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Hope for Restoration
9 Plays5 days ago
Series: Faithfulness to Jesus
Mark 15:40-16:8
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Transcript
Challenges of the Chinese Women's Relay Team 2019
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you've ever thought that you have had a bad day, just want you to check out the Chinese women's relay team in the 2019 World Championship 4x100 relay in this video.
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To watch the second leg down the back straight, a real head-to-head between Shelley and Fraser Price. Oh, a real shame. Just seeing pictures here, the Chinese.
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having all sorts of problems. And we're just showing why their race unfolded.
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And you thought you had a bad day.
Self-Reflection on Failure
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Can you imagine that? Can you imagine being on the world stage?
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Representing your country? Not once, not twice, but three failed attempts. How many of y'all felt sorry for them? Come on.
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My goodness. How many of y'all thought to yourselves, thank goodness that's not me?
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Friends, on our lifelong race of discipleship, you and I have fumbled the baton way more than three times.
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So before we're too quick to judge them, just want us to look back at ourselves today and think to myself or think to yourself, how many times have I fumbled it?
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How many times should I have said something to somebody who desperately needed me to speak some words of wisdom? How many times didn't I do something that I should have done when I was prompted by the Holy Spirit?
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How many times have I simply wanted to give up, throw in the towel? If that's you this morning, I'm here to encourage you that failure in your discipleship journey is not the end.
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Fumbling the discipleship baton does not disqualify you from the race.
Parallels: Relay Race and Discipleship
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We've all fumbled it, some more than others. But there is hope to be found. And friends, that's as we close out the book of Mark today.
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And I know many of you are thinking, I didn't think we'd ever get to this point. We're finally finishing the book of Mark, and that it is today. The end of Mark is all about hope. um and And we're really going to land on that at at the very, very end. If you have your outlines, you'll see where we're headed this morning.
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We're going to talk about this failure of the twelve, of the disciples and really the greater failure of not just them, but those who are around them. We're going to see forgiveness for that failure.
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That's the second place that we're going to go. And at the very end, we're going to look at the hope that is found in the faithfulness of Jesus towards the disciples, just like his own, who fumbled the baton.
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And it's it's directed at you and I as well today. If you have your Bibles, go ahead turn to Mark chapter 15.
Peter's Denial and Repentance
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We're gonna start in verse 40 and I'm gonna read through 16.8.
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ah sixteen eight It's a little bit of length, but it's it'll be appropriate. You'll remember that as we've walked through this journey, um if there was one disciple that stood stood out among everybody else who so fumbled the baton three times, you'll know that was that was Peter.
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Peter was one of the closest. next to Jesus. And he even told Jesus, Jesus, I will never deny you.
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But we saw just a few chapters ago, he indeed, he den denied Jesus three times. But what's important is after that chapter 14, verse 72, if you will, just flip back in your Bibles with me, you'll see something remarkable.
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It says that Upon denying Jesus three times,
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Peter broke down and wept. He cried. And this is a very important response that that we're going to look at at the very end of the sermon today.
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It's a needed response that you and I must take. It's one that will lead to restoration. Now, if you know your Bible history, you'll know this is not the end of Peter.
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You know his failure three times denying Jesus is not the end. Matter of fact, he goes on to be a pillar.
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All of Jesus' disciples, and I want to emphasize that this morning, all of them, not just Peter, all of them fled when it came time at the very end for Jesus.
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All of them were unfaithful to a very faithful master. Only a few unlikely characters that we're going to read about this morning stuck around.
Roles of Women and Joseph of Arimathea in Jesus' Burial
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The very end of his life, when Jesus breathes his last breaths and he gives up his spirit, the very disciples who have followed him for so many years are nowhere to be found.
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Read with me here Mark chapter 15 starting in verse 40.
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This is just on the heels of this Roman officer. As Jesus had just died, this Roman officer says, This man is truly the Son of God. Now listen to who is there at the cross.
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It says some women were there, watching from a distance. Don't miss that detail. Including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome.
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They had been followers of Jesus and cared for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come with him to Jerusalem were also there. This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath.
