MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
Faith of Equal Standing | Pastor Will Hawk | July 6th, 2025
We explore the revolutionary concept that every Christian stands on equal footing with the apostles themselves, not through our own merit, but through the righteousness of Christ.
• God has granted believers "all things that pertain to life and godliness" through knowing Christ
• Many Christians experience a "false start" by trying to earn God's approval rather than beginning with faith
• Faith must come first, followed by supplements like virtue, knowledge, self-control and love
• Our relationship with Christ isn't about striving but about taking what He freely gives
• The Christian life includes "becoming partakers of the divine nature" - uniquely receiving rather than just giving
• When we build properly on the foundation of faith, God promises we "will never fall"
• God desires not just to admit us to heaven, but to "richly provide" our entrance into His kingdom
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence." - 2 Peter 1:3
If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.
One of the things I love about the song that we just sang in Stokes you started praying it and the Lord had just pressed it on my heart was this idea of with every breath, I long to follow Jesus. It's a beautiful thing to sing. It's another thing to mean I don't know what your resting heart rate is, and we don't need to pull out our Apple watches to determine who the most impressive athlete is among us, what your resting heart rate is, and we don't need to pull out our Apple Watches to determine who the most impressive athlete is among us with a 20 heart rate a minute. But I will tell you this you're going to take a lot of breaths in the next little bit of time and I wonder how often we actually think you know Christ, if you have put your faith and trust in Jesus and he has rescued you from your sin. The concept really is like every breath in and every breath out. You have purchased it, it is yours, it is sort of my gift to you, and I was reminded of an old Testament, prophet Ezekiel, and God takes Ezekiel through this valley of dry bones. Let me just pause and tell you this Sunday is a very encouraging Sunday, but one of the things that I've realized about encouragement is it feels bigger the lower you start. And so if your day is going great you remember this as a kid like if it's a summer day and you're already going to spend the night at your buddy's house and then you find out you're going to go see a movie, you're like, awesome. But if you're expecting to be studying for a final and then the teacher's like, forget that, we're canceling it, just have the night off, and then you find out you're spending the night at your buddy's house and you're going to go see a movie, you feel it. So here's what I'm wanting to do recognizing our souls. I want us to start low, but not in a fake way, like in a very real way.
Will Hawk:God speaks to Ezekiel and he takes him into this valley and there's nothing but bones there. This is Ezekiel, chapter 37. If you want to fact check me on this. And God asks Ezekiel, he says hey, ezekiel, what do you think about these bones? Can these things come to life? Can they live? Can there be life in unexpected places? Is what God is saying to him. And Ezekiel being a very smart prophet, he just simply says Lord, you know, I don't want to get this one right. I don't know if you're handing out Jolly Ranchers for correct answers after Sunday school, but you know all things. You are sovereign.
Will Hawk:And then in verse five, here's what God's word says. It says let's see the Lord and King speaks to you. He says I will put breath in you, then you will come to life again. Christian in the room, I can only speak to the Christians in the room with this. Do you realize that you have been given second life, second breath, that the life in the course that you on was ultimately going to end in darkness and in death and gloom, and whatever the best stuff you were going to pull off was going to be wholly insufficient? But with every breath is a gift that God has given that we have the privilege of giving right back to him. And so let's be about that this morning.
Will Hawk:A couple of ways that you can lean in. Number one we would love to know how to pray for you, how the pastoral team and the prayer team can use our breath in going before the Lord. So in front of you on these little cards, is a side for prayer. Please go ahead, grab that, jot it down. We also love praising God for things that are going on in your life. Jot those things down. You can leave these in your pew or little like pro tip first service people. If you put them in the buckets, it actually does help.
Will Hawk:The ushers Second service we don't really care about. There's nobody coming in to grab that seat and read your very deep prayer request that we're hoping to get before. So first, if y'all wanna drop them in, that's kind of nice, but you can leave them anywhere. And then if you're visiting with us and you feel confident enough that we can send you one email, we would love to be able to do that. If, like, the jury is still out on that, we're cool with it. Maybe just hold on to it and do it at the end. Also, we would love for you to be a giving people and you really are. So if you're, most of our folks give regularly online, you can scan the QR code.
Will Hawk:We don't leave it up for very long, but if you want to give and you're wondering how we have a couple of little offering buckets on the other side of the door, we don't pass the plate because historically, midtree has been very poor at passing the plate. I don't know how to explain this. We have yet to figure this out. Maybe our usher team has developed to the place that we can try this again, but the plates would go out and somebody would get it seven times and somebody wouldn't get it in seven weeks, and we thought people might be picking up on stuff that we weren't actually trying to say, and so we just decided to leave that up to you. And so that is how you give Members.
Will Hawk:Obviously, please give faithfully If you're a visitor. We just want today to be a blessing to you. I'm going to invite Carmen to come up. I'm looking for. Would y'all welcome Carmen up? Carmen is going to share a couple of things, probably three ways that 127 steps in and advocates for children in vulnerable places, and then I'm going to pray James 127 over us when you finish. So, carmen, tell us what's going on, how are things?
