pleased to announce that Pastor Taylor finally upgraded from his iPhone 8.
15:45-15:54
Yeah, a little bonus celebration today. But wasn't it so exciting getting that new phone, Pastor Taylor?
16:05-16:08
You know what, I thought it was bad until Jay Nower showed me.
16:08-16:09
He has, what do you have, an SE?
16:17-16:18
Yeah, take good care of that, Jay.
16:18-16:19
We're gonna put that in a museum.
16:20-16:21
(laughing)
16:23-16:27
So, we love getting new stuff, right?
16:27-16:28
Getting a new computer.
16:29-16:31
Men, get that new fishing rod.
16:31-16:32
Ladies, get the new purse.
16:34-16:36
How about a new puppy?
16:37-16:38
Oh, that's the best.
16:40-16:44
But there's nothing like getting new stuff.
16:45-16:51
And you know, the Bible says in heaven, Everything is always new.
16:54-16:55
So a little tip for you.
16:55-16:59
If you're in Christ, and if you are, you will end up in heaven.
16:59-17:18
I just want to encourage you, if you're trying to make friends, to not walk up to somebody in heaven and say, "Hey, what's new?" Because they're going to say, "You are, amigo." Because I don't know if you got the memo, but everything here is new.
17:19-17:26
I have people say to me sometimes, like, "Heavenstone's kind of boring." Like, what are you talking about?
17:27-17:29
That is a clueless statement.
17:30-17:30
Boring.
17:32-17:36
Everything is always going to be new.
17:40-17:46
And if that's not a beautiful enough description with that little word, He gives us a word picture that really drives it home.
17:47-18:00
He says, "It's prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Like Jesus, what kind of care and attention are you putting into creating this new heaven and earth?
18:01-18:02
This new Jerusalem?
18:04-18:09
What kind of meticulous care is going into preparing this new city?
18:10-18:16
The Bible says it's like a bride preparing herself for her husband.
18:18-18:21
That's a word picture that really impacts me.
18:22-18:24
Because look, I've been to a lot of weddings.
18:25-18:26
It's part of my job.
18:26-18:27
I've been to a lot of weddings.
18:28-18:33
And you know something that I've never, ever, ever seen at a wedding is this.
18:33-18:39
Like, it's wedding day, and I come to the front of the chapel or the woods or the barn or wherever we're having it.
18:42-18:45
Oh, they have them everywhere now, but I'm up there with the guys, right?
18:46-18:50
And here comes the bridesmaids and they take their place.
18:50-18:52
Oh, it's the big moment.
18:54-18:55
The music shifts, right?
18:56-18:57
And you know what's next.
18:58-18:59
Here comes the bride, right?
19:00-19:01
You know what I've never seen?
19:02-19:16
So the doors fling open and there's the bride in a college hoodie, wearing sweatpants and Crocs.
19:19-19:21
Crocs will not be in heaven, by the way.
19:22-19:32
Well, the Bible doesn't say, I'm just thinking it's a safe assumption, but I've never seen her where she's got a near terminal case of bedhead.
19:36-19:39
I've never seen that, ever.
19:40-19:41
Do you know what I have seen though?
19:43-19:44
Every time.
19:46-19:48
A breathtakingly beautiful bride.
19:51-19:52
How did she get that way?
19:54-19:55
She prepared.
19:56-20:12
Do you know how much time and effort and energy and money and detail, and it goes in, She puts everything into making herself as beautiful and perfect as she can for her husband.
20:16-20:25
And that is the kind of attention and care that Jesus is putting into preparing this place for his people.
20:26-20:27
Wrap your brain around that.
20:29-20:35
But the Bible says in heaven, Everything is new.
20:38-20:40
Oh, it gets even better than that.
20:42-20:45
Because number two, write this down, every day is in God's presence.
20:46-20:49
Everything is new and every day is in God's presence.
20:49-20:50
Look at verse three.
20:51-21:02
Verse three, he says, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
21:02-21:03
"He will dwell with them.
21:04-21:14
and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God." Every day is in God's presence.
21:18-21:24
Don't you wish that you lived at the time that Jesus lived?
21:25-21:46
Wouldn't it have just been absolutely amazing to watch Jesus, like to sit down with Him, to hear Him teach, to watch Him heal, to watch Him feed the thousands with the little kids' lunch?
21:47-21:55
Wouldn't that have just been awesome to personally be in the presence of Jesus Christ?
21:59-22:02
Well, I got good news for you.
22:03-22:08
In heaven, you're gonna get that like every single day.
22:10-22:13
Because according to verse three, we're always in God's presence.
22:15-22:27
See, that's good news, my friends, because I think if we're honest, sometimes God seems distant right now.
22:27-22:29
I mean, he's not, right?
22:30-22:31
He's not distant.
22:33-22:37
But can we just be honest in church for a second and say sometimes it feels like he is?
22:41-22:42
You know, we go through trials.
22:44-23:00
or hurting, maybe you've been betrayed, disappointed, you're just worn out, and you're like, God, where are you?
23:01-23:06
Seems like I need you the most right now, you seem absent, where are you?
23:09-23:14
Well, never again will God seem distant.
23:17-23:20
The Bible says he is going to tabernacle with his people.
23:20-23:31
He is going to pitch a tent in unprecedented perfect fellowship in the midst of his people.
23:32-23:37
Every day of heaven is being in the presence of God.
23:37-23:38
(sniffling)
23:40-23:41
It's the truth about heaven.
23:42-23:43
Everything's new.
23:44-23:45
Every day is in God's presence.
23:45-23:47
And number three, everything that hurts is gone.
23:49-23:50
(sniffling)
23:52-23:53
Everything that hurts is gone.
23:53-23:54
Look at verse four.
23:56-24:00
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more.
24:00-24:07
Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
24:07-24:12
