Well, let me just begin by saying I am glad to be here. Appreciate the opportunity. I really do. I miss you guys. I miss the pulpit, I miss the service of pastor. I miss it, I really do. And so I'm glad to have an opportunity to be back and just to see you and share life with you. What an incredible what an incredible opportunity. So thank you, glad to be here. You know when it was my time to leave after 27 years, I really didn't know why, but I knew it was time, my wife and I when it was time, and that's a long story, but anyway, didn't really know why, until Jason,and I mean that with all of my heart,until Jason showed up and I got a chance to hear him preach a time or two. I said, that's why. That is why I'm serious. I am so delighted. I tell people all the time. In fact, I had a guy just the other day, he said, I don't go to church because I grew up in church, been there, done that. And for him, it was a lot of condemnation, a lot of judgmental kind of preaching and teaching. And all the time him watching leaders doing the very things they were condemning. And he said, I just I'm done. I said, I know a church. I don't know if he ever show up. I don't know Jason, but I don't know if he'll ever come but, but I like to be able to say I know a church where you will hear the grace of God, and that's this church. You don't know how significant this ministry is. I just Well, I shouldn't say that. You probably do know. That's why you're here, but there are so many who don't hear the kind of message that you an add on. It's not the gospel, plus, it is the gospel that you hear Sunday after Sunday. I tell people, if you'll sit down and listen to Jason and try to get in on what he's saying from the very beginning, and follow him to the end, and he will cross every T and dot every i He will explain that passage as well as anybody I've ever heard. And I mean that I am so thankful for him. And then to be able to read some of his blogs and that sort of thing, which I never did, and but he does, and I'm thinking that's such a encouraging ministry. So I'm delighted to be here, and I'm thankful to be the old pastor I really am. I mean, getting ready to preach every Sunday? Oh my goodness, I just dare any of you to try it out for a while, just, I just dare you. But I remember walking down the hall one day and there was a little girl coming down the hall her mom and dad, and she said, Look, Mom, Dad, it's the old creature.I said, there's my sign, right? No,but I'm glad to do what I do now as a chaplain, I get to talk to people that honestly open the door and say, come and explain to me. Help me know, because I'm not sure. I don't know what's I don't know what to expect, and I want to be ready. They're inviting me to share the gospel, and I'm so thankful that I get to do that day after day is my Well, it's my honor, and so this too, I want to, I want to do what I do every day. I say every day. As a chaplain, I try to not only answer some questions and maybe explain some things that they've never heard. But more often than not, I am reminding them of what they are. They already know. And that's a good Bible word to remember, Old Testament, word New Testament, word on the night before Jesus was crucified, he said, Do this in remembrance of me. And I used to think what that meant was, you know, just think back when it was, what it was, when he was here and he walked with the disciples, and tried to imagine how much it meant to them and, you know, and just say, Well, isn't it great what he did and helped and the difference he made. But that's not what the word means. The word to remember is to remember into the moment that is, look into the past and hear and see what he did, what he accomplished, who he was, the difference he made, and bring him, him into this moment, because he's in this moment. I really want you to hear that he's not some kind of museum piece that we put on the shelf and take off from time to time, dust it off and, oh, isn't that nice? No, he is the living Lord, and He is present tense right here, right now, in every moment. Every day. So I want us to remember together what we know, or better yet, let's say it this way. I want us to remember together who, who we know. I want to remember him in to this moment. I don't want you going through I don't know what you're dealing with. It could be the best time, the worst time of your life from your perspective. But here's the deal. Let's remember him into this moment. Let's, let's live it out. Let's walk it out knowing he is. Well, let me just get to the message. I'm going to, I'm going to share some things I know about you just real quick. Number one,I know that God loves you just like you are.Second, I know in Christ, Jesus, by the grace of God, through faith in Christ, I know that you've been forgiven of all sin for all time. It's a finished it's an accomplished fact. It's over. It's done. It's now you're forgiven. Third, I know, by the grace of God, through faith in Christ, you have received the gift of eternal life. And that's not just a quantity of time. It's a quality of life, not just a quantity of life, a quality of life, a life that's really worth living. You have get you've been given that gift. It's yours. It's well, we'll talk about that. I don't want you to remember that you will never die.You'll never die.Fourth, I know that right now,Christ Himselfis with you,but not just with you. He's in youso that he himself. Is the life that's been given. You've received the gift of eternal life. He is the life that is eternal life. It's him. He doesn't just give it. He is it you with me, and the promise is that he will never leave you. He will never forsake you, not at any time, not in any way, and not for any reason, will