9am LIVE | Centre Street Church

bye bye so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] good morning everyone we are so glad that you are joining us live from our central campus in our 9 a.m service where center street church one church in many locations and we are so glad that you are here with us now friends i want to remind you that god is so pleased that you have made the choice to join us for worship but we all walk into worship hearing different things from our week right different emotions and we create excuses like i'm just so tired i'm just so angry i'm just so busy i need to multitask while i take this service in this time will be what you make of it and i want to encourage you that whatever you're carrying god is there with you and he loves you in that and so take a moment right now to turn your heart towards god so that you can fully surrender in worship take his word in and come expect it so that he has something for you now throughout this service just check out the notes section in the chat for ways that you can connect with us ways that you can grow in your faith ways that you can partner with us and what god is doing at center street church and ways that we can be praying for you [Music] do good morning center street church family and welcome on this beautiful end of september day i don't know if you got a chance to see the sunrise this morning but it was spectacular and what a blessing it just reveals to us the glory of god and there's a great passage of scripture that just is a great celebration of who god is and and his work and nature and creation and in salvation so i'm going to invite you to stand with us and you're welcome to join me as i read together psalm 98 is our call to worship psalm 98 sing to the lord a new song for he has done marvelous things his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him the lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations he has remembered his love and his faithfulness to israel all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our god so shout for joy to the lord all the earth burst into jubilant song with music make music to the lord with the harp the harp and the sound of singing with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn shout for joy before the lord the king let the sea resound and everything in it the world and all who live in it let the rivers clap their hands let the mountains sing together for joy let them sing before the lord for he comes to judge the earth he will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity let's pray together almighty god you have created the heavens and the earth and ourselves and your image teach us to discern your hand in all your works and to serve you with reverence and thanksgiving through jesus christ our lord who lives alive and reigns with you and the holy spirit one god now and forever amen sing praise to the lord praise to the lord the almighty the king of greece o my soul praise him for he is thy help and salvation come on [Music] join me [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] and so gently [Music] and by his races [Music] praise to the lord who will prosper your word and defend you surely his goodness [Music] what the almighty can do [Music] [Music] [Music] it [Applause] [Music] [Music] earth and to pray [Music] praise to the lord [Music] that has life and breath come now with praises before him let me a man from his people again gladly forever [Music] [Music] matthew 11 28 to 3 30 we hear these words of jesus come to me all you who are weary and burdened and i will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for i am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your soul for my yoke is easy and my burden is light so let us celebrate our god's great love [Music] no more [Music] come find his mercy come to the table he will satisfy the taste of his goodness find what you're looking for for god's soul [Music] [Music] [Music] bring all your failures bring your addictions lay them down at the foot of the cross jesus is waiting there with openness for is [Music] [Music] is praise god praise god from whom all blessings flow praise him praise him for the wonders of his love praise god praise god from whom all blessings flow praise him praise him is [Applause] [Music] in is we'll live forever walking in freedom for god so loved god so love the world [Music] bring all your failures bring your addictions come lay them down at the foot of the cross jesus is waiting god so loved the world amen what an amazing truth for us to declare together and i'm going to invite you to to sit down for just a moment here and uh you know it's uh it's great that god has provided salvation for us who needed it in my reading this week in james 4 i was reminded that we are all sinners of in need of forgiveness i'm a sinner in need of forgiveness in james 4 it says come near to god and he will come near to you wash your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded if anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it it is sin for them so we're going to take an opportunity for corporate and then personal confession and really this is a call to acknowledge and forsake sin against god and one another and then there's an invitation to receive the assurance of a new identity in the finished work of christ so pray with me please oh jesus you have called us to love you with our whole heart mind soul and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves but we confess many times and in many ways we have not lived this way so lord have mercy on us christ have mercy and forgive us our sins so i'm going to invite you to take a moment in silence just to bring any individual confessions to god this morning or confessions of sin and then we'll continue in a time of confession and worship through song so let's just take a moment [Music] me [Music] for what we have done and left undone