{"id":18964,"date":"2018-10-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-07T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-016-our-new-identity\/"},"modified":"2018-10-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-10-07T05:00:00","slug":"revelation-016-our-new-identity","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-016-our-new-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 016 – Our New Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18964","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 016 - Our New Identity","sermon_date":"20181007","sermon_month":"10","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":"","sermon_slides":6111,"sermon_mp3":6113,"sermon_id":"10718838240","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"3:11-13","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Our New Identity\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 10-7-18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Revelation 3:11-13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 16\n\nLet\u2019s take our bibles if we could and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 3, taking a look this morning at verses 11-13.\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is Our New Identity.\u00a0 And I want to thank Gabe Morris for teaching on short notice last week, I was not feeling well but obviously I\u2019m doing a little better.\u00a0 In fact, this last week I traveled to Minnesota and then to Denver to be involved in two conferences, made it back about 1:00 in the morning last night so I cannot guarantee the quality of this morning\u2019s sermon necessarily, but God is faithful.\n\nAs you know we\u2019ve been teaching our way through the Book of Revelation, having covered some background issues, having covered chapter 1, which is not just a prologue or an introduction but it\u2019s really the revelation of the glorified Christ.\u00a0 And from there we moved into the second section of the book, chapters 2 and 3 where John is told to write down the things that are.\u00a0\u00a0 And here, as you know, he has been addressing, Jesus through John, seven literal churches in Asia Minor.\u00a0 John on Patmos, A.D. 95 is receiving this final revelation from Christ and chapters 2 and 3 is His message to His churches.\u00a0 Each letter fits an eight-part templet which we\u2019re using sort of as a way to organize each letter.\n\nWe\u2019ve seen Christ\u2019s words to Ephesus, the loveless church, to Smyrna, the persecuted church, to Pergamum, the compromised church, to Thyatira, the corrupt church, to Sardis, the dead church.\u00a0 You say wasn\u2019t there any good news in this at all?\u00a0 Well, we\u2019ve been looking at Philadelphia most recently, probably the bright spot in the whole letter, the mission-minded or missionary church.\u00a0 The destination of the letter, as we\u2019ve said is Philadelphia and Christ has described Himself, verse 7, to this little flock, as holy and true.\u00a0 He\u2019s actually the one who holds the key to David and He is the one that opens doors and closes doors in terms of opportunities for ministry.\u00a0 He describes himself this way, holding the keys and opening and closing the doors because this little group had a huge door in front of them that the Lord provided.\n\nHe commends them because he\u2019s put before them an open door which no one can shut and though they have little strength they\u2019re going through that door despite ferocious opposition from a group that Christ calls the synagogue of Satan.\u00a0 And it\u2019s sort of interesting that this church, sort of like the second church we studied, Smyrna, there\u2019s no word of rebuke, there are no consequences for sinful activity mentioned.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because the persecuted church is the pure church.\u00a0 If you\u2019re\u00a0 under persecution, as these folks certainly were, there\u2019s not a lot of room in your life to backslide and things of that nature.\u00a0 He just moves directly into the exhortation.\u00a0 He says, \u201cBecause you have kept the word of\u00a0My\u00a0perseverance,\u00a0I also will keep you from the hour of\u00a0testing, that\u00a0hour which is about to come upon the whole\u00a0world, to\u00a0test\u00a0those who dwell on the earth.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 3:10]\n\nNow the last sermon that we were together teaching this material I tried to convince you, because I think this is what the Bible teaches, that that verse is a verse of the promise of the rapture.\u00a0 The Lord Jesus Christ at any moment can return for His church to remove us from this world before that great hour of trial comes upon the world, called the tribulation period which is described in the subsequent section of the Book of Revelation, which we\u2019ll be looking at in depth as we continue\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 to move through the Book of Revelation.\n\nBut from that teaching on the any moment appearance of Christ in the rapture He gives an exhor\u00adtation in verse which is very, very important.\u00a0 He says, \u201cI am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.\u201d\u00a0 Notice this first expression there, \u201cI am coming quickly;\u201d and you say well come on pastor, what do you mean He\u2019s coming quickly, it\u2019s been 2,000 years; I mean, these words were given 2,000 years ago, how could you say He\u2019s coming quickly? Can\u2019t God tell time like us?\n\nThe reality of the situation is the Word when you actually study it in the Greek is tacos<\/em>, quickly or soon, and many times it\u2019s used as an adverb.\u00a0 An adverb modifies a verb. So when these events happen they\u2019re going to happen lickety-split; in fact, they\u2019re going to happen so fast, 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that it will be like the twinkling of an eye.\u00a0 In fact, 1 Corinthians 15 talks about in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 15:52, \u201cin a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.