WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.820 Let's so bow our heads and pray together. 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:10.779 Lord, thy word abideth, and our footsteps guideth. 00:00:11.939 --> 00:00:16.780 Who its truth believeth, light and joy receiveth. 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:21.260 In Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:29.260 So I want to preach from a text which wasn't in our reading today, 00:00:29.260 --> 00:00:34.060 but in a way sums up what we're talking about today. 00:00:34.539 --> 00:00:39.380 It's from Matthew chapter 10, verses 24 and 25, 00:00:40.420 --> 00:00:43.780 where Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, 00:00:44.380 --> 00:00:49.320 a student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 00:00:50.400 --> 00:00:53.799 It is enough. It is enough, says Jesus, 00:00:53.799 --> 00:00:57.119 for the student to be like his teacher, 00:00:57.699 --> 00:00:59.719 and the servant his master. 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:07.640 We forget, I think, frequently, that Jesus was a rabbi. 00:01:07.739 --> 00:01:10.140 He'd been schooled in a rabbinic school. 00:01:10.299 --> 00:01:11.620 He'd been taught the word. 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:19.500 And the rabbi was always keen in relation to his group of disciples. 00:01:19.500 --> 00:01:25.280 that those disciples would evidence the change that was taking place 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:30.819 through the rabbi's teaching by becoming like the rabbi. 00:01:32.299 --> 00:01:35.760 Today our theme is, be like Jesus. 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:41.219 And it kind of rolls off the tongue, doesn't it, when you say it. 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:45.640 But I wonder what you think when you hear that. 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:48.520 Maybe you feel just totally inadequate. 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:50.900 How could I ever be like Jesus? 00:01:51.100 --> 00:01:54.600 What, am I supposed to grow a beard and get sandals 00:01:54.600 --> 00:01:56.040 and wander around the countryside, 00:01:56.420 --> 00:01:58.700 stay cryptic stuff? 00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:03.200 Some of you might think, it's an arrogance. 00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:06.960 How could I ever think that I could ever become like Jesus? 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:10.640 And maybe for most of us, 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:14.920 the idea just seems unattainable. 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:19.620 Well, I need to tell you that the New Testament 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:22.620 isn't that big on unattainable ideas. 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:25.539 If Jesus said it, 00:02:25.539 --> 00:02:28.420 it must lie within the realms of possibility, 00:02:28.699 --> 00:02:32.459 for all of us who own the name of Jesus Christ, 00:02:33.239 --> 00:02:36.219 to become like him. 00:02:38.579 --> 00:02:40.519 And you see the challenge. 00:02:40.679 --> 00:02:47.280 Immediately you start to read the words of the Ten Commandments. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:53.359 You begin to see that there's something really scary going on here. 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:57.320 You have no idea 00:02:57.320 --> 00:03:01.200 how much the original hearers of the Sermon on the Mount 00:03:01.200 --> 00:03:02.860 would have been outraged 00:03:02.860 --> 00:03:05.220 by the claims that Jesus was making. 00:03:05.340 --> 00:03:09.320 You remember, there's a phrase in the old translations of the Bible, 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:10.860 Jesus said things like, 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:13.800 it is written, but now I say to you. 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:17.280 What the original hearers would have heard is, 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:18.840 this guy, Jesus, 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:21.680 is setting himself up as the new Moses. 00:03:23.379 --> 00:03:24.800 And we can't have that. 00:03:27.139 --> 00:03:28.939 So the kind of teaching 00:03:28.939 --> 00:03:32.219 that really would have outraged them, 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:35.599 and probably if it doesn't outrage us, 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:36.900 scares us, 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:40.599 because it seems like it might be unattainable for us. 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:43.479 Jesus said this, 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:45.439 you have heard that it was said, 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:46.159 it was written, 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:47.960 do not commit adultery. 00:03:48.359 --> 00:03:49.340 But I tell you, 00:03:49.659 --> 00:03:52.560 that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully, 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:55.099 has already committed adultery. 00:03:56.379 --> 00:03:58.560 Committed adultery with her in his heart. 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:00.419 I mean, it does amaze you, doesn't it, 00:04:00.620 --> 00:04:02.259 when you read those verses, 00:04:02.699 --> 00:04:04.159 that there aren't more men in church 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:05.579 with patches over their eyes. 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:09.100 Or again, 00:04:10.660 --> 00:04:11.820 it has been said, 00:04:11.980 --> 00:04:13.480 anyone who divorces his wife 00:04:13.480 --> 00:04:16.460 must give her a certificate or divorce. 00:04:16.540 --> 00:04:17.439 But I tell you, 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.460 that anyone who divorces his wife, 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:21.360 except for marital unfaithfulness, 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:24.879 causes her to commit adultery. 00:04:25.960 --> 00:04:26.900 You've heard it said, 00:04:27.280 --> 00:04:28.939 an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:29.939 But I tell you, 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:31.819 do not resist an evil person. 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:33.980 If someone strikes you on the right cheek, 00:04:34.540 --> 00:04:35.300 turn to him, 00:04:35.579 --> 00:04:36.899 the other also. 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:39.879 Immediately, 00:04:40.180 --> 00:04:40.899 you can see, 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:42.560 that if we're going to be like Jesus, 00:04:42.759 --> 00:04:43.459 there's going to be, 00:04:43.459 --> 00:04:46.459 a major change takes place, 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:48.259 in most of our hearts. 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:51.199 Is it just, 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:53.099 an unattainable idea? 00:04:54.979 --> 00:04:56.459 Or is this something, 00:04:57.459 --> 00:04:58.620 that with God's help, 00:04:58.779 --> 00:05:01.319 could become achievable in us? 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:10.439 Jesus gives these instructions, 00:05:10.439 --> 00:05:13.839 and about 600 years later, 00:05:14.060 --> 00:05:16.139 there was a monk called Benedict, 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:17.839 Saint Benedict, 00:05:18.139 --> 00:05:19.279 as he would be called 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:21.600 in the Roman Catholic Church today, 00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:24.120 who created an order of monks, 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:26.199 and subsequently nuns, 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:28.199 that have lasted through the centuries, 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:29.639 and still exists today. 00:05:30.579 --> 00:05:32.719 You can go to Benedictine monasteries, 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:33.800 Roman Catholic, 00:05:33.979 --> 00:05:35.279 and Church of England, 00:05:35.599 --> 00:05:36.939 up and down this country. 00:05:38.579 --> 00:05:41.039 Benedict was a very shrewd person, 00:05:41.039 --> 00:05:43.159 because he understood two things. 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:44.759 He understood that, 00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:46.480 if we're ever going to be like Jesus, 00:05:47.699 --> 00:05:49.980 it's a matter of training. 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:53.620 It's not just about trying harder, 00:05:54.039 --> 00:05:56.139 it's about training harder. 00:05:57.420 --> 00:05:58.339 And this is, 00:05:58.459 --> 00:05:59.819 the rule of Saint Benedict, 00:06:00.699 --> 00:06:01.759 you'll be glad to know, 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:03.539 there's an English translation of it, 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:05.240 of course the original was in Latin. 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:08.719 And this book goes into great detail, 00:06:08.719 --> 00:06:11.259 to say how the community of monks, 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:12.699 ought to live together. 00:06:12.699 --> 00:06:15.180 He understood, 00:06:16.479 --> 00:06:18.159 that if we're going to train for it, 00:06:18.339 --> 00:06:19.379 we cannot let, 00:06:19.819 --> 00:06:21.099 our sinful nature, 00:06:21.300 --> 00:06:22.420 as Paul would have put it, 00:06:22.740 --> 00:06:23.779 run away with us. 