WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.599 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:20.480 ! It is wonderful that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:25.679 either by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray for us 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:32.159 that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:37.359 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:42.159 we really, I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:48.799 Bible, they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will do 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:55.120 what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a non-Christian, 00:00:55.119 --> 00:01:00.320 checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't hesitate to send us 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:05.280 questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the types of things 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.679 that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:11.679 --> 00:01:18.319 And bow your heads in prayer, please. Father, you know our hearts and still you love us. 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:22.879 And we confess that doesn't fill us with as much gratitude as it should. 00:01:23.759 --> 00:01:28.639 But make us, Father, bless us with hearts that are more and more filled with gratitude for your 00:01:28.639 --> 00:01:34.639 kindnesses and mercies to us. So Father, you know our hearts. You know how much we desire to be liked, 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:43.840 how much we desire to be admired, and how much we hate being made fun of, or mocked, or thought of as stupid. 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:52.000 And Father, you know how difficult it makes that just these processes within us to sometimes live for you, 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:57.920 and to bear witness to you. So we ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would bring the words of this 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:04.480 scripture text deep into our hearts today, that it might form us, that we might live humble lives of 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:10.960 courage for the good of others, the good of ourselves, and for your great glory. And we ask this in the name 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:19.039 of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. So today we're going to look at that third word primarily, which is, 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:26.960 which says very, very simply, I better open up my Bible. I know it off by heart, you know, 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:31.520 but I don't want to keep messing it up just when I'm in front of everybody like that. This is a, 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:41.120 and it goes like this. It's 1 Timothy 1.15. It's a one-verse sermon. And Paul says this, 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:52.719 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:58.719 to save sinners. And you'll see that in the Bible, it says, of whom I am the foremost. But 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:05.919 the people putting the service together very wisely kept that out. It's not really part of the saying. 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:10.879 The saying is that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Then Paul adds that extra thing, 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:13.759 that he believes he might have been one of the worst sinners that's ever lived. 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:20.399 But there's this very profound, short statement. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full 00:03:20.399 --> 00:03:28.000 acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And this is last week when we looked 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:36.399 at John 3.16. It was, I said, Jesus gives a one-verse summary of what his life and death and resurrection is 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:43.680 all about, his whole ministry. And because the whole Bible is ultimately pointing to that and flowing from 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:49.599 that, when you hear the words of John 3.16, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:54.879 Son to the end, that all that believe in him will not perish but have eternal life, you are hearing Jesus's 00:03:54.879 --> 00:04:00.879 summary of the whole Bible. And this is another summary which complements the other one. This is Paul 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:08.000 giving a very, very simple summary. I'm going to give you a saying, he said, and this saying is 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:14.560 trustworthy and it deserves your full acceptance. Not partial acceptance, but full. That's a big claim, 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:25.040 isn't it? That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Now, let's just be, you know, 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:30.079 honest about this before we start to go into the text. It's a problematic text for us, isn't it, 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:36.639 here in Canada. I don't know how many of you were listening to my prayer, but we all know that first 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:43.919 and foremost in our culture, words like sinner and saved are easily and frequently mocked. 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:50.240 I mean, you can just picture any type of stand-up comedian, if they came out onto the stage and began 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:55.439 by saying, by the way, folks, I'm a sinner, the crowd would laugh. Or if he came out and said, by the way, 00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:00.639 are you saved? The crowd would laugh. It's something that you can say with a raised eyebrow, with a shake 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:08.560 of your head like this, like only completely uncool, unhip, completely unrealistic, weird, homophobic, 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:14.000 all those extra things you don't like, say things like saved or say that things are like sinners. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:20.959 And it's very, very easily mocked, very frequently mocked when it comes up. And because it's very 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:31.360 frequently mocked, we often don't want to use such words. We often hide them and think of analogies or 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:39.040 metaphors or other euphemisms to try to get around it. Now, it might very well be wise to not poke the 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:44.800 bear and not use those words in a conversation, at least immediately. But it's very important that 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:51.520 we don't let the mockery of the world seep into our thinking, that we lose these words, which are very, 00:05:51.520 --> 00:06:00.560 very important. And they're important because they talk about several types of human experiences 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:11.600 that trouble us. And these words are beautiful, wise, and powerful medicine to different problems 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:20.079 that we have that ruin relationships, ruin countries, ruin our lives. Well, before I get to that, just the 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:25.279 very, very first part, listen to what it says again. This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:30.559 acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. One of my hopes is at the end of 00:06:30.559 --> 00:06:35.199 the sermon is even if you don't, in fact, it would be vastly better if you, none of you remembered a 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:40.879 single thing I said, but you'd memorize the text. If you remember what I say, but don't remember the 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:45.919 text, in some ways I failed. If you remember the text, but don't remember what I'd say, I think I get an A 00:06:45.919 --> 00:06:51.119 plus. Because it's God's word you need to know, not my word, right? I'm just trying to, 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:56.720 I'm trying to be a little bit like a matchmaker. And here's what God's saying, and here's you, and I'd like the 00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:02.079 two of you to meet together and have this conversation and hear what God says. That's what, in a sense, part of my 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:10.240 role is today. But here's that very, very big claim at the beginning, that the saying, and the saying is that 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:17.360 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, that that saying is trustworthy, and it's true, and it deserves full 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:23.680 acceptance. Now, at the end of the sermon, I'm going to return to that after I've shared with you this, 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:29.680 these psychological and emotional and spiritual and personal problems which this text is, is actually 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:34.960 addressing in a very wise and beautiful way. But just, and I'm not going to defend this, it's, if you 00:07:34.960 --> 00:07:39.360 see this, now you understand a little bit when we were going through the book of Acts, why I kept mentioning 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:44.240 to you why it is that we can believe that the book of Acts is accurate, why it's historically true. It's 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:50.240 because I'm, in a sense, being formed by verses like this, that that's the claim which is being made. 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:57.680 Paul, not only does Paul say this, but Paul says this, and he ends up basing his entire life on it. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:04.319 He ends up dying. He's writing this to a young man by the name of Timothy, and it's just after he's 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:09.600 gotten freed from his first imprisonment in Rome, and it's just before he's going to have his final 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:14.879 imprisonment in Rome, and he's going to end up being beheaded. And he is beheaded precisely 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:21.280 because he is going to maintain, even to the point of death, that Jesus died on the cross and rose from 00:08:21.280 --> 00:08:27.360 the dead to save sinners. It's not just that the resurrection actually happened, that the crucifixion 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:32.080 happened, the resurrection happened, but the meaning is that it's the means by which sinners are saved, 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:38.720 and he was willing to die for that. It's not like dying for Marxism or the American flag or the 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:46.720 Canadian flag or the Russian flag, not like dying for, you know, Palestinian causes or anything like 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:51.840 that. People die for causes. Not many people die maintaining that this is actually true, that this 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:57.200 actually happened. That's a bigger thing. That shows he really believes that this is true, and I've 00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:02.399 talked in other weeks about how the evidence is that it really did completely transform him, and it's 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:08.240 the best explanation in the world to explain the changes in his life that he really did see the risen Jesus. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:20.240 And so he's making these profound claims, and it's not proud or arrogant to make such claims. 00:09:21.680 --> 00:09:26.399 You know, it's proud or arrogant to say that Canada is the greatest country in the world. 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:31.440 It's funny, we don't often think of that as being a proud and arrogant country. You know, 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:34.320 we see it if Americans say America is the greatest country in the world, 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:39.600 and right now it bothers a lot of Canadians and Americans say that. We don't think that our own 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:44.080 claim that we're the best country in the world is at all arrogant and might irritate others. And you 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:48.800 could go all the way around the world. I can just imagine, you know, in Europe, if French said, 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:54.399 French is the best country in Europe, it would bother all the other countries. You know, you can go on and 00:09:54.399 --> 00:10:00.319 on and on and on. We don't see pride often in ourselves. Those are proud statements. But to say 00:10:00.319 --> 00:10:04.879 that Jesus really died on the cross and rose from the dead, if you're making a claim about what actually 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:09.439 happened in history, that's not proud. It's not proud to say that Ottawa is the capital of Canada, 00:10:09.439 --> 00:10:15.759 or that Toronto Maple Leafs are a hockey team. Those aren't proud things to say it. It's just true. 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:22.159 And one of the things we need to understand is that Christianity, the heart of Christianity, 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:28.000 is that these are true and trustworthy sayings deserving of full acceptance, because it's news. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:35.200 It's true news of actually happened. It's not just a religious or spiritual statement, which is 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:42.559 about sort of an interior thing that we value. No, no, no. It's interior and we value it, but it's true. 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:48.879 And it's not only true, it's trustworthy. And it's so trustworthy, your life will be vastly better for 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:53.120 it if you accept it fully. It deserves to be accepted fully. 00:10:53.120 --> 00:11:02.720 Well, that's my little thing about that, getting into the problem parts of the text, at least in our culture. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:10.960 Several years ago, my wife was bumped into somebody in a park, an older woman, and she got into a 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:18.320 conversation with her. And over the weeks, it came out that the woman had a son which rarely visited her, 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:26.160 an only son who rarely visited her. And they were a bit estranged. And one of the things about this son 00:11:26.160 --> 00:11:33.760 that bothered her was that he had become quite successful. And with his success, both professionally 00:11:33.760 --> 00:11:41.360 and financially, he looked down on poor people. He looked down on many people in Canada. He had the view 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:48.160 that he was able to make much of himself. He was able to accomplish all of these things. And if he was 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:52.240 able to accomplish all of these things, and the only reason that others don't accomplish such things 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:58.799 is because they obviously are lazy, not very smart, don't work hard, aren't disciplined, and on and on 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:06.000 and on and on. And the thing that bothered, I mean, there's several things that obviously bothered the 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:10.799 older woman about it. But part of what bothered her is that his fundamental claim was false. 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:17.839 He grew up with loving parents. He grew up with loving parents who paid all of his university costs 00:12:17.839 --> 00:12:23.279 to go to a really good university. Like he wasn't quite born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:29.120 was definitely born with lots and lots and lots of advantages. You know, there used to be a... It's 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:34.159 not as if he struggled to get on the baseball team, made the baseball team, and then hit a home run. 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:41.039 No, he was actually almost born on home plate, maybe born on third base. And he only had to manage to get 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:47.120 from third base to home. And in baseball, to get from third base to home is because somebody else hits 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:52.240 the ball and allows you to get in. And he didn't realize that. Now, we all know that if Hollywood was 00:12:52.240 --> 00:13:00.639 to do a movie about that man, we would be disappointed if by the end of the movie, the man wasn't humbled in some 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:06.879 way, wouldn't we? If we saw a man who was arrogant and full of himself, believing that he'd accomplished 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:11.600 all of these great things, looking down his nose at others, if at the end of the movie, he's even richer 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:19.120 and more powerful, we would all tell people, don't go see that movie. It sucks. But if in fact, it ends 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:23.360 with him being humbled, maybe profoundly humbled, I mean, there might be other reasons why it's not a good 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:33.840 movie. But we'd say that's a good movie. We like to see the proud humbled. But we don't like to have 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:43.039 our own pride humbled. You know, here's a thing to try to get your minds around a little bit. Why is it 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:48.800 that nobody can, virtually nobody, and I'm not saying this because I'm perfect and I'm pointing at you, 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:53.439 and if you're listening to this, this isn't me saying all those people outside of this church, 00:13:53.439 --> 00:13:59.439 this is what you like, and we're the accomplished perfect ones. No, no, why is it that as human beings, 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:05.519 every one of us included, it's very hard for us to actually acknowledge that we've done something 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:11.279 wrong and take responsibility for it? Now, maybe you think, no, that's George, that's a bit extreme. But if 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:22.240 you go back and you listen to supposed apologies. I was talking to a young man and a young woman about 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:30.559 a year ago, and it turned out, I was asking a bit about how they got there, and one of them had come 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:36.720 to this city because he was with a young woman that he hoped to marry, and they were living together, 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:44.560 a young man, and she cheated on him, broke the relationship. The other woman who was his friend, 00:14:44.560 --> 00:14:49.360 but not his girlfriend, she had been in a five-year relationship with a person, and then 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:56.399 her boyfriend cheated on her. And in both cases, as they were talking about it, one of the things that 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:05.040 really irked them was how the, in one case a woman, in the other case a man, how they responded to it. 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.959 They basically said something like this, well, I'm really sad that you're upset. 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:19.279 I'm really sad that you're, I'm really sad for what happened, as if it just sort of happened, 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:25.519 you know, like a lottery ticket floating out of the sky into your hands that's worth like a million 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:31.039 dollars. Like, I'm really sorry that this has happened, right? But that's not an apology, is it? 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:39.679 What, I mean, it would have probably broken the relationship period, but what they really ultimately 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:48.879 wanted was to say, I should not have done that. This is wrong, and it hurt you, and I am sorry. 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:57.120 Well, why is it that we want to just make it about the other person's feeling, or why is it that when we 00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:02.159 are supposed to be making apologies, what we really end up doing is justifying ourselves, 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:09.519 and making ourselves look better than we really are? Why is it that we, we say things like, well, 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:14.320 you know, the reason I did that is actually partially your fault, because of the way you treat me? 