Episode 60: "But When God…"

Welcome to the Growing Grace Podcast, a podcast of Grace Hills Church, where we take a deeper dive into the previous Sunday morning's message.

My name is Matt sitting down here once again with Pastor Brandon.

And we're in a new series. We're in the family portrait series, really looking at a lot of the aspects of our local church.

So today on Growing Grace, we're talking about the greatest news that has ever existed, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Titus chapter 3, Paul reminds us who we once were, what God has done for us, and how the gospel doesn't just save us but shape us.

Today we're going to unpack why being gospel centered grounds us in humility, guarantees our salvation in future, and guides how we live, serve, and stay unified as a church.

Our hope is that this episode reignites your urgency, restores clarity, and helps us live boldly for the mission God has given us because everyone needs Jesus.

So Pastor Brandon, quick, I just bring a question for you this morning.

What's the best piece of good news you've received in the past year, and how did it make you feel when you first heard it?

Well, I mean, the best news was also incredibly surprising news is obviously people who know us know that we have a little one on the way in May.

And now when my wife, taking the boys to school, I remember that morning, and my wife texted me, and she was like, hey, can you come home if you drop the boys off?

Typically, when I drop them off, I just go straight to work.

My boys and I have kind of a thing, especially on Mondays when my, they have practices after school, with some plays baseball, so we have a baseball bag.

And like, hey, I'll take you on Mondays, we stop at the wall wall at the corner, we get breakfast, and then we go, and then I just go straight to work.

And so get a text message, she's like, can you, can you come back to the house, or you plan on coming back to the house that I was in, but I can't.

She said, would you? And I'm like, yeah, I guess. And you know, and then I just got to just just just trust me was the next text message, and I was like, oh, all right.

And I'm driving, and it hit me, and I was like, I walked in the door, and I go, so what do you do?

And so, you know, that was some, that was a roller coaster ride of news, like always, always excited about adding a little one of the family.

You know, we are not young anymore, being in our 40s, and so there's always different risks and complications with that.

And especially more for my wife, obviously. And so, but that was really just kind of incredible news.

You know, people know our story a little bit of just issues of infertility for pretty many years, and the adoption, and then, which we joke around about, the adoption was more planned than, than our biological kids.

And it's funny, because we, we didn't, everybody, everybody we says that, oh, once you adopt, you're going to get pretty, and Lindsey, I, like we didn't want that story. And part of the reason we didn't want that story.

I think we didn't want biological kids is like, the adoption was was something that we talked about from dating days. Like it wasn't a, it wasn't a plan B.

It wasn't a reaction to fertility issues. And so sometimes, you know, that thing gets, it gets us a little bit. And then after that, you know, when people find out, kind of hear your story, like, oh, I know so many people that God does that with, and I usually, I don't say this.

But many times I want to say, you know, I know a lot of people that that didn't happen with. In fact, I know many, many, many more people that had fertility issues adopted and never got pregnant.

And so, but yeah, you know, God blessing us with the, you know, fifth child, third biological, you know, this, this will be the last one. We're going to have to do something about that, because it's just getting more and more risky for, for, for Lindsey in that sense.

But yeah, I mean, we're excited. And it's just another season with girls and the teenagers and toddlers and an infant. It's going to be, it's going to be a wild ride for the next couple of years.

Great. You opened up by asking what the best news someone has ever received was. So why is the gospel not just good news, but the greatest news every person needs to hear?

Yeah, you know, we, we have this value of gospel centered and it truly is the most important value because everything we do flows out of a gospel.

It flows out of who Jesus is and what he has done on our behalf. And it is the greatest news because it is the answer to our biggest problem.

People may be listening today, you may be sitting here going, my biggest problem is physical, you know, I'm sick. I have terminal illness or I have this, this incurable disease.

Or you may think, my biggest issue is finances like, you know, I need to make more money. I'm struggling paycheck to paycheck. And man, it's just, it's just tough. Or you think, oh, it's relational, man, I'm single. I really wish I was married or my marriage is in trouble.

And the reality is your biggest issue is the fact that all of us are sinners, that all of us are headed down a path of eternal separation from God in a place called hell unless God intervenes. And he did.

And he did so because of his love. He did so through Jesus by sending Jesus to this earth to live a sinless life to die of death that we deserved rose again on the third day, overcame the penalty and the power of sin.

