WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.500 So apparently from what I understand, around 2.8 billion people in the world at the moment have never heard of Jesus. 00:00:09.220 --> 00:00:11.640 2.8 billion people in the world. 00:00:11.700 --> 00:00:12.740 How does that make you feel? 00:00:13.580 --> 00:00:14.740 2.8 billion. 00:00:15.780 --> 00:00:28.240 And apparently the current rate, something like 50 to 52 million people a year are slipping into a Christless eternity. 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:33.759 52 million people a year. 00:00:34.359 --> 00:00:38.479 That's a conveyor belt of corpses into eternity. 00:00:41.259 --> 00:00:42.500 How does it make you feel? 00:00:42.599 --> 00:00:43.539 Does it make enough to you? 00:00:43.539 --> 00:00:51.299 You look at the task of proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the earth that Jesus gives us at the end of Matthews to seem too big. 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:53.500 Well, forget about that. 00:00:53.659 --> 00:00:56.500 What about, forget about the rest of the world. 00:00:56.500 --> 00:01:03.280 What about just us here at St. Paul's with our vision to unite our diverse community in the good news of Jesus? 00:01:04.659 --> 00:01:14.960 It's not 2.8 billion people, which we're thankful for on a Saturday afternoon shopping, but maybe it's still enough to make you lose heart. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:22.719 You've seen plenty of these church vision things before and, you know, there's a bit of progress here and there and a few things change. 00:01:22.759 --> 00:01:26.579 But you look around, even on today, you see so many empty seats. 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:28.780 It's enough to lose heart. 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:31.920 Nothing spectacular. 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:33.540 A little bit of growth. 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:38.040 Forget 2.8 billion. 00:01:38.240 --> 00:01:39.579 Even forget about Chatswood. 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:52.560 What about your neighbor, that family member that you've been praying for, that friend or that colleague you've been representing Jesus tubes to sometimes for years, decades even, and there appears to be no response whatsoever. 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:56.079 Is that enough to make you weary and weak? 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:17.520 And especially so in a society now where the Christian voice is often getting shouted out and in which, for those of you who have been involved in the church over many decades, certainly feeling its loss of position and power and influence in society. 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:19.340 So why speak up? 00:02:19.920 --> 00:02:20.560 Why pray? 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:21.180 Why give? 00:02:21.260 --> 00:02:26.780 Look, we just did a moment ago to see this gospel proclaimed to the ends of the earth. 00:02:27.480 --> 00:02:36.340 Where is this spectacular power to bring about change in people's lives that we saw last week in 2 Corinthians 3? 00:02:38.920 --> 00:02:43.540 Losing heart is a very real possibility. 00:02:43.539 --> 00:03:01.120 For those in vocational ministry, to be distracted with committees, to be distracted with hobbies, building projects, with a whole range of other things that fill up this void to say that I'm actually achieving something in ministry. 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:23.740 For those who are not in vocational ministry, Christians, the temptation is, you know, you've been running a community group, you've been involved, you just keep plodding along, just to do bare minimum, tick the boxes, to genuinely lose heart. 00:03:23.740 --> 00:03:34.840 The great English preacher Charles Spurgeon wrote a lecture to his ministry students titled The Minister's Fainting Fits. 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:54.039 And in that, he describes the pressures upon those in Christian ministry to lose heart in the face of what is perceived slow progress, if any progress. 00:03:54.039 --> 00:04:24.019 He says, 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:48.939 All mental work tends to weary and to depress, for much study is a weariness of the flesh, but ours is more than mental work. 00:04:48.939 --> 00:04:49.939 It is heart work. 00:04:49.939 --> 00:04:52.939 It is heart work, the labour of our innermost souls. 00:04:53.899 --> 00:05:04.459 And such soul travail as that of a faithful minister will bring on occasional seasons of exhaustion when the heart and the flesh will fail. 00:05:04.459 --> 00:05:15.339 So Spurgeon's words there, I think, will find sympathetic agreement in any heart acquainted with Christian ministry and mission. 00:05:15.339 --> 00:05:21.459 Not just those involved in vocational ministry, but anyone involved in any form of Christian ministry and mission. 00:05:21.459 --> 00:05:30.019 The community group leader who has taught and pastored and exhorted for years and struggles to see the fruit of that. 00:05:31.019 --> 00:05:36.719 The disciple who has represented the Lord Jesus to their friends and the colleagues and their neighbours without any apparent response. 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:48.940 Weak, weary, sceptical, tired, loss of confidence, other feelings in the depths of our heart, even if externally we are triumphant. 00:05:48.939 --> 00:05:59.060 Now, few, if any, have experienced more of what Spurgeon describes there in that lecture than the Apostle Paul. 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.480 He must have been tempted to lose heart. 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:06.920 Twice, in fact, in chapter 4, beginning and again at the end, he says, 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:10.259 We do not lose heart. 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:12.560 Which means he must have been tempted to. 00:06:13.939 --> 00:06:15.259 Chapter 4, verse 1, he says, 00:06:15.340 --> 00:06:20.420 Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 00:06:21.300 --> 00:06:25.620 Now, I want to know, frankly, sitting here in chapter 1 in 2019, 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:33.280 why he didn't lose heart and was, in fact, propelled more and more for the cause of the kingdom of Christ in the world. 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:38.839 I want to get that. I want to get into Paul's psyche, if you like. 00:06:39.479 --> 00:06:43.719 And the first reason he doesn't lose heart, it's there in two words. 00:06:43.899 --> 00:06:47.279 In verse 1, this ministry. 