Now therefore, our God, the Great, the Mighty, and the Awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, that not all the hardships seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day, that you have been righteous in all that has come upon us. For you have dealt faithfully, we have acted wickedly. Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. Even in their own kingdom, enjoying your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large land and fertile land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. We are slaves this day. In the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you've set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress. Because of all this, we make a firm covenant in writing on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests. My Father, the song we just sang is so pertinent. I ask, Lord, that You would grant us contrite hearts, that we would be broken over our sin. I thank You for Your Word. I thank You that it shows sinners that they are sinners, and it also shows sinners that You are gracious and just. I ask now that You would grant and give the Holy Spirit in full measure. Lord, how foolish it would be to attempt to preach Your Word in our own strength, to receive Your Word in our own strength, to apply Your Word in our own flesh. We just ask that in accordance with your covenantal promise that Christ has purchased for the new covenant people, the indwelling spirit, to teach them, to apply the law, to write it on their hearts indelibly. We ask that we would see and be reminded of its fulfillment even tonight. Help me, Lord, to make this simple and I pray that it would be very practical and applicable. I pray that theology would change the way we live. our orthopraxy. In all this, Lord Jesus, we ask that this would point to you, and that the longing cry of the Jews of Nehemiah's time would be our longing cry, and that we too would recommit ourselves in accordance with your faithfulness. I ask that you would be honored and magnified, and yes even, that you would save your elect. I pray that through this church, through You're reviving us. Lord, many would come and see and put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we ask this in His name. Amen. Simple sermon title. You've heard it a hundred times because it's a recurring theme throughout the Bible. And I call this shaping our present in light of God's faithfulness in the past and future. Everyone wants to know what should we do now? And as I've said before, instead of looking around, we're to look back at God's faithfulness and look up to His promises, and that is to sort of be our compass. That is to determine how we are to live in the here and the now. And so, basically, I'm going to keep alluding to this sort of three-tiered sermon, past, present, future, and then I'm going to apply, of course, how do we live today in the present. Review. This is chapters 8 through 10. I've given this review like the last 10 sermons. It's impossible, but something like that. This is covenant renewal ceremony, chapter 8. They're introduced to the law. The law strikes them down. They're convicted of their sin. They see that they've fallen short, and yet we see that the law that Moses was given was not graceless. The law was full of promises. The law brought with it not only rules to keep, but also provisions for when they broke the law. There was the sacrificial system. We see all throughout the law that God desires to dwell with his people. That he brings them out of bondage, brings them into the promised land so that he might set up his kingdom through them to extend to the end of the world. And they'd forgotten that. They had become caught up in the things of this world. And so, Ezra comes. And we remember the Feast of Booths, for 7 days they get the Word straight, and then they have a solemn feast on the 8th day. And they bring the Word, and then after they get another dosage of the Word. For 3 hours they're hearing the Word, for another 3 hours they're confessing their sins. And so the Word has stricken them, and comforted them. Remember the joy of the Lord is to be their strength. This is not a day of mourning, it's a sacred, a holy day for the Lord. Yes, you're wicked, but remember that this is all about the faithfulness of God, and we keep seeing this theme over and over in chapter 9. This is one long prayer, and instead of giving you a three-hour sermon, I've broken it up into three parts. And so today is, A Theology of Confession, Part 3. And basically now they're getting to the request. They've been recounting two things, confessing two things. What are the two confessions that keep finding themselves throughout this thread, or these two threads that just kept weeding themselves through their confession? What are they confessing? God's faithfulness and their sinfulness or their faithlessness. God's covenant fidelity versus their covenant treachery. And we're going to see that again today. And basically they're going to say, you're faithful, we're not, but because your faithfulness trumps our, 2 Timothy 2.13, we have a request to make of you based upon what you've done in the past and what you've promised for the future. Very practical today. This is where you tell us we should be, according to your covenant promises. We're not there, but based on your covenant faithfulness in the past, we have great hope, faith that you will do all that you've promised. We'll fix our eyes on the promise, we will stand on every promise of your