Light Loads, Weighty Glory

[0:00] All right, thank you, Papa Bear. Good morning, everybody. Good to see you. It's nice to be back from vacation and actually being back in the pulpit, being able to preach a sermon.

[0:14] So hopefully the three weeks hasn't made me too rusty, but it is a privilege to be here. And if you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to 2 Corinthians 4. That's the text we're going to be working out of today.

[0:26] If you don't have a Bible, no sweat. We're also going to have the verses up on the screen. Let me just say before I jump into it, the partnership is such an important part of just not coming to church and using community for your benefit, but it's an important step of just being community, being the church and committing to it.

[0:51] And so I just want to encourage you, if you're not a partner of One Harbor just yet, maybe you're new. I'm not saying you have to run to that, but like, man, stick around, get to know us. But the partnership class is really helpful in taking steps toward knowing who we are and what we're about and what the mission that we are doing together to make much of Jesus and much of the gospel throughout our city and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

[1:17] And so just want to encourage that. But we have those, we call it a class, but we also just have all that teaching online as well in videos so that you can binge watch. It's not as good as Netflix, let me just say.

[1:30] But you could do that. So I also just want to say before we jump into it, if you're new with us, man, we are so glad you are here. And those who are listening to this online that can't be with us today, so glad that you're listening as well.

[1:43] And before we read out of 2 Corinthians 4, just want to remind us about this letter and about its author. This is Paul, the Apostle Paul, writing to the church in a city called Corinth, hence the word Corinthians and the name of the letter.

[1:59] And this letter, as you read it and as we read it, you'll see that it actually comes across very personal. Paul, you can just feel how emotional he is in the things that he is writing to this church.

[2:13] And there's very good reasons for that. He deeply loves this church. He planted this church. And at the same time, as much as he loves them, this church is struggling right now.

[2:24] It's struggling to hold fast to the gospel, to live according to the gospel. And they're also struggling with their relationship with Paul. And so Paul is writing into this Corinthian church, but also into this Corinthian context that the church is in that saw life through a particular lens.

[2:42] And this lens was the haves and the have-nots. And wealth and power and strength in those times were venerated and they were honored.

[2:53] And conversely, to be poor and to be weak and to be sick, you were despised and you were dishonored and you were considered sometimes even less than human. And this had seeped into the church.

[3:07] This thinking of like, man, power and honor is so important. But is that wrong? And is that out of line with the gospel? Let's read 2 Corinthians 4, starting in verse 1.

[3:21] It says this, Therefore, having this ministry, by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word.

[3:34] But by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

[3:46] In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

[4:04] For God, who said, let light shine out of the darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

[4:15] But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed.

[4:29] Perplexed, but not driven to despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

[4:49] For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

[5:04] Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, I believed and so I spoke. We also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

[5:19] For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.

[5:31] So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

[5:50] As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. This is God's word.

[6:03] So this passage, Paul is trying to help us and help the church that he's writing to reconcile the promises of God with the problems of life.

[6:13] And this can be hard to reconcile whether or not you are a Christian. For many seeking truth, I want to say if you're in the room and you don't yet believe in Christianity's claims, this is probably one of your big deals and one of your problems with believing in God.

[6:29] And I just want to say, if that's you, I want to honor your questioning and that criticism. It is a real obstacle to faith in God, let's be honest. And for many in the room who are Christians, man, we've wrestled with this same problem.

[6:44] How do you reconcile the promises of God and the problems that we experience in life? And if you haven't, man, God bless you, but trust me, I got bad news for you. You are going to.

[6:55] It's just a matter of time. But what Paul gives us here is a masterclass on how suffering is very real regardless of your faith, but your faith plays a vital role in your suffering.

[7:08] First off, it's important to recognize that we all try to make sense of suffering, right? Suffering without purpose, man, it feels like a hopeless thing.

[7:19] And so we have sayings in life that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. No pain, no gain. And these are axioms that are meant to give your pain meaning.

[7:31] They're meant to give your pain a purpose. Or we try to soften the blow of difficulty and hardship with sentiments like, just hold on, things will get better, which statistically is a probability, right?

[7:44] But it is also statistically probable that things could get worse. What we often try to do, I think, whether you're a believer or not a believer, we all do this stuff.

