WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.019 Well, good morning again. If you have just tuned into St. Paul's, for the first time we have been 00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:14.320 working our way through the ancient statement of Christian belief called the Apostles' Creed. 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:23.359 And this short statement captures the way that Christians view the world, view God, view life, 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:29.519 view the future. And today I'm picking up the very next statement that we're up to in the Creed 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:35.840 called, We Believe, that's Christians, We Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins. 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:46.280 This next phrase in the Apostles' Creed, if you've looked at it at all, introduces for the very first time 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:55.579 something to confess about humanity, about all of us people. Everything up to this point has declared 00:00:55.579 --> 00:01:01.879 the glorious work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And now, for the first time, 00:01:01.939 --> 00:01:08.539 we have the character of humanity on full display. And what it says is not something positive. 00:01:08.980 --> 00:01:15.900 It says that we are sinners. When the Christian confesses that they believe in the forgiveness 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:29.080 of sins, they are affirming an entire theology from creation to the fall of humanity into sin 00:01:29.080 --> 00:01:41.980 through to God's redemption to Christ in eternal kingdom. The entire Christian faith rests on these words, 00:01:41.980 --> 00:01:50.100 the forgiveness of sin. Without the forgiveness of sin, there is no good news. And therefore, 00:01:50.579 --> 00:01:58.560 there is no hope for humanity. And so, if you've got the St. Paul's app in front of you right now, 00:01:58.659 --> 00:02:04.020 I'd encourage you to open it up. And you've got three things I want to cover in this morning in 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:08.719 looking at this. I want to see, first of all, the reality of sin. Secondly, the compassion of Jesus 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:17.219 Christ towards sinners. And thirdly, the authority of Jesus Christ to forgive sin, to deal with our 00:02:17.219 --> 00:02:24.579 issue. So, firstly, the reality of sin. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 to 3 was just read out to us. 00:02:24.579 --> 00:02:33.479 And they are a comprehensive panoramic picture of the human condition outside of God. And it says, 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:44.479 quite bluntly, that we are dead in transgressions and sins. Now, the word dead there is not a figure of speech. 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:55.079 These people, all of us, humanity outside of God, are absolutely dead. This state of spiritual death 00:02:55.080 --> 00:03:06.720 is universal. So, the Bible, in this point, is not describing some decadent, depraved segment of society, 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.820 but all of humanity from top to bottom. 00:03:11.660 --> 00:03:18.540 On Friday, I went out for a run in the national park. I figured, probably, I wouldn't see many people 00:03:18.539 --> 00:03:27.439 out there. And I still came across a few people. But quite noticeable is that everyone gave themselves 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:36.259 space. For the first time ever, as I moved across to the other side of the road, or gave people a bunch 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:44.120 of distance, people nodded, or they waved, or they said, thank you, for the first time ever. 00:03:44.120 --> 00:03:51.460 Normally, you know, everyone's head down, don't acknowledge at all. But the first time ever, 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:57.379 as we're practicing social distancing, we're acknowledging one another. And that's because, 00:03:58.020 --> 00:04:06.000 for the first time ever, we realize we have a common enemy. If I crossed to the other side of the road 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:09.920 five weeks ago, the person coming at me would have assumed that I was rude. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:19.319 We are now dominated by the thought of a common threat to humanity. And everyone that I saw on 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:28.199 Friday was aware of it. But while some of us may be infected by COVID-19, and others won't be, 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:38.459 that's not the case with sin. This is a soul disease that has infected all of us. 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:47.020 But it's not a soul disease that we are aware of in the same way that we're aware of COVID-19. 00:04:47.960 --> 00:04:52.400 When you look around at society, it doesn't seem like we're all infected, 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:59.040 or that in fact, that it's a threat to everyone. Some appear to show more symptoms than others. 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:05.759 We naturally do that as human beings. We look down, down the line when it comes to morality and ethics, 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:14.860 and we judge our own righteousness by those whom we deem to be less than us. 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:21.639 We look at the criminal sitting in prison and assume that we are okay, 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:28.519 that we must be therefore good, moral, righteous, because we're not like them. 