How to Find Patience
“According to James, the reason you should be here is that you need to be reminded to be patiently waiting for what? The return of Christ. And while you wait, what are we doing? We’re loving and caring for one another.”
Why Does God Save Weak People?
“For consider your calling, brothers; not many of you were wise, according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world.”
Doubting God’s Love for You?
“So we don’t want to live in fear of loving one another because that, again, misses out on what the joy of what love is. And I think this is why the constant preaching of the gospel – I believe that the love of God has diminished in churches, because we have preached a fear-based, guilt-driven relationship with God.”
What is the Point of Your Good Works?
“What are your good works for? They’re to help you be effective in loving your brothers and sisters and creating unity within the body of Christ. When we just shove off that responsibility of like, yeah, whatever. I mean, it’s, I know it’s important but… No, it’s more than just important. It’s more than just important.”
How is God Jealous for Us?
“So closely does he identify with his church; so significant is his union with his people. May this encourage our hearts today. The Lord Jesus, beloved, is jealous for us. He protects us. He has always fought for us, just like David and Goliath. We thought about that last week, right? How David stood. He fought on behalf of God’s people.”
Have I Truly Been Saved By Grace?
“Grace is to receive something you don’t deserve. And what is it that you received that you didn’t deserve, right? Which was forgiveness and righteousness. And how did that come to life in you? Faith. All of that is a gift to you. That’s the good news of the gospel. It’s that you have nothing to boast of.”
Have You Believed This Lie Before?
“We all felt it this week. How many of you felt the shame of your sin this week? I did. And how many of you went, “I can’t believe I fell for that lie again, that if only I have this, I will be satisfied. I will be happy. I will be safe. I will be secure. I will be liked. I will be wanted. I will be beautiful. I will be of value. I will be of worth.” How many of us believed that this week?”
How to Find Comfort While Suffering
“So he’s not saying that everything’s easy, you know. Just deny the hardness because it’s all great because God is good. That’s not how he’s thinking. He’s talking, though, about the comparative greatness of the glory that’s coming. It’s so great we can’t fathom it. By comparison, what we’re going through is light and momentary.”
Must We Surrender All To Be Saved?
“If you don’t understand these uses of the law, you’re going to butcher passages like the good Samaritan and like the rich young man. Because – and here’s how we do this – we collapse law and gospel, and we confuse the way the law is supposed to be used rightly.”
Where Can We Find True Joy?
“Blessed is the one who endures, meaning circumstances cannot change the satisfaction that I have. Do you know what we look for every single day? We want to be satisfied. We want to be satisfied. That’s what joy is. Joy is ultimate satisfaction. And James says you’ll have ultimate satisfaction in Christ when you follow his truth, and you don’t wander from it.”
What is Saving Faith?
“What is saving faith? I accept. I receive. I rest. Is there anything in that equation that you’re doing – that you’re accomplishing? No, you’re passive. You receive it; you rest; you trust in Christ alone. For what? Justification, absolutely, the declaration of righteousness, but also for sanctification that you will be conformed unto the image of Christ because his spirit is in you and you’ve been united to him, and he will see it through.”
Is The Law For Christians?
“What does it look like to live in a way that God would say is good? And what does it look like to live in a way that’s good for my neighbor? How do you know? Well, you know, from the law, as given in the moral law and the Old Testament, and also as expounded upon in various commands and imperatives in the New Testament.”
Feeling Spiritually Weak?
“So what’s interesting is that when we think about strength, when we think about, okay, when I am weak, and I am dry, and I cannot see clearly that God should be praised and that I accomplish his will, and I want to do my own will, and I want to do it my way, and I’m wrestling with it, what do we try?”
Struggling to Believe God Loves You?
“He’s building his church that he tells us the gates of hell will not prevail against. You and I are evidence of that. He’s building his church. Two thousand years after he ascended here, we sit covered in his blood and righteousness, singing praises to his name, encouraging one another to trust him. Why? Because he’s building his church, he’s saving his people.”
Struggling with Forgiveness
“There’s nothing more that Satan wants to do and sin within your heart than to turn your heart hard to justify yourself in your bitterness. It will destroy not only you but everyone in and around you, and it will not restore what was lost.”
What is the Purpose of Your Life?
“But you see, our purposes are so skewed. And so he says, you need to constantly be, daily be washing yourself with the purpose of your life, which is to glorify God and to be a part of his kingdom and to do his will.”
Do you feel like you will never change?
“It is the mercy of God in Christ, the gospel that changes hearts. The law, as good as it is, can’t do that. It can’t change the heart. The law can condemn, but it can’t give life. The law can guide, but it can’t change. Being told what to do or not to do won’t change you. Beholding Christ, contemplating mercy alongside justice – that’s where heart change occurs.”
Why Do I Still Feel Guilty?
“The guilt is real, but the shame piece is so significant. And people will say that – when we make the statement that no sin is private – people will push back and say, well, what if it’s just me by myself, you know, and my thoughts? And I’m just kind of, I’m just kind of toying with the cravings I have, and it’s just me? It’s not hurting anybody else. You’re a fool if you think that. You are a fool. Because of this guilt and shame reality and the ways that you are – let’s use some biblical language – you are feeding that monster of your flesh…”
Do You Struggle To Pray?
“This is why when you come here on Sundays, I am not feeding you funny stories or political agendas or some kind of social club meeting. I am convinced that if you don’t feast on Christ delivered to you by means of his word, you will suffer and have no strength. You won’t have strength.”
How Can Sinners Walk Free?
“How can lawbreakers go free? Because their debt was paid; their wrath satisfied; their punishment taken by a representative. He’s put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.”