word. It's a good Getty song, you should check it out on YouTube, it's very nice. Or there's the hymn we sing, standing on the promises of God. So, the first thing they appeal to, past, God's covenant faithfulness, that's the beginning of verse 32. Therefore, whoops, you know I gotta go back now, but it's worth going back, because this is a verse we should all have memorized. Nevertheless, in your great mercies, whoops, they keep saying here, so, your law says we are to do this, if we live by your law, we will live according to it. We've not kept your law, we're dying. Nevertheless, in your great mercies, you did not make an end of them, that's the elect, or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. And so for a long time last week, last Sunday night, I kept saying there's these two themes that undergird God's faithfulness, grace and mercy. And they keep appealing to God's grace. That's the word, Natan. And they keep appealing to this idea of mercy. So, according to your great mercies, you did not make an end of us. You did not make an end of our fathers. There's hope for us. They were wicked, you didn't destroy them. We're wicked, you won't destroy us if we come to you with repentance. Okay, so that's why it's good to study The whole Bible, get the big picture, there's nothing wrong with something called church history. You get to see that God has been faithful despite having to deal with a bunch of rebels. You mean unbelievers? No, I mean Christians. Why did God not make an end to them or forsake them? He is gracious and merciful and that's appealing again to Exodus chapter 34 verse 6 and 7. Right? What is your name? And God says, this is my name. And remember the context from last week. Turn there, just quickly. Because it was Thanksgiving and some of you are like, what? So what happens in Exodus 32? This is a little bit of a review from last week. What happens in Exodus 32? Moses goes up. Right? He goes to meet with the Living God, and he comes down, he hears a little bit of party going on. Joshua's like, what's the deal? We're missing out on something. What have the faithful Israelites done? They got creative. Try a little metallurgy, right? Aaron says, give me all the gold, and let's see what happens. And they make a calf. to be their God. And then in chapter 33, God says, that's it, they're done. That's it, we're done. And Moses appeals to God's past faithfulness and his promise to Abraham. And then we have here in Exodus 34, which is probably the most quoted Old Testament quote in the Old Testament. It's a good verse to memorize if you're wicked and unfaithful. This is basically what the Israelites keep banking themselves on. It's like, we dropped the ball. But this is what you told us in the law. You told us who you are. You're merciful and gracious. That's your nature. That's your name. It's not just what you are on a good day. It's your very nature. Okay, so God is willing to bring these rebels back into fellowship because He promised Abram that He was going to make a great nation out of him. Which worked itself out into the nation of Israel. The Lord descended in the cloud, remember the cloud is the presence of God, His kind of glory, and stood with Moses there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. Okay, and remember the Old Testament, the name actually signified something. When you named your child, it wasn't like you're trying to be some cool person, or it's not like you're a white person pretending you're black. No, just some names are just really lame. Back then the names meant something. The name was tied up with who you were, right? Abram becomes Abraham. Abraham means something. It's father of many nations. Sarai becomes Sarah, right? Jacob becomes Israel. Like, the name is significant. So, here's the name of our covenant God. Verse 6, this is the verse you should memorize. The Lord passed before Moses and proclaimed, quote, the Lord, the Lord, remember in Hebrew, You hear something twice, it's very good or it's very bad, it's very emphatic. The Lord, Yahweh, Yahweh, a God merciful and gracious. Remember the context. This is people who have already committed themselves to whoredom. That's what God calls idolatry, by the way. When you love something other than God, He says your heart is a spiritual whore. Merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in... What's that word, Nathan, in Hebrew? Chesed. And faithfulness. Keeping steadfast love for thousands. And this involves forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But, and this but is important because this is why the people are going to make a covenant pledge today. but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of fathers and the children and children's children to the third and fourth generation." Okay, so now we launch forward to Nehemiah. They're in the exact same predicament. The people have acted faithlessly just like the Jews did in Exodus 32. It's no different. They're in the land, and yet they're worshipping other gods. And God, instead of making an end to them, instead of destroying them, because He is merciful and gracious, because He is a God who keeps covenant love, because He is a forgiving God, He is willing to bring repentant sinners back into relation with them. And that's exactly what they're doing here. So they're appealing to God's character, or His covenant promises, which are linked. His promises are not contrary to who He is. His promises flow out of who He is. So, I hope you understand that. It's not just a bunch