Joy to Set Kingdoms Laughing

determined to save a people, including the people in Ephesus from the Jews and Gentiles, but also all the way here, including us today. And so this letter is to the Ephesians, and it is to us. So then having heard that God had particularly demonstrated that cosmic redeeming grace by particularly saving a people for himself from amidst the Ephesians, Paul turns to Thanksgiving and prayer. And he thanks God for doing this and also asks God that he might cause the Ephesian saints to know just how mighty is the gift that they have received. So here's all these blessings. And then Paul turns to Thanksgiving and prayer and petitions God that God might give the saints a greater knowledge, that they might know the glory of the grace that they've received. Now in chapter two, and actually he ends that section, it's worth mentioning as well, by recounting how the father raised Christ from the dead. That one of those blessings that we ought to know is that Christ has been raised from the dead and seated in the heavenly places above all rule and authority. And so now in chapter two, Paul seamlessly continues from this thought to a parallel one. So yes, God has raised Christ from the dead and brought Christ to glory, but now chapter two verses one through ten, God has

Paul seamlessly continues from this thought to a parallel one. So yes, God has raised Christ from the dead and brought Christ to glory, but now chapter two verses one through ten, God has also taken us. God has also taken his saints, likewise, from death to life. We were also dead. We were spiritually dead. And God in his grace has raised us up with Christ to new life, a life which we will see has a glorious purpose, which is the purpose of walking in good works which God has also graciously laid before our feet that we should walk in them. So look with me, if you would, at Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1, and we'll read through through to verse 10. And this is the word of the living God. It says, 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, 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.

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 and kindness towards 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. Thus ends the reading of God's Holy Word. May he write it on our hearts by faith. And let's pray. Father, we pray that you would give us the knowledge that Paul petitioned you for in the previous section of this letter, that we would know the glory of your salvation. Father, I pray that you would correct any of our thinking that would be contrary to this, your word. Lord, help us to not just know these things, but to deeply trust in them, to be be shaped by them, to receive them by faith. Lord, we pray that you would stop the mouth of any of our boasting through this word. We pray that you would also give us a great and glorious

be shaped by them, to receive them by faith. Lord, we pray that you would stop the mouth of any of our boasting through this word. We pray that you would also give us a great and glorious confidence in your grace. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. So we'll note three major points and parts from this section here from Paul. And the first is in verses 1 through 3 where Paul describes where it is that God found us when he reached down to save. where were we and what estate were we in when God reached down with salvation? What were we doing? what were we up to? The answer is not flattering, but it is important. Second, in verses 4 to 10, the second half of the section, Paul describes what it is that God did for us in spite of that condition. How is it that we're standing here now blessing God for his great salvation in light of what he says in verses 1 through 3? What happened? And then finally, also in that second section from verses 4 to 10, and more specifically in verse 7 and verse 10, Paul will tell us why it is that God did all this. Why did he do this? Because on the surface, it looks looks profligate, which is like an almost like a reckless sort of generosity. And no, I'm not going to sing reckless love. No, there's a reason that we sing from the hymnal. We don't even

You once walked like this, but this is where you were. This is what you were up to. In which you once walked, what were we doing? Well, 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, were by nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Now, it's important to hear that Paul is not describing some kind of especially bad people. Paul is not here isolating some subsection of humanity and saying, now there were these particularly bad people. And these particularly bad people, they were doing particularly bad things. Not like that most of you were pretty much fine. Most of you had a few little foibles and faults here and there, but you know, this really bad group of people. No, Paul's not giving us an account of what the leftists and the communists and the Viking invaders and the rapists and the serial killers were like. This is universal. This is universal. He says that the Ephesian saints were dead in trespasses and sins, verse one, but ends in verse three, like the rest of mankind. This is universal. We were all dead in trespasses and sins. We were all following the devil. We were all enslaved to our passions. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, as Paul writes in Romans 3. In fact, John Stott notes this in his commentary on this

