WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.160 Turn with me to Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8, page number is found in your bulletin, 00:00:09.300 --> 00:00:12.300 page 944. 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:20.160 As we're continuing in our series this chapter, as I said a few weeks ago, the pastors have 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:23.879 committed to attempt to memorize this chapter as we go through it this fall. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:29.920 Let me encourage you, if you are joining us in that endeavor, let me also say a word to 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:33.840 those of you who may feel that that would be completely impossible for you, or you may 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:36.179 have particular difficulties with memorizing anything. 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:41.840 In his Sunday school class this summer, John Dunlop told the story of a person with dementia 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:46.740 who said, I feel so frustrated when I try to memorize scripture. 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:50.900 I feel like my brain is a sieve, and the water just runs right through it. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:57.620 But then she added, with a sparkle in her eye, but I've never seen a dirty sieve. 00:00:57.619 --> 00:01:04.579 You see, the word of God accomplishes its purifying power in our hearts and minds, whether or not 00:01:04.579 --> 00:01:07.679 we're conscious of the verses lodging in our long-term memory. 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:13.759 So let me encourage you to meditate on these words in Romans, to spend time in them. 00:01:14.259 --> 00:01:18.780 Whether or not you're seeking to memorize the whole chapter, let me encourage you to spend 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:23.599 time praying and meditating on it so the word of God can do its work within us. 00:01:24.019 --> 00:01:25.500 Let's read this morning. 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:27.159 I'm going to read beginning at verse 1. 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:32.739 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:01:33.060 --> 00:01:40.180 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 00:01:40.819 --> 00:01:46.740 For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do, by sending his own Son 00:01:46.739 --> 00:01:51.479 in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. 00:01:51.619 --> 00:01:57.719 He condemned sin in the flesh so that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:01.599 who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 00:02:02.679 --> 00:02:08.979 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:13.699 But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:20.839 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:24.500 The mind set on the flesh is hostile to God. 00:02:25.239 --> 00:02:26.939 It does not submit to God's law. 00:02:27.079 --> 00:02:27.879 Indeed, it cannot. 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:31.859 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 00:02:31.860 --> 00:02:39.300 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Christ dwells in you. 00:02:40.020 --> 00:02:43.380 Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. 00:02:43.480 --> 00:02:51.540 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 00:02:52.920 --> 00:02:57.260 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, 00:02:57.259 --> 00:03:05.419 he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 00:03:05.899 --> 00:03:09.000 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors. 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:14.419 Not to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you will die. 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:20.359 But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:21.680 Let's pray. 00:03:22.799 --> 00:03:24.439 Lord, we thank you for these words. 00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:29.960 We thank you for inspiring Paul to write them to the church in Rome so long ago. 00:03:30.079 --> 00:03:36.000 We thank you for preserving them for us today, for those who have faithfully translated them into our language, 00:03:36.099 --> 00:03:38.699 that we can readily understand them. 00:03:39.259 --> 00:03:41.259 And we thank you for this time to look into them. 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:46.620 We pray that your Spirit would guide us, teach us from them as you inspired them so long ago. 00:03:46.699 --> 00:03:49.579 Would you bring them to life in our hearts and lives and minds? 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:50.780 For Jesus' sake we pray. 00:03:51.139 --> 00:03:51.439 Amen. 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:51.560 Amen. 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:57.400 So Paul begins these verses 12 and 13 with the word, so then. 00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:03.060 He's sort of summing up what he's talked about in the first 11 verses of this chapter, 00:04:03.219 --> 00:04:05.000 stepping back and drawing a conclusion. 00:04:05.979 --> 00:04:08.460 We've seen so far in this chapter, he begins by saying, 00:04:08.579 --> 00:04:11.120 there's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, 00:04:11.659 --> 00:04:15.699 because our sin was condemned in the flesh of Jesus Christ on the cross. 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:21.319 And now we have a right standing with God and we have the life-giving Spirit of God dwelling within us. 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:25.240 Last week, Pastor Nick talked about the indwelling Holy Spirit. 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:30.899 What a blessing it is to have God himself dwelling in us. 00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:34.240 Now, in today's passage, Paul draws two conclusions. 00:04:35.599 --> 00:04:38.759 The first one, in verse 12, Paul says, we are debtors. 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:43.099 In other words, we owe God everything and he owes us nothing. 00:04:44.539 --> 00:04:48.180 The second conclusion, in verse 13, he says, we must put sin to death. 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:54.039 The only way to true life involves putting sin to death. 00:04:54.040 --> 00:05:01.520 Now, by and large, both of these conclusions are not very popular ideas in 21st century America. 00:05:02.740 --> 00:05:03.260 All right? 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:08.200 When we hear the words, we are debtors, most of us would say, 00:05:08.300 --> 00:05:10.040 well, I don't want to be in debt to anyone. 00:05:11.080 --> 00:05:15.240 I mean, we like the motto that's on every New Hampshire license plate, live free or die. 00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:19.780 And to be free means to be autonomous and independent and self-sufficient. 