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:27.039 Somehow there's got to be some guidelines, 00:06:27.539 --> 00:06:28.839 that will help us, 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:30.860 live as God wants us to live. 00:06:31.219 --> 00:06:33.639 This is very detailed stuff. 00:06:33.719 --> 00:06:34.659 It even says, 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:36.399 who should sleep where, 00:06:36.719 --> 00:06:37.980 in the monks' monastery. 00:06:37.980 --> 00:06:43.360 Two things Benedict knew. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:44.500 The first thing was, 00:06:45.540 --> 00:06:47.020 that it's about training, 00:06:47.180 --> 00:06:47.860 not trying. 00:06:49.259 --> 00:06:51.300 And we will only become like Jesus, 00:06:51.460 --> 00:06:53.860 if we can embrace into our hearts, 00:06:54.200 --> 00:06:55.660 and into our lives, 00:06:55.980 --> 00:06:57.319 some spiritual discipline. 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:01.160 What Bishop Robert Barron would call, 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:04.939 the taming, 00:07:04.939 --> 00:07:06.460 of our desire. 00:07:07.939 --> 00:07:08.820 Without that, 00:07:09.080 --> 00:07:10.300 we will not even get started. 00:07:10.400 --> 00:07:11.040 But secondly, 00:07:11.480 --> 00:07:12.439 Benedict understood, 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:14.960 that we would find this, 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:16.180 discipline. 00:07:17.520 --> 00:07:18.280 We'd find it, 00:07:18.640 --> 00:07:19.580 never easy, 00:07:19.760 --> 00:07:20.520 but easier, 00:07:21.280 --> 00:07:23.120 in the context of community. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:23.240 community. 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:25.220 And thus, 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:27.060 the context, 00:07:27.259 --> 00:07:28.699 of a community of monks. 00:07:30.459 --> 00:07:31.720 One of the things, 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:33.939 that living in community, 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:35.280 really does to you, 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:36.819 and Enthea and I for a while, 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:38.160 lived in community, 00:07:38.860 --> 00:07:39.980 on a lay community, 00:07:40.139 --> 00:07:40.920 I wasn't a monk, 00:07:41.620 --> 00:07:43.019 and mercifully she wasn't a nun. 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:46.959 One of the things you learn is, 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:48.340 these things cannot, 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:50.300 these places cannot discipline, 00:07:50.579 --> 00:07:52.519 cannot function without discipline. 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:54.300 And secondly, 00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:57.860 it starts to rub the rough edges, 00:07:58.060 --> 00:07:59.579 off your own character, 00:08:00.259 --> 00:08:01.160 as you live, 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:01.699 eat, 00:08:01.939 --> 00:08:03.079 and work together. 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:06.480 Excuse me. 00:08:07.780 --> 00:08:08.840 One of the things, 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:09.959 that Benedict said, 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:12.519 which sounds really strange, 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:14.180 to our ears today is, 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:15.280 he said, 00:08:15.399 --> 00:08:16.280 day by day, 00:08:16.740 --> 00:08:17.840 remind yourself, 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:19.139 that you are going to die. 00:08:20.660 --> 00:08:22.100 Why would he say that? 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:24.939 Was he just some kind of weird guy, 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:26.740 who had a strange death wish? 00:08:27.540 --> 00:08:27.980 No, 00:08:28.100 --> 00:08:28.780 he wrote it, 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:29.319 because, 00:08:30.280 --> 00:08:31.439 he thought that, 00:08:31.740 --> 00:08:33.419 if we begin to think about, 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:34.200 our death, 00:08:35.060 --> 00:08:36.659 we might live our lives, 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:37.639 in such a way, 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:39.080 that we might attain, 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:40.720 the idea of dying well. 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:44.639 A student is not above his teacher, 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:46.860 nor a servant above his master, 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:47.740 it is enough, 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:48.840 for the student, 00:08:48.980 --> 00:08:51.039 to be like his teacher. 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:55.120 Benedict thought, 00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:57.460 that our primary calling, 00:08:57.820 --> 00:08:58.440 in Christ, 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:00.580 was to become like him. 00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:03.500 I want to do, 00:09:03.899 --> 00:09:05.159 three things, 00:09:05.320 --> 00:09:05.899 with you, 00:09:06.060 --> 00:09:06.720 this morning. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:07.580 The first thing, 00:09:07.740 --> 00:09:08.500 I want to do, 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:10.360 is just to note, 00:09:10.560 --> 00:09:11.920 five characteristics, 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:12.679 of Jesus, 00:09:12.839 --> 00:09:13.379 that I think, 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:14.719 you need to think about, 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:16.819 if we are to train, 00:09:17.199 --> 00:09:18.740 to become more like him. 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:20.659 The second thing, 00:09:20.719 --> 00:09:21.299 I want to do, 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:22.199 is tell you, 00:09:22.740 --> 00:09:23.479 three things, 00:09:23.579 --> 00:09:24.279 you can do, 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:25.759 to start to build, 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:26.599 this idea, 00:09:26.939 --> 00:09:28.039 into your lives. 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:30.199 And the third thing, 00:09:30.319 --> 00:09:31.079 I want to do, 00:09:31.839 --> 00:09:32.819 is to ask you, 00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:33.459 to stay, 00:09:33.659 --> 00:09:34.539 take a step. 00:09:36.179 --> 00:09:36.860 Paul said, 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:38.000 in Galatians 5, 00:09:38.300 --> 00:09:39.120 if we live, 00:09:39.259 --> 00:09:39.980 by the spirit, 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:41.440 let us walk, 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:42.259 with the spirit. 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:45.039 I want to ask you, 00:09:45.139 --> 00:09:46.840 to give an honest, 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:47.800 assessment of yourself. 00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:48.580 Is your life, 00:09:48.659 --> 00:09:49.080 in step, 00:09:49.139 --> 00:09:50.060 with the Holy Spirit? 00:09:50.779 --> 00:09:51.580 Or are you, 00:09:51.680 --> 00:09:52.480 out of step, 00:09:52.680 --> 00:09:53.759 with the Holy Spirit? 00:09:55.340 --> 00:09:56.279 You might like, 00:09:56.360 --> 00:09:57.259 to ask yourself, 00:09:57.539 --> 00:09:58.440 this question, 00:09:58.980 --> 00:10:00.399 and if you're really brave, 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:01.940 and you know somebody, 00:10:02.139 --> 00:10:03.039 who loves you enough, 00:10:03.100 --> 00:10:04.139 to tell you the truth, 00:10:04.580 --> 00:10:05.639 you might ask them, 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:06.680 what am I becoming? 00:10:06.860 --> 00:10:11.300 A friend, 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:12.060 John Ortberg, 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:12.860 asked the question, 00:10:12.980 --> 00:10:13.480 in a rather, 00:10:13.700 --> 00:10:14.860 more scary way. 00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:15.680 He says, 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:16.399 what are you like, 00:10:16.440 --> 00:10:17.440 when no one's looking? 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:21.039 Don't shout out. 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:27.320 Many of us, 00:10:27.800 --> 00:10:28.279 I think, 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:29.279 find ourselves, 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:30.620 drifting through life, 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:32.000 wasting time, 00:10:32.800 --> 00:10:34.100 setting wrong priorities, 00:10:34.820 --> 00:10:35.800 and constantly, 00:10:35.800 --> 00:10:36.800 seeking to just, 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:37.220 testify, 00:10:37.700 --> 00:10:38.320 ourselves. 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:42.960 Former Archbishop of York, 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:44.320 Stuart Blanche, 00:10:45.220 --> 00:10:46.600 said mysteriously, 00:10:46.820 --> 00:10:48.759 that if you want to understand, 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:49.539 the Bible, 00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:51.039 you need to start, 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:52.560 in the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:10:54.060 --> 00:10:55.539 That's a strange thing to say, 00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:56.240 partly because, 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:56.860 most of you, 00:10:56.919 --> 00:10:57.419 wouldn't even be able, 00:10:57.480 --> 00:10:58.100 to find it, 00:10:58.180 --> 00:10:58.560 never mind, 00:10:58.659 --> 00:10:59.120 read it. 