Our Great Substitute

Well, we are turning our focus today to the Passover, which is coming up in about a month.

And the title of our study today, Our Great Substitute. Our Great Substitute.

The Bible says that there is a fundamental issue, a fundamental issue in our lives today. It is a fundamental issue that is irrespective of our background. It is irrespective of our status in society, irrespective of skin color, gender. Because it is the fundamental issue that we are all sinful. We are all sinful. In the Bible, in the Bible, we find that it does address this issue throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. And what we find with regards to sin is that never in the history of God's dealing with mankind has He ever said, that's okay. Don't worry about it. God has never excused sin. He's never discounted sin. Why is that? That might sound like a funny question. Why? But many have wondered, why can't God just say, don't worry about it, let it go? And especially, why did He have to respond to sin with the life of His Son? Well, the answer is, it is because of His righteous nature.

Because of His righteous nature, He cannot just say, don't worry about it, or He can't just simply overlook it. It's not possible for Him due to His righteous nature. Because of His righteous nature, sin must be dealt with. And that can be very hard for us to understand in this day and age, living in the environment in which we do. I think it could be said that the modern mind does not understand God's righteousness. In many ways, we have lost the concept that God is pure and God is holy, and His ways are pure and holy, and His law is pure and holy. And society has lost the concept that His law, which governs and which reveals His righteous nature, that law is absolute, and it governs absolute right and wrong. And so, because sin goes against what is holy and pure, God must deal with it. And when you go back to the Old Testament, you read and you discover that the Old Testament is full of examples of God dealing with sin. And it's very interesting to notice exactly how God deals with sin. Do you know? Do you know how God ultimately deals with sin?

What we find is that He ultimately deals with it through substitution. Substitution. God has designed it as such for someone other than the sinner to bear the sin. He's designed it as such to be where someone would substitute or bear the sin and its penalty, so that the sinner, the actual offender, may be free. May be forgiven. May be free of that penalty of death, which we know is the penalty of sin. This is God's substitution principle. The sinner is forgiven on the basis that another bore their sin.

Let's turn first and open our Bibles together to 1 Peter chapter 2, if you will. 1 Peter chapter 2. We're going to read verse 24 here. 1 Peter 2 and verse 24. Paul, excuse me, Peter is going to write about this very issue here, speaking with regards to Jesus Christ, who bore our sins. He bore our sins on our behalf.

And this is very fascinating, even though you might be familiar with this. I think it's very fascinating to come to this revelation here. Look at Peter speaking of Jesus Christ here. 1 Peter 2, verse 24. Jesus, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. Let's stop there. So in other words, Jesus the sin-bearer, he was the substitute, the substitute provided, for sinful mankind. And you may ask, why him? Why did he, the word, the one who became Jesus Christ, the one that was with God the Father from the beginning, why did he have to become the substitute?

Why is he the substitute? Well, it has to do with the qualifications necessary for someone to be this kind of substitute sacrificial offering. I'll give you these qualifications just briefly. We know these things, but it's important to be reminded. So what are the qualifications necessary for someone to be able to be this kind of sacrifice offering, a sacrifice offering once and for all for sinful mankind? What are the qualifications? I'll note three of them for you. There may be more. Three of them, though. First of all, number one qualification, they needed to be sinless. They needed to be sinless. No sin of their own. They needed to be sinless. The one chosen to bear the penalty for all sin must be untouched and untainted by sin. Makes sense, doesn't it? If you think about it, in order for the perfect sacrifice for all sin to be made, that sacrifice must not have been touched by sin. That's number one. Okay, number one. It must be sinless. Number two, the number two qualification. Secondly, they needed to be able and willing to die. That's number two. They needed to be able and willing to die. In other words, they needed to confront and engage death, death, the penalty of sin, and they needed to triumph over it. So they needed to engage death, triumph over it. In other words, the one chosen must go up against death, the consequence of sin, and overcome and be victorious over that sin and the consequence that sin brings, namely death. So the individual, the one, needed to be able and willing to die. Thirdly, number three. Number three, they needed to have access to the power to recover life once again after death. That's an important one, of course. Again, that's what they needed. They needed the ability to be available to him to recover life once again after death, which, of course, Jesus Christ had that power available to him in and through the Father. The Father had the power to raise him after the penalty was laid on him, on laid on his son. So if you think about these three things, then you quickly realize that there would be no natural son of Adam that would ever be able to meet these requirements. You know, right up front, we're disqualified. We've all sinned, right? We've all fallen short of the glory of God. So no natural son of Adam would be able to meet these requirements. So who's going to do it? Only Jesus Christ could accomplish and qualify to be this substitute here. Only the Son of God could be the substitute, but really, really only man should be the substitute. So Jesus Christ, he's the only one that could, but really only someone in the flesh should really be the substitute.

