Speaker 1: I really enjoy worshiping in multiple languages, since I only speak one.
Speaker 1: I had a boss one time tell me.
Speaker 1: He said what do you call someone who speaks three languages Trilingual?
Speaker 1: And what do you call someone who speaks two languages Bilingual?
Speaker 1: And what do you call someone who speaks two languages Bilingual and what do you call someone that speaks one language American, american.
Speaker 1: That is me.
Speaker 1: Praise God.
Speaker 1: Well, good morning everyone.
Speaker 1: God is good, all right.
Speaker 1: That's daylight, savings, time, energy, and I don't know Isaiah, I don't know about you know thanking God for that, but I don't know whoever came up with that one this morning.
Speaker 1: But let's try one more time.
Speaker 1: God is good All the time.
Speaker 1: All the time.
Speaker 1: God is good.
Speaker 1: Amen, I love that energy, praise God.
Speaker 1: So my name is Mike.
Speaker 1: For those that don't know me, I am one of the four pastors here and I'm usually not up here actually.
Speaker 1: So if this is your first time here, I'm sorry and I recommend you come back next week for an amazing sermon from Pastor Dale, who is usually up here.
Speaker 1: Praise God, it is a beautiful Southern California day, right, we had the heat.
Speaker 1: The heat came and I was like I'm not feeling this, even though I grew up in Vegas.
Speaker 1: I was like I'm not used to this heat anymore.
Speaker 1: And then we had the rain, which we like.
Speaker 1: We need the rain, we like the rain, right.
Speaker 1: But now it's a normal Southern California day.
Speaker 1: Amazing, I feel like God is up in heaven looking at us and he's like.
Speaker 1: He's like what can I say except you're welcome, right, you're welcome, you get to live in Southern California.
Speaker 1: So recently, recently, uh, my family and I went on a long trip, uh, overseas and and during that trip we had a layover, umover in the south, and it was a long trip.
Speaker 1: So so we had to actually eat some food in the airport.
Speaker 1: Does anybody like to eat food in the airport?
Speaker 1: One person, two, okay, two people, okay.
Speaker 1: So I don't like to eat food in the airport because it's super expensive.
Speaker 1: So, like, I will pack like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, typically Creamy peanut butter, of course, y'all crunchy people, y'all need to just stop Creamy peanut butter, creamy peanut butter.
Speaker 1: So, anyway, I couldn't do this.
Speaker 1: This was a long trip, we had a layover and then we had another long flight.
Speaker 1: So we're in this airport and we got something to eat and I was a little disappointed because I paid a lot of money and it didn't taste that great.
Speaker 1: So then I decided to look around the food court to see what else is here.
Speaker 1: I wasn't going to eat anything else, but I just wanted to see and compare prices.
Speaker 1: They had all the usual stuff like the Panda Express and Qdoba and all that, right.
Speaker 1: So I came to McDonald's.
Speaker 1: I wasn't going to buy nothing, I was just looking at the menu, right.
Speaker 1: So I'm looking at the menu at McDonald's and I'm like oh my gosh, I cannot believe it.
Speaker 1: Like I'm looking and I'm making a scene.
Speaker 1: People are looking at me and I don't realize I'm making a scene.
Speaker 1: So people are looking at me and I't realize I'm making the scene.
Speaker 1: So people are looking at me and I'm like I cannot believe this.
Speaker 1: My draws on the floor.
Speaker 1: So this lady turns around.
Speaker 1: She's like I know, right, you don't understand, I'm from California and those prices are good.
Speaker 1: She was like oh, that makes sense.
Speaker 1: So we're not spoiled in that way.
Speaker 1: We're not spoiled in that way.
Speaker 1: So we're going to be in Romans, chapter 10.
Speaker 1: Romans, chapter 10, verses 1 through 13.
Speaker 1: I think that's 1474 in our study Bible.
