WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.120 Good morning. I think someone's awake. My name's Chris. If it's your first time here, 00:00:12.120 --> 00:00:18.820 it's great to see you. If it's your hundredth time here, it's great to see you. It's great 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:26.060 just to be together with God's people, worshipping him. And I pray that even as I speak, this 00:00:26.059 --> 00:00:34.119 is not just me speaking, that actually you hear God speaking to you through this. Over 00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:40.299 the first half of the year, if you've been in this church for any length of time, we're 00:00:40.299 --> 00:00:47.420 really wanting to focus on what it means to be rooted in God. And we just believe that 00:00:47.420 --> 00:00:57.260 if you see a tree which has solid roots, which has life-giving nutrients going into it, it 00:00:57.260 --> 00:01:07.540 will be healthy. If you have a tree which has no solid roots, which even in the midst of 00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:14.180 beautiful sunny days, if a tree has no roots, has no nutrients going into it, it will soon 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:22.840 wither and die. But a tree that has solid roots will always bear fruit if there is nutrients, 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:30.060 if there is living, life-giving, satisfying water that is flourishing into those roots. 00:01:31.820 --> 00:01:37.719 And we want to be a church which is about producing fruit, which is about living out the gospel in 00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:43.980 our lives. But if we're to do that, we need to have good, solid roots and life-giving relationships 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:50.219 and intimately knowing the one who will satisfy us more than anything else. That's why we've been 00:01:50.219 --> 00:01:54.020 looking at prayer. That's why we've been talking about the resurrection. That's why we're going to 00:01:54.020 --> 00:02:00.800 start a new short series on looking at what it means to have unity, union with Christ. Because we 00:02:00.800 --> 00:02:09.280 want to be rooted in something which is going to give us satisfying, life-enriching life so that we can 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:15.120 do what God has called us to do in this city. Because the Bible calls us to do a lot of things, 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:21.620 pray, give, serve. There's so many things that we can be all about doing, and this city loves to tell 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:30.180 us to do loads of stuff. But if we don't get what we're talking about today right, then we will be 00:02:30.180 --> 00:02:36.099 living like a tree which is trying to produce fruit by itself, trying to squeeze out a few apples. 00:02:36.099 --> 00:02:45.759 And we will be exhausted, and we will not enjoy the satisfying life that the gospel has caused us to 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:55.139 get. So as we start thinking about this, what I'm going to say is really very counterintuitive to 00:02:55.139 --> 00:03:00.740 probably most of what you've ever been told, of what you've ever thought. And even if you're a 00:03:00.740 --> 00:03:06.439 Christian, you may know what I'm going to tell you, because I know what I'm going to tell you. 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:13.320 I've heard it before. But actually, there is this kind of disconnect between what's up here 00:03:13.320 --> 00:03:18.600 and what's down here. And my prayer this morning is that what can be in some of your heads here 00:03:18.600 --> 00:03:24.400 begins to compute, and you get reception, and it begins to get deep down into your heart so that when 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:30.460 we go out this morning, when we go out Monday to Friday, we will not just say we're a Christian 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:34.439 and no knowledge here, but we will love Jesus and be thrilled by him. 00:03:36.819 --> 00:03:38.180 So here's what I want to say. 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:43.500 Right at the heart of Christianity is this. 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:52.159 All Christian activity always flows out of your identity. 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:59.080 All Christian activity is grounded and rooted in your identity. 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:01.379 Let me put it another way. 00:04:01.699 --> 00:04:07.000 Whose you are shapes who you are, and who you are shapes what you do. 00:04:07.539 --> 00:04:08.479 Okay? Did you get that? 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:13.379 Whose you are shapes who you are, and who you are shapes what you do. 00:04:14.020 --> 00:04:15.139 Okay? Let me explain. 00:04:15.219 --> 00:04:21.079 If you're a prince or a princess, and you belong to your father, who's the king of the universe, 00:04:21.779 --> 00:04:26.980 do you not think that you might live a little differently than if you think you're a worthless 00:04:26.980 --> 00:04:31.920 beggar who has a father who is a layabout and a good-for-nothing? 00:04:32.379 --> 00:04:35.019 Do you not think it will change the way that we view? 00:04:35.019 --> 00:04:41.160 And if we begin to get this idea wrong, we think our activity shapes our identity, 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:44.320 then we will get all of Christianity wrong. 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:52.439 A couple of weeks ago, it was just before Valentine's Day, I received a text from my wife, 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:53.200 and it said this. 00:04:53.260 --> 00:04:55.120 It said, I've just received a red rose. 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:58.860 Now, I knew that I had not sent that rose. 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:03.019 So here's what's going on in my mind. 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:04.340 I've got competition. 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:10.379 And if you know me, I am terrible at gift-giving. 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:11.740 It is really one of the things. 00:05:11.819 --> 00:05:12.620 I hate shopping. 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:14.500 It's the worst thing. 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:15.600 I'm terrible at it. 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:19.660 And so my competitor has just shown me up. 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:22.780 He's shown me just how bad I am in this area. 00:05:22.779 --> 00:05:24.479 He's exposed my weakness. 00:05:25.579 --> 00:05:28.439 He's shown me that in this area, I'm not a very good husband. 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:34.619 So my mind then goes into this little cycle where I think, 00:05:34.739 --> 00:05:37.579 okay, well, so how have I been a good husband? 00:05:38.059 --> 00:05:41.579 And so I start going through all my mind, a kind of list of the things that I've done well. 00:05:41.699 --> 00:05:43.779 And so I'm going, okay, I did a cooking list last week. 00:05:44.259 --> 00:05:47.339 And my friend's husband don't even get off the sofa in the evening. 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:48.639 So that's 10 points for me. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:51.800 And then I'm like, well, I took her on holiday. 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:56.419 And that's got to be 20 points, okay, holiday. 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:59.740 And then I remembered actually it was at least six months ago. 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:01.439 So that's probably minus 20 points. 00:06:01.620 --> 00:06:06.539 And I'm going through this whole kind of list in my mind of things that I've done, 00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:09.300 which I think show and prove that I'm a good husband. 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:12.439 And I'm beginning to feel a little bit better about myself. 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:17.420 But then the rose is still there. 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:22.120 And so I ignore Fiona's text completely. 00:06:22.259 --> 00:06:25.480 I blank it out because I don't want to think about that rose and my competitor. 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:31.560 Later on in the afternoon, I suddenly remember something. 00:06:31.740 --> 00:06:33.720 And I've been thinking about this kind of all afternoon. 00:06:33.819 --> 00:06:38.019 I suddenly remember we'd been talking about going out for a meal sometime. 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:41.459 And I thought, yes, okay, perfect. 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:44.479 Here's a great way to add to my points tally, okay. 00:06:44.859 --> 00:06:48.819 And so this will make her forget about the rose. 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:50.740 So I text her and say, shall we go out for dinner tonight? 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:53.299 And she texts back and says, well, are you sure? 00:06:53.399 --> 00:06:54.680 I'm not too worried about going out tonight. 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:56.659 But no, no, no, we've got to go out, okay. 00:06:56.740 --> 00:06:59.139 And I give five reasons why we should go out, okay. 00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:02.039 There's not enough food in the fridge, you know, so many, all these different reasons. 00:07:02.299 --> 00:07:05.859 But underneath, I'm trying to prove that I am a good husband. 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:09.400 So I meet Fiona, I'm playing it cool, you know. 00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:11.180 And she asks about the day. 00:07:11.420 --> 00:07:12.639 She asks, why are we going out tonight? 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:15.379 I say, well, there's no food in the fridge, you know, all these other reasons. 00:07:15.840 --> 00:07:22.040 And then, as casually as I could, I say, so who gave you the rose? 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:24.340 Not that I'm mine, don't care. 00:07:24.339 --> 00:07:27.599 But, you know, and she says to me, Cartier. 00:07:28.479 --> 00:07:31.279 And I'm thinking, okay, so they got it from Cartier. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:32.539 Okay, it must be expensive. 00:07:33.619 --> 00:07:37.019 And I played it cool for another little while. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:39.159 And then, finally, it was just getting to me so much. 00:07:39.219 --> 00:07:42.099 So I kind of said, so who gave you the rose? 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:45.539 And she says to me, Cartier. 00:07:45.919 --> 00:07:47.779 They were handing out roses on the street. 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:49.039 And it wasn't a very good one. 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:51.580 But it was just they were handing them out. 00:07:51.939 --> 00:07:55.439 And suddenly I thought to myself, you complete prune. 