WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 Good morning, my name is Tommy. I'm the rector here on behalf of our church. Let me again welcome you, 00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:08.740 especially if you're joining us for the first time. We're excited that we have a baptism 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:12.880 this morning that we're going to celebrate in a little while. Also, just to note, we are having 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:16.740 some sound issues. The maids are not currently working, and we've got some awesome people 00:00:16.740 --> 00:00:21.780 working on it, but my hope is that you can hear. We're using the monitors here, and we're just 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:27.219 cranking them up. So if you're in the front row, you're getting a full dose of the Word this morning. 00:00:27.219 --> 00:00:32.740 So some of you may be familiar with a certain social media influencer. He's been in the news 00:00:32.740 --> 00:00:39.799 recently. His moniker is the Liver King. Anybody know who the Liver King is? There you go. I knew 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:48.320 that there's always one. The Liver King. He has these pretty naturally massive muscles. He has got this 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:56.759 gigantic beard that comes halfway down his torso, and he mostly walks around barefoot and 00:00:56.759 --> 00:01:04.939 shirtless, regardless of where he is. And he aims his message primarily at men. And he says, 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:09.659 the big problem, the biggest problem, is that society these days has made men soft. 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:18.259 And the way to undo that is to go back to the, what he calls, ancestral lifestyle. And he holds out 00:01:18.260 --> 00:01:26.340 nine tenets of the ancestral lifestyle. What this essentially amounts to is working out all the 00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:33.200 time doing excessively brutal workouts and eating enormous amounts of raw meat. And he focuses on, 00:01:33.320 --> 00:01:41.460 he focuses on eating a lot of beef brains, testicles, and of course, a lot of raw liver. 00:01:41.459 --> 00:01:48.859 And so there are pictures of him with just a whole liver just digging in. And so this guy has amassed a 00:01:48.859 --> 00:01:58.639 massive following. He's made hundreds of millions of dollars claiming that if you adopt his lifestyle, 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:04.019 the implication is you can look more and more like the Liver King. All along, he's claimed that his body 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:10.740 is all natural. It's the product of the ancestral lifestyle. So of course, this week, it was announced 00:02:10.740 --> 00:02:18.340 that the Liver King is actually being sued for $25 million because it turns out that his secret is 00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:25.740 not a steady diet of raw liver, but rather steroids. Something like $11,000 worth of steroids a month. 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:33.000 So, you know, we read this and we sort of roll our eyes and laugh at a guy called the Liver King. And we 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:39.060 think, well, who could possibly have ever believed that? But a lot of people did. And a lot of people are 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:46.879 taken with anyone who holds out a promise of change. Because I think deep down, we all want to change. 00:02:47.020 --> 00:02:53.520 We all have things about ourselves that we wish were better. And yet our society is filled with people 00:02:53.520 --> 00:03:01.759 who are offering empty promises of change. And so we're sort of caught, right? Because on the one hand, 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:05.360 a lot of us, I think, wish that we could change. That's why we make New Year's resolutions. 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:11.640 But on the other hand, there are so many promises of change that turn out to be empty. So many 00:03:11.640 --> 00:03:17.360 attempts in our own life to change that fail that along with our desire to change comes a healthy 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:24.420 dose of cynicism. This kind of secret belief, or maybe not some secret belief, that change really 00:03:24.420 --> 00:03:32.780 isn't possible. So when something like the Christian gospel comes along and promises change, not only for 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:39.439 a certain people group, but the possibility of total transformation for all people, for people 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:45.939 from every tribe, tongue, and nation, we are naturally going to feel a bit cynical. And yet this morning, 00:03:45.979 --> 00:03:51.819 we're going to look at a passage, Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 to 17. And what we see in this passage 00:03:51.819 --> 00:03:59.400 is the essence of real lasting change according to the gospel. We see here what makes the gospel 