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:54.779 Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:59.039 And the ministry he's talking about is what we looked at last week, 00:06:59.119 --> 00:07:00.739 the ministry of the Spirit of the New Covenant. 00:07:00.740 --> 00:07:12.079 He spent a whole chunk of chapter 3 talking about it and especially comparing it with the Old Covenant ministry of Moses. 00:07:12.819 --> 00:07:18.740 And the difference between the two is the difference between death and life, veiled and unfailed, 00:07:19.259 --> 00:07:21.360 obscured glory and full glory. 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:25.420 In other words, the difference, they're just not comparable in any way. 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:33.300 That's the first reason Paul doesn't lose heart, because we have this spectacular ministry. 00:07:34.840 --> 00:07:39.360 In spite of how things look on the outside, which he says at the end of chapter 4, 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:43.620 we don't look at what external, we look at what's going on in the heart. 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:46.600 He says this is a glorious ministry. 00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:48.259 And there's another reason in verse 1. 00:07:48.259 --> 00:07:55.980 Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:06.379 This ordinary looking glorious ministry has been given to him through God's mercy. 00:08:08.219 --> 00:08:14.319 And this is really what Paul's saying is, is my own stories trace through all of this. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:26.279 He said, I'm one of those people who used to be veiled in darkness, and now I see, and it's God's mercy to me. 00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:35.399 He had been an unbeliever, blinded to the light of the gospel, thinking that he was living a life pleasing to God. 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:46.120 And then on the Damascus road, without any prompting on his behalf at all, Paul had seen the glory of God in the face of Christ. 00:08:47.199 --> 00:08:51.860 So Paul was fully aware of the power of this ministry. 00:08:53.819 --> 00:08:59.439 And that this ministry was given to him at the moment of his conversion on the road to Damascus, 00:08:59.439 --> 00:09:05.319 where he was knocked to the ground, knocked to the ground by the flash of the light of the glory of Christ. 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:13.600 And so his salvation in that moment and his apostleship is purely by God's mercy. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:17.659 He experienced conversion. 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:30.179 He knows what it is to have the good news of Jesus change him in the way that he's just spoken about in 2 Corinthians 3. 00:09:30.179 --> 00:09:41.979 And so the combination of this mercy at his own conversion and the astonishing glory of this ministry that he has now been given 00:09:41.979 --> 00:09:45.019 has kept him from losing heart. 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:50.159 Not only that, he was in fact propelled forward. 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.159 Verse 2. 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:56.439 We have renounced secret and shameful ways. 00:09:57.419 --> 00:10:01.399 We do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:09.399 On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly, we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 00:10:10.199 --> 00:10:12.019 So this Paul, he rejected. 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:17.799 In other words, he didn't lose heart and he didn't go running off to other techniques to sort of bolster up his ministry. 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:19.339 He's rejected cunning. 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:21.059 He's rejected manipulation. 00:10:21.599 --> 00:10:22.879 He's rejected trickery. 00:10:23.259 --> 00:10:25.120 Nor did Paul tamper with the word of God. 00:10:25.219 --> 00:10:28.959 He did not falsify it, distort it, confuse it, water it down. 00:10:29.419 --> 00:10:38.500 Instead, he embraces openness and candor and forthrightness and clarity about the glory of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:10:38.500 --> 00:10:39.639 No vague meaning. 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:42.000 No confusing language. 00:10:42.659 --> 00:10:44.879 No ambivalence about what he meant. 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:50.259 He imparted the truth without deviation, straight and undiluted. 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:57.519 He wanted the good news about Jesus Christ to be crystal clear. 00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:57.559 Why? 00:11:00.379 --> 00:11:00.860 Why? 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:12.799 Well, first of all, notice at the end of verse 2, where he says that he sets forth the truth plainly in the sight of God. 00:11:12.939 --> 00:11:14.620 That is, God is his audience. 00:11:15.299 --> 00:11:17.639 That's the first and fundamental reason of all. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:19.299 God is his audience. 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:21.259 God was his primary audience. 00:11:21.259 --> 00:11:27.539 He was ultimately considered his whole ministry in life is answerable to God and to no one else. 00:11:29.179 --> 00:11:31.679 Now, another reason is in verses 4 to 6. 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:34.720 We're going to unpack this a little bit. 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:36.100 So let's start at verse 4. 00:11:37.620 --> 00:11:41.620 The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:50.240 so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:58.759 So, did you even just feel the weight of what Paul has just said there? 00:12:00.259 --> 00:12:03.819 This is what is so essential for Paul. 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:07.659 This is the reason why Jesus has to be so crystal clear. 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:13.299 That the word of God not be distorted, that he speak the truth wherever he could. 00:12:13.299 --> 00:12:20.319 He says there, people who don't believe in Jesus are blind. 00:12:21.479 --> 00:12:30.199 They can't see Christ as supremely valuable, and so they won't receive him as their treasure, 00:12:30.959 --> 00:12:32.659 and so they won't be saved. 00:12:32.659 --> 00:12:42.059 And the work of God is needed in our lives to open our eyes to give us life, 00:12:42.059 --> 00:12:49.159 so that we can see and receive Christ as Savior and Lord and treasure of our lives. 00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:54.419 And at the heart of this impressive new covenant ministry 00:12:54.419 --> 00:12:58.019 is the message of the gospel in the word of God, the Bible. 