Father, we ask that you would continue to gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.
Father, we confess before you that what we most need is not more rules to remember with our mind
or more rules to embrace with our will or more rules that we would long that we could follow.
But what we need most of all, Father, is for you to write your words of instruction and your words of love
and your words of everlasting kindness upon our hearts.
And we confess before you that it is only you who can do this by your Holy Spirit.
So we ask, Father, that you would gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit into our hearts
and write your very words in the center of who we are.
And this we ask in Jesus' name, your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
I know this isn't a very good beginning.
Is my mic, I'm fine?
It feels like my, okay, it's drooping.
So if for some reason something's doing, just wave at, if it's going really wonky, just wave at me and we'll switch it.
But I'm going to do something which might be a little bit foolish this morning.
It won't be the first time and it won't be the last.
And one of the things which I'm, what might be a little bit foolish is that John, when he was reading 2 Corinthians,
he said something, or he read something, I should say, that might to some of you sound like it's a really, really, really lovely image.
In fact, it's an image that you think, that's a really lovely image.
It's just exactly what I needed to hear this morning.
Maybe none of you heard that.
But it's very easy if you were going to look at it and even read at it.
He might say, that's a really, really lovely image.
And here's where I might be being a little bit foolish.
Probably every single one of you or most of you misheard it.
And in fact, it's not a lovely image.
It's an insulting image.
And so why am I going to tell you that and try to have you look at it and see why it's insulting?
One of the reasons I'm doing it is that when I was in first year university 100 million years ago,
my first year philosophy professor, he knew the Bible better than I did.
And he was also an atheist.
And I think probably his personal mission statement was to make sure that people who followed any religion
would follow no religion by the end of his philosophy classes.
And he was always bringing up things in the Bible.
And here I'd been going to church all my life.
And I'd been a Christian for a few years.
And I'd go, wow, I didn't know that was there.
And I would be gobsmacked.
And it's an Irish expression.
And I wouldn't know what to say.
So I want to have that happen to you folks.
So there's an image that is in the text that John just read
that many of us might think that sounds like a really, really wonderful image.
Maybe I'm going to quote that.
I'm going to write it on a mug.
So every day when I drink coffee, I can be reminded of I'm going to put it on the mirror.
The problem is you still might want to do it after I've explained to you.
But it's actually an insulting image.
And probably when Paul's first hearers were hearing the Bible, they went,
it's not what they were hoping that he was going to say.
So it would be a great help to me if you'd open your Bibles and turn to 2 Corinthians 2.
2 Corinthians 2.
And it's going to be, I'm going to start reading at verse 14.
2 Corinthians 2, verse 14.
And just while you're turning to that, you know, there's a couple of,
there's many cool things.
I haven't talked much to you about the book of 2 Corinthians.
It looks fancy, like it's, you know, it's in a Bible.
And this used to have sort of like a gold stuff at the end.
And it's nice thin paper.
It looks very fancy.
But this, you know, part of the thing which is so cool about this letter is,
you know, we think of, you know, in part of the way that the culture understands
how the Christianity expanded,
that the image that goes to a lot of our minds in Canadian culture
is the Crusades or the conquistadors coming to South America.
And they come with armies and they sort of bind people.
And that's when people think of Christianity jumping continents
or coming to a new people group.
That's what a lot of people in our culture tend to think of.
It's violent and it's exploitative.
And there's no question that some things like that happen.
You can't deny it.
But in fact, it's not actually the way that Christianity
has generally grown across the world.
One of the things which is so interesting about this letter
is it was written about seven years after Christianity jumped continents.
It jumped from the Middle East, or really what you'd almost call Africa.
It jumped to Europe.
And if you go back and read Acts 16,
you get an historical account of the first Christians coming to Europe.
And they don't come with a big army.
It's four blokes stepping off a gangplank of a ship.
And in Acts 16, when you read about Paul putting his foot down in Philippi,
you are reading of the account of the first Christian setting foot in Europe.
And then a little bit later on,
when you hear him talking to Lydia,
and then Lydia becomes a Christian,
you are reading the story of the first European Christian.
Lydia.
Either a single woman, because she's widowed,
or a woman with a husband who remains pagan.
But it's probably in terms of the context,
a single woman in Philippi becomes the first European Christian.
And shortly after that,
because there ends up being great persecution,
the violence in Christianity jumping from Africa to Europe,
the violence comes not from Christians, but from pagans.
And so they violently attack the Christians.
Paul's put in jail.
