Mission Church
Mission Church
Overcoming Satan's Lies with Scripture
Can you really disappoint Jesus? This provocative question propels our exploration as we unpack Romans 8, confronting our deep-seated need for approval and the myth that we must earn back grace. We shatter the misconception that our failures can distance us from Jesus, reaffirming that nothing—not tribulation, distress, or persecution—can separate us from His love. Reflecting on our unbreakable bond with Christ, we find peace in being more than conquerors through Him who loves us, fostering a profound understanding of God's unwavering affection.
Ever felt the weight of Satan's accusations, dragging you into self-doubt and emotional turmoil? Through personal anecdotes and scriptures like Zechariah 3 and Revelations 12, we reveal how the enemy's deceptions aim to keep us away from Jesus. We'll also discuss the arduous journey of church planting, the pitfalls of pride, and the legacy we hope to leave. By recognizing and countering Satan's tactics, we can stay true to our spiritual path, positively impacting our loved ones and communities.
Living out our faith is a daily challenge, especially in a world rife with distractions and negativity. We share practical insights on embodying Jesus's teachings within our immediate circles, influencing family, neighbors, and coworkers. From unpacking the concept of being "more than conquerors" to sharing historical and modern examples of true strength and identity in Christ, we emphasize the power of God's unconditional love. No force can separate us from this love, urging us to stay grounded in our faith and embrace the transformative power of living out our beliefs.
Amen, dude, y'all are quiet tonight. If this is how y'all are going to be, I'm going to have to tell Joe look, you can bring food in, but no one's allowed to eat until after. Y'all are going to be sleepy on food, all right? Well, kids, just hang out for a minute. Nana will be right back. She had to run home real quick to grab your project for tonight. So when she gets back, you guys can head out with her. So when she gets back, you guys can head out with her.
Speaker 1:Everybody else, I hope you are having a decent night. We're going to jump in. We're going to finish Romans 8 tonight, which is awesome, right, because we've only spent six weeks in one chapter. Chapter 9 will probably take us just as long, if not longer. So keep that in mind.
Speaker 1:But my goal tonight is this that I want you to leave feeling encouraged. I want you to leave feeling the truth of what is in scripture, but I also want you to leave knowing something. I want you to leave not just feeling, but knowing All right. And tonight our big question is this Can you let down Jesus? Can you disappoint Jesus Like? I want us to really wrestle with this, because if you're anything like most people in this world, you are a performance-driven person, all right, and here's what I mean by this. I know there are some of you that are sitting in this room that somewhere in your mind you go. I don't care what people think about me, and what I want you to know is you're a liar. You do care what people think about you. In fact, all of us care what others think about us. Now, some may care more than others, but what we are is performance-driven individuals. All right, we live to make people proud, like that is our goal, and John Calvin would word it like this we all are idol factories. Now, when I say idol, it's not I-D-L-E, it's I-D-O-L. In other words, here's what you do. You live to worship. We live to worship and we love being praised, and here's what I mean by that.
Speaker 1:Anyone in here ever heard this term? I'm not angry. Okay, some of you are already laughing, so you probably heard it right. I'm not angry. I'm not angry. Okay, some of you are already laughing, so you probably heard it right. I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed.
Speaker 1:Now, I don't know if you're like me, but I will tell you right now. I would have much rather my parents beat me with a two by four than just look at me and go, hey, I'm just disappointed in you, I expected more from you. I can deal with the physical stuff right, that'll all heal. The bruises, the black eyes, all of that will heal. And I'm not trying to make light at child abuse, please do not take it as that. But man, hearing someone's disappointed, that's something that just like cuts deeper than any knife out there, and a lot of us when we look at Jesus, that's what we do. Right, I let him down again. I messed up again. Jesus has got to be disappointed in me. I have to earn back Jesus's grace. So that is going to be our big question. I will pray and then we will jump into it. Father, I ask, and I pray that as I preach this tonight, Father, I do so just being a tool that you are using to speak to your people. Father, I ask that it is not my opinion, that it is not my thought, it is not what I feel, but, father, it is what your word says, because your word and your word alone is what cuts to our heart, to change us from the inside out. Father, we pray all of this in Jesus' name, amen. Here's why I don't eat. Name Amen. Here's why I don't eat. Before service I should say All right.
