WEBVTT

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 So, we come to Ephesians chapter 1, and this is an amazing epistle in its way.

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 People have described it in a variety of kind of really focused and, yeah, literary ways.

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 Somebody wrote this, that it is the refined essence of the whole gospel.

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 I remember hearing Billy Graham on a radio program in the USA, which is a bit similar to Desert Island Discs, and he was asked,

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 if you could only take one book or one epistle in the Bible, what would you take?

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 Billy Graham said, I take Ephesians every time.

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 Why, said the speaker, he said, because it tells me three things.

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 I'm going to come back to that in a minute.

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 But the gospel, which is enshrined in this book, praise God, has changed lives throughout the centuries and continues to change lives today.

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 Someone say hallelujah.

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 As we meet now, there are some people meeting in an Alpha group in the room next door to us,

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 praying for them, that those people who are challenged through the material that Alpha provides would come to know Christ themselves.

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 And the gospel, I think, is a really, well, if you ask me, you know, you'd probably say, well, you get paid for it.

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 Well, I don't anymore as it happens.

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 But the gospel, I think, is the only answer to the way that the world is at this time.

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 I really do believe that.

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 Since the Enlightenment, there has been a purposeful plot to kind of marginalize religion, certainly from public life, but marginalize it altogether.

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 And I think in some ways we see that happening in our culture.

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 On the other hand, people in your churches and people I talk to who are ministers or members of other churches are telling me that suddenly people are starting to turn up in their churches.

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 I mean, sadly, people still dying in churches, but there are some people kind of turning up to take their place on the pews of the church.

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 And that's a good thing.

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 But I want to say to you that this epistle, I think, if you wanted an epistle which would best sum up the gospel as revealed to us in Holy Scripture,

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 Ephesians, I think, is really good.

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 If you are of a more kind of academic, geeky mind, you might well think that Romans would be a very good competitor.

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 And I agree with that.

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 But in terms of succinctness, Ephesians is really, it kind of nails it, I think you would say.

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 So I just want to give you some facts.

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 I mean, these are kind of vaguely interesting to me.

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 The first of these is, who was this letter written to?

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 And the answer is not entirely clear.

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 And the reason for that, some of you who are in Christchurch on Sunday would have heard our preacher make reference to this.

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 In the very earliest text that we have in relation to the Bible,

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 the letter omits the words to the Christians in Ephesus.

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 This has led to a lot of speculation as to who wrote the epistle.

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 For myself, I accept it at face value.

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 I think St. Paul wrote it.

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 But one of the big bits of evidence that the people who doubt whether St. Paul wrote it,

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 some of them are linguistic people and say that there are certain themes that occur in Paul's other letters that don't occur in Ephesians.

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 But suppose that, if you can just hold this in your imagination for a moment,

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 let's just suppose for a moment that this was a circular letter.

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 It certainly went to the Ephesians, but didn't only go to the Ephesians.

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 I think you would write a letter entirely different if it was a circular letter than if you were writing to a particular location.

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 And I think it's likely that this was a round robin letter that went to the churches that Paul had planted.

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 Incidentally, we do have the narrative account of Paul's planting the church in Ephesus.

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 You can read about that.

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 If you like homework, here you go.

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 You can read about that in Acts chapter 19.

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 Paul stayed in Ephesus for three years.

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 And his goal, what an amazing goal this is.

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 He wanted to preach the gospel to everybody in Asia Minor.

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 I mean, imagine that.

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 I mean, it wouldn't be the same.

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 It would be a much stiffer assignment today because a lot more people live there than live there then.

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 But what a great aspiration for a preacher that everybody within my sphere of influence

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 should hear the gospel from my lips.

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 So, I think this was a circular letter.

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 And I think the other bit of evidence that people say means Paul didn't write it

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 was that at the end of most of his letters, you remember he has these ascriptions to individuals.

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 At the end of Romans, he talks quite a lot about the people he knows in Rome.

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 At the end of Galatians, the same.

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 But there are none at the end of Ephesians.

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 And people say, well, that's not Paul at all.

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 Well, if we're right and this was a circular letter, that would make a big difference, wouldn't it?

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 You wouldn't be writing to individuals if the letter was going to be shown around a dozen congregations or whatever.

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 When was it written?

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 I think it was written.

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 Again, big debate amongst the scholars about this.

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 More modern scholarship tends to put the epistle around about A.D. 80.

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 I think I'd go with the more conservative scholars who say it's very likely that this epistle was written from Rome

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 in about the year A.D. 61-62

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 when Paul was in prison in Rome

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 at the end of one of his mission journeys.

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 So there we are.

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 I mean, you have to make your own mind about this.

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 I'm not sure that it was just a letter to the Ephesians,

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 though it certainly was a letter to the Ephesians.

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 I think Paul wrote it.

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 I think it was written around about 61-62 A.D.

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 Not long before, in fact, Paul died.

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 And the epistle was written from prison in Rome.

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 Why was the epistle written?

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 I think this is really important.

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 And it was important then.

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 And it might be even more important today.

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 I think there are three primary reasons why Ephesians was written.

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 It was written to remind us who we are in Christ.

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 And that seems to me to be a pretty fundamental question.

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 You remember, if you know your New Testament,

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 that Paul has a phrase he constantly repeats.

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 And the phrase is, in Christ.

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 And by in Christ, he means those people who have faith in Jesus Christ.

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 And they are, that come back to this,

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 but those who are in Christ are the only recipients of God's promises

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 outlined in the rest of the epistle.

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 Secondly, it's to remind us who we were without Christ.

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 At the beginning of chapter 2,

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 and I'll just give you a flavour of this.

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 I mean, it's not very flattering, to be quite honest with you.

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 Paul writes this kind of stuff.

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 As for you, he says, chapter 2, verse 1,

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 You were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live

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 when you followed the ways of this world

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 and of the ruler of the kingdoms of the air,

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 the spirit who is now at work to those who are disobedient.

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 And it gets a bit worse from there on in.

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 But what Paul's saying is,

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 never forget the magnitude of what Jesus Christ has done for you.

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 Never forget that.

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 And if you're going to get what,

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 the magnitude of what Jesus has done for you,

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 you need to be reminded of what you were before you came to Christ.

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 I was joking with somebody who I was putting some chairs out there,

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 was putting the back row ones out,

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 and they were debating whether to sit on the back seat.

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 And I said, well, when I was a teenager,

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 the back seat of the cinema was a highly prized place to sit.

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 She said, really?

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 I said, yeah, you know,

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 so you could lead young women astray on the back row kind of thing.

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 What, you?

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 I said, well, I wasn't a Christian then.

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 And so she said, really?

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 I said, yeah.

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 I said, because I was a moron.

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 And actually, that's what Ephesians chapter 2 tells me.

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 Before Christ, in God's eyes,

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 in my own eyes, as a matter of fact,

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 I was a moron.

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 And the third reason that Paul wrote this epistle

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 was to show us that belief and behavior

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 need to be in line with each other.

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 Paul repeatedly, in his epistles,

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 has a kind of stylistic characteristic.

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 And it's this.

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 First of all, he'll work out,

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 this is what you need to believe.

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 And then he'll say,

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 and because of that,

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 this is the way you need to behave.

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 I think that's reasonable.

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 We all, you know, would accept that

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 saying what we believe, you know,

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 would normally affect the way that we behave.

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 If we believe it's going to rain,

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 we'll take action,

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 maybe put a waterproof on

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 or take an umbrella or something like that.

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 We wouldn't welcome, you know,

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 somebody turns up at your house

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 and they've omitted to tell you

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 that they're vegetarian

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 and you're just about to serve Chateau Brion.

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 And it comes out and it looks delicious

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 and you're starting to share it

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 and the person says,

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 oh, I'm a vegetarian.

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 You're like, right, you know, great.

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 Sorry, that's not an offence against vegetarians.

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 But here's the thing.

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 If they then said,

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 oh no, I'll have a piece of that,

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 you would think they weren't that committed

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 to their vegetarianism, wouldn't you?

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 And the same is true of our faith.

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 If we claim to believe what we believe

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 when we believe the gospel

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 and we honour God's word

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 and our preacher on Sunday

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 reminded us of something really important,

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 which I wish churches together

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 had been here to hear what he said

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 because he said,

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 really when it comes to the unity of the church,

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 the starting point needs to be

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 some agreement as to the authority

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 of God's word, the Bible.

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 If we all think different things,

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 I mean, I've had,

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 I've had clergy say to me,

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 well, of course,

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 we don't read the Bible in our church anymore.

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 Why?

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 Because it's nonsense.

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 An ordained person.

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 God give me strength.

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 So, those are the three primary areas.

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 I'm going to come back to

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 the recipients of God's promise

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 a little later

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 in what I have to say to you.

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 So, in Ephesians 1 to 10,

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 in verse 1,

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 we get an important phrase.

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 You know, Paul started all his letters

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 with what's called an ascription.

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 That is a kind of ritualized way

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 of starting a letter.

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 And the letter to the Ephesians

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 is absolutely no different

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 in this respect.

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 And in that letter,

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 he starts by saying,

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 if I can find it,

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 he starts by saying,

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 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus

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 by the will of God.

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 I think that's really important.

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 It was really important to Paul

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 to know

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 that his route to apostleship

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 was not mainline.

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 All the other apostles

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 had been with Jesus.

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 Paul hadn't.

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 You remember the Damascus Road

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 conversion that he went through.

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 And in the Corinthian congregation,

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 there were people in that church,

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 because Paul had never been with Jesus,

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 there were people in that church

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 who really thought that

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 Paul was not a genuine apostle.

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 And they questioned his apostleship.

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 So Paul's laying out here

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 for the Ephesians

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 from verse 1 onwards.

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 An apostle of Christ Jesus

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 by the will of God.

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 God willed this.

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 It wasn't some historic accident

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 that I happened to be with Jesus

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 when he walked planet Earth.

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 No, I'm an apostle

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 by the will of God.

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 To the saints in Ephesus.

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 Who are the saints?

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 Well, certainly in the Church of England,

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 we tend to think of saints

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 as the kind of characters

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 who end up in stained glass windows.