Speaker 1: If you need a Bible, we have plenty of Bibles in the back.
Speaker 1: We have Bibles on Bibles, on Bibles on Bibles.
Speaker 1: We have Haitian Creole.
Speaker 1: We have bilingual Bibles, we have Espanol English we got a lot of Bibles back there and if Tagalog?
Speaker 1: The first time I said that word I was in Hawaii with a bunch of Filipinos and I was like Tagalog, and they were like laughing at me.
Speaker 1: They were like bro, bro, so all right.
Speaker 1: So I you know it's always difficult for me to come up with a title for my sermons, so I had a couple that made the cut and I went with the latter, which is Ordinary People, extraordinary God.
Speaker 1: But my other one, that's all right, thank you, pastor.
Speaker 1: But the other one was I want religion that way, but you've got to say it like the Backstreet Boys, right?
Speaker 1: Should I tell you why?
Speaker 1: All right, romans.
Speaker 1: Tell me why.
Speaker 1: All right, romans, chapter 10.
Speaker 1: If you're there, say all the time, all the time, god is good, all right, verse 1.
Speaker 1: Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation, and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.
Speaker 1: I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, since they are ignorant of the righteousness of God and attempted to establish their own righteousness they have not submitted to.
Speaker 1: God's.
Speaker 1: Righteousness For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone's.
Speaker 1: Righteousness For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Speaker 1: Since Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law.
Speaker 1: The one who does these things will live by them, but the righteousness that comes from faith speaks like this Do not say in your heart who will go up to heaven that is, to bring Christ down or who will go down into the abyss that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.
Speaker 1: On the contrary, what does it say?
Speaker 1: This message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.
Speaker 1: This is the message of faith that we proclaim.
Speaker 1: Heart, this is the message of faith that we proclaim.
Speaker 1: If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Speaker 1: One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
Speaker 1: For the scripture says everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him.
Speaker 1: For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Speaker 1: This is God's word.
Speaker 1: Would you pray with me, heavenly Father, we come to hear from you today.
Speaker 1: God, we ask that you would speak to us through your word this morning.
Speaker 1: God, we thank you for your grace and mercies, which are renewed every single day.
Speaker 1: We ask for peace and comfort for those suffering.
Speaker 1: God, we ask that you would guide us to do what is good and acceptable in your sight.
Speaker 1: Would you open our hearts and ears to hear from your word?
Speaker 1: Would you help to limit our distractions?
Speaker 1: And may I decrease in your spirit and increase in me as I speak to your people today.
Speaker 1: Bless our time together in your word, and it's in Jesus' name, all God's people said amen, amen, amen.
Speaker 1: So long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, actually just back in chapter 9, paul discusses the current state of Israel and compares them to the Gentiles.
Speaker 1: Remember, the Gentiles are everyone that are not the Jews.
Speaker 1: So, starting in verse 31, he says but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not achieved the righteousness of the law.
Speaker 1: Why is that?
Speaker 1: Because they did not pursue it by faith, but, as if it were, by works.
Speaker 1: They stumbled over the stumbling stone.
Speaker 1: As it is written look, I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over and a rock to trip over, and the one who believes on him will not be put to shame.
Speaker 1: So who is the stumbling stone?
Speaker 1: That Paul is referring to?
Speaker 1: Jesus, that's right.
Speaker 1: Always guess Jesus, jesus, bible, god.
Speaker 1: You guys will have another chance.
Speaker 1: So today I have three truths ordinary people can learn from an extra ordinary God, and my first truth is this Our zeal alone can only take us so far.
Speaker 1: Our zeal alone can only take us so far.
Speaker 1: Our zeal alone can only take us so far, for I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
Speaker 1: The Bible describes the Jews as zealous in verse 2, which means showing great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective.
Speaker 1: The main issue was they were zealous to a fault.
Speaker 1: They were zealous to a fault.
Speaker 1: They were missing the most important thing, and that was Jesus.