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:00.259 Listen, 00:11:00.259 --> 00:11:01.159 listen, 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:04.299 to what the, 00:11:04.539 --> 00:11:07.220 author of the writer of Ecclesiastes, 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:08.519 started out with. 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:09.919 Meaningless, 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:10.620 meaningless, 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:11.360 he wrote, 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:12.919 says the teacher, 00:11:13.340 --> 00:11:14.279 utterly meaningless, 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:15.220 everything, 00:11:15.580 --> 00:11:16.580 is meaningless. 00:11:19.580 --> 00:11:20.019 See, 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:20.980 unlike those, 00:11:20.980 --> 00:11:22.080 monks of old, 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:23.860 unlike those, 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:25.100 disciples of old, 00:11:25.100 --> 00:11:26.600 unless you have, 00:11:26.680 --> 00:11:27.740 a clear purpose, 00:11:27.940 --> 00:11:28.680 in your life, 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:29.920 a lot of the way, 00:11:30.019 --> 00:11:31.460 you experience life, 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:33.139 of the way you experience, 00:11:33.259 --> 00:11:33.759 this world, 00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:34.680 is going to feel, 00:11:34.800 --> 00:11:35.279 meaningless. 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:37.639 Utterly, 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:38.460 meaningless, 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:39.639 says the writer, 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:40.720 of Ecclesiastes. 00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:42.240 There is a need, 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:42.620 for us, 00:11:42.680 --> 00:11:43.600 to have our purpose. 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:44.540 The purpose, 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:45.519 that Benedict set, 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:46.460 for his community, 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:46.820 was, 00:11:47.139 --> 00:11:48.040 we should become, 00:11:48.040 --> 00:11:49.300 more like Jesus. 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:51.540 That's not just, 00:11:51.540 --> 00:11:52.160 a purpose, 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:53.439 it's a huge, 00:11:53.439 --> 00:11:54.579 challenge for us. 00:11:55.719 --> 00:11:56.399 But purpose, 00:11:56.779 --> 00:11:57.819 is good for you. 00:11:58.740 --> 00:11:59.379 In the Harvard, 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:00.459 Business Review, 00:12:00.980 --> 00:12:01.799 an eminent, 00:12:01.939 --> 00:12:02.879 epidemiologist, 00:12:03.079 --> 00:12:03.279 wrote, 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:03.860 doctors, 00:12:04.219 --> 00:12:05.519 have even found out, 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:06.079 that people, 00:12:06.219 --> 00:12:06.939 with purpose, 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:08.819 in their lives, 00:12:08.980 --> 00:12:09.980 are less prone, 00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:10.819 to disease. 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:13.480 For a Christian, 00:12:14.379 --> 00:12:15.100 our purpose, 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:15.759 is found, 00:12:15.959 --> 00:12:16.259 in, 00:12:16.659 --> 00:12:17.919 and through Jesus. 00:12:19.659 --> 00:12:21.039 Let me remind you, 00:12:21.199 --> 00:12:21.799 of our text, 00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:22.559 a student, 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:24.399 is not above his teacher, 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:25.439 nor a servant, 00:12:25.539 --> 00:12:26.479 above his master. 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:27.620 It is enough, 00:12:28.219 --> 00:12:29.039 it is enough, 00:12:29.099 --> 00:12:29.819 for the student, 00:12:30.199 --> 00:12:31.000 to be like, 00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:32.000 his teacher. 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:35.279 So five things, 00:12:35.659 --> 00:12:36.679 that you might just like, 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:37.539 to think about, 00:12:37.859 --> 00:12:38.799 if you would like, 00:12:38.899 --> 00:12:39.439 to start, 00:12:39.539 --> 00:12:41.019 making these steps, 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:42.579 to put yourself, 00:12:42.719 --> 00:12:43.439 in step, 00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:44.479 with the spirit, 00:12:44.759 --> 00:12:45.659 as St. Paul put it. 00:12:45.719 --> 00:12:46.699 The first thing is, 00:12:47.319 --> 00:12:48.659 you've really got to think, 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:50.120 about humility. 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:53.240 I have been, 00:12:53.459 --> 00:12:54.339 severely, 00:12:54.339 --> 00:12:55.399 challenged, 00:12:55.539 --> 00:12:56.219 about this, 00:12:56.319 --> 00:12:57.539 in my own life. 00:12:58.819 --> 00:12:59.620 It seems, 00:13:00.299 --> 00:13:01.319 in the church, 00:13:01.859 --> 00:13:03.179 the more you progress, 00:13:03.359 --> 00:13:04.120 through the orders, 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:04.879 of ministry, 00:13:05.139 --> 00:13:05.599 priest, 00:13:07.359 --> 00:13:08.279 archdeacon, 00:13:08.699 --> 00:13:08.979 bishop, 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:10.719 the nearer, 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:12.079 you get, 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:12.659 to the top, 00:13:12.719 --> 00:13:13.299 of the pyramid, 00:13:13.299 --> 00:13:16.099 the more, 00:13:16.099 --> 00:13:17.459 difficult it is, 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:18.819 not to be, 00:13:18.819 --> 00:13:19.959 constantly aware, 00:13:20.059 --> 00:13:20.979 of your status. 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:22.899 Not to be, 00:13:22.899 --> 00:13:24.259 constantly aware, 00:13:24.620 --> 00:13:25.279 of things, 00:13:25.419 --> 00:13:26.099 that are really, 00:13:26.139 --> 00:13:27.199 not good for you. 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:29.219 Constantly, 00:13:29.339 --> 00:13:30.519 measuring yourself, 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:32.159 against other people. 00:13:33.819 --> 00:13:34.459 Constantly, 00:13:34.899 --> 00:13:35.579 imagining, 00:13:35.979 --> 00:13:37.159 that you're doing better, 00:13:37.439 --> 00:13:38.199 than in fact, 00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:39.659 you probably are. 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:42.240 Let me read you, 00:13:42.500 --> 00:13:43.120 some verses, 00:13:44.039 --> 00:13:45.719 of Jesus' attitude, 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:47.219 as Paul outlines, 00:13:47.659 --> 00:13:49.299 in Philippians chapter 2. 00:13:50.219 --> 00:13:51.179 He says this, 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:52.360 your attitude, 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:53.419 should be the same, 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:54.719 as that of Christ Jesus, 00:13:55.179 --> 00:13:55.779 who being, 00:13:55.899 --> 00:13:56.839 in the very nature, 00:13:57.259 --> 00:13:57.600 God, 00:13:58.339 --> 00:13:59.439 did not consider, 00:13:59.579 --> 00:14:00.559 equality with God, 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:02.000 something to be grasped, 00:14:02.659 --> 00:14:03.839 but made himself, 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:04.399 nothing, 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:07.179 taking the very nature, 00:14:07.319 --> 00:14:08.019 of a servant, 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:09.399 being made, 00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:11.220 in human likeness. 00:14:13.860 --> 00:14:15.039 Son of God, 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:17.819 came to earth, 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:19.980 and understood, 00:14:20.220 --> 00:14:21.159 his status, 00:14:22.199 --> 00:14:22.879 as nothing. 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:25.279 Writing in that, 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:26.519 same epistle, 00:14:27.319 --> 00:14:28.159 Paul wrote this, 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:29.399 and you won't find this, 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:30.799 in any 20th century, 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:31.899 psychology manual, 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:32.620 believe me. 00:14:34.279 --> 00:14:34.659 He said, 00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:35.960 always think of others, 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:37.939 as better than yourself, 00:14:38.019 --> 00:14:38.319 else. 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:41.480 What do you say? 00:14:41.539 --> 00:14:42.019 Does that mean, 00:14:42.079 --> 00:14:42.439 I've got to be, 00:14:42.439 --> 00:14:43.579 some kind of doormat? 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:43.860 No, 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:44.659 it means you've got to be, 00:14:44.860 --> 00:14:45.259 like Jesus. 