You Must Be Born Again! | Sunday, September 12, 2021

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.

With the broadcast being online and you being at home, we would like to connect with you. One of the ways we can do that is by encouraging our audience to take a video of yourself and whoever you're watching with. Let us know who you are, where you're watching from, and send that video to our text line at 760-814. Again, let us know where you're watching from, who you're watching with, and how you are enjoying the Cross Connection Church broadcast from home. You are part of our church, and we want to know where you're at and be encouraged by you.

Please stick around to the end of our broadcast today. We will be announcing some of our current events at Cross Connection Church and letting you know how you can be involved. Of course, if you came prepared to give today, you can do so online from home at give.lifeinconnection.com.

Now, let's go ahead and jump into the broadcast.

Make a miracle worker from His keeper. Light in the darkness, my God, that is who You are. You are the way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My God, that is who You are.

That is who you are. I'm sure you've been in one of those office settings where they have those motivational posters. You know the kind, right? There's some supposedly inspiring picture with a word or a phrase under it, like "determination." Some people want it to happen, some people wish it would happen, and some people make it happen. I don't know about you, but I've always found those posters to be a little funny. They kind of make me laugh quite a bit more than they make me feel inspired.

But perhaps you've heard of Despair Incorporated and their demotivator line of posters. One of them says, "Motivation: If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all that it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job, the kind that robots will be doing

David was a man after God's own heart. As Pastor Mark mentioned last time, in Second Samuel chapters 11 and 12, David broke every one of God's Ten Commandments. He certainly didn't honor God in the things that he did. He coveted his neighbor's wife, committed adultery, and in doing so, he took what was not his; he stole. His adultery was a form of idolatry. Then, he lied about his adultery and committed murder to cover it up. He certainly didn't honor his father and mother when he was coveting, stealing, committing adultery, lying about it, and committing murder.

However, prior to that, in First Samuel chapter 13, before David was anointed as king, God called David a man after His own heart. When you look at this, you kind of wonder, really? This scoundrel is a man after God's own heart? He is not the kind of role model that I would want for my kids. He is not the kind of guy that I would want to leave my kids around.

Admittedly, First Samuel chapter 13, when God says that David is a man after His own heart, is a long time before Second Samuel chapter 11. When you look at the events that take place in David's life, particularly his sin with Bathsheba and his plan to cover it up, you just wonder how the mighty have fallen. Sadly, that is the testimony of far too many people.

There is a part of me that is grieving over some recent news about an individual that I looked up to, someone many people considered to be a man after God's own heart. This individual was seen as a pattern to follow as a pastor and preacher. News has been coming out over the last several weeks about his failures and his fall, which have to do with some of the very same things—though not murder, thankfully—that David is guilty of in that passage in Second Samuel chapters 11 and 12.

Once again, the words of another preacher in our nation come to mind: the best of men are men at best. Sometimes we really see just how fallen we are in some of the people that we look up to. When you think about David, he had some great high heights. At those great times in his life, he slayed Goliath and wrote the Psalms.

Being this great leader militarily, King David brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord back to its rightful place and worked to try to build God a temple. All these things make him a pattern to follow, but he had a lot of low lows as well. Sometimes, when you look at the events, like what Pastor Mark talked about last week, you might think that maybe they need to cancel King David. That's an unfortunate reality.

As an aside, one of the proofs that shows the Scriptures are an inspired work of God is that the text does not whitewash the heroes of Scripture. You see figures like Abraham and King David for who they really are; they were not perfect and frequently fell short of God's glory. If the Bible were merely a history book, then Second Samuel chapters 11 and 12 probably wouldn't even be included. However, they are there to reveal important truths about God, His nature, and His will, as well as the reality of who we are and who our heroes are. When we see ourselves and our heroes in light of who we really are, it reveals the greatness of God to a greater extent.

So, back to that question: how on earth is this guy David called in the Scriptures a man after God's own heart after he did some really horrible things? His sin with Bathsheba and his plan to cover it up in Second Samuel chapters 11 and 12 is not the only time he fell short and stumbled, revealing his humanness and fallenness. How is it possible that he is a man after God's own heart? That is a good question, one worth pondering, and I think at least part of the answer can be found in something David wrote following the events of Second Samuel chapter 12.

