you Let's go ahead and stand, let's sing out, ♪ Who breaks the power of sin and darkness ♪ ♪ Whose love is mighty and soul and stronger ♪ ♪ The King of glory, the King above all kings ♪ ♪ Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder ♪ ♪ And leads us breathless in awe and wonder ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace ♪ This is unfailing love ♪ That you would take my place ♪ That you would bear my cross ♪ You laid down your mind ♪ That I would be set free ♪ Oh, Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me ♪ ♪ Who brings our chaos and hate to order ♪ ♪ Who brings His Son and daughter, the King of glory, the King of glory ♪ Hallucinations with truth and justice Shines like the sun in all of its brightness The King of glory, the King of all peace This is amazing grace This is unfailing love ♪ That I would be set free ♪ Ooh, Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who conquered grave ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was saved ♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ ♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ ♪ Worthy, worthy, worthy ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace ♪ ♪ This is unfailing love ♪ That He would take my place That He would build me Amen. Give Him praise. You may be seated. Well, good morning. I hope you're doing well. I want to welcome you. My name is Matthew, one of the pastors here at Faith Family Fellowship. So if you're a guest, I want to extend a welcome to you and ask you also if you're here in person, there should be a card in front of you or behind you, looks kind of like this, that says Connection Card on it. We'd love to have a record of your visit and be able to reach out to you this week if we don't have the chance to meet you face to face in person. So if you would just fill that out, drop that in the basket on your way out this morning. So, we're going to pray here in a second, but as we do that, I want to draw our attention to somebody who has served us for several years, who will be leaving her position. Nefa Moore, she's up there doing the words on the screen this morning, so she can't stand up and be recognized physically. I just want to, one, pray for her as she has felt the Lord leading her away from her position of service here within the worship and the music side of things. And I just want to, one, recognize her for her years, about seven years of faithful service, and also ask you to join me in praying for her, for her family, and for our time together this morning. So if you would, pray with me. Father God, we thank you for this morning. God, we thank you for the abundant love and the faithfulness we just sung about. The great compassion that you have had upon us, God. We don't deserve anything from you. You've given us, Lord, life. You created, you made, and you sustained your creation, Lord. You have forbeared our sin and been patient, Lord, to give us opportunity to repent, to believe. And you have made that opportunity available in your son. And so, Father, I thank you for your grace in Christ. I thank you that you came to take our punishment, to pay our debt. Thank you, Lord, for your grace in Christ that we can receive and that your people have. and they've been born again by your grace, God. And so, Father, I ask that, God, you would speak to us this morning. God, that you, Lord, would fill our souls and our hearts with your word and your spirit, that, God, Lord, you would conform us more to your image, that, God, even though we see through a glass dimly, Lord, we would see you this morning, and that, God, you would renew, you would grow, And that, Lord, you would mold us more into your image as you would have us to be. God, we thank you for Nephi. We thank you for, Lord, her faithful service to this people, to you. And, Lord, we ask that, God, you would direct her and direct her steps, Lord, in following you. and following you away from her place of service here with the staff, God. Lord, we ask you to bless, to take care of her and her family. God, that you would provide for them and use them for your glory, God. And so, Father, we thank you and ask all this in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen. As I've been the, I guess you could say, interim worship leader for some time, Ms. Nefa has really, really helped me get things done and work to try to help this to be a worshipful atmosphere. And I want to publicly thank her, too. So I really, really appreciate you. Let's give her a hand. She deserves it. So we all thank you, Ms. Nefa. Hallelujah, all I have is Christ. Hallelujah, Jesus is my life. Lost in darkness night, yet thought I knew the way. The sin that brought this joy in life had led me to the grave. I had no hope that you might all unravel to glory. Not because I would refuse to stay Or as I ran my hair backwards in different hues You looked upon my helpless soul and led me to the cross. You bore the wrath and suffered for me. You suffered in my place. You bore the wrath and suffered for me. Now all I know is grace. Jesus is my Jesus Lord, I would be yours alone and live so all might see. The strength to follow your commands could never come from me. Oh, Father, use my ransom life in any way you choose. Oh, Father, use my ransom life in any way ♪ Let my song forever be ♪ ♪ My only boast is you ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ All I have is Christ ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Jesus is my life ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ All I have is Christ Alleluia Jesus is my life Alleluia All I have is Christ Alleluia Jesus is my life. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Holy, holy is He. Sing a new song to Him who sits on heaven's mercy seat. Worthy is God, Lamb who was slain. Holy, holy is He. sing a new song holy holy holy son god almighty With all creation I sing Praise to the King of Kings You are my everything And I will adore You Clothed in rainbows of living color, flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder. Blessing and armor of strength and glory and power be to you, the only one. ♪ Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ ♪ With all creation I sing praise to the king of kings ♪ ♪ You are my everything and I will adore you forevermore ♪ ♪ Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder, ♪ ♪ at the mention of Your name. ♪ ♪ Jesus, Your name is power. ♪ ♪ River, river, water, such a modest hand. ♪ was and is and is to come. With all creation I sing praise to the King of Kings. You are my everything and I will ♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ It's the Lord God Almighty ♪ Sing it church. ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings ♪ You are my everything Father, that is why we're here. We are here to praise you because you are the King of kings, Lord of lords. Scripture says that whether they want to or not, one day every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ, you are Lord and Lord of all. We lift your name up this morning and Father, we give you the praise that you deserve. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. May that be the song of our heart as we continue to praise you for your message. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen. Amen, you may be seated. Well, amen. And to make things clear, clear. Nefa's not leaving, okay? She won't be working in the office, but she'll be serving faithfully and the rest of things in the church, just like the rest of you are doing. And so I appreciate what you're doing. She's had a rough year. I mean, she's a grandma. be a grandma again. And she got to take a little break. So, anyway, we appreciate all that Nephi does for us and will continue to do but just in a different way. You have your Bibles. Let me invite you to turn to 2 Peter chapter 1 and I want to just look at, we're going to look at just verse 9 in particular today but we're going to read verses 9 through 11. referring back to verse 8, which also refers back to verses 5 through 7. So am I confusing you? I hope not. At the early service, I wore my glasses as an illustration. Because I asked this question of the early crowd, and I want to tell you, they flunked the test. They did not pass the test. I'm going to see if anybody in here can pass the test. Is there anybody in here besides myself that is myopic and willing to admit it? Got one, two, three. All right, you passed the test. What does that mean? It means that you have near vision. You're nearsighted. And it really has the idea of squinting the eyes, which is what I did all during the song service, the early service, because I couldn't see the words up there. But it means to squint, and it really has the idea of squinting so much that you're as if it were you were blind. You know what I mean? You can't really see. And if I didn't have my contacts in, I couldn't tell who's out there. If you're in the balcony, I think I know who you are, because my contacts are reading contacts. Anyway, having said that, why are you saying that? Well, let's turn to the text this morning. Because in verse 9 of 2 Peter chapter 1, We're talking about confirming our calling in Christ, the call to salvation, and we're going to be talking about having an honest evaluation out of verse 9. Look beginning in verse 9, for whoever lacks these qualities, the qualities are those that are listed in verses 5 through 7, and we'll reference those in a few moments. Those who lack these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind. You're so myopic, you can only see what's in front of your face, you can't see what's out there. So much so, having forgotten that he, or you, were cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent." By the way, this is one of our 2 Peter words of doing all that you can, forsaking everything else to pursue. So be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election. For if you practice these qualities, there are eight of them, you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." We're really talking about You know, we're living in a day of COVID and that we're so disconnected. And the fact that we're disconnected as a church body even causes us to not quite be on mission together like we should. So we need to refocus. We need to have clarity. We need to have an assurance in our heart that we're His, we belong to Him. We're on the same team and we're out to accomplish the same purpose. which is to