WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.560 And open your Bibles to Galatians chapter 6. 00:00:04.219 --> 00:00:11.759 As I said this morning, we're going to flip over next week and Ruben is going to preach through the rest of 1 Corinthians in the evening. 00:00:12.140 --> 00:00:13.640 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:31.940 And try and unpack that. 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:36.920 And it's the phrase in chapter 6 of Galatians and verse 14. 00:00:38.380 --> 00:00:46.700 Where it says this, but far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:00:49.120 --> 00:00:58.820 Far be it, far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:01.100 All of us boast. 00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:03.340 All of us glory. 00:01:04.980 --> 00:01:06.159 Sometimes we're entitled to boast. 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:11.340 We boast about our own nation, our own language, our own culture. 00:01:12.739 --> 00:01:16.159 We can say with pride we're from a certain part of the country. 00:01:17.260 --> 00:01:18.280 We can be proud of our city. 00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:21.060 You can be proud of the city that you're from. 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:21.859 I hope you are. 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:24.620 You can be proud of your own traditions. 00:01:26.379 --> 00:01:27.780 Proud of your music. 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:29.240 Proud of your literature. 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:29.879 Your poetry. 00:01:30.059 --> 00:01:30.879 Proud of your sport. 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:33.419 Be proud of your own church. 00:01:35.219 --> 00:01:40.060 You can be proud of your people's contribution to national affairs and world affairs. 00:01:40.479 --> 00:01:41.319 It's a good thing to be proud of. 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:44.379 Proud of the sacrifice of so many. 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:49.239 Proud of young people who bring credit to you. 00:01:50.479 --> 00:01:51.099 Proud of your family. 00:01:52.299 --> 00:01:53.119 The Jews were proud. 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:56.620 Proud of their history. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:01:58.939 They were proud of the law. 00:01:59.780 --> 00:02:00.680 They were proud of the Torah. 00:02:01.980 --> 00:02:03.140 They were proud of the temple. 00:02:03.140 --> 00:02:07.140 They were proud of the great heroes of their faith. 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:08.039 Moses. 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:09.280 Elijah. 00:02:09.960 --> 00:02:10.259 David. 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:10.919 Many others. 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:11.580 Ruth. 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:13.319 And Paul. 00:02:13.580 --> 00:02:14.680 And the Apostle Paul too was proud. 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:16.719 In fact he'd always been proud. 00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:17.500 He was proud of his nation. 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:20.360 He was proud to be a Jew. 00:02:22.219 --> 00:02:24.139 He was proud to be a Pharisee. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:26.520 A Pharisee of the Pharisees he calls himself. 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:30.360 But then God turned his life upside down indeed. 00:02:31.020 --> 00:02:32.620 And Paul was still proud. 00:02:33.700 --> 00:02:35.300 And Paul still boasted. 00:02:36.320 --> 00:02:39.520 But now Paul has different boasts. 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:43.540 He was still boasting but none of the old things. 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:46.320 In fact he uses the word. 00:02:47.300 --> 00:02:48.920 This word time and time again. 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:51.640 He was proud of the hope of the glory of God. 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:57.219 Paul was proud of his sufferings in the service of Jesus Christ. 00:02:57.339 --> 00:02:58.059 Proud of his scars. 00:02:59.579 --> 00:03:02.739 He was proud of his marvellous God. 00:03:04.379 --> 00:03:08.500 And the kind of God who took on our human nature. 00:03:09.459 --> 00:03:11.859 And came into our human situation. 00:03:12.399 --> 00:03:14.359 And bore our human state. 00:03:15.679 --> 00:03:17.659 And shared our pain. 00:03:17.659 --> 00:03:22.799 And the God man empathised and sympathised with us. 00:03:24.060 --> 00:03:27.699 And Paul thought that his God was beyond compare. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:31.400 As he thought about God and what he'd done. 00:03:32.219 --> 00:03:36.240 He thought that his God was the greatest God imaginable. 00:03:37.579 --> 00:03:40.800 No greater God could be conceived for the Apostle Paul. 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:45.819 But there was something that towered over all of that. 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:47.259 Over all of those things. 00:03:47.659 --> 00:03:48.620 Of which Paul speaks. 00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:52.359 It tells us that he boasted above all. 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:53.879 In the cross of Jesus Christ. 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:56.719 That above everything else. 00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:58.419 Was what Paul was most proud of. 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:02.000 He thought that the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:03.159 Was the most amazing. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:04.340 And stupendous. 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:05.979 And greatest event in human history. 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:09.579 That nothing like it had happened before. 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:11.699 And nothing like it would happen ever again. 00:04:12.300 --> 00:04:13.599 There never had been. 00:04:13.699 --> 00:04:16.240 And there never would be a man like the Lord Jesus. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:18.840 And there never would be an event like the cross of Christ. 00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:26.979 And Paul was so proud of what God had done. 00:04:27.599 --> 00:04:28.739 At the cross. 00:04:29.899 --> 00:04:32.399 Where his Lord had died. 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:35.239 And that was Paul's boast and his pride. 00:04:36.239 --> 00:04:40.739 That he followed the Lord crucified on the cross of Calvary. 00:04:42.159 --> 00:04:43.259 What a thing to boast of. 00:04:44.719 --> 00:04:47.319 The Lord that he loved had been crucified. 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:52.240 And it wasn't only that. 00:04:53.659 --> 00:04:57.540 But there was so much else that made it kind of anomalous and extraordinary. 00:04:57.699 --> 00:04:58.060 As a boast. 00:04:58.219 --> 00:05:01.139 It was the cross of Christ as Lord. 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:06.480 That means that the cross that Paul boasted in. 00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:09.860 Was the cross of one who had known no sin. 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:13.120 And because he knew no sin. 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:14.780 And because he was without sin. 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:18.379 And in Paul's Jewish mind of course. 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:20.280 Death was linked to sin. 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:21.879 The wages of sin is death. 00:05:22.840 --> 00:05:24.840 Why had this sinless one died? 