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[0:00] Each of you take your Bibles, go with me to 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 5. This morning we will pick up in verse 11 and we will make our way through verse 15.

[0:13] 2 Corinthians chapter 5, starting in verse 11 and making our way through verse 15 as we just continue to make our way through the book of 2 Corinthians.

[0:27] And we just continue to see what it is the Lord has for us. Some of you may know, I've already been told this morning that I look like I'm getting older. And I always have to take it from the one who always speaks truthfully and honestly with me.

[0:44] Ever since I became pastor of War Trace Baptist Church, there's been one dear saint who has never failed to tell me everything I needed to hear, whether or not I wanted to or thought I might want to hear it or not.

[0:56] Miss Maxine has always been really good at just letting me know what needs to be known. And she told me I'm aging. So Miss Maxine, thank you very much for that.

[1:07] But then she said, it's okay, it's worth it because our third granddaughter was born this past week. So she said, the more grandkids you have, the older you look. And I said, well, it's okay, we can deal with that.

[1:18] So thank you, Miss Maxine. Now I'm kind of self-conscious thinking, I guess I look old this morning. But I'll try to keep that out of the back of my mind. But it's okay.

[1:29] But no, it is a joy to be gathered together with you as we just continue to make our way through. So if you are physically able to desire to do so, would you stand with me as we read the word of God with one another? In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, we're going to start in verse 11.

[1:43] And then we're going to go down to verse 15, and then we will pray with one another. It says, therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God.

[1:55] And I hope we are made manifest also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves to you, but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.

[2:10] For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. If we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died.

[2:23] And he died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf. Let's pray. Oh, Lord God, we thank you so much for this day.

[2:37] God, we're so thankful that we have the opportunity together, together with brothers and sisters in Christ. Lord, to lift our voices up in song, to worship you through singing, to worship you through giving.

[2:49] Lord, to worship you through the reading and hearing of the word of God. So, Lord, now as we sit in your presence, we ask that you would speak to our hearts and minds. We pray that the truth of scripture would captivate us.

[3:02] Lord, that the reality of it would grab a hold of us, and that the application of it would be our daily living for your glory and yours alone. And we ask it all in Christ's name. Amen.

[3:13] You may be seated. Paul is in the middle of his great passage of scripture, his great aside, which speaks to the ministry of the saints, not just his own particular ministry, but to the ministry of the saints.

[3:27] I never thought that I would preach so many messages out of one chapter, that being the fifth chapter of 2 Corinthians. But 2 Corinthians chapter 5 is so rich and so meaty that I feel like we have to keep it in smaller sections just so that we can understand it.

[3:42] Paul, here in the middle of this passage, which spans from chapter 3, the latter part of chapter 2, all the way to the first part of chapter 7, I read it again in its entirety.

[3:53] It bears repeating. You say, well, pastor, you say that every week. Right, because it bears repeating every week. Paul just interrupted himself so that we would know this important aspect.

[4:05] It is a divine spirit-led interruption to Paul's defense of his concern for the church and what was happening when they got to Macedonia. If you go back and read in the second chapter, he said, we had no rest until we got to Macedonia.

[4:18] You go to the seventh chapter and you get about to the fifth verse, Paul says, and then when we got to Macedonia. So he picks up his account of what happened. But the events that are recorded between those two passages are what the Spirit wanted us to understand about the ministry, not only of Paul and those who are with him, but the ministry of the saints.

[4:36] We've come to this passage of Scripture this morning, which really shows us some essential principles to missional living. So if you have to have a title, that's it, some principles for missional living.

[4:47] Because to live out your ministry, whatever that is, because we're not just speaking here of Paul living out his ministry, we're seeing the truth of Paul's ministry, of his calling, and what God had equipped him to do.

[5:00] But we see also the application of the reality that each one of us have a ministry. That ministry at times can be vocational. That ministry at times can be bivocational. That ministry at times can be voluntarily given.

[5:13] That ministry can be a ministry of public ministration, or it can be a ministry of private activities. But each and every one of us are giving a ministry or a work to do.

[5:23] We are told that in the reality that the moment we come to Christ, there are good works prepared beforehand for us. That is a great way of saying there's something God created for you to do that only you can do it.