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 And, you know,

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 some people find stained glass windows

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 extremely beautiful.

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 Some people are a little indifferent to them.

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 But actually, that's not the point.

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 When Paul's talking about

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 the saints in Ephesus,

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 he's talking about

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 every believer in Christ.

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 I remember once,

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 my wife and I used to work

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 on this lay Christian community,

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 and every day,

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 it was the task of

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 people in the community

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 to lead morning prayer

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 and to give a little thought

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 for the day.

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 I've never forgot

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 the one that this guy,

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 Uncle Johnny was called,

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 he was an older guy,

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 and he came,

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 and what he had was,

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 he had like an easel,

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 and there was

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 something covered up on it,

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 which was either a blackboard

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 or a picture or something.

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 And he talked about the saints,

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 and he made the point

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 that I've just made,

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 that in Paul's mind,

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 the saints were not the worthies

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 who end up in stained glass windows,

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 but were ordinary,

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 faithful Christians

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 who were in Christ.

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 And he invited

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 a member of the community

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 to come

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 and unveil what he described

00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:03.320
 as a picture

00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:04.440
 of a wonderful saint.

00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:06.420
 And this woman

00:16:06.420 --> 00:16:07.540
 trooped up to the front,

00:16:07.660 --> 00:16:07.940
 and he said,

00:16:08.019 --> 00:16:08.820
 now there you are,

00:16:08.940 --> 00:16:09.180
 he says,

00:16:09.220 --> 00:16:09.879
 like the queen,

00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:11.720
 you're unveiling a picture.

00:16:12.379 --> 00:16:14.139
 She pulled the cover off it,

00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:14.899
 and it was a mirror.

00:16:16.100 --> 00:16:16.980
 She saw herself.

00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:19.440
 I thought it made the point

00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:20.360
 very well.

00:16:21.379 --> 00:16:22.460
 That in Christ,

00:16:22.920 --> 00:16:23.980
 Paul would regard us

00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:25.080
 as the Hagioi,

00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:27.399
 the saints in Ephesus.

00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:29.920
 And then the usual description,

00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:31.480
 grace and peace to you

00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:33.019
 from God our Father

00:16:33.019 --> 00:16:35.360
 and the Lord Jesus Christ.

00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:35.500
 Christ.

00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:40.060
 It was pretty common

00:16:40.060 --> 00:16:42.480
 amongst Christians

00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:43.740
 who would write to each other

00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:46.180
 to put that kind of

00:16:46.180 --> 00:16:49.039
 ascription into a letter

00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:50.060
 that they wrote.

00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:51.259
 I mean,

00:16:51.820 --> 00:16:52.659
 you know,

00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:53.220
 one of the things

00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:54.879
 that does seem kind of

00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:56.940
 unbelievable to me is,

00:16:59.320 --> 00:16:59.560
 I mean,

00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:01.620
 have you ever written a letter

00:17:01.620 --> 00:17:03.679
 that in any way

00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:04.819
 resemble the letters

00:17:04.819 --> 00:17:05.500
 of St. Paul?

00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:07.940
 I mean,

00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:08.700
 it's just unbelievable

00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:09.519
 to think that anybody

00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:10.160
 would sit down

00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:11.180
 and write this stuff.

00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:13.480
 One of the people

00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:16.859
 who was talking about

00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:18.319
 the eloquence and beauty

00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:18.920
 of the epistle

00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:19.839
 to the Ephesians

00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:21.259
 said he was reminded

00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:21.940
 of Mozart

00:17:21.940 --> 00:17:23.519
 in his composition.

00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:24.680
 You remember Mozart?

00:17:25.579 --> 00:17:26.480
 It's said there.

00:17:26.579 --> 00:17:27.380
 He just kind of

00:17:27.380 --> 00:17:28.619
 leant over on his table,

00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:29.619
 and all these notes

00:17:29.619 --> 00:17:30.240
 were in his head,

00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:31.059
 and he just kind of

00:17:31.059 --> 00:17:31.859
 wrote them as if

00:17:31.859 --> 00:17:33.000
 somebody was dictating

00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:33.640
 them to him.

00:17:34.579 --> 00:17:35.680
 And the person said,

00:17:36.120 --> 00:17:37.460
 Ephesians is like

00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:38.819
 Paul's compositions.

00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:41.160
 It's like a kind of

00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:43.380
 stream of holy consciousness

00:17:43.380 --> 00:17:45.059
 from the mind

00:17:45.059 --> 00:17:46.460
 of this amazing man,

00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:47.480
 St. Paul.

00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:50.579
 Grace and peace to you

00:17:50.579 --> 00:17:51.319
 from God,

00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:52.539
 our Father,

00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:54.319
 and the Lord Jesus Christ.

00:17:55.059 --> 00:17:57.120
 There's a Roman Catholic bishop

00:17:57.120 --> 00:17:58.980
 who I've started

00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:01.039
 to listen to a little bit

00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:01.880
 on YouTube.

00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:03.539
 His name is Robert Barron.

00:18:04.339 --> 00:18:05.539
 One of the big advantages

00:18:05.539 --> 00:18:06.660
 of his talks are

00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:08.180
 is they're about 12 minutes long

00:18:08.180 --> 00:18:09.519
 or 13 minutes long.

00:18:10.019 --> 00:18:11.259
 But I've noticed with him,

00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:13.660
 whenever he starts anything,

00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:14.940
 or if you meet him,

00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:16.940
 the first thing he will say to you,

00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:18.240
 a bit like the subscription,

00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:19.660
 he will say to you,

00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:21.400
 peace be to you,

00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:22.259
 peace be with you.

00:18:22.259 --> 00:18:24.640
 Of course,

00:18:24.940 --> 00:18:26.039
 the Anglicans always say

00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:26.920
 and also with you,

00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:29.059
 but it's him,

00:18:29.420 --> 00:18:30.079
 in a sense,

00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:31.759
 trying to give the,

00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:33.000
 what's about to follow

00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:34.140
 in your conversation,

00:18:34.779 --> 00:18:35.799
 a kind of base

00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:37.279
 in the peace of God

00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:38.900
 which passes all understanding.

00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:41.400
 So Paul goes on,

00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:43.300
 praise be to the God

00:18:43.300 --> 00:18:43.840
 and Father

00:18:43.840 --> 00:18:45.519
 of our Lord Jesus Christ

00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:48.460
 who has blessed us

00:18:48.460 --> 00:18:49.920
 in the heavenly realms

00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:53.160
 with every spiritual blessing

00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:54.160
 in Christ.

00:18:54.160 --> 00:19:04.259
 I think I certainly said this

00:19:04.259 --> 00:19:04.860
 to the congregation

00:19:04.860 --> 00:19:05.880
 in Christ's church,

00:19:06.019 --> 00:19:07.220
 but does anybody remember

00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:08.460
 the Beverly Hillbillies?

00:19:10.220 --> 00:19:12.300
 Remember this kind of Hick family

00:19:12.300 --> 00:19:16.180
 who lived in central North America

00:19:16.180 --> 00:19:17.820
 and, you know,

00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:19.519
 I mentioned somewhere like Nebraska

00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:21.279
 and they're scratching a living

00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:24.799
 off, you know,

00:19:24.859 --> 00:19:27.920
 this kind of market garden

00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:28.619
 that they've got,

00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:29.519
 poor folks.

00:19:30.139 --> 00:19:32.039
 And one day,

00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:33.819
 old Jed is out

00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:36.160
 on the market garden

00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:38.539
 and he chucks his pickaxe

00:19:38.539 --> 00:19:39.200
 into the thing

00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:41.440
 and oil comes spurting out.

00:19:43.139 --> 00:19:44.139
 And suddenly,

00:19:44.299 --> 00:19:45.799
 they went from overnight

00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:47.619
 to being porpoise,

00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:50.519
 to being absolutely filthy rich.

00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:52.379
 So they did what filthy rich people

00:19:52.379 --> 00:19:53.160
 do in America

00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:54.579
 and they moved to California

00:19:54.579 --> 00:19:57.779
 and they bought this massive mansion

00:19:57.779 --> 00:20:00.440
 and they didn't realise

00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:03.440
 that to live in a massive house,

00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:06.859
 you need to have had prior experience

00:20:06.859 --> 00:20:08.259
 of living in a big house

00:20:08.259 --> 00:20:09.859
 because it's not straightforward.

00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:10.559
 So, you know,

00:20:10.619 --> 00:20:11.759
 there are these comic scenes

00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:14.180
 where they'd be in the billiard room

00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:16.319
 mistaking it for the dining room

00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:17.799
 and wondering what these nets were

00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:20.259
 in the corner of their dining room table.

00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:24.819
 And in the end,

00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:27.819
 they settled for living in the kitchen.

00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:32.259
 They got this marvellous 17-bedroom mansion

00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:35.139
 and most of their time

00:20:35.139 --> 00:20:36.379
 was spent in the kitchen.

00:20:37.379 --> 00:20:38.700
 I've often wondered,

00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:43.000
 is that an illustration for us?

00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:46.580
 That Paul's telling you here,

00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:47.840
 if you are in Christ,

00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:50.380
 that you have been blessed

00:20:50.380 --> 00:20:54.160
 with every spiritual blessing

00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:55.759
 in the heavenly realm.

00:20:57.059 --> 00:20:58.360
 You might be saying to yourself,

00:20:58.460 --> 00:20:59.380
 well, I don't know what that is,

00:20:59.460 --> 00:20:59.680
 you know,

00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:01.240
 what's that?

00:21:01.299 --> 00:21:01.440
 You know,

00:21:01.500 --> 00:21:03.299
 I've got my mind set on

00:21:03.299 --> 00:21:05.120
 earthly things.

00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:09.660
 But let me just outline for you

00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:10.799
 what I think,

00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:11.960
 and this is where

00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:14.700
 the New Testament's very helpful

00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:16.480
 because what happens is

00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:17.940
 Paul talks about

00:21:17.940 --> 00:21:19.140
 these spiritual blessings

00:21:19.140 --> 00:21:20.680
 and then he outlines them

00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:22.120
 in the rest of the verses

00:21:22.120 --> 00:21:23.259
 we're studying tonight.