we fall on your countless mercies for sins that are known and those unknown we call on your name so holy for enemy and bride forecloses [Music] [Music] how deeply we need a savior lord have mercy christ have mercy [Music] lord have mercy christ have mercy lord have mercy [Music] invite you stand with us for what you have done your life of love you perfectly love we praised your eyes you finished the word god gave [Music] betrayal [Music] lord have mercy [Music] lord have mercy on [Music] christ have mercy lord mercy on us lord have mercy christ have mercy lord have mercy [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] lord have mercy christ have mercy lord have mercy on us lord have mercy christ have mercy lord mercy on us lord have mercy christ have mercy on lord have mercy christ have mercy lord have mercy on us lord have mercy christ have mercy lord have mercy on us lord have lord have mercy [Music] for all who put their hope in the finished work of jesus hear your assurance christ jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised and is at the right hand of god interceding for you in christ you are more than conquerors through him who loved you for i am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else and all creation will be able to separate you from the love of god in christ jesus our lord can we together say thanks be to god [Music] hear the savior say thy strength indeed is more child of weakness watch and pray find in me thine all in know jesus paid it all [Music] [Applause] he washed it white as [Music] lord now indeed [Music] [Music] jesus paid it off [Music] he was [Music] for my fingernails [Music] [Music] jesus christ [Music] he was [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] before [Music] jesus [Music] jesus [Music] he was [Music] let's pray god we come together as a church family and we declare that you are our king you are the king of kings you are our father you are our savior and god we desire to make you our everything and we are sorry for the times when we make you our something when we allow sin to creep into our lives and we don't notice until we see the crimson stain but by your love by your grace by your mercy you save us you provide a way to make us white as snow you sent your perfect son jesus to die for us to pay for our sins and we thank you for that now god pastor henry is bringing a powerful word to us this morning and he is going to help us to understand sin and your grace would you open our mind would you open our hearts for what you have to teach us today and would you anoint pastor henry and god we continue now in worship and adoration of you by giving to you from what you have given to us god would you multiply it would you use it in powerful ways for more people to be made white as snow for more people to experience your love and your grace in your name we pray amen you may be seated god is all about changing lives and we want to celebrate that last weekend during our young adults retreat three young adults made the choice to follow jesus and one was baptized i know it's only 9 a.m but we should be more excited about this now god is always at work in our lives he is here right now he is working in your life he is there with you right now and he is at work in your life and it is when we step out and we live life the way that god intended that he can bring about change now he intended for us to live life in community with him and with others and we see the way that jesus modeled that in scripture as he lived life in community with his father and with his disciples a spiritual family now kovit has made it very challenging for us to live life in community but there are ways to live life in community safely and creatively and so if you don't have spiritual family if you need community we have an incredible experience coming up called taste and see where for eight weeks we get to experience spiritual family and we encourage you to check that out now god also designed us to serve him he created us all so uniquely because he has a special purpose in our lives in how he wants to use us to accomplish his purposes and so we have a class coming up discover your design where we go into how god created you your personality your strengths and abilities and where he may be calling you to serve to accomplish his purposes and so we encourage you to check that out as well now parents kids grandparents grab your october ministry boxes they're ready to go as you leave at the connect area if you're joining us online come this week and pick yours up it's a highlight for our family every week and i really encourage you to take the time and spiritually invest into your grandchildren and into your children in this fun and creative way now if you have questions about anything that i've talked about just come and see us at the connect area after the service if you're new here you probably have a lot of questions about what you're hearing and what you're experiencing and we'd love to meet you and just get to know you a little bit better if you're joining us online this is all in the notes section of this stream as well now we're going to watch a video update from pastor wayne hey doug i saw the bears paw video on the weekend today's the day fantastic and today's the day for central here today is the day so excited today's the day today is the day no it's not wayne but we can go have a look let's go take a look at how it's coming along hey center street welcome to the center for the city this is where the compassionate ministries and the new canadian friendship center come together to offer hope help and healing to the communities and it's going to be a fantastic amazing space to do that now that area is where parents can connect and wait have a cup of coffee because their kids are in the play area in the play zone having fun making new friends an opportunity for everybody to come here and be connected and