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The Final Word- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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Speaker 1: Great honor for me to be with you and send
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Speaker 1: messages of greetings to those of you watching online, the
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Speaker 1: various campuses.
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Speaker 2: It's just a great honor. I love your pastor.
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Speaker 1: I love this church and thank you for letting me
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Speaker 1: come up the road from San Antonio. If you're ever
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Speaker 1: in San Antonio, come to the Oak Hills Church and
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Speaker 1: we'll try to return this great favor of hospitality. I've
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Speaker 1: got a new joke. I don't know if you're going
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Speaker 1: to like it or not, but I'll find out, right?
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Speaker 1: And so this mechanic had a dog named Mace. Mace
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Speaker 1: had a bad habit of eating grass, and so the
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Speaker 1: mechanic kept Mace indoors. While Mace was indoors, however, the
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Speaker 1: grass in the backyard grew up and that's where the
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Speaker 1: mechanic liked to do some of his work. And one
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Speaker 1: day he dropped a wrench and he couldn't find it
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Speaker 1: because the grass was so tall. And so he opened
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Speaker 1: the door and let Mace out and Mace ate the
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Speaker 1: grass and he found the wrench. And when he found
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Speaker 1: the wrench, he looked up to heaven, the mechanic did,
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Speaker 1: and he said, thank you, Lord. A grazing Mace, how
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Speaker 1: sweet the hound. That saved a wrench for me. You
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Speaker 1: like it or not? Heavenly Father, we thank you for
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Speaker 1: letting us have this time together. We ask that you
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Speaker 1: would please forgive our speaker. You know his sins are many.
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Speaker 1: Help us to see.
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Speaker 2: Christ, just Christ. Through Christ we pray.
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Speaker 3: Amen.
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Speaker 4: Thank you.
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Speaker 5: So so Thank you.
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Speaker 1: Thank you. 860 million words certainly sounds like a lot.
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Speaker 1: But that's the numeric answer given to the question, how
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Speaker 1: many words does the average person speak in a lifetime?
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Speaker 1: That tabulation was tackled by a British actor and self-professed
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Speaker 1: Scrabble fanatic, by the name of Giles Brandreth. And he
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Speaker 1: was so certain of his tabulation that he uses the
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Speaker 1: number as the subtitle to a book entitled The Joy
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Speaker 1: of Lex, How to Have Fun with 860,341,500 Words. That's
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Speaker 1: roughly the equivalent of speaking the entire King James Version
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Speaker 1: of the Bible 1,150 times. It's all some of you
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Speaker 1: can do to resist the temptation to think about that
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Speaker 1: person who skews the average upward for the.
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Speaker 2: Rest of us.
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Speaker 1: But I'm not going to go there. But I would
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Speaker 1: like for you to think about this question. Of your
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Speaker 1: 860 million spoken words, which are the most important? Of
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Speaker 1: all the words in your lifetime, Which ones matter most?
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Speaker 1: Quite possibly the first time you said I love you qualifies.
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Speaker 1: No doubt the yes that some of you said when
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Speaker 1: asked the question, do you take this person in marriage
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Speaker 1: would make the list. The words I'm pregnant can be,
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Speaker 1: depending on the circumstance, wonderful or woeful. Not all the
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Speaker 1: words we speak have equal weight, do they? Some of
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Speaker 1: our words, most of our words, the vast majority of
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Speaker 1: our words are just pedestrian. They're semantic, chit-chat and banter.
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Speaker 1: There are a few, however, that qualify as hope diamonds.
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Speaker 1: The same is true with the words of Christ. It's
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Speaker 1: estimated that he spoke, as recorded in Scripture... About 30,000 words,
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Speaker 1: depending upon the translation and the language. Anywhere between a
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Speaker 1: third to a half of the New Testament is comprised
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Speaker 1: with a collection of the spoken.
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Speaker 2: Words of Jesus.
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Speaker 1: Might it be possible to assimilate a list of his
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Speaker 1: most important words? What would make your list if you
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Speaker 1: were to make one? If Lazarus were asked the question,
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Speaker 1: no doubt he would include the phrase, Lazarus, come out. Matthew,
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Speaker 1: were he compiling a list, would say his life forever
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Speaker 1: changed the day he heard Jesus speak the words, follow me.
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Speaker 1: And then there was an enfeebled lady who heard a
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Speaker 1: question from Christ. Upon reaching through the crowd and touching
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Speaker 1: the hem of his garment, she heard him say.