Now, this substitute concept, again, it might be familiar with you with most of us, but again, we want to acknowledge this notion of bearing sin, the notion of justice executed, but executed on someone innocent. It's a concept that's very alien at first to our minds. Nevertheless, it's the principle that God established from the beginning to deal with sin. And if you know of it and you begin to read the Old Testament scriptures in the New Testament, you begin to see this concept in this substitute principle on full display. The substitute principle introduced to us in many ways and is at the very heart of the story of Abraham and Isaac. Let's turn there just for read just a very few scriptures here. Genesis 22, if you'll turn there with me, Genesis 22 verse 6, and we'll pick up here in Abraham and Isaac, we will see this substitution principle. A substitute would bear or take on and take the place of the one who was bound for pending death. It's a powerful principle here, and it's on full display here with Abraham and Isaac, his son. Genesis 22, let's just read verses 6 through 14 here. Genesis 22 verses 6 through 14. Very familiar story, but let's see if you can see this substitute principle here. So Abraham, it says, took the wood of the burnt offering, laid it on Isaac, his son, and he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, My father. He said, Here I am, my son. Then he said, Look, the fire, the wood, where's the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering. So the two of them went together. Verse 9. Then they came to the place which God had told him, and Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order. He bound Isaac, his son, laid him on the altar upon the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand, took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. So he said, Here I am. And he said, Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place the Lord will provide. As it was said to this day, in the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided. So let's stop there. So the Lord provided a substitute on this day, a substitute to take the place of the one who was bound for pending death. You can imagine what was going through Abraham's mind at this point. He raises the knife to plunge it into his son in obedience to God right at that moment. Abraham, Abraham, stopping him. That must have just been so overwhelming. This story is just one that is so impactful to me. I mention it so often in messages. God stops him to hear some rustling in the thicket. And there's a ram. You can imagine them both looking at that ram and then looking back at each other. I'm sure tears begin to flow as he starts to unbalance his side. I'm sure they just embraced. They're amazing. The Lord provided a substitute, a substitute to take the place of the one who was bound for pending death.

Another substitute prints a picture that we see. Exodus 12. Let's turn there. Exodus 12 and verses 21 through 23. Here's another example of the substitute picture.

Here we read in the story of the Passover in Egypt how the Israelite family took a lamb, killed it, sprinkled its blood on the lentil side post of the door. And only in this way were they safe from the judgment of death. Only in this way. Exodus 12 verses 21 through 23.

Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, Pick out and take lambs for yourself according to your families. Kill the Passover lamb, and you shall take a bunch of hyssop. Dip it in the blood that's in the basin. Strike the lentil on the two door posts with blood that's in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of the house until morning. Verse 23. For the Lord will pass through and strike the Egyptians. And when he sees the blood on the lentil and on the two door posts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your house to strike you. So we'll stop there. So again, only in this way would they escape death of the firstborn. There was no other way that the death of the firstborn could be addressed on that day, except through the sacrifice and blood of the lamb. On that day, the lamb served as a substitute for their firstborn. Didn't it? So then you move forward in the pages of history. John the Baptist is on the scene. He looks down the road. Jesus Christ is coming. What does he say? Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin from the world.