Carmen Overton:Thank you. Good morning. I'm Carmen Overton and I'm one of the leaders of the 127 Family Advocacy Ministry here at Midtree, and we are a part of a whole bunch of churches through the Clement Arts Network that provides foster care and adoption support to families in our congregation who are caring for vulnerable children, and one of the ministries I want to spotlight this morning is Lifeline Children's Services. Lifeline is a global orphan care ministry that our church partners with and I want to just point out a few ways that they get involved in the orphan care crisis both globally and here locally. Many of you might be familiar with Lifeline through their international adoption program, which is probably their oldest and longest lasting program and vitally important in helping bring forever families to children across the world. I can't say enough good things about this program and I know many of you have personal experiences with that program, but they bring excellence and expertise to a very complicated situation. One thing that I can tell you in working for a long time in foster care and adoption ministry is that it is entering into the deepest, darkest brokenness that exists in our world and it's a multifaceted problem that requires a multifaceted solution, and Lifeline does a really good job of bringing lots of different components to that. But not only do they bring a lot of solutions, they do it with excellence so that when people decide to say yes to answering the call to adoption, it can be very frustrating dealing with government red tape and bureaucracies and waiting and frustrations, and having somebody to walk alongside you in that really can be the thing that keeps you going to completion and bringing children into families forever. Another thing that Lifeline does here locally and around the country is that they offer pregnancy counseling to mothers who have unplanned pregnancies to really help them understand all of the available options. So sometimes that is giving them resources to be able to mother and parent well. Sometimes it's helping them to make the decision to place a child for adoption, but it's just a mentor and a support person who can walk alongside that mother in a really challenging time, and that's something that is offered here in our area.
Carmen Overton:And then another thing, because the other thing that I've learned in caring for vulnerable children is that it is only an act that can be done through the Holy Spirit, because you have to be 100% for adoption and making sure that we're helping fulfill God's promise to set the lonely in families, but you also have to be 100% for that birth family. So sometimes that means not taking a child away from a family, but making sure that a family can stay together, and that is something that also happens here in our community through a program called Families Count, where churches and volunteers are trained to provide a 12-week course for parents who are trying to keep their children from going into the foster care system. It's been wildly successful here in our community and has become a part of our juvenile court system to help parents meet requirements that they need. But it's just really beautiful because it's the church entering into brokenness and providing a resource and a support system that a family didn't have before, so that a family can stay together. So that's a few things.
Carmen Overton:Lifeline does a whole lot more than that, and I would encourage you to visit their website, lifelinechildorg, to learn more about what they do or reach out to me. I'd love to talk to you.
Will Hawk:James 127 is what our family advocacy ministry that's a lot of words.
Will Hawk:There's so many adjectives in the things that y'all do. We just call it fam. Well, what blows me away like this is Carmen's heart, Like she's not just up here because we were like, hey, we need a spotlight so we can let people know what their money goes to. She doesn't have a note with her, just so you know. That's pretty rare. Most people don't come up with no notes, but it is so inside of her that one of the things you get they could just like come and meet you, Absolutely yeah.
Will Hawk:And so if you want to know hey, I may not feel called to adopt, but I would love to support folks Carmen would be the person to know. And if you're like, hey, I want to just be involved in some capacity, Carmen is the person to know. I did not realize this until yesterday. Did you know people can buy that shirt on our store? No, I don't feel like they should be able to. I feel like you should have to be on the team. I'm afraid there are people walking around with stolen valor that are like no, really, I support, I support to $20 worth, in which I got myself my own t-shirt. We'll take it Okay.
Carmen Overton:We'll take it yeah.
Will Hawk:You better be able to talk about it a little bit if you buy the shirt and wear it.
Carmen Overton:But you know, all you have to do is make a meal and put it in our freezer.
Will Hawk:And that's probably one of the ways that most people Super easy, yeah, super easy to get involved. Carmen would be the person to know if you're like, hey, maybe we should adopt all the way to. We just want to help out in some way, and this would be one way to do it.
Carmen Overton:We love babysitters.
Will Hawk:Babysitters are good. Yeah, all right, so I'm going to pray. Was there anything else you wanted to say? I didn't mean to cut you off. That's good, okay, good of children, and in a world that is very much broken. We know that it is. We know that King Jesus will one day come and will make all things right.
Will Hawk:But until that day comes, you tell us that religion is not pure just because we say so. In fact, james 1 26 tells us if anybody thinks he's religious and can't bridle his tongue, he's deceiving his heart. But religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this to visit orphans, to care for widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. So, father, may every one of us who is breathing for Jesus at this point, may we have a heart for something that is bigger than us and deeper than us and wider than us. May we have a desire for things that will outlast us, like young children who need a dad and who need a mom, families who are stepping into that who need a meal, and the million different things that stand in between.
Will Hawk:Your people have been known since the early days of Christianity for caring for the least of these because you cared for us as the least of these. May we step into that calling together. I pray in Jesus' name, amen, amen. All right guys. If y'all want to go ahead and grab your Bibles, nora will tell you where to turn in 1 Peter. What's up, nora?
Nora Radford:What's up, Nora? Hi, good morning. I'm Nora. Please turn your Bibles to. This says Song of 2 Peter. Song of 2 Peter To 2 Peter. Carrie, 1, 3 through 9. Carrie, we have a typo.
Will Hawk:Good luck finding that in your Bible. Okay, I'll tell you. If you find that in your Bible, I need to see your Bible, okay, because we need to replace it with a non-apocryphal version.
