WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.980 Well, as hopefully you have gathered by now, this is Easter Sunday. 00:00:05.560 --> 00:00:08.000 We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:10.939 We focus on this theme all throughout the year. 00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:15.700 It is the central defining foundation of hope in the Christian faith. 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:17.660 That's something we'll come back to in a moment. 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:22.059 And there are a lot of amazing things that we could say about the resurrection. 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:26.260 We've actually looked at this particular account in previous years, 00:00:26.260 --> 00:00:27.500 John's account of the resurrection. 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:35.140 It's amazing, for instance, that the disciples had no idea that a resurrection like this was possible. 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:37.679 There was no idea. 00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:44.740 It says here in John that they didn't understand the Scriptures sufficiently to even know to expect this. 00:00:44.820 --> 00:00:47.240 For them, this was a total shock, and they were terrified. 00:00:49.100 --> 00:00:53.579 It's amazing to note that as the Bible gives us witnesses of the resurrection, 00:00:53.579 --> 00:00:58.899 seeking to establish the credibility of this story, we see that the first witnesses are women. 00:01:00.539 --> 00:01:05.400 This is a culture where women were not even permitted to give legal testimony in court. 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:06.819 Sad to say. 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:14.079 There are all kinds of amazing details that we could focus on, and sometimes it's hard to choose. 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:19.900 But last night, for those of us who were here in the vigil, it was an amazing time. 00:01:20.019 --> 00:01:26.780 Every corner of the room was filled, and it was just an extraordinary celebration. 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:34.759 But one of the themes that we really explored together was this idea that we live in a culture that is very deeply conflicted. 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:40.340 On the one hand, for those of you who weren't there, we talked about the fact that on the one hand, 00:01:40.580 --> 00:01:45.900 our culture is very much entrenched in a sort of a pure materialistic atheism. 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:51.080 In other words, the idea that there's no gods, no miracles, no magic, no mystery, nothing. 00:01:51.880 --> 00:01:56.340 Anything we don't understand now, we will one day understand through science and technology. 00:01:57.180 --> 00:02:01.320 And then on the other hand, there is a deep human longing for the transcendent. 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:07.500 And we talked about how these two forces, as we live life buffeted by these forces, 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:10.239 we often feel fragmented and torn apart. 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:17.280 You know, we talked about examples like Maurice Sendak in his interview with Terry Gross saying, 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:21.819 on the one hand, I don't believe in an afterlife, and yet on the other hand, 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:25.039 I firmly believe I will see my deceased brother one day soon. 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:29.240 We're all deeply fragmented on the inside. 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:35.680 And we talked about how as a part of this, there's a tremendous disillusionment in the world. 00:02:35.820 --> 00:02:38.200 A tremendous cynicism has set in. 00:02:40.780 --> 00:02:43.719 I really, if I can be honest, cannot remember a time, 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:47.900 maybe since the Cold War, 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:52.700 where there has been more of a sense of existential dread 00:02:52.700 --> 00:02:57.000 about the future of our country and our way of life. 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:00.819 I say that because I suspect it's not just me. 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:04.900 I hope, anyway, I'm not just being too dramatic or morose. 00:03:05.740 --> 00:03:07.759 But I think this is something that we feel. 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:12.520 I mean, between ISIS and the threat of terrorism, 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:18.099 you know, I was going to give the example of Brussels until Lahore happened. 00:03:19.099 --> 00:03:19.539 Today. 00:03:19.539 --> 00:03:19.740 Today. 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:26.860 You know, dozens killed, hundreds wounded from a bomb blast. 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:30.219 Between the kind of tragicomedy of our current election. 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:34.960 I don't trust myself to say anything more about that. 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:36.500 At least not up here. 00:03:38.700 --> 00:03:39.980 The state of the economy. 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:43.520 These are things that are causing an enormous amount of anxiety. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:48.120 And so now that this Easter Sunday has come in this context, 00:03:49.500 --> 00:03:50.420 as I've prayed about this, 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:54.260 I think that we need to look more closely at the hope that the resurrection offers. 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:55.660 Because as we said last night, 00:03:55.780 --> 00:03:57.879 we live in a Holy Saturday culture 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:00.800 that is desperately in need of Easter Sunday hope. 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:04.300 And so we want to look at that hope. 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:07.060 And we want to do that by looking at 1 Peter. 00:04:07.820 --> 00:04:10.240 The book of 1 Peter is wonderfully appropriate 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:12.400 because Peter wrote this letter to Christians 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:14.719 who are spread out throughout Asia Minor, 00:04:14.920 --> 00:04:17.040 and they're living in a hostile culture. 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:20.519 They're living in a culture where there are very few certainties 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:25.199 that they will have any quality of life or life at all. 00:04:27.080 --> 00:04:29.340 So if you sort of skip ahead in 1 Peter, 00:04:29.339 --> 00:04:32.819 you see in chapter 2 that they're dealing with overbearing, 00:04:33.139 --> 00:04:36.219 brutal bosses who are mistreating them. 00:04:36.299 --> 00:04:38.279 So in their jobs, they're experiencing hardship. 00:04:39.039 --> 00:04:43.279 In chapter 3, you see that many of them are married to unbelieving spouses, 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:45.759 and they're struggling in interfaith marriages. 00:04:46.719 --> 00:04:49.339 You see in chapter 4 that they're being mocked 00:04:50.059 --> 00:04:55.819 and persecuted by their pagan neighbors and associates. 00:04:55.819 --> 00:04:57.599 They're being made fun of and disrespected. 00:04:59.339 --> 00:05:02.159 And then in chapter 4, verses 12 to 18, 00:05:02.819 --> 00:05:08.179 it looks as though much more violent persecution is imminently on the horizon. 00:05:10.259 --> 00:05:11.919 And so all of this is happening, 00:05:13.060 --> 00:05:15.539 and Peter's writing this letter, 00:05:16.419 --> 00:05:21.019 and Peter begins writing this letter of hope by talking about Easter. 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:26.240 He says the first thing you have to understand if you want to have any hope in this world 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.579 is you have to understand Easter and what Easter means. 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:31.919 And so that's what we're going to look at. 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:33.019 We're just going to look at one verse. 00:05:33.099 --> 00:05:36.199 We just have time to look at one verse, one aspect of this. 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:38.519 And it's 1 Peter 1, verse 3. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:40.719 And we're going to see this under three headers. 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:42.339 We're going to see the foundation of our hope, 00:05:42.859 --> 00:05:44.079 the substance of our hope, 00:05:44.180 --> 00:05:45.639 and then the reason for our hope. 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:48.779 So let's pray as we prepare to open God's Word together. 00:05:52.019 --> 00:05:53.779 Heavenly Father, first and foremost, 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:56.800 we pray for whatever emergency is outside. 00:05:56.919 --> 00:06:00.419 We pray for people to be protected and kept safe and restored. 00:06:01.300 --> 00:06:04.079 And we also, Lord, as we turn our attention to your Word, 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:08.000 we trust in and pray for your promise to be fulfilled, 00:06:08.099 --> 00:06:10.060 that you speak to us through your Word. 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:16.060 So I pray that you would gently but firmly move me out of the way, 00:06:16.180 --> 00:06:21.800 that you would dispel any distractions or things that might be nagging at us, 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:24.300 and that you would open us all to hear what you might have to say. 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:28.639 We pray this in your risen Son's name. 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:29.360 Amen. 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:34.759 So first of all, we want to look at the foundation of the hope that we share. 