The Closed Case: Living in the Freedom of No Condemnation

• Identity and Condemnation [00:05:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the believer's royal heritage in Christ with the enemy's desire to keep them in shame and guilt, arguing that God has removed all condemnation.
• Legal Metaphor of Salvation [00:09:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The sermon uses the imagery of a court verdict to explain that God has 'closed the case' and 'removed the sentence,' warning against the 'legalistic mentality' of trying to reopen it through self-condemnation.
• Internal vs. External Condemnation [00:06:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies that the 'loudest voice' condemning believers is often their own internal voice or past shame, rather than just the external enemy, and cites Paul's struggle in Romans 7 as evidence that this is a common human experience.
• The Completed Work of the Spirit [00:17:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes the past tense of Romans 8:2 ('has set you free') to argue that freedom is a completed spiritual reality, not a future goal to be earned through effort.
• Freedom from Condemnation [00:17:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that freedom is a completed past-tense reality ('has set you free') rather than a future goal to be achieved, contrasting the feeling of being 'tugged' with the reality of being liberated by the Spirit.
• Double Imputation / The Great Exchange [00:22:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > Explains the theological concept where our sin was imputed to Jesus on the cross and His righteousness is imputed to us, resulting in 'no condemnation' for those in Christ.
• Rejection of Self-Effort [00:18:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explicitly debunks the idea that freedom is achieved through 'behavior management' or 'trying harder,' asserting that it is a gift received, not earned.
• Shame and Guilt [00:24:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > Addresses the emotional burden of shame, urging listeners to stop carrying guilt for sins that Jesus has already forgiven and cast into the 'sea of forgetfulness.'

• Sermon Illustration [00:02:52 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about watching 'The Lion King' in 1994 with his wife, using Simba's fear and Mufasa's intervention as an analogy for believers feeling overwhelmed by the enemy until they recognize their Father's protection.
• Sermon Illustration [00:10:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the biblical story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8), illustrating how Jesus freed her from the condemnation of the law and the crowd, contrasting this with people who refuse to accept their freedom and choose to dwell in shame.
• Sermon Illustration [00:12:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a person who has been declared innocent in court but keeps going back to the courthouse basement to review old case files and relive their guilt, illustrating the futility of self-condemnation.
• Sermon Illustration [00:16:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes the internal struggle of the believer using the image of being strapped to a path where the flesh pulls left and the spirit pulls right, creating a 'nonstop tug of war' as described by Paul in Romans 7.
• Sermon Illustration [00:16:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a 'tug of war' to describe the feeling of being pulled between sin and God, which he then corrects by stating the reality is not a tug-of-war but a breaking of shackles allowing one to run freely. He also references the scene from The Lion King where Simba tries to roar but fails, contrasting it with Jesus as the 'Lion of Judah' whose roar has power over death and captivity.
• Sermon Illustration [00:21:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > A historical/theological anecdote about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating drops of blood, not because of the pain of death, but because He was about to take on the guilt of humanity and face the forsakenness of the Father.

• Pastoral Charge [00:13:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > Decide to stop living under the burden of guilt and shame and lay these burdens down at the altar.
• Pastoral Charge [00:24:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asks the congregation to desire freedom and restoration of dignity.
• Pastoral Charge [00:26:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor commands the congregation to actively accept the freedom Christ has provided.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] Give it up for the band leading us in worship today. Wow. It's such an awesome privilege to gather with God's people and to sing praises to our Lord and Savior. And I hope you never take it for granted. Every chance we get to be in this place, to sing together is a gift from God. It's a pleasure to be with you today. If you've been praying for Pastor Tim, thank you. Keep praying. Am I good? If you haven't been praying, now's a good time to pray.
[00:00:31] good time to start. Pastor Tim had a great surgery and he is fast tracking recovery. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Sometimes, you know, our pastor's got a fire in his bones and you can't
[00:00:44] put it out. So, so just keep praying for him and that he would, you know, you know, do all the things necessary to, to get back up here. I know the apostle Paul said, woe unto me if I don't
[00:00:56] preach the gospel. And I know that's how pastor Tim is feeling. He's, he's itching to get back.
