Scripture referenced 6 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Acts 17:28 opening verse read to lead into worship
28 ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’
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Keep this verse
John 14
Jesus saying his Father's house has many dwelling places and he goes to prepare a place
1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.
3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
4 Where I go, you know, and you know the way.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’
10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
12 Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father.
13 Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,—
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.
18 I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also.
20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
21 One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.
24 He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word which you hear isn’t mine, but the Father’s who sent me.
25 I have said these things to you, while still living with you.
26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.
27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
28 You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I.
29 Now I have told you before it happens so that, when it happens, you may believe.
30 I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.
31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
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Matthew 4:4
Jesus saying we do not live by bread alone but by every word from the mouth of the Lord
4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
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Galatians 3:3
challenging the idea of trying to finish by human effort what was started by the Spirit
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now completed in the flesh?
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Ephesians 2:8-9
saved by grace through faith, not from yourselves, not by works so no one can boast
8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, that no one would boast.
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1 Corinthians 15:3-4
benediction stating Christ died for our sins, was buried, and raised on the third day
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Mike opened the message by walking through the idea of packing the right things for where you are going, and he used that picture to ask what spiritual essentials our graduating seniors, and really all of us, need to carry. The heart of the sermon was the difference between what gets us into a right relationship with God and what flows out of that relationship once we are there. The two are real, but they must not be confused.
What was said
Mike brought out a collection of actual backpacks and talked about how what you pack depends entirely on where you are going and what you plan to do. A waterproof dry bag for the river, a rifle-sleeve pack for a predawn hunt, a big frame pack for the Teton Crest Trail, a kid-carrier for hiking with a four-year-old, and a small packable bag that has been to Southeast Asia, Spain, Morocco, and back. The point was simple: pack the wrong things and you are either unprepared or hauling weight you never needed.
That setup became the frame for two bags. The first bag holds the one thing that is essential for salvation: grace received through faith. Mike walked through the scene at the crucifixion where one of the criminals next to Jesus turns to Him and says, "Jesus, will you remember me when you come into your kingdom?" Jesus does not ask about his church attendance or his tithing. He says, "Today you will be with me in paradise." That, Mike said, is what is in bag one.
Bag two holds everything that flows from being in a relationship with God, reading the Bible, prayer, worship, serving, loving your neighbor, living in community. These things matter. The Holy Spirit, Mike said, is working to produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control in us. But none of that gets us into the kingdom. There is no bag two without bag one.
The problem Mike named is that Christians, over time, start letting things from bag two creep into bag one. We begin to feel we cannot approach God because we have not had a good enough quiet time or we missed church or we have not been reading enough. He quoted Galatians 3:3 on this point, asking why, if surrender is what brought us to God in the first place, we would now try to finish the work by human effort. He was direct: we will never put God in our debt.
To the graduating seniors specifically, Mike said: you cannot out-sin God's grace. Trying your own way and wandering from God's path is not unforgivable. Christians are not Christians because they are perfect. They are Christians because they know where to turn when they mess up. The message is to acknowledge that, be honest with God about it, and keep turning back.
He closed by pressing the whole room, not just the seniors, on where their confidence actually sits. Is it the 401k? Retirement? He said that at the end of the day, what makes us okay is that the grace of God is enough and we have placed our faith in Christ's finished work on the cross. Good people do not make it into heaven, he said. Forgiven people do.
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.
- Michael talked about packing only the essentials and leaving behind what you don't need. When you think about your own spiritual life, what are some things you've been carrying that turned out to be non-essentials?
- The criminal on the cross had no church attendance, no Bible reading, and no track record of good works. He simply acknowledged who Jesus was and asked to be remembered. What does that story stir up in you about how we tend to think about earning our place with God?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 7,049 words
Check. Check. Check.
Good morning, everybody. How are doing? It is good to see you all. Very, very good to see you. Here's an encouraging word from Acts 17 excuse me.
Acts seventeen twenty eight to lead us in a worship. And would you stand while while I, share this verse. It's in him, and that's Jesus. In him, we live and we move and we have our being. Let's start by singing, great are you, Lord.