[5:38] I believe that with all of my heart. And he called you to himself, redeemed you, set you free from the captivity of Satan, and held bondage by sin so that you could fulfill the work he created for you to do.

[5:51] It is your God-given assignment. He has equipped you for it. He has fitted you for it. And he has called you to do it. And to do that, we must live a missional life.

[6:05] And we have here in this passage just some simple essentials to living missionally. And that is not necessarily just going on mission trips or supporting missionaries.

[6:16] While those things are important, last Sunday after our service, we had an informational meeting for anyone who was desiring to look at missions, to take a short-term mission trip. I believe those things are of uttermost importance.

[6:29] But our trips and our spans ought to be just an overflow of our life. That is, if we're not living missionally in the present, then we ought not to expect to live as missionaries somewhere else at a different time.

[6:42] What we do when we go somewhere should be just the temporary, focused, doing what we do every day somewhere else.

[6:53] It should just be putting into practice in another place what we do on a daily basis. So I want you to look at these essentials. What do you need to live missionally? By the way, missions are not an option.

[7:05] It is not something we can choose. Oh, well, God hasn't called me to missions. God may not have called you to vocational missions. He may not have called you to be a missionary. But there is this passage of Scripture, which we refer to as the Great Commission, found at the end of the book of Matthew, in Matthew 28.

[7:23] And the last time I checked, that is a command, and it is not a suggestion. That is, we are all to live missional lives as we are going. Fathers, you are to teach your children as you are going.

[7:36] You are to do some of these great missional activities in the course and the overflow of your everyday event. It ought to be a manner of lifestyle.

[7:47] So how are we going to do that? How are we going to live that out? Paul has referred not only to the reality that someday those in Christ will cast off this tent and be clothed with a home that builder is not of man, that we will be present with him, that we will see him as he is.

[8:03] And then he begins to focus here on what it looks like to live missional. He will get into, in verse 16, of how we see the people around us. It says, Therefore we recognize no one according to the flesh any longer, though we knew him according to the flesh.

[8:17] So we are not going to get into that one yet, because before we can look at how we see others, we must first look at how we see ourselves. We ought to have these principles that would be essential to us in our missional living.

[8:29] Number one, we see that it is an encouraged life. That is, something encourages this reality. We do not live missionally, haphazardly, or accidentally.

[8:40] That is, it is something encouraged. And my brother's upstairs. My mic is just a little bit loud coming back to me. If you don't mind, can you turn me down coming back to myself? Hey, that's better. Thank you, brother. The choir needed it, but I don't.

[8:52] Okay? So I appreciate that. I know some of you say, Well, that was an interruption. Well, it is, but I was preaching to myself a little too loud, okay? And it was getting a little on too much. So anyway, we see here that this is not an accidental event.

[9:06] There is something which encourages the reality. It says, Therefore, the therefores throughout the passage, if you remember when we went into the fifth chapter, Paul states this great fact, this great truth at the beginning of the fifth chapter, that someday we will die.

[9:22] When we die, we will be with Christ as he is where he is. And that fact, that fact of eternal life, is what leads to the applications which follow all the therefores that are found throughout the rest of the fifth chapter.

[9:36] Here we see another application of this reality, and we see it being a striking one because he is now talking about how he lives every day in practice. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord.

[9:49] Some of you are reading from King James or New King James, and it says the terror of the Lord. But accurately translated, the word fear is not a kind of shying away from in terror and being afraid of God.

[10:03] It is a holy reverence for the reality of who he is. It is to have a holy appreciation for the reality that he is sovereign Lord God Almighty setting upon his throne.

[10:15] And Paul says everything that follows is a result of the reality that he knows the fear of the Lord. This is of utmost importance.

[10:26] We see the first priority here given to us in living a missional life is to know, not to be uncertain of, but to know the fear of the Lord.

[10:39] Friend, this is a very biblical mandate. We see it throughout scripture. Psalm 19 verse 10 tells us the fear of the Lord is clean.

[10:50] That is, it is wholesome. It is right. It is true. It is something that is clean. And it is good. Proverbs chapter 1 verse 7 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding.

[11:02] That is, we cannot understand nor comprehend anything without first coming to the realization of who God is. The fear of the Lord is just the beginning of the understanding.