00:06:34.840 --> 00:06:36.160 It says in verse 3, 00:06:36.379 --> 00:06:39.340 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:06:39.339 --> 00:06:41.179 according to His great mercy, 00:06:41.299 --> 00:06:43.759 He's caused us to be born again to a living hope 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:48.819 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 00:06:48.899 --> 00:06:50.099 So as we said a moment ago, 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:55.019 the resurrection is a fact, 00:06:55.779 --> 00:06:56.899 it's an event, 00:06:57.339 --> 00:06:59.639 and it forms the foundation of our hope. 00:07:01.159 --> 00:07:02.959 Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:05.299 that Jesus, after His resurrection, 00:07:05.299 --> 00:07:07.519 appeared to more than 500 people. 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:09.839 And he's saying this for a reason, 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:11.719 because he's writing 1 Corinthians. 00:07:11.939 --> 00:07:15.399 1 Corinthians is the oldest account that we have. 00:07:15.539 --> 00:07:16.219 It was written, 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:18.839 it's the oldest book that we have in the New Testament 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:22.759 that was written the closest in proximity to the actual resurrection. 00:07:23.379 --> 00:07:25.000 So Paul is writing that letter, 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:28.779 and he's saying this about 500 witnesses, 00:07:28.939 --> 00:07:30.779 because many of those people were still alive. 00:07:30.839 --> 00:07:31.959 And it's Paul's way of saying, 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:32.939 if you don't believe me, 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:34.120 go ask these people. 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:35.399 They're everywhere. 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:37.539 Go ask them and see what they say. 00:07:38.739 --> 00:07:39.819 And in Acts chapter 26, 00:07:40.099 --> 00:07:41.659 you have Paul before King Agrippa, 00:07:42.359 --> 00:07:44.519 and again he says about the resurrection of Jesus, 00:07:44.819 --> 00:07:45.819 he says to King Agrippa, 00:07:46.180 --> 00:07:47.680 you know that these things are true. 00:07:48.699 --> 00:07:51.500 You know that these things didn't happen in a closet. 00:07:52.099 --> 00:07:53.679 They didn't happen in a corner somewhere. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.400 So the debate then was not whether the resurrection happened. 00:07:58.540 --> 00:07:59.800 The debate was only concerning, 00:08:00.100 --> 00:08:01.680 how do we make sense of the resurrection? 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:04.459 It's interesting when you have so many people 00:08:04.459 --> 00:08:06.699 who are trying to discredit Jesus and the early Christians, 00:08:07.180 --> 00:08:09.240 never do they try to discredit the resurrection. 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:11.500 That's something that happened later. 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:16.060 It's because too many people had seen it for themselves. 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:18.480 So you have this public event, 00:08:19.699 --> 00:08:22.040 this public historic fact, 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:24.020 and Peter makes it clear that this event 00:08:24.020 --> 00:08:25.580 is the whole reason we have hope. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:28.240 So the first point is this, 00:08:28.280 --> 00:08:29.500 is that our foundation 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:32.700 is based on a public event, 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:34.320 a historical fact. 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:36.779 And the reason we're making a point of this, 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:37.220 you may say, 00:08:37.300 --> 00:08:37.920 well, okay, well that, 00:08:38.100 --> 00:08:39.080 okay, so what? 00:08:40.420 --> 00:08:41.840 The reason this matters 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.680 is because this is one of the things 00:08:44.680 --> 00:08:45.899 that makes Christianity unique. 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:47.159 We talk about, 00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:49.200 well, why can we find hope in the Christian faith 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:50.840 that we can't find anywhere? 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:52.340 And here's one of the reasons. 00:08:53.019 --> 00:08:55.899 All religions have some element of belief, right? 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:57.980 I mean, you think religion, faith, belief, 00:08:58.080 --> 00:08:59.120 they just kind of go together. 00:09:00.340 --> 00:09:03.480 But religious belief usually involves 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:07.180 adopting the values and the lifestyle 00:09:07.180 --> 00:09:08.639 of the religious founder. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:11.819 So you read their teachings 00:09:11.819 --> 00:09:12.879 or you hear their teachings 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:14.279 and you like what they have to say 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:16.480 and so you believe in them, 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.399 meaning you adopt their values 00:09:19.399 --> 00:09:20.500 and you begin to live in the way 00:09:20.500 --> 00:09:21.460 that they've prescribed. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.500 There are a lot of shoulds in religious belief. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:27.960 You should be a good person. 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:29.259 You should not be greedy. 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:30.899 You should care about other people. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:32.340 You should take care of the weak. 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:33.340 All of these things 00:09:33.340 --> 00:09:36.340 that many religions in the world agree on 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:37.159 are good things. 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:40.199 But when Christians talk about belief, 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:42.240 we actually mean something different. 00:09:42.419 --> 00:09:43.620 Christians don't, by definition, 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:45.339 have religious beliefs. 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:50.439 We have historical beliefs 00:09:50.439 --> 00:09:52.120 that have religious implications. 00:09:53.219 --> 00:09:53.879 You see the difference? 00:09:54.980 --> 00:09:56.459 So this makes a huge difference 00:09:56.459 --> 00:09:57.919 when it comes to having real hope 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:00.480 because facts actually offer hope 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:02.939 in ways that values don't. 00:10:02.940 --> 00:10:06.220 And I think I've used this example before, 00:10:06.340 --> 00:10:07.920 but this is kind of like the difference 00:10:07.920 --> 00:10:11.100 between believing in the value of freedom 00:10:11.100 --> 00:10:13.840 and believing that slavery is wrong 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:16.780 on the one hand 00:10:16.780 --> 00:10:21.680 versus believing that on January 31st, 1865, 00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:24.140 the 13th Amendment abolished slavery. 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:25.760 Right? 00:10:25.820 --> 00:10:27.060 So one is a value 00:10:27.060 --> 00:10:29.260 and one is a historic fact. 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:30.279 And so I'll just ask you, 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:32.659 which one offers more hope to you 00:10:32.659 --> 00:10:33.980 if you're a slave? 00:10:35.819 --> 00:10:36.179 Right? 00:10:36.259 --> 00:10:38.179 If I come and I hear that you're a slave 00:10:38.179 --> 00:10:38.580 and I say, 00:10:38.659 --> 00:10:40.379 well, I really value freedom 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:41.519 and I really personally hope 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:42.419 that one day you're free 00:10:42.419 --> 00:10:45.259 versus, hey, good news. 00:10:46.539 --> 00:10:47.240 You're free. 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:49.460 You may not know it. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:50.980 You may not have ever heard of this amendment. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:52.559 You may not know how it all works. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:55.620 But you no longer have to live like this. 00:10:55.659 --> 00:10:56.539 You've been set free. 00:10:56.639 --> 00:10:57.919 Which is going to offer more hope? 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:00.919 So Peter's not saying, 00:11:01.019 --> 00:11:01.860 when he talks about this, 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:02.679 he's not saying, 00:11:02.979 --> 00:11:05.179 hey, you should really hear Jesus' teachings. 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:06.459 I think they're pretty good. 00:11:06.819 --> 00:11:08.620 And I think that they're going to help you 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:09.719 learn how to live better 00:11:09.719 --> 00:11:12.019 and maybe have more success in your job 00:11:12.019 --> 00:11:14.059 and have more success in your relationships. 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:15.360 And I think they're going to teach you 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:17.099 how to do better in your love life. 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:18.819 So you should really follow. 00:11:18.979 --> 00:11:19.979 He's not saying that. 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:23.159 He's saying, listen, this thing happened. 00:11:23.819 --> 00:11:25.240 Jesus rose from death. 00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:26.360 And because of that, 00:11:27.460 --> 00:11:29.580 he's given us an entirely new life, 00:11:30.299 --> 00:11:32.060 an entirely new way of being. 