00:05:19.780 --> 00:05:23.900 I remember in college, one of my suitemates needed a ride to the airport. 00:05:24.580 --> 00:05:26.939 And since I had a car, I offered to drive him. 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:29.160 I said, hey, you know, my exams are over. 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:29.879 I'm not that busy. 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:32.140 Just let me know when you need a ride. 00:05:32.400 --> 00:05:33.800 He said, no, I'm fine. 00:05:34.700 --> 00:05:36.680 He called Connecticut Limo and paid them. 00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:38.020 Right? 00:05:38.080 --> 00:05:43.280 Sometimes we don't want to ask for help or we don't even want to receive help from a friend who offers it to us 00:05:43.280 --> 00:05:47.460 because we don't want to feel indebted to the person as a result. 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:52.780 We want to earn our own money and pay our own way and do our own thing and carve our own path, 00:05:52.779 --> 00:05:59.299 guard our own independence, and not be entangled or restricted by obligations and indebtedness. 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:04.939 Now, we might respond in a similar way to the subject of verse 13, putting sin to death. 00:06:05.039 --> 00:06:06.439 Put to death the deeds of the body? 00:06:07.159 --> 00:06:08.519 That sounds rather harsh. 00:06:09.919 --> 00:06:16.199 I mean, we like God when his ways make us more comfortable and happy and peaceful and prosperous. 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:18.079 That sounds like good news to us. 00:06:18.659 --> 00:06:26.939 But we don't like it when God calls us to an obedience that makes our life harder and more stressful and more painful and more complicated. 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:36.199 We may like talking about the forgiveness of sins, but we don't talk a lot about the mortification of sin, putting sin to death. 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:44.899 360 years ago, a man named John Owen wrote a book based on verse 13 called On the Mortification of Sin in Believers. 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:46.500 It's still in print. 00:06:47.139 --> 00:06:48.240 We've ordered some copies. 00:06:48.339 --> 00:06:49.500 They're down in the bookstall below. 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:51.360 I commend the book to you. 00:06:52.219 --> 00:06:54.839 It's relatively short, maybe 100 pages or less. 00:06:55.379 --> 00:07:00.219 But if you write a book on the same topic today, you might have trouble finding a publisher. 00:07:00.220 --> 00:07:00.660 Right? 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:06.920 These are not the most popular ideas going out in our world today and even in the church today. 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:11.040 But they are the topic of today's passage, so they are the topic of today's sermon. 00:07:11.860 --> 00:07:15.260 So first, I want to consider what does it mean that we are debtors in verse 12? 00:07:15.400 --> 00:07:18.260 And second, what does it mean to put sin to death in verse 13? 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:21.460 So first, we are debtors, verse 12. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:27.280 Now, one scholar that I was reading said this in his commentary on verse 12. 00:07:27.280 --> 00:07:30.180 He said, Paul is just making a negative statement here. 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:32.380 That we are not debtors to the flesh. 00:07:33.080 --> 00:07:39.720 Paul does not want us to think of ourselves as debtors to the Spirit, so he intentionally avoids making the parallel. 00:07:39.940 --> 00:07:42.420 Now, this is a scholar that otherwise I highly respect. 00:07:42.640 --> 00:07:46.740 But I think he's wrong here for three reasons. 00:07:46.900 --> 00:07:48.180 First, the grammar of the verse. 00:07:48.320 --> 00:07:51.180 Now, Paul could have said we are not debtors to the flesh. 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:59.140 But the order of the words in the original is debtors we are not to the flesh. 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:06.060 Paul affirms that we do have an obligation to God the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:12.740 Second reason is in other places in Romans, Paul affirms that we have obligations to other human beings. 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:16.180 So, Romans 1, verse 14, Paul uses the same word. 00:08:16.280 --> 00:08:21.000 I'm under obligation to both to Greeks and barbarians. 00:08:21.740 --> 00:08:26.620 He's under obligation to preach the gospel to all kinds of people. 00:08:26.780 --> 00:08:28.860 Romans 13, verse 7 and 8, Paul says, 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:31.560 Pay to everyone what you owe them. 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:34.259 Taxes to whom taxes are owed. 00:08:34.379 --> 00:08:35.740 Revenue to whom revenue is owed. 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:37.399 Respect to whom respect is owed. 00:08:37.800 --> 00:08:39.279 Honor to whom honor is owed. 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:41.259 Owe no one anything. 00:08:41.620 --> 00:08:45.980 Or let no debt remain outstanding except to love one another. 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:54.379 What Paul's saying there is that in Christ we have a continual obligation to love our neighbor as ourself. 00:08:54.379 --> 00:08:58.840 That's an obligation that is continually upon us. 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:00.379 It's a calling that we have. 00:09:02.059 --> 00:09:08.200 And third, in Romans 6, Paul has already spoken of believers in Christ as being indebted or obligated to God. 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:13.220 He said, we're now not slaves of sin but slaves of righteousness, bond servants for life. 00:09:14.259 --> 00:09:17.500 Paul said, you've died to the law but now you belong to another. 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:20.220 You belong to Christ who was raised from the dead. 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:29.800 So you see, belonging to Christ, being a believer in Christ, it doesn't just mean that every day we have an option of following Christ if we so choose. 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:32.700 It's not like an open-ended invitation. 00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:37.779 Hey, you know, feel free to take this up whenever you want it and leave it whenever you're not up for it. 00:09:38.920 --> 00:09:39.259 No. 00:09:40.460 --> 00:09:49.100 Paul says if we belong to Christ, it means every day we have a mission to accomplish, a summons to heed, an obligation to fulfill. 00:09:49.100 --> 00:09:54.720 You know, if you get married, it doesn't just give you a new option to be faithful to your spouse. 