WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.839 Father, you know how much we want to be free. We want to be free beings and Lord, sometimes in our attempts to be free, we make ourselves captive to our dreams and our hopes and all that, Lord. 00:00:13.160 --> 00:00:25.000 Would you open your word this morning to our hearts and our minds? Would you pour out your Holy Spirit upon us so that when we hear your word, Lord, we would hear your word and do it, that we would be free in doing your will. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:29.760 Lord, would you pour out your Holy Spirit now, in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:31.339 So you may be seated. 00:00:33.979 --> 00:00:39.579 So if you're a guest today, I'm just going to introduce what we're doing in the summers. 00:00:39.780 --> 00:00:44.980 We're going through a series of short verses that are memorable and they're succinct. 00:00:45.060 --> 00:00:48.379 They have a big point. It's something that we want to meditate on. 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:53.179 And just earlier, as George read the scripture, he said something that was very helpful. 00:00:53.179 --> 00:00:57.780 In the book of John, which we're going to look at right now, there are short sayings. 00:00:57.780 --> 00:01:05.859 And the verse that I'm going to open today, that we're all going to look together, is a verse that has a world of meaning. 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:07.480 So we're going to look at that. 00:01:07.820 --> 00:01:10.680 Andrew, could you put up, not the first point, but the scripture text. 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:14.860 So just a few points down. 00:01:15.620 --> 00:01:17.160 Great. So let's read that together. 00:01:18.820 --> 00:01:20.520 In this is love. 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:33.199 Now we all heard the big P word. 00:01:34.039 --> 00:01:35.319 Propitiation. What is that? 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:41.279 That's a really, really old word that Christians share with other world religions. 00:01:42.299 --> 00:01:45.419 And it might make you wonder, like, what does that mean? 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:46.199 We're going to look at that. 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:48.500 It basically implies that God has wrath. 00:01:49.659 --> 00:01:51.079 God has wrath. 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:56.539 That's not a very popular idea in our day and age, that God has wrath. 00:01:56.540 --> 00:02:05.160 So, in reading this in our culture, in our time, we might come up with an objection that sounds something like this. 00:02:06.020 --> 00:02:12.159 I would not want to believe in a God who is wrathful, needing to be satisfied by blood and sacrifice. 00:02:12.540 --> 00:02:15.759 I want to believe in a God of love and acceptance. 00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:21.439 The God of the Bible is wrathful and therefore not loving and accepting of me. 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:24.280 There's the objection. 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:28.259 So what does the Bible say to this? 00:02:29.300 --> 00:02:32.120 Now, first things first, let's not sit here for the next half hour, 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:37.199 going through this text, talking about propitiation, and not really coming up with a good definition. 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:39.099 So let's look at a definition. 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:41.099 Andrew, if we can have the first slide. 00:02:43.319 --> 00:02:50.280 So to propitiate a God is to offer a sacrifice that turns aside the God's wrath. 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:56.340 So it's also, it basically means satisfying the wrath, making the wrath no more. 00:02:56.420 --> 00:03:02.400 You do something to appease the God, and the God is no longer angry at you. 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:10.620 And so a God might be angry at you or your tribe and ask for a sacrifice like money or cattle or children 00:03:10.620 --> 00:03:19.200 to be offered as a sacrifice to just to avert the God's wrath and so that there's no worse consequences. 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:24.840 And so this is what the text might be implying here when it's talking about propitiation. 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:26.099 So here's the question. 00:03:26.180 --> 00:03:27.460 Is God like that? 00:03:27.460 --> 00:03:37.560 Is God like those ancient gods who want to have their wrath propitiated and need to have sacrifices to appease his wrath? 00:03:38.540 --> 00:03:43.620 Well, the text here says that God gave his son as a propitiation for our sins. 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:56.460 So wouldn't loving a God who is wrathful or grumpy or capricious be like loving someone who is like, say, Jafar from the movie Aladdin? 00:03:57.219 --> 00:03:59.980 Andrew, can we have the movie? 00:04:06.980 --> 00:04:08.000 Can I not? 00:04:08.379 --> 00:04:09.300 Give me your hand. 00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:11.040 First, give me the love. 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:15.500 What? 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:20.560 He is the last! 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:24.920 What are you doing? 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:27.100 Giving you your reward. 00:04:27.579 --> 00:04:29.800 Your eternal reward. 00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:32.220 Okay. 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:37.280 So many of us in our culture would actually think that God is like that. 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:38.319 You have no idea. 00:04:38.340 --> 00:04:38.860 Not Seinfeld. 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:39.879 That was two weeks ago. 00:04:43.620 --> 00:04:44.120 That's okay. 00:04:45.740 --> 00:04:49.060 So many of us would think that God is like that. 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:56.220 That he is wrathful and that we, like Aladdin, are trying to do everything we can to please God, to do his will. 00:04:56.379 --> 00:04:57.699 Like Aladdin gets the lamp. 00:04:57.759 --> 00:04:59.319 He does everything that he's commanded to do. 00:04:59.579 --> 00:05:01.439 And he's there and he's bringing it to God. 00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:03.399 Or to Jafar in this case. 