00:11:32.860 --> 00:11:35.460 He's ushered in a completely new way 00:11:35.460 --> 00:11:38.039 for human beings to exist in the world. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:41.639 So this is the first thing, 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:42.899 is that the foundation of our hope 00:11:42.899 --> 00:11:44.299 is not a set of values or teachings. 00:11:44.680 --> 00:11:45.940 It's not a set of principles. 00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:47.340 It's actually a person 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:49.799 and an event that surrounds that person, 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:53.120 namely the resurrection from death. 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:56.279 So then what does this actually offer us? 00:11:56.379 --> 00:11:57.940 What's the substance of our hope? 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:00.639 Well, again, coming back to the verse, 00:12:00.700 --> 00:12:01.179 it says this, 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:02.580 according to his great mercy, 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:05.820 God has caused us to be born again 00:12:05.820 --> 00:12:06.659 to a living hope. 00:12:07.720 --> 00:12:09.100 So this is the substance. 00:12:09.299 --> 00:12:09.899 What do we have? 00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:11.560 What does the resurrection mean for you? 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:12.899 It means that you have the opportunity 00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:16.620 to be born again to a living hope. 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:19.340 Now, when I say that, 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:20.340 if you're anything like me, 00:12:20.379 --> 00:12:21.519 you hear the phrase born again, 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:23.120 and, you know, it's abrasive. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:26.299 That phrase is a huge turnoff for me 00:12:26.299 --> 00:12:28.059 and for most of us, 00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:29.899 and it's because of the water we swim in. 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:31.460 Right? 00:12:31.539 --> 00:12:34.100 I mean, when we think of the phrase born again, 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:37.740 we think of that as a subset of Christianity. 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:39.840 You know, you have your mainliners 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:41.039 and you have your, you know, blah, blah, blah, 00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:42.439 and then you have your born-agains. 00:12:43.659 --> 00:12:45.100 I mean, when I lived in Boston, 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:47.319 people don't even say born-again Christian up there. 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:48.639 They just call them born-agains. 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:50.419 You know, you're born-again. 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:52.319 And it's like one word. 00:12:53.139 --> 00:12:55.600 And we think of this as a subset of Christianity. 00:12:55.779 --> 00:12:58.600 To be born again is a certain kind of Christian. 00:12:58.860 --> 00:12:59.679 And among Christians, 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:01.720 we think of people who are born-again 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:02.720 as either, you know, 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:03.860 we think of being born-again 00:13:03.860 --> 00:13:05.500 as some kind of resolution we make. 00:13:05.779 --> 00:13:07.019 Like, I kind of grew up in the church, 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:07.939 but now I'm getting serious. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:08.879 I'm a member of a church. 00:13:08.980 --> 00:13:09.559 I'm born again. 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:11.639 Or we think of it as some kind 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:13.360 of ecstatic religious experience. 00:13:13.819 --> 00:13:14.039 Right? 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:15.259 So if somebody says, 00:13:15.340 --> 00:13:15.980 I've been born-again, 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:16.360 you think, 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:17.480 well, that must have been amazing. 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:19.000 What happened? 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:19.779 You know, 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:21.460 the clouds parted 00:13:21.460 --> 00:13:22.000 and the light 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:24.039 and the ecstatic vision of Jesus. 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:24.379 You know, 00:13:24.419 --> 00:13:25.940 we think Damascus Road experience. 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:27.899 In addition, 00:13:28.100 --> 00:13:29.440 people outside the church, 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:31.320 if they hear someone's a born-again, 00:13:31.680 --> 00:13:33.759 they think of religious fundamentalism, right? 00:13:33.779 --> 00:13:35.279 They think of religious extremism. 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:37.879 They think of right-wing politics. 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:39.019 They think of all the stuff 00:13:39.019 --> 00:13:39.800 that goes with that. 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:43.279 But that's much more culture 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:44.200 than it is Scripture. 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:47.740 So how do we think about this 00:13:47.740 --> 00:13:49.060 from a scriptural standpoint? 00:13:51.420 --> 00:13:53.300 In August of 2010, 00:13:53.680 --> 00:13:55.200 there was a woman named Judy Rivers. 00:13:56.200 --> 00:13:58.259 And she went to her local bank 00:13:58.259 --> 00:13:59.879 to open a bank account. 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:00.720 And as part of that, 00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:02.900 she gave her Social Security card over 00:14:02.900 --> 00:14:05.120 and told them the number. 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:06.520 And the woman entered some information 00:14:06.520 --> 00:14:08.800 and entered more and said, 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:10.320 Ms. Rivers, I'm sorry. 00:14:10.400 --> 00:14:11.120 There's been a problem. 00:14:11.180 --> 00:14:11.800 I'll be right back. 00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:14.120 Eventually, the branch manager comes out 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:15.500 and the branch manager says, 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:16.799 I'm sorry to say this, 00:14:16.839 --> 00:14:17.659 there's an issue. 00:14:18.359 --> 00:14:19.819 Your Social Security number 00:14:19.819 --> 00:14:22.159 was deactivated in 2008 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:24.179 due to death. 00:14:25.979 --> 00:14:27.019 It's pretty interesting. 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:29.679 Clerical error. 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:33.519 So it's estimated that every year, 00:14:34.459 --> 00:14:37.219 roughly 12,200 people 00:14:37.220 --> 00:14:41.300 are declared legally dead 00:14:41.300 --> 00:14:43.980 from keystroke error. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:47.440 So somebody just hits the wrong button 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:49.899 and you have no idea. 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:51.639 You're just going along with your day, 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:54.200 but you're dead. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:56.940 Isn't that amazing? 00:14:58.580 --> 00:14:59.800 Keystroke error, right? 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:03.219 So the Bible says 00:15:03.219 --> 00:15:07.219 the same thing is true of us spiritually. 00:15:07.659 --> 00:15:09.179 I mean, imagine if you're Judy Rivers 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:10.659 and you're going about your business, 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:11.559 you're living your life, 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:12.819 you have no idea 00:15:12.819 --> 00:15:14.539 that anything is amiss, 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:15.939 but in the government's eyes, 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:17.000 you are legally dead. 00:15:17.859 --> 00:15:18.139 Right? 00:15:18.939 --> 00:15:19.959 The Bible actually says 00:15:19.959 --> 00:15:21.439 that the same is true of us spiritually. 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:23.879 That you can be living life, 00:15:23.979 --> 00:15:25.159 you can be going about your business, 00:15:25.299 --> 00:15:25.839 you can be doing, 00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:27.259 everything feels normal. 00:15:27.359 --> 00:15:28.559 You may not feel anything. 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:30.539 You may not be aware of anything. 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:32.359 You know, if somebody asks you, 00:15:32.439 --> 00:15:32.579 you're like, 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:34.000 my life is pretty great. 00:15:34.199 --> 00:15:35.139 Yeah, I feel pretty good. 00:15:35.199 --> 00:15:36.299 I feel pretty satisfied at work. 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:37.699 Got good friendships 00:15:37.699 --> 00:15:39.059 and like my family 00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:40.419 and got enough money 00:15:40.419 --> 00:15:41.539 and things are going well. 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:42.639 You don't really feel 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:43.979 like anything is amiss. 