Speaker 1: I'll give you one more chance later, don't worry.
Speaker 1: Paul is speaking here from experience.
Speaker 1: You see, he is an OZ, an original zealot.
Speaker 1: Paul had two PhDs in zealology.
Speaker 1: Y'all didn't know that was a thing, but it's a thing.
Speaker 1: He went to school for it.
Speaker 1: When we look back and think about Paul's story recounted in the book of Acts, paul was big mad at the church Back then.
Speaker 1: He was passionate about his cause, which at times he was persecuting the church all the time.
Speaker 1: If there was a competition, Paul would have been the most zealous.
Speaker 1: He would have come out victorious.
Speaker 1: Dr Luke tells us this about Paul in Acts, chapter 9.
Speaker 1: He says says now Saul that was his name.
Speaker 1: Before now, saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.
Speaker 1: He went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found any men or women ladies y'all are here too who belonged to the way, he might bring them to prison in Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: You see what I mean by big man.
Speaker 1: My God was angry.
Speaker 1: But on the road to Damascus Paul had an encounter with Jesus that would change his life and set him on the right path.
Speaker 1: Paul knows what he is talking about when he says the Jews were zealous without knowledge.
Speaker 1: He was about that life.
Speaker 1: Tim Keller says we see that the ignorance here is invincible ignorance.
Speaker 1: There is a sincere zeal at its base, but Israel stays ignorant.
Speaker 1: There is a sincere zeal at its base, but Israel stays ignorant, not because the information is unavailable, but because it suits them to stay ignorant.
Speaker 1: Fanatics are people who have zeal and sincerity.
Speaker 1: They are often willing to die for their cause, but it is a zeal that refuses reflection.
Speaker 1: They refuse to stop and think things through.
Speaker 1: Although they are sincere, they can also do a lot of damage.
Speaker 1: Have you guys ever known someone who was super passionate about something but needed a little bit more seasoning, guidance?
Speaker 1: Maturity Well me, you, good work, all of us.
Speaker 1: Maturity Well me, you, good work, all of us, right, all of us.
Speaker 1: So I used to know this guy a while back.
Speaker 1: Let's call him Miguel.
Speaker 1: He was 18, a new Christian and ready to tell the world about all the things.
Speaker 1: And ready to tell the world about all the things.
Speaker 1: Miguel once told his mom he was ready to talk to anyone about anything and his favorite topics were religion and politics.
Speaker 1: So Miguel's mom just smiled.
Speaker 1: But I'm sure my mom oops, I mean Miguel's mom, miguel, miguel, not me.
Speaker 1: Miguel's mom was thinking yeah, pal, let me know how that works out for you.
Speaker 1: So Miguel learned pretty quickly that he didn't know as much as he thought he did.
Speaker 1: You see, zeal without knowing what to do with it can get us into trouble.
Speaker 1: So a while back, a few months back, my family and I were just chilling at home.
Speaker 1: We were minding our own business and there was a knock at the door.
Speaker 1: So we look around, are we expecting a package from Amazon or something?
Speaker 1: So does anyone like me?
Speaker 1: Like, if somebody knocks on your door, you're like what is going on here?
Speaker 1: So I want to take it one step further.
Speaker 1: Does anybody?
Speaker 1: When someone calls them, they're like call, did someone text me first?
Speaker 1: Is anybody like that?
Speaker 1: Like that's me.
Speaker 1: I'm like yo, you didn't text me first.
Speaker 1: I'm not answering that phone.
Speaker 1: You gotta text me.
Speaker 1: So I knock at the door.
Speaker 1: I was like oh my gosh, what's going on here?
Speaker 1: So I did what you all would have done I ignored it.
Speaker 1: No, I'm just kidding, I didn't ignore it.
Speaker 1: I whipped out my phone and pulled up the Ring app Like who could be down there?
Speaker 1: So it was a DoorDash driver.