Suddenly, Jesus Christ walks across the stage of human history as the ultimate substitute, the sin-bearer, not just for one boy Isaac, not just for the firstborn Israelites. He came to bear sin for all sinful mankind to be their substitute. So then, in the coming to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we see that sin is ultimately dealt with in this way.

The sacrifice of Christ, he is our substitute. That's how God ultimately dealt with our sin. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. I'm having you turn a lot today. This is not so much of an expository, which we normally do, but making you work a little bit. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. This is fascinating. Look at this passage here that we're about to read. Paul's just going to reveal it. He's going to clarify everything that we just talked about, how sin is ultimately dealt with here. Paul's going to give it to us.

It's dealt with the day in which Jesus Christ was killed. It's an absolutely staggering thing here. 2 Corinthians 5. Let's just read one verse, verse 21. Let's not lose. We know this scripture. Let's not lose the significance of this. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. For he, God the Father, made him Jesus Christ, who knew no sin to be sinned for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Wow! That's a powerful scripture there. God made him who knew no sin to be sinned for us. In other words, Jesus Christ not only was made flesh, he was also made sin at his sacrifice for us.

It's a staggering thought. This is the truth. This is what we grapple with today. This is what we grapple with and turn our focus to on every spring holy days that come up. And we want to grapple with what actually took place here on that stake. You see, we have to really get this.

We have to get the first part of verse 21. We have to get that and understand it, feel it deeply, before we can ever start to deal with the second half of verse 21. That we might become the righteousness of God in him. You see, you have to get the first part of Jesus Christ as a substitute before you'll ever start to dedicate your life to honoring his life. If you ever have known someone that was a good man or a good woman, and when they passed away, you said, boy, I just want to honor his life.

Such a good person. I want to take his qualities. I want to dedicate my life honoring him, honoring her. This is it. This is the principle. We come and we observe Passover. We feel what Jesus Christ did, and that spurs us then, the days of unleavened bread, to put sin out of our lives. Let's really get this. We want to grapple with this. It's the only way it'll truly affect us deeply. The sacrifice seen here, and this fundamental question of this substitute principle. This is what we're confronted with, this question. Why should a cruel punishment be carried out on an individual which did nothing to deserve this punishment?

Have you thought about that? Why a sacrificed Christ who lived so powerfully, so perfectly? Why should he have to die? Again, if you've never asked that question, you cannot reach the level that God wants you to reach without facing that question until we begin to understand all that the picture of a lifeless Jesus Christ means.

Then we can truly embrace our need of it. I grew up with these beliefs. I've heard many, many sermons. I never needed God in my early years. It was only through God's grace. He knocks me down. I went off on this horrible road, hit rock bottom, and that's the first time I actually really looked up and started praying to God.

Everything else was just practice. I would come to Sabbath. I would come to the holy days. I was a pretty good person. I didn't need God. I didn't see all that truly feel all that he did for me. I'm glad he, in his care and love, brought me to a place, brought my actions, and allowed me to get to a place where I could truly need him. Until we truly understand the wonder of all that occurred at the stake, we'll never bow before the gravity of its meaning. We will never have fundamental change.

Jesus was made sin for us. What exactly happened at that moment at Christ's death? What happened at that moment when Christ yelled out, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? What happened there? At that moment, He took our sin. He took our guilt on Himself, paid the penalty for us by His death, just before the spiritual knife was about to be plunged into us, just before that destroyer was going to come in and take our life.

He stepped in, took the condemnation on Himself, was our sin substitute on that day. And so, therefore, He experienced total separation from God on that day. He felt His Father's presence leaving Him. That's why He yelled that out. Why? Why did He experience complete separation from God? Because sin separates man from God. Christ becoming sin at that moment experienced complete and absolute separation from God. He had to. Think about it. How could man and God the Father ever hope to come together?