00:15:45.359 --> 00:15:47.679 And yet spiritually, 00:15:48.459 --> 00:15:50.399 you can be legally dead. 00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:54.539 This is what happens 00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:55.599 when we ignore God 00:15:55.599 --> 00:15:56.939 and the world that he's made. 00:15:57.239 --> 00:15:58.159 What we're doing is 00:15:58.159 --> 00:15:59.899 we're actually cutting ourselves off 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:01.179 from the source of life. 00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:03.059 And what that means is 00:16:03.059 --> 00:16:04.379 you can go on living physically 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:05.299 for a while, 00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:07.539 but you're spiritually dead. 00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:09.600 And then eventually, 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:10.980 your body catches up 00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:12.879 as entropy sets in 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:13.719 and you break down 00:16:13.719 --> 00:16:15.419 and eventually you pass away. 00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:18.719 And again, 00:16:18.779 --> 00:16:19.899 as we talked about last night, 00:16:20.579 --> 00:16:22.059 while you can't feel it 00:16:22.059 --> 00:16:24.179 and there's no guarantee 00:16:24.179 --> 00:16:25.100 that you will feel it 00:16:25.100 --> 00:16:26.080 and there are plenty of people 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:27.460 who are spiritually dead 00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:28.620 but have no awareness of it, 00:16:29.060 --> 00:16:30.960 I actually think 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:31.899 that there is a level 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:32.379 at which, 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:34.379 as we talked about 00:16:34.379 --> 00:16:34.960 at the vigil, 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:36.300 that yearning 00:16:36.300 --> 00:16:38.560 is telling us something 00:16:38.560 --> 00:16:40.560 about our spiritual state. 00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:42.820 There's a great book 00:16:42.820 --> 00:16:43.700 of short stories 00:16:43.700 --> 00:16:45.460 by a writer 00:16:45.460 --> 00:16:46.500 named Douglas Copeland. 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:48.320 It's called Life After God. 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:50.780 And it's fascinating. 00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:53.480 And in one place, 00:16:53.520 --> 00:16:54.240 he's describing 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:55.540 the life of his friends 00:16:55.540 --> 00:16:57.800 who live in Vancouver. 00:16:58.060 --> 00:16:58.460 And, you know, 00:16:58.520 --> 00:16:59.540 Vancouver's one of those places 00:16:59.540 --> 00:17:00.280 if you've ever been there, 00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:01.080 it's not just kind of 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:02.379 more of an atheistic era. 00:17:02.540 --> 00:17:04.220 It's like a self-consciously 00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:05.380 sort of proudly 00:17:05.380 --> 00:17:06.580 atheistic culture. 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:09.580 And very secular 00:17:09.580 --> 00:17:10.840 in parts. 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:13.900 And it says this. 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:14.259 He says, 00:17:14.259 --> 00:17:15.539 Ours was a life 00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:16.559 lived in paradise 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:17.980 and thus it rendered 00:17:17.980 --> 00:17:18.900 any discussion 00:17:18.900 --> 00:17:20.619 of the transcendent 00:17:20.619 --> 00:17:21.240 pointless. 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:22.400 Right? 00:17:22.879 --> 00:17:23.619 Everything's good. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:25.220 We're going out at night. 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:25.680 We're partying. 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:26.240 We're having fun. 00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:27.099 We have great jobs. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:28.400 We're going 100 miles an hour. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:29.460 The world is our oyster. 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:31.220 There's no room 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:31.779 to talk about 00:17:31.779 --> 00:17:32.539 or speculate about 00:17:32.539 --> 00:17:33.740 things like life after death 00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:34.220 or God 00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:34.900 or forgiveness 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:37.240 because life is great. 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:39.319 And then you go on 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:39.980 and it says this. 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:40.539 And yet, 00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:41.519 I find myself 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:42.579 speaking these words 00:17:42.579 --> 00:17:43.579 with a sense of doubt. 00:17:44.259 --> 00:17:45.519 I think there was 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:46.160 a trade-off 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:47.319 somewhere along the line. 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:48.279 I think the price 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:49.940 we paid for our golden life 00:17:49.940 --> 00:17:51.680 was an inability 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:53.059 to fully believe in love. 00:17:55.259 --> 00:17:56.319 He goes on. 00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:57.180 Instead, 00:17:57.420 --> 00:17:58.359 we gained an irony 00:17:58.359 --> 00:17:59.279 that scorched 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:00.359 everything it touched. 00:18:01.940 --> 00:18:02.700 So what's he saying? 00:18:02.779 --> 00:18:02.920 You know, 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:03.799 life seems great 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:04.539 but then I realized 00:18:04.539 --> 00:18:05.640 that one of the things 00:18:05.640 --> 00:18:06.299 that is set in 00:18:06.299 --> 00:18:06.960 in my heart 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:08.240 is irony. 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:09.539 It's cynicism. 00:18:11.140 --> 00:18:12.079 And as we said 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:12.539 last night, 00:18:12.660 --> 00:18:13.079 cynicism, 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:14.379 if you're a disillusioned person, 00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:15.599 cynicism can be 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:16.559 great insulation 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.139 against disillusionment. 00:18:18.199 --> 00:18:19.099 You wrap it around yourself 00:18:19.099 --> 00:18:19.899 like bubble wrap 00:18:19.899 --> 00:18:20.879 and it can really 00:18:20.879 --> 00:18:21.759 insulate you 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:23.179 from the full brunt 00:18:23.179 --> 00:18:24.879 of a brutal, 00:18:25.299 --> 00:18:26.159 godless world. 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:28.460 And yet, 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:29.579 because it's bubble wrap, 00:18:29.619 --> 00:18:30.799 it not only insulates you 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:31.599 from the bad stuff, 00:18:31.639 --> 00:18:32.359 it insulates you 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:33.319 from the good stuff. 00:18:33.740 --> 00:18:34.379 And so what's 00:18:34.379 --> 00:18:35.480 what's he saying here? 00:18:35.859 --> 00:18:37.259 I can't fully experience 00:18:37.259 --> 00:18:38.240 things like love. 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:39.660 I can't experience 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:41.500 things like joy fully 00:18:41.500 --> 00:18:44.380 because an irony 00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:44.920 is set in 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:45.599 and it scorches 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:46.380 everything it touches. 00:18:49.539 --> 00:18:50.380 And he says, 00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:51.059 and I wonder 00:18:51.059 --> 00:18:51.859 if this irony 00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:52.660 is the price 00:18:52.660 --> 00:18:53.339 we paid 00:18:53.339 --> 00:18:54.440 for the loss of God. 00:18:56.220 --> 00:18:57.019 And then there's 00:18:57.019 --> 00:18:57.920 a moment of honesty 00:18:57.920 --> 00:18:58.640 later in the book. 00:18:58.700 --> 00:18:58.940 He says, 00:18:59.019 --> 00:18:59.960 now here's my secret. 00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:01.279 I tell it to you 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:01.880 with the openness 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:02.339 of heart 00:19:02.339 --> 00:19:02.900 that I doubt 00:19:02.900 --> 00:19:04.319 I shall ever achieve again. 00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:05.319 And so I pray 00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:06.480 that you're in a quiet room 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.019 as you hear these words. 00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:10.559 It's reasonably quiet 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:10.859 in here. 00:19:12.139 --> 00:19:12.839 My secret 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:15.619 is that I need God. 00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:17.859 I'm sick. 00:19:18.619 --> 00:19:19.440 I can no longer 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:20.160 make it alone. 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:21.900 I need God 00:19:21.900 --> 00:19:22.740 to help me give 00:19:22.740 --> 00:19:23.639 because I no longer 00:19:23.639 --> 00:19:24.599 seem to be capable 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:25.200 of giving. 