Acts 16 tells you the story.
And then he leaves,
and he goes down the coast of what is now Greece.
And he goes to Thessalonica,
and then he goes to Berea,
and then he comes to Corinth,
probably just a couple of months after Christianity has jumped to Europe.
And when Paul comes to Corinth,
there are no Christians.
It's a culture and a society completely organized around paganism.
In fact, one of the things,
Paul doesn't talk about this very much in this book,
but it's something which is really interesting,
important in 1 Corinthians.
Just get your mind around this.
For the average person in Corinth,
just put your mind back in this.
If I was in Corinth in the year 50,
and I said to Louise,
I had to go to the temple to worship,
what it would mean in many cases
was I was going to the temple to have sex with a priestess,
because that's how you worshiped.
Or you'd go to have an animal killed,
or do some other type of act,
or to do some type of magical incantational act.
And in a culture which was completely and utterly unified around paganism,
Paul comes with no power,
and a small group of people,
and he starts to proclaim Jesus,
and people come to faith.
And so this letter here of 2 Corinthians,
this is written just a few years
after Christianity has first come to Europe,
and it's come to a center that Paul had been at for 18 months.
He's come and gone a few times,
and that's the context of this letter.
So for many of the people who are hearing this letter,
they probably were Roman soldiers.
Many of them might have been Roman soldiers,
or at least they're very familiar with how Rome does things,
and how this mighty empire does things.
And they're listening to it as Romans,
from a pagan perspective.
They've now become Christians.
Maybe there's seekers in the congregation.
When we listen to the text,
we tend to think of Europe as Christian.
We have all these false conceptions
about how Christianity has entered into other places,
and we also listen to it with a Hollywood perspective.
So 2 Corinthians 2, 14-17,
let's read it,
and then I'll explain how we must hear it.
But thanks be to God,
who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession,
and through us spreads the fragrance
of the knowledge of him everywhere.
For we are the aroma of Christ to God,
among those who are being saved
and among those who are perishing,
to one, a fragrance from death to death,
to the other, a fragrance from life to life.
Who is sufficient for these things?
For we are not like so many peddlers of God's word,
but as men of sincerity,
as commissioned by God,
in the sight of God,
we speak in Christ.
Now we'll just sort of pause.
Here's the problem with this image.
I just watched a Hollywood movie last night on Netflix.
What is one of the ways
that Hollywood likes to end its movies?
Think of a lot of the Star Wars movies.
Think of,
how does Hollywood like to end a lot of its movies?
The hero comes back,
and there's a big gathering,
and everybody's applauding.
Or if not like that,
then shortly afterwards,
there's some ceremony to just sort of reward
the great hero.
And Hollywood loves to end movies
with the hero or the heroine returning,
and people applauding and celebrating.
And so for many of us,
when we hear about this triumphal procession,
we think of it in terms of Hollywood terms.
But thanks be to God,
who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession,
because that's how we would like to be welcomed,
wouldn't we?
Show up to work,
everybody stands and applauds.
It might get embarrassing
after it happened the 15th time,
but the first couple of times would be good,
and it would be nice
if they surprised us that way occasionally,
just with applause.
You know,
we come home from work,
or we come back to see our wife and our kid,
and they applaud, you know?
Way to go.
So glad you're home.
I mean,
if Hollywood does it all the time,
it's speaking to something deep within us.
Now,
I was going to do a visual thing
to try to communicate this,
but the reason I didn't
was I was worried
I would fall off the stage
and break my neck,
and that would really ruin the image,
and it would ruin the sermon,
and it would ruin my life.
But the way you have to understand this text
is not from Hollywood.
Paul is at the end of a Roman procession.
He's been defeated,
and he's the captive,
and he's in shackles.
So if I was not worried
about falling off this stage,
I would have had somebody
put something on my hands like this,
and I would have had somebody
put something on my feet,
and I would have tied one end
of the thing between
to the chain or the cord
between my hands,
and I would have walked like this
with my Bible.
You can see why I didn't want to do it.
I might forget that I'm wearing it,
and next thing I know I trip,
and I'm down on the ground.
That's the image.
Paul is at the end of the procession,
and he's been defeated.
In a sense, the image is the Roman army is gone.
It's conquered.
It's captured people,
and people are all cheering,
and they're all having a variety of responses,
usually mocking at the people
at the end of the parade
who've been captive.
One of our deepest fears is failure,
and one of our deepest fears of all,
in fact, if Hollywood wants to try to really
try to tug on our heartstrings,
it will show lots of Americans.