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:04.680 But that we're like this. 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:06.300 We're doing everything we can for God. 00:05:06.300 --> 00:05:08.920 And then at the end, God might have mercy on us. 00:05:08.960 --> 00:05:09.500 He might not. 00:05:09.620 --> 00:05:11.740 He might say, you're a good servant. 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:12.759 He might smite us. 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:19.280 This is basically how we kind of understand God when we think of God as a wrathful judge. 00:05:20.699 --> 00:05:26.500 Now, if this is what the word propitiation is supposed to represent, then this poses a problem for Christians. 00:05:27.340 --> 00:05:28.340 So is God like Jafar? 00:05:28.339 --> 00:05:35.259 Jafar does he put demands on our lives and might or might not reward us in the end? 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:37.899 Andrew, can we have the next point, please? 00:05:40.299 --> 00:05:50.739 So God's wrath is not an unsatisfiable blind rage, but a reasonable and willed response to our human rebellion against him. 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:55.259 His wrath flows from his infinite justice and holiness. 00:05:55.259 --> 00:05:55.699 Okay. 00:05:55.699 --> 00:05:59.300 I kind of invented a word there when it says unsatisfiable. 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:02.819 Maybe a better word is insatiable, but it's a bit of a complicated word. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:04.480 So unsatisfiable. 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:12.980 God's wrath is not an unsatisfiable blind rage, but a reasonable and willed response to our human rebellion against him. 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:16.500 His wrath flows from his infinite justice and holiness. 00:06:18.279 --> 00:06:18.800 Okay. 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:21.120 So God has wrath. 00:06:21.539 --> 00:06:21.680 Sure. 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:24.719 Why does he need to have blood and sacrifice? 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:26.780 Like propitiation entails. 00:06:27.520 --> 00:06:31.580 I don't see how there's any difference between God and Jafar. 00:06:31.760 --> 00:06:34.820 Like, why wouldn't he just forgive and forget? 00:06:34.980 --> 00:06:38.000 Isn't that a better way to think about God? 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:50.800 When I was at the University of Ottawa, not too long, maybe a year ago or two years ago, at the Islam Awareness Week, I talked with one of the students, one of the representatives of the Islamic faith. 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:54.300 And I asked him, or basically, I didn't really ask him. 00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:56.980 I told him, I don't really think that Allah is a just God. 00:06:56.980 --> 00:06:59.720 And he kind of backed off and said, what do you mean? 00:06:59.840 --> 00:07:01.680 Like, Allah is just. 00:07:02.280 --> 00:07:04.640 Like, that's one of the characteristics of Allah. 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:07.639 And I asked him, how is he just? 00:07:07.719 --> 00:07:15.979 And so he explained to me, well, there's a story in the Quran about Muhammad who, when people come to him to confess their faults, he turns his face away. 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:18.680 And their sins are dealt with. 00:07:20.580 --> 00:07:22.040 Now, is that really just? 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:24.520 Is that really just? 00:07:24.740 --> 00:07:35.240 So that when we confess our sins to, well, to Muhammad and ultimately to Allah, that Allah would just turn his face and not deal with the sin and just say, let's just pretend it didn't exist. 00:07:35.500 --> 00:07:38.020 Let's just pretend I didn't hear that. 00:07:38.780 --> 00:07:39.939 Is that really justice? 00:07:39.939 --> 00:07:46.939 Now, not only is that unjust, but it is a very low standard of what constitutes as sin. 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:51.879 See, the Bible portrays sin as a separation from God. 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:55.480 A separation from the very source of all life. 00:07:56.019 --> 00:07:57.420 Bringing about our death. 00:07:58.100 --> 00:08:05.740 See, when we're detaching ourselves from anything that gives us life, like food or water, well, eventually we'll die. 00:08:05.740 --> 00:08:09.120 And ultimately, that points to the ultimate source of life, who is God. 00:08:09.939 --> 00:08:11.399 And that's the currency of sin. 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:12.259 That's its value. 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:13.660 That's its sting. 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:15.219 Sin kills. 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:18.620 So to make payment for our sins, we die. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:19.959 Every single one of us. 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:21.660 We will all die. 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:23.959 I know as a young man, I don't often think that I will die. 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:26.040 I will die one day. 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:33.059 Now, maybe you're not familiar with what sin is. 00:08:33.059 --> 00:08:36.939 You might be wondering, what exactly counts as sin? 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:41.539 Because I don't really feel guilty, you know, from a day to day. 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:43.119 I think I'm a good person. 00:08:43.239 --> 00:08:44.199 I see I'm tolerant. 00:08:44.599 --> 00:08:45.379 I'm caring. 00:08:45.539 --> 00:08:46.500 I don't waste. 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:49.599 And all these things, I think I'm a pretty good person. 00:08:50.619 --> 00:08:54.000 At the root of sin is stealing from God. 00:08:54.599 --> 00:08:58.239 So this is a bit of a big picture of what sin is in the Bible. 