So again, we are so privileged to have
Major Thomas come and to share with us.
Let me pray for him as he comes
up Father we just ask now that your
spirit would just mightily anoint this great man
of God What a blessing to have him
and father We just ask that you would
say through him to us all that we
need to hear tonight in Jesus name.
I Appreciate the mention that the pastor has
made of that book the saving life of
Christ Maybe you thought she was saved by
the death of Jesus, but that isn't what
the Bible says You may be redeemed reconciled
to God by the death of Jesus That's
why in the sinlessness of his humanity.
He was born nearly 2,000 years ago
But it's not his death for you that
Saved you saved to reconcile you to God
and qualify you to become the recipient of
his saving life He came to restore man
to function To make it possible for a
holy God without doing violence to his own
righteousness To restore to man the life that
man forfeited in the day that Adam fell
and all mankind The Lord Jesus said I'm
come that you might have life Not just
a new destination when you're dead and buried
I've come to restore you by resurrection to
that quality of life that God always intended
a miracle All of deity and clothed with
man's humanity So that we become his hands
his feet his lips his eyes and mind
and heart God in action and that's what
it means really to be a genuine Christian
part of the action letting Jesus Christ be
to you all he allowed the father to
be to him God in a man and
The inevitably of course if I preach the
gospel, that's what I got to talk about
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith
the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and
the end the first word the creative word
and the last word because God is going
to judge this world in righteousness and The
17th chapter of the book of the Acts
and the 31st verse tells us by whom
he's going to judge this world Jesus whereof
he's born testimony Whereby he has raised him
from the dead It's the risen living Christ
who's going to come again, and I'm looking
forward to that.
I Think he's a little bit overdue.
I remind him of that Because I don't
anticipate going to heaven by underground.
I'm going by air That'll be fun, won't
it?
And I hope I'm home when he comes
because I live in Estes Park, Colorado And
that's 9,000 feet up So I'll have
a 9,000 foot Hot start on most
of you folks Hope you catch up in
time Not to miss the boat I was
mentioning the saving life of Christ and what
the pastor said was his favorite chapter any
old bush will do and My wife who's
not Unsmart decided she had sent a copy
of that book to the president any old
bush will do Huh Somebody once
asked him how he began the day.
He said I go downstairs to my study
and Then I bend my knee and talk
to God It's a good way to start
the day No matter what a kind of
a bush you are a little over 2
,000.
No a little over two centuries ago General
William Booth who was the founder of the
Salvation Army said this The chief danger in
the 20th century Will be religion without the
Holy Spirit Christianity the chief danger But Christianity
without Christ forgiveness Put on offer without the
need for repentance salvation without the need of
a regeneration spiritual new birth politics without God
and a heaven without a hell That was
only two centuries ago But in 1787 Gibbon
the noted historian completed his decline and fall
of the Roman Empire Here's the way he
accounted for the fall of the Empire the
greatest Empire then in the world and the
mightiest military force That conquered even Great Britain
and that's something But then I wasn't there
then Nor the Royal Fusiliers my regiment City
of London Regiment Most famous regiment in the
British Army and though maybe nobody's ever told
you largely responsible for winning World War two
Though we're thankful for a few friends who
helped us now and again Here's the way
he accounted for the fall of the Roman
Empire the rapid increase of divorce 1787 the
undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the
home, which is the basis of human society
the mad craze and for pleasure and sports
sports becoming every year more exciting and more
brutal The building of gigantic armaments when the
real enemy was within in the decadence of
the people the decay of religion faith fading
into mere form ritual instead of reality language
instead of life Losing touch with life becoming
impotent to warn or guide the people.
Well, that was 1787 and nothing has changed
Because man learns nothing from history.
He only condemns himself by repeating it let
me read a cutting from a newspaper that
was written Nearly 2,000 years ago in
the second chapter in the rather the third
chapter of the second epistle of Paul to
Timothy This know in other words, let it
penetrate.
