Father, the scripture text warns us that the God of this age can blind our hearts.
And Father, your word tells us that we, by our human efforts, cannot stop this.
Father, we call out to you.
We ask for your mercy.
Father, you see us as we really are.
You see the unseen presences as well.
And we ask, Father, that you would gently but deeply and powerfully pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.
That you would, Father, shine the light of your gospel in the center of who we are.
That Jesus would truly be our Savior and Lord.
That you would make us disciples of Jesus, gripped by the gospel, who are living for your glory.
Father, this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
Please be seated.
Amen.
So, this week, so all week, I'm looking at the scripture text.
And on Friday, I have a conversation with somebody at one of my favorite coffee shops.
I've had several conversations with this person.
And they make a point of telling me that they just watched a television show this week.
And in the television show, it revolves around a person that is the Antichrist.
And God keeps telling people to try to kill the Antichrist.
And the Antichrist is a very sympathetic figure.
A bit obviously conflicted.
But, you know, we like conflicted figures.
But a sympathetic figure.
And God's trying to, is telling people to go and kill this person.
And so my friend tells me this.
And she says, I hate this.
You know, I hate, I hate the way it seems that God's always telling people to kill other people.
And so, you know, for many in our culture, the way they understand and the way we understand who God is,
there's something very common in our culture today.
That for many people in our culture, they fear that the God that religious people talk about
and that even spiritual people talk about, that his, or I guess in our culture, they'd say her or it or whatever,
but that, I'll use Christian language, that the God that religious or Christian people talk about,
that if you get close to him, where you listen to him or you read his scriptures,
that all he's going to want to do is ultimately have you kill people
or do other really, really bad things towards you.
And it's so interesting that I had this conversation after I'd been thinking about the scripture text all week
because it was one of those times where the scripture text that I'd been thinking about all week
really helped me to be able to explain to her, talk to her about her particular fears.
So it'd be a great help to me if you would open your Bibles and turn to 2 Corinthians 4, verses 1 to 6.
And I don't know if you noticed it, but there's some stuff in this text of the Bible
that really addresses our fears and helps us in conversations like this.
And let's be honest as well.
This isn't just a fear that goes on outside of the church,
but many Christians at different times in our lives, maybe some of you here this morning,
you fear that if you get too close to Jesus, if you take the Bible too seriously,
that it's going to call you to do things that's going to hurt you,
that's going to make you less of a person.
It's going to belittle you.
It's not just a fear that there's outside, but many of us at some level have that deep type of a fear as well,
that if we trust God's word, if we trust Jesus, it's going to hurt us.
And so it's almost as if we want to say, don't be too close to Jesus.
Well, we know that you're not allowed to say that.
That's not the right thing to say.
And so we're conflicted as well, if we're honest.
So let's look.
And actually, it's interesting because the text at first glance,
and this often happens with the Bible,
at first glance, the text doesn't seem as if it's going to be very helpful.
But actually, right off the bat in 2 Corinthians chapter 4,
it says something very, very powerful and very, very helpful.
It's one of those things that it doesn't look helpful,
but it actually is helpful if we stop and think about it.
Because it begins like this.
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God,
we do not lose heart.
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God,
we do not lose heart.
Now, you know, it has that word therefore there.
I know I'm going to lose you as soon as I make a grammar geek type of moment,
but it just means it's following on what had just been said before in chapter 3.
And if you were here last week or you just happen to know the Bible,
it's talking about new covenant ministry.
It's talking about a type of ministry,
which isn't just something that is all about things you just do to the outside of your body,
learn to do this and learn to do this.
And I don't know, learn to sing like this and all.
It's not about it.
It's that there's a type of that God is doing something through his Holy Spirit,
through the death and resurrection of Jesus and the Holy Spirit,
that actually touches us at the level of the heart,
that changes our hearts, gives us live hearts,
that writes on our hearts, that changes our relationship with God.
And that's the ministry that he's talking about.
But notice how it goes.
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
Why is that significant?
It doesn't sound like it's going to help us, but why is it very significant?
If you could put the first point up, that would be great.
Our culture and our time were very confused about these things.
But there can be justice without mercy.
There can be justice without mercy.
But there can be no mercy without justice.
There can be justice without mercy.
There can be no mercy without justice.
One of the things which is so wonderful about the Bible,
and is as you read it, and it's not just the Bible,
it's the words of Jesus that are recorded in the Bible,
that as you read the Bible, justice is always highly valued.
The Bible never, ever, ever tells us to disregard justice.
It never tells us that we should do something and choose injustice over justice.
