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In His Image (2 Cor 3:18)
60 Plays2 years ago
Sunday Message recorded 02 July 2023
by Associate Pastor Josh Shell
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Rick Restivo's Softball Injury
00:00:06
Speaker
Well, that was a little glimpse into what we experienced here at Union. I feel like we took less photos this time than last year, but it's all good. I'm going to retract the statement. I say we all made it back in one piece. There's actually one minor casualty. His name was Rick Restivo. He's not here today.
00:00:27
Speaker
Playing softball, of all games, slipped and hurt his knee. So, he was limping around the rest of the week. So the video of the three guys, Steven, Will Vickers, and Rick, is because they all had limps. So they were walking together. So I thought it would be funny to put
Theme: 'In His Image' - 2 Corinthians 3:18
00:00:44
Speaker
that in there. And then the other video was the bubble soccer. Guys, greatest investment that I'm about to make in all of history.
00:00:51
Speaker
If there's ever a disciplinary issue, I'm going to say go get in the bubble soccer. We're about to go at it. So anyway, but all that aside, it was an absolutely incredible week, but I am excited to walk through with you what we looked at each day during Bible study and during the messages that were given by a guy named Gary Morgan.
00:01:15
Speaker
Like I said, the theme of the week was in His image. And it's based off 2 Corinthians 3, 18. And I would love to read this passage to you. I'm actually gonna read verses 12 through 18.
00:01:26
Speaker
But I'm gonna read this to you. It says this in 2 Corinthians chapter three verse 12. It's gonna be up on the screen as well. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who will put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.
Transformation into Christ's Image
00:01:44
Speaker
But their minds were hardened, for to this day, when they read the Old Covenant, that same veil remains un-lifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.
00:01:57
Speaker
Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. We all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the spirit. What an incredible promise for us today.
00:02:27
Speaker
See, when we look back and we look at, when it talks about when the law of Moses is being read, it's those who have not recognized that the true Messiah has come. And in a world where identity is at a crisis right now, I'm not talking about just gender identity, I'm not talking about relational identity, I'm not talking about anything like that, I'm talking about dead versus alive.
00:02:52
Speaker
This message is more of importance than any other message right now. Because all of us in this room who are considered brothers and sisters in Christ, who believed in our hearts and confessed with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we now have unveiled faces. We have unveiled hearts. Our eyes have been opened to the truth of the gospel of Jesus and how we have been set free from the bondage of sin and death. But yet many others are walking around right now with veils over their heart.
00:03:21
Speaker
Many people believe that that veil has been removed, but it's still there. But yet, what are we doing about it? Many of us, we sit here in the pews, we leave this place, and we call it good. We've done our due diligence of walking in Christ for the week.
Four Points of Study
00:03:39
Speaker
Some of us may even consider coming back on Wednesday nights, or whenever the doors are open. But the reality is that when you put your faith, hope, and trust in Jesus, when you are transformed from the renewal of your mind, as it says later in chapter five,
00:03:51
Speaker
Everything about you is transformed. You no longer have a desire for the ways of the world, but rather you have the desire to walk in the news of life in Christ Jesus, to proclaim the good news of Jesus to those around you. We should all have this desire in us to want to just shout it from the rooftops about the good news of Jesus.
00:04:14
Speaker
And that's exactly what we were looking at this week while we were at Union. We're looking at four different points today. The first one we're looking at is how we as humans were created in the image of God. The second day focused on how our image was distorted. We were created on purpose and for a purpose, but then it became distorted, but it didn't end there.
00:04:42
Speaker
Our image was now renewed, which was day three, and how in Christ we have been transformed. The oldest passed away, the new has come. And then the last day, point four, is that our image is shared. It doesn't stop with image renewed. It doesn't stop, period. We go and we continuously share the image of our creator until he calls us home.
