It is always a joy to be here
at Grace Community Church where God's people gather together
to worship the Lord and my spirits are always lifted to the heights
of heaven as we worship the Lord together, as we sing these hymns
and hear the words sung to us And the way the Word of God is
so honored in this place, just even hearing Michael Mahoney
read Romans chapter 5 is a washing of my heart and a blessing to
my soul. For the time that I'll have today
with you and, Lord willing, next week, I want you to take your
Bible and turn with me to the book of 1 John, 1 John chapter
3. And the title of this message
is Living for Another World. I want to begin by reading what
will be the focus of our study in God's Word today, 1 John chapter
3. I want to read the first three
verses of this chapter and set them before you one more time,
reintroduce you to this text and may the Lord write it very
deeply upon the tablet of our hearts. First John chapter 3,
beginning in verse 1, hear the word of the Lord. See how great a love the Father
has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God and
such we are. For this reason, the world does
not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are
children of God and it has not appeared as yet what we will
be. We know that when He appears, we will be made like Him because
we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope. fixed on Him purifies Himself
just as He is pure. There is an old adage that goes
something like this, that such and such a person is so heavenly
minded, they're no earthly good. I think we understand what that
means, that a certain person would just live with his head
in the clouds and be disconnected from what's going on around him.
We would say he seems out of touch with reality. His life
is just all pie in the sky. He's spaced out. He's in another
world. He lives in an ivory tower. He's
out to lunch. He's so heavenly-minded, he's
no earthly good. I think I understand the concern,
but I want you to know that nothing could be further from the truth. I have personally never yet met
anyone who is too heavenly-minded. and is so heavenly-minded that
they are no earthly good. The fact is, you and I will never
be any earthly good until we are first and foremost heavenly-minded. You and I cannot be too heavenly-minded
enough. I would remind us of Colossians
3 verse 2 that says, set your mind on things above and not
on the things of the earth. And that is to say we are to
be focused every moment of every day upon God. We are to seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And we must
be always thinking about the world to come and the world above. This is precisely what John is
calling us to. And today, as we look at this
text, I pray that you and I will be living for another world,
that we would recognize this world is not our home, and we're
merely strangers and aliens here. We are exiles here. This isn't
our home. Our home is in another realm.
Our home is in heaven above. And we are merely passing through. And it is the reality of knowing
what awaits us in heaven that should so dramatically affect
how we live here upon the earth. And so, as we look at this text,
this Lord's Day and next Lord's Day, I want to break it out,
this text, these three verses, and I want to give you the outline.
I want you to be able to set your course with me as we navigate
our way through this text. I want you to note first, in
the first part of verse 1, the marvel of the Father's love. See how great a love the Father
has bestowed upon us. And then second, I want you to
note the mystery of the believer's life. For this reason, the world
does not know us because it did not know Him. And then third,
the majesty of the Son's appearing, that we don't...it has not yet
appeared what we shall be, but we know that when He appears,
we shall be made like Him, for we shall see Him just as He is. And then finally, in verse 3,
I want you to note the maturing of the church's purity, that
everyone who has this hope on Him purifies Himself even as
He is pure. So that's where we're headed.
That's where we're going. And I want to begin in verse
1, right where John begins this section which is really a subsection
of a larger literary unit, but I want you to note first the
marvel of the Father's love. John begins by telling us about
the out-of-this-world love that the Father has for us. Please note verse 1, he begins,
"'See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us.'" He begins
with the word, "'See,' which means, look at this and carefully
take this in. Do not let this pass you by."
This is saying, You've got to catch this. You've got to pay
special attention to this. And I know as a preacher that
many times when I preach on the love of God, it's so easy for
people just to click out, tune out. I know all of this. I know
when I preach on John 3 verse 16, for God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in
Him would not perish but have everlasting life. I can almost
just see it on the faces. I know this. If there's one verse
I know and click into automatic pilot, John does not want us
to do this. And so he begins with C. Pay special attention to this.