00:08:58.719 --> 00:09:00.379 Sin is stealing from God. 00:09:00.379 --> 00:09:02.939 It's stealing the glory that belongs to God. 00:09:03.620 --> 00:09:07.939 I see when God created all things in the world, he made all things good. 00:09:08.259 --> 00:09:13.679 And he created humanity in his image with the ability to live in this world. 00:09:13.899 --> 00:09:16.480 And what do we do with that ability to live in this world? 00:09:17.539 --> 00:09:19.460 Well, we take advantage of others. 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:23.100 We don't give glory to God. 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:27.600 We make everything so that we have the utmost advantage in life. 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:31.560 We steal, we cheat, we lie for our own gain. 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:36.220 With everything that God has given us to return to him, we keep it for ourselves. 00:09:39.540 --> 00:09:44.360 J.C. Ross summarizes the biblical teaching of sin as such. 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:45.800 We have it here. 00:09:45.799 --> 00:10:07.599 See, maybe I'm the only sinful person here. 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:18.899 Maybe I'm the only one who has, you know, when I plan a day, when I plan an outing, I plan a month, I plan a year, and things don't go the way I planned them. 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:23.639 All of a sudden, wrath and anger erupts in my heart and I wonder, what's going on? 00:10:23.879 --> 00:10:25.560 This is not how I wanted things to go. 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:35.659 And here we are in our sinfulness, and probably in the epitome of our sinfulness, we say to God, God, you can't have wrath against me. 00:10:35.859 --> 00:10:36.719 Not against me. 00:10:37.459 --> 00:10:39.019 God, you can't have wrath. 00:10:39.079 --> 00:10:39.859 That's not just. 00:10:43.139 --> 00:10:48.459 Yeah, we say that to the creator of all things and the judge of all people, that he is not allowed to have wrath. 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:51.120 So here's the verdict. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:11:04.860 If this is all true, that God is just and he's holy, that we have taken all the abilities that he's given us to give thanks to him, to praise him, and to bless our neighbors, 00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:11.200 and we've taken these and we've made gods of ourselves, and that we are sinful, 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:17.460 then the verdict is that we are doomed before God if we're left to our own devices. 00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:22.680 If we are left alone by ourselves in front of God, we're doomed. 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:33.440 If our entire life were to play on this screen here, in front of everyone here that we love so much, we would just become undone. 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:42.440 Can you imagine in front of a holy God, a just God, who sees all things, if he saw our entire lives, 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:47.280 how much that would break us and undo us. 00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:53.639 So, propitiation is needed to avert the wrath of God. 00:11:53.740 --> 00:11:55.139 God is angry at our sins. 00:11:56.540 --> 00:12:03.300 We've stolen from God, and we're in desperate need of a savior to save us from God's wrath. 00:12:04.259 --> 00:12:08.400 Now, my estimate is that people show up to church to hear good news, right? 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:09.320 That's why we go to church. 00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:13.240 We want to hear good news in a world where things don't go so well. 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:20.279 So, to give an illustration, we go to the doctor, and we go because something is wrong. 00:12:20.379 --> 00:12:29.419 And if the doctor would tell us that, you know, everything's fine, and you know that everything's not fine, that would not be good news, right? 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:35.539 Or if we went to the doctor, and the doctor said, well, there's a problem with you, but we don't know what it is. 00:12:35.939 --> 00:12:37.439 Come back and see us another time. 00:12:37.839 --> 00:12:39.899 That's not really good news either, is it? 00:12:41.339 --> 00:12:48.339 Now, if we were to go to the doctor, and the doctor would tell us that something's wrong, and here's the medication, but it's the wrong medication. 00:12:48.599 --> 00:12:49.799 That's not good news either. 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:56.399 But when the doctor diagnoses the problem and provides the right remedy, we are hopeful. 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:06.139 And finally, if we go to the doctors and he gives us the right diagnosis and the right prescription, then it was successful. 00:13:07.299 --> 00:13:09.399 We go to church because we want to hear good news. 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:11.419 We live our lives. 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:12.259 We listen to the radio. 00:13:12.479 --> 00:13:13.279 We watch TV. 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:14.979 We want to feel good about ourselves. 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:17.019 But here's the reality. 00:13:17.099 --> 00:13:18.679 We need a right diagnosis. 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:23.899 And the Bible tells us that we're all sinful before a righteous God. 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:33.299 And so we need to have someone who can provide satisfaction for that wrath that God has against us. 00:13:34.620 --> 00:13:36.620 But the Bible has good news for us. 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:42.919 It tells us that though God has responded to sinful humanity throughout the ages, throughout the centuries, 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:50.419 and that he has poured out his wrath upon the unrighteous people who have lived in history, 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:55.939 here in this text, we see that God pours out his wrath on the person of Jesus. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:01.299 See, it says here in verse 10 that we've been looking at, 00:14:01.699 --> 00:14:07.399 it says that God loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:12.159 He sent Jesus to satisfy his wrath against us. 