I mean, it's American movies.
That's fine.
Canadians would do the same thing
if it was a Canadian thing,
and they would show them defeated
at the end of some alien procession
walking along in chains,
and it would be like a dagger to our heart,
and that's the image that Paul has shared,
and he says,
thanks be to God.
In fact,
this, once you understand
that that's the image that he's using,
but thanks be to God,
who in Christ always leads us
in triumphal procession.
You know, some of you have gone to university
or are going to university.
What is one of the claims
that Nietzsche makes about Christianity
is that it's a slave religion,
that it teaches us to be servile?
What does Ayn Rand say about Christianity?
That it's a slave religion,
that it teaches us to be servile,
that it teaches us to be doormats.
What is it that many people
in the business community
and just in the world in general,
what is one of the things
that they say about Christians
is that it teaches to be servile,
that teaches to be slave?
What is the fear of many people in Quebec,
many francophones,
about becoming a Christian?
And while they think back
to how for many, many years
the Roman Catholic Church,
whether they're remembering it correctly or not,
had taught the people
to be completely and utterly servile.
It's a deep fear of many people
that that's what the Christian faith does.
It's a deep fear
and it's a deep human fear.
And here it is that Paul seems to celebrate it
because he says,
thanks be to God,
who in Christ always leads us
in triumphal procession.
Now, how is it
that Paul would use such an image?
See, one of the things
that the Bible is going to tell us
is that we are in far deeper trouble
apart from Christ
than we ever possibly imagined
and that God had really originally made us
for far greater glory
than we could ever possibly imagine
that can only come through being in Christ.
So how is it
that an image like this
could be something that looks
that we would actually want to embrace?
Let's go back to another Hollywood image.
We're zombies.
We have the zombie virus.
And maybe it's like,
you know,
one of the hard parts
for people who have dementia
or people who have Alzheimer's
is in the early stages
when they realize
they have enough of self-possession
of their mind
to realize that their mind is going.
But let's say
in the beginning of a zombie virus,
we start to realize
that we're becoming zombies
and we don't have the courage
to cut our head off
or impale our face on a pole
because that would be really hard.
But we know we're becoming zombies.
And then somebody
wrestles us down
and defeats us
and plunges within us
a needle
and squirts something
that not only will it stop
the zombie virus
but reverse it
and start to have us process
not towards becoming
more and more a zombie
from death to death.
But we'll reverse the process
that now
it is going from
life to life.
We were a zombie
on the way
to becoming a zombie
and someone
defeats us
wrestles us
to the ground
because there's enough
of a zombie-ish
in them
that when we see them
we start to think
of how tasty
their brains are
and their blood.
I'm saying this in church
that's fine.
You guys all watch
or know of zombie movies.
But somebody
defeats
our attempt
at aggression
wrestles us down
and because they love us
their defeat
is because they love us
the injection
is because they love us
and as the zombie
fighting vaccine
enters our body
we start to realize
that the process
is reversed
and maybe
we still have to
have our hands
shackled
and maybe
they want to
keep us
right with them
all the time
so we don't get
reinfected.
But as we walk along
we start to be
so thankful
that we are
no longer
going from
zombie-hood
to zombie-hood
from death
to death
but that our
destiny
is from life
to life
and only
an image
like that
makes sense
of what Paul
is saying
and that is
exactly
what Paul
is saying.
That is
exactly
what Paul
is saying.
He's going
to unpack
the gospel
as the letter
goes on.
It's his second
letter to Corinth.
He's already
told them
many many things
about the gospel.
It's only that
that makes sense
to this particular
text.
And you see
in other words
if you code up
the first thing
that would be
great.
Christ defeated
sin.
Christ defeated
death.
Christ defeated
hell.
Christ defeated
me
to save
and deliver
me.
Christ defeated
sin.
Christ defeated
death.
Christ defeated
hell.
Christ defeated
me
to save
and deliver
me.
that's the gospel.
That's the gospel.
And Paul, the image,
it's a bit of a complicated image,
but let's go back to the text,
but thanks be to God,
who in Christ always leads us
in triumphal procession
and through us,
spreads the fragrance
of the knowledge of him everywhere,
for we are the aroma of Christ to God.
And pause.
All of this language of fragrance and aroma,
Greek people who are getting this letter,
when they read the Tanakh,
what we call the Old Testament,
they would have read it in Greek.