00:21:23.259 --> 00:21:24.579
 So let me remind you

00:21:24.579 --> 00:21:27.059
 what those blessings are.

00:21:28.819 --> 00:21:29.799
 First of all,

00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:30.759
 in verse 4,

00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:32.039
 Paul tells us

00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:33.240
 that God chose you.

00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:35.460
 Chose you

00:21:35.460 --> 00:21:38.079
 before the creation of the world.

00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:38.480
 I mean,

00:21:38.579 --> 00:21:40.619
 that is just totally mind-boggling,

00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:41.140
 isn't it?

00:21:41.940 --> 00:21:43.019
 But God chose you.

00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:45.180
 You're not a Christian

00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:46.740
 by some random thing,

00:21:46.859 --> 00:21:47.900
 but God chose you.

00:21:48.379 --> 00:21:48.720
 Second,

00:21:48.879 --> 00:21:49.240
 it says,

00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:50.539
 he adopted you.

00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:53.980
 It says when we were born

00:21:53.980 --> 00:21:55.099
 in Genesis

00:21:55.099 --> 00:21:56.659
 that we were all born

00:21:56.659 --> 00:21:57.920
 in the image of the God,

00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:58.920
 but our sinfulness

00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:00.079
 and our wretchedness

00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:01.379
 shatters that image.

00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:04.240
 And God adopts us

00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:05.539
 and starts to rebuild

00:22:05.539 --> 00:22:07.119
 his image in us.

00:22:07.339 --> 00:22:08.059
 Verse 5.

00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:10.139
 Verse 6,

00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:11.759
 his glorious grace.

00:22:13.099 --> 00:22:13.399
 You know,

00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:14.539
 every day of my life

00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:15.339
 I thank God

00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:16.220
 for his grace.

00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:19.200
 His love shown to me

00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:21.600
 even though I don't deserve it.

00:22:24.220 --> 00:22:26.740
 And grace is,

00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:27.559
 you know,

00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:28.039
 I mean,

00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:29.620
 you all know that

00:22:29.620 --> 00:22:30.640
 and you know

00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:31.640
 that what grace is

00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:32.279
 is God's love

00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:33.000
 shown to us

00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:35.100
 even though we don't deserve it.

00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:37.779
 But then I think

00:22:37.779 --> 00:22:38.400
 we find it

00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:39.840
 a very difficult concept

00:22:39.840 --> 00:22:41.319
 to kind of settle

00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:42.840
 in our soul.

00:22:43.840 --> 00:22:45.519
 Especially in a kind of

00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:46.620
 meritocracy,

00:22:46.840 --> 00:22:47.080
 you know,

00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:48.079
 where we think

00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:49.399
 that people on the whole

00:22:49.399 --> 00:22:51.139
 get what they deserve.

00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:54.599
 Believe me,

00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:56.240
 if I got what I deserve,

00:22:56.359 --> 00:22:57.579
 I wouldn't be standing here

00:22:57.579 --> 00:22:58.720
 in front of you

00:22:58.720 --> 00:22:59.659
 this evening.

00:23:00.859 --> 00:23:02.220
 His glorious grace.

00:23:03.699 --> 00:23:04.179
 Fourthly,

00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:05.679
 God redeemed us.

00:23:06.099 --> 00:23:06.899
 Verse 7,

00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:07.619
 we're told.

00:23:08.220 --> 00:23:08.799
 That means

00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:10.419
 he bought us back.

00:23:12.019 --> 00:23:14.079
 To redeem a slave,

00:23:14.179 --> 00:23:14.599
 you had to pay

00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:15.419
 a sum of money.

00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:17.420
 And then the slave

00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:18.200
 could be freed.

00:23:19.360 --> 00:23:20.019
 And of course,

00:23:20.120 --> 00:23:20.980
 as Paul says,

00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:22.539
 the price

00:23:22.539 --> 00:23:23.759
 for your redemption

00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:25.980
 was the death

00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:27.420
 of Jesus Christ

00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:28.019
 on the cross

00:23:28.019 --> 00:23:28.700
 of Calvary.

00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:30.519
 We hear

00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:32.620
 much more about that

00:23:32.620 --> 00:23:33.160
 when we look

00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:34.060
 at chapter 2

00:23:34.060 --> 00:23:35.360
 next week.

00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:37.860
 Here's some other blessings

00:23:37.860 --> 00:23:38.680
 Paul mentions.

00:23:38.840 --> 00:23:39.320
 Verse 8,

00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:40.420
 wisdom and understanding.

00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:42.700
 Verse 9,

00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:44.059
 he's revealed to us

00:23:44.059 --> 00:23:44.840
 the mystery

00:23:44.840 --> 00:23:45.940
 of his will.

00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:48.039
 And mystery here

00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:49.680
 doesn't mean

00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:50.720
 the way that

00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:51.740
 we use it

00:23:51.740 --> 00:23:53.120
 in relation to

00:23:53.120 --> 00:23:55.160
 certain ways

00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:56.660
 that some churches

00:23:56.660 --> 00:23:58.539
 worship.

00:23:59.980 --> 00:24:00.720
 I mean,

00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:01.460
 I think there is

00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:02.519
 something very attractive

00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:03.500
 about churches

00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:04.600
 which carry an element

00:24:04.600 --> 00:24:06.860
 of mystery

00:24:06.860 --> 00:24:07.539
 in the way

00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:08.259
 that they worship.

00:24:08.380 --> 00:24:08.900
 But here,

00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:09.759
 the word mystery

00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.279
 means,

00:24:10.900 --> 00:24:11.700
 the revelation

00:24:11.700 --> 00:24:12.819
 of an event

00:24:12.819 --> 00:24:14.059
 previously unknown.

00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:16.640
 So when Paul's

00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:17.619
 talking about

00:24:17.619 --> 00:24:19.799
 the mystery

00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:20.500
 of his will,

00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:21.160
 what he's saying

00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:22.359
 is God is revealing

00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:23.220
 to us that which

00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:24.140
 we could not know

00:24:24.140 --> 00:24:24.819
 for ourselves.

00:24:26.819 --> 00:24:27.220
 And

00:24:27.220 --> 00:24:29.240
 the final thing

00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:29.599
 is,

00:24:29.879 --> 00:24:30.599
 our preacher

00:24:30.599 --> 00:24:32.240
 on Sunday

00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:33.420
 in this church

00:24:33.420 --> 00:24:33.839
 made,

00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:35.099
 I think,

00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:35.900
 really made

00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:37.599
 a really good job

00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:38.259
 of explaining

00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:38.459
 this.

00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:39.139
 He promises

00:24:39.139 --> 00:24:40.619
 a spectacular

00:24:40.619 --> 00:24:41.439
 fulfillment

00:24:41.439 --> 00:24:42.639
 of all things.

00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:45.159
 There will be

00:24:45.159 --> 00:24:45.740
 a time,

00:24:46.219 --> 00:24:47.319
 very hard to believe

00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:47.879
 in the current

00:24:47.879 --> 00:24:48.359
 climate,

00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:50.459
 when the sovereignty

00:24:50.459 --> 00:24:50.959
 of God

00:24:50.959 --> 00:24:51.919
 will be obvious

00:24:51.919 --> 00:24:52.519
 to all

00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:54.579
 and he will

00:24:54.579 --> 00:24:55.099
 return

00:24:55.099 --> 00:24:56.259
 and wind up

00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:56.879
 the whole

00:24:56.879 --> 00:24:58.079
 of human

00:24:58.079 --> 00:24:58.659
 history.

00:25:00.579 --> 00:25:01.219
 So,

00:25:01.559 --> 00:25:02.519
 these blessings,

00:25:02.699 --> 00:25:03.639
 it seems to me,

00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:04.679
 are,

00:25:05.719 --> 00:25:07.079
 frankly,

00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:11.119
 I wonder

00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:12.139
 to how many

00:25:12.139 --> 00:25:12.419
 of you

00:25:12.419 --> 00:25:12.879
 some of those

00:25:12.879 --> 00:25:13.659
 blessings are

00:25:13.659 --> 00:25:14.199
 kind of,

00:25:14.679 --> 00:25:15.000
 you know,

00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:15.619
 this is a new

00:25:15.619 --> 00:25:16.220
 discovery.

00:25:16.539 --> 00:25:17.539
 And let me just

00:25:17.539 --> 00:25:17.779
 stress,

00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:18.579
 Paul's writing

00:25:18.579 --> 00:25:19.099
 in the past

00:25:19.099 --> 00:25:19.399
 tense,

00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:20.039
 he's not saying

00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:20.799
 you'll get

00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:21.519
 all this stuff

00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:22.119
 sometime,

00:25:23.019 --> 00:25:23.740
 he says God

00:25:23.740 --> 00:25:24.939
 has blessed

00:25:24.939 --> 00:25:26.299
 you in the

00:25:26.299 --> 00:25:27.099
 heavenly realms

00:25:27.099 --> 00:25:27.919
 with every

00:25:27.919 --> 00:25:29.460
 spiritual gift.

00:25:30.819 --> 00:25:31.319
 So,

00:25:31.399 --> 00:25:31.879
 just a few

00:25:31.879 --> 00:25:32.740
 minutes exploring

00:25:32.740 --> 00:25:33.759
 some topics

00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:34.619
 that I think

00:25:34.619 --> 00:25:35.579
 have been

00:25:35.579 --> 00:25:36.539
 discussed

00:25:36.539 --> 00:25:37.180
 endlessly

00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:38.119
 in the

00:25:38.119 --> 00:25:38.399
 church

00:25:38.399 --> 00:25:38.779
 throughout

00:25:38.779 --> 00:25:39.359
 history.

00:25:40.899 --> 00:25:41.359
 One,

00:25:41.779 --> 00:25:42.700
 did God

00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:43.559
 choose us

00:25:43.559 --> 00:25:44.519
 or did

00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:45.099
 we choose

00:25:45.099 --> 00:25:45.399
 him?

