WEBVTT 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:13.179 Hello, friends. Just before we begin, for some reason the Wi-Fi has died and then came back to life or restarted. 00:00:13.280 --> 00:00:15.339 It's not resurrected, just resuscitated. 00:00:16.379 --> 00:00:23.080 And we were promised stuff that would have come in on Wednesday to allow us to connect directly into the Internet. 00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:27.660 That hasn't come. So hopefully next week these problems won't be there. 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:31.440 So just please pray about these things. And let's just pray now. 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:41.039 Father, we're going to open your word and we ask that your Holy Spirit would draw your word deep into our hearts, deep into the very center of who we are, 00:00:41.579 --> 00:00:49.539 that we might be disciples of Jesus whose confidence is in Jesus and the gospel and whose joy is in Jesus and the gospel. 00:00:49.780 --> 00:00:52.400 And this we ask in Jesus's name. Amen. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:01:05.219 Amen. There's a famous story of David Foster Wallace, a celebrated writer who committed suicide a few years ago. 00:01:05.739 --> 00:01:09.620 And he did a commencement address at a university. 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:13.120 And in that commencement address, he told this story. 00:01:13.539 --> 00:01:19.819 He said two young fish were swimming along one day and they come to an older fish swimming the opposite direction. 00:01:19.819 --> 00:01:23.859 And the older fish says to the younger fish, how's the water? 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:27.599 And the younger fish say, fine. 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:30.000 The younger fish keeps swimming. 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:36.719 And then finally, after a couple of minutes, one of the younger fish, one of the fish says to the other fish, what's water? 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:45.780 And it's something that, I mean, that's just, and David Foster Wallace used this to talk about something that happened, 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:52.420 different things that happen in human life that we just take for granted, so take for granted that we don't even notice that they exist. 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:55.539 He used it to talk about the problem of idolatry. 00:01:56.299 --> 00:01:59.340 But we could also use it to understand the problem of privilege. 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:03.939 And obviously, privilege has been in the news a lot the last week or two. 00:02:05.180 --> 00:02:09.719 Demonstrations here in Ottawa and many other cities in Canada and around the world, 00:02:10.120 --> 00:02:16.159 and demonstrations and riots in the United States connected to the problems of privilege. 00:02:17.539 --> 00:02:21.340 And one of the things, you know, one of the things, I'm not going to say that, 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:24.800 I'm taking a bit of a risk, actually, talking about privilege. 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:31.920 I would suggest that it's really only, it's only when we can sort of get out of our own culture, 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:34.660 because privilege is like water. 00:02:35.140 --> 00:02:38.240 It's, we're like fish, and fish don't recognize water, 00:02:38.660 --> 00:02:44.560 and we human beings don't recognize privilege and the complexities that go along with privilege very easily. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:51.240 Unless we get very, very broken or God intervenes, or if we actually maybe get, in a sense, out of our water, 00:02:51.920 --> 00:02:55.400 our organized privilege into a different culture. 00:02:56.539 --> 00:03:03.060 A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to go to a part of Angola that tourists never go to. 00:03:03.060 --> 00:03:15.840 I was invited by the SIM to address a gathering of missionaries from all over Angola at their sort of week-long time to recharge their batteries. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.500 So I went to a part of Angola that tourists didn't go to. 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:28.900 And while I was there, there were two times, there's many, many ways that I came face-to-face with the difference between Angolan Christianity and Canadian Christianity. 00:03:28.900 --> 00:03:33.760 And, but two of the ways that I saw the privilege and how privilege worked in that country, 00:03:34.280 --> 00:03:37.879 even though it might be hard for me to see privilege in my own life, 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:42.620 the first one was there were gas, diesel shortages. 00:03:43.480 --> 00:03:46.860 And in fact, most of the gas stations didn't have any diesel fuel. 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:52.200 And when the word went out that there was diesel fuel in a particular gas station, 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:54.340 there would be immediately huge lineups. 00:03:54.340 --> 00:04:00.520 And we were coming back from the conference that took place on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. 00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:04.800 And as we're coming along the road, we see a lineup of vehicles. 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:07.039 So we realized they must have diesel. 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:09.240 So we pull in and join the line. 00:04:10.200 --> 00:04:14.159 And there was, I don't know, you know, 30, 40, 50, 60 vehicles, 00:04:14.420 --> 00:04:17.060 all sorts of people on little scooters, people with cans. 00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:19.040 And we were there in the lineup. 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:21.519 And the lineup moved very, very, very, very slowly. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:25.740 And after we'd been there, I don't know, 45 minutes, 50 minutes, quite a long time. 00:04:26.259 --> 00:04:29.519 I'm just sort of trying to take it in, get used to a new culture. 00:04:30.099 --> 00:04:31.719 There was a particular person. 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:34.539 And she just walked up. 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:36.539 And she hadn't been part of the lineup. 00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:39.099 And she just walked up with a couple of men. 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:42.139 And she just took the very, very front place in the line. 00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:43.139 And she got her gas. 00:04:43.219 --> 00:04:47.399 And then after she got her gas, the men took the different containers. 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:48.639 And then they walked away. 00:04:49.099 --> 00:04:50.199 And it was very interesting. 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:54.420 And I'm watching this thinking to myself, I asked the missionary that I was with what 00:04:54.420 --> 00:04:55.159 was going on. 00:04:55.899 --> 00:04:57.800 And he said, well, I don't understand. 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:03.839 He said, she must have some type of important role in this particular area or this region. 00:05:04.159 --> 00:05:07.800 The interesting thing was, is that none of the people, as much as I could read the body 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:12.319 language of Angolans, none of them seemed to be bothered by this at all, that she could 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:16.939 just ignore the long lineup and go to the very front of the line and get her gas when she 00:05:16.939 --> 00:05:17.300 wanted. 00:05:17.300 --> 00:05:19.259 An example of privilege. 00:05:19.980 --> 00:05:24.720 At a more personal level, I saw privilege when, and one of the things, if you've ever 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:30.500 been to a country which is very poor, a very poor country still have very rich people. 