Basics of the Faith

Okay, good morning. I just want to welcome you guys this morning and invite you to stand with us. We'll pray and we'll get started.

Father God, I thank you. Thank you, Lord, for the day that you provided for us. Lord, I just thank you for how good you are to us. Lord, and just help us to always be mindful of that, Lord. Lord, especially in light of all that's going on in the world these days, Lord. Just help us just to remember that you are good. You always have been and you always will be.

Lord, as I see you, bless this time this morning, Lord. Help us just to lift a joyful noise to you, Lord, this morning. And we ask you, bless this time and bless the word as it goes out this morning. We love you and we praise you in your precious and holy name. Amen.

Yes, Lord, one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that you are Lord. Amen. You guys can go and have a seat if you like and we'll continue on. God, I just thank you for your amazing grace. God, thank you so much.

Father God, you love us so much, Lord. I can't even begin to fathom how deep that love is, Lord. That you would send your only son, Lord, to die for us. Only son for our sin, Lord. Thank you for the love that you have for us, Lord. I know there's nothing we can do to earn it, Lord. God, thank you.

His treasure.

Father, thank you. You've made us your treasure through your son, Jesus. Thank you. God, Lord, words cannot express, God, just how awesome you are. Wonderful. And how deep your love. Is for us. Got it. I just pray that we would have some inkling of an idea of how much you truly do love us, Lord. Thank you. Thank you for loving us, Lord. Thank you, Father. This morning.

I just pray that as as as Rick comes to bring the word, God, that you would just speak mightily through him. God, use him for your glory and be glorified this morning. We love you, Father. We praise you out and we thank you in Jesus name. All God's people said. Amen. Let's go ahead and have some fellowship, guys.

Good morning, everybody.

If you want to find your seats and turn to Psalms eight and then you can stand right back up again.

Psalms eight. We'll be reading out of the New American Standard. You got New American Standard, right? You got Kirk on? Hello. OK. All right. Let's go ahead and we'll start in verse one. I'll start. The Lord's glory and man's dignity. Oh, Lord, our Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name and all the earth who have displayed your splendor above the heavens from the mouth of infants and nursing babes.

You have established strength because of your adversaries to make the enemy in revenge. Oh, cease. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained. What is man that you take through? Then the son of man, you care for him. Yeah. You have made him a little lower than God and you crowned him with glory and majesty.

You make him to rule over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas. Oh, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name and all the earth.

Lord, that is our cry this morning. Just how majestic your name is. And we just worship you and want to give you glory and honor. And we just want to give our lives to you and just allow you to do what you want to in our lives, God. And we just ask that you be with us this morning as we spend time in your word. I pray that by your Holy Spirit, you would just speak to us from your word and draw us closer to you.

And we just ask that you be glorified in all that is said and done in Jesus name. Amen. You guys can be seated.

We're going to go through the announcements real quick. First of all, everything on the left side is the same as usual. And a lot of times when we come, you know, not a big crowd here this morning, but a lot of times you can come to church and you'll be in a crowd, but you're still by yourself. And a lot of these things on the side over here, a lot of small group activities that you can get involved with and plugged in and get to know other people better.

Also, this coming Saturday, the men will be having a breakfast. Here at the church in the agape room at 8 a.m. Saturday, January 21st and a time of food and fellowship. So good opportunity for those of you men who want to get together and spend some time in the morning Saturday. Also, if you noticed in your bulletin, you've got a little.

Let's see what I do with mine.

Extra little handout thing inside your bulletin. And what that is, is. We're going to be doing an outreach. To the small towns in Cali County this year and at the outreach, we'll be passing these out to everybody that comes to the outreach and. I'm going to be using it this morning and part of what I share in Ephesians chapter two. But before we get started, I want to share with you a little bit about what's going on with this outreach.

Back in 2013. I felt a desire to do an outreach to the small towns in Cali County. And one of the towns that I felt like I was supposed to start with was burden. And a couple of years later after I got that desire, a friend of my work came up to me and said. There was a Bible study in burden that's meeting on Thursday night for men at a pizza place because you got to go check it out.

So I went to it and Mike Marker, who is the pastor of the Baptist Church there in burden. He was leading this Bible study for men. And a lot of the men that were coming to this Bible study were men from the little town. Out in Cali County. And I thought, Lord, is is is this what you had in mind? Because I was already had a burden for the little towns and and seemed like something was already starting there in burden.