00:05:10
Speaker
So these are the four points that we're looking at today, but before we get into the first point here, I'm gonna pray for us as we continue on. Will you pray with me? Father, please go before this time. I know this is a message of review, a recap of what we experienced at Union there at Centrifuge, but Lord, this message is timely for all of us today, in this moment, right here, right now.
00:05:34
Speaker
Lord, all of us have different things going on in our hearts, in our minds, in our lives. Many of us, we think that we're walking in the image of you, but Father, we're really walking in our sin.
00:05:46
Speaker
Lord, many of us in this room, or many of those in this room may feel like that. There's nothing they can do to have a renewed image to be restored because the sin in their life is too great. But Lord, your word tells us that there is no sin in this life that is too great for you. Your grace is sufficient in all things. So Lord, I pray that as we walk through this, that you'll soften the hearts of those who are hurting and open the minds of those who need to hear this message today.
Gary Morgan - Engaging Camp Pastor
00:06:14
Speaker
Lord, we lift all these things in the name of Jesus. Amen. As I said, the guy who was the camp pastor of the week, his name was Gary Morgan. This is Gary. An incredible dude. I shaved my head, wore my thick glasses, and wore a t-shirt just for him.
00:06:34
Speaker
In honor of old Gary this was the t-shirt that we wore by the way going to the airport and while we arrived at camp That's why I'm wearing it today just said and then the other shirt Stephen tikes is wearing it says in his image That's the theme shirt this week. So if you want to see you can come to get a photo of him later
00:06:49
Speaker
But I almost thought about shaving my mustache, like shaving my beard just to a mustache, but I figured that'd be too much for you guys. So I did not do that. But old Gary here, he's a fellow unionite. He graduated from union as well. And then I asked him, I was like, hey, when did you graduate from union? He was like, oh, many moons ago. And I was like, do you know Pastor Victor?
00:07:09
Speaker
And I was like, hey, I was like, well, okay, cool. Do you actually know a guy named Victor Morrison? He was like, do I ever? Yes, we were at school together. And I was like, dude, you got to give me some dirt. I was like, you got to give me some dirt. I was like, has he always been prim and proper? And he was like, ever since I've known him. I was like, man, okay.
00:07:31
Speaker
No, he could only speak incredible things about Victor. So it was a really, really sweet conversation. He loved Victor. But all I'd say is Gary Morgan was the speaker. He was an incredible guy. He used to work at First Baptist Nashville. Now he's ministering with Apartment Life. They're in Nashville, Tennessee, really cool ministry. I encourage you guys to go read about it. So that's Gary Morgan. But the first thing that we talked about that he covered
Day One: Created in God's Image
00:07:59
Speaker
during our time there at Union was this idea of how we are made in his image. And the key verse for this day, day one was Psalm 139 verse 14. It says, I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. And you guys know this passage. This is a very popular, very known passage of scripture from David.
00:08:25
Speaker
And this is speaking to the identity that he has in God and how God knew him before he was even born. And he had wonderful plans for him. He would go on and in their Bible studies, they would hit on different passages like Genesis 1, 27, where it goes into how God created man in his own image. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him male and female. He created them.
00:08:53
Speaker
If that didn't speak enough identity into these students, I don't know what did, especially in our culture today. He created a male and female in his image. Then he goes on to Deuteronomy 7, six through nine, it says, for you are a holy, or sorry, you are a people holy to God. The Lord your
Viewing All as God's Treasured Possession
00:09:13
Speaker
God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
00:09:20
Speaker
It sounds like a familiar passage. This is repeated by Peter in 1 Peter 2, nine through 10, where he talks about how we are a holy people, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, caught out of darkness into his marvelous life. This is after the good news of Jesus coming and saving us. So we have been set apart. We are chosen by God, a treasured possession. May we not forget that.
00:09:46
Speaker
We are made in his image, male and female, and we are his treasured possession. So as we go throughout our days, may we not look at another party, may we not look at another race, may we not look at another people group and say they're not worthy, they're not treasured, they're not God's people. That's a lie from Satan. Satan wants us to attack one another. He wants division, he wants quarrels. But we're all God's chosen people.
