Speaker 1: 0:06

Good morning. Back to 1 Corinthians. Promises made, promises kept. It's been a long time, hasn't it? 1 Corinthians 13,. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn there.

Speaker 1: 0:24

I was thinking about how appropriate to go back to the love chapter in 1 Corinthians. On Memorial Day weekend, Jesus said greater love has no one than this to lay down his life for one's friends. So we're grateful on this Memorial Day weekend, if you're in the military or were in the military, or you lost a loved one from war, or if you'd stand, we'd like to give honor, go ahead. The Bible says give honor to whom honors do. The Bible says give honor to whom honors do. Thank you.

Speaker 1: 1:14

Well, we're in the middle section here of the love chapter, and verses 4 through 7 is that middle section, and it lays out these characteristics of love. And what we see in these 15 characteristics is that they're actually action verbs. It's not as clear scholars will point out, it's not as clear in the English translation, but they are verbs, and so it shows us how love acts. It shows us how love behaves. We've looked at the two positive characteristics at the beginning of this section Love is patient and kind and then we've also looked at five things that love is not. Five ways. Love does not behave, and you see it in verses four and five. There Love does not envy or boast, it's not arrogant or rude, it does not insist on its own way. And then we begin to look at love at the end of verse 5, and we see it from a little bit of a different angle. How do we respond to others? How do we respond to the darkness in the hearts of others that comes toward us, the lack of love that's in other people that comes to us? How do we respond to the darkness in the hearts of others that comes toward us, the lack of love that's in other people that comes to us? How do we respond to that? Because the Bible says here love and everywhere. In 1 Corinthians 13, it says love. You can say Jesus, love is not irritable or easily provoked. Jesus is not irritable or easily provoked.

Speaker 1: 2:48

The main idea I want to get across to you today, and I'm going to just tell you up front, that God's love and so love is not irritable, it's not easily provoked, even when our hands and feet are pierced by our enemies, by our enemies. The remarkable heart of Jesus Christ, the divine, you see, the divine nature of true love. It's something supernatural. This is not natural to you and me. It's a beautiful, beautiful love. We see this divine love in Christ and we grow. And we grow not to be irritable or not to be easily provoked, not simply by trying harder.

Speaker 1: 3:32

That's Nike's solution. Just do it. It may help you with some exercise, but it's not going to transform your heart. We need more than a technique. We need more than techniques, because the Bible is not just concerned with how we respond outwardly. It's concerned that we are not irritable even within our hearts, that we're not easily provoked even in our hearts. We are to respond outwardly as it flows from the love in our hearts outward. Now, those times we are easily irritated in our heart or provoked in our heart, it's good to restrain our reaction. That's good as far as it goes, but it's not the ultimate goal.

Speaker 1: 4:08

God is always after something much deeper. He sees all things. He sees our hearts, not just our actions. And so, with that brief background, I would like to invite you, if you're able to stand, I want to read from God's Word. I'm just going to read the first eight verses, or at least the beginning of verse eight, through verse eight here. This is the inerrant, infallible, holy word of the living God. Let's receive it now with love and expectation.

Speaker 1: 4:38

Verse one if love speaks in the or if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I'm a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have and if I deliver up my body to be burned but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord endures forever. God's people said amen. You may be seated. Father, thank you for the privilege to come before you, into your presence this morning, in the name of Jesus, and to have you speak to us through your word. May your Holy Spirit take these things and drive them deep into our hearts that they may take root and bear good fruit for your kingdom and for your honor In Jesus' name, amen.

Speaker 1: 6:14

Love is not irritable, even on the Veterans Expressway right. I mentioned driving to the first service and they just burst out laughing. If you've driven around Tampa you'll see it doesn't take a whole lot, does it? You don't have to drive around too long to see. There's things in our hearts that get pricked. Love isn't easily angered. It doesn't let itself be carried away in anger. It's not hot-tempered. You may remember Moses in Numbers 20. He struck the rock twice in anger at Meribah when people were rebelling against his leadership.

Speaker 1: 7:01

Jb Phillips, love is not touchy, it's not thin-skinned, it's not easily offended, it's not exasperated. You know, oh, I've had enough of you. It doesn't go into sudden outbursts of anger. Some will say well, you know, pastor True, I have outbursts of anger. Some will say well, you know, pastor True, I have outbursts of anger. But you know it's over in just a few minutes. John MacArthur says yeah, and so is a nuclear bomb. A lot of damage can be done in a very short amount of time, right, and so we don't want to be preaching those lies to ourself. Let's face it as sinners we can preach nonsense to ourself right, we can do that. A lot of damage can be done quickly.