No crying, no mourning, no crying and no pain.
24:13-24:14
Do you know what that means?
24:17-24:23
That means no, a lot of other things.
24:24-24:26
That means no depression.
24:28-24:29
That means no cancer.
24:31-24:33
That means no diabetes.
24:36-24:37
That means no organ failure.
24:39-24:40
That means no autism.
24:42-24:44
That means no wheelchairs.
24:46-24:49
That means no mental health problems.
24:52-24:54
That means no dentist appointments.
24:58-25:01
I see somebody rejoicing in the back greatly over that.
25:02-25:07
But I can tell you in the first service, there was like a group of dentists sitting, right about where the Zenko's are right now.
25:08-25:11
And I told him, like, look, we're gonna be out of a job in heaven.
25:12-25:16
Nobody's gonna need to hear about Jesus from me, nobody's gonna need their teeth fixed by them.
25:17-25:21
So, you know, there's no more tears.
25:22-25:24
There's no more death, there's no more goodbyes.
25:26-25:29
Every bit of pain and heartache and discouragement.
25:32-25:32
Never again.
25:34-25:34
Never.
25:36-25:37
Everything that hurts is gone.
25:40-25:57
People ask, "Well, you know, will I remember "the failures of my life on earth?" Because I would think if I could remember my failures of my life on earth, that boy, there'd be some tears over that in heaven.
25:58-26:00
Will I remember the failures of this life?
26:01-26:02
I don't know.
26:03-26:11
But I do know this for a fact, that if you do remember the failures of this life, it's not gonna bother you.
26:13-26:15
Because there's no more mourning or pain.
26:18-26:18
Sure about that.
26:20-26:22
And you could get to this point, you're like, really?
26:23-26:24
Now hang on a second.
26:26-26:29
This sounds just a little too fantastic.
26:31-26:31
Really?
26:32-26:33
Well, look at verse five again.
26:35-27:01
And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also, he said, "Write this down, "for these words are trustworthy and true." Oh, everything is made new, everything stays new, and you're like, "Adam, is that really true?" Jesus says here, write this down.
27:02-27:05
You write this down, you take this to the bank.
27:06-27:08
You build your life on this, man.
27:08-27:11
This is trustworthy and true.
27:14-27:16
Listen, this isn't fantasy stuff.
27:17-27:23
This isn't like fairy tale stuff that we say to placate children when grandma passes away.
27:28-27:31
Jesus says this is real, this is trustworthy and true.
27:34-27:38
Every hurt is forever behind you.
27:39-27:41
Everything that hurts is gone.
27:41-27:45
Number four, it gets even better.
27:46-27:48
I know you don't think it can, but check this out.
27:48-27:50
Number four, everything is yours.
27:52-27:53
Everything is yours.
27:56-27:56
Look at verse six.
27:57-27:59
And he said to me, "It is done.
28:01-28:06
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, "the beginning and the end.
28:06-28:16
"To the thirsty I will give "from the spring of the water of life without payments." Who are the thirsty?
28:18-28:19
Who are the thirsty?
28:21-28:22
I hope you are.
28:23-28:28
Thirsty refers to people who realize their spiritual need and genuinely thirst for God.
28:30-28:38
Heaven is for people who know they need Jesus Christ and they receive Jesus Christ and they love Jesus Christ.
28:38-28:39
That's what he's talking about here.
28:41-28:45
You see, water, biblically, is a symbol of fulfillment.
28:46-28:48
It's a symbol of satisfaction.
28:48-28:50
I was thirsty and in need.
28:51-28:54
Now, from the living water, I have been satisfied.
28:55-28:57
That's what water's talking about.
28:57-28:58
That's what the Bible's talking about.
28:59-29:00
Excuse me when it talks about water.
29:02-29:03
Satisfaction.
29:05-29:06
It's great news.
29:08-29:12
That means heaven's not going to be lacking anything that would add to your satisfaction.
29:12-29:13
You know that?
29:14-29:18
That means you're not gonna be walking around heaven and say, you know what?
29:19-29:20
This place is pretty good.
29:20-30:18
But I have a few ideas that would make it a little better. You're going to be absolutely, totally, perfectly satisfied in heaven. And this, this is your heritage. Look at verse 7. He says, "The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God, and he will be my son." We talked about this with justification, that we don't live in fear of God as judge, if you're in Christ, that You're not afraid of God as judge.
30:19-30:22
You live in the freedom of God as father.
30:25-30:26
That he adopted us as his children.
30:31-30:35
But being a child has implications for the future.
30:39-30:40
Like, what do you mean?
30:40-30:45
What I mean is, if you're a child of God, you receive an inheritance.
30:47-30:49
Like look at Romans chapter eight here.
30:53-30:59
Romans eight says, "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
30:59-31:14
And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
31:15-31:25
You see, Paul wrote this to the Romans, and Roman adoption was very interesting.
31:25-31:27
I was reading about it this past week.
31:28-31:40
Do you know, in Roman culture, adopted children actually received greater honor than naturally born children in the home.
31:43-31:50
Like if a couple has natural children, it's like, well, you just came into the world the regular way.
31:52-32:00
But if you adopted someone, it was, ah, you though on the other hand, you were chosen to be a part of this family.
32:01-32:16
But there's something else interesting about Roman children, including the adopted children, by the way, that they all received an equal share of the inheritance.
32:20-32:23
You're like, good for the Romans.
32:24-32:26
What does that have to do with me?
32:27-32:29
Here's what this has to do with you.
32:30-32:30
Look at this.
32:31-32:36
We are fellow heirs with Christ.
32:38-32:39
You know what that means?
32:43-32:45
