Lord, Lord! | Sunday, May 15, 2022

Welcome to Cross Connection Church online! We are so grateful that you're joining us for service today. I'm Pastor Garrett, and we want to let you know that if you want to find out any information about Cross Connection Church and what we're doing, please check out our website at lifeinconnection.com. There, you will find more about us, what we're doing, and how you can be connected.

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Now, let's go ahead and jump into the broadcast. I love you, O Lord; Your mercy never fails me. All my days have been held in Your hands from the moment that I wake up until I lay my head down.

I love your voice. You have led me through the fire in the darkest nights. You are close like no other. I've known you as a Father; I've known you as a friend. I have lived in the goodness of God.

Over the last three weeks, we have been considering Jesus's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters five, six, and seven. We have been looking at Jesus's teaching there to His disciples as it relates to true and false righteousness—a righteousness that, as Jesus puts it in that passage, is worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.

But that’s essentially what He’s talking about: a true righteousness that is worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, and then a righteousness that is not worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. He says this in Matthew chapter 5, verse 20: "For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, the most religious people of Jesus' day, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

So you see, this is talking about true righteousness that is either worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven or not. Those who would have heard that teaching from Jesus would have probably been shocked by it. His followers were just the normal people, the average Joes, if you will, of Israel during that day. They were fishermen, farmers, carpenters, tax collectors—the common people. They were not the hyper-religious or the super-spiritual sort of individuals, but they were the people who had been traveling with Jesus from place to place throughout all of Galilee.

Everywhere He went, they had seen Him heal those who were sick. They had witnessed Him cast demons out of those who were demonized. By this time, Jesus had performed mighty works, and news was probably spreading around that entire area about His miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. You can read about that in John’s Gospel. No doubt some of the people had heard Peter’s news about the miraculous catch that Jesus had caused Peter to bring in, which you can read about in the Gospel of Luke, I believe in chapter 5.

Jesus' disciples had heard His teaching, and they were beginning to recognize that He was probably more than just a traveling itinerant rabbi. However, this teaching, where He said to them that their righteousness needs to be greater than the most righteous, the most religious, or they have no hope of getting into Heaven, would have been shocking. The scribes and the Pharisees were presumed to be the most righteous people. If the Pharisees have no hope of getting into Heaven based upon their goodness and their righteousness, then it certainly is true that those individuals would have little hope if they were fishermen or farmers.

Carpenters, tax collectors, and the zealots were among Jesus's disciples. However, Jesus's teaching throughout the Sermon on the Mount reveals that the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees was not as it seemed. The Pharisees and the scribes were religiously and superficially self-righteous, but they were not truly righteous.

Jesus taught that true righteousness is not found in showy religious ritualism. The Pharisees and the scribes were very good at superficial, showy self-righteousness. They performed good works, but they did so to be seen and admired by others. They fasted and prayed, but their motivations were to receive praise from people. They would pray standing in the streets or in the synagogues, offering loud and lengthy prayers so that others would see them and be in awe of their spirituality.

Not only did they perform these religious rituals to gain esteem and admiration, but they also trusted in themselves. Luke chapter 18 states that these scribes and Pharisees trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and as a result, they despised others. They looked down on people who were not as good as they were, who could not keep the law as they did, or who were not as wealthy. They believed that their wealth, as part of the upper class within Judaism, proved that they had God's blessing because of their righteousness.

Inwardly, the Scriptures say very clearly that they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. They harbored hatred for those outside their group, and based on Jesus's teaching in Matthew chapter 6, their hatred was akin to murder within their hearts. They lusted after others, and again according to Jesus's teaching in Matthew chapter 6, that was committing adultery in their hearts and minds. They broke their commitments and oaths, retaliating against those they considered their enemies. They boasted in their righteousness.

This is why Jesus cautioned his followers, saying to them, "Take heed and be aware of what he called the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." The Sadducees were another group of religious leaders. Jesus warned them to take heed or beware of the leaven of these groups.

That is what you put into bread dough to cause it to rise: yeast. He says, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." Their sin and their doctrine, their way of life, were infectious and could lead you astray. It would not be good for you. Their teaching and their way of life were not to be admired or emulated; they were not to be followed after.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents an explicit contrast between true and false righteousness, as well as acceptable and unacceptable righteousness. Jesus's exhortation could not be clearer when talking about the vanity and pretentiousness of the self-righteousness of the Pharisees. He says incredibly clearly, "Do not be like them." You can find that in Matthew chapter 6.