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:21.920 You know, like we're both sort of the blame at this, or I didn't understand, or I, you know, I didn't really 00:16:21.920 --> 00:16:27.120 mean to, or you're taking it the wrong way, that a lot of times when we have conversations, it's all about 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:32.879 you're feeling upset, which is the problem, not the wrong that I did, and it's always an attempt to make 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:38.880 it look like what I did wasn't quite as bad, or quite as wrong, or anything like that. Why is it that that's a very, 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:46.159 very common human problem? And it's a common human problem when you see very powerful and important 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:52.960 people get caught out for doing naughty things, and they have professional image managers, and it's also 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:56.960 just the sort of thing that you hear by the average person on the street. Why is it that we human beings 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:03.120 have a profound desire to justify ourselves, to make ourselves look better than we are, 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:14.319 and to not accept responsibility for the wrongdoing we've done? And why is it that we human beings 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:26.720 love to watch movies where the pride of other people is punctured, but we hate it if in some way 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:35.519 we are revealed to be not as perfect as we want others to think, and we don't see that that's our pride being punctured? 00:17:37.360 --> 00:17:43.279 And why is it that those experiences of having our pride punctured often mean we need things like therapy 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:48.400 and counseling? What is it about human beings that that's the way we are? 00:17:48.400 --> 00:18:00.160 Well, that brings us to the statement that we're looking at today, the true statement, worthy of full acceptance, that 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:06.160 this saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:13.360 to save sinners. Now, usually in our culture, when we think of the word sin and sinners, we think of it 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:20.399 in connection to sexual sins. That would probably be the common way of people, you know, people might say, 00:18:20.399 --> 00:18:24.319 well, it's an old-fashioned word, I don't really know what it means. I think when people talk about it, 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:28.879 it's because they have a hang-up about sex or something. Christians have a hang-up about sex, 00:18:28.879 --> 00:18:33.679 and so they use this word sinners, but it's not really a good word. But that's not what sinner means at all. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:39.599 Sin is a proud rejection of the triune God. 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:54.159 A sinner is one who proudly rejects the triune God, rejects his claims, rejects his authority, rejects his words. 00:18:55.519 --> 00:19:00.879 Now, it doesn't mean that they do everything the opposite of what God wants, but a sinner is one who 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:08.080 rejects with pride the triune God, and we accept those things that the triune of the triune God 00:19:09.120 --> 00:19:13.200 that we happen to agree with, that we think are good, or that we want to do. 00:19:14.080 --> 00:19:16.080 But even if we do things that 00:19:16.800 --> 00:19:23.360 God seems to want us to do, we don't do it because of God. We do it because, well, I think this is wise. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:31.439 I, my, me and my tribe think this is wise, and that's why we do it. But we, at the end of the day, reject 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:38.000 the presence, unless we ask for them, of the triune God. 00:19:40.639 --> 00:19:45.439 Now, I'm going to show you a slide. If you could put up the first slide, that would be very, very helpful. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:50.720 When we hear the phrase, 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:57.840 this saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:02.720 it doesn't really make sense to the average Canadian, because the average Canadian, 00:20:03.600 --> 00:20:09.039 and I think the average person throughout the world, ultimately has a view like this about what the 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:12.880 spiritual, the obvious religious or spiritual path is. 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:18.560 And I think this is what you would find if you go in the Muslim community, if you go in large parts of 00:20:18.560 --> 00:20:22.880 Christianity that's forgotten the gospel, I think it would be what you would find in the Jewish community, 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:28.560 the Hindu community, the Buddhist community. The spiritual, but not religious, the boutique 00:20:28.560 --> 00:20:33.760 spirituality world would all have this basic understanding that this is the real way, that if 00:20:33.760 --> 00:20:39.520 you are going to be a spiritual or religious person, this is the way it works. First, you'd be a little bit of a better person. 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:47.680 So you maybe, you decide you're going to cut down on your drinking, you're going to maybe cut down on your smoking, 00:20:48.639 --> 00:20:55.039 you're going to try to lose a couple of pounds, and you're going to start to maybe make a bit of a dent in your credit card thing. 00:20:56.639 --> 00:21:02.639 And then after you've done something like that, you sort of feel like you have some credentials to join some type of a holy group, 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:11.759 whether it's a synagogue or a mosque or a temple or a coven or some other little group that's involved in some types of spiritual activities 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:19.680 connecting to the divine. Because you couldn't just walk into that group if you smell of cigarette smoke and you're drunk, 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:26.720 and your credit card balance is absolutely horrific, and you're doing terrible things. 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:33.600 You can't just join some type of holy group like that if that's the type of person you are. So you need to get a little bit better first. 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:40.559 And once you've gotten a little bit better, because good grief, how on earth would your church view it if you came to church drunk and 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:46.480 completely broken? Like good grief, they'd kick you right out of the building, wouldn't we? That's what we people think. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.960 That's not what we would do, but that's what people would think. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:55.519 And you join a holy group and you start to take a couple of their holy practices. Maybe you start to to pray in the mosque, 00:21:55.519 --> 00:22:03.200 or you make the five times of prayers a day with all the appropriate washings, or you meditate, or you practice mindfulness, 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:10.480 or you say the rosary, or you, you know, do some Bible memorization, or whatever it is, if you're understanding this in a spiritual path. 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:20.240 And then at the end of the day, as you become a better person, and as you master being a part of this holy group, you attain union with God. 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:26.079 And that's how most people think that it works. 