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:28.199 And yet Paul was so proud of it. 00:05:30.400 --> 00:05:33.040 Proud that the one who had known no sin. 00:05:33.660 --> 00:05:36.439 Had received the wages for sin. 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:39.719 And Paul was so proud of that. 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:42.079 And beyond that. 00:05:42.339 --> 00:05:45.579 This crucified one was God's own son. 00:05:46.939 --> 00:05:50.360 He was the one who was in very nature God. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:52.339 He was in every respect God. 00:05:53.540 --> 00:05:55.680 The Lord Jesus had all the qualities of God. 00:05:55.779 --> 00:05:57.139 He was the image of God. 00:05:58.060 --> 00:05:59.339 The image of the invisible God. 00:05:59.459 --> 00:06:01.819 He had all the perfections of God. 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:05.399 He had done all those God things in his lifetime. 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:10.399 And Paul teaches us that he created the world. 00:06:10.719 --> 00:06:11.560 He designed it. 00:06:11.779 --> 00:06:12.459 He upheld it. 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:16.180 He was omnipotent. 00:06:17.719 --> 00:06:18.240 Omniscient. 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:20.180 Omnipresent. 00:06:20.620 --> 00:06:21.220 Very God. 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:22.040 Very God. 00:06:23.139 --> 00:06:24.319 He was all those things. 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:25.279 He was the Lord. 00:06:25.459 --> 00:06:26.000 And yet. 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:29.560 The God man had been crucified. 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:31.620 And Paul was proud. 00:06:31.620 --> 00:06:32.019 Christ. 00:06:33.740 --> 00:06:34.139 Christ. 00:06:34.459 --> 00:06:35.399 God the son. 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:37.579 Was crucified. 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:43.519 The supreme object of his adoration. 00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:46.819 And the one that he loved the most. 00:06:46.939 --> 00:06:47.980 The one that he admired. 00:06:48.340 --> 00:06:49.639 More than anyone else in the world. 00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:50.399 Had been crucified. 00:06:52.300 --> 00:06:55.740 And the cross was above all else. 00:06:56.860 --> 00:06:58.720 To Paul the ground of boasting. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:01.420 And the reason for pride. 00:07:02.940 --> 00:07:03.920 Because on that cross. 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:05.160 A sinless man had died. 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:07.260 And on that cross. 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:08.880 God's own son had suffered. 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:09.820 And expired. 00:07:10.080 --> 00:07:10.400 And died. 00:07:10.500 --> 00:07:11.580 And Paul was boasting about it. 00:07:14.200 --> 00:07:14.680 And. 00:07:15.060 --> 00:07:15.840 Not only that. 00:07:15.880 --> 00:07:17.100 But in the last analysis. 00:07:17.540 --> 00:07:17.920 It was. 00:07:18.380 --> 00:07:19.280 God himself. 00:07:19.420 --> 00:07:19.980 Who had done it. 00:07:22.280 --> 00:07:23.420 God had made him. 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:23.940 Who knew. 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:25.240 No sin. 00:07:25.880 --> 00:07:26.760 To be sin. 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:29.920 It pleased the Lord. 00:07:30.159 --> 00:07:30.959 To bruise him. 00:07:32.500 --> 00:07:32.980 God. 00:07:33.599 --> 00:07:35.680 Did not spare his own son. 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:37.159 But delivered him up for us all. 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:39.620 God delivered up. 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:40.819 His own son. 00:07:43.259 --> 00:07:44.240 Most of us here. 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:45.319 Have grown up in a. 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:46.279 A Christian home. 00:07:46.339 --> 00:07:46.959 In a covenant home. 00:07:48.819 --> 00:07:49.819 Most of us here. 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:51.300 Have never known a time. 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:52.699 When we didn't know about the cross. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:53.959 That is a great privilege. 00:07:54.980 --> 00:07:55.639 It's always been there. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:55.899 Hasn't it? 00:07:55.899 --> 00:07:58.519 You've always known about it. 00:08:00.679 --> 00:08:01.439 And often. 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:02.219 I think. 00:08:02.339 --> 00:08:02.419 We. 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:03.899 We don't stop to think. 00:08:04.060 --> 00:08:05.739 How utterly stupendous. 00:08:05.859 --> 00:08:06.079 It is. 00:08:06.179 --> 00:08:07.339 How utterly astonishing. 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:07.739 It is. 00:08:09.239 --> 00:08:10.120 That the apostle. 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:11.679 Of. 00:08:12.099 --> 00:08:12.959 The Gentiles. 00:08:13.299 --> 00:08:13.659 Should be. 00:08:13.919 --> 00:08:14.479 Proud. 00:08:15.219 --> 00:08:16.019 Of the cross. 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:16.759 Above all else. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:20.060 He doesn't say. 00:08:20.179 --> 00:08:21.299 How proud he was. 00:08:21.479 --> 00:08:21.759 Of. 00:08:22.539 --> 00:08:23.259 The meekness. 00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:23.759 Of Jesus. 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:25.860 Although Jesus was meek. 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:26.180 Wasn't he? 00:08:28.159 --> 00:08:29.279 The apostle doesn't boast. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:30.459 That Jesus was a great teacher. 00:08:30.599 --> 00:08:31.860 Although he was the greatest teacher. 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:32.580 That's ever lived. 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:36.439 The apostle Paul doesn't boast. 00:08:36.439 --> 00:08:37.659 About how accessible. 00:08:37.819 --> 00:08:38.340 Jesus was. 00:08:38.419 --> 00:08:39.379 Though he was so accessible. 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:40.000 He doesn't boast. 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:41.159 About his tremendous sympathy. 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:42.659 With us. 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:44.299 In our human weakness. 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:46.819 And in our human pain. 00:08:48.199 --> 00:08:49.480 And it may be that Paul was proud. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:50.439 Of all of those things. 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:52.259 But he singles out this one thing. 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:54.240 The cross. 00:08:55.319 --> 00:08:55.939 The cross. 00:08:56.039 --> 00:08:57.639 On which the only sinless man. 00:08:58.100 --> 00:08:59.279 That the world has ever seen. 00:08:59.360 --> 00:08:59.899 Was executed. 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:02.519 That cross. 00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:04.919 That is what Paul is proud of. 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:07.059 The cross. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:08.279 On which the prince of glory died. 00:09:09.439 --> 00:09:10.360 And Paul is so proud. 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:13.039 The cross. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:14.060 On which the light of the world. 00:09:14.180 --> 00:09:14.820 Was extinguished. 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:17.539 The light of the world. 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:18.080 Was put out. 