And if they,
and maybe this is one of those things
that Paul would have preached,
and in all the way through the book of Leviticus,
when it's describing the different sacrifices
in the Old Testament
that have us make,
that whereby we have peace with God,
and there's,
and part of it is,
as it's burned,
as it's a sacrifice,
and it's burned,
and there's a,
there's an ode,
all of this is the language
of a successful sacrifice
that reconciles us to God.
So it's a very,
very interesting image,
because Paul is,
is playing with images
that would have been something
that was meant to be read slowly.
Paul is picturing himself
as being so glad
that he's in change,
and he's being led in triumph
by Jesus.
And as he's being led in triumph
by Jesus,
he's using this imagery
that he's,
that what matters about Jesus
isn't that Jesus can have big biceps,
or that he's really good,
like in zombie imagery,
he's really good at banging zombies
on the head,
and killing them,
or anything like that.
It's the image that,
that what brings about,
that his triumph,
is his successful act
as a sacrifice.
A sacrifice that comes from God,
that reconciles us to God.
And,
and then the image is that
it's as if this odor,
it's,
it's this aroma
of the successful sacrifice
that's,
it's going up to God,
and he can smell,
he knows that his son
has triumphed
by the death of himself,
the complete opposite
of what we think is triumph,
that,
that my,
that Jesus' defeat of death
comes from his death,
that Jesus' defeat of sin
comes as his death
bearing my sin,
that his defeat of hell
is that it's because
he has died
bearing my sin,
defeating death,
that hell is conquered,
that when Jesus
entered into what is death,
he tasted everything
there is to taste of death,
with nothing left over,
including whatever it is
that we might imagine
that hell is,
and there's nothing
that Jesus did not experience
in terms of sin
or in death
that he has not triumphed over.
When I put my faith
and trust in him,
it is my defeat
of my desire
to be like God.
It is my defeat
of my desire
to be completely
and utterly
sufficient
in and of myself.
It is my defeat
from all of those desires
that take me from God,
and not only
is it my defeat
of these desires,
it is my sharing
in his victory.
And the image here
is of this successful sacrifice.
There's an aroma
of this successful sacrifice
and the same aroma
and fragrance
is what comes into me,
into my lungs
and comes out of my mouth
as bearing witness
to Jesus
as the one
who has defeated sin,
who has defeated death,
who has defeated hell,
and who has defeated me,
and he can do it for you.
No one is too bad.
No one is too broken.
No one is too unimportant.
No one is too important
or too good.
And then it has this
ongoing image.
Go back to verse 15.
For we are the aroma
of Christ to God
among those who are being saved
and among those
who are perishing.
To one a fragrance
from death to death,
to the other a fragrance
from life to life.
Who is sufficient
for these things?
For we are not like
so many peddlers
of God's word,
but as men of sincerity
and as commissioned by God,
in the sight of God,
we speak in Christ.
See,
one of the reasons
I let you know
that you probably
were mishearing the image
is because I don't want
to be a peddler
of God's word.
Peddlers of God's word
would make you think
that your Hollywood image
was correct.
And I don't want to be
a peddler of God's word.
One of the things
you should pray
for your Bible study leaders,
for your Sunday school teachers,
for the professors at Ryle,
for me,
for Daniel,
for anyone who has
any type of,
for the youth group ministry,
for young adult ministry,
for any type of ministry,
is that we not be
peddlers of God's word,
but we try to honestly
bring out God's word
as the gospel
that it really is.
Please pray that
for us.
But just think it
for a second.
What this is saying,
well, okay,
let's a bit of a test.
How many people,
I don't want to
shout out the answer.
One of those things
you can talk about
at coffee afterwards.
What percentage of Ottawa
do you think
went to church this morning?
Like, you know,
let's say all of a sudden
we ask the National Security Agency
or Russia
or China
or any of the other people
who are monitoring
the tracking devices
that we all carry with us
and keep charged,
knowing as our phones
and our iPads
and all those other
electronic things.
You know,
we carry them around.
We very conveniently,
just to help the NSA
and Apple and Google
to be able to market things to us
and know where we are,
we keep our tracking devices
nicely charged.
So,
tomorrow morning,
you know,
somebody hacks
and they,
it was revealed
where everybody actually was
on Sunday morning
and it,
you know,
I don't know what,
I don't know,
4%,
I don't know,
what do you think,
5% of Ottawa,
the next 100 people
you meet tomorrow at work
who are over the,
you know,
do you think 4 of them
went to church somewhere?
Not all good churches necessarily.
