Podcasts about everything paul

Everything Paul once valued—his achievements, status, and religious credentials—he now considers garbage compared to knowing Jesus. In Philippians 3, Paul reminds us that our confidence isn't in what we do but in who we know. No matter how “good” or “bad” we think we are, the only thing that truly matters is a relationship with Christ. Join Pastor Matt Surber, of Mission City Church in San Antonio, TX, as we unpack what it means to find true joy—not in our own efforts, but in the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus.Missioncity.church_______________________________Sermon Notes are available at missioncity.church/watch/

Not ashamed of the gospel- In Romans 1:17, Paul declares the central fact of the gospel; that is, it is built on "the righteousness of God." Everything Paul proceeds to write in Romans hinges on this wonderful truth.

MCALLEN, Texas - Paul Rodriguez, a board trustee with South Texas College and CEO of Valley Land Title, Co., has praised the work of Futuro RGV. Rodriguez was presented with a Rio Grande Valley Leader award by Futuro recently. The event was held at the Radisson Airport Hotel in McAllen. After being presented with the award, Rodriguez gave remarks. Most of them were aimed at Futuro. “I think Futuro RGV is an incredible organization. For those of you that may not know or may not remember, it actually goes to the turn of the century, when it was Futuro McAllen, and its real emphasis was to let people know what was going on in McAllen,” Rodriguez said. Futuro McAllen was formed in 1999. It changed its name to Futuro RGV about a decade ago. Rodriguez acknowledged that since Futuro started there have been a lot of digital advances. However, he said many people still do not know of the decisions that are being made on their behalf by elected bodies. “Despite all of the electronic advances we make, we still don't often know what's going on. We don't often know important issues. (We don't know about) decisions being made at all kinds of levels, whether it's a school, the city, state, county. And I think there's really a vision that they (Futuro) had… this outstanding organization led by Nedra for so many years, of getting that awareness out there.” The “Nedra” Rodriguez was referring to was Nedra Kinerk, longtime president of Futuro RGV. Rodriguez said Futuro was not bipartisan. “They're nonpartisan. And when you look at the makeup of the volunteers and the board members, it's really quite a group in their own right.” Rodriguez continued: “They get involved to the degree of trying to get to the citizens of the city, of the county, of the area… to be aware of who is running for mayor, who's running for city commission, who's running for state rep, senators, etc.” Rodriguez said Futuro RGV has a stellar reputation. “Their integrity is unmatched. People know that if you get an invite from Nedra, if you get an invite from Futuro RGV, you're going to get treated, right. It's not partisan. If you want to get your message out, if you really want to get out and talk to people, let them know where you stand and what you want to do and what's on your mind, man or woman, Democrat or Republican, Independent, people know you can trust Futuro RGV to do that.” Rodriguez said Futuro RGV has embraced the digital age, and this has benefitted the communities of the Rio Grande Valley. “Now, in fact, they've even upped the game. It used to be in person, conversations, debates. Now they're high-tech. They're on Facebook. They have Zooms, they have all kinds of capacities now to be able to (carry out the discussion on public issues),” Rodriguez said. “So, it's an outstanding organization.” Rodriguez said Futuro RGV does not only educate the public on political matters and political races. “There are other things that impact our community, economic development projects, things that are going on, that they (Futuro) are a sounding board for. And so, I think it's a critical organization. It's filling a tremendous gap, and their board members and volunteers, advisors, really go out of their way to do what's right.” Rodriguez said the group's solid standing in the community is “testament” to Kinerk. But he said there are others that work hard in the background, such as Laurel McLeaish. Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity Romans 8:18-23 by William Klock The world is not as it should be.  We know it in our bones.  Around us we see glimpses of what the world should be like: when we see the beauty of flower or the sunset or the majesty of a waterfall, when we see a newborn baby or the love shared between husband and wife or parent and child, when someone goes out of their way to do some good deed for no other reason than that it needs to be done.  But the world is also filled with pain and suffering and tears.  We hurt each other terribly.  We lie, cheat, steal, and kill.  We act selfishly.  And then we all eventually die and it can seem so pointless.  Everyone sees it.  The gospel is God's answer: God humbling himself in Jesus, taking on the flesh of his broken people and suffering the death that they deserved for their rebellion against him.  Allowing sin and death to do their worst and rising triumphant over them.  Suffering birthed God's new world in the midst of the old.  That's God's solution.  But as our culture has gradually forgotten the gospel, we've come to address this problem by becoming increasingly obsessed with the therapeutic.  In the midst of a broken world, everything has become about feeling good.  Buy this and you'll feel better.  Do this—and this usually involves spending money on something—and you'll feel better.  We created a whole “therapy” industry to make ourselves feel better in general and better about ourselves.  It shouldn't be any wonder that the great modern heresy is the so-called Prosperity Gospel, which promises that the Christian life is all about health and wealth—feeling good.  But even otherwise orthodox churches have often embraced the therapeutic, whether it's in our preaching or our worship.  Everything is increasingly focused on “me” and on me feeling good.  It's the very opposite of God's solution to a world and a people broken by sin and death. And yet, when we go back to the New Testament, particularly if we listen to Jesus, there's a lot—a lot—of talk about suffering.  Jesus even promises that his people will suffering.  “If they hate me, they will hate you—because a servant isn't greater than his master.”  “Blessed are you when people slander and persecute you and say wicked things about you on account of me.  Celebrate and rejoice, because there's a reward for you in God's kingdom.  That's how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Jesus promised his people suffering, whether it was in the gospels or in his vision to John that we have in Revelation.  You can't go out into the world to declare that Jesus is Lord without making people angry.  You can't go out into the world to tell people and to show people that God's new creation is breaking into and transforming the old, without upsetting the way things are.  The people invested in the old age will get angry.  But it's not just persecution.  Even as Jesus calls us to lift the veil on God's new creation, to show in the present what God has in store for the future, we suffer.  Because the world still is not as it should be.  Jesus' people suffer from poverty from hunger from sickness.  We suffer the effects of sin in the world just like everyone else.  We're all—you and I—getting older year by year and feeling it.  And one day we'll die.  Because instead of stepping into history in judgement and wiping every last vestige of sin from his creation so that it could all be set to rights, Jesus first stepped into the middle of history to offer us redemption, so that we won't have to face his wrath on that day when he finally comes—so that we, poor sinners, can instead have a share in his new creation.  Brothers and Sisters, we desperately need this gospel perspective.  And this is what Paul's getting at in our Epistle form Romans 8.  He writes in verse 18: This is how I work it out. The sufferings we go through in the present time are not worth putting in the scale alongside the glory that is going to be unveiled for us.   “This is how I work it out…”  That doesn't mean this is Paul's opinion.  “This is how I work it out” means that Paul, knowing the Scriptures, knowing the story of Israel and Israel's God, knowing Jesus, working under the Spirit's inspiration, this is the only conclusion he can reach.  He's been building this argument for eight chapters in Romans and here he reaches the inevitable conclusion: those who will be glorified will first face suffering, but that this suffering can't begin to compare with the glory to be revealed. Think about what a powerful statement that was when Paul wrote this.  When he writes that word “suffering” most of us probably read into that whatever our own trials and tribulations are.  That's fine.  But what did Paul have in mind?  Later in the chapter, in verses 35-36 he writes that nothing will separate us from the love of the Messiah—nothing—and then he goes on to detail the sorts of suffering that he and other Christians were facing—things people might think mean that God doesn't love them, things they might think show a lack of faith, things that might separate them from Jesus.  Here's his list: hardship or distress, persecution or famine, nakedness or peril or sword.  And he quotes from Psalm 44: “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted sheep to be slaughtered.”  These things are far worse than the sorts of suffering any of us are likely to face.  And as horrible as this suffering was, none of it could compare with the glory to be revealed—no amount of suffering could make the glory not worth it. But what is the glory Paul's writing about?  I like the translation that this glory is “going to be unveiled for us”, but we have to be careful.  That can make it sound like we're going to be spectators, when the sense of what Paul's saying in Greek is that this glory will be revealed towards us or into us.  It's a sense of this glory being bestowed on us as a gift.  You and I will participate in glory.  And this makes perfect sense when we consider that just before this Paul said that if we are in the Messiah, then we will share in his inheritance—we will participate in his inheritance. And what's the inheritance?  Well, who is Jesus?  He is Lord.  His glory is revealed or it's unveiled in his glorious and sovereign rule of Creation and Paul is saying here that the glory we wait for with eager longing, the glory that is the basis for our hope as Christians is not glory in the sense many people often think.  We often think of “glory” as a place or a state of being.  When a Christian dies we often hear people say that he or she has gone on or been promoted to “glory”.  Brothers and Sisters, “glory” isn't going to heaven when you die.  As Jesus' glory is his sovereign rule over Creation, so the glory to be revealed in us is our participation, our sharing in the sovereign and saving rule of Jesus—being restored to original vocation and taking part in God's creation set to rights.  And this is why he says what he does in verse 19: Yes: creation itself is on tiptoe with expectation, eagerly awaiting the moment when God's children will be revealed.   If our hope, if our glory—as it is so often wrongly portrayed—was for the destruction of this world and an eternity of disembodied existence in heaven with God, then the Creation would have no reason to eagerly long for that glory to be revealed.  What Paul describes here is the opposite: God's Creation is waiting with eager expectation for the great day when its true rulers are revealed, the sons and daughters of God, and when it will be delivered from corruption.  Look at verses 20-22:   Creation, you see, was subjected to pointless futility, not of its own volition, but because of the one who placed it in this subjection, in the hope that creation itself would be freed from its slavery to decay, to enjoy the freedom that comes when God's children are glorified.  Let me explain.  We know that the entire creation is groaning together, and going through labor pains together, up until the present time. This is where we need to stand back and look at the big picture.  Everything Paul's saying here is dependent on that.  It's the big picture the Bible gives of us of God's Creation, from beginning to end.  We read in Genesis that God created and that everything was good.  We even read there that when he created human beings he looked at his handiwork and declared us not just “good”, but “very good”.  But we look around us now and have to wonder what happened.  War is always raging somewhere, there's violence everywhere, there's greed and corruption everywhere.  Justice is in short supply and so are the basic things that people need to survive—maybe not in our part of the world, but for billions of others.  And yet even if we don't pay attention to the big evils that play out on the international scene—or even on the local scene, for that matter—we only have to look at the struggles that we have ourselves and that we share with our family and friends to keep away from sin and to do good.  Hate is easy; love is hard.  Paul knew it.  The Roman Christians knew it.  We know it. Paul tells the story of Creation in the book of Romans, but he tells it as Israel's story.  We don't have time to run through the whole book this morning obviously, but Paul's point is that the whole Creation is enslaved in the same sort of way that Israel was in Egypt.  And right there we get a glimmer of hope.  Remember, when Israel went down to Egypt—remember the story of Jospeh being sold into slavery by his brothers and winding up in prison in Egypt?—it was all according to the Lord's plan.  The Lord arranged for Joseph to become a slave in Egypt so that through him he could rescue his people.  Egypt started out good for Israel.  When things turned around under a new king who enslaved Israel, it wasn't because the Lord had ceased to be good and it wasn't because the Lord was no longer in control.  Instead, we learn later that the Lord allowed the Israelites to become slaves in Egypt so that he could then manifest his glorious sovereignty to everyone—to Israel in rescuing her and to the Egyptians by showing his power over her false gods and over her mighty horses and chariots.  In the Exodus, the Lord marked Israel forever as the people he had freed from slavery, people to whom he had given a new life.  That became their national identity, celebrated every year in the Passover. In all of that Paul is working up to his point here.  As the Lord allowed Israel to fall into bondage to Egypt, so he has allowed his good Creation to be subjected to death and decay.  We may look around and wonder if things are hopeless.  Every time one war ends and we see peace break out another war begins somewhere else.  We work hard to lift this group out of poverty, but then that group over there falls into it.  We cure one disease only to have two new ones crop up.  Isaiah wrote about a day when the lion would lie down with the lamb and we look around us and wonder if that's ever going to happen. And Paul assures us: Yes, it's for real.  This is God's promise.  No matter how bad things are, this is still his good Creation and he has promised to put everything to rights.  Even as he cast Adam and Eve from the garden he was promising them that he would one day overcome sin and restore everything to the way it should be.  Genesis shows things going from bad to worse.  It shows us humanity losing even the very knowledge of God and sinking into paganism and idolatry.  But then it tells us how God came to Abraham and established a covenant with him.  The Lord promised that through Abraham and his family he would restore not only humanity, but all of Creation and here Paul reminds us what that means, what it looks like and why the Creation itself would long for it to happen. Again, we need the big picture—we need to remember where things started.  In Genesis we read that the Lord created human beings to be his image bearers.  Theologians have argued for two thousand years over what exactly that means, but in the last century, as we've been able to read the Old Testament in light of other Jewish and Ancient Near Eastern literature we've realised that the language of Genesis is temple language.  Israel's pagan neighbours built great stone temples and then placed images of their gods in them.  Those images represented their gods' rule or sovereignty over the land and people.  And Genesis uses the same language and imagery, except that in Genesis it's the Lord himself who builds his own temple—the cosmos—and instead of placing an image of himself carved in stone or gold in it, he creates human beings, to live in his presence in the temple, but also to rule his creation justly and wisely—to have dominion and to subdue Creation in the Lord's name.  That's what it meant for humanity to bear God's image: to be his stewards, the priests of his temple.  But then we chose to rebel.  As Paul writes in Romans 1, we chose to worship the Creation instead of the Creator.  We subjected the Lord's good creation to corruption. Now, in light of that, it should make sense that Creation is longing for the day when our inheritance is revealed.  That's the day when Creation will be set free from the corruption we brought on it.  That's the day when we, Creation's stewards will be restored and renewed and put back in charge, reigning with Jesus.  Again, think back to Israel.  He chose and called her, he rescued her, he made her his people, he made her a model for the nations to bring healing and restoration.  But she rebelled and she rejected her mission.  And yet the Lord didn't give up and he didn't change his plan to redeem his Creation through Israel.  He simply sent a faithful Israelite—he sent Jesus.  And Jesus not only redeemed Israel by dying in her place, he established a new Israel in his own person, a new people to be a light to the nations—this time equipped by the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul is getting at in verse 23.  It's not just the Creation that groans in eager longing: Not only so: we too, we who have the first fruits of the Spirit's life within us, are groaning within ourselves, as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our body. The Lord hasn't given up on his Creation any more than he gave up on Israel.  Creation is eagerly waiting for its rightful stewards to be set right.  On that great day the Lord will make all things new and restore his redeemed people to their rightful place as good, wise, and just rulers of Creation—as the faithful priests of his temple.  This is what it means for our glory to be revealed.  The big picture, the story of redemption, reminds us that this was how it was supposed to be from the beginning.  And so we groan and we wait eagerly too.  We live in the mess we've made here in the world.  We live with sin and with sickness and with death, and yet we live in hope, knowing that what God has begun in Jesus he will one day complete. And we can hope because our God has given us the firstfruits of his new creation.  He's given a down payment on what he has promised.  The present age and its rulers have been decisively defeated by Jesus at the cross and the empty tomb and God's new age has been inaugurated.  Jesus is Lord.  He truly is God's King.  He's given us his Spirit—Paul describes the Spirit here as the firstfruits—and that's because we live in the overlap between these two ages, these two kingdoms.  The Jews brought the firstfruits of the harvest—usually sheaves of grain harvested at the very beginning of the season—as offerings to God.  They offered them in good years and even in bad years in faith that God would provide the rest of the harvest.  And so the Spirit is the sign of hope for us.  The life he gives to us here and now is a reminder that encourages our faith and hope in the resurrection and the new creation to come.  We groan and we sigh, we wait longingly in eager expectation, but our hope is certain because God is faithful and keeps his promises.  The prophet Habakkuk wrote that one day the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.  Brothers and Sisters, when that seems impossible, we only need remember the cross of Jesus, his empty tomb, and his gift of the Holy Spirit.  God has already done the hard part.  He is the God who is faithful.  He will not abandon either his promises or his investment.  We can be sure that he'll finish what he's started. But in the meantime our faith is not a complacent faith.  We haven't been redeemed by Jesus and given the gift of the Spirit so that we can retreat into a sort of personal holiness or private piety while we wait for Jesus to return.  Not at all.  Jesus has inaugurated this new age in his resurrection and somehow someday the making new that began in his resurrection will encompass all of Creation and you and I are called, in the power of the Spirit, to embody that renewing work here and now.  How is Habakkuk's prophecy going to be fulfilled?  How does the knowledge of the glory of the Lord spread to cover the earth?  Brothers and Sisters, that's our mission.  We're called to proclaim to the world the Good News that Jesus is Lord and that his kingdom is here and now.  Our mission is to call the world to repentance and faith.  But don't forget: We are also called to live out repentance and faith in our lives in such a way that we lift the veil on the kingdom and that we give a glimpse to the world of what heaven on earth looks like.  So far as we are able to do so today, we are called to exercise the good dominion that was given to Adam—we are called to be stewards of God's temple, of his Creation.  Jesus has led the way for us here, the second Adam.  In his earthly ministry he made his Father's new creation known in practical ways to the people around him and so should we.  In a word full of sin we should be visible in seeking after holiness.  In a world full of war and injustice, we should be visible and at the forefront working for peace and justice.  In a world full of hurting and sickness, we should be seeking to make the healing ministry of Jesus known.  In a world full of anger and hate, we should be working for forgiveness and reconciliation. If you're like me you might get discouraged thinking about the mission Jesus has given us.  When I think of these things I think of things that we as Christians can do to bring Jesus and his glory to the world in “big” ways.  I think of Christians working on the big international scene or I think of missionaries going to far off countries.  And then I get discouraged.  That's far away.  It's bigger than me.  But Friends, never forget that for every St. Paul or St. Peter, there were thousands of ordinary saints manifesting Jesus in their ordinary lives, proclaiming the good news, and building the kingdom right where they were.  We fulfil Jesus' calling to us as we raise covenant children to walk with him in faith and to live the values of his kingdom.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we work for peace and reconciliation with our neighbours, in our workplaces, and in our schools.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we forgive as we have been forgiven.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we love the hard-to-love people around us, knowing that we ourselves are hard-to-love too, but that Jesus loved us enough to die for us.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we sacrifice ourselves, our rights, our prerogatives, our time, and our treasure in order to make Jesus and his love known.  In everything we do, we should be seeking to give the world signs and foretastes of God's new creation. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, as we asked earlier in the collect we ask again for grace that to pass through the trials of this life without losing the things of eternal importance.  Remind us that the suffering we experience cannot begin to compare with the glory to be revealed to us.  Remind us always of the suffering that Jesus endured for our sake that in love and gratitude we might suffer too for the sake of making him known.  And as we think of Jesus' death and resurrection and as we live the life given by your Spirit, fill us with hope and faith, knowing that the glory inaugurated in us today will one day be fully accomplished in our own resurrection and the restoration of all your Creation.  Amen.