And then imparted on us his Holy Spirit for those who have placed their faith in Jesus and repented of their sins. That is the good news. So we now go from, from enemies of God, we now go from, from people who are headed down a path of destruction to children of God.

And what's amazing about that is that, that does, it fixes us spiritually, but ultimately it helps us in those other areas as well because, you know, if you do have an illness or sickness, you were going to be healed someday, whether it's on this earth or whether it's an eternity with God.

If you do have financial issues and are struggling from paycheck to paycheck, you know, God's either going to intervene here or want you to trust him here on earth or when hearing an eternity, there is no more financial issues or you're struggling in your marriage or you're struggling in your singleness.

And here on earth, God can, can fulfill a relational need that you have and fulfill it perfectly. And, and, and then, you know, an eternity will be in his presence forever where marriage isn't even necessary because of who, of who Jesus is.

And so that's why it's the greatest news because it answers the question of what our greatest need is and that is, and that is, how do we, how do we overcome sin and the reality is is we don't God did through Jesus.

Paul reminds believers of who they were before Christ. Why is remembering our past essential for humility and urgency in sharing the gospel today?

You know, when someone is saved maybe from a lifestyle that was very in opposition to who God is, somebody coming out of addiction, somebody coming out of abuse, somebody coming out of, you know, laziness or anger.

When you're in the midst of those situations, oftentimes, I would say that people want to change, especially when it comes to addicts, I've, I've met numerous addicts that would say like, you know, in those moments, there were so many times that I wanted to change, I hated this, I hated who I was and they were unable to overcome it on their own.

And then they met Jesus and then Jesus saved them. And for some it was easier than others, but then their identity changed, their purpose changed when they, when they understood the forgiveness, when they understood the love, when they understood the gospel, they now look at the other people that maybe they went to a meeting with or that they hung out with or they got high with.

And they're like, I want them to experience what I have experienced. And so it's important for followers of Christ not to forget who they were before Christ saved them.

And even if you don't have a story like that, maybe I like me being saved at a very young age, having a testimony of preservation. And I would say it was probably saved more from religion than anything else.

And, and so I, I have kind of a heart for people, probably why discipleship is such a big deal to me is I have a heart for people who grew up in the church, but didn't have a relationship with Jesus or never really fully understood what that meant to have a relationship with Jesus.

And so I try and have that mindset and remember remember those, those, those like dark nights of the soul moments to where I felt like I was very, very distant to where I felt like, you know, I was failing in my relationship with Jesus.

I'm questioning my salvation. And so I have a heart to reach those people to help them if they are followers of Christ, to better understand what the relationship looks like. And so when we remember who we were, we're going to look at somebody, we're going to have compassion on them because we're going to be like, yeah, I mean, I was there. I get that.

And I want you to experience what I experienced. And so it creates a boldness and an urgency and the way that we view people changes in our, in our whole focus, our own mentality is, hey, does that person know Jesus? And so it's, it really is a motivating factor for followers of Christ.

And it's important that we don't forget who we were before Christ saved us.

You said that if we forget who we once were, why their lose urgency or become judgmental, where do you see that happening most often in the modern church?

I think that's kind of two sides of the same coin in the modern church, man.

American church especially, I would say American church more than modern church because there are some modern churches around the world that are doing things well.

But in the American church, in American culture, people don't have an urgency to see the lost saved, they don't.

And they've become very, very judgmental oftentimes because of the direction that our culture is going, especially what they perceive politically.

And so they, they look at someone who thinks acts looks believed differently than them.

And they're more judgmental than they are looking at them and going, and they just, they need Jesus.

So many Christians somehow seem to expect non-Christians to act like Christians.

And they, they maybe look back to another time where, you know, the moral code was maybe a little different even for non-Christians.

And there was just like things were, this is the way things were in an ordered society and it's, and you're going, yeah, you know, even for a lot of people who maybe were more moral in society, what we would call good morals doesn't mean that they were doing it for Jesus.

They were made to be doing it because it was the societal pressure at the time, more than anything else.

Or maybe benefited them.

Yeah, yeah, you know.

And so when we, when we start to see people, when we start to really recognize like their need for Jesus, it should change something within us.

Like we should, the way Jesus looked at it lost people was with compassion.

I mean, it's that, that compassion, that word that's used in numerous passages to describe the way Jesus saw them as a sheep without a shepherd and he had compassion on them.

And that word compassion has come from that word, that Greek word, splank though, which is means the bowels, which means like he felt it physically internally.