00:09:55.180 --> 00:10:01.120 It gives you a new obligation to be faithful to your spouse every day, whether you like it or not, whether you feel like it or not, 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:05.139 and whether they're loving and respecting you in all the ways they should or not. 00:10:06.560 --> 00:10:08.220 Paul says we are debtors to God. 00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:13.360 Not only because He made us out of nothing, it is God who made us and not we ourselves, 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:22.659 but also because He saved us when all we had to offer Him was everything He had given us corrupted by our sin. 00:10:24.539 --> 00:10:28.279 He made us out of nothing and He saved us by His grace. 00:10:29.060 --> 00:10:31.259 And so Paul says we are now debtors. 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:34.800 We are obligated to Him day by day. 00:10:35.060 --> 00:10:36.539 We owe Him everything we have. 00:10:36.620 --> 00:10:37.659 We owe Him our lives. 00:10:37.659 --> 00:10:43.839 Let me ask, is this how you consider your relationship to God? 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:48.919 Do you consider yourselves a debtor to the God who made you and who saved you? 00:10:51.219 --> 00:10:56.679 I think many of us operate consciously or unconsciously out of a different framework. 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:02.579 Some of us think, no, God owes me something. 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:06.300 People owe me something. 00:11:07.040 --> 00:11:08.240 I owe me something. 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:12.860 I mean, I deserve to pamper myself a little bit here. 00:11:13.860 --> 00:11:16.280 Now, when we look at other people, we call this entitlement. 00:11:18.560 --> 00:11:18.960 Right? 00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:22.500 The poor people are entitled because of the welfare system. 00:11:22.620 --> 00:11:26.220 The rich people are entitled because they've never had to suffer in their whole life. 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:29.360 Young people are entitled because of advertising and social media. 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:31.940 Toddlers are entitled because their parents don't discipline them. 00:11:32.580 --> 00:11:41.160 The entitlement mentality is very pervasive in our society, which probably means it affects all of us more than we realize. 00:11:43.400 --> 00:11:46.360 When we think about ourselves, we don't call it entitlement. 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:52.340 We just say, I deserve better than I'm getting. 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:57.160 I deserve better at work. 00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:02.779 If I work hard, my colleagues should work equally hard. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:05.839 And if they don't, then I'll slack off. 00:12:06.839 --> 00:12:08.299 Or I'll resent them. 00:12:09.579 --> 00:12:10.939 Because I deserve better. 00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:14.819 Or I deserve better at home. 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:20.319 My husband doesn't love me, so why should I respect him? 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:24.340 My wife doesn't respect me, so why should I sacrificially love her? 00:12:25.280 --> 00:12:27.260 Half of all marriage problems come back to that. 00:12:29.560 --> 00:12:29.940 Right? 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:33.700 It's what Dr. Emerson Egerich in his book, Love and Respect, calls the crazy cycle. 00:12:37.140 --> 00:12:44.720 Comes back to, I won't give what the Bible says I owe to my spouse because I'm not getting what I feel I deserve from them. 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:49.220 And you know, we don't just approach other people in this way. 00:12:49.320 --> 00:12:51.200 We can even approach God in this way. 00:12:53.680 --> 00:12:56.139 Have you ever been mad at God? 00:12:59.220 --> 00:13:00.759 Bitter and angry at him. 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:05.620 Now, I'm not just mad at the evil and injustice in the world. 00:13:05.680 --> 00:13:07.500 The Bible says God is mad at that too. 00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:16.120 And there is a kind of righteous anger that is an appropriate response when it's self-controlled. 00:13:20.659 --> 00:13:22.139 But have you been mad at God? 00:13:22.860 --> 00:13:24.539 God, I deserve better. 00:13:25.820 --> 00:13:27.379 Why did you let this happen to me? 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:31.460 Why do you let him be promoted and I'm passed over? 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:34.740 Why do you give her a happy marriage and I'm just miserable? 00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:44.159 And if someone criticizes us for being self-pitying, we lash out at them and say, no, I deserve better. 00:13:44.779 --> 00:13:46.700 You don't know what my situation is like. 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:52.539 Now, maybe we don't quite go that far. 00:13:54.940 --> 00:14:01.799 But maybe you say, you know, I don't want my relationship with God to be characterized by obligation or duty or indebtedness. 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:05.719 I just want it to be characterized by freely given love. 00:14:06.759 --> 00:14:08.979 I don't want to obey God because I have to. 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:11.859 I want to obey God because I want to. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.179 And you may have some reasons for thinking this way. 00:14:18.179 --> 00:14:18.620 Right? 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:25.039 Maybe you came out of a church background where it was all about duty and rules and obligations. 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:28.399 Half of which couldn't be found anywhere in the Bible. 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:32.099 And you obeyed out of fear. 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:33.539 Fear of punishment from God. 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:35.279 Fear of disapproval from church leaders. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:42.679 You did all kinds of spiritual exercises to try to gain favor and honor before God and others. 00:14:43.419 --> 00:14:48.259 And you did all these things without understanding what Paul says in chapter 8, verse 1. 00:14:48.259 --> 00:14:58.039 You know, the gospel of Jesus Christ is a liberating message. 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:04.779 It's a message of freedom from enslaving guilt and debilitating shame. 00:15:05.779 --> 00:15:10.279 It's a message of freedom from the looming threat of being justly punished for our sins. 