0:00
There are a few folks still out in the vestibule and they are gathered around out there. Can we sing em on in here? Would you stand with me? I'm going invite Scott up to sing along and I think we're starting with at Calvary. It's a good place to begin.
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Hymn number four ninety two.
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It's a good
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place to begin. Amen. Amen. Good morning.
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And calmering mercy there was great and grace was free pardoning there was multiplied to me
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I've given Jesus everything now I gladly own him as my king now
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my raptured soul can only sing of Calvary image mercy there was great and grace was free hardened there was multiplied to me oh the grace that brought it down to man
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oh the mighty goat that God did spend
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mercy there was great and grace was free hard and there was multiplied to me there my burdens all found liberty at
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Amen. Y'all sound good. Full church sounds great. There's power in the blood. Hymn number three twenty nine.
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Three twenty nine.
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Of the lamb there is power wonder working power in the precious blood of the lamb would you be free from your passion and pride there's power in the blood power in the blood
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come for a cleansing to Calvary's time there's wonderful power in the blood
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precious blood of the land would you be wider much wider than snow there's power in the blood power in the blood
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since saints are lost and that's life giving full
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power there's wonderful power in the
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blood there is power wonder working power in the the blood of the lamb there is power, power, wonder working
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power in
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the precious blood of the lamb would you do service for Jesus your king there's power in the blood power in the blood would you live daily his praises to sing there's wonderful power in the blood there is power power wonder working power in the blood of the lamb there is power wonder working power in the precious blood of the lamb
5:04
Y'all can have a seat. I have a couple of announcements. Not many this morning but a few. First of all, summer nursery is available in both services for kids ages zero through five. There's a new nursing room downstairs too.
5:18
If you need it, there is no children's church even during the first service during this time of year and I have Tanya coming forward to make an announcement for Turning Point.
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Good morning. It's good to have everybody here. So, I know our summers are busy and there's several things going on this week, nonprofit wise in Jackson. And I wanted to share with you one that's very important to a lot of us here in Jackson. If you need to know a little bit more about it, you can ask me or Ray or Judy Basie or Alyssa Massey or Helen Courtney or John and Kate Micas or several of us are highly involved in Turning Point.
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It's our pregnancy resource center. This is an invitation to a Thursday night gala. You do not need to buy tickets. We've had people underwrite tables, and we're thankful for that. So that means anyone can come and hear the speaker Roland Warren.
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I heard him last summer in San Diego, and that's just not quite what I expected. He was absolutely hilarious. I wish I had a picture of him. Well, how he came out first dressed announcing that he was the president of the overarching national kind of nonprofit that we all fall under. Anyway, he speaks on fatherhood.
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He was the president of the fatherhood initiative. He's very passionate about pregnancy resource centers, gaining people gaining the knowledge of what we do there, what we share there, and helping the misconceptions of what happens there. And, of course, there are many as with anything like this. So we would enjoy your presence. What we do ask is if you call Turning Point during the week and RSVP, we've got some a little more space this year because of a couple things going in town than we anticipated.
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So up here, a week before, I'm just letting you know that the space is there, and we would love to have it and love to fill it. It's up at, Spring Creek Ranch in a big beautiful tent with a wonderful meal and, just a a lot to listen to and a lot of happiness and joy up there. Okay? So,
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Monday nights are back on this week. Last Monday night, we were off for July 4 because we all gathered out here for the parade. Some of us actually announced the parade this week with Blake. So, I invited all of y'all last week to come out here for the parade and then I wasn't here. The town of Jackson asked Blake if he would and I played second banana to Blake at the announcing stand in town but Monday nights are back on.
8:02
So, 6PM, meal music, and a message. Carl is starting in Luke. He's starting the book of Luke. He's going kinda not chapter by chapter, verse by verse but kinda section by section. So, meal music and a message and it's chicken tacos tomorrow night if you're wondering.
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Alright. And for all other announcements, I think you can check your bulletin. Is there anything else that I'm forgetting? Feels like there's one that I'm forgetting. Good.