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And as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and he went to Pilate and he asked for Jesus' body. Joseph was an honored member of the High Council.
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He was waiting for the kingdom of God to come. Pilate couldn't believe that Jesus was already dead, and so he called for a Roman officer and he asked if he had died yet. The officer can confirmed that Jesus was dead, and so Pilate told Joseph that he could have the body.
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Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. and Then he took Jesus' body down from the cross and he wrapped it in the cloth and laid it in the tomb that had been carved out of rock.
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and Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus' body was laid. Now chapter 16 verse 1 starts.
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Saturday evening when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Siloam went out and purchased burial spices so that they could anoint Jesus' body. Very early on Sunday morning, just as the sun rose,
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they were They went to the tomb, and on the way there, they were asking each other, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb? But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.
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When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe, sitting on the right side, and the women were shocked.
Fear and Courage in the Resurrection Story
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But the angel said, don't be alarmed.
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You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn't here. He has risen from the dead. Look, this is where they laid his body.
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Now go and tell the disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there just as he told you before he died.
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The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened. It's interesting, folks, that at the very conclusion of Jesus' life, the very ones who were said to be His closest disciples, His closest followers, are nowhere to be found.
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All of the male disciples who had given up their livelihood to follow Jesus for the last three years weren't there at the very end.
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Everyone had abandoned him. But it's interesting, who's who stuck around? The women. And all the women are saying, amen. In the absence of their male counterparts, the women are now here to pick up the slack.
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And we're told that they're watching from a distance. Quite often we just read right by that, not put any thought into that. But we'll remember in our study of Mark, there was one other disciple who watched from a distance. Who was that?
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You remember? As they went into the courtyard and Jesus was on trial, there was one other disciple that stood back at a distance. That was Peter. so the author is doing something here simply by the way he's writing this. He's letting you know that while the women are there, when the men aren't, even the women aren't really 100% there.
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He's pointing out that these three, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and Salome, and if you studied your Bible, let me just tell you what,
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If you're gifted with names, the first thing that you'll recognize is there sure are a lot of Marys in the Bible. Right? Who's here with him? Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joseph, and Salome.
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why Why so specific here? Well, I think most likely he's paralleling The missing male disciples, who were the inner core, Peter, James, John.
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They're nowhere to be found. But who is? Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joseph, and Salome. Even these women who were there aren't really there.
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He's doing something. He's pointing us towards what Paul would tell us in Romans chapter 3, 23, that all have fallen short, all have sinned. Everybody, the most likely characters, the very male disciples and these women who have followed Jesus for so long at the very end aren't really there.
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But who is there? Who does take Jesus' body down off the cross? The most unlikely character, Joseph of Arimathea. Who is Joseph? Was he one of the core members?
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Was he the inner group?
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He was somebody of significance and prominence, and it says that it was a risk for him to go to Pilate and ask. See, Joseph Arimathea, he was in the Sanhedrin.
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The Sanhedrin are the very ones who were condemning Jesus to death. Of all people who probably shouldn't have gone to Pilate, it probably shouldn't have been one of the Sanhedrin.
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But here are the most unlikely of characters, Joseph. shows up when the official disciples didn't.
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The author takes one final jab here at the male disciples. Look with me, chapter 16, verse 3. This is another one I think we can easily read right past. It says, On the way there, these are the women, they're asking each other, Who will roll away the stone?
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Why do they ask that? Because there's no men with them to roll away the stones. It seems very weird comment to make as they're getting all the burial spices together and they're ready to go and anoint the body of Jesus.
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But it's a logistical question. Hey, there's a big stone in the middle of the entrance. There's no way we're going to get in. Boy, I sure wish we had some male disciples with us. But we don't.
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Before we turn this into a male-only bashing, and all the men are going, yes, please, pastor, get to this point. The women failed too.
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Look at me just a couple of verses down. The angel tells them in verse 7, now go and tell the disciples, specifically Peter. You don't want to miss that.
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Go tell them. Jesus going to go ahead. But verse 8 says what? The women left and they said nothing. Wait, the angel just told them to go say something.
