WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.880 This morning, Pastor Davis Morgan from our sister church, Westside PCA, here in town, is going to bring God's word to us. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:11.259 And so, Davis, welcome. 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:22.179 New Testament reading is found in 1 Timothy chapter 3. 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:26.560 1 Timothy chapter 3, verses 14 through 16. 00:00:27.699 --> 00:00:29.359 So great to be with you again. 00:00:30.099 --> 00:00:30.739 Cheyenne Mountain. 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:34.700 And I believe I was here on November 1st. 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:39.100 And that was the Sunday that we started 1 Timothy at Westside Church. 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:41.240 We have wrapped up that book. 00:00:41.859 --> 00:00:48.859 But one of my favorite passages is verses 14 through 16 in chapter 3 of 1 Timothy. 00:00:48.859 --> 00:00:55.719 And so, I thought I would bring that word to you today as we draw near to the end of 2020. 00:00:55.719 --> 00:01:05.939 So, hear the word of our Lord, His holy, His inspired word that He has kept and preserved for us, His people, today. 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:09.259 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 14 and following. 00:01:09.260 --> 00:01:11.219 The Apostle Paul writes, 00:01:11.219 --> 00:01:41.219 00:01:41.219 --> 00:01:42.219 This is the word of God. 00:01:42.219 --> 00:01:42.620 Amen. 00:01:42.620 --> 00:01:43.219 Amen. 00:01:43.219 --> 00:01:44.459 Amen. 00:01:44.679 --> 00:01:47.120 Let us pray for our time in His word. 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:48.140 Join with me, please. 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:56.900 Lord God, we thank you for this time that we have, that you have in your great providence you have ordained for us, 00:01:57.099 --> 00:02:02.200 that we would be here this day to sit under the preaching of your word. 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:05.260 God, we confess as your people. 00:02:05.820 --> 00:02:09.759 We confess as those who perhaps are here that are not part of your people. 00:02:10.640 --> 00:02:12.580 But you are drawing to yourself. 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:23.939 Lord, we all have in common our need for your spirits and our need for you to reveal the glorious gospel of your Son. 00:02:23.939 --> 00:02:23.979 Amen. 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:25.960 We pray, we ask for this. 00:02:26.099 --> 00:02:32.560 We ask for the gift of understanding, of illumination, of knowledge of who Jesus Christ is. 00:02:32.859 --> 00:02:35.620 We also pray for the little theologians that are here. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:38.759 Lord, the children that are sitting under the preaching of your word. 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:44.599 We pray that you too would work in their hearts to give them understanding of these things. 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:50.199 Take the things of Christ and make them real to us here today. 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:51.819 We pray in His holy name. 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:52.539 Amen. 00:02:52.539 --> 00:02:52.680 Amen. 00:02:53.939 --> 00:02:58.219 In the darkness, something was happening at last. 00:02:59.060 --> 00:03:00.520 A voice had begun to sing. 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:04.419 It seemed to come from all directions at once. 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:08.919 Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:10.860 There were no words. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:12.439 There was hardly even a tune. 00:03:12.819 --> 00:03:14.819 But it was beyond comparison. 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:18.520 The most beautiful noise they had ever heard. 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:24.140 Those present looked above them and saw the blackness filled with stars. 00:03:24.139 --> 00:03:26.519 And each of them were singing as well. 00:03:26.519 --> 00:03:31.919 But the voice of the stars grew fainter as the voice of the one singing drew near. 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:34.359 Wind came rushing. 00:03:34.359 --> 00:03:37.059 The blackness of the sky turned to gray. 00:03:37.060 --> 00:03:39.199 Hills began to stand up around them. 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:42.640 The sky changed to pink and then to a brilliant gold. 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:49.500 And as soon as the voice swelled to the mightiest sound it could produce, the sun rose over the hills. 00:03:49.500 --> 00:03:55.139 And from the sun's light, they all could see the source of the singing. 00:03:55.139 --> 00:04:00.159 A large golden lion standing in the middle of the valley. 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:08.539 With each step, the singing lion took with its large paws trees and mountains and animals and rivers and flowers 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:15.779 and all sorts of lovely things were bursting forth into existence until finally all was created. 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:20.680 Narnia had been created by the voice of the lion. 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:40.720 Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake, love, think, speak, be walking trees, be talking beasts, be divine waters. 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:43.000 Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, near the sky, be talking to the snake, be on the ground. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:49.960 This scene is from C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew, and it brilliantly captures the creation story, 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:57.340 written in such a way as to capture the compelling nature of what Christianity is from beginning to end. 00:04:57.900 --> 00:04:59.120 And that is a story. 00:05:00.080 --> 00:05:02.080 It's the story of all stories. 00:05:02.740 --> 00:05:08.879 It's the greatest story ever told because as J.R.R. Tolkien told his good friend, Jack Lewis, 00:05:09.459 --> 00:05:13.439 his friend, Jack Lewis, who at the time was struggling to believe such a story, 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:20.199 Tolkien said, quote, this story has entered history and become the primary story. 00:05:21.159 --> 00:05:24.099 That's what sets it apart from all other stories. 