00:14:49.179 --> 00:14:50.579 When we're offended, 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:53.319 when somebody implies, 00:14:53.939 --> 00:14:56.220 our status is under threat, 00:14:57.360 --> 00:14:59.199 when it sounds like, 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:00.360 people don't have, 00:15:00.439 --> 00:15:01.879 the same inflated view, 00:15:01.939 --> 00:15:02.519 of ourselves, 00:15:02.779 --> 00:15:03.679 as we have, 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:06.599 we need to swallow, 00:15:06.599 --> 00:15:08.799 and remember, 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:09.799 the example, 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:10.399 of Jesus, 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:11.199 who though, 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:13.000 he was the son of God, 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:14.000 counted himself, 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:14.539 nothing, 00:15:15.219 --> 00:15:15.799 in coming, 00:15:16.339 --> 00:15:16.899 to earth. 00:15:18.959 --> 00:15:19.739 I've heard, 00:15:19.819 --> 00:15:20.519 lots of times, 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:21.079 occasionally, 00:15:21.199 --> 00:15:21.919 it flashes up, 00:15:21.979 --> 00:15:23.299 on social media, 00:15:23.659 --> 00:15:24.399 that I could go, 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:25.959 to an assertiveness class. 00:15:27.779 --> 00:15:28.379 Do you know what? 00:15:28.379 --> 00:15:30.759 I will praise God, 00:15:30.840 --> 00:15:32.159 the day I see somebody, 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:34.220 advertising a humility class, 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:38.039 and I may even sign up for it. 00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:41.759 Second thing, 00:15:41.959 --> 00:15:43.139 you need to think about, 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:44.279 is service. 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:46.899 In John chapter 13, 00:15:47.139 --> 00:15:48.519 we read the Lord Jesus, 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:49.539 at the last supper, 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:50.679 which we celebrated, 00:15:51.019 --> 00:15:51.779 a little earlier, 00:15:51.899 --> 00:15:52.699 in our service. 00:15:54.419 --> 00:15:55.099 And Jesus, 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:56.199 at that, 00:15:56.459 --> 00:15:57.539 last supper, 00:15:58.179 --> 00:15:58.959 knows that, 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:00.699 the end is nigh for him, 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:01.699 on this earth. 00:16:03.179 --> 00:16:04.219 And unlike, 00:16:04.419 --> 00:16:05.759 most leaving dues, 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:06.819 that we go to, 00:16:06.820 --> 00:16:07.860 where there are, 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:08.300 kind of, 00:16:08.300 --> 00:16:09.700 sickening eulogies, 00:16:09.780 --> 00:16:10.820 spoken of the person, 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:11.680 who's retiring, 00:16:12.140 --> 00:16:13.460 probably a third of which, 00:16:13.520 --> 00:16:14.480 are not even true, 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:17.800 Jesus chose, 00:16:18.420 --> 00:16:19.420 to do something. 00:16:21.040 --> 00:16:22.140 He stripped down, 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:23.260 to his inner garments, 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:25.440 and he took, 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:26.500 a bowl of water, 00:16:27.300 --> 00:16:28.080 and a cloth, 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:29.960 and he washed, 00:16:30.040 --> 00:16:31.100 his disciples feet. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:34.580 And can you imagine that? 00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:36.920 Can you imagine, 00:16:37.060 --> 00:16:37.820 being one of those, 00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:39.820 dusty disciples, 00:16:40.460 --> 00:16:41.740 at the end of supper, 00:16:42.420 --> 00:16:43.240 wondering quite, 00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:44.700 what Jesus was talking about, 00:16:44.800 --> 00:16:45.259 and suddenly, 00:16:45.420 --> 00:16:46.000 he strips down, 00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:47.020 to his inner garments, 00:16:47.340 --> 00:16:48.759 and starts to wash your feet. 00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:53.100 And then he says, 00:16:53.900 --> 00:16:56.420 when Peter complains, 00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:57.580 you shouldn't be doing this, 00:16:57.740 --> 00:16:57.879 Lord, 00:16:58.340 --> 00:16:58.540 you know, 00:16:58.580 --> 00:16:59.320 we should be doing it, 00:16:59.320 --> 00:16:59.700 for you. 00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:02.560 When Peter complains, 00:17:02.640 --> 00:17:02.740 he says, 00:17:02.800 --> 00:17:03.920 unless you do this, 00:17:04.259 --> 00:17:05.140 for one another, 00:17:06.100 --> 00:17:07.000 you don't get it. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:08.720 I'm paraphrasing. 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:13.880 We're called, 00:17:14.539 --> 00:17:15.299 to serve. 00:17:16.600 --> 00:17:17.819 I love to give, 00:17:18.019 --> 00:17:19.420 customer feedback, 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:21.240 to people who ask for it, 00:17:21.299 --> 00:17:21.700 because, 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:23.140 I think that, 00:17:23.620 --> 00:17:24.360 most of them, 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:25.420 are trying to get at, 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:26.180 what do we, 00:17:26.380 --> 00:17:27.380 what do I think about, 00:17:27.460 --> 00:17:28.920 the service they provided? 00:17:29.700 --> 00:17:31.620 I mean, 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:32.019 if you know, 00:17:32.080 --> 00:17:33.279 I've just been in the States, 00:17:33.340 --> 00:17:34.480 and I got a thing, 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:35.920 from Virgin Atlantic, 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:37.420 asking me, 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:37.940 what I thought, 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:39.259 of their customer service. 00:17:41.360 --> 00:17:42.019 And I said, 00:17:42.100 --> 00:17:43.140 it was okay, 00:17:43.299 --> 00:17:43.779 I give it, 00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:44.680 six out of ten, 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:45.740 seven out of ten, 00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:46.660 but one thing, 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:47.400 you need to teach, 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:48.319 your staff is, 00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:50.420 that service with a smile, 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:51.940 feels more like service, 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:53.180 than service, 00:17:53.380 --> 00:17:54.440 with a miserable face. 00:17:58.380 --> 00:17:59.600 We're called to serve. 00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:02.880 And you might not like that. 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:05.200 To be honest with you, 00:18:05.840 --> 00:18:07.019 I would be kind, 00:18:07.100 --> 00:18:07.340 I mean, 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:08.539 I used to have to do this, 00:18:08.600 --> 00:18:09.380 in our cathedral. 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:11.819 On Monday, 00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:12.840 Thursday evening, 00:18:13.100 --> 00:18:14.279 we did this thing, 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:15.600 of foot washing. 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:18.660 Let me be honest with you, 00:18:18.860 --> 00:18:19.740 I hated it. 00:18:21.980 --> 00:18:23.920 Everything about my, 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:25.279 hygiene obsession, 00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:25.920 it offended. 00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:28.519 Having to go to these, 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:29.660 big knobbly feet, 00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:31.680 and wash them. 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:36.920 But I have to believe, 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:39.360 that was good for me. 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:42.380 And the more I hated it, 00:18:42.600 --> 00:18:43.039 maybe, 00:18:43.300 --> 00:18:45.019 the better it was for me. 00:18:46.740 --> 00:18:48.060 Because it taught me, 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:50.000 taught me, 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:53.220 that service is often menial, 00:18:53.700 --> 00:18:54.679 and undramatic. 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:57.019 It's not for the people, 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:58.119 who stand up front, 00:18:58.240 --> 00:18:59.240 waxing eloquent. 00:19:01.379 --> 00:19:02.740 It's for all of us. 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:05.579 I've told you this before, 00:19:05.679 --> 00:19:07.659 but it always kind of gets me, 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:08.480 when I read it. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:09.839 This slightly, 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:11.220 gin-soaked priest, 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:13.400 in the city of London, 00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:14.400 called Gonville, 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:15.720 French Beater. 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:18.660 He wrote that, 00:19:18.900 --> 00:19:20.319 he wished that Christians, 00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:22.539 would carry a bedpan, 00:19:22.660 --> 00:19:23.680 around their necks, 00:19:24.019 --> 00:19:25.559 rather than wear a cross. 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:27.400 Because he said, 00:19:27.460 --> 00:19:28.539 it would remind them, 00:19:28.779 --> 00:19:29.980 that the call of Jesus, 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:31.799 is to service. 00:19:32.360 --> 00:19:33.079 To menial, 00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:34.539 undramatic service. 00:19:34.539 --> 00:19:37.220 Not to wear an ornament, 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:38.139 whose meaning, 00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:39.659 is largely lost, 00:19:39.899 --> 00:19:40.599 upon us. 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:43.099 Humility, 00:19:43.339 --> 00:19:43.659 service, 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:44.319 third thing, 00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:44.819 love. 00:19:46.099 --> 00:19:47.799 In Ephesians chapter 5, 00:19:48.099 --> 00:19:49.099 and verse 2, 00:19:49.740 --> 00:19:50.339 we read, 00:19:50.839 --> 00:19:51.639 this is strange, 00:19:51.779 --> 00:19:51.980 I mean, 00:19:52.099 --> 00:19:53.319 Ephesians chapter 5, 00:19:53.379 --> 00:19:54.039 and verse 1, 00:19:54.460 --> 00:19:55.960 is a real showstopper. 00:19:56.399 --> 00:19:57.859 Be imitators of God, 00:19:57.960 --> 00:19:58.539 says Paul. 00:19:59.339 --> 00:19:59.859 Therefore, 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:01.639 as dearly beloved children, 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:02.680 and live a life, 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:03.399 of love. 00:20:04.539 --> 00:20:09.220 What's difficult, 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:10.639 about that verse, 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:11.299 for us, 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:12.920 is that love, 00:20:13.299 --> 00:20:14.980 in New Testament terms, 00:20:15.399 --> 00:20:16.879 is something very different, 00:20:17.180 --> 00:20:19.019 than we immediately think of, 00:20:19.059 --> 00:20:20.159 when we think of love, 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:21.680 in our culture today. 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:24.579 I think too often, 00:20:24.859 --> 00:20:26.220 we confuse lust, 00:20:26.379 --> 00:20:26.980 and love. 00:20:28.779 --> 00:20:29.700 But love, 00:20:29.859 --> 00:20:30.779 in the New Testament, 00:20:31.159 --> 00:20:32.039 was not so much, 00:20:32.180 --> 00:20:33.480 bound up with our feelings, 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:34.779 but more bound up, 00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:35.460 with our will. 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:38.680 That's why Jesus, 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:39.519 could say, 00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:41.539 as an attainable ideal, 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:42.660 love your enemies. 00:20:42.779 --> 00:20:43.220 It didn't mean, 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:44.180 you've got to feel great, 00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:44.740 about them. 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:46.259 It means that, 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:48.200 you've got to want, 00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:49.019 the best for them. 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:52.620 Loving people, 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:53.920 is part of that, 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:54.480 menial, 00:20:54.620 --> 00:20:55.440 and undramatic, 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:56.259 service, 00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:57.379 that I spoke of. 00:20:59.379 --> 00:21:00.400 It starts, 00:21:00.579 --> 00:21:01.279 in the will. 00:21:02.980 --> 00:21:04.180 Not what you feel. 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:05.740 I mean, 00:21:05.940 --> 00:21:06.480 you know, 00:21:06.700 --> 00:21:07.599 I'm your classic, 00:21:07.740 --> 00:21:08.640 grumpy old man. 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:10.440 Right? 00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:11.940 If I went by my feelings, 00:21:12.099 --> 00:21:12.859 oh my goodness, 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:15.240 I would be, 00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:16.419 even less pleasant, 00:21:16.539 --> 00:21:17.039 than I am. 00:21:22.779 --> 00:21:23.299 Love, 00:21:23.659 --> 00:21:25.419 is the badge, 00:21:25.459 --> 00:21:26.139 of the church, 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:27.319 wrote David Watson. 00:21:28.459 --> 00:21:29.759 And it's the badge, 00:21:29.899 --> 00:21:30.819 that we should be, 00:21:30.819 --> 00:21:32.240 wearing confidently, 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:33.719 as we go, 00:21:33.819 --> 00:21:34.639 into the world, 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:35.399 to serve. 00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:38.639 Love one another, 00:21:38.779 --> 00:21:39.379 said Jesus, 00:21:39.939 --> 00:21:40.539 as I, 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:41.699 have loved you. 00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:44.059 Humility, 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:44.579 service, 00:21:44.740 --> 00:21:44.899 love, 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:45.500 fourthly, 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:46.399 patient, 00:21:46.639 --> 00:21:47.439 endurance. 00:21:49.199 --> 00:21:49.859 Writing, 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:50.699 in, 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:52.579 his first epistle, 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:53.199 Peter, 00:21:55.079 --> 00:21:56.099 wrote, 00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:57.079 these words. 00:21:58.779 --> 00:22:00.519 1 Peter chapter 2, 00:22:01.159 --> 00:22:03.279 verses 20 to 21. 00:22:07.419 --> 00:22:08.959 How is it, 00:22:09.099 --> 00:22:09.899 to your credit, 00:22:09.899 --> 00:22:11.500 if you receive, 00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:12.059 a beating, 00:22:12.059 --> 00:22:13.079 for doing wrong, 00:22:13.159 --> 00:22:14.019 and endure it? 00:22:14.779 --> 00:22:15.819 But if you suffer, 00:22:15.940 --> 00:22:16.740 for doing good, 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:17.839 and you endure it, 00:22:17.919 --> 00:22:19.419 this is commendable, 00:22:19.500 --> 00:22:20.259 before God. 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:22.379 Listen to this. 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:24.299 To this you were called, 00:22:24.379 --> 00:22:25.599 because Christ suffered, 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:26.159 for you, 00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:27.359 leaving you, 00:22:27.399 --> 00:22:28.039 an example, 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:30.200 that you should follow, 00:22:30.700 --> 00:22:31.579 in his ways. 00:22:32.919 --> 00:22:33.299 See, 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:34.279 it's one of those verses, 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:34.720 isn't it, 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:35.839 where you kind of think, 00:22:36.179 --> 00:22:36.919 thank goodness, 00:22:37.259 --> 00:22:37.980 Jesus didn't, 00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:39.559 employ spin doctors. 00:22:39.559 --> 00:22:42.079 Can you imagine, 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:43.039 what a spin doctor, 00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:43.460 would say, 00:22:43.639 --> 00:22:44.519 if they heard, 00:22:44.740 --> 00:22:46.119 Jesus or Peter, 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:47.359 writing stuff like this, 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:48.319 let me tell it to you again. 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:49.000 To this, 00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:49.960 you were called, 00:22:50.220 --> 00:22:51.440 because Christ Jesus, 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:53.359 suffered for you, 00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:54.240 leaving you, 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:54.899 an example. 00:22:56.639 --> 00:22:57.480 Spin doctors say, 00:22:57.579 --> 00:22:57.819 you can't, 00:22:57.899 --> 00:22:58.359 if you want to, 00:22:58.859 --> 00:22:59.500 if you want people, 00:22:59.559 --> 00:23:00.039 to follow you, 00:23:00.139 --> 00:23:01.419 you better chop that one out, 00:23:01.500 --> 00:23:02.099 pretty quickly. 00:23:02.099 --> 00:23:05.699 No. 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:07.139 No, 00:23:07.179 --> 00:23:07.759 says Peter. 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:09.799 We are called, 00:23:09.919 --> 00:23:11.299 to suffer with Jesus, 00:23:11.439 --> 00:23:12.319 because Jesus, 00:23:12.659 --> 00:23:14.139 suffered for us. 