Letter to the Church | Honestly, It's Me

Welcome to Reach KC everybody it's so great to have you with us I just want to invite y'all to stand up and join in It couldn't fill me There's empty praise Treasures that fade But never enough Then you came along And put me back together And every sigh Is now satisfied Here in your love Oh there's nothing Better than you There's nothing Better than you Lord there's nothing Nothing is better than you I'm not afraid I'm sure you're my weakness And in simple thoughts Lord you've seen them all And you still call me friend Cause the God of the mountains Is the God of the valleys And there's not a place Your mercy and grace Won't find me again Oh there's nothing Better than you There's nothing

Better than you Lord there's nothing Nothing is better than you Oh there's nothing Better than you Oh there's nothing Better than you Lord there's nothing Nothing is better than you You come on and turn it insane You give beauty for ashes You turn shame into glory You're the only one who cares You come on and turn it insane You give beauty for ashes You turn shame into glory You're the only one who cares You turn graves into gardens You turn bones into armies You turn seas into highways You're the only one who cares You turn graves into gardens You turn bones into armies You turn seas into highways You're the only one who cares You're the only one who cares You're the only one who cares Oh there's nothing Better than you There's nothing

Better than you Lord there's nothing Nothing is better than you Oh there's nothing Better than you There's nothing Better than you Lord there's nothing Nothing is better than you You come on and turn it insane You give beauty for ashes You turn shame into glory You're the only one who cares You come on and turn it insane You give beauty for ashes You come on and turn it insane Rapture, you turn shame into glory. You're the only one who can. You turn graves into gardens. You turn homes into armies. You turn seas into highways. You're the only one who can. You turn graves into gardens. You turn homes into armies. You turn seas into highways. You're the only one who can. You're the only one who can. You're the only one who can. Thank you. Who thought I'd find you at the lowest place?

Who thought you'd feel me in the crowd? Who knew you'd make good my mistakes? You're nothing like I thought you were. You're better than what I got, what I got. Who thought I'd find you at the lowest place? What I got, what I got. Oh. What I got, what I got. Oh, to you all. What I got, what I got. Ooh. I thought you'd show up for perfection. Because what kind of God adore the lost? They say it's over for a sinner. Oh, but you say no, it's not, no, it's not. But you say no, it's not, no, it's not. What I got, what I got. What I got, what I got. What I got, what I got. What I got, what I got. What I got, what I got. What I got, what I got. You're the highest place I've reached inside your heart. And I've done it all. The best thing that I've seen is your glow. And I've seen it all. Your love has changed my life. Forever satisfied. You are my everything. You're the highest place I've reached inside your feet.

And I've done it all. The best thing that I've seen is your glory. And I've seen it all. Your love has changed my life. Forever satisfied. You are my everything. You're the highest place I've reached inside your feet. And I've done it all. The best thing that I've seen is your glory. And I've seen it all. Your love has changed my life. Forever satisfied. You are my everything. If one word is the only thing you see. And I've heard it all. If I kill your heart and never see your face I still have it all, your treasure inside Do you ever satisfy? You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything What it got, what it got What it got, what it got What it got, what it got What it got, what it got . . . If the heights place our reaches at your feet Then I've done it all But the best thing that I've seen is your glory And I've seen it all

Your love has saved my life Forever satisfied You are my everything If the heights place our reaches at your feet Then I've done it all But the best thing that I've seen is your glory And I've seen it all Your love has saved my life Forever satisfied You are my everything If one word is the only thing you speak Then I've heard it all But feel your heart and never see your head I still have it all No treasure of this life Forever satisfied You are my everything If one word is the only thing you speak Then I've heard it all But feel your heart and never see your head I still have it all No treasure of this life Forever satisfied You are my everything You are my everything, Lord You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything You are my everything, Lord

