.jpg)
Trinity Community Church
Trinity Community Church
Is He Worthy? - Jesus Came to Save the Unworthy
In this message from our “Is He Worthy?” series, Pastor Tyler Lynde takes us into Ephesians 2:1-10 to show just how far God goes to rescue those who can’t save themselves. Tyler starts with a hard truth: humanity isn’t just morally flawed; we’re spiritually dead. Without Christ, we drift along with a broken world, fall prey to the devil’s lies, and give in to self-centered desires. This grim picture sets the stage for a breathtaking turn, highlighted by the words “But God.” Even as we remained locked in sin, God stepped in, motivated by overwhelming love and mercy.
Tyler points to the transformation of Saul into Paul as a perfect illustration. Saul was the ultimate enemy of early believers, yet an encounter with Christ reversed his entire direction. Just as Paul’s story proves no one is beyond hope, each of us can be revived by God’s grace. The passage reminds us that salvation is never earned; it’s a gift that defies any notion of fairness we might cling to. Instead of granting punishment, God gives new life. Instead of leaving us trapped, He raises us up with Christ and offers a seat in heavenly places.
The “unholy Trinity” of devil, world, and flesh no longer holds final sway. Though these forces strive to keep us in darkness, God’s grace shines brighter. Satan’s schemes, the world’s pressures, and our inner failings are overcome through faith in what Christ has done. We learn that genuine faith isn’t about checking boxes or impressing God. It’s about receiving what He freely offers.
As we approach the Christmas season, these truths take on fresh meaning. Instead of just admiring a manger scene, we celebrate the Savior who came for the unworthy. Like Mary’s humble acceptance of God’s plan, we’re invited to embrace grace and live differently. Tyler encourages us to focus on heavenly realities, trust God’s promises, and let gratitude shape our actions. It’s a call to love God, love others, and walk in the good works He’s prepared for us.
If you’re ready for a hope that defies despair, consider the depth of what Christ offers. Be inspired to share this grace with others and reflect on how God’s mercy sets you free. Let this message guide you toward a renewed sense of wonder and purpose, empowered by the One who makes the unworthy worthy.
We are Trinity Community Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Subscribe to our Podcast & YouTube channel to find past sermons, classes, interviews, and more!
Find us on Facebook & Instagram
Are you ready for the Word of God? Okay, let's turn to Ephesians, chapter 2. Ephesians, chapter 2. For the last couple of weeks, we've been asking the question in this sermon series Is he worthy? And the resounding answer is yes, he is worthy.
Tyler Lynde:But how many of you know there are still millions and millions of people billions probably who don't yet know that this is true. They don't yet know that Jesus is the only one who's worthy of honor and glory and power and praise. And so we, as the body of Christ, have this great privilege of carrying this message in jars of clay. We have the chance to share the light of Jesus with those around us who walk in darkness. And there are still others, and some of us in this room, even today, who need to be reminded of the extraordinary value of Jesus, because there are so many things vying for our attention. Derek was just mentioning it here a few minutes ago. How many of you know? Everything is screaming our name Pay attention to me and we have to learn and we have to allow the Holy Spirit to continue to focus us in on that which is most important, and that is the fact. Remember, christmas is actually the celebration of Jesus. We should be bringing gifts to him, if anything right. And again, I'm not trying to steal your joy of giving. In this season, I love so much seeing others blessed, especially this time of year.
Tyler Lynde:So we started this series a couple of weeks ago, talking about the fact that Jesus is eternally worthy. He is God and he has been God throughout all of time. He's eternally worthy and last week Scott did a great job of reminding us that all of humanity is made up of what Unworthy sinners. We are all sinners, we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And as bad as that news is, today I get to deliver to you the good news that Jesus came to save the unworthy, of which I am one. How about you?