I don't know what the percentage,
it would be a very small percentage.
I don't think any of us
disagree about
that would be small,
definitely the minority,
a huge minority.
So,
do you think
from the perspective of Ottawa
and Apple and Google
and the government
and NSA,
et cetera,
do you think,
what do you think
they would think
about the claim
that what I just said
to you a few moments ago
about Christ defeated death
and Christ defeated sin,
Christ defeated death,
Christ defeated hell,
Christ defeated me
to save me
and deliver me.
If I was to tell them
that all of the things
that are going on
in the city of Ottawa,
that what I just said
was more important
because only what I said
has eternal consequences.
And all of the other things
that are being said
on YouTube
and Twitter
is just chaff.
They'd think I was insane.
And I'll be honest,
it really sounds
pretty insane,
doesn't it?
But that's what
the Bible's saying.
The Bible is saying,
verse 15,
for we are the aroma
of Christ to God
among those
who are being saved
and among those
who are perishing
to one a fragrance
from death to death
to the other
a fragrance
from life to life.
Who is sufficient
for these things?
For we are not like
so many peddlers
of God's word,
but as men
of sincerity
is commissioned
by God
in the sight of God
we speak in Christ.
But notice here
that Paul himself
realizes that it sounds crazy
because, you know,
however low
the church attendance
is here today,
however low it is
that people might,
and even many Christians
would sort of balk
at thinking
that whatever comes
out of a Christian's lips,
that if what comes
out of their lips
is some type
of bearing witness
to Jesus,
that that has
eternal consequences,
it sounds a little bit crazy.
It would have even
sounded crazier
in Corinth.
I don't know
how big the church is.
I don't know.
The city was like
100,000 people.
I don't know.
Maybe there were
1,000 Christians.
Maybe there were
400, 300.
We don't know.
It was a very small
number of people.
It would have
sounded even crazier.
Paul is aware
of the fact
that it sounds crazy.
It sounds crazy
not only because
he's just described
to these Romans
who are used
to seeing victory parades,
that the way
to understand him
is that he's
the captive
in shackles
and chains
at the end
of the parade
because he's defeated.
And that's probably
not how they woke up
that morning
wishing that Paul
would say something
to them
that would encourage them.
So he's given them
this counterintuitive image
and then he's saying
that what he says
when he proclaims
the gospel
and what ordinary people
when they proclaim
the gospel,
that that actually
has eternal consequences
in people's lives.
It sounds crazy.
And probably people
are saying
who do you think
you are?
Like why is it
do you think
that what you say
is so important?
And Paul understands
that.
That's why he says
in verse 16
who is sufficient
for these things?
He knows it sounds crazy.
Who is sufficient
for these things?
And then he begins
to answer it.
Let's look and see
what he says.
Chapter 3 verse 1.
What's Paul's answer?
Are we beginning
to commend ourselves again?
So he's going to say
no, no.
This isn't just about
me commending myself.
Or do we need
as some do
letters of recommendation
to you or from you
as if you can somehow
go to a degree program
that once you finish
the course
and get the tattoo
or the ring
on your dominant hand
that somehow
you're not qualified
and competent to do this
because you have
somebody else
who said you are.
You yourselves
are a letter
of recommendation
written on our hearts
to be known
and read by all.
And you show us
and you show
that you are a letter
from Christ
delivered by us
written not with ink
but with the spirit
of the living God.
Not on tablets
of stone
but on tablets
of human hearts.
And I'm going to talk
about this more
next week
because Paul's going
to sort of jump
to another image
and then after that
which is the text
for next week
he's going to
unpack that image
a little bit more.
but what he's saying
here
he's not commending
himself
and in fact
he's even making
the issue harder
because he's saying
what I'm saying
is that there is
a way
what has to happen
is something
has to be written
on our hearts.
Something
has to be written
on our hearts
and that's something
that has to be
written in our hearts
has to turn
our hearts
from going
from death
to death
because every person
you meet today
will die
with no exception.
I mean
unless Jesus
comes back
and you know
the rapture
and all that stuff
but you know
in and of who we are
by ourselves
every one of us
will die
from death
to death.
Aren't you glad
you came to church today?