You are my everything Spirit break now Break all walls down Spirit break now Living come now, won't you Spirit break now Won't flood this place Break all walls down Spirit break now ♪ Come down ♪ Heaven come down ♪ Our father ♪ Lord of heaven ♪ What's your name ♪ Sing louder ♪ Let this place be rocked with praise ♪ Hear your healing ♪ The sound of heaven touching earth ♪ The sound of heaven touching earth ♪ Our father ♪ Lord of heaven what's your name ♪ Sing louder ♪ Let this place be rocked with praise ♪ Hear your healing ♪ The sound of heaven

touching earth ♪ The sound of heaven touching earth ♪ Spirit break down ♪ Break our walls down ♪ Spirit break down ♪ Heaven come down ♪ Jesus, your name will lift tonight ♪ Your glory ♪ Shaking up the earth ♪ With God's will I go ♪ We wanna see our King appear ♪ We wanna see our King appear ♪ Jesus, your name will lift tonight ♪ Your glory ♪ Shaking up the earth ♪ With God's will I go ♪ We wanna see our King appear ♪ We wanna see our King appear ♪ Spirit break down ♪ Break our walls down ♪ Spirit break down ♪ Heaven come down

♪ Heaven come down ♪ Spirit break down ♪ Break our walls down ♪ Spirit break down ♪ Spirit break down ♪ Heaven come down ♪ Heaven come down God we are so thankful. God we are so thankful because you said all who are weary come to me. And those who are weary you will find rest in my presence. God it is only in your presence that we find this rest. We are in pursuit of this rest God because it is only through you that we find it God. We pray over the ones that are bogged down with tasks that came in here weary and traveled God that we are here and we are here to praise you. We are here to worship you. We are here to lift you up. Let us lift you up

in this moment God. Let us glorify your name. Let us speak Jesus in this place God. And let the one that has traveled weary find rest in your presence God. We thank you Lord. Can we give a big shout of praise for the Lord. Praise the Lord. All right, you can have your seat, and you can give your neighbor a smile, maybe the first smile that they've had in a while. Share your name, not your number. Well, listen, how many of us are excited to be here? Yeah! I wanna share something about this church, and I wanna share that you have came here this morning, and it is not by happenstance that you are here, because I can promise you that there are members of this church that are praying and interceding for you to walk through that door. And they may not have known your name on their heart when they prayed it, but they had the spirit in mind, and you are here today because God has led you in his house, amen? Amen. I wanna speak for the moment about bondage. I don't know if there's anyone in the room

that has ever felt bonded to something. Do I share that suffering with anyone here? And I don't know if there's anyone that knows that how to get rid of bondage is to give it away. And when you give something away, only God does something when he replaces what you gave away with something else. And I remember when I first, my pride first broke in my life, the very first time that the laws of the land told me that if someone said a certain word, I had to go, I had to do these things. And I remember the first time in my life that I let somebody say these things, and I decided to choose in that moment that I was gonna choose God, and that I was gonna give it to him, and in that very moment, my pride broke for the first time. And when my pride broke, something else happened, though he replaced it with humility. When my anger broke, he replaced it with gentleness. See, he is a God that does not just take. He is a God that gives tenfold back. And I don't know how many of us in here have ever thought to ourselves the amount of times that we think about money, and the amount of times that we chase a dollar, and how many times that is consuming our mind, and how many of us have felt bonded by money. Can anybody attest to that? I can attest to you, and I can testify and stand here

that today, I am the richest man alive. I am the richest man alive because I gave the money away. The bondage of it, I gave away. I did not thank God for saving me and not declare him as Lord. I made him Lord of my life and not just Savior, because he cannot just be one. If he is the Savior that saved me, he is also Lord of my life. And if he is Lord of my life, he is Lord of everything. So I am praying in this moment that we give all to God, that when I picked up the Bible and I decided that I was gonna follow Christ, I looked at every single word and I said, I'm gonna believe that it is truth. I am not gonna decipher what is and what isn't. I'm gonna not let outside voices declare my relationship with God and have influence over that. I'm gonna have a relationship with the Lord that is biblically based and based on the Bible, and if he said it, he meant it. So because he said it and because he meant it and because we believe, we are going to give. And if I can get some ushers to the front, there's plenty ways to give. You can give in person, online, and you can text, but we are gonna pray. God, we thank you, Lord. Jesus, we thank you for this day.