00:12:58.019 --> 00:13:02.539 The glory of this ministry that he refers to here is the gospel. 00:13:03.319 --> 00:13:06.319 The gospel is what Paul came to see and believe. 00:13:06.579 --> 00:13:10.019 The gospel is what he wants others to come and see and believe. 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:16.319 It's the gospel that we want you in this church to come and see and believe and savour and treasure. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:25.120 But it's the gospel, he says, that 2.8 billion people in this world are blind to. 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:27.500 And you may be blind to. 00:13:29.260 --> 00:13:36.220 The gospel is the good news that God sent his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world 00:13:36.220 --> 00:13:40.060 to live a perfect life, die as a substitute for sinners, 00:13:40.059 --> 00:13:45.119 to absorb the anger of God that we deserve for our rebellion against God, 00:13:45.119 --> 00:13:48.119 to take away our guilt and our shame, 00:13:48.459 --> 00:13:50.839 provide the gift of right standing before God, 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:54.419 and to give eternal joy through faith in Jesus Christ alone, 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:57.339 apart from any works of obedience on our behalf. 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:02.000 And in case you didn't catch up on that, it's on the back of your service sheet. 00:14:04.599 --> 00:14:06.939 This, he says, is what people are blind to. 00:14:06.940 --> 00:14:16.740 All of us, we're blind to this truth, this glory, unless verse 6 happens. 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:21.640 For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:24.680 made this light shine in our hearts 00:14:24.680 --> 00:14:30.080 to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 00:14:32.100 --> 00:14:34.400 What Paul, he doesn't use the language there, 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:38.100 but what he's describing is new birth. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:42.199 The God who created light in the beginning 00:14:42.199 --> 00:14:45.399 does the same thing in the human heart. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:51.220 Only the light this time is not a physical light repelling darkness, 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:55.639 but the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 00:14:55.740 --> 00:14:57.500 Or as verse 4 calls it, 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:00.019 the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, 00:15:00.100 --> 00:15:01.179 who is the image of God. 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:08.659 God causes the human heart to see the truth 00:15:08.659 --> 00:15:12.339 and the beauty and the worth of the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:15:12.479 --> 00:15:14.120 the glory of Christ. 00:15:14.959 --> 00:15:18.319 Darkness remains in the human heart 00:15:18.319 --> 00:15:23.159 until God illumines the heart and the mind to that glory. 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:27.299 We cannot see Jesus for who he is until that happens. 00:15:27.299 --> 00:15:30.919 And when he does, 00:15:32.319 --> 00:15:34.599 no amount of darkness can stop it. 00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:38.559 No amount of darkness can stop it. 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:42.500 This light pushes out the darkness and the blindness 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:45.959 and it cannot resist it or prevail against it. 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:52.780 So when we see Christ for who he really is, 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:55.940 we receive him for who he is. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:00.900 And that's what we want for 2.8 billion people in the world. 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:02.060 It's what you want for your neighbours, 00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:02.759 your friends, 00:16:02.900 --> 00:16:04.240 for your kids, 00:16:05.379 --> 00:16:06.379 our parents, 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:07.400 our spouses, 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:09.720 this community, 00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:13.300 and maybe for you right now. 00:16:15.180 --> 00:16:17.860 You don't need to be able to explain this. 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:21.360 You don't need to be able to account for it. 00:16:21.800 --> 00:16:25.800 You just need to be able to experience it right now. 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:28.180 And maybe that's you. 00:16:28.340 --> 00:16:30.700 You've been gathering the last few weeks or something 00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:32.560 and slowly something is just, 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:34.820 it feels like the veil is slipping. 00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:35.980 There's a flicker of light there. 00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:37.379 And you're starting to see Jesus 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:40.980 not as a defeated loser for the first time. 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:44.519 Maybe you're starting to see the magnificence of Jesus 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:46.200 for the first time. 00:16:46.920 --> 00:16:50.519 Don't let this moment pass. 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:54.220 Speak to one of us straight after church. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:55.960 We would love to talk to you more about that. 00:16:59.480 --> 00:16:59.920 Now, 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:04.220 that doesn't mean passivity on our behalf. 00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:05.059 Well, you know, 00:17:05.140 --> 00:17:06.079 God's the all-powerful one. 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:06.700 We'll just sit back, 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:07.660 let him do his thing. 00:17:09.140 --> 00:17:12.100 There is a human means that God uses to make this happen. 00:17:13.059 --> 00:17:13.700 Verse 4, 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:14.500 let's go over it again. 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:15.500 Verse 4, 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:19.860 we have this dreadful plight of the human condition without God, 00:17:20.019 --> 00:17:21.160 blinded to glory, 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:23.640 and destined for eternity without him. 