WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:06.240 Thanks so much, Corey. Folks, let me encourage you to have that passage in 1 Timothy open in front of you. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:13.700 And I wonder how you come to church this morning. I wonder how you're doing, how your last week has been. 00:00:14.980 --> 00:00:24.420 However you answer that question, I want you to know that we are turning to one of the most precious passages in all of Scripture. 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:32.219 And maybe you're here today and you're burdened. Maybe you're here today and you're weary. 00:00:32.820 --> 00:00:38.920 Maybe physically, maybe spiritually, maybe emotionally. Maybe you're at a loss in life. 00:00:39.040 --> 00:00:46.439 Maybe each day seems repetitive and you wonder what is the point in getting up each day and doing the same, same thing. 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:54.260 We love to think we're creative individuals, but how often are our lives just one cycle of the same day after the same day after the same day? 00:00:54.259 --> 00:00:57.299 Maybe you're here and you're struggling to carry on. 00:00:57.839 --> 00:01:09.920 Well, whoever you are here today, friends, we will find wonderful strength for the Christian life in the central message of this passage. 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:14.500 So let me encourage you just to tune in for the next 25 minutes or so. 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:19.420 And let's just feast on what this passage is telling us. 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:21.359 Now, here's a little game that we play with our kids. 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:24.579 It's called You're an Expert. 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:31.099 So what we do is we award each other the title of being the best at something. 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:31.980 Right? 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:34.799 So in our family, we've got an expert tree climber. 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:37.739 We've got an expert hungry hippos player. 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:39.939 We've got an expert junior monopoly player. 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:43.039 There's an expert for the monkey bars. 00:01:43.140 --> 00:01:44.439 There's an expert for scooting. 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:46.120 There's an expert for hide and seek. 00:01:46.260 --> 00:01:48.019 There's an expert for making hot chocolate. 00:01:48.019 --> 00:01:50.519 It's a mystery where they get their competitive side from, I tell you. 00:01:52.119 --> 00:01:54.459 But we love being the best. 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:55.780 Do we not? 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:58.159 We love being the best. 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:02.060 And we live in a culture that loves to be the best. 00:02:02.259 --> 00:02:07.239 I mean, just think of the cycle that we see every year in our world. 00:02:07.379 --> 00:02:08.819 We have the home of the year. 00:02:08.859 --> 00:02:09.479 What was that program? 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:10.759 Scotland's home of the year. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:11.180 Right? 00:02:11.259 --> 00:02:15.539 We have Michelin stars that are awarded for best restaurants. 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:17.560 We have the apprentice winner. 00:02:17.699 --> 00:02:18.900 We have the Ballon d'Or. 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:20.699 We have the Sunday Times Rich List. 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:23.439 We have the Times Magazine Person of the Year. 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:27.039 We love to celebrate being the best. 00:02:29.579 --> 00:02:36.539 And as a result, how often, friends, do we live our lives carrying around with us that nagging sense, 00:02:36.659 --> 00:02:43.000 that paralyzing sense of looking at our own lives and living our lives in the world 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:45.460 and feeling like we never quite measure up? 00:02:45.460 --> 00:02:50.700 Maybe even you've walked into church here today. 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:55.240 And we bring into here that same mindset, don't we? 00:02:55.780 --> 00:03:03.640 Maybe in our walk with Jesus, we just feel like we never measure up to what a Christian is supposed to be. 00:03:03.640 --> 00:03:07.700 We walk in here today and we look around and we think, if only people knew. 00:03:07.699 --> 00:03:16.759 Well, friends, I take it for all of us here today that the heart of this passage in the world that we live, 00:03:17.259 --> 00:03:20.899 the heart of it contains a refreshing surprise. 00:03:21.939 --> 00:03:29.359 Because it's the confession, the story, the testimony of a man who freely admits to being the worst. 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:38.140 And somehow, he freely puts that on the table in this passage. 00:03:38.720 --> 00:03:42.940 And he's saying, fully owning the fact, that reality about himself. 00:03:43.200 --> 00:03:46.080 And he's saying that that's where I find life. 00:03:47.760 --> 00:03:53.380 And with that alone, I'm sitting up and taking notice as one wants to know how that works. 00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:56.560 Paul says, I am the worst. 00:03:56.859 --> 00:04:00.379 Now, let's not divorce this passage from its context. 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:01.879 That would be the easy thing to do here. 00:04:01.979 --> 00:04:03.639 Remember what we saw last week. 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:08.759 Paul is urging this young man called Timothy, his protege, his church planting buddy, 00:04:08.939 --> 00:04:15.879 his pal who he's left in this city of Ephesus to get this church back on track. 