430pm Live | Centre Street Church

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] do [Music] do [Music] do [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] do [Music] do [Music] hey center street online pastor wayne here so glad that you have joined us this weekend i don't know about your week but it's just kind of mine's been kind of all over the map and thinking and feeling lots of different things but i'll tell you when we can gather and get together like we're going to do this evening i'm so excited about that and actually the worship team is heading out there's mitch hey mitch worship team we are going to have a fantastic time in the presence of the lord tonight so here's what i was thinking i wanted to tell you last week pastor henry started this a fantastic this series in romans talked about that we're not going to be ashamed of the gospel well he continues that series tonight as he looks at verse 18 in chapter one talks about the wrath of god but then it transitions into understanding the great news of the gospel that understanding what jesus has done for us in light of what could happen if we didn't have jesus so friends i think that you spending time with us is of the lord so what i want i'm not sure what your rhythms are i just want to encourage you to get your bible to get in a place where you feel like you can worship and whatever that looks like and spend this time expectantly because i think god's gonna speak an amazing way hey listen i'll see you after the service god bless you [Music] well welcome center street church we're so excited that you've decided to join us tonight on this weekend why don't you stand for those of you who are here if you're watching from online if you want why don't you stand um we're just so excited to worship together um and as i was preparing for this weekend these services and i was praying and i just asked the lord god what do you want what do you want our people to to hear and what do you want our people to know and i heard a really simple phrase it was just this don't worry just worship don't worry just worship and as i began to think about that and you know we could talk about the state of the province you know all night but that really won't impact us but what will impact us is the power and the glory of our most high god amen spending time and worship spending time in his presence is really what's going to impact us and we're going to talk a little bit about that tonight we're going to sing about it but i just want to read you this scripture matthew 6 to 28-30 says as you all probably know it says and why worry about your clothing look at the lilies of the field and see how they grow don't work or make their clothing yet solomon in all of his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are and if god cares so wonderfully for the wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow he will certainly care for you he will certainly care for you amen so friends don't worry just worship tonight we're going to celebrate the goodness of god his faithfulness because where his spirit is there's freedom amen [Music] come on church let's sing this together just one word you call the storm that surrounds me it's just one word the darkness has to retreat oh thank you jesus just one touch i [Music] there's nothing that all god can't do there's not a mountain that he can't move we'll praise the name that makes our way there's nothing that all god can't do come on you believe that tonight let's sing this just one word you hear what's broken inside [Music] just one word and you revive every dream we thank you lord you're just one touch i feel the power [Music] there's nothing that there's nothing that our god can't do boys there's not a mountain that he can't move we'll praise the name [Music] says i will believe for greater things but there's no power like the power of jesus amen let's sing this together i will believe for greater things there's no power like the power of jesus left faith on the rise let all agree there's no power like the power of come on singing again i will believe for greater things there's no power like the power of jesus let faith arise let all agree there's no power like the power of jesus come on i will believe for greater things there's no power like the power of jesus let's paint the right let all the green there's no power we'll praise the names that makes a way there's nothing that all god can't do oh i know there's nothing that i can't do there's not a prison wally can't break through we'll praise the name that makes a way there's nothing that our god can do thank you jesus oh [Music] come on if you believe that why don't you lift up a shot of praise put our hands together [Music] oh [Music] jesus [Music] the wonders [Music] [Music] every breath [Music] shout to the lord of the earth [Music] [Music] i sing for joy [Music] nothing compares [Music] oh [Music] lord there is [Music] the wonders of your mind [Music] [Music] never ceased [Music] [Music] the mountains forever nothing compares to the promises [Music] jesus [Applause] so shout to the lord let us sing [Music] mountains bow down and the season [Applause] [Music] of your hands [Music] [Music] [Music] death could not hold you the veil's all there for you your silence the most i've seen a break [Music] you have no right [Music] and yours is the key yours is the glory and yours [Music] is what a powerful name it is the name of jesus christ thank you lord what a powerful name and nothing can stand against what a powerful day is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] of jesus what a powerful day [Music] thank you jesus [Music] 11 20 says this then jesus said come to me all you who are weary and kevin carry heavy burdens i will give you rest i want to tell you tonight that your