[11:14] The book of Ecclesiastes, great book of Ecclesiastes in its application to today's time. The oft-repeated word of Ecclesiastes is what? Vanity of vanities. Everything is vain.

[11:25] The money was pursued. It was vain. Pleasure is pursued. It is vain. All the joys and concerns of this life were pursued. It is vain. It is better to live in the house of mourning than to live in the house of pleasure.

[11:36] Everything is vain. Vanity of vanities. Everything is vain. Until you get to Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 13 says, But the end of the matter is. I love that, by the way.

[11:47] Don't you love it when you read scripture and then God tells you why he put it there? That's a good thing, right? You're reading Ecclesiastes and you say, Well, this book is so hard. You know, I love that book for that one verse at the end of it.

[11:59] I love the book of Ecclesiastes. I had to write a paper over it one time. One of the hardest papers I ever wrote. I love it because of the one verse at the end of it. Why is that book in there? Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 13.

[12:11] But the end of the matter is. When all is said and done. To fear God and keep his commandments. For this is fitting for all men. It is not to pursue pleasure.

[12:22] It is not to amass riches. It is not to enjoy oneself. It is not to give oneself away. It is not to suffer in oneself. The end of the matter is. Fear God and keep his commandments.

[12:35] Then we go into the New Testament. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 31. You should know it. Jonathan Edwards preached his great message out of it. It is an awful thing or a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of a living God.

[12:46] It is the very passage that centers in the hands of an angry God. That message came out of. And we understand this reality. It is a great and grand biblical mandate.

[12:56] That we must understand and comprehend the fear of the Lord. That is. It is very becoming of us. To come to a realization of who he is.

[13:10] I know I was going very quickly there for just a moment. But Paul says. Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord. Which means we do not move forward until we know that.

[13:24] If we do not have a holy reverence. And appreciation. And a realization. For who he is. Why are so many people discount the realities of a holy God?

[13:37] Why do so many people want nothing to do with the gospel? Why do so many people who give lip service to the gospel. But lives do not match the realities of the gospel. My friend it comes down to this one basic reality.

[13:48] There is no fear of the Lord God Almighty. There was a day in time. When the preachers spent the majority of their time. And the majority of their efforts.

[13:59] Trying to produce within its congregants. A holy reverence for the Lord God. Some people say that preaching was dreadful preaching. Sometimes they thought it was boring preaching. But we also see that out of those seasons.

[14:11] Came great converts and people who knew what it was to believe in Jesus Christ. Because they came to salvific faith. Through the reality. That God is God Almighty. Who sits and resides upon the throne of heaven.

[14:23] That he reigns and rules over high. And mankind is accountable to him. It is not to be afraid of God. But it is to have a all. And a reverent reality.

[14:34] And a reverent worship for who he is. Paul says, therefore, since we know that, we persuade men. A little fear of the Lord God Almighty leads to little persuasion of men.

[14:51] That is, we do not make it our ambition. Or we do not produce as our grand effort. To persuade others that what we live out and what we profess to be true. If we do not have a true fear of who God is.

[15:04] Again, I'm not talking about being afraid to go into his presence. It's a grand thing. It's a big difference here. But it is a reality. That everywhere in scripture that we see someone entering into his presence.

[15:17] They first fall on their faces. God is not some big teddy bear in the sky. Hoping and begging and desiring that man will somehow repent.

[15:29] He is Lord God Almighty. That around his throne everything professes holy, holy, holy. He is the one that is being worshipped day and night.

[15:40] And all of eternity. He is the one around throngs of the glories of heaven. Surround his throne. He is the controller of all. He is the one the book of Job says. That if he was to call his spirit back to himself.

[15:53] All of men would perish. He holds the world in the palm of his hands. The Bible tells us that Jesus uses the world as his footstool. He is holy. He is above all. He is magnificent.

[16:04] He is wondrous. And he is worthy to be praised. And he is the one to whom all people will stand before one day. And until we grasp that reality. We will not try to make it our ambition to persuade anyone otherwise.

[16:16] When we act as if he is just the one we will be held accountable for. Then they can do their own thing. But when we know he is the one that all will be held accountable for. We seek to persuade men.

[16:28] He says, therefore knowing the fear of the Lord. We persuade men. To persuade men. Means to make our life. To be appealing. Or to be agreeable to them.