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:20.220 And Paul says. 00:09:20.300 --> 00:09:20.840 I am proud. 00:09:23.539 --> 00:09:24.379 Where the word of God. 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:25.320 Is reduced to silence. 00:09:27.379 --> 00:09:27.700 There. 00:09:27.860 --> 00:09:28.399 At that cross. 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:29.399 Paul is proud. 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:31.960 The cross of the sinless man. 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:33.240 The cross of God's own son. 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:34.440 This act of God. 00:09:34.539 --> 00:09:34.840 This inexplicable. 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:34.840 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:36.539 Act of God. 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:37.379 That God ordered. 00:09:37.860 --> 00:09:38.620 And God arranged. 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:39.440 The crucifixion. 00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:40.679 Of his own son. 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:42.159 And Paul is. 00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:43.220 Boasting about it. 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:46.019 And I suppose. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:46.820 I want to do tonight. 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:47.320 Is I want to think. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:47.740 How. 00:09:48.100 --> 00:09:49.019 Why and how. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:52.620 Why did Paul boast. 00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:53.500 Of the cross. 00:09:53.560 --> 00:09:53.899 In this way. 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:55.000 And how can he boast. 00:09:55.500 --> 00:09:56.000 Of the cross. 00:09:56.060 --> 00:09:56.580 In this way. 00:09:56.740 --> 00:09:57.860 And it's the same for us. 00:09:59.379 --> 00:10:00.220 How can we. 00:10:00.299 --> 00:10:00.879 As a church family. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:01.740 Be proud. 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:02.419 Of. 00:10:02.820 --> 00:10:03.480 The cross. 00:10:05.060 --> 00:10:05.779 And that we. 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:06.560 As God's people. 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:07.500 Would make this. 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:08.439 Our boast. 00:10:08.939 --> 00:10:10.059 Above all other boasts. 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:11.519 And two reasons. 00:10:11.639 --> 00:10:12.139 First of all. 00:10:12.239 --> 00:10:13.019 What the cross achieved. 00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:14.919 And secondly. 00:10:15.019 --> 00:10:15.879 What the cross demonstrated. 00:10:16.019 --> 00:10:17.019 So what did the cross achieve. 00:10:19.079 --> 00:10:19.719 Paul would say. 00:10:19.819 --> 00:10:21.019 That the cross achieved. 00:10:22.099 --> 00:10:22.979 The theological word. 00:10:23.059 --> 00:10:24.259 Is the expiation of sin. 00:10:25.459 --> 00:10:26.719 That is the covering over. 00:10:26.899 --> 00:10:27.559 Of my sin. 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:29.299 And your sin. 00:10:30.979 --> 00:10:31.679 The apostle Paul. 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:31.939 Was. 00:10:32.219 --> 00:10:33.439 Was incredibly conscious. 00:10:33.439 --> 00:10:34.119 Of his own sin. 00:10:34.219 --> 00:10:34.839 You may be tonight. 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:35.920 But the apostle Paul. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:36.320 Was too. 00:10:37.899 --> 00:10:38.940 He describes himself. 00:10:39.019 --> 00:10:39.420 And he says. 00:10:39.680 --> 00:10:40.940 That he was the chief of sinners. 00:10:41.460 --> 00:10:42.160 The ultimate sinner. 00:10:43.680 --> 00:10:44.200 And the apostle. 00:10:44.340 --> 00:10:45.220 Was under no illusions. 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:45.860 As to the quality. 00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:46.440 Of his own life. 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:47.120 He knew his guilt. 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:48.259 He knew his disobedience. 00:10:49.720 --> 00:10:50.500 And he saw. 00:10:50.660 --> 00:10:51.500 In the cross of Jesus. 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:52.680 A covering for his own sin. 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:56.120 And I wonder tonight. 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:56.360 What. 00:10:57.019 --> 00:10:57.340 Burdens. 00:10:57.340 --> 00:10:58.200 Of guilt. 00:10:58.379 --> 00:10:58.960 We bear. 00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:01.600 Those things. 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:02.740 That still pain. 00:11:02.780 --> 00:11:03.740 Our consciences. 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:04.919 Our souls. 00:11:05.539 --> 00:11:05.899 Our souls. 00:11:05.899 --> 00:11:06.860 We may think of our parents. 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:08.519 Our souls. 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:09.360 We may think of our children. 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:11.440 Our souls. 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:12.519 We may think of those other people. 00:11:12.519 --> 00:11:13.299 Who we've mocked. 00:11:13.580 --> 00:11:13.779 And. 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:14.980 Insulted. 00:11:15.060 --> 00:11:15.940 Who we've sneered at. 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:17.960 Our souls. 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:18.919 We may think of those moments. 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:19.519 In our lives. 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:20.799 Where we knew something was wrong. 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:23.480 And we did it anyway. 00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:26.100 Or those times. 00:11:26.259 --> 00:11:27.519 When we knew something was right. 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:28.680 And we refused to do it. 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:31.460 And there are. 00:11:31.560 --> 00:11:32.680 In the life of every one of us. 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:33.299 Aren't there times. 00:11:33.299 --> 00:11:34.639 That we would not want to revisit. 00:11:34.839 --> 00:11:35.939 Every single one of us. 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:37.579 And yet. 00:11:37.779 --> 00:11:38.500 There are moments. 00:11:38.599 --> 00:11:39.919 Where we constantly revisit them. 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:43.419 The pain faces. 00:11:43.659 --> 00:11:44.639 Of those we've disappointed. 00:11:46.379 --> 00:11:47.379 And those we've hurt. 00:11:50.579 --> 00:11:51.279 Pain face. 00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:52.159 Of the son of God. 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:53.079 Whom we've maligned. 00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:56.460 What I want to say to you. 00:11:56.520 --> 00:11:56.740 Is this. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:57.280 Sin. 00:11:57.440 --> 00:11:58.900 Is no abstract thing. 00:12:00.980 --> 00:12:01.600 And there's a danger. 00:12:01.680 --> 00:12:01.840 Isn't it. 00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:02.860 In the way that we explain it. 00:12:04.379 --> 00:12:05.220 We can explain it. 00:12:05.300 --> 00:12:05.680 As a. 00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:06.820 A missing of the mark. 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:07.000 You know. 00:12:07.020 --> 00:12:07.520 The arrow. 00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:08.620 And it never hits the target. 