I can tell some of you are very excited about that.
32:45-32:46
So we're gonna walk through this together.
32:47-32:49
You are fellow heirs with Christ.
32:49-32:50
You know what that means?
32:51-32:58
That means you will receive the same inheritance that Jesus receives.
33:02-33:05
So, what does Jesus own?
33:07-33:07
Everything.
33:10-33:12
So what do you stand to inherit?
33:14-33:15
Everything.
33:17-33:18
Everything.
33:19-33:20
Wait, wait, wait.
33:20-33:22
Hang on a second there, Pastor Jeff.
33:23-33:26
You was talking about the new heavens earlier.
33:28-33:31
Do you mean I'm gonna inherit the new heavens?
33:34-33:34
Everything.
33:37-33:39
And if you're like, oh, well, he's creating the new earth.
33:39-33:42
Do you mean I'm gonna inherit that new earth too?
33:42-33:43
That's gonna belong to me?
33:48-33:48
Everything.
33:50-33:59
And you're like, well, that giant city that you was talking about, Am I gonna inherit that too?
33:59-34:00
Is that gonna belong to me?
34:00-34:04
And I'm like, look, I'll do respect.
34:04-34:06
What part of everything do you not understand?
34:08-34:10
Everything will belong to you.
34:14-34:16
But do you know the greatest thing that you're going to inherit?
34:18-34:19
Is God himself.
34:20-34:21
Do you see that in verse seven?
34:23-34:36
He says, "I will be his God." Oh no, let's not gloss over that because that's like the Levites in the Old Testament.
34:37-34:52
Remember, Israel was told, you know, that they were gonna receive an inheritance in the promised land, but you go to like Deuteronomy 18-2, the Levites did not get an inheritance like the other tribes of Israel.
34:52-34:57
They were told that God is their inheritance.
35:03-35:07
And if you get God, you get everything.
35:09-35:19
If you're a fellow heir with Christ, that means someday everything is yours.
35:22-35:25
And finally, number five, truth about heaven.
35:25-35:26
Everything's new.
35:27-35:28
Every day's in God's presence.
35:28-35:32
Everything that hurts is gone and everything is yours.
35:33-35:35
But we do have to say this because it's in the text.
35:37-35:38
Everyone is not going.
35:44-36:08
Now look, you know, it'd be real easy to come into Easter service and we're all wearing our spiffy clothes and the music is fantastic, and it would be so easy to get caught up in this passage and get excited about a heaven that some of you aren't going to see.
36:10-36:11
Look at verse eight.
36:13-36:39
John says, "But as for the cowardly, "The faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, "the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, "their portion will be in the lake "that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." See this list?
36:40-36:43
These are people that love their sin more than they love Jesus.
36:47-36:49
But I gotta ask you, are you on that list?
36:54-36:57
Is there anything here that characterizes you?
36:59-37:04
Understanding that murderer means hateful and sexually immoral means lustful.
37:07-37:07
You there?
37:09-37:15
You know the one that always sticks out to me in this list is the first one, cowardly.
37:19-37:20
What does that mean?
37:20-37:31
It's not saying being afraid of stuff is a sin, like in the sense of I'm afraid to go camping because I'm afraid of bears and snakes.
37:32-37:34
And that's not what that's talking about at all.
37:36-37:42
It's talking about being afraid to follow Jesus Christ because there is a cost.
37:42-37:43
And what will my friends think?
37:43-37:44
And what am I going to have to give up?
37:45-37:57
and refusal to follow Christ, God says, "You're a coward." You mean he bought your way to heaven with the blood of his son?
37:59-38:10
And you're too afraid to receive him because of what your goofy friends might think, because of what sinful thing you might have to give up.
38:11-38:11
You're a coward.
38:13-38:14
And that's not my opinion.
38:14-38:15
That's God's opinion.
38:15-38:16
Well, I guess it is mine if it's God's.
38:18-38:19
But he said it.
38:22-38:24
You think following Christ is easy?
38:24-38:26
You think it's easy to trust God?
38:30-38:32
Do you think it's easy to say no to sin?
38:34-38:41
Do you think it's easy to say yes to serving Christ when it's inconvenient or difficult or harder than we thought it was gonna be?
38:44-38:46
This ain't for cowards, okay?
38:48-38:54
All of the items on this list characterize people who have never repented.
38:54-38:56
They've never received Christ.
38:56-38:57
And these are just evidences.
38:58-39:00
He's saying that this is what they lived like.
39:01-39:21
And I have to ask you, if you took an honest inward look at yourself, would you say that my life is generally characterized by a love for Jesus Christ, Or would you say, my life is generally characterized by a love of my sin, myself, my way.
39:21-39:23
Which one is it for you?
39:28-39:38
Because if it's the latter, then none of these promises about heaven, none of this hope is for you.
39:42-39:49
I can have the worship team join us back up on the platform here.
39:54-39:56
It is finished.
40:00-40:03
It is finished.
40:07-40:12
Someday, you're gonna hear Jesus say those words again.
40:16-40:23
For some of you, you're going to be horrified to hear Him say it when He brings judgment.
40:26-40:34
And for some of you, you will rejoice when you hear Him say it, because He's giving you everything.
40:36-40:38
The hope of heaven.
40:40-40:41
It is finished.
40:42-40:49
Today, today, we hear those words from the cross.
40:51-40:55
So if you have received Jesus Christ, your sin has been taken away.
40:55-41:01
If you have received Jesus Christ, he rose from the dead to give you eternal life.
41:02-41:11
And if you have received Jesus Christ, you do not need to wait for heaven to rejoice in Him.
41:12-41:17
So let's stand and let's celebrate Him for who He is and all that He's done.
41:17-41:21
Let's rejoice in the victory of Jesus Christ.