We thank you for your saving grace that has saved us, God, because you are good and because you are faithful and we are believing in you, God, and we're not just believing in you, God, but we believe you, Lord. We believe what you say and we know what you say is good, God, so we ask that you bless the giving, you bless the finances, you bless the giver and the recipient, God, because it is for your kingdom, God. This is for you and for your kingdom, and we thank you, Lord Jesus, in your mighty and holy name, amen. Can we give it up for Jesse? No, let's give it up for Tucker. Well, good morning, Reach KC. As you all know, we are getting ready for our Fall Fest on November 1st, and honestly, it is coming together. We've got so many amazing things planned, and this is going to be an opportunity for us to not only go and celebrate at the new building and be in the parking lot, but we get to go and invite that community in, and we get to show them the love of Jesus. We get to pour into them. We get to show them who we are. and what we believe, and so guys, we just encourage you,

come be a part of Fall Fest. You can, there's gonna be something up here, probably here in a minute, but you can sign up to serve at our Fall Fest as well. We need trunks for trunk or treat. You can decorate your trunk, hand out candy. We need people who know how to do face paint and balloon animals, so. If that is your specialty, man, we've got a spot for you. So sign up for Fall Fest. Come be a part of it. It's going to be an amazing night. Also, one more announcement is that we have a ladies retreat. It is a free women's event. It's on October 24 and 25. You can sign up by scanning that QR code right there. All the women are invited, so bring your lady friends. Sign up, whoever you want to come. It's going to be an amazing event. And that's all I've got. Aren't you all glad Pastor Adam's back this week? Y'all were probably like, wait, why is Jesse up here again? Just kidding. You shouldn't have had to be the one to say that, because now you feel, you know, it's like, aren't we glad that Jesse brought a great word last week? I don't know about you, but while I was preaching in a different city, after I got done preaching, we turned on Reach KC, and we was watching it.

And Pastor Jesse's, not this Pastor Jesse, but the Pastor Jesse where I was at in St. Louis, in Troy, Missouri, and we was watching Reach KC. And I know this, honestly, like there ain't no place like Reach KC. I love being able to go and be a part of other places and be able to bring the word and have the opportunity for God to use my gift and anointing in other places. But I'm just going to let y'all know, y'all have spoiled me. And whenever I'm just like, man, there's no place like home. There's no place like home. You know what I mean? Like, during where, anyways. With that being said, welcome home. And we're just so excited to have you here. And just, how many of us came for church this morning? Amen. Amen, a few of us. And so I'm excited to be here. We just want to welcome you here, let you know that, hey, if you have never been here before, we just want to thank you for coming and being a part of what God is doing here at Reach. I don't feel like this is just something where we're showing up for church. I feel like this is a movement that God is blessing and he is, as we honor him, he is just looking down and he's showering the blessings down upon us. I'm not saying that we are just extraordinary than any other ministry.

They have the same opportunities. I'm just thankful for what God is doing here. I can't attribute to why, I just know that it's what he is doing. And so we are just thankful that you are a part of it and you are here with us. And for that, we are grateful. And we are in a series where we are going through the book of Romans in an expository fashion. And we are looking through what it looks like to just go verse by verse, passage by passage, and just look at scripture. And this week I've titled my sermon, Honestly, It's Me. Honestly, It's Me. And I'm gonna dig into that because there is just so much in that and in this passage that we're in. But I wanna look at what we were in the last time that we were in Romans, because in Romans, the last time that we spoke, we was in a topic that was called favor ain't fair, right? How many of us have ever looked at somebody's life, seen the favor that was on their life and kind of was jealous of what the Lord was doing in their life, amen? I'm the only one. And so there are, you know, it's easy for me. I find myself watching sermons on TV and I have to be careful because I can start to envy

the model that they are using or their delivery style. And sometimes favor ain't fair. And we looked at Romans five, one through 11, and we highlighted the favor of faith. And we looked at what that means, but we took really a deep dive. And this was on purpose. The main point that was remembered from that sermon is the progress is always in the process, right? And it just is. And oftentimes from my experience, we can dismiss the process because we don't feel like we're making any progress. And it's easy. Honestly, I have seen far too many people give up on even their walk with the Lord and walk in the faith simply because they didn't see the progress. I gave my life to the Lord and I thought things were gonna be different and nothing has changed. I'm still dealing with the struggle. I'm still dealing with some of this. And honestly, I think a big part of it is we live in a microwave society and we serve a crock pot God, amen. And he likes to put you in the cooker a little bit. and we look for instant gratification typically. It reminds me, I was in St. Joe one time in WRDCC in Diagnostic and I had this celly that was completely out of shape. I'm not claiming to be the best in shape, I'm just saying he had some shapes to him. And whenever I would

