Not A Word Failed… | Sunday, October 29, 2023

Amen. Praise God! Thank you, Anthony and team. You can be seated. Good morning, Cross Connection Church! We're so glad that you're here with us this morning.

Before we get into the Scriptures, which we will do in just a moment, I wanted to share one last announcement. As Garrett mentioned, next week is the time change, so make sure you fall back, or you'll be a part of the first service instead of the second service. It will be a little bit early. Following the second service next week, we will have our chili cook-off here at the church. This is really a time for us to connect and fellowship with one another as we enter a new season, with the holiday season fast approaching.

This is also a great opportunity for you to invite a friend, co-worker, neighbor, or loved one to come to church. We have cards available at the connection point after the service, so make sure you grab a few of these to invite someone to come and check out the church, hear the gospel, and get connected to God and one another, which is what we want to do here at the church. Research has shown that most of the time, if you invite someone to come to church, they will probably say yes. This would be a great opportunity to do that.

Now, if you would take out your Bible, if you don't have one this morning, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We are in the Old Testament, which is the first two-thirds of the Bible. We will be in the Old Testament book of Joshua, the sixth book of the Bible, chapter 21.

As you're turning there, you may not know this—maybe you're new to the Bible or new to church—but the Bible is divided into two major sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the first two-thirds of the Bible, while the New Testament is the last third. Unfortunately, I find that far too many people, even those who have been around church or the Bible for a good length of time, don't spend much time in the first two-thirds of the Bible, the Old Testament.

I find the Old Testament to be very fascinating. In fact, I would say that since at least high school, I have been intrigued and fascinated by the Old Testament Scriptures. This interest didn't come from attending a school that taught me to appreciate the first two-thirds of the Bible or the Bible in general; I went to a regular public school, like probably many of you did. However, I grew up going to this church, which has always placed a high value on the whole of the Bible, going through the Scriptures from the first book of the Bible, Genesis, to the last book of the Bible, Revelation.

I am very grateful that I grew up in a church that values the whole of the Scriptures. It is interesting to me that this is not the case even in many good churches. In fact, many of the very well-known Bible teachers of our time, whose names are associated with Bible teaching ministries on the radio or even have study Bibles linked to their names, often do not emphasize the Old Testament. Guys like John MacArthur or Alistair Begg are great Bible teachers, but I have always been a little surprised to visit their websites and realize that there is not a lot of teaching from Old Testament passages.

What happens within this church, and many other churches associated with Calvary Chapel, is that we look at the whole of the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation. Unfortunately, this approach is unique. I am very grateful that when I was in the youth ministry here at this church, my youth pastor, Pastor Tony, played a significant role in my life for many years. He was my youth pastor when I was growing up here, and I can remember him teaching through books like Genesis, Exodus, and 1 Samuel. I am very thankful for that.

One of the problems when we fail to look at the whole counsel of God and take the time to go through Old Testament passages is that we begin to adopt a false dichotomy between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. There are far too many Christians, sadly even those who attend churches that teach through the Old Testament, who start to think that God, as revealed in the Old Testament, is different from God, as revealed in the New Testament. They begin to perceive God in the Old Testament as vengeful, with a hair-trigger temper, ready to smite anyone who gets out of line.

In contrast, they wrongly assume that God in the New Testament is the one who delights in blessing His people, merciful and gracious. They view God in the Old Testament as harsh and judgmental, while God in the New Testament is seen as gracious and kind. However, this perception is not accurate. When you take the time to go through the whole of the Scriptures, you discover that God, from Genesis to Revelation, does not change. He is merciful, kind, gracious, and compassionate. This is not to say that He will not judge those who are guilty and do not turn to Him in faith.

Repentance is important, but He is merciful and gracious. I've shared this passage many times before because it is one of those passages that I think is so important. When God introduces Himself to Moses in Exodus 34 on Mount Sinai, the Lord says, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful." The very first word that He uses to describe Himself, among all of His innumerable attributes, is "merciful." I am so grateful that He chooses that word.