Small Group Discussion
Read Romans 8:16-17, Revelation 21:1-8

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What are some wrong ideas about heaven that even many Christians believe?
What is an aspect of heaven covered in Revelation 21 that was new or surprising to you?
What does it mean that we are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17)? What exactly do we inherit?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

Taylor Brown

April 18, 2025

What is Finished?

Redemption: The Price is Paid

Taylor Brown

April 18, 2025

What is Finished?

Introduction:

1 Peter 1:18-19 - ...knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of ua lamb vwithout blemish or spot.

What is Redemption?

Jesus Christ Paid the Ultimate price to Purchase my freedom and salvation.

What Does Christ Redeem Me From?

An Empty life of bondage to sin that leads to an Excruciating eternity in hell.

What Does Christ Redeem Me With?

His Own life which is worth more than anyone or anything that this world has to offer.

Psalm 49:7-8 – Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice.

What Does Christ’s Redemption Require of Me?

Acknowledging that I Cannot Work Off My Debt to God.
Isaiah 64:6 – We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Trusting that Christ has Paid my Debt In Full .
Colossians 2:13-14 – And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Living for the One who Gave Himself for me.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:00-00:15
If you have a Bible, please turn to 1st Peter chapter 1 verses 18 through 19 1st Peter chapter 1 verses 18 through 19 You know, we live in a time when everything is expensive. Am I right?
00:16-00:49
Every single time you go to the grocery store Every time you go to the gas station, you're in a state of shock over how much money you had to spend We all leave our house expecting to spend this amount of money and we always end up spending even more than we hoped It can be difficult to keep track of ever-changing prices But I want to help you have a heartbeat on how much things truly cost in April 2025 I'm gonna do a quick game with you to make that happen. Who's excited for a game?
00:50-00:52
All right, way more excited than I expected.
00:52-00:58
This is our first official Harvest game show called Guess That Price.
00:59-01:02
So imagine I'm Bob Barker, and you're the excitable crowd.
01:02-01:04
Everyone say, guess that price.
01:05-01:06
Guess that price.
01:07-01:09
Oh man, this is really exciting.
01:10-01:18
So I'm going to ask four questions, and you will win amazing and imaginary prizes if you guess the answers correctly.
01:18-01:22
And most of the answers were found on Google, which we know is never wrong.
01:23-01:24
So first question on the board.
01:25-01:27
Is that a pretty good talk show voice?
01:27-01:27
Game show voice?
01:27-01:28
Okay, good.
01:28-01:29
First question on the board.
01:30-01:34
What is the median listing price for a house in Pittsburgh?
01:36-01:36
What do we think?
01:39-01:40
Janelle got it right.
01:41-01:42
$250,000.
01:44-01:47
Come see me afterwards for your imaginary prize.
02:08-02:09
$42,220.
02:11-02:13
No one wins a prize for that one, I guess.
02:13-02:17
Third question-- what is the average price of a baseline base model?
02:17-02:17
$42,220.
02:17-02:20
All right, next question-- what is the average price Disney World vacation for a family of four?
02:22-02:22
(audience shouting)
02:23-02:24
My mom has an answer.
02:25-02:26
10,000?
02:28-02:30
Janelle, once again, is very, very close.
02:31-02:31
$7,093.
02:33-02:36
I guess Janelle is the winner of this game for the most part.
02:39-02:44
Well, it's time for the final and most important question of the game.
02:45-02:47
And for this question, you don't have to shout out your answer.
02:48-02:51
Instead, silently consider it in your heart and mind.
02:52-03:01
What price did Jesus Christ have to pay to rescue lost and undeserving sinners like you and me?
03:02-03:04
That's very true, Cody, his own life.
03:04-03:08
Spoil the sermon, but we're gonna talk the rest of the time about that.
03:09-03:14
So this is the third message in our latest series, What is Finished?
03:15-03:28
But our goal is to unpack what Jesus truly accomplished on that cross 2,000 years ago and why he victoriously declared it is finished with his dying breath.
03:30-03:37
Over the past two weeks, we've studied the doctrine of salvation like a diamond and examined it from different angles and aspects.
03:37-03:43
First, we focused on justification, our guilt before God is gone.
03:44-03:52
Last week we talked about the glorious truth of reconciliation, our broken relationship with God has been restored.
03:53-03:58
And tonight we will examine another facet of the salvation diamond, redemption.
03:58-04:01
The price has been paid.
04:02-04:09
During the Easter season you were bombarded with crosses, on bumper stickers, road signs, even in chocolate form.
04:10-04:17
Without even realizing it, you can become numb to the meaning and magnitude of the cross of Christ.
04:17-04:31
So on this Good Friday, I want each and every one of you in this room and watching online to be overwhelmed with the weight of your sin and the depth of your debt before a holy God.
04:33-04:41
Some of you in this room need to come to the realization that you have an outstanding balance on your spiritual account.
04:42-04:52
that will not affect your credit score or your financial portfolio, but it will affect your eternal destiny unless it is dealt with before it is too late.
04:54-05:07
And for the rest of you whose balance has been taken care of and wound down to zero, I want you to truly count the cost of your salvation and calculate the immensity of what was sacrificed for you.
05:08-05:13
Because if you have a cheap view of grace, you will have a weak walk with Christ.
05:14-05:21
But if you have a costly view of grace, you will have a rock-solid relationship with your Lord and Savior.
05:22-05:24
So let's spend a moment in prayer.
05:25-05:31
Please pray for me, that I will faithfully proclaim God's word, and I will pray for you that you faithfully receive it.
05:39-05:51
Father, I am completely I'm completely overwhelmed by my inability to properly communicate the price that has been paid and what your son has sacrificed for me.
05:55-05:57
What he has sacrificed for everyone in this room.
05:59-06:07
Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit would preach a much better message in our hearts than I ever could with my mouth.
06:08-06:11
May you watch over your word to perform it this evening.
06:11-06:13
May you do a great and mighty work.
06:13-06:16
We ask all this in Jesus' mighty name, amen.
06:18-06:29
So our text for this evening is 1 Peter 1, verses 18 through 19, but before we dive into these verses, we need to understand the purpose of this letter and who Peter is writing to.
06:29-06:41
Throughout chapter one, Peter makes it crystal clear that he is writing to struggling and suffering Christians do not feel at home in this fallen and ungodly world.
06:41-06:51
He describes these believers as refugees, exiles, aliens, and pilgrims who stick out like sore thumbs in a culture that hates God.
06:53-07:01
And Peter doesn't want his brothers and sisters in Christ to feel discouraged that they're being persecuted and are suffering.
07:02-07:11
Instead, he wants them to be encouraged that they are experiencing the results of standing apart from everyone else and acting different.
07:12-07:17
In the verses leading up to our passage, Peter gives a list of important commands.
07:17-07:20
He says, "Prepare your minds for action.
07:20-07:21
"Be sober-minded.
07:21-07:24
"Do not be conformed to the passions "of your former ignorance.
07:25-07:42
"Be holy in all your conduct "and conduct yourself with fear "throughout the time of your exile." Simply put, imitate your perfect and holy God by being who he has called you to be and doing what he has called you to do.
07:44-07:46
Okay, but why?
07:47-07:53
Why should these Christians choose to act differently from the world around them?
07:53-07:54
What is the motivation?
07:55-08:00
Well, Peter gives the motivation in verses 18 through 19 of chapter one.
08:00-08:29
He says, "Knowing that you were ransomed, "redeemed from the futile ways "inherited from your forefathers, "not with perishable things, such as silver or gold, "but with the precious blood of Christ, "like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." So to fully unpack these verses and what redemption actually is, we need to ask and answer four what questions this evening.
08:29-08:33
And the first what question on your outline is, what is redemption?
08:34-08:36
What is redemption?
08:37-08:44
Redemption, Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price to purchase my freedom and salvation.
