Where Are You

Introduction:

1. Grace Abounds.
2. Grace abounds in Early Death.
3. Grace abounds in Eternal Life.
4. Grace abounds in Everyday Righteousness.

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
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• Audio Transcript

  Rich Sprunk:

  00:18-00:25

  Good morning. It is a joy and a privilege to be up here and to speak with you this morning.

  Rich Sprunk:

  00:26-00:41

  I want to offer a disclaimer first. This was a tough message for me to prepare, and I want to say it. My aim is right at the core of our being, to cut us to the quick.

  Rich Sprunk:

  00:42-01:01

  The other thing I want to say is by way of disclaimer, in a couple of places I'll be using myself as an illustration, but I don't want anyone to leave here thinking that this isn't in any way about me. It is all about the grace of our great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

  Rich Sprunk:

  01:01-01:08

  Before I begin, I want to invite Jillian to come up. She's going to read the passage for us this morning.

  Jillian:

  01:08-01:23

  Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

  Jillian:

  01:24-01:25

  What shall we say then?

  Jillian:

  01:26-01:28

  Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

  Jillian:

  01:29-01:30

  By no means!

  Jillian:

  01:30-01:34

  How could who died to sin still live in it?

  Jillian:

  01:34-01:39

  Do you know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ were baptized into His death?

  Jillian:

  01:39-01:43

  We were buried, therefore, with Him by baptism into death.

  Jillian:

  01:43-01:50

  In order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

  Jillian:

  01:51-01:58

  For if we have been united with Him in a death like this, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like this.

  Jillian:

  01:58-02:07

  We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

  Jillian:

  02:08-02:10

  For one who has died has been set free from sin.

  Jillian:

  02:11-02:16

  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we also live with Him.

  Jillian:

  02:16-02:20

  We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again.

  Jillian:

  02:21-02:23

  Death no longer has dominion over Him.

  Jillian:

  02:23-02:27

  For the death He died, He died to sin, once for all.

  Jillian:

  02:27-02:29

  But the life He lives, He lives to God.

  Jillian:

  02:29-02:34

  So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ.

  Jillian:

  02:34-02:39

  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions.

  Jillian:

  02:39-02:51

  Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

  Jillian:

  02:51-02:56

  For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace.

  Rich Sprunk:

  02:57-02:58

  Thank you, Jillian.

  Rich Sprunk:

  02:58-02:58

  Let's pray.

  Rich Sprunk:

  02:59-03:01

  Gracious Father, O feed us this morning.

  Rich Sprunk:

  03:02-03:05

  May we hear from you, not me.

  Rich Sprunk:

  03:06-03:18

  I pray, Father, give us ears to hear, eyes to see the glories in your truth, and the grace and the great love with which you have loved us, in our Savior Jesus Christ, amen.

  Rich Sprunk:

  03:19-03:28

  My phone, I really like my phone because when I'm lost, when I need to know where I am, I can go to Waze, I can go to Google Maps, and it'll tell me where I am.

  Rich Sprunk:

  03:28-03:32

  My phone will even tell me where it is if I've lost my phone.

  Rich Sprunk:

  03:33-03:54

  And another thing I like about it is if I go to the store with my wife, Bethany, go to Walmart, it's raining, and I'll drop her off at the front door so she doesn't have to walk through the parking lot in the rain, and I'll go park, and when I get in the store, I can text her and find out where she's at.

  Rich Sprunk:

  03:55-03:55

  There we go.

  Rich Sprunk:

  03:56-04:08

  So I'll text her, I'll say, "Dude, where are you?" And she'll say, "Oh, I'm in Sporting Goods, bro, "and I'm getting some camo and ammo." Now, if you know my wife, Bethany, you know she's not going to be in sporting goods.

  Rich Sprunk:

  04:09-04:13

  Now, more likely she's going to be in automotive or hardware looking for some power tool.

  Rich Sprunk:

  04:14-04:20

  But the question of where are you is, it's not always about one's physical location.

  Rich Sprunk:

  04:21-04:23

  It can refer to a person's circumstances.

  Rich Sprunk:

  04:24-04:58

  So, if we know someone who's going through difficulties, they've lost a job, they're struggling with their health, they're going through a breakup in a relationship, we might say, "Well, you're in a bad place." Conversely, if I got a new job, I'm moving across country, I'm in a new relationship, we say, "Well, you're in a good place." So as it refers to relationships, we sometimes see people who, as they progress in the relationship, they might start asking themselves, "Well, where are we right now?

  Rich Sprunk:

  04:58-04:59

  "What's going on with us?

  Rich Sprunk:

  04:59-05:00

  Where are we?

  Rich Sprunk:

  05:01-05:02

  We see this in the Scripture.

  Rich Sprunk:

  05:02-05:10

  In Genesis chapter 3, when God asked Adam, "Where are you?" It wasn't because God didn't know where Adam was physically.

  Rich Sprunk:

  05:10-05:12

  He knew exactly where Adam was.

  Rich Sprunk:

  05:13-05:17

  But he wanted Adam to understand where he was relationally.

  Rich Sprunk:

  05:17-05:22

  He was looking for confession and repentance in asking that question of Adam.

  Rich Sprunk:

  05:23-05:27

  It was, "Adam, do you know where you stand with me now that you've sinned?

  Rich Sprunk:

  05:28-05:30

  Do you know where we are in our relationship?

  Rich Sprunk:

  05:31-05:50

  And we are going to see that God did not destroy Adam and Eve in His wrath, as He said, "You eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall die." But He didn't destroy them in His wrath, instead He graciously moved them to a place where grace abounded and fellowship could be restored.

  Rich Sprunk:

  05:51-06:11

  In Romans 5.20-6.2, Paul tells us, "Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." What shall we say then?

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:11-06:13

  Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:14-06:15

  By no means.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:16-06:19

  How can we who died to sin still live in it?

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:20-06:22

  Our first point here is that grace abounds.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:23-06:24

  The case abounds.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:25-06:31

  Paul is, of course, referring to the Ten Commandments when he talks about the law coming in.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:32-06:35

  But God gave Adam laws to follow too.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:35-06:37

  He gave him several positive to-do commands.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:37-06:38

  Be fruitful and multiply.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:39-06:40

  Exercise dominion over the earth.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:41-06:42

  Take care of the garden. Tend it.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:43-06:45

  And he gave him the one shall not command.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:46-06:49

  But by eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve sinned.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:50-06:51

  They increased the trespass.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:52-06:56

  The good news is where the sin increased, grace abounded all the more.

  Rich Sprunk:

  06:57-06:59

  In response, we see that God cursed the serpent.

  Rich Sprunk:

  07:00-07:04

  He cursed the creation, but he didn't curse Adam and Eve.

  Rich Sprunk:

  07:04-07:15

  They were going to experience consequences, but he didn't curse them directly, and they did not die physically immediately, though they did perish spiritually, inwardly.

  Rich Sprunk:

  07:16-07:23

  Instead, to restore fellowship with his people, God clothed Adam and Eve with animal skins from a sacrifice.

  Rich Sprunk:

  07:24-07:27

  We see that where Adam and Eve sinned, God's grace abounded.

  Rich Sprunk:

  07:28-07:32

  His grace exceeded the extent and consequences of their sin.

  Rich Sprunk:

  07:33-07:39

  The whole of Scripture is a historical account of God's grace exceeding human sin.

  Rich Sprunk:

  07:39-07:42

  Wherever sin increased, grace exceeded it.

  Rich Sprunk:

  07:42-07:48

  This is most evident in Christ's substitutionary, sacrificial once for all death on the cross.

  Rich Sprunk:

  07:48-07:55

  God's grace continues to abound as sinners in the perfect and permanent once for all sacrifice of Christ.

  Rich Sprunk:

  07:56-07:59

  We cannot sin beyond what God will graciously forgive.

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:00-08:02

  His grace exceeds our sin.

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:03-08:10

  We see in Romans 5.21 that grace reigns through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:10-08:15

  So there's some natural and logical questions that arise about the truth, that grace abound.

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:16-08:17

  The first is, well, what is grace?

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:18-08:22

  Very simply, grace is getting what we don't deserve.

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:22-08:25

  Adam and Eve deserve death when they sin.

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:26-08:29

  God instead showed them grace by substituting another life for theirs.

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:30-08:35

  By grace, he kept them alive and promised a redeemer from the seat of the woman.

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:35-08:39

  The second question is, well, if grace abounds, why not keep sinning?

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:40-08:46

  This was the question posed by Paul's critics, the Jews who believed in righteousness and salvation by works.

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:47-08:54

  They asserted sarcastically that if grace exceeds sinful actions, we should just keep sinning, so there'll be even more grace.

  Rich Sprunk:

  08:55-08:59

  This is a wicked notion, and Paul responds by no means.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:00-09:02

  How can we who died to sin still live in it?

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:03-09:07

  Well, the next question is, well, if grace abounds, does it really matter if I continue to sin?

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:09-09:10

  God's going to forgive me, right?

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:10-09:12

  He knows I'm not perfect.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:13-09:18

  So do I really have to try to live up to such an impossible standard?

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:18-09:22

  Or put it another way, if Jesus died for my sin, shouldn't I be getting my money's worth?

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:23-09:26

  This too is a wicked, presumptuous thought.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:26-09:35

  It's the kind of Christianity and thinking that accommodates the world and opens the sluice gates to let in the cultural swamp around us.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:35-09:41

  German theologian and opposer of the Nazis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, called this cheap grace.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:41-09:45

  He said, "Cheap grace is the grace "we bestow upon ourselves.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:45-09:49

  "Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness "without requiring repentance.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:50-09:51

  "Baptism without church discipline.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:52-09:53

  "Communion without confession.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:54-09:57

  "Cheap grace is grace without discipleship.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:57-09:58

  "Grace without the cross.

  Rich Sprunk:

  09:59-10:06

  "Grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate." According to Bonhoeffer, Grace is to hear the gospel preached thus.

  Rich Sprunk:

  10:07-10:09

  Of course you have sinned, but now everything is forgiven.

  Rich Sprunk:

  10:10-10:14

  So you can stay just as you are and enjoy the consolations of forgiveness.

  Rich Sprunk:

  10:14-10:19

  You know, I've tried this myself and probably in ways still do.

  Rich Sprunk:

  10:20-10:21

  See, when I was first saved, life was great.

  Rich Sprunk:

  10:22-10:24

  My life was improved.

  Rich Sprunk:

  10:25-10:31

  My faith in Christ was a means of self-fulfillment, self-actualization, a pathway to success.

  Rich Sprunk:

  10:31-10:37

  God was going to bless me because now I was a shiny and new improved version of myself.

  Rich Sprunk:

  10:37-10:55

  I thought I could hold on to what I deemed to be good, values of my old life that were good, and by putting on a Christian veneer, putting a Christian veneer over them, I was bound to have success in my relationships and in school, in my career.

  Rich Sprunk:

  10:55-10:59

  I was gonna have financial well-being and material blessings that were given.

  Rich Sprunk:

  10:59-11:02

  The biblical term for this is idolatry.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:02-11:04

  God also calls it whoredom.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:04-11:11

  In short, I continued whoring after all my idols along with a half-hearted worship of God.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:11-11:16

  And I thought, well, this is okay because my sin increases, grace abounds all the more.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:16-11:18

  God would forgive me.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:19-11:23

  Pastor and author Douglas Wilson says, our dilemma is that we want to be saved.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:23-11:28

  We want to be saved without admitting the full reality of what we're being saved from.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:29-11:32

  You see, what I was trying to do simply does not work.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:32-11:39

  It's impossible to keep the first commandment and still love and worship myself.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:40-11:45

  It's impossible to love myself and at the same time love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:46-11:55

  I tried mightily, but inevitably my love of self and friendship with the world kept me mired in ungodly living.

  Rich Sprunk:

  11:56-12:01

  Now, I didn't start out most days thinking about ways to deliberately sin.

  Rich Sprunk:

  12:02-12:10

  I would instead incrementally fall into it, admiss or ignore the warning signs that accompany the little temptations and compromises.

  Rich Sprunk:

  12:11-12:14

  And you know, the next thing you know, I'm yelling irrationally at my kids.

  Rich Sprunk:

  12:14-12:17

  I'm being unkind to my wife and giving her the cold shoulder.

  Rich Sprunk:

  12:18-12:20

  I'm cursing at the driver who wouldn't let me merge.

  Rich Sprunk:

  12:21-12:35

  I'm looking at worthless things and magazines and online, and I'm indulging in petty jealousy, gossiping, envying, hating others, feeling sorry for myself, wallowing in self-pity.

  Rich Sprunk:

  12:35-12:51

  My efforts to love my wife, I'm sorry, my efforts to love my neighbor, and that includes my wife and children, as myself were mired in futility because my covetous heart was lavishing the love due to God alone on other gods, including myself.

  Rich Sprunk:

  12:52-13:15

  My life was a continual car wreck I loved my life more than the one who loved me and gave me life. I was living a life of cheap grace. So I'd make excuses. It's not my fault. Satan's attacking me. Even though James 1 verses 13 and 15 tells me otherwise, I berated myself. How did I end up here again?

  Rich Sprunk:

  13:16-13:26

  Expressed contrition. Oh, the guilt, the shame. I'll do better. And then in short order, I I would find myself doing the very same things I vowed I would not do.

  Rich Sprunk:

  13:26-13:28

  This brought me to a very dark place.

  Rich Sprunk:

  13:28-13:29

  I began to question my salvation.

  Rich Sprunk:

  13:30-13:34

  How can I really be saved if I keep doing what I know I should not?

  Rich Sprunk:

  13:35-13:39

  Why was I not changing in permanent and fundamental ways?

  Rich Sprunk:

  13:40-13:42

  Is it even possible to change?

  Rich Sprunk:

  13:43-13:51

  After many years of flailing in my walk with Christ, I found, or more precisely, I was taught the things we're gonna talk about this morning.

  Rich Sprunk:

  13:52-13:55

  The answers to my questions are in our passage in Romans.

  Rich Sprunk:

  13:55-14:00

  I found in these verses the assurance of my salvation.

  Rich Sprunk:

  14:00-14:09

  And I understood at last that because I was in Christ, where grace abounds, I could fully walk in the righteousness that was mined by grace.

  Rich Sprunk:

  14:10-14:14

  So the answer, is it possible to change, is a resounding yes.

  Rich Sprunk:

  14:15-14:18

  It's because where sin increased, grace abounded even more.

  Rich Sprunk:

  14:18-15:22

  going to look at how grace abounds to set us free from the power of sin and how grace enables us to walk in ways that conform us to Christ and please our Heavenly Father. Does that mean we will never ever sin again? No, but Paul deals with that in Romans chapter 7 and that's a sermon for another day. Today we will see first that grace abounds in early death, grace abounds in eternal life, and abounds in early death. Unbelievers fear death. It's a great unknown. Even some believers fear death. My father as he was approaching death was, "I hope Jesus forgives me. I really hope he forgives me." And I was like, "Dad, you are in Christ. You don't need to be afraid." I think it's probably fair to say that most of us avoid thinking about death, and yet the subject of death permeates scripture. It's everywhere, everywhere, right from the beginning to the very end.

  Rich Sprunk:

  15:22-16:14

  In this passage this morning alone, it's mentioned 16 times. We see that our for Savior Jesus, His death on the cross was the focus and purpose of His earthly life. And His death for us was motivated by love and obedience to the Father. And their life will lose it and anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life and in Luke 9 23 and 24 Jesus says whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me for whoever wants to save their life will lose it but whoever loses their life for me will save it therefore if you want to experience abounding grace in a a righteous life, you must die to this world.

  Rich Sprunk:

  16:15-16:19

  That is, we must die to all the things that bring death, right now.

  Rich Sprunk:

  16:21-16:29

  Right now, and later today, and tomorrow, and the day after that, and you must remain dead for the rest of your earthly life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  16:30-16:33

  Because Paul says, how can we who died to sin still live in it?

  Rich Sprunk:

  16:34-16:41

  In Romans 6, three through seven, Paul connects the necessity of death with baptism.

  Rich Sprunk:

  16:42-16:45

  Baptism illustrates our death to this life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  16:46-16:53

  He says, "Do you not know that all of us "who have been baptized into Christ Jesus "were baptized into his death?

  Rich Sprunk:

  16:54-16:59

  "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death.

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:00-17:07

  "In order that just as Christ was raised from the dead "by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:08-17:11

  For we have been united with Him in a death like His.

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:11-17:16

  We shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:17-17:26

  We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:28-17:35

  The one who has died has been set free from sin." So we see in this passage that we should already be dead.

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:36-17:39

  We should have died to this world even before we were baptized.

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:41-17:50

  And your baptism vividly illustrates for you and everyone who was there, that it was a funeral and a burial.

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:51-17:51

  Why did we die?

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:51-17:53

  Well, we were crucified with him.

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:53-17:54

  That's an astounding thought, isn't it?

  Rich Sprunk:

  17:55-18:02

  We were crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we'd no longer be enslaved to sin.

  Rich Sprunk:

  18:03-18:07

  This is the key to abounding grace in early death.

  Rich Sprunk:

  18:08-18:21

  Note where death places you into Christ Jesus, united with him in a death like his and buried with him by baptism into his death.

  Rich Sprunk:

  18:22-18:25

  Again, this is an astounding fact.

  Rich Sprunk:

  18:25-18:29

  When Jesus died at Calvary, we were baptized into his death.

  Rich Sprunk:

  18:30-18:34

  Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus himself refers to his approaching death as a baptism.

  Rich Sprunk:

  18:35-19:04

  In Mark 10.38, Jesus asked James and John, "Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" And in Luke 12.50, he said, "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished." Again, Paul says, "The one who has died has been set free from sin." "Have we reckoned ourselves, therefore, "as dead to this world and everything in it?" What are the dead able to do?

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:05-19:07

  They no longer have any interaction with this world.

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:08-19:14

  The sights and the smells, the tastes, the feelings of this world have no appeal and no hold over them.

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:15-19:16

  They are dead to it all.

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:16-19:18

  Do we desire the world's acclaim?

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:18-19:23

  Do we idolize wealth, success, power, out of worldly pride and selfish ambition?

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:24-19:25

  Or are we dead to such things?

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:26-19:28

  Now you may say, "What is all this stuff about death?

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:29-19:31

  "Why, how did this sermon get so morbid?

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:32-19:37

  "God, I thought God knew the plans he had for me "and my best life right now is gonna be great.

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:38-19:39

  "Why is this so morbid?

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:40-19:44

  "And you know, I don't think about my baptism that way, "that it's a death.

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:45-19:47

  "I thought it was just some kind of a picture.

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:48-19:49

  "It was a step of obedience.

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:49-19:55

  "It's a way to get closer to God." Well, you know, when I got baptized, I didn't have a full understanding either.

  Rich Sprunk:

  19:56-20:02

  But as we read God's word, as we pray and worship and meditate on his word, our understanding grows.

  Rich Sprunk:

  20:03-20:12

  And we should look back on our baptism and see it as a very public pronouncement of when we pass from death to life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  20:13-20:26

  For instance, if you ever watched a movie that you maybe saw as a kid, and as a kid you probably thought you understood it and it was a great movie, and you go back and you watch it as an adult, And you go, "Wow, I never realized that.

  Rich Sprunk:

  20:26-20:27

  "I never saw that before.

  Rich Sprunk:

  20:28-20:29

  "Now I understand.

  Rich Sprunk:

  20:30-20:32

  "Now I understand the character's motives.

  Rich Sprunk:

  20:32-20:39

  "Now I understand the whole point of the movie." We can do this because we have experience, we have knowledge, we have the context.

