A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
First B Jackson
2020-02-16

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Okay,

my friends. I think we are on. You made it here. Congratulations. How about this?

Let's stand up. We'll sing together. Here's a Psalm. Psalm 29. The Lord reigns as king forever.

The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace. What do you say? We sing in faith.

Our God, a firm foundation, are I your own solid ground as nations rise and fall. Kingdoms want strong now shaking. We trust forever in your name. The name of Jesus. And we trust.

We trust the name of Jesus. And you are. You are the only king forever. Almighty God, we lift you higher. You are the only king forever, forevermore.

You are victorious. You are the only king forever. Almighty God, we lift you higher. You are the only king forever, forevermore. You are victorious.

Alright. Unmatched. We trust the name of Jesus. You are the only king forever. Almighty God, we lift you higher.

You are the only king forever, forevermore. You are victorious. You are the only king forever. Almighty God, we lift you higher. You are the only king forever, forevermore.

You are victorious.

Alright. Let's sing, We Lift Our Banner High. 're

gonna name of Jesus from midst to edge you reign. Your kingdom has no end. You are the only king forever. Almighty God, we lift you higher. You are the only king forever, forevermore.

You are victorious. You are the only king forever. Almighty God, we lift you higher. You are the only king forever, forevermore. You are victorious

Hey, welcomes. Nice to meet, nice to see you. This is a great surprise. We've got a few announcements. Home sweet home.

Monday nights at First

People. Yeah, we're on tomorrow and we're in Proverbs and we're on a topic tomorrow of wisdom and humility. The sorry, humility and pride. The wisdom of humility, the foolishness of pride, what scripture says about it but know that you're invited. There's meal, music, and message starting at six.

You said meal or meal?

Well, it would, meal's alright too.

Jeremiah part one, Thursday mornings is our precept study. Jane Cranenberg is leading, facilitating that study. That's happening Thursday mornings at 09:00 sharp. Women read Bible and pray in Teton Valley, Idaho. This is a study for Christian women to read together 08:30 to ten, read and pray and that's at the Connell's house.

When I use this mic, sure. Thank you, Blake. There's a few other things. Oh, there is a baptism today. We're going wait till the end of the service but I'm warning you now.

There's a baptism today. There is water. What hinders you from being baptized? If you're a believer in Jesus and you haven't yet, I don't care whether you brought clothes or not. It's not that cold, right?

The water is warm. It's here. So, there is a baptism but it'll be at the end of the service. The baby bottle campaign for Turning Point is happening. We have the baby bottles here.

They're in the back. If you would like to be a part of that and gather your loose change and bills and checks and put em in those bottles and help out with Turning Point. That campaign is starting up today. They're trying to keep a tighter rain on it this year and keep it into a certain time frame. So, let's get em early and start filling em.

Community groups, Imma invite James Landis up to talk about community groups while I go get some batteries.

My boys want to come up too. Just don't touch it. Good morning. How's everyone doing? Good.

Wanted to announce community groups are starting this week. If you guys look in your bulletins, there should be a little cutout here that you can put fill out and then put into the offering plate when it comes by today. If you guys are interested, so it's going to be structured. It's going to be at someone's house. You're going have food in the beginning.

You're to have a little Bible discussion afterwards. Just really about building relationships with our church body and so that's what we're really hoping for. We're gonna see how these go. We'd love to get one over in Driggs. We'd love to get one Victor maybe more here.

And so we're gonna see how these go and then build from that. So if you guys have any questions, there's one on Tuesday starting at six, and then there's one at on Thursday starting at 05:30. But yeah.

Thank you very much. There's a Tuesday and a Wednesday and a Thursday option this go round. But we're trying to establish this and get get it going and growing. So, community groups, thank you, James. Nursery volunteers are needed.

This is a great service. It is an absolutely great service that you can offer and the volunteers needed. So, you can sign up today. It's possible. We we are, we will let you if you want to, okay?