\u201d]\u00a0 The word \u201cmoment\u201d there is translated from the Greek word, \u1f00\u03c4\u03cc\u03bc\u1ff3, [atom<\/em>\u014d<\/em>] where we get the word atom, which is a particle that is so small it can\u2019t \u00a0be divided.\u00a0 That\u2019s the speed in which the rapture will take place.\n\nAnd tacos<\/em> is used that way many times in the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament.\u00a0 I have a few examples of it there from the Book of Isaiah. [Isaiah 13:22: \u201cHer fateful time also will soon <\/em>come\u201d\u00a0 Isaiah 51:5: \u201cMy righteous is near<\/em>, My salvation has gone forth, And my arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait upon me, And on My arms they will trust.\u201d\n\nBut it can also mean imminency.\u00a0 In other words, this event of the rapture can take place at any moment.\u00a0 It can take place before this sermon is over (some of you may be praying for that to happen\u2014(I won\u2019t take it personally).\u00a0 You say well do you have a sermon application for us from this?\u00a0 Yeah, here\u2019s my sermon application: as you go through the line today to get food I would eat your dessert first because there may not be time to eat dessert later.\u00a0 Is that a good sermon application?\u00a0 I can live with that one.\n\nBut I believe this, that the Lord has set up this doctrine of the rapture for every generation. I believe that every generation has been expected to live based on this teaching, that the Lord could come back in their lifetime because prophetically there is no sign that must take place before the rapture can occur.\u00a0 This is the problem with mid-tirbulationism, post-tribulationalism and all of the tribulationalisms that you feel like you\u2019re in the tribulation trying to understand what all these people are saying.\u00a0 All of them are putting some kind of sign or\u2026 the midtribulationalism,\u00a0 you ask them can Jesus come back today and they say no, forty-two months of the tribulation period must elapse first.\u00a0 Post tribulationalists\u2014can Jesus come back today?\u00a0 No, the seven years of the tribulation period must elapse first, but \u201ccomfort one another with these words.\u201d\n\nOnly pretribulationalism is fair to the idea of imminency, that it can happen at any moment\u2026 ANY moment Jesus can come back for His church.\u00a0 There is no prophesied event which must take place first.\u00a0 And I believe that the Holy Spirit has intentionally designed it this way because when you live every single day of your life as if this could be the last one it changes your priorities.\u00a0 You just live differently, you think differently.\u00a0 And this is what the doctrine of imminency is supposed to do.\n\n\u201cI am coming quickly\u201d and then He says, \u201chold fast to what you have.\u201d\u00a0 One of the things you\u2019ll discover about Bible prophecy is it\u2019s very practical.\u00a0 A lot of people try to portray it as just pie in the sky stuff that has no relevance to daily life.\u00a0 But I\u2019m reminded of this quote by my professor and mentor, J. Dwight Pentecost, he writes these words: \u00a0\u201cA short time ago, I took occasion to go through the New Testament to mark each reference to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and to observe the use made of that teaching about His coming. I was struck anew with the fact that almost without exception, when the coming of Christ is mentioned in the New Testament, it is followed by an exhortation to godliness and holy living.\u201d<\/em> [J. Dwight Pentecost, Prophecy for Today<\/em>, Page 20]\n\nI was sitting in the classroom when he made a similar statement and I really didn\u2019t believe him when he made that statement and I\u2019d also done the study, and you should do the study too.\u00a0 Every time you\u2019re reading the New Testament and you see a reference to the second coming you\u2019ll always see it linked to daily life, evangelism, holiness, hope, encouragement.\u00a0 And I believe this is why Satan has worked so hard to remove this doctrine from the church.\u00a0 This doctrine of the any moment of the appearance of Christ adds an additional stimulation to holy living like few other doctrines I can think of.\n\nAs I\u2019ve shared with you before there are many times when I\u2019ve been in conversations with people that begin to get gossipy and I think to myself, you know if the Lord comes back right now He\u2019s going to find me in this conversation and so I\u2019ll either avoid the conversation or change the subject.\u00a0 You\u2019re sitting around the water cooler at work laughing at the dirty jokes and then you think to yourself as a Christian do I really want the Lord to come back and find me laughing at this dirty joke?\u00a0 And it does something for your holy living as a Christian, thinking about the any moment return of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s the practicality of prophecy.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just about charts and graphs and all of those very interesting things.\n\nThere\u2019s a reason why the Lord has given us this truth\u2014to stimulate daily life.\u00a0 2 Peter 3:10-11 says, \u201cBut the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.\u201d\u00a0 And people say well Andy, do you believe in global warming?\u00a0 I guess I do in this sense.\u00a0 God\u2019s going to take this whole world and burn it up, replace it with a new world.\u00a0\u00a0 And most people stop reading right there at the end of verse 10, but then look at verse 11.\n\nVerse 11, \u201cSince all these things\u201d Peter says, \u201care to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be\u201d see the practical nature of this, \u201cin holy conduct and godliness.\u201d\u00a0 If you know that this world is going to be destroyed with intense heat then why are we still up tight over not being able to find a parking space, someone opening the door and denting our car, the lawn man not mowing the lawn in front of our homes correctly.\u00a0 I mean, why do those things get under our skin so much since the whole thing is going to burn anyway?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t we spend our time invested in the only two things that are going to make it from this life into the next?