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:34.699 They don't have maybe as many rich people as we have in Canada, and they don't really 00:05:34.699 --> 00:05:35.639 have a middle class. 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:38.199 But they have people who are well off. 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:44.939 And in the part of Lubangu, where I was, about a 10-minute walk away, there was this really 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:45.759 odd thing. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:50.339 It was almost as if aliens had invaded and brought this very, very, very different thing 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:51.680 into this very poor city. 00:05:52.339 --> 00:05:54.300 I walked the 10-minute walk. 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:56.139 The sidewalks are all wrecked. 00:05:56.180 --> 00:05:57.319 The roads are all wrecked. 00:05:57.599 --> 00:06:00.620 There's more pothole than road on the road. 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:05.680 And it's an interesting thing, watching cars weaving in and out of the other direction 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:07.100 of traffic to get around it. 00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:11.560 There's sewage in the, like, open sewage that you have to step over. 00:06:12.139 --> 00:06:13.800 But then you come to this mall. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:17.040 And this mall looks like it came right from Europe. 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:18.900 Like, literally. 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:24.780 Everything else, there's a type of rundownness to everything that you see, a tiredness to 00:06:24.780 --> 00:06:25.540 everything you see. 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:31.040 And then you come to this mall that have Hollywood movies dubbed in Portuguese. 00:06:31.980 --> 00:06:37.560 And it could be like a mall here in Ottawa, with the shoes, the athletic equipment, the 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:41.060 high-end clothing, all of those types of things, and a high-end grocery store. 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:46.620 And I come in and go, I was looking for some milk. 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:47.680 I like to drink milk. 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:50.180 And the people I was staying with hardly ever drank milk. 00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:54.040 So I went off to buy some milk, as well as to have a bit of an adventure, wandering the 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:56.360 streets of Lubangu, all by myself. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:02.860 And the interesting thing is, is that there's lots of security guards watching people come 00:07:02.860 --> 00:07:04.120 into the mall. 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:08.300 Because Lubangu is a city of over a million people, and most of them are quite poor. 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:13.000 And they really give many people a hard-looking over. 00:07:13.340 --> 00:07:16.459 They don't search them, but they give them a hard-looking over as they go into the 00:07:16.459 --> 00:07:16.739 store. 00:07:17.180 --> 00:07:18.479 I didn't get that at all. 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:20.239 I'm white. 00:07:22.060 --> 00:07:25.060 I'm obviously from the first world. 00:07:26.239 --> 00:07:28.620 I mean, they glanced at me as a bit of a curiosity. 00:07:29.139 --> 00:07:33.240 But they definitely didn't look at me in terms of the same way that they looked at people 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:35.560 from the neighborhood or the community. 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:43.079 I, by my color, by the way I was dressed, was obviously first world, obviously could afford 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:43.399 that. 00:07:43.699 --> 00:07:45.220 This is the exact... 00:07:45.220 --> 00:07:47.660 I was the exact type of person they were hoping to go there. 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:49.819 Two examples is a privilege. 00:07:50.620 --> 00:07:55.500 Now, I'm not saying these things because there's something particularly wicked about Angola. 00:07:55.500 --> 00:08:00.319 And I'm not saying these things because I want to try to downplay whatever privilege and its 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:03.000 dynamics goes on in Canada. 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:08.860 I point it out because I say that it's in some ways easiest to see how privilege works 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:13.860 when you get out of your own culture than it is to see it within your own culture and 00:08:13.860 --> 00:08:14.620 in your own life. 00:08:14.620 --> 00:08:21.780 And one of the things I'd like to suggest is that the Bible, in effect, is God's provision 00:08:21.780 --> 00:08:28.720 for human beings to start to see the water that we live in and dwell in. 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:29.560 But we just... 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:33.139 It's so much part of our environment, we don't even think about it. 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:38.019 We just sort of accept a whole piles of things, a whole lot of things about our consciousness, 00:08:38.740 --> 00:08:43.620 about our sense of understanding the world, about how religion and intellectual things should 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:43.980 work. 00:08:43.980 --> 00:08:46.899 We are completely and utterly immersed in water. 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:51.480 And one of the things that God has done by providing his word written is providing, 00:08:51.620 --> 00:08:56.620 in a sense, for every human being the experience, the potential for the experience and the power 00:08:56.620 --> 00:09:00.100 of the Holy Spirit to actually be... 00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:07.600 Start to recognize parts of our human condition and our human problem and our human experience. 00:09:08.620 --> 00:09:10.500 We don't have to travel to Angola. 00:09:10.500 --> 00:09:13.000 We can be wherever we are. 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:19.360 And as we hear the Bible, God's Holy Spirit can help us to start to recognize the water 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:21.039 that we inhabit and take for granted. 00:09:21.700 --> 00:09:25.639 And one of the things I think the Bible will show us in this particular text that we're going 00:09:25.639 --> 00:09:30.299 to look at today is that, in fact, privilege is a human problem. 00:09:30.299 --> 00:09:35.479 And when I say that privilege is a human problem, I'm not saying that so that we can give it 00:09:35.479 --> 00:09:35.959 a pass. 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:39.919 We can say, oh, okay, well, you know, privilege is a human problem, so we don't have to deal 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:44.240 with whatever privilege white people might have over others or privilege that this group 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:44.939 might have over... 00:09:44.940 --> 00:09:45.980 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:09:48.020 --> 00:09:53.120 The Bible, by confronting us with the fact that privilege is a human problem, 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:58.840 it starts to address us who we are at the level of our heart in the context of the living God, 00:09:58.940 --> 00:10:01.520 the triune God, so we can begin to deal with it. 00:10:02.220 --> 00:10:06.940 To begin to deal with it in a way that creates freedom for ourselves and freedom for others, 00:10:07.700 --> 00:10:11.300 in a sense, flourishing for ourselves and flourishing for others. 00:10:11.299 --> 00:10:16.899 So if you turn in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3, we're going to be looking at verses 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:17.939 12 to 21. 