00:05:25.060 --> 00:05:28.240 Other stories may talk a big game, but when the time comes, 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:33.400 when they are measured up against God's story, they fold every time. 00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:38.460 This is why the British playwright and author Dorothy Sayers called the Christian story, 00:05:38.840 --> 00:05:43.600 quote, the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man. 00:05:44.460 --> 00:05:50.160 And the meaning of it all, she says, the dogma, what it means, she said very famously, 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:55.660 is the drama, the doctrine or the dogma is the drama. 00:05:55.660 --> 00:06:03.200 Who God is and what he has done in history, recorded for us in Scripture, 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:08.040 is the most thrilling and the most exciting story that you and I will ever encounter 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:13.240 because this story has happened in time and space. 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:18.200 It has happened in history, which is a good reminder for us. 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:23.800 It's a great reminder for us who sit here this morning under the preaching of this story 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:26.099 on the last Sunday of the year. 00:06:27.420 --> 00:06:29.639 And what a year it has been. 00:06:31.699 --> 00:06:41.279 A global pandemic, shutdowns, mask mandates, social distancing, civil, social, political unrest. 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:47.599 If anything sums up 2020, it's unrest. 00:06:48.339 --> 00:06:49.639 It's uncertainty. 00:06:50.739 --> 00:06:58.979 And it's a very stark reminder for us not to hold on to the things of this present age 00:06:58.979 --> 00:07:02.759 because they can be turned upside down in a moment. 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:06.279 They can be taken away just like that. 00:07:06.279 --> 00:07:18.079 With such uncertainty and unrest, we might be tempted to think that there really is no certainty, 00:07:18.699 --> 00:07:21.959 that there really is no truth to hold on to. 00:07:23.339 --> 00:07:31.279 Or at the very least, the truth that I decide to believe in 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:37.259 is what Carl Truman calls, quote, the triumph of the therapeutic self. 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:42.079 In other words, whatever I feel is true. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:49.899 But as you well might imagine, that's even a more shaky ground. 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:52.879 That's even more unstable to stand on. 00:07:53.259 --> 00:07:58.679 Because as my wife could tell you, as long as I have my coffee first thing in the morning, 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:00.000 I'm a happy guy. 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:06.979 But if I'm hungry, if I'm tired, or if I've only had one cup of coffee, 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:09.599 I can be quite unpleasant. 00:08:11.039 --> 00:08:13.779 Or my feelings may tell me one thing. 00:08:14.899 --> 00:08:19.159 My kids haven't emptied the dishwasher after I asked them five minutes to go. 00:08:19.799 --> 00:08:21.319 Therefore, I'm angry. 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:25.859 When in reality, they simply didn't hear me 00:08:25.859 --> 00:08:28.939 say for them to empty the dishwasher. 00:08:28.939 --> 00:08:32.759 They got distracted by a phone call from their grandmother. 00:08:33.580 --> 00:08:36.220 My feelings may tell me to be angry, 00:08:36.419 --> 00:08:38.919 but I'm missing crucial information that would say, 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:40.379 there's no need to be angry. 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:43.519 What I'm saying is this. 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:46.080 While our feelings are important, and they are, 00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:51.520 in terms of sustaining us in the midst of uncertainty, 00:08:51.780 --> 00:08:53.759 they're unreliable. 00:08:54.780 --> 00:08:57.120 And here's what I have for you today. 00:08:58.660 --> 00:09:00.720 Something from outside of us. 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:04.160 Something that is imperishable, 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:06.439 undefiled, unfading, 00:09:06.439 --> 00:09:08.980 that's kept in heaven for you. 00:09:09.699 --> 00:09:11.579 Something that cannot be shaken, 00:09:12.019 --> 00:09:13.959 because it is made possible, 00:09:14.219 --> 00:09:16.219 it is guaranteed by the One 00:09:16.219 --> 00:09:18.019 who is infinite, eternal, 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:19.740 and unchangeable. 00:09:19.740 --> 00:09:24.180 That though the mountains may be moved 00:09:24.180 --> 00:09:25.539 into the heart of the sea, 00:09:25.700 --> 00:09:27.659 though the waters roar and foam, 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:30.100 though the mountains tremble at the swelling, 00:09:30.460 --> 00:09:32.080 we will not fear, 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:34.500 for our God is our refuge. 00:09:35.539 --> 00:09:36.960 Our God is our strength. 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:38.600 And through His Son, 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:41.120 He is able to save you and I, 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:44.039 Hebrews chapter 7 says, 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:46.099 to the uttermost. 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:47.699 To the uttermost. 00:09:48.779 --> 00:09:50.539 This refuge in Christ 00:09:50.539 --> 00:09:52.000 is what Martin Luther called 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:53.599 our mighty fortress. 00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:56.259 A bulwark, a foundation 00:09:56.259 --> 00:09:57.539 that is never failing. 00:09:58.819 --> 00:10:01.399 Luther was reflecting upon Psalm 46. 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:04.079 And in our text this morning, 00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:06.279 1 Timothy 3, 14 and 16, 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:07.759 but particularly verse 16, 00:10:08.860 --> 00:10:09.939 Paul is reflecting, 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:12.219 Paul too is reflecting upon 00:10:12.219 --> 00:10:13.939 that same surety, 00:10:14.039 --> 00:10:15.179 that same foundation, 00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:18.099 that certainty that we have in Jesus. 00:10:19.959 --> 00:10:22.120 And here's what we learn 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:23.779 in 1 Timothy chapter 3, 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:27.079 that not only do we have this foundation, 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:28.959 but that we as the church, 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:30.500 we are the fortress. 