00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:48.059
 Paul also

00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:48.759
 uses the

00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:49.000
 word

00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:50.079
 predestined

00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:50.480
 here,

00:25:50.619 --> 00:25:50.980
 and those

00:25:50.980 --> 00:25:51.159
 of you

00:25:51.159 --> 00:25:51.279
 who know

00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:51.559
 anything

00:25:51.559 --> 00:25:51.960
 about

00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:52.319
 church

00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:52.799
 history

00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:53.240
 and

00:25:53.240 --> 00:25:54.519
 know

00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:54.920
 anything

00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:55.359
 about

00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:55.559
 the

00:25:55.559 --> 00:25:56.099
 debate,

00:25:57.059 --> 00:25:58.039
 John Calvin,

00:25:58.259 --> 00:25:58.680
 one of the

00:25:58.680 --> 00:25:59.720
 great reformers

00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:00.099
 of the

00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:00.539
 church,

00:26:01.579 --> 00:26:02.579
 talked about,

00:26:03.079 --> 00:26:03.960
 picked up on

00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:04.500
 these verses,

00:26:04.500 --> 00:26:04.980
 some of them

00:26:04.980 --> 00:26:05.200
 are in

00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:05.500
 Romans,

00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:05.980
 some of them

00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:06.480
 in Ephesians,

00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:07.079
 that we are

00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:08.000
 predestined.

00:26:08.779 --> 00:26:09.319
 That is,

00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:09.859
 from the

00:26:09.859 --> 00:26:10.559
 beginning of

00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:11.140
 time,

00:26:12.180 --> 00:26:12.880
 God had

00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:13.519
 in his

00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:14.359
 mind those

00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:14.920
 whom he

00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:15.619
 would reveal

00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:16.599
 himself to

00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:17.920
 and save

00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:18.380
 from the

00:26:18.380 --> 00:26:19.079
 coming wrath.

00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:22.299
 Now,

00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:24.720
 that fact,

00:26:24.900 --> 00:26:25.440
 stated

00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:26.160
 broadly like

00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:26.420
 that,

00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:27.000
 I think

00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:27.579
 doesn't sit

00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:28.039
 well with

00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:28.759
 many of us.

00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:31.099
 and there

00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:31.680
 is a

00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:32.480
 school of

00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:32.940
 theology

00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:33.660
 that attacks

00:26:33.660 --> 00:26:34.119
 Calvin

00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:35.240
 and says,

00:26:35.379 --> 00:26:35.519
 well,

00:26:35.619 --> 00:26:36.140
 if Calvin

00:26:36.140 --> 00:26:36.920
 believed that,

00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:37.619
 why would

00:26:37.619 --> 00:26:37.920
 he ever

00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:38.299
 do any

00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:38.839
 mission or

00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:39.559
 evangelism?

00:26:39.640 --> 00:26:39.980
 If it was

00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:40.519
 all settled

00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:40.960
 anyway,

00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:41.660
 what's the

00:26:41.660 --> 00:26:41.940
 point?

00:26:45.460 --> 00:26:46.099
 That's not

00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:46.379
 a bad

00:26:46.379 --> 00:26:46.819
 question.

00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:47.079
 I mean,

00:26:47.140 --> 00:26:47.440
 it's not

00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:48.660
 actually what

00:26:48.660 --> 00:26:49.279
 John Calvin

00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:50.000
 himself ever

00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:50.279
 said.

00:26:50.379 --> 00:26:50.660
 Some of

00:26:50.660 --> 00:26:50.859
 his

00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:51.740
 lieutenants

00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:52.819
 reinforced

00:26:52.819 --> 00:26:53.619
 that point

00:26:53.619 --> 00:26:54.680
 a little

00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:55.240
 after his

00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:55.660
 time.

00:26:55.660 --> 00:26:57.000
 And,

00:26:57.259 --> 00:26:57.700
 you know,

00:26:57.779 --> 00:26:58.160
 there are

00:26:58.160 --> 00:26:58.700
 people,

00:26:59.120 --> 00:26:59.560
 extreme

00:26:59.560 --> 00:27:00.400
 Calvinists.

00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:02.560
 I remember

00:27:02.560 --> 00:27:04.140
 having a,

00:27:04.259 --> 00:27:04.840
 I was going

00:27:04.840 --> 00:27:05.259
 to say an

00:27:05.259 --> 00:27:05.660
 argument,

00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:06.580
 I mean a

00:27:06.580 --> 00:27:07.640
 loving debate

00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:09.640
 with a

00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:10.100
 friend of

00:27:10.100 --> 00:27:10.980
 mine in

00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:11.920
 Alabama,

00:27:12.340 --> 00:27:13.400
 in the

00:27:13.400 --> 00:27:13.600
 southern

00:27:13.600 --> 00:27:14.180
 states of

00:27:14.180 --> 00:27:14.620
 America.

00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:16.400
 And he

00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:17.060
 was like,

00:27:17.720 --> 00:27:19.519
 you should

00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:20.259
 never ever

00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:21.200
 make an

00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:22.140
 appeal for

00:27:22.140 --> 00:27:22.720
 people to

00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:23.519
 do something

00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:24.140
 in response

00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:24.500
 to the

00:27:24.500 --> 00:27:24.860
 gospel.

00:27:25.660 --> 00:27:27.200
 I said,

00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:27.480
 well,

00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:28.620
 nobody told

00:27:28.620 --> 00:27:29.200
 Billy Graham

00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:29.920
 that.

00:27:31.120 --> 00:27:31.300
 And,

00:27:31.400 --> 00:27:32.980
 no,

00:27:33.060 --> 00:27:33.460
 he said,

00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:33.700
 you know,

00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:34.340
 to do that

00:27:34.340 --> 00:27:34.920
 is a work

00:27:34.920 --> 00:27:35.140
 of the

00:27:35.140 --> 00:27:35.240
 Lord.

00:27:35.320 --> 00:27:35.759
 Billy Graham

00:27:35.759 --> 00:27:36.040
 had got

00:27:36.040 --> 00:27:36.440
 it wrong.

00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:37.220
 Anybody

00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:38.380
 who thinks

00:27:38.380 --> 00:27:38.820
 that we

00:27:38.820 --> 00:27:39.160
 have to

00:27:39.160 --> 00:27:39.880
 respond to

00:27:39.880 --> 00:27:40.200
 God's

00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:40.759
 choice of

00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:41.040
 us is

00:27:41.040 --> 00:27:41.340
 wrong.

00:27:44.779 --> 00:27:46.259
 And I

00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:46.800
 chose to

00:27:46.800 --> 00:27:47.080
 differ.

00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:48.460
 One of my

00:27:48.460 --> 00:27:49.180
 arguments was,

00:27:49.380 --> 00:27:49.480
 well,

00:27:50.080 --> 00:27:50.560
 when the

00:27:50.560 --> 00:27:51.019
 Philippian

00:27:51.019 --> 00:27:51.560
 jailer,

00:27:51.620 --> 00:27:51.860
 you know,

00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:52.380
 panicked

00:27:52.380 --> 00:27:53.160
 because all

00:27:53.160 --> 00:27:53.700
 his prisoners

00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:54.500
 had escaped,

00:27:54.500 --> 00:27:55.160
 and,

00:27:55.299 --> 00:27:55.839
 you know,

00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:56.420
 mouthed out

00:27:56.420 --> 00:27:57.059
 this question

00:27:57.059 --> 00:27:57.420
 aloud,

00:27:57.640 --> 00:27:58.180
 what must

00:27:58.180 --> 00:27:58.559
 I do

00:27:58.559 --> 00:27:58.920
 to be

00:27:58.920 --> 00:27:59.420
 saved?

00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:00.039
 The

00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:00.380
 apostles

00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:00.960
 didn't say

00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:01.279
 to him,

00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:02.039
 nothing,

00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:02.400
 mate,

00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:02.940
 it's all

00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:03.380
 settled.

00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:05.019
 Don't

00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:05.599
 worry about

00:28:05.599 --> 00:28:05.759
 it,

00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:06.099
 you know,

00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:06.660
 P.S.,

00:28:06.660 --> 00:28:06.960
 you're going

00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:07.339
 to hell.

00:28:08.539 --> 00:28:09.180
 They said,

00:28:09.240 --> 00:28:09.359
 no,

00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:10.119
 believe on

00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:10.559
 the Lord

00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:11.539
 Jesus Christ

00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:12.880
 and you

00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:13.240
 will be

00:28:13.240 --> 00:28:13.660
 saved.

00:28:14.740 --> 00:28:15.380
 I want

00:28:15.380 --> 00:28:15.859
 here to

00:28:15.859 --> 00:28:16.259
 introduce

00:28:16.259 --> 00:28:16.839
 you to

00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:17.519
 the idea

00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:18.500
 of paradox.

00:28:19.220 --> 00:28:19.819
 A paradox

00:28:19.819 --> 00:28:21.079
 is two

00:28:21.079 --> 00:28:21.680
 statements

00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:22.080
 which

00:28:22.080 --> 00:28:22.640
 apparently

00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:23.259
 contradict

00:28:23.259 --> 00:28:23.720
 each

00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:24.019
 other

00:28:24.019 --> 00:28:24.880
 but can

00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:25.380
 be held

00:28:25.380 --> 00:28:26.000
 in creative

00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:26.519
 tension

00:28:26.519 --> 00:28:27.060
 with each

00:28:27.060 --> 00:28:27.360
 other

00:28:27.360 --> 00:28:28.299
 in such

00:28:28.299 --> 00:28:28.759
 a way

00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:29.340
 that it

00:28:29.340 --> 00:28:29.920
 reveals a

00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:30.259
 truth.

00:28:30.779 --> 00:28:31.060
 And the

00:28:31.060 --> 00:28:31.560
 paradox

00:28:31.560 --> 00:28:32.360
 is this,

00:28:34.120 --> 00:28:34.740
 Paul here

00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:35.580
 is saying

00:28:35.580 --> 00:28:36.620
 that God

00:28:36.620 --> 00:28:37.460
 chose us,

00:28:37.620 --> 00:28:38.259
 chose you,

00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:39.340
 before the

00:28:39.340 --> 00:28:39.920
 beginning of

00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:40.259
 time.