all following the devil. We were all enslaved to our passions. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, as Paul writes in Romans 3. In fact, John Stott notes this in his commentary on this passage here in Ephesians, but these three verses here in Ephesians 2, 1 through 3 condense essentially Paul's entire teaching in Romans chapter 1, 2, and 3 into a few short sentences, where in Romans, he says, all the world is condemned before God. The Jew is condemned. The Gentile is condemned. every one of them. Those who followed the law, those who had the law in a sense in their conscience. Those who descended from Abraham. Those who did not. They were all condemned. All have sinned. No one sought for God. So Paul reintroduces in a condensed form that teaching of Romans 1 through 3 here in Ephesians 2, 1 through 3. So what is the universal condition of fallen humanity without the saving work of Christ? Well, we can summarize what Paul gives us here in three statements. Number one, we were dead. We were dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked. What does that mean? Well, fundamentally, it means that we were cut off from the very wellspring of the source of life itself, that we were cut off relationally from the very root of life by our sins and by our

of life itself, that we were cut off relationally from the very root of life by our sins and by our trespasses, that we were guilty of trespasses, meaning we have done things we absolutely knew that we ought not to have done. We walked right across lines that we knew we ought not to have cross. That's what a trespass is. You knew that something was bad, like even Paul and Romans one, two, and three describes even the Gentiles. They became a law unto themselves, meaning they still knew. They had a sense of moral right and wrong. They still legislated against things like murder and adultery. Why? Well, because they knew. They knew God. And so your flesh wanted to lust, and you knew that you knew that you shouldn't and you did it anyway. And so your flesh wanted to lie and gossip and steal and cheat and you knew that you shouldn't and you did it anyway. Even as a child, even kids here in the room, you know what this is like. You know that you're not supposed to do the thing you're about to do. You look around and you go, mom's outside. She's weeding the garden. Dad's at work. The cookies are on top of the fridge. I know I'm not supposed to eat the cookies. This is not new information to me, but mom's outside. And dad is at work. And no one will know. And so I'm going to climb on the

but mom's outside. And dad is at work. And no one will know. And so I'm going to climb on the counter. I'm going to get the cookies. I'm going to eat 10 of them. And then when they ask, why do you have crumbs all over your face? And why is a floor? I have no idea where those came from. What are you talking about crumbs? Crumbs. I want my lawyer. You knew that you weren't supposed to do it. It wasn't like an accident. And you just. trespass. We're guilty of trespasses. We're guilty of sins in general. That is missing the mark of holiness. That's the literal meaning of the word. It's missing the mark. It's falling short. It's falling short of glory. We didn't desire the good and the true and the beautiful as we ought to. And so we fell short of the glory of God and we craved lesser glories. We pretended that those lesser glories were ultimate. We sinned. Not only did we do what we ought not do, we didn't do what we ought to do. We failed in omission and in commission. And in that state, though your body lives, you are dead. You are severed from the living God. That's why you are dead. Imagine it like this. Not long from now, in Utah, thousands of trees are going to be coming to fruit. Let's say these glorious peach trees that grow in some of your backyards. And, you know, not too long from now, there's going to be just dozens and hundreds and across the state thousands and thousands and thousands of trees laden with beautiful ripe

was a nature which was spiritually dead. It didn't seek for God. Even though it had as through a glass dimly an awareness of righteousness, it transgressed that righteousness by choice. And so by nature and by choice, we're dead. We're dead. Number two, we were slays. We were slayed. We were slaves. We were Paul writes that you were dead in your trespasses in which you once walked, 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. He says that we were following the prince of the power of the air, the devil, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. And so we were slaves to two powers. We were slaves, number one to the prince of darkness and number two to our own sinful passions. When Adam, who represented all humanity as a federal head, meaning he was the covenantal head, he was like the father over a home or a king over a nation. He represented humanity covenantally. He was given dominion over the earth. And when he fell, he seeded that dominion in a sense to the serpent. So in scripture, we see developing out of this, the pagan nations following in his ways, were given over to the rules, the rule of demons and dark powers with dark spiritual forces standing behind

the rules, the rule of demons and dark powers with dark spiritual forces standing behind wicked human thrones as in the book of Daniel. The point is that humanity seeking to be its own Lord actually became a slave of the devil. We did his will. We served him. Why could Satan offer to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in Matthew 4 in his temptation. If he would just bow before Satan, you could receive all of the kingdoms of the earth in their glory. Why could he offer that? Because in a very real sense, they were under his sway, the nations. So mankind in his sinful estate is under the sway of the wicked one, slaves to the devil. But he is also slave to something not outside of himself, but also inward. He is a slave to something not outside of himself, but also inward. He is a slave to his own passions. We could ask the question. When you sin from your youngest years to your last days, when you sin, why do you sin? Because you want to. Because you want to. You sin because you want to. You sin because your desire for righteousness was weaker than your desire for sin. And so you sinned. So you sin. You gave way. And so actually, you wanted to. You weren't drug against your