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Speaker 2: Who touched me?
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Speaker 1: And yet of all the words that Christ spoke, there
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Speaker 1: is one word that rises like an Everest above the rest.
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Speaker 1: And were you somehow able to remove this word from
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Speaker 1: the Jesus narrative today? the gospel archway would crumble as
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Speaker 1: if you'd removed the keystone. This word is without a
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Speaker 1: doubt the most important word that Christ ever spoke. It
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Speaker 1: embodies the very gospel of Christ. And without this word,
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Speaker 1: the teachings of Christ are not the revelations of a redeemer.
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Speaker 1: They're simply the ramblings, of a rabbi. This word stands
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Speaker 1: at the end of the story of Christ like an
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Speaker 1: oasis at the end of a Saharan trail. This word
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Speaker 1: reveals the magnum opus of the miracles of Jesus. The
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Speaker 1: word is found in John chapter 19, verses 28 through 30. Later,
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Speaker 1: knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that
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Speaker 1: scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, I am thirsty. A
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Speaker 1: jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a
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Speaker 1: sponge in it and put the sponge on a stalk
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Speaker 1: of the hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus' lips.
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Speaker 1: And when he had received the drink, Jesus said, it
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Speaker 1: is finished. And with that, he bowed his head and
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Speaker 1: gave up his spirit. Three words in English, one word
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Speaker 1: in Greek. The most important word, the final word on
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Speaker 1: the miracle of redemption. This miracle of redemption is indeed
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Speaker 1: the miracle of miracles. the miracles of Christ, sugar, the
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Speaker 1: whole story of his ministry.
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Speaker 2: But this miracle?
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Speaker 1: Here on the cross, Jesus didn't turn water into wine,
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Speaker 1: but he did turn sinners into saints. And he didn't
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Speaker 1: give sight to one blind man, but he gave sight
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Speaker 1: to a generation. And he didn't enable a crippled beggar
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Speaker 1: to walk, but he invited all of us to dance
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Speaker 1: with one word. With one word, he silenced more than
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Speaker 1: a storm and fed more than a multitude. His command
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Speaker 1: at Bethany was enough to get Lazarus out of the grave,
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Speaker 1: but this command on Calvary is enough to save you
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Speaker 1: and me from eternal death. Would you allow me to
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Speaker 1: talk to you for just a moment about the word
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Speaker 1: and the work of redemption? Look at this, the word
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Speaker 1: of redemption. One word in Greek, tetelestai. Tetelestai.
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Speaker 2: Three words in English. It is finished.
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Speaker 1: The painter looks at the canvas and he steps back,
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Speaker 1: seeing if there is any additional stroke required. And realizing
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Speaker 1: there is none, he lowers his palette and his brush
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Speaker 1: and he says, it is finished. The poet reads over
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Speaker 1: the sonnet one final time. And seeing that it requires
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Speaker 1: no additional word or correction, he lowers his pencil and says,
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Speaker 1: it is finished. The farmer looks out over the just
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Speaker 1: harvested field, removes his hat, mops his brow and says,
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Speaker 1: oh good, it is finished. And here Jesus, suspended by
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Speaker 1: two nails, his feet pierced with a Roman spike, Reflects
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Speaker 1: back over all the work that needs to be done
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Speaker 1: and realizing it is complete. He allows oxygen to escape
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Speaker 1: his burning lungs. And before he lowers his head. To
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Speaker 1: tell us, he says, it is finished. The work he
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Speaker 1: came to do is done. Do you remember when it began?
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Speaker 1: Jesus was 12 years of age when he disappeared, a
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Speaker 1: story that strikes fear in the heart of every parent.
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Speaker 1: Three days he was missing in the city of Jerusalem. Folks,
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Speaker 1: can you imagine not knowing where your child is for
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Speaker 1: three days?
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Speaker 2: My parents would.
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Speaker 1: Have cherished that opportunity. Finally, Mary and Joseph found Jesus,
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Speaker 1: you recall, in the temple with the rabbis. And upon
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Speaker 1: seeing Joseph and Mary, Jesus said, why did you seek me?
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Speaker 1: Did you not know I must be about my father's what? Business.
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Speaker 1: What an interesting word. Early on, Jesus had a sense
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Speaker 1: as to the family business. The Holy Spirit, the father,
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Speaker 1: the son working together in this cooperative business. of redemption, redemption.
