WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.919 Good morning everyone, it would be great if you could keep your Bibles open there at 1 Thessalonians 4. 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:17.000 ! Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian and a Lutheran pastor who was a very public critic of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:26.760 He publicly opposed particularly the Nazi euthanasia program and its genocidal persecution of Jews. 00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:43.200 He was eventually arrested and he was executed by the Nazi regime in Flossenberg concentration camp in April 1945, three weeks before the end of World War II. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:45.120 That wasn't a prophecy. 00:00:45.119 --> 00:01:05.120 Bonhoeffer particularly, if you read his writings, he was particularly appalled by the shocking capitulation of the German church to Adolf Hitler throughout the 1930s. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:07.040 He was appalled by it. 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:08.880 Appalled by it. 00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:19.880 How could the church founded by Martin Luther, the great teacher of the gospel, so fundamentally lose sight of the gospel? 00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:24.800 That was his bugbear, if you like. 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:35.459 Bonhoeffer saw that there had been this massive distortion of the gospel of grace that Martin Luther taught. 00:01:36.179 --> 00:01:46.239 A distortion that basically says, God loves and he forgives everyone, so it really doesn't matter how you live. 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:53.659 God's grace, he saved you by his grace, you are his, and therefore it doesn't matter how you live. 00:01:53.919 --> 00:01:58.539 He saw that throughout the Lutheran church in his day. 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:01.219 God forgives. 00:02:02.039 --> 00:02:03.159 That's his job. 00:02:04.299 --> 00:02:08.879 That was the distortion of the gospel of grace that he saw. 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:17.060 And he called it, he was the one who we've attributed to anyway, the term cheap grace. 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:21.780 Most likely it was his auntie who gave him that idea. 00:02:22.060 --> 00:02:25.379 But we've attributed to Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 00:02:25.740 --> 00:02:36.560 Bonhoeffer could see that the German church had lost hold of the brilliant balance of the gospel that Luther himself so persistently expounded. 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:45.259 We are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ, but not by faith which is alone. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:54.020 We are saved not by anything that we do, but by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:02:55.039 --> 00:03:05.500 Yet, if we have truly understood and believe the gospel, it will bring about transformation of life in what we do and how we live. 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:10.120 Bonhoeffer wrote, 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:18.819 Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes. 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:31.359 It is anyone who truly has been captivated by God's grace, saved by God's grace, results in a life that is changed by that grace. 00:03:32.539 --> 00:03:34.979 Costly grace changes from the inside out. 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:39.799 It's what we looked at last week, and it's Paul's prayer for the Thessalonian church. 00:03:40.019 --> 00:03:45.819 And now it's where he starts landing it in the second bit of one Thessalonian. 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:47.039 So, jump in there. 00:03:47.079 --> 00:03:50.219 I've got three points today, as I normally do. 00:03:51.259 --> 00:03:57.219 So, first of all, first point is living to please God, how to please God, and the pleasure of God. 00:03:57.219 --> 00:04:00.780 So, verse 1, 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:13.580 The word live there is, once again, literally the word to walk. 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:24.879 Paul, again, uses the idea of walking, that is, as a disciple of the Lord Jesus, a follower of the Lord Jesus, walking to describe the Christian life. 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:37.120 That is, it implies a slow, unspectacular, but steady progress hot on the heels of the Lord Jesus, following him in his pattern of life and obedience to his teaching. 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:47.100 Progress, as 1 Thessalonians has already pointed out to us in chapter 1, progress in turning away from a life of sin. 00:04:47.540 --> 00:04:49.199 It's a progress in repentance. 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:56.100 It's a progress in walking and obedience to God as we wait for Jesus to come. 00:04:56.819 --> 00:05:02.620 Waiting for Jesus to come is not to sit still, and waiting for Jesus is to make progress in repentance and obedience. 00:05:02.620 --> 00:05:15.620 And so, this walking to please God is both the process and the goal and God's plan for your life. 00:05:16.019 --> 00:05:17.899 It's the purpose for which you've been saved. 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:22.160 So, if you're ever wondering, you know, what is it that God's will for my life? 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:23.699 It's right here in verse 3. 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:27.600 It is God's will that you should be sanctified. 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:32.160 That's God's will for every person, that you should be sanctified. 00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:36.480 The same word is used in verse 7. 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:44.040 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:48.459 That's God's will for you, that you might be holy. 00:05:50.019 --> 00:06:02.100 Now, the word holy in the Bible, see, when we hear the word holy, God's word, we think of ethics, moral codes, rules to obey, laws, that kind of stuff. 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:05.660 But the word holy in the Bible means to be separate. 00:06:05.660 --> 00:06:07.060 It means to be set apart. 00:06:07.579 --> 00:06:13.079 And that's why God easily refers to himself as the holy one. 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:17.519 That is, he is set apart from all that he's created. 00:06:17.599 --> 00:06:19.039 He stands, he's transcendent. 00:06:19.099 --> 00:06:22.099 He stands outside of all that he has made. 00:06:23.539 --> 00:06:26.319 That is, God is in his own category. 00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:34.019 And when God says, I am holy, he is saying that there is none like me. 00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:36.139 I am set apart. 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:44.180 In the Old Testament book of Leviticus, we read that it is possible for an item to be holy. 00:06:44.699 --> 00:06:47.839 Like Leviticus refers to a holy pot or a holy table. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:50.819 And it's set apart for exclusive use. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:07:00.000 So the question is, or the issue is, if holiness was just about obedience to a moral code, how on earth does a pot or a table pursue a moral code? 00:07:01.219 --> 00:07:02.159 It doesn't. 00:07:03.539 --> 00:07:07.000 So what does it mean when we are called to be holy? 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:08.299 What does it mean to be holy? 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:17.040 It means that a pot or a table in the village is set apart for God's exclusive use. 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:19.120 It's not used for anything else. 00:07:20.020 --> 00:07:23.379 It is used for God and the worship of God in the temple. 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:26.480 It means it belongs to God. 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:28.639 That's what holiness is. 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:31.460 It belongs to God. 00:07:31.459 --> 00:07:38.680 Holiness, sanctification is belonging to God, not just simply a moral code. 00:07:40.379 --> 00:07:45.759 You see, it is in fact possible to be moral out of a sense of duty. 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:49.099 Or out of a sense of self-validation. 00:07:50.099 --> 00:07:52.839 Or meeting the expectations of others. 00:07:53.299 --> 00:07:55.139 Or just simply pragmatism. 00:07:57.099 --> 00:07:59.659 It's possible to be holy. 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:02.240 In terms of moral. 00:08:02.500 --> 00:08:04.500 It's possible to be moral. 00:08:05.280 --> 00:08:07.160 And yet not belong to God. 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:10.500 And therefore not to be holy. 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:16.879 Belonging to God is first and foremost a heart issue. 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:19.280 It's not an activity. 00:08:20.540 --> 00:08:21.680 First and foremost. 00:08:22.020 --> 00:08:23.340 It is a heart issue. 00:08:23.760 --> 00:08:24.620 First and foremost. 00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:29.740 Now there are only few people in my life. 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:31.840 Only a few people in my life. 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:38.179 Where I can say that their claims of love on my life are so great. 00:08:38.460 --> 00:08:40.759 That I actually belong to them. 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:43.179 Only a few. 