Speaker 1:So kicking off in, verse 35 says this who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, as is written, for your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors, through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. If we really understood that verse I mean, we literally just sang a song that said we are more than conquerors. And do you know the gusto we should have been singing that song with? Because if we understand what Paul is saying here, man, it could change our lives.
Speaker 1:See, what we're looking at tonight is Paul is asking the same question in three different ways. So when we start looking at verses 35 and 36, it says who shall separate us from the love of Christ. Start looking at verses 35 and 36, it says who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, as it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. When we stop and look at this list, paul is saying here that because it is Jesus who justifies and Jesus who intercedes for us, like we looked at last week, then there is nothing and no one that can separate us from him.
Speaker 1:Everything in this first part, what I want you to take away, deals with things that happen to us, deals with circumstances in our life. For example, one of the things that Paul asked about is can tribulation separate us from God's love? Understand this. There are a lot of Christians that believe tribulation separates us from the love of God, because if you're going through tribulation, what that means is is you have some kind of sin in your life, you have something in your life that is displeasing and dishonoring to God and therefore God removes his blessing from you. And when I say that there are some Christians I'm talking about mainline Christian denominations that will probably preach this this weekend.
Speaker 1:In some way, shape or form. This isn't just some kind of old thing, see, and most of us, if we're not careful, we kind of walk in that same mentality, right, we kind of walk in this idea that as long as I'm doing everything to please Jesus, then I'm good with Jesus and me and Jesus are on good terms. But if I do something dishonoring or displeasing to Jesus, well then that changes how Jesus looks at me, because at that point, just like my parents, when they're mad when they've looked at me, or they're not mad, they're just disappointed doesn't that change how you react around your parents? Any of you ever gotten in trouble and like, for like a week or two it's really awkward, like at the dinner table, like it's really awkward. Like I remember one time I got in trouble I don't even remember, like obviously I've gotten in trouble a lot, but like I got in trouble and then the next thing out of like my parents' mouth was like all right, get in the car. We got to go and it was like this long road trip. So it was like my sister did travel softball and so like we would be like it was nothing for us to have to go like six hours away in a car to go to a softball tournament. So I know my mom's mad at me and now I have to spend the next six hours in the car with her. And so I did what any child does, right? I gave her a second to calm down and then, you know, you try to say little things. What you're trying to ask is are you still mad at me? But what it comes out as is hey, mom, did you see that billboard? That was kind of funny, right? Ha ha ha. And you're just kind of gauging their reaction back to you.
Speaker 1:See, this is where most of us find ourselves in our relationship with Christ. We do something, we screw up, we mess up, we sin, and then we look at Jesus and we go. So, dad, are you still mad at me? Like, am I still worth it to you? Do you still love me, or is it this really awkward? Or is it this really awkward situation that we have to go through? See, we sin, and then what do we do? We go and we try to hide. That's all of us right. When we do something wrong. What we want to do is we want to be by ourselves, we want to go hide and we want to get away. You know where that comes from? Well, if you go all the way back to Genesis 3, and it's not going to be up on screen, but you can go home and read it if you really think I'm a liar In Genesis 3, adam and Eve sin.
Speaker 1:They eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. What do they do after that? They go hide. They go make for themselves clothes of fig leaves and then they go hide. See, this is our reaction. This is what we've done. This is what we've done since the very first human beings. We feel ashamed of ourselves, we feel that shame, we feel that guilt and we go. We want to just be by ourselves.