In “Psych: The Story of the Human Mind,” Paul Bloom, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, lays out, in his words, “basically everything I know about the mind.” And when he says “everything,” he means it. Where does consciousness come from? Does IQ matter? What makes us happy? Was Sigmund Freud a madman? The answers to these questions (and more) are all in Paul's book — and in this episode. An edited version of Rufus's interview with Paul first aired in April 2023. Today, we're bringing you their entire conversation. Check out Paul's newsletter here THE NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB We all know that reading is the best investment we can make in ourselves, but figuring out what to read — well, that's another matter. Which is why we started the Next Big Idea Club. We get the best new books — as chosen by our friends Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink — into the hands of curious people … like you! Join us today at nextbigideaclub.com

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Sunday, 10 December 2023   And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!” Acts 22:22   In the previous verse, Jesus told Paul he was to depart because he was being sent far from Jerusalem to the Gentiles. Now, that continues with, “And they listened to him until this word.” The reference is to the word “Gentiles.”    One word. Just one word is all that it took to remove any further chance of reasoned dialogue. That same thought permeates the theological and cultural minds of Jews to this day. Gentiles, though being the people among whom they dwell, are not considered on the same spiritual or cultural level as they are.   To think that one of their own would be willing to minister to them about the “supposed” Messiah was worse than a slap in the face. Everything Paul had said implied that he was a spokesperson for this Messiah and that the message he proclaimed was in line with this Messiah's intents and purposes. Therefore, Paul's Messiah could not be their Messiah. Therefore, it next says, “and then they raised their voices.”   One can see the crowd suddenly roaring as one. Those who had sat down to listen while he spoke would have raised to their feet with their fists held high. Teeth would have gnashed, and faces would have fumed with fury. They collectively shouted out “and said, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!'”   The Messiah Paul proclaimed was, to them, a total failure. How could He favor the Gentiles when He hadn't even broken off their bonds? The people of Israel were looking for an earthly ruler, never considering that the bonds they were in were spiritual ones. They were slaves to sin, and the law kept them in that bondage.   Only in the Messiah that Paul proclaimed could such bonds be removed, but they couldn't see this. They stumbled over the stumbling block, and in the process, they killed the messengers of the truth. They now intended to kill this one as well.   In proclaiming that the messianic message was intended for all people, Paul had raised Gentiles to their level. At the same time, he had lowered them from their supposed exalted and chosen status. However, this attitude was from a selective reading of their own Scriptures that proclaim salvation to the nations and restoration of life to the Gentiles as well as Israel.   Having missed this obvious precept, they found him wholly unfit to live and called for him to be removed from the earth.   Life application: When we are taught something by someone we trust, such as our preacher, we will generally accept his words as correct. After all, he is the specialist in matters of faith. Dad might be a dentist, and the preacher may go to him to have his teeth repaired, but Dad goes to the preacher to be taught the word.   As we grow up, having believed a particular doctrine, we will tend to mentally dismiss anything that contradicts what we now believe is true. This is known as cognitive dissonance. It is a state where we have inconsistent thoughts, attitudes, or beliefs that are related to particular matters or concepts.   For example, if we are taught that there is no such thing as a rapture of the church, we will tend to ignore any teaching that supports that doctrine, even if there is a preponderance of evidence that supports it. Even irrefutable arguments will be dismissed.   This is why it is so difficult for people to leave cults. What has been trained into them is extremely difficult to overcome. Therefore, it is so very important to read and know the Bible and ask God to correct anything in your doctrine that is wrong. But you must be willing to go where He leads directly from His word.   Removal of bad doctrine is difficult, but it is not impossible. As Paul says, “Test all things; hold fast what is good” 1 Thessalonians 5:21.   Lord God Almighty, we are prone to take wrong turns in life, thinking we are on the right path. Help us to keep our feet on sound doctrine and proper biblical interpretation. Clean out those doctrines that are faulty and fill us with right and proper thinking concerning this precious and sacred word You have given us. Amen.  

I recently reviewed the resumes of several accomplished individuals and was impressed by their education and experience. That's the point of a resume, isn't it? To highlight our qualifications and pique the interest of a possible employer. In Philippians 3, Paul encourages the church to live with a joy found only in the Lord and to guard against the Judaizers. Paul doesn't pull any punches here. His warning is harsh as he called those pious legalists “dogs” and “evil” and “mutilators of the flesh” (v. 2). Their confidence was in their own merit. Paul offered his own resume in comparison (vv. 4–6). He was the ultimate Benjamite, Hebrew, Pharisee, and so forth. But when Christ appeared to Paul (Saul) on the Damascus Road (Acts 9) and called him to apostleship, Paul's perspective on his credentials drastically changed. What follows in verses 7–14 is a very personal testimony of Christ's transformative work. Everything Paul used to take pride in, he now saw as fallible and fallen human offerings that should only be considered as “loss” when compared to the greatness of “knowing” Jesus. Not limited to intellectual understanding, this knowing is an acknowledgment of and submission to Jesus as Lord. This sort of knowing resulted in a new righteousness from God and a fellowship in Christ's suffering during this lifetime, as well as a future glorification in eternity. In verses 12–14 Paul repeatedly emphasizes his own humble position and reiterates the ultimate goal, “the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (v. 14). The rich theological significance of this call is undeniable, not only in the present but also in the future. It is a heavenly call which Paul persistently pursued with all his might, and to which we are welcome. >> God's call on our lives changes our present condition and our eternal destiny! For this reason, we press onward. Take encouragement from Paul's words today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In rabbinic tradition, every word of Scripture is considered to have seventy faces and 600,000 meanings! PETE GREIG“None is righteous, no, not one;11 no one understands;    no one seeks for God.12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;    no one does good,    not even one.”13 “Their throat is an open grave;    they use their tongues to deceive.”“The venom of asps is under their lips.”14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;16 in their paths are ruin and misery,17 and the way of peace they have not known.”18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”…… For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. ROMANS 3:10-18, 23-25UNLIKELY CONVERT.“It is the chief part of the New Testament and the perfect gospel… the absolute epitome of the gospel.”Martin Luther“The [book of Romans] compendium of Christian doctrine.”Philip Melanchthon“When anyone understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole Scripture.”John Calvin“The cathedral of the Christian faith.”Frederick Godet“Romans is beyond question the most dynamic of all New Testament letters even as it was written at the climax of Paul's apostolic career.” Richard Lenski“The most profound work in existence.”Samuel ColeridgeBecause of all this, Romans is different than many of the other letters Paul wrote churches. Other New Testament letters focus more on the church and its challenges and problems. The Letter to the Romans focuses more on God and His great plan of redemption.David Guzik“God is the most important word in this epistle. Romans is a book about God. No topic is treated with anything like the frequency of God. Everything Paul touches in this letter he relates to God. In our concern to understand what the apostle is saying about righteousness, justification, and the like we ought not to overlook his tremendous concentration on God.”MorrisThe word “God” occurs 153 times in Romans; an average of once every 46 words – this is more frequently than any other New Testament book. In comparison, note the frequency of other words used in Romans: law (72), Christ (65), sin (48), Lord (43), and faith (40). Romans deals with many different themes but as much as a book can be, it is a book about God.The people of Rome were tolerant of most religious expressions. However, that tolerance was largely limited to religions that were polytheistic -- meaning, the Roman authorities didn't care who you worshiped as long as you included the emperor and didn't create problems with other religious systems.Sam O'Neal“It's easy to hide a good thing when the world violently says that good thing is a bad thing.” 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,[e] as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”[f]ROMANS 1:16-17This is why Paul is not ashamed of a gospel centered on a crucified Savior. He knows that the gospel – the good news of Jesus Christ – has inherent power. We do not give it power…David Guzik“The gospel is not advice to people, suggesting that they lift themselves. It is power. It lifts them up. Paul does not say that the gospel brings power, but that it is power, and God's power at that.”MorrisIt's only hard to walk with boldness when you think that you're the one that gives the gospels its power.9 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.23 When many days had passed, the Jews[a] plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall,[b] lowering him in a basket.26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists.[c] But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.ACTS 9:1-31THREE TENETS OF THE GOSPEL:GOD PURSUES…9 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,ACTS 9:9He wasn't seeking Jesus when Jesus sought him. We might say that Saul was decided against Jesus when Jesus decided for Saul.David GuzikWhere shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!PSALM 139:7-8But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”GENSIS 3:92. …UNLIKELY, UNRIGHTEOUS, AND UNGODLY PEOPLE….21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?… 26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. “None is righteous, no, not one;11 no one understands;    no one seeks for God.12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;    no one does good,    not even one.”ROMANS 3:11-12Saul's conversion reminds us that God finds some who, by all appearance, are not looking for Him at all. Seeing how God reached Saul encourages us to believe that God can reach the people in our life that we think are very far from Him.David Guzik3. …THROUGH GRACE THAT SAVES AND REDEEMS23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.ROMANS 3:23-25