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:35.920 It's like the natural way that we would just assume that people who were involved in some type of a religious quest would go about it. 00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:42.279 People who are burned by religion and spirituality, they reject this. 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:47.440 They think it's a complete and utter waste of time hanging around with a group of self-righteous people, 00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:54.420 thinking they're holier than others and better than others in the little coven, or in the mosque, or in the church, or in the synagogue, or in the temple, 00:22:54.980 --> 00:22:57.259 or in the meditation group, or whatever it is. 00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:04.860 As they sip their Johnny Walker, or as they sit doing something else, or exercising, or whatever, 00:23:04.859 --> 00:23:11.000 they think, why would I want to hang around with a group of people like that to supposedly attain some type of union with an imaginary God? 00:23:11.699 --> 00:23:19.119 And they are completely and utterly dismissive of it, but they just assume that that's the way that religion and spirituality goes. 00:23:20.639 --> 00:23:24.519 But if you look at that, and the way I've worded it, you'll see the problem. 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:35.680 If you follow that practice, you have become that self-made man that I told you about earlier in the sermon, 00:23:36.019 --> 00:23:42.639 that we all want to see fail, because you've attained it. 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:59.440 And that's why religion and spirituality don't solve the problem of self-righteousness and self-justification and pride. 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:08.400 The entire process is designed to appeal to your pride, and it's designed to fail, 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:12.620 all the while blindly believing that it's succeeding. 00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:21.220 Interestingly enough, if people reject that because it seems unwise, 00:24:21.580 --> 00:24:25.340 and they choose to live a completely and utterly unspiritual and unreligious life, 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:26.880 maybe a very good life still, 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:30.880 they actually still are still caught in the same dilemma 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:35.960 of pride and self-justification and self-righteousness. 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:40.420 What did Paul say? 00:24:40.820 --> 00:24:42.020 What did he say again? 00:24:42.020 --> 00:24:42.420 He said, 00:24:42.600 --> 00:24:45.140 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance 00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:51.140 that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 00:24:51.520 --> 00:24:55.000 He came into the world to save human beings 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:58.799 who proudly reject Christ, 00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:01.839 proudly reject God, 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:05.440 and will only have God on their own terms, 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:09.859 and those are whom Jesus came to save. 00:25:10.579 --> 00:25:15.039 He came to save me. 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:20.960 I am that proud person, 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:24.279 self-justifying and self-righteous, 00:25:24.519 --> 00:25:26.759 that he came to save. 00:25:28.539 --> 00:25:29.659 And so are you. 00:25:32.180 --> 00:25:35.240 Well, George, now that you've completely and utterly depressed us, 00:25:35.379 --> 00:25:36.740 why is that statement there? 00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:37.659 The statement is there, 00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:39.579 if you could put up the next slide, 00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:41.700 is because the gospel tells you something 00:25:41.700 --> 00:25:44.159 wonderfully, beautifully, radically different. 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:50.600 You see, the gospel path isn't be a better person, 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:52.759 join a holy group, and attain union with God. 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:54.600 The gospel path says, 00:25:56.120 --> 00:25:56.600 George, 00:25:57.180 --> 00:26:00.180 I have come to save you. 00:26:02.279 --> 00:26:04.960 I ask that you realize 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:08.200 there's absolutely nothing you can do. 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:10.519 You cannot leave yourself, George, 00:26:10.540 --> 00:26:11.480 to save yourself. 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:15.099 You cannot practice some type of mindfulness 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:16.980 whereby you can leave yourself 00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:18.140 and observe yourself, 00:26:18.259 --> 00:26:20.120 and that where you leave to 00:26:20.120 --> 00:26:22.920 is some type of holy and pure spark 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:24.839 connected to me. 00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:27.480 You cannot stop your pride. 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:29.980 You cannot stop your self-justification. 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:32.759 You cannot stop your self-righteousness. 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:35.619 You cannot stop excluding me. 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:37.379 And Jesus says to me, 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:38.140 George, 00:26:38.779 --> 00:26:39.740 George, 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:43.279 come to me, 00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:45.859 you who are laboring and heavy laden, 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:47.960 and I will give you rest. 00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:51.579 Lay down your sword and shield. 00:26:52.900 --> 00:26:55.339 Take off the armor that you depend upon. 00:26:55.339 --> 00:27:00.119 Take away your crown, 00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:02.439 your supposed crown, 00:27:02.919 --> 00:27:05.439 and turn to me. 00:27:08.099 --> 00:27:11.039 And let me make you right with God. 00:27:13.619 --> 00:27:15.879 Let my grace come into your life. 00:27:15.880 --> 00:27:20.680 Because there's absolutely nothing you can do 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:23.020 and absolutely nothing that I need. 00:27:27.600 --> 00:27:28.860 What can you give? 00:27:29.060 --> 00:27:29.780 Love itself. 00:27:31.260 --> 00:27:32.620 What can you give? 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:34.660 Goodness himself. 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:35.880 Love himself. 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:37.140 What can you give? 00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:39.060 To generosity himself. 00:27:39.059 --> 00:27:41.019 What can you give? 00:27:41.500 --> 00:27:44.179 To the God who created all things 00:27:44.179 --> 00:27:45.980 and sustains all things. 