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:09.180 And yes. 00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:09.720 That's right. 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:11.000 You can describe it as iniquity. 00:12:11.180 --> 00:12:11.340 The. 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:14.200 Bending of our hearts. 00:12:14.280 --> 00:12:15.340 Constantly away from God. 00:12:15.400 --> 00:12:16.740 You can describe it as transgression. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:17.900 That we deliberately. 00:12:18.160 --> 00:12:18.300 And. 00:12:18.920 --> 00:12:19.200 Defiantly. 00:12:19.660 --> 00:12:20.500 Rebel against God. 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:21.820 But sin is not abstract. 00:12:21.980 --> 00:12:22.620 It is personal. 00:12:26.860 --> 00:12:28.019 Sin is what we've done. 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:30.679 The pain. 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:31.299 And the injury. 00:12:31.419 --> 00:12:31.799 And the grief. 00:12:31.899 --> 00:12:32.919 That we have caused. 00:12:35.139 --> 00:12:36.440 And there is no remedy for it. 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:40.220 And there is no place of peace. 00:12:40.299 --> 00:12:41.440 There is no place of peace. 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:42.039 Apart from. 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:42.799 In the obedience. 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:43.720 Of the Lord Jesus. 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:44.360 In my place. 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:47.139 And that obedience. 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:47.980 Climaxes. 00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:48.840 In his death. 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:50.480 On the cross at Calvary. 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:51.500 In my place. 00:12:52.179 --> 00:12:53.440 And it is there. 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:54.919 That I find. 00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:56.259 Relief from my own guilt. 00:12:57.340 --> 00:12:59.259 And peace from my own sin. 00:13:01.419 --> 00:13:03.139 That Christ has availed. 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:04.379 In my place. 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:06.379 And so. 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:07.080 There is no need. 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:07.379 Tonight. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:08.000 For my sins. 00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:09.100 To come back and haunt me. 00:13:10.179 --> 00:13:11.460 Because God has cast them. 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:12.480 Into the depths of the sea. 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:15.519 And my disobedience. 00:13:15.620 --> 00:13:16.580 Is covered by the obedience. 00:13:16.700 --> 00:13:17.179 Of the Lord Jesus. 00:13:17.179 --> 00:13:20.699 And so tonight. 00:13:20.859 --> 00:13:21.559 Why live. 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:22.479 Why live. 00:13:22.599 --> 00:13:23.199 In the torment. 00:13:23.359 --> 00:13:24.179 Of a guilty conscience. 00:13:25.939 --> 00:13:27.079 And the fear of judgment. 00:13:30.079 --> 00:13:30.819 George Herbert. 00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:34.420 He's a great writer of poetry. 00:13:34.420 --> 00:13:35.140 I know some of you. 00:13:35.260 --> 00:13:36.180 Think that all I watch. 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:36.840 Is Spider-Man. 00:13:36.920 --> 00:13:37.580 And Toy Story. 00:13:37.700 --> 00:13:38.440 And things like that. 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:39.320 But George Herbert. 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:41.180 I've discovered a little bit. 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:41.560 This summer. 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:44.420 And he wrote a poem. 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:45.800 About judgment. 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:47.560 About sinners. 00:13:47.680 --> 00:13:48.620 Coming on the last day. 00:13:48.700 --> 00:13:49.180 To the throne. 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:49.800 Of God's judgment. 00:13:49.799 --> 00:13:53.159 And the picture is this. 00:13:53.259 --> 00:13:54.199 Of their sins. 00:13:54.199 --> 00:13:55.159 Being read out. 00:13:57.620 --> 00:13:58.620 And sin. 00:13:58.719 --> 00:13:59.240 After sin. 00:13:59.299 --> 00:13:59.819 After sin. 00:13:59.879 --> 00:14:00.459 Is read out. 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:01.539 Those sins of believers. 00:14:01.740 --> 00:14:03.219 And in the poet's imagination. 00:14:04.979 --> 00:14:06.179 The books are opened. 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:08.559 And God is the judge. 00:14:10.439 --> 00:14:11.859 But Jesus Christ is there. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:12.559 As the advocate. 00:14:14.179 --> 00:14:15.519 And as the sins. 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:16.719 Are being read out. 00:14:16.839 --> 00:14:17.359 The Lord Jesus. 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:17.979 The advocate. 00:14:18.139 --> 00:14:18.699 Steps forward. 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:19.259 And he says. 00:14:19.379 --> 00:14:20.700 I think you will find. 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:21.220 My Lord. 00:14:21.320 --> 00:14:22.140 That that sin. 00:14:23.259 --> 00:14:24.500 Has my name on it. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:27.160 And I died. 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:28.060 For that sin. 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:33.560 The books are opened. 00:14:33.680 --> 00:14:34.700 The next sin is read out. 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:36.420 And again. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:36.940 The Lord Jesus. 00:14:37.060 --> 00:14:37.520 The advocate. 00:14:37.680 --> 00:14:38.360 Steps forward. 00:14:38.560 --> 00:14:39.120 And he says. 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:40.620 I think you will find. 00:14:40.800 --> 00:14:41.200 My Lord. 00:14:41.420 --> 00:14:42.600 That that sin. 00:14:42.900 --> 00:14:43.200 Has. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:44.700 My name on it. 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:47.120 And the judge. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:47.860 Looks up. 00:14:47.980 --> 00:14:48.600 And reads out. 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:49.159 The next sin. 00:14:49.220 --> 00:14:49.740 And yet again. 00:14:49.740 --> 00:14:50.340 The advocate. 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:51.500 My Lord Jesus. 00:14:51.500 --> 00:14:52.659 Stands forth. 00:14:52.779 --> 00:14:53.019 And says. 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:53.879 I think my Lord. 00:14:53.920 --> 00:14:54.360 You'll find. 00:14:54.620 --> 00:14:55.300 That that sin. 00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:56.879 Has my name on it too. 00:14:58.879 --> 00:14:59.860 He bore. 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:00.920 The sins. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:02.300 Of his people. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:04.460 At the cross. 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:05.000 Of Calvary. 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:06.920 On that. 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:07.519 Good Friday. 00:15:07.740 --> 00:15:08.700 In that small. 00:15:08.980 --> 00:15:09.340 Body. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:09.980 Of his. 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:11.220 My Lord Jesus Christ. 00:15:12.540 --> 00:15:13.019 There. 