be laying there just reading and this guy, we were locked down 18 hours a day and I remember he would be in there with his shirt off, which was his first mistake, and he would just do like 20 pushups and then he would stand, has anybody ever seen the movie Little Giants? Okay, I'm showing my age, but Little Giants, there was this little guy that would stand in front of the mirror and he would go. And he was like this really super skinny kid and he'd be like, come on I needed that voice again, you know, there you go. But whenever he would do it, and that's what my celly would do, and he would do like 20 pushups and then he would stand in front of the mirror. And I was, thank you for that, I appreciate that. And then I would just sit there and I would just start laughing and he's like, what? And I'm like, bro, it don't work like that. Like you don't do 20 pushups and then look in the mirror and your life is changed. Like it just don't work like, I wish it did, if it did, I would do 20 pushups at the altar before I got up on stage every week, just so that I could stand up here and go. Because that looks like we actually coordinated that, we did not, so thank you for that, I'll give you $5 after service. But I need you here for a second so that you can do that same thing. But honestly, like isn't that how so many of us are with the blessings of God? Like we feel conviction on something so we try to adhere to it for just a moment, but once we don't see the results that we thought we were promised to us, we quit obtaining any longer or abstaining any longer because the temptation seems greater than the reward of waiting. Because we just want that instant gratification, getting high seems more assuring to numb the pain than actually resting in the grace of God. Resting in the presence of God, losing control of your temper and your mind gains you more leverage than being humble and leading with self-control. And we get in these moments where we try to do 10 push-ups and then look up and be like, yeah, yeah, look how buff I am, and it's like, no bro, that fades fast. Even if it does pump you up, dudes in the prison, they used to do it before yard flicks, you know, they would sit and do 100 push-ups and then suck in and, you know, and then they would mail the pictures out like they was just super in shape and buff, and it's like that's what we walk around spiritually doing sometimes, acting like we have more in line than we really do. But honestly, the progress is actually in the process. And the process, honestly, is typically never instantaneous. Oftentimes it's laborious, it's weighty, and suffering that you have

to go through that we don't like, that suffering produces endurance, and that endurance produces character. That's why when you see somebody that lacks character, they often lack endurance, because they fold when the things get tough, but character produces hope, and that hope produces something in us that will never put us to shame. Because when you can walk in hope, you don't have to do that, because it is what it means is that because we now have a relationship with God, we can walk confidently in who he has called us to be. Yes, struggles are going to come, but I do not have to walk like I used to. I don't talk like I used to. I've been washed on the inside. I've been washed. There's that song, it's, I don't walk like I used to. I don't talk like I used to. I've been washed on the inside. I've been washed on the inside, and I don't know about you, but when God does this internal change, it should bring an external effect, like there should be a difference that is seen. That is what we oftentimes attribute to works, because the inside will change the outside. The inside, when I got very first saved, I said, you know what? I'm shaving my face. I'm cutting my hair. I'm going to look different, because I want to be different. I want to shine. I want to shine. Different I want to be a different person. I don't want to do I want to walk and stand confidently Knowing that it is developing Endurance in us to run a race in which we have been called in order to accomplish What God has called you to do there are going to be things that happen and angles that you're gonna have to take that are A little bit different and because of that endurance is what it means is we don't fold like we used to God has developed character in us. He's developed it in us and with that comes hope Because you have been tested for battle and you know the outcome Christ wins every single time I I don't know if you know that but he has displayed this best when why we were yet Sinners Christ died for us so that we could walk in Relationship with him the enemy thought he had us But Jesus said he was mine The enemy thought he had us but Jesus said I was his he chose me