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:24.980 I've just added that little bit in there. 00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:26.100 Verse 6, 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:28.819 we have God's sovereign work, 00:17:29.500 --> 00:17:30.640 all-powerful work, 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:37.900 in causing sight and light to break in with clarity. 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:43.140 And right in the middle of verses 4 and 6 is verse 5, 00:17:43.560 --> 00:17:46.759 and the means that God uses to bring about that change. 00:17:47.560 --> 00:17:49.680 For we do not preach ourselves, 00:17:50.080 --> 00:17:52.180 but Jesus Christ as Lord, 00:17:52.280 --> 00:17:54.680 and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:56.600 Paul's role, 00:17:57.420 --> 00:17:59.779 our role as disciples of the Lord Jesus, 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.140 is to proclaim Jesus as Lord. 00:18:03.180 --> 00:18:03.400 Now, 00:18:03.460 --> 00:18:05.560 remember I said that the gospel is the good news, 00:18:05.640 --> 00:18:06.759 that God sent his son, 00:18:06.840 --> 00:18:07.400 the Lord Jesus, 00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:09.759 into the world to live a perfect life, 00:18:10.060 --> 00:18:11.779 to die as a substitute for sinners, 00:18:12.180 --> 00:18:15.640 absorb the anger of God that we deserve for our rebellion against him, 00:18:15.980 --> 00:18:17.860 to take away our guilt and our shame, 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:21.920 to provide the gift of right standing before God, 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:25.019 and to give eternal joy through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, 00:18:25.320 --> 00:18:27.660 apart from works of obedience on our behalf. 00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:28.900 You got that, 00:18:29.100 --> 00:18:29.360 okay? 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:30.640 It's on the back of your service sheet. 00:18:32.220 --> 00:18:35.220 The gospel is not about us. 00:18:39.060 --> 00:18:40.840 It's not just about us, 00:18:41.060 --> 00:18:41.720 that is, 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.000 and good news for us, 00:18:44.080 --> 00:18:45.539 and God loving us. 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:48.319 It first of all, 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:52.500 primarily says something significant about Jesus. 00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:59.519 Philippians 2 describes the death and resurrection of Jesus for the sins of humanity, 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:01.819 and it goes on to say this about him. 00:19:02.399 --> 00:19:03.000 Therefore, 00:19:03.779 --> 00:19:06.200 God exalted him to the highest place, 00:19:06.639 --> 00:19:08.639 and gave him the name that is above every name, 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:10.700 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:11.680 in heaven, 00:19:11.980 --> 00:19:12.680 and on earth, 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:14.180 and under the earth, 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:16.720 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:18.259 to the glory of God the Father. 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:21.940 The crucified Jesus Christ, 00:19:22.180 --> 00:19:24.720 has been exalted through resurrection, 00:19:25.560 --> 00:19:27.640 as the heavenly Lord. 00:19:29.100 --> 00:19:30.500 God's suffering servant, 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.640 is the ruler of the universe. 00:19:35.340 --> 00:19:36.680 The man Jesus Christ, 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:38.120 is the exalted God, 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:39.519 over all history, 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:40.960 over all peoples, 00:19:41.220 --> 00:19:42.299 over all cultures, 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:45.980 and Paul says, 00:19:46.059 --> 00:19:46.980 you make that clear. 00:19:47.980 --> 00:19:49.579 Do not distort the truth, 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:52.299 by showing away from the exclusive claim, 00:19:52.299 --> 00:19:54.019 that Jesus is Lord, 00:19:54.180 --> 00:19:55.159 that he is King, 00:19:55.399 --> 00:19:56.059 he's master, 00:19:56.180 --> 00:19:56.639 he's ruler, 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:57.940 over all that is, 00:19:58.279 --> 00:19:59.579 all that has been, 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:01.119 all that will be, 00:20:01.379 --> 00:20:03.180 and you call all people, 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:05.419 from all around the globe, 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:06.799 to confess with their tongue, 00:20:06.879 --> 00:20:07.960 and surrender their lives, 00:20:08.019 --> 00:20:08.899 to his loving rule. 00:20:08.900 --> 00:20:11.259 And you proclaim that, 00:20:11.580 --> 00:20:13.440 from a heart of love, 00:20:13.580 --> 00:20:14.500 and a life of service. 00:20:14.580 --> 00:20:15.460 I think that's what he means, 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:16.160 when he says, 00:20:16.540 --> 00:20:17.900 we don't preach ourself. 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:21.019 All self-interest, 00:20:21.220 --> 00:20:22.160 is laid aside. 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:26.420 There's no room for pride, 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:27.440 and personal gain, 00:20:27.660 --> 00:20:29.140 because the very nature, 00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:30.380 of the good news, 00:20:30.540 --> 00:20:32.180 is that it presupposes, 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:33.600 our deep sin, 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:34.759 and our brokenness, 00:20:34.840 --> 00:20:35.780 and our need. 