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:13.779 Gathered. 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:14.480 The sins. 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:15.320 Of his people. 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:16.100 And God. 00:15:16.100 --> 00:15:17.060 Condemned it. 00:15:17.560 --> 00:15:17.940 And there. 00:15:18.100 --> 00:15:18.560 Christ. 00:15:18.560 --> 00:15:19.560 Expiated it. 00:15:19.640 --> 00:15:19.740 He. 00:15:20.020 --> 00:15:20.620 Covered it over. 00:15:21.379 --> 00:15:21.980 And I am. 00:15:22.140 --> 00:15:23.040 Loosed from my sin. 00:15:23.100 --> 00:15:23.840 It is no longer. 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:24.700 My sin. 00:15:24.800 --> 00:15:25.940 It is his sin. 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:28.020 It's against his name. 00:15:28.260 --> 00:15:28.960 On the ledger. 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:30.940 And that's the glory. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:31.460 Of the cross. 00:15:32.780 --> 00:15:33.720 And that's why Paul. 00:15:33.879 --> 00:15:34.639 Boasts about it. 00:15:34.740 --> 00:15:35.280 So much. 00:15:35.379 --> 00:15:36.600 Because it's by this cross. 00:15:36.680 --> 00:15:37.300 That his sin. 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:38.139 Was covered over. 00:15:38.420 --> 00:15:38.879 His sin. 00:15:38.920 --> 00:15:39.759 Was expiated. 00:15:41.060 --> 00:15:41.840 But it's also. 00:15:42.060 --> 00:15:42.980 That God's anger. 00:15:43.100 --> 00:15:43.780 Was propitiated. 00:15:43.860 --> 00:15:44.480 That's another big word. 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:44.780 Isn't it? 00:15:45.780 --> 00:15:46.879 That God's anger. 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:47.840 Was satisfied. 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:48.220 At the cross. 00:15:48.300 --> 00:15:48.780 God's anger. 00:15:48.780 --> 00:15:49.540 Was appeased. 00:15:50.259 --> 00:15:50.660 Propitiated. 00:15:52.560 --> 00:15:53.240 And I don't know. 00:15:53.280 --> 00:15:53.759 How it is. 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:54.560 Between. 00:15:55.180 --> 00:15:55.860 With you. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:56.440 And the anger. 00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:57.019 Of God. 00:15:57.019 --> 00:16:00.319 The Bible makes it really clear. 00:16:00.379 --> 00:16:00.679 Doesn't it? 00:16:00.699 --> 00:16:01.500 That God hates. 00:16:01.939 --> 00:16:02.439 Our sin. 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:05.340 And that God is angry. 00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:06.059 With sin. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:09.340 And even the atheists. 00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:11.179 Self-proclaimed atheists. 00:16:11.699 --> 00:16:12.939 Sometimes their conscience. 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:14.059 Comes back to bite them. 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:16.340 And tells them things. 00:16:16.439 --> 00:16:16.720 They rather. 00:16:17.079 --> 00:16:17.159 Would. 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:18.179 They'd rather not know. 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:21.159 And sometimes. 00:16:21.340 --> 00:16:22.159 And those atheists. 00:16:22.500 --> 00:16:23.559 They have their own fears. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:25.539 Hamlet said. 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:25.919 Didn't he? 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:26.699 Conscience. 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:28.319 Doth make cowards of us all. 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:32.419 And so the anger of God. 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:33.179 That you know. 00:16:33.179 --> 00:16:34.240 That you deserve tonight. 00:16:34.319 --> 00:16:35.419 And every single one of us. 00:16:35.460 --> 00:16:35.819 Knows it. 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:38.319 The anger of God. 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:39.360 Which you know. 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:40.079 And I know. 00:16:40.199 --> 00:16:40.699 That we deserve. 00:16:40.939 --> 00:16:41.899 The anger of God. 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:43.360 The Lord Jesus Christ. 00:16:43.419 --> 00:16:44.340 Dealt with at the cross. 00:16:46.419 --> 00:16:47.639 Where in my name. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:48.360 Jesus experienced. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:50.639 Rejection. 00:16:51.319 --> 00:16:51.960 And judgment. 00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:56.920 In agony. 00:16:56.920 --> 00:16:58.019 He bears my sin. 00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:00.700 He says on the cross. 00:17:00.800 --> 00:17:01.180 My God. 00:17:01.259 --> 00:17:01.680 My God. 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:03.360 Why have you forsaken me? 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:03.740 God. 00:17:03.900 --> 00:17:04.340 Forsaken. 00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:04.980 By God. 00:17:05.059 --> 00:17:05.920 Who can understand this? 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.640 Why won't you hear? 00:17:11.320 --> 00:17:13.300 Why are you hurling me away. 00:17:13.300 --> 00:17:14.200 Into this terrible. 00:17:14.320 --> 00:17:15.080 Terrible black hole. 00:17:15.120 --> 00:17:16.060 In which there is no light. 00:17:16.600 --> 00:17:17.680 Why are you so angry with me? 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:20.700 In my place condemned. 00:17:20.800 --> 00:17:21.180 He stood. 00:17:24.120 --> 00:17:25.060 Covering my sin. 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:26.420 Dealing with the anger. 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:28.100 That my sins deserve. 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:28.820 It achieved. 00:17:28.939 --> 00:17:30.359 The expiation of sin. 00:17:30.419 --> 00:17:30.839 It achieved. 00:17:31.099 --> 00:17:32.179 The propitiation. 00:17:33.399 --> 00:17:34.559 Or the appeasement of God. 00:17:35.659 --> 00:17:36.899 And it achieved redemption. 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:40.460 For believers like you and me. 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:44.259 A redemption that we offer to everyone. 00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:46.980 What is redemption? 00:17:47.879 --> 00:17:48.819 It's freedom. 00:17:51.319 --> 00:17:52.159 It's liberation. 00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:54.460 It's emancipation. 00:17:56.019 --> 00:17:56.960 Paul says in Galatians. 00:17:57.099 --> 00:17:58.720 It's for freedom that you've been set free. 00:17:59.819 --> 00:18:01.000 What is that freedom from? 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:02.419 It's freedom from the curse of the law. 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:05.599 It's freedom from condemnation. 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:07.960 It's freedom from damnation. 00:18:09.339 --> 00:18:10.980 It's freedom from the fear of death. 00:18:12.439 --> 00:18:15.619 Freedom from the oppressiveness of legalistic religion. 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:17.299 Of a tick box religion. 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:21.980 Freedom from the minutiae of human taboos. 00:18:22.619 --> 00:18:23.220 And traditions. 00:18:23.220 --> 00:18:27.220 And from all the burdens of human religiosity. 00:18:27.220 --> 00:18:29.880 Freedom from all those. 00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:33.920 It's an incredible word spoken by the Lord Jesus. 00:18:34.140 --> 00:18:35.480 Where he says you shall know the truth. 00:18:35.600 --> 00:18:38.059 And the truth shall make you free. 00:18:38.059 --> 00:18:41.859 As the people of God tonight. 