Speaker 1: It was a DoorDash driver.
Speaker 1: I was like well, we didn't order any food and I would love to have some food.
Speaker 1: I hope it's Thai food.
Speaker 1: No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 1: So I did want it to be Thai food, but that's my favorite, by the way.
Speaker 1: So we tried to ignore the guy.
Speaker 1: But he kept ringing and knocking on the door and he got more and more abrasive and I'm just like what is going on?
Speaker 1: So we decided to go downstairs and investigate the situation.
Speaker 1: So I grabbed my piece no, I'm just kidding, I don't know how to piece, I don't even have nunchucks.
Speaker 1: Ok, I don't even have nunchucks.
Speaker 1: So I went downstairs with my wife and we opened up the door and you would not believe what happened next.
Speaker 1: My guy tried to push past us and get into our house.
Speaker 1: I was like hold on, bro, we push it back.
Speaker 1: And we're like what is going on?
Speaker 1: And they were like no, no, no, no delivery or whatever.
Speaker 1: Clearly, english was Homie's second language, so we're trying to communicate with him and explain to him what is going on.
Speaker 1: And he wasn't having it.
Speaker 1: So he tried to push past us again.
Speaker 1: I was like no, no, bro.
Speaker 1: So I closed the door on him and locked it and I was on some bye, felicia.
Speaker 1: But my wife looked at me and she's like we really need to help this guy.
Speaker 1: I'm like no, we don't Go about his business.
Speaker 1: So I go out the back of the house.
Speaker 1: I didn't want to go through the front door because I didn't want to risk him running into my house.
Speaker 1: I went out the back, came around to the front and I was trying to talk with him, but that was very challenging.
Speaker 1: So I took him over to the neighborhood.
Speaker 1: We have like one of those community maps in the neighborhood that has all the addresses on it.
Speaker 1: So I took him over there and he was like not understanding what was going on.
Speaker 1: So finally he showed me his phone.
Speaker 1: He showed me his phone and, guess what?
Speaker 1: He had the wrong Addy in his phone.
Speaker 1: So I put he showed me the DoorDash order and I put the correct address in his phone.
Speaker 1: Not only was homie in the wrong neighborhood, he was like he was in the wrong house in the wrong neighborhood.
Speaker 1: He needed to go like three blocks up the road, right.
Speaker 1: So when I put it in, I realized that the place that he needed to go to was one of those spots that you have to walk into a central door and all the apartments are on the inside.
Speaker 1: So that's why he was trying to get into our house.
Speaker 1: Man, that was crazy, poor dude.
Speaker 1: His zeal could have gotten him into some big trouble, especially if he lived in Texas, right.
Speaker 1: So we have to make sure that we have the right coordinates in our GPS to get to where God wants us to be.
Speaker 1: I think he was using Google Maps instead of Apple Maps.
Speaker 1: Who uses Google Maps?
Speaker 1: All you guys?
Speaker 1: Oh, wow, I'm in the minority.
Speaker 1: That's okay, I'm used to that.
Speaker 1: I use Apple Maps.
Speaker 1: I feel like Apple Maps kills Google, but my wife and son they love them.
Speaker 1: Some Google Maps, exactly how much you say.
Speaker 1: You see when you are trying to do the right thing, the wrong way, but you just keep trying and trying.
Speaker 1: Even if you finally get to your desired destination, you could be in the wrong place, see Proverbs 19.21 says Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Speaker 1: Proverbs 3.5 and 6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not into your own understanding.
Speaker 1: In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.
Speaker 1: Amen.
Speaker 1: If we want our GPS to be set on the right path, we must put all of our trust in Jesus.
Speaker 1: We need to spend time with God, be consistent in reading our Bible and in prayer, and we need to spend time with other believers.
Speaker 1: Amen.
Speaker 1: You know, sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came.
Speaker 1: You want to be where you can see our troubles are all the same.