In this passage, we are given two ways of life. As we continue in our passage today, we will see two kinds of trees and the two kinds of fruit that come from those trees. We will also consider two builders and the two foundations of those builders. We see this contrast back and forth, and the Bible is full of contrasts like this from beginning to end.

If you go back to the Old Testament book of Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, we have the contrast of true and false righteousness in the lives of Abel and Cain, in the life of Noah and the people of his day, or in the life of Abraham and his nephew Lot. There are also contrasts between Abraham and the king of Shechem, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Moses and Pharaoh, Joshua and Caleb against the other ten spies, and King Saul and King David. The contrasts continue with Israel versus the prophets.

Everywhere you look throughout the Old Testament, you can find these contrasts between true and false righteousness—a righteousness that is acceptable before God and a righteousness that is not acceptable before God. The contrasts we find are illustrative and instructive when you take the time to consider them.

As we come to the final section of Jesus's sermon here in Matthew chapters five, six, and seven, we have a series of illustrative and instructive contrasts.

Contrasts for the followers of Christ, those who are His disciples, are evident in this message. This message was for Jesus's disciples. If you go back to where we started in Matthew chapter five, it was when Jesus saw the multitudes that He went and sat down, and His disciples, His followers, came to Him. He teaches them.

In this passage, in this last section of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 7 is where we're going to be today. We will see two ways of life, or two paths of life, two kinds of trees and two kinds of fruit, two builders, and two different kinds of foundation. Perhaps the most striking and even frightening words of Scripture are found in this passage that we will be going through in Matthew chapter 7. This is the final teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, and it brings us back to a place of decision in our lives. Life is always and will always be a series of decisions and choices.

Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy, which we had been studying through earlier this year, makes this very clear. In Deuteronomy chapter 30, he writes, "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply. The Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear and are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go to possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, that both you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days, and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Those are powerful words from Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 30. "Choose life" seems like an appropriate word with all of the current news surrounding the Supreme Court here in the United States.

Jesus begins the conclusion of His sermon for His followers here in Matthew chapter 7, beginning at verse 13, saying this: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Moses said that life and death, blessing and cursing, are set before you. He exhorted the people in his day, thousands of years ago, saying, "Choose life that you may live." Jesus, in this passage, states that there is a narrow path and there is also a wide path. The wide path leads to destruction, while the narrow path leads to life. There are many paths that lead to destruction, but there is only one narrow way to life.

Jesus says the view that is common in our time, here in 2022 in the Western world, is that all paths ultimately lead to life and eternity. That is not true. There is one narrow path to life in the Kingdom of God. This is not only contrary to the common view in our time, but it is also so incompatible with the inclusivist mindset of 21st-century Western culture that such a view is condemned as abhorrent and reprehensible. It is considered to be hateful and accursed to say that there is only one way to God and only one way into eternity.

What I find fascinating is that there are a lot of people who find this kind of teaching abhorrent, who say they don't even believe in God or the afterlife, and yet they think it's a problem that Christians believe there is only one way into eternal life. I find it fascinating that people get really upset about this.

In the context of what Jesus is teaching here in this passage, life, as He talks about it in Matthew chapter 7, verse 14, is about life beyond this life. Jesus speaks of everlasting and eternal life. The context of this passage, going back to the opening words found in Matthew chapter 5, is very clear that He was focusing on the Kingdom of Heaven. We read in Matthew chapter 5, verse 3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." We also see the idea of the Kingdom of Heaven again in Matthew chapter 5, verse 20, which we discussed just a few minutes ago, having to do with the scribes.

The Pharisees were told, "I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." We will see the idea of the kingdom of heaven come up again when we get down to verse 21 in Matthew chapter 7 in just a few minutes.

When Jesus says in this passage, "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads into life," He is talking about the path into eternal life and into the kingdom of heaven. The path is not one of ritualistic religious observance. That kind of life, which just follows ritualistic religiosity, is the broad way that leads to destruction, as Jesus says in this passage. It is the well-worn broad path that characterizes every religion. Every religion claims that enlightenment, eternity, and everlasting life are found in doing or not doing certain things in specific ways at certain times.