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:06.599 different from all of these other self-improvement programs that are out there for sale. And the 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:12.500 gospel tells us two things that are vital for us to recognize before change can become possible 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:17.459 in our lives. We're going to look at both of these as we look at the baptism of Jesus. Let's pray. 00:04:17.459 --> 00:04:24.359 Lord, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for your blessing. And we thank you that you're 00:04:24.359 --> 00:04:31.180 with us. And we thank you that your word is true. And we ask only this morning that you would fulfill 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:37.219 your promise to be a God who is in our midst, who speaks to us, and that as your word goes out, 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:42.639 it would not return to you void. It would accomplish in us all that you intend. We pray this in your son's 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:51.860 name on that. So two reasons why, two realizations that we need before the gospel becomes something 00:04:51.860 --> 00:04:58.060 that can actually change us. The first thing that we need to realize is this, is that our problem, 00:04:58.599 --> 00:05:06.620 our problem is worse than we think. Whatever you think your biggest problem is, your most besetting 00:05:06.620 --> 00:05:13.360 struggle in life, the gospel says, no, no, no. It's worse than you think. 00:05:14.939 --> 00:05:22.899 John was a prophet who lived in the desert. And at the beginning of our passage in verse 13, we see this 00:05:22.899 --> 00:05:29.459 man named John, and he's baptizing people. And as people come to be baptized, he is preaching 00:05:29.459 --> 00:05:36.540 one central message. He's saying essentially this, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is 00:05:36.540 --> 00:05:41.939 near. We see that in verses two and three. Now what we need to understand is the entire Jewish 00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:48.900 religion is built around the promise that God is going to one day send a deliverer. This deliverer 00:05:48.900 --> 00:05:56.640 is going to bring judgment on the world, bring judgment on God's enemies. He's going to vindicate 00:05:56.640 --> 00:06:02.720 the truly faithful among God's people. He's going to overthrow Rome, and he's going to inaugurate 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:08.360 a new world order full of peace and flourishing. We're referred to as the kingdom of God. 00:06:09.200 --> 00:06:13.440 So they're waiting, and they're waiting, and they're waiting hundreds of years, thousands of years for 00:06:13.440 --> 00:06:18.100 God to fulfill this promise. And John comes along in the desert wearing camel hair and eating wild 00:06:18.100 --> 00:06:23.920 locusts and honey, and he says, the time is now. The kingdom of God is drawing near. The deliverer is 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:31.759 coming. We need to get ready. And so he says, therefore, now is the time to get right with God. 00:06:31.900 --> 00:06:37.020 Everyone needs to repent. Everyone needs to be baptized. Now here's the thing is easy to miss. 00:06:38.620 --> 00:06:46.700 Most Jews assumed that they were already right with God. Why? Because they're Jewish. They were born 00:06:46.700 --> 00:06:49.920 Jewish. Their parents were Jewish. Their great-grandparents were Jewish. They could trace their 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:58.300 family lineage all the way back to David. They knew that if anybody was right with God, they were 00:06:58.300 --> 00:07:04.120 right with God. And so sure, they might have a few small sins here and there, a few peccabillows that 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:09.280 they needed to get off their chest. But by and large, if anybody was right with God, they were right with 00:07:09.280 --> 00:07:18.480 God. But John's ministry was to the Jews. John was preaching to the Jews. So John is saying, 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:23.460 everyone needs to repent. Everyone needs to be baptized, even the religious leaders, 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:31.280 especially the religious leaders, whom he refers to as a brood of vipers. So this is John's message. 00:07:31.280 --> 00:07:40.020 You think that you're right with God. Oh, no, no, no. Repent and be baptized. Now, how does this 00:07:40.020 --> 00:07:44.759 connect with us? Well, most of us, I think, in this room, it's safe to assume we've all kind of grown up in 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:49.120 the United States. Not all of us, but most of us here. And if you've grown up in the United States, 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:54.120 you've been exposed to some version of Christianity, whether or not you call yourself a Christian today. 