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity: Suffering and Glory Romans 8:17-23 by William Klock On Monday I rode by gravel bike up Horne Lake Forest Service Road, up from the lake towards Port Alberni.  It's a big loop through the forests and mountains—basically the middle of nowhere.  Before I left I created route using an app on my phone and then I made sure the map was loaded.  And by the time I got to Horne Lake there was no cell service, somehow the map “unloaded” itself, and all I had was a blank map with a blurry red line for the road and my little blue GPS dot telling me where I was on it.  None of the sideroads or trails were showing, none of the topographical lines were showing.  I didn't know how far I was from the top or where to turn, all I could do after every junction was to check to make sure the little blue dot was still on the blurry red line and if, it wasn't, turn around and go the other way and check again.  And then on my way down cell service returned, the map loaded, and right when I needed my GPS the most, it stopped working.  The map showed the road crossing Nile Creek, but when I got there I found a ravine about sixty feet deep and the bridge missing.  I couldn't tell if I was on the right road or how far off course I might end up when I went bushwhacking down a deer trail to see if I could find a place to cross.  The whole time I was thinking how much more reliable it was in the old days with a topographic map and a compass.  Having that little “You are here” dot isn't much good if you don't have a map for reference.  And having a map isn't very helpful if you don't know where you are on it.  That—and some conversations I've had the last few weeks with other pastors—got me thinking about how we read the Bible and do theology and all of that.  It reminded me why I like what's called narrative theology and why I think it's important to always be telling the big biblical story.  The biblical story is the map.  Narrative theology shows us where we are on the map.  Both keep us firmly grounded in the story of God and his people. We need that.  We grow up learning all the stories, but the Bible story book we read as kids—or read to our kids—often leave us with the stories disconnected.  We end up knowing Adam and Abraham and Moses and Jesus, but we struggle to know how their stories are related and part of the bigger story.  And that often continues on as adults.  And we struggle to know where we fit in to it. I say this because our Epistle from Romans 8 this morning is one those wonderful, short passages that puts a map in front of us.  It shows us the big picture of the good news, of God's redemption and renewal of humanity and of his entire Creation.  And it says, “You are here”.  Our Epistle this morning is St. Paul leading us right to the climax of his letter to the Romans and here he shows us the map: where we've come from, where we're going, how it all fits together. In the first half of Romans, Paul works his way through the story of Israel and all her ups and downs—and for Israel things were mostly “down”.  And now in Chapter 8 he begins talking about life in the flesh versus life in the Spirit and the law of sin and death versus the law of the Spirit.  This is where, in verse 11, he famously writes that if the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, the One who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies—if we are in Jesus the Messiah we live in hope of the same resurrection he has experienced.  But even more than that, Paul goes on to write, through our union with Jesus we are children and heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ—that means sharing in Jesus' inheritance.  But what is that?  Paul writes in verse 17 that it means to suffer with him so that we can be glorified with him.  The Christian life—life with Jesus—for Paul means two things: suffering and glory.  Suffering is a given as we long for glory. Most Christians living through the last two thousand years have understood that suffering is part of our calling as we follow Jesus.  Jesus promised it.  The New Testament writers talk about it often—and most of them faced it themselves and were martyred for proclaiming the lordship of Jesus.  Many of our brothers and sisters today are persecuted for their faith in various parts of the world.  And yet in the West—probably in part because we haven't faced persecution for such a long time—many Christians have no place for suffering in their theology.  Some even go so far as to say that if you're experiencing suffering—sickness, poverty, rejection or anything else negative—it's due to a lack of faith.  But that's just the opposite of what Jesus taught and it's just the opposite of what Paul teaches here.  The inheritance we share with Jesus is one of suffering that leads to glory.  What this means is at the centre of our Epistle and Paul goes on in verse 18: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.   Are you suffering?  Paul shows the little blue you-are-here GPS dot on the map.  This is us.  Here's where we're at in the big picture, the big story.  And Paul says, “For I consider…”  That doesn't mean this is his opinion.  He's put his compass on the map and lined everything up and here's where it points to and here's where we are.  Knowing the Scriptures, knowing Jesus, working under the Spirit's inspiration, this is the only conclusion he can reach.  He's been building this argument for eight chapters in Romans and here he reaches the inevitable conclusion: those who will be glorified will first face suffering, but that this suffering can't begin to compare with the glory to be revealed. Think about what a powerful statement this was when Paul wrote it.  When he writes that word “suffering” most of us probably read into it whatever our own trials and tribulations are.  That's fine.  But what did Paul have in mind?  Later in the chapter, in verses 35-36 he writes that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ—nothing—and then he goes on to detail the sorts of suffering that he and other Christians were facing—things people might think mean that God doesn't love them, things they might think show a lack of faith, things that might separate them from Jesus.  Here's his list: hardship or distress, persecution or famine, nakedness or peril or sword.  And he quotes from Psalm 44: “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted sheep to be slaughtered.”  These things are far worse than the sorts of suffering most of us are likely to face.  And as horrible as this suffering was, none of it could compare with the glory to be revealed—no amount of suffering could make the glory not worth it. But what is the glory Paul's writing about?  Our translation says that this glory is to be revealed “to us”.  By that he doesn't mean that it's God's show-and-tell, that we'll be spectators to this glory.  It means that we have a share in it.  Think of this glory as a gift given to us by God.  Remember what Paul said before: that if we are in Christ, then we will share in his inheritance—we will participate in his inheritance. And what's the inheritance?  Well, who is Jesus?  He is Lord.  His glory is revealed or it's unveiled in his glorious and sovereign rule of Creation and Paul is saying here that the glory we wait for with eager longing, the glory that is the basis for our hope as Christians is not glory in the sense many people often think.  We often think of “glory” as a place or a state of being.  When a Christian dies we often hear people say that he or she has gone on or been promoted to “glory”.  Brothers and Sisters, “glory” is more than just going to heaven when you die.  As Jesus' glory is his sovereign rule over Creation, so the glory to be revealed in us is our participation, our sharing in the sovereign and saving rule of Jesus.  Glory is about the resurrection of the dead and all of creation one day set to rights.  And this is why he says what he does in verse 19: For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.   Brothers and Sisters, God's Creation is waiting for the great day when its true rulers will be revealed, the sons of God, and when it will be delivered from corruption.  Look at verses 20-22: For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.   This is where we need to stand back and look at the big picture.  Everything Paul's saying here is dependent on that.  It's the big picture the Bible gives of us of God's Creation, from beginning to end.  We read in Genesis that God created and that everything was good.  We even read there that when he created human beings he looked at his handiwork and declared us not just “good”, but “very good”.  But we look around us now and have to wonder what happened.  War is always raging somewhere, there's violence everywhere, there's greed and corruption everywhere.  Justice is in short supply and so are the basic things that people need to survive.  And yet even if we don't pay attention to the big evils that play out on the international scene—or even on the local scene, for that matter—we only have to look at the struggles that we have ourselves and that we share with our family and friends to keep away from sin and to do good.  Hate is easy; love is hard.  Paul knew it.  The Roman Christians knew it.  We know it. Paul tells the story of Creation in the book of Romans, but he tells it as Israel's story.  We don't have time to run through the whole book this morning, but Paul's point is that the whole Creation is enslaved in the same sort of way that Israel was in Egypt.  And right there we get a glimmer of hope.  Because God was involved in that Egyptian exile from beginning to end.  He had a purpose.  Remember, when Israel went down to Egypt—we read about that in the story of Jacob and Joseph—the Lord arranged for Joseph to become a slave in Egypt so that through him he could rescue his people.  Egypt started out good for Israel.  When things turned around under a new king who enslaved Israel, it wasn't because the Lord had ceased to be good and it wasn't because the Lord was no longer in control.  No.  We learn later that the Lord allowed the Israelites to become slaves in Egypt so that he could then manifest his glorious sovereignty to everyone—to Israel in rescuing her and to the Egyptians by showing his power over her false gods and over her mighty horses and chariots.  In the Exodus, the Lord marked Israel forever as the people he had freed from slavery, people to whom he had given a new life.  That became their national identity, celebrated every year in the Passover. In all of that Paul is working up to his point here.  As the Lord allowed Israel to fall into bondage to Egypt, so he has allowed his good Creation to be subjected to death and decay.  We may look around and wonder if things are hopeless.  Every time one war ends and we see peace break out another war begins somewhere else.  We work hard to lift this group out of poverty, but then that group over there falls into it.  We cure one disease only to have two new ones crop up.  Isaiah wrote about a day when the lion will lie down with the lamb and we look around us and wonder if that's ever going to happen. And Paul assures us: Yes, it's for real.  This is God's promise.  No matter how bad things are, this is still his good Creation and he has promised to put everything to rights.  Even as he cast Adam and Eve from the garden he was promising them that he would one day overcome sin and restore everything to the way it should be.  Genesis shows things going from bad to worse.  It shows us humanity losing even the very knowledge of God and sinking into paganism and idolatry.  But then it tells us how God came to Abraham and established a covenant with him.  The Lord promised that through Abraham and his family he would restore not only humanity, but all of Creation and here Paul reminds us what that means, what it looks like and why the Creation itself would long for it to happen. Again, we need the big picture—we need to remember where things started.  In Genesis we read that the Lord created human beings to be his image bearers.  What does it mean to bear God's image.  Well, consider that Israel's pagan neighbours built great stone temples and then placed images of their gods in them.  Those images represented the gods' rule or sovereignty over the land and people.  Genesis uses the same languages and imagery, except that in Genesis it's the Lord himself who builds his own temple—the cosmos—and instead of placing an image of himself carved in stone or gold in it, he creates human beings, to live in his presence in the temple, but also to rule his creation justly and wisely—to have dominion and to subdue Creation in his name.  That's what it meant for humanity to bear God's image: to be his stewards, the priests of his temple.  But then we chose to rebel.  As Paul writes in Romans 1, we chose to worship the Creation instead of the Creator.  We subjected the Lord's good creation to corruption. Now, in light of that, it should make sense when Paul writes that Creation is longing for the day when our inheritance is revealed.  That's the day when Creation will be set free from the corruption we brought on it.  That's the day when we, Creation's stewards will be restored and renewed and put back in charge, reigning with Jesus.  Again, think back to Israel.  He chose and called her, he rescued her, he made her his people, he sent her to the nations to bring healing and restoration.  But she rebelled and she rejected her mission.  And yet the Lord didn't give up and he didn't change his plan to redeem his Creation through Israel.  He simply sent a faithful Israelite—he sent Jesus.  And Jesus not only redeemed Israel by dying in her place, he established a new Israel in his own person, a new people to be a light to the nations—this time equipped by the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul is getting at in verse 23.  It's not just the Creation that groans in eager longing: And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. The Lord hasn't given up on his Creation any more than he gave up on Israel.  Creation is eagerly waiting for its rightful stewards to be set right.  On that great day the Lord will make all things new and restore his redeemed people to their—to our—rightful place as good, wise, and just rulers of Creation—as the faithful priests of his temple.  This is what it means for our glory to be revealed.  The big picture, the story of redemption, reminds us that this was how it was supposed to be from the beginning.  And so we groan and we wait eagerly too.  We live in the mess we've made here in the world.  We live with sin and with sickness and with death, and yet we live in hope, knowing that what God has begun in Jesus he will one day complete and on that day his glory will be revealed to an extent we can't even imagine. And, Paul writes, we can hope because our God has given us the firstfruits of his new creation.  He's given a down payment on what he has promised.  The present age and its rulers have been decisively defeated by Jesus at the cross and at the empty tomb and God's new age has been inaugurated.  Jesus is ascended to his throne.  He is Lord.  He truly is God's King.  He's given us his Spirit—Paul describes the Spirit here as the firstfruits—and that's because we live in the overlap between these two ages, these two kingdoms.  The Jews brought the firstfruits of the harvest—usually sheaves of grain harvested at the very beginning of the season—as offerings to God.  They offered them in good years and even in bad years in faith that God would provide the rest of the harvest.  And so the Spirit is the sign of hope for us.  The life he gives to us here and now is a reminder that encourages our faith and hope in the resurrection and the new creation to come.  We groan and we sigh, we wait longingly in eager expectation, but our hope is certain because God is faithful and keeps his promises.  The prophet Habakkuk wrote that one day the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.  Brothers and Sisters, when that seems impossible, we only need remember the cross of Jesus, his empty tomb, and his gift of the Holy Spirit. But our faith is not a complacent faith.  We haven't been redeemed by Jesus and given the gift of the Spirit so that we can retreat into a sort of personal holiness or private piety while we wait for Jesus to return.  Not at all.  Jesus has inaugurated this new age in his resurrection and somehow someday the making new that began in his resurrection will encompass all of Creation and you and I are called, in the power of the Spirit, to embody that renewing work here and now.  How is Habakkuk's prophecy going to be fulfilled?  How does the knowledge of the glory of the Lord spread to cover the earth?  Brothers and Sisters, that's our mission.  We're called to proclaim to the world the Good News that Jesus is Lord and that his kingdom is here and now.  Our mission is to call the world to repentance and faith.  But don't forget: We are also called to live out repentance and faith in our lives in such a way that we lift the veil on the kingdom and that we give a glimpse to the world of what heaven on earth looks like.  So far as we are able to do so today, we are called to exercise the good dominion that was given to Adam—we are called to be stewards of God's temple, of his Creation.  Jesus, the second Adam, has led the way for us here.  In his earthly ministry he made his Father's new creation known in practical ways to the people around him and so should we.  In a word full of sin we should be visible in seeking after holiness.  In a world full of war and injustice, we should visible and at the forefront working for peace and justice.  In a world full of hurting and sickness, we should be seeking to make the healing ministry of Jesus known.  In a world full of anger and hate, we should be working for forgiveness and reconciliation. If you're like me you might get discouraged thinking about the mission Jesus has given us.  It seems overwhelming.  The word is so broken and so dark.  It doesn't seem like anyone is watching and no one wants to listen.  Sometimes it seems like you have to be a Peter or a Paul—someone important or high profile—to make a difference for the kingdom.  But Friends, never forget that for every St. Paul or St. Peter, there were thousands of ordinary saints manifesting Jesus in their ordinary lives, proclaiming the Good News, and building the kingdom right where they were.  We fulfil Jesus' calling to us as we raise covenant children to walk with him in faith and to live the values of his kingdom.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we work for peace and reconciliation with our neighbours, in our workplaces, and in our schools.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we forgive as we have been forgiven.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we love the hard-to-love people around us, knowing that we ourselves are hard-to-love too, but that Jesus loved us enough to die for us.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we sacrifice ourselves, our rights, our prerogatives, our time, and our treasure in order to make Jesus and his love known.  In everything we do, we should be seeking to give to this groaning and suffering world foretastes of God's glory, of God's new creation. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, as we asked earlier in the collect we ask again for grace that to pass through the trials of this life without losing the things of eternal importance.  Remind us that the suffering we experience cannot begin to compare with the glory to be revealed to us.  Remind us always of the suffering that Jesus endured for our sake that in love and gratitude we might suffer too for the sake of making him known.  And as we think of Jesus' death and resurrection and as we live the life given by your Spirit, fill us with hope and faith, knowing that the glory inaugurated in us today will one day be fully accomplished in our own resurrection and the restoration of all your Creation.  Amen.

Talaga bang nangyari ang muling pagkabuhay ni Hesus? Kung totoo nga, anong espesyal mayroon dito? Ipagdiwang natin ang pagkabuhay ni Hesu-Kristo at alamin natin kung paano Siya naging pinaka dakilang tagapagbago dito sa mundo at kung paano Niya pwede ring mabago ang buhay mo! Mangyaring huwag i-record o kopyahin ang video na ito. Sa halip, maaari ninyo itong ibahagi sa iyong mga kaibigan. Speaker: Bro. Paul De Vera Series: Changemakers Watch The Full Message: https://go.ccf.org.ph/04092023Tag

This week we will start to explore Paul's final imperative to the Colossians that calls us into lives of cost, discomfort, inefficiency … and beautiful life-giving connection.

Jesus is Central to Everything

This week Paul continues our JESUS OVER EVERYTHING series, and we dive back in for ‘It's not about you – part 2'

Paul will be looking at how everything is from Jesus, for Jesus and about Jesus… and how that's a really good thing!

Follow Me, Paul By Tammy Lacock“Follow me as I follow Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:11)In this week's podcast, Warren Litzman once again deeply examines the Apostle Paul's key message of stepping out of the bondage of law and into the fullness of God's grace in Philippians 3: 6-8. “Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” (Philippians 3:6-8 KJV)In verse 6-8, Warren explains how Paul contrasted his life before his conversion to his new life in Christ. He boasted of his previous life only to show us that he had everything going for him in an earthly sense and considered himself to be an avid obeyer of the Jewish law. In fact, he said he was blameless in the law. He even persecuted followers of Christ in his adherence to the law, and no doubt suffered the rest of his life for this.He gave up all this from his old life, knowing that in Christ, there is no other life for Him than in God's grace. By giving up his old life and identity, he is now free to step into the fullness of God's grace, that is who God created him to be. All he wanted now was to know Christ more and more. Paul lists 16 I-phrases in Philippians chapters 3 and 4, emphasizing that nobody is going to help us take our first step into grace, nobody but ourselves. This is the love affair that develops as we continue to live our new life in Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can come into our minds and hearts and help us to “suffer the loss of all things” so that we “may win Christ” (Philippians 3:8).Paul shares throughout his epistles that we are no longer to live in bondage to the law. To live by the law would nullify Christ's death and resurrection. Christ's death and resurrection ushered in a new gospel, that of God's grace. In this dispensation of grace, we are no longer saved by our works and our adherence to the law. We are saved by Christ's work on the cross. This is God's Grace. We must leave behind our old lives if we are to ever live fully in God's grace. In fact, when Christ died, our old lives died too (Galatians 2:20). When He arose to a new life, we arose as well to a new life in Him. What “things” of our old lives do we need to lose if we are to follow Paul and step into the fullness of God's grace? Everything Paul gave up made room for him to be a servant of God, so that Christ could reveal Himself and work through him more and more. In fact, Paul suffered the loss of these things so that Christ could, in turn, use these things to further the gospel of His grace. Paul persecuted Christians in his old life and now he wanted nothing to do with that. If we are to win Christ, we too will suffer the loss of all things. Just as Christ did with Paul, He will use our sufferings to make room for us to be better servants, to further His gospel of grace. Follow Paul as he follows Christ. Winning Christ means stepping into the fullness of God's grace so that we, too, can finally live who God created us to be.

