Kootenai Church - New Facility Grand Opening

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Yeah Yes, we want to Testing What's the facility in the first Sunday here about people it's a great

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Well fancy meeting all you guys here this morning. You can join us Let's be your name

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Your name Still Just a couple of announcements

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It is

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And then one of the thing I would like to try Our song shall rise to be

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Holy Wisdom We praise you

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When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, what is man that you take thought of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

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Yet you have made him a little lower than God. You make him to rule over the works of your hands.

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You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

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O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name. It says the

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Lord's love and kindnesses indeed never cease. For his compassion is great, as your faith is.

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Ha, ha, ha, ha

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Power and might be to our John 1 14

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And we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the

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Father, full of grace. Three to give us life.

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God, this is your

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Wisdom unsearchable. God, the indestructible.

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Love indestructible. To be.

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This is your God. 17

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Now to be eternal. Or immortal. Invisible. The only God. Yes.

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Face to face. Read together versus five.

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For he did not subject to angels in the world to come. What's man that you remember him?

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Or the son of man that you are concerned about him? You've made him for a little while lower than the angels.

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You crowned him with glory and honor. You put all things in subjection under his feet.

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For in subjecting all things to him, you have nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.

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But we do see him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus.

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Because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. So that by the grace of God, he might face death for everyone.

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Let's pray before we begin. Father, it is with joy that we are able, even this morning, after worshiping you with full hearts, a joyful heart to hear the voice of our

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God. A new testament that has recorded for us all that he said and did to be saved.

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We thank you for this son of man who was made for a little while lower than the angels. Even though this is our first Sunday in our new building, that might be something that Jim is going to preach about.

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Whatever it is that he happens to be preaching through, even though we're in a new facility.

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There are a large number of people that are here today. We're grateful that you're here. Some of you have come a long ways to be with us.

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He was pastor. Graduation service on Friday night.

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So you're here in worship service with him. Whatever it is, we're grateful that you're here. We've been studying through the book of Hebrews, and we're in the second chapter.

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And I know that for many of you, this may seem like we're just jumping into the middle of a... We kind of bring everybody else up to speed.

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And I'll do this in a quick, I think, and timely fashion. One of the main themes that runs all the way through the book of Hebrews is the theme that Jesus is greater than.

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And throughout the book of Hebrews, the author makes the case that Jesus is greater than the angels. And they drink Jesus' bread with Moses.

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He is greater than Aaron. He is greater than David. He is greater than the Old Covenant. The blood that he shed is greater than the blood of all his foes.

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The sacrifice that he offered is greater and better than all the sacrifices of the Old Testament. The covenant that he has initiated and secured by his own blood is a better covenant than the

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Old Covenant. The priesthood that he fulfills is a better priesthood than the Old Testament and the Roman priesthood. And so that is how the argument of the book of Hebrews goes.

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As the author brings up one comparison after another. The comparison that we're looking at that occupies chapter 1 and chapter 2 is the comparison between Jesus and the angels.

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At the beginning of the book, the author says in chapter 1, verse 4, that Jesus has inherited a more excellent name today.

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And that's the conclusion of a series of seven statements that the author makes regarding Jesus Christ.

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He is the creator of all things. He is the heir of all things. He is the sustainer of all things. He is the exact representation of nature of God.

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He is the radiance of God's glory. He has made purification of sins. And he has sat down at the right hand of the

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Messiah. Those seven statements. And then the author, in verses 5 through 14, for the rest of chapter 1, cites seven different passages from the

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Old Testament. All of them, except for one of them, come from the book of Psalms. In order to show that all of these magnificent statements that he has made about Jesus Christ are not doctrines that were invented in the minds of a few fanatical followers out in the middle of the desert around an airplane scene.

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But these doctrines are, in fact, the very things that were revealed in the Old Testament that we should expect in the coming

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Messiah. We ought to expect one who was the divine son. We ought to expect one with divine character. We should expect one who would come and take the throne of Israel.

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So all the way from chapter 1, verses 5 through 14, he makes the case from the Old Testament.

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Then in chapter 2, the comparison is still the same thing. Jesus with the angels. But in chapter 2, he compares the punishment that would come under the

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Old Covenant, mediated by angels, for those who would disobey the word clearly revealed.

