1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160 Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,360 Or we're going to continue on in our sermon series in the book 10 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,810 of Romans, Romans, chapter number four. 11 00:00:29,810 --> 00:00:34,330 The title of this sermon this morning is A Life of Grace through 12 00:00:34,330 --> 00:00:34,810 Faith. 13 00:00:34,890 --> 00:00:37,610 We're going to look at those two words here today, predominantly 14 00:00:37,610 --> 00:00:38,490 grace and faith. 15 00:00:38,890 --> 00:00:39,930 What's that all about? 16 00:00:40,090 --> 00:00:41,210 What does the word grace mean? 17 00:00:41,210 --> 00:00:42,410 What does the word faith mean? 18 00:00:42,410 --> 00:00:44,810 What does that mean for me as a believer? 19 00:00:45,210 --> 00:00:47,090 What does that mean to the world who does not believe? 20 00:00:47,090 --> 00:00:48,970 We're going to talk about that here this morning. 21 00:00:49,370 --> 00:00:52,210 I'm starting in Romans chapter four, and we're going to start in 22 00:00:52,210 --> 00:00:52,930 verse number 16. 23 00:00:52,930 --> 00:00:54,930 If you want to start there with me. 24 00:00:54,930 --> 00:00:56,410 We're going to be in verse number 16. 25 00:00:56,490 --> 00:01:00,810 And the very first sentence given to us here in verse 16 explains 26 00:01:00,810 --> 00:01:04,090 really the whole thought that Paul has in this whole section. 27 00:01:04,410 --> 00:01:05,890 And it's essentially this. 28 00:01:05,890 --> 00:01:08,490 We are in desperate need of God's grace. 29 00:01:08,650 --> 00:01:11,970 And the only way that we can experience God's grace is through 30 00:01:11,970 --> 00:01:13,930 faith and faith alone in him. 31 00:01:14,730 --> 00:01:17,810 And I know that many people in this world think that, hey, I can 32 00:01:17,810 --> 00:01:18,130 do it. 33 00:01:18,130 --> 00:01:22,660 I can achieve, I can obtain some element of salvation through 34 00:01:22,660 --> 00:01:23,460 what I do. 35 00:01:23,780 --> 00:01:27,860 But what Paul says throughout, really all of this passage and even 36 00:01:27,860 --> 00:01:30,260 the chapter before, is that you cannot earn this. 37 00:01:30,660 --> 00:01:33,940 This is not something that you can obtain in your own goodness. 38 00:01:34,100 --> 00:01:37,900 You are in desperate need of God, not just for salvation, even 39 00:01:37,900 --> 00:01:40,660 though that's the greatest need that we have, but we are in 40 00:01:40,660 --> 00:01:43,940 desperate need of God's grace in every aspect of our life. 41 00:01:44,500 --> 00:01:46,300 And that's what he says here in verse number 16. 42 00:01:46,300 --> 00:01:50,740 He says, Therefore it is of three faith that it might be by grace. 43 00:01:51,860 --> 00:01:52,900 He says that it. 44 00:01:52,900 --> 00:01:54,580 It all depends on faith. 45 00:01:54,820 --> 00:01:57,500 It all depends on what you are trusting in. 46 00:01:57,500 --> 00:02:02,260 If you trust in anything else other than what the Bible says is 47 00:02:02,260 --> 00:02:04,019 the truth of the gospel, I.e. 48 00:02:04,019 --> 00:02:09,300 jesus, Jesus crucified, Jesus perfect, and Jesus resurrected. 49 00:02:09,380 --> 00:02:13,020 If you don't believe in that, you have an object of faith that 50 00:02:13,020 --> 00:02:14,260 will cross, crumble. 51 00:02:14,420 --> 00:02:17,220 And so he says, if you want that life of grace, if you want that 52 00:02:17,220 --> 00:02:20,620 life of blessing, if you want that life of purpose, if you want 53 00:02:20,620 --> 00:02:26,220 that life of promise, then it must be placed in the faith that 54 00:02:26,220 --> 00:02:27,220 you have in Jesus. 55 00:02:27,220 --> 00:02:29,340 Christ and receive the grace of God. 56 00:02:29,340 --> 00:02:30,100 Now what is grace? 57 00:02:30,100 --> 00:02:31,700 Grace is an undeserved gift. 58 00:02:32,020 --> 00:02:34,060 It's unmerited favor. 59 00:02:34,060 --> 00:02:39,220 Some people use the acrostic God's riches at Christ's expense. 60 00:02:39,690 --> 00:02:41,530 Christ is the one who paid the price. 61 00:02:41,930 --> 00:02:45,290 We get to reap the benefits as believers. 62 00:02:45,450 --> 00:02:49,170 And so in verse number 16 he says, if you want to have a promise 63 00:02:49,170 --> 00:02:53,370 fulfilled like Abraham, trust in the Lord with your faith. 64 00:02:53,770 --> 00:02:57,450 Says, therefore it is a faith that it might be by grace to the 65 00:02:57,450 --> 00:02:57,770 end. 66 00:02:58,330 --> 00:03:02,970 The promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which 67 00:03:02,970 --> 00:03:04,010 is of the law. 68 00:03:04,250 --> 00:03:08,420 Meaning this promise of God's blessing upon our lives is not just 69 00:03:08,420 --> 00:03:13,180 to those who follow the law, but to that also which is of the 70 00:03:13,180 --> 00:03:14,300 faith of Abraham. 71 00:03:14,300 --> 00:03:17,140 So basically have the same faith as Abraham. 72 00:03:17,140 --> 00:03:20,260 We looked last week in the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 73 00:03:20,260 --> 00:03:25,060 15 that Abraham was faith purposed. 74 00:03:25,220 --> 00:03:26,260 So what do I mean by that? 75 00:03:26,820 --> 00:03:30,900 His, his grace, his righteousness was imputed to him 76 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:32,720 because of his belief. 77 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:34,000 It was by faith. 78 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,600 And so it wasn't that Abraham earned God's grace because of his 79 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:38,040 works. 80 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,720 It wasn't because Abraham earned God's grace because of who 81 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:43,360 he was as the Father of the nation. 82 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,720 No, none of that was accounted what was accounted for as righteousness, 83 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:48,000 his belief. 84 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:53,760 And so the promises of God to Abraham and to us are secure because 85 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:54,880 of his grace. 86 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,480 The promise of salvation is secure because of his grace. 87 00:03:59,110 --> 00:04:02,470 Let me tell you here this morning, none of us deserve the promise 88 00:04:02,630 --> 00:04:03,510 of salvation. 89 00:04:03,510 --> 00:04:05,350 None of us deserve forgiveness. 90 00:04:05,510 --> 00:04:08,910 None of us deserve the security that we can find in the 91 00:04:08,910 --> 00:04:10,150 hope of Jesus Christ. 92 00:04:10,310 --> 00:04:14,430 But the promises are secure because of God's love for us and 93 00:04:14,430 --> 00:04:15,910 his grace extended to us. 94 00:04:16,230 --> 00:04:18,590 So if you, if you're here today and you say I'm struggling 95 00:04:18,590 --> 00:04:22,230 with doubt, well, the question might be who are you doubting? 96 00:04:22,950 --> 00:04:28,320 Because if your faith is placed in you to do something for 97 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:29,840 God, guess what? 98 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:31,120 Your, your. 99 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:32,800 Your gift is not secure. 100 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,080 Because if your gift is secured in your own works, you will 101 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:36,880 eventually fail. 102 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:41,560 I will eventually fail if my grace is wrapped up or my promise 103 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,720 is wrapped up in the things of this world eventually that will fail. 104 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:45,960 And so what does it say here? 105 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:49,160 It says it's only by true faith that we can have the promises 106 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:51,200 of God secured in our life. 107 00:04:51,850 --> 00:04:55,410 It's the same principle that we see all throughout the New Testament. 108 00:04:55,410 --> 00:04:58,410 But two particular passages of scripture that we can see. 109 00:04:58,410 --> 00:05:02,210 This principle given to us is in James chapter four, James chapter 110 00:05:02,210 --> 00:05:03,050 four, verse six. 111 00:05:03,370 --> 00:05:08,970 This is a principle of how does the person, how does the believer 112 00:05:08,970 --> 00:05:09,850 receive grace? 113 00:05:10,650 --> 00:05:12,570 Well, I don't receive grace through pride. 114 00:05:13,050 --> 00:05:15,210 I don't receive grace through selfishness. 115 00:05:15,610 --> 00:05:17,330 I don't receive grace through anything. 116 00:05:17,330 --> 00:05:20,140 I other than relying on God to extend it to me. 117 00:05:20,140 --> 00:05:22,620 So it says here in James chapter four, verse six. 118 00:05:22,620 --> 00:05:26,220 But he giveth, talking about God, but He giveth more grace. 119 00:05:26,460 --> 00:05:31,220 Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace 120 00:05:31,220 --> 00:05:32,220 unto the humble. 121 00:05:32,860 --> 00:05:36,620 The Bible says the way that we can understand God's grace, not the 122 00:05:36,620 --> 00:05:38,980 way that we create God's grace because God's grace is there whether 123 00:05:38,980 --> 00:05:42,060 or not we're faithful or not, but the way that we experience God's 124 00:05:42,060 --> 00:05:45,560 grace, the way that we rest in God's grace is humbling ourselves, 125 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:47,680 dying to ourselves and saying, you know what? 126 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:49,640 It's only by him that I can have these things. 127 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:51,960 It's only by him that I can have these blessings. 