Nothing Can Be Greater, Part 2 // 2 Corinthians 3:4-16

[Music] [Music] Turn, if you would, this morning to Second Corinthians, chapter three, in our study today. Second Corinthians, chapter three. And we are actually, uh, in part two of a message that we started. Listen, I figured this out. Remember last Sunday, we dove into it, trying to do the whole thing, and I almost gave some of you a heart attack. And, uh, we wound up having that be part one. Today will be part two, next week part three of a message that is entitled, "Nothing Can Be Greater." And I wish I had a better title than that, but that's the best I can do. "Nothing Can Be Greater." In light of what we're learning, if you weren't here last week, get the teaching, or you can go online and just click on in your leisure. Uh, but study up and, and get in the groove. We'll hear about it today, we'll go there next week. Nothing can be greater than what God has done for us in the Bible. And the more I look at this, and the more you immerse yourself in it, um, the more you just want to grab somebody and shake them and ask them, "Don't you see this? Can you see this? Do you understand this?" The Word of God, the love of God, what God did to give you and I entrance into heaven. And the Bible is so very clear that God, who inhabits eternity, has spoken to us in these dispensations. The Old Testament being the announcement of what was great, what was greater would be coming. And then the New Testament fulfillment.

But we started in Second Corinthians, chapter three, and follow along with me there with your Bibles open. Verse four, and we go down to verse sixteen. But this morning, we'll cover just a portion of this. He said there to the church at Corinth, Paul is speaking. He says, "And we have such trust through Christ toward God, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, or the new testament." The word covenant and testament, interchangeable, same word, same meaning. "Not of the letter, that is of the law, but of the spirit, that is what God gives the Holy Spirit and giving the gospel. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life." Verse seven. "But if the ministry of death," he's talking about the law, the Ten Commandments, it can't save you, it can only tell you how bad you are, "written and engraved on stones was glorious, and so it was that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away. How will the ministry of the spirit not be more glorious?" Verse nine. "For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels." The Old Testament is glorious, but the New Testament, all the more.

Verse eleven. "For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. Therefore, since we have such hope," this is an assured hope, church. It's not like an imaginary hope, or you, you hope it's all true because it is true. "We use great boldness of speech, unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day, the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament." He's speaking to the Jewish people predominantly right now, because the veil is taken away in Christ. Verse fifteen. "But even to this day, when Moses is read, the veil is on their hearts. Nonetheless, or nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."

What we looked at last time in part one, mark it down, we'll run through it quickly. "Nothing Can Be Greater." What Paul is announcing to the church at Corinth. Remember this, this is one amazing man of God who was so obedient to the law, being a Jew, is now converted and becomes a Christian. Previously, he was one who was given letters by the Sanhedrin, by the Pharisees, to arrest Christians. Paul was the most proficient persecutor of the church prior to his conversion. His conversion is legendary in world history. He converts to Christ, and he winds up being a great evangelist for the gospel of God. And he's now speaking and writing a letter, his second epistle, to the Greek believers in Corinth, Greece. And he's speaking out to a bunch of pagan Gentiles who had now come out of that pagan world. And he's speaking to them about a radical truth. And he's using the Jewish believers as the touchpoint, but it applies to all of us this morning. That if you and I are thinking that we can somehow impress God by our religious efforts, Paul is saying, "You're failing. You're missing the whole point of you're doing that. You can't do that. You can't get from here to heaven doing that." And he's going to enumerate that.

And last time together, we looked at this amazing, awesome thing that the letter is done away with by this awesome, wonderful power of the gospel. You heard it a moment ago, the Spirit, the gospel, the New Testament, the New Covenant. Listen, it's new in the sense that it's 2000 years old, but it is eternal. In that, the Bible says from Genesis to Revelation, it was God's eternal mystery. Mystery meaning it was to be revealed in time. Old Testament speaks about it, New Testament announces its fulfillment. And we looked at this. The first point, that there's an absolute assurance. And we saw that in three places, church. That we have this incredible assurance as believers, as Christians. And it's this, that we have an amazing assurance into the presence of Almighty God, not by our own efforts. This is good news for us. If I, if I'm just good enough, I'll learn God's presence. Impossible. So then, how could we as Christians have such bold and exciting assurance and acceptance and presence before God? It's all through Christ, as we'll learn more this morning.