8:28
Would you stand up and greet one another? And we'll bring you back together with a peppy song. I'll bring you back together with this. We're going to sing wonderful grace of Jesus and the words on the wall are great but if you if you want to, if you can sing your part, especially if you're a bass. Sing out on this one.
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Hymn number three thirty eight. I'm going sing the bass part on Scott. So, you sing whatever you
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need to. Okay. Absolutely. Alright. Especially when you do the chorus.
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It's a
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great song. Wonderful grace of Jesus. Greater than all my sin. How shall my tongue describe it where shall its praise begin taking away my burden setting my spirit free for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches
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me Wonderful,
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the matchless grace of Jesus. Bigger than the mighty rowing sea. Higher than the mountains sparkling like a fountain. All sufficient grace for even me broader than the scope of my transgressions greater far than all my sin and shame Oh, magnify the precious name of Jesus. Praise his name.
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Wonderful grace of Jesus reaching to all the lost by it I have been pardon saved through the uttermost reaches me. Wonderful, the matchless grace of Jesus. Deeper than the mighty rolling sea. Higher than the mountain sparkling like a fountain all sufficient grace for even me broader than the scope of my transgressions greater far than all my sin and shame oh magnify the precious name of Jesus wonderful grace of Jesus reaching the most defile by the forming power making him God's dear child purchasing peace from heaven for all eternity for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus deeper than the mighty rolling sea growing like a fountain growing like a fountain all sufficient grace for even me Broader than the scope of my transgressions, greater far than all my sin and shame. Oh, magnify the precious name of Jesus.
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Praise his name
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Whoo. Amen. Y'all did good.
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I heard something back heard all there. The parts out
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there. I think there's another song but y'all are sitting down anyway.
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No, they don't want to. That's alright. I know what the server's gonna do, Chris.
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This is,
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you can sit down on this.
12:33
Y'all can, you can just let it go. I'm gonna invite the frontline team to come forward and Judy, could you just play this for the offering instead? Will that work? Okay and I'll sing it. How about that?
12:46
Since I'm putting you on the spot, I'll put myself on the spot. God almighty, your presence is surely here with us this morning and we pray that we would acknowledge that and recognize it lord that we would live upon your inspiration that you would create in us a heart that is more and more loving, more and more gracious, more and more patient peaceful, gentle, kind, and God we pray that you would also make us more and more generous with our time and with our talents and with our resources. So, right now, lord, we want to take time to give back a portion of what you've given to us and acknowledge that you are good and that through all of our suffering and our difficulty, lord, we also know that you are the provider. You are the one who gives hope. You're the one who gives life.
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You're the one who gives, who provides. You are our provider. So, in Jesus name, lord, would you bless each of these gifts that are going be given and would you multiply them to do your kingdom's work so that the peace and hope, love, and joy of the gospel can go forth into places where it has never been or into places where there's only been dead words on a page, just a shell but no real Christian experience. So, in Jesus name, would you bless these offerings? Amen.
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Amen.
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Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place I can feel his mighty power and his grace I can hear the brush of angels wings
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Amen. Thank you, Judy. I appreciate your flexibility. Always ready. I had a friend that always he said, when you're around here, you need to be ready to preach, pray, or perish at any time.
16:04
And he kept you on your toes for sure. So, this morning, we're we've worked our way up to Romans eight and last week, we got to this slide. This was a closing passage. So, I wanna go back to 15 just to kinda ramp up to 18. We're gonna start with verse 18 in our passage we're looking at today.
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Last week, I actually I actually spanned what I think is the is the paragraph break because I like to end messages on a positive note. I would prefer to send you off with a blessing and a and a pep in your step rather than kinda lingering in lamentations, okay? So, 15 says, for you have not received the spirit of slavery leading to fear. Again, this is talking about once you have been converted and once you have been regenerated, once you've been saved, you've not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again. Now, we all know what it is like to fear because we've all been there before.
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We start off enslaved to sin. We start off identifying with Adam as Paul would put it in Romans five six. So, you have not received the spirit of slavery again or leading to fear again but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we can cry out. Abba, father, Abba, daddy. My phone still says daddy.