He won and that's why last week the last verse that we read it said or the week before that when we were here Said this that so now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus said that he has made us friends of God we can now rejoice in our wonderful new relationship. Well, this relationship does not seem wonderful to me Because as soon as I gave my life to the Lord last week I walked out of this place and nothing changed I Wanted everything to just I wanted my addiction to be gone I wanted a brand new job that made a million dollars a year I wanted my kids to return home immediately because I've gave my life to the Lord and I expect my entire life to change now But That's not how it works and Then we get into this mode of that. We expect for something to happen Whenever we just make this instant change and then we expect 40 years of problems to just dissipate When we created those problems and oftentimes we have to dig ourself out of those holes With the strength of God through grace by faith Does that even happen because when things get tough, it's you know what? I'm not gonna give up I remember the word that pastor Jesse preached last week when when she said that they were relying on faith And there was times where I didn't feel like we were gonna make the right decision and I was questioning God But I went back to the word that he gave us and this is what I'm gonna rely on This is what I'm gonna stand on and it might take a year for that to happen But you know what? I'm gonna believe towards that and every step I take I move my life in Direction to where God has called me to be and I'm gonna keep taking steps of faith because I'm going to a land That's unknown. I Don't know Where I'm going. I don't know exactly what this next season has in for me, but I'm gonna walk in faith Because that faith is what gets us there and then Paul goes on in the next part of the passage to highlight this contrast of death and life in the next passages after all of that that we just talked about and it's this emphasis of The work that Christ did and he goes on to talk about So that people born with a sin nature

Can actually inherit the kingdom of God because the work that was on the cross that was completed is Now what ushers in the opportunity despite our sinful nature? So that we can inherit the kingdom of God you and I are both born with a natural Draw that draws us toward evil It's just that way think about it we are never taught how to lie We were never taught how to sin Honestly, it kind of reminds me of one of my my daughters my youngest daughter there was a situation that happened not too long ago and she was outside playing with the neighbor kids and and She threw something at one of the little girls from next door and the little girl ran off crying and our oldest daughter Bella she came in and snitched on her Bella's always good for letting us know the details and feelings amen like she is in it for the facts of the matter like that's just what happens and then is what happened so we were like what happened and she's like here's what really happened and like she tries to beat us to the fact of Adeline coming in because Addie don't she's gonna tell us her side of the story and so when Bella come in she told us what happened Addie come in behind her and I said Addie what what happened and she told me what happened and then I was like and no she tried to lie to me that's what it was she tried to lie to me about what it was and then I said well Bella just told us that this happened and she's like okay I'm hit you know I'm guilty I did it and I don't want to do it again and I said hey that is not like the character of this home that is not what we do we model Christ and this is what God has called us to do and this is why this is what disciples of the Lord look like and I explained this whole thing and I said if you lie again you're gonna lose your iPad for 30 days now we all know how big of a effect that has on kids nowadays amen and daddy don't play no games okay because there is a something that is important to us and dude it wasn't two minutes she walked outside did something again came in I asked her and she lied

and I said you're done your iPads gone for 30 days now here's what I know me and Catherine do not lie in front of her we tell the truth constantly is sin nature is ingrained within us it's something that we naturally do that's why when you have a three-year-old that got into the cookie jar and there's cookie crumbs all over they got I mean they look like a chipmunk with cookies in their cheek and you say did you get into the cookie jar they go with cookies in their cheek like they're like it's like I know you're lying and they're like what do you mean what's lying I don't I didn't get in the cookies and they have to talk through cookies like falling out of their mouth it's because we're not taught how to do it you and I are honestly no different there is a gravitational pull towards sin that we always have to fight we always have to fight it that's why Paul states in the letter to the Church of Corinth I beat my flesh into submission we have to choose to follow God every single day and and so I want to jump into this next passage and and it's pretty weighty and I tried to remove the weight of it and and I want to break it down to us and so Romans 5 12 through 21 and it says this when Adam sinned so so you have to remember the last verse that we read last week was so now we can rejoice in our real our wonderful relationship with God because our new our Lord Jesus has made us friends with God when Adam sinned sin entered the world and Adam sin brought death and so death spread to everyone for everyone sinned yes people sinned even before the law was given but it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break but still everyone died from the time of Adam to the time of Moses even those who did not obey an explicit command of God as Adam did now Adam is a symbol a representation of Christ who was yet to come but there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift that's how Adam was a representation because through him something was delivered to mankind just like through Christ something was delivered to mankind so he was a symbol for the sin of this one man Adam brought death to many but because but even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man Jesus Christ and the result of

