Stop Trying to Earn God's Approval (Do This Instead)

Hey, we're Todd and Julie Mullins, Senior Pastors here at Christ Fellowship Church, and we're so glad that you're tuning in for service today. Yeah, Christ Fellowship is one church that meets in lots of different locations, including right here with you. Yeah, and our prayer for you today is that you would sense God's love for you. See, I don't personally know all that you're going through today and what you're up against, but God does. And He hears your prayers, and He knows your name, and He's right here for you today as you call out to Him. Yeah, thanks again for joining with us today. We love you, and we're praying for you. Come on, welcome to church. If you're not already on your feet, stand up. We're going to lift up the name above every other name. Let's praise Him. Oh, yeah. Oh, we lift you high. Come on, let's sing together. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And I'll praise when I don't. I'll praise because I know. My praise is a weapon. It's more than a sound. Yeah. We sing as long as I'm breathing. I've got a reason to. Yeah, I'm gonna. Oh, I won't be quiet. My God is alive.

How could I keep it inside? Oh. Oh, church, you've got so many reasons. Oh, lift your voice. Oh. ♪ You raise Him, there's nobody greater than You ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, oh God's children ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, oh God, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, lift it up, yeah ♪ ♪ Lift it up, yeah, praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ I won't be quiet, I won't be quiet, my God is alive ♪ ♪ How could I keep inside, I won't be quiet, I won't be quiet ♪ ♪ My God is alive, how could I keep inside, no ♪ ♪ I won't be quiet, my God is alive, how could I keep inside ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, oh let everything, let everything, let everything say that I pray ♪ ♪ Oh praise the Lord, oh praise the Lord, let everything, let everything say that I pray ♪ ♪ Oh, is your God great, praise the Lord, praise, praise the Lord ♪ Oh, welcome to church. We can't be quiet. We can't keep inside all that the Lord has done for us. I love Psalms 103. It says, for as far as the heavens are from the earth, so great is his everlasting love, his unconditional, his steadfast love towards us. And as far as the east is from the west, so far he has removed our sins and our iniquities from us. Come on, we are a blessed people. We can praise the Lord today. Oh, welcome to church. My name is Blessed.

If we haven't gotten a chance to meet yet and whether you're watching online like my grandparents or you are in the room, we're so glad you're here. We would not be the church without you. It's Baptism Sunday and we get to celebrate what God is doing in our church. Baptism is simply us telling the world, hey, we belong to Jesus. And we have a couple of people from our church family making that declaration of faith. So as they come up out of the water, let's cheer them on. Pastor Lewis, can you introduce us to who is getting baptized today? Come on, y'all are ready to cheer on Ava who is getting baptized today. Ava, would you share a little bit? This is your church family. Would you share why you're getting baptized? Hello, everybody. I'm getting baptized because I was baptized at birth, but I didn't really know what that meant. I was quite young. And I, over the years, over the years, I struggled in my childhood. I overcame a lot of difficulties and that got passed into my teenage years. And I kind of let the devil speak to me with those lies and believe them. And as I grew into my faith at Palm Beach Atlantic University,

I actually met my best friend who is right there. And she, she helped me so much with my faith. And I am so blessed to come to know Jesus and to give Him my life. And I stepped and I was called to baptism today. And I'm just so grateful. Let's go. I love it. God is doing a great work in your life, Ava. And this is the celebration. It's not the end. It's just the start of all that God is gonna do in your life. So, as a church family, it is our honor to baptize you today in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, buried in the likeness of His dead. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ♪ Dead things come alive ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I know a name ♪ ♪ That can silence glory waves I know a name ♪ ♪ That can empty out the grave I know a name ♪ ♪ It's the only name that saves ♪ ♪ And it's worthy of all praise I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you healer, risen Savior ♪ ♪ It's been raining in power ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you Savior ♪ ♪ Worthy of glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name ♪ ♪ I have the key, yes I do ♪ ♪ With the light of the dead, he holds the key ♪ ♪ In his holiness our heads, he is the key ♪ ♪ Heaven's crushed the serpent's head ♪ ♪ Our resurrected King I am ♪ ♪ I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you healer ♪ ♪ It's been raining in power ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus ♪

