WEBVTT 00:00:36.603 --> 00:00:38.771 Vibe music there. 00:00:38.771 --> 00:00:41.274 Well done, King of Kings team. 00:00:41.274 --> 00:00:42.542 Good morning. 00:00:43.475 --> 00:00:45.811 It is so good to be with you. 00:00:45.811 --> 00:00:47.514 I am actually. 00:00:47.514 --> 00:00:52.451 Leroy asked me, said, Hey, feelin you excited about, you know, kicking off a new challenge? 00:00:52.451 --> 00:00:55.255 I said, Leroy, what's the word for beyond excited? 00:00:55.255 --> 00:00:58.158 And he said, amped up. 00:00:58.158 --> 00:01:07.433 And so I am amped up this morning and really, really excited to see what God's going to do over these six weeks, these next 40 days. 00:01:07.466 --> 00:01:09.769 So welcome to forgiving challenge my hope. 00:01:10.003 --> 00:01:14.540 And I really believe that it'll be a 40 day life changing journey leading to your freedom. 00:01:14.740 --> 00:01:32.891 And so I'm really excited with you to dove into what God's forgiveness looks like and and really just hoping that God would show show a glimpse of what I feel like over the better part of the last year my wife and I have been digging into and that is God's grace. 00:01:33.393 --> 00:01:35.662 God's grace never gets old. 00:01:35.662 --> 00:01:41.034 And so I hope it's revealed to you in a new way, in a fresh way that changes you forever. 00:01:41.034 --> 00:01:44.736 And so I want to start by actually telling you what your challenges for the week. 00:01:44.736 --> 00:01:48.941 This is kind of like the next step, and it is exactly what Dan just talked about. 00:01:48.941 --> 00:01:54.447 We really want you to commit over the next 40 days to be with us and to join with us. 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:56.882 And so that looks like joining in on Sundays. 00:01:56.882 --> 00:02:07.227 You come in person if you're able to, if you can only watch online, you watch online and you you log in and you join in with us and and you hear the messages and the kids are hearing the same messages as well. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:12.799 But outside of that, we would love for you to grab a book and get a deeper, immersive experience into reading. 00:02:12.799 --> 00:02:17.836 The reading starts on Tuesday, and we would love for you to join one of those small groups again. 00:02:17.836 --> 00:02:21.508 You could find in if you like Dan, which is up here, but I forgot what he looked like. 00:02:21.508 --> 00:02:23.643 Just go out to the hallway and find the tallest man. 00:02:23.643 --> 00:02:26.913 You know, either find Dan or his dad, but they can both help you, I'm sure. 00:02:28.647 --> 00:02:39.425 But please join in and commit and I want over the next, I don't know, 28 minutes or so to kind of show you where we're going to be headed and what you're going to be committing to. 00:02:39.859 --> 00:02:47.066 That's my goal today is to just really tee this up for us as a church family with a great understanding of where we're headed. 00:02:47.066 --> 00:02:51.737 And there are some sermons that are like, it's a single sermon and God does a thing and it's beautiful. 00:02:51.737 --> 00:02:53.038 This is not one of those. 00:02:53.038 --> 00:02:55.175 This is a six week sermon. 00:02:55.175 --> 00:03:09.923 And so think about if you go to a restaurant and you're going to enjoy a five course meal like I want you to know today, we are honestly just driving to the restaurant and I'm showing you the menu, but we ain't eating till tomorrow or till next Sunday because you got to come back next week. 00:03:09.923 --> 00:03:16.895 We're going to have an appetizer where you're going to get to the entree in the desert, and I guarantee you this meal will taste much better than Roger can cook. 00:03:19.064 --> 00:03:22.568 Now we're going to see King Jesus cooks a pretty good meal in every single course. 00:03:22.568 --> 00:03:27.407 There's going to be something beautiful and powerful, but when you would take it all together, it's going to be awesome. 00:03:27.407 --> 00:03:34.379 And so I really want you to commit to joining and seeing what God can do and seeing the freedom that he can bring in 40 days. 00:03:34.913 --> 00:03:37.182 So welcome to forgiving challenge. 00:03:37.182 --> 00:03:45.057 I am convinced that when Jesus says who the sun sets free is free indeed that Jesus has come to bring us freedom. 00:03:45.057 --> 00:03:46.960 Are you convinced of that? 00:03:48.427 --> 00:04:16.021 And yet, despite knowing that despite Jesus coming to set the captives free, I also am convinced that many of us in this room and I don't presume that all of us would label ourselves as Christians are followers of Jesus, but I would think many of us in the room are for some reason , there's a lot of us in this room that aren't quite fully experiencing that freedom or feeling that freedom that for whatever reason, we've settled into this world and this life where we're rather than being fully free. 00:04:16.021 --> 00:04:25.430 We're kind of like managing our sin or modifying our behavior and just kind of living this half hearted, hobbled version of what Jesus has come to give us. 00:04:26.432 --> 00:04:30.670 And I want to press in to what real freedom in Jesus looks like. 00:04:31.504 --> 00:04:36.809 And I want to do that by diving into the grace of Jesus as we're going to start our journey. 00:04:36.809 --> 00:04:42.814 John Chapter 20 on the heels of the resurrection of Jesus in versus 19 to 23. 