Nora Radford:Okay, if you have a pew Bible, it'll be on page 1018. And so while I'm giving you a chance to read, there's a funny little story that Will asked me to share, and so I'll tell it to you. Okay, so nine years ago I was going through a very, very ugly, despairing time in my life, and so I went to Crosspoint and I usually saw Brad and he was unavailable and I was a little upset. The JV version. I did get the B team, so I met with Will. I did get the B team, so I met with Will. He was, and he ended up sharing this verse with me, which is going to be verse three. It's the first one that we read and it's just really cool how God did kind of a layup right now where I'm the one who gets to share this with you because he shared it with me because of his Well and what I was telling Nora.
Will Hawk:What makes this so cool is the only reason I knew to share that verse with you nine years ago which, by the way, is the ones we're encouraging you to memorize over the next five weeks is because Mr Mac McDonald, who is myI think, second grade Sunday school teacher, refused for us to leave second grade without knowing that verse. It was like William, you have been given everything you need for life and godliness and because of that, in like 1990, you got encouragement. Then we fast forward in another 10 years. Isn't God's word truly living and active? How cool. So let's hear from the living and active.
Nora Radford:Yes. So if you are like, how am I going to get through this? What am I going to do? I am not equipped. Verse three says His divine power has granted to us all things, not just some things, all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him, who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that, through them, you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. This is the word of the Lord.
Will Hawk:Amen, thank you Nora. His former sins. This is the word of the Lord. Amen, thank you, nora.
Will Hawk:Well, guys, I'm excited to be diving into 1 Peter by show of hands. I'm legitimately curious who shot fireworks this weekend? Not watched, shot. You held the lighter and you lit something and you ran away. I just need the hands. Come on. Who are my people? Okay, how many of you guys watched fireworks across the fourth? Okay, you're almost as cool as them, but in a very, very wide, disparaging way. So give me one second. I got to get something set up here and I hit the wrong button.
Will Hawk:The reason I was thinking about fireworks is because the text that we are going to look at today reminds me a little bit of setting off fireworks, and I'll tell you the reason why. The most exciting firework is not the big one. The most exciting or the most funny one is the one that does not do what you expected it to do. Now, if all you've ever done is watch fireworks, you will not be able to appreciate this story. But I'm talking to my people and I don't mind that you're feeling left out. Maybe next year you'll pick up a lighter and enjoy true joy with the rest of us. There is something absolutely wonderful about a dad walking out with this box and saying all right, kids, it's the big finale. This thing cost me $99. Big finale this thing cost me $99. And then you light it and it goes and everybody laughs and, depending on your level of freedom, tip their drink to the guy who bought that $100 thing and just say so when's the finale beginning? And roast the dad. That is one fun moment. My favorite moment is when you light off hey guys, it's just a little sparkle fountain and the kids begin dancing and running around it Until the fire begins shooting at them and they flee. Or when you light something and it falls to the side which almost always happens and goes under a car, and every adult's like which almost always happens and goes under a car, and every adult's like, oh, okay, and now it's funny, okay. The reason I begin with this do you guys have me back there? Nope, nope, hang on, I was going to tell that story anyway. I wasn't stalling. The reason I think about that is because 2 Peter, by the way, we're in 2 Peter, so if you're using the Bible journal, 2 Peter, not 1 Peter it begins like a firework that goes off unexpectedly, it begins to go up, but long before it reaches the ceiling, it explodes right in front of you in almost surprising fashion. Let me show you what I mean. These are going to be the five things we do over the next five weeks, before I show you this firework that went off early this morning.
Will Hawk:My encouragement through the word of God, peter's encouragement through the Holy Spirit and God's living and active word, is this Christians, christians, grow when others stall out. If you're not a Christian, I have the same message for you for the next five weeks Repent and believe in Jesus Christ. I have no other message for you. You cannot grow, stand, discern, hope or awaken if this thing is not alive. And the only thing that makes this thing alive is that the Lord and the King speak to the dry bones of your best attempts and says come to life and follow me. So, christians, this is what we're doing, and this morning, our encouragement and it really is an encouragement is to grow when others would stall out, and this is sort of how it looks like. This is what it plays like Simeon, peter that would be Simon in the Hebrew a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied and multiplied to you, in the knowledge of God and Jesus, our Lord.
Will Hawk:The fuse is lit, but you don't expect to get the good stuff till the other side of the introduction. This is Peter's opening line. This is not the stuff that you pine over. When you have to write somebody a card, you don't think, oh gosh, what am I gonna say? What's gonna be the intro? Dear beloved in the Lord. Like we don't think that way, we just write their name down Hannah, who loves to sit up front. Hannah here's the rest. Now, peter is giving us incredible theology, incredible relationship with God and incredible freedom.
Will Hawk:If you constantly compare yourself to others before the firework even gets off the ground, you, christian, have a faith of equal standing with ours. Who is ours? The apostles. I thought I would have a little fun with this. I cannot read to you every verse, but that means if you're a Christian, god sees you on the same standing as when the man was healed at the beautiful gate, when Peter and John showed up. Now look, I have prayed for someone to be healed and I have seen God do that of cancer and it was one of the highlights of my faith when I was young. But this to walk up to somebody sick, somebody lame, who hasn't walked in years. And then Peter and John are like, hey, I can give you all that I have which is Jesus. And he stands up and walks. Hey, christian, who's been walking with Jesus for two weeks? God sees you on even ground with the disciples who did this. He sees you on even ground as Philip, who healed and cast out demons in Samaria. Look, I don't know what the high watermark is of you following Jesus. It might be changing a diaper at church and, hey, I am great with that. I hope it doesn't remain the high level watermark of your faith. But if that is the most you have ever done, do you realize Peter is saying you are of even standing as those like Philip, who has cast out demons? We are of even standing of John, who left everything behind and walked into the unknown world to give his life for the Lord.
