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Well, I grew up in a Christian home.

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Grew up going to church, grew up with
a family that, that loved the Lord.

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And I went to a Christian
school from fifth grade on.

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I, I, uh, won the Bible award in,
in eighth grade for whatever that

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was worth, and, and went to church
regularly, was involved in youth group.

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And, and at seven years
old, I prayed a prayer.

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And at seven years old I prayed a
prayer because I was listening to Petra.

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If you guys remember the band Petra
from the '80s and '90s, uh, take

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some ibuprofen when you get home, uh,
because like me, you're gonna need it.

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But I r- was listening to a song,
Petra, Somebody's Gonna Praise His Name.

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And I just remember one of the lines
is, "Is it gonna be you or me or is

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it gonna be the rocks or the trees?"

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And at seven years old, I just remember
being heartbroken that nobody would

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worship God and, and the rocks and
the trees would have to do that.

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And so I remember just crying and, and
thinking to myself, "Man, I want God to

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be worshiped, and so I wanna be saved."

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And so I had my dad come in and I
prayed a prayer at seven years old.

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Well, I, I continued my life as a
Christian kid in a Christian home after

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that, and, and I continued to grow up.

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Again, I was going to this Christian
school and I was participating in,

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in all the, the Christian things.

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A- and then I got into high school,
and in, in, in high school, God was

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doing some things i- in my life, in, in
my family's life and everything else.

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And I got to my junior year of
high school, and, uh, after my

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junior year, went to this summer
camp, Pine Cove, out in East Texas,

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and I used to go all the time.

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And, and I went just excited
because I was just looking for that

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spiritual high that you get at camp.

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And I, I went there and I
just was, was bankrupted.

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I, I, I got there and it w- it was
not there, and I just was … I

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was angry the whole week at God.

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I'm like, "God, where's
the spiritual high?

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This is supposed to be my break from
everything else going on in my life.

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Where are you, God?

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Why aren't you showing up for me?"

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And I remember, a- as camps do, on the,
the last night they had the worship

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night and, and I remember being there
and just breaking down and realizing,

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"Man, I have been trusting in my own
self-righteousness for my whole life."

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And I just remember thinking to
myself, "I, I need to be over myself

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and surrender myself to the Lord."

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And so I surrendered my life to Christ
there at, uh, at that camp in, in Pine

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Cove, sitting on the floor of, uh,
their main auditorium there in East

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Texas the summer before my senior year.

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Um-

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That's a version of my testimony.

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Now let me retell it for you.

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I grew up in a Christian home
because that's the family that the

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Lord caused me to be born into.

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I had parents that loved me because
God gave me parents who loved me and

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taught me about Jesus from a young age.

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At seven years old, uh, God impressed
upon my heart that He wanted my devotion,

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wanted my affection, wanted my adoration.

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I prayed a prayer from what I
understood at seven to say, "Lord,

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I wanna worship you with my life.

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I need Jesus to be my savior."

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After that, God had provided many
things for me, including this Christian

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education and this Christian school
that I was a part of, and I got to

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go, and, you know, God taught me a lot
through that time, and He gave me a

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foundation of understanding a lot about
the Bible and a lot about scriptures.

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He, He put me, God did, into a good church
where I had good youth pastors who really

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invested in me and, and poured into me.

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He gave me these opportunities to,
to go to these summer camps at Pine

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Cove, where I was able to, to be
around other Christian friends there

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and, and learn more about the Lord.

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And going into that senior year,
like I said a moment ago, I went

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and, and it just wasn't there.

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And, and I was angry at God, but
God was loving me through that week.

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I was frustrated because I went
thinking, "God, I need this.

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This is for me, and I need
to feel good this week."

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And God, in His grace, His amazing
grace, and in His mercy, opened my eyes

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to show me, "PJ, you've been trusting
in yourself for your whole life."

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And in that moment, God, in His
grace, opened my eyes to the fact

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that I need a savior, and God
showed me that Jesus is that savior.

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And so there in East Texas, on
the floor of that auditorium, I

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surrendered my life by God's grace
to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior

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Same story, two different heroes.

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Who's the hero of the first story?

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Me.

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It was all about me.

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This is what I did.

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This is where, where what I figured out.

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This is what, what I was able to
determine, and I was able to do,

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and I got this, and I made this
decision, and, and it was me.

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Who's the hero of the second story?

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God.

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This is what God did.

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This is the family that God allowed
me to be born into by his grace.

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This is what God provided
for me by his grace.

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This is what God did for me.

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He put me into this church.

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He gave me these youth pastors.

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He brought me to camp.

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He broke my heart.

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He showed me that I need a savior.

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See, as we think about our lives as
Christians, both individually and as,

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as we're gonna talk about this morning
corporately, we have an opportunity

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to either boast in ourselves or to
boast in Christ, to boast in God.

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And boasting is God, in God is,
is the, the way that, that he

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wants us to conduct ourselves.

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Boasting in God is, is what
Christianity is all about.

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I, I didn't really preach much about
this verse, but if you look at verse

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three from last week, look down at the
Bible, it says this, "Grace to you."

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Grace to you.

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God's grace is what we're talking
about this morning, unmerited favor.

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And so the unmerited favor of God,
what God gives us, how God equips

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us, how God loves us, how God shows
us all of the blessings that we

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have in Christ, Paul's saying to
the Corinthians, "Hey, grace to you.

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I want you to continue to know the
grace of God, to experience the grace

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of God, and to own the grace of God."

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And it's that grace that he's going
to emphasize this morning See, the

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thing about God's grace is God's grace
is going to rob us of our boasting

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and put His glory on full display.

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When we properly understand what grace
is and what grace does, and that's what

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we're gonna see this morning in our
passage, what God's grace is and what

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it does is it robs us of our boasting.

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Because God's grace, His
unmerited favor, is just that.

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It's unmerited.

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God didn't save me at that
camp because I was worthy.

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In fact, I wasn't.

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I had made an idol of myself
in my own righteousness.

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I didn't deserve His grace, but
He gave me His grace because He's

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a God who is loving, a God who is
faithful, a God who is merciful.

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And that grace, it robs me of
my right to boast in who I am,

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and instead it takes my life and
makes it a platform for His glory.

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And it doesn't just do that individually,
God's grace does that corporately

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with all of us as the church.

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And so that's what we're gonna see
here as Paul continues his greeting

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in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 here.

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Paul's going to turn and he's gonna
start praying for the Corinthian church.

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And he does this in so
many of his letters.

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But it's unique the way that he
does it here in 1 Corinthians.

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So grab your Bibles if
you're not already there.

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1 Corinthians 1, beginning in verse four.

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It'll be on the screen, but if you've
got your Bible, maybe put your eyeballs

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on the Bibles and let's read together.

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It says this.

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Paul says, "I give thanks to my God
always for you because of the grace of

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God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
that in every way you were enriched

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in Him in all speech, in all knowledge
even as the testimony about Christ was

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confirmed among you, so that you are not
lacking in any gift as you wait for the

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revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
will sustain you to the end, guiltless

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in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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God is faithful, by whom you were
called into the fellowship of

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His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

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Again, the big idea of this
passage is this, that God's

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grace robs us of our boasting and
puts His glory on full display.

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I- in this passage, we're gonna see
Paul focus on God's grace past, God's

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grace present, and God's grace future.

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Corporately, as he's writing to this
church, he wanted the Corinthians to

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understand, hey, you've received His
grace in the past, His saving grace.

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You are now experiencing His equipping
grace, and you will continue to

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experience His sustaining grace.

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And so these first three verses begin
by looking back at God's saving grace in

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the life of the Corinthian church, and
in our life as well, and reminds us of

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just how much we have to be thankful for.

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And so if you look here, he says
this: "I give thanks to my God always

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for you because of the grace of
God given to you in Christ Jesus."

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Our first point this morning if you're
taking notes is this: Be thankful for

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s- saving grace that got us going.

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Be thankful for saving grace that got
us going Again, I give thanks to my God

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always for you because of the grace of
God that was given to you in Christ Jesus.

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This is unique in 1 Corinthians because
in some of Paul's other letters,

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like in Romans, Paul said, "I give
thanks to you, to God for your faith."

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Or in Ephesians, he said, "You know what?

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I give thanks to God," Ephesians, "for
your faith and your love for the saints."

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In Philippians, he says to the, the
Philippians, uh, "I give thanks to God for

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your partnership in the gospel with me."

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He says to the Colossians, "I give
thanks to you for, or to God for you,

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for your faith and love for the saints."

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1 Thessalonians, faith, love and hope.

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2 Thessalonians, faith and love.

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But here in 1 Corinthians, Paul says,
"I give thanks to my God always for

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you because of the grace of God."

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In other words, Corinthians,
I, I'm not singling out what

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you're bringing to the table.

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Rather, I'm gonna single
out what God's done in you.

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I'm gonna put the focus on him.

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I'm gonna put the focus on what he's
done, what his grace has done in you.

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And the reason for this is, it,
the, the Corinthians likely were

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struggling with the issue of pride.

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In fact, in 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul's
gonna write to them and say, "What do

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you have that you did not receive?"

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The answer to that question is nothing.

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Everything I have, I received.

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God has given me everything that I have.

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And so Paul's gonna continue and he'd say,
he's gonna say, "I- if then you didn't

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earn it all, if, if it's all a gift,
why do you boast as though it wasn't?"

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And, and so Paul's writing to a church as
they're saying, "Well, we've got Apollos,

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and we've got Paul in our pedigree
because he helped plant our church, and

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we've got Cephas in our background too.

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And, and look at us and look at our gifts.

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We've got all of these gifts that we're
demonstrating and exercising here."

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And so Paul comes along and he
purposefully zooms in here in this

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opening of this prayer by zooming
in on God's grace in their life.

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He could've said, "I'm, I'm thankful
for your giftedness, Corinthians."

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He could've said, "I'm, I'm
thankful for your generosity,"

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because they're gonna support the,
the church in Jerusalem there.

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He could've said any of those things, but
he starts by saying, we need to realize

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what began all of this in the first place.

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And it's true for us sitting
here this morning as well, is the

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grace of God, his unmerited favor.

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In fact, it's the grace of God
given to you in Christ Jesus.

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The grace of God given to us in
Christ Jesus, that is the, the gospel.

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That is the saving grace of God.