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It was a severe punishment, and it was a certain punishment. How much greater than is the punishment deserved by one who would ignore the revelation given to us in the

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Son? If the Son is greater than angels, and you were punished for denying or rejecting or neglecting the salvation that was announced through angels in the

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Old Covenant, how much greater will be your punishment? How will you escape if you neglect or deny the revelation of the truth that is communicated through the

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Son? That's the comparison. Jesus is greater than the angels. His covenant, his offer of salvation, has been greater and more clear and more certain even than what was revealed through angels.

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And then beginning in chapter 5, that brings us to the passage that we're looking at today. Beginning in chapter 5, through the rest of chapter 2, there are two objections that the author answers.

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And here's what we're going to do today. You will notice when we read verses 6 through 8 that that is a quotation from the

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Old Testament passage. So here's what we're going to do.

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Two objections to all of this that the author is dealing with. He's answering these two objections. And then we're going to turn back to Psalm 8.

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And we're going to look at Psalm 8 and we're going to set the context so that next week when we come in and jump back into verse 5, we'll understand what the passage is teaching here that the author is quoting from.

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So you're either going to get half the message or you can come back next week and get the rest of it. So that's what we're going to do.

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I'm going to show you, first of all, the two objections that the author is answering. Now, every good preacher or author or teacher should desire, should try his best to answer objections that might come up in the mind.

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I'm aware that as I stand up here on any given Sunday, right, as I'm a part member, right? And so in my mind, in my heart, as I'm preparing to preach here on a

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Sunday morning, I'm trying to anticipate what objections might come up. Somebody might say, well, what about or if that's true, then how is it that?

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And I try to anticipate what those are and then answer them in the course of the authoring versus doing the exact same thing.

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There are some objections that would come up in the mind of the hearer, the mind of the listener, that the author is now going to, in the rest of chapter 2, answer these two pertinent objections.

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Now, here are the two objections that he's going to deal with. The first one is this. Doesn't the Incarnation demonstrate that Jesus was not greater than the angels?

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Now, see, that's a good question. Doesn't the Incarnation, doesn't the fact that he became a man demonstrate that he is lower than or lesser than the angels?

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Because man, as the text in verses 6 and 8 recognizes, man is created lower than the angels.

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We are a lower class of being than the angels are. Where the angels are greater in power, they're greater in glory, they're greater in intellect, they're greater in strength, they're greater in holiness, they're greater in all kinds of capacities than mankind is.

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We are a lower creation than the angelic hosts. So if man is lower than the angels, and Jesus became a man, doesn't that demonstrate that Jesus is lesser than the angels?

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It's a valid question. And it's one that the author is going to deal with.

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In chapter 1, he has said, he has affirmed this, that this one, named

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Jesus of Nazareth, is the exact radiance of God's glory. He is the exact representation of God's nature.

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He is the one who has created everything, and he, even now, while you sit here, he holds it all together, keeps the world spinning, the universe in existence, simply by the word of his power.

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And he sits at the right hand of the Father, even today. In that position of glory of God.

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If that is true, don't we also say that Jesus was made a man, that he is the man

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Christ Jesus? Wasn't he born of a virgin? Didn't he have to learn to walk? Didn't he have to learn to talk?

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Wasn't he tempted at all points? Didn't he have to experience the things that humanity experiences, and the limitations of being a man?

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And then getting his feet dirty, and getting his feet washed, and cleaning under his fingernails, and cutting his fingernails, and all of the things that we experience and learn, didn't he have to learn all of those?

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And if he did, and he was made a man, and he was genuinely a man, and man is lower than the angels, how can we say that he is the exalted son, that he is glorious, that he is

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God himself? It's a good objection. And so that is what is dealt with, actually, in verses 5 through verse 9.

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And we'll see, I just want you to see in verse 9, we do see him, who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor.

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He was made for a little while lower than the angels. There's a temporary station that he took. Without forfeiting the nature of his deity, without forfeiting the reality of his divinity, he was for a period of time, made in station, and made an appearance as a man, and took upon himself humanity for a little while lower than the angels.

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But, he has been crowned with glory and honor. So the author is dealing with that objection. No, the incarnation does not demonstrate that Jesus of Nazareth was lesser than the angels for a period of time.

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The second objection is similar. Doesn't the death of Jesus demonstrate that he was lesser than the angels? Now that's a good objection.

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Angels don't die. Angels are not subject to mortality. Angels don't suffer affliction, and pain, and anguish, and go through all that, and then die.