Speaker 1: You want to be where everybody knows your name.
Speaker 1: Amen, amen.
Speaker 1: You didn't know that was a gospel song, huh?
Speaker 1: Pastor Rich Verlata says this in his book Be Before Him Life, which is also one of my favorite books.
Speaker 1: He says one could argue, the primary fruit of the gospel is not going to heaven when you die, but rather the miraculous new family that is created out of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Speaker 1: Ernest Campbell says this regarding zeal.
Speaker 1: The point Paul is making here is that these zealous Jews are missing the mark because they are not serving God according to and in keeping with the full knowledge of the mystery of truth given to the church.
Speaker 1: They have a misconception regarding zeal and the zeal associated with it, thinking that God's program is still the same some 30 years after he had laid it aside when Jesus died.
Speaker 1: After he had laid it aside when Jesus died, they were passionately religious, but in vain, where they had missed the main reason for the giving of the law to impress the exceeding sinfulness of sin on man's conscience.
Speaker 1: Our zeal can only take us so far, and if our GPS doesn't have the right coordinates, we will make it harder to get to the destination that God has for us.
Speaker 1: And this brings us to our second truth.
Speaker 1: We got nothing to offer God.
Speaker 1: We got nothing to offer God For they being ignorant of God's righteousness verse three for they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Speaker 1: You see, the Bible's standard for righteousness is God's perfection.
Speaker 1: True and perfect righteousness is not possible for man to attain on his own.
Speaker 1: We can see this and this is why we can't follow and obey the law perfectly, because we have a sinful nature.
Speaker 1: True righteousness is only possible through the work of Jesus, of Jesus on the cross.
Speaker 1: Jesus exchanged our sin for his perfect righteousness, so that when God looks at us believers, he sees the righteousness of Christ.
Speaker 1: That's the great exchange.
Speaker 1: Second Corinthians, 5, 10, once, as God made him, who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Speaker 1: In Matthew 6.33, jesus says but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Speaker 1: It's not our righteousness, it's his righteousness.
Speaker 1: I know I'm messed up, but it's funny.
Speaker 1: I cannot hear the word righteous without thinking about the E-A-C.
Speaker 1: Does anybody remember what the E-A-C is?
Speaker 1: Yes, my friend Crush.
Speaker 1: In the movie Finding Nemo, which is a great movie, he yells out Righteous, righteous.
Speaker 1: Y'all need to check out that movie.
Speaker 1: Finding Dory and Hazel Mothra.
Speaker 1: Finding Nemo.
Speaker 1: Yes, I love Koresh.
Speaker 1: Dr Tony Evans says this we can choose to pursue our own righteousness.
Speaker 1: That is from the law, of course.
Speaker 1: As Paul says, referencing the Mosaic law, the one who does these things will live by them.
Speaker 1: So if you want the law to judge you, fine, have it your way.
Speaker 1: I begin Sorry, that's not in there.
Speaker 1: He didn't say that my son loves Burger King and their commercials.
Speaker 1: God will judge you by the law, but it won't be a pretty sight.
Speaker 1: God demands absolute perfection.
Speaker 1: So if you're hoping to be justified by the law, you better live a life without sin, and history tells us there's only been one such life, and whose life is that?
Speaker 1: I thought it was your last chance.
Speaker 1: You guys got it.
Speaker 1: You nailed it.
Speaker 1: Praise God.
Speaker 1: The prophet Isaiah describes all our righteousness as filthy rags.
Speaker 1: Even our best works and effort are at the center of a poop sandwich.
Speaker 1: If you don't know what a poop sandwich is, talk to Pastor Dale, he can explain that to you.
Speaker 1: God don't need that.
Speaker 1: God does not need that.
Speaker 1: Do I have any basketball fans in the room?
Speaker 1: We have a couple.
Speaker 1: We have a couple basketball fans.
Speaker 1: Don't worry, I'm not about to talk about the goat conversation.