together when you look over here just beyond these columns this is going to be classroom and meeting space work studies classes connection points are going to happen it's going to be a fantastic space for so many uses hey right behind me is the expansion of our chapel which will give us so much more room for weddings funerals banquets and so much connection with the community and now as you look over here here is the new csc gymnasium where we're going to be able to connect with our friends and family crossover sports connection points for youth children and adults all happening here on the new csc gym and welcome to the fourth floor this is where multi-purpose rooms are going to be staff offices are going to be and other areas of the church are being relocated on this fourth floor and that concludes our tour but today is not the day that we're moving in but it is a day that we start to prepare our hearts for one heart at a time to be changed one prayer at a time one day at a time as we look forward to what god's gonna do in the incredible future god bless you we'll see you soon [Music] amen something definitely worth celebrating well we do welcome all of you who are joining us online and those of you who are meeting here at central campus along with those of you who are meeting together at our other campuses in every bridgeland south calgary and also in bears paw well we're in a new series in the book of romans and so i'm going to invite you to open your bibles or your bible apps to romans chapter 1. now paul essentially addresses two questions here in verses 18 to 32 why is god's wrath being revealed and the second question is how is god's wrath being revealed now we address the first question of why god's wrath is being revealed last time but it is key to understanding the scripture that we're looking at today so here is a quick recap first of all in verses 19 to 20 paul writes that god has and he continues to reveal himself to people everywhere in two ways outwardly through his awesome creation and inwardly through his through his inner through the inner awareness of god a god-given conscience a moral code written on our hearts by god himself regardless of where a person lives or has lived every person knows that there is a god because god has revealed himself to them and therefore they are without excuse now in verse 20 to paul goes on to say even though god has clearly revealed his reality people replace god with idols they suppress the truth of god they explain god away because they don't want god messing with their lives and when people do this he says three things happen first god's wrath is revealed or it's directed at their rejection of him second their thinking becomes foolish and thirdly as we see in our study today their lives begin to fall off the rails morally speaking as they spiral deeper and deeper into a selfish immoral hedonistic way of life or in paul's words into wickedness which brings us to our scripture lesson today i'm going to invite you to stand and join me as we read a portion of our scripture lesson together beginning in verse 24. 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 because of this god gave them over to shameful lusts even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones in the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error let us pray our heavenly father we thank you for your word and its instruction in life and lord we ask that you would now focus our minds that you would teach us from your word you would soften our hearts and lord you'd give us the courage to be who you call us to be and to do what you call us to do for i pray it all in the precious name of jesus amen you may be seated in luke chapter 15 jesus tells the story of a young man who became convinced that he was missing out on all the fun in life by continuing to live at home he wants to be free he wants to enjoy his life to live it the way that he wants to and so he informs his father of his desire to leave and that he'd also like to receive his share of his inheritance before he leaves which is one of the most humiliating things for a son to ask his father in that day the father is heartbroken he's also concerned for his son because he's seeing this played out in the lives of many other people over the years and he wishes his son would have a change of heart but his son is determined and so the father makes the agonizing decision to let his son go and gives him his share of his inheritance the son bursts out of the house saying to himself finally i'm free i'm free unfortunately he has no idea of what awaits him he has no idea of the mess the pain despair that he's gonna face in time especially when his money runs out and the partying is over and here in this passage we just read the apostle paul says in the same way that the father in this parable let go released his son as it were there comes a time when god does the same thing with those who reject him when people keep suppressing the truth when people uh keep ignoring god replacing god with counterfeit idols and continue their wicked lives there comes a time when god gives them over in fact this is how god reveals his wrath notice in verse 18 paul doesn't say the wrath of god will be revealed in other words on on the day of judgment and some future date no it says here the wrath of god is being revealed it's being revealed right now god is judging godlessness and wickedness right now in the present so how is he doing that well he lets people have their own way look at verse 24 and then verse 26 and verse 28. they all start out with the phrase god gave them over so what does the phrase god gave them over mean does it mean god gives up on them not at all it means he allows people who have pushed him away to have their own way to do their own thing and to live with the consequences of their choices god's present judgment is if if you want to sin if you want to keep insisting