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Speaker 1: And now Christ, before he dies, in some of his
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Speaker 1: final words, says, it is finished. Tetelestai, it carries with
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Speaker 1: it a, it has overtones of business. The literal transaction
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Speaker 1: is a final, I'm sorry, literal translation is a final
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Speaker 1: transaction has occurred. It's the same word that appears in
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Speaker 1: ancient Greek manuscripts to describe the final payment or purchase.
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Speaker 1: As if somebody had taken out a loan to purchase
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Speaker 1: a house and they come in with the bag of money,
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Speaker 1: their last payment, and they place it on someone's desk
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Speaker 1: and they announce to Telestai. It is paid. In the
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Speaker 1: moments prior to this great word, The soldiers soaked a
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Speaker 1: sponge in a jar of wine vinegar, and they put
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Speaker 1: the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and
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Speaker 1: they lifted it to Jesus' lips. And when he had
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Speaker 1: received the drink, Jesus said, It is finished. Wine vinegar
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Speaker 1: and sponge and hyssop. Do these props of the drama
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Speaker 1: serve to teach us anything? I think they do. Matthew
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Speaker 1: remembers this wine as wine mixed with gall. Mark recalls
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Speaker 1: it as wine mixed with myrrh. Both gall and myrrh
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Speaker 1: have sedative properties. And this wine was offered to Christ,
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Speaker 1: if you'll recall, prior to the crucifixion, but he refused it.
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Speaker 1: But now moments before his final breath, he receives it. Why?
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Speaker 2: Because it is finished. Wine vinegar, John calls it.
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Speaker 1: Just the sound of it tastes bitter, doesn't it? Just
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Speaker 1: as our sins are bitter to the taste, so the
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Speaker 1: wine vinegar would have been bitter to the lips. And
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Speaker 1: the sponge was soaked in it. Just as the sponge
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Speaker 1: was soaked in the bitter wine, so this is the
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Speaker 1: moment in which the Son of God was soaked in
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Speaker 1: the sinfulness of mankind. he absorbed within himself the bitter
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Speaker 1: sin of humanity. And it was handed to him on
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Speaker 1: the stalk of a hyssop branch. Bible trivia buffs might
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Speaker 1: recall another occasion that the hyssop branch appears in Scripture
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Speaker 1: in another great act of redemption. Indeed, the other great
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Speaker 1: act of redemption when the children of Israel were delivered
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Speaker 1: from Egyptian captivity. And they were given the command, take
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Speaker 1: a branch of the hyssop plant and dip it into
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Speaker 1: the bowl filled with blood and then wipe the blood
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Speaker 1: on the sides and tops of the door frames. Blood
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Speaker 1: on the door frame promised protection from the destroyer and
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Speaker 1: the blood of Christ over the door or the heart
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Speaker 1: of the disciple promises protection from the destroyer as well.
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Speaker 1: And once Jesus had received this taste of bitter wine
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Speaker 1: with the sponge that was suspended on the hyssop branch,
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Speaker 1: the apostle John writes, then he said, it.
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Speaker 2: Is finished.
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Speaker 1: I might have suspected John would say, then he declared,
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Speaker 1: then he pronounced, then he proclaimed, But John, always given
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Speaker 1: to understatement, allows.
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Speaker 2: The word to telestai, to carry the work.
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Speaker 1: This statement of completion calls to my mind a moment
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Speaker 1: from my teenage years that is a part of Lakato
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Speaker 1: family lore. We came to laugh about it, but boy,
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Speaker 1: it was not funny on that Saturday morning. when my
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Speaker 1: father said it. The family was seated around the breakfast table.
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Speaker 1: The moment was somber because the night before, my brother
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Speaker 1: had gotten into trouble. He was a high school senior.
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Speaker 1: I was a high school sophomore. Both my brother and
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Speaker 1: I became too chummy with the likes of Buddy Budweiser,
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Speaker 1: Mickey Michelob, and Adolph Coors. We were heavy drinkers. My brother, however,
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Speaker 1: seemed to get in trouble more than his younger brother did.