00:18:41.919 --> 00:18:42.440 We are free. 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:48.179 Is that the impression that we make on the world? 00:18:48.180 --> 00:18:52.640 Sometimes I like going and preaching places. 00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:55.320 I only use the same illustrations over and over again. 00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:58.000 But you do this kind of word illustration game. 00:18:58.100 --> 00:18:59.480 You know the word association game. 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:03.240 Where I say a word and you think of the immediate thing. 00:19:03.320 --> 00:19:03.940 You say black. 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:04.779 I say black. 00:19:04.860 --> 00:19:05.240 You say white. 00:19:05.320 --> 00:19:05.759 I say salt. 00:19:05.840 --> 00:19:06.340 You say pepper. 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:07.799 I say fish. 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:08.460 You say chips. 00:19:09.100 --> 00:19:10.560 And then you say all Presbyterianism. 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:14.759 No one ever comes back with freedom. 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:16.960 Joy. 00:19:20.419 --> 00:19:24.299 People come into this church and they say these people are so free. 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:26.639 Free. 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:34.460 They come on a Sunday and they no longer serve God as slaves in craving and servile fear. 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:37.720 But they serve God as sons. 00:19:40.220 --> 00:19:42.120 And they call him Abba, Father. 00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:43.340 Because he loves them. 00:19:43.380 --> 00:19:44.100 And they know he loves them. 00:19:45.140 --> 00:19:46.900 And they know how much he cares for them. 00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:50.579 And they've been redeemed from fear and phobia. 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:53.380 They've been redeemed from the burden of legalism and the law. 00:19:54.380 --> 00:19:57.660 They've been redeemed from the oppressiveness and the burdens of trying to be good. 00:19:57.700 --> 00:19:58.579 It's what Galatians is about. 00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:08.619 They've been freed from the own overbearing demands of their own personality. 00:20:10.179 --> 00:20:11.939 Trying to match their own standards. 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:14.559 And they've been freed from trying to match other people's standards. 00:20:17.699 --> 00:20:18.759 And so can I plead with you. 00:20:18.839 --> 00:20:21.379 I worry sometimes for a moment in churches like this. 00:20:21.539 --> 00:20:26.599 That people think you have to try to be good before you come to Jesus. 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:31.319 You have to try to kind of smarten up your act a bit. 00:20:33.899 --> 00:20:36.019 And can I plead with you for a moment just to stop that. 00:20:36.139 --> 00:20:39.279 Because if you wait until you're good, you will never come. 00:20:41.699 --> 00:20:42.959 And the irony is this. 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:44.579 Once you come, he'll make you good. 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:49.480 But you come to the Lord Jesus as you are. 00:20:49.639 --> 00:20:52.519 You come without a thing commanding you. 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:59.720 And so Paul boasts in the cross because it achieves great things. 00:20:59.819 --> 00:21:01.099 It achieves the covering of my sin. 00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:04.259 It deals with the anger of God against my sin. 00:21:04.579 --> 00:21:06.740 And it redeems me and it makes me free. 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:10.519 That's why Paul says, doesn't he, stand fast. 00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:15.359 Therefore in the freedom which Christ has made you free. 00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:16.359 Go and be free. 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:16.400 Go and be free. 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:21.599 Don't be afraid of each other. 00:21:22.519 --> 00:21:26.839 Don't be scared in case people find you out. 00:21:28.099 --> 00:21:28.720 Be yourself. 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:30.460 Be your Christian self. 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:35.579 Be your Holy Spirit redeemed selves in the presence of God. 00:21:36.619 --> 00:21:37.920 Because God loves you as you are. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:41.940 And God calls you as you are. 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:45.200 So go and dare to be free with all your quirks. 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:46.960 And all your oddities. 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:53.460 The cross achieves all these things and it demonstrates all these things. 00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:55.039 It's made certain declarations. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:56.100 Two declarations. 00:21:56.340 --> 00:22:00.940 First of all, the cross declares the love of Jesus Christ. 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:02.980 How much he loved you. 00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:08.259 So that verse, we love it, don't we, in Galatians 2.20. 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:11.519 The Son of God loved me. 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:19.079 When you think of the Lord Jesus, what do you think? 00:22:19.180 --> 00:22:20.200 How do you think of him? 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:23.960 Who is this man? 00:22:26.420 --> 00:22:27.799 Who is the Son of God? 00:22:28.120 --> 00:22:33.220 The Son of God is the one who loved me and gave himself for me. 00:22:34.600 --> 00:22:35.539 That is who he is. 00:22:36.860 --> 00:22:40.279 And when Paul thought of the Lord Jesus, he thought of the love of Jesus. 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:46.259 And he sees that love coming to its fullest expression on the cross of Calvary. 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:50.859 He loved me and he gave himself for me. 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:53.639 Loving and giving. 00:22:55.220 --> 00:22:56.559 And that's how Paul saw the cross. 00:22:56.660 --> 00:22:59.740 He sees that in chapter 1 and verse 4 and in chapter 2 verse 20. 00:23:02.899 --> 00:23:06.240 And so come with me to the days before Calvary. 00:23:06.339 --> 00:23:08.279 The shadow of Calvary in the life of the Lord Jesus. 00:23:08.279 --> 00:23:12.799 And in those days and hours that led up to the cross. 00:23:15.019 --> 00:23:17.160 And you think of Jesus Christ as our Lord. 00:23:17.220 --> 00:23:24.379 As he knows that closer and closer he is coming to this point of unimaginable pain and torture and trauma. 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:26.920 And what keeps him going? 00:23:28.299 --> 00:23:31.200 What keeps him going towards the flogging and the stabbing. 00:23:32.399 --> 00:23:34.460 And the wounding and the humiliation. 00:23:35.619 --> 00:23:36.420 And the mocking. 00:23:36.420 --> 00:23:38.340 And the rejection. 00:23:38.340 --> 00:23:39.640 And the nakedness. 00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:41.920 And going towards the cross. 00:23:42.019 --> 00:23:47.360 That dreadful moment when his hands and his feet are nailed to the cross. 00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:51.519 Those long, long hours hanging, nailed, naked to the cross. 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:55.460 And in his human finitude. 00:23:55.460 --> 00:24:00.900 Not knowing quite how awful it is going to be. 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:06.700 The Lord Jesus, he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:08.319 He lived a life of suffering. 