00:04:43.016 --> 00:04:53.259 There are ten disciples that are quarantined in a room out of fear, and all of a sudden Jesus bursts through the wall and reveals himself to these disciples. 00:04:54.259 --> 00:04:58.831 Scholars say that in this resurrected glorified body, certainly it was different. 00:04:58.831 --> 00:05:01.901 Somehow, some way it actually came through the wall. 00:05:02.435 --> 00:05:09.608 That's kind of interesting to think about, but it wasn't until Jesus revealed his nails scarred hands. 00:05:11.244 --> 00:05:16.848 And his spear scarred side that the disciples truly knew this was Jesus. 00:05:18.451 --> 00:05:21.721 But one of the disciples wasn't there that first night. 00:05:22.588 --> 00:05:24.156 Do you know his name? 00:05:24.589 --> 00:05:29.762 Thomas and Thomas has the nickname it's not so great was Thomas his nickname? 00:05:31.230 --> 00:05:36.101 Doubting Thomas, and I don't know that that's altogether fair. 00:05:36.101 --> 00:05:37.302 Oh, OK, come on. 00:05:37.302 --> 00:05:38.036 Yeah. 00:05:43.076 --> 00:05:43.509 All right. 00:05:43.509 --> 00:05:44.576 Let's go. 00:05:44.877 --> 00:05:47.279 You mean to restart now, OK? 00:05:48.047 --> 00:05:52.985 I was saying, I don't know that that was completely fair because I think that all the disciples had doubts. 00:05:53.052 --> 00:05:55.254 They certainly all had fear. 00:05:55.254 --> 00:05:59.324 So maybe Thomas, maybe Thomas was like, You guys are all cowering in fear. 00:05:59.459 --> 00:06:01.694 I'm really going to live my life and I'm going to do my thing. 00:06:01.927 --> 00:06:06.531 Maybe Thomas was just running an errand and just happened to not be there that night. I don't know. 00:06:06.531 --> 00:06:11.937 Maybe it was a global pandemic and they were quarantine limited to social distancing, ten in room and Judith was already gone. 00:06:11.937 --> 00:06:13.238 And Tom's like, I'll be the 12th. 00:06:13.238 --> 00:06:15.074 The 11th one out. 00:06:13.238 --> 00:06:15.074 You ten have a good time. 00:06:16.141 --> 00:06:17.944 Probably not. 00:06:18.411 --> 00:06:20.545 But we see the story in John, 20, 24. 00:06:20.779 --> 00:06:27.019 It says now Thomas, also known as did Imus and as a pastor that loves alliteration. 00:06:27.185 --> 00:06:29.122 I've always been frustrated that doubting did. 00:06:29.122 --> 00:06:33.392 Imus didn't stick like, why did we go so wrong there? 00:06:33.892 --> 00:06:37.362 Anyway, he was one of the twelve, but he wasn't with the disciples when Jesus came. 00:06:37.362 --> 00:06:40.065 So the disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:44.103 And so did Imus said, Did I miss the memo? 00:06:46.672 --> 00:06:49.875 Did you miss the pun that I just did? 00:06:49.875 --> 00:06:52.077 Oh, don't worry, I got more. 00:06:52.077 --> 00:06:54.279 You're going to catch up, though, you got to be ready for him. 00:06:55.714 --> 00:07:02.754 But Thomas said to them, and this is where he gets his nickname from, unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into the side. 00:07:02.889 --> 00:07:05.024 I will not believe. 00:07:05.658 --> 00:07:13.266 So a week later, his disciples were there in the house again, but this time Thomas was there again, though the doors were locked. 00:07:13.266 --> 00:07:16.903 Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. 00:07:18.103 --> 00:07:31.850 Before we go on, by the way, I love the fact that when the resurrected glorified body of Jesus burst into a room that is first words to the disciples that were cowered in fear, still, the disciples that had all denied and betrayed him. 00:07:31.850 --> 00:07:34.286 I loved it. 00:07:31.850 --> 00:07:34.286 His first words are not shame filled. 00:07:34.420 --> 00:07:36.088 And how can you be so afraid? 00:07:36.088 --> 00:07:37.557 And why didn't you believe in me? 00:07:37.557 --> 00:07:39.492 And are you still doubting now? 00:07:39.492 --> 00:07:41.994 But his four first four words were, Peace be with you. 00:07:43.095 --> 00:07:49.235 I think if you're new to that faith or new, the church are still trying to figure out who Jesus is, how will you to know that our God is not an angry God? 00:07:49.235 --> 00:07:51.370 Our God is a kind, loving and caring God. 00:07:52.237 --> 00:07:55.240 In his first words, peace, be with you. 00:07:56.175 --> 00:08:14.793 I mean, I pray that like he came through the wall and just burst into a room unexpected uninvited, that that's what Jesus does in the series that even if you weren't expecting and even if you're not inviting him in, even if you're unsure of why you're even sitting in a chair right now, a king of kings on Sunday right now that he would just burst through. 00:08:16.028 --> 00:08:18.264 Say peace, be with you. 00:08:18.798 --> 00:08:21.067 Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here. 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:23.336 See my hands. 00:08:23.435 --> 00:08:30.408 Reach out your hand and put it into my side, stop doubting and believe it, Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God. 00:08:31.410 --> 00:08:33.745 There's so many cool aspects to this story. 00:08:33.946 --> 00:08:40.620 By the way, the main thing is let's remember that a man that was once dead is now alive in front of them again. 00:08:41.453 --> 00:08:42.788 How cool. 00:08:43.121 --> 00:08:57.370 But one of the most interesting aspects of this story that I've pondered a lot and thought a lot about is it's interesting to me that the resurrected, glorified body of Jesus has scars. 