08:45-08:50
Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price to purchase my freedom and salvation.
08:51-08:57
You know, redemption was a common concept 2,000 years ago when it came to slavery and captivity.
08:57-09:02
Prisoners of war were not released until their ransom was delivered.
09:03-09:07
Slaves were not set free until their debt was paid in full.
09:08-09:16
And it's essential for you to understand that apart from Christ, you have a sin debt hanging over your head.
09:17-09:20
You are a sinner by nature and by choice.
09:20-09:25
And you have no one to blame for your spiritual bankruptcy besides yourself.
09:27-09:30
and this debt will not magically go away.
09:30-09:35
It must be paid by someone, and there are only two options.
09:36-09:37
Option one is a payment plan.
09:38-09:41
You pay the penalty in hell forever.
09:43-09:47
The second option is much better, and it's the one I hope you will choose.
09:47-09:55
Jesus Christ settles your debt once and for all through his death on the cross that you can be set free.
09:57-10:01
You know, as a pastor, I'm asked a lot of theological questions on a weekly basis.
10:02-10:18
And one of the questions I receive almost more than any other, almost even more than do my pets go to heaven, which will always be the uncontested champion of theological questions, I've lost count of how many people have asked me, why did Jesus have to die?
10:19-10:21
Why did Jesus have to pay a price?
10:21-10:28
Why couldn't God just look past our sin, snap his divine fingers and say, "You know what, just forget about it.
10:29-10:34
"Go on, go home, don't worry, you're all forgiven." Have you ever wondered that?
10:35-10:36
Have you ever asked that question?
10:38-10:40
Well, to answer that question, let me walk you through a few scenarios.
10:41-10:44
Imagine with me after service, you punch me in the face.
10:45-10:46
First of all, please don't do that.
10:47-10:48
Please, please.
10:49-10:53
Second of all, would there be consequences for your assault?
10:54-10:57
There's a lot of police officers here, so I guess they could arrest you.
10:58-10:59
I could press charges.
11:01-11:05
What if you punch your boss in the face on Monday?
11:07-11:08
Would there be even worse consequences?
11:10-11:14
Yeah, on top of going to jail, you'd also be fired from your job.
11:15-11:21
Imagine you were pulled over by a cop after service today and you punched that cop in the face.
11:23-11:24
There's serious consequences for that.
11:26-11:30
You would be in prison for a long time for assaulting an officer.
11:32-11:36
What if you punched the President of the United States or another world leader in the face?
11:37-11:39
Would there be even worse consequences for that?
11:40-11:43
You can maybe be charged with an assassination attempt.
11:45-11:50
Last question, what is the penalty for slapping the creator of the universe in the face?
11:53-11:57
Sinning against the eternal God demands eternal punishment.
11:57-11:59
The punishment has to fit the crime.
12:00-12:04
An infinite debt only makes sense for offending an infinite God.
12:05-12:07
Once again, someone has to pay your debt.
12:08-12:14
It cannot just be forgotten without someone covering the bill that you owe to the Lord.
12:15-12:22
So we answer the first what question of what is redemption, which leads into our second question, which we touched on a bit.
12:23-12:24
What does Christ redeem me from?
12:25-12:28
What does Christ redeem me from?
12:30-12:31
And Peter makes it crystal clear in verse 18.
12:32-12:39
He says, "You were ransomed from the futile ways "inherited from your forefathers." So what does Christ redeem me from?
12:39-12:46
on your outline an empty life of bondage to sin that leads to an excruciating eternity in hell.
12:49-12:52
You know, Peter says that we have all inherited futile ways from our forefathers.
12:54-12:55
What does that even mean?
12:55-12:56
Well, it's very simple.
12:57-13:01
We all have been taught worthless ideas that lead to meaningless living.
13:03-13:13
You have been served an endless amount of lies throughout your entire life that are nice and candy coated and look great on the outside, but on the inside are hollow.
13:15-13:21
So many people have no idea who created them, why they exist, and what their purpose even is.
13:22-13:29
Instead of submitting to the perfect revelation of God, they make up their own pointless answers to the question.
13:30-13:33
There is the you do you way of living.
13:33-13:36
You are the bright and shining star of your own universe.
13:36-13:38
Just do whatever you want to do.
13:40-13:43
There's the close your eyes mentality and don't think about God.
13:44-13:46
Don't think about life and its meaning.
13:46-13:48
Don't think about death.
13:48-13:50
Don't think about what happens after death.
13:50-13:53
Just enjoy your life as long as it lasts.
13:55-13:56
There's the American dream.
13:58-14:08
You work really hard to get into a good college so you can get a good job, so you can marry the right person, You have a bunch of kids who then repeat that same cycle.
14:09-14:15
Impressive degrees, a high-paying job, successful children are the measures of success.
14:16-14:19
There's the empty religion school of thought.
14:20-14:23
Just pick whatever religious path seems good to you.
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They all lead to the same destination.
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You know, that sentiment is almost true.
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Every single spiritual path but one leads to the same destination, but that destination is not a place you wanna end up.
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Every path but one that is laid out in God's word leads to an excruciating eternity away from the loving and caring presence of Almighty God.
14:52-15:07
But whoever turns to Christ and walks by his way of salvation is redeemed and is rescued from a life of dead-end streets that go nowhere, and a destiny of eternal suffering.
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So we know what redemption is.
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We also know what Christ redeems us from.
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Our third what question, what does Christ redeem me with?
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And Peter gives us the answer in verses 18 through 19.
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He says, "Not with perishable things such as silver or gold, "but with the precious blood of Christ, "like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." So what does Christ redeem me with?
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His own life, which is worth more than anyone or anything that this world has to offer.
15:45-15:56
You know, according to the Old Testament law, the Israelites were commanded to only sacrifice animals that were free of deformities, rashes, and other obvious issues.
15:57-16:02
They were to only sacrifice animals that were clear of disease and imperfections.
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This trend first pops up in Exodus 12 as God tells the Israelites to spread the blood of spotless lambs over their doorposts to be spared from death.
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And these spotless lambs, in every single Old Testament sacrifice, point forward to the perfect and spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who came into this world to lay down his own life and pour out his own blood so that anyone who trusts in him will be washed of all their sinful stains.
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You know, Psalm 49, verses seven through eight talks about the unimaginable cost of a human soul.
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Truly, no man can ransom another or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice.
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God cannot be bribed with gold, silver, a briefcase full of cash or Bitcoin, because he already owns it all.
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No mere human being can take the place of another or pay off the debt of someone else.
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Only Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man, can bridge that gap and pay that price.
17:17-17:20
The blood of Christ is the only currency of redemption.
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It is the only thing of true value that God the Father can or will accept.
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Nothing more precious could ever be offered and nothing less will even be considered.
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So we've answered three what questions.