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But it says they they went and did nothing. So they fled too, friends, and and the author is letting us know here that everybody, the men and the women, the closest of the disciples and those in the outer circle, all failed Jesus at the very end.
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We all failed Jesus from time to time. So what does that mean? What does that mean for you and I? Because no doubt you and I fell into this Romans 3.23.
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All of us have fallen short. All of us have sinned. Well, it's interesting to me how the 12 are forgiven here.
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How you and I can come to the forgiveness that Jesus
Sin, Shame, and Hope in Jesus
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offers. And it's in this picture of hope. And he doesn't just come right out and tell us here at the end of Mark, hey, guess what happened?
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Jesus died on the cross. He was taken, wrapped up, put in the tomb. the The ladies show up, the tomb's open, and he's resurrected, and he's nowhere to be found.
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Everybody have hope, right? That's the general message that you get at the end of Mark. The hope is in the resurrection of Jesus, and i don't I don't want to diminish that at all, friends, because that is the real hope.
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It is the hope that one day you and I, when we pass, we will be resurrected. The Bible tells us in bodily form. But he tells us here in this great picture, and unless you know what you're looking, we'll just skip right past it.
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It's this, look with me this, what I like to call the white linen story within a story. You'll remember the last time we talked about a young man who was dressed all in white, do you remember this?
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And the crowds were chasing him. It it was back in chapter 14, flip back, I just want to remind you, chapter 14, verse 50. verse fifty
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You'll remember this because you've been here faithfully week in and week out. and this this You'll know this story. Verse 50 says that the disciples deserted him.
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see See how important it is that he's telling us right now? All the disciples, the men and the women. he's He has a flashback right here. Verse 50 says, Then all the disciples deserted him and ran away.
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One young man followed behind him. He was only clothed clothed in long white linen shirt.
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And the mob tried to grab him, and it said that he slipped out of his shirt and ran away what? Naked. Remember we talked about this? We said naked equal to shame here. Friends, this white linen outfit, this word that's used for this, is the only time it's other used It's right here, back in chapter 16.
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Chapter 16 says, as they enter, verse 5, as they enter the tomb, they see a man, a young man, dressed in all white. And he's sitting there.
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So here's the picture. You have this naked guy that the white clothes are torn off of him, and it's all this shame that's seen. Now the picture is Jesus has been wrapped in this white linen cloth. Jesus has been wrapped in this shame that this young disciple had.
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And it's been transferred. That shame has been transferred to Jesus. And now what's happened is the glory of Jesus has been transferred to the disciple. Friends, all in this beautiful picture that we would read right past and not even get in chapter 16. It is the great exchange that happened at the cross.
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It is the very reason why you and I have hope. Because he takes the sin that you and I have upon himself. He did it at the cross. He said all the sin of the world was poured upon him.
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Your sin in the past. The sin you're going to do right as you leave these doors today. And the sin that you're going to do next week. All of that sin was poured upon Jesus.
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And he took that for you and I and in the great exchange or the great Replacement, he took that and he he gave you his righteousness. Talk about hope.
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So if you've ever dropped the baton, this is what I put in my notes this week. How many times have I dropped the baton and I started beating myself up? I'm never going to live up to what Jesus wants me to be.
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and matter how many times I've fallen or how many times I've stumbled, he says we're not out of the race. He simply wants to pick you back up dust you off, tell you you're forgiven, and send you back on the race.
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Kind of like that poor lady there at the end of that race. You will notice, you probably didn't, unless you watch it again. When she finally started racing again, she was racing past somebody who had already finished the race.
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That other lady from Jamaica had already won. And I just thought to myself, how embarrassing for that poor lady that she's out there on the world stage. And then I think to myself, how embarrassing for you and I that God sees the sin, and if we just saw our sin the way he did, how embarrassing that would be.
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But he simply wants to take you and I, and he wants to dust us off and and and launch us again, because he makes a point mentioning, ladies, when you go back to the disciples, there's one person in particular I want you to talk to.