give glory to Christ in all that we do and say, and share Him with a world that is in need of a great Savior. For we all have the same problem, and the problem is we're sinners. We need a great Savior, and we have one. That's what our job is. But we get nearsighted, according to the Scripture. And it really doesn't define here whether or not we're talking about someone who's spiritually blind, meaning they're not born again, Or are they experiencing blindness because they're being nearsighted? And that's kind of what we're talking about today. We're talking about how do we have this assurance, this confidence? And I don't know if you've ever been to an optometrist or an ophthalmologist and had your eyes tested, but, you know, they do a couple of things that I just don't really like. I don't like having my eyes dilated. Amen. I got an amen. I got a witness on that one. And nowadays, for you to get a glaucoma test, you just get a little puff of air blown on your eye. But in the old days, my day, in the old days, they used to take a probe and they'd push it on your eye, on your cornea. You know, and it measures the pressure of the inside of the eye, but they'd have to push it right on your eye. And I didn't like that. And then there was all this stuff of, does this look better or does that look better? Does it look better this way or this way? Let's put, they put another one, another lens in it, flip it around and do this better, this better. You know, I get so confused that by the end of it, I said, just give me some glasses and let me get out of here. Okay, that's why I still can't see very well. We need some lenses. We need some spiritual lenses that help us to know that we're in Christ, have confidence that we belong to the Lord, and that we know we're walking in Christ in this world in which we live right here and now. And that's what verse 9 helps us to address, verses 9 and 10, but we're going to look at just verse 9. And so, I want us to see first of all that the scripture tells us we need to make an honest evaluation of our standing. You've got to go to the spiritual eye doctor. And you need to make an honest evaluation. You don't want to think you are his, to assume that you are his, and to be disappointed. Now, if there is ever a disappointment, Wouldn't that be the greatest disappointment? Those who come unto him and say, Lord, Lord, have we not done many wonderful works in your name? And he say to them, depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. That's one of the saddest passages in all scripture. And so at least for that group, there was a disappointment, and really the greatest disappointment of all. How do we know honestly that we are His? Well, the Scripture does say here in verse 9, if you lack these qualities, you need to understand there's a problem, and that is you're nearsighted to the point of being blind. You have forgotten some things. You need to be reminded, and actually Peter is going to share that word, remind, three different times in the verses following. He reminds us, He reminds us. Sometimes we need to be reminded, and so kind of look at this as maybe a reminder message today, and then maybe hopefully an eye-opening, a vision-clarifying message for you. This honest evaluation is unapologetic in Scripture. Meaning, in 2 Corinthians 13, 5, it's so clear, it says, examine yourselves. Take an examination and see if you are in the faith. And when he puts that definite article there, the faith, he's talking about the Christian faith, the real faith. Not a pretend, not a hope so, not a want so, but to know that you know that you know that you are His. And so he says, put these lenses that we're getting ready to share with you on your eyes so that you can see if you are in the faith. Test yourselves. There won't be any testing later. It wasn't too many months ago I was talking to somebody and said, well, I've come to believe that what I heard some preachers say is true, that when you die you're going to have another opportunity to trust in Christ. I said, boy, he's trying to make some money, isn't he? That's all that says to me. He's a false prophet, false teacher. So, and you're going to stake your eternity on the fact that somebody says this, says this, you know? And so what does the Word of God say? It says, test yourselves. Do you not realize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? You need to know this. Is He in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test. And that may be why sometimes we might want to avoid the test. Well, why do we need to be tested? It's because we can be nearsighted. We can be at the point of not being able to see, even to the point of blindness. If that were not so, it wouldn't have been written here, but there's a warning here. You and I can be at the point of forgetting all that Christ has done for us and kind of thinking we're flying under the radar. I'm God's child. I've been born again. I'm saved. I'm heaven bound. But I'm just going to come and be a presence. I'm not going to get involved. I'm not going to do anything. I'm not going to let Christ really dramatically change my life. And yet the reality of that is it's revealing something about us. we have forgotten all we never had