And so you sinned. So you sin. You gave way. And so actually, you wanted to. You weren't drug against your will into sin. You were drug along by your will and nature into sin. Why do you lust? Because your flesh wants to. Why do you nag your husband? Because your flesh wants to. You think it will do you good. Why do you yell at your kids sinfully? Well, because you think that that will do you good. You believe the promise of that sin that it will serve you. Why do you give way to fits of anger and laziness and sloth and drunkenness and greed? Because in our natural estate, we are enslaved to to disordered loves and broken passions. We do not love that which we ought to love, and we do love things we ought not to love. And so finally, number three, this means that we were under God's just wrath. So we were dead, we were slaves. And so number three, Paul says we were under God's just wrath. Paul says that in this state of death and fallenness and slavery, we were by nature, children of wrath like the rest of mankind. In other words, because the above is true, that in our natural estate, we're dead sinners who love sin, follow the devil, and wreak havoc everywhere we go, God in His holiness, must respond with wrath and condemnation. That's what God's wrath

we go, God in His holiness, must respond with wrath and condemnation. That's what God's wrath is. As John Stott Fitley writes, he says, quote, God's personal righteousness, constant hostility to evil, his settled refusal to compromise with it and his resolve instead to condemn it, this is what is God's wrath. That's what God's wrath is. It's his personal, righteous, and constant hostility to evil. It's his settled refusal to never compromise with it. And it's his resolve instead to condemn it because he's good. Because he's good. He can't hand wave at it. He can't, he can't just overlook it. He has to resolve it. He has to resolve it. He has to or he has to satisfy it. So the question then is plain in the text. If all of this is true, then how can Paul have opened his letter to these people by calling them saints? Saints, saints, which means like, holy one. How can he declare to us peace with God the Father? Well, it's emphatically not because the sons of wrath turned over a new leaf and cleans themselves from their own sin by their moral fortitude. It is emphatically not because there was a group

in Christ Jesus. So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It's a gift of God. Not a result of works so that no one may boast. workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in him. What happened? Well, the whole theme that I told you of Ephesians happened. It's that God by his grace is making a new humanity out of the old. That God is exercising his will and his power and his grace and his mercy and his forgiveness because of his love to make a people for his own possession. How did it happen? What happened? Well, he made us true men and true women again. He made us a new humanity. How? This is what Paul says. First, that God initiated. God didn't wait for the dead and enslaved sinners to reach up to him and seek for him. They were dead. That's not what spiritually dead people do. It's just not. Romans 3, Paul quoting from the prophet Isaiah, says, no one seeks for God. It's just not in them. It's not in their nature. We do act. We do will. We do have real choices. We do make real morally culpable choices. We do make real morally culpable We have a will. We are not automaton's, but we make decisions always and only in accordance with our nature.

We do act. We do will. We do have real choices. We do make real morally culpable choices. We do make real morally culpable We have a will. We are not automaton's, but we make decisions always and only in accordance with our nature. We only do that which is possible within our nature. And within the nature of spiritually dead man, there is not the true and righteous seeking after God. There just isn't. It's not there. So what did God do? God initiated. It says, God made us alive. God started this process. was God reaching down in the richness of his mercy. We see number two that God did this. God initiated. Why? Because of his great love. That's exactly what Paul says. It says that God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead did all this. God initiated why? Because he loved us. It was the love of God that moved God to make us alive in Christ. Number three, we see that God's love was full of grace and mercy. His love overflowed with grace. What is grace? We talk about grace all the time. We're saved by grace and through faith. What does that mean? Well, grace is the totally free and unmerited favor of God. It's the totally free and unmerited favor of God.