You bring light, and you are love. You bring light in the darkness. Let's sing it together. Alright. You give life.
Let's sing that again. You give life. Let's go back to You Give Life. You are And you can have a seat here for a moment, and let's listen to the announcements from the front.
Yeah. Let's do them from the front. What do you say? Hello. Welcome, everybody, to First Baptist Church.
Glad to have you all here. We've got a bit of a full house. So if there are a bunch of seats next to you, maybe consider squeezing in so there isn't a gap between. That'd be helpful. And there are lots of seats up front towards the front if anybody wants to come in.
So welcome to First Baptist Church. There's always so much going on. It's always on our website too, but we'll go through a few things. Monday night, we're no longer off from Memorial Day weekend because we're past that. Carl, what's what's going on tomorrow?
So we're on tomorrow, mule, music, and message, and we're, up to Mark, chapter 11. So passion week as Jesus enters Jerusalem. Good, good stuff. Great takeaways. And Felix and Guadalupe are cooking tomorrow, 06:00, meal, music, and message.
And if you haven't been for a Felix and Guadalupe meal, it's fantastic. It's wonderful. You need to be there. At the Presbyterian Church, there's the solid rock tour. They have a bunch of kids coming in, and they're gonna sing.
It's really encouraging. I've been to something like this before, and it's just a super fun thing also on the website and in the email each week. Pets Unleashed, it is our VBS. You can sign up online to volunteer or to be a part of it so kids can volunteer too. Kids can sign up to be at it or you can sign up on the back table there.
You can also see Liz or myself if you have any questions. It's super fun. If you have any questions, please let us know. Next slide. Church camp out.
If you haven't been to a church camp out, what a great way to get connected, especially if you're new. Just come on by. Mike Demetrius' phone number is on there, and he'll let you know where we are. We're gonna be down at Palisades Lake this year. So not up in Grand Teton National Park.
We're over at Palisades. And, so it's kind of a first come, first serve basis thing. That's why we don't know exactly where we're going to be. But call Mike, text Mike, and he'll be able to get you hooked up. It's super fun and great way to get connected.
We'd love to meet you, get to be with you. So also the connect hour between services, we're trying to encourage especially we have so many new people here. Would you come down the hall and introduce yourself to everybody? Just mix and mingle. It's hard to see when you just run out the door as soon as the service is over.
So would you come just hang out. If you're visiting today, feel free to come down, get some coffee, get some snacks. Glad to have you all here and I think that's it from
us. Grad Sunday.
Oh it is Grad Sunday.
That's nice. Yeah and it's crazy how fast these years fly by and just awesome to get to see our seniors grow up. So as a church we have youth group and then we send these seniors out and when we send them out we send them out with a Bible. This is a one year Bible so when they're off at college and things get busy and I don't know maybe they miss a day or two of reading. They can just pick this up and they know each day they're gonna get an old testament and new testament a psalm and a proverb.
So we're gonna send them off with God's word. It's already hidden in their heart, but, this is a way for them to equip themselves. So, some of our seniors aren't here, but we will go through, a list of of those that are graduating and kinda completing this milestone. So, Matthew Fisher is going off to Gonzaga. He is in a baseball game today, so won't be here, but, headed off to Gonzaga.
Then we've got Caleb Lundy. Is Caleb Lundy here by chance? Oh, yes. He'll come up in a minute. Caleb, if I could have you come to the front.
Yeah. Caleb. So Caleb will be heading off to Point Loma in California. Congratulations, man. Yeah.
Come up here and just have a a stand here, we'll we'll call everyone else up. Okay. And then after that, we've got Adam Olson. Adam Olson, if you could come up. Yeah.
Whoo. Also headed to Point Loma Nazarene University. And then Wyatt Ross. I think I saw Wyatt here today. So Wyatt is headed off to Montana State to study mechanical engineering.
But fun fact about Wyatt, he won a scholarship this year. So this summer, he's gonna be getting his pilot's license and doing some flying. So pretty awesome. Ethan Saunders. Ethan, is he yeah.
There he is. So Ethan's headed off to UC Boulder. There you go, man. And let's see. Annika Lampa.