00:07:55.879 --> 00:07:58.580 You idiot, Chris. 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:06.340 You've spent the whole of the afternoon trying to prove to yourself and to your wife 00:08:06.340 --> 00:08:09.460 that you were a good husband when I didn't even have to. 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:15.759 She later said it was actually a joke that she sent it to me and thought I'd get the joke. 00:08:16.379 --> 00:08:24.500 But if Fiona had asked me, why didn't you get me a rose? 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:25.799 Do you know what I would have done? 00:08:25.859 --> 00:08:27.459 I'd have probably become very defensive. 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:32.139 I'd have probably brought out my track record of all the other things that I've done. 00:08:33.079 --> 00:08:34.759 I'd probably have been very critical of the rose. 00:08:34.860 --> 00:08:35.460 Well, can't you see? 00:08:35.539 --> 00:08:37.179 It's just not really a very good rose at all. 00:08:37.179 --> 00:08:44.179 I mean, and or maybe I'd have just gone quiet and inside been a little bit just feeling inadequate, 00:08:45.299 --> 00:08:46.419 a little bit resentful. 00:08:47.159 --> 00:08:48.959 Got to try a bit harder next time. 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:51.659 Let's plan the way to fix this situation. 00:08:53.659 --> 00:08:54.459 And do you know what? 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:58.439 Even after this, and I didn't actually want to tell Fiona about it. 00:08:58.439 --> 00:08:59.679 I have told her now, so it's okay. 00:09:00.079 --> 00:09:04.759 But I didn't want to tell her about my true motivation for wanting to do all of these things. 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:08.460 Because, you know, I was trying to hide from her. 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:14.939 And I was beginning to be scared that I might be found out that actually the reason I was doing all of these things 00:09:14.939 --> 00:09:18.319 was not because I was really loving her, but it was because it was all about me. 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:20.799 Because I wanted to prove me. 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:33.679 And I think when we stand next to somebody who is more loving than us, more generous than us, gives better gifts than us, more intelligent, more beautiful than us, 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:38.059 because we begin to start feeling inadequate. 00:09:39.259 --> 00:09:41.419 And we respond in different ways. 00:09:42.500 --> 00:09:49.599 And often we try and prove that we're better than that person or that we can make it. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:54.919 But the problem is, if you're trying to prove yourself in life, 00:09:55.479 --> 00:09:59.339 it doesn't matter how hard you're trying, there will always be another rose. 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:05.780 When you come face to face with a holy, loving God who is so much more loving, 00:10:06.180 --> 00:10:09.240 who always does things generously, graciously, mercifully, 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:11.740 who is rich in mercy as we look today, 00:10:11.920 --> 00:10:15.259 and you begin to compare that with your own life, do you know what it does? 00:10:15.580 --> 00:10:17.240 It does what Adam and Eve does. 00:10:17.420 --> 00:10:19.540 It makes you feel inadequate and weak. 00:10:19.540 --> 00:10:24.080 And so Adam and Eve hid in the garden because they couldn't face the shame of who they were. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:30.320 Because they were relying on their own performance and they were exposed when they saw God. 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:36.100 That's how many of us live our lives here in Hong Kong. 00:10:37.680 --> 00:10:39.180 Hong Kong is competitive. 00:10:40.140 --> 00:10:45.260 It tells us that what you do equals who you are. 00:10:45.620 --> 00:10:48.300 And we've been told we have to compete, we have to perform. 00:10:48.300 --> 00:10:52.960 So we view ourselves and our identity in light of our performance at work, 00:10:53.400 --> 00:10:57.740 at light of our performance as a mother or as a father, how well our kids are doing. 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:01.799 We view ourselves as a wife or a husband, a son or a daughter, a student, 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:06.360 all in terms of the things that we have done and whether we have done them adequately or not. 00:11:09.100 --> 00:11:13.080 And we start to create evidence for ourselves and standards for ourselves 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:17.560 that make us feel that if we've met these, then I'm okay, then I'm good, then I'm all right. 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:20.680 And if we feel that actually in some way we've failed the standard, 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:24.960 or somebody else has failed the standard, 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.259 we either feel bad about ourselves, negative, inadequate failures, 00:11:28.460 --> 00:11:31.980 or we judge other people, become critical of them, defensive of ourselves, 00:11:32.160 --> 00:11:33.840 blame shifting onto everybody else. 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:36.820 Because our identity has become more about what we do, 00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:40.600 and that's who we think we are. 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:42.500 And the gospel says something different. 00:11:43.400 --> 00:11:48.139 So we're going to look in this passage today in Ephesians. 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:52.419 Because I think, just ask your question, 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:58.699 how, what is my identity based on? 00:11:59.419 --> 00:12:02.000 What makes me think that I'm okay? 00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:05.100 What makes me think that I'm okay? 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:07.319 So let's look into this passage. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:10.539 Paul is going to take a wrecking ball to the idea 00:12:10.539 --> 00:12:14.319 that if you stand on your performance in life 00:12:14.319 --> 00:12:17.500 to justify yourself, to give you some identity, 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:20.299 then the fact is there's some bad news for you. 00:12:20.379 --> 00:12:21.919 You're worse than you think you are. 00:12:22.199 --> 00:12:23.419 That's what we're going to start with. 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:25.120 You're worse than you think you are. 00:12:25.459 --> 00:12:27.240 But then he's going to say, 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:31.219 there is good news because your identity 00:12:31.219 --> 00:12:33.959 is in whose you are. 00:12:35.459 --> 00:12:36.519 And that is Christ. 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:38.639 That will be the second thing we look at. 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:41.939 So let's dive into Ephesians 2. 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:43.799 You should have it in your bulletin. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:47.919 It says, and this is pretty heavy stuff. 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:48.580 He says, 00:12:48.819 --> 00:12:52.699 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 00:12:52.699 --> 00:12:53.740 in which you once walked, 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:55.100 following the course of this world, 00:12:55.480 --> 00:12:57.319 following the prince of the power of the air, 00:12:57.580 --> 00:12:59.000 the spirit that is now at work 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:00.460 in the sons of disobedience, 00:13:00.919 --> 00:13:04.720 among whom we all once lived 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:06.500 in the passions of our flesh, 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:09.379 carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, 00:13:09.740 --> 00:13:12.659 and were by nature children of wrath, 00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:15.299 like the rest of mankind. 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:16.799 Okay? 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:18.799 This is heavy stuff. 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:20.220 You're worse than you think you are. 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:21.799 Paul is saying three things 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:23.799 about the Ephesians' past performance. 00:13:24.299 --> 00:13:24.879 He's saying, 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:26.399 Before Christ, 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:28.740 you were dead. 00:13:30.939 --> 00:13:31.980 Not physically, 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:34.779 but spiritually dead. 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:35.820 On the outside, 00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:37.200 you looked alive, 00:13:37.659 --> 00:13:38.799 but on the inside, 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:40.960 in relation to God, 00:13:41.179 --> 00:13:42.259 you were dead. 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:43.019 Now you can say, 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:44.840 I'm a very good person. 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:46.399 I've done all these great things. 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:47.240 But God is saying, 00:13:47.340 --> 00:13:50.220 if I look in your heart towards me, 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:51.460 you are dead. 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:51.720 You know, 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:52.920 we have that phrase in English 00:13:52.920 --> 00:13:53.540 where we say, 00:13:53.780 --> 00:13:55.519 I'm dead to her. 00:13:56.019 --> 00:13:58.540 That means the relationship is over. 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:00.600 There is no life in this relationship. 00:14:01.019 --> 00:14:02.879 There's no pulse in this relationship. 00:14:02.980 --> 00:14:04.360 The relationship is flatlining. 00:14:04.860 --> 00:14:05.019 Okay? 00:14:05.220 --> 00:14:06.120 This is gone. 00:14:07.560 --> 00:14:09.160 There's not even a hint of life. 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:12.360 You're a corpse in God's eyes. 00:14:13.660 --> 00:14:14.440 Heavy stuff. 00:14:15.400 --> 00:14:15.980 And he says, 00:14:16.060 --> 00:14:17.620 God doesn't hang out with corpses. 00:14:17.620 --> 00:14:21.820 And people say, 00:14:21.940 --> 00:14:23.399 it doesn't matter what religion you choose, 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:24.860 you can find your own way to God. 00:14:25.060 --> 00:14:25.740 But Paul is saying, 00:14:25.820 --> 00:14:26.060 no, 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:27.120 if you're dead, 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:28.860 if you're dead, 00:14:29.580 --> 00:14:32.759 only outside help can resurrect you. 