But God…, Part 2

Our career people are made completely alive. That means that simultaneously we are more wicked way probably realize we are also live, except for powerful we do is you got a spirit of resurrection why Claude body ready to finally page it will resonate with us today on the program is that even though our hearts are being physically you and I and every other person on this planet are actually spiritually dead in our sins without intervention but thankfully because of the cross we don't have to stay that way today on Summit life pastor Judy Greer reveals how we can be made alive in Christ despite our natural bent towards death and disaster. It's part of our teaching series called mystery and clarity and I'm your host Molly bit of edge. If you missed any of the previous messages you can find them@jdgreer.com now here's Pastor Jenny with the conclusion of our message yesterday in Ephesians 2 the message titled, that what what God just stop just looked that sleep the force of that sink in for just you are helpless. Yes, you are not hopeless, but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he has loved us.

Many theologians and Christians talk about salvation so coldly and doctrinally, as if it was some kind of ritual right of passage. Our salvation may tender love. The reason the worship has not exploded in some of your heart because you have no concept of how much mercy God has shown you objects of God's wrath and God loved you way sore the hell into himself to save us every page of this book with love and mercy. You gotta learn to start reading your Bible about way and until you start seeing the Bible that wait to get it one of our members. It was told me, but recently had a chance to share Christ with a 91-year-old history professor at Duke is now meeting with him every week and he's never believed in God, never been a Christian is this guy a progress report to the Bible as is repressor just so, matter-of-factly got all these problems going on in this with the Bible got to share Christ with them to think about this history is written 13 books, one right now is 91 years old. His wife has Alzheimer's in his 13th book all the other 12 books are about your stop in history book is about his wife's relationship and it's their memoirs. It's copies of the letter that is gone back and forth putting together the end of their life doing 70 years of love for each other in our member says to him, he says it is about this book is different. Different than writing about the Gallic wars are about your strike on the Peloponnesian potential. I did not as yet that's how you start reading the Bible, you gotta read it as the letters of God deeply and passionately in love with you until you start reading the Bible. That way you're never going to get it never could understand the reason some of you don't worship with passion is that you have no concept of the depths of depravity from which you have been saved for the glorious love that God used to accomplish you living this squishy, blasé, boring middle category where you're not that bad… Loving you think actually you're doing God a favor by not talking about his route. All you're doing is dwarfing and minimizing as well. We don't ever understand the love of God until we see how far God went to save us until I see that Jesus Christ in his body absorbed all the wrath of God that I had deserved that the way that hell the hell that was designed for me entered into his body toward the pieces.

That's what I see the love of God. Verse five when we were dead in our sins, he made us alive together with Christ guys notice this is in the past tense. He made us alive past. It is a reference to the work of Jesus. This is the gospel. Jesus came to earth and live the life that I was supposed to perfectly many… I have been condemned to die in my place absorbed in his perfect life.

The curse of my death, the curse.

There was a curse on sin, justice demanded, had to be carried out.

God had said in Genesis 217 the one who said to die and God cannot lie or break his word Christ died.

He satisfied the curse justice was served, but because he was an innocent man.a curse of death, I can be released from my course because he shared in my death I can share in his resurrection because he died for me.

I can live in him. Verse six and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places.

Notice again, past tense, not wealthy but had seated in God's eyes. I'm already seated with Christ at the place of honor around God, I could not possibly be in a higher place have closer to God. I am already sitting in God's sight in Jesus. Salvation is already accomplished. It's already my Paul is saying that as long as Christ is seated at the right hand of God can be secure in your salvation. Verse five Paul interjects a little phrase by grace you have been saved. Notice uses the word saved before my frustration with that word saved Sam's redneck goddess NASCAR fan site. I got saved, which I wish we had another word for it, but you just know the word describe what happened to us in light of what God has done. You can't say I got rebooted I got I was by grace you see. Which means I did not earn any part of it and I really had nothing to do with it.

We were dad that people don't do things that don't decide things that people say when they are to be in bed a few more years. You decide you wanted to know God or that you wanted to live spiritually. You could decide that you, God makes a lot. The new birth is like the first birth I've nothing to do with my first birth I would do anything to bring about God and my parents made all that happened with no help from me at all think they were my second birth God did it all from start to finish. Yet Americans prefer to see sin is an action rather than as a condition of sin is an action. We feel like we can curate with a checklist of good actions really can't do people but you can't do anything for yourself, your spiritually dead and only a God who makes alive can save us. This is the most important and most offensive true the grass about salvation is it is something you cannot in any way to even contribute to God had to do it all start verse seven, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ. I love this verse. The church is God's eternal demonstration community the church like a trophy case in the ages to come to the phrase all of eternity. We will be the people demonstrate how glorious and loving and graceful God is. God created millions of other beings besides us know which one kind angels reason to suppose that the universe is big, but it may only be angels or maybe all other races really want you to some is a lot of bees got ribs like human only human beings have the son of God, died for them only human beings in heaven, or the what you could demonstrate the grace and the love of God and forever. That is our job is to put on display how gracious God is, that is my responsibility for the Bible tells me in heaven. The revelation it says it will wear his name on our 40 Jesus is named the Lamb of God is significant because in heaven, what I'm known for. That's my head is not that I was a great pastor that I was a great dad was a great husband but I did my quiet time for 19 years and Rohan never miss today.