And if you sign up today, you'll help Katie Davis to spread the load so that the ones who are currently serving don't get to keep hogging that blessing. Alright, if you look at it this way. So, if you use the service, we understand. You're around kids all the time and you're just like, oh, it's one hour a week. When I don't have to but it's one hour occasionally if a lot of people do it.

So, please, please, please, if you would, please sign up today and help out with the nursery volunteers. Do you have another slide for that, Blake? He had a picture of a sad child throwing a penny into a wishing well this morning. So, we have a lot of happy children. It's a great thing to have life in the church and young lives in the church is really really good.

It's a healthy and vibrant, thriving situation down there. So, if you want to help out, if you feel like gifted in that way or if you feel like, you know what, I might not be but I might be. Let's try it. Let's try it, okay? Sign up today.

There's discovery class today for those who are interested in membership or learning more about the beliefs, vision, ministry of First B. It's held regularly. I say regularly kind of loosely but it's held regularly on the third Sunday of the month. Gary Geek will be leading that today. Gary, would you stand up?

He is not scary. He is Gary and he's a good guy. If you would go in between services into my office, there's a table there. He's got a few membership information packets and you can kind of ask questions, find out more about the church, and we can hopefully find out a little more about you. That's a discovery class.

This is coming up. So, the World Day of Prayer. Every year, there's a World Day of Prayer and different it's the Women's World Day of Prayers what it has been called previously and it comes from a different group of women in a different part of the world. We did this a few years back and it was ladies from one country and this year, it's going to be ladies from Zimbabwe that have prepared this. Tanya is kind of heading up the a committee to a committee of one to help get this thing going at first be.

So, we are hosting this time, March 6, 03/06/2020, twelve to one. There's a lunch in there and she may be hitting you up to help out with that. Did you have anything else you want to say, Ty? Okay. We we have put the word out to other churches.

It is something where all of us will gather together. All the ladies will gather go from different churches and then go through this kind of a Bible study that the ladies of Zimbabwe have prepared for this year. So, it's going to be at first be twelve to one, 03/06/2020. Is there another announcement? I think that there is.

Would you come on up, Clay Erwin?

Good morning. Ray stole my thunder. Wanted to talk about the the nursery. There's a sign up sheet in the back and if you ran back there right now, you would not be the first one on the list. I am and I'm not going to ask you to do anything that I would do.

So, that's why I'm up here. I'm volunteering. I want you to know that and if I can do it, anybody can do it. So, if you have a moment, one Sunday, every other Sunday, once a month, twice a year, once a year, everything helps. Katie is a beautiful young mom and we want to keep her that way.

We don't we don't want to we we don't want her to start aging too quickly. So, sign up and I'll meet you downstairs to to help out with the with the

little ones but thank you. Alright. Thank you, Clay.

Appreciate

that. He just told me he want to he told me he wanted fifteen seconds. He didn't say what it was about. So, if y'all let me know that, that's how easy it is to get this microphone but no, Clay is actually the moderator of the church right now too and so when we meet in board of trustees meetings, we meet in elders meetings, we discuss things that are very important. We do want to make that an easier job for the nursery coordinator.

Please do sign up today and help out with that. I think that's it. Not right now. I think we're going do it at the end of the service. You could've worn shorts too this morning.

Would you all stand up? We're going to sing something. Y'all greet each other and we'll start singing something.

Oh, Lord, my God. When I, in awesome wonder, consider all the world's thy hand in the name. And I see the stars. I hear them rolling thunder that'll bow throughout the universe displayed. You know the chorus.

And sings my soul, my savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. And when through the woods and forest blades I wonder and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees. When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur and see the brook and feel the gentle breeze. Ellen sings my soul, my savior got to thee.

How great thou art, how great thou art. Ellen sings my soul, my savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. And when I think that God is some not sparing, sending him to die. Ice scarce can take it in.