on doing it your way then i'm going to light you but as verse 27 says you will reap the consequences of doing so you know people especially in our society they think that they're free to do whatever they want and that's largely true but they are not free to escape the consequences of their choices i mean for example let's say that a fellow stands on top of banker's hall in downtown calgary declaring i'm free to jump off this building if i want to and let's say to prove his point he actually does about 20 stories down he waves at people in their offices and says you know so far so good but the truth is now that he's jumped he's no longer free he is now a slave he is now a victim to the law of gravity folks when we break god's law and god's principles they break us god is a good god and he has our best interests at heart in all things he never gives us a negative command without a positive purpose when we ignore his ways we may think that there's no cost but there always is in this verse god's speaking specifically about those who reject him he's talking here to unbelievers or he's talking about unbelievers and what's implied in this verse is that before god gives the unbeliever over they are still the recipient of a certain amount of god's grace protection and watch care otherwise there would be nothing for god to restrain or for god to give them over to but god actually restrains or holds back the evil one from carrying out his sinister agenda not only on believers but also unbelievers because of god's unrelenting love and desire to reveal himself to them to get their attention and to draw them to himself but when an unbeliever and i might add an entire society or an entire people group when they continue to rebel and suppress and exchange god's truth for a lie and essentially says i want nothing to do with you god or your truth god says okay have it your way we'll let it play out the way that you want and make no mistake this is not a position a person ever wants to find themselves in to have god give you over now romans 1 teaches that god gives people who replace him over to three counterfeit idols sexual impurity shameful lusts and a depraved mind let's unpack these a little bit first of all god gives them over to sexual impurity look at verse 24 therefore god gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another so what is sexual impurity well as we're going to see in a moment is the same as sexual immorality now if we want to know what god's moral standard for sex is we need to go back to creation back to the beginning so turn to genesis chapter 2 verse 24 says this for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh this scripture spells out god's design for sexual intimacy it is to be between a man and a woman who are united in marriage in fact for those who believe this is just an old testament an old school an outdated teaching in matthew 19 verse 5 jesus quoted this verse clearly affirming this to be god's moral context for sexual intimacy so here's the thing if this statement is god's moral standard for sexual intimacy then we can conclude that any sexual relations outside of this context is immoral or unacceptable to god so when we read for example in ephesians 5 3 but among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or any kind of impurity we know that this is referring to any sexual intimacy happening outside of a committed marriage relationship between a man and a woman now let me just say that if you have a non-biblical or a non-christian world view you may not agree with what the bible teaches here at all in fact we as christians shouldn't expect those who aren't followers of jesus to embrace this or any other christian ethic i'm just articulating what the bible teaches is god's design for sexuality now in verse 25 when paul writes they exchanged the truth about god for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the creator who is forever praised amen the lie that he's referring to here is people saying you know what god i don't believe that if i follow you that my life is going to be fulfilling and joy-filled i think if i follow you my life's going to be miserable and so i'm going to take control of my life and i'm going to live my life the way i want to live because i believe i know better than you what's going to make me happy and fulfilled in life it's the same lie that adam and eve fell for when satan suggested that god didn't really have their best interest at heart he was really out to destroy their happiness and their fun and of course god gave them over to what they wanted and that was the beginning of the mess that we see our world is in today on so many different levels now paul's description here in verse 24 to 27 sounds very much like our sex-centric culture today the well-known founder of a pornographic empire who is now deceased once boldly declared his worldview of sexuality and freedom this way he said sex is a biological function like eating and drinking so let's forget all the prudery about it and do what we feel like doing well that is the thinking and the world view of many in our culture today who are trying to put a band-aid on their sore soul through their new god of sex now the notion that sex is just a necessary biological function like eating well paul says it's a lie that is deceiving and it's hurting people anyone who has counsel people knows the relational the the emotional the spiritual devastation and hurt and even the physical consequences of sexual sin and much more it could be said about this sad reality but we need to move on so first of all when we reject or replace god he gives us over to sexual impurity secondly he gives us over to shameful lusts look at verse 26 again paul writes because of this god gave them over to shameful lusts even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones in the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their heir now i