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It doesn't say Billy McDaniel. You know, he's my daddy. I'm from the South. That's just the way it is. Not mom or dad.
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It's mama and daddy. It's a term of endearment that we can use directly to God almighty. We have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we can cry out. Abba, daddy, father, papa, papa, father, the spirit himself testifies with our spirit. That's the Holy Spirit, capital S, himself, testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.
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Amen. And if we're children, we are heirs also and heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. You remember the old song that says, join heirs with Jesus as we travel this side. We are joint heirs with Christ and that's an incredibly hopeful thing. In fact, all of Romans 18 is a really hopeful passage but right in the middle of Romans eight, I'm not eighteen, eight.
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Romans eight, right in the middle of this chapter, there's a part about suffering and in verse 17, it starts off, if children, heirs also, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him. Now, last week, I tagged on for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us, in us, by us, with us, to us, in us, by us, with us. Same preposition in the Greek. I didn't want to skip this though. That verse right there that I tacked on last week is where we're starting this week.
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For I consider and Paul authoritatively inspired by the Holy Spirit writes, I am reckoning this. I'm counting it this way. I'm considering that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. So, the sufferings of this present time as I as I I've been studying Romans eight for a long long time. In preparation to present on Sunday mornings but the thing that arrested me last week right after I got through this sermon is the sufferings of the present time need not be quickly glanced over.
19:45
It's something where there's a lot of, there's a lot there. The sufferings of this present time. So, as I was thinking about it, Tanya and I have been here for just over four years now. We started in June 2012 and in that time, we have seen a lot of suffering. Y'all suffering and some of our own.
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If we are honest with ourselves in the Christian experience, we will admit to having suffered. Thinking about this too, we've been here for just over four years. We have with us today two rows up here of the Plumber family, Gladys Plumber, who is Roy Plumbers widow now and Roy was a pastor here from '67 to '71. So, when I was born, he was pastor here. Need to been here just about the same amount of time that I've been here right now and I'm sure that y'all saw a lot of suffering in this congregation while you're here.
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So, as I was thinking about the sufferings of this present time, I was kind of floored because I know I stand right here and I could see and if I were to scan back and forth, I've walked through things with almost everybody in here and if I haven't, it's because you're visiting and I don't know you. Really? I mean, that's because it's a shared experience. Suffering is what we do. So, I'm gonna read a list of things and this was just, these were the first things that came to mind.
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So, some saying goodbye to friends who move away. Has anybody in here that lives in Jackson done that? Every single one of us have had to do that. Was it painful? Yes.
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Yes. I'm I'm getting an amen from the back row. Amen. Dear pets fading and then dying. Now that might not seem like much.
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There are some of some of you that that might not be a big deal. Some of you are wishing that some would go. But for somebody who has lived alone and had two kittens, two cats, you know, two kittens that were raised into cats, they're 17 years old, and they had to make a hard decision just last month. Those pets fading and dying was an incredibly painful time for that lady and it took some time. A lack of adequate housing.
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Anybody read the paper? Anybody felt the sting? Yes. We all know about that even if we're not the ones going through it. Prolonged marital strife.
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That could be for a couple who are both Christians. That could be for a couple where one of them is a believer, one is not but prolonged marital strife is an incredible time of suffering. When one is sold out for Jesus and firing on all cylinders and the other for some reason is not able to do that right now. That's a hard time and it's it's an it's a suffering. Infidelity.
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There's a stronghold in this valley. Right there. Infidelity. Resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness. Winter blues.
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The winter blues around here I don't know if you're visiting for the summertime, you might not know this. Winter blues here are usually in April because it's still winter. Yep. Winter blues is a very real thing around here. Seasonal affective disorder, and it's very real.
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If you don't believe it, try on counseling or pastoring for a while. Unrequited love. When you love somebody and they just won't love you back, whether you're a married individual and that's your spouse or a single individual that's longing for that closeness of marriage and just can't get there. Issues with intimacy. Family members who deny and resist God's love or any talk of God.