The next thing is that acceptance. It says in verse five and six that our sufficiency. How are we made sufficient before God? How can somebody who is a, a murderer, or a liar, or an adulterer, or an arrogant person, or one who has broken the Ten Commandments, which that, that is all of us, church. How many of you have broken the Ten Commandments? Raise your hands. Some of you are hesitating, you're breaking it in our presence right now. We've all broken the law. How does somebody who's broken the perfect law of God ever enter into heaven? The Bible tells us that that acceptance is through Jesus Christ. He makes us sufficient. And we know that on a small scale, parents love to make things for their children's lives sufficient for them. On a small scale, God does it on a grand scale.

And then we saw last time that our absolute assurance is built upon the fact that we enter into the very life of Almighty God. That as Christians, listen, we are not, hear me out, Bible-toting, going to church on Sunday people. We carry the Bible because we study the Bible. We study the Bible because we long for the Word of God. We long for the Word of God because we've got a deep hunger inside of us to know what God has said and what God is saying. And you remember my little story last week about having the Bible next to me in an earthquake? It's far different from having it near you versus in you. And the Christian is somebody today, the reality of a Christian is that the Bible dwells in them. And that's the power of God at work within us. And that breeds and puts within us a great, absolute assurance.

So here we are, point number two, part two of the message. Look in verses seven through eleven. It is this: "Nothing Can Be Greater Than a Multiplied Glory." And this is a lot of fun. I love this. Verses seven through eleven. And mark this down. Verses seven and eight. There's a multiplied glory that's happened in our lives this way. Mark it. It is a great glory. Great. The Bible says in verse seven, "But if the ministry of death," that is, if the giving of the Old Testament law and all that was given to Moses to give to the children of Israel, was written and engraved on stones, he's talking about the Ten Commandments. If that was something, and it was glorious, look what the Bible says. It was glorious. Why? Because, and I want you to mark this down, church, it was glorious on two fronts. Number one, if you know your Old Testament, God calls Moses up to the mountain, right? And read the fine print. The Bible says that God wrote with his finger onto the tablets. God did that. Can you imagine? I mean, trust me, you don't want to see my writing. Everybody who has seen my writing says, "Man, you should have been a doctor." I can't read a word you just wrote here. I thank God for computers because now I can type. If I had to handwrite something, I mean, oh my goodness. I wonder what God's penmanship was like. I wonder what it looked like. What did, what kind of font did God use? And you know, he wrote in Hebrew, by the way. That's amazing. You say, "Yeah, what kind of language we're going to be speaking in heaven?" I think we're going to all be speaking Hebrew. God wrote it with his own finger, Ten Commandments. He wrote them, gave them to Moses. Moses comes down the mountain. You guys know the story. He's coming down the mountain, and he first meets up with Joshua. God bless Joshua, what a man of God. He's been waiting at the base of the hill, between two worlds, as it were, 40 days, waiting for his boss to come down the hill. Here comes Moses. Moses says, "Joshua, how are you?" He said, "I'm good, Mo. How are you?" "I'm fine." "That's great." And they're heading over to the children of Israel. And, uh, Joshua says, "Hey, listen, the people are cheering, the people are excited." And Moses goes, "Wait a minute. This isn't, they're not, they're not cheering. They're having a full-blown orgy." And Moses takes the Ten Commandments, and what does he do with them? He breaks them. He represents the people before God, and God before the people. And before he even gets a chance to read the first one, they're broken. Why? Because the people had broken them. So Moses goes back up the mountain, and Moses meets with God. This time, Moses records what's to be done, what's to be written, I should say. It's the second set. It's Ten Commandments, still the same Ten Commandments. But something else is told to Moses. You are going to have to take animal sacrifices, and you're going to have to implement blood offerings.

Church, listen. Those of you who are legalistic, those of you have a tendency to be a sin sniffer and a fault finder and look down at people's noses and think that you are somehow better than anybody else. Watch this. If you and I could be perfect by keeping the law, then why did God give the law to Moses and the command to offer up blood sacrifices to cover sin? If the law can take away your sins, listen. Are some of you involved in cults? They believe that Jesus died on the cross. They believe that his blood is powerful, but you've got to keep these rules and apply that to the blood, and then you'll be saved. That's not what the Bible says. This great glory is prefaced with this victory. None of us can be good enough to ever enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is a glory that is given by God. Does that mean then that we just throw up our arms and, and, uh, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die? No. Because the truth of God is now in the Christian church. I hope you know by now. We are talking about real Christianity, not pretend, not Sunday morning Christianity. I'm talking about every moment Christianity. Big difference. It's easy to come to church, but watch this. It is hard to live for Christ every day. You say, "Pastor, don't say that. I just brought a guy here this morning. I want him to accept Christ." Let me, let me be honest. It's hard to be a real Christian. But it is gloriously, wonderfully worth every moment of it. It is gloriously, wonderfully powerful. The truth and the victories far exceed the setbacks and the trauma of living in this world. In the midst of all that happens, for the true believer, there's that great glory and understanding that God's power is with us.