00:10:31.319 --> 00:10:32.179 We are the fortress. 00:10:32.379 --> 00:10:34.839 We are the guardian of that truth. 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:35.879 We guard it. 00:10:35.959 --> 00:10:36.799 We defend it. 00:10:37.179 --> 00:10:38.500 We use it to defeat 00:10:38.500 --> 00:10:40.199 the strongholds of the enemy, 00:10:40.459 --> 00:10:42.899 as Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:45.019 The weapons that we have 00:10:45.019 --> 00:10:46.079 are not of the flesh, 00:10:46.079 --> 00:10:48.860 but have divine power 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:50.959 to destroy those arguments, 00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:52.539 those lofty opinions 00:10:52.539 --> 00:10:53.679 that are raised up 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:54.919 against the knowledge of God, 00:10:55.019 --> 00:10:55.959 that are raised up 00:10:55.959 --> 00:10:57.480 against the truth of God, 00:10:57.699 --> 00:10:59.659 that he has sovereignly revealed 00:10:59.659 --> 00:11:00.419 in his word 00:11:00.419 --> 00:11:02.579 for you and for me. 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:07.860 So, we're going to unpack this 00:11:07.860 --> 00:11:09.800 by looking at Paul's instructions 00:11:09.800 --> 00:11:11.180 to Timothy and the church. 00:11:11.820 --> 00:11:14.080 1 Timothy 3, verses 14 through 16. 00:11:14.860 --> 00:11:16.900 And I want to point you to three aspects. 00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:19.639 I want to point you to the story, 00:11:20.280 --> 00:11:21.940 I want to point you to the dogma, 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:23.940 and I want to point you to the life 00:11:23.940 --> 00:11:25.120 that results from that. 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:28.379 The story, we're referring to the action of God. 00:11:28.379 --> 00:11:30.559 The dogma, we're talking about the meaning 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:32.000 of what God has done. 00:11:32.340 --> 00:11:34.399 And the life is the practice, 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:36.939 the response that we are to have 00:11:36.939 --> 00:11:38.220 to what God has done. 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:40.960 Now, for you little theologians, 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:42.820 for the kids that are here today, 00:11:43.860 --> 00:11:45.419 here's what I like for you to draw, kids, 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:46.820 if it's okay with your parents. 00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:48.820 I like you to draw a scene 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:50.240 from your favorite story, 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:51.539 your favorite story. 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:53.440 For me, this time of year, 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:55.519 I love Charles Dickens' 00:11:55.620 --> 00:11:56.580 A Christmas Story, 00:11:56.580 --> 00:11:58.379 or A Christmas Carol, Christmas Story. 00:11:58.800 --> 00:11:59.740 That's on TNT. 00:12:01.060 --> 00:12:01.980 A Christmas Carol. 00:12:02.700 --> 00:12:05.320 I try to read that every year around this time. 00:12:06.420 --> 00:12:07.420 So for you kids, 00:12:07.660 --> 00:12:08.960 I want you to draw a picture 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:10.100 of your favorite story 00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:11.160 or your favorite book 00:12:11.160 --> 00:12:12.100 that you like to read 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:13.639 or that you like to have read to you. 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:15.440 And here are the two questions, kids, 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:16.940 that I'd like you to listen for, 00:12:17.420 --> 00:12:18.940 that I'd like you to answer today. 00:12:20.060 --> 00:12:21.660 One, what is the Christian story? 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:24.220 And two, why do we need to know this story? 00:12:24.860 --> 00:12:26.180 What is the Christian story? 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:28.459 And why do we need to know the Christian story? 00:12:29.359 --> 00:12:33.519 Now first, we're going to start in verse 16 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:36.500 and then move back and finish with verse 14. 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:39.839 So look with me first at the story of Scripture 00:12:39.839 --> 00:12:41.739 that's found in verse 16. 00:12:42.419 --> 00:12:44.259 Paul says in 1 Timothy 3, 16, 00:12:44.379 --> 00:12:48.039 great indeed is the mystery of godliness. 00:12:49.199 --> 00:12:50.579 Now why is Paul saying this? 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:54.639 What Paul is alluding here to is twofold. 00:12:55.860 --> 00:13:00.280 He's alluding to the pagan mystery religions 00:13:00.280 --> 00:13:02.560 or cults of the ancient world. 00:13:03.520 --> 00:13:04.200 And in particularly, 00:13:04.460 --> 00:13:07.220 he is alluding to or referencing 00:13:07.220 --> 00:13:11.460 the confession that was there in Ephesus 00:13:11.460 --> 00:13:12.840 at the time in the first century. 00:13:13.139 --> 00:13:15.640 If you remember the story in Acts chapter 19, 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:17.379 when Paul was in Ephesus, 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:21.439 he turned the entire city upside down 00:13:21.439 --> 00:13:22.600 by preaching the gospel. 00:13:22.740 --> 00:13:25.860 And he performed an exorcism on a girl, 00:13:26.220 --> 00:13:27.799 a slave girl there in the market. 00:13:28.019 --> 00:13:30.139 She was possessed by a demon. 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:33.639 And Paul, he exorcised that demon. 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:36.019 He demonstrated the power of the gospel 00:13:36.019 --> 00:13:39.460 over the pagan mystery religions of the time. 00:13:39.460 --> 00:13:41.960 And the city's response to this 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:44.160 was great hostility to the apostle. 00:13:44.920 --> 00:13:47.800 And it says there in Acts 17 or Acts 19 00:13:47.800 --> 00:13:49.980 that the entire city had gathered 00:13:49.980 --> 00:13:51.800 in the amphitheater there in Ephesus 00:13:51.800 --> 00:13:53.460 and they were chanting, 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:56.519 great is Artimaeus of the Ephesians. 00:13:57.400 --> 00:13:59.100 And so here Paul is both, 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:04.040 he is referencing those two common beliefs, 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:10.620 common creeds or confessions of Ephesus at the time 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:11.679 because this letter was written 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:12.839 to Timothy in Ephesus. 