[7:55] And I think what we try to do is we make promises we can't keep. And the prosperity gospel and name it and claim it variations of it are all designed to say that if you just believe enough or have enough faith, then your life will only be filled with blessing.

[8:14] But Paul doesn't do that in this passage. In fact, he starts with a very strong warning not to adjust or manipulate the gospel at all. Right? In verse 1, he says, Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, this ministry of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways.

[8:34] We refuse to practice cunning, to be clever. We refuse to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth, we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.

[8:51] And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

[9:06] For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. And especially in those beginning verses, he very plainly says, and we are being told that, you know what, guys?

[9:21] The gospel as it is, it's sufficient. It doesn't need your help. And it is tempting for us to want to adjust and tamper with the gospel for all sorts of reasons.

[9:33] And I would say, especially when those around us are experiencing suffering and we love them and we want to help them, we want to carry their burdens with them, it's really tempting to make small adjustments to the gospel.

[9:49] And one of the reasons, man, we want to do that, we want to adjust the gospel, is we want the gospel to be more effective, which, to be honest, it's a good desire. We want to see more people believe in this gospel by making it easier to believe in it.

[10:05] Because, let's be honest, some of the claims of the gospel and the truths of it are difficult. It comes at us and we're like, man, I got to say yes and amen to that? That's why it's so tempting to tweak and to tamper with it.

[10:20] Just a little bit here, just a little bit there, just add a little bit of my own little spin on it. It's a very real temptation. But the results in the end are catastrophic. Here's why.

[10:30] The promise you make today that God doesn't meet tomorrow is a recipe for doubt at best and denial at worst. And we have to understand that it is not in our power for people to believe the gospel.

[10:47] It's not. If we believe it's up to us, even in the smallest way, if we think it has to do with how clever we pitch it or our delivery style, what's going to happen is we're going to end up falling into the trap of tampering with it and adjusting it.

[11:05] And rather, like Paul says, we should simply make open statements of the truth. It doesn't have to come in a minor key. We just make the statements.

[11:17] And we make the statements as they are, regardless of how unpopular it might be to its hearers. And regardless of how hard it may seem to believe.

[11:29] Now, don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying go make your truth statements. That's not what Paul is saying. I'm saying proclaim the gospel as it is. Paul is saying proclaim the gospel as it is.

[11:41] Don't hide the hard stuff. Now, it doesn't mean we've got to be jerks about it, right? We speak the truth in love, but we don't got to hide the hard stuff. And one of the hard things about the gospel, one of the hard things of the gospel is this.

[11:52] It says this, your weaknesses and limitations are an asset, not a liability. And here is how Paul explains that. In verse 6, for God who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

[12:10] And we say, man, we say like, yes, we love that part. It sounds awesome. It sounds triumphant. It sounds good. And it is. It's very good news. And it would be great if he stopped there.

[12:21] But he doesn't. And we're just like, man, Paul, if you would have just, you know, controlled all the words coming out of your mouth. It could have been so good. But he doesn't stop. He goes on to say, we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

[12:39] There it is. Jars of clay. Let me tell you guys, in that context, that is not a flattering description. Jars of clay were used for storing things like grain and oil and water for bathing.

[12:56] They were ordinary and common. They were kind of the things that, like, you kept hidden away. Or if they were there, you kind of walked by. Like, nobody was like, hey, come on over.

[13:09] I want to show you my jars of clay. We can just look at them and behold their beauty. That was not happening in that society. They were there, but they were just there.

[13:20] That's the message of the gospel. God puts his glory. God puts his presence, his treasure, his power, his grace in weak and unimpressive people.

[13:32] Why? Why does he do that? To prove to us, we need to know this, and to those around us, that God's surpassing power is better than ours.

[13:44] His power is better than ours. And let me just say, it's like, if you're a Christian in the room, we're like, yeah, we know that. That's so awesome. But it's actually, Paul making this statement and speaking into that Corinthian culture, it was radically countercultural.

[14:01] And it was radically unpopular. And I would say, for today's culture, it is also radically countercultural and unpopular. Because just like then, we worship and clamor for power and influence.

[14:17] It's what feeds our culture of celebrity. And believe me, guys, if America has anything, it is a culture of celebrity. We leverage our strengths and our minds and our beauty or whatever asset we have to garner glory for ourselves.