[16:39] Paul says, I'm trying to live in such a manner. I'm trying to live in such a reality. That my life is agreeable to the people around me. So that they will understand that what I believe is true.

[16:50] See, Paul is not separating his persuasion from how he lives. It is missional living. Not just missional professing. Paul is not saying one thing.

[17:01] And living another way. To persuade. The word is rich in its original language. Means to not only proclaim it. But to live in such a manner. That your life is agreeable to the message you are proclaiming.

[17:13] That is that people will see what you do. And hear what you say. And say, well there must be something to that. That shouldn't surprise us. Because in the book of Acts. People come to Christ in a number of ways.

[17:25] But they come to Christ in one grand way. And that is what? Based on what they hear and see. If you go through the book of Acts. And you see the expansion of the church. Everyone is coming to Christ based on what they hear.

[17:35] And see. They are being persuaded. Because what they hear. Is what they see. When the church professes that there is a holy God. And the world is watching. And two people walk in and lie about a piece of property they sold.

[17:48] And say they gave it all to the church. And they fall down dead. A holy reverence settles over the church in the book of Acts. But then read the next passage. It says, and the Lord was adding to the number daily.

[17:59] Those who were coming to Christ. I mean people are falling dead in church for lying. And God is calling people to the church. Why? Because the church is saying he's a holy God.

[18:10] And then they're living out the holiness of God. By seeing it being displayed in front of them. Sin is not held lightly. There is a fear of the Lord God Almighty. And God adds to that church each and every day.

[18:22] It is a reality that we understand. Paul says, knowing the fear of the Lord. We persuade men. Friend, listen to me. This ought to be the great encouragement of our life.

[18:33] We are encouraged by the reality of who God is. We are not afraid of it. Now if we do not know Christ as our Lord and Savior. We'll get to this in just a moment.

[18:44] Then there's a different fear here. But for the believer. We are encouraged because we know who he is. We know that he is sovereign. We know that he's on the throne. Therefore we make it our ambition to persuade others.

[18:57] Because we know what we possess is truth. It is an encouraged life. Number two. It is an evident life. That is, it can be seen.

[19:08] As we've already said. Look at what it says. Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord we persuade men. But we are made manifest to God. And I hope we are made manifest also to your consciences. He said, I am made manifest to God.

[19:21] And I want to be made manifest to you. Now it's kind of important here. Remember the word that he used. The word manifest is the same word that is used in verse 10. Verse 10 says, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of God.

[19:35] That word appear means to be manifest. What Paul is saying is there will be a day when I die. And when I die I will be made manifest before the judgment seat of God. Same word in the Greek.

[19:45] And it is to be exposed. To be open. To be made transparent. We talked about that, right? Being put on public display at the judgment seat of Christ. He says, there will be a day when my life will be made manifest for all to see.

[19:58] And Christ will examine me. And he will manifest the motives of my heart. He will manifest the deeds of my hand. Whether good or bad. And then Paul goes on down here and says, but now the way I live my life today.

[20:11] Is the reality that my life is already made manifest to God. Friend, I want to let you in on something. You don't have to wait to the judgment seat for God to know everything about you.

[20:23] Your life is already made manifest to a holy God. It is on that day that he manifests what he already knows about us to us and to everyone else.

[20:36] But we are already made manifest. So he understands what encourages us. Or what moves us. Or what motivates us. He understands why we seek to persuade men.

[20:48] He understands why we avoid to persuade men. He understands these realities. He says, we are made manifest to God. But Paul says, but I also want to be made manifest to you.

[21:02] So the same word of being exposed at the judgment seat is the same word that Paul is seeking to be exposed before others. He says, I want to live a transparent life.

[21:13] I want you to see me as I am. I want you to know my motivations. I want you to know why I do what I do. I want you to understand my character.

[21:23] I want you to know my heart reality. What he is saying, he says, I want you to know me the way God knows me. Now let that reality sit in for just a moment. It is to be evident to all.

[21:38] Kind of makes us cower back a little bit, doesn't it? And if we say, well, if I want to be like Paul or like some of the others that are called of Christ, would we really want others to know us the way God knows us?