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Peter, the one who denied me three times. Peter the disciple of disciples, Peter the very one in whom was closest to Jesus who denied him, he's saying, friends, that's you and I right there.
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If Peter can be forgiven, and if Peter can be restored, you and I can be forgiven and you and I can be restored. That forgiveness is extended not just to Peter but to you and I today and to all disciples who stumble in this lifelong race.
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How do we get back on the track, the right track, get back on the road? How do we return back to faithful discipleship?
Lessons from Peter's Repentance
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This is where we're going to end today. Just three quick points, and I swear it's going to be painless.
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No, it's not painless.
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I hinted at this from the very beginning.
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Peter does something when he sins and he denies Jesus. He says that he broke down and he wept.
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There's a couple of verses within the Bible, if you've ever done Bible memorization, that every student wants. One of them is Jesus wept, because that's the easiest, shortest one, and the next one is this one.
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Peter broke down and wept. um Peter saw the sin that he did, the denial that he did to Jesus, and it says he broke down and he wept. It was because of that betrayal. And he saw what he did to Jesus, and he grieved that sin.
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And friends, that's the very first step in getting back on the road to discipleship, after we've failed, after we've dropped the baton, is to admit the sin that we've done.
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It's repentance. It is this turning of our life. The problem is, I just put down, and and when I say this, I'm not saying this just to you, I'm saying this to myself.
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So before you send me a nasty email on Monday, the problem that many of us face
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We're not truly sorry for our sin. We're just not. We're comfortable with it. That's why we keep doing it. We don't see our sin the way Jesus sees our sin.
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Can you imagine if Peter had denied Jesus and Jesus never faced him? And he just went off on his life and never knew exactly how much he hurt Jesus. But it says, friends, the moment...
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He denied him the third time. said, Jesus turned and they looked and they locked eyes. Do you notice that in scripture? And it says Peter's heart was rendered. means his heart was torn in two for the sin that he did.
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Friends, that's the very first step that leads to repentance is to see sin for what it really is.
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Second, once we've repented of that sin, there comes hope. a time when we need to accept what Jesus has done
Forgiveness and Grace in Repentance
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on the cross. And it's it's accepting the forgiveness that he's already paid for you and I. Many people sit in this next section and they don't fully accept what Jesus has done on the cross.
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I know this because I hear people say this all the time. Pastor, you don't know the type of sin I've done in my life. And I thought to myself, okay, so was that a bigger sin than Jesus could have paid for on the cross?
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Because my Bible says he paid for it all. That's why he said it's finished. It's done. The great exchange has happened. I've taken on all the sin.
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There's nothing that you can do that would offend God more that he hasn't already paid for.
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Jesus atoned for our sins fully on the cross prior to any repentance that you and I could ever do. The gospel comes to you and I as a full package. This is not often preached this way from the but from the pulpit.
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I want you to know that Jesus died on the cross while we were still sinners. He didn't say, get your life straight first and then I'm going die for you. While you were still sinners, he died on the cross.
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Therefore, your repentance and my repentance adds nothing to the finished work of Christ. Our repentance isn't a condition for God giving us his forgiveness. He's already forgiven you.
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You simply have to believe in faith what he did on the cross and accept it.
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But we must accept it. That's what I put on here. And it's hard for some people to get beyond that.
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What does that mean for you and I today? If we fully see sin for what it is in our lives and we turn from it and we accept his forgiveness and he picks us back up and he restores us, if he hands us back the baton and he says, it's all right, it's okay, I knew you were going to stumble anyway.
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Maybe that's a song I should have written right there. That rhymed. I didn't even plan that.
God's Desire for Restoration and Forgiveness
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How many of you see your heavenly father this way? That when you sin and you stumble, that his desire is to pick you back up and dust you off and to restore you?
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Friends, I just put here, he's not up in heaven keeping score of how many times you've dropped the baton. He's just not.
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What he desires is that when you stumble along the way, that you will repent of that sin. and that you will be restored back into the family.
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May we be people who acknowledge our sin, who repent of that sin, who place our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and who fully and faithfully receive his forgiveness. And all God's people said,