00:07:54.379 --> 00:08:00.560 Most of us grew up exposed to some version of Christianity. And often it's a very thin version 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:07.740 of Christianity. It's a sort of a thin spirituality. Along with this idea, there is a few basic 00:08:07.740 --> 00:08:13.159 principles. There's this idea that Christianity is about, at some point in our lives, we pray a prayer 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:17.900 to God. It could be when we're kids. It could be at Christian summer camp. It could be older when 00:08:17.900 --> 00:08:24.540 we're listening to a sermon. And we pray a prayer and Jesus comes into our heart. And at that moment, 00:08:24.640 --> 00:08:30.580 our sin is washed away. And then we're good to go. And there's really not much more to it. 00:08:31.660 --> 00:08:36.779 Go to church, volunteer, serve in your community. Those are good things. But beyond that, there's not 00:08:36.779 --> 00:08:43.519 much more to it. Not saying any of that is wrong, but I am saying, doesn't it strike you that it's 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:50.139 very formulaic? It's very transactional. And in that way, with all due respect, I would say it's 00:08:50.139 --> 00:08:58.600 not unlike the liver cake. You want to change? Here's a tried and true method. And if you take 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:05.879 on my method and buy my supplements, you'll look more like me. I look more like Jesus. So you'll 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:11.360 look more like Jesus, right? That's what's on offer a lot of the time. And what we need to understand 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:17.800 is that John is talking about repentance in a very different kind of way. He's not talking about a 00:09:17.800 --> 00:09:23.580 prayer that we pray at some point in our lives, get right with God and then move on. John's talking 00:09:23.580 --> 00:09:28.240 about a very different kind of repentance. And in the next chapter, what we see is that Jesus will begin 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:35.279 his public ministry. And then Jesus takes it even further. Frederico Matthews Green writes this, 00:09:37.019 --> 00:09:45.580 the first time Jesus appears in the first gospel, the first instruction he gives is repent. From then 00:09:45.580 --> 00:09:53.320 on, it's his most consistent message. In all times, in every situation, his advice is to repent. 00:09:53.320 --> 00:10:01.879 Not just the scribes and Pharisees, not just the powerful. He tells even the poor and the oppressed 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:10.040 that repentance is the key to eternal life. Few people would argue in our society today that the 00:10:10.040 --> 00:10:18.200 rich and the powerful need to repent. Jesus says, no, no, no. Everyone, even the poor and the oppressed, 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:25.200 the answer is always to repent. Now, why would this be the case? What we see here is the idea that 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:29.240 repentance is not just something you do once in summer camp. It's something that marks every day 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:36.320 of your life all the time. It's how you respond to every situation. The reason is because repentance, 00:10:37.040 --> 00:10:41.580 this understanding of repentance, has a more accurate understanding of sin. 00:10:41.580 --> 00:10:48.960 And the reality is that sin is a lot like an onion. It's a lot like an onion. 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:58.180 When we become aware of some sin in our life, some way that we are rebelling against God in our lives, 00:10:59.020 --> 00:11:03.580 we're called to repent. Meaning, whatever that thing is that we're holding on to, 00:11:03.980 --> 00:11:10.440 we let go of that thing, and then we turn and we embrace the grace and the love that is on all through 00:11:10.440 --> 00:11:15.820 Jesus, right? So it is a turning away from it. We let go of the sin and we turn and we embrace the 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:22.680 grace of God. That's repentance. And when we see sin in our lives, we're called to repent, turn away, 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:29.920 right? And embrace faith. When we do that, we are essentially peeling back one layer of the onion. 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:39.660 Fantastic. Praise God that layer is gone. But it's an onion. So there's another layer underneath. 00:11:40.440 --> 00:11:47.960 And in time, we begin to recognize that there is a deeper kind of sin, a deeper form of rebellion 00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:53.900 that was underneath the thing that we repented of. And that merits our attention and our repentance 00:11:53.900 --> 00:12:02.780 as well. So let me give you one example to flesh this out. Say you're late to a meeting. And you know, 00:12:02.820 --> 00:12:07.360 being late to a meeting used to not be as big a deal before Zoom because everybody would kind of be 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:11.639 talking for the first 10, 15 minutes, getting their coffee. But if you're late to a Zoom meeting, 00:12:11.680 --> 00:12:16.060 it's totally different. It's like, if you're like one minute late, people are like, where is it? And 00:12:16.060 --> 00:12:20.919 everybody's sitting awkwardly on the call and they're just waiting on that one person who's not there. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:24.759 And then you're getting pinged in text. Are you coming? Are you coming? Not that it's ever happened 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:30.940 to me, but it's a much bigger deal on Zoom. And so say you're late to a meeting, 00:12:30.940 --> 00:12:38.640 you keep someone waiting for say 20, 30 minutes. Now that's arguably a minor sin because it's a lack 00:12:38.640 --> 00:12:44.480 of regard for someone else's time. And so you apologize and you repent. You say, I shouldn't 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:49.340 have done that. It was disrespectful. Please forgive me. And maybe you pray a little prayer to God, 00:12:49.680 --> 00:12:55.420 asking God's forgiveness for disrespecting that person's time. You're peeling off a layer. Praise 00:12:55.419 --> 00:13:01.899 God. That layer is gone. You've repented. Later, as you're reflecting on this, you begin to realize 00:13:01.899 --> 00:13:05.759 that, you know, that wasn't just a one-off thing. It's actually kind of a habit in my life. 00:13:06.179 --> 00:13:11.579 You begin to realize that your friends who know you well, they kind of expect that you're going to 00:13:11.579 --> 00:13:15.979 be late. They know that if they're meeting you at lunch or a restaurant or whatever, they know that 00:13:15.979 --> 00:13:20.179 you're probably going to be about 20 minutes late. You begin to realize, wow, I'm doing this to a lot 00:13:20.179 --> 00:13:24.620 of people in my life. And you begin to reflect on that. That's kind of selfish. And I've garnered this 00:13:24.620 --> 00:13:29.639 reputation and that's not good. I'm known as a person who doesn't respect people's time. 00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:35.320 And you begin to realize this is actually a sin pattern in my life. So you spend some time praying 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:40.320 about that and you confess it to the Lord and you're peeling back that layer and you're asking 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:46.600 God to help you be on time so that you can respect people's time and treat them the way you want to be 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:51.899 treated. And so you're peeling off another layer. Praise God, that layer is being done. That's fantastic. 00:13:51.899 --> 00:13:59.539 But then in time, you begin to realize, you know what? Under that, there's this other reality in my 00:13:59.539 --> 00:14:05.100 life that I never really saw before. I realized that why am I late all the time? Well, I'm late because 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:13.500 I am so profoundly busy. I'm so busy. I feel like I'm always running around. I'm always late to 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:20.919 everything. Plates are always dropping because we've got so many plates spinning. I'm really busy. 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:26.059 That's why I'm late. And you're convicted by the fact that, you know, this isn't really an excuse 00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:29.899 that I can give to the person who's been waiting. It's really on me. I need to figure out the 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:36.319 busyness. Why am I so busy? That's another layer. Okay. Now, busyness can be a very insidious form of 00:14:36.319 --> 00:14:41.659 sin. You know, first of all, we're called to be people of peace. We're called to be people of joy. 00:14:41.719 --> 00:14:46.500 And if you're busy, it robs you of both. We're called to be people who regularly take time for 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:51.679 Sabbath rest and busyness robs us of that. Over time, it can wear us down. It can corrode 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:57.639 our relationships. So you realize, man, I got to take this seriously. Well, then you start to peel 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:02.139 off all layers. You say, well, before I can actually peel this layer off, I have to figure out why am I 00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:08.600 busy? What's driving the busyness? Now I'm getting somewhere. Okay. We're a few layers in. We're starting 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:14.639 to make progress. Why am I busy? Well, busyness can be driven by different things. 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:21.120 Some people are busy because they're so devoted to climbing the ladder of success. 00:15:21.980 --> 00:15:27.560 They're so devoted to excelling in their career, say, that they are willing to sacrifice anything 00:15:27.560 --> 00:15:32.000 and everything. So their job always comes first. They're always committed to working. They work 80 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:37.000 hours a week. They never sleep. And that's why they're busy. So that would be busyness 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:45.279 rooted in an idol of power and success, right? That's one kind of busyness. 