Let it sink deep in your heart and
mind this know That in the last days
that is just before the Lord Jesus comes
back again Perilous times shall come Men shall
be lovers of their own selves covetous boasters
proud blasphemers disobedient to parents Breakdown of family
life Unthankful unholy without natural affection truce breakers
false accusers incontinent and fierce Despisers of those
that are good Traitors heady high-minded lovers
of pleasure more than lovers of God Having
a form of godliness But denying the power
thereof In other words an empty religion with
all the pious language Intended to make it
valid but empty of substance a Hollow mockery
of the real thing noise Lots of it
But a little knowledge of God Well, that
was written nearly 2,000 years ago does
it sound familiar If it doesn't then just
read the newspaper today Or listen to the
news on television or radio We are right
there Right now that's what makes life for
a real Christian exciting Because this doesn't take
God by surprise doesn't even shock him It
grieves him, but doesn't shock him the Lord
Jesus said When men's hearts are failing them
for fear of the things that are coming
on the world he said look up Your
redemption draweth nigh exciting And I'm looking forward
to that momentous day when Jesus was born
he split history BC and AD Anno Domini
the year of our Lord and When Jesus
returns he'll split history again And he can't
come too soon in this sin-ridden world
full of broken hearts and broken homes Nothing
new in the depravity of a Christian religion
that has lost its identity and validity Because
the greatest need worldwide While worldwide right across
the globe in the Christian Church is to
rediscover Jesus discover that everything that is valid
and of lasting Value must have its origin
in God himself In Jesus the Creator and
our Redeemer ever taught a Sunday school or
a Bible class Or been on a platform
and preached to a congregation If you have
maybe sometimes you've been disappointed Because nothing of
what you said with great sincerity is penetrated
Well, that's the kind of Bible class that
the Lord Jesus had nothing sunk in They
were solid As dull as they come No
matter what he said and when he told
them the truth they got mad Read it
for yourself in the sixth chapter of John's
gospel commenced with the 60th verse When they
heard this Jesus speaking They'd been listening for
three years, but they hadn't heard anything But
when they heard this what did Jesus say
that they heard?
without me You can do nothing They heard
it Doesn't the first time he'd said it
he'd said it many many times not only
without my father I can do nothing, but
by the way without me You can do
nothing.
They Listened they didn't hear nothing made them
mad about it until they heard it How
do you think they reacted when they heard
it?
They were mad That's what normally happens when
people hear for the first time what?
Jesus has had to say something to which
they've listened again and again They heard it
Let me read it out of the Amplified
New Testament Which is a very accurate translation
from the original And an immense help if
you want to understand What God has to
say in his book?
sixth chapter of the gospel of John 60th
verse When his disciples heard this How did
they react Many of them said this is
a hard and difficult and strange saying an
offensive and unbearable message Who can be expected
to listen to such teaching?
What did he say?
Without me you can do nothing and it
was an unbearable message to disciples who thought
that It was their duty to get God
into business and keep him in business Jesus
said it is the Holy Spirit who gives
life God the Holy Spirit Not a vague
somebody out up there in the clouds, but
God himself Representing the triune deity father son
and Holy Spirit in man's experience of his
creator It is the spirit who gives life
he is the life giver the flesh the
older damning nature Conveys no benefit whatever There's
no profit in it It's a dead loss
in other words.
There's no profit.
It's a dead loss And the words the
truth that I have been speaking to you
those words this truth is life they didn't
like it Because they'd become accustomed to a
sterile dead religion and After this verse 66
Many not just a handful many of his
disciples drew back Returned to their old associations
and no longer Accompanied Jesus they quit Many
Went back and no longer walked with him.
They said We can't listen to that stuff.
We're going back to the church.
We go to we're appreciated And they expect
us to do our thing and when we
do it they congratulate us That was the
early church before something happened And about that
we talked this morning in the two services
with which the day began the church then
in all its poverty Rediscovering Jesus Not as
a dead Savior But the living risen indwelling
Lord the one of Whose life we become
Incredibly in God's goodness partakers Partakers of the
divine nature Allowing the Lord Jesus as our
creator God to clothe his deity with our
humanity as For the 33 years he was
on earth.