\u00a0 What are those?\u00a0 Only two things will survive the burning process: (A) this book, \u201cBecause the grass withers and the flower fades but the word of our God abides forever.\u201d\u00a0 [1 Peter 1:24] \u00a0\u00a0\u201cHeaven and earth\u201d Jesus says, \u201cshall pass away but My words will never pass away.\u201d\u00a0 [Matthew 24:35].\n\nWhy aren\u2019t I more invested in this book since it\u2019s only one of two things that\u2019s going to last?\u00a0 And the only other thing that\u2019s going to last is people, because God \u201chas set eternity\u201d into the hearts of people.\u00a0 [Ecclesiastes 3:11, \u201cHe has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.\u201d]\u00a0 Every investment you make in a person is an eternal investment.\u00a0 Other than an investment in this book of time and energy and an investment in people, every single thing will burn.\u00a0 And you wouldn\u2019t know this, would\u00a0 you?\u00a0 We wouldn\u2019t know this had God not disclosed this to us in the prophetic sections of His Word.\n\nWhat does Christ tell this little struggling group?\u00a0 Here\u2019s the practical nature of what I\u2019m communi\u00ad\u00ad\u00adcating to you, I want you to do something, I want you to hold fast to what you have.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0In other words, continue doing what you already know to be right.\u00a0 And it\u2019s interesting to me \u00a0that he doesn\u2019t place an extra burden on these people.\u00a0 He just reminds them of what they already have.\u00a0 2 Peter, the whole book is about remembrance, kind of like a finger with a string tied around it so you remember to take something with you that you need to recall.\u00a0 That\u2019s what 2 Peter is about, it just keeps saying over and over again, remember, remember, remember, remember, remember what you have.\u00a0 And I\u2019m not even sure if the body of Christ today needs a whole bunch of new truth dumped on them, unless they don\u2019t know the truth at all.\u00a0 I think generally what people need, I know what I need in my personal life is to be reminded of what I do know and to live according to that this week.\n\nYou say to yourself, well, you know, I don\u2019t know everything there is to know about the Bible.\u00a0 And there are people in this world that know the Bible better than I do.\u00a0 And that may be true but the reality of the situation is there are some things you do understand; are you faithful to those things?\u00a0 Rather than worrying about what you don\u2019t understand have we been faithful to the things that we do understand.\n\nYou might recall Jesus said virtually the same thing to the church at Thyatira.\u00a0 He says, \u201cBut I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold to the teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan as they call them-- I place no other burden on you.\u00a0 [25] \u201c'Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.\u201d \u00a0We\u2019re sort of living in an age today where everybody is trying to reinvent ministry, as if there\u2019s something new under the sun when Solomon said there isn\u2019t anything new, there\u2019s no new approach.\u00a0 There is no new five steps to spirituality.\u00a0 It\u2019s just the same old basic bread and butter stuff that you already know exists in your Bible.\u00a0 [Revelation 2:24-25]\n\nJeremiah says this to the people of His day, God speaking to him,\u00a0 \u201cStand by the way and see and ask for the ancient paths,\u201d don\u2019t ask for the new stuff, there is nothing new, just go back to the basics, go back to the fundamentals.\u00a0 [Jeremiah 6:16, \u201cThus says the LORD, \u2018Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, \u2018We will not walk in it.\u2019\u201d]\n\nIt reminds me of the famous story of the famous football coach, Vince Lombardi, when his team had lost a big game, he got with his team in the locker room after the game and held up the foot\u00adball and he said, \u201cGentlemen, this is a football.\u201d\u00a0 What he was doing is he\u2019s saying the reason we lost the game is because you lost sight of the basics, you lost sight of the fundamentals.\u00a0 Go back to the fundamentals, go back to the basics, you don\u2019t need anything new,\u00a0 you\u2019re just reinventing things.\n\nAnd so Jeremiah was told here, told the people of his day to seek for those \u201cancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls.\u201d But you see, that message is just too simple for a lot of people because you notice the reaction of the folks there when Jeremiah spoke these words so many centuries ago.\u00a0 He says, \u201cBut they said, \u2018We will not walk in it.\u201d We\u2019re living sort of in an age where people want their ears tickled, a prediction in 2 Timothy 4:-4, everybody is looking for something new, tell me about the UFO\u2019s, tell me about the Martians, tell me about the Nephilim, tell me about the Islamic identification of the antichrist, tell me about the Bible codes, tell me about how there\u2019s some kind of secret message in the Bible if I read the Bible backwards.\u00a0 I can\u2019t even figure out half the time what it\u2019s saying when I\u2019m reading front words.\u00a0 But people are so interested in these sort of ear tickling topics.\u00a0 And the fact of the matter is God is saying go back to the basics, go back to the fundamentals.\u00a0 That\u2019s where you\u2019re going to find rest for your souls.\n\nSo he tells them, \u201c\u2018I am coming quickly,\u201d imminency; the application is \u201chold fast to what you have,\u201d now look what he says here, \u201cso that no one will take your crown.\u201d\u00a0 Do what you know to do \u201cso that no one will take your crown.\u201d\u00a0 What in the world is he talking about here related to a crown?\u00a0 Well, these were crowns that will be either given to believers or not given to believers at the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ, which is an event immediately following the rapture of the church.