Speaker 1: Who is the greatest of all time?
Speaker 1: Yeah, we know the best story.
Speaker 1: I don't want to sneak Wardell Stephen Curry in there.
Speaker 1: I love him.
Speaker 1: He's so amazing.
Speaker 1: He's so awesome.
Speaker 1: He can do no wrong.
Speaker 1: Wardell Stephen Curry, as they say on TNT, he makes it look Stafford-less.
Speaker 1: I love it.
Speaker 1: So who would you guys say is like the greatest basketball team of all time ever?
Speaker 1: Assembled Team 70s, okay, but that did not win the championship.
Speaker 1: I think that's the 2017 Warriors or something like that.
Speaker 1: Who was that?
Speaker 1: The Clippers?
Speaker 1: Is that?
Speaker 1: Because they used to be in San Diego?
Speaker 1: Come on, man.
Speaker 1: Hometown.
Speaker 1: 90s, bulls, 90s Bulls, 80s, lakers, boston, 60s, 60s, 60s, 70s, celtics and the 80 Pistons yeah, pistons were no joke.
Speaker 1: The bad boys whoo, they were scary.
Speaker 1: Those are all good ones.
Speaker 1: So I'm going to go with I kind of cheated, but I'm going to go with the Dream Team.
Speaker 1: The question was team greatest team ever assembled?
Speaker 1: They were a team that was assembled Like the Avengers Dream team, assembled Right.
Speaker 1: So prior to 1992, the US sent amateur basketball players to the Olympics, right, and the US was killing it for a long time.
Speaker 1: They were winning the gold medal basically all the time.
Speaker 1: In 1988, they got the bronze medal Bronze yikes.
Speaker 1: It's like might as well not have come home back then.
Speaker 1: It's embarrassing.
Speaker 1: So for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, spain, the United States assembled the Dream Team and this comprised of all the best players in the NBA at that time.
Speaker 1: So the reason why we called it the Dream Team is because they had Michael Jordan, magic Johnson and Larry Bird All the other Team USAs.
Speaker 1: They called themselves the Dream Team, but they're really not.
Speaker 1: They were like Dream Team 2, dream Team 3.
Speaker 1: No, no, no, no.
Speaker 1: There's one Dream Team and all the rest of y'all are just Team USA.
Speaker 1: Can I get an amen?
Speaker 1: So they went on to work the Olympic teams in Barcelona by an average margin of victory of 44 points.
Speaker 1: They destroyed everybody.
Speaker 1: It was amazing.
Speaker 1: It was amazing Not for the rest of the world, but it was great.
Speaker 1: But what you may not recall from the Dream Team is there was the best college player in the world at that time.
Speaker 1: His name was Christian Latham.
Speaker 1: He played for a team called Duke I'm sorry, I mean Duke.
Speaker 1: He played for a team called Duke, so, unlv fan, I was not allowed to like Duke at mean Duke.
Speaker 1: He played for a team called Duke, so UNLV fan, was not allowed to like Duke at all.
Speaker 1: So he played for those guys.
Speaker 1: And Christian Laettner averaged 7.6 minutes per game.
Speaker 1: And you know, that was only in garbage time, when the team was already up by 30 points and they put Christian in to get him a few minutes in.
Speaker 1: So Christian didn't have much to offer that team Friends.
Speaker 1: We too are a lot Christian-ly and, by the way, the same thing happened in the 2024 Olympics.
Speaker 1: We brought home the gold medal again because of the great Stephen Curry.
Speaker 1: And, yes, lebron James was on the team as well, but there was a player named Tyrese Halliburton on the team as well.
Speaker 1: He played very little, but he was still able to walk away with a gold medal too, even though we might not have anything to offer God.
Speaker 1: He already knows that and he still loves us and he chooses to use us for his glory.
Speaker 1: He includes us in his great plan.
