WEBVTT 00:00:00.321 --> 00:00:09.451 We're going to be in Galatians, chapter 6, this morning, and one of the things I really love and appreciate about FCC is that we are a multi-generational church. 00:00:09.451 --> 00:00:30.647 We have younger people and we have more experienced people and everywhere in between, right, some of y'all were you're wondering yeah, more experience, you just have more experience than some other people. 00:00:30.647 --> 00:00:40.371 Yeah, the thing's about when you talk to somebody that maybe is in a little different generation is sometimes they use different words and lingo to communicate. 00:00:40.371 --> 00:00:45.231 Have you ever talked to those of you that maybe are a little more experienced? 00:00:45.231 --> 00:00:52.554 You ever talk to somebody a little less experienced and they say something and you're like what did they just say? 00:00:52.554 --> 00:00:57.631 Here's one, here's one, here's one that's mid. 00:00:57.631 --> 00:01:03.845 Can somebody in the younger generation, can somebody tell me what is that's mid? 00:01:03.845 --> 00:01:04.385 What does that mean? 00:01:04.385 --> 00:01:09.713 Somebody tell me Subpar, what's that Subpar? 00:01:09.713 --> 00:01:18.691 Subpar, right, it's kind of average, kind of mediocre, right, it's not great, it's not like the best restaurant, but it's not like McDonald's either. 00:01:18.691 --> 00:01:20.884 You know, it's just it's mid. 00:01:20.884 --> 00:01:22.468 Here's another one. 00:01:22.468 --> 00:01:24.406 I just lost some of the experienced people. 00:01:24.406 --> 00:01:24.888 It's just, it's mid. 00:01:24.888 --> 00:01:25.349 Here's another one. 00:01:25.349 --> 00:01:27.578 I just lost some of the experienced people. 00:01:27.578 --> 00:01:34.040 Here's another one. 00:01:34.061 --> 00:01:36.608 No cap, okay, some more of you. 00:01:36.608 --> 00:01:39.174 Okay, somebody tell the rest of us in the room what does no cap mean? 00:01:39.174 --> 00:01:39.415 What's that? 00:01:39.415 --> 00:01:40.197 No open bottle. 00:01:40.197 --> 00:01:40.900 Somebody said open bottle. 00:01:40.900 --> 00:01:44.674 Yes, that's right, some of y'all had some open bottles on July 4th. 00:01:44.674 --> 00:01:45.236 You know what I'm saying? 00:01:45.236 --> 00:01:47.503 No cap. 00:01:47.503 --> 00:01:50.609 No cap means I'm not joking, like I'm serious. 00:01:50.609 --> 00:01:52.313 No cap, you know like seriously. 00:01:54.221 --> 00:02:02.361 There's different phrases that different generations say and talk to and there can be generation gaps. 00:02:02.361 --> 00:02:05.308 But there's one thing that kind of all of us understand. 00:02:05.308 --> 00:02:08.996 It's like this universally understood kind of principle. 00:02:08.996 --> 00:02:20.300 Truth is that if somebody writes something through text or email and it's in all caps, you're shouting, you're emphasizing it. 00:02:20.300 --> 00:02:34.354 So, for example, if I texted you or somebody texted you and it said I really like that, normal it would mean something, but in all caps it's I really like that Now. 00:02:34.354 --> 00:02:39.820 Now I just let some of you know that you just that do caps in all of your emails and all of your texting. 00:02:39.820 --> 00:02:41.283 You're yelling at people. 00:02:41.283 --> 00:02:42.205 Please stop. 00:02:42.205 --> 00:02:47.760 Okay, it's interesting. 00:02:47.781 --> 00:02:54.674 We go to a place in Galatians, chapter 6, where Paul uses all caps. 00:02:54.674 --> 00:02:59.972 He uses large letters to emphasize what he's about to say. 00:02:59.972 --> 00:03:12.704 In verse 11, he says look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting Now large letters. 00:03:12.704 --> 00:03:14.227 Why is he writing large letters? 00:03:14.227 --> 00:03:25.003 Well, he just spent five chapters talked to them about all these kinds of things and he's kind of nearing the end Like this, is it? 00:03:25.003 --> 00:03:31.847 This book's about to come to a conclusion and Paul says hey, hey, hey, hey, this is important. 00:03:31.847 --> 00:03:37.115 Don't discard it, don't fall asleep. 00:03:37.115 --> 00:03:40.463 This isn't just a random book Like. 00:03:40.463 --> 00:03:41.485 This is important. 00:03:42.828 --> 00:04:05.711 He says those who want to make a good impression in the flesh all caps those who are overly concerned with their reputations and their image and looking good, those people are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised, but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross. 00:04:05.711 --> 00:04:09.443 Christ, these people aren't even real followers of Christ. 00:04:09.443 --> 00:04:12.191 They aren't willing to make sacrifices for the faith. 00:04:12.191 --> 00:04:15.007 They aren't willing to be persecuted for the cross. 00:04:15.007 --> 00:04:25.954 For even the circumcised, the people he's talking about, they don't keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh. 00:04:25.954 --> 00:04:32.209 Have you ever experienced somebody that told you to do something but they weren't willing to do it themselves? 