Willow Ridge Sermons

Sunday, January 12th • Beau Bradberry

"For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." — Galatians 1:11-12


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Show Notes

Sunday, January 12th • Beau Bradberry

"For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." — Galatians 1:11-12


Podcast: https://pod.link/willowridgechurch
Website: https://willowridgechurch.org
Instagram: https://instagram.com/willowridgechurch
Facebook: https://facebook.com/willowridgechurch
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@willowridgechurch

Creators and Guests

Host
Beau Bradberry
Senior Pastor

What is Willow Ridge Sermons?

Sermon audio from Sunday services at Willow Ridge Church.

Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.

This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons.

We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear

the latest message.

Thanks for listening.

Amen.

Good morning.

Glad that you guys are here with us.

If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Galatians chapter 1.

That's where we're going to be this morning as we are in week two of our series.

We're going to kind of recap a couple of things, some foundations that we are building off of

as we work through this series together.

And as we work through Galatians each week, we're going to be building on a gospel issue

that Paul is dealing with and that Paul is working through with the church at Galatia.

As Paul has planted this church, he's now left this church, and he's writing back instructions

for where they are in their growth as they journey in the walk with their walk with the Lord corporately

together.

There you are.

Good to see y'all.

Where they are corporately together is as they walk with the Lord as a family of believers.

And the first thing that's going to kind of be this gospel truth that we center on, that

we understand each week is this, that the gospel is how we enter into the kingdom.

That's going to be a primary focus on understanding.

And we talked about that last week, a lot about that last week.

And if you weren't here, go back and listen to it.

You can do that from our website or you can check out our podcast, right?

We've got that as well now.

And so you can go back and understand what we mean when we understand the gospel and what

the gospel shows us about ourselves, what the gospel shows us about Christ, what the gospel

shows us about God, and what a life saved by the gospel then begins to look like.

So the gospel is how we enter into the kingdom.

And the important primary aspect of that is that it is the gospel and the gospel alone that

saves us.

There is no other way.

There is no other faith.

There is nothing else that saves us other than Christ and Christ alone.

And so that's what we preach.

That's what we teach.

That's what we share with our lost friends and neighbors is that it is centered in on that

Jesus Christ is at the heart of the gospel.

The biblical Jesus is centered into that.

And if you remove Jesus from the gospel, if you remove any aspect about who he is, if you

remove any aspect of what he's done, if there's any part of the gospel that is in void of Jesus,

if there's any part that's void of the cross, if there's any part that's void of the blood,

if there's any part that's void of his death, that's void of his burial, that's void of his

resurrection, it is no longer the gospel.

Jesus in a very plain way says that he says that I am the way, the truth, and the life.

And get this, big words for us to understand as we talk about the gospel, that no one, no

one comes to faith, comes to eternity, comes to salvation, except by him, through him, the

power of Jesus in the gospel.

And so this is the first foundation that the gospel is how we enter into the kingdom.

But there's a part of this, a tension that Paul's going to address, that we're going to

work together through as a church, is that we feel when we hear the word, or you say the

phrase, who needs the gospel?

Like if I were to ask us today, who needs the gospel?

Like I hope we begin with a laundry list of lost people whose lives we are invested in.

So side note, if all you're doing is hanging out with Christians, we're missing the point.

That the gospel is the hope for lost people.

But here's the reality for you and for me, that it's not just lost people that need the

gospel.

It's not just lost people.

It's not just people who have, in quotes, backslidden.

It's not just people who are wandering a different way, but that it is all of us who need the

gospel.

And so what we begin to understand is not only is the gospel how we enter into the kingdom,

but the gospel is how we live as a part of the kingdom.

And so it's the gospel that molds us and shapes us and changes us through the power of the work

of the Holy Spirit, that I am dependent on the gospel.

So I have been saved for 18 years, 19 years, and I need the gospel just as much today as I stand

here before you and preach that I did the day that I got saved in Toccoa, Georgia, when God revealed

his truth to me.

I need it just as much right now as I did then, as I walked this journey with him.

And so what we begin to find out with the gospel is that for us, the gospel sets the standard,

that the gospel works in us now so that the gospel can work through us.

And what we have to realize and what you have to look at your own life and examine, what we

have to walk through with each other and begin to examine is this, is there tangible fruit of

the gospel evident in your life?