00:08:58.471 --> 00:09:03.643 On his hands and his side like like scars are a surprising feature of a resurrected body. 00:09:03.975 --> 00:09:08.346 On the surface, scars seem like they would be a defect or a blemish. 00:09:08.346 --> 00:09:15.086 Like wouldn't we expect in our resurrected glorified bodies that there would be no blemishes and there would be no marks of our past suffering? 00:09:15.221 --> 00:09:26.331 Like I always imagined in your glorified body and my glorified body that we don't got any love handles anymore, but instead we got six packs of abs popping without even having to flex. 00:09:27.667 --> 00:09:29.869 And those of you that lost your hair, it's back. 00:09:30.235 --> 00:09:33.972 You got it again, but scars. 00:09:34.307 --> 00:09:37.375 That's interesting, why would God allow the scars of Jesus to remain? 00:09:38.144 --> 00:09:42.981 I wonder what God might be telling us through those scars? 00:09:44.082 --> 00:09:45.017 It's not. 00:09:45.518 --> 00:09:47.852 It's not to bring guilt and condemnation, is it? 00:09:48.854 --> 00:10:03.034 To remind us, I don't think so, because that's not the character and nature of our God, the same God that would, instead of condemning said peace, be with you the same God that that says therefore now there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus, the same God. 00:10:03.034 --> 00:10:07.239 That said, yes, I've come to bring life, I've come to bring it to the fullest. 00:10:07.340 --> 00:10:09.942 I have come not to condemn the world, but to save the world. 00:10:11.509 --> 00:10:15.748 So that's not it's not to bring guilt or condemnation. 00:10:16.649 --> 00:10:18.750 So what are the scars? 00:10:19.051 --> 00:10:20.352 What do they mean? 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:23.923 Actually, I have a scar underneath my chin or raise my head up. 00:10:24.056 --> 00:10:26.725 Now you can see it, though it's really little. 00:10:26.725 --> 00:10:31.697 And this scar was from July 31st, 2001. 00:10:33.298 --> 00:10:36.134 This turns out to be one of the more pivotal days of my life. 00:10:36.936 --> 00:10:44.809 I was driving in my dad's Honda Accord with my older brother and my two younger cousins, and like the disciples, we were all in one accord. 00:10:49.782 --> 00:10:51.817 Holy car, you get in there. 00:10:51.817 --> 00:10:53.052 You get in there. 00:10:53.351 --> 00:11:04.363 And we had just got done finishing golfing, and I was driving home back to the reunion home and I was navigating roads I've never driven before, and it was actually, I think, fully focused. 00:11:04.363 --> 00:11:07.966 I mean, this was before the days of when texting and driving could occur. 00:11:07.966 --> 00:11:15.640 It was before any of that and somehow I in my pursuit to get home I I ran a stop sign that I never saw. 00:11:16.274 --> 00:11:19.812 And by running that stop sign, I had some pretty major consequences. 00:11:20.245 --> 00:11:27.620 You can see from the pictures, but I was blindsided by a pickup truck that was going 60 miles an hour and hit me right in the driver's side door. 00:11:28.754 --> 00:11:39.398 Our car spun out and, of course, went into the median and and for the next half hour is really pretty blurry for me in and out of consciousness. 00:11:39.398 --> 00:11:45.370 But in a moment of coherency, I could tell and see that my brother and my cousins were OK. 00:11:45.403 --> 00:11:48.340 They were breathing and they even were able to get out of the car. 00:11:48.340 --> 00:11:53.245 But I wasn't able to get out because it had Preston on my door and the center console was right here. 00:11:53.245 --> 00:12:04.322 I couldn't move, and the next thing I remember again in a moment of coherency is looking up and seeing this really large object called the jaws of life ripping and prying my door open so they could get me out. 00:12:05.658 --> 00:12:13.999 And they grabbed me out and they threw me on a stretcher and rolled me to the ambulance and the ambulance took me into the hospital to the emergency ward. 00:12:14.265 --> 00:12:16.201 And amazingly, through all of that. 00:12:17.736 --> 00:12:20.239 I felt completely fine. 00:12:20.239 --> 00:12:25.910 They ran some tests like they should at the hospital in a couple of hours later, I left with two things number one. 00:12:26.044 --> 00:12:28.114 I left with a ticket for running a stop sign. 00:12:28.714 --> 00:12:29.682 Come on, man. 00:12:29.682 --> 00:12:31.951 I didn't even try to break the law. 00:12:31.951 --> 00:12:38.023 Oh, but number two, this scar on the bottom of my chin. 00:12:38.023 --> 00:12:40.960 This is a precious card to me. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:44.797 To me, this represents the second chance that God gave me in life. 00:12:46.131 --> 00:12:52.037 And I remember July 31st, 2001, is the day I fully committed to serving God with my second chance. 00:12:53.272 --> 00:12:55.173 But what you may not know about my story. 00:12:55.173 --> 00:13:01.013 Maybe you do, but it was three years earlier in the summer of 1998 when I was here in this room. 00:13:01.846 --> 00:13:04.884 In fact, I remember exactly where I was that night. 00:13:04.884 --> 00:13:09.554 It was the it was a Sunday night and we had hearts of fire going on. 00:13:09.922 --> 00:13:16.061 And I remember being here and I remember sitting right over here and I remember Pastor Mack. 00:13:16.695 --> 00:13:18.931 Yeah, Pastor Mack. Hey, guys, how are we doing? 00:13:18.931 --> 00:13:19.899 What's your name? 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:21.933 Andrew, Kathy, Cathy? 