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Angels are higher than men. Men are subject, men are mortal, they're subject to death. And if Jesus died, doesn't that demonstrate, does death demonstrate, that he is lesser than the angels?

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Of course, the answer to that is no. And that's what the author deals with, beginning in verse 10, and all the way through the rest of chapter 2.

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Look at verse 10. It was fitting for him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the honor of their salvation through sufferings.

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Verse 14. Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and he might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

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There is a purpose in the incarnation, and there is a purpose in the sufferings of Christ, that make him demonstrate that he is greater than the angels.

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In other words, he was made for a little while lower than the angels, but that doesn't demonstrate that he is lesser than them, and his suffering does not demonstrate that he is lesser than the angels.

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Because through his incarnation, and through his suffering, he accomplished something that was necessary, and he accomplished something that demonstrates, again, that he is greater than the angels.

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In other words, the nature of the incarnation, and the nature of his sufferings, accomplished something that can only be accomplished by one who is greater than the angels.

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So, those are the two objections that I have. And then the second thing we want to do is deal with the book of Psalms, chapter 8.

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So, I want you to turn back to Psalm 8, because this is the passage that is dealt with in verses 6 to 8.

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We're going to set a little bit of context in the background here from Psalm 8, and then next week we'll jump in at verse 5 and see how it is that the author deals with that objection.

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Doesn't the incarnation of Jesus demonstrate that he was lesser than the angels?

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So, the rest of our time here is going to be spent with sort of an overview of Psalm 8. ...Hebrews

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chapter 2, but I forgot, was how the author introduces Psalm 8. He says in Hebrews chapter 2, hasn't someone set somewhere?

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Did you catch that? In verse 6, before he cites the psalm, he says, hasn't someone set somewhere? And you kind of wonder, did he forget who he was quoting, and where he was turning?

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What was going on there with that citation? It's a very common way in ancient times for people to make citations.

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It's in fact the way that the author of Hebrews typically cites scripture all the way through the book of Hebrews. If you've been with us and are familiar with the book of Hebrews, you know that this book is loaded with all those

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Old Testament citations and references, right? It even alludes to the Old Testament. It is an exposition of the book of Leviticus and Psalm 110, all kind of wrapped in the woods.

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So, it's very Old Testament Pasachetic. And yet, the Psalms, as far as I can find, there's not once in all of the book of Hebrews where he cites the human author.

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Instead, he says things like, as God has said, or as the Holy Spirit has said, it is as if he ignores the human author entirely.

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Not that he didn't believe there was a human author, but it is as if he is intending to demonstrate to us and to remind us, this is the testimony of God himself concerning himself.

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So, there's an emphasis there, even in how he cites the Old Testament passage. Alright, so we're in Psalm 8, and though the author of Hebrews says, as someone has said somewhere, we know it's

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Psalm 8, and we know who said it. From the prelude to the psalm, we find out that this is the psalm of David.

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Psalm 8, and let's just read, I want you to look at verse 1 and verse 9, and they are very similar.

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O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who hath displayed your splendor above the heavens.

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Look at verse 9. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. Notice that the psalm begins and ends with the same declaration.

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Of the majesty of God. It's kind of like a majesty sandwich, right? On the top is this declaration, the majesty of God.

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At the bottom, at the end of the psalm, is this declaration of the majesty of God, which is displayed throughout the whole earth.

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And then, in the middle, is a demonstration or a display of the majesty of God. So, he begins with this declaration.

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God is majestic, and his name is majestic in all the earth. And then he gives us all the reasons, both big and small, why

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God is to be praised, why he is majestic. And then the psalm ends with another declaration as to the majesty of God.

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So, we have in verses 1 and 9, the majesty of God declared. And then we have in verses 2 through 8, the majesty of God displayed.

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What is it that displays God's majesty? The word majesty suggests the splendor or magnificent. And notice that it is the name of God that is called over time majestic here.

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How majestic is your name, how magnificent and splendorous is the name of God. The name of God is sort of a way of referring to the majesty of God.

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He is to be praised and he is to be glorified because he is full of splendor and glory. And his name is majestic throughout all of the earth.

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Everywhere we turn, everything we see, we see in it the handiwork of God. All of creation displays the glory and the majesty of God.

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Now, atheists will look at creation and say, well, I don't know if I see the majesty or the glory of God. That's because you're blind.