It never says that, well, you know, some people think this is justice,
and some people think this is injustice, and, you know, we don't really have you.
Just do whatever is going to work best.
Just be practical.
No.
Justice is a high, high value consistently taught in the Scriptures.
It's always taught that you pursue justice and you flee injustice.
It's a very, very high value woven into all of the Scriptures.
But in our culture, what we often think of is,
what we think of sort of justice is,
well, we sort of want justice for other people,
but we don't really want mercy for ourselves.
What we want is a pass.
What we want is to be, in a sense, almost as if the rigors of justice,
that that bright light of justice isn't shone into our heart,
that there's just, or into how we live our lives,
is that there's just a basic acceptance that in every case,
we have a valid excuse and we need to be given a pass.
But the Bible here, it's very, very fascinating.
With its emphasis on mercy, unless we understand that in the biblical world,
you can have justice without mercy.
Many of us have faced a boss or a teacher or somebody
and they've been just to the level of the law, letter of the law,
and we wish that they'd show us some mercy and they didn't show us any mercy.
That happens all of the time.
But when the Bible talks about mercy,
it's assuming that there's perfect justice.
And that mercy is something, in a sense, deeper than justice.
They're both perfectly in God,
so you can't really talk about one being deeper.
But from a human point of view, you can.
That God is completely and utterly just.
And sometimes, in fact, he's always merciful.
And mercy, when it's shown in the presence of justice,
justice always requires sacrifice by the one who's showing mercy.
If I want to show somebody mercy because they've stolen from me,
justice says, you've stolen from me.
Justice says, you've stolen $1,000 from me, or $5,000, or $50.
And justice is just very clear and frank about that.
And maybe it's something that I could call the police on.
But if I was to show them mercy,
if I have some sense that this is a particular case
where I am to show mercy,
then true mercy in that case will maybe mean
that I have to swallow the loss of a lot of that money,
maybe all of that money.
And I think that's one of the reasons why in our culture
we have a great problem with this whole idea of mercy.
Because we, on one hand, always want there to be justice,
but when it comes to us, we don't like this idea
that we've actually done something terribly, deeply wrong,
that a debt of some type has to be paid and satisfied,
that we might be in such a weak position.
So we want a pass.
But the Bible doesn't say,
therefore having this ministry because we've been given a pass.
It says, therefore having this ministry by the mercy of God,
we do not lose heart.
If you could put the next point up, that would be great.
If the first point was that there can be justice without mercy,
there can be no mercy without justice.
The second point is that we think that justice is our greatest need.
But God in his mercy knows that mercy is our greatest need.
God in his mercy knows that mercy is our greatest need.
We want rights.
God offers justice and mercy.
And in fact, it's beyond that.
We're going to be talking about this quite a bit in a couple of weeks.
But one of the things which is so wonderful about the cross of Jesus
is that in the cross of Jesus,
God is constantly perfectly just.
But mercy triumphs in a sense over judgment and God's justice.
And God shows mercy to us in the person of his Son
at great cost to himself.
He shows us mercy.
He sees you and me perfectly.
He sees us with perfect justice.
And with his perfect justice in his eyes of love,
he sees that by justice alone,
we are in deep trouble.
And because he loves us,
he offers mercy.
Now, some of you might say,
George,
I don't know what to think about that.
You know, here's the thing I wonder about with that, George.
I mean, that sounds,
I mean, I have to think about it,
you know, justice and mercy.
And I have to think about it.
But, you know, George,
you know, sometimes,
you know, you're saying that the cross,
there's perfect justice and perfect mercy.
You know, George,
one of the things I notice about spiritual people
is they often just say contradictory things
and then they just say it,
you know,
as if somehow contradictory things
can just both be true at the same time.
And, you know,
they sort of smile
and it's just spiritual.
You know, like, George,
I've read Kahil Gibran
and it's just a whole pile
of contradictory things
written in a certain flowery type of tone
that looks spiritual.
But if you actually look at it,
it's just nonsense.
I didn't really mean to insult people
who like Kahil Gibran,
but I'm actually going to probably stick
by what I said.
And then other people say,
you know, George,
the thing about religious people
is they're full of contradictions.
They say one thing for others,
but they're really trying to do
very, very different types of things.
And so, George,
like, I can't remember everything
about the scripture text
and I forgot my Bible
and I'm just listening to you,
but didn't when you read the Bible
just a few minutes ago,
2 Corinthians 4,
didn't the Bible contradict itself
just within a couple of verses?
Didn't it say we don't preach ourselves,
but didn't it also say
that we commend ourselves?