♪ I call you, I call you Savior ♪ ♪ Worthy of glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name ♪ ♪ Chains break, dry bones wake ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name ♪ ♪ The gates of hell shake ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name ♪ ♪ Chains break, dry bones wake ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name ♪ ♪ The gates of hell shake ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive, dead things come alive ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive, dead things come alive ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive, dead things come alive ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive, dead things come alive ♪ ♪ Dead things come alive in the name of God ♪ ♪ I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you king ♪ ♪ Risen and reigning in power ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus, I call you, I call you savior ♪ ♪ We'll be your glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, oh yes ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, yes it's the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ There is power in the name, Jesus ♪

♪ There is healing in his name, Jesus ♪ ♪ So we call on the name, Jesus, oh yes ♪ ♪ Chains break, tribals wake ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, the gates of hell shake ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, chains break, tribals wake ♪ ♪ Tribals wake, every time I call your name, the gates of hell shake ♪ ♪ Every time I call you, Jesus, I call you, I call you healer ♪ ♪ Raising and raising power, something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave, every time I call you, Jesus, I call you, I call you savior, worthy of glory forever, something comes out of the grave, every time I call your name, oh yeah ♪ I love the song what a friend it says oh what needless pain we bear all because we do not carry it to the Lord in prayer and as we singing every time I call your name chains break dry bones come alive in the name of Jesus there is power in the name of Jesus and I want to give us an opportunity to call on the name of Jesus I don't know what you're carrying today you maybe haven't felt the presence of God in a while he's in the room where two or three are gathered in his name he's promised us he is right here right now we can call on his name for those who need peace there is peace in the name of Jesus if you need hope there is hope in the name of Jesus everything is found in the name of Jesus and as a church I want us to call on his name not just sing the song but to actually take a moment to say God we need you use your own words God we call on your name but I need your strength it's gonna have a Salem moment call on his name Church whatever you need he has call on his name Lord we call on your name it's the name above every other name you everything bows to the name of Jesus Oh his name is Jesus his name is she his name is fee oh poor

Oh Oh hope is found in the name of Jesus desire to please in the name of Jesus I find strength in the name of Jesus we're saved by the name of Jesus we call on the name of Jesus oh his name is Jesus your name is Jesus your name is the highest your name is the greatest your name stands above them all come on we worship all thrones and dominions all powers and positions your name stands above them all sing your name your name is the highest your name is the greatest your name stands above them all come on we worship all thrones and dominions all powers and positions your name stands above them all and the angels cry holy our creation cries holy you are lifted up holy holy forever if you've been forgiven

if you've been redeemed sing this song forever and if you walk in freedom and if you bear his name sing your name ♪ A song forever to the land ♪ ♪ And sing a song forever and amen ♪ ♪ And the angels cry ♪ ♪ Holy, all creation cries ♪ ♪ Holy, you are lifted high ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Hear your people sing ♪ ♪ Holy, to the king of kings ♪ ♪ Holy, you will always be ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ You are holy, holy ♪ ♪ Are you Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ You are holy, holy, holy, holy God ♪ ♪ You are holy, holy, holy, holy God ♪ ♪ Are you Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ You are holy, holy ♪ ♪ Are you Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ You are holy, holy, holy, holy, holy God ♪ That's the song of heaven. Holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. So grateful for our time of worship church. Hey, we are a church that is after the heart for the one.

And we wanna continue to make space for people to encounter the presence of Jesus. Before you have a seat, turn to a couple of people, say hi and check out what God is doing down at our Boca campus. Love you church. Hey, Pastor Rob here and I'm at the home of our future Boca Raton campus. Just a few weeks ago, right here at our Boca campus, we celebrated our largest Sunday that we've ever had with over 1,000 people joining us for Sunday services. And this space right here in our new building is gonna allow us to hold over 1,100 people through services. And this is just an incredible space that's gonna allow us to reach more people, reach the one that we're called to reach here in Boca. I wish I could tell you all the stories, stories like Matt who just a few weeks ago after walking through our door, She could tell you about Zoe who one of our incredible students who's not only leading on Sundays and Wednesdays and throughout the week, but is also bringing the gospel message right into her school through First Priority. Or I can even tell you about Faith who after several years away from church, stepped back into church for the very first time and found hope and healing and everything that she needed in Jesus