soul's rest won't come from anywhere else but jesus your peace won't come from anywhere else but jesus if you don't know that i'm here to tell you that tonight to lay your cares on him whatever you brought in this next psalm declares that when we worship we push back the agenda of satan but that when we worship we silence the enemy's voice and we declare the power of god over our circumstances some of these words say i'm going to sing in the middle of the storm no matter what storm we're going through and it says heaven comes to fight for me up from the ashes hope will arise i don't know about you but i i need some hope tonight i raise a hallelujah i will watch the darkness flee i love how that declares that so let's sing this together [Music] lift our voice lift our hallelujahs [Music] in the presence of my enemies [Music] [Music] you believe that i'll raise a hallelujah [Music] heaven comes to fight for me [Music] [Music] [Applause] that the king is not dead he's alive he's with us right now come on let's sing and i'll raise a hallelujah with everything inside of me [Music] but i'll raise a hallelujah i will watch the darkness flee at the mention of your name and i'll raise a hallelujah in the middle of the mystery come on hear this tonight and i'll raise a hallelujah fear you love fear you lost your hold on me [Music] louder and louder you're gonna is come on as we lift our voices i believe faith is going to rise in this room tonight amen jesus you ready sing a little louder sing a little louder [Music] sing a little louder sing a little louder sing a little louder sing a little [Music] [Music] [Applause] of louder enemies [Music] [Music] my enemies is [Music] [Music] louder and louder you're gonna hear about [Applause] is [Music] i we [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] we thank you jesus well let's just sing this quiet chorus this old hymn of surrender to jesus surrender your heart surrender your mind to him right now in this moment [Music] god we thank you we thank you [Music] it's all yours god it's on yours [Music] to hear my freely i will ever [Music] [Music] my [Music] give it all to you god i sing unto jesus i surrender [Music] [Music] and trust trusting his presence come on make this your prayer tonight [Music] and all to thee my blessings [Music] [Music] one more time let's just declare this as one voice [Music] all to thee my blessed [Music] i [Music] god we give our lives to you we give our minds to you we give our hands to you we use it for your kingdom use it for your purposes jesus i love you so much and your holy precious name amen you may be seated we got a video for you to check out so turn your attention to the screen hey kids guess what today is the day today is the day yeah good morning it's opening day i can't believe it we're here here we go [Music] i think i'm most excited about just how many people are showing up and how this building is going to be used to touch so many lives i think that's really exciting yeah it'll be really cool to see how god uses this space in the community oh my goodness it's not just about sundays we can have different community events throughout the week this can be a gym so we can play some games have a great time together come and meet at the cafe so all sorts of things i'm excited that we can all be together in like one building and really just worship god for everything that he's done this morning was just really exciting as our first morning of welcoming the children back into children's ministry and the kids were just really happy to to be back and seeing their friends and we're excited about that and especially any of the new people coming into the community from the community too i'm excited to open the doors to children's ministry after so many months and to be able to do it in a new building where we can have more space so we can have way more kids in here so we can share the gospel with them and help them to feel loved and cared for and safe in this new space now we have a place that's home in a physical way a place to connect a place to invite people to our cafe and to sit and view the mountains talk about to me reaching people for jesus is all about conversations [Music] man i honestly honestly i feel like speechless like every time i walk around i just feel speechless like the days the days here were open and to see how many people but how many new faces what i love and i'm excited about is that we continue to grow together as a family and to grow in our faith and to be on mission together to love our friends like jesus we're just so excited to see so many new people come through here and be a part of this family and it's coming and we just can't wait to see what god does jesus came to start a revolution by first changing people's hearts and that starts one heart at a time this building is going to help us to do that in northwest calgary but friends it is up to each one of us to change people's hearts in our communities and in each of our campuses today is the day that you see god and who he is calling you to reach out to and to change that heart one heart at a time we will change culture we will change the world [Music] oh isn't that cool isn't that fantastic that we have yeah i'm telling you what a what unbelievable to watch god work from the birthing of that to actually having services last weekend just so exciting to see people give step out and to now have a visible presence of jesus in that community it's just so exciting well welcome to center street church we're glad that you're here at central campus in person and those that are joining us online grade 7 8 9. you are welcome to head to the to the pursuit at this time in our service now i know some of you might want to know if there's going to be a tour of the bears paw campus we're going