Speaker 1:Do you understand that that is the most dangerous place in the world for you to be? In that moment particular, I would much rather you be by yourself when everything is like going well and good, because then you don't have anything weighing down on you. Do you know how many text messages I've gotten from people over the years that went hey, I'm just in a really dark place right now. You know why you're in a really dark place right now? Because you didn't bring your brother or sister who is the light with you, to that dark place to help illuminate that, to sit and talk with you and go, hey, look like let's work through this, let's get through this. Let's separate and I'll tell you right now you're going to hear a lot of sayings tonight. My kids are, like, I'm sure, sick of hearing. But let's separate what we feel from what's real, because that's how we live our lives. Hear me real quick because I'm going to talk.
Speaker 1:I'm going to slam emotions in just a little bit. I get we are emotional. God is emotional. When we read through scripture, we see that Jesus is moved with compassion. We see that Jesus is angry. We see that Jesus loves. We see all these different emotions. We're emotional because we're made in the image of God, who is emotional, and emotions by themselves are neither right nor wrong. They just are.
Speaker 1:Now, what you do out of that emotion can be the difference between life and death. That's why, in Ephesians 4, paul would say this be angry and sin not. In other words, as someone who struggles with anger, this is a very comforting verse to me. It's okay for me to be angry, it's okay for me to get mad. You know what's not okay For me to get angry and then use that anger to harm someone else. That's not okay. It's not okay for me to get angry and then go. You know what? Forget this. I'm going out to the bar and I'm just going to sit at the bar for hours and hours and hours and drink away my anger, or I'm just going to light up one more time, or I'm just going to do this, or I'm just going to do that, or I'm going to shoot up, or I'm going to do anything.
Speaker 1:See, when emotion controls us like that, it's never okay and I get blamed on the opposite side that I have no emotion and feel nothing. And I have to explain to Kayla I mean one of my daughters all the time daddy feels like I feel everything you feel. The difference is I've learned how to take what I feel and separate it from what is real and see this whole being disappointed and this whole me having Jesus look at me and going, hey, I'm disappointed in you and I want nothing to do with you, is a very, very dangerous place to be because, like we looked at last week, the devil loves to stand right next to us and throw accusations at us all the time. So last week we looked at Zechariah 3. Today we're going to look at Revelations 12. In verse 10 it says this and I heard a loud voice in heaven saying now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.
Speaker 1:How do we know they have come? For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down. Who accuses them day and night before our God? You want to know when Satan accuses you Day and night. You want to know why you do that one little thing, and then you run and hide and want to sit when Satan accuses you Day and night. You want to know why you do that one little thing and then you run and hide and want to sit by yourself Because you know Satan is sitting there accusing you.
Speaker 1:I was talking with I apologize, I was talking to someone the other day and we were talking and I was like look, man, I'm going to tell you the devil is alive, the devil is real. We like to downplay stuff like that, especially us Baptists, because I don't want all this supernatural talk around me. However, the more I have been studying, the more I've been looking at this, the more I can look at this and see we have an enemy who seeks to kill, steal and destroy, who will do and use anything and everything in your life to keep you from Jesus and from people who are going to point you to Jesus. And if he can keep you quiet, if he can keep you distracted, if he can keep you depressed, if he can keep you down, he wins. Think about it. If you don't even ever influence anyone else, except for the people that live in your house, all right, and I'm going to tell you like this I was at a church planning conference one time and the guy that was doing the talk, he was like hey, let me ask you guys this when it comes to church planning, would you be okay planting a church that never grew to more than 10 people, but you knew one of those 10 people was going to go on to plant a church of 10,000 people.
Speaker 1:And you want to know what? My sinful heart went All right, let me count. We have Tawny and Kevin and, oh God, no, I'm not okay with that. Like, who gets it? Like that would be like someone going hey, you know what, I'm going to go to the Olympics, but I want to compete for fourth place. And in my prideful and sinful heart, I went no, why would I be? Like, what if? What if, just throwing out hypotheticals here? What if God went hey, you know what? No, like Josh, you're going to plant this church but then eventually your son's going to take over and he's going to take it to places that you never even imagined. And I was like God, you want me to have to look at my son and go, man, you did better than me. I go. My son's almost 17 years old. I will not let him beat me in anything. And now you want me to like God is this and, like I said, that's just hypothetical. But see, this is what we do.