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:18.139 That was our big idea last week. 00:04:18.139 --> 00:04:21.120 Back doing the thing that they're supposed to be doing as a local church, 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:28.000 which is being a pillar that holds up God's truth for the watching world to see. 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:30.800 So that is our job description as a local church. 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:32.379 The church of the living God. 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:34.300 He lives in the hearts of his people. 00:04:34.740 --> 00:04:36.980 The pillar and the foundation of the truth. 00:04:37.139 --> 00:04:41.340 Which means if the people of the world want to know where to find truth, 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:44.620 friends, they should be looking to the local church. 00:04:44.939 --> 00:04:45.160 Why? 00:04:45.300 --> 00:04:47.500 Because the local church is holding up God's truth. 00:04:47.620 --> 00:04:48.379 That's the logic. 00:04:48.379 --> 00:04:53.360 And last week we saw Paul say to Timothy, verse 3, if you want to track with me, chapter 1, 00:04:54.899 --> 00:04:59.939 that you've got to stand up to those in the church who are teaching nonsense. 00:05:01.459 --> 00:05:05.480 Teaching things that kind of go right against the grain of the gospel that I passed on to you, 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:09.920 particularly in what they're teaching about how we relate to the Old Testament law. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:16.480 So some in this church are saying that, are viewing the law, the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments, 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:20.259 and they're using it as a barometer to measure how good they are. 00:05:21.140 --> 00:05:26.139 So what he thought about was likely the case in terms of the opening section of this passage, 00:05:26.259 --> 00:05:30.200 that because we don't do certain things, the certain things that are perhaps listed here, 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:34.740 that we are somehow superior to the people out there who perhaps are. 00:05:35.900 --> 00:05:36.720 What did Paul say? 00:05:36.780 --> 00:05:38.100 He said the law is good. 00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:40.040 You see that? 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:41.220 The law is good. 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:47.860 But if you really let God's word by his spirit search your heart, 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:51.700 be the double-edged sword. 00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:54.560 I always love that reference in Hebrews. 00:05:54.740 --> 00:05:56.000 It doesn't sound pretty to me. 00:05:56.400 --> 00:05:57.960 Double-edged sword right in the heart. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:00.520 If you let it expose your failures, 00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:04.280 as we measure ourselves against our holy God 00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:07.259 and who he is and his standards, 00:06:07.259 --> 00:06:10.000 how can any of us stand? 00:06:10.179 --> 00:06:16.679 The point, I think, is that the law is not some kind of moral pole to be claimed that we can reach God. 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:19.299 It exposes our sin, 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:24.179 and it exposes our deep need to be rescued from ourselves. 00:06:24.180 --> 00:06:28.860 And it should lead us to look to the one who kept the law, 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:29.639 to Jesus, 00:06:30.280 --> 00:06:33.579 as the one who offers to rescue us. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:35.439 A rescuer. 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:38.980 And if you're still not 100% convinced in that, 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:39.240 Timothy, 00:06:39.339 --> 00:06:40.980 let me remind you of my story, 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:48.879 because Paul's life here is case in point of how the grace of Jesus works. 00:06:49.019 --> 00:06:50.500 Now, last week, if you remember, 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:52.800 we went for a one, two, three sermon outline. 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:54.600 This week, we're going to go for a three, two, one. 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:59.579 So let's just work our way through the passage with that structure. 00:06:59.659 --> 00:07:00.540 Picking up at verse 12. 00:07:00.540 --> 00:07:04.100 Do you see how Paul, there's three things that Paul knows he was? 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:06.500 Picking up at verse 12. 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:09.900 So here's the man who grew up as a top of the class Jew. 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:11.020 Right? 00:07:11.080 --> 00:07:12.879 He's got impeccable credentials. 00:07:13.140 --> 00:07:14.720 He comes from the right family. 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:17.900 He's studied under an impressive teacher. 00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:21.259 His behavior is brilliant. 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:23.320 He holds the right beliefs. 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:25.600 I mean, if you want to talk about it in our language, 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:28.980 this guy holds the equivalent of a religious royal flush. 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:30.060 He ain't beating him. 00:07:30.540 --> 00:07:30.819 Right? 00:07:30.900 --> 00:07:32.900 He is your poster boy Jew. 00:07:33.340 --> 00:07:38.580 I mean, how many of us grew up with a poster of the person we wanted to be like on our wall? 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:40.180 Yeah, maybe it would. 00:07:40.280 --> 00:07:41.160 I don't know whether it was just me. 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:41.560 I don't know. 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:44.580 A football player, a singer, an astronaut. 