00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:50.340 Other people are busy for a very different reason. They're busy because they're driven by fear 00:15:50.340 --> 00:15:57.879 and anxiety. And there's a need in their life to micromanage everything in their lives. 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:03.620 And so that would be a form of busyness rooted in an idolatry of control. It's a very different 00:16:03.620 --> 00:16:09.259 kind of busyness. And then there are other people who are busy because they use busyness 00:16:09.259 --> 00:16:19.059 as a way to stay disengaged. Busyness is a kind of white noise that keeps them from ever having to feel 00:16:19.059 --> 00:16:26.659 negative feelings or face hard truth. And they just sort of stay on the run all of the time, 00:16:26.659 --> 00:16:34.159 filling their lives with distraction. That's another kind of busyness rooted in a very different 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:43.639 idol, the idol of comfort, avoidance. Then there's another kind of busyness that comes from people who 00:16:43.639 --> 00:16:49.139 aren't ever able to set good boundaries. No matter what, they're always saying yes and over committing 00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:55.559 and giving themselves above and beyond, even when it's not necessary, because they don't want to let 00:16:55.559 --> 00:17:01.579 people down and they're convinced that they have to earn people's approval and love. That would be a 00:17:01.579 --> 00:17:07.899 busyness rooted in an idol of approval. Right? So just a few examples. But before you can peel that 00:17:07.899 --> 00:17:13.740 layer back, you need to start to do some real heart level reflection. What idol am I serving? What thing 00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:22.700 have I allowed to become more important than God in my life? Is it power? Is it control? Is it comfort? 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:29.559 Is it the approval of other people? What is it? And it may take you a long time to really root that out. 00:17:30.600 --> 00:17:35.819 Now, under every surface level sin, the meeting that you're 15 minutes late to, 00:17:36.580 --> 00:17:40.319 the white lie that you tell and you're not even sure why you told it, 00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:47.840 the snap where you say something hurtful to your family, under every surface level sin, 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:53.379 you're going to find deeper and deeper layers of sin. Let me just be clear. This is just one example. 00:17:53.740 --> 00:18:02.980 The reality is sin is a vast, interrelated, interconnected network. There are networks of sin 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:08.500 in our lives. Onions within onions within onions, right? Running through our lives. 00:18:08.500 --> 00:18:16.099 And so repentance, the way Jesus and John talk about it, is not just a one-time thing at summer camp. 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:23.920 It is a lifestyle. It's a commitment to peeling back the layers, recognizing that greater knowledge 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:30.579 of God is intimately interconnected with greater knowledge itself. And that you need both. 00:18:30.579 --> 00:18:38.319 That you need both in an ongoing kind of way. But this understanding of repentance is the key to change. 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:42.339 Peeling back the layers, figuring out what is underneath. 00:18:43.439 --> 00:18:49.059 The Apostle Paul, near the end of his life, after a lifetime of this, a lifetime of repentance, 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:53.319 in one of, if not the last letter he ever wrote, he says this. 00:18:53.319 --> 00:19:01.399 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world 00:19:01.399 --> 00:19:10.579 to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. This is a man who spent his life peeling back the layers. 00:19:11.619 --> 00:19:18.000 This is what he has come to see about himself. The problem is, and you can anticipate this, 00:19:18.220 --> 00:19:21.960 if you actually commit to doing this, it's going to be excruciatingly painful. 00:19:21.960 --> 00:19:26.340 If you want to be honest about it, it's going to be painful. 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:29.380 So what makes it possible to endure the pain? 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:35.920 This brings us to the second thing that we need to realize in order to actually change. 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:39.319 Not only do you need to realize that your problem is worse than you think, 00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:42.100 whatever it may be, whatever you think it is, it's worse. 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:48.779 You also need to recognize this, that God's love is greater than we could ever, ever, ever imagine. 00:19:49.299 --> 00:19:51.319 It is greater than we can ever imagine. 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:56.900 John is out here baptizing people. He's preparing them for the coming of God's deliverer. 