Tyler Lynde:Let's look at Ephesians, chapter 2. I'm reading from the ESV, verses 1 through 10. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived, in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were, by nature, children of wrath like the rest of mankind, but God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Tyler Lynde:Let's pray together, father. We thank you for your matchless words. Thank you, jesus, that you are the word of God, and thank you, holy Spirit, that you inspired those of ancient time to record these words so that today, in 2024, almost 2025, we could speak them out and we could glean from them and understand them, because the Holy Spirit not only gave us the written word, but also speaks to us and enlightens us and opens our eyes to see the truth. And so, father, we pray for all of those who have not yet believed the truth found in these verses. We pray that today would be the day of salvation for each one and, lord, for the rest of us who need a healthy dose of reminder so that we can understand how great a price Jesus paid for us. Would you awaken our eyes again to this truth, and Lord, would you not leave us alone until we begin to share this same great message and truth with others In every way, in every day. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.
Tyler Lynde:So if anybody could write these words with conviction, it was Paul the Apostle. How many of you know he didn't start out as Paul the Apostle. He started out as Saul, and Saul, in his early years, did everything according to the book. In other words, he went to the best schools, he learned languages, he was Jewish, but he also had Roman citizenship. He was raised up in a religious sect and in a religious school, and eventually he became an attorney. He became a religious lawyer, somebody who understood the scriptures and the Old Testament better than most anybody else that was living at that time. And yet Saul, having that level of understanding, did what he stood as people laid their garments at his feet and stones were picked up to crush the body of Stephen, the deacon turned evangelist from the book of Acts. Don't forget that in that moment we can't leave this alone. Stephen is being tormented and tortured and pelted and all of a sudden heaven opens to him. And guess what? He sees Jesus standing at the right hand of the father.
Tyler Lynde:That's my boy. You got this.
Tyler Lynde:And yet Saul is standing there and it says that he was approving of all of it. And then, throughout the rest of the book of Acts, we see an unfolding of the terrorist that Saul would become, and he would show up in different villages, in different towns, sent with papers of authority to be delivered to the synagogues in the region. And if there was anybody that was a part of that synagogue or that the synagogue knew about, who had embraced this man named Jesus, he was legalized to arrest them, to torture them, to even kill them if necessary. This was Saul. Until one day he's riding on his horse on the way to Damascus. Heaven opens up and this bright, shining light shines upon him, blinds him, and a voice from heaven says Saul, saul, why are you persecuting me? How many of you know Jesus knows our name? How many of you know Jesus knows our name? And he knew Saul's name and he called him out on his road to Damascus. And again, why was Saul going to Damascus? In order to torture and torment and kill more Christians. And Jesus goes on and says why are you persecuting me? Who are you, lord? And all of a sudden, saul's knocked off of his high horse and he glimpsed into Damascus, blind.
Tyler Lynde:And God speaks to a man named Ananias, a believer who Saul was probably going to arrest or torment or maybe even kill if he had made it all the way to Damascus. And God says I want you to go and I want you to pray for him that he'll receive his sight. And Ananias, like a good follower of Jesus, said absolutely not. None of us would do that. But he did Not. That man, I know that man, I know of that man. And then the Holy Spirit said something really insightful. He said I'm going to let you tell him all the trouble that he's going to experience in his life and ministry. Ananias said sign me up, let's go. So, whatever it takes, right. So Ananias went, he laid his hands on him, saul was delivered from his physical blindness but, more importantly, his eyes were opened to the truth about Jesus Christ. And now a man so broken at one time is now expressing to us in really a run-on sentence. Do you realize that several times in the book of Ephesians, as Paul's writing, he can't help himself. He's not limited by structure, he's not limited by sentences, he's not limited by anything else other than just gushing out what he is expressing in such beautiful, demonstrative ways of explanation about how great the grace of God is in the person of Jesus Christ, and that's what we're experiencing here.
Tyler Lynde:This book, written to the Ephesians, to the church at Ephesus, was meant to be read by them and read to them, but it was also meant to be distributed amongst the churches, and it's really an interesting book is also meant to be distributed amongst the churches, and it's really an interesting book, because in the first three chapters of this book, paul and the Holy Spirit through Paul really doesn't ask them to do anything. He reminds them of how great a gift they've been given in the person of Jesus Christ. And then, later on, he talks about all the things that we need to do as Christians. But how many of you know, we can get that out of order, we can do that backwards and we can think about all the list of things that we need to accomplish and forget about the most fundamental part of all of this, and that is understanding fully and completely, more fully and completely every day, the greatness of our God and the greatness of his faithfulness toward us.