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:21.759 Philippians chapter 3, verses 12 to 21. 00:10:22.899 --> 00:10:25.000 And the story starts like this. 00:10:25.099 --> 00:10:31.759 Paul has just been talking about the three great aspects of salvation, that because of 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:36.839 what Jesus has done for the cross for us in his life and his death and his resurrection, 00:10:36.840 --> 00:10:42.060 he is God's means by which we can be made right to himself. 00:10:42.300 --> 00:10:48.019 God does what needs to be done so that we, by faith in Jesus and what he's done for us, 00:10:48.500 --> 00:10:51.259 we can be made right with God. 00:10:51.560 --> 00:10:56.259 And at the same time, he talks about how we are continuing to be made right with God, 00:10:56.379 --> 00:11:00.600 learning how to live right with God, and that the destiny of every human being who has put 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:04.540 their faith and trust in Jesus is that we will end right with God. 00:11:04.539 --> 00:11:07.459 Why? Because it's God's work from first to last. 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:11.439 And then Paul continues by saying this, verse 12. 00:11:12.439 --> 00:11:17.559 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:20.719 my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 00:11:21.599 --> 00:11:26.339 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, 00:11:26.819 --> 00:11:30.279 forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:35.740 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:37.279 We're just going to pause there. 00:11:37.339 --> 00:11:41.360 We're going to read till the end of the chapter in a few moments, but I just want to pause there 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:45.620 and notice a couple of things about this particular text. 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.100 And it sounds a little bit confusing, doesn't it? 00:11:48.419 --> 00:11:54.139 Like, look at it, but it is a little bit confusing, but when you start to understand what it is and what 00:11:54.139 --> 00:11:59.360 it's addressing in your lives, all of these three verses are verses that would be very wise and very 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:01.319 helpful for Christians to memorize. 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:04.240 They're very, very packed and very, very powerful. 00:12:05.199 --> 00:12:06.639 Look again at verse 12. 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:36.620 Now, what is he talking about in terms of forgetting everything that's going on? 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:37.379 Behind you? 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:43.480 Like, I mean, George, you might be saying, excuse me, that doesn't make any sense. 00:12:44.699 --> 00:12:49.580 Like, I thought we were supposed to live in the present and meditate upon the past a little bit, 00:12:49.620 --> 00:12:53.840 not always be living off in the future, but this seems to be talking as if we're supposed to be living off 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:55.279 in the future all of the time. 00:12:55.819 --> 00:12:58.620 And, you know, it doesn't make any sense to forget what's past. 00:13:00.059 --> 00:13:01.799 I mean, that just doesn't make any sense. 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:04.240 So what's going on here? 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:11.820 Well, first of all, what the Bible is saying is, this is going to be one of the points that 00:13:11.820 --> 00:13:16.000 you might be able to see on your screen, or later on you can look up on the webpage. 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:25.680 If you think it is wrong for someone to use their privilege against you or others, why is it all right 00:13:25.680 --> 00:13:28.899 for you to claim privileges against the triune God? 00:13:28.899 --> 00:13:29.840 That's the question. 00:13:30.759 --> 00:13:36.919 If you think it is wrong for someone to use their privilege against you or others, why is it all right 00:13:36.919 --> 00:13:40.699 for you to claim privileges against the triune God? 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:43.120 Now, okay, George, why are you saying that? 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:44.980 Well, it's what the Bible text says here. 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:47.059 You see, in verse 12, when it says, 00:13:47.059 --> 00:13:54.500 I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own, what this is saying is this. 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:58.459 You can never be the hero of your own life. 00:13:59.579 --> 00:14:02.459 You can never be the hero of your own story. 00:14:03.319 --> 00:14:03.779 Never. 00:14:04.599 --> 00:14:04.959 Ever. 00:14:04.959 --> 00:14:05.039 Ever. 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:05.480 Ever. 00:14:06.139 --> 00:14:13.839 In fact, the entire quest to try to be the hero of your own story is going to lead to your ruination. 00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:17.039 But you can never be the hero of your own story. 00:14:17.159 --> 00:14:22.259 You can never be the hero of the one who will triumph over the adversity and make yourself... 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:23.139 You never can. 00:14:25.219 --> 00:14:26.639 Now, that's very offensive. 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:31.759 Give you another type of example, and then we're going to unpack some of these ones a little bit. 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:36.779 One of the questions that some people ask, maybe you've asked, is like, 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:37.860 what is God... 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:41.059 Why has God brought COVID-19 upon us? 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:45.759 And people, some people at least, maybe not you, have wondered about that. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:49.360 And with that wondering is often a bit of the issue of like, 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:50.899 I mean, we're a good country. 00:14:51.019 --> 00:14:52.600 Like, why is it that God has done this? 00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:56.200 Or why is it that this particular hard thing has come on in my life? 00:14:56.919 --> 00:14:58.700 And we never ask the question, 00:14:59.460 --> 00:15:01.659 why is it that God has blessed us? 00:15:02.419 --> 00:15:06.759 When our economy is going full and we're making lots of money and we're very successful 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:08.899 and we have good jobs, we rarely ask ourselves, 00:15:09.139 --> 00:15:12.620 this is an intellectual problem, a moral and spiritual problem for me. 00:15:12.700 --> 00:15:13.819 Why is God blessing me? 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:14.879 We never ask that. 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:18.299 We only ask the question when things are hard. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:20.740 Well, why is it that we ask the thing, 00:15:21.019 --> 00:15:22.679 these questions when things are hard? 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:27.379 It's because we actually think we have privileges in regard to God. 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:30.840 I've had many conversations with people who say, 00:15:31.299 --> 00:15:34.360 you know, I don't know why I don't have children. 00:15:34.580 --> 00:15:36.840 Like, why is God doing this to me? 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:38.019 Like, I want children. 00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:39.279 I'd be a far better mom. 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:42.600 Like, I work in a store and I see all these moms and they're terrible moms. 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:43.740 I would be a better mom. 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:45.360 Why is God doing this to me? 