The Thread of Grace - Louie Giglio

0:18 We're in this collection of talks called Grace and Glory. These are big ideas in our church. We have three theological anchors at Passion City. The glory of God, radical grace, and extravagant worship. And so grace and glory are not just words we picked out of thin air. They're important to the theological underpinning of our house. And we talked last week about this idea that grace is defined or could be defined as, do you remember? God at work. Now you can define grace a lot of ways, but this is grace. It's God doing what you and I can't do. It's God doing what we never could do. And on our best day, with all of our might, we couldn't do the things that God has done through grace. And this primarily happens at the cross, the crucifixion of Jesus, and at the empty tomb.

1:23 But it's not just a three-day event of grace. Grace is a thread through all of eternity and all of history. And I want you to see that today. So let's get ready together for a small seminary class today. and I might try to throw an illustration in, but it's not gonna be that kind of message and you're not gonna be able to write all this down. I just want you to be moved like I have been by the threat of God being at work all the way through eternity. Grace was in effect before there was time. That's the first thing I want you to see today. Before there was a world, grace was already moving and in motion toward you and toward me for the glory of God. Revelation 13, all who dwell on the earth will worship him. This is the beast, by the way, whose names have not been written in the book of life. Now, our names, most of us, have been written in the book of life, so we celebrate that today.

2:22 The book of life of the lamb who was slain, and when was he slain? Well, he was slain on the cross. Well, this text lets us know he was slain from the foundation of the world. In other words, before there was an earth, Jesus had already in the books of heaven given himself for the sins of the world. It's a crazy thought. We can imagine eternity future. I'm going to go to heaven when I die. I'm going to be with God in glory. I'm going to be there forever with him. I'm going to have eternal life. But that same eternity that is future is past. God has always been. You can't really wrap a human brain around that concept that God didn't have a beginning. He always has been. His name is I am that I am, shortened for I be. I exist.

3:15 That's the name of God. In any eternity past, it was already settled before there was a world that the lamb would be slain. Grace, God at work before the foundation of the world. Peter said it a different way. Since you call on a father who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. And then he goes on down to say, you weren't redeemed with silver and gold, but verse 19, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect, he, Jesus, this lamb was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. It was already settled what Christ was about. Grace was already moving before the world. Ephesians 1, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who's blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

4:16 For he chose us, God did, he chose us, God at work, in him, in Christ, before the creation of the world. Before you were born, he chose you in Christ. Grace was moving in your direction before you even knew there was a direction. God was already at work to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ in accordance with the pleasure of his will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given to us in the one he loves. It goes on to talk about the riches of God's grace before the foundation of the world. I'm not going to do everything with four passages, but I just want you to see this isn't a verse or two in the Gospels that are about grace and about Jesus dying on a cross. This thread runs through the entire scripture and all of eternity. Second Timothy, he has saved us and called us to a holy life. Not because of anything we have done. Why?

5:27 Because grace is God at work. So of course it's not anything we have done, but because of his own purpose and, say it with me, and what? And what? And grace. It was operational. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Creation, second thing I want us to see, is a gift of grace. If you ever want to see God at work, look at the first line in the Bible. Most people know the first line in the Bible. Can you read it with me? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Who created? Who was at work? Did you create? Nope. Did I create? Nope. Were you at work? Nope. Was I at work? Nope. In the beginning, God was at work. Grace was in motion. God was doing what only God could do. He was doing the heavy lifting. Out of nothing, he was making everything that exists. And I want you just to see who was in God doing all this was Jesus.

6:46 Yes, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they were there at the beginning making man in our image, but who was the operational part of the Trinity who was actually doing the creating? Jesus, Hebrews chapter one, in the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times in various ways. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things. And look at this, and through whom, through the son, also he made the universe. Jesus was the operational force who created the world. nail-pierced hands flung the stars into space. John said it this way, in the beginning was the Word. We know that's Jesus, the capital W-O-R-D. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning, and through him, through Jesus, all things were made.

7:42 And without Jesus, nothing was made. Grace has a name, and his name. he made the world a few verses down in chapter one of Genesis. So God created mankind in his own image. Wow. Talk about grace. I'm going to make you, and I'm not just going to make you. I'm going to make you in my image, in the image of God. I'm going to make you. You're not going to make you in the image of God. I'm going to make you in the image of God. So he created them in the image of God. He created them male and female. He created them. Your existence is an act of the grace of God.