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:23.936 Everybody. Let's meet Andrew and Cathy. 00:13:23.936 --> 00:13:25.203 Give it up for them. They're here today. 00:13:26.705 --> 00:13:29.674 Hope you don't mind me getting all up in your business here for a second here. 00:13:29.674 --> 00:13:35.480 But but I remember sitting probably within five feet of this and Pastor Mack up there and. 00:13:36.581 --> 00:13:41.519 I remember him saying these words, I never remember him saying them before or after, but that night, he said. 00:13:41.821 --> 00:13:48.326 Spirit is leading me to tell you that some of you tonight are being called into full time ministry. 00:13:49.662 --> 00:13:51.931 And I can't explain it. 00:13:52.697 --> 00:13:59.871 But there was this overwhelming sense of pressure, not a negative or a heavy, but this incredible presence that I just knew in that moment. 00:14:00.873 --> 00:14:09.148 That that was what God was having me do, that he wanted me to serve him in his church, that I would be a fourth generation Lutheran pastor. 00:14:10.048 --> 00:14:11.951 I'll tell you that night I was excited. It was fun. 00:14:13.418 --> 00:14:17.789 That's cool, guy, that you would place that call in my life. 00:14:17.789 --> 00:14:19.457 That's pretty cool. 00:14:20.458 --> 00:14:26.999 But after that night, like life happened, high school happened and. 00:14:30.168 --> 00:14:40.412 I never like Ran from God, like it is too strong, but I just remember walking away and like having a good moment that night, but kind of trying to forget it. 00:14:40.946 --> 00:14:46.284 And the more I got to know people and live life, the more I just kind of wanted to fit in and be a normal person. 00:14:46.284 --> 00:14:50.923 And so by the time we got to senior year in high school, when somebody would say, Hey Zach, what do you want to do with your life? 00:14:50.923 --> 00:14:54.525 I'd say anything but a pastor, anything but a pastor. 00:14:56.028 --> 00:15:01.066 And yet I still had this like knowledge that, yeah, I think that's what God wants me to do, though. 00:15:01.066 --> 00:15:01.866 But I didn't want to. 00:15:01.866 --> 00:15:05.270 So I like sports and you can tell I like to talk in front of people. 00:15:05.270 --> 00:15:07.773 So I like broadcasting corona, like writing a little bit. 00:15:07.773 --> 00:15:10.775 So I thought maybe sports broadcasting or journalism is my thing. 00:15:10.775 --> 00:15:15.413 I really love the Cleveland Browns, so my dream job would be to be a reporter for the Cleveland Browns. 00:15:15.413 --> 00:15:20.985 And as I look back at the last 20 years, I'm like, Wow, thank you God for sparing me from that misery. 00:15:21.419 --> 00:15:22.020 Hey, man. 00:15:23.187 --> 00:15:24.423 But I got good news. 00:15:24.423 --> 00:15:26.491 This is the year. 00:15:27.091 --> 00:15:30.796 And by the way, Husker fans speaking to 20 years ago how good football was. 00:15:30.962 --> 00:15:33.631 Did it last night feel a little bit like that again? 00:15:40.339 --> 00:15:53.952 And so I remember after getting back from the hospital, hitting my knees and thanking God for a second chance and declaring that I know I'm going to mess up. 00:15:53.952 --> 00:15:56.889 But what I'm going to do my able best to give you the rest of my life. 00:15:58.090 --> 00:16:02.528 Because at the end of the day, I don't exist for my glory. 00:16:02.528 --> 00:16:05.530 I exist for God's glory. 00:16:05.530 --> 00:16:10.068 And I am so grateful that I got this beautiful wakeup call at the age of 18. 00:16:10.936 --> 00:16:13.839 It was the greatest car accident I could have ever gotten into. 00:16:14.773 --> 00:16:16.942 Because it changed my perspective. 00:16:17.775 --> 00:16:24.750 And also because it was my dad's car, so it didn't even hurt my insurance, it hurt his awesome. 00:16:28.486 --> 00:16:37.363 But I called the university the next day and I said I'm getting into pastoral ministry and that was my major, not too many, not too many areas and things you can do with the pastoral ministry degree. 00:16:37.696 --> 00:16:40.331 Locking myself in and then going to seminary. 00:16:40.331 --> 00:16:50.475 And what's cool, though, is the moment that the thing you're running from it, all of a sudden when you know it's from God and you start running towards it, the thing you were running from actually starts becoming your dream again. 00:16:51.576 --> 00:17:11.663 And my dream got realized in June of 2010, when I got called to plant this amazing church in Florida, and I've spent the last eleven years planting and leading this world changing church, seeing God do incredible thing after an incredible thing in the middle of that ministry, all of a sudden inviting a resource that I never planned to write and all of a sudden God's anointing is on it. 00:17:11.696 --> 00:17:19.471 Now he's changing our lives and he's helping us write resources for churches, one that we're going through right now that we know is going to blast a lot of churches beyond. 00:17:20.405 --> 00:17:38.289 And then a few months ago to to officially be installed on the teaching team here at King of Kings, like I can just see God's full circle and how cool and privileged I am, that now I get to come back to the very place where so many people poured into my life and I can do whatever I can to pour into years. 00:17:39.458 --> 00:17:40.526 I'm going to be perfect. 00:17:40.526 --> 00:17:43.694 We're going to anger and get on each other's nerves at times, but it's awesome. 