In Second Samuel chapter 12, the prophet Nathan calls David out for his hidden iniquity with some of the most piercing words of Scripture. In response to Nathan's parable, Nathan tells David about a man in his kingdom who stole a lamb from his neighbor. This man had tons of stuff, yet he stole this one thing, which was the only thing his neighbor had. In response to that, David is filled with anger. He says in the text...

The Lord lives! This man who has done this shall surely die. He is really angry about this. In response to that, Nathan looks at David and says, "You are the man! You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword. You have taken his wife to be your wife. You have killed Uriah." This is probably about a year after all of those events took place. David has basically been scot-free for a year, lying about this the entire time and looking like the good guy after Uriah is killed in battle.

David, in a seemingly kind gesture, brings Uriah's wife into his household to take care of her as she is widowed, and now she is going to have a child. He lies about it for a year, and now Nathan brings this to the forefront. God reveals it, teaching us a very important lesson: we need to recognize and understand that all those things that are hidden will come to light. Your sin will find you out, and we see that with David and Nathan in Second Samuel, chapter 12.

At that moment, when the king's sin was exposed, David had a choice. It isn't clear in the text of Second Samuel, chapter 12, but I don't think it is too far off to assume that Nathan's conversation with the king was not out in the open. It was not public. Nathan did not bring this story to the king while he was gathered with all of the people of the king's court. It was probably a private conversation because that is not the way the ancient Near East works.

Nathan converses with the king privately, and it has already been established in the story that David has no problem killing someone to cover things up. He has no problem killing someone who is close to him because Uriah the Hittite had been one of David's mighty men. David gave the order to kill one of his mighty men to cover up his own sins. So, it is not too far off to think that David would be willing to kill to cover things up.

But that is not what he did. Instead, we have his response recorded for us in a psalm that he wrote after these things took place, in Psalm 51. It is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful of all the psalms. There are 150 psalms in the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament, and Psalm 51 is one that really ministers to a lot of people. It is important to look at the heading of Psalm 51; it says, "To the chief musician, a psalm of David when Nathan..."

The prophet went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba. This sets the groundwork for the context of these words.

Look at Psalm 51, verse 1. There we read: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You and You only have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight, that You may be found just when You speak and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part, You will make me to know Your wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your praises."

So back to that question: Why is a scoundrel like David called a man after God's own heart? The answer to that question is really found in those words in Psalm 51. When David was exposed, he confessed and repented. He found comfort and joy in the saving grace of a merciful God. He cried out to God, saying, "In Your lovingkindness and by Your mercy, save and deliver me from iniquity, transgression, and sin. Wash me, cleanse me, and purge me. Blot out my transgressions. I am an evil, wicked sinner, and I need Your redeeming, saving grace."

That was David's response to all the things that went on in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12. His sin, and then when his sin found him out, instead of trying to continue the cover-up, he came clean and said, "I have sinned; I am the man." We have this beautiful picture of him.

Praising God for God's deliverance and the joy of God's salvation, one of the things that we find when we look at the story of David in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12 is his sin with Bathsheba, his plan to cover it up, and then his confession, repentance, and lament in Psalm 51. One of the things we see is that the story of Scripture and the story of history is a story of a sinful humanity and a merciful, redeeming God.

The overarching story of Scripture is one of salvation. Theologians call this the metanarrative of the Bible, this big overarching story that occurs in four acts: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. At its core, the Bible is a redemptive story. When you think about it, that really is the best kind of story. Redemptive stories are some of our favorites: the dad who rescues his daughter, the prince who saves the princess, the superhero that saves the world, and the Avengers that save not just the world but the universe.

I want to suggest to you that there is a reason we humans love these kinds of redemptive savior stories. We love redemptive savior stories because there is something in us that reverberates with those narratives. We recognize that we are lost and that we are in need of a savior—a rescuing redeemer to come in at just the right time. We are constantly reminded of our lostness and the brokenness of our society. Every single day, we are confronted by our own failures and the brokenness of the world we live in. We deeply desire a redeemer and the redemption that that redeemer could give.