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:20.019 And this is why the Christian cliche that the God of the Old Testament is a wrathful judge 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:26.100 and the God of the New Testament is very kind, is very tolerant, and accepting does not work. 00:14:26.679 --> 00:14:28.100 And we see here this is the New Testament, 00:14:28.579 --> 00:14:32.519 and that we see that God pours out his wrath on Jesus. 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:38.279 And just to be sure, we're going to look at this verse in John chapter 3, verse 36, 00:14:38.439 --> 00:14:39.960 if we can have that on the next slide. 00:14:41.699 --> 00:14:45.740 Here's the tender Jesus of the New Testament telling us, 00:14:46.439 --> 00:14:49.480 whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:53.039 Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:56.199 but the wrath of God remains on him. 00:14:56.200 --> 00:15:04.620 So even Jesus of the New Testament, the God of the New Testament, 00:15:04.980 --> 00:15:08.460 gives us that verdict that we are doomed and that we need a Savior. 00:15:10.140 --> 00:15:11.340 Let's read the text again. 00:15:11.660 --> 00:15:13.820 Andrew, if we can have that slide. 00:15:17.740 --> 00:15:18.860 Let's read that together. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:20.840 In this is love. 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:32.000 Now, okay, maybe you're wondering, 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:35.740 I can see that God expressed love and wrath, 00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:39.620 and in this text it talks about love and love and love, 00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:43.399 and then propitiation, God's satisfaction for wrath. 00:15:43.860 --> 00:15:46.740 But doesn't that talk about a contradiction? 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:53.720 Like, doesn't love drive out wrath and wrath drive out love? 00:15:54.600 --> 00:15:57.039 Like, isn't this just one of those times when, you know, 00:15:57.100 --> 00:16:00.340 Christians are told to read the Bible and accept the teachings of the Bible 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:03.639 and then skip over something contradictory like this? 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:06.580 Hmm. 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:10.480 So in Becky Pippert, in her book, 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:12.480 Hope Has Its Reasons, 00:16:13.340 --> 00:16:15.779 she explains this as a paradox. 00:16:15.779 --> 00:16:17.459 And I'll read this quote to you. 00:16:18.579 --> 00:16:23.720 Think how we feel when we see someone we love ravaged by unwise actions or relationships. 00:16:24.539 --> 00:16:28.179 Do we respond with benign tolerance as we might toward strangers? 00:16:28.839 --> 00:16:29.799 Far from it. 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:32.000 Anger isn't the opposite of love. 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:33.299 Hate is. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:36.360 And the final form of hate is indifference. 00:16:37.319 --> 00:16:39.360 God's wrath is not a cranky explosion, 00:16:39.740 --> 00:16:42.179 but his settled opposition to the cancer 00:16:42.179 --> 00:16:45.719 which is eating out the insides of the human race. 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:47.699 He loves with his whole being. 00:16:49.479 --> 00:16:50.199 See, these, 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:53.939 this quality of God that he is love, 00:16:54.039 --> 00:16:55.359 this part of his character, 00:16:56.039 --> 00:16:56.539 love, 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:58.339 and that the outworking of his justice, 00:16:58.479 --> 00:16:59.019 which is wrath, 00:16:59.099 --> 00:17:00.139 are not contradictory, 00:17:00.359 --> 00:17:01.679 but they work together. 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:02.239 In fact, 00:17:02.539 --> 00:17:05.339 if God was not wrathful against evil, 00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:06.919 then God would not be just. 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:09.000 And if God is not just, 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:10.940 then he's not good. 00:17:11.660 --> 00:17:12.519 And if he's not good, 00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:13.860 then he's loving, 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:14.600 he's not loving. 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:18.900 And that poses a problem for how we understand love in our culture. 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:19.100 See, 00:17:19.120 --> 00:17:21.259 we don't really have a point of reference anymore 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:24.359 because we so wanted to eliminate the God of wrath 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:27.519 in our understanding of God in the culture. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:31.920 And we wanted to do away with that idea 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:34.220 that we will have to give account for our lives in the end. 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:37.259 And that's what we're left with. 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:38.099 We're left with, 00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:39.019 instead of love, 00:17:39.099 --> 00:17:40.000 we're left with tolerance. 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:42.539 Simply bearing, 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:44.359 painfully enduring, 00:17:44.900 --> 00:17:47.259 someone who disagrees with us 00:17:47.259 --> 00:17:49.279 or someone who annoys us. 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:50.859 And that's not love. 00:17:51.259 --> 00:17:55.319 Here the Bible gives us a pattern for what love is. 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:57.680 When we read that God loved us 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:00.299 by sending his son to be the propitiation for our sins, 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:02.819 this opens up a world of hope 00:18:02.819 --> 00:18:05.019 that is based on an event. 