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That's what the grace of
God in Christ Jesus is.

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That's the, the, the moment where
your eyes were opened to understand

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your need for Jesus as your savior.

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For me in that auditorium in, in
Pine Cove in East Texas, to realize,

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man, I am bankrupt without Christ.

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I have nothing to bring to the table.

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My self-righteousness is filthy rags
before the Lord When you received

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the grace to be able to see your
need for your savior, that's,

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that's what he's talking about.

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And without that, none of
us are here this morning.

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It, it doesn't matter who you are.

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I mean, you think about the most amazing
and accomplished evangelists that have

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ever walked the face of the planet.

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Think of Billy Graham, and think about
the thousands he preached the gospel to.

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Without the grace of God,
Billy Graham is nothing.

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I mean, you think … Let's, let's
go back a couple thousand years.

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How, how about Paul?

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Without God's grace, Paul is nothing.

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And if we would say that about
Billy Graham and, and that about

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Paul, I, I'm saying that about me.

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Man, without God's grace, I
have nothing of value to offer.

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God's grace saves us, and God's grace
gets us going, and the way that it does

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is it brings us together as the church.

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And that's why Paul's writing
corporately to the body in Corinth

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there, saying, "Hey, I wanna thank
God for what God's grace has done

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in you through Christ Jesus," that
God saved a people, not a person.

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I don't know if you've ever thought
about that, but how great is it that God

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didn't save us as individuals to just
live our life in this isolated pod with

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even just us and our immediate family?

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But in his grace, he
gave us to each other.

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And Corinthians is gonna talk a lot about
that when we get into the latter chapters,

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in the spiritual gifts especially.

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But God's grace has brought this place
together, and so when you think of

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anything to give thanks for about this
church … Man, launching Adventure

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00:12:43,328 --> 00:12:44,718
Club, man, I, I'm so thankful for that.

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I, I've got kids in Adventure Club.

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I'm thankful for it as, as a dad.

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But man, I'm, I'm more thankful for
the grace of God that's doing that.

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I'm thankful for the grace of God
at work in the lives of the, the

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leaders in Adventure Club, who are
serving, who are giving their time.

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I'm thankful for the grace of God
at work in my kids' lives, that they

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are able to, to read the Word and
want to memorize the Word and wanna

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treasure it up in their hearts.

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I'm thankful for God's grace
when I think about this church.

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Again, 1 Corinthians 4:7 says, "What
do you have that you did not receive?

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If then you received it, why would you
boast as though you did not receive it?"

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Right?

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So we can't stand on, look at
how great we are as a church.

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Look at what, where we've gone from 35 in
a trailer to 350 here on Sunday mornings.

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W- w- we can't do any of that
because what we need to do is

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say, "God's grace is doing it."

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And it's not that we despise
those things, not at all.

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We just give the glory
to who the glory is due.

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Remember, God's grace robs us of our
boasting and puts Him on full display.

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00:13:42,548 --> 00:13:45,667
God's given us everything, and
it began with His saving grace.

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And so we can guard against falling
prey to this mindset of, of boasting

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00:13:50,447 --> 00:13:53,357
in ourselves by remembering, again, to
look around at what God's doing here,

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the, the saving events, the serving,
the, the community groups, the, the

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00:13:57,387 --> 00:14:00,087
Adventure Club, the preaching of the
Word, all of these things and say, "God,

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00:14:00,107 --> 00:14:03,957
we are so thankful that Your saving
grace had me- has made any of this

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00:14:03,957 --> 00:14:09,027
possible, because without Your grace that
began us, none of this has happened."

266
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And so what do we do
with all those things?

267
00:14:12,242 --> 00:14:13,852
We don't despise them,
we don't ignore them.

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00:14:14,472 --> 00:14:17,142
In fact, what we do is we give
thanks for them for what they are.

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Look down at verse five.

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00:14:18,822 --> 00:14:21,332
Paul says this, he's thankful for
the grace of God that they received

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00:14:21,352 --> 00:14:24,552
in Christ Jesus, and then he goes on
and says this in verse five, "That

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in every way you were enriched in
Him in all speech and all knowledge."

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N- notice, it's still God's grace
because we're passive in this.

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You were enriched in Him.

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00:14:37,782 --> 00:14:41,842
That's a, a passive verb, so that means
that we're receiving the action of that.

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00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:43,622
We're not making ourselves rich.

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00:14:43,622 --> 00:14:45,171
He doesn't say, "You became rich."

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00:14:45,312 --> 00:14:46,692
He said, "You were enriched."

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00:14:46,692 --> 00:14:47,101
How?

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00:14:47,371 --> 00:14:48,572
In every way.

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00:14:48,632 --> 00:14:51,142
We're gonna talk about that a little bit
more in our second point in verse seven.

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00:14:51,371 --> 00:14:55,772
But in every way, meaning that, that you
lack nothing because God's grace is able

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00:14:55,772 --> 00:14:57,591
to provide everything that you need.

284
00:14:57,851 --> 00:15:04,281
So in every way, you were enriched
by Him, in Him, in all speech and

285
00:15:04,351 --> 00:15:08,542
knowledge In all speech and knowledge.

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00:15:08,542 --> 00:15:12,752
I'm gonna touch on that in just a second,
but this i- idea of us being enriched

287
00:15:12,762 --> 00:15:15,172
is, again, unique here in Corinthians.

288
00:15:15,732 --> 00:15:19,402
Because in the other epistles,
God focuses, or, or Paul focuses,

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00:15:19,402 --> 00:15:22,342
rather, on God being rich.

290
00:15:22,871 --> 00:15:29,272
Uh, for example, i- in, uh, i- Ephesians
1:7-8, Paul writes this, "In him we

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00:15:29,272 --> 00:15:33,341
have redemption, through his blood
the forgiveness of our trespasses,

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00:15:33,371 --> 00:15:36,131
according to the riches of his grace."

293
00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,162
And so elsewhere in Paul, Paul is
putting the focus on the fact that,

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00:15:40,312 --> 00:15:42,241
that God is the one that's rich.

295
00:15:43,432 --> 00:15:46,511
But again, because he wants us to
remember that we have received everything

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00:15:46,511 --> 00:15:49,881
that we have by his grace, now he
talks about the fact that we have been

297
00:15:49,882 --> 00:15:54,251
enriched, that God has made us rich,
and he's done that through Christ.

298
00:15:54,522 --> 00:15:57,611
And then he highlights
speech and knowledge.

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00:15:58,132 --> 00:16:01,712
Logos and gnosis are the two
words there in the Greek, and they

300
00:16:01,941 --> 00:16:05,222
occur multiple times in the letter
to the Corinthian church here.

301
00:16:05,682 --> 00:16:09,702
Positively, they're gonna show up
later on in, in 1 Corinthians 12:8.

302
00:16:10,071 --> 00:16:13,731
There, they're listed as two of the
spiritual gifts that the Spirit provides

303
00:16:13,731 --> 00:16:19,001
to the church for the building up of the
body of Christ, knowledge and speech.

304
00:16:19,051 --> 00:16:21,982
There's speaking gifts, there's,
there's knowledge gifts, and, and

305
00:16:21,992 --> 00:16:24,961
those are two categories of gifts
that we see active in the church.

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00:16:24,961 --> 00:16:26,142
That's on the positive side.

307
00:16:26,831 --> 00:16:29,712
But then negatively, they're gonna show
up here in just a couple of chapters

308
00:16:29,971 --> 00:16:33,711
because knowledge and speech were
two of the crutches that the world

309
00:16:33,711 --> 00:16:38,551
used to try to put themselves forward
as wise and Christians as foolish.

310
00:16:39,522 --> 00:16:43,141
And so God's gonna take the knowledge
of the world and make it foolish.

311
00:16:44,301 --> 00:16:48,591
The, the, the proclaimed speech, the
wisdom of the world, and make it foolish

312
00:16:48,592 --> 00:16:50,191
in light of the wisdom of the cross.

313
00:16:50,801 --> 00:16:53,992
But here he's saying to the Corinthians,
"Look, you've been enriched.

314
00:16:54,071 --> 00:16:56,811
You've been those that have,
have received true knowledge.

315
00:16:56,821 --> 00:17:00,291
Y- you have the true wisdom
of God through Christ."

316
00:17:02,092 --> 00:17:06,310
And so Paul here is reminding
the Corinthians of the evidences

317
00:17:06,330 --> 00:17:08,840
of God's work in their lives.

318
00:17:09,241 --> 00:17:13,651
And so God's grace saves us, and it's,
it's that which gets us going, and then

319
00:17:13,651 --> 00:17:17,232
as we look around and we see the things
that are happening here, like Adventure

320
00:17:17,232 --> 00:17:20,491
Club or student ministry or, you know,
supporting missionaries or whatever

321
00:17:20,492 --> 00:17:23,080
we're doing, the preaching of God's
Word, we look at that and we say, "Man,

322
00:17:23,090 --> 00:17:24,851
these are the evidences of his grace."

323
00:17:25,521 --> 00:17:26,141
That's what they are.

324
00:17:26,901 --> 00:17:27,752
They're not us.

325
00:17:28,310 --> 00:17:30,292
It's not like God, "Thanks
for getting the ball rolling.

326
00:17:30,551 --> 00:17:31,421
We got it from here."

327
00:17:32,072 --> 00:17:33,991
Rather, it's we look at these
things and, and they should

328
00:17:34,001 --> 00:17:35,451
drive us back to the cross.

329
00:17:35,462 --> 00:17:37,342
They should drive us back to Jesus.

330
00:17:37,342 --> 00:17:41,161
They should drive us back to the grace
of God that got us going to begin with,

331
00:17:41,841 --> 00:17:42,941
because that's what they're there to do.

332
00:17:42,962 --> 00:17:44,931
They're there to evidence this.

333
00:17:44,932 --> 00:17:47,582
And again, Paul is talking
to the church at large here.

334
00:17:48,398 --> 00:17:51,668
And so in verse six he says this, he
says, "Even as the testimony about

335
00:17:51,668 --> 00:17:52,997
Christ was confirmed among you."

336
00:17:53,747 --> 00:17:57,088
And so he says to them, "Church, I'm
thankful for the grace that got you going,

337
00:17:57,287 --> 00:17:59,307
that in every way you were enriched.

