Everything You Need for Life & Godliness

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No matter where I'll be, I will see Your goodness, Lord, in the land I'm living in. Yeah. All right. Singing to the daughters, singing to the sons, to every generation. Look at what the Lord has done. Singing to the darkness that the light has come. Singing to the nations. Look at what the Lord has done. Sing. Singing to the daughters, yeah. Singing to the sons, to every generation. Look at what the Lord has done. Singing to the darkness that the light has come. Singing to the nations. Look at what the Lord has done. As I bow before You, Lord, I will rise in confidence. I will see Your goodness, Lord, in the land I'm living in. No matter where I'll go, no matter where I'll be, I will see Your goodness, Lord, in the land I'm living in. As I bow before You, Lord, I will rise in confidence. I will see Your goodness, Lord, in the land I'm living in. No matter where I'll go, no matter where I'll be, I will see Your goodness, Lord, in the land I'm living in. Oh, I will see Your goodness, Lord, in the land I'm living in. Oh, I will see Your goodness, Lord, in the land I'm living in. Come on, can you believe that, church? It's so great to be gathered here with you all this morning. As we continue, we'll do so by reading God's word together.

My name is Micah, by the way. And welcome to Church on the Move. We're happy you're here. You know, each and every weekend, we take time to read scripture in our services because we believe in the power and the authority of God's word. It reminds me of 2 Timothy 3. It's the Apostle Paul's writing, and he says, that scripture is breathed by God, and it is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, and for training in righteousness. Catch this part. So that the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work. That's part of our heart as we read scripture. That's our hope for you and your family as Pastor Whit preaches today, that she would be made complete and equipped for all God has for you. So let's unify together as we read our call to worship out of Psalm chapter 40. Will you say this with me today, church? I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God. He will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, but to those who go astray after a lie. You have multiplied, oh Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us. None can compare with you. I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. This is the word of the Lord, and we all say today. Let's continue singing, all right? To the one true Lord, a crown of thorns to the one kingdom, a lashing scourge for the hands and feet, not the pierced bones. ♪ For the sacrifice that has torn the veil ♪ ♪ Oh we crown you, we fall face down ♪ ♪ We worship, we all cry out, you are worthy God ♪ ♪ You are worthy God, you are worthy God ♪ ♪ Oh we crown you, we fall face down ♪ ♪ We worship, we all cry out, you are worthy God ♪ ♪ You are worthy God ♪ ♪ Oh we crown you, we fall face down ♪ ♪ We worship, we all cry out, you are worthy God ♪ ♪ You are worthy God ♪ ♪ Oh we crown you, we fall face down ♪

♪ You are worthy God ♪ ♪ We worship, we all cry out, you are worthy God ♪ ♪ You are worthy God ♪ ♪ Oh we crown you, we fall face down ♪ ♪ Oh God, we crown you, we fall face down ♪ ♪ We worship, we all cry out, you are worthy God ♪ ♪ You are worthy God ♪ ♪ We crown you, we fall face down, we worship, we all cry out ♪ ♪ We all cry out, you are worthy God ♪ ♪ You are worthy God ♪ ♪ I know that you are worthy, I know that you are worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one like you Lord, there is none beside you ♪ ♪ Every voice in this place this morning can we sing ♪ ♪ Oh to the one who endured all the shame of the cross ♪ ♪ To the man who was slain as atonement for us ♪ ♪ To the son who overcame all the power of death ♪ ♪ We praise, as your people we sing unto you Lord today ♪ ♪ Oh for the strife, for the wounds, for the beating you brought ♪ ♪ For the tears, for the blood that was willingly brought ♪ ♪ For the merciful, wonderful majesty you are ♪ ♪ Oh to the one who endured all the shame of the cross ♪ ♪ To the Lord who was slain as atonement for us ♪ ♪ To the son who overcame all the power of death ♪ ♪ We praise, oh for the strife, for the wounds, for the beating you brought ♪ ♪ For the tears, for the blood that was willingly brought ♪ ♪ For the merciful, wonderful majesty you are ♪ ♪ We call you, we call this God, we worship you, we adore you ♪ ♪ You are worthy God, you are worthy God ♪ ♪ We call you, we call this God, we worship you, we adore you ♪ ♪ You are worthy God, you are worthy God ♪

♪ You are worthy God ♪ ♪ We crown You Lord, we fall face down ♪ ♪ We worship, we all cry out, You are worthy God ♪ ♪ You are worthy God, we cry out, we fall face down ♪ ♪ We worship, we all cry out, You are worthy God ♪ ♪ You are worthy God, we cry out, we fall face down ♪ ♪ We worship, we all cry out, You are worthy God ♪ Amen, thank you. ♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Early in the morning our song shall rise ♪ ♪ To Thee, holy, holy, holy ♪ ♪ Merciful and mighty God in three persons ♪ ♪ Merciful and mighty God in three persons ♪ ♪ Blessed Trinity ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ All Thy works shall praise Thy name ♪ ♪ In earth and sky and sea ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ All Thy works shall praise Thy name ♪ ♪ In earth and sky and sea ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ All Thy works shall praise Thy name ♪ ♪ In earth and sky and sea ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ All Thy works shall praise Thy name ♪ ♪ In earth and sky and sea ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ All Thy works shall praise Thy name ♪ ♪ In earth and sky and sea ♪

♪ Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Blessed Trinity ♪ Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain. We say thank you today as your people. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for choosing us in spite of our sin. Thank you for dying for us. For constantly, time and time again, revealing your love for us. And Lord, today we remember you and your sacrifice. Church, if you got your communion elements on your way in, why don't you get those ready? If you didn't grab that, you can raise your hand and our auditorium host will make sure you have what you need. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. As the Apostle Paul is giving the church instructions for how to take the Lord's Supper. He says, before you take up the bread, before you take up the cup, examine yourself. I think for some of us in this room, that might mean repenting of a sin that's on your mind or in your heart. I'm reminded of Psalm chapter 19, where it says, Lord, cleanse me from my hidden faults. Might be a repentance of sin for others in this room. You might have something against a brother or a sister, regardless of where you find yourself, I think before we take up these elements, we ought to humbly approach the throne of grace.