00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:10.000 But he'd never known suffering. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:13.380 Like it was to come on Calvary. 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:20.019 Remember that the human mind for the Lord Jesus. 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:21.460 All information. 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:25.440 He didn't kind of have this kind of little button he pressed. 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:27.119 And suddenly he had all knowledge. 00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:32.319 He did not know how it would unfold. 00:24:32.539 --> 00:24:33.579 What it was going to be like. 00:24:33.660 --> 00:24:35.119 He moves into the darkness. 00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:37.059 He moves towards the moment of execution. 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:38.079 Why? 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:42.179 Because having loved his own who were in the world. 00:24:42.259 --> 00:24:43.139 He loved them to the end. 00:24:46.019 --> 00:24:47.299 And from Gethsemane on. 00:24:47.419 --> 00:24:48.299 There's greater clarity. 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:50.139 He understands what it's going to mean. 00:24:50.299 --> 00:24:52.339 That you have to love them all the way. 00:24:53.779 --> 00:24:54.859 That you've got to go through with it. 00:24:54.899 --> 00:24:56.259 You've got to love them to the end. 00:24:56.399 --> 00:24:58.659 And as the full horror dawns on him. 00:24:58.839 --> 00:24:59.960 Of what the cross means. 00:25:00.019 --> 00:25:03.240 He moves further and deeper into its anguish. 00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:04.220 And he still loves them. 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:07.400 And he loves you this evening. 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:10.339 And he says to you. 00:25:10.359 --> 00:25:11.620 This is why I went through the cross. 00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:15.079 Because he loves you. 00:25:15.140 --> 00:25:16.059 There is so much isn't it? 00:25:16.099 --> 00:25:18.000 He gave himself for you. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:23.160 But the cross also demonstrates the love of God the Father. 00:25:26.019 --> 00:25:27.640 God so loved that he gave. 00:25:29.220 --> 00:25:31.599 God did not spare his own son. 00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:33.819 But delivered him up for us all. 00:25:33.940 --> 00:25:37.180 How much does God the Father love you? 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:38.880 He has loved you with an everlasting love. 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:40.640 A love that spared no cost. 00:25:42.220 --> 00:25:44.299 Never did anyone love a son or a daughter. 00:25:44.299 --> 00:25:47.079 The way that God loved his son. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:51.140 And so tonight you have sons or daughters. 00:25:51.380 --> 00:25:52.660 You have brothers and sisters. 00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:54.759 Would you give them a way? 00:25:55.140 --> 00:25:56.920 Would you give them the way that God gave? 00:25:58.440 --> 00:26:00.000 Would you give what God gave? 00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:01.160 God so loved the world. 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:02.740 A world in rebellion against him. 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:03.960 He so loved you. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:04.960 A love with your name on it. 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:08.579 Your name engraven on the palms of his hands. 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:14.000 The story of Abraham and Isaac is there to teach us this. 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:16.839 God said to him, 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:17.680 You are to sacrifice. 00:26:18.539 --> 00:26:20.099 And you are to take Isaac, your son, 00:26:20.180 --> 00:26:22.700 your one and only son to Mount Moriah. 00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:25.660 And your heart bleeds for Isaac, doesn't it? 00:26:26.619 --> 00:26:28.339 And you feel his pain. 00:26:28.339 --> 00:26:32.339 But you also understand the pain for Abraham. 00:26:32.339 --> 00:26:43.579 And we need to stand at the cross with God the Father loving you so much that he gives his only son for you. 00:26:43.579 --> 00:26:51.139 That his son would bear the damnation due to my sin. 00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:55.379 And God the Son loves you so much. 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:57.000 And God the Father loves you so much. 00:26:57.079 --> 00:26:58.720 And the cross is the great proof of that. 00:26:59.199 --> 00:27:00.639 And so Paul boasts of it. 00:27:01.939 --> 00:27:02.879 He's so proud of it. 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:07.320 And I want us today to be proud of it. 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:15.680 For us as a church to be proud of nothing else but the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:27:17.320 --> 00:27:18.480 That that would be our great theme. 00:27:21.060 --> 00:27:23.140 I want you tonight to put all your faith in it. 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:28.760 To put all your faith in it as God's answer to your sin and my sin. 00:27:28.760 --> 00:27:30.440 As the key to our salvation. 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:34.620 To put all your trust in it. 00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:36.120 To put all your weight on it. 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:37.980 To cast your soul upon it. 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:39.880 Because it does not need supplements. 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:48.120 Maybe that you feel that you're not very good at witnessing. 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:50.360 I'm useless at it. 00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:53.980 Or maybe that you feel you're not good at praying. 00:27:55.160 --> 00:27:56.420 You're not great at reading your Bible. 00:27:56.420 --> 00:28:01.259 And that therefore the cross somehow is not enough. 00:28:03.580 --> 00:28:06.660 And you need to kind of get better at witnessing. 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:09.460 Get better at praying. 00:28:10.120 --> 00:28:11.460 Get better at reading your Bible. 00:28:12.220 --> 00:28:15.180 Can I plead with you just to abandon that madness. 00:28:15.180 --> 00:28:19.440 And what Paul is saying to you tonight. 00:28:19.500 --> 00:28:20.259 And what scripture is saying is. 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:23.180 Let the cross of Jesus Christ be your whole righteousness. 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:27.299 Whoever you are. 00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:30.200 And whatever your sin has been. 00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:32.560 However utterly ashamed you are. 00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:33.360 Whatever it was. 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:34.860 How religious you are. 00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:35.960 Or how irreligious you are. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:36.759 This is God's answer. 00:28:36.820 --> 00:28:37.560 It is all you need. 00:28:38.080 --> 00:28:39.000 Christ's righteousness. 00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:42.759 His obedience culminating at the cross of Calvary. 00:28:42.759 --> 00:28:49.519 Paul knew what it was to live with a guilty conscience. 00:28:50.920 --> 00:28:54.480 He knew what it was to live with unimaginable guilt. 