Speaker 1: 7:56

And so in the church at Corinth people were getting irritated with each other. They were getting provoked by one another. They were getting exasperated by other people. One area of that's the spiritual gifts. This love chapter here is rooted. Chapter 13 is rooted and flows out of chapter 12, where people were using spiritual gifts, but they were using it as if you know, to boast about it, you know my gift's better than your gift, or I'm more important than you, or whatever the case was. And the whole purpose of the love chapter in its original setting here is that use your spiritual gifts to love other people, not as a one-up and pride over other people.

Speaker 1: 8:35

And then, of course, you can think about the social status. People were getting irritated about that. There was classism issues in the Corinthian church. The very wealthy would show up early when they were going to have the Lord's table and wouldn't even wait for some of the common man or the poor folks to show up. And by the time they showed up they got the scraps and the wealthy just kind of gone ahead and had a good time, so to speak, at the Lord's table and the love feast around that, and that's in 1 Corinthians 11.

Speaker 1: 9:04

And so Paul rebukes him for that, and so we can easily feel justified in our irritation or our anger. You see, this is the danger I've said many times in my life I can be most dangerous when I know I'm right Because, you see, if I'm convinced they're wrong and I'm right, well then I'm justified. Because, you see, if I'm convinced they're wrong and I'm right, well then I'm justified. But the Bible teaches us, when we look at Christ, we see that if we don't have the heart of Christ and if we don't respond like Christ, then even when we're right, we can be not right in our response. It's not enough to be right in our position or our point.

Speaker 1: 9:47

Love is concerned about relationships, and so we have to remember that this whole idea of not being irritated or easily provoked, it contains this rude idea of to sharpen, and so you can think about a cattle prod right, and you can think about spurs that a rider kicks into a horse that'll get him going and it provokes him into action. And so what's happening here is this idea, here is it's not irritated, it's not easily provoked. Love is not easily provoked. It's from the passive side. When things happen to us, that's the passive act. But when we're passive and something comes to us, how do we respond to that? What is our action flowing out of that?

Speaker 1: 10:42

When we're poked, when we're sharply prodded by other people, so to speak, can you imagine, with a cattle prod, if you just poked a cow and he just stood there calm? Or a horse, if you kicked it with the spurs and it just remained calm, like Christ, the heart of Christ. It's incredible. It's pure. He's not irritable. That's not how he operates. He's not easily provoked.

Speaker 1: 11:24

Aren't you glad that we don't worship an irritable? That's not how he operates. He's not easily provoked. Aren't you glad that we don't worship an irritable God? Oh, he's having a bad day, run for the hills.

Speaker 1: 11:32

You know the ancient gods, the pagan gods. It was like that. You know the best thing young people can read to dispel them of the Greek gods and all that is to read that stuff and see what nonsense. The gods are fighting each other, they're getting angry and irritated with each other. They're murdering one another. Love is not like that and God is not like that. We hear in Proverbs 27 17,. Iron sharpens iron, there it is. And in Acts 15 39, paul and Barnabas they have a quote sharp disagreement, because they were arguing on whether John Mark should go with Paul on the missionary journey. He didn't go.

Speaker 1: 12:14

So all this is getting at how love responds when we are poked, when we're prodded, when we're sharply nailed to a cross like Christ. One thing that we have to do in the Christian life is we have to be honest, and the only way we can get honest is by looking at the cross, because it's easy for us to say yeah, but well, if only, and just start filling in the blanks. But when we look at Christ, we see that all of our excuses just drop away. There we see something we're not or something we're not yet fully.

Speaker 1: 13:02

David Pryor says love responds well to the weakness of sins and failures of others. Isn't that Christ? Love sees the other person's strengths and their potential rather than their quirks and their foibles. Too often we react to people just as they are in the present. You parents especially, need to remember this. Learn to view your children in light of their potential before God and not just how they've been in the last 10 minutes, and we can lose sight, as parents, of that. In a fallen world, love realizes God's grace isn't done with the other person yet, just like he's not done with us yet, and that's the attitude we need to remember as sinners and as saints. Think of Christ, pull him to mind this morning.