128 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,640 Another passage of scripture that we could look at is First Peter, 129 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:56,360 chapter five. 130 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:01,520 First Peter, chapter five, verse five tells us essentially the 131 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:07,200 same principle of grace to the humble grace to the humble grace 132 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,960 to the ones who humble themselves in faith before God. 133 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,320 It says in 1st Peter chapter 5, verse 5. 134 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:14,760 Likewise you younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. 135 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:19,680 Yea, all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility. 136 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,160 Now I'm going to stop here for a moment because that phrase there 137 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:25,040 clothed with humility means so much. 138 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,600 It literally means to take the role of a servant. 139 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:32,880 To be clothed with humility means to take the servant's robe 140 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:33,600 and put that on. 141 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,540 Essentially it means to roll up your, your robe and take the form 142 00:06:37,540 --> 00:06:38,260 of a servant. 143 00:06:38,260 --> 00:06:42,020 Now remember, obviously God is speaking by inspiration here but 144 00:06:42,020 --> 00:06:43,660 the human author is Peter. 145 00:06:43,900 --> 00:06:48,260 And, and if you remember Peter back many, many years before, maybe 146 00:06:48,260 --> 00:06:51,900 not too many years before, but essentially in John chapter 13 when 147 00:06:51,900 --> 00:06:55,980 Jesus is about to go the cross and, and all the disciples are there 148 00:06:56,060 --> 00:06:59,660 and there's this last supper and we, we know all about that, that 149 00:06:59,660 --> 00:07:02,140 Jesus comes and he takes the form of a servant. 150 00:07:02,140 --> 00:07:05,370 He rolls up his robe, he washes the disciples feet. 151 00:07:05,370 --> 00:07:07,730 And I can't help but think that Peter is thinking about that 152 00:07:07,810 --> 00:07:10,650 very same principle of how Jesus showed what it means to be 153 00:07:10,650 --> 00:07:11,490 a humble servant. 154 00:07:11,490 --> 00:07:13,730 And he says all of us need to take that role. 155 00:07:13,730 --> 00:07:15,370 He says be clothed with humility. 156 00:07:15,370 --> 00:07:18,529 Be known as a person defined by humility. 157 00:07:18,529 --> 00:07:18,930 Why? 158 00:07:19,010 --> 00:07:23,410 For God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble. 159 00:07:23,410 --> 00:07:27,330 Then he says in verse 6, humble yourselves therefore under 160 00:07:27,330 --> 00:07:32,070 the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time. 161 00:07:32,070 --> 00:07:36,310 So he says, if you want to be exalted don't exalt yourself, don't 162 00:07:36,310 --> 00:07:38,230 earn it, don't strive for it. 163 00:07:38,390 --> 00:07:42,070 Just trust in God to exalt you in his timing and in his way. 164 00:07:42,470 --> 00:07:45,309 And we know that verse number seven, right after that says, casting 165 00:07:45,309 --> 00:07:48,670 all your care upon him, for he careth for you, casting all of your 166 00:07:48,670 --> 00:07:51,110 anxieties over to him because he cares for us. 167 00:07:51,110 --> 00:07:54,310 One of the reasons why sometimes we struggle with just complete 168 00:07:54,310 --> 00:07:57,790 reliance on God is our anxieties, our fears, our concerns. 169 00:07:57,790 --> 00:07:59,270 Well, what if God doesn't do this? 170 00:07:59,910 --> 00:08:03,310 Well, we can find ourselves in a very difficult place when we doubt 171 00:08:03,310 --> 00:08:04,390 the promises of God. 172 00:08:04,470 --> 00:08:07,150 We're never going to be resting in the grace of God if we 173 00:08:07,150 --> 00:08:08,190 are not resting in faith. 174 00:08:08,190 --> 00:08:11,190 And that God is going to keep his word, that God is consistent, 175 00:08:11,270 --> 00:08:15,270 that he is loving, that, that, that he wants to not just know us 176 00:08:15,350 --> 00:08:18,070 in a way of a relationship, but he wants to bless us. 177 00:08:18,230 --> 00:08:21,430 And so, so many people have a struggle with that doubt because 178 00:08:21,590 --> 00:08:23,070 of the fact that there's lack of faith. 179 00:08:23,070 --> 00:08:25,270 And really at the heart of lack of faith is pride. 180 00:08:25,940 --> 00:08:28,540 And so in both of those passages of Scripture in James chapter 181 00:08:28,540 --> 00:08:33,100 four and First Peter chapter five, the really the deciding factor 182 00:08:33,100 --> 00:08:36,020 is, am I going to strive after a relationship with God? 183 00:08:36,180 --> 00:08:39,300 We saw in First Peter chapter five, it was casting our care upon 184 00:08:39,300 --> 00:08:39,540 Him. 185 00:08:40,100 --> 00:08:43,340 In James chapter 4, verse 8, it says, Draw nigh to God or draw 186 00:08:43,340 --> 00:08:45,380 near to God and He will draw near to you. 187 00:08:46,340 --> 00:08:48,540 So how can we grow in our grace? 188 00:08:48,540 --> 00:08:49,140 How can we. 189 00:08:49,140 --> 00:08:50,900 Because the Bible says to grow in grace. 190 00:08:51,190 --> 00:08:53,470 That doesn't mean that the more I'm a Christian, the more God 191 00:08:53,470 --> 00:08:55,070 says, okay, brother, so. 192 00:08:55,070 --> 00:08:57,190 And so you've been good today, so you get a little bit more grace 193 00:08:57,190 --> 00:08:57,510 today. 194 00:08:58,070 --> 00:09:00,950 No, the grace of God is abundantly poured out upon us at 195 00:09:00,950 --> 00:09:01,990 the moment of salvation. 196 00:09:02,070 --> 00:09:03,910 We're told that throughout the New Testament. 197 00:09:04,150 --> 00:09:08,110 But sometimes for us, it's understanding and resting and living 198 00:09:08,110 --> 00:09:11,750 in that grace and knowing that grace and that grace becoming a reality 199 00:09:11,750 --> 00:09:12,310 for us. 200 00:09:12,710 --> 00:09:15,230 And so that's what Paul is talking about here. 201 00:09:15,230 --> 00:09:18,270 In Romans, chapter 4, verse 16, he says, you got to have the 202 00:09:18,270 --> 00:09:20,550 same faith of Abraham to experience this grace. 203 00:09:21,030 --> 00:09:22,550 He says, he's the father of us all. 204 00:09:22,550 --> 00:09:23,990 He's the example for us all. 205 00:09:24,070 --> 00:09:25,910 Verse 17, as it is written. 206 00:09:25,910 --> 00:09:28,910 We're back in Romans chapter 4, as it is written, I have made 207 00:09:28,910 --> 00:09:30,270 thee a father of many nations. 208 00:09:30,270 --> 00:09:32,630 So he says that was the promise to Abraham that he would 209 00:09:32,630 --> 00:09:35,030 be a father of many nations, right? 210 00:09:35,270 --> 00:09:38,150 Not just one nation, but many nations, many peoples. 211 00:09:38,390 --> 00:09:41,270 And so many times we think that, well, Abraham is the father 212 00:09:41,670 --> 00:09:44,150 of the Israelites and the Jews. 213 00:09:44,230 --> 00:09:45,570 And yes he is. 214 00:09:45,570 --> 00:09:48,930 But the New Testament tells us that everyone who comes to God in 215 00:09:48,930 --> 00:09:51,970 faith can reap the benefits and the blessings of being in the 216 00:09:51,970 --> 00:09:52,850 family of Abraham. 217 00:09:52,930 --> 00:09:56,970 And so In Romans chapter 4, verse 17, it says before him whom 218 00:09:56,970 --> 00:10:00,769 he believed, even God who quickened the dead and called those 219 00:10:00,769 --> 00:10:03,330 things which be not as though they were. 220 00:10:03,570 --> 00:10:07,410 So verse 17 tells us the power of the promises of God, which basically 221 00:10:07,410 --> 00:10:07,970 it's this. 222 00:10:08,690 --> 00:10:12,330 When we trust in God, as Abraham did when he believed, it 223 00:10:12,330 --> 00:10:15,000 says when who quicken or brought to life the dead and called 224 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:19,280 those things which be not as though they were, it says this. 225 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,360 It is only God who can call those who are dead to come back to 226 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:23,680 life. 227 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:27,960 It is only God who can take something that is against him and 228 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:29,040 bring it to him. 229 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:31,880 And what we can see here in this case is that it's only God who 230 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:33,920 can take a person who is dead in their sins. 231 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,440 Ephesians chapter two, who is dead in their sins. 232 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:41,230 And that means that we are on the way, on the path to eternal separation 233 00:10:41,230 --> 00:10:43,150 from God, eternal punishment from God. 234 00:10:43,150 --> 00:10:46,670 But it's only God in his grace who can take someone who is defined 235 00:10:46,670 --> 00:10:51,550 as a sinner, defined as broken, defined as separated, and 236 00:10:51,550 --> 00:10:54,790 take them and move them into marvelous life and bring them to 237 00:10:54,790 --> 00:10:54,990 life. 238 00:10:54,990 --> 00:10:56,750 He says it's only God who can do that. 239 00:10:56,910 --> 00:10:58,870 It's only God who can take us from death to life. 240 00:10:58,870 --> 00:11:01,790 It's only God who can look at a sinner and then call him righteous. 241 00:11:01,870 --> 00:11:04,030 Now that doesn't mean that God overlooks the sin. 242 00:11:04,110 --> 00:11:07,080 What it means is that what we talked about last week, God imputes 243 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:08,280 that righteousness to us. 244 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:12,360 And so God displays his supernatural power to Abraham by 245 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:15,800 giving him a son and allowing him to be the father of many nations. 