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:38.339 To be dead in transgressions and sins means here in Ephesians chapter 2 to be enslaved. 00:05:39.219 --> 00:05:41.500 Have a look at it with me. Ephesians chapter 2. 00:05:42.139 --> 00:05:47.339 See the word followed? It's there in verse 2 and again in verse 3. 00:05:47.339 --> 00:06:05.439 That word followed there means to be mastered, to be controlled by something. 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:15.759 The reason we are dead in transgressions and sins is that we are as helpless as a dead body. 00:06:16.660 --> 00:06:20.199 Completely controlled. Totally mastered. 00:06:20.819 --> 00:06:24.180 Unable to move, to act, even breathe. 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.199 Verse 3 says the key idea for us. 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:43.699 That is, it's literally referring there to self-centered human nature. 00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:46.659 This is the thing that drives us. 00:06:46.719 --> 00:06:49.159 This is the thing that masters us and controls us. 00:06:49.159 --> 00:06:53.879 According to the Bible, the reason we are dead in transgressions and sins, 00:06:53.879 --> 00:07:02.000 the reason we are slaves to sin is because the human heart is profoundly self-centered. 00:07:04.579 --> 00:07:13.000 The 16th century church reformer and theologian Martin Luther put the condition of the human heart quite succinctly. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:17.839 He described it as curved in to itself. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:20.199 Curved in on itself. 00:07:20.779 --> 00:07:21.939 Absorbed in itself. 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:24.779 Looking inside, it is self-centered. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:28.699 That's what it means to be a human being apart from God. 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:36.040 Luther said that our nature is so deeply curved in on itself 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:44.720 that it, his words, wickedly, curvedly and viciously seeks to use all things, 00:07:45.760 --> 00:07:49.700 even God, for its own sake. 00:07:52.280 --> 00:07:58.420 It's like all of us have this little computer in the center of our heart 00:07:58.420 --> 00:08:03.580 that never, ever, ever stops. 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:13.259 It is constantly analyzing everything, every person, every interaction, every object, every event, every setting. 00:08:13.620 --> 00:08:15.860 It's analyzing the basic question. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:16.979 What's in it for me? 00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:22.620 Everything is being analyzed by how it benefits my happiness and my glory and my reputation 00:08:22.620 --> 00:08:24.759 and my comfort and my control of things. 00:08:26.919 --> 00:08:28.379 How does this help me? 00:08:29.039 --> 00:08:31.180 How does it fit into my interests? 00:08:31.180 --> 00:08:33.460 How does it make me happy? 00:08:35.139 --> 00:08:36.960 Everything gets put through that grid. 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:43.940 Self-centeredness obviously can make you pretty cruel. 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:53.039 It's not hard to identify the tyrants through history who were egotistical and proud and self-centered 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:57.700 and murderous because it was about them and their control and their power. 00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:10.860 But self-centeredness, sinfulness, often will make us really good and moral people. 00:09:12.040 --> 00:09:15.800 That is, it will force us to be a good person as well. 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:20.620 If everything is about my need to feel good about myself, 00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:30.719 then there is no better way for that to happen than for me to be a good person, a moral person. 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:35.359 So self-centeredness, while it might drive some to be cruel, 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:39.600 it drives the majority of us into being good. 00:09:41.139 --> 00:09:47.899 Trying really hard by serving the needy and being good, you know, child to parent and good parents to children. 00:09:47.899 --> 00:09:53.340 A good friend who assists wherever you possibly can. 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:56.059 A dutiful person who does what's expected of them. 00:09:56.600 --> 00:10:03.480 What lies beneath is a self-centeredness where we ultimately do it for ourselves. 00:10:04.179 --> 00:10:07.259 Because it's about making me feel good. 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:13.860 We do good things to be noticed by people, to receive the applause of others. 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:18.120 It's so that we can feel like we've got a meaningful life. 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:20.220 To feel like we're a good person. 00:10:23.820 --> 00:10:25.379 Deep down inside of us. 00:10:27.500 --> 00:10:32.700 If we ever allow ourselves to go right, right down into the silence of our hearts. 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:36.500 We feel like bums. 00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:45.019 We're all trying to do something to convince the world and to convince ourselves that we're not. 00:10:45.779 --> 00:10:46.820 That we are good. 00:10:48.259 --> 00:10:53.360 And so we evaluate everything in terms of whether it makes us look good or not. 00:10:56.779 --> 00:10:59.659 But, so sin can make you cruel. 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:01.559 It can make you a good person. 00:11:02.179 --> 00:11:04.700 It can also make you a religious person. 