00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:42.880
 On the

00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:43.480
 other hand,

00:28:44.060 --> 00:28:44.620
 we know

00:28:44.620 --> 00:28:45.779
 that Paul

00:28:45.779 --> 00:28:47.060
 invited people

00:28:47.060 --> 00:28:48.180
 to trust

00:28:48.180 --> 00:28:48.680
 Christ.

00:28:49.060 --> 00:28:49.380
 There is,

00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:50.279
 we have to

00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:51.039
 respond to

00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:51.339
 the love

00:28:51.339 --> 00:28:51.779
 and grace

00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:52.259
 of God.

00:28:52.759 --> 00:28:53.059
 And though

00:28:53.059 --> 00:28:53.819
 those statements

00:28:53.819 --> 00:28:54.440
 can be

00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:54.980
 used,

00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:56.039
 if you

00:28:56.039 --> 00:28:56.379
 like,

00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:59.379
 to create

00:28:59.379 --> 00:29:00.299
 an unhelpful

00:29:00.299 --> 00:29:00.819
 tension,

00:29:01.659 --> 00:29:02.180
 was I

00:29:02.180 --> 00:29:03.659
 chosen

00:29:03.659 --> 00:29:04.579
 or did

00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:05.259
 I choose?

00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:06.839
 I mean,

00:29:06.899 --> 00:29:07.659
 to understand

00:29:07.659 --> 00:29:08.079
 the thing,

00:29:08.159 --> 00:29:08.420
 I mean,

00:29:08.519 --> 00:29:08.960
 I think it's

00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:09.440
 tricky for

00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:10.099
 us because

00:29:10.099 --> 00:29:13.759
 you have

00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:14.740
 to understand

00:29:14.740 --> 00:29:16.539
 that in

00:29:16.539 --> 00:29:17.180
 our culture

00:29:17.180 --> 00:29:18.579
 choice has

00:29:18.579 --> 00:29:19.059
 a very

00:29:19.059 --> 00:29:19.740
 elevated

00:29:19.740 --> 00:29:20.500
 status.

00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:22.859
 we all

00:29:22.859 --> 00:29:23.319
 like to

00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:23.619
 think we

00:29:23.619 --> 00:29:23.940
 choose.

00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:24.220
 In a

00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:24.819
 consumer

00:29:24.819 --> 00:29:25.599
 society,

00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:26.700
 one of the

00:29:26.700 --> 00:29:27.139
 gods we

00:29:27.139 --> 00:29:27.759
 worship is

00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:28.099
 the god

00:29:28.099 --> 00:29:28.680
 of choice.

00:29:29.779 --> 00:29:30.200
 More

00:29:30.200 --> 00:29:30.680
 choices,

00:29:30.980 --> 00:29:31.440
 the better.

00:29:33.159 --> 00:29:33.519
 I mean,

00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:34.299
 that might

00:29:34.299 --> 00:29:34.779
 not be a

00:29:34.779 --> 00:29:35.240
 bad thing

00:29:35.240 --> 00:29:35.559
 if you're

00:29:35.559 --> 00:29:36.059
 talking about

00:29:36.059 --> 00:29:36.399
 cheese

00:29:36.399 --> 00:29:36.819
 crackers,

00:29:37.819 --> 00:29:38.899
 but it

00:29:38.899 --> 00:29:40.319
 becomes a

00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:41.099
 really serious

00:29:41.099 --> 00:29:41.639
 thing if

00:29:41.639 --> 00:29:42.220
 you're talking

00:29:42.220 --> 00:29:43.059
 about sexual

00:29:43.059 --> 00:29:43.899
 lifestyles.

00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:48.800
 choice in

00:29:48.800 --> 00:29:49.259
 our culture,

00:29:49.340 --> 00:29:49.780
 as I say,

00:29:49.840 --> 00:29:50.180
 has been

00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:51.140
 elevated to

00:29:51.140 --> 00:29:51.660
 the point

00:29:51.660 --> 00:29:52.420
 of it has

00:29:52.420 --> 00:29:52.920
 a kind

00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:54.060
 of energy

00:29:54.060 --> 00:29:54.500
 of its

00:29:54.500 --> 00:29:54.800
 own.

00:29:55.500 --> 00:29:55.660
 You know,

00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:55.960
 you must

00:29:55.960 --> 00:29:57.300
 never question

00:29:57.300 --> 00:29:58.120
 people's

00:29:58.120 --> 00:29:58.560
 right to

00:29:58.560 --> 00:29:59.019
 choose.

00:30:00.700 --> 00:30:01.180
 This has

00:30:01.180 --> 00:30:02.400
 been reinforced

00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:03.160
 incidentally

00:30:03.160 --> 00:30:04.920
 by identity

00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:05.860
 politics on

00:30:05.860 --> 00:30:06.220
 the one

00:30:06.220 --> 00:30:08.220
 hand and

00:30:08.220 --> 00:30:08.840
 the whole

00:30:08.840 --> 00:30:09.560
 idea of

00:30:09.560 --> 00:30:10.380
 rights on

00:30:10.380 --> 00:30:10.700
 the other

00:30:10.700 --> 00:30:11.100
 hand.

00:30:11.099 --> 00:30:12.299
 I mean,

00:30:12.819 --> 00:30:13.919
 no Christian

00:30:13.919 --> 00:30:14.959
 probably is

00:30:14.959 --> 00:30:15.899
 going to be

00:30:15.899 --> 00:30:17.219
 ipso facto

00:30:17.219 --> 00:30:18.699
 against human

00:30:18.699 --> 00:30:19.219
 rights,

00:30:19.459 --> 00:30:20.159
 but what you've

00:30:20.159 --> 00:30:20.599
 got to bear

00:30:20.599 --> 00:30:21.459
 in mind is

00:30:21.459 --> 00:30:22.459
 the moment I

00:30:22.459 --> 00:30:23.179
 express my

00:30:23.179 --> 00:30:23.719
 rights,

00:30:24.399 --> 00:30:25.039
 the danger

00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:25.379
 is,

00:30:25.419 --> 00:30:25.779
 and this is

00:30:25.779 --> 00:30:26.399
 what judges

00:30:26.399 --> 00:30:26.959
 are left to

00:30:26.959 --> 00:30:27.419
 sort out

00:30:27.419 --> 00:30:27.839
 at the moment,

00:30:28.019 --> 00:30:28.799
 is when do

00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:29.359
 my rights

00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:29.899
 trump your

00:30:29.899 --> 00:30:30.279
 rights?

00:30:32.879 --> 00:30:33.519
 I wouldn't

00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:33.959
 like to be

00:30:33.959 --> 00:30:34.419
 a judge,

00:30:34.779 --> 00:30:35.679
 trust me,

00:30:35.819 --> 00:30:37.699
 and if I

00:30:37.699 --> 00:30:38.299
 was a judge,

00:30:38.379 --> 00:30:38.779
 I'd be a

00:30:38.779 --> 00:30:39.339
 pretty fierce

00:30:39.339 --> 00:30:39.619
 one.

00:30:41.099 --> 00:30:42.399
 And so

00:30:42.399 --> 00:30:43.339
 understanding the

00:30:43.339 --> 00:30:44.119
 way choice is

00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:45.059
 helps us to

00:30:45.059 --> 00:30:45.740
 understand why

00:30:45.740 --> 00:30:46.579
 we sit a

00:30:46.579 --> 00:30:47.819
 little uncomfortably

00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:49.139
 with one half

00:30:49.139 --> 00:30:50.039
 of the paradox

00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:51.199
 where Paul is

00:30:51.199 --> 00:30:51.919
 telling us

00:30:51.919 --> 00:30:54.879
 that we've

00:30:54.879 --> 00:30:55.459
 been chosen

00:30:55.459 --> 00:30:56.259
 from before

00:30:56.259 --> 00:30:56.959
 the beginning

00:30:56.959 --> 00:30:57.740
 of time.

00:30:59.899 --> 00:31:00.679
 And the

00:31:00.679 --> 00:31:00.939
 whole

00:31:00.939 --> 00:31:02.139
 predestination

00:31:02.139 --> 00:31:03.639
 debate stems

00:31:03.639 --> 00:31:04.619
 from that

00:31:04.619 --> 00:31:05.819
 fact and

00:31:05.819 --> 00:31:07.119
 slightly ignores

00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:07.699
 the fact

00:31:07.699 --> 00:31:09.619
 that it is

00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:10.379
 true that

00:31:10.380 --> 00:31:10.800
 throughout

00:31:10.800 --> 00:31:11.400
 scripture

00:31:11.400 --> 00:31:12.280
 you find

00:31:12.280 --> 00:31:13.760
 people who

00:31:13.760 --> 00:31:14.840
 do something

00:31:14.840 --> 00:31:17.140
 to respond

00:31:17.140 --> 00:31:17.680
 to God.

00:31:19.860 --> 00:31:20.820
 People like

00:31:20.820 --> 00:31:21.260
 Zacchaeus.

00:31:21.360 --> 00:31:22.100
 Was Zacchaeus

00:31:22.100 --> 00:31:22.520
 wrong to

00:31:22.520 --> 00:31:23.340
 climb that

00:31:23.340 --> 00:31:23.600
 tree?

00:31:25.180 --> 00:31:25.740
 Was that a

00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:26.320
 work of the

00:31:26.320 --> 00:31:26.800
 law in

00:31:26.800 --> 00:31:27.200
 Paul's

00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:27.500
 lingo?

00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:28.660
 Or was it

00:31:28.660 --> 00:31:29.420
 his way

00:31:29.420 --> 00:31:31.300
 of coming

00:31:31.300 --> 00:31:31.920
 to Christ?

00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:35.000
 So paradoxes,

00:31:35.100 --> 00:31:35.580
 two statements.

00:31:35.620 --> 00:31:36.080
 Here are the two

00:31:36.080 --> 00:31:36.880
 statements I'm

00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:37.360
 talking about.

00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:37.919
 on the one

00:31:37.919 --> 00:31:39.059
 hand, the

00:31:39.059 --> 00:31:39.759
 statement that

00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:40.539
 we're chosen

00:31:40.539 --> 00:31:41.879
 before time,

00:31:41.959 --> 00:31:42.500
 that's the end

00:31:42.500 --> 00:31:42.699
 of it.