00:19:26.259 --> 00:19:27.519 To help me be kind 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:28.400 as I no longer 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:29.139 seem capable 00:19:29.139 --> 00:19:30.160 of kindness. 00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:31.960 To help me love 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:32.940 as I seem beyond 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:33.639 being able 00:19:33.639 --> 00:19:34.879 to love. 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:36.759 You know, 00:19:36.779 --> 00:19:37.259 it's interesting. 00:19:37.259 --> 00:19:38.220 We can be completely 00:19:38.220 --> 00:19:39.599 unaware of our 00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:41.700 spiritual poverty 00:19:41.700 --> 00:19:42.640 until we begin 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:43.819 to try to do things 00:19:43.819 --> 00:19:44.920 like practice kindness 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:46.640 or love 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:48.240 or generosity. 00:19:49.099 --> 00:19:50.039 And we can do it 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:50.619 for a time. 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:53.119 But sooner or later 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:54.740 we come face to face 00:19:54.740 --> 00:19:55.660 with the reality. 00:19:56.819 --> 00:19:57.579 About what? 00:19:57.640 --> 00:19:58.099 About us. 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:00.779 And in verses 00:20:00.779 --> 00:20:01.920 23 to 25 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:03.759 of 1 Peter chapter 1, 00:20:03.859 --> 00:20:05.059 it says that we become 00:20:05.059 --> 00:20:05.779 born again 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:06.519 when we hear 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:07.179 the good news 00:20:07.179 --> 00:20:07.819 of the gospel 00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:09.220 and we receive it. 00:20:09.399 --> 00:20:10.259 It's what happens 00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:11.119 when God opens 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:11.639 our hearts 00:20:11.639 --> 00:20:12.220 to the truth 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:12.799 of the gospel. 00:20:14.139 --> 00:20:15.059 And that is this, 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:16.059 that Jesus came 00:20:16.059 --> 00:20:16.779 and He lived 00:20:16.779 --> 00:20:17.579 and then He died 00:20:17.579 --> 00:20:18.240 and then He rose 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:18.879 from death 00:20:18.879 --> 00:20:20.500 to free us 00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:21.139 from sin 00:20:21.139 --> 00:20:21.899 and make us 00:20:21.899 --> 00:20:22.839 children of God 00:20:22.839 --> 00:20:23.659 and give us 00:20:23.659 --> 00:20:24.220 the Spirit 00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:25.519 which quickens us 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:26.039 to life. 00:20:26.899 --> 00:20:28.079 That's an old word, 00:20:28.339 --> 00:20:28.799 quickens. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:31.659 but the Spirit 00:20:31.659 --> 00:20:32.819 quickens us to life. 00:20:32.919 --> 00:20:33.940 It awakens us. 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:35.200 I remember 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:35.740 when I became 00:20:35.740 --> 00:20:36.159 a believer 00:20:36.159 --> 00:20:36.960 at age 22 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:38.240 and the years 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:38.940 that followed that. 00:20:39.059 --> 00:20:39.419 I remember 00:20:39.419 --> 00:20:40.819 actually in the months 00:20:40.819 --> 00:20:41.279 that followed 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:41.919 my conversion, 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:42.599 I remember 00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:43.940 I would cry 00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:44.720 all the time. 00:20:46.379 --> 00:20:46.700 I don't think, 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:48.440 this is not true 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:50.839 for different people 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:51.639 who have different experiences. 00:20:51.779 --> 00:20:52.039 For me, 00:20:52.099 --> 00:20:52.899 I just cried a lot. 00:20:53.700 --> 00:20:54.440 I probably cried 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:55.419 more in that first month 00:20:55.419 --> 00:20:55.940 than I had cried 00:20:55.940 --> 00:20:57.220 in the 10 previous years. 00:20:57.220 --> 00:20:58.940 And it would be 00:20:58.940 --> 00:21:00.019 at the oddest things. 00:21:00.600 --> 00:21:01.120 I would just be 00:21:01.120 --> 00:21:01.839 walking along, 00:21:02.980 --> 00:21:03.980 walking down the sidewalk 00:21:03.980 --> 00:21:04.779 and just break down 00:21:04.779 --> 00:21:05.180 into tears 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:06.400 such that I would 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:07.120 have to sit down. 00:21:08.900 --> 00:21:10.620 And I had 00:21:10.620 --> 00:21:11.299 an older, 00:21:11.600 --> 00:21:12.559 wiser friend, 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:13.420 mentor, 00:21:14.100 --> 00:21:14.799 and I finally 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:15.400 confessed this 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:15.700 and I said, 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:16.079 am I having 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:16.799 a nervous breakdown? 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:17.779 And he said, 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:18.019 no, 00:21:18.100 --> 00:21:18.740 this is your heart 00:21:18.740 --> 00:21:19.640 coming to life. 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:21.720 You ever put your arm 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:22.680 over a chair back 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:24.019 and it falls asleep 00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:24.640 because of a lack 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:25.100 of circulation 00:21:25.100 --> 00:21:26.200 and then you take it off 00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:26.880 and as the blood 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:27.440 comes back, 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:27.980 you have that 00:21:27.980 --> 00:21:29.020 pens and needles feeling 00:21:29.020 --> 00:21:29.520 and it feels 00:21:29.520 --> 00:21:30.520 almost like you 00:21:30.520 --> 00:21:31.260 can't stand it? 00:21:32.760 --> 00:21:33.280 He said, 00:21:33.340 --> 00:21:33.940 that's kind of like 00:21:33.940 --> 00:21:34.460 what's happening 00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:35.900 in your heart right now. 00:21:38.580 --> 00:21:39.620 The Spirit of God 00:21:39.620 --> 00:21:40.720 quickens us to life 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:41.700 and what this means 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:43.280 is that as verse 4 says, 00:21:43.360 --> 00:21:44.360 we gain an inheritance 00:21:44.360 --> 00:21:45.420 that is imperishable, 00:21:45.580 --> 00:21:46.160 undefiled, 00:21:46.320 --> 00:21:46.900 unfading, 00:21:47.300 --> 00:21:48.500 kept in heaven for us 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:50.960 who by God's power 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:51.720 are being guarded 00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:52.240 through faith 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:52.860 for a salvation 00:21:52.860 --> 00:21:53.900 ready to be revealed 00:21:53.900 --> 00:21:55.100 in the last time. 00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:55.560 In other words, 00:21:55.600 --> 00:21:56.220 what is this saying? 00:21:56.600 --> 00:21:57.539 Everything we have 00:21:57.539 --> 00:21:58.259 in this life, 00:21:58.740 --> 00:21:59.559 it's bad news 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:00.000 and good news. 00:22:00.600 --> 00:22:01.600 When you're born again, 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:02.240 it means this. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:03.839 You realize that 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:04.720 everything that we have 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:05.140 in this life, 00:22:05.220 --> 00:22:06.319 a lot of this stuff, 00:22:06.740 --> 00:22:07.660 a lot of this, 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:11.339 is going to perish. 00:22:12.120 --> 00:22:13.000 It's going to wither. 00:22:13.860 --> 00:22:14.100 Right? 00:22:14.140 --> 00:22:14.799 So in one sense, 00:22:14.860 --> 00:22:15.420 a lot of the things 00:22:15.420 --> 00:22:16.620 that we can be focused on, 00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:18.059 a lot of that 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:18.620 is going to perish 00:22:18.620 --> 00:22:19.319 and it's going to wither. 00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:20.240 Right? 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:22.920 God's going to remake 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:24.099 and restore the earth. 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:24.940 He's going to remake 00:22:24.940 --> 00:22:25.740 all things new, 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:26.519 the physical world, 00:22:26.620 --> 00:22:27.259 but that doesn't mean 00:22:27.259 --> 00:22:27.720 I'm going to take 00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:28.660 my iPhone into that. 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:29.720 In fact, 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:30.759 I think I know 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:32.180 exactly where this belongs. 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:36.500 That's a different sermon. 