Things are going to be written on my head what will be known for the reason I'll be there is not because I was a great dad a great husband.

The reason I'll be there because Jesus Christ died my soul to save. I will put his grace, and not by worthiness on display for all of eternity and the reason for going through all this is because some of you really need to understand this is one of the reasons that what you learn to love the truth about your depravity because only then can you celebrate be overwhelmed by the depths of God's glorious grace and his love for you because only those Jesus said realize they are forgiven of much only they will love each verse.

A summary of all best, Paul says she is by grace you can say this is not of your own doing is the gift of God. These verse summarizes the four crucial things about salvation always been trying to teach number two job really quickly summarize Paul's approachable one because of salvation is grace because her salvation is grace is by grace you have been saved and that's not for yourself. It's a gift of God.

This Greek New Testament. This is written in a way points back, not what just not do either grace or faith points back about words when you why that's true agreement about going to High Point back about words, grace and favor with what you're saying is all of grace and even the faith to believe it. It's all gift of God.

God did it all. If you're saying this because God woke you up. God restored you to your senses. God even gave you the ability to have faith member to the means of salvation because her salvation is grace the means of salvation is faith by grace you have been saved through faith is the means by which God salvation comes to us. This is a really important question was a me to have faith or culture to get this faith is not some religious belief is not a virtue is simply the belief that Christ has accomplished it all already. God has declared that Jesus is Lord and God has completely and forever satisfy the curse on our sin, he tells us, Christ is already seated at his right hand.

When you believe that you trusted his salvation. Suddenly all at once flows into you.

My favorite analogies for salvation uses before it up to you. They watch it with the terms of this little children school. Whatever it is what this chair still represent back Christ died for you and paper all your sent. It's true what you believe it or not, what it means to put faith in Christ.

What it means to have faith is that you sit down in the chair just acknowledges that it's true now.

The reason I share this is because a lot of people like me have a real hard time getting their minds around when they were saved.if there save because I can't remember that moment that they had this big glorious experience and if they didn't have that moment the cannot doubt it. Know I will. What about that, I pray right understand when I was 16 years old when I begin this process between 16 and 18 until you know exaggeration operator center for like 3000 times to make about to get wrong like you would have no say or write what I would sign up for my ship said the Trinity house.

Jesus blustered on the splash was better than you all the Kennebec Carol one day I realize it was reading Martin Luther's commentary on Romans Romans chapter 4, which I like the chair that you are sitting in right now.

At some point when you came in here. You made a decision to sit down in the chair. You probably didn't think about it like Republic. I'm going to sit down because I judge that you're probably old weight of my but you didn't think you all that you thought you said you know you made a decision to sit down in a chair right now right. Go West club in Europe you that you made a decision to sit in that you if you doubt you made that decision. You try to relive the decision using knowledge about that right now. Right now you're either trusting that what Christ has done is enough what God has said about him is true or you are standing on your own.

If I ask you right now that question you died right now God's apostolate, you would have a what would your response be if you say what's because on this and of the best X, Y, and Z you're standing on your own. But if your answer is because I know that God is we got it all. It's 2000 years ago. That's all I'm trusting that it never before you were saved right at that moment. Salvation is trust of what Christ is done. God has declared Jesus is Lord God has declared salvation done crisis either to the right hand it over. And the moment you trust God.

Salvation suddenly flows into you all how John Barton Pilgrim's progress talk about this little English. In it, but it's good you can follow Elizabeth one day, but instead I was walking through a field and this sentence fell upon my soul, thy righteousness is in heaven. It was from Ephesians chapter 2 with the eyes of my soul I saw Jesus Christ seated at God's right hand there. I say was my righteousness, so that wherever I was whatever I was doing God could not say of me he likes my righteousness was right there in front of. I also saw moreover that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better yet, my bad frame that made my righteousness worse for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself is the same yesterday today and forever.

Now did my change for all. My legs, I was loose for my afflictions and I my temptations also fled away so that from time to time these dreadful Scriptures of God left off from troubling me and now I also went home rejoicing for the grace, the love of God to be saved means that you simply recognize God has already finished it all time and you rested.