And on that cross, my burden gladly bearing, great thou art, how great thou art, and sings my soul, my savior God to be. How great thou art,

God, as we have breath in our lungs, let us let us use it to to praise you, to glorify you. There are so many things to praise you for. Thank you for your goodness. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you God for creation.

Just looking around and and being able to to live where where we do, to be able to see, to be able to breathe, to be able to sing to you. It's a gift. Amen. I

know when I've why God's wondrous grace to me I've made known nor I unworthy. Christ in love redeemed me for his own. But I But I know I have believed it and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that I've committed unto him against that day. I know not when the Lord may come at night day

God, as we're singing that song, I think, thank you

for faith. Thank you for

imparting faith. I don't know how this all works. I don't always know how the spirit moves. How how faith works but lord, you impart as we walk toward you. You work walk toward us.

You impart faith and then we act on that faith. May it be so. May it be so. Amen.

When darkness tries to roll over my bones, when sorrow comes to steal the joy I own. Brokenness and pain is all I know. Oh, I won't be shaken. I won't be shaken. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your chance when I stand in your love.

And there's power. There's power that can break off every chain.

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I'm going invite the frontline team to come forward. God, I thank you for all of those who are here gathered in your name this morning. Lord, I pray that you would use your committed servants to do your will in this valley and in this world.

Lord, we have folks here from all over the place. Some of em from right here in town and others that are extending all the way to the other side of the globe. Lord, I thank you for the way that you are at work. You don't slumber nor sleep. You don't get tired.

You don't get weary. You're there when we call out. And you say that you will save. And we believe you. You say that you will sanctify if we will trust you.

Lord, help us with our unbelief. Help us to commit, lord, to commit our lives to your service, to purity, to holiness, to humility, and not pride. May we recognize your way, lord, and walk in it. This morning, as we come to this time of offering, lord, I pray that we would consider every gift that you've given, every good and perfect gift and that we'd put a portion back in the plates of the financial stuff but that we'd put our all, our all in metaphorically, lord. It would put every bit of everything that you have given us in to the advance of your kingdom.

Lord, would you do what you can do through us? Would you amaze us by what you can do through us? I pray lord that you'd surprise us this morning by how faithful you are. I pray that you'd surprise us lord by how you can and you do open the eyes of the blind. I pray that the scales would fall away.

In Jesus name, lord, would you do what only you can do? We'll leave the redemptive work up to you. Amen

It's the hardest thing to give away. Last thing in my day, it always goes to those who don't deserve. It's the opposite of how you feel when the pain they cause just too real. Takes everything you have to say in the word. Forgiveness.

Forgiveness. It flies in the face of all your pride, moves away the mountainside. It's always anger's own worst enemy. And even when the jury and the judge say you got a right to hold a grudge, it's whisper in your ear saying set it free. Forgive me.

I'm forgetting Help me now to do the impossible forgiveness. Forgiveness. So let him go and be amazed by what you see through eyes of grace. The prisoner that really freezes you. Forgive forgiveness, and show me how to love the unlovable.

Show me how to reach the unreachable. Help me now to do the impossible

It's time now for children's church and there's a middle school, high school girls study. No boys study today. Good morning. It feels weird when I'm ever away for a little while. It feels weird to get back up here.

And the last time that I preached, the right now, this is what we're going to cover today. Hebrews twelve fourteen through 28. If you've been here, not last week but the week before and building up, we've already covered 14 through 17. Actually, a couple of times but I'm going to hit it again because it leads into the message today. Hebrews twelve fourteen through 28 is what we're going to cover but last week, we hit this and pursue peace with all men and sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.

That is pursue peace and pursue sanctification. Go for it. Go after it. Go after peace. Be making the effort towards peace.

Be making the effort towards sanctification because it does require that you submit your will to God for him to sanctify. He promises he will do it but you have to submit your will to his will. You can resist. Don't. That's what the Hebrews author is saying.

Pursue peace with all men, sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it. It's a see to it. This is a command. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God.

It has to be about God's grace. It can't be about your works. It is about God's grace. See to it that no one misunderstand that. You cannot earn God's favor.