338
00:17:59,308 --> 00:18:02,137
So now we see the evidence of
the grace of God at work in you."

339
00:18:02,298 --> 00:18:05,517
And then verse six, what does that
evidence do but confirm the grace

340
00:18:05,517 --> 00:18:06,577
that you received to begin with?

341
00:18:06,588 --> 00:18:07,687
That's what verse six is saying.

342
00:18:09,068 --> 00:18:11,287
Even as the testimony about
Christ, which is what?

343
00:18:11,828 --> 00:18:12,477
The Gospel.

344
00:18:12,987 --> 00:18:15,637
Even as the Gospel was
confirmed among you.

345
00:18:15,638 --> 00:18:17,098
Well, how was the Gospel confirmed?

346
00:18:17,347 --> 00:18:20,247
How was the evidence, how was it
confirmed that they were truly in Christ?

347
00:18:20,388 --> 00:18:23,697
Well, the grace that got them going
was seen in what was happening.

348
00:18:24,778 --> 00:18:26,428
And so Paul said, "There's
enough that I see.

349
00:18:26,428 --> 00:18:30,277
There's evidence there to point back
to the fact that God's grace truly has

350
00:18:30,277 --> 00:18:33,217
impacted this group, and I'm thankful
to Him for that grace in your life."

351
00:18:34,148 --> 00:18:38,177
And so we are thankful for
God's grace that got us going.

352
00:18:38,227 --> 00:18:42,398
Again, God's grace robs us of
our grounds for boasting, and

353
00:18:42,398 --> 00:18:44,357
puts His glory on full display

354
00:18:47,470 --> 00:18:49,530
The, the testimony about
Christ being confirmed.

355
00:18:49,570 --> 00:18:52,690
The, the word confirmed there, it's a,
it's a commercial term, it's a legal term.

356
00:18:53,380 --> 00:18:55,410
Guaranteed, it comes to reality.

357
00:18:56,450 --> 00:19:02,559
Back in, in 2022, uh, Mattress Mack,
he's, uh, unfortunately a fan of,

358
00:19:02,569 --> 00:19:05,600
of the evil Houston Astros, but we
won't really dive into that too much.

359
00:19:05,890 --> 00:19:09,530
But Mattress Mack, you may remember what
he did back in 2022, maybe you don't,

360
00:19:09,810 --> 00:19:12,320
but he put a, a, a guarantee out there.

361
00:19:12,460 --> 00:19:16,699
He said if the Astros win the World Series
that year, that anyone who spends more

362
00:19:16,700 --> 00:19:21,579
than $3,000 at his furniture store would
get all of their money refunded to them.

363
00:19:22,659 --> 00:19:24,789
Well, guess who won the
World Series in 2022?

364
00:19:26,089 --> 00:19:26,609
Asterisks.

365
00:19:26,749 --> 00:19:27,709
The Astros did.

366
00:19:27,900 --> 00:19:28,760
The Astros did.

367
00:19:29,529 --> 00:19:31,260
You know, buzzers and trashcans aside.

368
00:19:31,439 --> 00:19:38,199
Um- But Mattress Mack put an offer
out there that became confirmed when?

369
00:19:38,889 --> 00:19:40,869
When the Astros got the final
out of the World Series and

370
00:19:40,869 --> 00:19:42,130
won the World Series, okay?

371
00:19:42,540 --> 00:19:46,419
So as soon as that happened,
then the offer was confirmed.

372
00:19:46,669 --> 00:19:48,099
It was guaranteed.

373
00:19:48,599 --> 00:19:50,709
That's what Paul's
saying is, is happening.

374
00:19:50,909 --> 00:19:54,350
The, the grace that's evident in the
lives of the believers is confirming

375
00:19:54,519 --> 00:19:58,599
the offer that they indeed did receive
the offer of salvation, that they did

376
00:19:58,599 --> 00:20:00,649
receive the grace of God that saved them.

377
00:20:00,809 --> 00:20:04,369
And then it was confirmed, it was
validated, it was guaranteed as soon

378
00:20:04,370 --> 00:20:08,229
as they began to produce the evidence
within them that, that showed that,

379
00:20:08,229 --> 00:20:10,339
hey, God's work is, is, is present here.

380
00:20:10,339 --> 00:20:12,109
God's grace is at work here.

381
00:20:12,569 --> 00:20:17,019
And just like Mattress Mack's customers,
right, who got that refund, they couldn't

382
00:20:17,019 --> 00:20:19,019
claim credit for, for getting the refund.

383
00:20:19,620 --> 00:20:21,499
They couldn't boast, "Hey, you know what?

384
00:20:21,929 --> 00:20:25,430
Look what we did to, to, to bring
about the fact that we got a refund."

385
00:20:26,169 --> 00:20:27,069
They couldn't do that.

386
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:27,850
Why?

387
00:20:28,370 --> 00:20:29,850
'Cause they didn't have
anything to do with it.

388
00:20:30,709 --> 00:20:33,159
Somebody else guaranteed that for them.

389
00:20:33,739 --> 00:20:37,429
It was somebody else's work that caused
them to be able to receive the benefit

390
00:20:37,429 --> 00:20:41,430
of saying, "Okay, and, and now I get the
refund of the money that I spent there."

391
00:20:41,889 --> 00:20:44,139
It'd be foolish for them to stand
up and say, "Look what I did."

392
00:20:45,489 --> 00:20:48,000
In church, it would be foolish for us to
stand up and say, "Look what we've done."

393
00:20:49,619 --> 00:20:50,969
This is God's grace at work in our lives.

394
00:20:52,010 --> 00:20:55,600
God's grace is what's responsible for
what's happening here in this church.

395
00:20:56,240 --> 00:21:01,039
As we stand here, sit here, three
years into our life as a church, we

396
00:21:01,039 --> 00:21:04,729
have to avoid the pitfall of boasting
in ourselves, of thinking, "Look at

397
00:21:04,729 --> 00:21:06,970
us, we've got the right doctrine.

398
00:21:07,020 --> 00:21:09,689
Look at us, we've got
the right ministries.

399
00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:12,199
Look at us, we don't do these things.

400
00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:15,649
Look at us, we sing these
things and not those things.

401
00:21:15,779 --> 00:21:17,149
Look at us, we…"

402
00:21:17,399 --> 00:21:18,109
Fill in the blank.

403
00:21:19,609 --> 00:21:25,229
Our mindset as a church, because God's
grace is that which got us going, has

404
00:21:25,229 --> 00:21:28,740
to be look at Him It's not us, it's Him.

405
00:21:30,070 --> 00:21:30,879
He's the reason.

406
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,690
Y'all, literally, this isn't happening.

407
00:21:33,780 --> 00:21:36,590
What we're doing here this
morning, without God's grace,

408
00:21:37,330 --> 00:21:38,780
this place doesn't exist.

409
00:21:40,270 --> 00:21:46,389
Without God's grace saving us,
what do we have to hope in, right?

410
00:21:46,940 --> 00:21:49,870
I often wonder, especially as I look
around at the world today, and I

411
00:21:49,870 --> 00:21:53,170
just see the chaos and the mess and
the, the nonsense going on in the

412
00:21:53,170 --> 00:21:57,689
world, I, I wonder about those who
reject the existence of God, how do

413
00:21:57,690 --> 00:21:58,699
they get out of bed in the morning?

414
00:21:58,699 --> 00:22:00,659
And for what?

415
00:22:02,349 --> 00:22:04,639
That's what King Solomon asked
in Ecclesiastes, isn't it?

416
00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:06,979
He chased everything.

417
00:22:08,310 --> 00:22:11,340
He's like, "Well, I'm gonna
find meaning in life in riches."

418
00:22:12,749 --> 00:22:13,059
Nope.

419
00:22:13,619 --> 00:22:16,339
"Okay, I'm fi- I'm gonna find
meaning in life with, with pleasure.

420
00:22:17,189 --> 00:22:19,929
I'm not gonna deny anything
that my eyes desire."

421
00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:21,409
Nope.

422
00:22:21,849 --> 00:22:25,269
"All right, I'm gonna find meaning
in life by accomplishing things,

423
00:22:25,290 --> 00:22:26,599
building things for myself."

424
00:22:27,470 --> 00:22:27,710
Nope.

425
00:22:28,729 --> 00:22:30,899
"I'm gonna find meaning in life
by being the s- the, the smartest

426
00:22:30,899 --> 00:22:32,029
and the wisest in the room."

427
00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:33,400
Nope.

428
00:22:35,139 --> 00:22:36,619
Vanity of vanity, all is vanity.

429
00:22:38,459 --> 00:22:40,360
See, that's life without the grace of God.

430
00:22:42,290 --> 00:22:43,090
That's what it is.

431
00:22:43,220 --> 00:22:44,009
That's who we are.

432
00:22:44,159 --> 00:22:46,619
W- we wake up every day looking for
something to give us meaning, and

433
00:22:46,620 --> 00:22:48,819
we go to bed at the end of the day
disappointed that we didn't find it.

434
00:22:50,279 --> 00:22:51,389
But for the grace of God.

435
00:22:52,639 --> 00:22:55,639
See, God's grace, one of the greatest
evidences of God's grace, one of the

436
00:22:55,639 --> 00:22:58,729
greatest blessings of God's grace
that starts us, is now we gather

437
00:22:58,739 --> 00:23:01,089
together here on Sunday mornings,
and you know what we're doing here,

438
00:23:01,089 --> 00:23:02,369
y'all, on Sunday mornings together?

439
00:23:03,260 --> 00:23:06,119
We're not here to just get a
little bit smarter about the Bible.

440
00:23:07,190 --> 00:23:11,700
W- we're not here to, to just, you know,
make a statement that, "Hey, we're here."

441
00:23:12,499 --> 00:23:15,059
We're here because what we're doing
here this morning is rehearsal.

442
00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:18,279
What we're doing here this morning
is rehearsal for what we're going

443
00:23:18,279 --> 00:23:19,289
to be doing for all of eternity.

444
00:23:20,699 --> 00:23:23,510
What we're doing here this morning
is, is testifying to one another

445
00:23:23,510 --> 00:23:26,739
and to the watching world out there
that this world is not all there is.

446
00:23:27,220 --> 00:23:29,899
What we're doing this morning is we're
gathering because of God's grace that

447
00:23:29,900 --> 00:23:33,299
has saved us and brought us here to
say, "Hey, I'm so thankful that when

448
00:23:33,299 --> 00:23:34,639
I die, I'm going to be with Him."