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:20.000 It's a message of freedom from the futility, from the hamster wheel of trying to justify ourselves by our own accomplishments. 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:29.860 But knowing this liberating power of the gospel of Jesus Christ does not leave us without any obligations to God at all. 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:38.100 Consider what kind of relationship you have with somebody if you don't owe them anything and they don't owe you anything. 00:15:38.100 --> 00:15:47.240 It's actually a relationship that's characterized by indifference and distance and distrust. 00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:52.600 Not closeness and mutual commitment and belonging. 00:15:53.639 --> 00:16:01.120 It's a relationship where people use one another without actually being committed to one another's good. 00:16:02.500 --> 00:16:06.840 This is the lie of casual sexual relationships. 00:16:08.100 --> 00:16:13.980 Relationships that offer the option of intimacy without the obligation of permanence. 00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:19.420 They may seem alluring and gratifying at first, but in the end they are not fulfilling. 00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:25.460 You see, sex by its very nature was designed by God to have a bonding effect. 00:16:26.659 --> 00:16:32.060 It was designed to foster and deepen and signify a relationship of mutual obligation. 00:16:32.059 --> 00:16:36.879 Of self-giving till death do us part. 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:43.939 You see, in a healthy relationship between human beings, whether it's a marriage or whether it's a friendship, 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:48.539 intimacy and obligation go together. 00:16:50.100 --> 00:16:55.620 Mutual obligation, mutual respect and commitment provide the safe context for intimacy. 00:16:57.100 --> 00:16:59.960 And intimate sharing reinforces that mutual obligation. 00:17:00.139 --> 00:17:01.080 They're meant to go together. 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:03.560 And a healthy relationship with God works the same way. 00:17:05.340 --> 00:17:06.620 Psalm 25, 14 says, 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:09.779 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him. 00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:16.700 As human beings, we find our greatest fulfillment not in being obligated only to ourselves, 00:17:17.500 --> 00:17:21.220 but in living lives of rightful obligation to God and our neighbor 00:17:21.220 --> 00:17:27.200 before the God who has made us in His image and saved us by His grace. 00:17:29.980 --> 00:17:34.200 You see, if we actually take to heart the first 11 verses of this chapter, 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:38.079 that there's no condemnation in Christ Jesus, 00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:43.059 because Christ Jesus took the condemnation our sin deserved, 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:48.140 that we have freedom in the Holy Spirit from the power of sin and death, 00:17:48.140 --> 00:17:51.500 we can only conclude with gratitude. 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:54.640 I owe Him everything. 00:17:56.500 --> 00:17:58.560 He paid the blood price for me. 00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:01.259 Now I'm His and He's mine. 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:03.040 How can I say I deserve better? 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:06.259 In light of all that Christ has given to me, 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:08.340 everything else pales in comparison. 00:18:09.320 --> 00:18:12.440 How can I limit myself to obeying only when I feel like it? 00:18:12.940 --> 00:18:14.600 My feelings change every day. 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:18.459 I don't know what I want half of the time, if I'm honest with myself. 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:23.859 Paul talks about that in Romans 7. 00:18:25.019 --> 00:18:28.480 He says, I don't do what I want to do, but what I do is the very thing I hate. 00:18:30.099 --> 00:18:31.379 We're all scrambled up. 00:18:33.219 --> 00:18:34.599 Our desires are fickle. 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:40.019 But knowing that we belong to Christ and that we have obligations to Him, 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:45.439 it frees us from constantly evaluating our fickle desires and saying, 00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:47.319 what do I want to do today? 00:18:47.419 --> 00:18:48.539 Who do I want to be today? 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:56.019 We can start every day by saying, whoever I am, Lord, I'm yours. 00:18:56.019 --> 00:19:01.039 That's the foundation that we can build on. 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:04.639 That because of what Christ has given to us, we are debtors, 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:08.539 not to the flesh, but to the Spirit who dwells in us. 00:19:08.859 --> 00:19:10.119 That's the first point. 00:19:11.779 --> 00:19:13.619 And it leads us on to the second point. 00:19:13.740 --> 00:19:17.480 Paul says in verse 13, because we owe everything to God, 00:19:17.539 --> 00:19:20.339 we must put to death the deeds of the body. 00:19:20.339 --> 00:19:26.639 Now, you might say, well, what are the deeds of the body that Paul is talking about here? 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:33.759 Now, usually, Paul uses the word body to refer to our physical nature. 00:19:34.819 --> 00:19:39.559 And he usually uses the word flesh to refer to our sinful nature, 00:19:39.699 --> 00:19:43.779 our corrupt desires, motives, affections, propensities, and purposes. 00:19:45.439 --> 00:19:48.119 But here, Paul may be using the terms interchangeably. 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:53.659 The deeds of the body are the same as what he calls elsewhere the works of the flesh. 00:19:54.219 --> 00:20:01.159 Or Paul may be highlighting sinful deeds, practices, actions carried out in and through our bodies. 00:20:02.259 --> 00:20:08.359 Either way, I think we can get a picture of what Paul is talking about if we look at Galatians 5, 19 to 21. 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:10.759 If you turn there briefly, it's page 975. 00:20:12.939 --> 00:20:17.000 Galatians 5, starting at verse 19, Paul lists several works of the flesh. 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:23.399 And if you look at this list, the works of the flesh fall into four main categories. 00:20:24.439 --> 00:20:28.639 The first category is distorted expressions of sexuality. 00:20:29.879 --> 00:20:32.579 Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality. 00:20:33.479 --> 00:20:36.299 The second category is corrupted forms of worship. 00:20:37.399 --> 00:20:38.739 Idolatry, sorcery. 00:20:38.740 --> 00:20:42.700 The third category is discord in relationships. 