Annika Lampa couldn't make it this morning, but guys, she's graduating. She's like Anika, Anika, Anika to now she's graduated. So Anika's headed off to Bethany Global. I believe that's up in, like, Wisconsin, somewhere else cold. You know, we got the snow in the photo there.
So and then Aiden Clemmer. I don't know if Aiden Aiden. Yeah. Thanks. Yeah.
Musician. He's a great musician. A great musician right here. Yes. Yes.
Yes. So Eiden will be helping out serving down at Habitat for Humanity this year and serving there. So it's awesome. And we've got one more. I don't have a photo for him, but the Pepins.
Timothy Pepin has graduated, and he is going to Azusa Azusa Pacific in LA. That's where he'll be attending college next year. So if you guys could, we'll just bow our heads and we'll say a prayer for these guys and girl that are graduating and ask God to send them on their way. Father, we love you. We thank you for everything you've done for each one of these young men and women to get them to this point.
God, I thank you that you are faithful to be with them as they move forward. God, would you watch over them? Would you guide them? Would you protect them? And would you give them wisdom and instruct them in the path that you have for them?
God, I pray that they can live into the person you've created them to be. We ask this in Jesus' name. And everyone said, amen. Thank you, guys. Oh, hold on.
One photo. Look how tall these guys are. Now we'll continue with our regular scheduled program.
Yes. Would you stand? And and how about this? Would you just stand and turn and do a little shaky shake hand time with the person next to you? Say hello.
We'll bring you back in song. I've got a firm foundation.
I've got a firm foundation. Our rock, the ones on your ground. Stations rise and fall. We trust. We trust the name of Jesus.
He's the only king forever. Are the only king forever. You you are victorious.
Unmatched in all his wisdom
unmatched in all your wisdom in love and justice you will reign name of
Jesus. And we trust.
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
Let's say we lift.
You are victorious. You are the only king forever. Almighty God, we lift you higher. You are the only king forever. The river more, you are victorious
God, we sing that because it is true. Lord, may we lift you high this morning, not just in song, but in our hearts to set apart you as lord, to give you this honor and the praise that you deserve. God, age to age, you reign. Your kingdom has no end. Lord, may we keep this forever in
our minds.
In Jesus' name, amen. I want you to know we're not making this up. This is this is Jesus in John 14, and he's saying this. In my father's house are many dwelling places. If it weren't so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you.
Isn't that good news? Amen. That is so comforting. So comforting. Let's continue to sing.
Amen. You can have a a seat here for a moment. And this is the worship through giving part of the service. I'll invite the ushers to come forward. And Matt Litzelman, one of our elders, is gonna come forward and pray.
And before we before we do this, I'd like to just share a verse. Before we sing, speak o Lord. It's from Matthew four. Jesus says this, that we don't live by bread alone. We don't just put food in our stomach, but every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Soul food, his word too. Before we sing, Matt, would you grab a microphone and and and pray? Thank you.
Thank you, lord. Thank you for this church. Thank you for this expression of your body, lord, and thank you for their willingness to serve and sow into your kingdom. Lord, I I pray this morning that you would take this offering and use it to advance your kingdom in this city, in this in this region, lord, and around the world. I pray God that you would multiply it for the benefit of growing your church and bringing those close to you, lord, to know you as savior and lord.
We just ask in Jesus name. Amen.
As you walk with us is filled
Amen. Alright. I'm gonna invite Mike up here. Mike's get Mike gets to to share the the word this morning, a word of encouragement. Before before he comes up, children's church, it's on.
You guys, cavalcade downstairs. Children's church. And can we give a hand to Liz and all of our Children's Church volunteers? And Mike, can I pray for you before you
before you share? Please.
God, we thank you for your word. God, thank you for your living and active word. God, maybe it'd be living and acting and active in us. I pray, Lord, that anything that we need to hear this morning, that it would it would stick. That it would stick for all of us, God.