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:16.579 And the final thing, 00:23:17.059 --> 00:23:18.159 I know this was a, 00:23:18.159 --> 00:23:20.099 major theme of Clive's, 00:23:20.179 --> 00:23:21.019 during the last, 00:23:21.099 --> 00:23:22.539 few weeks, 00:23:22.619 --> 00:23:23.579 that he was with us. 00:23:23.959 --> 00:23:24.819 This idea, 00:23:24.959 --> 00:23:26.139 that what we have, 00:23:26.459 --> 00:23:27.359 if we have it, 00:23:27.659 --> 00:23:28.299 is something, 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:29.559 that needs to be shared. 00:23:29.939 --> 00:23:30.779 In other words, 00:23:30.779 --> 00:23:32.899 Jesus had an understanding, 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:33.500 of mission. 00:23:34.539 --> 00:23:35.379 His closing words, 00:23:35.500 --> 00:23:36.899 according to Matthew 28, 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:37.160 were, 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:38.920 go into all the world. 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:40.039 This is a challenge, 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:40.599 for a church, 00:23:40.660 --> 00:23:41.480 where we sit around, 00:23:41.899 --> 00:23:43.079 imagining how we might, 00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:44.099 get people to come. 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:45.819 No, 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:47.660 Jesus reverses the dynamic, 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:48.940 you know what I like to think, 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:49.160 is, 00:23:49.639 --> 00:23:50.940 that the blessed Trinity, 00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:51.420 Father, 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:52.680 Son and Holy Spirit, 00:23:53.259 --> 00:23:54.259 perfect unity, 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:58.019 and perfect diversity. 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:00.759 That within the Holy Trinity, 00:24:00.779 --> 00:24:01.099 Trinity, 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:02.899 the energy of the Holy Trinity, 00:24:03.379 --> 00:24:04.960 is always centrifugal. 00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:06.879 It is always forcing, 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:08.139 energy outwards, 00:24:08.399 --> 00:24:09.619 whereas in our churches, 00:24:10.519 --> 00:24:11.740 we're more like a vortex, 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:13.980 that just sucks energy in. 00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:16.599 With our endless rotas, 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:17.759 our endless, 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:18.539 I mean, 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:19.680 I know they're necessary, 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:21.200 and I get it, 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:22.420 and I'm on them. 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:26.339 But when will we get it, 00:24:27.460 --> 00:24:28.680 that God calls us, 00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:30.220 to go into the world? 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:34.639 I don't think you can judge, 00:24:34.700 --> 00:24:35.460 a human being, 00:24:35.579 --> 00:24:37.059 by their closing words, 00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:37.940 on planet Earth. 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:38.859 Some people have said, 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:39.960 some very rude things, 00:24:40.059 --> 00:24:41.019 as a matter of fact, 00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:42.619 George VI, 00:24:42.740 --> 00:24:43.420 comes to mind. 00:24:43.420 --> 00:24:49.100 But when the Son of God, 00:24:49.100 --> 00:24:50.720 leaves the planet, 00:24:50.800 --> 00:24:51.060 and says, 00:24:51.180 --> 00:24:52.620 go into all the world, 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:53.779 and make disciples, 00:24:53.940 --> 00:24:54.880 of all cultures, 00:24:54.980 --> 00:24:55.620 all nations, 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:58.019 surely, 00:24:58.460 --> 00:24:58.759 we, 00:24:58.900 --> 00:24:59.519 his followers, 00:24:59.840 --> 00:25:01.200 should take note of this. 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:03.900 But how can, 00:25:04.060 --> 00:25:04.900 all this work? 00:25:05.019 --> 00:25:06.700 Am I just going to try harder, 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:08.300 when I get home today? 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:09.800 Because by the end of the day, 00:25:10.300 --> 00:25:11.620 it'll probably have worn off. 00:25:11.619 --> 00:25:14.539 In our reading that we had, 00:25:14.939 --> 00:25:16.179 that David read to us, 00:25:16.339 --> 00:25:18.039 in Galatians 5, 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:19.859 Paul tells us, 00:25:20.399 --> 00:25:22.479 that this work of becoming like Jesus, 00:25:22.679 --> 00:25:23.159 technically, 00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:25.319 what we call sanctification, 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:27.839 is a work of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:28.859 --> 00:25:30.659 The Spirit is given to us, 00:25:31.019 --> 00:25:32.919 as a sort of inner driver. 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:36.460 In chapter 5, 00:25:36.519 --> 00:25:37.800 and verse 13, 00:25:38.360 --> 00:25:39.440 we read there, 00:25:39.600 --> 00:25:39.840 that, 00:25:40.140 --> 00:25:41.800 he makes this, 00:25:41.800 --> 00:25:43.360 redefinition, 00:25:43.860 --> 00:25:44.200 of, 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:45.259 freedom. 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:47.340 Verse 13, 00:25:48.019 --> 00:25:48.620 you, 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:49.560 my brothers, 00:25:49.880 --> 00:25:50.620 and sisters, 00:25:50.740 --> 00:25:51.900 were called to be free, 00:25:52.840 --> 00:25:54.519 but do not use your freedom, 00:25:54.660 --> 00:25:56.420 to indulge the sinful nature. 00:25:56.420 --> 00:26:00.500 If I, 00:26:01.100 --> 00:26:03.640 wanted to speak something, 00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:05.180 into our culture today, 00:26:06.100 --> 00:26:07.039 it would be something, 00:26:07.100 --> 00:26:08.200 along those lines. 00:26:10.080 --> 00:26:10.560 Where, 00:26:10.800 --> 00:26:11.200 largely, 00:26:11.340 --> 00:26:11.900 our culture, 00:26:12.019 --> 00:26:12.860 is brought into this, 00:26:12.860 --> 00:26:14.560 libertarian idea, 00:26:15.660 --> 00:26:17.820 that if I want to be free, 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:19.080 I must be free, 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:20.500 to do whatever I want. 00:26:22.120 --> 00:26:23.140 Let me tell you, 00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:24.560 what Paul says about this, 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:26.299 in Galatians chapter 5, 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:28.019 he says, 00:26:28.159 --> 00:26:29.000 if you want to live, 00:26:29.179 --> 00:26:30.119 in the way, 00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:31.019 that you want to live, 00:26:31.179 --> 00:26:31.879 he calls this, 00:26:32.159 --> 00:26:33.740 the acts of the sinful nature. 00:26:34.740 --> 00:26:34.960 Right? 00:26:36.379 --> 00:26:37.279 They're obvious, 00:26:37.399 --> 00:26:37.720 he says. 00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:39.700 Sexual immorality. 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:40.899 Well, 00:26:40.919 --> 00:26:42.480 you've only got to turn on your television, 00:26:42.740 --> 00:26:45.119 or buy a modern novel, 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:46.519 to see that we're obsessed, 00:26:46.659 --> 00:26:47.639 by all that stuff. 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:49.019 Sexual immorality, 00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:49.859 impurity, 00:26:50.019 --> 00:26:50.759 and debauchery, 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:51.919 idolatry, 00:26:52.059 --> 00:26:52.740 and witchcraft, 00:26:52.879 --> 00:26:53.240 hatred, 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:53.919 discord, 00:26:54.139 --> 00:26:54.519 jealousy, 00:26:55.019 --> 00:26:55.819 fits of rage, 00:26:55.960 --> 00:26:56.899 selfish ambition, 00:26:58.099 --> 00:26:58.740 discussions, 00:26:59.200 --> 00:26:59.679 factions, 00:27:00.059 --> 00:27:00.740 and envy, 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:01.659 drunkenness, 00:27:01.879 --> 00:27:02.359 orgies, 00:27:02.639 --> 00:27:03.299 and the like. 00:27:03.659 --> 00:27:04.859 And if you're sitting there, 00:27:04.940 --> 00:27:05.319 thinking, 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:06.359 drunkenness, 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:06.839 orgies, 00:27:06.919 --> 00:27:07.359 and the like, 00:27:07.419 --> 00:27:08.399 sounds quite good, 00:27:09.859 --> 00:27:11.000 then you need to repent, 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:11.399 friend. 00:27:13.579 --> 00:27:15.220 It's another view of freedom, 00:27:15.419 --> 00:27:16.960 in chapter 5, 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:17.659 verse 13. 00:27:17.819 --> 00:27:18.599 There's also, 00:27:18.879 --> 00:27:20.599 another view of community. 00:27:21.339 --> 00:27:22.399 The entire law, 00:27:22.399 --> 00:27:22.779 says, 00:27:22.779 --> 00:27:24.099 Paul, 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:25.839 is summed up in a single command, 00:27:26.299 --> 00:27:27.139 love your neighbour, 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:28.440 as yourself. 