00:17:44.863 --> 00:17:49.801 That we get to do this, and this scar is a constant reminder of God's grace. 00:17:50.035 --> 00:17:52.438 And my second chance. 00:17:52.538 --> 00:17:57.608 And that's what scars do, by the way, scars tell powerful stories. 00:17:57.608 --> 00:17:59.377 They were made by God. 00:17:59.377 --> 00:18:00.511 They were his idea. 00:18:00.511 --> 00:18:03.682 He made human skin to heal in a particular way. 00:18:03.882 --> 00:18:07.752 And some of your scars, they might have very little meaning to you. 00:18:07.752 --> 00:18:09.288 Like, I don't know how I got that one. 00:18:09.288 --> 00:18:11.890 But others might have really powerful stories. 00:18:12.023 --> 00:18:18.931 But I want you to know today that as much as your scars, whatever they have to say, the scars of Jesus have the most to say. 00:18:19.865 --> 00:18:35.980 And I want to know that I have the scars of Jesus made a difference in your life, because when Jesus burst into the quarantine room of disciples, it was the evidence that proved this really was Jesus that turned this doubting Thomas into a devoted follower of his. 00:18:36.147 --> 00:18:38.116 Do you know this the Thomas? 00:18:38.116 --> 00:18:42.354 I heard this actually from Pastor Greg's first sermon here at King of Kings when he talked about Thomas. 00:18:42.354 --> 00:18:50.863 There's a lot of words for Jesus that are given in the New Testament, but the very first human being to ever declare that Jesus is God is Thomas. 00:18:51.630 --> 00:18:57.169 And it was right after he revealed those scars and he would go on to be an incredible influence for the cause of Jesus. 00:18:57.469 --> 00:19:02.207 Thomas, by all historical accounts, was the first missionary to the nation of India. 00:19:02.207 --> 00:19:32.804 It would eventually be martyred for his faith then, so the scars of Jesus turned a doubting Titmus into a devoted disciple, and his scars have the ability to mark and change you forever because his scars tell the story of a perfect, spotless man that when we had sinned and fallen short and separated us from a relationship with him, God came down in the flesh through his own son, and that son went to the cross to die at death that you and I deserve to die. 00:19:32.971 --> 00:19:43.915 The word of God says in this story that he was tears for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, but that ultimately it says by his wombs, we are healed. 00:19:45.017 --> 00:19:48.554 And so have you allowed the scars of Jesus to heal you? 00:19:49.887 --> 00:19:58.529 And his his wounds, by the way, not only bring healing to bring you in a right relationship with God so that one day you can be with him and enjoy freedom, eternity in heaven. 00:19:59.431 --> 00:20:08.039 But I am convinced that so many Christians are missing out now on the very fact that freedom doesn't have to wait until the end . 00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:12.944 Freedom can be had right now, and this is the life that Jesus invites us into. 00:20:13.045 --> 00:20:16.914 It's not a life of waiting, and one day, hopefully we'll experience that freedom. 00:20:16.914 --> 00:20:19.384 No. You can have that freedom right now. 00:20:20.051 --> 00:20:23.721 You don't have to manage your sin or modify your behavior any longer. 00:20:23.821 --> 00:20:27.125 You don't have to carry around baggage that you've been carrying for years. 00:20:27.226 --> 00:20:31.363 You can let all of that go and live freely under the grace of Jesus. 00:20:32.431 --> 00:20:34.599 That's what his scars do. 00:20:34.700 --> 00:20:38.002 They forever mark you with his grace as this child. 00:20:38.303 --> 00:20:45.477 And so you would think then that its followers of Jesus that would be known as the most gracious and forgiving of all the people in the world. 00:20:47.846 --> 00:20:51.083 Jesus is known for Grace. 00:20:51.148 --> 00:20:55.753 And he's given that to us, and so we ought to to be known for grace and forgiveness. 00:20:57.189 --> 00:21:07.432 But instead, when those on the outside are asked, Hey, describe what a Christian is, do you know the first word they jump to is judgmental? 00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:13.904 So Jesus is known for Grace and Jesus followers, Christians are known for judgment, by the way. 00:21:14.038 --> 00:21:15.941 Judgment is not like close to grace. 00:21:15.941 --> 00:21:18.109 Judgment and grace are polar opposites. 00:21:18.109 --> 00:21:21.179 Grace is getting a free gift that you do not deserve. 00:21:21.313 --> 00:21:24.750 Judgment is getting exactly what you do deserve. 00:21:24.849 --> 00:21:38.663 And I have often struggled with this reality that Jesus who has been so good to us that we would be so far away from representing him and actually be content in settling for that picture that we give to the rest of the world. 00:21:38.896 --> 00:21:41.232 Something has to change. 00:21:45.436 --> 00:21:48.539 But the answer is not gritting our teeth together. 00:21:49.840 --> 00:21:52.877 You want me to be more forgiving and be more forgiving than. 00:21:55.346 --> 00:21:57.415 It's not about that. 00:21:59.317 --> 00:22:05.423 And I don't even think it's about the question is how do we forgive others? 00:22:05.423 --> 00:22:08.359 I think we have to go deeper. 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:10.595 And that's what I want to do in this series. 00:22:10.595 --> 00:22:12.530 In fact, let me ask this question, I'm willing to participate. 