and is now pouring back into our church family through serving on our dream team. And that is just amazing. That is just a few of the stories of the incredible work that God is doing here in Boca. And it is only possible because of our generosity together. And we just wanna say thank you for what we get to do together. Come on all across all of our locations. Let's make some noise for our Boca campus. Man, we're excited about what God is already doing there and what he's getting ready to do as we work towards opening this brand new space. Come on, how many of you have been to Boca? How many of you have been to Boca? It's a brand new space. Come on, how many of you know it's not a building? It's a lighthouse in Jesus name. And we believe that we're gonna reach just one more as we go after the one. Well, if you've been with us the last couple of weeks, you know that we've been asking the question, who is God? Who is God? Why? Because how we answer this question, it actually determines everything about you. How you answer this one question, it determines everything about us. Think about it.

How I answer the question, who is God? It determines how I pray. It shapes how I parent, how we answer this question, who is God? It shapes how we love, how we lead. It even shapes how we suffer, how we see ourselves. How we answer this question, who is God, determines absolutely everything about us. In fact, as A.W. Tozer once famously said, what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Why? Because what I believe, whether I like it or not, determines how I behave. What I believe determines how I behave. And if I believe, as an example, that God is distant, then I might live anxious or fearful. If I believe that God is harsh or disappointed in me, then I might live with shame or regret. If I believe that God is unloving, then I might spend my entire life trying to earn his approval. But if I understand who God is, who God really is, is, man, it changes absolutely everything. Because here's the truth. Misunderstanding the character of God is actually catastrophic. When we misunderstand the character of God, it is catastrophic for our lives. But here's the good news.

God has not left us to guess about what he's really like. He hasn't left us to guess about what he's really like. We don't have to wonder about what God is like. He has made himself known to us. In fact, throughout all of human history, God has been trying to reveal himself to us. It's why he's given us his written word. He's trying to reveal himself to us. It's why he sent his one and only son, Jesus, because he's trying to reveal himself to us. In fact, it's the very reason that you're sitting in your seat right now. Because you have a heavenly father who longs for you to know him. And that's why over the last few weeks, we've been digging into God's word, and we've been studying some of his names in scripture, some of the names of God. Why? Because here's what we know. His names reveal his nature. His names reveal his nature. It's one of the ways that he has made himself plain to us. It's one of the ways that he communicates his character. His names reveal his nature. They help us to understand who God is and what he's really all about. And I love the scripture that we've been reading in Isaiah chapter 52, verse six, where God says this, I will reveal my name to my people,

and they will come to know its power. So there's power when we understand the names of God, because they reveal to us the nature of God. And when we understand who he really is, it changes everything. Because remember, as pastor has told us over the last couple of weeks, God is not just a doctrine to be studied, he is a person to be known. And I've talked to many people who over the last three or four weeks have been digging into these names and digging into these scriptures, and the truth is, it just changes everything. Even if you just think about only, we've only scratched the surface, but if you just think about the names that we've gone over, we started with Elohim, right? All the way back in the book of Genesis, that God is the almighty, all-powerful creator. When we understand that God is all-powerful, man, it changes everything. And I love that in that very same week, we talked not just about the first name that God gives himself, but the first name someone gives to God, and it's the name El Roy, the God who sees me, the God who sees. But because we want to understand that God is not just powerful, but he's personal.