Religious righteousness is relatively easy. If I give you a list, or if you give me a list of do's or don'ts, I can probably adhere to that list, or at least I can keep that list better than someone else. This makes me feel more righteous than them. I might think, "Well, I did these things better than all those other people, so because I did better than them, I should get into eternity." However, that is only a superficial, skin-deep sort of righteousness. It won't be true kingdom-of-heaven-worthy righteousness, the kind that God is looking for.

True righteousness, as we already saw in Matthew chapter 5, verse 20, needs to exceed the superficial self-righteousness that you and I might accomplish by just keeping a list of do's and don'ts. The narrow path that leads to life is much more difficult than ritualistic religiosity. Anyone can engage in religious practices, and there is a certain part of religion that our nature really likes because we feel, "Well, I can do that. I can follow these do's and don'ts." As long as I do it better than other people, I feel pretty good about myself.

In comparison, it is much easier to do the right things before men and to appear righteous before them than it is to be truly righteous before a holy and righteous God. If the standard is other people, then I can look pretty good. I can judge all the other people and say, "Well, in comparison to them..."

In comparison to all those people, I look pretty good. However, if the standard or measuring rod is God's righteousness, then I am in a very difficult state. There is no way that I can be better than God.

In this passage, Jesus is cautioning us against a faux righteousness, a false righteousness that merely does or doesn't do certain things to try and be right. He is calling us to a true righteousness. Not only does He call us to a true righteousness, but He also tells us in this passage how we are able to apprehend or lay hold of that righteousness.

Righteousness is not according to my good deeds; it is not based upon me giving to the poor charitably, although charity is important. I don't want to lessen that. There are good things to be had in charity, but Jesus teaches that charity is not the path to righteousness. Righteousness is not about my prayer life, although prayer is a necessary component of life as a follower of God. Righteousness is not according to fasting or doing ritualistic fasting, though fasting can be an important aspect of faith as well.

Righteousness is not measured by earthly wealth, even though many people in Jesus's day felt that it was, and many people in our day feel that it is as well. To be truly righteous, one must first acknowledge that they have a lack of righteousness. They need to recognize their deficit of spiritual righteousness. This is what we find in Matthew 5:3, where Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."

Not only must they recognize their lack of spiritual righteousness, but they also must humbly grieve for that deficit. Jesus says in Matthew 5:4 and 5, "Blessed are the meek" and "Blessed are those who mourn." This speaks of humility and grief over our own lostness and sinfulness. This leads into Matthew 5:6, where He states, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."

I believe this is the difficult narrow way. You may not believe me, but it is much easier to appear righteous before other people by doing all the culturally, traditionally, or religiously right things. It is much more difficult to recognize your spiritual depravity or deficit and to mourn for it.

Over it, and to humbly hunger and thirst for true righteousness, the narrow path that leads to life requires a right recognition of who I am before a holy and righteous God. It also requires a meek and humble desire for a righteousness that is not my own, which is ultimately given to me in and through and by Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus could say in John chapter 14, verse 6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He is the only way. There is only one path, a narrow gate and a narrow path that leads to life.

Though all of this is true, Jesus goes on in His teaching here in Matthew chapter 7. He says in verse 15, "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but every bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them."

Jesus teaches here that there are many false prophets pointing to many false paths. All of those paths, those wide paths, ultimately lead to destruction. They often look like good paths because those that are pointing to them appear to be good prophets. They come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Jesus's exhortation is crucial for His disciples; He says, "Beware of these false prophets."

The Apostle John writes in 1 John chapter 4 that there are many false prophets who will go out into the world. The Apostle Peter also writes in one of his letters that these false prophets secretly bring in destructive heresies.

So, how do we identify false prophets so that we can beware of them? Jesus says, "You will know them by their fruits." He goes on to say that every good tree bears good fruit and every bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them. By the fruits of the false prophets, you will be able to identify who they are.

Now, those are beautiful words, but what exactly do they mean? They mean that we need to consider and judge the outcomes, or the fruit, of an individual's life, especially someone who is posing as a leader—a spiritual leader for people in the world or directing them into meaning, life, and eternity. We need to judge the outcomes, the fruit of their lives.

So, what are the outcomes that we're looking for? True righteousness, according to what Jesus has taught so far in the Sermon on the Mount, is characterized by humility, meekness, grace, mercy, and peace. In contrast, superficial self-righteousness is characterized by pompous shows of religiosity and greed for wealth. Therefore, we need to make sure that we are considering those people who stand out as spiritual or religious leaders or prophets. A prophet is someone professing to show you the way, the path into life. We need to assess and consider their lives.