00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:08.100 We can devote ourselves to obeying God. 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:09.220 Turning up to church. 00:11:09.340 --> 00:11:09.940 Reading the Bible. 00:11:10.180 --> 00:11:10.620 Praying. 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:11.220 Giving. 00:11:11.420 --> 00:11:14.780 Doing the sort of things that we do Sunday by Sunday. 00:11:15.540 --> 00:11:16.560 All good things. 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:17.920 All right things to do. 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:24.220 How do I know whether I'm doing it all for me? 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:30.480 See, what happens is when things aren't going well in your life, 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:34.320 what you tend to do is you default into the condition of your heart. 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:42.420 It's because we're doing these things to use God and to make ourselves for good. 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:44.480 So when things aren't going well, we pull back. 00:11:46.779 --> 00:11:50.460 We do things and expect God to come through for us in the way that we want him to. 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:55.519 That means it's about us using God for our end. 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:08.540 It's awful to think, but it's possible to get into even Christianity to have God serve us rather than us serve him. 00:12:08.539 --> 00:12:09.139 Sin. 00:12:11.539 --> 00:12:15.519 Sin clings to everything in our lives. 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:20.199 Verse 3 uses the word craving to describe our self-centeredness. 00:12:20.459 --> 00:12:22.899 It's a word that means inordinate desire. 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:25.779 It means that our egos are addictive. 00:12:26.959 --> 00:12:30.539 The little computer within us is in overdrive running evaluations. 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:42.919 But no amount of glory, acclaim, recognition, comfort, control will ever be enough. 00:12:43.019 --> 00:12:44.379 The computer will never be satisfied. 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:48.699 Our hearts curved in on themselves will never be satisfied. 00:12:49.939 --> 00:12:58.799 C.S. Lewis, the Oxford professor and author, wrote that there is nothing more enslaving and miserable than self-centeredness. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:06.179 He wrote that it is hell begun in us that will eventually take us to hell. 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:11.139 It takes us towards the person that we are becoming like. 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:13.699 Satan himself. 00:13:15.719 --> 00:13:21.120 And the Bible's view of sin is that every part of the human person is tainted by sin. 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:28.099 Now that doesn't mean that all humans are not capable of any good or that there is no dignity in humanity. 00:13:28.100 --> 00:13:34.240 In fact, I'd argue that the Bible places supreme dignity on human beings like no one else. 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:45.759 But it means that no part of the human being, mind, emotions, soul, heart, will, is left untouched by sin and self-centeredness. 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:53.139 And so the consequence of the end of verse 3 is shocking to us in a modern context. 00:13:53.139 --> 00:14:01.059 It says that we can't believe that we are not only dead in sin. 00:14:01.059 --> 00:14:08.799 It says here that humans are not only dead in sin, but they are also condemned in sin. 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:13.979 It says like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:20.199 God's anger, however, is not like your anger or my anger. 00:14:21.079 --> 00:14:22.479 It's not a bad temper. 00:14:23.219 --> 00:14:24.679 His anger is not spite. 00:14:25.199 --> 00:14:26.240 It's not malice. 00:14:26.359 --> 00:14:27.159 It's not animosity. 00:14:27.319 --> 00:14:28.059 It's not revenge. 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:29.240 And it's certainly not arbitrary. 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:31.099 It is predictable. 00:14:31.100 --> 00:14:34.460 It's not governed by mood or by whim. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:42.360 It is God's personal, righteous, constant hostility to evil, injustice, and sin. 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:48.779 It's his settled refusal to compromise with sin and his resolve to condemn it. 00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:52.980 And so that's Ephesians 2. 00:14:52.980 --> 00:14:57.700 And the trajectory of every human being. 00:14:57.700 --> 00:15:10.980 Now, if I was to go to my doctor right now, I don't need from him, if I've got symptoms and I'm feeling sick, I don't need advice from him. 00:15:11.940 --> 00:15:13.100 I need a remedy. 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:16.940 I need a solution to my sickness. 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:22.700 And the great news is that the Bible gives us the solution. 00:15:22.700 --> 00:15:30.800 So come with me into Mark chapter 1 and see the compassion of Jesus Christ towards sinners. 00:15:32.300 --> 00:15:43.040 You see, what the Bible declares is that Jesus Christ is the compassionate rescuer who has the authority to deal with the deepest issue, the deepest problem of humanity, and that's our sin. 00:15:43.540 --> 00:15:47.300 We see his compassion in the encounter with the leper in Mark chapter 1. 00:15:47.299 --> 00:15:49.159 So if you've got your Bibles, go there, please. 