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:38.119 And so, 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:38.819 my friends, 00:20:38.899 --> 00:20:39.559 verse 5, 00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:41.339 is why Christ is to be clear, 00:20:41.799 --> 00:20:42.700 the word of God, 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:44.420 is not to be distorted, 00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:47.379 the means that God uses, 00:20:47.539 --> 00:20:48.700 to effect the great, 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:50.039 and eternal, 00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:51.539 transformation, 00:20:52.220 --> 00:20:53.399 where we long to see, 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:54.559 that we long to see, 00:20:54.700 --> 00:20:55.960 across this world, 00:20:56.139 --> 00:20:57.160 and in our community, 00:20:57.399 --> 00:20:58.680 and in our hearts here, 00:20:58.940 --> 00:20:59.639 with every man, 00:20:59.740 --> 00:20:59.960 woman, 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:00.460 teenager, 00:21:00.619 --> 00:21:01.000 child, 00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:02.379 is bold, 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:03.079 clear, 00:21:03.399 --> 00:21:03.879 plain, 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:04.720 proclamation, 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:06.020 of the good news, 00:21:06.260 --> 00:21:07.500 of Jesus Christ, 00:21:07.560 --> 00:21:08.200 as Lord, 00:21:08.420 --> 00:21:09.380 from a heart of love, 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:10.380 and a life of service. 00:21:12.800 --> 00:21:14.800 This is the impressive ministry, 00:21:14.800 --> 00:21:15.920 of the new covenant, 00:21:16.260 --> 00:21:17.980 that causes the blind to see, 00:21:18.280 --> 00:21:19.040 for darkness, 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:20.140 to be extinguished, 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:20.660 to death, 00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:21.380 to be defeated, 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:22.560 and eternal life, 00:21:22.600 --> 00:21:23.120 to be granted. 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:31.179 This is the spectacular ministry, 00:21:31.179 --> 00:21:33.679 that changes people's status, 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:35.579 with their creator, 00:21:35.639 --> 00:21:36.379 for eternity. 00:21:37.979 --> 00:21:39.419 And it's the ministry, 00:21:39.579 --> 00:21:41.139 that saw Paul getting rejected, 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:42.879 put in prison, 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:43.799 beaten up, 00:21:44.339 --> 00:21:45.219 run out of town, 00:21:45.459 --> 00:21:45.979 again, 00:21:46.159 --> 00:21:46.779 and again, 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:47.639 and again. 00:21:49.339 --> 00:21:51.079 And that's the next point here. 00:21:51.679 --> 00:21:53.019 In case we're tempted to think, 00:21:53.019 --> 00:21:54.779 this is all about our power, 00:21:55.980 --> 00:21:56.200 or, 00:21:56.379 --> 00:21:58.779 or, 00:21:59.139 --> 00:22:00.220 tempted to lose heart, 00:22:00.299 --> 00:22:00.599 because, 00:22:00.940 --> 00:22:01.180 you know, 00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:01.619 well, 00:22:01.700 --> 00:22:02.480 if it's so great, 00:22:02.579 --> 00:22:03.240 how come there's, 00:22:03.460 --> 00:22:04.240 so little fruit? 00:22:04.299 --> 00:22:05.039 Let's read on. 00:22:05.619 --> 00:22:06.220 Verse seven. 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:08.400 But we have this treasure, 00:22:08.539 --> 00:22:09.619 in jars of clay, 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:10.879 to show that this, 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:12.039 all surpassing power, 00:22:12.139 --> 00:22:13.079 is from God, 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:14.019 and not, 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:15.279 from us. 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:18.539 The great encouragement, 00:22:18.539 --> 00:22:19.579 of these verses, 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:20.339 and I kind of want to, 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:21.539 just finish in this point, 00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:22.500 eventually, 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:23.539 is that, 00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:25.099 God uses, 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:27.680 weak and weary people, 00:22:28.359 --> 00:22:30.379 ordinary jars of clay. 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:33.000 God wants to display, 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:34.039 to the world, 00:22:34.539 --> 00:22:35.500 the glory, 00:22:36.019 --> 00:22:37.200 of the Lord Jesus, 00:22:37.460 --> 00:22:38.099 and the power, 00:22:38.180 --> 00:22:38.579 and the beauty, 00:22:38.619 --> 00:22:39.220 of the gospel, 00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:40.720 and he does it, 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:41.819 with, 00:22:41.819 --> 00:22:43.839 unimpressive vessels. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:47.439 We are not the treasure, 00:22:48.220 --> 00:22:49.619 and when we think we are, 00:22:49.939 --> 00:22:51.819 or even rely upon ourselves, 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:53.319 because we are clever, 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:54.000 articulate, 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:54.379 or, 00:22:54.459 --> 00:22:55.159 or passionate, 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:55.879 or humorous, 00:22:55.919 --> 00:22:56.339 or bubbly, 00:22:56.399 --> 00:22:56.859 or stylish, 00:22:57.179 --> 00:22:57.319 or, 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:59.159 successful, 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:00.059 or beautiful, 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:00.919 or whatever, 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:01.879 then we, 00:23:02.139 --> 00:23:03.619 we will very quickly, 00:23:03.619 --> 00:23:04.240 lose heart. 00:23:07.579 --> 00:23:07.980 This, 00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:08.299 I think, 00:23:08.339 --> 00:23:09.259 is what we need to get. 00:23:09.259 --> 00:23:14.619 When I was 14, 00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:16.119 I made this box, 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:18.259 about 10, 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:18.920 15 years, 00:23:18.980 --> 00:23:19.559 or so ago, 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:21.500 or so. 00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:24.579 I made this box. 00:23:25.420 --> 00:23:25.859 Now, 00:23:26.200 --> 00:23:26.940 this box, 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:28.440 if you can read the front of it, 00:23:28.859 --> 00:23:30.379 was made, 00:23:30.379 --> 00:23:31.519 to hold cassettes. 