00:14:13.939 --> 00:14:17.099 And he's alluding to what the culture then 00:14:17.099 --> 00:14:18.459 held to be sacred 00:14:18.459 --> 00:14:22.360 and he's shedding light on what is truly sacred. 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:25.879 And that is what God says, 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:28.579 what God has done and revealed to the world 00:14:28.579 --> 00:14:29.839 because after he says, 00:14:29.839 --> 00:14:32.500 great indeed is the mystery of godliness, 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:35.960 he unfolds what this mystery is. 00:14:36.379 --> 00:14:38.820 It's that God has moved towards us. 00:14:39.259 --> 00:14:41.440 We cannot move towards him in our sin, 00:14:41.500 --> 00:14:43.360 but he has moved towards us. 00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:45.820 God has acted in history. 00:14:46.460 --> 00:14:49.059 This God, the living God that he says in verse 15, 00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:52.080 he is the foundation of all religion. 00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:54.039 He is the foundation of all worship, 00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:55.500 all piety, all devotion. 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:57.159 And Paul wants us to understand 00:14:57.159 --> 00:14:58.419 that if we miss this, 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:00.460 then we miss him. 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:02.480 We miss ultimate reality. 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:04.679 We miss essentially everything 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:06.399 if we miss this God. 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:11.120 You want to know what is truly great 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.200 and stunning in the world to see. 00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:16.879 While we might look out these windows 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:20.340 and be amazed by the mountains, 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:22.700 or earlier this week, 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:28.139 we may be amazed when the planets align 00:15:28.139 --> 00:15:32.480 and we are moved to awe and wonder. 00:15:35.199 --> 00:15:38.139 What is truly great and truly stunning, friends, 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:42.240 is what Paul says this mystery of godliness is. 00:15:43.199 --> 00:15:45.919 The mystery meaning it was once hidden. 00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:48.240 It was once hidden to us. 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:51.159 It was once hidden to us in our darkness, 00:15:51.259 --> 00:15:52.259 in the darkness of sin. 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:55.039 And God now has revealed, 00:15:55.639 --> 00:15:57.500 revealed this to the world. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:00.740 He has revealed what Gerhardus Voss said. 00:16:01.439 --> 00:16:03.360 The chief actor in this drama 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:05.600 has come upon the scene. 00:16:06.179 --> 00:16:09.360 The chief actor has stepped into history. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:12.759 And you'll notice there, 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:13.399 after he says, 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:15.180 great indeed is the mystery of godliness, 00:16:15.680 --> 00:16:18.480 he then presents this in poetic form. 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:20.480 Poetic form in verse 16. 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:23.539 And what we can gather 00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:25.820 from this text, 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:28.680 from other texts like Philippians 2, 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:29.879 5 through 11, for example, 00:16:29.940 --> 00:16:31.060 you may know that passage, 00:16:31.379 --> 00:16:33.379 or Colossians 1, 15 through 20. 00:16:33.379 --> 00:16:36.939 These commentators are convinced of 00:16:36.939 --> 00:16:39.000 were early confessions of the church. 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:42.299 Which means what we're reading here, 00:16:43.299 --> 00:16:44.779 in all likelihood, 00:16:44.980 --> 00:16:48.120 goes back to the very first generation of disciples, 00:16:48.340 --> 00:16:51.039 the very first generation of the church, 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:52.840 those who walked with Jesus 00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:54.100 when he was here on earth. 00:16:55.419 --> 00:16:58.779 And that makes what we see in this early creed, 00:16:58.860 --> 00:16:59.919 this early confession, 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:01.620 that much more remarkable. 00:17:01.620 --> 00:17:05.440 Because, as New Testament scholar Richard Baucom, 00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:06.440 he says, 00:17:06.579 --> 00:17:06.859 quote, 00:17:07.180 --> 00:17:08.859 the earliest Christology 00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:12.660 already was the highest Christology of the church. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:15.339 That's what we see in 1 Timothy 3, 16. 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:19.759 The earliest belief about who Jesus is, 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:22.619 and Jesus, when he came into this world, 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.980 was already the highest belief that you could have. 00:17:26.180 --> 00:17:28.259 And we find here in this passage, 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:31.059 the exaltation of Jesus Christ. 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:34.799 What great comfort that is for us, is it not? 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:39.199 What great comfort to know that from the very beginning, 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:42.099 the church knew who Jesus was, 00:17:42.219 --> 00:17:43.919 and what he had come to do. 00:17:44.659 --> 00:17:46.919 And they are confessing this for us, 00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:51.419 so that future generations know who Jesus was, 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:52.799 and what he came for. 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:55.839 So for us today, friends, 00:17:56.119 --> 00:17:59.899 this is God's gracious reminder to us about the foundation, 00:18:00.159 --> 00:18:00.639 the rock, 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:02.339 the certainty that we have, 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:05.659 this mystery of godliness that he has revealed. 