and that's kind of what we're talking about so Titus goes on to say to the pure all things are pure but to the unbelieving and defiled nothing is pure So in other words, if you know Christ, you have an opportunity to see clearly. If you don't know Christ, you must come to the one and the only one that can make things clear for you, because if you're unbelieving and defiled, nothing is pure, nothing is clear to you. So what helps us? I'm going to just remind you of two lenses that you have. You've always had these two, and they're available to everybody who would look unto Jesus. And number one is we have the Word of God as the lens to put before our sight in order for us to know what truth is. Examine yourselves to see if you're in the truth. Jesus said, sanctify them by your word. Your word is truth. So we're talking about the Word of God. It has great power to it. Love what Hebrews reminds us about in regard to the Word of God. Verse 12 says, the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It's the discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Do you ever need clarification? When you say, I don't really know why I did what I did, why did I do that? Have you ever said that? What's the lens that you put before your eyes to help you to understand? Why did I do that? You must, I must come to the Word of God and let it examine me. It's like a spiritual autopsy here. Okay? It's like, let's forensically get down to what's the problem? What's the cause of this? Why did you do this? Why did you say that? Why did you act in this manner? And so the Word of God, it does that. So much so, verse 13 says, that no creature is hidden from His sight. When God's Word is allowed to shine on our lives, nothing is hidden from God and we are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. And there's a warning there, right? Absolutely. You know, We're living kind of in a day which people don't want anybody telling them what to do, how to behave, how to live. And yet, if God does anything, God gets in your business, doesn't He? He gets in my business. And He has a right to, and He is laying claim to that right in this verse. You and I will give an account unto Him, and therefore it's essential that we take this lens so we can see clearly what's happening in our lives. It's the Word of God, and remember the Word of God is... The Scripture says the grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of God does what? It abides forever, forever. It's changeless. So that when a proclaimer, a professor, and I don't mean college professor, I mean one who professes faith in Christ comes and says, but I believe, and I believe, and I think, and they come up with something different than what the scripture is, they're temporal. They're just a little spot of dew on a flower. And when the sun comes up, that dew is gone. They're here today and they're gone tomorrow. Their book that sold a million copies doesn't mean anything because they're gone the next day. And so the scripture is the only thing that you and I have as a lens to put before our eyes to know what truth is. The second is the Holy Spirit. We must put the lens or allow the lens of the Holy Spirit to come before our eyes. And I don't know if you want to do them bifocal or say one eye is this and one eye is that, but we have the Word of God and we have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only way we can understand spiritual truth. It's not something that comes naturally. Jesus said in John 14, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things. And, remind you, He'll bring to your remembrance the things that I've said to you. That's further developed in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 6-13. You ought to write that down and look at it for yourselves if you've not looked at it in a long time. It's a whole text on the Holy Spirit, the necessity of the Holy Spirit for us to understand spiritual things. You and I cannot, we cannot intellectually comprehend the things of God apart from the Holy Spirit. It takes the Holy Spirit. Jesus kind of gave us a story about this. You're very familiar with it. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record this particular story that Jesus gives. It's the parable of the sower and the seed. The constants are the sower and the seed. The variable is the soil. That's what the whole point of the message is about from Jesus. You might remember, and the text won't be up here, I'm hoping it's familiar enough to you, that you'll remember that some of the seed, which was the Word of God, is the kernel of the gospel message. It found its way on the path in the first section. The first soil that was there, it was beaten down pathway. And the seed didn't find any root in it. The birds of the air come and they snatch it away. It's a picture of Satan coming along and taking the Word of God away. And so that is a totally hardened and unreceptive heart. The Word of God has to be received is what he's talking about here. Others, verse 5 of that text, Mark chapter 4, says that some fell on rocky ground, they didn't have much soil, it springs up but the heat comes down from the sun and it withers and it dies. Seemingly someone receives the Word of God but