The Trap of Self-Powered Grace: Recovering True Justification

• The Four Human Questions [00:27:53 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines four fundamental needs: someone to love you at your worst, tell you who you are (identity), tell you your worth, and tell you your mission.
• Theology Proper / Attributes of God [00:30:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor connects knowing God's attributes (sovereignty, grace, mercy) directly to emotional health and daily behavior, arguing that anxiety and anger reveal a lack of belief in these attributes.
• Grace vs. Judgment [00:33:20 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines grace as God's initiative to rescue the undeserving and addresses the tension between divine judgment and forgiveness, correcting both progressive denial of judgment and legalistic weaponization of it.
• Identity and Algorithms [00:28:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor critiques how social media algorithms and corporate interests determine human identity, contrasting this with the biblical need for God to define identity.
• Divine Judgment and Mercy [00:36:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts human retaliation with God's pure judgment, noting that Jesus absorbs this judgment for believers.
• The Trinity and Christology [00:40:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > Explains the necessity of Jesus being both 100% God and 100% man to effect reconciliation and justify believers.
• Salvation and Regeneration [00:42:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > Defines 'saved' (sozo) as rescue from sin/death/hell and explains the 'washing of rebirth' by the Holy Spirit.
• Sanctification and Neuroplasticity [00:46:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > Uses the analogy of a mouth guard and neuroplasticity to describe the uncomfortable but necessary process of renewing the mind and overcoming the 'flesh'.
• Justification by Grace [00:49:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > Teaches that God declares believers righteous through a supernatural exchange of Christ's righteousness for human unrighteousness.
• Justification and Righteousness [00:49:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that justification is a 'done deal' where God declares believers righteous by exchanging their unrighteousness for Christ's, citing 2 Corinthians 5:21.
• Insecurity and Marriage [00:50:37 ▶️ 📄]
  > He shares a personal testimony about how his marital issues stemmed from his own insecurity and past trauma, not his wife, and how understanding his identity in Christ resolved the conflict.
• Worship and Spiritual Warfare [00:52:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > He redefines worship as rejecting intrusive, demonic thoughts rather than just singing songs, urging believers to be more offended by lies than by his language.
• Eternal Life and Resurrection [00:53:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > He corrects misconceptions about hell and heaven, explaining that eternal life involves a physical resurrection on a renewed Earth, not just a spiritual realm elsewhere.
• Evangelism and Discipleship [00:54:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > He urges the congregation to move from passive attendance to active evangelism ('prayer, care, share') in their daily spheres of influence, using his own coffee shop ministry as an example.
• The Lord's Supper and Atonement [01:03:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > He connects the communion elements to the Jewish concepts of Yom Kippur, the mercy seat, and the scapegoat to explain total forgiveness and the removal of guilt.
• Self-Worth and Self-Obsession [01:04:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts low self-esteem with the value placed on believers by Christ, asserting that self-obsession causes bondage.
• Atonement and Forgiveness (Yom Kippur) [01:04:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > Explains the Jewish Day of Atonement rituals, including the mercy seat and the scapegoat, to illustrate how God forgives and forgets sins.
• Repentance and Communion [01:06:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > Calls for repentance and the removal of unforgiveness before receiving the body and blood of Jesus.

• Sermon Illustration [00:35:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal story about hiring a carpenter to build a room in his new house. The carpenter took the money and went on vacation with his wife, leaving the job half-done. The pastor describes his anger and desire for retribution, contrasting it with the eventual return of the money via the carpenter's wife, using it as an analogy for how humans violate God's trust and how God responds with grace despite deserving judgment.
• Sermon Illustration [00:36:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > A personal anecdote about a new Christian in San Antonio wanting violence against a scammer, only to receive a check and an apology from the scammer's wife, illustrating how humans violate trust and God's home.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analogy comparing the cultural shock of a Jewish Pharisee (Paul) partnering with a Gentile (Titus) to a neo-Nazi inviting a black person to a picnic to plant churches.
• Sermon Illustration [00:41:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > A personal story about being a player for the Colts and attending a Bible study where he and his wife realized they didn't understand what it meant to be 'saved'.
• Sermon Illustration [00:42:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analogy of a drowning person being given a life raft to illustrate the casual attitude many Christians have toward being 'saved'.
• Sermon Illustration [00:45:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > A personal story about getting fitted for a dental mouth guard to stop teeth grinding, used as an analogy for the initial discomfort of the new nature in the Holy Spirit versus the old flesh.
• Sermon Illustration [00:48:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a tsunami or standing under Niagara Falls to describe the overwhelming nature of God's mercy and grace.
• Sermon Illustration [00:50:37 ▶️ 📄]
  > He recounts a personal story of his marriage struggles, attributing them to his own insecurity rooted in past sexual molestation and neglect, which was healed when he accepted his identity as the 'righteousness of God' in Christ.
• Sermon Illustration [00:55:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > He uses a humorous analogy of an NFL player asking the coach when the next meeting is, to illustrate that the church service is the 'huddle' for preparation to play the 'game' of life.
• Sermon Illustration [00:56:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > He shares a true story about his routine at a local coffee shop, where he prays for lost people to approach him, leading to conversations and baptisms, including a couple who decided to marry after hearing his teaching on cohabitation.
• Sermon Illustration [01:04:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > He explains the Jewish ritual of Yom Kippur, contrasting the lamb whose blood was poured on the mercy seat for atonement with the scapegoat that carried sins into the wilderness to illustrate how God forgives and forgets sins.