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What is redemption?
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What does Christ redeem me from?
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And what does Christ redeem me with?
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We've talked about the theology of redemption.
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Now let's close by talking about the application of redemption with our final question.
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What does Christ's redemption require of me?
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What does Christ's redemption require of me?
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Well, firstly, acknowledging that I cannot work off my debt to God.
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Acknowledging that I cannot work off my debt to God.
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You know, my five-year-old son, Sam, loves Legos.
18:14-18:20
Now imagine with me that I take him to the Ross Park Mall to buy a very small and inexpensive Lego set.
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In the process, he knocks over and destroys five of their most expensive displays.
18:29-18:34
All told, I'm on the hook for $3,000 in damage.
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And Sam hysterically says to me, "Dad, I promise I'll pay you back.
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"I don't have any money in my piggy bank right now, "but here's what I'll do.
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"I'll go around the neighborhood "and pull weeds for a penny a weed.
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"I promise I'll pay you back soon." I'm not great at math, but $3,000, a penny a weed, how many weeds would he have to pull to cover that debt?
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How much?
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300,000 weeds.
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But come on, let's be realistic.
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Is that ever gonna happen?
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No way, that is way too high a sum for a five-year-old to handle on his own.
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In the same way, your sinful sum is way too high for you to handle on your own.
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Thinking that you can pay it off and work it back to God is as foolish as Sam thinking that he can pull hundreds of thousands of weeds to pay off his debt to me.
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You can never be good enough.
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You can never do enough to earn your way back into God's good graces.
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Isaiah 64, six gives us an important insight about all the things that we think are righteous deeds.
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He says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, "and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.
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"We all shrivel up like a leaf, "and like the wind, our sin sweeps us away." The first step in receiving redemption is acknowledging your need for it, and admitting that you can never earn it or buy it for yourself.
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So what does Christ's redemption require of me?
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Secondly, trusting that Christ has paid my debt in full.
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Trusting that Christ has paid my debt in full.
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While you are spiritually destitute and delinquent, Christ has an infinite amount of riches that he will give to you if you come to him in humility and faith.
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Your debt to God will now and forever be wiped away in an instant if you turn from your sin and trust in Christ.
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You must believe that he is your savior and that the incomparable gift of his blood is more than enough to cover your bill to the Lord.
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And I know what some of you are thinking, but Taylor, you have no idea how long and detailed my sinful bill really is.
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It's like a CVS receipt on steroids.
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There's no way that God could forgive that.
21:17-21:20
You know, I don't know the horrible things you've done.
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I don't know all the things that are written on your debt to the Lord.
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But do you know who does?
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Jesus Christ.
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He knows how broken you are.
21:33-21:39
He knows not just every single sin that you've committed, but every sin that you have yet to commit.
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Yet he offers you redemption anyway.
21:43-21:52
If you were to pull me aside for service to share your deepest, darkest secret with me, I would have the same exact response to every single one of you.
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There is no debt that the blood of Christ cannot pay, even yours.
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So please, stop making excuses for why Jesus can't forgive you and just ask him to forgive you.
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And he will, because the Bible says so.
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It's that simple.
22:11-22:14
Listen to how the Apostle Paul describes those who were saved.
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And you who were dead in your trespasses in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all our trespasses.
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Not just some, not just most, all.
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By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, this he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
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Those verses can be true of you right now if you simply repent and turn to Christ.
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I beg you, please don't leave tonight without making the most important transaction of your life.
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Submit your sinful bill to Christ so that he will pay every last penny and then rip it up, never to be seen again.
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Finally, what does Christ's redemption require of me?
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"Living for the one who gave himself for me." "Living for the one who gave himself for me." You will not live for Christ until you are truly thankful for what he has done for you.
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And your level of thankfulness to Christ will only reach as high as your genuine grasp of what he has sacrificed for you.
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Let me prove it to you with a few examples.
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Would you be thankful if I let you borrow my hoodie because you were chilly during service?
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Pastor Jeff, would you be thankful?
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But Pastor Jeff wouldn't break his hand patting me on the back for that, right?
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How thankful would you be if I lent you my car for a whole week while yours was getting worked on?
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You would repeatedly express your gratitude, maybe even send me a thank you note.
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What if I found out you were homeless I let you move into my house rent free.
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How thankful would you be?
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You would go out of your way to express your gratitude by cleaning up around the house, doing all the chores outside that I don't like to do.
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How thankful would you be if I pushed you out of the way of a moving car and died in your place?
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You wouldn't even know where to begin with expressing your gratitude and honoring my memory and helping my family.