So let's take just a moment this morning, church, to examine ourselves. Thank you. Lord as your people, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, in word, in deed, by the things that we did for the things that we shouldn't have done. Lord, we've not loved you with our whole heart. We've not loved our neighbor as ourselves. And Lord, we as your people, we are truly sorry. We humbly repent. For the sake of your son, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us of our sins, that we may walk in your truth and walk in your way. Jesus' name. Church, would you take that bread out and grab it? Scripture says that on the night Jesus was betrayed, he took up the bread and he broke it. And he says, this is my body, which is broken for you. Take of this in remembrance of me. Church, would you take of the bread this morning? And he took of the cup. And he said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Hebrews chapter nine would say that. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Church, do you believe you've been forgiven? Do you believe you've been cleansed by the blood that was shed on Calvary?

If so, take of this juice today in honor of our forgiveness and the blood of Jesus that was spilled. Lord, we as your people today, we say thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your body. Thank you for what you have done, in Jesus' name, thank you. ♪ There's a day coming ♪ ♪ When they all will pass away ♪ ♪ Every wrong will be made right ♪ ♪ No darkness, no night ♪ ♪ The sun will light the way ♪ ♪ There's a king coming ♪ ♪ The one who conquered death and grave ♪ ♪ No more pain and no more sorrow ♪ ♪ This hope for tomorrow is our hope for today ♪ ♪ He who was, He who is ♪ ♪ He who was, He who is ♪ ♪ He who is, He who is to come ♪ ♪ Christ, the Son of man, hiding on the clouds ♪ ♪ With a crown upon His head ♪ ♪ And every eye will see Him ♪ ♪ With the nail scars in His hands, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ There's no one worthier of Him of Him, are you with me? ♪ All praise, all glory and all praise ♪ ♪ All wealth and all honor, bring the wisdom and power ♪ ♪ To the land that was and is today ♪ ♪ Here is your God, Christ the Son of God ♪ ♪ Amen, riding on the clouds with a crown upon His head ♪ ♪ And every eye will see Him with the nails scars His hands ♪

♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, here He is to come ♪ ♪ Here He is to come, Christ the Son, amen ♪ ♪ Riding on the clouds with a crown upon His head ♪ ♪ And every eye will see Him with the nails scars His hands ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, here He is to come ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, here He is to come ♪ ♪ Here He is, here He is, here He is to come ♪ ♪ Yes you're really coming, oh Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh can you feel it too? ♪ ♪ All this tension growing stronger ♪ ♪ It's just a sign He's getting closer ♪ ♪ Cause honey you're in the moment, make it right ♪ ♪ All this glory, how can you let it take you away? ♪ ♪ Oh we know, we all know how it ends ♪ ♪ My future hasn't been here, my eyes aren't the same ♪ ♪ Jesus, He's coming back again, He's coming back again ♪ ♪ He's coming back, He's coming back again, He's coming back again ♪ ♪ He's coming back again, He's coming back again, He's coming back again, He's coming back again ♪ ♪ Yes You are, You are sweeter than the wine, the feast of life ♪ ♪ This is our joy, our joy, see how bright it match, it give us glory to thou of thy throne ♪ ♪ Yes He's coming back, He's coming back again, He's coming back again, He's coming back again ♪ ♪ He's coming back, Christ the Son of God ♪ ♪ God in all the clouds when the God upon His head ♪ ♪ In every home or scene, with the blessed stars in His hands ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ Man, it is such an honor to get the worst apart with you guys.

If we continue our services this morning, why don't you do this greet the people who are seated next to you. We will keep things moving today. Well, good morning Church on the Move. Man, you guys sound great. Thank you so much for worshiping, lifting your voices to give God glory this morning. That's a great way for us to start our week. My name is Lee. I'm up here with Corey. Corey's relatively new to our ministry staff and Corey's been a huge blessing. I hope you get to know Corey as you are around here because he's a good guy to know. And what Corey and I want to do is give a special welcome to any of you who are in the room for the very first time. We always have new people. We always have guests with us and we love that. If that's you, we've got something for you. You can take your phone out right now and send us a text message. Our number is 23101. Just send us the word new. We're going to send you back a Chick-fil-A gift card. Just go get a little treat on us. this week. It's just our way of saying we genuinely are glad that you joined with us this weekend and in fact we'd love to have you come back. We would love to have you come back and maybe you've been wondering how to get more connected around here at Church on the Move or learn more about who we are. As a church we have a gathering every month we call Next Move. It's actually happening today right after our 11 30 service right back here in our Next Steps room. We'll have a meal together. We provide child care. Our lead pastor, Pastor Witt, will share more about who we are as a church. You can connect with our team. We would love to have you. Let us know you're coming by texting the word Next to 23101. I also want to let you know that group season is kicking off around here. Our small group and mid-sized group environments. Another opportunity to be more connected as a church family and there's one that's pretty special to me, special to you as well Lee. Yeah, you and Ashley went through it. Me and Shannon went through it this past year. It's

called Re-Engage. It's for married couples and it's in depth. It's intense. It's meant to really allow you to take ground toward health in your relationship with your spouse. And some of you, you may be like, man our marriage is going pretty good, but why wouldn't you want to take it from like a seven to a nine, right? Because the marriage relationship is the most important God-ordained relationship. It was the first human relationship and there's something so meaningful about getting better and stronger. But there are probably others of you in this room you're like, man we need some help. Like it's difficult sometimes. There's things that we can't seem to get through. And now would be the time to take this step. You see, Witt said this a couple weeks ago when we started the Breakthrough series. He said that Breakthrough, that real healing, it doesn't come from vague intentions. We can't just go, I'm gonna be a better husband this year. No, it comes through specific steps of obedience. And Re-Engage allows you to take a specific step to commit to something to allow you to see your marriage grow and thrive. And the church is better. The community is better. The world is better when our marriages are strong. I want to offer one more step to the men that are in this room because a lot of you maybe haven't yet gotten signed up for our Men's Conference, the Forming Men Conference happening in just a couple of weeks. Hey, take that step. This is an opportunity for us to launch into 2026, getting more formed into the likeness of Jesus. And everybody wins when men are following Jesus more closely. If you haven't gotten signed up, if you want to know more about Re-Engage, if you want to know more about any of our small groups or mid-sized groups that are happening, just go to cotm.info. You can get all the information you need there. Get signed up, get registered. Take a step that's going to lead you to life this year. We pause in all of our services to honor God with our giving. If you're new around here, you may say, how does that work? There's a black card in the seat back in front of you, a generosity card. You can look at that. You can take that with you if you want to, as you prayerfully consider how you might want to partner with us when it comes to giving. Yeah, if you want to give electronically, you can just text the word give to 23101. Maybe you want to give by cash or check. You can use the envelopes in the seat back in front of you and drop them off at any of our drop boxes at our exit. Lee, you mentioned that we are in week three of our breakthrough series. And right before Pastor Witt comes out, let's take a moment to prepare our hearts and pray together. Would you bow your heads with me? Lord, I'm reminded of the privilege it is to gather together, to worship, to take communion,