00:04:32.209 --> 00:04:35.413 Hypocrites. 00:04:35.413 --> 00:04:36.254 That's what he's saying here. 00:04:36.254 --> 00:04:42.399 He's saying these people right here, they're saying you need to do this, but these people, they're not willing to do it themselves. 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:42.540 People. 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:44.884 They're not willing to do it themselves. 00:04:44.904 --> 00:04:49.593 And then we get to this really key verse as we wrap up the book of Galatians. 00:04:49.593 --> 00:04:54.250 It's really important. 00:04:54.250 --> 00:05:08.432 It really kind of summarizes the book of Galatians, he says but as for me, I will never boast about anything except the what's the next word, except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05:08.432 --> 00:05:12.024 Isn't that kind of churchy sounding? 00:05:12.024 --> 00:05:15.649 I will never. 00:05:15.649 --> 00:05:29.468 I'm only going to boast in the cross, like don't we boast in our accomplishments or what we've achieved, or what we have or who we know or how many fathers we have, both in the cross. 00:05:29.468 --> 00:05:40.548 This actually might be the most life-giving truth you'll ever experience in your life, and I'm going to explain why in just a few minutes. 00:05:40.548 --> 00:05:44.326 He says the world's been crucified. 00:05:44.326 --> 00:05:46.050 To me through the cross and I to the world. 00:05:46.151 --> 00:05:48.785 For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing. 00:05:48.785 --> 00:05:51.790 What matters instead is a new creation. 00:05:51.790 --> 00:05:58.793 Now, paul's audience here is these Jewish people, and for him to say circumcision, uncircumcision, means nothing. 00:05:58.793 --> 00:06:07.440 This is a shock to these people, because he is devaluing something that they think is so key and so important. 00:06:07.440 --> 00:06:10.148 Paul says nah, that's not really that important. 00:06:10.148 --> 00:06:12.622 What matters is that you're a new creation in Christ. 00:06:12.622 --> 00:06:15.309 What matters is that your faith is in Christ. 00:06:15.309 --> 00:06:20.946 You're a new creation that God's done a work of transformation in you. 00:06:20.946 --> 00:06:27.576 That's what matters, and may peace come to all those who follow this standard. 00:06:27.576 --> 00:06:29.382 What's the standard? 00:06:29.382 --> 00:06:39.728 Well, just a couple verses earlier he said the standard, not boasting in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus. 00:06:39.728 --> 00:06:41.451 That's the standard. 00:06:41.451 --> 00:06:49.793 And he says peace will come to those who follow this standard and mercy even to the Israel of God. 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:53.870 In the Old Testament, the chosen people of God were only the Jews. 00:06:53.870 --> 00:07:00.507 But all of us that have turned from our sin and put our faith in Christ and what he's done for us, we are the chosen people of God. 00:07:00.507 --> 00:07:03.127 We have been given mercy from God. 00:07:03.127 --> 00:07:05.944 So from now on, verse 17,. 00:07:05.944 --> 00:07:12.867 Let no one cause me trouble, don't cause me trouble, because I bear in my body the marks of Jesus. 00:07:12.867 --> 00:07:15.560 Paul had been persecuted for his faith. 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:17.745 Paul had been whipped and beaten. 00:07:17.745 --> 00:07:21.752 His body you could see the marks Jesus. 00:07:21.752 --> 00:07:24.723 He lived his life to make Jesus known. 00:07:24.723 --> 00:07:31.249 So, brothers and sisters, verse 18, the grace of our Lord, jesus Christ, be with your spirit. 00:07:31.249 --> 00:07:32.211 Amen. 00:07:34.341 --> 00:07:46.896 We've been in Galatians the last few months and this is the last section of verses, this is the last message and I'm going to say for some of you guys that really like outlines, how many of you are like outline people? 00:07:46.896 --> 00:07:47.699 You like the outlines? 00:07:47.699 --> 00:07:54.213 Okay, you guys are not going to like this one, because we're not going to have like two or three or four points. 00:07:54.213 --> 00:08:15.250 There's only one point, and there's really only one point of the entire book of Galatians, and it's this Followers of Jesus should boast in the cross alone. 00:08:15.250 --> 00:08:18.538 That's it. 00:08:18.538 --> 00:08:27.093 But why, I mean why, would we boast in an instrument of extreme brutality and torture? 00:08:27.093 --> 00:08:39.933 It doesn't make any sense on the surface, but the cross is the only way that we can receive salvation. 00:08:39.933 --> 00:08:43.469 Without the cross, there's no forgiveness of sins. 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:51.570 Now, what a lot of us like to think is we like to think that we're good people, don't we like I'm a pretty good person. 