of promises that He tries to keep. They're promises that are tied up with His very being, and therefore He must, He has to keep them, unless He wants to deny Himself, which Scripture says He cannot do. Now therefore, verse 32, our God, right? It's not just, now therefore, sun, pie in the sky God, that we've heard about. This is our electing God. This is the God who has chosen Israel. to be a kingdom of priests. This is the God who plucked them out of Egypt. This is the God who plucked them out of Babylon. This is no deity God. This is our relational God. This is a personal God. And then they add some modifiers. Not just any, but the great, the mighty, and the awesome God. In the Hebrew, it's very emphatic. I just love reading that. Our God, this great, mighty, and then, this is my paraphrase. You're great, you're mighty, you're awesome. Defends your name. It's almost like what Moses said. If you destroy us, the Egyptians are not going to believe that you're great and mighty and awesome. And I think they're doing the same thing here. They're almost being a little sneaky in a good way. Because you're great and mighty and awesome, hear our prayer. You're our God and you're not small. You're not the fruit of our imagination. You're the true and the living God. This is who you say you are. Show us afresh who you are. These are good promises. Like they sound almost cocky. But I remember what Chris talked about two Sundays ago when he went through Hebrews 6. God's name is at stake in these promises. And we would do well to remember that God is jealous for His glory. Read in Exodus 34, you're going to see that His name is jealous. And God is jealous for His glory, and therefore He delivers His people so that the nations don't think that He's a God who cannot deliver them. I have my little arrow, so we have, therefore our God, the great, the mighty and the awesome God. Arrow, right? How do we know He's great and mighty and awesome? Who keeps? Covenant and steadfast love. Those two words, most translations will tie them together and they'll say covenant love. It's the same idea even though they're different words. And so, again, we're appealing to God's unfailing covenant commitment, right? When He says, I do to Israel, He means it. It's not just a little, I'm in love with you for a moment. I'm in covenant relationship with you. I have bound myself to you. And they're appealing to that. I've played the whore. But you've promised. Right? It's not like most husbands today, where the wife makes a mistake and they're gone. They're appealing that God is one who is great and mighty and awesome. who displays this greatness, mightiness, and awesomeness by keeping covenant and steadfast love. So they're appealing again to God's character. You've heard this a hundred times. That's just because it's prevalent. It's all throughout Scripture. All these big prayers, whether Ezra, Daniel, or whether it's Solomon when they're dedicating the new temple, they're always appealing to God's character. And that's why it's very good to study the character of God. Who is the God you worship? Most Christians have no idea. I don't know. G-O-D? He's God, right? Exodus 34 says, well, this is who God is. This is really good for evangelism, by the way. So they appeal to His character. And then next, they appeal to His glory. These are good things. Like, you want to learn how to pray? I'm not saying that this is THE model, but this is a great model of prayer. They appeal to who God is, to His covenant faithfulness, and then they appeal to His glory. I love Isaiah. God says, I am God. I alone am God. My glory I will give to no other, nor share my praise with carved idols. Let not all the hardship seem little to you. Right? This is all about God. Yeah, we're in quite the predicament here, but you're our God. The nations are watching. We're suffering. We're a proverb. We're a byword. Ah ha, ah ha, they say. Like when you read through Isaiah and some of the prophets. And they're saying, don't let this hardship seem little to you. And so when we're praying for our brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering for Christ, we should pray, yes Lord, if it is your will, deliver them. But ultimately, don't let their hardship seem little to you. We're appealing to God's glory more than their comfort. And I think this is a wise thing to do, because God is Jealous for His glory, and therefore jealous for His people. That has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all whose people? Your people. Right? Remember that back then, all the pagans used to think whoever was ruling, their God was the strongest. And so the Jews are thinking, all the pagans think that you're below them. So deliver us, not just to get us out of the muck, but ultimately deliver us for your glory. This is your people. This is your people who are living in bondage, and you promised your people that they would be dominating the nations. There's an inconsistency. Work on behalf of your glory. This is what happens when the Holy Spirit comes. Rather than praying for our glory and praying about our, you know, reciting to God our covenant faithfulness, which is really lying, right? When we're praying in the flesh, we're like, God, I've done this, I've done this, I've done this, I've done this, I've done this, now you do that! They do not say that. When the Holy Spirit comes, they say, you've done this, you've done this, you've done this, you've done this, you've done this, please do this for us. See the difference? The