to offer tours of the campus on monday and tuesday between 6 00 and nine o'clock and you can drop in any time you can get a tour of the building ask questions and of course stop and pray for god to use the building and the people to to ignite uh ignite christ in the community there now as well you know they're going to continue to hold services at bears paw but what we've just been saying is that as we get to know the building with logistics and all the different pieces with it we're just kind of having our immediate family worshiping there um if you are planning on making bears paw your campus online or here at central campus we want to encourage you to look about being involved fully in the mission of center street church in that community and as you can pray and consider being part of that campus that you'd wait until october to be part of that so we can kind of make everything getting ready for company now if it's your first time with us here at central campus or online we want to say welcome for you here in person i'm glad that you're here i'm one of the i am the campus pastor here at central i'd love to meet you we have a new here area where some of my colleagues if you'd like to get to know the church a little bit more you've come we've been seeing a lot of people joining us at all of our campuses actually and so we'd love to get to know you as well online if you just type in the notes there that you're new one of our online team would love to connect with you as well as our our our connects our connect center is there and so as the fall has come upon us and you're looking at ways of getting connected you want to have some information about upcoming things with children's and ministries we want to encourage you to go and see the great folks there as well as you can find more information online at cschurch.ca now for us joining for us joining here we're very excited for that you're to be here it's been a very difficult week with all the different things but we still are able to have one third of our capacity here at central campus as well as all of our campuses and we just want to say we want to encourage you to continue to come to services but we're going to ask you to save a seat on the on our web page you can see on how to save a seat now if you forget to save a seat or register or you can't register you can still show we still have lots of different seating we just may have them in different areas and if you're more than about 10 minutes late in person we may have to kind of direct you to a certain seating area at our campuses just because we're going to be three seats apart we're going to be physically distanced we're going to wear our mask and use lots of hand sanitizer because we want to continue to meet in person don't we yeah we do yep we kind of want to continue i need to see you here and so again you know what we also have our our services all online at 4 30 6 30 9 and 11 all weekend now you know what as we kind of saw that video it reminded me of life change and what's going to happen and this past year we have seen transformation of people's lives spiritually you know for eternity but also here in in the now and we are going to offer again the alpha course this 11 11 week introduction to christianity is going to be offered online and it's a fantastic course and this is really for those that are kind of exploring the christian faith not for us that have been in the faith for a while but maybe you know a friend that you want to take with you to the alpha course can i encourage you to pray about that seek god about how you can be witnessing and walking with your friends as they seek to find jesus now if you take your phone out and type in the number 403 293 3900 and type the word alpha it will it will respond to you with the link on how to get registered at one of the classes or if you want to be a volunteer those information can come to you through your phone as well as online want to encourage you it's going to be a fantastic a fantastic season of introducing people to jesus now also want to say that uh you know we're grateful for the generosity of center street again we we got to see that because of your generosity and faithfulness to give what god asked you to do and so we continue to thank you for your ongoing support of the ministries there's many different ways that you can give here at center street church there's a couple of offering boxes on the walls and kiosks here in person and of course online you can give so again we thank you for your incredible generosity as a baseball enthusiast the playoffs are just around the corner as we start fall next week but you know what in my opinion pastor henry last week as he started off this series in romans put the ball out of the park what a great message we're not going to be ashamed as we start this roman series and he's got an incredible word from the lord as we move into that second part in chapter one beginning at verse 18. so would you join me in prayer as we pray for pastor henry and we pray for ourselves to open up our hearts and minds to what christ might have to say to us tonight let's pray together so lord we celebrate bear's paw we thank you god for new people and life transformation we thank you lord for the alpha opportunity to introduce people and now father as pastor henry comes would you please just be with him give him your strength father to share this message on what you have laid on his heart we thank you in advance of what you're going to do in jesus name amen well thank you wayne and we do welcome all of you who are joining us online as well as those of you who are meeting together here at central campus and those who are also meeting together at one of our other campuses in edgary bridgeland south calgary and at our bears call bears paw campus