Because the truth is that if God is like all-knowing and all-powerful and all-present, but he's not all-loving, he's not all-good, we should be terrified of him. But in reality, he's the God who sees me. He's both powerful and he's personal. We talked about how he is Jehovah-Nissi, he is my banner of victory, right? We understand that God is all-knowing. God is with us, He is for us, He is in us, and man, that changes the way I approach every situation and circumstance. We talked about last week how He is Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord is my provider, that even in moments in life when all hope seems lost and there seems to be only one way forward, God is lovingly looking for a way to provide for His people. And if we live with open hands, man, we can receive everything that's in God's heart for us. And so this week, what I wanna talk about is a name of God that will absolutely change your life. It changed my life. Beginning to understand this name of God that we see all the way back in the book of Jeremiah, and it's this name, it's Jehovah Sidkenu. So here's your vocabulary lesson for this week, Jehovah Sidkenu, it means this, it means the Lord is our righteousness. The Lord is our righteousness. And this is a name of God that maybe you haven't heard

before, maybe it's talked about a little less often. And I think in some ways, the enemy of our souls is trying to keep us from understanding this part of God's character, His heart, His nature, this name, Jehovah Sidkenu, it means the Lord is our righteousness. Now, the first time we read this name, as I mentioned, is in the book of Jeremiah chapter 23. And I want you to see this scripture this morning. Here's where we read this name. Jeremiah the prophet says this, for the time is coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David's line, He will be a king who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and what is right throughout the land, and this will be His name. The Lord is our righteousness. The Lord is our righteousness, Jehovah Sidkenu. Now, in order to understand this passage of scripture, we have to talk about what it meant back then and what it means for us today, what it means back then and what it means now. So we need to understand that Jeremiah is a prophet, and this prophet lived about 600 years before Jesus. And he's not writing this kind of during a period of maybe peace or prosperity, but rather, Jeremiah is speaking these words at a time of political collapse, where everything seems uncertain.

He's speaking these words at a time of spiritual corruption. Where even their leaders cannot be looked to as examples of what it means to be a person of God. He's speaking these words at a time of national crisis. And so in this moment, the people of Judah have had a long history of devastating leadership. If you know kind of the story of the Old Testament, you might remember that there was a time where the people so longed to see God that they were like, man, just give us a king because a king we can see and a king we can follow. And the prophets of the day were like, no, no, no, that's a really, really bad idea. You don't want a king. And yet they got a king. And what they had in their history was a long series of very, very bad kings. And every once in a while, they would get a good king. But at this moment, when Jeremiah speaks these words, they've had a long line of experiencing these kings who had this devastating leadership. They abandoned God's law and they led the nation into idolatry and injustice. And so it's in the middle of all of that chaos that God speaks a word of hope through Jeremiah. It's in the midst of all of that upheaval and all of that uncertainty, the prophet of God has a word of hope from the Lord to his people. And here's what he promises.

He said, I know you've had a lot of bad kings, but man, there is coming a day when the Lord will raise up a new kind of king. He will be from the righteous branch of King David. This king that's coming, he will reign wisely. He'll administer justice and he will bring salvation to his people. And his very name will be called Jehovah Sidkenu. The Lord is our righteousness. Now this name of God actually reveals something profound about his nature. Because Jehovah Sidkenu is not merely a title. It's actually a declaration. And here's what it actually communicates to us. It tells us that righteousness is not something we achieve. It's something we receive. receive. Righteousness is not something we achieve, it's something we receive and y'all let me tell you this is good news. I am NOT my righteousness. The Lord is my righteousness and so many times if we're honest we can kind of adopt this mentality in our faith like oh if I'm just good enough or if I just do enough things or if I sort of do this do these things and don't do these things that I can somehow achieve righteousness but the good news that's revealed through this name about God's nature and ours is that righteousness is not something we achieve it's something we receive. The Lord is our righteousness. When I was growing up I I had this mentality that my my worth or my value was based on my accomplishments. I had this idea like the better my grades were or the better I performed on the field like that that is what gave me worth and and value and I felt like that was something I had to achieve and and when I came to know the Lord in middle school I brought a lot of that over into my relationship with the Lord and I felt like man if I'm just if I'm good enough or I go to church

