Make Room Part 2: The Gospel | Pastor Bryan Jarrett | Northplace Church

Welcome North Place Church, so glad that you joined us today. Come on, let's worship the Lord together. Yeah. ♪ Once without, dead in my sin ♪ ♪ Set free by the blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ A prisoner in chains, Your grace took my place ♪ ♪ I'm free, forever in man ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I'm free ♪ ♪ You pay the price for me ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I'm free ♪ ♪ You are my victory, come on ♪ ♪ Now through the darkness Your light makes a way ♪ ♪ There's nothing Your love cannot do ♪ ♪ Now I have a hope for my life's not my own ♪ ♪ Salvation, salvation is mine ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I'm free ♪ ♪ You pay the price for me ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I'm free ♪ ♪ You are my victory ♪ ♪ And we hold the promise of what's yet to come ♪ ♪ My Savior in heaven I'll see ♪ ♪ In fullness of glory all the redeemed ♪ ♪ Will bow down and worship the King, come on ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I'm free ♪ ♪ You pay the price for me ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I'm free ♪ ♪ You are my victory ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I'm free ♪ ♪ You pay the price for me ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I'm free ♪

♪ You are my victory ♪ Come on. ♪ Hallelujah, thank you Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, thank you Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm free, I'm free, come on ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free ♪ Amen. Thank you everybody for being here, being a part of this moment. I hope you are well and safe. Obviously we came in as a staff before the weather hit and are creating this environment, making space for the Lord to meet us in this sanctuary. But for you on Sunday morning, and so we're just praying you're safe. Our team is here. They came in on their day off. All of our staff's in the sanctuary making this moment special for you. And so we just pray you feel the presence of the Lord, you feel our love today as your spiritual family

in your living rooms or wherever you're watching from. We're praying over you that you're safe, you're cared for. We're in the chat. Our staff is manning the chat today. If you need something, you need prayer, reach out to us. We wanna be here for you. And ultimately we want you to encounter Jesus right where you are. We're gonna encounter him in this room today and create this atmosphere. But we want you to encounter him right where you are. So Lord, would you just spread the table for us? for us. This is not the way we had planned to worship this weekend. We wanted to be together. We had this incredible weekend planned and there were things that happened. We had to alter that, but Lord, we're making this moment special because no matter where we're watching from, we're together sharing this moment and I pray you're glorified and that we sense the joy of each other in this moment, but we sense your presence. Will you transform us today by our time together? In Jesus' name, amen. Come on, let's worship. Come on, wherever you're at today, can you just allow the Lord to fill the room that you're in with his presence?

And can we just magnify him today? We invite you in the room today. There's nothing like you. ♪ You chose the cross, paid the debt for me ♪ ♪ The lamb that was slain was my cover ♪ ♪ What sin separated now has no hold on me ♪ ♪ You tore the veil to sit with me ♪ ♪ Making the space build the bridge between me ♪ ♪ I'll run to your throne room, I'll worship at your feet ♪ ♪ Clear away the idols, there's nothing I want more than to be with you ♪ ♪ Than to be with you ♪ ♪ Clear away distractions, there's nothing I want more than to be with you ♪ ♪ I will make space, Lord, come and fill ♪ ♪ I will make space, Lord, come and fill ♪ ♪ So I will make space, Lord, come and fill ♪ ♪ I will make space, Lord, come and fill ♪ ♪ A simple desire to be where you are, it's what we want ♪ ♪ You tore the veil just to be with me ♪ ♪ Making the space build the bridge between me ♪ ♪ I'll run to your throne room, I'll worship at your feet ♪ ♪ I'll run to your throne room, I'll worship at your feet ♪ ♪ I will make space, Lord, come and fill it ♪ ♪ You are not distant, you are never far ♪ ♪ It's not about status, performance, perfection ♪ ♪ It's a simple desire to be where you are ♪ ♪ So I will make space, Lord, come and fill it ♪ ♪ You are not distant, you are never far ♪ ♪ It's not about status, performance, perfection ♪ ♪ It's a simple desire to be where you are ♪ ♪ That's what we want, joy to be where you are ♪