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity Romans 8:17-23 by William Klock There are a lot of times when I hate my cell phone.  There are other times I'm thankful for it.  We were on Mayne Island this week.  On Wednesday morning I went for a bike ride.  You wouldn't think it's possible to get lost on a twenty square kilometre Island—but you'd be wrong.  I took a wrong turn.  I didn't know it at the time, but my bearings were all wrong.  At least on Mayne, no matter where you go you end up at back at the ocean and with a beautiful view.  I got to the end of the road—much faster than expected—and was surprised to be looking across Active Pass at Sturdies Bay on Galiano.  I was expecting to be on the other side of the island, looking out at Point Roberts and Tsawwassen and Mount Baker.  I was disoriented.  I'd been absolutely certain I was riding east when, in fact, I'd been riding due north.  What road had I been on?  There aren't that many, after all.  So out came my phone.  I opened “Maps”, and there I could see the whole island in front of me on that little screen.  And almost instantly I could see where I'd missed a turn, where I'd ended up, and I knew exactly where I needed to go from where I was.  I was confused, but seeing the lay of the land, the big picture, sorted it all out for me. The same thing happens with the Bible.  It starts when we're children.  We read books full of disconnected “Bible stories”—a bit like a kid who's only ever ridden his bike up and down his own street or had his dad load the bike in the car so he can go ride on his friend's street or at a park far away.  But he's got little or no idea how those places are connected.  We end up knowing Adam and Abraham and Moses and Jesus, but we struggle to know how their stories are related and part of the bigger story.  As adults the most common approach to reading the Bible—when we read it!—is the cover-to-cover, Genesis-to-Revelation approach.  Don't misunderstand; any type of Bible reading is good Bible reading, but the order the books of the Bible are arranged in isn't chronological and doesn't always help us see the “big picture”.  Even Bible scholars and theologians aren't immune from missing the big picture.  They're often so focused on the individual trees that it becomes easy to inadvertently forget the shape of the forest. I say this because our Epistle from Romans 8 this morning is one those wonderful, short passages that bring us back to the big picture of the Good News, of God's redemption and renewal of humanity and of his entire Creation.  But even here we might miss it.  Many Christians reading through Romans miss the big picture here because they aren't expecting Paul's language of God subjecting his Creation to futility and bondage and of that Creation waiting in with eager longing.  And yet our Epistle this morning is St. Paul leading us right to the climax of his letter to the Romans.  It's the hill from which we can see the lay of the land, where we've come from, where we're going, and how it all fits together. We don't have time this morning to get into the details of Paul's line of reasoning in the first half of Romans, but what he does in those chapters is to work his way through the story of Israel and all her ups and downs—and for Israel things were mostly “down”.  And now in Chapter 8 he begins talking about the life in the flesh versus life in the Spirit and the law of sin and death versus the law of the Spirit.  This is where, in verse 11, he famously writes that if the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, the One who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies—if we are in Christ Jesus we live in hope of the same resurrection he has experienced.  But even more than that, Paul goes on to write, through our union with Jesus we are children and heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ—that means sharing in Jesus' inheritance.  But what is that?  Paul writes in verse 17 that it means to suffer with him so that we can be glorified with him.  The Christian life—life with Jesus—for Paul means two things: suffering and glory.  Suffering is a given as we long for glory. What does that mean?  What does Paul mean by “glory”?  And what about suffering?  Most Christians living through the last two thousand years have understood that suffering is part of our calling as we follow Jesus.  Jesus promised it.  The New Testament writers talk about it often—and most of them faced it themselves and were martyred for proclaiming the lordship of Jesus.  Many of our brothers and sisters today are persecuted for their faith in various parts of the world.  And yet in the West—probably in part because we haven't faced persecution for such a long time—many Christians have no place for suffering in their theology.  Many even go so far as to say that if you're experiencing suffering—sickness, poverty, rejection or anything else negative—it's due to a lack of faith.  But that's just the opposite of what Jesus taught and it's just the opposite of what Paul teaches here.  The inheritance we share with Jesus is one of suffering that leads to glory.  What this means is at the centre of our Epistle and Paul goes on in verse 18: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.   Paul says, “For I consider…”  That doesn't mean this is his opinion.  Paul uses the same Greek word several times as he builds his argument in Romans.  Other translations say “I reckon”.  The sense of it is, “This is how I work it out”.  Knowing the Scriptures, knowing Jesus, working under the Spirit's inspiration, this is the only conclusion he can reach.  He's been building this argument for eight chapters in Romans and here he reaches the inevitable conclusion: those who will be glorified will first face suffering, but that this suffering can't begin to compare with the glory to be revealed. Think about what a powerful statement that was when Paul wrote this.  When he writes that word “suffering” most of us probably read into that whatever our own trials and tribulations are.  That's fine.  But what did Paul have in mind?  Later in the chapter, in verses 35-36 he writes that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ—nothing—and then he goes on to detail the sorts of suffering that he and other Christians were facing—things people might think mean that God doesn't love them, things they might think show a lack of faith, things that might separate them from Jesus.  Here's his list: hardship or distress, persecution or famine, nakedness or peril or sword.  And he quotes from Psalm 44: “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted sheep to be slaughtered.”  These things are far worse than the sorts of suffering any of us are likely to face.  And as horrible as this suffering was, none of it could compare with the glory to be revealed—no amount of suffering could make the glory not worth it. But what is the glory Paul's writing about?  Our translation says that this glory is to be revealed “to us”, but that makes it sound like we're going to be spectators to this glory.  What Paul writes in Greek has the sense of this glory revealed towards us or into us.  It's a sense of this glory being bestowed on us as a gift—and this makes perfect sense when we remember what Paul said before: that if we are in Christ, then we will share in his inheritance—we will participate in his inheritance. And what's the inheritance?  Well, who is Jesus?  He is Lord.  His glory is revealed or it's unveiled in his glorious and sovereign rule of Creation and Paul is saying here that the glory we wait for with eager longing, the glory that is the basis for our hope as Christians is not glory in the sense many people often think.  We often think of “glory” as a place or a state of being.  When a Christian dies we often hear people say that he or she has gone on or been promoted to “glory”.  Brothers and Sisters, “glory” isn't going to heaven when you die.  As Jesus' glory is his sovereign rule over Creation, so the glory to be revealed in us is our participation, our sharing in the sovereign and saving rule of Jesus.  And this is why he says what he does in verse 19: For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.   If our hope, if our glory—as it is so often wrongly portrayed—was for the destruction of this world and an eternity of disembodied existence in heaven with God, then the Creation would have no reason to eagerly long for that glory to be revealed.  What Paul describes here is the opposite: God's Creation is waiting for the great day when its true rulers are revealed, the sons of God, and when it will be delivered from corruption.  Look at verses 20-22: For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.   This is where we need to stand back and look at the big picture.  Everything Paul's saying here is dependent on that.  It's the big picture the Bible gives of us of God's Creation, from beginning to end.  We read in Genesis that God created and that everything was good.  We even read there that when he created human beings he looked at his handiwork and declared us not just “good”, but “very good”.  But we look around us now and have to wonder what happened.  War is always raging somewhere, there's violence everywhere, there's greed and corruption everywhere.  Justice is in short supply and so are the basic things that people need to survive—maybe not in our part of the world, but for billions of others.  And yet even if we don't pay attention to the big evils that play out on the international scene—or even on the local scene, for that matter—we only have to look at the struggles that we have ourselves and that we share with our family and friends to keep away from sin and to do good.  Hate is easy; love is hard.  Paul knew it.  The Roman Christians knew it.  We know it. Paul tells the story of Creation in the book of Romans, but he tells it as Israel's story.  We don't have time to run through the whole book this morning obviously, but Paul's point is that the whole Creation is enslaved in the same sort of way that Israel was in Egypt.  And right there we get a glimmer of hope.  Remember, when Israel went down to Egypt—we read about that in the story of Jacob and Joseph—it was all according to the Lord's plan.  The Lord arranged for Joseph to become a slave in Egypt so that through him he could rescue his people.  Egypt started out good for Israel.  When things turned around under a new king who enslaved Israel, it wasn't because the Lord had ceased to be good and it wasn't because the Lord was no longer in control.  No.  We learn later that the Lord allowed the Israelites to become slaves in Egypt so that he could then manifest his glorious sovereignty to everyone—to Israel in rescuing her and to the Egyptians by showing his power over her false gods and over her mighty horses and chariots.  In the Exodus, the Lord marked Israel forever as the people he had freed from slavery, people to whom he had given a new life.  That became their national identity, celebrated every year in the Passover. In all of that Paul is working up to his point here.  As the Lord allowed Israel to fall into bondage to Egypt, so he has allowed his good Creation to be subjected to death and decay.  We may look around and wonder if things are hopeless.  Every time one war ends and we see peace break out another war begins somewhere else.  We work hard to lift this group out of poverty, but then that group over there falls into it.  We cure one disease only to have two new ones crop up.  Isaiah wrote about a day when the lion would lie down with the lamb and we look around us and wonder if that's ever going to happen. And Paul assures us: Yes, it's for real.  This is God's promise.  No matter how bad things are, this is still his good Creation and he has promised to put everything to rights.  Even as he cast Adam and Eve from the garden he was promising them that he would one day overcome sin and restore everything to the way it should be.  Genesis shows things going from bad to worse.  It shows us humanity losing even the very knowledge of God and sinking into paganism and idolatry.  But then it tells us how God came to Abraham and established a covenant with him.  The Lord promised that through Abraham and his family he would restore not only humanity, but all of Creation and here Paul reminds us what that means, what it looks like and why the Creation itself would long for it to happen. Again, we need the big picture—we need to remember where things started.  In Genesis we read that the Lord created human beings to be his image bearers.  Theologians have argued for two thousand years over what exactly that means, but in the last century, as we've been able to read the Old Testament in light of other Jewish and Ancient Near Eastern literature that's been unearthed we've realised that the language of Genesis is temple language.  Israel's pagan neighbours built great stone temples and then places images of their gods in them.  Those images represented the gods' rule or sovereignty over the land and people.  And Genesis uses the same languages and imagery, except that in Genesis it's the Lord himself who builds his own temple—the cosmos—and instead of placing an image of himself carved in stone or gold in it, he creates human beings, to live in his presence in the temple, but also to rule his creation justly and wisely—to have dominion and to subdue Creation in the Lord's name.  That's what it meant for humanity to bear God's image: to be his stewards, the priests of his temple.  But then we chose to rebel.  As Paul writes in Romans 1, we chose to worship the Creation instead of the Creator.  We subjected the Lord's good creation to corruption. Now, in light of that, it should make sense that Creation is longing for the day when our inheritance is revealed.  That's the day when Creation will be set free from the corruption we brought on it.  That's the day when we, Creation's stewards will be restored and renewed and put back in charge, reigning with Jesus.  Again, think back to Israel.  He chose and called her, he rescued her, he made her his people, he sent her to the nations to bring healing and restoration.  But she rebelled and she rejected her mission.  And yet the Lord didn't give up and he didn't change his plan to redeem his Creation through Israel.  He simply sent a faithful Israelite—he sent Jesus.  And Jesus not only redeemed Israel by dying in her place, he established a new Israel in his own person, a new people to be a light to the nations—this time equipped by the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul is getting at in verse 23.  It's not just the Creation that groans in eager longing: And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. The Lord hasn't given up on his Creation any more than he gave up on Israel.  Creation is eagerly waiting for its rightful stewards to be set right.  On that great day the Lord will make all things new and restore his redeemed people to their rightful place as good, wise, and just rulers of Creation—as the faithful priests of his temple.  This is what it means for our glory to be revealed.  The big picture, the story of redemption, reminds us that this was how it was supposed to be from the beginning.  And so we groan and we wait eagerly too.  We live in the mess we've made here in the world.  We live with sin and with sickness and with death, and yet we live in hope, knowing that what God has begun in Jesus he will one day complete. And we can hope because our God has given us the firstfruits of his new creation.  He's given a down payment on what he has promised.  The present age and its rulers have been decisively defeated by Jesus at the cross and the empty tomb and God's new age has been inaugurated.  Jesus is Lord.  He truly is God's King.  He's given us his Spirit—Paul describes the Spirit here as the firstfruits—and that's because we live in the overlap between these two ages, these two kingdoms.  The Jews brought the firstfruits of the harvest—usually sheaves of grain harvested at the very beginning of the season—as offerings to God.  They offered them in good years and even in bad years in faith that God would provide the rest of the harvest.  And so the Spirit is the sign of hope for us.  The life he gives to us here and now is a reminder that encourages our faith and hope in the resurrection and the new creation to come.  We groan and we sigh, we wait longingly in eager expectation, but our hope is certain because God is faithful and keeps his promises.  The prophet Habakkuk wrote that one day the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.  Brothers and Sisters, when that seems impossible, we only need remember the cross of Jesus, his empty tomb, and his gift of the Holy Spirit. But our faith is not a complacent faith.  We haven't been redeemed by Jesus and given the gift of the Spirit so that we can retreat into a sort of personal holiness or private piety while we wait for Jesus to return.  Not at all.  Jesus has inaugurated this new age in his resurrection and somehow someday the making new that began in his resurrection will encompass all of Creation and you and I are called, in the power of the Spirit, to embody that renewing work here and now.  How is Habakkuk's prophecy going to be fulfilled?  How does the knowledge of the glory of the Lord spread to cover the earth?  Brothers and Sisters, that's our mission.  We're called to proclaim to the world the Good News that Jesus is Lord and that his kingdom is here and now.  Our mission is to call the world to repentance and faith.  But don't forget: We are also called to live out repentance and faith in our lives in such a way that we lift the veil on the kingdom and that we give a glimpse to the world of what heaven on earth looks like.  So far as we are able to do so today, we are called to exercise the good dominion that was given to Adam—we are called to be stewards of God's temple, of his Creation.  Jesus has led the way for us here, the second Adam.  In his earthly ministry he made his Father's new creation known in practical ways to the people around him and so should we.  In a word full of sin we should be visible in seeking after holiness.  In a world full of war and injustice, we should visible and at the forefront working for peace and justice.  In a world full of hurting and sickness, we should be seeking to make the healing ministry of Jesus known.  In a world full of anger and hate, we should be working for forgiveness and reconciliation. If you're like me you might get discouraged thinking about the mission Jesus has given us.  When I think of these things I think of things that we as Christians can do to bring Jesus and his glory to the world in “big” ways.  I think of Christians—and there are so often so few of us—working on the big international scene or I think of missionaries going to far off countries.  And then I get discouraged.  That's far away.  It's bigger than me.  But Friends, never forget that for every St. Paul or St. Peter, there were thousands of ordinary saints manifesting Jesus in their ordinary lives, proclaiming the Good News, and building the kingdom right where they were.  We fulfil Jesus' calling to us as we raise covenant children to walk with him in faith and to live the values of his kingdom.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we work for peace and reconciliation with our neighbours, in our workplaces, and in our schools.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we forgive as we have been forgiven.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we love the hard-to-love people around us, knowing that we ourselves are hard-to-love too, but that Jesus loved us enough to die for us.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we sacrifice ourselves, our rights, our prerogatives, our time, and our treasure in order to make Jesus and his love known.  In everything we do, we should be seeking to give the world signs and foretastes of God's new creation. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, as we asked earlier in the collect we ask again for grace that to pass through the trials of this life without losing the things of eternal importance.  Remind us that the suffering we experience cannot begin to compare with the glory to be revealed to us.  Remind us always of the suffering that Jesus endured for our sake that in love and gratitude we might suffer too for the sake of making him known.  And as we think of Jesus' death and resurrection and as we live the life given by your Spirit, fill us with hope and faith, knowing that the glory inaugurated in us today will one day be fully accomplished in our own resurrection and the restoration of all your Creation.  Amen.