enough or I serve enough or I give enough or I do enough that then then maybe I'll be righteous and I had this mentality that it was something that I achieved but the truth is that righteousness is something we receive it cannot be internal it has to be external it's actually something that has to be given to us. I think righteousness is a very misunderstood concept in our world today because when you hear the word righteous for many it's mistaken for this kind of like moral superiority or religious performance or just trying harder to be a better person. That's that's self-righteousness and what we can understand through this name is that there's no such thing as self-righteousness because it's not something I achieve it's something I I receive so my right standing with the God of the universe that is not actually based on me it's based on him. This absolutely changes everything. In the 1700s there was this revival preacher named George Whitefield and and when he said that when he was young he tried to earn God's favor through his good deeds and if you've ever found yourself trapped in a mentality like that like like I've been there he said of that time in his life that trying to achieve God's favor through his good deeds was like trying to climb a rope of sand. Just every time he tried to reach for God it would it would fall apart and and what he realized is that none of us can attain righteousness on our own. We need to help beyond ourselves and and that's why this this name Jehovah Sid Canoe that that's where this becomes so life-changing because if we go back to this scripture in Jeremiah 23 starting in verse 5 and 6 what happens God here promises the people a better king. He promises them a righteous king. He promises them a king who will rule with wisdom and justice. He promises them a king who will save his people and here's the good news he's not talking about a human king. He's not talking here about a human king. How do we know this? Because the king's name is the Lord is our righteousness right? So come on how many of you know who he's talking about? He's actually talking about King who? Jesus. He's talking about King Jesus. All the way back here in the book of Jeremiah chapter 23 this prophet of God is pointing us forward to Jesus. He's saying

all of this human effort it's going to fail you but the good news is you're not waiting on a human king you're waiting on a perfect King a righteous King and that King's gonna come and that King's gonna save you and deliver you and bring salvation to his people and so what's the big lesson here? The big lesson here is that though man cannot be righteous enough for God God is righteous enough for man. He is good enough, perfect enough, holy enough for us, that even in our imperfections, our shortcomings, even when we fall flat and fail, God is righteous enough for man. I want you to think about 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. It says that God made him who knew no sin to be sin so that we might become the righteousness of God, right? So when you think about this scripture, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, who's it talking about? Jesus. So here's what I need us to understand, that Jehovah Sid Canoe in the Old Testament is actually a name for Jesus. This is who this passage of scripture is pointing us to, that we don't have to put our hope or our into human effort or achievement or perfection, but rather Jesus is righteous enough for all of us. And because of that, we actually can be in relationship with a God who is perfect, even though we're not. It's not my own effort or my own achievements. It's rather what Jesus has done on my behalf that gives me the opportunity to be in relationship with God.

And so for the next little bit, I just wanna talk about what happens when you and I call on the name Jehovah Sid Canoe. What happens when we understand God is our righteousness and we call on his name? Here's the first thing that happens. When we call on Jehovah Sid Canoe, we're rescued from our sin. When we call out to the Lord who is our righteousness, when we understand we can't earn it, we can't achieve it, but we just call on his name, man, in that moment we are rescued from our sin. And so here's what it says in John chapter one, verse nine. It says this, if we confess our sin, he, it's talking about God, Jesus, he is faithful and just and he will forgive us our sins and he'll purify us from all unrighteousness. Look how connected this scripture is. If we call on his name, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and he will forgive us from our unrighteousness. God is the one who takes it away. And when we call on the name of Jesus, we can be forgiven from our sins, rescued from our sins. That's what happens when we call on his name. And it also means that unless we've come to that point where we have cried out to God from a place of our own unrighteousness and our desperation for him, and we've asked him to be our Lord and savior,

we are not rescued from our sin until we call on the name of Jesus. But when we call on his name, man, everything changes. Because in that moment, we are rescued from our sin, but that's not the only thing that happens. Because when we call on the name Jehovah Sidcanu, we are robed in his righteousness. It's not just that he takes something away, but he actually gives us something even better. This is actually how this whole thing works, that Jesus not only removes our sin from us, but he chooses to robe us in his righteousness. So actually, Jesus takes my long list of shortcomings and mistakes and failures, and he puts next to it his perfect life, his perfect life. Like he made no mistakes, he had no sins, he never fell short, he never failed. And here's what he does, literally exchanges them. So he removes my sin, yes, but he also credits me with his righteousness. And because of this great exchange, as it has historically been called, this is how we have a relationship with him. When we call on this name, we are robed in his righteousness. I think about Isaiah chapter 61, verse 10, where the prophet writes, I'm overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God. Why? Because he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation

and he's draped me in a robe of righteousness. And when we call on this name, when we call on the name of Jesus, we're robed in his righteousness. My mind instantly goes to the New Testament story that Jesus tells in Luke chapter 15, you know it, this son who's gone off to a faraway land and he's squandered it. wandered his inheritance and wild living, and he kinda has this moment where he comes to his senses and he comes back home, right, and he's got this speech rehearsed in his head where he's like, father, I'm not worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your servants. Make me like, you know, he's got this whole speech rehearsed and then when he gets home, his father's actually been looking for him, waiting for him, and the Bible says, while he's still a long way off, the father runs out to his son to meet him. And in that moment, he does a few things. He's like, man, get the ring that has the family seal on it. Put it on his finger, right? And he says, get the finest robe and put it over him. And he says, get the fattened calf. We're gonna kill it and have a party. And in that moment, what does the father do to the son who returns home? He takes this beautiful robe

and he absolutely covers up all of his mistakes, all of his shortcomings, all the places he's been and the things he's done are instantly covered in this robe. And it's a picture of what God has done for us in Christ, that when we come home, the Lord is our righteousness and he robes us in his righteousness. I want you to think about it this way. Just imagine with me for a moment that you find yourself standing in a courtroom and you are there because you are the defendant and you are actually guilty of the crime for which you have been accused. Like there's no defense, there's no excuse. You know that you are actually guilty of the crime of which you have been accused. And so the verdict is guilty. And I want you to imagine as you stand there that the judge who is responsible for handing down the sentence that you will have to serve instead gets up from the bench, walks over to you, removes his robe, puts it over your shoulders and actually serves the sentence that you were just handed, actually takes your place. So you get his perfect record in exchange for yours. That's what happens when we call on this name, Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord is our righteous. The righteous judge takes our place, serves our sentence so that we could go free. This name changes everything

because when we call on this name, we call on the name of Jesus, we're rescued from our sin, we call on the name of Jesus, we are robed in his righteousness. But that's not all, when we call on this name, we are reconciled to God. The word reconciled means to bring back into harmony with. So the idea, the reason that we would need to be reconciled or brought back into harmony with God is this idea that because of sin, we've been separated from God. And God actually takes it upon himself to provide a way, a solution, that we might be brought back into harmony with him. And God's solution is his son, Jesus, that we could be forgiven of our sin, rescued from our sin, robed in his righteousness. And when that happens, we are reconciled to God, we are brought back into harmony with him. And I had a hard time choosing the scripture to read to you right now, because there are so many that speak to this idea. It's all throughout scripture, but Colossians chapter one says it this way, for God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ and through him, God reconciled, brought back into harmony, everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by the means of Christ's blood on the cross. So when Christ gave up his perfect life,

when he sacrificed it for us, it is the very thing that gives us the opportunity to be brought back into harmony with God. Not our own goodness, not our own effort, not our own understanding. Praise God, just Jesus. The blood of Jesus has brought us back into harmony or right relationship with God. The sacrifice of Jesus, it changes everything. And one of the reasons that I think this is so life-altering is one, because it gives us a clear picture of who Jesus is, but two, it actually does give us so much relief. So much relief, man, I don't have to be good enough. I'm not enough, I don't have to be perfect. God doesn't expect me to be. I don't have to earn it, it's not something I achieve. And a lot of us, if we're honest, we just kind of live that way. And you go, wait a minute, Ryan, I thought God calls us to be righteous. I thought God asks us to be holy as He is holy. Yeah, He does, but not so that we can earn our righteousness but rather God calls us to that as a response to what He has already done for us. So here's the idea. When you truly understand that the Lord is our righteousness, He's our source and our strength, it actually comes from Him and it's given to me, man, how could I not want to live in a way that reflects that righteousness,