God's gracious gift is very different from the result of the one man's sin for Adam's sin led to condemnation but God's free gift leads to our being made right with God even though we are guilty of many sins for the sin of this one man Adam caused death to rule over many but even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness for all who receive it will or will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man Jesus Christ. There's a lot going on here. Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation. He's just reaffirming this with the crowd that he's speaking to. Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ one's act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God that we can rejoice in and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners, but because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were, but as people sin more and more, God's wonderful grace became more abundant. Just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's heavy, and I want to try to do my best to dig into this and just know that when when we read some of this stuff, like I'm challenged through the week. I have to wrestle with the passage. I have to digest it. I'm spending three days, sometimes four days a week just rehearsing this in my mind and reading it and digging into commentaries and trying to find out what it really is, and so today I want to look at three life-changing perspectives that impact our daily life. Three life-changing perspectives from this passage of Scripture that has the potential to impact our daily life, and number one is everyone else ain't the problem. Everyone else ain't the problem. Romans 5 12 through 14 says that when Adam sinned, sinner in the world, Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given, but it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break, for still everyone died from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even to those who did not disobey

an explicit commandment of God as Adam did. Everyone else ain't the problem. It's me. It's me. I'm the problem. One of the number one principles that I teach in premarital counseling or marriage counseling is you have to examine yourself regularly and ask, what could I change about me? Like if you was to look in the mirror, what could you change about your relationship? What could you change about you in your relationship, rather? Healthy relationships do not ever consist of two individuals constantly trying to change each other. That's our old behavior, okay, that we are caught up in addiction with, have controlling tendencies, you don't even let them hang out with their family because you don't want their family to speak ill on you, and then you have to retract and try to retrain her mind to think about you more than her family, and there's this competitiveness that we deal with, but everyone else ain't the problem. We are. We have this in us. I personally live by the philosophy that it always comes back to leadership. Anytime we're in staff meetings or leaders with meetings, whatever, I don't even know what I leaders with leader, whatever, it doesn't even matter, leadings with meetings, and it's this principle. It always comes back to leadership. Well, that person didn't show up. Well, then maybe you didn't convey the details to that person to show up on time. We always have to examine it, meaning no matter what takes place, there is something that we can learn personally in every single situation. If something blows up and the end result is not desirable, I could have done something different to change that outcome every single time. Classic blame-shifting isn't only a terrible character trait, but it pushes the responsibility off on someone else when there are things that we could have done different in every single situation. Immaturity shifts blame while maturity takes ownership and makes pivots and along the way. Immaturity shifts blame while maturity takes ownership and makes pivots and adjustments along the way. Everyone else ain't the problem. Honestly, it's me. Honestly, it's me. I don't have to blame. For years, theologians have tried to push the blame off on the sin of Adam, and Adam's fall, as we just read,

introduced the virus of sin into the entire human race every human being is born with a sinful nature now that's just what it is and this passage has honestly been used to develop basic theological positions that have been developed through this concept right here you have things I'm not gonna get into this because it's irrelevant we don't major in the minors but there are some there are some positions called Calvinism and that the tulip around Calvinism and they have theologies that are doctrines rather that support that theology and then you have Arminianism that has different sets of stuff that go in and while none of those are necessarily important a lot of those perspectives or positions was developed from this passage they built theological positions off of this but in my opinion personally we have misinterpreted the in an attempt to develop a position and we have took this because one we have taken the context out of it we have to take the context into consideration meaning doctrinal positions cannot be developed off of one passage of scripture you have to interpret scripture through scripture if one scripture supports this that's why you have to look at everything and interpret it through scripture there are doctrines that are preached in churches that are based solely around one verse but you can't do that you can't take a verse out of the Bible by itself and base something around it when other scriptures support a different view you just can't do it you have to and the context remember is the Jewish Christians casting blame to the Gentile Christians and shaming them because of their ethnic background shaming them because of the demographic of which they were and they were condemning the Gentile Christians in the church because in their mind they were newer converts even though by the time the Jewish Christians showed back up after the exile that they were excommunicated from Rome because of the the Emperor Claudius they came back decades later and so some of these Christians that they thought wasn't doing what they should have been doing in order to show that they were saved had actually been saved for over 20 years and here is the context and Paul is reminding them that hey even though they inherited the sin of Adam