He allowed the father to clothe himself And
be clothed with the sinless humanity of the
Lord Jesus He that has seen me said
he has seen my father Something happened to
the early church, and it's something that is
desperately needed right across the church in the
world today in which we live Every nation
kindred tribe and tongue and race and creed
and color needs to rediscover Jesus the risen
living indwelling Savior Who's not only the one
who died for us to reconcile us to
a holy God?
But who triumphantly rose again from the dead
to indwell us Give his life to us
share that life with us and communicate that
life through it It's exciting when you're a
real Christian Not just a churchgoer Not just
a bundle of text that you've memorized or
songs that you sing Somebody living in somebody
The father who lives in me Said the
Lord Jesus he does the word even the
words that I speak unto I speak not
of myself I Placed my lips in the
sinlessness of my humanity at my father's disposal
So that through me he can give utterance
to the truth that he knows you need
to hear Never tell people what they want
to hear Tell them only what they need
to know and the church is in desperate
need today to hear the voice of God
again For that alone will revolutionize your life
as a Christian and make it real Not
just language, but life Well in the earlier
services this morning we talked about that day
Apart from which the Lord Jesus said the
church will remain a dead loss busy active
noisy But a dead loss and as a
member of that early church Peter Who knew
the language But hadn't a clue what it
meant by what he talked about Textually aware,
but spiritually unenlightened It's very easy to become
familiar with pious language Very easy to set
it to music and sing it But language
isn't enough if there's no life In the
heart of those who use the language and
that life the only life is Jesus himself
Didn't make any difference to the early church
when they rediscovered Jesus as Described for us
in the 24th chapter of Luke's gospel a
new joy when they rediscovered the risen Lord
thought he was dead and buried When the
women came and said they'd been rebuked by
angels Because they were looking for the living
among the dead and came and told the
disciples The Apostles themselves in the upper room.
He's alive As they replied idle tales.
He's dead.
We were there when it happened and he's
buried Idle tales that was their description of
the gospel at the beginning of the early
church but they needed to rediscover Jesus alive
and dead and It wasn't till then said
the Lord Jesus that There's any validity to
what you have to say so keep your
mouth shut We spend a lot of time
getting people to open their mouths the Lord
Jesus spent a lot of time in the
early church Tell them to keep their mouth
shut Because they didn't know enough to talk
sense Huh, and if you don't know enough
to talk sense, there's only one smart thing
to do keep your mouth shut Until you
can Follow the instructions of God's Word written
for us in the Psalms Open your mouth
wide.
I'll fill it God said it isn't until
you let God fill your mouth With what
he knows others need to hear that you've
got a valid ministry Other time otherwise you'll
just engage yourself in Pious platitudes with no
spiritual substance So did it make any difference?
Let me read it to you I quoted
it already today and we'll quote it maybe
again before we finished in these last in
these one or two days that we Are
going to spend together Matthew 17 and verse
9 they they were coming down from the
Mount of Transfiguration And as they were coming
down the Lord Jesus had something to say
to them Matthew Chapter 17 verse 9.
I'm nearly there Ran out of lake as
they came down from the mountain The Lord
Jesus charged them saying Tell the vision to
no man Anything and everything that you've seen
up in the Mount of Transfiguration Not a
word about it to anybody Tell the vision
to nobody nothing of what you've seen nothing
of what you've heard until the Son of
Man Is risen from the day Your Christianity
won't be valid and you'll have nothing to
sell to tell the world around you until
I'm risen from the day So what's the
heart of the gospel?
across With a dead man hanging on it.
That isn't the heart of the gospel The
heart of the gospel is the resurrection of
our once crucified, but now living Savior Because
he's the only one who can live the
Christian life for a very simple reason.
He is the Christian life I Am the
way how to become a Christian.