If God is holy and pure and unable to even look on iniquity, and you and I are very nature-less and sinful, then how could reconciliation ever happen? It can't. It can't, right? Unless, unless, of course, God the Father would take the initiative, send someone to bear mankind's sin upon Himself, bear it all, thereby making it possible for mankind to know the wonder of a relationship with the Father. Let's turn to 1 John 2 and read more about what happened when Jesus Christ drew His last breath here. 1 John 2, verse 1 and 2.

1 John 2 and verse 1 and 2. It's really the Gospel writers and all these letters. It's really pointing, trying to get the readers to get this. Once we get this, then change can happen, and we can start to fulfill our purpose in life. We can move closer to joining God's family, becoming like Him. 1 John 2, verse 1 and 2. This is what Jesus Christ, this is what occurred. 2 John 2, verse 1. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. Now, this is the motivation. This is where it comes from. If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteousness. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. And look down a little bit later. Let's look at chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4, he explains it again here in verse 9 and 10. In many ways, this is what John's letters were about here, getting this across to his readers. 1 John 4, verse 9 and 10. John explains it again in this way. 1 John 4, verse 9. In this, the love of God was manifested toward us. There's our motivation. It's all love. That God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Verse 10. In this is love. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. That simply means they are the act of taking punishment on the behalf of another. We preach law a lot, you know, adhere your life. That's why we're here on a Saturday, Fourth Commandment. We look at the law. Some would say, oh, you're just trying to earn salvation. You know, you're trying, you know, law, you're trying to be a pharisaical. No. We received love. There it is. In this is love. God loved us. And so God says, the Bible says, if you want to show your love back to me, this is what a relationship looks like. These are the relationship rules. This is how you show proper love back to me. So if anybody asks you why you do what you do, why you're here on a Saturday, why you come to the Holy Days, why you do these things that are odd in most of society's eyes, the motivation is love. I want to love Him the way He has asked me to love Him. You know, if you love me, keep my commandments.

The act of Jesus Christ on the stake was to bear sin for all. And it was for all of mankind. And it's with this only understanding that there is an incredible dimension brought to a Christian's life. We'll soon be gathered around to observe the Passover. And we're going to speak about that more in the Bible study, why we do the things we do at the Passover in observance. It's from Scripture. We'll be observing that, taking in the symbols of His spilled blood and His broken body. The true Christian understands what occurred at that stake. And they're absolutely lost in the wonder of it all. It's hard to grasp this. Our finite minds can't truly grasp this. It's only by God's help that we can understand that this was a plan that unfolded in the eternal councils. God the Father and the Word wanted to expand their family. Kimmuk establishes the plan of salvation, established a covenant with one another. It was determined at that time what would be the answer for my sinful heart. And God given us freedom of choice. And in that covenant made between the Father and the Son, it was determined of what would be the answer for our sinful heart. Mankind who would find themselves in a position that they would not be able to make reconciliation, Jesus Christ would now make possible. And again, it was determined that He would endure these things so that you and I could have eternity opened up to us. The opportunity for salvation. And so the opportunity for our salvation came at a great cost. Great cost. How awful is sin that it would take Jesus Christ to die for me. So it's important for us to make clear with regards to this substitution process. It's not that sin is being dismissed. The sin of a sinner is not being excused. Turn over to 2 Corinthians 5, if you will. 2 Corinthians 5. Sin is not being dismissed.