Speaker 1: 14:02

Think about the apostles Now, frankly, how irritating would the apostles been to us at times. They failed to understand the need for Christ to suffer and die. Don't we get frustrated with not understanding God's role for suffering? They argued about who would get the best seats in the coming kingdom of God. Well, if you're going to Disney World, your kids are fighting over where they're going to sit. The apostles were just kind of like that at times. They abandoned Jesus in His darkest hour, when he was suffering and drinking the very cup of hell. When the cosmos went dark for three hours, they fled. But John tells us in John 13, 1, that Jesus loved them to the end and in light of 1 Corinthians 13, it means he wasn't irritated at them, he wasn't easily provoked by them.

Speaker 1: 15:09

How do we treat other Christians? We have to learn to let the gospel. We have to see life through the cross and through the gospel. So when we look at other Christians. We have to put our gospel goggles on and see that they're in Christ and that Christ has died for all of the sins of our brothers and sisters, even the ones that they just committed against us. In the last five minutes They've been thrown into the depths of the sea. Aren't you glad for that? This is our God. He's gracious.

Speaker 1: 15:44

How do we react when those who love Christ and are committed to Christ, nevertheless, when they fail and in a moment of sin, they hurt us or offend us or disappoint us, could be in the church, could be in your family? Let each person examine their own heart before God. Christ died not just for our sins, but he died for the sins of our brothers and sisters. We have to bring that into account in our responses to other people. So Jesus dies not only that our sins would be forgiven. What that means is also Jesus died that our sins would be forgiven. What that means is also Jesus died that our sins would be covered over. And so when we're poked and prodded, do we have a heart of forgiveness? Are we covering over other people's sins and love? That doesn't mean we always ignore them.

Speaker 1: 16:45

By the way, sometimes you have to address things and you have to talk to them. But even when you do, is it done in a loving way or is it just done out of irritation and anger? Steve Vires, I thought this was wise advice. He said remember this wise principle, especially in a digital age now. And I told the first service I am so glad I did not have the power to put things online for the whole world when I was 15. Once you hit sin, there it goes.

Speaker 1: 17:26

And in personal relationships, here's the principle write the good things, talk about the bad things. Don't, in your anger, fire a bunch of bad things out in your text or in a five-page email or whatever it is. Don't do that. Write the good things, talk about the bad things. Why? Because love is interested in preserving relationships and they're not going to be able to hear the tone in your voice. They're not going to be able to see that, even though you're upset, that you love them, they can't see your eyes, they can't read your body language and Satan will expose that and how we treat other people.

Speaker 1: 18:13

We have to remember everyone is made in the image of God, the sacred image of God, and let's confess, we lose sight of this in our daily living. Sometimes we just forget every single person has the sacred image of God stamped upon them, and how we treat the image of God is how we treat God himself. Every unbeliever that we interact with, do you know they could be one of God's elect? So often people argue over the doctrine of election, but it's actually one of the pastoral applications of it. God may have already determined to save that person. We ought to view every single person we meet with that knowledge in mind, because who wrote the first letter of 1 Corinthians? The last person you would have thought that would have ended up writing 13, possibly 14 letters in the New Testament. His name's the Apostle Paul. He hated Christians. The blood of Christians was on his hands. How many Christians, how they must have viewed him before he got converted. And we have to remember the power of the gospel. We have to remember the great grace of our sovereign God. Gospel. We have to remember the great grace of our sovereign God.

Speaker 1: 19:36

There's another possibility the person who hurt us, offended us, sinned against us. They may spend eternity in hell. We need to remember that possibility too, because if we understand, it's horror that helps us realize. You know what this isn't about my wounded ego. I need to respond out of a concern for their eternal soul, and nothing will get the world's attention quicker than when you've been hurt and you respond in love, because that's not how the world lives. Just go on X formerly Twitter for 10 minutes. Better yet don't Just ask a friend who has, you'll see. There's just garbage. It's just constant fighting, yelling Even our enemies, those who want to intentionally destroy us.

Speaker 1: 20:41

How do we respond to things like this? God is love. He's not irritable, he's not easily provoked. Recently, not too long ago, I read of a couple. They got arrested for child trafficking a teenage girl. Now we know what happens in these situations Horrific. And if that's your child or your brother or sister, maybe it's you.