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Speaker 1: And that's what had happened the night before. My dad
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Speaker 1: got a call at midnight. I grew up in a
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Speaker 1: small West Texas town where everybody knows everybody. And the
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Speaker 1: county sheriff knew my father very well, which my father
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Speaker 1: was not pleased with. And so my father was talking
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Speaker 1: to the county sheriff and said, all right, I'll come
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Speaker 1: down and get him. And we knew, my mother, I,
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Speaker 1: my dad, we knew D was in trouble again. My
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Speaker 1: mom cried out from the bedroom, Jack, what's wrong? Oh,
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Speaker 1: D's in trouble again. I'll go get him. The door
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Speaker 1: opened and closed. And I did what any good baby
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Speaker 1: brother would do. I went back to sleep. I awoke
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Speaker 1: the next morning. To be honest, I'd forgotten about the incident,
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Speaker 1: but then I was reminded of it as I stumbled
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Speaker 1: into the kitchen to eat breakfast. And there they sat,
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Speaker 1: all three of them, Stony-faced and silent. Dad stirred his coffee.
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Speaker 1: Mom pestered Dad. Tell me what happened, Jack. And D,
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Speaker 1: my big brother, oh boy, he knew not to say
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Speaker 1: a word. His eyes were as big as the pancakes
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Speaker 1: he couldn't swallow. I do not know to this day
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Speaker 1: why my father didn't want to unpack the events of
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Speaker 1: the night before.
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Speaker 2: But he didn't.
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Speaker 1: He simply said, Thelma.
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Speaker 2: Isn't that a great name?
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Speaker 1: Thelma. I handled it. I don't want to talk about it.
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Speaker 1: I handled it. I came to learn that that phrase,
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Speaker 1: I handled it, involved a conversation with the highway patrolman,
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Speaker 1: a promise to repair a bent fender, fix a flat tire,
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Speaker 1: and a curfew for my brother that began that day
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Speaker 1: and continued.
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Speaker 2: For the rest of his earthly life.
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Speaker 1: This much was clear. D had gotten into trouble and
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Speaker 1: my father handled it. I wonder if that's a picture
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Speaker 1: of the gospel in miniature. Humanity gets into trouble and
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Speaker 1: our father handles it. The message of the word here
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Speaker 1: is helpful. Tetelestai comes to us in a perfect tense,
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Speaker 1: which means a past act with continuing present tense. You
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Speaker 1: might think Big Bang, a moment in history that changed history,
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Speaker 1: and we're still feeling the vibrations from it all these
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Speaker 1: many years later. The word is in the passive voice,
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Speaker 1: which means a matter has been brought to completion, its conclusion,
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Speaker 1: even its perfection. The Hebrew Bible translates this word not
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Speaker 1: to Telestai, obviously, but the Hebrew term Nishlam. Nishlam. which
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Speaker 1: is the descendant of the wonderful Hebrew phrase shalom. A
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Speaker 1: literal translation could be peace has been made. The Latin
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Speaker 1: Bible carries the feel of a completed test. Consumitum est.
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Speaker 1: It is consumed.
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Speaker 2: It is completed.
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Speaker 1: I wonder if the writer of Hebrews was thinking of
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Speaker 1: this word to tell us thine When he wrote the verse,
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Speaker 1: for by one offering Christ has perfected for all time
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Speaker 1: those who are being sanctified. Christ has perfected for one
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Speaker 1: time all those who are being sanctified. The family at
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Speaker 1: my church, every time I see this blessed lady, I say,
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Speaker 1: how are you doing? She says, I'm perfect. Thanks to
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. She's speaking truth. She has been perfected. Thanks
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Speaker 1: to To Jesus Christ. No more work needs to be done.
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Speaker 1: Whatever needed to be completed. Has been completed. The father
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Speaker 1: has handled it. Even the non-verbal message. Makes the declaration.
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Speaker 1: And bowing his head. Jesus gave up his spirit. His
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Speaker 1: head did not fall forward.
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Speaker 2: In a slump.
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Speaker 1: This is not the act of a. Of a dying
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Speaker 1: man who's swooning on the cross. Even in the final moments.
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Speaker 1: He determines when his head goes forward. He controls his posture.
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Speaker 1: He lowered his head. Lowers his head as if to
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Speaker 1: say he has done what he came to do. And
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Speaker 1: he presents the finished work to the triune God. And
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Speaker 1: he gave up his spirit. He gave up his spirit.
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Speaker 1: In his commentary on this particular passage, Arthur Pink wrote,
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Speaker 1: no one else ever did this or died thus. The
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Speaker 1: man on center cross commands center stage, sovereign until the
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Speaker 1: final breath, controlling the movement of his head and the
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Speaker 1: position of his spirit. He gave up.