The Lord, the Lord God, is merciful and gracious, long-suffering or patient, abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Now, how many of you this morning are thankful that God is patient? I know I am. I need the patience of God. I'm thankful that He suffers long with me and that He is gracious, merciful, kind, and forgiving.

In fact, point number one, if you're taking notes this morning, is that the God of the Bible is gracious and merciful from cover to cover. Hopefully, that's a reminder for you this morning. I hope that you know this. I hope that some of the things we’re going to talk about today are familiar to you. However, I think it would be wrong for me to assume or take for granted that you know these truths. Hopefully, you are already established in them, but the Apostle Peter, in one of his New Testament letters, says it is good that I remind you of these things, even if you are established in the present truth.

Even if you've known this for a long time and have heard it over and over again, if you've been around church for a long period of time or studied the Bible for years, what we're going to talk about today might be review for you. That is actually a good thing because sometimes we need to just go back to the very simple truths. The God of the Bible is gracious and merciful from cover to cover.

I love what the psalmist writes in Psalm 84:1: "For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." He gives grace; He gives glory. No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Again, this is hopefully familiar and a reminder this morning. The God of the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, is the great giver. He gives grace, as Psalm 84 says, and not only is He the great giver, but He reveals the blessedness of giving.

The Apostle Paul, in speaking to the Elders of the church at Ephesus in Acts chapter 20, reminds them of a teaching of Jesus where He said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." We are coming into a season of the year that ought to be marked by giving and receiving, but it is more blessed to give than to receive. He is the great Giver who gives grace. It is more blessed to give than to receive, and He demonstrates His love towards us in giving.

The most famous verse of the Bible, which you may see referenced in the end zone during a football game today, is John 3:16. It states, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." The simple gospel is summed up in that beautiful statement. Because of God's great love for us, He gives us the most important and essential gift that we all need.

God has chosen to reveal Himself in the pages of Scripture as the one who is gracious and merciful. Whether you are reading the Book of Joshua, which we have been studying over the last several months, or the Gospel of John, this concept of God giving and blessing according to His good word and promise is what we find in the passage of Scripture before us today in the Book of Joshua, chapter 21. If you have your Bible, open there and look at the end of the chapter, beginning at verse 43.

Joshua 21:43 records, "So the Lord gave to Israel His people all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it." Our series of studies in the Book of Joshua over the last several months has been called "Possessing Our Possession." The children of Israel are now laying hold of and taking possession of the land that God had promised to give to them for centuries before this.

So, the Lord gave to Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers. They took possession of it and dwelt in it. Verse 44 states, "The Lord gave them rest all around according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and not a man of their enemies stood against them. The Lord gave or delivered all their enemies into their hand."

Then note this key verse for our study this morning: not a...

Not a single word failed of all the promises that God had spoken to His people. Everything that the Lord had sworn to give to the house of Israel came to pass. I love that. My message today might be a little shorter than normal, which may mean very little, but there are two reasons for this. First, we are going to partake of communion at the end of the service. Second, I want to take some time to focus on an important truth, or some important truths, and drive home a very simple and somewhat overlooked truth about God's faithfulness.

God's faithfulness to do what He said He would do is illustrated here with the children of Israel. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass. This reality of God's faithfulness to keep covenant or to keep His word is so important, especially because we often fall short. We fail to fulfill all the things that we have said we will do, the oaths that we make to the Lord and even to others. However, God never fails to fulfill all of His word.

Point number two, if you're taking notes: God will not fail to fulfill all His promises and blessings towards us in Christ. I think this is critical. Again, it might be review for you, and I hope that it is, but I realize, as I interact with people who have been around the Bible for a long time, that sometimes we fail to remember these important, essential, basic truths—the fundamentals, if you will—of our faith.