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:48.120 There's first of all and most primarily my wife. 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:52.580 I have married her and given my life to her. 00:08:53.580 --> 00:08:54.840 And there's my children. 00:08:55.899 --> 00:08:59.519 And there are things that I do now as a person. 00:08:59.960 --> 00:09:05.840 And especially as a married man for nearly 27 years. 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:09.820 That I would not do. 00:09:11.680 --> 00:09:15.280 If I was not a husband or a father. 00:09:15.740 --> 00:09:18.019 It's because of those relationships. 00:09:19.100 --> 00:09:21.940 That I do certain things that I would not normally do. 00:09:22.700 --> 00:09:23.320 For instance. 00:09:23.560 --> 00:09:24.899 I love you church family. 00:09:25.220 --> 00:09:26.160 I'm not trying to make. 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:27.860 I love you church family. 00:09:28.680 --> 00:09:29.500 But I will. 00:09:29.860 --> 00:09:32.580 You will never find me painting your toenails. 00:09:32.580 --> 00:09:34.580 Or your fingernails. 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:37.020 It just won't happen. 00:09:37.540 --> 00:09:37.800 Okay. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:40.340 And if it wasn't for the fact. 00:09:40.680 --> 00:09:42.240 That I was my father. 00:09:42.520 --> 00:09:43.879 And specifically father of girls. 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:47.759 It would never have ended my. 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:49.080 Vision. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:51.320 To do such a thing. 00:09:51.800 --> 00:09:52.320 At all. 00:09:54.900 --> 00:09:56.560 To belong to God. 00:09:56.560 --> 00:09:57.400 Means to. 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:00.360 Live on his terms. 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:03.879 This new relationship with him. 00:10:04.620 --> 00:10:06.860 Changes the terms of your life. 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:11.000 It means that you delight in him. 00:10:11.100 --> 00:10:12.100 You give yourself to him. 00:10:12.180 --> 00:10:12.840 You obey him. 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:13.519 You honor him. 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:14.419 It's not. 00:10:14.940 --> 00:10:16.240 Simply enough. 00:10:16.419 --> 00:10:17.560 To obey rules. 00:10:19.340 --> 00:10:20.279 To be holy. 00:10:20.419 --> 00:10:21.419 You must belong to him. 00:10:22.620 --> 00:10:24.060 As we have seen. 00:10:24.180 --> 00:10:25.139 Already this morning. 00:10:26.560 --> 00:10:27.420 He is our vision. 00:10:27.420 --> 00:10:27.460 He is our vision. 00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:31.779 For anyone to say. 00:10:32.620 --> 00:10:34.279 What is really important. 00:10:34.580 --> 00:10:35.860 Is that I am moral. 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:40.279 But I don't need God. 00:10:41.580 --> 00:10:43.639 Means that you have morality. 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:45.139 But you don't have holiness. 00:10:49.820 --> 00:10:51.879 Holiness means belonging to God. 00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:55.139 And so the core of holiness. 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:56.580 Is intensely. 00:10:57.639 --> 00:10:58.200 Relational. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:00.679 Intensely relational. 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:05.879 The opposite of belonging to God. 00:11:06.460 --> 00:11:07.720 Is to in fact. 00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:08.860 Live. 00:11:09.220 --> 00:11:10.039 For yourself. 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:12.039 And to reject God. 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:13.639 To reject the relationship. 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:15.840 And so the principle of holy living. 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:17.379 Is not to live for yourself. 00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:18.299 But in fact. 00:11:18.379 --> 00:11:18.840 To live. 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:19.800 For God. 00:11:19.800 --> 00:11:22.220 And all that he has called you to. 00:11:23.340 --> 00:11:25.180 Which brings me to the second point. 00:11:25.280 --> 00:11:27.100 On how to please God. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:28.700 In chapter four. 00:11:29.160 --> 00:11:30.580 Paul gives instructions. 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:31.980 On how to please God. 00:11:32.500 --> 00:11:34.740 And how this is worked out. 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:36.480 In three. 00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:38.060 Very practical. 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:39.379 Areas of life. 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:41.240 Three. 00:11:41.460 --> 00:11:41.860 In fact. 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:42.639 Major. 00:11:43.680 --> 00:11:44.280 Preoccupations. 00:11:44.580 --> 00:11:44.900 Of. 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:46.100 Of all people. 00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:46.540 Really. 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:48.060 Sex. 00:11:48.700 --> 00:11:49.180 Work. 00:11:49.560 --> 00:11:50.320 And death. 00:11:52.040 --> 00:11:52.320 Now. 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:54.159 In these three things. 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:56.800 The early Christian church. 00:11:56.800 --> 00:11:58.860 Were radically different. 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:01.080 To the people around them. 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:02.879 Radically different. 00:12:03.820 --> 00:12:05.759 One of the earliest Christian writings. 00:12:06.440 --> 00:12:07.899 Outside of the Bible. 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:11.940 Contains a very interesting phrase. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:13.580 It says of Christians. 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:16.680 We share our table with all. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:19.220 But not our bed with all. 00:12:21.300 --> 00:12:22.580 Very profound. 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:26.440 See the Christians existed in a culture. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:28.060 And the Thessalonians. 00:12:28.540 --> 00:12:31.139 Were these people in the Roman Empire. 00:12:31.540 --> 00:12:33.900 That shared their bed with everyone. 00:12:34.300 --> 00:12:37.200 But they did not share their money. 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:38.340 Or their resources. 00:12:38.580 --> 00:12:39.500 Or their hospitality. 00:12:39.780 --> 00:12:40.960 Or their lives. 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:42.140 With everyone. 00:12:42.139 --> 00:12:46.559 Money was sacred. 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:48.620 To them. 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:50.639 And sex was mundane. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:55.379 Money was something to be held on to. 00:12:56.199 --> 00:12:57.860 Sex was something to be given away. 00:13:00.259 --> 00:13:02.059 Not a lot's really changed. 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:04.480 In 2000 odd years. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:08.420 The Christians on the other hand. 00:13:08.820 --> 00:13:10.860 Guarded their sex life. 00:13:10.860 --> 00:13:12.639 But were free and liberal. 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:14.120 With their hospitality. 00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:15.200 And their resources. 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:19.200 And it was something that was so wholesome. 00:13:19.659 --> 00:13:21.220 And so joyous. 00:13:21.220 --> 00:13:22.539 And so wise. 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:24.860 About this early Christian life. 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:27.379 Because the pagan culture. 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:28.779 Of the Roman Empire. 00:13:28.779 --> 00:13:30.180 In those early centuries. 00:13:30.179 --> 00:13:32.859 They laughed at the Christians. 00:13:33.939 --> 00:13:34.939 For this. 00:13:36.099 --> 00:13:36.919 And yet. 00:13:37.819 --> 00:13:40.559 It totally transformed the Roman Empire. 00:13:40.959 --> 00:13:42.699 Within three centuries. 00:13:45.359 --> 00:13:48.799 And so when Paul is urging the Thessalonian church. 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:51.099 When he's commanding them here. 00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:52.799 Is not to capitulate. 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:55.159 To their culture. 00:13:55.159 --> 00:13:56.279 And lose. 00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:58.279 Their revolutionary impact. 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:01.519 That's what he's calling them to. 00:14:02.259 --> 00:14:04.159 Now I'm going to say something very briefly. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:04.859 This morning. 00:14:05.219 --> 00:14:06.939 Super briefly about sex. 00:14:07.259 --> 00:14:08.120 Really briefly. 00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:09.099 About. 00:14:09.099 --> 00:14:10.859 About work. 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:13.139 And then I'm going to postpone death. 00:14:13.219 --> 00:14:14.279 Hopefully for another week. 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:16.240 If I don't. 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:17.939 Someone else will probably pick it up. 00:14:19.139 --> 00:14:19.539 Anyway. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:20.120 So. 00:14:20.939 --> 00:14:21.379 Verses. 00:14:21.459 --> 00:14:22.579 Three to eight. 00:14:22.939 --> 00:14:23.179 So. 00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:23.699 In other words. 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:24.659 I'm going to be really brief. 00:14:24.659 --> 00:14:26.179 On the things you want me to talk about. 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:27.819 And I'm going to spend more time. 00:14:27.879 --> 00:14:29.379 On the things you don't want me to talk about. 00:14:29.939 --> 00:14:30.179 Okay. 00:14:30.459 --> 00:14:30.740 So. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:32.559 So very briefly. 00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:34.139 Pleasing God. 00:14:34.139 --> 00:14:34.839 And sex. 00:14:35.299 --> 00:14:35.419 Verses. 00:14:35.419 --> 00:14:36.000 That's verses. 00:14:36.319 --> 00:14:37.620 Three to eight. 00:14:37.959 --> 00:14:38.980 Now throughout history. 00:14:39.199 --> 00:14:39.620 This is. 00:14:39.839 --> 00:14:40.459 I'm like again. 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:41.459 Helicopter view here. 00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:43.539 Throughout history. 00:14:43.539 --> 00:14:45.740 There's been two basic approaches to sex. 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:46.679 The first. 00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:48.379 Is the deification of sex. 00:14:49.199 --> 00:14:50.819 Sex is the way to wisdom. 00:14:51.059 --> 00:14:52.179 Sex is the way to. 00:14:52.179 --> 00:14:52.240 To. 00:14:53.199 --> 00:14:54.319 Personal satisfaction. 00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:55.059 Joy. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:56.679 Personal. 00:14:57.079 --> 00:14:57.759 Self validation. 00:14:57.980 --> 00:14:58.519 And realization. 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:00.219 And the other side. 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:00.839 See sex. 00:15:01.079 --> 00:15:01.939 As degraded. 00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:02.879 And debased. 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:04.819 It's a thing you don't talk about. 00:15:06.139 --> 00:15:06.539 And yet. 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:07.439 When you read. 00:15:07.599 --> 00:15:07.980 The Bible. 00:15:08.959 --> 00:15:09.779 And in fact. 00:15:09.860 --> 00:15:11.000 If you had the ability. 00:15:11.339 --> 00:15:11.659 To. 00:15:12.659 --> 00:15:13.519 To read. 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:15.120 The actual Hebrew language. 00:15:15.579 --> 00:15:16.579 In the Old Testament. 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:17.740 And the Greek language. 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:18.460 In the New Testament. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:19.559 The Bible. 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:20.819 Is entirely. 00:15:21.579 --> 00:15:22.340 Barefaced. 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:24.439 What I mean by that is. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:26.860 Hair on the back of your neck. 00:15:27.299 --> 00:15:28.980 Type of rejoicing. 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:29.919 In erotic. 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:31.019 Marriage. 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:31.960 Love. 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:34.299 Like it rejoices in it. 00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:36.059 In a way that. 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:37.460 Pleasant society. 00:15:37.460 --> 00:15:39.079 Does not want to talk about it. 00:15:40.020 --> 00:15:40.580 And yet. 00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:41.540 At the same time. 00:15:41.680 --> 00:15:43.160 It calls us to flee. 00:15:43.680 --> 00:15:44.920 Sexual immorality. 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:46.620 Like it's the plague. 00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:52.000 The Bible never speaks about sex in whispers. 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:56.379 Nor does it live it up. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:58.860 To the point where it becomes the core of your identity. 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:01.200 And self-fulfillment. 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:04.300 Now there are three important principles. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:10.840 To understand about the Christian biblical view of understanding sex. 00:16:11.060 --> 00:16:12.100 The goodness of sex. 00:16:12.460 --> 00:16:13.560 The context of sex. 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:14.419 And the purpose of sex. 00:16:14.500 --> 00:16:15.919 I'm going to be real super quick with this. 00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:18.180 The goodness of sex is implied here. 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:20.080 These verses don't say. 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:22.860 God's will for you is to be holy. 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:24.779 And so don't do it. 00:16:24.779 --> 00:16:27.959 Stay away from sex. 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:29.679 That's not what it says here. 00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:32.779 It says. 00:16:33.139 --> 00:16:34.720 Abstain from immorality. 00:16:35.059 --> 00:16:36.500 Not abstain from sex. 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:38.100 Sex. 00:16:38.459 --> 00:16:39.459 Properly used. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:40.539 Is good. 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:43.480 And it will function for your holiness. 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:45.279 Used incorrectly. 00:16:45.819 --> 00:16:47.439 And it will undermine. 00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:48.459 Your holiness. 00:16:48.460 --> 00:16:54.879 It has an incredible power for good. 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:58.100 If used as God instructs. 00:16:58.160 --> 00:16:59.759 As he's the one who designed it. 00:17:00.280 --> 00:17:03.420 Or it is incredible power for destruction. 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:05.220 If not. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.360 It would be incalculable. 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:12.420 The lives that have been destroyed. 00:17:13.220 --> 00:17:14.519 Through sexual immorality. 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:16.340 Throughout history. 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:18.360 Sex is good. 00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:21.279 And the wonderful power of sex. 00:17:21.860 --> 00:17:22.819 Has to happen. 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:24.680 Within the context of sex. 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:25.259 Back to. 00:17:26.380 --> 00:17:27.799 Verses three and four. 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:30.100 You should avoid sexual immorality. 00:17:30.299 --> 00:17:31.720 But each of you should learn. 00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:33.039 To control your own body. 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:35.799 Now the word sexual immorality there. 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:37.240 The statement there. 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:38.240 It actually translates. 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:40.480 The Greek word. 00:17:40.819 --> 00:17:41.220 Pornea. 00:17:41.840 --> 00:17:42.880 Which means. 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:45.019 Which we get our word pornography from. 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:45.799 And so. 00:17:46.180 --> 00:17:47.500 You could read this and say. 00:17:47.500 --> 00:17:48.240 Well actually. 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:49.339 That Paul's just saying. 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:50.960 Just don't read Playboy magazine. 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:51.420 Or something. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:51.759 You know. 00:17:51.819 --> 00:17:52.759 Don't stay away from that. 00:17:53.259 --> 00:17:54.779 But that's not what it's meaning here. 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:55.700 In. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:57.039 In Greek language. 00:17:57.180 --> 00:17:57.559 Pornea. 00:17:58.019 --> 00:17:59.759 It means much broader. 00:17:59.880 --> 00:18:00.660 Than just simply. 00:18:01.160 --> 00:18:01.680 Pornography. 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:03.420 It means. 00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:04.019 In fact. 00:18:04.099 --> 00:18:05.420 The misuse of sex. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:06.440 Period. 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:08.440 The misuse of sex. 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:08.799 Period. 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:09.980 That's pornea. 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:11.059 It means. 00:18:11.059 --> 00:18:11.779 There's all. 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:13.419 Sexual violation. 00:18:14.099 --> 00:18:14.659 Outside. 00:18:14.659 --> 00:18:16.059 The bible's. 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:16.940 Context. 00:18:17.139 --> 00:18:17.720 For sex. 00:18:19.500 --> 00:18:21.240 The context for it. 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:22.419 Is in verse four. 00:18:22.619 --> 00:18:23.519 And you. 00:18:23.899 --> 00:18:24.399 Would not. 00:18:25.099 --> 00:18:25.819 Necessarily. 