Speaker 1: 21:16

How do you respond to things like this, especially when we consider that heinous things like this can embitter us. It can make our hearts become hard and rage beyond a righteous indignation almost into a hate. Not the kind of hate that's a godly hate. There is a holy hatred, but I'm talking about something that God would not approve. Let's consider a few things. Well, we want to acknowledge that there is a place for a righteous anger, a righteous wrath, in fact, if somebody did something terrible to your children and you don't have a righteous wrath, a righteous indignation in you, there would be something morally deficient in your heart and life, because there is such a thing as a godly jealousy.

Speaker 1: 22:09

Jealousy we usually think is a bad thing, but there actually is a holy jealousy. It's the kind of jealousy a husband has for his wife in a good way. It's a protective way, it's born out of love. It's the kind of jealousy a parent naturally has for their children. Christ, when Paul before he wrote this letter, saul, saul, he said why are you persecuting not the church? He says, why are you persecuting me? He had a holy jealousy for the church, a protective jealousy. There is a good side to that. There is a good side to that. But you can see that if love is not irritable or easily provoked, if it doesn't respond to sharp pokes, if it doesn't respond to sharp pokes, even pierced hands and feet with hatred and in an ungodly way, we can see how bad.

Speaker 1: 23:00

We need the love and grace of God to rule and reign in our hearts, because this is not natural for us. It absolutely is not natural and I think one of the keys from the cross of Christ we need to see there that God has not only provided for the free forgiveness of all of our sins and we need to trust Him for that but when we look at the cross of Christ, we see that God is committed to bring judgment upon all sin, ultimately and eventually, and so we need to trust God that he'll take care of the judgment. We don't need to do that. One of the reasons people get consumed is we want to remain the judge, and that will destroy you inside.

Speaker 1: 23:48

Yes, we need to distinguish right and wrong. Yes, there's a place for righteous indignation, but at the end of the day, we're still. We still, as Christians, have to look at Jesus and say how did he respond to his enemies? And you see, when we do with that, all the excuses that are close at hand just begin to fall away. They're flat. They're just things that we tell ourselves to give ourselves excuses as to why our heart isn't like Christ. Christ loved us while we were still yet enemies.

Speaker 1: 24:27

Now here's the thing the good news is is that when you have faith in Christ, he's the vine. We're the branches. That means we're spiritually united to Christ and the branch the believer pulls the grace and the love of God from that communion we have with Christ. This is not natural to us. It comes from Christ, and this union is made by the Holy Spirit, and so that's how he gives us grace, and the same Holy Spirit that was in Christ upon this earth is in us. That's a remarkable thing. That's an encouraging thing. We have everything within us to live a godly life. Here's how Peter says in 1 Peter 2. Listen closely, because this is not how an American thinks. 1 Peter, 2, 18 and following.

Speaker 1: 25:27

Servants be subject to your masters. That doesn't sound very American to me, honestly. Servants there's two, by the way. There's two kinds of slavery in the ancient world An unjust kind, where they, you know, chattel slavery we'd call it. But then there was a just kind, where people would get overwhelmed in debt and they just had to work it off. They didn't have the credit card thing, their bodies worked it off. But whatever the case, servants be subject to your masters, with all respect not only to the good and gentle masters, but also to the unjust. Wow, for this is a gracious thing when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. We're called to endure sorrows while suffering unjustly, for what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure. But if, when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God, for to this you have been called. The Christian life is a very high calling. When people call it a crutch, they have no idea what Christ is calling his people to. We're called to unjust suffering for the honor of God, without being irritable or easily provoked, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in His steps.

Speaker 1: 27:04

He committed no sin. Neither was deceit found in His mouth when he was reviled, that is when hateful people were just spewing things at Christ. When he was reviled, he did not revile. In return, when he suffered, he did not threaten but continued what, entrusting himself to him. Who judges justly? That's a key. How'd Christ do that? He trusted his father. He entrusted his father. He entrusted himself to his father. Why? Because his father judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to what.

Speaker 1: 27:49

Live to righteousness, which is part of living to righteousness, is living in a way where we're not irritable or easily provoked. We live a loving life. A righteous life is a loving life. By his wounds you have been healed His wounds. He was poked and prodded and pierced, whipped on his back, crown of thorns pressed into his head, spikes, and that wasn't even the worst of it. Christ loved those who hated him and unjustly crucified him.

Speaker 1: 28:30

You see, this is the marvelous thing. And then there's the veteran expressway and someone cuts in front of us. You see what I mean. We have to be honest with ourself if we want to grow in grace. We have to realize, you know, my heart's not everything it should be. Yet God, I see it work in my life, but it's just not what it should be. My heart's not Jesus. It's not like Jesus.