Like, isn't that just sort of a,
you know, George,
it's just so full of contradictions
it doesn't really make sense.
Well, that, I mean,
maybe you did notice that.
Is the Bible contradicting itself?
Is what many people say
about spiritual?
I mean, often it's very true
that spiritual people
will just say
completely contradictory things
that don't make any sense,
but because it's spiritual
they can say it.
Like, is that,
is the Bible like that?
Like, look down at verse 5.
For what we proclaim
is not ourselves,
but Jesus Christ is Lord
with ourselves for your servants,
as your servants for Jesus' sake.
But look up at verse 2.
So it says we have this ministry
by the mercy of God,
and I'm talking about
how mercy implies
that there's justice.
If there's no justice,
there can't really be mercy.
Verse 2,
But we have renounced
disgraceful, underhanded ways.
We refuse to practice cunning
or to tamper with God's word.
But by the open statement
of the truth,
we would commend ourselves
to everyone's conscience
in the sight of God.
So what's going on here
in the text?
What's going on in the text?
Well,
it's very, very interesting.
This text is looking
very, very deeply
into our human hearts,
and it's noticing
a profound temptation
that we have.
And the profound temptation
that we have, in fact,
is to do things
in an underhanded way
by cunning
and to tamper
with God's word.
Tamper with God's word,
in the original language,
the image is that
if they were selling you
alcohol,
they'd put lots of extra water
in the alcohol.
So they buy, you know,
10 liters of alcohol,
and they know
they can make more money
if they could sell 30 liters,
so they put 20 liters of water
in with the 10 liters,
and then they sell it,
and they've only paid
for 10 liters.
They sell, you know,
I mean,
that's what tampering means.
It means watering down.
It means changing.
So in fact,
actually here,
the Bible looks
into our human hearts,
and it says,
listen,
whatever this new covenant
ministry is going to be,
before you,
you have to know
that there's something
you have to renounce,
and there's something
you have to pursue.
And what you have to renounce
all of the time,
because it's going to be
a bit of a tendency
within us,
you have to renounce
disgraceful,
underhanded ways.
And by the way,
it doesn't mean
that there's
non-disgraceful,
disgraceful,
underhanded ways.
It's looking at
these two words
that describe one reality,
that anything you do
that's underhanded
is also disgraceful,
it's shameful.
It's something you should
be embarrassed about.
It's something that you
should want to
publicly apologize for.
It's something you should
want to amend your life.
And it's saying,
human beings
can be very underhanded,
and they can practice
cunning.
Cunning is using
all of your abilities
in such a way
that you come up on top,
and the other person's
definitely in a lower position.
And so it's,
in fact,
specifically warning us.
It's warning me.
It's warning you.
George,
there's ways for you
to live,
and ways for you
to talk,
that are underhanded,
and that are cunning,
and that just tamper
with God's word.
And George,
you need to renounce those.
But here's just a bit
of a gut check for us,
a bit of a time out.
For those of us here
who are followers of Jesus,
one of the things
that we need to do
is to pray
that we recognize
when we start
to go down that path.
Because nobody ever wakes up,
you know,
probably nobody wakes up
in the morning
and says,
I'm going to be really
underhanded and cunning today.
I think I'm going to be
really underhanded
with my wife.
That's my plan.
Or with my boss,
I'm just going to be
as underhanded and cunning.
Most of us don't think
that way when we wake up.
But we do things
that might sort of involve,
we just,
it starts to,
we drift to it, right?
And so there's a profound
gut check here
for all of us
that that can be something
that goes on in our lives
and in a sense
as an invitation
for you and me
to pray,
Father in heaven,
help me to recognize
when underhanded,
cunning,
and tampering
seems like the way to go
and I start to walk
down that path.
Help me to recognize it
and help me to run from it,
to renounce it.
And the text is saying
that whatever this new ministry is,
this new covenant ministry,
there's not only something
we renounce,
but there's something
that we pursue.
And that's the second part there.
So read it again,
but we have renounced
disgraceful,
underhanded ways.
We refuse to practice cunning
or to tamper with God's word,
but,
now here's the thing
that we're to pursue,
but by the open statement
of the truth,
we would commend ourselves
to everyone's conscience
in the sight of God.
What that's saying
is that our goal
is the open statement
of the truth.
Open statement
of the truth.
And the truth here
is the gospel.
The truth here
is who Jesus is
and what he's done
through his son.
The truth here
is not just who Jesus is
and what he's done for us
in the work of his son,
but how that fits
into the whole counsel of God
and how the person
and death of Jesus
and his resurrection
helps us to understand
the whole counsel of God.