Will Hawk:Even standing with Saul, who is blinded because of his pride, and even standing with Ananias. Ananias is one of my favorite stories in the book of Acts. Saul, the guy on the bottom who's like, oh, I can't see, because he'd been blinded by Jesus. He's been killing Christians man, woman, child creating all kinds of a mess. And the Holy Spirit comes to Ananias and he says Ananias, I'm going to send a guy to you. His name is Saul. We're going to rename him later and call him Paul, but not until I give him new life. I need you to heal him. And Ananias is like Lord, this guy has done nothing but create problems for your people. Is this really the guy you want to heal? And Christ says, yeah, I've got huge plans for him. He's going to be on even standing as you, ananias and Will Hawk and Lily Stevens and Lane Tite. They are going to be on even standing as you, ananias and Will Hawk and Lily Stevens and Lane Tite. They are going to be on even standing still. It's not just Saul, it's people like James who were willing to give their lives for Christ, every single breath, yours, do you realize? You are on even standing with those who have gone before you and have given their lives for Christ. Can I show you one more, paul? This is also, I just think, poetic justice. Paul, who was blind, was healed through Ananias. Then Paul goes through this island called Patmos and Elemas, this magician who's creating all kinds of problems. Paul says you know what, dude, you don't need to see for a while. This is going to help you, trust me. And Paul blinds the guy after being made blind.
Will Hawk:Guys, when you look at this very small, check out Hebrews 11, check out Hebrews 12. When you look at this very small subsect of Christians who have followed Christ with every breath, do you believe God's word? When Peter says to those of you who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours how incredible is this? Do you think about yourself that way? Or do you think about yourself as an American Christian who's just trying to get from Monday to Friday, make it to the weekend, slide in a couple of quiet times? We so far underestimate the way that our Lord and our King see us, and I think this is what Peter wants us to see. I want you to grow when other people would stall out, and one of the reasons people stall out is they simply don't have a vision of what it is that the Holy Spirit desires to do in them. Now, this faith of equal standing where on earth does this come from?
Will Hawk:I wanna show you a funny little video clip, but I can't do the audio from here, so let me just give you the preemptive thing. So this is a guy who's racing BMX and he invited his mom to his competition. His mom is one of the best of the types of moms who doesn't just love her child but loves messing with her child. Now, the way this works is you're on a little gate and the gate doesn't drop until the sort of the gun goes off. But they don't use a gun, it just goes. And what happens in this video is, as soon as he gets ready, the mom goes and he sort of jumps the start. Let me show you if I can. You won't be able to hear it. Apologies, this is as big as I can make it, but here you go and then he gets up and he looks at his mom. That's my favorite moment. Yet you have to be looking close, because he knows exactly what just happened. He knows that, gummit mom, I look like a fool in front of everybody else. He's like come on, are you serious? All right, here is why I want to show you this.
Will Hawk:I wonder how many of us got a false start in our walk with Christ, and I really wanna clean this up. What I'm about to teach you is the thing that I teach most at a Starbucks table and it is the thing that I share with people where I get this response more than any other time. I've been going to church for 20 years. Why did nobody ever tell me this? I've been going to church for 40 years and I cannot tell you how hard I've been going to church for 40 years and I cannot tell you how hard I have been striving at the Christian life. I did not realize there was freedom like this. There was a song is Stokes in here? Stokes, are you here? Hey, good luck with this exchange.
Will Hawk:There was a line in a song that we just sang that talked about like striving, but there was another word in front of it. What is it Say? What's the line? Come rest from sin and striving. Okay, thank you, thank you, thank you All right. In the song that we just sang, I was like oh gosh, yes, this is it. This is it.
Will Hawk:There are these two diametrically opposed attempts at pursuing Christ Come rest from sin and striving. Nailed it, by the way. I'll be happy next week. All right From sin and striving. There are two ways that we try to do our life. I'm just going to enjoy the thing Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow I die, or I'm going to try really hard, lord. I'm going to read my Bible and I'm going to pray. I might even be one of those people who fast, and you are going to see me on Sunday and I'm going to help out in kids ministry.
Will Hawk:What I want you to realize is both of those things are inadequate approaches to actually find where true life is. This is where true life is To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing to the disciples. How? Why? By the righteousness of our God and Savior, jesus Christ. Now, when I say it, it's theological, it is clunky. Let me tell you what I mean by this. Take a moment and think about the thief on the cross. The thief on the cross had no opportunity to change his life, to join a church, to apologize to those he had harmed, who were probably many. All he had was Jesus and that was all that he needed. This is the message of for those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by not your righteousness, not your best attempts, but by the righteousness of Christ. And if you don't get this right, and I'm not going to try to trick you, I'm not going to try to tease you. I want you to get this right for the sake of your soul, for the sake of your life. I want you to get this right.