Look at verse seven. "But if that ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly at the face of Moses." Remember, Moses's face was glowing as he came down the mountain because of the glory of his countenance. That's kind of cool, huh? Moses in the presence of God, and his face reflected the glory of God. Maybe that's a little hint for all of us. The more time we spend with God, the more we radiate His glory. But watch this, "which glory was passing away." Moses is coming down the mountain, and he notices, "My goodness, my face is not as shiny as it was a few moments ago." Look at verse eight. "How will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?" If Moses, who was awesome and God's servant, was coming down the mountain and the glory was fading, the announcement to us this morning about the great glory that is multiplied in the Christian life is that the glory that you and I experience with Christ does not diminish. As Christians, the more you walk with Jesus, by the way, here's a little tip. Somebody say amen if you know what I'm talking about here in a moment. The more you walk with Jesus, yes, the Bible says our outward man's perishing, right? We are getting older and older, and we, we, we hurt more and more, and we smell more and more, um, we ache more and more, and all that kind of stuff. Yes, yes, yes. But for the Christian, it's like, "Okay, I understand this happens to everybody. But glory, I'm getting closer to heaven. I'm getting closer to heaven." This is a great glory. And the Bible tells us right here that it is a glory that is more. First Timothy, chapter one, verse eleven, says that it is "according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God." This is an amazing verse. It's pretty fun, church. Watch this, and I'll give it to you, and you might think I'm being a little bit, um, disrespectful. Not at all. In First Timothy 1:11, when the Bible says that it is the glorious gospel of the blessed God, in that verse, the word "blessed" means happy. God. Isn't that amazing? Did you guys hear me? We think of God as one having, looks like as though he has sucked lemons, and he's just really, if he's not visibly angry, he's really disappointed. No. The Bible says that the glorious gospel is of the blessed God. Even the translators were conservative when they used the word "blessed." Doesn't that sound nice? He's the blessed God. Oh, yes. It's like a golfer's clap. What is that? "Oh, look, he just made that." It's such a polite clap. Man, if I ever, and I never have, but if I were to ever put a ball in a hole with a golf club, I would not go, "Oh, no, wasn't that something?" I would probably pass out with sheer joy and then jump up and go crazy and yell because I can't get that ball in the hole. Thus, I don't golf. This excitement of God is that he is the happy God. It doesn't mean that he's silly. It means that he is so excited and so happy that by the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ, he, by that amazing moment on the cross, and then on Sunday morning being resurrected from the dead, purchased for you and I, for all time and eternity, our salvation into heaven. And that's what makes God happy. Isn't it amazing to think that the death of Jesus, read Isaiah 53, that the death of Jesus Christ would bring joy to the heart of the Father, to make him happy? Because why? What could you give God to make him happy? One thing: a redeemed soul. Jesus, the Bible says, died for everyone on the cross. What an awesome thing that is. It is a great glory.