man-centered prayer where it's the Spirit centered prayer, the spirit focuses on God and God's glory. So maybe this is a good barometer for how we're praying would show probably where our hearts are at. The lips always utter where the heart's at, and so if your prayer is man-centered, it's probably because your heart is a man-centered idol factory. So, shaping our present based on God's past faithfulness and future promises. So, my first few points, they appeal to the past, to God's past faithfulness and God's past desire to save His people for His glory. So, they appeal to His covenant nature and to His glory. Point three, they appeal now to their current situation. Right? So, they look to the past. And now they're saying, but there's something that's out of sync with the past and the future, which we're getting to. Verse 34, uh, verse 33. Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully, and we, we have acted wickedly. Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments or your warnings that you gave them. even in their own kingdom, enjoying the great goodness that you gave them, and in the large land and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. Behold, we are slaves." End of the verse, behold. So like about the ESV, behold, it's a very strong word in the Hebrew. Most translations get rid of it, but it's basically like an exclamation mark. It's an attention grabber. It's like, behold God, we're slaves. Behold, God, we're slaves. Like, look, don't skip over this verse. Behold, behold, we're slaves. This is the present predicament that they're in. And they appeal to their current situation. It is out of line with God's promises to His people. Right? God promised His people in Genesis 12 that there would be a seed, a numerable seed. Okay? There's a seed. He promised them a land. There's land. What's the third thing he promised them? Seed with a capital S. Seed with a capital S. We're getting there. Don't steal the show from me there, brother. No, no, no. I said don't steal the show. But in Genesis 12, there's the blessing. They were promised that they would be a blessing to other people. This is the way Vaughan Roberts puts it, that God's kingdom would be actualized when God's people, dwelt in God's land, under God's rule and blessing. We have God's people in God's land, but they're not experiencing the blessing He promised. They're not under God's rule, as it were, they're under the rule of the Persians. And so this is why they appeal to the past, the promises, and look forward to the future, and they say, this is what you promised, this is what you promised, We're not there. We're slaves. You've never promised that your chosen people would be slaves. So what do we do then? So this is just how we're praying, right? When you see something out of line with the promises, you say, this is what you've promised? This is why we pray, by the way. This is why they're praying, because something's out of line. And so, yes, God's people are in God's land, but they're not experiencing God's blessing, because they're not under God's rule, which will lead, ultimately, to their covenant... What's the word I keep saying? The covenant recommitment, where they're going to say, we're willingly putting ourselves under your rule again, so that we will be your people in your land, under your rule, which produces your blessing, which somebody stores fulfilled in Christ. Twice they repeat, we are slaves in the promised land. Rather than ruling over the nations, they are being ruled over by them. That's so prevalent in the Old Testament. Right? Wrath came to Joshua and ultimately in David. And then we see in Solomon's great reign that they ruled over the nations. They were the center of the world. Not just theologically, but even in their power. All the kings came to them. Right, they subjugated all kinds of nations. This is where it was at. And they're basically saying it's not like what you promised David and Solomon and ultimately Abraham. That's why we're praying. And you have to understand that praying is not changing God. Praying changes who the most. Changes the pray-er. Right? When you pray, you say, this is God's will, and basically what happens when you start praying is you start to align yourself with the will of God, which is what happens in verse 38, right? Because of all this, well what's the all this? The last three sermons I've given you. Because of who you are, because of your past faithfulness and your future promises, because of this, we pray to you and somehow this changes how we live. Like, we're always praying that God would change all kinds of circumstances, but really, ultimately, often, the person who needs to be changed the most is us, and that we be willing to live with what His will is. But I'm getting ahead of myself. They were given the land to enjoy God. Right? Look in verse 35. Even in their own kingdom, enjoying your great goodness. Verse 36, they were enjoying the land that you gave them. There's a disconnect. That enjoyment is gone. Because now they're under pagans and not under God. The reason I draw that out is just so you see that when they're enjoying the land, they were supposed to enjoy God in the land. So put a link between verse 35 enjoying and verse 36 enjoying. This is how nerds like me work. To enjoy the land is ultimately to enjoy God. Because God was to dwell in the Promised Land with His people just like it was in Eden. Instead, like most Christians, most people, they use God for His blessings. They got fat, right? Deuteronomy 