When we hear the the the the simple gospel message, Lord, it is for all of us. It's not just for our grads in this room. It is for all of us lifelong. And we got we ask that you would bless Mike as he he speaks. Would you use his personality to communicate your truth in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Amen. Amen. Thank you, Carl. For For those of you that don't know me, my name is Michael Demetrius. I'm the youth pastor here at First Bee.
Honored and privileged to get to serve alongside our staff and along you guys as we bring Christ to this valley. It is a tall task but it is an incredible honor to get to do it. So tonight today we're going to jump into the Bible and I usually talk to youth so I'm all over the place. I'm going to need some crowd participation. So our Bible verses, as I jump around, I am going to fly.
Okay? But inside the seat backs in front of you, there is a list of verses. On the back of that, is blank. There is also a pencil around, so you can grab that and take any notes that you need to. But I challenge you to go home, read through those verses.
They are short like I said. I am a youth pastor. I need the nuggets. So there is nuggets on there. And today we are going to just dive into God's word in a message that I am going to entitle pack up.
Pack up. And it's going to take me a second to get settled here. But what comes to mind when you hear the word pack up? A trip. Luggage, right?
For me too. And when I hit summer, I feel like I'm always packing for something. Mean they're unpacking. You know when you have a talk with somebody and it just sticks with you? I had a talk with Tim Dalton a while ago.
He said to me, I feel like life is all about packing and unpacking, loading and unloading. And after he mentioned that to me, now I see it everywhere. I'm going to the grocery store, I'm loading up groceries. I'm putting them in the car, I'm getting home unloading the groceries. I'm putting them in the refrigerator and then we slowly unload them out of there and then we do it all again.
I get ready to go to the trip, I load up the car. We come home, we go where we're going, we load up the house or wherever we're going and we unload and just reverse. It's always packing and unpacking. And I don't know about you guys but I'm kind of a anybody in here backpack people? Does anybody like backpacks?
Okay. I really like backpacks and as I think about rolling into summer, I think about different bags and what I'm going be packing up. And I know if I'm going to go out and it's rainy, I'm going to bring this pack. If I'm going down the river, playing on a lake, I'm going to bring this pack. This pack is waterproof so I know my towel, my jacket, it's all going to stay dry if I put it in here.
So some days, depending on where I'm going, sometimes this pack is essential to keep my stuff dry. So sometimes I load this one up. I'm going set it right back here. Other days, like when we roll into fall, it's interesting because I got a my brother-in-law just got me this pack and I'm so pumped. So this one is for hunting and it's got this neat little sleeve and I can actually put a rifle down in the back so I don't have to fight with that sling the whole day and then I throw this one on those early mornings hiking in the dark, my rifle is in the back of the pack and it's hanging out and it's awesome.
So depending on where I am going and what I am doing determines what I'm going to pack. And what I'm going to pack determines what I need to take with me. So for hunting, this is it this year and I'm excited about it. So I'll set this right up here too. But not all days are like that.
Some days, I mean those are pretty small packs. Some days I'm going up on the Teton Crest Trail. I need to carry a few more essentials. So I need a big pack, you know, thirty, forty liters so that I can get my tent, my food, my sleeping bag. Last thing I want to do is get way up there by Marion Lake, you know what I'm talking about, and not have my sleeping bag.
You know, it's a long way out. You got to stay warm at night. So I need a bigger pack to get all the essentials in there. So some days this is the pack. Good days.
But other days days look more like this pack. Now it might not look like much but this pack right here is essential for some days. I don't know, I have a four month old and a four year old and my four year old, he's real excited about going on hikes, but then once we get a little bit in does anybody have kids? They know what kind of happens once you get a little way down the road. Happens?
They get a little bit tired, right? Well, this pack is pretty sweet because you unzip it here and then it's a kid carrier so I can pop a kid in the back. And this is essential if I want to get where I'm going to do what I plan to do. Right? The journey can go on if I can stick a kid in the back.
Does this make sense? So it depends where we're going, what we're doing on what we need to pack. We better keep this one out. Even just looking at this pack, it gets me excited. You see, this pack it might not look like much but it's been everywhere with me.
I've been through Southeast Asia with this backpack. I've been through Spain, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Singapore, Myanmar. It's like it's gone everywhere with me. The letters have come off but it has been faithful. One thing I love about it is it will fit anywhere.