he ever leave you? And then last, I know that in you, he's expressing himself in you to you and his his gift to you again, another gift that he would express his life through you. Would you say it Amen, you know, Lord, I want you to be who you are in me and through me, and let him be who he is, to express himself where you are. Okay, let's remember those five things. It's all about Jesus, about him, who he is, and the difference and the difference that he makes in every moment of every day, every situation and circumstance. First, he loves you just like you are. I lived for a long time thinking that God's love for me would rise and fall based on my performance. If I performed well, he would love me. If I didn't perform well, he wouldn't, or at least he wouldn't love me as much his love really depended upon me. That's not true, and it was arrogant of me to think that way, that I could somehow manipulate the love of God by my performance. Excuse me, He's God. You see, the Bible teaches that God's love for you doesn't depend upon you, what you think, how you feel, how you act, your behavior. No, God's love for you depends upon him. It depends upon who he is, and the Bible says that God is love. That's who he is. So that he doesn't just give love. He is the love that he gives it to him, and he loves you perfectly, completely, absolutely, unconditionally, unconditionally, he doesn't love you for anything you've done. He doesn't love you because of who you are. He loves you because of who he is. That's who he is. He loves you perfectly, completely. And his love, this changed my life when I began to see it. His love is all mightylove.In fact, that's who he is. He isAlmighty love. You like the sound of that I, you know, I would hear that God is almighty, and I think Almighty destruction, almighty mess you up if he wants to.But then I hear he's love, yeah,that's who he is.And to be Almighty love means his love cannot be stopped. He will accomplish his ultimate love purpose in your life through your life, and it can't be stopped.Say, okay, just,just overwhelm me with his almighty love. He loves you. There is nothing you can do to make him love you more. There is nothing you can do to make him love you less. His love depends upon who he is. He so loves you. He so values you, that he said in so many words that. In terms of what he did at the cross. He loves you so much that he communicates, I would rather die than live without you, and he did. He died for you because of his love for you. I have people all the time, they're trying to get God's attention. I want to do something that somehow, you know, so he'll see me and and somehow would accept me and, and he'd been chasing usage before you were born. He loves you. You second thing, I know,you have been forgiven of all sin for all time is done.And I know there's some verses of scripture that might complicate things in terms of how you see it and how you understand it, but if you and this will help, if you understand how to read your Bible, one of the first things that has to be taught. And I did not learn this. I went to seminary forever. I'm a slow learner, and no one ever explained to me the difference between the Old Testament, Old Covenant and the New Testament, the New Covenant. And I sure didn't understand where those two began and ended. But what is your Bible? Don't open it. But in your Bible, you will get through Malachi, last book of the Old Testament, and you'll have a cover sheet says New Testament. Turn the page, and you'll have Matthew Chapter One. Listen, that is not the beginning of the New Testament. If you heard that, not yet. This way, I'm telling you, you can argue with me. You can come. We can duke it out. I'll just I'm explaining to you, and I do it on, on the Word of God, authority of God's Word, the words of Jesus Himself, on the night before he was crucified, he said, This cup is the cup of the New Covenant, the New Testament. Did you hear what I'm saying? Same word, testament, covenant. Same word. What he was saying was, I have not made that New Testament, that new covenant, it won't begin until I go to the cross. This is it. Come with a new covenant. Okay? Now, when you hear that, you begin to read from the cross and see the difference between life this side of the cross and life on the other side of the cross in terms of what's being said, what's being communicated. And imma give you one the model prayer. We call it the model prayer. Some people call it the Lord's Prayer, but model prayer is better. When Jesus said, When you pray, pray like this, you remember that, right? And he and he says, there. He says, Now when you pray, pray, Father, forgive us as we have forgiven those who've sinned against us. And I remember one day I heard that for the first time. I quoted it, I don't know how many times, but I heard it one day, it just hit me. I thought, wait a minute, Father, forgive me as I have forgiven others, I don't like the sound of that. No, I really don't. And after he gives us the model prayer, Jesus goes on to say, just make sure we get it. We understand what he's saying. He says, If you forgive those who've sinned against you, God will forgive you. But if you don't, he will notanybody misunderstand what that's about.Well, listen to me, when you hear what is being said, you will come to the same conclusion I did. That's just like, that's just like saying, all you have to do is jump and touch the moon, and you're in I can't touch the moon. Listen, I am better. I'm more likely to be able to jump and touch the moon than I am to forgive all who have sinned against me the way God deals with forgiveness. Did you hear what I'm saying? And you begin to realize that the Old Testament was given not