Scripture referenced 6 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Revelation 4:11 read at the opening to establish God's worthiness as creator
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!”
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Keep this verse
Romans 15:13
read during the Advent candle lighting as a promise of hope through the Holy Spirit
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Mark 2:15-17
quoted to illustrate Young Life's outreach philosophy of going to the lost
15 He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners sat down with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many, and they followed him.
16 The scribes and the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
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Philippians 1:1-11
the main text, read in full as the foundation for the sermon on grace, peace, thanksgiving, prayer and God finishing the work he began
1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ; To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and servants:
2 Grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God whenever I remember you,
4 always in every request of mine on behalf of you all, making my requests with joy,
5 for your partnership in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now;
6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
7 It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace.
8 For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.
9 This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment;
10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ;
11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
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Isaiah 53
referenced briefly as the passage calling Jesus a man of sorrows acquainted with grief
1 Who has believed our message? To whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
4 Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth.
8 He was taken away by oppression and judgment; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living and stricken for the disobedience of my people?
9 They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He will prolong his days, and Yahweh’s pleasure will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I give him a portion with the great, and he will divide the plunder with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was counted with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
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John 16:33
quoted as the silver lining: Jesus saying on earth you will have trials but take heart for he has overcome the world
33 I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.”
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
The preacher brought a message from Philippians 1:1-11 on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the first Sunday of Advent. Pastor Ray was still traveling, so Carl filled the pulpit. The sermon centered on one conviction: God begins a good work in us and he will finish it, and that shapes how we respond when life is hard.
What was said
the preacher opened by pointing out how much of life falls outside our control. We cannot always choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we respond to them. Paul wrote Philippians from prison, a place he never would have chosen, and yet the letter opens not with complaint but with grace, peace, thanksgiving, and prayer. That contrast set up everything that followed.
Paul's greeting in verse two, "may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace," was not just a pleasantry, the preacher said. Grace is God's unmerited favor, the truth that everything good we have is a gift. Because of that grace, we have a peace that holds even when circumstances give us no earthly reason for it. Carl read from Brennan Manning's description of grace and quoted two hymn writers from the 1800s to show that the deepest expressions of that peace came out of real suffering, not comfortable lives.
From there Carl moved to Paul's thankfulness. Even in prison, Paul looked outward at his friends and upward at God rather than inward at his problem. Carl used the image of a tapestry: from the bottom, the threads look like a mess, but God sees the masterpiece from the top. Thankfulness, the preacher said, does not make the suffering disappear, but it shifts it out of the driver's seat. He pointed to the old hymn "Count Your Blessings" as a practical way to do that even when the trial is all you can see.
The last response Carl drew from those eleven verses was prayer. He noted that Paul did not pray to be released. He prayed that believers would be filled with the fruit of their salvation and that righteous character would be produced in their lives. The preacher said that stopped him, because his first instinct in a hard place is to pray "God, get me out of here." Paul's prayer pointed to something God seems consistently more interested in than our comfort: our character.
The preacher brought it together with a short video clip of a boy being thrown into a river by a fisherman and learning to swim across. The question he put to the congregation was whether, when life throws us in, we swim to the other side or run away. Running, he said, does not work. A family saying he remembered: "wherever you go, there you are."
The anchor of the whole message was Philippians 1:6: God who began a good work in you will continue that work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. The preacher asked people to put their own name in that verse. The resurrection of Jesus, not the weight of our trials, is what defines us. Because Jesus has overcome the world, the preacher said, we also will overcome, and that is the hope we carry into Advent.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Carl read from Philippians 1 and noted that Paul wrote about grace, peace, thanksgiving, and prayer from prison, a place he never would have chosen. When have you found yourself in circumstances you did not choose, and what was your first instinct in how to respond?
- Carl used the image of a tapestry, saying we tend to see only the knotted underside while God sees the finished work from the top. Has there been a time in your life where, looking back, you could see God working something you could not see while you were in it?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 6,469 words
0:10
Okay. Welcome to First B on, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. And, Ray, pastor Ray's still out of town. Carl's gonna be blessing us, today. Let's start.
0:24
I'm just gonna read, Revelations four eleven. It says, you are worthy, oh Lord, our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things and they exist because you created what you pleased. So with that, let's let's stand and we're we're gonna sing glory to God forever forever.