[00:01:00] so keep praying. I'm excited today. We're starting off a brand new series for the next few weeks over Romans chapter 8, If God is for Us. If you've never read Romans chapter 8, boy, I got to tell
[00:01:12] you, you've been missing out. And so I want to challenge you over the next few weeks, read Romans chapter 8. Once a week, you could read it every single day because Romans chapter 8 is one of the
[00:01:25] most theologically rich chapters. It tells us all about who God is, what he has done. It addresses a lot of the things that we feel as we walk through life. It's going to address the way that
[00:01:40] we approach sin, the way that we approach self-condemnation, the way that we approach our struggles and suffering. It just gives us such a beautiful, wholesome, biblical view of how the gospel speaks to our lives. If God is for us, if God is for us. Now, if I asked every one of you
[00:02:03] individually today, do you think God is for us? I think that intellectually all of us would say, yeah, I think God is for me. But when it comes to practical living, when it comes to dealing with
[00:02:16] sin and doubt and shame, when it comes to rehearsing some of the bad decisions that we've made, when it comes to our own emotions sometimes, we can tell ourselves and begin to start thinking, well, I'm just not sure if God is for me.
[00:02:33] If God was for me, would this happen or would that happen or would it be such a struggle?
[00:02:40] But today we're going to launch with that understanding that, yes, God is for you.
[00:02:48] Is everybody ready?
[00:02:49] Yes, God is for you.
[00:02:52] As I was thinking about this sermon series, I thought of a movie.
[00:02:56] And it's an old movie, not as old as or older than I thought it was.
[00:03:02] But when Jenny and I were starting to date, I was 18, and it was 1994, all right?
[00:03:10] So that tells you how old I am.
[00:03:12] And we just happened to be down in Orlando, Florida, when this movie premiered in the summer of 1994.
[00:03:19] And it's a movie about a son who is learning the rites of passage to walk in his father's legacy, okay?
[00:03:31] It's a son who just couldn't wait to be king.
[00:03:37] Does anybody know what movie I'm talking about?
[00:03:40] Okay, let's show the character.
[00:03:41] Wait, wait, wait.
[00:03:41] Show the character.
[00:03:42] Yeah, yeah, you got it.
[00:03:44] You got it.
[00:03:44] What's his name?
[00:03:46] Simba.
[00:03:47] Who's the girl in the background?
[00:03:48] Poor Nala.
[00:03:50] So I thought of this little, this specific episode because Simba, listen, track with me.
[00:03:57] He is the king's son.
[00:04:01] Who's his daddy? Say it again. Mufasa is his daddy. He's the king, right? And he's like, yeah, I'm king, and I just can't wait, and I'm working on my roar, and he's figuring things out,
[00:04:16] and he gets himself into trouble because he's not obedient to the commands of his father, and there's an enemy chasing after him, and it's life or death. Literally, his life is on the line. Can we show a picture of the enemy real quick? Do we have a picture? Oh yeah. Those hyenas,
[00:04:35] man. Um, and they just, they wanted to kill him. Right. And then this particular episode, he's standing his ground. He's like, I'm going to fight, but he's, he's overwhelmed with fear.
[00:04:47] He's overwhelmed with self doubt. Uh, he knows he's made a mistake and he's cornered. Has anybody ever felt cornered before? Yeah. Well, let's watch the clip. See how it turns out. Yeah.
[00:05:00] Yeah Mufasa stepped in didn't he right that wasn't Simba's roar if you haven't seen the movie the movie is 32 years old just FYI that's how old you are yeah does it feel good it feel good I feel like you just watched that yesterday yeah me too uh 32 years ago Mufasa
[00:05:18] steps in and handles business right on behalf of Simba now here's what I think I think a lot of times in our lives, we're more like Simba than we're willing to admit. We know who our father
[00:05:36] is. We know the destiny that is before us. We know the royal heritage that has been passed down to us. But we take a look at the enemy and we say, I just, I'm too scared. I've made too
[00:05:50] many mistakes. I've gotten myself into this bad position and I can't get myself out. And I'm here to tell you Romans chapter eight, if God is for us, is not about you getting yourself out of
[00:06:02] trouble. It's about you recognizing who your father is. And if God is for you, what does the rest of that verse say? Who, who is against us? I think today, a lot of times we find ourselves
[00:06:18] in those situations. We know our identity. The enemy, however, doesn't care about your identity.
[00:06:29] Your past doesn't care about your identity.
[00:06:34] The past mistakes, the past shame, the past guilt, those who used to know you, they don't care about who you are now.
[00:06:41] They just want to see you suffer.
[00:06:42] The enemy out there doesn't care about who you are.
[00:06:45] He just wants to see you suffer.
[00:06:47] And sometimes we listen to the voice of the enemy.
[00:06:50] But would you be shocked to know that a lot of times the voice of the enemy is not the voice of the enemy, it's actually our own voice.