because of trouble, they just abandon it, and they go back to being the way they were. That's not conversion, that's not new birth, that's not new life in Christ. But then there's a third soil, and the third soil is among thorns, and the thorns and the thistles grow up, and they choke out this plant, and it dies. Again, that's not a receptive heart. And you know, I think sometimes our hearts can fall into those three categories at different times, when we've neglected our walk with Christ. But the Word of God is not profitable at all. It doesn't help in any capacity. But on the fourth soil, the seed is sown on good soil, verse 8 says, and it produces grain, a plant with grain, some 30, some 60, some 100 fold. And so there's productivity. And then it goes on to say, and he who has ears, let him hear. Other places in Scripture it says, he who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says. So you have the combination of the Word of God and the Spirit here of how we are to know. How we know that we know Him. How that we have confidence that Christ indeed is Savior. So how do I know that I'm His? Romans chapter 8 is real clear about this. It says all, verse 14, says for all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Children of God, how do I know? I'm led by Him. I want you to imagine yourself maybe at a parade and you're a little kid. Maybe you're a little kid. You don't have to do much imagination, okay? but you're at a parade and you're really little. And you got your hand in your parent's hand and bumping into other people, dislodge, whatever else. You're still holding on what you think is your parent. All of a sudden you take a turn down a road and it's not a safe road. It's not a place that you know you ought to be going. And all of a sudden when you realize there's danger ahead, you look up and you see that your hand is in the hand of somebody that's a stranger to you. And you know you're not with your parent, and what's the immediate thing that you're going to do? You're going to turn loose and run, call for help, and you're going to get away from that. But if it's your parent, what do you know that your parent's going to do with you? They're going to lead you into that which is good, and holy, and righteous, and best for you. And so it is with the Spirit of God. How do I know I'm being led by the Spirit of God? Because the Spirit of God leads us into holiness. He leads us into the Word of God. He leads us into righteousness. The things that honor Christ. To know Him. I know that I'm being led by the Spirit of God. For verse 15 says, there in Romans 8, you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. I'm afraid. This is dangerous. I'm back in slavery to my sin. That's not being led by the Spirit. But you have received the Spirit of adoption so that you cry out what? Abba Father. Abba Father. There's this realization as you're walking with the Spirit that you're with God and God is with you and you know Him and He knows you. But then the scripture goes on to say in verse 16 there, that the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. There's an inner witness of the Spirit. And I don't know, do you ever struggle with, I can't see God? Kids, do you all ever struggle with, I can't see God? You know, I'm 63 and I still struggle with, I wish I could see God. I mean, seeing. I'm talking about face to face. And yet we sing songs, face to face with Christ my Savior, face to face what glory will it be? But we're talking about a time to come when we will be there. But how do we know? Well the scripture says by the Spirit of God and His Spirit bears witness with our spirit. Our spirit is that inner person within us. And I can't see the Spirit. Jesus addresses this in the third chapter of John, doesn't He? And He says, you can't see the Spirit. You don't know where He's coming from, you don't know where He's been. But in essence what Jesus says, you can see what He is doing. You can see what He is doing. You can see His effect in your life. You and I can't see the Spirit of God, but we can see the effect of Him in our lives. So that we know that we've been cleansed from our former sins. That's what He's revealing here in verse 9. You belong to me and you have been cleansed from your former sins. If you're His, don't forget that. You're not what you used to be. You're a new person in Christ. In 1 John 1, verse 7 it says, If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. So there's a cleansing that takes place by the Holy Spirit of God applying the blood of Jesus Christ to the heart of the believer That gives us a witness within our soul that we belong to Him. You see, there's a break with sin. There's a desire no longer to displease the Lord because of the way we talk and the way we act and the way we behave. And yeah, we want justice. We want righteousness. We want Christ to rule. There's no government that can rule, that can make things right for us, but there is a King of Kings and a Lord of Lords, and when He rules in the hearts of men and women, we get the things right. That's the only way we'll get it right. And so He says He cleanses us from all sin. Hebrews 9, 14 says, And much more the blood of Jesus