So the goal of this morning's sermon is the same goal of this entire series we're doing here in the month of May. It's that we want to have a renewed, clear focus on Jesus and what he has done. We want to have what Martyn Lloyd-Jones has said is characteristic of revival: we want to “glory in the cross” and “make our boast in the blood of Jesus.”Now we in-ourselves cannot make revival happen because it's an extraordinary work of the Holy Spirit, but we can, with the Spirit's help, do things necessary for revival like focus on Jesus and his gospel. That's the point of the series, and that's why today we're in Romans 5, verses 1–11. And there are two basic parts here I want to show you. Part One is the question: What is peace with God?Part Two is the question: How do we know it's real?Father, thank you for Jesus and thank you for what he has done for us. Thank you for this morning and for this moment where we get to open your word together, and see you. Show us your glory, we ask, in Jesus's name, amen.Part One: What Is Peace with God?So Romans 5, verses 1–11 is one of the most amazing passages in all the Bible that introduces one of the most amazing sections in all the Bible. And this section runs from Chapter 5 all the way through the end of Chapter 8, which Pastor Joe will for us preach next week. And if we're tracking along with Paul in this book, Chapter 5 is kinda like a turning point in the argument he's been making. That's obvious in how he starts Chapter 5, verse 1. He starts by saying:“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith …” Which means he's about to say something new, right? — But he's saying it based upon what he's been arguing in Chapters 1–4.Paul has spent the first four chapters of this book explaining that every human being, Jew and Gentile, is guilty of sin and deserving of God's judgment (that's Chapters 1 and 2), and that the only way any of us can be put right before God's eyes is by faith, not by works (that's Chapter 3): 3, verse 20: “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in [God's] sight …”]3, verse 28: “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”And as an example of this, Paul says to consider Abraham (this is Chapter 4). Abraham was declared righteous by God through his faith in God, and so the same goes for us today. Righteousness will be counted to us who believe (4:24). So whoever you are — Jew or Gentile — whoever receives Jesus by faith is put right with God. We are justified. That's Chapters 1–4.But what's the point of being justified? What is the result of our being put right with God?Well, Chapter 5, verse 1 tells us: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”Everybody see that in verse 1? [That's the answer.] What does justification “get” for us? “Peace with God.”And so, we should know what that means, right? If peace with God, Christian, is what we have, don't you wanna know what it means?I think even just the phrase “peace with God” is intriguing. I'm interested in that.This past week my mom and dad were visiting, and I was talking with my dad about Romans 5 and what Paul says here about peace with God, and my dad reminded me of some old tracts he used to give out back in the 80s. And I remembered these things because he used to have them in his truck. They were these little blue rectangle tracts, and the title was simply: “Steps to Peace with God.” Because forty years ago that sounded like something people wanted to know about, but guess what? — it still is. And if you don't think so, just ask around. Ask your neighbor or co-worker, “Are you interested in knowing about how to have peace with God?” Ask them and see what they say.Because that's what Paul is talking about here. And so wherever you're coming from this morning — or whoever you know from wherever they're coming from — I want you to know that peace with God is possible and those who believe in Jesus have it. And I'd like to spend a lot of time explaining what it is. (When I started writing this past week, I didn't plan to spend so much time on this, but I just couldn't move past it. Before we get to anything else, we have to know what Paul is saying here.) Three-Part DefinitionSo I'll start with a definition and then unpack it. The question is: What is peace with God? According to what Paul is saying here: Peace with God is the state of our relationship with God that includes a secure hope for the future that causes us to rightly boast in the present. There are three pieces to highlight here: state of our relationshipsecure hope for the futureright boasting in the presentFirst: the state of our relationshipRight away when we hear the word “peace” we should think relationship. Paul is not talking about peace as a sentiment, but this is peace as a state. This is about the state of our relation to God. And the first thing that is just simply implied here is that “peace with God” is the opposite of where our relationship with God used to be. Just think about it: Before we were put right with God, what were we? [we were wrong with God] We didn't go from neutral to righteous. Before God declared us righteous, we were unrighteous — that's how Paul describes our condition in Chapters 1–4. …We were sinners guilty to the core;we suppressed the truth of God;we exchanged the glory of God;we refused to honor God and give him thanks —and being unrighteous like that before the one, true living and holy God of unspotted moral purity — that's the opposite of relational peace. That's relational animosity. What we used to be, and peace with God is a state that is the opposite of that. But secondly, and mainly here, we need to see that peace with God includes a secure hope for the future.Second: secure hope for the futureIf we're looking closely at this passage, Paul wants us to know that peace with God has a future orientation. Look at verse 2. Through him [Jesus], we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Now the first part of verse 2 is just a restatement of what Paul says in verse 1. Peace with God is the grace in which we stand. It's a completely new realm of living. It's the same idea, I think, as “eternal life” (which is the apostle John's favorite phrase). Paul is talking about our present reality that includes security about our future. Look at the second half of verse 2. Peace with God isn't only the current realm of grace in which we stand, but also: “we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”So we are standing here in this grace looking forward. Our present peace includes the certainty that over time our relationship with God will not diminish but only deepen, and on the last day we will not suffer God's wrath, but we will share in God's glory. Our current state of peace in our relationship with God requires that we know we will only have more of God in the future — and that fact of our future is a big part of what makes our present reality actual peace. And we all understand how this works. For example, if we knew that tomorrow something terrible will happen to us, it would change the way we operate today, right?So Melissa and I, we don't always eat dessert, but at our favorite restaurant there is a dessert that we really like, and every time we eat at this restaurant we have it. But in case you're on the fence about dessert, on the dessert menu there's a little quote at the top that's meant to persuade you. The quote says: “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.” Now that's meant to make you think, “Well then yes, I will have the ‘Mud Pie' with chocolate, peanut butter and sticky Carmel peanut brittle.” But if you're like me, it actually makes you just think of all the people who died on the Titanic. And it makes you wonder if there were people who ate dessert knowing that they would die. Just imagine that. Imagine that the people on the Titanic knew that it was sinking and they knew they weren't going to survive, and imagine that after knowing that they decided to “seize the moment” and have dessert. If that were the case, I can guarantee you that the dessert was not enjoyed.Because even in things like that, our present state of peace (if it's actual peace) has to have some kind of security that what's coming next will not be worse.Paul would say the current state of our relationship with God consists in large part on what we know about our future, and our future is what we rejoice in now. Our secure hope for the future is what causes us to rightly boast in the present. So let's talk about that. Peace with God means …Third: to rightly boast in the presentI want you to notice the word “rejoice” in verse 2. It's the same Greek word repeated three times in this passage. If you can, look at your Bible, and with your eyes, circle this word. If you're reading from the ESV (like me), “rejoice” is used in verse 2, verse 3, and verse 11. (The NIV translates it “boast … glory … boast.” The NASB translates it “exult” all three times.) Each translation is getting at the same idea, but the more literal word here is “boast” (and that's the word I'm using; that's the way it's translated elsewhere in Paul's letters). This is the same word we saw in Galatians 6:14, when Paul said: “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of Jesus Christ …”This is also the same word Paul uses earlier in Romans 3:27 when after talking about justification by faith he says, “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded.” So one kind of boasting, rejoicing, exulting is eliminated by the gospel. That is boasting in ourselves. That is the puffed-chest thinking that we've done something to make God favor us. It's the hidden or stated way of thinking that says “God sure is lucky to have me!” That way of thinking has been obliterated by the way God has designed our salvation. There is no rationale for human boasting. In fact, in light of what God has done, to boast in ourselves is insanity.So we don't boast like that, but another kind of boasting is pretty important. In this entire passage of Romans 5:1–11, the only thing that mentioned here that we do is boast. Everything Paul says in these verses is the action of God. Through and through this is about what God has done, and our only part is the response of boasting in what God has done. We boast in what God has done now, which includes the hope of what he promises for the last day. It's that when your life in this world is over or this world as we know it is over, we will have God. We boast in that. We boast in that hope.Because that's really the only thing we have secured.Here's what I mean: you may right now be justified by faith; you could have a state of peace in your relationship with God, and your life right now in a snapshot could be horrible. See, what do we do about suffering, Paul? How does suffering fit into all this? Well, Paul says we boast in suffering too. Look at verse 3:Not only that — not only are we boasting in future hope — but we boast in our [present] sufferings —— And I want to stop here to say that if Paul stopped here this would be a ridiculous statement.I think about PJ, a brother I went to college with, who died this past Tuesday. PJ started feeling badly a couple weeks ago so he went to the ER and apparently he was having liver failure, and things quickly worsened. All of his organs began shutting down, and the doctors told him he had two days left to live. He basically went from the ER to hospice. And he did a video about it to tell people what was going on, and he's said, as he was struggling to breathe, [quote:] “They told me I only have a couple days left to live, which sucks.” And he's right. In that snapshot, he's right. That's horrible. And he's not boasting in that. Paul doesn't say we should. Look at verse 3. We don't boast in suffering in a snapshot, but, verse 3, “we boast in our sufferings knowing …” — this is one of the most important “knowings” in the whole Bible — we boast in our sufferings knowing that suffering serves a greater purpose: Sufferings produces enduranceendurance produces characterCharacter produces a hope that shall not put us to shame. (And PJ knew that)In the hands of God's gracious care, suffering is a refining fire that strengthens our faith. We learn to press on and endure, and that shapes our character. It leads to real change in how we think and talk and live and that generates hope because we know that although we're not yet who we will be we're also not now who we used be — and that's because God is at work in me. And the work that he began, the work that he's doing now, is a work that he will bring to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (see Philippians 1:6). That is the hope we boast in, and suffering only deepens the hope, and so knowing that, we boast in our sufferings. Not suffering in a snapshot, but suffering in light of the whole where we have the hope that one day we will be with God.And all of that is peace with God. Peace with God is the state of our relationship with God that includes a secure hope for the future that causes us to rightly boast in the present. That's Part One.Now, Part Two: How do we know it's real?Part Two: How Do We Know It's Real?Paul says that this hope does not put us to shame. It will not be said on the last day that we made too big a deal about Jesus. We will not come to that day and experience any kind of disappointment in the promises of God.But can we be sure about that now? The answer is Yes. In verses 5–11, Paul gives us three assurances that answer the question: How do we know that this “peace with God” is not empty? Now in particular, these assurances are about our hope, but since our hope is so central to our state of peace with God, I think we should have the entire relationship of peace in view. The whole of the state of our relationship with God, and especially our hope, is what Paul is speaking to. There are three assurances it's real:Assurance #1 (verse 5): God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit at conversion. Now this is a tightly argued section. Look what Paul says in verse 5: Our hope (that is central to our peace with God) will not put us to shame “because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”This is a reason for our hope being secure, and the reason is something God has done in our hearts. We all have hearts, right? And now imagine that our hearts are like a cup. Well, for the Christian, God has poured his love into those cups. And his pouring his love into those cups is through the Holy Spirit he gave to us. (His love is through the Holy Spirit; his love is the Holy Spirit.) And when did God do that? This is a perfect passive indicative. It's something that has been done to us. So when? I think Paul has in mind here our conversion. He's talking about when we first believed in Jesus — when we were born again by the Holy Spirit to put our faith in Jesus. Long my imprisoned spirit layFast bound in sin and nature's night;Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray,I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;My chains fell off, my heart was free;I rose, went forth and followed Thee.That's what Paul is talking about here! Our conversion is when God gave us the Holy Spirit as the guarantee, or the down payment, of our future with God. That's the way Paul talks in other places, like Ephesians 1:14. When we believed in Jesus we “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it [in the future], to the praise of God's glory.”And now if we put that together with Romans 5:5 we can say that the Holy Spirit is that guarantee for us because he is the minister of God's love in our hearts which we have contact with by experience. Paul is describing something that we as individuals experience, and therefore it's subjective. And I realize that something so subjective may not sound like an assurance to you at all. It might sound more like an “anecdotal fallacy” (which you can google later), but we just need to remember that although our contact with this love is our experience, this is a real objective thing that God does. From God's perspective, he really is pouring his love into our heart-cups. Because God is real and he does real things and he has a real Holy Spirit that he has given to us.And Paul says that's a rationale for why our hope is secure.And there's more. A second assurance for why our hope is secure is in verse 6.Assurance #2: God shows his love for us by the fact that Jesus died for us.Notice the word “for” in verse 6. In this verse Paul is grounding what he just said, and we're getting into layers here. Verses 6–8 are a reason for verse 5. This grounds the fact that God's love has been poured into our hearts. How? Because while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for us the ungodly — which is the kind of thing that just doesn't happen. Seriously, think about this: It's extremely rare for someone to die for a righteous person, and there's no way ever that someone would die for a mere good person. And yet what did God do? God did something unlike anything you've ever heard of. God shows his love for us — God put his love on display for us — in that while we were still sinners (not righteous people, not even good people, but the worse kind of people) … while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.And that is an objective, historical fact. Jesus is a real person, and he died a real death on April 3rd, year 33, just outside of Jerusalem, and his death was for you. His death is God showing you something.It's fascinating that the verb “show” in verse 8 is a present active indicative. That means the death of Jesus continues to show something. It means the one-time, historical event of Jesus's death is the present, active message of what God thinks about you. He loves you. God shows, right now, that he loves you in the fact that Jesus really, historically, actually died for you.So there are many pastors who preach without notes, and I'm not one of them. I have certain things I want to say certain ways, so I write them out and consult them when I preach just like I'm doing right now. But my pastor when I was growing up: no notes needed. And it was amazing. He is a gifted man. But one characteristic of preaching without notes every Sunday is that you can tend to come back to the same things over and over. You kinda have your soapbox go-tos, and in a moment when maybe you're not sure what to say next, you default to saying the same things, and my pastor had one of those. It was Romans 5:7–8 in the King James (and he'd say verse 7 really fast, and verse 8 slow):Scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.My pastor would say this all the time, and I am glad he did. Because what Paul says here is about an active showing that is worthy of constant repeating.And here's how it fits altogether in the passage.The present active demonstration of God's love in the one-time historical event of Jesus's death verifies that God's got love to pour into your heart, verse 5, which is another layer of proof that our hope is secure, which means that our state of peace with God is legit.Put simply:How can we be sure any of this is real? Because God loves us, and he proves it in the death of Jesus.And there's one more assurance in verses 9 and 10. Assurance #3: God verifies our future salvation by having already done the harder thing.And I want to leave most of what could be said here for next week's sermon, because I know where Pastor Joe is planning to go. But to help set up that sermon, the logic Paul that uses in Romans 8:32 is the same logic he uses here in Romans 5. Start with verse 9. Verse 9 says that because we have been justified by Jesus's blood we will absolutely (much more) be saved by Jesus from the wrath of God on the future day of judgment. And we know this because of verse 10.Verse 10: For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.Paul is saying: Look, when we were God's enemies (which we all used to be) — when we were ungodly sinners, God brought us into a relationship of peace with him by the death of his Son, doing the unheard of. God did that for his enemies. And if God treated his enemies that way, then there's no doubt that for us who are no longer his enemies but now his children — for us who now have peace with God through Jesus — then absolutely Jesus is gonna save us on the last day. Our hope for the future is secure because God has already done the harder thing. God brought us into a relationship of peace by the death of his Son when we were his enemies, and that's a lot harder than saving your beloved, righteous children from wrath. So of course God's gonna do that, and more (Romans 8, come back next week).Our hope is secure. We have peace with God. And we could spend forever thinking about the layers of wonder here. But how do we respond now? We close where the passage closes in verse 11.More than any of this — more than boasting in the hope that we'll be saved from wrath in the future, we boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We boast in God. GOD. Through Jesus Christ.That's what we do at this Table.The TableIf you are justified by faith, if you have trusted in Jesus Christ, then through Jesus I invite you to boast in God with this bread and cup. By eating the bread which represents Jesus's body, and by drinking the cup that represents Jesus's blood, we are remembering what God has done. We are remembering that we have a secure hope, we have peace with God, and we have God. He's our God. Let that be your boast.

Who were your childhood heroes? Why would they be considered your heroes? It wasn't just what they did but it was why they did it. In 1 Thessalonians 2:9-12, Paul is reminding the Thessalonians what they have done so that they would walk in a manner worthy of God. Everything Paul is doing in Thessalonica is so that the Thessalonians would walk in a manner worthy of God. Paul is saying he is coming alongside the Thessalonians to walk in the journey together. We are to walk alongside one another, pick each other up when they fall, and correct when we see someone going the wrong way. That's accountability. Make yourselves available and let God do the rest. Listen to this sermon about walking in a manner worthy of God as a follower of Christ in the fourth part of our In The Word series walking through 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians.Check out our video version of this episode:https://youtu.be/RS6Uk98VCXYSubscribe to our YouTube channel here: youtube.com/chestnutmountainchurchLearn more about us at chestnutmountain.orgFollow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @chestnutmtn_Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave a review, and let us know what you think.

The Receiving Of The Law (Deut. 5:1–22), This would refer to (1) Moses' receiving the Law on Mt. Sinai (cf. Exod. 19–20) One of the chief criticisms of Paul by his Jewish countrymen seems to have been his alleged disregard for the law, since he taught that salvation was by grace through the atoning work of Christ and not by law-keeping. However, Paul does not discount the law's value. In fact, he has already affirmed its superlative value in Romans 3, where he first raised the matter of Jewish advantages. “What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew?” he asked. The answer: “Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God” (vv. 1–2). The phrase “the receiving of the law” means the same thing here. This extraordinary advantage was possessed by no other nation until the Christian era, when the gospel of God's grace in Christ and the books that taught it were deliberately taken to the entire world by the apostles and early missionaries in obedience to Christ's express command.[1] the temple worship (latreia, “sacred service,” which may also include service in the tabernacle), David's developing the Temple service, and (2) possibly the Tabernacle of the Wilderness Wandering Period (cf. Exod. 25–40 and Leviticus). This phrase refers to the extensive set of regulations for the religious rituals to be practiced first at the tabernacle and then at the temple in Jerusalem. It involves the construction of the temple itself, the laws governing the various sacrifices, and the times of the year for and nature of the specified holy days of Israel.                                       The importance of these things is that they were designed to show the way in which a sinful human being could approach the thrice holy God. God must be approached by means of a blood sacrifice, which testified to the gravity of sin (“the wages of sin is death,” Rom. 6:23) and to the way in which an innocent substitute could die in the sinner's place. Eventually all such sacrifices, which were only figures of the ultimate and true sacrifice, were brought to completion and fulfilled by Jesus Christ.[1] Jer 31:35 Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name): 36 "If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever." 37 Thus says the LORD: "If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the LORD. and the promises (esp. of the coming Messiah). Since “the covenants” are mentioned earlier, “the promises” speak of those promises contained within the covenants and also refer to the Messiah (e.g. Gen. 3:15; 49:10; Deut. 18:15, 18–19; 2 Sam. 7; Ps. 16:10, 22; 118:22; Isa. 7:14; 9:6; 11:1–5; 53; Dan. 7:13, 27; Micah 5:2–5a; Zech. 2:6–13; 6:12–13; 9:9; 11:12. These promises (covenants) are both unconditional and conditional. They were unconditional as far as God's performance (cf. Gen. 15:12–21), but conditional on mankind's faith and obedience (cf. Gen. 15:6 and Rom. 4). Only Israel had God's self-revelation before the coming of Christ.[1] Ro 9:5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. V (5) Also the Israelites were in the line of promise from its beginning in the patriarchs (cf. Matt. 1:1–16; The “patriarchs” are the three fathers of the Jewish nation, namely, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, though in a looser sense such distinguished ancestors as Moses and David should also be included. These were all illustrious men to whom God revealed himself in special ways and through whom he worked to call out and bless his ancient people. To have such devout, saintly, and influential men in one's past is rightly regarded by Paul as a significant national distinction of which Jewish people could all justly be proud[1] Genesis 12–50 (cf. Rom. 11:28; Deut. 7:8; 10:15). “From whom is the Christ according to the flesh” This referred to the physical lineage of the Messiah, the Anointed One, God's special chosen servant who would accomplish God's promises and plans, (cf. 10:6). The term “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew “Anointed One.” In the OT, three groups of leaders were anointed with special holy oil (1) kings of Israel, (2) high priests of Israel, and (3) prophets of Israel. It was a symbol of God's choosing and equipping them for His service. Jesus fulfilled all three of these anointed offices (cf. Heb. 1:2–3). He is God's full revelation because He was God incarnate (cf. Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Micah 5:2–5a; Col. 1:13–20).[1] Ro 1:3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, to its fulfillment in the Messiah, The human ancestry of Christ. Everything Paul has said to this point would have been thoroughly echoed by his Jewish opponents, for they, too, regarded all these spiritual advantages highly, though they misunderstood and misused some of them. This is not the case with the last item Paul mentions, for they would have understood at once that Paul is referring here to Jesus of Nazareth, and they had no intention of recognizing Jesus as their national Messiah. Yet Paul cannot leave this matter out, if for no other reason than that everything he has mentioned thus far leads up to Jesus. This is not a random collection of items. There is actually a very close connection between these advantages, according to which each rightly leads to the one following and all lead to Christ. Adoption is the right starting point, for it places the source of salvation in God's electing grace, just as is the case also for believers in Christ. Having chosen to enter into a special relationship with his people, the next step was for God to reveal himself to them in a special way, which is what the word glory describes. God has done that for us in Christ, for he is where God's glory must be seen today (John 2:11; 2 Cor. 3:18). When God revealed himself to the people, as he did at Mount Sinai, it was to enter into special covenants or agreements with them, to give them the law by which they were to live, to show the way of salvation through the temple rituals, and to point forward the full realization of their spiritual inheritance when the Messiah should at last be revealed. The flow of God's actions reaches back to the patriarchs, with which it began, and forward to the coming of Jesus, in whom it culminates (v. 5). These verses are as full and reasoned a statement of the blessings of God to Israel and the spiritual advantages of Old Testament religion as could possibly be given. Israel truly lacked nothing. The nation was enriched with every spiritual blessing and advantage.[1]   Who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. This is a clear affirmation of the deity of Messiah.[1]. Paul does not use Theos for Jesus often, but he does use it (cf. Acts 20:28; Titus 2:13; Phil. 2:6). All the early church Fathers interpreted this text as referring to Jesus[1] This is a very striking statement. For Paul is not only saying that the Messiah was born of Israel, that is, that he was a Jew. He is also saying that this Jewish Messiah, born of Israel according to the flesh, is, in fact, God. And he is saying it in plain language. If we substitute the name Jesus for Christ, which we can do, since Paul is obviously writing about Jesus, we have the statement: “Jesus, who is God over all, forever praised!” Or, to simplify it even further, “Jesus … is God over all.”  The sentence means that Jesus is himself the only and most high God.  “Who is over all” This also could be a descriptive phrase for God the Father or Jesus the Son. It does reflect Jesus' statement of Matt. 28:19 and Paul's in Col. 1:15–20. This majestic phrase showed the height of Israel's folly in rejecting Jesus of Nazareth. Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. “Forever” This is literally the Greek vernacular phrase “unto the ages” (cf. Luke 1:33; Rom. 1:25; 11:36; Gal. 1:5; 1 Tim. 1:17).[1] We have to admit at this point that there is an obvious restraint among the New Testament writers to say starkly that “Jesus is God.” And for good reason. Without explanation, a statement like this might be understood as teaching that God left heaven in order to come to earth in the person of the human Jesus, leaving heaven without his presence. Each of the New Testament writers knew that this is not an accurate picture. Each was aware of the doctrine of the Trinity, according to which God is described as being one God but existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since Jesus is the Son of God, it was customary for them to call him that, rather than simply “God,” reserving the unembellished word God for God the Father. This is why Jesus is not often called God explicitly. Yet, although it is unusual to find Jesus called God for the reasons just given, it is not the case that he is never called God. At the very beginning of that, Gospel of John writes: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (vv. 1–2, emphasis added). A bit later, “the Word” is identified as Jesus (v. 14), so the text says that Jesus is God. True, the verses are written so as to distinguish the persons of the Father and Son within the Trinity. But they nevertheless identify Jesus as God explicitly. Later in John's Gospel, we find the same thing in Thomas's great confession, which is the Gospel's spiritual climax. “Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!' ” (John 20:28). Acts 20:28 is another important passage. Here Paul is speaking to elders of the church at Ephesus, telling them to, “be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” The blood that was the price of our redemption is the blood of Christ, but here it is called the blood of God. The only way Paul could make this identification is by thinking of Christ as being God so directly and naturally, that what he posits of one can without any forcefulness be said of the other. Hebrews 1:8 calls Jesus “God” by applying Psalm 45:6–7 to him: “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever. …” The best example of an identification of Jesus with God in Paul's writings, apart from our text, is Titus 2:13–14, where Paul writes, “We wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. …” Apart from the context, the words God and Savior could mean only “God the Father and God the Son.” But since Paul is writing of the second coming and sudden appearance of Jesus, both words must refer to him, for it is not God the Father who is going to appear suddenly but rather “our great God and Savior,” who is Jesus. Therefore, it is not true that Paul never identifies Jesus with God explicitly. He does, as do other New Testament writers, in spite of the discretion and care with which they usually write. However, even if it were the case that Paul nowhere else explicitly identifies Jesus as God, that fact alone does not prove that he cannot do it here—which, in fact, he does. I like what John Calvin says of the attempt to separate God from Christ by splitting up the text in the way I have described. He writes wisely, “To separate this clause from the rest of the context for the purpose of depriving Christ of this clear witness to his divinity is a bold attempt to create darkness where there is full light.” Even better is the judgment of Robert Haldane: “The Scriptures have many real difficulties, which are calculated to try or to increase the faith and patience of the Christian, and are evidently designed to enlarge his acquaintance with the Word of God by obliging him more diligently to search into them [sic] and place his dependence on the Spirit of truth. But when language as clear as in the present passage is perverted to avoid recognizing the obvious truth contained in the divine testimony, it more fully manifests the depravity of human nature and the rooted enmity of the carnal mind against God, than the grossest works of the flesh.” Like many other commentators and Bible teachers, I find Romans 9:5 to be one of the most beautiful testimonies to the full deity of the Lord Jesus Christ in the entire Bible. Lessons To whom much is given, much is required Lu 12:46 "the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 "And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 "But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. To be saved, you have to believe that Jesus is God and in Him only can you be saved Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.  hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