Like, Cain, when you look at your day, when you look at your thoughts, when you look at

your words, what do you see?

Do you see sin?

Do you see religion?

Do you see you?

Or do you see a tangible working of the gospel in your life of where this has taken place?

And so it's what Paul begins with.

But then he also is going to continue on this morning in a neat kind of rare moment that

we don't oftentimes get in scriptures as we get a snapshot into Paul's testimony, as we

get a snapshot into his story of what's going on.

And what we're going to find in this is a little bit of an echo of what we talked about last

week, but this time in an aspect that's made personal in his life.

And this week, what we're going to look at is the power of the gospel.

The power of the gospel.

Here's the problem that Paul's trying to address in the church.

Here's very specifically of what is taking place in here is this division that is happening

between believers over the gospels, between the Jews and the Gentiles.

The Jews who have come to faith first and are Christians and trying to follow what God's

called for them.

But then as the Gentiles become a part of that, the non-Jews, a division that tries to

take place.

And here's where the division is centered around and what Paul's trying to try to correct and

what Paul's going to show about himself is, yes, it was believed that the gospel is what

saves you.

But then there was this other part about the gospel that was being added to about, and then

there are these things that you must do, not out of a transformed heart, not out of a

desire to be obedient to the Lord, but that this must happen and must take place in order

for you to be saved.

And so Paul's going to kind of come down through as we go through this and say, no, no, no,

we're missing it when we add anything to the gospel, is that it is Jesus, not Jesus plus

anything, that it is through Christ and Christ alone.

And what we're going to gain is this, not that we shouldn't be obedient to what God's

called us to do, God does call us to that.

But the obedience that comes from the gospel, the obedience that comes from walking with

the Lord, the obedience that comes from Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, is the fruit

that comes from the gospel, not obedience so that we might obtain the gospel.

And so it's what Paul begins to lay the groundwork.

Paul says here, for my now seeking the approval of man or of God, or am I trying to please man?

If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel.

For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a

revelation of Jesus Christ.

For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently

and tried to destroy it.

And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people.

So extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

But when he who had set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace was pleased

to reveal his son to me in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately

consult with anyone, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me.

But I went away into Arabia and returned again to Damascus.

Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him 15 days.

But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.

And what I'm writing to you before God, I do not lie.

Then I went into the regions of Syria, of Cilicia, and I was still unknown in person to the churches

of Judea that are in Christ.

They only were hearing it said, he who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith

he once tried to destroy.

And they glorified God because of me.

So Paul, in this section of this letter, there's two different sections that we're going to look at.

He's going to encourage them of having a holy fear of God,

but then he's also going to share his personal story of redemption.

The first thing that we've got to look at, that we have to wrestle within ourselves

as we understand the gospel is this.

In our life, is it the fear of God or is it the fear of man?

Here's personally what's going on in Paul's life.

As Paul's speaking to the gospel and the gospel only,

as Paul is acknowledging that he is bringing the hope of the gospel to the Gentiles,

as he's breaking away from his race, as he's breaking away from his people,

there's accusations that are being made against him,

that he's changing the gospel, that he's changing the standard,

that he's doing whatever he can to appease the Gentiles in order to bring them into faith,

that Paul is being a people pleaser for them.

And so the church begins to honestly do one of the things that the church does well.

They begin to eat their own.

They begin to sinfully begin to destroy each other.

Unfortunately, it's what the lost world associates with many congregations and many denominations,

as we seek to attack as opposed to unify,

but that's a separate issue that we can talk about later.

And so Paul seeks to set the record straight.

The power of verse 10,

for I am now seeking the approval of man or God, Paul asks,

or am I trying to please man?

If I were still trying to please man,

I would not be a servant or this word literally translated slave to Christ.

Paul says,

no, no, no, you got to understand that I am not surrendered to man,

but I am surrendered to the Lord.

So when it comes to your life and mine,

when it comes to our obedience and the transformation of the gospel,

when it comes to the boldness of the words that we say,

when it comes to,

even for those of us now that are trying to figure out,

is this gospel what we surrender to or not?

The questions that I think we must ask ourselves is this,

whose approval are you seeking?

Who are you and I in our life trying to please?

Because our approval and our goal to please

will establish who we are seeking to obey

and who has ultimate influence on our life.