and now to gather around your word. We want to hear from you, and we're in need of a breakthrough. So we prepare our hearts to hear from you today. Would you speak to us, Lord? In Jesus' name. Amen. Well, hey, Church on the Move. Good to see everybody today. If you are new around here, welcome. My name is Witt, and I'm the pastor here. Look at this 1130 service. This has been growing a lot. I don't know how many of you have been coming to this service for a while, but this has more than doubled in the last year. In fact, maybe even more than that. Pretty tremendous growth in this service. Welcome to everybody this weekend. Glad that you're here and worshiping with us. Pretty exciting stuff. We're in week three of a series that we started called Breakthrough, and if you have a Bible, I want to invite you to turn to 2 Peter 1. That's where we're going to be taking our text today. We'll be looking at verses three through eight. And I have a surprising kind of, I don't know, promise for you today. I know some of you, this is going to be really hard to believe, especially knowing me, but I think this is actually going to be an encouraging sermon. I know that's rare. I don't do that very often. Clearly, I've not been given the gift of exhortation or encouragement. I like challenge. I like to just be real about things. But today's actually going to be just pretty much all encouragement, and we need it from time to time. Yes, I can even admit that occasionally we need to be encouraged. So we're going to do that today as we look at this text. If you have a Bible open, I will begin reading. If you don't have a Bible, words are on the screen. You can follow along there. It says this. This is Peter, the Peter. Here's what he writes. 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 by which he has granted to us his precious very great promises so that through them you and I may become partakers of the divine nature having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire now for this reason he writes 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 this

is the word of the Lord and we all said thanks be to God yeah so we're in week three of this series that we started the beginning of the year called breakthrough and it's based on this verse out of John 10 10 you're probably familiar with it by now this is Jesus speaking he says the thief that is the devil he comes only to steal to kill and to destroy that's his MO that's how he operates that's what he does who he is I have come in contrast he says that they may have life and have it to the full the question that we've been asking ourselves is well then why don't I have this why don't I have this life to the full I believe in Jesus I've prayed the sinner's prayer I come to church I read my Bible from time to time why why do I not have this capital L life to the full that Jesus seems to offer and the reason is here in first Peter we just read it we've been talking about effect we really talked about it last week here Peter describes it like this that we have escaped this is kind of the good news of the gospel that Christ has delivered us we have escaped is the way Peter describes it from the corruption that is in the world that we can just pause right there and wherever we come from whatever your background is whether you're religious or not I think we can all agree that the world is corrupted there's brokenness all around us in the world Peter gives it this cause here's the root here's why sinful desire you want to know why there's brokenness in your life why there's addiction why we struggle with all the things that we struggle with here's why sinful desire we started talking about this last weekend when we said that sin is more than just the breaking of divine cosmic rules like God said don't do this and you did it anyway it's more than that in fact here's how we said it last week we said that all sin is an attempt to fulfill our deepest longings and desires apart from God that sin is seeking we're looking for something James K.A. Smith in his book you are what you love called us human beings existential sharks do you understand that sharks have to keep moving through the water in order to live they have to move or they can't breathe the water moving across their gills is what allows them to breathe well he says we're existential sharks meaning we have to

also seek we have to also keep moving we're looking for something this is why no amount of success is ever enough this is why no amount of acclaim or achievement is ever enough we're constantly looking searching Augustine one of the greatest minds to ever walk planet earth put it like this he said you God have made us for yourself and that makes sense right I mean if there is a God it would stand to reason that he made us to depend on him we were made in his image but more than just being made in his image we were made if you want to use the word soulmates that's the idea we were made to need him and and so there's this there's this infinite longing on the inside of us that only God can fill he puts it like this you have made us for yourself and our heart is restless like we're seeking constantly looking until it finds its it's home it's rest in you that is the idea so so sin is this seeking it's looking for satisfaction so years later after Augustine in fact centuries later Thomas Aquinas would come along and again one of the other great minds in human history building on Augustine's idea that sin is seeking and that we are restless and looking for something he posited that sort of beneath all human sin are four main idols kind of like the four final bosses of human idolatry he put it like this that we're looking for strength and power we go seeking pleasure or comfort and pleasure we go looking for security and riches by the way riches is not just money it's whatever gives you some kind of sense of security having or controlling your world or your environment or having backup plans and contingencies that you take comfort in That's the idea. And when you look for your security and things that you can control, you have a God, Aquinas would call it riches. And then lastly, worth. We go looking for worth and glory. We're seeking these things. See, you're not just driven by what you know,

and I think you know this already. You're driven by what you want. Have you ever been in a position where you've known what you should do? You knew exactly what you ought to do, and yet you didn't do what you ought to do. You actually did the exact opposite thing. Come on, how many of you, you've done that before. I think almost every one of us ought to be able to raise our hands in that regard. We've all done that. Why do we do that? Why do we disregard what we know we should do? Because we're not driven by what we know, we're driven by what we want. We are desire-driven beings. And so the reason that we sin, the reason that the world is corrupted, Peter says, is sinful or misguided desire. Now, some have come along. In fact, other religions, Buddhism being one of them, is just, oh, here's the secret then to happiness in life. Just don't want any of this stuff. It's called detachment or asceticism. And that basically says, yeah, I can be free from all of this if I just learn not to want these things. But I got news for you. You can't, because you were made, you were hardwired to need these things.

You just need to get them from the right source. So the problem is not that we have desires. The problem is that we have misguided desires, desires out of order. That's our problem, is a disordered heart. We're looking for things that God created us for. We're just looking for them in the wrong places. So last week, my hope was that you would begin to try to self-diagnose, like, which one of these idols do I fall prey to most? And I hope that you spend some time, maybe with your family or friends or whatever, talking through, like, which is your idol and kind of thinking about that, maybe journaling about it, I hope so, so you can kind of know where you're vulnerable. We all fall prey to all four of these, but generally, there's one, maybe two, where you're like, oh, I really struggle with that glory and pleasure one, or the power and riches, or whatever it may be. But we all have different kind of propensities here. We wanna know what those are so that we can begin to address them, and that's what we wanna do this week, as Peter starts to give us a roadmap to get to this capital L life that Jesus promises. Now, I think Peter's a great guide for this, because Peter, I think, understood what it was to wrestle with these things.