449
00:23:36,654 --> 00:23:40,864
And so God's grace got us going, and we
can never lose sight of that reality.

450
00:23:40,964 --> 00:23:42,234
We can never boast in ourselves.

451
00:23:42,874 --> 00:23:44,354
We can never say, "Look at us."

452
00:23:44,924 --> 00:23:46,194
We always need to say, "Look at Him."

453
00:23:47,324 --> 00:23:48,623
He's the one that began all this.

454
00:23:48,623 --> 00:23:53,292
He's the one that got us going But
it's not just that He got us going,

455
00:23:53,922 --> 00:23:55,382
it's that He's keeping us going.

456
00:23:56,331 --> 00:23:57,032
Look at verse seven.

457
00:23:57,932 --> 00:24:01,851
Verse seven says this, in 1 Corinthians
1, he says, "So that you are not

458
00:24:01,861 --> 00:24:06,741
lacking in any gift as you wait for the
revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ."

459
00:24:06,952 --> 00:24:09,751
This is connecting back, I think,
to verse five, when he says that

460
00:24:09,752 --> 00:24:11,721
we were enriched in every way.

461
00:24:12,272 --> 00:24:16,172
Parenthetical statement, verse six, "So
that your, your faith has been confirmed."

462
00:24:16,422 --> 00:24:20,211
Now, picking up verse seven, going
back to verse five again, "So that

463
00:24:20,221 --> 00:24:24,371
you were enriched in every way," so
that, the result being, y- you're

464
00:24:24,371 --> 00:24:25,882
not lacking in any spiritual gift.

465
00:24:26,912 --> 00:24:30,251
You have, in other words, everything
that you need as you wait for the

466
00:24:30,252 --> 00:24:31,831
revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

467
00:24:32,031 --> 00:24:36,051
See, from God's saving grace, we
turn now to His equipping grace.

468
00:24:36,051 --> 00:24:39,921
It's, it's not just that God got us
going and then left us on our own.

469
00:24:39,932 --> 00:24:43,211
Rather, what we have to see as a church,
as Paul's writing to the Corinthian

470
00:24:43,211 --> 00:24:46,741
church, he's writing to us as well,
we have to see as a church, th- that

471
00:24:46,752 --> 00:24:51,601
we still depend upon His grace at
work in and through the church as we

472
00:24:51,601 --> 00:24:53,151
strive to be faithful to His mission.

473
00:24:54,291 --> 00:24:56,992
God didn't get us up on our
feet and then step back.

474
00:24:57,871 --> 00:25:01,071
No, He's got us on our feet and He's
still walking with us, and we are

475
00:25:01,072 --> 00:25:04,882
just as dependent upon His grace as we
continue to mature and grow as a church

476
00:25:05,061 --> 00:25:07,671
as we were to even begin as a church.

477
00:25:07,792 --> 00:25:10,051
And so our second point this
morning is this, be thankful for

478
00:25:10,082 --> 00:25:11,922
equipping grace that keeps us going.

479
00:25:13,332 --> 00:25:15,801
Be thankful for equipping
grace that keeps us going.

480
00:25:15,991 --> 00:25:19,342
It's His saving grace that got us
going, and now it's His equipping

481
00:25:19,342 --> 00:25:20,681
grace that keeps us going.

482
00:25:22,271 --> 00:25:24,631
A- a- and this isn't a
separate grace, okay?

483
00:25:24,631 --> 00:25:28,262
This isn't, like, a, a second
experience of God's grace that we need.

484
00:25:28,262 --> 00:25:31,251
This is the same grace,
just different facets of it.

485
00:25:32,301 --> 00:25:36,881
And so the same grace that saves us
is now equipping us to serve Him.

486
00:25:38,141 --> 00:25:42,041
See, God's grace, as we talked about last
week, right, God's church, we are those

487
00:25:42,042 --> 00:25:44,691
who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus.

488
00:25:44,691 --> 00:25:45,941
I talked about that last Sunday.

489
00:25:45,941 --> 00:25:50,091
That God saved us and set apart the
church, set those of us who are in

490
00:25:50,091 --> 00:25:54,321
Christ apart to be useful to Him,
but He didn't just set us apart to

491
00:25:54,322 --> 00:25:56,611
be useful to Him and say, "Go ahead."

492
00:25:57,551 --> 00:26:00,062
He set us apart to be useful
to Him, and now He wants to

493
00:26:00,062 --> 00:26:02,292
equip us for that very purpose.

494
00:26:02,991 --> 00:26:06,442
And as we think about this corporately as
a church, it's that we have to understand

495
00:26:06,442 --> 00:26:09,922
that God's grace is now at work equipping
us to be faithful to His mission.

496
00:26:10,612 --> 00:26:14,972
So lest we become like the Corinthians
and boast as though we didn't receive

497
00:26:14,972 --> 00:26:18,081
what we now see present in our lives
as the church, we need to remember

498
00:26:18,082 --> 00:26:23,671
that God is still active, that we still
need His grace at work in our church.

499
00:26:24,681 --> 00:26:27,091
Imagine a, a swim instructor.

500
00:26:27,871 --> 00:26:30,832
And imagine a s- a swim instructor,
if, if all the swim instructor did,

501
00:26:30,832 --> 00:26:35,212
imagine if all he did was teach you how
to get in the water, help you overcome

502
00:26:35,222 --> 00:26:39,188
your fear of jumping in the water Would
he be a very good swim instructor?

503
00:26:40,168 --> 00:26:41,948
Imagine if that's all he did,
and he's like, "You're good now.

504
00:26:41,978 --> 00:26:43,078
You can get in the water.

505
00:26:43,768 --> 00:26:45,028
And so go for it.

506
00:26:45,278 --> 00:26:46,027
There's water here.

507
00:26:46,038 --> 00:26:46,538
Y- you know what?

508
00:26:46,567 --> 00:26:48,038
There's water down there
that's even deeper.

509
00:26:48,048 --> 00:26:49,118
Go jump in the water down there.

510
00:26:49,118 --> 00:26:50,157
I, I got you in the water.

511
00:26:50,397 --> 00:26:51,408
Uh, there's a high dive.

512
00:26:51,408 --> 00:26:52,738
Why don't you jump off the high dive?

513
00:26:53,118 --> 00:26:55,218
And then y- you'll be in the water.

514
00:26:55,248 --> 00:26:58,167
And you've been in the water, I helped
you get in the water, so you're good.

515
00:26:58,168 --> 00:26:59,087
You've got it from here.

516
00:26:59,297 --> 00:26:59,967
Good luck."

517
00:27:01,557 --> 00:27:03,297
How long would that swim
instructor be a swim instructor?

518
00:27:04,658 --> 00:27:05,648
Not very long, right?

519
00:27:06,248 --> 00:27:06,648
Yeah.

520
00:27:06,787 --> 00:27:07,157
Why?

521
00:27:07,967 --> 00:27:12,887
Because that's not all the swim
instructee needs the instructor to do.

522
00:27:13,777 --> 00:27:16,607
The person learning how to swim needs the
instructor to teach them not just how to

523
00:27:16,608 --> 00:27:20,717
get in the water, but then to be equipped
to be able to survive in the water.

524
00:27:20,717 --> 00:27:26,018
1 Corinthians 1:7, the first part,
"You are not lacking in any gift."

525
00:27:26,018 --> 00:27:27,717
You've been enriched, okay?

526
00:27:27,737 --> 00:27:34,728
Reaching back, God's grace has enriched us
so that you are not lacking in any gift.

527
00:27:34,757 --> 00:27:36,878
That word gift there is the word charisma.

528
00:27:37,687 --> 00:27:42,898
It's the, the word that's connected to
spiritual gifts later on in 1 Corinthians.

529
00:27:42,898 --> 00:27:46,138
So even though right now it's not
necessarily speaking about spiritual

530
00:27:46,138 --> 00:27:48,357
gifts, the connection is there.

531
00:27:48,727 --> 00:27:52,767
And I think it's appropriate for us
to see that God is, is talking about,

532
00:27:52,767 --> 00:27:56,988
through Paul, that He has equipped
us with all that we need as a church

533
00:27:56,998 --> 00:27:58,778
when it comes to spiritual gifts.

534
00:27:59,867 --> 00:28:05,308
And so what does it mean that they
were not lacking in any spiritual gift?

535
00:28:06,757 --> 00:28:07,977
Can we say the same thing?

536
00:28:08,748 --> 00:28:11,007
Well, if you got your Bibles,
uh, flip over, if you will,

537
00:28:11,078 --> 00:28:12,067
to 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

538
00:28:12,067 --> 00:28:14,387
1 Corinthians chapter 12.

539
00:28:14,387 --> 00:28:18,807
So turn to the right, and just,
uh, some basic math now, count

540
00:28:18,847 --> 00:28:20,448
up from chapter 1 to chapter 12.

541
00:28:20,767 --> 00:28:23,447
And when you get to chapter
12, find verse 14 with me

542
00:28:25,678 --> 00:28:26,648
Find verse 14 with me.

543
00:28:26,918 --> 00:28:28,668
I think this is gonna help us
understand what it means that we

544
00:28:28,668 --> 00:28:32,928
were equipped with every gift,
that we're not lacking in any gift.

545
00:28:33,218 --> 00:28:35,388
Paul says this in, in
verses 14 through 20.

546
00:28:35,848 --> 00:28:38,638
He says, "For the body does not
consist of one member but of many."

547
00:28:38,638 --> 00:28:39,758
He's talking about the church here.

548
00:28:40,408 --> 00:28:43,408
The body, the church, does not
consist of one member but of many.

549
00:28:43,727 --> 00:28:46,927
He's talking about, uh, the church in,
in, in comparison to a physical body.

550
00:28:47,227 --> 00:28:50,818
He says, "If, if the foot should say,
'Well, because I'm not a hand, I do

551
00:28:50,818 --> 00:28:54,307
not belong to the body,' that would not
make it any less a part of the body.

552
00:28:54,627 --> 00:28:57,977
And if the ear should say, 'Because
I'm not an eye, I do not belong

553
00:28:57,977 --> 00:29:00,958
to the body,' that would not make
it any less a part of the body.