That when our life is lived with a matter and a desire

to come before the Lord,

to seek Him, to please Him,

no matter what,

then everything else gets pushed to the side.

Because the reality is,

if we live boldly for the gospel,

there will be parts of us that are not pleasing to others.

There will be parts of us that do not gain the approval to others

because the gospel at the core within itself is offensive.

The gospel at the core within itself tells me

and tells others that I am not okay.

And neither are you without the hope of the gospel.

It's the part that we looked at and tried to understand last year,

or last week,

that we needed rescuing,

that we were dead in our trespasses and sins,

that we were incapable of anything good apart from Christ.

And so when we begin to flesh this out,

what does that look like?

Now this isn't giving us permission to be offensive to everyone.

This isn't giving us permission to walk into work tomorrow morning

and be hated because of who we follow.

In fact, Paul within his life has the desire to love everyone.

In fact, in 1 Corinthians 9,

he even talks about that he wants to be all things to all people

in the hopes that some may come to faith.

But the reality is when we live boldly for the gospel,

when it comes to who we are going to please in this world,

that the gospel does create a divide.

Do we fear God or do we fear man?

Because we can't fear both.

Paul uses the word servant or slave in this.

And the reality is what scripture teaches

is that we can't serve two masters.

It's Christ and Christ alone.

So what does it mean to fear God?

What does it look like to have this in our lives?

I love what Joel kind of shared for the moment there

as he talked about the beauty of that,

of the awesomeness of the gospel,

what the gospel does,

that the gospel does cause us in our life

to be filled with the awe of the wonder of God.

That sometimes as we're in his presence,

we can't speak.

Sometimes within his presence,

we're just overcome by who he is.

To be in fear of God means that above anything else,

that there's this attraction to his greatness.

That it's what draws us,

it's what pulls at our hearts,

and that what comes from that

is this holy desire to be obedient.

And so Paul begins at the very beginning of this

by establishing as we go through this,

what we have to work out within ourselves

is in your life, church, in my life,

who do we seek to please?

Is it Christ and Christ alone?

Or is it anything else?

But then what we're going to see

is we're going to see the power of Paul's story.

Now Paul's not,

if you don't know the story of Paul,

Paul's not this guy that was raised up in the church

and this is all that he's ever known

and he was molded and shaped for this

and has been a dynamic leader of the Christian faith

his entire life.

Quite exactly the opposite.

That he wasn't before a man named Paul,

but before that he was a man named Saul.

And as Saul, his goal in life,

and this is what he alludes to,

was to end Christianity.

And here's what's important for us to know.

His goal to end Christianity

was not through conversions.

He wasn't trying to take Christians

and move them into Judaism.

His goal to end Christianity

was to destroy it.

And he would destroy it.

His means were through imprisonment and execution.

Like we can call this Saul

before he gets saved and becomes Paul

a lot of different things.

We can call him a bad man.

We can call him a sinful person.

We can call him evil.

But I think a better explanation

to resonate in our hearts

who Saul was was Saul was a terrorist.

seeking to create fear through death.

A lot of the tactics

and a lot of the things

that we hear of

happen in other parts of the country.

This is what Saul lived out.

You can read in the Bible

where he orchestrated,

approved,

and empowered public executions.

This was who this man was.

But he had an encounter with Jesus.

He had an encounter on the Damascus road.

And when God saved him,

God changed him.

Everything down to even his name

of who he is.

And what we see

of what Paul shakes out for us here

is the power of his story.

And what we're going to notice

are some key aspects

of what he focuses in on

in his story

as he seeks to share

the power of the gospel.

And the first thing

that he shows us

is the power of God.

Let's reread

verses 11 and 12.

He says,

Paul didn't get saved

at youth camp.

Paul wasn't talked

into something.

Paul didn't come

to a worship service

that his friends

brought him to.

Paul wasn't raised

in the church.

Now all of those things

are how people get saved

and I praise God for it.

But what Paul

is establishing here

and at any point in time

when anyone gets saved,

that it happens

only through

the power of God.

I appreciate so much

how Chad prayed for me

and how Joel prayed for me.

And how Isaac prayed for me

before the service.

That the words

that I speak

that God may use them

in his power

if anyone needs

to be saved.

Do you see the difference

of what's there?

That it's not through

the appeal of man,

it's not through

the cunningness of man,

but it is through

the power of God

that salvation happens.