So my game plan is I'll roll this one up and I'll stick it in whatever bag I'm taking. And then when I get to a new city, you know, you might need to go out and get some mangoes or some mandarins or something and I'll take this into the market with me. And it is a great pack. It's small, but sometimes it fits all the essentials in it. All the essentials.
So today, like I said, we're talking about packing up. And as I look around and I see our seniors that are headed off, they've been here at the high schools and now they're headed off into the real world, whatever that means. And I wonder, do they have the essentials? So I want to ask you, what would those essentials be? If you could talk to our high school seniors and you could send them off, what would those essentials be?
What would you tell them, hey, you've got to have this. For the rest of your life you are going to need this. What would you tell them, hey, leave this behind. I can only imagine there's some people here in this room. Maybe you've packed for a trip.
Maybe you've been unprepared for a trip. I mean, you don't even have to go far in this valley. You could go to a football game. The sun goes down, the wind kicks up. You wish you had that jacket or that umbrella.
Mean, you're like, gosh, it's sitting right by the door. Why don't I have it with me? I don't have the essentials. It's cold. Or maybe you're like me and you've taken a trip.
Maybe it's been a long trip and you've gotten on that trip and you've come home and you've unpacked that bag and gone, gosh, I didn't even use half this stuff. I hauled it literally around the world. I never used this stuff. We packed non essentials. So to just pack the essentials is key.
Sometimes we have to weed out the things that we don't want and put in the things that we do. To be able to do that is so, so important. So as we get these seniors ready to send them off, what are the essentials? And now I'm not talking about the I'm not talking about the mini fridge. I'm not talking about that dorm room rug.
Alright? That's gonna get dirty anyway. I'm not talking about the the shower caddy or the shower curtain. I'm not talking about those things. What are the spiritual essentials that they'll need, the things that truly matter?
There
we go. Thank you, Ms. Murphy. Yes, that's what I'm talking about. Group participation.
If I had some candy in my pocket I would throw it to you right now. Hey, listen, I'm not above bribing people with candy for biblical answers, okay? As I've been working through this message, I want to pack some bags. The first bag and the most essential bag that we need to pack Let's just see what's in it. The most essential, like if I could tell our students there is one thing you need to know, it's that we are saved by grace through faith.
It is that God looked down from heaven and he went, they're not going to make it. They're not going to make it. The sin is too great and I will, I demand penalty for that sin. There's a debt and it will be paid. I'm a perfect and just God.
He looked down and he said, there has to be a payment for this sin. And he sent his son to pay that debt. And Jesus went. We just did this series with our middle school called famous last words and we looked at Jesus' famous last words. I mean he had incredible teaching the whole time he was here.
But when he knew that he was gonna die, he spoke very powerfully. And I wanna just tell you a couple things that he said. He's sitting on the cross. He's been nailed to it by professional executioners. This is what these men did.
He's nailed to the cross for a crime he didn't commit. On his right and on his left are two quote unquote criminals. Everyone that's sitting there watching, they're looking, they're hurling insults. He saved other people. He won't save himself.
The soldiers that put him there, they're looking and going, well, if he's really that great, maybe he'll save himself. And all of a sudden, one of the criminals starts in on him too. Hey, you saved other people. Why don't you save yourself and us? And the other criminal listen to this.
The other criminal looks at him and goes, hey, listen. We're up here because of what we've done. We're getting our just punishment. This man is innocent. He turns to Jesus and he says something.
He says, Jesus, will you remember me when you come into your kingdom? And Jesus says, today you will be with me in paradise. He now Jesus, he didn't check his resume. He didn't say, what's what's your tithing been like? Church attendance?
Notice you went camping a couple weeks there? How about your language? He didn't say any of that. And all I see is the acknowledgment of who Jesus was, the humility to ask for, hey, not because I'm anything but because you are. Would you remember me when you come into your kingdom?
You have a kingdom. I know you're going there. Would you remember me? And Carl just said, there is a place and it has got many rooms. This bag is so symbolic of just going everywhere with me.