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That's a very, very painful place to be. And as believers, we suffer through that sometimes. Family members can be difficult anyway. Abuse, physical, emotional, or verbal. If you've ever been on the receiving end of that, you know but you know what?
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It's it's incredibly painful and a hard place to be when you have been the abuser, and then you're convicted of it and realize it and you keep on going back there in your mind. Jobs ending unexpectedly or expectedly. Now, by very definition, a moderator is somebody that should be able to be a pretty stable person, right? Do y'all agree with me? I just thought of how funny this is.
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So, twice since I've been here in four years, the church moderator which seems like the most stable position in the world to me. Church moderator of the First Baptist Church. Come on. What's more stable than that? Two of em have come in where their jobs have unexpectedly ended or shipped them out of town.
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Two church moderators. Beloved, hated to see both of em go. Love, sent em out with a blessing but hated to see em both go. Financial issues. Parents dying, aged parents dying.
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I I could just actually put parents aging because that's a difficult thing to see. Your father who is the strongest man you ever knew from the time you're little start to fade. Serious disease? And I said serious disease, but honestly, have you had a cold lately? It'll make you feel like it's the end of the world.
25:11
Really, it's horrible. Carl is having surgery on his back on Tuesday, and Carl is always up and always encouraging and always happy. But you know what? Carl has been a shell of himself for the past little while because L five and S one don't agree with each other right now. So serious disease, even not serious disease, it's bad.
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Surgeries that are expected or unexpected. You know, since I've been here, I know of three different examples of murder taking the life of a loved one, of some of one of y'all's people, a relative, a close friend, a relative. The aftermath of a close friend's suicide multiple times. There have been multiple attempts too since I've I've been here and we've been walking through that but these are the sufferings of this present time. Accidental death.
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Do you read the paper? Every week, there is an accidental death in some extreme way here. Either on these mountains or in these valleys, on the river. Addictions, those are persistent. Old age creeping up.
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I think it's interesting that Paul when he wrote the Romans, he was about 56 or 57. It's not the same book that first Thessalonians was. Twenty, don't you know, twelve, fifteen years before, whatever. Old age is creeping up on Paul and he starts to mention more and more that glorified body and the redemption of this body that's creaking and getting old. The progress of dementia, especially for a loved one, is a very hard process.
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Tragedies afar about which we can do very little. Now, we always can pray and that's our first response, not our last resort, but sometimes the tragedies that happen like the water system in Flint, Michigan, the floods in Texas or Louisiana, the things that we can't do anything about from here except pray. That's difficult. Even small tragedies for families back home. Lost love.
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It's hard. Aftermath of a violent assault, and we've seen that in multiple cases. A lot of y'all have seen what happens after that. And then there's a significant percentage of this this church body that our parents grieving the death of a child. It might have happened six months ago or it might have happened many years ago, but that's something that one hardly gets over.
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And it's a suffering in this present time. Now, what Paul says about the sufferings of this present time, they anticipate the eternal glory that is to be revealed. In the first, what he says actually is I consider authoritatively, Paul says, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us or in us. Now, as I was listing off that list and y'all were sitting there thinking of y'all are thinking of specific examples, I hope, in your own life or in the lives of those that were close to you and if you had to do one word to describe that situation, it would probably be heavy. That's the one I use most of the time up here when I say this message is heavy or this is a heavy thing.
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I think it's interesting that as heavy as those things are, and they probably hit us closer to home than than even the happiest of moments in our life. He says that they're not worthy to be compared in Romans. In second Corinthians, I use this as your closing slide last time. Our light affliction. Our light affliction.
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Have you read Paul's list of his sufferings? In Corinthians where he says, you know, I was shipwrecked three times, spent the day and the night out in the deep wondering, snake bit? Couple of times. Beaten, all of those things. And he says, after that, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment.
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And that's part of the key. This is temporal. This is happening within the context of time. And what he's looking forward to, he says, is working for us. This temporal suffering is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
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So, the momentary light affliction as heavy as it is and as heavy as it is here, as heavy as it seems here, when a young one or family member betrays you or hurts you or misinterprets your love. It's not worthy to be compared with and is working for according to Corinthians. It's working for us. A far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. So, the scales are tipped, no doubt, towards eternal glory.