00:10:13
Speaker
We are His treasured possession. He desires us to have intimate relationship with Him. So may we not be selective or prejudiced about anybody else or what their beliefs are, anything like that, but what we are called to do is that day four point. We are called to share His image, to share the good news of Jesus. That's what we're called to do. Not to be divisive.
00:10:38
Speaker
And then Galatians 3, 13 and 14 says this, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is anyone who has been hanged on a tree. So that in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith.
Renewal and Abundant Life in Christ
00:11:02
Speaker
Powerful passage for us.
00:11:05
Speaker
It's a reminder of how it's not in anything that we've done, but it's all that Christ said and that God loved us so much. He treasured us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to come and die on the cross for us. He came and became the curse for us so that through His death, burial, and resurrection, we can now have life in Him. Not just life, but abundant life for eternity through the promised Holy Spirit.
00:11:33
Speaker
So we are made in His image and His likeness. We cannot forget that. That is the foundation by which we as believers must walk in daily. When we wake up, we must recognize that we are God's creation, that we are His chosen, treasured possession. And allow that to lead us and guide us in our daily conversations and our daily convictions all the above. May we walk worthy to be called His treasured possession in His image.
00:12:03
Speaker
Not in the world's image, but in his image.
Sin's Distortion and Need for Redemption
00:12:06
Speaker
Day two is the topic of image distorted. So we are made in God's image, his treasured possession. He intricately made us, as David talks about, and wonderfully makes us, but yet as a result of sin, our image is distorted. And the key verse for that day, one that we all know and love is Romans 3.23, for all of sin have fallen short of the glory of God.
00:12:33
Speaker
All of us, no one is exempt from this. If you have breath in your lungs and you have flesh on your bones, you are broken. You have fallen short of the glory of God.
00:12:48
Speaker
This came about, though, as it says in Genesis 3, 6 through 7, it says, So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.
00:13:12
Speaker
And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. So this right here is the moment that which sin came into the world. This one conversation that Adam and Eve had with this sly, deceitful serpent. Did God truly say this? Did God really tell you that you're not made in His image? That you're not worthy of Him? These are the questions that get thrown at us all day long. Did God really make you male or female?
00:13:44
Speaker
As a result of this one moment, this deception overcame all of us. We all became broken. We give into these fleshly desires. And we also see the same thing in this account of Exodus 32, one through six, where the people are out in the wilderness. So the people experienced this incredible exodus out of Egypt, out of slavery over 400
Idolatry: Distortion and Repentance
00:14:05
Speaker
years. They go out to the wilderness. Moses goes up to the mountain to meet with God. He's there 40 days and 40 nights. So what do the people do?
00:14:14
Speaker
Well, looks like Moses is gone. God's really not with us. Aaron, make us a figure out of goals that we can worship it. You guys remember this account? And what does Aaron do? Does he stop him and say, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, we gotta remain holy and righteous before God. We gotta trust and wait in him. Is that what Aaron does to the priest at this time, by the way?
00:14:40
Speaker
Does he do that? No, he says, all right, give me all the gold rings that you have. So they bring all the gold and they form the golden calf and they worship it.
00:14:50
Speaker
So again, this is the nature by which we have a tendency of following. Our image is distorted. That's why we must remind ourselves daily that of our need and our dependence upon a savior, Jesus, to bring us back into a right relationship with God. So that way we can equip ourselves with the wisdom and knowledge which he gives us to the spirit to fight these thoughts. Because everything in which we're dealing with today is this right here, it's idolatry.
00:15:20
Speaker
It's what man can come up for themselves to think that is right and good and pleasing in our eyes. But man, do we ever need to turn back and repent and bring ourselves before a holy righteous God, allowing him to work in us and through us and to redeem us.
00:15:38
Speaker
The last one here on day two is Romans 1, 22 through 25. It says this, claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore, God gave them up to the lust of their hearts, to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the creator.