And so I just began to pray for what Mike was doing there in burden. Well, later on, that pizza place closed down and the Bible study started hopping from one place to the next. Now they meet in a house in Winfield. But that desire to do an outreach to the little towns has stayed with him for 10 years. And so I got with Ryan. The summer and I shared with him my desire, what I wanted to see happen.

And he said, well, go for it and see what see what happens, see what the Lord does. So I went over to burden and talked to Mike and shared with him what I wanted to do. And he was excited about the idea. And so our church and the Baptist Church in burden are going to work together to do this outreach throughout Cali County this summer. And September, October, November, my wife and I went around and visited all the little churches in all these little towns.

And. Before we went, I was warned. Now, be careful when you go to these little churches, little towns, they may be kind of territorial. They may not like you coming in from outside of town, want to do something in their area. Well, we went and we sat in the services. And after the service is over, I'd go up and I'd talk to the pastor. I'd say, I'm Rick Hawkins.

This is my wife, Christy. We fellowship at Calvary Chapel in Ark City. And we're wanting to do an outreach in the small towns in Cali County this year. And it's kind of like a miniature Billy Graham crusade through the small towns. We're just hit one. We're going downtown a month on a Saturday night. And what we would do is we'd bring in special music, show a short Franklin Graham film, ask some of the local people to share their testimony.

And they give a short message. And anybody that accepts Christ, that local church would be responsible for doing the follow up with those people. And every church that we went to liked the idea. And so the doors were wide open for this year to do that. Now, we've only got through once. I got to go back starting next Sunday and do more details. And pin them down for a date.

But the Lord has opened the doors wide open to do this outreach. And a lot of these little churches, there's not going to be anybody that wants to stand up in front of people and share their testimony. And so I put a clipboard in the back. And if you're interested in sharing your testimony of how you came to know Christ, write your name on that clipboard and put your phone number down.

And I'll get back sometime in February. Everybody that signs up that's interested. And sharing their testimony. We'll all find a time when we can get together. And we'll practice sharing our testimonies in front of each other. So you can get used to sharing your testimony in front of a small group. And it kind of gives you a chance to get your bugs out of your testimony a little bit.

There's a little sheet back there by the clipboard that gives you some tips on how to share your testimony. So if you sign your name up, grab one of these little sheets. And then that will kind of help you get a chance to work on how you're going to share your testimony between now and the time in February when we get together. Also. I would say about a third of these churches don't have any children in them.

There's no children in a third of these churches that we're going to at all. And but because this is an outreach, we don't know who's going to come. And if you're interested in maybe sitting in a nursery or doing some activities with children, there's also a clipboard back there that you could sign. And if you're interested in helping with the nursery, there's an end.

Just mark an X below end. Or if you're interested in helping out with child care, just put it. Mark underneath the C and we'll get back with you as things go along and kind of see how things go. But this is a this is just a step of faith. We've never done anything like this before, and we're hoping to possibly reach as many as maybe fifteen hundred people over the course of this summer.

Right now, what we're looking at is we're going to be in Burden in March. We're going to be in Cambridge in April. We're also going to go to Silverdale, Maple City, Dexter, Rock, Atlanta and Utah Springs. Plus, we happen to run across. A couple, two or three little country churches out in the middle of nowhere and talk to them. And they were also interested.

So we may be, you know, there may be up to 12 places that we're going to hit over an eight month period between March and October. So I would really appreciate your prayers on this thing that God would just move because because there's nothing anybody can do in ourselves to draw people to him. But what we want to do is just glorify the name of Christ, reach people that don't know Christ. And at the same time, be a blessing to these.

Churches that are in these small communities. And so right now, the door is wide open and God seems like he's really blessing it. So I just want to share that with you so you'd be praying for it. The study today, I'm going to be in Ephesians chapter two.

Oh, I was also good. I forgot to share, too.

After when somebody accepts Christ, somebody accepts Christ at one of these things, we've got like a little welcome to the family pack. We're going to give them. We're going to give them a Bible and some tips on how to grow in Christ, the address of the local churches and different things like that. But three weeks after the event is over, we're going to be mailing everybody that accepts Christ a little.

It's just a little booklet called Is It Real? And it's by John MacArthur. And he goes through First John and helps those young believers kind of go through First John and kind of see where they're at as far as their relationship with the Lord and stuff. It kind of helps them grow. It's real simple. It's got 11 lessons in it. And it's two bucks to buy. But you can actually read the book online if you want to.