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:35.120 You can't resuscitate yourself 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:36.799 because you're dead. 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:37.000 Now, 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:38.299 why does he say you're dead? 00:14:38.700 --> 00:14:39.419 Because secondly, 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:39.940 he says, 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:41.120 you and me, 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:42.320 you and I, 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:44.720 we were enslaved to sin. 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:45.539 He says, 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:48.500 you walked in trespasses and sins. 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:49.279 Now, 00:14:49.319 --> 00:14:49.559 literally, 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:50.919 the word trespasses means 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:53.399 you continually go beyond the boundaries 00:14:53.399 --> 00:14:54.259 of what you should. 00:14:54.519 --> 00:14:56.959 You choose the wrong path. 00:14:57.799 --> 00:14:58.980 And sins means, 00:14:59.179 --> 00:14:59.759 the word means, 00:14:59.959 --> 00:15:01.719 falling short of the target. 00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:02.599 A bit like, 00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:04.339 it's a darts player 00:15:04.339 --> 00:15:05.959 who can't even reach the board. 00:15:06.819 --> 00:15:08.579 That's what you and I 00:15:08.579 --> 00:15:10.579 naturally are like. 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:12.320 And he says, 00:15:12.740 --> 00:15:16.080 the reason why we do these things, 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:18.860 why we're this kind of walking dead 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:20.639 in all of these things, 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:22.020 who chooses the wrong path, 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:23.000 misses the target, 00:15:23.340 --> 00:15:25.200 what God has called you and me to be, 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:27.180 is because we're a slave. 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:30.840 A slave to a number of things. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:32.300 Now, 00:15:32.780 --> 00:15:34.080 we think we're free, 00:15:34.620 --> 00:15:34.879 right? 00:15:35.040 --> 00:15:35.740 We think we're free. 00:15:35.740 --> 00:15:38.259 We talk about free will. 00:15:38.440 --> 00:15:38.580 You know, 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:39.139 I have free will. 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:40.139 I have freedom of choice. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:42.299 I can choose to do all these great things. 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:42.960 But actually, 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:44.100 Paul is saying, 00:15:44.180 --> 00:15:46.060 after sin comes into the world, 00:15:46.180 --> 00:15:48.080 this sense of rebellion against God, 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:48.340 saying, 00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:48.600 God, 00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:50.740 we don't need you. 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:53.980 Nobody in this world has truly free will. 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:55.720 Naturally. 00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:56.799 Because, 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:57.600 verse 3 says, 00:15:57.680 --> 00:16:00.419 we carry out the desires of the body and mind. 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:03.379 We are slaves to our passions and desires. 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:05.179 We do what we want to do. 00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:08.960 These passions and desires are shaped by the world around us. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:12.720 We follow what everybody else in the world says. 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:16.340 And that word world means not just physical world. 00:16:16.439 --> 00:16:17.960 It means the spiritual world, 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:18.480 which says, 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:18.939 God, 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:20.299 I don't want to have to rely on you. 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:22.439 I want to rely and do things by myself, 00:16:22.539 --> 00:16:23.059 my way. 00:16:23.340 --> 00:16:26.720 And I'm going to prove myself that I am good enough to do it. 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:29.000 You know, 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:33.139 I think why we're so obsessed in our culture with certain kinds of appearance, 00:16:33.379 --> 00:16:38.159 certain kinds of status in our society. 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:40.720 It's because we desire to belong. 00:16:40.860 --> 00:16:43.700 And culture shapes us to tell you this is the way you can belong. 00:16:43.779 --> 00:16:44.799 If you look a certain way, 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:45.980 if you have a certain job, 00:16:46.220 --> 00:16:47.539 if you do a certain, 00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:49.620 live a certain behavior. 00:16:52.259 --> 00:16:53.179 Are we free? 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:53.399 Well, 00:16:53.439 --> 00:16:54.439 I know at my school, 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:55.399 when I'm growing up, 00:16:55.460 --> 00:16:57.039 we had a non-uniform day. 00:16:57.539 --> 00:16:59.139 We loved non-uniform day. 00:16:59.139 --> 00:17:01.439 Because we always had to wear uniform. 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:05.379 Do you know what everybody chose to wear on non-uniform day? 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:09.200 Everybody was in jeans and t-shirt. 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:11.779 Everybody wore the same thing. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:13.299 We thought we were free. 00:17:13.299 --> 00:17:19.659 But everybody chose exactly the same thing. 00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:19.919 Why? 00:17:20.019 --> 00:17:22.500 Because we had a desire to fit in, 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:23.460 to belong, 00:17:23.639 --> 00:17:24.539 to be accepted. 00:17:25.059 --> 00:17:27.339 And the way the world around us worked that, 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:30.539 shaped all of that to be in a certain way. 00:17:30.619 --> 00:17:33.460 That's what the Bible is saying about the way that we sin. 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:36.879 Jonathan Edwards, 00:17:37.159 --> 00:17:38.680 famous American preacher said, 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:41.400 we're free to choose what we desire most. 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:44.080 The reason we cannot please God 00:17:44.080 --> 00:17:45.779 is that we don't want to. 00:17:47.019 --> 00:17:47.380 You know, 00:17:47.560 --> 00:17:49.840 we want to justify myself 00:17:49.840 --> 00:17:51.400 in my own way, 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:52.380 with my own goodness, 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:54.539 with all the things that I've done right, 00:17:54.580 --> 00:17:56.220 like me with my little list. 00:17:56.320 --> 00:17:57.759 I want to prove that I, 00:17:57.880 --> 00:17:58.660 by myself, 00:17:58.740 --> 00:17:59.340 can do it, 00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:00.279 and I'm good enough. 00:18:01.539 --> 00:18:03.440 And we create standards to do this. 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:05.259 We create wonderful standards. 00:18:05.600 --> 00:18:06.460 Like for me, 00:18:06.580 --> 00:18:08.539 I have a standard which helps me to feel 00:18:08.539 --> 00:18:10.399 that I am a good person. 00:18:10.879 --> 00:18:12.559 It's being on time. 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:13.599 You see, 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:16.180 if I feel that I can be on time, 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:18.859 then I feel like I am better than other people 00:18:18.859 --> 00:18:19.819 who are not on time. 00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:22.440 And so I hate not being on time. 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:23.859 Even yesterday, 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:25.500 I cut my wife short 00:18:25.500 --> 00:18:27.619 when she needed to talk to me 00:18:27.619 --> 00:18:30.079 because I absolutely have to be on time, 00:18:30.139 --> 00:18:30.839 not a minute late. 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:32.039 I'm British, 00:18:32.220 --> 00:18:34.039 but that's the way the world works, 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:34.339 you know. 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:39.839 And even if I think I'm running late, 00:18:39.919 --> 00:18:41.839 but I managed to get there just in time, 00:18:41.919 --> 00:18:42.799 do you know how I feel? 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:45.559 I just have that sense of satisfaction. 00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:46.319 I made it. 00:18:47.099 --> 00:18:47.899 Aren't I a good, 00:18:48.099 --> 00:18:49.159 punctual person? 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:54.600 And my identity is now secure 00:18:54.600 --> 00:18:55.740 if I am punctual. 00:18:57.220 --> 00:18:59.100 But I will trample on my wife 00:18:59.100 --> 00:19:02.519 just to prove to myself and to others 00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:03.340 that I'm a good, 00:19:03.600 --> 00:19:04.340 punctual person 00:19:04.340 --> 00:19:05.440 because I have a standard 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:06.820 which I have made, 00:19:06.940 --> 00:19:08.080 and I think if I make that, 00:19:08.320 --> 00:19:09.180 then I'm good enough 00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:10.940 and I can prove that I'm a good person. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:13.900 But I will not even be a minute late 00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:14.680 for my wife 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:16.860 because my identity is at stake 00:19:16.860 --> 00:19:19.600 because we create these standards 00:19:19.600 --> 00:19:20.960 and we all have them. 00:19:21.820 --> 00:19:22.920 We all have them. 00:19:24.380 --> 00:19:26.720 Just think what's frustrated you this week 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:27.620 about other people 00:19:27.620 --> 00:19:30.380 and you will probably find a standard there 00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:31.759 which you have, 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:32.880 which you think, 00:19:33.100 --> 00:19:33.960 if I keep this, 00:19:34.080 --> 00:19:34.660 I am good 00:19:34.660 --> 00:19:36.400 and I can look down on other people. 