Tyler Lynde:So let's get into this passage. Good news isn't good news until you compare it to bad news. How do you know the difference between good news and bad news? You have to hear both, don't you? How many of you have ever been to the doctor and they said I have some good news and some bad news. And they ask you which one do you want to hear first? What do you say? Mixed reviews.
Tyler Lynde:But in this passage, what Paul does is he gives the bad news first and then he gets into the good news. So let's look at the bad news First, number one, all of us. Look at the bad news First, number one. All of us, every one of us, were separated from God because of sin. I'm not going to dig into this too deeply because Scott again did such a great job. If you haven't seen that yet or heard that, go back to tccknockscom and watch that or listen to it, because it was really a powerful message, especially the progression of sin that he talked about. That was something really insightful for me.
Tyler Lynde:But Paul says here and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. We were born with a sinful nature. We were born opposing God. We were born not being able to make the decision to not do that. We were born dead to God, we weren't mostly dead. Miracle Max couldn't have done anything about it. We were not merely sick. We didn't need a doctor, we didn't need resuscitation. We didn't need a doctor, we didn't need resuscitation, we didn't need anything other than resurrection.
Tyler Lynde:All of us started our lives in this very condition, separated from God, with no hope, no answers, no way of improving upon ourselves, no way of changing the eternal position of our lives. We were born dead in our sins and trespasses. We were spiritually and morally separated from God and we had no hope of rescue. My friends, unless we understand that truth, we will minimize the good news. We have to start there and unfortunately, the American church, for the largest part, has divorced itself from this very concept. But I'm here to tell you that as long as these elders are a part of this church Trinity, community Church it will not be said of us, because the gospel is only the gospel if you understand, first of all, the condition that we find ourselves in without Jesus. Not only do we find ourselves born this way, but there there's an unholy Trinity that conspires to keep us in our lost condition.
Tyler Lynde:And we're going to look at each one of these just quickly. Paul goes on to say, following the course of this world, following the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived, in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, we all found ourselves in this condition and we were all manipulated and controlled by three different participants that had the same goal or the same desire, which was to cause us to continue to walk in disobedience toward God. And what are those three things? The devil, the world and our flesh, or our sinful nature. So let's quickly look at each one of these.
Tyler Lynde:Number one, satan, has the major influence in the lives of all believers. Satan does have influence in this earth, and he especially has influence over the lives of unbelievers, and he continuously is working to try to keep them under his control and under his power and under his authority. In addition to being born again with a sinful nature, those without Christ live in a manner that, born again with a sinful nature, those without Christ live in a manner that's consistent with Satan, the prince of the power of the air. You see, satan was disobedient to God, so he wants others to disobey him too. He wants us under the same punishment that he's under. He wants us separated from God, just like he separated him from God. You see, he can't get to God and so he attempts to get to God by trying to destroy his creation, by trying to manipulate and control human beings to keep them from knowing the truth about God. Anything that he can do to keep the world stirred up and considering something else except for Jesus Christ, he will do it.
Tyler Lynde:Amy and I were in a restaurant the other day and we had a nice meal together and the waitress our waitress was at the table next to us and she was saying she was getting ready to say Merry Christmas. And the people at the table next to us said I hate when people say Merry Christmas. And she said it's interesting how quickly we change when there's money involved. She said well, I prefer to say Happy Holidays. The waitress said that I was like well, she needs a tip. I understand, but how many of you know? Happy. And then Amy, I don't even know if she knew all of this was going on, but we're getting ready, we get up and we're walking out of the restaurant. She turns around and she goes Merry Christmas. And the lady. I can hear the waitress in the background. Happy Holidays.
Tyler Lynde:We can laugh about it, but it's sinister, it's really, it's wicked. Satan hates God and so, in turn, he hates his children. He hates his creation. Remember, his MO is to steal, kill and destroy. 2 Corinthians 4, verses 3 and 4, tell us more about this. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing In their case. The God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Tyler Lynde:I had the, we had the grand girls over the other night and we were watching YouTube videos of frozen songs. Yes, this is my life now. But on one of them you know YouTube there's commercials that play, and one of the commercials was just really not appropriate, especially for two or three year old kid. So I covered both of their eyes right, and so they were like what are you doing, pops? I'm like you don't need to see this. Well, now one of them, which will remain nameless, but she does have red hair Anytime we're watching a video, she covers my eyes and says pops, don't look, don't look, can't see this All the while she's still watching, so I don't know if she quite got the lesson or not. The point being, on the other side of things, satan attempts to keep our eyes covered so that we won't see the answer, so that we won't see the hope that is found in Jesus. So Satan continues to work.