uh we've just started a study in the book of romans and last time we not only learned that the gospel of jesus christ has explosive power not only to radically change a person's life but also their eternal trajectory and it is offered freely by god's grace to all who believe in other words all who genuinely put their trust not in their own righteousness but in jesus christ and what he accomplished through his death and resurrection on our behalf paul's life was turned upside down when he met and put his trust in jesus christ and he witnessed the lives of many other other people change dramatically as well and that's why early in this letter he says i am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of god that brings salvation to everyone who believes the reason that he is willing to be rejected and shunned and to be told where to go and how to get there is because he is absolutely convinced that the only hope for the inner storm for the emptiness the fear and the uncertainty that people are experiencing is jesus christ and the explosive power that he has to invade a person's life who believes and trusts in him and to begin to change them from the inside out and as i pointed out last time this is also why as christ followers we must not water down explain away the truth of the scriptures or let temporary earthly matters like kovid as concerning as they are to become so all consuming in our lives that we get distracted from giving high priority to the eternal matters of life the eternal souls of people and introducing them to the jesus that we know and love with the compelling life through our lives our attitudes our behaviors and our words yes of course we need to care for the health and other needs of people but we must care even more about their eternal health and the state of their soul because as i said last time to die if covetous tragic but to die without knowing jesus christ personally is even more tragic well with that in mind we come now to the next passage of scripture where paul begins to spell out in greater detail this gospel of jesus christ that he's introduced us to now if you've ever had a bad cold or a flu then you know what it feels like to feel sick and just plain lousy you've experienced the nausea the fever the achiness the the soreness and the fatigue it also means you know how wonderful it feels when you get past the cold or past the flu and and just begin to feel well again you see we would never appreciate what an amazing gift it is to feel well to feel healthy were it not for the times that we've been sick and not felt well at all well here in romans paul essentially says the gospel of jesus christ is incredibly good news but if you really want to understand and appreciate why it's good news you have to first understand and appreciate the bad news you need to understand our sinful condition before a holy god and that the wrath of god is actually directed at those who ignore him those who suppress the truth about him and he devotes the next two and a half chapters to do that and so put on your seat belts because we're going to be hitting some turbulence some really bad news for a little bit here but hang in there because the really good news is a coming so i invite you to turn your bibles now or your bible apps to romans chapter 1 we're going to start reading in verse 18 and if you're able would you just stand and join me in the reading of these scriptures the wrath of god is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness since what may be known about god is plain to them because god has made it plain to them for since the creation of the world god's invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse for although they knew god they neither glorified him as god nor gave thanks to him but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened although they claimed to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal god for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles therefore god gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another they exchanged the truth about god for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the creator who is forever praised amen let us pray our heavenly father we ask now lord that you would focus our minds you would soften our hearts and lord you give us the courage to do what we hear you calling us to do for i pray it in the precious name of jesus amen you may be seated i doubt that i need to tell you that our world is a troubled place recently the secretary general of the united nations gave a very grim report on the state of the world not only in relation to the negative impact of kovid but on a number of other fronts which of course leads us to ask what's wrong with our world well many accuse the judicial system or the the political system or the educational system or the economic system of being responsible for what's wrong with our world and to a degree they are probably right however i believe that g k chesterson got to the heart of the problem when he said you want to know what's wrong with the world i am i am what's wrong with the world he said you've probably noticed that we live in a world that increasingly is inclined to blame others for everything everything and every one is to blame for what's wrong in our world but the bible teaches that we need only to look at ourselves our hearts are sinful they are bent toward selfishness and rebellion against god which explains in large part what's wrong with our world our world is messed up in large part because we want to be boss we want to call the shots we want to live the way that we want to live and in order to do that many have removed god from his rightful place in their lives dr john stott writes many of the happenings of civilized society would not exist if it