But the thing
that you and I
are to pursue
is that we are to be
as open as possible
and as clear as possible
that clarity
and openness
is our friend.
It's to characterize
people who follow Jesus.
not mystical gobbledygook,
not contradictions
and you just sort of smile
and say,
well, it's just spiritual.
No, that there's this
task set before us
that we are to try
to be as open as possible
and as clear as possible
about what the truth is.
And when it says
commend ourselves,
what it's meaning
is that that's our goal.
What we should pray
is that when people
talk about our church
or when they talk about you,
they might say,
well, you know what?
I think often
some of his ideas
are kooky.
But you know what?
He's open about them.
He's clear.
Like, he's not hiding things
or she's not hiding anything.
I don't always agree with them,
but you know what?
It's open.
It's clear.
And that's the reputation
that we're to try to have
in the community.
The goal isn't commending ourselves.
The goal is open statement
of the truth.
And it's an open statement
of the truth
which respects people's consciences.
This is a very, very important part of it
that there's this sense
that there's to never be
any type of coercion,
any type of manipulation.
Just, I was only ordained
about three and a half, four years,
and one of the senior priests
in the Diocese of Ottawa,
and I was in the Diocese of Ottawa
at the time,
he gave me advice
about how to do a funeral.
I'm not making this up.
And his advice was,
so you have to do a funeral.
Before the funeral service,
talk to family members
and try to find a touching story
because the point
of your funeral sermon
is to tell several touching stories
to get people to cry.
And when you've brought tears
to their eyes,
your sermon's been a success.
I'm to be underhanded,
cunning,
and manipulative.
And when I succeed
at being emotionally manipulative,
I have become a success.
Isn't that ridiculous?
It's not respecting the conscience
and the integrity of people.
And, you know,
some universities now,
when they talk to,
to like chaplains,
I have to be careful,
but I'm, I, I, this is,
I don't want to name
the specific university,
but a university that I know,
they just asked the chaplains
to come in.
And they had,
the university wanted
the chaplains to sign a thing
saying that they would do
no proselytizing
and no coercion.
And the chaplain that I know,
he was offended.
He said,
what, do you tell
all of your professors
and all of the faculty
that they're not supposed
to use coercion?
Like, why are you singling me out?
Why is it that you think
that I'm going to do coercion?
So he said,
I'll sign the thing
about coercion.
Like, that's like a no-brainer,
but it's offensive.
And you have to take out
the proselytizing part.
Because surely a university
is a place where you talk
about ideas with the,
with the desire
to convince and persuade.
And they,
after some pushback,
they, they relented.
But it shows how the,
how the world views us.
But, you see,
here the text is
that we are to,
by the freedom of conscience,
means that we respect
the integrity of people
and their own pace.
So it's a very,
very powerful teaching
for us as Christians.
But some of you might say,
well, George,
that's very, very interesting.
And I,
I'm glad that the text
is wanting,
encouraging you
to respect the freedom
and conscience of people.
And,
and for those of us
who are here,
there's, you know,
not only is the text
telling us
that we're to pray
that we walk away
from any type
of emotional manipulation,
any type of coercion,
anything like that,
that we're to flee it.
But it's also
that we should pray
that we can be open
and be clear.
And that's a,
we should pray for that,
that we can be open
and we can be clear
when we speak.
But,
but some will say,
George,
I don't know,
you know,
maybe you just really
have to do a lot more praying.
But whenever you speak
about the gospel
and what Jesus did
for us on the cross,
it's not really clear to me.
So I guess,
George,
you just really need
to do a lot more praying.
Well,
I do need to do
a lot more praying
and you can pray
that I can be more,
I'm more,
more clear.
But,
is it just a matter
that if we get
more and more
and more clear
then that people
will automatically
just want to trust Jesus?
If we try to share
the gospel
or talk about Jesus
with our friend
and we get tongue-tied
and we go away
should we feel depressed
that we've been
such a failure
at attempting
to share Jesus?
Because if we just
were clearer
they would come
and they would
give their lives
to Jesus.
Well,
the Bible talks
about that.
And in fact,
it's this very next bit
that helped me
to also talk
to my friend
about this idea
that God
wants people
to kill people.
Did you notice
it's verses 3 and 4?
And even if our gospel
is veiled
it is veiled
to those who are perishing.
In their case
the God of this world
has blinded the minds
of the unbelievers
to keep them
from seeing
the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ
who is the image of God.
It's sort of a dense text.
Look at it again
in verse 3.
And even if our gospel
is veiled
it is veiled
to those who are perishing.