00:07:44.820 --> 00:07:46.680 What it is that you aspire to be? 00:07:47.879 --> 00:07:51.120 If you're a Jewish boy growing up, understand that Paul's on your wall. 00:07:52.140 --> 00:07:52.759 He's the guy. 00:07:53.700 --> 00:07:54.879 He's the best in the business. 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:55.840 He's the best in the game. 00:07:55.839 --> 00:08:02.599 But you see how he looks back and he reflects on three things that he was. 00:08:02.679 --> 00:08:03.119 What does he say? 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:03.919 Verse 13. 00:08:04.679 --> 00:08:05.679 And they come really quick. 00:08:06.379 --> 00:08:08.060 He was a blasphemer. 00:08:08.379 --> 00:08:11.459 So he cursed the name of Jesus. 00:08:13.239 --> 00:08:15.379 Interesting there, he's tying divinity to Jesus. 00:08:16.179 --> 00:08:18.099 Blasphemy against the name of the Lord. 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:19.299 Well, he's tying it right to Jesus. 00:08:19.300 --> 00:08:20.540 This is who Jesus is. 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:24.379 He spat at the very mention of his name. 00:08:24.780 --> 00:08:25.500 He was a blasphemer. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:27.780 And he was a persecutor. 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:35.620 This is the man who went to the hassle of obtaining a warrant in order that he could arrest these early disciples of Jesus. 00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:43.440 And he was fully prepared to travel all the way from Jerusalem to Damascus, which is a six-day journey. 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:45.779 That is 135 miles. 00:08:46.620 --> 00:08:49.419 Arrest the Christians and drag them all the way back. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:57.580 So it's a return trip all the way back to Jerusalem, presumably so he could humiliate them in front of his home crowds. 00:08:58.379 --> 00:08:59.500 That's what he wanted to do. 00:08:59.560 --> 00:09:00.680 That was his life's mission. 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:06.319 If you're going to travel that amount of distance, something's really got to have you, hasn't it? 00:09:06.339 --> 00:09:07.379 And this is what had Paul. 00:09:07.599 --> 00:09:12.919 He flat out rejected and wanted to crush this Jesus stuff as a movement. 00:09:13.899 --> 00:09:16.879 And it wasn't like he hadn't heard of Jesus. 00:09:18.599 --> 00:09:21.199 Nor that he didn't understand what Jesus was claiming. 00:09:21.339 --> 00:09:28.339 This stuff, just what Jesus was saying was just running right against the grain of Paul's way of thinking, his way of life. 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:34.379 And I take it, see if Paul, as Paul looks back on the list of sins that come in chapter one there just before. 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:37.560 I take it when he writes murder. 00:09:39.040 --> 00:09:43.620 He knows that he's writing as one who's got blood in his hands. 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:49.280 In Acts 9, Luke describes him as one who's breathing threats. 00:09:49.379 --> 00:09:50.500 I don't even know how that works. 00:09:51.560 --> 00:09:54.700 Breathing threats and murder against the disciples. 00:09:54.700 --> 00:10:00.460 If ever there was a guy who was legible for the angry emoji, it's this guy Paul. 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:03.400 And here's the point, I think. 00:10:03.540 --> 00:10:08.020 Paul wasn't just an unlikely convert to Jesus. 00:10:10.060 --> 00:10:11.080 I think it's way more than that. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:14.240 I think this is the guy that if we were writing the script, we were writing the story, 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:19.860 we would have thought Jesus should have just silenced Paul and taken him out of the game. 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:21.680 He was just getting in the way. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:25.320 But that's not how Jesus works. 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:35.460 You see, Paul encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus as he's going there to arrest the Christians. 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:40.639 And he encounters the living Jesus and he sees the utter folly of his ways. 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:46.620 And I love in that section in Acts 9, Jesus says, why are you persecuting me? 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:48.360 And Paul's saying, I'm not persecuting you. 00:10:49.059 --> 00:10:50.199 You're not physically here. 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:53.799 It's how closely Jesus identifies himself with his people. 00:10:55.299 --> 00:10:56.819 You persecute my people. 00:10:56.919 --> 00:10:57.840 You're persecuting me. 00:10:57.939 --> 00:11:00.419 That's how tightly I am bound to them. 00:11:01.439 --> 00:11:04.539 And Jesus gives Paul, doesn't just forgive it. 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:05.960 He transforms his life. 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:09.420 And he gives him a new purpose in life. 00:11:09.460 --> 00:11:11.660 And that's a wonderful truth about what Jesus does. 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:14.259 We're going to come back to that in just a few moments time. 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:15.440 There's three things. 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:17.759 Do you see, three things that Paul knows he was. 00:11:18.580 --> 00:11:23.139 And that leads him to reflect on two things that he knows he's received. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:25.400 Do you see them, two of them here? 00:11:25.780 --> 00:11:27.879 Firstly, he's received the mercy. 00:11:28.860 --> 00:11:31.320 Do you see how twice in these verses Paul uses that phrase, 00:11:31.420 --> 00:11:32.500 I was shown mercy. 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:34.420 We get it at 13, we get it at 16. 00:11:34.419 --> 00:11:37.779 It's almost as if he can't get his head around the fact that that's true. 