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:49.379 Like, I'd be a far better wife or a far better husband. 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:52.419 And I see these people and there's jerks and all that type of stuff. 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:54.800 But why do they have this and I don't have this? 00:15:56.539 --> 00:16:00.019 Why is God, or I'll hear people say, you know, 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:02.840 I prayed and prayed and prayed and I tried to be good. 00:16:03.379 --> 00:16:04.639 And I tried to be kind. 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:06.980 And I'm stuck in this crappy job. 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:10.180 And I don't have a relationship and things just aren't going well. 00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:12.639 Like, why is that happening? 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:15.860 How can there be a God who exists when these types of things happen to me? 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:18.980 I've heard Christians say, you know, I taught Sunday school. 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:20.580 I've given generously to church. 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:21.879 And now this is happening to me. 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:23.259 There's a sickness in my life. 00:16:23.779 --> 00:16:25.379 Why is God doing this to me? 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:31.300 Every single one of these examples is us claiming a privilege against God. 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:34.039 Every single one. 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:40.419 And the biggest obstacle any human being has to becoming a Christian is this. 00:16:41.259 --> 00:16:46.759 You have to die to the idea that you can be the hero of your story. 00:16:48.079 --> 00:16:49.439 Why do I say that? 00:16:51.319 --> 00:16:54.559 Not that I have already obtained this or I'm already perfect, 00:16:54.719 --> 00:17:00.039 but I press on to make it my own because Jesus Christ has made me his own. 00:17:00.939 --> 00:17:01.879 He does it all. 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:07.480 It isn't as if I jump a little bit and he comes and catches the rest. 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:10.579 And if I can jump a little bit and then he catches the rest, 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:13.819 or I can accomplish these good things, I can do these good works, 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:17.400 I can have this success, I can be really talented, 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:22.880 I can just be me, and therefore I contribute this and Jesus contributes the rest. 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:23.819 Then we have privileges. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:25.900 We can do a quid pro quo with God. 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:27.000 I've done this, you do this. 00:17:27.059 --> 00:17:27.680 There's privileges. 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:31.680 There's privileges. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:34.740 So the question is this. 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:40.000 If you think it's wrong for someone to use their privilege against you or others, 00:17:40.100 --> 00:17:43.140 why is it all right for you to claim privileges against the triune God? 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:45.380 And here's the second point, which might be there. 00:17:45.380 --> 00:17:53.400 The Lord Jesus Christ gave himself fully, utterly, unreservedly, lovingly, and effectively for you. 00:17:53.400 --> 00:18:09.640 And he does that for you when you do nothing for him and can do nothing for him. 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:18.360 You know, it wasn't as if, in a sense, I hang on the cross for 25 minutes or for an hour, 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:21.060 and then I go down and Jesus takes my place for the rest. 00:18:21.600 --> 00:18:22.040 No. 00:18:22.580 --> 00:18:28.060 It is when I am not, in a sense, the Bible says that we are an enmity in God. 00:18:28.120 --> 00:18:30.520 When we think we have privileges in regard to God. 00:18:30.580 --> 00:18:33.200 When we think we can be the hero of our own life. 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:35.180 The hero of our salvation. 00:18:35.180 --> 00:18:39.779 When we are thinking all of these things, Jesus gives himself. 00:18:39.940 --> 00:18:42.779 He sets, that's what Philippians 2, 5 to 11 is all about. 00:18:43.120 --> 00:18:48.560 How God, the Son of God, he sets aside his prerogatives, his privileges, his appearance of God. 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:50.920 In a sense, the full fellowship of heaven. 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:52.860 He puts all of these things aside. 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.080 He empties himself and becomes his nothing. 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:58.779 And he continues to empty himself to take into himself our human being. 00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:03.880 And now as he appears to us as what he really is, which is God, the Son of God, and fully human. 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:05.360 He lives a normal human life. 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:07.140 He suffers trials and temptations. 00:19:07.560 --> 00:19:08.340 He's misunderstood. 00:19:08.780 --> 00:19:10.400 He's disrespected. 00:19:10.760 --> 00:19:11.660 He's betrayed. 00:19:12.180 --> 00:19:19.000 He dies on the cross, naked, beaten, bloody, as a sacrifice for you and me. 00:19:19.100 --> 00:19:21.800 He descends and tastes all there is to taste of death. 00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:23.340 All for me. 00:19:23.580 --> 00:19:24.420 All for you. 00:19:24.520 --> 00:19:28.040 His resistance of temptation is emptying himself of his glory. 00:19:28.140 --> 00:19:29.080 His leaving of heaven. 00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:36.379 And he gives himself fully, utterly, unreservedly, lovingly, and effectively for you. 00:19:36.419 --> 00:19:42.519 And I say effectively because when you put your hands in Jesus and you allow him to take you, he makes you his own. 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:43.539 It is effective. 00:19:44.699 --> 00:19:47.879 It is so effective that you are now made right with God. 00:19:47.880 --> 00:20:02.880 And as we go through these things here, which will help us to become more Christ-like, he will continue to free you up from your pride and envy and anger and privilege. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:03.560 Privilege. 00:20:05.340 --> 00:20:07.920 To become more free, more human. 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:10.200 More generous. 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:10.980 More loving. 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:11.720 More forgiving. 00:20:12.540 --> 00:20:13.580 More compassionate. 00:20:14.700 --> 00:20:16.320 More self-effacing. 00:20:17.060 --> 00:20:18.280 Less full of yourself. 00:20:18.940 --> 00:20:25.200 Until that final day when you see God face to face and you're like Jesus and it's all been a work of his. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:28.700 See, that's what I said. 00:20:29.360 --> 00:20:30.559 It's when you look at the Bible. 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:33.340 You see, that's what the forgetting part is, right? 00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:37.759 If you look at verse 13, brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own. 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:42.840 You know, we live, Christians live the already not yet life. 00:20:44.080 --> 00:20:45.200 I'm already his. 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:55.279 I already have this guarantee of being his forever and eternity because of what he's done, not because of what I have done, not because of my privileges, but because of him. 00:20:57.360 --> 00:21:07.180 But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 00:21:08.080 --> 00:21:10.880 You see, the forgetting is our privileges. 