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magnified that made up example times a billion and describing how grateful you should be as a redeemed sinner.
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The eternal Son of God died in your place so that you could have eternal life.
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We hear that so much, but do you really think about it?
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Do you think about how unbelievable that is?
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Praise him for what he has done because he deserves it.
24:59-25:02
Thank Him for all that He has given to you.
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Instead of complaining about all the things that you don't have, stop living for yourself and start living for Him.
25:13-25:18
You need to be thankful to Christ, but you also need to recognize that you belong to Christ.
25:20-25:25
Once your debt is scratched out of God's heavenly ledger, you can't just say, "Hey, God, thanks.
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"I'll see you later when I get to heaven.
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I'm off to do whatever I want to do now.
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Now Paul tells us why that doesn't make sense in 1 Corinthians chapter six, verses 19 through 20.
25:35-25:40
He says, "You are not your own, "for you were bought with a what?
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"With a price." Your life is not your life.
25:47-25:52
Since Jesus gave you his life, your life is now his life.
25:54-26:00
Christ ransomed you from slavery to sin so that he could make you his own personal slave.
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That may sound bad, but it's actually the greatest news imaginable because everyone is enslaved to something and someone.
26:12-26:19
Money, stuff, possessions, status, these are all harsh dictators that care nothing for you.
26:20-26:27
And Satan has dibs on every single person who rejects Christ and he hates everyone who is enslaved to him.
26:28-26:41
But the Christian slave has the freest life of all because you belong to the only master who truly loves you, who calls you his friend and wants what is best for you.
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And what is best for you is giving everything you have for Jesus, his glory, and his kingdom.
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This means that you look and act different.
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How you spend your time should look different than everyone else.
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More than anything, you wanna meet with God and his word and in prayer every single day.
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How you view your relationships should be different.
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You want to be with your brothers and sisters in Christ, worshiping, fellowshipping, and serving together.
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You wanna reach out to unbelievers in your life so that they can experience the redemption that you've experienced.
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You view your resources differently.
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Your gifts, talents, and resources are not to be used to get ahead and advance your own plans.
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And you may be thinking, wow, this sounds really inconvenient.
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You still don't get it.
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True Christians are those who happily rearrange their lives around Christ because they realize they belong to him and not themselves.
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Turning your life upside down is not an annoying inconvenience.
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It is an absolute pleasure because Jesus Christ is more than worthy and his redemptive rewards are more than worthwhile.
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You know at Harvest, some choose to designate their financial giving towards certain ministries and missions.
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And you can designate your giving to the building fund, the general missions fund, or to Thailand to go to Barnabas and his band of missionaries and evangelists.
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And I promise you, if you ever designate your giving, the finance team honors your wishes.
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If you designate your giving to the building fund, it goes to the building fund.
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If you designate your giving to go to Thailand, it goes directly to Thailand.
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Do you know that the Lord Jesus designates his giving?
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He paid an infinite price, but his giving is geared towards one specific purpose, redeeming and recruiting genuine worshipers.
28:46-28:51
Jesus only purchases selfless givers, not selfish consumers.
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He only purchases loyal friends, not flaky acquaintances.
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He only purchases faithful servants, not lazy slackers.
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Do not belittle the price Jesus paid by choosing to be the exact opposite of what he paid for.
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Do not undermine his sacrifice by choosing to act like everyone else.
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Do not dishonor the Lord of your life by acting as if you are the Lord of your life.
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Our worship team and communion servers can make their way forward.
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You know, we spent a lot of time tonight talking about redemption, but now we're actually gonna look at a physical picture of it as we turn to the Lord's Supper.
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Communion forces us to count the cost of salvation and focus our attention upon Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
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When we eat the bread and drink of the cup, we are reminded that Jesus gave His own body and shed His own priceless blood to ransom us from captivity to sin and give us His eternal riches.
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And to be clear, you don't have to be a member of harvest to take part in communion, but you do need to be a member of the family of God.
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So if you have not yet turned to Christ, I wanna ask you to stay seated and contemplate the meaning and message of the cross.
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Once again, I wanna call you to not leave this room without making the most important decision of your life.
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Please stop, Pastor Jeff, myself, and one of the other elders.
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We have Justin over here, we have Brian right here, and Pastor Rich in the back.
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We would love nothing more than to talk to you about Jesus and what next steps with him look like.
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And for those who are born again believers in this room, we're gonna do something a bit different tonight for communion.
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In a few moments, you will leave your seats, come down the center aisles to receive the elements.
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You'll go back to your seat using the outer aisles and you'll be taking communion on your own.
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I ask you to eat the bread and drink of the cup, not quickly or flippantly, but prayerfully.
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Take time to confess to the Lord.
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Take time to thank him for all that he has done for you through the life and death of his son.
31:18-31:21
And after you're done, we ask that you please leave respectfully and quietly.
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We want you to feel the weight of the cross upon your shoulders so that you can come ready to celebrate the resurrection of the empty tomb on Sunday.
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So you can make your way forward as you are ready.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Peter 1:18-19