246 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:20,240 Now how does God allow us to understand his supernatural power? 247 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,640 Well, in the greatest picture of his super natural power is this, 248 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,920 that the person who is a sinner, who is not a believer, comes 249 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:28,640 to faith and now is a believer. 250 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,160 And that is how God displays His supernatural power. 251 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,580 By giving the believer forgiveness, by giving the believer 252 00:11:34,580 --> 00:11:37,620 salvation and allowing the believer to be called a child of 253 00:11:37,620 --> 00:11:38,020 God. 254 00:11:38,100 --> 00:11:41,460 That is how God enacts his supernatural power to us. 255 00:11:41,620 --> 00:11:42,740 And so that's what he's seeing there. 256 00:11:42,740 --> 00:11:46,020 In verse 17 he says just as Abraham who was essentially dead, 257 00:11:46,020 --> 00:11:49,100 meaning he wasn't going to have children, he, he wasn't able 258 00:11:49,100 --> 00:11:51,260 to have children, his wife was not able to have children. 259 00:11:51,260 --> 00:11:53,820 They were too old, basically they were left for dead. 260 00:11:53,820 --> 00:11:55,460 They were just going to live out the rest of their life. 261 00:11:55,460 --> 00:11:59,500 But it was God who gave the grace to Abraham through his faith 262 00:11:59,500 --> 00:12:00,980 that he was able to have this blessing. 263 00:12:00,980 --> 00:12:03,630 So we can have the same blessing in our salvation. 264 00:12:04,670 --> 00:12:06,910 Salvation equals life to death. 265 00:12:08,910 --> 00:12:10,990 You say life to death, what does that mean? 266 00:12:10,990 --> 00:12:12,510 Well really what it means is this. 267 00:12:12,510 --> 00:12:16,870 We are in death and then we come to life and now we are dead 268 00:12:16,870 --> 00:12:19,230 to our sins, but we are alive in Christ. 269 00:12:19,550 --> 00:12:22,270 And so a lot of times people think, well, now that I'm a Christian, 270 00:12:22,270 --> 00:12:23,030 the story's over. 271 00:12:23,030 --> 00:12:24,630 No, the story just begins. 272 00:12:24,630 --> 00:12:28,630 But now I'm not dead in my flesh, I'm not dead in, in my spirit. 273 00:12:28,630 --> 00:12:31,070 Now I'm dead to what I was living in before. 274 00:12:31,070 --> 00:12:34,030 If you could say I was living in sin before, now I'm dead to that. 275 00:12:34,030 --> 00:12:35,310 I'm alive to Christ. 276 00:12:35,390 --> 00:12:37,590 I'm dead to that old way, I'm living in the new. 277 00:12:37,590 --> 00:12:38,990 That old man has passed away. 278 00:12:38,990 --> 00:12:40,670 I am now walking in the new man. 279 00:12:40,830 --> 00:12:43,829 And so there's that hope, there's that, that idea of life that 280 00:12:43,829 --> 00:12:44,630 comes to believer. 281 00:12:44,630 --> 00:12:47,630 And that's what Paul is explaining here in verse number 17, 282 00:12:48,270 --> 00:12:48,910 verse 18. 283 00:12:48,910 --> 00:12:51,950 He says how, how this life giving power is experienced. 284 00:12:52,110 --> 00:12:55,430 How can I experience that same power given in verse 17? 285 00:12:56,230 --> 00:13:00,310 How can I have those things which be not as they were now they 286 00:13:00,310 --> 00:13:00,630 are? 287 00:13:00,870 --> 00:13:03,590 How can I be a sinner and come to know Christ? 288 00:13:03,670 --> 00:13:07,030 How can I be broken and now come to be complete? 289 00:13:07,030 --> 00:13:11,470 He says it here in verse number 18. Who against hope believed 290 00:13:11,470 --> 00:13:11,910 in hope. 291 00:13:12,710 --> 00:13:13,510 What does that mean? 292 00:13:13,750 --> 00:13:14,550 What is he talking about? 293 00:13:14,550 --> 00:13:18,350 He's describing Abraham's faith and he says really in the standard 294 00:13:18,350 --> 00:13:20,470 of the world, Abraham had no hope. 295 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,000 He was past the years of childbearing, his wife was past the 296 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:24,960 years of childbearing. 297 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,080 This was not going to be something that people would say, 298 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:28,760 oh of course Abraham, this makes a lot of sense. 299 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:35,440 No, the birth of his son Isaac really essentially was seen by all 300 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:36,440 these people as a miracle. 301 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,360 There was nobody who could explain it another way. 302 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,640 And that's what we have to understand as believers is that God 303 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:46,200 is going to do things that really will confound those people 304 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:46,800 of the world. 305 00:13:47,190 --> 00:13:50,270 The Bible tells us that the things that we believe in sometimes 306 00:13:50,270 --> 00:13:52,070 don't make sense to the ways of the world. 307 00:13:52,150 --> 00:13:55,070 And so as it says here in verse 18, who against hope believed 308 00:13:55,070 --> 00:13:55,510 in hope? 309 00:13:56,070 --> 00:13:58,790 Are we going to believe in the hope of God even if it doesn't make 310 00:13:58,790 --> 00:13:59,430 sense to us? 311 00:13:59,990 --> 00:14:02,470 Are we going to believe in the power of God even if it doesn't make 312 00:14:02,470 --> 00:14:03,030 sense to us? 313 00:14:03,430 --> 00:14:05,830 Even if people come against Us and say that doesn't make sense that 314 00:14:05,830 --> 00:14:06,470 you're doing that. 315 00:14:06,630 --> 00:14:08,630 It doesn't make sense that you're trusting in that. 316 00:14:09,430 --> 00:14:13,150 Okay, it makes sense maybe to trust for 10 years, but once it hits 317 00:14:13,150 --> 00:14:15,510 11, okay, obviously it's not going to work. 318 00:14:15,990 --> 00:14:18,110 You know, some of you might have been praying for something for 319 00:14:18,110 --> 00:14:20,230 a very, very long time and you're tempted to give up. 320 00:14:20,630 --> 00:14:25,390 If God has given you the desire and the will and the conviction 321 00:14:25,390 --> 00:14:28,030 to continue to pray for that situation, continue to pray because 322 00:14:28,030 --> 00:14:29,190 he's going to give you that answer. 323 00:14:29,350 --> 00:14:31,510 I'm not going to say it's an answer that we want to hear. 324 00:14:31,590 --> 00:14:33,710 I'm not even going to say it's an answer that's going to make sense 325 00:14:33,710 --> 00:14:34,070 to us. 326 00:14:34,150 --> 00:14:37,150 But the Bible says that we have to continue on to believe in 327 00:14:37,150 --> 00:14:40,150 things that for the world's eyes don't make sense to believe 328 00:14:40,150 --> 00:14:40,470 in. 329 00:14:40,950 --> 00:14:43,830 So who against hope, believed in hope that he might become the 330 00:14:43,830 --> 00:14:45,000 father of many nations? 331 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:49,200 Who, according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. 332 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:51,480 So what is it saying here? 333 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:52,160 It says this. 334 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:54,280 Abraham didn't look to what made sense. 335 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:55,760 He went back to what God said. 336 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:58,600 God said, you will be a father of many nations. 337 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:00,520 God said, you will have a son Now. 338 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:02,920 Now, is Abraham perfect in that process of waiting? 339 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:04,240 No, and neither will we. 340 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:06,640 But the idea here is this. 341 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:10,040 The reason why Abraham could continue on in faith and believe 342 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,230 that God was going to keep his word was because God said it and 343 00:15:13,230 --> 00:15:16,350 he rested in it and he trusted in it and he wasn't going to doubt 344 00:15:16,350 --> 00:15:16,590 it. 345 00:15:16,750 --> 00:15:18,190 And that's what happens to us today. 346 00:15:18,190 --> 00:15:22,070 And really what it, what it happens, what happens is, is that 347 00:15:22,070 --> 00:15:23,510 we read something in the word of God. 348 00:15:23,510 --> 00:15:26,950 We, we come here and maybe it's in a Bible study or a preacher 349 00:15:26,950 --> 00:15:27,390 says something. 350 00:15:27,390 --> 00:15:32,070 And it says, for example, one very famous promise is that God is 351 00:15:32,070 --> 00:15:33,790 never going to leave us nor forsake us. 352 00:15:35,070 --> 00:15:36,670 And we know that that's there. 353 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,160 And we believe that God said it and we believe that God is true. 354 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,000 But the circumstances of life come our way and we go, well, you 355 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:44,440 know what? 356 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:46,360 I don't feel like God is with me. 357 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,480 And now that I don't feel like God is with me, maybe I'm going to 358 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:52,720 be tempted to doubt that maybe, just maybe, he won't keep 359 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:53,080 his word. 360 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:56,120 And therefore I'm going to act not in faith, but I'm going to act 361 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:56,680 in the flesh. 