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You're an atheist. Because you do not have eyes to see it. As a Christian, I look out at creation and I see the splendor of God in everything.

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Constantly. But if you're an atheist, all you see is the random creation of all of us. But I don't expect an atheist to see the handiwork of God in all of creation.

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Any more than I expect someone who is physically blind to be able to describe to me the majesty of a waterfall or a sunset.

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Or whether I have eyes to see it. If they were an atheist with all that is in the earth, they would have eyes to see it.

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So they don't see it. And they can't see it because their spirits are blind. Because their eyes don't open up and they see the handiwork of God everywhere and in everything.

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Spurgeon said this. Regarding this passage. Unable to express the glory of God, the psalmist utters a note of explanation.

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Oh God, our Lord. And we need not wonder at this. For no heart can measure, no tongue can utter the half of the greatness of God.

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The whole creation is full of His glory and radiant with the excellency of His power. His goodness and His wisdom are manifested on every hand.

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The countless myriads of terrestrial beings from man, the head, to the creeping worm at the foot. All are supported and nourished by the divine bounty.

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The solid fabric of the universe leans upon His eternal arm. Universally, He is present and everywhere is

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His name excellent. God is at work ever and everywhere. This applies not just to the name of God but to His very person.

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His power, His glory, His majesty needs to be praised throughout all the earth because of who

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He is. And the reasons now are given in verses 2 through 8. And I want you to notice that there are two things that are contrasted here.

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One thing is something rather small and weak and helpless. And the other thing is something that is quite large and quite majestic.

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First is the small, weak and helpless thing in verse 2. From the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you have established strength because of your adversaries to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

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What does he talk about here? He gives a very simple, small, weak, and helpless type of an example to demonstrate just how majestic God's name is.

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Even in the mouth of a nursing babe, God is praised. And how is God praised in the mouth of a nursing babe?

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God is praised in the mouth of a nursing babe. And if you're a parent, if you've ever seen childbirth, you understand what this is like.

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If you've ever seen childbirth, you never want to see it again. But if you've ever seen childbirth and watched this happen, you know what this is like.

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That baby is born right at the perfect time when it is hungry and it is able to supple somehow.

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A miracle of evolution. It is able to supple and its mother is able to provide exactly what that baby needs in exactly that case.

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So God has provided in that baby an instinct to feed and a hunger to feed at that moment.

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Of course, if you hadn't eaten for nine months, you would be hungry too. But the baby is able to eat right at that moment and it needs a certain nourishment.

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And the nourishment that God has provided through its mother is perfect for that baby right at that moment. It's thunderous, isn't it?

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Look at that. You see the wisdom and the power and the magnificence and the grace of God. In display, in a little baby, a weak and helpless thing.

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So much so that the display of that majesty and that glory and that power of God is enough to shut up his enemies.

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To silence the adversary. To make the enemy and the revengeful cease. That display of power is enough that all the enemies of God should shut their mouths and still themselves and bow down before him.

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Because that display of God's wisdom and magnificence and his majesty, that should terrify them.

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Of course, it doesn't. Then he gives an example of something for this baby.

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Verse three. When I consider your hands and the works of your hands, the works of your fingers, the moon, the stars, and the shoes of our

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David. That David goes from gazing upon a newborn infant and the majesty and the wisdom and the glory of God that is displayed in that.

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That he lifts his eyes to the heavens and he sees the majesty of the heavens above him. Now David did not have the benefit that we have of our modern day telescopes and infrared imaging and all the other stuff that we know of.

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We send probes off into space and get to the outer reaches of our own solar system and look out beyond where we live.

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All kinds of different light spectrums and to see what's going on beyond the heart. How vast is it?

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And David was able to appreciate that just to look up. Out of the desert in the land of Israel at night and to see the splendor of those stars.

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And he knew this is enormous. This is massive. This is beyond anything I could even comprehend.

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And we know even far more than David. I think the earth is a big spot. I think our planet is big.

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It's home to 7 million people. And you can climb up on top of the mountaintop in any one of the regions around here. You can look 360 degrees all the way around you.

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You can see the mountains in the distance. There's great vistas and great views that we have.

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And yet if you zoom out, you realize that everything you can see from the top of that mountaintop is just a tiny little dot.

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And it's even smaller on a map of our world. A tiny little dot. And our earth isn't that big.