8:47 the world we're in is an act of his grace, but you, your existence is by grace. They didn't want God and they sinned and fell away from God. And God came.

9:08 And when he came into the equation, he said to the serpent who had tempted them, And I will put enmity between you and the woman. This is chapter three of Genesis. And between your offspring and hers, and he, her offspring, which is a picture of Jesus coming, he will crush your head and you will strike his heel. In the garden, there is a picture of what Jesus was going to do. on the cross and at the empty tomb. He's gonna crush your head, Satan. And then a few verses down, it says, the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. They sinned, they knew they were naked, they were now ashamed, and God intervened into their nakedness and into their shame, and God killed an animal in the garden and took the skin of the animal and he made garments to cover and clothe the man and the woman.

10:14 The very first sacrifice. in time and in history was all because of God's grace and obviously was pointing to a time when another sacrifice would be made by God. We exist because of God. We are living because of God. The grace of God is already showing up in the earliest part of man's story. But mankind they went nuts and they were wicked beyond wicked. The Lord says in chapter six, then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry. that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart.

11:09 So the Lord said, I'll destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them. But, but, but is the conjunction of grace. but Noah not perfect but it says a few verses down that he was a righteous man in his heart Noah found what grace the first time this word appears in the bible in the eyes of the Lord and so Noah had to work and he had to build a boat and he did he built an ark he did the work of building the ark. I don't know what the ark looked like. I haven't been to the museum yet to see it.

12:02 A little door and a little ramp so people can go up. Noah built the ark, but God saved the ark in the waters for 40 days and 40 nights. Grace in the eyes of the Lord. there was grace on the mountain, the mount called Moriah. Now Abraham, he had a covenant with God. God was going to make him the father of a mighty nation. His descendants were going to be more numerous than stars in the sky. And he said, that's not going to happen because look how old I am and my wife can't have kids. But there's something called grace. And what is grace? It's God at work doing things that we can't do. So when Abraham was too old and his wife couldn't have children, God said, well, I can do that. I am a God of grace. Now Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, God has made me laugh and all who hear will laugh with me. She also said, who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children?

13:13 for I have borne him a son in his old age. You know how? Because God. but then God said, this son who is going to be the one who this promise comes and these descendants are going to flow. I want you to take him up on that mountain and I want you to sacrifice him as an act of faith to God. Now, before you get too freaked out about that, God never intended for Abraham to sacrifice his son. This was all a story about God, not about Abraham and his son necessarily. And Abraham said, when they got up there, when the son said, who was a teenager at this point, I see the fire and I see the wood, but I don't see the sacrifice. Abraham said, my son, God will provide for himself. He will do what? He will provide for himself. God will do it for himself. You can't do it, but God will do it. When we get there, God will do it. God will provide.

14:12 There will be grace on the mountain. He'll provide the lamb for a burnt offering. And then Abraham lifted his eyes and he looked and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its thorns. So Abraham went and took the ram and he offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place the Lord will provide. As it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord it shall be provided. This all happened, interestingly, somewhere around 19 to 1800 BC.

14:51 And it happened on Mount Moriah. Where later in time, when BC was turning to AD, that on that mountain, on that mountain, Jesus died. on the same mountain.

15:21 Jehovah Jireh did it again. And on the mountain of the Lord, God will provide. I didn't provide, and you didn't provide, but God did. grace is at the end of Genesis chapter 50 making a way for Jesus to be born Joseph as you know is one of the sons of Jacob and Jacob Abraham Isaac and Jacob there comes the line Abraham Isaac up on the mountain with him and Jacob Jacob has all these sons the brothers are are hateful towards Joseph they throw him in a pit sell him into slavery his life is miserable for a long period of time but eventually God miraculously raises him up out of a dungeon in a prison and makes him the second most powerful man in Egypt and gives him the foresight and the wisdom to store up the plenty because a famine is coming to the land. And when the famine comes, Joseph's family, his brothers and his dad, they're all back in Cana. They have to come down to Egypt to get food because Egypt's the only place where there is food. And in Joseph's family is the promise of Jesus. Not his family line, but the family that he's in. His brother Judah is going to be the one through whom comes the Messiah. But his brother Judah and his brothers are starving in Cana, and they're going to die, and Jesus isn't going to come unless a miracle happens.