00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:40.360 But when we don't look up to a holy God, 00:19:40.940 --> 00:19:43.240 we see a standard which is down here 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:45.820 and we fail to see the standard 00:19:45.820 --> 00:19:47.799 that God has got for us. 00:19:50.340 --> 00:19:52.920 Paul says that when we live like all of this, 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:56.980 we are not just following our own way, 00:19:56.980 --> 00:20:00.000 but we're actually controlled by Satan, 00:20:00.360 --> 00:20:01.860 the prince of the power of the air. 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:03.120 We're under his authority. 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:05.980 We're shaped by what everyone else tells us 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:08.539 and we are dead to God. 00:20:08.539 --> 00:20:11.420 Great news. 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:14.680 That's just what you wanted to hear this morning. 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:17.700 Because the last thing of that, 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:19.019 those three things, 00:20:19.259 --> 00:20:20.359 is that Paul says, 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:21.960 well, we're under his judgment as well 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:25.319 because God hates our sense of self-righteousness 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:27.299 about our standards that we put up. 00:20:28.420 --> 00:20:28.859 Justifying, 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:30.440 trying to prove myself, 00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:31.659 my defensiveness. 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:33.920 We're not just in the doghouse with God, 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:34.779 we're in the morgue. 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:40.240 And though I can appear to do a lot of good things, 00:20:40.339 --> 00:20:42.420 I can appear to do all kinds of things right, 00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:45.899 but a relationship is fundamentally about the heart. 00:20:46.879 --> 00:20:47.839 It's about my heart. 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:48.859 And if my heart, 00:20:49.339 --> 00:20:51.240 God looks at it and he says, 00:20:51.339 --> 00:20:53.539 even the good things that I try and do, 00:20:53.940 --> 00:20:56.420 like taking my wife out for a meal, 00:20:56.839 --> 00:20:58.480 so often I do it 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:00.480 because it's actually more about me 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:02.220 than it's really about God. 00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:06.740 Tim Keller says something like this, 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:07.860 which is challenging. 00:21:07.980 --> 00:21:08.900 To become a Christian, 00:21:09.539 --> 00:21:12.339 we must repent of the things we've done wrong. 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:13.440 But if that's all we do, 00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:14.940 you may remain a hypocrite. 00:21:15.360 --> 00:21:16.819 To truly become a Christian, 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:19.019 we must also repent of the reasons 00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:20.500 we did anything right. 00:21:21.779 --> 00:21:23.400 Pharisees, religious people, 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:25.160 only repent of their sins, 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:26.299 the things they've done wrong. 00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:27.920 But Christians repent 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:30.319 of the very roots of their righteousness, 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:32.579 the things that they think they've done right. 00:21:33.059 --> 00:21:35.539 The sin of seeking to be our own savior, 00:21:36.019 --> 00:21:36.939 our own Lord. 00:21:37.659 --> 00:21:39.519 And if you're not a Christian today, 00:21:40.179 --> 00:21:42.779 Christianity is not about making you a better person, 00:21:42.899 --> 00:21:43.799 giving you an upgrade. 00:21:44.159 --> 00:21:47.240 It's about transforming you to a new identity. 00:21:48.919 --> 00:21:49.879 So that's the second thing. 00:21:50.299 --> 00:21:51.059 We're dead. 00:21:51.159 --> 00:21:52.359 We're worse than we think we are. 00:21:52.359 --> 00:21:54.679 But in Christ, 00:21:55.959 --> 00:21:57.279 whose we are, 00:21:57.740 --> 00:21:59.699 changes our identity. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:01.299 So turn with me. 00:22:01.679 --> 00:22:02.639 The second part says, 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:04.540 But God, 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:05.960 being rich in mercy, 00:22:06.100 --> 00:22:07.440 because of the great love 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:08.580 with which he loved us, 00:22:08.800 --> 00:22:10.800 made us alive together with Christ. 00:22:11.360 --> 00:22:12.660 It is by grace, 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:15.120 by grace you've been saved. 00:22:15.420 --> 00:22:16.920 And raised us up with him 00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:18.460 and seated us with him 00:22:18.460 --> 00:22:21.000 in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 00:22:21.120 --> 00:22:21.480 He said, 00:22:21.560 --> 00:22:22.940 If you rely on your performance, 00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:25.440 you're far worse than you ever think you are. 00:22:25.700 --> 00:22:28.240 But here is some amazing news. 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:29.980 There is a famous, 00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:32.680 a semi-famous tycoon son 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:34.259 who the journal in Hong Kong, 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:37.039 who journalists have nicknamed Package Lau. 00:22:37.660 --> 00:22:38.759 I don't know if some of you know 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:40.059 who Package Lau is. 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:41.440 But I didn't know. 00:22:41.460 --> 00:22:42.319 My wife explained 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:44.440 how this guy came to be called Package Lau. 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:46.240 Basically, 00:22:46.740 --> 00:22:47.839 there was a dating show 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:49.019 where a couple of guys, 00:22:49.120 --> 00:22:50.259 one a performing arts studio, 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:52.400 one this rich tycoon son, 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:54.400 were there having a conversation. 00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:55.759 And based on their answers, 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:58.700 some women behind the screen 00:22:58.700 --> 00:22:59.279 would choose 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:00.740 which one they'd most like to date. 00:23:01.879 --> 00:23:04.259 And as far as I understand, 00:23:04.420 --> 00:23:06.059 when the time came to choose 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:07.400 based on the conversation, 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:08.539 most of the women 00:23:08.539 --> 00:23:10.640 chose the person they couldn't see 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:12.740 but the performing arts student 00:23:12.740 --> 00:23:14.119 because he was so much more competent 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:16.400 and confident in the way he spoke. 00:23:17.059 --> 00:23:18.039 They opened the curtain 00:23:18.039 --> 00:23:19.879 to reveal the two people. 00:23:20.980 --> 00:23:22.359 And then suddenly, 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:23.519 the host asked 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:25.279 which one they would like to choose. 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:27.180 And all the women 00:23:27.180 --> 00:23:28.619 changed their minds 00:23:28.619 --> 00:23:29.740 and said, 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:31.960 we want to choose 00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:32.720 Mr. Lau, 00:23:32.839 --> 00:23:33.839 the tycoon son. 00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:34.559 And the host said, 00:23:34.660 --> 00:23:35.079 why? 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:36.319 And they said, 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:36.660 well, 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:38.259 the package is better. 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:42.319 Because if you get Mr. Lau, 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:43.519 you get everything 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:45.299 that Mr. Lau has. 00:23:46.599 --> 00:23:49.200 But Paul is saying here, 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:51.940 there is a better package 00:23:51.940 --> 00:23:53.839 than living by your own performance. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:56.819 And it starts off, 00:23:56.919 --> 00:23:57.519 this package, 00:23:58.159 --> 00:23:59.939 with two of the most beautiful words 00:23:59.939 --> 00:24:00.579 in the Bible, 00:24:01.099 --> 00:24:02.379 but God. 00:24:03.740 --> 00:24:05.079 But God. 00:24:05.159 --> 00:24:06.659 I was dead in the morgue, 00:24:06.819 --> 00:24:08.339 flatlining the walking dead, 00:24:08.399 --> 00:24:08.839 a corpse, 00:24:09.059 --> 00:24:10.099 but God. 00:24:10.179 --> 00:24:10.759 Not me, 00:24:11.159 --> 00:24:11.740 God. 00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:13.500 Being rich, 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:15.039 richer than package Lau, 00:24:15.480 --> 00:24:17.019 rich in mercy 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:19.379 because of the great love 00:24:19.379 --> 00:24:21.000 with which he loved us. 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:22.059 On the cross, 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:25.220 his love poured down upon us, 00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:27.759 taking our death 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:30.480 that we deserved on himself 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:32.319 and he made us alive 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:33.900 with him. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:36.500 He didn't make you alive 00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:37.720 to make you a better you. 00:24:38.639 --> 00:24:39.819 Because the Bible says, 00:24:40.059 --> 00:24:40.440 when we, 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:41.859 when Christ died, 00:24:41.859 --> 00:24:42.740 spiritually, 00:24:42.740 --> 00:24:45.099 we die with him 00:24:45.099 --> 00:24:46.359 if we put our trust 00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:47.799 and our faith in him. 00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:49.539 We die to the old way 00:24:49.539 --> 00:24:50.119 of performing, 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:51.179 but we rise 00:24:51.179 --> 00:24:52.359 and we are raised 00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:53.139 with Christ 00:24:53.139 --> 00:24:55.500 to a new victorious life 00:24:55.500 --> 00:24:56.139 with him, 00:24:56.219 --> 00:24:57.619 with freedom and power. 00:24:58.779 --> 00:25:00.319 He ascended into heaven 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:01.500 to a place of honor 00:25:01.500 --> 00:25:02.259 and glory 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:03.399 and victory. 00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:05.099 And we ascended with him 00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:07.279 in a spiritual union. 00:25:08.939 --> 00:25:09.539 Spiritually, 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:09.899 we, 00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:11.480 if you are a Christian 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:13.279 who knows Jesus 00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:14.099 this morning, 00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:16.099 you are seated 00:25:16.099 --> 00:25:17.039 spiritually 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:17.819 with the one 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:19.339 who rules over the universe 00:25:19.339 --> 00:25:21.539 and you are in a place 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:23.000 of honor with him. 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:24.379 And what have you done 00:25:24.379 --> 00:25:25.259 to deserve it? 00:25:25.539 --> 00:25:26.899 Absolutely nothing. 00:25:28.379 --> 00:25:29.180 Because you're dead. 00:25:29.399 --> 00:25:30.139 And when you're dead, 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:31.399 you don't get marks 00:25:31.399 --> 00:25:32.139 for your performance. 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:36.680 And it's only because 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:38.579 of Christ 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:40.899 because we are united 00:25:40.899 --> 00:25:42.179 to him. 00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:44.099 It's about him. 00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:45.339 It's not my performance. 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:46.359 It's his performance. 00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:47.259 He is perfect. 00:25:47.579 --> 00:25:49.419 He loved like we never loved. 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:51.079 He followed the law 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:52.500 like we never followed the law. 00:25:52.819 --> 00:25:54.019 My performance sucks. 00:25:54.439 --> 00:25:55.199 His performance 00:25:55.199 --> 00:25:56.339 is amazing. 00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:57.359 And now, 00:25:57.500 --> 00:25:58.619 we are united 00:25:58.619 --> 00:25:59.399 with him. 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:01.820 Now, 00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:02.440 Martin Luther, 00:26:02.580 --> 00:26:04.080 who's a famous reformer, 00:26:04.600 --> 00:26:06.320 he put this idea 00:26:06.320 --> 00:26:07.280 of this union 00:26:07.280 --> 00:26:08.200 with Christ 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:08.880 like this. 00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:09.120 He said, 00:26:09.180 --> 00:26:09.759 it's like the story 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:10.440 of a great king 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:13.220 marrying a sex worker 00:26:13.220 --> 00:26:14.460 who's been on the streets, 00:26:14.820 --> 00:26:15.180 ragged, 00:26:15.320 --> 00:26:15.540 torn, 00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:16.220 disgraced, 00:26:16.340 --> 00:26:16.759 a wretch, 00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:18.200 shivering in the corner 00:26:18.200 --> 00:26:19.120 of the street 00:26:19.120 --> 00:26:20.540 waiting for her next client. 00:26:21.540 --> 00:26:22.980 No thought of anything else. 00:26:23.340 --> 00:26:23.980 And along comes 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:24.759 the great king 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:25.660 and says, 00:26:25.660 --> 00:26:27.200 I want to marry you. 00:26:28.320 --> 00:26:29.040 He has the choice 00:26:29.040 --> 00:26:29.940 of any bride 00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:30.820 that he could choose, 00:26:30.900 --> 00:26:31.840 but he chooses her. 00:26:33.320 --> 00:26:33.600 Now, 00:26:33.660 --> 00:26:35.120 this sex worker 00:26:35.120 --> 00:26:36.320 can't make herself 00:26:36.320 --> 00:26:37.440 the king's wife 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:38.740 by anything she does. 00:26:38.840 --> 00:26:40.180 There's too much brokenness 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:41.779 to attract him 00:26:41.779 --> 00:26:42.860 in any way. 00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:44.660 But he takes the initiative. 00:26:45.940 --> 00:26:47.340 And he says to her, 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:49.000 and he makes her 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:50.000 his own 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:51.180 by a marriage vow. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:53.440 And he says, 00:26:53.519 --> 00:26:54.440 all that I am, 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:55.620 I give to you. 00:26:56.120 --> 00:26:57.259 All that I have, 00:26:57.519 --> 00:26:58.680 I share with you. 00:27:00.080 --> 00:27:01.220 And so in marriage, 00:27:01.640 --> 00:27:02.519 he gives her 00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:03.400 the status 00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:05.279 of royalty. 00:27:06.360 --> 00:27:07.820 All that is his. 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:09.480 A better package 00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:10.600 than package lao. 00:27:11.900 --> 00:27:13.380 And she then turns 00:27:13.380 --> 00:27:13.980 to him 00:27:13.980 --> 00:27:14.880 in the ceremony 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:16.160 and says, 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:17.580 all that I am, 00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:18.600 I give to you. 00:27:18.600 --> 00:27:20.100 All that I have, 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:21.740 I share with you. 00:27:22.140 --> 00:27:23.080 And so this sinner 00:27:23.080 --> 00:27:23.980 shares 00:27:23.980 --> 00:27:25.559 with King Jesus, 00:27:25.559 --> 00:27:26.700 all of her shame, 00:27:27.019 --> 00:27:27.779 all of her sin, 00:27:28.059 --> 00:27:28.920 all of the guilt, 00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:30.299 all of the inadequacy, 00:27:30.539 --> 00:27:31.700 all of those things, 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:33.960 the rose which exposes me. 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:35.339 He takes it all. 00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:38.039 And so now, 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:39.480 as a Christian, 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:41.119 I look at Christ, 00:27:41.639 --> 00:27:42.279 and when I look 00:27:42.279 --> 00:27:43.319 at my sins, 00:27:44.019 --> 00:27:45.079 I can say, 00:27:45.299 --> 00:27:46.279 if I have sinned, 00:27:46.379 --> 00:27:47.419 yet my Jesus 00:27:47.419 --> 00:27:48.659 has not sinned, 00:27:48.959 --> 00:27:50.419 all his is mine, 00:27:50.500 --> 00:27:51.299 and all mine, 00:27:51.399 --> 00:27:51.959 my sins, 00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:52.639 my death, 00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:53.599 my damnation, 00:27:53.859 --> 00:27:54.639 is his. 00:27:55.879 --> 00:27:57.000 This is what it means 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:57.779 by grace. 00:27:58.740 --> 00:27:59.500 It's grace. 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:01.200 You did nothing. 00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:03.380 He did everything. 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:04.759 It's a gift 00:28:04.759 --> 00:28:06.019 to you. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:08.700 And what you do 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:09.319 with a gift 00:28:09.319 --> 00:28:10.339 is you receive it. 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:13.960 But imagine 00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:14.720 you say, 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:14.859 well, 00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:16.220 the package is too good 00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:16.619 to be true. 00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:17.539 What have I got to do? 00:28:17.799 --> 00:28:18.680 What have I got to do? 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:19.720 That's what we want to ask 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:20.380 here in Hong Kong. 00:28:20.579 --> 00:28:21.440 What have I got to do? 00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:24.480 If someone gives you 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:26.019 a gift of a new Ferrari 00:28:26.019 --> 00:28:26.680 and says, 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:26.900 hey, 00:28:26.980 --> 00:28:28.119 this is for your birthday, 00:28:28.119 --> 00:28:29.439 and you take out 00:28:29.439 --> 00:28:30.439 a two dollar bill 00:28:30.439 --> 00:28:30.859 and say, 00:28:30.959 --> 00:28:31.099 hey, 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:33.419 thanks, 00:28:34.099 --> 00:28:35.919 but let me just give you 00:28:35.919 --> 00:28:36.919 something towards it. 00:28:38.379 --> 00:28:39.519 That's an insult. 00:28:40.879 --> 00:28:42.119 That's an insult. 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:44.799 When God says, 00:28:44.979 --> 00:28:45.859 it's by my grace 00:28:45.859 --> 00:28:46.859 that I save you, 00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:47.979 he's not saying, 00:28:48.239 --> 00:28:48.919 now I want you 00:28:48.919 --> 00:28:50.239 to just try a little bit harder 00:28:50.239 --> 00:28:51.199 just to make sure, 00:28:51.419 --> 00:28:52.459 and I'll give you something, 00:28:52.639 --> 00:28:53.500 but you've got to make sure 00:28:53.500 --> 00:28:54.539 you give me a lot back. 00:28:54.719 --> 00:28:55.359 He's saying, 00:28:55.739 --> 00:28:56.119 no, 00:28:56.119 --> 00:28:59.019 your only response 00:28:59.019 --> 00:29:01.059 is what Jeremy said earlier, 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:01.599 it's worship. 00:29:03.139 --> 00:29:04.539 Your response is gratitude. 00:29:06.219 --> 00:29:07.439 This is grace. 