• Sermon Illustration [01:05:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the Old Testament ritual of the scapegoat on Yom Kippur, where the high priest placed the sins of Israel on a goat and sent it into the wilderness to symbolize God forgetting sins.
• Sermon Illustration [01:08:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor humorously announces a trip to Western Montana to find Bigfoot, lead him to the Lord, plant a church among Bigfoots, and baptize UFOs, joking about planting campuses on other planets.

• Pastoral Charge [00:23:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > Attendees are invited to visit the Next Steps area in the lobby to receive a gift and a copy of the pastor's book.
• Pastoral Charge [00:24:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > Congregation is instructed to use the tap plate on the seat back to make a financial contribution immediately.
• Pastoral Charge [00:38:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation is asked to verbally recite the book name 'Titus' in unison.
• Pastoral Charge [00:49:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor urges the congregation to memorize 2 Corinthians 5:21 and display it prominently in their homes.
• Pastoral Charge [00:50:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor quotes Kindred Lamar to urge the congregation to cease striving and rest in God's work.
• Pastoral Charge [00:49:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > Memorize 2 Corinthians 5:21 and display it prominently in the home.
• Pastoral Charge [00:54:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > Memorize the statement that Christ's righteousness is now the believer's righteousness.
• Pastoral Charge [00:56:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > Identify one specific person to pray for and evangelize.
• Pastoral Charge [01:01:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray for salvation and give one's life to Jesus.
• Pastoral Charge [01:06:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray for the pastor during his six-week summer study and growth season.
• Pastoral Charge [01:07:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > Invite non-believing friends to attend the upcoming TC Welcomes events featuring guest preachers.
• Pastoral Charge [01:08:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray for the pastor's upcoming trip to Western Montana.

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:22:50] What a way to start our service. Can we give it up one more time for our incredible music team, ushering us into worship through music. Well welcome, welcome to Transformation Church. My name is Winnie Erb. We are so glad that you are here. Family, what a gift to be able to gather together and resound praise and worship to the one true God. What a gift it is.
[00:23:20] to be together. Well, welcome to Transformation Church. We're so glad you're here. Maybe this is your very first time being here. And if so, good morning. We're so glad that you're here.
[00:23:33] We'd love to invite you out to the Next Steps area at the end of the service. That area in the lobby, the team there would love to just say hi and offer you a gift, a copy of Pastor Derwin's book,
[00:23:44] The Good Life. And we just want to invite you to come on back next weekend because we're going to be able to gather together again next weekend. That's going to be amazing. Well, here at
[00:23:55] Transformation Church, we say all the time that all of life is worship. Our worship is not just the music we sing. It is the life that we live. And one of the ways that we get to worship is
[00:24:09] through our financial generosity. We serve a good and big and faithful God who has been so generous to us. He has gone over and beyond by giving his first and best in his son, Jesus. And our
[00:24:25] financial generosity gets to be both a response and a reflection of his generosity. So here at TC, there are multiple ways that you can give. There is one that I think is pretty cool, is the tap plate that's on the seat back right in front of you. You can simply tap your phone
[00:24:43] to that tap plate and give right now.
[00:24:47] Now, as always, you can give anytime via our website or our app, but Transformation Church, what an incredible opportunity to take this step of faith together and to be able to reflect and respond to a God that has given us so much.
[00:25:02] What a gift.
[00:25:04] Well, today we are wrapping up our sermon series called The God You've Been Searching For.
[00:25:09] It has been amazing, but I'd love for you guys to put your hands together

[00:25:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:25:14] and let's welcome Pastor Derwin. Well, hello. So good to see everybody. Let's give a big welcome to all of our guests at all of our Transformation Church locations and online. Thank you so much for
[00:25:48] being with us. Neither my wife nor I grew up in church, and so it can be very intimidating to walk into a big old building where people are singing unfamiliar songs and people raising their hands,
[00:26:01] some people crying. You just need to know this. This is a safe space to discover who Jesus is.
[00:26:07] And whatever idea you have about Jesus, he is greater and he is better. So thank you for being here. Let's give a big welcome to the over 1,500 correctional facility partnerships that are tuning in, the mighty men and incredible women of God and TC family. So good to see you. So we are
[00:26:26] concluding our series, The God You Have Been Searching For. And like we've done on every single one of these sermons, we're going to look at these four questions. Now, some of you may be saying, Pastor, are you telling me we're going to talk about the four questions again? We've done
[00:26:45] that for like two months. Why are you doing it again? Because it must be important. And I want it ingrained into you that you begin to frame your life around it. You begin to disciple your
[00:26:58] children around it. You begin to counsel each other around it. And then you begin to reach people who don't know Jesus with these four questions because every human heart has these four questions that must be answered for us to have a flourishing life. Now, when I say flourishing
[00:27:17] life, I don't mean stuff. I mean this, that your kids don't have to lie at your funeral.
[00:27:25] I mean this, that when people talk about you, they don't talk about what you've done.
[00:27:31] They don't talk about what you've accomplished. They talk about your character. That's a flourishing life. And so here are the four questions that are underneath everything that we do and what we're looking for. Number one, someone to love you at your worst. So if you can do something for
[00:27:53] somebody, if you accomplish something, well, yeah, we cheer. But what about when you can bring nothing to the table? What about when you have nothing? Someone to love you at your worst.