\n\nFollowing the rapture of the church we will stand before the Lord, not at a ceremony to deter\u00admine heaven or hell, that issue got settled when you trusted Christ as your personal Savior, this is an issue related to rewards being given to or not given to Christians based on how they spent their life in Christ.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the rewards given will be the incorruptible crown for the believer that gains mastery over the flesh, not someone who lives a sinless life but has learned under God\u2019s power to sin less.\u00a0 Then there\u2019ll be, I have the Scripture addresses for all of them in the left column so you know that I\u2019m not making this up, you can look them all up on your own.\n\nScripture\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Crown\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Purpose\n\n1 Corinthians 9:24-27\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Incorruptible \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gaining mastery over the flesh\n\n1 Thessalonians 2:19-20\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rejoicing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Soul winning\n\nJames 1:12, Revelation 2:10 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Life\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Enduring trials\n\n1 Peter 5:2-4\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Glory\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Shepherding God\u2019s people\n\n2 Timothy 4:8\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Righteousness\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Longing for His appearing\n\nThe crown of rejoicing for the soul winter, the crown of life for the believer that endures trials, the crown of glory for those that faithfully shepherd God\u2019s people, that could be as a pastor, a Sunday School teacher, a counselor, however God has you.\n\nAnd then of course there\u2019s the crown of glory for simply longing for His appearing.\u00a0 Paul talked about that in his last letter.\u00a0 The last chapter of the very last letter he wrote he talked about a crown of righteousness that would be awarded to him because he was looking for the return of Christ.\u00a0 Is that what you\u2019re looking for?\u00a0 Are you looking for the any\u00a0 moment return of Christ?\u00a0\u00a0 I was thinking about it the other day, I don\u2019t have a single problem in my life that the rapture wouldn\u2019t fix.\u00a0 I\u2019m looking for the return of Christ, simply yearning for the fact that this world is not your home, looking for something better qualifies\u00a0 you for a crown.\n\nAnd what do we do with our crowns?\u00a0 Kind of strut our stuff?\u00a0 No, you won\u2019t be able to strut your stuff because you won\u2019t have any pride (won\u2019t that be nice) because you\u2019ll be in a resurrected body which you will receive at the rapture.\u00a0 Anybody need a resurrected body today?\u00a0 Some of you look like you might be needing that, I feel like I might be needing one of those too.\n\nSo it won\u2019t be an attitude of pride, it\u2019ll be just sort an attitude of I have a crown and I want to deposit it at the feet of Christ, Revelation 4:10, our of worship.\u00a0 [Revelation 4:10, \u201cthe twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, [11] Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.\u201d]\n\nAnd it would be kind of embarrassing, wouldn\u2019t it, everybody is putting their crown at Christ\u2019s feet and they get to you and your hands are empty.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t that be embarrassing?\u00a0 And how we can avoid that by entering heaven fully rewarded.\u00a0 You\u2019ll see this doctrine of some people not receiving rewards in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, it's not something I\u2019m making up.\n\n[1 Corinthians 3:10-15, \u201cAccording to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. [11] For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. [12] Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, [13] each man\u2019s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be<\/em> revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man\u2019s work. [14] If any man\u2019s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.\u201d\u00a0 [15] If any man\u2019s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d]\n\nVerse 15 says, \u201cIf any man\u2019s work is burned up, he will suffer loss\u201d so\u00a0 you think of the concept of loss you think of losing a home, think of working on something on a computer and you\u2019ve deleted it accidentally, there\u2019s always that feeling of loss.\u00a0 And so some will get to heaven as Christians and will experience sort of a moment of regret of what could have been, \u201cbut he Himself\u201d it says, \u201cwill be saved, yet as through fire.\u201d\n\nA lot of folks are going to get to heaven and they\u2019re going to smell the smoke on their garments because their life in Christ was simply vested in the wrong thing, invested in fleshly things, wood, hay and stubble which will burn; not invested in those costly stones, gold, silver, etc. that cannot be burned.\u00a0 And all of this is there as sort of a warning to get us to align our lives correctly.\u00a0 Paul warned this about this, even in his own life he was concerned about it.\n\nHe says, \u201cI discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others I will not be disqualified for the prize.\u201d\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 9:27]\n\nPaul took his body under divine resources and reigned in that sin nature; he wasn\u2019t sinless but he certainly sinned less, and he was afraid; this is a healthy fear.\u00a0 Not all fear is bad, there is a healthy fear that motivated him.\u00a0 And he didn\u2019t want to preach to others about being fully rewarded at the Bema Seat Judgment and have nothing concerning his own life.\u00a0 A lot of people think this is a salvation passage; it\u2019s not!\u00a0 If Paul is teaching how to be saved here he would contradict everything he ever taught about salvation.