00:27:29.019 --> 00:27:30.160 If you keep on biting, 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:31.379 and devouring each other, 00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:32.160 watch out, 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:34.480 or you will be destroyed, 00:27:34.619 --> 00:27:35.539 by each other. 00:27:35.539 --> 00:27:39.420 the work of the devil, 00:27:39.420 --> 00:27:41.259 is to destroy. 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:44.659 The work of God, 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:47.379 in the power of the Spirit, 00:27:48.059 --> 00:27:49.299 through Jesus Christ, 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:52.599 is to rebuild us into something, 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:54.500 that God wants us to be. 00:27:55.619 --> 00:27:56.759 And the thing is, 00:27:56.920 --> 00:27:58.139 it's your choice. 00:27:58.140 --> 00:28:00.280 Again, 00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:02.620 this theme emerges, 00:28:02.620 --> 00:28:03.700 in Galatians. 00:28:04.100 --> 00:28:05.600 There are two ways, 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:06.520 to go in life. 00:28:06.780 --> 00:28:07.280 You can either, 00:28:07.280 --> 00:28:08.380 live by the Spirit, 00:28:08.520 --> 00:28:09.040 says Paul, 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:09.960 or you can live, 00:28:10.060 --> 00:28:11.240 by the sinful nature. 00:28:12.520 --> 00:28:13.780 Live by the Spirit, 00:28:14.100 --> 00:28:15.800 and retain some control, 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:16.920 over your life. 00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:17.759 Or, 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:21.259 live by the sinful nature, 00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:23.600 and be out of control. 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:24.159 So, 00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:27.599 where do I start? 00:28:29.019 --> 00:28:30.000 Let me say to you, 00:28:30.059 --> 00:28:30.819 three things, 00:28:31.419 --> 00:28:33.079 that I would love for you today, 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:34.539 in the light of what I've, 00:28:34.539 --> 00:28:35.740 sought to communicate. 00:28:36.339 --> 00:28:36.919 One is, 00:28:37.339 --> 00:28:38.939 it really is important, 00:28:39.939 --> 00:28:41.419 that you read, 00:28:41.539 --> 00:28:42.359 and learn, 00:28:42.519 --> 00:28:43.259 Holy Scripture. 00:28:43.419 --> 00:28:44.459 Why do I say that? 00:28:46.059 --> 00:28:46.539 Well, 00:28:46.679 --> 00:28:48.439 because Jesus told us, 00:28:48.579 --> 00:28:49.679 in John 14, 00:28:49.819 --> 00:28:51.459 the counsel of the Holy Spirit, 00:28:51.959 --> 00:28:52.619 whom the Father, 00:28:52.699 --> 00:28:53.579 will send in mind, 00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:53.859 name, 00:28:53.939 --> 00:28:55.299 will teach you all things, 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:56.779 listen to this, 00:28:57.240 --> 00:28:59.039 and will remind you, 00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:01.480 of everything I've said to you. 00:29:03.139 --> 00:29:04.279 The very word, 00:29:04.399 --> 00:29:04.859 remind, 00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:05.980 implies that, 00:29:06.679 --> 00:29:08.119 what Jesus is saying is, 00:29:08.219 --> 00:29:09.379 I'm going to call to mind, 00:29:09.459 --> 00:29:10.179 what you know. 00:29:12.619 --> 00:29:13.899 If you don't know it, 00:29:14.119 --> 00:29:15.619 you can't be reminded of it. 00:29:17.959 --> 00:29:18.959 That old, 00:29:19.179 --> 00:29:19.619 collect, 00:29:19.879 --> 00:29:21.379 in the Church of England, 00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:22.059 prayer book, 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:22.859 remember that? 00:29:24.599 --> 00:29:25.119 Read, 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:25.899 mark, 00:29:26.199 --> 00:29:26.579 learn, 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:27.959 Holy Scripture. 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:31.759 Second, 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:33.019 recognize, 00:29:33.339 --> 00:29:34.480 that you will not be able, 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:35.659 to become like Jesus, 00:29:35.799 --> 00:29:36.879 in your own strength, 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:38.559 and it will be much harder, 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:39.439 to do this, 00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:40.259 on your own. 00:29:41.619 --> 00:29:42.539 Come back to that, 00:29:42.579 --> 00:29:42.939 in a minute. 00:29:43.059 --> 00:29:43.899 Let me say it again. 00:29:44.659 --> 00:29:45.139 Recognize, 00:29:45.199 --> 00:29:46.259 that you won't do this, 00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:47.399 in your own strength, 00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:49.180 and it will be much better, 00:29:49.180 --> 00:29:50.019 to do this, 00:29:50.680 --> 00:29:51.840 not on your, 00:29:51.940 --> 00:29:52.120 sorry, 00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:52.820 much harder, 00:29:52.820 --> 00:29:53.660 to do this, 00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:54.840 on your own. 00:29:56.019 --> 00:29:57.019 The third thing is, 00:29:57.180 --> 00:29:57.460 pray. 00:29:59.040 --> 00:29:59.759 Paul said, 00:29:59.860 --> 00:30:00.700 in Ephesians 6, 00:30:00.860 --> 00:30:02.320 pray in the Spirit, 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:03.420 on all occasions. 00:30:04.780 --> 00:30:05.880 Pray for the desire, 00:30:05.880 --> 00:30:07.400 and my guess is, 00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:09.940 that the majority of people, 00:30:10.100 --> 00:30:12.000 who darken the door of churches, 00:30:12.140 --> 00:30:12.780 on a Sunday, 00:30:13.340 --> 00:30:14.700 don't give much thought, 00:30:14.800 --> 00:30:15.980 to becoming like Jesus. 00:30:16.820 --> 00:30:17.920 Don't give much thought, 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:18.740 to the process, 00:30:18.800 --> 00:30:19.960 of sanctification. 00:30:21.260 --> 00:30:21.920 It's more like, 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:22.180 well, 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:23.060 I am what I am, 00:30:23.120 --> 00:30:23.280 you know, 00:30:23.340 --> 00:30:24.020 get over it. 00:30:28.080 --> 00:30:28.400 Pray, 00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:30.740 and the Spirit, 00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:32.040 on all occasions, 00:30:32.340 --> 00:30:33.840 for the desire, 00:30:34.040 --> 00:30:35.220 to be more like Jesus. 00:30:37.340 --> 00:30:38.080 Ask God, 00:30:38.580 --> 00:30:39.720 that you may start, 00:30:39.800 --> 00:30:40.320 to change, 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:41.700 from the inside out. 00:30:44.460 --> 00:30:45.640 Leaning on the wind, 00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:46.940 as Dr. Tozer, 00:30:46.940 --> 00:30:47.560 would put it. 00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:48.980 Trusting, 00:30:49.120 --> 00:30:49.980 the Holy Spirit, 00:30:50.100 --> 00:30:50.900 to change you, 00:30:51.180 --> 00:30:52.500 from the inside out. 00:30:53.900 --> 00:30:54.780 And I would suggest, 00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:55.620 before you prayed, 00:30:55.700 --> 00:30:56.220 that prayer, 00:30:56.540 --> 00:30:57.440 you might need to pray, 00:30:57.519 --> 00:30:58.380 a prayer of repentance, 00:30:58.400 --> 00:30:58.800 repentance. 00:31:00.820 --> 00:31:02.300 Not just saying sorry, 00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:04.100 but promising God, 00:31:04.440 --> 00:31:05.060 you will, 00:31:05.360 --> 00:31:06.160 with his strength, 00:31:06.280 --> 00:31:07.480 turn your life around. 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:09.900 And pray that God, 00:31:09.980 --> 00:31:11.320 would put the right people, 00:31:11.700 --> 00:31:12.680 in your life. 00:31:14.140 --> 00:31:14.420 You know, 00:31:14.460 --> 00:31:15.160 one of the things, 00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:15.740 that's, 00:31:16.300 --> 00:31:18.080 really difficult is, 00:31:18.340 --> 00:31:18.920 and I don't know, 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:19.480 if any of you, 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:21.040 watched Freddie Flintoff's thing, 00:31:21.120 --> 00:31:22.040 where he took these, 00:31:22.360 --> 00:31:23.400 lads off a, 00:31:23.820 --> 00:31:24.700 sink estate, 00:31:24.820 --> 00:31:25.500 in Preston, 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:27.560 who had never thought, 00:31:27.720 --> 00:31:28.160 about cricket, 00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:28.820 thought cricket, 00:31:28.820 --> 00:31:28.840 thought cricket, 00:31:28.840 --> 00:31:30.000 was a game for snobs. 