00:16:06
Speaker
who is blessed forevermore, amen. Does that sound familiar to anybody? Our culture is living in a time where we are literally exchanging the truth about God for a lie. It's even infiltrating the churches. This progressive Christianity that's coming about. I'm not trying to be this old fire brimstone pastor, but guys, we have to be on defense against every deceitful thing that enters the church.
00:16:37
Speaker
That's why I invite you to hold me accountable to the word of God. If I say something that is not the word of God, that is not true, you need to hold me accountable. I am no different, no better than you. Victor's the same way. We invite you guys to hold us accountable. So that way we as a church together can walk in the unison in the body of Christ and make His glory known, not our own glory.
00:17:06
Speaker
Day three, it goes on. So we talk about we're made in God's image and how God desires us as his people. We are his treasured possession to then our image is distorted. It's broken. We have taken it. We have tainted it. We have made it our own because we want to be our own God and we want to worship our own gods. But God just didn't give up on us. The story doesn't stop there.
God's Plan for Renewal
00:17:32
Speaker
doesn't end with us just ruining everything, but rather God is renewing us. Day three, image renewed. The key verse, 2 Corinthians 5, 17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The oldest passed away, behold, the new has come. This is an incredible passage. Hope right here for us in 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Our image is now renewed through the finished work of Jesus.
00:18:00
Speaker
God knew from before the foundations of the world, going back to David, when he was making us and woving us into our mother's womb, he knew in that moment that he was gonna have to send a Messiah, a Savior to come and redeem this creation in which he's created. Because we would rather follow our own stomachs than to listen to who God is and to walk in God's glory.
00:18:27
Speaker
There's an incredible passage of scripture in Isaiah 53 that paints this picture so very well as verses one through 12. This is a little bit longer of a passage. I'm gonna try to read it through a little bit longer or quick, but I also want us to feel the weight and the gravity of what this passage is talking about. So again, Isaiah's in the Old Testament. This is before Christ came. Listen to these words about how God prepared beforehand what he knew he had to do for us as his people.
00:18:57
Speaker
Who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom has the armor of the Lord been revealed?
Christ's Suffering and Redemption
00:19:03
Speaker
For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and he was esteemed not.
00:19:24
Speaker
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with all his wounds we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray.
00:19:48
Speaker
We have turned every one to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth like a land that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that is before her shearers is silent. So he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away and as for his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.
00:20:17
Speaker
And they made his grave with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. Let me reread that verse, y'all ready?
00:20:32
Speaker
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous.
00:20:55
Speaker
and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him with a portion with a many and shall divide the spoiled with the strong because he poured out his soul to death.
Hope and Eternal Life through Christ
00:21:05
Speaker
It was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors." So when we go about and people ask you, what is this gospel about?
00:21:19
Speaker
What is this renewal about? What is this restoration, this redemption that the Christians talk about all the time? May we reflect back on this passage of Isaiah 53 and think back of what Christ did for us. Our redemption was purchased through the blood of Christ, through His oppression, through His affliction, through His judgment, but I wish the Lord willed Him to experience.
00:21:44
Speaker
so that we, broken sinners, made in the image of God, can be renewed. So we can be made new. 2 Corinthians 4, 16-17 says, 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.
00:22:14
Speaker
as a result of the sacrifice of Jesus for the will of God to be complete. Jesus to die on the cross, to raise from the dead, to sin back into heaven. We now in this momentary affliction can have hope. We can have peace, we can have comfort, we can have assurance knowing that through the finished work of Jesus, though we are dead to our sins and our flesh, our spirit is alive through Christ Jesus.
00:22:44
Speaker
So though our image has been distorted, Christ, our Messiah, has renewed us. And there's no greater hope in this life than to believe and to confess that Jesus is Lord. Because it's through Him we have access to the eternal glories of God. We can experience Him in His fullness.