[14:34] Man, we are glory hogs. Let's be honest. Every kid, every teenager, they're looking at all these influencers on Instagram and TikTok and YouTube and whatever it may be, and they're just like, man, I want to be the next big thing.

[14:50] Probably some adults too. And that is just like, just a traditional way of thinking of like pathway to power.

[15:03] But power can also be found in not so obvious ways. You can be a victim and leverage it as power to your own benefit. Think about it. Withholding forgiveness.

[15:14] That's a power play. Or if you are a victim. Or somebody has wronged you. Feeling that you have the unfettered privilege to take that person down.

[15:27] Or being able to do what I want in response to that. Those are all power plays too. The irony is that our very claim to victimization offers a unique power opportunity of its own.

[15:40] But it's to lord it over others to get our way. See, our cultural moment is just like the Greco-Roman culture of Paul's day. It's no different.

[15:51] You're either winning or you're losing. And so make any power play you can to win. But the gospel calls us to live differently. Look at what Paul says next in verse 8.

[16:01] We are afflicted in every way but not crushed. Perplexed but not driven to despair. Persecuted but not forsaken. Struck down but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus.

[16:16] So that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake. So that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

[16:29] So death is at work in us but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, I believed and so I spoke. We also have, we also believe and so we also speak.

[16:40] Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake. So that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.

[16:56] So we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasting away. Our inner self is being renewed day by day. See how radically different this is.

[17:07] I mean western orthodoxy teaches us that having power to achieve the life you deserve and curate the life you desire. That is the ultimate good and that should be the ultimate aim of your life.

[17:20] And here's the subtle implication of this. To lose power then is to lose out on life. But the gospel message is this. The more you lose the more you win.

[17:32] So give your life away. Paul gives this really strange praise report. At the beginning of verse 8. We are afflicted in every way but not crushed.

[17:47] Perplexed but not driven to despair. Persecuted but not forsaken. Struck down but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus. So that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

[18:01] Not one of those like feel good verses it seems right. I don't know anybody who has said like. Yeah you know what my life verse is? 2 Corinthians 4 verse 8.

[18:14] I haven't heard that in my day at all. So. Paul's not playing by the rules of society here. This is the worst possible way to win friends and influence people.

[18:28] If you're giving your testimony about your life. And what you're about. And who you are. This is not commending yourself and your message. And your faith at all. But for Paul he's not ashamed of his weaknesses.

[18:41] And he's not ashamed of his sufferings. Because he's rejected the world's systems of winners and losers. He knows that God's power is made perfect in his weakness. And not only that.

[18:52] He is saying that weakness is not something we should be ashamed of or hide. It is what we live in. Because Jesus lives in us.

[19:03] Christians embrace the humility of Christ's death. We carry it in our body. And as verse 11 puts it. Are always being given over to death.

[19:14] Already you see this radical difference in gospel living. It is the antithesis of what the culture is pumping out to us. It is a rejection of worshiping and chasing the traditional modes of power.

[19:29] But it goes further. Verse 11 it says. It finishes by showing us who this is all for. It's for Jesus' sake. Verse 11 says. So that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

[19:45] And then verse 12. So death is at work in us. But life in you. See the message of the modern age says.

[19:55] You must turn your suffering to your advantage. Use it to get the power you need to achieve the life you deserve. So you could really live life. And that's how you could gain life. And get a hold of life.

[20:06] And get it back. The gospel says even your suffering isn't about you. It's about Jesus and others. That is the modus operandi of the Christian life.

[20:18] Giving away power. Literally giving away your life for God's glory. And to bless those around you. Now this call to give our life away doesn't come without rewards.

[20:30] Amen. Hallelujah. So far this has been tough to hear right? Just like where's the good news in all this Jesse? My goodness. Hey here's the good news. It doesn't come without its rewards. It's just not the rewards we expect.

[20:44] Verse 15 says. It's all for your sake. So that as grace extends to more and more people. It may increase thanksgiving. To the glory of God.

[20:56] Paul is willing. And able. To give his life away. Because he is heavenly minded. He is looking up. And he is looking ahead. Convinced.

[21:07] That Jesus is going to bring all who believe. In the gospel. Into. Jesus' presence. All together with him. So his suffering. Everything he sees is through that lens.