In fact, I think if the apostle Peter were here, he would tell you that he struggled with one of these, and he would know exactly which one it was. I think he would say, this was my idol. This is the one I really struggle with. And you can see this through the New Testament if you follow Peter's story at all, because you know, there's a couple instances where you can really see Peter cared a lot, in fact, too much about what other people thought of him. Of course, this is true whenever he denied Christ. You remember this? Jesus predicted that he would deny him, and Peter swears that's never gonna happen. That will never happen. I will die first, and then what does he do? He turns right around, and when he has a little bit of pressure put on him by like a teenage girl, he folds because he has no strength of character. He cares too much what other people think. And then later in the book of Galatians, Paul talks about these Jewish believers showing up in Antioch, and Peter cozies up to them because he wants their approval, which is ironic because see, there was this kind of tension between these Jewish believers and these Gentile believers, and the Jewish believers thought they were better than the Gentile believers, and Peter is responsible for there being Gentile believers in the first place. And yet, whenever these Jews show up,

he kind of cozies up to them to the exclusion of these Gentile believers playing favorites, and Paul has to call them out. Like, what are you doing? This is not the gospel that you preach. What are you doing? And so Peter is out of line, and this is why. We have a tendency, we do these things. So I think Peter's a great guide to kind of talk to us about this, and that's what we're gonna find in this passage. We're gonna break it down. We're not gonna cover all of these verses this weekend. In fact, I don't know how many weeks we'll be in this passage, maybe just a couple, we'll see. We really have just been sort of following the leading of the spirit as we've been progressing through this series. We're really gonna look at the beginning of this passage. You can break it down, the whole passage that we read in kind of these two sections, and this is what we're gonna cover today, identity. I call it partaking. Peter talks about partaking of the divine nature. That's what we're gonna talk about today. And then out of that is going to flow practice. This is what we'll start talking about next week. Now, it's really important, and I want you to hear this, and I'll try to talk about this as we get a little deeper into this, but it's really important that we start here

before we go to here, and let me just tell you, because you're an American, you're biased here. This is how we are. Just don't tell me all the stuff. Just tell me what I need to do, right? That's how we are. We're just biased toward action. Let me tell you why you don't want to do that, why you don't want to get in front of this identity piece, because. You just move straight to action. What you will do is you will end up making these instructions your God. You will become your own Savior. You will use God's very commands to earn, if you will, a salvation for yourself by being a very good person and doing things the right way. That's what we do. The Pharisees were like this. They took God's commands and they used them to sort of work for their own salvation. Doesn't work that way. We have to start with what God does and who he is, which is exactly where we're going to begin. So if you have your Bible still open after all of that preamble, here we go. Let's look back at the text. Here we are. 2 Peter 1, verse 3. Look at how it begins, the first three words.

His divine power. We have to stop here because this is so, so critical and so important. This is the Christian life. You want to know what being a Christian is all about? This is how it works. It always begins with God. Our lives are merely response. You don't start with yourself if you're a Christian. You always start with God. Who is he? What has he said? That's how the gospel begins. It's a story of what God has done, not what you must do. But it begins with God and Peter, rightly, starts that way. His divine power. It begins with him. There's a great Alistair Begg clip that's been kind of floating around online. Maybe you've seen it, Alistair Begg being a preacher and he's teaching on this whole idea. He's asking this question. If you died tonight, maybe you've heard this before. It's kind of an old Christian question. If you died tonight, do you know where you'd spend eternity? What would gain you entrance into heaven? If you were standing at the precipice of heaven and there was an angel there guarding the entrance and he would say, why is it that you deserve to come in here?

What justifies you to come into heaven? What would your answer be? And he says to the congregation that's there, he says, if you answer in the first person, you're already wrong. You're off on the wrong foot. Because I. Because I believe. Because I prayed a prayer. Because I put my faith in Jesus. If you answer in the first person, you're wrong. The gospel does not begin with because I. It doesn't begin with you. You can't answer in the first person, you must only answer in the third because he. It doesn't begin with what you do, it begins with what God has done. That's where Peter begins. His divine power. He's the one that does it. It starts with him, which is the best news. Because some of you, your whole problem is that you feel inferior, incomplete. You wrestle with your not enoughness all the time. Here's the good news. It doesn't matter that you're not enough. He is enough. It's not to do with your power. It's not to do with your strength. It's not to do with your spirituality

or your level of faith or giftedness or whatever. It's to do with his divine power. And that makes me feel a whole lot better about myself. Because if it's up to me, guess what? I'd screw it up. But it's not up to me. It's up to him. The gospel begins with God. His divine power, he continues, has granted to us all things. Somebody say all things. Not most things. Not some things. Not a portion of what you're going to need for life and godliness. Not some of what you'll need for that capital L life that Jesus has on offer. All things. He has granted to you. He's given you what you need. So many of us, we feel like, well, you can sort of imagine that God could work out new life and sanctify and make holy, make righteous so many other people around us. It's easy for us to look at others and go, yeah, them, I could see it for them. But we struggle for us because we feel like we're less than. Like there's something broken in us. Oh, God could do it in them. But my past, there's just so much there.

There's so much brokenness. Whatever, I've screwed up so many times. I've made so many vows, so many promises, broken them all. There's something wrong with me. Just stop right there. Can I tell you, you have. You have all things pertaining to life and godliness. You can live a new kind of life. You can have that capital L life that Jesus offers. God does not play favorites and it wasn't granted by your power and your strength, but by his. You need only but believe it and receive it. I bumped into this quote years ago and it's meant so much to me. I hope that it would mean something to you. It goes like this. What God has called you to do, he has also graced you to do. Think about that for a second. There's nothing that God, are you a mother? Are you a father? What has God called you? Has he called you to these things? I don't know. Do you have children? Then you're a mother. or a father. Guess what? He has graced you for that job. I don't know that I'm enough. He's given you what you need for it. If he's asking you to do it, guess what? You can do it by his power that is at work within you. If he's calling you to be sanctified, guess what? You can do it. Why? Because his power is at work in