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:40.659 That Jesus would show mercy to someone like him. 00:11:41.779 --> 00:11:44.839 It's the repeated refrain of God's people down the ages. 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:47.120 You get this all the time in the Psalms. 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:49.979 And you can go home and read Psalm 103 after this if you want. 00:11:50.939 --> 00:11:53.759 That he does not treat us like our sins deserve. 00:11:53.759 --> 00:12:04.860 That God's loving kindness, his gentleness, that the loving mercy and the kindness of our God. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:07.000 Friends, we should never get over mercy. 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:12.000 That Jesus would treat us like this. 00:12:12.179 --> 00:12:14.700 He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve. 00:12:14.819 --> 00:12:15.679 I was shown mercy. 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:21.179 And second, the grace of Jesus overflowed for me. 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:22.759 See verse 14. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:26.959 He didn't just not treat me as I deserved. 00:12:28.079 --> 00:12:30.399 He treated me exceedingly better. 00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:33.719 He loved me. 00:12:35.419 --> 00:12:36.719 He loved me. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:42.519 And he poured out his grace on me abundantly. 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:44.120 Now what an image that is, right? 00:12:44.259 --> 00:12:46.200 This is not some kind of dripping tap. 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:49.019 You ever been in one of those flats you just moved in and it's literally a drip? 00:12:49.100 --> 00:12:50.759 That was our first flat when we got married. 00:12:51.899 --> 00:12:52.740 It's ain't a dripping tap. 00:12:52.860 --> 00:12:54.420 This is Niagara Falls. 00:12:54.540 --> 00:12:58.540 This is one of those chocolate fondue fountains you get at a wedding that just keeps on going. 00:12:58.540 --> 00:13:01.980 This is what Paul is saying that the grace of God is done for him. 00:13:02.540 --> 00:13:05.879 The grace of Jesus has been poured out abundantly on me. 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:13.080 In the old hymn, I know not how God's wondrous grace to me is daily shown, 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:16.300 nor why with mercy Christ in love redeemed me for his own. 00:13:16.340 --> 00:13:18.040 There's a sense in which we just don't understand. 00:13:18.160 --> 00:13:19.000 We don't deserve this. 00:13:19.060 --> 00:13:21.560 We don't understand if this works and yet it's true in Jesus. 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:26.740 He's poured out abundantly his grace upon us. 00:13:26.740 --> 00:13:31.560 And so, Timothy, here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:36.139 I think I just mean sit up and take notice of this. 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:40.120 If you've got one thing you're going to, I don't know, wouldn't have had highlighters or anything like that in this day, 00:13:40.179 --> 00:13:42.139 but that's highlight this. 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:43.340 Get this. 00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:44.840 Base your life on this. 00:13:46.299 --> 00:13:50.939 That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:53.740 And there's his confession. 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:55.960 And I take it that's not false humility. 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:59.379 That's not him kind of pretending to be the worst to make everyone else feel better. 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:01.259 That is just Paul recognising. 00:14:01.340 --> 00:14:05.320 Remember this guy who's grown up a Jew who understands the holiness of God, 00:14:05.700 --> 00:14:12.019 who understands the anger, the wrath of God against the sin of rebels, human beings. 00:14:12.280 --> 00:14:14.900 He gets it and he knows it should have fallen on him. 00:14:15.019 --> 00:14:17.540 And he knows the mercy which Christ has shown him. 00:14:17.539 --> 00:14:21.860 And so he says, I am the worst. 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:26.819 I've received, I've been shown mercy. 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:28.959 I've received abundant grace. 00:14:29.500 --> 00:14:31.379 And so from two things he knows he's received, 00:14:32.219 --> 00:14:34.799 for instance, one thing he knows it means. 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:39.480 And do you see how he calls it the very reason I was shown mercy? 00:14:39.579 --> 00:14:40.559 In other words, here's the purpose. 00:14:40.839 --> 00:14:42.099 Here's what was behind it. 00:14:42.100 --> 00:14:47.000 So that in me, the worst of sinners, and again he repeats it, 00:14:47.700 --> 00:14:51.840 Christ Jesus might display his immense patience 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:58.180 as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:02.360 Now I take it to all those who are watching in and listening to his life story, 00:15:02.420 --> 00:15:04.560 and that's what we're doing 2,000 odd years later. 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:07.980 What does Paul see himself as? 00:15:07.980 --> 00:15:17.539 He sees himself as an example of just how patient Jesus is with rebels. 00:15:19.580 --> 00:15:23.279 And friends, are you not so glad that Jesus is like that? 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:25.440 Right? 00:15:25.580 --> 00:15:28.700 Do you know the line I heard myself using the other night? 00:15:29.560 --> 00:15:31.920 Came out with the line, you're skating on thin ice. 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:35.699 And have you ever used that one? 00:15:36.839 --> 00:15:37.000 Right? 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:37.939 Skating on thin ice. 00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:38.299 Right? 00:15:38.479 --> 00:15:39.339 Speaking to... 00:15:39.339 --> 00:15:40.579 You know what ice is. 