  Rich Sprunk:

  20:39-20:45

  We can see clearly now with a lifetime of experience what we only dimly perceived as a child.

  Rich Sprunk:

  20:46-20:56

  And so as we grow up in our walk with Christ, We can look back at our baptism and see it as a passage from death to life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  20:56-21:00

  We did not have to understand the whole of life in Christ in order to be baptized.

  Rich Sprunk:

  21:01-21:11

  It was a one-time event showing our death to this life, but it should remain for us a daily touchstone, a continual reminder when we are tempted to sin that we cannot.

  Rich Sprunk:

  21:12-21:13

  We cannot sin anymore.

  Rich Sprunk:

  21:14-21:17

  We should not sin anymore because we died.

  Rich Sprunk:

  21:17-21:19

  How permanent is such a death?

  Rich Sprunk:

  21:20-21:25

  Well let me give you an illustration of how we should view the death, of our death, to our old life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  21:25-21:33

  On September 6, 2009, this truck was traveling southbound on Nicholson Road.

  Rich Sprunk:

  21:33-21:40

  The driver at 1201 that morning, he just had his license reinstated from a previous DUI.

  Rich Sprunk:

  21:40-22:03

  But at 6.20 in the morning on September 6th, he had a blood alcohol level of 2.8 and he was hurtling southbound at over 60 miles an hour, fell asleep, and crossed over into the oncoming lane where he crashed into this car head on.

  Rich Sprunk:

  22:03-22:15

  The impact of that collision was so great it drove this little car backwards 56 feet He flipped the truck completely around so that it was facing the opposite direction.

  Rich Sprunk:

  22:16-22:22

  The driver of the truck, probably because he was drunk, experienced a scratch on his face.

  Rich Sprunk:

  22:23-22:28

  The driver of this car was taken away in an ambulance to Allegheny General Hospital.

  Rich Sprunk:

  22:30-22:40

  And the EMT, as he was calling in, calling to the hospital to tell them what kind of patient they were bringing, were bringing in a victim of a murder crash.

  Rich Sprunk:

  22:40-22:49

  The police officer who did the accident investigation was absolutely convinced that the driver of this car was dead.

  Rich Sprunk:

  22:50-22:52

  But I'll tell you what, I didn't die.

  Rich Sprunk:

  22:53-22:55

  I walked away from that car.

  Rich Sprunk:

  22:56-23:05

  And as I stared back kind of dumbly at my car after this happened, the only thing I could think is, I can't drive my car anymore.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:06-23:08

  Some people have told me I was lucky.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:08-23:12

  Lucky, by the grace of God, I walked away from death.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:12-23:14

  There is no such thing as luck.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:15-23:20

  And this is how we should view our lives, our old lives before knowing Christ.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:21-23:28

  Your old life is a murder crash and you've walked away from it and you can't drive that old life anymore.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:29-23:31

  How can I continue in sin?

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:32-23:34

  I was baptized into his death.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:34-23:41

  I was buried therefore with him by baptism into death, and I have been united with him in a death like his.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:42-23:49

  Beloved, grace abounds in being united with Jesus in his death, because through death he defeated sin.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:49-23:54

  Sin was brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:55-23:58

  The one who has died has been set free from sin.

  Rich Sprunk:

  23:59-24:05

  And if we have died with Christ, Then we see grace abounds in eternal life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  24:06-24:10

  Paul says, "If we have died with Christ, "we believe we will also live with him.

  Rich Sprunk:

  24:11-24:14

  "We know that Christ being raised from the dead "will never die again.

  Rich Sprunk:

  24:15-24:17

  "Death no longer has dominion over him.

  Rich Sprunk:

  24:17-24:28

  "For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, "but the life he lives, he lives to God." The first application of these verses is that we shall be united with him in a resurrection like his.

  Rich Sprunk:

  24:29-24:34

  Eternal life in a glorified body is the ultimate hope of our salvation.

  Rich Sprunk:

  24:35-24:44

  We don't know what that glorified body will look like, but it will be better than this husk, this tent, this old pot.

  Rich Sprunk:

  24:45-24:46

  It will be so glorious.

  Rich Sprunk:

  24:47-24:52

  And scripture gives us an illustration using ordinary seed.

  Rich Sprunk:

  24:52-25:02

  In John 12, verses 24 and 25, Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, So unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.

  Rich Sprunk:

  25:03-25:06

  But if it dies, it bears much fruit.

  Rich Sprunk:

  25:06-25:12

  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  25:12-25:19

  And in 1 Corinthians 15, 36-37, Paul wrote, "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

  Rich Sprunk:

  25:20-25:40

  And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or some other grain. A seed is packed with amazing energy. It contains everything necessary within itself to become a fruitful plant, hundreds times larger and more beautiful than itself.

  Rich Sprunk:

  25:41-25:44

  But it has to die. It has to be put into the earth.

  Rich Sprunk:

  25:45-25:59

  Now Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, he's talking about our glorified life, the future. But you see the future is not our only hope Because Jesus is raised to the Father's glory, we walk in newness of life right now.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:00-26:04

  Jesus was raised to life by the power of God, and the life he lives, he lives to God.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:04-26:07

  You see, the imagery of baptism returns.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:07-26:14

  We are buried in the water because we were dead, but then we're raised up to eternal life with him.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:14-26:17

  We come out of the water to walk in newness of life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:18-26:22

  By grace, we live and walk with our eyes fixed on Jesus.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:23-26:28

  So another very practical and present application is that we live forever, right now.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:29-26:32

  You should not think of eternal life as some far off thing.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:32-26:33

  You're eternal right now.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:34-26:37

  Death has no dominion over us.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:37-26:38

  Death has lost its sting.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:39-26:45

  I believe that's why in the New Testament that people who've died are said to have fallen asleep.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:46-26:48

  'Cause that's not just a pleasant euphemism for death.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:48-26:49

  Oh, they're asleep.

  Rich Sprunk:

  26:49-27:13

  No, it's a factual way to describe believers who've crossed the threshold, where they now see God face to face, by grace their fellowship is perfectly restored, but the seed has been planted to one day be resurrected bodily, united with our souls, to live forever with God in a physical glorified new body.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:13-27:15

  But beloved, that starts now.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:16-27:21

  And Paul extends this thought, And what it means for us daily in the next passage.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:22-27:24

  Grace abounds in everyday righteousness.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:25-27:31

  Because we walk in newness of life, we are able to live righteously every day.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:31-27:33

  Jesus Christ has justified us.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:34-27:36

  By that I mean he has made us righteous positionally.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:36-27:41

  He has moved us to a place where we are righteous in God's eyes.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:41-27:44

  The Father looks at us and he sees his Son.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:45-27:50

  But we have an obligation to grow up into that righteousness and live it out every day.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:51-27:52

  That's called sanctification.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:53-27:58

  So Paul says, "You also must consider yourselves "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

  Rich Sprunk:

  27:59-28:03

  "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body "to make you obey its passions.

  Rich Sprunk:

  28:04-28:11

  "Do not present your members to sin "as instruments for unrighteousness, "but present yourselves to God as those "who have been brought from death to life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  28:12-28:15

  "And your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

  Rich Sprunk:

  28:16-28:23

  "For sin will have no dominion over you, "since you are not under law, but under grace." You are dead to sin, beloved.

  Rich Sprunk:

  28:24-28:26

  The world of sin does not have dominion over you.

  Rich Sprunk:

  28:26-28:28

  That's what Paul says about believers.

  Rich Sprunk:

  28:28-28:29

  That's a fact.

  Rich Sprunk:

  28:30-28:54

  "Therefore, each day we are free and empowered "to resist the devil and flee temptation "and walk in newness of life." Paul says we have to consider ourselves as dead to sin and the more glorious, awesome truth that we are alive in Christ Jesus to consider, is to contemplate, to ponder, to reckon, to believe.

  Rich Sprunk:

  28:55-29:03

  So I exhort you, believe as a fact that when Jesus died and rose again, you were in him, you died and rose with him, and you are alive forevermore.

  Rich Sprunk:

  29:03-29:07

  Here's a way of illustrating that kind of security.

  Rich Sprunk:

  29:08-29:10

  This is a concrete anchor.

  Rich Sprunk:

  29:11-29:18

  It's used to, for instance, mount a fence post in concrete.

  Rich Sprunk:

  29:18-29:19

  You drive it down in there.

  Rich Sprunk:

  29:19-29:25

  And the way you use this is you drill a hole in the concrete and you tap it down in there.

  Rich Sprunk:

  29:25-29:26

  And it has some different parts.

  Rich Sprunk:

  29:27-29:31

  So the first part, of course, is the bolt and it has this little bell shape on the end.

  Rich Sprunk:

  29:32-29:37

  It has a nut and a washer to secure what you're trying to put in the ground.

  Rich Sprunk:

  29:37-29:41

  And it has this little collar or anchor on the very end.

  Rich Sprunk:

  29:41-30:08

  So, what happens is when you put this down in the hole in the concrete, and you tighten the nut, it draws the bolt upward and it pulls this little collar down over the bell shape at the end. So, what happens is that anchor is so tight in the concrete and so immovable, the only way you're going to get it out is to bust the concrete all up.

  Rich Sprunk:

  30:09-30:10

  It's the only way this is coming out.

  Rich Sprunk:

  30:10-30:24

  Now, no illustration is perfect, and we should not take the size of the various parts as having any importance or greater or lesser meaning, but here's the application.

  Rich Sprunk:

  30:25-30:27

  God is your rock.

  Rich Sprunk:

  30:27-30:28

  Christ is your anchor.

  Rich Sprunk:

  30:29-30:44

  The Holy Spirit has placed you - bolt - into God the rock, and He is tightening you up so that you are so firmly in Christ, in God the Father through the work of the Holy Spirit, you cannot be moved.

  Rich Sprunk:

  30:45-30:50

  You are anchored, you are established in the Lord God most high.

  Rich Sprunk:

  30:51-31:00

  Because of that, because of where you are, you can wake up every morning and present yourself to God as those who have been brought from death to life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:02-31:04

  And your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:04-31:06

  What does this look like?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:06-31:09

  First question, have you repented?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:09-31:15

  The times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent.

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:16-31:19

  Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:20-31:21

  Have you been baptized?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:21-31:25

  Whether you've been a believer for a short time or a long time, have you been baptized?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:26-31:28

  If not, why not?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:28-31:32

  In the book of Acts, people professed faith in Christ and boom, they were getting baptized.

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:33-31:34

  What are you waiting for?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:34-31:36

  How am I doing with the first commandment?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:37-31:41

  What other gods am I putting before the Lord God Almighty?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:42-31:49

  Am I still a practical idolater, pursuing my career, my passions, my pursuits as my first effort?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:50-31:53

  Or am I loving the Lord my God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:54-31:56

  How am I doing at keeping the Sabbath?

  Rich Sprunk:

  31:57-32:06

  Do I keep it as a gift of rest from my gracious Father, as a gift, as it is meant to be, or is it just another day?

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:07-32:09

  to pursue my wants and my pleasures.

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:09-32:14

  Our friends across the street that sell those chicken patties, they seem to know how to keep the Lord's day.

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:15-32:16

  What about my entertainment choices?

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:18-32:20

  I'm not gonna tell you what to watch and not to watch.

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:21-32:23

  But your entertainment choices, do they honor God?

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:24-32:25

  Do they glorify God?

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:25-32:30

  Do they expound the values you claim to profess that are in the scriptures?

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:31-32:37

  Or at the very least, do they not contradict and disparage what you profess to believe.

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:38-32:41

  If they contradict and disparage what you profess to believe, why are you watching it?

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:42-32:45

  You're not an adulterer, but why are you watching people commit adultery?

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:46-32:50

  You're not a murderer, why are you entertained by murder?

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:51-32:52

  Am I keeping the commands to love?

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:53-32:57

  To love God, to love my spouse, to love my neighbor, to love my enemy.

  Rich Sprunk:

  32:58-33:01

  Now, you might object, you know, this, Sprounk, this is legalism.

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:01-33:03

  We're not saved by works.

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:04-33:05

  I'm not talking about works, beloved.

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:06-33:10

  Jesus kept the law perfectly for us to give us righteousness.

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:11-33:16

  But because we are justified and he has given us his righteousness, doesn't give us license to do whatever we want to do.

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:17-33:20

  Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commands.

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:20-33:42

  "And it's by grace you've been saved through faith, "not works, it's not your own doing, "it's the gift of God, so that no one may boast." And Paul goes on to say, "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus "for good works, which God prepared beforehand "that we should walk in them." As I said before, we are righteous in our Father's eyes.

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:42-33:44

  We must grow up into that righteousness.

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:45-33:47

  Am I bearing another's burden?

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:47-33:52

  Am I loving my brothers and sisters in Christ deeply from the heart?

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:52-33:54

  Mike, am I taming my tongue?

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:54-33:56

  Ryan, am I preaching the word?

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:56-33:58

  Am I showing hospitality?

  Rich Sprunk:

  33:58-34:05

  Am I spending time with my God every day, reading and meditating on his word and talking with him in prayer.

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:06-34:17

  You see, beloved, because we are in a place where grace abounds in everyday righteousness, we can do all these things and more to imitate our Savior.

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:18-34:22

  Because we are in him, we are united in him in both death and life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:23-34:26

  Again, I ask, how can I continue in sin?

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:26-34:29

  I am in Christ, I am united with him.

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:30-34:35

  And even now I am at the right hand of the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit.

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:36-34:38

  So back to our title, our first question.

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:38-34:39

  Where are you?

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:40-34:44

  Beloved, you're in Christ where grace abounds and you're in him forevermore.

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:44-34:53

  You are in a place where you are able by the power of God to live righteous, holy, and blameless life for the glory of God.

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:54-34:55

  Amen, let's pray.

  Rich Sprunk:

  34:56-35:09

  Gracious Father, oh, this is a challenging word from you, but it is also a hopeful word because we live in Christ and we can walk in newness of life.

  Rich Sprunk:

  35:10-35:14

  For that great truth, we thank you and praise you in Jesus' name, amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read Romans 5:20-6:14

1. What is “cheap grace?”

2. Why is it so difficult to die an early death, i.e., to die to self? How often do you “consider [yourself] dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus?” Romans 6:11; and see John 12:25, Luke 9:23-24.

   a. How do the illustrations of a seed “dying” help us to understand the benefits of dying to self now? See John 12:24-25, 1 Corinthians 15:36-37

   b. How does Galatians 5:22-24 relate to these verses?

3. Baptism is a picture of death and resurrection, but Paul indicates in Romans 6:3-6 that if our baptism is “into Christ Jesus,” it is evidence that we were in Christ at the time of His death and resurrection. Does this fact cause you to see deeper meaning or purpose in your baptism?

4. How soon after you professed faith in Jesus were your baptized? If you delayed, why did you do so? If you haven’t yet been baptized, why not?

5. Paul emphasizes we were “united with Christ” in His death and resurrection. How should union with Christ transform how we live – for example, Who, what, and how we worship, how we love God, neighbor, and enemy, how we forgive others, etc.? How does Galatians 2:20 add to our understanding of the transformation wrought in us by union with Christ?

6. A concrete anchor was used to illustrate the security we enjoy as a result of being united with Christ. How should the knowledge of the strength of that union transform our thinking about God’s love for us, about anxiety/worry, about the permanence of our salvation, and about our ability to live righteously? See Psalm 18:1-3, 31-32 and Psalm 62:1-8.

7. Because we are secure “in Christ” we are able to walk “in newness of life.” What does that look like on a daily basis?

BREAKOUT
Does the knowledge that you are united with Christ change your perspective on temptation and sin? In what ways? See Romans 6:2-3, 7, 12-14.

For further study, read Colossians 3:1-17

You Have One Job

Introduction:

How we are to preach the Word/Gospel (2 Timothy 4:1-5):

1. Stay Focused .
2. Endure Suffering .
3. Evangelize .

   1 Cor 1:17 - For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

4. Finish Strong .

Practical Tips on How to Preach the Gospel:

1. Get Prepared
2. Ask Other Christians
3. Pray for God's peace

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

• Audio Transcript

  00:31-00:32

  All right, good morning.

  00:34-00:37

  How's everybody doing today? Thanks for coming out and supporting me. I appreciate it.

  00:37-00:39

  Maybe some of you didn't know I was preaching.

  00:41-00:44

  Kind of want to leave right now. If I turn my back, you can. I won't be offended.

  00:46-00:51

  No, I just want to thank the elders and Jeff for giving me this opportunity again and trusting myself to do this.

  00:52-00:55

  Thank you for that. Appreciate it. All right, let's pray before we get started.

  00:56-01:24

  Let me father we thank you for this day. We just thank you I personally thank you for this opportunity God. I thank you for this church Thank you for the leadership of this church and right now I just ask you To open every single person's ears here today have them hear what you have to say not what I have to say Please help your words to come through and what I what I'm about to preach today Please bless this sermon Jesus name.

  01:26-01:36

  Amen So, there's one day early on in my career that it was winter time and my dad told my brother Kent and I that we were going out to this one job.

  01:37-01:44

  We had to get up on a roof which was covered in snow and we had to reach up to a higher wall to do a little bit of work.

  01:45-01:49

  When I left the shop in the morning, my dad told me, "Ryan, you have one job to do.

  01:49-01:53

  All you're going to do is hold Kent's ladder." I said, "Okay, that's easy.

  01:54-01:55

  I can do that, I think.

  01:56-01:59

  So we get out to the job and things are going along pretty well.

  02:00-02:04

  Kent would go up the ladder, I'd hold the ladder for him. As he'd come down, I'd move out of the way.

  02:05-02:06

  Things were going along just smoothly.

  02:07-02:14

  Well, like I said, it was wintertime and that roof was covered in snow, so it was an extremely slick surface. So it was vitally important that I hold this ladder.

  02:17-02:25

  But also, whenever it's cold out, we carry heating chests to keep our material warm, and it's just an easier process for us if materials warm to work with.

  02:26-02:29

  And I noticed that that heating element had gone out.

  02:29-02:32

  So I was kind of messing with it, trying to figure out why it wasn't working.

  02:32-02:45

  And as Kent was getting more material, he said, "Hey, get over here, I'm going up this ladder." And I told him, "Just hold on a second, "let me see if I can, "let me figure out what's going on with this." I mean, I had no idea why it wasn't working, but I wanted to act like I knew.

  02:48-02:52

  So Kent, in typical older brother fashion, ignored me and went up the ladder.

  02:53-02:56

  And in typical younger brother fashion, I ignored him.

  02:57-02:59

  Two people ignoring each other.

  03:01-03:08

  Not ten seconds later, Kent gets to the top of that ladder, reached up as high as he could, and wham! That ladder kicked out.

  03:09-03:11

  Kent probably fell 20, 25 feet.

  03:12-03:20

  And I watched him fall from the top and just smack the ground, and just crumpled into this heap of human.

  03:22-03:26

  And my initial thought, honestly, my initial thought, I thought he was dead.

  03:27-03:29

  But he obviously wasn't.

  03:29-03:30

  He's still here today.

  03:32-03:35

  But I remember having to call my dad and be like, "Hey, Dad.

  03:37-03:39

  Remember that one thing you told me to do?

  03:40-03:41

  Yeah, I didn't do that.

  03:42-03:48

  And exactly what you thought was going to happen, happened." And I remember, and my dad's sitting over here laughing.

  03:49-03:52

  And I remember how mad he was at us.

  03:53-03:55

  Because he's like, "Ryan, I told you to do one thing.

  03:56-03:56

  One thing.

  03:57-04:07

  And you didn't do it." And for years, my brother, it's kind of become a standing joke that I blame Kent that he fell because he didn't listen to me, and he blames me because I didn't listen to him.