because even before the law there was sin and he's talking to the Jewish Christian and he's saying hey you guys are just as guilty because sin entered the world through Adam remember remember that's what happened and he's confronting them and my intent today honestly is not to highlight doctrinal positions I'm not gonna preach Calvinism I'm not gonna preach Arminianism because we would get bogged down in the details that doesn't even matter because I'm worried about salvation and salvation alone do you have a relationship with Jesus I don't care if you believed in once saved always saved I believe in don't take the chance well I was baptized at six years old well then you better act like it because there's gonna come a day where you are held accountable for your relationship with God and you well Lord Lord I was casting out names our demons in your name I was doing all kinds of stuff I was performing for you is what that passage says and he says depart from me you are of iniquity for I never knew you and the first Adam it brought in this stuff and so my intent today is not to develop a doctrinal position or emphasize that I want to emphasize the need for Jesus because the law was established to help highlight the need for the grace of God not establish a list of rules and so it's completely different than what the first Adam gave what he gave gave into temptation and disobeyed God's direct command and therefore sin or rebellion against God as an active principle or power gained entrance into the human race that's why we revert to sin that's why we always struggle with temptation that's why we always have to fight the the temptation to lie or to dishonor or to do whatever and because of that two two results followed because of Adam sin and corruption entered Adams heart and life and became part of his being that's why whenever he sinned he automatically ran and hid and God showed back up on the scene and said Adam where are you at and he was hiding filled with shame but remember whenever we go through suffering it develops endurance endurance develops character character develops hope and hope will not put us to shame how come whenever we get involved in the sin that was introduced

to man we always revert to shame and then we get overfilled and overwhelmed with condemnation and guilt and it's the enemy trying to move through you just like he did Adam and he's trying to give you the same shame that was put on Adam and Eve when they ran why do you think they made clothes out of fig leaves so that they could cover themselves because that was the first moment why do you think if you was to stand in front of somebody naked now you would be ashamed I don't care if you are you would still be ashamed and and and it's crazy because Adam then passed on sin into the the livestream of the human race corrupting all people from then on and all humans are now born into the world with an impulse and pulled towards sin and evil and it's crazy because when we look at all of this he's highlighting that even though sin was brought into everyone so is God's gracious gift of grace and it reverses the devastating effects which means everyone is no longer the problem I am I can't blame anything on Adam I can't blame my sin nature we can't blame the the guy that was unfaithful or malicious towards us we can't blame the one who tried to hurt us and we retaliated we can't blame our upbringing on our current circumstances or our current conditions each and every single one of us have responsibility personal responsibility to turn from sin and run toward Jesus every single one of us we have to get to that because everyone else ain't the problem we are we are and the law simply established that we could not do it on our own that we had to rely on an absolute Savior that we needed a Savior and Paul was pointing out to the Jewish Christians that the system that you guys have banked so much hope in is a broken system and that's my next point that I want to talk about is a broken system you know from from my experience one being from incarceration in my own life to running the ministry that we do here at REACH and three being is involved in prison ministry that we are one thing that I have noticed is the rehabilitation system is in a state of rehabilitating by definition the system does not provide what the system was set out to provide it doesn't and it's not uncommon for someone to enter into the penal system and and come out different but not in a good way has anybody ever

seen the movie with Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell get hard I do not recommend going I was literally trying to find a one-minute clip of that movie just for it and I could not find one that could be played in the church and so I don't recommend you go watch that movie but but imagine that in real life right like you got Will Ferrell this professional individual and comes out Mayo. Mayo that was his street name from then on you know was Mayo and but imagine this in real life and what was intended to serve justice and rehabilitate criminals has actually been a disservice to society and what was supposed to take an individual and teach them right from wrong has done nothing more than establish a set of rules that draw a line between demographics when you see an individual ingrained in the system they learn maneuvers to manipulate the system and get their desired outcome it's why people go in with no plug come out with like six of them it's just the truth and it's because we've banked hope in a system that really isn't designed to save anyone the system isn't what saves people it's what identifies and reinforces what they did wrong it helps establish the recognition of good and evil it's easy for one to fake it till we make it when it's based on works work are the indicator but works don't always measure the heart it's not much different than the old system that was implemented throughout the Old Testament the system was set in place for recognition of good and evil that's why verse 20 that we read a minute ago says that God's law was given so that people could see how sinful they were that's it there was no other reason for it it intended to bring salvation it wasn't intended it was an intended to design it was by design for you to see how bad you were well thanks God because he knew that with our sin nature we wasn't recognizing that we needed a Savior and he needed to identify what it was so that we knew that we were in need of a Savior because we had to get to this place where we needed to be at so that we could see it because in these moments is what has happened in this broken system that was designed when he sent God to come or God sent Jesus to come and die on the cross for us he didn't buck the system he fulfilled it