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:06.119 See, 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:08.799 the idea that God loves us 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:12.079 is not a pie-in-the-sky idea 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:14.819 that has no substance or any implications on our lives, 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:16.579 but is found in God leaving 00:18:16.579 --> 00:18:19.599 the eternal splendor of his glory in heaven, 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:21.480 where he is worshipped by the angels. 00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:23.779 God leaves that place of glory 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:26.980 to be incarnate into a human being, 00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:28.399 to take on the human form 00:18:28.399 --> 00:18:30.819 in an embryo, 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:33.319 living nine months in the womb of Mary, 00:18:34.139 --> 00:18:35.759 and then being born, 00:18:36.539 --> 00:18:38.579 just experiencing every possibility, 00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:40.919 every vulnerability there is 00:18:40.919 --> 00:18:42.599 to be experienced as a human being. 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:44.500 And then growing up in wisdom, 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:46.319 living a sinless life, 00:18:46.740 --> 00:18:47.480 healing the sick, 00:18:47.579 --> 00:18:48.980 and teaching the kingdom of God. 00:18:49.639 --> 00:18:50.159 And yet, 00:18:50.339 --> 00:18:51.359 this person, 00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:51.740 Jesus, 00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:53.099 who is God and man, 00:18:53.719 --> 00:18:55.459 gave himself into the hands of sinners 00:18:55.459 --> 00:18:56.559 to die a wicked 00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:58.679 and vile death 00:18:58.679 --> 00:18:59.399 on a cross 00:18:59.399 --> 00:19:01.419 that was not for his sins, 00:19:01.659 --> 00:19:03.359 but for all of humanity 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:05.039 and its opposition to God. 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:06.319 So, Andrew, 00:19:06.379 --> 00:19:07.819 can we have the next point, please? 00:19:07.819 --> 00:19:10.960 In his love, 00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:13.819 Jesus handed himself over to his enemies 00:19:13.819 --> 00:19:16.240 in order to save his enemies. 00:19:16.879 --> 00:19:18.079 We are those enemies 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:19.599 and become right with God 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:21.299 when we humbly receive 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:22.939 and cling to Jesus 00:19:22.939 --> 00:19:25.879 as the propitiation for our sins. 00:19:28.939 --> 00:19:30.319 See, this is really what 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:32.519 the core of the Christian faith is, 00:19:32.599 --> 00:19:35.099 is not that we are so lovely 00:19:35.099 --> 00:19:36.599 that God falls in love with us 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:37.539 or admires us 00:19:37.539 --> 00:19:38.500 for our efforts. 00:19:39.019 --> 00:19:40.179 It's not like with Aladdin. 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:42.139 We're not the Aladdins 00:19:42.139 --> 00:19:44.379 who do everything that we can 00:19:44.379 --> 00:19:45.599 to give glory to God, 00:19:45.899 --> 00:19:47.719 to accomplish the mission perfectly, 00:19:47.819 --> 00:19:49.459 to hand over the glory to God. 00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:50.240 When we're, 00:19:50.419 --> 00:19:51.019 with one hand, 00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:51.799 we're handing the glory 00:19:51.799 --> 00:19:52.359 and the other hand, 00:19:52.419 --> 00:19:53.919 we're hanging on the brink of hell 00:19:53.919 --> 00:19:55.599 and hoping that God 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:57.459 would give us our due reward. 00:19:58.359 --> 00:19:59.559 We're not like that. 00:20:00.659 --> 00:20:01.779 What this is saying is that 00:20:01.779 --> 00:20:03.959 because of our sins 00:20:03.959 --> 00:20:05.719 and the depth of our sins 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:07.019 and the ugliness of our sins, 00:20:07.779 --> 00:20:09.400 rather despite our sins, 00:20:09.539 --> 00:20:11.579 God has shown his love to us 00:20:11.579 --> 00:20:12.620 despite that. 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:15.380 There's no ground for boasting, 00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:18.799 no ground for exalting ourselves 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:19.980 over others 00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:23.059 because we're so great 00:20:23.059 --> 00:20:24.059 in the eyes of God. 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:25.920 But God loves us 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:27.279 because of who he is. 00:20:27.860 --> 00:20:28.480 God loves us 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:29.940 in sending his son for us. 00:20:29.940 --> 00:20:35.799 Now this might be a bit difficult 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:37.000 for us to understand. 00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:38.840 This concept of love 00:20:38.840 --> 00:20:40.340 that is self-giving 00:20:40.340 --> 00:20:41.940 or very inconvenient 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:43.539 because we live in an age of, 00:20:43.539 --> 00:20:45.820 let's say, hyper-convenience. 00:20:45.900 --> 00:20:47.080 We have technology 00:20:47.080 --> 00:20:48.360 that we have access to everything 00:20:48.360 --> 00:20:50.259 and for us, 00:20:50.620 --> 00:20:51.259 everything in life 00:20:51.259 --> 00:20:52.140 is just more convenient. 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:53.180 We have microwaves 00:20:53.180 --> 00:20:54.380 and we have TVs 00:20:54.380 --> 00:20:55.200 and we have cars 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:57.420 and everything is just much easier 00:20:57.420 --> 00:20:59.100 and we can become complacent. 00:20:59.500 --> 00:21:01.140 And that can come into 00:21:01.140 --> 00:21:02.779 or infiltrate into the way 00:21:02.779 --> 00:21:03.500 that we love. 