Pastor Stan Mons
Sermon Transcription:
I want to remind you today, online and here in person, that sin has already been paid for. How many people do you know that are not really aware of this? Sometimes, fellow believers—you can tell by the way they live or by the way they may lack a smile on the regular—you can just tell this truth is not on their mind. They don't feel like sin has already been paid for, so they behave as if it is possibly not really true. At the very least, they think, “Today, I'm not feeling it.” Maybe people don't say it, but sometimes you can tell, can't you? In people's behavior, you see it. The people of Jesus, the body of Christ, the Church of Jesus Christ—Christ not a building but a people—is supposed to be the reminder in this world, to this world, that sin has already been paid for. God already dealt with the incredible, eternal problem that every single one of us ever born had. God already sent His Son. Sin has already been paid for.
Jesus already rose from the grave. He already sent His Holy Spirit to do inside of us what we could never do—to change in us what we could never change—and to become the light to this world on behalf of our Lord. We are tasked with making sure fellow believers are reminded that sin has already been paid for. Even when you feel down, you can give thanks to God and tell Him, “Thank you so much that sin has already been paid for, or else I would be in trouble again. Thank you so much that sin has already been paid for.” I have good news for the worst of all possible sinners I will ever meet in my life: sin has already been paid for. We are the sound in this world of God's good news. Amen. Make some sound, Church! Make some sound in this world. Make some sound, especially in this season, where we remember the birth of our Savior coming into this world to pay for that sin.
This happened, and we commemorate it every year, specifically during the Christmas season. That's why we try to celebrate it more exuberantly than anything else. Sin has already been paid for, and you are a part of this—whether you're online with us, you're here today, or you're far away on a trip, which I know many of us are at this time. You are a part of ensuring that the sound of the sins that have already been paid for—the sound of the good news that God sent into this world—continues to resonate. First, it came through His Son, and now it comes through you by the power of His Holy Spirit. You are a part of bringing that sound into the lives of others.
First of all, the Word tells us to focus on the household of God—your brother, your sister. Make sure they stay encouraged. Make sure they stay aware. Make sure they make their life's decisions based on the truth, based on this good news, which can sometimes become a little blurry to every single one of us. That's why God gave us brothers and sisters. We aren’t only children. Amen? We're not an only child. We’ve got a pretty good-sized family, and we are called to help one another, remind one another, and ensure our neighbor is doing better than we are.
When that is our heart, we create a solid sound in the church. And what happens when that church leaves the building? That sound begins to travel through our city, and people begin to hear, discover, and encounter the truth: Sin has already been paid for. Why don't you come to God? Why don't you start praying to the King, the Lord of the universe? Your sin has already been paid for! You get to declare God's good news. Whether people believe it and repent or not is between them and the Lord. You are the sound of the good news. You don't have to come up with all the conditions. You don't have to be careful with the gospel. You get to tell people, "Did you know? Do you even know that your sins have already been paid for?" Those who don't believe aren't rejecting you—they are wrestling with God's good news. Those who believe may just ask you another question. Even better, they may, when alone, begin to talk to God and say, "Is this really true? Is this really what You've done for me? Is this really something I can receive that can become real in my life?"
Church, you’ve got to sound like a trumpet. You’ve got to sound in people's lives. That is the heart of God toward this generation. This week, during our Builder Retreat, Pastor Ena and I took the people God has given us to invest in—to mentor and disciple them to become the builders of God's Kingdom for the next generation. For a couple of days, we were hidden away together, building relationships, separating ourselves unto the Lord, praying together, and seeking Him. The Lord did a number of deep works in the team of this church. There were three scripture portions the Lord gave us, and I’m going to share them with you as the church. Ephesians 4:15–16: "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. From Him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
The body of Christ in Portland, Oregon, will grow and be built up when we love one another as ourselves with all of our hearts. When each part does its work, when each part does what God is entrusting to it—He gave you His Holy Spirit! He gave you His Holy Spirit, who owns all the giftings. Almost none of those giftings are for your benefit; they are mostly for the benefit of others. Let the Spirit sound through you in whatever way you are called to make a sound—whether to preach, share in the streets, encourage on the job, or remind others of simple biblical truths like, “Did you know your sin has already been paid for?”
The body grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. The next day, the Lord gave us this word: Psalm 5:3: "In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning, I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly." The Lord showed us how to set the pace for a prayerful day. When we wake up, we must cut out everything else, push it aside, and do nothing else. Don’t check your phone or dwell on distractions. Take every thought captive. Go to your knees and say, "Lord, I’m making this decision: In the morning, You’re going to hear my voice. In the morning, I’m going to bring every request before You." When we do this, God does something in our hearts. He gives us a heart that waits on Him throughout the day. He gives us a heart that expects Him to move in our day. We need that waiting heart. We need that expecting heart. Without it, we might miss the work He wants us to do that day. And we need to do the work. We need to love others so that the body grows and is built up.
Then we received Ephesians 6:18: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Again, be alert. Keep your eyes open. Be watchful. Don’t miss the work that you are called to do each day—that the Spirit has been given in your life for. This is not a work to become an approved son or an approved daughter. This is a work that needs to be done so that the body of Christ grows and builds itself up. It is us—because we are saved, because we are approved, because we are a part of the body, because we’ve received the Spirit—who have become so important to the next person.
God has laid His hand on you. God has placed His Spirit in you. He has decided to use a fragile and sometimes broken vessel like you and me. He says, “I’m going to put something of unparalleled value inside of you as a vessel.” You, as a vessel, may not seem that impressive. But when you start pouring—when your life starts spilling over—when you don’t keep this stuff for yourself and you start pouring it out, the most valuable thing in this world begins to pour into other people. The Spirit will take the things that belong to Christ—the gospel, the redemption, the love of God—and begin to pour them from your life. Despite the flaws of the vessel, what God put inside of you has made you so important, because people are dependent on the Spirit of God who resides in you.
It’s not you, but it is the Holy Spirit of the Living God who is able to use someone like you to pour a message that cannot be forgotten, that cannot be neglected, and that cannot be denied. That message pours out of a vessel like you into their lives. They begin to ask: "Can it really be that my sins have already been paid for?"Can it really be that I can freely come to the Father and not be rejected?"Could Jesus really be the reason that I can now come to the Father and experience that I’m welcome, that I’m welcomed home, that I belong to the Father, that I have been purchased?"Could it really be?"
I don’t think any church is more powerful than the church that can raise a question in the heart of the unbeliever: “Could it really be?” Because if you can raise that question in someone’s heart, the chances are they may just whisper to God about it. If you can get somebody to pray, church, if you can get somebody to pray—it’s over. They may pray the wrong prayer. They may pray it full of fear. They may pray it with the wrong intention. But if anybody begins to call on the name of Jesus Christ, He begins to speak to them. He begins to show them He loves them.
Sin has already been paid for. Would you make that sound in our city? Amen. Amen. Let’s give the Lord a hand clap.
-Pastor Stan Mons