0:58
Made, before you spoke it to me, you were the king of kings. Yeah, you were. Yeah, you were. And now you're reigning still and thrown above all things and just when saints cry out, we join them as we sing glory to God, glory to God, glory to God forever.
2:46
You can have a seat.
2:52
Alright, good morning. Like Ryan said, Ray is still out of the country. I think he's probably boarding a plane about now though. He is he'll be back here tomorrow evening. So, it'll be nice to see that guy back here soon.
3:06
Pray for his safety and his travel as he is on his way back but a few announcements as we get started here. Actually, we've got a lot of announcements. So, buckle up. This will be a little bit and we'll get through em quick though. Monday night, first be that's happening.
3:21
06:00 coincides with Awana is there a one in this week? Yes. Yes, there's Awana this week. So, those are both happening. Everything's kind of kicking right back off after the holiday.
3:31
So, 06:00, meal, music, and message down the hall. Solid Rock is back on. So, we've got middle school youth group this week at 06:30 and breakfast at seven: 3zero am on Friday morning. Middle school is Thursday night. Angel Tree.
3:46
So, if you guys didn't notice but there's a couple of these cardboard animal heads hanging outside in the foyer when you guys walk in. We have this is our beginning to the angel tree. When Ray gets back, he's gonna put up that tall tree and all those will then be transferred from those heads to the tree. But this is the first six families. We support 12 here for, I believe, cry is it the crisis?
4:13
Who who is this for? No question?
4:15
Just
4:15
families. Just families in need here in Jackson. So we're doing 12 of them. We've got six up there right now. If you wanna get some of those things of those needs pulled off there and you'd like to shop for em, that would be great and then you can just return em here.
4:26
There's a blue bin I think out in the foyer to put those gifts that you buy for this. So, that is happening and yeah, it's a great ministry that our church gets to be a part of. So, if you'd like to help out with that, please do. Uh-oh,
4:41
come
4:41
let us adore him. This is the ladies the big culmination of their their ministry that they've been doing each Wednesday morning here at First Baptist. They are meeting actually up at Snow King here. I'm going just read this brochure. The first B Women's Ministry cordially invites you to attend a ladies Christmas luncheon, Wednesday, December 16, eleven: 3zero am until 01:30PM in the Grand Ballroom at Snow Queen Resort.
5:08
If you could RSVP here at the church, you can call here, talk with Diane, and they'll get you on the list. There's a ton already RSVP'd but we want to pack that place out so you can bring bring friends. It's for anybody in the community and it is for ladies only. So, not anyone in the community but ladies, any lady in the community is welcome. We actually have childcare.
5:26
It's going to be here at First Baptist. So, you can drop the kids off here at First B and then head up to Snocking for that And I believe, anything else I should add to that? Deborah? No? No.
5:39
Okay. Perfect. Deborah's gonna be speaking, I believe at that. Is that right? Cool.
5:45
The Greatest Love. So this is going to be the the kids Christmas program this year and it's going to be our the one one show on Sunday. It's 10AM. So, there's only going to be one meeting that Sunday, December 13, 10:00, ten to elevenish. So, no 09:00 service, no 11:00 service, just one and it is for the kids play.
6:06
So, make sure to come and and be there for these youngsters who are putting on a great show. The greatest love, December 13, Men's fraternity. We've got a flamingo announcement. So I will give you the floor, Matt.
6:24
Good morning. Obviously, you noticed the flamingos as you came in. Men's fraternity is doing a fundraiser to cover the expense of breakfast that we serve each Wednesday morning and then curriculum, and any additional monies we might make, we will use for, spring and fall men's retreats. So the way it works is it's a flamingo flocking, so you can after the service, you can come to the back and fill out one of these semi pink forms, an order form, and that form will give the name and address of the person that you would like to flock, and and there's four options of how many birds that you can put in their yard. For $15, you can put 12.
7:10
For $20, you can put two dozen for, and goes on up to $35. You can put 60 flamingos in in your best friend's front yard. So, after the birds have been delivered by some of the guys from men's fraternity, there will be a form there. It looks we use a purple one to delineate. So that form will say who flocked you, and if you would like to participate, you can make a donation and move that flock of birds back to their yard or to someone else's that you love.