  04:08-04:10

  And all in all, the truth is I didn't do my job.

  04:11-04:16

  As much as I want to blame Kent, I didn't do my job.

  04:16-04:19

  I was told by my dad to do one job.

  04:20-04:24

  And whether I wanted to do it or not, I was to do that job.

  04:27-04:30

  And see, our heavenly father also tells us to do one job.

  04:31-04:35

  And whether we wanna do that or not, we have a duty to that job.

  04:37-04:45

  And that job is to preach the word, preach the gospel, not just with our words, but with our actions, with our lives.

  04:46-04:50

  We have to live out the gospel and tell every single person about the gospel.

  04:51-04:52

  That is our job.

  04:54-05:02

  And please don't think that this is just another how to witness better sermon, because telling people about the gospel goes far beyond just witnessing to them.

  05:02-05:04

  Like I said, it's a call to action.

  05:05-05:08

  Your life has to match the words coming out of your mouth and vice versa.

  05:11-05:16

  And when we look at this passage, like Jeff said on the video, we're going in in 2 Timothy 4.

  05:17-05:21

  Paul is talking to Timothy, and so it's two pastors talking to each other.

  05:21-05:25

  And I don't want anybody to zone out and go, "Ok, this is just for pastors." No, no, no.

  05:25-05:32

  This is so applicable for us here today in our current America, in our current country that we live in.

  05:32-05:34

  Now more than ever, people need the Gospel.

  05:34-05:36

  And it is our job to get that to them.

  05:39-05:44

  So let's look at what Paul told Timothy and find the application in these words.

  05:46-06:01

  So, verse number 1, 2 Timothy 4, "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom, preach the Word.

  06:02-06:05

  Be ready in season and out of season.

  06:05-06:09

  Reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and teaching.

  06:09-06:24

  "For the time is coming when people will not endorse sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." Let's stop right there for a second.

  06:26-06:27

  Did you hear what he said there?

  06:27-06:29

  He said the time is coming when people aren't going to listen.

  06:30-06:32

  It sounds really familiar right now.

  06:33-06:37

  Shout out, what's the hot button topics that people are talking about?

  06:37-06:43

  Not, don't tell me about political things, whether it be immigration or tax laws, anything.

  06:43-06:47

  What's the moral hot button topic that people are talking about?

  06:47-06:47

  Shout 'em out.

  06:49-06:50

  Abortion.

  06:51-06:51

  What else?

  06:51-06:52

  What's that?

  06:53-06:54

  Homosexuality.

  06:55-06:55

  Transgender.

  06:58-07:00

  Those are the things that we're arguing about in today's America.

  07:02-07:03

  And what's happening?

  07:03-07:08

  The people on either side of the coin are finding somebody that says, no, you're right.

  07:09-07:10

  And on the other side, they're going, no, you're right.

  07:11-07:13

  And everybody's just choosing sides.

  07:15-07:18

  They're doing exactly what Paul said they were gonna do.

  07:19-07:20

  They're gonna turn away.

  07:21-07:23

  They're gonna find teachers that suit their own passions.

  07:23-07:25

  That's exactly what people are doing today.

  07:27-07:36

  And now, more than ever, we as Christians, as followers of Christ have to stand up and be bold.

  07:37-07:43

  We can't be these, I stole this off Caleb, we can't be secret agent Christians anymore.

  07:43-07:46

  We have to get out of the shadows, stop lurking around behind everything.

  07:47-07:49

  Be bold, be proud of who we are.

  07:49-07:53

  Because everybody needs to hear that, especially here.

  07:53-07:55

  Out our back door, people need to hear this.

  07:58-08:00

  This is the time where it's so powerful.

  08:00-08:02

  God's word is so powerful.

  08:03-08:06

  We have to be bold today, starting today.

  08:10-08:13

  And you might be sitting here going, I hear you, but I don't know how to do that.

  08:15-08:17

  But the good thing is, Paul didn't stop talking to Timothy.

  08:19-08:29

  He laid out exactly how to do that, and he told Timothy that, and we too can lean from that and use those same principles today.

  08:30-08:32

  So let's look at how we preach the gospel.

  08:34-08:44

  Verse five, as for you, Christians, as for you, each and every person here, as for you, always be sober-minded.

  08:45-08:46

  This is my first point.

  08:47-08:48

  Stay focused.

  08:51-08:52

  Stay focused.

  08:54-08:57

  We know what being sober means, okay?

  08:57-08:59

  It means don't be drunk.

  09:00-09:03

  But it also means don't have distractions in your life.

  09:04-09:06

  Allow your mind to be free.

  09:06-09:11

  Allow your mind to be clear so that you can focus, so you can stay focused.

  09:14-09:18

  Every year, a neighbor of mine and myself, we go hunting.

  09:19-09:21

  We go up to Mahaffey, PA.

  09:21-09:22

  He has a camp up there.

  09:23-09:28

  And it's usually around the same time every year, first or second weekend in November.

  09:28-09:29

  And it's a lot of fun.

  09:29-09:32

  we spent about three days up there and we just hunt the whole time.

  09:33-09:37

  Typical, you know, macho man weekend, okay?

  09:39-09:46

  But I tell you what, that week leading up to that Thursday night when I pull out of my house, man, I'm the world's best husband.

  09:47-09:49

  Why? Because I don't want to get grounded, okay?

  09:51-09:53

  Because I so bad want to go on that trip.

  09:53-09:55

  I so bad want to go guilt-free.

  09:56-10:03

  that I don't want my wife to be upset with me, that I didn't get anything done, that I picked a fight with her that's still going on?

  10:04-10:10

  Because who wants to go on a fun weekend, whatever it may be, whether it's hunting, fishing, golfing, whatever it may be?

  10:10-10:14

  Who wants to go knowing that the second I get home, things aren't going to be good?

  10:15-10:21

  No, you want to go and you want to have so much fun and you don't honestly want to think about what's going on at home.

  10:22-10:34

  So your focus that week leading up to - asked me to re-shingle the roof, and I will go to Home Depot at 3 a.m. in the morning, get all the material, come home and start working and not stop until that roof's done.

  10:36-10:43

  So that when I pull out on Thursday, I'm done. And that's the same focus we have to have.

  10:43-10:55

  I'm focused on, I watch every single word that I say, I'm real careful about what I do, I have the blinders on because I don't want, like I said, I love my wife, but I don't I don't want to upset her, I want to go.

  10:57-10:59

  And that's the same focus we have to have.

  11:03-11:04

  You might ask me, how do I stay focused?

  11:05-11:08

  Well, first of all, you have to figure out what the distractions are in your life.

  11:10-11:14

  You have to figure those out, and you're the only person that knows what those distractions are.

  11:14-11:18

  And you have to find them, and you have to remove them from your life.

  11:19-11:20

  And maybe you can't remove them.

  11:22-11:27

  But you have to find a way for those to no longer be distractions in your life.

  11:28-11:34

  You have to control them so that you are staying completely focused on your one job as a Christian.

  11:37-11:40

  You have to be focused in preaching the gospel.

  11:42-11:51

  Back in verse 5, "As for you, always be sober-minded," we said that, stay focused, "endure suffering." That's my second point, endure suffering.

  11:54-12:05

  About a year ago, actually about two years ago now, a friend of my wife's from high school was diagnosed with cancer.

  12:06-12:08

  And she was 28 years old.

  12:09-12:11

  She had a three-year-old and a one-year-old.

  12:13-12:16

  and a husband that they were high school sweethearts.

  12:17-12:18

  Really all American story.

  12:20-12:22

  She was a beautiful young lady.

  12:22-12:24

  She was a beauty pageant contestant.

  12:24-12:26

  Just had such a strong testimony for Christ.

  12:28-12:35

  And I remember my wife showed me on Facebook that she did this Facebook live video and just kind of announcing that she had been diagnosed with this cancer.

  12:36-12:42

  And it was early on and they kind of thought, okay, we can get control of this and had a lot of high hopes.

  12:44-12:45

  And she praised God at the end of it.

  12:47-12:59

  She glorified God and she said, "Whatever happens, God's in control." But oftentimes that's easy when you don't really know what the end results are gonna be.

  12:59-13:01

  At that time it was pretty positive.

  13:02-13:06

  But as the year went on, every month or so, she would put up a medical update.

  13:07-13:10

  And each time, the diagnosis would get worse and worse.

  13:12-13:15

  And every time, at the end, she would praise God.

  13:18-13:31

  And about a year later, I remember she put a video on and her beauty pageant sisters had done a fundraiser for her and in less than 24 hours, they raised $11,000 for her and her husband.

  13:33-13:34

  And you might say, man, that's awesome.

  13:34-13:42

  But all I could see was this maybe 80-pound girl that just looked like a human skeleton.

  13:44-13:46

  She could hardly talk at this point.

  13:47-13:58

  The cancer had spread throughout her entire body and just had turned into, I think at that point she had multiple cancers and it just destroyed her.

  14:00-14:07

  And two weeks later she passed, leaving her husband, her one-year-old, and her three-year-old.

  14:09-14:16

  And I remember, for me and my wife, that hit us so hard because I'm pretty much in that same boat where I have little children.

  14:16-14:21

  And in my mind, I sat there and I went, "What would I do if I was the husband and my wife left me?

  14:23-14:24

  "My wife takes care of everything.

  14:26-14:41

  "And for her to just be gone, what do I do?" And I remember I was at the Tough Mudder one day and I got back to the truck and got cleaned up and Sarah had sent me a text and she said, you need to get on Facebook and you need to see what Caleb, her husband, posted.

  14:44-14:48

  And he put a Facebook Live video on maybe hours after his wife had passed.

  14:51-15:05

  And in his obvious sorrow of, he had just lost his beautiful wife, he went through all that and at the end, He lifted up his hands and he praised God for healing his wife.

  15:07-15:10

  And he praised God for the path that he had chosen for his wife.

  15:11-15:14

  And he said, "This is not the end of my wife's testimony.

  15:15-15:33

  "This is not the end of my testimony." Christians, church, a Christian suffering and praising God is single-handedly the most powerful thing we can do to further the kingdom of Christ.

  15:34-15:34

  Why?

  15:35-15:37

  Because it doesn't make sense to an unsaved person.

  15:37-15:45

  If you are suffering, and maybe you haven't suffered in that way, but I guarantee you, you've suffered in some ways.

  15:47-15:52

  But I promise you, every time you suffer, God gives you a pulpit to preach from.

  15:52-15:59

  And if you can do that, And you can find that pulpit wherever God has it, man, you can move mountains.

  16:01-16:06

  When you suffer for Christ, that is the most powerful thing we can do.

  16:06-16:11

  James chapter one tells us that, "Count it all joy when you go through diverse temptations." Why?

  16:12-16:16

  Because God's not only strengthening you, but he's also bringing his glory out through your suffering.

  16:17-16:24

  If you can praise God while you are going through hell on earth, God's glory is gonna come out.

  16:24-16:30

  So you have to endure suffering and you have to praise God when you are going through that.

  16:31-16:33

  That's how you preach the gospel when you're suffering.

  16:34-16:34

  Praise God through it.

  16:35-16:37

  Preach the gospel even though God's putting you through a test.

  16:40-16:41

  Go back to verse 5.

  16:44-16:49

  Always be sober minded, endure suffering, and do the work of an evangelist.

  16:52-16:52

  Evangelize.

  16:52-16:53

  That's my third point.

  16:56-16:56

  Evangelize.

  16:56-16:57

  We all know what it means.

  16:57-16:58

  It means tell everybody.

  16:59-17:00

  Tell everybody about Christ.

  17:01-17:06

  And if I can be completely transparent with you right now, this is the hardest thing for me to do.

  17:07-17:11

  And I am probably the worst person in here at doing that.

  17:11-17:13

  I am not good at evangelizing.

  17:14-17:15

  I'm not good.

  17:15-17:17

  I often times shirk at the opportunity.

  17:18-17:19

  Just being honest.

  17:20-17:21

  I'm not always great at this.

  17:22-17:24

  And I gotta be better at it.

  17:24-17:25

  We all have to be better at it.

  17:27-17:30

  Because here's the thing, and this is kind of a two-part thing.

  17:31-17:38

  When it comes to evangelizing, when you accepted Christ's free gift, Jesus died on the cross for us, was buried, and rose again.

  17:38-17:39

  That's the gospel story.

  17:41-17:48

  When he did that and you accepted that free gift, you went, "God, okay, I wanna be in your family.

  17:48-17:55

  "I wanna be a child for you." He says, "Great, you don't have to do anything for that, "to accept that, but now that you're mine, "here's what I need you to do.

  17:56-17:58

  "You've gotta tell everybody about me.

  17:59-18:00

  "You have to tell everybody your story.

  18:03-18:07

  "You have to tell everybody." That is your duty as a Christian, is to tell everybody.

  18:09-18:14

  And even though that's our duty, which it is, God commands us to do it, He did it in the Great Commission.

  18:15-18:17

  Go out and tell everybody about me.

  18:19-18:26

  And even though that's our duty, what oftentimes what we're bad at is making that our desire, making that our passion.

  18:29-18:31

  It's just like, use my wife for example again.

  18:32-18:36

  My wife is a big Eagles, Philadelphia Eagles fan.

  18:37-18:43

  And that is very big point of, very big point of contention in our family.

  18:45-18:46

  But you know what?

  18:46-19:15

  care. I mean she's fly, eagles fly every day. She loves the eagles and you know what she doesn't care if anybody else likes the Eagles. That's her team. That's her passion. When she talks about the Eagles she's passionate about it. She's not embarrassed about it. She doesn't care what you think about her. And she'll walk away going, "So? Nick Foles won the MVP a couple years ago. Carson Wentz is going to be hurt halfway through the season, but whatever.

  19:17-19:17

  She doesn't care.

  19:17-19:18

  She's passionate about it.

  19:21-19:23

  And that's the same thing we have to have.

  19:24-19:28

  Jesus Christ has to be so important to us that it just oozes out of us.

  19:29-19:32

  And oftentimes, we're afraid because we're afraid of what people are going to think.

  19:34-19:34

  But why?

  19:36-19:42

  This is single-handedly the most important thing that will happen to any human being is accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.

  19:45-19:48

  And sometimes we're afraid to talk about it, because we're afraid of what people are gonna think about it.

  19:49-19:50

  I do the same thing.

  19:52-19:52

  I do.

  19:55-19:56

  That's kind of an awkward conversation.

  19:57-19:58

  So what?

  19:59-20:01

  They might think of me as a Jesus freak.

  20:01-20:01

  Great.

  20:04-20:04

  Great.

  20:07-20:18

  And this goes back even to what I preached about last year, that if it's not necessarily a passion, and I'm preaching to myself on this, if it's not a passion for you, man, that's a problem with sanctification.

  20:19-20:28

  So you should be so sanctified in your progress, in your sanctification, needs to be so advanced that you can't help it.

  20:28-20:35

  You just, you try to talk about other things, but your passion is so much about Christ that you can't stop talking about it.

  20:35-20:36

  It just continues to come out.

  20:39-20:45

  And the best part about this is you don't have to dress up the gospel.

  20:46-20:56

  I mean, if you think about it, if the gospel story happened in today's world, if there was a dad that gave up his life for his son to live, man, that would be a viral video on Facebook.

  20:56-20:57

  That would be a viral video on everything.

  21:00-21:03

  Because the story in itself is so powerful.

  21:03-21:06

  The death, the burial, the resurrection of Christ.

  21:07-21:12

  And Paul himself was encouraged that he himself didn't have to dress up the Gospel.

  21:12-21:18

  Arguably one of the greatest preachers to ever walk the face of the planet was excited that he didn't have to dress this up.

  21:18-21:24

  If we look at 1 Corinthians 1.17, it will be up on the screen for you.

  21:24-21:35

  "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." In other words, don't dress it up.

  21:35-21:38

  You don't have to have this great speech about it.

  21:38-21:41

  You just have to tell it, because here's the thing.

  21:41-21:44

  And here's a little cliche for you.

  21:45-21:47

  If you try to dress it up, you're going to mess it up.

  21:49-21:55

  But truthfully, get out of the way, just tell what the gospel did for you, just tell the gospel for what it is.

  21:55-21:56

  Don't sugarcoat it.

  21:57-21:58

  Don't apologize for it.

  21:58-21:59

  Just tell it.

  22:00-22:04

  Get out of the way and speak the words that God put in the Bible.

  22:06-22:09

  Preach the gospel and allow the gospel to work.

  22:11-22:21

  My last point, going back to verse 5, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, and lastly, fulfill your ministry.

  22:21-22:24

  Finish strong. Finish strong.

  22:27-22:29

  And this is so important, church.

  22:31-22:48

  Because if I said earlier, where I said, enduring suffering and suffering for Christ and being bold through your suffering is the most important or is the most powerful thing we can do to spread the gospel. Not finishing strong is the most detrimental thing we can do.

  22:50-23:12

  Because why? Because we're showing to the outside world that this Christian walk, this Christian life that we live on is long. It's a marathon. Paul talks about it later on in the passage when he says, "I have fought the fight, I've finished the race. It wasn't a slow race, it was a long marathon. And at times it's grueling, and at times it's difficult. But we do it because we know the rewards that are going to come.

  23:14-23:59

  Well the outside world isn't necessarily seeing those rewards. All they're seeing is the suffering and the agony. Well if we don't finish strong and we fall off, the unsaved world is going to sit there and go, "Why am I even going to start? You suffered for all this time and you went through all this defeat and this agony and you didn't even complete it. Why am I even going to step one foot on that track? Why do I want that in my life?" Finishing strong is so important and we see this time and time again of pastors, evangelists, people great Christian people and they fall.

  23:59-24:07

  And here's the thing, anything and everything, those men or those women, whoever they are, everything they said could have been 100% accurate.

  24:08-24:12

  But when they don't finish strong, everything they said is now void.

  24:14-24:20

  Because what all the unsaved world is seeing is that they went, see, I told you it wouldn't work.

  24:21-24:22

  I told you it wasn't gonna happen.

  24:23-24:24

  It's not worth it.

  24:25-24:26

  And we know it is.

  24:28-24:29

  We have to finish strong.

  24:29-24:36

  You should be praying for the people that, on their human side, may be looking close to the end of their life.

  24:36-24:37

  Pray for them to finish strong.

  24:38-24:43

  Pray for the younger people that, again, humanistically, seem to have a long life ahead of them.

  24:44-24:48

  Pray for them to continue to be strong through their Christian life.

  24:49-24:50

  And finish strong.

  24:51-24:53

  Because if we don't, it's so detrimental.

  24:54-24:55

  It is so detrimental.

  24:58-25:01

  We have to finish strong in preaching the gospel.

  25:03-25:07

  I wanna leave you with a few practical tips before I end this sermon.

  25:10-25:11

  Tips on how to preach the gospel.

  25:13-25:14

  Number one, get prepared.

  25:16-25:16

  Get prepared.

  25:17-25:21

  Practice, practice what you're gonna say to somebody whenever the opportunity comes to preach the gospel.

  25:22-25:25

  Practice it, just like Justin, Rich, Mike, and myself.

  25:25-25:28

  I've rehearsed this thing a hundred times at this point.

  25:29-25:31

  You might say it doesn't show, but.

  25:31-25:32

  (audience laughing)

  25:34-25:36

  No, rehearse it, practice it.

  25:36-25:37

  Get in your mind what you're gonna talk about.

  25:38-25:39

  Figure out the passages that you're gonna use.

  25:40-25:40

  Memorize.

  25:41-25:43

  Kind of have a game plan put together.