And so Paul says,

look,

I didn't receive it

from any man.

It wasn't taught

through me,

but that salvation

comes in power

alone through God

so that it is understood

that in all of us

when salvation happens,

God saved you

and God saved me.

The power of what

has taken place.

We can't miss that.

The same God

that spoke the world

into the existence

is the same God

who saves.

The same miracle

that took place

as life was created

is the same miracle

that takes place

when someone gets saved

at seven or 77.

That's the power

of God

of what's happening.

But he also talks

about this.

He talks about

the power over sin

starting in verse 13.

He says,

for you have heard

of my former life

in Judaism,

how I persecuted

the church of God

violently

and tried to destroy it

and I was advancing

in Judaism

beyond many

of my own age

among my people.

So extremely zealous

was I

for the traditions

of my father.

But when he

who had set me apart,

focus on verse 15,

this is what you want

to underline,

but when he

who had set me apart

before I was born

and who called me

by his grace

was pleased

to reveal

his son to me

in order

that I might

preach him

among the Gentiles.

There's two parts

that we see here

in the power

over sin

for the gospel.

And the first

is this,

it's the power

of the gospel

over sin,

not the power

of the gospel

in spite of sin.

It's important

of what the power

reigns

is over,

not in spite.

You see,

because the struggle

that you and I

currently face

is not because

the weakness

of the gospel.

It's not because

the weakness of God

as we battle

through sin

in our life

because the power

of the gospel

is the power

over sin.

But it's the power

of our humanity

that still wants

to ring true in us.

It's the power

of the brokenness

that we still

try to hold on to.

The reality is

is that when God

saves us,

he gives us power

not in spite of sin

but that God

gives us power

over sin.

And what we begin

to see

is the beauty

of the battle.

What we begin

to understand

is that's where

the fruit of faith

comes from.

It's the power

over sin

that I see

and that I recognize

and that I'm

repentant for

and that I'm battling

with the sin

that's in my life.

Does it mean

I'm there yet?

No.

Does it mean

I'm perfected?

Absolutely not.

In this side

of eternity,

I will never be.

But it's the battle

through it.

It's the battle

over it.

And I think

the struggle

for many of us

is when we see sin,

when sin is examined,

when sin is pointed

out in our life,

are we offended

by it?

Are we repentant

of it?

Or are we indifferent

to it?

And I think

as the church

we have to examine that.

I think as the church

we have to battle

with that,

you know the sin

that's in your life.

You know the struggles

that are there.

You know the battles

that you face.

The question is this,

do you hate it

or do you love it?

Do you repent of it

or do you excuse it?

The battle over.

But the second part,

the focus there

in verse 15,

was we read that together.

But when he who had set me apart

before I was born

and who called me

by his grace

was pleased to reveal

his son to me

in order that I might

preach him

among the Gentiles.

Here's what Paul's

talking about here.

All that stuff

that he did,

all the executions

that were there,

all the persecution

that took place,

that through the power

over sin,

through the power

of the gospel,

that God's plans for him,

that God's purpose for him

had not changed

and they are larger

than the sin

that's in Paul's life.

And so what Satan

would try to hold him back

is you can never go

to that church

and proclaim hope to them.

You persecuted them.

You imprisoned them.

You threw them in jail.

What are they going

to say about you?

You had their loved ones

executed.

But Paul says,

no, no, no, no, no.

There's the difference

of what's there

because before I committed

all of these sins,

before I was even saved,

God had set me apart

for the hope

of the gospel

to bring faith

to the Gentiles.

Church,

as we're in our world,

as we're in our life,

let me tell you this.

There are a thousand

different things

you've done

and I've done

that Satan wants

to tell us

that we're disqualified

for the gospel

because of it.

But because of the power

that God has over sin

because of who he is

and because of the gospel,

you are not disqualified.

But the power

of the gospel

qualifies you.

You see,

if you can look back

on anything

that you feel like

you've done in your past

to qualify you for this,

then you've missed

the point to begin with.

But it's through

the power of the gospel

over sin.

We continue on

in verse 16

and we see

the power

of the Spirit.

He says,

I did not immediately

consult with anyone

nor did I go up

to Jerusalem

to those who were

apostles before me.

But I went away

into Arabia

and returned again

to Damascus.