00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:39.480 But what he's saying 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:39.960 is that everything 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:41.500 that we have in this life 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:42.440 will one day be lost, 00:22:42.539 --> 00:22:43.620 but everything we gain 00:22:43.620 --> 00:22:44.620 through Jesus 00:22:44.620 --> 00:22:45.839 will never be lost. 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:46.279 He's saying 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:48.119 there's an eternal inheritance. 00:22:50.139 --> 00:22:51.179 It's not hot in here. 00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:52.079 I want to show you something. 00:22:53.439 --> 00:22:54.439 So imagine this. 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:57.039 Imagine this. 00:22:59.559 --> 00:23:00.539 Imagine this not. 00:23:00.659 --> 00:23:02.000 This is our life. 00:23:02.639 --> 00:23:02.980 Here. 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.439 You know, 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:05.539 there's four little rings 00:23:05.539 --> 00:23:06.079 in it, right? 00:23:06.679 --> 00:23:07.839 This is when I was born. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:09.839 This is my adolescence. 00:23:10.379 --> 00:23:11.099 This is the good, 00:23:11.199 --> 00:23:12.179 productive middle years. 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:13.879 This is old age and death. 00:23:13.879 --> 00:23:14.279 Right? 00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:14.399 Right? 00:23:15.619 --> 00:23:16.319 And he's saying 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:17.319 all of this, 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:18.220 all of this, 00:23:18.420 --> 00:23:19.299 a lot of what you're 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:20.160 aiming for here, 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:20.720 a lot of what you're 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:21.680 focusing on here, 00:23:21.879 --> 00:23:22.899 this is going to fade. 00:23:24.279 --> 00:23:24.639 Right? 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:25.720 You know, 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:26.599 you're focusing really, 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:26.980 you know, 00:23:27.019 --> 00:23:27.639 working really hard 00:23:27.639 --> 00:23:28.519 to get a good education, 00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:28.879 right? 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:29.740 So that you can get 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:30.319 a good job, 00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:31.259 which is here. 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:32.379 And then you get 00:23:32.379 --> 00:23:33.019 that good job 00:23:33.019 --> 00:23:34.180 and you hope that 00:23:34.180 --> 00:23:35.000 you can build up 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:35.579 enough retirement 00:23:35.579 --> 00:23:36.279 so that your life 00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:37.779 will be decent here. 00:23:38.220 --> 00:23:38.940 And then what? 00:23:40.220 --> 00:23:41.079 And he's saying 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:42.420 on the one hand 00:23:42.420 --> 00:23:43.440 all this is going to fade. 00:23:44.279 --> 00:23:45.519 But on the other hand, 00:23:45.940 --> 00:23:46.899 all of this, 00:23:47.899 --> 00:23:49.480 all of this is secure. 00:23:50.279 --> 00:23:51.680 Saying all of this, 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.019 all of this has already 00:23:54.019 --> 00:23:55.559 been secured for you. 00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:56.220 It's there. 00:23:56.399 --> 00:23:57.279 It's waiting for you. 00:23:57.440 --> 00:23:58.299 You have to do nothing 00:23:58.299 --> 00:23:58.759 to earn it. 00:23:58.819 --> 00:23:59.420 You have to do nothing 00:23:59.420 --> 00:24:00.099 to preserve it. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:00.920 It's not going to fade. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:01.740 It's not going to wither. 00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:03.519 It's not going to go away. 00:24:03.740 --> 00:24:04.740 It's just there. 00:24:05.740 --> 00:24:06.160 And he's saying, 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:06.720 so where should 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:07.619 your priorities be? 00:24:08.399 --> 00:24:09.200 What should you be 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:09.819 focusing on? 00:24:09.819 --> 00:24:12.439 And so as we consider this, 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:13.259 as we consider 00:24:13.259 --> 00:24:16.000 the reality 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:16.579 of this 00:24:16.579 --> 00:24:18.299 perspective shift 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:20.819 and what Peter's saying here, 00:24:20.859 --> 00:24:21.159 he's saying, 00:24:21.220 --> 00:24:22.119 this is the kind of hope 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:22.859 that you have. 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:23.619 If you think 00:24:23.619 --> 00:24:24.859 this is all there is, 00:24:24.899 --> 00:24:25.319 if you think 00:24:25.319 --> 00:24:26.099 that this is it, 00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:28.279 if you think 00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:28.980 that this 00:24:28.980 --> 00:24:30.899 is all you've got 00:24:30.899 --> 00:24:31.659 to look forward to, 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:32.119 then listen, 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:33.519 when things get bad 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:33.960 for you 00:24:33.960 --> 00:24:34.679 and you're looking 00:24:34.679 --> 00:24:35.119 at this 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:35.480 and you're like, 00:24:35.539 --> 00:24:36.519 this is all there is, 00:24:36.659 --> 00:24:37.399 what's going to happen? 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:38.559 It's going to crush you. 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:40.460 Because you're like, 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:41.259 this is all there is, 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:42.500 this is my whole life. 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:45.379 It better be a good one. 00:24:47.500 --> 00:24:48.119 But if 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:49.659 things get good 00:24:49.659 --> 00:24:51.240 and you only think 00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:52.000 that this is it, 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:53.399 then you'll be prone 00:24:53.399 --> 00:24:53.940 to anxiety 00:24:53.940 --> 00:24:54.519 because why? 00:24:54.619 --> 00:24:54.919 Because 00:24:54.919 --> 00:24:56.399 this is all I got 00:24:56.399 --> 00:24:57.359 and now it's good 00:24:57.359 --> 00:24:59.179 and it better stay good. 00:25:00.500 --> 00:25:01.639 So you get so afraid 00:25:01.639 --> 00:25:02.399 of protecting it 00:25:02.399 --> 00:25:03.059 and preserving it 00:25:03.059 --> 00:25:03.659 that you can't really 00:25:03.659 --> 00:25:04.460 even enjoy it. 00:25:05.460 --> 00:25:06.299 But if your hope 00:25:06.299 --> 00:25:07.700 is set on all of this, 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:10.159 instead of this, 00:25:10.700 --> 00:25:12.179 then when life is hard, 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:12.659 what happens? 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:12.919 You say, 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:13.759 well, no matter what, 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:14.720 this is nothing. 00:25:14.819 --> 00:25:15.460 It's minuscule. 00:25:15.940 --> 00:25:16.679 I've got eternity. 00:25:17.700 --> 00:25:18.779 And when things are good, 00:25:18.859 --> 00:25:19.379 you know that you're 00:25:19.379 --> 00:25:21.019 fully free to enjoy them 00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:22.599 because you know 00:25:22.599 --> 00:25:24.159 as good as this is, 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:25.099 it's nothing compared 00:25:25.099 --> 00:25:25.980 to what will come. 00:25:27.579 --> 00:25:28.240 And I think 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:29.339 if we think about that 00:25:29.339 --> 00:25:30.299 and how it would shape 00:25:30.299 --> 00:25:31.139 the way we live, 00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:33.299 this is real hope. 00:25:33.299 --> 00:25:35.940 So we know 00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:36.579 the foundation 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:37.159 of our hope 00:25:37.159 --> 00:25:37.899 is the resurrection 00:25:37.899 --> 00:25:39.379 and we know 00:25:39.379 --> 00:25:40.019 that the substance 00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:40.659 of our hope 00:25:40.659 --> 00:25:42.019 is that we're born again 00:25:42.019 --> 00:25:43.099 to an eternal inheritance. 00:25:43.619 --> 00:25:44.500 So the last question 00:25:44.500 --> 00:25:45.259 remains is this, 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:46.180 what about 00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:47.279 the reason 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:48.539 we have this 00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:49.659 to begin with? 00:25:49.859 --> 00:25:50.960 How do we get this 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:51.480 from God? 00:25:51.579 --> 00:25:52.639 Why does God do this? 00:25:52.819 --> 00:25:53.460 Is there anything 00:25:53.460 --> 00:25:54.039 that we do 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:55.319 to ensure that God 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:56.559 does this for us? 00:25:56.659 --> 00:25:57.220 How do we get 00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:57.899 this kind of hope? 00:25:59.859 --> 00:26:01.079 The opening of our verse 00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:01.819 tells us, 00:26:01.819 --> 00:26:02.619 it says, 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:04.500 according to God's mercy 00:26:04.500 --> 00:26:05.720 all of this happens. 