WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.599 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:20.480 ! It is wonderful that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:25.679 either by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray for us 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:31.439 that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:37.280 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:42.159 we really, I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:48.799 Bible, they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will do 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:55.120 what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a non-Christian, 00:00:55.119 --> 00:01:00.320 checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't hesitate to send us 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:05.280 questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the types of things 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.759 that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:12.479 --> 00:01:20.079 Let's just bow our heads in prayer. Father, gosh, your Word is hard to understand sometimes, and 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:25.280 Father, we often don't want to just acknowledge before you that that's the case, but it is. We 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:30.719 have trouble sometimes, Father. And so we ask that your Holy Spirit would lead us and guide us into all 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:39.920 truth, that your Holy Spirit would draw us into your presence, that we might know Jesus and what He did 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:46.879 for us on the cross, that we might know Him ever more deeply as our Savior and as our Lord, and that we 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:53.359 might live, Father, out of that knowledge. And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:54.799 Please be seated. 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:04.560 So I have several hats. I'm the rector or the senior pastor of this church. I'm also, a year and a half ago, 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:11.759 the bishop of the diocese, like our movement in Canada, asked me if I would take over the 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:19.199 lead role to try to mobilize and initiate more church planting across the country. So I've been in that 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:26.080 role for a year and a half, trying to get something going. But anyway, once a year, there's people like 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:32.319 me scattered around the states, and they bring us all together for a couple of days for prayer, 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:37.519 for discussion, community building, networking, all of that type of stuff. And this year, 00:02:37.519 --> 00:02:46.079 they decided to have it in Tucson, Arizona, at a redemptorist retreat center on the edge of a very 00:02:46.079 --> 00:02:51.199 large national park in the Sonora Desert. Sonoma? Sonora? I can't remember which one of those two names 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:57.199 for it. Desert. It's very hard to get to Tucson from Ottawa. Not a very easy flight. Anyway, 00:02:57.199 --> 00:03:02.239 on my way there on Tuesday, and on my way back on Friday, I had the trips from hell. 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:06.239 Or maybe just a very, very bad case of purgatory. 00:03:08.959 --> 00:03:13.039 I almost said something about a particular airport, which I probably shouldn't say. I might get 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:17.519 sued for slander or something. I'll just say this. I spent two and three quarter, 00:03:17.519 --> 00:03:22.560 I got up at four o'clock in the morning to catch a flight. Two and three quarter hours, 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:27.360 the flight was delayed. Most of that is spent sitting on a plane on the runway, 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:33.680 always being told we had another 15 minutes. Then we make it to the O'Hare airport. I of course missed 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:40.240 my flight. I now have, I am not making this up, an eight-hour layover in Chicago's O'Hare airport. 00:03:40.640 --> 00:03:47.360 And let me guarantee you, being in the O'Hare airport in Chicago is far more like hell than it is like 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:53.040 heaven. And then, even when we're leaving, the flight's delayed another hour. So rather than 00:03:53.040 --> 00:04:04.080 getting to Tucson at 11.15 on Tuesday afternoon, I pull in at 11.30 at night, 2.30 in my body's time, 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:09.920 and that's when I finally arrive in Tucson. Coming back, I think it can't be worse. Well, it wasn't worse. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:18.000 But, delayed in Denver, missed my transfer in Toronto, in Ottawa, and rather than getting home at 9.15 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:27.199 on Friday evening, I pull into my house 2.30 in the morning because of delays to flights. 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:36.240 As I said, more like hell than it is like heaven. But in the middle, I had a series of remarkable 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:44.399 experiences. I mean, obviously there's work and all of that type of stuff, but the retreat center was on 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:51.519 the edge of the desert. And it wasn't perfectly still. There was a road that was clear and nearby. But 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:56.159 the first morning when I woke up, I woke up early because even though I'm jet lagged, it's still, 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:01.920 I'm still on Ottawa time, not the three-hour time difference in Tucson. And I have to have a cup 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:07.760 of coffee when I wake up. And I go in, I get my cup of coffee, no breakfast for a while, but I have a 00:05:08.640 --> 00:05:16.000 a cashy bar and a protein bar. And I sit, I stand and drink my coffee and eat those two bars. 00:05:16.640 --> 00:05:22.240 And it's silent and it's still. And you look over a plane and there's mountains all around you. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:25.840 And it was just glorious. 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:35.040 You can see the mountains in the east in shadow. You can see the mountains in the west with the sun 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:41.040 fully shining on them. And there's several times while I was there, there was another time I was 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:46.720 talking to my wife. We had a bit of a team building exercise by going for a two and three-quarter hour 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:53.680 hike in the desert. And I come back from that and I'm having a coffee and I'm in the shade 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:57.840 and it's beautiful temperature. And I'm looking out over the mountains. I'm talking to my wife. 00:05:58.880 --> 00:06:04.640 And there's another time I had just before I'm coming back. And I've just had a really, 00:06:04.640 --> 00:06:09.440 really nice meal. And the temperature's perfect. And the sky is blue. And there's mountains all around. 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:13.839 And you just have one of those transcendent types of moments. 00:06:14.719 --> 00:06:19.199 Like maybe some of you have had it maybe going canoeing. Maybe it's around a fire. Maybe it's a 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:24.800 good meal with really, really good friends. And you just have this sense of that things are right. 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:31.839 It's like you're taken out of yourself, but you're still yourself. And there's beauty. And it's just 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:40.159 so good. And you have a longing and a yearning that there would be more of this. And yet at the 00:06:40.159 --> 00:06:45.599 same time, you know that what you're, like, even the desire to know that there must be something more 00:06:45.599 --> 00:06:53.439 is in and of itself a type of pleasure. It's you're experiencing, I'm experiencing a type of yearning for, 00:06:53.439 --> 00:07:02.560 well, in our secular world, we don't know what to say. And in fact, one of the things about the 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:09.439 secular world is what is really real in our secular world. My experience after having a really, really 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:14.560 wonderful meal in the desert, surrounded by the mountains with beautiful temperature and beautiful 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:18.560 sky and just really feeling at peace and at home with the universe, is that the most real? 