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But on this side, we experience the momentary affliction. Listen to first Peter. First Peter four twelve. This incredibly pastoral book. First, first thing we hit when I was here at the beginning because I needed it quite honestly.
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I was stepping into this role and I needed a pastoral book. Beloved, do not be surprised that the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing as though some strange thing were happening to you but to the degree, so it's a unit of measure right there. To the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so that also at the revelation of his glory, you may rejoice with exaltation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rest on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer or thief or evildoer or troublesome meddler.
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Did you get that? He said, don't let it be your fault that you suffer, okay? You're going to run into suffering that's going to be a matter of course. If you're a believer, you're going to hit suffering. Actually, if you're non believer, you're going to hit suffering in your life.
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It's just part of life but he's saying, don't let it be your own on you. Like, for an example, if you're speeding and you get a speeding ticket, you're not being persecuted. You're not being you're not suffering for Jesus at that point. If you did the crime, you do the time. That's just the way it is.
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Make sure none of you suffers as a murderer, thief, evildoer, a malefactor, an evildoer, or a troublesome meddler but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he's not to be ashamed but is to glorify God in this name, the name of Christ. Those also suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right. Amen. Peter not only says it's a part of what's going to happen in life and it is working for us this eternal weight of glory like Paul says but he's saying that you shall entrust your souls to a faithful creator in continually, habitually, in doing what is right, acting out of spirit, acting in accordance with what it is that God's called you into. So, let's go on to Hebrews.
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The author of Hebrews says this, now in the great hall of faith in Hebrews, it starts off. Now, faith is the evidence or the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen. For by it, by faith, the people of old received their commendation. By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God. So, creation, he's mentioning there, was created.
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X Nihilo, out of nothing by the word of God. He spoken into existence so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. He talks about Moses starting about verse 25 and says, choosing rather to be mistreated, Moses, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin in Egypt. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt For he was looking forward to that reward. Now, some people might say, wait a second, that's an anachronism.
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Paul is saying, Moses and he says that it was for Christ that he did it. Well, Moses was looking forward to the Messiah just like we look back to the Messiah. He put his faith in God's provision of a savior. Christ. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt for he was looking to that reward.
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Did Moses suffer for that cause? Immensely. Yeah, immensely. And what more shall I say for time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, and David, and Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms. That's a good thing.
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Enforce just it. That's a good thing. Obtain promises. Good. Stop the mouths of lions.
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Wonderful. Quench the power of fire. Escape the edge of the sword. We're made strong out of weakness. Became mighty in war.
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Put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured though, refusing to accept release so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned.
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They were sawn in two. They were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. These folks of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. Have I said this lately?
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The prosperity gospel is hogwash. Do you agree with that? Suffering is part of the Christian life. It is guaranteed. It's not the only thing that's guaranteed.
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There is an incorruptible hope beyond but I tell you what, he never promises, never promises prosperity in this life. He does promise that there will be suffering. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation creation, God's creation longs. Anxiously, it says, and waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
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Now, right now, without any ontological proof of God, There are lots of people looking at lots of different religions saying, they're just religions. All of them are the same. All of them lead to the same place or more cynical. All of lead nowhere. But whatever works for you.
35:34
That's the human way of looking at, humanist way of looking at things. Creation itself, this verse says, is anxiously longing for and waiting eagerly for the revealing of the true sons of God. Ain't that awesome? I think of Psalm 19 when I think of creation and day after day, speeches pouring forth from the heavens and from the firmament. It is always.
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There's no language where it can't be understood and all of this is screaming out that there is a creator, that there is a god, and yet people continue to reject it. They continue to reject the knowledge of God and creation it says, as much as it does scream out, is longing to do even more. I can't even imagine what it's going to look like on that day. The anxious longing of creation, waiting eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God, the children of God. It will be revealed.