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Do you ever take your redemption for granted? How can you protect yourself from this indifference?
Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - According to Paul, why can’t you just live however you want to live? How is your Heavenly Master calling you to change and serve Him more faithfully right now?

Breakout
Pray for one another.

Because He is King, I Will Obey

Introduction:

What Does God Want Me to See and Know This Easter? (Ephesians 1:15-23)

Because He is Priest, I Will Confess

Introduction:

Conceal or Confess? If You Want to Confess: (1 John 1:5 - 2:6)

3 Lies You Have to Stop Claiming:

Because He is a Prophet, I Will Believe

Introduction:

The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:14-22):

Jesus is the Prophet – Will You:

Glorification: The Hope is Real

Introduction:

The Hope is Real: The Truth About Heaven (Revelation 21:1-8)

Redemption: The Price is Paid

Introduction:

What is Redemption?

What Does Christ Redeem Me From?

What Does Christ Redeem Me With?

What Does Christ’s Redemption Require of Me?

Upcoming Small Group Questions CLICK HERE

How much of the Bible have we covered since 2011?

Introduction:

What Does God Want Me to See and Know This Easter? (Ephesians 1:15-23)

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

Conceal or Confess? If You Want to Confess: (1 John 1:5 - 2:6)

3 Lies You Have to Stop Claiming:

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:14-22):

Jesus is the Prophet – Will You:

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

The Hope is Real: The Truth About Heaven (Revelation 21:1-8)

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

What is Redemption?

What Does Christ Redeem Me From?

What Does Christ Redeem Me With?

What Does Christ’s Redemption Require of Me?

Audio Transcript