Grace. The grace of God. The forgiveness of our sins. Not because we did anything but because God is everything. This is God's love that He poured out on us.
That's what's in this bag. Grace and forgiveness. We have a responsibility there. We are responsible for our faith, our belief in what Jesus did. We are responsible for believing that Jesus is who he says he was and that he did what he said he came to do.
When he was on earth, like we try to write Jesus off as a good teacher. When he was on earth, he said some wild things. He said, I'm the lamb of God that comes to take away the sins of the world. He would literally heal people just to illustrate the power that he had. He wasn't about just blowing people's minds.
He was about the forgiveness of sins. He would forgive sins and then heal a person and they go, you can't heal on a Sunday. And he's like, oh gosh, you guys are missing it again. I'm forgiven sins. The faith that Jesus is who he says he was and he did what he said he was gonna do.
We have the privilege of sitting on this side of history. When they were there like, is he? Is he not? Is he? Is he not?
We have the privilege of looking and going, Jesus said two thousand years ago he was gonna build his church and the gates of hell wouldn't prevail. Look around. Look around. Surely there's got to be something else in here. Guess that's all for that one.
Well, grace and faith. What about all this other stuff we're supposed to do? I mean, let me just ask you. How do we grow spiritually? What are these Christian religious things that we're supposed to do?
What are some of them? Can you shout them out? Read God's word. Read your Bible. What else?
Pray. What else? Witness. Serve. What else?
Live in community. Anything else? Love your neighbor. Forgive. Where do those fit?
This is me, not the Bible. This is me. This is just my interpretation of it, Okay? I just used this illustration to hopefully make a distinction. Yes.
I agree that reading our Bible, worship, serving, being kind to others, loving others, honesty, all these things are important and I believe that they are what God is calling us to. And we all know inherently that the world is a better place when we do this. I mean, how many of us go, you know, I just wish there was a few more people down here taking advantage of each other. We don't do that. Right?
Even people that don't like Christianity, like Christianity. You know, people say, I don't believe the Bible. Oh, you like killing people? What about stealing? Lying?
Well, no, I don't like this. Oh, you just don't like the part about Jesus and being the way, the truth and the life. We still want to go our own way. I'm not mad at that. I don't think God is surprised by that.
So inside this bag, this bag represents the things that God is calling us to. Inside this bag is purpose and calling. This is the life that God has for us. There is no bag I'm going to call them bag one and bag two. There is no bag two without a bag one.
We cannot walk with God without first believing that He exists, receiving His Son on the cross. Our sin, let me just break this down, our sin separates us from God. It's what it's always done. It is Christ's forgiveness that paves the way back to the Father. Once we have gone from bag one into bag two, now we can fulfill the purpose and calling that God has in our life by surrendering and submitting, hey God, you know, I got this going on.
Would you help me with it? And the Bible says that as we start to live by the spirit, because cause the Bible says that when Christ was here, he said I gotta go to the father. And they said, no, no, no, no, you need to stay here. And he goes, no, unless I go to the father I can't send the counselor. So when Christ died, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us as believers and that Holy Spirit has some objectives and they look kind of like this.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self control. He wants to produce these in us. He wants us to be in a storm and have peace. He wants us to love people beyond what we could do from our natural self. He wants us to be in control of ourselves.
This is God's plan. By the power of His Holy Spirit, He's equipped us to do this. So this goes in this bag as well. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness is what God is going to try to do in us. Question, did the thief on the cross get this stuff?
He didn't have a chance to go read his Bible or pray or worship, did he make it in? No, because only one bag is essential for making it into the kingdom of God. But after we receive God's message of love and forgiveness, we're going be changed on the inside. Jesse Wright, when he was here, he would always say to us in our small group, preach the gospel to yourself. Preach the gospel to yourself.
When you're in the shower, when you're brushing your teeth, preach the gospel to yourself. Man, for God so loved the world that he sent Christ to die in my place. That He loved me that much. Now inside this bag, when the Holy Spirit shows up there's also, as Galatians would tell us, there's a list of things that are not good in there. And God loves us just the way that we are.