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:36.960 The putting to death in my mind of any sense of privilege, of any sense of quid pro quo, of any sense of, well, of course, because I'm middle class or because I'm well educated or because I'm a pastor or because I can, I know the Bible very well or because I can preach or because I can counsel or because I've, I said a prayer once and a man who was about to die came to, was fully and utterly healed. 00:21:36.960 --> 00:22:06.940 You know, or because I can't. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:13.259 And I shared last week, you can go listen to the sermon, how we look at them and we go, that's really lame. 00:22:13.340 --> 00:22:15.140 But that's how all privilege works. 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:18.880 When others look at it, it looks lame. 00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:22.680 And we'd say, what a stupid thing to put your confidence in. 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:27.340 And that's exactly the same thing that people will say about us if we could be clear. 00:22:27.660 --> 00:22:29.000 And that's what he wants us to see. 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:30.279 He said, that's what I'm forgetting. 00:22:31.100 --> 00:22:34.740 In fact, if you, if you go back, he says, I can't all that stuff is done. 00:22:34.740 --> 00:22:39.500 You know what the cattle have left behind after they've done their business. 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:45.880 That's the entire value of all those things that I have as my sense of privilege. 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:47.380 I want to forget them. 00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:50.480 In fact, I even want to forget whatever it is that I did. 00:22:50.620 --> 00:22:58.259 You know, if, if, you know, if this sermon ends up being going viral and a million people look at it, listen, tomorrow, I got to forget about that. 00:22:58.259 --> 00:22:59.879 That's not a point of privilege. 00:23:00.879 --> 00:23:04.279 If only three people watch it, I have to forget about that. 00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:07.119 I have to forget about it. 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:15.940 Not that I can't sort of try to learn and analyze and do better or improve, but I forget about it because the fact of the matter is, it's not about me being the hero of my story. 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:20.700 It's not about me making brownie points so I can have a quid pro quo relationship with God. 00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:28.779 It's all grace with nothing left over, only thoroughly, utterly grace. 00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:38.600 Grace for the unworthy like me, the undeserving like me, the hopeless like me. 00:23:39.420 --> 00:23:40.799 It's all grace. 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:42.860 It's all grace. 00:23:42.859 --> 00:23:53.639 And so Paul is trying to say, given that it's all grace, what are some things that we can do to help you to enter into this and to live with this? 00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:57.459 And I'm going to give you four short little prayers. 00:23:57.459 --> 00:24:06.059 And if you don't have time to write them down or if you can't see them in the notes later on, you can go to the web page or you can email the office. 00:24:06.500 --> 00:24:07.339 I'll share them with you. 00:24:07.439 --> 00:24:10.079 Four prayers that pray out of this text. 00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:12.039 And the first one is this. 00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:25.899 I'll pray it again. 00:24:37.899 --> 00:24:41.639 See, that's one of the reasons why we need church. 00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:44.240 It's one of the reasons why we need small groups. 00:24:45.040 --> 00:24:55.040 Because brothers and sisters, inquirers, seekers, the curious, the skeptic, whoever might be watching this, I forget. 00:24:55.039 --> 00:25:00.819 I get up on a Monday morning and I forget that Christ has made me my own. 00:25:00.879 --> 00:25:02.659 And I think I have to make me my own. 00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:04.839 And I think I have to deal with things. 00:25:05.139 --> 00:25:08.799 And I think I have to beat myself up over the failure that I did yesterday. 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:12.960 Or I think I have to deal with how puffed up I am at my success the day before. 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:13.899 And I forget. 00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:15.440 I have amnesia. 00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:17.839 I need to spend time in the word of God. 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:20.639 I need to be with brothers and sisters. 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:23.840 Brothers and sisters, I need to hear this. 00:25:24.040 --> 00:25:27.880 The old, old story over and over and over and over again. 00:25:28.620 --> 00:25:31.020 And you just, you notice how wonderful it is? 00:25:31.620 --> 00:25:34.000 Look again at verses 12 and 13 and 14. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:36.100 Because my first two prayers come out of this. 00:25:36.800 --> 00:25:37.360 Excuse me. 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:39.919 Not that I have already obtained this or I'm already perfect. 00:25:40.459 --> 00:25:42.179 But I press on to make it my own. 00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:42.519 Why? 00:25:42.659 --> 00:25:44.979 Because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 00:25:45.479 --> 00:25:48.199 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own. 00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:51.019 But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind me. 00:25:52.699 --> 00:25:55.240 In other words, forgetting all claims to privilege. 00:25:55.439 --> 00:25:56.819 Putting that behind me. 00:25:57.979 --> 00:26:02.319 I press on and straining forward to what lies ahead. 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:08.099 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 00:26:08.379 --> 00:26:10.339 You know, it's really, really interesting, isn't it? 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:17.399 What does Paul say here in terms of living out this truth that Jesus has done something utterly, 00:26:18.419 --> 00:26:23.799 in a sense, shamelessly loving and effective and powerful in terms of self-giving of himself 00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:27.339 to do what needed to be done so you could be made right for God 00:26:27.339 --> 00:26:30.200 because you could never be the hero of your own story. 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:31.460 And then what does he say? 00:26:31.460 --> 00:26:33.539 He doesn't say, well, you've got to learn to meditate this way. 00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:35.740 He doesn't say, you've got to learn mindfulness. 00:26:35.940 --> 00:26:40.019 He doesn't say, you've got to say prayers five times a day in a particular type of way. 00:26:40.340 --> 00:26:41.700 He doesn't say you have to do this. 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:43.019 He doesn't say you have to do this. 00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:50.759 He, in a sense, he wants to fan into flame within us a pursuing of God's call to each one of us 00:26:50.759 --> 00:26:52.559 who have responded to the call by grace. 00:26:52.860 --> 00:26:54.579 This is wonderful news. 00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:55.700 You know what this means? 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:59.559 This means that today, I know that the times are all different. 