00:29:08.399 --> 00:29:09.479 Everything we do now 00:29:09.479 --> 00:29:10.159 as a Christian 00:29:10.159 --> 00:29:12.019 is not because you have 00:29:12.019 --> 00:29:13.299 to prove and earn 00:29:13.299 --> 00:29:14.059 God's love. 00:29:14.139 --> 00:29:15.299 You can never earn it 00:29:15.299 --> 00:29:16.219 because dead people 00:29:16.219 --> 00:29:17.259 cannot earn anything. 00:29:20.059 --> 00:29:21.799 He has loved us. 00:29:22.059 --> 00:29:23.639 He has taken the initiative. 00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:25.100 If you are a Christian 00:29:25.100 --> 00:29:25.759 in Christ, 00:29:25.840 --> 00:29:26.500 you are secure. 00:29:26.820 --> 00:29:27.660 He doesn't divorce 00:29:27.660 --> 00:29:28.259 his children. 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:29.460 He doesn't divorce 00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:30.100 his bride. 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:32.100 You are safe with him. 00:29:34.040 --> 00:29:35.280 And it's him, 00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:36.440 not you. 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:38.060 That's the issue. 00:29:39.620 --> 00:29:41.200 Because of his performance, 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:44.400 this means we're no longer 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:46.020 slaves to sin. 00:29:46.019 --> 00:29:49.559 I don't have to sin. 00:29:50.200 --> 00:29:51.160 I'm free. 00:29:52.299 --> 00:29:53.599 And when I sin this week, 00:29:54.460 --> 00:29:57.299 that is not who I am now 00:29:57.299 --> 00:29:58.160 in Christ. 00:29:58.299 --> 00:29:59.440 I'm living according 00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:01.920 to my old ways of living. 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:03.759 I'm living out my old identity 00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:05.879 because I've got identity amnesia. 00:30:06.099 --> 00:30:07.559 I've forgotten who I am. 00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:11.379 And when God calls you 00:30:11.379 --> 00:30:12.099 not to sin, 00:30:12.159 --> 00:30:13.299 when we have all those things 00:30:13.299 --> 00:30:14.619 that we say we should do 00:30:14.619 --> 00:30:15.379 as Christians, 00:30:15.500 --> 00:30:16.159 be good people, 00:30:16.259 --> 00:30:16.919 help the old lady 00:30:16.919 --> 00:30:17.619 across the road, 00:30:17.879 --> 00:30:19.039 even if she doesn't want to. 00:30:19.319 --> 00:30:19.519 You know, 00:30:19.539 --> 00:30:20.740 all those things 00:30:20.740 --> 00:30:21.720 that we think 00:30:21.720 --> 00:30:23.179 this is what a good Christian 00:30:23.179 --> 00:30:24.119 should be. 00:30:26.099 --> 00:30:26.980 And we think 00:30:26.980 --> 00:30:27.879 that if we've done them, 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:28.299 we're better, 00:30:28.399 --> 00:30:29.440 or if we haven't done them, 00:30:29.579 --> 00:30:30.500 then somehow God, 00:30:30.779 --> 00:30:32.000 maybe he loves us still 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:33.019 because we know that up here, 00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:33.740 but we don't think 00:30:33.740 --> 00:30:34.859 he really likes us. 00:30:37.559 --> 00:30:39.019 And God tells us, 00:30:39.039 --> 00:30:40.179 and Paul is telling us, 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:41.779 to actually repent 00:30:41.779 --> 00:30:43.000 of that attitude 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:43.899 which says, 00:30:44.599 --> 00:30:45.460 my performance 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:46.879 is somehow meriting 00:30:46.879 --> 00:30:48.220 something with God. 00:30:49.419 --> 00:30:50.859 Because when God calls you 00:30:50.859 --> 00:30:51.599 to do stuff, 00:30:51.659 --> 00:30:52.240 he's saying, 00:30:52.639 --> 00:30:54.059 not this is going to make you 00:30:54.059 --> 00:30:54.679 who you are. 00:30:54.759 --> 00:30:56.059 You already are somebody. 00:30:56.279 --> 00:30:57.960 You don't have to become somebody. 00:30:58.099 --> 00:30:59.319 You already are somebody 00:30:59.319 --> 00:31:00.399 in me, 00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:02.099 so now live out who you are. 00:31:02.539 --> 00:31:03.720 That's what he's saying. 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:05.960 And we say, 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:06.819 I'm a terrible sinner. 00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:07.639 I'm hopeless. 00:31:07.859 --> 00:31:08.799 I've done this wrong. 00:31:12.419 --> 00:31:13.559 But Christ says, 00:31:13.700 --> 00:31:14.019 I know. 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:15.659 I know. 00:31:16.639 --> 00:31:18.379 You're worse than you think you are. 00:31:19.619 --> 00:31:20.899 But I'm so much better 00:31:20.899 --> 00:31:21.779 than you imagine 00:31:21.779 --> 00:31:22.960 that I could be. 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:26.339 And with that sin, 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:26.720 you know, 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:27.819 I struggle with this 00:31:27.819 --> 00:31:28.879 because I still see 00:31:28.879 --> 00:31:30.000 that I have patterns 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:31.159 where I continue to do 00:31:31.159 --> 00:31:32.819 the things that I know 00:31:32.819 --> 00:31:33.299 I shouldn't do. 00:31:33.339 --> 00:31:33.939 I continue to try 00:31:33.939 --> 00:31:34.819 and prove myself. 00:31:36.819 --> 00:31:38.319 And what's going on there? 00:31:38.419 --> 00:31:38.639 Well, 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:39.500 I have a friend 00:31:39.500 --> 00:31:40.059 who was, 00:31:40.419 --> 00:31:41.399 he went to prison. 00:31:42.359 --> 00:31:43.059 And in prison, 00:31:43.179 --> 00:31:44.779 he became institutionalized. 00:31:46.220 --> 00:31:47.299 And in prison, 00:31:47.419 --> 00:31:47.599 you know, 00:31:47.659 --> 00:31:48.399 you get your meals done 00:31:48.399 --> 00:31:48.599 for you, 00:31:48.659 --> 00:31:49.700 you have certain set routines 00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:50.879 and you just kind of become 00:31:50.879 --> 00:31:52.480 passive about certain things 00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:53.799 and there's a way of operating 00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:54.480 when you're in prison 00:31:54.480 --> 00:31:55.319 that you've got to do things 00:31:55.319 --> 00:31:55.859 a certain way. 00:31:55.859 --> 00:31:57.859 And when he finally came out, 00:31:58.279 --> 00:31:59.259 he really struggled 00:31:59.259 --> 00:32:00.740 because, you see, 00:32:00.779 --> 00:32:01.819 he built up all these habits 00:32:01.819 --> 00:32:02.539 of what it was like 00:32:02.539 --> 00:32:03.240 to be in prison. 00:32:04.139 --> 00:32:05.079 And he came out 00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:06.179 and now he was free. 00:32:07.219 --> 00:32:08.859 But he still tried to act 00:32:08.859 --> 00:32:10.219 like he was still in prison 00:32:10.219 --> 00:32:10.919 because he didn't, 00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:11.839 he had to learn 00:32:11.839 --> 00:32:12.519 what it was 00:32:12.519 --> 00:32:13.159 to live out 00:32:13.159 --> 00:32:14.240 in his new identity. 00:32:16.219 --> 00:32:17.159 And that's like 00:32:17.159 --> 00:32:17.679 what it is 00:32:17.679 --> 00:32:18.559 for many of us. 00:32:18.659 --> 00:32:19.539 We still struggle 00:32:19.539 --> 00:32:20.959 with some of the old habits 00:32:20.959 --> 00:32:21.979 that we have 00:32:21.979 --> 00:32:22.459 day in, 00:32:22.459 --> 00:32:22.939 day out. 00:32:22.940 --> 00:32:24.059 But when we look at them, 00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:24.740 we think, 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:25.580 oh, 00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:26.680 that means God 00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:27.500 doesn't love me 00:32:27.500 --> 00:32:28.559 or if I see that, 00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:29.600 that makes me 00:32:29.600 --> 00:32:30.400 a bad person. 00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:31.059 And God's saying, 00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:31.320 yes, 00:32:31.360 --> 00:32:32.539 you already are a bad person. 00:32:32.559 --> 00:32:33.059 I knew that 00:32:33.059 --> 00:32:34.000 before I chose you. 00:32:34.259 --> 00:32:34.660 But, 00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:36.820 because of God, 00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:38.720 his great mercy 00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:39.539 and love for me, 00:32:39.620 --> 00:32:41.100 that is not my identity. 00:32:41.660 --> 00:32:43.220 I am a new creation. 00:32:43.480 --> 00:32:44.880 I am united with Christ. 00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:45.960 His performance, 00:32:46.220 --> 00:32:47.320 not my performance. 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:50.720 It's liberation. 00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:52.880 That's why 00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:53.539 Paul writes 00:32:53.539 --> 00:32:54.480 the book of Ephesians 00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:55.000 and he spends 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:56.079 the first three chapters 00:32:56.079 --> 00:32:56.519 saying, 00:32:56.960 --> 00:32:58.140 this is who you are. 00:32:58.380 --> 00:32:59.259 This is who you are. 00:32:59.299 --> 00:32:59.960 If you haven't got it, 00:33:00.039 --> 00:33:01.019 this is who you are. 00:33:01.420 --> 00:33:01.960 In him, 00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:03.279 you are forgiven. 00:33:03.600 --> 00:33:03.980 In him, 00:33:04.039 --> 00:33:04.779 you are redeemed. 00:33:05.059 --> 00:33:05.519 In him, 00:33:05.620 --> 00:33:06.660 you are inheritors 00:33:06.660 --> 00:33:07.579 with Christ. 00:33:07.880 --> 00:33:08.579 Have you got it yet? 00:33:08.799 --> 00:33:09.079 Okay, 00:33:09.160 --> 00:33:09.960 you've been made alive. 00:33:10.059 --> 00:33:10.559 You've been seated 00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:11.120 with Christ. 00:33:11.299 --> 00:33:12.160 You've been raised. 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:14.039 You are seated 00:33:14.039 --> 00:33:15.019 with the King of glory. 00:33:15.079 --> 00:33:15.779 Have you got it yet? 00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:16.759 And he tells you 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:18.140 over three chapters 00:33:18.140 --> 00:33:18.819 again and again 00:33:18.819 --> 00:33:19.180 and again 00:33:19.180 --> 00:33:19.900 and then finally 00:33:19.900 --> 00:33:20.480 in chapter four 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:20.740 he says, 00:33:20.840 --> 00:33:21.080 okay, 00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:22.440 now if you finally got it, 00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:23.320 this is how you live. 00:33:24.680 --> 00:33:25.160 And we do it 00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:25.799 the other way around. 