00:15:49.479 --> 00:15:54.019 Mark chapter 1, verse 40 and 45, through to 45. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:16:04.740 You see, in first century Israel, the lot of the poor leper was summed up in the Old Testament book of Leviticus in chapter 13. 00:16:05.139 --> 00:16:11.379 You can hardly imagine the humiliation and the isolation of a leper's life. 00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:16.580 He was ostracized, isolated from society. 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:25.460 He had to cry whenever he came into any form of contact with a human being, had to cry out, unclean, unclean. 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:32.539 Imagine the pervasive sense of worthlessness and despair. 00:16:32.539 --> 00:16:41.519 By Jesus' time, if a leper stuck his head inside a house, the house was declared unclean. 00:16:42.099 --> 00:16:44.779 It was illegal to even greet a leper. 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:52.620 The leper had to remain at least 50 meters away if they were upwind and two meters away if they were downwind. 00:16:52.620 --> 00:17:02.740 Josephus, a Jewish historian, summarized it by saying that lepers were treated as if they were, in effect, dead people. 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.839 See, leprosy was not just a disease. 00:17:08.900 --> 00:17:13.900 It was a total condition that was physical, social, economic and spiritual. 00:17:14.619 --> 00:17:18.180 Physically, because your body was literally falling apart. 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:20.299 But socially, you're an outcast. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:24.420 You were all alone, isolated from healthy people, isolated from society. 00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:30.060 The social codes punished lepers if they came anywhere near inhabited places. 00:17:30.620 --> 00:17:34.019 And others were punished if they went anywhere near a leper. 00:17:35.320 --> 00:17:36.660 Economically, they were ruined. 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:38.240 They couldn't walk. 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:45.880 Sorry, they couldn't work and had to beg or hope that someone would have compassion to leave some food out for them in some way. 00:17:45.880 --> 00:17:51.780 And spiritually, they were ruined because society in that time assumed it was clearly the judgment of God on their life. 00:17:54.520 --> 00:17:58.100 And so a leper's need is multidimensional rescue. 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:03.060 And so this leper says to Jesus in verse 40, 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:06.900 If you are willing, you can make me clean. 00:18:07.840 --> 00:18:12.420 And what he means there, you can make me clean before God, clean before the community. 00:18:12.520 --> 00:18:14.280 You can make me physically clean. 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:17.680 He knew he needed a total cleansing. 00:18:18.259 --> 00:18:20.139 And Jesus is the one who can give it to him. 00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:29.200 And verse 41 literally translates that Jesus is filled with compassion. 00:18:29.819 --> 00:18:36.059 And that is a deep down desire churning inside of him to act for the leper's good. 00:18:36.059 --> 00:18:40.319 And Jesus did what others wouldn't. 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:44.579 He reached out and he touched the man. 00:18:44.980 --> 00:18:48.940 He broke all social conventions. 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:53.099 He reached out and he touched the man. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:54.639 Out of compassion. 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:58.480 He is loving a man who's starving for love. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:18:59.240 He touches him. 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:01.879 Risk being infected with the disease himself. 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:05.660 This leper knew fully who he was. 00:19:05.660 --> 00:19:07.360 What his condition was. 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:11.340 He knew that he had a disease that needed to be fixed. 00:19:11.780 --> 00:19:16.240 He lived with his need for rescue every single moment of his day. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:23.240 And the spiritual reality for all of us is that we are spiritual lepers. 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:28.680 That is what this image here is meant to teach us. 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:32.140 This is our deepest need. 00:19:32.140 --> 00:19:40.680 Unlike the leper, we are often unconscious of our sin and the pervasiveness of our sinful condition. 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:50.000 The less we grasp that there is something deeply wrong with us, the more spiritual leprosy has in fact a hold on us. 00:19:51.360 --> 00:19:54.920 It is a spiritual necessity to know our sin. 00:19:54.920 --> 00:20:03.340 And Jesus says it perfectly and with eternal economy in Matthew chapter 5. 00:20:04.019 --> 00:20:07.860 Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:20:08.940 --> 00:20:12.580 Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. 00:20:12.579 --> 00:20:14.579 Blessed are the poor in spirit for their sins. 00:20:14.579 --> 00:20:15.579 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:20:15.579 --> 00:20:32.740 Now the next encounter in Mark chapter 2 that Jesus has, we see he doesn't just have compassion on the leper and compassion on our helpless state because that would be nice but it's not enough. 