He says, come on. Come on. Come on. Come to me. All you are weary burden, I'll give you rest.
Come on. But he loves us too much to leave us there. So bit by bit, piece by piece, he starts taking out things that are not part of his plan, that are not part of his spirit and taking them out of our life. And in that he can produce good. Now, this bag right here, this bag changes us.
This bag changes the world. This bag is about impact. It's about leaving the world a better place than when we showed up. This right here is how other believers other people come to know the Lord is because we are operating out of this bag. There is no pack two without pack one.
But I have to let you know something. As Christians, sometimes we start letting some of these things from pack two try to make their way into pack one. Oh, God might not hear my prayers today. I didn't have a good enough quiet time yesterday. Oh, I've missed church.
I haven't been reading my Bible. Oh, I haven't worshipped yet this week. And we start making things that are non essential essentials. We feel like we can't approach God because well, let's face it, we haven't been good enough yet. Galatians three:three tells us, what you've started by means of the spirit, will you now try to finish by means of the flesh?
Meaning, look, look, when you were broken and you were messed up and you had your sin, did you do anything to get right with God or did you just surrender? And he's saying, if it was surrender that got you there, then why are you now going to try to finish it by human efforts? Alright, God. I'm going to read my Bible and now I can earn my way back to you. Listen, church, we need to hear this.
We will never put God in our debt. Message to my seniors, you won't you won't read your Bible for thirty minutes and get an A on a test. It just doesn't work that way. But what you can do is you can say, hey God, got a test coming up. Could you help me study the things that matter?
You know what's going be on that test. Could you help me? And not go, alright God, I'm going give you this time. I hope every now I need everything to go good. God, I've been reading my Bible.
You need to give me that girlfriend or boyfriend I've been looking for. We're not going to put God in our debt. Jesus died on a cross for my sin, for your sin. It's the kingdom of God. It's by grace through faith.
And it's Romans ten eight through 10 that says oh, no that's not it. It's Ephesians two eight that says, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith. Listen, and this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God. It is not by works so that no no one can boast.
To my seniors I ask, will you always take God with you? Will you include God in your day? We have a God that that will always take you back. My message for my seniors today is this, you cannot out sin God's grace. You cannot out sin God's grace.
Trying it your own way and not going God's path is not unforgivable. You will probably do it at some point. I think of it almost like the analogy I have in my head is like a baseball. You know, you got your pitcher and your catcher. Right?
Now the goal of the pitcher is to throw it to the catcher and then catch it. But there's also a really big backstop. And the secret of my ministry here at First Be is simply this, I tell kids don't do, don't do, don't do. Me and Brad joke about the don't smoke, drink, or chew or go with girls that do or guys that do. You know, it's like here's the rules, you know what I mean?
But I don't think that Christianity is about we are not Christians because we are perfect. Our seniors, they are not Christians because they are perfect. They are Christians because we know where to turn when we mess up. And in order for us to be the church that Christ is calling us to, we have to acknowledge that we're going to mess up, be okay with that, and talk to God about it. That's a message for our seniors.
That is also a message for us in this room. We will not get it perfect but we do need to turn to God. So I ask you, where are you guys at? As we check our foundation, as we check our foundation, why are we okay? Where is it that we get comfort, confidence, hope?
Is it that our four zero one is looking good? Is it that retirement is here? Is it that what is our hope and our trust in? Because ultimately at the end of our day, we are gonna be okay because the grace of God is enough and we put our faith and trust in Christ's finished work on that cross. Everyone spends eternity somewhere.
Good people don't make it into heaven. Good people don't make it into heaven. Forgiven people do. Does this make sense? What are your essentials?
Where have you placed your faith and your trust? When is the last time you hit a crossroads and you prayed, not my will but yours be done? Where you look and you go, God I really wanna go out or do this or make this decision but it goes against your word and I'm going to look at them both and I'm going say, okay God, not my will but yours be done. When our thoughts, when our thinking, when our what we want doesn't line up with God's, are we going to choose his path and say, alright, my math must be wrong because you say clearly in your word this is what it is. What is essential depends on where we're going.