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:44.319 The longest category. 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:49.880 Enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy. 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:56.200 And the last category is unrestrained indulgence in pleasures, drunkenness, orgies. 00:20:57.740 --> 00:20:58.880 So we have four categories. 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:02.039 We have sex, worship, relationships, and pleasures. 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:05.579 All good things created by God. 00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:12.180 But they can all be distorted and corrupted by our flesh, by our sinful desires. 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:22.039 And Paul says we must put to death these corrupt deeds of the body, these works of the flesh. 00:21:23.639 --> 00:21:26.359 What does that mean, put to death? 00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:28.980 Well, it's a very strong word. 00:21:28.980 --> 00:21:37.140 The word means to hand over to execution, to kill, to take away the life and vigor and power to cause to cease. 00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:47.720 Paul's saying believers in Christ must make a continual all-out total assault on the sin that dwells within us. 00:21:49.339 --> 00:21:52.160 Declare unceasing war on the deeds of the flesh. 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:54.700 Don't compromise with them. 00:21:54.700 --> 00:22:02.299 If you find sin dwelling in your house, don't shove it under the couch so it's slightly less visible to guests. 00:22:02.600 --> 00:22:10.080 Don't put it in the closet with all the other junk that you don't need right now but want to keep on hand in case things change in the future. 00:22:11.360 --> 00:22:12.600 Get it out of the house. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:18.700 If you belong to Christ, sin doesn't belong there at all. 00:22:18.840 --> 00:22:21.240 Don't compromise with it, Paul is saying. 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:25.200 When I was in high school, I went on a missions trip. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:29.099 And I remember a conversation. 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:32.859 I remember listening to one of the older guys on the trip talking about how much he loved golf. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:35.180 Now, we were in Paraguay. 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:39.900 And he was even trying to look for a golf course in Paraguay near where we were staying. 00:22:39.900 --> 00:22:50.500 And he said, I know it's sort of become an addiction for me, but I justify it because it's better than the other kinds of addictions out there. 00:22:52.940 --> 00:22:56.720 Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with playing golf or going to Paraguay to play golf. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:09.299 But if you admit that golf has become your addiction, it will dull your passion for Christ and lead you away from Christ just as much as any other addiction. 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:13.759 And isn't that how most of our sins continue to grow? 00:23:15.299 --> 00:23:19.539 We justify and minimize and compare and excuse them. 00:23:20.180 --> 00:23:23.019 My sin isn't quite as bad as other sins. 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:25.660 I can manage it. 00:23:26.980 --> 00:23:29.759 But sin is never content to be managed. 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:34.619 Sin is like a weed, an invasive species weed. 00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:44.119 Unless you pull it up by the roots, its aim is always to take over your garden and to choke out the life of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit within you. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:52.559 Jesus said in Matthew 5, if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. 00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:57.960 For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 00:23:59.460 --> 00:24:02.700 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. 00:24:03.639 --> 00:24:07.279 For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:12.859 Now, this verse is not promoting literal self-mutilation. 00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:18.000 John Stott rightly reminds us that this is not masochism. 00:24:18.099 --> 00:24:20.500 It's not taking pleasure in self-inflicted pain. 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:26.599 Nor asceticism in the sense of rejecting the body and its desires as a whole. 00:24:26.599 --> 00:24:33.939 But it's setting our minds on the things of the Spirit and doing whatever is necessary to put to death the works of the flesh. 00:24:33.940 --> 00:24:43.460 Hebrews 12 says we should throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us. 00:24:44.100 --> 00:24:46.360 To run the race with perseverance. 00:24:47.180 --> 00:24:50.700 Looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. 00:24:52.900 --> 00:24:54.799 We must put sin to death. 00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:57.100 Do whatever is necessary. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:24:59.120 Cut it off. 00:25:00.380 --> 00:25:01.259 Flee temptation. 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:04.140 How do we do this? 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:07.599 This is important. 00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:10.759 Paul says we do this by the Spirit. 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:17.619 We do this by the divine power which God has given to us. 00:25:17.619 --> 00:25:20.619 Not simply in our own strength. 00:25:23.220 --> 00:25:25.720 You see, the logic of this chapter goes like this. 00:25:25.779 --> 00:25:31.039 We can put sin to death because Christ has already condemned our sin to death. 00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:33.799 When he died for it on the cross. 00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:37.319 A lot of this chapter goes back to verse 3. 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:41.759 God condemned our sin in the flesh of Jesus Christ. 00:25:42.379 --> 00:25:44.480 He condemned it to die forever. 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:49.240 And God made a way to kill our sin without killing us. 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:55.700 And now in the Spirit what we're doing is we're executing the sentence that God has already pronounced on our sin. 00:25:55.700 --> 00:25:58.779 God has already said at the cross. 00:25:58.779 --> 00:26:00.120 Your sin is paid for. 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:03.559 And your sin is destined to die forever. 00:26:04.340 --> 00:26:06.039 And so when we're putting sin to death. 