[00:06:59] because even though God is for us, sometimes we still feel condemned. So today we're going to start there. Is God for me? And if God is for me, why do I still feel condemned? Today we begin
[00:07:19] in Romans chapter eight, verse one, with one of the most powerful declarations in all of scripture.
[00:07:27] Romans chapter 8 begins with a verdict that has been declared.
[00:07:32] It is the truth about who you are in Jesus Christ.
[00:07:36] If you've forgotten that you've been forgiven, if you feel guilty anyway, this is what is true.
[00:07:43] Verse 1, therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
[00:07:53] so let's leave this up and I want everybody in the room to look at the screen and let it rest let it let it just soak in whatever it is that terminology that you want to use I want I want
[00:08:04] you if you don't get anything else today I want you to get this truth this is not a wish this is not hopeful thinking this is spiritual reality because of who God is and what he did in Jesus
[00:08:19] Christ, there is no condemnation. How much condemnation? No condemnation. There is therefore now only some condemnation. That's not what it says. There is therefore now delayed condemnation, right? Sometimes we think that God has got lightning bolts just waiting around the corner
[00:08:43] to strike us down because we know that condemnation, no, no, no, that's not what it says.
[00:08:48] there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This is the truth. This is reality.
[00:08:57] Some of us live as if God has reduced our sentence, but the reality is that he's removed it all together in Christ. This is the truth that a verdict has been declared. The judge has ruled
[00:09:12] the case is closed. There's no appeal needed. God is not building a case against you. He has already closed it in Jesus Christ. Sometimes I think we get in this legalistic mentality where we start, we start tabulating. We start thinking, well, I did, this is what we do. I did these good
[00:09:30] things. So I'm going to do these bad things or I've done these bad things and they're stacking up against me. So I better do something good, right? Does anybody else find themselves in that trap? That trap? Sometimes it's like a, it's like a wheel. It's like a cycle of futility. I got to
[00:09:46] do more good because I've done bad. Now I know that's how I approach my diet. Um, and some people probably do the same thing, but we're not talking about what you eat. We're talking about eternity.
[00:09:56] We're talking about spiritual reality. The problem is that we keep reopening closed cases.
[00:10:07] In Rome, in John chapter eight, there was a description of a woman who was caught in adultery And the Bible says that she was caught in the act and the law said that she should be stoned.
[00:10:20] So this woman was dragged out into the public square to be stoned and Jesus walks up right before they stone her to death.
[00:10:29] And then he says the most infamous line, let the one who has no sin throw the first stone.
[00:10:39] And the Bible says that one by one, they dropped their stones because they recognize, hey, I don't have, I've got sin. And so after a little bit, it's just Jesus and the adulterous woman standing there. And he asked the woman, where are those who are condemning you? Where
[00:10:53] did they go? They aren't here anymore. And she says, they're gone. And then Jesus says, neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. This is the freedom that Jesus offers. This is the life of forgiveness that Christ came to to purchase for us where he looks at you and he
[00:11:17] doesn't say you've never sinned he says the sin that you've committed if you trust in me I'm paying for it there's no more condemnation now go and sin no more now can you imagine can you imagine
[00:11:30] if the woman said no Jesus I really feel like I need to be stoned I really feel like I need to die Can you imagine if the woman had said that?
[00:11:41] If she said, no, Jesus, I really, I just want to feel some pain because I've done something bad, right?
[00:11:49] That doesn't make any sense.
[00:11:50] That's not what happened.
[00:11:51] When she was set free, she was set free.
[00:11:53] She walked away in freedom with a new life.
[00:11:56] And as silly as that sounds, that's what we do sometimes.
[00:12:01] We say, well, Jesus, I know you forgave me of my sins, but I just want to ruminate.
[00:12:07] I just want to, I can't get past the bad feelings.
[00:12:11] I can't get past the shame.
[00:12:13] I can't get past the guilt.
[00:12:14] I can't get past all those emotions that accompanied that sin.
[00:12:18] And so I just, I just don't know.
[00:12:21] I don't know if I'm really free of condemnation.
[00:12:25] You see, the problem is we keep revisiting and reopening old cases.
[00:12:30] It's like you've gone through a court trial.
[00:12:34] and even though you've been declared innocent, you want to go back to the courthouse and you want to ask the receptionist, hey, can I go review my old files?
[00:12:46] And you go down to the basement and you start opening up those case files.
[00:12:50] You've been set free.