It's called Is It Real? By John MacArthur. And you can just look it up online and read it for free.

And I had that thing in Ephesians 2 to mark my place. That's where I couldn't find it.

Okay, I'm going to pray again because I just feel like I need to.

Lord, I lift up Ryan and I just ask that you be with him and his family while they're in Kansas City. And be with Alan and his family while they're in Florida. And just be with them. And I just ask that you be with us. As we spend time in your word now. I really pray that you would just speak to each of our hearts as you lead, Lord. And just help me to stay out of the way.

And just you do what you want to do. In Jesus' name, amen. It starts out in Ephesians chapter 2. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. The word trespass means to cross a line. And the word sin means to miss the mark. All of us have fallen short. Of the glory of God. We've all messed up. We've all crossed the line of what God wants us to do. We've all missed the mark.

And it says that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. And when God created Adam, he created him with three parts. He has a body. He has a soul. And he has a spirit. His body allows him to function in this world. His soul is made up of his intellect, his emotions, his senses. Allows him to comprehend the world that we're in. And his spirit allows him. And allows him to commune with God.

God said the day that you take of that forbidden fruit, you will die. Well, the day that Adam and Eve took of that forbidden fruit, something changed. They didn't die physically. They didn't. Their soul didn't die. But when God walked through the garden, they hid themselves. Something had changed in their relationship. And what happened was their spirit had died.

Their spirit didn't die in the sense that it ceased to exist. It died in the sense that it ceased to function like it was supposed to. Because the spirit was what we were supposed to commune with God. But because of sin entered into the picture, our communion with God has been severed. It's been broken. And so, since Adam and Eve, everybody that has been born is born with their spirit not functioning like it's supposed to be.

In Romans, in verse 2 and 3, it says, And you were dead in your trespasses and sin, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the Son, of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Twice he uses the word formerly, once in verse 2 and once 3, indicating this is supposed to be how we were before we accepted Christ. In Romans 6 it says in verse 1 through 10, What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be. How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not? Know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death. Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,

so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died is freed. Now, if we have died with Christ,

we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again. Death no longer is master over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all. But the life that he lives, he lives to God. When a person accepts Christ as their Savior, the Holy Spirit comes in and regenerates your spirit.

In other words, your spirit is born again, and you're able to commune with God that you weren't able to do before. And the thing, though, that happens when you are born again spiritually is that now, all of a sudden, you have a battle that takes place in your life because the Holy Spirit wants to lead in your life, but you still have that sinful nature in you. As long as we're in this physical body, we're going to have to wrestle with our sin nature. It says in Galatians 5, For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

But if you're led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. There is a spiritual battle that you didn't have before you accepted Christ, because you were sold into sin. You could do whatever you wanted. You didn't have to worry about it. But now that you've accepted Christ, there's this conflict that takes place in us. The Lord wants to lead in our lives, and at the same time, our sin keeps wanting to rise up,

even though we're supposed to consider it dead. In verse 4 and 5 in Ephesians 2, it says, But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. Salvation is by God's grace alone. It says in Romans 5, verse 6, For while we were still helpless at the right time,

Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for a good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved for the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies,

we were reconciled to God through the death of the Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life?

My wife's telling me to slow down.

Salvation is by His grace and His grace alone. And when He comes into us, we are made alive with Him. It says in verse 6, And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Back in verse 5 it said, He made us alive together with Christ. In verse 6 it says, We're raised up with Him. And it also says, We are seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

It's hard for us to understand how that we could be in heavenly places right now. But we are in Christ, and we are alive in Him, and we are raised with Him, and we are seated in heavenly places with Him right now. It's like, it's why in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 we are called ambassadors for Christ because our home where we live, we have a heavenly citizenship. It says in Philippians.

That's our home. We have a heavenly citizenship. But we are here on the earth. This isn't our home. And we are here as ambassadors for Christ. We represent Christ to the people around us. It says in John chapter 17, I do not ask thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in thy truth.

Thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, also I have sent them into the world. Now, in verses 5 and 6, where it talks about how we're built alive with Christ and stuff, in the Greek there's two different words for with. There's one word for with that means beside. And so in Matthew 27, 38, where it says, I am two robbers were crucified with him.

