The Final Verdict: Walking in the Freedom of Grace

• [Romans 8](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=KJV) Series Introduction 00:01:00 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor introduces the new sermon series on Romans 8, describing it as theologically rich and addressing how the gospel speaks to struggles, sin, and suffering.
• God's Favor vs. Human Doubt 00:02:03 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts the intellectual belief that God is for us with the practical reality of feeling condemned due to sin, doubt, and shame.
• Identity and Condemnation 00:06:18 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that while believers know their identity in Christ, the enemy and past mistakes seek to define them by their worst moments, leading to self-condemnation.
• No Condemnation in Christ 00:07:43 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts the theological truth that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, emphasizing that this is a settled verdict, not a wish or hopeful thinking.
• The Trap of Legalism and Self-Condemnation 00:09:12 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes the 'legalistic mentality' where believers try to balance good and bad deeds or dwell in guilt, effectively reopening cases that God has already closed.
• Freedom from Past Sins 00:11:17 ▶️ 📄
  > Using the example of the adulterous woman, the pastor illustrates that Jesus offers freedom and forgiveness, urging believers to walk in that freedom rather than seeking pain or shame.
• Freedom from Condemnation 00:13:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus and urges the congregation to walk in this freedom rather than dwelling on past sins.
• The Law of the Spirit vs. The Law of Sin 00:17:00 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that the Spirit has already set believers free from the law of sin and death, emphasizing the past tense to indicate a completed action.
• Double Imputation and Atonement 00:22:24 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains the theological concept of double imputation, where Jesus took the believer's condemnation and imputed His righteousness to them.
• Self-Condemnation vs. Divine Verdict 00:26:17 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor challenges the congregation to stop overriding God's verdict of 'no condemnation' with their own feelings of unworthiness or guilt.
• Freedom from Shame and Condemnation 00:26:59 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor urges the congregation to stop dwelling on past sins and shame, asserting that Jesus has sealed these 'closed cases' and that there is no condemnation for those in Christ.
• Salvation by Faith Alone 00:27:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor addresses those new to the faith, emphasizing that salvation is not earned by human effort but received through trusting in Jesus's work on the cross.
• The Sufficiency of the Cross 00:29:34 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that believers cannot override what the cross has declared by trying to suffer or dwell on their own shame, as Jesus's sacrifice is sufficient.
• Living in Freedom 00:31:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor encourages believers to walk out of shame and condemnation, finding strength and encouragement in Jesus rather than their own strength.

• Sermon Illustration 00:02:52 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about watching the movie 'The Lion King' with his wife in 1994, using the character Simba's fear and Mufasa's intervention as an analogy for believers feeling overwhelmed by the enemy despite having a powerful Father.
• Sermon Illustration 00:10:07 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the biblical story of the woman caught in adultery, where Jesus tells her 'neither do I condemn you' and she walks away in freedom, contrasting this with the human tendency to want to feel pain or shame after being forgiven.
• Sermon Illustration 00:12:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses an analogy of a court trial where a person, though declared innocent, keeps going back to the courthouse to review old case files and dwell in shame, illustrating how believers reopen spiritual cases that God has closed.
• Sermon Illustration 00:28:35 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a man in a jail cell whose trial is over but who still feels like a prisoner, illustrating how believers carry guilt for sins that have already been forgiven.
• Sermon Illustration 00:25:01 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the movie 'The Lion King' and Simba's roar to contrast human effort with Jesus' power, describing Jesus' 'roar' as something that opens graves and sets captives free.
• Sermon Illustration 00:28:20 ▶️ 📄
  > An analogy of a man in a jail cell whose trial is over and penalty paid, yet who chooses to stay in prison despite the door being unlocked, illustrating how some believers choose to remain in shame despite being free in Christ.

• Pastoral Charge 00:01:12 ▶️ 📄
  > Read Romans chapter 8 daily or once a week for the next few weeks.
• Pastoral Charge 00:00:31 ▶️ 📄
  > Pray for Pastor Tim's recovery.
• Pastoral Charge 00:27:35 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor invites unbelievers to pray a prayer of repentance and faith, surrendering their lives to Jesus to receive forgiveness and freedom.

[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.