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:22.399 Or is the O'Hare airport the most real? 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:29.759 And you know, from outside the Christian faith, there's no way to even try to figure that out. 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:34.079 But one of the things which is so wonderful is that the Bible, in just one little word, 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:40.720 it introduces a brand new category. And for us as Christians, we understand that that moment, 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:47.199 I mean, on one level, of course, the O'Hare experience of breaking down and not things working, 00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:56.719 and nobody takes any type of responsibility for it, or offers to help you. Customer service 00:07:58.159 --> 00:08:05.919 sucks. Like, all of that part of that experience, right? That's obviously real. 00:08:07.039 --> 00:08:14.319 But for Christians, we understand that those senses, that type of longing or yearning for something more, 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:17.920 and as I said, it could be in different ways. Maybe, you know, I've also had that in a little 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:22.800 bit in a small way, singing in a certain type of context. I can well imagine that athletes have it 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:28.399 when things are just working perfectly. Maybe creatives get it too when the dance just works 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:33.439 perfectly, or the recital just works perfectly, and there's just something fitting and right. 00:08:33.439 --> 00:08:38.799 And you have a sense that it opens up into something transcendent and big and real, 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:45.519 and that is in the background, the foreground in just one word, but in the background of what all 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:51.039 this text is trying to get at. And all I'll be able to do is just not, this isn't a, like a commentary 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:56.799 exercise where I'll try to explain every phrase, but just to try to get that aspect of the argument 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:01.839 as it flows through the text. So if you're with me, the Bible says something very profound about this, 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:08.720 and very hopeful. So if you take your Bibles, actually, I forgot to ask Claire, we're going 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:13.200 to begin at verse 7 of Romans chapter 4. If you have your own Bibles, please follow along. 00:09:13.920 --> 00:09:18.720 And this is how it goes in Romans chapter 4, verse 7, and then we'll get to what Owen just read. 00:09:19.280 --> 00:09:23.259 And he's quoting from Psalm 32, and he says, 00:09:23.259 --> 00:09:30.160 Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man or woman 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:37.600 against whom the Lord will not count his sin. And this is this idea that, you know, if you think 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:43.759 about it for a second, you can't have that experience. If there is, in fact, a blessedness, 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:52.079 and there is something more, I can't be in that if I am the same person with my sin and selfishness 00:09:52.079 --> 00:09:58.799 and the bad things I do. Something has to take that away for me to fully enter into whatever that big 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:04.779 reality is that's transcendent and just big and beautiful. And when you're in it, you have a sense 00:10:04.779 --> 00:10:16.240 that I was made for this. I was designed and created for this. And if that is to be at all my experience, 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:21.719 then this whole notion, which is bringing to a close what we looked at last week, this idea that 00:10:21.719 --> 00:10:26.719 somehow or another that the wrong things you've done are all been forgiven. When it says the sins are 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:31.120 covered, it doesn't mean that they're covered up. It's like if you go out to a really, really nice 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:36.080 bill and then a meal in it, and then you see to your horror how much money you've spent, and somebody 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:42.340 says, I'll cover that. That's the meaning there. I'll cover that. I got it covered. And then once again, 00:10:42.420 --> 00:10:47.160 this whole idea of the God's not even going to count them against us. There's something else which 00:10:47.160 --> 00:10:52.879 is going on. And then it goes here in verse 9, and here's where the translation isn't very accurate. 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:57.960 You get a sort of a hint at it, but it's missing something more foundational. In verse 9, it said, 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:08.399 is this, not blessing, is this blessedness? Is this blessedness? Then only for the circumcised or 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:12.080 also for the uncircumcised? I'll just read it, and then I'll go back. Why on earth does he go from 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:19.539 blessedness to circumcised? Like, what? If you're wondering that, that's good. You know, if you don't 00:11:19.539 --> 00:11:25.559 have honest intellectual reactions and emotional reactions to the text, you'll never grow. Like, 00:11:25.579 --> 00:11:30.099 go ahead and say, what? You go from blessedness to circumcision? Like, who in their right mind would 00:11:30.099 --> 00:11:34.980 go like that? Go ahead and say that. But then let's pause with the text and see that actually, Paul, 00:11:35.319 --> 00:11:40.959 the scriptures are in their most profoundly right mind because it's talking about something profoundly 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:48.180 human that makes us miss what God desires to give us. So I'll just read it. So is this blessedness 00:11:48.180 --> 00:11:54.860 only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that the faith was, 00:11:55.000 --> 00:12:00.460 that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. I'll explain this in a moment. How then was it 00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:05.820 counted to him? Was it before or after he was circumcised? It was not after, but before he was 00:12:05.820 --> 00:12:14.180 circumcised. Abraham received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith 00:12:14.180 --> 00:12:18.580 while he was still uncircumcised. And the word righteousness there, I'll talk about it more in a 00:12:18.580 --> 00:12:24.180 moment. It means right with God. Just think of right with God. Not that you're perfect, but that you're 00:12:24.180 --> 00:12:30.600 right with God. Then it continues, the purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:37.420 being circumcised, so that being right with God would be counted to them as well, and to make him 00:12:37.420 --> 00:12:43.240 the father of the circumcised, who are not merely circumcised, but also walk in the footsteps of the 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:49.779 faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. Okay, this is all pretty crazy. 00:12:50.300 --> 00:12:54.740 So why on earth is he talking about circumcision? So on one hand, here I have to bridge two worlds. 00:12:54.740 --> 00:13:01.799 On one hand, of course, there's this whole biblical argument that's going on, and one of my big points, 00:13:02.019 --> 00:13:07.080 one of the big points of this text is that the heart of faith is believing, taking God at his word. 