00:31:42.779 --> 00:31:43.059
 The other

00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:43.599
 one is,

00:31:44.599 --> 00:31:45.759
 we choose.

00:31:48.839 --> 00:31:49.819
 I was

00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:51.740
 six years

00:31:51.740 --> 00:31:52.199
 old,

00:31:53.879 --> 00:31:54.959
 no, five

00:31:54.959 --> 00:31:55.599
 years old,

00:31:55.659 --> 00:31:56.299
 when the

00:31:56.299 --> 00:31:56.899
 Billy Graham

00:31:56.899 --> 00:31:57.740
 crusade in

00:31:57.740 --> 00:31:58.579
 Haringey took

00:31:58.579 --> 00:31:59.079
 place.

00:32:00.159 --> 00:32:00.899
 Looking at

00:32:00.899 --> 00:32:01.399
 some of you,

00:32:01.399 --> 00:32:01.740
 you're old

00:32:01.740 --> 00:32:02.159
 enough to

00:32:02.159 --> 00:32:02.899
 remember that.

00:32:02.900 --> 00:32:05.060
 it was the

00:32:05.060 --> 00:32:06.220
 most successful

00:32:06.220 --> 00:32:07.040
 evangelistic

00:32:07.040 --> 00:32:08.460
 campaign that

00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:09.160
 Billy Graham

00:32:09.160 --> 00:32:09.900
 ever ran

00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:11.920
 outside of

00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:12.259
 mainland

00:32:12.259 --> 00:32:12.940
 America.

00:32:14.220 --> 00:32:15.080
 Thousands and

00:32:15.080 --> 00:32:16.060
 thousands and

00:32:16.060 --> 00:32:16.880
 thousands of

00:32:16.880 --> 00:32:18.300
 people chose

00:32:18.300 --> 00:32:18.820
 to follow

00:32:18.820 --> 00:32:19.620
 Jesus, came

00:32:19.620 --> 00:32:20.280
 down to the

00:32:20.280 --> 00:32:20.900
 front of the

00:32:20.900 --> 00:32:23.320
 auditorium, and

00:32:23.320 --> 00:32:23.740
 were taken

00:32:23.740 --> 00:32:24.280
 off and

00:32:24.280 --> 00:32:25.019
 counseled.

00:32:25.019 --> 00:32:25.880
 A lot of

00:32:25.880 --> 00:32:26.600
 those people,

00:32:27.019 --> 00:32:27.980
 sadly only men

00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:28.940
 in those days,

00:32:30.120 --> 00:32:32.100
 were joined

00:32:32.099 --> 00:32:33.980
 into ministry.

00:32:34.859 --> 00:32:35.659
 The Methodist

00:32:35.659 --> 00:32:36.899
 Church, got

00:32:36.899 --> 00:32:37.659
 into ministry

00:32:37.659 --> 00:32:38.859
 in the Church

00:32:38.859 --> 00:32:39.299
 of England.

00:32:39.459 --> 00:32:39.959
 I mean, a lot

00:32:39.959 --> 00:32:40.639
 of them now,

00:32:41.279 --> 00:32:42.240
 who are ministers,

00:32:42.399 --> 00:32:43.000
 who came to

00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:43.819
 Christ in that

00:32:43.819 --> 00:32:44.939
 crusade, I

00:32:44.939 --> 00:32:45.279
 don't think

00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:46.480
 would espouse

00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:47.219
 the theology

00:32:47.219 --> 00:32:48.179
 that underlay

00:32:48.179 --> 00:32:48.919
 that crusade,

00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:49.619
 but nevertheless,

00:32:50.099 --> 00:32:50.559
 it was a

00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:51.099
 tipping point

00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:51.579
 for them.

00:32:53.419 --> 00:32:54.740
 Hundreds of

00:32:54.740 --> 00:32:56.339
 men and

00:32:56.339 --> 00:32:57.139
 women came

00:32:57.139 --> 00:32:58.259
 forward and

00:32:58.259 --> 00:32:58.980
 were saved.

00:33:00.219 --> 00:33:01.179
 I still meet

00:33:01.179 --> 00:33:02.079
 people occasionally

00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:02.759
 who tell me

00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:03.039
 they were

00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:03.679
 saved at the

00:33:03.679 --> 00:33:04.139
 Haringey

00:33:04.139 --> 00:33:04.899
 Crusade in

00:33:04.899 --> 00:33:05.720
 1954.

00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:07.960
 That tells

00:33:07.960 --> 00:33:08.339
 me two

00:33:08.339 --> 00:33:08.779
 things.

00:33:09.379 --> 00:33:09.799
 They've been

00:33:09.799 --> 00:33:10.279
 saved for

00:33:10.279 --> 00:33:11.539
 eternity, and

00:33:11.539 --> 00:33:12.159
 secondly, they

00:33:12.159 --> 00:33:12.720
 must be older

00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:13.159
 than me.

00:33:15.500 --> 00:33:16.119
 So the

00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:17.059
 predestination

00:33:17.059 --> 00:33:18.059
 debate, I

00:33:18.059 --> 00:33:18.539
 don't think

00:33:18.539 --> 00:33:18.919
 it's an

00:33:18.919 --> 00:33:19.480
 either or

00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:20.000
 choice, I

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:20.319
 think it's

00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:20.679
 a both

00:33:20.679 --> 00:33:20.980
 and.

00:33:22.839 --> 00:33:23.299
 I think

00:33:23.299 --> 00:33:24.019
 there is a

00:33:24.019 --> 00:33:24.500
 sense in

00:33:24.500 --> 00:33:24.919
 which we're

00:33:24.919 --> 00:33:25.939
 chosen, and

00:33:25.939 --> 00:33:26.699
 by in that

00:33:26.699 --> 00:33:27.240
 sense, what I

00:33:27.240 --> 00:33:27.720
 mean is,

00:33:28.039 --> 00:33:28.419
 there is

00:33:28.419 --> 00:33:29.480
 nothing about

00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:30.359
 your conversion

00:33:30.359 --> 00:33:30.819
 at any

00:33:30.819 --> 00:33:31.799
 point, that

00:33:31.799 --> 00:33:33.059
 God was

00:33:33.059 --> 00:33:33.539
 not the

00:33:33.539 --> 00:33:34.299
 instigator

00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:34.719
 of.

00:33:37.339 --> 00:33:37.619
 There are

00:33:37.619 --> 00:33:38.579
 some dear

00:33:38.579 --> 00:33:39.719
 friends in

00:33:39.719 --> 00:33:41.899
 the audience

00:33:41.899 --> 00:33:43.199
 tonight who

00:33:43.199 --> 00:33:43.819
 went to the

00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:44.339
 last alpha

00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:44.859
 group that

00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:45.399
 this church

00:33:45.399 --> 00:33:45.759
 ran.

00:33:48.099 --> 00:33:49.839
 And that's

00:33:49.839 --> 00:33:50.719
 not kind

00:33:50.719 --> 00:33:51.659
 of accidental.

00:33:53.699 --> 00:33:54.240
 You know,

00:33:54.279 --> 00:33:55.079
 that's something

00:33:55.079 --> 00:33:55.599
 that God

00:33:55.599 --> 00:33:56.539
 wanted for

00:33:56.539 --> 00:33:57.199
 them at that

00:33:57.199 --> 00:33:57.679
 time.

00:33:57.680 --> 00:33:59.759
 and from

00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:00.060
 what I

00:34:00.060 --> 00:34:00.560
 can see,

00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:01.060
 it was a

00:34:01.060 --> 00:34:01.820
 powerful thing

00:34:01.820 --> 00:34:02.500
 that happened.

00:34:03.160 --> 00:34:03.680
 But it

00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:04.539
 calls for a

00:34:04.539 --> 00:34:05.060
 response.

00:34:06.200 --> 00:34:06.700
 And I'm not

00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:07.160
 going to say

00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:08.000
 that responding

00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:09.240
 to God is a

00:34:09.240 --> 00:34:09.860
 work of the

00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:10.380
 law, which

00:34:10.380 --> 00:34:11.119
 some extreme

00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:11.980
 Calvinists would

00:34:11.980 --> 00:34:12.320
 say.

00:34:12.619 --> 00:34:13.400
 No, I'm

00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:13.840
 going to tell

00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:14.840
 you that I

00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:17.599
 think I

00:34:17.599 --> 00:34:18.000
 heard the

00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:18.760
 gospel preached

00:34:18.760 --> 00:34:19.500
 once, I was

00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:20.180
 in such a

00:34:20.180 --> 00:34:20.619
 state, I

00:34:20.619 --> 00:34:20.980
 gave my

00:34:20.980 --> 00:34:21.380
 life to

00:34:21.380 --> 00:34:21.980
 Christ there

00:34:21.980 --> 00:34:22.360
 and then.

00:34:24.119 --> 00:34:24.700
 I was

00:34:24.700 --> 00:34:25.460
 invited to,

00:34:25.559 --> 00:34:25.820
 and I

00:34:25.820 --> 00:34:26.079
 did.

00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:32.079
 And then

00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:33.480
 in verse

00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:34.539
 10, the

00:34:34.539 --> 00:34:35.159
 last verse

00:34:35.159 --> 00:34:35.739
 we read,

00:34:36.899 --> 00:34:37.839
 Paul talks

00:34:37.839 --> 00:34:38.480
 about what's

00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:38.759
 going to

00:34:38.759 --> 00:34:40.079
 happen at

00:34:40.079 --> 00:34:40.639
 the end.

00:34:41.859 --> 00:34:42.359
 God's made

00:34:42.359 --> 00:34:42.899
 known to us

00:34:42.899 --> 00:34:43.339
 the mystery

00:34:43.339 --> 00:34:43.799
 of his will

00:34:43.799 --> 00:34:44.559
 according to

00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:45.000
 his good

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:45.779
 pleasure, which

00:34:45.779 --> 00:34:46.679
 he purposed

00:34:46.679 --> 00:34:47.399
 in Christ.