God loves you. He loves you and he stands ready to forgive. Instead of just you walking towards him and he's walking towards you, he is already leaning towards you. That's what grace means. A leaning towards with unmerited favor.

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God. See to it that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble and by many be defiled and when I hit that three weeks ago, it prompted a topical sermon on forgiveness and I covered this. I and I told a lot of you, this is what I usually go through in premarital counseling or in post wedding counseling. When the staying in the weed becomes difficult. So, God's love and truth flowing into individuals and then he has given us the glorious opportunity because it's not good for man or woman to be alone.

He's given us the opportunity to relate to others. Not always just in marriage but to relate to everyone around us and staying in the we is where God does some of his most profound and productive work and the overflow from the we is what has an influence on the community around us and even to the uttermost parts of the world. So, that's something that I love that beautiful picture but then I talked about this inner room. All of us have within ourself this section off little inner room here and we can fill up with God's love and truth but if you'll notice, that inner room is walled off from God's love and truth. It's the toxic place where we sit in our misery and our self righteousness and see all the ways we've been mistreated and it's a toxic toxic place and it is a great place for roots of bitterness to be nurtured and grown.

So, I'm going to come back to this. I feel like I did this last week. Alright, I got the how to deal with the past, at least the order of things, taking a full account and grieving and then asking God for forgiveness on our own sins. Receiving God's cleansing, confessing when it's appropriate and possible for our own past sins and then, sins committed against me, taking a full account, grieving, and then making a choice to forgive. I'm willing to be willing.

I'm willing to make a choice, to forgive. God, show me how. Help me with my unbelief. Help me when I try to pick this back up again and then, letting go of any expectation. Let it go.

That song, set it free, that forgiveness. You'll hear that again a couple of times probably soon. I I plan on coming back because last week, I ran through this because I was looking at the clock and we had communion still on the table. So, I ran through how to go forward. I realized that and I want to go through it.

Today is not the day. I'm still cooking that one, alright? There's more than one way to go forward. Hopefully, I told y'all this is my marriage and premarital. Hopefully, this is how to stay together but there are times when there's a sharp disagreement and there's not a way to stay together and so I'm still cooking that one.

Would you pray for me as I try to get the truth of the word to the hearts of the people? This is a text I got this week and I was trying to decide all day. I've I've been working on the forgiveness sermon. I got slides started but I'm just not finished. I'm not ready yet and I got a text yesterday that said this, hey, Ray.

Hope all is well. We'll be gone the next two Sundays. Well, thank you for telling me. See our daughters. We'll be praying for you as you close out Glorious Chapter 12.

I said, thank you lord for that word. So, this is what I'm doing. It's closing out the chapter 12 but this synopsis with Jesus, the new mediator of a new covenant and the kingdom that can't be shaken. How many of y'all feel shaken? Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and the kingdom that can't be shaken which leads to worship with reverence.

Now, I'm fired up just writing that, he says. Love you and thanks for preaching and living the gospel. May it be true. Thank you. God is good and I appreciate the prayers.

I always do. Here we go. Hebrews twelve fourteen to 28. God, would you bless the proclamation of your word. Amen Starting back at pursue peace.

It's active. This is an active be pursuing peace. It is a command. Be pursuing peace with all men. There's no way around this.

This is you don't get to be the only one that's not doing it. Pursue peace with all men. Pursue sanctification. Go for it. God will transform you but it requires your submission.

See to it that no one come short of the grace of God. I just covered this. See to it that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble. Those two we've covered fairly well. The very next C to it is right here.

See to it that there but be no immoral or godless person like Esau. Three weeks ago, we went through this and I I think that I focused on a different part of this verse but I'm gonna just say, see to it that there be no, that word there for immoral or godless person is fornicator. That's what it is. Pornice. It's fornicator.

See to it that there be not. You don't hear me harping on different sins specifically very often. I'll say whatever the text says. I'm saying this one today because this is what it says. Do you understand?