Paul the Apostle, in one of his letters—actually in two places, in First Timothy and Titus—provides a list that we should be aware of when considering people who are to be leaders that should be esteemed and looked up to. He says in First Timothy, chapter 3, "This is a faithful saying: If a man desires a position of a bishop, this is an overseeing leader, he desires a good work."

The overseeing leader, the bishop, then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, and able to teach. He should not be given to wine, violent, or greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not covetous. He must be one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?

He should not be a novice, a beginner, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, those people who are not believers, not in the church, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

While each of these points is important from the Apostle Paul, some of them really stand out as things we should be keenly aware of when looking around the world for people we should or should not follow. He emphasizes that those individuals should not be greedy for money, quarrelsome, covetous, or puffed up with pride. So, when Jesus says, "By their fruits, you will be able to see who they are," these are things that, ultimately over time, you will not be able to hide. It will be clear who the person is.

Is greedy for money, quarrelsome, covetous, and puffed up with pride. Those are the kind of people whom Paul, in his letters, and Jesus, also in His teachings, would say are not the kind of people you want to follow. You want to depart from those kinds of people.

Why is this teaching so vitally important? Well, Jesus continues in Matthew chapter 7, verse 21. This is the passage I was mentioning earlier, which may be one of the most frightening passages in all of Scripture. Matthew 7:21 says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."

Without a doubt, this is one of the most striking and frightening passages of Scripture. It teaches a challenging truth: there will be many false disciples who will be cast out of the kingdom. As I said, that's one of the most frightening things to consider. Jesus makes it very clear that it is not about the state of our profession. There will be many who will say, "Lord, Lord." They profess the right things; they call Jesus Lord. So, it's not about the state of our profession.

It's also not about miraculous activity in Jesus' name. People performing prophecies or miracles in His name are not proof; they are not validation of genuine faith or true righteousness. In fact, in the Scriptures, we find that there will be lying signs and wonders done by false followers of Jesus. Just because someone is able to demonstrate some sort of power or speaks prophetically does not mean that they are someone you should follow.

We need to take careful note that there are those who do things in Jesus' name, but they neither know Him nor are they known by Him. They do not have a true relationship with Him. In addition to the good things they might do in His name, they also practice lawlessness. There are false professors and false prophets who falsely identify themselves with Jesus. They use Jesus' name to their own earthly advantage, but they will have no eternal reward.

Entry into the kingdom of heaven is a significant topic. Remember, Jesus said that the superficially self-righteous scribes and Pharisees have their reward here and now. He mentioned this three times in Matthew chapter 6, but there will be no eternal reward in the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven for them.

So, who is it that will have access to or entrance into the kingdom of heaven? Previously, we found in Matthew chapter 5, verse 3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." In addition to that, we are informed that not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Note this: He who does the will of my Father in heaven.

This raises the question: If doing the will of the Father in heaven is the path into the kingdom of heaven, what exactly is God's will? At least a couple of things come to mind. One of them is found in Matthew chapter 7, verse 24, which states, "Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock." We will look at that in just a moment.

Another thing that stands out to me are some of Jesus's words in the Gospel of John. In John chapter 6, verse 39, we read, "This is the will of the Father." It couldn't be more explicit than this: "This is the will of the Father who sent me, that of all he has given me, I should lose nothing but should raise it up at that last day." Furthermore, Jesus continues, "This is the will of him, the Father who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

Jesus said very much the same thing just prior to that in the same passage in Matthew chapter 6, verse 28. He says, "Then they said to him, 'What shall we do that we may work the works of God?'" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

So then, we come back to two things frequently in our study of the Scriptures. True righteousness is accounted to those who have faith in and faithfulness to Christ, just as we see in this passage. Those who do the sayings of Jesus and those who believe in Christ, who trust in Christ, are the ones who are accounted as truly righteous. For those who do not trust in Christ or follow him faithfully, they do not follow his word.