I could give you
all these uplifting thoughts
and
and Paul
is going to say
you know what
let's make this
even harder
it's not just a matter
of writing
you know
being able to write out
some rules to follow
you know
listen if you just
if you do this
exercise program
you're going to live longer
if you eat this
oh come on
get some fiber
and veggies
in your diet
and cut out
all that sugar
you'll live longer
you know
you'll live slimmer
and all that
we don't mean
something has to be
written on our hearts
and Paul's going to
return to this
but I just want to see
he's in a sense
doubling down
could you put the next
part up
I'd like you to read
verses 4 to 6
with me
such is the confidence
that we have
through Christ
toward God
not that we are
sufficient
in ourselves
to claim
anything
as coming
from us
but our
sufficiency
is from God
who has made
us sufficient
to be ministers
of a new covenant
not of the letter
but of the spirit
for the letter
kills
but the spirit
gives life
could you just put up
the next point
and we're going to go back
to the scripture sentence
in a moment
just notice that
the fundamental direction
of the text
at the end of the day
I hope you don't
I mean
this is a helpful thing
to remember
I've just taken
two little bits
out of the text
to help you to understand
the basic flow
of the argument
but it's the text
I hope you remember
as a follower
of Jesus
I mean
I'm also dying
right
I'm also dying
and
in fact
it's one of the
most powerful things
in 2 Corinthians
in a little bit
in a couple of weeks
he's going to talk
about our
you know
our body
getting older
and getting weaker
and an eternal
weight of glory
that's inside
you know
that we're like
jars of clay
that are cracked
and easily broken
and will break
and that somehow
within us
through the gospel
we are being prepared
for an eternal
weight of glory
beyond imagination
but for now
I'm dying
and you all know
that I'm not necessarily
the best at doing
a whole pile of things
part of getting older
if you mature
a lot of people
don't get any smarter
as they get older
they just get older
a lot of people
don't get any wiser
as they get older
they just get older
you know
those of you
who are closer
to my age
stop just listening
to music from the 70s
like there's new music
out there
okay
like
like try something new
you know
anyway
but
you know
I'm not
I'm not confident
in a whole pile
of things
and
what this text
is saying
is that
I'm not
the things
I'd have my confidence
in
and the things
that I think
might make me
sufficient
are enough
for things
that most of the time
I'm going to idols
and what it means
to grow as a Christian
is to be able
to understand
this phrase
which I think
is up there
my confidence
through Christ
my sufficiency
from God
my confidence
through Christ
and my sufficiency
from God
my confidence
is not
that
I don't know
I can be
you know
I'm above average
intelligence
I'm pretty good
you know
relatively speaking
at organizing
my thoughts
you know
maybe I have
some natural
speaking abilities
you know
maybe I'm
on the right side
of church history
in terms of growth
and decline
or maybe
I don't know
I'm just me
and those can be
my confidences
they shouldn't be
my confidences
and what's going
to make me sufficient
is that I get
to wear a collar
it looks like
a Javex bottle
it's been stuck
on a black shirt
you know
that's not my
sufficiency
it's not any of those
types of things
it is my confidence
to grow in
in life
is to understand
that my confidence
comes to me
through Christ
and my sufficiency
comes from God
could you go back
to the scripture text
please
say the text
with me again
you'll see that
I'm not making this up
it's not me being clever
it's in the text
read it out with me
please
such is the confidence
that we have
through Christ
toward God
not that we are
sufficient
in ourselves
to claim
anything
as coming
from us
but our
sufficiency
is from God
who has made us
sufficient
to be ministers
of a new covenant
not of the letter
but of the spirit
for the letter
kills
but the spirit
gives life
it's a very
very very
very powerful
idea
I mean one of the things
that just
not only is my confidence
to come more and more
through Christ
but my sufficiency
you see
one of the things
that's so nice about this
I don't know if Daniel
DeGrossier is still here