  25:43-25:53

  And don't, no matter what, don't ever, ever, ever be afraid if somebody asks you a question that you don't know, don't be afraid to say, "I don't know, let me get back to you." Don't try to just wing it.

  25:54-25:55

  That's just going to get worse.

  25:56-25:58

  I was told that when I was preaching one time.

  26:02-26:04

  Number two, ask other Christians.

  26:04-26:15

  Reach out to mature Christians, whether it be the elders of this church, or Jeff, or other pastors that you may know, or people that you hold at a high value in your life.

  26:15-26:16

  Ask them what their method is.

  26:17-26:18

  Lean on them.

  26:18-26:19

  Learn from them.

  26:21-26:27

  Take those practical tips that they can give you and make that a part of your witnessing program.

  26:28-26:34

  And lastly, pray for God's peace, because ultimately we're afraid.

  26:35-26:37

  We're afraid of what people might think.

  26:39-26:41

  We're nervous about what people might say about us.

  26:44-26:47

  Pray for God's peace. Pray for God to open the door for you to walk through.

  26:49-26:51

  And pray for God to force you through that door.

  26:53-26:56

  When God opens the door for you to share the gospel, step through it.

  26:57-26:59

  And God will give you the words to say, and God will give you the peace for it.

  27:02-27:03

  So pray for God's peace.

  27:05-27:08

  And as I close, I want every single person to think about this.

  27:08-27:12

  I want you to think back to when you were saved.

  27:13-27:25

  Whether that was a long process or a short process, I want you to think back to that point when you said to God, "I accept your free gift and I want to start following you." However that is, I want you to think back to that.

  27:27-27:30

  Now I want you to think of the person that helped get you there.

  27:31-27:40

  Whoever that may be. Maybe it was a multitude of people. Maybe it was one singular person. Whoever got you to, helped you see the light. I want you to think about that person.

  27:42-27:49

  Now I want you to think about if that person up and didn't tell you about the gospel.

  27:51-27:54

  Think about if that person didn't step through the door that God opened up for you.

  27:56-27:58

  That should shake you in your boots.

  27:59-28:11

  Where would you be if that person hadn't shared the gospel to you, if that person hadn't stepped through the door and did exactly what God was asking them to do?

  28:12-28:12

  Where would you be?

  28:15-28:19

  And every time we don't walk through the door, it's exactly what we're doing.

  28:22-28:25

  Is that person ultimately responsible for their own salvation?

  28:26-28:26

  Yeah.

  28:27-28:28

  But you know what, you might have a hand in it.

  28:31-28:34

  And when God opens that opportunity, He's commanding you, talk to this person.

  28:35-28:40

  And when you say no to God, man, that's a bad thing.

  28:42-28:50

  So I challenge you, leave here today, start preaching the gospel, not just with your words, but with your actions.

  28:50-28:52

  Allow those two to line up.

  28:52-28:55

  They must line up if we wanna be effective preachers of the gospel.

  28:57-29:00

  Live it out every day, unafraid.

  29:01-29:02

  Let's pray.

  29:04-29:06

  Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this day.

  29:08-29:12

  God, I ask you that if there's a person in here today that doesn't know the Gospel story.

  29:14-29:18

  Let us practice what I just shared today.

  29:18-29:19

  Let's preach to that person.

  29:19-29:21

  Let's tell them the Gospel story.

  29:22-29:25

  Don't let them leave here today without knowing you, God.

  29:26-29:32

  God, I ask you to please allow this church to be bold in our community, in Wexford.

  29:34-29:35

  Allow us to be bold.

  29:35-29:38

  Let everybody know what our church is all about.

  29:39-29:40

  Preach the gospel, God.

  29:42-29:47

  And allow each and every person to leave here today and take this to their environment that they live in on a regular basis.

  29:49-29:50

  And be bold in that environment.

  29:52-29:59

  God, because we are nobodies, that you chose to be a part of you.

  30:01-30:03

  And you chose to use us to further your kingdom.

  30:05-30:06

  Father, let that be our motivation.

  30:07-30:09

  Please bless this day and bless this church.

  30:10-30:10

  Amen.

Small Group Discussion

Read 2 Timothy 4:1-5

GROUP

1. We as Christian have been given one job to fulfill… Preach the Gospel... God chose “nobody’s” to complete this job. How does God prefer to use regular people?

2. Why is Enduring Suffering such a powerful testimony for God?

3. Why is Finishing Strong so important? Give a specific example of someone is your life that finished strong and an example of someone that didn’t finish strong.

BREAKOUT

Have you ever failed to walk through a door to God has opened for you to preach the Gospel? Pray for that person that was missed that day to come to Christ either through you or another Christian.

Watch Your Mouth

Introduction:

Our Tongues (James 3:1-12):

1. Are the most Dominant part of our bodies. (Jas 3:1-5a)

   Acts 20:28 - "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood."

2. Are able to Wreak Havoc. (Jas 3:5b-6)
3. Are Untamable. (Jas 3:7-10a)

4. Are *Untamable...without the Holy Spirit. (Jas 3:10b-12)

   Luke 6:43-45 - For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Practical Ways to Watch Your Mouth:

1. Watch Your Media.

   Proverbs 4:25 - "Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you."

2. Watch Your Company.

   Proverbs 24:1-2 - "Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble."

3. Watch Your Walk.

   Proverbs 8:20-21 - "I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries."

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

• Audio Transcript

  00:31-00:33

  Okay, there's a few amount of you.

  00:34-00:39

  I'm in this category and it's not just because I have a summer birthday, but that is nice.

  00:40-00:41

  For me it's everything that comes with the summertime.

  00:42-00:47

  We have mostly nice weather, vacations, and an occasional holiday.

  00:48-00:53

  You know, we just celebrated the 4th of July, but did you know that there's another holiday coming up?

  00:54-00:55

  Yeah, I'll give you a hint.

  00:55-00:57

  It's on July 12th.

  00:58-00:58

  Anybody?

  01:00-01:00

  Okay?

  01:01-01:02

  I'll give another hint.

  01:02-01:06

  It's a made-up one based on the greatest holiday we have, bar none.

  01:08-01:08

  Nobody?

  01:10-01:12

  Yes, Christmas in July.

  01:13-01:15

  Okay, some of you know what I'm talking about.

  01:16-01:18

  Some of you probably celebrate it too.

  01:18-01:24

  So instead of heading to the beach and hanging ten, you're heading to a tree nursery and hanging up stockings.

  01:26-01:29

  Now I thought a fair bit as to why people would want to do this.

  01:30-01:31

  you would want to celebrate Christmas in July.

  01:32-01:44

  See it originated in the southern hemisphere and it makes sense because July is winter time there so in order for them to have like a more traditional Christmas they'll celebrate it in July.

  01:45-01:45

  But up here?

  01:47-01:52

  I mean the only logical conclusion I could find is just another excuse to watch Christmas movies.

  01:54-01:56

  I mean when else is watching them acceptable?

  01:58-02:02

  To me, I mean it does make sense because there's plenty of classics that I enjoy watching.

  02:02-02:05

  You have How the Grinch Stole Christmas, an elf.

  02:06-02:09

  But my all-time favorite, A Christmas Story.

  02:10-02:12

  For me, there's lots of memorable scenes there.

  02:13-02:20

  You have the Triple Dog Dare where Schwartz gets flicked to stick his tongue on a cold pole cementing it.

  02:21-02:27

  Or when the main character, Ralphie, goes to the mall Santa and he tells him what he he wants for Christmas, a Red Ryder BB gun.

  02:27-02:32

  And he gets his hopes crushed when the Santa says, you'll shoot your eye out, kid.

  02:34-02:40

  But I think there's one scene many of us can relate to personally, when Ralphie goes to help his dad change a flat tire.

  02:42-02:44

  Ralphie's standing there, and he's holding the pan of lug nuts.

  02:44-02:50

  And his dad, in a hurry, goes, whips his hands, hits the pan, and the lug nuts scatter into oblivion.

  02:52-03:06

  The camera pans to Ralphie's face, and purposefully and tactfully censored for the movie, Ralphie exclaims, "Oh, fudge." And his dad flabbergasted, double checks to make sure he's heard exactly what he's heard.

  03:07-03:14

  Back in the car, father tells mother, and in the next scene, back at their home, we see Ralphie in the bathroom with a bright red bar of soap in his mouth.

  03:17-03:22

  Now for a time of honesty congregation, how many of you have ever been in Ralphie's position?

  03:23-03:24

  Okay, yeah.

  03:26-03:33

  You know, it's not the tire changing thing, but the "he's suffering a soapy Irish Spring" consequence of saying something you shouldn't have in front of your parents.

  03:34-03:36

  You know, I have. Three times.

  03:38-03:42

  I guess it's fitting that soap is a bitter flavor and that's usually how we describe the taste of defeat.

  03:43-03:50

  Well today we're going to be in the book of James chapter 3 verses 1 through 12 talking about the very thing that Ralphie couldn't hold, our tongues.

  03:51-03:58

  In this section James provides a short but convicting lesson about the tongue, how it dominates us, wreaks havoc, and is untamable.

  03:59-04:08

  Just to give a background on the book of James as a whole, James who is the half-brother of Jesus, wrote this book as a summary of his wisdom to the early church.

  04:09-04:16

  It doesn't necessarily teach us new things, but it constructs 12 lessons, mainly from Proverbs and from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

  04:17-04:20

  And each one is designed to get into our business and challenge how we live.

  04:22-04:27

  This is one of those books that can be uncomfortable to read, depending on which of these lessons that you struggle the most with.

  04:28-04:30

  And for me, this is mine.

  04:31-04:33

  It's why I wanted to preach on it.

  04:34-04:39

  Because we as Christians need constant reminders and course corrections to keep pressing onwards with sanctification.

  04:41-04:43

  Before we dive into the Word, let's open up in some prayer.

  04:45-04:48

  Heavenly Father, I thank you for giving me this opportunity.

  04:49-04:51

  And I pray that you grant me clarity.

  04:52-04:55

  Use me as your vessel to convey your Word.

  04:57-05:03

  Just pray that you open our ears and hearts to your Word, and that you fill us this day.

  05:04-05:05

  Pray this in your Son, Jesus' name.

  05:06-05:06

  Amen.

  05:08-05:10

  So we're in James 3, starting in verse 1.

  05:11-05:18

  And the first part of our passage talks about how we need to watch our mouths, because our tongues are the most dominant parts of our bodies.

  05:21-05:31

  So in verse 1, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness, for we all stumble in many ways.

  05:32-05:37

  And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

  05:38-05:43

  If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

  05:44-05:51

  Look at the ships also, though they are so large and driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

  05:51-05:58

  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things." Now there's a lot to digest here.

  05:58-06:04

  James first opens up with a word of warning to the brothers saying that not many of them should become teachers.

  06:04-06:14

  And then he shifts his focus to a broader illustration that talks about how the tongue is a proportionally small part of our bodies, but can control the entire thing.

  06:15-06:16

  So why start with a warning?

  06:18-06:23

  Organizationally, this just seems like a good way for James to launch into talking about the tongue as a whole.

  06:24-06:31

  But it is a good upfront realization that not everyone is cut out to be a leader or a teacher because of their tongues.

  06:32-06:37

  In Jewish culture, teaching was very highly respected and a valued profession.

  06:37-06:43

  And those that were new Christians, it was only natural that they wanted to teach to bring the good news to others.

  06:44-06:47

  And it is a good aspiration to want to teach.

  06:47-06:50

  Even today in our culture, teachers are highly respected.

  06:52-06:58

  But as a teacher of God's Word, your words and the correctness of them have eternal consequences.

  06:59-07:00

  You're not teaching math or shop class.

  07:01-07:02

  You're feeding a soul.

  07:03-07:06

  God takes his word seriously, more than we can fathom.

  07:08-07:17

  And I was looking at verses to exemplify the seriousness of teachers and to shed a little more light on why James would give this warning.

  07:17-07:20

  And I came across a verse that legitimately gave me chills.

  07:21-07:23

  It's Acts 20, verse 28.

  07:25-07:48

  "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock "in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood." That last bit, "which he obtained with his own blood." It's the ultimate buyback. Christ dying a horrible death on the cross, shedding his blood so that he could purchase our salvation.

  07:49-08:36

  What a sobering reminder for us to understand why we can call ourselves Christians and are able to be taught salvation in Christ. So as a teacher you're being held accountable for your words, more so than the average Joe. If you're not up to the task, heed James's warning. Let's come back to the average Joe and to his or her tongue. Verses 2 through 5. See, James knows, like I'm sure we all do, that stumbling or sinning is a part of being human. Many sins involve saying dumb or wrong things, gossip, slander, cursing, bragging, manipulating. And he goes as far as to say that if we can control our tongues, then we are perfect people and we're able to bridle or control our whole body.

  08:38-09:00

  Now to me that's an interesting point because you would think it would be the opposite way, right? Like if we can control our bodies, then we can bridle our tongue. But that's not what James is saying here. He's saying that if we can just control our mouths, then we're good to go. To me it seems like that lowers the bar for success. But just like any perceptively easy task, it's not going to happen.

  09:02-09:21

  This whole passage reminds me of the time that Jeff came up here and went through the Ten Commandments with the congregation and we kept score of the ones that we thought we kept throughout our lives. And it would almost be like God saying, "If you can keep just one commandment, then you're fine. I'll forgive you for the rest. But when you know What?

  09:22-09:23

  0 for 10.

  09:25-09:26

  Our tongues dominate our bodies.

  09:27-09:29

  If you don't believe me, then let me ask you this.

  09:30-09:31

  How often have your legs gotten you in trouble?

  09:32-09:33

  What about your arms?

  09:34-09:35

  What about your ears or hands?

  09:36-09:39

  I'd say never to rarely, if you can say that.

  09:40-09:41

  What about your tongue?

  09:42-09:43

  All the time.

  09:44-09:50

  Like James mentioned in his illustrations, the tongue is a proportionally small part of us, but literally speaks for the body.

  09:53-09:59

  Now James talks about the troubles our tongues can cause in the next verses, which is our next point.

  09:59-10:01

  Our tongues are able to wreak havoc.

  10:02-10:05

  Let's pick back up in the second part of verse 5.

  10:07-10:09

  How great a force to set ablaze by such a small fire!

  10:10-10:13

  And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.

  10:13-10:24

  The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire of life and set on fire by hell." That's pretty in your face from James.

  10:25-10:26

  I'm certainly not mincing his words here.

  10:29-10:31

  I'm sure many of us can relate to his first statement.

  10:32-10:36

  We make one snide or rude comment and it snowballs into catastrophe.

  10:37-10:42

  It doesn't take much when the hateful things we say can cut deep through established relationships and friendships.

  10:44-10:46

  I've been guilty of this.

  10:47-10:52

  I remember during college I was visiting friends back home, and I had some juicy gossip about one of my friends.

  10:53-10:54

  They confided with me in secret.

  10:56-11:03

  And even though I wasn't a Christian at the time, you know, I knew gossiping and breaking your promises wasn't a great way to keep your friendships.

  11:05-11:06

  But I felt like I had leverage and power.

  11:07-11:10

  And with this knowledge, I could cause some drama whenever I wanted to.

  11:11-11:14

  I could dictate what others knew or felt about them.

  11:14-11:20

  So I pulled that pin, lobbed the grenade, stood back and watched the damage.

  11:22-11:27

  We had been friends for three or so years at this time, but everything fell apart when I was confronted.

  11:28-11:31

  I made excuses and acted like it was no big deal, right?

  11:32-11:37

  But that just further spat fire and kindled this mess into a giant blaze.

  11:38-11:42

  We stopped talking, and any time I hung out with our common group of friends, it was just really awkward.

  11:43-11:45

  I stopped hanging out with that entire group of friends.

  11:46-11:51

  Simple misuse of my tongue just snowballed into total destruction.

  11:52-11:57

  And I apologize, but still, things were never the same, and I'm going to have to live with that regret.

  11:59-12:02

  But maybe you've never destroyed a friendship like that.

  12:03-12:08

  What about any lasting negative influence your tongue might have on young minds?

  12:08-12:14

  Parents with your kids, uncles and aunts with nieces and nephews, or just any young, malleable mind.

  12:15-12:22

  Now, I'm one of those guys that never knew he wanted to have kids, but now that I have them, they're the best.

  12:23-12:24

  But that's because they're mine.

  12:25-12:26

  (Laughter)

  12:26-12:38

  Now, I won't go out with intentions to corrupt other people's children, but the guard I put on my actions and mouth in public is not as stringent as when I'm around my own children.

  12:40-12:41

  But it doesn't work that way.

  12:42-12:46

  How many of you have ever been in a store when someone is going off and there are young children around?

  12:47-12:48

  Maybe it's that own person's children.

  12:49-12:52

  And it's just a mess, nothing but havoc.

  12:53-12:55

  Nothing good is coming out of that.

  12:57-13:01

  And it's not just our direct remarks either that can cause destruction.

  13:02-13:09

  How many of you have ever been on the end of a rude comment that was suffixed with "Just kidding!" Like, apparently that negates it?

  13:10-13:11

  I'm sure all of us.

  13:12-13:15

  I'm sure all of us have delivered one of those comments as well.

  13:16-13:19

  See, this is the world of unrighteousness delivered by the tongue.

  13:19-13:23

  We say those things to get a rise out of someone or to get a chuckle from another person in the room.

  13:25-13:29

  But more often than that, there's truthful hatred and animosity in our words.

  13:31-13:39

  So as a small member of our body, the tongue has the ability to direct our entire bodies, as we established earlier, but also our entire lives.

  13:40-13:45

  We all have our bad days, whether we're dealing with a trial or maybe we're extremely hangry.

  13:45-13:49

  You know, folks that haven't had breakfast and if I'm going on too long, wrap it up.

  13:51-13:52

  But how are you going to respond?

  13:53-13:55

  Are you going to let Satan and sin control your words?

  13:56-13:58

  What about the next trial and the one after that?

  13:59-14:02

  See, throughout our lives, we're going to have millions of responses to give.

  14:03-14:04

  Who will you let guide yours?

  14:07-14:11

  Now we understand the dominance and the havoc our tongues can wreak, but what can we do about it?

  14:12-14:13

  How can we control it?

  14:14-14:16

  Well, I've got good news and bad news.

  14:17-14:20

  And James first lays out the bad news for us in the next set of verses.

  14:21-14:22

  This is our third point.

  14:23-14:25

  Our tongues are untameable.

  14:27-14:28

  Verse 7.

  14:29-14:34

  "For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

  14:35-14:36

  But no human being can tame the tongue.

  14:37-14:39

  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

  14:40-14:48

  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God." How much good news there, huh?

  14:49-14:55

  Our tongues are unable to be tamed, and again, James is reiterating the evils of our tongues.

  14:56-14:57

  Restless, full of poison.

  14:58-15:00

  We're constantly putting our foots in our mouths.

  15:01-15:06

  When I think of restless, I think of insomnia or unable to be tired out.

  15:06-15:12

  But the Greek word used here is akatastatos, which means unstable or anarchic.

  15:13-15:20

  Anarchy is the lack of obedience to an authority, and we typically hear that when we're talking about anarchy against the government.

  15:22-15:26

  But our tongues are anarchists to us, rebelling against any sort of control.

  15:28-15:39

  See, we as humans have domesticated beasts of various sizes and intellect to do our bidding, but the piece of meat in our mouths that is a part of our bodies and lives with us can't be controlled.

  15:41-15:44

  The last sentence in this verse really drives home the point.

  15:45-15:46

  The extremes of what our tongues can do.

  15:48-15:54

  Blessing the Lord our Father and then cursing those around us, sometimes in the same day, sometimes in the same minute.