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:12.820 You take God at his word and you believe what he said. That's what faith is. That growing into faith 00:13:12.820 --> 00:13:16.620 is just taking him at his word. So on one hand, we're going to take him at his word and look at this, 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:23.480 but he's also talking about a human problem that Christians share. You know why Christians share human 00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:30.800 problems? Because we're humans. That's sort of a little bit of a no-brainer, right? We don't change 00:13:30.800 --> 00:13:36.820 our species when we give our lives to Christ. And so here, what is the problem with it? The problem is 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:46.779 that people will choose appearances over reality. They'll choose image management over actually being 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:57.720 real. We choose the surface rather than authentic and substance. It's a constant problem. It's a problem 00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:04.919 for Jewish people, for Christians, and for every single person who's trying to manage their image 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:11.259 rather than actually be something. And on one hand, we all know that we would rather be authentic 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:21.100 and be than merely appear. A lot of our interpersonal problems is because we're so worried about image 00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:27.159 management that we can't and we don't trust the reality of who we are. We know that the reality, 00:14:27.319 --> 00:14:32.179 we're embarrassed and ashamed about the reality of who we are, so we keep things at an arm's distance 00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:38.659 and we're terrified and worried that people will pierce through that and we'll discover that, 00:14:38.659 --> 00:14:43.860 well, we're not as good as we talked as if we were, that we're not as whole or holy, that there's 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:49.379 things shameful and bad and evil about us that we don't want people to touch. And so there's this 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:55.620 profound human tendency. And so what's going on here is that Paul goes through a biblical argument to show 00:14:55.620 --> 00:15:05.019 that God makes a promise to Abraham and that he will provide this offspring that will be life for the 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:11.860 whole world and a blessing for the whole world. And when Abraham believes God and believes what God said, 00:15:12.319 --> 00:15:20.139 God brings him into blessedness, a right relationship with him. And circumcision is used rather than the 00:15:20.139 --> 00:15:25.340 word Jewish because that's something external to show that what Abraham has already got by faith. 00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:32.320 And that's why he uses the word circumcision and all of the things around it. Because you see, 00:15:33.019 --> 00:15:42.420 it becomes very easy for the Jewish people to focus on those external things and not actually say why 00:15:42.420 --> 00:15:49.820 the external things are there. It's as if, you know, I want to go to Tucson, I want to get back to the 00:15:49.820 --> 00:15:54.900 retreat center, and there's a sign saying the retreat center is that way, and I stop at the sign rather than 00:15:54.899 --> 00:16:00.519 actually going to the retreat center. Like, don't stop at the sign. You go to where the sign is 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:05.559 pointing. Like, what is the sign promising? That's where you go. That's where the reality is. That's 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:13.480 where the substance and the authenticity is. And so, you know, just for people outside the Christian 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:21.519 faith and within, that's why, you know, most people spend more time trying to make themselves look good 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:27.519 in the morning than actually working on their attitudes and their thought life and their plans 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:36.199 and actually being good. Right? Sorry, that's maybe too pointed, but that's true. It can happen with 00:16:36.199 --> 00:16:42.399 Christians, you know? You're more concerned with being in the right type of church that's either 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:48.679 completely not hip and progressive or just sufficiently hip or progressive or that has the right type of 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:53.919 walk and the right type of lingo. And, you know, they look at me and say, George, you're the world's 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:58.679 worst Christian. Look at that. This is a tiny, wimpy, little brown leather Bible. Like, real Christians 00:16:58.679 --> 00:17:04.419 have big, black, floppy Bibles that open up and walk in a particular way. And we all have it. 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:12.519 And so, Paul is saying here in the Bible, there is this possibility of blessedness. 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:21.579 And blessedness is something that only the triune God can bring you into. Only the triune God can 00:17:21.579 --> 00:17:28.379 bring you into blessedness. And blessedness is what this longing and yearning is for. Because, 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:33.819 you see, when we have a longing and yearning for the, when we have those times, you know, where the dance 00:17:33.819 --> 00:17:39.440 is just perfect, the music is perfect, the acting is perfect, the math is perfect, the fire is good, 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:45.880 the canoe is good, the meal is good, whatever it is. And we enter into something that we realize is 00:17:45.880 --> 00:17:50.420 bigger than us and we touch us. And we know that on one hand, it's more than us, yet it's somehow 00:17:50.420 --> 00:17:57.140 another inside of us. And we hope and long that it's not that we have this sense that we're touching 00:17:57.140 --> 00:18:06.200 something transcendent and eternal and good and beautiful and true, yet also something deeply 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:11.559 personal. We have this sense of it. And Paul is going to say time and time and time again, 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:18.000 if such a world exists, only God can bring you into it. 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:26.160 The idea that you can somehow manufacture and make that all on your own by your own actions, 00:18:26.360 --> 00:18:30.740 the more you think about it, the more ridiculous you realize that is, the more laughable you think 00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:37.700 it is. Only God can bring you into that. You see, the word right with God might make us feel a certain 00:18:37.700 --> 00:18:41.579 type of way, but at the end of the day, it would be a little bit like me saying, I'm right with the 00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:46.960 Air Canada agent who really tried very hard when I was in Toronto to get me on an earlier flight. 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:52.099 And there was nothing she could do because all the flights were full, except this last one that was 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:57.079 supposed to leave at 12.30 after midnight, but didn't leave until after one, because once again, 00:18:57.079 --> 00:19:01.599 that was my day. And I could say I'm right with her, but I don't even know her name. I don't really 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:05.779 care about her. And that's how most people might think about God. And that's why Paul introduces this 00:19:05.779 --> 00:19:15.359 other concept, to say that in a sense, to be right with God, to be truly right with God, is to be in 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:23.119 blessedness. And you cannot be in blessedness without being right with God. And so Paul is saying that 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:29.479 when you only, if you understand that only God, only the triune God can bring you into blessedness, 00:19:30.099 --> 00:19:35.799 then the question is, why do you and I time and time and time and time again choose image management 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:43.539 over reality, lies over truth, appearance over substance, external over depth, the inauthentic 00:19:43.539 --> 00:19:50.259 over the authentic? Why do we stop at that? Why is that such a human problem? And when we realize 00:19:50.259 --> 00:19:58.180 that that's such a human problem, that emphasizes even more that only God can bring you in to that 00:19:58.180 --> 00:20:05.599 which our yearnings and longings point to, which is a blessedness in the triune life of God that is 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:12.480 transcendent and imminent and eternal and good and beautiful and true. 