16:47 And the miracle was Joseph going through all the travail and being lifted up to be the second most powerful man in Egypt running the food distribution program when his brothers come. And at the end of it all, they realize that when their dad passes away, they're all going to be in serious trouble with Joseph. But Joseph said to them, to his brothers, this is one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. Even people who don't go to church know this next phrase coming. Do not be afraid, for I am in the place of God. But as for you, you meant evil against me. You meant it for evil, but what?

17:28 What is the conjunction of grace? But God meant it for good. All this hardship I went through, God had a plan in all of that. All of this doesn't make sense stuff. God said, oh, it makes perfect sense, because I'm going to use you to extend grace to your families and to your brother through whom the Messiah is going to come because grace has a name and his name is Jesus and he's coming through Judah.

17:54 Thank you. I would be doing that if I were you. I was doing a lot of that when I was studying this. But God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day. To do what? to save many people alive. Grace made a way for Jesus to be born. The new ruler in Egypt didn't know Joseph and didn't know the people of Joseph. And he put all of God's people into bondage, but God extended grace to deliver, delivering grace. He said to Moses, I've surely seen the oppression. I've heard their cry I know their sorrow I have come down to deliver to bring them up from that land to a good land I hear their cry has come to me I have seen the oppression with which they are oppressed so come now Moses and I will send you so I'm going to send look at all these verbs I've seen I'm sending it is come I'm going to bring them up I've come down. I know. I've heard. I've seen. God is at work. And he says to Moses, I'm sending you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. Now, Moses didn't get all the verbs. And so he said, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? And God didn't say, oh, let me build you up. God said, oh, I'm going with you. Did I not say that part?

19:36 grace is going with you. You will have what you need every step of the way through the grace of God, the grace that is going to deliver God's people. It is deliverance grace. Moses went to Pharaoh. Pharaoh didn't want to let the people go. So there were plagues on all of Egypt. And the last plague was the angel of death passing over every home and the firstborn was going to die. But he said to his people, you take the spotless lamb and you put the blood over your door of your house. And when the angel comes, he'll see the blood of the Passover lamb and the angel will pass over your house. For I'll pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike all the firstborn of the land, both man and beast, against all the gods of Egypt. I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. I will pass over you, God at work.

20:40 And he did. And to this day, the Jewish people celebrate that night and they call it the Passover where God's grace spared their lives. That's why it is no coincidence that in Matthew we see when Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, as you know, the Passover, the celebration of that night, is two days away. And the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified. on the day that we're celebrating that you passed over us because of the blood of a lamb, the lamb of God is going to be on a cross so that you can pass over all who put their faith and their trust in him. It is the grace of God at the Passover lamb.

21:44 Pharaoh finally let him go, but he changed his mind. And here they were stuck in the desert, coming up against this body of water with an army bearing down behind him. When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes and the Egyptians marched after them. So they were afraid and they cried out to the Lord. And then they said to Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, you've taken us away to die in the wilderness.

22:11 But then look what Moses says. He said to the people, do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish. He will accomplish. He will accomplish. You stand still. He will accomplish. Grace is about to work. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you.

22:50 Wow. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. God, by grace, delivered his people from the sea. Praise God.

23:15 When you leave Exodus, you get into some of our favorite books. Leviticus Numbers and Leviticus is all about the tabernacle. Exodus is as well. where God was going to meet with man. In it was the Holy of Holies. And in it was the Ark of the Covenant. The second Ark has arrived. And in this Holy of Holies, only one person could go to the high priest on one day a year. But as they were constructing this, it's interesting to note that this thread of grace is there. Notice what it says in Exodus 28. Make the robe of the ephah. This is what the priests were going to wear, entirely of blue cloth, with an opening for the head in its center.

24:11 Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and what? Scarlet yarn. Around the hem of the robe with gold bells between them. You read the rest. I need to let my voice rest for a second. Can you pick it up right here and you just read it? The gold bells. The bells let him know he's still alive in there. In the event that being with the holy God, he dies. and on his robe are pomegranates and they are woven with blue and purple but there is a scarlet thread.