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:49.099 What can you possibly ever give him 00:27:49.099 --> 00:27:51.399 that he did not already give you? 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:55.399 See, the gospel begins with grace. 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.419 I don't know if I wrote the word of it right. 00:27:58.879 --> 00:28:01.220 Grace is given, 00:28:01.460 --> 00:28:03.240 and you get union with the triune God. 00:28:03.299 --> 00:28:04.220 I didn't write it very well. 00:28:04.279 --> 00:28:04.779 I apologize. 00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:06.039 Maybe I just want my notes. 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:07.000 I can't see the screen. 00:28:07.679 --> 00:28:09.039 Grace given union with the triune God. 00:28:09.059 --> 00:28:12.539 That's why it says that 00:28:12.539 --> 00:28:14.700 it's a trustworthy saying 00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:17.200 and worthy of full, complete acceptance. 00:28:18.940 --> 00:28:21.259 That you just accept 00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:23.639 that you can never save yourself. 00:28:23.799 --> 00:28:25.059 You can never leave your pride 00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:27.279 and self-justification. 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:31.019 All you can do is receive with empty hands 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:33.740 what Christ has done for you 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:37.480 in his life and death and resurrection 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:40.099 and ascension and coming again. 00:28:40.099 --> 00:28:42.199 all you can do is receive. 00:28:45.079 --> 00:28:48.039 And after God has made you right with himself 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:49.240 through the person of Christ 00:28:49.240 --> 00:28:50.759 which you receive by faith, 00:28:54.459 --> 00:28:55.419 then you get, 00:28:55.579 --> 00:28:57.619 now all of a sudden being part of a local church 00:28:57.619 --> 00:28:59.219 means all the difference in the world. 00:28:59.220 --> 00:29:03.420 You know, even something like communion 00:29:03.420 --> 00:29:04.220 isn't about God. 00:29:04.279 --> 00:29:05.140 I'm coming to communion. 00:29:05.980 --> 00:29:08.380 I am thinking spectacular thoughts. 00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:10.140 I am thinking holy thoughts. 00:29:10.360 --> 00:29:12.100 I have had a spectacular week. 00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:14.079 Look at me, A1. 00:29:14.579 --> 00:29:15.880 Look at my devotion. 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:17.600 Look at my emotion. 00:29:17.860 --> 00:29:20.360 No, no, no, no, no, no. 00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:25.719 You know, I miss not having an Anglican church 00:29:25.719 --> 00:29:27.240 where we can kneel to have communion. 00:29:29.419 --> 00:29:30.279 I miss it. 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:34.579 It's profoundly spiritually wise. 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:36.979 We come to communion 00:29:36.979 --> 00:29:39.719 not to show off our memories 00:29:39.719 --> 00:29:41.459 and our imaginations 00:29:41.459 --> 00:29:43.119 and our emotions around Christ 00:29:43.119 --> 00:29:46.179 but to receive from him again. 00:29:46.180 --> 00:29:49.759 to be fed by him. 00:29:53.600 --> 00:29:55.320 Communion is not something I attain 00:29:55.320 --> 00:29:55.980 but a gift. 00:29:56.720 --> 00:29:59.160 A gift he wants to give to you. 00:29:59.539 --> 00:30:00.340 That's why, you see, 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:00.860 I am, 00:30:01.460 --> 00:30:03.740 every Christian is a herald for Christ. 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:05.940 All I can tell you is, 00:30:06.320 --> 00:30:08.160 hey guys, I'm a beggar, 00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:10.460 desperately need a free food. 00:30:10.560 --> 00:30:12.320 I can tell you where free food is. 00:30:12.420 --> 00:30:14.299 I can tell you where eternal life is. 00:30:14.299 --> 00:30:16.819 I can tell you this is what Jesus said. 00:30:17.259 --> 00:30:18.579 He's saying it to you. 00:30:19.319 --> 00:30:20.359 Come unto me, 00:30:20.399 --> 00:30:21.859 all who labor and are heavy laden 00:30:21.859 --> 00:30:23.539 and I will give you rest. 00:30:23.859 --> 00:30:26.180 I can tell you that's what Jesus says. 00:30:27.619 --> 00:30:29.059 That's what Jesus says. 00:30:30.139 --> 00:30:31.460 You receive grace. 00:30:32.279 --> 00:30:33.779 You join then 00:30:33.779 --> 00:30:35.639 and be part of a local church 00:30:35.639 --> 00:30:37.500 where the gospel is believed and proclaimed. 00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:39.359 And then the gospel 00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:42.680 helps you to live a holier life. 00:30:44.299 --> 00:30:51.460 When it says here in this statement, 00:30:51.579 --> 00:30:53.279 I'm just bringing the sermon to a close. 00:30:54.859 --> 00:30:56.240 This saying is trustworthy 00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:57.759 and deserving of full acceptance 00:30:57.759 --> 00:30:59.500 that Christ Jesus came into the world 00:30:59.500 --> 00:31:00.319 to save sinners. 00:31:01.319 --> 00:31:02.740 That word save here 00:31:02.740 --> 00:31:04.319 has three different tenses 00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:06.259 that we need to understand and grasp. 00:31:06.399 --> 00:31:08.139 It means, first of all, 00:31:08.220 --> 00:31:09.359 that when we put our faith, 00:31:09.399 --> 00:31:10.339 when we say to Jesus, 00:31:10.639 --> 00:31:12.039 and this is the wonderful thing, 00:31:12.039 --> 00:31:14.059 you don't have to have full and complete acceptance 00:31:14.059 --> 00:31:15.779 of the statement to become a Christian. 00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:18.480 You don't have to say, 00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:19.200 God isn't saying, 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:20.379 no, no, no, no, no, no, George. 00:31:20.619 --> 00:31:22.139 Until you can explain 00:31:22.139 --> 00:31:23.619 the mutual indwelling 00:31:23.619 --> 00:31:26.180 of the three persons of the Trinity, 00:31:26.299 --> 00:31:27.220 you can't come to me. 00:31:28.359 --> 00:31:29.220 Like, no, 00:31:29.399 --> 00:31:31.200 he doesn't give us a theology quiz. 00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:35.000 There's this longing in our heart 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:36.660 that we need to be made right with God 00:31:36.660 --> 00:31:37.880 and accepted by him. 00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:40.799 That we know the burden of pride 00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:42.539 and the burden of self-righteousness 00:31:42.539 --> 00:31:44.200 and the burden of self-justification 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:47.360 and the lies that we tell 00:31:47.360 --> 00:31:48.819 to make ourselves righteous 00:31:48.819 --> 00:31:50.460 and to justify ourselves 00:31:50.460 --> 00:31:52.240 and to bolster our pride. 00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:54.660 And as we tell these lies 00:31:54.660 --> 00:31:56.720 and gaslight people all around us, 00:31:56.779 --> 00:31:57.900 the center of our lives 00:31:57.900 --> 00:31:59.660 becomes more and more hollow 00:31:59.660 --> 00:32:02.080 and more and more empty. 