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For the creation itself, creation was subjected to futility not willingly but because of him who subjected it in hope. Now, creation was in some way affected by Adam's choice to sin. The fall of man subjected Adam to futile. I mean, as the fall of man, Adam, sin, subjected the creation to futility. And it's anxiously longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
37:00
Those who no longer identify with Adam but identify with Christ. That the excuse me, for the creation was subjected to futility not willingly but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption. The world itself is in a cycle of slavery and corruption because of the sinfulness of man. And it's longing to be set free from its slavery into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. New heaven and new earth, I do not understand it.
37:39
Don't know anything about it. The primary verse for this one, this sermon for me is that suffering is not worthy to be compared with the eternal glory. I don't quite get all this. There are lots of proof text all over the Bible that point towards how the new heaven and the new earth were are going to be. I love that the whole creation is longing for that day though and it feels like it's longing for the day when the children of God will actually be vindicated for their humble belief and the provision of God.
38:07
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth until now and I think about winter here. When you've got winter lasting until April and it goes from, you know, Halloween, you know, October sometime and we keep on waiting for it, waiting for it, waiting for it. Can you see creation groaning and suffering? They're just waiting for that first snow melt where the grass is exposed to sunlight again and then we get that starting. Can you imagine what it's going to be like when we're just set free from the cycle?
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Thank God in the seasons itself gives us a cycle and sees how this is cyclical and everything that has happened. There's nothing new under the sun. Oh, but on that day, it's going to be different. It will be different. It'll be an end to that cycle.
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We know the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now and not only this, he comes back to us at this point away from creation back to us. Not only this but we, ourselves, having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves. Do you hear me? How many times he's saying ourselves right there? It really is in the Greek like that.
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It's not only this but we ourselves. It's intense. Having the first fruits of the spirit. Even we ourselves grown within ourselves. Waiting eagerly for our adoption.
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The completion of the adoption as sons. Now, I know a couple families in the last month that have been eagerly awaiting their child. They already had filed all the paperwork that already made all the things necessary, done everything that was necessary, and they had already technically adopted a child but they had to go and bring that child home. One of them is the pastor at the Pres Church, Presbyterian Church and he went and brought home his daughter just couple week, last week and a half ago. Now, she was already his here while he was here and she was there.
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He she was already his but when they got there and that joyous completion of that was the full adoption, the completing of the process. We ourselves we ourselves grown within ourselves waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, The redemption of our body. The completing of the process. That great and mighty day of the Lord. This is pointing forward to the great and mighty day of the Lord.
40:24
For in hope we have been saved, that's a sure thing in the past tense. Look at that. It's the only grammar lesson you're getting today. This one was so emotional for me that the scholarly stuff kinda fell away after that first verse because I started thinking of all of our suffering situations and I thought, wow. As heavy as all that is, it's not even worthy to be compared with the eternal weight of glory.
40:48
For in hope, we have been saved. That is secure. There's no doubt about it but hope that is seen is not hope. He's saying, persist, carry on, stand firm. For who hopes for what he already sees at the point where hope is met with reality because in the Bible, every time it says hope, it means something that is a sure thing that is to pass.
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It will come but it's future. It's something that's not yet seen. Who hopes for that which he already sees? At that point, it'll be complete. But if we hope for what we do not yet see, with perseverance, we wait eagerly for it.
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Now what are we to do while we're waiting? What do you do while you're waiting for it to come to pass? That's the spirit who's gonna bring it to pass. It's the spirit who has saved us. He's the one who's making utterances and groanings for us.
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I'm going to flip all the way back here to Peter because I like what he had to say. He said, those also who are suffering according to the will of God and we have to consider that our suffering is ordained of God. As difficult as that is, those who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right. The doing what is right, just living your life led by the spirit, and going forward. I think that's it.
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This is it. Before we go into communion, I'm going to invite the folks on upfront but I want to step back to suffering for just a second. As I was considering this this week too, I don't watch the news very much. I find that most of the people who come into the office that say, I don't know why but I'm angry all the time. They watch a
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lot of news.