Speaker 1:But think about the people in your house that you have influence over. What if you could change your children's life because you actually believe what you say? You believe what if, like you never did any of the big, huge, amazing things that we desire, but the stage we got to play on was small, and yet that one person you work with, or that one neighbor you have, or that one person who lives with you, you changed their entire life because you actually believe what you said. You believed. Would it be worth it to you then, like, would it be important enough to you then? Because I know I gave that as an example about oh well, what if it? Obviously I sit here and go. What if? What if one of you guys did plant a church and it hit 10,000 people? Praise God, right. What if we never got bigger than what we are, but yet we reached out into every single area of our community? Praise God, because at the end of the day, isn't that what it's about Seeking and saving what is lost? What if, tonight, we actually got serious about what we believed? What if we went? Hey, you know what? This isn't just a head knowledge thing and this isn't just so I can feel better when I leave thing, but I actually am sitting here going.
Speaker 1:You know what I want? To submit to the lordship of Jesus. I want to hold on to the truth of what I find in scripture, because I'm sick and tired of the devil consistently accusing me and then I'm great for six weeks and then the next three months I may show up twice. See, night and day, satan is standing there trying to accuse us, trying to make us doubt one truth that God loves you. You guys have heard me use this as an example all the time. But understand, debbie will never be everything for me. I will never be everything for her. I will disappoint her. I will disappoint her. I will let her down. Do I ever try to do it? Only sometimes, and that's only with arguments. But other than that, no, I never try to disappoint my wife, but it's going to happen. But my biggest thing is, I never want her to doubt if I love her.
Speaker 1:Garth Brooks has an amazing song called if tomorrow never comes, and it is the whole point of the song is if tomorrow I can't tell Debbie I love her because I die tonight in my sleep, will she know that? See, and it's the same philosophy and what we're trying to understand here. Like do you understand that God loves you, that God loves you enough that he entered into creation? First of all, wrap your head around that. This would be like you getting on your kid's level, and as parents, we know that we don't like to do that, right. We like to know we're parents, you're kids, you do what I tell you to do, but Jesus went no, no, no, no. I'm going to come to your level because I love you enough to save you even from yourself. See, what the devil is trying to do is trying to make us doubt that God loves us. Trying to get us to remember all those times we messed up. Trying to get us all by ourselves so that we become quiet and useless. Because, see, if I can keep you distracted, then I don't have to worry about any of this. My goal is just to keep you distracted.
Speaker 1:Look at our country right now, like understand. There are movies out right now I think it's called Am I Racist? By Matt Walsh, where he's exploring the idea that just because you're white, you are inherently racist. Where he's exploring the idea that just because you're white, you are inherently racist. Now, I'm not saying that there aren't racist white people. There definitely are. There's also racist brown people and black people and orange people and yellow people and purple people. There is racism that exists in the hearts of every single subgroup of humanity. But are you racist just because you are a certain color? No, but let me keep you distracted Because I'll tell you right now it's distracted at least 15 minutes of my life, because I watched a video about it which I thought was again a waste after I got done, and for that 15 minutes.
Speaker 1:I could have been doing something else that 15 minutes. I could have made a phone call to someone and been like, hey, I know you're having a hard week this week, just wanted to check in on you one more time. I could have sent out a couple of text messages and been like, hey, are you good? You know what else I could have done? And this is crazy. I could have prayed and been like, hey, are you good? You know what else I could have done? And this is crazy. I could have prayed and been like, lord Jesus, be with me, help me.