00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:42.139 What we see is that he doesn't just have compassion to do something, he has the authority to do something about our deepest need. 00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:53.599 The scene is a paralytic who has some friends who carry him to a house where Jesus is and when they arrive, they discover that it's a sellout. 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:59.599 There's no room, it's standing room only and social isolation is not an issue here. 00:21:00.099 --> 00:21:10.099 But these guys are so determined to get their buddy to see Jesus that they go up on a roof and they start dismantling the roof to let him down. 00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:13.119 They drop him right down in front of Jesus. 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:15.359 All eyes are on Jesus. 00:21:16.139 --> 00:21:17.779 What's his next move? 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:21.079 And it comes in verse 5 of chapter 2 of Mark. 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:28.799 When Jesus saw their face, he said to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven. 00:21:31.919 --> 00:21:33.839 He doesn't do that with the leper. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:39.539 This is not what everyone was expecting. 00:21:39.659 --> 00:21:40.919 It's not what the paralytics expect. 00:21:41.019 --> 00:21:42.339 It's not what his friends are expecting. 00:21:43.459 --> 00:21:48.519 Couldn't Jesus see that this man's biggest issue was that he needed to walk again? 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:50.399 He healed the leper. 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:51.759 Why does he not heal this guy? 00:21:55.019 --> 00:21:56.860 Because Jesus says there's a deeper need. 00:21:58.360 --> 00:21:59.580 And he's going deeper. 00:22:01.360 --> 00:22:06.259 And in going deeper, he sets up a showdown with the religious heavies. 00:22:06.360 --> 00:22:07.420 Have a look in verse 6. 00:22:07.420 --> 00:22:11.860 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there thinking to themselves, 00:22:12.060 --> 00:22:13.680 why does this fellow talk like that? 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:14.560 He's blaspheming. 00:22:15.140 --> 00:22:18.039 Who can forgive sins but God alone? 00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:26.340 The religious leaders knew that Jesus' claim to be able to forgive this man's sin 00:22:26.340 --> 00:22:28.960 was tantamount to Jesus saying, I'm God. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:30.840 That's blasphemy. 00:22:31.660 --> 00:22:33.820 You were stoned to death in the first century for that. 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:39.099 And you can kind of understand their point. 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:49.480 For most of us, the terrorist attack in the United States in September 11, 2001 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:52.159 is still a vivid memory. 00:22:54.379 --> 00:22:59.220 And yet, I wasn't personally impacted by that atrocity. 00:23:00.099 --> 00:23:01.059 I wasn't there. 00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:06.399 I didn't know any of the approximately 3,000 people who died. 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:09.919 I don't even know anyone who was injured. 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:17.500 So you can imagine me going to the perpetrators of such an atrocity 00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:23.839 and saying to them, on behalf of everyone who was personally injured by your sin, 00:23:24.279 --> 00:23:25.579 I forgive you. 00:23:25.579 --> 00:23:29.159 I forgive you. 00:23:29.960 --> 00:23:37.759 How do you think those who suffered loss of loved ones on September 11 would feel about that? 00:23:39.419 --> 00:23:43.379 They'd be right to feel upset, cheated, even angry with someone like, 00:23:43.439 --> 00:23:48.179 what right do you have, Steve Jeffrey, to hand out my forgiveness to someone else? 00:23:48.180 --> 00:23:58.500 So how could Jesus presume to forgive another human being for the sins that they've committed against God? 00:23:58.500 --> 00:24:06.339 Jesus is either a deluded blasphemer with an unhealthy view of his significance, 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:11.579 or Jesus is saying something very significant and very life-changing in this encounter. 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:19.420 Jesus claimed to have authority to hand out God's forgiveness is one of the most significant aspects of his authority. 00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:24.740 No other religious leader has ever made a statement like this. 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:27.120 Not Buddha, not Muhammad, not Krishna. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:29.100 No one has made a statement like this. 00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:30.680 And it's a bold statement. 00:24:31.019 --> 00:24:33.140 But instead of backtracking in that moment, 00:24:33.600 --> 00:24:39.840 Jesus takes the opportunity to emphasize publicly that God has authorized him, 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:44.480 has given him authority to offer forgiveness to everyone who seeks it. 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:46.640 Have a look. 00:24:47.259 --> 00:24:48.759 Mark 2, verse 8. 00:24:49.420 --> 00:24:56.019 Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit that this is what they were thinking in their hearts. 00:24:56.100 --> 00:24:56.920 And he said to them, 00:24:57.420 --> 00:24:59.000 Why are you thinking these things? 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:01.500 Which is easier to say to this paralytic, 00:25:01.880 --> 00:25:02.779 Your sins are forgiven, 00:25:03.340 --> 00:25:03.820 or to say, 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:06.240 Get up, take your mat, and walk. 