00:31:30.320 --> 00:31:30.960 He took them, 00:31:31.360 --> 00:31:32.240 and not only, 00:31:32.320 --> 00:31:32.960 did he make them, 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.700 into a team, 00:31:33.800 --> 00:31:34.380 but he took them, 00:31:34.460 --> 00:31:35.000 to India, 00:31:35.120 --> 00:31:35.640 to play, 00:31:36.120 --> 00:31:36.800 in a tour, 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:37.580 a cricket tour. 00:31:39.880 --> 00:31:40.779 And one of the things, 00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:41.519 that was clearly, 00:31:41.519 --> 00:31:42.300 an anxiety, 00:31:42.460 --> 00:31:43.360 for all those boys, 00:31:43.620 --> 00:31:45.160 who made major strides, 00:31:45.259 --> 00:31:45.860 in their life, 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:46.040 was, 00:31:46.279 --> 00:31:47.340 when they got back home, 00:31:47.540 --> 00:31:48.000 they mixed, 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:49.000 with the old company, 00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:49.019 with the old company, 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:51.259 and their old habits, 00:31:51.460 --> 00:31:52.279 would come back. 00:31:53.880 --> 00:31:55.400 I think it's really important, 00:31:55.539 --> 00:31:55.859 that I, 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:56.180 you, 00:31:56.299 --> 00:31:56.859 all of us, 00:31:56.920 --> 00:31:57.319 together, 00:31:57.680 --> 00:31:58.380 pray that God, 00:31:58.440 --> 00:31:59.460 will put the right people, 00:31:59.539 --> 00:32:00.200 in front of us, 00:32:00.420 --> 00:32:01.059 people who have, 00:32:01.299 --> 00:32:02.259 spiritual maturity, 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:03.299 people who will, 00:32:03.380 --> 00:32:03.539 maybe, 00:32:03.660 --> 00:32:04.279 help us, 00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:05.240 when we end up, 00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:05.720 with stuff, 00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:06.859 that we can't get by, 00:32:07.339 --> 00:32:08.579 in our lives. 00:32:11.799 --> 00:32:12.200 See, 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:12.759 what I'm, 00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:14.180 working up to here, 00:32:14.840 --> 00:32:16.819 is that if you think, 00:32:17.100 --> 00:32:17.840 about these things, 00:32:19.180 --> 00:32:20.340 you would be mad, 00:32:21.340 --> 00:32:22.700 not to join a home group. 00:32:24.600 --> 00:32:25.539 This is not just like, 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:26.580 a cheap plug, 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:28.559 this is heartfelt, 00:32:29.059 --> 00:32:30.140 from my point of view. 00:32:31.480 --> 00:32:32.039 And right now, 00:32:32.120 --> 00:32:33.140 we don't have enough leaders, 00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:33.660 but, 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:36.200 if we have enough people, 00:32:36.259 --> 00:32:36.880 who want to join, 00:32:37.019 --> 00:32:37.700 I believe God, 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:38.819 will supply the leaders, 00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:39.740 from within us, 00:32:40.519 --> 00:32:41.559 to lead a home group, 00:32:41.559 --> 00:32:42.359 that together, 00:32:42.679 --> 00:32:43.940 we might help each other, 00:32:44.019 --> 00:32:45.200 through the study of scripture, 00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:46.079 through prayer, 00:32:46.579 --> 00:32:47.740 through being together, 00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:50.720 to grow into the likeness, 00:32:50.779 --> 00:32:51.839 of Jesus Christ. 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:54.639 One of the things, 00:32:54.779 --> 00:32:55.519 I've noticed, 00:32:55.679 --> 00:32:57.259 about growing older, 00:32:58.240 --> 00:32:59.220 is that, 00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:00.700 the older you get, 00:33:01.099 --> 00:33:02.220 the longer it takes, 00:33:02.279 --> 00:33:03.419 your eyesight, 00:33:04.379 --> 00:33:05.480 to readjust, 00:33:05.599 --> 00:33:06.599 from bright light, 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:07.700 sorry, 00:33:07.799 --> 00:33:08.679 from dark light, 00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:09.659 into bright light. 00:33:09.660 --> 00:33:12.300 normally, 00:33:12.460 --> 00:33:13.200 in most of us, 00:33:13.220 --> 00:33:13.820 that's kind of, 00:33:13.880 --> 00:33:14.600 first stage, 00:33:14.920 --> 00:33:15.820 cataracts. 00:33:18.180 --> 00:33:19.019 But I think, 00:33:19.160 --> 00:33:19.980 it's like this, 00:33:20.940 --> 00:33:21.940 that the longer, 00:33:22.120 --> 00:33:23.420 you walk in darkness, 00:33:24.340 --> 00:33:25.240 on this planet, 00:33:26.120 --> 00:33:27.940 the harder, 00:33:28.040 --> 00:33:28.600 it's going to be, 00:33:28.660 --> 00:33:29.420 for you to adjust, 00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:30.160 to the light. 00:33:32.200 --> 00:33:33.160 John puts it, 00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:33.740 very well, 00:33:33.820 --> 00:33:34.920 in his first epistle, 00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:36.080 where he says this, 00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:36.639 if we claim, 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:37.359 to have fellowship, 00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:38.000 with him, 00:33:38.139 --> 00:33:38.480 Jesus, 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:40.259 yet walk in darkness, 00:33:40.419 --> 00:33:40.879 we lie, 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:41.779 and do not live, 00:33:41.859 --> 00:33:42.659 by the truth. 00:33:43.639 --> 00:33:44.500 But if we walk, 00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:45.039 in the light, 00:33:45.079 --> 00:33:46.240 as he is in the light, 00:33:46.500 --> 00:33:47.500 we have fellowship, 00:33:47.639 --> 00:33:48.339 with one another, 00:33:48.599 --> 00:33:49.839 and the blood of Jesus, 00:33:49.980 --> 00:33:50.460 his son, 00:33:50.819 --> 00:33:51.819 purifies us, 00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:53.179 from all sin. 00:33:55.939 --> 00:33:56.720 I wonder, 00:33:57.799 --> 00:33:59.139 who's ready today, 00:34:00.139 --> 00:34:01.740 to take one more step, 00:34:01.779 --> 00:34:02.639 out of the darkness, 00:34:03.639 --> 00:34:04.439 towards the light. 00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:08.119 I wonder, 00:34:08.319 --> 00:34:09.119 which one of you, 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:09.679 is prepared, 00:34:09.819 --> 00:34:10.500 to give up, 00:34:10.539 --> 00:34:12.199 on your secret sins. 00:34:13.880 --> 00:34:14.900 What do you like, 00:34:15.159 --> 00:34:16.420 when no one's looking? 00:34:16.519 --> 00:34:17.500 Because if you think, 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:18.239 no one's looking, 00:34:18.299 --> 00:34:19.480 you've forgotten one thing, 00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:21.900 God's looking. 00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:26.460 And anything you do, 00:34:27.860 --> 00:34:30.699 that is a secret sin, 00:34:30.699 --> 00:34:32.400 will harm your relationship, 00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:33.039 with him. 00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:37.699 Could we be like Jesus? 00:34:39.639 --> 00:34:41.319 Could you be like Jesus? 00:34:42.440 --> 00:34:43.699 Of course you could. 00:34:45.039 --> 00:34:46.619 It starts with desire. 00:34:48.039 --> 00:34:49.559 It starts with the recognition, 00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:50.799 I can't do this, 00:34:50.860 --> 00:34:51.819 in my own strength. 00:34:53.420 --> 00:34:54.779 And it ends up, 00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:56.579 with you becoming something, 00:34:57.659 --> 00:34:59.380 that you might never imagine, 00:34:59.539 --> 00:35:00.319 you could become. 00:35:00.320 --> 00:35:03.440 And that is more like Jesus. 00:35:04.519 --> 00:35:05.220 Let's pray. 00:35:08.180 --> 00:35:09.380 Our Heavenly Father, 00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:11.420 this is tough stuff for us. 00:35:12.019 --> 00:35:13.280 Lord, we get that. 00:35:14.760 --> 00:35:16.300 And we want to pray, 00:35:16.440 --> 00:35:17.180 that today, 00:35:18.260 --> 00:35:18.900 you would, 00:35:19.780 --> 00:35:21.559 disavow us of the idea, 00:35:21.700 --> 00:35:23.019 that we could do any of this, 00:35:23.100 --> 00:35:24.039 in our own strength. 00:35:25.940 --> 00:35:26.600 And Lord, 00:35:26.680 --> 00:35:27.220 we pray, 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:27.780 again, 00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:28.940 to use Mr. Toes, 00:35:28.940 --> 00:35:30.260 this well-worn phrase, 00:35:30.539 --> 00:35:32.240 that we might lean on the wind, 00:35:33.500 --> 00:35:34.599 that the Holy Spirit, 00:35:35.200 --> 00:35:36.320 would uphold us, 00:35:36.980 --> 00:35:38.019 and change us, 00:35:38.019 --> 00:35:39.460 from the inside out. 00:35:40.800 --> 00:35:42.099 That day by day, 00:35:42.220 --> 00:35:43.619 in some kind of progression, 00:35:43.900 --> 00:35:44.119 Lord, 00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:45.720 we might become, 00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:46.780 more like Jesus. 00:35:48.539 --> 00:35:48.940 And so, 00:35:49.059 --> 00:35:49.240 Father, 00:35:49.340 --> 00:35:50.559 we thank you for your grace, 00:35:50.639 --> 00:35:52.079 and we thank you for your truth. 00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:53.460 And we pray, 00:35:53.659 --> 00:35:54.380 that your grace, 00:35:54.460 --> 00:35:55.220 and your truth, 00:35:55.320 --> 00:35:56.980 would infect our lives, 00:35:56.980 --> 00:35:58.579 in such a way, 00:35:58.659 --> 00:36:00.340 that we might be transformed, 00:36:00.780 --> 00:36:01.780 into the people, 00:36:01.880 --> 00:36:02.980 you call us to be, 00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:04.800 in Jesus Christ, 00:36:04.920 --> 00:36:05.420 our Lord. 00:36:05.480 --> 00:36:06.579 And the people who agreed, 00:36:06.740 --> 00:36:07.340 said together, 00:36:08.240 --> 00:36:08.840 Amen. 00:36:08.840 --> 00:36:08.960 Amen. 00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:13.199 Amen. 00:36:13.199 --> 00:36:13.519 Amen. 00:36:23.519 --> 00:36:24.340 Amen. 00:36:24.340 --> 00:36:24.639 Amen. 00:36:24.639 --> 00:36:24.699 Amen. 00:36:24.699 --> 00:36:25.320 Amen. 00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:25.639 Amen. 00:36:25.639 --> 00:36:25.920 Amen. 00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:26.139 Amen. 00:36:26.139 --> 00:36:26.820 Amen.