362 00:15:57,400 --> 00:15:58,920 I'm going to respond in the flesh. 363 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,400 Now, we don't have time to go back to the whole story of Abraham, 364 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,370 but You guys know that some points in Abraham's life he tried 365 00:16:05,370 --> 00:16:06,210 to get ahead of God. 366 00:16:06,210 --> 00:16:07,970 He tried to work it out in his own way. 367 00:16:08,050 --> 00:16:09,090 And how did that end? 368 00:16:09,090 --> 00:16:10,730 It always ended in destruction. 369 00:16:10,730 --> 00:16:11,970 It always ended in a disaster. 370 00:16:11,970 --> 00:16:13,090 And that's what happens for us. 371 00:16:13,410 --> 00:16:16,810 When we aren't resting in the promises of God, when we're not resting 372 00:16:16,810 --> 00:16:19,850 in the timing of God, when we're not resting in God's way or 373 00:16:19,850 --> 00:16:22,650 will in our life, we find ourselves trying to figure it out 374 00:16:22,650 --> 00:16:23,050 ourselves. 375 00:16:23,050 --> 00:16:25,970 And what the Bible says is that can find, that can make us find 376 00:16:25,970 --> 00:16:28,330 ourselves in places of the flesh and not faith. 377 00:16:28,330 --> 00:16:32,090 And so how does God give the life giving power that was described 378 00:16:32,090 --> 00:16:32,930 there in verse 17? 379 00:16:33,650 --> 00:16:39,650 When we exercise faith, when we exercise faith we experience the 380 00:16:39,650 --> 00:16:42,050 truth that God keeps His word. 381 00:16:42,050 --> 00:16:45,130 The only way that we're going to know if God keeps His word is 382 00:16:45,130 --> 00:16:47,810 if we trust in him in faith to see him keep his word. 383 00:16:48,530 --> 00:16:53,210 The idea for us today is like, well I'll trust in God when He proves 384 00:16:53,210 --> 00:16:53,810 it to me. 385 00:16:54,130 --> 00:16:56,690 But the reality is is that he's already proven it to us. 386 00:16:56,690 --> 00:16:59,830 God's already demonstrated his love towards us in that while we 387 00:16:59,830 --> 00:17:01,470 are yet sinners, Christ died for us. 388 00:17:01,470 --> 00:17:04,430 Romans chapter 5, verse 8 tells us that God already proved 389 00:17:04,430 --> 00:17:05,150 his love for us. 390 00:17:05,790 --> 00:17:08,790 The word of God is there and it tells us enough that we need to 391 00:17:08,790 --> 00:17:09,030 know. 392 00:17:09,030 --> 00:17:10,710 We don't need to see a sign or a wonder. 393 00:17:10,710 --> 00:17:12,990 The sign and wonder has already been found in Jesus Christ. 394 00:17:13,070 --> 00:17:16,310 The sign and wonder is that we have a revealed word of God that 395 00:17:16,310 --> 00:17:16,990 is complete. 396 00:17:17,070 --> 00:17:20,510 The Bible says that the word of God is powerful, it's alive and 397 00:17:20,510 --> 00:17:22,350 so we have everything that we need to have. 398 00:17:22,350 --> 00:17:25,390 But really we're not going to experience God's faithfulness unless 399 00:17:25,390 --> 00:17:29,390 we trust in him and in really what I would say is exercise faith 400 00:17:29,390 --> 00:17:30,390 by the way that we live our life. 401 00:17:30,390 --> 00:17:32,870 So what does this type of faith really look like? 402 00:17:33,590 --> 00:17:35,790 Verse 19 and being not weak in faith. 403 00:17:35,790 --> 00:17:38,270 So he says Abraham wasn't weak in his faith, he was strong in his 404 00:17:38,270 --> 00:17:38,630 faith. 405 00:17:38,950 --> 00:17:41,910 He considered not his own body now dead. 406 00:17:43,430 --> 00:17:44,470 Essentially it's this. 407 00:17:44,470 --> 00:17:48,350 He didn't look to his circumstance and go, well God, I 408 00:17:48,350 --> 00:17:52,510 know you said this, but it doesn't make sense to me. 409 00:17:52,510 --> 00:17:55,760 It doesn't work out in my logic, it doesn't work out in my 410 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:56,520 circumstance. 411 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,280 So he says, and not being weak in faith, he considered not his own 412 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:05,920 body now dead when he was about 100 years old, neither yet 413 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:07,400 the deadness of Sarah's womb. 414 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:10,840 So he didn't consider the bleakness of his circumstance. 415 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:12,120 What did he consider? 416 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:13,400 Verse 20? 417 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:17,080 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. 418 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:19,880 So he didn't, it says there, he didn't waver. 419 00:18:20,490 --> 00:18:21,690 He, he didn't stumble. 420 00:18:21,770 --> 00:18:24,570 And, and some of us might say, well, Pastor, don't you know the 421 00:18:24,570 --> 00:18:25,330 story of Abraham? 422 00:18:25,330 --> 00:18:26,170 Didn't he stumble? 423 00:18:26,330 --> 00:18:27,650 Well, right, he did stumble. 424 00:18:27,650 --> 00:18:30,730 But we know that a just man falls and gets back up. 425 00:18:31,930 --> 00:18:35,570 We know that the Bible says, though he fall, the believer, though 426 00:18:35,570 --> 00:18:38,810 he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds 427 00:18:38,810 --> 00:18:39,530 him with his hand. 428 00:18:40,010 --> 00:18:42,810 So this isn't talking about being perfect in our faith, because 429 00:18:42,810 --> 00:18:45,930 let me tell you here, this, this morning, none of us, none of 430 00:18:45,930 --> 00:18:47,200 us can be perfect in our faith. 431 00:18:47,350 --> 00:18:47,910 None of us. 432 00:18:48,310 --> 00:18:52,630 But the reality is, is that we understand how faithful God is and 433 00:18:52,630 --> 00:18:56,310 we trust in that to give us the opportunity to live out our life 434 00:18:56,470 --> 00:18:57,630 in trust and in Faith. 435 00:18:57,630 --> 00:19:00,110 So verse 19, and being not weak in faith, he considered not 436 00:19:00,110 --> 00:19:01,270 his own body now dead. 437 00:19:02,070 --> 00:19:06,470 And then he talks about there how he trusted in the Lord and not 438 00:19:06,470 --> 00:19:08,310 in the deadness of Sarah's womb. 439 00:19:08,310 --> 00:19:10,910 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, 440 00:19:10,910 --> 00:19:16,470 but was strong in faith or strengthened in faith, giving glory 441 00:19:16,630 --> 00:19:17,270 to God. 442 00:19:18,550 --> 00:19:23,390 So it talks here in verse number 20 about real authentic faith, 443 00:19:23,390 --> 00:19:27,990 verse 21, and being fully persuaded that when he had promised, 444 00:19:28,230 --> 00:19:31,110 he was able also to perform. 445 00:19:32,950 --> 00:19:37,590 So verses 20 and 21 tell us what this true faith really is. 446 00:19:38,070 --> 00:19:40,240 So it's one thing to say, well, I have faith in God, but. 447 00:19:40,310 --> 00:19:44,230 But then when the struggle comes, we go, well, not so much anymore. 448 00:19:44,390 --> 00:19:45,510 That's not true faith. 449 00:19:46,070 --> 00:19:49,750 Authentic faith is trusting in God no matter what the circumstance 450 00:19:49,750 --> 00:19:50,230 might be. 451 00:19:50,710 --> 00:19:54,870 It's trusting in what God says, no matter how we feel, no matter 452 00:19:54,870 --> 00:19:55,910 what people tell us. 453 00:19:56,309 --> 00:20:00,070 And so verse 20 and 21 tell us what true faith really looks like. 454 00:20:00,230 --> 00:20:04,790 Staggering, not at the promise of God through unbelief, but being 455 00:20:04,790 --> 00:20:07,890 strong in faith, being strengthened in our faith, giving 456 00:20:07,890 --> 00:20:11,730 glory to God through it, giving God glory through the trial. 457 00:20:13,570 --> 00:20:17,890 Abraham waited a long time, but he was giving glory to God through 458 00:20:17,890 --> 00:20:18,410 that process. 459 00:20:18,410 --> 00:20:23,050 And then verse 21, and being fully persuaded that what he had 460 00:20:23,050 --> 00:20:26,690 promised, talking about what God had promised, he was able also 461 00:20:26,690 --> 00:20:27,410 to perform. 462 00:20:28,770 --> 00:20:34,170 So it's this believing that God can do and will do what he says 463 00:20:34,170 --> 00:20:34,850 he will do. 464 00:20:34,850 --> 00:20:37,650 I mean, that's really boiled down to the simplest form here today. 465 00:20:38,710 --> 00:20:43,990 Faith is believing that God will do what he says he will do, 466 00:20:45,190 --> 00:20:49,030 believing that he can do what he says he can do, and believing 467 00:20:49,030 --> 00:20:52,310 that he will do what he says he Will do, no matter what my circumstance 468 00:20:52,310 --> 00:20:52,790 might be. 469 00:20:53,749 --> 00:20:55,550 We go to Hebrews chapter 11. 470 00:20:55,550 --> 00:20:58,390 Hebrews chapter 11 is a passage of Scripture that gives us 471 00:20:58,390 --> 00:21:00,070 the definition of faith. 472 00:21:00,630 --> 00:21:02,030 I want you to see that with me. 473 00:21:02,030 --> 00:21:04,320 Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1. 474 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,920 And anytime you want to do a deep dive in the matter of faith, 475 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,920 in the topic of faith, I would encourage you to go many places. 476 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:16,760 But one of the places that I would have you start would be Hebrews 477 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:17,320 chapter 11. 