00:19:57.100 --> 00:20:02.000 He's calling people to repent. And then he sees Jesus and he realizes all at once, 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:07.720 this is the deliverer that God has sent. And he recognizes Jesus as he comes up. 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:11.740 And you can imagine him almost getting ready to get down on his knees. 00:20:11.740 --> 00:20:14.680 And then Jesus asks, will you baptize me? 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:18.740 And that's totally unexpected for John. 00:20:19.140 --> 00:20:23.400 And John is baffled because Jesus is God's deliverer. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:25.420 Jesus doesn't need to repent of anything. 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:33.039 According to all the prophecies, he's the righteous one who has come to fulfill all of God's purposes. 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:37.299 So John says, well, if anything, you should be baptizing me. 00:20:37.700 --> 00:20:39.059 I'm the unclean one. 00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:43.920 But Jesus insists. And so John baptizes him. 00:20:44.879 --> 00:20:46.539 And we need to ask what's going on here. 00:20:47.379 --> 00:20:49.779 The reason that Jesus gives is this. 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:56.980 He says, let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. 00:20:56.980 --> 00:21:01.539 Now we just said, Jesus can't mean that he's not righteous and he needs to become righteous. 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:02.720 We already established that. 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:04.019 So what does Jesus mean? 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:06.779 What does it mean to fulfill all righteousness? 00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:17.579 Jesus knows that he has come to fulfill a righteous purpose of God set out many, many, many centuries earlier. 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:24.799 In other words, John thought God's deliverer was going to come and judge the world. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:28.919 But Jesus knows that is not why he has come. 00:21:30.159 --> 00:21:39.119 When Jesus allows himself to be baptized, we actually see the real reason he came begin to emerge. 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:46.519 Jesus didn't come to judge sinners, to stand on high and condemn sinners from his place of righteousness. 00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:50.919 Jesus came in order to identify themselves. 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:55.900 And so what we see in the baptism is not Jesus standing as judge over them. 00:21:56.279 --> 00:22:03.539 We see Jesus standing among with sinners, identifying and standing alongside them. 00:22:04.019 --> 00:22:11.039 And that begins to help John and others realize this is a very different kind of deliverance than anyone was expecting. 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:14.319 The reason is this. 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:22.700 God loves human beings so much that even though we deserve that judgment, we deserve for Jesus to do that. 00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:31.960 He loves us so much that he was willing to actually stand with us and then trade places with us. 00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:36.740 And where we see this go is ultimately to the cross at Calvary. 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:43.460 Jesus there is willing to endure the punishment meant for human beings on the cross. 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:52.460 And then following his resurrection, he offers us his righteousness in exchange for our sin. 00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:55.120 And here's the good news of the gospel. 00:22:55.119 --> 00:23:02.919 In Jesus, God became like us so that we might become like him. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:09.299 So being a Christian isn't about being a good person. 00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:12.659 Hopefully that comes with the territory. 00:23:13.779 --> 00:23:16.399 But that's not what defines a Christian as a Christian. 00:23:17.979 --> 00:23:23.779 Being a Christian means allowing Jesus to trade places with us. 00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:29.859 So Christian baptism is not the same thing as the baptism of John. 00:23:29.939 --> 00:23:32.339 We're going to see a baptism here in just a little while. 00:23:32.439 --> 00:23:35.759 It's not the same thing as the baptism of John. 00:23:36.239 --> 00:23:42.479 When Jesus is baptized by John, he is identifying with us in our sin. 00:23:44.399 --> 00:23:51.719 But when we are baptized in Jesus' name, we are identifying with Jesus in his righteousness. 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:54.980 It is a very different thing. 00:23:55.980 --> 00:23:58.960 Jesus transforms what deliverance means. 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:05.019 He transforms judgment by allowing himself to be judged. 