Romans 3:19 says, "Now we know that whatever the law says, the Ten Commandments, it says to those who are under the law." So be careful. Be careful. If you want to keep one, if you want to keep three of the Ten, seven of the Ten, if you're really doing good, you think, and you're going to keep nine of the Ten. The Bible says if you're going to do that, just know this, it speaks to those who are under it, "that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God." Therefore, "by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin." That was why the law was given, to cause us to realize, "Oh no, we need help." Not that we can keep it, not of our own efforts. He says, "For by it, the law is the knowledge of sin." Verse twenty-one. Romans three. "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who," here's the qualifying point, "upon all who believe." That is awesome, church. Listen, we've got to leave today, this message, this gathering together, understanding that God is delighted in you, Christian, because He sees you covered in the blood of Jesus Christ. When God looks at your life, He sees nothing but red, the blood of Christ. We talk about reflection. As Moses went down the mountain, that he veiled his face so the people would not see his glory diminishing or the glory of God. Isn't it interesting that as Christians, we don't wear a veil over our face? We are to shine to the world. Jesus said, "Let your light so shine that all the world will see." Isn't it wonderful to realize when you think about why you look out in the sky? I'm looking right now out into the sky. It is blue this morning. Why is it blue to my eyes? Answer: Because my eyes are receiving, processing the light that is bouncing back off of space. And listen, it's absorbing every color of the wavelength except one color. It's rejecting one color. And sin in the back, and my eyes capture it. What color is it? Blue. If, if you're wearing a red sweatshirt, and I see it red, it's because the fibers and the dyes in that sweatshirt are absorbing, absorbing every color of the wavelength spectrum except one color, and that's red. It's bouncing it back. Technically, in a scientific world, that jacket that Todd is wearing is any color but red. But I see it as red. Why? Because my eyes have been created by God to work that way. And I see the color his jacket's reflecting, not absorbing. See what's your point? When Jesus Christ looks at the Christian, He doesn't see our sins anymore. They're taken away. He said in His Word, "I will remember them no more." Yes, the qualifying factor is repentance, that you hate your sin, that I hate my sin. The real Christian does not make plans to go sin. But when we sin, what is being reflected into the eyes of God? Because you and I, by salvation, are covered in the blood of Christ. This is why we need to forgive one another. God looks at us and He sees nothing but the blood. He sees red coming back at Him. And He, listen, He says, "He sees forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven." To all those who put their trust in Christ, the sacrifice of Christ. No wonder why the New Testament is the great glory. It's not only the great glory, number two, it is the greater glory.

Look at verse nine. "For if the ministry of condemnation," the giving of the law, "had glory," and it did, "the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory." This is awesome. What is he saying? That as a Christian, maybe today you're thinking about Christianity, "Should I go for it or not? I don't know. You know, I've been thinking about it. I've heard about Jesus. My, I think I need Jesus in my life." Let me tell you right now, you've got to interview some other Christians, real Christians, and we will say things to you like this: "Hey, yeah, I remember when I accepted the Lord. I didn't know what I was doing. I just knew this: what I was hearing was true, that Jesus died for me. I had tried to be good, that didn't work. And when I heard that Jesus Christ, by the love of God, died on the cross and rose again from the grave, that if I believe that, that He died to take away my sins, which means I own my sins, I'm not hiding them. I come to Christ knowing I'm a sinner. I agree with the law. I agree with Moses. I agree with the Ten Commandments. I've broken every one of them. If I didn't do them physically, I did them in my heart. And besides, what if I didn't break all but one? If I break one, I'm guilty of them all." And so I come, "Oh, Jesus, desperate in my heart, and I ask You, Lord God, listen. Before I ask Him to heal my marriage, before I ask Him to save my kids or my parents, before anything else, forget all that stuff. You come to Him because He is who He is. And if He does whatever you need done in your life, that's His business. Because you come and you say, 'That's it.'" And my friends, I beg with you this morning, if you don't know, I plead with you, "Taste and see," as I challenged you last week, "that the Lord is good." Step out and find out. Ask Him if He's real. "Oh God, this message of free salvation, which is not cheap, it cost You everything, but it is free to me because You paid it all. If that's true, God, put it at work in my life. I come to You now, and I ask You to do that. And Lord, I'm going to do now what You asked me to do, and that is this: I believe that You died and rose again from the grave for me. I give You my life, Jesus. Now take my life." And God bless you. If today you're saying, "I want Jesus Christ to take control of my life." Look, that is radical. I waited till I was 19 years of age. I wish I would have done it sooner. The grief I would have escaped. You see, what could you have done by, by only 19? You were just a puppy. If I would have died prior to accepting Christ, I would have gone straight to hell. And the strange thing was, I, I knew it. Nobody had to tell me. And I heard about the love of God. And it's not only great glory, it is the greater glory.