[00:28:05] And then next, we need someone to tell you who you are. That's called identity because whoever you think you are is going to determine how you live. Now, this is a hard one for us as Americans
[00:28:18] because we're like, ain't nobody going to tell me what to do. Really? Your algorithm on social media is telling you what to do. Everything that you want to see, it keeps feeding you.
[00:28:30] Sometimes you can live in a whole different world than the person who lives in your house because of your social media algorithm. And I'm telling you now, the algorithm know what kind of clothes I like. It's hitting me, just taking all my money. But on a serious note, the algorithm is telling
[00:28:47] you to demonize people who don't vote the way you vote. The algorithm is determining our identity and corporations are determining our identity. As a matter of fact, there's been people who were supposed to love you who've spoken words of discouragement over you that are still shaping
[00:29:06] you to this day. Number three, someone to tell you your worth. We all want to have worth.
[00:29:16] But the problem is when we put our worth in what we do, we never ever think we're worth enough because there's never enough that we can do. And what if you stop doing what it is that you do?
[00:29:29] Like for example, now moms hear me, love you, love you, love you, love you. But for some of you, you think your worth is being a mom, what happens when they turn 18 and they gone and you've spent
[00:29:40] all your time and your kids and you don't even know your husband? So let's be careful. And I'm gonna have illustrations for men too. Don't worry, I'm getting everybody. I'm an equal opportunity getter. I'll be getting myself. Number four, someone to tell you your mission. Life has got to be more
[00:30:01] than simply we go to work every day, we get debt, we pay it off, we have some kids, we get some cars, we get a dog, a cat, and then we die. There has to be more. Well, the someone who answers
[00:30:15] these questions, that someone is the God who is grace. The God who is grace. Now, this entire series that we've been doing, the God you've been searching for in seminary is called Theology proper. Theology proper is the first systematic theology class you take in seminary because
[00:30:39] theology proper deals with what are the attributes and characteristics of God. And so what I want you to do over the summer, I want you to re-listen to these sermons. I want you to work through the
[00:30:51] questions, and at the end of it, you'll have yourself a certificate of systematic theology and theology proper. You're like, Derwin, why is that important? Because if you don't know who God is, it's going to directly affect your life. Case in point, if you look at the world like it's out
[00:31:10] of control, what's going on, and your emotions are everywhere, it's because you don't believe God is sovereign. You don't believe God is in control. Say like if you blow up and you're living with shame and guilt, well, you don't believe that God is actually gracious and loving and
[00:31:22] merciful and kind. Don't tell me what you believe. Your anxiety will tell me what you believe.
[00:31:26] uh-oh uh-oh we didn't win somewhere didn't we don't don't well i believe this really well why are you cussing out your spouse if you believe in forgiveness if you believe in mercy then why are you destroying your kids when they make a mistake if you believe god provides and why you
[00:31:45] stand you're not generous all of those things flow from who we think god is so if you're new to transformation church my goal is not to hype you up when you die of cancer hype ain't gonna
[00:31:57] help you, but to know that there is a God who rose from the dead, who is good and powerful, that'll change your life. Okay, let's go. Let's go. Here we go. Let's dive into it. Let's dive
[00:32:08] into it. Here we go. Definition here. God is grace means that he lovingly and freely gives himself to undeserving people like me and you through Jesus Christ. Grace is God's initiative to rescue us when we could not rescue ourselves. Forgive us when we deserve judgment. Unite us
[00:32:33] to Christ and empower us to become who He created us to be. Let me pause here. If you followed Jesus for a while, grace is technically God's undeserved favor. But it's more than that.
[00:32:52] God's undeserved favor is Jesus being everything we could never be, forgiving everything that needs to be forgiven, and living in us so we can be everything he's created us to be. Jesus is not your co-pilot. He's not your homeboy. He is our life. And grace makes that possible. All right,
[00:33:20] teenagers, check this out. Because God is grace, Jesus rescues you and me from the judgment we deserve. Jesus rescues you from the judgment you deserve. Let's pause here. I want to confess in my experience as someone who's not only a pastor, but who dabbles in the academy and who's on all
[00:33:44] types of boards to look at where Christianity is going in America and globally. I'm on safe ground to say that the judgment of God has been used in ways that have been weaponized and pushed
[00:33:56] people away from Jesus instead of drawing people near. Here's what I mean. Maybe you've been walking downtown, and somebody has big signs about who God hates, and they're like, you're walking like you're going to go to hell because of what you wear, and you're going to go to hell, and they're
[00:34:12] just angry and mad. And so, the picture is, wow, man, if God's people angry, He must be angry.
[00:34:20] So, let's pause here. Judgment is real, but forgiveness is real. Now, let me situate us in this. If you tend to lean progressive or a little bit left, it's like, well, God would never be judging. Well, why are you so judging? Man, you'd be judging Trump now.
[00:34:44] I mean, you judge corporate greed, you judge this, you judge… So, you can judge, but God can't judge.
[00:34:52] Hold on, I ain't done yet.
[00:34:53] Now, let's come over here.
[00:34:55] Now, for those of you over here, like, yes, God judges sin.
[00:35:00] Oh, but the president, we don't mess with his sin, though.
[00:35:02] He's just, you know, blah, blah, blah.
[00:35:04] I'm getting everybody.
[00:35:07] So, let's do Bible.
[00:35:11] There is judgment and there is grace.
[00:35:15] Let me give you an illustration.