00:23:04
Speaker
Last day, image shared. Again, this doesn't, our purpose, our reason to be on this earth as the image bearers of God does not stop with just Jesus redeeming us and renewing us and restoring us. It doesn't stop there. But rather, we have to walk in His ways. We have to walk in the newness of life. We have to share His good news.
Sharing God's Image and the Gospel
00:23:31
Speaker
The key verse, Matthew 28, 19, go therefore make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Go therefore and make disciples. We must share God's image. This hope that we have in Christ, this newness of life is not just for you, it's for all who are God's creation.
00:24:03
Speaker
For us to think that this good news is only for us, that's the most selfish mindset that you can ever have. And I would even challenge you to even think that if you've been renewed by Christ, if that's your mindset.
00:24:17
Speaker
Because again, the desires of our heart become God's desires for His people. When we are renewed, when we are transformed, the Spirit dwells in us. The veil is torn from our heart. We are now able to walk in God's wisdom, in His truth, His knowledge, in His desires, in His desires for all to come to know Him and to make Him know.
00:24:41
Speaker
One of the things that I heard when I was there at camp, I think I was actually talking with my buddy Jordan about this as well. So Jordan was the one singing the Backstreet Boys song with me. He was my roommate in college. But we were talking about how God's consequences are not for us to carry, for us to bear, or even for us to administer. God's consequences are for him to administer. We were just called to go and share the love of God.
00:25:12
Speaker
Let that sink in in our culture for a moment. We have a tendency of looking out and seeing all the brokenness in our world and we're like, oh my goodness, if that comes back in my face one more time, oh, they're gonna feel the heat of Jesus. Is it your place to do that? God is going to hold every single one of us accountable for the decisions that we make, for the words that we say, for the actions that we do. That's God's place.
00:25:40
Speaker
Now, hear me say this, I'm not saying go out and just throw out butterflies and gumdrops to everybody and say, God is love, okay? There is a time and place for us to address sin, for us to address those who are walking in sin. However, we have to take the burden and the weight off our shoulders to think that we administer all of it. I'm speaking to myself here. My wife is saying amen in her mind right now, okay?
00:26:06
Speaker
I carry the weight of sin of others. I do, I see it and I'm like, how do they do this? Like how can they walk in an unrighteous manner before God? But again, it's not my place to do that. God is holy, God is just, God is righteous. He is the true judge that will judge everything. Let him take it while you go and show mercy. God desires us to show mercy.
00:26:34
Speaker
And we do that by sharing His story, His purpose, His plan, His will for those who are walking in this earth.
Call to Share God's Love Without Judging
00:26:50
Speaker
Acts 1-8 to you says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in all Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
00:27:03
Speaker
For anyone who's in Christ, we have received the Spirit. We have received the Spirit of power to go and to be able to stand firm in the mighty hand of God, to give a defense to the schemes in which Satan is throwing at us. We're also given power to go and to show mercy and love and compassion to those who are hurting and broken and guess what? Who are seeking.
00:27:31
Speaker
Have you ever thought about that? Those who are hurting and broken, those who are walking in a way that is unappealing to you or that is not righteous or holy, they're not doing it. I mean, yes, there's a part of us that due to our sinful nature, we desire to walk against the glory of God. But at the same time, this generation is my opinion one of the most seeking generations. They want to know truth.
00:27:56
Speaker
They want to know what is right from wrong. They want to know what is acceptable, what's unacceptable. We have to be ready and willing to meet them right there and to show them what is acceptable and what is unacceptable, to show them what is right from wrong, but in a way that is merciful, that is compassionate, that is loving.
00:28:21
Speaker
because we were all there at one point as believers in Jesus. We were all at that threshold, that crossroad where we wanted to know the truth of Jesus. We wanted to feel the freedom of our sin and it just took one person to come and to tell us how that was possible, right? That's how it was for me. My youth group leader came and he's like, dude, you gotta let go of the way to the world.