Christ, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without blemish to God to purify our conscience from dead works. How are we cleansed? How do we get to see? It is through this clarity that comes through the blood of Jesus Christ. Maybe you could have put a third lens up there of the ointment of the Lord, okay? But there's this ointment that clarifies things for us. It's the cleansing that is ours in Christ. And there's a purpose why we have been cleansed. In Titus chapter 2 it says, The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, godly lives in this present age. See, if we add to these things, those eight things that we've already looked at over the past few weeks, it becomes evidence that we have clarity that That we are His. We belong to Him. And we have an eternal home that is our destination. If these qualities are yours, verse 8 says, and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus. So how do I know that I know that I'm His? I've got these two lenses before me. I've been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Well, Jesus made it real clear in Matthew's Gospel when He was giving the Sermon on the Mount. In the 7th chapter of Matthew, in verse 16, He made it so clear. He said, you will recognize them by their fruit. Right? How do I know? There's fruit. And He goes on to clarify it. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes? If you're on the internet watching this, nobody responded, okay? Okay. So are grapes gathered from thorn bushes? No. Blackberries are. Right? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Blackberries are. But not grapes. He says figs are not, they're not gathered from thistles. They're not. It's simple, easy for us to understand. Every healthy tree bears good fruit. Diseased trees bear bad fruit. How do I know there is fruit? A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Do salt water and fresh water come out of the same fountain? It can. But they don't. You're right, it doesn't. But it can, and what does it taste like? It reminds me of Jesus saying, you're lukewarm and I'll spew you out of my mouth. God doesn't tolerate it. He wants us, as God's people, to live holy lives. And the fruit of our lives says, I know Him. I believe in Him. You do well. Isn't that what James said? So, James chapter 2. James chapter 2 says, you say you have faith and I have works. Let's put the word fruit there, okay? You say you have faith, I have fruits. I have evidence that my faith is real. Show me your faith apart from your works, your fruit, the evidence. And the answer is you cannot. You can't do that, but I will show you that my faith in Christ is genuine and real by the product that comes out, the fruit that is born out of it. You say you believe that God is one and you do well, and then he tells us even the demons believe in shudder. So there's a counterfeit faith, and then there's a genuine faith. Now I've just confused you, haven't I? Because somebody might say, well, how do I know the difference between the two? Well, Jesus just said it. By their fruit, you will know them. Peter, in the first book, the first book, remember, was written to the Jews primarily, and the second book written primarily to the Gentiles. He says, he's talking about what that fruit might look like, and I'm not sure this is what we would put in our list of fruits, okay? But notice what he says, he himself bore our sins in his body, on the tree, 1 Peter 2.24. that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Now that's a showstopper right there. That's a showstopper. Christ has called me to die, to die to self, to die to this world, to realize I'm crucified with Christ. No longer I live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I'm living, I live by faith in the Son of Man who loved me and gave himself for me. I am to die? I am really to die? Yes, you're really to die. In that baptism that we go into as a picture, a symbol of what is transpired within our soul by God, It's a death to the old life and it's a resurrection to a new life. And that becomes a way we know, am I His? By the way, if you're confused about whether or not all of healing is in the atonement, I think verse 24 of 1 Peter 2 clarifies it for us. It is definitely talking about what Christ did for us and saving us. And then he quotes from Isaiah 53 5 when it says, by His wounds you have been healed. The healing here is not physical healing. What we need, my friend, is not physical healing. We need spiritual healing. Our nation needs spiritual healing. You were, and he's referencing back to Isaiah 53 again in verse 25, he says, for you were straying like sheep. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. By his wounds we have been healed. But now you have returned. Through salvation, you have returned back to what? The shepherd and overseer of your souls. How do I know I'm His? He's your shepherd. He's your overseer. You're His. You've been woke, by the way, to a whole new life. And that is, I am in Christ. He saved me. I'm His. I'm redeemed by Christ in Christ alone. God has done something for me and in me and to me and now through me for His glory. That's salvation. I wanted to listen to an old hymn the other day. And so, you may fire me as your pastor, I do Amazon Prime, okay? Sorry. And that's where I listen to my music, is through their music program. And so I pulled up a hymn album, a worship album that's of old hymns, and I came to when I surveyed the Wondrous Cross. And I said, I just want to listen to that once again. And I pushed play. And up came this warning. It said, you are about to listen to an explicit song. You have opted not to listen to explicit songs. Do you want to go ahead and continue? You know what's explicit about it? It's the fact that it's the blood of Christ. It's the blood of Jesus that's in it. I'm sure when Isaac Watts wrote it back in 1709 that he never thought his song would be listed as explicit. But I want you to hear the words. I won't sing them for you, they'll be up there. But listen to the passion that's here of a man who says, I've got the lenses on and I get to see the truth and the reality. When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and poor contempt on all my pride. How do I know I'm His? Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ my God, and the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. See from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet? or thorns can pose so rich a crown? I think not. There was something so special about it. So were the whole realm of nature mine. There was a presence far too small, love so amazing, so divine, it demands my soul, my life, my all. How do I know that I know Him? Oh, when I sin, there's a reality that I've sinned against God. I am in the light, I've been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, but what do I do when I sin against the Holy God? Verse 9 of 1 John makes it real clear. When I sin, I confess it before God. I come to him confessing my sin, knowing that he is faithful and just to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness." I may hide for a moment from God. I may be like a child and I've done something my parents told me not to do, or I didn't do what they told me to do, and I said, you know, if I avoid my parent, it'll be okay. But eventually, if you're going to be in fellowship with your mom and your dad, if you're going to be right with mom and dad, what are you going to have to do? You're gonna have to own up to it. You can't stay there. And you own up to it and you say to God, God, I have sinned against you. And what does he do? He forgives and cleanses and wraps you up in his arms and he loves you. How do I know I'm his? There's a reality that we're safe in the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ because God is the beginner and the finisher of our faith. I love Paul's response and I close with this. Paul responded to the greatness of God's grace in 1 Timothy chapter 1 when he said, Though formerly I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, insolent, an insolent opponent, but I received mercy. I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief. I was an unbeliever. But now, the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners of whom I am foremost." Paul said, if God can save me, He can save anybody. That's what he said in verse 16. If God could save Paul, he could save you. Paul was a murderer. Paul knew that heaven was his designation. He was headed there. It wasn't a confidence in himself. It was a boasting in Christ. Today, God's calling you as a believer to boast in Christ. To say, oh, I know I'm His. And if I'm not His, I'm seeking after Him with all of my heart, soul, and being. I want to know Him. I want to be His. I want heaven as my destination. Because God dwells there. God makes all things well. So he says, He revealed Christ to me that He might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. And to the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. And oh father, we come to you thanking you today for such precious promises that are ours. Thank you for the Lord, the lenses through which we can look to see what truth is. You have given us your eternal word that never changes. It's always relevant. It always tells us the truth, the good and the hard and the loving and the dividing. It's all there. Heaven's there. And hell's there. And those are realities, whether I want to admit them or not, or whether the world wants to. Lord, they're realities. And through Your Word, I see it. But I can only see it when the Holy Spirit comes to us. and in kindness and in mercy and gentleness and in love, opens our eyes, gives us great faith and confidence to call upon Christ as Savior and Lord. I ask you to do that again today. Lord, I ask you to save those who are unsaved. Call them to yourself. And may they have great confidence to know that though they cannot see the Spirit of God, they can know the activity of the Spirit in their heart and say, Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And then Lord, having done that, help us to live up to the faith and the godly character and the full knowledge of Jesus Christ and in the self-control and the godliness, the steadfastness, the brotherly compassion that we have for one another and ultimately the great love of God in Jesus Christ. May they be ours and ever increasing. To the glory of God we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Bye! you you you