In their case
the God of this world
has blinded the minds
of the unbelievers
to keep them
from seeing
the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ
who is the image of God.
And for some of you
when you hear this
all sorts of things
are going through your head.
Some might be offended by it.
Here's the thing
which
if you could put up
the next point
that would be great.
what I said
to my friend
is
I said
you know
we've had lots of
conversations about God
and this is a bit
of a persistent theme
for you.
You tell me
you don't believe in God
and then you
also tell me
that the God
when you talk about God
God's always
wanted people
to do horrible things
and then you say
you don't believe
such a God exists.
I want you to know
I don't believe
that God exists either.
Like if that is the God
that's the only option
on the table
I'm an atheist.
But here's the thing
I said to her.
I actually expressed it
a little bit.
I said the God
that you think exists
wants people to die.
But the God
who is revealed
in the Bible
dies for people.
That's what I said to her.
Because I'd been reflecting
on this text all week.
the God
that you
worry exists
and you don't believe in
is a God
who wants people
to die
who gets people
to kill people.
The God
who's revealed
in the Bible
is a God
who dies
for people.
It's a completely
different God.
Completely
and utterly
different God.
and
I mean
we didn't talk
for very much
longer after that.
It's just often
really a matter
of leaving seeds.
But you know
for many people
in our culture
they don't make
a distinction
between Christianity
and Islam
and Hinduism
and stuff.
They just see it
as religious people
or spiritual people
talking about God
and the newspapers
and everything
are filled
with atrocious things
being done
in the name of Jesus
or in the name
of Muhammad
or in the name
of some Hindu God
or in the name
of Buddhism.
It's filled
with honor killings
and shame killings
and for many people
in our culture
they make no distinction
between any of these things.
They just see it
as religious people.
But the Bible here says
that there's a God
of this age
and for many people
in our culture
what they're afraid of
when they think of God
is what they're really
afraid of
is the devil.
For many people
in our culture
when they talk
if you let them
talk a little bit
about what God
is like
and what he does
what they're really doing
is describing the devil.
They're not describing
the God
who's described
in the Bible.
And that's why
it's so interesting
that the Bible says
it's the God
of this age
that he blinds people.
And here's the next thing
if you could put it up there
Andrew
that would be great.
There's a profound
and I know
it's going to be
a bit of a shocking thing
to some of us
and it sounds like
an arrogant thing
but let me just
put it out there
and then I'll tell you why
and rather than
being arrogant
I mean it's always
possible for us
to take anything
and be arrogant about it.
I mean I know people
who get arrogant
about how good
they are at fantasy football
like really?
Come on.
That's just fantasy football
you know
like that doesn't mean anything
you know
but oh well
you know whatever
the ranking is.
Anyway
so we can be arrogant
about anything
but this in fact
it's not arrogant
it's the complete
opposite of arrogance.
We share the gospel
with people
who are veiled
and blind.
In other words
we share the gospel
with people
who are wearing
blindfolds
and underneath
the blindfolds
the devil
has blinded them.
And that's the context
within which
we always share
the gospel
not just in this culture
but in every culture.
And it's a very
very powerful image.
It's an image
that when we hear it
we realize
that it means
that we have to
constantly be on our knees
in prayer.
I mean
in a sense
in that conversation
that I had on Friday
what matters
on one hand
it matters
that I tried to be clear
about who Jesus is
and how he's different
and how the Bible
is different
than what she fears
God is like.
But equally important
is that afterwards
I pray for her.
Because it's not
just a matter
of my having
wonderful examples
and being very clear
and being good
at rhetoric.
although I'm to try
to have an open
statement of the truth.
But
God has to do
a work in her heart.
But some of you
might say
George
my
whoa
you know
George
are you saying
that you can see
but I can't
that
that you're
I'm blind
but you're not
well let's just
first of all
this is not a completely
I mean this is actually
talking very much
about what normal
human experience
is like.
I mean don't we all
have times
where we realize
in all of our lives
you know we can say
about somebody
you know they're so smart
they're so confident
how can they be blind
to this?
Right?
You know how is it
that we can have people
who are just
you know they're so good
at reading people
and they're so good
at reading their boss
or they're so good
at reading their co-workers
but they're blind
when it comes to their kids.
Like we could go on
and on and on
it's a very very common
thing that people
can have great understanding
about lots of different things
but in certain areas
of their lives
are completely and utterly
incapable of seeing.
That's a human phenomenon
and the Bible says
the same thing's going on
with us
and what's going on here
if you were to say
to Paul who wrote this
that you're being
very very arrogant
in the original language
there's all of these
all of these hints
in the language
that goes back
in Paul's own biography
because Paul
if you go back
to the book of Acts
three times
in the book of Acts
it's talked about
how Paul becomes a Christian.