478 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:20,640 Because Hebrews chapter 11 gives us the definition of faith, 479 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:24,080 it gives us examples of faith, and it also gives us the reason why 480 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:28,240 faith is so vital for us when it comes to our Christian walk. 481 00:21:28,970 --> 00:21:34,490 Hebrews 11:1 says now faith is the substance of things hoped for, 482 00:21:34,490 --> 00:21:36,090 the evidence of things not seen. 483 00:21:36,970 --> 00:21:37,850 Essentially this. 484 00:21:37,930 --> 00:21:42,290 It's the assurance of things that we are hoping in even if we 485 00:21:42,290 --> 00:21:42,810 don't see it. 486 00:21:42,810 --> 00:21:46,450 It's having conviction, it's having hope in God, even if we don't 487 00:21:46,450 --> 00:21:48,170 see it in front of us, coming to pass. 488 00:21:48,730 --> 00:21:51,650 Now, for some of us, we're in that moment of the trial of faith 489 00:21:51,650 --> 00:21:52,170 right now. 490 00:21:52,650 --> 00:21:54,450 Is God really going to keep his word? 491 00:21:54,450 --> 00:21:55,810 Is God really going to love me? 492 00:21:55,810 --> 00:21:59,050 Is God really going to perform this as he said he's going to perform 493 00:21:59,050 --> 00:21:59,450 this? 494 00:22:00,570 --> 00:22:03,050 And the Bible says that we will be tested. 495 00:22:03,930 --> 00:22:09,330 Now, Abraham trusted in God and God kept his word in giving him 496 00:22:09,330 --> 00:22:09,850 a son. 497 00:22:09,930 --> 00:22:11,250 We know that story, right? 498 00:22:11,250 --> 00:22:12,810 He was given a son. 499 00:22:12,889 --> 00:22:17,130 But some of you also know that that's not where it stopped. 500 00:22:17,690 --> 00:22:20,290 As, as Isaac got older, what happened? 501 00:22:20,290 --> 00:22:22,410 There was another test of faith. 502 00:22:23,380 --> 00:22:25,460 And sometimes that's how it happens within our own life. 503 00:22:25,540 --> 00:22:28,260 Sometimes we're sitting here and we're, we're trusting in God, 504 00:22:28,260 --> 00:22:31,260 we're believing in God, and God gives us the answer that we were 505 00:22:31,260 --> 00:22:33,300 expecting or maybe the answer that we weren't expecting. 506 00:22:33,460 --> 00:22:35,940 But we still trust in him and we believe in him. 507 00:22:35,940 --> 00:22:37,620 And we're all excited about that. 508 00:22:37,620 --> 00:22:38,540 And we think that's it. 509 00:22:38,540 --> 00:22:39,460 We think that's done. 510 00:22:39,460 --> 00:22:39,940 I've. 511 00:22:39,940 --> 00:22:42,660 I've trusted in God, in faith, and it's all over now. 512 00:22:43,140 --> 00:22:47,580 But folks, we know that the test of faith come not just one time, 513 00:22:47,580 --> 00:22:48,980 but many times throughout our life. 514 00:22:49,500 --> 00:22:52,140 And we see here, Abraham, remember, has promised the Son. 515 00:22:52,140 --> 00:22:53,700 You're going to be a father of many nations. 516 00:22:53,700 --> 00:22:55,500 You're going to be a blessing to the whole world. 517 00:22:55,660 --> 00:22:57,260 Now, Abraham, what do I want you to do? 518 00:22:57,260 --> 00:22:59,020 I want you to sacrifice your son for me. 519 00:23:00,940 --> 00:23:02,020 I don't know about you guys. 520 00:23:02,020 --> 00:23:04,780 That's one of the hardest passages in scripture for me to understand. 521 00:23:05,900 --> 00:23:07,180 How could Abraham believe? 522 00:23:08,300 --> 00:23:10,380 Because God just said, abraham, I'm going to give you a 523 00:23:10,380 --> 00:23:10,660 son. 524 00:23:10,660 --> 00:23:12,380 Abraham, this is the son of promise. 525 00:23:12,380 --> 00:23:13,740 This is the Son of faith. 526 00:23:13,740 --> 00:23:15,380 This is the Son of blessing. 527 00:23:15,380 --> 00:23:18,060 And now, Abraham, I want you to just go ahead and take care of 528 00:23:18,060 --> 00:23:19,570 that if you really love me. 529 00:23:20,610 --> 00:23:23,650 Well, from Abraham's perspective, I don't know about you, 530 00:23:23,650 --> 00:23:26,050 but from Abraham's perspective, I would say, lord, that 531 00:23:26,050 --> 00:23:27,170 doesn't make sense. 532 00:23:27,410 --> 00:23:28,930 You're contradicting yourself. 533 00:23:29,570 --> 00:23:31,810 You told me to now have the Son and believe in you. 534 00:23:31,810 --> 00:23:34,930 You gave me the Son, I gave you glory, I worshiped you. 535 00:23:35,010 --> 00:23:36,650 I gave the testimony of you. 536 00:23:36,650 --> 00:23:39,650 And now you want to take him away and not keep your word. 537 00:23:40,770 --> 00:23:43,090 But I want you to see the type of faith Abraham had. 538 00:23:43,090 --> 00:23:46,770 Go with me to Hebrews chapter 11 and go further to verse number 539 00:23:46,770 --> 00:23:47,130 19. 540 00:23:48,090 --> 00:23:51,530 Because we know that Abraham was justified by his faith in God. 541 00:23:52,090 --> 00:23:55,130 But he continued to demonstrate his faith in God through 542 00:23:55,130 --> 00:23:56,970 circumstances that didn't make sense. 543 00:23:57,930 --> 00:24:02,610 And see in verse number 19 what Abraham's faith really look 544 00:24:02,610 --> 00:24:02,810 like. 545 00:24:02,810 --> 00:24:04,730 What does this unfeigned faith look like? 546 00:24:04,730 --> 00:24:06,810 What does this strong faith look like? 547 00:24:06,810 --> 00:24:08,890 What does this committed faith look like? 548 00:24:08,890 --> 00:24:11,620 Well, it says here in verse number 19. 549 00:24:13,620 --> 00:24:15,380 Well, actually, let's go back to verse number 17. 550 00:24:15,940 --> 00:24:18,060 Let's go back to verse number 17, because I think verse number 551 00:24:18,060 --> 00:24:19,460 17 will give us the best context. 552 00:24:19,460 --> 00:24:23,380 It says by faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac. 553 00:24:26,819 --> 00:24:31,300 And he had that had received the promises, offered up his only 554 00:24:31,540 --> 00:24:37,820 begotten Son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed 555 00:24:37,820 --> 00:24:38,260 be called. 556 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,280 So essentially, God is asking Abraham to do something that does 557 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:43,080 not make sense. 558 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:45,800 Abraham, I'm going to promise you a wonderful seed. 559 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,040 I'm going to promise you a wonderful blessing. 560 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,880 But now the Son that was the fulfillment of all of that. 561 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:56,560 Now I'm asking you to give up verse 19, though it says accounting 562 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:57,080 that God. 563 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,520 And this is, this is so important because we get into the 564 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,600 mind of Abraham and we get into the heart of what type of faith 565 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:03,080 he had. 566 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,680 He says, accounting that God was able to raise him up. 567 00:25:08,420 --> 00:25:09,540 The idea here is this. 568 00:25:09,860 --> 00:25:13,580 Abraham's like, I believe God's promise so much that Isaac 569 00:25:13,580 --> 00:25:14,540 is the child of promise. 570 00:25:14,540 --> 00:25:18,900 That even if I offer my son as a sacrifice and even if God allows 571 00:25:18,900 --> 00:25:23,380 me to go through it, and even if God lets me sacrifice my only 572 00:25:23,380 --> 00:25:25,620 son, I know that God's going to bring him back to life because 573 00:25:25,620 --> 00:25:26,980 God is going to keep his word. 574 00:25:27,860 --> 00:25:31,140 Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, 575 00:25:31,220 --> 00:25:34,100 from whence also he received him in a figure. 576 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,160 So the Beauty of all this is that Abraham said, you know what, 577 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:42,600 God doesn't make sense to me, but I believe that you're going to 578 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:43,120 keep your word. 579 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:44,200 So I'm going to go through with this. 580 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,520 Now most of you know the story that right as Abraham was about to 581 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:49,720 move forward with this, God intervened. 582 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:51,800 And that was a test of faith for Abraham. 583 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:53,800 And God then provided the sacrifice. 584 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:57,160 And it's a beautiful picture of what God does for us in salvation 585 00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:58,960 by sending his only begotten Son for us. 586 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:01,720 And we know that God the Father did go through with sacrificing 587 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,280 his only begotten Son for us so that we might have life. 588 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,240 But I go back to explain that because I want you to see that when 589 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:12,440 we say, oh, I'm a person of faith, I, I believe God is going 590 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:13,160 to keep his word. 591 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:15,960 How committed really are we when it comes to the test? 592 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:20,840 Because tests will come if you claim to have faith, tests will come. 593 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:26,760 And so true faith is revealed by when we exercise trust in God. 594 00:26:27,650 --> 00:26:30,530 Now some people say, are you preaching a works based salvation? 595 00:26:30,530 --> 00:26:34,130 No, but what I am preaching is that salvation is through faith. 596 00:26:34,130 --> 00:26:37,730 And true faith, when tested, will stand strong. 597 00:26:38,370 --> 00:26:40,370 Not completely perfectly in every way. 598 00:26:40,370 --> 00:26:41,890 But what I will say is this. 599 00:26:42,050 --> 00:26:48,410 If we say that we have faith, are we willing to live that out in 600 00:26:48,410 --> 00:26:49,250 our daily walk? 601 00:26:50,370 --> 00:26:51,970 Abraham was persuaded. 602 00:26:51,970 --> 00:26:53,250 Go back to Romans chapter four. 603 00:26:53,250 --> 00:26:56,480 We're going to hit a few more points here and then we'll finish 604 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:57,080 the chapter. 