00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:07.779 We're carrying that out. 00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:13.140 Isn't that encouraging? 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:15.920 That God has already condemned your sin to die forever. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:17.519 So that when you're fighting against sin. 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:20.539 You know that you're not fighting a hopeless battle. 00:26:21.100 --> 00:26:26.220 You're fighting a battle that in Christ and because of him you are ultimately going to win. 00:26:29.360 --> 00:26:30.800 So don't despair. 00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:32.720 Never despair. 00:26:34.560 --> 00:26:36.039 In the fight against sin. 00:26:37.460 --> 00:26:39.779 Practically, what does that look like? 00:26:39.779 --> 00:26:47.579 Well, James chapter 5, verse 16 gives a very practical instruction. 00:26:48.899 --> 00:26:51.779 It says, confess your sins one to another. 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:54.940 And pray for one another so that you may be healed. 00:26:56.920 --> 00:26:59.119 You see, sin thrives in the dark. 00:27:01.319 --> 00:27:04.660 And it begins to wither when it's brought out into the light. 00:27:05.299 --> 00:27:07.799 When it's named for what it really is. 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:11.899 When a believer in Christ confesses sin. 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:15.099 And determines to forsake it in Jesus' name. 00:27:15.379 --> 00:27:17.519 And a fellow believer hears that confession. 00:27:17.659 --> 00:27:21.099 And pronounces over him or her that word of forgiveness. 00:27:21.099 --> 00:27:22.839 If we confess our sins. 00:27:23.579 --> 00:27:27.159 God is faithful and just to forgive our sins. 00:27:27.299 --> 00:27:28.799 And purify us from all unrighteousness. 00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:32.079 The Holy Spirit is at work. 00:27:33.019 --> 00:27:35.460 That's a blow to sin right away. 00:27:35.460 --> 00:27:38.640 When it's brought out into the light and confessed. 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:40.079 Not excused. 00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:41.120 Not defended. 00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:42.460 Not justified. 00:27:42.819 --> 00:27:44.559 But confess for what it is. 00:27:47.640 --> 00:27:49.740 And if someone confesses a sin to you. 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:54.440 Assure them of the promise of forgiveness that is in Christ. 00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:55.380 In his word. 00:27:55.380 --> 00:28:01.420 That Christ has paid the price for our sins. 00:28:01.600 --> 00:28:04.140 That there's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. 00:28:06.460 --> 00:28:08.040 Now maybe you have wronged someone. 00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:11.840 Maybe you need to work toward repairing that relationship. 00:28:12.080 --> 00:28:21.960 Did you notice in Galatians 5 how many of the works of the flesh had to do with broken and discordant relationships? 00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:24.600 It's the longest list. 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:26.640 Envy, anger, rivalry, strife, etc. 00:28:28.380 --> 00:28:30.579 You know there are a lot of ways that we can apologize. 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:34.660 Without really acknowledging that we've done anything wrong. 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:38.279 How about this? 00:28:38.340 --> 00:28:40.039 I'm sorry for how you felt. 00:28:42.620 --> 00:28:44.799 That may be a genuine expression of sympathy. 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:48.619 But it takes absolutely no responsibility. 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:52.059 It is not an acknowledgement of wrong. 00:28:53.919 --> 00:28:56.740 And if you've wronged someone, that's not an adequate apology. 00:28:58.579 --> 00:28:59.519 Or how about this? 00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:00.879 I'm sorry for what happened. 00:29:02.339 --> 00:29:03.220 Well, I've said this. 00:29:04.259 --> 00:29:06.740 Well, what exactly happened that you're so sorry about? 00:29:09.460 --> 00:29:10.639 How about this instead? 00:29:12.099 --> 00:29:13.119 I was wrong. 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:19.819 I should not have spoken, acted, thought in the way I did. 00:29:21.399 --> 00:29:23.339 I neglected to do what I should have done. 00:29:24.819 --> 00:29:25.739 Please forgive me. 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:27.839 I want to change. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:30.919 Or even this. 00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:34.559 I know our relationship isn't what it should be. 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:40.219 I realize I've caused harm probably in many ways that I don't even realize. 00:29:40.220 --> 00:29:44.360 I want you to know that I care for you and love you. 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:47.559 As a brother or sister in Christ. 00:29:49.600 --> 00:29:51.539 That is fighting against sin. 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:57.759 That is seeking to put sin to death and not let it fester. 00:29:57.940 --> 00:30:02.160 And not let it continue to divide believers in Christ. 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:08.759 Now, these are not easy words to say and mean. 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:13.940 Putting sin to death is no easy task. 00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:20.160 And that's why we constantly need to lean on and draw on the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:26.279 But you know, Paul says there are ultimately only two ways to live. 00:30:27.800 --> 00:30:30.140 He says, if you live according to the flesh, you will die. 00:30:30.779 --> 00:30:33.960 But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 00:30:37.060 --> 00:30:39.920 You see, some of us want to think there are three ways to live. 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:45.220 We can live in the flesh without ever turning to Christ. 00:30:46.600 --> 00:30:49.500 The end will be death and eternal separation from God. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:54.120 Or we can believe in Christ and live according to the Spirit. 00:30:55.160 --> 00:30:59.539 And sometimes that will be very hard, but we will enjoy close fellowship with Jesus now and forever. 00:31:01.480 --> 00:31:03.460 But then we want to put in a third category. 00:31:05.660 --> 00:31:08.420 You can believe in Christ, but still live according to the flesh. 00:31:08.420 --> 00:31:12.960 You can enjoy the short-term pleasures of sin in this world. 00:31:13.460 --> 00:31:17.259 You won't have quite as much peace and joy in your relationship with Christ. 00:31:17.539 --> 00:31:21.539 But you can still be assured of eternal life in the end as long as you believe. 