7, 8, and 9. They got comfortable. And so they're caring more about what God gave than about God Himself. And so God, in His covenant faithfulness, put them out of the land. And so now they're appealing to their current situation. We're slaves. We're slaves. You never intended for us to be slaves. How do we get out of slavery? That's their prayer. Take away the slavery. They're not hyper-Calvinists. A lot of us pray. Praying like a hyper-Calvinist is very pious and very easy. God, please take away my sin! And we do pray that. Hyper-Calvinists leave it there, though. Consistent praying people. What am I to do about it? Take away my sin. And maybe it's not just sitting there, it's actually getting rid of whatever the sin is. I'm not saying we're doing this in our strength, I'm just saying that there's divine sovereignty and human responsibility. And here they are, they say, this is what you promised, this is where we're at, and now they're going to appeal to God's faithfulness to take this away as they work under His law. There's a lot of confusion going on here, so I'm going to think of a way to kind of make this relevant. This is what God has destined them to be. We're praying, God, we're not where we are to be. Give us grace because you have given us this promise. It's not a pie in the sky. It's to be actualized, to be realized. Give us grace to do it. What do you want us to do to do this? We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Okay, so they're standing on the promises. but they're not sitting there rotting on the promises. They're doing something about the promises God gave them. Let me just move to the next point. This will just make it a little more simple. They appeal to the future. Verse 37 again. I'm reading a little bit into this. They're appealing to their coming Messiah. You promised us this. We're not here. Bring the Messiah. Right? That's what the Messiah was going to do. He was going to come, Isaiah chapter 7, 9, 11, and He was going to do what? Destroy all the nations and make them subject to Himself as He ruled over Israel and the world. And so, the seed is in the land, they have the law in the land, they have not the blessing in the land. They understand that the blessing in the land will only come when the King rules properly in the land. And so they're saying, bring the Messiah. Bring Him in full measure. and they're again appealing to God, please send your Messiah. And then in light of this, they make a covenant commitment until Messiah returns. It's not like, okay, we'll sit here and sin, and blame you because you haven't had the Messiah come, but we're going to do something about it. So they appeal to the past, they say, look at our present, they appeal to the future coming of the Messiah, and they say, while we're waiting, by faith we're going to do something. That's what faith is, right? It looks to the future and understands, as it were, that the future is now. Verse 38, because of all this, we make a firm covenant in writing on the sealed document, and we're going to look at that next week. In light of the past and the future, faithless of God, they make a covenant commitment in the present. Let me say it this way, you're struggling with sin, right? and you think about something like maybe Roman sex. So let's turn that. I'll just try to make this. I just jumped over a whole bunch of points. I think we just need to get proctored quickly. Verse 12. Okay, so we've seen God's faithfulness in the past. We're talking New Covenant now. Christ has come. He has sent the Holy Spirit. Right? We've been raised with Christ. All these glorious promises that we look back to. Verse 12. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies to make you obey their passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness. Rather, present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. So this is what it looks like. God, in the past you've brought me from death to life. You've told me that I am no longer to be a slave to sin, rather I'm to be a slave to righteousness. Therefore, in light of that promise, in verse 12, do not let sin reign in your mortal body. There's still the human component where we have to respond to grace. God doesn't respond to us in grace, we respond to Him in grace. We see God's grace in what He's done in the cross. And because of that, we know that He has enabled us that we can actually put to death. That we can actually not let sin reign anymore in our mortal bodies. Look at chapter 8. I don't know if anyone can see this. See all the blue? I don't know, can you see that? The blue in my Bible means it's all about the Holy Spirit. Okay, so let me read verse 13 and let me show you the context of what's going on here. Okay, so you're struggling with the sin and Paul says, don't let sin reign in your mortal body. How? Remember the past promises of God, look to the future promises of God and do something about it in the present. That's just basically the whole sermon. So then brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, and this is it. But if by the Holy Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 4. You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and of children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ, provided we suffer with Him. In order that we may also be glorified with Him." Okay, so we have the past. We have the Spirit. If we're truly a Christian, Paul says, you have the Spirit of Christ residing in you. Because you have the Spirit within you, according