00:08:51.570 --> 00:09:08.657 You're like I'm in church on a sunday morning, right, and what we do is we base our goodness and how we see our goodness on people that maybe aren't quite as good as us, right? 00:09:08.657 --> 00:09:09.984 So I'm good. 00:09:09.984 --> 00:09:11.469 But what's the standard for goodness? 00:09:11.469 --> 00:09:16.812 Him, her, the kidnappers, the people in prison, right? 00:09:16.812 --> 00:09:25.688 Let me just kind of show you like this there's a joke, it's an old joke, it shows this like modern thinking or whatever about this. 00:09:25.688 --> 00:09:27.344 As far as good, bad, all this. 00:09:27.384 --> 00:09:28.586 Okay, now something. 00:09:28.586 --> 00:09:30.171 You need to brace yourself for this joke. 00:09:30.171 --> 00:09:33.466 I did filter it through some people, so we're good. 00:09:33.466 --> 00:09:34.309 Here's the joke. 00:09:34.309 --> 00:09:34.711 Are you ready? 00:09:34.711 --> 00:09:40.586 You're sweating more than a prostitute in church. 00:09:40.586 --> 00:09:43.677 She never heard that one. 00:09:43.677 --> 00:09:45.586 She never heard that one. 00:09:45.586 --> 00:09:50.167 Actually, the joke is, instead of a prostitute, it uses another word about it and uses that one, you know. 00:09:50.167 --> 00:09:52.052 So here's the joke. 00:09:52.052 --> 00:09:52.480 Here's the joke. 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:54.024 Okay, hang with me. 00:09:54.024 --> 00:10:14.328 The joke is you got somebody out on the street doing immoral, bad things and they come in to church, they come into the room with good, holy upright people and they hear somebody talking on stage, singing on stage. 00:10:14.328 --> 00:10:30.042 That's good, holy upright, and they're sweating because they don't belong, because they're very nervous, because these people are good and that person is bad, so they're sweating. 00:10:30.042 --> 00:10:31.504 That's the joke. 00:10:32.567 --> 00:10:37.741 But here's the thing the cross declares that, apart from Jesus, all of us are bad. 00:10:37.741 --> 00:10:45.134 The cross shows us that we aren't good people in need of improvement. 00:10:45.134 --> 00:10:48.429 We are all sinful people in need of a savior. 00:10:48.429 --> 00:10:51.466 That's what it shows. 00:10:51.466 --> 00:10:54.649 It shows that we all need a savior. 00:10:54.649 --> 00:11:06.879 In fact, in Romans, chapter 3, it says there is no one righteous, not even one that includes your grandma, that includes your kid that you think is perfect, right? 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:16.215 There's no one righteous, not even one, and apart from Jesus, we're all sinners before a holy God. 00:11:17.760 --> 00:11:23.153 So what the cross is is Jesus dying in our place. 00:11:23.153 --> 00:11:28.202 Jesus dying in our place, jesus dying in our place. 00:11:28.202 --> 00:11:34.607 So it's more than like a cool emblem that's worn in a fashionable way, you know. 00:11:34.607 --> 00:11:41.432 It's like oh, I like that cross necklace, I want to get that one, you know, or earrings, or man, I'm thinking about getting tattered up. 00:11:41.432 --> 00:11:43.673 Oh, crosses are cool, let me just put one on my. 00:11:43.673 --> 00:11:45.394 Oh, let me put one on my bicep. 00:11:45.394 --> 00:11:46.336 I've been working out right. 00:11:46.336 --> 00:11:48.437 It's more than that. 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:59.869 The cross is Jesus dying the death that we all deserve, and the cross says that none of us are strong enough, moral enough, righteous enough. 00:11:59.869 --> 00:12:11.245 This is why Jesus died, and Jesus was the perfect sacrifice that fully satisfied the holy requirements of God. 00:12:11.245 --> 00:12:22.711 So when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, we are righteous, we are accepted and we now have an eternal home in heaven. 00:12:22.711 --> 00:12:26.220 And this friends Now have an eternal home in heaven. 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:31.596 And this, friends, this changes everything. 00:12:31.596 --> 00:12:31.756 It does. 00:12:31.756 --> 00:12:39.500 It has a massive, massive implications for your life. 00:12:39.500 --> 00:12:43.660 This means that you never have to worry that God will reject you he won't. 00:12:43.660 --> 00:12:45.427 This means you never have to worry that God will turn you he won't. 00:12:45.427 --> 00:12:48.817 This means you never have to worry that God will turn his back on you. 00:12:48.817 --> 00:12:54.413 You did that. 00:12:54.413 --> 00:13:00.025 You never have to do something to earn God's favor. 00:13:00.025 --> 00:13:04.553 Paul says in Corinthians for every one of God's promises is what's that word is yes In him. 00:13:04.553 --> 00:13:04.794 Yes, i's. 00:13:04.794 --> 00:13:05.676 That word Is yes in him. 00:13:05.676 --> 00:13:08.643 Yes, I like that word, don't you? 00:13:08.643 --> 00:13:11.350 Yes, I don't like the word no, I like the word yes. 00:13:11.350 --> 00:13:13.245 It's yes in him. 