7:44
So, if you choose not to participate though, the birds will be removed at no expense. So if you don't want to play, you don't have to. Last but not least, there's anti flocking insurance. For $10, you can keep the flamingos out of your yard. So all this information will be in the back after the service, and you can sign up and and have some fun and I'd also like to encourage you that this can reach outside of First Baptist.
8:17
This can go wherever to whomever. Just just have some fun with it. So, thank you very much.
8:28
Excellent. So get your flock on. Talk with these guys. Fill out some paperwork in the back. Alright.
8:34
Young Life. We've got another we've got an announcement here. Emily Micas as well. Would you like to come and talk a little bit about Young Life? And John, you can come as well.
8:52
Last May in the bulletin, we had an announcement about Young Life coming to Jackson Hole. Young Life is a nationwide youth program that is probably the largest, maybe the most successful youth program nationwide. It's just phenomenal. I want to tell you just a little bit about what it does and then I'm going to hand it to Emily because she really has been in it. But the scripture that comes to mind about all of young life and their what their philosophy is, is this in Mark.
9:20
It's a great passage two fifteen. Now, it happened as he was dining in Levi's house that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and his disciples for there are many and they followed him and when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to his disciples, how is it that he eats with the tax collectors and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick, I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. So, that's the beauty of Young Ellington. It is it is very non threatening for kids.
9:56
It's very outreach in the community. I love this church has stepped up big time. Ray and Tanya and several people are leading in Young Life. And, I'm going let Emily explain a little bit about her experience.
10:10
Is this Yeah. So, I have been in Young Life starting probably sixth grade. It goes middle school up through high school. It's a really cool organization like my dad said. It really reaches out to people in the community who are unchurched, who feel pretty much undeserving of God's love and grace, who would never set foot in a church on their own accord.
10:32
And it just makes my experience has shown that it just shows love to kids in the community. And the end goal is really to get kids who have come to we call it club year round. Get them to come to camp in the summer, and we there's hundreds of camps around the world. I've been to Minnesota. We went to California, Oregon, British Columbia, and they're amazing.
10:56
They're week long and you have another club twice a day at these camps where they start sharing the gospel message and it ends in the full gospel message. I've seen hundreds and hundreds of high school students come to the Lord at these camps and so it's just a really cool way for the community to reach out to the lost kids in this community. It you know, going to high school here, it sort of broke my heart as how many kids are lost and just, you know, brush off Christianity and church and all of that because I've heard multiple times, if I step into a church, I'll burst into flames. And so it's just sort of cool to have an opportunity to invite high school students and middle school students into a loving community that shows them Christ without them having this idea that they're going to be judged when they step into the building.
11:51
Thanks, Sweet. Just where it's at right now, we're trying to count the cost this whole thing, make sure that we've got enough funds for this. There's a gentleman who's at $150,000 matching grant, so we're raising another $150,000 So, we have three years of expenses covered. We want an area director. So, it's very well organized and it's exciting.
12:12
So, anyhow, that's one thing that we're involved in and we'd love your help in every way. It's great. Thanks.
12:27
Alright. Yeah. And if you have any young life, any more questions, can John, you can talk Emily Bailey in the back. She knows all about it. There's a bunch of people here in First Be that are are involved with this and we want to see it.
12:37
We want to see it take off. There is no children's church today. So, kiddos, you're going stay here with your parents. Is that alright? No, not question.
12:47
Otherwise, you guys can all go with Nancy downstairs. Just joking. Everyone will be out here together. So, no children's church today. Always check your bulletin.
12:56
There's more in the bulletins. We kind of streamline it by getting as many left in there without announcing them and then finally, today is the beginning of our Advent Sunday. So, if my Advent folks would come up here, they're going to kick it off.
13:18
Good morning, everyone. Today is the first Sunday in Advent. We light the first candle, the candle of hope. We have hope because of the faithful promises of God. He sent his son, and we receive our savior, a savior born to redeem the world from sin and death.
13:35
Romans fifteen thirteen says, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. That one does not work.
14:09
Let's stand up. We'll greet one another and the band will bring you back in song. Thank you.
15:28
Alright, let's sing.
15:36
As your word I sing to you and my heart cries only hallelujah father you will reign forever
27:21
Lord, we we just come before you and thank you for all the ways that you that you bless us, lord, with peace, with renewal, and we just thank you for for your grace and your mercy on our lives. And we pray that we would be that to to this world. And we just come before you. Thank you for thank you for the gifts that you've given us. Lord, help us to to give those back to you and it's in your name we pray.