don't have to tell you that there are a few scriptures that have the potential of upsetting more people in our culture than this one over the years i've had many emotionally and and and sometimes tear-filled conversations with people to know that this is a difficult subject for those who have same-sex attraction or those who self-identify as gay or homosexual or have loved ones and friends or working associates who are and so before i talk about this passage specifically i want you to know my heart and also to acknowledge that we as christians have not always communicated the truth of scripture in love in our teaching we have not always demonstrated the spirit and the compassion of christ but rather that of judgment and condemnation and so on behalf of all christians who would acknowledge this has been true of them i'd like to apologize and say how sorry i am and that we are for this we have not always represented the spirit of christ as he calls us to but having acknowledged that i also need to say be because i believe to the core of my being that god that the god of the bible is all-powerful all-knowing and everywhere present that the god of the bible is sovereign holy and just and he's also loving and gracious and good i along with other christ followers have chosen i've chosen to worship believe and trust my creator with all of my heart i've chosen to entrust my life the direction and the focus of my life my future my eternal destiny everything in my life to the lord to my lord and king jesus christ and what that means practically is he is my true north when it comes to knowing what's right and wrong what's really important in life and what's going to matter most when it's all said and done it means i believe to the core of my being that he is the truth and his way is the best way to live and to experience this life to the full of course i don't always live out his ways faithfully in fact i fall short often but i diligently seek to grow in my faith and understanding of his word and then with the spirit's help to be and do what he calls me to be and to do when i teach a passage of scripture as i am now my goal is always to help us understand as clearly as possible what was being said to the people of that day including the background and the context of the passage and then how that applies to us in our present day context now i say all of that because when i when we come to passages like we're looking at right now romans 1 26 and 27 and i do my best to explain its meaning and its application it's important that you understand that this isn't about hatred or bigotry or wanting to pick a fight or about wanting to incite hatred or homophobia this is just an honest sincere attempt to understand what the bible is teaching and what god is saying to us through this passage and i say this because when people disagree with one another in our day instead of having a a mature civil kind respectful and reasonable dialogue too often one or both parties employ ruthless tactics via social media and other means to shame to stereotype to label and demonize the other in fact it's well known that many special interest groups today are unashamedly doing this they've written books articles declaring that this is their strategy for dealing with those who have different beliefs than they do now here's the thing no mentally or emotionally healthy person likes being labeled no one likes being shamed called names or demonized same-sex attracted people don't people of different races religions or political stripes don't pro-vaxxers and anti-vaxxers don't and neither do christians my challenge to all of us is this whatever your worldview is whatever your convictions are when you are tempted to label shame demonize or cancel a person or a group of people that you don't agree with please realize that there is a difference between accepting someone and agreeing with someone and what i mean is i may not agree with you i may even despise what you believe but if i have any honor and integrity as a human being not to mention as a christian i should treat you with dignity and respect as a fellow human being if i can't or won't then i am as guilty of the hate the bigotry or whatever else it is that i'm accusing you of now as much as christians need to learn this difference so do those who do not embrace the christian worldview brexit cavey puts it this way he says it is possible for someone to believe homosexual behavior is sinful just as they believe heterosexual sex outside of biblical marriage is sinful but that doesn't make them a bigot a hate monger or homophobic get to know us enough he says to see that we don't have to divide our thought world into gay or straight or that we teach people must change their sexual orientation in order to follow jesus no we invite all people to change their spiritual orientation toward god and their fellow human beings so whatever our world view let's stop the labels and the and the attacks and let's sit down together in a mutual and a respectable way and if in the end we don't agree let's continue to treat one another with dignity and respect and just acknowledge that we embrace different worldviews or we see things differently well that was a sermon in itself but i believe it was necessary preparation for our examination of these two verses verse 26 and 27 now this is one of the clearest scriptures on how god views homosexual behavior not same-sex attraction but homosexual behavior and i hope you're seeing the difference let me be clear same-sex attraction is not the same as acting on it in the same way being tempted to be sexually intimate with someone of the opposite sex that you're not married to is different than following through with that temptation as christians we believe that jesus is our lord and he is the source of our identity not our past not our biology or our desires i am not suggesting that we can choose our sexual orientation i'm