[00:35:16] So my wife and I, when we first moved to Charlotte, bought a house and we had the house built and I'm from the mud, I'm from the hood. So buying a house was like, man, this is my house. And so I got a
[00:35:28] special room called the Dewey room. Dewey is my nickname. So in the Dewey room is all my football trophies and pictures and also have two libraries in my house. Now don't think like library, think
[00:35:40] like, you know, a hundred books here, a hundred books here, right? So we brought in a carpenter to do his carpentry thing. We paid him in full, but he did half the work. One week went by,
[00:35:51] I didn't hear from him. Two weeks went by, I didn't hear from him. Week three, I'm making phone calls, don't hear nothing. Now, at this point, I got to be honest, I was a brand new
[00:36:00] Christian at this time. So, the west side of San Antonio, Texas was rising up in me.
[00:36:07] Turn the other cheek was not rising up in me. Violence was rising up in me. So, I made some more phone calls. His partner said, hey, man, you just need to know he took his wife on a vacation
[00:36:19] with the money you gave him. I'm really hot. So I leave another message. Hey, I know people in law enforcement. I don't want to have to call them. Just give us our money back. We'll forgive you.
[00:36:31] Move on. Check comes, letter comes in the mail. His wife writes, hey, sorry for what he did. Isn't that sad? His wife had to write. I hope he's here, by the way. I may not know him, but I hope you
[00:36:42] and got saved and got right with the Lord and serving your wife. But anyway, his wife wrote it and put the check in there, right? So he deserved judgment. He violated my home. He violated my
[00:36:56] trust. That hurts. We do the same thing to God. We came into his home called earth and we violated him by the way we treat each other. Think of the people you and I have hurt. Think of the people
[00:37:12] we've lied to. Think of the people we've manipulated. Think of all those things. And then if we extrapolate, I mean, we got kids in Lebanon being blown up by missiles out of the sky.
[00:37:23] We got Christians in Nigeria being kidnapped by jihadists. We have corporate greed and political fraud. We got, I mean, it's just so much and God is going, and you don't think I deserve to give
[00:37:38] judgment? Oh, you can give judgment, and you can get mad at me when I judge. But here's the thing, though. God is the only one who judges purely with pure motives. And here's the thing. As much as he
[00:37:51] judges, he goes, but my son's going to take your judgment if you let him. I've been talking, well, you know, I'm like, wow, you're pretty judgy, but God can't judge. No, actually, he can, and Jesus took it for us. Titus chapter 3. We're going to look at just a few verses today. On the
[00:38:16] count of three, say Titus with me. One, two, three. Titus. So, Titus was a young church planter that the Apostle Paul commissioned to plant churches. Here's what you need to know about our man Titus.
[00:38:28] You ready? Titus was not a Jew. He was a goneme, a Gentile. You're like, pastor, what's the big deal?
[00:38:36] In the ancient world, for a Jewish Pharisee named Paul to get a Gentile to roll with him and to plant a church would be equivalent to a neo-Nazi finding Jesus, going to a black picnic
[00:38:50] and saying, hey, I found Jesus. Would you join me? We can be friends and plant churches.
[00:38:56] It is a big deal. I want to apologize to you if you've been in church your whole life and have not heard that. I believe it's a tactic of the devil. This passage loses its power if I
[00:39:11] don't teach that. That's why we're stuck the way we are. Titus, Gentile being taught by a Jew.
[00:39:21] If you don't believe me, just read Acts chapter 10, verse 32. Peter says this to the Gentile Cornelius, the Italian dude. He was like, man, I ain't even supposed to be in your house. You
[00:39:31] unclean. But I learned God is not a respecter of any persons. Guys, this is massive. And by the way, if you're new here, our church looks this way, not by accident. The gospel over 16 years
[00:39:43] has formed it. Verse three, back to the text. We deserve judgment. But when the anger of God came, isn't that what it says? When the wrath of God came, isn't that what it says?
[00:40:00] but when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared. Quickly, God our Savior, if you look that up in what we call the Old Testament, that's only used for Yahweh, which is the personal name of the God of Israel. And it's used of Jesus. Here's why. Because we believe that
[00:40:24] the testimony of Scripture is that Yahweh is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Think of a triangle. Three points, one triangle. Well, Jesus is the second person of the triune God. Why is
[00:40:36] that important? Because He's God the Son, He can grab the hand of God the Father. And because He's 100% man, He can grab your hand and my hand and bring us together in reconciliation. Now,
[00:40:50] understand this. That's just not abstract theology. If Jesus ain't God the Son, His sacrifice isn't enough. If Jesus is not 100% man, He can't represent us. That's why He's the Son of God.
[00:41:03] That's why He's the Son of Man. That's why He is who He is. Guys, a theology-less Christianity is just a hype show, and you're going to come back every week to get a hit versus actually knowing
[00:41:17] God. I want to teach you how to read the Bible. Teenagers, because God is grace, Jesus rebirths you and I into a new person with a new identity. What in the world does that mean? Let's dive into
[00:41:34] it. Let's talk to our man, Titus. Paul is teaching him how to teach the people. He saved us. Let's pause here. When Vicki and I were exploring about what Christianity was like, when we played for
[00:41:44] the Colts, there was a team Bible study. It's around 95, 96. And we went there and people were saying stuff and we were just shaking our head and we had no clue what they were talking about.
[00:41:56] And the chaplain said, Derwin, Vicki, are y'all saved?