554
00:29:01,248 --> 00:29:04,658
If the whole body were an eye,
where would the sense of hearing be?

555
00:29:04,897 --> 00:29:07,998
If the whole body were an ear,
where would the sense of smell be?

556
00:29:08,367 --> 00:29:15,378
But as it is, God arranged the members in
the body, each one of them as He chose.

557
00:29:15,717 --> 00:29:18,387
If all were a single member,
where would the body be?

558
00:29:18,737 --> 00:29:22,357
As it is, there are many
parts, yet one body."

559
00:29:22,658 --> 00:29:25,918
I think that's what it means that
we're not lacking in any gift.

560
00:29:26,957 --> 00:29:31,778
God said, "I have arranged each
member of the body as I chose."

561
00:29:32,047 --> 00:29:36,928
I take that to mean that what that
means for us is that this church is

562
00:29:36,928 --> 00:29:39,627
made up of those that God has brought
here to be a part of the church, that

563
00:29:39,627 --> 00:29:44,157
we corporately together as Compass North
Texas would not be lacking in any gift.

564
00:29:45,227 --> 00:29:46,807
Does that mean we have every gift?

565
00:29:47,398 --> 00:29:51,897
No, but it has … It means we have
every gift we need to be faithful to the

566
00:29:51,898 --> 00:29:53,208
mission that Christ has called us to.

567
00:29:54,047 --> 00:29:57,477
And so He has arranged the body,
and so y- you may not be the eye.

568
00:29:57,498 --> 00:29:59,388
What … I don't even know
who the eye is in the church.

569
00:29:59,608 --> 00:30:00,607
You may not be the ear.

570
00:30:00,608 --> 00:30:01,737
You n- may not be the hand.

571
00:30:01,748 --> 00:30:02,467
You may be the foot.

572
00:30:02,468 --> 00:30:03,678
You may be the earlobe.

573
00:30:03,687 --> 00:30:05,308
Who knows wh- who you are?

574
00:30:05,547 --> 00:30:10,648
You matter because you're part of being
enriched in the fact that we are not

575
00:30:10,657 --> 00:30:15,957
lacking in any gift because part of
God's equipping grace is the people here.

576
00:30:17,137 --> 00:30:20,497
So His equipping grace for the church
corporately are those that are right

577
00:30:20,498 --> 00:30:25,217
here in this room, those that He has
brought here to be faithful, to serve

578
00:30:25,227 --> 00:30:29,827
the body of Christ, and to help us
carry out the mission of the church.

579
00:30:30,017 --> 00:30:34,248
In other words, for what we need,
what we're going to need, God is gonna

580
00:30:34,248 --> 00:30:38,841
provide Whatever it is that we're gonna
need as the church, God's grace is

581
00:30:38,841 --> 00:30:40,522
going to equip us to be able to do it.

582
00:30:40,752 --> 00:30:43,091
Again, it's not gonna be because
we're gonna boast in that.

583
00:30:43,091 --> 00:30:46,982
W- w- he didn't just get us
started and say, "Good luck."

584
00:30:47,841 --> 00:30:50,862
And so as we continue to be faithful,
we need to recognize, man, God is

585
00:30:50,862 --> 00:30:52,212
the one that's, that's providing.

586
00:30:52,581 --> 00:30:54,262
God's grace is what's enabling.

587
00:30:54,271 --> 00:30:57,501
God's grace is bringing people here
to serve on the worship team or to

588
00:30:57,502 --> 00:31:00,692
serve at Adventure Club or serve,
you know, in, in our greeting, our

589
00:31:00,692 --> 00:31:02,541
hospitality team or our tech team.

590
00:31:02,761 --> 00:31:06,302
It's God's grace that's equipping the
church to do the work of the mission.

591
00:31:06,531 --> 00:31:08,871
God's grace is bringing people
here who have a passion to

592
00:31:08,871 --> 00:31:10,391
reach the lost with the Gospel.

593
00:31:10,671 --> 00:31:14,052
That's God's grace doing this,
and he is continuing to equip

594
00:31:14,052 --> 00:31:17,381
our church, and I trust that he's
gonna continue to do this for us.

595
00:31:18,302 --> 00:31:21,151
See, it's not just that we depend
on him to get started, to get going.

596
00:31:21,151 --> 00:31:22,542
We depend on him to keep going.

597
00:31:23,072 --> 00:31:24,872
It's his equipping grace
that's keeping us going.

598
00:31:25,371 --> 00:31:26,171
Back to the pool.

599
00:31:26,842 --> 00:31:27,451
You're in the pool.

600
00:31:27,451 --> 00:31:30,192
The swim instructor has, has
taught you to, to jump in the

601
00:31:30,192 --> 00:31:31,321
pool and to get in the water.

602
00:31:31,482 --> 00:31:34,581
Well, well now, what this looks like,
this equipping grace looks like this.

603
00:31:34,822 --> 00:31:37,201
The swim instructor wants you to
get comfortable going from one side

604
00:31:37,201 --> 00:31:39,682
of the pool to the next side of
the pool, but what he's gonna do,

605
00:31:39,682 --> 00:31:42,152
because he knows you need it, is
he's gonna give you the floaties.

606
00:31:42,452 --> 00:31:45,341
He's gonna put the floaties on
your arms, and so he's gonna

607
00:31:45,342 --> 00:31:47,212
say, "Okay, I want you to swim."

608
00:31:47,562 --> 00:31:49,662
And so you're gonna be doing something.

609
00:31:49,772 --> 00:31:52,771
You're gonna be swimming, but at the
same time, that which is keeping you

610
00:31:52,772 --> 00:31:56,071
afloat are those things around your
arms, the water wings, the floaties,

611
00:31:56,092 --> 00:31:57,522
whatever you called them growing up there.

612
00:31:57,751 --> 00:32:00,681
That's what's keeping you afloat
as you get from one side of the

613
00:32:00,681 --> 00:32:01,881
pool to the next side of the pool.

614
00:32:02,431 --> 00:32:06,891
And so God has come to us as the church,
and he's equipping us with our spiritual

615
00:32:06,891 --> 00:32:10,181
floaties, and he's saying, "Hey, church,
you need to swim towards the mission.

616
00:32:10,351 --> 00:32:11,352
Get to the mission."

617
00:32:11,431 --> 00:32:14,792
And so what we do is we actively
pursue that as a church.

618
00:32:14,792 --> 00:32:18,181
We're not just sitting back letting go
and letting God, going, "Okay, go ahead.

619
00:32:18,191 --> 00:32:18,642
Do it."

620
00:32:18,851 --> 00:32:19,992
We're gonna participate.

621
00:32:19,992 --> 00:32:20,752
We're gonna serve.

622
00:32:20,761 --> 00:32:21,741
We're gonna get engaged.

623
00:32:21,761 --> 00:32:24,412
We're gonna, we're gonna do what
Christ has called the church to

624
00:32:24,412 --> 00:32:27,952
do, but we're also gonna remember
that what's keeping us afloat right

625
00:32:27,952 --> 00:32:29,221
now are those spiritual floaties.

626
00:32:29,232 --> 00:32:33,941
It's God's grace that's sustaining us
along the way as he equips the church.

627
00:32:34,851 --> 00:32:35,771
That's who we are.

628
00:32:37,331 --> 00:32:42,641
And so church, we can be confident in this
second point here that if we need a gift,

629
00:32:42,761 --> 00:32:44,941
God's grace is gonna provide that gift.

630
00:32:45,202 --> 00:32:48,371
If there's something that we need
to do the mission that God has given

631
00:32:48,371 --> 00:32:51,832
us of reaching people for Christ,
teaching people to be like Christ,

632
00:32:52,041 --> 00:32:55,191
and training people to serve Christ,
if there's something we need to be

633
00:32:55,191 --> 00:32:58,742
more faithful to that, then what this
verse is telling us is that God's

634
00:32:58,742 --> 00:33:02,462
grace is gonna give it to us, because
we've been enriched in every way so

635
00:33:02,462 --> 00:33:04,242
that you are not lacking in any gift.

636
00:33:06,092 --> 00:33:10,722
Our mission is possible because of the
grace of God at work in and through

637
00:33:10,722 --> 00:33:13,041
us, because of his equipping grace

638
00:33:15,310 --> 00:33:19,929
But there's something else that
God's grace does and is doing

639
00:33:19,970 --> 00:33:22,649
in the present, and is there in
the second half of verse seven.

640
00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:26,120
It's not just that He's given us
every gift, but He's given us every

641
00:33:26,129 --> 00:33:30,620
gift, he says there, verse seven,
second half, "As you wait for the

642
00:33:30,620 --> 00:33:32,429
revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ."

643
00:33:33,279 --> 00:33:35,969
As you wait for the revealing
of our Lord Jesus Christ.

644
00:33:36,210 --> 00:33:39,490
See, God's grace has provided us
with these gifts to be used on

645
00:33:39,499 --> 00:33:42,850
mission until either He calls us
home or comes back for His bride.

646
00:33:43,609 --> 00:33:45,719
And that's what Paul's focus
is for the church here.

647
00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,539
Hey, remember, Church,
you haven't yet arrived.

648
00:33:49,119 --> 00:33:49,860
This isn't it.

649
00:33:50,049 --> 00:33:50,999
You're not there yet.

650
00:33:51,779 --> 00:33:54,590
There are some that believe that
the Corinthians may have had what is

651
00:33:54,869 --> 00:33:57,679
termed an over-realized eschatology.

652
00:33:57,979 --> 00:33:59,770
It's a big phrase, but
here's what that means.

653
00:33:59,770 --> 00:34:03,339
It means that they, they thought that
they were already there, that there

654
00:34:03,339 --> 00:34:06,510
was nowhere else to get, that they had
reached the pinnacle, that the next

655
00:34:06,510 --> 00:34:09,799
thing on the scene was just Christ
coming back to set up the kingdom.

656
00:34:10,509 --> 00:34:14,409
And what Paul's reminding them of is,
hey, there's work to be done here.

657
00:34:14,529 --> 00:34:16,020
We're not there yet.

658
00:34:16,150 --> 00:34:17,899
You're to be on mission.

659
00:34:18,060 --> 00:34:22,259
God's grace is gonna sustain you on that
mission and sustain you as you wait for

660
00:34:22,259 --> 00:34:26,760
the return of the Savior, as you wait for
the bride of Christ or, or as the bride of

661
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:30,000
Christ for the groom to come back for us.