00:18:26.179 --> 00:18:26.659 Pick it up. 00:18:26.819 --> 00:18:28.720 If you just had the NIV translation. 00:18:28.859 --> 00:18:29.440 As I do. 00:18:30.639 --> 00:18:31.240 The statement. 00:18:31.419 --> 00:18:32.399 Your own body. 00:18:32.859 --> 00:18:33.839 Literally means. 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:36.319 To live with your own wife. 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:37.740 Or. 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:39.440 Get a wife. 00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:42.059 Depending on how you. 00:18:42.500 --> 00:18:43.180 Translate it. 00:18:45.819 --> 00:18:46.299 Literally. 00:18:46.620 --> 00:18:47.339 The idea. 00:18:47.339 --> 00:18:48.180 Of marriage. 00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:49.240 Biblical marriage. 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:50.759 Is that the two become one. 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:51.500 And which is why. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:52.519 It's translated here. 00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:53.660 Your own body. 00:18:54.200 --> 00:18:54.779 That is. 00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:57.000 You are one with your wife. 00:18:57.099 --> 00:18:58.079 In other words. 00:18:58.420 --> 00:18:59.599 Live with your own wife. 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:00.380 Paul is saying. 00:19:00.380 --> 00:19:02.200 That you can have sex. 00:19:02.420 --> 00:19:03.099 In marriage. 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:05.400 Or you can misuse sex. 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:07.099 That's the implication. 00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:08.480 And it's the whole Bible's. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:09.379 Implication of this. 00:19:09.719 --> 00:19:10.259 The biblical. 00:19:12.159 --> 00:19:13.679 The biblical context. 00:19:13.679 --> 00:19:14.779 For sex. 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:16.539 Is very simple. 00:19:18.199 --> 00:19:19.039 Sex is for. 00:19:19.219 --> 00:19:19.819 A monogamous. 00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:21.159 Heterosexual. 00:19:21.879 --> 00:19:22.339 Marriage. 00:19:22.679 --> 00:19:23.419 It's not for. 00:19:23.500 --> 00:19:24.379 Outside of marriage. 00:19:24.379 --> 00:19:25.379 In any form. 00:19:25.439 --> 00:19:25.839 Whatsoever. 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:28.319 It is for the person. 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:29.619 That you are. 00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:30.379 Married. 00:19:30.819 --> 00:19:31.019 To. 00:19:33.419 --> 00:19:33.899 And. 00:19:34.139 --> 00:19:35.240 I'm not going to unpack that. 00:19:35.339 --> 00:19:36.079 Any further than that. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:38.980 This is the design. 00:19:38.980 --> 00:19:39.759 Of God. 00:19:40.579 --> 00:19:41.179 Who created. 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:41.960 In the first place. 00:19:42.019 --> 00:19:42.679 But let me just give you. 00:19:42.899 --> 00:19:43.740 One good reason. 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:46.039 Why. 00:19:46.379 --> 00:19:46.839 The biblical. 00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:47.480 Ethic. 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:48.419 Of sex. 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:50.240 Totally transformed. 00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:51.220 The Roman Empire. 00:19:51.419 --> 00:19:52.279 In three centuries. 00:19:54.859 --> 00:19:56.159 Because the freedom. 00:19:56.159 --> 00:19:57.899 Of sexual expression. 00:19:57.899 --> 00:19:59.079 Throughout history. 00:19:59.419 --> 00:20:00.379 Whatever culture. 00:20:00.379 --> 00:20:01.039 You were in. 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:02.019 The freedom. 00:20:02.019 --> 00:20:03.460 Of sexual expression. 00:20:04.299 --> 00:20:05.819 Has always. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:06.940 Always. 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:07.720 Always. 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:09.000 Without question. 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:10.460 Been bad for women. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:12.519 Always. 00:20:15.420 --> 00:20:16.059 Women. 00:20:16.059 --> 00:20:16.139 Women. 00:20:16.139 --> 00:20:16.940 Are the ones. 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:17.420 Who have been. 00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:18.680 Exploited the most. 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:20.399 Abused the most. 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:21.579 Hurt the most. 00:20:22.119 --> 00:20:22.980 Carrying the burden. 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:23.839 The most. 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:23.919 First. 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:26.439 And that is. 00:20:26.439 --> 00:20:27.839 Certainly the case. 00:20:28.639 --> 00:20:29.919 As Paul writes. 00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:30.599 To this church. 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:31.539 In Thessalonica. 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:34.179 Certainly the case. 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:36.099 They are living in. 00:20:36.199 --> 00:20:36.819 Thessalonica. 00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:38.279 Is in the Roman Empire. 00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:39.279 First century. 00:20:41.179 --> 00:20:43.139 And for the average man. 00:20:43.139 --> 00:20:44.740 Living in Thessalonica. 00:20:45.500 --> 00:20:46.319 A wealthy. 00:20:46.959 --> 00:20:47.819 Progressive. 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:48.759 City. 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:52.099 Was the average man. 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:53.359 Had a wife. 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:56.720 And their function. 00:20:57.579 --> 00:20:58.039 Was. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:20:59.079 Hopefully. 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:00.059 To have status. 00:21:00.879 --> 00:21:02.000 Was to bring money. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:02.859 Into the family. 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:04.720 Was to manage. 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:05.460 The affairs. 00:21:05.460 --> 00:21:06.339 Of the household. 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:07.940 And to raise. 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:09.940 The legitimate children. 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:12.879 The average man. 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:13.920 Apart from the wife. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:15.200 Also had their mistress. 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:17.200 And their mistress. 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.680 Was their sexual partner. 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:21.600 Whose main function. 00:21:22.140 --> 00:21:22.920 Was to be. 00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:23.680 The man's. 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:25.000 Intellectual equal. 00:21:25.860 --> 00:21:26.799 And a companion. 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:27.660 For recreation. 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:30.420 So. 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:31.680 The. 00:21:32.220 --> 00:21:32.920 Husband would get. 00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:33.559 An invite. 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:34.180 There's a. 00:21:35.360 --> 00:21:35.819 You know. 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:37.080 Claudius. 00:21:37.180 --> 00:21:38.140 Is having a 60th. 00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:39.000 Birthday party. 00:21:39.360 --> 00:21:40.299 Down at the harbour. 00:21:40.420 --> 00:21:41.080 At this restaurant. 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:41.720 Kind of thing. 00:21:42.259 --> 00:21:43.299 And he would take. 00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:44.420 His mistress with him. 00:21:44.580 --> 00:21:45.180 Because that's a. 00:21:45.299 --> 00:21:46.059 Recreation event. 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:49.680 On top of that. 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:50.460 They also had. 00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:51.500 Their concubines. 00:21:52.500 --> 00:21:53.860 And the concubine. 00:21:54.180 --> 00:21:55.180 Their place. 00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:55.420 00:21:55.860 --> 00:21:56.980 The normal concubine. 00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:57.360 For. 00:21:57.480 --> 00:21:57.880 For a man. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:21:58.759 In the Roman Empire. 00:21:59.700 --> 00:22:00.140 Was. 00:22:00.600 --> 00:22:01.240 A servant. 00:22:01.360 --> 00:22:01.980 In the household. 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:03.319 And so. 00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:04.480 For the master. 00:22:04.539 --> 00:22:04.880 Of the household. 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:05.559 The man. 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:08.519 Their job. 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:09.180 So the servant. 00:22:09.360 --> 00:22:09.860 Would live with them. 00:22:09.940 --> 00:22:10.500 In the house. 00:22:11.019 --> 00:22:11.640 Their job. 00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:13.080 Was to do the dishes. 00:22:13.360 --> 00:22:14.059 Sweep the floors. 