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:11.300 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. 00:25:11.300 --> 00:25:14.080 He said to the paralytic, 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:15.660 I tell you, 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:17.160 Get up, 00:25:18.080 --> 00:25:19.120 take your mat, 00:25:19.420 --> 00:25:20.900 and go home. 00:25:23.220 --> 00:25:24.600 He got up, 00:25:25.600 --> 00:25:26.779 took his mat, 00:25:27.180 --> 00:25:30.460 and walked out in full view of them all. 00:25:31.080 --> 00:25:32.860 And this amazed everyone. 00:25:33.259 --> 00:25:34.300 And they praised God, 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:34.620 saying, 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:36.680 We've never seen anything like this. 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:46.460 How do we know Jesus' promise to forgive sin wasn't just empty words of a deluded man? 00:25:49.460 --> 00:25:52.200 Because he followed through with his words. 00:25:52.860 --> 00:26:00.980 Followed through with the display of the power that God had given him to heal a man that no one else could. 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:03.860 Immediate, 00:26:03.860 --> 00:26:03.880 immediate, 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:06.660 total restoration. 00:26:06.779 --> 00:26:07.460 He was raised. 00:26:07.460 --> 00:26:11.519 There was no painstaking process of rehabilitation to learn. 00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:14.299 No physios or exercise physiologists. 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:15.720 No doctors needed. 00:26:15.860 --> 00:26:17.599 This total healing. 00:26:17.860 --> 00:26:19.559 He came in on a stretcher, 00:26:19.559 --> 00:26:20.879 and he carried it out. 00:26:23.879 --> 00:26:37.619 And yet the most important thing in this encounter is the massive public claim of Jesus that he can hand out forgiveness of sin to people who have lived as if God doesn't exist. 00:26:37.619 --> 00:26:47.199 The healing of the paralytic was a visible sign that Jesus could do the invisible miracle of handing out God's forgiveness. 00:26:48.419 --> 00:26:51.059 Jesus met his obvious need to walk, 00:26:51.719 --> 00:26:56.619 but went after the thing that he didn't know he needed. 00:26:57.419 --> 00:26:59.000 His biggest issue, 00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:01.759 his deepest need, 00:27:02.899 --> 00:27:03.779 his sins forgiven. 00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:13.759 Now the good news is that this life-changing event for this one paralytic isn't an isolated event. 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:17.839 Jesus says this about himself just a few chapters later in Mark's gospel. 00:27:18.220 --> 00:27:20.819 The Son of Man did not come to be served, 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:24.779 but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:27:24.779 --> 00:27:34.539 Jesus ultimately makes good on his promise to hand out God's forgiveness by giving his life for us, 00:27:34.859 --> 00:27:35.720 for all of us. 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:39.700 He died for our sin against God so that we, 00:27:39.879 --> 00:27:40.539 as it says, 00:27:40.859 --> 00:27:45.480 the many can be forgiven for our sin against God. 00:27:46.619 --> 00:27:47.339 That is, 00:27:48.740 --> 00:27:51.460 Jesus has traded places with us. 00:27:51.460 --> 00:27:58.380 Did you notice that at the end of chapter one in the Bible reading with the leper? 00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:03.660 The leper was healed and he went into the towns praising God. 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:07.620 But Jesus stayed in the place of isolation. 00:28:09.259 --> 00:28:11.000 He swapped places with the leper. 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:18.819 Ephesians 2 verses 1 to 3 tells us 00:28:18.819 --> 00:28:20.920 that the essence of sin 00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:24.440 is putting ourselves where only God should be, 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:26.140 the center of our lives, 00:28:26.220 --> 00:28:27.500 on the throne of our lives, 00:28:27.579 --> 00:28:28.900 in control of our lives. 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:30.720 That is what sin is, 00:28:30.900 --> 00:28:33.319 putting ourselves where only God deserves to be. 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:35.579 Salvation, according to the Christian faith, 00:28:35.640 --> 00:28:36.579 is the exact opposite. 00:28:36.579 --> 00:28:41.359 Salvation is God putting himself 00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:44.439 where we deserve to be, 00:28:45.059 --> 00:28:46.539 under his punishment. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:49.779 Jesus, on the cross, 00:28:50.179 --> 00:28:53.419 took the full weight of human sin upon himself. 00:28:54.539 --> 00:28:56.399 Jesus isn't on the sideline, 00:28:56.819 --> 00:28:57.679 cheering us on, 00:28:57.779 --> 00:29:00.599 hoping we'll pull through with our deepest need. 00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:03.719 He isn't even an intensive care doctor 00:29:03.719 --> 00:29:07.299 doing everything he can to save our life. 00:29:07.959 --> 00:29:09.579 He does so much more. 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:15.279 He's the doctor who takes our disease upon himself 00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:18.500 so that we walk out of the hospital full of life and health. 