That's that, that not you get in your stomach when something tragic has happened or, or you see a loved one going through just a really difficult situation.

That's how Jesus viewed the lost.

We should have that same compassion for people.

That doesn't mean that we, you know, affirm people in their sin or that we look past, look past certain evils, you know.

But that does mean that our, that our response should be to, to share the gospel with them and to be praying for them.

The gospel creates lives of distinction without superiority.

How can believers live differently from the world without becoming self-righteous or disengaged?

Yeah, I mean, that, that is something that can be, they can be difficult, especially I think that the disengaged part.

It's much easier for Christians to kind of stay in a bubble, only spend time with other Christians or other people that are just like them.

But that's not really what God calls us to, like He calls us to be in the world, but not of the world.

And so, for many, it's, hey, just, you, you know what God has called you to do, you know that there are certain standards.

And so, you don't, you know, if you're to workplace where gossip is taking place among the ladies, then, you know, you're not going to participate in that.

And you're going to speak words of truth into somebody who may be bashing somebody else or might be bashing their husband.

And you can just say, hey, you know, you know, maybe this person just misunderstood you or maybe you need to go talk to them.

Or you're just going to say, hey, you know, they're going to, you know, they're going out to go for, for guys, you know, they're going to go out.

And probably have too many drinks and go spend time at a place like a strip club.

And you're just, you're just saying, hey, like that's just not my thing. I'm not going to be a part of that.

And you can say it without being judgmental. You can just say, just, I'm not going to participate in that.

And you don't have to, you don't have to preach at them. You have to give them a whole sermon that they ask you why.

You can say, hey, look, I'm a father of Christ. I just don't believe that's God honoring.

And so, I'm not going to participate. But when they come in the next day, you're still talking to them.

And that doesn't mean like another time you can't just go, go grab launch or grab dinner with them or go to a ballgame with them.

You're just refusing to participate in those type of things. And so, we do.

We live lives at a distinction, just even in the way that we treat other people, the way that we deal with difficulties.

I think gossip is really a big one when it comes to the workplace.

I think it seems to be something that goes around in our culture where we bash companies and we bash leaders and we bash bosses.

And we have this victim mentality or this entitlement mentality that somebody owes me something and things like that.

And so, we can set ourselves apart by not participating in that, but at the same time.

And I'm thankful that Lord has given me this job. And I'm going to do this job to the best of my ability to bring honor and glory to him.

And that's kind of how we just live a life distinct from other people without being judgmental.

We answer the question, why do you do it differently? Like, why do you work harder? Like, why do you not get involved in these conversations?

And those are open doors to share about Jesus, rather than saying, I met people like this too.

I'm not going to go to that strip club with you. You guys are just, you know, perverted, horrible, awful people.

That's judgmental. That's condemnation.

So, lives of distinction is continuing just to follow after Jesus and what he has called us to do.

And, you know, Ephesians 4 is a good place to kind of look at for that stuff and to kind of understand more about being a father of Christ isn't just about what you don't do.

It's also about what you do. And that's very important distinction.

But when God, that phrase is powerful. But when the kindness of God appeared, so why is it so important that salvation starts with God's initiative and not ours?

Yeah, that's incredibly important to understand it because if you begin to believe that you somehow earned your salvation, you were always going to wonder whether you've done enough.

And the focus is always going to be upon you. And what I typically find when people struggle with their salvation, their focus is more on themselves than it is on the loving kindness of God.

So, and again, I've been in this situation and when I get into just kind of self-focused moments of kind of struggle spiritually, that's where I go.

So, I go to, man, am I really, truly saved and I started thinking about being saved at a young age. I started thinking about a group of Christian families, I mean, I can just snowball into just this mindset of Satan just making me believe that you're not a follower of Christ or you wouldn't do this or you wouldn't do this or you wouldn't do this.

But God, and so when I'm able to change and focus on the loving kindness of God, when I recognize and realize that ultimately my goal is to follow after Christ and to honor him that I seek to be repentant on a daily basis and to to rid myself of things that are distractions, things that are sinful.

When I focus on who God is and what he has done on my behalf and I stop thinking that I have something to do with my salvation, then there's a calming piece of the Holy Spirit just quietly saying that you are God's child.

And those are the moments that I have to remember that I have to always see that salvation was initiated by God. We're dead in our sin, dead in our trespasses, a dead person can't do anything. That person has to be made alive by Christ.