Sometimes we may know them, but we discount them. I have found that in interacting with Christians, we tend to know these truths but may discount them due to certain condemning thoughts that we carry around with us. This may be the condemnation of our own flesh or the condemnation of the enemy. The Bible describes an enemy called the devil who discourages us. It doesn't really matter the source from which this condemnation comes; I have found that too many Christians tend to live with the weight of a condemning thought that goes something like this: God basically just puts up with me. I think a lot of people wrestle with this.

With that, it's sometimes easy to look at other people and think, "Well, they are the ones whom God loves; they are the good people." I mean, John will tell you he's God's favorite. We can look at others and think, "Of course, that person is really good. They do all the right things; they serve, they go to church, they pray more than I do." So, of course, God loves them, but God just basically puts up with me.

This mindset might stem from our own flesh or from the enemy sowing those thoughts into our minds. It is certainly something that many people find themselves condemned by. However, as we read about the children of Israel, we are reminded that not a word failed of all the good things that God had promised to His people. God loves His people in spite of their multitude of failures.

When you read the Old Testament, one thing becomes abundantly clear: the people of Israel messed up a lot, yet God still loved them. He remained faithful to them and maintained His Covenant with them. Even today, as we sit here in 2023, God continues to remain faithful to the children of Abraham in spite of their unbelief. He continues to reach out to them so that they would come to faith.

This truth is not only applicable to Israel; it is also true for many people who are not descendants of Abraham and who have yet to receive the grace and forgiveness of God. God continues to reach out to them, just as He continued to reach out to you when you remained stubborn and rebellious. He is faithful.

This might be a review or a reminder, but I think we need to be reminded sometimes because there are too many people who have the mindset that God just puts up with them. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass. It was not that all came to pass because Israel never failed, never messed up, or never faltered. They did so constantly and consistently. They tripped up and fell flat on their faces, and so do you, and so do I. Yet, God remains faithful.

God gave Israel the land that He had promised to them, but not only did He give them the land; we are told in this passage that He gave them rest from their enemies. He gave them victory over their enemies. He was faithful and did not fail to fulfill all the good things that He had promised.

He had promised to His covenanted people. Why did He do these things? Did He do this because they were spectacular in their faith and continued in their obedience all the time? No, they fell short, and so do you. They came short of the things that He had called them to do. He continued to pour out His blessing upon them because He had sworn an oath and given a promise to them. It was a promise that was not only for them but through them.

You see, God had intended to bless these descendants of Abraham to give them the land that He promised to them, not just so that they would have this great wealth in a land flowing with milk and honey, but so that through them He would be able to extend a blessing to all people in all places at all times. That is exactly what we find when we open the pages of the Old Testament, going back to the very first book of the Bible and the call of Abraham, which I have shared with you many times before but need to again today.

In Genesis 12, God called Abraham and said to this great man of faith, who at this point was not a great man of faith, "Get out of your country and from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you." God said to Abram, "I will make you a great nation. I will bless you, and you shall be a blessing." So Abram, who would become Abraham, was called to follow God, and he did follow God by faith. He was promised a blessing, not only that Abraham would be great and be blessed, but that he would share that blessing with all people in all places.

"I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing." In Genesis 12, verse 3, it states, "In you, or through you, all of the families—that's all the tribes, all the people, all the nations of the world—shall be blessed." Abraham followed God, although he didn't always do it perfectly, but he followed God and trusted God's word and promise.

Though the fulfillment of God's promise to Abram and his descendants would take centuries—it took more than 400 years for them to come in and inherit and take possession of the land—God still made good on His word. Not a word failed of all the things that God had spoken to the children of Israel. His promise and His blessing toward them was sure and steadfast. Just as I shared in point number two, God...

God will not fail to fulfill His promise and blessing towards us in Christ Jesus. Knowing this, it begs the question: what is it that God has promised you and me in Christ to receive as a blessing? What do we receive from Him? It doesn't appear to be a physical piece of ground like it was for the descendants of Abraham. So, what is it that God promises to give to you and me?