to God's promise to make His people holy, and the promise that He will glorify them, see that in verse 18, therefore and now we can put to death the deeds of the body of the flesh by the Holy Spirit. You guys see that? Okay, hopefully this is bringing some action into it. Um, I wrote a whole bunch down, let's just look quickly at 2 Corinthians 7, and then maybe I'll give you one or two more and then wrap it up. This is a short sermon, you're lucky. Let me read chapter 7, verse 1, and then work my way back, since it has the word, since. This is all in light of the New Covenant, giving through the Holy Spirit, chapters 3 and 4. Since, therefore, we have these promises, beloved, as God's elect, let us do nothing. We have these sweet and precious promises, 2 Peter 1. We have these promises. It's precisely what's going on in Nehemiah 9, isn't it? They keep reclaiming and reminding themselves of these promises that God has made for them. He called them out to be a holy nation. Therefore, we can put away all these defiling agents, all these things, all these worldly encumbrances. We can put them away because God has enabled us to. Why? He's promised to, and we've seen that He has done it over and over again. How will He not do it again if He's promised? Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. So the Christian can't say, well I struggle with sin. Of course you do, but don't just cry like it, like a little baby. Sometimes we just need to man up. And I know that hurts. Suck it up. God has given you everything you need. He's promised you. You see the future. He's given you the Holy Spirit. So do something about it. Just like Nehemiah and the Levites did in chapter 9. Well, what are the promises? It's in the context of false believers trying to worm their way in and make allegiances and alliances with God's people. You can equate this with marriage, but whatever. What accord has Christ with Beliar? Verse 15. Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. We are the temple. We're not going to become, we are the temple. Right? It's not like, I'm just going to wait until I die, then I'll be made clean. That's just, that's sin, to talk like that. That's mocking Christ. It's pious looking, but it's really sin. God said something. He said, I will make my dwelling among them, and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst, and be separate from them, saith the Lord, and touch no unclean thing. Then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty." Since we have these promises, what promises? That God has covenanted to dwell with the people, and that God, being holy, will enable His people to put away those defilements, so they can dwell with Him. You guys see that logic? But if God is holy, and He wants to dwell with us, then He has to give us some way to get rid of those defiling things. And He has! Promises! Promises like the Holy Spirit. It's not just the common spirit, it's the spirit of holiness. The spirit who makes us holy into the image of Christ. Romans 8, 28-30 are great verses to memorize. The past, all the way to the glorification. Right? Where we're going to be glorified with Christ. And verse 29 is the present. We're being made into the image of Christ. And that God is using all things for our good to make us like Christ. Philippians 2.12.13, right? Talks about what Christ has done there for my beloved. What do we need to do? Work out our salvation. What? Christ has provided everything we need. Do we see it all now? Nobody's promised it all, and by faith it comes into the now, as we do something about it, as we re-covenant ourselves according to God's promises. Colossians 3 chapter 1 to 10 you can read, 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 3 and 4. Basically, in light of God's grace, they're asking for change to come. That God would enable them to change. That they might be the people He has called them to be. They're not trying to be. They are the people. And God has given them every... Turn to 2 Peter chapter 1 quickly. This is the verse that keeps coming to mind. And unless I read it to you, I'm not going to stop thinking about it. So this is for your own good. It'll like shorten the sermon by 8 minutes. Okay, so verse 2. May grace and peace be multiplied. Oh, I love that. To you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord. His divine power, who? Well, Jesus Christ our Lord, has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Through the knowledge of Him, that's the Father who called us to His own glory, there's that glory word again, and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises. So that, why does He give us these promises? Right? These promises that have been guaranteed in the past and promised in future. Why does He give them? So that something can happen in the present. Where am I? So that through them, you may become partakers of the divine nature. That's Romans 8, 29. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. I had no idea the sermon was going this way. I'm just trusting the Holy Spirit is working on someone's heart. Someone here struggling with some serious sin and they feel so defeated, there's no hope. Everything that I've preached tonight says, no, that's a lie from the devil. Look at what God has done. Look what God has promised to make you live like it. Very simple. Shaping our present in light of the past and the future. You can look at Hebrews 6 and you can say, you promised Christ came to destroy the chains of my slavery to sin. I don't see it. That's exactly what they said in Nehemiah chapter 9. He never promised that we'd be slaves in the land. Unless we rebelled against you. Romans 6 is the same language. You promised that in Christ there's no slavery, yet I'm a slave to pornography. Or whatever the sin is. There's grace to conquer that. God never intended for His people to be slaves to porn, or to money, or to any idol that fills that void in the heart. Okay? And this is good. Say you're not struggling. This is great to people who are struggling with it. Christians struggle with sin. And God gives us great and exceedingly precious promises so that through these promises we might become partakers of the divine nature, Peter says. And taking these promises by faith, we start to apply them by faith in the presence. Really? There's no condemnation now? Yes, and then we understand that as we're filled with the Holy Spirit, we start to accomplish what God calls us to do in the law. Romans 8. Romans 8 is all about the Spirit enabling God's people to do what He has called them to do. Do you have the Holy Spirit in you? Yes! There you go. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. What is your duty? Quit quenching Him. Turn off whatever. Don't go there. Get some friends who point you to Christ rather than away from Christ. Get up early and pray a little more. I know that sounds legalistic. I'm just saying they commit themselves back into God's covenant, having seen His promises. Get on your feet, study the Word of God, understand His promises, and live in light of those promises. His past faithfulness and His future promises, live in between those two. Romans 12 as we're all close. Verses that just came to mind. So here's Paul, right? He just talked about all these promises of God's redemptive purposes for His people, right? Romans 1-11, specifically Romans 9-11, God's not done with Israel. He's going to save all of His elect Jew and Gentile from Him and through Him and to Him are all things to Him. Be glory forever. Amen. We see it, therefore, we have to work back, right? Paul's just given this doxology pointing to the supremacy of God to accomplish all that He has promised. Therefore, because God is faithful, because from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, because of this, I appeal to you, brothers and sisters in Christ, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your, I like the translation, reasonable worship. That's what the word, I think, means. ESV side note. It's reasonable. But it's not reasonable to someone who neglects who God is and His promises. If you're ignorant of the promises of God, it's not reasonable to live like this. But if you understand that God has elected you, if you are a Christian, to be holy, it makes sense. This is your reasonable service to now present your body as a living sacrifice to Him. Why? Because that is what He called you to do. He called the people to be holy to Him, to devote their lives to Him. 1 Thessalonians 5, I love it. It's my seminary verse. Faithful is He who called you, who will also do it. And it's in this huge staccato of things to do. I can't do that. That's a load of bunk. I can't do this. I can't do that. Faithful is God who has called you, who will also do it. He will enable you to do what He has called you to do. if you would just cry out. And sometimes it's good to remind God. Don't take that as a shot of blasphemy. That's what happens. God knows it. They're reminding themselves of who God is. Merciful. Gracious. This God who keeps steadfast love and faithfulness for thousands of generations. He is merciful and He forgives the iniquities of those who turn and repent. So turn and repent. Ask for a new start as it were. He will grant it, because that is His purpose. Don't be conformed to this world, rather be transformed by the renewal of your mind. How do you renew your mind, people? It's not yoga. It's getting into the Word of God, and not just reading it, just like, okay, pastor's gonna yell. I know it, I can already hear his voice cracking and spit flying. I know he's just going to yell and tell me to read the word. If that is what you get, I am failing miserably. I want you to saturate yourself in this love letter that God has given you. He's given you these promises, not so you can become smarter or tick off. Okay, pastor, I won't yell if I do this. No, renew your mind, getting in the word that God gives you this as a gift to change you, to conform you into the image of Christ. Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so you will know what God's will is, that is what is good and acceptable and perfect. Shaping our presence in light of the past and the future. We're going to see their covenant promise next week, but this whole chapter they're focusing on God's grace and His mercy, and now they respond to it. Sometimes I think as Calvinists we focus on it, and then in our sin we never respond to it. Right? But God's grace is meant to enable us to change. Okay, so I've shown you the last three weeks, right? We worked, we went through all those covenants. Look at creation, and Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and David, and Christ. And we do all this lofty stuff, but it all means nothing. We've seen all of God's grace from eternity past to eternity future, and yet that grace is meant to be acted upon by faith. We are saved by grace. Ephesians 2.8. Does Paul stop there? You've been saved by grace. No, we're saved by grace through faith. And just so you know, Peter, this is going to really