that we would keep the law of the Old Testament, but was given to tell us that we don't keep it, that we can't keep it, that we don't have what it takes to keep it. This is my favorite one, again, the 10th Commandment and thou shalt not covet. We don't even know what that means, but now, but we're really what he's saying, really, thou shall not covet this what he's saying, He's saying, Thou shalt not break the first nine Commandments, and thou shalt not even want to that's what it means. Thou shall not covet, thou shall not even want to break the other nine. Excuse me. It. That's the law. And the Bible says if you break the law at one point, you're guilty of all and by the way, there's about 619, commandments in the Scripture. You don't know. Half of them you don't. I bet you. I'll wait. I will Wade you out. I would almost do that. The Price Is Right. Kind of deal come up and give me, give me the 10 Commandments, probably many, maybe most, maybe I'll decide I don't know. I can see what, Which one's that 10 Commandments.And the point is, we don't keep them. Whatdoes that mean? I'm helpless. I'm hopeless before God. I don't have an argument. The law was given. The Bible says to shut our mouths about how good we are for God. God says, if you read that and understand it, you won't say another word. Keep your mouth shut. But I love you, Don't you see I'm not. I'm not making you do something you cannot do. I'm showing you that you can't do, but I can and I will, let me again, I go back. Listen. When Jesus died on the cross, He died for all sin. Watch this. On that side of the cross, He said, If you pray asking God to forgive you, as you forgive others, if you forgive those who've sinned against you, then he will. And if you don't, he won't. On this side of the cross, Ephesians, Chapter Four says, what now that you are forgiven, go and forgive. You. See the difference over there, forgive and you'll be forgiven. Here is you are forgiven, and what are you going to do with that? Listen, he's not saying you have to go forgive. He's saying you get to go forgive. This is what you get to do. I give you the gift of forgiveness. Doesn't fire you up. That excites me. I'm trying to do this for God because I have to or else. But now I'm forgiven. I've been set free, and I can forgive because I want to, because I choose to. And why would I ever want to? Because now I'm beginning to understand how wonderful forgiveness really is, but I'm not doing it because I have to in order to get forgiveness or keep forgiveness. Do you see that?No, I mean it. Do you see that? That's big deal.Now you'll read your Bible from now on, from Matthew all the way to the cross, and you'll hear Jesus say, if your eye offends you, pull it out. Well, if you're going to obey that. I don't see one eye. It's in here. If your hand offends you, cut it off. What? What's he saying? This is no joke. This is not play time. This is not preschool. This is big stuff. You've got to deal with sin and deal with it completely problem. I can't cut my hand off, and I'm still a thief.Everybody hear what I'm saying.You better get control of your sin. You got it now. You got it now. Watch this. And Jesus went to do and did all that ever needed to be done for time and for all of eternity, for your sin to be forgiven, the life he lived, yes, yes, yes. Go ahead, give him praise, the life he lived, perfect, Tempted in all ways, just like you and I as a real man. You've heard me say this before. Jesus was not God pretending to be a man. He was not God wearing a human costume. He was God. Always has been God, always will be God, but He, as the Incarnation accomplished, was absolutely and completely man. He entered to the full consciousness of what it means to be human. He knew temptation. He experienced temptation just like us. We think, how's that possible? Well, with God, anything's possible. I don't know how, but that's what happened. He he experienced the depth of temptation, but without sin. Without sin, He trusted his father listen. The life he lived qualified him from the death he died perfect sacrifice, he and only he could take away the sin of the world, and he and he did. He did. And what that means is you are forgiven for all sin, for all time. You will never. You will never. You will never stand before Godand be judged for sin.Now, Doesn't the Bible say, Didn't Jesus say, you will be judged by every idle word? What do we do with that? Well, that's the other side of the cross, right? I mean it seriously. You. Jesus said it,you will be judged for every idleword. Oh, my goodness. How do you begin to think about all these idle words that you've spoken all your life? Come on, yeah, every idle word. And then Jesus, we're talking about God from God, become a man to be tempted, just like us, to be our representative. He goes to the cross, and He includes you in that cross. Paul says, I've been crucified together with Christ. I was there 2000 years ago. You were there 2000 years ago, included in the cross. And think about it this way, in the cross, you're put on trial, and in the cross, you're found guilty, and you're sentenced to die, and in Christ, you die. What was that? That was the judgment of God, and it wasit the sacrifice.Very first time in human history was bigger than the sin, and it was bigger than my sin and bigger than my sinfulness. And God says it's done. Cried out, it's finished. My Love can now be embraced. It's finished. There's nothing that separates me from my creation. You see, the Bible says that God was in Christ doing what? What was God doing in Christ, reconciling us to himself. That's what he's doing, bringing us into a harmonious, loving relationship. That's what he's doing. God was in Christ, in