Our salvation and the possibility of our salvation is at great cost here. 2 Corinthians 5. Let's look at just two verses here. Verse 18 and 19. Here we're going to read this understanding. God has reconciled us back to Him through His Son, but it wasn't for dismissing or discounting sin. It's quite the contrary. Notice what this says here carefully. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 18. 18 and 19. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 18. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. There's the phrase here. It might be read too fast. You might miss it. It's an amazing statement here. God was reconciling the world to Himself in and through Christ, not counting men's sin against them. But notice, it doesn't say that God is not counting sin, does it? Just the contrary. Men's sin would have to be dealt with at the highest of cost. He was going to count it against His Son rather than us. Rather than imputing their sin to themselves, it would be imputed onto His Son. The cost. You better believe there was a cost. The cost of His Son is not a cost. The cost of a very life of His Son. So, they are not speaking truth when they say, you know, God's not concerned with the law. He's not concerned with the breaking of the law. Sin. Don't feel bad. God's not counting your sin. Oh, yes, He is. He's definitely counting. In fact, He's either counting against us or He's counting against His Son. So, we should feel the weight of this. Proclaim this. The significance of the substitute. It would have been bad enough for an innocent man to have been subjected to just cruel beating. He was subjected to the greatest form of punishment ever created by mankind. Absolutely appalling. You know, this is Jesus Christ. There's many pictures of Jesus Christ, but He's the one that said, no, let the little children come to Me. This is the Jesus Christ who fed the 5,000. He was concerned that they were hungry. This is the Jesus Christ who at the well showed mercy to the prostitute. He said, you know, just go and sin no more. That's the Jesus Christ, sinless Son of God. And when we think about this, you know, every year I try to really prepare myself for this. And I think, you know, we know this. We know this, right? Everyone knows Christ's sacrifice. But I'm not sure if I fully grasp this, the enormity of this, these passages. So you start to think, who's the consideration here that we're dealing with? He's the Son of God. This is the individual who didn't consider it robbery to consider himself equal with God. This is who we're dealing with. Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man, without sin, precious to the Father. This is the same Jesus Christ did, is sweating, sweat like blood in the garden where He says, you know, if it's your will, Father, take this cup from me. He's the one who's about to be destroyed at His Father's hands. Think about that. Jesus Christ is about to be destroyed at the hands of God. Have you ever thought about that fact?

Let me give you just three scriptures. We're not going to turn there, but just three scriptures to look up later.

Isaiah 53.10, it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. He, the Father, has put Him to grief. That's Isaiah 53.10, another one to write down. Romans 8.32, Romans 8.32, where it says, He, that's Father, God, God the Father, who did not spare His own Son, but the Father delivered Him up for all.

And then 2 Corinthians 5.21, 2 Corinthians 5.21 again, for He made Him who knew no sin. That's a phrase, to be sin for us. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin. So it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. He didn't spare His own Son, but the Father delivered Him up, and He made Him sin, who knew no sin. This is, I put it to you, unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. We consider things unbelievable, and we say that word, we toss that word around, but this is unbelievable. An innocent man is about to be bruised by God. Other translations say it pleased the Lord to crush Him.

Crushed by God. An innocent man delivered up by God as a sacrifice. An innocent man being made sin on our behalf. God's Lamb is being slaughtered on a garbage heap outside the city, in the darkness. Brutal soldiers. And God is responsible. It's at God's hands.

The Lamb is being slaughtered at the hands of God. Ask yourself, what right does God have to sacrifice His Son? What moral right is there for an innocent man to be crucified? Yet, we have a sinless sacrifice here, don't we? Let's consider this. Because our advocate here, he doesn't simply end up being locked up. Our advocate ends up being put to death. Did you ever hear of such a thing? We know this. Courtroom hearing. We know this picture. We see it on TV. You have the defendant, either he or she, and the the advocate, the defense lawyer standing next to them. You can imagine at the end of the trial, you turn the television set back on and the roles are reversed. That would be bizarre. But can you imagine at the end of the trial, even more incredible, the judgment of guilty is found, the death penalty is meted out, and it's the attorney that dies, not the defendant. That would be bizarre, wouldn't it? It wouldn't be right. Horribly wrong. Something horribly wrong has happened. The attorney didn't do anything. Jesus, our High Priest. What kind of priest is it who becomes the sacrifice? Priest offers sacrifices. The High Priest is the sacrifice. The High Priest is on the altar. What is this? How do we explain this? He died for sin, not his own sin, our sin, made sin. For our lie, you know, so when I find myself with impure thoughts, skewing the truth, you know, white lies, whatever it may be, it's in this shadow. It's in the shadow of what he has done for me. Oh, it just convicts me. Man, I want to honor your son's sacrifice, Father. You see, he had to become those things. Otherwise, how could God crucify him?