605 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,720 Abraham was persuaded, verse number 21. 606 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:10,600 And being fully persuaded what he had promised, what God had promised. 607 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:17,080 Are you fully persuaded in what God has promised you in salvation? 608 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,920 Are you fully persuaded in what God has promised you in his 609 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:20,280 word? 610 00:27:21,750 --> 00:27:24,150 If you're not, what's the remedy to that? 611 00:27:24,950 --> 00:27:28,590 Well, the Bible says in other places, humble yourselves therefore 612 00:27:28,590 --> 00:27:31,590 under the mighty hand of God, that he might exalt you in due time. 613 00:27:33,110 --> 00:27:36,470 So if I'm not sitting here today saying this, hey guys, if you 614 00:27:36,470 --> 00:27:37,910 don't have faith, have more faith. 615 00:27:38,790 --> 00:27:40,350 Some of you are like, well what does that mean? 616 00:27:40,350 --> 00:27:41,590 I gotta just try harder. 617 00:27:41,590 --> 00:27:43,830 Wasn't that against everything that we've been talking about in 618 00:27:43,830 --> 00:27:44,230 Romans? 619 00:27:44,230 --> 00:27:44,630 Yes. 620 00:27:44,950 --> 00:27:47,470 It's not about just trying harder and pulling yourself up by 621 00:27:47,470 --> 00:27:49,190 your own bootstraps and having more faith. 622 00:27:49,580 --> 00:27:52,220 So what does the book of James say to do? 623 00:27:52,300 --> 00:27:54,700 Draw not a God and he will draw not to you. 624 00:27:55,260 --> 00:27:57,100 What does the book of first Peter say? 625 00:27:57,260 --> 00:28:01,100 Cast your care upon God, cast your anxieties upon him. 626 00:28:01,900 --> 00:28:06,540 So the way that we can grow in our faith is by knowing God, more 627 00:28:06,780 --> 00:28:09,460 loving God, more trusting in his goodness. 628 00:28:09,460 --> 00:28:13,180 As we experience that through a personal relationship with him, 629 00:28:13,260 --> 00:28:16,740 you want to grow in faith, get to know him more, spend more time 630 00:28:16,740 --> 00:28:21,700 with him, understand his love, understand his salvation extended 631 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:22,300 to you. 632 00:28:22,460 --> 00:28:22,860 Why? 633 00:28:22,860 --> 00:28:27,180 Because we go back and we see that as Abraham was fully persuaded 634 00:28:27,900 --> 00:28:29,420 in what God had promised. 635 00:28:30,140 --> 00:28:31,579 And, and so the idea is this. 636 00:28:31,579 --> 00:28:34,940 Abraham again, he didn't consider his own body, he didn't 637 00:28:34,940 --> 00:28:37,820 consider his own way, he didn't consider his prideful state. 638 00:28:37,980 --> 00:28:41,220 Abraham in faith did not look at circumstances, but he looked at 639 00:28:41,220 --> 00:28:42,380 the promise of God. 640 00:28:43,010 --> 00:28:45,810 And so Abraham was persuaded because of God's faithfulness. 641 00:28:45,810 --> 00:28:49,490 And because of God's faithfulness, he believed that God 642 00:28:49,490 --> 00:28:55,490 would perform it again, verse 21, that God was able also to perform. 643 00:28:56,850 --> 00:29:00,530 This kind of faith sees the work of God already done. 644 00:29:01,810 --> 00:29:04,290 And by the way, the work of God is already done when it comes 645 00:29:04,290 --> 00:29:05,170 to our salvation. 646 00:29:05,890 --> 00:29:09,170 Some of you know, as Jesus was hanging on the cross, he didn't say, 647 00:29:09,170 --> 00:29:11,330 okay, I'm going to die for you, but then all of you guys have 648 00:29:11,330 --> 00:29:12,410 to keep doing more things. 649 00:29:12,570 --> 00:29:17,450 No, he said this phrase, it is finished, the telestai, the payment 650 00:29:17,450 --> 00:29:18,330 has been paid. 651 00:29:19,050 --> 00:29:22,370 And so for us to rely on anything else outside of grace is 652 00:29:22,370 --> 00:29:26,170 a selfish endeavor because we're essentially adding on to what 653 00:29:26,170 --> 00:29:27,450 God has already done. 654 00:29:28,570 --> 00:29:32,450 So if we want to have grace, and by the way, it's not just about 655 00:29:32,450 --> 00:29:34,090 a want, we all need grace. 656 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:38,560 If we understand our desperate need of grace, specifically from 657 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:44,000 God in every element of our life, we are able to selflessly die 658 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:48,480 to our flesh and live more in a reliance to God in faith. 659 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:52,000 And so what happens here is this. 660 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:57,360 When we trust in God in the right type of faith, in authentic 661 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:01,690 faith, it sees the work of God done in the immediate right. 662 00:30:01,690 --> 00:30:04,410 For, for, for Abraham, it was Isaac being born. 663 00:30:05,850 --> 00:30:10,010 It was, it was God keeping his word for Isaac to continue to live 664 00:30:10,010 --> 00:30:12,730 on, to be the passing on of the seed. 665 00:30:13,370 --> 00:30:17,050 But then also it's entrusting in the eternal sense. 666 00:30:17,850 --> 00:30:20,810 So, so faith in God is not just I'm trusting in God to send 667 00:30:20,810 --> 00:30:23,890 me to heaven, it's trusting in God to send me to heaven. 668 00:30:23,890 --> 00:30:26,530 And it's also trusting God to deal with the things in my immediate 669 00:30:26,530 --> 00:30:27,290 sense right now. 670 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:30,280 So I want you to think about that here this morning. 671 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:34,600 True faith sees the work of God done in the immediate here and 672 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:38,040 now, and also in the eternal elements of our future. 673 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:43,200 So God promised Abraham what, that he would have a son? 674 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:46,120 God promised Abraham that he would have righteousness, salvation. 675 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:47,000 What was that? 676 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:48,520 That's, that's eternality. 677 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:53,000 We know that that was found in Genesis, chapter 15, verse 6, that 678 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,880 Abraham believed and God accounted it to him for righteousness. 679 00:30:57,030 --> 00:31:05,670 And so verses 20 and 21 speak of this idea of true faith, authentic 680 00:31:05,750 --> 00:31:10,230 faith, verse 22, the result of authentic faith. 681 00:31:10,790 --> 00:31:13,910 And therefore, anytime you see the word therefore in scripture, 682 00:31:14,390 --> 00:31:16,870 you need to go back and see what it's there for, right? 683 00:31:16,870 --> 00:31:17,910 What is it referencing? 684 00:31:17,910 --> 00:31:19,110 It's referencing something else. 685 00:31:19,110 --> 00:31:22,060 Well, in this sense, it's referencing authentic fate. 686 00:31:22,610 --> 00:31:25,850 It's referencing that true belief that God is going to keep 687 00:31:25,850 --> 00:31:26,370 his word. 688 00:31:27,410 --> 00:31:28,370 Says in verse 22. 689 00:31:28,370 --> 00:31:30,850 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 690 00:31:31,410 --> 00:31:34,410 Because of Abraham's faith, God imputed righteousness to him. 691 00:31:34,410 --> 00:31:36,050 God imputed salvation to him. 692 00:31:37,730 --> 00:31:40,770 And if we want that same experience, if we want righteousness 693 00:31:40,770 --> 00:31:44,810 imputed to us, if we want God's promises to be upon us, if 694 00:31:44,810 --> 00:31:48,690 we want God's blessings to be upon us, if we want God's provisions 695 00:31:48,690 --> 00:31:52,130 to be upon us, if we want God's power to be on us, what do 696 00:31:52,130 --> 00:31:52,450 we do? 697 00:31:52,450 --> 00:31:55,130 We do the same thing Abraham did. 698 00:31:56,170 --> 00:31:59,850 We trust in him, being fully persuaded that God will keep his 699 00:31:59,850 --> 00:32:00,250 word. 700 00:32:01,770 --> 00:32:03,970 So what are we trusting in when we trust in God? 701 00:32:03,970 --> 00:32:04,250 Some. 702 00:32:04,250 --> 00:32:05,769 Some people say, well, I trust in God. 703 00:32:05,769 --> 00:32:06,890 I believe that he exists. 704 00:32:08,010 --> 00:32:11,490 Well, that's not what the object of faith really is. 705 00:32:11,490 --> 00:32:12,010 Okay? 706 00:32:12,410 --> 00:32:14,810 The Bible says that the demons believe and tremble. 707 00:32:14,810 --> 00:32:15,850 They believe that God exists. 708 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:16,320 Exist. 709 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:20,400 It wasn't a hard thing for the Pharisees to believe that Jesus existed. 710 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:21,480 Why do I know that? 711 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:23,720 Because they literally looked at Jesus and they saw him. 712 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,480 It's not a matter of Jesus's existence. 713 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:30,320 It's a matter of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. 714 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,920 So it's not just a matter of believing that God exists. 715 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,480 That's enough for me to understand righteousness and salvation. 716 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:38,480 It's not just a matter of going to church. 717 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:42,350 What we see here really is that Paul says, okay, you want this 718 00:32:42,350 --> 00:32:46,390 type of faith, you want this type of grace, this is what the object 719 00:32:46,390 --> 00:32:47,150 of faith is. 720 00:32:47,150 --> 00:32:52,670 And so verses 23 through 25, as he ends the chapter, he describes 721 00:32:52,750 --> 00:32:55,910 what we are trusting in truthfully and completely. 