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:26.160 We do, 00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:26.500 okay, 00:33:26.820 --> 00:33:27.220 now God, 00:33:27.259 --> 00:33:28.060 what do you want me to do? 00:33:28.340 --> 00:33:28.560 Okay, 00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:29.120 here's all the things 00:33:29.120 --> 00:33:29.580 I've got to do, 00:33:29.660 --> 00:33:29.759 do, 00:33:29.820 --> 00:33:29.880 do, 00:33:29.940 --> 00:33:30.039 do, 00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:30.160 do, 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:30.259 do, 00:33:30.259 --> 00:33:30.299 do, 00:33:30.299 --> 00:33:30.600 do, 00:33:30.600 --> 00:33:31.000 and then maybe 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:31.420 that's going to 00:33:31.420 --> 00:33:32.320 make me a child of God 00:33:32.320 --> 00:33:32.620 and he says, 00:33:32.700 --> 00:33:32.779 no, 00:33:32.820 --> 00:33:33.060 you got it 00:33:33.060 --> 00:33:33.700 the wrong way around. 00:33:36.700 --> 00:33:37.500 So think about it 00:33:37.500 --> 00:33:38.000 for yourself. 00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:44.039 When you mess up 00:33:44.039 --> 00:33:44.900 last week, 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:45.680 this week, 00:33:46.140 --> 00:33:47.519 what's your response? 00:33:49.180 --> 00:33:51.640 Some of us 00:33:51.640 --> 00:33:53.900 minimize what we do. 00:33:53.980 --> 00:33:54.240 We think, 00:33:54.360 --> 00:33:54.600 you know, 00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:55.340 like I did, 00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:57.640 I minimize the areas 00:33:57.640 --> 00:33:58.340 where I struggle 00:33:58.340 --> 00:33:59.380 so that I try 00:33:59.380 --> 00:34:00.080 and build up 00:34:00.080 --> 00:34:00.740 my little sense 00:34:00.740 --> 00:34:01.320 of righteousness 00:34:01.320 --> 00:34:02.380 on my other side. 00:34:03.340 --> 00:34:04.620 And we think, 00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:04.799 well, 00:34:04.840 --> 00:34:05.860 God can forgive me anyway. 00:34:05.940 --> 00:34:06.299 It's a cheap, 00:34:06.380 --> 00:34:07.039 easy thing to do. 00:34:07.100 --> 00:34:07.620 He can do it, 00:34:07.640 --> 00:34:08.099 no problem. 00:34:08.099 --> 00:34:11.319 But the thing is, 00:34:11.699 --> 00:34:12.940 God doesn't 00:34:12.940 --> 00:34:15.719 see things that way 00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:16.819 when you see a holy God. 00:34:16.860 --> 00:34:17.299 He doesn't want 00:34:17.299 --> 00:34:18.619 a stinking old corpse. 00:34:20.259 --> 00:34:21.400 He doesn't hang out 00:34:21.400 --> 00:34:22.539 with that kind of person. 00:34:24.039 --> 00:34:25.159 He hangs out 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:26.039 with people 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:28.799 who he has taken 00:34:28.799 --> 00:34:29.339 the initiative 00:34:29.339 --> 00:34:30.299 to bring himself 00:34:30.299 --> 00:34:31.519 into relationship with. 00:34:31.519 --> 00:34:34.480 So do you see 00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:35.119 your sin 00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:35.880 as something 00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:36.500 that's minimal 00:34:36.500 --> 00:34:37.340 or do you see 00:34:37.340 --> 00:34:37.780 your sin 00:34:37.780 --> 00:34:38.280 as something 00:34:38.280 --> 00:34:39.119 that makes you 00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:39.900 just a failure 00:34:39.900 --> 00:34:40.539 and a wretch 00:34:40.539 --> 00:34:41.039 and you wonder 00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:42.300 how God could love you? 00:34:43.820 --> 00:34:44.719 Trapped in guilt 00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:45.340 and shame. 00:34:46.840 --> 00:34:47.599 I don't know. 00:34:48.460 --> 00:34:49.099 I don't know 00:34:49.099 --> 00:34:49.840 what you've been doing 00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:50.280 this week, 00:34:50.380 --> 00:34:51.119 but if you rely 00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:52.360 on your performance 00:34:52.360 --> 00:34:54.199 to give you 00:34:54.199 --> 00:34:55.340 any kind of standing 00:34:55.340 --> 00:34:56.059 before God, 00:34:56.139 --> 00:34:56.860 let me tell you, 00:34:57.360 --> 00:34:58.320 you're in big trouble. 00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:00.280 You're in big trouble. 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:04.039 But the grace of God says, 00:35:04.739 --> 00:35:07.320 when I look at my sin 00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:08.360 and I think, 00:35:08.519 --> 00:35:08.820 man, 00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:10.739 this is who I'm supposed to be, 00:35:10.840 --> 00:35:11.280 but actually, 00:35:11.380 --> 00:35:12.219 this is what I live. 00:35:12.380 --> 00:35:13.539 How can I be 00:35:13.539 --> 00:35:15.059 that kind of person? 00:35:15.940 --> 00:35:16.820 Doesn't God know 00:35:16.820 --> 00:35:17.460 what I've done? 00:35:17.500 --> 00:35:17.900 And he says, 00:35:17.980 --> 00:35:18.639 yes, absolutely, 00:35:18.739 --> 00:35:19.480 I know what you've done. 00:35:19.719 --> 00:35:20.719 That's why you don't rely 00:35:20.719 --> 00:35:21.360 on your performance. 00:35:21.480 --> 00:35:22.099 You rely on me. 00:35:23.739 --> 00:35:24.579 We're no longer 00:35:24.579 --> 00:35:26.380 under God's judgment. 00:35:26.699 --> 00:35:28.079 We're made alive. 00:35:28.759 --> 00:35:30.659 We have a robe 00:35:30.659 --> 00:35:31.480 of righteousness 00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:32.639 that's what the Bible says. 00:35:32.760 --> 00:35:33.820 We are clothed 00:35:33.820 --> 00:35:34.500 with Christ, 00:35:34.599 --> 00:35:34.920 which means 00:35:34.920 --> 00:35:36.000 when God looks at you, 00:35:36.260 --> 00:35:37.699 he sees Christ. 00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:38.800 And when he sees Christ, 00:35:38.900 --> 00:35:39.699 you know what he says? 00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:40.800 He doesn't say, 00:35:40.900 --> 00:35:41.380 hmm, 00:35:41.840 --> 00:35:43.139 could do better. 00:35:44.099 --> 00:35:45.199 He looks at Christ 00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:45.619 and says, 00:35:45.820 --> 00:35:46.260 beautiful, 00:35:47.260 --> 00:35:47.679 forgiven, 00:35:48.719 --> 00:35:49.280 acceptable, 00:35:50.219 --> 00:35:51.260 I'm pleased. 00:35:52.260 --> 00:35:52.800 Not you, 00:35:53.219 --> 00:35:53.760 but him. 00:35:54.139 --> 00:35:55.760 And you are united 00:35:55.760 --> 00:35:56.599 with him. 00:35:56.960 --> 00:35:57.800 That's the package. 00:35:57.800 --> 00:35:59.160 You get him, 00:35:59.460 --> 00:36:00.360 all of him. 00:36:00.820 --> 00:36:01.940 He gets all of you. 00:36:02.720 --> 00:36:04.100 Who gets the better deal? 00:36:04.760 --> 00:36:05.380 We do. 00:36:08.180 --> 00:36:09.500 And the thing is, 00:36:09.640 --> 00:36:10.160 it's free. 00:36:11.519 --> 00:36:12.960 This idea of union 00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:13.720 with Christ, 00:36:13.800 --> 00:36:14.440 you can sum up 00:36:14.440 --> 00:36:15.840 in one phrase, 00:36:16.140 --> 00:36:18.500 Christ is my life. 00:36:19.620 --> 00:36:20.500 He's my identity. 00:36:21.140 --> 00:36:22.019 He's my performance. 00:36:22.740 --> 00:36:24.260 He's everything to me. 00:36:24.260 --> 00:36:28.300 So let's think, 00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:29.680 what does that actually mean? 00:36:29.740 --> 00:36:30.940 Because that sounds wonderful. 00:36:33.240 --> 00:36:33.680 But, 00:36:34.080 --> 00:36:35.380 if you're like me, 00:36:35.680 --> 00:36:36.780 and you think about 00:36:36.780 --> 00:36:37.860 the story of the rose, 00:36:38.360 --> 00:36:39.400 I do this kind of 00:36:39.400 --> 00:36:40.600 proving myself all the time. 00:36:40.700 --> 00:36:41.680 Hong Kong breeds it. 00:36:44.180 --> 00:36:45.800 If I believed 00:36:45.800 --> 00:36:46.840 I knew 00:36:46.840 --> 00:36:48.680 who I was 00:36:48.680 --> 00:36:49.580 in Christ, 00:36:50.780 --> 00:36:52.120 with that story of the rose, 00:36:52.240 --> 00:36:52.780 as I was beginning 00:36:52.780 --> 00:36:53.820 to try and prove myself 00:36:53.820 --> 00:36:54.519 in my mind, 00:36:54.780 --> 00:36:56.180 I might have stopped myself 00:36:56.180 --> 00:36:56.680 and said, 00:36:57.019 --> 00:36:57.840 after I was kind of 00:36:57.840 --> 00:36:58.620 going through the list 00:36:58.620 --> 00:36:58.940 and said, 00:36:59.019 --> 00:36:59.440 Chris, 00:37:00.460 --> 00:37:01.760 stop being such an idiot. 00:37:02.600 --> 00:37:03.840 You're a child of God. 00:37:03.940 --> 00:37:04.540 You're accepted. 00:37:04.860 --> 00:37:05.820 You're loved by him. 00:37:05.880 --> 00:37:07.380 You don't have to now prove 00:37:07.380 --> 00:37:09.280 that you are somehow 00:37:09.280 --> 00:37:10.500 some great husband 00:37:10.500 --> 00:37:13.220 when you know 00:37:13.220 --> 00:37:13.680 there's areas 00:37:13.680 --> 00:37:14.540 that you're not good at. 00:37:15.040 --> 00:37:16.040 I can be free 00:37:16.040 --> 00:37:16.760 to admit 00:37:16.760 --> 00:37:18.240 that there are areas 00:37:18.240 --> 00:37:19.060 where I'm inadequate. 00:37:19.059 --> 00:37:22.179 How would that 00:37:22.179 --> 00:37:23.259 change my situation? 00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:24.199 Because it might not 00:37:24.199 --> 00:37:24.659 change the way 00:37:24.659 --> 00:37:25.480 my wife responded. 00:37:25.820 --> 00:37:26.519 I have no idea 00:37:26.519 --> 00:37:27.360 how she'll respond. 00:37:29.259 --> 00:37:30.159 But I might have started 00:37:30.159 --> 00:37:30.940 looking honestly 00:37:30.940 --> 00:37:31.900 at my inadequacy 00:37:31.900 --> 00:37:32.739 and just instead of 00:37:32.739 --> 00:37:33.279 covering up, 00:37:33.340 --> 00:37:34.099 I might have asked God 00:37:34.099 --> 00:37:34.500 to say, 00:37:34.599 --> 00:37:35.099 forgive me. 00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:37.059 Forgive me for the areas 00:37:37.059 --> 00:37:37.559 in my life 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:38.559 where I don't measure up. 00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:40.599 Forgive me. 00:37:41.699 --> 00:37:42.960 And I might have asked God 00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:44.239 to help me with grace 00:37:44.239 --> 00:37:45.059 in this area 00:37:45.059 --> 00:37:45.739 to change. 00:37:46.119 --> 00:37:47.059 And I still need to change 00:37:47.059 --> 00:37:47.719 because I still haven't 00:37:47.719 --> 00:37:48.400 bought her a rose. 00:37:51.360 --> 00:37:52.279 I might still have gone 00:37:52.279 --> 00:37:52.739 out of the meat 00:37:52.739 --> 00:37:53.579 for a meal with her. 00:37:53.880 --> 00:37:54.699 But this time, 00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:56.079 I wouldn't have made it, 00:37:56.139 --> 00:37:56.659 it wouldn't have been 00:37:56.659 --> 00:37:57.659 all about me. 00:37:58.199 --> 00:37:58.799 It would have been 00:37:58.799 --> 00:37:59.360 about thinking, 00:37:59.519 --> 00:38:00.239 how could I actually 00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:01.079 love my wife 00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:01.739 in this way? 00:38:02.420 --> 00:38:03.199 My motivation, 00:38:03.340 --> 00:38:04.179 the action could have 00:38:04.179 --> 00:38:04.719 been the same, 00:38:04.799 --> 00:38:05.539 but the motivation 00:38:05.539 --> 00:38:06.079 would have been 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:07.000 entirely different. 