25:04 all those who were skilled among the workers made the tabernacle with 10 curtains of finely twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarn with cherubim woven into them by expert hands. There was a scarlet thread of grace. And it was all pointing to Jesus. We skipped ahead and went to Hebrews whose day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties. Again and again, he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest, Jesus, had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. And since that time, he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

26:01 That scarlet thread that was woven into the garment of the priest who would enter into the Holy of Holies to make the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. That same thread that was there and was woven into the tapestries in the tabernacle itself now takes us to the high priest of all high priest, Jesus, who is going to enter into the heavens. And through not that curtain, but by his body is going to make a way for you and I to enter into the very presence of God. God is making a way even in Exodus and even in Leviticus. He's showing us the scarlet thread of the grace of God that is moving from eternity past to eternity future. And is doing the unthinkable end time history and space by offering and extending the mercy and kindness of God to all people everywhere.

27:06 Who would put their faith and put their trust in him. Praise God. in number six, there was a blessing. Maybe you've heard this blessing before. God's extending his grace. Even before Jesus arrives, the Lord said to Moses, tell Aaron and his sons, this is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. God led the people finally into the promised land. Before they went in, they scouted out Jericho. Two spies went in, and the people in Jericho knew they were there and came after them, but they found a woman named Rahab who happened to be a prostitute, and she took them in and hid them in the roof of her house.

28:03 And she believed in God and feared God, and they said, we're coming back, and we're gonna wipe out this town. And she said, I believe in God. And they said, when we come back, we will save you and your family. And the way we will know is that you will drop a scarlet cord out your window. and they did come back, and they did see Jericho fall, but Rahab and her family were spared by the grace of God and a scarlet cord out the window, the thread of God's grace that is woven through history. The psalmist wrote it this way. He made known his ways to Moses. We've just seen all that. His deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

29:02 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. How can the psalmist say this? Because the prophets are coming and the prophets are speaking about what God is going to do. I love how we see it in Isaiah 53. And you should read the whole chapter of Isaiah 53. But let's zoom in on any point that you want to. Let's just look at verse 6. We all, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him. God did it. God laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. And by his wounds, we are healed.

29:57 Who laid our iniquity on him? We didn't even lay our own iniquity on the Savior. God did it. Grace at work prophesied 700 B.C. God is saying, grace is coming. Get ready. Grace is on the way.

30:25 Isaiah said, the Lord will give you a sign. And that sign will be a virgin. And she'll conceive and give birth to a son. And we'll call him Emmanuel. So here we are, 700 years before Jesus. He's saying, grace is coming. Get ready. grace is coming. And then grace arrived. This is how the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, came about. It came about by grace. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. You know the story. Before they came together physically, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace. He had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

31:31 You know this story in Luke. There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, watching watch over their flocks at night, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Grace and glory, they always show up at the same time, at the same place. And they were terrified. But the angel said, don't be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, this is the part I want us to dial in on. A Savior has been born to you. He's the Messiah, the Lord. he shows up this angel or this angel shows up to shepherds why because they need to know while they're keeping their flock of sheep that the perfect lamb of god has just been born nearby not it's going to be born hey i came to tell y'all that there's going to be a baby born today and i if y'all might want to come and help no he has been born before you heard it he already is here Before you knew about it, he's already here.

32:30 Before I told you, he already showed up. God is at work, and God got here first, and he's already at work. He's already in a manger. John said it this way in chapter one. The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his what? His glory. The glory of the one and only son who came from the father full. So when Jesus arrived, he was full when he got here. And he was full of grace.

33:03 Praise God. And truth. From his fullness we have all received, hello, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Praise God. then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the praetorium we're getting close to the finish here and gather the whole company and I'm skipping over huge chunks of scripture in multiple hundreds of verses about grace the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him and they stripped him and they put a Thank you. scarlet robe on him. and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head.

34:06 The same grace that chose us before the foundation of the world in eternity past wove a robe. that they would put on Jesus. just minutes before he would go to the cross. grace finished the work when he received the drink jesus said it is finished and with that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit if grace is god it worked and god at work finished the work right there on that cross and he said it's finished the work of grace is done i have done what i decided in eternity past that I would do and I have become what I knew I would become. I am the sacrifice for the sins of the world and I will give a perfect life to ransom men. It is finished. Grace. God at work.

35:13 God did it. And because of that, that's why we're here today. That's why we're breathing the air of forgiveness today. But the great conjunction of grace because of his great love for us, God, whose rich in mercy made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in our transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace. Remember last week. Can you say it with me? By grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God. It is not by works. You didn't do it. so that no one can boast for we're God's handiwork.