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:16.948 The cross shows that you don't have to prove yourself. 00:13:16.948 --> 00:13:20.985 You don't have to raise your hand, but you ever try to prove yourself to somebody. 00:13:20.985 --> 00:13:23.330 Yeah, thank you, she's honest, right. 00:13:23.330 --> 00:13:25.575 You don't have to prove yourself to somebody. 00:13:25.575 --> 00:13:26.976 Yeah, thank you, she's honest, right. 00:13:26.976 --> 00:13:27.818 You have to prove yourself. 00:13:27.818 --> 00:13:29.500 You know why? 00:13:29.500 --> 00:13:33.860 Because the cross is that your righteousness is not in what you do, but it's in what Christ has done for you, and when you put your faith in him, his righteousness is transferred onto you. 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:35.004 So I don't have to prove myself. 00:13:35.004 --> 00:13:36.929 So let's go a little bit deeper. 00:13:36.929 --> 00:13:39.764 This means that I can admit when I'm wrong, because I don't always have to be right. 00:13:39.764 --> 00:13:46.235 This means I can apologize, because my righteousness is not in what I do, but it's in Christ. 00:13:46.235 --> 00:13:49.970 This means that I don't have to live my life weighed down by guilt and shame. 00:13:49.970 --> 00:13:53.424 This is what the cross declares you are forgiven. 00:13:54.268 --> 00:13:56.534 Look at what the Bible says in Colossians, chapter two. 00:13:56.534 --> 00:13:58.461 He made you alive with him. 00:13:58.461 --> 00:13:59.201 This is Christ. 00:13:59.201 --> 00:14:00.865 And what did he do he? 00:14:00.865 --> 00:14:01.505 What did he do? 00:14:01.505 --> 00:14:09.442 He forgave us most of our trespasses, most of them. 00:14:09.442 --> 00:14:12.701 That really big thing over there that you did that nobody knows about, he didn't. 00:14:12.701 --> 00:14:14.025 Is that what it says, guys? 00:14:14.025 --> 00:14:27.730 No, it says he forgave you of all, All means, all, all, yes, all All your trespasses. 00:14:27.730 --> 00:14:39.667 He erased the obligation of debt with the certificate of debt, with the obligation that was against us and opposed to us, and is taking it away by nailing it to the. 00:14:39.667 --> 00:14:39.947 What did he? 00:14:39.947 --> 00:14:41.412 Nail it to the cross? 00:14:41.412 --> 00:14:44.264 I mean, the cross really changes everything. 00:14:44.264 --> 00:14:46.171 I mean, think about this. 00:14:46.171 --> 00:14:52.842 It changes how you view your hardships. 00:14:52.842 --> 00:14:54.889 If you experience hardships in your life, you might be in one right now. 00:14:54.908 --> 00:14:56.514 Let's think through the cross for a second. 00:14:56.514 --> 00:15:12.562 Okay, at the cross, we see a horrible thing happening, a truly perfect and sinless person dying, and we see and in that horrible thing we also see something beautiful come from that. 00:15:12.562 --> 00:15:16.860 We see a way for all of mankind to be saved and forgiven. 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:23.418 You know what this shows that something terrible, something good can come from that terrible thing. 00:15:23.418 --> 00:15:28.736 You know what it shows that something that feels like a death, god could bring about a resurrection. 00:15:28.736 --> 00:15:33.614 This shows that there could be injustice in your life that you have experienced. 00:15:33.614 --> 00:15:38.931 That is terrible, but mercy can flow from and because of that injustice. 00:15:38.931 --> 00:15:45.303 That victory we just sang about it, that victory can come from an apparent defeat. 00:15:45.303 --> 00:15:49.895 Everybody thought, oh, jesus is done. 00:15:49.895 --> 00:15:51.919 It's a defeat. 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:54.244 Like lights are out, it's over. 00:15:54.244 --> 00:15:56.638 This whole Jesus movement thing is squashed. 00:15:56.638 --> 00:15:58.102 It's all over, guys. 00:15:58.102 --> 00:16:04.471 Things were just getting started because the resurrection was coming, but before there was ever a resurrection, there first was a death. 00:16:04.471 --> 00:16:06.336 This is what the cross shows. 00:16:06.918 --> 00:16:08.951 There's a song that we sing every now and again. 00:16:08.951 --> 00:16:13.695 It's called I'm singing in the victory and it goes like this I'm singing in the victory, the victory of the cross. 00:16:13.695 --> 00:16:16.778 I'm resting in the shadow of your redeeming love. 00:16:16.778 --> 00:16:25.846 I'm standing on the promise, the promise of new life, Because I am yours forever and, jesus, you are mine. 00:16:25.846 --> 00:16:32.979 When I've forgotten the fullness of your grace, yes, I'll remember Calvary. 00:16:32.979 --> 00:16:37.600 That's the cross, where Jesus died, where you took my place. 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:42.220 The cross is what we boast in. 