In other words, beside him, one on the right hand and one on the left. That word with just means beside. But the word that with that is used in Ephesians is the word that means in union with. And so when you read Ephesians chapter 5 and 6, when it says we are made alive with Christ, it means we are made alive in union with Christ. We are raised with Christ.

We are raised in union with Christ. We are seated with Christ. We are seated in union with Christ in heavenly places. We are seated in union with Christ in heavenly places. It's a more intimate relationship than just being beside somebody. There's a oneness there. There's an intimacy. In verse 7, it says, in order that in the ages to come, he might show the surpassing riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

The amount of grace that God has shown us right now is nothing compared to what he wants to show us. He's going to spend eternity pouring out and revealing the love of God. The love that he has for us. And as much grace that I've experienced in my own life, I just can't imagine what that grace is going to be like that he continually pours out afresh throughout eternity.

It says in Colossians 3, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ and God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also, also will be revealed with him in glory.

This life here is temporary. We're not going to be here forever. We're going to be going home sometime. And we need to get eternity set in our focus and not worry so much about the temporal because all this stuff is going to pass away. In verse 8 through 10, it says, for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God,

not as a result of works that no one should boast. For we are his works, workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Grace is the basis of our salvation and the faith that we have in him is also provided by him. It says in John chapter 6, in verse 28, it says, they said therefore to him, what shall we do that we may work the works of God?

And Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent. And verse 64, it says, no one can come to me. Unless the father draws him. Even our free will as sinners is tainted by sin. And though, and it says in John chapter one, but as many as received him to them, he gave the right to become children of God. Even to those who believe in his name,

who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. You can only come to Christ as the Holy spirit draws you. As the God draws you to Christ. That's the only way you can come to him. That's the only way your free will is going to be drawn to. Him is if you allow the Holy spirit to do that drawing in your life. But as God draws you in your free will,

if you resist, then your heart, is it going to become harder each time God tries to draw you to him? And pretty soon your heart's going to become callous to the things of God. And the Holy spirit won't be able to reach through to you. So when God prompts you and he's calling you, you need in your will respond to him.

In verse 10, it says for we are his workmanship, creating Christ Jesus for good works with God prepared before him, that we should walk in them. When we become believers, there should be a change that takes place in our life. When you were dead before you accepted Christ, we were like dead fish that just float down the river. We just go with the course of whatever Satan's got going on.

We just float along. But when we're alive, we tend to swim against the current. A dead person is comfortable being, inside of a coffin, but you put a live person in a coffin. That live person wants to get out because we're not dead anymore. We're alive. There should be a difference in our life taking place in Ephesians chapter four. It says this. I say therefore,

and affirm together with the Lord that you walk no longer as the Gentiles also walk into futility of their mind, being darkened to their understanding excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the hardness of their heart and they haven't become callous to have given themselves, over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn crisis way. If indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him, just as truth is in Jesus. That is that in a reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of the seed and that you renew and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new

self, which is in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness and truth in verses eight and nine, God is dealing with our justification and in verse 10, God is dealing with our sanctification and a lot of times people get those things confused. They don't understand them and I want to take a little time to explain them. That's what that, that inside of that sheet that was there for you and the top of the sheet it says, test yourselves to see if you're in the faith, examine yourselves, or do you not recognize? It's about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you fail the test.

That's second Corinthians chapter 13 verse five. There are three types of professing Christians. Those who are saved to know it, those who are saved, but lack the assurance and those that think they're saved, but they're not. And a lot of the confusion comes from not, from not understanding what happens to a person when they accept Christ and what happens to a person after they accept Christ.

Justification has to do with being declared righteous. It is by God's grace alone and and you either accept it or reject it. When when I accept the moment that I accepted Christ in my life as my savior, I was declared righteous before God and it was because of what Christ did for me. There's nothing I could contribute to it. Either I accept it or I reject it,

but my sanctification is being set apart under God and it involves my response to God's grace in my life and either I could yield to God's grace in my life or I can resist it. When I accepted Christ into my life, it was a one time event at a point in time. I know exactly when I accepted Christ. I know the day, I know the year because it was the most important decision that I ever made in my life.

Now that I'm a believer and I'm set apart into God, I'm going through an ongoing process. It's not a one time thing. Now it's it's a ongoing process as God changes my life. When I accepted Christ, it involves salvation from the penalty of sin. But now that I am saved in Christ, I say, I'm being saved from the power of sin. When I accepted Christ into my life,

my justification changes a person's eternal destiny. But now that I'm saved, God is changing my present life. When I accepted Christ, it resulted in between in peace between me and God. There's no more hostility between me and God. And now as a result of accepting Christ as a believer, I can experience the peace of God. Christ's work on the cross was for my salvation.