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Speaker 2: His spirit.
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Speaker 1: He told us he would do this. Did he not?
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Speaker 1: The reason my father loves me is that I lay
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Speaker 1: down my life only to take it up again. No
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Speaker 1: one takes it from me. But I lay it down
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Speaker 1: of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down.
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Speaker 1: And authority to take it up again. This command I
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Speaker 1: received from my father. So no one took his life.
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Speaker 1: No power bent his head. Nothing interrupted his work. The
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Speaker 1: business to which he referred as a 12-year-old boy in
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Speaker 1: the temple just a short few miles away is now
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Speaker 1: completed some 21 years later on the hill of Calvary.
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Speaker 1: But still we must dig deeper. We must be clear.
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Speaker 1: This is the one topic upon which Christians can have
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Speaker 1: absolutely no confusion. What was finished? What was complete? What
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Speaker 1: needs no further work? What caused Christ to declare to
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Speaker 1: Telestai and then lower his head and give up his spirit?
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Speaker 1: What was finished? Was the teaching of Christ finished? No,
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Speaker 1: he teaches to this day. Was the healing of Christ finished?
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Speaker 1: Absolutely not. In companionship with the compassion of the Father
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Speaker 1: and the work of the Holy Spirit, he heals us,
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Speaker 1: does he not? Day by day. The leading of Christ.
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Speaker 1: Was it complete? Of course not. He leads his church
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Speaker 1: to this very moment. Then what was finished? What was completed?
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Speaker 1: Now having seen the word of redemption. Let's be clear.
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Speaker 1: We understand the work. The work of redemption. The redemption
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Speaker 1: of mankind is complete.
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Speaker 2: It's done.
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Speaker 1: He did it. The act of atonement is performed. This price,
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Speaker 1: this unspeakably high price of purchasing your soul and mine
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Speaker 1: has been paid. He has brought the final payment and
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Speaker 1: placed it on the desk and declared, Tetelestai, it is paid. Nishlam,
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Speaker 1: consumitum est. I handled it.
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Speaker 2: It is finished.
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Speaker 1: The apostle Paul said, for our sake, God made him,
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Speaker 1: speaking of Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin,
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Speaker 1: so that in Him we could become.
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Speaker 2: The righteousness of God.
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Speaker 1: Behold the blessed transfer, the double transfer, of our sin
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Speaker 1: to Christ and His righteousness to us. Our sin to
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Speaker 1: Christ and His righteousness to us. God's sinless son received
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Speaker 1: in him our sin to the point that it would
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Speaker 1: cause him to cry out, my God, my God, why
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Speaker 1: have you forsaken me? Receiving upon himself the just punishment
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Speaker 1: for our sins and then imparting to us his perfect
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Speaker 1: state as if when God looks upon you, dear child
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Speaker 1: of God, he sees the perfection of his son, Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 1: Paul wrote in the prior verse, In Christ, God was
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Speaker 1: reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them.
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Speaker 1: God does not count our sins against us. This is
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Speaker 1: an accounting term. It says that somewhere in the heavens,
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Speaker 1: there's a ledger. And the ledger has a list of
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Speaker 1: all of your sins. But then when you look at
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Speaker 1: the top, you see that somebody marked out your name
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Speaker 1: and wrote the name of Jesus Christ. And then you
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Speaker 1: look at the ledger and find the one column that
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Speaker 1: has no mark at all. And it's the mark of
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. And somebody's marked out his name and written
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Speaker 1: your name. Will you receive that deep in your heart today,
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Speaker 1: dear church? That's the great miracle. The final and complete miracle.
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Speaker 1: That passage we referred to earlier from Hebrews 10, 14.
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Speaker 1: For by one offering, he has perfected forever. For by
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Speaker 1: one offering, no other offering is needed. He has what? Perfected, completed.
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Speaker 1: For how long? Ever. Those who are being sanctified. The
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Speaker 1: event has happened, but the big bang continues. We are saved,
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Speaker 1: but we are being developed, sanctified. and changed in a
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Speaker 1: prior scripture the writer says after Jesus had offered one
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Speaker 1: sacrifice for sins forever he sat down at the right
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Speaker 1: hand of God that's the picture of somebody who's finished
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Speaker 1: their work they come in and they sit down it's
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Speaker 1: done All that needs to be done, all that needs
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Speaker 1: to be paid has been done and paid. Hear me.