662
00:34:30,630 --> 00:34:35,699
See, he's equipping us, in other words,
as the Church, to be ready for His return,

663
00:34:36,339 --> 00:34:38,149
waiting for the return of Jesus Christ.

664
00:34:38,149 --> 00:34:41,719
That word waiting, it shows up other
places like in Romans eight where we

665
00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:45,418
are waiting for the revealing of Christ,
what's gonna bring the redemption of

666
00:34:45,420 --> 00:34:50,978
creation and of us as those that have
been adopted as His sons and daughters.

667
00:34:51,438 --> 00:34:54,228
In Galatians five, we
wait for the fullness of

668
00:34:54,228 --> 00:34:55,739
righteousness in which we hope.

669
00:34:57,100 --> 00:35:01,039
In Philippians chapter three,
we wait for Jesus to return.

670
00:35:02,589 --> 00:35:05,649
And so as the Church, we have
this tension of already not yet.

671
00:35:06,409 --> 00:35:10,319
We are already sure of our future,
and yet we're not yet there.

672
00:35:10,319 --> 00:35:13,909
And so in the meantime, to get there,
we've got His equipping grace that's

673
00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:15,039
giving us everything that we need.

674
00:35:16,339 --> 00:35:19,999
And so as we wait, we can wait
confident that we will arrive

675
00:35:23,086 --> 00:35:27,006
But again, this is, we're waiting
not just as isolated individuals

676
00:35:27,406 --> 00:35:29,435
or waiting as isolated families.

677
00:35:29,756 --> 00:35:31,515
We're waiting in the
context of the church.

678
00:35:33,356 --> 00:35:37,336
'Cause He's equipping not the
individual and not the holy huddle

679
00:35:37,336 --> 00:35:41,035
over here, He's equipping the church.

680
00:35:42,215 --> 00:35:44,825
And so we wait corporately
together for that.

681
00:35:46,055 --> 00:35:49,325
And so our responsibility,
Church, is to be here, to be

682
00:35:49,325 --> 00:35:50,906
present, to be all in, to commit.

683
00:35:52,355 --> 00:35:54,785
You guys hear me say a, a couple
of different phrases, don't you?

684
00:35:55,336 --> 00:35:58,595
You hear me say sometimes, uh, talk about
attending, connecting, serving, yeah?

685
00:35:58,606 --> 00:36:00,175
Y- you guys have heard me say that before?

686
00:36:00,715 --> 00:36:03,805
What we're talking about with that is, is
that's what it looks like to belong here.

687
00:36:03,805 --> 00:36:04,525
That's commitment.

688
00:36:05,555 --> 00:36:05,745
It…

689
00:36:05,816 --> 00:36:06,795
I'm all in at the church.

690
00:36:06,816 --> 00:36:09,055
I'm connect- attending, I'm
connecting, I'm serving.

691
00:36:10,075 --> 00:36:11,125
I, I'm, I'm there.

692
00:36:11,365 --> 00:36:11,695
Okay?

693
00:36:11,915 --> 00:36:14,055
So sometimes people are like, "Well,
what does the church expect of me?

694
00:36:14,055 --> 00:36:15,575
What are my pastors looking for from me?"

695
00:36:15,735 --> 00:36:16,445
There it is for you.

696
00:36:17,315 --> 00:36:21,305
W- we're asking you to attend faithfully,
to connect in relationship with one

697
00:36:21,305 --> 00:36:24,656
another through community, through
community groups, a- and to serve.

698
00:36:25,795 --> 00:36:26,575
That's commitment.

699
00:36:27,005 --> 00:36:29,265
So that's one thing that God
is saying of you, "Hey, be

700
00:36:29,265 --> 00:36:30,545
committed to the local church."

701
00:36:31,135 --> 00:36:31,405
Okay?

702
00:36:31,575 --> 00:36:33,336
And then the other thing that you
hear me saying, you've heard me say

703
00:36:33,336 --> 00:36:36,235
it this morning already, is about
reaching, teaching and training.

704
00:36:37,315 --> 00:36:39,716
And so you've got on the one hand
what it means to be connected,

705
00:36:39,716 --> 00:36:42,206
and so that's why we talk about
attending and connecting and serving.

706
00:36:42,395 --> 00:36:43,635
I'm committed to the church.

707
00:36:43,635 --> 00:36:44,655
That's what we're talking about there.

708
00:36:44,785 --> 00:36:48,615
Belonging, sometimes membership is the,
the word that is, is thrown out there.

709
00:36:49,095 --> 00:36:50,756
What do the pastors expect of me?

710
00:36:50,756 --> 00:36:52,875
What does it look like for
me to belong to this church?

711
00:36:53,165 --> 00:36:54,006
Attend, connect, serve.

712
00:36:54,245 --> 00:36:55,656
What's the mission of the church?

713
00:36:55,795 --> 00:36:56,965
What is the church doing?

714
00:36:57,175 --> 00:36:58,466
What are we trying to accomplish?

715
00:36:58,965 --> 00:37:01,275
That's what we're trying to accomplish
based on the Great Commission,

716
00:37:01,275 --> 00:37:04,775
reaching people for Christ, teaching
people to be like Christ, and

717
00:37:04,775 --> 00:37:06,005
training people to serve Christ.

718
00:37:06,556 --> 00:37:08,705
That's what our mission as
Compass Bible Church is.

719
00:37:08,985 --> 00:37:13,136
And so God's, what God's calling on you to
do is He's saying, "Hey, I'm gonna equip.

720
00:37:13,365 --> 00:37:16,545
I'm gonna provide the grace that you need
as you wait for the return of Christ."

721
00:37:16,785 --> 00:37:19,575
God's beckoning you to
say, "Come be a part of it.

722
00:37:20,635 --> 00:37:21,465
Come get involved.

723
00:37:22,175 --> 00:37:23,376
Come commit to the Church.

724
00:37:23,845 --> 00:37:24,645
Be all in."

725
00:37:25,376 --> 00:37:28,515
Because this is where God's
grace is provided through that

726
00:37:28,515 --> 00:37:30,576
equipping grace that's gonna
sustain us all the way to the end

727
00:37:33,740 --> 00:37:34,940
His equipping grace

728
00:37:37,944 --> 00:37:41,564
God's grace again robs us of
our grounds for boasting and

729
00:37:41,564 --> 00:37:42,864
puts His glory on full display.

730
00:37:43,894 --> 00:37:47,434
As we continue as a church, as we look
at the things going on, we have to

731
00:37:47,434 --> 00:37:50,264
continue to say it's because God has
provided us with everything that we need.

732
00:37:50,743 --> 00:37:52,004
We're not lacking in any gift.

733
00:37:52,844 --> 00:37:54,343
If God wanted us to have
it, we would have it.

734
00:37:55,063 --> 00:37:57,294
If it was necessary for the mission
to be completed, we would have it.

735
00:37:58,793 --> 00:38:01,903
And He's doing that through you guys,
through bringing us together here

736
00:38:01,903 --> 00:38:03,694
in this place as the body of Christ.

737
00:38:05,254 --> 00:38:09,133
As God's church, we need His saving grace,
but we also need His equipping grace.

738
00:38:10,254 --> 00:38:12,243
Finally, as we look ahead to
being with Christ, we need

739
00:38:12,243 --> 00:38:13,824
His sustaining grace as well.

740
00:38:14,583 --> 00:38:18,044
We need that grace that we can count on,
that no matter what comes our way between

741
00:38:18,044 --> 00:38:19,793
here and there, it's going to sustain us.

742
00:38:19,943 --> 00:38:23,113
It's sure, and it's not just gonna
sustain us for now, it's gonna

743
00:38:23,123 --> 00:38:25,583
sustain us all the way until the end.

744
00:38:25,594 --> 00:38:26,723
Look at verses 8 and 9.

745
00:38:26,934 --> 00:38:31,223
Paul says this, "Who will sustain
you to the end, guiltless in the

746
00:38:31,223 --> 00:38:32,723
day of our Lord Jesus Christ?

747
00:38:33,024 --> 00:38:37,454
God is faithful, by whom you were
called into the fellowship of

748
00:38:37,454 --> 00:38:40,553
His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

749
00:38:41,204 --> 00:38:44,733
Here we come to this final component,
this final facet of God's grace,

750
00:38:44,754 --> 00:38:46,043
and that is His sustaining grace.

751
00:38:46,434 --> 00:38:49,583
And Paul gives thanks here that
God's grace set the church in motion,

752
00:38:49,783 --> 00:38:53,004
continued to equip them for the work
in the ministry, and finally here that

753
00:38:53,004 --> 00:38:55,884
His grace would ensure that they would
make it through to their ultimate

754
00:38:55,884 --> 00:38:58,873
destination of being with Jesus.

755
00:38:59,063 --> 00:39:01,794
Final point this morning is
this, be thankful for sustaining

756
00:39:01,794 --> 00:39:02,764
grace that brings us home.

757
00:39:03,923 --> 00:39:06,153
Be thankful for sustaining
grace that brings us home

758
00:39:10,390 --> 00:39:13,170
When you fly on an airplane, I want
you to picture it for a minute.

759
00:39:13,170 --> 00:39:18,670
Y-y-you trust the pilot to get
you up in the air, don't you?

760
00:39:19,770 --> 00:39:23,660
And once the, the plane's in the air,
you, you trust the pilot to s- to keep

761
00:39:23,660 --> 00:39:27,509
it in the air, hopefully, depending on
the airline that you're flying, I guess.

762
00:39:28,610 --> 00:39:32,460
And then you, you, you trust that at
the end, the pilot's gonna put that

763
00:39:32,460 --> 00:39:38,229
plane on the ground and taxi it to the
gate, and then all chaos is gonna let

764
00:39:38,229 --> 00:39:41,459
loose as everybody wants to get off the
plane and total depravity is undeniable

765
00:39:44,588 --> 00:39:48,018
My point is you trust the pilot
in the beginning of it, in the

766
00:39:48,018 --> 00:39:49,238
middle of it, and at the end of it.

767
00:39:50,218 --> 00:39:54,438
You're not on the plane worried that at
some point in time the pilot's gonna come

768
00:39:54,447 --> 00:39:58,488
back there and walk down the aisle past
all the first class people back to coach

769
00:39:58,488 --> 00:40:02,568
where you're sitting with, with me and,
and, and tap you on the shoulder and say,

770
00:40:02,658 --> 00:40:05,487
"Um, excuse me, can you come take over?"