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:32.779 Now, 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:34.279 if you are younger than 30, 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:35.819 let me explain something to you. 00:23:35.819 --> 00:23:38.259 Before, 00:23:38.259 --> 00:23:40.579 YouTube, 00:23:40.939 --> 00:23:41.299 sorry, 00:23:41.399 --> 00:23:41.819 iTunes, 00:23:42.579 --> 00:23:43.359 there was, 00:23:43.460 --> 00:23:44.179 things called, 00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:44.919 CDs. 00:23:45.700 --> 00:23:46.700 And before CDs, 00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:48.359 there was this thing, 00:23:48.659 --> 00:23:49.480 with cassettes, 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:51.399 that you'd listen to music, 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:52.919 and other stuff like that on. 00:23:53.220 --> 00:23:54.379 You can see them in, 00:23:54.579 --> 00:23:55.679 you can catch a glimpse of them, 00:23:55.679 --> 00:23:56.819 in the Powerhouse Museum, 00:23:57.419 --> 00:23:58.439 and, 00:23:58.439 --> 00:23:59.859 and most church libraries, 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:00.339 nowadays. 00:24:04.179 --> 00:24:05.039 There we go. 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:05.599 So, 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:05.960 this thing, 00:24:06.039 --> 00:24:06.579 I made this, 00:24:06.680 --> 00:24:06.839 right? 00:24:07.399 --> 00:24:07.920 Cassettes, 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:09.819 are totally obsolete, 00:24:09.940 --> 00:24:10.299 nowadays. 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:12.200 I could not even, 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:13.879 find an example, 00:24:14.379 --> 00:24:15.240 to show you, 00:24:15.379 --> 00:24:16.099 what one looked like, 00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:17.079 if you needed to show you, 00:24:17.099 --> 00:24:17.680 what one looked like, 00:24:17.720 --> 00:24:18.379 couldn't find one. 00:24:18.859 --> 00:24:20.680 But I've still got the box. 00:24:21.619 --> 00:24:23.799 I've still got the box. 00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:26.700 The, 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:27.980 the reason is, 00:24:28.339 --> 00:24:29.920 the box is the treasure, 00:24:30.639 --> 00:24:32.019 not the thing it was holding. 00:24:32.019 --> 00:24:33.759 It's now holding other things, 00:24:34.099 --> 00:24:35.200 that I had to take out. 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:37.319 But it was, 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:38.819 this is the, 00:24:38.839 --> 00:24:39.660 this is the treasure, 00:24:40.379 --> 00:24:41.400 not the cassettes. 00:24:42.220 --> 00:24:42.639 This, 00:24:42.779 --> 00:24:43.119 however, 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:44.879 is, 00:24:45.579 --> 00:24:47.039 a takeaway container. 00:24:47.980 --> 00:24:48.099 And, 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:48.539 and, 00:24:48.639 --> 00:24:49.240 much, 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:49.960 this is, 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:50.240 I know, 00:24:50.299 --> 00:24:50.480 not, 00:24:50.680 --> 00:24:52.519 PC nowadays, 00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:53.839 but this will be discarded. 00:24:54.799 --> 00:24:55.579 This thing, 00:24:55.679 --> 00:24:56.740 it's got recycled on it, 00:24:56.779 --> 00:24:57.359 just want you to know, 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:58.119 it's got recycled on it. 00:24:58.659 --> 00:24:59.819 This will be discarded, 00:24:59.939 --> 00:25:00.460 because it, 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:00.740 it, 00:25:00.740 --> 00:25:02.139 it did hold in it, 00:25:02.220 --> 00:25:02.659 this is the, 00:25:02.859 --> 00:25:03.740 this if you like, 00:25:04.199 --> 00:25:04.859 is the, 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:08.059 21st century version of a clay pot. 00:25:09.699 --> 00:25:11.299 This is the thing that's discarded. 00:25:11.859 --> 00:25:13.059 The treasure it held, 00:25:13.159 --> 00:25:15.399 was something like salt and pepper calamari, 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:16.679 or pad thai, 00:25:16.759 --> 00:25:17.559 or something like that. 00:25:19.619 --> 00:25:20.639 That was the treasure. 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:24.059 Our world stresses the classy, 00:25:24.059 --> 00:25:24.960 the top shelf, 00:25:25.099 --> 00:25:26.220 the polished containers, 00:25:26.519 --> 00:25:28.539 not the glory of God in human weakness. 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:30.559 It, 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:30.779 it, 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:32.460 it stresses the container. 00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:39.119 The impressive nature of the new covenant ministry, 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:42.720 is the great treasure of the power of God, 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:45.059 revealing the glory of the gospel, 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:47.319 through simple takeaway containers. 00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:50.200 That's what we need to get. 00:25:51.659 --> 00:25:52.139 This, 00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:54.039 is anti-gospel. 00:25:54.059 --> 00:25:56.659 This is not, 00:25:56.659 --> 00:25:57.940 anti-gospel. 00:25:59.379 --> 00:26:01.159 We are takeaway containers. 00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:06.099 We will feel unimpressive. 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:08.000 We will feel weak and weary, 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:10.799 but not ultimately defeated. 00:26:10.919 --> 00:26:11.059 See, 00:26:11.179 --> 00:26:11.599 verse eight, 00:26:11.679 --> 00:26:12.519 we are hard presses. 00:26:12.779 --> 00:26:13.579 Paul describing his meaning. 00:26:13.819 --> 00:26:15.460 We are hard pressed on every side, 00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:17.019 but we are not crushed. 00:26:17.639 --> 00:26:18.859 We are perplexed, 00:26:18.879 --> 00:26:20.139 but we are not in despair, 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:20.679 persecuted, 00:26:20.839 --> 00:26:21.720 but not abandoned, 00:26:22.139 --> 00:26:22.559 struck down, 00:26:22.619 --> 00:26:23.639 but not destroyed. 00:26:23.640 --> 00:26:25.960 We always carry around in our body, 00:26:26.020 --> 00:26:26.800 the death of Jesus, 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:31.160 so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 00:26:31.860 --> 00:26:36.440 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:37.680 so that his, 00:26:37.800 --> 00:26:41.380 so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 00:26:41.380 --> 00:26:43.840 Hardship, 00:26:43.840 --> 00:26:43.860 hardship, 00:26:43.860 --> 00:26:45.340 struggle, 00:26:45.340 --> 00:26:49.060 are the normal lot of a clay pot life. 00:26:49.059 --> 00:26:56.720 I put some food in one of these takeaway containers last night and immediately broke it. 00:26:57.720 --> 00:26:58.679 Just like that. 00:26:58.680 --> 00:27:04.460 There is always a temptation to lose heart. 