Don't let this just go in one ear and out the other. Selah,
pause and meditate. See how great a love the Father
has bestowed on us. John is in astonishment and in
amazement at this. And let us not lose the wonder. of what it is that the Father
has set His love upon us. When He says, see how great a
love, you'll find it interesting to note that these two words,
how great a, literally out of the Greek language means of what
country. It's so hard to translate it
into the English, and the idea is This love has come from another
country. It's foreign to our experience. This love is not horizontal,
it is intensely vertical. This love has come from another
realm. This love is an out-of-this-world
love. This love does not originate
here. This love is unlike anything that has ever been demonstrated
on this world. This world, this love is of another
country, it is of another land, it is of another realm, it is
totally completely, radically, higher, pure, greater than any
love that would ever be exercised here upon this earth. See how
great a love. the Father has bestowed upon
us." John will have much to say about this love, and I would
love for you to turn to chapter 4, just for a moment, 1 John
4 and verse 7. Oh, and I love hearing those
pages turn, not on your cell phone, but in
your Bible, okay? 1 John 4 and verse 7, look at
this extraordinary love. that God has for us. Beloved,
let us love one another for love is from God. Any love that you
and I would have of a supernatural nature that would flow through
our lives into the lives of others has come down from God above. He is the sole source of all
supernatural love. And everyone who loves is born
of God and knows God. Verse 9, by this the love of
God was manifested in us, that God sent His only begotten Son
into the world so that we might live through Him. God didn't
just say, I love you. And it's just words. God has
acted and God has demonstrated His love toward us by sending
His Son, His only Son, into this world. And love is that which
sacrificially gives of itself to seek the highest good of another. Lust takes from someone else. Love gives to someone else. And there is a sense in which
God bankrupted heaven and brought all of the treasures of wisdom
and understanding and redemption and grace and mercy in the person
of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and has sent His Son into this
world to save guilty, hell-bound sinners. like you and me." He
says in verse 10, and this is love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us. His love is initiating love.
He loved us first and we only in response have loved Him. He
says in verse 19, we love because He first loved us. Oh, the love of the Father that
has been poured out upon us. And he says in verse 16, we have
come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love. You see, it's not
just that God loves, God is love. The very essence and the very
character of God is a holy love. We have come to know and have
believed that the love which God has for us, God is love and
the one who abides in love abides in God and God abides in us. This love of the Father for us, I don't think we...we focus on
this enough. I think that the forgotten person
of the Trinity... is God the Father. We are so
focused upon God the Son, and rightly so. And there has been
so much discussion about God the Holy Spirit. And it is as
if standing in the shadows, out of the spotlight and out of the
focus, is God the Father who is the author of our salvation. who is the one who has sent the
Son and sent the Holy Spirit. It is the Father who has chosen
His elect. It is the Father who is the architect
of His eternal decree. Everything that is good is flowing
from God the Father into our lives. Every good gift, every
perfect gift comes down from God above, the Father of unshifting
shadows with whom there is no variation. If you would, please,
turn to Romans chapter 8 and you know this is going to be
good because it's Romans chapter 8. James Montgomery Boyce said
years ago, if the Bible is a ring, the book of Romans is the diamond
on that ring and Romans chapter 8 is the apex cut on that diamond
on that ring. Now in Romans 8. And in verse
29 and 30, let me just read these verses with which you are very
familiar and make a profound observation. In verse 29, for
those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed
to the image of His Son. and so that He would be the firstborn
among many brethren. And these whom He predestined,
He also called. And these whom He called, He
also justified. And these whom He justified,
He also glorified." The million-dollar question is, who is the He? Well, we know the He is not the
Son because in verse 29, the He is distinguished from His
Son. And we know that the He is not
the Holy Spirit because the Spirit was mentioned by name in verse
26 and 27. In fact, the He is identified
in verse 28 as God. This is God the Father. Now, just think about this. And
these whom He foreknew, He predestined. And those whom He predestined,
He called. And those whom He called, He
justified. And those whom He justified,
He glorified." It is God the Father who is standing behind
the entire purpose and plan of salvation. It is God the Father
who is ultimately the one who is bringing it all into effect. even by sending the Son and sending
the Spirit, but behind it all is the loving heart and will
of God the Father. In verse 29, the word foreknew
means those whom He previously loved. The last thing in the world,
it means foresight down the tunnel of...proverbial tunnel of time. That's just a pagan superstition.
God's never looked into the future and learned anything. No, this
means... those whom the Father chose to
love with distinguishing, redeeming love. It is these that the Father
has predestined, and these whom the Father has predestined, He
has called by His Spirit and by the voice of the Good Shepherd.
But it is the Father who has initiated this call, and it is
preceded ultimately from the Father, and it is the Father
who has justified us. We didn't justify ourselves,
and it is the Father who took the perfect righteousness of
Jesus Christ, and it is the Father who has taken Christ's active
and passive obedience and imputed it and reckoned it and credited
it to our account. That wasn't Jesus who did that.