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:22.480 The next bit, once again, I'm not going to be talking about everything in the text. I'm going 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:27.480 to try to trace this argument through it. Like, why... 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:43.380 This next bit tries to get at the fact that we don't want to just trust that only God can do it. 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:49.940 There's still something within us that crazily thinks that even though we are so prone to image 00:20:49.940 --> 00:20:54.500 management rather than reality and all of those problems, that somehow we can still get to that by 00:20:54.500 --> 00:20:58.599 ourselves. So Paul looks at that in the next few verses. Look at verse 13. 00:20:59.619 --> 00:21:03.259 For the promise... Now here's... That's going to be the key word here. The promise. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:10.019 It's a promise from God. For the promise to Abraham and his offspring, that's ultimately referring to 00:21:10.019 --> 00:21:17.259 Jesus, that he would be heir of the world, did not come through the law, that is doing religious good 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:26.519 deeds or religious rituals or your moral performance, but through the righteousness of faith, through having 00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:33.119 faith in Christ and in God that makes you right with him. And if you're right with him truly, you're in 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:40.819 blessedness, and if you're in blessedness, you are right with God. For is... If it is the adherence of the 00:21:40.819 --> 00:21:45.980 law that is doing the right things and the right rituals and the right religion, who are to be heirs, 00:21:45.980 --> 00:21:51.420 then that means that faith... And here the word null and promised is void. It's actually a verb in the 00:21:51.420 --> 00:21:56.539 original language. It means it's nullified. Every time you turn away from just trusting in God, 00:21:56.839 --> 00:22:02.740 that only God can bring you into blessedness, and that it all depends on him promising to do it, 00:22:02.779 --> 00:22:08.420 every time you turn away from that, you're completely and utterly moving away from faith and moving away 00:22:08.420 --> 00:22:13.480 from promise. You're saying those things are irrelevant. And then when it says, for the law brings wrath, 00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:17.839 but where there is no law, there is no transgression, I'm not going to talk about that. You can ask me about it at a coffee 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:23.380 hour, because it will take five minutes to try to explain, and this is already going to be a pretty big sermon. 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:25.559 What's going on here is this. 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:32.640 And this, you see, and the reason we begin with the Bible, but also bring it back to human experience, 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:39.279 is because Christians are human beings, and so we have this inbuilt tendency to misread 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:46.940 and mishear what God actually says to us. And so we have this tendency of reading the Bible as if it says, 00:22:47.139 --> 00:22:54.079 obey the law, and I will bless you. Be good, and I will bless you. Do the right rituals, and I will bless you. 00:22:54.259 --> 00:23:00.700 Learn mindfulness, and I will bless you. Learn how to pray like Allah tells you, and I will bless you. 00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:07.480 Learn to meditate, and I will bless you. Learn yoga, and I will bless you. Become beautiful, and I will bless you. 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:12.599 All of these different versions, and that's the normal way, and Christians often slide into reading 00:23:12.599 --> 00:23:20.240 the Bible in this way, but what God actually says here is this to Abraham. I will bless you. 00:23:21.099 --> 00:23:31.099 Believe my promise. Whoa, that's so different. I will bless you. Only I can bring you into blessedness. 00:23:31.220 --> 00:23:35.940 I want to bring you into blessedness. I have provided the way to bring you into blessedness. 00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:41.440 Believe my word. Believe my promise. Believe my guarantee. 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:53.360 It begins with, I will bless you. I will bring you into blessedness. That's how it begins. Believe my 00:23:53.360 --> 00:23:58.799 promise. And if you go the other way, I'm not going to believe your promise, God. I'm not going to 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:03.279 believe you're the one who can bring me into this. No, no. I'm going to work at image management. I'm going 00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:08.000 to work at the right type of rituals, and I'm going to do all those things, because then you have to 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:12.920 bless me. The way you do that, all you're doing is walking away from what God desires to give you. 00:24:15.859 --> 00:24:21.099 So why about all this talk about faith and belief? And then is it like trying to say that there's some 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:25.740 type of superpower? And is it just believing the right couple of words or having the right type of 00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:33.079 experience? Well, let's look at verses 16 to 19. That is why it depends on faith. That is this being in 00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:40.200 blessedness, being right with God. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest 00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:47.920 on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring. You see, when you are made right with God and enter into 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:57.700 blessedness, one of the images that is used is that it is as if I become God's child by adoption and grace. 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:06.720 I mean, one of the great truths, one of the takeaways from this sermon for us is that you can face any 00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:14.740 situation you're in, both maybe a job interview or some other type of thing or a performance, or you can 00:25:14.740 --> 00:25:19.960 look at any type of thing in your life, and you can know that because you put your faith and trust in 00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:28.359 the Lord Jesus Christ, that he is God's provision for you to be brought into blessedness by him, 00:25:29.140 --> 00:25:36.180 that you know that you can pray to your Father in heaven who is almighty God, and you are his precious 00:25:36.180 --> 00:25:36.799 child. 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:49.879 with all your words, with all your problems, with all your shame, with all your weakness, with all your 00:25:49.879 --> 00:25:59.159 doubts. I have all of those things. And part of the reason I so desperately need you and I desperately 00:25:59.159 --> 00:26:06.579 need times of worship is to be reminded once again with all of you that I have a Father in heaven 00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:14.720 who loves me, who is the God of the entire earth, and he is the almighty, everlasting, eternal God, 00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:21.639 and he has made me his beloved child by adoption and grace. 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:32.639 I could not accomplish that. If you knew what I was really like, I could never make that happen. 00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:37.560 And if you think you can make it happen for yourself, you are deluding yourself. 00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:41.200 You are deluding yourself. 00:26:42.700 --> 00:26:43.660 You see, faith 00:26:43.660 --> 00:26:47.880 is losing delusions about yourself 00:26:47.880 --> 00:26:50.580 to take God at his word 00:26:50.580 --> 00:26:54.020 and believe his promises and guarantees. 00:26:54.019 --> 00:27:00.500 I hope you want to leave your delusions behind 00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:03.539 and take God at his word. 00:27:05.480 --> 00:27:06.619 I'll continue reading. 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:09.079 Search 16 again. 00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:14.379 That is why it depends on faith in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring, 00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:21.080 not only to the adherents of the law, but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:22.200 It is written, 00:27:22.340 --> 00:27:24.580 I have made you the father of many people groups. 