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:06.100 It's always close on our heels. 00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:08.140 If you feel weak, 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:09.660 you feel weary, 00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:11.440 you feel like you're out of ideas, 00:27:11.580 --> 00:27:13.259 helpless in the face of lost people, 00:27:13.580 --> 00:27:15.100 unable to affect real change, 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:16.279 then you are, 00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:16.759 I think, 00:27:16.840 --> 00:27:17.880 feeling what you ought to feel. 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:20.560 But know this, 00:27:21.120 --> 00:27:24.360 such a clay pot is not a liability to God. 00:27:24.460 --> 00:27:27.880 Your weakness and your weariness is normal. 00:27:28.740 --> 00:27:32.040 It's expected and it's not a hindrance. 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:37.940 Theologian Joe Packer wrote a great little book. 00:27:38.460 --> 00:27:41.279 He wanted to write it towards the end of his life. 00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:42.960 He's still alive. 00:27:43.559 --> 00:27:46.220 Towards the end of his life to sum up his life. 00:27:46.339 --> 00:27:46.980 And he says, 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:48.980 well into his 90s, 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:52.859 he's saying that weakness is the way. 00:27:53.399 --> 00:27:54.639 I love the title of the book. 00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:56.839 Weakness is the way. 00:27:56.839 --> 00:28:02.359 Our ordinariness is not a liability. 00:28:02.720 --> 00:28:03.379 It's an asset. 00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:03.819 That is, 00:28:03.899 --> 00:28:05.539 if you truly want God to be glorified. 00:28:06.220 --> 00:28:06.899 On the other hand, 00:28:06.980 --> 00:28:07.399 the proud, 00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:08.119 the self-assured, 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:10.019 the confident person is a hindrance. 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:13.959 God deliberately chooses to use weak and humble people, 00:28:14.179 --> 00:28:16.319 but he never abandons it to go alone. 00:28:16.639 --> 00:28:21.559 He puts the treasure of his gospel and gifts in clays and jar pots like you and me. 00:28:21.919 --> 00:28:23.720 No one is too weak. 00:28:23.980 --> 00:28:25.240 No one is too common. 00:28:25.379 --> 00:28:26.439 No one is too shy. 00:28:26.440 --> 00:28:28.360 No one is too inarticulate, 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:28.960 too old, 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:29.420 too young, 00:28:29.539 --> 00:28:30.200 too disabled, 00:28:30.200 --> 00:28:37.120 to be involved in the spectacular ministry of the new covenant and see people's lives change for eternity. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:40.640 Therefore, 00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:42.740 since through God's mercy, 00:28:42.740 --> 00:28:43.980 we have this ministry, 00:28:44.539 --> 00:28:46.279 we do not lose heart. 00:28:46.279 --> 00:28:51.319 In August 1955, 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:53.059 Canon H.K. 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:57.039 Luce of Durham wrote a letter to the Times newspaper, 00:28:58.099 --> 00:29:05.220 opposing Billy Graham's upcoming mission at Cambridge University. 00:29:05.220 --> 00:29:08.539 Billy Graham's approach, 00:29:08.539 --> 00:29:11.059 he argued in the Times New paper, 00:29:11.059 --> 00:29:15.660 would be unthinkable before a university audience. 00:29:15.900 --> 00:29:18.140 It would be laughed out of court. 00:29:18.140 --> 00:29:20.500 Now, 00:29:20.560 --> 00:29:27.940 Billy was 36 at the time and was unusually experienced for a 36-year-old. 00:29:28.740 --> 00:29:28.980 However, 00:29:29.100 --> 00:29:35.640 the thought of conducting his first mission in Cambridge weighed heavily upon him. 00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:37.460 His biographer, 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:38.220 William Martin, 00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:38.720 noted, 00:29:39.480 --> 00:29:39.840 Graham, 00:29:40.280 --> 00:29:44.060 ever insecure about his lack of advanced theological education, 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:50.600 dreaded the meetings and feared that a poor showing might do serious harm to his ministry and effect, 00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:53.540 which way the tide will turn in Britain. 00:29:54.620 --> 00:29:59.180 Had he been able to do so without a complete loss of face, 00:29:59.180 --> 00:30:05.720 he would have cancelled the meetings or persuaded some better qualified man to replace him. 00:30:07.299 --> 00:30:07.940 And indeed, 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:12.080 Billy writing in his own biography 40 years later, 00:30:12.660 --> 00:30:17.680 quotes his own personal letter to John Stott that confirms his trepidation. 00:30:18.820 --> 00:30:25.380 I have been deeply concerned and in much thought about our Cambridge mission this autumn. 00:30:25.380 --> 00:30:33.040 I do not know that I have ever felt more inadequate and totally unprepared for a mission. 00:30:34.080 --> 00:30:37.540 As I think over the possibilities for messages, 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:43.420 I realise how shallow and weak my presentations are. 00:30:44.380 --> 00:30:45.060 In fact, 00:30:45.580 --> 00:30:51.220 I was so overwhelmed in my unpreparedness that I almost decided to cancel my preparation, 00:30:51.540 --> 00:30:52.140 my appearance, 00:30:52.760 --> 00:30:55.220 but because plans had gone so far, 00:30:55.380 --> 00:30:57.780 perhaps it is best to go through with it. 00:30:58.360 --> 00:30:58.700 However, 00:30:59.120 --> 00:31:04.340 it is my prayer that I shall come in the demonstration and power of the Holy Spirit. 00:31:05.620 --> 00:31:11.280 He highlights in his letter his weakness and his dependency upon the Holy Spirit's power. 00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:16.380 Billy's arrival in Cambridge was also unsettling. 00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:23.040 The opening night of the Cambridge mission was Sunday, the 6th of November, 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:30.680 the day after Guy Fawkes Day, the day of fireworks, bonfires and just general revelry. 