00:22:12.530 --> 00:22:14.199 You want you got to pick one or the other. 00:22:14.199 --> 00:22:16.268 I'll ask it and give you a couple of seconds to think about it. 00:22:16.768 --> 00:22:21.839 Do you have a harder time forgiving yourself or receiving God's forgiveness for yourself? 00:22:22.673 --> 00:22:25.777 Or a harder time forgiving someone else. 00:22:26.211 --> 00:22:32.750 So is it harder for you to receive that forgiveness for you or to give that forgiveness away to someone else and you've got to pick one of the two? 00:22:32.750 --> 00:22:38.757 How many of you say, I actually have a harder time forgiving myself receiving God's forgiveness for me? 00:22:39.624 --> 00:22:44.796 Gwen put hands up, if that's you, I have a harder time for giving me a lot of hands. 00:22:45.329 --> 00:22:50.402 How many say no, I'm actually I have a harder time forgiving others, a harder time, forgiving others. 00:22:51.303 --> 00:22:55.339 A decent number of hands, but nowhere near what it was in the beginning. 00:22:56.074 --> 00:22:56.674 And so look at that. 00:22:56.674 --> 00:22:59.478 And again, I don't presume everybody in this room is a follower of Jesus. 00:22:59.478 --> 00:23:00.178 Most of us are. 00:23:00.178 --> 00:23:08.353 I think though, and in this room, we struggle way more with God's forgiveness to ourselves than we do forgiving other people. 00:23:09.621 --> 00:23:16.894 And we saw with all the injustices going on in the world, spiritual and secular leaders are both calling for reform and they're calling for reconciliation. 00:23:16.894 --> 00:23:22.867 And I'm all about reconciliation, bringing two parties together to fix something that's broken and make it whole. 00:23:22.867 --> 00:23:33.478 But my premise is that if we who are struggling to receive God's forgiveness ourselves, if we are broken, then why are we sending to broken people to a party to bring wholeness? 00:23:33.878 --> 00:23:42.019 We've got to look deeper and understand that that that in order to forgive others, well, we first need to receive God's forgiveness for ourselves. 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:44.055 And that's where we're going in this series. 00:23:44.055 --> 00:23:48.960 My conclusion is that you can't be forgiving of others until you've received God's forgiveness for you. 00:23:49.193 --> 00:23:51.930 And sometimes we can be hardest on ourselves. 00:23:52.130 --> 00:23:55.400 Sometimes we can say the rudest and meanest things to ourselves. 00:23:55.599 --> 00:24:00.672 Sometimes we can think things about ourselves that if someone else did, we would never hang out with that person. 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:04.142 And yet we're doing this to ourselves. 00:24:04.976 --> 00:24:31.803 And so this is a series that's going to dove deep past our physical scars on the outside and look at those wounds that are still on the inside and realize that while there may be a wound or two that was unfairly done against you by someone else, I think our scariest, deepest, darkest wounds are things we've done ourselves that we're still having a hard time getting past, even though Jesus has said it is finished and paid for. 00:24:33.070 --> 00:24:40.811 And so rather than taking that from God and giving that forgiveness to ourselves instead, we just kind of suppress it under the cushion. 00:24:41.046 --> 00:24:47.085 We learn to live a life, managing it and modifying it and carrying it around with us wherever we go. 00:24:47.219 --> 00:24:53.858 When the opportunity to fully let go of all of that and to fully step into the freedom of God is truly available. 00:24:54.859 --> 00:24:56.528 And that's where we're headed. 00:24:56.528 --> 00:24:59.663 There is real freedom in the name of Jesus. 00:25:00.365 --> 00:25:02.733 This Jesus who said I have come to you may have life. 00:25:03.934 --> 00:25:06.203 And then you would have it to the fullest. 00:25:07.739 --> 00:25:14.813 So thankfully, in each of our stories, we have someone who's already taken the first step in our journey and his name is Jesus. 00:25:15.713 --> 00:25:20.317 And over the next 40 days, we're going to dove deep into the forgiveness that God has for you. 00:25:21.219 --> 00:25:26.090 Every spiritual problem that exists in the world, the answer is found in Jesus. 00:25:27.092 --> 00:25:29.961 And so what are we going to be doing over these next 40 days? 00:25:29.994 --> 00:25:34.532 Let me show you what we're going to be doing, kind of show you where we're going and what we're doing. 00:25:34.865 --> 00:25:43.275 The big question we're going to look at and how cool that we can actually see it, that we have a God sent his son to in the flesh to reveal his nature to us. 00:25:43.407 --> 00:25:48.145 We're going to look at how did Jesus forgive if we should learn forgiveness from anybody? 00:25:48.145 --> 00:25:53.218 We should learn it from Jesus is we're going to dove deep into how Jesus forgave. 00:25:54.219 --> 00:26:07.432 And what we see is that right after the story of Jesus bursting into the room and John, 20, right after he revealed his scars to Thomas, it looks like the writer John has every intention to close out his gospel. 00:26:07.766 --> 00:26:13.404 In fact, the subheading, which was added later, says the purpose of John's gospel. 00:26:13.939 --> 00:26:15.807 And it's a pretty good thing when you're wrapping up. 00:26:15.807 --> 00:26:18.576 I want to tell you the purpose one more time. 00:26:18.576 --> 00:26:24.715 And then John says these words, these two verses Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples. 00:26:25.884 --> 00:26:36.260 Which are not recorded in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 00:26:37.162 --> 00:26:38.896 What a great ending. 