Tyler Lynde:Secondly, the world puts pressure on everyone to conform to Satan's agenda. Now, when I say the word world, I'm not talking about earth, not talking about the earth itself, but the philosophies, the values and the lifestyles that are promoted by the masses that are opposed to God and his ways. Have you experienced that over the last several years at all in our culture? And not only is it promoted, but now, if you don't agree, assent and even praise that which is considered by God to be vile and an abomination, then you are considered to be a hater and you're ostracized. And the culture continues to push for you to think their way and to live their way and to have values which agree with Satan, who now works in the sons of disobedience. So we have Satan and we have the world, and it's nice to be able to blame all of them. Isn't it Nice to be able to blame all of them, isn't it?
Tyler Lynde:But there's a third participant that not only attempts to keep us originally from Christ, but please understand that all three of these entities are continuously working to distract us from that which is most important, and we must submit ourselves to God and resist Amen.
Tyler Lynde:But the third thing is the flesh. The flesh wants to control us and make us disobey God. The sinful nature is that fallen nature that we were born with that wants to control the body and the mind and make us disobey God. It wants us to do whatever we want to do, as long as it's opposed to God and what he wants us to do. The flesh wants us to join the world's agenda, to live out the plans of Satan. The flesh wants to agree with the world and with Satan. So if Satan says to you, you're not a man, you're a woman, the world screams yeah, you're not a man, you're a woman. Sorry, that voice was weird. And your flesh says well, maybe you're not a man, maybe you're a woman. And your flesh says, well, maybe you're not a man, maybe you're a woman. The Satan cries out have as much sex as you want to have with whoever you want to have it.
Tyler Lynde:The world says oh yeah, let's have sex.
Tyler Lynde:And the flesh says yes, let's have sex Outside of marriage, obviously. And this goes on and on and on and on. Do you see how desperate of a situation we find ourselves in, how destitute we are, how despairing we are. The reality is this is the worst of all news Every sinner deserves the wrath of God. Every one of us deserve to be eternally separated from God. Every one of us deserve to be killed by God and to be sent to hell, it says. And we're, by nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind, children of wrath. The inevitable end of the sons of disobedience is for us to come under the condemnation of God's righteous anger, a justifiable, just judgment for having violated known boundaries of his will and his way of doing things. We all deserve this. How can we truly be thankful and grateful if we don't remember this, if we don't consider it, if we don't recognize it, if we don't tell other people about it? And I know that some people are saying it's not fair that God would send anybody to hell, it's not fair that God doesn't save everyone. I think we're asking the wrong questions. If you're asking why doesn't God save everyone, you're asking the wrong question. The real question is why does God save anyone? None of us deserve it. I know again. The culture around us tells us that you are worthy. We are worthy, we deserve it.
Tyler Lynde:What I'm here to tell you, if we're to be true to scripture, we must understand, first of all, the fact that God saves anyone is the greatest miracle of all. So if I were to ask you what are the two most hope-filled words in all of Scripture, what would you say? Jesus saves, that's a good one. Yeah, it is finished. There's three. But that's this close. It's good enough. We'll give that. Yeah, somebody said it. But God, that's what I was looking for for today. Obviously, all of those apply, but right here, in the middle of Paul just unleashing out of his heart of concern and his love for Jesus and for lost people, he stops abruptly and he says but God. How many of you are thankful that there's a but God in the scripture? Come on. But God yes, I deserved hell and I deserved everything that God could have thrown at me throughout all of eternity. I deserved it, I earned it. But God Some of the most significant, eloquent and inspiring transitions in all of literature is found right here but God indicate that an indescribable change has taken place, something so abrupt, so amazing, so incomprehensible.