00:31:32.279 --> 00:31:34.259 And as Billy spoke to his team, 00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:36.579 in a hall, 00:31:36.819 --> 00:31:39.619 a firecracker was in fact thrown into the hall, 00:31:39.980 --> 00:31:41.059 into an open window, 00:31:41.579 --> 00:31:44.980 despite a very strong police presence around the building. 00:31:44.980 --> 00:31:51.759 Now the meetings were held in Great St. Mary's, 00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:53.519 the University Church at the Centre of Cambridge, 00:31:53.839 --> 00:31:59.519 and every single part of the church was occupied on the opening night. 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:02.380 Graham preached for three nights, 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:06.279 but the results in his own words were modest. 00:32:06.279 --> 00:32:08.460 His sermons were, 00:32:08.779 --> 00:32:10.599 by his own estimation, 00:32:11.460 --> 00:32:12.579 too academic. 00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:18.220 He knew that he was not getting through to the hearts of the students. 00:32:18.740 --> 00:32:22.160 He felt he was preaching to please his audience, 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:24.139 rather than God himself, 00:32:24.500 --> 00:32:27.039 and the way that God had shaped him. 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:30.160 And so Billy sought the Lord, 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:31.680 then came the breakthrough. 00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:34.480 Following his third sermon, 00:32:35.100 --> 00:32:37.940 the day after his 37th birthday, 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:41.960 Billy Graham set aside his university-focused sermons. 00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:47.039 He took off his academic gear that he was wearing, 00:32:47.500 --> 00:32:49.600 at the time as he preached the previous ones, 00:32:49.860 --> 00:32:52.279 and he decided to go old-fashioned Billy, 00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:54.220 and preach to the heart. 00:32:54.220 --> 00:32:59.940 Billy Graham's weakness, 00:33:00.720 --> 00:33:04.360 plus the all-sufficient transforming gospel of the new covenant, 00:33:04.940 --> 00:33:07.059 plus his dependence upon the Holy Spirit, 00:33:07.180 --> 00:33:10.440 resulted in a mighty ministry in Cambridge that night. 00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:19.000 John Stott wrote to the praying members of his congregation, 00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:20.319 straight afterwards. 00:33:21.700 --> 00:33:22.140 He wrote, 00:33:22.140 --> 00:33:37.660 The great English evangelist, 00:33:37.740 --> 00:33:38.420 David Watson, 00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:41.120 was one person who came to Christ 00:33:41.120 --> 00:33:42.300 that night. 00:33:42.299 --> 00:33:47.579 Those whom God uses 00:33:47.579 --> 00:33:50.460 have always been fully aware 00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:52.619 of their insufficiency and their weaknesses, 00:33:53.399 --> 00:33:54.200 be it Moses, 00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:54.980 Gideon, 00:33:55.519 --> 00:33:55.980 Isaiah, 00:33:56.220 --> 00:33:56.659 Jeremiah, 00:33:56.899 --> 00:33:57.379 Ezekiel, 00:33:57.480 --> 00:33:58.220 the Apostle Paul, 00:33:58.359 --> 00:33:58.539 Peter, 00:33:58.700 --> 00:33:59.000 John, 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:00.879 and me, 00:34:01.879 --> 00:34:02.339 you. 00:34:04.940 --> 00:34:06.839 And it was their insufficiency 00:34:06.839 --> 00:34:09.219 that invited the sufficiency of God. 00:34:09.219 --> 00:34:13.199 God is not looking for gifted people 00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:14.599 or people who are self-sufficient. 00:34:14.799 --> 00:34:16.459 He is looking for inadequate people 00:34:16.459 --> 00:34:18.579 who will give their weakness to him 00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:21.939 and open themselves to the ministry of the Holy Spirit 00:34:21.939 --> 00:34:24.439 and the transforming grace of the new covenant 00:34:24.439 --> 00:34:27.339 as it's ministered by Jesus Christ himself. 00:34:28.759 --> 00:34:32.099 So if God is calling you now, 00:34:32.819 --> 00:34:35.000 do not hide behind your weakness. 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.360 Maybe he's calling you to himself 00:34:39.360 --> 00:34:40.519 for the very first time. 00:34:40.599 --> 00:34:41.920 Maybe that's what he's doing. 00:34:42.860 --> 00:34:44.380 Maybe there's a flicker of light 00:34:44.380 --> 00:34:46.079 in the darkness for the very first time. 00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:47.019 Come to him. 00:34:47.719 --> 00:34:49.760 Your sin and your brokenness 00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:50.699 and your weakness 00:34:50.699 --> 00:34:52.199 is not a hindrance. 00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:54.900 It is the necessary precondition 00:34:54.900 --> 00:34:56.139 of you coming to him. 00:34:56.480 --> 00:34:57.099 Come to him. 00:34:57.219 --> 00:34:57.940 Come to him. 00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:01.980 But maybe you have already come to him 00:35:01.980 --> 00:35:03.260 but you're feeling your weakness. 00:35:03.260 --> 00:35:06.780 Maybe, I don't know, 00:35:06.820 --> 00:35:08.120 maybe what he's calling you to do. 00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:10.240 It may be that he's right now 00:35:10.240 --> 00:35:12.820 and he's sending you off to worldwide mission. 00:35:14.640 --> 00:35:16.560 It might be that teaching us 00:35:16.560 --> 00:35:18.860 one of our kids' church classes. 00:35:20.220 --> 00:35:21.700 It may be ministering to children. 00:35:21.820 --> 00:35:23.360 It may be reaching out to your neighborhood. 00:35:23.520 --> 00:35:25.180 It may be stepping up at work. 00:35:25.260 --> 00:35:27.240 Whatever it is that he's calling you to, 00:35:27.820 --> 00:35:29.900 don't hide behind your weakness. 00:35:29.900 --> 00:35:34.340 Your weakness is the ground of your calling. 00:35:34.860 --> 00:35:36.740 Follow God and use your weakness 00:35:36.740 --> 00:35:38.619 as an occasion for his power. 00:35:42.460 --> 00:35:45.039 And if you are feeling terrifying stirrings 00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:45.980 within your soul 00:35:45.980 --> 00:35:49.340 as he's nudging you outside of your comfort zone 00:35:49.340 --> 00:35:52.460 where you'll be out of your depth 00:35:52.460 --> 00:35:55.539 but you know that he's calling you, 00:35:56.420 --> 00:35:57.639 give your weakness to him 00:35:57.639 --> 00:35:59.299 and accept his sufficiency. 00:36:00.359 --> 00:36:00.980 Brothers and sisters, 00:36:01.179 --> 00:36:02.079 do not lose heart. 00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:03.079 Thank you.