  15:56-16:06

  I've caught myself numerous times on the road listening to Christian music, and I'm mid-verse changing my words from singing along to praising God to cursing out my fellow motorists.

  16:08-16:11

  It almost seems like it's automatic, like I have no control over it.

  16:12-16:15

  And based on James' words, he's right, I don't.

  16:17-16:20

  That's where we're going to take this point, and we're going to add an asterisk to it.

  16:22-16:27

  See, our tongues are untamable, asterisk, without the Holy Spirit.

  16:29-16:35

  See, up until now, it's been a constant beatdown and reminders of how much and how often that we fail.

  16:36-16:37

  And just with our mouths alone.

  16:38-16:40

  Imagine reading the other 11 lessons in the book of James.

  16:41-16:42

  Punch after punch in the gut.

  16:43-16:44

  But here's the silver lining.

  16:45-16:46

  We do have a way to tame the tongue.

  16:47-16:49

  Let's pick back up in the second half of verse 10.

  16:51-16:53

  "My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

  16:54-16:58

  "Does a spring pour forth from the same opening "both fresh and salt water?

  16:59-17:02

  "Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, "or a grapevine produce figs?

  17:03-17:13

  "Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." Now reading this, you might ask yourself, where'd I get the idea that the Holy Spirit is helping us control our tongues?

  17:13-17:14

  Well, let's understand this.

  17:15-17:21

  James is using Jesus' own words here, albeit in a different structure and wording.

  17:22-17:25

  This actually comes from Luke 6, verses 43 through 45.

  17:26-17:34

  And here Jesus is preaching to the multitudes and says this, "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

  17:35-17:37

  Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.

  17:38-17:41

  People do not pick figs from thorn bushes or grapes from briars.

  17:42-18:03

  A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." And up until now, I haven't mentioned the heart, but guess what? That's where our tongue is ultimately controlled from. That's the source of its evil and wickedness.

  18:04-18:18

  Even if we were to cut our tongues out and become mute, we'd still be wicked, evil people and probably resort to cursing in sign language. James says the tongue controls the body and controls the tongue.

  18:19-18:21

  So we ultimately struggle against is our hearts.

  18:23-18:29

  And earlier I said that the tongue literally speaks for the body, but more specifically, the tongue literally speaks for our hearts.

  18:31-18:36

  See, when I destroyed my friendship earlier by gossiping, I couldn't only blame my tongue, right?

  18:37-18:42

  It was the stores of evil that I had in my heart that I was pulling out and was displaying through my mouth.

  18:43-18:45

  Malice, trickery, and a bit of jealousy.

  18:47-18:49

  And until I came to Christ, that's what was going to remain there.

  18:51-18:55

  But when you come to accept Christ into your heart, you begin a lifelong transformation journey.

  18:56-18:57

  This is what we call sanctification.

  18:58-19:10

  You are justified immediately, yes, but sanctification is the process of turning away from the old self and conforming to the image of Christ, replacing those stores of evil with stores of good.

  19:12-19:15

  And in these verses, James is asking rhetorical questions.

  19:16-19:18

  Of course a spring only produces fresh water.

  19:18-19:19

  A fig tree only produces figs.

  19:20-19:22

  You can't have other things come from them.

  19:23-19:26

  What James is trying to do here is help us see that we are one or the other.

  19:27-19:31

  You can't call yourselves Christ followers while continuing to enjoy sin.

  19:32-19:35

  We can't glorify God while choosing to slander and curse others.

  19:37-19:40

  So why then aren't we instantly in control of our tongues?

  19:40-19:42

  Why do we continue to make mistakes?

  19:44-19:47

  The unfortunate answer is because we live in a fallen world covered in sin.

  19:49-19:53

  So as a Christian you have a transformed heart, but it's still in a broken body and world.

  19:55-20:00

  And when I say the word "tameable" understand that it doesn't mean immediately perfect and fully obedient.

  20:01-20:06

  See, people tame wild animals, but Siegfried and Roy's tiger still attack them.

  20:07-20:15

  But with the Holy Spirit living inside of us and at our disposal, we can overcome because we are no longer slaves to sin, but instead choose to sin.

  20:17-20:17

  And there's the challenge.

  20:18-20:26

  There's the uncomfortable fact that we will continue to sin and our tongues will continue to assert its dominance, wreak havoc where possible, and try to remain untamable.

  20:28-20:33

  But I don't want to leave here today with these verses without some practical tips on how we can watch our mouths.

  20:35-20:40

  You might be convicted just as I was after reading this on the vileness of your own mouth.

  20:40-20:43

  But what can we do practically to get our mouths in order?

  20:44-20:49

  How can we sanctify our hearts so that we can bring good things out of the good stored up in our hearts?

  20:50-20:56

  Well, I'm glad you all asked, because I've got three things you can do to help you watch your mouth.

  20:57-21:06

  And just like James did when compiling his wisdom into his book, we're going to associate a passage of scripture from Proverbs to back up these practical applications.

  21:07-21:09

  So on your outline, practical ways to watch your mouth.

  21:10-21:12

  The first, watch your media.

  21:14-21:40

  Supporting verse we're gonna use is Proverbs 4, verse 25, and that is, "Let your eyes look directly forward "and your gaze be straight before you." See, this verse comes from a larger set of instructions a father is giving to his son as wisdom, and this verse specifically talks about keeping the focus and your eyes guarded, to look towards Christ and avert from gazing at seducing or sinful directions.

  21:42-21:48

  But first I want to define what I mean by media, because the word can often draw folks to different ideas.

  21:49-21:52

  I'm referring to media in a much broader and larger sense.

  21:53-22:02

  Any radio, television, music, movie, newspaper, magazine, comic book, manga, anything that can communicate a story or an idea.

  22:03-22:07

  It's pretty much anything under the sun that we ingest through our ears and eyes.

  22:09-22:15

  And the next thing I'm going to say is a broad sweeping statement, but I don't think many would disagree with me.

  22:17-22:21

  Media today is more toxic, foul, violent, and obscene than ever before.

  22:22-22:31

  Companies seem to be in a race to produce content that's more over the top than their competitors so that they can generate buzz or be viewed as progressive.

  22:32-22:40

  We glorify sins of all kinds, same-sex relationships, adultery, infidelity, revenge murder, drug use, greed, addictions.

  22:41-22:42

  It's all there.

  22:43-22:54

  And as a society, as things get more and more normalized, or rather, we get more acclimated and desensitized by this, it's just gonna get worse and worse.

  22:55-22:57

  Worse things are gonna be pushed on us, right?

  22:58-23:01

  And as Christians, we too can desensitize ourselves when we partake.

  23:03-23:11

  Just like repeating a sin over and over, we start to feel less and less convicted and rationalize or justify doing it more and more.

  23:13-23:16

  Our gaze strays, and we allow seduction and sin to grab hold.

  23:19-23:20

  So you ready to get uncomfortable?

  23:21-23:23

  Let's give some specific examples.

  23:25-23:39

  Shows like "Game of Thrones," "Breaking Bad," "The Walking Dead." Movies like "Deadpool," "John Wick," "Superbad." Musicians like Eminem, Madonna, Kanye West.

  23:40-23:44

  Comedians like Louis C.K., Jim Norton, Dave Chappelle.

  23:45-23:50

  Not to mention the dozens or hundreds of popular websites out there, all of them filled with vile content.

  23:52-23:54

  And I'm not trying to condemn here, I understand that.

  23:54-23:57

  I've been guilty of partaking in some of the very things I just mentioned.

  23:58-24:00

  But what do you think that's doing to your heart?

  24:01-24:06

  You might not notice it at first, but that might be because you're already desensitized to it.

  24:08-24:09

  I want to challenge you all.

  24:10-24:15

  Watch the media you consume and see how it impacts your responses, your feelings and your actions.

  24:16-24:19

  I can attest that media affects me greatly.

  24:20-24:23

  It's a tit-for-tat or equivalent reaction that happens to me.

  24:24-24:25

  Gritty movie, gritty mood.

  24:27-24:30

  There are alternatives out there in all the media that we have.

  24:30-24:31

  For instance, music.

  24:32-24:38

  I know some of you might listen to contemporary Christian bands, and I guess that's more like soft rock, right?

  24:39-24:42

  What about the Screamo, thrash metal, rap fans out there, huh?

  24:42-24:43

  Where's the love?

  24:44-24:45

  Well, they exist.

  24:46-24:47

  Yeah, rappers for Christ.

  24:49-24:56

  I personally used to listen to a lot of Eminem because I liked his style. It was very aggressive and raw, but obviously it's super profane.

  24:57-25:20

  And once I became a Christian, I thought, "Oh, great. I'm stuck with the hymns." And there's nothing wrong with hymns. Nothing wrong with hymns. But you know, I wanted that in your face and raw, just... And there are rappers out there who glorify God in their lyrics. They give him praise, and in some songs, they're spilling out their guts on their struggles and they do it in an aggressive style.

  25:21-25:32

  The point being is that if I can find a super specific music style that is God glorifying to supplant something that didn't, you too can find it in the movies and the shows you watch and any other media.

  25:33-25:34

  It's out there.

  25:35-25:38

  You have no excuse to continue poisoning your hearts.

  25:40-25:57

  Just to close out this point, I'm not saying we need to throw away all our non-Christian media, but I am warning you that you must be careful in all media you consume, whether it's labeled Christian or not, because when it comes through your ears and eyes, down to your heart, and eventually out of your mouth.

  26:01-26:05

  Now the second way that we can watch our mouths is by watching our company.

  26:06-26:10

  And our supporting verse here is Proverbs 24, verses 1 through 2.

  26:11-26:26

  "Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, "for their hearts devise violence, "and their lips talk of trouble." I'm using the term company here to refer to not only the situations you put yourself in, but also the people that you're around.

  26:27-26:37

  See, this verse in Proverbs talks about the people, but it also includes situational words like devise, plotting, and scheming, and those eventually lead into active situations.

  26:39-26:44

  Some of you are very rigid in your character, in your comfort zones, in your behavioral patterns.

  26:45-26:51

  Even being around new people or new situations, you're visiting a new place, you tend to gravitate towards things that you're familiar with, right?

  26:52-26:54

  The same folks or the same activities.

  26:55-26:59

  And you act in the same way, and people's perception of you can be viewed as stable.

  27:01-27:02

  And there's nothing wrong with that.

  27:02-27:03

  And honestly, I wish I was that way.

  27:04-27:07

  Because I see myself on the opposite side.

  27:07-27:10

  I do what I call chameleon behavior.

  27:11-27:15

  I change my character and behavior based on the people that I'm around and what I'm doing.

  27:16-27:20

  You get me around Ben Mall, and I might start speaking with a little twang.

  27:21-27:25

  If I'm even in the same room as Steve Zelsnack, yin's now, watch out.

  27:26-27:27

  That's a slippy slope in that.

  27:29-27:30

  I had to look that up.

  27:31-27:33

  I'm not a Pittsburgh East guy.

  27:34-27:37

  But you can imagine how dangerous that this can be for me, right?

  27:38-27:44

  If I allow myself to be put in shady or precarious situations, I'll just roll with the punches.

  27:45-27:52

  But being around people who swear or talk about their sin like it's no big deal, I'll passively agree and hold off on speaking God's truth.

  27:53-28:03

  Now I'm not saying I won't have any control, but like James illustrated in verses 3 and Outside influences are around us and can eventually overpower us.

  28:04-28:08

  Are you sailing your ship on a placid lake, able to guide it wherever you will?

  28:10-28:12

  Or is your ship in a tsunami and you're just holding on for dear life?

  28:13-28:15

  See, at that point, your rudder is useless.

  28:17-28:25

  Just like watching your media, the people and places you frequent will have an effect on your heart, both in the short and long term.

  28:26-28:29

  See, here at Harvest we have small groups that meet on various days of the week.

  28:29-28:31

  We have volunteer outreaches, mission trips.

  28:32-28:41

  In each one, we're surrounding ourselves with Christ followers, using one another to further our relationship with God, to fill our hearts up with those stores of good.

  28:43-29:30

  But if you frequently are putting yourselves into precarious situations, thinking you're strong enough to resist temptation, you're playing with a deadly fire. You'll start filling your heart up with those stores of evil and it will become evident through your mouth. Now the last way that we can watch our mouths is by watching our walk. The supporting verse here is Proverbs 8 verse 20 through 21. I walk in the way of righteousness in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me and filling their treasuries. See Proverbs 8 is about wisdom and its characteristics and these These two particular verses about wisdom exemplify the relationship between wise decisions, righteousness, and eventual rewards.

  29:32-29:37

  I still find sanctification to be an amazing benefit once you put your faith in Jesus Christ.

  29:38-29:42

  It's not easy, and more often than not it can be seen as a huge challenge.

  29:43-29:48

  But how can we ease that challenge and understand how to become more Christ-like?

  29:49-29:54

  Hopefully this is a no-brainer, but pursue fellowship with your Creator and Savior.

  29:55-30:00

  When you seek God and His wisdom, it puts you on a path to His Son, Jesus Christ.

  30:02-30:03

  Act and live out His examples.

  30:04-30:06

  But you must be intentional in this effort.

  30:06-30:10

  You can't just put the Bible up to your head and it will make you wise or holy.

  30:11-30:14

  Just like putting on a costume doesn't make you a doctor or a mechanic.

  30:15-30:15

  It requires effort.

  30:17-30:20

  But compared to the Old Testament days, we have it much easier.

  30:21-30:28

  See God the Father tore the veil from top to bottom when Christ died on the cross, signifying that He is freely available for fellowship now.

  30:29-30:33

  When you read His word and you pray to Him, God will reveal His will for us.

  30:34-30:38

  1 Corinthians 2 talks about how the Holy Spirit comprehends the thoughts of God.

  30:39-30:43

  And as Christians, that same Spirit lives within us.

  30:45-30:49

  And along with understanding His will, fellowshipping with God grants us His wisdom.

  30:50-30:52

  And what an incredible benefit there is in that.

  30:53-31:08

  As Proverbs 8.20 through 21 says, "His wisdom is righteous and just, "leading to an inheritance of treasures, "allowing us to store up good things in our hearts." See, too often we come to God only when we're in deep trouble.

  31:08-31:13

  He is our Savior, yes, but we treat Him like He's a get-out-of-jail-free card.

  31:14-31:15

  But let's avoid that.

  31:15-31:17

  Let's go to God not when we're just in trouble.

  31:18-31:21

  Let's go to Him when we want to praise Him and give Him thanks.

  31:21-31:24

  Let's fellowship with Him daily and tell God, "Thank you.

  31:24-31:41

  "Thank you for my church, my family, my kids, "my job, my friends, "and especially for giving your son to us." See, today we're gonna close in worship and this will be everyone's opportunity to use that tongue for good, to shout praises to the Lord our God.

  31:41-31:43

  We know our tongues dominate us.

  31:43-31:47

  They wreak havoc and are untamable, but you Lord enable us to conquer that.

  31:47-31:51

  You filled our hearts with the Holy Spirit and that's what we wanna show.

  31:52-31:54

  That's what we want to literally speak for us.

  31:55-32:00

  Father God, I am amped right now to sing praises to you.

  32:01-32:06

  I thank you for this time together for allowing us to challenge ourselves on the use of our tongues.

  32:08-32:13

  Please give us wisdom daily to grow in our sanctification so that we may use our tongues for good.

  32:15-32:23

  And Lord, I pray now you hear our shouts of praise to you and that they be a sweet melody to you, our eternal Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Small Group Discussion

Read James 3:1-12

GROUP

Why does the tongue hold so much power?

1. How can we overcome our tongues?

2. What ways can we ensure we are storing treasure of good rather than treasures of evil? (Luke 6:43-45)

3. Has your media, company and walk changed since becoming a Christian? In what ways?

BREAKOUT

What media or company is holding you spiritually hostage? What can you do to remove it along with its ‘treasures of evil’?

Coming Soon: This is Your Last Warning

Coming Soon: This is Your Last Warning. (Revelation 22:6-21):

Introduction:

This is Your Last Warning: 4 Truths to Embrace Knowing Jesus is Coming Soon.

1. Worship is only for GOD. (Rev 22:6-9)
2. Your CHOICES now have eternal consequences. (Rev 22:10-15)
3. The Invitation is for TODAY. (Rev 22:16-17)
4. Don't MESS with the Message. (Rev 22:18-19)

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

• Audio Transcript

  01:04-01:05

  This is your last warning.

  01:06-01:07

  Revelation 22.

  01:09-01:30

  If you've been with us on this journey that started last October, we've seen the seven last years of the earth known as the tribulation, as the Apostle John has described God's judgment on sinners in the seal trumpets and the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments.

  01:30-01:37

  And we've followed the rise We saw the fall of the Antichrist in his capital city, Babylon.

  01:37-01:43

  We have seen the return of Jesus Christ, the thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth.

  01:43-01:46

  We saw the last revolt of Satan.

  01:46-01:48

  And we saw the great white throne judgment.

  01:50-01:56

  With that, we saw the vaporizing of this heaven and earth.

  01:56-02:23

  And we saw Jesus Christ say, "Behold, I am making all things new." the creation of the new heaven and the new earth, the new Jerusalem was revealed, an eternal blessing, and perfect fellowship with God promised for His people." So, if you were with us last week, we saw the description of heaven - what eternal heaven is going to be like.

  02:24-02:40

  So, as this revelation is closing, as John is closing this, because the Holy Spirit is closing the Word of God, you can imagine that He has some pretty serious things to say.

  02:40-02:41

  Right?

  02:41-02:43

  God's closing His book.

  02:43-02:52

  These are some last words that God wants to leave you with in light of everything that we've studied over these past several months.

  02:53-02:55

  So jot this down if you have an outline.

  02:55-02:56

  This is your last warning.

  02:56-03:00

  Here's four truths to embrace knowing that Jesus is coming soon.

  03:02-03:09

  The first one, number one, worship is only for God.

  03:10-03:14

  Look at verse 6, where we left off last week.

  03:14-03:22

  "And he, the angel, said to me, 'These words are trustworthy and true.

  03:24-03:38

  The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, and sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place." Interestingly, that's the same kind of wording that we saw back in Revelation 1.

  03:39-03:42

  Verse 1, and it's a reaffirmation of the truth.

  03:43-03:47

  Everything that we've studied, this is all true.

  03:48-03:50

  And, it's coming soon.

  03:52-04:05

  Verse 7, "And behold," this is Jesus speaking now, "Behold, I am coming soon!" Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.

  04:06-04:15

  You know, the book of Revelation has been spiritualized, and it's been ignored, and it's been rejected, and it's been ridiculed.

  04:18-04:25

  But for those with faith that say, "I believe this is the Word of God," the book of Revelation as an incredible blessing.

  04:28-04:35

  In verses 8 and 9, John identifying himself, I think this is the first time he mentions himself by name since chapter 1.

  04:35-04:40

  He says, "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.

  04:41-04:47

  And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me.

  04:47-04:49

  But he said to me, 'You must not do that.

  04:49-06:07

  I am a fellow servant with you your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book worship God." Like whoops! If you've been with us in this series you're like, "Wait a minute, didn't we cover this passage?" No! It happened again! Like chapter 19 verse 10, the exact same scene happened where John gets so caught up in seeing these things of God, he's just like, "I gotta worship!" Now look, I wasn't there. So there's a part of me that wants to give John the benefit of the doubt. Because in 1910, yes, it says he worshipped the angel. It's pretty more explicit, but here it says, "I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel." So this little part of me that wants to give the benefit of the doubt is like, "You know, it doesn't explicitly say that he worshipped the angel, it was probably worship that was meant for God, but, but, but it was completely inappropriate. And church, we have got to watch out for that. Now Now listen to me very closely.