Similar to that question, you emphasize that the gospel guarantees both our salvation and our future. So how does that security free believers to take bold risks for God's mission?

Yeah, man, if we know that because of what God has done for us that our salvation is secure, so we're saved by God through the person and work of Jesus who completed the mission that God had sent him to the earth for.

If we recognize that that was done fully, completely without sin, satisfied the wrath of God and that our salvation is secure, that means that ultimately this earth is not what we're living for.

We have that future hope. And we know that no matter what happens those on us earth or who harms us, they can never take away our relationship with Jesus in our salvation.

And so that should give us a foundation for following after Christ to be able to take a risk to maybe share the gospel with somebody that you're not sure how the reaction is going to be.

You're going to be able to financially invest in sending somebody overseas or investing in your local church or helping somebody you need that other people will look at you and be like, why would you do that?

Like you could have taken that money and upgraded your car or gotten a better house or you know better clothes or whatever it is.

Yet we're going now like, I know what Christ is up for me. My inheritance is secure. I'm going to have everything I ever need for all of eternity.

When I have that mindset, you have you things here on earth different. There was actually a this morning, a pastor friend of mine, recorded another pastor who said this and I think, man, this is a great statement.

I mean, it says, there are many Christians who chose heaven over hell, but did not choose heaven over earth.

And I thought, man, that is very, very true. And that's very true with our American church and our American culture.

Yeah, they've chosen heaven over hell, but they have not chosen heaven over earth. They still pursue after the earthly possessions, the earthly pleasures, the earthly passions.

They put the things of God, the church, community, serving, all of that takes a back burner to many other things in their life.

And that was an incredible statement this morning. Yet if you're in Christ, your salvation is secure, your child of God, which means that you now get to benefit of everything that is God's.

And so we always talk about this in terms of adoption. You know, we have two boys that are adopted. And so, you know, when they came to us, when they became shapers, they now get to partake in everything that we have.

They didn't earn that. They didn't, you know, write us letters from an orphanage. It wasn't because, you know, they did something that got our attention.

You know, it was because we were pursuing after adoption and God sovereignly used some incredible circumstances to bring those boys home.

But when we adopted them, you know, they now get to be shapers. They now get to participate. They now get to have a loving mom and dad and sisters and food on the table and clothes on their back and a roof over their head and whatever we do for vacations, hanging out, going out to eat, schooling all of that.

That's all stuff that they get to partake in because of who they are as shapers.

And so for us, we get to partake in this new heaven and this new earth that will partake in when Jesus returns and sets everything right back to its original creation.

And so we have that mindset when we have that hope when we, you know, when we, I just think that heaven is going to be more beautiful than any vacation than I could ever take.

And I'd love to go, I would love to fly around the world and, you know, go to these exotic places or, you know, go open the mountains or go visit these incredible cities.

And there's nothing wrong with that. If you have the money and time to do that and God has blessed you that way, that's awesome.

But if I dwell on that and I keep thinking, man, I'm missing out on something, it really can hurt just my mission and ministry as a pastor and even for our family where I might start making some decisions that, you know, I shouldn't necessarily be making.

And so I have to always keep that mindset that that heaven is going to be much better than anything on here and it's going to be fully satisfying.

And so, yeah, that allows us to take risks. That allows us to help those do things that we maybe normally wouldn't do knowing that that can never be taken away from us. And, you know, if you knew that you had an inheritance coming when somebody passes away, it changes the way that you're going to live your life.

And so our salvation should change the way that we live our life.

You described justification as moving from condemned to air. So how should that identity shift change how Christians view shame, failure and past sin?

Yeah, we talked about that word justification. I spent some time there because it's important.

When we're justified by the grace of God, we are saved. It is a moment in time and it is something that takes place and it secures us permanently for the future.

And the word justification there, the Greek word is typically used in a courtroom setting and it's this pronouncement of not guilty.

And the reality is we're all guilty because of our sin. It isn't like you're falsely arrested, you're falsely accused, you're falsely on trial, and then you get a not guilty is no, you're you've done everything that they accused you of and more probably we weren't framed.

We were not framed. And so if you're if you're on trial, know that you did something and that the consequences for that are going to be years and years in prison or maybe even the death penalty and the judge comes back and says you're not guilty.

But not only that you're not guilty, but that like, hey, actually you are guilty, but this person over here, they're taking that punishment for you. They're going to take the years in prison. They're the ones going on death row.