00:26:07.659 --> 00:26:08.539 Now we won't spend 00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:09.439 a lot of time on this. 00:26:09.879 --> 00:26:10.799 We're running out of time, 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:11.700 just a few minutes left, 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:13.259 but we have to acknowledge 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:13.939 one thing. 00:26:15.159 --> 00:26:16.399 Mercy went out of fashion 00:26:16.399 --> 00:26:17.240 a long time ago. 00:26:19.159 --> 00:26:19.579 Really, 00:26:19.679 --> 00:26:20.259 mercy is a very 00:26:20.259 --> 00:26:21.279 unpopular idea. 00:26:22.639 --> 00:26:23.740 It hasn't been popular 00:26:23.740 --> 00:26:24.460 for some time 00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:25.359 and here's the reason. 00:26:25.779 --> 00:26:26.519 The whole concept 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:27.099 of mercy 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:28.460 implies that I've done 00:26:28.460 --> 00:26:29.259 something wrong 00:26:29.259 --> 00:26:30.659 and I need mercy. 00:26:31.819 --> 00:26:32.619 And that's not 00:26:32.619 --> 00:26:33.740 a very popular idea. 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:35.500 Right? 00:26:35.679 --> 00:26:36.339 Because here's the way 00:26:36.339 --> 00:26:37.099 we think, right? 00:26:37.460 --> 00:26:38.599 Ever since the Enlightenment, 00:26:38.700 --> 00:26:38.919 really, 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:39.879 we think, 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:40.980 well, if there's a standard 00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:41.539 out there 00:26:41.539 --> 00:26:44.319 and I'm not meeting 00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:45.019 that standard, 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:46.279 then the problem 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:47.059 is clearly 00:26:47.059 --> 00:26:47.960 not with me. 00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:49.839 The problem 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:50.399 is clearly 00:26:50.399 --> 00:26:51.179 with the standard. 00:26:52.639 --> 00:26:53.159 And so, 00:26:53.259 --> 00:26:53.819 over the last couple 00:26:53.819 --> 00:26:54.240 of centuries, 00:26:54.419 --> 00:26:55.339 moral relativism 00:26:55.339 --> 00:26:57.159 was our cultural attempt 00:26:57.159 --> 00:26:58.220 to make mercy 00:26:58.220 --> 00:26:58.839 unnecessary. 00:26:58.839 --> 00:26:59.839 Right? 00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:01.959 So, 00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:02.619 we wanted to make 00:27:02.619 --> 00:27:04.099 mercy obsolete. 00:27:05.379 --> 00:27:05.779 So, 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:06.279 we did away 00:27:06.279 --> 00:27:07.399 with any universal 00:27:07.399 --> 00:27:08.379 standard whatsoever. 00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:10.740 But listen, 00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:11.299 all of that 00:27:11.299 --> 00:27:11.839 is changing. 00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:13.319 I don't know 00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:13.959 if you've been reading 00:27:13.959 --> 00:27:14.980 the articles 00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:15.679 that have been coming out 00:27:15.679 --> 00:27:16.220 in places like 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:17.059 American Spectator, 00:27:17.179 --> 00:27:17.579 Atlantic, 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:19.199 Jonathan Merritt 00:27:19.199 --> 00:27:20.240 had a great piece there, 00:27:20.539 --> 00:27:21.000 David Brooks 00:27:21.000 --> 00:27:21.799 in the New York Times, 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:23.139 basically saying 00:27:23.139 --> 00:27:25.740 that moral relativism 00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:27.139 is coming to an end. 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:27.899 It's on the decline. 00:27:27.900 --> 00:27:31.040 David Brooks 00:27:31.040 --> 00:27:31.560 says this, 00:27:31.640 --> 00:27:32.519 he wrote a great article 00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:33.440 called The Shame Culture. 00:27:33.560 --> 00:27:33.900 He says, 00:27:34.300 --> 00:27:34.800 and he's drawing 00:27:34.800 --> 00:27:35.600 from Andy Crouch 00:27:35.600 --> 00:27:36.200 and other people, 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:38.120 he says that a combination 00:27:38.120 --> 00:27:39.100 of us rejecting 00:27:39.100 --> 00:27:40.519 absolute moral standards 00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:42.140 and the omnipresence 00:27:42.140 --> 00:27:42.960 of social media 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:43.960 has led to the rise 00:27:43.960 --> 00:27:44.759 of an entirely new 00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:45.440 moral system. 00:27:45.660 --> 00:27:46.300 See if you resonate 00:27:46.300 --> 00:27:46.780 with this. 00:27:47.780 --> 00:27:49.300 And it's not a moral system 00:27:49.300 --> 00:27:50.220 that's based on 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:51.120 right and wrong. 00:27:52.700 --> 00:27:53.960 It's a moral system 00:27:53.960 --> 00:27:55.220 based on inclusion 00:27:55.220 --> 00:27:56.440 and exclusion. 00:27:56.440 --> 00:27:59.220 It's a shame culture. 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:02.200 So you have people 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:02.500 who, 00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:03.840 you have a culture 00:28:03.840 --> 00:28:05.299 that is in 00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:06.559 a perpetual state 00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:07.299 of anxiety. 00:28:08.039 --> 00:28:08.600 Why? 00:28:08.860 --> 00:28:09.559 Because there's 00:28:09.559 --> 00:28:10.559 an ever-shifting 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:12.460 set of moral expectations. 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:14.600 It's not fixed, 00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:15.380 it's not firm, 00:28:15.539 --> 00:28:16.360 and it's determined 00:28:16.360 --> 00:28:17.080 by the mob. 00:28:17.180 --> 00:28:17.759 It's determined 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:18.460 by the masses. 00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:20.940 And so every day 00:28:20.940 --> 00:28:21.799 you have new sources 00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:23.000 of moral outrage 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:23.920 and indignation 00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:25.120 and causes 00:28:25.120 --> 00:28:26.740 coming across your feed. 00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:29.380 And people are frantically 00:28:29.380 --> 00:28:30.740 trying to figure out 00:28:30.740 --> 00:28:32.400 what they need to do 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:33.220 and what they need to say 00:28:33.220 --> 00:28:34.259 and what they need to not say 00:28:34.259 --> 00:28:35.299 and what they need to not do 00:28:35.299 --> 00:28:36.519 and what groups 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:38.019 they need to disparage 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:38.680 and what people 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:40.059 they need to sympathize with. 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:41.640 And there's a constant sense of 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:42.539 I need to know 00:28:42.539 --> 00:28:44.100 where the locus 00:28:44.100 --> 00:28:45.160 of morality is 00:28:45.160 --> 00:28:46.180 at, you know, 00:28:46.340 --> 00:28:47.640 at 6 o'clock 00:28:47.640 --> 00:28:50.060 on this Sunday 00:28:50.060 --> 00:28:52.080 because I need to know 00:28:52.080 --> 00:28:53.279 because if I fail 00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:54.019 in some way 00:28:54.019 --> 00:28:55.160 to align myself, 00:28:55.500 --> 00:28:56.380 if the cause 00:28:56.380 --> 00:28:57.480 comes through my feed 00:28:57.480 --> 00:28:59.400 and I jump on 00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:00.259 the wrong cause, 00:29:00.360 --> 00:29:01.360 well then I will be shamed. 00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:01.800 People will say, 00:29:01.860 --> 00:29:02.779 how could you possibly 00:29:02.779 --> 00:29:04.120 support that cause? 00:29:06.560 --> 00:29:07.840 If I'm too slow 00:29:07.840 --> 00:29:08.759 to jump on board, 00:29:09.540 --> 00:29:10.140 people will say, 00:29:10.200 --> 00:29:11.100 how could you possibly 00:29:11.100 --> 00:29:12.160 be so apathetic? 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:14.600 Right? 00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:15.579 And so there's a constant 00:29:15.579 --> 00:29:16.219 sense of 00:29:16.219 --> 00:29:17.980 how do I align myself 00:29:17.980 --> 00:29:18.480 and it creates 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:19.439 constant anxiety. 00:29:21.319 --> 00:29:22.980 People desperately 00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:23.980 want to be included 00:29:23.980 --> 00:29:24.899 and affirmed 00:29:24.899 --> 00:29:26.659 and they desperately 00:29:26.659 --> 00:29:28.159 fear being shamed 00:29:28.159 --> 00:29:29.579 and shunned 00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:31.500 by their online community. 00:29:33.959 --> 00:29:35.119 So our culture 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:36.019 may have rejected 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:37.139 the idea of God 00:29:37.139 --> 00:29:38.039 as the judge 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:38.959 of right and wrong, 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:39.879 but what happens 00:29:39.879 --> 00:29:40.679 when we do that? 00:29:41.139 --> 00:29:42.839 We've all become judges. 