Paul was a very very bad man.
Paul was a man
that you would not want
to have as your friend.
I guess he would be a man
that you wouldn't want
to get into his bad books
because he might contribute
with other people
to have you killed
or beaten
or thrown in jail
but he was not a good man
and he was converted
and his whole story
of conversion
is the revelation
of something
covering his eyes
that he's kicking against.
It's Paul would say
listen
I did not become
a Christian
because I was
such a brilliant intellect.
I was blind
and veiled
and God had to shine
his light into mine
into my heart
and this is to be
this text
is a profoundly
humbling text
for a Christian.
it's not George
because you have
a really good
IQ
AQ
EQ
or education.
You
George
were completely
and utterly
dependent upon
God
and his mercy
doing something
in us
and all of this
language of shining
and all of this
language of
all of this
language of seeing
it's not
it's not talking
about mystical
experiences
it's talking
about understanding
right
that's how we
often use it
in language
if you're trying
to help a kid
with a math
problem
and I was
really good
at math
I wasn't very
good at helping
my kids
with math
because
you know
if people
who are good
at math
you just
look at the
equation
and you see
it
it just
makes sense
and so
for people
who are
really good
at math
trying to
help somebody
who's not
good at math
you just
look
it's obvious
can't you
see it
and they
just can't
see it
and the
language there
means understand
and that's
what it's
talking about
here
and it's
it's
all of this
text is
saying that
in a sense
what I have
to say to
my friend
or anybody
else
is listen
I definitely
am not
claiming
that I am
better at
seeing things
than other
people
and I am
definitely
not telling
you that
it's a
result of
my superior
intellect
or anything
like that
that led
me to
become
Christ
I am
one blind
beggar
telling another
blind
beggar
where they
can go
for someone
else to
make them
see
that's
what evangelism
is
that's what
bearing witness
to Jesus
is
it's
one
blind
beggar
telling
another
blind
beggar
where you
can go
for someone
to freely
make you
see
and live
so it's
very very
humble
before we
read verse
six
Andrew
could you
put the
scripture
text up
that I
have
I've
forgotten
to do
this
if you
get nothing
else out
of this
sermon
other than
saying this
verse
several
times
this is
such a
beautiful
verse
it is
so worth
memorizing
could you
say it
out loud
with me
please
for God
who said
let light
shine out
of darkness
has shown
in our
hearts
to give
the light
of the
knowledge
of the
glory
of God
in the
face
of Jesus
Christ
want to
say that
with me
again
please
for God
who said
let light
shine
out of
darkness
has shown
in our
hearts
to give
the light
of the
knowledge
of the
glory
of God
in the
face
of Jesus
Christ
so
beautiful
look at
verses
five
and six
for what
we proclaim
is not
ourselves
but Jesus
Christ
is Lord
with
ourselves
as your
servants
for Jesus
sake
and then
verse six
so what
the Bible
is telling us
if you could
put up the
point
Andrew
and then
we'll flip
back to the
verse in a
moment
but you put
up the
point
we are to
share the
gospel
but only God
can illuminate
the human
heart
see one of
the temptations
we have
is we have
these temptations
to try to think
that if we just
emotionally manipulate
people
if we just
practice a
certain type
of technological
or aesthetic
cunning
or maybe
that if we
just try to
water down
God's word
in some type
of way
then they
can come
to faith
but no
no
the Bible
tells us
that only
God can
shine in
our hearts
our goal
is to be
as opened
and transparent
as possible
and to try
to be as
clear as we
possibly can
be with
whatever
the gray
matter is
that God
has given
us
and God
has given
some of
us
very very
good gray
matter
and some
of us
it's not
quite as
good
and some
of us
our gray
matter
used to
be sort
of so-so
but it's
getting weaker
and weaker
all of the
time
but to the
extent that
our gray
matter works
at all
we're to try
to be as
clear as we
possibly can
always knowing
that only God
can illuminate
and this
for those of us
who are Christians
this one of the
things about this
verse which is
so powerful
is it takes a
whole burden
off of you
parents
I mean
there's things
that we can
do to help