00:26:39.897 --> 00:26:43.969 And, you know, John's the last of the four gospels, right, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 00:26:44.269 --> 00:26:46.605 This is Chapter 20, added all the chapters of the Gospels. 00:26:46.837 --> 00:26:56.381 This is the 88 beautiful chapter, beautiful gospel message where Jesus just forgives and forgives and forgives and reveals his character to us. 00:26:57.414 --> 00:27:00.785 And now, finally, John's closing up the gospels. 00:27:00.951 --> 00:27:02.086 The story is over. 00:27:02.086 --> 00:27:05.690 Believe in him, and you may have life in his name. 00:27:09.193 --> 00:27:10.828 Story done. 00:27:11.261 --> 00:27:14.398 Except when I look in my Bible. 00:27:14.398 --> 00:27:16.968 There's the John 21. 00:27:17.736 --> 00:27:21.038 There's an 89th chapter. 00:27:21.772 --> 00:27:29.881 Huh? And over the next 40 days, we're going to largely be camping out in the 89th chapter. 00:27:30.981 --> 00:27:33.417 Because in this chapter. 00:27:33.417 --> 00:27:37.622 We're going to experience what I think is my favorite story of forgiveness in all the Bible. 00:27:39.190 --> 00:27:48.633 I love how Jesus forgives other people, I love the forgiveness that he offered to the Samaritan woman at the well, the Adult Swim thrown at his feet to Zaki as the wee little man in the tree. 00:27:48.732 --> 00:27:50.434 I love the story of the prodigal son. 00:27:50.434 --> 00:27:54.138 All of these are incredible stories that show Jesus forgiveness is for everybody. 00:27:54.338 --> 00:27:58.910 But what I love about Chapter 89 is this is when Jesus is going to forgive Peter Peter. 00:27:58.910 --> 00:28:04.782 His right hand man, the man he had a relationship with, the man he trusted and empowered the church to. 00:28:04.782 --> 00:28:07.317 This is the man that Jesus is going. 00:28:08.486 --> 00:28:09.820 To forgive. 00:28:10.888 --> 00:28:16.126 And some of you may resonate more with the story of the prodigal son just going out and wasting everything. 00:28:16.326 --> 00:28:22.366 I resonate with what I call periodical Peter free periods where he got it so right. 00:28:22.366 --> 00:28:24.903 Periods where he got it so wrong. 00:28:24.903 --> 00:28:34.412 Prodigal son periodical, Peter, I hope you like alliteration and puns, did you miss my didn't miss one earlier, by the way, I got more in this series, but I can't give them to you. 00:28:34.412 --> 00:28:36.346 All right now, I don't want to peter out on the first week. 00:28:39.284 --> 00:28:39.784 Thank you. 00:28:39.784 --> 00:28:40.684 Thank you. 00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:49.394 Here's what I love, and here's the gospel message for us this morning we're going to dove deep into the words of the Chapter 89. 00:28:49.560 --> 00:29:00.404 But right now, all I need you to know is there's another chapter that when someone tries to close your story, God simply wants to write another chapter, and his best work appears when everything is over and done. 00:29:01.172 --> 00:29:04.709 And so I don't know if others have been telling you, Hey, because you did this. 00:29:04.843 --> 00:29:05.676 You're done. 00:29:05.676 --> 00:29:09.446 Or if you're telling yourself, because I did this, I'll never amount to anything. 00:29:09.580 --> 00:29:12.317 God could never forgive me. 00:29:09.580 --> 00:29:12.317 God could never use me. 00:29:12.383 --> 00:29:15.119 My story is over. 00:29:12.383 --> 00:29:15.119 What God is wanting you to say. 00:29:15.153 --> 00:29:19.490 What to hear today is he is the author and the finisher of your story. 00:29:19.523 --> 00:29:22.493 And you don't get to tell him when your story is over. 00:29:22.594 --> 00:29:27.397 I'm sorry, but he doesn't need you to be his ghostwriter in your own story. 00:29:27.464 --> 00:29:30.434 When the Holy Ghost is still working up inside of you. 00:29:31.502 --> 00:29:41.412 And so we're going to see God do an incredible thing in Chapter 89, and we'll we're going to look at as we explore Jesus in his his forgiveness of Peter. 00:29:41.546 --> 00:29:47.018 We're going to look at not only this metaphor of scars today, but it's going to form, hopefully a powerful acronym. 00:29:47.218 --> 00:29:49.019 The five phases leading to freedom. 00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:55.425 And so if you're reading along this week, you're going to read about scars and days one through five and then we're going to spend a week on each one. 00:29:55.559 --> 00:29:59.430 And then these are the five courses of the meal we're going to have in the next five weeks. 00:29:59.430 --> 00:30:02.232 We're going to look at next week, sin. 00:30:02.232 --> 00:30:06.703 How this very loaded term, we're going to define what it is, the fact that we all missed the mark. 00:30:06.703 --> 00:30:12.242 But in Jesus, any failure is simply another opportunity to fall into his grace. 00:30:13.211 --> 00:30:14.711 I know sins a tough word. 00:30:14.711 --> 00:30:23.354 The meal is still going to taste good next week, and we're going to look at confession and see that Jesus invites us every time we sin into this practice called confession. 00:30:23.421 --> 00:30:32.763 And the coolest part about confession is not the words you bring or even heart that you bring, but the fact that God himself will posture himself already to hear you and to forgive you. 00:30:33.397 --> 00:30:34.632 And that's what we see in the week. 00:30:34.632 --> 00:30:37.067 A absolution God absolves. 