But now that Christ has risen from the dead, he is working in me because he's alive. I was declared righteous by faith in Christ, and I'm being made righteous by his grace. We will not be sinless in this life. But as a believer, as God molds us and shape us, we will sin less. We will not be sinless, but we will sin less because that's just what happens to a believer.

It's just the result, a change in your life. Christ died for me to give me salvation. And now that I'm a believer, I died itself so that Christ can live in me. The benefit of accepting Christ as my savior, my justification is that I have eternal life. The benefit of me yielding to God's grace in my life as a believer is that I get eternal rewards. When you accept Christ in your life,

you are born again spiritually. And now that I have accepted Christ in my life, the Holy Spirit dwells inside of me and he has to lead me. I am saved from the wrath of God, and now that I'm a believer, I am disciplined by the love of God. All those whom God loves, he disciplines. And if you've never experienced the discipline of God, you will if you're a believer.

And sometimes his discipline is, I find humorous because he has, he throws a little humor in there. Sometimes it's discipline, but at the same time, you have to laugh about it because you know, that's God's just dealing with him. As a believer, when I accept the Christ, I live in the spirit, but God doesn't only want me to walk, live in the spirit. He wants me to walk in the spirit.

Now, there's like about three errors as to what people look at when they look at this justification and sanctification. The first one is that some people think that they can live the Christian life without ever having accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. They've maybe gone to church all their life. They've read the Bible, but they have never actually confessed their sin to God.

They've never actually asked Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior. It's kind of almost as if they're hoping that when they get stand before God, that God will look at their lives and look at their good that they've done. And look at the bad and the goods going to outweigh the bad. And he's going to say, oh, you're not such a bad person. Come on in. But in James,

God says that you can keep the whole law. But if you fail, in just one point, you're guilty of all because God demands perfection. And if you're not perfect, you're not making it in. It says in John chapter five, you search the scriptures because you think that in them, you have eternal life. It is these that testify about me and you will, you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life.

What a sad thing to be for somebody who has been in their church their entire life and never accepted Christ as their Savior. What a sad, sad thing to find out. Another misconception is that some people are just looking for fire insurance. They don't want to go to hell. They just want some fire insurance and there's no sorrow for sin in their life. And they don't understand that when you get saved from the wrath of God,

you're being saved to Christ. You're being saved to something. You're not just being saved from hell. And in Jude, it says in verse one, three through four, it says beloved while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the Saints for certain persons have crept in unnoticed.

Those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into to the city's nests and deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ. Where it says the city is since what they're doing is they've turned the grace of God into the license to sin. And so they don't really want to come to Christ. They just don't want to go to hell.

And so they're they might say the sinner's prayer or whatever, but their whole goal is just fire insurance. They don't want to go to hell, but they still want to just indulge in sin. At the end of that verse, it says and deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ. I learned something preparing the study that I never really noticed before. Did you know that the word Savior is only used?

In the New Testament? 24 times and part of those 24 times is in reference to the father. So less than 24 times in the New Testament. Jesus is referred to as the Savior. It's Savior is not used in the book of Matthew. The word Savior is not used in the book of Mark. It's not used in Romans. It's not used in first Corinthians, second Corinthians. It's all it's used six times in Titus and the rest of the time in the other books just got it out 24 times.

That's it. Most of us as believers and myself included. I usually refer to Christ as my Savior. That's just usually what I think about. But you know what? The New Testament refers to Jesus as guess how many times Jesus is referred to as Lord in the New Testament. Hundreds of times only 24 times the Savior counting the father, but hundreds of times he's referred to as Lord in the New Testament hundreds.

The emphasis upon Christ wants to not only be our Savior. He wants to be the Lord of our lives. He wants us to step down off the throne of our life and allow him to sit on the throne of our life and be our Lord. He wants to be the Lord of our life. That's the New Testament. Emphasis is upon Christ being Lord, not just being Savior. Now, there's another misconception and that is people look at justification as by Grace,

which is correct. But then they have a double standard when it comes to sanctification. They put themselves under the law. So you're saved by Grace. And God accepts you just as you are. But as soon as you become a believer, you got to live up to all these rules and regulations or God's looking down on you. And that's not scripture. It says in Galatians 33. Are you so foolish having begun in the spirit?