For salvation, by grace through faith. Trust that Jesus died in our place. What is essential to live the life that God has for us? It's simple. It's everything.
It will take everything in your heart, soul, mind, and strength. It will take everything that you have in surrender. It's a relinquishing of our will and an acceptance of God's where we say not my will but yours be done. God, if I'm going to have anything that means anything in this life, I'm going to do it your way. Everything else, Bible calls it sandcastles.
I'll just be honest, I want a Ferrari. Not because I think it serves the purpose of the kingdom of God, but because I like the way they sound. Sometimes I want to go a 160 miles, I want to rub that hand stitched leather. I want to push the electric button start. I mean, I want it.
It's great. What role does that have in the Kingdom of God? I'm not really sure. We all have little Ferraris we want, don't we? People make it into the Kingdom of God because we do this bag well.
I want us to make sure as a church that we are not letting things from this bag jump into there. If this bag I'm going to say this and I'm close. If this bag ever feels too heavy, if it ever feels too heavy, too much of a burden, I didn't read enough, I don't even know how to worship, I can't stop drinking, I know that God's if if you ever feel like this bag is too heavy, put it down for a minute. Just keep this one. Whenever I travel and I'm going quick, I'll always load this one up on the front.
Especially like I remember I hit Morocco one time and the first traveler I got there I was like, hey, how is it? He was like, keep an eye on your stuff. It will get going. And he had his backpack on like this. I was like, alright, that's how I'm wearing mine too with the essentials in the front.
I love traveling the world, but as I'm traveling the world I have essentials. Back when I used to travel, I had a camera with me that had some value. And my sequence always went passport, money, camera. You can steal my clothes if you want, But I can't make it back into my country without my passport. So that is number one.
You can take everything else from me but I'll fight to death for this passport. Us as Christians, all this stuff, it's great, but we better nail this one. This one is the one that gets us back into our kingdom by grace through faith. Bow your heads. Let's pray.
Father, I thank you God that that you've made a way. God that we are not aimless down here, that you have made a way for us to reconnect with you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die in our place. God I challenge that if there is anyone in this room that has not received you as Lord and Savior, God, would you move in their hearts right now by the power of your Holy Spirit in Jesus' name. Not because we're anything, but because of your love.
God, we need you every day. And I ask that as we go into summer, God, you would help us to pack what we need. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Would you stand and sing one one last song here? I believe
our your almighty. Through your Holy Spirit conceiving Christ the son, Jesus, I say to you, and I believe. I believe in God our father. Believe in Christ the son.
Amen. Can I leave this with you as a as a benediction here? It's first Corinthians 15. For what I received, I passed on to you as a first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. Lord, as we go, would you send us out with these essentials right here?
Grace through faith. God, grace, it's a gift from you. Faith, that's also a gift from you. Not something that we muster up on our own, but, God, your divine persuasion in us. May we put it into practice.
Lead us, guide us as we go in Jesus' name. Amen.
Church, one thing that we forgot is our wonderful Eon family. This is their last service with us. So, if we could have Florine and Violetta. Is Violetta here? Oh, she's in.
Yeah. They're this is their last because they're going off to Romania to be missionaries. So we would love to pray for them. If anybody wants to come up and surround Florine, wish Florine can somebody get a hold of Violetta downstairs? Maybe go get her and maybe bring the kids up too.
Yeah.
So if you're new, if this is your first time here at church, the the EON family served with us for many, many years. You've probably seen Florine at at Smith's forever. And there have been ossicles oh, come on up. Are your sisters coming too? Okay.
Was recorded.
Father in heaven, it is so fitting that on the Sunday that the that we are setting Florine and Violetta back to Romania, that we're having to gather them from all aspects of this church, father, because they're so busy serving, and they're so busy interfacing with this church. And, God, we cannot replace the hole that they're leaving in this body. But we ask that you would send them forth in truth, in love, in power, and as ministers of the grace that we've received in Jesus. God, we are so thankful for this family, for what they've meant for this body, and for what they will continue to mean to the entire body universal. We love you, God.
We are so thankful for that. Amen.
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