[21:52] To be made that manifest to them. Well, why would we seek to do that? Look at what Paul says. He doesn't stop right there. He says, we are not again commending ourselves to you, but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us.

[22:05] Paul says, I'm not doing this so that I can make a defense for what I'm saying. I'm not saying these things. I don't want you to know me so that I can persuade you again because you've already accepted Christ.

[22:15] He says, I'm doing this. I'm living in such a manner so that you can be proud of me. You say, well, pride's a sin. Well, it is. A prideful look and a prideful heart is sin, but there are things that we can be proud of. We can be proud of Christ.

[22:27] We can boast, Paul says, in Jesus Christ. We can boast in the gospel, right? We can boast in what God has done for us. He says, I want you to have something to say so that, he says, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.

[22:41] See, what was going on in the church? There were other people that were coming in and they were trying to convince them, well, you don't have to do that or you don't have to do this. We call them false teachers, right? And they were saying, that's a little extreme. You don't have to really believe this way.

[22:52] And these were people who put on a good appearance, but their heart was really kind of guarded. Their heart was really kind of shady. And while they looked good on the outward, their motivation was really just selfishly given.

[23:03] They just wanted to build up their own kingdom. Paul says, I'm living in such a manner or I seek to live in such a manner that what God knows about me, I want everybody else to know about me. So that because you've accepted the gospel from me, you will have an answer to give those who come to you with something else.

[23:20] You can point to me as an example and say, well, you know, I'm looking at Paul and here's what he professes and here's how he lives. And I see a difference in his life, right? I don't see any selfishness. I don't see any ambition.

[23:31] All I see is a sincerity of the gospel and he's living it out. Why? Because he's writing this whole letter asking for the church to authentically live out their faith. That's what he's doing.

[23:41] And so he says, I'm setting my life as an example, as an authentic life of faith in Christ so that you will have an answer. And Paul says, I want my life to be evident so that the people that I share the gospel with will not stumble at how I live, but could look back to me and give a defense, not in who I am, but in who I've become.

[24:08] And they can look back to me and say, but I've seen what real faith looks like. I've seen what authentic faith looks like.

[24:18] Friend, I'll tell you something. When you live missionally and you share the gospel with someone else, the moment you have the opportunity to point others to Christ, they will begin looking at your life to see if what you're telling them is being lived out in reality.

[24:39] So by all means, and I tell believers this all the time, live out your life authentically. That is, don't tell them everything is going to be okay if they turn to Jesus.

[24:51] Because sometimes things get worse when you come to Christ in this life. Don't tell them all their problems will go away the moment they come to Christ because you're doing them a disservice.

[25:07] You have forgotten about the last half of Hebrews chapter 11, the people that were sawn in two, the people that were killed, the people that were martyred. You've forgotten about ages and ages of church history and where people die for their faith that this life was not a better place to be because of Jesus Christ.

[25:24] Live out your faith in its reality. Let them know that the God of the mountaintops is the God of the valley. Let them know you have struggles. Let them know that life is not always easy, but Christ is sufficient.

[25:39] You can give the answer that it is well. Some of you have gotten really good at that. Ask how you're doing. I'm doing well. But be sure that when you tell them it is well because it is well with your soul, though your circumstances may not appear so.

[25:51] You can tell them you've been given a joy that passes understanding because by all mental capabilities and everything this world tells you, you shouldn't be joyous at this time because life is not always easy.

[26:04] I may not always be happy, but I can be joyous because I can assure you there are plenty of seasons where I'm not very happy. Right? That sometimes life does not make me happy, but there is a joy that is set up in my heart that Christ has promised.

[26:18] Tell that to individuals. Live in an authentic way. That way, when people come to contradict the message you've proclaimed, your evidence and exposed life can be the defense that they can give for what they believe.

[26:33] It is the one another's of scripture. We need one another. We need them to the very core of our being. And we need them for all that we are. Friend, I can promise you and I can assure you of these realities because I've had people that have been instrumental in my life and they have fallen short.

[26:50] And they can be a discouragement to you. I've had people that have been in my life and they've lived up to that reality. And your mind wrestles and goes back and forth. And you say, why does it happen? How can these things be?