00:18:06.180 --> 00:18:07.720 And what has he revealed? 00:18:08.019 --> 00:18:08.500 First, 00:18:09.159 --> 00:18:10.279 we see the incarnation. 00:18:11.019 --> 00:18:12.039 We see the incarnation. 00:18:12.419 --> 00:18:12.919 Paul says, 00:18:13.460 --> 00:18:15.559 he was manifested in the flesh. 00:18:15.819 --> 00:18:17.700 He was justified in the spirit. 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:21.059 This is the revelation of the Son of God. 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:25.720 This is the revelation of God in the flesh. 00:18:26.080 --> 00:18:28.019 The word became flesh, John 1. 00:18:29.080 --> 00:18:32.799 And this is the revelation of what Paul has already said in 1 Timothy. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:34.580 He said in chapter 1, 00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:37.960 it was the words of comfort and promise we heard in our prayer of confession, 00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:41.299 that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 00:18:42.399 --> 00:18:43.220 In chapter 2, 00:18:43.339 --> 00:18:45.740 Paul said that he is the God-man, 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:47.980 that he is the unique, 00:18:48.159 --> 00:18:52.659 the only mediator between us and a holy God. 00:18:52.859 --> 00:18:54.559 He is the only one of his kind. 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:55.199 He is, 00:18:55.299 --> 00:18:56.419 as one commentator said, 00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:56.720 quote, 00:18:56.939 --> 00:18:58.220 he is man to God, 00:18:58.319 --> 00:18:59.799 and he is God to man. 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:01.439 He is man to God, 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:02.759 and he is God to us. 00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:04.759 And mediator, 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:06.660 mediator is the image of, 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:08.700 when we think about mediator kids, 00:19:08.900 --> 00:19:12.779 think about an oven mitt that you would use to pull something hot out of the oven, 00:19:13.140 --> 00:19:14.940 like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. 00:19:15.379 --> 00:19:17.980 If you don't use that oven mitt, 00:19:18.220 --> 00:19:21.339 and you go to grab the tray out of the oven, 00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:22.879 it will burn your hand, 00:19:23.339 --> 00:19:29.099 because you cannot touch the temperature of the oven is too hot for us. 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:31.019 But if you put on that oven mitt, 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:34.379 it mediates between the heat and your flesh. 00:19:35.539 --> 00:19:38.599 And that is what Jesus Christ is as our mediator. 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:42.220 He is the one who makes us acceptable to God. 00:19:42.339 --> 00:19:44.879 He is the one that reconciles us to God. 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:46.539 We can be in the presence of God. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:49.319 We can confess our sins to him as we did earlier, 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:51.039 and we can trust, 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:53.400 we can bank on the promise of 1 John chapter 1, 00:19:53.639 --> 00:19:54.680 that God is faithful, 00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:55.940 God is just, 00:19:55.940 --> 00:19:59.320 to cleanse us and to forgive us of all unrighteousness. 00:19:59.460 --> 00:20:04.620 Because Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and us. 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:07.019 Second, we see the resurrection. 00:20:07.779 --> 00:20:10.080 It says there that he was seen by angels. 00:20:10.360 --> 00:20:13.400 He was proclaimed or preached on into the world. 00:20:13.779 --> 00:20:18.480 This is the proclamation of this mystery of godliness, 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.299 this God-man who has stepped into the world. 00:20:22.259 --> 00:20:25.680 You'll notice that there is no reference to the crucifixion. 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:28.720 And this is intentional on Paul's part. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:30.779 This is intentional on the early church's part. 00:20:30.900 --> 00:20:32.000 Because what are they doing? 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:36.160 They are emphasizing the exaltation of Christ. 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:38.460 They are emphasizing the glory, 00:20:38.620 --> 00:20:42.240 the glory of Christ over all other claims, 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:45.299 all other claims of the pagan religions then, 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:50.460 and all claims of pagan religions now as well. 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:53.000 Now, what do I mean by that? 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:57.079 Anything that attempts to raise itself 00:20:57.079 --> 00:20:58.799 against the knowledge of God 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:01.700 and the exaltation of his son, 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:03.680 of this mystery of godliness 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:05.480 that has been revealed to the world, 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:07.960 by definition, according to the New Testament, 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:09.579 is pagan. 00:21:09.579 --> 00:21:11.460 It's a pagan religion, 00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:13.099 and it is to be rejected. 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:14.899 As a matter of fact, 00:21:15.539 --> 00:21:17.699 in 1 Peter 2, 00:21:18.379 --> 00:21:21.399 God says that all other claims 00:21:21.399 --> 00:21:23.039 will essentially be crushed 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:24.980 by this cornerstone 00:21:24.980 --> 00:21:27.399 that God himself has laid 00:21:27.399 --> 00:21:29.559 as the foundation of his house, 00:21:29.899 --> 00:21:31.659 his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:21:32.299 --> 00:21:34.439 So do not fear, friends. 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:38.099 Do not let your faith be rocked. 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:41.139 Because all other claims 00:21:41.139 --> 00:21:43.419 will be crushed to pieces. 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:46.559 We are to reject them 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:50.000 because they are attempting to usurp 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:51.399 what God has revealed, 00:21:51.899 --> 00:21:52.959 what God has done. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:55.319 You may be thinking, 00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:56.659 well, how can you say that? 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.159 How can you say that? 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:02.159 To which I would say, 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:03.240 I'm not saying it. 00:22:03.459 --> 00:22:04.379 God is saying it. 00:22:04.380 --> 00:22:07.420 I am simply the messenger. 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:11.000 God doesn't want you or I 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:12.320 to misunderstand 00:22:12.320 --> 00:22:15.560 or misrepresent his message. 00:22:16.340 --> 00:22:19.600 Great indeed is the mystery of godliness. 00:22:20.220 --> 00:22:21.660 And here's exactly what it is. 00:22:21.760 --> 00:22:24.080 That the Son of God has come in the flesh. 00:22:24.280 --> 00:22:26.500 That the Son of God has overcome death. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:27.600 And that the Son of God 00:22:27.600 --> 00:22:29.580 has ascended back to glory. 00:22:29.579 --> 00:22:32.460 And we see that in the ascension. 00:22:33.399 --> 00:22:34.819 And that is the final stanza of it. 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:37.899 Paul says that he was believed on in the world. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:40.179 He was taken up in glory. 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:43.579 This stands, this stands as the summit, 00:22:43.740 --> 00:22:44.579 the peak, the apex, 00:22:45.539 --> 00:22:49.399 the apex of God's dealing in history, friends. 00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:52.679 That Christ was taken up in glory. 00:22:52.980 --> 00:22:55.359 He was crowned with glory and honor 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:57.819 that's only reserved for God alone. 00:22:57.819 --> 00:23:01.179 And this is the message, 00:23:01.220 --> 00:23:02.819 this is the message that you and I, 00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:05.419 that we are entrusted with as the church. 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:09.399 This is the message that we guard 00:23:09.399 --> 00:23:11.559 and it's the message that we also proclaim 00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:12.679 and we defend. 00:23:13.299 --> 00:23:14.460 Because as Paul says there, 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:16.759 this is the message that has been believed on 00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:17.319 in the world. 00:23:17.740 --> 00:23:20.279 This is the message that changes the hearts 00:23:20.279 --> 00:23:23.019 of you and I. 00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:27.319 Now what does this mean for us as a church? 00:23:27.819 --> 00:23:29.899 What does this mean for us as the people of God? 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:30.980 This is the dogma, 00:23:31.579 --> 00:23:33.740 the dogma, the meaning of it all. 00:23:35.259 --> 00:23:39.359 This, this hymn friends is inviting you and I. 00:23:40.059 --> 00:23:42.879 It's inviting all of us in this room this morning 00:23:42.879 --> 00:23:46.939 to reflect upon what Paul is saying here. 00:23:46.940 --> 00:23:50.559 It's inviting you and I to consider the implications 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:52.279 for you and I. 00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:56.920 How does the incarnation of Jesus, 00:23:57.660 --> 00:24:00.059 how does the resurrection of Jesus, 00:24:00.299 --> 00:24:03.600 how does the ascension or the exaltation of Jesus, 00:24:04.019 --> 00:24:07.559 how does that pervade my thinking on a daily basis? 00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:12.500 How can you and I live in the present age 00:24:12.500 --> 00:24:15.940 with a mind knowing that there is an age to come? 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:19.819 An age that will transcend everything I know 00:24:19.819 --> 00:24:21.299 in this present fallen age. 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:25.579 You see, what this is inviting us to today 00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:29.779 is to be reminded of this as we go into 2021. 00:24:29.779 --> 00:24:35.480 That nothing has changed for you and I in Christ. 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:38.519 If anything, we are that much closer. 00:24:39.079 --> 00:24:42.099 We are that much closer to glory. 00:24:42.500 --> 00:24:42.700 Amen? 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:45.359 We are indeed. 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:50.000 This hymn is designed to ground us in that reality. 00:24:50.660 --> 00:24:54.960 The reality that we're fallen in Adam, 00:24:54.960 --> 00:24:59.100 but that Christ came to save sinners. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:01.980 Christ came to save sinners. 00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:07.120 And little theologians, you can be sure of that. 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:11.400 The story, the story is that we rebelled 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:15.279 and we attempted to kick God out of his garden. 00:25:16.180 --> 00:25:21.579 And yet he moved towards us in grace and in judgment. 00:25:21.579 --> 00:25:27.419 Because this mystery of godliness, 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:30.740 this one who was revealed in the flesh, 00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:34.220 ultimately would enter the garden a second time, 00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:34.699 would he not? 00:25:35.439 --> 00:25:37.500 Only this time it wasn't the garden of Eden. 00:25:38.179 --> 00:25:39.819 It was the garden of Gethsemane. 00:25:40.679 --> 00:25:43.819 And this time, Jesus, the son of God, 00:25:44.439 --> 00:25:47.779 he was faithful unto an agonizing death 00:25:47.779 --> 00:25:49.879 on a Roman cross. 00:25:49.880 --> 00:25:57.160 And he bore our sins in his body on the tree. 00:25:57.840 --> 00:25:59.120 Our shame, our guilt. 00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:04.220 That sin, that sin that is between you and your spouse 00:26:04.220 --> 00:26:05.680 here this morning in your marriage. 00:26:06.540 --> 00:26:09.680 The sin that you are struggling with 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:10.980 in your parenting, perhaps. 00:26:11.320 --> 00:26:12.980 Or kids, the sin that you are committing 00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:14.180 against your brothers and sisters. 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:16.420 Or that you are committing against your parents. 00:26:16.420 --> 00:26:20.120 Or the sin that dwells in each and every single one 00:26:20.120 --> 00:26:21.500 of our hearts in this room. 