00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:04.540 And we become more terrified 00:32:04.540 --> 00:32:07.080 that if someone was to actually prick 00:32:07.080 --> 00:32:08.759 that gaslighting 00:32:08.759 --> 00:32:10.740 that all they would see within us 00:32:10.740 --> 00:32:12.920 is just an emptiness and a void. 00:32:13.140 --> 00:32:14.740 And we get so tired 00:32:14.740 --> 00:32:15.800 and burdened of that 00:32:15.800 --> 00:32:17.640 and hear these words of the gospel 00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:18.120 and say, 00:32:18.220 --> 00:32:18.680 Jesus, 00:32:19.660 --> 00:32:20.820 unworthy as I am, 00:32:20.880 --> 00:32:21.680 would you take me 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:23.560 and never let me go? 00:32:23.740 --> 00:32:24.660 And Jesus says, 00:32:25.220 --> 00:32:26.660 my dear child, 00:32:26.660 --> 00:32:29.500 before you said that, 00:32:29.580 --> 00:32:30.400 I said to you, 00:32:30.600 --> 00:32:32.380 come unto me all who labor 00:32:32.380 --> 00:32:33.660 and are heavy laden 00:32:33.660 --> 00:32:36.200 and I will give you rest. 00:32:36.800 --> 00:32:38.920 There is no rest in pride. 00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:42.320 There is no rest in self-justification. 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:45.680 There is no rest in self-righteousness. 00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:48.320 There is no rest in lies. 00:32:49.180 --> 00:32:51.640 But God has made us for himself 00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:53.820 and our hearts are restless 00:32:53.820 --> 00:32:56.180 till they rest in him. 00:32:56.660 --> 00:32:57.380 Through the gospel. 00:32:59.420 --> 00:33:01.120 So the first sense of saved 00:33:01.120 --> 00:33:02.720 is that we're made right with God. 00:33:02.820 --> 00:33:04.320 The second sense of saved. 00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:04.960 So in other words, 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:05.620 we can say, 00:33:06.080 --> 00:33:07.400 I have been saved by Christ, 00:33:07.540 --> 00:33:08.519 made right with God 00:33:08.519 --> 00:33:10.000 by my faith in Christ. 00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:11.420 Nothing in my hands I bring, 00:33:11.540 --> 00:33:12.980 simply to the cross I cling. 00:33:14.560 --> 00:33:16.340 And then he saves us. 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:17.980 He is saving us. 00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:20.259 That means it's the process 00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:22.220 by which we become more like Christ. 00:33:22.980 --> 00:33:24.539 See, here's the wonderful thing. 00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:27.360 Do I have problems 00:33:27.360 --> 00:33:29.920 always wanting to tell the truth? 00:33:29.980 --> 00:33:31.339 Yes, I have problems with that. 00:33:31.380 --> 00:33:32.680 Is it very tempting? 00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:35.000 Why is it that when I do something wrong 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:37.100 that the first things that go into my mind 00:33:37.100 --> 00:33:39.279 are to self-justify 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:40.319 or to belittle 00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:41.619 or to put down 00:33:41.619 --> 00:33:42.519 or to minimize 00:33:42.519 --> 00:33:43.619 or all of those other things? 00:33:43.700 --> 00:33:44.619 Yes, that is the case. 00:33:44.740 --> 00:33:45.619 But you see, 00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:47.480 here's this profound comfort 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:48.299 of the gospel 00:33:48.299 --> 00:33:50.240 is that when the gospel 00:33:50.240 --> 00:33:52.099 becomes more real to our heart, 00:33:52.200 --> 00:33:53.220 when it becomes more real 00:33:53.220 --> 00:33:54.240 to your heart, 00:33:54.779 --> 00:33:57.019 there is this fundamental sense 00:33:57.019 --> 00:33:57.319 of security 00:33:57.939 --> 00:33:59.220 and being held 00:33:59.220 --> 00:34:01.480 by which you can say, 00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:04.279 you see, 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:08.880 people are so fragile 00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:09.840 and ourselves 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:11.679 are so splintered 00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:15.320 that to let people know 00:34:15.320 --> 00:34:16.639 that we've done something wrong, 00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:18.219 we fear that it would, 00:34:18.519 --> 00:34:19.519 and apart from Christ, 00:34:19.619 --> 00:34:20.719 maybe it would just make us 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:21.519 more splintered, 00:34:21.559 --> 00:34:22.800 but it'll only make us splintered 00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:24.179 to that point of brokenness 00:34:24.179 --> 00:34:25.599 whereby we can hear 00:34:25.599 --> 00:34:26.460 the word of the gospel 00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:28.119 and realize we need the gospel, 00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:29.079 we need Christ. 00:34:29.079 --> 00:34:31.079 And when we put our faith 00:34:31.079 --> 00:34:31.940 and trust in Christ, 00:34:32.019 --> 00:34:33.219 we have union with him, 00:34:33.279 --> 00:34:34.039 all that he accomplished 00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:35.079 for us on the cross. 00:34:35.239 --> 00:34:36.960 And that becomes the ground 00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:38.400 on which we can stand 00:34:38.400 --> 00:34:40.139 to acknowledge the wrong 00:34:40.139 --> 00:34:40.880 that we've done 00:34:40.880 --> 00:34:42.779 without unmaking us. 00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:44.380 It is the ground 00:34:44.380 --> 00:34:45.639 upon which we stand 00:34:45.639 --> 00:34:46.860 that can give us 00:34:46.860 --> 00:34:49.039 a new identity in Christ 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:52.380 to start to do that 00:34:52.380 --> 00:34:53.259 which is right 00:34:53.259 --> 00:34:54.480 and avoiding that 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:55.299 which is wrong 00:34:55.299 --> 00:34:56.799 and to be generous 00:34:56.799 --> 00:34:58.039 and to be giving 00:34:58.039 --> 00:34:59.739 and to be forgiving. 00:35:00.739 --> 00:35:02.340 So this wonderful statement 00:35:02.340 --> 00:35:03.539 of Paul's, 00:35:03.599 --> 00:35:04.519 the saying is trustworthy 00:35:04.519 --> 00:35:05.139 and deserving 00:35:05.139 --> 00:35:05.960 of full acceptance 00:35:05.960 --> 00:35:06.779 that Christ Jesus 00:35:06.779 --> 00:35:07.559 came into the world 00:35:07.559 --> 00:35:08.300 to save sinners. 00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:09.619 I can say amen 00:35:09.619 --> 00:35:11.559 by my faith in Christ 00:35:11.559 --> 00:35:12.699 and what he did for me 00:35:12.699 --> 00:35:13.380 on the cross. 