00:31:23.180 --> 00:31:24.380 Or say you believe. 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:28.700 But Paul does not say there are three ways to live. 00:31:30.600 --> 00:31:33.820 He says in the end, ultimately, there are only two. 00:31:33.819 --> 00:31:41.419 Paul does not want us to put ourselves and sit comfortably in that last category because it's a walking contradiction. 00:31:43.460 --> 00:31:48.960 Living according to the flesh leads to death in this life and ultimately in the life to come. 00:31:49.419 --> 00:31:54.259 And putting sin to death through the Spirit leads to life now and forever. 00:31:54.259 --> 00:31:58.220 Now, Paul's very clear in Romans. 00:31:58.299 --> 00:32:01.920 Eternal life is a free gift of God, he says. 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:06.759 We're justified by God's grace as a gift, not by our works. 00:32:07.460 --> 00:32:09.819 There's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. 00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:11.180 But Paul is also clear. 00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:16.799 We who have died to sin must not live, continue to live in it. 00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:21.879 The book of Hebrews says, without holiness, no one will see the Lord. 00:32:24.059 --> 00:32:33.200 In other words, there is no path to eternal life in Christ and in the power of the Spirit that bypasses what verse 13 is talking about. 00:32:33.639 --> 00:32:35.500 Putting sin to death. 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:38.440 It's absolutely necessary. 00:32:40.379 --> 00:32:43.819 And yet, putting sin to death can be excruciatingly hard and painful. 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:53.960 Maybe because of your natural constitution or the particular circumstances you find yourself in, 00:32:54.779 --> 00:33:00.919 you're particularly vulnerable to the deceptions and allures and overwhelming passions of sin. 00:33:02.059 --> 00:33:05.319 Maybe you've tried and failed to fight this battle before, 00:33:06.059 --> 00:33:10.319 and you feel like you can't resist any longer. 00:33:11.639 --> 00:33:15.440 Putting sin to death feels like enduring death itself. 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:21.000 And you say, how can God ask this of me? 00:33:23.819 --> 00:33:29.940 Let me share some words from a sister and two brothers in Christ who've wrestled with this very question. 00:33:30.740 --> 00:33:33.899 How can God ask this of me? 00:33:36.339 --> 00:33:39.940 The first is someone who was part of this church for several years. 00:33:41.159 --> 00:33:42.940 Some of you know her, Rachel Gilson. 00:33:42.940 --> 00:33:46.680 She came to faith in Christ as a Yale undergrad. 00:33:47.940 --> 00:33:50.000 She had always felt attracted to other women. 00:33:50.840 --> 00:33:53.180 She had dated women in high school and in college. 00:33:54.140 --> 00:34:00.220 And then she came to be convinced that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, who had died for her sin on the cross. 00:34:01.779 --> 00:34:08.139 She wrote this in an article that was published in Christianity Today this week. 00:34:08.139 --> 00:34:11.920 She wrote, choosing Jesus didn't answer all my questions. 00:34:12.139 --> 00:34:15.920 In particular, how would I deal with my natural, unshakable attraction to women? 00:34:16.859 --> 00:34:18.359 I knew the Bible was clear. 00:34:19.299 --> 00:34:20.900 What I wanted was off limits. 00:34:21.859 --> 00:34:23.579 But I didn't understand why. 00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:27.739 How could love, intimacy, and companionship be forbidden 00:34:27.739 --> 00:34:31.299 by this loving, intimate, companion-seeking God? 00:34:31.300 --> 00:34:35.620 Thus, I had to learn my first lesson of the Christian life. 00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:38.780 How to obey before I understood. 00:34:40.460 --> 00:34:45.160 My whole life had taught me to master a concept before I could assent to it. 00:34:46.300 --> 00:34:51.800 How could I possibly agree to something so costly without grasping the reason? 00:34:53.100 --> 00:34:55.780 In the end, it came down to trust. 00:34:55.780 --> 00:35:00.740 I knew Jesus was worthy of trust because he had made a greater sacrifice. 00:35:02.160 --> 00:35:04.519 He had left the bliss, the comfort, the joy of loving, 00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:07.700 and being perfectly loved to live a sorrowful life on earth. 00:35:08.780 --> 00:35:11.260 He took the pain and shame of a criminal's death 00:35:11.260 --> 00:35:14.620 and suffered the Father's rejection all so I could be welcomed. 00:35:14.760 --> 00:35:17.260 Who could be more deserving of my trust? 00:35:19.019 --> 00:35:22.560 She says, the obedience of faith only works when it's rooted in a person, 00:35:23.240 --> 00:35:24.240 not just a rule. 00:35:24.239 --> 00:35:28.739 Imposed on its own, a rule invites us to sit in judgment, 00:35:28.919 --> 00:35:30.159 weighing its reasonableness. 00:35:31.359 --> 00:35:35.799 But a rule flowing from relationships smooths the way for faithful obedience. 00:35:37.079 --> 00:35:39.719 When a child doesn't understand her mother's command, 00:35:39.899 --> 00:35:42.839 the mother's character plays a strong role in what happens next. 00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:47.039 A cruel, capricious mother is likely to meet resistance. 00:35:47.939 --> 00:35:50.739 But an affectionate, nurturing mother inspires trust 00:35:50.739 --> 00:35:54.319 because you know she's on your side, profoundly. 00:35:55.559 --> 00:35:57.859 In one of Scripture's most dramatic tests of trust, 00:35:57.959 --> 00:36:00.379 God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. 00:36:01.500 --> 00:36:03.899 If Abraham had considered this command in isolation, 00:36:04.159 --> 00:36:05.539 surely he would not have obeyed. 00:36:07.019 --> 00:36:08.639 Abraham, however, was a friend of God. 00:36:09.719 --> 00:36:12.500 When tested, he did not hesitate because he knew God's character. 00:36:12.619 --> 00:36:13.739 God had shown up for Abraham. 00:36:13.739 --> 00:36:15.519 I knew he would show up for me, but how? 00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:18.399 Would he remove my attraction to women? 00:36:19.719 --> 00:36:22.859 Those first years of Christian faith included relationships with women 00:36:22.859 --> 00:36:26.459 that were spiritual, freeing, and intimate, but not erotic. 00:36:27.559 --> 00:36:31.679 But in other cases, personal and sexual chemistry lured me back into old patterns. 00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:33.679 Why wouldn't God just fix me? 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:39.779 Slowly, I came to understand that making me straight wasn't the answer. 00:36:41.019 --> 00:36:45.079 There is no biblical command to have heterosexual desires. 00:36:46.279 --> 00:36:49.960 Through study, conversations, and prayer, I eventually arrived at a crucial truth. 