00:27:25.120 --> 00:27:31.700 In the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist, 00:27:32.380 --> 00:27:35.860 in hope he believed against hope, in other words, against all appearances, 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:37.980 against all optimism, 00:27:38.520 --> 00:27:40.500 against all types of self-confidence, 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:42.720 against all of his self-assessments, 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:45.319 if he's an optimist against all of his optimism, 00:27:45.779 --> 00:27:48.160 if he's a pessimist against all of his pessimism, 00:27:48.440 --> 00:27:51.160 if he's arrogant against all of his arrogance, 00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:56.680 if he suffers from the world's worst self-identity and feels completely ashamed against all shame, 00:27:56.819 --> 00:27:59.500 in hope against all of those other things he believed, 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:02.359 that he should become the father of many nations, 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:04.079 even though, as he had been told, 00:28:04.539 --> 00:28:07.140 so shall your offspring be. 00:28:07.299 --> 00:28:10.440 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, 00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:11.799 which was as good as dead, 00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:13.920 since he was about a hundred years old, 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:18.319 or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:20.779 You see, here's the other thing about faith, 00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:23.519 is faith is never against reason, 00:28:24.380 --> 00:28:28.660 but it's often against our feelings and appearances. 00:28:30.539 --> 00:28:33.200 Faith is always against our delusions, 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:40.000 but it's never against being thoughtful and reflective and thinking. 00:28:42.660 --> 00:28:45.240 And the image, so you see, in a sense, 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:47.519 to be, you know, 00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:49.779 faith is taking God at his word 00:28:49.779 --> 00:28:52.380 and believing him and his promise. 00:28:52.539 --> 00:28:54.480 Faith is taking God at his word 00:28:54.480 --> 00:28:57.160 and believing in him and his promise. 00:28:57.660 --> 00:28:58.519 And so, in a sense, 00:28:58.580 --> 00:28:59.700 we have to put to death 00:28:59.700 --> 00:29:00.860 our own optimism, 00:29:01.040 --> 00:29:02.080 our own pessimism, 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:03.900 our own self-trust, 00:29:04.300 --> 00:29:06.120 and all of those types of things. 00:29:06.180 --> 00:29:08.000 And it's not that we don't look at the world. 00:29:09.040 --> 00:29:09.400 Blessedness, 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:11.100 why do we still look at the world? 00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:12.220 Because at the end of the day, 00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:14.160 we believe there is a God who does exist, 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:15.720 who's created all things out of nothing, 00:29:15.840 --> 00:29:17.120 that is the author 00:29:17.120 --> 00:29:19.080 and the giver of all life, 00:29:19.100 --> 00:29:21.080 who has raised Jesus from the dead, 00:29:21.100 --> 00:29:22.440 which we're going to get to in a moment, 00:29:22.440 --> 00:29:23.980 and that's the real world. 00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:26.039 That's the real God. 00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:32.240 Scientists have never been able to show 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:36.660 how inorganic, lifeless matter 00:29:36.660 --> 00:29:38.120 can create life. 00:29:39.059 --> 00:29:40.259 What is more reasonable, 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:42.340 to think that a whole pile of chemicals 00:29:42.340 --> 00:29:44.960 under a rock gives life, 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:46.440 or that God gives life? 00:29:47.140 --> 00:29:48.680 What story is more reasonable? 00:29:50.980 --> 00:29:51.580 Sorry. 00:29:52.440 --> 00:29:53.039 Really? 00:29:55.100 --> 00:29:56.779 Life comes from some chemicals 00:29:56.779 --> 00:29:57.740 under a rock? 00:29:57.940 --> 00:29:59.019 In a swamp? 00:30:00.660 --> 00:30:02.080 Or life comes from God? 00:30:03.460 --> 00:30:03.940 Think. 00:30:04.380 --> 00:30:05.200 Reflect on him. 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:07.860 Blessedness is something 00:30:07.860 --> 00:30:09.900 that only God can bring us into. 00:30:10.080 --> 00:30:11.700 Only the true God can do this. 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:12.880 This is the real world. 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:15.120 And so you don't look at the world. 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:17.140 What we learn in faith 00:30:17.140 --> 00:30:18.820 is to look at the world, 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:20.180 but do not let the world 00:30:20.180 --> 00:30:22.299 circumscribe and limit 00:30:22.299 --> 00:30:23.819 who the triune God is, 00:30:24.119 --> 00:30:25.700 but let our knowledge 00:30:25.700 --> 00:30:26.539 and our understanding 00:30:26.539 --> 00:30:27.419 of the triune God 00:30:27.419 --> 00:30:28.180 and his promises 00:30:28.180 --> 00:30:29.539 and his great love, 00:30:29.799 --> 00:30:31.919 that he desires you and me, 00:30:32.440 --> 00:30:33.799 despite knowing perfectly 00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:34.740 who we are, 00:30:35.139 --> 00:30:36.940 that he would make us his child 00:30:36.940 --> 00:30:38.519 by adoption and grace, 00:30:39.319 --> 00:30:40.819 that he would take away 00:30:40.819 --> 00:30:42.579 everything I've done wrong, 00:30:42.740 --> 00:30:43.980 everything I'm ashamed of, 00:30:43.980 --> 00:30:45.899 all would be laid on Christ 00:30:45.899 --> 00:30:47.559 when he died on the cross, 00:30:47.559 --> 00:30:49.980 and that the perfect relationship 00:30:49.980 --> 00:30:51.940 of Jesus to the Father 00:30:51.940 --> 00:30:53.240 and the Holy Spirit, 00:30:53.579 --> 00:30:54.700 that that would somehow 00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:56.339 be bestowed upon me 00:30:56.339 --> 00:30:57.460 and clothe me, 00:30:57.539 --> 00:30:59.039 not just in my externals, 00:30:59.279 --> 00:31:00.740 but all the way through me. 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:02.019 It would clothe my mind, 00:31:02.159 --> 00:31:02.619 my will, 00:31:02.740 --> 00:31:03.599 my affections, 00:31:03.899 --> 00:31:05.000 my creativity, 00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:06.279 my desires, 00:31:06.460 --> 00:31:07.179 my longings, 00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:07.940 my yearnings, 00:31:08.099 --> 00:31:08.740 my body, 00:31:08.879 --> 00:31:09.480 my past, 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:10.220 my present, 00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:11.099 my future, 00:31:11.700 --> 00:31:13.139 all the way through. 00:31:13.140 --> 00:31:17.160 Don't let the world 00:31:17.160 --> 00:31:19.020 circumscribe what God can do, 00:31:19.120 --> 00:31:20.640 but take God at his word 00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:21.980 and believe that his promise, 00:31:22.340 --> 00:31:23.460 and if the triune God 00:31:23.460 --> 00:31:24.460 has made a promise 00:31:24.460 --> 00:31:25.940 and guarantees it, 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:28.640 he has guaranteed it. 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:34.259 Why will I stand before God 00:31:34.259 --> 00:31:35.180 one day 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:37.640 and be entered into his kingdom? 00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:38.860 Not because I have lived 00:31:38.860 --> 00:31:39.440 a good life, 00:31:39.540 --> 00:31:40.900 not because I am a minister, 00:31:40.900 --> 00:31:43.200 but purely and utterly 00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:45.740 because I believed God 00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:47.360 at his word 00:31:47.360 --> 00:31:49.160 and I believe him 00:31:49.160 --> 00:31:51.160 and the promise he has made 00:31:51.160 --> 00:31:54.280 to bring me into that blessedness 00:31:54.280 --> 00:31:56.000 and right relationship with him 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:57.900 when I put my faith and trust 00:31:57.900 --> 00:31:59.040 in what God has done 00:31:59.040 --> 00:32:00.519 to bring me into that, 00:32:00.900 --> 00:32:02.900 and that is what will... 00:32:04.300 --> 00:32:04.980 That's it. 00:32:04.980 --> 00:32:09.980 The next part, 00:32:10.140 --> 00:32:11.120 it's easier to understand 00:32:11.120 --> 00:32:12.120 the next little bit 00:32:12.120 --> 00:32:14.839 if you think of the Bible story 00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:16.240 about Peter walking on the water, 00:32:16.339 --> 00:32:17.240 but I'll read the text 00:32:17.240 --> 00:32:18.200 and then I'll show you 00:32:18.200 --> 00:32:19.400 how it's easier to understand 00:32:19.400 --> 00:32:20.900 if you remember that story. 