impress you. It's a perfect, it's what you call, oh, what do they call it when there's a participle, anyway, it's saying by grace through faith you have been saved and are being saved. That's the way I translate it. Probably Carson's going to call me up and say that's wrong. I would actually argue with him on that. I know, I know, just calm down. But by grace through faith you have been and are being saved. Remember salvation is not just my ticket out of hell. Salvation is this great meta-narrative, this great overarching term for Paul, where we're being made into the image of Christ. How are you made holy? How are you made godly? By grace through faith. Faith in what? The promises that God gives you. That's what 2nd Pete says. So that through them you might become partakers of the divine nature. You might be made into, conformed into the image of Christ, who is pure and holy. Spotless Lamb of Glory, right? And that's my desire. I'm preaching to myself. And so, when I'm, you know, crying and I ask for a tissue, give me a promise. Right? And by grace, I hope I will respond to that promise by faith, and faith is never just a fluffy concept. Faith always works itself out in action. The obedience that stems from faith, which is what Romans is really about. Faith in what? Well, of course, Romans is about the gospel of God. The gospel that declares God's righteousness for us in Christ Jesus. I really don't know what else to say. Get into the Word. Find the promises. And I pray, by God's grace, you will believe them. And that in believing, you will put them into practice. And by putting them into practice, God will radically transform us. I'm tired of myself just being a smart Christian. I'm so thankful for the end of Nehemiah 9, where they respond in grace and do something about it. You know what? They're going to fall. They're going to fail. You're going to fail. You're going to recommit yourself or you're going to fail. But it's just this constant, remember that pendulum? That swings back and forth. Repentance. Renewal. Repentance. Renewal. I wish it wasn't like that. That's the Christian life people. Which is why God calls me here. To keep calling us back to repentance and renewal. Don't use it as an excuse. I'm going to fail in the future. It's no use starting now. That's a lie from the pit of hell. And God is not glorified in that. Whatever the sin is that plaguing you is, cry out to God in your heart right now. Claim those promises by faith, and like in Pentecost, you make those promises yours. Well, actually, they're God's, so don't make them yours. Believe them and act on them as if God has really spoken them. Actually believe that they have been fulfilled in Christ, and He has given us everything that we need to accomplish what He has called us to do. If you're an unbeliever, It's hard, you know, it's just like, I wish we had a church of like, at least more than 50 people. But, I don't know if everyone here is a believer, but if you're not, Christ says that He will in no wise cast out those who come to Him. Right? That Jesus Christ received sinners, that Jesus Christ came in to heal the sick. That's a promise you can bank on. That's a promise you can tell your friends at work. That God in His covenant faithfulness will not revoke. He will not repent of those promises He has made to save to the uttermost those who come to Him in Christ. So come, that will be the first promise that you can build your life on. That Jesus Christ will make you new. He will wash you and cleanse you. And He will start this work which will be consummated when He comes back and you receive your glorified body for which you were meant to live. To glorify Him forever. But you will not experience that until you are converted. Justification is the way in. And for the rest of us, you do know, let's keep being saved by grace through faith as we take those promises and apply them. Apply them. That's what it means to believe. Not just to put a check mark and say I believe that, but actually to live them out. And we'll see how this looks lived out next week. Father, we thank you for your word. And I would just ask, you will grant us faith. This is not our own doing. Grace is not ours. The grace through faith salvation is not ours. The grace through faith sanctification is not ours. And so we pray that you will, in your covenant faithfulness, hear, you're a good father. We don't come to you expecting a scorpion or a snake. You tell us that you give your children the Holy Spirit. And so we ask for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The new covenant seal and promise. You have promised in Romans 8 that Christ has come in and done for us what the law could never do because our flesh was weak. But Christ has accomplished for us what you have called us to do. And so, remind us that in Christ, enabled and filled by the Spirit, we can now walk in obedience. That we don't need to be slaves to sin. That Christ has definitively destroyed those chains. that bondage is gone. Help us to believe that. Help us to look to baptism and to see how glorious that is that we have actually been raised in our union. We are raised with Christ. Help us to believe the promise that He who spared not His only Son, but freely gave Him up for us all, that You will graciously give us all things. Help me to believe that those all things are meant to accomplish Romans 8, 28-30. Give us, as a church, all that we need to live godly lives in Christ Jesus, I pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.