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:06.120 Love has to be convenient, 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:08.940 has to be, you know, 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:10.620 not too sacrificial. 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:12.980 The text here is telling us 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:15.019 that love is inconvenient, 00:21:15.660 --> 00:21:17.880 that when we routinely choose 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:20.000 the path of least resistance in life, 00:21:20.539 --> 00:21:23.039 God chose death on a cross. 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:28.299 In my lifetime, 00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:30.480 before becoming a Christian 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:31.859 and after becoming a Christian, 00:21:32.159 --> 00:21:33.139 I've really struggled 00:21:33.139 --> 00:21:36.940 with the fact that, 00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:37.659 you know, 00:21:37.740 --> 00:21:38.639 does God love me 00:21:38.639 --> 00:21:39.299 or the question like, 00:21:39.399 --> 00:21:40.119 does God love me 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:41.099 or does God hate me? 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:44.480 And I've often found myself, 00:21:44.579 --> 00:21:44.700 you know, 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:46.019 when life is going well, 00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:47.359 when I'm performing well, 00:21:47.420 --> 00:21:48.359 I'm pleasing others, 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:49.960 that, you know, 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:51.180 God is probably very happy 00:21:51.180 --> 00:21:51.920 with me right now. 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:53.180 And then when things 00:21:53.180 --> 00:21:54.019 go really bad, 00:21:54.380 --> 00:21:55.420 if I'm unsuccessful 00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:56.340 in my work 00:21:56.340 --> 00:21:57.060 or in my school 00:21:57.060 --> 00:21:57.539 or whatnot, 00:21:58.279 --> 00:21:59.420 that God is probably 00:21:59.420 --> 00:22:01.060 quite unhappy with me, 00:22:01.120 --> 00:22:02.480 that he is probably 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:03.680 conjuring up some wrath 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:04.160 so that he could 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:05.279 pour it out on me one day. 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:08.340 And what this text is doing 00:22:08.340 --> 00:22:10.200 is that despite the fact 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:12.080 that we balance ourselves 00:22:12.080 --> 00:22:14.000 in between pessimism 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:15.720 or optimism in life, 00:22:16.180 --> 00:22:17.740 God shows us 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:19.440 not a balance in the middle, 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:20.539 not something that brings 00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:21.200 both together, 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:22.640 that equalizes both. 00:22:22.840 --> 00:22:23.539 But he brings us 00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:24.380 into a tension, 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:25.819 a tension of the gospel 00:22:25.819 --> 00:22:27.259 where we are so sinful 00:22:27.259 --> 00:22:29.299 that God came down 00:22:29.299 --> 00:22:29.799 to save us 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:30.940 and yet we're so loved 00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:32.400 that he came down 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:33.140 to save us. 00:22:35.220 --> 00:22:36.380 It puts us into that, 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:37.519 the tension of the gospel 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:41.220 where God so loved us 00:22:41.220 --> 00:22:42.440 despite ourselves 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:46.019 and despite our sinfulness. 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:48.660 So some of you 00:22:48.660 --> 00:22:49.759 might be here 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:51.799 believing in Jesus 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:53.400 and maybe have believed 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:54.400 in Jesus for a long time 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:55.440 but you're not really sure 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:56.460 what it's like 00:22:56.460 --> 00:22:57.180 to be a Christian 00:22:57.180 --> 00:22:58.139 or you know, 00:22:58.339 --> 00:22:59.660 you have that idea 00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:00.079 that you know, 00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:00.980 give your life to Jesus 00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:02.079 but how do we walk 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:03.559 the Christian faith? 00:23:03.700 --> 00:23:04.400 How do we walk 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:05.099 the Christian life? 00:23:05.139 --> 00:23:06.460 How do I know God? 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:08.359 Well this text 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:11.279 is really the center of that, 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:12.900 that it shows us 00:23:12.900 --> 00:23:13.380 the pattern 00:23:13.380 --> 00:23:14.420 that we are there 00:23:14.420 --> 00:23:16.019 with hands open 00:23:16.019 --> 00:23:17.780 to receive God's love. 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:18.880 We're not trying 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:20.140 to win God's love 00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:21.519 but we receive God's love 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:22.900 that God has shown 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:23.800 his love to us 00:23:23.800 --> 00:23:25.460 and we are the receiving end 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:26.500 of that love 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:27.420 and we acknowledge 00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:28.960 that God indeed 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.100 has died for our sins 00:23:30.100 --> 00:23:31.180 in the person of Jesus. 