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Speaker 1: The devil has no access to your salvation. The devil
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Speaker 1: has no access to your salvation. This is a finished,
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Speaker 1: complete work done by Christ on the cross. And he
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Speaker 1: cannot touch it. And hear this. You cannot add to it.
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Speaker 4: You cannot.
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Speaker 1: You cannot. Your greatest works of charity and kindness, your
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Speaker 1: greatest moments of sacrificial love have not increased your salvation
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Speaker 1: one iota. And hear me, your darkest moments, your most
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Speaker 1: shameful deeds, the times that you have stumbled and fumbled
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Speaker 1: have not deducted from your salvation one fraction. You cannot
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Speaker 1: add to it.
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Speaker 2: You cannot take from it.
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Speaker 1: Why? Because it is not your work. It is not
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Speaker 1: your work. This is the great declaration of grace. And
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Speaker 1: that is without a single merit of our own. Christ
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Speaker 1: has given to us what we could not do. Every
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Speaker 1: other religion in the world and in history says, do
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Speaker 1: this and maybe God will save you. Only Christianity dares
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Speaker 1: to point to the finished work of Christ and say,
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Speaker 1: He did this. God has received you. That is the gospel.
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Speaker 1: You can live in gratitude for it. You can ponder
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Speaker 1: the mystery of it. You can declare the wonder of it.
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Speaker 1: You can walk in companionship with it, but you cannot
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Speaker 1: contribute to it. It needs no enhancement. Christ did not
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Speaker 1: declare from the cross, it is begun. He did not say,
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Speaker 1: I'm off to a good start. He did not say,
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Speaker 1: I got about 99% of it done. Now you guys
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Speaker 1: finish the rest. He handled it. This is why he
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Speaker 1: is called a savior. This is the miracle of the cross.
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Speaker 1: Can I close the message by urging you to be open.
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Speaker 2: To this miracle?
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Speaker 1: Would you please? Would you yet for the first time
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Speaker 1: or the thousandth time embrace this great work.
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Speaker 2: Of God for you?
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Speaker 1: He paid for you. I heard that phrase just recently,
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Speaker 1: a few weeks back. in, of all places, a Starbucks.
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Speaker 1: I was in my car driving through the drive-thru line.
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Speaker 1: There were probably half a dozen cars ahead of me.
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Speaker 1: I placed my order and I waited for one car
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Speaker 1: after another to pay and move on. And finally it
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Speaker 1: was my turn and I pulled up to the window
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Speaker 1: and I lowered the car window and I handed the
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Speaker 1: attendant my money and she waved it away. She pointed
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Speaker 1: at a car that was driving off and she said,
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Speaker 1: those people... Covered your coffee. They said they recognized you
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Speaker 1: from the church. And they wanted to pay for your coffee.
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Speaker 1: I do not know who those people. I did not
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Speaker 1: know who those people were or still don't. I don't
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Speaker 1: know who those people are, but I do know they
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Speaker 1: are Christians of the highest caliber. And they left an
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Speaker 1: example that you can follow at any time if you
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Speaker 1: would like. The attendant held up the money. It was
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Speaker 1: a $ 20 bill. And I'd only ordered a cup of coffee.
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Speaker 1: She said, well, it looks like there's going to be
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Speaker 1: some left over. And so I did what any good
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Speaker 1: preacher would do. I looked in the rearview mirror and
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Speaker 1: I told the attendant, I'll order something to eat. What
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Speaker 1: I did not do is refuse the gift. What I
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Speaker 1: did not do is puff out my chest and say,
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Speaker 1: I can pay my own way.
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Speaker 2: Thank you very much.
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Speaker 1: What I did not do is say, oh, that gift
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Speaker 1: is probably counterfeit. I wouldn't trust it. What I did
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Speaker 1: is accept the gift. I oh so hope you will
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Speaker 1: accept the gift. The great gift. Of God's grace. Why
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Speaker 1: wouldn't you? For heaven's sake. Why wouldn't you? Well, Max,
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Speaker 1: my mistakes are too many. That's the point. That's the point.
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Speaker 1: Our stumbles and fumbles are far too many. Our conscience
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Speaker 1: tells us that. And imagine what it must look like
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Speaker 1: from the perspective of perfect heaven. And even we, sinful people,
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Speaker 1: know we have sinned too often. Say, well, Max, I'm
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Speaker 1: just not worthy to receive such a gift. You weren't consulted.