00:35:13.519 --> 00:35:14.559 That is what made me 00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:15.279 right with God. 00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:17.039 And as my faith with Christ 00:35:17.039 --> 00:35:17.960 is what he did for me 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:18.440 on the cross 00:35:18.440 --> 00:35:19.779 becomes more real to me, 00:35:20.099 --> 00:35:22.139 that is the ground 00:35:22.139 --> 00:35:23.159 that I stand on, 00:35:23.199 --> 00:35:24.259 the air that I breathe, 00:35:24.420 --> 00:35:25.380 the lens by which 00:35:25.380 --> 00:35:26.840 I see myself in the world 00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:27.740 so that I can deal 00:35:27.740 --> 00:35:28.640 with my pride 00:35:28.640 --> 00:35:30.019 and self-righteousness 00:35:30.019 --> 00:35:31.300 and self-justification 00:35:31.300 --> 00:35:32.720 and gaslighting 00:35:32.720 --> 00:35:33.740 and lies 00:35:33.740 --> 00:35:34.880 and be honest 00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:36.579 and to speak the truth 00:35:36.579 --> 00:35:37.559 and to become more 00:35:37.559 --> 00:35:38.340 like Christ. 00:35:38.860 --> 00:35:40.160 And when Paul says 00:35:40.160 --> 00:35:41.579 this saying is trustworthy 00:35:41.579 --> 00:35:42.260 and deserving 00:35:42.260 --> 00:35:43.220 of full acceptance 00:35:43.220 --> 00:35:44.100 that Christ Jesus 00:35:44.100 --> 00:35:45.019 came into the world 00:35:45.019 --> 00:35:46.079 to save sinners, 00:35:46.240 --> 00:35:47.180 it isn't just meaning 00:35:47.180 --> 00:35:48.200 that I have been saved, 00:35:48.280 --> 00:35:49.000 I'm being saved, 00:35:49.079 --> 00:35:49.480 that it means 00:35:49.480 --> 00:35:50.860 that I will be saved. 00:35:53.000 --> 00:35:54.660 And the end of my story 00:35:54.659 --> 00:35:56.500 in Christ 00:35:56.500 --> 00:35:58.159 and the end of your story, 00:35:58.539 --> 00:35:58.859 sinner, 00:35:59.239 --> 00:36:00.339 in Christ, 00:36:02.719 --> 00:36:03.799 is you will stand 00:36:03.799 --> 00:36:04.899 in the new heaven 00:36:04.899 --> 00:36:05.579 and the new earth 00:36:05.579 --> 00:36:06.139 in the presence 00:36:06.139 --> 00:36:07.399 of the triune God 00:36:07.399 --> 00:36:09.359 and you will see Jesus 00:36:09.359 --> 00:36:10.639 as he is 00:36:10.639 --> 00:36:11.259 in the new heaven 00:36:11.259 --> 00:36:11.899 and the new earth 00:36:11.899 --> 00:36:13.319 and you will be like him 00:36:13.319 --> 00:36:16.699 and you will be welcomed 00:36:16.699 --> 00:36:18.039 and you will live 00:36:18.039 --> 00:36:18.779 with him forever. 00:36:20.119 --> 00:36:21.139 And in Christ, 00:36:21.719 --> 00:36:23.379 that is the end 00:36:23.380 --> 00:36:24.559 of your story. 00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:27.400 And the end 00:36:27.400 --> 00:36:28.240 of your story 00:36:28.240 --> 00:36:30.220 changes everything 00:36:30.220 --> 00:36:31.640 in the story. 00:36:33.240 --> 00:36:34.340 Invite you to stand. 00:36:43.220 --> 00:36:44.740 Bow our heads in prayer. 00:36:44.739 --> 00:36:51.259 Father, we give you 00:36:51.259 --> 00:36:52.139 thanks and praise 00:36:52.139 --> 00:36:53.519 that your word is true, 00:36:53.639 --> 00:36:54.539 the Bible is true, 00:36:54.639 --> 00:36:55.779 that it's not just true 00:36:55.779 --> 00:36:57.919 that Jesus did these things 00:36:57.919 --> 00:36:59.019 that the biographies 00:36:59.019 --> 00:37:00.019 tell us that he did 00:37:00.019 --> 00:37:01.659 and it's not just true, 00:37:01.859 --> 00:37:02.099 Father, 00:37:02.239 --> 00:37:04.079 that he in fact 00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:05.439 did die upon the cross 00:37:05.439 --> 00:37:06.779 and it's not just true 00:37:06.779 --> 00:37:07.359 that he tasted 00:37:07.359 --> 00:37:07.899 all there is 00:37:07.899 --> 00:37:08.739 to taste of death 00:37:08.739 --> 00:37:09.859 and it's not just true 00:37:09.859 --> 00:37:11.179 that he rose from the dead 00:37:11.179 --> 00:37:13.500 and the grave is empty 00:37:13.500 --> 00:37:14.760 and that people saw him 00:37:14.760 --> 00:37:15.300 resurrected 00:37:15.300 --> 00:37:16.900 and that he's coming again 00:37:16.900 --> 00:37:18.380 but it's also true, 00:37:18.599 --> 00:37:18.820 Father, 00:37:18.980 --> 00:37:20.019 that his death 00:37:20.019 --> 00:37:20.840 upon the cross 00:37:20.840 --> 00:37:21.579 was for us 00:37:21.579 --> 00:37:22.920 the means by which 00:37:22.920 --> 00:37:23.800 you save us, 00:37:23.860 --> 00:37:24.619 you make us right 00:37:24.619 --> 00:37:25.219 with you, 00:37:25.360 --> 00:37:26.500 that he lived the life 00:37:26.500 --> 00:37:27.539 we could not live 00:37:27.539 --> 00:37:28.400 and died the death 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:29.239 that we deserved 00:37:29.239 --> 00:37:30.739 and in union with him 00:37:30.739 --> 00:37:31.679 we get the benefit 00:37:31.679 --> 00:37:32.460 of his life 00:37:32.460 --> 00:37:33.019 and death 00:37:33.019 --> 00:37:33.719 and resurrection. 00:37:34.659 --> 00:37:35.440 And it's not only 00:37:35.440 --> 00:37:36.699 then true factually 00:37:36.699 --> 00:37:37.559 and historically 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:38.440 and imminently 00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:39.119 but, Father, 00:37:39.239 --> 00:37:39.960 that this saying 00:37:39.960 --> 00:37:41.920 is true and worthy 00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:42.780 of full acceptance 00:37:42.780 --> 00:37:43.619 that Christ Jesus 00:37:43.619 --> 00:37:45.099 came into the world 00:37:45.099 --> 00:37:45.860 to save sinners 00:37:45.860 --> 00:37:46.700 and it's true, 00:37:47.099 --> 00:37:47.460 Father, 00:37:47.659 --> 00:37:48.480 aesthetically 00:37:48.480 --> 00:37:49.360 and emotionally 00:37:49.360 --> 00:37:50.559 and it's true 00:37:50.559 --> 00:37:51.340 in beauty 00:37:51.340 --> 00:37:53.119 and it's true 00:37:53.119 --> 00:37:53.900 eternally 00:37:53.900 --> 00:37:55.320 as well as factually 00:37:55.320 --> 00:37:56.099 and historically 00:37:56.099 --> 00:37:56.619 and so, 00:37:56.880 --> 00:37:56.960 Father, 00:37:57.039 --> 00:37:57.619 we ask 00:37:57.619 --> 00:37:59.820 that this true saying 00:37:59.820 --> 00:38:00.579 would become 00:38:00.579 --> 00:38:01.360 more and more 00:38:01.360 --> 00:38:02.519 that we would accept 00:38:02.519 --> 00:38:04.200 not just this wonderful news 00:38:04.200 --> 00:38:05.639 but who the news is about 00:38:05.639 --> 00:38:06.619 that we would accept 00:38:06.619 --> 00:38:07.500 and know Christ 00:38:07.500 --> 00:38:10.300 and we would rest 00:38:10.300 --> 00:38:11.720 upon his finished work 00:38:11.719 --> 00:38:14.619 that we would allow him 00:38:14.619 --> 00:38:15.699 through the gentle moving 00:38:15.699 --> 00:38:16.559 of the Holy Spirit 00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:17.299 in our lives 00:38:17.299 --> 00:38:18.799 to be more holy 00:38:18.799 --> 00:38:20.679 to be more generous 00:38:20.679 --> 00:38:22.019 to be more giving 00:38:22.019 --> 00:38:24.379 to leave behind 00:38:24.379 --> 00:38:25.119 the fears 00:38:25.119 --> 00:38:26.099 and the foolishness 00:38:26.099 --> 00:38:26.739 and the idols 00:38:26.739 --> 00:38:27.480 and the lies 00:38:27.480 --> 00:38:28.759 of this present age 00:38:28.759 --> 00:38:30.859 to stand grateful 00:38:30.859 --> 00:38:32.679 and strong 00:38:32.679 --> 00:38:33.419 and wise 00:38:33.419 --> 00:38:36.199 and unbowed 00:38:36.199 --> 00:38:37.879 and we ask these things 00:38:37.879 --> 00:38:38.739 in Jesus' name, 00:38:38.859 --> 00:38:39.419 your Son 00:38:39.419 --> 00:38:40.139 and our Savior 00:38:40.139 --> 00:38:42.099 and all God's people said, 00:38:42.940 --> 00:38:43.219 Amen. 00:38:43.219 --> 00:38:43.400 Amen. 00:38:43.400 --> 00:38:44.359 Thank you.