00:32:21.220 --> 00:32:22.220 Look at verse 20, 00:32:23.059 --> 00:32:24.860 and in verse 20 it says, 00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:25.900 no unbelief 00:32:25.900 --> 00:32:28.460 made Abraham waver 00:32:28.460 --> 00:32:30.160 concerning the promise of God, 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:31.660 but he grew strong in his faith 00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:33.039 as he gave glory to God, 00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:34.720 fully convinced 00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:35.619 that God was able 00:32:35.619 --> 00:32:36.680 to do what he had promised. 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:38.079 That is why his faith 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:39.180 was counted to him 00:32:39.180 --> 00:32:39.920 as righteousness. 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:42.039 So what this is sort of getting 00:32:42.039 --> 00:32:43.259 and going back with the hope 00:32:43.259 --> 00:32:44.359 and everything like that 00:32:44.359 --> 00:32:45.019 against hope, 00:32:45.460 --> 00:32:46.720 it's a little bit like 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:50.180 when Peter was walking on the water, 00:32:50.379 --> 00:32:51.599 he saw the storms 00:32:51.599 --> 00:32:53.220 and he saw the waves 00:32:53.220 --> 00:32:54.180 and he saw the wind, 00:32:54.899 --> 00:32:56.440 and he's very aware of that, 00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:57.279 and he's a fisherman, 00:32:57.279 --> 00:32:58.899 and he knows roughly 00:32:58.899 --> 00:33:00.259 how deep the water is, 00:33:00.359 --> 00:33:01.960 and he knows all of those problems, 00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:05.000 but he hears Jesus promise, 00:33:05.340 --> 00:33:07.120 ask him to come over to him, 00:33:07.180 --> 00:33:09.319 and he believes Jesus at his word, 00:33:10.259 --> 00:33:12.480 and so he steps out of the boat 00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:13.819 and walks on the water, 00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:16.180 and at some point in time, 00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:17.460 looking at the water, 00:33:17.640 --> 00:33:19.420 he takes his eyes off of Jesus 00:33:19.420 --> 00:33:20.759 and looks at the water, 00:33:20.819 --> 00:33:22.000 and then he sinks, 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:23.940 but he does not drown 00:33:23.940 --> 00:33:27.360 because Jesus has called him 00:33:27.360 --> 00:33:28.120 to himself, 00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:31.219 and even when Peter's faith is weak 00:33:31.219 --> 00:33:34.259 and his eyes waver and wander, 00:33:35.159 --> 00:33:36.819 it is the strong word 00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:38.299 and promise of Jesus 00:33:38.299 --> 00:33:39.959 which is our guarantee 00:33:39.959 --> 00:33:42.799 so that even as Peter sinks, 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:45.679 the strong arm of Jesus 00:33:45.679 --> 00:33:47.519 reaches out and grabs him 00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:49.000 and brings him into the boat. 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:55.019 Jesus brings him into the boat. 00:33:57.500 --> 00:33:58.579 That's so beautiful. 00:34:00.279 --> 00:34:02.140 That is the Christian hope. 00:34:06.559 --> 00:34:08.639 So why all this language of counting? 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:11.219 I talked about this more last week 00:34:11.219 --> 00:34:12.739 because the fundamental way 00:34:12.739 --> 00:34:13.659 that we tend to think of 00:34:13.659 --> 00:34:15.059 how we're going to be made right with God 00:34:15.059 --> 00:34:16.519 is that, you know, 00:34:16.739 --> 00:34:19.599 I went to church these many times, 00:34:19.799 --> 00:34:20.599 and I read my Bible. 00:34:20.699 --> 00:34:21.259 As a Christian, 00:34:21.380 --> 00:34:22.980 I read my Bible these many times, 00:34:23.500 --> 00:34:26.139 and I repented of these sins 00:34:26.139 --> 00:34:26.980 these many times, 00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:28.440 and I'm making all of these things 00:34:28.440 --> 00:34:28.940 over here, 00:34:28.980 --> 00:34:30.039 and that's sort of how I think, 00:34:30.460 --> 00:34:31.559 and then over here 00:34:31.559 --> 00:34:32.900 is the bad things I've done, 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:34.219 but you're pretty confident 00:34:34.219 --> 00:34:34.960 at the end of the day 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:36.759 when you die, 00:34:37.239 --> 00:34:38.519 the good things in your life 00:34:38.519 --> 00:34:39.480 all get added up, 00:34:39.820 --> 00:34:41.699 and the bad things get added up, 00:34:41.920 --> 00:34:43.500 but the good things outweigh the bad, 00:34:43.500 --> 00:34:45.380 and now God has some type of obligation 00:34:45.380 --> 00:34:46.280 to get you in, 00:34:46.699 --> 00:34:47.820 to allow you into heaven, 00:34:48.019 --> 00:34:48.920 and then, of course, 00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:49.780 I said last week 00:34:49.780 --> 00:34:50.559 we used the analogy 00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:51.619 that God doesn't even think 00:34:51.619 --> 00:34:52.400 in those categories. 00:34:52.900 --> 00:34:54.119 He says if you put your faith 00:34:54.119 --> 00:34:55.579 and trust in Jesus, 00:34:55.780 --> 00:34:56.340 and in a sense, 00:34:56.400 --> 00:34:57.079 it's like a person 00:34:57.079 --> 00:34:58.900 who's completely and utterly impoverished 00:34:58.900 --> 00:34:59.780 and is being chased 00:34:59.780 --> 00:35:00.739 by all sorts of people 00:35:00.739 --> 00:35:01.900 marrying a billionaire, 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:03.139 and all those debts are covered, 00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:04.860 and here there's a different, 00:35:05.139 --> 00:35:05.340 you know, 00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:06.239 a different type of, 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:07.539 and the problem with all of that 00:35:07.539 --> 00:35:08.239 type of language 00:35:08.239 --> 00:35:09.679 is that we think we can control 00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:11.000 and obligate God 00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:12.579 by our good deeds. 00:35:12.579 --> 00:35:14.659 I haven't told this story in a while, 00:35:14.980 --> 00:35:15.980 but back when we were still 00:35:15.980 --> 00:35:16.500 in the building 00:35:16.500 --> 00:35:17.840 and we were taking a stand 00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:18.599 on certain issues 00:35:18.599 --> 00:35:19.759 of biblical faithfulness 00:35:19.759 --> 00:35:21.099 and the guy was opposed to it, 00:35:21.460 --> 00:35:22.360 and he said to me, 00:35:22.420 --> 00:35:23.799 would you change what you do 00:35:23.799 --> 00:35:24.960 if I told you 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:26.179 I'm going to stop giving money 00:35:26.179 --> 00:35:27.000 to the church? 00:35:28.539 --> 00:35:30.079 And as soon as he said that, 00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:30.819 his wife, 00:35:30.860 --> 00:35:32.000 who was drinking coffee, 00:35:32.099 --> 00:35:33.259 had one of those experiences 00:35:33.259 --> 00:35:35.299 where the coffee went the wrong way 00:35:35.299 --> 00:35:37.039 and she snorted it out her nostrils, 00:35:37.319 --> 00:35:39.039 and she laughed and said, 00:35:39.139 --> 00:35:39.360 honey, 00:35:39.699 --> 00:35:40.639 you're going to have to give 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:41.500 a lot more money 00:35:41.500 --> 00:35:42.099 if you think 00:35:42.099 --> 00:35:43.119 that's going to have 00:35:43.119 --> 00:35:44.000 any impact on him. 00:35:44.259 --> 00:35:44.480 I mean, 00:35:44.519 --> 00:35:45.259 he probably gave $20 00:35:45.259 --> 00:35:46.900 every four months 00:35:46.900 --> 00:35:47.500 when he showed up 00:35:47.500 --> 00:35:48.400 and thinks he was giving us 00:35:48.400 --> 00:35:48.940 a big deal. 00:35:49.359 --> 00:35:51.059 But we're like that with God. 00:35:51.819 --> 00:35:52.179 Really? 