Speaker 1:Jesus, I could have read my Bible, I could have done eight million different things, but what the devil is doing is going no, no, no, no. I'm going to keep you distracted so that you are quiet and you are useless, because as long as you're quiet and useless, you are not going to be serving others, you're not going to be sharing the gospel of Jesus, you're not going to be living your life on mission and you're definitely not worried about seeking and saving what is lost, because you're so wrapped up in your present circumstance, because you're so wrapped up in you, because you're so wrapped up in you, you don't have time for others at that point, because I'm so wrapped up in what I have done to God, because the devil can make you believe that your circumstances, that God is disappointed in you, and then you just spend all your time trying to earn back God's good graces. And maybe if I read my Bible every day this week, then God will love me again. Maybe if I just say 18 prayers this week, god will love me again. But see, the truth of the matter is and it's found in verse 37, no, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Speaker 1:That word conquerors, more than conquerors. In the greek it actually has a really cool saying. It's called hyper nike, niokeum. All right, it's really fun to say. Took me a long time to learn it, and what it actually breaks down to and translates into is super conqueror or super man Dead. Serious. See what Paul is saying here is through Jesus, we are more than a conqueror. And what we have to understand is for the first century, a conqueror was somebody right. Think about it. Alexander the Great. How did he get the great attached to his name? He conquered all of Greece. Okay, when we get into Romulus, and what is his brother's name, Remus, thank you. They're the founders of Rome, who were given birth by a wolf who suckled at her teat, and it's crazy. But again, they're conquerors. Genghis Khan, honestly Hitler, I mean, had he not decided to take on America and Russia, it might have had a different outcome, right. But see, isn't that what our human heart is? We want to be conquerors.
Speaker 1:Debbie knows there's one thing that'll get to me more than anything else Pull my punk card. My mom used it my whole life, never even know she used it right. I bet you can't clean your room in half an hour. What? Get my room clean real quick. We'd get in the weight room Like your buddy would be like hey man, I bet you can't throw up 300. You're like I'm about to pull every muscle in my chest. But let's go See if you're a guy in here. You know that, because that testosterone in you is just like what, like you think something or someone is better than me. That's our heart's desire.
Speaker 1:And what Paul is sitting here saying is no, no, you don't understand this. Like. We are more than that through Jesus. See, what Paul is actually saying in this one statement is a culmination of the rest of chapter 8. He's saying, if we are in Christ, we are heirs and co-heirs with Jesus, that there is now no condemnation for us, that we are so much more than just a conqueror, that we are sons and daughters of the living God. And you know what that should cause in our heart, for us to look at the world, regardless of the circumstances we are currently walking in, and go. Is that the best you can do, like all of us should be, lieutenant Dan?
Speaker 1:For those of you that don't get that reference, lieutenant Dan met Forrest Gump in Vietnam. Winds up, getting his legs blown off. Forrest like saves him. He comes back. He's mad at Forrest. Why wouldn't you have let me die there with my men?
Speaker 1:Forrest buys a shrimp boat and they go out on the water and they're shrimping and there's a storm and he is literally like tied to the mast on the boat, with no legs, yelling at the wind. Is this all you got? You call this a storm. And he is literally like tied to the mast on the boat, with no legs, yelling at the the wind. Is this all you got? You call this a storm. That is how we, as christians, should be looking at the devil.
Speaker 1:This is the best you got to bring some accusations against me from some crap that I did 15, 20, 30, 40 years ago, like that you got man. You better try harder, because you obviously don't know who saved me. You obviously don't know who I am. You obviously don't understand the identity I have. I am more than a conqueror through Christ. See, this is how Paul can sit here and go. I can do all things. I know what it's like to be rich and I know what it's's like to be poor. I know what it's like to feast and I know what it's like to go hungry. None of that matters, because my circumstances don't matter, which I don't know is, and just. I'm not going to call them out by name, but you'll know who I'm talking about in just a second anyway.
Speaker 1:So five years ago we planted Mission Scent and we went hey, we want to be this conglomerate, like. We want to do all of these different things. All right, we want to start Mission Academy, like Mission Academy. We want to start our own school. We want to start Mission Media, which is just a podcast and creating content. We want to start Mission Scent Outdoors, which is going to get some of us outside to experience God's creation. We went we want to start Mission Barbecue. Now, this was before I knew that there was a restaurant named Mission Barbecue and actually Mission St Outdoors started as Mission Fission and through that we found out there was already a company in Titusville named Mission Fission, so we couldn't use that either. But do you understand that?