To answer that question, I want to go to a favorite passage of mine. I know I have a lot of favorite passages in the Bible, but this is certainly one of them: Ephesians in the New Testament. If you turn to nearly the end of your Bible, the New Testament begins with the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Then it has the history book of Acts, and it goes into the letters of the New Testament, beginning with Romans, then 1 and 2 Corinthians, and then Galatians, Ephesians.

Ephesians chapter 1 asks what it is that we are blessed to receive in Christ. What is it that we are certain to find in Him? In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul the Apostle is writing to a group of Christians in Asia Minor. The chief city of Asia Minor 2,000 years ago was the city of Ephesus. We read this in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 1: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ"—an apostle is one who is sent with a message. So, Paul was on a mission, having a message from God. He writes, "by the will of God to all the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us. God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Every spiritual blessing is yours today if you are a follower of Christ, if you have trusted in Him after hearing the word of the truth of the Gospel. Every spiritual blessing is yours in Christ Jesus. But what are these spiritual blessings that we have?

Well, look at verse 4: "Just as He chose us in Him, in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." One of the things that God has given to you in Christ Jesus is that He has chosen you to be His. I'm sure you probably remember back to when you were in grade school and you came around to that fateful moment at...

Recess is a time when they choose you for the team. Some of you didn't like that moment, did you? Maybe you got chosen last. But the Scriptures say here that in Christ Jesus, God has chosen you. He has chosen you unto something—not just to be set apart, but unto something greater. He chose us in Christ Jesus before the world began so that we would be holy and without blame before Him in love.

Having predestined us, He destined you for something. What is your destiny? It is to be adopted as sons and daughters by Jesus Christ. God selected you to be a part of His family. He chose you, and I think it's only right to personalize this: each and every one of us can say, "God has chosen me to be a part of His family." He wants you in His household. He chose us and adopted us as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

What does that mean? It actually pleases God to make you a part of His family. When we buy into those condemning thoughts of our flesh or of the devil that say, "Well, God just kind of puts up with you," we fail to realize the truth of this: it pleases God to make you His son or His daughter. You are a part of His family according to the good pleasure of His will and to the praise of the glory of His grace.

What is glorified when God chooses me or you? His grace. It shows how awesome His grace is, doesn't it? When He selects us to be a part of His family, it puts on display the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. He has chosen you, He has adopted you, He has set you apart as His child, and He has made you accepted in Him.

In verse 7, we have redemption through His blood. He has purchased us back from sin and death by His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. God is rich in grace, and there is never a time when His well of grace, if you will, runs dry. His mercies, the Scriptures say, are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness! So in Him, we have forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. He knows just how much grace we need.

And mercy we need from Him, having made known to us the mystery of His will according to the good pleasure which He purposed in Himself. That in the fullness, the dispensation of the fullness of times, on into eternity, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. In Him, we have obtained an inheritance. In addition to being chosen, adopted, forgiven, redeemed, and set apart as His children, He has given us an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also trusted when, after you heard the word of the truth of the Gospel of your salvation. In whom, also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. God has sealed you by His Holy Spirit, marked you as His son or daughter, adopted you into His family, redeemed and forgiven you, and blessed you with an inheritance that does not fade away. Amen.

I think you probably have noticed that in the Western world of 2023, there is a lot of confusion today that people have about identity. There are many people who are in crisis about who they are, their identity. This has to do with the whole story that we tell ourselves in our culture or indoctrinate people with in our culture. We hear this story constantly; we are told this story as if it is absolute truth.

I read a very interesting book a few years ago. I don't necessarily recommend it, but it's a book by a guy named Yuval Harari, I believe it is. I actually forgot the name of the book at the moment, but in this whole book, he spends about 150 pages introducing this big grand narrative story about how we all came to be here over millions and millions of years and how everything happened through Mesopotamia. He paints this picture of a great grand narrative of all these things that brought us here to this point, suggesting that we just happened to come about here by random chance and mutation over billions and billions of years.