♪ It's what we want ♪ ♪ There's nothing that I'd be willing to keep ♪ ♪ That would take your place ♪ ♪ I'm making the room, would you come and take over ♪ ♪ Your rightful place ♪ Come on, can we make that a prayer today? ♪ There's nothing that I'd be willing to keep ♪ ♪ That would take your place ♪ ♪ I'm making the room, would you come and take over ♪ ♪ Your rightful place ♪ ♪ Hey, there's nothing that I'd be willing to keep ♪ ♪ That would take your place ♪ ♪ I'm making the room, would you come and take over ♪ ♪ Your rightful place ♪ ♪ There's nothing that I'd be willing to keep ♪ ♪ That would take your place ♪ ♪ I'm making the room, would you come and take over ♪ ♪ Your rightful place ♪ ♪ Hands lifted high, my heart surrendered ♪ ♪ Jesus, be not denied ♪ ♪ All I want, all I want, all I want, all I want is yours ♪ ♪ O, come and take over, come and take over, come and take over ♪ ♪ Come and take over, come and take over, come and take over ♪ ♪ Come and take over, come and take over, come and take over ♪ ♪ Come and take over, come and take over, come and take over, come and take over ♪ ♪ Come and take over, come and take over, come and take over, come and take over ♪ ♪ So I will make space, Lord, come and fill it ♪ ♪ You are not distant, You are never far ♪ ♪ It's not about status, performance, perfection ♪ ♪ It's a simple desire to be where You are ♪

♪ So I will make space, Lord, come and fill it ♪ ♪ I will make space, Lord, come and fill it ♪ ♪ You are more and more with me ♪ ♪ You're making a way ♪ ♪ Come do what only You can do ♪ Jesus, we make space for You, Lord. Jesus, we make space for You, Lord. We put our trust and our hope in You for You are our firm foundation. Come on, let's just continue to lift up the name of Jesus. We sing blessed assurance. ♪ Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine ♪ ♪ He's been my fourth man in the fire time after time ♪ ♪ Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood ♪ ♪ And what He did for me on Calvary's more than enough ♪ ♪ So I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ Perfect submission, all is at rest ♪ ♪ I know the author of tomorrow has ordered my steps ♪ ♪ So this is my story, this is my song ♪ ♪ I'm praising my risen King and Savior all the day long ♪ ♪ I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ Wherever you are this morning, there's a God who sees you, a God who knows you. So whatever you need right now,

you can put your trust in Jesus as you call on His name this morning. Come on, let's just sing together, I sought the Lord and He heard me. Come on. ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered me ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered me ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him ♪ ♪ God, my Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ Oh, He'll never fail, oh, I trust, I trust in God ♪ ♪ I trust, I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail, I sought the Lord, I sought the Lord ♪ ♪ And He heard and He answered, I sought the Lord, He heard and He answered me ♪ ♪ And He heard and He answered, I sought the Lord, He heard and He answered me ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him, I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered me ♪ ♪ And He heard and He answered, I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered me ♪ ♪ And He heard and He answered, that's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him ♪

♪ There's no weight on the Lord, He will renew your strength ♪ Come on let's sing I trust. ♪ I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail, He will never fail ♪ ♪ I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail, He will never fail ♪ ♪ You have never failed, You have never failed ♪ We are in the middle of a conversation that we started last week where we're diving into the biblical concept of honor. And we're trying to drive this concept deep into the heart of our church, from kids and youth and young adults, every, every aspect of our church. This is the second part of an introduction to that study. Next week is when the real journey will start, so you're not behind, you're right on time. We'll be launching our groups next week. And here's how you can make the most of this journey. First, commit to attend the series. There's not a lot of things in life we can control. We can control our own spiritual growth and development. So commit to take control of that. Be in church every Sunday of this series and commit to your own spiritual growth. Secondly, get a guide. The guide is an eight-week devotional guide where you focus on the Word of God around these principles. And we want you to use the first couple weeks, the introductions as getting familiar with the information personally. But beyond that, we want you to connect the last six weeks of that guide. All eight weeks are in that devotional guide, but the last six weeks are meant to be spent in a group setting. They're available for you and will be in the lobby of every campus for the next several weeks. Attend the series, get a guide, finally join a group.