he's still here
he gave a talk
on sharing the gospel
Daniel
you're completely
incompetent
to do that
Daniel
you're going to speak
at church on Wednesday
you're completely
and utterly
incompetent
you are not enough
we should bring
the Sunday school
teachers in here
right now
you are incompetent
I am incompetent
do you know
how freeing
it can start
to be
to realize
that you aren't
sufficient
if I share
my faith
and I almost
mentioned a couple
people's names
let me tell you
there's all sorts
of times I think
ah
what a stupid
thing to say
or
ah
why didn't I say
that
I have a bit of
dent
in my forehead
from doing things
like that
you know
I'll never be
sufficient
in and of
myself
but God
takes
our
stumbling
attempts
to bear
witness
to Jesus
and the
sufficiency
comes from
him
only God
can write
on your
heart
in a way
that turns
your heart
from a zombie
heart
to a living
heart
from a bound
heart
to a free
heart
that's going
from death
to death
to a heart
that's going
from life
to life
only God
can do that
you are
never
ever
in and of
yourself
able to
do that
that's what
the Bible
is telling
us
and when it
says the letter
kills
we're going to
talk about
that more
later on
it's really
just saying
what we
don't need
is more
things that
we need
to do
more ways
to lose
weight
more way
to put
on muscle
more ways
to make
more money
more ways
to save
money
more ways
to be
better
consumers
more ways
to have
everybody
like
we don't
need a whole
pile of
things written
down like
that
we don't
need more
tattoos
what we
need is
only God
can write
in our
hearts
can we
say this
text again
together
out loud
please
such as
the confidence
that we
have through
Christ
toward God
not that
we are
sufficient
in ourselves
to claim
anything
as coming
from us
but our
sufficiency
is from
God
who has
made us
sufficient
to be
ministers
of a
new
covenant
not of
the letter
but of
the spirit
for the
letter
kills
but the
spirit
gives
life
just in
closing
is this
only
spiritual
no
it's
not just
about
being able
to tell
people
about
Jesus
one of
the
problems
with
pornography
and
I
got
really
helpful
correction
from a
couple
of
weeks
ago
when I
happened
to
mention
pornography
this is
relevant
by the
way
I
don't
have
a
hobby
horse
around
it
but
it's
very
relevant
is
that
I
only
talked
as if
only
men
have
problems
with
pornography
and
I
apologize
to
those
women
present
who have
problems
with
pornography
and
one
of
the
problems
with
pornography
is
that
it
makes
us
feel
not
enough
one
of
the
problems
for
a
wife
or
a
husband
to
find
that
their
spouse
is
looking
at
pornography
is
that
it's
a
big
dagger
in
their
heart
they
worry
and
wonder
why
they're
not
enough
why
aren't
they
sufficient
for
their
spouse
and
one
of
the
worries
that we
have
as we
get
immersed
in
pornography
or even
as we
become
aware
of the
fact
that
even
if we
ourselves
maybe
have
gotten
out
of
pornography
and
it
isn't
doing
something
to us
that
maybe
the
people
that
we're
dating
and
that
we
want
to
marry
and
we
worry
that
if
we
get
into
that
marital
relationship
that
after
they've
been
filling
their
minds
and their
hearts
with
pornography
that
we
won't
be
enough
and
it's
not
just
in
areas
of
pornography
I'm
using
pornography
as an
example
because
it's
a
human
problem
that
we
worry
about
being
enough
and
this
text
is
talking
about
something
eternal
but
it's
a
very
powerful
lesson
it's
not
limiting
our
confidence
in
Christ
through
Christ
and
our
sufficiency
from
God
it's
not
just
limiting
it
these
are
huge
statements
it's
not
just
limiting
it
to
Christian
ministry
types
of
things
and
then
the
rest
of
it
sucks
to
be
you
for
the
rest
of
your
life
it's
not
that
way
it's
a
big
statement
and
here's
the
problem
Genesis
3
human
beings
want
to
be
like
God
and
as
a
result
of
that
desire
to
be
like
God
they
become
separate
from
God
it's
why
we
need
a
savior
and
ever
since
then
we
have
a
hard
time
understanding
where
we
are
on
the
enough
and
sufficiency
scale
because
here's
the
thing
many
of
us
and
this
is
one
of
the
things
that
happens
with
pornography
and
it's
not only
that
but also
other
types
of
failure
is that
we
demand
we
start
to
almost
make
an
not
part
of
the
way
we
try
to
deal
with
it
is
by
trying
to
almost
make
an
idol
out
of
us
being
enough
in
the
other
person's
life
or
sufficient
in
the
other
person's
life
but
you