Everything Paul has known is thrown into question as with Rick he discusses 2021 Italian film A Classic Horror Story. Subtitles vs dubbing for foreign language content - the debate rages.

Paul closes out his second letter to the Corinthians with a plea from his heart for their spiritual growth.  Why do we today so seldom see that at a practical level in our churches?  Read 2 Corinthians 13:7-142 Corinthians 13:7-14 (NLT) 7We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won't need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come—even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority. 8For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth. 9We are glad to seem weak if it helps show that you are actually strong. We pray that you will become mature. 10I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won't need to deal severely with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down. 11Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet each other with Christian love. 13All of God's people here send you their greetings. 14May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Three Points Paul Makes in Our Text1.      Paul's goal for them was their spiritual maturity2.      Their spiritual growth was more important to Paul than his reputation3.      Everything Paul did was for building them upWhy don't we push each other toward Spiritual Growth in the American church?1.         Individualistic society2.         Void of belief as the norm3.         Spiritual Maturity is not what we think the church is about4.         Spiritual Maturing has not been modeled wellWhat might Spiritual Modeling look like if we were to do this for others?1.     Spiritual mentoring2.     Weekly meetings3.     Higher expectations4.     Revised pastor job description

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity Romans 8:17-23 by William Klock Our Epistle from Romans 8 this morning is one those wonderful, short passages that remind us of the bigger picture, that gives us a bird's-eye view of the Good News, of God's redemption and renewal of humanity and of his entire Creation.  It's the hilltop from which we can see the lay of the land, where we've come from, where we're going, and how it all fits together. This is the midpoint of Paul's letter to the Roman church.  In the first half of the letter, Paul works his way through the story of Israel and all her ups and downs—and for Israel things were mostly “down”.  And now in Chapter 8 he begins talking about life in the flesh versus life in the Spirit and the law of sin and death versus the law of the Spirit.  This is where, in verse 11, he famously writes that if the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, the One who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies—if we are in Christ Jesus we live in hope of the same resurrection he has experienced.  But even more than that, Paul goes on to write, through our union with Jesus we are children and heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ—that means sharing in Jesus' inheritance.  But what is that?  Paul writes in verse 17 that it means to suffer with him so that we can be glorified with him.  The Christian life—life with Jesus—for Paul means two things: suffering and glory.  Suffering is a given as we long for glory. What does that mean?  What does Paul mean by “glory”?  And what about suffering?  Most Christians living through the last two thousand years have understood that suffering is part of our calling as we follow Jesus.  Jesus promised it.  The New Testament writers talk about it often—and most of them faced it themselves and were martyred for proclaiming the lordship of Jesus.  Many of our brothers and sisters today are persecuted for their faith in various parts of the world.  And yet in the West—probably in part because we haven't faced persecution for such a long time—many Christians have no place for suffering in their theology.  Many even go so far as to say that if you're experiencing suffering—sickness, poverty, rejection or anything else negative—it's due to a lack of faith.  But that's just the opposite of what Jesus taught and it's just the opposite of what Paul teaches here.  The inheritance we share with Jesus is one of suffering that leads to glory.  What this means is at the centre of our Epistle and Paul goes on in verse 18: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.   Paul says, “For I consider…”  That doesn't mean this is his opinion.  Paul uses the same Greek word several times as he builds his argument in Romans.  Other translations say “I reckon”.  The sense of it is, “This is how I work it out”.  Knowing the Scriptures, knowing Jesus, working under the Spirit's inspiration, this is the only conclusion he can reach.  He's been building this argument for eight chapters in Romans and here he reaches the inevitable conclusion: those who will be glorified will first face suffering, but that this suffering can't begin to compare with the glory to be revealed. Think about what a powerful statement that was when Paul wrote this.  When he writes that word “suffering” most of us probably read into that whatever our own trials and tribulations are.  That's fine.  But what did Paul have in mind?  Later in the chapter, in verses 35-36 he writes that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ—nothing—and then he goes on to detail the sorts of suffering that he and other Christians were facing—things people might think mean that God doesn't love them, things they might think show a lack of faith, things that might separate them from Jesus.  Here's his list: hardship or distress, persecution or famine, nakedness or peril or sword.  And he quotes from Psalm 44: “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted sheep to be slaughtered.”  These things are far worse than the sorts of suffering any of us are likely to face.  And as horrible as this suffering was, none of it could compare with the glory to be revealed—no amount of suffering could make the glory not worth it. But what is the glory Paul's writing about?  Our translation says that this glory is to be revealed “to us”, but that makes it sound like we're going to be spectators to this glory.  What Paul writes in Greek has the sense of this glory revealed towards us or into us.  It's a sense of this glory being bestowed on us as a gift—and this makes perfect sense when we remember what Paul said before: that if we are in Christ, then we will share in his inheritance—we will participate in his inheritance. And what's the inheritance?  Well, who is Jesus?  He is Lord.  His glory is revealed or it's unveiled in his glorious and sovereign rule of Creation and Paul is saying here that the glory we wait for with eager longing, the glory that is the basis for our hope as Christians is not glory in the sense many people often think.  We often think of “glory” as a place or a state of being.  When a Christian dies we often hear people say that he or she has gone on or been promoted to “glory”.  Brothers and Sisters, “glory” isn't going to heaven when you die.  As Jesus' glory is his sovereign rule over Creation, so the glory to be revealed in us is our participation, our sharing in the sovereign and saving rule of Jesus in the age to come.  And this is why he says what he does in verse 19: For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.   If our hope, if our glory—as it is so often wrongly portrayed—was for the destruction of this world and an eternity of disembodied existence in heaven with God, then the Creation would have no reason to eagerly long for that glory to be revealed.  What Paul describes here is the opposite: God's Creation is waiting for the great day when its true rulers are revealed, the sons of God, and when it will be delivered from corruption.  Look at verses 20-22: For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.   This is where we need to stand back and look at the big picture.  Everything Paul's saying here is dependent on that.  It's the big picture the Bible gives of us of God's Creation, from beginning to end.  We read in Genesis that God created and that everything was good.  We even read there that when he created human beings he looked at his handiwork and declared us not just “good”, but “very good”.  But we look around us now and have to wonder what happened.  War is always raging somewhere, there's violence everywhere, there's greed and corruption everywhere.  Justice is in short supply and so are the basic things that people need to survive—maybe not in our part of the world, but for billions of others.  And yet even if we don't pay attention to the big evils that play out on the international scene—or even on the local scene, for that matter—we only have to look at the struggles that we have ourselves and that we share with our family and friends to keep away from sin and to do good.  Hate is easy; love is hard.  Paul knew it.  The Roman Christians knew it.  We know it. Paul tells the story of Creation in the book of Romans, but he tells it as Israel's story.  We don't have time to run through the whole book this morning obviously, but Paul's point is that the whole Creation is enslaved in the same sort of way that Israel was in Egypt.  And right there we get a glimmer of hope.  Remember, when Israel went down to Egypt—we read about that in the story of Jacob and Joseph—it was all according to the Lord's plan.  The Lord arranged for Joseph to become a slave in Egypt so that through him he could rescue his people.  Egypt started out good for Israel.  When things turned around under a new king who enslaved Israel, it was not because the Lord had ceased to be good and it was not because the Lord was no longer in control.  No.  We learn later that the Lord allowed the Israelites to become slaves in Egypt so that he could then manifest his glorious sovereignty to everyone—to Israel in rescuing her and to the Egyptians by showing his power over her false gods and over her mighty horses and chariots.  In the Exodus, the Lord marked Israel forever as the people he had freed from slavery, people to whom he had given a new life.  That became their national identity, celebrated every year in the Passover. In all of that Paul is working up to his point here.  As the Lord allowed Israel to fall into bondage to Egypt, so he has allowed his good Creation to be subjected to death and decay.  We may look around and wonder if things are hopeless.  Every time one war ends and we see peace break out another war begins somewhere else.  We work hard to lift this group out of poverty, but then that group over there falls into it.  We cure one disease only to have two new ones crop up.  Isaiah wrote about a day when the lion would lie down with the lamb and we look around us and wonder if that's ever going to happen. And Paul assures us: Yes, it's for real.  This is God's promise.  No matter how bad things are, this is still his good Creation and he has promised to put everything to rights.  Even as he cast Adam and Eve from the garden he was promising them that he would one day overcome sin and restore everything to the way it should be.  Genesis shows things going from bad to worse.  It shows us humanity losing even the very knowledge of God and sinking into paganism and idolatry.  But then it tells us how God came to Abraham and established a covenant with him.  The Lord promised that through Abraham and his family he would restore not only humanity, but all of Creation and here Paul reminds us what that means, what it looks like and why the Creation itself would long for it to happen. Again, we need the big picture—we need to remember where things started.  In Genesis we read that the Lord created human beings to be his image bearers.  Theologians have argued for two thousand years over what exactly that means, but in the last century, as we've been able to read the Old Testament in light of other Jewish and Ancient Near Eastern literature that's been unearthed we've realised that the language of Genesis is temple language.  Israel's pagan neighbours built great stone temples and then places images of their gods in them.  Those images represented the gods' rule or sovereignty over the land and people.  And Genesis uses the same languages and imagery, except that in Genesis it's the Lord himself who builds his own temple—the cosmos—and instead of placing an image of himself carved in stone or gold in it, he creates human beings, to live in his presence in the temple, but also to rule his creation justly and wisely—to have dominion and to subdue Creation in the Lord's name.  That's what it meant for humanity to bear God's image: to be his stewards, the priests of his temple.  But then we chose to rebel.  As Paul writes in Romans 1, we chose to worship the Creation instead of the Creator.  We subjected the Lord's good creation to corruption. Now, in light of that, it should make sense that Creation goans with eager longing for the day when our inheritance is revealed.  That's the day when Creation will be set free from the corruption we brought on it.  That's the day when we, Creation's stewards will be restored and renewed and put back in charge, reigning with Jesus.  Again, think back to Israel.  He chose and called her, he rescued her, he made her his people, he sent her to the nations to bring healing and restoration.  But she rebelled and she rejected her mission.  And yet the Lord didn't give up and he didn't change his plan to redeem his Creation through Israel.  He simply sent a faithful Israelite—he sent Jesus.  And Jesus not only redeemed Israel by dying in her place, he established a new Israel in his own person, a new people to be a light to the nations—this time equipped by the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul is getting at in verse 23.  It's not just the Creation that groans in eager longing: And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. The Lord hasn't given up on his Creation any more than he gave up on Israel.  Creation is eagerly waiting for its rightful stewards to be set right.  On that great day the Lord will make all things new and restore his redeemed people to their rightful place as good, wise, and just rulers of Creation—as the faithful priests of his temple.  This is what it means for our glory to be revealed.  The big picture, the story of redemption, reminds us that this was how it was supposed to be from the beginning.  And so we groan and we wait eagerly too.  We live in the mess we've made here in the world.  We live with sin and with sickness and with death, and yet we live in hope, knowing that what God has begun in Jesus he will one day complete. And we can hope, because in Jesus and the Spirit, God has given us the firstfruits of his new creation.  He's given a down payment on what he has promised.  The present age and its rulers have been decisively defeated by Jesus at the cross and the empty tomb and God's new age has been inaugurated.  Jesus is Lord.  He truly is God's King.  He's given us his Spirit—Paul describes the Spirit here as the firstfruits—and that's because we live in the overlap between these two ages, these two kingdoms.  The Jews brought the firstfruits of the harvest—usually sheaves of grain harvested at the very beginning of the season—as offerings to God.  They offered them in good years and even in bad years in faith that God would provide the rest of the harvest.  And so the Spirit is the sign of hope for us.  The life he gives to us here and now is a reminder that encourages our faith and hope in the resurrection and the new creation to come.  We groan and we sigh, we wait longingly in eager expectation, but our hope is certain because God is faithful and keeps his promises.  The prophet Habakkuk wrote that one day the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.  Brothers and Sisters, life is full of suffering, of trials, of tribulations, when the glory of the Lord filling the earth seems impossible, we only need remember the cross of Jesus, his empty tomb, and his gift of the Holy Spirit. But with this in mind we need to be careful.  A lot of Christians, knowing this hope, have ended up becoming complacent.  Brothers and Sisters, we haven't been redeemed by Jesus and given the gift of the Spirit so that we can retreat into a sort of personal holiness or private piety—or even into the walls and fellowship of the Church—while we wait for Jesus to return.  Not at all.  Jesus has inaugurated this new age in his resurrection and somehow someday the making new that began in his resurrection will encompass all of Creation and you and I are called, in the power of the Spirit, to embody that renewing work here and now.  How is Habakkuk's prophecy going to be fulfilled?  How does the knowledge of the glory of the Lord spread to cover the earth?  Brothers and Sisters, that's our mission.  Full of the Spirit, we're called to proclaim to the world the Good News that Jesus is Lord and that his kingdom is here and now.  Our mission is to call the world to repentance and faith.  But don't forget: We are also called to live out repentance and faith in our lives in such a way that we lift the veil on the kingdom and that we give a glimpse to the world of what heaven on earth looks like.  So far as we are able to do so today, we are called to exercise the good dominion that was given to Adam—we are called to be stewards of God's temple, of his Creation.  Jesus has led the way for us here, the second Adam.  In his earthly ministry he made his Father's new creation known in practical ways to the people around him and so should we.  In a word full of sin we should be visible in seeking after holiness.  In a world full of war and injustice, we should be visible and at the forefront working for biblical peace and biblical justice.  In a world full of hurting and sickness, we should be seeking to make the healing ministry of Jesus known.  In a world full of anger and hate, we should be working for forgiveness and reconciliation. If you're like me you might get discouraged thinking about the mission Jesus has given us.  When I think of these things I think of things that we as Christians can do to bring Jesus and his glory to the world in “big” ways.  I think of Christians—and there are so often so few of us—working on the big international scene or I think of missionaries going to far off countries.  And then I get discouraged.  That's far away.  It's bigger than me.  But Friends, never forget that for every St. Paul or St. Peter, there were thousands of ordinary saints manifesting Jesus in their ordinary lives, proclaiming the Good News, and building the kingdom right where they were and transforming an empire.  We fulfil Jesus' calling to us as we raise covenant children to walk with him in faith and to live the values of his kingdom.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when work for peace and reconciliation with our neighbours, in our workplaces, and in our schools.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we forgive as we have been forgiven.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we love the hard-to-love people around us, knowing that we ourselves are hard-to-love too, but that Jesus loved us enough to die for us.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we sacrifice ourselves, our rights, our prerogatives, our time, and our treasure in order to make Jesus and his love and life known.  In everything we do, we should be seeking to give the world signs and foretastes of God's new creation. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, as we asked earlier in the collect we ask again for grace to pass through the trials of this life without losing the things of eternal importance.  Remind us that the suffering we experience cannot begin to compare with the glory to be revealed to us.  Remind us always of the suffering that Jesus endured for our sake that in love and gratitude we might suffer too for the sake of making him known.  And as we think of Jesus' death and resurrection and as we live the life given by your Spirit, fill us with hope and faith, knowing that the glory inaugurated in us today will one day be fully accomplished in our own resurrection and the restoration of all your Creation.  Amen.