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:15.259 And he transforms baptism by offering a righteousness to us like a gift, like a garment. 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:20.220 And immediately after Jesus is baptized, it says, 00:24:20.579 --> 00:24:27.359 The heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. 00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:29.160 And behold, a voice from heaven, 00:24:29.579 --> 00:24:33.779 This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:38.039 When God looks at his Son, he feels pure delight. 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:48.180 And baptism means, baptism proclaims that anyone who is baptized in Jesus' name, 00:24:48.399 --> 00:24:51.680 When God looks at that person, he feels the same delight. 00:24:52.539 --> 00:24:54.700 He feels the same joy. 00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:58.879 It means that God no longer sees our sin. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:03.680 He sees the righteousness of his own Son over us. 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:12.340 And just like Jesus, when we are baptized into his name, we receive the same Holy Spirit. 00:25:12.539 --> 00:25:13.900 It descends upon us. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:16.000 He remains with us. 00:25:16.100 --> 00:25:20.039 He works within us, ultimately to transform us. 00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:25.100 And friends, this is the key to the whole thing. 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:28.920 This is the reason, by the way, why Christians who are growing, 00:25:28.920 --> 00:25:32.360 Christians who are maturing, Christians who are flourishing in their faith, 00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:34.900 Are so eager to repent. 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:38.039 This is why Frederica Matthews Green would write such a thing. 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:43.560 Because we are eager to peel back the layers of sin, even when it's painful. 00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:44.080 Why? 00:25:44.420 --> 00:25:49.180 Because we already have the full assurance of God's love and God's delight. 00:25:49.300 --> 00:25:50.539 We're not earning something. 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:54.880 We're not saying, God, if I can just root all of this out, then maybe you'll love me. 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:56.279 That's what a lot of other religions say. 00:25:56.279 --> 00:26:00.240 We're saying, no, every time I peel it back and every time I feel the pain, 00:26:01.059 --> 00:26:04.099 that pain has been washed away by your love. 00:26:05.319 --> 00:26:12.779 And we get so drawn in to that feeling of love that we are eager to pull back the layers. 00:26:13.180 --> 00:26:14.899 Because there's nothing else like it. 00:26:16.200 --> 00:26:16.319 Right? 00:26:16.460 --> 00:26:21.039 So, unlike the liver king, Jesus doesn't offer us a lifestyle. 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:22.720 He doesn't offer us supplements. 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:27.640 He doesn't say, if you do what I say to him, you might look like me. 00:26:29.319 --> 00:26:31.759 Jesus says, you look like me. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:36.339 Now, live out of that new identity. 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:38.000 It's already yours. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:39.039 You already have it. 00:26:39.579 --> 00:26:40.960 You're already beautiful. 00:26:42.120 --> 00:26:43.779 Now, live like it. 00:26:43.779 --> 00:26:46.599 It's completely different. 00:26:47.259 --> 00:26:50.619 So, Christianity isn't about becoming someone we're not. 00:26:50.920 --> 00:26:55.240 It's about living out of the truth of who we really are in Jesus Christ. 00:26:55.420 --> 00:26:58.579 When we're baptized, we gain that new identity immediately. 00:26:58.759 --> 00:27:00.660 We become like Christ immediately. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:03.519 The rest of the Christian life is about working that out. 00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:05.639 So, when Paul confronts sin, guess what? 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:07.859 He's not saying, oh, shape up. 00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:08.799 Be more like Jesus. 00:27:09.879 --> 00:27:11.920 He says, you've forgotten who you are. 00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:14.579 This is the old you. 00:27:15.299 --> 00:27:17.099 That person no longer exists. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:20.440 So, let me draw all of this together. 00:27:20.440 --> 00:27:25.420 Why does the gospel make real change possible? 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:28.080 In a way that nothing else can. 00:27:29.080 --> 00:27:35.180 And the simple reason is that it actually gives us a real way to deal with our sin, 00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:39.320 to peel back the layers, and to root it out once and for all. 