\n\nOur salvation is not gained based on whether we\u2019re willing to discipline our body and make it a slave; we\u2019re saved on the basis of faith alone through Christ alone by grace alone.\u00a0 This is a rewards context.\u00a0 But it\u2019s very clear that rewards can be lost.\u00a0 2 John 8, John says, \u201cWatch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.\u201d\u00a0 1 Corinthians 4:5 says, \u201cWait until the LORD comes who will bring to light the things hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of men\u2019s hearts, then each man\u2019s praise will come to Him from God. \u201c\n\nIt\u2019s not just what we do that will be exposed at the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ, it\u2019s our motive for doing it.\u00a0 Why did I do it, at the end of the day?\u00a0 To get popular?\u00a0 To get my name out there?\u00a0 To get successful?\u00a0 I mean, what really is the motivation.\u00a0 It\u2019s a tricky subject because my heart is so wicked a lot of times I don\u2019t even understand my own motivation.\u00a0 Jeremiah 17:9 says, \u201cThe heart is deceitfully wicked above all things, who can understand it.\u201d\u00a0 And yet God is going to evaluate that heart and reward and not reward accordingly.\n\nGrant\u00a0 R. Jeffrey writes this:\u00a0 \u201cSomeday every Christian will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive rewards for faithful service. Some believers will receive no rewards at all because they lived their lives of service to self rather than service to the Lord...Christians are promised a number of golden crowns for us faithful service to the Lord. Jesus warned that we are to \u2018hold fast\u2019 lest we lose our crowns. This indicates that it is possible to lose eternal rewards and blessings that God prepared for those who love Him. While our salvation is assured today by our accepting Christ as our savior...our future reward will be determined at the Judgment Seat of Christ after the Rapture. We are encouraged to hold on to these rewards through continued faithful service.\u201d \u00a0[Apocalypse: The Coming Judgment of the Nations, <\/em>p. 85, 87.] \u00a0Of course, under His power.\u00a0 That\u2019s good theology right there.\n\nSadly, a lot of people when they read these words here, Revelation 3:11, \u201clest you forfeit your crown\u201d they think you can lose your salvation; maybe I\u2019m not going to heaven.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what it\u2019s talking about.\u00a0 Jesus was already very clear about that subject in John 10:27-29 when he says: \u201c\u201cMy sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; [28] and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish;\u201d a double negative in the Greek, followed by the word ionia, eternal, that\u2019s the strongest negation you could possibly have concerning loss of salvation.\u00a0 It\u2019 something that\u2019s an impossibility.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026 and no one will snatch them out of My hand. [29] \u201cMy Father, who has given them<\/em> to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them<\/em> out of the Father\u2019s hand.\u201d\u00a0 You\u2019re not only in the Son\u2019s hand, you\u2019re in the Father\u2019s hand.\u00a0 You have what I\u00a0 like to call the double grip of grace.\u00a0 Your salvation doesn\u2019t rest upon you trying to keep yourself saved.\u00a0 If that\u2019s\u00a0 your mindset then you\u2019re your own savior.\u00a0 Your salvation is based on what God has done for you; He saved you, He\u2019s the one that sustains you.\u00a0 He\u2019s the one that keeps you.\u00a0 The only issue is rewards at the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ.\u00a0 Did I sit my whole Christian life and fight the Holy Spirit over and over again and simply not succumb to His plan?\u00a0 Or did I allow the Lord to produce eternal beautiful fruit through my life?\u00a0 That\u2019s why they\u2019re warned here about not losing crowns, not losing rewards, a very, very powerful exhortation.\n\nNotice here His promise to the overcomers, take a look if you could at Revelation 3:12, \u201cHe who overcomes, I will make him a\u00a0pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the\u00a0name of My God, and\u00a0the name of the city of My God,\u00a0the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My\u00a0new name.\u201d\n\nNow if you\u2019ve been tracking with us in this study we know that when He begins to exhort the overcomers here He\u2019s giving special promises to believers.\u00a0 We\u2019ve done in depth studies on overcomers, 1 John 5:4-5 defines every Christian as an over comer.\u00a0 [1 John 5:4-5, \u201cFor whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith.\u00a0 [5] Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?\u201d\u00a0 Because even if I live carnally in the flesh as a Christian I\u2019m still going to heaven; absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.\u00a0 So positionally I am already an overcomer.\u00a0 And this is a tremendous way he uses to comfort this little tiny struggling flock of Christians, by reminding them of the glory which is just around the corner which they will experience in the last two chapters of the Bible, the eternal state.\n\nSee, the knowledge of the future, not only does it motivate us in the present, it also encourages\u00a0 us because it\u2019s a reminder that no matter how challenging life can be we are on the winning side of history, not because of any strength in ourselves but because of who we are united to. And here Jesus to the little tiny struggling flock at Philadelphia promises two blessings to this born again Bible believing group.\u00a0 The first is the fact that one day they will be a pillar in God\u2019s temple.\u00a0 The second blessing is they\u2019re going to have written on them three names.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at each of these one by one.\n\nThe first thing He promises them is they will one day be a pillar in God\u2019s temple.\u00a0 Notice what he says there in chapter 3, verse 12, \u201cTo him who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he will not go out from it anymore.