Will Hawk:I show you this video not because I needed a moment of pause. I show you this because I do wonder how many of us started our Christian walk this way. We thought we were ready, we thought we were listening to the Lord, but we got a message that was just a little bit different than the gospel. It sounded like the gospel. It came in our lives at the time that we expected the gospel, the good news that Christ would forgive us of our sins, gospel. And instead of starting going down that hill and gunning it, we found ourselves scraped arms, scraped knees and pointing to all of our spiritual boo-boos. I wonder how many of us began this way and I wonder how many of us didn't even realize it.
Will Hawk:This is what we are called to realize To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, jesus Christ. When I show you all of those pictures of the disciples, what I'm wanting you to realize is there is no hierarchy here. You're not impressive to God by your achievement or by your excellence. You are not ranked at midtree or any church by your tenure in the faith. I've been walking with the Lord for 40 years. That's great. I just care that you end well. I've been walking with the Lord for four minutes. That's great. I just care that you end well.
Will Hawk:So even those of us who have only been believers for a short period, or those of you who have been debating actually trusting Christ, do you realize that you are given an invitation and an inheritance because of the righteousness of Christ? How much love does God have to have for his kids to just give them this? You ever thought about that? We think about the story of the prodigal son and he goes to his father and he says hey, dad, here's the deal. Just give me all my stuff now so I can enjoy it while I'm young. And the dad does, and he goes and squanders it because his heart is beating for himself and for himself alone.
Will Hawk:But God doesn't do the exact opposite of that. He doesn't say hey, just so you know it's gonna be all bad stuff until you get to the other side of this doorway he says even now, while you are in the valley of the shadow of death or you are living in a world that is steeped in sin that I will one day come and remake, even now, I'm giving it all to you. You're my son, you're my daughter. You may not be in the world that I have created you for, but you have all of the inheritance of sonship and being a daughter, and it's very similar to trying to look through the keyhole of a door. Not false starting.
Will Hawk:All is banked on this the righteousness of Jesus, that one phrase, is the little keyhole through the door by which, the closer we get to Christ, the closer we begin to see that there is something abundantly beautiful on the other side. But if your walk with Christ is always at a distance, if Jesus is one thing you do and you also work, and you're also a mom and you're also a dad and you're also a good neighbor and you're in the HOA and you coach Little League, if Jesus is on a shelf like that of the seven or eight other big doors in your life, you're never going to see through the little keyhole to everything that Christ has in store for you. This scripture is calling you to draw, nearer and nearer and nearer to Christ, but not by striving, not by having more quiet times than you've ever had, or changing your reading from five minutes a day to 15 minutes a day, or praying more. All of those are wonderful things, but they're all false starts. How can we get to the place where we can be on this side of the door but have that kind of a vision? Well, we get there through the power that only God has. His divine power has granted to us. That's the inheritance, that's the equal standing, all things. And it doesn't matter when he says all things, he means all things, all things in your life, all things when it comes to pursuing God and godliness. And all of it comes through our knowledge of Christ, who called us in the first place and desires for us to see his glory and to be excellent. In fact, he's granted to us precious and very great promises so that you get to become a partaker of the divine nature. Or you can go the other way, or you can find all of the corruption that's in this world. Now, when it says partakers, I kind of wanted to do a little bit of work. So this would be the Greek koinonos, and when this scripture says you can become a partaker, christians, of the divine nature, it sounds too big for your brain to hold. So I thought I'd make it very simple for you.
Will Hawk:A lot of us are familiar with this passage at the bottom out of Luke, chapter 5. In fact, you've probably had it on a t-shirt or a coffee mug, or quoted to you or at you, depending on if you were on a college campus. Recently, james and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon and Jesus, said to Simon do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men. The part of that verse that everybody loves, that everybody quotes, is this hey man, great news, fisherman, I've got a higher calling for you. That is true, but what I want you to actually notice is this this word it's just as much scripture as anything else. That is the exact same word that you just read in 2 Peter when it talked about being partakers of the divine nature. It means partners, it means associates as much. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were partners with Simon, the fisherman Peter, who would then write this thing what God is basically saying is this you are a partner with me in this ongoing rescue mission, this ongoing adoption mission. You are partners with me as much as Simon was partners with James and John.
Will Hawk:And it shouldn't make sense to us. Look, it makes sense for Darren and I, a couple of weeks ago, to partner in thinking through the service and thinking through him sharing his testimony getting baptized. It makes sense for me to partner with Stokes and say here's the tone of the text we're going through. Let's think through worship songs. Makes sense to partner with Carrie when we're organizing who's going to come up here, et cetera, et cetera and so on.
Will Hawk:But the fact that God looks at, not will, all believers and he says do you want to partner with me in this mission? Do you want to partner with me in being remade of nature? Do you want to become like me? This is not a God looking down on us, saying play your little role, read your little verse, say your little prayers and maybe I will do something incredible with them. This is a God who condescends to us and says let us partner together in this life and in this ministry and in this calling. And he says there are really only two options anyway. This, by the way, was the end of the verse that I just read to you, so that through these promises, we get to become partakers of the divine nature. Let me just also say this Do you know how unique it is for Christianity to tell you you get to be a partaker of God's nature?
Will Hawk:Every other religion is a giving religion. You need to give to God your sacrifices. You need to give to God your time. You need to give to God your money. You need to give to God your ability. You need to give to God. You need to give to God. Please don't hear me.