It is by grace that you were saved. Faith in faith believing that what… Is number three.

The effects of salvation. Good works effects of salvation. Good works in verse 10 we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Salvation is by faith, but it produces get this always good works. Sometimes people really have trouble with this because they say what were saved by faith. It is a matter what we do know everyone told we believe Jesus that offers were saved by faith, not by works of the Bible teaches that if you're saved. The result is always you will have good works. When you are saved, you see God she disbursed re-creates you as his workmanship, which means he puts his heart and his desires into you. If those are not in you. You are not say if I could say like this were not saved by good works were validated by good works were saved by faith. If that is good works. So if you have good works with your faith this morning what you know the answer is not to just go ahead and start doing them. That wouldn't help you any more than hanging pieces of fruit on a dead tree would suddenly make it alive. You need God to give you a new nature, you need to have him re-create your desires of the user. Now just a little gross but communicates with a big pile of dog vomit up your on the on the status gross, but dog but you would not have to look at me and tell me, do not look up… I would be like you and your rules. Always try to control me. I would like you turned back to look it up a little bit you get away with not some nature decided that if you don't desire good works is because you got a bad nature and you gotta come to God is a God I am dead I need to be made alive. I need you to work in the need to come and embrace his overwhelming love given to you in Christ and let that change your forcing lasting promise of salvation, the promise of salvation. What got started her finish. This passage ends by giving you a secret to releasing incredible power of salvation in your life. It does your work of God literally Greek away map report jewelry work that God is composing something that glorifies him and tells you that God is Artie predetermined the end of that work, but you will be complete and perfect and beautiful you're going to be beautiful to others that are watch that truth. Give me such encouragement does because are so many things in my life. I am so discouraged about one right now I be discouraged recently about just some of my own personal sharing Christ with other people had a situation recently were God clearly open up an opportunity for me to begin a relationship sure Christ is what you lazy about. Finally, God woke me up at him like I've wasted six months. Talk about likes of them you're playing and not sure Jesus got a major place. I droppable so discouraged about how to fix this is the same pattern repeated over and over again and then I remember this God has already pre-appointed victory for me in that area. Each day I get out.

God has already determined successful encounters any jewelry promise the power to be able to live successfully in those and I get up and I just go discovering what he is already laid out for me to think about our dreams for this church, there's five areas that God has given us the homeless, the orphans, the prisoners, unwed mothers in the high school dropouts thousand churches refers to plan God has already pre-appointed those things for us to come up with this government so you have a desire to grow and change your life will be more disciplined, a better father, better husband, more generous pray more consistently.

God has preordained that you should walk in the good works say but I feel so defeated and weak this whole chapter together you and our people are made completely alive, but we still live in the body of death.

That means that simultaneously we are more wicked and more depraved and dead would probably ever realize we are also more alive and more accepted and have more power flowing through us than we ever dreamed you got a spirit of resurrection life Claude body of depraved, how did you cope. Paul tells us in Romans six you have to reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ.

That means you believe the gospel. My sinful body has been killed in Christ and my spirit is now past tense alive in Jesus. There's a secret. When you do that when you believe that God has re-created human rights God releases that resurrection power inside of you living the way to begin to live like I want you to live lives is not the law itself doesn't want to memorize much versus nimble of an accountability group and things already.

Great way to begin living forces you simply believe the gospel got what you will made you alive that powers already coursing through your veins and leave it today your day you leave her today and if you have questions, please reach out to you. Listening to life. The Bible teaching ministry of pastor, author and theologian JD Greer Eugenia feeling many of us have the same underlying question about our lives in my more than what I do in my more than my occupation and I more than just a mom or dad or a student who, exactly, and I got all that we think about these questions all the time but there always just underneath the surface like like you said Molly. Our culture defines who we are by what we do write anything about the second question you asked somebody wrap US in the name what do you do we reassess somebody based on their occupation, going tell you that's a terrible answer because it means you are doing well. Good about yourself when you're doing poorly in full poorly about yourself. The Bible gives you a better answer. God tells us who we are and he says it who is making us in Christ, who we are already in Christ is the defining reality of our lives becomes the rock the foundation the anchor to which you can go to any trial you can overcome any temptation you can withstand any any assault so that's a good question I ask it to you.

You listeners, who are you, that's the question the book of Ephesians answers and over nine sessions in a new study guide that goes along with the series little look at how Paul couple answers these questions are brand-new study will expose the transformational truth of the gospel and all its resplendent glory. Verse by verse nine history and clearly Bible study comes with our thanks when you donate to support this ministry level and $25 for your new study, 335 28 524 online I Molly for events inviting you to join us Wednesday helps us understand our true Wednesday on centerline 19