27:51
Amen. You can be seated.
32:11
How do we grow? By strength or resolve? Can we make it so? Can we shape the course of our lives according to our purpose and designs? Or add a single hour to the measure of our time?
32:30
How can we ever venture into what is unknown when we are incapable of the smallest change on our own? Looking back over the span of our lives, we can see the marks that testify to how far we've come, how much we've grown, how much of his grace we have been shown. The marks of maturity on our lives, the evidence of the work of Christ. The seed that he has planted in our heart. The Lord has also watered and will refine every part.
33:13
It is his intention to give it growth until it comes to fruition. He has sealed it with his hope that he who began this good work in you will see it through. In this lies our hope, not in what we do, But we do not grow alone. Our roots are intertwined one with another so that your strength is mine. While we wait in expectation, no growth can be seen.
33:47
The tender shoots that so quickly spring up must grow strong, lest they remain frail and green. Would we be overwhelmed by perils in store that his timing seeks to prepare us for? Let us endure our trials with patience for it's in his goodness that we trust and hold fast to our commitment, resting in his faithfulness to us. His goal is for our good. On this, our assurance falls that he who began this good work will surely make it grow tall.
34:38
I really like that that opening poem that how do we grow? Is it by our own strength and resolve? Can we make it so? But the seed that he planted in our heart, the Lord also watered, and he will refine every part of it. He who began this good work, he will surely make it grow.
34:54
He is the one that will really make it grow. So today, one of our main takeaways from Philippians one is that God has indeed began a good work in us, and he will finish that work, and the day that Jesus returns. Be assured of that. Like, from the moment that we put our faith and our trust in Christ, we're a work in progress. We really are.
35:18
He is working on us. In fact, God seems to be pretty persistent about it. And even even when we're not we might not be ready for what he might do do. Take a look at this video clip here.
35:36
Up there. Yeah. On the back of your neck. You're casting a shadow. If you can see it, the fish can see it.
35:42
Always face with the sun in your face. The other bank's the place. That is if you want my opinion.
35:47
Gosh, Embarato. I want your opinion. Look. I'm gonna let me go over there.
35:51
Why not?
35:52
I can't swim.
35:54
You can't what?
35:55
I can't swim.
35:56
How old are you? Six.
36:09
Help him. He can't swim.
36:11
Let me learn. Everybody should swim. Just reach out in front of you and grab a handful of water. Pull it back towards you. Not too fast.
36:24
It's the way I learn.
36:30
Did it, Ambaroto. I did it.
36:32
Good.
36:33
Well, how did he get back?
36:35
Swim.
36:35
Well, he might drown.
36:37
Well, then you go get it.
36:38
Well, I can't swim either.
36:47
I can't swim. Well, you're gonna learn how. You know, doesn't doesn't that seem to be the story of our lives? Like, it's not a matter of if we get thrown in. It it's it's when.
36:57
It's when. And once we're in the water, what's our response going be? Are we going to learn to swim to the other side like that kid? Are we going to try to run away like his mom did? Because here's the truth about it.
37:09
We can embrace our trials, swim through them. We can grow through them by God's grace, his power, by his strength, or we can try to run the other way. You know? It's our choice. The point is we don't always get to choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we respond to them.
37:29
We don't always get to choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we respond to them. And my prayer for us is that we would respond like Paul did in his trials with grace, with peace, with thanksgiving, with prayer, and with the knowledge that, hey, God is working on us, and he's gonna finish this work in us. He's gonna keep it up. Even if we're not ready for what might happen, he's he's gonna do it. He's gonna produce character in our lives through all of life circumstances, both good and bad, to grow us, to bring glory to himself moment by moment, trial by trial, day by day.
38:09
And here's the thing. We can take comfort because there is a wealth of examples in scripture that have already been there. They've already been there. They've done that like Paul who said this. At the end, I fought the good fight, and I finished the race, and I have kept the faith.
38:29
Like, that can be our story too. That can be us. We can fight the good fight. We can finish this race of faith. And here's the thing.
38:38
Paul's example that we're looking at here, this is legitimate because he wrote about grace and peace and thanksgiving and prayer from a very dark place in his life. It wasn't all roses for him. He wrote this from prison. Would he have chose to be there? It wouldn't be his first choice.