00:36:51.259 --> 00:36:55.139 Sex wasn't something God discovered, then fenced about with arbitrary restrictions, 00:36:55.359 --> 00:36:58.199 but something he made to teach and bless us. 00:36:58.199 --> 00:37:03.919 When his teachings went against my instincts, denying my desires became a profound way of saying, 00:37:04.859 --> 00:37:05.559 I trust you. 00:37:07.579 --> 00:37:10.179 Brothers and sisters, where is God calling you to say, 00:37:11.279 --> 00:37:14.759 I don't totally understand you, but I trust you? 00:37:20.719 --> 00:37:25.239 Second person I want to share some words from is Nabeel Qureshi. 00:37:26.259 --> 00:37:27.460 Some of you may have heard of him. 00:37:27.460 --> 00:37:28.760 He's a Christian author and speaker. 00:37:28.920 --> 00:37:32.039 He died this week at the age of 34 from stomach cancer. 00:37:33.740 --> 00:37:36.659 He had been raised in a devout Pakistani Muslim family. 00:37:38.019 --> 00:37:41.880 But in his second year of medical school, after much study and conversation and prayer, 00:37:42.440 --> 00:37:44.220 he became convinced of Jesus' divinity. 00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:49.599 But he also knew that there would be a great cost if he publicly professed his faith in Christ. 00:37:49.599 --> 00:37:55.880 He was a Qureshi, a descendant of the tribe to which the prophet Muhammad himself had belonged. 00:37:56.739 --> 00:38:00.159 For generations, his family had been guardians of the legacy of Islam, 00:38:00.860 --> 00:38:03.199 pillars and respected leaders in the Muslim community. 00:38:03.199 --> 00:38:05.000 He wrote, 00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:10.379 By becoming a Christian, not only would I lose the friendships and social connections I had built from childhood, 00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:13.139 my family would lose their honor as well. 00:38:14.299 --> 00:38:18.519 My decision would not only destroy me, it would also destroy my family, 00:38:19.159 --> 00:38:22.539 the ones who loved me most and sacrificed so much for me. 00:38:22.539 --> 00:38:28.880 Jesus, he said, accepting you would be like dying. 00:38:29.779 --> 00:38:31.179 I will have to give up everything. 00:38:33.099 --> 00:38:35.960 He was reading through the Gospel of Matthew and he came to these verses. 00:38:37.539 --> 00:38:40.759 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. 00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:46.039 He who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. 00:38:46.039 --> 00:38:51.460 He who has found his life will lose it and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it. 00:38:53.059 --> 00:38:53.579 He writes, 00:38:53.659 --> 00:38:55.719 I knelt at the foot of my bed and gave up my life. 00:38:58.500 --> 00:39:01.639 To this day, my family is brokenhearted by the decision I made 00:39:01.639 --> 00:39:05.539 and it is excruciating every time I see the cost I had to pay. 00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:08.820 For I love them. 00:39:10.719 --> 00:39:12.880 But Jesus is the God of reversal and redemption. 00:39:12.880 --> 00:39:17.920 He redeemed my suffering by making me rely on him for my every moment, 00:39:18.059 --> 00:39:19.400 bending my heart toward him. 00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:23.640 It was there in my pain that I knew him intimately. 00:39:24.640 --> 00:39:26.500 It was there that I found Jesus. 00:39:26.619 --> 00:39:29.019 To follow him is worth giving up everything. 00:39:32.240 --> 00:39:34.900 You see, these two people understood the words of the Apostle Paul, 00:39:35.880 --> 00:39:37.220 who wrote, 00:39:37.380 --> 00:39:40.099 Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 00:39:40.099 --> 00:39:46.440 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 00:39:46.539 --> 00:39:49.000 For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things. 00:39:50.079 --> 00:39:53.799 I count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him. 00:39:55.119 --> 00:39:57.960 Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, 00:39:58.900 --> 00:40:00.779 but that which comes through faith in Christ, 00:40:01.719 --> 00:40:03.940 the righteousness from God that depends on faith. 00:40:03.940 --> 00:40:09.159 That I may know him and the power of his resurrection 00:40:09.159 --> 00:40:12.200 and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. 00:40:12.760 --> 00:40:16.079 That by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 00:40:18.559 --> 00:40:23.579 Brothers and sisters, whatever Christ is calling you to lay down at his feet, 00:40:25.059 --> 00:40:27.500 whatever sin he is calling you to forsake, 00:40:27.579 --> 00:40:28.940 however painful it may seem, 00:40:28.940 --> 00:40:31.039 however much it may feel like death, 00:40:32.119 --> 00:40:34.539 it is all worth it in the end. 00:40:36.860 --> 00:40:38.460 Because the way of the cross 00:40:38.460 --> 00:40:40.519 is the way to life. 00:40:41.659 --> 00:40:42.440 Let us pray. 00:40:49.679 --> 00:40:51.179 Father, we thank you for your Son 00:40:51.179 --> 00:40:51.679 who has 00:40:51.679 --> 00:40:55.280 led the way for us. 00:40:55.280 --> 00:40:59.600 who has blazed a trail for us to enter your presence 00:40:59.600 --> 00:41:00.260 through his 00:41:00.260 --> 00:41:01.720 very own 00:41:01.720 --> 00:41:03.460 death on the cross. 00:41:04.280 --> 00:41:05.500 Through his humility 00:41:05.500 --> 00:41:11.000 and taking on the form of a servant 00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:13.420 for our sake 00:41:13.420 --> 00:41:14.560 and in obedience to you. 00:41:16.280 --> 00:41:17.340 We thank you that 00:41:17.340 --> 00:41:19.120 nothing that you ask of us 00:41:19.120 --> 00:41:23.240 is something 00:41:23.239 --> 00:41:24.539 that you have not already 00:41:24.539 --> 00:41:27.500 been willing to sacrifice 00:41:27.500 --> 00:41:28.519 for our sake. 00:41:32.039 --> 00:41:33.659 We pray that you would strengthen us 00:41:33.659 --> 00:41:34.839 by the power of your Spirit. 00:41:36.659 --> 00:41:38.159 We pray that you would give us 00:41:38.159 --> 00:41:39.279 a deep 00:41:39.279 --> 00:41:41.079 well of gratitude 00:41:41.079 --> 00:41:44.259 in knowing your love for us. 00:41:46.599 --> 00:41:48.279 We pray that you would strengthen us 00:41:48.280 --> 00:41:50.880 to daily fight against sin 00:41:50.880 --> 00:41:53.760 by humbling ourselves, 00:41:54.240 --> 00:41:55.500 by looking to you, 00:41:56.880 --> 00:41:59.560 by standing upon 00:41:59.560 --> 00:42:01.519 the truth of your word. 00:42:05.920 --> 00:42:07.140 Lord, give us the joy 00:42:07.140 --> 00:42:08.140 that comes from knowing 00:42:08.140 --> 00:42:09.780 intimate fellowship with you. 00:42:11.980 --> 00:42:13.500 Give us the anticipation 00:42:13.500 --> 00:42:14.340 of that joy 00:42:14.340 --> 00:42:15.560 that we shall have 00:42:15.560 --> 00:42:16.440 with you eternally. 00:42:16.440 --> 00:42:18.019 Lord, give us the joy 00:42:18.019 --> 00:42:19.440 we pray this in Jesus' name. 00:42:20.059 --> 00:42:20.320 Amen. 00:42:20.320 --> 00:42:20.440 Amen.