Then after three years

I went up to Jerusalem

to visit Cephas

and remained with him

fifteen days.

But I saw none

of the other apostles

except James,

the Lord's brother.

And what I am writing

to you before God,

I do not lie.

So Paul gets saved

and here's his journey.

He wasn't immediately

discipled.

He didn't return

to the home base

of Christianity

to go and study.

What Paul did

was he went away

and he spent time

with God.

And so what we see

as he begins to tell

of the work

that God's doing,

we see the fruit

of the relationship

of what Paul

is working through

between him

and God alone.

That Paul

in his need

to be discipled,

Paul in his need

to grow,

that his foundation

for both of those

rests in God

and God alone.

And here's what

I want to tell you

is this happens

through the power

of the Spirit.

It's not that we

don't need discipleship.

Absolutely

we need discipleship.

I need individuals

speaking into my life,

molding me

and shaping me

and working in ways

to help me grow

in my relationship

with the Lord.

But can I tell you

that my relationship

with God

can never be

solely linked

to a relationship

with an individual,

but the foundation

of my relationship

with God

must be connected

to my relationship

with him.

And within that,

there's a battle.

Within that,

that's a struggle.

Within that,

that's a working

through of maturity

of what we must do.

But church,

I want to tell you this,

there's beauty

in the struggle.

There's perseverance

that comes from

the struggle.

So when you dive

into God's Word

between you

and the Lord

depending on the power

of the Holy Spirit

and you don't understand

everything

or maybe you don't

even understand anything,

can I tell you,

don't set it down

and walk to someone else

to get their opinion

of what it might say,

but stick with the battle,

stick with the struggle

and watch through

the power of the Holy Spirit

what God is going to do

as God's Spirit

reveals to you.

It's the power over it.

Paul,

the greatest church planter

we know

got saved

and didn't run

to seminary.

Paul,

the greatest church planter

we know

got saved

and he ran

to the feet of God.

He said,

in your power,

teach me.

And then lastly,

and we'll conclude

with this,

what we see here

in Paul

is the power

of a story.

Let's start reading

in verse 21.

He says,

then I went

into the regions

of Syria

and Cilicia

and I was still

unknown

in person

to the churches

of Judea

that are in Christ.

They only were

hearing it said,

he who used

to persecute us

is now preaching

the faith

he once tried

to destroy.

Let's read that again.

Here's what they're saying.

He who used

to persecute us,

he who used

to try to kill us,

he who used

to,

has killed

some of us,

who used

to throw us

in jail,

who used

to have us beaten,

who used

to have our houses

burned down,

who used

to perform

public executions,

he who used

to do these

things is now

preaching the faith

he once tried

to destroy

and they glorified

God

because

of me.

The power

of

a story.

What makes

Paul's story

powerful?

What makes it

powerful?

I don't think

what makes

Paul's story

powerful

is his sin

because then

the glory

would be on

the sin.

I don't think

what makes

Paul's story

powerful

is Paul.

When you look

at the power

of Paul's

story,

of what it

comes from,

of everything

that it is,

it's because

the power

of Paul's story

is focused

on God

and the gospel.

And that's

the power

of his story.

That's why

for you

and for me

that we can

look at our

lives regardless

of our journey

to faith

and if we

focus in

on the big

title things

of what we

see Paul

focus in on,

there's the

same power

that's there

because it's

the power

of the Holy

Spirit

working through

us.

when I'd

gotten saved,

I'd been

saved maybe

two or

three months

and I was

riding back

from a,

we'd gone up

to Clemson's

FCA and I

got put in a

car with

somebody that I

didn't know

and he began

to talk

and he said,

hey man,

how about you

share your

testimony with

me?

I said,

sure.

And so we

began to talk

and I began

to lay out

my story

of what God

had done

in my life.

I began to

tell about all

of the horrible

things that I've

done.

I began to

openly confess

and I think

for a moment

the guy's kind

of sitting

there like

white knuckle

in the steering

wheel going

are good

grief,

right?

And I

talked about

the day

that God

saved me.

I talked

about what

God was

doing.

I talked

about what

it looked

like and

the call

for the

future.

I talked

about the

hope that

I had and

the opportunities

to share

with others.

And I

said,

what about

you?

What's your

testimony?

And he

said,

man,

it's nothing

like yours.

It's boring.

He said,

man,

I've never

not known

a relationship

with God.