See to it that there be no fornicator or godless person. Does that say we cast out anyone who is among us that is a fornicator? This is a direct message to each of us. It's directly to us. See to it.

That you don't fall into Esau's error. Esau's error was, I want what I want and I want it now and I'm willing to give up anything precious to me to get. See to it that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau who sold his own birthright for a single meal. Esau's error was given up which that which was intangible and not yet seen the blessing of his inheritance. For something that he could see, taste, touch, smell, enjoy right now.

See to it. That there, that you don't fall into Esau's error Of just trusting what you can see and experience in the right now. For you know that even afterwards, this is talking about after he had done what he did, stupid decision. He was tricked into it by his brother, the trickster, and his mama. For you know that even after it's when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected.

He was rejected because he made a choice and the choice made a difference. You can choose to reject God's urging. You can choose to harden your heart and not listen to his voice. You can choose to stay unsanctified in an area. But it's not good for you.

And you don't know the ramifications of what's going to happen in the future. So, see to it that there not be a fornicator or an immoral godless person like Esau. See to it that you don't fall into Esau's error. You know that even after when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected for he found no place for repentance. Though he sought for it, he sought for that blessing.

He sought for that blessing with tears. It never gets into in the text. It never says that he repented. He didn't repent of it. He regretted it but that's not the same thing as repenting.

He regretted a poor decision. How many of y'all regret a poor decision? Oh my goodness. God is merciful and he can forgive but there are consequences to action that you can't see right now. So, see to it that there not be any immoral or godless person, fornicator, specifically, like Esau.

And then we go into this. This is the new new today. For you have not come to. You have not come to this. Now, this was originally written first century Jewish background, people who had claimed Christ and so, the whole of the book of Hebrews is trying to get those folks who had claimed Christ not to go back to the shadow which is first century ritualistic, legalistic, Judaism.

Instead of what that pointed towards, instead of what the new covenant going back to the old covenant. For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched into a blazing fire into the darkness and gloom and whirlwind. This is where we aren't. We are not in the Old Testament. We are not at Sinai, Mount Sinai is what this is referring to right there where God gave the law, he shook the ground, and he gave the commands to Moses and it was something to behold.

You've not come to this mountain that can be touched with a blazing fire into darkness and the gloom and the whirlwind. This is things that people could see and experience and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. It is too much for us, lord. They covered their ears and Moses stood between them and God. For they could not bear the command.

If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned. There were some harsh penalties and they were there was no doubt about it and so terrible was the sight that Moses himself said, I am full of fear and trembling and who do they think better of? First century Jewish background. Folks, than Moses. Hebrews author is advocating for Christ being so much better as a son and not as a servant.

Moses was a servant and even a faithful servant. He's mentioned that multiple times but Christ is a son and he's seated at the right hand of the father. This is the place to stay. Don't go back to that. We have not come to this.

This is where we aren't. But verse 22, you have come to this. This is where we are. You have come to Mount Zion. This is not Mount Sinai.

This is not the old covenant. This is the new covenant. You've come to Mount Zion into the city of the living God. That city of God. It says, Abraham and Sarah were searching for that city whose foundations were in God.

You've come to that city. Mount Zion to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to the myriad of angels, and to the general assembly of the church of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven. And to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect. Is there a big contrast between these two? Yeah.

He's setting up a contrast that he's going to talk about further in 25 to 29 with the last warning before he gets to the close of this letter chapter 13 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. It's not just that old covenant where it's all on you and there's no way out when you sin. You have come to Zion. You've come to Calvary. You've come to the place where Jesus is, the mediator of this new covenant and to the sprinkled blood.

Amen. They knew all about the sprinkling blood. Everything's purified with blood. We've already covered that multiple times in Hebrews. Jesus's blood was sprinkled and it speaks better than the blood of Abel.