Though one of the core tenets of postmodernism, which is the ruling philosophy of our day, is the denial and rejection of all metanarratives, we still long for this redemptive story to be true: a lost and broken people in need of redemption and restoration. What is not to love about that story? The question, though, is whether that story is true. That is the story we are presented with in the Scriptures. Yet, even though we want that story, we still question: is that story true? I want it to be true. I wish it were true. I would love...

For it to be true, but is it true? Well, that is one of the things that I have been addressing in the previous series we had here at the church called "First Things First." We did a five-week series through the month of August, going back to establishing the basis for why we believe that these things are true. Is there validity to the faith of Christ? That is what we were going through in that series, "First Things First."

I believe that there is evidence that supports the claim that the salvation story of the Bible, with Jesus at the center, is true. It is an actual reality for us, and that's what I spent those five weeks driving home in August. You can check out those videos by going to our website. You can either get the audio podcast or the videos at lifeinconnection.com. You can listen to the "First Things First" messages.

I want to come back to this point: the overarching story of Scripture is one of salvation. That will be something of a thesis as we start to get into a new series that we're going to be calling "The Disciplines of a Disciple." I want to talk about how we believe that Jesus is this Redeemer who comes and saves us. We believe that He died on a cross and rose from the dead. We talked about that in the "First Things First" series, but how does that affect our lives? How do we move forward once we have trusted in that?

We have this kind of thesis as we step into this new series, "The Disciplines of a Disciple." To become clear as we get into this in the coming weeks, we will discuss what we are going to be talking about with the disciplines of the disciple. The overarching story of Scripture is one of salvation, so that's kind of a thesis for this.

However, that really brings forth some questions. I've got questions, as they say. When we talk about the overarching story of Scripture being one of salvation, we must ask: salvation of whom? Salvation from what? And salvation unto what ends? In this series, we will be getting into those things, but we have to start with this area having to do with salvation.

When we're talking about the disciplines of the disciple, we're talking about a person who is a follower of Christ—a disciple—and one who is an obedient follower of Christ who is growing towards maturity. That's ultimately what we want to be doing: growing towards maturity. All this really goes back to something I shared at the very beginning of August on these broadcasts here at the church.

Almost 18 months of going through all the chaos of COVID in 2020 and 2021 has revealed that many followers of Jesus, disciples, and Christians have experienced stress that has brought out our carnality and flesh. This has shown the extent to which we still need to grow towards maturity. My hope is that through the "First Things First" series and the "Disciplines of a Disciple" series, we can develop progress in growing towards maturity.

This is a necessary topic, important for those interested in Christianity but not yet Christians. It is also essential for those who have been Christians for any length of time, whether a short period or decades. Understanding what the Bible calls a "walk" with Jesus is crucial. It is entirely possible to be a Christian—someone who has trusted in Christ—and yet not be a faithful disciple or an obedient follower of Jesus. I have much to say about that, but I will leave it at that for the moment. We will discuss this further in upcoming messages on the topic.

For Jesus, the focus of His ministry was making disciples, not just converts or believers. He commissioned His followers to do this. In what we call the Great Commission, found in Matthew chapter 28, just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gathered with His disciples and said to them, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Jesus commands us to go and make disciples. This is what followers of Jesus, disciples, and churches—gatherings of disciples—have been doing for the last 20 centuries, and it is what we will continue to do until the end of the age when Jesus returns. This is what I and other leaders at this church are committed to: making disciples and turning all of you into faithful followers of Christ.

Faithful or more faithful followers of Jesus, the call to discipleship—the call to becoming a follower of Jesus—begins with a call to salvation. To illustrate this, we always turn to the Scriptures, and there is probably no better place to demonstrate that this call to be a disciple is a call to salvation than in the words found at the beginning of the church in Acts chapter 2.