722 00:32:55,910 --> 00:32:56,990 What are we trusting in? 723 00:32:57,390 --> 00:33:01,070 It says now, it was not written for his sake alone. 724 00:33:01,150 --> 00:33:04,070 Meaning these things in scripture are not written just for 725 00:33:04,070 --> 00:33:04,430 Abraham. 726 00:33:04,430 --> 00:33:08,590 We know that, but it says it's more than that. 727 00:33:10,010 --> 00:33:13,170 They were not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to 728 00:33:13,170 --> 00:33:20,010 him only, or him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed. 729 00:33:20,090 --> 00:33:24,610 If we believe on him that raised up Jesus, our Lord, from the 730 00:33:24,610 --> 00:33:24,969 dead. 731 00:33:25,930 --> 00:33:27,370 So what he's about to say is this. 732 00:33:28,490 --> 00:33:31,570 You need to believe this if you want the same blessings as Abraham. 733 00:33:31,570 --> 00:33:35,370 You, you, you have to believe this if you want that imputed righteousness. 734 00:33:35,370 --> 00:33:38,000 You, you have to believe this if you want salvation. 735 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:42,320 He says this, we believe on him. 736 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:46,960 God the Father that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who 737 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:51,520 was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. 738 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:55,760 If you guys didn't catch that, that's a great outline for the gospel, 739 00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:56,720 right? 740 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:01,440 It says right there, we believe on him that raised up Jesus 741 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:04,320 our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses. 742 00:34:05,020 --> 00:34:06,300 Jesus paid our price. 743 00:34:06,460 --> 00:34:10,860 He died on the cross for our sins and was raised again for our 744 00:34:11,020 --> 00:34:12,940 salvation, our justification. 745 00:34:14,220 --> 00:34:15,020 So it's this. 746 00:34:15,820 --> 00:34:17,740 Try to summarize it the best way that I can. 747 00:34:18,540 --> 00:34:27,820 It's knowing and believing the gospel so that we can receive, experience 748 00:34:28,700 --> 00:34:34,390 and live in the grace of God because we need God's grace for salvation. 749 00:34:34,710 --> 00:34:37,150 But we don't receive God's grace unless we come to the gospel 750 00:34:37,150 --> 00:34:40,310 of Jesus Christ and believe and trust in that for our complete 751 00:34:40,310 --> 00:34:40,870 salvation. 752 00:34:41,670 --> 00:34:43,670 So here this morning, the challenge is this. 753 00:34:44,950 --> 00:34:50,390 Number one, what am I trusting in for my hope, but not just for 754 00:34:50,550 --> 00:34:54,390 my hope of eternality, but my hope for today? 755 00:34:55,839 --> 00:34:58,719 One of the struggles that many of us face, one of the struggles 756 00:34:58,719 --> 00:35:00,959 that I face, transparently speaking, is this. 757 00:35:01,199 --> 00:35:03,279 I trust in God for my salvation. 758 00:35:03,839 --> 00:35:07,159 I trust that God is going to keep his word by sending me to a 759 00:35:07,159 --> 00:35:08,239 place with him one day. 760 00:35:08,559 --> 00:35:11,199 But I struggle with my day to day. 761 00:35:11,279 --> 00:35:14,399 I struggle with this next conflict that's going to come up. 762 00:35:14,399 --> 00:35:17,279 I struggle if God is going to really preserve me through this next 763 00:35:17,279 --> 00:35:21,039 trial, if someone has a bad word to say against me, how I'm going 764 00:35:21,039 --> 00:35:21,599 to deal with that? 765 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:23,320 How am I going to have conflict resolution? 766 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:24,680 How am I going to have restoration? 767 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:25,960 How am I going to forgive? 768 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:30,400 Because by the way, if we understand the grace of God in our 769 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,680 lives, the Bible says that if we understand it and live in it, 770 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:37,000 we will also be able to share that grace with other people. 771 00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:39,960 That means I give people grace. 772 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:43,240 If I understand the forgiveness of God. 773 00:35:43,240 --> 00:35:47,600 Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 32, then I'm able to extend that 774 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:48,760 forgiveness to other people. 775 00:35:49,770 --> 00:35:52,850 I'm able to give the love of God to other people when I'm resting 776 00:35:52,850 --> 00:35:53,610 in the love of God. 777 00:35:53,610 --> 00:35:57,850 So folks, if we are characterized by people that have 778 00:35:57,850 --> 00:36:03,450 received grace from God, we should also be characterized as people 779 00:36:03,770 --> 00:36:06,970 who give grace to those around us. 780 00:36:08,090 --> 00:36:09,930 And what does grace look like around us? 781 00:36:10,330 --> 00:36:14,170 Giving things to people that they don't necessarily deserve? 782 00:36:15,460 --> 00:36:16,740 Well, they don't deserve my love. 783 00:36:16,740 --> 00:36:18,100 They don't deserve my patience. 784 00:36:18,180 --> 00:36:19,780 They don't deserve my forgiveness. 785 00:36:19,780 --> 00:36:22,660 They don't deserve my care and my compassion. 786 00:36:22,660 --> 00:36:26,380 Well, folks, neither did we when we sinned against our Heavenly 787 00:36:26,380 --> 00:36:26,740 Father. 788 00:36:27,620 --> 00:36:30,900 But yet, because of his love for us, he extends grace. 789 00:36:30,900 --> 00:36:34,580 And because God calls us to love others, we are to extend grace 790 00:36:34,580 --> 00:36:35,420 to those around us. 791 00:36:35,420 --> 00:36:39,300 And so, instead of being right at the ready to get on somebody if 792 00:36:39,300 --> 00:36:42,370 they come against us, are we willing to give them grace? 793 00:36:43,810 --> 00:36:48,490 Are we willing to extend a word of hope to somebody who has 794 00:36:48,490 --> 00:36:48,930 no hope? 795 00:36:49,010 --> 00:36:51,650 Do you ever know that sometimes people lash out at you 796 00:36:51,650 --> 00:36:53,810 because they have lost hope in their own life? 797 00:36:55,090 --> 00:36:58,210 And what we know is that hurt people hurt people. 798 00:36:58,930 --> 00:37:00,210 You know what I mean by that? 799 00:37:00,370 --> 00:37:03,690 Someone who has been hurt often reflects that hurt by hurting 800 00:37:03,690 --> 00:37:05,730 others around them, because that's all they know. 801 00:37:06,810 --> 00:37:08,010 And what I would say is this. 802 00:37:08,010 --> 00:37:11,130 And I told this to our VBS team for the week. 803 00:37:11,690 --> 00:37:14,330 But I really believe this in my life, and I'm really trying to 804 00:37:14,330 --> 00:37:18,810 grow in this in my own walk, is that I want to see every encounter 805 00:37:19,050 --> 00:37:23,730 with another person as either an evangelistic encounter of leading 806 00:37:23,730 --> 00:37:28,250 that person to Christ who needs Jesus, or an edification or 807 00:37:28,250 --> 00:37:31,210 encouragement encounter to build another Christian up in Jesus 808 00:37:31,210 --> 00:37:31,530 Christ. 809 00:37:32,330 --> 00:37:35,050 If someone comes against me that's not a believer and they've 810 00:37:35,050 --> 00:37:37,050 wronged me, you know what the response should be? 811 00:37:37,050 --> 00:37:39,610 How can this person know the truth of Jesus Christ? 812 00:37:39,770 --> 00:37:42,730 How can I be an example to them so that they can come to Jesus 813 00:37:42,730 --> 00:37:45,410 and know him and know forgiveness instead of saying, how 814 00:37:45,410 --> 00:37:49,850 can I get back at that person if I'm having an issue with another 815 00:37:49,850 --> 00:37:51,370 fellow brother and sister in Christ? 816 00:37:51,450 --> 00:37:54,010 It's not a matter of me saying, how can I get back at that 817 00:37:54,010 --> 00:37:54,210 person? 818 00:37:54,210 --> 00:37:57,450 It's a matter of how can I build that person up and edify them 819 00:37:57,790 --> 00:37:58,910 in Jesus Christ? 820 00:37:59,710 --> 00:38:00,070 If. 821 00:38:00,070 --> 00:38:03,710 If we see every encounter as an evangelistic or an edification 822 00:38:03,710 --> 00:38:06,430 encounter, our lives will be completely different. 823 00:38:06,510 --> 00:38:08,590 Our lives will be characterized by grace. 824 00:38:08,590 --> 00:38:11,750 And that's exactly what Paul is saying here, is he says, you want 825 00:38:11,750 --> 00:38:12,430 that grace. 826 00:38:12,750 --> 00:38:14,190 You want to rest in grace. 827 00:38:14,190 --> 00:38:17,190 Because if we understand the patience of God towards us, we're 828 00:38:17,190 --> 00:38:19,230 able to have a lot more patience with people around us. 829 00:38:20,430 --> 00:38:23,950 And so, folks, we want to be characterized not by justice, but 830 00:38:23,950 --> 00:38:23,980 by. 831 00:38:24,690 --> 00:38:26,130 I mean, yes, God is just. 832 00:38:26,210 --> 00:38:28,650 But folks, let me just tell you here today, okay? 833 00:38:28,650 --> 00:38:29,370 And I'm gonna tell you this. 834 00:38:29,370 --> 00:38:31,410 In love, we don't want God's justice. 835 00:38:32,930 --> 00:38:35,370 Because if you want God's justice in your life, every one of 836 00:38:35,370 --> 00:38:36,850 Us deserve punishments. 837 00:38:38,210 --> 00:38:38,930 So we don't. 838 00:38:39,090 --> 00:38:39,410 We. 839 00:38:39,410 --> 00:38:41,970 We rest in God's justice because God is a good God. 840 00:38:42,770 --> 00:38:45,810 But at the end of the day, for us personally, we want God's grace. 