If you remember back up to chapter 11, he talks about the blood of Abel still speaking. Cain slew Abel and Abel's blood still speaks. But Jesus's blood speaks better than that blood of Abel. So, this is not the old covenant. This is the new covenant.

So, with that in mind and this is where we get into some more new imperatives for today. Here's the warning. See to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking. If you go back to chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, it says, today, if you hear the voice of the Lord, do not harden your hearts like they did in the wilderness. See to it that you do not refuse capital H.

It's not just Ray that you're refusing. It's refuse him who is speaking. That's God. See to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking for if those did not escape, when they refused him, who warned them on Earth, who's that talking about? The wilderness generation, the wilderness generation, they did not escape when they refused and they bucked up against what God was directing them through Moses.

For if they, those did not escape, when they refused him who warned them on our small H, much less than will we escape. Oh my goodness. So, this is another one of those warning passages from Hebrews four, six, ten, twelve. Here they are. How much less than will we escape?

It's a argument from the lesser to the greater. How much less will we escape who turn away from him who warns us from heaven. God is actively speaking to us, says the writer of Hebrews. He's using the whole Old Testament and he's using the life of Christ and the history of the church. He's saying, how much more will we, how much less will we escape, who turn away from him who warns from heaven and his voice shook the earth then.

Now, if you look back in Exodus, you can see that God's voice shook the earth at Sinai and it describes a lot of this. Normally, I'd throw that up there. I did not put it in the slides this week. His voice shook the earth then but now he has promised saying, yet once more, I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven. This is the power of God.

This is from also a prophecy from Haggai two six. Haggai says this, for thus says the Lord of hosts. Once more in a little while and I'm going to shake the heavens and the earth. The sea and also the dry land. It's there's not anything that won't be shaken and in '21, he says, speak to Zerubabel, governor of Judah saying, I'm going to shake the heavens and the earth.

There was a display of God's power at Sinai but it is nothing like the display of God's power that is coming. This expression, verse 27 says, yet, once more, this expression, yet once more denotes the removing of all those things which can be shaken. I think right here of a wise man built his house upon a rock. Not on shifting sand. This expression yet wants more denotes removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things.

Our own inventions, our own ways. The argument from this writer from the book of Hebrews is that Jesus is the way. I know John said that but Jesus is the way. He is the only way. That's unshakable.

It's God's way. It's not created by hands. So, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Everything that we do for the Lord will remain. All else is wood, hay, and stubble will be burned up.

Yet, once more, I will shake not only the earth but also heaven. This yet once more denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, drawing a conclusion from this. Since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken. Peter calls it an incorruptible hope.

Since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, don't be tempted by what you see and feel and hear and fear, hear, to go back to something that is safer. And narrower and not of God. That was of God for a time to point to this. You're here. Don't go back to that.

Also, don't fall off in this other ditch of license either. Let there be no fornicators among you. It's always bringing us back in with guardrails, right? Into a call to holiness. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, even though you are in pain and maybe under persecution.

Let us show gratitude. Be thankful in all things for this is God's will concerning you in Christ Jesus. Let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and with awe. If we're in a place where we are not thankful, if we're in a place where we don't recognize the kingdom that we have, that will not be shaken. If we're in a place where we are in our inner room, if I can use that and we're just seeing how bad things are for us.

We will be tempted to go just hide away. Christ, use me as you will. I'm thankful to be yours. It looks bad and I trust you. I think of David and the Psalms of David where he says, how long must I wrestle with my thoughts?

How long must I have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemies triumph over me? That sounds like a pretty bad day, right? How long? Oh Lord and then, he hits a great adversative conjunction but I trust in your unfailing love and my heart rejoices that you say from above.

Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant. If you have not trusted in him, you are living under the old covenant and probably not very well. If you fail in one point, James says, you have broken the whole law but Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant. He offers salvation. He offers forgiveness, Forgiveness.

He offers his love. And then having accepted that from last week or two weeks ago, forgiven people, forgive people. When you recognize that God has forgiven you, you can breathe. Freely, freely, I have received. Freely, freely, I give.