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:43.692 It's not. 00:16:43.692 --> 00:16:49.539 We don't boast in our morals, we don't boast in our political parties. 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:51.674 We don't boast in that. 00:16:51.674 --> 00:16:53.721 We boast in the cross. 00:16:54.610 --> 00:17:09.565 There's this really fascinating psychological experiment that was done a couple years ago that shows the implications of the cross and the implications of living in the reality of the cross. 00:17:09.565 --> 00:17:14.801 They did something at Dartmouth University called the SCAR experiment. 00:17:14.801 --> 00:17:16.916 Has anybody ever heard of the SCAR experiment? 00:17:16.916 --> 00:17:56.519 The SCAR experiment and what they did is they took 10 people and they put them in separate rooms and they explained to these people that the purpose of this study was to see how people would respond to them and in those mirrorless cubicles rooms that those different people sat in very high quality makeup to put a gruesome scar on every person's face. 00:17:56.519 --> 00:18:06.397 They then took a little mirror and showed the person the gruesome scar that was on their face. 00:18:06.397 --> 00:18:16.434 They were then told that they wanted to do a few finishing touches on the scar and they wanted to make sure that the scar wouldn't smear. 00:18:16.434 --> 00:18:18.280 So they needed to do a few things. 00:18:18.280 --> 00:18:35.472 So they did some things with the scar and, unbeknownst to the volunteers that were sitting there is they were actually wiping the scar away, they were removing the makeup, they were removing the scar. 00:18:35.472 --> 00:19:31.597 They instructed the volunteers to leave the rooms and observe and notice how people responded to them, how people talked to them, how people noticed them, if people noticing them and those people left the room fully believing that they had a gruesome scar on their face, when in reality they had no scar on their face, and they went out and they mingled with people and they interacted and after some time they came back and they all had the same report People were unusually mean to us. 00:19:31.597 --> 00:19:52.234 Because we had this scar on our face, people were less kind and people were continually staring at the scar that they had on their face, but the scar wasn't even there. 00:19:52.234 --> 00:19:56.083 They just believed that it was. 00:19:59.911 --> 00:20:07.384 Now some of us live our lives with some scars that, because of the cross, aren't actually there. 00:20:07.384 --> 00:20:12.400 Some of us live with a scar that we're less than. 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:18.261 Some of us live with the scar that we are unloved and not worthy of love. 00:20:18.261 --> 00:20:23.759 Some of us live with the scar of guilt and condemnation. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:30.792 We live with the scar of somebody telling us that we're a mistake, so we think that we are a mistake. 00:20:30.792 --> 00:20:32.134 We live with the scar of somebody telling us that we're a mistake. 00:20:32.134 --> 00:20:32.914 So we think that we are a mistake. 00:20:32.914 --> 00:20:37.338 We live with the scar of thinking that our value is in what we do or what we have or where we live. 00:20:37.338 --> 00:20:41.363 But the cross says those things are not true. 00:20:41.363 --> 00:20:45.346 The cross says you are not less than. 00:20:45.346 --> 00:20:52.534 The cross says you are loved. 00:20:52.534 --> 00:20:53.896 The cross says you are forgiven. 00:20:53.896 --> 00:20:55.361 The cross says you are not a mistake. 00:20:55.361 --> 00:20:56.242 The cross says you are forgiven. 00:20:56.242 --> 00:20:57.125 The cross says I have purpose for you. 00:20:57.144 --> 00:21:05.144 And what we often do is we live out of what we believe about ourselves, whether it's true or not. 00:21:05.144 --> 00:21:26.221 Our activity in life flows from our identity and a lot of us in this world, like we've been programmed to define ourselves in terms of our careers or our mistakes, or our family, or our possessions or our accomplishments or our scars. 00:21:26.221 --> 00:21:34.481 And, friend, I want you to listen to me very, very carefully, because this has the power to literally change your life. 00:21:34.481 --> 00:21:45.644 There are a lot of things that may describe you, but only the cross has the power to define you. 00:21:45.644 --> 00:22:02.869 There are a lot of things that may describe you, but only the cross has the power to define you. 00:22:02.869 --> 00:22:09.155 Paul was a man that experienced all kinds of things in his life and this is what he said. 00:22:09.155 --> 00:22:10.980 Those things may describe me, but what's my boasting and where's my identity? 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:13.247 And it's in the cross alone. 