But he was a willing sacrifice, willing to become the embodiment of sin. Otherwise, again, what possible justification could God have in crucifying the innocent? In stepping in as our substitute, he becomes all that we are in our sin, in rebellion. That's the mystery of his grace and love. He shares our nature, and that he might destroy Satan, who has the power of death, thereby releasing us into life. Unbelievable.

Let's turn to 1 Peter 1, verse 17. 1 Peter 1, 17. This is a love that was determined since the beginning. God the Father determined that his son would fulfill this function as the substitute. Look at these words here that we're about to read. 1 Peter 1, and let's read verses 17 through 21. We're going to be working to a conclusion here. 1 Peter 1, verses 17 through 21.

1 Peter 1, verse 17. And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's works, conduct yourself throughout the time of your stay here in fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things. You know, you weren't reconciled to the Father, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers. So how were you redeemed with verse 19? You were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained from the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who through him believed in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. We'll stop there. So from the foundation of the world, the Son was to accomplish what the Father assigned him. That's why when they came to arrest him, you know, Peter draws the sword and, you know, he's about to take, wants to take off the servant's head, gets his ear. You know, and Jesus Christ says, wait, no.

If I wanted to call a legion of angels, trust me, I could call him. But for this purpose, I'm fulfilling my purpose. I'm a substitute. I'm going to bear the sin, the punishment for sin. And toward the end of his life, he said, I glorify you, Father, on heaven, having accomplished the work which you've given me to do.

So Jesus Christ, he died, but he didn't die as a helpless victim. He freely and fully embraced the purpose of his Father for the salvation of all sinners. In his humanity, he shied away from it. He wept if there's any other way, Father. And then he says, oh, but your will, your will be done. I know why I came, Father, you know.

He died in order to fulfill the Father's purpose to redeem mankind for himself.

And that's why, brethren, we must absolutely be affected by this, moved by it. We're here for a purpose. And that's verse 13 through 16. Staying here in 1 Peter, but go up to verse 13 through 16. How should this affect you? All that we've talked about today. 1 Peter 1, verse 13 through 16. Therefore, gird up your loins of your mind, be sober, and rest in your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is coming again.

Verse 14, as obedient children, not conforming yourself to the former lusts, as in your ignorance, you know. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy. I hope we hear this today. So that you'll never be able to say, you know, I didn't understand. For many years, I said, I knew I understood when I went off on that prodigal road. I was never able to say I never understood. I could say I didn't want it. I didn't want it. Till I was knocked down. And you realize you're just nothing without it. Nothing. Let's conclude here and go forward here to chapter two. And we'll conclude with this passage. First Peter chapter two in verse 24 and 25. First Peter two in verse 24 and 25.

Here it is. I hope we're affected today. First Peter two, verse 24 and 25. Jesus, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sin, might what? What's our response to this unimaginable love? That we might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray. Not anymore. Now you've returned to the shepherd, the overseer of your souls. So what's our response to an innocent man bearing our sin? What's our response to the ultimate sacrifice substitute? We're compelled by his death to live in righteousness. You don't do it perfectly. You hit your knees again. Say, God, forgive me. You stand up, straighten your posture, and move forward. Ask the Father, not only give me the desire to do better, give me the power to do it. So God gives us the admonishment, and he gives us the ability, if we ask for his Holy Spirit, to work in us. He's a wonderful Father. So let's bow to its gravity this afternoon, knowing one day all mankind will bow. All will know what Jesus Christ did for them. Let's bow and be humbled, and let's pray that one day every knee will bow under the gravity of Jesus Christ, our great substitute.