00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:25.919 Jesus Christ took the just and the righteous punishment of God 00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:29.279 that we deserve for putting ourselves in the place 00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:30.720 where only God belongs, 00:29:30.800 --> 00:29:32.759 on the throne and the rule of our lives. 00:29:33.340 --> 00:29:35.279 And the punishment he took on the cross 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:37.880 was so much more than the cruel 00:29:37.880 --> 00:29:42.279 and the excruciating physical punishment of crucifixion. 00:29:43.320 --> 00:29:45.300 He took the wrath of God 00:29:45.300 --> 00:29:47.600 that verse 3 says that we deserve. 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:50.420 He was cut off from his father, 00:29:51.420 --> 00:29:53.140 forever united with him, 00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:55.420 and he was cut off from him, 00:29:55.540 --> 00:29:57.200 sent to the place of isolation. 00:29:57.520 --> 00:29:59.180 He experienced the agony 00:29:59.180 --> 00:30:01.440 that we would experience 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:04.080 if we were cut off from God for eternity. 00:30:04.600 --> 00:30:05.980 I cannot even imagine 00:30:05.980 --> 00:30:07.040 to begin 00:30:07.040 --> 00:30:10.660 what it was like for him. 00:30:12.600 --> 00:30:14.600 He sat in our seat 00:30:14.600 --> 00:30:17.900 so that now we can sit in his seat 00:30:17.900 --> 00:30:20.140 in the presence of God. 00:30:20.140 --> 00:30:24.520 One person has put this really succinctly. 00:30:25.160 --> 00:30:25.360 He says, 00:30:25.460 --> 00:30:26.520 the essence of sin 00:30:26.520 --> 00:30:29.880 is us substituting ourselves for God 00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:32.860 while the essence of salvation 00:30:32.860 --> 00:30:34.180 in the Christian faith 00:30:34.180 --> 00:30:38.400 is God substituting himself for us. 00:30:40.380 --> 00:30:41.780 Christianity doesn't say 00:30:41.780 --> 00:30:43.200 the good are in and the bad are out. 00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:47.220 Doesn't say the open-minded are in 00:30:47.220 --> 00:30:48.820 and the judgmental are out. 00:30:48.819 --> 00:30:52.200 The good news of Jesus Christ 00:30:52.200 --> 00:30:53.579 says that the humble are in 00:30:53.579 --> 00:30:54.839 and the proud are out. 00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:56.039 Christianity says 00:30:56.039 --> 00:30:57.099 the people who know 00:30:57.099 --> 00:30:58.119 that they are not better, 00:30:59.019 --> 00:31:00.599 they're not more moral 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:01.679 than anyone else, 00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:02.919 they're in. 00:31:03.220 --> 00:31:04.179 And the people who think 00:31:04.179 --> 00:31:05.579 that God is okay with them, 00:31:06.099 --> 00:31:08.559 they are in very grave danger. 00:31:10.819 --> 00:31:12.379 Jesus came to call sinners. 00:31:12.740 --> 00:31:13.799 He still calls sinners. 00:31:14.099 --> 00:31:15.359 He is calling today 00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:17.299 to those who know 00:31:17.299 --> 00:31:19.000 that they are not morally 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:19.979 and spiritually 00:31:19.979 --> 00:31:21.399 unable to save themselves. 00:31:21.740 --> 00:31:22.459 He announces that 00:31:22.459 --> 00:31:25.219 despite the unforgiving nature 00:31:25.219 --> 00:31:26.959 of much of our world, 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:28.579 God is in the business 00:31:28.579 --> 00:31:30.000 of offering us, 00:31:30.199 --> 00:31:31.979 every single member of humanity, 00:31:32.199 --> 00:31:33.119 a clean slate. 00:31:36.619 --> 00:31:38.879 This is our deepest need. 00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:44.460 Jesus is the savior of the world. 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:47.340 Jesus has been authorized 00:31:47.340 --> 00:31:49.440 to announce God's forgiveness 00:31:49.440 --> 00:31:51.360 and to make good on it, 00:31:51.500 --> 00:31:53.260 no matter how great the sin 00:31:53.260 --> 00:31:54.220 it is possible 00:31:54.220 --> 00:31:56.260 to find complete forgiveness 00:31:56.260 --> 00:31:57.040 in Jesus. 00:31:58.320 --> 00:31:59.740 And so if you are watching this 00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:00.440 right now, 00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:01.420 wherever you are, 00:32:01.500 --> 00:32:02.120 in your lounge, 00:32:02.260 --> 00:32:04.380 no matter where you are, 00:32:04.380 --> 00:32:06.760 if you all of a sudden 00:32:06.760 --> 00:32:07.580 for the first time 00:32:07.580 --> 00:32:08.780 are feeling pangs of guilt 00:32:08.780 --> 00:32:10.080 in the way that you've treated God 00:32:10.080 --> 00:32:11.400 or you may be paralyzed 00:32:11.400 --> 00:32:13.760 by sin and guilt and shame, 00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:15.160 you need to know 00:32:15.160 --> 00:32:16.980 that Jesus is in the business 00:32:16.980 --> 00:32:19.580 and has dealt with it. 00:32:20.080 --> 00:32:21.320 The business of dealing 00:32:21.320 --> 00:32:23.840 with your deepest need. 00:32:24.980 --> 00:32:26.820 Jesus is the only savior 00:32:26.820 --> 00:32:28.160 who can fulfill 00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:29.580 all of your needs 00:32:29.580 --> 00:32:31.560 and forgive you 00:32:31.560 --> 00:32:32.480 when you fail him. 00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:35.339 And so my call is 00:32:35.339 --> 00:32:36.980 to turn to Jesus, 00:32:37.339 --> 00:32:38.140 the creator, 00:32:38.660 --> 00:32:39.140 the king, 00:32:39.579 --> 00:32:40.680 the savior of the world 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:41.740 for complete forgiveness. 00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:43.339 Turn to Jesus 00:32:43.339 --> 00:32:46.220 and the guarantee of life 00:32:46.220 --> 00:32:47.900 that you have with him forever. 