00:22:13.247 --> 00:22:17.760 And Paul was a man that had so much more reason to boast and all these other things. 00:22:17.760 --> 00:22:19.616 Man, he had himself together. 00:22:19.616 --> 00:22:23.240 Man, he could stand in front of a crowd and woo a crowd. 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:30.553 He was articulate, he was a leader, he was a writer, he was intellectual, he had the degrees behind his name, he knew people. 00:22:30.553 --> 00:22:31.454 And this is what Paul says. 00:22:31.454 --> 00:22:33.416 Paul says none of that matters. 00:22:33.416 --> 00:22:36.842 What matters is the cross. 00:22:36.842 --> 00:22:52.084 I could say it this way I think this is part of the reason why the cross is what he boasted in is because Christianity gives emotional satisfaction and stability that nothing else can. 00:22:54.211 --> 00:22:55.694 Now, some of you have never thought about this before. 00:22:55.694 --> 00:22:58.281 I want you guys to think about something. 00:22:58.281 --> 00:23:04.861 Okay, we live in a secular world with a secular worldview and mindset. 00:23:04.861 --> 00:23:08.231 Right, our kids are taught this in the schools and universities. 00:23:08.231 --> 00:23:11.998 We hear this, it's in the shows that we watch, it's in the air that we breathe. 00:23:11.998 --> 00:23:18.511 Okay, so if we buy fully into a secularistic mindset really is an atheistic worldview. 00:23:18.511 --> 00:23:24.378 This is what it says you are an accident. 00:23:24.378 --> 00:23:29.226 You have no purpose in your life. 00:23:29.226 --> 00:23:34.249 You have no purpose in your life. 00:23:34.249 --> 00:23:37.450 You're nothing more than evolved biological matter. 00:23:37.450 --> 00:23:40.701 You have no purpose. 00:23:40.701 --> 00:23:47.128 So let me ask you guys, emotionally, how does that make you feel? 00:23:47.630 --> 00:23:58.266 Secularistic worldview Secularistic worldview says that your worth in your life is determined by what you have, what you do. 00:23:58.266 --> 00:24:15.642 Your identity is determined by what you look like, by your sexuality, and there's all this pressure on you to form some type of identity that is supposed to be strong enough to hold the weight of your existence and it's, straight up, emotionally overwhelming and emotionally exhausting. 00:24:15.642 --> 00:24:41.375 Personally, I think, while we're in this crazy, terrible mental health crisis right now in our country and it's serious and it's real I think one of the reasons why is because we are burdening people with carrying the weight of their own identity and we were not designed and we don't have the mental or emotional capacity to be able to carry such a weight. 00:24:41.375 --> 00:24:53.273 So what we do is we collapse under this pressure and then what we do is we go in our gosh elementary schools now and middle schools and we're like your identity is your sexuality, what are you? 00:24:53.273 --> 00:24:57.050 And we're putting all this pressure on people and we're living in this pressure. 00:24:57.050 --> 00:25:01.550 We have this on ourselves of saying I need to form my identity, I need to find my identity. 00:25:01.550 --> 00:25:06.912 So what we do is we try something that doesn't work out very well, so then we go to this thing that doesn't work out very well. 00:25:06.912 --> 00:25:12.839 We go to this thing and then what happens is it's a recipe for burnout and stress and we're just overwhelmed. 00:25:14.101 --> 00:25:19.234 Consider this If you are what you do, you'll always have to do more to maintain your value. 00:25:19.234 --> 00:25:20.800 You'll never be able to rest. 00:25:20.800 --> 00:25:27.701 If you are what other people say about you, you'll always have to please people and you'll always have to make sure people are happy. 00:25:27.701 --> 00:25:35.019 And you're going to feel up and down based on what people think about you, and if that person, if they think something else about you, they're haters, I don't like them. 00:25:35.019 --> 00:25:38.019 If you are what you have, you'll always have enough. 00:25:38.019 --> 00:25:41.809 You'll always want another zero on your bank account, another zero on your 401k. 00:25:41.809 --> 00:25:46.682 You'll always want to live somewhere bigger, better, drive something newer, faster, nicer. 00:25:46.682 --> 00:25:47.954 It's never ending. 00:25:50.250 --> 00:25:51.617 But think about Christianity. 00:25:51.617 --> 00:25:55.612 Think about this emotionally, guys. 00:25:55.612 --> 00:25:55.852 Emotionally. 00:25:55.852 --> 00:26:02.865 This is what the cross declares you were created on purpose and for a purpose. 00:26:02.865 --> 00:26:08.075 You are loved unconditionally. 00:26:08.075 --> 00:26:14.444 You are secure and cannot be taken out of the Father's hand. 00:26:14.444 --> 00:26:27.219 You are so significant yes, you that the creator of the world gave his only son to die for you. 00:26:27.219 --> 00:26:29.616 That's how significant you are. 00:26:29.616 --> 00:26:39.761 The creator of the world sent his Holy Spirit into you to empower you and gift you, and you are a gifted person. 