saying we can all choose how we will live and how we will behave regardless of our sexual orientation we are all sexually broken people and tempted to act out sexually in inappropriate ways and so having clarified that what paul is articulating here in these verses is that when a female has sex with another female or a male has sex with another male it goes against god's design the word unnatural here literally means against nature or against god's design you'll recall in genesis 1 27 it says this god created mankind in his own image in the image of god he created them male and female he created them god says here we are created in his image and we're created male and female which indicates that he intended our sexuality to be tied to the image of god in which we are created and then right after that in genesis 1 28 god gives his first command to be fruitful and increase in numbers in other words he tells the male and the female who remember back in verse 24 he refers to his husband and wife he tells them to be sexually intimate you see god intended for the marriage covenant and sexual intimacy between a husband and a wife to be a picture or an example of the spiritual intimacy that god wants to have with us which explains why all the way through scripture the relationship between god and his people is often pictured as the relationship shared between a husband and wife or christ the groom and his bride the church now rick mckinley brings this right home to the thinking of our current culture he says many people today literally place their hope for fulfillment and satisfaction in life on sex the thinking goes like this if i can't express myself sexually as i want well that's oppressive to me if i can't have sex with whoever i want and when i want then that is oppressive to me and if god forbids it well then he's unloving and he's not a good god and anyone who teaches that god forbids it forbids it is also unloving and oppressive he says those who embrace this worldview often decide not to marry because they don't want to have sex with just one person the rest of their life they think i need to be i need to sexually express myself because it is the pathway to fulfillment and satisfaction and friends this worldview includes every type of sex outside of biblical marriage including homosexuality premarital sex adultery even pornography and you see this is a description of idolatry rather than letting god be the ultimate object of our worship and our gratitude we reject him in favor of our counterfeit gods that we believe will bring us true satisfaction including of course the god of sex the god of body image the god of materialism the god of power or position or fame paul writes idolatry or worshiping the things that god created is a big fat lie it may satisfy for a time but ultimately these counterfeit gods will leave you empty and hollow and filled with despair and regret one day make no mistake sex and all of these other temporary earthly things we tend to give our lives to are a gift from god but they were never intended to replace god now when it comes to their view of sex some people look at paul's reference to natural and unnatural sexual relations here in these verses and they argue that homosexual sex is okay if it feels natural to the person mckinley says but that is not what paul's talking about here he's talking about what is natural and unnatural in relation to god's design within creation i mean if paul were talking about what feels natural then every person who wants to sleep with someone not their spouse would justify their sin by saying this feels natural to me in fact on this basis people could defend sexism they could defend racism and a host of other ungodly attitudes depending on what feels natural to them but you see true followers of christ don't go down this road because their greatest desire is to honor their lord and his design for sex and to obey him a christ follower has a conviction that says i do not need to indulge every desire that i have even legitimate desires because the faith adventure that god has invited me into is so much more fulfilling and satisfying than anything these counter-cultural idols can offer providing of course that i take his invitation seriously and jump in with both feet by the way i wasn't talking about counter cultural idols i was talking about counterfeit idols just want to be clear on that folks when sex or any other idol becomes the hope of our soul the object of our highest affection we are in danger of losing ourselves and all that god has ordained for us this principle is even true for the husband who puts his hope for fulfillment and satisfaction in his sexual relationship with his wife even in a relationship that god has blessed if a spouse makes sex an idol not only will he or she frustrate their partner and put their marriage in jeopardy but we'll find that even a even a satisfying intimacy with one spouse can't fulfill the deep yearning for intimacy in his soul because the intimacy that our heart really craves for cannot be found in anything or anyone but a friendship with god and god alone and so to recap paul writes that when people reject or replace god with earthly idols god gives them over to sexual impurity and also to shameful lusts and then thirdly he gives us over to a depraved mind look at verse 28. in fact let's read it together furthermore just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of god so god gave them over to a depraved mind so that they do what ought not to be done they have become filled with every kind of wickedness evil greed and depravity they are full of envy murder strife deceit and malice they are gossips slanderers god haters insolent arrogant and boastful they invent ways of doing evil they disobey their parents they have no understanding no fidelity no love no mercy although they know god's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them now so