  06:09-06:14

  It is okay to have a favorite preacher.

  06:15-06:22

  It is okay to respect someone who has ministered the Word to us.

  06:22-06:27

  But we live in a celebrity-driven culture.

  06:27-06:28

  True or false?

  06:29-06:31

  Who are the people that we idolize?

  06:31-06:34

  The actors and the athletes.

  06:34-06:36

  and, "Oh, what did they tweet?

  06:36-06:37

  And what did they say?

  06:37-06:38

  And what are their political views?

  06:38-06:43

  Oh, we just can't get enough of that stuff!" We idolize these people.

  06:44-06:50

  And that has crept into the church with this whole celebrity pastor thing.

  06:52-06:57

  Where the church becomes a cult of personality.

  06:59-07:02

  And you're like, "Oh, Pastor Jeff, I don't think that's happening here." Good!

  07:03-07:03

  Okay?

  07:04-07:04

  It shouldn't.

  07:06-07:08

  But it happens in the church.

  07:10-07:13

  Like with John, it was the angel.

  07:15-07:20

  With us, it can be John Piper.

  07:21-07:23

  It can be Beth Moore.

  07:24-07:25

  It can be Dave Ramsey.

  07:27-07:28

  It can be Ken Ham.

  07:29-07:30

  It can be Andy Stanley.

  07:32-07:33

  It can be James MacDonald.

  07:35-07:44

  I am not criticizing these preachers and teachers any more than I am criticizing the angel in the text.

  07:45-07:47

  But we need to be careful, church.

  07:47-07:52

  We need to be careful of John's accidental slip into idolatry.

  07:54-07:56

  Hear this, church, please.

  07:56-08:08

  We too can get so caught up in the spiritual ecstasy over the things of God, that we start worshiping the Messenger instead of worshiping God.

  08:11-08:18

  And as Revelation closes, here's a reminder for us from John's giant, enormous mistake.

  08:19-08:27

  Let Revelation draw you to Jesus Christ, Because people and angels do not deserve worship.

  08:27-08:28

  Jesus Christ does.

  08:30-08:32

  People are going to let you down.

  08:34-08:36

  Even your favorite celebrity pastor.

  08:37-08:39

  People are going to let you down.

  08:39-08:42

  Jesus Christ will never let you down.

  08:44-08:46

  People can't save you.

  08:47-08:49

  Only Jesus Christ can save you.

  08:50-08:51

  So here's a reminder for us.

  08:52-08:56

  Look, don't worship the messenger.

  08:58-08:58

  Worship God.

  09:01-09:02

  Number one, worship is only for God.

  09:02-09:07

  Number two, your choices now have eternal consequences.

  09:08-09:09

  Look at verse 10.

  09:11-09:21

  "And he said to me, 'Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.'" That's why we had this whole series in the first place.

  09:21-09:24

  Don't seal it up. Proclaim it.

  09:24-09:26

  You see, this is reinforcing this truth.

  09:27-09:29

  God wanted us to know these things.

  09:30-09:38

  And I've heard preachers - this is going to sound harsh, whatever - but I've heard preachers say, "I will never preach Revelation!" Have you read Revelation?

  09:39-09:45

  He says, "Don't seal it up. Get it out!" Right? God wanted us to know some things.

  09:46-09:50

  And that's why we took it straightforwardly.

  09:50-09:51

  How many times did I say that over the last few months?

  09:51-09:53

  We're going to take this straightforwardly.

  09:53-09:55

  We're going to take this straightforwardly. Why?

  09:55-09:57

  Because I don't believe God gave us a riddle book.

  09:58-10:03

  I don't believe God was like, "Oh, I hope they figure out this puzzle that I wrote for them." I don't believe that at all.

  10:04-10:08

  I believe God wanted us to know some things about Him and about what's coming.

  10:08-10:18

  And He says, "Okay, John, we're going to write this down so everyone has this objective source to know what's coming." Now look at verse 11.

  10:19-10:34

  Verse 11 says, "Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy." What?

  10:35-10:44

  I mean, you read this verse, you're like, "Okay, I get that there's a call to strive to be righteous and holy, and I get that.

  10:44-10:45

  I totally get that.

  10:45-10:50

  That sounds very consistent with everything else I know about the Bible.

  10:51-11:03

  I get that. But the first part of this verse, "Let the evil doers still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy?" What does that mean? Why would God say that?

  11:05-11:06

  Why would God say that?

  11:09-11:13

  Well, I want to talk to people in the room right now who are parents.

  11:15-11:16

  Confession time.

  11:18-11:30

  How many of you parents - now this is raise your hand, and we are in church, so you have to be honest - how many of you parents have caught yourselves saying something that your parents said to you?

  11:30-11:31

  Raise your hands.

  11:32-11:35

  Oh, like every parent in the room.

  11:37-11:42

  Well, guilty, okay?

  11:43-11:43

  Guilty myself.

  11:44-12:02

  And this verse, you know, when he says, "Let the evil doer still do evil, "filthy still be filthy, "righteous still do right, "holy still be holy." It got me thinking that, you know, when we were kids, we'd be out somewhere in public, misbehaving.

  12:03-12:04

  And parents, you get this.

  12:04-12:12

  When you're in public, Kids have a tendency to sort of let go of their behavior.

  12:12-12:12

  Why?

  12:13-12:16

  Because it's not like mom can lay the hammer down right there and we'd act up.

  12:16-12:17

  We'd be in Hills.

  12:18-12:20

  For those younger people, Hills was this department.

  12:20-12:21

  It was like Walmart before Walmart.

  12:21-12:26

  But we'd be in Hills, and we're acting up because we're like, what's mom going to do about it here?

  12:27-12:29

  It's not like mom's going to lay the hammer down in Hills, right?

  12:30-12:32

  So we'd act up, and we'd be carrying on.

  12:32-12:38

  And we knew that mom couldn't do anything then.

  12:39-12:54

  But something that mom would say, that I've caught myself saying, and something that most parents in this room, if not everyone, has said to your own kids in the same scenario, keep it up.

  12:56-12:57

  How many parents have said that?

  12:57-12:58

  Your kid's misbehaving in public.

  12:58-12:59

  Keep it up.

  13:00-13:05

  "Keep it up." That's exactly what the Lord is saying here.

  13:07-13:11

  See, Mom would say that. Mom would say, "Keep it up, keep it up." And we knew what that meant.

  13:12-13:18

  Mom was saying, "You know what, just keep misbehaving because I'm noticing." And eventually, eventually we're going to be leaving hills.

  13:19-13:21

  And eventually we're going to be home.

  13:22-13:25

  And then, then you're going to get it.

  13:26-13:32

  So when Mom said, "Keep it up," we were like, "Okay, you know what?" doesn't really mean keep it up.

  13:34-13:36

  Mom's just making a mental tally.

  13:38-13:41

  For the whooping that I get, it's going to be justified.

  13:43-13:43

  Keep it up.

  13:45-13:50

  It wasn't an encouragement to misbehave, it was actually a very serious warning, and that's what the Lord is saying right here.

  13:51-13:53

  The Lord is saying, "Okay, you want to ignore Me?

  13:54-14:01

  You want to read and hear everything that I've said to this point, and you want to just completely disregard my Word.

  14:01-14:05

  You want to read all this, and you just want to continue to sin.

  14:07-14:09

  Keep it up. Go ahead. Go ahead.

  14:12-14:19

  Because just like eventually we were going to leave hills, look at the next verse.

  14:20-14:26

  He says, "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done.

  14:29-14:31

  So Jesus says, "You want to sin?

  14:31-14:33

  If you want to sin, go ahead.

  14:33-14:35

  Go ahead and sin.

  14:37-14:40

  Ignore all the stuff that we've been talking about.

  14:40-14:42

  You want to be unfaithful to your spouse?

  14:42-14:44

  Go ahead, be unfaithful to your spouse.

  14:44-14:45

  Do you want to steal at work?

  14:45-14:46

  Keep stealing at work.

  14:46-14:47

  Do you want to be a cheat?

  14:47-14:48

  Do you want to be dishonest?

  14:48-14:49

  Do you want to do that?

  14:49-14:51

  Is that the kind of person you want to be?

  14:51-14:51

  Go ahead.

  14:52-14:53

  Keep doing it.

  14:53-15:25

  doing it, but know this, I'm coming soon, and I'm bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone according to what they do, so keep it up, but eventually you're going to pay for it, because your works, your works reveal your heart, and to what you've done, good or bad.

  15:26-15:29

  Your actions have eternal consequences.

  15:32-15:34

  Further elaborate on what he's talking about.

  15:34-15:37

  Look at verses 13-15 with me.

  15:37-15:46

  He says, this is again Jesus speaking, He said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

  15:46-15:54

  Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter the city by the gates.

  15:54-16:14

  Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." Again, same theme here, right?

  16:14-16:14

  There's two camps.

  16:16-16:18

  He's going to repay everyone according to what they've done.

  16:19-16:20

  Your works reveal your hearts.

  16:21-16:22

  There's two camps.

  16:23-16:29

  The first camp is for the people who have received Christ, who love Christ, who seek to follow Christ.

  16:29-16:31

  They receive the robes of righteousness.

  16:31-16:34

  We've seen those come up a few times in Revelation.

  16:35-16:38

  It's the righteousness that Jesus Christ Himself gives you.

  16:38-16:40

  You're not righteous. I'm not righteous.

  16:40-16:41

  We can't be righteous.

  16:41-16:45

  Jesus gives us His righteousness, and biblically that's depicted as a robe.

  16:45-16:51

  He says, "Here's a robe of righteousness that you're going to wear." through faith in Christ.

  16:53-16:58

  Those who receive Christ, love Christ, seek to follow Christ, receive eternal life, receive residence in heaven.

  16:58-16:59

  That's one camp.

  16:59-17:03

  Then the other camp are those who love their sin more than they love Jesus Christ.

  17:04-17:08

  And we see another sample list of the sins.

  17:08-17:10

  And we've talked about these things very quickly.

  17:11-17:12

  Jump to the second thing in the list.

  17:12-17:13

  The sorcerers.

  17:14-17:20

  That's where we get the English word "pharmacy." People that use drugs in occult worship.

  17:20-17:22

  That stuff still happens today, by the way.

  17:25-17:28

  Next on the list, the sexually immoral.

  17:31-17:34

  All forms of sexual immorality.

  17:34-17:39

  And a reminder that Jesus said it's not just what you do, it's a heart thing, it can be lost.

  17:40-17:41

  Sexually immoral.

  17:41-17:42

  Murderers.

  17:44-17:46

  Again, it's a heart thing.

  17:46-17:48

  Jesus said if you hate someone, it's the same as committing murder.

  17:50-17:58

  Idolaters - that's anything in your life that receives your time, attention, devotion more than Jesus Christ. That's idolatry.

  17:58-18:00

  Deceivers - people who practice falsehood.

  18:01-18:03

  We've talked about those things.

  18:03-18:08

  But the thing that jumped out to me on this list was the very first thing, verse 15, the dogs.

  18:10-18:11

  The dogs.

  18:11-18:12

  And when I...

  18:16-18:18

  Look, I'll be honest with you, I'm a dog person.

  18:18-18:19

  You guys know that.

  18:20-18:21

  Cats, not so much.

  18:22-18:26

  Dogs, everyone should have a few dogs.

  18:28-18:30

  That's not from the Lord, that's just my opinion.

  18:32-18:38

  So anyway, so I see this list of not great things, right?

  18:38-18:40

  wicked, sinful things.

  18:40-18:42

  And the first thing on the list is dogs.

  18:42-18:44

  Well, it's not what you think.

  18:45-18:47

  We love our dogs.

  18:47-18:53

  But understand, in biblical times, to call someone a dog was a pretty bad insult.

  18:54-18:54

  Just jot this down.

  18:55-18:58

  Philippians 3.2, same concept here.

  18:58-19:02

  It was an insult to call someone a dog.

  19:05-19:10

  When we think of dogs, we think of our little pets.

  19:11-19:14

  We put the bows and the sweaters on, right?

  19:14-19:16

  We carry around in our little bags.

  19:16-19:18

  Is that what we think of?

  19:19-19:25

  But understand, when the original audience was hearing this, they were thinking more of the wild dogs.

  19:26-19:33

  And I know I've shared this story with this church in the past, but this is the kind of dog that this is talking about here.

  19:33-19:35

  I was in Thailand in the '90s.

  19:35-19:38

  We were getting ready to set out on our next leg of the trip.

  19:39-19:40

  And I remember I was standing in this field.

  19:40-19:43

  It was just at the edge of the mountain, jungle area.

  19:43-19:44

  And it was just this little field.

  19:45-19:50

  And I looked up, and I saw this enormous tan dog running at me.

  19:51-19:56

  And I don't mean tail wagging, do you have a milk bone running at me.

  19:56-20:04

  I mean hair up on its back, teeth out, I think you are a milk bone coming after me.

  20:04-20:08

  It was just like, (growling) and it's going like slobber everywhere and it's running after me.

  20:10-20:18

  Here's a part of the story where I'd like to be brave and tell you about some valiant fight that I had.

  20:18-20:22

  I was completely paralyzed with fear, completely paralyzed.

  20:22-20:25

  I just remember standing, you know, give me a break.

  20:25-20:27

  I was like 21 at the time.

  20:27-20:29

  I just, no, I wasn't, I was 20.

  20:29-20:41

  Didn't have my birthday yet that year, That's not important, but I was standing there, and this dog is coming after me, and I just remember thinking, "This is how it ends." It was a good run.

  20:42-20:51

  "This is how it ends. I'm going to be eaten at the base of a mountain in Thailand." And this dog was running, and I was just completely frozen.

  20:51-21:00

  And then all of a sudden, this rock comes out of nowhere, hits the dog, and the dog's like, "Brrr!" takes off running into the woods.

  21:00-21:06

  And I looked over, there was this little Thai kid that was just sitting in the dirt, just kind of playing with sticks, just playing in the dirt.

  21:07-21:09

  He saw this dog coming after me.

  21:09-21:10

  I found this out later through translators.

  21:11-21:16

  He saw this dog coming after me and picked up a rock and just whipped it, made the mother of all shots.

  21:17-21:19

  I think he's pitching for the Yankees now.

  21:19-21:21

  Like, he hits this dog.

  21:22-21:28

  So we had this giant garbage bag full of candy that we were taking to the villages and give them to the kids in the villages.

  21:28-21:35

  Oh, I grabbed that bag of candy out of the truck and I went up to this kid and I'm just like dumping it on him.

  21:35-21:37

  It's like raining candy on him.

  21:39-21:40

  Like, why did you tell us that story?

  21:40-21:47

  Because when he's talking about dogs here, that's what he's talking about.

  21:49-21:52

  Filthy, vicious, garbage-eating scavengers.

  21:53-21:54

  That's really what dogs are.

  21:54-22:09

  Now look, I love dogs, But your dog, no matter how you dress them up, groom them, or what clothes you put on them, your dog at its very base is a filthy, vicious, garbage-eating scavenger.

  22:12-22:16

  And that is a very appropriate picture, and I believe that's why it's at the top of the list.

  22:18-22:22

  Because dogs are completely driven by their appetites.

  22:22-22:26

  They are completely driven by their appetites.

  22:27-22:32

  And you're like, "Well, not my dog. I train my dog to do some really cool tricks." How'd you train your dog? Probably with food, right?

  22:32-22:35

  He's only doing it for his own appetite.

  22:36-22:37

  And that's the picture here.

  22:40-22:44

  With all of these other sins, the bottom line is this.

  22:45-22:47

  It's living for your fleshly appetites.

  22:47-22:48

  I do whatever I want to do.

  22:49-22:51

  I sleep with whoever I want to sleep with.

  22:52-22:55

  I am involved in whatever activity I want to be involved in.

  22:55-22:57

  It's whatever I want to...

  22:58-22:59

  You're a dog.

  23:00-23:05

  You're no different than a dog when you live that way.

  23:06-23:15

  And he reminds us, "By the way, dogs aren't in heaven." I don't know about your pet. He's not talking about that.

  23:15-23:16

  I get asked that all the time.

  23:17-23:19

  But the people that live by fleshly appetites?

  23:22-23:22

  Not there.

  23:24-23:27

  So, you know what's coming soon, and you know who's coming soon.

  23:27-23:33

  So, Jesus is saying, "Keep it up." Keep it up.

  23:35-23:44

  Jesus is saying, "Do what you think is best." But it's clear what actions are going to bring what consequences.

  23:45-23:46

  So keep it up.

  23:47-23:50

  Thirdly, the invitation is for today.

  23:51-23:53

  The invitation is for today.

  23:54-23:56

  Look at verse 16.

  23:56-24:01

  "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches.

  24:01-24:10

  I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." Again, Jesus reminds us He's the messenger.

  24:12-24:15

  And He reminds us His credentials as the source of the message.

  24:16-24:19

  I love this. Jesus says He's the root and the descendant of David.

  24:19-24:27

  At the same time, He says, "I am the origin of David, and I'm also like David's grandkid." Like, how can that be?

  24:28-24:33

  Because Jesus, fully God and fully man at the same time.

  24:34-24:38

  Speaking to His humanity, His divinity, the root and descendant of David.

  24:40-24:42

  Jesus also says He's the bright morning star.

  24:43-24:45

  That's a reference to Numbers 24.

  24:48-24:50

  Look down at the next verse.

  24:51-24:59

  "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' And let the one who is thirsty come.

  25:00-25:09

  Let the one who desires to take the water of life without price." The invitation is for today.

  25:10-25:13

  And actually right here we see two invitations are given.

  25:14-25:36

  First, the Spirit and the Bride and the One who hears say, "Come." It's to Jesus. "Come." But then there's an invitation to the thirsty that says, "Come." In other words, these are two sides of a coin.

  25:39-25:55

  One side of the coin is saying, "Come, Jesus!" And the other side of the coin is saying, "Come to Jesus." In other words, this is just very simply the prayer and the message of the church.

  25:56-25:59

  Right? As a church, that's what we pray.

  25:59-26:02

  We pray, "Come, Lord Jesus," and that's our sermon.

  26:02-26:10

  and we get up and we say, "Come to Jesus!" Are you thirsty? Are you satisfied with what life has been giving you? No?

  26:10-26:12

  Well, Jesus satisfies you.

  26:12-26:15

  So come to Jesus. That's the invitation.

  26:18-26:27

  You see, even with the warning of, "Keep it up. You want to sin? Go ahead and sin." But I'm coming and I'm bringing my recompense at the same time.

  26:27-26:38

  He's saying, "I want you to come to Me, because I'm coming soon." So one more time, one more time, He gives the invitation.

  26:39-26:41

  You need to come to Jesus Christ now.

  26:42-26:45

  He's offering you living water without price.

  26:46-26:48

  Without price. It's free.

  26:51-26:53

  Because He paid the cost with His blood.

  26:55-26:56

  He's provided the way.

  26:57-26:59

  You see, that's the truth of the gospel.

  26:59-27:15

  The gospel of Jesus Christ is not, "Hey, hey, hey, get your act together, and then come to Jesus." It's, "You come to Jesus, and He will get your act together." Because He loves you as you are, but He loves you too much to keep you that way.

  27:17-27:21

  But today, today is the day of salvation.

  27:23-27:27

  Because the worst thing that you can do is to put Him off.

  27:28-27:30

  The worst thing you can do is put Jesus off.

  27:30-27:39

  Because you can reschedule that dentist appointment, and you can cancel that appointment with your accountant, and you can no-show a work meeting.

  27:40-27:43

  I don't recommend any of those things, but you can do it.

  27:44-27:49

  But, "Jesus is coming soon," he said.