Well, grace is the totally free and unmerited favor of God. It's the totally free and unmerited favor of God. My son is saying his amen right now. Amen, Dad. Yeah. That's right, King Alfred. His love overflowed grace, which is the totally free and unmerited favor of God, meaning it was free. God was not obligated to do it. Nobody could make a demand on God that could be seen as a payment for services owed or for services rendered, right? God didn't look down on us and say, oh, there's the people that are earning my favor, and so I'll give them some favor. No, it's free. That's what grace is. By nature, it's free. You didn't earn it. You didn't pay for it. It's a gift. It's totally unmerited. And it's his favor. It's his goodness. All right? You didn't deserve it on any level, but because he loved you, he freely poured out his saving favor upon you. It was full of mercy, meaning that he did not act towards you in condemnation as he absolutely could have. It's when God looks at David, after Nathan the prophet comes and rebukes him via the parable for his murder and adultery. Right? And David says, you know, David says, through this little parable, oh, that man who stole this sheep, the only sheep from this poor

through this little parable, oh, that man who stole this sheep, the only sheep from this poor little neighbor, he deserves death. And Nathan says, David, you are the man. This parable I just told, it was about you. See, when you looked in the mirror of the law of God and it concealed that it was really about you and you thought it was about somebody else, you had no problem condemning it. Absolutely no problem. So why didn't God kill David? His mercy. He says, I'll put your sin away from you. It was mercy. He could have and he didn't. And so then God's mercy did what? Well, it raised us up from death to life in Christ. We were dead. But just as the father raised the son from death, so he raises us with the son from spiritual death to spiritual life. We were broken branches, dead, grafted back on to the living vine. And finally, God did all of this according to Paul, through faith, not through our works. He did this through faith, not through our works. None of this was accomplished by the works of the saints. You can hear it in his logic. It happened while we were dead. Then he made us alive. He did all of this while we were receivers, not active builders, ourselves. And so his conclusion is that nobody can boast a lick in any of it. He did all this so that,

praise be to me. Nobody can say that. Nobody can say that. It was through faith, not through works. It was received through faith, which is simple childlike trust that arises from a new heart given freely by God. Simple childlike trust. You've often heard probably that faith is like a hand that receives, an empty hand that is filled. It's not a bad metaphor. It's the childlike trust of a child to a good father. So that is what God has done. Though we were dead, God saved us by grace and through faith, through the work of Christ, who died for our sin, and rose from the dead, so that we might, through the resurrecting power of God, become a new humanity. Why has he done this? That's what he's done. But there is a third aspect of this text to note and understand. And that is why. Why has God saved us? Why has he forgiven us? Why has he raised us and seated us with Christ? Why has he given us the inheritance of the firstborn? Why did Christ die so that we could live? Why has he done all of this, not for a people who were morally neutral even, but for a people who were positively wicked and personally wicked against him? Why would he do that? Why has he done this in spite of the fact that none of us earned even the tiniest sliver of it by way.

Why has he raised us and seated us with Christ? Why has he given us the inheritance of the firstborn? Why did Christ die so that we could live? Why has he done all of this, not for a people who were morally neutral even, but for a people who were positively wicked and personally wicked against him? Why would he do that? Why has he done this in spite of the fact that none of us earned even the tiniest sliver of it by way. of merit. It would literally be like if somebody murdered your beloved son and then you forgave them, adopted them and gave them and gave them the inheritance of that son. And people would be right to say, why would you do that? Why would you do that? Why did he make a new humanity? Now, there's an ultimate answer we can always give to questions like this. And I'm going to give it. But I want you to understand how this is ultimate and that we need to actually reason.

of merit. It would literally be like if somebody murdered your beloved son and then you forgave them, adopted them and gave them and gave them the inheritance of that son. And people would be right to say, why would you do that? Why would you do that? Why did he make a new humanity? Now, there's an ultimate answer we can always give to questions like this. And I'm going to give it. But I want you to understand how this is ultimate and that we need to actually reason. to the ultimate to fully understand. Certainly God did this for his own glory. That's always the right answer. Why does God do anything that God does for his own glory? To magnify his own glory, which is fitting and right. God would be unrighteous not to act for his own glory, since the essence of righteousness is not to fall short of glory, but to consider as glorious, the most glorious thing. And God is the most glorious thing. So God does everything for his own glory because he's righteous. Yes, he did all this. by his strength in his own might and his own outstretched hand of mercy and power in order that nobody could boast and all the glory would go to God, the Savior. But there are two reasons that serve that reason in the text. Two reasons that demonstrate God's glory and demonstrate how this salvation was for God's glory and demonstrate that which is glorious in God that we need to