There is incredible lawlessness and evil rampant in the world today. Everything Paul listed as the precursors of the end is happening. Yet, Pastor JD will seek to encourage you and give you hope today. As you see lawlessness everywhere, be prepared for the Lord to return at any moment. What a glorious day that’ll be.

Title: A Good Servant of Christ Text: I Timothy 4:6-10 FCF: We often struggle persevering in our walk. Prop: Because a good servant of Christ has certain characteristics, we must show these characteristics as God’s people. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to I Timothy chapter 4. Last week Paul had some rather discouraging news to relay to Timothy and his church. News that the Spirit explicitly said would be true in later times, and is happening in their time. That some would walk away from and oppose the confession of truth that they once claimed. Paul explains how that happens and how they are led away from truth and convinced of the lies. We made a point last week that the gospel is incredibly narrow. We are often tempted to either add to it or take from it. As fear inducing as such a proclamation can be, it is necessary for us to hear. But today – we get to see the other side of that. Paul will take Timothy under his wing, as his young child in the faith, and explain how he can be sure that he and his flock do not suffer such disastrous things. How can Timothy insure that he is, and his people are, good servants of Christ? That is the goal of the text today. I’m in I Timothy 4, and I’ll start reading in verse 6. I am reading from the NET which you can follow in the pew bible on page 1339 or in whatever version you have in front of you. Transition: After the sermon from last week… let’s get some encouragement shall we? Let’s see how we can be a good servant of Christ! I.) A good servant of Christ has certain characteristics, so we must teach the true gospel. (6-7a) a. [Slide 2] 6 – By pointing out such things to the brothers and sisters, i. What things? ii. He could be talking about the entire letter up to this point. He could be referring to everything since the beginning of chapter 2 where he left Timothy’s personal instruction last. iii. I think for certain we can be sure that he at least is referring to the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4. iv. Therefore, what is certainly in view is the true gospel, encapsulated in the hymn Paul gives standing in contrast to the distortions of the false teachers. v. Paul says that by pointing out such things – or by teaching them. vi. Although Paul puts this in a progressive way – by pointing out – it is certainly to be interpreted as a command. But it is a command that Timothy has not been neglecting. So, Paul spurs him to continue on. vii. By doing so toward his congregation… b. [Slide 3] You will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, i. The title of this section to the end of chapter 4 could be – a good servant of Christ Jesus. ii. Everything Paul says is pointed toward this concept. How can Timothy be a good servant of Christ Jesus? iii. First – it is by pointing out – by teaching the true gospel of Christ and opposing the lies of demons. iv. But how can Timothy be sure that he is continuing to be the kind of man that teaches his people the true gospel only? c. [Slide 4] Having nourished yourself on the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. i. It is through personal spiritual nourishment and growth. ii. If Timothy does not feed himself on the truth of the gospel, if Timothy does not heed the teaching of those who have come before him, if Timothy does not follow the instruction of his mentors and forebearers, then he cannot hope to instruct others. iii. Teachers cannot ever stop being learners. They MUST continue to be fed on what they learn, so that they can share it with others. iv. Timothy must continue to drink and eat from the gospel of Christ so that he can fill those whom he teaches. v. And notice that that isn’t just doctrine and preaching – but it is obedience too. The good teaching that he has followed. vi. Paul will expand on this in a moment – but this isn’t just focusing on teaching on a knowledge level but holistically, to the extent that the truths of the gospel permeate everything he does. vii. We’ve seen the first way that Timothy is to be a good servant of Christ. That is to teach his people the gospel truth. That is only possible if he is being nourished by it and living it himself. d. [Slide 5] 7 – But reject those myths fit only for the godless and gullible i. The second way that Timothy can be a good servant of Christ is this… ii. Avoiding, or more strongly – rejecting myths. iii. When you are in your study, pondering the marvelous mysteries that God has only partially revealed, when you have questions for which God does not provide clear answers – it can be tempting to speculate. To guess. To lead yourself and others down the back avenues of what could be. iv. Reading between the lines of scripture, trying to find answers that either are not there, or are not clearly there. v. As these false teachers did with forbidding to marry and forbidding to eat certain foods. They added myths to revealed truth to support conclusions they had already arrived at. vi. These are the teachings we must reject. vii. Why? viii. Because they are not fit for those who are seeking God. They are only fit for those who are godless and old-wifey. That is the word for gullible. One commentator referred to these things as prattle. They do nothing to edify the body and only serve to divide, distract or distort. ix. There is a delicate balance here. Some of the most rewarding moments in my study has been chasing down questions that did not have clear answers. Most notably and most recently has been my rediscovery of the Lord’s Supper and all its facets of meaning. x. But one can go so far and so long hunting down questions that they need to invent connections to come up with answers. Or they see connections that those who have already agreed with them would be able to see. xi. It is difficult to know where to draw the line between humble searching and preoccupation. xii. We must not be enamored by what we don’t know. Instead we must be preoccupied with the gospel of Christ. xiii. And that is really Paul’s primary point. He desires Timothy to continue to be nourished on the things that he has been (past tense) taught and continue to grow in those truths. But the tangential, the uncertain, the grey, the unknown – don’t feed on this – reject it instead. Avoid it. xiv. When we combine these two commands they essentially equal the first one. Continue to preach and teach the truths of the true gospel. xv. How? By being nourished by them and living them out, and by rejecting or avoiding all that is not the gospel. e. [Slide 6] Passage Truth: Paul throughout this passage is teaching Timothy what it means to be a good servant of Christ. f. Passage Application: Timothy must continue to teach the true gospel and refute the myths. To do this he must continue to be nourished by and live out the gospel message. g. [Slide 7] Broader Biblical Truth: Zooming out to the rest of scripture we see this as the basic tenant of our faith. The gospel is the Word of God revealed from Genesis to Revelation. The gospel is the person of Christ revealed in the scriptures form Genesis to Revelation. The gospel is not simply the message that justifies… it is the whole message of God’s holiness, man’s wickedness, and God’s plan to save them in His Son. By Substitution. Through Adoption. He brings us into His family! WOW! The whole of the gospel message is the whole of scripture. All things come back to this - that God is redeeming His creation. He is taking it back. Little by little. Piece by piece. Until all things are His and there is no more opposition. That is a gospel that has immediate and far reaching effects on who we are and what we do. Indeed, there is no way it couldn’t. We are all striving to be good servants in Christ. That is the essence of the gospel. That is what the gospel does to us. It makes us into good servants of Christ. h. Broader Biblical Application: And what do good servants of Christ do? They preach the truth. They teach the gospel. They reject the myths. They pursue and are enthralled by Christ and Him crucified. Not that other things that God reveals are not of interest. Not that we cannot question or pursue things that are not clearly revealed. But our priority, our emphasis, is on the gospel. And so we must ask ourselves – is that where my priority is? My friends. The world will sit and talk to you about all kinds of things. They will mythicize and scrutinize, and trivialize the text of scripture. They will read out of sheer morbid curiosity the difficult things and the unknown things in this book. But they will not abide the gospel. Because it tells them they are wicked. My friends, people in our churches that are not truly converted, They will love the sermons that focus on the unknown things in scripture. They will sit on the edge of their seat as they hear the pastor explain his opinion on the uncertain things in these pages. They will weep in their seats as the person behind the pulpit holds high the need for acceptance and tolerance, while tearing apart God’s law. They will give hearty amen when a pastor adds human works as a component of their salvation. And they will cheer when he speaks ill of their particular political opponent. But my friends. They will squirm under the teaching of the gospel of Christ. Because it is the power of God unto salvation. They will be confronted with the truth that there is a Holy God who hates their sin. But maybe… just maybe… they will see it for the first time. And they will hear that this same God, who hates their sin, crushed His beloved Son, so that they would be free. You want to be a good servant of Christ? Preach the gospel with your lips, drink it deep into you, feed on its truth, bask in its grace, and let it come flowing out of every pore. Do this while avoiding prattle… and you will be a good servant of Christ. One who never need worry about deserting the faith. Transition: [Slide 8(blank)] So this is one way we can be sure that we are a good servant of Christ. But there is still another component to this. One that Paul has hinted at – but one that he has not explained fully as of yet. Let’s look. II.) A good servant of Christ has certain characteristics, so we must train ourselves for godliness. (7b-9) a. [Slide 9] 7 – and train yourself for godliness i. So, the first half of being a good servant of Christ Jesus revolves around doctrine. It revolves around teaching, learning, and living the right doctrines and rejecting the false ones. ii. This is the first task of any man of God who would desire to be a good servant or minister of Christ. And indeed, it is the first task of any person who would desire to be a good servant of Christ. iii. The second is equally important. iv. It is to train himself for godliness. v. The word “train” is a word used for exercise. It is a word associated with physical discipline to perform in the games. vi. It is diligence, It is difficult. It is discipline. vii. But Paul uses this to speak of spiritual discipline and spiritual exercise. viii. Timothy, if he is to be a good servant of Christ, is to diligently discipline himself for godliness. For piety. For holiness. ix. As much as we speak of grace, as often as we speak of Christ working through us, as much as we say not I but Christ – the fact of the matter is – that godliness is not something we attain by simply sitting back and praying for God to do it in us. x. We attain godliness by the passion that God gives, swinging the pickaxe that God gave us, with the energy God gave us, to mine out the gems of righteousness that God has prepared for us from before the world began. xi. This will be work. It will not be easy. It will probably be quite… painful. xii. BEAT YOUR BODY into subjection. xiii. CRUCIFY yourself. xiv. Mortify the flesh. xv. This is the work of sanctification. And it is true that it is not us alone, nor is it us primarily, nor do we get “credit” for success – but we do work. That much is true. xvi. Paul, having mentioned exercise, will now state a well known and true phrase. b. [Slide 10] 8 – For “physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. 9 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. i. Taking these out of order, reading verse 9 first, we see that this is another one of Paul’s trustworthy sayings that deserves to be accepted and appreciated. It is completely true. ii. These statements as we’ve seen have been core truths and values that cannot be argued or disputed. iii. So far we’ve seen 1. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 2. If anyone aspires to the office of an overseer, he desires a noble task iv. This is the final saying that is worthy of full acceptance in this book. So, what is it saying? v. He says that physical exercise is a good thing. It does have some value. But there is something worth greater value. Now the value here is defined. What is the greater value of godliness versus the lesser value of physical exercise? vi. Physical exercise holds value for this present life. The body benefits from exercise. But what good is a chiseled body when it is dead? vii. Training for godliness, like physical exercise, has present benefit for this life. Living in God’s will is its own reward. And God gives present promises to those who would walk in His ways. Promises that are of general joy and peace. This does not always manifest in physical ways in this age, but sometimes it does. viii. But beyond this age – Godliness has value in the life to come. Godliness is treasure that is laid up where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. ix. Godliness in all its disciplines is valuable in every way. There is no end to the benefit of godliness. x. And as a reminder…there is no exception to this saying. This is true always and all the time. Training for godliness is profitable for anyone in this life and the next. c. [Slide 11] Passage Truth: Again, Paul is telling Timothy how to be a good servant of Christ. d. Passage Application: Timothy must train himself for godliness. He must discipline Himself for holiness. e. [Slide 12] Broader Biblical Truth: Zooming out again to all of scripture – we have already shown that the gospel does this to God’s people. God keeps working on and changing His true children to be conformed more and more into the image of His Son – and that is… the gospel. f. Broader Biblical Application: And so the working of the gospel here, is that we grow in godliness. This is, of course, not without effort. It is not without difficulty. It is not without pain. In fact, I am convinced that some of the trouble that Christ predicted for His children, would be this. The mortification of sin and the discipline in righteousness. But God’s true children know that this effort to train themselves for godliness, not only has present benefits. Not only does it please the Lord now. Not only is there great promises associated with being pressed into Christ’s mold in this life… but even more in the life to come. The benefits of godliness are sometimes difficult to see in this life… but are on vivid display in the next. Transition: [Slide 13(blank)] But that is hard. Because this life is all we know now. How do we make it? In fact, Paul just said that some won’t make it. So how do we KNOW that we will? What gives us the courage, the strength to carry on in this uphill fight? III.) A good servant of Christ has certain characteristics, so we must continue to trust God. (10) a. [Slide 14] 10 – In fact, this is why we work hard and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God, i. Paul continues to point out exactly why we discipline ourselves in this way. ii. Why do we continue to teach, to learn, to grow, to obey, to train for godliness? iii. Why do we discipline ourselves? iv. Why do we work so hard? v. Why do we struggle? vi. We do this because we have set our hope on the living God. vii. We have set our eyes on the prize that is set before us. viii. We have seen what is promised to those who run the race well. ix. Furthermore, we know that as we run, it is This God, this King, that will keep us standing. He will keep us going. He will keep us swinging. x. We wear ourselves ragged knowing that God is the one who will not let us wear out before we reach the finish line. xi. God providentially is both the goal and the means. xii. So, we work hard knowing that He will bring us unto Himself. xiii. Seeing this in what Paul says helps us to interpret rightly the next phrase. b. [Slide 15] Who is the savior of all people especially of believers. i. God is the savior of all people especially of believers. ii. What in the world does this phrase mean? iii. Because if we are not careful – we could make this phrase say something which supports universalism. iv. Universalism is a teaching that says, in one way or another, God will draw and deliver every single person to Himself. That all men will be saved. The Pope just recently made a statement to this effect, saying that even atheists will be ushered into the kingdom of heaven. v. This teaching says – you don’t have to believe in God – because He believes in you. vi. This is heresy. It is garbage. It is refuse. I have other words I’d like to use to describe it, but they are too strong for this audience. You can use your imagination. vii. Paul is not teaching universalism. viii. So how can God be a savior of all men? ix. Perhaps we can use the old trick from chapter 2. God is the savior of all kinds of men…. No… because how do we explain “especially of believers” x. There are two acceptable interpretations of this. 1. The first is an alternate interpretation of the word translated “especially.” Although its only meaning in the New Testament is “especially” or “to a greater degree”, other writings indicate that one usage of the word is to express “that is” or “Namely.” So the phrase would be that God is the savior of all people namely of believers. I, however, do not find this explanation very convincing. 2. The other interpretation fits much better in the context of the passage. a. Paul is speaking about exercise, hard work, struggle. In struggle and hard work you need endurance. You need to press on to get through. b. This word “save” means to deliver. It means to move something from point A to point B. It is true, that most often in scripture it refers to saving from sin, from death to life. Indeed, that is probably the normal way of translating this word. c. However, here in the context it seems that that may not be what Paul is intending. d. What Paul seems to be saying is… e. We discipline ourselves in teaching, refuting, learning, growing, obeying, and being godly because we have set our hope on the living God. f. Who delivers all men through this life, especially believers. g. God helps those who are not believers to endure to their appointed end. God does not give the wicked what they deserve. He does not snuff out their lives. Rather he providentially leads them to His truth, or to His Judgment. In either case, He is the one who delivers them from birth to death. h. That, then, is especially true for believers. Because He brings them to truth. He providentially leads them, not with an invisible hand that the wicked don’t see or spit on – but with a visible hand seen through the graced eyes of faith. c. [Slide 16] Passage Truth: So Paul is still teaching this concept of being a good servant of Christ. d. Passage Application: Timothy must continue to work and struggle trusting God to help Him endure. e. [Slide 17] Broader Biblical Truth: Zooming out, we won’t belabor the point, but God preserves His own dear children. Romans 8 tells us that those whom He calls He will glorify. Jude prays that Christ will present them spotless before the throne of God. Paul assures the Philippians that Christ will continue his work in them until it is perfected. f. Broader Biblical Application: So yes, it is certainly work, and discipline to go on training in godliness. It is certainly work to continue to proclaim the true gospel and reject the lies. But we have set our hope on the living God. Paul elsewhere says – WORK OUT your own salvation. He continues by telling us that the will or desire to work out our salvation and the ability or the power to work out our salvation which is the good pleasure of God – comes from GOD! That is why we work out our salvation in fear and trembling. It is a wonderous thing to behold a person empowered by God to mine the fruit of the Spirit out of what was once a spiritually dead thing! It is amazing to see God come along side us to help us do His will. This is what is promised. But it is not without work. It is not without effort. Godliness is a lifelong endeavor. But God’s true children know, that godliness is profitable not just for this life… but for the life to come as well. And God’s true children have set their hope on the good nature of God to His people. God is the providential deliverer of all men to their appointed ends… and how much more so to the believers… because their appointed end, is only the beginning. Their worked for godliness will continue… forever. Conclusion: [Slide 18(end)] What does this mean for us here at CBC? You can feel the fear that could come over a congregation, and even a young pastor, when his mentor and spiritual leader reminds him that some will walk away from and oppose the faith in the last times. That some will actively attack the true confession of doctrine that they once claimed to hold. What a sobering thought. The words in today’s passage are a salve on that fear. A sweet and calming ointment to pacify our shaken hearts. You can be a good servant of Jesus. How? Preaching, eating, drinking, living, and defending the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Cling to it as if your life depended on it… because, of course, it does. This is true faith. This is true belief. John 3:16 says that God loved the world so much that he sent His unique Son into the world, that whoever is a believing one on Him, would not die in spiritual death, but would live in spiritual and eternal life. To be a believing one is not a one and done kind of thing. It is a once for all kind of thing. It is a description of all those who will inherit eternal life. They continue to believe. Since this is true, Paul encourages Timothy and his church, to continue to believe. Worried you’ll desert the faith? Keep believing and you won’t. But how else can you be a good servant of Jesus? Training in Godliness. We saw this in I John. How do we know that we are children of light? We walk in the light. How do we know that we have been born of God? We live in righteousness. Faith without works is dead, James says. It is a fake faith. The long and the short of it is that although our salvation is not by our works, our salvation is certainly for good works. The only thing we bring to our own salvation is our sin. But we take from our salvation the power of God to be conformed to the image of Christ. That power will not fail. So Paul says, worried that you will desert the faith? Discipline yourself for godliness and you won’t. But as is usual with Paul – he cannot let us see only the human side of this equation. No. He goes on to say that the reason we continue in this struggle, is because we have placed our hope on God, who delivers all men to their appointed end… and that is especially true for those who endure in true belief. In short – the teaching that God is our deliverer is the motivation for us to continue to fight, struggle, endure, and hold fast. His promise to always help, always give aide, always give power, always give a way of escape – these promises do not cause His children to be idle or passive – rather – they encourage us to press on, why, because we are on the Lord’s Side! He will hold us up. Compare that to those who will desert the faith. They are not doing any of this… but they are preoccupied with the lies of demons from the mouths of false teachers whose lives live in opposition to God’s law. We have been made to be more than conquerors in unity with Christ. So go and conquer! Cast down the lies of the demons, hold up the blessed truth of Christ, and persist, endure, and discipline yourself toward godly, holy, God’s law loving righteousness. Because that is what you have been predestined to. Ephesians 2:10 – Every single believer is God’s masterpiece, re-created in Christ for the purpose of good works that God prepared before the foundation of the world… so go and do them! My friends – I will not lie to you, continuing to hold up the truth amid the lies, and disciplining yourself in godliness is not easy. Is it easy to discern error? Is it easy to call out false teaching? Is it easy to teach with patience? Is it easy to defend truth while still being loving? No. It isn’t easy. Is it easy to discipline yourself to read God’s word? Is it easy to be gentle when others attack you? Is it easy to be a servant? Is it easy to love and honor your spouse? No. It is easier to not do these things. Is it easy to deny the lust of your eyes on the computer screen? Is it easy to say no to going too far in a relationship? Is it easy to submit to your parents? Is it easy to tell the truth, even when it means admitting to your own failure? No. It is easier to do the opposite. Is it easy to follow wise counsel? Is it easy to show love and compassion to someone who would consider himself your enemy? Is it easy to forgive? Is it easy to trust God with our country? No. No it is far easier to do the opposite. My friends, there is nothing about what Paul is talking about here, about being a good servant of Christ, that is easy. It will take discipline. Struggle. Endurance. And maybe even a little pain. Blood, sweat, and tears. But you can find the strength to carry on… how? Your hope is set on the Living God. He delivers all men to their appointed ends. And that is especially true for believers. He is the goal. He is the means. So let’s get to work. Let’s preach, eat, drink, and live the gospel while refuting the error. Let’s discipline ourselves in godliness. Knowing full well, that God will see to it that we endure to the end.