00:23:33.280 --> 00:23:34.080 So knowing God 00:23:34.080 --> 00:23:34.840 is not just a matter 00:23:34.840 --> 00:23:36.280 of changing our intellect 00:23:36.280 --> 00:23:38.340 or our perspective in life 00:23:38.340 --> 00:23:39.960 but it's a matter of living. 00:23:40.620 --> 00:23:41.300 Andrew, can we have 00:23:41.300 --> 00:23:42.740 the next slide please? 00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:45.320 So this is the next verse 00:23:45.320 --> 00:23:47.100 that follows the text 00:23:47.100 --> 00:23:48.960 and it kind of, 00:23:49.120 --> 00:23:50.060 it just follows 00:23:50.060 --> 00:23:51.640 in a train of thought. 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:53.380 It says basically 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:54.519 that there's an implication 00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:55.600 to this love 00:23:55.600 --> 00:23:56.800 that God has for us. 00:23:57.720 --> 00:23:58.420 It says, 00:23:58.500 --> 00:23:58.900 Beloved, 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:00.400 if God so loved us, 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:02.440 if God so loved us 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:03.440 in giving his Son 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:04.540 as a propitiation 00:24:04.540 --> 00:24:06.160 for our sins, 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:08.560 we also ought to love 00:24:08.560 --> 00:24:09.140 one another. 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:12.040 Beloved, 00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:13.299 if God so loved us, 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:14.099 we also ought 00:24:14.099 --> 00:24:15.799 to love one another. 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:18.000 Now, 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:19.539 we all know someone 00:24:19.539 --> 00:24:21.259 who is incredibly talented, 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:22.399 incredibly skilled 00:24:22.399 --> 00:24:25.599 and who doesn't, 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:25.879 you know, 00:24:25.940 --> 00:24:26.759 you can't really tell 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:27.399 that they're this 00:24:27.399 --> 00:24:28.539 world-famous pianist 00:24:28.539 --> 00:24:29.819 but all of a sudden 00:24:29.819 --> 00:24:30.480 you go to a party 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:31.059 and this person 00:24:31.059 --> 00:24:32.299 starts playing the piano 00:24:32.299 --> 00:24:32.740 and you're like, 00:24:33.099 --> 00:24:33.420 wow, 00:24:33.500 --> 00:24:34.059 like what are you doing? 00:24:34.119 --> 00:24:34.940 Like you should be playing 00:24:34.940 --> 00:24:35.659 in Vegas 00:24:35.659 --> 00:24:36.539 or you should be 00:24:36.539 --> 00:24:37.779 at Carnegie Hall 00:24:37.779 --> 00:24:38.619 or something like that. 00:24:38.619 --> 00:24:39.559 We all know someone 00:24:39.559 --> 00:24:40.839 who's incredibly skilled 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:41.319 in that way 00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:41.939 that their skill 00:24:41.939 --> 00:24:42.539 could literally 00:24:42.539 --> 00:24:44.059 change the world 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:45.959 and yet they don't use it 00:24:45.959 --> 00:24:46.659 and we're kind of 00:24:46.659 --> 00:24:47.559 disappointed with that, 00:24:47.619 --> 00:24:47.899 aren't we? 00:24:49.679 --> 00:24:50.619 Here this text 00:24:50.619 --> 00:24:51.500 is telling us 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:52.819 that God so loved us 00:24:52.819 --> 00:24:55.039 that we can receive 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:55.779 the love of God 00:24:55.779 --> 00:24:56.739 and not just receive 00:24:56.739 --> 00:24:57.479 this concept 00:24:57.479 --> 00:24:59.059 is that we receive 00:24:59.059 --> 00:25:00.439 the actual love of God, 00:25:00.500 --> 00:25:01.199 the Spirit of God 00:25:01.199 --> 00:25:02.259 comes into our hearts 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:04.859 when we give our lives 00:25:04.859 --> 00:25:05.339 to Jesus, 00:25:05.439 --> 00:25:06.079 when we decide 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:06.899 to follow Jesus, 00:25:07.399 --> 00:25:08.939 he comes into our hearts 00:25:08.939 --> 00:25:09.539 and changes 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:11.000 and transforms us 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:12.399 in the very depths 00:25:12.399 --> 00:25:13.240 of our being 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:15.639 and that is what 00:25:15.639 --> 00:25:16.579 propels us 00:25:16.579 --> 00:25:17.199 into the world 00:25:17.199 --> 00:25:18.359 that we have this light, 00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:19.559 this love to offer 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:20.579 the world 00:25:20.579 --> 00:25:21.939 and this text 00:25:21.939 --> 00:25:23.139 in verse 11 00:25:23.139 --> 00:25:23.699 tells us 00:25:23.699 --> 00:25:25.000 if God so loved us 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:25.879 we also ought 00:25:25.879 --> 00:25:27.439 to love one another. 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:29.759 God has given us 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:30.859 this amazing thing 00:25:30.859 --> 00:25:31.379 of the gospel, 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:32.539 this amazing thing 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:33.759 of love 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:35.480 like we will not 00:25:35.480 --> 00:25:36.700 experience anywhere else 00:25:36.700 --> 00:25:38.559 and his power 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:39.860 to transform our lives 00:25:39.860 --> 00:25:40.720 into something 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:41.599 so glorious 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:43.460 and that we should 00:25:43.460 --> 00:25:44.920 reach a hurting 00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:46.220 and broken world 00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:47.220 that is ready 00:25:47.220 --> 00:25:48.440 to ignite 00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:49.339 in the love of God. 00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:51.279 So here's the question, 00:25:51.740 --> 00:25:53.400 are we allowing 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:54.140 God's Spirit 00:25:54.140 --> 00:25:55.620 to do the work 00:25:55.620 --> 00:25:56.640 in us 00:25:56.640 --> 00:25:58.420 and are we living out 00:25:58.420 --> 00:25:59.740 or are we living out 00:25:59.740 --> 00:26:01.000 secret Christian lives? 