Here, here, you would consider that really, really good news. That's essentially what Jesus did on our behalf, but it isn't, but it's even more than that.

Like we're pronounced not guilty. And then it's like the person who took the punishment for us brings us into their home.

I think of it this way, like somebody was to go out and get drunk, kill somebody in a car accident. They say, let's say that they killed, they killed somebody's got for being somebody's child, somebody's spouse, whatever it is.

They go through the trial and then the person who was married to the one who died or a parent of the one who died becomes an advocate and says, I want mercy.

I don't want them to get what they deserve. I want them to be pronounced not guilty.

In fact, I'll carry that burden and then turn around and go, I'm also going to invite him into my home. I'm going to invite them to partake in our family and be a part of our family.

That's what God does. We don't oftentimes see it that way, but when you understand it that way, it changes the way that you view God.

It changes your relationship and the way you see him because you know your salvation, secure your inheritance and secure your partaking in all the benefits of what it means to be a child of the king.

And you can't help but live your life differently. And so for those who are out there, hopefully listening, I hope you understand that and that you get that.

There's nothing in this world that you're pursuing after that's truly going to satisfy you and you're not taking any of it with you.

But if you have that future hope mindset, then you can be bold. You can take risks. You can do things to bring honor and glory to God.

You can live on mission and know that nothing is going to separate you from God ever.

Paul says believers should devote themselves to good works after salvation. So how do we keep good works as a response to grace and not a replacement for it?

Yeah, you know, Paul talks to Titus and he said he calls him good works. He says to be mindful and devote yourself to good works. These good works are profitable for everyone, which is a very incredible statement.

So when he talks about that mindset, what he's basically saying there is is that you should be continuously thinking about good works, the things that you can do that are honorable, that bring honor and glory to God, that are serving other people.

You're constantly in your daily life looking for ways to live on mission. It's not something that is kind of like a one-time action or you set aside time during the week to just simply go serve somewhere.

That's a good thing to do, but like I said this in the sermon. It's the only time that you're doing good works is when the church sets up that opportunity for you.

You kind of miss the mark and you miss the point and that whole word to vote goes with it as well. That was kind of a leadership term or a management term, but what is really getting as Paul's like the leading thing in your mind should be about doing good works and about living on mission.

And those good works are things that are profitable for everyone. And so we talk all the time about works not as a means of earning salvation, but as a means to lay a foundation to share the gospel with the lost.

And God has ordered the original design and ordered the world in such a way that that is profitable and beneficial for everyone. And so you think about like in the original design like nobody was hungry.

And so when we're doing good works and we're feeding people who are hungry, we are essentially restoring back that original design.

Before sin entered the world, we were walking in step with God and then sin enters the world and then through salvation like it's a restoration of that original design to now that we're back into a proper relationship with God.

And so we think about good works as restoring back that original order and doing things and serving and helping and showing grace and showing mercy like those should be at the forefront of our mind on how we can really help other people with the intention of telling them about Jesus.

And it should be at the forefront of our mind. It should be something that we think about all the time thinking about opportunities and and it's a mindset shift. That's that that's that renewing the mind we talked about a couple weeks ago in in Romans 12 that leads to that transformation.

You warned about getting distracted by secondary debates that divide the church. What are some modern distractions that can pull churches away from gospel focus?

Well, a big one right now is politics. The political landscape in our country is absolutely horrific. And my oftentimes and social media see more of my Christian friends spending their time debating politics and administration and certain things that are going on in this world than they do about Jesus.

And again, there are certain things that politicians and our government has a responsibility to do. There is a right way and a wrong way to do things for them as well.

Our responsibility as a church is different than that of of the government. And I see that even within the churches of people who disagree with the way certain things are going or I see people fight over who they support or who they vote for or what they have an R next to the name or D next to the name.

And I would just encourage anyone if you're a follower of Christ, I would not identify yourself too closely with any political party.

Your identification is with Jesus first and foremost and both have issues.

Other things that I've seen throughout in the church is just kind of change in general. You know, with our church over the last three, three and a half years, we've worked hard to change some things.

And so, and those changes were necessary. But some people get upset if you change music styles or some people get upset if you have a certain instrument on the platform.

We had somebody who actually left because of that right early on when I got here. No biblical basis for why just and it wasn't even a personal preference as they really did think it was, they did think it was wrong, think it was sinful for never could never want to have the conversation, you know, that type of thing.