[21:19] And he is like. Man. All I do. It's all for your sake. His suffering is tethered to this overwhelming desire. That. That. I'm sure there was competing desires in him.

[21:29] But you know what. Everything. Paled in comparison to this desire in Paul. To see more and more people. Worshipping. Jesus. And experiencing his grace. He would say.

[21:41] Man. The more death. That is work. At in me. The more I give my life. Away for the gospel. The more I get to see the gospel. Gains. Multiplied. All around me. As it takes.

[21:52] As it takes root. And it grows in you. Right. And kind of what he's saying. And getting at. Is when you live for yourself. Only one person gets to win. But if you lose your life.

[22:04] By living for God and others. Many get to win. And if their winning. Is your winning. Even if you're still losing. Guess what. You've multiplied. Your own winnings exponentially.

[22:16] Think about that. So the more you lose. The more you win. That's the overarching theme. We see in Paul's life. It is dominated by gospel living.

[22:27] And gospel proclamation. And he's not doing this. To earn points. To get into heaven. Now he's secure in the fact. That no, no, no. He knows. Where he's going.

[22:38] And he's also not doing it. To gather glory for himself. Because he's found. Another glory. That is incomparable. Verse 17. For this light momentary affliction. Is preparing for us.

[22:50] An eternal weight of glory. Beyond all. Comparison. As we look not to the things that are seen. But to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient. They're not going to last.

[23:02] They're here today. Gone tomorrow. They're a vapor. But the things that are unseen. They're eternal. They're concrete. They're lasting.

[23:13] They're never going away. Everything you thought you could gain from this world. Is worth losing. Compared to the coming glory. In heaven. That's the message of the gospel.

[23:27] This is the seminal point. Of God's argument. If there is no heaven. Think about this. If there is no heaven. Then all you have. Is what you can get out of your life.

[23:37] Here on earth. So why not live for yourself? It would actually make no sense. It wouldn't make any sense not to just live for yourself. Why not try to get all the rewards.

[23:47] That can be gained for yourself. Before you die. If this is all you got. From the day you're born. Till the day you die. Which compared to eternity. Is just this little blip. That's all you got.

[23:58] Then why not? Why not just go for it. And live for yourself. Regardless of who it hurts. Make yourself as happy as possible. But if there is no heaven.

[24:10] And if there is no heaven. And no God. Then probably. You should live that way. But if the gospel is true. And heaven. Has incomparably better rewards.

[24:23] You know what? You are free to live differently. And you are called to live differently. And here's the catch. You can't be all in for both. You can't.

[24:34] It's impossible to do whatever it takes. To get the most out of this life. And also live for heaven's rewards. You can't do both. Jesus said. You cannot serve two masters.

[24:45] You're going to end up. Hating one. And loving the other. This is why. Why Jesus told the rich young ruler. Who came to him and said. What must I do to inherit eternal life?

[24:56] And he says. He says. Well have you kept all the commandments? The rich young ruler said. I've kept them all. Pretty impressive right? And then Jesus says. Well.

[25:06] You missed one thing. Give all your wealth away to the poor. The rich young ruler was trying to have the best of both worlds.

[25:17] Because when he heard that. When he heard what Jesus said. He was going to have to do to inherit eternal life. He couldn't do it. He couldn't do it.

[25:28] And he walked away sorrowful. And sad. See he had to give away his life. Because his life was wrapped up. Around his earthly treasures.

[25:39] His wealth. And to lose that. Would have been to lose his very life. He was trying to have. It all on earth. And have it all in heaven. And Jesus says.

[25:50] Sorry buddy. You can't do that. For the rich young ruler. Heaven's rewards just weren't better.

[26:01] Than his life of wealth. But here's the thing. It's hard. To believe. In such a risky proposition like that. Isn't it? Think about it. Jesus asked this guy. To give up the millions.

[26:13] That he had in his possession. He said. Give it all away. And trust me. It's going to pay off down the road. After you die. Oh Jesus. Can I see it? No, no, no. You can't see it. Well.

[26:24] What is that like? Is it like my. No, no, no. It's different. It's better. It's better. Who says yes to that? Maybe.

[26:34] Maybe us Christians are crazy after all. Actually. Jesus. Gets at this. In some other parables. What is going on here?