00:30:37.201 --> 00:30:39.069 Scott declares absolution. 00:30:39.069 --> 00:30:40.605 I declare that you are fully forgiven. 00:30:40.605 --> 00:30:46.176 We're going to see how Jesus's death on the cross was the full payment for all sin of all time, including yours. 00:30:47.144 --> 00:30:49.513 That's where a lot of people stop, though. 00:30:49.513 --> 00:30:52.083 But the forgiveness of Jesus goes deeper. 00:30:52.083 --> 00:31:04.863 It's we're going to get into the hour how God works, a complete restoration that after you've done something, the world wants to tell you again that your story is over, that your identity has to change, that you'll never amount to anything. 00:31:04.962 --> 00:31:09.701 But we're going to see God say sin doesn't disqualify you from the original call I placed in your life. 00:31:09.701 --> 00:31:10.934 You are my son and my daughter. 00:31:10.934 --> 00:31:12.303 Now let's go. 00:31:13.171 --> 00:31:15.906 And then finally, this is where it all comes together. 00:31:15.906 --> 00:31:19.109 It's one thing to know you're forgiven absolution and it's paid for. 00:31:19.309 --> 00:31:21.980 It's another to know that God wants to restore you. 00:31:22.113 --> 00:31:28.586 But until we get into that final s sanctification definition means to the process of being freed from sin. 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:34.791 And this is where we walk hand-in-hand with God into the future until we walk in that truth. 00:31:35.960 --> 00:31:38.363 We will not be living freely. 00:31:38.363 --> 00:31:43.401 And my hope is that you will experience what we're going to see happen in the life of Peter. 00:31:45.036 --> 00:31:55.980 Stepping into the lifeguards called you into I'm just convinced that too many of us, even though we say Jesus is our savior and Lord, we're not feeling and experiencing that freedom. 00:31:57.682 --> 00:32:13.196 And we're still beating ourselves up over stuff Jesus already paid for, Jesus already declared done, and I'm tired of playing the game and walk in a half hearted, hobbled down handicap version of Who God has called to set free and walk fully. 00:32:14.464 --> 00:32:21.239 And so I hope you join me in this, and I hope you come in because you can see God do powerful things in your story. 00:32:22.006 --> 00:32:26.076 Chuck Todd, you stand right now as I read the words of Luke for 18. 00:32:27.811 --> 00:32:43.260 When Jesus says the spirit of the Lord is on me because he is appointed, anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind and to set the oppressed free. 00:32:43.961 --> 00:32:45.096 Good news for you. 00:32:45.096 --> 00:32:48.900 The one that Jesus is coming to set free is you. 00:32:49.901 --> 00:32:54.038 He's already done and paid the price he's already offered and made it available. 00:32:54.172 --> 00:32:58.375 It's time we receive it, accept it and walk in that truth. 00:32:59.978 --> 00:33:12.557 It's so God I prayed today that just like you burst through the walls of the Courante disciples, you would come up on in these walls and you would share with us a message of kindness and love and grace and peace. 00:33:14.424 --> 00:33:23.166 And the Lord, you would reveal to us your nail scarred hands, and we would truly receive what you want us to receive from it. 00:33:24.769 --> 00:33:32.509 In fact, if you're here today and it's like, yes, I want, I know I need more freedom, I know I'm not walking fully as Jesus has called me to walk. 00:33:32.676 --> 00:33:39.717 Would you just rate both your hands right now in a posture of surrender and in a posture of just expecting fear of God? 00:33:39.750 --> 00:33:43.788 I don't know what's coming, but I'm going to give you the next 40 and I want you to do your thing. 00:33:43.788 --> 00:33:49.861 So God moving, these people got even ones that don't have hands up, even ones that aren't sure what to expect. 00:33:49.961 --> 00:33:55.199 Even ones that aren't inviting you come through the wall right now and reveal yourself. 00:33:55.333 --> 00:34:04.541 And through these 40 thought I prayed God, that you would do great, glorious things that you would reveal to us how much you deeply love us. 00:34:05.910 --> 00:34:08.079 Then you would show up. 00:34:08.512 --> 00:34:10.847 Our stories are not over. 00:34:10.847 --> 00:34:16.521 There's an 89 chapter in all of our lives, and now you're not done with us. 00:34:16.521 --> 00:34:18.623 God, we rip away the lives of the enemy. 00:34:18.722 --> 00:34:24.594 Sometimes the lies become even through our own thoughts, in our own words, to ourselves. 00:34:24.594 --> 00:34:29.800 And we claim today the truth of the gospel that my god never give up on me. 00:34:29.934 --> 00:34:36.940 They got my dog will come and find me and chase me and leave the 99 to come and get back. 00:34:36.940 --> 00:34:38.309 What is who is what? 00:34:38.309 --> 00:34:40.744 Jesus. Come on now he give back. 00:34:40.744 --> 00:34:42.313 What's yours? 00:34:42.612 --> 00:34:44.614 I thank you for the reckless love. 00:34:44.614 --> 00:34:46.550 It needed a reckless love. 00:34:46.550 --> 00:34:49.387 I made so much of a mess it had to be reckless. 00:34:50.188 --> 00:34:54.092 But I think you that you came in to come on church, let's worship God right now. 00:34:54.092 --> 00:34:56.193 Let's take him to this rack with love. 00:34:56.494 --> 00:34:57.829 Didn't even qualify.