Will Hawk:That is true, but that is not how we begin. If you begin by trying to give things to God, get ready to go over your handlebars. The first thing that a Christian does is take, and there's no other religion like that. There's no other religion or worldview or system of belief. There's no other faith where the God says take from me, I've broken my flesh for you, take of it. I have shed my blood for you, take from me. This is what God invites all of us to, and if we would be takers, we can actually begin to aspire to the very nature of God. And please keep in mind these are the only two options. There's nothing in here called the good life, where we're a little bit like God but a little bit like the world. You're not gonna find that in scripture. You're gonna find an offer to you in a million different places here, but you're not gonna find it oh, I got rid of the wrong line but you're not gonna find it in scripture.
Will Hawk:What do we find in scripture? We find that God offers to you all things and if I believe this, I can find peace in the present. If I believe that God is offering me all things, I can find peace even though I have unbelieving children, an unbelieving mom or an unbelieving dad. I can believe that if God is giving me all things, I can rest in the work of Christ, not trying to prove to God that I deserve him. I don't have to invent new definitions of good or wise or holy. I can take God's definition of those things and I can recognize that I am far from sufficient, but he is sufficient. If I believe this, I can find contentment in what God has already given me. But if I don't believe this, I'm constantly gonna feel hopeless, overwhelmed and spiritually insecure. I'm gonna feel like I'm on a hamster wheel that never seems to stop and I'm never gonna know if I made the mark to be good enough for Jesus. I'll make excuses for my sin, I'll redefine my priorities and I will even question the love of a God who says you do know.
Will Hawk:The moment you trust in me, I'm putting you on equal value, equal standing with everyone else. I want you to rest in what God has done. That verse tells us we are literally in the same boat as Christ. That is how we start the Christian faith. And then he begins saying since that is the case, since you begin by the righteousness of Christ. For this very reason, I want you to really strive. If you are trusting in Christ, not earning, you are going to hear the words of the gospel and when that bell goes off, the gate is going to drop Pedal hard. Christian, lean in. Believer, look for every opportunity. Let me tell you what you ought to look for. I want you to supplement your faith with virtue and knowledge, with self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and with love. These are the things that I want you to run hard after. I've listed them for you here. I want you to go after virtue Now.
Will Hawk:In their day and age, that word meant excellence. We think of it as morality. This is, by the way, why you don't want to start with virtue. Otherwise, you're going to walk around trying to clean yourself up. Stop cussing a little bit, watch a few less R-rated movies and then say well, jesus, aren't you just so pleased with what I have offered to you? Yes, once we've begun the race, we ought to shoot for excellence, and we really should desire knowledge of who God is. Another great word for this would be wisdom. Not just packing your brain with verses or interesting factoids or being the smartest person in the room, but knowing how to use that knowledge in a way that cares for yourself, that cares for people, and not just knowledge, but self-control, which I would call wisdom of your body.
Will Hawk:Right now, if I told you to without don't do this out loud, I just want you in your mind. I saw a psychologist do this to prove to someone that they had a level of self-control. Somebody's going to get this wrong and it's going to be embarrassing In your mind. In your mind, I just want you to yell your name. Okay, did you do it All? Right, now, I want you to whisper your name. If you can do that, you have the ability to do the same when you're frustrated.
Will Hawk:The problem is outside of Christ. All of us will raise our hand and say well, if you get me mad enough, if you poke that little button, it is no longer my fault. This is the same argument that the two-year-old makes, that the 20-year-old makes, that the 60-year-old makes in counseling, but not out loud in community. He made me do it, he knew it. He knew if he did that I was going to lose it. She knew it, she did it. No, no, no, no, no.
Will Hawk:Christian, you are invited to have self-control and to not give up on these things, to endure and be steadfast. The reason that I put three of those things in blue, the highest of them, is because it is also the very definition when somebody came up to Jesus and said teacher, what is the most important thing for me? To live my life by Teacher? Why did they call him teacher instead of king or God? Because all they saw in Christ was this hey, you seem to be smarter, more excellent, more controlled. You've been the same guy since you started doing this ministry in Galilee a number of years ago.
Will Hawk:Hey, teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? And he said to him you shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul and all your mind. Love the Lord, your God, be like him. This is the great and first commandment, and a second is like it Love your neighbor as yourself. And what's included in both? This is what Christians are invited to, and the more you pursue those things, the more you put off sinful corruption and the more you put on the divine nature.
Will Hawk:But how can we do this without false stepping? How can we do this without going over our handlebars? Ten points to the camp store. If somebody can tell me what word I covered up with blue tape at the bottom. Oh, you've made me very excited because I held this back, thinking I'm going to teach this thing so thoroughly that if anybody doesn't know the answer by the bottom, they're going to be hyper convicted. That's what I was leaning into, that's what I was hoping. So if you're just feeling shy today, that's fine. I'm going to take this as conviction. What's on the bottom line? What's on the bottom line? What's on the bottom line?
Will Hawk:For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith. In other words, every single thing on the list, all of your virtue and excellence, all of your knowledge, is a supplement that you take in omega-3s, that you take in creatine, a pre-workout and whatever else. It is your vitamin D, vitamin C, whatever it is. Everything that is not in all caps is a supplement. And can I tell you what we do wrong all the dang time? In the South, we preach, not a gospel of righteousness by faith in Christ. Faith in Christ, what we teach is how to pedal really hard once the race has begun and people try to pedal first before the gate of faith ever drops.