Tyler Lynde:It's a change from the doom and despair of the valley of death that we deserve to the unspeakable delights of the kingdom of the son of God and his love for us. This, my friends, is the good news. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that even while we were yet sinners, christ died for us. You see, the author of hope is God himself. No one else could have done it and, trust me, no one else would have done it. God is the only one who could take a blackened heart, a heart that was completely controlled by sin and by Satan, and by this world and our flesh, and make it new again. But God.
Tyler Lynde:And here we're reminded of four activities that God performed on behalf of sinners to save us from the consequence of our sins. Let's look at these of our sins. Let's look at these. First of all, we know that we were unlovable, but God loved us, it says, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us. God's love is so amazing because of the extreme unworthiness and unloveliness of the persons like us which he has loved. Don't forget we were dead in trespasses, we were dead in sin. We were enemies of God, we were destitute and degraded, but he loved us in spite of it all. Who does that? Who loves like our God loves. It's the most risky. It carries the greatest price. Who loves like our God loves no one. Let's say it together John 3.16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life, for God so loved us.
Tyler Lynde:This is the Christmas season and as I was reading this and preparing for this week, I thought about Mary. Mary was just a regular girl going about her life, promised to be married to a guy named Joseph, and all of a sudden, one day, out of nowhere, an angel appears to her and talks about how she's highly favored of the Lord and mentions to her that God wants to send. This is after 400 years of complete darkness and silence. God has not spoken at all to his people for 400 years, and God speaks to this young woman from Nazareth and she asks simple questions like how is this going to be? And God answers her and the final response she gives is let it be done to me according to your will. I'm your servant. What a powerful thing.
Tyler Lynde:And we go on through the rest of the story. We know that God had to reel Joseph in, because Joseph wasn't convinced that this was a child from God, right? And yet God did that and brought them together. And then they traveled to Bethlehem. There's no room in the inn. Mary has this baby, her firstborn, and wraps him in swaddling clothes and lies and lays him in a manger. And then, all of a sudden, the angels. It's like they can't be contained in heaven anymore. They bust onto the scene and shepherds who are out in the field watching their flock at night begin to hear what glory to god, the highest, and on earth peace. Good to men, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ, the Lord. And they make their way, stumbling over each other I'm sure to try to get to Bethlehem as soon as they can. And they get there, and they get to the place where Jesus is Probably cooing, wouldn't you think? And what do they do? They realize he's worthy and they bow on their faces before him in honor and praise. All of these things.
Tyler Lynde:It says that Mary pondered in her heart and eight days later, as her and Joseph bring the child Jesus into the temple to be dedicated, consecrated, as it was the tradition. They bring him in. And Simeon and Anna, who've been waiting for a long time for this very moment. Simeon is beaming. Here he is, this is the one God told me I wasn't going to die before he came. And here he is, right in front of me. I'm holding him, I'm holding the Savior in my arms. I wouldn't be great if it just ended with that good news. But then he looks at Mary and he says Mary, this child had not come to bring peace, he came to bring division. In some ways, there's going to be brothers and sisters who are going to agree and disagree on this. There's going to be some who are going to choose to worship him and count him as worthy and others who will not. And even you're going to be pierced, mary, in your very soul, understanding that there would be a day when Jesus, her son, would be crucified and would die.
Tyler Lynde:And you see Mary continuing through Jesus' life. 12 years old, we have lost the son of God. That had to be a moment, imagine. And then Jesus reminds them I must be about my father's business, don't forget, I'm yours, but you've borrowed me Because I'm here to do the will of my father in heaven and on throughout. And we see Jesus after he's baptized and the first miracle that he performs is because his mama begs him to turn the water into wine or just to somehow make some more wine. And so Jesus hesitates and then his Father in heaven, I think, probably said to him go ahead, listen to your mama, you can do it. Not that, not like you can do it, like you see what I'm saying. You understand what I'm saying. He had the, he had the ability to do it and he did this. And think of all of the miracles and all of the things that happened. And then think about the cross, mary staring up at her son, having watched his hands be stretched out and nailed to a tree, the tree that he created with his words. He lifted up to the heavens and she's just there beneath him, talk about being pierced and after he breathes his last breath, by the way, along the way, john, take care of my mom, please, please, please. They take Jesus' body down and Mary and the other Mary wrap his body, the same hands that wrapped him in swaddling clothes and now wrapping him in burial cloths. Can you, any of you who are moms in this room, can you understand? Can you relate to what that must have been like, my goodness? Now, many of you know he didn't stay there. He didn't stay there. He rose from the dead.