glory and demonstrate how this salvation was for God's glory and demonstrate that which is glorious in God that we need to understand. Two reasons that Paul gives us for doing all of this. Firstly, he did, this, Paul says, in order that in the coming ages, he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. That's there in verse 7. It says, God being rich in mercy in verse 4, even when we were dead, verse 5, verse 6 raised us up, so that, verse 7. In order that, or here's a purpose why he did, verses 4, 5, and 6 here in verse 7. So that in the coming ages, he might show the immeasurable riches of grace, of his grace and kindness, towards us in Christ Jesus. Why did God save us? Paul tells us right there in verse 7. He did it so that in the coming ages, he might be immeasurably kind towards us, so that he might demonstrate that kindness. God saves us, in other words, because God delights to show kindness. He loves to be kind. He loves to do this. It's something that's in the heart of the very nature of God. that he delights to demonstrate kindness. Did you know that about God? This is the heart and the essence of

but it's something that results from the attributes of God. An attribute is something that is true of God entirely. It's something that you can say all of God is this. It's in his nature. It's an God has theologians say acciety, which means self-existence. He's not contingent. Nobody made him. He doesn't depend on anybody else for his existence. He's the only thing like that in all of existence, by the way. Aseity. God is sovereign. He's totally in charge. God is omnipotent. He has all power. He is omniscient. He is all knowing. He is all wise. He has all of these eternal and immutable attributes that are true of his whole person. God is love, but God is not wrath in the same way that he is love. God has wrath because God is love and God is holy. He has wrath because he's holy. Put those two together that he is love and he's holy and God's wrath makes sense. God is holy and he loves all that is good and true and beautiful. These things flow out from his nature, his being his person. And so what would happen when unholiness defiles what is good and holy and true and beautiful? When God looks at something defiling, what he loves, which is good and true and beauty and everything

When God looks at something defiling, what he loves, which is good and true and beauty and everything he created, what happens? Well, he hates it. That's what happens. He abominates it. He hates it. He's full of wrath. He's angry. But he is not hatred the same way that he is love. God's wrath actually exists at all because of his love and his holiness. So here's the question. When you think of God, what do you think of? What are you thinking of when you think of God? When you think of God, you absolutely ought to tremble in fear and stand in reverential awe. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Absolutely. If you comprehend even one tiny sliver of God's character and nature and being, you would be terrified. You would stand in reverend. You would stand in reverend. You would do what John does in the gospel, in the revelation when he stands before Peter, or before Jesus. He says, he fell at his feet as though dead. But he said, fear not, I am the first, and the last in the living one. It's in hell. It's one of the greatest passages in the New Testament, but I'm not of it right now, so I won't get sidetracked. But if you were to think about God accurately, absolutely, absolutely, you should stand in awe and fear of him. But if you were his person, if you were one of his saints,

absolutely, you should stand in awe and fear of him. But if you were his person, if you were one of his saints, if he had called you by his name and if he had cleansed your sin and cleared your record of debt and nailed that to the cross of Christ and put it to death. And if he had called you his son, and if he had called you his friend, and if he had called you by all of these names, then it ought to be a trembling and fearful, reverential awe, but it also ought to include the fear and awe and trembling of standing in the presence of pure, holy, unadulterated, omnipotent joy and gladness and goodness. It's a glorious and good kind of awe. It's the kind of awe of standing before somebody who is so high above you and so good that you would just hope that they might cast their goodness upon you for one second, that they would just notice you, and you'd be terrified if they would, but you want them to, because you sense deeply that what you're standing before is perfect goodness. Absolutely 100% 100 proof gladness. What I'm saying is that there is enough goodness and joy and gladness in God to set every kingdom in the cosmos laughing if I could rip off J.R.R. Tolkien. There is enough goodness in God to set the whole cosmos laughing. There's enough joy in

rip off J.R.R. Tolkien. There is enough goodness in God to set the whole cosmos laughing. There's enough joy in God to satisfy the soul of every creature to the bottom. So why did God save you? One of your answer should be to be kind to me. He saved me so that he could forever lavish joy and goodness and gladness on me. God is for you. He's not against you. Remember, one of my favorite sentences from the Lord Jesus Christ, Luke 12, 32, he says to his disciples, he says, fear not little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Fear not little flock. It's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It's on this basis then that Jesus immediately tells them how to live as God's new humanity. In Luke 1233 and 34, he says, sell your possessions, give to the needy, provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So what is the command to righteousness, and specifically to the righteousness of self-sacrificial love for one another? Why does Jesus say, give yourselves away, your strength and your money for the sake of your brother. Because he loves us. Because he knows, and he knows with the knowledge of the one who made us, with the knowledge of a maker to what he has made, what is good for us.