841 00:38:46,530 --> 00:38:48,370 We are in desperate need of God's grace. 842 00:38:48,930 --> 00:38:51,690 I would venture to say that all of us need to pray for God's 843 00:38:51,690 --> 00:38:52,930 grace each and every day. 844 00:38:54,970 --> 00:38:57,890 And so what I would encourage you to do here as we close, is to 845 00:38:57,890 --> 00:39:01,210 think about those two words, faith and grace. 846 00:39:02,490 --> 00:39:06,250 Number one is the faith that I say I have in my life. 847 00:39:06,410 --> 00:39:09,450 The type of faith that's described in Romans chapter 4. 848 00:39:09,850 --> 00:39:12,970 Is it the type of faith that's described in Hebrews chapter 11? 849 00:39:13,930 --> 00:39:16,810 If not, it's time to wake up. 850 00:39:18,010 --> 00:39:20,570 It's time to say, you know what, Lord, I want that type of faith. 851 00:39:20,570 --> 00:39:21,730 Let me know you more. 852 00:39:21,730 --> 00:39:22,770 Let me trust in you more. 853 00:39:22,770 --> 00:39:24,010 Folks, you're not going to trust in someone. 854 00:39:24,010 --> 00:39:25,040 I talked about this last week. 855 00:39:25,110 --> 00:39:26,790 You're not going to trust on someone that you don't know. 856 00:39:27,510 --> 00:39:30,630 And so it's drawing nigh to God as He draws nigh to you. 857 00:39:30,630 --> 00:39:33,830 It's humbling yourself therefore unto God that He will exalt 858 00:39:33,830 --> 00:39:34,550 you in due time. 859 00:39:34,630 --> 00:39:38,350 It's casting your care upon him in the midst of anxiety so that 860 00:39:38,350 --> 00:39:39,350 he can care for you. 861 00:39:39,350 --> 00:39:42,790 Folks, there are burdens that we are holding in our life and in 862 00:39:42,790 --> 00:39:45,190 our hearts that we are not designed to hold. 863 00:39:45,270 --> 00:39:47,870 And God can hold those anxieties, and so we need to turn 864 00:39:47,870 --> 00:39:51,290 them over to him so that he can give us that freedom and, and 865 00:39:51,290 --> 00:39:55,250 that satisfaction and that sustaining power that we all desire 866 00:39:55,250 --> 00:39:55,850 in our life. 867 00:39:55,850 --> 00:39:59,810 And so we can experience the same type of grace through faith 868 00:39:59,970 --> 00:40:01,250 as Abraham did. 869 00:40:01,490 --> 00:40:03,010 And so what it is is this. 870 00:40:03,490 --> 00:40:06,450 It's trusting in the truth of Jesus. 871 00:40:06,450 --> 00:40:07,930 It's trusting in the Gospel. 872 00:40:07,930 --> 00:40:09,410 It all goes back to the Gospel. 873 00:40:10,050 --> 00:40:11,410 How can I love my neighbor? 874 00:40:11,410 --> 00:40:12,130 The Gospel. 875 00:40:13,330 --> 00:40:13,810 How can. 876 00:40:13,810 --> 00:40:17,170 How can I resolve this conflict amongst another brother 877 00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:18,280 or sister in Christ? 878 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:19,000 The Gospel. 879 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:22,280 How can I reach people that need Jesus? 880 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:23,000 The Gospel. 881 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:26,120 How can I find victory over this anxiety? 882 00:40:27,480 --> 00:40:30,720 And so it's faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ so we can 883 00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:34,840 rest in the grace of God in every walk that we find ourselves 884 00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:35,160 in. 885 00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:38,360 And so I encourage you to think about that here this morning. 886 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:39,680 Romans Chapter five. 887 00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:42,320 Next week we're going to come back and we're going to look more 888 00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:44,330 about the word justification. 889 00:40:44,330 --> 00:40:48,290 He ends the chapter in chapter four with justification. 890 00:40:49,490 --> 00:40:52,730 And now in Romans chapter five, he's going to do a deep dive 891 00:40:52,730 --> 00:40:54,450 into what that justification is. 892 00:40:54,450 --> 00:40:57,650 And folks, if you don't know that Word justification. 893 00:40:57,810 --> 00:41:00,690 I encourage you to come along with us in this, in this word study 894 00:41:00,690 --> 00:41:04,930 because there is so much richness in that word justification. 895 00:41:05,410 --> 00:41:09,400 There's so much that we can understand as believers that help 896 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:12,960 us in our walk, that help us in our struggles if we can go back 897 00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:16,920 to realize what it means to be justified by the blood of Jesus Christ. 898 00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:20,040 And so here this morning, I want you to be praying and thinking 899 00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:22,640 about that next step as we move forward in this study. 900 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:24,799 I'm going to ask if you're able to, to stand with me, every 901 00:41:24,799 --> 00:41:27,440 head bowed, every eye closed, as the music plays here this morning. 902 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:30,960 The challenge will be just this. 903 00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:34,720 Inspect your faith. 904 00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:38,080 What type of faith do you have? 905 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:41,680 And number two, what type of faith do you have? 906 00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:44,400 And who is that faith placed in? 907 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:47,320 Is that faith placed in my works? 908 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:49,040 My good, my effort? 909 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:53,320 If it is, it's time to adjust that object of faith to the only 910 00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:56,400 one who can hold on to us in the midst of our trials. 911 00:41:56,720 --> 00:41:59,960 But number two, if you have not trusted in Jesus Christ as your 912 00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:03,120 Savior, it's time to experience that grace. 913 00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:06,640 It's time to experience what it means to rest in the goodness 914 00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:08,320 and the gift of Jesus. 915 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,320 And so here this morning, if you need God's grace today for salvation, 916 00:42:12,320 --> 00:42:12,720 come forward. 917 00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:14,480 We'll show you in the word of God what that means. 918 00:42:14,560 --> 00:42:18,200 But for some of you as believers, folks, the grace doesn't 919 00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:19,360 end at salvation. 920 00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:23,280 The grace extends on the daily, daily process of life. 921 00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:27,710 And so some of you who are in need, desperate need of grace today 922 00:42:27,870 --> 00:42:31,310 for a situation, for a struggle, for a trial, for a doubt, 923 00:42:31,310 --> 00:42:34,870 for a fear, and hey, come forward and rest in the grace of 924 00:42:34,870 --> 00:42:36,190 God for your answers. 925 00:42:36,190 --> 00:42:39,350 Rest in the grace of God for your strength, rest in the grace 926 00:42:39,350 --> 00:42:42,190 of God for your hope and for your everlasting life. 927 00:42:42,190 --> 00:42:45,230 And so here this morning, if you need to rest in his grace, to 928 00:42:45,550 --> 00:42:49,790 pour out before him and say, lord, I need you today. 929 00:42:49,950 --> 00:42:54,920 I need you come forward and call out to him and he will answer 930 00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:55,560 that prayer. 931 00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:56,920 Draw nigh to God. 932 00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:58,200 He will draw nigh to you. 933 00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:01,200 Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, working 934 00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:01,800 hearts and lives. 935 00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:03,480 We thank you for all that you do for us. 936 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:05,240 We thank you for your grace. 937 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:06,800 Jesus name. 938 00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:07,200 Amen. 939 00:43:07,200 --> 00:43:08,639 As the music plays, some have already come. 940 00:43:08,639 --> 00:43:10,120 Follow as the Lord leads here this morning. 941 00:44:36,720 --> 00:44:37,200 Damn. 942 00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:50,480 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 943 00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:51,120 podcast. 944 00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:53,680 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 945 00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:55,640 You would like to find out more. 946 00:44:55,640 --> 00:44:58,826 Information about our church or this sermon, you can find us@middletown 947 00:44:59,054 --> 00:45:02,960 baptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 948 00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:08,640 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro@middletownbaptistchurch.com 949 00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:12,600 if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 950 00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:15,360 along for future podcasts and updates. 951 00:45:16,160 --> 00:45:17,040 Thank you so much. 952 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:18,000 God Bless. 953 00:45:18,240 --> 00:45:19,520 Have a wonderful day.