00:22:14.180 --> 00:22:14.799 And have sex. 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:16.240 That was their job. 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.279 So. 00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:18.180 He's got his wife. 00:22:18.460 --> 00:22:19.240 He's got his mistress. 00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:20.380 He's got his concubine. 00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:21.819 And if that wasn't enough. 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:22.920 There was a roaring trade. 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:23.819 For prostitutes. 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:26.240 Get the picture. 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:30.319 And Paul. 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:31.200 Comes along. 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:32.339 And says. 00:22:32.620 --> 00:22:33.200 And he says. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:33.720 Specifically. 00:22:33.859 --> 00:22:34.259 The word is. 00:22:34.420 --> 00:22:34.759 Brothers. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:36.920 We're done with that. 00:22:38.579 --> 00:22:39.440 We're done with that. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:39.819 Brothers. 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:43.179 One of the things. 00:22:43.179 --> 00:22:43.779 That makes this. 00:22:43.779 --> 00:22:45.079 Biblical sexual ethic. 00:22:45.399 --> 00:22:45.799 Work. 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:47.599 Is that it so. 00:22:47.939 --> 00:22:48.819 Empowers women. 00:22:49.899 --> 00:22:51.240 And it gives children. 00:22:51.439 --> 00:22:51.960 Also. 00:22:52.899 --> 00:22:53.980 The stability. 00:22:54.359 --> 00:22:54.779 Of a. 00:22:55.059 --> 00:22:55.899 Long term. 00:22:56.339 --> 00:22:56.859 Stable. 00:22:57.159 --> 00:22:57.919 Relationship. 00:22:59.679 --> 00:23:00.559 This brings me. 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:00.960 The third. 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:01.740 Thing about. 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:02.259 Sex. 00:23:02.359 --> 00:23:03.119 These verses highlight. 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:04.119 And that's the purpose of it. 00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:06.079 Each of you. 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:06.939 Should learn to control. 00:23:06.939 --> 00:23:07.759 Your own body. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:08.359 In a way. 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:09.359 That is holy. 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:10.359 And honourable. 00:23:10.939 --> 00:23:11.739 Not in. 00:23:11.939 --> 00:23:12.879 Passionate lust. 00:23:13.939 --> 00:23:14.579 In other words. 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:16.479 Take a wife. 00:23:17.459 --> 00:23:18.579 Or have your wife. 00:23:18.739 --> 00:23:19.479 In honour. 00:23:20.299 --> 00:23:20.959 Not in. 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:22.000 Passionate lust. 00:23:23.399 --> 00:23:23.739 It's. 00:23:23.739 --> 00:23:24.119 It's. 00:23:24.359 --> 00:23:25.419 In actual fact. 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:26.659 It's still possible. 00:23:27.099 --> 00:23:27.979 To be. 00:23:28.439 --> 00:23:28.919 Married. 00:23:29.339 --> 00:23:30.539 But still not pursue. 00:23:30.719 --> 00:23:31.399 The good purpose. 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:32.219 Of sex. 00:23:33.139 --> 00:23:33.699 So don't. 00:23:33.700 --> 00:23:34.660 Work on the assumption. 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:35.420 Well I'm married. 00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:36.360 And therefore. 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:37.420 I've fulfilled. 00:23:37.600 --> 00:23:38.200 I'm holy. 00:23:38.380 --> 00:23:39.400 I've fulfilled this purpose. 00:23:39.620 --> 00:23:40.220 It's actually. 00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:41.160 Still possible. 00:23:41.160 --> 00:23:41.779 To be married. 00:23:41.940 --> 00:23:42.680 And not pursue. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:43.500 The good purpose of it. 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:44.380 It's possible. 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:45.039 In fact. 00:23:45.299 --> 00:23:46.080 To abuse. 00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:47.160 To take advantage. 00:23:47.160 --> 00:23:48.019 Of your spouse. 00:23:48.220 --> 00:23:48.759 In marriage. 00:23:49.620 --> 00:23:50.620 It's not true. 00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:51.420 And I've heard Christians. 00:23:51.420 --> 00:23:51.960 Say this. 00:23:52.080 --> 00:23:52.860 And it's appalling. 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:53.620 You know. 00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:55.080 You're burning with passion. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:55.799 You're burning with lust. 00:23:55.860 --> 00:23:56.400 Get married. 00:23:56.559 --> 00:23:57.539 And then you'll be fine. 00:23:57.840 --> 00:23:59.059 That is such. 00:23:59.420 --> 00:24:00.299 It's appalling. 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:02.779 It's not true. 00:24:02.840 --> 00:24:03.640 That once you get married. 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:04.600 Anything goes. 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:07.140 The word lust here. 00:24:07.360 --> 00:24:08.880 Means an over desire. 00:24:09.040 --> 00:24:10.240 It means idolatry. 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:13.100 I talked about this word last week. 00:24:13.100 --> 00:24:14.560 The word honour. 00:24:14.560 --> 00:24:15.100 Means reverence. 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:16.860 Or trembling awe. 00:24:17.300 --> 00:24:18.500 Even in marriage. 00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:19.360 Sex. 00:24:19.560 --> 00:24:21.420 It's possible for it to be. 00:24:21.580 --> 00:24:22.820 An idolatrous lust. 00:24:23.540 --> 00:24:24.340 Or. 00:24:24.700 --> 00:24:25.759 It can be a way. 00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:26.900 Of honouring. 00:24:27.780 --> 00:24:28.520 Revering. 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:30.240 And therefore. 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:32.099 The language of building up. 00:24:32.819 --> 00:24:33.920 Your spouse. 00:24:36.599 --> 00:24:37.980 Sex can either. 00:24:39.980 --> 00:24:41.259 Objectify. 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:43.619 Dominate. 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:45.680 Dehumanise. 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:46.920 Your spouse. 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:48.319 Or. 00:24:48.879 --> 00:24:49.440 It can. 00:24:49.980 --> 00:24:50.660 Build them up. 00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:52.319 Humanise them. 00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:53.920 Respect them. 00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:55.160 Revere them. 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:57.880 And the difference. 00:24:58.380 --> 00:25:01.380 Is whether we view sex as a way to give. 00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:05.160 Or it's a way to receive. 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:05.220 Love. 00:25:07.940 --> 00:25:10.300 It's how I feel loved. 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:11.519 And validated. 00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:13.700 Or. 00:25:14.320 --> 00:25:15.820 It's a way to validate. 00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:17.600 And love. 00:25:19.360 --> 00:25:20.140 There we go. 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:21.440 That's enough on sex. 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.840 There's. 00:25:25.059 --> 00:25:26.320 Way much more to unpack. 00:25:26.420 --> 00:25:26.740 I know. 00:25:27.620 --> 00:25:28.539 And maybe one day. 00:25:28.600 --> 00:25:29.279 We'll get into it. 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:32.120 But I need to spend some time on work. 00:25:32.180 --> 00:25:33.960 Because this is the other obsession of our life. 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:38.279 I want to again. 00:25:38.340 --> 00:25:39.539 Be really brief on this one. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:41.640 Because I'm going to. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:43.080 Touch on it a bit later. 00:25:43.080 --> 00:25:43.840 In the series. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:46.320 The first thing to note here. 00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:46.920 In verses. 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:48.559 Nine to twelve. 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:52.200 Is that there is no break. 00:25:52.779 --> 00:25:54.899 In the original language. 00:25:55.700 --> 00:25:57.079 Between verse ten. 00:25:57.240 --> 00:25:58.019 And verse eleven. 00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:00.259 It's all one sentence. 00:26:01.639 --> 00:26:03.240 Verse nine and ten. 00:26:03.899 --> 00:26:05.579 Are not a different subject. 00:26:06.059 --> 00:26:07.200 To verses eleven. 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:08.339 And twelve. 00:26:09.619 --> 00:26:11.019 The first two. 00:26:11.019 --> 00:26:12.299 The first two verses. 00:26:12.700 --> 00:26:14.460 Are about love. 00:26:14.460 --> 00:26:17.340 And the last two. 00:26:17.620 --> 00:26:18.900 Are about work. 00:26:21.900 --> 00:26:23.160 In other words. 00:26:23.460 --> 00:26:24.420 What it's saying. 00:26:25.059 --> 00:26:27.079 Is that the biblical work ethic. 00:26:27.420 --> 00:26:28.279 Which flows. 