Tyler Lynde:I don't want to get too far the rest of the story but as you think about Christmas this year, I hope that you try to think outside of the lines and the lenses, the Hallmark Christmases Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm just saying let's think about the actual people and what they must have been going through. Let's consider it. You see, we, like Mary, were dead in our sins and trespasses, but God gave us life with Christ. Even when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive. Together with Christ, by grace, you have been saved and raised us up. With him, he accomplished the spiritual resurrection by the power of the spirit. We have been made alive unto God. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have the story that once I was dead, but now I live. Once I was blind, but now I see. That's your story, that's my story, that's redemption's story.
Tyler Lynde:Jesus didn't just do this in order for there to be a great story in a book. He did it because of the impact of it, what it would mean throughout all eternity. He did it out of God's great love for his creation. Great love for his creation, he spoke the word to the dry bones, just like Ezekiel, and life came back into those who were scattered and dead. The same God that breathed life into Adam's nostrils and breathed life into Jesus's dead body breathes life into our spirits to make us alive. Unto God, we have been raised to life with Jesus. In the middle of this thought, paul can't help himself.
Tyler Lynde:He starts doing hallelujah, by grace you have been saved. He can't help himself. When's the last time that you got excited?
Tyler Lynde:about this.
Tyler Lynde:And if not, why not what?
Tyler Lynde:is our problem? Do we really believe it? Do we really understand it? Do we really understand it? Mercy and grace both have to be applied, but they're different. Mercy means that we do not get the punishment we deserve. Are you thankful for mercy this morning? Because it was my sin and my shame and my guilt that should have nailed me to the cross, and yet Jesus did it in my place. But grace also means, in addition to mercy. Grace means we do get the salvation we do not deserve. Not only did mercy come running, but grace came running as well.
Tyler Lynde:Mercy to cover something over and grace to give us something that we didn't deserve Cannot earn this. This is a gift from God. We were enemies of Christ, but God seated us with Christ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places. In Christ Jesus, god made us one with him, with Jesus, we have been united with Jesus in the same way that in Genesis 2, the scripture says about marriage that a man and a wife will be one. We have been made one with Christ. When he died, we died. When he was buried, we were buried. When he was raised, we were raised. When he was seated in heavenly places. We were seated in heavenly places.
Tyler Lynde:Do we understand this truth? This is the gospel. So many times we focus on the negative aspects of the gospel and what they approach, and we need to do that. But let's not forget we've been given something great. The grace of God is amazing, unbelievable. You see, he didn't raise us from the dead just to leave us in the graveyard. He didn't raise us from the dead and then leave us tied up, like Lazarus. What did he say to those that were around Lazarus?
Tyler Lynde:Untie him, loose him and let him go. He's free now.
Tyler Lynde:Truly, the son has set him free, and my friends and even if you're not my friend yet, I hope you become my friend I want you to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this Jesus that we're talking about paid this price so that you and I could walk in newness of life, so that we can walk out of the graveyard, walk out of our grave clothes and be one with him.
Tyler Lynde:This is how God sees us.
Tyler Lynde:How much we whine to God about the condition of our lives, not realizing that he's screaming back at us. Who are you?
Tyler Lynde:You're not Saul anymore, you're Paul. You're not Tyler anymore, you're Trevor. I don't know. You're not a sinner anymore, you're a saint. You've been made one with Christ.
Tyler Lynde:I am out of time. I'm moving quickly. We're almost done. If we were to really grasp this reality by faith, the whole character of our lives would change. We would no longer be earthbound, considering only what affects us here in this life. We would be considering what is coming, what is to come and the present reality that we live in positionally because of the price that Jesus paid.
Tyler Lynde:Colossians 3 says if, then, you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Strengthen each other, encourage each other with these words. You see, we were kept by Satan and sin, but now God is the one who's keeping us, and how many of you know he's able to keep those who he has called and who he has chosen and who have dedicated their lives to him, so that, in the coming ages, he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. God's purpose in our redemption is not simply to rescue us from hell, as important as that is. His ultimate purpose in our salvation is that, in the ages to come, we are examples of his great love and mercy and grace. He is glorified by the work that he has done in adopting us into his family.