Let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and all and that sounds beautiful and then the close is a is kind of a clincher. It's why this is a warning For our God is a consuming fire. Everything that is not devoted to him, everything that has not submitted to him. He's a consuming fire. I want to be a part of that consuming fire.

I want to be a part of and partake in as he says, as the writer of Hebrews says the beginning, that we can be partakers in this divine nature. Be a part of it. Let our souls burn for you, lord. May we be humble and recognize. The goodness that you offer.

May we be able, lord, to articulate that and offer it to others. In Jesus name, lord, we thank you and we thank you that the new covenant is on him and not on us but we are to walk in holiness. Would you give us the strength? Lord, to break the chains. Would you break those chains that bind us?

As we submit to you in Jesus name. Amen. So, these are the commands from today's passage from 14 through 28. This is it. Pursue peace with all men, okay?

Pursue peace with all men, not just half of em, not just the ones that agree with you. Pursue peace with all men. See to it and the see to it is a kind of an elevated imperative. I've I've mentioned earlier in this book that there are hortatory subjunctives and we'll get to the last one. That's what that is.

That's all of us together. Let's do this but the C to it is a high speech in the Greek. It's a high speech kind of a rhetorical device and it is this is extremely important people. That's what it is. It's really, really, really important.

Pursue peace with all men. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God. If anybody offers you any other gospel that says, you can do this or do that and by doing these things, you'll be saved. They're wrong. It is the grace of God freely accepted by his only way, Jesus Christ.

Pursue peace with all men. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God. It saves and it sanctifies. See to it that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble. Roots of bitterness will spring up.

We talked about forgiveness two weeks ago. We'll talk about it probably next week. It might be another week. See to it that no one falls to Esau's error. I do think that that's metaphorical about the fornication but it's also literal.

If that is your issue, if you have Tinder on your phone, delete it. Give it up. If you have grinder on your phone, give it up. If there are others, I don't know anything about. Give em up.

You don't need that temptation. You don't need that in your life. See to it that you don't fall. The Esau's error. See to it that you don't refuse him who is speaking.

Capital H, that's God. Hopefully, I am saying what he is saying. And then the hoardatory subjective, it kind of gathers us all back together here. Let us all, let us all show gratitude because that's how we can offer service to God. If we are constantly moping about what God has not done in our lives, it is very hard serve him.

But if we recognize what he has done in our life, then it's more encouraging for us and it's certainly more encouraging for everyone around us. So, let's all show gratitude because that's the way we can offer acceptable service to God. Our God is a consuming fire. Would you stand? Wait, wait a second.

What are we doing right now? We're doing a baptism. This, I love this. So, we have a song to play after the baptism that's called Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So. So, if you are a believer in Jesus, would you just say so?

Amen? Amen. Amen. It's awesome. So, today, Ginger is going to come up.

Ginger's around here somewhere. Ginger's going to come up and she is going to say something whether she says something into this microphone or not by being dumped. She is saying that she is one of the redeemed of the Lord and wants to walk together, walk forward in newness of life. I had a feeling that was going to happen. You don't want say

Let's sing of it.

He led me out of my desert and brought me into his streams river of living water. It turned my bitter and sweet, and all my burdens are lifted. They took the shackles off my feet. There's no sound louder there on evermore. Bore out your thankfulness and let it overflow.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. There is joy in the morning that springing up from my soul. There's life worth living because he calls me his own. And there's a hallelujah after sweet victory. And there's no sound loud and they hunt a captive set free.

There's no there's no sound. Loud and they hunt a captive set free. So let, so let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Sing of his promise is evermore. Pour out your thankfulness and let it overflow.

The redeemed of the Lord say so. And you're my deliverer. And you are my deliverer. The freedom I'm living in. You are my deliverer, you are my promise land you are.

You are my deliverer, you're the freedom I'm living in. You are my deliverer. You are my promise land. So let the redeemed of the Lord say so.