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:29.620 In a similar way. 00:26:29.740 --> 00:26:31.579 In terms of the biblical sex ethic. 00:26:32.140 --> 00:26:33.600 It's not about. 00:26:35.100 --> 00:26:35.700 Receiving. 00:26:35.700 --> 00:26:36.920 It's actually about giving. 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:40.820 The biblical work ethic. 00:26:40.820 --> 00:26:41.420 That the Christian. 00:26:41.560 --> 00:26:41.980 Is called to. 00:26:42.060 --> 00:26:43.100 It's called to walk in. 00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:45.720 Is about loving others. 00:26:46.140 --> 00:26:47.340 With work. 00:26:49.820 --> 00:26:51.220 And so how do you. 00:26:51.820 --> 00:26:52.779 Love others. 00:26:53.560 --> 00:26:54.560 More and more. 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:56.100 As Paul is called us to do. 00:26:56.940 --> 00:26:57.940 Get to work. 00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:00.220 Serve. 00:27:00.800 --> 00:27:01.660 Get to work. 00:27:03.420 --> 00:27:04.060 That is. 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:05.460 The call here is for the Christian. 00:27:05.460 --> 00:27:07.059 Not to be drained on the community. 00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:09.360 Whether it be a church community. 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:10.299 Or whether it be. 00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:11.299 Community at large. 00:27:11.360 --> 00:27:12.000 Society at large. 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:12.779 Not to be a drain. 00:27:13.019 --> 00:27:14.380 You are an investor. 00:27:14.840 --> 00:27:15.980 In community. 00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:18.720 Whether society. 00:27:18.900 --> 00:27:19.660 Or the church. 00:27:22.460 --> 00:27:23.960 I've done a whole sermon series. 00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:24.579 In the past. 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:25.140 On work. 00:27:25.860 --> 00:27:26.740 But this is. 00:27:26.840 --> 00:27:28.200 This is just a summary of it. 00:27:28.680 --> 00:27:29.539 Dorothy Sayers. 00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:30.259 Was an English. 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:31.120 Crime. 00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:32.120 Novelist. 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:32.819 And playwright. 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:34.600 She wrote a brilliant essay. 00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:35.399 Called. 00:27:35.879 --> 00:27:36.740 Why work. 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:37.079 It was. 00:27:37.159 --> 00:27:38.019 It was actually during. 00:27:38.159 --> 00:27:38.740 World War II. 00:27:40.719 --> 00:27:41.159 1942. 00:27:41.699 --> 00:27:42.959 Was when she first presented. 00:27:42.959 --> 00:27:43.740 This essay. 00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:45.799 And it says. 00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:47.539 That society as a whole. 00:27:47.659 --> 00:27:49.119 And individuals in particular. 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:50.579 Are dying. 00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:52.139 They are dying. 00:27:52.459 --> 00:27:54.000 Because they do not have. 00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:55.279 A revolutionary. 00:27:56.279 --> 00:27:56.839 Doctrine. 00:27:57.099 --> 00:27:57.819 Biblical doctrine. 00:27:57.819 --> 00:27:59.039 Of what work. 00:27:59.159 --> 00:28:00.059 Actually is. 00:28:00.059 --> 00:28:01.839 The modern. 00:28:02.179 --> 00:28:03.299 Version of work. 00:28:03.619 --> 00:28:05.440 Is it's what you do. 00:28:05.700 --> 00:28:06.579 For a living. 00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:08.399 My work is what I do. 00:28:08.500 --> 00:28:09.000 For a living. 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:10.679 We do. 00:28:11.059 --> 00:28:11.679 This thing. 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:12.679 This vocation. 00:28:12.779 --> 00:28:13.159 This role. 00:28:13.240 --> 00:28:13.639 That I have. 00:28:13.740 --> 00:28:14.599 Is what I do. 00:28:14.740 --> 00:28:15.659 To make money. 00:28:16.019 --> 00:28:16.319 So that. 00:28:16.419 --> 00:28:16.980 Then I can do. 00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:17.960 What I really want. 00:28:20.359 --> 00:28:21.220 It's a means. 00:28:21.299 --> 00:28:21.980 To an end. 00:28:24.259 --> 00:28:24.619 Sayers. 00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:25.279 Quoted. 00:28:26.339 --> 00:28:27.179 A surgeon. 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:28.059 Friend of hers. 00:28:28.059 --> 00:28:28.779 In the essay. 00:28:28.879 --> 00:28:29.259 A surgeon. 00:28:29.399 --> 00:28:29.899 Friend of hers. 00:28:30.119 --> 00:28:31.000 Which this surgeon. 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:32.659 Put it so succinctly. 00:28:33.159 --> 00:28:33.599 Nobody. 00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:35.220 Works today. 00:28:35.419 --> 00:28:35.940 For the sake. 00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:36.359 Of the thing. 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:36.779 They do. 00:28:37.059 --> 00:28:37.639 The result. 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.399 Of the work. 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:39.480 Is a byproduct. 00:28:39.659 --> 00:28:40.659 Of the real aim. 00:28:41.299 --> 00:28:42.299 The real aim. 00:28:42.679 --> 00:28:43.539 In work. 00:28:43.679 --> 00:28:44.379 Is money. 00:28:44.539 --> 00:28:45.159 Or status. 00:28:45.700 --> 00:28:46.059 Doctors. 00:28:46.200 --> 00:28:47.019 Practice medicine. 00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:47.839 Primarily. 00:28:48.159 --> 00:28:49.559 For personal status. 00:28:49.679 --> 00:28:50.740 And to make a living. 00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:52.679 Not to relieve suffering. 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:53.799 The patient. 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:54.619 Is something. 00:28:54.899 --> 00:28:55.679 That happens. 00:28:55.679 --> 00:28:56.659 Along the way. 00:28:58.059 --> 00:29:02.559 The biblical. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:03.679 Doctrine of work. 00:29:03.899 --> 00:29:05.240 Is the gracious. 00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:06.319 Expression. 00:29:06.700 --> 00:29:07.419 Of creative. 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:07.980 Energy. 00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:09.119 In the service. 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:09.980 Of others. 00:29:10.159 --> 00:29:10.960 For the good. 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:11.720 Of others. 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:15.119 What Sayers. 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:15.879 Was saying. 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:17.220 Is unless. 00:29:17.419 --> 00:29:18.500 We understand. 00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:19.159 The biblical. 00:29:19.159 --> 00:29:19.839 Doctrine. 00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:20.679 Of work. 00:29:21.539 --> 00:29:21.899 Work. 00:29:21.980 --> 00:29:22.559 Will always. 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:23.259 Be a burden. 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:25.599 You'll never. 00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:26.259 Find rest. 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:26.960 In your work. 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:30.180 Modern. 00:29:30.380 --> 00:29:31.180 Expressive. 00:29:31.180 --> 00:29:32.299 Individualism. 00:29:32.500 --> 00:29:32.920 Leads. 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:34.100 To a restlessness. 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:36.039 Both. 00:29:36.360 --> 00:29:36.480 In. 00:29:37.140 --> 00:29:37.539 Sex. 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:38.539 And. 00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:38.860 In. 00:29:39.019 --> 00:29:39.440 Work. 00:29:39.840 --> 00:29:40.200 Because. 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:41.200 It's about me. 00:29:41.380 --> 00:29:41.880 It's about. 00:29:42.079 --> 00:29:42.799 My identity. 00:29:43.019 --> 00:29:43.380 It's about. 00:29:43.579 --> 00:29:44.160 My status. 00:29:44.259 --> 00:29:44.519 It's about. 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:45.559 My validation. 00:29:45.779 --> 00:29:46.180 It's about. 00:29:46.380 --> 00:29:47.120 My advancement. 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:49.299 The bible's. 00:29:49.380 --> 00:29:50.039 View of work. 00:29:51.160 --> 00:29:52.100 Is a work. 00:29:52.220 --> 00:29:53.059 That arises. 00:29:53.660 --> 00:29:54.740 From the place. 00:29:54.880 --> 00:29:55.799 Of rest. 00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:58.159 It rises. 00:29:58.159 --> 00:29:58.919 From a place. 00:29:58.919 --> 00:29:59.720 Of status. 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:01.259 Of contentment. 00:30:01.259 --> 00:30:02.000 And freedom. 00:30:02.579 --> 00:30:03.539 And so you are able. 00:30:03.659 --> 00:30:04.619 To give yourself. 00:30:07.180 --> 00:30:08.180 Which brings me. 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:09.659 To the final point. 00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:11.899 What you'll see. 00:30:12.099 --> 00:30:12.419 In both. 00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:12.899 Sex. 00:30:13.099 --> 00:30:13.480 And. 00:30:14.139 --> 00:30:14.899 In work. 00:30:15.339 --> 00:30:16.079 It's about. 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:16.599 The love. 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:17.359 Of others. 