  27:52-27:53

  You can't postpone Jesus.

  27:56-27:58

  You can't cancel this.

  28:00-28:01

  And you certainly can't no-show.

  28:04-28:07

  Now is the time, today is the day, the invitation is for today.

  28:08-28:13

  And number four, don't mess with the message.

  28:14-28:15

  Don't mess with the message.

  28:18-28:28

  I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

  28:28-28:39

  And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city which are described in this book.

  28:42-28:45

  God's written Word is complete.

  28:45-28:53

  And here, he's telling us, in no uncertain terms, don't mess with God's Word.

  28:54-28:56

  Okay? Don't mess with it.

  28:57-29:00

  It's done. It's complete. Don't mess with it.

  29:01-29:02

  Like, well, can you be more specific?

  29:02-29:04

  He was more specific, actually.

  29:05-29:08

  He says, first of all, don't add to it.

  29:10-29:14

  You're like, well, who in the world would have the audacity to add to the Word of God?

  29:15-29:17

  I don't know, maybe the Mormons?

  29:18-29:26

  They use the Bible and the Book of Mormon, among some other books that they put on par with the Word of God.

  29:26-29:28

  They have added to it.

  29:29-29:31

  What about the Christian scientists?

  29:32-29:36

  Who use the Bible, yes, but also use science and health with key to the Scriptures.

  29:38-29:38

  Who else?

  29:40-29:41

  The Jehovah's Witnesses.

  29:41-29:46

  They use the New World Translation of the Scriptures.

  29:47-29:52

  It's a little more subtle because there's just some additions in the text itself.

  29:52-29:57

  A couple of words here and there that completely change the meanings of some passages.

  29:58-29:59

  But they've added to it.

  30:02-30:03

  Don't add to it.

  30:04-30:06

  Secondly, he says, don't take away from it.

  30:08-30:09

  So many liberal churches.

  30:12-30:14

  Genesis is just an allegory.

  30:14-30:15

  Noah is exaggerated.

  30:16-30:17

  Jonah is a fairy tale.

  30:18-30:23

  Revelation is too controversial and confusing and irrelevant, so we just avoid that.

  30:24-30:35

  Well, to underscore the seriousness of the warning, God says if you add to His Word, He's going to add these plagues to you.

  30:38-30:46

  And if you take away from God's Word, the blessings of heaven are going to be taken away from you.

  30:47-30:51

  Now, both of those are bad. Right? Can we agree on that?

  30:51-30:52

  Both of those are bad.

  30:54-31:03

  But the warning sounds like taking away from the Word of God is actually the worst of the two.

  31:03-31:04

  Why?

  31:06-31:17

  Because with the Mormons and with the Christian scientists, with Jehovah's Witnesses, yes, they add, and that's bad.

  31:20-31:28

  But, please hear me, adding "at least" leaves the gospel intact.

  31:28-31:33

  That is, the Bible itself is still there.

  31:35-32:01

  So, someone in these cults, someone involved in one of these cults, for example, actually could - it's hypothetical, it's possible, and I'm sure it's happened - actually read the Bible and come to Christ despite what the church teaches.

  32:01-32:02

  I mean, isn't that possible?

  32:04-32:09

  Somebody sitting in those cults just one day decides, "I'm just going to read the Bible," and they come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

  32:09-32:11

  Is that possible? Absolutely.

  32:14-32:24

  But, when you take away the content of the Bible itself, you're robbing people of the opportunity to hear from God at all.

  32:25-32:31

  I think that's why the warning sounds more serious for the one who takes away from the Word than the one who adds to.

  32:31-32:35

  But, both of them are bad.

  32:36-32:44

  Like man, God really seems serious about this adding and taking away from His Word.

  32:44-32:46

  Like, why is God so serious about that?

  32:46-32:48

  Do you know why God's so serious about that?

  32:49-32:51

  It's because He wants people to be saved.

  32:51-32:54

  And He said, "Here is how to be saved.

  32:54-32:56

  I wrote it down for you in My Word.

  32:56-32:57

  Here's how to be saved.

  32:57-32:59

  And I want you to be saved.

  32:59-33:03

  I want you to know this place of heaven that I describe in this book.

  33:03-33:16

  I want you there." And the way people get there - Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.

  33:16-33:24

  So yeah, God's pretty serious about His Word, because He's serious about you having a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

  33:26-33:51

  And I've got to tell you, church, publicly, I have to say, may God have mercy on me, If I have misrepresented God's Word in any way, if I've added to it, if I've taken things from it in my effort to try to explain it, may God have mercy on me.

  33:53-34:04

  The others who are going to be getting up here preaching in July, Justin and Mike and Rich and Ryan, Don't mess with the message.

  34:06-34:07

  Don't add to it.

  34:08-34:39

  Don;t So as God's book closes, incredible reminders that He gives us.

  34:40-34:44

  That hey, worship is only for God. Don't get away from that.

  34:46-34:50

  Your choices on earth now, they reveal your heart, but know that they have consequences.

  34:53-34:55

  The invitation is still out, still for today.

  34:55-34:59

  Are you thirsty? Come to Jesus Christ.

  35:01-35:03

  and present the message the way that God presented it.

  35:05-35:07

  So what else is there to say?

  35:08-35:10

  Well, look at verse 20.

  35:11-35:14

  "He who testifies to these things..." This is Jesus.

  35:14-35:26

  "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely, I am coming soon.' And we reply with John, 'Amen!

  35:28-35:29

  Come, Lord Jesus.

  35:31-35:35

  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.

  35:36-35:36

  Amen.

  35:38-35:39

  You bow your heads with me, please.

  35:39-35:45

  Father in Heaven, we want to close our time here the way Your Word closes.

  35:45-35:51

  Say, "Come, Lord Jesus." Come, Lord Jesus, You promised that You were coming soon.

  35:54-35:55

  Find us patience as we wait.

  35:58-36:00

  Find us faithful as we wait.

  36:03-36:05

  Please, please Jesus, come back.

  36:08-36:13

  Please come back, sir, to make all things right.

  36:14-36:17

  And as you promised, as we studied last week, to make all things new.

  36:18-36:22

  Father, we as a church cry out for that.

  36:24-36:29

  And Father, as a church, we thank You for Your grace that is with us.

  36:32-36:45

  Father, might we be a church that lives and breathes and walks in the abounding grace that You provided in Jesus Christ.

  36:47-36:48

  Thank You, Father, for Your Word.

  36:52-36:55

  And I pray for this church that this is a place where the Word is never sealed.

  36:57-37:02

  Where it is never added to, and where we never take out the parts that we don't like or don't agree with.

  37:03-37:09

  Father, let this be a place where we don't mess with Your message.

  37:12-37:13

  Thank You, Father.

  37:15-37:18

  We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Small Group Discussion

Read Revelation 22:6-21

GROUP

1. What stood out to you / surprised you from this passage?

2. What are some ways people add to or take away from God's Word (Rev 22:18-19)?
   Why is God so serious about adding to or taking away from His Word?

3. Looking back on the Revelation series as a whole, what was the 1 thing that stood out to you the most? 

BREAKOUT

Pray for one another!

Coming Soon: All Things New.

Introduction:

Heaven: Where Jesus Makes All Things New. (Rev 21-1-22:5)

1. The new HEAVEN and EARTH . (Rev 21:1)
2. The new JERUSALEM. (Rev 21:2)
3. The new way of LIFE. (Rev 21:3-5)
4. The new DEMOGRAPHIC. (Rev 21:6-8)
5. The new NEIGHBORHOOD. (Rev 21:9-22:5)

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

• Audio Transcript

  01:04-01:07

  Open up your Bibles with me please to Revelation 21.

  01:10-01:16

  While you're turning there, we had a very productive missions meeting last Thursday.

  01:17-01:41

  And I asked the people there on the missions team, I said, "Who wants to get up and help talk about the big mission trip?" And September went around, and, "I'm not going to be there Sunday, I'm not going to be there Sunday, I'm not going to be there Sunday, I'm not going to be there Sunday." "Well, it's that time of year, camping, weddings, grad parties, whatever, whatever, whatever." And I said, "Well, you know I'm preaching on heaven on Sunday, and you're not going to be there.

  01:42-01:47

  So someday you're going to die, and you're going to show up, and you're not going to know what to expect.

  01:48-01:52

  And you're going to have nobody to blame but yourself." So I guess I'm doing the missions announcement too.

  01:53-02:03

  However, September 14th, we are conducting a Bible conference over in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

  02:03-02:22

  Our missionary over there has 20-some churches up in the mountain jungle region, three children's homes, and a lot of their ministers don't get formal training, and they've asked us to come over again, as we did back in 2015, to go over and hold a Bible conference to minister to the ministers.

  02:22-02:24

  I'm so excited about that.

  02:24-02:34

  To think we can impact people who are going to go off to their respective villages and carry the truth of God's Word to the people whom they minister.

  02:35-02:38

  We do have a couple slots available.

  02:39-02:40

  This is a teaching trip.

  02:40-02:52

  The 15th, we're traveling the 14th, 15th for resting, and then the 16th through the 20th is the conference, then the following week is going to be church visitation of prayer and things like that.

  02:53-02:56

  So we have... I'd like two more teachers to go.

  02:57-03:02

  And I would like you, if you would please, to commit that to prayer.

  03:03-03:04

  Who would pray for that?

  03:06-03:07

  Show of hands, who would pray for that?

  03:08-03:10

  Thank you. Thank you, please.

  03:11-03:18

  This is a very serious thing, an incredible opportunity, and we're asking that you keep that in prayer.

  03:19-03:22

  If you would like information, possibly discuss going.

  03:23-03:26

  If you would be the right fit for the trip, I'd love to talk with you about that.

  03:26-03:27

  Just come and see me.

  03:29-03:31

  Putting everything together for this trip.

  03:31-03:32

  September 14th.

  03:35-03:36

  Alright, Revelation 21.

  03:38-03:43

  Today, we are talking about heaven.

  03:46-03:57

  But Jesus, right now, right this minute, Jesus is preparing a place for you.

  03:59-04:00

  Wouldn't you like to know what it's like?

  04:01-04:02

  I mean, imagine.

  04:03-04:09

  Imagine if I said to you, "I'm going to book you a month-long vacation.

  04:10-04:12

  All expenses paid. I'm just going to give you the tickets.

  04:12-04:16

  You're going to get on the plane, you're going to have a month-long vacation on me.

  04:16-04:17

  Wouldn't that be nice of me?

  04:17-04:20

  I'm not really going to do that, but we're just pretending here this morning.

  04:20-04:22

  But you're going on a month-long vacation.

  04:24-04:28

  And you say, well, what's it like?

  04:28-04:29

  Don't worry about it.

  04:29-04:30

  Don't worry about it.

  04:30-04:31

  You'll find out when you get there.

  04:32-04:32

  You're like, no, no, no.

  04:33-04:36

  I want to know-- let me just tell you this.

  04:36-04:37

  You're going to like it, OK?

  04:37-04:38

  You're going to like it.

  04:39-04:45

  You would say, no, no, if I'm going to be there for a month, You want some more information about it, more than just you're going to like it.

  04:45-04:47

  Wouldn't you want more information?

  04:47-04:52

  Wouldn't you want to know, if you're spending an entire month there, what it's going to be like?

  04:54-05:01

  Well, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you are going to be in heaven for eternity.

  05:03-05:06

  Wouldn't you like to know what it's like?

  05:08-05:15

  The passage we're looking at today He describes eternal heaven called the new heaven and the new earth.

  05:16-05:18

  What's it like? What's heaven like?

  05:21-05:24

  The Bible uses a word to describe heaven.

  05:25-05:30

  The Bible actually uses the greatest word to describe heaven.

  05:30-05:31

  It's the greatest word.

  05:34-05:36

  In our language, it's just three letters.

  05:46-05:58

  The one who was seated on the throne, Jesus Christ said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And that's how heaven is described.

  06:01-06:02

  Everything is new.

  06:03-06:08

  And I love that, because that is a concept that we get even here on the earth, don't we?

  06:09-06:17

  Because we love, we love getting something new, don't we?

  06:20-06:36

  New shoes, new jeans, a new cell phone, a new car, and I mean, I mean a pre-owned, affordable Alex paid with cash.

  06:38-06:39

  New to me. You know what I mean.

  06:39-06:40

  Okay, thank you, Alex. Thank you.

  06:40-06:42

  A new-to-me car?

  06:45-06:46

  A new computer?

  06:47-06:48

  A new fishing rod?

  06:48-06:50

  A new home?

  06:51-06:53

  A new puppy?

  06:54-06:57

  Don't we love getting new things?

  06:58-07:05

  Well, the Bible says in heaven, everything is always new!

  07:07-07:15

  This passage we're looking at today, I'm going to be honest with you, I could spend three months talking about all of these concepts, and we're not going to do that.

  07:17-07:19

  Today, church, I simply want us to do this.

  07:19-07:29

  We're going to go through this chunk, and we're simply going to bask in the beauty of the description of heaven.

  07:29-07:30

  Are you ready for this?

  07:32-07:37

  Heaven, on your outline, Jesus makes all things, say it.

  07:38-07:40

  What's Jesus making? All things what?

  07:41-07:42

  All things new.

  07:42-07:45

  Number one, write this down first of all, the new heaven and earth.

  07:48-08:02

  John says, "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." The next vision that John sees, again, new heaven, new earth.

  08:02-08:03

  Why a new heaven and a new earth?

  08:04-08:11

  Because the first heaven and the first earth, the one that you're standing on right now, we saw last week was vaporized by God's glory.

  08:14-08:22

  This word for new here could also be translated fresh, meaning it's not the same old thing.

  08:22-08:31

  You're not going to be walking around heaven a million years from now going, eh, this is a lot like it was on the earth, just kind of the same.

  08:31-08:31

  No, no, no, no, no.

  08:32-08:41

  It's new and it's fresh, and every day you're just going to be like, "Oh, wow! This place is awesome!" That's heaven.

  08:42-08:43

  He says there's no sea.

  08:45-08:48

  That's different. Radically different than what we're used to.

  08:48-08:51

  I mean, there will be a river, we'll talk about that in a couple minutes.

  08:52-08:54

  But there's no sea in heaven. Why?

  08:56-08:57

  Well, the Bible doesn't say.

  08:58-09:03

  But I believe there's no sea in heaven because it's not needed.

  09:04-09:16

  The sea on the earth - our sea sustains all the life on the earth, and in heaven we're not going to need regular H2O water to sustain our lives.

  09:16-09:17

  I believe that's why there's no sea.

  09:19-09:21

  The Bible says there's no sea in heaven.

  09:21-09:23

  Number two, jot this down. Let's talk about the New Jerusalem.

  09:24-09:44

  Verse 2, "And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." The next thing John sees is the capital city of the new heaven and the new earth.

  09:44-09:49

  Now this city already exists. It's coming down from heaven.

  09:50-09:54

  And it's the place that Jesus is preparing right now.

  09:55-10:02

  Back in John 14, Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you, and then I'm going to come again, take you to be with Me." Remember that? John 14.

  10:03-10:06

  This is the place that Jesus is preparing for you.

  10:07-10:11

  You're like, "Prepared how?" I love this.

  10:12-10:14

  Did you see it in the text?

  10:14-10:17

  Prepared as a bribe.

  10:19-10:21

  prepared as a bride.

  10:22-10:23

  Have you ever seen a bride?

  10:24-10:26

  Show of hands, how many people have seen a bride?

  10:27-10:29

  Okay. Have you ever seen a bride?

  10:30-10:33

  I mean, I've been to a few weddings.

  10:36-10:51

  And the preparation and care that goes into preparing the bride, So much time, so much money, so much care.

  10:52-10:55

  We've got to get the hair and the makeup and the nails.

  10:56-10:57

  We go tanning.

  10:59-11:03

  So much is put in to the preparation of the bride.

  11:04-11:20

  And look, I have done a lot of weddings in the last 20-some years, and I can tell you this, Every single bride is breathtakingly beautiful because she has put so much effort into preparing herself.

  11:23-11:29

  And this is how Jesus is preparing a place for you.

  11:30-11:35

  He's not just throwing up some handrails and paneling and drywall and good enough.

  11:35-11:40

  He is preparing this place for you The way a bride prepares for a wedding.

  11:40-11:41

  Isn't that awesome?

  11:42-11:43

  That's the new Jerusalem.

  11:44-11:46

  We're going to talk more about that in a minute.

  11:47-11:48

  The new way of life.

  11:49-11:50

  Look at verse 3.

  11:52-11:59

  "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

  12:00-12:06

  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, God Himself will be with them as their God.

  12:09-12:14

  God has always dwelt among His people, right?

  12:14-12:19

  In the Old Testament it was in the temple, the tabernacle, that's where God's presence existed.

  12:19-12:25

  In the New Testament, John 1.14 says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

  12:25-12:33

  John tells us that God's unique presence was in the person of Jesus Christ.

  12:34-12:39

  Today, God's unique presence is in the heart of every believer of Jesus Christ.

  12:42-12:48

  Have you ever wished that you were alive when Jesus was on the earth?

  12:49-12:50

  I think that's true.

  12:50-12:51

  I'm not going to ask you to raise your hands.

  12:52-12:54

  Because I think that's true of every true Christian.

  12:54-12:55

  That's my opinion.

  12:55-13:11

  I think every true Christian has something in them that says, "Man, there's a part of me that wishes I lived when Jesus walked the earth, so I could have seen Him, so I could have heard Him, so I could have talked to Him." And...

  13:11-13:14

  Well, in heaven, you're going to get that.

  13:17-13:23

  You know, on earth sometimes God seems distant.

  13:24-13:25

  I mean, he's not.

  13:28-13:30

  But doesn't it feel that way sometimes?

  13:31-13:33

  We go through trials.

  13:33-13:34

  We've been hurt.

  13:35-13:36

  We need comforted.

  13:36-13:40

  We felt betrayed or disappointed or let down or tired.

  13:40-13:42

  And we're like, "God, where are You?

  13:43-13:49

  God, I needed You, and where are You?" Who else besides me has felt like that?

  13:52-14:00

  And that's the point here, is never again will God ever seem distant.

  14:01-14:12

  In heaven, He is always personally present in a way unlike anyone has ever known.

  14:14-14:33

  And therefore, he says, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." No more sorrow.

  14:35-14:36

  No more depression.

  14:38-14:39

  No more discouragement.

  14:42-14:42

  No more pain.

  14:44-14:45

  No cancer.

  14:46-14:47

  No diabetes.

  14:48-14:49

  No COPD.

  14:51-14:52

  No organ failure.

  14:52-14:53

  No wheelchairs.

  14:55-14:57

  No mental health issues of any kind.

  15:00-15:02

  Sorrow, pain, crying, death.

  15:02-15:07

  Every bit of pain and heartache and discouragement.

  15:08-15:09

  Never again.

  15:10-15:12

  is eternally behind you.

  15:13-15:13

  Eternally!

  15:16-15:31

  Verse 5, "And he who is 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.

  15:33-15:59

  Everything is made and stays..." New. New. We can't fathom that. We live in a world of the second law of thermodynamics. You know, entropy. Everything is decaying, wearing out, becoming more and more disorganized and tattered, and that's the world we live in.

  16:01-16:08

  But in heaven, apparently it goes the other way. Everything's just always It's always getting better because it's always being made what?

  16:08-16:10

  New! Everything's new!

  16:12-16:15

  And you're like, "Really, Pastor Jeff? Really?

  16:16-16:24

  Do you really think that's how it is?" Jesus said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." You better believe this is real.

  16:27-16:29

  That's the new way of life.

  16:29-16:31

  Let's look at the new demographic.