Are you now being perfected by the flesh? Do you think that you and your flesh now that you've been saved can in any way add to what God has already done to you? It doesn't work that way. Zach Williams has a song that I really like. It's it's it's called a heart of God and I probably mess it all up now, but I run this worse in my mind all the time. But he says he's not up there shaking his fist writing you off counting you lost.

He's not up there shaking his fist. He went to the cross. He went to the cross. He showed us his love at the cross. And you don't have to doubt his love for you. You don't have to try to earn his love. He just loves you.

Now. We're going to look at Grace as it's meant to be looked at in Titus chapter 2 verse 11. It says for the grace of God's appeared bringing salvation. All men. We all understand that we're saved by Grace, but that's not all the Grace does. It says in verse 12 that Grace is instructing us. To deny ungodliness and worldly desires and live sensibly and righteously and

godliness present age looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify it for himself a people for his own possession. Zelius for good deeds. God's Grace is not only give a salvation, but God's Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness worldly desires and to live sensibly. It also puts within us.

This blessed hope and the desire of looking forward to the day that we're going to be with Christ. Those are all done by God's Grace. It said in in chapter 2 in verse. Now I gotta get back to where I was at. Ephesians 2 in verse 10. It says that that we are his workmanship. That word workmanship in the Greek is the word poema where we get our word poem. We are his workmanship.

We are his poem. He is the one that is writing his story into our lives. It's his work. All that we have been called to do is to yield to his Grace and let him do his work in us. That's what we're called to do. We're not called to live a set of rules. We're called to grow in a relationship with him and he will take care of the rest. I've been a Christian now for almost 48 years and I still have a problem with

cussing every now and then. And if I try to, focus on not cussing, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to cuss more because that's just the way it works. But if I focus on my relationship with Jesus Christ and I'm growing in my love relationship with him and I'm worshiping him, I can go weeks and realize I haven't said a cuss word in a long time. It's not because I'm trying.

It's because I'm focusing on my relationship with him. And that's what we're supposed to do.

Starting in verse 11 through 18. It says, Therefore, remember that formerly you, the Gentiles and flesh who are called uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision, referring to the Jews, which is performed in the flesh of human by human hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, excluded from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers in the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you have formerly were far off to being brought near by the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace who made both groups into one. They broke down their barrier of the dividing wall by abolishing in his flesh, the enmity, which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances that in himself, he might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace and might reconcile them both in one body to God through through the cross for has been put to death for it having put to death the entity and he came and preached peace to those who are far away and peace to those who were near for through him. We both have excess in one spirit to the father. This entity that he's talking about that's being put away.

It means hostility. The entity between man and God is gone because of Christ. The entity between the Jews and the Gentiles because of the law is done away with because of Christ says in Romans 10 for for crisis at the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes in Romans 11 says for just as you once were disobedient to God, but now been shown mercy because of their disobedience talking about the Jews. So these also these Jews also have now been disobedient in order that because of the mercy shown to you.

They also may not be shown mercy for God has shut up all the disobedience that he might show mercy to all God has created a new entity called the church and it's made up of Jews and Gentiles who accept Christ as their savior and Lord and this new body isn't it's important that we realize that it is centered on him. In Ephesians 2 14. It said for in him. He is our peace who has made both groups into one and brought down their buried dividing wall down verse 15.

It says that in himself. He might make the two into one new man. In Isaiah 42. It talks about how that he's talking to God is talking about Jesus and he says I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I also hold you by the hand and watch over you and I will point you as a covenant to the people as a light to the nations. That word covenant means to have a binding agreement between two parties

where at least one of the parties is taking a solemn oath to keep a promise that affects the other party a covenant involves two parties and Isaiah 42 says that God is appointing Jesus to be a covenant to the people. That means both parties are represented in this covenant. Jesus is 100% God and Jesus is 100% human. Both parties in this new covenant are represented in the person of Jesus Christ.