From the

time that I

was very

young,

I trusted

my life

to Christ.

And every

day I've

tried to be

surrendered to

the gospel

and God's

plan for me.

He said,

I'm 22

years old

now.

He said,

I've tried

to walk

with faith.

I've tried

to run

from struggles.

I've slipped

and I've

fallen.

I've made

decisions that

I shouldn't

have and I

repent.

And he

said,

so I

kind of

feel like

my story

is void.

I kind

of feel

like my

story is

broken.

I kind

of feel

like my

story isn't

filled with

this great

aha moment.

And there

was another

buddy of mine

sitting in the

back seat.

And he

said,

you know,

when it

comes to

stories,

we try to

rank them.

We try

to rank

them through

the shock

factor.

We try

to rank

them because

let's be

honest,

some of

our stories

are G

rated,

some of

us not

so much.

And based

in our

sin,

in the

past,

we try

to determine

the power

and the

effectiveness

of the

gospel in

our life.

Let me

tell you,

church,

whether you

got saved

at seven

and all

you've

known as

the Lord,

or whether

you've

run from

him time

and time

again,

pursuing all

of the

things that

we're not

going to

talk about

in here.

It's not

the power

of your

sin.

It's the

power of

the gospel.

Whether you

talk about

Mary,

the mother

of Jesus,

or the

apostle Paul,

both came

from different

routes.

Both came

with different

stories,

but both

ended at

the same

throne,

the throne

of Jesus.

Would you

pray with

me?

God, we

thank you so

much for

this morning.

Lord, we

thank you for

the power of

the cross.

We thank you

for the power

of God that

works,

that the

power of the

gospel is

found in you

and you

alone, God.

And then it

gives power

over sin,

that in our

life that we

no longer live

as the

defeated, but

we live, we

stand in the

victory.

Lord, that you

give us even

in the

struggles, Lord,

the opportunity

to see and

to acknowledge,

to repent,

to be broken

of because of

the power over

sin.

But also,

Lord, that our

sin, our

past,

doesn't

disqualify us,

but you

qualify us,

that you've

chosen, that

you've appointed,

that you've set

into place for

all of us.

Lord, plans to

live boldly and

faithfully for

you.

Lord, we thank

you for the

power of the

Spirit.

Lord, the same

Holy Spirit

that lived in

Paul is the

same Holy Spirit

that lives in

us.

Lord, that's

hard for us.

Lord, I know

that's hard for

me so many

times, to

understand that

level of

connection that

I have with

you.

Lord, and I

pray that in

our foundation of

our faith,

Lord, I thank

you that you

give us so

many different

people who

step into our

lives to help

mold us and

shape us.

But, Lord,

before we bow

down, before we

become dependent

at the feet of

a pastor or

the feet of

an author, at

the feet of a

teacher, a

small group

leader, Lord,

that we become

broken and

dependent at the

feet of a God

who speaks to

us.

So, Lord, have

us struggle, have

us become

disciplined, have

us build the

spiritual muscle

that we need to

persevere

through, or so

that we can

experience the

sweetness when

you speak to

us, and that

we, we can

hear from God.

Lord, I thank

you for the

power of our

stories.

for every man

and woman and

child that has

been saved, where

there's power in

their story.

From the

addict that's

been pulled out

of the street to

the kid in Sunday

school, where

there's power in

every story.

with every head

bowed and every

eye closed.

I want to end

with what I

began with.

This morning,

whose approval

do you seek?

God's or man's?

If it's the

approval of God,

I'll tell you

where it

begins.

It begins at

the cross.

Jesus, if there's

anyone here, they

don't know you as

their Lord and

Savior, I pray

that today would

be their day of

life eternal, life

everlasting, or

draw their hearts

to you, speak

hope to them, or

draw them with

your spirit, bring

them to your

throne of mercy,

have them respond

in who you are

fully, so that the

power of the

gospel would be

made known to

them, Lord, and

they would run to

you, and they

would cry out to

you, Lord, and

they would be

broken for their

sin, Lord, they

would be set free

from their shame

so that they can

live in the

boldness of the

cross, and the

power of the

gospel.

It's in Jesus' name

we pray, amen.

thanks again for

listening to the

Willow Ridge Church

weekly podcast.

We hope that you

enjoyed listening to

this week's message.

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