But, you know, you change language, you change the way that you do small groups, Bible study, who you're, you know, having an outward focus.

And I've seen, I mean, I've seen churches that have split over literally have gotten in fights and arguments over the color of the carpet because they had too many people involved in it, updates the building, where money is going to be spent, all those type of things.

And they become just, they become distractions away from the ultimate goal.

And there are certain things that the church leadership is tasked with, there are certain things that the congregation is tasked with.

And being a part of when it comes to membership, when it comes to doctrine, when it comes to choosing leadership in the church, those are all congregational things.

Color of the carpet, color of the walls, that's not a congregational thing. That's something that should be taken care of by, by the leadership of the church.

So the reality is this, the reality is no matter how you choose it, somebody's going to be unhappy.

Somebody's going to be upset and mad. And so, you know, there's doctrinal and theological issues when it comes to things like baptism, when it comes to church membership, when it comes to the return of Jesus and the who, where, where I went of that.

That I've seen cause distractions for churches. And, and so we have to be really, we have to be really careful to what we spend our time on.

There are, there are primary issues, there are secondary issues, there are tertiary issues, and those can be fun, but they don't necessarily, they shouldn't be splitting our churches or shouldn't be dividing our churches and causing arguments.

And yet that happens all throughout, all throughout churches all over the, I would say all over the world, but I hear most of it about American churches not necessarily.

I've never heard of a, of a house church in a closed-off country fighting over the color of the carpet. And it's probably because they don't have carpet on the floor.

I've never heard of, you know, a church in Africa that meets under a tent complaining about, you know, the amplification of the music or the temperature of the sanctuary, because they don't have those choices.

And, and we have to kind of keep that in mind and keep that in perspective, not that, not that there's anything wrong with doing that in American church, but like, and if you're, if you're upset about those things more than, than, than you care about worshiping Jesus in those moments, then, hey, there's, there's an issue.

For someone listening who wants to live more gospel centered this year, what's one intentional step they can take this week to ground guarantee and guide their life in the gospel?

Yeah, this week, I would say this man, take, take some, take some inventory of your heart, take some time specifically intentionally carve out some time this week, more than 15, 20 minutes, give yourself maybe a couple hours of just solitude and spend some time in prayer.

And that's God to really reveal your hearts and to, to kind of bring to the forefront of your mind, like, what are some areas of your life where you are not gospel centered?

You know, are you, do you find yourself like, are you an arrogant person unintentionally maybe to where, you know, you're looking at other people who don't know Jesus more in judgment than you are and praying for them and hoping to see them come to Christ?

Is, are you, are you pursuing after and looking for satisfaction and things of this world or are you satisfied and content with what you know you have been given in the gospel and what your future is so that it drives you to live on mission?

Are, are you pursuing after good works? Like, do you, are you looking for opportunities to share the gospel? Are you looking for opportunities to help other people in need? Are you, are you looking at your co-workers and your friends and your family and thinking, man, do they know Jesus?

Or do you just kind of, that co-worker that comes around the corner and you kind of just roll your eyes because you don't want to talk to them because they might get on your nerves?

And those are all things that we have to be intentional about and I have to be sometimes even more intentional because, you know, my co-worker is you and, you know, we don't get a lot of opportunity sometimes to, to really have those moments with other people.

You know, unless we, unless we frequent a restaurant or am I trying to do this with, with, you know, my kids sports and the, and the parents with the travel baseball teams and coaches and stuff and then I'm going to have some conversations but I've got to be very intentional about it myself.

And so, really, it's just taking inventory of the heart and that's a concept thing that we have to do. It's not just a one time thing. There's got to be intentionality behind it.

You know, if you want to live a gospel-centered life, has the gospel truly transformed your heart or, again, are you just trying to avoid hell?

Great takes there. Let's close in prayer, Pastor Brandon. Lord Jesus, thank you for the incredible gift of the gospel.

Thank you that while we were still sinners, you died for us. Help us to never forget who we once were and how you have transformed our lives.

Give us boldness to share this good news with the people you have placed in our lives. Make us intentional about doing good works that point others to you.

Help us to live as people who have been justified by your grace and are now heirs of your kingdom. May our lives be centered on the gospel in all that we do.

Guide us this week as we seek to live out what we discuss to you in your precious holy breath. Amen.

Thanks for listening to The Growing of Grace podcast until next time. Keep your eyes on Jesus and keep growing in grace.