00:26:39.761 --> 00:26:46.114 You are a fully forgiven person. 00:26:46.114 --> 00:26:52.025 You can stand before God because of the righteousness of Christ on your life. 00:26:52.025 --> 00:26:56.759 You are freed from all these things that enslave you. 00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:58.423 This is what the cross declares. 00:26:58.423 --> 00:27:03.719 Now think about what this does to you emotionally. 00:27:03.719 --> 00:27:08.829 It gives stability, it gives satisfaction. 00:27:08.829 --> 00:27:10.634 It gives satisfaction. 00:27:10.634 --> 00:27:12.440 We sing songs about the cross. 00:27:12.440 --> 00:27:22.122 Sometimes it's just straight overwhelming to my soul because of the emotional stability and security that the cross brings. 00:27:22.630 --> 00:27:26.641 Sometimes we understand a lot of us understand the gospel on an intellectual level. 00:27:26.641 --> 00:27:29.509 It's the death, it's the burial, it's the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:27:29.509 --> 00:27:41.382 But for some of us it needs to get out of our head and into our heart and we need to feel it Like for real, like that's why I really think worship music is so important, because it makes truth come alive in our hearts. 00:27:41.382 --> 00:27:42.871 That's what it does. 00:27:42.871 --> 00:27:45.453 Like man, I'm gonna say it. 00:27:45.453 --> 00:27:46.114 I'm just gonna say it. 00:27:46.114 --> 00:28:04.307 I don't know how we can just sing these powerful songs and just stand there or sit there Like holy cow, like worship needs to erupt out of our hearts, like we have a risen Savior, like the goodness of God is flowing after us. 00:28:04.307 --> 00:28:04.809 Here's the thing, man. 00:28:04.809 --> 00:28:07.381 I got to wrap this up. 00:28:16.390 --> 00:28:20.796 But even if you don't believe in Christianity, you want the emotional stability and satisfaction that it will provide you and, whether you realize it or not, this is what you're going to do. 00:28:20.796 --> 00:28:27.384 You're going to spend your life seeking to have or to earn what the cross, what Christianity, freely gives. 00:28:27.384 --> 00:28:37.304 You're going to Identity, meaning, purpose, love. 00:28:37.304 --> 00:28:46.173 You're going to spend your life looking for those things or trying to get more of it when the cross says here it is. 00:28:46.173 --> 00:28:51.799 This is why Paul says I boast in the cross alone. 00:28:51.799 --> 00:29:02.412 This is why I loved the baptism, some of the baptism testimonies that we had last week of people just sharing how God has worked in their life. 00:29:02.412 --> 00:29:06.480 I loved hearing 6, 8, and 8 give his testimony. 00:29:06.480 --> 00:29:07.462 Wasn't that awesome. 00:29:07.462 --> 00:29:08.571 He gave a powerful testimony. 00:29:08.571 --> 00:29:09.713 God just opened his eyes to. 00:29:09.713 --> 00:29:15.356 Opened his eyes to like see Christianity, like to see the cross, like he's seeing this. 00:29:15.450 --> 00:29:16.653 And you know what it causes us to do. 00:29:16.653 --> 00:29:20.376 When we boast in the cross alone, it changes how we live. 00:29:20.376 --> 00:29:23.218 It causes us to want to serve God. 00:29:23.218 --> 00:29:26.779 It causes us to want to gather on a Sunday morning like this. 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:29.057 It causes us to want to serve one another. 00:29:29.057 --> 00:29:30.676 It causes us to want to serve in the church. 00:29:30.676 --> 00:29:32.199 It caused us to want to serve one another. 00:29:32.199 --> 00:29:33.079 It caused us to want to serve in the church. 00:29:33.079 --> 00:29:34.221 It caused us to want to give up our financial resources. 00:29:34.221 --> 00:29:38.846 It caused us to be willing to step out of our comfort zone, even though the comfort zone's really comfortable. 00:29:38.846 --> 00:29:40.451 Why? 00:29:40.451 --> 00:29:43.157 Because the cross gives us what we need. 00:29:43.157 --> 00:29:45.544 It's the cross. 00:29:46.887 --> 00:29:49.855 So I want to close with three questions this morning, and we'll be done. 00:29:49.855 --> 00:29:59.143 Here's my first question is this have you trusted in Jesus alone for your salvation? 00:29:59.143 --> 00:30:10.182 Have you trusted in Jesus, what Jesus has done on the cross for your salvation? 00:30:10.182 --> 00:30:16.522 Have you realized that before a holy God, you are a sinner, but Jesus died in your place? 00:30:16.522 --> 00:30:25.919 And if you have never done this, but would you be willing to turn from everything else and put your faith in Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? 00:30:25.919 --> 00:30:34.762 Here's my second question what do you boast in? 00:30:34.762 --> 00:30:42.826 Is it your career? 00:30:42.826 --> 00:30:43.191 Is it your smarts? 00:30:43.191 --> 00:30:43.473 Is it your family? 