were not for human sin a promise is not enough we need a contract doors are not enough we need to lock and bolt them law and order are not enough we need the police to enforce them we cannot trust each other we need protection from one another it's a sorry state of affairs and this is why the wrath of god is being revealed now look at verse 18 again paul writes the wrath of god is being revealed in our world and then he goes on to give two reasons two explanations because of two things human godlessness and human wickedness now godlessness is a rejection of god it doesn't necessarily mean you don't believe that god exists rather it is living as though god doesn't exist it's essentially saying someone or something other than god is the lord of my life is calling the shots in my life it's the attitude that says god is not going to tell me what to do god's not not going to define for me what's right and wrong recently i read the story about a 10 year old girl who defiantly refused to obey her mother in front of her mother's friends after several attempts to get through to her the mother had no choice but to take her daughter upstairs and she put her in the walk-in closet of her parents bedroom telling her daughter to think long and hard about her rebellious attitude 30 minutes later the mother went upstairs to see how her daughter was doing and her daughter said oh i've been having a great time i've been spitting on your clothes on your shoes and on the walls and the carpet now i'm waiting for more spit it is this kind of defiant attitude that the apostle paul is referring here an attitude that says to god i will do what i want to do this is godlessness and it's the heart of sin and is why god's wrath is being revealed wickedness on the other hand means living without any rules at its core it's just plain selfishness do your own thing be your own judge do unto others before they do it unto you kind of attitude godlessness is sin against god wickedness is sin against god and other people well in this message that we're looking at today paul addresses two questions first why is god's wrath being revealed and secondly how is god's wrath being revealed today we're only going to focus mostly on verses 18 to 23 where paul explains why god's wrath is being revealed like a prosecutor in a court of law paul makes the following case point number one god has clearly revealed himself to all human beings everywhere and therefore they are without excuse point number two people have been suppressing the truth of god and replacing god with their own gods or idols point number three when we deliberately reject and replace god and the truth of god his wrath is unleashed so let's look at each of these shall we first of all paul says that god has clearly revealed himself to all of humanity look at verse 19 since what may be known about god is plain to them because god has made it plain to them for since the creation of the world god's invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse now those these verses teach that every person on earth knows in his or her heart that there is a god it's intuitive it's been put there by god we may ignore god we may attempt to explain him away but deep down inside every person knows that there is a god you can go almost anywhere in the world and you'll find evidence of worship shrines temples idols icons mosques synagogues and of course churches archaeologists will tell you that in the vast majority of ancient cities and civilizations that have been unearthed there's evidence of worship though people are not always clear on who god is or what he is like they know intuitively that there is a god someone greater than themselves now people wonder how can god hold someone accountable for not knowing a god that they've never heard of well i don't have the time in this message to fully address that question but i did deal with it in the why believe series in a sermon you can find online entitled what about those who have never heard but here's the thing paul says here everyone has the god-given capacity to look at creation and say there has to be a god look at verse 20 for since the creation of the world god's invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen now theologians call this uh general revelation or god revealing himself to everyone on the planet through his creation now god has also given a special revelation of himself or a much greater more detailed understanding of himself through the written word of god the scriptures and also through the living word jesus christ when he came to this planet but here paul says god's reality and creative power has been largely revealed down through time to everyone who has ever lived and has been a language that every people group has understood even in the most ancient of times long before the telescope or the microscope were invented the greatness of god was evident both in the vastness of the universe and the stars and in the intricate intricacies of nature like a small seed reproducing itself into a giant tree exactly like the one from which it came down through time people could see the marvelous cycle of the seasons the rain the snow the warmth of the sun all in one day like in calgary they witnessed the miracle of human birth the glory of the sunrise in the sunset in short they had enough information to conclude these were not the product of chance but the design of a powerful creative god king david wrote in psalm 19 long before telescopes were ever invented the heavens declare the glory of god the skies proclaim the work of his hands day after day they pour forth speech night after night they reveal knowledge their voice goes out into all the earth their words to the ends of the world and so paul says god has and is revealing himself to all of creation and