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Speaker 2: You weren't.
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Speaker 1: Your view of yourself is not a part of this decision.
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Speaker 1: God has declared you're worthy of salvation for whatever reason.
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Speaker 1: There's something about you and there's something about me that
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Speaker 1: he wants to have in his eternal kingdom. Do you
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Speaker 1: understand the business of heaven? The business of heaven is
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Speaker 1: creating for God a redeemed people with whom and through
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Speaker 1: whom he can serve for eternity. He is right now
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Speaker 1: populating heaven. He is capturing, he is redeeming, he is
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Speaker 1: harvesting for himself a redeemed people with whom and through
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Speaker 1: whom he can serve for eternity. And the calculation of
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Speaker 1: heaven is simply this. It is a perfect place made
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Speaker 1: of perfect people.
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Speaker 2: And we are anything but perfect.
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Speaker 1: For that reason, Christ through the cross has perfected forever
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Speaker 1: those who are being made holy. Why would you refuse
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Speaker 1: a gift like that? Oh, I encourage you. Be open
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Speaker 1: to this miracle. Be open to the great work of
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Speaker 1: Christ on the cross for you. 500 years ago, the
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Speaker 1: leaders of the church in Germany decided to create what
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Speaker 1: we might call a church curriculum. It came to be
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Speaker 1: known as the Heidelberg Catechism. 52 declarations, one for each
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Speaker 1: week the churches could study. When it came to this topic,
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Speaker 1: they wrote this paragraph. God grants me the benefits of
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Speaker 1: the perfect expiation of Christ, imputing to me his righteousness
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Speaker 1: and holiness as if I had never committed a single
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Speaker 1: sin or had ever been sinful and as if I
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Speaker 1: had fulfilled myself all the obedience which Christ has carried
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Speaker 1: out for me If only I accept such a favor
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Speaker 1: with a trusting heart. Have you? Have you accepted such
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Speaker 1: a favor with a trusting heart? If you have not,
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Speaker 1: please do so. I close by saying just be a
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Speaker 1: part of this miracle. Now is the time. Today is
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Speaker 1: the day. You now know the most important word Christ
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Speaker 1: ever spoke, but that word avails you nothing unless it
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Speaker 1: is accompanied by a yes from your spirit. Have you
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Speaker 1: received with a trusting heart this great act of grace?
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Speaker 1: May your answer be yes. Heavenly Father, we bless you
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Speaker 1: for this great gift of grace. Let our hearts today
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Speaker 1: be buoyed, be lifted by this love that you have
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Speaker 1: for us and by this great accomplishment of Christ on
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Speaker 1: the cross.
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Speaker 2: Through Jesus we pray.
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Speaker 1: Amen.
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Speaker 4: As long as you're somewhere out there.
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Speaker 2: That's enough for me.
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Speaker 5: I don't need to hold you near me.
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Speaker 4: Don't need promises to keep. Just the thought that you
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Speaker 4: are breathing somewhere in this world.
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Speaker 1: I see.
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Speaker 4: Even if I'm not. beside you Even if you never
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Speaker 4: know There's a quiet kind of comfort Just in knowing
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Speaker 4: you still glow I don't need forever I just need
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Speaker 4: you to exist You don't have to stay with me
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Speaker 4: You don't have to feel the same Just as long
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Speaker 4: as you're still out there Calling softly through my days
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Speaker 4: You don't have to look my way You don't have
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Speaker 4: to be my home It's enough to know you're living
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Speaker 4: In a world I'm not alone I won't chase you
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Speaker 4: through the distance Won't disturb your chosen life I'll just
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Speaker 4: keep you in my silence Like a star that shines
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Speaker 4: at night Through the dark and through the blue I
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Speaker 4: still think of you You don't have to feel the
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Speaker 4: same Just as long as you're still out there Calling
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Speaker 4: softly through my days You don't have to look my
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Speaker 4: way You don't have to be my home It's.
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Speaker 3: Enough to know you're living In a world I'm not alone.
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Speaker 4: I don't need to be your light I don't need
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Speaker 4: to cross your mind All I need is just the
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Speaker 4: truth That you're somewhere Still alive.
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Speaker 3: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
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Speaker 3: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
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Speaker 3: out there Calling softly through my days You don't have
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Speaker 3: to look my way You don't have to be my
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Speaker 3: home It's enough to know you're living
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Speaker 4: In a world I'm not alone