Corinthians, chapter five, verse 19, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. How by not counting men's sins against them, father, I've sinned. I know, yeah, I don't count it against you. What you don't. Preacher said you did. Preacher said today, if you don't straighten up, God's going to get you. Okay if you hear what I'm saying, let's agree and say okay, but getting me. He got me at the cross, and it's done. I was included in Christ on the cross. I was included in his burial, baptized in him, immersed into him. He's my ever living representative. I was crucified together with Christ. I was buried with Him, and three days later, when he walked out of that tomb,I walked out with him,and I will live forever.Sin has no more claim to me ever again. Now that doesn't mean you don't sin, guys, but the Bible teaches that you died to sin. I think I said it in the first I get too excited and I say things I shouldn't say, but what I'm trying to say is that sin, sin still is, but we have died to sin, Jesus, my representative, your representative, Paul says Jesus died to sin. He died once and for all, not just for sin, but he died to sin. What does that mean? He became sin. But in his death, he died to sin. It has no claim to him at all, ever. It's done well, who is he doing that for? For you and me. So what does that mean? You, in him, died to sin. Nod. You had this way. Everything he did, he did as you or for you. In that sense, he's your representative. Make sense? Are you going to be judged another time? Or are you saying? Because if you say you are, you're saying that the judgment there at the cross was not adequate, that the sacrifice was too small. See, in the Old Testament, the sacrifice was never big enough. That's why, you know, they just kept bringing sacrifice every morning, every evening, every another sacrifice never could deal with it, and it was only to cover sin. You know those lambs to cover sin. That's That's what the word atonement really means, to coverit's not a good note. It's not a good New Testament word.It's for tonight, Jesus did not come to cover sin.John told us, when he saw Jesus at the at the River Jordan, he said, Behold, that's the one we've been looking for. All these lambs have been pointing to him all these hundreds of years, millions of gallons of blood to cover sin. It's been pointing to him. And there he is, the Lamb of God. That was what? What that covers sin, the Lamb of Godthat takes away the sin of the world. Nowwe're either going to believe that or we're not, but that's what it says. Does it make sense? He came to take away the sin of the world, God, reconciling the world unto himself, saying, I do. I don't count your sin against you. Why? Because the sacrifice has been made and it's done forever.It isfinished, and withthat, you get eternal life. See, you're not just a neutral and a spirit nobody, but in your spirit now you receive eternal life. In the resurrection, you receive life. But I want you to hear that the life that you received is the person of Jesus Himself, who is the life? Didn't he say that again on the night before he was crucified,Jesus said, I am the life. That's me.I'm not a life as in one of many. I am the Life as in the one and only. You can't have life apart from me, because I am the life. So what happened today? You got saved. God says Your sins are forgiven. You died to sin. Count yourself die. Count yourself dead to sin. Count yourself because you are dead to sin. You are dead to sin. Won't do any good to count it, if it's not true, but you are dead to sin, so Count it. Count yourself dead to sin because you are and you receive the gift of eternal life, the life of Christ Himself. Now I gotta wrap it up. But he who is in you will never leave you. He will never forsake you, not at any time, not in any way, and not for any reason. He's not just with you. He is in you. He is your life. You don't have your life, and he has his life. No, you share a common life, and the life you share is the life of Jesus. Is his life. He is your life. I want to say that over and over again. He is your he's not enlivening you. Over there with him, over here. No, he says, I am eternal life, and I step into you and I I am that life in you and that life that is your life. It's me. We're not dealing with a thing or an idea. We're dealing with a person of the living Lord. He says, I live in you and INot in any wayand not for any reason.Now let me ask you if that's true. Why in the world would we ever be afraid of anyone or at any time? I mean that David saw it before the cross. He wasn't afraid of the giant because he believed God. God is, this is not my battle fight. It's and God's with us. That was before God in us. He saw it. It's realized. It's the truth, it's it's the greater reality. He is with you. He is in you, and he in you is your strength, your ability. He's your Sustainer. He keeps you. You know the Bible in Philemon, am I saying the right book? I can't remember anyway, it says, You are kept in the love of God. It kind of starts that way, and then it says again, you're kept in the love of God. And in between, it says, Now, keep yourself in the love of God. What does that mean? You're kept, whether you keep yourself or not, you're kept. But begin to believe it and live like it's true, because it is true, you're kept. He'll never leave you. He'll never forsake I hear people all the time. I just need to get right with God. I've just, I've just strayed away, and I want to be closer to God. Now, wait a minute, if he is in you and he is your life, is that close? Can you get closer than that? Well, why do we keep talking like that? Why do we keep saying, did you know I told my wife a long time ago, you can leave anytime you