Speaker 1:Tonight before service there was one of you I was talking to who went hey, we want a trailer or a restaurant. And I looked at him and I was like let's do it. And they think I'm like joking. And those of you that know me are like, nope, he ain't that kind of person Like when he goes, hey, let's do it. It's a let's do it Because I sit here and go if we can use food to bring glory and honor to Jesus. Chick-fil-a was built off of that. They are closed one day a week and still make more than any other fast food restaurant outside of McDonald's in the world.
Speaker 1:I say let's go. I say let's do it Because we are more than conquerors. See again, we exist to equip, encourage and I forget our old saying now but equip, encourage and educate, to create opportunities for all disciples to serve those around us, to share the gospel of Jesus and to live our lives on mission and that comes in all different sizes and that looks all different. But see, we should be able to look at the world and go this is it, this is all you got. And do you know what would happen if it failed? Would I be sitting here going? Such a failure, such a blockhead? Nope, I would go what? What's next? All right, what's next? Hey, that didn't work out. What's next? Mission Academy closed down. Tomorrow I'd be like, hey, had a great ride, what's next? Like I go. That's just the attitude we should have.
Speaker 1:Why are we so stuck on our circumstances? Why are we so stuck on God is not able to? Because, honestly, that's what we should have. Why are we so stuck on our circumstances? Why are we so stuck on God is not able to? Because, honestly, that's what we're saying. What do you mean? God is not able to.
Speaker 1:One of the biggest things that tick me off with like Christian rap artists is they try to sound like secular music artists, because if I can sound like Golden Boy, what Golden Boy? No, that's not right. That's his name, right, yeah. Or if I can sound like this other guy or another guy that I can't name, but if I can sound like them, then I'll sell like them. We gotta watch Josh, like y'all heard, sometimes like he's like, oh, go with the whole hill song vibe and it's like no dude, be you, because who can't? You're sitting here going, god isn't able to see. I get it.
Speaker 1:Sometimes life is hard, but for those in christ we should be able to hold on to not what we feel, but what we know, because what you feel will change. I promise you, regardless of what you feel at any given moment, in 10 minutes you're not going to feel the same way. It may get worse, it may get better, but you're not going to feel what you just did. But yet we base so much in our life around what we feel. I'll tell you right now.
Speaker 1:I don't wake up every day and look at Debbie and go, oh, my heart is so full. Look at what I got to wake up next to. Again, I do that some days. There are some times I'm up at like 3 o'clock in the morning, like I'm just going to text her and let her know hey, you're laying in bed next to me, but you're sleeping. I love you. You make life worth living. Then there are other days I'm up at 3 in the morning and I'm like I can't believe you would say that and then just turn around and go to sleep Like what is wrong with you?
Speaker 1:But our marriage isn is based on this. We want to be with each other. That is the truth of the fact. We wanted to be with each other enough that we went hey, god said, multiply and fill the earth. So we did that, because if I base it on what I feel, guess what happens? Divorce, because sometimes you look at your spouse and you're like, really, say it again, and if you ain't giggling it's because you ain't married. Yeah, there are. Sometimes you look at them and you're like they're your everything.
Speaker 1:But we cannot be stuck on what we feel, because if we stay on what we feel and not what we know, we forget that Jesus is interceding for us and, regardless of how bad it gets here, what is coming is better. In verse 18, paul said this, for I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. See, remember, scripture isn't meant to be taken. Just one verse here and one verse here. This is a culmination of everything Paul is talking about and he's sitting here going. You don't understand. What is coming is so much better than anything you will suffer through here.