know
what
we're
never
sufficient
and
enough
in
another
person's
life
because
we're
creatures
not
the
creator
like
if
I
try
to
become
everything
to
Louise
statistically
I
will die
before
Louise
if
you
saw
how
I
ate
and
she
ate
I'm
going
to
die
long
before
Louise
and
I
am
never
sufficient
in
another
person's
life
in
the
way
that
part
of
that
idolatrous
part
of
me
that
wants
to
be
like
God
is
enough
and
often
when
we
get
wounded
by
betrayal
and
we
get
wounded
by
pornography
and
we
get
just
wounded
by
life
part
of
our
desire
is
to
become
somehow
something
that we
can
never
be
you
see
what
the
gospel
is
doing
here
for
us
is
it's
starting
to
try
to
get
us
to
take
off
the
burden
of
trying
to be
like
a
God
to
another
person
or
even
desiring
it
and
at
the
same
time
it
comforts
us
on
another
level
because
we
it's
trying
to
help
us
to
understand
that
okay
George
just
saying
that
you're
not
enough
in that
sense
doesn't
mean
you're
nothing
like
the
choice
isn't
as a
creature
between
being
like
God
or
being
like
garbage
that's
your
rebellious
nature
against
God
speaking
that's
the
devil
speaking
that's
not
God
speaking
to
you
it
is
not
a
diminishment
of
me
for
God
to
remind
me
that
I'm
a
creature
that's
God's
word
reminding
me
of
what's
true
and
so
on
one
hand
this
text
is
warning
us
in
our
response
to
heartbreak
to
desire
to
become
like
an
idol
to
the
other
person
and
as
the
gospel
grips
us
as
we
realize
that
Christ
has
defeated
sin
Christ
has
defeated
death
Christ
has
defeated
hell
and
Christ
has
defeated
me
to
save
me
and
to
deliver
me
and
as
that
grips
us
we
realize
we
realize
that
we
might
have
to
live
with
many
disappointments
in
life
but
we
have
a
sufficiency
that
God
is
enough
and
as
we're
gripped
by the
gospel
and
understand
that
God
is
enough
that
maybe
there
starts
to
become
to
us
enough
self
possession
to
confront
our
loved
one
not
out
of
an
idolatry
of
our
self
but
of
being
gripped
by
what
Christ
has
done
for
us
in
the
gospel
please
stand
some
of
us
have
work
to
do
with
God
because
maybe
we
realize
that
there's
ways
in our
lives
that
we're
living
that
are
really
unbalanced
because
we're
unbalanced
about
this
stuff
of
being
enough
or
sufficient
and
to
be
gripped
by
this
knowledge
of
what
Christ
has
done
for
us
on
the
cross
and
that
he
makes
he
that
God
is
sufficient
and
as
we
rest
in
him
and
as
we
rest
in
Christ
there
is
a
sufficiency
that
comes
into
our
lives
that
helps
us
to
live
as
creatures
and
to
share
about
what
God
does
and
some
of
us
here's
the
other
wonderful
thing
about
this
is
if
you're
here
and
you're
still
on
the
fence
about
trying
to
know
whether
to
give
your
life
to
Jesus
there
is
no
one
so
battered
or
so
broken
no
one
so
much
of
a
failure
and
no
one
so
successful
or
so
young
or
so
good
looking
there
is
no
one
who
is
not
going
from
death
to
death
and
Jesus
died
so
that
you
will
go
from
life
to
life
and
there
is
no
better
time
than
now
to
call
out
to
Jesus
to
say
Jesus
I lay
down
my
sword
and
I lay
down
my
shield
and
I
take
off
the
false
armor
that
I've
trusted
and
I
put
it
on
the
ground
and
I
bow
to
you
that
you
will
defeat
me
and
be
my
savior
and
he
will
cast
no
one
away
absolutely
no
one
let's
bow
our heads
in
prayer
father
you
know
how
many
of
us
are
wrestling
with
questions
as to
whether
we
are
enough
and
whether
we
are
sufficient
and
you
know
father
how
many
of
us
are
wishing
that
if
we
just
had
more
money
we'd
be
sufficient
that
money
will
be
our
sufficiency
or
being
slim
or
being
young
or
being
wise
or
being
whatever
father
you
know
all
of
those
things
even
those
of
us
who
have
put
our
faith
and
you
know
how
we
wrestle
with
these
things
and
still
you
love
us
we
give
you
thanks
and
praise
that
in
Jesus
we
have
been
saved
we
are
being
saved
and
we
will
be
saved
and
we
ask
father
that
you
grow
within
us
an
awareness
of
the
places
the
wrong
and
false
places
we
go
for
confidence
and
sufficiency
and
that
you
would
grip
us
again
with
the
gospel
that
your
word
would
come
that
was
read
this
morning
that
many
of
us
would
memorize
this
passage
of
scripture
that
would
enter
into
our
lives
and
as
it
enters
into
our
lives
and
is
written
on
our
hearts
that
in
our
day
to
day
lives
we
bear
fruit
that
brings
you
much
glory
father
do
this
work
in
our
heart
and
all
this
we
ask
in
the
name
of
Jesus
your
son
and
our
savior
amen