00:34:48.039 --> 00:34:49.099
 This is not

00:34:49.099 --> 00:34:49.599
 random.

00:34:51.299 --> 00:34:51.739
 It's one of

00:34:51.739 --> 00:34:52.259
 the things

00:34:52.259 --> 00:34:53.559
 that, you

00:34:53.559 --> 00:34:53.779
 know, I

00:34:53.779 --> 00:34:54.239
 always want to

00:34:54.239 --> 00:34:54.819
 say to the

00:34:54.819 --> 00:34:55.559
 new atheists,

00:34:55.659 --> 00:34:56.079
 you know, there's

00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:56.899
 nothing random

00:34:56.900 --> 00:34:57.340
 in this

00:34:57.340 --> 00:34:57.559
 life.

00:34:57.619 --> 00:34:57.880
 If you

00:34:57.880 --> 00:34:58.940
 think that

00:34:58.940 --> 00:34:59.519
 the beauty

00:34:59.519 --> 00:34:59.880
 of this

00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:00.360
 world, the

00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:00.860
 order of

00:35:00.860 --> 00:35:01.320
 this world,

00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:01.680
 was the

00:35:01.680 --> 00:35:02.200
 act of a

00:35:02.200 --> 00:35:02.500
 random

00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:03.340
 collision of

00:35:03.340 --> 00:35:05.119
 atoms at

00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:05.519
 the right

00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:06.200
 temperature,

00:35:07.639 --> 00:35:08.340
 you've got

00:35:08.340 --> 00:35:08.880
 more faith

00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:09.180
 than I

00:35:09.180 --> 00:35:09.400
 have.

00:35:12.240 --> 00:35:13.480
 So, where

00:35:13.480 --> 00:35:13.840
 are we

00:35:13.840 --> 00:35:14.780
 fixing our

00:35:14.780 --> 00:35:15.639
 eyes at

00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:16.160
 the moment?

00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:16.940
 Are we

00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:17.619
 fixing our

00:35:17.619 --> 00:35:18.500
 eyes purely

00:35:18.500 --> 00:35:20.300
 on what

00:35:20.300 --> 00:35:20.840
 we see

00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:21.240
 now?

00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:22.280
 To

00:35:22.280 --> 00:35:22.740
 Corinthians

00:35:22.740 --> 00:35:23.780
 4.18,

00:35:23.940 --> 00:35:24.579
 Paul says

00:35:24.579 --> 00:35:25.000
 this, he

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:25.280
 said, we

00:35:25.280 --> 00:35:25.760
 don't fix

00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:26.340
 our eyes

00:35:26.340 --> 00:35:26.700
 on the

00:35:26.700 --> 00:35:27.980
 things that

00:35:27.980 --> 00:35:29.980
 are transitory,

00:35:30.580 --> 00:35:30.860
 which are

00:35:30.860 --> 00:35:31.100
 now.

00:35:31.180 --> 00:35:31.600
 He said, no,

00:35:31.660 --> 00:35:32.060
 we fix

00:35:32.060 --> 00:35:32.980
 our eyes

00:35:32.980 --> 00:35:33.280
 on the

00:35:33.280 --> 00:35:33.700
 things that

00:35:33.700 --> 00:35:34.200
 are eternal.

00:35:35.060 --> 00:35:35.640
 I mean, do

00:35:35.640 --> 00:35:36.200
 we enough?

00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:38.820
 Now, how

00:35:38.820 --> 00:35:39.980
 much time do

00:35:39.980 --> 00:35:40.560
 you spend

00:35:40.560 --> 00:35:41.660
 thinking about

00:35:41.660 --> 00:35:42.640
 what happens

00:35:42.640 --> 00:35:43.340
 to you when

00:35:43.340 --> 00:35:43.760
 you die?

00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:44.200
 How much

00:35:44.200 --> 00:35:44.640
 time do

00:35:44.640 --> 00:35:45.080
 you spend

00:35:45.080 --> 00:35:46.200
 thinking about

00:35:46.200 --> 00:35:47.580
 the transition

00:35:47.580 --> 00:35:48.200
 from this

00:35:48.200 --> 00:35:48.680
 life to

00:35:48.680 --> 00:35:49.180
 heaven if

00:35:49.180 --> 00:35:49.660
 you're in

00:35:49.660 --> 00:35:50.100
 Christ?

00:35:50.099 --> 00:35:50.199
 Christ?

00:35:52.279 --> 00:35:53.079
 No, I

00:35:53.079 --> 00:35:54.699
 think the

00:35:54.699 --> 00:35:55.199
 African

00:35:55.199 --> 00:35:56.480
 church and

00:35:56.480 --> 00:35:57.460
 the

00:35:57.460 --> 00:35:57.880
 Asian

00:35:57.880 --> 00:35:58.659
 church look

00:35:58.659 --> 00:35:59.039
 at the

00:35:59.039 --> 00:35:59.500
 church in

00:35:59.500 --> 00:35:59.900
 the west

00:35:59.900 --> 00:36:00.279
 and they

00:36:00.279 --> 00:36:00.719
 think,

00:36:02.460 --> 00:36:04.279
 people have

00:36:04.279 --> 00:36:04.719
 said it to

00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:05.019
 me, you

00:36:05.019 --> 00:36:05.460
 know, trouble

00:36:05.460 --> 00:36:05.819
 with your

00:36:05.819 --> 00:36:06.519
 churches, it's

00:36:06.519 --> 00:36:06.880
 worldly.

00:36:09.099 --> 00:36:09.599
 Why is it

00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:09.900
 worldly?

00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:10.579
 Because we're

00:36:10.579 --> 00:36:11.400
 too focused

00:36:11.400 --> 00:36:12.739
 on this

00:36:12.739 --> 00:36:13.199
 life, we're

00:36:13.199 --> 00:36:13.860
 too focused,

00:36:13.960 --> 00:36:14.639
 as Paul said,

00:36:14.679 --> 00:36:15.400
 not on the

00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:16.699
 spiritual blessings

00:36:16.699 --> 00:36:17.360
 in the heavenly

00:36:17.360 --> 00:36:18.579
 realms, but the

00:36:18.579 --> 00:36:19.880
 blessings that

00:36:19.880 --> 00:36:21.880
 we have or

00:36:21.880 --> 00:36:22.799
 desire in

00:36:22.799 --> 00:36:23.460
 this life.

00:36:24.900 --> 00:36:26.019
 Somebody said

00:36:26.019 --> 00:36:29.000
 a new heart

00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:30.139
 is better than

00:36:30.139 --> 00:36:30.840
 a new car.

00:36:32.639 --> 00:36:33.460
 I wonder how

00:36:33.460 --> 00:36:33.960
 many of us

00:36:33.960 --> 00:36:34.579
 believe that.

00:36:36.940 --> 00:36:37.940
 It struck me,

00:36:38.019 --> 00:36:38.299
 you know, the

00:36:38.299 --> 00:36:38.880
 moment it said

00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:40.440
 it, it made

00:36:40.440 --> 00:36:41.019
 me think of

00:36:41.019 --> 00:36:42.779
 recently, Ant

00:36:42.779 --> 00:36:43.380
 and I walking

00:36:43.380 --> 00:36:43.819
 along the

00:36:43.819 --> 00:36:44.219
 road and

00:36:44.219 --> 00:36:44.759
 there was a

00:36:44.759 --> 00:36:45.360
 model of a

00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:46.039
 car I really

00:36:46.039 --> 00:36:46.819
 covered there

00:36:46.819 --> 00:36:47.639
 and I went

00:36:47.639 --> 00:36:48.219
 into a kind

00:36:48.219 --> 00:36:49.759
 of a

00:36:49.759 --> 00:36:50.299
 shambolic

00:36:50.299 --> 00:36:51.779
 state and

00:36:51.779 --> 00:36:52.399
 looked at

00:36:52.399 --> 00:36:53.339
 this car and

00:36:53.339 --> 00:36:54.459
 then I

00:36:54.459 --> 00:36:55.179
 remembered that

00:36:55.179 --> 00:36:56.359
 phrase as I

00:36:56.359 --> 00:36:56.519
 had been

00:36:56.519 --> 00:36:57.259
 preparing what

00:36:57.259 --> 00:36:57.599
 I was going

00:36:57.599 --> 00:36:57.919
 to say

00:36:57.919 --> 00:36:59.819
 tonight, a

00:36:59.819 --> 00:37:00.480
 new heart

00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:02.439
 is more

00:37:02.439 --> 00:37:03.199
 exciting than

00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:03.919
 a new car.

00:37:04.859 --> 00:37:05.559
 I love that.

00:37:07.159 --> 00:37:07.959
 So here are

00:37:07.959 --> 00:37:08.599
 some things for

00:37:08.599 --> 00:37:09.339
 you to ponder

00:37:09.339 --> 00:37:10.619
 this Lent very

00:37:10.619 --> 00:37:11.519
 briefly as I

00:37:11.519 --> 00:37:12.119
 come to a

00:37:12.119 --> 00:37:12.519
 close.

00:37:13.219 --> 00:37:13.919
 The first

00:37:13.919 --> 00:37:15.179
 thing is the

00:37:15.179 --> 00:37:16.679
 clarity of

00:37:16.679 --> 00:37:17.440
 the direction

00:37:17.440 --> 00:37:18.519
 of God's

00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:19.159
 promises.

00:37:21.739 --> 00:37:23.319
 Look, these

00:37:23.319 --> 00:37:23.799
 are not

00:37:23.799 --> 00:37:25.460
 abstract promises.

00:37:26.739 --> 00:37:27.460
 These are not

00:37:27.460 --> 00:37:28.000
 just some

00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:29.179
 random thoughts

00:37:29.179 --> 00:37:29.960
 that St. Paul

00:37:29.960 --> 00:37:30.719
 was spewing

00:37:30.719 --> 00:37:31.219
 out because

00:37:31.219 --> 00:37:31.480
 he couldn't

00:37:31.480 --> 00:37:31.779
 think of

00:37:31.779 --> 00:37:33.219
 anything else

00:37:33.219 --> 00:37:33.859
 to say to

00:37:33.859 --> 00:37:34.699
 the Ephesians.