Speaker 1:We have to stop holding on to the lies and the feelings of our present circumstances and allowing them to dominate our thoughts. In 2 Corinthians 4, it says this present circumstances and allowing them to dominate our thoughts. In 2 Corinthians 4, it says this for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh. Here's what that means. Your problems, 99% of the problems you have in your life, you cannot take a gun to and solve them. It doesn't matter how well you can shoot, how well you can fight, how strong you are, because those are not the weapons of our warfare. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ. Here's what that means the moment that thought comes into your mind, take it captive and go. Hey, I don't care, that's not true.
Speaker 1:See, some of us, we got problems when, like, we hear someone, oh, someone said such and such, like, like it blew my kids minds. When, like someone had like bad mouth me one time and they were like well, you didn't even like say anything back and I was like, what do I care? I know it's not true, what difference does it make then? But yet we'll hold on to all these thoughts that creep into our head that aren't true. Again, hold on to what is real. Get rid of what you feel. If it isn't, if you can't go back to Scripture and go, boom, it's right here, then get rid of it. What difference does it make? Because our war is not waged in the flesh, it's waged in the mind. It's sitting here, going. I'm going to hold on to the truth of what I know, because what I give attention to becomes what I focus on, and what I focus on becomes what I believe.
Speaker 1:And this is why Paul is reminding us of who we are, that we are heirs of Christ, that we are more than conquerors, that we are loved children of God, and nothing can separate us from that. Nothing can separate us from that. See, he ends by saying this, for I am sure, in verse 38, for I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Paul says I am sure that word right there is pitho. Okay, it sounds a lot like another word, right, pistos? What does that word mean? Some of you in here should know that, looking at you three I know Shelby said it, but she's a grown-up, I was looking at the kids it means faith.
Speaker 1:See that when Paul's sitting here going, I am sure of this what he is saying is is my faith. What I believe is tied up into this, not that I believe these facts are true, but because I believe these facts are true, I will trust that God is telling the truth when he says that nothing can separate me from him. Understand this Jesus, if you are in Christ, never once has looked at you and went I'm disappointed in you. You want to know why people don't preach that? Because we're terrified that if I let you know that Jesus isn't disappointed in you, then you'll just go live whatever kind of life you want to live. That's why and here's what I have to say to that If that is your heart's choice, I would ask are you in Christ If the Holy Spirit isn't convicting what you got going on in your heart. Are you in Jesus to begin with? Because if you have the Spirit residing in you, then you should have that conviction in there. You don't need me to stand up here and tell you you're wrong, because the Holy Spirit lives with you and goes. You're wrong, see, but what Paul is sitting here saying is that there is nothing, not heights nor depths, not the high points of your life, not the low points of your life, not angels, not the devil. Nothing can ever separate you from the love of your heavenly Father. If you were in Jesus, he has never once looked at you and went I'm disappointed, not once. You want to know why? Because he already paid for it. There's nothing for him to be disappointed in, see.
Speaker 1:The best illustration I can give is very simple, and I've already talked to him about it and I've already cleared him with this, which is not something I normally do. Normally, I just do it in the moment and deal with the fallout after the service. Jt, my child, no matter how bad he is, can never stop being my child and, trust me, he has pushed this theory to its absolute limits. If he emancipated himself, which means he went to the court and he had paperwork filled out and the court said he is no longer your child. It would still not stop him from being my child. There is literally nothing on this earth, regardless of how he acts, regardless of what he says, regardless of what he feels, there is nothing on this earth that will ever stop him from being my child. And that is what Paul is driving at. Because, see, regardless of what happens, regardless of how much trouble he gets into and there's plenty of it to go around there are three questions that we ask at the end of all of it Do I like you any less, do I love you any less?
Speaker 1:And are you any less my child? And you want to know why I ask him that? Because I never want him to walk away from an argument or a fight or a discipline and go. My dad loves me less. Oh, my dad loves me less based off of my actions, because that is antithetical to what the Bible says about your heavenly father and you.