[26:45] Jesus gets at this. In some other parables. Of the kingdom of heaven. He says. It's like. It's like a man. That finds treasure. In a field. And he finds that treasure. In that field. And then he goes home.

[26:55] And he sells everything he has. So he can obtain that field. Because that's where that treasure is. Hidden in that field. And in another parable. Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven. To a merchant.

[27:06] Who finds this pearl of great price. This pearl of incomparable value. And he immediately sells. Everything he has.

[27:16] All the goods. His whole inventory. His whole stock. All his wealth. Just to get that one pearl. Because it was better. It was more beautiful.

[27:28] It was of greater value. And what Paul is getting at. In our second Corinthians passage. Is the same thing Jesus is trying. To explain to us. In those parables. It is only crazy.

[27:40] To let go of the sure thing. That you have. The sure thing that you can see. And possess. Until you've seen. The incomparable treasure. That's been hidden. That's the thing.

[27:52] The man that found that treasure. In the field. It was just a field. And then one day. Boom. He sees something. He didn't see before. That merchant. He found that pearl of great price.

[28:02] It was revealed to him. He saw it. And all of a sudden. He had to give away. Everything he had to get it. And that's what Jesus is saying. In those parables. The kingdom of heaven was revealed. Which implies.

[28:13] It was hidden. And Paul says. The things that are eternal. The things that are of. Great value. Of greater significance. Are the things. That are hidden. The things.

[28:24] That are unseen. They have to be revealed. See the rich young ruler. He had missed it. The glory of heaven. Was standing right in front of him.

[28:36] And yet. It remained hidden. From his sight. All he could see. Was the glory of his riches. And wealth. And all the position. And privilege. That it gave him. And he just couldn't let it go.

[28:46] He couldn't walk away from it. When Paul. In these verses. He talks about. The term weight of glory. In describing. These rewards. That await us in heaven.

[28:57] What he's doing. Is he's tapping into. His Hebrew roots. See glory. In the Old Testament. Hebrew. Referred to. To heaviness. It's a.

[29:08] It referred to. Like a measure of weight. Weight. And the weightier. And heavier something. Was the more glory it had. Which is the more value it had. And significance it had.

[29:19] So. Think about this. When. When God's glory. Came down. On Mount Sinai. His heaviness. His weight. Came down. On it. What happened? Mount Sinai.

[29:31] Shook. Under the weight. Of his glory. Between. The strength. Of this huge mountain. Right.

[29:42] It's. When you go to a mountain. A big huge mountain. You see it. Those things are impressive. I'm always in awe. Those things have been there. Since the world was created. And. Nothing. Has taken it out.

[29:54] Nothing. Has laid it low. And yet. God comes down. On this mountain. And it starts shaking. Uncontrollably. Under the weight. Of his glory. And here's the thing. There's two other times.

[30:06] In the Bible. That it said. The earth shook. Under God's glory. At the death of Jesus. On the cross. Remember when he died. Everything went dark.

[30:17] And the earth shook. And again. Three days later. When he rose from the grave. The earth shook. And the tomb opened. And Jesus. Rose again.

[30:28] The glory of God's death. And the glory of God's resurrection. Causes us to consider. What should have. The most weighty. And significant. And significant. Importance. In our lives.

[30:41] And that's the question for us. What has the greater weight upon you? What has the greater value. In your heart? Because you and I. Will live. For what carries the most weight.

[30:53] And those things can be. Family. Or fame. Or beauty. Or career. It could be. Sexual freedom. It could be. Politics. It could be. Wealth. It could be.

[31:03] Any of those things. Because any of those things. Promise. To bring you. Glory. And promise. To give your life. Meaning. And joy. And that's why. They're so tempting.

[31:14] To become. To have this. Greater. And greater weight. And significance. In our lives. But here's the problem. That we all experience. With those things. When we have them. We come under the weight.

[31:26] Of their glory. And for a while. They will satisfy. But then comes another weight. With that. The weight of losing those things. Because all of those things.

[31:37] Can be lost. And in this way. We also come under the weight. Of their suffering. And the gospel says. There's a better weight. To come under.

[31:48] Than those things. The weight of the glory. Of Jesus's death. And resurrection. And the incomparable weight. Of the riches of heaven. That can't be lost. And here's the thing. When you come under. The eternal weight.

[31:59] Of God's glory. His death. And his resurrection. What happens. Is that your glory. Seems light. And insignificant. Into comparison. To the weight of his glory.