39:00
Wouldn't be ours. Did his circumstances always give him warm fuzzies? Definitely not. But listen how he chose to respond to his difficult circumstances and listen how we can respond ours. Because we can, we do have a choice.
39:18
Philippians one one through 11. It's on the screen, and I'm just gonna read it, and, you'll see it on the screen here as well. Greetings from Paul. This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Jesus of Christ Jesus. I'm writing to all of God's holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons.
39:39
May God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make requests for all of you with joy. For you've been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the first time you heard it until now, and I am certain that God who began the good work in you will continue his work until it's finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it's right I should feel as I do about you for you have been at a special place in my heart.
40:14
You share with me the special favor of God both in my imprisonment and defending and confirming the truth of the good news. God knows how much I love you and I long for you with a tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love will overflow more and more and that you will keep growing in the knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation, the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
40:56
Let's pray on that. God, this is such good stuff. This is the kind of encouragement that helps us to keep moving, to help us to keep moving forward in our trials. It is the kind of encouragement that helps us to look to you in our suffering and our hardship, and it's the kind of encouragement that produces character in us and it glorifies you. So I thank you that you have began a good work in us and that you will finish that good work, and we can be assured of it.
41:25
In Christ's name, amen. So the intro to Philippians has grabbed hold of me this week because as I read it, I was just reminded once again that so much of life is beyond our control. Like we cannot control all of our circumstances. Some things, yes, don't eat too much at Thanksgiving, or you'll be up at night with heartburn. This guy.
41:50
I could have done something about that, right? I could have showed a little self control. I didn't. But here's the thing, we can't control all things. We can be doing our very best and things just go wrong.
42:02
You've been there? We've all found ourselves in circumstances we never would have chosen. I would go, I didn't choose this. I didn't choose this. I didn't want this.
42:12
But on this side of heaven, we all know heartache and pain is a very real part of life. And although we can't control all the things that are coming at us, we can control how we respond to them. And that's the point I want to make. And if I may, I want to prod a little bit deeper here because this was Paul's response. Just in this little chunk of scripture that we read, this was his response to trials.
42:37
Grace, peace, thanksgiving, and prayer. This how we could respond too. And I'm not going to pretend that I always respond like Paul did because I don't. I have a long way to go. Like I can barely handle getting a cold.
42:49
Ask my wife. She's like, you are such a baby when you get a cold. And it's true, I am. That's me. But we've got such a good model here to follow, and this is a trusted response.
43:04
Like, this works. If anyone had gone through trials and and hardships, it it was Paul. You remember when when Ray was taking us through acts and we saw Paul, let's see, beaten, stoned. How many of us can oh, yeah, was stoned the other day. Imprisoned, shipwrecked, snake bit, and on and on, he had been through the wringer.
43:26
And yet he had this deep down in his gut kind of peace that allowed him just to press on to where he was writing, I fought the good fight. I finished the race. How does one do that? Beginning with grace and peace. Verse two, may God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
43:44
Friends, this is not just an introduction. This is a way of life. This is a way of life. It is the bedrock. It's the foundation of endurance through trials.
43:56
It begins with grace and peace. Grace. Grace is God's unmerited favor toward us. Brennan Nanning says it beautifully in the Ragamuffin Gospel. I want to read this because it's so good.
44:09
For grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is a gift. All that is good is ours not by right, but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God. While there is much we may have earned, our degree, our salary, our home, a good night's sleep, All this is possible only because we've been given so much. Life itself, eyes to see, hands to touch, a mind to shape ideas, a heart to beat with love. We've been given God in our souls and Christ in our flesh.
44:44
We have the power to believe where others deny. We have hope where others despair, to love where others hurt. This and so much more is a sheer gift. It's not a reward for our faithfulness, our generous disposition, or our heroic prayer life. Even our fidelity is a gift if we but turn to God, Saint Augustine said.
45:09
That itself is a gift of God. My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn or deserve it. Like that is grace. It's the truth that God has given us much better than we deserve. Amen?
45:29
And he did that by sending his son to love, to live, to die, to rise, conquer death, hell, the grave for us, to bring a lost world of sinners and drawn to himself. Even though we didn't deserve it. And when we trust that, we're his. We're adopted sons and daughters. We're a new creation.
45:50
We're eternally secure in him. Is there really anything better that you can think of? Is there anything that has more value in this world than to be known and loved by our creator and accepted by him? It's not all about what we can get here. You know, some of this stuff is so deep down, so internal, so grasped by faith.