that is why people are without excuse now paul goes on in verse 21 to say the problem is even though god has clearly revealed himself people do two things first of all they suppress the truth of god and secondly they replace god with the things that god created first people suppress the truth of god look at verse 18 again the wrath of god is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness the greek word here for suppress means to hold it down to restrain it when i think of the word suppress i'm reminded of the time that our boys built a huge snow ramp near the bottom of the hill behind our home at the time and then they decided to send their youngest brother mike who was just about six at the time down the hill at breakneck speed to try out to see how safe that ramp was and when mike flew about seven feet in the air and grazed a nearby tree in the process causing him of course to scream with terror and pain they all jumped on him not to help him but to hold him down and put their hands over his mouth so dad wouldn't hear him screaming that's a picture of what it means to suppress to hold down the truth they told me that story about 20 years later by the way paul writes god has clearly revealed himself to people everywhere but because they want to run their own life they suppress the truth they simply ignore the truth push it away hold it down in verse 21 paul adds this for although they knew god they neither glorified him as god nor gave thanks to him but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened he says they know that there's a god but because they don't want to to be accountable to him they refuse to acknowledge him to give him the glory or thanks that he deserves instead they attempt to explain god away they make up theories for example of the earth's origin late robert jastrow was an astrophysicist and former director of nasa's goddard institute for space studies he wrote this a number of years ago now we see how the astronomical evidence supports the biblical view of the origin of the world the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of genesis are the same consider the enorm the enormousness of the problem science has proved that the universe exploded into being at a certain moment it asks what cause produced this effect who or what put the matter and energy into the universe and science cannot answer these questions for the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason the story ends like a bad dream he has scaled the mountains of ignorance he is about to conquer the highest peak and as he pulls himself over the final rock he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been there for centuries reading genesis 1 1. in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth the greatest skeptic in the modern world david hume once said allow me to tell you that i never asserted so absurd a proposition that anything might arise without a cause and what these scholars are saying is that every event has a cause think about the design of your car or the cameras in this room or the computer that you are using right now to take in this service online you wouldn't believe for a moment that they were the product of chance no you obviously believe they have a designer and yet some people choose to believe that the mind-boggling vastness of our universe that our eyes which are in 3d color and amazingly complex that our brains which are far greater and more complex than any computer are all a product of chance really brian clark writes that in the movie expelled ben stein poses this question to atheist richard dawkins where did it all begin and he keeps pressing it until dawkins finds himself in a corner unable to give a reasonable explanation to the question of where did it all begin dawkins has nowhere to go and so he finally says well maybe it came from the martians really that's your scientific conclusion it came from the martians even if it came from the martians where did the martians come from this is what paul means when he says their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened although they claim to be wise they become fools and exchange the glory of the immortal god for images rather than embracing and worshiping the god of creation some people will suppress the truth and settle for some of the most outlandish explanations in order to protect their worldview without god and in order to be their own god and do what it is that they want to do but make no mistake as long as we attempt to explain god away and suppress the truth of god we will never understand who we really are why the world is the way it is or if there is any hope beyond the grave and so even though god has clearly revealed himself many people still go their own way by first suppressing the truth and secondly by replacing god with their own god or look at verse 22 although they claimed to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal god for images made to look like a moral human being a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles in verse 25 he puts it this way they exchanged the truth about god for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the creator when we replace god with someone or something else it's called idolatry the making of an idol an idol is anything which takes the focus off of god and puts it on something or someone else when anything is first in my life over god when it is the object of my highest affection that is an idol to me even though in itself it may be a good thing most people in our culture don't worship warden idols the way that ancient civilizations did our idols are more sophisticated we don't worship objects as much as images images of success of status of wealth and also sensuality we worship athletes and movie stars and musicians but the