Jesus says that on the day of judgment, He will say to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me." A relationship with the Lord, where He knows you and you know Him, is essential. Jesus taught in John chapter 17, verse 3, that eternal life is knowing God and knowing Jesus Christ. Having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is crucial, and if you don't know God through Jesus Christ, you have no hope of entry into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus contrasts two paths or ways of life: the narrow path and the wide path. He also contrasts two different kinds of trees yielding two different kinds of fruit. Good trees yield good fruit, while bad trees yield bad fruit. Now we come to the passage where we consider the two builders and the two foundations.

Look at Matthew 7, verse 24: "Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them..." If you're the kind of person who likes to underline things in Scripture, that's a good thing to underline. "Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock."

The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall because it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them—underline that—will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.

In a later section of the New Testament, written by one of the brothers of Jesus, James the Apostle writes with the same kind of theme as what Jesus is teaching here in Matthew 7. He says in James chapter 1, verse 22: "But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he is. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty—that is, the Scriptures—and continues in it, does what the Scriptures say, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."

These are such important truths for us to understand and apply in our lives as followers and disciples of Christ. It is possible to build a good life on a shallow foundation, and perhaps many have, for Jesus says...

Many will say to me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not done all these things in Your name?" And He will say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." It is possible that many people can build the foundation of their lives on a shallow foundation, and the storms of life have a way of revealing the lack of a solid foundation. But why risk the catastrophe of a great fall? It is much better and wiser to build from the start on a solid foundation.

How do you do that? Well, faithfulness to Christ and proof of true faith in Him are seen in my obedience to His Word. At the end of the day, a disciple is simply an obedient follower of Jesus. The only way that you can be an obedient follower of Jesus is to get to know Him through His Word. That is how He has revealed His nature and His will. The more that you get to know Him from His Word, the more you will be brought back to a humble, mournful acknowledgment of your spiritual deficits, bringing you to a place of hungering and thirsting for righteousness—a righteousness that is not your own.

This righteousness does not come through prayer, fasting, good works, charity, or wealth, but comes in and through Jesus Christ alone. He is the only path; He is the narrow way.

So blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My name's sake. Jesus says, "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven." For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This is powerful teaching here in the Sermon on the Mount, as we see Jesus revealed in a powerful way.

Through His very words, it's my hope that you'll take some of these things to heart. If you haven't listened to the previous three messages that we went through in Matthew chapter five and Matthew chapter six, I would encourage you to go back and check those out on our YouTube channel or our website, lifeinconnection.com.

It's fascinating that at the very end of this passage in Matthew chapter seven, when Jesus was done teaching His disciples, we read this in Matthew chapter seven, verse 28: "And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people, His disciples, were astonished at His teaching; for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." The religious leaders constantly would say, "This rabbi says this, and this rabbi says that." Jesus, however, says, "I say to you, this is the path; this is the only way."

Those are important things for us to take heed to and to listen to. Father God, I pray that You would cause us to take Your word into our hearts and that we would think about it this week. I ask that You would work a work of transformation in us, that we would not be those who have a shallow foundation on sand, but rather a deep and strong foundation built upon You and Your word. May we be those who are following You faithfully and obediently, as You empower us to do so by Your Holy Spirit.

So God, would You work a work in me and in my brothers and sisters, that we would end up being a great light to a world that is in such desperate need of Your grace and truth. For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Thank you for joining us for our broadcast today. That was an excellent message, and I pray that it really impacted you. We heard from the Holy Spirit. If you'd like to find out more about Cross Connection Church, please visit our website at lifeinconnection.com. We would like to invite you to our in-person services at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. here in Escondido, California. If you're around, we would love for you to be here live in person at 8:30 and 10:30. God bless you all, and have a great week.

Good morning, Cross Connection! It's Pastor Garrett here. We have summer right around the corner, rapidly approaching. I know we're all looking forward to days at the beach and fun with family this summer. We are also looking forward to our Vacation Bible School, which will be happening here at Cross Connection Church for those who have graduated kindergarten through fifth grade.

The dates are July 11th through the 15th, so parents, write those dates down. It will be a morning VBS, and sign-ups start next weekend, May 22nd. Check those out on the website next Sunday, as they will go live. Space will be somewhat limited, so definitely get your kids signed up as soon as you can next week.

I just wanted to give you all the heads-up and the flyover so you can save the dates: July 11th through the 15th, and sign them up next week. We're really looking forward to that! If you're interested in serving as a leader at VBS, we will have sign-ups for that online as well. If you have time to come and hang out with the kids and teach them about Jesus during that week, we would love for you to join us and be a leader.