36:12 created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. You might have to build a boat, but God will protect it in the waters for 40 days and 40 nights. This threat of grace, it does not run through any other religious system on earth. the followers of Jesus follow the thread of grace from beginning to end it is not by works it is not a system it is a savior it is grace his very throne is grace since then we have a great high priest who's ascended into heaven Jesus the son of God let us hold firmly to the faith we profess for we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are yet he did not sin let us then hello approach God's throne this amazing throne of God. Oh, it says more about the throne. God's throne of, say it, with grace, with confidence, so that we may receive from this throne of grace, mercy, and find grace to help us in our time of need. The very throne of God is grace. Praise God.

37:54 Grace was the greeting of the early church. They didn't say, hey, how you doing? They said, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to God's holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And most people probably won't underline the last verse, but if you go to the last verse from chapter 6 of Ephesians, peace to the brothers and sisters and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. It's the first greeting, and it's the last greeting.

38:35 And it's the same in the letter to the Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and even Revelation, they all start with a salutation, grace to you, and all of them, but two end with the final sentence saying, grace to you. This was the byword of the early church, was we are in a story, and we have taken hold of the thread of the grace of God from beginning to end. And it is our greeting.

39:19 His grace is our riches. Paul wrote in Corinthians, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. How do you get rich? Because of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And grace is what awaits us in heaven. We saw this in our Revelation collection. I'll just jump into a few places in chapter 5. And they sang a new song.

39:50 Do you know what it was? it was a song. it's a song about what God did you are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals this is Jesus glorified in heaven surrounded by creatures and elders this is Jesus at the epicenter of worship fire in his eyes, hair white like wool, sun like the sun shining at full strength. This Jesus is glorious and magnificent. But what is the song? The song is you are worthy. Why are you worthy? Because you were slain and with your blood, you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have made.

40:52 They're singing about grace. in the throne room of God.

41:14 He's coming. He's coming on a white horse. He's coming to finish it all. He's coming to finish off all unrighteousness, all evil, all enemies. He's coming. I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True with justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself and he is dressed. How is the one coming on the white horse dressed?

41:57 He's coming to wage war. Man, I bet he is bulked up. I bet he's got onto impenetrable armor. I bet he is fierce. How is he dressed on the white horse? he's dressed in a robe dipped in blood. he's dressed in grace and his name is the word of God.

42:28 And then the very last words in the Bible. Do you know them? someone said, I am coming quickly. Yes, come Lord Jesus. Close, very close to the last ones. The very last words in this book. Of course, you know what they are now. What are they? some version of grace. This version, the very last word of the word. chapter 22, verse 21, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.

43:20 Amen. Of course, you have his wisdom. Yes, you have his strength. Of course, you have his life. And yes, you have his righteousness. You have his purpose. You have his dignity. you have his destiny, you have his image. But the thing he wanted, the one on the throne, you didn't know that you needed to have with you was his grace. the end. I'm through speaking now in the word of God. I would like to close with this, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Why? Because it's God at work. And if God is at work with God's people, then anything is possible for God's. People.

44:24 I've been obviously way down deep in grace. could hardly sit down some of the time massively moved all the time and I kept hearing this song in the back of my mind you ever get a song stuck in your head when you're doing something and whenever you're doing that that song and and that thing they just kind of like connect and the song that got stuck in the back of my head is by this guy named Crowder and it's a song called grave robber Thank you. that's a song about grace and I couldn't get that bridge part out of my mind it must have played over a thousand times possibly taking my sin taking my shame breaking my soul out of these chains I'm a dead man living Thank you.

45:19 and God did it. Taking my sin, taking my shame, breaking my soul out of these chains, I've been forgiven and God did it. God did it.

45:40 I didn't do it. God did it. And I'm telling you, if grace is an ocean, There is not me. We're all thinking. because that ocean has no shore. from eternity past to eternity future, the ocean of God's grace has no shore. And it's running through this room right now, this thread of grace. It's running through this room right now. It's running through Cumberland right now. It's running through Trillith right now. Running through your den right now. and if you want to, you can reach up and take hold of the thread of the grace of God. to be saved.

46:48 to be sustained Here's a thread running right through your world right now. and you can reach up and take hold of it. the eternal threat. God did it.