[27:00] If they say this, then why could they do that? And you go back and forth and you see the reality. It's plastered across every TV screen. It's been this way for ages. I promise you and I assure you, the moment that a church leader fails, people suffer.

[27:14] And the reason they suffer is because his life is not evidence. And if it didn't work for him, then it must not work for me. And it's a great discouragement. Paul says, I've already been manifest to God and I want to be manifest to you.

[27:28] I want my life to be evident so that you will be assured of what you believe. We see here this in encouraged life. It's an evident life, number three. And finally, this will be my last one.

[27:39] What essential principle do you have to have for missional living? This is probably the greatest principle, is it must be an exchanged life. It must be an exchanged life because, friend, listen to me.

[27:50] You do not naturally live this way. This is not your natural desire. It is not your natural desire to live in such a manner that you give yourself to others, that you expose your life to others, that you live in such a way that other people would know you in an intimate manner, that you can try to persuade men contrary to their own nature because the heart of every man is desperately wicked.

[28:15] We know that. That by nature, mankind has no desire for a holy God. And yet the mission that God has called us to is to talk to people whose natural desires are for selfishness and to call them to sacrificial living for Jesus Christ.

[28:29] And if it wasn't for the spirit who went before us, then we would have no work and no labor in that reality. Well, how are we going to do that? It's because of an exchanged life. Look at what it says. For the love of Christ controls us.

[28:41] Again, some translations say compels us. For the love of Christ controls us. I love that in one passage here, Paul alludes to the reality of fear and love.

[28:52] We have a holy, reverent fear of the Lord God Almighty, and we are controlled by the love of Christ. Now, honestly, interpreting the scripture, there are people who go back and forth saying, well, is this our love for Christ or is this Christ's love for us?

[29:10] Is Paul saying, I love Jesus so much, this is what I do? Or is he saying, Jesus loves me so much, this is what I do? And Bible commentators and translators go either way.

[29:20] But if we read it in context, the clear application seems to be the latter. Because Christ loves us so much, this is how we should live. It is to be controlled by the love of Christ.

[29:33] Again, the wording here is so clear. It is the love of Christ grips your life, holds you, and moves you to do what you do.

[29:44] That is a full comprehension for how much he loves us. It is the love of Christ that is the controlling factor of our life. Why? What does he say here? For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died.

[30:00] And he died for all. Now we can stay right here and we can get into all kinds of soteriology. Soteriology is the study of salvation, right? You understood that. But we can get into all kinds of soteriology of did Christ die for all?

[30:11] Was his death sufficient for all? Is it for everyone? Or is there, you know, a certain number? Is there an elect? Is there all this other? And we're not here trying to get into this, but we're going to get into this passage clearly. You need to understand that the death of Christ was sufficient for all the sin of man.

[30:25] You need to understand that. The death of Christ was sufficient for all the sin of man. But Paul makes its application here to those who accept that death.

[30:38] Because look at what it says. He's not focusing on the death of Christ and the sufficiency of the death of Christ, but he's focusing on the life of those who have taken on or believed in that sufficient death.

[30:52] And he died for all so that they who live. So now the focus is they who live. Just a little aside here. The question is not really on the extent of salvation in this passage.

[31:07] We're not here to divide that and get into all those studies. Those are matters we can get to in doctrine in another time. The question is have I and you personally accepted that sufficient sacrifice for my sins?

[31:25] And have I exchanged my life for his? Because this is what it says. That if we conclude that one died for all and therefore all died and he died for all so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf.

[31:46] Here's now the application. The sufficient sacrifice of Christ covers all the sin of the world, but those who have accepted that sufficient sacrifice have exchanged their life.

[31:57] See Romans 5 and Romans 6. See Galatians 2 verse 20. All these are passages that pertain to this as well. See Paul preached this same message everywhere. He says but for those who live, the question is not is his death enough?

[32:10] The question is are you living his life? Because you have now died in Christ. If you are in the likeness of his death, then you will be raised to live in the likeness of his life.

[32:23] Paul says in Romans chapter 5 that the death of one paid the price of many and that those who are dead in Christ have died with Christ. Romans chapter 6. That that which held them captive, that is sin, no longer enslaves them for they are dead to sin, but they are alive to Christ.