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You know it's not even the biggest planet in our solar system. Our earth is dwarfed by our sun, which is 1 ,300 ,000 times larger.

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That's incomprehensible. It's incomprehensible. And our sun is not all that great in shape. Our sun is really not that big compared to other stars in our earth.

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There are suns and stars out there that dwarf our own sun by comparison. There are stars and suns out there that are millions of times larger than our sun.

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The enormity of that is incomprehensible. Our little ball of dirt rotates around and revolves around the sun at 93 million miles an hour.

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That's the distance to this unfathomable world. We throw these numbers out as if they mean something.

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And we can kind of grasp them. And we really don't even understand what that is like, 93 million miles. And our earth is pretty close to our sun.

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Because Pluto, which I still think is a planet. You all know that. Pluto is 3 .6 billion, with a

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B, billion miles away from our sun. The ray of light that travels 286 ,000 miles per second and leaves our sun takes nine minutes to get to earth.

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It takes 13 hours to reach Pluto. And that's just our own solar system. Our own solar system is just a little tiny speck in the

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Milky Way galaxy. And there are a billion other stars like our sun in this

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Milky Way galaxy. And this galaxy, the Milky Way, it's 100 ,000 light years across.

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The beam of light that leaves our sun would travel 100 ,000 years before it would reach the other side of the

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Milky Way galaxy. And our Milky Way galaxy is only one of at least a billion other galaxies just like it.

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And the nearest galaxy to ours is 2 .5 million light years away. And that's just the universe we know.

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From our vantage point in the Milky Way, we can only see a small portion of the known universe. We can't even see all that there is.

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You should look at verse 4. And what does it say? God is worthy. Or the son of man, be careful.

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We look at that and we think we are just a speck of dirt.

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On a speck of dirt. Rotating around a little ball of gas. And we're only a speck in a rather mediocre sized galaxy.

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And our galaxy is only a speck in the known universe. What is man?

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God is mindful of him. That's true. And yet, on this terrestrial ball,

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God is working out his plan of redemption. This is the center stage of all of creation.

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What is man? God cares about him. Who are we that he would be concerned to provide for our needs?

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To sanctify us? To send his son to save us? To love us? To make a covenant with us? To make us and this planet the stage upon which he works out his redemptive plan.

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So that he can be glorified amongst his people and by the angels for all of eternity. What are we?

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And how is it that God is mindful of us? Do you see how overwhelmed David is by this? How small we are?

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And then you consider that God, in verse 5, has made men a little lower than the angels.

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And you crown him with glory and majesty. And you say, hold on a second. I read God has made them a little lower than the angels.

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But back in Hebrews it said, God has made them a little lower than the angels. But Psalm 8 says, you've made them a little lower than God.

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That's what we're going to do next week. We're just going to skip over it for today. But it is somewhat significant.

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You've made them a little lower than God. And you crown him with glory and majesty. Now David wants to recount all of the ways in which

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God did goodness to men. And it has to do with God giving to man dominion over all of his creation.

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And we talked about the scope of this new universe. The fact that on this earth, God is working out his plan of redemption so that he can be glorified.

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This is the stage upon which he is working in all of human history. He is not just somewhat concerned.

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He is intimately concerned in all of the details of all of human history, in all of our lives. He is right here.

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He is working them out by his providence. And that should just stun us. Spurgeon said something like this when he was passing.

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If this world upon which we live were to dissolve and go into nothingness, it would not diminish the glory of the universe any more than a single leaf falling in a forest would diminish the glory of the universe.

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And yet this is where God is at work. Is that not honest? It ought to be honest.

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What has God done for man that ought David so much? It has to do with God giving him dominion.

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Look at how God's concern is described. You have made him a little lower than he is.

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You made him a little lower than God. You made him to rule the works of your hands.

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You put all things under his feet. All sheep and oxen and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea.

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Whatever passes through the paths of the sea. I should remind you of Genesis chapter 1. God places man in the garden and says,

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You shall have dominion. That man is the highest of God's creation. He has dominion over the birds. He has dominion over the animals.

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There is no similarity between chimpanzees and apes and man. Do you know why? Because the chimpanzees don't have us in cages looking at us.

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We have them in cages and we look at them. We are a higher order of being. They are animals and they are not infinitely lower but they are much lower than we are.