Not ashamed of the gospel. In Romans 1:17 Paul declares the central fact of the gospel; that is, it is built on "the righteousness of God." Everything Paul proceeds to write in Romans hinges on that wonderful truth.

In our new series "Romans", Jameson walks us through the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans. Everything Paul speaks about goes back to Jesus. Our purpose, our mission and our lives. We live to proclaim the good news of Christ to this world.  As we walk through our lives today, our purpose is still not about "us". It is about taking up our cross and denying ourselves to proclaim the truth of the gospel.    Romans 1 Jameson Thacker, Youth Pastor

"This Is Church" is our Sunday Online teaching series exploring the letter to the Ephesians and a vision of church most of us have never seen. In part 8 we're crossing over the halfway point of the book. Everything Paul does is soaked in prayer and here he is again, praying - and praying gloriously. We can follow Paul's lead here and pray like he does. To watch the talk, see our Vimeo channel.

"This Is Church" is our Sunday Online teaching series exploring the letter to the Ephesians and a vision of church most of us have never seen. In part 8 we're crossing over the halfway point of the book. Everything Paul does is soaked in prayer and here he is again, praying - and praying gloriously. We can follow Paul's lead here and pray like he does. To watch the talk, see our Vimeo channel.

Join Internationally Recognized Prophecy Expert, Minister, Speaker and Author, Paul McGuire as he analyzes current events through the lens of Bible Prophecy. Every Monday through Friday 4 - 6 PM Eastern Time. The Paul McGuire Report radio and television ministry is a ministry of faith and we are believing God each month to lay on the hearts of the listeners to support us if they are being blessed. We have asked, and are believing God, to touch the people of God, businesses and organizations to sow into this ministry that they also may be blessed! Your support enables us to stream Paul’s messages from God’s prophetic Word on Blog Talk Radio, PodBean, YouTube, Brighteon.com, SoundCloud and various other podcast applications. With your help we are now broadcasting “The Paul McGuire Report” from our own TV and Production Studio on our Roku Channel as well as other channels as they become available. As we continue to trust in the Lord to build this ministry, HIS ministry, we believe He will lead us in the direction He would have us go. May the Lord bless you abundantly for responding to this call to action! Your gift makes it possible to continue our ministry work as together we share the Great Commission and point people to Jesus Christ. God works through your generous gifts to take the good news of Jesus Christ to millions of people worldwide! You can donate immediately by clicking HERE! Thank you for partnering with Paul McGuire Ministries sponsored by Paradise Mountain Church International! Your Brother in Christ Jesus, Paul McGuire WWW.PAULMcGUIRE.US  Music by Caspar McCloud © 2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Join Internationally Recognized Prophecy Expert, Minister, Speaker and Author, Paul McGuire as he analyzes current events through the lens of Bible Prophecy. Every Monday through Friday 4 - 6 PM Eastern Time. The Paul McGuire Report radio and television ministry is a ministry of faith and we are believing God each month to lay on the hearts of the listeners to support us if they are being blessed. We have asked, and are believing God, to touch the people of God, businesses and organizations to sow into this ministry that they also may be blessed! Your support enables us to stream Paul's messages from God's prophetic Word on Blog Talk Radio, PodBean, YouTube, Brighteon.com, SoundCloud and various other podcast applications. With your help we are now broadcasting “The Paul McGuire Report” from our own TV and Production Studio on our Roku Channel as well as other channels as they become available. As we continue to trust in the Lord to build this ministry, HIS ministry, we believe He will lead us in the direction He would have us go. May the Lord bless you abundantly for responding to this call to action! Your gift makes it possible to continue our ministry work as together we share the Great Commission and point people to Jesus Christ. God works through your generous gifts to take the good news of Jesus Christ to millions of people worldwide! You can donate immediately by clicking HERE! Thank you for partnering with Paul McGuire Ministries sponsored by Paradise Mountain Church International! Your Brother in Christ Jesus, Paul McGuire WWW.PAULMcGUIRE.US  Music by Joseph Charles © 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Today's episode is taken from a coaching call I had during an old BGS course. One of my students was curious if she should have more than one Unique Selling Proposition. Listen in to see what my answer to her was, and how I detail what a consumer's mind is like. Their desire for instant gratification, and how it makes our jobs as Physical Therapists that much harder. If you would like more information on how to discover your clinics USP, head over to my blog I wrote back in 2016 here- “Having a clearly defined USP makes you DIFFERENT, helps people make better decisions about coming to see you, and if you intertwine it in your clinics communication, it's also one of the ways you can overcome co-pay and out of network cost objections from patients who are still a little hesitant.” – Paul Gough ------ Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for Daily Videos: here Check out Paul's Best Selling Books for Physical Therapists: paulgoughbooks.com

Join Internationally Recognized Prophecy Expert, Minister, Speaker and Author, Paul McGuire as he analyzes current events through the lens of Bible Prophecy. Every Monday through Friday 4 - 6 PM Eastern Time. The Paul McGuire Report radio and television ministry is a ministry of faith and we are believing God each month to lay on the hearts of the listeners to support us if they are being blessed. We have asked, and are believing God, to touch the people of God, businesses and organizations to sow into this ministry that they also may be blessed! Your support enables us to stream Paul's messages from God's prophetic Word on Blog Talk Radio, PodBean, YouTube, Brighteon.com, SoundCloud and various other podcast applications. With your help we are now broadcasting “The Paul McGuire Report” from our own TV and Production Studio on our Roku Channel as well as other channels as they become available. As we continue to trust in the Lord to build this ministry, HIS ministry, we believe He will lead us in the direction He would have us go. May the Lord bless you abundantly for responding to this call to action! Your gift makes it possible to continue our ministry work as together we share the Great Commission and point people to Jesus Christ. God works through your generous gifts to take the good news of Jesus Christ to millions of people worldwide! You can donate immediately by clicking HERE! Thank you for partnering with Paul McGuire Ministries sponsored by Paradise Mountain Church International! Your Brother in Christ Jesus, Paul McGuire WWW.PAULMcGUIRE.US  Music by Joseph Charles © 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Ephesians 6:10-24. The fourteenth and final installment in our study through the book of Ephesians providentially took place on Memorial Day, where Americans across the world can pause and consider the dedication and courage of so many men and women who have sacrificed their lives to fight for what they believed was worth the cost. This is the very fight Paul opens our eyes to in his concluding words for the Ephesian church. Not a fight against an invading political power, or a dangerous ideology as has been the case in US history; rather, Paul turns our attention to the real war being waged: a spiritual war in our own back yards, our own church buildings, in our own hearts. Everything Paul says in this letter all builds to this one call to action: Never let down your guard.

As we continue our study of Romans, we come to verses two and three of chapter one. Simply stated, Paul's "gospel of God" is that Jesus has fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. Promised Beforehand The Gospel is not new. In fact, it's as old as creation itself. The first promise ever given regarding the Messiah comes in Genesis 3:15. There, God says, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." Everything Paul is about to write and teach regarding this gospel can be validated by the Old Testament prophets. Even the sacrificial system for sins is a foreshadowing of what Jesus would ultimately accomplish. In verse 2, Paul declares that the gospel was "promised beforehand through [God's] prophets." Further, we can go back to the "holy Scriptures," that is the Old Testament, and read for ourselves. Some of the most specific prophecies pre-date Jesus by almost 1,000 years! Two Natures - Divine & Human In verse 3, Paul points out that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. First, he points to Jesus' divinity as "Son" - a title He alone carries - the only begotten of God. This is detailed further in verse 4...which we'll discuss next time. In verse 3, Paul draws our attention to Christ being a direct descendant of King David. This too, fulfills specific prophecies about the Messiah. Jesus was "born" - ginomai; came into being - as a human. He is eternal as the Logos, the Word which became flesh. But He is human in that Jesus of Nazareth was born into this world. The reality of Christ's two complete natures has a major impact on the gospel and the fulfillment of the law. We'll discuss this in greater detail as we move forward. ____________________________________ Previous Episodes #69 - Introduction to Romans #70 - Paul #71 - Slave of Christ #72 - An Apostle of the Gospel of God

Paul Grewal, MD is a board-certified internal medicine physician and co-author of the New York Times best-selling book Genius Foods. He is a renowned expert on preventative health, with a focus on reversing diseases like type 2 diabetes, helping patients achieve weight loss goals, and hormone health.

Join Internationally Recognized Prophecy Expert, Minister, Speaker and Author, Paul McGuire as he analyzes the contemporary with reason and virtue of Bible Prophecy. Every Monday through Friday 4 - 6 PM Eastern Time. The Paul McGuire Report radio ministry is a ministry of faith and we are believing God each month to lay on the hearts of the listeners to support us if they are being blessed. We have asked, and are believing God, to touch the people of God, businesses and organizations to sow into this ministry that they also may be blessed! Your support enables us to stream Paul's messages from God's prophetic Word on Blog Talk Radio, YouTube, SoundCloud and various other podcast applications. With your help we will begin broadcasting in the near future from our own TV and Production Studio “The Paul McGuire Report” on our Roku Channel as well as other channels as they become available and to live stream our regular Prophecy and Prayer Meetings. As we continue to trust in the Lord to build this ministry, HIS ministry, we believe He will lead us in the direction He would have us go. May the Lord bless you abundantly for responding to this call to action! Your gift makes it possible to continue our ministry work as together we share the Great Commission and point people to Jesus Christ. God works through your generous gifts to take the good news of Jesus Christ to millions of people worldwide! You can donate immediately by clicking HERE! Thank you for partnering with Paul McGuire Ministries sponsored by Paradise Mountain Church International! Your Brother in Christ Jesus, Paul McGuire WWW.PAULMcGUIRE.US  Music by JoeCharlesMusic.com/jcm © 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Join Internationally Recognized Prophecy Expert, Minister, Speaker and Author, Paul McGuire as he analyzes the contemporary with reason and virtue of Bible Prophecy. Every Monday through Friday 4 - 6 PM Eastern Time. The Paul McGuire Report radio ministry is a ministry of faith and we are believing God each month to lay on the hearts of the listeners to support us if they are being blessed. We have asked, and are believing God, to touch the people of God, businesses and organizations to sow into this ministry that they also may be blessed! Your support enables us to stream Paul's messages from God's prophetic Word on Blog Talk Radio, YouTube, SoundCloud and various other podcast applications. With your help we will begin broadcasting in the near future from our own TV and Production Studio “The Paul McGuire Report” on our Roku Channel as well as other channels as they become available and to live stream our regular Prophecy and Prayer Meetings. As we continue to trust in the Lord to build this ministry, HIS ministry, we believe He will lead us in the direction He would have us go. May the Lord bless you abundantly for responding to this call to action! Your gift makes it possible to continue our ministry work as together we share the Great Commission and point people to Jesus Christ. God works through your generous gifts to take the good news of Jesus Christ to millions of people worldwide! You can donate immediately by clicking HERE! Thank you for partnering with Paul McGuire Ministries sponsored by Paradise Mountain Church International! Your Brother in Christ Jesus, Paul McGuire WWW.PAULMcGUIRE.US  Music by JoeCharlesMusic.com © 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Lush Selects- 'Sunday School' No. 5 : Future-Everything Showcase - PAUL MAXWELL | TRACKLIST: 1. Paul Maxwell- KellyKapowski 2. Reva DeVito- Friday Night 3. Paul Maxwell- Malibu (Feat. Goldlink) 4. Future- MoveThatDope (Paul Maxwell 1982 Edition) 5. Obey City- Wait ====================== PAUL MAXWELL @paulmaxwell twitter.com/PMXWELL LUSH SELECTS @LUSH-SELECTS twitter.com/LushSelects facebook.com/lushselects youtube.com/user/lushselects FUTURE-EVERYTHING @FTRVRYTHNG twitter.com/ftrvrythng facebook.com/ftrvrythng http://future-everything.com

Paul stands before King Agrippa and confidently explains why he does what he does. Paul grew up as an impressive Jew and he believed the promise that the Messiah would come; it wasn't until Paul understood the truth that the Messiah had come, was killed, and then rose again from the dead that Paul's life changed drastically. Everything Paul does can now be explained by his belief that Jesus is alive. I wonder if we live our lives with the same hope, the same thing motivating our actions and choices? Support the show (http://www.maplecitybaptistchurch.com)