by sending during the Passover on the Day of Atonement Jesus to be the perfect lamb that could be sacrificed because blood was the only thing for remission of sins and he sent Jesus the perfect lamb to die on the cross for remission of sins on the Day of Atonement during the Passover so that we could be redeemed and the system that was broken is now designed in a perfect capacity which does this it helps us last point to identify who we are in Christ our identity in Christ our identity in Christ Romans 5 18 through 21 yes Adams one sin brings condemnation to everyone but Christ one act of righteousness brings a right is not determined by what we do for God it's established by who we are in God it's who we are established in God Colossians 3 says this for you died to this life your life is done it's dead you have died in this life and your real life is hidden with Christ in God so that means you come out of your old life the old system the old sin nature a sin nature everything that you have and it's like you step into God and now everything that is in your circle everything that is in the people that you are around everything that encapsulates everything that has to do with you should be with Christ in God it's easy whenever you get to this mindset of looking at everything and saying hey you know what I am with Christ in God imagine Jesus sitting in the recliner in your living room watching with with what you watching that'll make it easy to determine what you watching if it's right or not oh Jesus I'm sorry that's kind of creepy in it I didn't know you was there oh he is and he's watching he's watching and for years when I followed Christ I was more concerned about what I could do for God than who I was in God but performing for God honestly left me void seeking to fulfill this God sized void in my life it left me in this moment where I wasn't sure what was taking place until I found God and and replaced him in my life in prison listen God has a way of taking you back to the place that you found him first so I'd be careful for me it was prison that's why I don't no more lock doors you hear me huh I don't lock the front door of my house no more like doors you know I'm just kidding I like it don't don't think you can come on some slick stuff

my wife has a right to carry I may not but honestly It was through six years of not being able to see my son That God rebranded this whole story of identity in my life Because I grew up in a fatherless home, I didn't have what it took I didn't understand what the love of a father really was and I would encourage you if there are men or women In here today that haven't been able to see their kids I want you to highlight this part of the story right here because this is what I want to end with because this is how You know who you are in Christ. I had to first understand the love of a father in order to understand the identity of a son and It wasn't until I Wasn't able to see my son for years That I could identify as I laid in the cell crying one day I said God why is it that I haven't been able to see my son and I could share the whole story of why I Wasn't there, but I didn't get to see my son until he was six years old And he was about two and a half at this time and I cried out and I said God How come I don't get to see my son anymore? And he said now You know what? It's like to have lost a son And it wasn't that Christ died on the cross, although that's relevant to all things in life But it was because I walked in a relationship with him for three years Got out of prison met some chick did what we shouldn't have done and ran from God because of it filled with shame and Then he brought me back to this moment And he said now, you know what? It's like to have lost a son and is what he was saying is the moment that you walked away from me is exactly How I feel right now The way that you feel about your children right now Adam is the way I felt about you when you left God and I would challenge you To begin to rest in that identity and maybe you don't have kids Maybe the longing for that loving parent that you had

Maybe you could identify with that because your identity is not found in what you do for God it is found in who you are in God and Your identity in God is not Encapsulated listen, there is nothing that could keep you away from the grace of God You have not done so much bad stuff that God would not love you. He loves you while we were yet sinners He did it when he knew that we could do nothing for him It's not everyone else. It's me I'm the problem I've got to get me, right? I've got to figure out who I am in Christ in order to glorify the one true God that needs to be glorified With my life. Amen If I could have you stand with me for just a moment