That's his whole basic story in this book. Really, when you buy into this story, because that’s what we have—whether you are an atheist and you don't believe in the God of the Bible or the one who created all things, or you are a Christian and you believe in the God of the Bible.

God created all things. We all believe a certain narrative or story. There is a story that naturalists tell us about how everything came about, and there is a story that those who are theists tell us, which I hold to. These stories have implications; they tell us something about our destiny, our origin, our identity, our purpose in life, and morality.

If you buy into the story that is being promulgated in our culture today, then ultimately your origin is just random. There was no purpose, meaning, or plan in your being here; it just happened. There is no ultimate hope of destiny or something beyond this life. Your identity, or the meaning of who you are, your purpose in this life, is something you have to try and figure out and manufacture for yourself. It is a nihilistic, hopeless teaching.

However, what the Scriptures reveal when we open Genesis to Revelation is that God created you for a purpose. He has an intended aim for you in this life, and He desires you to enter into and experience that. It is no wonder that there is confusion in our culture today as it relates to identity. People often ask, "Who am I?"

When you become a Christian and you hear the word of the truth of the gospel, and you trust in Jesus's finished work on the cross, the Holy Spirit seals you and adopts you into the family of God. He gives you a new identity, and that new identity is that you are in Christ. In Christ, you are holy and without blame before the holy God. You are predestined to be His child; you have been made accepted by Him, and He loves you. That is a much better story.

Point number three, if you're taking notes: in Christ, I am guaranteed the fullness of every spiritual blessing in heaven and on earth. We have seen some of those spiritual blessings: we are chosen by Him, destined to be adopted as His sons and daughters, accepted, redeemed, and forgiven. All of those things are great, but what else do we find in Christ Jesus?

One of the wonderful things we discover in Christ Jesus is that God has poured out upon you, as His treasured one, the abundance of His love. Not only does He pour out upon you...

In Christ, we find not only the abundance of His love but also rest. This rest is not just physical; we see that the children of Israel had rest from their battles in the Promised Land. This speaks spiritually of the rest we find in Christ, which is a rest for our souls. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn from me, and you will find rest for your soul."

The concept of the soul is something that pretty much every human being understands, though we use different words to describe it. We talk about the heart, mind, soul, psyche, or spirit. We have all kinds of different words that we apply to this intangible, incorporeal portion of us that we all recognize is there. It is that part of you that, even when you are physically at rest, can still spin up into all kinds of anxious energy, fears, and concerns.

You can be lying on a towel at the beach in the most beautiful weather possible on a wonderful sunny day, yet still, in your soul, heart, or mind, you can be overwhelmed by worries about everything going on in your life, the lives of your children or grandchildren, your work life, or whatever it may be. Have any of you ever been tired in your soul?

In our culture, particularly in the Western world, the environment we live in totally taxes the soul. This is why we have seen such a huge increase in anxiety over the last 20 years. People are trying to deal with anxiety through pharmaceuticals, self-medication, and various other means. They are seeking to manage these anxieties, worries, and cares. Yet, Jesus invites us, saying, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. You will find rest for your soul."

In Christ Jesus, as we are given redemption and forgiveness, as we are accepted and blessed with His abundant love, we find rest. We also receive from Him peace. This peace deals with that soulish part of us. Paul refers to it in Philippians chapter 3 as a peace that surpasses understanding.

Understanding that guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus is essential. This part of us is where we find anxieties. Paul commands us in Philippians chapter 4, a command that none of us, apart from the enabling power of Jesus Christ, could fulfill: "Be anxious for nothing." Every one of us breaks that commandment continuously. He says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

So, he instructs us to be anxious for nothing, and he provides a way to achieve this through prayer. He uses a number of different words to describe prayer: thanksgiving, supplication, and so forth. He assures us that through prayer, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul says to set your mind on things above, not on the things of this Earth. It is the things of this Earth that consume us at a soul level and spin us into anxiety, leaving us with no rest for our soul, psyche, spirit, mind, or brain. Most people in this culture live in that anxious space continuously. Jesus says to His people, "I want you to experience rest and a peace that surpasses understanding."