I am the life how to be the
Christian you become that's the truth So keep
on telling the truth, which means keep on
talking about Jesus The beginning and the end
alpha and the Omega the first word By
whom all things were made and without whom
not one thing was made that ever was
made He was in the beginning with God
was God and he's the last word Very
simple when you preach the gospel as God
has provided it for us in his inspired
word authored by the Holy Spirit You just
talk about Jesus and the Holy Spirit bears
witness to the truth Convicts the hearts of
men awakens their souls and leads them to
Christ So did it make any difference to
the early church as to how they went
about their ministry?
Oh Yes What was the message of the
early church once they'd rediscovered Christ the risen
living indwelling Savior Whose life we share by
his indwelling Holy Spirit so that he can
clothe his deity with our redeemed humanity That's
what it means to be a Christian restored
to function Let's discover what the message of
the early church really was to which The
church today must return if it's to be
of any value to a lost world Acts
chapter 1 and verse 16 16 first first
chapter of Acts men and brethren verse 16
Acts chapter 1 Who's speaking Peter Peter of
all people who didn't want the cross didn't
believe in the resurrection Who promised that he
had died for Jesus if needs being ended
up blaspheming cursing and swearing and Repudiating the
idea that he ever had known Jesus Peter
Men and brethren this scripture must needs have
been fulfilled which the Holy Spirit By the
mouth of David God speaking through a man
Spake before concerning Judas Judas Iscariot Who was
guide to them who took Jesus and he
was numbered with us named to be an
apostle Had obtained part of this ministry But
this man Purchased a field with the reward
of iniquity 30 miserable pieces of silver the
price of a slave This man purchased a
field with the reward of iniquity and falling
headlong burst asunder die It was known unto
all the apostles and all the dwellers at
Jerusalem In in so much as that field
is called in the proper tongue a caldera
the field of blood It's Written in the
book of the Psalms let his habitation be
desolate Let no man dwell therein and his
bishopric let another man take to be replaced
as an apostle Wherefore David continued of These
men which have accompanied with us all the
time that the Lord Jesus went in and
out among us Beginning from the baptism of
John unto that same day that he John
was taken up Lord Jesus was taken up
from us must one be ordained Criterion of
ordination of An apostle then of anybody who
ministers the Word of God today Must one
be ordained to be a witness with us
of his resurrection the criterion of apostolic office
then was that He would stand shoulder to
shoulder with those who were prepared unashamedly and
unafraid to proclaim the fact that Jesus God
raised from the dead alive and well message
of the early church First be convinced of
the truth of it.
Jesus is alive Acts chapter 1 this was
Peter talking the one who said not so
Lord.
That's not going to happen to you forget
it And we're going to make sure it
doesn't happen to you and Jesus said to
him then Get thee behind me Satan Anybody
who denies the need and fact of Christ's
death and resurrection In the devil's business get
thee behind me you savor not the things
that be of God said Jesus to Peter
But the things that be of man your
theological proposition is of the earth earthy And
it has no validity But now Peter speaking
something's happened He's rediscovered Jesus alive That's Acts
chapter 1 Acts chapter 2 22nd verse you
men of Israel hear these words Jesus of
Nazareth a man approved of God a God
-approved man By miracles signs and wonders some
people Believe and teach that the deity of
Jesus is demonstrated by the miracles that he
did but that isn't true Because he didn't
do the miracles God did You men of
Israel hear these words Jesus of Nazareth a
man approved of God among you by miracles
and wonders and signs which God did by
him Because in the person of the Lord
Jesus The Father in heaven had a real
man on earth who had led him the
father be God in the man Who raised
Lazarus from the dead God did?
Who fed the 5,000 God did?
God by him Jesus That's a Christian the
life of the Lord Jesus was miraculous because
he allowed God to be the exclusive cause
of his in him divine effect and The
Christian is a miracle If he's genuine Because
the only explanation for what he does isn't
is is Christ alive clothing his deity with
that forgiven sinners humanity What a marvelous privilege
To be a member of the body of
Christ on earth, which is called the church
Not a system not a man-made organizational
entity but a fellowship of redeemed sinners reconciled
to a holy God by the blood that
Jesus shed and indwelt by him in the
power of his resurrection So that their hands
have become his to work with feet to
walk with lips to speak with eyes to
see with ears to hear with minds to
think with and hearts to love with So
that you can say to me to live
It's Christ Fantastic.