00:38:09.880 --> 00:38:11.219 And if she'd have asked me 00:38:11.219 --> 00:38:12.320 whether I'd got anything 00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:13.559 for her for Valentine's Day 00:38:13.559 --> 00:38:14.019 or not, 00:38:14.840 --> 00:38:16.420 I could have been honest 00:38:16.420 --> 00:38:17.119 and admitted it. 00:38:19.220 --> 00:38:20.800 And can you think 00:38:20.800 --> 00:38:21.780 how many arguments 00:38:21.780 --> 00:38:22.820 you might save, 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:24.079 how much stress 00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:25.119 you might avoid 00:38:25.119 --> 00:38:27.840 if we weren't desperately 00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:29.440 trying to prove ourselves 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:30.400 with our performance? 00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:34.340 Some of us, 00:38:34.480 --> 00:38:35.400 this is 2016, 00:38:36.320 --> 00:38:37.420 if you didn't know. 00:38:38.559 --> 00:38:41.880 And some of us, 00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:42.460 this is going to be 00:38:42.460 --> 00:38:43.099 a tough year. 00:38:43.099 --> 00:38:45.259 financially, 00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:46.679 the job markets, 00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:48.860 it's going to be 00:38:48.860 --> 00:38:49.360 a tough year 00:38:49.360 --> 00:38:50.139 for some of us, 00:38:50.259 --> 00:38:51.559 maybe many of us. 00:38:53.759 --> 00:38:54.779 But many of us 00:38:54.779 --> 00:38:55.559 have found 00:38:55.559 --> 00:38:57.019 our identities 00:38:57.019 --> 00:38:59.159 in our work. 00:38:59.159 --> 00:39:03.599 And if you are called 00:39:03.599 --> 00:39:04.619 into the office 00:39:04.619 --> 00:39:05.460 and told you 00:39:05.460 --> 00:39:06.559 have no job, 00:39:07.659 --> 00:39:09.559 is your life 00:39:09.559 --> 00:39:10.359 going to be over? 00:39:12.019 --> 00:39:13.259 Is your identity 00:39:13.259 --> 00:39:14.239 going to be crushed? 00:39:15.719 --> 00:39:16.799 Disappointed, yes. 00:39:17.819 --> 00:39:19.659 But is your work 00:39:19.659 --> 00:39:21.139 what really gives you 00:39:21.139 --> 00:39:22.379 a sense of being okay 00:39:22.379 --> 00:39:23.159 in the world? 00:39:23.539 --> 00:39:25.259 Or would Christ be enough 00:39:25.259 --> 00:39:26.339 if you'd had nothing? 00:39:27.220 --> 00:39:28.140 Do you know that song 00:39:28.140 --> 00:39:29.539 that we sang earlier, 00:39:29.940 --> 00:39:30.840 the It Is Well? 00:39:31.320 --> 00:39:32.680 You know the middle chorus 00:39:32.680 --> 00:39:33.360 part of that? 00:39:33.720 --> 00:39:34.620 You know the story 00:39:34.620 --> 00:39:35.480 of how that's written? 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:36.680 It's written by a guy 00:39:36.680 --> 00:39:38.079 called Horatio Spofford, 00:39:38.360 --> 00:39:39.980 who about 150 years ago, 00:39:40.039 --> 00:39:41.640 he was a wealthy lawyer, 00:39:41.980 --> 00:39:42.840 very successful, 00:39:43.079 --> 00:39:43.960 four beautiful daughters, 00:39:44.079 --> 00:39:44.940 a son, wife, 00:39:45.180 --> 00:39:46.360 everything was going well. 00:39:46.579 --> 00:39:48.200 And then his son dies. 00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:50.800 And then there's 00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:52.280 a Chicago great fire, 00:39:52.280 --> 00:39:53.260 and it destroys 00:39:53.260 --> 00:39:54.539 most of his investments 00:39:54.539 --> 00:39:55.480 that he has. 00:39:56.539 --> 00:39:57.119 And then, 00:39:57.380 --> 00:39:58.320 two years later, 00:39:58.719 --> 00:40:00.300 his daughters and his wife 00:40:00.300 --> 00:40:02.179 are taking a ship over 00:40:02.179 --> 00:40:03.159 across the Atlantic, 00:40:03.460 --> 00:40:04.599 and the ship sinks. 00:40:04.940 --> 00:40:06.199 Four of his daughters drown. 00:40:06.340 --> 00:40:07.679 Only his wife survives. 00:40:09.400 --> 00:40:13.320 And as he is taking the ship 00:40:13.320 --> 00:40:14.259 to go back over 00:40:14.259 --> 00:40:15.659 to see his wife 00:40:15.659 --> 00:40:16.679 after tragedy, 00:40:16.800 --> 00:40:18.139 the things which had made 00:40:18.139 --> 00:40:20.619 his whole world work 00:40:20.619 --> 00:40:23.119 had been snatched away from him. 00:40:23.119 --> 00:40:25.659 he writes this song. 00:40:25.799 --> 00:40:26.440 He says, 00:40:27.079 --> 00:40:28.559 It is well. 00:40:29.480 --> 00:40:32.500 It is well with my soul. 00:40:33.599 --> 00:40:35.319 Because he had begun 00:40:35.319 --> 00:40:36.319 to understand 00:40:36.319 --> 00:40:38.239 that when your identity 00:40:38.239 --> 00:40:39.799 is in all these other things, 00:40:39.980 --> 00:40:41.739 any of them can be snatched away 00:40:41.739 --> 00:40:42.819 at a moment's notice. 00:40:43.199 --> 00:40:44.359 But he has something 00:40:44.359 --> 00:40:46.079 which his life is based on, 00:40:46.159 --> 00:40:47.819 which is so much more secure, 00:40:48.139 --> 00:40:49.759 which is union with Christ. 00:40:49.760 --> 00:40:50.940 And if I have Christ, 00:40:51.100 --> 00:40:53.440 all that I have is mine. 00:40:53.820 --> 00:40:55.480 All he has is mine. 00:40:56.840 --> 00:40:58.160 And though everything 00:40:58.160 --> 00:40:59.420 may be stripped away, 00:40:59.500 --> 00:41:00.920 my identity is secure. 00:41:05.440 --> 00:41:05.880 So, 00:41:06.140 --> 00:41:07.140 what would it be like 00:41:07.140 --> 00:41:08.560 if you were going to work tomorrow? 00:41:09.500 --> 00:41:10.300 If you go into your families, 00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:11.340 go into your classrooms, 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:13.760 and you know 00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:15.080 that in all the busyness, 00:41:15.079 --> 00:41:18.159 your identity 00:41:18.159 --> 00:41:19.079 is not at stake. 00:41:20.460 --> 00:41:21.659 You have not 00:41:21.659 --> 00:41:23.139 got to prove anything. 00:41:23.460 --> 00:41:23.619 Sure, 00:41:23.699 --> 00:41:24.420 you've got to work hard. 00:41:24.659 --> 00:41:25.279 It's competitive. 00:41:26.539 --> 00:41:28.340 But even when you're busy, 00:41:28.840 --> 00:41:30.759 how much of your busyness 00:41:30.759 --> 00:41:32.059 is not just the work? 00:41:32.460 --> 00:41:33.219 It's actually 00:41:33.219 --> 00:41:34.840 the work under the work, 00:41:34.900 --> 00:41:36.460 which is the proving yourself, 00:41:36.840 --> 00:41:38.659 which actually wraps you up 00:41:38.659 --> 00:41:39.880 and stresses you out 00:41:39.880 --> 00:41:40.699 and makes you 00:41:40.699 --> 00:41:41.960 so unable 00:41:41.960 --> 00:41:43.360 to think about anything else. 00:41:43.360 --> 00:41:44.200 And Christ says, 00:41:44.280 --> 00:41:45.140 I want to liberate you 00:41:45.140 --> 00:41:45.740 from you. 00:41:46.059 --> 00:41:47.380 If you look to me, 00:41:47.740 --> 00:41:49.720 that's where our identity is. 00:41:50.099 --> 00:41:51.420 And we need to repent 00:41:51.420 --> 00:41:52.960 and say, 00:41:53.120 --> 00:41:53.440 Father, 00:41:53.800 --> 00:41:54.960 and I struggle with this, 00:41:55.059 --> 00:41:55.539 but Father, 00:41:55.660 --> 00:41:56.760 I found my identity 00:41:56.760 --> 00:41:58.059 in so many other things. 00:41:59.800 --> 00:42:01.740 Help me to see you. 00:42:02.640 --> 00:42:04.120 And all that I have 00:42:04.120 --> 00:42:05.740 is found in you. 00:42:06.400 --> 00:42:07.120 That Jesus, 00:42:07.579 --> 00:42:08.780 you are my identity. 00:42:09.380 --> 00:42:10.680 You are my security. 00:42:10.679 --> 00:42:13.480 Whatever storm comes this year, 00:42:13.679 --> 00:42:15.940 I am utterly safe, 00:42:16.319 --> 00:42:16.839 secure. 00:42:17.179 --> 00:42:19.179 My identity is not at stake. 00:42:21.079 --> 00:42:21.639 And then, 00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:22.980 as we get that, 00:42:23.679 --> 00:42:24.319 we can go out 00:42:24.319 --> 00:42:25.799 and live that identity 00:42:25.799 --> 00:42:27.159 to love people 00:42:27.159 --> 00:42:28.619 as God has called us to. 00:42:29.259 --> 00:42:30.039 Let's pray. 00:42:30.039 --> 00:42:30.119 Amen. 00:42:31.119 --> 00:42:32.039 Amen. 00:42:32.039 --> 00:42:33.039 Amen. 00:42:33.039 --> 00:42:34.039 Amen. 00:42:34.039 --> 00:42:35.039 Amen. 00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:36.039 Amen. 00:42:36.039 --> 00:42:37.039 Amen. 00:42:37.039 --> 00:42:37.119 Amen. 00:42:37.119 --> 00:42:37.139 Amen. 00:42:37.139 --> 00:42:37.619 Amen. 00:42:37.619 --> 00:42:38.039 Amen. 00:42:38.039 --> 00:42:38.079 Amen. 00:42:38.079 --> 00:42:38.139 Amen. 00:42:38.139 --> 00:42:38.179 Amen. 00:42:40.679 --> 00:42:41.679 Amen. 00:42:45.199 --> 00:42:45.759 Amen. 00:42:45.759 --> 00:42:46.339 Maybe just have a think 00:42:46.339 --> 00:42:46.799 for a moment, 00:42:46.980 --> 00:42:47.259 just, 00:42:50.139 --> 00:42:51.279 as you think about 00:42:51.279 --> 00:42:52.279 what really, 00:42:52.279 --> 00:42:57.599 what really does 00:42:57.599 --> 00:42:59.319 make me feel 00:42:59.319 --> 00:43:00.219 like I'm okay, 00:43:04.940 --> 00:43:07.679 where are you 00:43:07.679 --> 00:43:09.119 trying to prove yourself 00:43:09.119 --> 00:43:10.359 as a good parent, 00:43:10.360 --> 00:43:14.000 as a good wife or husband or son or daughter. 00:43:20.980 --> 00:43:23.400 Maybe you're trying to prove that you're a good Christian 00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:28.539 by being very busy, being active, doing lots of things. 00:43:31.400 --> 00:43:33.820 But Christ comes to us now and says, 00:43:33.820 --> 00:43:40.660 I want you to see whose you are. 00:43:42.559 --> 00:43:46.680 When you look at me, I'm the king who owns the universe. 00:43:48.260 --> 00:43:50.039 My love is boundless. 00:43:51.580 --> 00:43:55.080 Your sin may be great, but my love is greater. 00:43:56.680 --> 00:43:59.340 My mercy knows no end. 00:44:00.300 --> 00:44:03.800 But I want you to stop trusting in your own performance. 00:44:04.820 --> 00:44:06.920 I want you to run to me. 00:44:08.200 --> 00:44:11.000 I want you to find your security in me 00:44:11.000 --> 00:44:14.100 so that you can be free 00:44:14.100 --> 00:44:17.760 from being so wrapped up in yourself 00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:21.019 to really love the people that I've placed around you. 00:44:23.160 --> 00:44:25.460 Please open our eyes, Father, to see this. 00:44:25.460 --> 00:44:31.639 I know I'm a spiritual identity amnesiac. 00:44:32.480 --> 00:44:34.320 I forget who I am all the time. 00:44:35.139 --> 00:44:38.619 Please help us as a church to remember who you've made us to be. 00:44:38.619 --> 00:44:42.799 That when we go out here, we go out on Monday morning, 00:44:43.119 --> 00:44:46.579 we go knowing that we're loved, we're secure 00:44:46.579 --> 00:44:48.900 because of you. 00:44:49.539 --> 00:44:51.880 Nothing to prove, nothing to lose 00:44:51.880 --> 00:44:54.199 because of your grace. 00:44:54.199 --> 00:44:56.079 Amen. 00:44:56.079 --> 00:44:56.199 Amen.