biggest idol often is ourselves we want to be served we want to be the center of the universe we want to be fully in charge with no one telling us how to live remember that was the big temptation that satan gave to adam and eve and they went for it and that leads to paul's third point here let me quickly review first god's revealed himself to all human beings second some people ignore god and suppress the truth of god replacing god with their own god which in some cases is themselves and then thirdly says paul this is what unleashes the wrath of god god's wrath is directed at those who ignore him who suppress the truth about him and replace him with something or someone else now to be clear even though god gets angry at our rebellion and sin his anger is never out of control yes his anger is intense but it is never an impulsive anger or a temper tantrum no god's anger is controlled it is based on his justice and it flows out of his love for us now some people of course when they hear that they bristle at the thought of god being a wrathful god they can accept a god that's loving but they reject a god who is wrathful and yet think about that for a moment if one of your loved ones was beaten mercilessly by a group of thugs and left for dead how would you feel about that if your child was kidnapped and forced into sex slavery how would you feel about that wouldn't you be absolutely enraged and demand justice you see while you're capable of loving you are also capable of being enraged and expressing wrath so why would it be different with god in whose image were made why would people be okay with god being loving but reject that he is also a wrathful just god it just doesn't make any logical sense let me give you another example if your teenage son or daughter was destroying themselves through alcohol or drugs would you just stand by and let them do it or would you be so angry at what those drugs or alcohol are doing to your children or your child you would do everything possible to help them find victory of course you would you love your child absolutely but your righteous anger at how they are destroying themselves through drugs and alcohol compels you to do something about it well again why would we change the rules as it were with god for god to stand idly by while his children whom he loves are destroying themselves or being destroyed by sin would not reflect love but hate the truth is it is precisely because god does love us that he must also be a god of wrath now last time i talked briefly about the righteousness of god and that god is the standard of righteousness or rightness now here's the thing it's his love yes but also his righteousness or his rightness his justice and his anger towards sin that compels god the father son and spirit to find a way to make a way for man to be made right again with holy god so that we would no longer fall under the wrath of god and church this is the good news of the gospel yes what we've talked about today is dark and depressing but it accurately articulates where many people are at and what our problem is it also explains why the wrath of god is directed at those who deliberately ignore him or replace him with something or someone else but god loves us too much to leave us there god has made a way through christ something that cost god the father dearly he gave us his one and only son to pay for our sin and rebellion on the cross turn over to romans 5 9. paul writes since we have been justified by his blood how much more shall we be saved from god's wrath through him do you hear what paul's saying if you are a christ follower and have sincerely put your faith in christ and his righteousness then you need never fear the wrath of god again and the verse that we just read in romans 5 tells us why it says that christ took all of god's wrath that was directed at us upon himself while on the cross and we are now in him clothed and hidden in his righteousness now make no mistake like any loving father he does discipline us that's what love does a loving father will not stand by and let his son or daughter hurt or destroy themselves a loving father disciplines and also prunes because he wants to see his children grow and become all that they were created to be but as his children we no longer fall under his wrath rather we fall under his grace and that's because jesus who knew no sin became sin for us on the cross he became a curse for us jesus had never known anything but face-to-face fellowship with the father and spirit they worked together in the in creating the world they deeply loved one another and are one another's delight but galatians 3 13 tells us that out of this incredible love for us jesus bore our sins the full wrath of god directed at our sins was directed at him and he became a curse for us and jesus hung on the cross the pain from the nails was nothing to jesus compared to the horror of god's wrath toward all of our sins and all of the ugliest sins of humanity being poured on him and even more so the horror of being separated from his heavenly father during that dark hour causing jesus to cry out my god my god why have you forsaken me jesus did that so that by placing our trust in him we would be saved and become the righteousness of god in christ friends this is the good news of the gospel because of what jesus accomplished through his death and resurrection the conflict between you and god is over he sees you completely different now you're no longer the object of his wrath no you are now the object of his love and his grace god is no longer your judge he is your loving father and so in a few moments when we take the bread and the cup say lord jesus thank you that by your grace the war is over thank you for taking upon yourself the wrath of god that was directed toward me thank