00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:44.720 If you get rid 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:45.480 of one judge, 00:29:45.539 --> 00:29:46.059 then you have 00:29:46.059 --> 00:29:47.000 an innumerable 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:48.019 array of judges. 00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:49.779 And right now, 00:29:49.959 --> 00:29:50.399 the internet 00:29:50.399 --> 00:29:51.339 is our courtroom 00:29:51.339 --> 00:29:53.539 and people are being 00:29:53.539 --> 00:29:55.459 sentenced every day. 00:29:57.359 --> 00:29:58.359 So human beings 00:29:58.359 --> 00:29:59.859 are inescapably moral, 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:00.959 so the real question is, 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:01.819 what is our standard 00:30:01.819 --> 00:30:02.539 based on 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:03.740 and what hope is there 00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:04.459 for those who fall 00:30:04.459 --> 00:30:05.379 short of that standard? 00:30:05.559 --> 00:30:06.199 And this is where 00:30:06.199 --> 00:30:07.939 the mercy of God shines. 00:30:08.759 --> 00:30:09.879 Because in our culture, 00:30:09.880 --> 00:30:11.820 there's very little hope 00:30:11.820 --> 00:30:13.060 for people who fall 00:30:13.060 --> 00:30:14.700 short 00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:16.680 of that standard. 00:30:16.760 --> 00:30:17.980 If you say the wrong thing 00:30:17.980 --> 00:30:19.040 or you do the wrong thing, 00:30:19.100 --> 00:30:20.400 you can be publicly shamed 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:21.580 and it will haunt you 00:30:21.580 --> 00:30:22.440 for years. 00:30:22.660 --> 00:30:23.740 If you don't believe me, 00:30:24.100 --> 00:30:24.820 Google the name 00:30:24.820 --> 00:30:26.260 Justine Sacco 00:30:26.260 --> 00:30:29.700 and read her story. 00:30:31.040 --> 00:30:32.480 But if the God of the Bible 00:30:32.480 --> 00:30:33.700 is the only judge 00:30:33.700 --> 00:30:34.300 in history, 00:30:35.300 --> 00:30:37.620 if He's the only real judge, 00:30:37.619 --> 00:30:38.959 then that should give us 00:30:38.959 --> 00:30:39.919 tremendous hope. 00:30:40.119 --> 00:30:41.339 Because the God of the Bible 00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:42.479 is the only judge 00:30:42.479 --> 00:30:43.019 in history. 00:30:44.059 --> 00:30:45.219 He's the only judge 00:30:45.219 --> 00:30:46.919 in any religion out there. 00:30:47.019 --> 00:30:48.000 He's the only God 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:49.059 that you'll see 00:30:49.059 --> 00:30:50.099 anywhere in culture 00:30:50.099 --> 00:30:51.919 who not only 00:30:51.919 --> 00:30:53.599 establishes the standard, 00:30:54.239 --> 00:30:56.079 but He then fulfills it. 00:30:57.359 --> 00:30:58.879 He not only establishes 00:30:58.879 --> 00:30:59.359 the standard, 00:30:59.479 --> 00:31:00.699 but then He fulfills it 00:31:00.699 --> 00:31:01.500 on our behalf. 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:04.000 So what this means 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:04.679 is that my hope 00:31:04.679 --> 00:31:05.559 is not based on 00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:06.359 what I've done. 00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:07.759 It's not based on my ability 00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:08.599 to know and to keep 00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:09.259 that standard. 00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:11.299 It's based on the fact 00:31:11.299 --> 00:31:12.039 that Jesus came 00:31:12.039 --> 00:31:12.819 and lived the life 00:31:12.819 --> 00:31:13.899 I should have lived. 00:31:14.919 --> 00:31:15.779 Died the death 00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:16.839 I should have died. 00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:19.079 Overcame death. 00:31:20.299 --> 00:31:21.379 Destroyed that sin. 00:31:22.199 --> 00:31:23.159 And then offered 00:31:23.159 --> 00:31:24.699 to join with me. 00:31:25.299 --> 00:31:26.219 And the Bible says 00:31:26.219 --> 00:31:27.279 that when we join 00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:28.359 with Jesus, 00:31:28.479 --> 00:31:29.059 when we become 00:31:29.059 --> 00:31:29.939 one with Him, 00:31:31.799 --> 00:31:33.379 then all of that stuff 00:31:33.379 --> 00:31:34.099 that He did, 00:31:34.099 --> 00:31:34.980 all of the ways 00:31:34.980 --> 00:31:35.659 that He kept 00:31:35.659 --> 00:31:36.500 that standard 00:31:36.500 --> 00:31:38.119 get applied to me 00:31:38.119 --> 00:31:38.579 as well. 00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:41.939 And because when I am in Him 00:31:41.939 --> 00:31:42.759 and He is in me, 00:31:42.819 --> 00:31:43.679 as the Bible says, 00:31:44.139 --> 00:31:45.039 when we are one, 00:31:46.299 --> 00:31:47.619 then I enjoy the benefits 00:31:47.619 --> 00:31:48.459 of His obedience. 00:31:51.500 --> 00:31:53.000 This union with Christ 00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:54.000 is the fundamental hope 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:54.699 of Christianity. 00:31:55.679 --> 00:31:56.399 Being a Christian 00:31:56.399 --> 00:31:57.659 means being so joined 00:31:57.659 --> 00:31:58.159 with Jesus 00:31:58.159 --> 00:31:59.539 that this becomes true of us. 00:31:59.539 --> 00:32:00.480 So our hope and faith 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:01.240 is not based on 00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:02.159 what we do for God 00:32:02.159 --> 00:32:03.159 but what He has done 00:32:03.159 --> 00:32:04.659 for us. 00:32:04.759 --> 00:32:05.980 And the more we understand this, 00:32:06.039 --> 00:32:06.759 the more it actually 00:32:06.759 --> 00:32:08.319 fills us with love 00:32:08.319 --> 00:32:08.799 and gratitude 00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:09.599 and the kinds of things 00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:10.539 that motivate us 00:32:10.539 --> 00:32:11.480 to want to live 00:32:11.480 --> 00:32:12.960 and become more like Him. 00:32:13.240 --> 00:32:14.480 So this is real mercy. 00:32:14.619 --> 00:32:15.139 It's God doing 00:32:15.139 --> 00:32:16.159 everything necessary 00:32:16.159 --> 00:32:17.440 to make us His children 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:18.519 and give us new life, 00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:20.079 eternal inheritance, 00:32:20.819 --> 00:32:21.960 not because we deserve it 00:32:21.960 --> 00:32:23.240 but because He is merciful. 00:32:25.139 --> 00:32:25.759 So friends, 00:32:25.859 --> 00:32:26.740 this is the good news 00:32:26.740 --> 00:32:27.220 of Easter. 00:32:27.220 --> 00:32:28.420 This is why we have 00:32:28.420 --> 00:32:29.220 real hope. 00:32:29.539 --> 00:32:30.879 Because its foundation 00:32:30.879 --> 00:32:32.119 isn't our values, 00:32:32.339 --> 00:32:33.119 our disposition, 00:32:34.279 --> 00:32:35.700 our tendency to be hopeful. 00:32:37.339 --> 00:32:38.579 It's based on the fact 00:32:38.579 --> 00:32:39.180 of the resurrection 00:32:39.180 --> 00:32:40.059 and so it's certain. 00:32:42.099 --> 00:32:43.539 The substance of our hope 00:32:43.539 --> 00:32:44.359 is the new life, 00:32:44.460 --> 00:32:45.079 the new identity, 00:32:45.539 --> 00:32:46.460 the eternal inheritance 00:32:46.460 --> 00:32:47.440 we have through Jesus 00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:48.639 which means everything 00:32:48.639 --> 00:32:49.720 that matters 00:32:49.720 --> 00:32:52.039 is already ours. 00:32:53.039 --> 00:32:54.019 And then lastly, 00:32:54.139 --> 00:32:54.819 all of this comes 00:32:54.819 --> 00:32:55.980 not because we deserve it 00:32:55.980 --> 00:32:56.619 or have earned it 00:32:56.619 --> 00:32:58.680 but because of God's mercy. 00:32:58.680 --> 00:33:00.259 And the primary symbol 00:33:00.259 --> 00:33:01.360 that reassures us 00:33:01.360 --> 00:33:02.860 of this when we forget it 00:33:02.860 --> 00:33:03.860 is baptism. 00:33:04.600 --> 00:33:05.700 And so in a couple of minutes, 00:33:05.740 --> 00:33:06.380 in a little while, 00:33:06.440 --> 00:33:07.039 we're going to actually 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:08.320 have some baptisms 00:33:08.320 --> 00:33:09.640 and that's going to be 00:33:09.640 --> 00:33:10.220 a lot of fun. 00:33:10.820 --> 00:33:11.620 But for now, 00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:12.880 I'm going to pray 00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:13.620 and then we're going to 00:33:13.620 --> 00:33:14.120 join together 00:33:14.120 --> 00:33:15.420 and sing a song of response. 00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:16.259 So let's pray together. 00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:18.660 Our Father, 00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:19.680 we thank You for this hope. 00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:20.940 We know that this is not 00:33:20.940 --> 00:33:22.180 something that we are 00:33:22.180 --> 00:33:23.740 capable of generating. 00:33:23.740 --> 00:33:26.140 It's not a force of willpower 00:33:26.140 --> 00:33:27.079 that we create. 00:33:27.940 --> 00:33:29.460 This hope is something 00:33:29.460 --> 00:33:30.700 that comes from You. 00:33:31.579 --> 00:33:32.099 So Lord, 00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:33.440 we pray that in Your mercy, 00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:35.500 in Your love, 00:33:36.059 --> 00:33:37.220 You would implant this hope 00:33:37.220 --> 00:33:37.759 in our hearts 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:39.200 that it would generate in us 00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:40.720 the kind of hope 00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:43.779 that would shape how we live 00:33:43.779 --> 00:33:45.539 in such an anxious, 00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:47.039 disillusioned world 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:48.220 that we might become, 00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:49.200 as Your people, 00:33:50.339 --> 00:33:52.180 beacons that point to this hope 00:33:52.180 --> 00:33:54.019 and lead others to it. 00:33:54.220 --> 00:33:54.759 And we pray this 00:33:54.759 --> 00:33:55.660 in Your Son's holy name. 00:33:55.799 --> 00:33:56.019 Amen.