00:28:54.879 --> 00:28:58.480 Because he almost strangled the church of God in its crib. 00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:02.059 And Christ bore his sin. 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:04.220 Martin Luther. 00:29:05.220 --> 00:29:05.859 The great reformer. 00:29:05.980 --> 00:29:07.200 Tormented by his conscience. 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:09.379 Horrified by the quality of his own religion. 00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:11.220 And yet he found peace at the cross. 00:29:11.220 --> 00:29:17.220 John Bunyan found his peace with all his kind of introverted depression. 00:29:18.660 --> 00:29:19.880 He found his peace here. 00:29:21.420 --> 00:29:25.220 And this church is full of people who have found their peace at the cross of Calvary. 00:29:27.700 --> 00:29:29.500 I need this cross and it's all I need. 00:29:29.799 --> 00:29:31.420 And you need this cross and it's all you need. 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:34.180 You need nothing else but the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:38.500 And so let me add two more things. 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:41.740 That are involved in glorying in the cross. 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:46.259 First of all we are to emulate it. 00:29:48.140 --> 00:29:50.880 And that is we are to live by the spirit of the cross. 00:29:51.640 --> 00:29:52.740 And by its example. 00:29:54.100 --> 00:29:57.440 Now of course that's not where the real power of the cross lies. 00:29:57.700 --> 00:29:58.200 I know that. 00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:00.420 In my imitating it. 00:30:00.420 --> 00:30:04.140 And yet those of us who boast in it. 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:05.320 Will imitate it. 00:30:07.860 --> 00:30:10.440 When we are conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:30:10.539 --> 00:30:12.440 That is the pattern of the Christian life. 00:30:14.279 --> 00:30:15.300 The crucified one. 00:30:15.360 --> 00:30:16.480 We saw it last Sunday night. 00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:17.500 Didn't we in Philippians 2? 00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:20.519 The crucified one who made himself. 00:30:20.860 --> 00:30:21.080 Nothing. 00:30:24.080 --> 00:30:25.140 And the Lord Jesus died. 00:30:25.140 --> 00:30:27.100 Because he was willing to be a nobody. 00:30:27.100 --> 00:30:27.220 Nobody. 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:27.259 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:27.259 00:30:30.420 --> 00:30:33.240 We all want to be somebody don't we? 00:30:35.340 --> 00:30:37.800 We all want to be someone who people look up to. 00:30:39.100 --> 00:30:40.240 There's something good about that. 00:30:41.340 --> 00:30:42.580 There's something bad about that too. 00:30:44.759 --> 00:30:47.940 Jesus chose the road towards insignificance. 00:30:49.640 --> 00:30:52.000 Jesus chose the road towards being a nobody. 00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:55.500 He chose the road again and again day by day. 00:30:56.140 --> 00:30:58.300 Towards being despised and towards being rejected. 00:30:58.299 --> 00:30:59.299 Jesus chose the road. 00:30:59.299 --> 00:30:59.299 00:30:59.299 --> 00:30:59.299 00:30:59.299 --> 00:31:00.299 He chose the road. 00:31:00.299 --> 00:31:01.299 He chose the road. 00:31:01.299 --> 00:31:01.299 00:31:01.299 --> 00:31:02.299 He chose the road. 00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:02.299 00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:03.299 He chose the road. 00:31:03.299 --> 00:31:06.539 And those who owe everything to the cross of Calvary. 00:31:07.539 --> 00:31:09.639 Will live by the mind that was in Christ Jesus. 00:31:11.980 --> 00:31:17.099 The only truly really great person who ever lived was willing to be a nobody. 00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:20.240 Imagine churches up and down this land that were like this. 00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:24.240 We've seen something like that I think this week in Holiday Bible Club. 00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:25.660 People just willing to be nobodies. 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:29.120 People wanting to serve. 00:31:29.220 --> 00:31:30.380 Quite content to be nobodies. 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:32.319 To simply be at God's disposal. 00:31:32.759 --> 00:31:33.920 That's what he asks of you this week. 00:31:35.539 --> 00:31:37.200 And you might think today you're somebody. 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:39.259 It's absolutely absurd. 00:31:40.299 --> 00:31:46.220 How absurd do your pretensions look when you place them next to the cross of Calvary? 00:31:46.220 --> 00:31:49.720 And my last thing to say is this. 00:31:49.779 --> 00:31:53.640 If we glory in the cross as a church family we will become heralds of the cross. 00:31:55.339 --> 00:31:56.559 We'll want the world to know. 00:31:57.440 --> 00:31:58.620 And we'll want the world to sing. 00:32:01.339 --> 00:32:04.539 Coca-Cola had a famous motto. 00:32:05.539 --> 00:32:07.880 And their motto now is to refresh the world. 00:32:10.019 --> 00:32:11.440 Refresh the world and make a difference. 00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:13.940 Coca-Cola had a famous motto. 00:32:14.100 --> 00:32:17.460 It was coined in 1923 by Robert Woodruff. 00:32:17.700 --> 00:32:18.100 And it's this. 00:32:18.360 --> 00:32:24.740 To put a Coca-Cola within the reach of every person in the world. 00:32:26.320 --> 00:32:30.559 To put a Coke within the reach of every person in the world. 00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:31.519 I'm very glad for that. 00:32:34.200 --> 00:32:37.340 And what is the mission of this church? 00:32:37.339 --> 00:32:44.119 It is to put the story of Christ within the reach of every man, woman and child. 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:48.659 When Paul went to Corinth. 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.319 He was conscious of certain pressures. 00:32:55.980 --> 00:32:57.459 He had a reputation as a great preacher. 00:32:57.959 --> 00:32:58.459 As a great apostle. 00:32:59.220 --> 00:32:59.439 He's coming. 00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:00.480 He's going to have a wonderful delivery. 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:04.419 And Paul was horrified because he actually wasn't a very good communicator. 00:33:05.019 --> 00:33:06.459 He wouldn't be asked to speak at conferences. 00:33:06.460 --> 00:33:11.460 Paul didn't have a great and magnetic presence. 00:33:11.900 --> 00:33:14.140 He didn't have a wonderful personal message. 00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:17.240 We've seen him where he writes to the Corinthians. 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:19.200 He's saying, I'm not a charismatic preacher. 00:33:19.420 --> 00:33:20.980 When you see me, you're going to be disappointed. 00:33:21.180 --> 00:33:22.400 Particularly, we see that in 2 Corinthians. 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:26.279 Paul would say, I've got nothing original to say. 00:33:27.460 --> 00:33:28.880 All I'm going to say is this. 00:33:29.019 --> 00:33:30.480 We preach Christ crucified. 00:33:30.620 --> 00:33:31.420 I've got nothing original. 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:31.980 Nothing new. 00:33:32.420 --> 00:33:33.460 Nothing you haven't heard before. 00:33:33.460 --> 00:33:34.819 Nothing that you haven't heard better. 00:33:34.819 --> 00:33:39.179 Others will preach my gospel better, says Paul. 00:33:40.099 --> 00:33:41.839 But no one will preach a better gospel. 00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:45.359 Because God forbid that I should glory. 00:33:46.740 --> 00:33:47.799 Save in the cross. 00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:50.500 Of Christ, my God. 00:33:50.500 --> 00:33:57.579 may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may