Speaker 1: 29:00

Yet Christ didn't curse at them, he didn't even scream nasty things at them. He didn't call down a legion of angels which he could have. Aren't you glad we don't have that nuclear button? What seriously? What if we could call down a legion of angels which he could have? Aren't you glad we don't have that nuclear button? What seriously? What if we could call down a legion of angels, at times to destroy people? That's a little unnerving. Oh, I could be trusted with that Lord. Are we sure he didn't revile or threaten them? But what did he do? He continued entrusting himself to him.

Speaker 1: 29:31

Who judges justly see to be great lovers. We have to trust god, not just for the forgiveness of our sins. We have to trust god that he's going to deal with all the things as his rightful, in his rightful place as judge, that no one ultimately gets away with anything and that that person's sins will either be dealt with with Christ, by Christ on the cross and in that case they're going to be our brother and sister and we'll spend eternity at the banquet table in heaven forever, or God's going to judge them for all eternity and they'll pay for their sins in hell forever, one of the things we'll get eaten up with bitterness and anger and can bleed into just this horrible hatred. Because we have to trust God more than for forgiveness, we have to trust him for his judgment. Because we have to trust God more than for forgiveness, we have to trust him for his judgment. He'll do the all loving, all wise, all thing. You see, jonah didn't want to take the gospel to the Ninevites. He just knew God would be merciful, and sometimes we don't want that for other people. But this entrusting God. Who judges listen? Who judges justly listen.

Speaker 1: 31:00

Romans 12,. Listen again to Paul's logic. This is one of the most underrated things for over a century in the American church, because the mainline churches and the liberal churches were telling Christians sitting in the pew God has no wrath. God has no wrath. Well, yes, he does, and if we want to be great lovers, we have to realize that, that he has a just wrath. Listen to Paul's logic.

Speaker 1: 31:22

Romans 12,. Repay no one evil for evil, but get thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all, if possible, as far as it depends upon you. Live peaceably with all. Sometimes you try to work it out with folks. Sometimes it doesn't work out, sometimes they die. What do you do with that? There's other examples where you do the best you can and things are a mess. What do you do? Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. Do you hear that? Leave it to Him. Leave it to the wrath of God, for it's written Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy's hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink, for by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. We will only overcome evil with good when we can leave things to the wrath of God, so that it doesn't have to burn a hole in our chest, which is what it does. It does.

Speaker 1: 32:38

Isn't it amazing that when Christ is getting pierced through, he didn't say oh wait until I get a hold of you. As he's getting pierced, he's not swearing at them. Swearing at them, he's not getting irritable and easily provoked, even in the most extreme situation. He's praying for them. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. The beautiful heart of Christ. So we're called to suffer unjustly in this world. That's part of the Christian calling. That's part of our calling To suffer unjustly for the honor of God. Nothing will get the world's attention better than at those moments when, by God's grace, we're able to respond to being poked and prodded and mistreated in a way that's loving and gracious. And you see that we fail at that at times, too often than we'd probably like to admit. But God is at work in you, christian.

Speaker 1: 33:47

Some of you may be thinking well, you know, paul got provoked in Athens. He saw the city of Athens full of idols and he got provoked. He did, he did. What was that about? Well, he saw the city full of idols. And why was he provoked? Because it was dishonoring to God. It wasn't about his wounded ego, it was about God's dishonor. These idols were breeding misery in the lives of people. It was destroying families and children. He wasn't provoked because of a wounded ego. He had a concern for the honor of God and for their souls. And what was his response? He evangelized them. God's grace had worked powerfully in Paul at that point. And then there's Jesus.

Speaker 1: 34:32

He was provoked in one sense to anger in the temple, but in a holy, godly sense. It was a holy provocation. He pulls out a whip, turns over some furniture. Yeah, he did do that. Yeah, he did do that. But you see, we also read in Deuteronomy 9, we read it in Deuteronomy 32 and Isaiah 47,.

Speaker 1: 34:58

God was provoked to anger, but it was a holy, pure anger. God is love. So how do we square that with 1 Corinthians 13? Well, god, he was provoked to anger in one sense. But number one he was slow to anger. Are we slow to anger? Two, his anger is always holy and pure. There's not one stain of sin in there and His love is not diminished. God never flies off the handle. He never loses control, he never sins in his anger. And here's a very important qualification. God is the judge of all the earth and you and me are not. Even when he disciplined his people, is it not amazing his heart never grew cold to them? The prodigal son. We see that in the prodigal son the father sees the son hit the horizon. The second he sees him hit the horizon, the father pulls up his robe and takes off running and hugs and kisses his son and celebrates and rejoices and throws a party. Do you know that God rejoices when we repent of our sin, turn away and we come to him and we acknowledge that we need his help?