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And it's because of the grace of God. And because of God's grace, we have his peace. Like, have you ever experienced the peace that transcends all understanding? That it is a storm and somehow I'm alright. You've
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been there?
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We have peace with God, a calm assurance. And it's not because of our circumstances, it's in spite of them. It's in spite of them. Have I ever told you how much I love hymns? I really do.
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Especially hymn writers in the eighteen hundreds. Edward Mo. When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace. And every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil, his oath, his covenant, his blood, support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, he then is my hope and stay.
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Is that beautiful or what? Horatio Spafford, when peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, you've taught me to say, it's well. It's well with my soul. You know, those words, they were not penned to cut an album or hit a top 10 list. They were not.
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They came out of deep trial and hardship and pain. Those things, those come out of the foundation and the bedrock of joy, of peace, of God's grace. So when when Paul leads off with grace and peace, just know this is more than an introduction. You know? This is more than a greeting.
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This is a this is a way of life. And it really is a way of life that only God can give. Next, check this one out. God, Paul gives thanks. He says, every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God for you've been partners in spreading the good news about Christ.
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So when Paul was in prison, catch this though. When Paul was in prison, he didn't look in. He didn't just look at his problem. He looked out and he looked up. He looked down and he looked up.
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He looked out by giving thanks for all his friends. They were sharing in this struggle with him. Church, you got one another here to share in the struggle together. K? You're not alone in your struggles.
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You've got we've got one another. And he looked up and he gave thanks to God who sees a much greater picture than us. Susie Baldock this week reminded me that our view and God's view are often very different. That while we're limited and we can only see like the bottom side of the tapestry that God sees a much different view from the top. Does that make sense when you look at that?
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That from the bottom, you know, we see this mess, but God is working this masterpiece on the top that we don't always get to see. And rather than focusing on that mess from the bottom, Paul gave thanks for his friends. He gave thanks for God's greater purpose to advance the gospel in spite of his difficult circumstances. In other words, like his thankfulness trumped his trials. As he was thanking God, it started to trump.
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He was lifting his head. And that's what thankfulness does. It changes the way that we look at suffering. Our suffering, it doesn't go away altogether, but it often takes a back seat. The marks are still there.
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The scars are still there. But it's not that driving force in our life anymore, but rather thankfulness, where we take our eyes off of us off the problem, which is often glaring. It's just right there. And it's hard because a lot of times it's all we can see, and yet he's saying, look around and start giving thanks. What do you've got to be thankful for?
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Another hymn. When you're discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, and see what God has done. You know, there is always something to be thankful for. And I I want to encourage us that even in the midst of our trials, even like when that's all you can see and it's glaring and it's huge and heavy, To be thanking our way through. To be worshiping our way through.
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Looking at what God has done, thanking God for what he's done and what he will continue to do even when we don't know what that might be yet. You know, it's continue walking. Continue walking even when you can't see out, even when you can't see the end result. It's walking by faith. It's thanking God through it.
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Finally, there was one more way that that I wanted to point out from these 11 verses that that Paul chose to respond to his trials and and that was prayer. He prayed his way through. But that prayer in verse 11 is what really really grabbed a hold of me that may you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation, the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ. For this will bring much glory and praise to God. To be honest, I laughed a little when I when I read this because I thought, alright.
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If I were Paul, what would I pray for? And and really the thing that came to my mind was, God, get me out of here. Get me out of this prison. Have you ever been there? You're in that prison and it's like, all I can see are the walls around me.
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I don't know where to go. Just get me out. And he didn't pray that way. Maybe he did, it just wasn't recorded, but at least not in these 11 verses, he didn't pray that way. Instead,
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he
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prayed that we'd be filled with the fruit of our salvation and it would produce righteous character in our lives. Again, was like instead of just looking down, he looked out. He looked up. He focused on what he was thankful for. He focused on God's plans and purposes even when he didn't know what they were exactly.
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But it makes sense, doesn't it? It really does that when we know God's grace and when we know his peace, that peace that transcends understanding, when we're thankful and we've counted our blessings one by one, we see what God is doing. When we focused on God's purposes and plans rather than our trials, it's gonna change the way that we pray. It just will. You know?