Paul continues, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report—if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things

On these things, meditate. As I've said before here at this church, if you're wondering what meditation is or how to do it, if you know how to worry, then you know how to meditate. How many of you know how to worry? Really, how many of you know how to worry? That's a little bit more like it.

What is worry? It is a form of meditation. It's where you take whatever that issue is that's concerning you—at work, at school, with your kids, with your grandkids, with your own health, whatever it may be. Whatever that thing is that's weighing upon your soul, psyche, mind, or heart, you just think about it from every possible angle, night and day. You know about this problem or issue better than anybody else. You are meditating upon it, and you know it from every angle, both close up and far away. Why? Because you've meditated upon it.

What is it doing? It's causing you anxiety, worry, fear, and fretting. All of those things have physiological effects. Now you're having stomach problems, headaches, tremors, and tics. You go to the doctor, and the doctor will do all kinds of diagnoses and tests to try to figure out what is wrong with you. They can't figure it out because, in reality, it's in the mind, heart, or soul. As good as we might be in the areas of science, technology, and medicine, we still can't grasp the soul. We don't understand it or comprehend it.

Paul says, "How can you experience the peace of God? How can you experience the God of peace?" I love that he talks about the peace of God and the God of peace. The peace of God will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. It's something that surpasses all understanding. As you think on things that are lovely and good and meditate upon those things, you might wonder, "Will that really work?" Well, that's what the Scriptures say. Every time I meditate upon my worries and concerns, I get sick. However, every time I take time to fix my focus upon the Lord, I experience His rest and His peace.

That surpasses understanding, and through His love, by His rest, and from His peace, we have something that is so essential: hope. If you want to understand the real critical necessity of hope, read Viktor Frankl's book, "Man's Search for Meaning." It is a short book, hard to read, and devastating because Viktor Frankl experienced the concentration camps of Germany as a Jewish man during the Second World War.

Hope, not as the world gives, but a hope that Romans 5 says does not disappoint. You see, earthly hope disappoints. You hoped that you might get that promotion, you hoped that you might get that raise, you hoped that you might win the lottery, and you hoped that the Padres would win. That is a hope that disappoints.

But Hebrews 6:19 says the hope that we have in Christ is like an anchor for our soul. There's that word again. Through all the storms, it is what holds our soul in place. These are the spiritual blessings we find in Christ: rest, love, peace, hope, and the fullness of the Spirit, who brings into our lives the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

These things are just not seen in abundance at all in the world. In fact, when they are seen in you and in me, it's revolutionary to people. It starts to define your identity. When you have the fruit of the Spirit in your life, people will begin to see it and say, "Oh, that's that person who has peace. That's that person who has joy. That's that person who has patience and self-control."

Boy, do we not need patience, self-control, joy, and peace in our culture? That's something that's missing. These things are guaranteed to us in Christ Jesus, and they are not secured by our faithfulness. They are not secured by our religious efforts or our good works; these are secured by the riches of His grace.

Grace. If you would continue reading on in Ephesians, we read in Ephesians 1:7, "According to the riches of His grace." That theme of the richness of God's grace comes up again in Chapter 2, Ephesians 2:4: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ." By grace you are saved, and He raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

There's that identity again. In the ages to come—get this—in the future of eternity, God might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Throughout all of future eternity, God is going to be revealing to you and me the riches of His grace.

How are these things apprehended? How do we lay hold of these? Ephesians 2:8 states, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Notice the order here: we do not lay hold of these spiritual blessings by our good works; we lay hold of these by God's grace given to us, the abundance of the richness of His mercy and grace. He pours these things out upon us so that we might be prepared to do good works. The good works flow from the positional area of being under the grace of God.