Tyler Lynde:But how many of you know, the issue is that we're living in the in-between. Even though these things are true, even though these things are more real than what we're experiencing here in this life, we don't feel them the same way. We don't experience them the same way. That's why we have to preach the gospel to ourselves so much, because we're surrounded by all of these voices and all of these feelings and this decaying body and all of these realities that we're facing that try to stamp out the joy of our salvation. My friends, in a little while, jesus will triumphantly return, and this time he's not going to be a baby. This time he's going to come back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and those who are called by his name will rise to meet him in the air, and we will be with the Lord forever. Can we not hold on?
Tyler Lynde:Finally, we must respond to God's grace in order to be saved, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Up to this point in time, we've talked mostly about Satan's work and about God's work, but Paul doesn't stop there. He doesn't leave us without a reminder that there is a choice that needs to be made by humanity. There is a response that's required to the goodness of God, to the grace of God. There must be something that we must do Not in order to earn our salvation. Salvation has already been earned, the price has already been paid. But to be a partaker of that, we must repent of our sins and put our faith in Jesus Christ. Have you done that? Have you acknowledged your need? If you have not, today is your day. Today is the day of salvation. Choose you this day who you will serve.
Tyler Lynde:Father, I pray in Jesus' name, that you would give people who are listening to this message I don't care what space of time. They're in a hotel room or in their car, wherever they are, lord, I pray that you would encounter them right now by your spirit, that you would draw them to yourself and that they would put their hope and faith and trust in a God who loves them, died for them and who was raised again to give them newness of life and finally, actually finally those who are truly saved will live to glorify God through love and obedience. What about us that are saved? What is the responsibility? How should we respond? For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Tyler Lynde:Have you experienced the grace of God in your life? Are you walking in the light? Are you walking in the truth? Are you born again? How many of you know you have a lot more to celebrate this Christmas than a gift that's going to perish. You have been given the greatest gift of all. What do you give to the God of the universe? Can I wrap something up? Where would you mail it? How do you mail it? How do you get it to him? You give it to him Wrapped up in glory and honor. Power, praise, love, gratitude, obedience, evangelism, giving stewardship, loving each other, community.
Tyler Lynde:So many ways.
Tyler Lynde:We don't do these things in order to be saved. We do these things because we are saved. Just stand to your feet, please. Thank you, lord. I don't know how each of you are feeling in this moment, but my hope is that you don't leave today and just say well, it was a nice service, great worship, great songs, and Tyler got kind of animated. I guess we'll let that go, but I hope beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Tyler Lynde:My hope for you and for myself starts with me, as if these truths will mean something, that they will be like a fire shut up in my bones that I can't contain, and that this Christmas would be different, that my grandchildren would experience the glory of God in the way that I live my life, in the way that I love them, with an unconditional love Backing that up. It starts with my wife first, right, and it bounces to grandchildren. Let's pray and ask the Lord for renewed, the renewed ability to make the main thing, the main thing, right. Lord, we just confess before you that there's so many things that scream at us all the time, and at times it's really hard to stay focused. Father, we are so grateful for what you've done for us, the person Jesus Christ and the work of Christ, and how you've done for us the person Jesus Christ and the work of Christ, and how you've made us one with him and you've given us. We're walking with him, we're positionally seated with him, we've been made brand new. Old things have passed away, all things have become new and, father, I pray that you'd help us to live lives that are worthy of these truths.
Tyler Lynde:I pray, lord, that you would give us divine encounters with our family members and co-workers and school people in schools. Lord, that you would give us the ability to speak up in the restaurant and in the gas station, the grocery store, that you would put on our hearts to reach out to people that maybe we haven't talked to in a very long time. Lord, would you cause your burden to be our burden? And as we celebrate the God who saves us, lord, our greatest cry is that you would save others as thankful as we are for our own salvation. Lord, we ask that you not quit your great work of bringing lost souls to the cross and to the resurrection. We give you glory and honor for it, lord. I just pray that you would bless each person, lord, god, that you'd cause your face to shine upon them and be gracious to them. I pray that you would lift up your countenance upon them and give them peace In Jesus' name, amen. No-transcript.