want to, but if you do, when you do, I'm leaving with you. See, I'm leaving with you, and that's exactly what the Lord says. He says you can in your thinking and in your behavior and what you're believing, you can walk away from me, but you can't, because I'm with you. I will never leave you. You can try to leave me, but you can't, because I'm always there. I'm in you. That's the way it is. Does anybody hear this? Why do we keep praying the way we pray and saying what we say all the time? I just want to be close to God. Well, I don't feel like he's close to me. I don't feel like I hear that. I don't feel like it okay. Feelings are real. I'm not saying deny your feelings in the sense that they don't exist. Don't say that they do exist, but you cannot trust them. Feelings will lead you astray. Don't trust your feelings. Trust God. Don't live in response to your feelings. Live in response to the one who is God in you, and his purpose in you is express his life through you. Beautiful thing, the fruit of the Spirit, one God, three persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The Spirit communicates this life in us, the invisible spirit in us. And the fruit that is produced is the fruit of the Christian right. It's what we do for God. Shake you this way. How? It the fruit of the the fruit of the Spirit is what we do for God. We produce love, joy, peace, but no, no, no, listen, listen. The fruit of the Spirit.He is love. That's who he is. He is joy,peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithful self. Tonight, that's who he is, and he is, and he lives in you your life. He is your life. You'll never be Jesus. He'll never be you,but you share a common life. Paul says, the life I live ishis. He is Colossians chapter three, he is your life. Jesus forecasting the way it would be before the cross. He's speaking prophetically, and he says, This is what's going to look guys, you understand vine and branch relationship? Well, I'm going to be the vine when I, when I, when I establish the New Covenant. I mean, that's what he's talking about. I will be the vine and you'll be the branch. And so you show up the moment you get saved, you are placed in to the vine, and you don't need to work at getting in the vine. You're in the vine. You have become a partaker of vine life. You understand that a branch, by definition, has to be in the vine. If it's not in the vine, it's a dead stick, it's it's not a branch. Do you see what I'm saying? It's a stick. What's that stick? What it looks like? No, no, no, it's a stick.It's all it is dead.But he says, You're not a stick.You're alive with my life. I'm the vine, you're the branch,and you're not in the production business. I am. You don't produce fruit, you bear fruit. And there's a big difference. I produce it, you bear it,you hand it out. Isanybody excited about this? It's covered, is what I'm trying to say. That's why Jesus cried out. It isfinished. Thatmeans you lack nothing. When you feel like you're lacking, where others are telling you that you're lacking, that you're missing something, that something more that you have to have. I want you to hear this when you have and and as those who believed on it, you have the person of Jesus. You have all that is I'm going to quote it right quick. You have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. God's not saying, I'm holding some back. I'm waiting for you. You gotta, you gotta perform, and maybe I'll give you this one. No, you have been blessed with every, every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. That is when you're talking about what is reality, ultimate reality, the kingdom of God. You are blessed. That's who you are. It's what you are. Keep begging God to bless you. Oh, my goodness. He says, Hey, I am the blessing. Read Galatians, I am the blessing. I'm the promised blessing. Here I am. I'm in you. You got me. And then Peter says, You have been given all that pertains to life and godliness, everything, God, I need no Whoa, whoa, whoa, where you are, where you are, whatever is happening around you, you're ready,because I'm in you.I am what it takes to be a man, to be a woman, to be a mom, to be a dad. I'm what it takes to be human. Says, Jesus, I'm the truth about humanity. I am the prototype for you, and I am your life. Now to believe it is to live accordingly. You begin to order your life accordingly. And watch this, when you choose not to order your life accordingly, you choose not to believe God in the moment, and you just go ahead and say what you felt like. Saying, guess what? The faith by which you live, the faith by which you continue to live, the faith that sustains you is the faith of Jesus, whether you believe him or not, he believes himself. Galatians, chapter two,the life I live, says Paul, I live by the faithof the Son of God. Hedoesn't say, I live by faith in the Son of God, though that'd be okay. He says, the life that I live, I live by definite article, the faith of Himwho loved me and died for me. Hallelujah,he's got me covered, and I'm so glad. Let me pray with your Father in heaven, your salvation. Oh, why would we ever doubt that it's it's absolutely complete. There's nothing left to be done. It's now to walk out and live it out and and experience and to know it and have that freedom that you've Well, it's ours.It's already ours.We're learning, we're growing, we're understanding and that, by Your grace, you give us a revelation day after day and insight that we've never seen before. Are, and it's all about you and who you are and what you mean to us, and our words can't even begin to express what it what a difference. We don't have a word big enough to say how we thank you. You're a great God.In Your name, I pray Amen.