[32:40] Because this is the conclusion. If his death is sufficient for me, and if I have accepted that death as the sufficient penalty for my sins, if he has paid my price, then it is no longer my life that I am living because I am identified with the death of Christ.

[32:58] Therefore, I must be identified with the life of Christ so that those who live might no longer live for themselves. So let's put it this way. Let's get a little closer to the corn row if you want to.

[33:08] That is, if you're still living for yourself, then you're still trying to pay your own price. But if Christ has already died your death, then you no longer live for yourself. You have exchanged your life for his life.

[33:22] You cannot claim his death unless you claim his life. That's a good way of saying he cannot be your savior if he is not your lord. Because the Bible says that he who died, God has made both lord and savior.

[33:38] I meet a lot of people that want a savior. That is, they want to be forgiven of their sins. But they don't want a lord. That is, they don't want to change how they live. So they want his death, but they don't want his life.

[33:50] But you must exchange that life. There must be what is called the great exchange. He died your death so that you can live his life. So that you who live no longer live for yourselves, but you live for he who died and rose again for you.

[34:04] That is, your life is now his life. You have been empowered and encouraged and moved to live his life. The only way we live missionally is if we exchange our lives and it's no longer about us.

[34:17] And friends, you cannot do that if Jesus is not your lord and savior. I don't care how much effort you put into it. I don't care how much encouragement you can have. I don't care how much, all these resources you can be given.

[34:30] You will not live intentional, missional lives until you have exchanged your life. And you will not live the life of Christ until you have been recognized in the death of Christ. That is, you die to self and you live to Christ.

[34:42] Paul says, Galatians 2, 21st verse I ever remembered. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me in the life that I now live in the flesh. I live through Christ who died for me, right?

[34:53] I'm living through Christ, for Christ, as Christ. I am living for his glory, not my own glory. We have exchanged our lives. If you like your life so much, then friend, live it out.

[35:06] But at the end, you'll be accountable for it. What I have found out is my life wasn't worth living. So I gave it up. I surrendered it. I gave it to him. He died the death that I was due.

[35:18] He paid the penalty that was mine. And what I have found is the life that he has is so much better than the life that I have. I exchanged my life. I gave him my wretchedness.

[35:29] I gave him my unworthiness. I gave him my filthy rags. We sang I Surrender All last week, and I'll let you get away with it. We talk about how in that song, you know, we kind of sing it, I Surrender All.

[35:40] We're a little bit depressed about it. I have yet to figure out why we are depressed. When we sing, I Surrender All. Think of what you gave up, and then think about what you get in return. You give up filthy rags.

[35:52] You get righteous clothing. You give up works of unrighteousness. You get a crown of righteousness. You give up death. You are given life eternal. See, you exchange your life.

[36:03] You give it to him. You surrender it. You lay it down. Don't pick it up again. He takes the sin. He crucifies the sin. He nails it to a cross. On the cross, it says it is finished.

[36:14] He finished the penalty. He paid it in full. He went to the tomb. He died a little death. He was in death, hell, and the grave. And on the third day, he rose again so that we can live his life for his glory.

[36:25] When we're trying to live our life, it'll be all about us. But in the end, then it'll be us who must pay the penalty. But if we let him have it, if we give it up, if we exchange it, then we live his life.

[36:40] And when I open up my gospels and I see the life that Christ lived, he lived missionally. He didn't live selfishly.

[36:52] He lived missionally. Paul says, he died my death, so I live his life. Because since he died and his penalty was sufficient, I've concluded this, that my life is no longer my own.

[37:09] I don't live for myself. So friend, I want to ask you on this essential principle, what are you living for? What are you living for?

[37:20] Because you can only live truly and wholly for one thing. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much. We thank you for this day.

[37:32] God, I know it's a challenge. I know it's hard. Oh, there's so many snares that want to encumber us and trip us along the way. Life's not always easy.

[37:46] But Lord, we want to live an exchanged life. May we live your life in this world that you've put us in. Lord, I pray if there's one here today who's still trying to live their best life and do it on their own, that they would come to the end of themselves, to the reality that you have died their death so that they may live your life.

[38:11] Speak to our hearts. Lord, speak to our hearts. And may it be for your glory and your honor and yours alone.

[38:21] We ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to have a time of invitation. Amen.

[39:21]  Amen. Amen.