771
00:40:08,014 --> 00:40:10,114
You'd look at him like, "Are you crazy?"

772
00:40:12,750 --> 00:40:13,990
You have a death wish.

773
00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:16,090
I don't know how to land a plane.

774
00:40:16,660 --> 00:40:18,410
By the way, if you're a pilot here and
you're like, "Well, I do know how to…"

775
00:40:18,530 --> 00:40:18,850
Fine.

776
00:40:19,010 --> 00:40:19,560
Pilot a boat.

777
00:40:19,590 --> 00:40:21,640
I don't care what you're piloting, just
something you don't know how to do.

778
00:40:23,179 --> 00:40:27,820
But imagine, imagine just how shocked
you would be to have the pilot come

779
00:40:27,820 --> 00:40:29,980
back and tap you on the shoulder and
say, "I need you to land this plane."

780
00:40:32,014 --> 00:40:33,504
You'd be like, "Well, that's not my job.

781
00:40:34,764 --> 00:40:35,924
You got us in the air.

782
00:40:36,974 --> 00:40:38,354
You got us all the way here.

783
00:40:39,354 --> 00:40:41,384
It's your job to put us
on the ground, not my job

784
00:40:43,509 --> 00:40:44,709
None of you worry about that.

785
00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:48,250
Because while you're sitting there,
maybe some of you in first class,

786
00:40:48,669 --> 00:40:50,180
great, I'm not jealous at all.

787
00:40:50,589 --> 00:40:53,269
While you're sitting there with your
nice leg room and your snacks and your

788
00:40:53,270 --> 00:40:56,029
curtain that divides the rest of us
plebes from you, while you're sitting

789
00:40:56,029 --> 00:41:01,270
up there or in the back with me, you're
confident that the pilot's gonna do the

790
00:41:01,270 --> 00:41:02,609
work that the pilot's supposed to do.

791
00:41:03,990 --> 00:41:06,339
You're not trying to sit there
and think, "It's my turn.

792
00:41:06,459 --> 00:41:07,069
I need to go do this."

793
00:41:10,552 --> 00:41:13,212
God's grace got us going.

794
00:41:14,422 --> 00:41:18,542
God's grace is sustaining
us or equipping us.

795
00:41:19,031 --> 00:41:21,541
And then finally, God's grace is gonna
sustain us all the way to the end

796
00:41:24,206 --> 00:41:27,056
In other words, God got us in
the air, God's taking us to our

797
00:41:27,056 --> 00:41:30,346
destination, and God's gonna see
that we're gonna land safely.

798
00:41:31,766 --> 00:41:34,006
It's His sustaining grace
that is going to deliver us.

799
00:41:34,006 --> 00:41:38,275
But again, I just wanna remind us that
the pronouns in this passage when he's

800
00:41:38,276 --> 00:41:41,536
talking about this, when he says in
verse eight, "Who will sustain you?"

801
00:41:41,536 --> 00:41:45,055
By the way, that who could refer to
God or it could refer to Jesus, and

802
00:41:45,056 --> 00:41:47,785
it's really one of those questions,
is, is this God or is this Jesus?

803
00:41:47,786 --> 00:41:50,486
The answer to that question is yes.

804
00:41:51,286 --> 00:41:54,586
It, it, it doesn't really matter because
if it's the Father, it's the Father

805
00:41:54,586 --> 00:41:56,386
sustaining you through the Son, right?

806
00:41:56,555 --> 00:41:59,245
Or it could be that, yes, this is
Jesus sustaining us all the way.

807
00:41:59,586 --> 00:42:03,325
Any, any way you cut it, it's, it's
God doing it is the point here.

808
00:42:03,535 --> 00:42:05,965
Who will sustain you to the end?

809
00:42:06,175 --> 00:42:09,056
We really need the Texas standard
version of the Bible, which

810
00:42:09,056 --> 00:42:10,435
has y'all thrown in there.

811
00:42:11,636 --> 00:42:15,055
So if it did, it would say, "Who
will sustain y'all to the end?"

812
00:42:16,046 --> 00:42:18,455
Because this is a, a plural pronoun here.

813
00:42:18,776 --> 00:42:22,856
"Who will su- sustain y'all to the
end, guiltless," corporately, "in

814
00:42:22,856 --> 00:42:24,365
the day of our Lord Jesus Christ?

815
00:42:24,555 --> 00:42:27,925
God is faithful, by whom y'all
were called into the fellowship of

816
00:42:27,925 --> 00:42:29,476
his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

817
00:42:29,676 --> 00:42:32,826
So I just want you to see that
this ultimate final deliverance

818
00:42:32,835 --> 00:42:36,986
involves our identity and
participation as the body of Christ.

819
00:42:37,845 --> 00:42:40,725
Y'all, this is why that mindset
that says, "I don't need the

820
00:42:40,725 --> 00:42:44,616
local church," is totally aberrant
to what scripture teaches.

821
00:42:45,395 --> 00:42:46,625
It's not there.

822
00:42:47,165 --> 00:42:51,925
God is saving a people, not a person,
and He's saving you to be a part

823
00:42:51,926 --> 00:42:55,096
of what He's doing, and us being a
part of the local church is how the

824
00:42:55,106 --> 00:42:57,535
m- universal church is manifested.

825
00:42:57,706 --> 00:43:00,356
Somebody that says, "I'm part of the
universal church, not the local church,"

826
00:43:00,585 --> 00:43:04,036
no, you're not That's an oxymoron.

827
00:43:04,696 --> 00:43:05,626
You can't be.

828
00:43:05,986 --> 00:43:09,046
The universal church is only
known through the local church.

829
00:43:09,806 --> 00:43:12,796
God is saving us through our
participation together as

830
00:43:12,796 --> 00:43:13,985
brothers and sisters in Christ.

831
00:43:14,256 --> 00:43:18,356
His grace, His sustaining grace, is
experienced as we love each other as

832
00:43:18,356 --> 00:43:21,776
the body of Christ, as we get involved
in each other's lives, as we hold m-

833
00:43:21,805 --> 00:43:25,675
each other accountable, as we support
each other, as we pray for each other.

834
00:43:26,715 --> 00:43:30,455
His sustaining grace is seen through
the community of the bride of Christ,

835
00:43:30,705 --> 00:43:35,165
and He is using the church, He's using
us and His grace through the church

836
00:43:35,405 --> 00:43:37,486
to deliver us finally home to Jesus.

837
00:43:38,615 --> 00:43:40,756
It's not just that He gets us
going and says, "Good luck."

838
00:43:40,756 --> 00:43:43,555
It's not just that He's equipping us
right now for the time being, but is

839
00:43:43,556 --> 00:43:44,556
He gonna get us all the way there?

840
00:43:44,556 --> 00:43:45,005
Who knows?

841
00:43:45,005 --> 00:43:50,115
No, He's got us and He's gonna deliver
us all the way home into the presence

842
00:43:50,115 --> 00:43:55,365
of Jesus, to the end, guiltless,
in the day of our Lord Jesus.

843
00:43:55,405 --> 00:43:56,425
Let me flip over here.

844
00:43:56,696 --> 00:44:01,266
Uh, Louis read it for us during our,
our scripture reading, uh, this morning,

845
00:44:01,435 --> 00:44:05,515
but I just want to reiterate this and,
and read it again for you from Ephesians

846
00:44:05,516 --> 00:44:09,726
chapter 5 i- in the words that Paul
gives to husbands, which is really a,

847
00:44:09,726 --> 00:44:12,415
a, a picture of what Christ does for us.

848
00:44:12,416 --> 00:44:16,475
And listen here, he says, verse
25, "Husbands, love your wives,

849
00:44:16,475 --> 00:44:21,156
as Christ loved the church and
gave himself up for her, that…"

850
00:44:21,475 --> 00:44:26,275
So Jesus died for the church
so that He might sanctify her.

851
00:44:26,285 --> 00:44:30,075
That is the process of making
us more like Him, more holy.

852
00:44:30,425 --> 00:44:34,425
"Having cleansed her by the washing
of water with the word, so that

853
00:44:34,435 --> 00:44:39,695
he might present the church to
himself in splendor, without spot or

854
00:44:39,696 --> 00:44:44,945
wrinkle or any such thing, that she
might be holy and without blemish."

855
00:44:45,885 --> 00:44:51,105
See, part of Christ's saving work
is the end, when we are finally

856
00:44:51,105 --> 00:44:53,945
presented without spot, guiltless.

857
00:44:53,975 --> 00:44:55,605
The word there is unimpeachable.

858
00:44:55,775 --> 00:44:59,775
It's a, a term that was used in
a courtroom of a verdict, that

859
00:44:59,775 --> 00:45:01,755
you, no charge can stick to you.

860
00:45:02,516 --> 00:45:04,625
That's part of Christ's love for us.

861
00:45:04,626 --> 00:45:06,126
That's part of God's love for us.

862
00:45:06,126 --> 00:45:09,615
That's a key component of the grace
of God at work in us as the Church is

863
00:45:09,615 --> 00:45:12,686
that He's gonna bring us and deliver
us ultimately into the presence,

864
00:45:12,846 --> 00:45:16,986
and we are gonna be presented
before Jesus as the spotless bride.

865
00:45:18,885 --> 00:45:19,916
That's His grace.

866
00:45:21,435 --> 00:45:28,405
It's not your job by your own
power to keep yourself guiltless

867
00:45:28,415 --> 00:45:29,765
into the day of Jesus Christ.

868
00:45:30,096 --> 00:45:36,006
God's grace is gonna do that, working
in and through you and working in and

869
00:45:36,006 --> 00:45:37,926
through the church until that day.

870
00:45:38,055 --> 00:45:41,096
And you say, "Okay, but
can I really trust that?"

871
00:45:41,096 --> 00:45:41,995
Look at verse nine.

872
00:45:42,285 --> 00:45:43,375
"God is faithful."

873
00:45:44,566 --> 00:45:45,375
God is faithful.

874
00:45:46,615 --> 00:45:50,395
God is faithful, by whom you were
called into the fellowship of

875
00:45:50,395 --> 00:45:52,035
his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

876
00:45:52,835 --> 00:45:55,255
God is faithful

877
00:45:57,842 --> 00:45:58,592
Part of his character.