It was God the Father who did that. And it is God the Father
who will bring us all the way home. He has sealed us with the
Spirit. He has placed us into the Savior's
hand. And it is the Father who then
puts His hand outside the Savior's hand. And we are doubly secure. But over it and in it and through
it all is God the Father. Let us not
lose sight. that it was even the Father who
delivered over His Son unto death. If you would continue while we're
in this text, look at verse 32. He did not spare His own Son,
but He is obviously God the Father. He did not spare His own Son,
but delivered Him over for us all. You see, only in a secondary
way was it the Romans or the Jews that delivered Him over.
The primary agent, capital A, who with His invisible hands
of sovereignty delivered over the Son unto death upon the cross
was God the Father. So verse 33, who will bring a charge
against God's elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns?
Jesus Christ is He who died and yes, rather has been raised and
is at the right hand of God who also intercedes for us. And all the way down to verse
39, who will separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. What John is wanting us to see
in 1 John 3 verse 1 is what is the testimony of the entire Scripture. See how great a love the Father
has bestowed on us. He has bestowed it on us. Come back to 1 John 3 if you
would. He has bestowed this love on us. And the idea is it's freely
given. We didn't earn it. We didn't
deserve it. The fact is, God has chosen to
love us, not because of us, but in spite of us. God didn't love
us because we're lovely. We are very unlovely. And before we were brought to
faith in Jesus Christ, we were wretched and marred and flawed
and corrupted and defiled and depraved and polluted. And it is God the Father who
from before the foundation of the world, chose to set His distinguishing,
redeeming love upon us...us...us. It was recently that we saw the
royal wedding, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. My wife and my
daughter went over to another person's house to watch it early
in the morning. I got all dressed up as if they
were at the wedding. And what a glory it was, and
probably never again, certainly in my lifetime, will I ever see
a royal wedding like that, the pomp, the circumstance, the glory
of it all. It was astonishing and astounding. And there is Prince Harry stood
at the front. dressed out in his military attire,
so sharp and so handsome, the single number one most eligible
bachelor on planet earth, other than a few in Crossroads. And coming down that center aisle
was this television starlet, this beautiful woman wearing
this extraordinary wedding gown. Listen, as she came and stood
next to him, what came into my mind is, this is the most believable
story on planet earth. I mean, this is the quarterback
marrying the homecoming queen. It was a like attracting like.
What's so extraordinary about 1 John 3, 1 is that the royal
wedding of heaven is so completely diametrical that standing at
the head of the aisle is the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of
kings, the Prince of life, without any sin, dressed in perfect righteousness. And coming down the aisle is
the bride that the Father has chosen for His Son. And it is the Father who has
chosen for the Son this bride to be a love gift, to give the
church to Him. But it is as though the father,
rather than going to Hollywood, or rather than going to Madison
Avenue, the father has actually gone to some graveyard and dredged
up the bones of a dead body. A body that has no life, a body
that has no beauty, a body that has nothing to commend itself
to God or to the Son. And the Father has raised us
from the dead. The Father has spiritually resurrected
us, we who were so depraved, we who were so unlovely, we who
were rebels, we who were enemies of God. And it is the Father
who has presented the most unlikely bride to His Son. That's why 1 Corinthians 1 verse
26, "'For consider your calling, brethren, that not many mighty,
not many noble, that God has chosen the base things of this
world to confound the wise and the wicked. God has done it this
way so that He might magnify His grace, that God could reach
all the way down to the bottom of the barrel and choose those
who were the furthest away from Him and by His grace to redeem
them and to reconcile them, to foreknow them and predestine
them and call them and justify them and present them to the
Son so that the Son may one day present us back to the Father. See how great a love the Father
has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God. How much does God love us? Well, John 17, 23 in Jesus' high
priestly prayer, Jesus acknowledges to the Father
this is an inter-Trinitarian conversation. This is...this
is between the Son and the Father and we would never even know
about this prayer except John has recorded it for us. You loved them even as You have
loved Me. If that wasn't in the Bible,
I couldn't believe that. that God the Father loves you
and me who are in Christ as much as to the same extent and degree
as the love that He has for His own darling, beloved Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ, because we are in Him and because we have
been dressed in His perfect righteousness He has loved us with an eternal
love that is without beginning and without end. He has loved