00:30:43.473 --> 00:30:44.971 Paul says listen, if you boast in anything else, you don't understand the implications of the gospel. 00:30:44.971 --> 00:30:46.244 Like the cross, like he's done it for you, of the gospel. 00:30:46.244 --> 00:30:51.145 Like the cross, like he's done it for you, like, where are you finding your meaning? 00:30:51.145 --> 00:30:52.467 Where are you finding your worth? 00:30:52.467 --> 00:31:01.060 Like it's in the cross, it's in the goodness of God, it's what he's done for us. 00:31:01.060 --> 00:31:09.762 Then my last question is this Is what would your life look like if you only boasted in the cross and Christ? 00:31:09.762 --> 00:31:34.738 I'll tell you liberated, peaceful, restful, meaningful, because it was the cross that showed the goodness of God, that gave us identity, that gave us worth. 00:31:34.738 --> 00:31:39.642 And let's be people that boast in Him alone. 00:31:42.011 --> 00:31:43.538 I think I'm going to pull an audible this morning. 00:31:43.538 --> 00:31:45.934 We don't ever pull audibles here. 00:31:45.934 --> 00:31:47.701 That's all I want us to do. 00:31:47.701 --> 00:31:48.825 Guys, can we sing a song? 00:31:48.825 --> 00:31:49.708 We don't ever pull audibles here. 00:31:49.708 --> 00:31:50.269 That's all I want us to do. 00:31:50.269 --> 00:31:52.835 Guys, can we sing a song? 00:31:52.835 --> 00:31:53.455 We sang a song. 00:31:53.757 --> 00:31:54.940 Some of y'all are kind of freaking out. 00:31:54.940 --> 00:31:55.701 What are we doing right now? 00:31:55.701 --> 00:31:58.771 Can we sing that song? 00:31:58.771 --> 00:31:59.272 The Goodness of God. 00:31:59.272 --> 00:32:00.174 This is what I want us to do. 00:32:00.174 --> 00:32:02.460 You guys can figure out how y'all gonna do that. 00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:03.221 Appreciate it. 00:32:03.221 --> 00:32:05.932 We didn't tell y'all this was gonna happen. 00:32:05.932 --> 00:32:07.335 This is what I want us to do. 00:32:07.355 --> 00:32:09.839 I want us to sing about the goodness of God that we see in the cross. 00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:16.115 I want us to sing about this and I want us to man, like, don't worry about what's going on around us. 00:32:16.115 --> 00:32:21.511 Don't worry about like, like, let's just sing about the goodness of God. 00:32:21.511 --> 00:32:23.473 Let's all stand to our feet. 00:32:23.473 --> 00:32:25.036 These guys are going to lead us. 00:32:25.036 --> 00:32:30.544 We're not going to be here for much longer, but can we just respond to this message by letting worship come from our heart? 00:32:30.544 --> 00:32:32.190 Guys in the back, can you guys figure it out? 00:32:32.190 --> 00:32:35.820 I think they're trying to figure that out on there on the screen and they'll figure that out. 00:32:35.820 --> 00:32:38.978 There's people that are available for prayer if you would like to pray. 00:32:38.978 --> 00:32:41.352 But let's just sing this song and then I'll wrap it up with a word of prayer. 00:32:41.352 --> 00:32:41.952 Let's pray, guys. 00:32:49.803 --> 00:32:51.224 I love you, lord. 00:32:51.224 --> 00:32:56.961 Oh, your mercy never fails. 00:32:56.961 --> 00:33:04.459 All my days I've been held in your hand. 00:33:04.459 --> 00:33:19.903 The moment that I wake up, until I lay my head and I will sing of the goodness of God. 00:33:19.903 --> 00:33:28.135 All my life, all my life, you have been faith. 00:33:28.135 --> 00:33:51.202 It's all my life, you have been so, so good, with every breath that I am made, and I will sing of the goodness of God. 00:33:51.202 --> 00:33:52.244 Let's just sing that. 00:33:55.577 --> 00:33:57.989 Your goodness is running after me. 00:33:57.989 --> 00:34:01.324 Your goodness is running after me. 00:34:01.324 --> 00:34:01.906 It's running after me. 00:34:01.906 --> 00:34:06.106 Your goodness is running after me. 00:34:06.106 --> 00:34:09.235 It's running after me. 00:34:09.235 --> 00:34:13.603 With my life laid down, I'm surrendered. 00:34:13.603 --> 00:34:21.387 Now I give you everything. 00:34:21.387 --> 00:34:24.344 Your goodness is running after me. 00:34:24.344 --> 00:34:24.889 It's running after me. 00:34:24.889 --> 00:34:26.737 Oh, your goodness. 00:34:26.737 --> 00:34:29.956 Your goodness is running after me out. 00:34:29.956 --> 00:34:34.626 It's running after me all my days. 00:34:34.626 --> 00:34:37.851 Your goodness is running out. 00:34:37.851 --> 00:34:41.255 It's running after me. 00:34:41.255 --> 00:34:45.139 With my life laid down surrender. 00:34:45.139 --> 00:34:45.659 Now. 00:34:45.659 --> 00:34:50.764 I give you everything. 00:34:50.764 --> 00:34:53.407 Your goodness is running out. 00:34:53.407 --> 00:34:56.659 It's running after me. 00:34:56.659 --> 00:35:04.661 All my life, all my life, you have been faithful. 00:35:04.661 --> 00:35:28.744 All my life you have been so good, with every breath that I am in, and I will sing of the goodness of God.