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:18.799 So why. 00:30:18.879 --> 00:30:19.579 We want to do that. 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:22.259 The final point. 00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:23.599 The pleasure. 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:24.099 Of God. 00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:26.419 Living. 00:30:26.419 --> 00:30:27.480 To please. 00:30:27.480 --> 00:30:27.839 God. 00:30:27.899 --> 00:30:28.960 As Paul calls us to. 00:30:29.099 --> 00:30:30.079 In verse one. 00:30:30.699 --> 00:30:31.740 Is not the same. 00:30:31.899 --> 00:30:32.099 Is. 00:30:32.259 --> 00:30:32.740 As living. 00:30:32.859 --> 00:30:33.779 To appease God. 00:30:35.059 --> 00:30:36.179 They're very different. 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:37.720 Living. 00:30:37.720 --> 00:30:38.500 To a please. 00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:38.960 God. 00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:40.579 Is to love. 00:30:40.699 --> 00:30:41.240 In the hope. 00:30:41.319 --> 00:30:42.199 That I will be loved. 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:42.740 Back. 00:30:43.980 --> 00:30:44.939 It's giving. 00:30:45.159 --> 00:30:45.599 In order. 00:30:45.779 --> 00:30:46.740 To receive. 00:30:46.740 --> 00:30:47.220 Living. 00:30:48.120 --> 00:30:48.420 Living. 00:30:48.420 --> 00:30:49.019 To please. 00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:49.440 God. 00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:49.960 Is living. 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:50.920 For the sheer. 00:30:51.539 --> 00:30:51.940 Pleasure. 00:30:51.940 --> 00:30:52.940 Of God. 00:30:54.579 --> 00:30:56.019 One of the greatest. 00:30:56.019 --> 00:30:57.079 Struggles. 00:30:57.500 --> 00:30:59.079 In the Christian life. 00:30:59.380 --> 00:30:59.740 And I mean. 00:30:59.819 --> 00:31:00.859 The greatest struggles. 00:31:01.019 --> 00:31:01.920 In the Christian life. 00:31:02.640 --> 00:31:03.960 Is a failure. 00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:06.359 To understand. 00:31:06.859 --> 00:31:07.319 The very. 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:08.220 Basic. 00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:09.099 Pattern. 00:31:09.180 --> 00:31:09.900 Of Christian. 00:31:10.140 --> 00:31:10.799 Discipleship. 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:13.519 It is so basic. 00:31:14.279 --> 00:31:15.640 It is so basic. 00:31:15.640 --> 00:31:16.920 That it starts. 00:31:17.320 --> 00:31:18.280 Way back. 00:31:18.860 --> 00:31:19.980 When God gives. 00:31:20.520 --> 00:31:21.500 The Israelites. 00:31:21.700 --> 00:31:22.800 The Ten Commandments. 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:26.880 Where did the Ten Commandments. 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:27.380 Begin. 00:31:28.540 --> 00:31:29.440 I won't ask you. 00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:30.140 To put your hand up. 00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:31.420 And do that. 00:31:31.480 --> 00:31:32.460 Because I don't want to embarrass it. 00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:33.180 Where do they begin? 00:31:35.800 --> 00:31:36.780 You normally say. 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:37.100 Well. 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:38.500 Commandment number one is. 00:31:39.300 --> 00:31:39.700 No. 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:41.759 Doesn't begin. 00:31:42.680 --> 00:31:43.780 There's a prologue. 00:31:43.820 --> 00:31:45.020 Before the first commandment. 00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:47.360 I am the Lord your God. 00:31:47.600 --> 00:31:49.220 Who brought you out of. 00:31:49.640 --> 00:31:50.040 Egypt. 00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:52.500 That's where it begins. 00:31:55.220 --> 00:31:56.620 The Ten Commandments. 00:31:56.720 --> 00:31:57.080 Begin. 00:31:57.240 --> 00:31:58.300 With the pleasure of God. 00:31:58.380 --> 00:31:59.380 To rescue his people. 00:32:00.860 --> 00:32:02.180 And one of the greatest. 00:32:02.180 --> 00:32:03.280 Struggles in the Christian life. 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:04.460 Is to understand. 00:32:04.980 --> 00:32:05.020 This. 00:32:05.259 --> 00:32:05.600 This. 00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:06.940 This basic pattern. 00:32:07.880 --> 00:32:08.180 You see. 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:09.400 By the time Paul gets. 00:32:09.600 --> 00:32:10.340 To calling us. 00:32:10.420 --> 00:32:11.140 To please God. 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:12.040 He's already given us. 00:32:12.080 --> 00:32:12.960 The foundation of it. 00:32:13.080 --> 00:32:13.700 He's already given us. 00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:14.779 The motivation for it. 00:32:14.779 --> 00:32:16.180 The structure of. 00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:18.080 All of Paul's letters. 00:32:18.299 --> 00:32:19.920 And all biblical ethics. 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:21.420 Is the indicative. 00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:24.980 Followed by the imperative. 00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:29.900 If we do not understand. 00:32:29.900 --> 00:32:30.660 The indicative. 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:33.180 The statement. 00:32:33.340 --> 00:32:34.140 Of fact. 00:32:35.420 --> 00:32:37.160 The act of God. 00:32:37.819 --> 00:32:39.539 The cross of Christ. 00:32:39.539 --> 00:32:40.220 The gospel. 00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:43.220 If you do not start there. 00:32:43.220 --> 00:32:44.559 It is in fact. 00:32:44.759 --> 00:32:45.420 Impossible. 00:32:46.259 --> 00:32:47.299 For us. 00:32:47.859 --> 00:32:48.579 To fulfill. 00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:50.319 Let alone. 00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:51.220 Joyfully obey. 00:32:52.339 --> 00:32:53.200 The imperative. 00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:54.339 The commands of God. 00:32:55.319 --> 00:32:56.159 It's impossible. 00:32:57.639 --> 00:32:59.460 If you don't embrace. 00:32:59.659 --> 00:33:00.220 The indicative. 00:33:01.480 --> 00:33:02.920 You cannot do the imperative. 00:33:02.920 --> 00:33:06.759 In his book. 00:33:06.840 --> 00:33:08.460 The nature of true virtue. 00:33:08.580 --> 00:33:09.300 Jonathan Edwards. 00:33:09.860 --> 00:33:10.200 Wrote that. 00:33:10.320 --> 00:33:11.200 Unless a person. 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:12.200 Has experienced. 00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:13.220 The grace of God. 00:33:13.420 --> 00:33:14.300 Unless we know. 00:33:14.500 --> 00:33:15.340 We are not saved. 00:33:15.340 --> 00:33:16.420 By our own good work. 00:33:16.560 --> 00:33:17.980 And that God embraces us. 00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:19.279 Because of Jesus work. 00:33:19.700 --> 00:33:21.279 Then everything we do. 00:33:21.320 --> 00:33:22.940 On the moral scale of life. 00:33:23.080 --> 00:33:24.460 Every ethic we pursue. 00:33:25.120 --> 00:33:26.060 Will be driven. 00:33:26.580 --> 00:33:27.140 Entirely. 00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:28.120 By self-interest. 00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:31.639 He wrote. 00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:33.379 The enjoyment of God. 00:33:33.719 --> 00:33:35.279 Is the only happiness. 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:36.439 With which our souls. 00:33:36.439 --> 00:33:37.199 Can be satisfied. 00:33:38.299 --> 00:33:38.579 You see. 00:33:38.659 --> 00:33:39.379 If we know. 00:33:39.539 --> 00:33:41.039 That God has embraced us. 00:33:41.199 --> 00:33:42.399 That he's approved of us. 00:33:42.500 --> 00:33:43.859 That he's accepted us. 00:33:44.919 --> 00:33:46.039 Because of. 00:33:46.459 --> 00:33:46.779 Jesus. 00:33:47.099 --> 00:33:48.139 And his work. 00:33:48.659 --> 00:33:49.539 Jesus work. 00:33:50.179 --> 00:33:51.459 Then we can. 00:33:51.459 --> 00:33:52.419 Enjoy him. 00:33:52.919 --> 00:33:54.379 In such a way. 00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:55.979 That all of our work. 00:33:56.099 --> 00:33:57.099 All of our labor. 00:33:57.259 --> 00:33:58.099 All of our lives. 00:33:58.119 --> 00:33:59.539 All of our walking. 00:33:59.799 --> 00:34:00.839 All of our obedience. 00:34:01.879 --> 00:34:03.719 Is for the sheer joy. 00:34:03.719 --> 00:34:04.959 Of pleasing God. 00:34:09.219 --> 00:34:11.219 We cannot please God. 00:34:12.239 --> 00:34:13.819 Without the pleasure of God. 00:34:16.239 --> 00:34:18.579 And the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:20.059 Is the good news. 00:34:20.359 --> 00:34:22.019 Of God's pleasure. 00:34:22.759 --> 00:34:24.460 Towards sinful humanity. 00:34:24.460 --> 00:34:29.840 When the angel visited Mary. 00:34:30.059 --> 00:34:30.420 And said. 00:34:30.840 --> 00:34:32.900 Your life's about to turn upside down. 00:34:34.260 --> 00:34:35.480 You're going to have a baby. 00:34:35.840 --> 00:34:36.940 But not just any baby. 00:34:37.599 --> 00:34:38.260 The angel said. 00:34:38.460 --> 00:34:40.340 The Holy Spirit will come on you. 00:34:41.019 --> 00:34:42.599 And the power of the most holy. 00:34:42.860 --> 00:34:43.900 Will overshadow you. 00:34:44.619 --> 00:34:46.639 So the holy one. 00:34:47.639 --> 00:34:48.860 The set apart one. 00:34:49.820 --> 00:34:52.079 The one in transcendent one. 00:34:52.660 --> 00:34:53.860 To be born. 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:55.320 Will be called the son of God. 00:34:58.260 --> 00:34:59.380 Jesus Christ. 00:34:59.579 --> 00:35:00.539 The holy one. 00:35:00.620 --> 00:35:01.320 The son of God. 00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:05.260 The holy transcendent God. 00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:06.599 Will enter his creation. 