A Space

[0:00] A Pastor's Reflections, A Space, Genesis 38, 25-26. When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man who these are, am I with child.

[0:16] And she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet and bracelets and staff. And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She has been more righteous than I.

[0:30] Mark 1, 14-15. Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.

[0:41] Repent you, and believe the gospel. 2 Corinthians 3, 14-16. But their minds were blinded, for until this day remains the same veil untaken away.

[0:55] Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. The consequences of sin are devastating.

[1:06] There is no getting around that fact. As surely as summer follows spring, so does death follow sin. And the longer sin remains unchecked, the longer it has to work its poison into every area of a life.

[1:20] Judah never imagined that the decision to keep his youngest son from marrying Tamar would one day result in incest with his own daughter-in-law.

[1:33] The laws of nature may be written on stone, but the laws of the spirit are written on the soul. At the cross, sin's destructive march was halted.

[1:44] Jesus took upon himself the cost of the remedy for sin. There, the power and effect of sin in the soul was broken. But that invites the question, How does a soul enter into this victory?

[1:58] How does one escape from the clutches of sin? Romans 6, 23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[2:11] In Romans 6, 23, we are given the bad news and then the good news. Between these two statements, there is a space, a space given for all who would leave the destructive nature of sin and choose to walk into the glorious freedom and promise of Christ.

[2:30] Just as Judah was given space to acknowledge not only his sin, but the righteousness of another, so have all men been given an opportunity to not only acknowledge their sin, but also to confess the righteousness of Christ.

[2:48] No matter how big or how destructive sin may have become in a life, the process of overcoming begins by simply taking space, space to acknowledge.

[2:59] Jesus, today you are giving us space to acknowledge our sin and to acknowledge your righteousness. While salvation is a once and for all act, sanctification is daily acknowledging who we are and what you have done for us.

[3:16] Thank you for the space that you have given us through the cross, a space in the Father's house. Amen. Amen.

[3:59] Thank you.

[4:29] Thank you.

[4:59] Thank you.

[5:29] Thank you.