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:41.120 Right? 00:15:41.199 --> 00:15:42.399 I don't know how they're supposed to get that, 00:15:42.439 --> 00:15:43.740 but I'm trying to keep a straight face. 00:15:44.139 --> 00:15:45.719 Well, in the back of the mind, I'm saying to myself, 00:15:45.839 --> 00:15:48.099 check you out using your classic parent line. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:48.919 Great going. 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:51.099 But it's what we say, isn't it? 00:15:51.659 --> 00:15:53.500 You are skating on thin ice. 00:15:53.659 --> 00:15:55.299 My patience is wearing thin. 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:56.039 What do we talk about? 00:15:56.099 --> 00:15:57.879 The straw that broke the camel's back. 00:15:57.980 --> 00:15:59.519 There's a limit. 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:00.519 But... 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:07.639 Friends, take it in that Jesus is not just a better version of us. 00:16:09.819 --> 00:16:14.480 That he is not just like a souped up human being. 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:16.500 He's not just like us in our best days. 00:16:17.699 --> 00:16:22.000 Friends, he is so patient with us. 00:16:23.220 --> 00:16:27.439 We have given him, have we not, countless reasons to jump ship. 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:31.860 We have given him numerous opportunities to bail. 00:16:32.400 --> 00:16:36.980 We have given him ample time to cut his losses and get out now. 00:16:37.400 --> 00:16:43.220 And yet we need to know that none of those things have changed his mind about us. 00:16:44.340 --> 00:16:45.940 This is who he is. 00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:48.820 And if you're a Christian here today, 00:16:49.380 --> 00:16:52.340 this is not about the strength of our faith. 00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:59.800 This is about the strength of Jesus' love for us and his grip on us. 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:06.640 The God who knew us before we were in our mummy's wombs. 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:13.259 The God who decided in eternity past to save us. 00:17:13.259 --> 00:17:19.879 The God who sent his son at a particular moment in history to come and die the death that we should have died. 00:17:20.259 --> 00:17:23.259 The God who has sent his spirit to live in us. 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:26.400 Friends, he will see the job home. 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:30.559 And he's never giving up on us. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:37.379 All the immense patience of Jesus. 00:17:40.659 --> 00:17:42.720 And make no mistake, he will bring us home. 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:47.379 Presumably that is why John Newton, all those years ago, we sang it earlier, penned those lyrics. 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:52.539 Through many dangers, toils and snares, we have already come. 00:17:52.679 --> 00:17:55.379 T'was grace that brought us safe thus far. 00:17:56.279 --> 00:17:58.240 And grace will lead us home. 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:00.059 That's what he's reflecting on. 00:18:01.179 --> 00:18:02.179 This is Jesus. 00:18:03.139 --> 00:18:09.899 You see, Paul's life testifies to the patient, pursuing and passionate love of Jesus for his people. 00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:17.240 And I take it that is why next week, and Alistair will come and lead us through the first bit of chapter 2 next week. 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:24.019 Paul is going to say that God desires all people to be saved. 00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:25.279 Do you see that in chapter 2? 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.980 And I take it that's why we need to get praying for all sorts of people. 00:18:29.980 --> 00:18:31.319 That is the call in chapter 2. 00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:32.680 I don't want to verse creep. 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:36.420 But I take it this church have stopped praying for people. 00:18:36.579 --> 00:18:37.640 Stop praying for their world. 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:40.059 That's why it's such an important part of what we do on a Sunday. 00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:46.440 I take it this leads right into the fact that I'm an example of God's pursuing grace. 00:18:46.619 --> 00:18:49.099 And that's why you need to pray for the peoples of the world. 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:53.200 Because this is the heart of our triune God, our three-in-one God. 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:59.539 Because he can give life to even the most spiritual dead of hearts. 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:01.340 Friends, let me just ask you, think about it. 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:07.200 What hope is there for the pub crawl leader in your halls right now? 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:13.160 What is the hope for the banter setter in your work? 00:19:14.840 --> 00:19:19.460 What is the hope for the hard as nails right back on your football team? 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:20.880 Right? 00:19:20.980 --> 00:19:26.059 What is the hope for your neighbor who seems to have life sweet? 00:19:26.360 --> 00:19:33.160 What is the hope for the high-profile atheist who takes to Twitter to mock the things of God? 00:19:33.460 --> 00:19:34.819 What is the hope? 00:19:34.819 --> 00:19:36.639 Why keep going? 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:38.720 Why not just bail out now? 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:43.519 Why keep witnessing for Jesus when it feels like he isn't even on people's radar? 00:19:45.379 --> 00:19:45.939 Answer? 00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:49.159 That Jesus is like this. 00:19:50.919 --> 00:19:52.659 And that's what drives mission. 