we're not saved by good works. Jesus did all the good works. God saved us. And then he fashioned us anew. We're his workmanship, a new humanity. What are we for then? So that when we die, we go to heaven? Well, no, he says for good works. That's what you're for. Which God prepared. beforehand that we should walk in them. Again, his kindness, the command to good works is a part of his kindness towards us because it is what we're actually for. The salvation Paul's talking about here in this passage is not merely a salvation that forgives sin. It's not merely to put it theologically, justification. It's certainly not less than that, but it is much, much more. God forgives us and justifies us so that he might save us, which is the total work of taking a sinner, from death to eternal glory. It's nothing less than the entire process whereby he makes his people immortal, sinless, righteous, joyful, glad, and holy saints. That's what salvation is. It's not less than forgiveness. Forgiveness is a constituent part. But it's the whole thing. And one thing this means is that he didn't simply forgive us and then say, now when you die, you'll go to heaven. No, he forgives us. He gives us a new heart and spirit and puts us on the path to glory and says, I have put before you every step between here and glory. It's a path that will be full of good works. These good works

He gives us a new heart and spirit and puts us on the path to glory and says, I have put before you every step between here and glory. It's a path that will be full of good works. These good works are not works that you will do to earn my love. You already have that. That's what motivated me to do all of this. These are good works that I've set before you because I love you. And so when we're doing this right, it will feel like walking. When we're being Christians, right. The good works, the life of the Christian will feel like walking. Good work. Good work. Good work. Good work. Good work. Good work. Good work. Good work. Good work. It isn't supposed to be something that arrives quarterly and we say, aha. God has set before me a great big good work. How spectacular. I'll go ahead and do that and then get looking for the next one that might come down the road in a few months or years. It's not like that at all. That's not what the Christian life is like. It's supposed to be like, wake up. Good work. Thankfulness and cheer at the God who set before me new morning mercies and put good duties before me today. Get ready for the day. Be slow to anger and patient with my people. Be prayerful. Be kind. Go to work. Work heartily as unto the Lord. Get home. Love my kids. Love my wife. Go to sleep in faith. Day after day. It's moment to moment. It's step to step. And so we don't set out thinking that we're primarily going to be occupied in the Christian life with big and flashy good works that lots of people will notice us for and

going to be occupied in the Christian life with big and flashy good works that lots of people will notice us for and compliment us for. People will be like, wow, that was a really big, unbelievable. The check that he just gave to that struggling brother was, it was one of those checks that's four feet long. Like, you're welcome. It wasn't like sound of trumpet. Boop do-da-do-do. Look, look. Oh, Joe's doing his quarterly good work. Everybody, look. Wow, wasn't that impressive. Okay, moving on. It's not like that at all. It's more like this. Are you becoming more like that God who is overflowing with kindness and joy and gladness? becoming more like the fountainhead of gladness. Are you joyful? Are you cheerful? Are you killing your sin? Are you overflowing with self-giving gladness? Are you kind? Do you love others? Are you slow to anger? Are you instinctually merciful? Are you courageous? Do you hate evil? Do you love good? are quick to forgive? These things are common in our life, the opportunity to do good works like this. They're footsteps, not great monuments. And all of it only ever is possible. How? By the grace of God at work us. Again, this is what he saved us for and saved us to all to the praise of his glory and not so that we may boast. Can we boast in any good work that we do? No. Because it was a good work

and not so that we may boast. Can we boast in any good work that we do? No. Because it was a good work God set before us. It was a good work done via new hearts and his spirit in us and his strength if it was truly a good work at all. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we pray that you would give us a deep and abiding awareness of your character, Lord, that you would help us to truly know the goodness and joy and gladness of your being. Lord, I pray that you would teach us to hate sin perfectly, that you would teach us to not bulk at your wrath and at your judgment, but also, Father, that we would see and comprehend how your wrath even serves your love. Lord, help us to walk in the good works that you've set before us, trusting. that each of these good works is for our good, and that they are a result of your love and goodness towards us and kindness. Lord, I pray that you would make us a people who would be righteous by becoming more like you, that you would make us not only courageous and hate sin, but that you would make us instinctually merciful and full of love and compassion, that you would give us both. Lord, we pray that you would do this for your glory, not that any of us may boast, but for your glory. And so we pray as you instructed in your word.

but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the power and the glory forever and ever.