That's the gospel.
There is no other Pentecost When God for
Jesus sake restored to man the life he
lost in the day that Adam was stupid
enough to believe the devil's lie and died
and all mankind Thereafter be be born dead
and to stay dead Save God's divine intervention
on his terms redemption through the shed blood
of Jesus When he restores by the gift
of the Holy Spirit to man the life
he lost in the day that Adam fell
born dead Aborted spiritually physically alive spiritually dead
This Jesus 32nd verse of the same Second
chapter of the book of the Acts this
Jesus hath God raised up whereof we all
are Witnesses chapter 1 witness to the resurrection
Peter Chapter 2 Pentecostal witness to the resurrection
Convinced of the truth of it.
They entered into the good of it That's
when Peter first discovered what it really means
to be a human being Inhabited by his
creator or her creator Sharing the life of
one who bought this testimony Revelation 1 18
I was dead That's the purpose for which
I was born to lay down my life
a ransom for many I was dead past
tense, but I am present tense alive again
Forever more Acts chapter 1 convinced of the
truth of the resurrection Acts chapter 2 a
witness to the truth of the resurrection Pentecost
Acts chapter 3 Convinced of the truth of
it Entering into the good of it Pentecost
sharing the life of a risen Lord Demonstrating
the fact of it first verse Matthew 3
Peter and John went up together into the
temple at the hour of prayer the ninth
hour and a certain man lame from his
mother's womb was carried whom they Laid daily
at the gate of the temple, which was
called beautiful He was carried to church Lots
of people will be in church property today
who are carried there by somebody in spite
of their unwillingness to be found in church
So here was a man who was carried
to church Dumped at the gate so that
he could ask alms of them that entered
into the temple Went to church so he
did not ask alms Somebody said this is
the story of a man who asked for
alms and he got legs.
He was lame from his mother's womb Seeing
Peter and John about to go into the
temple he asked an alms and Peter fastening
his eyes on him with John said look
on us and He gave heed unto them
expecting to receive something When all that Peter
and John had to offer was some body
Silver and gold have I none said Peter,
but such as I have I give you
Want to share with you the name and
the life of Jesus in the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk
Took him by the hand hand lifted him
up immediately his feet and his ankle bones
received strength Leaping up.
He stood and walked and entered with them
into the temple walking leaping praising God And
all the poor all the people amazed saw
him walking and praising God They knew that
it was he who sat for alms to
beg at the beautiful gate of the temple
filled with wonder Filled with amazement at that
which had happened to him And when Peter
saw it He said don't be so stupid
He answered unto the people you men of
Israel.
Why marvel you at this?
Why do you look so earnestly on us
as though by our own power or by
our own holiness?
We had made this man to walk don't
be that stupid I neither have that kind
of holiness nor John nor that kind of
power nor John Whereby this man born lame
from his mother's womb could be healed It's
the God of Abraham It's the God of
Isaac and the God of Jacob the God
of our fathers Hath glorified his son Jesus
Because it's he that did it Whom you
delivered up you denied him in the presence
of Pilate when he was determined to let
him go But you denied the Holy One
you denied the just one you desired a
murder to be granted unto you And you
killed the Prince of life whom God hath
raised from the dead whereof we are Witnesses
Chapter 1 convinced of the truth of it
chapter 2 entered into the good of it
Pentecost chapter 3 Demonstrated the fact of it
with all a witness to the fact that
this Jesus whom they crucified God Raised from
the dead.
This is the message of the early church.
They couldn't talk about anything else Because there
was nothing really other than this to talk
about Jesus God our creator Redeemer alive and
well This is the heart of the church.
This is the gospel that Jesus is alive
chapter 4 Don't get worried.