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:55.779 It's not our ability to put on a show. 00:19:55.939 --> 00:19:58.039 Friends, we will never out-cool the world. 00:19:59.539 --> 00:20:02.899 What do we have to offer the world other than this Jesus? 00:20:02.900 --> 00:20:05.280 That he's like this. 00:20:08.740 --> 00:20:15.060 And do you see how Jesus didn't just save Paul and kind of let him free to roam in the hills like some kind of wild horse? 00:20:15.660 --> 00:20:16.840 Do you see how he saved him? 00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:18.460 And he gave him a job to do. 00:20:18.540 --> 00:20:20.240 He's reflecting on that in verse 12. 00:20:21.320 --> 00:20:22.180 And verse 13. 00:20:22.320 --> 00:20:24.160 He appointed me to his service. 00:20:24.300 --> 00:20:24.400 Right? 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:25.180 Can you get that? 00:20:25.300 --> 00:20:26.440 He appointed me. 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:32.200 That Jesus is in the business of transforming lives and setting people off to serve for him. 00:20:32.539 --> 00:20:33.160 Let me just say that. 00:20:33.220 --> 00:20:36.059 If that's you today, if you're a Christian, know that that's the same. 00:20:36.140 --> 00:20:37.480 We might not be an apostle. 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:44.539 But we certainly have a job to do that Jesus has given us in terms of witnessing to him, playing our part in what God is doing. 00:20:46.360 --> 00:20:48.180 He appointed me to his service. 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:49.420 And do you know what, Timothy? 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:53.440 Know that he's appointed you to the job in Ephesus as well. 00:20:54.180 --> 00:20:54.400 Right? 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:55.740 It wasn't me that appointed you. 00:20:56.660 --> 00:20:59.500 It wasn't primarily those who prophesied over you. 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:00.220 You see that there? 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:03.960 I take it that just means they confirmed your giftedness and heart for this role. 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:05.680 It wasn't just them. 00:21:05.740 --> 00:21:11.039 It wasn't just the elders who later on will read about how they laid their hands on you to set you off. 00:21:11.100 --> 00:21:13.140 It wasn't them who primarily appointed you. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:17.420 Know that it was Jesus himself who set you apart for this role. 00:21:19.100 --> 00:21:25.519 Of dealing with people like Hymenaeus and Alexander who presumably are hearing everything that Paul is saying 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:29.759 and they're concluding it's nonsense, that they're probably the ones teaching falsely. 00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:35.519 And I take it that they've been asked to leave the church in the expectation that they see the error of their ways 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:36.680 and that they come back. 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:40.319 And I guess it's what's an early form of church discipline that's going on there. 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:44.259 But what's going to keep you going in that battle, Timothy? 00:21:44.379 --> 00:21:46.299 What is going to keep you going when it's hard? 00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:47.579 What is going to keep you going? 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.579 What's going to keep us going, friends, when every day feels the same? 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:56.639 What's going to keep us going, witnessing for Jesus in a world that doesn't seem interested often? 00:21:58.059 --> 00:22:00.519 What's going to keep you going is what he says at verse 12. 00:22:02.879 --> 00:22:08.480 It's the strength that's available in the grace of Jesus. 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:13.579 And I was thinking this week, what's the point in all this? 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:15.980 Right, you take these verses here. 00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:16.639 What's the point? 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:18.639 I mean, it's not like Timothy doesn't know this. 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:21.960 Right, it's not as if he reads this and thought, Paul, I've only had known. 00:22:22.580 --> 00:22:24.360 You didn't tell me you were like that in a previous life. 00:22:24.380 --> 00:22:25.759 I thought you were a squeaky clean guy. 00:22:27.300 --> 00:22:28.060 He reads this. 00:22:28.100 --> 00:22:28.640 What's the point? 00:22:28.740 --> 00:22:30.060 Why rehash this? 00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:32.780 It's a convincing argument for how grace works. 00:22:33.100 --> 00:22:33.380 Absolutely. 00:22:33.660 --> 00:22:36.200 Is it to keep him going, praying for people, the unlikely? 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:37.100 Absolutely. 00:22:37.100 --> 00:22:42.800 But I think later on at verse 6 of chapter 4, we get a wee clue. 00:22:44.120 --> 00:22:47.460 Paul tells him, verse 6 of chapter 4, 00:22:47.460 --> 00:22:52.279 to be nourished on the truths of the faith. 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:57.240 See it, verse 6, chapter 4, be nourished on the truths of the faith. 00:22:57.299 --> 00:22:58.680 Love that word, nourished. 00:22:59.980 --> 00:23:02.980 How much care, friends, do we take in nourishing our own bodies? 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:03.579 Think of it. 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:04.940 Right? 00:23:05.140 --> 00:23:08.579 Vitamin tablets, healthy drinks, superfoods. 00:23:08.620 --> 00:23:10.519 It's why everyone's eating. 00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:11.360 What are they eating now? 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:12.140 Avocados. 00:23:12.259 --> 00:23:12.840 You get them everywhere. 00:23:12.940 --> 00:23:15.480 They don't even know how to spell avocado, let alone nobody was 10 years ago. 