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And so the sufferings of this present time beyond the physical, the emotional, the relational, they are political and I think of all the different sufferings and it kind of drives a centrist nuts when things are as polarized as they are and as upsetting as everything's gotta be for everybody all the time. Physical discomfort, aging, xenophobia, injustice, sickness, pain, death, regret for past sin that has left us empty and unfulfilled, regret over selfish decisions. All of those things, I think of the suffering involved. Martyrdom happens, and I'm okay with it because that reaches beyond. That suffering reaches beyond and allows other people entry into this life of comfort and joy.
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And ends their negative eternal destination and brings about the positive and it all changes on this, the suffering of Christ. So, as we celebrate the Lord's supper, what we're celebrating is his physical presence here on Earth. Couple weeks ago, we talked about how Jesus's presence here, his divine presence but his human ability to withstand sin. His human overcoming of temptation. His walking that perfect life gave him the right to be able to take his life and offer it in your stead.
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So, if you are a believer here this morning in Jesus, this is an open table and you're welcome to partake of these elements. They're symbols of the body of Christ and the blood of Christ. With his body, I particularly was drawn this week to thinking of all the physical sufferings that he went through. All of the mental anguish, all the emotional anguish, all the political anguish just like I mentioned. Would you pray with me and elders or frontline team, would you come forward and get ready to distribute the bread?
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God, I I pray this morning thinking of Jesus. He left the glories of heaven. He left that eternal relationship, perfect relationship with you and the Holy Spirit. He left that to enter into an earthly life being found just like us. Yet, Lord was without sin.
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I thank you, God, that you have sent him. I thank you, Jesus, that you came, that you walked that perfect life, that you had a perfect life to give. Your perfect life for our imperfect ones, for the grace involved in doing that day by day, for empathizing with people's pain, for seeing people in distress and taking note and taking care, forgiving sin, healing the sick. As we think of your body that was broken for us, Lord, I pray that we would meditate on that and meditate on this verse, verse 18 about the suffering not being able to be compared with the eternal weight of glory. You are the firstborn from the dead.
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You've gone on ahead of us. God, would you bless this little cracker as we passed around today? Would you bless each one that partakes and allow them the sense of your very real presence with us here this morning, but your very real presence two thousand years ago, day by day, step by step, walking out this life by the spirit. God, would you bless this bread? Amen.
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The suffering of Jesus, and then having to start this, remembrance. It starts off on the night he was betrayed. He lived this whole, full life of love and care for everyone and had his disciples around him and in that upper room on the same night when he was to be betrayed. He took bread after supper and after he gave thanks, he broke it and he said, this is my body that is broken for you. Take this and eat and do it in remembrance of me.
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Identify with the the sufferings of Christ. Lord God, we are thankful for the life that Jesus lived. We're thankful for the faithful followers and men who wrote it down so that we can see him in his life, see how he lived, see what he did, see what he said. We're thankful that he paid the price and we're thankful that we have come to know about it. God, I think of that perfect life and I think of what an example it is, Lord, it's not just an example.
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He actually shed his blood for the remission of sin as a ransom for many. So God, as we remember the shedding of his blood and your gift of your only begotten son, the shedding of blood for the remission of sin. That's what we remember in this cup. Lord, would you bless each one that partakes of this little bit of juice as a remembrance? And for everyone that must let it pass because they just don't believe or they don't put their faith there, would you draw them through the lives of those humble servants that do partake?
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Would you allow us to be examples of your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control. Amen. Bread. After supper, he also took the cup and he gave thanks for it too and he said to his disciples and he's saying it to you today that this is the new covenant in my blood. Jesus said, this is the new covenant.
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Praise God that we're not operating under that old covenant. The new covenant in my blood, one of grace, suffering certainly still persist. But the new covenant in Jesus' blood. He said, take this and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me. Amen.
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Now every time I get up here and I do this, I think of how Paul says, each time that we do this, we declare or proclaim the Lord's death and it always arrest me, his death but it's his death until he comes again. That already has happened at his death and the not yet is happening. Right now, that incorruptible hope will be in that great and mighty day of the Lord. Now, would you stand with me and we'll just sing the doxology for the benediction.
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Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below praise him above ye heavenly host Praise father, son, and holy ghost.
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Amen.