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:27.980 That shame that we cannot feel that we can confess to God 00:26:27.980 --> 00:26:30.779 or we can confess to someone else. 00:26:31.840 --> 00:26:33.480 That is the sin, friends. 00:26:33.660 --> 00:26:37.500 That is the shame that he bore on the tree. 00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:41.619 He bore it as your substitute. 00:26:42.099 --> 00:26:43.259 As my substitute. 00:26:44.220 --> 00:26:47.440 And in the process, he experienced the full wrath. 00:26:47.740 --> 00:26:49.660 The full wrath of his father. 00:26:51.259 --> 00:26:52.339 All of that. 00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:53.440 All of that. 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:55.660 Crystal clear. 00:26:57.660 --> 00:26:59.579 Guarantee that you can trust it. 00:26:59.579 --> 00:27:00.899 That you can bank on it. 00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:02.519 It really happened. 00:27:04.399 --> 00:27:05.639 When I read this passage, 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:08.240 I think about the end of A Christmas Carol. 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:11.279 After Ebenezer Scrooge has woken up. 00:27:12.119 --> 00:27:13.659 And he asked the question, 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:16.899 was it all too good to be true? 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:20.039 Was it all too good to be true? 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:22.839 Was his redemption too good to be true? 00:27:22.919 --> 00:27:24.279 Was it simply a dream? 00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:27.539 And then Scrooge says there, 00:27:28.619 --> 00:27:29.319 it's all right. 00:27:30.359 --> 00:27:31.720 It all happened. 00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:34.759 It's really true. 00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:38.399 Right here in 1 Timothy chapter three, 00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:41.079 we have the early church essentially saying that to you and I. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:43.519 It all really happened. 00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:46.379 It's all really true. 00:27:48.139 --> 00:27:51.220 Great is the mystery of godliness, Paul says. 00:27:51.220 --> 00:27:55.140 This is what God has done emphatically in history. 00:27:55.579 --> 00:28:00.339 For all of us who will hear this and believe this, friends. 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:06.019 It is meant to help recalibrate our hearts, our minds to this. 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:09.620 Not just during this season of Advent and Christmas, 00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:13.319 but every single day of our lives. 00:28:14.180 --> 00:28:16.380 So that we are not shaken. 00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:18.120 We are not rocked. 00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:21.619 But we are firmly established in the faith here and now. 00:28:21.819 --> 00:28:24.179 So that, as he says in verse 14, 00:28:24.579 --> 00:28:27.719 you and I might know how to behave in the household of God, 00:28:27.899 --> 00:28:29.619 which is the church of the living God. 00:28:30.399 --> 00:28:32.039 This is the third point. 00:28:32.819 --> 00:28:34.719 The life shaped by scripture. 00:28:36.019 --> 00:28:37.699 The word for household there, 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:39.539 it's an interesting word that Paul uses here. 00:28:40.459 --> 00:28:46.599 It's the same root of a word that he used in 1 Timothy chapter one, verse four, 00:28:46.599 --> 00:28:48.659 where there he talked about, 00:28:48.879 --> 00:28:52.759 he talked about that what Timothy was to preach, 00:28:52.879 --> 00:28:53.980 what Timothy was to teach, 00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:57.240 what we are to preach and teach in the church, 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:00.679 is the stewardship from God that is by faith. 00:29:01.619 --> 00:29:02.319 It's the same, 00:29:02.439 --> 00:29:03.679 the word for stewardship, 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:04.859 it's the same root here, 00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:07.919 or root of the word that he uses here for household. 00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:15.640 And what Paul is getting at is that just as the message, 00:29:15.820 --> 00:29:16.400 the message, 00:29:16.740 --> 00:29:17.360 the doctrine, 00:29:17.500 --> 00:29:20.560 the teaching is from God, 00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:21.980 as he says in chapter one, 00:29:22.680 --> 00:29:27.140 so too is the church that you and I are of God, 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:30.300 that the church is born of the same sovereign grace 00:29:30.300 --> 00:29:32.900 that saved you and I to begin with. 00:29:33.360 --> 00:29:35.300 The church is God's household. 00:29:35.800 --> 00:29:36.860 It's God's household. 00:29:36.859 --> 00:29:39.240 And this is amazing language, 00:29:39.439 --> 00:29:41.179 given the first century, 00:29:41.319 --> 00:29:42.579 given the ancient world. 00:29:43.659 --> 00:29:47.259 Paul is using this as a term for royalty, 00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:48.719 as a term for, of course, 00:29:49.139 --> 00:29:55.459 a familial relationship that we enjoy both with the Father and the Son, 00:29:55.519 --> 00:29:57.699 and we enjoy with one another as well. 00:29:58.379 --> 00:30:00.639 This is truly, truly remarkable. 00:30:01.399 --> 00:30:04.339 As historian Tom Holland said in his book, Dominion, 00:30:04.339 --> 00:30:09.980 he talks about that this concept was so incredibly foreign to the ancient world. 00:30:10.599 --> 00:30:12.980 This concept of God being father, 00:30:13.399 --> 00:30:14.379 Jesus being son, 00:30:14.699 --> 00:30:16.799 we being members of the same household of God, 00:30:16.879 --> 00:30:17.839 being family, 00:30:18.659 --> 00:30:23.000 and yet it's this concept that went out from the world and changed, 00:30:23.199 --> 00:30:24.419 turned the world upside down, 00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:26.519 the pagan world upside down. 00:30:26.519 --> 00:30:31.460 Now, this household is what you and I are called to participate in. 00:30:32.099 --> 00:30:33.819 We're called to participate in it. 00:30:34.579 --> 00:30:35.559 Now, how do we do that? 00:30:37.099 --> 00:30:41.079 The main way, the primary way we do that is what we are doing here today. 00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:45.279 Being called out of the world to come and sit, 00:30:45.660 --> 00:30:47.740 to receive from God his means of grace, 00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:51.139 to receive his pardon for our sins, 00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:53.879 to sing his praises in response to who God is. 00:30:53.880 --> 00:30:55.360 We are to confess our sins. 00:30:55.660 --> 00:30:57.360 We are to give of our tithes and offerings. 