00:26:59.559 --> 00:27:04.859 This means that a young woman doctor in Singapore who is a follower of Jesus, 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:08.779 or a person in a slum in Nairobi, 00:27:09.419 --> 00:27:14.779 or a person who's an important government official in Nigeria, 00:27:14.779 --> 00:27:18.740 or a plumber in Chile, 00:27:18.740 --> 00:27:24.960 or an African-American teenager in Minneapolis, 00:27:25.379 --> 00:27:26.099 and me. 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:29.799 We don't all have to become like each other. 00:27:30.639 --> 00:27:34.019 I don't have to learn how to live a Christian life in their context, 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:35.460 and they don't have to learn it in mine. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:37.940 They don't have to become more Canadian. 00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:40.380 I don't have to become more Nigerian. 00:27:41.600 --> 00:27:43.220 This is this wonderful thing, 00:27:43.299 --> 00:27:45.160 and that whatever culture we're in, 00:27:46.320 --> 00:27:47.960 Jesus is called to you. 00:27:48.080 --> 00:27:49.600 God the Father's called to you. 00:27:49.620 --> 00:27:51.200 The Holy Spirit's calling you. 00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:53.240 As it begins to take hold of you, 00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:56.400 it will begin to transform your inner life and your culture. 00:27:57.980 --> 00:27:58.940 This is why Christianity, 00:27:59.660 --> 00:28:02.500 this is why the gospel is the only world faith. 00:28:02.500 --> 00:28:05.559 To become more Buddhist is to become more Thai, 00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:06.619 or more Chinese, 00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:10.359 or more Mongolian, 00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:12.900 or more Tibetan. 00:28:13.460 --> 00:28:16.519 To become more Hindu is to become more like you are from India. 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:20.759 To become more Muslim is to become more Arabic. 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:24.240 But to become more Christian 00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:26.740 is to become more human. 00:28:26.740 --> 00:28:33.579 And to liberate you to be in your cultural context. 00:28:37.779 --> 00:28:39.779 And so that's why this prayer is there. 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:40.799 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:28:40.900 --> 00:28:42.819 as I press on to answer your call to me, 00:28:42.900 --> 00:28:44.859 deliver me from my amnesia, 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:47.000 and help me to live, 00:28:47.120 --> 00:28:48.299 knowing you have made me your own. 00:28:48.359 --> 00:28:49.599 Here's a second prayer. 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:51.500 The fourth point, the second prayer. 00:28:52.220 --> 00:28:53.200 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:55.940 as I press on to answer your call to me, 00:28:55.940 --> 00:28:58.279 help me to put to death 00:28:58.279 --> 00:28:59.940 my addiction 00:28:59.940 --> 00:29:03.100 to claiming privileges against you. 00:29:05.259 --> 00:29:06.440 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:08.779 as I press on to answer your call to me, 00:29:09.080 --> 00:29:10.900 help me to put to death, 00:29:11.539 --> 00:29:12.980 to repent, 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:14.059 my addiction 00:29:14.059 --> 00:29:17.180 to claiming privileges against you. 00:29:18.320 --> 00:29:20.960 You know, how come you gave me this church of the Messiah? 00:29:21.100 --> 00:29:23.900 Like, I'm a better pastor than that mega church pastor. 00:29:23.900 --> 00:29:25.840 Why don't I have a big church like that? 00:29:25.940 --> 00:29:27.740 Why do I have to deal with these people? 00:29:27.960 --> 00:29:28.220 Like, what? 00:29:29.140 --> 00:29:30.100 Put it to death. 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:31.519 You know? 00:29:32.080 --> 00:29:33.120 Put it to death. 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:37.640 And I see addiction 00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:38.480 because there's, 00:29:38.620 --> 00:29:41.500 until we actually see Jesus face to face, 00:29:41.600 --> 00:29:42.920 there is this tug, 00:29:43.060 --> 00:29:44.180 there is this pull. 00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:45.920 And it's a tug and a pull 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:47.240 that comes from within me. 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:48.920 And it's a tug and a pull, 00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:50.000 tug and a, 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:52.560 it's a tug and a pull 00:29:52.560 --> 00:29:53.500 that is, 00:29:53.700 --> 00:29:54.140 in a sense, 00:29:54.560 --> 00:29:55.820 made worse 00:29:55.820 --> 00:29:57.740 or encouraged by my culture 00:29:57.740 --> 00:29:59.560 and encouraged by demons. 00:29:59.840 --> 00:30:02.039 But I need to pray this prayer. 00:30:02.100 --> 00:30:03.240 That's what it's telling me, right? 00:30:04.140 --> 00:30:05.420 Look again at what it says, 00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:05.700 you know, 00:30:05.779 --> 00:30:06.539 but one thing I do, 00:30:06.680 --> 00:30:07.779 forgetting what lies behind 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:09.480 and straining forward to what lies ahead, 00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:10.940 I press on toward the goal 00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:12.599 for the prize of the upward call 00:30:12.599 --> 00:30:14.160 of God 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:16.900 in Christ Jesus. 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:19.380 Let's just finish the chapter. 00:30:19.539 --> 00:30:20.660 We'll do two more prayers. 00:30:21.299 --> 00:30:22.700 But let's read the rest of the chapter. 00:30:22.860 --> 00:30:24.059 Here's how the rest of it goes. 00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:25.720 Verse 15. 00:30:26.360 --> 00:30:27.819 Let those of us who are mature 00:30:27.819 --> 00:30:28.680 think this way 00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:30.640 and if in anything you think otherwise, 00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:32.819 God will reveal that also to you. 00:30:33.319 --> 00:30:35.140 Only let us hold true 00:30:35.140 --> 00:30:36.180 to what we have attained. 00:30:36.700 --> 00:30:37.680 Now just sort of pause. 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:40.060 This isn't saying 00:30:40.060 --> 00:30:41.519 that type of moral relativism. 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:42.360 Oh, you know, whatever. 00:30:42.580 --> 00:30:43.799 You know, some people like to knit. 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:46.640 Some people like to do power lifting. 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:48.080 You know, whatever turns your crank, 00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:49.039 lights your fuse, 00:30:49.860 --> 00:30:50.039 you know, 00:30:50.100 --> 00:30:51.539 puts energy in your bulb. 00:30:51.660 --> 00:30:53.140 No, it's not saying that at all. 00:30:53.560 --> 00:30:54.799 It's an old-fashioned word 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:55.900 about backsliding. 00:30:56.279 --> 00:30:57.140 Don't go backwards. 00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:00.180 Okay, so we're going to see in a moment 00:31:00.180 --> 00:31:02.000 he's going to warn us 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:03.500 about certain types of behavior, 00:31:03.700 --> 00:31:04.779 certain types of following 00:31:04.779 --> 00:31:05.759 certain types of people. 00:31:05.840 --> 00:31:07.259 So he's not saying everything's the same. 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:08.460 He's saying, listen, 00:31:08.680 --> 00:31:10.360 the goal is to go further up 00:31:10.360 --> 00:31:11.039 and further in 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:12.740 into the life of the triune God. 00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:16.140 The goal is to have less amnesia 00:31:16.140 --> 00:31:17.100 about the fact 00:31:17.100 --> 00:31:17.940 that you, 00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:20.580 that Jesus has made you your own, 00:31:20.900 --> 00:31:21.560 his own. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:24.220 And the goal is to learn 00:31:24.220 --> 00:31:25.360 how to die to privileges. 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:26.340 That's the goal. 00:31:26.460 --> 00:31:27.820 That's the upward call. 00:31:27.880 --> 00:31:28.840 And you're going to figure it out 00:31:28.840 --> 00:31:30.160 in the context of Ottawa 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:31.120 or Nairobi 00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:31.899 or Chile 00:31:31.899 --> 00:31:33.299 or Nigeria 00:31:33.299 --> 00:31:34.899 or Singapore 00:31:34.899 --> 00:31:36.659 or Hong Kong 00:31:36.659 --> 00:31:37.699 or Beijing 00:31:37.699 --> 00:31:39.579 or Saudi Arabia 00:31:39.579 --> 00:31:40.339 or Iran. 00:31:40.419 --> 00:31:41.059 You're going to figure it out 00:31:41.059 --> 00:31:42.039 in your own context. 00:31:42.179 --> 00:31:43.039 God is going to help you 00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:43.519 to figure it out 00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:44.339 in your own context. 00:31:44.339 --> 00:31:45.719 But whatever it is you do, 00:31:46.379 --> 00:31:47.479 keep moving forward. 00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:50.019 Keep moving forward. 00:31:50.859 --> 00:31:51.899 And then he continues, 00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:52.719 verse 17. 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:55.180 Brothers and sisters, 00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:57.059 join in imitating me 00:31:57.059 --> 00:31:58.400 and keep your eyes 00:31:58.400 --> 00:31:59.279 on those who walk 00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:00.460 according to the example 00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:01.299 you have in us. 00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:02.559 For many, 00:32:03.279 --> 00:32:05.259 of whom I have often told you 00:32:05.259 --> 00:32:05.940 and now tell you 00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:06.960 even with tears, 00:32:07.600 --> 00:32:08.360 walk as enemies 00:32:08.360 --> 00:32:09.620 of the cross of Christ. 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:11.579 Their end is destruction, 00:32:11.740 --> 00:32:12.759 their God is their belly, 00:32:12.860 --> 00:32:14.160 and they glory in their shame 00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:17.660 with minds set on earthly things. 00:32:18.460 --> 00:32:19.940 And here I'll share the prayer 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:20.660 and I'll try to unpack 00:32:20.660 --> 00:32:21.380 what's going on there. 00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:22.240 The prayer is this. 00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:23.519 My fifth point, 00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:24.319 my third prayer. 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:25.799 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:32:25.900 --> 00:32:27.100 as I press on 00:32:27.100 --> 00:32:28.819 to answer your call to me, 00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:31.559 connect me to others 00:32:31.559 --> 00:32:34.140 who are self-effacingly 00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:35.900 answering your call to them. 00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:38.160 Say it again. 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:39.819 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:40.980 as I press on 00:32:40.980 --> 00:32:42.319 to answer your call to me, 00:32:42.440 --> 00:32:44.059 connect me to others 00:32:44.059 --> 00:32:46.700 who are self-effacingly 00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:49.279 answering your call to them. 00:32:49.819 --> 00:32:50.140 You see, 00:32:50.200 --> 00:32:50.720 the fact of the matter 00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:50.860 is, 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:51.640 and we all know this, 00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:52.740 we know that there's churches 00:32:52.740 --> 00:32:53.320 that can be, 00:32:53.680 --> 00:32:55.040 they can begin with grace 00:32:55.040 --> 00:32:55.800 and then it's as if, 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:56.040 okay, 00:32:56.140 --> 00:32:57.300 I made Christ 00:32:57.300 --> 00:32:58.820 and I got the t-shirt, 00:32:59.020 --> 00:32:59.780 got the tattoo, 00:33:00.540 --> 00:33:01.320 got the hat, 00:33:01.820 --> 00:33:03.520 but now it's all about 00:33:03.520 --> 00:33:04.120 getting money 00:33:04.120 --> 00:33:05.460 or now it's all about 00:33:05.460 --> 00:33:07.680 connecting to the alt-right 00:33:07.680 --> 00:33:09.000 or now it's all connected 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:11.280 to decolonizing Christianity 00:33:11.280 --> 00:33:13.120 or now it's all connected 00:33:13.120 --> 00:33:15.140 to having a high aesthetic 00:33:15.140 --> 00:33:16.280 or now it's all connected. 00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:16.720 No. 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:19.240 No. 00:33:20.039 --> 00:33:21.139 We all know. 00:33:22.299 --> 00:33:23.240 And I'm not saying this 00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:23.940 to point fingers 00:33:23.940 --> 00:33:24.460 at other people 00:33:24.460 --> 00:33:25.440 because I'm somehow pure, 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:26.339 but we all know 00:33:26.339 --> 00:33:27.899 that the constant problem 00:33:27.899 --> 00:33:29.000 for the Christian faith 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:29.819 is to turn into 00:33:29.819 --> 00:33:31.319 yet another religion 00:33:31.319 --> 00:33:33.660 that encourages privilege 00:33:33.660 --> 00:33:37.440 and is refusing to die 00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:38.879 to the addiction of privilege 00:33:38.879 --> 00:33:40.700 and tells you 00:33:40.700 --> 00:33:41.759 how to become the hero 00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:42.859 of your own story. 00:33:42.859 --> 00:33:44.619 And Paul is saying this. 00:33:45.299 --> 00:33:45.799 In a sense, 00:33:46.119 --> 00:33:47.339 we can't see him physically, 00:33:47.459 --> 00:33:48.240 but he wrote a big part 00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:48.839 of the New Testament. 00:33:48.979 --> 00:33:49.879 We can read and learn 00:33:49.879 --> 00:33:51.039 what his example is 00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:52.199 by reading the New Testament. 00:33:52.379 --> 00:33:53.339 It's partly to calling us 00:33:53.339 --> 00:33:54.019 to read the Bible, 00:33:54.219 --> 00:33:55.299 but it's not just about 00:33:55.299 --> 00:33:55.879 reading the Bible 00:33:55.879 --> 00:33:57.519 because brothers and sisters, 00:33:57.719 --> 00:33:58.679 we need each other. 00:33:59.319 --> 00:34:00.639 If you don't have a church, 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:01.919 connect to a good church. 00:34:02.019 --> 00:34:02.839 If you're watching this 00:34:02.839 --> 00:34:03.519 from another city, 00:34:03.659 --> 00:34:04.299 contact us. 00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:05.719 We'll help to connect you 00:34:05.719 --> 00:34:06.359 with a good church. 00:34:06.459 --> 00:34:07.179 If you're in Ottawa 00:34:07.179 --> 00:34:08.500 and you don't have a good church 00:34:08.500 --> 00:34:09.719 and you're far from where we meet, 00:34:09.799 --> 00:34:10.739 we'll help you to connect 00:34:10.739 --> 00:34:11.579 to a good church. 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:14.699 If you can connect to ours, 00:34:14.739 --> 00:34:15.719 we'd love to have you. 00:34:16.279 --> 00:34:17.659 But we need others. 00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:20.219 The people in Nairobi, 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:21.599 they need to see others 00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:22.340 in Nairobi. 