Speaker 1: As Pastor Dale said last week, we don't need to do the hard work.
Speaker 1: The hard work has already been done.
Speaker 1: The New Miguel translation of that is we don't need to be out here doing the most, because he already did the most.
Speaker 1: Amen.
Speaker 1: But you know what we can offer up to God.
Speaker 1: Romans 12.1 tells us this.
Speaker 1: Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
Speaker 1: This is your true worship.
Speaker 1: To quote the great theologians, the minions from Toy Story.
Speaker 1: You have saved our lives and we are eternally grateful, jesus.
Speaker 1: I added that last part, and this leads us to our third truth.
Speaker 1: God has offered us everything.
Speaker 1: God has offered us everything, verse 8.
Speaker 1: This is the message of faith that we proclaim.
Speaker 1: If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Speaker 1: This is all God asks of us.
Speaker 1: It is really that simple Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.
Speaker 1: When we sincerely do these things, our lives will change.
Speaker 1: If he said it, we should believe it, the more we grow in our faith, the more we realize God has already offered us everything.
Speaker 1: Even if we think we are amazing and we have so much to offer God, that is not how we are saved.
Speaker 1: Our righteousness cannot save us and our works do not save us and our works do not save us.
Speaker 1: All the shine of a thousand spotlights, all the stars we steal from the night sky, will never be enough.
Speaker 1: Will never be enough.
Speaker 1: So I have seen some clips online of couples getting to know each other, like dating or whatnot.
Speaker 1: They're just talking back and forth.
Speaker 1: And so every once in a while you hear getting to know each other, like dating or whatnot.
Speaker 1: They're just talking back and forth.
Speaker 1: And so every once in a while you hear someone say to the other so what do you bring to the table?
Speaker 1: What do you bring to the table?
Speaker 1: And usually the other person lists a bunch of things like I'm a six-figure dude.
Speaker 1: That means I made good money.
Speaker 1: Or you know, I love Jesus and I got good credit 700 credits for him.
Speaker 1: But every once in a while I will hear someone say something that is kind of crazy.
Speaker 1: They're really feeling themselves right and they're like bring to the table, I am the table and I'm like calm down and relax, relax.
Speaker 1: But I'm thinking about like what if God were to ask us that question what are you bringing to the table, family?
Speaker 1: We are empty handed, but Jesus can say to us I am the table, I have provided everything and I died so that you can sit here with me.
Speaker 1: In verse 12, since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all, which he, blesses all who call on him.
Speaker 1: Verse 13, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Speaker 1: It is that simple family.
Speaker 1: So I have heard plenty of talk in the news the last couple of weeks about cards.
Speaker 1: This person or country holds the cards and that person or country doesn't hold any of the cards.
Speaker 1: But I can clear this up for you guys today you ready yeah, are cringing doesn't hold any of the cards, but I can clear this up for you guys today, you ready, jesus holds all the cards and he has done everything for us, for everyone that calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Speaker 1: It may feel like we aren't making any progress or growing in our faith, but we have to keep pushing.
Speaker 1: It's not about a feeling, because we know that feelings will change day to day.
Speaker 1: Right, it's about Jesus' sacrifice for us.
Speaker 1: The work has already been done Facts over feelings.
Speaker 1: So some of you, you know, with the new year, maybe like me trying to eat healthy, time to get back in the gym.
Speaker 1: So I'll start working out again.
Speaker 1: I'll do like five pushups and then I'm already in the mirror like flexing, like OK, ok, I don't see any change.
Speaker 1: Right, I want that instant change.
Speaker 1: But it takes time to grow.
Speaker 1: It takes time, amen.
Speaker 1: Time to grow.
Speaker 1: It takes time, amen.
Speaker 1: We don't need to be out here doing the most, because Jesus has already done the most.
Speaker 1: From RC Sproul.
Speaker 1: When Jesus appeared on the scene, the most zealous people in Jerusalem were the Pharisees and scribes.