you for the peace the freedom and the victory i have within when you take the bread and the cup surrender your life to him anew commit to serving him with all of your heart not because you have to but because you genuinely want others to experience the joy of the lord in this life and to escape an eternity separated from god if anyone here has not put their trust in christ i plead with you not to leave here today without responding to his invitation to come home remembering the words of john 3 36 whoever believes in the son has eternal life but whoever rejects the son will not see life for god's wrath remains on them may this be the day you put your trust in jesus and pass from spiritual death to everlasting life to the glory of god would you just bow your heads let's just prepare ourselves now as we partake of communion in luke chapter 22 the disciples were gathered they were celebrating the passover with jesus and jesus said i have eagerly desired to eat this passover with you before i suffer after taking the cup he gave thanks and he said take this and divide it among yourselves for i tell you i will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of god comes he took the bread gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying this is my body given for you do this in remembrance of me heavenly father we praise and thank you today for your grace and mercy and for saving us from our sins through your son jesus we will never fully understand lord you're loving the price that you paid when you gave your one and only son to die in our place and jesus we will never fully understand the greatness of your love for us and what it costs you to take the wrath of god's justice directed at us upon yourself but we stop right now to remember and to give thanks and to worship you for your unfathomable love and grace extended to us even while we were yet sinners and rebellious toward you forgive us lord for those times we have ignored you those times lord we have gone our own way those times we've taken you and your grace for granted cleanse us of sin lord renew us by your holy spirit and that we may love you and magnify your holy name bless and sanctify with your word and spirit these gifts of bread and fruit of the vine that we receiving thee may be partakers of your divine nature through jesus christ our lord who taught us to say when we pray our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name hal thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever amen now friends if you don't have to be a member of our church to partake if you have earnestly repented of your sins put your trust in jesus christ the scriptures declare that you are his spiritual child and you are worthy to come to his table not because of what you have done but because of what jesus did for you and for me so if you've embraced jesus as lord and savior if you're in right relationship with others i'm going to invite you to join in on the celebration of this holy sacrament so at this time just take this cup tear off that top portion take out the wafer and jesus took the bread and he said this is my body broken for you take eat in remembrance of me and as you take of it cast your cares upon him because he cares for you let's take of it together and then jesus took the cup and he said this cup is the new testament in my blood this do you as often as you take it in remembrance of me let's take it together and as you do receive his grace his forgiveness with thanksgiving we're going to close our time by giving thanks to our lord in song for all that he has done why don't you just stand together as we just worship him at this time [Music] jesus [Music] messiah oh and thank you oh my god [Music] for giving [Music] the work on [Music] we thank you lord there is a redeemer [Music] jesus god's own son [Music] [Music] to oh thank you and thank you [Music] is [Music] thank you and thank you [Music] is [Music] on earth [Music] the word on earth [Music] [Music] if god's been speaking to you i'm just going to invite the pastors the prayer partners just to make their way up here instead of going out the back come and pray with one of them before you do now may the lord bless you and keep you may the lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you the lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his precious peace in the name of god the father the son and the holy spirit amen god be with you [Music] well hey center street online i'm not sure how that resonated with you but it hit me in a few different pieces just that whole understanding of the wrath of god but also that such the good news of jesus and what he does in our lives as i was sitting and listening to pastor henry here's what i wanted to let you know that on monday towards the end of the day on monday you can go to our web page and download a sermon study guide as i was thinking about that and listening to those words i wondered about myself if i wanted to go deeper so i want to invite you to do that this week it doesn't matter of whatever group you're in take a few moments take a look at that download it's right on our web page you can see it under our resources take a look at that so my hope and prayer is this has been also eye-opening and encouraging for you as we look at this upcoming weeks so god bless you thanks for joining us here this evening we wish you the blessings of the lord and we'll see you next week here at center street church online god bless [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] so so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] do [Music] do [Music] [Music] so [Music] so so [Music] you

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Id: EwHZ-3QZWDk

Length: 110min 34sec (6634 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 18 2021