Speaker 1: 36:21

When Christ was in the temple, he didn't lose it in there. He was defending the honor of God. He was defending those who were poor and needy and they were charging ballpark prices for the lambs and the animals there, especially of people who had traveled a long way. They needed it for sacrifice to obey the commands of God and they were taken advantage. And he was concerned about the lost Gentiles who would come to the temple to begin to inquire about this God of Israel, to try to learn and be taught and understand. It was to be a house of prayer for all peoples, and yet they couldn't even move around in there because it was like a marketplace rather than a quiet place or a place where you could reflect and hear teaching and interact with God's people in a way where you could learn about God. It was just another business adventure. People in a way where you could learn about God? It was just another business adventure.

Speaker 1: 37:12

And so, yes, jesus was rightly angry there. But Jesus is the Lord and we are not, and he's risen from the dead and one day he will come again to judge the living and the dead. So when you think about the temple incident with the whip and the furniture being turned over by Christ, be careful. He's the Lord, we are not. Remember those bracelets over the past decade or so, wwjd, remember that. Some of you may have some. It's good, it's good, I'm for it. I'm not mocking it, but there's times in the Bible where I think usually WWJD, but WWJHMD in some places. What would Jesus have me do? He's the Lord. He pulled out the whip, turned over some furniture. I'm not sure he would necessarily have us do that as well. Maybe, probably not. And this was not Jesus' default. That's another thing he was slow to anger. This is not his default. He is slow to anger.

Speaker 1: 38:19

Abounding in steadfast love, he is patient and kind, merciful and forgiving, even toward his personal enemies. You know, sometimes people have these angry outbursts. Do you know that there's another form of being irritable and easily provoked Some get very, very cold. I'll just tell you this brief story. I had a couple in one of my churches Not here, so don't try to figure out who it is here. It's not here and this has been years ago. But the gentleman when he would get upset with his wife, she'd get the silent treatment for two weeks. He grew up in a household where he saw his parents give the silent treatment for two weeks, sometimes longer. That borders on cruel. Some get very hot, some get very cold.

Speaker 1: 39:25

Jesus is always perfect and sinless. I want to close this way with you this morning. I want to tell you to sell things. A lot of people, three easy ways for this, 10 easy ways to get to that. You know 40 days of this. Well, there's a time and a place for some of that.

Speaker 1: 39:48

But we have to be honest and know there is not a shortcut to holiness. There is no shortcut to holiness. There's no shortcut to having the heart of Christ. We have to have God first work in our life and give us the grace of repentance. We have to acknowledge our sin before God and realize not just that I don't act right sometimes. We have to say God, I'm not just irritable, I'm irritable as a person, in my heart. It's not just that I do wrong things out here sometimes, something's wrong in here with me. There's something wrong with my person. I'm not loving like I should be, like Jesus anyway. And so we have to confess that, repent of that and seek God's forgiveness. And do you know, god delights to forgive. The Bible says heaven erupts when sinners repent. God actually rejoices when we repent. That's his heart. He's happy about it. He's like the prodigal father throws a party.

Speaker 1: 40:49

But I end with this because techniques won't do. You have to commit your life to grow in the grace and knowledge of God. That's what it takes to truly grow, because you can do techniques. Okay, I'll count to 10. But is your heart being changed? Are you being transformed within to have the love of Christ? God wants your heart and the good news is he's forgiven us of all of our sins and he who began a good work in you will bring it under completion at the day of Christ Jesus.

Speaker 1: 41:21

So we live in faith, knowing all of our sins are forgiven. As Christians, we live in hope, knowing one day we're going to have a heart like Christ in glory. Won't that be a good day. But in the meantime, we need the strength to grow in grace that we can more and more glorify our God. How do you do that? You commit to the means of grace, number one, corporate worship, without fail. I'll repeat that a thousand times as your pastor. Then, word prayer, sacraments, fellowship, repeat Corporate worship. Word prayer, sacraments, fellowship, repeat Corporate worship. Word prayer, sacraments, fellowship, a whole life where you immerse yourself in the means of grace. This is how God changes us. So let's pray and ask him for his help.