that goodness, that character, that nature to the world around me? It's so freeing to know that I don't have to achieve it, but man, it is motivational, it is inspiring, it is encouraging, it is challenging, that I get to reflect His righteousness to the world around me. I don't have to achieve it, I get to receive it, but you better believe we are called to reflect it. So that's the last thing. When we call on Jehovah's Sidcanu, we are eager to reflect His righteousness, that we live in response to the reality that the Lord is our righteousness. Changes everything. To live from salvation instead of for it. To live from righteousness instead of for it. Changes everything. And here's the truth. When you and I understand just how significant and sacred and beautiful what Jesus has done for us really is, it absolutely takes away our taste for the things of this world. If I am satisfied to live in sin, it is because I don't understand the significance of His sacrifice. I'm gonna say it again. Because some of us have lived here for too long. If I'm satisfied to live in sin, it means that I don't understand

the significance of His sacrifice. When I understand that God gave everything so that I could be in relationship with Him, that He made me righteous even when I'm not, it creates in me this desire to live every moment for my God who's done this on my behalf. When we've experienced this grace, it changes everything. Titus chapter two says it this way. For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. And this grace of God that has appeared, Jesus, He's available to all people, it teaches us to say no to ungodliness. It teaches us to say no to worldly possessions. It teaches us to live self-controlled, upright, godly lives in this present age while we wait for this blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus, Jesus is the one who gave Himself to redeem us from all wickedness and purify for Himself a people that are His very own, read this with me, eager to do what is good. So when I understand He is Jehovah Sid Canoe, He is my righteousness, it makes me eager to do what is good. Not because I need to achieve righteousness, but I get to reflect the righteousness that I have received. When we call on this name,

we are eager to reflect His righteousness. I wanna take just a couple of moments at the end of our service today to pray. And really in this moment, there's two things that I wanna do, and I'm intentionally leaving a little bit of time here at the end of the message so you don't have to rush out. We got time. There's two things that we need to do. The first thing that we need to do is there are some of us across all of our campus locations who've never called on the name of Jesus. And we need to call on His name today, because it's the only way that we'll be forgiven of our sins, robed in His righteousness, and reconciled to God. And so if that's you, I need you to understand that God's plan all the way from the beginning is to give you a better King. His name is Jesus. And so if that's you, today is the day. Right now is the moment. I'm gonna invite you with everyone across all of our locations to pray this prayer with me. If you need that relationship with God through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus, just say this. You can leave your eyes open. We're all gonna say it together. Just say this.

Just say, Lord Jesus, I need you. Come into my life. Forgive me of my sins. I'm not enough. I'm not good enough. But you are. Thank you, Jesus. That you live the life I couldn't live. And you died on my behalf. Because you rose again, I can be in relationship with God. For the rest of my days, as best as I know how, I will live to honor you. In just a moment, our campus pastors are gonna come forward and they're gonna tell you, if you prayed that prayer, how to take your next step today and how to begin to walk in this relationship that God has called you to, so that we can reflect His righteousness that He's given to us. But there's one more thing I wanna do as we close our time together today. Across all of our campuses on your way in, you receive this card. Love for you to take a moment and pull it out if you have it. And if you don't have it, if you didn't get it, maybe you slipped in the side door, hey, that's a lesson for you. But if you slipped in the side door, we'll get it to you on your way out.

And the reason I want you to pull this out is this. For the last four weeks, we have only scratched the surface of understanding who God is. He has so many names and they all reveal His character, His nature. And so we wanted to put something in your hands. It's not just a bookmark. It's a spiritual marker. Because here's what you can do. Man, when you're feeling overwhelmed, worried, anxious, or stressed, you can go to this and you can remember He is Jehovah Shalom. He is my peace. When you need a little bit of hope, you can remember that God is our hope. When you need a little bit of joy, you can remember God is our joy. And that you can see throughout all of human history, and even now today, God is trying to reveal Himself to us. And so I want you to keep this in your Bible. And I want you to know that anything you need, listen to me, it's in the name of God. Thank you, Jesus, for these last couple of weeks. I pray that they would give us a hunger to know you more, to know you on a deeper level, and that together, God,

we would live not for righteousness, but from it. In Jesus' mighty name we pray, amen. Come on, let's make some noise for the goodness of God today.