00:37:35.419 --> 00:37:36.319
 The clarity

00:37:36.319 --> 00:37:37.239
 of the direction

00:37:37.239 --> 00:37:38.859
 is amazing.

00:37:40.299 --> 00:37:41.219
 And one of

00:37:41.219 --> 00:37:42.019
 the things that

00:37:42.019 --> 00:37:42.699
 you need to

00:37:42.699 --> 00:37:44.579
 understand is

00:37:44.579 --> 00:37:45.079
 that all

00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:45.860
 these promises

00:37:45.860 --> 00:37:47.079
 relate to

00:37:47.079 --> 00:37:47.739
 people who

00:37:47.739 --> 00:37:48.239
 are in

00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:48.719
 Christ.

00:37:50.900 --> 00:37:52.099
 I have no

00:37:52.099 --> 00:37:53.480
 idea whether

00:37:53.480 --> 00:37:54.340
 there are other

00:37:54.340 --> 00:37:55.259
 ways that you

00:37:55.259 --> 00:37:55.940
 can get to

00:37:55.940 --> 00:37:56.199
 heaven.

00:37:57.619 --> 00:37:58.480
 But I know

00:37:58.480 --> 00:38:00.279
 one way, and

00:38:00.279 --> 00:38:00.880
 that's the way

00:38:00.880 --> 00:38:02.099
 Paul outlines in

00:38:02.099 --> 00:38:03.299
 this gospel that

00:38:03.299 --> 00:38:04.119
 we're about to

00:38:04.119 --> 00:38:04.539
 study.

00:38:06.219 --> 00:38:07.019
 And, you

00:38:07.019 --> 00:38:07.340
 know, I'm

00:38:07.340 --> 00:38:08.079
 sure that there

00:38:08.079 --> 00:38:08.840
 will be some

00:38:08.840 --> 00:38:10.299
 prizes, some

00:38:10.299 --> 00:38:11.980
 surprises for

00:38:11.980 --> 00:38:12.759
 us all in

00:38:12.759 --> 00:38:13.039
 heaven.

00:38:14.579 --> 00:38:16.500
 Second, we

00:38:16.500 --> 00:38:17.019
 talk a lot

00:38:17.019 --> 00:38:18.099
 about identity

00:38:18.099 --> 00:38:18.860
 in our

00:38:18.860 --> 00:38:19.299
 culture.

00:38:20.940 --> 00:38:21.480
 And of

00:38:21.480 --> 00:38:22.420
 course, identity

00:38:22.420 --> 00:38:24.019
 is far more

00:38:24.019 --> 00:38:25.139
 complicated than

00:38:25.139 --> 00:38:26.099
 just aligning

00:38:26.099 --> 00:38:26.980
 yourself with

00:38:26.980 --> 00:38:27.799
 one particular

00:38:27.799 --> 00:38:28.299
 group.

00:38:30.159 --> 00:38:31.079
 I mean, what

00:38:31.079 --> 00:38:31.639
 would you say

00:38:31.639 --> 00:38:32.039
 you're, if

00:38:32.039 --> 00:38:32.539
 somebody said

00:38:32.539 --> 00:38:33.099
 to me, what's

00:38:33.099 --> 00:38:33.759
 your identity?

00:38:34.019 --> 00:38:34.619
 I would say,

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:35.759
 I'm a Christian,

00:38:36.699 --> 00:38:37.599
 I'm a husband,

00:38:38.279 --> 00:38:39.219
 I'm a father,

00:38:39.219 --> 00:38:40.099
 not very good

00:38:40.099 --> 00:38:40.779
 at it, but I

00:38:40.779 --> 00:38:41.179
 am one.

00:38:41.179 --> 00:38:43.879
 I would say,

00:38:44.099 --> 00:38:49.139
 I'd say stuff

00:38:49.139 --> 00:38:49.639
 like that.

00:38:49.739 --> 00:38:50.579
 The first thing

00:38:50.579 --> 00:38:51.279
 I would say,

00:38:52.679 --> 00:38:53.480
 my primary

00:38:53.480 --> 00:38:56.299
 identity is in

00:38:56.299 --> 00:38:56.719
 Christ.

00:38:58.799 --> 00:39:00.879
 I am his, and

00:39:00.879 --> 00:39:02.379
 he is mine, as

00:39:02.379 --> 00:39:03.159
 the old hymn

00:39:03.159 --> 00:39:03.679
 put it.

00:39:05.159 --> 00:39:06.460
 Thirdly, how

00:39:06.460 --> 00:39:07.019
 much do we

00:39:07.019 --> 00:39:07.879
 live in the

00:39:07.879 --> 00:39:08.519
 light of the

00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:09.480
 spiritual gifts,

00:39:09.480 --> 00:39:10.079
 in the

00:39:10.079 --> 00:39:11.440
 spiritual blessings

00:39:11.440 --> 00:39:12.099
 in the heavenly

00:39:12.099 --> 00:39:12.579
 realms?

00:39:13.019 --> 00:39:13.840
 Or is the

00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:15.059
 truth, we're

00:39:15.059 --> 00:39:15.699
 far too

00:39:15.699 --> 00:39:16.699
 focused in the

00:39:16.699 --> 00:39:17.619
 Western church

00:39:17.619 --> 00:39:18.920
 on earthly

00:39:18.920 --> 00:39:19.480
 blessings?

00:39:21.699 --> 00:39:22.800
 And finally,

00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:24.740
 do I need to

00:39:24.740 --> 00:39:26.519
 refocus on

00:39:26.519 --> 00:39:27.780
 God's future?

00:39:29.920 --> 00:39:30.800
 Are my eyes

00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:32.300
 truly fixed on

00:39:32.300 --> 00:39:33.079
 the things that

00:39:33.079 --> 00:39:33.699
 are permanent

00:39:33.699 --> 00:39:34.599
 and eternal?

00:39:35.880 --> 00:39:36.820
 Or are they

00:39:36.820 --> 00:39:37.840
 fixed too much

00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:38.860
 in the here and

00:39:38.860 --> 00:39:39.179
 now?

00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:42.740
 I've often

00:39:42.740 --> 00:39:44.699
 wondered, you

00:39:44.699 --> 00:39:45.199
 know, my

00:39:45.199 --> 00:39:46.760
 burden, incidentally,

00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:48.340
 is that as

00:39:48.340 --> 00:39:49.639
 churches in

00:39:49.639 --> 00:39:52.780
 this town of

00:39:52.780 --> 00:39:54.039
 ours, that we

00:39:54.039 --> 00:39:54.679
 might yet

00:39:54.679 --> 00:39:55.900
 cooperate better

00:39:55.900 --> 00:39:57.199
 together in

00:39:57.199 --> 00:39:58.300
 getting a plan

00:39:58.300 --> 00:40:00.019
 to re-evangelize

00:40:00.019 --> 00:40:00.599
 this town.

00:40:01.659 --> 00:40:02.960
 I would love to

00:40:02.960 --> 00:40:03.840
 see that happen.

00:40:05.480 --> 00:40:06.380
 I think some

00:40:06.380 --> 00:40:06.860
 things are going

00:40:06.860 --> 00:40:07.240
 to have to

00:40:07.240 --> 00:40:08.300
 change before

00:40:08.300 --> 00:40:08.860
 that does

00:40:08.860 --> 00:40:09.360
 happen, but

00:40:09.360 --> 00:40:11.920
 nevertheless, I

00:40:11.920 --> 00:40:13.039
 think a plan

00:40:13.039 --> 00:40:13.840
 together to

00:40:13.840 --> 00:40:14.920
 re-evangelize

00:40:14.920 --> 00:40:15.560
 this town

00:40:15.560 --> 00:40:17.300
 could be an

00:40:17.300 --> 00:40:18.260
 amazing thing.

00:40:20.160 --> 00:40:21.740
 It starts a

00:40:21.740 --> 00:40:22.560
 bit like this

00:40:22.560 --> 00:40:23.240
 when Christians

00:40:23.240 --> 00:40:23.660
 who don't

00:40:23.660 --> 00:40:24.300
 normally sit

00:40:24.300 --> 00:40:25.039
 together on a

00:40:25.039 --> 00:40:26.039
 Sunday gather

00:40:26.039 --> 00:40:27.780
 together in a

00:40:27.780 --> 00:40:28.700
 church on a

00:40:28.700 --> 00:40:29.800
 Tuesday evening

00:40:29.800 --> 00:40:30.820
 for six weeks.

00:40:30.820 --> 00:40:30.920
 years.

00:40:32.539 --> 00:40:33.260
 But I don't

00:40:33.260 --> 00:40:33.800
 want to waste

00:40:33.800 --> 00:40:34.500
 that energy.

00:40:36.039 --> 00:40:36.960
 I don't want

00:40:36.960 --> 00:40:38.280
 us to just

00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:39.180
 have, I hope

00:40:39.180 --> 00:40:39.680
 you will have a

00:40:39.680 --> 00:40:40.539
 good six weeks

00:40:40.539 --> 00:40:41.240
 here together,

00:40:41.240 --> 00:40:43.300
 but I want more

00:40:43.300 --> 00:40:43.740
 than that.

00:40:45.080 --> 00:40:46.000
 I want to see

00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:47.240
 us bring this

00:40:47.240 --> 00:40:48.380
 amazing gospel

00:40:48.380 --> 00:40:49.120
 that we will

00:40:49.120 --> 00:40:52.900
 unwrap in the

00:40:52.900 --> 00:40:53.380
 course of the

00:40:53.380 --> 00:40:54.240
 next few weeks,

00:40:54.600 --> 00:40:56.140
 see where we go

00:40:56.140 --> 00:40:56.500
 with it.

00:40:56.500 --> 00:40:58.960
 I'm up for it.

00:40:59.239 --> 00:41:00.099
 Anybody wants to

00:41:00.099 --> 00:41:00.980
 join me, you're

00:41:00.980 --> 00:41:01.619
 most welcome.

00:41:01.619 --> 00:41:01.739
 Thank you.

00:41:01.739 --> 00:41:01.739


00:41:01.739 --> 00:41:01.739


00:41:01.739 --> 00:41:01.739