Then Paul says in Ephesians 2:11, "Therefore remember." That's what we're going to do in a moment; we're going to partake of communion to remember. Hopefully, as I said, these things are a reminder to you. But I can't take for granted or assume that you know these things, or maybe the little voice of condemnation in your head has drowned this stuff out, and you think that God just basically puts up with you.

Therefore, remember Ephesians 2:1: "Remember that you were once Gentiles in the flesh." For some of you, that memory is stained in your mind in a way that you'd like to forget. Remember that you used to be an unbeliever, and you used to do things that unbelievers do. Those things weigh upon you, and maybe that's where the voice of condemnation comes from. You just don't know how bad I am. You're right; I don't really want to. But guess what? God does, and He has been gracious to you.

Therefore, remember that you were once Gentiles in the flesh. You were without Christ in the world, alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants and promises. You once were not under His grace; you once were not a part of His covenant. You once were not a recipient of His promise, and you had no hope without God in the world.

But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Point number four: Christ's shed blood and finished work on the cross have reconciled us to God. The last words of Jesus on the cross were, "It is finished." What was finished? He paid by His death on the cross the debt for all sin so that you might find a new identity in Christ Jesus.

Before He was crucified, He had a meal with His disciples. He broke bread and extended the cup to them as a way of remembering His body that was broken for them and His blood that would be shed for them. The church, ever since that point, according to the words of Jesus, has continued to partake of the bread and the cup to remember all of these things that I am talking about this morning, which are secured or given to us through His death on the cross.

You have been brought near by the blood of Jesus. I am going to invite Anthony and the worship team to come up, and our ushers, if you don't already have these, just raise your hand. Our ushers will make sure that you have the bread and the cup for communion. We are going to end our service today by remembering the body of Jesus that was broken for us and His blood that was shed for us.

It is by His broken body and shed blood that you and I receive all these things that I have shared this morning: that we are redeemed and forgiven, that we are blessed with an inheritance that is incorruptible, that we are given the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and that we have a peace that surpasses understanding and a rest that is for our soul—a hope that is steadfast and does not disappoint. All of this is by Christ's shed blood and finished work on the cross, and we want to remember that today because it is so important that we walk in this gospel truth and that we share it with others. Paul says you have been reconciled.

To God, through the blood of Jesus Christ, and in another place in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, it says that God has given to you and me the ministry of reconciliation. We are ambassadors for Christ, ministers of reconciliation, sharing this good truth with those around us. This culture in 2023 is in desperate need of that gospel truth. May we walk in it and share it with others.

Father God, I pray that as we prepare our hearts and minds for communion, you would remind us of all these things we have considered today. Let the truth of your Word drown out those deep-seated, condemning thoughts that so many people carry with them. Remind us of the truth of forgiveness, redemption, grace, and mercy. Your love, the peace you desire us to experience, and the joy you want us to have in abundance—remind us that all of this is secured in Jesus, not by our religious efforts or good works, but by your finished work on the cross.

God, help us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through this good gospel truth. Remind us again of your great grace as we worship you in Jesus' name.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, says, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.'" Let's partake and remember.

In the same manner, after they had eaten, he took the cup and said, "This is the cup of the New Covenant in my blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." Let's partake together.

Lord, we thank you for your grace and mercy. We thank you that not a word will fail of all your promised blessings in Christ Jesus. Lord, we are guaranteed the fullness of every blessing.

We thank You, Jesus, for the spiritual blessing in heaven and on Earth because You have finished the work for our salvation. You have reconciled us to the Father. We thank You that we, who were once so far off, have been brought near by Your finished work on the cross.

I pray, God, that You would help us to not just walk in the truth of the Gospel, but to share it with others. There are so many people who are in desperate need of Your grace and mercy, toiling and anxious like sheep without a shepherd.

Lord, move us as You were moved with compassion for them. The harvest is plentiful. Stir us and prepare us by Your Spirit to be laborers in that harvest. We praise You.