[00:12:51] You've already been pardoned.
[00:12:52] You've already been declared innocent.
[00:12:53] But no, I just want to feel bad for a little bit.
[00:12:56] I want to dwell a little bit in the pity and in the shame and I want to revisit that one night stand that I had that I just can't get past.
[00:13:06] I want to go back and revisit the shame that I felt when I said too much and I couldn't take my words back.
[00:13:12] Anybody there?
[00:13:14] I want to go back and revisit that night that I drank too much and I made some foolish decisions.
[00:13:18] No, God, I just, I want to go back and relive it.
[00:13:20] And here's the word of God that says, there's no condemnation.
[00:13:25] It's time to walk in freedom.
[00:13:27] It's time to live as if you are a son and daughter of God.
[00:13:33] I wonder what life would look like if God's children, if we decided that I'm not gonna dwell in the past anymore.
[00:13:40] I wonder what life would look like for you if you decided you're not gonna live your life under the burden of guilt and shame and if you decided to lay it all down at the altar.
[00:13:50] I wonder what our homes would look like.
[00:13:52] I wonder what our community would look like if we had children of God who walked in freedom, free from the past, free from the guilt, free from the shame.
[00:14:02] Instead of replaying our past and defining ourselves by our worst moments and agreeing with that internal voice, instead, God has closed the case.
[00:14:16] You keep appealing a verdict that heaven has already settled.
[00:14:22] And here's the dangerous part.
[00:14:25] The loudest voice, the loudest voice condemning us is oftentimes not the enemy.
[00:14:33] it's oftentimes our own voice. You don't deserve this. You don't deserve freedom. You don't deserve all, whatever it is. And that's a dangerous place to be. Condemning yourself, wallowing in your own guilt and shame. I've got good news for you. Let's start with this good news. You're not alone in
[00:15:02] thinking that way. Everybody look at me. You're not alone in thinking that way. Even the apostle Paul felt that way. In fact, Romans 8, 1 begins with the word therefore, because it connects some of his thoughts from Romans chapter 7. And in Romans chapter 7, the apostle Paul goes in this
[00:15:25] exasperated monologue about how his internal battle just keeps festering. I know what's right and I do what's wrong. I don't want to do what's wrong, but I end up doing it anyway.
[00:15:37] And then the apostle Paul finally says of himself, oh, wretched man that I am.
[00:15:46] What a wretched, has anybody ever been there before? What a wretched man I am. So you're not alone. The apostle Paul in his mind feels like he's being tugged in two directions. The way that
[00:16:01] we feel a lot of times, here's an image to kind of show how we feel a lot of times. We feel like we're strapped. We feel like there's a path before us. We want to go the right way, but our flesh
[00:16:12] wants to go the left way. And it feels like a nonstop tug of war. Every moment of every day, Paul says, this is how I feel. I feel like I'm being tugged in one direction or the other.
[00:16:24] And can everybody agree that this is not a good place to be?
[00:16:29] Can everybody agree that even as God is pulling us to him, when we allow ourselves to feel as if we're chained to the past, there's no forward movement?
[00:16:39] Everybody see that?
[00:16:41] This is how we feel.
[00:16:43] But what does the word of God say that is true?
[00:16:46] The word of God does not say this is true.
[00:16:48] The word of God says, verse 2, because the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
[00:17:00] This is the power that we need to embrace today.
[00:17:03] The spirit has set you free.
[00:17:08] The spirit has set you free, verse two.
[00:17:11] I love this verse of scripture because when he says the spirit has set you free, that's in the past tense. Everybody say past tense. All right, we need to go through an English grammar lesson. Did you take grammar in ninth grade, 10th grade? I don't know. Past tense. What
[00:17:30] does that mean? It means it happened before today. It happened before we got here.
[00:17:37] The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus is someday going to set you free. The freedom's coming. You just got to work for it. No, that's not what it says. It says it has set you free.
[00:17:46] It's already done. Is everybody tracking with me today? It's already completed. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free. This is the power. This is the reality. God's spirit has liberated you already. Not behavior management, not trying harder, not trying to be
[00:18:07] a better next time. This is not about you getting yourself together. This is about embracing the offer of freedom that Christ is giving. And so reality, if we want to put an image to it,
[00:18:19] reality is not that we're being tugged in two different directions. The reality is that the spirit of Christ has broken the shackles off of our sin, off of the flesh, and we are free to run
[00:18:30] the direction that we want to run. Would you agree with that? I would say this is a better depiction because this is what is reality.