Will Hawk:And if you in your life have tried to go after all of these things without making sure that that one is right, can I tell you what you're doing? You're taking a multivitamin and you're putting it into the mouth of a corpse, expecting it to come alive and grow. Your excellence will never bring you life. It's just not going to do it. It doesn't matter. This is going to be the one that really hits home for Will. It doesn't matter how much you know. It doesn't make you alive. It doesn't matter if you can quote this to me before you walk out. It doesn't matter how much you know Doesn't make you alive. Doesn't matter if you can quote this to me before you walk out it doesn't make you alive. It doesn't matter if this is one that's gonna hit home a little bit, because I've worked on this over the past few years. It doesn't matter if you can be in a place where you would usually lose it and you, in somewhat pompous attitude, hold your composure and while you're disagreeing with your spouse, you are just so calm and collected and confident. I'm not getting pulled into this. It won't save you. It's a multivitamin in the mouth of a corpse.
Will Hawk:Look, try to be steadfast. Act as godly as you want. Love the people around you Really try to love them. But if you don't have faith, all you have done? All you have done is put a supplement in the mouth of a corpse. This is how it works and this is what I teach people when they say why has nobody explained this to me for 20 years? Here's how it works Salvation, getting saved. This is all of it. Just simply believing Jesus.
Will Hawk:You died on the cross and you promised me that if I ask for the forgiveness of my sin which is much I've been living in this world and with all my own junk for so long you have promised to me that I will become a partaker of your nature that I will take into myself your righteousness, your goodness, your virtue, your knowledge, your self-control, your steadfastness, your godliness, your love for the people around you. You have promised that if I would just ask that you would forgive me of my sin and you would give me all that, that is salvation. That's it. Pause, end sermon, go home and then, for those who have done this, those who have asked for the forgiveness of their sins, and that is my greatest desire, for anyone in the room who is not, then, christian, this is sanctification. Oh, running out of room. This is sanctification. Oh, running out of room. Walking around, this is the rest of your life, but only once the gate is dropped, only once you have peddled, only once you have heard the right message from above that the forgiveness of your sins is offered, and you have responded to it and you are taking in the divine nature of God.
Will Hawk:Why do you think communion is what it is? We're going to take communion in just a few moments. Why do you think it is that Jesus said eat of my flesh and drink of my blood? Because he didn't say enough controversial things to freak people out in the three years he was preaching? No, he did that all the time, because we are literally, by faith, taking into ourselves our spirit, the work of Christ, the goodness of Christ, the righteousness of Christ, which is why, the moment you respond to the gospel, god looks at you the same way he looks at Paul. He looks at you the same way he looks at Peter. We are on equal standing, because all we ever had was equal faith. Then, christian, run hard, supplement your faith. This is about us going hard to grow when other people would stall out.
Will Hawk:Many of us have understood Christianity the wrong way, and here's the thing I'm not trying to teach you about Jesus. I want you to see him. I want you to draw nearer to the keyhole of the door to see this kind of faith. Matthew Henry puts it this way it's not enough for us to be where God is worshiped if we do not ourselves worship him. It's not enough, it is not nearly enough, which is why Peter goes on and he says this if these qualities are yours, this list right, if, sorry, if all of these things are yours and they are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective, they keep you from being unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, for whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Or, to put this positively, if these qualities are yours, if these things are yours, if these things are yours, these, if that is all, man, we're just making a mess today.
Will Hawk:Sorry, if you're viewing online, it made more sense in here, maybe, maybe. All right, I quit. Guys, I just want you to there. That'll work. I just want you to get this, because it's the difference in living a life for christ and not if you have faith in christ. These things, they keep you from being ineffective, they keep you from wasting your life, but they will never give you life. Faith and faith alone does that. So if these things are yours and they are increasing, to put it in the positive, you will be effective, you will be fruitful, you won't be blind. You will have this wide-eyed, enthusiastic version of what is on the other side of the keyhole of today and what is on the other side of the keyhole of your entire life. You will not be blind nor forgetful. You will constantly remember the grace of Jesus. See, guys, if we believe these things, we're not going to coast in life, and here's the better part. You won't even want to. You're not going to coast in your Christian life because you will never want to coast in your Christian life. You will want these things to be true.
Will Hawk:Discipleship is not something that is annoying that you do on a Wednesday night. You embrace it, you long for it. You want to participate in what is on the other side of the keyhole. Renewal in your life is something that you pursue. Service becomes this joyful and intentional endeavor. You will take on challenges because it doesn't matter if you fail. You're already on equal standing with every Christian that has ever been. So bring on the difficulty, bring on the stretching, bring on the failure. All Christ is ever going to do is congratulate me, encourage me and make me grow. Bring on the difficulty. This is what the life of somebody who does not fall start but pedal hard is.
Will Hawk:But if you do not believe this, if you don't understand this, if you don't grasp this, you're going to assume that your presence is your usefulness. You're going to assume that being present at church is you being useful to midtree. You're going to assume that you showing up to your kid's game is the same thing as you leaning in and then hearing your voice cheer them on. It is not the same. You're going to assume that your presence on a date night, men, when you take your wife out, that the fact that it exists, is the win. I am here, am I not? But if all you're doing is scrolling through your phone while you're there, can we all agree you've done more harm than actual good. Our presence is never the goal. It is who we are when we are where we are. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling in election.