In Acts chapter 2, we witness what we would call the birth of the church as Jesus's disciples begin to take the message of Jesus to the multitudes. One of Jesus's disciples, the Apostle Peter, preaches to a huge gathering of people in Jerusalem. At the end of his message, after he has shared about Jesus being crucified, buried, and risen from the dead, he addresses the people gathered there. Acts chapter 2, beginning at verse 36, states, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ."

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter responded, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission, the removal, the blotting out of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all who will come after you, as many as the Lord will call." With many other words, he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation."

Those who gladly received this word were baptized, and that day three thousand souls were added to them. In this passage, after Jesus's disciples are commissioned to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, we see that the path of discipleship is a path of following Jesus and receiving His salvation. Peter tells the group of people, in response to their question about what they should do, that they should repent, be saved, and be baptized.

The call to discipleship is a call to salvation. Jesus's mission in coming to this world was a mission of salvation. Before Jesus was born, an angel appeared to Joseph, who was engaged to be married to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary had mysteriously become pregnant, and Joseph, engaged to her, had not been involved in her pregnancy. This was not the best situation, and he was trying to figure out how to handle it. He loved her and wanted to deal with her the right way, but this was not a good thing.

In the midst of that, Joseph had a visit from an angelic being who spoke to him. In Matthew chapter 1, verse 20, it says, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus." Notice this: "for he will save his people."

If you're following along in Matthew 1:21, you'll notice that there's more to that verse that I didn't read. I had to stop just before I read those last three words of this verse because it answers one of the questions about salvation that I posed earlier. The overarching story of Scripture is the story of salvation, but salvation of whom, from what, and unto what ends? The angel said to Joseph, "She will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."

This isn't just the words of the angel to Joseph in the Gospel of Matthew; this is the same thing that the Apostle Paul would later write in one of his letters to Timothy. In 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 15, he says, "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."

Jesus in the Scriptures is presented as the Savior of the world. We find that in John's Gospel, chapter 4, and 1 John chapter 4. He came into the world to save sinners. He said of himself in John's Gospel, chapter 12, verse 47, "I have come to save the world." In Luke chapter 19, one of the theme verses of the Gospel of Luke, it states, "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost."

The answer to our question, the whole story of salvation, the overarching story of Scripture, is a story of salvation. Salvation of who? Sinners. Jesus has come to save sinners; He has come to save the world. Salvation from what? He has come to save sinners from their sin, from iniquity, transgression, and sin.

In Psalm 51, remember what we just read with David. He says there in verses 1 through 4, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression; my sin is always before me. Against You and You only have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight, that You may be found just when You speak and blameless when You judge. So purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

In verse 12, he continues, "Restore to me the joy of salvation; uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Deliver me." The word "deliver" right there signifies deliverance from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation.

So, there we see that the story of Scripture is the story of salvation. In another place in the Psalms, in Psalm 32, this same David, who is confessing and calling out for God's salvation in Psalm 51, says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." The blessing of salvation is the blessing of God's forgiving grace and mercy through Christ. That's the wonderful story of salvation in the Scriptures: God's mercy and grace through Jesus.

There is so much more that I would like to say about all of this, so many places that I would like to go, but I just don't have enough time today. There are so many questions that come to mind when we start to talk about salvation, sin, and sinners, and all these different things that Jesus does.

I mean, you start to ask the question, "What exactly is sin, and am I really a sinner?" We see David's sin in Second Samuel chapters 11 and 12 with Bathsheba and Uriah and all these horrible things that take place. His sin is pretty clear, but sometimes people feel like, "Well, I don't think I'm all that bad," especially when you look at David and think, "I'm not as bad as David." So, what is sin? Am I really a sinner? What happens to me as a result of salvation?

What does it mean to be saved? Why does the Bible say that we are being saved or shall be saved? I thought I was saved. These are some of the questions that I hope we will be able to talk about a little bit more. What evidence is there that you have been saved? Unfortunately, I'm going to have to hold off on those questions and the answers to them until next time because I'm running a little bit short on time today.