00:35:53.559 --> 00:35:54.199 Oh, wow, 00:35:54.279 --> 00:35:55.239 I am so impressed. 00:35:55.339 --> 00:35:57.440 You went to church 25 times 00:35:57.440 --> 00:35:58.579 like in 2016. 00:35:58.639 --> 00:35:59.159 Like, really? 00:35:59.159 --> 00:35:59.279 Really? 00:35:59.900 --> 00:36:00.859 How's that going to give me 00:36:00.859 --> 00:36:01.659 blessedness? 00:36:02.019 --> 00:36:03.480 That doesn't make any sense. 00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:07.340 Only God can bring me 00:36:07.340 --> 00:36:08.360 into blessedness. 00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:11.199 And all he asks 00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:12.119 is that I believe, 00:36:12.240 --> 00:36:13.340 take him at his word 00:36:13.340 --> 00:36:15.159 and believe him 00:36:15.159 --> 00:36:17.099 and believe what he promised. 00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:17.940 And look again 00:36:17.940 --> 00:36:18.800 at what he promised. 00:36:18.900 --> 00:36:19.539 It can be seen 00:36:19.539 --> 00:36:20.599 in the last verses, 00:36:20.780 --> 00:36:21.820 23 to 25. 00:36:22.440 --> 00:36:23.519 This is now us. 00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:25.679 Oh, sorry, 00:36:25.740 --> 00:36:26.500 I'm looking at the wrong here. 00:36:26.579 --> 00:36:27.579 23 to 25. 00:36:27.960 --> 00:36:28.840 But the words, 00:36:28.940 --> 00:36:30.240 it was counted to him, 00:36:30.860 --> 00:36:31.579 were not written 00:36:31.579 --> 00:36:32.360 for his sake alone. 00:36:32.360 --> 00:36:32.820 In other words, 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:34.280 when we just believe God, 00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:35.860 so the normal human way 00:36:35.860 --> 00:36:36.280 is to think of, 00:36:36.320 --> 00:36:36.440 you know, 00:36:36.460 --> 00:36:37.360 he's adding up the good and bad 00:36:37.360 --> 00:36:37.860 and all of that. 00:36:38.300 --> 00:36:39.180 But no, no, no, no. 00:36:39.260 --> 00:36:40.160 What we need to understand 00:36:40.160 --> 00:36:40.559 is this. 00:36:40.660 --> 00:36:41.740 It's when you put your faith 00:36:41.740 --> 00:36:42.559 and trust in Jesus 00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:43.660 and you believe, 00:36:44.039 --> 00:36:45.360 because God has promised 00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:46.460 that if you put your faith 00:36:46.460 --> 00:36:47.400 and trust in Jesus 00:36:47.400 --> 00:36:49.000 who died the death 00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:49.740 that you deserve 00:36:49.740 --> 00:36:51.519 and lived the life 00:36:51.519 --> 00:36:52.500 you cannot live 00:36:52.500 --> 00:36:54.500 and suffered death 00:36:54.500 --> 00:36:55.400 and tasted all there is 00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:56.039 to taste of death 00:36:56.039 --> 00:36:57.200 and then rose from the dead, 00:36:57.500 --> 00:36:58.519 and if you believe 00:36:58.519 --> 00:37:00.180 that that is God's provision 00:37:00.180 --> 00:37:01.000 for you to enter 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:01.880 into blessedness, 00:37:01.880 --> 00:37:04.480 then he takes you. 00:37:04.780 --> 00:37:06.079 Only he can bring you 00:37:06.079 --> 00:37:06.800 into blessedness, 00:37:06.820 --> 00:37:07.880 and all that counting 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:08.400 doesn't matter. 00:37:08.500 --> 00:37:09.140 What matters 00:37:09.140 --> 00:37:10.519 is that God has brought you 00:37:10.519 --> 00:37:11.160 into blessedness. 00:37:11.160 --> 00:37:12.059 That's what matters. 00:37:13.460 --> 00:37:14.300 But the words, 00:37:14.400 --> 00:37:14.900 verse 23, 00:37:14.980 --> 00:37:15.700 it was counted to him, 00:37:15.740 --> 00:37:16.180 were not written 00:37:16.180 --> 00:37:17.220 for his sake alone, 00:37:17.300 --> 00:37:18.400 that's in Genesis 15, 00:37:18.480 --> 00:37:19.240 but for ours, 00:37:19.340 --> 00:37:20.119 yours and mine. 00:37:21.059 --> 00:37:22.800 It will be counted to us 00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:25.619 who believe into God, 00:37:26.059 --> 00:37:27.559 who raised from the dead, 00:37:27.700 --> 00:37:28.920 Jesus our Lord, 00:37:28.920 --> 00:37:30.760 who was delivered up 00:37:30.760 --> 00:37:32.059 for our trespasses 00:37:32.059 --> 00:37:34.039 and raised for our justification. 00:37:34.860 --> 00:37:36.220 And that's the image 00:37:36.220 --> 00:37:37.260 that I was trying to get, 00:37:37.340 --> 00:37:39.139 is that when we believe 00:37:39.139 --> 00:37:40.780 that God has provided this way 00:37:40.780 --> 00:37:41.820 and we believe him, 00:37:41.900 --> 00:37:42.940 we believe his promise, 00:37:42.940 --> 00:37:44.340 and we accept that 00:37:44.340 --> 00:37:45.019 that's the way 00:37:45.019 --> 00:37:46.139 by trusting Jesus 00:37:46.139 --> 00:37:47.460 as our Savior and Lord, 00:37:47.820 --> 00:37:48.780 and he guarantees 00:37:48.780 --> 00:37:50.559 bringing us into blessedness, 00:37:50.800 --> 00:37:52.139 it begins on this side 00:37:52.139 --> 00:37:52.700 of the grave 00:37:52.700 --> 00:37:54.180 in little tiny seeds, 00:37:54.260 --> 00:37:55.200 and on the other side 00:37:55.200 --> 00:37:55.760 of the grave, 00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:56.740 it will be seen 00:37:56.740 --> 00:37:57.960 in all of its fullness, 00:37:58.420 --> 00:37:59.400 and as I go through 00:37:59.400 --> 00:38:00.160 the trials 00:38:00.160 --> 00:38:01.320 and the problems 00:38:01.320 --> 00:38:02.680 and then temptations 00:38:02.680 --> 00:38:05.200 of this world, 00:38:05.460 --> 00:38:06.640 I am invited time 00:38:06.640 --> 00:38:08.060 and time and time again 00:38:08.060 --> 00:38:09.000 in the midst of it 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:10.080 to remember 00:38:10.080 --> 00:38:11.280 that I have to 00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:12.540 take God at his word, 00:38:12.600 --> 00:38:13.800 there's nothing I can do 00:38:13.800 --> 00:38:14.880 other than take God 00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:15.460 at his word 00:38:15.460 --> 00:38:16.700 and believe his promise 00:38:16.700 --> 00:38:19.140 and live out of his promise, 00:38:19.300 --> 00:38:20.320 and when I live 00:38:20.320 --> 00:38:21.300 out of his promise 00:38:21.300 --> 00:38:22.040 in gratitude, 00:38:22.500 --> 00:38:23.800 I will start to live 00:38:23.800 --> 00:38:25.200 in very, very, very 00:38:25.200 --> 00:38:26.240 different ways, 00:38:26.480 --> 00:38:27.820 even to the point 00:38:27.820 --> 00:38:28.500 of every time 00:38:28.500 --> 00:38:29.780 I had those experiences 00:38:29.780 --> 00:38:30.920 while I was in Tucson, 00:38:30.920 --> 00:38:31.740 I just said, 00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:32.720 God, you are such 00:38:32.720 --> 00:38:33.340 a good God, 00:38:33.420 --> 00:38:34.240 and I'm not saying this 00:38:34.240 --> 00:38:34.780 because I am 00:38:34.780 --> 00:38:35.800 particularly holy, 00:38:36.039 --> 00:38:38.500 but because we live 00:38:38.500 --> 00:38:39.539 out of the promise 00:38:39.539 --> 00:38:41.340 of God to us, 00:38:41.860 --> 00:38:42.840 and when you live 00:38:42.840 --> 00:38:44.019 out of that promise, 00:38:44.980 --> 00:38:46.539 you begin to live 00:38:46.539 --> 00:38:47.380 out of gratitude 00:38:47.380 --> 00:38:48.740 and see the world 00:38:48.740 --> 00:38:49.940 in a different way, 00:38:50.620 --> 00:38:52.100 you begin to live 00:38:52.100 --> 00:38:53.240 in the real world, 00:38:53.800 --> 00:38:57.180 and this image 00:38:57.180 --> 00:38:58.800 of the death 00:38:58.800 --> 00:38:59.720 means that everything 00:38:59.720 --> 00:39:01.160 bad has been covered, 00:39:01.280 --> 00:39:02.180 has been dealt with 00:39:02.180 --> 00:39:03.240 in a way that is just, 00:39:03.340 --> 00:39:04.140 we'll talk about that 00:39:04.140 --> 00:39:05.200 more in coming weeks, 00:39:05.480 --> 00:39:06.660 and this idea 00:39:06.660 --> 00:39:07.519 of being justified, 00:39:07.700 --> 00:39:08.539 it's the same word 00:39:08.539 --> 00:39:09.539 as rightness, 00:39:09.980 --> 00:39:11.460 the rightness of Jesus 00:39:11.460 --> 00:39:13.519 comes upon me 00:39:13.519 --> 00:39:15.620 and into every level 00:39:15.620 --> 00:39:16.340 and part 00:39:16.340 --> 00:39:17.160 and nuance 00:39:17.160 --> 00:39:17.920 and crack 00:39:17.920 --> 00:39:18.400 of me 00:39:18.400 --> 00:39:19.580 and all my depths 00:39:19.580 --> 00:39:20.920 and in all my future 00:39:20.920 --> 00:39:22.019 and all my breadth 00:39:22.019 --> 00:39:23.039 and all my width 00:39:23.039 --> 00:39:23.980 and all my height 00:39:23.980 --> 00:39:24.519 and my lower, 00:39:24.860 --> 00:39:25.619 it comes 00:39:25.619 --> 00:39:26.860 and clothes 00:39:26.860 --> 00:39:28.320 all of me. 00:39:29.279 --> 00:39:30.480 All of me 00:39:30.480 --> 00:39:31.320 is his, 00:39:31.480 --> 00:39:32.460 I belong 00:39:32.460 --> 00:39:33.199 to him 00:39:33.199 --> 00:39:35.719 when I take him 00:39:35.719 --> 00:39:36.400 at his word 00:39:36.400 --> 00:39:37.460 and believe his promise. 