00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:25.279 The mechanic in Chile, 00:34:25.400 --> 00:34:26.880 he needs to see people. 00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:28.759 The woman bureaucrat, 00:34:28.860 --> 00:34:30.179 the high official in Nigeria, 00:34:30.340 --> 00:34:32.599 she needs to see other Nigerians 00:34:32.599 --> 00:34:33.599 answering the call 00:34:33.599 --> 00:34:34.579 and figuring it out. 00:34:35.299 --> 00:34:37.880 We need each other in that way. 00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:41.240 And that's what Paul 00:34:41.240 --> 00:34:42.340 is telling us to do. 00:34:43.119 --> 00:34:45.079 To stop looking to those people 00:34:45.079 --> 00:34:46.140 that are just trying 00:34:46.140 --> 00:34:47.500 to twist the Christian faith 00:34:47.500 --> 00:34:48.900 into all sorts of privilege. 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:50.059 And it might be hard to know 00:34:50.059 --> 00:34:51.340 exactly who is what, 00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:52.480 but pray out to God 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:53.460 that he will give you 00:34:53.460 --> 00:34:55.160 those examples of prayer, 00:34:55.340 --> 00:34:56.099 of holiness, 00:34:56.340 --> 00:34:57.900 of self-effacing goodness, 00:34:58.160 --> 00:35:00.099 of concern for the poor, 00:35:00.260 --> 00:35:01.720 concern to share the gospel, 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:03.019 seeking the good of the city 00:35:03.019 --> 00:35:04.360 in a way which is coming out 00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:05.920 of answering the call of God 00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:08.500 and not accruing 00:35:08.500 --> 00:35:09.720 a whole pile of privileges. 00:35:09.720 --> 00:35:11.220 Try to figure out who they are 00:35:11.220 --> 00:35:12.500 and connect with them 00:35:12.500 --> 00:35:14.039 in prayer. 00:35:15.539 --> 00:35:17.039 Just see how it closes 00:35:17.039 --> 00:35:18.099 and then we'll wrap up. 00:35:18.820 --> 00:35:19.460 Verse 20, 00:35:19.720 --> 00:35:21.780 But our citizenship is in heaven 00:35:21.780 --> 00:35:23.539 and from it we await a Savior, 00:35:23.700 --> 00:35:24.920 the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:26.579 And who is he? 00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:29.460 He will transform your lowly body 00:35:29.460 --> 00:35:31.340 to be like his glorious body 00:35:31.340 --> 00:35:34.039 by the power that enables him 00:35:34.039 --> 00:35:37.260 even to subject all things 00:35:37.260 --> 00:35:38.360 to himself. 00:35:38.740 --> 00:35:40.340 That is the person 00:35:40.340 --> 00:35:43.559 who has made you his own. 00:35:45.460 --> 00:35:46.880 And that is our goal. 00:35:47.880 --> 00:35:49.079 Beyond the horizon. 00:35:50.280 --> 00:35:51.620 You know, if you're lost in the bush, 00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:54.200 if you're lost in the bush, 00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:55.539 hopefully you have a compass. 00:35:56.340 --> 00:35:56.740 You may be, 00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:58.220 and as you start to realize, 00:35:58.400 --> 00:36:00.660 you can't just look at your own horizon 00:36:00.659 --> 00:36:02.119 because all you see is bush. 00:36:02.460 --> 00:36:03.619 What does a compass give you? 00:36:03.699 --> 00:36:04.679 It gives you something 00:36:04.679 --> 00:36:05.859 which points beyond 00:36:05.859 --> 00:36:07.819 what you can see in the bush 00:36:07.819 --> 00:36:10.420 so that you can start to orient yourself 00:36:10.420 --> 00:36:11.480 and start to move. 00:36:11.940 --> 00:36:12.779 And that's in a sense 00:36:12.779 --> 00:36:14.239 what the resurrection of the body 00:36:14.239 --> 00:36:15.559 and the hope of heaven is. 00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:16.960 It's something beyond 00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:18.239 the press of the immediate 00:36:18.239 --> 00:36:20.839 to help orient you to your life, 00:36:20.920 --> 00:36:21.759 to know where you are 00:36:21.759 --> 00:36:23.539 so you can answer the call to Jesus 00:36:23.539 --> 00:36:25.359 to go further up and further in 00:36:25.359 --> 00:36:27.179 into the life of the triune God 00:36:27.179 --> 00:36:28.859 in a way whereby grace 00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:30.140 starts to transform you 00:36:30.140 --> 00:36:31.000 more and more and more 00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:31.820 that you experience 00:36:31.820 --> 00:36:33.120 the renewing and the reforming 00:36:33.120 --> 00:36:34.519 of your mind to be free. 00:36:36.780 --> 00:36:38.280 Free to say no to privilege 00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:40.440 and free to live a self-effacing life 00:36:40.440 --> 00:36:42.240 for the good of others. 00:36:42.980 --> 00:36:43.800 Here's the prayer. 00:36:43.900 --> 00:36:45.160 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:36:45.280 --> 00:36:47.420 as I press on to answer your call to me, 00:36:47.579 --> 00:36:49.059 fan into flame within me, 00:36:49.519 --> 00:36:51.700 a longing to be completely with you 00:36:51.700 --> 00:36:53.640 as your child in heaven. 00:36:54.480 --> 00:36:55.480 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:36:55.579 --> 00:36:57.780 as I press on to answer your call to me, 00:36:57.780 --> 00:36:59.240 fan into flame within me, 00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:01.940 a longing to be completely with you 00:37:01.940 --> 00:37:04.060 as your child in heaven. 00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:06.300 Friends, if you have not given your life 00:37:06.300 --> 00:37:07.600 to Jesus, pray that prayer. 00:37:10.980 --> 00:37:13.800 That's how you enter the Christian life. 00:37:15.160 --> 00:37:16.680 Any one of these four prayers, 00:37:16.780 --> 00:37:18.240 it's how you enter and live 00:37:18.240 --> 00:37:19.080 the Christian life. 00:37:19.580 --> 00:37:20.360 Let's just close. 00:37:21.120 --> 00:37:22.700 Father, we thank you for your word. 00:37:22.699 --> 00:37:26.639 We acknowledge, Father, 00:37:26.919 --> 00:37:28.439 it's hard to acknowledge, 00:37:28.579 --> 00:37:30.139 but we acknowledge before you, Father, 00:37:30.199 --> 00:37:31.279 that we have a deep addiction 00:37:31.279 --> 00:37:32.980 to being the hero of our own life. 00:37:33.939 --> 00:37:36.639 We have a deep blindness, Father, 00:37:36.719 --> 00:37:37.579 about the water, 00:37:37.699 --> 00:37:38.839 the world that we inhabit. 00:37:39.039 --> 00:37:39.519 So, Father, 00:37:39.619 --> 00:37:41.460 we desperately need the Holy Spirit 00:37:41.460 --> 00:37:44.339 to bring us to Jesus 00:37:44.339 --> 00:37:45.659 and bring us to your word 00:37:45.659 --> 00:37:47.119 that we can start to understand 00:37:47.119 --> 00:37:48.739 how we live and where we live 00:37:48.739 --> 00:37:50.279 and the wonderful good news 00:37:50.280 --> 00:37:51.380 of what you have done for us 00:37:51.380 --> 00:37:52.460 in the person of your Son 00:37:52.460 --> 00:37:55.100 and his work and his sinless life 00:37:55.100 --> 00:37:56.360 and his sin-bearing death 00:37:56.360 --> 00:37:57.460 and his mighty resurrection 00:37:57.460 --> 00:37:58.120 all for us. 00:37:58.240 --> 00:37:58.500 Father, 00:37:59.720 --> 00:38:01.260 make us disciples of Jesus 00:38:01.260 --> 00:38:02.660 who are gripped by the gospel. 00:38:02.860 --> 00:38:03.720 May these prayers, 00:38:03.900 --> 00:38:05.480 may this scripture text today, 00:38:05.620 --> 00:38:07.180 may it be the anthem. 00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:10.000 May we lose our amnesia day by day 00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:11.400 and fan into flame within us 00:38:11.400 --> 00:38:12.500 a longing and yearning 00:38:12.500 --> 00:38:14.820 to see you face to face 00:38:14.820 --> 00:38:16.940 and a deep, growing, 00:38:17.260 --> 00:38:18.260 humble knowledge 00:38:18.260 --> 00:38:20.700 that we are yours, Jesus, 00:38:20.900 --> 00:38:22.900 because you have made us yours. 00:38:23.140 --> 00:38:24.660 And we ask this in Jesus' name. 00:38:25.060 --> 00:38:25.360 Amen.