[00:41:59] We were like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:42:01] We got in the car and we looked at each other.
[00:42:03] True story.
[00:42:04] Man, what does saved mean?
[00:42:06] We had no clue what saved meant.
[00:42:09] Guys, stop using language that unbelievers don't know.
[00:42:13] We had no clue.
[00:42:14] And then what I found out when I became a pastor, most Christians don't know what saved means.
[00:42:20] The word saved, there's the Greek word sozo.
[00:42:23] And in context, it could mean deliverance.
[00:42:25] It could mean healing.
[00:42:26] It could be set free. In this context, God set us free from sin, death, and hell. He saved us. He rescued us. See, casually being saved doesn't exist in the Bible. What would you do if you
[00:42:43] were drowning and someone gave you a life raft? We'd be like, yeah, thanks, man. Thanks for saving me. I meet way too many people like that. Matter of fact, I get concerned when I talk to Christians
[00:42:55] and Jesus ain't coming out them every other sentence. Saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us, there it is again, through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. God gives us a shower. So let's break this down.
[00:43:21] So we talked about Jesus, the second person of the Trinity. Now let's talk about the third person, God the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit's job is this, to open your eyes and my eyes
[00:43:32] to the beauty of Jesus. You and I don't wake up one day going, I want to follow Jesus. No, no, no, friends. When you meet Jesus, you'll be able to look back and go, oh, oh, I see. I see
[00:43:47] how God was moving and wooing. So God the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the need for forgiveness, the need to his mercy to have spiritual understanding and then our hearts are freed to go i want forgiveness i want his life and when that happens a miracle takes place we literally
[00:44:03] are reborn uh the bible says that we get a new heart not physical heart that's a way of speaking of you have a new life force inside of you the person of jesus the power of the holy spirit is
[00:44:17] in you here's one of the ways you can know that you've been reborn things you used to do before you knew Jesus, now bother you when you do them. I mean, back in the day, I could lob to someone
[00:44:32] and didn't even care. I could talk to anybody any kind of way and didn't even care. Now, I'd be like, hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to have that inflection in my voice. They're like,
[00:44:42] what are you talking about? I was like, man, I kind of got excited and raised my voice. Will you please forgive me? They're like, man, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm like, I knew what I was talking about. I'm sorry. I mean, back in the day, I could be like, yeah,
[00:44:51] Vicki, whatever. Man, now I try, I mean, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. How about you? Are you an act of sin and it doesn't even prick your heart? One of the worst things is to attend church
[00:45:10] and be numb to sin. That's one of the greatest places the devil does heyday at.
[00:45:17] You begin to have new passions and new desires. Doesn't mean you're walking that way, but man, you want to. Renewal by the Holy Spirit. God gives us a new nature. Maybe this illustration helps. So the dentist I go to, there's a dental hygienist. She's awesome. And she's like, pastor,
[00:45:38] you grind your teeth when you sleep. So you need to get a mouth guard. So I had to get fitted for a mouth guard. Man, the first night, terrible. Just so uncomfortable. Second night, about the
[00:45:51] first month was just uncomfortable and I wanted to take it out, but I heard her voice saying, you grind your teeth. Man, I want my teeth all grown. You know, when you get old and it ain't
[00:46:01] got no, where do my teeth go? You bait them down, Derwin, you bit them down. So I would hear her voice. And so now after years, I got them in, right? And it just feels natural. Well, when you
[00:46:14] and I come to Jesus, it's like a mouth guard. It feels a little uncomfortable because here, here's why. We have this thing called the flesh. It's not your body. Biblically, sarx, the flesh means what are the things I did to live independent from God? And so, you have a new nature and your
[00:46:32] old flesh is going, hey, hey, hey, listen, if you tell the truth, what are they going to think about you? And a new nature is like, I know it feels uncomfortable, but believe the truth.
[00:46:41] Believe the truth. Man, I used to do this. Well, the new nature is inside of you. So, it may feel uncomfortable. And the more you believe the truth, that's what's happening. You're rewiring your brain. That's when Paul says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Neuroscientists call
[00:46:59] it neuroplasticity. Listen, some of you have been telling yourself the same lie. You don't even recognize truth anymore. So it's time for you to get off an exit ramp and create a new freeway of
[00:47:10] grace and believe God's truth. Listen, you thought your way into it. You can think your way out of it through the power of the Holy Spirit. The scene of the crime is your life. I know some of you are
[00:47:23] like, pastor, that don't work. I tried it. How long you try for? Three days, it don't work.
[00:47:29] So you thought this way for 26 years, but three days is going to change, you know?
[00:47:33] No, guys, it's going to take a little time and it's going to feel uncomfortable.
[00:47:39] Feelings don't determine truth. I could feel like a fried taco. If God says you have a new birth, are you going to call him a liar or believe his truth is it going to feel uncomfortable just like
[00:47:59] that mouth guard yep lord i believe it regardless of how i feel lord i believe it how regardless of you're changing the shape of your brain the holy spirit is moving before you know it
[00:48:10] you're going to be walking on a new path and when you look back at that old path it's going to have weeds on it and say you don't need to go there no more there's a new free way
[00:48:21] of grace, whom he poured out on us generously. Aren't you glad God don't go drop, drop, drop?
[00:48:36] You know what generously means? You ready for this? Generously. That when God pours his spirit out upon us, that when God gives us mercy and grace and all, he doesn't just give us a little
[00:48:45] bit. It's like a tsunami. It's like standing under the Niagara Falls. Guys, don't move from the fall.