our children
become Christians
there's definitely
things that we
can do
but the end
of the day
the burden
of having them
become a
Christian
is not what
you can
carry
only God
can do it
I mean
it might mean
you have to
get down
on your
knees
and pray
it might
mean
your life
has to
be maybe
a little
bit more
consistent
with
the gospel
but it
could be
that even
after you
do all
of those
things
all you
can do
is pray
all you
can do
is pray
God is
not asking
us to
carry the
burden
of changing
hearts
only he
carries that
burden
he can
easily
carry it
and we
can pray
and we're
called to
pray
and then
pray
and then
pray
some more
for our
children
and pray
for our
neighbors
and pray
for those
that we
know in
the office
trusting
that God
has maybe
put you
in your
office
or your
neighborhood
or your
community
your specific
job is that
you are there
to pray for
the people
who are around
you that
they will
come to a
saving faith
in Jesus
that they
will know
what it
means to
be made
right with
God
and God
has called
you to
that vocation
and maybe
he will
give you
an opportunity
to say a
few words
all it might
just simply
be is that
I follow
Jesus
or on Sunday
I go to
church
or I read
my Bible
or that I
pray that
might be all
that you
have to say
it's all
part of a
team project
of bearing
witness
but
only God
can illuminate
hearts
we're called
to share
but only God
can illuminate
can we say
this verse
again together
for
is it up
for God
who said
let light
shine out
of darkness
has shown
in our
hearts
to get
the light
of the
knowledge
of the
glory
of God
in the
face
of Jesus
Christ
another thing
which is so
powerful about
this particular
text
is that
he quotes
the creation
story
and this
is very
very
important
you know
I've
mentioned
a little
bit
off and
on
over the
last few
weeks
but for
what the
text is
saying
is that
the very
very
same
God
who's
there
and creates
all things
and begins
in Genesis
the Genesis
account of
the creation
story
God
says let
there be
light
and then
there's
light
he separates
the light
from the
darkness
and the
very
same
God
who
creates
all
things
is the
same
God
who
shines
in our
hearts
to bring
us to
Jesus
it's not
two
gods
here's the
thing
I've shared
this with
you before
the University
of Ottawa
the Globe
and Mail
the National
Post
the CBC
and Hollywood
they're all
committed to
something which
is completely
and utterly
incoherent
they're committed
to the
the idea
that everything
that exists
exists because
of pure
chance
and then the
survival of the
fittest
therefore love
each other
that's
incoherent
everything that
exists is a
result of
blind chance
the survival
of the fittest
therefore we
have to have
human rights
and care for
each other
it's incoherent
in our
culture
the way
things come
to exist
is through
evolution
specifically
understood in
such a way
to exclude
God
and the
way we
are to
live our
lives
is to
not hurt
people
and when
we die
we go to
a better
place
and all
three of
those things
are completely
and utterly
incoherent to
the other
one
and the
only reason
that nobody
sees it
is because
everybody says
it
it's the story
of the emperor
in the new
clothes
so there's
this deep
incoherence
at the center
of the modern
project
and the
bible here
has this
deep and
powerful
coherence
the very
same God
who on the
first day
of creation
said let
there be
light
is the
same God
who sends
his son
to die
upon the
cross
who is
the God
of perfect
justice
and perfect
mercy
without violating
his justice
by being
perfectly
just
he shows
an even
greater
mercy
so that
God
does
what
human
beings
cannot
do
to
make
human
beings
right
with
himself
in the
person
of his
son
and his
death
upon
the
cross
and the
same
God
who
creates
is the
one
who
sends
his
son
is the
one
who
shines
in our
hearts
and is
the
one
who
will
make
the
new
heaven
and
the
new
earth
it's
a
deeply
coherent
understanding
of what
God
is doing
in the
person
of his
son
it's
one
of the
reasons
why
at
truest
and
deepest
level
as we
draw
near
to
God
it
will
not
hurt
us
but
free
us
because
God
is the
creator
of all
things
and
his
design
and
intent
was
that
we
would
fit
in
his
created
order
knowing
that
we
are
creatures
reconciled
and at
one
with our
creator
that we
would live
in a
way
that the
creation
we
experience
the
created