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Because we'll want what God wants. And it seems to me that God is much more concerned about our character than our comfort. It seems to me that God is much more concerned about our character and growing that character in us than just being comfortable. That's a tough one, isn't it? Because that's what we pray for.
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Oh, make me comfortable. Can you get me comfortable? Can you get make me comfortable. You know? And that's that's not it.
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Sometimes we're sitting there in prison for a while. God said, I'm doing something through this. And you know, you might not even see it yet. But God's working a masterpiece and you might just be seeing the bottom of that. Is it tapestry?
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Tapestry? Tapestry? I don't know what it's called. I don't knit. Tapestry.
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Thank you. But we see the bottom and it looks like a mess and God's view from the top is much different. Is this making sense? But it really isn't a surprise that God's really looking after our character rather than our comfort. What did it say about Jesus in Isaiah again?
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That Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with with grief. Do you remember that in Isaiah? And here's the thing, when we follow him, we're gonna experience some of that as well. But here, look at this. It's one of my favorite verses in all scripture.
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Jesus said, here on earth you have many trials and sorrows. We know this, but take heart because I've overcome the world. Is that good news or what? That that's the silver lining in all of this. Like our lives aren't just defined by trial and hardship and pain.
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Those things are not what ought to define us. More than that, our lives are defined by the resurrection of Jesus. And because he lives, hey, we also live. Because he's overcome, hey, we've all we also will overcome. And that really, like church, that's my encouragement to us this morning.
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Take heart. He's overcome the world. We can't always choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we respond to them. Let's swim to the
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other
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side like that kid, right, rather than run away like his mom. Running away doesn't get us too far. I remember some of her family member always saying, wherever you go, there you are. It's true. You take your stuff with you.
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Wouldn't it be better if we took it to God because of his grace, because of his peace, thanksgiving through prayer? With the knowledge that God is really gonna finish the work that he started in us. He's gonna produce character in us by all means necessary, and he's gonna glorify himself through all of our circumstances, both good and bad, moment by moment. Right? Trial by trial, day by day.
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Amen? Is there some hope in this message? I really pray I was like, oh Lord, this one's heavy. What do I do? And it was like, oh, I've overcome the world.
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You know, that's our hope. And prepare a hope, you know, this morning, advent, carry it with you. So I'll ask the worship team to come forward. We'll close one last song while they're coming up. Let me put this key verse in front of us once more.
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I am certain that God who began a good work in please put your name there. Will continue his good work until it's finally finished when Christ Jesus returns. You're a work in progress. I'm a work in progress. We are a work in progress.
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God's gonna finish what he starts. Know that. If it's a little uncomfortable right now, sit tight, buckle up. It's gonna be all right. He's overcome the world.
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And because he lives, we also live. Amen. So let's pray on that. God, I I I am so thankful for your word to us today. What what a what an incredible reminder that we are a work in progress, and you're not finished.
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And you'll keep going. By all means necessary, you will produce character in our lives. You'll bring glory to yourself through any and all things. God, I pray that grace and peace would be the bedrock of our trials, that your undeserved favor, that your peace that passes all understanding, that would be what we're clinging to. Not just looking for a way out, but rather clinging to your grace and your peace.
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I also pray that we'd count our blessings and just be thankful to look around the trial, to round the thing that's glaring, and just start thinking and thanking one by one everything that you've done and everything you'll continue to do. Help us to lift our eyes. And God for our prayer life, his trials come our way rather than just looking for a way out and praying, God, get me out of here. I pray that it would cause us to run to you when we've got nowhere to go. When we're in that prison, when we can't see outside of it, I pray that it would cause us to turn to you and that you continue to produce character in us.
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Grow us up. Give us wisdom. Give us knowledge. And I pray this in the name of our resurrected savior, and that's what gives us hope in this. It's because you live, you reign, and you live in us.
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Because you live, we also live. And that is very, very comforting. Continue to remind us of this, Lord. We need it, especially in this in this season where many are they're they're missing loved ones or they're hurt or they're broken. And I'm praying, God, help us to be light in this, would you?
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I pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Alright. What do you say we stand up? One more song.
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Here from this passage that we study that may you, we, us, be filled with the fruit of our salvation, the righteous character produced in our life by Christ. Believe he he's working in you to produce character. This will bring much glory and praise to God. Amen? Go in peace, you guys.
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Know that Christ is risen for you. He's living in you. Amen.
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