00:28:50
Speaker
This is true, this is right, this is holy, this is just, this is what God desires of you. And God broke my spirit right then and there. So again, we're not called to go and to condemn, but rather we're called to go and share the good news of Jesus and allow his work to redeem and renew the images that are broken.
00:29:13
Speaker
One of the illustrations that Gary Morgan used throughout the week was one of a record player.
Record Player: Purpose and Restoration
00:29:21
Speaker
I meant to bring mine. I do have a record player for all those who think I'm too young. I meant to bring it, I forgot, I'm sorry. But he used this illustration and how when the record player was created, when the vinyl disc was created, it was created on purpose and for purpose. So what was that purpose, do you think?
00:29:44
Speaker
to hold music and to play music, right? But if you don't take care, for those of you guys who know about vinyl records, if you don't take care of them, do they play very well? No, if you leave them out, they get bent, they get warped, they get dusty, they get nasty, they get distorted, absolutely.
00:30:09
Speaker
But the good news about this, and that's what he was talking about while we were there, is that you can actually, not the discs that are warped, but the discs that are scratched, the discs that are dusty, that have a film on them. You can clean them. You can restore them. You can bring them back to their original intent so that way they can play the music that they were supposed to play. And that's exactly who we are right now.
00:30:36
Speaker
We are called to share God's image, to put His glory on full display. And God has given us a way to be renewed, to be restored. You just have to choose to accept it. And that's through Christ Jesus. The moment you receive Christ Jesus, you experience a transformation, you're renewed.
00:31:05
Speaker
The Spirit of God dwells in you. And you are now able to walk in His purpose and for His purpose. But until you do that, you'll be seeking. You'll be wondering. You will not be able to comprehend the majesty of God and His creation. So I challenge you, if you're in this room today, you've never put your faith, hope, and trust in Jesus, that you do that.
Acceptance of Jesus for Understanding
00:31:31
Speaker
Because until you do that, you're going to be lost.
00:31:34
Speaker
wandering around in a dark place, wondering what life can be like and what life should be like. Because God created life for His purpose, for His glory, so that we can worship and glorify Him in our actions, our words, in our songs, whatever we can do. Whether it's we're up here dancing, by the way, I don't know whose little girl that was.
00:31:59
Speaker
She takes after her mama. I'm just kidding. But we do everything for His glory and for His purpose. So all I'd say is this was a very powerful theme for me while I was there. I know it was for many of the students, and I hope that this has been a lightening to you guys, and it's been rejuvenating for you in life-giving. A reminder of how we were once broken and dead to our sins,
00:32:29
Speaker
But now, through Christ Jesus, we are made alive. And we can walk in His newness of life and to share His good purpose to those around us. Will you guys pray with me? God, when you come before you, Lord, and we just thank you for the greatest gift that this world has ever seen, and that is your son Jesus. Lord, we are amazed by your wisdom, by your knowledge, your foresight,
00:32:56
Speaker
And the fact that before the world was even fully established, you knew that you were going to have to send your son Jesus to come and to restore and renew your creation. Lord, I praise you for the fact that you did not give up on us. That you did not just look at your creation as soon as sin entered into the world and you just didn't wipe us out. But Lord, your great mercy went before it. You knew that you would send your son Jesus to restore us.
00:33:27
Speaker
And I thank you, Father, for allowing your plan and your will to be unfolded. And as it continues to be unfolded, Father, I pray that we will remain faithful to you as believers in Jesus, that no matter what happens in this life, as it talks about in, oh goodness, in 2 Corinthians, where it talks about how when, no matter what affliction, whatever momentary weakness, whatever the case may be, that we can walk in assurance and hope in you.
Closing Prayer and Faith Walk
00:33:54
Speaker
So Lord, no matter what our struggles are today, no matter what we're dealing with, I pray that we will, during this time of intercession, or not intercession, but at this time of invitation, and as we wrap up our time, that we will surrender it all to you, Father. We'll confess it, surrender it, and walk in you. We love you, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Mylum Street, Columbus, Texas.