often when we read and we study passages like we're looking at today we we get fixated on the passages about the sexual immorality and homosexual behavior that we just looked at and we sort of see those as the ultimate sins and yet far too often we skim over the 21 additional sins that paul lays out here in verse 28 that we just read together all these sins not just sexual sins but all of these sins are a picture of how depraved and wicked we are capable of becoming without god reject or replace god and you know what happens it's all about me all that matters is that my needs and my wants get met for example in paul's day if a roman man didn't like his slave he could kill him on the spot without penalty if a baby wasn't the right sex or something less than perfect or an inconvenience they could throw them on the street to starve and to die historians tell us there could could be 30 to 40 babies abandoned on the street or out in the countryside at any one time we see this is what happens to us as human as humanity when we reject god and god in return gives us over paul says god gives us over to our greed to our selfishness our lack of generosity our stinginess he gives us over to our envy to our gossip to our slander to our arrogance and our dishonesty and our deceit he gives us over to our our our incitement of strife and division our lack of mercy and passion for god as christians we're often good at labeling some sins as oh they're just terrible and others as well you know not so bad sometimes we look at some people and judgmentally think to ourselves you know your sins are appalling they are disgusting and yet we think that you know our sins aren't nearly as bad but the reality is we've all been on this long list that paul gives here we've all served the things that god created rather than the creator and we still do at times but as i wrap up let me remind you of the gospel and how jesus changes everything including the ugliness of all the sins that paul talks about here those of us who have acknowledged our sin and our selfishness and have humbled ourselves and asked god for his grace and his forgiveness and put our trust in the in the risen lord let's remember paul's healing words in first corinthians 6 11 where he reminds us of our sinful past and then he says and that is what some of you were but you aren't that anymore because you were washed you were sanctified you were justified in the name of the lord jesus christ and by the spirit paul says when you put your trust in jesus you are a new creation in him your prima primary identity is no longer based on what you were but based upon who you are now in jesus christ you are no longer the object of god's wrath you are now the object of his love and his grace you are now the son and daughter of the king of kings and the lord of lords can you say amen to that folks because jesus paid it all on the cross god is no longer your judge but he's your loving father now you are in christ and he is in you which means it's a new day the old is gone the new has come the core of your personhood is in him folks this is a massive gospel declaration for anyone who bears guilt and and shame over past sinful behavior or is confused about their sexual orientation it's a declaration of freedom true freedom mckinley says not freedom that comes from finding our hope in sex but freedom that says you can come out of the closet in your faith community you can wrestle with these things with others because you're with a whole bunch of people that are coming out of the closet so to speak who are being open and and being transparent about the sin and the stuff that's going on in their lives like those that are listed here and together the community of faith is seeking the lord's grace and forgiveness and power to live in victory over them we're in this together friends we're not alone that's what the church should be and that's the kind of church that i believe that christ calls us to be not a church that waters down and explains away all these tough passages on sin and just affirms people to live any way that they feel like living which is like a doctor telling a person that they're healthy when the reality is they're sick and they're dying folks that is so deceptive no we must not be a church like this we must not compromise or explain away the truth but neither should we as a church be a church that's quick to communicate condemnation with a with our condescending attitudes and judgmental words and posters and refuse to love and befriend people who need jesus now i'm talking about a church that doesn't compromise the scriptures but also embraces and welcomes those whose worldview and whose lifestyle we don't agree with a church that creates a safe place not for people who just want to pick a fight not for people who just want to demonize us and and judge us with unkind labels but people who are genuinely seeking spiritual answers and what it means to be a friend of jesus you know if you'd like to learn more about god's design for sexuality about finding and living in freedom i just want to encourage you to go through the by design series that we did back in 219 which you will find on our website under sermons i'll close with this a young boy pleaded with his mother who was a single mom to please buy him a playstation she would be the best and the most loving mom ever if she bought him a playstation his mother loved him dearly and so even though she couldn't really afford it she bought him a playstation for his birthday well on his birthday when he opened her gift he was through the roof with joy and excitement he hugged his mom and then he hugged her again and again and again he set up his playstation he spent the rest of the day playing it the next day his mother looked forward to spending some time together but he begged her for permission to play with the playstation instead and with the passing of time she regretted getting