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:01.740 We are to confess the faith that we have been confessing as a church for 2,000 years. 00:31:02.060 --> 00:31:04.460 We are to sit under the preaching of his word, 00:31:04.760 --> 00:31:06.240 his primary means of grace. 00:31:07.180 --> 00:31:10.860 And then the Lord's Supper, baptism, the benediction, 00:31:11.020 --> 00:31:11.760 all of these things, 00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:15.660 God blessing us as his people again and again and again 00:31:15.660 --> 00:31:18.280 so that we are built up in holiness. 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:20.620 We are built up in godliness. 00:31:20.619 --> 00:31:24.859 And this is our calling as his people, is it not? 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:29.000 Our calling is to pursue this God. 00:31:29.099 --> 00:31:31.359 Our calling is to pursue godliness. 00:31:32.159 --> 00:31:33.000 Pursue godliness. 00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:34.619 Having our minds transformed. 00:31:35.659 --> 00:31:38.759 Having our bodies set as living sacrifices, 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:40.500 holy and acceptable to him. 00:31:40.779 --> 00:31:44.539 Having our hearts, our hearts interacting with God's truth, 00:31:44.839 --> 00:31:47.599 God's revelation in his word of who Jesus Christ is. 00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:51.859 This is what we are called to as his people. 00:31:53.939 --> 00:31:59.339 This is ultimately, friends, what Christianity is truly about. 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:01.000 Little theologians, 00:32:01.719 --> 00:32:03.879 know this, kids, 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:07.480 that Christianity isn't merely a religion. 00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:12.860 It is a religion who brings you back to your heavenly father 00:32:12.860 --> 00:32:17.860 and to your blessed big brother, the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:24.880 This is ultimately what God was doing in revealing his son to the world 00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:27.500 so that you and I might be reconciled back to him. 00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:33.480 And you and I might be at home with him in his household. 00:32:33.480 --> 00:32:38.099 And this is the ministry, friends, that as a church we are entrusted with. 00:32:38.700 --> 00:32:40.400 We proclaim this message. 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:41.539 We defend it. 00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:42.380 We protect it. 00:32:43.140 --> 00:32:47.099 Paul calls us the buttress or the fortress of the truth. 00:32:47.640 --> 00:32:49.440 And don't miss that. 00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:53.539 He doesn't say the fortress of a truth. 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:58.339 He says the fortress of the truth. 00:32:59.059 --> 00:32:59.900 The truth. 00:32:59.900 --> 00:33:05.060 It's because this is to be found nowhere else except in God's household. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:07.660 This message to the world. 00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:10.540 Salvation has come. 00:33:12.080 --> 00:33:14.340 This is our great confession, friends, 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:17.420 handed down to us by our spiritual ancestors. 00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:22.240 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness. 00:33:22.980 --> 00:33:25.519 Great indeed is our God, friends. 00:33:25.800 --> 00:33:25.980 Amen. 00:33:25.980 --> 00:33:31.440 He has provided everything that you and I need for life and godliness. 00:33:32.420 --> 00:33:34.940 Do not fear, but look to him. 00:33:36.160 --> 00:33:41.160 When on the day the great I am, the faithful and the true, 00:33:42.140 --> 00:33:46.860 the lamb who was for sinners slain, is making all things new. 00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:54.519 Behold, our God shall live with us and be our steadfast light. 00:33:55.299 --> 00:33:58.139 And we shall e'er his people be. 00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:00.839 All glory be to Christ. 00:34:01.839 --> 00:34:04.539 All glory be to Christ our King. 00:34:04.839 --> 00:34:06.699 All glory be to Christ. 00:34:07.379 --> 00:34:10.880 His rule and reign will ever sing. 00:34:11.779 --> 00:34:14.519 All glory be to Christ. 00:34:14.519 --> 00:34:20.239 That is the end of the story that is already written. 00:34:21.840 --> 00:34:25.300 It is kept in heaven for you. 00:34:26.019 --> 00:34:28.820 And that is a promise that you can trust today. 00:34:29.980 --> 00:34:32.000 The grass withers and the flowers fade, 00:34:32.119 --> 00:34:34.860 but the word of our Lord stands forever. 00:34:35.619 --> 00:34:36.659 And thanks be to him. 00:34:37.380 --> 00:34:37.659 Amen. 00:34:37.659 --> 00:34:37.779 Amen. 00:34:38.539 --> 00:34:39.219 Let's pray. 00:34:40.159 --> 00:34:41.219 God, we thank you. 00:34:41.299 --> 00:34:42.579 We thank you for this word. 00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:44.699 We thank you, Lord. 00:34:45.920 --> 00:34:50.359 In times of uncertainty, of unrest, 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:54.559 Lord, that each and every one of us have experienced this year in particular, 00:34:55.920 --> 00:35:01.359 perhaps more so than in any other time of recent memory in our lives, 00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:07.880 Lord, we are so thankful that we are part of your household, 00:35:08.680 --> 00:35:10.720 the fortress of the truth. 00:35:11.620 --> 00:35:12.579 We thank you for that. 00:35:12.640 --> 00:35:16.120 We thank you for the story that you have written, 00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:19.099 Lord Jesus, the story that you have acted, 00:35:19.240 --> 00:35:20.559 that you have taken upon yourself, 00:35:21.559 --> 00:35:25.400 Lord, the story that you sweep us up into and you make us your very own. 00:35:26.220 --> 00:35:27.740 We thank you for the dogma. 00:35:28.260 --> 00:35:32.400 We thank you for the meaning of the story that we can understand what it all means. 00:35:33.720 --> 00:35:37.920 And, Lord, we thank you for the new life that we have by the power of your spirit, 00:35:38.780 --> 00:35:40.940 our union with Jesus. 00:35:41.340 --> 00:35:43.700 We are united to him by faith and faith alone. 00:35:44.619 --> 00:35:46.400 And, Lord, you lead us on. 00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:48.480 You lead us on to that great city. 00:35:49.500 --> 00:35:51.240 All glory be to you, we pray. 00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:52.220 Amen.