[00:18:38] Christ has set us free.
[00:18:41] He has.
[00:18:43] He already did it.
[00:18:46] We're already, if you're in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation and you're free to run.
[00:18:50] You're free to run the race that God has laid out, has marked out for you, that Pastor Tim has reminded us we have a race and we're called to run it with endurance and you're free to run it.
[00:19:01] The problem is sometimes we feel, everybody say feel.
[00:19:05] I don't like that word, but that's reality. Sometimes we feel like we're pulled that direction. That's not what the Bible says. The Bible says you've been set free from that direction and you're free to run towards Christ. The Spirit has set you free. How did God do it?
[00:19:22] Well, he's offered it. Freedom is not something you achieve. It's something you receive. You see, if you can achieve freedom, well, then you can lose freedom. If it's up to you to earn it, if it's up to you to fight for it, then it's up to you to retain it. But that's not what the Bible
[00:19:45] says. The Bible says freedom is a gift that you receive. How do we receive it? How did God earn it? I'm glad you asked. Let's keep reading. Romans 8, chapter 8, verse 3. For what the law could not
[00:19:57] do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. Anybody see those words on the screen or is it just me? For what the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. Who did? God
[00:20:11] did it. Not you, not you, not the law. Substitute whatever religious practice or religious devotion you want to put right there. It's weak. It can never earn what God offers. God did it. Not you,
[00:20:25] not me, not the preacher, not the church. God did it. God did it. What the law could not do because it's weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own son
[00:20:39] who's the name of God's own son. Say it. Say it again. Jesus Christ in his own son sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering in order that the law's requirement
[00:20:53] would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
[00:20:58] Here's what that verse says.
[00:21:00] Jesus took our condemnation.
[00:21:04] In the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was on his knees sweating drops of blood in agony and anguish not because he was about to die a death that thousands and thousands had already died in the past
[00:21:16] but because he was about to take on the guilt of humanity.
[00:21:20] In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, father, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not what I want, but what you want. He prayed it three times and he left the garden and went to the cross. The Bible says that he was in such
[00:21:33] anguish about going to the cross because on the cross, something was about to happen that has never happened ever before and will never happen ever again. The sins of all human race were put on his shoulders, and he died the death and the condemnation that you and I deserve. He said,
[00:21:55] Father, my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus took what belonged to us so that we could receive what belonged to him. There's a theological word called double imputation. Our sin was imputed on him on the cross and his righteousness was imputed onto us. The great exchange. So when Paul writes
[00:22:24] in Romans 8, 1, glory to God, there is therefore now no condemnation. He's not speaking a subjective voice. He's not saying, I hope if you walk the straight and narrow, he's telling you what Jesus
[00:22:43] did for you on the cross of Calvary. There is no other name that is high and lifted up, that is worthy of our praise. There is no other name that at his name all creation will bow and say he is
[00:22:59] Lord to the glory of God the Father. It's Jesus. This is what Jesus has done. So let me ask you again. If God isn't condemning you, why would we ever live as if we are condemned? If God has said
[00:23:20] you're set free, why would we ever put the shackles back on? I'm not saying your past wasn't real.
[00:23:28] I'm not saying the mistakes weren't painful. And I'm not saying the sin didn't have consequences.
[00:23:33] but what i am saying is that sin no longer gets to define you anymore i'm saying that from this point forward if you are in christ jesus you're a free person you're not bound by the shackle
[00:23:50] of sin or the shackles of your flesh you've been set free some of you this morning have been carrying around a burden that Christ has already dealt with. Some of you this morning under the
[00:24:08] sound of my voice, you're carrying around shame and guilt for stuff that Jesus died to forgive and wipe off the face of the map and cast into the sea of forgetfulness. You're carrying around those burdens and that guilt and that shame that you were never intended to carry that Jesus carried
[00:24:32] on the cross. Do you want to be free? Do you want to be set free? Do you want to walk with your head held high? It's not something you achieve. It's not something you pretend to have.
[00:24:52] If you're in Christ, you have it. He's done it. He's done what you could never do.
[00:25:01] I think about that scene with Simba. He said, I'm going to be a mighty king.
[00:25:08] He said, I'm working on my roar. We heard his roar. It wasn't enough. Your roar, it's a whimper.
[00:25:20] Let's be real. A roar is not enough. But Jesus is the lion of Judah. Jesus has a roar that opens graves. Jesus has a roar that makes the blind men see. Jesus has a roar that makes the lame man walk.