\u201d\u00a0 What does a pillar do?\u00a0 We have several pillars, three it looks like on this side of the room, three more on this side of the room, and those pillars aren\u2019t going anywhere, are they?\u00a0 They\u2019ve got sit here and listen to all my sermons whether they like the sermon or not, they\u2019re basically stuck.\u00a0 That\u2019s what a pillar is; a pillar is something that\u2019s established, it\u2019s immovable, by definition it can\u2019t leave.\u00a0 And it says here, \u201cHe will not go out from it any more.\u201d\n\nNow as a Christian I can leave the presence of the Lord, can\u2019t I, in my sin nature.\u00a0 I can still be saved but get out of fellowship with the Lord.\u00a0 It\u2019s sort of like being in a marriage. You do something to offend your spouse, legally you\u2019re still married, aren\u2019t you.\u00a0 But what has been broken?\u00a0 Not the position but the intimacy and moment by moment enjoyment of your spouse.\u00a0 That cord has been snipped and it\u2019s not until you apologize for what you\u2019ve done that intimacy is restored.\u00a0 Marriage itself positionally is not restored, that\u2019s already a legal reality, but intimacy is restored.\u00a0 And you see, that\u2019s what unconfessed sin does in our lives.\u00a0 If you\u2019re a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ with unconfessed sin, contrary to what many people will tell you, does not send\u00a0 you into the lake of fire.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re not a candidate for the lake of fire but I\u2019ll tell you what it will do: the moment by moment experience you have with the Lord, enjoyment of the Lord, that disappears until\u00a0 you exercise 1 John 1:9, \u201cIf we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our<\/em> sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\u201d\n\nWhy do we confess our sins to the Lord?\u00a0 Not to get saved or re-saved, any more than a child born into this world who\u2019s been born, how can they un-birth themselves?\u00a0 A child born into this world can\u2019t un-birth themselves, they\u2019re born, but what can happen is they can have obstacles in their life that develop and negate against maturity.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 That\u2019s what can happen to us as Christians, we can allow unconfessed sin into our lives, it doesn\u2019t get us un-birthed, that\u2019s an impossibility, once saved always saved, but I\u2019ll tell you what it can do.\u00a0 It can inhibit intimacy with God, fellowship with God and full growth into the stature of God.\u00a0\u00a0 But you see, in the eternal state there\u2019s no more sin nature.\u00a0 You couldn\u2019t sin if you wanted to in the eternal state.\n\nSo you\u2019re like an immovable pillar which never, ever can leave the presence of God.\u00a0 You have been transferred from a dual natured creature, which is where we are now, with a new nature but the old nature is still alive even though I\u2019m dead to it, but I can return to it, not because I have to but many times because I want to.\u00a0 And when I do that as a dual natured entity I\u2019m not unsaved, I\u2019m not un-born again, but fellowship with God has been broken.\n\nBut think of being a single natured entity, without a sin nature, no opportunity any longer to go back into an excursion of the flesh and therefore the only thing you can do throughout the eons of time, throughout the ages, is to bask forever in fellowship with God, just like that pillar and a temple that never leaves.\u00a0 Are you looking forward to that?\u00a0 I sure am!\n\nHe goes on and he gives them a second blessing and he begins here to talk about three new names that they have.\u00a0 Why is he talking about names?\u00a0 In the Bible names are very, very significant. When you read about a name in the Bible you should pay attention to it.\u00a0 For example, Abram\u2019s name was changed to Abraham, father of many nations.\u00a0 He was given a name based on his destiny.\u00a0 Simon\u2014Peter actually had three names, Simon was his Hebrew name, Peter or Petros is his Greek name, Cephas is his Aramaic name, and it\u2019s interesting that when the Lord met Simon He gave him a new name.\u00a0 He gave him a new name called Petros, which means little stone.\n\nContrary to what the Roman Catholics teach it doesn\u2019t mean that Jesus built the church on Peter, allegedly the first Pope.\u00a0 Jesus built the church on Petros, first of all He gave him the name Petros, meaning little stone, but He actually build the church on Petra, a different Greek name, in Matthew 16, which is a neuter noun, no longer singular masculine but neuter and it means large stone.\u00a0 He built the church on Peter\u2019s confession of who Christ was, not on Peter.\u00a0 I sure hope He didn\u2019t build the church on Peter because Peter denied the Lord three times.\u00a0 Peter is the one that actually was used as a mouthpiece of the devil, Matthew 16.\u00a0 But it interesting to me that when Jesus met Simon He gave Him a new name, Petros, little stone, which means an immovable rock and I have to tell you that this guy was anything but an immovable rock.\u00a0 I mean this is the guy that would walk\u00a0 out halfway into the water and get afraid and sink and he denied the Lord three times, etc. etc. etc.\u00a0 But you see the Lord named him not based on who he was but who he would be.\n\nThe fact of the matter is, the Lord loves us as we are but He loves us too much to leave us as we\u00a0\u00a0 are because He has in store our destiny and He will oftentimes give us a new name based on that destiny in Him.\u00a0\u00a0 Peter was given\u2026 Simon was given this new name based on his destiny.\u00a0 And if a person is \u201cin Christ,\u201d 2 Corinthians 5:17, he is a new man.\u00a0 [2 Corinthians 5:17, \u201cTherefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.\u201d]\u00a0 He is a new creature in Christ Jesus and because he or she is a new creature it would make sense that God would give him (us) a new name.\n\nSo what names has He given us?\u00a0 He\u2019s given the Church of Philadelphia, and by extension us, three new names. What are those?