It's the way Christian people have grown since the times of Jesus. Study the Bible and pray privately and personally, but also gather in groups. We share together, we process together, we pray together, and it increases our ability to grow spiritually. It's the way the early church did it. They met in the temple weekly, and then they met from house to house. And there was something supernatural about that model because we read in the book of Acts that God was adding to their number daily those who were being saved. The groups that we're making available to you through our online catalog and at our group connects, those groups are led by people that we've vetted and that we've trained. But if you wanna lead a group at work or some other place where people are more connected to you maybe than they are our church, then get the guides. Start a group. Wherever there are people willing to sit down and study this with you. Everything you need in the series besides the guides are available at northplacechurch.com forward slash make room. If you weren't able to be with us last week, I really encourage you to go back and listen to intro part one of this series because we're learning how to make more room in our lives

for God and for people. We're learning how to enlarge the bottom of the funnel like we talked about last week. Learning how to increase our capacity for God which empowers us to love people at a whole different level. We've called this spiritual emphasis moment make room but the subtitle is key. An open heaven for an honoring heart. Honor is the key to more of God. Honor is the key to an open heaven. Honor is the key to the church impacting the world for Jesus. And last week we saw how understanding our identity impacts the way that we show and experience honor. Understanding the image of God on you and on others impacts the way you relate to God, the way you relate to yourself and the way you relate to everybody else. Your identity being created in the image of God is a foundational piece to understanding biblical honor. We're gonna talk about another foundational piece of honor today. There's a conversation that most people in modern American culture don't mind having. They don't mind the conversation about grace. We like help, we like encouragement, we like the idea that God is for us but there's another conversation we like to avoid. It's the conversation about God's law,

about his holiness, about his righteousness, about his judgment for sin. We live in a don't tread on me culture. We are self-affirming and we want everybody else to join us in that affirmation. But the moment we're criticized or confronted or challenged something rises up in us, fear, insecurity, shame and it makes us defensive. And sometimes people don't just tune out when you confront them, they literally get up and walk out, like literally. If I'm preaching a sermon on grace and talking about how far God will go to forgive you and have mercy on you, people will sit through the whole sermon but every time, every time I confront sin and I describe the holiness of God and the righteous standards that God expects from his people, somebody literally gets up and walks out. Why? Because our culture wants to be confronted, our culture wants to be comforted but it can't take being confronted. It's the day we live in. And to be honest, that's human nature. It all started with Adam and Eve. The minute God called Adam and Eve out for their sin, they felt shame and what did they do? They ran and they hid, wanted to be comforted, they didn't want to be confronted.

fronted, people are still doing the same thing today. Let's look at this for a minute under these three concepts, law, gospel, and the human heart. The Bible has always been held together by the tension of law and gospel. Because God is supremely holy, his law reflects his nature. It names what's wrong, it sets the standard, it marks out the boundaries for us. It is the law of God that helps us see just how far below his holy standards we actually are. The law of God exposes us. But the gospel is the good news announcing what God has done about our situation. The gospel announces that Christ has come not to lower or change God's standards, but to clothe us in his righteousness and raise us to God's standard. The law reveals the problem. The gospel delivers the solution. But here's the challenge for us in this cultural moment. We live in a culture of radical autonomy where people say, you, God, the Bible, nobody has the right to confront what you believe is wrong with me. So telling somebody they need to repent for their sins is like death. Conviction feels like an attack. To be told that holiness is required feels like rejection. Yet scripture is clear, we cannot receive healing for what we refuse to name.

The law does not exist to shame us. It exists to expose the truth about us. And the truth is the only thing that will set us free. And telling us the truth of law while holding it all together with the promise of the gospel is the most loving thing God can do for us. When God lovingly confronts us with his law to help open our eyes for our need for his grace, instead of responding to it and repenting, our shame deep in our nature leads us to fight back against it. There are three typical ways we respond to shame. And there are three biblical images that illustrate each one of those responses. The images are this, fig leaves, goat skins, and filthy rags. When Adam and Eve fell and sin entered the world, it exposed this innate desire in the human race for approval. But here's the biggest danger. When you're full of shame and have this deep need for approval, you start looking for coverings to hide your shame. That's what fig leaves and goat skins and filthy rags are. They are coverings. They are the ineffective attempts to hide our shame. But we still try. Fig leaves, the ineffective covering of hiding. The very next verse, after Adam and Eve sin, sin comes into the world,

and they eat from the forbidden tree. This is what it says in Genesis 3, 7. At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Trying to keep God's approval after their sin, Adam and Eve cover themselves with these leaves. It's a common tactic we're still trying today. We think maybe if I keep my flaws hidden from people or I run and hide from God, I can somehow keep or earn God's approval or keep or earn people's approval. So we hide. We don't open up in conversation. We avoid being transparent because we're afraid of anybody to know the real us. If they do, we're afraid they won't accept us. But unfortunately, as Adam and Eve discovered, this path to approval falls apart the minute you're exposed. And inevitably, every one of us is gonna get exposed at some point in our life. Fig leaves are not the covering we need. They can't heal our shame. They can't forgive our sin, and they cannot protect us from being found out. Two goatskins, the ineffective covering of pretending. If hiding is trying not to be seen, pretending is trying to be seen, but be seen as someone better or different than you actually are.