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:17.400 But we nourish our bodies, don't we? 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:20.920 We nourish our bodies because we want to see ourselves grow. 00:23:21.400 --> 00:23:23.519 Getting the right stuff into our systems matters. 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:31.620 And do you see how 2,000 years ago, Paul was telling Timothy to nourish himself spiritually 00:23:31.619 --> 00:23:39.279 on the foundational truths of the Christian faith, which I take it is salvation through grace alone, 00:23:40.019 --> 00:23:41.519 through faith alone in Christ alone. 00:23:41.619 --> 00:23:43.119 In other words, the grace of Jesus. 00:23:43.879 --> 00:23:45.659 That's what's going to help you keep going. 00:23:45.859 --> 00:23:48.099 That's what's going to nourish you in the Christian walk. 00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:50.099 The grace of Jesus. 00:23:50.099 --> 00:23:50.439 The grace of Jesus. 00:23:50.439 --> 00:23:52.819 Being galvanized by his love for us. 00:23:53.379 --> 00:23:56.599 The sense of wonder at who he is. 00:23:57.019 --> 00:23:58.219 Friends, let me ask you. 00:23:59.379 --> 00:24:01.939 When was the last time you just spent time with Jesus? 00:24:03.299 --> 00:24:07.219 In the Gospels and just enjoyed who he is? 00:24:08.899 --> 00:24:13.559 You know, the more you read of Paul, you get the sense that he never gets over the grace of God. 00:24:14.459 --> 00:24:15.959 Just never gets over it. 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:20.519 Friends, do you need to bask in that truth today? 00:24:20.600 --> 00:24:21.220 Here's a thought. 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:28.059 Friends, we did not turn up here today in order for Jesus to grade us. 00:24:29.840 --> 00:24:32.600 How many of us have walked in here today thinking to ourselves, 00:24:33.380 --> 00:24:36.519 I wonder if God is disappointed with me. 00:24:37.100 --> 00:24:40.100 Now make no mistake, this letter is a huge call to holiness 00:24:40.100 --> 00:24:45.440 as we try to reflect our holy God, the way that he calls us to live. 00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:46.000 Absolutely. 00:24:46.340 --> 00:24:48.720 But friends, know that it's based on grace. 00:24:48.820 --> 00:24:53.960 How many of us walked in here today and subconsciously thought that we were here to be graded? 00:24:56.299 --> 00:24:59.680 And yet, friends, the reason that we meet today, the reason that we meet every Sunday 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:05.360 is to be strengthened by the grace that is found in Jesus. 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:09.679 And that's why it's a safe place here to take off your mask. 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:12.219 Maybe not physically, but spiritually, right? 00:25:13.899 --> 00:25:20.199 Because if your identity is in who Jesus is, if you're resting in his grace and his love for you, 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:22.159 that there's nothing we did to be saved. 00:25:22.379 --> 00:25:24.699 There's nothing we did for Jesus to love us. 00:25:25.859 --> 00:25:27.839 That he saves us, that he holds us. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.879 Friends, what's the point in play acting at it? 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:32.220 Because that robs him of glory. 00:25:33.280 --> 00:25:35.720 Jesus is full of grace. 00:25:35.840 --> 00:25:36.240 And do you know what? 00:25:36.280 --> 00:25:39.320 He is more full of grace than we are of sin. 00:25:40.380 --> 00:25:42.140 And this is who he is today. 00:25:44.020 --> 00:25:46.700 You know, the false teachers, I take it in the background, what are they teaching? 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:50.200 What they're teaching is leading to envy, division and pride in this church. 00:25:50.280 --> 00:25:51.440 That's what you see later on. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:58.059 And yet Paul's gospel of Jesus crucified in our place for our sin, 00:25:58.580 --> 00:26:01.080 that our lives by faith are caught up in his. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:04.039 And you need to know that today, that that is your identity as a Christian. 00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:07.860 You are in Christ and his righteousness is ours. 00:26:08.600 --> 00:26:13.759 That gospel leads to joy, peace and thanksgiving. 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:15.600 And life. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:23.039 And friends, grace, let me just say, is the rocket fuel which should propel us into a life of godliness. 00:26:25.659 --> 00:26:28.299 Are you resting in the grace of Jesus today? 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:35.639 You know, just as we close, you know, one of the biggest shows on TV when I was growing up was Friends. 00:26:37.179 --> 00:26:39.419 And some of you may have watched the reunion they did recently. 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:40.919 I don't know if any of you watched that. 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:42.399 I watched a little bit of it with Alex. 00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:47.320 But let me just tell you one thing that I found fascinating about it. 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:52.940 And it was a reflection from Matthew Perry, who was the guy who played Chandler, if you remember the show. 00:26:53.080 --> 00:26:57.519 And Chandler was arguably the funniest actor around at the time, right? 00:26:57.800 --> 00:26:59.920 Good looking guy, funny sense of humour. 00:27:00.340 --> 00:27:03.120 And he's the guy in the show who always seemed to get the great lines. 00:27:04.040 --> 00:27:07.300 So Matthew Perry starts opening up in this reunion about his struggles. 00:27:08.320 --> 00:27:10.280 And none of the other actors knew anything about it. 00:27:10.300 --> 00:27:11.000 And this is what he said. 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:11.640 It's on the screen. 