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1 Corinthians 15 Pt. 2 · Time with God with John North

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  Speaker 1: Good Tuesday morning. We're talking all this week about the
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  Speaker 1: death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and what that means
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  Speaker 1: for us.
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  Speaker 1: We are looking at a chapter in the New Testament,
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  Speaker 1: in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This whole
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  Speaker 1: chapter is Paul unpacking what the death and resurrection of
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  Speaker 1: Jesus means to us. Yesterday we looked at the opening
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  Speaker 1: of the chapter where Paul says, Here's the foundational message
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  Speaker 1: you need.
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  Speaker 1: To hear this is the gospel, the good news, the
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  Speaker 1: core of the Christian faith. Jesus died for our sins.
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  Speaker 1: He took our place facing God's judgement and punishment, and
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  Speaker 1: that means that that's done. It's taken care of. And
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  Speaker 1: that means you don't have to do all sorts of
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  Speaker 1: good things, all sorts of religious things to be accepted
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  Speaker 1: by God.
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  Speaker 1: No, you're accepted because of what Jesus did. It's not
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  Speaker 1: what you do that will get you to heaven and
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  Speaker 1: get you into a right relationship with God. It's what
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  Speaker 1: Jesus has already done. So our lives become not trying
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  Speaker 1: to earn enough goodness to make God accept us. Jesus
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  Speaker 1: already did that. Our lives become a life of gratitude,
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  Speaker 1: doing what will please God because of what He has
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  Speaker 1: done for us.
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  Speaker 1: Paul ends that section saying, I am the least of
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  Speaker 1: the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle because I
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  Speaker 1: persecuted the Church of God. That was Paul before he
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  Speaker 1: became a Christian.
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  Speaker 1: Trying to stamp out Christianity, persecuting Christians, dragging them out
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  Speaker 1: of their houses, beating them.
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  Speaker 1: I am not worthy to be called an apostle, he says,
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  Speaker 1: when I think of all that. But then he continues
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  Speaker 1: in verse 10. He says, But by the grace of
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  Speaker 1: God I am what I am.
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  Speaker 1: By the grace of God I am what I am.
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  Speaker 1: It's not me that has made the change in my life.
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  Speaker 1: Paul says. I'm not worthy to even be considered someone
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  Speaker 1: that God would use, but it's not about what I'm
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  Speaker 1: worthy of. It's not about how good I am. And
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  Speaker 1: maybe even as you're listening this morning, when you think
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  Speaker 1: about coming to God or getting right with God, you think,
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  Speaker 1: I'm not worthy of God. There's too much junk in
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  Speaker 1: my life. God doesn't want to see me. He doesn't
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  Speaker 1: want to know me.
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  Speaker 1: I can't be good enough for God. Well, take heart
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  Speaker 1: from the apostle Paul. He persecuted the Church of God.
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  Speaker 1: He treated Christians so terribly. He dragged people from their homes.
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  Speaker 1: He beat them. He sent them to be killed. This
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  Speaker 1: is Paul, and he says, No, I'm not worthy. It's
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  Speaker 1: the grace of God. By the grace of God, I
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  Speaker 1: am what I am, and His grace toward me was
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  Speaker 1: not in vain.
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  Speaker 1: On the contrary, I worked harder than any of the
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  Speaker 1: other apostles. Yet it was not I, but the grace
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  Speaker 1: of God that is with me. Here it is again.
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  Speaker 1: It's God's grace that changed me. Nothing about me that
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  Speaker 1: made me worthy. And if you don't feel worthy, don't worry.
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  Speaker 1: It's the worthiness of Jesus who died on the cross
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  Speaker 1: for you that makes the difference, because of Him. God
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  Speaker 1: sees you as so precious, so valuable, and someone that
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  Speaker 1: He loves dearly.
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  Speaker 1: And as you put your faith in Jesus you're forgiven.
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  Speaker 1: And then as you try to live the Christian life,
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  Speaker 1: here's the apostle Paul saying, in light of God's grace,
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  Speaker 1: I worked harder than any of the other apostles, but
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  Speaker 1: it wasn't me.
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  Speaker 1: The grace of God that was with me enabled me
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  Speaker 1: to work that way. And as you come to faith
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  Speaker 1: in Jesus Christ, even then it's not you who changes
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  Speaker 1: your life. You choose to please God. You choose to
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  Speaker 1: allow God to direct your life, but it is God
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  Speaker 1: who will change you. It is God who will enable
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  Speaker 1: you to live that new way of life.
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  Speaker 1: Whether then it was I or those other apostles, Paul says,
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  Speaker 1: so we preach, and so you believed. We preached this
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  Speaker 1: simple message Christ died for our sins, and He's alive
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  Speaker 1: today to change your life.
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  Speaker 1: And when you believe Jesus does the same thing in
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  Speaker 1: you that He did in the apostle Paul, I wonder
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  Speaker 1: if today, even while you're listening, you can simply say
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  Speaker 1: to God out loud or in your own mind, God,
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  Speaker 1: I need what you have done for me. I can't
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  Speaker 1: change my life, but I know you can, and I
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  Speaker 1: come to you and ask your forgiveness and invite you
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  Speaker 1: to make my life what you want it to be.
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  Speaker 1: I'm John North.