[00:48:54] let it fall over you through Jesus Christ our Savior so that here's his word having been the way this is written in the Greek language it means a past action it is a done deal having been
[00:49:09] justified by his grace the word justified simply means this God declares you righteous let me put it to this way. On the cross, when you have faith in Jesus, God supernaturally exchanges your unrighteousness and my unrighteousness for his righteousness. We can't be in a relationship with
[00:49:33] God unless we're righteous. And so what does God do? God says, I'm going to give my son's righteousness to you and put your unrighteousness on him. Some of you may be going, pastor, I ain't
[00:49:43] heard that before. Well, it's in the Bible. Been there 2,000 years. 2 Corinthians 5.21. If I were you, I would memorize it. I would put it all over your house. God made him who knew no sin to be
[00:49:54] sinned that we may become the righteousness of God. Well, guess what? If God says I'm righteous, then I am. I'm not going to call him a liar. I'm not going to negotiate with him. I'm going to
[00:50:04] believe it. What you going to do? What you going to do? Well, pastor, you know, I'm going to work really hard. Why? He already did the work. That's your problem. You need to get out of the way.
[00:50:18] in the words of kindred lamar sit down and be humble guys this saved my marriage you're like pastor how did this doctrine save your marriage because it's a person my problem was not my wife
[00:50:37] vicki gray my problem was my insecurity i heard what she said through my insecurity when you're insecure and you hear what someone says you filter it through all your hurt and pain my issue wasn't
[00:50:51] with my wife in my early years. It was with the person, the person, the person, the person who I hadn't seen in years who took the stairwell of my life. The person who told me I was dumb when I
[00:51:02] went through sexual molestation, when I felt abandoned, when I felt neglected. So by the time I marry her, I got all these filters and everything she says is filtered through that. But then one day I met Jesus and he told me, he said, Derwin, you ain't what happened to you. You're not what's
[00:51:21] been said about you. You are what my son has done for you. You are the righteousness of Christ.
[00:51:27] So therefore, I could hear what she says and hear it from the context of, you know what?
[00:51:33] You're right. I'm secure. You know what? You're wrong. I'm secure. It didn't have nothing to do with her. It had everything to do with me. Some of you right now in marriage counseling, I talk to
[00:51:42] you. What do you need to change? You spend the first 10 minutes ignoring my question, telling me everything they need to do. And I go, what do you need to change? Then you do it again.
[00:51:51] NASA, we got a problem.
[00:51:55] You think fixing out here is the deal.
[00:51:57] God's trying to change you from the inside out.
[00:52:00] Trying harder is not going to change you.
[00:52:04] Receiving is going to change you.
[00:52:08] Every time you go, I'm not righteous, like you think you're stronger than Jesus.
[00:52:14] Some of y'all think too highly of yourselves.
[00:52:17] Hey, God the Father, you know, hey, listen, I'm going to have a pity party today because I didn't accomplish this.
[00:52:22] So, you know, what your son did for me, declaring me righteous and all, I'm going to ignore that today and just focus on myself and be miserable.
[00:52:31] You see how ridiculous that is?
[00:52:34] You guys think worship is singing some songs and getting Holy Ghost goosebumps.
[00:52:39] Worship is when you're being assaulted by intrusive thoughts and you say, hell to the gnaw today.
[00:52:44] Uh-uh, go back to hell where those thoughts come from.
[00:52:48] Now, before y'all send me a note saying I cuss, nope, those are demonic thoughts from hell and go there.
[00:52:54] some of y'all need to get me more offended by the thoughts you're believing than what i just said what i just said is accurate and biblical demons are from hell stop believing that stuff start
[00:53:08] believing the truth we might become the heirs having the hope of eternal life eternal life friends and please don't laugh because some people actually believe this someone i was talking to believe that hell was in the center of the earth i'm like guys that's dante's inferno that's not
[00:53:28] Bible. The unseen realm is all around us. Heaven isn't like getting one of Elon Musk's spaceships, go past Jupiter, make a right turn at Neptune, and you're there. God's realm, His realm is all around us, and from time to time, we get a peek into it. Eternal life means this. Just like Jesus
[00:53:47] rose from the dead in a physical body, we too will rise from the dead in new physical bodies and be here on planet Earth. We'll have jobs and community. What was lost in the Garden of Eden,
[00:53:57] what should be, will be. Some of you are getting your hair back. It's going to be great.
[00:54:05] Hey, listen, I'm going to get my abs back. It's going to be wonderful. Seriously though, God says it's done. You don't have to worry about it. We don't have to fear death.
[00:54:17] Death has been killed in Jesus's death and resurrection. Lastly, because you are united to Christ, his righteousness is now your righteousness. I would put that somewhere in your house, somewhere to memorize that thing. Number three, teenagers, Jesus releases you to
[00:54:36] reflect him in your sphere of influence. As a result of his grace, look what happens.
[00:54:42] This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to stress these things. So he's teaching Titus, a young pastor, like here's what you teach. So that those who have trusted in God may be careful, you ready, to devote themselves to doing what is good. Okay, what would happen
[00:55:09] when I was an NFL football player if I just listened to the coach? Great meeting, coach.
[00:55:15] When is the next one? You have a meeting to get equipped to go play the game. This is just the, So, now we can go play the game. The big deal for Transformation Church is on Sunday.