world
as a
blessing
and so
as we
get
closer
to
God
and
healed
it's
only
better
for us
not
worse
goodness
is good
for us
goodness
is good
for us
just
one
final
thing
for
those
who
are
here
who
have
not
yet
given
their
lives
to
Jesus
actually
just
say
this
text
one
more
time
and
then
I'll
just
say
this
final
thing
let's
say it
together
for
God
who
said
let
light
shine
out
of
darkness
has
shown
in
our
hearts
to
give
the
light
of
the
knowledge
of
the
glory
of
God
in
the
face
of
Jesus
Christ
the
word
the
face
of
Jesus
Christ
is
very
important
reminds
us
that
it's
always
a
personal
thing
that
he's
there
personally
it's
Jesus
looking
at
us
and
some
of
us
might
say
you know
God
couldn't
care
about
me
that
might
be
very
true
for
all
of
these
other
people
you
might
even
feel
a
little
bit
of
a
type
of
pressure
coming
within
your
soul
I
remember
when
I
became
a
Christian
for
six
months
for
nine
months
prior
to
me
becoming
a
Christian
every
time
I
would
come
to
a
type
of
church
service
where
it
talked
about
a
thing
like
this
I
would
feel
this
pressure
to
say
yes
as if
God
was
pushing
me
and
nudging
me
or
calling
me
and
I
would
shut
it
down
this
can't
be
for
me
if I
get
too
close
to
God
I
don't
want
to
do
it
and
I
would
shut
it
down
I
would
feel
this
pressure
I
want
to
say
to
you
if
you're
here
like
this
and
that's
been
what's
going
on
with
you
to
not
say
no
it's
not
that
this
is
just
for
some
other
people
it's
for
you
quite
a
few
years
ago
my
wife
and
I
were
in
Halifax
on
a
weekend
for
a
holiday
some
of
you
have
heard
this
story
before
we
went
to
church
that
morning
we
met
this
fellow
who
befriended
us
at
coffee
we
had
a
brief
chat
with
him
later
on
the
afternoon
we're
walking
down
by
the
dock
and
one
of
these
beautiful
tall
ships
is
in
the
dock
everybody's
looking
at
this
beautiful
gorgeous
tall
ship
and
Louise
and I
are
there
and
we
watch
as
the
ship
docks
and
there's
a
big
crowd
all
looking
and
ahhh
at
this
beautiful
tall
ship
and
out
of
the
crowd
there's
these
people
they
all
have
these
hugs
and
everything
like
that
and
they
go
on
the
ship
and
I'm
not
making
this
up
and
one
of
the
people
who
gets
the
hugs
and
goes
on
the
ships
is
the
guy
who
befriends
us
at
coffee
time
that
morning
and
he
sees
in
the
crowd
Louise
and
me
and
he
beckons
for
us
to
come
and
walk
through
the
crowd
and
go
on
the
tall
ship
that's
what
Jesus
is
doing
for
you
this
morning
if
you're
feeling
this
pressure
to
lay
down
your
burdens
and
to
let
the
light
of
the
glory
of
the
gospel
of
Jesus
to
shine
in
your
heart
that's
Jesus
seeing
you
out
of
the
crowd
and
his
face
is
smiling
at
you
not
frowning
because
he
died
for
you
and
he's
beckoning
you
to
come
to
come
there's
no
better
time
than
today
to
say
Jesus
I
come
please
shine
the
light
in
my
heart
I
want
to
be
yours
I
don't
want
to
be
in
darkness
I
want
to
be
yours
thank
you
just
say
Jesus
I'm
thankful
that
you
want
to
be
my
savior
I
want
to
be
yours
use
your
own
words
there's
no
better
time
than
today
let's
stand
father
if
there's
any
here
and
they
felt
this
pressure
to
no
longer
fear
you
and
to
recognize
that
what
they've
been
afraid
of
is
the
devil
not
you
and
that
you
father
aren't
a
god
who
takes
delight
in
the
death
of
a
sinner
your
delight
is
that
we
turn
father
and
live
you
died
so
that
we
could
be
your
child
you
paid
that
great
price
that
mercy
requires
so
that
we
can
be
reconciled
to
you
father
grip
us
with
the
gospel
grip
us
with
this
sense
that
at the
heart
of
our
whole
walk
with
you
father
is
your
great
mercy
for
us
in
the
person
of
your
son
and
father
grip
us
with
how
mercy
is
at
the
center
of
our
identity
in
Jesus
grip
us
with
the
gospel
who
Jesus
is
and
what
he
did
so
that
we
could
be
yours
make
us
disciples
of
Jesus
gripped
by
the
gospel
who
are
now
being
freed
up
to
live
for
your
glory
and
father
if
there
are
any
here
who
have
not
yet
who
are
just
now
even
now
giving
their
lives
to
Jesus
father
pour
out
your
Holy
Spirit
upon
them
and
seal
them
seal
them
as
yours
lead
them
and
guide
them
father
help
us
not
to
be
a
barrier
to
their
conversion
thank
you
that
you
shone
in
my
heart
and
will
shine
in
every
heart
here
blind
and
veiled
no
barrier
to
you
shining
in
our
hearts
that
we
might
be
yours
all
this
we
ask
and
thank
in
the
name
of
Jesus
your
son
and
our
savior
amen