Just a few chapters later in Genesis, there's another human attempt to seek approval and cover shame. Genesis 27, verse 14 and 16, it says, so Jacob went out. and got the young goats for his mother. Rebecca took them and prepared a delicious meal just the way Isaac liked. She covered Jacob's arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. Jacob wanted his father's blessing, but he doesn't think he can get a blessing as himself, so he pretends to be his brother Esau by wearing goat skin. While most of us have never donned goat skin to try to pass ourselves off as a hairy sibling, we all often portray ourself as someone better than we are. And we do this every time we touch up our social media photos or change our personality or exaggerate our achievements or downplay our failures. Unfortunately, as Jacob discovered, pretending only leads to fear and pain. We constantly worry about being found out and we expend copious amounts of energy to try to maintain an image, and we don't experience the freedom of living as the people God created us to be. Pretending is exhausting. There's the covering of hiding, the covering of pretending, and if none of that works for us, here's the third strategy, filthy rags,

the ineffective covering of trying harder. This is probably our favorite approval-seeking, shame-hiding technique, just try harder. We think things like, maybe if I try harder, God will approve of me. Maybe if I clean my act up just a little bit, I'll be accepted. Maybe if I do a few more good deeds, God will bless me. Unfortunately, this isn't any better than Adam's fig leaves or Jacob's goat skins. As the prophet Isaiah points out to us, dressing ourselves up in our own righteousness is the equivalent of dressing in filthy rags. Isaiah 64, verse six. We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Listen to this, they are like autumn leaves. We wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind. Trying to impress God with good works is like trying to impress a king with soiled garments. Not only is this a fruitless endeavor, it will actually damage your wellbeing. As Isaiah says, when you try to clothe yourself with your own righteousness, you will wither like a leaf in the fall, and eventually, after all your countless attempts of trying harder, inevitably, you're gonna break down, you're gonna wear out, and you're gonna be swept away.

But underneath all of these ineffective strategy is still a real craving for approval. And listen, surprisingly, Scripture doesn't condemn the human desire for approval. Listen to this, our longing for approval is actually a longing for righteousness, a longing to hear you are pleasing, you are accepted, you are enough. The problem isn't the desire. The problem is where we look to satisfy that desire. From the beginning, God refused to let fig leaves be the final word. With all the traumatic stuff that goes on around the fall and Genesis, early part of Genesis, it's easy for us to skip over a very simple but meaningful verse. It's prophetic, it's foreshadowing. It says in Genesis 3, 21, and the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. To get that kind of covering, something had to die. To get that kind of covering, blood had to be shed. That is an Old Testament hint that is pointing us to the gospel, whether it is hiding, pretending, or trying harder. Fig leaves, goat skins, or filthy rags, none of our self-made coverings will ever work to heal us or earn God's approval for us. But God does offer another kind of covering, a lasting one, a transformational one.

The gospel says we can be covered and clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Isaiah describes it this way in Isaiah 61. I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God, for he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in the robe of righteousness. This is the only covering presented in the Bible that has absolutely nothing to do with your effort, your ingenuity, or your worthiness. Tim Keller said it this way, the gospel is not you putting together a righteousness and giving it away. to God. The gospel is God putting together a righteousness and giving it to you. And only by clothing ourselves in this righteousness, the righteousness of Christ, do we attain the approval that our heart so desperately craves. Jesus took our sin-stained, soiled, dirty garments and he put them on himself. And when he allowed himself to be nailed to that cross, he made it possible now for us to be dressed and clothed and covered in his spotless robes. We often hear this referred to as the great exchange. Listen to how Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians 5, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. When you put your faith in the sacrificial work of Christ, this is the exchanged promise in the gospel. Our sin is replaced with or covered by his righteousness. Our shame is replaced with or covered by his honor. His rejection becomes our adoption. His exposure becomes our covering. That is the great exchange of the gospel. Think about the prodigal son in Luke 15. He shamefully blows it. And at the lowest point of his life, he says to himself, I'm just going to go home, but I'm so dishonorable, I'm not even worthy to be a son anymore. I'll just try to be one of my father's servants because his servants live a better life than I am right now. So he rehearses his speech and starts his journey home and he plans to earn his way back. He expects shame and humiliation that comes with failure. He knows he deserves it. But instead, when he walks into the gate of the father's house, the father saw him while he was a long ways off and in grace,