Will Hawk:This is what I've been encouraging you to do, by the way, all morning. Make sure you didn't false start. Make sure that you have put faith in Christ. Faith, faith, faith, faith, faith. For if you practice these qualities, you will. Thomas, I told you last week this was going to be the hardest part for me to preach. You will never fall. In this way, there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Will Hawk:The reason it's hard to preach verse 10 is because I live with you and I live with me. That's why verse 10 is hard. If I was a monk in a monastery, I'd read verse 10. I'd be like amen, isn't God good, never going to fall right. Good stuff. Everybody here hadn't eaten anything but a grain of rice and some bread. We're living pretty sacrificially. Go, team, go.
Will Hawk:But here, when I read this, it's hard, because the Bible is so emphatic, it is so sure and so absolute. Hey guys, if you begin by faith and if you supplement your faith with these incredible things which, by the way, god has promised to give you, if you will pursue them, you're never going to fall. That's awesome. Except I watch you guys fall all the dang time and I fall all the time. So I look at this and I'm like what on earth is going on here? When I read this, I see you falling, I see me falling.
Will Hawk:Falling into sin, falling into managing our images instead of receiving them from God. Seeing us fall into selfishness that is always only going to produce emptiness. Falling into pleasures that are always fleeting and never enough. Falling into cold, religious, cerebral knowledge of God rather than a relationship where we actually enjoy him. Knowledge of God rather than a relationship where we actually enjoy him. But I can tell you this when I have faith and, on top of those things, knowledge, I really do not fall. When I have faith in Christ and endurance when I have faith in Christ and love for my brother in that environment and love for my brother In that environment, I never fall. And it's one of the most amazing things about being led by the Spirit of God and it's also one of the most amazing things that I don't just keep always going to the Spirit of God because his answer is always and never. Don't you know? You're not supposed to use those words when you talk about people's behaviors. Anybody ever gone to marriage counseling Like day one stuff is just don't say always and never, it'll save you like 50% of your fights. God's word uses always and never, always. It never neglects to do it. Why? Because this is always true and it is never wrong.
Will Hawk:The question is did we miss the start or did we stop pedaling? And I have great news for you. It is God's great expectation that you would hear these words and inside your heart something would beat fresh and new. Something would say I think I may have missed started. That's okay. I hate this about the church, that some people are embarrassed to receive Christ because they think people thought they received him so long ago. I hate that. If only we knew that the moment we truly responded to the gospel, we were on equal standing with the people who have been walking with him for 60 years. I wonder if it would free us up to just take a step back and say, oh my gosh, don't get me wrong. I've got a lot of stuff built. I got virtue, I got excellence, I got all kinds of knowledge. I've been trying to love people really well, but I never really had faith that God would forgive me of my sins. I never really had faith that Christ's righteousness was given to me. Welcome brother, welcome sister. Please start there.
Will Hawk:And for those of us who have, we have the freedom to pedal fast and never worry about falling. You guys remember learning how to ride the bike. You always wanted to go slow because you didn't want to get hurt, but then you realized, the faster you went, to a degree this illustration breaks down the faster you went, the more stable you became, and the slower you went, the more wobbly you were. So it is with faith in Christ Christian pedal fast, pedal fast, knowing that not only does it make you more stable, but that if you were to fall, honestly you never do. All you do is lean into the arms of grace that pick you right back up. So we win when we start, we win when we pedal and we even win when we fall a bit to the side, because in those moments we feel the hands of Christ.
Will Hawk:This message is to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, jesus Christ. Men, if you want to go ahead and come in and prepare for communion, stokes, if you want to get ready to come down, I only have one more thing to tell you, and that is this I've already moved off of it, but I can the very final verse here. In this way, there will be not provided for you, but richly provided for you, an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. It is God's great desire to look at you, christian, and say well done, good, faithful servant. This whole text about trusting in faith and peddling hard is supposed to free you up, to encourage you that you will one day be richly welcomed into heaven.
Will Hawk:This is not a message for just getting by. This is not a message for, well, what do I have to do so I don't go to hell? Get my get out of jail card free in the back of my pocket. No, no, no, no, no. It is faith, and on that faith we build and we supplement so that all of us may one day enter into a richly warmly welcomed new world that is waiting for us on the other side of the door.
Will Hawk:Here's what I would like for us to do. We have communion because God has invited us to partake of his divine nature, but I don't want you to move too quickly. I kind of want you to wait for sort of the word of the Lord, for the moving of the Holy Spirit to drop the gate, for you to come, because I'd like for all of us to ponder did I really start the Christian race by faith, or did I try to start peddling when the gate of my heart wasn't quite open yet? Do I have faith, belief, trust that God will forgive me? Have I actually asked him to do that? If you have not done that, let today be the day, and you don't have to fill out a card and you don't have to walk down to the front, though you are welcome to do so. If you would like to be encouraged by a pastor, we would love to be a part of that.
Will Hawk:Some of you may also want to celebrate Will. Can I just tell you what's going really well in the knowledge supplement? Can I tell you what is going on in brotherly love? I never thought I'd be able to love this person well, but by faith I have been able to, because of the righteousness of Christ. But before we come to this table, which is for believers, let's make sure that we do not false start. And if we can help you in any way, we would love to Stokes. Will you lead us from there?