him the playstation because he had become the object it had become the object of his affection rather than their relationship and church so it is with our god in so many areas of our lives including sex or maybe a relationship with a special person or a position or our possessions or any other good earthly gift that god gives to us when that gift becomes more important to us than the giver when the gift becomes the object of our highest affection god's grieved because we've settled for lesser things things that may bring pleasure for a time but do not satisfy in the long run and will disappoint one day friends don't give yourself to the lesser things of life now give yourself completely to the one who created you the one who loves you more than you'll ever know jesus can be completely and totally trust trustworthy he loves you right where you are you can trust him with your sexuality with your career your relationships your life your eternity you know he taught us through his own life it is possible to live life to the fullest as a celibate single man and so as we close i ask you in whom or in what are you really trusting your creator or the things that he's created among the thousands who are hearing me in person and online today i'm confident that many of you can say without reservation my trust is in the lord my creator and we just need to give god the glory for that however i would like to challenge you just to take a little test before you leave here today or if you can't take a few moments to do it here do it at home sit down and read through verses 18 to 32 again before you read it ask the lord to show you if there's any attitude any behavior any area of disobedience in your life that reveals that you're actually worshiping and putting your trust in the things god created in that area rather than worshiping and trusting your creator and as you read ask the lord what are you saying to me and what is it you want me to do about it now among the many who are listening to me right now i'm sure there are some who would have to acknowledge that you're at the center of your life not god you want to be your own god you want to run your own life and do things your way the question i want you to reflect on now but also this week is how has that been working for you i mean honestly now deep down inside how satisfying how fulfilling has it been more importantly moments after you die and you face your creator on judgment day what will you say to him about why you ignored him or rejected him friend may whatever will be most important to you moments after you die be most important to you now let's bow our heads let's close our eyes let's ask the lord two questions that we become accustomed to asking lord what are you saying to me and what do you want me to do about it and then the moment we're going to respond to our lord in song let's just take a moment and do that right now [Music] suddenly [Music] we hear christ be magnified we're the earth echoing his eminence his name would burst from rivers [Music] we'd hear christ being making me find singing christ be magnified just let his praise arise christ be manifest [Music] [Applause] christ be magnified [Music] when every creature finds its innermost melody and every human of my life [Music] [Music] let's declare this together [Music] and i won't bow to wise i'll stand strong and worship you if it puts [Music] [Music] and if the cross bridge transformation i'll be crucified with you cause death is just adoring into resurrection if i join you in your suffering with all the angels and the saints my child will still be seen let us [Music] let us [Music] christ be magnified [Music] if you want to put your faith in jesus christ and begin the faith adventure that he wants for you i invite you to talk to one of our pastors and prayer partners who are making their way up here right now or to contact one of the prayer partners on the chat line we'd just love to explain to you how you can begin a friendship with jesus and to pray with you if you have a prayer need perhaps apart from anything that we've talked about today they'd love to pray with you as well now may the lord bless you and keep you may the lord make his face to shine upon you and to 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 if you have made a choice to follow jesus to start a friendship with jesus we are celebrating with you right now if you have sensed that prompting in your heart and you have not taken that step you have not prayed that prayer you haven't reached out to someone in the chat right now this is your moment do not delay any longer you will find fullness of life and it will change everything so please reach out to one of our chat hosts right now they would love to pray with you for those of you that are following jesus i just want to remind you of what henry encouraged us to do and that is in reviewing chapter 1 of romans verse 18 through to the end and as you're reading that ask god to show you if there is any attitude any behavior any area of disobedience in your life that reveals that you are worshiping the created rather than the creator so please do that it is in doing that self-examination work with god when we listen to him that he changes our heart and that reflects in our entire life so take a moment to do that today we are praying for you as you go through this week now we are excited for you to join us next weekend again whether it's online or in person just remember to reserve your seat we are just so grateful to be able to gather with you we'll see you next week everyone bye [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] um um [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so so [Music] do [Music] do [Music] my so [Music] do [Music] do [Music] [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] do [Music] do so [Music] you

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Published: Sun Sep 26 2021