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Mankind is the highest of God's creation. We bear the image of God. That was

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God's intention. We are rational. We are creative. We are spiritual beings. We have a capacity through regeneration to be in relationship with God.

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A capacity which he has granted to us and he gives us eternal life. We can be in communion with him. Our ability to create.

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Our ability to think and to reason and to be rational. Our emotions. Our sense of justice and righteousness and rightness.

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All of these things are remnants of the image of God in us. God has created man to rule over the works of his hands.

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This is what the psalm says. Back in Hebrews chapter 2, the author quotes this passage in the psalm.

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God has given communion to mankind. Then the author says, though God has made all things subject to him, that is mankind, we do not yet see all things subject to him.

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This is the cause of great perplexity. Perplexity, I used that word wrong. We are in a new facility, but I'm still going to use words that I just make up on the spot.

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This is the cause of great frustration to us. That God has created us to rule, but we don't rule, do we?

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We don't rule creation like we should. We don't rule creation like we were created to rule creation. Creation sometimes rules us.

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Tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, natural disasters, earthquakes, disease. It should be how it is.

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We should rule over the works of God's hands. That is what he created us to do. But that is not, in fact, what humanity's experience is like.

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We don't, in fact, rule in that way. What has gone wrong? There is this loneliness of man in the scheme of all creation, yet we have been given this great status to be the highest of God's creatures and being created to rule over the works of his hands.

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But we don't rule over the works of his hands. Something has gone wrong. It's sin.

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This has destroyed the world. This has ruined it. Death, disease, destruction, famine, all these things that plague us.

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It's the result of the curse of God upon a sin -cursed and fallen world. Because the first Adam rebelled against God in the garden and plunged all of his race into rebellion.

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You want to know what's wrong with creation? We are. This is ironic because we're the highest of God's creations.

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God is mindful of us in this whole scope of creation. We deserve the wrath of God.

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Some of you may say, well, look, it's not me. Other people may be. Other people are what's wrong with creation.

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I mean, I see them. They drive by me. They cut me off. They stand in front of me in the line. It's other people that are wrong with this creation.

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Other people have ruined this perfectly good universe. But not me. Are you really going to suggest that you don't need forgiveness?

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Are you really going to suggest that you don't deserve the justice of God?

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Have you ever sinned? What sin? What sin? Against an infinitely wise and benevolent and gracious and loving creator.

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He's enough to deserve all of the wrath and punishment. Because he is so benevolent and he is so good.

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He is concerned about us and yet we rebelled against him. All of humanity has done this. All of humanity in Adam has fallen.

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What's wrong with this creation? We are wrong with this creation. Right? Every liar deserves his part in the lake of eternal fire.

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Forever and ever. Eternal lake of fire. Every liar deserves it. Have you ever lusted after something that didn't belong to you?

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Or someone who didn't belong to you? You deserve hell. Blasphemy.

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Or pride. Or rebellion. Or disobedience. He created us to bear his image.

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And what type of an image have you borne in your sin before that holy God? How have you displayed his image before a watching world?

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Have you communicated by being an image bearer? Have you communicated that God himself is a lying, thieving, stealing, blasphemous, adulterer, lustful, coming to spawn a gator like you are?

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Like I am? In our heart? That's the type of image that we have displayed to the world. We should be damned just because we have not displayed the image of God in us as we should.

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We are what is wrong with creation. Let's just assume for a moment that you have only committed five sins a day since the age of 15.

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Since you were 15 years old. Five sins a day. That would be roughly 1 ,900 sins a year.

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From the age of 15 to the age of 20, you would have sinned 9 ,120. I would have sinned 18 ,250 times.

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If you're 40 years old, you've committed five sins a day in your life. I had heaps of them before.

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Let's just count 15 on. If you're 40 years old today, you have a rap sheet that contains 45 ,000.

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Let's be honest. That's before we're done with the first cup of coffee.

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Let's just say for the sake of argument, it was only five times. That's a big rap sheet, isn't it?

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Are you really going to suggest that you're not what's wrong, that we're not what's wrong with the world?

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That you don't deserve justice? What should God do with you on the Day of Judgment? Take you to heaven or send you to hell?

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Not what do you want to do, but what should you do? He should send you to hell. A lot of sinners will say,

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I think God is loving, so he's going to take you to heaven. When a judge does not give the evildoers what they deserve, do you call that loving?