you. Whatever he's asking you to do, he's also graced or equipped you to do it. If you believe that, then what you could do is you could start to live in that confidence instead of constantly living and walking out your spiritual journey like you're never enough. So many of us, that's why we never get anywhere because we're constantly thinking about ourselves. Well, I'm not this and I'm not that. It has nothing to do with it. What it has to do with is his divine power at work in you. What he's called you to do, he's graced you to do. Now what are these all things that he has given us for life and godliness? Well, I want to offer three thoughts today. It's really kind of what we're going to work through. Three things that he's given you for life and godliness that we want to take some time to examine and consider thoroughly. Let's think about them. Number one is this. He's given you a new disposition. You have a new disposition in Christ. Now the way we could think best about this is to consider that all through the New Testament there is the language of new birth that is used. If you've ever heard the term a born-again Christian, I think we all have, it's often used as a pejorative but it's actually, it has its origin in the words of Jesus. He said this in John chapter 3. This is Jesus speaking to a very religious man. Look what he says to him. He says, I say to you unless one is born again. Notice he doesn't say unless one is very good and very moral and very religious and very upright, he can enter the kingdom of God. He doesn't say that. You must be born again. Now I don't know about you but I had no control over my physical birth. Neither did you. It happened outside of your control. So too is the same with your spiritual birth. It happens outside, apart from you. It's something that is done in you. Unless you be born again, and I'm going to talk about that as we go further and I dive a little deeper into this, but let's just consider this idea of new birth. He cannot see the kingdom of God. You see this idea all through the New Testament. I could give you lots of verses. Let me give you three others. Second Corinthians 517. Some of you know this one. It's a great passage. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a, let's all say this out loud together, a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. This is what you

are in Christ. This is the new disposition that we're talking about. Let's look at James 118. We just studied through the whole of James. Look at how James, the brother of Jesus, puts it. Speaking of God, of his own free will, he brought us forth. This is the language of new birth. He brought us into being by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creation or his creatures. Here we go, Titus 3 verses 4 and 5. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared. He's talking about Christ, the Messiah, the advent of Jesus, the coming of Christ. He saved us. And I love this. He's really clear about this. Not because of works done by us in righteousness. Not because you were good. Not because you were moral. Not because you cleaned yourself up for a little bit first. But according to his own mercy. And then he says this, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Now this is a miraculous work. And this word regeneration is really what I want to focus on because that's what we're talking about here. The doctrine of regeneration. Some of you perhaps may be familiar with that. Many are not. I think too many Christians, we don't really understand what this means. Not thoroughly. And that's largely due to a lack of teaching on the subject. I got to hold my hand up there and take some responsibility. We need to talk about this a little bit more. What does it mean to be regenerated? Or maybe another way to answer this is, what happened to you when you were born again? What happened? What actually changed? Could you define it? Do you know exactly what it is? Let me tell you what it is by first telling you what it's not. Regeneration is a spiritual, not a physical change. When you come to faith in Christ, when you are born again, nothing about you physically changes. Some of us would like that to be true. It'd be awesome if when we came to Christ we lost all the weight that we'd like to lose and we gained all the muscle that we're trying to gain. Wouldn't that be amazing? All the aches and pains go away. But that's going to happen. We will get a new body in the new heavens, in the new earth, at the end of time. But that doesn't happen this side of eternity when we accept Christ. the same physical status. If you were to examine yourself using every diagnostic

test known to man, you could find no DNA change, no physical change in you when a person is born again because that is, it is not physical. We have to recognize that it's a spiritual, not a physical change. Number two, it is more than a moral reformation. Now what do I mean by this? Well lots of people have a desire to change for the better. I want to stop doing this. I want to stop doing that. I don't want to start doing this. We have desires to be more moral, better kind of person. You don't necessarily have to be a Christian to long for that. Lots of people do. It often, moral transformation, is often accompanied by being born again but it's not the only thing. It's deeper than that, a more significant work. Number three, we could put it like this, regeneration is not a change of the whole of human nature. Maybe focusing on that idea of your nature. Now what do I, what am I talking about here? I'm talking about your faculties, your personality, your gift mix, who you are. That doesn't change whenever you are born again. If you were an introvert, let's say, before you were saved, guess what, you will still be an introvert after. Whatever you are on the Myers-Briggs, whatever you are in the Enneagram, pick a personality profile, whichever Disney princess you were before you gave your life to Christ, you will still be that same Disney princess after Martin Lloyd-Jones puts it like this, when men and women are regenerated, born again, they do not all become the same. This is actually really great news. God doesn't make us into like mindless, uniform, lemmings, all exactly the same like postage stamps. Notice this, it's an interesting contrast, but when people become the victims of a psychological movement, aka a cult, they do tend to become all the same. They lose their uniqueness. You ever notice that? Cult members, they dress the same, talk the same, they all look the same. That's because they lose their individuality. Not so when you're born again. When people are regenerated, the particular gifts which made them the men and women they are, those gifts always remain. Best example of this in Scripture is Paul, the Apostle. Do you remember Paul? He was persecuting the church. He was very zealous for his faith, and he was willing to go to any lengths to kind of do what he thought was the right thing to do. That's the kind of guy he was. He was

very intelligent, and he was very driven. Well, what do we see after he encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus? We see the same guy. He's very zealous, and he's very driven. He's just driven in a different direction. That's interesting. So what then has changed? Well, Lloyd-Jones defines it like this. He would say that regeneration is, and this is a nice definition here if you're looking for that, it is the implanting of a principle, like a seed of new spiritual life and a radical change in, and this is the phrase I want you to hang on to, the governing disposition of the soul. Let me unpack that mouthful for a second. Remember what we've been saying? That you're not driven by what you know, but that you're driven by what you desire. It is your desires that drive you. Think of yourself like a car. All the different components of your personality and your gifting and so forth make up all the different components of the car. We understand that cars come in different shapes, sizes, different horsepower, and so forth, but what determines the direction that that car goes? The one behind the steering wheel. The car has its abilities, but it's the one in control of the car that determines how the car is used and where it goes. Well, when you are born again, guess what changes? The driver. The one behind the steering wheel of your life, which is your desires, that is what changes. You get a new heart, or as Lloyd- Jones calls it, a new governing disposition. Whereas before, you wanted to please yourself. Whereas before, you sought to be your own Savior in God, seeking comfort and pleasure, seeking strength and power, seeking glory and honor, or worth and glory and honor, right? That's how you were. You were your own Savior in God, trying to please yourself, having horrible, imprisoning kinds of results, such as sin. That's where it leads. But when you are born again, you are given a new desire that now wants to please God, and that new desire animates or drives all of those same personality preferences and faculties. This is what you see. When someone is born again, their personality doesn't change, but the desires behind that personality change. Now, I've seen this, and it's one of the greatest miracles that you could ever witness. In fact, I think it is the greatest single miracle