he comes toward his son running, the Bible says, and he embraces him with grace. He puts a new robe on his back, a new ring on his finger and new sandals on his feet. This is a central story of Jesus about the gospel. And what you have to know that the story of the prodigal son is not about a failure being put on probation. It's the story of a sinner experiencing total and complete restoration. And that's the promise of the gospel to us, not probation, restoration. You might be saying to me right now, pastor, this is all well and good. And my heart is stirred by the beauty of the gospel. But what does any of this have to do with the concept of honor? Don't you get it? If you'll, if you, you'll never grasp the concept of biblical honor without grasping the gospel, because the essence of the gospel is this. The most honorable person that ever lived, willingly chose dishonor and humiliation to raise you up and restore your honor. He gave up his dignity to restore yours. Both Psalm 8 and Hebrews 2 tell us that God has quote, crowned us with glory and honor. But that's only possible because Jesus allowed himself to become a mocked and dishonored king. Listen to how Paul describes it in Philippians 2. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up, he gave up his divine privileges and he took, he took, it's his choice. He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. Not just death, death on a cross. The most shame-saturated execution the Roman Empire could devise. Crucifixion in the Roman Empire was designed to erase a person's social worth. It was public, everyone could see it. It was being publicly naked, stripping somebody of every shred of dignity. It was mocking, soldiers and crowds hurled insults. The whole point of crucifixion was humiliation. The whole point was to say to the person being crucified, collectively, the community said, you are worthless, you are nothing, you deserve this. And Jesus, the one who deserved all of it, All honor subjected himself to this. He was spat upon, he was beaten, he was mocked with the crown of thorns and a purple robe, and they put this sign above his head that says the King of the Jews to dishonor him and humiliate him as a king.

But in that moment of mockery and humiliation, Jesus was absorbing every ounce of shame the human race could leap up on him. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about it centuries before it happened when he said this in Isaiah 53, he was despised and rejected. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised and we did not care. No one worthy of such honor has ever been treated so dishonorably. And yet this is the part that wrecks me. The dishonor was voluntary, he chose it. Hebrews 12, two said, for the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame. You know what his joy was? Spending eternity with you. The opportunity for me to have a choice between heaven and hell, life or death, Jesus or not. That was the joy set before him, a relationship with me, a relationship with you. Jesus didn't avoid the shame, he faced it. He exhausted it, he absorbed every ounce of it so that we would never have to bear it again. But don't overlook what the next verse of that passage in Philippians says. We read it a moment ago, stopped at about verse eight. I don't want you to miss what verse nine says because what was intended to be mockery and humiliation, God actually turned into a coronation. And it wasn't just the coronation of Jesus.

When God raised Jesus up and restored his honor, Jesus brought you up with him and has crowned you with glory and honor. Philippians two, verse nine, therefore God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. You have to get this. This is the essence of this entire conversation. You can't truly reflect honor until you have understood and experienced the gospel. You can't give honor until you have rested in it. And you can't rest in it until you rest in the grace and the honor that has been bestowed upon you. You remember that moment when Jesus washed the disciples' feet? There's something important you can't miss here. In John 13, it says, this is the moment right before he washes their feet, Jesus knew, he knew, Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority and everything that he had, and that he had come from God and would return to God. Jesus knew his place, his position, his relationship with the Father, there was a security, Jesus knew. So it says in verse four, he got up,

because he knew the place, the position, the security, so because of that, he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, poured water in the basin, then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. He was able to show honor because he knew. He was resting in the place, the position, the identity that the Father had given him, and this knowing, this security is what empowered his show of honor to others. An honoring heart is not powered by obligation, it is powered by the recognition of grace. The more deeply someone understands and receives the gospel, the more free they are to give honor. When you fully grasp what God has given up and how dishonored he was for the sole purpose of restoring you, then you can truly foster a heart that bestows that same kind of grace and honor toward others. Now, there's a lot of implications around what we're talking about today, but let me just give you some practical steps like you can act on right now. First, name your ineffective covering. What are you wearing today? Are you still trying to cover yourself in fig leaves, hiding and hoping that no one will ever?