As we come to the close of our broadcast for this Sunday, I want to encourage you to consider something important. You see, salvation is a gift of God's grace, and it is a product of God's love. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This gift of God's grace, according to His love, is something that we need to constantly be reminded of and keep at the forefront of our minds. We need to remember it and rejoice in it regularly.

One of the ways that we do that is through the sacrament of communion. Jesus, on the night that He was betrayed by one of His disciples, Judas, and the night that He would be arrested and ultimately charged to be put to death, partook of a meal with His disciples. At a certain point in the meal, He took bread, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me."

In the same manner, after He had taken the bread, He took the cup after they had eaten 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."

In our on-campus services today, we will be partaking of communion. I want to encourage you, if you're watching this online at home and you're not going to be gathered together with us for our Sunday services here at the church, to consider sitting down with the Bible, a little bit of grape juice if you have some, and a small piece of bread. Reflect on what Jesus did for you—His body being broken for you, His blood being shed so that you could receive salvation.

Jesus was delivered up to the cross; His body was broken for us, and His blood was shed for us so that you and I could receive this salvation. We can experience the blessedness of having our sins forgiven and the joy and rejoicing that comes from it.

Salvation means we are completely saved—holy and completely saved in spirit, soul, and body. In communion, we remember Jesus' body that was broken for us and His blood that was shed for us so that we would be able to be saved.

My encouragement to you today, this week, is to set aside some time to open your Bible to First Corinthians, chapter 11, beginning at about verse 23, and read through that passage. You can be led by the Scriptures through communion. If you don't have the elements of communion, you are welcome to stop by the church office. The church office is open Monday through Thursday during regular business hours. We would love to give you one of these little communion kits that we will use on Sunday morning here at the church as we partake of communion.

I know that you may not have these elements with you right now at home, but you can come pick them up if you want to do this later on. Allow the Scriptures to lead you through communion as you remember Jesus' body that was broken for you and His blood that was shed for you.

Next week, we will return to the topic of salvation. What are we saved from? What are we saved unto? What is salvation all about? What does it entail, and what does it bring about in us? Why are we starting with this when discussing the disciplines of a disciple? I will give you a little preview: you really only become a true disciple and follower of Jesus by first receiving His gift of grace and salvation, which comes only through the work that He did on the cross.

That's where we're going next week, and I hope you will join us then.

Father God, I thank You for the privilege and opportunity to gather together, even at a distance and over technology, to go through the Scriptures. Your word is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. You have given it to us so that we might know You, what You are like, and what You desire. Lord, may we come into a relationship with You through the work that You did on our behalf, Jesus.

I pray that we would grow in our knowledge of You and grow closer to You as we pray, study Your word, and fellowship with one another in all these different ways. God, do a work in Your church wherever we may be. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

You'll never keep the light in the darkness. My God, God is who You are.

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.

Hey family, I would like to invite you to our renewed worship workshop on Saturday, September 25th. If you're interested in learning about worship leading, vocals, keyboards, and drums, join us from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. We'll have a time of connection and worship, and then we'll break off into learning groups. You won't want to miss this! Please register online at events.lifeinconnection.com before September 18. See you there!

Hey Cross Connection, Pastor Jason here again. Once again, with possibly annoying regularity, I am asking for help in the children's ministry. We are looking to get some more teachers so that we can offer a full slate of rooms for our first service, the 8:30 service, which is starting this week. If you'd like to be a part of that and are at all interested, go to events.lifeinconnection.com and look for the big kids logo. Click on there, and we'll be able to get you some more information. If you are a junior high or high schooler, also click on there because there's an option to be a youth helper. If you would do that, that would be awesome! If you're waiting for a sign, this is it.

Also, if you are new to our church, I'm not going to ask you to sign up for children's ministry, but if you are new and would like to find out more, jump into one of our Connect Five meetings. It will be at the front of the sanctuary. One of the pastors will be there, and we'll be able to give you a little bit of information, answer any questions, and get you on your way with plenty of time to spare. So that's the Connect Five meeting at the front of the sanctuary if you are new.

Just a quick reminder: this week is the last week to sign up for the camping trip at Herky Creek. If you're interested in that, go ahead and sign up. God bless you guys!