a person could witness, is to see someone born again and watch this happen. I had a friend who this happened to a few years ago in the most radical of ways. He walked away from his faith many years ago, decades ago, had said, you know, I'm no longer a Christian, don't want any of this. He stopped believing it, stopped going to church, started living for himself, found success and also terrible imprisonment to addictions and his own proclivities and habits. He found himself in a really dark place, did not want to turn to God, had no interest in the church. He would occasionally sort of get drugged to church by his family who were still believers. When he would show up, he would have to come inebriated because he could hardly stand to be in this place without some kind of chemical substance kind of helping him out. And I remember what happened. He was in his car and he was actually, believe it or not, cursing God. He had been listening to the radio, there was some news of some terrible tragedy, I think, involving children. And he was so mad about it, he just began to yell and curse God. And do you know what happened? This is his words, he would say, Jesus came into that car with him and met him there.

And all he could say is, I don't know how to describe it, I just know that God was there. What happened? Boom, his life was changed. His spirit, the deepest part of him, his governing disposition was changed. And here's what's wild. I saw this firsthand. Like less than a week later, he shows up at church. The guy who hated church is now here. And more than that, I watched how he changed. He started not only coming like once, but coming constantly, devouring sermons wherever he could, reading scripture to the point that he went through a master's level Bible study degree program, basically, so that he could learn more about the Bible. The guy who hated the Bible suddenly found that he could not get enough of the scripture. What happened? The deepest part of him changed. His governing disposition changed. I heard another testimony, a guy I don't know, but a great story I just heard in the last couple of weeks of a guy who grew up in a completely secular household. No real connection to the church, no connection to God. When he was 15, 16 years old, he came out as same-sex attracted to his parents who were totally fine with it. That was the kind of home that he was in.

It wasn't religious. It wasn't traumatic for him. As he began to live as a gay man, had nothing to do with the church, wanted nothing to do with Christians. In fact, he thought Christians were what were wrong with the world. He thought we are the evil people, the bigoted, awful, evil people, wanted nothing to do with the Bible. One day, he was in his apartment. These are his words, how he describes it. He was in his apartment alone. No one had witnessed to him. He had not read the Bible. He had not recently been to church, had not been thinking about God at all. What he says is God came into his living room. Jesus himself came in there. He did not see him. He just knew his presence was there. Falls to his knees, begins to weep, feels an overwhelming sense of conviction, but also grace at the same time. It sets him on this sort of new trajectory. He begins going to church. He begins listening to sermons. He begins studying scripture. He realizes he is now a born-again Christian. The very thing that he hated, he has become,

and he sees the world through a whole different lens. What happened in him? He got a new governing disposition, a new allegiance to a new God. Instead of serving himself and the God of pleasure and hedonism, he began to worship Jesus. Everything has changed. What changed? Not his personality, his governing disposition. No, no, no, this is what happens. When you become a new creation in Christ, you get a new spirit, a new heart that wants to please God. And let me tell you, friends, you need this because this is your biggest problem. Remember what we said? If you're going to be a partaker of the divine nature, you gotta do something about the sinful desire. The only problem is you can't. And if we could have just simply turned from our sinful desires to God, we would have done it a long time ago, and there would have been no reason for Christ to come. But as it is, we can't do it on our own. We need his help. But thanks be to God, Christ came and made new life possible for us in him. When you are born again, you have a new spirit. You're not who you were. You're not the same old you,

and you're not dominated by the same old desires. You say, wait, hang on a second, though. I still really struggle with sin. I still fall into all the same old patterns. What does that mean? Does that mean I'm not born again? No, it just means that you are not listening to your deepest desires. You're dominated by your strongest desires. See, you still have a flood. and your flesh, the old you, wants to still be in control. And if you listen to that, and if you've had a longstanding habit and pattern of listening to that old way of life, it can be, in the beginning, tough to make a different choice. But I got news for you. There is a deeper desire on the inside of you that wants to please God. How? How do I do this? How do I begin to say yes to my deepest desires and no to my strongest desires? Well, Paul says, walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Here's the, kind of put it in layman's terms. You feed the one and starve the other. And when you do that, what happens is, here's what happens, little by little, your deepest desire to please God

eventually becomes your strongest desire. And now that old fleshly desire doesn't have the same hold on you anymore because your deepest desires and your strongest desires are one. That's what happens. You have a new disposition. So you need to lean into, and we're gonna talk about that. These practices that we'll talk about next week, that's how you start to say yes to your deepest desire and no to your strongest desire. But you need to know this. At your core, hear me, you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old has gone and the new has come. Now that's worth an amen, I think, this morning. That's good news. So you've got a new disposition. Now secondly, you have a new position. So not only who you are has changed, but where you are. How has it changed? Well, we get the answer here in Colossians, and I think Paul puts it most succinctly here. Giving thanks to the Father. By the way, this is the second half of a prayer that Paul prays in Colossians 1. I think it's a prayer you ought to memorize and pray regularly about yourself and about those that you love.

Giving thanks to the Father. The Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Qualified. Now if you think about that old question, what makes me qualified to be part of this group of saints, to be part of God's people? Who qualifies me? According to this verse, who is it that qualifies you for God's presence? God, the Father. He says it right here. It's the Father who qualifies you. That's great news. It's not you. Now stop and think about this. This is this new position that you have. You are not qualifying yourself. Oh my goodness, so many of us, this is how we think. We say we have a salvation that comes by grace, yet we don't live like that's true. We believe that it is our good works that has earned us qualification for God's presence, and I'll tell you why we think that. Because we think it is our good works that keeps us qualified for God's presence. But he's the one that did it. Look at what he says. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness, and he has transferred us to the kingdom

of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Now let me just say something that's really, hopefully it's obvious here, but maybe you've not thought of it before. There's only two kingdoms. There's the kingdom of light, the one ruled by Christ, and there's the kingdom of darkness, the domain of darkness. If you are not in Christ, that's where you are. There is no neutral. There is no, I just haven't picked a side yet. We have, over the last, I don't know, a few decades in the United States of America, there's been a rising population of what we call religious nuns. Not nuns in the Catholic sense, N-U-N. Nuns as in, I have no religious affiliation. Nun, I'm just unaffiliated. I don't have like a particular God that I serve or any religion that I belong to. People mistakenly think that they can just choose none of the above when it comes to religion, but according to the scriptures, there are only two kingdoms. It's not like A, B, C, D, whatever, none of the above. It's either the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. You're in one or the other. If you are not in Christ, you are in darkness.