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When a judge says to a murdering rapist, you know what, because I'm a loving guy, I'm just going to let you go. No punishment, no penalty.

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I'm just going to let you go. Do you look at a judge like that? Or is there something in you which is the image of God, a sense of justice, that says,

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I do not like when guilty criminals go free? A lot of sinners are counting on the goodness of God to deliver them on the

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Day of Judgment. And it is the goodness of God that is going to damn them on the Day of Judgment. Because a good God will do it.

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And we will praise him for his goodness in doing so. But because God is good, he sent his son, the

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Lord Jesus Christ. He is God -given flesh. He stepped into history.

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He lived a perfect life. And he never sinned. He provided a sinless sacrifice. All the spotless lands of the

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Old Testament, they looked forward to and anticipated that great sacrifice. He lived a life of perfect sinlessness so that the death that he could die could be a substitutionary death.

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So that he could die in the place of sinners as a perfectly sinless substitute for sinners.

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And so in salvation and in the gospel, God provides only two things. Forgiveness for my sins and righteousness.

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It's not just that my sins are washed away, but that he gives to us in Christ a perfect righteousness.

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A righteousness that is spotless and blameless and perfect and eternal. And it belongs to somebody else.

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So that in him we can be counted not just as forgiven, but blameless before him.

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Not because of anything we do. Not because we have stopped sinning. Not because of the amount of our belief.

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Not because of anything special that we have generated. Or the merits of our own faith. We are counted righteous before him because of what was done by another.

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Namely, Jesus Christ. So the forgiveness that we have, he has provided because all our sin can be laid upon him.

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And all of his righteousness can be credited to our account. So that we can stand before God because of what

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Christ has done. Not just forgiven, but righteous. We need righteousness. That is what the gospel provides.

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Not just forgiveness, but an infinite and perfect righteousness. What does

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God demand of you to receive that gift of eternal life? Repentance and faith.

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Both of these are the words of God in your heart. God demands that you turn from your sin. You acknowledge,

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I don't deserve eternal life. I deserve it in its fullness.

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I deserve it forever because of my sin. And even one sin should damn me and I have to keep it.

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A sin that merits the justice of God. That deserves the justice of God. You have to acknowledge that. You have to turn from that sin.

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And faith is turning to Christ. Repentance is turning from sin. Faith is turning to Christ. It's the one action. It's the one thing.

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It's believing faith. It's a faithful believing. A repentant faith and a faithful repentance. It is an act of turning from sin and iniquity and what is damning.

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And turning to the Lord Jesus Christ. And believing that his death on the cross for me was sufficient. And has paid the price for my sin.

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And that in that act of believing, God is faithful. He will forgive you of your sin. He will cleanse you of your unrighteousness.

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He will give you a new conscience. He will give you a new heart. New affections. And eternal life. And he will take you to heaven.

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You and him. What are we? If God would do all of us.

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If he were just simply to make all of us dissolve and disappear. He would have done no injustice.

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He would have done nothing uncommon. He would have done nothing wrong. He could do that.

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But instead, he came here. And he is displaying before a watching world his plan of redemption.

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He gave me sinners. So that they can glorify him. By the forgiving their sins. And giving them life.

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If you're sitting here today and you have never trusted Jesus Christ. I beg of you.

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You're not the one. You will either meet Jesus Christ as your savior. Or you will face him as your judge.

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Do not neglect so great a salvation. You will not escape. I promise you that. Christ promises even now to receive all and any who will come to him in his name.

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He will not turn you away. All who come to him in his name. He will receive them.

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And he will not cast you out. Come to Christ. And give you new righteousness that you do not desire.

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We praise you in your greatest way.

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That we can honor you here today. As we gather together as your people.

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It is our desire that you would be pleased to draw sinners to yourself. To open their hearts to him.

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And respond to the gospel. Open their eyes that they may see in Christ. The forgiveness that they need.

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And the righteousness that they need. Sinners, repentance and faith.

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That they may come to Christ. And be received by him. And welcomed into his eternal kingdom. Be honored and glorified.

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Praise. Thank you.

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We're going to finish this psalm.

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The reformation last fall. And we felt today was a great day to reaffirm these truths. Paul in Romans 11 said.

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For who has known the mind of the Lord. Who has first given to him that it might be given back to him again.

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For to him be the glory forever.

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Amen. Amen. Amen.

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Amen. Amen. Amen.