Speaker 1:It's very easy for us, as parents, to go. I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed. You're disappointed in what that your kids make the same mistakes you make, that your kids do the same things you did when you were their age and let's be honest and I've even told JT this he really doesn't even hold a candle to what I was doing at his age. So, but I have a right to look at him now and go I'm disappointed in you. Instead of being a loving father and going, hey, like, here's why we need to work through this, here's why we need to work through this, here's why we need to change this, here's why this isn't okay. Instead, I just need to put all the weight on him and go hey, look, your actions are going to be the reason I either am proud of you or disappointed in you. When my heavenly father doesn't look at me that way, when Jesus doesn't look at me, and go hey, josh, you know what? You really knocked that sermon out of the park this week. I'm really proud of you.
Speaker 1:Tuesday, when I'm on the boat fishing and I go and say something I didn't say, josh, I really thought we would move past this one already. Bud, like, are you ever going to get control over that tongue? Over that tongue? See, understand the reason I do that is simple, is because I never want JT to think he can drive me away and drive away Jesus. See, understand, I get it. We bring baggage to the table and a lot of it, some of us. But the reason Jesus had to die is because the payment of sin is death, but the love of it is this While Jesus is being murdered, he says this in Luke 23, father, forgive them.
Speaker 1:They know not what they do. See, jesus knew what he was doing on the cross and he still chose to do it. Jesus knew what he was doing and he was thinking of you and he was thinking of me. And understand that. The Bible tells us that, before the foundations of the world, we are adopted in Christ Jesus. So God knew what he was getting when he chose to get you. He knew the ups and downs we have.
Speaker 1:But the fact of the matter is can you let Jesus down? Can you disappoint Jesus? See, this is another beautiful thing about the word predestination, because he already knew it. In order for me to disappoint him, he wouldn't have had to known. Right, like, if JT does what, I already know what JT is going to do. Can he disappoint me in what he does? Nope, and yet still loved you enough to call you by name and go. You're mine, see, there is nothing that will separate us from that same love that Jesus showed in his death. And that is what we know. That's not what we think, that's not what we feel. That is what we know and because we know this, our lives should be poured out for those around us, no matter what you feel, no matter if it's a good day or a bad day, no matter if the week went well or the week went terrible. Our lives should be marked by serving others, sharing the gospel, living our life on mission to seek and save what is lost.
Speaker 1:So tonight, as we closed, do you know that? As we closed, do you know that? Are you sitting here tonight ready to submit to the lordship of Jesus, to accept that you need Jesus in your life? Are you sitting here tonight knowing you need to get serious about following Jesus? Do you need to remember that there is nothing that can separate you from the love of Jesus, that there is nothing that can separate you from the love of Jesus? See, whatever it is, wherever you find yourself on that, I'm here to serve. And if you're like you know what no, I'm good, like this was just like a gentle reminder, awesome, like some of you should be there. But then what are you doing to serve others? What are you doing to share that gospel? What are you doing to live your life on mission? So, as Josh closed, if there's anything I can do to serve you again, just like last week, this is what I'm going to say from this point forward Come find me.
Speaker 1:You can't walk five steps. It's not like we're in this massive building. I ran off to the green room. Security flagged me down. Okay, come find me. Raise your hand.
Speaker 1:I know you're not doing it because you're singing and you're so into the song because none of y'all like we have one person here that does that none of y'all like we have one person here that does that. If you can't do either one of those, just like yell really loudly. If you just yell, josh understand, you have a one in three chance of getting me. And if not, all three of us know how to pray, so you'll be all right. But we got to take it seriously and we got to understand.
Speaker 1:Stop going with what you feel, stop going with the ups and downs of life and be set on truth. Father, we thank you so much that, in our brokenness and our ugliness and our awkwardness that Father, you still chose to love us, that Father. You did so in a way that you went hey, nothing is going to let you away from me, that there's nothing in this world that can separate us from the truth of the fact that you love us. Father, I just ask and I pray that, as we move forward in that, in knowing that, in knowing what our identity is in you, that Father, you make us secure in that that that causes our life, father, to be poured out for you, that that causes us to seek and save what is lost, father, we pray all of this in Jesus' name, amen.