00:39:39.219 --> 00:39:40.139 Just want to say 00:39:40.139 --> 00:39:40.940 one other thing 00:39:40.940 --> 00:39:42.119 before we close. 00:39:42.920 --> 00:39:43.500 If you just look 00:39:43.500 --> 00:39:44.759 at verse 20 again, 00:39:45.079 --> 00:39:45.219 yeah, 00:39:45.340 --> 00:39:45.779 20 00:39:45.780 --> 00:39:48.800 of chapter 4, 00:39:49.280 --> 00:39:51.780 there's a really 00:39:51.780 --> 00:39:52.820 good lesson here 00:39:52.820 --> 00:39:53.600 about how to grow 00:39:53.600 --> 00:39:54.280 in our faith. 00:39:54.740 --> 00:39:55.560 Look what it says. 00:39:56.160 --> 00:39:56.680 It says here, 00:39:56.740 --> 00:39:57.380 no unbelief 00:39:57.380 --> 00:39:58.160 made him waver 00:39:58.160 --> 00:39:59.100 concerning the promise 00:39:59.100 --> 00:39:59.620 of God. 00:39:59.900 --> 00:40:00.660 So part of it 00:40:00.660 --> 00:40:01.740 is just remembering 00:40:01.740 --> 00:40:02.760 the promise of God. 00:40:02.940 --> 00:40:03.340 But here, 00:40:03.420 --> 00:40:04.200 look at the main thing. 00:40:05.019 --> 00:40:06.080 He grew strong 00:40:06.080 --> 00:40:07.080 in his faith 00:40:07.080 --> 00:40:08.400 as he gave glory 00:40:08.400 --> 00:40:08.940 to God. 00:40:08.940 --> 00:40:12.159 He grew strong 00:40:12.159 --> 00:40:12.980 in his faith 00:40:12.980 --> 00:40:14.220 as he gave glory 00:40:14.220 --> 00:40:14.760 to God. 00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:18.039 Give him glory. 00:40:21.039 --> 00:40:22.099 Give him glory. 00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:23.280 Think about 00:40:23.280 --> 00:40:24.360 who he is. 00:40:25.200 --> 00:40:25.579 Think about 00:40:25.579 --> 00:40:26.340 his attributes. 00:40:27.460 --> 00:40:28.019 As you read 00:40:28.019 --> 00:40:28.579 the Bible, 00:40:29.139 --> 00:40:29.519 look at 00:40:29.519 --> 00:40:30.679 what the truth 00:40:30.679 --> 00:40:31.700 he wants us to know, 00:40:31.800 --> 00:40:32.380 the promises 00:40:32.380 --> 00:40:33.599 he wants us to believe, 00:40:33.880 --> 00:40:34.360 the wisdom 00:40:34.360 --> 00:40:35.460 he wants to share, 00:40:35.460 --> 00:40:37.480 and ask him 00:40:37.480 --> 00:40:38.500 to make it more real 00:40:38.500 --> 00:40:39.340 in your heart 00:40:39.340 --> 00:40:40.199 and the heart 00:40:40.199 --> 00:40:41.240 of your loved ones 00:40:41.240 --> 00:40:42.639 and thank him. 00:40:43.519 --> 00:40:44.380 Give him glory 00:40:44.380 --> 00:40:46.840 for the precious promises 00:40:46.840 --> 00:40:47.659 and his wisdom 00:40:47.659 --> 00:40:48.320 and the truth 00:40:48.320 --> 00:40:49.340 and for who he is. 00:40:50.880 --> 00:40:51.940 And in all things, 00:40:52.820 --> 00:40:53.320 just say, 00:40:53.400 --> 00:40:53.679 Father, 00:40:53.920 --> 00:40:55.260 I do not deserve 00:40:55.260 --> 00:40:55.980 your favor, 00:40:56.199 --> 00:40:58.300 but you are so kind 00:40:58.300 --> 00:41:00.039 and so loving 00:41:00.039 --> 00:41:01.880 and so good 00:41:01.880 --> 00:41:03.519 and so gentle 00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:05.440 that you would call 00:41:05.440 --> 00:41:06.880 me to hear 00:41:06.880 --> 00:41:07.800 your promise 00:41:07.800 --> 00:41:08.900 and that you, 00:41:09.039 --> 00:41:10.059 by your Holy Spirit, 00:41:10.179 --> 00:41:11.200 would enable me 00:41:11.200 --> 00:41:12.519 to take you 00:41:12.519 --> 00:41:13.960 at your word 00:41:13.960 --> 00:41:15.200 and believe 00:41:15.200 --> 00:41:16.099 your promise 00:41:16.099 --> 00:41:19.079 to believe 00:41:19.079 --> 00:41:19.900 in Jesus 00:41:19.900 --> 00:41:22.480 as the way 00:41:22.480 --> 00:41:23.019 that you 00:41:23.019 --> 00:41:24.280 will bring me 00:41:24.280 --> 00:41:25.760 at the end 00:41:25.760 --> 00:41:27.300 into blessedness. 00:41:28.019 --> 00:41:28.639 I invite you 00:41:28.639 --> 00:41:29.119 to stand. 00:41:29.119 --> 00:41:29.240 Thank you. 00:41:35.440 --> 00:41:35.980 bow our heads 00:41:35.980 --> 00:41:36.460 in prayer. 00:41:47.980 --> 00:41:48.579 Father, 00:41:48.800 --> 00:41:49.460 I give you 00:41:49.460 --> 00:41:50.440 thanks and praise 00:41:50.440 --> 00:41:51.200 that you know 00:41:51.200 --> 00:41:51.820 each one of us 00:41:51.820 --> 00:41:52.500 so perfectly. 00:41:52.980 --> 00:41:53.599 You know 00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:54.119 each 00:41:54.119 --> 00:41:55.980 false front 00:41:55.980 --> 00:41:57.519 that we have, 00:41:57.639 --> 00:41:58.519 each illusion 00:41:58.519 --> 00:41:59.480 and delusion 00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:00.200 that we 00:42:00.200 --> 00:42:01.860 wrap our minds 00:42:01.860 --> 00:42:02.320 around 00:42:02.320 --> 00:42:03.140 or we hide 00:42:03.140 --> 00:42:03.840 behind 00:42:03.840 --> 00:42:05.960 and to hide 00:42:05.960 --> 00:42:06.660 from ourselves 00:42:06.660 --> 00:42:07.220 and hide 00:42:07.220 --> 00:42:08.039 from other people 00:42:08.039 --> 00:42:09.300 and you know 00:42:09.300 --> 00:42:10.160 everyone that we've 00:42:10.160 --> 00:42:10.840 ever used 00:42:10.840 --> 00:42:11.240 and everyone 00:42:11.240 --> 00:42:12.440 that we will use 00:42:12.440 --> 00:42:13.099 and you see 00:42:13.099 --> 00:42:13.960 through all of those 00:42:13.960 --> 00:42:14.260 things, 00:42:14.360 --> 00:42:14.960 knowing them all 00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:15.519 to see us 00:42:15.519 --> 00:42:16.380 as we really are 00:42:16.380 --> 00:42:17.760 and you loved us. 00:42:18.900 --> 00:42:19.980 You love us. 00:42:19.980 --> 00:42:24.000 and you did not 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:24.900 turn your face 00:42:24.900 --> 00:42:25.920 away from us 00:42:25.920 --> 00:42:27.480 when you see 00:42:27.480 --> 00:42:30.139 all the false 00:42:30.139 --> 00:42:30.820 identities 00:42:30.820 --> 00:42:31.880 and idols 00:42:31.880 --> 00:42:34.179 and arrogance 00:42:34.179 --> 00:42:35.320 and wounds 00:42:35.320 --> 00:42:36.599 and our excellence. 00:42:36.719 --> 00:42:36.780 Father, 00:42:36.780 --> 00:42:37.219 you don't turn 00:42:37.219 --> 00:42:37.800 your eyes away 00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:38.219 from us 00:42:38.219 --> 00:42:39.280 but still you love us 00:42:39.280 --> 00:42:40.260 and sent your son 00:42:40.260 --> 00:42:40.960 and promised 00:42:40.960 --> 00:42:41.820 that when we put 00:42:41.820 --> 00:42:42.760 our faith and trust, 00:42:42.840 --> 00:42:43.519 when we take you 00:42:43.519 --> 00:42:44.139 at your word 00:42:44.139 --> 00:42:45.260 and believe 00:42:45.260 --> 00:42:46.219 in your promise 00:42:46.219 --> 00:42:47.500 and put our faith 00:42:47.500 --> 00:42:47.980 in Jesus 00:42:47.980 --> 00:42:48.599 that Father, 00:42:48.820 --> 00:42:49.960 you may 00:42:49.960 --> 00:42:50.720 make us right 00:42:50.720 --> 00:42:51.380 with you 00:42:51.380 --> 00:42:52.199 in a way 00:42:52.199 --> 00:42:52.960 which means 00:42:52.960 --> 00:42:54.400 that we will dwell 00:42:54.400 --> 00:42:56.720 and be in blessedness 00:42:56.720 --> 00:42:58.199 for all eternity, 00:42:58.840 --> 00:42:59.900 blessedness 00:42:59.900 --> 00:43:01.460 of new resurrection bodies, 00:43:01.840 --> 00:43:02.679 the blessedness 00:43:02.679 --> 00:43:03.900 of a renewed 00:43:03.900 --> 00:43:05.599 earth and heavens 00:43:05.599 --> 00:43:07.320 and you do 00:43:07.320 --> 00:43:08.099 all of that 00:43:08.099 --> 00:43:08.760 for us 00:43:08.760 --> 00:43:11.059 and so Father, 00:43:11.159 --> 00:43:11.860 we ask that you 00:43:11.860 --> 00:43:12.559 would promise 00:43:12.559 --> 00:43:13.940 that we would 00:43:13.940 --> 00:43:14.780 help us 00:43:14.780 --> 00:43:15.260 to believe 00:43:15.260 --> 00:43:16.079 that promise 00:43:16.079 --> 00:43:18.159 and then live 00:43:18.159 --> 00:43:19.039 out of that promise 00:43:19.039 --> 00:43:19.800 day by day. 00:43:20.480 --> 00:43:21.079 And so Father, 00:43:21.139 --> 00:43:21.720 we thank you 00:43:21.720 --> 00:43:22.440 and we ask 00:43:22.440 --> 00:43:22.840 that you would 00:43:22.840 --> 00:43:23.380 do this work 00:43:23.380 --> 00:43:24.059 in our lives 00:43:24.059 --> 00:43:24.900 and we ask 00:43:24.900 --> 00:43:25.360 all of this 00:43:25.360 --> 00:43:25.740 in the name 00:43:25.740 --> 00:43:26.220 of Jesus, 00:43:26.380 --> 00:43:26.780 your son 00:43:26.780 --> 00:43:27.400 and our savior 00:43:27.400 --> 00:43:28.699 and all God's 00:43:28.699 --> 00:43:29.260 people said, 00:43:29.260 --> 00:43:30.280 amen.