[32:11] That could shake a mountain. That could shake the earth. And you know what? Even though. Your glory. Lessons. Becomes lighter.

[32:21] In the face of that. You know what else. Lessons. You're suffering as well. It doesn't carry. As much weight. As it used to. Because God's glory.

[32:31] Outweighs them all. So how. Do you. Avoid being like. The rich young ruler. How do we do that? How do we avoid.

[32:42] Being like that rich young ruler. And miss out. On the glory of Jesus. Getting back. To earlier. And what Paul says. In verse three. As we wrap up. Says.

[32:52] Even if our gospel is veiled. It is veiled to those who are perishing. That hidden treasure. In the case. The God of this. In their case.

[33:02] The God of this world. Has blinded the minds. Of the unbelievers. To keep them from seeing. The light. Of the gospel. Of the glory of Christ. Who is the image of God. For God who said.

[33:15] Let light shine out of darkness. Has shown in our hearts. To give the light. Of the knowledge. Of the glory of God. In the face. Of Jesus Christ. It is the same for everyone.

[33:28] Christian. Or non-Christian. Rich or poor. Young or old. Privileged or not. Cry out to God. To open your eyes. To see his glory. As the band comes up.

[33:40] How can we respond? If you are here. And you are not yet a Christian. I want to say to you. Man. When God opens your eyes. To his glory. You just.

[33:51] Know it. When this happens. The response inside of you. Is like. Oh my goodness. This is amazing. What must I do. To be saved. Because at the same time.

[34:02] You feel the weight. Of God's wrath. Over your sin. That same weight. That came upon Jesus. In his judgment. On the cross. That shook. The earth.

[34:14] That glory. Of his holiness. Meeting our sin. And punishing Jesus. For our sin. I've been there. I've known that feeling.

[34:25] But at the same time. It comes. With this offer. Of the glory. Of forgiveness. And the hope. And the promise. Of new life. In Jesus. That shook.

[34:36] The earth. Under the glory. Of Jesus's resurrection. And so. I want to say. To you. Man. When God's glory. Comes on you. It feels like. Your heart.

[34:47] Is being shaken around. What you thought. Was stable ground. In your life. Becomes unstable. That's a good thing. And the invitation.

[34:57] That God is holding out to you. If that is you. Is come to me. Repent. Of your sin. And believe. That my glory is enough. My death is enough.

[35:09] For you. My resurrection life. I'm calling you. To come. And live in it. And that's what you do. You just acknowledge that. You say. Yes Lord. Be my Lord and Savior.

[35:21] And if that's you. It says you should confess. That he's your Lord and Savior. Like our faith. Isn't something we hide. Our faith is something we proclaim. And so come.

[35:32] And I would love to speak to you. Or any of the pastors. Would love to speak to you afterwards. And just come up and say. Guess what? Today was the day. Jesus got a hold of my heart.

[35:43] And shook it. And I handed it over to him. I handed my life over to him. To live for him. We would love. To know. If that's you. And just welcome you.

[35:53] Into the family of God. I just want to say. To those of in the room. Us in the room. Who are already a Christian. Very simply. How is God shaking your heart today? And I want to say.

[36:06] Man let's be. A people. That cry out. To see. The glory of God. So that it. Can always have. The greatest weight. And the greatest significance.

[36:18] In our lives. We're going to. Take communion. And if you would stand with me. As we do this. We're going to do this together. Father. This is us.

[36:36] Partaking of the glory. Of Jesus's death. That has cleansed us. From sin. And has freed us. From sin's power. And when we. Take this in faith.

[36:47] What we are saying. What we are confessing. To all those around us. Is that. Yes I believe in Jesus. He is. My Lord and Savior. But. I want his glory.

[36:58] I want the glory of his death. More than the glory of my. Own life. As he gave his life away for me. I want to give my life away. For him. And this reminds us.

[37:10] That even. In our losing. We are winning. Because we have. An incomparable. Treasure waiting for us in heaven. And so together. His body broken.

[37:22] For us. His blood. Shed for us. Let's eat. And drink. Together. Together. All right.

[37:38] The band is going to lead us. In one more song. As we sing about. This glorious God. Let's sing with all our hearts guys. He is worthy of our praise. einer