[00:25:41] Jesus has a roar that moves a stone out of the grave and sets captives free.
[00:25:47] Jesus has a roar, and I want his roar.
[00:25:50] When I'm trying to make my roar, I want his roar to be overwhelming, to send the enemies scattering.
[00:25:56] That's the roar I want.
[00:25:58] So if you're here today, God isn't condemning you if you're in Christ.
[00:26:08] So you don't get to condemn yourself.
[00:26:11] Receive the freedom.
[00:26:12] You don't get to condemn.
[00:26:13] Do you think your standard of holiness is higher than God's?
[00:26:17] If the highest judge in the universe looked at you and said, you are no longer condemned, why on earth would I think that my opinion overrides his?
[00:26:26] Why on earth would I say, oh no, but God, you're wrong.
[00:26:30] I need to sit in this condemnation for just a little while longer.
[00:26:33] When he says, no, I've released you from that, run in freedom.
[00:26:37] Do you think that you're better than the most high God to say, no, I don't think I'm worthy of that. No, he says you are no longer condemned. You're no longer condemned. Stop revisiting the past. Stop revisiting the shame. Stop reopening those
[00:26:59] old closed cases. They're not cold cases. They're closed cases. Jesus sealed them.
[00:27:07] Would you bow your heads with me and close your eyes? I want you to think for just a moment.
[00:27:13] And for some of you who walked in here this morning, maybe this is brand new information.
[00:27:22] This is the first time you ever heard about Jesus or you heard about what he did on the cross of Calvary.
[00:27:28] I'm glad you're here today, not because you chose to come to church, but you came to a church that preaches Jesus.
[00:27:35] You came to a church that acknowledges futility of human effort and lifts high the only name above all names who's able and willing to set the captives free. If you've never trusted in Christ, give him your heart right now. Say, God, forgive me. I'm a sinner. I can't get to heaven on my own.
[00:27:59] I can't do it. I want peace and I want joy and I want heaven, but I can't earn it of my own accord.
[00:28:04] So I trust in the work of Jesus who loves me and saves me. I surrender my life to him. I receive forgiveness from him and I'm stepping into freedom. For some of you, you've already received
[00:28:20] forgiveness from Christ. It's just a matter of walking in freedom. Imagine there's a man sitting in a jail cell. His trial is over. He's sitting there with his head in his hands in that prison
[00:28:35] cell. Some of you feel like you're in a prison cell today. He's sitting there with his head in his hands. And the jailer comes by and says, hey, the penalty has already been paid. The judge has
[00:28:52] declared you innocent. The prison door is unlocked. You're free to go. Can you imagine if that man said, no, I'm just going to sit here a while longer. I like the prison. And yet as silly as
[00:29:09] that is, some of us choose to do that. So let me say it clearly. If you're in Christ, there is no condemnation. We don't get to look at the cross of Calvary and say, oh, that's not good enough.
[00:29:34] We don't get to look at what Jesus has done and say, no, that's not good enough. I gotta dwell on it myself. I need to suffer a little bit for myself. We don't get to override what the cross
[00:29:49] has already declared. No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. No other fount.
[00:30:05] Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that made me white as snow.
[00:30:14] No other fount I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus Father, we lift up high the name of Jesus today There is no higher name There is no other way There is no other person who could take
[00:30:34] My guilt and my shame and my sin upon his shoulders There is no other way That I could receive forgiveness of sins and freedom Except what Jesus did for me on Mount Calvary he shed his blood for me
[00:30:49] he suffered and he died because he was motivated by the joy that was set before him and that joy was me and he saw me and he followed through with the crucifixion for me forgive me father when I've cheapened
[00:31:08] the sacrifice of Jesus by wallowing in my own shame God I lift my head high today I find encouragement in Jesus I find strength in the presence of your spirit.
[00:31:22] I've been born again by the blood of Christ.
[00:31:26] I don't want to walk in shame anymore.
[00:31:29] I don't want to act like I'm condemned anymore.
[00:31:31] I'm walking out of this place with my head held high, not because I'm strong enough or good enough, but because Jesus is.
[00:31:42] And God, we walk out of this place with a gospel message that can change the world.
[00:31:47] We walk out of this place with a message of hope and healing and forgiveness that can transform our homes, that can rejuvenate our marriages, that can bring dead things back to life.
[00:32:01] And oh God, we need it.
[00:32:03] We need it.
[00:32:05] So give us courage today to embrace the forgiveness and freedom that Christ paid such a high price for.
[00:32:15] And it's in his name God's people say amen.