  16:34-16:43

  "And He said to me, 'It is done.'" I'm just going to pause here for a second. I love that.

  16:44-16:45

  Because you can trace that in the Bible.

  16:47-16:50

  Remember when Jesus was hanging on the cross, John 19, 30?

  16:50-16:53

  Do you remember when He cried out, "It is finished"?

  16:53-17:19

  When it came to your salvation being paid in full, He says, "It's done!" When He was pouring out judgment upon the earth, Revelation 16-17, He said, "It is done." And now when we get to this point, He says, "I am making all things new." It's done.

  17:22-17:24

  He finishes what he begins.

  17:25-17:32

  He goes on, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

  17:32-17:39

  To the thirsty, I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

  17:42-17:45

  The one who conquers will have this heritage.

  17:45-17:48

  I will be his God, and he will be my son.

  17:50-17:50

  What?

  17:52-18:06

  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.

  18:09-18:10

  This is the new demographic.

  18:13-18:15

  A whole new demographic in heaven.

  18:15-18:18

  First of all, verses 6 and 7 tells us who's going to be in heaven.

  18:19-18:28

  Every single person in heaven - every single person without exception is described using these two phrases right there in the text.

  18:28-18:29

  First of all, the one who thirsts.

  18:30-18:40

  That's true about every single person in heaven is they recognize their spiritual need and they genuinely thirsted for God.

  18:42-18:44

  So let me ask you, how thirsty are you for God?

  18:46-18:55

  If church is just kind of your hobby, is just kind of, "Eh, if you're like, how much longer is He going to talk?" I'm not really thirsty for these things of God.

  18:58-19:03

  Heaven is described as - the people in heaven, the citizens of heaven are described as those who are thirsty.

  19:04-19:09

  People are like, "I need to know God. I need His presence in my life.

  19:09-19:16

  I need His Word in my heart. I'm so thirsty for God." That's who's in heaven.

  19:18-19:30

  The good news about being thirsty for God is Jesus promised to quench that thirst.

  19:30-19:32

  See, God doesn't just want you longing.

  19:33-19:36

  He wants you longing so that He can satisfy you.

  19:37-19:40

  But nothing else satisfies, only He does.

  19:42-19:45

  And Jesus promised to quench every spiritual need.

  19:45-19:55

  John 4.14, John 7.37, Jesus said that the water He gives, the water He offers, truly satisfies.

  19:56-20:00

  So that's one phrase used to describe the citizen of heaven - the thirsty.

  20:00-20:08

  And then the second is "He who overcomes." That's simply one who has saving faith in Jesus Christ.

  20:08-20:12

  That's the person that drinks from the water that Christ offers.

  20:12-20:15

  Christians are described as overcomers.

  20:15-20:18

  This is the victory that overcomes the world - our faith.

  20:21-20:22

  In other words, heaven.

  20:24-20:33

  Heaven is for the one who knows they need Christ, and who has received Christ, and who loves Christ.

  20:37-20:41

  But it's also clear in this passage, "who will not enter this paradise." You saw the list in verse 8.

  20:42-20:46

  Just to sum it up, it's people who love their sin more than they love Jesus.

  20:47-20:49

  That's really what that list is about.

  20:49-20:53

  And I'm not going to go through and break all these down, maybe some other time.

  20:54-21:05

  One word in particular, maybe it struck you as interesting, because it certainly did me, as he gives a list of the kinds of sinners who will not be in heaven, the first on the list, did you see that?

  21:06-21:16

  "Ask for the cowardly." Somebody might read that and think, "Oh no, I'm going to have to set up a counseling appointment with Pastor Jeff because I'm scared of spiders.

  21:18-21:21

  And maybe that means I'm disqualified from heaven.

  21:21-21:31

  Or I'm scared of sharks or cats or ladders." There are some things that I'm scared of, but that's not at all what this is talking about.

  21:34-21:40

  This is talking about people who lack the courage to follow Jesus Christ.

  21:41-21:44

  Do you think following Jesus Christ is easy?

  21:44-21:46

  If you do, you're not doing it.

  21:48-21:50

  Do you think it's easy to trust God?

  21:54-21:57

  Do you think it's easy to say no to sin?

  22:00-22:08

  Do you think it's easy to say yes to serving Christ when it inconveniences us and our agenda?

  22:11-22:16

  See, the cowardly describes the people who, "No, no, no, I don't have what it takes.

  22:16-22:25

  I don't have that kind of courage to, by faith, follow Jesus Christ." That's the cowardly.

  22:25-22:36

  And all of these items on these lists Describe people who have never repented, they've never come to Christ, these are all evidences of being unsaved.

  22:37-22:39

  So like, why is this in here?

  22:39-22:41

  Like, didn't we deal with this?

  22:42-22:52

  Well, the Holy Spirit knew that throughout church history people would be reading this revelation, and this is our gentle reminder.

  22:54-22:58

  that if you don't love Christ, don't get too excited reading this.

  23:00-23:11

  If you're sitting here and you're not a follower of Christ, you have no interest in following Christ, you'd rather hold on to your sin, you're like, "Maybe I am the coward that doesn't want to follow Christ." Well, you're not going to see this place that's being described.

  23:12-23:15

  So, don't get too excited.

  23:16-23:17

  But that's the new demographic.

  23:19-23:25

  And finally, let's talk about the new neighborhood.

  23:27-23:36

  The rest of this passage, and again, we're going to go through this quickly, because John isn't really explaining things as much as he's describing things.

  23:37-23:48

  But John sees this capital city, this Jerusalem, and then he describes a way of life, and it's almost like, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, I want to hear more about that city." Well, that's the rest of this passage.

  23:48-23:53

  He describes this city. He describes this New Jerusalem.

  23:55-23:56

  I broke it down into five aspects.

  23:57-23:59

  This isn't on your island. You've got to write this in yourself, okay?

  24:00-24:01

  You can do that, right?

  24:03-24:04

  Five aspects described for us.

  24:04-24:08

  First of all, this is all under number five, the new neighborhood.

  24:09-24:11

  The first thing he describes is the structure.

  24:13-24:30

  Verse 9, "Then came one of the seven angels, who had the seven bulls full of the seven last plagues, and spoke to me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.'" So John describes the capital city.

  24:30-24:33

  He's going to give us the layout of this new neighborhood.

  24:33-24:50

  Interestingly, if you go back to chapter 17 and verse 1, an angel said to John, "Come, I'm going to show you the prostitute." And here, He says, "Come, I'm going to show you the Bride." Quite a difference, isn't it?

  24:50-25:15

  Earlier it was, "Come, I want to show you man's greatest city, Babylon, and the forever destruction she is facing." Now it's, "I want to show you God's greatest city, New Jerusalem, and the eternal awesomeness that is in this place." The city here is called "The Bride" because of who lives in the city.

  25:16-25:17

  The wedding has been completed.

  25:19-25:20

  Look at verse 10.

  25:21-25:31

  "And He carried me away in the Spirit to a great high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem." Again, coming down out of heaven from God.

  25:33-25:52

  having the glory of God, its radiance, like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal." Now this jasper is not the jasper of our day, it's actually a transliteration of a Greek word that describes a translucent stone.

  25:52-25:58

  Actually, the word that we would use to describe this stone in our day is a diamond.

  25:59-26:04

  He said it's like a giant diamond in appearance.

  26:04-26:25

  Verse 12, "It had a great high wall with twelve gates; and at the gates twelve angels; and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed.

  26:26-26:31

  On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

  26:32-26:40

  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

  26:41-26:50

  So at each gate was a ministering angel at the post, and each gate was named after one of the tribes of Israel.

  26:51-26:58

  We saw the wall has twelve foundation stones, and on the foundation stones are the names of the twelve apostles." Here's the point.

  26:59-27:10

  This New Jerusalem will forever commemorate God's first covenant with Israel and God's new covenant with the church.

  27:12-27:15

  That's the structure. Let's look at the dimensions.

  27:17-27:24

  "The one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold." He had like this golden yardstick.

  27:27-27:30

  "To measure the city and its gates and walls.

  27:31-27:40

  The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width, and he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.

  27:41-27:45

  Its length and width and height are equal." Meaning it's a cube.

  27:46-27:51

  "He also measured its wall, 144 cubits." That's probably thick.

  27:52-27:52

  Okay.

  27:53-27:59

  144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement.

  28:00-28:12

  Meaning, and this is important, meaning with these dimensions, he's saying this isn't like some angelic unit of measurement that we need to try to translate and figure out how big is this place?

  28:13-28:15

  He says, these are also human measurements.

  28:15-28:21

  So we can rightly understand how big this city is.

  28:23-28:24

  How big is this city?

  28:25-28:29

  Well, each wall is about 1,380 miles long.

  28:30-28:32

  And the city again is shaped like a cube.

  28:32-28:34

  The walls are 72 yards thick.

  28:36-28:37

  Literal measurements.

  28:38-28:41

  You're like, "How big is that?" Here's how big it is.

  28:42-28:45

  You took New Jerusalem right now and dropped it on North America.

  28:46-28:53

  It would go from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic Ocean to Colorado.

  28:54-28:56

  That's how enormous - oh, and that high too, by the way.

  28:56-28:59

  That's how enormous this city is.

  29:00-29:07

  And that's why the angel gives us the measurements so we know how big this city is.

  29:08-29:09

  So that's the structure and the dimensions.

  29:09-29:13

  Thirdly, underneath the new neighborhood, Let's talk about the beauty.

  29:14-29:15

  Let's talk about the beauty.

  29:15-29:26

  Verse 18 says, "The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass.

  29:28-29:33

  Foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel.

  29:35-29:51

  The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth cornelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelve amethysts.

  29:53-30:06

  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.

  30:09-30:11

  Like, what is all of this?

  30:13-30:14

  I'll sum it up this way.

  30:16-30:24

  John is saying this place is absolutely stunning to look at.

  30:27-30:29

  Now, what's up with all these stones?

  30:30-30:37

  Well, it's hard to identify all the stones because the names of things change over time.

  30:38-30:51

  So doing the homework and trying to understand what types of stones these were in the time that John saw this and described it, I'm going to give you the colors of the stones.

  30:54-30:59

  And the point is, just try to imagine what John sees.

  30:59-31:02

  But these are the stones that he sees on the walls.

  31:03-31:09

  The jasper is a diamond, the sapphire is blue, the agate is a sky blue color, sometimes with stripes on it.

  31:11-31:26

  The emerald is green, the onyx was a red and white striped stone, the carnelian were shades of reds, the chrysalite were golds and yellows, the beryl was green, yellow or blue, the topaz was yellow-green, The Chrysoprase was a gold-tinted green stone.

  31:26-31:28

  The Jacinthe was a blue or violet-colored stone.

  31:30-31:32

  The Amethyst was a purple stone.

  31:33-31:36

  Again, the point is, this place was absolutely beautiful.

  31:38-31:40

  But I'll tell you what really fascinates me.

  31:40-31:43

  Each of the gates was made out of a giant pearl.

  31:45-31:47

  You know why that's so fascinating to me?

  31:48-31:54

  Because pearls are different than every other precious gem in this world.

  31:55-31:56

  You know why?

  31:57-32:02

  Because pearls are the only precious gem that's created by a living organism.

  32:03-32:03

  Right?

  32:05-32:07

  And I think there's huge significance in that.

  32:09-32:10

  Because how is a pearl made?

  32:11-32:18

  A pearl is made when an oyster has a grain of something come in and harm it.

  32:18-32:25

  It's afflicted, it's in pain, and the answer to that harm is to create something beautiful.

  32:25-32:26

  That's how pearls are made.

  32:28-32:44

  And looking at this description with the gates being made out of pearl, you see it's the way God took suffering and He made something beautiful.

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  is the suffering of Jesus Christ that caused God to make something beautiful.

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  So access to God's home is because of the cross of Jesus Christ.

  33:05-33:09

  The pearl symbolizes eternally.

  33:09-33:10

  Eternally.

  33:10-33:18

  You will not ever walk in or out of this city without thinking, Great suffering brought this beautiful thing about.

  33:19-33:20

  Like a pearl.

  33:21-33:23

  So that's the structure, the dimensions, the beauty.

  33:25-33:27

  Let's talk about the glory.

  33:28-33:30

  Let's talk about the glory of heaven.

  33:30-33:31

  Look at verse 22.

  33:33-33:40

  It says, "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb.

  33:42-33:53

  The city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

  33:54-34:05

  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day." And there will be no night there.

  34:07-34:23

  "They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations, but nothing unclean will ever enter it, or anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life." This is the glory.

  34:24-34:25

  Now first of all, there's no temple.

  34:26-34:32

  We've seen throughout Revelation, we see it in the book of Hebrews, that right now currently in heaven, there is a temple.

  34:34-34:37

  But when all things are made new, there will be no temple.

  34:40-34:57

  It's not going to be like, "Hey, who wants to go to church?" See, in heaven, it's like, "We're in church all the time!" God is so going to permeate the new heavens and the new earth in every way.

  34:58-35:01

  It's not like we have to go and worship Him.

  35:01-35:03

  Our life will be worship.

  35:04-35:08

  and worship will be our life.

  35:10-35:11

  There's no sun or moon.

  35:13-35:15

  God Himself is going to be the light.

  35:15-35:16

  Now think about this.

  35:16-35:26

  We think about the streets of gold, but He tells us twice here that this gold is transparent as glass, and it looks like a diamond.

  35:26-35:40

  So what do you think this place looks like when the glorious light of God is shining and reflecting through all of this transparent gold and this diamond appearance.

  35:40-35:42

  What do you think that's going to look like?

  35:49-35:50

  I have an idea.

  35:52-35:54

  Interesting phrase. He talks about the kings of the earth.

  35:56-35:56

  What's this about?

  35:56-35:59

  The kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

  35:59-36:00

  What does that mean?

  36:01-36:16

  Now, there are a lot of ideas about what that phrase means, but really the best understanding is the same vein of Revelation 4.10.

  36:17-36:19

  Remember when we saw the elders casting their crowns?

  36:20-36:30

  Like giving any glory they have, they're like, "No, it belongs to Jesus, it belongs to Jesus, it belongs to Jesus." I believe this is more of that.

  36:32-36:45

  That in heaven, for all the things we will do for eternity, none of us will ever get to the point that we're like, "Yeah, God, I am pretty awesome, huh?" No. It's going to be eternally.

  36:45-36:52

  All glory and power and praise and majesty goes to the one seated on the throne.

  36:55-36:56

  He says the gates will never shut.

  36:58-36:59

  The gates will never shut.

  36:59-37:02

  You know, ancient cities, they'd have to shut their gates at night to keep the criminals out.

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  There's no need to do that in heaven.

  37:08-37:09

  Because there's perfect security.

  37:10-37:11

  You're like, "Well, then why are there gates?

  37:12-37:12

  Why are there gates?

  37:12-37:24

  Heaven doesn't sound like a great neighborhood if they've got to put gates around the city." Well, don't see the gates as ways of keeping people out, because that's certainly not the case.

  37:24-37:29

  You need to see these gates as an invitation for God's people to come in.

  37:30-37:35

  You need to see these gates not as locking people out points, but as access points.

  37:36-37:51

  That God's saying, "I'm inviting you into My home." Then finally, let's talk about the life of the new neighborhood.

  37:53-37:59

  Here we go from chapter 21, closes outside the city, now we are going inside the city.

  37:59-38:00

  Let's talk about life.

  38:02-38:13

  It says, "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, through the middle of the street of the city.

  38:13-38:25

  Also, on either side of the river, the tree of life, is twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.

  38:25-38:28

  The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

  38:31-38:38

  There's no sea, but there is a river, and it flows from God to man." I love this.

  38:40-38:44

  Also, in the New Jerusalem is the tree of life.

  38:46-38:53

  of life. What this means is God's story with man has come full circle.

  38:55-39:04

  Remember, the Garden of Eden, when man sinned, we were shut out of the Garden of Eden so that we would not have access to the Tree of Life.

  39:07-39:12

  And a lot's happened between that point and this point.

  39:12-39:20

  because of Jesus Christ, because of His death, because of His resurrection, because of His conquering that we've been studying in Revelation.

  39:23-39:29

  The tree that we forfeited in the garden is now going to be accessible to us for eternity.

  39:29-39:35

  And it's perpetually yielding different kinds of fruit on a regular basis.

  39:36-39:37

  Like, are we going to have to eat in heaven?

  39:38-39:40

  I don't think we're going to have to.

  39:42-39:44

  I think we get to.

  39:45-39:47

  I don't think we do it to keep ourselves alive.

  39:47-39:50

  I think we do it because we'll enjoy it.

  39:53-39:56

  This tree has leaves for healing.

  39:56-39:58

  Did you see that in verse 2?

  39:59-40:00

  Well, hang on a second.

  40:01-40:04

  If we're not getting sick in heaven, why do we need healing?

  40:04-40:08

  Well, that's really not the best translation of the word.

  40:09-40:25

  The Greek word is "therapeia," which is better translated, "health-giving." So again, we're eating, not because we have to, because we'll enjoy it.

  40:27-40:35

  Verse 3, "No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God, and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him.

  40:36-40:42

  "They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads, and night will be no more.

  40:44-40:56

  They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever." The curse is gone.

  40:57-41:12

  Perfect fellowship, seeing His face marked by and for Jesus Christ, walking in His light for eternity, and reigning with Jesus Christ.

  41:16-41:25

  You're like, "All right, Pastor Jeff, what's the application of this sermon?" And it's just simply this.

  41:26-41:31

  A place so beautiful, so perfect, so eternal.

  41:33-41:36

  We want to do whatever it took to get there.

  41:39-41:41

  And that, my friends, is the good news.

  41:43-41:53

  Because Jesus Christ died and He rose from the dead so that all who receive Him and love Him can dwell in this place with Him for all of eternity.

  41:57-42:05

  See, this description of heaven is just one more awesome testament a love that God has for you.

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  A love that we will be celebrating literally forever.

  42:12-42:12

  Let's pray.

  42:13-42:22

  Father in Heaven, I suppose I could go on and keep talking about Heaven, but I'm afraid some people might try to get there today.

  42:24-42:29

  God, we thank You for this glorious description that You've given us.

  42:32-42:39

  You've given us so much content here, but...

  42:43-42:49

  I don't think it can even barely describe how awesome it's going to be.

  42:53-42:54

  It's just...

  42:54-42:57

  It's going to be more glorious than we can imagine.

  43:00-43:12

  God, we thank You, especially as we live in a day with jokes and movies and TV shows and songs and all this stuff that goes around talking about heaven.

  43:13-43:18

  I think it just gives us a weird and misguided view of what it's really like.

  43:18-43:21

  So God, I thank You that You've given us such a clear description in Your Word.

  43:23-43:32

  What it looks like, what life will be like when we are forever in Your presence.

  43:35-43:41

  Father, keep our eyes and our hearts on the reality that we are citizens of Heaven.

  43:45-43:47

  Might that affect the choices that we make today?

  43:51-43:52

  Thank You, Father.

  43:56-43:58

  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Small Group Discussion

Read Revelation 21:1-22:5

GROUP

1 - What aspect of heaven, according to John’s description, are you most looking forward to? Why?

2 - What aspect of heaven, according to John’s description, was “new information” to you?

3 - In this description of heaven, why are John and us reminded 3 times (Rev 21:8, 27, 22:1) of who and what will NOT be in heaven?

4 - In the list of “unrepentant sinners” excluded from heaven, the first kind named is the “cowardly” (Rev 21:8). What type of sin is this referring to? How is someone “sinfully a coward”?

BREAKOUT

Pray for one another, and thank God for this place being prepared for you!