us with a holy love that is without flaw and without any imperfections. He has loved us with an infinite
love that is without limits. He has loved us with an unconditional
love that is without merit. He has loved us with an immutable
love that can never change, can never increase, never decrease. See how great a love that is
of another country, of another realm, of another...of another
kingdom See how great a love the Father has freely, undeservedly
bestowed on us that we should be called children of God. Sons of Satan have become children
of God. And He says, and such we are
right now, present tense, not one day in heaven. But this very
moment, the object of His unrestrained love toward us. And what we see
theologically in this verse that needs some comment is that we
see here the doctrine of adoption, that God has adopted us into
His family. Now understand this, there's
two ways by which we become children of God and both are true of every
one of us who are believers in Jesus Christ. We have become
children of God by the new birth and we have become children of
God by adoption. And both of those are true of
each and every one of us, and both of those bring out somewhat
of a different nuance of the Father's love for us. To be born again, we all enter
the kingdom of heaven as a little babe. We start out as spiritual
infants. And for the rest of our Christian
life, we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. But for those who are born into
a royal family, many times they are not given the entire privileges
that come with being royalty. England, for example, Edward
VI was the teenage Protestant king who assumed the throne of
England at age nine. And he had to have people around
him to help govern England and provide education for him. Everything just couldn't be immediately
turned over to a nine-year-old. But with adoption, we enter the
kingdom of heaven not as infants, but as fully grown adult...adults. with all of the rights and all
of the privileges immediately of one who has been...who has
come into an extraordinary family that has infinite resources and
an infinite legacy to be bestowed upon us. We see the new birth
at the end of chapter 2 when it says, born of God. But we
also see adoption by implication here in chapter 3 verse 1. Both
are true. Now let me tell you why adoption
goes beyond even justification by faith alone. There is a ladder
of increasing blessings in the order salutis, as we are given
grace upon grace upon grace. In justification by faith, we
as the guilty sinners stand before the judgment bar of God and we
are condemned and guilty before God. But because of our advocate,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who stands at our side, and because of our
faith in Jesus Christ, His perfect righteousness by virtue of our
faith in Him is immediately credited to our account. He forensically
declares us to be the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. And under this scenario, the judge would then get up and
go home and go his own way. The justified sinner would then
go back to his home. But with adoption, the judge
who has declared us to be the perfect righteousness of Jesus
Christ and the gavel has come down and He has declared us to
be faultless before His throne, the judge then says, I want you
to come home with me and I legally adopt you. and everything that I own is
yours. Come home with me. I want you
to live with me. You have a seat at the table.
You have a suite in the house. And every need that you have
for the rest of your life I will provide according to my
perfect wisdom and limitless resources. Do you see how adoption
takes the story yet further and goes even beyond justification
by faith? The Puritans used to say the
very highest blessing is the beatific vision that one day
we would see God in heaven. But right under that is adoption
that we would be brought into the family with full legal privileges
and rights and a vast inheritance. transferred over to us. This is astonishing and amazing. You see, with new birth, you
receive a new heart, but with adoption, you receive a vast
legacy. With regeneration, you're born
as an infant, but with adoption, you enter the family as a mature
adult. With regeneration, you must grow.
With regeneration, you're already an adult. So this is the marvel of the
Father's love. And of course, if we had time,
we could spend today and tomorrow and the next day and the next
day and the next day just tracing out every various aspect But
before I move on to the second heading, I just want to ask you
some personal questions. My brother and sister in Christ,
do you see who it is who loves you? It is the infinite, eternal God,
the Father, and of course, as well as the Son and the Spirit,
but our text focuses upon the Father whose heart of love is
larger than the entire universe, who is pouring out upon you not
just oceans and oceans of love, but galaxies and galaxies of
love. We are literally surrounded and
inundated in the love of the Father. And if we had time, even
verse 28 of Romans 8, for we know that He causes God, causes
all things to work together for good for those who love Him and
who are called according to His purpose. It is God the Father
who is orchestrating all these things for our good. Do you see
who it is who loves you? It's not a small lover. It is a limitless lover. And
do you see why He loves you? It's certainly not because of
anything in you, it is because He chose to love you.