The domain of darkness, who has, as scripture says, and you might not like this, but this is what Paul writes, the ruler of that world is the devil himself, and that's who you belong to. I know that's tough, but that's reality. But here's the good news. God has delivered you. He has delivered you from the domain of darkness and transferred you into the kingdom of his son. There is a cosmic war going on for the souls of mankind, and we end up in one place or the other, darkness or light. God has made every provision for you to be a citizen of this new kingdom that is ruled by his son, Jesus. That is what has been done, and if you are in Christ, if you have been born again, if you have received Jesus as Lord, guess what? This, the kingdom of light, is now your permanent residence. You didn't earn your way. In here, guess what? You can't fail your way out. So many of us, here's what we think. We think, well, salvation is like 99% God and 1% me. You know why I don't like that kind of thinking? It's because if it's 1% me, guess what? If there's 1% of it that I'm responsible for, that's the 1% that I will screw up. Can I get an amen? Are we not that messed up?

I don't want it depending on me. I want it depending on him. Let me tell you why. First of all, I can rest in that, knowing that if he did it, well, I can trust it because he doesn't fail at what he does. Number two is it keeps me from pride because if it's 1% me, I get to look down on you who didn't have that 1% of oomph that I had to say yes to Jesus. Do you see what I mean? I want it to be all grace. How many of you are with me? I want it all grace. I don't want it my effort. I don't want it to depend on me at all. I want it to be all a matter of God's grace. Your good works, good moral behavior did not earn you entrance into heaven and it does not keep you in heaven. It is his goodness and his grace. Now, here's why I wanna say this to you because too many of us, we say, yes, it's grace, it's grace, but we don't live like that's true. Here's how I know because we feel like that when we screw up and when we make bad choices, and we do, do we not? How many of us feel like, well, I'm now back over here in the kingdom of darkness? He saved me and I just can't,

I can't seem to get it together. I keep stumbling back over here into this old kingdom of darkness. And I know this because, and I wanna say this to you, and I hope that you hear this with ears of grace and recognize that I'm not trying to shame anyone and certainly don't wanna embarrass anybody, not by any means. I wanna set you free, pastorally, but I see this most weeks. When I give a call at the end of the service to receive Christ, to be born again, how many of you are looking for, you want this relationship with God, this new kind of life that God gives? And here's what I see, and I love you, but I see the same people raise their hand every single week. And I understand why you do. It's because you've made some mistakes this last week. And you don't feel worthy and you don't feel enough. And you feel like that somehow you've done something, and you're worried that maybe you've disqualified yourself from the presence of God. But let me tell you something, you have not qualified yourself. He has qualified you. He has delivered you. So if you have received Christ as Lord, rest in that. And believe that your position is now as a citizen

of the kingdom of God. And that he is the one guarding, shielding, and protecting you. He's holding on to you. You're not making this whole thing go. You didn't start it, and you're not keeping it going. Let me just help some of you who are like, yeah, but whoa, wait, wait a minute. Because it sounds like you're sort of giving us a license to sin, and that behavior doesn't matter, and that obedience doesn't matter. Can I just help you understand? Obedience is proof of salvation, not the works that earn you salvation. There's a difference. Think about an apple tree. If an apple tree bears apples, it proves that it's an apple tree. I can look at it and go, well, that's clearly an apple. It doesn't earn the right to be called an apple tree by bearing apples. It proves that it's an apple tree because there's fruit. If there is a Christian who does not produce fruit, or someone that claims to be a Christian, and yet their lives produce no fruit, then we can say, well, there's no proof that you are what you say you are. But the good works don't make you what you are. They just prove that you are what you say you are. Do you understand?

There's a difference between earning and proving it. Our good works are proof that the work of God is happening and taking shape in us. That's the idea. So we're not earning this. We're merely demonstrating what God has already done. But your position in him and in his kingdom, hear me, is secure. So you don't have to keep coming back and raising your hand and saying, all right, God, it's been a tough week. Would you save me again? He's done it. You belong to the kingdom of light. And I wanna set you free from this because so many of us, we're self-obsessed. And it sounds, I know that sounds tough. I'm not trying to be. But I want you to hear me. As long as we're constantly thinking about ourselves, it's not enough, not enough. I screwed up again, it's me. There's something wrong with me. And let me tell you, the devil is all too happy to come alongside and agree with that negative voice in your head. Can I tell you something? That is not the way. That is not the way to new life in Christ. That, in fact, is actually a very subtle form of pride. I said this several weeks ago.

Let me say it again. Because what you're doing is you're elevating. your judgment and your appraisal of yourself above God's. If he said I've qualified you, if he said I've delivered you from the domain of darkness and I've put you into the kingdom of my son, then guess what, who are you to say that you're not there? Who are you to say that it didn't take with me? Who are you to say that you belong to a different kingdom? No, he has done it and if he's done it, you can trust it. So take it by faith. You have a new position, you have a new nature, but you also have a new position. You belong now to the kingdom of light. You're not in that old domain of darkness anymore, so live like it. Number three is this, you have a new power. A new power is at work on the inside of you. Look at what Paul writes and I think this is so clear here in Philippians 2 verses 12 and 13. Look at what he says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Lest we think that sort of Christianity is just kind of getting into like a spiritual lazy river and letting God do everything and I just do nothing. I just sit back and relax and enjoy the ride. Hang on a second. Paul says work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. There's a little personal responsibility.

We'll talk about that next week. And I do, I think I talk about it pretty much every week. We focus a lot here on personal responsibility. But notice how he kind of completes the thought, for it is, wait a minute, God? God is at work in you. God is at work in you to will, that is to want to, and to work, that is the strength to pull it off for his good pleasure. When you were regenerated, here's what happened. You didn't just get a blank slate, a clean slate of a spirit on the inside of you, but God's very spirit comes to live on the inside of you. His Holy Spirit. Do you know it's the same spirit that hovered over the face of the deep in Genesis 1? Who brought order out of chaos and creation came into being? It's that spirit of God. It's the same spirit of God that empowered the prophets of old to work mighty miracles on behalf of God's people. It's the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead. That same spirit is at work in you, which means you're not doing this on your own. Remember what I said? If God has called you to do it, he's also graced or equipped you to do it. Well, how has he graced me to do it? He's put a portion of himself in you.