[00:55:30] Sunday is the huddle where we get the playbook and the instructions to go play the game Monday through Saturday. And you know where the game is? Your job, your neighborhood, your relationships. And you know what the best good thing you can do is introduce someone to
[00:55:51] King Jesus. Prayer, care, share. Pray for people, care for people, share with people.
[00:56:03] Hey, this is my story. This is how I came to Christ. Hey, you know what? Why don't you join me at Transformation Church? I want you to meet some of my friends. Here's something that's
[00:56:14] happened over the last year. We're continuing to grow, which is wonderful. But the number of people coming to Jesus is not growing. So, what's happening is a lot more people who are looking for churches who already believe in the Lord are coming. That's great if you're looking for a
[00:56:28] church, but we're trying to reach people who don't know Jesus. So, who is your one? Who is the one person you're praying for to come to know Christ? Now, listen, guys, you know me. There's a coffee
[00:56:43] shop that I go to. Do not show up at my coffee shop expecting counseling. Listen, we have a counseling team with people who counsel better than me. When I'm in my coffee shop, chunk the
[00:56:55] deuce, fist pound, and keep it moving. You know why I'm there? To reach lost people. You know how many lost people have come to Jesus in that coffee shop? And this is what I do. True story. I walk in,
[00:57:06] I get the biggest King James Bible I got, and I go, hey, turn the burn, believe.
[00:57:12] No, you know what I do?
[00:57:14] I go up to the barista.
[00:57:17] I order me a medium black coffee, no sugar, no additives because I'm a full-grown man.
[00:57:24] I sit my gluteus maximus down, and then I pray, Lord, bring people to me that don't know Jesus, that need to know.
[00:57:35] And then you know what I do?
[00:57:35] I sit there, and I wait, and then people come.
[00:57:40] And over the years, there's been scores of people who've been baptized as a result of that.
[00:57:47] So I was in there.
[00:57:49] I noticed this gal over the last year.
[00:57:53] We've been talking more, and she'll throw out some spiritual stuff.
[00:57:56] And I'm like, well, let me throw a little.
[00:57:58] Okay, all right, okay.
[00:58:00] And then she told me this past week, she goes, Pastor, me and my boyfriend have been coming to church for three weeks.
[00:58:06] I said, really?
[00:58:07] She goes, yeah.
[00:58:08] She goes, and by the way, we've been living together and we're getting married because we heard you say that if you're living together and you say you follow Christ, you're not married, it's in sin.
[00:58:18] We don't want to be in sin.
[00:58:19] So we're getting married.
[00:58:23] About five of y'all clapping.
[00:58:25] About 30% of y'all like, I'm gonna let that sit there.
[00:58:46] If you're going to do grown people stuff, then do it the right way.
[00:58:50] Have God be in the, don't ask for God to fully bless you if you got 5% in.
[00:58:54] like God bless me like why you don't trust me like trust him like like like trust him with every fiber now listen this area is filled with people who are yet to discover the grace of God
[00:59:16] I know what it's like for 26 years of my life not to know Jesus I don't want any human being to experience that you are going to be around more people that don't know Christ than I am
[00:59:28] My job is to equip you to be the missionary movement in your neighborhood, in your schools, in your friend group. And the way you do it is prayer, care, share. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. So first of all, God loves you and he wants it to be profitable
[00:59:51] for you. As your lead pastor, I love you and I want this to be profitable for you.
[00:59:58] One of the most heart-wrenching things is to be with people who've sat under the gospel and they still shipwrecked their lives and hurt each other and wound each other.
[01:00:11] Here's something they didn't prepare me for for seminary, and I don't think you can ever be prepared for it, is when you counsel people and you love people and you bury people, you carry that home and you see their faces and you hear their tears and it hurts.
[01:00:27] So you've got to understand, I'm not just preaching.
[01:00:28] this ain't entertainment. This ain't listen to a good talk. This is for our lives, for the goodness and for the grace of God. His grace is able. Wouldn't it be great that at our funerals, nobody would have to lie? Man, God's grace is good enough. Hey, I'm going to lead us
[01:01:01] in prayer and then we're going to have the Lord's Supper and then we're going to be done. Pray with me, please? Father, thank you for your kindness and your goodness and your mercy. Father, I pray
[01:01:18] that we would be a people of grace and your grace would be oh so sufficient. Thank you so much.
[01:01:29] Right now, I want to pray for those of you who are saying, hey, preacher, I need to come to know Jesus the way you described him. I need to be born again, not follow external rules, but I need to be born again to where I've given him my life
[01:01:45] because he's given his life for me.
[01:01:47] Listen, we're not gonna manipulate you, cajole you.
[01:01:50] Listen, you know where you are.
[01:01:53] Today, Jesus is extending his hand to you saying, come to me for forgiveness.
[01:01:57] Come to me for righteousness.
[01:01:59] Come to me for new life.
[01:02:00] Come to me.
[01:02:03] If that's you right now in the silence of your heart, say this to him.
[01:02:06] Today, King Jesus, by faith, I believe you bled.
[01:02:09] I believe you died.
[01:02:10] I believe you rose again.
[01:02:12] And I received the free gift of eternal life.
[01:02:15] Amen.
[01:02:16] Can we give God a round of applause?
[01:02:21] All right, fam, check this out.
[01:02:25] Before we receive the Lord's Supper, we got permission, you got permission.
[01:02:29] I want everybody to grab your cell phone.