00:26:02.019 --> 00:26:02.680 Have we allowed 00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:04.120 the sacrificial love 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:04.679 of God 00:26:04.679 --> 00:26:06.379 to move us 00:26:06.379 --> 00:26:07.559 beyond intellectual 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:08.159 conviction 00:26:08.159 --> 00:26:09.000 or conception 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:10.419 into a reality 00:26:10.419 --> 00:26:11.500 that sets 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:12.599 our hearts ablaze 00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:12.959 for God 00:26:12.959 --> 00:26:13.539 and for those 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:14.459 who are around us? 00:26:15.719 --> 00:26:16.059 Andrew, 00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:16.500 can I have 00:26:16.500 --> 00:26:17.359 the last slide, 00:26:17.500 --> 00:26:17.679 please? 00:26:18.579 --> 00:26:20.119 So this is a prayer 00:26:20.119 --> 00:26:20.939 that I wrote 00:26:20.939 --> 00:26:23.219 in light of everything 00:26:23.219 --> 00:26:23.739 that we kind of 00:26:23.739 --> 00:26:24.379 looked at today. 00:26:24.939 --> 00:26:25.619 It's a prayer 00:26:25.619 --> 00:26:26.000 that is, 00:26:26.459 --> 00:26:27.219 it can be used 00:26:27.219 --> 00:26:28.339 as a conversion prayer, 00:26:28.439 --> 00:26:28.859 it can be used 00:26:28.859 --> 00:26:30.099 as a perseverance prayer, 00:26:30.179 --> 00:26:30.559 if you will, 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:33.679 that we need 00:26:33.679 --> 00:26:34.379 God's grace, 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:35.099 that God 00:26:35.099 --> 00:26:35.859 sent his son. 00:26:35.940 --> 00:26:37.519 So let's please stand 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:37.980 and we're going 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:38.599 to pray that. 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:40.139 If you've never 00:26:40.139 --> 00:26:40.700 given your life 00:26:40.700 --> 00:26:41.139 to Jesus, 00:26:41.579 --> 00:26:42.319 you can pray this 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:43.859 and you can really 00:26:43.859 --> 00:26:44.740 mean it from your heart, 00:26:45.179 --> 00:26:45.740 but you have to mean 00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:46.200 it from your heart 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:47.339 and it doesn't have 00:26:47.339 --> 00:26:47.980 to be these words, 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:49.000 you can use other words, 00:26:50.159 --> 00:26:51.359 but this is essentially 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:52.480 what the scripture 00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:53.440 is moving us to pray 00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:54.539 and if you've been 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:55.720 a follower of Jesus 00:26:55.720 --> 00:26:56.619 for years and years 00:26:56.619 --> 00:26:57.440 and you want to 00:26:57.440 --> 00:26:58.359 really dedicate 00:26:58.359 --> 00:26:59.159 your life to Jesus. 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:00.879 This is just an example, 00:27:01.019 --> 00:27:01.439 a template. 00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:02.459 Make it your own though. 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:04.159 So let's pray that together. 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:05.959 Dear God, 00:27:06.439 --> 00:27:07.719 thank you for sending 00:27:07.719 --> 00:27:08.919 your only son, 00:27:09.259 --> 00:27:10.039 Jesus Christ, 00:27:10.419 --> 00:27:11.479 to propitiate 00:27:11.479 --> 00:27:12.919 your righteous wrath 00:27:12.919 --> 00:27:14.279 against my sins. 00:27:14.839 --> 00:27:15.899 Thank you that you 00:27:15.899 --> 00:27:17.000 paid the price 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:18.359 that was not ours 00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:19.919 to pay for our sins. 00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:21.899 Press into the depths 00:27:21.899 --> 00:27:22.799 of my heart 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:24.519 how great your love 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:25.279 is to me 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:26.699 and to all people. 00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:28.440 Give me grace 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:30.039 by your Holy Spirit 00:27:30.039 --> 00:27:31.299 to love you 00:27:31.299 --> 00:27:32.180 and to love 00:27:32.180 --> 00:27:32.920 my neighbors 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:34.440 as you call me to. 00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:36.240 In Jesus' name, 00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:37.059 Amen. 00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:38.299 Father, 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:39.140 would you set 00:27:39.140 --> 00:27:40.019 our hearts ablaze 00:27:40.019 --> 00:27:40.680 with the love 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:42.920 that you so displayed 00:27:42.920 --> 00:27:43.759 in the giving 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:44.440 of your sons 00:27:44.440 --> 00:27:46.259 to propitiate 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:47.080 our sins. 00:27:47.480 --> 00:27:47.660 Lord, 00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:49.440 would you make us alive 00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:50.340 to the gospel 00:27:50.340 --> 00:27:50.920 this day. 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:52.180 In Jesus' name, 00:27:52.819 --> 00:27:53.100 Amen. 00:27:53.100 --> 00:27:53.180 Amen.