And by the way, where there's mutual love, think of this. Where there's mutual love, regulations cease. I understand that God gives the Ten Commandments, but there was still a problem. The Spirit of God had not been written upon the hearts of His people. That's what the New Covenant does. That's what the New Testament does. That's why we boast as Christians in the Lord. That the New Testament, our faith is not religion, it's a relationship. Because God does it from the inside. Sign up, go through these things, jump over these hoops, tithe so much money, do so much effort, and then you can become a member of the church. I thank God, the Bible does not have those regulations. Too bad the thief on the cross didn't get a chance to tithe. Are you kidding me? Mutual. Listen. Where there's mutual love, regulations go out the window. It's like marriage counseling. That's the bulk of what this church, any church, does is marriage counseling. Why do we do marriage counseling? Because one or the other, or both partners in that marriage, won't obey the Bible. Just read it and do it. Watch what happens. Especially men. Can I pick on men this morning? I'm feeling a little angry today. Man, you ever have, would you have a tendency to complain about your wife? Zip it. Zip it. Obey Jesus and watch what happens. Your wife will begin to reflect, can I put it this way, your glory. As you spend time with Jesus, husband, spend time with Jesus. Watch what happens. You'll come out of your time with Jesus with, with a glow, and she will reflect your glow. If you ever want, if, if there, if a wife is sequestered and depressed and bummed, most often it's because the husband has created her by how he speaks to her, how he treats her. Isn't it interesting in that setting, a man will say, "Submit. We're Christians, right? You go to submit to me." Man, I mean, woman. We're not that kind of church. It's [Laughter]. Listen, where there's mutual love, the word "submit" never comes up. Shouldn't you submit? You know what? That should never have to come up. Where there's mutual love. In Ephesians 5, beginning at verse 22, it tells us that the husband and the wife are to submit to God first. There's the key. Yeah, but he said, she said, forget it. Submit to God first. Watch what happens. It's amazing. That's not even in my notes. All that was free marriage counseling this morning. [Applause]

Why did God promise us a New Testament way back in the Old, in Jeremiah 31? He promised us a New Testament back in the Old Testament because it had to be of love. Isn't it amazing? Now look, if we were to ask you this morning, "How many of you are not Christians this morning?" Raise your hand. And you raise your hand. And, and we would run, imagine if we ran over to you, put you in a headlock, okay? Because you would be saying, "I'm not a Christian." Now watch out. I'm going somewhere with this. "I'm not a Christian." And we all know that. "Oh, look, he's not a Christian." We run over, put him in a headlock, take little Gideon Bibles and start putting him, putting him down his mouth, getting holy water and sprinkling on him, whatever that is, holy water. We don't know, but you're sprinkling with it. Put garlic around his neck, a big cross, andy, and declare, "He's a Christian. He's not a Christian." Okay? We're, cr. Listen, it's got to be of love. Now look, times are changing in America. There will come a time, perhaps in America, unless God intervenes, that there'll be those who will come up to you, if you were to say, "I'm not a believer." They may come up to you and put you in a headlock and cut your head off because that is part of their doctrine. Think of that. You say, "That will never happen." Why not? It's happened in a lot of nations in the world today. See, Christianity will never do that. Biblical Christianity cannot do that. Because, listen, that's rape. God wants a relationship with you. It's a choice. So when you approach God on this very legalistic, work-centered experience, how heartless and cold it is. And don't think for a moment that God is going to say to you, "Now submit." God wants you to have a relationship with Him based on mutual love. That you get up and you live with God, you walk with God, you talk with God, you're in His Word, His love letter that He's written to you. And it's a reality. You can tell your children, "Obey me." And listen, there comes a point, okay? When you start out with your kids, they're little, they haven't figured out that they actually can disobey you. When they discover that, it's called teen rebellion. Listen, here's what you want to do as a parent. You want to prepare the road in advance. To not say, "I'm your father, do as I say." What you want to do is never have to be able to say that. What you want to do is be able to love your kids in such a relationship in such a way that your kids want to grow up and be just like you with their kids. And we can all start that today because it's all about relationship.