If you want to enter into this new covenant, the only way that you can do that is by entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ because the new covenant is bound up in the person of Jesus Christ. There's no other way to get into this new covenant except through Christ because it's bound up in him and that and the church exists because of that. Now, it talks about in Hebrews chapter 10 that we're not supposed to avoid the assembling together. It says let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promises faithful and let's consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds not forsaking our sibling together as is the habit of son but encouraging

one another and all the more as we see the day of drawing near the purpose of the church is to encourage each other and build each other up and we're not to avoid the sibling together. We need each other. It's like a group of coals when you're hamburgers or something. You're using charcoal briquettes. If you take one briquette and set it off to the side by itself that one

briquette is going to cool off faster than the ones that are there keeping each other warm. It's the same way with bananas. If you take one banana away from the bunch, you're going to get peeled. You're better off hanging out with a bunch of bananas than it is to break off and get yourself peeled. Okay, we need each other in verse 19 through 22. It says, so then you are no longer trans strangers and aliens,

but you are fellow citizens with the Saints and are of God's household. Having been built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone and whom the whole building being fit together is growing into Holy Temple into the Lord and whom you also being built together into a dwelling of God in the spirit where it says, having been built together on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets in 2nd, Peter chapter 3. He says it a little bit different. He says this now below the second letter.

I'm writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember that words spoken beforehand by the Holy Prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by our Apostles were in Ephesians. It sounds like he's just talking about New Testament Apostles and Prophets. Peter makes it talk about the Old Testament. Prophets and what Christ said through the Apostles.

So basically what he's saying is God's word that that we are to build on the foundation of God's word. Now Jesus Christ is the living word. We have a relationship with the living word and that living word is testified by what is written in the scriptures. It says in John 20 verse 31, but these things have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing you may have life in his name.

The foundation of your life is a relationship with Jesus Christ. And being grounded in his word the life of the church is with Christ being the head of the church and being grounded in his word that that's that's a that's a that's a have to and it says that we are being built into a temple unto the Lord that were temple in the Hebrew is dealing with that part of the temple where the priests alone can go and in Revelations chapter 1. It tells us that we have been made in Christ a kingdom priest unto our God we get to enter into the presence of God as believers. That's our responsibility.

We get to enter into the very presence to the throne of grace with boldness in first Corinthians 1218. It says that God places is in the body as he desires. Each one of us have a different role to play in the body of Christ and in first Corinthians chapter 3 verse 10. It says according to the grace of God, which was given to me as a wise master builder. I laid a foundation and another is building on it, but let each man be careful how he

builds on it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man builds upon that foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, each man's works will become evident for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work, which he has built remains, he shall receive a reward.

If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved yet is through fire. The neat thing about this. Where our works are being tested is that when you're being used by God, it's not you that's doing the work. That's why in revelations that talks about how that we're going to cast our thrones crowns before him is because all the things that we do in Christ that we're going to get rewarded for.

It's because we have just yielded ourselves to him as our Lord and let him work through us to touch other people. We're being rewarded for letting him work in our lives. He's doing the work. We're just letting him do it through us. And that's all he's asking us to do is to yield ourselves to him and let what that happened. Well, that's all I've got to say. And I got it all done.

We're at. Point till 10. I don't know what time we usually get done, but I'm sure I'm done early. But if you guys want to come up and lead a song, I'm going to go ahead and pray. And then after we're done with the service, I'm going to hang out up front. And if. If. If you have never really accepted Christ in your life, you may have thought you were, but you're not sure, whatever,

I'd be more than happy to pray with you. And if you've got anything else that you'd like to pray about, I'd be glad to pray with you down here in front. But I'm just going to be hanging down in front after the service is over, and you're more than welcome to come down. Lord, I just lift up the time that we had in your word, and I just pray that by your spirit that you used your word to somehow draw us closer to you, to help us to realize how much you love us and how much you have for us.

And may we just yield our lives to you as we leave this place and allow you to work through us. And may others be touched. In Jesus' name, amen.

Again, I'm here this morning that I don't know you and their Savior. I pray that today would be that day.

Just do a mighty work.

Father God, I just thank you, God, for your word, how sharp and powerful it is, Lord. God, able to divide. Down to the bone, down to the marrow, Lord. Able to discern right from wrong. Lord, God, I just thank you for your word. I just pray that it would do its mighty work in our lives, Lord. God, separate out, Lord, that which is not of you in our lives, Lord.

Just get rid of it. Lord, come into our lives, Lord, and do your mighty work through your word and through your Holy Spirit. Lord, we love you, Lord, and we praise you, and we thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. You guys have a wonderful week. Be blessed, and just remember if you need, Pastor Rick is down here, and he's happy to talk with any of you guys.