00:35:07.260 --> 00:35:09.039 And in Matthew 3.17. 00:35:09.340 --> 00:35:10.700 At the baptism of Jesus. 00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:13.500 The voice was heard from heaven. 00:35:13.500 --> 00:35:16.860 This is my son. 00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:18.960 My beloved son. 00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:22.179 With whom I am well pleased. 00:35:22.739 --> 00:35:23.780 Very pleased. 00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:25.940 Infinitely pleased. 00:35:26.239 --> 00:35:26.760 My son. 00:35:29.260 --> 00:35:31.340 God the father is expressing. 00:35:31.820 --> 00:35:33.659 His pleasure in the son. 00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:34.960 And the spirit the same. 00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:36.719 As he descended in that moment. 00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:39.319 It's therefore no surprise. 00:35:40.199 --> 00:35:42.199 That Jesus says. 00:35:42.439 --> 00:35:43.939 In John 8.29. 00:35:45.739 --> 00:35:48.679 That he lived to please. 00:35:49.099 --> 00:35:49.859 His father. 00:35:50.539 --> 00:35:52.759 I do nothing on my own. 00:35:52.859 --> 00:35:55.399 But speak just what the father has taught me. 00:35:55.739 --> 00:35:57.359 The one who sent me. 00:35:57.480 --> 00:35:58.739 Is with me. 00:35:59.859 --> 00:36:01.419 He has not left me alone. 00:36:02.579 --> 00:36:05.419 For I always do what pleases him. 00:36:05.420 --> 00:36:06.420 I do nothing on my own. 00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:12.240 Completely obedient. 00:36:12.440 --> 00:36:13.340 To the will of the father. 00:36:13.619 --> 00:36:14.920 The only holy one. 00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:16.180 Who lived the perfect life. 00:36:16.599 --> 00:36:16.740 He's. 00:36:16.920 --> 00:36:17.920 You see this is the Jesus. 00:36:18.099 --> 00:36:18.559 Who knew. 00:36:18.900 --> 00:36:20.260 The pleasure of the father. 00:36:20.720 --> 00:36:21.860 For all of eternity. 00:36:22.200 --> 00:36:23.740 And so live to walk. 00:36:24.019 --> 00:36:24.780 In obedience. 00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:26.200 And he did. 00:36:26.360 --> 00:36:27.500 As he tells us. 00:36:27.579 --> 00:36:27.900 In. 00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:29.519 John 17. 00:36:30.180 --> 00:36:30.820 He did. 00:36:31.119 --> 00:36:32.159 Completed the work. 00:36:32.260 --> 00:36:33.840 That the father had sent him to do. 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:36.980 To reveal God to the world. 00:36:37.660 --> 00:36:40.200 And to bring sinful humanity back. 00:36:40.200 --> 00:36:42.420 Into intimate relationship with their God. 00:36:43.519 --> 00:36:45.820 His pleasure in the father. 00:36:46.360 --> 00:36:47.519 Led him. 00:36:48.519 --> 00:36:49.160 Obediently. 00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:51.380 To crucifixion. 00:36:51.380 --> 00:36:53.140 On a Roman cross for us. 00:36:53.139 --> 00:36:55.420 This is the Jesus. 00:36:55.599 --> 00:36:56.940 Who was humiliated. 00:36:58.099 --> 00:36:59.159 Stripped naked. 00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:01.579 Nailed to a cross. 00:37:01.679 --> 00:37:03.179 In front of all of his family. 00:37:03.239 --> 00:37:04.139 And his friends. 00:37:05.759 --> 00:37:06.839 Stripped naked. 00:37:07.900 --> 00:37:09.659 So that we might be brought. 00:37:10.019 --> 00:37:10.900 Intimately back. 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:12.179 Into relationship with God. 00:37:12.639 --> 00:37:14.079 And the real cry. 00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:15.759 On the cross of dereliction. 00:37:16.599 --> 00:37:18.539 For the first time in his life. 00:37:18.599 --> 00:37:19.420 He ever experienced. 00:37:19.539 --> 00:37:20.139 My God. 00:37:20.259 --> 00:37:20.779 My God. 00:37:20.859 --> 00:37:22.059 Why have you forsaken me? 00:37:22.059 --> 00:37:23.799 The one. 00:37:24.519 --> 00:37:26.279 Who had never been abandoned. 00:37:26.279 --> 00:37:26.779 By his. 00:37:26.900 --> 00:37:27.799 Never felt alone. 00:37:28.519 --> 00:37:30.039 Why have you forsaken me? 00:37:30.679 --> 00:37:32.039 For the first time. 00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:33.480 In all. 00:37:33.699 --> 00:37:34.059 Of. 00:37:34.279 --> 00:37:34.960 Eternity. 00:37:35.480 --> 00:37:36.559 He experienced. 00:37:36.699 --> 00:37:38.019 The displeasure of God. 00:37:41.299 --> 00:37:42.340 The father. 00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:43.019 Whose pleasure. 00:37:43.199 --> 00:37:44.500 He always enjoyed. 00:37:44.619 --> 00:37:45.019 The one. 00:37:45.099 --> 00:37:46.380 Who was always with him. 00:37:46.440 --> 00:37:46.759 The one. 00:37:46.900 --> 00:37:46.980 Who. 00:37:47.139 --> 00:37:48.039 Who he lived. 00:37:48.119 --> 00:37:48.880 To please. 00:37:48.880 --> 00:37:49.880 Turned. 00:37:49.880 --> 00:37:50.880 The. 00:37:51.559 --> 00:37:52.000 Turned. 00:37:52.059 --> 00:37:52.480 His face. 00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:52.780 Away. 00:37:52.780 --> 00:37:53.300 From him. 00:37:56.300 --> 00:37:57.000 Abandoned him. 00:37:59.660 --> 00:38:00.099 So. 00:38:00.220 --> 00:38:00.900 That the intimate. 00:38:00.900 --> 00:38:01.860 Relationship. 00:38:01.900 --> 00:38:02.599 Of the presence. 00:38:02.720 --> 00:38:03.320 And the pleasure. 00:38:03.619 --> 00:38:04.400 And the approval. 00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:05.000 Of God. 00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:05.440 That he'd. 00:38:05.579 --> 00:38:06.019 Experienced. 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:07.079 For all of eternity. 00:38:08.660 --> 00:38:09.320 Might be. 00:38:09.420 --> 00:38:09.700 Ours. 00:38:11.300 --> 00:38:11.940 Might be. 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:12.240 Ours. 00:38:12.239 --> 00:38:13.939 He. 00:38:13.939 --> 00:38:14.779 Obeyed. 00:38:14.899 --> 00:38:15.399 The will. 00:38:15.539 --> 00:38:16.739 Of his father. 00:38:18.359 --> 00:38:19.119 To. 00:38:20.319 --> 00:38:20.939 Experience. 00:38:21.099 --> 00:38:21.919 The rejection. 00:38:21.919 --> 00:38:23.119 Of his father. 00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:26.979 So that we might. 00:38:27.059 --> 00:38:27.759 Experience. 00:38:27.899 --> 00:38:28.359 The pleasure. 00:38:28.519 --> 00:38:29.339 And acceptance. 00:38:30.159 --> 00:38:30.859 Of God. 00:38:31.079 --> 00:38:31.579 And live. 00:38:31.699 --> 00:38:32.679 To obediently. 00:38:32.979 --> 00:38:33.899 Please God. 00:38:35.319 --> 00:38:36.019 And the. 00:38:36.319 --> 00:38:37.199 Only thing. 00:38:38.559 --> 00:38:40.059 The only thing. 00:38:40.139 --> 00:38:41.299 That we contribute. 00:38:41.300 --> 00:38:44.700 To us. 00:38:45.220 --> 00:38:45.740 Experiencing. 00:38:45.860 --> 00:38:46.380 The pleasure. 00:38:46.380 --> 00:38:47.160 Of God. 00:38:48.880 --> 00:38:49.660 Is the. 00:38:49.660 --> 00:38:50.200 Sin. 00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:50.840 That drove. 00:38:50.980 --> 00:38:51.280 Jesus. 00:38:51.280 --> 00:38:51.840 There in the. 00:38:51.840 --> 00:38:52.539 First place. 00:38:54.300 --> 00:38:54.820 Drove. 00:38:54.920 --> 00:38:55.220 Jesus. 00:38:55.340 --> 00:38:55.800 The holy. 00:38:55.960 --> 00:38:56.480 Son of God. 00:38:56.640 --> 00:38:57.700 To the cross. 00:38:58.300 --> 00:38:59.260 And experience. 00:38:59.260 --> 00:39:00.000 The infinite. 00:39:00.200 --> 00:39:00.680 Displeasure. 00:39:00.800 --> 00:39:01.160 Of God. 00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:03.000 That's the only thing. 00:39:03.080 --> 00:39:03.580 We contribute. 00:39:05.120 --> 00:39:06.580 And to the degree. 00:39:06.980 --> 00:39:07.840 That we see. 00:39:07.980 --> 00:39:08.300 Jesus. 00:39:08.460 --> 00:39:09.519 On that cross. 00:39:09.519 --> 00:39:10.880 Receiving. 00:39:11.059 --> 00:39:11.820 The displeasure. 00:39:11.820 --> 00:39:12.699 Of God. 00:39:13.079 --> 00:39:13.800 For our. 00:39:13.800 --> 00:39:14.519 Approval. 00:39:16.199 --> 00:39:17.360 The more. 00:39:18.119 --> 00:39:19.079 We will seek. 00:39:19.199 --> 00:39:20.019 To love him. 00:39:20.820 --> 00:39:21.759 By walking. 00:39:21.880 --> 00:39:22.500 To please him. 00:39:22.559 --> 00:39:23.320 In all of life. 00:39:25.480 --> 00:39:26.539 And Paul. 00:39:26.759 --> 00:39:27.820 Is urging us here. 00:39:28.759 --> 00:39:29.400 Really. 00:39:29.599 --> 00:39:30.320 Fundamentally. 00:39:30.480 --> 00:39:31.019 To be. 00:39:31.259 --> 00:39:32.000 Who you. 00:39:32.259 --> 00:39:32.699 Are. 00:39:32.699 --> 00:39:36.719 Who you. 00:39:36.879 --> 00:39:37.279 Already. 00:39:37.279 --> 00:39:37.879 Are. 00:39:38.139 --> 00:39:38.859 In Jesus. 00:39:39.019 --> 00:39:39.500 Christ. 00:39:40.379 --> 00:39:40.939 Holy. 00:39:41.500 --> 00:39:42.379 And blameless. 00:39:43.079 --> 00:39:44.000 You are God's. 00:39:44.199 --> 00:39:44.659 Special. 00:39:45.039 --> 00:39:45.639 Possession. 00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:46.719 You are his. 00:39:46.919 --> 00:39:47.179 Much. 00:39:47.439 --> 00:39:47.719 Loved. 00:39:47.879 --> 00:39:48.299 Children. 00:39:49.579 --> 00:39:49.759 So. 00:39:49.919 --> 00:39:50.519 In Jesus. 00:39:50.679 --> 00:39:51.379 When he looks. 00:39:51.399 --> 00:39:52.000 At you. 00:39:52.419 --> 00:39:53.079 He doesn't see. 00:39:53.199 --> 00:39:53.639 Your faults. 00:39:53.719 --> 00:39:53.960 And he. 00:39:54.039 --> 00:39:54.759 Failures. 00:39:56.179 --> 00:39:57.139 My son. 00:39:58.099 --> 00:39:58.679 My daughter. 00:40:00.179 --> 00:40:00.960 In whom. 00:40:01.059 --> 00:40:01.859 I am well pleased. 00:40:01.860 --> 00:40:05.599 So live it. 00:40:09.240 --> 00:40:10.140 Bonhoeffer wrote. 00:40:10.400 --> 00:40:11.640 Only he who believes. 00:40:11.680 --> 00:40:12.200 Is obedient. 00:40:12.880 --> 00:40:13.780 And only he. 00:40:14.160 --> 00:40:14.820 Who is obedient. 00:40:15.240 --> 00:40:15.660 Believes.