00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:15.960 And he talks about how when they used to film in front of live audiences. 00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:21.720 And if he made a joke and the audience didn't laugh, this is what he said. 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:24.420 It felt like it was going to kill him inside. 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:29.720 Because he needed the laughs of the people. 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:32.119 He needed their affirmation. 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:36.339 He needed their love to affirm and maintain his persona. 00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:41.659 And no wonder the guy, if you picture it, no wonder the guy looks shattered. 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:45.899 Because isn't that not an exhausting way to live your life? 00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:52.320 And yet I wonder how many of us can relate somewhat to what he's saying. 00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:57.620 Is it not true, friends, that you and I, maybe even subconsciously, 00:27:57.960 --> 00:28:02.860 so often can live our lives for the praise and the approval of other people? 00:28:02.859 --> 00:28:08.539 Maybe you're here today and your parents have really high expectations for you at university. 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:10.659 Now, don't get me wrong. 00:28:10.740 --> 00:28:12.839 Let's excel in everything that we do. 00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:16.679 But friends, are those expectations crushing you? 00:28:17.199 --> 00:28:19.219 Maybe you're here and it's school grades. 00:28:19.220 --> 00:28:24.700 Expectations for your children, for your classmates, from your neighbours, from your peer group, 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:26.160 from your friendship circles. 00:28:26.980 --> 00:28:30.380 All these expectations, things that we feel we need to live up to. 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:34.519 And dare I say, even sometimes when we come together as a church family. 00:28:35.660 --> 00:28:40.380 You know, I've never met a person who I thought was more impressive in person 00:28:40.380 --> 00:28:42.600 than they came across on their Facebook profile. 00:28:44.200 --> 00:28:47.880 And that says a lot more about my sinful heart than it does about anything else. 00:28:47.880 --> 00:28:50.180 But is that not true? Is that not the world in which we live? 00:28:50.260 --> 00:28:53.140 That we like to project that we are the best? 00:28:56.100 --> 00:29:01.360 But see, friends, when we know the God, we pray to him today as our Father. 00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:04.000 Let's never take our eyes off that wonderful truth. 00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:09.080 And when we know that our Father is the God of verse 17, 00:29:10.040 --> 00:29:14.120 the eternal one, the immortal one, the invisible one, 00:29:14.119 --> 00:29:18.659 the one who's so far above the things of this earth. 00:29:19.579 --> 00:29:23.779 And we take in the fact that he is that God, that he is the holy God, 00:29:23.919 --> 00:29:28.979 and yet in Jesus, he is for me, and he loves me, 00:29:29.259 --> 00:29:32.599 and he loves me on my best days, and he loves me on my worst days. 00:29:35.459 --> 00:29:37.619 Friends, what an incredible place to live your life. 00:29:37.619 --> 00:29:43.239 The transforming grace of Jesus Christ. 00:29:44.379 --> 00:29:48.659 And do some of us need to rest in that wonderful truth today? 00:29:50.259 --> 00:29:52.139 Here's what we're going to do just as we close. 00:29:52.219 --> 00:29:53.979 We're just going to have a moment of silence. 00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:59.799 And friends, I urge you today to take in who Jesus is, 00:30:00.239 --> 00:30:04.099 and then we'll pray, and we'll stand to sing our last songs. 00:30:04.099 --> 00:30:09.039 Why don't we just be quiet and let's still our hearts before this Jesus today? 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:16.500 And friends, maybe even for the first time today, 00:30:17.259 --> 00:30:20.519 I take it as God's Spirit has been moving amongst us. 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:25.419 If you're not here today and you wouldn't call yourself a Christian, 00:30:26.679 --> 00:30:30.480 as we've looked at everything that Paul's life is, 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:32.539 as we've thought about the seriousness of our sin, 00:30:32.539 --> 00:30:35.599 and if you've thought about the grace of Jesus, who he is, 00:30:36.180 --> 00:30:39.200 maybe right now is the time that you want to put your faith in him, 00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:43.899 and just pray, Lord Jesus, help me know who you are. 00:30:49.579 --> 00:30:52.559 And so, Father, I pray for all of us here today, Lord, 00:30:53.379 --> 00:31:00.000 that our souls would be furnished by the grace of Jesus Christ. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:07.339 Father, help us take in the glory of who he is and what he's done for us. 00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:12.339 And we just thank you so much, Lord, for the grace that's been poured out abundantly on us. 00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:16.940 And I maybe just pray particularly for those here today who are struggling in the fight 00:31:16.940 --> 00:31:21.799 and who are weary and wondering if they can carry on. 00:31:21.980 --> 00:31:26.119 Lord, we'd have fresh appreciation of who they are in Jesus. 00:31:26.119 --> 00:31:30.639 And the fact that you are their Father and you're for them. 00:31:32.219 --> 00:31:37.179 Lord, may that come home with crystal clarity in a wonderful way today. 00:31:38.579 --> 00:31:40.839 Father, we just praise you that you love us. 00:31:41.919 --> 00:31:46.439 And we just thank you, Lord, that you're the God of all grace. 00:31:47.339 --> 00:31:48.639 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:49.879 Amen. 00:31:49.879 --> 00:31:49.979 Amen. 00:31:49.979 --> 00:31:50.059 Amen. 00:31:50.059 --> 00:31:50.079 Amen.