There are only 28 chapters in the book
of death As they speak unto the people
verse 1 of chapter 4 the priests the
Professionals and the captain of the temple and
the Sadducees Came upon them You know about
the Sadducees they didn't believe in the resurrection
That's why they were sad you see Anybody
who doesn't believe in the resurrection has the
right to be sad they deserve to be
miserable and If you're not living in the
power of an indwelling risen living Savior you
deserve to be miserable too and you probably
are Because you haven't discovered what it means
to be The Christian you said once you
became you need what he did for you
because of what you've done But you need
who he is in you to take the
place of who you are So that others
as they were then in Jesus saw the
father others now in you will see Jesus
alive and well You just simply part of
the action The redeemed humanity With which the
Lord Jesus today still goes on doing and
teaching the things that he then began to
do and began to teach What a exciting
thing it is to be a Christian a
member of the body of Christ a miracle
the truth on legs When you make your
humanity available to the one who created you
of whom through whom and to whom are
all things and To whom alone be glory
I beseech you therefore brethren Romans chapter 12
verse 1 present your bodies to him as
he presented his body to the father and
prove every day that good acceptable and perfect
will of God The adventure of being part
and parcel of God's divine redemptive and regenerated
plan hatched in the heart of God before
ever the world was Fantastic this is Christianity
Christ in unity They speak to the people
the priests and the captain of the temple
Came and the Sadducees upon them being grieved
This is what verse 2 now in chapter
4 Being grieved that they taught the people
and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the
dead That was their message.
This is the message of the early show
Is this what you hear when you come
to church Remembering that church isn't a building.
It's a fellowship of forgiven sinners redeemed Sealed
by the presence within them of a risen
Lord in the person of the one whom
God gives in the moment of redemption to
restore to man the life he lost in
Adam rebirth The beginning of real life you
stop existing in that moment and begin to
live Fantastic How does it go on With
great power verse 33 in the same fourth
chapter with great power gave the Apostles Witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and
great grace God's riches at Christ's expense was
upon them all this is the gospel from
the time of their rediscovery of a risen
living Lord with a new join a new
Bible and a new message and a new
responsibility and a new enabling Pentecost the gift
from God back to man of the life
He lost in the day that Adam fell
Church was revolutionized When anybody ever went to
a gathering where the early church then after
their rediscovery of Jesus or witness They heard
about a risen living indwelling Savior Is that
what you expect when you go to a
church meeting?
That's all they had to talk about Because
there's nothing better for them to talk about
Jesus is alive and not only is he
alive because he's alive we are alive and
He is our life The way the truth
and the life how to become a Christian
the way how to be the Christian you
become the life That's the truth gospel truth
Reality Marvelous why did they go to jail?
Preachers in jail Well they were arrested Look
at the fifth chapter wrote before the captain
and High Priest and Charged What was the
charge that was leveled against them did not
we straightly command you that you should not
teach in this name and Behold you filled
Jerusalem with your doctrine the whole of Jerusalem
is a God with what you have to
say Would it be true?
That you filled this city with your doctrine
What was the doctrine with which they filled
the city of Jerusalem?
Jesus is dead We've stuck him on a
cross In the market square said everybody knows
he died we were there when it happened
And he's buried is that was way is
that the doctrine they filled the city of
Jerusalem, but Jesus is dead The doctrine with
which they filled the city of Jerusalem Jesus
is alive Peter and the other apostles verse
29 of the fifth chapter Answers and said
we ought to obey God rather than men
We're not particularly interested with you approve or
disapprove That is irrelevant We ought to obey
God rather than men Because he has as
God exalted with his right hand the Lord
Jesus whom you hanged and slew on a
tree and We verse 32 message of the
early church Are his witnesses of?
these things But not only are we his
witnesses So also is the Holy Spirit God
the Holy Spirit whom he has given to
them that obey him This is the early
church in action Convinced of the truth of
it entered into the good of it Pentecost
demonstrated the fact of it preached in the
power of it and The end of this
fifth chapter they lived in the joy of
it Daily verse 342 and in the temple
and in every house They ceased not to
teach and preach that Jesus is the Christ
What do they do?