And a greater glory. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 7, verse 18, "For on the one hand, there is an annulling." Interesting word. The word means expiration of the former commandment because of its weakness. There is an expiration date on the Old Testament law because of its weakness. That word means inability and its unprofitableness. That word means its lack of benefits. Verse 19. Hebrews 7. "For the law made nothing complete, perfect, holy, pure. On the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God." What a tremendous statement. Listen to this. This is one of my favorites of all time. I'm sure it is yours too. Romans chapter 8, verse 1. Paul writes this to the believers in Rome. Listen to this. It's for you today. Romans 8:1. "There is therefore now no condemnation." You have no sentence of judgment over your head to those who are in Christ Jesus. Why? God sees red. "Who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." You now have an actual relationship with God that you want. You want to walk with Jesus. You're excited about walking with Jesus. This is what you want to do. Listen, listen. I love you, but listen this morning. Listen. If this morning you get up every day and you go, "Oh, man, yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm religious. I'm a Christian. Man, I hope I have the strength to be a Christian today. I gotta do Christian stuff today. I gotta remember to talk Christian today." Just that alone is brutal. Um, okay, ready? I'll take a cup of coffee. Got my bagel. It's Jewish. Let's go be a Christian now. Come on. Let's go do this. You are not a Christian." I say this lovingly. If this morning you don't know what it's like to be awakened like this in the morning, when you come to it, you know that when you're waking up, I want to believe that my first thoughts are about God. When I wake up, but I'm in the words of the person at the register yesterday, "This is the third day in a row you've been to Wahoo's Fish Tacos." I think I, I think I dream about fish tacos. I probably wake up, "Fish taco, fish taco, Jesus, Jesus." Ate fish tacos. Yes. But very quickly, while you're coming out of that sleep zone, your thoughts are on God. And thoughts often like this: "What are we going to do?" It's funny because I'm not asking God that. He's asking me, "What are we going to do?" "Well, what are we going to do is tomorrow your day off. What are you going to do?" "Well, God, wake you up by saying, 'What are we doing today?'" "I don't know. I thought I'd go surfing. Big waves, right?" "Then let's go." Jesus would say, "Well, I don't know. I think I'd go snow skiing tomorrow." "Well, you spoil people living in Southern California. Surfing or skiing, whatever you do tomorrow, do it with Jesus." And the whole, no matter where you're at, "Work. I gotta work tomorrow." Listen, Jesus will pick you up and take you to work tomorrow. The Christian knows this. If you don't know what I'm talking about, before you leave here today, you can change all that in a nanosecond of time.