His power lives on the inside of you. This means, hold up a second, that the victory is certain. It's certain. Now, I grew up in the 90s, and as such, as a 90s basketball fan, that means I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Michael Jordan is the greatest player to have ever played the game. I don't know what generation you come from or what you think you've seen in the last 20 years or so, but there is one greater. There is one above all the rest. His name is MJ, and you know how I know? Because he never fails. Whenever the game was on the line, you just knew he'll come through. That's what he does. If he's sick, he still comes through. If it's like the end of the game and they're down, he's gonna come through. That's the difference, I think, between MJ and others that will go unmentioned. You could bank on it. He wouldn't make it happen. I'm using that kind of lighthearted example, though, to bring home a very real spiritual truth. You've got one who never fails on the inside of you. And if he's begun it, he will complete it. Now, think about if you believed that. Instead of talking about yourself, like I don't know if I'm ever gonna get over

this lust thing, I just, I'm a worrier. I've always just been that way, or I don't know. I just can't seem to get out of this cycle of whatever it is. Can I just gently implore you stop talking like that and begin to speak in alignment with what is most true, and that is that greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. That you can be free from lust. You can be free from anxiety. You can be free from worry and fear and that which has plagued you. You can have the capital L life. Why? Because the greater one lives in you. Be certain of it. Believe it. That's what it is to walk by faith. It's to disregard your feelings. Your feelings are not the truest test of what reality is. His word is. Begin to take his word as fact, whether you feel it or not. Yeah, but I feel distant from God. Yeah, but I've screwed up and I've sinned again. Whatever, God's spirit lives in you and if he started it, he will complete it. That's what you bank on. That's what you trust. There's a greater power living in you.

He's the one who does it. Your job is merely to participate. That would be, I was thinking about this. I mean, we used to have a, and we might still. I don't know if we still do this. I know years ago we did. We had like a rec league around here, a bunch of Church on the Move guys would play basketball and like an official league, church league stuff. You know, you've probably heard of that kind of thing before. Imagine how confident you would feel if MJ was on your team. You would know, wouldn't you? We can't lose. It's impossible. And there's no way anybody could ever beat us white because we got him. That's what's true of you. You've got him. He's living on the inside of you. The undefeated, unstoppable one who whatever he puts his mind to, he accomplishes. That's who lives in you. Now you live like that's true. Now next week, we're gonna get practical and we're gonna talk about this. This is the next verse. For this very reason, Peter says, make every effort. You have a part to play in this.

We're gonna talk about practices. God is so gracious and good. He gives us practices that build a bridge from where we are to where he's taking us. So if you're interested in hearing that, that's what we're gonna be covering next weekend. Bow your heads, close your eyes. Let me pray for us. Father, thank you for your word that declares to us the good news. That's why it's a gospel. News! Oh man, what good news we've heard today. Help us, Lord, to take it to heart. Not just take it to heart, but believe it and act on it. Live in it in Jesus' name. Now, you're in the room today. You say, what that whole born-again thing is happening in me. Remember, God goes first. He's the one that does it. How would I recognize that that's what's going on? Two things would be happening. Number one, conviction of sin. You're convicted. You know you're far from God. You know you're a sinner and you know you can't make it right. But here's the other cool thing, that God is drawing you into relationship.

There's this overwhelming feeling of grace. When those two things, conviction and grace, collide in your heart, you can rest assured that something, God is at work in you. Your job is simply to respond to it. He does the work. You just say, yes, and thank you. If that's you today and you wanna acknowledge that, you're saying, God is at work in me and I'm saying yes. If that's you, would you be courageous and bold enough to just put your hand up right there where you sit and say, wit, that's me. God's doing that work in me and I'm saying yes. Right out in front of me, thank you. Over here to my left, several hands, thank you. Over here, far left, thank you. Anybody else, you say, wit, that's me. Up in the risers up there, thank you. A couple hands here, thank you. Yep, front row over there, I got you. Thank you, riser section. Yep, back, center, I got you. Anybody else, you say, wit, that's me. I'm just saying yes. Yep, I got you. Thank you, yes sir, I got you. Anybody else, you say, wit, that's me. That work is happening in me. Regeneration.

Something new, the very governing principle, a new governing disposition we're at. Yeah, here, in the middle. Great, awesome. New heart, new desires, new position, new power. That's happening right now. Anybody else, you say, wit, that's me. We're at. Oh, right in front of me. I got you, young man. God bless you. Anybody else, you say, wit, that's me. Over here to my right, thank you. I see you, ma'am. God bless you. Anyone else? Wit, that's me. I'm saying yes. Hard to see all the way in the back, just making sure I'm not missing anybody. Anybody else, we're gonna pray here in just a second. Yep, over here to my right, thank you. Down front, I got you. Thank you, anybody else? Awesome. Church, we're gonna pray together today. Whether you raised your hand or you didn't, would you repeat this after me? Say it out loud. Say, Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus

to die in my place. I confess, I'm a sinner. I need a savior. And you came for me. I believe you were raised from the dead. I declare, Jesus is Lord. Lord Jesus, take my life, my past, present, future. I am yours. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. Behold, the old is gone and the new has come. I belong to you. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me. Amen. Can we put our hands together in celebration with a lot of people who responded to that today? God bless you. Now, that was step one. Hear what I'm saying to you. A relationship with Jesus is always characterized as a walk. Remember what his initial invitation to the disciples was? Follow me. That, what you just did, was step one. Step two is right here. Our prayer team's gonna be down front at the close of the service. We have a very simple little booklet that just explains what you just did, what it means.

but more importantly, what's next? I want you to have a thorough understanding of what's happening on the inside of you so that this is more than just an emotional decision in a moment. Life with Christ is far more than just a kind of altar call moment. It is a journey, and if you took step one, if you're serious, come forward and take step two. We have no intention of harassing you, trying to get you to come back to this church every week. We simply want to give you a resource that will help you take next steps in Christ. So at the close of the service, our prayer team will be down here, and we have those books. We would love to be able to give them to you. Now, if you have a prayer need and you're in the room and you say, I need prayer for something, we would love to be able to pray with you as well. The prayer team's down here for you. So at the close of the service, you can come forward as well. We would love to be able to minister to you. Stand to your feet. We're gonna close with this blessing out of Numbers chapter six, and we like to say it out loud together as a congregation. So you can join with me. Words are on the screen.

Here we go. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. God bless you. I love you. We'll see you next week. You're dismissed. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