It originated in Himself. And nothing you have ever done
caused it and nothing you will ever do can forfeit it. And do
you see how He loves you? that He has delivered over His
Son, He has sent His Son into this world to die an ignominious
death of substitution upon the cross. That's number one, the marvel
of the Father's love. Second, and this will be our
last heading, the mystery of the believer's life. He says, for this reason the
world does not know us. What does that mean? I mean,
the world knows our name. Your unsaved boss knows your
address when he writes your paycheck. He knows your zip code. He knows
your spouse's name. The world knows so many different
things about us. They know where we are and where
we live. This word know, the idea is to
perceive with understanding that the world does not know us in
the sense that the world is clueless about knowing our values and
knowing our priorities and knowing our beliefs. The world cannot
figure us out. We are a riddle to the spiritually
blind world around us. We are an enigma to those who
are uncircumcised of heart. We are a conundrum. We are a
closed book to a watching world. We are one huge question mark
in the eyes of the world that they cannot figure out what makes
us tick. Everything about us is different
because this out-of-this-world love has come into our life and
it has changed us and transformed us and we are now living, if
you will, an out-of-this-world life. While we are in this life,
our worldview is different. Our life purpose is different.
Our base motives are different. And as long as we are in this
world, we must remember that this world is not our home. Let
me tell you, the world cannot understand why you wake up on
Sunday morning and fight the traffic one more time. that you
get on I-5 one more time, that you get on the 405 one more time. The world cannot figure out why
in the world you give up your Sunday mornings and if you are
going somewhere to fight the traffic, why you are not at the
beach right now this very second. They can't figure out why you
come into this building and sing, of all things, hymns. You actually
sing hymns. The world just doesn't get it.
They don't understand. And the world doesn't understand
why you would come to church and listen to a man speak for
an hour or longer out of a book that is 2,000 to 3,500 years
old. And you actually write down notes. You're actually taking some of
this down. The world, you're an enigma. They cannot figure
you out, how you are hard-drived or how you're wound. The world
cannot understand that they actually pass a plate here and you reach
down into your pocket and you take out your hard-earned money
and you just give it away? You are a mystery, you are a
riddle to the world. You're an unsolved mystery. The
world cannot understand why you do not live together with the
person that you're going to marry before you get married. That
makes no sense to the world. The world cannot understand why
you will only marry someone of the opposite sex and the opposite
gender. You make no sense to the world.
The world does not understand. Why? Once you are married, you
stay married and you work through your problems and you work through
your trials. The world cannot understand why
you raise your children the way that you do. The world cannot
understand why you would give up a high-paying promotion just
so you can stay in Los Angeles, so you can stay a member of this
church, so you can stay under the ministry of the Word of God
rather than being transferred to who knows where but a better
lifestyle. The world does not understand
why some of you would leave a great job on the East Coast, pack up
your family, move all the way to Los Angeles, and enter seminary
and live like a pauper for the next four to five years. That
makes zero sense to the world. And the world does not understand
why you would be willing to give up your vacation, your precious
vacation, your time off from work, and that you would go to
a third world country and stay in a hut and serve the Lord. That's incomprehensible. to the
world. John says it's the way that it
is. For this reason, that the Father has set His love upon
us and now we are so radically different, the world does not
know us. The day the world can figure
you out is the day you have become too much like the world. The day that you make sense to
the unbelieving world, you have crossed the line and you have
become worldly. John Calvin said, so great is
the disagreement between the world and God that as much as
anyone inclines to the world, so he alienates himself from
God. And James 4 verse 6 does say,
whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an
enemy of God. Now, this does not mean that
we do not love sinners here in the world. We just don't love
what they're about, their values, their beliefs because God has
put something inside of us that is diametrically opposed to what
is in them. We love what they hate and we
hate what they love. R.C. Sproul said, when we live
according to the desires produced by earthly wisdom, we have become
friends of this world and enemies with God. By making friends with
the world, and the idea is the world system. The world of entertainment, the
world of education, the world of media, the world that is governed
by Satan that is antithetical to the values of the Word of
God and the kingdom of heaven. By making friends with the world,
we would add system. We turn away from God, close
quote. For this reason, the world does
not know us. That's just the way that it is.
That's the way it's going to always be. And we will reach
out in love and we will share the gospel and we will build
bridges and we will give our lives to reach unbelievers with
the gospel of Jesus Christ both here and around the world. But
until they are born of God, they just don't know us. And then
John adds, here's why, because it did not know Him. And the
Him refers to what will follow the appearing of the Lord Jesus
Christ. They didn't know Christ at His
first coming, they're not going to know us today. So what are the implications
of this as I bring this to conclusion? Well, there are certain implications
to me. Number one, you should only marry another
believer. Young people, I hope you're listening.