Discover the real you? Are you wearing goatskins, pretending, performing and exhausting yourself trying to maintain an image that's not the real you? Or are you dressed in filthy rags, trying harder, doing more, hoping that if you just clean up a little bit, God will finally approve of you? Or do you understand the gospel? Are you clothed in the robes of the righteousness of Christ? Jesus is inviting you to stop hiding from him and start hiding in him. He's the righteousness you need. And if you put your trust in him, the same words the father spoke over him, he will speak over you. This is my beloved son. This is my beloved daughter in whom I am well pleased. That's the approval your heart long for. Second thing you can do right now, receive the robe of his righteousness. And not just right now, but over the next few days. Keep reminding yourself that because of Christ, you are fully known and yet still fully loved and covered and accepted. If you have to write it down somewhere and pin it to something that is visible and so you can see it because of Jesus, I am fully known and yet fully loved, fully covered, fully accepted.

Let the gospel speak louder than your shame. Third, you can practice honor right now. Make it a priority today and over the next few days to bestow dignity and honor to somebody else. And it may be as simple as maintaining eye contact or being more patient or really listening, not trying to listen to respond, but really hearing somebody's heart. That's honor. It could be as significant as sharing your faith or doing something meaningful for somebody that would never have the resources to return the favor. Because you have received grace you don't deserve, you can give it away. Here's what I know. The cross redefines honor. The cross doesn't just save us, it redefines what honor means. The world says honor is strength, success, status, reputation. It's never admitting weakness. It's climbing the ladder. It's making sure everybody knows your worth. But the cross says something radically different. The cross says true honor moves downward before it moves upward. The cross says honor is found in humility and service and laying down your life for others. The cross says the most honorable act in human history was God becoming a servant and dying a criminal's death.

Paul says in Colossians, he says it this way, in having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. The cross reversed the spectacle. What looked like Jesus being shamed was actually evil being exposed. What looked like defeat was actually victory. And now because of the cross, we live differently. We don't have to protect our image. We don't have to hide our failures. We don't have to pretend we're somebody we're not. We don't have to earn our worth. We've been given worth. We've been clothed in righteousness. We've been honored by the God of the universe. And from that place, from that secure gospel drenched identity, we get to extend that kind of honor to everybody we meet. The cross is God's declaration that your worst moments don't get to have the final word over your life. I don't know where you are today listening to me, but I can't preach this kind of message and not give somebody a simple opportunity to respond. Quit wearing the fig leaves. Quit putting on the goat skins. Quit trying to do it on your own with filthy rags. It just, it'll never satisfy. Your heart longs for the approval of God. And that approval comes through Jesus.

And it starts with humility. I need you, Lord. So whether you're sitting in a living room today or you're watching me in a cell block somewhere, because tens of thousands of you do in correctional facilities across this country, it's just a simple prayer. I stumbled into church drunk. And a simple prayer like this while I was trying to sober up changed the course of my life. And it can change yours. Right where you are, pray this with me. Dear Jesus, I give you my life. I surrender everything to you. I confess. My need for you, I can't do this on my own. I can't cover it with hiding. I can't cover it with pretending. I can't cover it with religious works. It's not enough. I need you, Jesus. Would you come into my life? Would you fill me with your spirit? Would you cleanse me, wash me, cover me, clothe me in your righteousness so that I can stand before a holy God? Today is the first day of the rest of my life, Lord, and I give it to you. I take the crown off my own head. I'm not gonna try to be the king.

And I put the crown on your head. I want you to be the king of my heart, the king of my life. And I pledge and commit from this day forward, I will serve you with my whole heart. Jesus, I give you all of me. In Jesus' name, amen. I promise you he will give you all of him. He has. And if you're not where you can get to a North Place campus, you get somewhere that will help you grow in the decision that you've just made to follow Jesus Christ. Get in a church that believes Jesus is king and preaches the word and grow in your faith. I want us to do something today before we log off and go on about our day. We're gonna come back to one of those worship songs we sang a moment ago. We're gonna make space for God. I'm gonna speak a blessing over your life, and then we're just gonna sit in this moment for a moment and make space for God to apply this word to our hearts and our homes. Lord, will you bless them and keep them? Will you make your face shine down upon them? Will you be gracious to them? Will you turn your countenance their direction? And will you give them peace? In Jesus' name, amen.