Teaching and preaching that's evangelism You can't preach
with anything worth saying To say unless you
learn to teach We're going to learn from
the Holy Spirit whom Jesus said will lead
you into all truth and take the things
that are mine and reveal Them unto you
teaching and preaching that's evangelism Teaching is explaining
the facts clearly till they're fully grasped and
Preaching is then Exhorting those who've heard the
facts To mix those facts with faith and
let God Translate it into the flesh and
blood of your humanity.
Well every new day is the adventure of
sharing the life of your creator God and
Every day then is as big as God
himself so long as you're prepared to let
him be God in action and Give you
the incredible privilege as his child as a
member of his body To be the one
through whom he Christ Who walked this earth
two thousand years ago may walk this earth
again and your kids if you're in a
family Can look into your face and know
what Jesus is like The first Bible they
should ever read is you Clothing the deity
of a risen living and indwelling Savior So
that in the most natural way your kids
come to know Jesus I'm profoundly thankful that
it's been my joy to lead My kids
to Christ That's normal and I've got Four
sons and all my sons are boys Real
boys because if you wait long enough boys
grow up to be men men of God
They'll be when they grow up what they
were when they were kids And what they
were when their kids are largely dependent of
what we've seen of Jesus in you seen
him behave heard him speak as Others in
the presence of Jesus Heard God speak through
his lips and saw him accomplish in utter
obedience unto death even the death of the
cross The purpose for which he was born
at Bethlehem One exciting thing it is to
be a Christian.
I'll just become one Because salvation was never
designed just to change your destination But change
your destiny Every day the unfolding of a
divine plan of which you're part of the
action Isn't that hilariously wonderful?
That's what it means to be redeemed Reconciled
to God and born again restored to life
Sharing the resurrection of the one who gave
himself for us then to give himself to
us now So how big tomorrow?
As big as Jesus What will you expect
tomorrow what you can do for him or
what he's going to do in and through
you What will the world see what will
your family see your brothers sisters workmates fellow
students are they going to see you busy
for Jesus?
Or they're going to see Jesus busy in
and through you living miraculously That quality of
life that has no possible explanation But Christ
is God in you as his life had
no possible explanation, but the father has God
in him This is the gospel.
It's the sheer glorious simplicity of the gospel
Don't let anybody make it complicated You can
step out into every new day that that
day knowing that that day is going to
be big as God You don't have to
know what he's been doing or what he
has done or what he had in mind.
That's not your business That's his business but
you can be part of the action a
member of the body of Christ alive and
well and kicking What was the message of
the early church?
Stick him on the cross.
He's dead Jesus is alive and lives in
you if you let him Lord Jesus, thanks
For making it all so simple that even
the youngest child can understand Grant that we
may recognize the adventure of getting up every
morning and saying Lord Jesus.
Thanks For what you did then?
So that you can be who you are
now in me Lord Jesus, I want you
to know that my hands are available for
you to work with I want you to
know that my feet are available for you
to walk with to cross the road to
knock on the door whatever and Be in
the place where in your divine providence you've
chosen to put me Where blessing is inevitable?
because I'm part of the action a Forgiven
sinner in dwelt by a risen Savior And
thank you loving Savior that everything that's happening
in the world around us the fear in
the hearts of men foreshadows your return and
we look forward to that day when you
come back and we'll see you as you
are and We will be like you restored
to function restored to image reflecting the glory
of A Savior Who's not a big bang
out there, but somebody living in our heart
every moment of every day Thank you for
all these men and women in this building
here tonight Thank you for little boys and
girls and men and women who come when
they come to know you as their Savior
Because you're going to reach them Through these
men and women gathered tonight in this building
Thank you that Tomorrow's as big as God
We can't have more We need never enjoy
less because in you dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and we're complete Though
none of us deserve it Because of who
you are living Lord Jesus now where you
do For to me to live is Christ
Wonderful.
Thank you dear Lord in your own fearless
precious name Amen