878
00:45:59,372 --> 00:46:01,852
He can't be anything else but faithful.

879
00:46:02,722 --> 00:46:06,162
And so when you read the promises
of God, when you read things

880
00:46:06,162 --> 00:46:08,492
like he's gonna present us pure
and spotless before the Son

881
00:46:10,582 --> 00:46:14,302
And those are things that you can take
to the bank because God is faithful,

882
00:46:15,132 --> 00:46:19,142
and it's this faithful God who has
called you into the fellowship of

883
00:46:19,142 --> 00:46:21,752
His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

884
00:46:23,511 --> 00:46:27,351
When the, you see the word fellowship
there, this, this is not the same

885
00:46:27,351 --> 00:46:31,902
as cookies and coffee or donuts
and coffee in our, our situation.

886
00:46:32,581 --> 00:46:34,791
This is a, a fellowship
that's a, a, a partnership.

887
00:46:35,821 --> 00:46:38,781
Think of the, the, the greatest
literary work of all time outside

888
00:46:38,781 --> 00:46:39,991
of the Bible, The Lord of the Rings.

889
00:46:41,302 --> 00:46:43,971
Think of the opening book,
the what of the ring?

890
00:46:44,042 --> 00:46:46,221
The Fellowship of the Ring.

891
00:46:46,862 --> 00:46:49,881
If you've ever read that book, they're
not just hanging out having cookies

892
00:46:49,882 --> 00:46:51,132
and coffee talking about the weather.

893
00:46:51,601 --> 00:46:54,751
The Fellowship of the Ring is
their participation in the mission.

894
00:46:54,941 --> 00:46:55,771
They're together.

895
00:46:55,871 --> 00:46:56,651
They're bought in.

896
00:46:56,661 --> 00:47:02,121
They're all s- shareholders, stakeholders
in what's happening, trying to carry

897
00:47:02,121 --> 00:47:05,032
out the mission, and then they all
get to participate in the blessings of

898
00:47:05,032 --> 00:47:06,871
it and the rewards of it in the end.

899
00:47:08,101 --> 00:47:12,411
That's the fellowship that Paul's
talking about here, the partnership

900
00:47:13,081 --> 00:47:18,242
that we are all in, that we all have
a, a part of, a participation in

901
00:47:20,430 --> 00:47:21,600
the Lord Jesus Christ

902
00:47:24,046 --> 00:47:28,016
It's a word that shows up later on in
one Corinthians chapter 10 verse 16.

903
00:47:28,016 --> 00:47:32,265
One Corinthians 10:16 says, "The cup
of blessing that we bless, is it not a

904
00:47:32,296 --> 00:47:35,625
participation in the blood of Christ?

905
00:47:35,716 --> 00:47:39,365
The bread that we break, is it not a
participation in the body of Christ?"

906
00:47:39,366 --> 00:47:40,705
It's the same word there, same concept.

907
00:47:41,995 --> 00:47:44,625
We have a fellowship with His
Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

908
00:47:44,636 --> 00:47:47,975
God has called us into that, meaning
that our share in Christ is our

909
00:47:47,975 --> 00:47:51,925
share in Christ, not just right
now, but for all of eternity, too.

910
00:47:53,485 --> 00:47:56,845
And that goes back to His grace
that saved, it's part of His grace

911
00:47:56,845 --> 00:48:00,065
that equips, and it's definitely
part of His grace that sustains

912
00:48:02,710 --> 00:48:03,610
Let me go back to the plane.

913
00:48:04,660 --> 00:48:08,860
When you deplane, after everybody has
rushed off the plane, or maybe you're

914
00:48:08,860 --> 00:48:10,130
rushing off the plane too, I don't know.

915
00:48:10,140 --> 00:48:14,629
A- as you walk down the aisle of
the plane, chances are usually the

916
00:48:14,630 --> 00:48:18,079
pilot is standing at the end of
the aisle of the plane, isn't he?

917
00:48:19,100 --> 00:48:21,980
And when you're getting off the
plane, most times, unless it's just

918
00:48:21,980 --> 00:48:25,500
been one of those flights where it's
like this the whole time, and then

919
00:48:25,500 --> 00:48:29,290
you just smile and nod and just walk
by silently, most time you just say,

920
00:48:29,290 --> 00:48:30,589
"Hey, thanks, thanks for the flight.

921
00:48:31,219 --> 00:48:32,240
Thanks for getting us here safely."

922
00:48:34,484 --> 00:48:38,724
Uh, imagine instead walking down the
aisle of, of the plane and saying to the

923
00:48:38,724 --> 00:48:42,744
pilot, uh, "Hey, I just want you to, to
know, uh, you don't even have to a- to

924
00:48:42,744 --> 00:48:46,604
say it, you're welcome for being such
a good, a good, uh, rider on the plane.

925
00:48:47,294 --> 00:48:49,634
Uh, you're welcome for not
making your life miserable.

926
00:48:49,673 --> 00:48:52,794
You're welcome for, uh, for not
complaining that I didn't get

927
00:48:52,794 --> 00:48:55,333
the full can of, of soda on the
plane, but only the half can.

928
00:48:55,584 --> 00:49:00,144
You're welcome for, uh, not, uh,
complaining that the armrest next to me

929
00:49:00,144 --> 00:49:02,604
got taken by the person sitting next to
me, even though they already had their

930
00:49:02,604 --> 00:49:04,243
own armrest and I was in the middle seat.

931
00:49:04,543 --> 00:49:07,093
You're welcome for not
complaining about the fact that

932
00:49:07,094 --> 00:49:07,943
I didn't have enough leg room.

933
00:49:07,954 --> 00:49:11,523
You're welcome, uh, you're, you're just
welcome that I graced you on this flight."

934
00:49:13,838 --> 00:49:14,618
You would never do that.

935
00:49:16,128 --> 00:49:19,338
As you get off the, the f- the plane,
you look at the pilot and you see the one

936
00:49:19,338 --> 00:49:22,758
that was responsible for getting you up,
getting-- keeping you safe on the flight

937
00:49:22,788 --> 00:49:24,228
and landing, and you say, "Hey, thank you.

938
00:49:25,517 --> 00:49:25,828
Thank you."

939
00:49:30,328 --> 00:49:36,218
Like the Corinthians, we as a church
should give thanks for how God's grace

940
00:49:36,548 --> 00:49:42,788
has saved us, how it is equipping us
right now, and for the confidence that

941
00:49:42,788 --> 00:49:46,548
we can have because God is faithful that
it will continue to sustain us all the

942
00:49:46,548 --> 00:49:48,857
way into the presence of our Savior.

943
00:49:50,738 --> 00:49:52,258
It's God's grace

944
00:49:54,574 --> 00:49:57,814
It's my prayer as the pastor
of this church that that

945
00:49:57,814 --> 00:49:59,854
will always be our anthem.

946
00:50:01,504 --> 00:50:06,863
It's my prayer as the, the pastor of
this church that you and I, anytime

947
00:50:06,864 --> 00:50:11,514
that we talk about this place,
that we find many, many reasons

948
00:50:11,523 --> 00:50:14,183
for us not to boast in ourselves,
but to boast in the glory of God.

949
00:50:15,793 --> 00:50:19,503
It's my prayer that, that we continue
to remember who it is that saved us,

950
00:50:19,504 --> 00:50:21,994
who it is that's equipping us, and
who it is that's gonna sustain us.

951
00:50:23,443 --> 00:50:25,073
And it's my prayer that
God keeps doing things.

952
00:50:25,154 --> 00:50:27,903
I, I want us to be the biggest
and most brilliant platform

953
00:50:27,903 --> 00:50:28,914
for the glory of God around

954
00:50:31,712 --> 00:50:35,131
I just want him to never make
that a platform for us and

955
00:50:35,131 --> 00:50:36,082
always a platform for him.

956
00:50:37,741 --> 00:50:38,361
Let's pray together

957
00:50:41,718 --> 00:50:47,167
Lord, we are those that have been
made recipients of amazing grace, of

958
00:50:47,167 --> 00:50:51,478
amazing blessings, of forgiveness,
of redemption, of sanctification.

959
00:50:51,837 --> 00:50:54,308
Lord, that you've given us your
Spirit, you've given us your Word,

960
00:50:54,308 --> 00:50:57,218
you've given us the ability to read
and understand your Word and take it

961
00:50:57,218 --> 00:50:58,607
and to apply it to our lives, Lord.

962
00:50:58,928 --> 00:51:01,687
You've given us this place, you've
given us to one another, you've given

963
00:51:01,688 --> 00:51:05,268
us brothers and sisters in Christ who
will care about us and pray for us

964
00:51:05,297 --> 00:51:10,097
and, uh, serve alongside us and help
us as we seek to, to live out what

965
00:51:10,098 --> 00:51:11,828
it means to be a follower of Jesus.

966
00:51:11,957 --> 00:51:14,277
Lord, your grace is everywhere we look.

967
00:51:14,658 --> 00:51:17,708
What is there that we have
that we did not receive?

968
00:51:17,708 --> 00:51:19,658
The answer to that question is nothing.

969
00:51:19,667 --> 00:51:20,598
You've given us everything.

970
00:51:21,248 --> 00:51:24,017
And so if that's true, Lord, who
are we to boast in any of it?

971
00:51:25,277 --> 00:51:27,048
Instead, Lord, may our boast be in Jesus.

972
00:51:27,097 --> 00:51:28,018
May our boast be in you.

973
00:51:28,047 --> 00:51:31,007
May our focus be on the
grace of God and your glory.

974
00:51:31,097 --> 00:51:33,187
And so, Lord, we are so
thankful for what you're doing.

975
00:51:33,187 --> 00:51:37,707
We pray that you would do more, Lord,
for you, that you would expand our

976
00:51:37,908 --> 00:51:41,457
reach, that you would bring more people
here, that you would save the lost

977
00:51:41,498 --> 00:51:46,008
around us, Lord, so that your grace
may be even more clearly on display.

978
00:51:46,637 --> 00:51:50,207
May we get out of the way
and give Christ center stage.

979
00:51:50,627 --> 00:51:51,788
We pray this in Jesus' name.

980
00:51:52,047 --> 00:51:52,317
Amen.