[01:02:33] Everybody grab your cell phone.
[01:02:36] If you have an iPhone, I want you to tap on the seat in front of you, the top of it.
[01:02:41] If you have an Android base, I want you to tap the back.
[01:02:44] It's gonna take you to our connection page.
[01:02:47] And if you prayed with me to receive believe Christ or renew your faith in Christ, let us know. We're going to get in contact with you.
[01:02:57] If you've not been baptized, check in there. I want to be baptized. Baptism is going public with your faith, just like this wedding ring lets the world know I'm married to my wife, going public with your faith in baptism also. So we're going to have a big baptism in the fall. It's
[01:03:14] going to be at Lake Wiley. It's going to be epic. And we baptize in everybody, catfish, bass, striped bass crappie perch crap uh carp whatever seriously okay also when everybody fills out that connection card that helps us plan for the future and what our services are going to be like because
[01:03:37] when we get back and when you know when the fall comes it's going to be bananas okay so thank you for doing that all right thank you so much so our soul tattoo is this live in grace receive the
[01:03:50] Lord's Supper. So if you have the elements, I want to walk you through something that followers of Jesus around the globe have been doing for 2,000 years. Jesus took bread and he broke it. And he
[01:04:06] said, this is my body broken for you. Would you think about that for a moment? Remember we talked about question three, your worth. How much are you worth to God if he was broken for you? Can you
[01:04:23] imagine saying, hey God, my self-esteem is low. And he's like, was my son not enough? Maybe we don't think about him enough. Maybe we think too much about ourselves. Self-obsession leads to bondage. Christ's preoccupation leads to freedom. Brothers and sisters, let us receive the body of
[01:04:46] King Jesus. Next, Jesus took wine and he said, this is my blood shed for the forgiveness of sins.
[01:04:59] so Jesus was hearkening back to what the Jewish people called Yom Kippur which means day of atonement one day a year the high priest would go into the Jewish temple into the holies of holies
[01:05:10] with the unblemished lamb's blood and he would pour it over what's called a mercy seat in the ark of the covenant and that would show that the people's sins have been atoned for are washed over
[01:05:21] that means forgiveness but then there was another unblemished lamb called the scapegoat and the high priest would put his hands on the scapegoat's head and say that the sins of the people of Israel are on the goat's head and the goat would be let loose in the wilderness. Meaning God not only
[01:05:41] forgave you, but forgot your sins. In the book of Psalms, it says as far as the east is from the west, God has forgotten your sins. Hey friends, the east and west never meet. God has forgotten
[01:05:55] and forgiven you. No more guilt, no more shame. The blood has washed it away. Now, before we receive the blood, if you've got somebody that maybe you got unforgiveness in your heart, maybe you're willfully in an area of sin, this is a time to repent. Repentance means, you know what, God,
[01:06:19] I give you those people. You know what, Lord, I don't want to do this anymore. I know that's wrong.
[01:06:24] we put it under the blood and we'll receive it with clean hands and hearts brothers and sisters let us receive the blood of king jesus father we thank you for being merciful and kind and good
[01:06:45] we praise your name amen let's give god a round of applause all right so here's what i need for you guys so pray for me during my six six weeks study growth season so i take six weeks every
[01:07:04] summer. And so it's a time for me to study and to grow and to prepare this 2027 preaching calendar for next year. So I need you to pray for me. It's time of resting, time of recovery, but also I get
[01:07:18] to read some things that I want to read and just recharge. So thank you for that. Now, also for TC Welcomes, I have some world-class preachers and teachers, some friends of mine who are going to
[01:07:32] come and preach. They are phenomenal. They have a word. They're going to speak to us. One of them, his name is Joshua Broom, and he was an adult film star for years and God delivered him.
[01:07:47] So we need you to be here for not only him, but for everybody. I don't just let anybody come up in here. These people are prayed for and equipped to equip and challenge us in the gospel. Invite
[01:07:59] your friends who are yet to discover who Christ is. Okay. One last prayer request. This is really, really important. I need your focus here. So we're going to go to Western Montana for three weeks. That's where my wife is from. And I need you to pray for me specifically because I'm going
[01:08:19] to be looking for Bigfoot. I know he's out there. I'm going to find Bigfoot. I'm going to lead him to the Lord on top of mountain. Then he's going to take me to this Bigfoot families and community.
[01:08:35] And we're going to plant a church, Transformation Church on the Bigfoots. And if UFOs show up, we baptizing them too. We planting a campus on Mars and Neptune and Jupiter. Oh, we going intergalactic family. Hey, I love you guys. Can you welcome our campus hosts?

[01:08:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:08:58] Thank you so much, Pastor. That is incredible. Amazing. Well, Transformation Church, let's all commit to praying for Pastor Derwin over the next six weeks as he takes some time away to just study and grow and pray about how God wants to lead Transformation Church. So excited for that.
[01:09:14] Would you join me in standing as we get ready for our benediction, which is really just a good word or a blessing, but it's the way to remind ourselves of who we are and ultimately who God has called us
[01:09:27] to be. And so we say upward because we love God completely. We say inward because in Him we can learn to love ourselves correctly. And we say outward because we love our neighbors compassionately.
[01:09:39] I point at you, you point back at me, and we say Transformers, roll out! Because this is just the and now it's time to go play the. All right, let's do it. One, two, three, upward, inward,
[01:09:53] Outward, outward, transformers, roll out.
[01:09:56] Have a great week.