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:46.580 That comes through a lifestyle of repentance and the working of the Holy Spirit in us over time. 00:27:46.580 --> 00:27:49.660 Through faith in Jesus Christ, we gain a new identity. 00:27:49.660 --> 00:27:51.200 He takes our sin. 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:52.779 He gives us his righteousness. 00:27:53.360 --> 00:27:57.740 And then Jesus calls us to a lifestyle of repentance, of peeling back the layers. 00:27:58.779 --> 00:28:03.480 And every time this becomes too painful, every time we're tempted to give in to despair, 00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:06.820 the gospel reminds us of God's words as he looks at us. 00:28:07.040 --> 00:28:09.500 Every time we're peeling back a layer and I'm tempted to think, 00:28:09.800 --> 00:28:11.240 I can't believe I do this. 00:28:11.320 --> 00:28:12.880 I can't believe I'm this awful. 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:16.279 If people only knew this about me, they would never want to be my friend. 00:28:16.540 --> 00:28:18.440 As I'm peeling that back, what do I hear? 00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:21.720 I hear through my baptism the voice of God the Father saying, 00:28:22.100 --> 00:28:26.019 This is my Son in whom I delight. 00:28:27.080 --> 00:28:30.759 God pulls rank on us and says, 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:37.240 My opinion counts more than your opinion when it comes to who you are. 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:40.900 That's what baptism means. 00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:45.859 And what we discover is that repentance is, I think, in my experience, 00:28:45.980 --> 00:28:49.359 the only way to really experience God's love, 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:53.539 to go from just knowing and hearing and reading about it to feeling it, 00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:54.880 is through repentance. 00:28:55.880 --> 00:28:58.720 You know, when Paul refers to himself as the foremost sinner, 00:28:58.920 --> 00:29:00.880 there's no hint of self-loathing there. 00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:03.059 He's not clinically depressed. 00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:04.279 Quite the opposite. 00:29:04.279 --> 00:29:07.740 In the verse just before that, in verse 14, he says, 00:29:08.099 --> 00:29:13.960 And the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and the love that are in Christ Jesus. 00:29:14.119 --> 00:29:17.220 He's overflowing with the grace and the love of Jesus. 00:29:17.500 --> 00:29:18.920 And out of that, he says, Guess what? 00:29:19.180 --> 00:29:20.639 I'm the worst sinner. 00:29:21.379 --> 00:29:22.379 I'm the worst. 00:29:22.380 --> 00:29:24.500 And he's happy to admit it. 00:29:24.700 --> 00:29:26.440 Because he's so filled with love and grace. 00:29:29.040 --> 00:29:32.200 So the more we repent, the more we experience God's love, 00:29:32.840 --> 00:29:36.820 the more we feel his delight in real and powerful ways. 00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:41.119 So whether you're here and you're someone who's never put your faith in Jesus, 00:29:41.259 --> 00:29:43.099 you've never done this, this is all new to you, 00:29:43.379 --> 00:29:47.059 or you're a Christian and you're looking at another year, 2023, 00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:49.980 and you're stagnant in your faith, 00:29:50.679 --> 00:29:53.539 and you haven't changed for a very, very long time, 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:57.700 and you're dry, and you're not sure what you believe, 00:29:57.700 --> 00:30:00.700 the answer is the same. 00:30:02.200 --> 00:30:02.640 Repent. 00:30:04.360 --> 00:30:05.860 Peel back the layers. 00:30:06.420 --> 00:30:10.380 And then turn and receive the grace and the love of Jesus Christ 00:30:10.380 --> 00:30:12.000 that is on offer to the world. 00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:13.380 Let's pray. 00:30:16.100 --> 00:30:18.539 Lord, we are here because of that love. 00:30:19.840 --> 00:30:21.660 And we're not here because we're good people, 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:23.720 because we're good church-going folk. 00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:28.259 We're not here because maybe even the reasons that we think we're here. 00:30:29.240 --> 00:30:31.779 We're here because at some point along the way, 00:30:31.860 --> 00:30:32.880 he looked at us and said, 00:30:33.500 --> 00:30:35.400 I love you, and I want you. 00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:38.000 We're here because of your love. 00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:40.100 We're here because of your son. 00:30:40.220 --> 00:30:43.180 We're here because of his desire to bless the nations. 00:30:43.960 --> 00:30:48.000 Lord, and we pray that you would continue to press the truth 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:49.960 of what has been said through your word 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:52.819 into our hearts in ways that we desperately need to feel. 00:30:52.819 --> 00:30:54.879 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:30:55.079 --> 00:30:55.299 Amen.