\u00a0 Number one, the name of my God, Revelation 3:12 says,\u00a0 \u201c'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God,\u201d that\u2019s the Father in the Trinity, His name is inscribed on us as we trust in Christ alone as our Savior.\u00a0 But there\u2019s a second name that is written on us, that\u2019s \u201cthe name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem,\u201d what does it say there in Revelation 3:12, \u201cand the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God,\u201d so the Father\u2019s name is written on you, and the name of something called the new city, the eternal city, the new Jerusalem, is written on\u00a0 us as well.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because that\u2019s where out citizenship is.\u00a0 You know, Abraham, what was he looking for?\u00a0 He was not looking for\u2026 Hebrews 11 tells us he was not looking for a city whose builder and maker was man but He was looking for a city whose builder and maker was who?\u00a0 Was God!\n\nIs that what you\u2019re looking for? \u00a0Are you looking for that eternal city?\u00a0 Or has our hope become\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 so intertwined with this world, with the stock market, with the price of gold, with the judicial confirmation process that we just thankfully are over with for a while, I mean are we so invested in\u00a0 the things of this world and in the United States of America and I\u2019m about as patriotic as they come, if you cut me open I\u2019d probably bleed red, white and blue I love America so much. But the fact of the matter is America is in decline.\u00a0 Secular powers come and go.\u00a0 And how important it is to have our identity in this eternal city that\u2019s coming.\n\nPhilippians 3:20 tells us our citizenship is where?\u00a0 In heaven.\u00a0 [Philippians 3:20, \u201cFor our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;\u201d]\n\nSo there\u2019s coming upon this earth an eternal city coming down out of heaven, Revelation 21:22 describes it.\u00a0 [Revelation 21:22, \u201cI saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.\u201d]\u00a0 I\u2019m of the belief that that city exists right now, it just hasn\u2019t come to the earth yet.\u00a0 The reason I think that is because when Paul describes this eternal city in Galatians 4:24 he\u00a0 uses the present tense verb to describe it, \u201cthe city of my God which is<\/u>\u201d present tense, \u201cin heaven.\u201d \u00a0Well why hasn\u2019t it come to the earth yet?\u00a0 There\u2019s a very simple answer to that, the earth is in a state of bondage.\u00a0 The earth has been in corruption ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden.\n\nRomans 8:19-22 tells us that this world is in a state of travail.\u00a0 [Romans 8:19-22, \u201cFor the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. [20] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [22] For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.\u201d]\n\nIt\u2019s actually in a state of crying out.\u00a0 It\u2019s in a state of bondage and therefore this earth, as it presently exists, is not fit to be a home or a habitation for that eternal city which exists in heaven. So what\u2019s God waiting for?\u00a0 He\u2019s going to rule this world for a thousand years, and then as we saw earlier He will dissolve this world by fire, replace it with a new world as God intended the world to be before sin ever entered the picture and once that package is complete then that eternal city, which exists in heaven, will distend to the earth and we will be inhabitants of that eternal city.\u00a0 That\u2019s our home; that\u2019s our destiny as God\u2019s people.\u00a0 And so consequently the name of that city is inscribed upon the believer.\u00a0 What kind of dual citizenship, if you will.\u00a0 I have a passport, I\u2019m a citizen of the United States of America, but the reality is I\u2019m a dual citizen, I\u2019m a citizen of the U.S. but my ultimate citizenship is in that eternal city.\u00a0 That\u2019s the city we ought to be looking for, whose builder and maker is God.\n\nThen there\u2019s a third name that\u2019s written on us, if all that weren\u2019t enough, that\u2019s the name of Jesus Christ, the Savior; His name is written on us as well. \u00a0That\u2019s fitting because it\u2019s His body and His blood that makes salvation possible for us.\u00a0 So the name of the Father is written on us and the name of the Son is written on us.\u00a0 It says there in Revelation 3:12, \u201cwhich comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 3:12, \u201cHe who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.\u201d]\u00a0 That new name is written on top of us or on us.\n\nSo isn\u2019t it interesting that the different members of the Trinity each play a different role in our salvation.\u00a0 1\u00a0 Peter 1:2 says, \u201caccording to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.\u201d\u00a0 See all three members of the Trinity there in our salvation?\u00a0 Number one, \u201cGod the Father\u201d foreknew us.\u00a0 Number two, it\u2019s the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us.\u00a0 And number three, it\u2019s the sprinkled blood of Jesus Christ that saves us.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that great!\u00a0 All three members of the Trinity are involved in our salvation.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the name of the Father, and the Son, not to mention the city, are inscribed upon us.\n\nAnd then we finally come to the eighth and last part of this letter, verse 13 and with this we will conclude.\u00a0 Notice, if you will, what he says in the final verse, \u201cTo the church at Philadelphia,\u201d Revelation 3:13, \u201c\u2018He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Here\u2019s our very familiar exhortation to listen\u2026 to listen to God!\u00a0 Listen to what He says!\u00a0 You know, listening is hard work, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 It\u2019s far easier to be energetic and moving around and jumping up and down and doing all of these other things other than simply listen to the Word of God.