And then thirdly, it's this. And I like this. This is the end of our study, but don't even think for a moment of leaving yet. It's a multiplied glory this way. Verses 10 through 11. It's the greatest of glories. Oh my goodness. It's the greatest of glories. Verse 10. "For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect," the Old Testament, "because of the glory that excels." There is a greater, the greatest of all glories. That word means the greatest. Verse 11. "For what is passing away was glorious. For if that was glorious, what remains is much more glorious." The word "excels" right here in verse 10 means this. It means to cast or throw beyond the point of return. It means to cast out, to surpass, the distance, exceeding greatness. Not only great, greater, but to exceed greatness itself. The gospel. If you think about it, people, I'm convinced of this. The people I talk to who reject the gospel, most of them cannot wrap their heart around it because they think it's too great. I told you guys before, I was debating a Muslim at Cal Poly Pomona, and, uh, we had a great time together. And he admitted this. He said, "Look, I gotta tell you, there is no doubt about it. Your message is way better than our message. Your gospel is way better than what I got." He said, "I'll admit that." Now watch. Here's the big difference. The only problem is, Jack, yours can't be true. It's too good." I understand that if you don't have a God who loves you. But if you do, oh, then it's the greatest. If you do. If you really believe that for God so loved, on the count of three, I want to hear your name. Shout it out loud. One, two, three. "For God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son, that if you would believe in Him, you would not perish but have everlasting life." That is love. That is amazing God. The God of the Bible, Yahweh, God of the Bible, loves you that much. And if you would believe that, you see now, watch. Now watch. A fine line. This is, I want to believe that, but I'm not worthy. Of course, you're not worthy. That's the great thing about His love. The closest thing we can imagine in this life is the love that a husband and a wife would have for each other. To give love, to decide, "I'm going to love." I saw a couple last night. We were getting yogurt, and you could tell this young couple that either just met, they just got engaged. They were out in front of a ring store. So maybe that's what had happened. And I mean to tell you, it's, it's great. And you have to offer up a prayer at the same time because she's like this, and she's looking right at him. And he's like, you know, talking, whatever he's doing. And then she starts talking, and he starts twirling her hair, which is awesome. And that's cute. And relationships start. That's got to happen that way. But it can't stay that way because you got to go to work and pay bills and mow the lawn. And it can't stay that way. It can't stay that way because it goes from a feeling to a decision. "I will love you. I choose to love you." And it's a sad day when that husband or that wife has to wonder if their relationship is going to continue based upon merit, based upon performance. That's a sad day. That mutual exchange of love and relationship, that's something you work at. But listen, the Bible says that while you and I were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God loved us while you and I were yet unborn, and He chose to love. Yes, we're not worthy. God loves us anyway. He has set, as the psalmist says, "His affection upon me." Wow. Hang on. Here we go. When it says that which remains is glorious, I'm going to go very quickly. I'm going to ask you to write these down. Colossians 1:26. You want to talk about glorious? Colossians 1:26. "The mystery which has been hidden from the ages, from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints, or believers. To them, God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles," that's us, "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Listen, I love you, but I got to say this. If you are trying to earn your presence before God on human effort, by human religion, by cults, by performance, you need to listen to anyone who says you've got to enhance the gospel. The Bible says that's heresy. Listen to the reasons why. Hebrews 8:1. Write it down. Now, this is the main point of the things that we are saying. "We have such a High Priest, Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord created, not man." You know what that means? That means we have a High Priest, Jesus, in the tabernacle in heaven, not on earth, not in Jerusalem, not anywhere else. That is awesome, man. You got to say amen to that. Because if the temple falls down, your salvation is not linked to that temple. If your priest messes up, then your forgiveness is not based on that earthly priest. Hallelujah. Your salvation is not based upon the Pope, or Billy Graham, or Charles Stanley, or me. No religious representation. Your priest is seated at the right hand of God the Father right now. What could be greater than that? I love it. Am I yelling? I'm excited. Okay, forgive me. More glory. Hebrews 8:7. "For if the first, or old covenant, had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says, 'Behold, the days are coming,' He's speaking to the nation of Israel way back when, says the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant, a new testament, with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them and led them by the hand out of Egypt, because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them,' says the Lord. 'For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,' that is, when the Old Testament is expired, says the Lord, 'I will put My laws in their mind and I will write on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'" That's glorious. You want more glorious? Hebrews chapter 9, verse 11. "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation." That's awesome. Listen, I'm going to ask you to stand. Everybody stand. As I keep going, I want this is too holy. We should take our shoes off. Is what we should do. Let's all stand. Watch this. Hebrews 9:14. "How much more shall the blood of Christ," remember, you are coded in the blood of Christ, "who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." And for this reason, "He," that is Jesus, "is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death." That's glorious. Hebrews 9:19. "For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, 'This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.'" That's glorious because it speaks that the law could not save you. Eventually, it would be the blood of Christ. Hebrews 10:10. "But by that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." And listen to this. Keep looking at the screen. If you go and confess to an earthly priest today, I want you to remember what the Bible says right here. Verse 11. "And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God." You want glory? That's glory. Listen. Hebrews 10:19. "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus." Can you imagine? We could walk into the Holy of Holies because you are coded in the blood of Christ as a believer. "By a new and living way which He consecrated for us through the veil, that is His flesh." And heaven's High Priest over the house of God. "Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance." Ephesians 3:20. "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Watch. We're almost done. Revelation 1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Verse 14. "His head and hair were white like wool, this is Jesus, as white as snow. His eyes like a flame of fire." Verse 15. "His feet were like fine brass, as they refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters." Revelation 19:11. "Now I saw heaven opened up, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on Him was called Faithful and True. And in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like the flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. And He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword that with it He should strike the nations. He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." This is your Jesus. Who's your High Priest? One more. Two more. Revelation 20:11. John said, "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there is no place found for them." You want glory? Hebrews 9:28. "So Christ was offered up once to bear the sins of many. To those who look, or those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time apart from sin for salvation." This is your Jesus, church.

Father, we pray now in Jesus' name. Oh God in heaven, for each of us right now, that we would examine our hearts. Nothing could be greater than to know Jesus Christ personally. And right now, my friend, right where you're at, people are praying, their eyes are closed, no one's thinking about you, no one's looking for you, except one. God is looking for you. Jesus is looking for you. He has been working in your life all along. And you might say right now, "Where was He in that situation? Where was He in that accident? Where was He in my childhood?" Listen, my friend, in His infinite wisdom, everything that has befallen you, He has been waiting to turn around. He didn't ordain it, but He'll use it. The great decision for you this morning is to no longer hide behind the things that we offer up as excuses. But right now, you would say, "Oh, Jesus, come into my life. This God of the Bible, this risen Christ, the Lord created me. This new covenant Lord, today I divorce myself of man-made religion, and I accept Jesus Christ personally as my Lord and Savior today. Save me from my sins. Rescue me from my conscience of dead works. Come within me, O Jesus, and live Your life through me. I quit. I surrender. I accept You." Pray that to Him right now. He's waiting. He's listening. And be free today. Be freed from yourself, freed from your past, freed from religion, and enter into a personal relationship with Jesus. And all God's people said, Amen. [Music]