Speaker 1: They spent most of their lives pursuing righteousness.
Speaker 1: A Pharisee was a separated one.
Speaker 1: Pharisees were consecrated to the pursuit of righteousness.
Speaker 1: That means set apart to the pursuit of righteousness.
Speaker 1: But when true righteousness came into their midst to redeem them, they killed him.
Speaker 1: They were looking for justification by works.
Speaker 1: So they stumbled over Jesus.
Speaker 1: They did not realize they were required to give up any claim to merit and all boasting and say nothing in my hand, I bring simply to the cross, I cling.
Speaker 1: They were zealous, but not according to knowledge.
Speaker 1: In closing, the Apostle Paul in Philippians, chapter 3, says this Although I have reason for confidence in the flesh, if anyone thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more.
Speaker 1: If anyone thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more.
Speaker 1: Circumcised the eighth day of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, regarding the law of Pharisee, regarding zeal persecuting the church, regarding the righteousness that is in the law blameless, verse 7, he says but everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.
Speaker 1: More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in the view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.
Speaker 1: On Wednesday night at our Ash Wednesday service, pastor Dale asked everyone in the room if they knew of a famous musician from the early 1900s.
Speaker 1: I don't remember what was his name Enrico.
Speaker 1: We'll just go with Enrico.
Speaker 1: So two people in the room remembered Enrico, lola remembered Enrico and there was a four-year-old, so that one's kind of sus.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if a four-year-old actually knew who Enrico was, but it's crazy to think about just a hundred years later, nobody remembers his name Enrico Caruso.
Speaker 1: Thank you, miss Lola.
Speaker 1: Enrico Caruso.
Speaker 1: Thank you, ms Lola.
Speaker 1: A hundred years later, nobody remembers his name From Tim Keller in his book Every Good Endeavor Everyone will be forgotten.
Speaker 1: Nothing we do will make any difference.
Speaker 1: And all good endeavors, even the best, will come to naught unless there is God.
Speaker 1: If the God of the Bible exists and there is a true reality beneath or behind this one and this life is not the only life then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God's calling, can matter forever.
Speaker 1: We don't need to be out here doing the most, because Jesus already did the most.
Speaker 1: City Life Church.
Speaker 1: We may be ordinary people, but our God is extraordinary.
Speaker 1: Would you pray with me?
Speaker 1: Ordinary people, but our God is extraordinary.
Speaker 1: Would you pray with me, god, we thank you for giving us your word.
Speaker 1: We thank you and we ask that you would seal it in our hearts today.
Speaker 1: Help us to recall the things that we've learned.
Speaker 1: We are thankful that we have your word, god.
Speaker 1: We are grateful for your faithfulness, god.
Speaker 1: We know that you have already done the most and have offered us everything.
Speaker 1: We are thankful that we can come together as your children and worship you, grow in you and be on mission to change the world.
Speaker 1: In your name, help us to trust you while you navigate this crazy world.
Speaker 1: God, would you help us to live out our calling and ultimately bring glory to you?
Speaker 1: God, we desire to love you and love our neighbor and we need your help to do that.
Speaker 1: We need you and it's in Jesus' name that we all pray.
Speaker 1: Amen, amen.
Speaker 1: As we continue in worship family, we'll now take a moment to confess our sins to God.
Speaker 1: A moment in silence to confess our sins to God.
Speaker 1: Amen, father, we come before you, god, knowing that your word says that if we confess our sins, that you are faithful and just to cleanse us of our sins and all of our unrighteousness, god, we bring them before you today.
Speaker 1: We thank you, lord, that as far as the east is from the west, that is how far you have removed our transgressions from us.
Speaker 1: God, we love you, we praise your holy name and we ask all these blessings in Jesus' name.
Speaker 1: Amen, amen.
Speaker 1: Let's praise the Lord for Pastor Mike, hallelujah.