\u00a0 And yet that\u2019s what we\u2019re exhorted to do.\n\nYou recall the two sisters, remember, one was very energetic and busy, the other one was sitting at Christ\u2019s feet simply listening to His teaching, and what did Jesus say?\u00a0 Mary, has chosen, it\u2019s a choice, chosen the better way.\u00a0 It\u2019s a choice to come to a church like this and listen to the Word of God.\u00a0 All of the other distractions out there on your time, not the least of which is that little titanic device called the iPhone.\u00a0 Think of all of the distractions, all of the diversions that the mind can go down and\u00a0 yet we\u2019re exhorted simply to listen to the Word of God.\u00a0 That was God\u2019s ancient words to Israel.\u00a0 \u201cHear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!\u201d\u00a0 [Deuteronomy 6:4]\n\nThey\u2019re told to listen, pay attention to the eternal things of God.\u00a0 And you\u2019ll also notice the end of the verse, it says to the churches.\u00a0 All of these promises that we\u2019ve talked about to Philadelphia, whether it be escape from the tribulation, whether it be the new names written on us, whether it be our status one day as pillars in His temple, don\u2019t think these are just promises to the church at Philadelphia.\u00a0 It\u2019s very clear that churches there is a plural noun; these are promises just as real to you as they were to the church at Philadelphia.\n\nAnd so that\u2019s our treatment of the church at Philadelphia.\u00a0 And next week, if the Lord tarries we\u2019re going to be moving into the church at Laodicea, which is the final church that Christ addressed, a church that\u2019s in such a horrible condition that not a single comment is given about that church.\u00a0 What\u2019s the problem?\u00a0 It\u2019s bound up in the words Laodicea; Laodicea\u00a0 is\u00a0 a compound Greek word, two words making up a single word.\u00a0 It comes from the word Laos,<\/em> meaning people.\u00a0 And it also comes from the Greek word dikeo<\/em>, meaning to rule.\u00a0 Laodicea literally means the people ruling.\u00a0 These are people that are having Christianity without Christ, they\u2019re having church without Jesus Christ, they\u2019re very successful and prosperous but Jesus is on the outside of the door knocking on the door to get into the church, not to get these folks saved but to restore broken fellowship.\u00a0 And this is the tragic condition churches can wind up in should they not follow the exhortation to listen to the things of God, heed the things of God, less they wind up Laodicean.\n\nIf you\u2019re here today for the first time, perhaps you\u2019ve never had your identity changed.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not in Christ you don\u2019t have the new nature, you don\u2019t have the new identity, you\u2019re not the new creature or creation in Christ Jesus and so our exhortation to you here at Sugar Land Bible Church is to trust the gospel, believe the gospel, trust what Jesus has done in your place through His, as we celebrated this morning, His death, burial, resurrection and ascension.\u00a0 His final words on the cross were \u201cIt is finished!\u201d\u00a0 I say \u201cwere\u201d because that\u2019s the translation that comes from the singular word, tetelestai,<\/em> paid in full.\u00a0 There\u2019s actually nothing you can do to contribute anything to the finished work of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 We\u2019re called to simply believe what He has done.\n\nHarry Ironside put it this way, he said: \u201cThe gospel is not good advice to be obeyed; it\u2019s good news to be believed.\u201d\u00a0 Now your obedience and your growth and all of those sorts of things that we\u2019ve been talking about this morning, that comes out of your new relationship with God through the new resources that He gives but prior to that point in time you don\u2019t even have those resources inside of you.\u00a0 You don\u2019t even have the new nature, you don\u2019t have the Holy Spirit, you don\u2019t have the new identity and so our exhortation is take step one in\u00a0 your growth, trust in Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s a singular step and it can only be taken by way of faith.\u00a0 I call it step one because once you are saved then you move into the growth phase, just like a newborn child, they\u2019re born and then they begin to grow, then they begin to mature, but how can they grow and mature until they\u2019re first birthed.\u00a0 A human being has to be birthed spiritually and that happens by receiving what Jesus Christ has done.\n\nIf the Holy Spirit is convicting you in any way, shape or form, and I think that He is, as a matter of fact, I just received a very encouraging word, the first time I ever heard this from our internet ministry, that we now have an actual documented case of somebody that was listening to our messages on Facebook and is no saved.\u00a0 [clapping]\u00a0 And so now I praise the Lord for that, you just never know what God is doing out there.\u00a0 But no doubt He\u2019s convicting people and if you find yourself under conviction today our exhortation is to respond to that convicting work of the Holy Spirit and receive by faith what Jesus has done as a free gift.\u00a0\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to raise a hand to do it, you don\u2019t have to walk an aisle to do it, you don\u2019t have to give money to do it, you don\u2019t have to go to church to do it, you don\u2019t have to bring the biggest apple\u00a0 pie in town for the potluck to do it, although if you want to bring an apple pie we will dutifully accept that.\u00a0 Just simply trust what God has done in your place.\u00a0 You can do that right now in the sound of my voice where you\u2019re seated.\n\nShall we pray.\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for Your Word, grateful for Your truth.\u00a0 I pray You will continue to be with us as we walk with You this week remembering the things that You have done for us.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026. Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t