Old people, I hope you're listening. Why would you marry someone who
could never know you? Why would you marry someone who
could never understand you? Why would you marry someone that
for the rest of your relationship you would be a total conundrum,
a total unsolved mystery to them? No wonder God says that we are
to only marry in the Lord. And how many even here today
have had to suffer and endure a marriage with an unbelieving
spouse, perhaps even before you came to know the Lord, were married. But now that you're saved, and
how they just don't completely understand what you're all about. So the first implication is,
Because of this, to only marry another believer. The second implication is that
we must love the world of unbelievers who reject us. And though they
don't understand us and though they reject us, as John 15, 18
and 21 clearly state, we nevertheless must love those who make themselves
to be an enemy of God. And the only way that we can
love those who resist us is for the supernatural love of God
to be abounding in our lives. I know you've been looking at
Galatians 5 for the last long time. And the fruit of the Spirit,
number one on the list, is love. And the only way that we can
love those who are difficult to love is by the inner working
of the Holy Spirit in our life to supernaturally enable us to
do that which we otherwise could not do and that which our flesh
would never do. The third implication of this
is we must be willing to sacrifice the world's applause and be willing
to sacrifice the world's acceptance and be willing to sacrifice the
world's popularity because we must understand that the world
does not know us. And the fourth implication. is
how this verse should cause us to treasure fellowship with other
believers. Because while we are an enigma
throughout the week, When we come to church here, there's
like-minded people. There are people that believe
what I believe and love what I love, and there is a depth
of fellowship and a depth of intimacy that we don't have out
there in the world. Out there, we're like a salmon
fighting upstream. We're going against the current
of this world. We come here to church. We come and gather with other
like-minded believers. We're all pulling in the same
direction. We're all headed down the same narrow path. And so
there is a warmth and there is a love. Because I know you and you know
me and I know what excites you and you know what excites me
because what excites me is what excites you and what excites
you is what excites me. It's God, it's Christ, it's the
Holy Spirit, it's the kingdom of God, it's the Word of God,
it's carrying out the work of God, it's singing praises to
God. How sweet the fellowship among unbelievers in the midst
of a world. that does not know us. As I bring this to immediate
close, not everyone here today has been born again. That would
be impossible. That would be a naive assumption.
And if you have never believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, this
is one more appeal to your heart to repent of your sin and to
turn your back on this world that crucified Jesus and to come
to Christ who is the friend of sinners, to come to Christ who
has come to seek and to save that which is lost. to come by
faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only door into the
kingdom of heaven, who is the only point of entry into acceptance
with God. God the Father is the one who
sent Him here, and to reject Christ is to reject the Father. It is to stiff-arm the Father.
But the Father has swung open the gates of paradise. And He
is calling sinners to come to His Son, Jesus Christ. And if you will take that step
of faith and commit your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, He
will gather you in. He will wash you from the top
of your head to the bottom of your feet. He will cleanse you
of all of your sin. He will clothe you with His perfect
righteousness. He will walk with you for the
rest of your life. He will live inside of you for
the rest of your life. He will be committed to giving
to you everything that you need to carry out His will for your
life. And when you come to the end
of life's journey, He will bring you home to the
Father. And He is preparing a place right
now in glory for those who put their faith and their trust in
Him. And if you've never believed in Jesus Christ, I call you today
this very moment to put your full trust and your
complete reliance in the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, come unto
me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find
rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy. and My burden is light."
Why would you not give up the heavy burden of your sin and
receive His easy yoke of discipleship as He will pull with you in this
same yoke? throughout all the rest of your
days. You will never in the rest of
your life hear a greater offer than what has just been made
known to you. May God give you eyes to see
and ears to hear. If you find yourself here today
still outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, come to Him this very
moment. Let us pray. And as I close in a word of prayer,
to my right, to the left side of the pulpit is two double doors,
and on the other side is a prayer room, elders' prayer room. And if you would like to talk
to someone about how to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and
Savior, don't leave here today without doing business with God.
And if it would be helpful for you to have some questions answered
or clarified, then I would urge you as soon as the service is
over just to go right through that...those two doors under
the exit sign and you will find some of the most humble, godly,
well-taught Bible leaders. who would stay here the entire
rest of the day, if that's what it took, to help you come to
know Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven,
we can hardly fathom the love that You have lavished and showered
upon us. We who once were under Your wrath
are now enveloped in Your love. It will take all of the ages
and all of the eternities to come to even begin to express
to You our responsive love and devotion for You. I pray that
You would seal to our hearts the truths that have been spoken
this day from this text. Father, we pray this in the name
of Him who is seated at Your right hand, the Savior of the
world, the Lord Jesus Christ, in His name. Amen.