00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:50.120 But there'll be more of that 00:32:50.120 --> 00:32:51.019 next week. 00:32:51.779 --> 00:32:52.120 Won't get, 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:53.140 jump the gun here. 00:32:53.220 --> 00:32:54.140 More of that next week. 00:32:54.220 --> 00:32:55.500 What this means for you. 00:32:57.380 --> 00:32:59.240 But you can be a new person 00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:02.299 forever starting today. 00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:03.039 So what I'm going to do 00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:03.980 is I'm going to lead us 00:33:03.980 --> 00:33:05.180 in a prayer for you. 00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:05.680 I'm just going to go 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:06.279 through it slowly. 00:33:06.880 --> 00:33:08.440 If this is a prayer for you, 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:09.759 just in the moment 00:33:09.759 --> 00:33:10.660 of your heart right now, 00:33:10.759 --> 00:33:11.140 pray it out. 00:33:11.180 --> 00:33:11.700 Pray it out loud. 00:33:11.740 --> 00:33:12.579 If you're sitting by yourself, 00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:13.440 pray it out loud. 00:33:13.900 --> 00:33:15.200 Or even if you're without someone else, 00:33:15.299 --> 00:33:16.480 pray it out loud if you want to. 00:33:17.339 --> 00:33:18.279 But just take a moment 00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:20.099 and pray this prayer 00:33:20.099 --> 00:33:21.720 before I hand over to Debbie. 00:33:21.720 --> 00:33:27.019 God, 00:33:28.019 --> 00:33:31.079 thank you for sending Jesus 00:33:31.079 --> 00:33:32.000 into the world 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:33.519 to rescue us from sin. 00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:38.640 I admit that I have lived life 00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:39.980 at a distance from you 00:33:39.980 --> 00:33:44.460 and not treated you 00:33:44.460 --> 00:33:45.160 with the honour 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:46.920 and the obedience 00:33:46.920 --> 00:33:48.039 you deserve 00:33:48.039 --> 00:33:49.119 as the creator 00:33:49.119 --> 00:33:49.779 and ruler 00:33:49.779 --> 00:33:50.859 of all things. 00:33:54.700 --> 00:33:55.700 I realise 00:33:55.700 --> 00:33:57.119 I have offended you. 00:33:59.259 --> 00:34:00.619 I am truly sorry. 00:34:02.139 --> 00:34:03.519 Please forgive me. 00:34:05.119 --> 00:34:06.440 Thank you that Jesus, 00:34:07.180 --> 00:34:09.019 thank you Jesus 00:34:09.019 --> 00:34:10.579 for dying on the cross for me. 00:34:10.579 --> 00:34:15.079 Thank you for guaranteeing 00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:15.739 my forgiveness 00:34:15.739 --> 00:34:16.659 and new life 00:34:16.659 --> 00:34:17.759 by rising again. 00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:21.739 Help me now 00:34:21.739 --> 00:34:23.380 for the first time 00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:24.139 in my life 00:34:24.139 --> 00:34:27.420 to live close to you 00:34:27.420 --> 00:34:30.400 with reverence 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:31.199 and trust 00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:33.960 and teach me 00:34:33.960 --> 00:34:35.039 to love others 00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:37.059 as I have been loved 00:34:37.059 --> 00:34:37.799 by you. 00:34:38.920 --> 00:34:39.599 Amen. 00:34:40.579 --> 00:34:43.860 Early in this service 00:34:43.860 --> 00:34:46.380 Debbie pointed us 00:34:46.380 --> 00:34:47.759 to the communication card 00:34:47.759 --> 00:34:50.000 on our website 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:51.960 communication form. 00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:53.639 Can I encourage you 00:34:53.639 --> 00:34:54.860 that if you prayed that prayer 00:34:54.860 --> 00:34:55.779 for the very first time 00:34:55.779 --> 00:34:57.319 let me say rejoice. 00:34:57.480 --> 00:34:58.000 I rejoice 00:34:58.000 --> 00:34:58.960 that you have forgiveness 00:34:58.960 --> 00:35:00.059 of sins in Jesus 00:35:00.059 --> 00:35:02.039 and he welcomes you 00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:03.340 and he now abides with you 00:35:03.340 --> 00:35:04.139 by his spirit. 00:35:04.779 --> 00:35:05.559 What great news 00:35:05.559 --> 00:35:06.900 you are never isolated and alone. 00:35:07.019 --> 00:35:07.400 If you know what 00:35:07.400 --> 00:35:08.000 I'm not sure 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:08.920 what I'm talking about there 00:35:08.920 --> 00:35:10.299 go to last week's message. 00:35:11.579 --> 00:35:13.279 But if that communication card 00:35:13.279 --> 00:35:14.519 I would be delighted 00:35:14.519 --> 00:35:15.500 we here at St Paul 00:35:15.500 --> 00:35:16.059 would be delighted 00:35:16.059 --> 00:35:16.960 if you could fill out 00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:18.019 that form for us 00:35:18.019 --> 00:35:19.599 and just let us know 00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:21.239 that you prayed that prayer 00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:22.139 for the first time 00:35:22.139 --> 00:35:23.819 and we would love 00:35:23.819 --> 00:35:25.059 to send you some resources 00:35:25.059 --> 00:35:26.039 to be praying for you 00:35:26.039 --> 00:35:26.659 in this season. 00:35:26.900 --> 00:35:27.519 God bless you. 00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:30.539 God bless you to the next week's show. 00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:31.460 God bless you. 00:35:31.539 --> 00:35:32.219 Thank you for the night.