WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.459 In a few minutes after the baptisms, those of us that are going to be getting in the water will be getting changed. 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:12.240 We'll be taking off soggy clothes and putting on some dry ones. 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:19.000 And it reminds me of the many different images that are used in the New Testament to describe baptism 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:26.600 and what it is, what it represents, what it stands for, is that image of getting changed. 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:33.880 There's a pair of phrases that Paul uses time and time again to take off the old and put on the new. 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:38.679 That is one of the many things that is expressed through baptism. 00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:46.760 Let me read to you just a few verses, or just two verses actually, from Ephesians chapter 4. 00:00:46.759 --> 00:01:16.739 It's about taking off the old and putting on the new. 00:01:16.760 --> 00:01:23.760 Let me ask you a question. Have you ever turned up to a situation and you've been dressed inappropriately? 00:01:25.340 --> 00:01:31.300 Either you've just completely misread the situation and you've been the only one in a suit and everyone else has been in jeans, 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:35.300 or it's been the other way around. It's a really embarrassing one, isn't it? 00:01:35.299 --> 00:01:48.280 I'm going to share with you a story that is actually true, and I think I probably would rate it as the most embarrassing situation of my life so far. 00:01:49.259 --> 00:01:53.560 And it was when I was a student. It was my first week as a fresher at university. 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:56.700 And I didn't know anybody. My mum and dad had dropped me off. 00:01:56.700 --> 00:02:01.040 They'd gone home, and I was talking to someone else, and they said, 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:08.360 have you thought about entering the Miss Westminster College contest? 00:02:09.140 --> 00:02:10.640 I said, sorry, did you say Miss? 00:02:11.020 --> 00:02:11.599 They said, yeah. 00:02:11.659 --> 00:02:14.780 I said, they said, yeah, yeah, no, it's for the guys. 00:02:14.780 --> 00:02:19.939 You dress up in women's clothes, and you walk along this platform. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:29.120 It's on Saturday night, so you've got a week to get ready, and people vote on who's considered to be the beauty queen of Westminster College. 00:02:29.420 --> 00:02:32.900 I thought, I don't know anyone. Here's a good chance to get to know a few people. 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:34.060 So I entered. 00:02:35.420 --> 00:02:40.580 So I'm going to confess that I spent the first week of my life as a student on a mission 00:02:40.580 --> 00:02:49.660 to find a girl the same sort of size as me from whom I could borrow a dress. 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:56.960 And so I had some interesting conversations because I had to somehow, I mean, nobody knew each other, 00:02:57.040 --> 00:03:01.420 so everybody that I spoke to, it was a, you know, hi, what's your name? 00:03:01.420 --> 00:03:04.160 Hi, I'm Russell. Yeah, yeah, so where are you from? 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:06.560 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm here. I'm a theology student. 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:11.360 And at some point in the conversation, trying to introduce it naturally, 00:03:12.340 --> 00:03:14.080 could I borrow your clothes this weekend? 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:20.479 Well, eventually I did manage to find a really nice dress. 00:03:20.699 --> 00:03:22.020 It fitted really well. 00:03:22.539 --> 00:03:26.039 And I needed some tights, and I thought, I can't ask to borrow those. 00:03:27.340 --> 00:03:28.860 So I'll buy some. 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:33.540 So I went in and bought the biggest pair of tights that I could find. 00:03:34.640 --> 00:03:42.420 And it was the, the weekend eventually came round, and the actual event was in the evening. 00:03:43.100 --> 00:03:47.120 In the afternoon, I thought, I just better check that these tights do fit me. 00:03:47.220 --> 00:03:48.720 So I put them on. 00:03:48.980 --> 00:03:51.640 It took me a little while, but I eventually got them on. 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:56.739 So I was standing there in front of the mirror, and I had tights up to here, and I don't know what, 00:03:56.819 --> 00:03:59.500 but normal clothes for me, a jumper down to here. 00:04:00.459 --> 00:04:05.299 I could hear people around, and I thought it would be good fun to, 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:10.079 there's a guy who I'd just met called Richard, who was just down the corridor from me. 00:04:10.119 --> 00:04:12.179 I thought it would be good fun to make him laugh. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:15.060 And I noticed I'd actually had a little ladder in my tights. 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:19.980 So I thought what I'd do is I'd tiptoe down the corridor, burst in on him, and say, 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:21.720 Richard, I've laddered my tights. 00:04:22.019 --> 00:04:22.740 So I did. 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:31.120 So slowly, tiptoed along the corridor, knocked on the door, and got ready to burst in and shout, 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:33.100 Richard, I've laddered my tights. 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:36.139 Now, there's something else I need to tell you before I finish this story. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:40.639 In that Richard was in his final year, I was in my first year. 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:42.740 I'd been there a week already for Freshers Week. 00:04:42.740 --> 00:04:45.680 Richard had just arrived, along with everyone else in his year, 00:04:45.900 --> 00:04:48.160 who were being dropped off by their parents. 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:58.000 The other thing I need to tell you is that Richard's dad was a bishop. 00:05:00.819 --> 00:05:04.379 So I tapped on the door, I burst in, and I say, 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:06.660 Richard, I've laddered my tights. 00:05:06.860 --> 00:05:08.560 Only Richard wasn't there. 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:13.920 But his mum and dad, and his girlfriend's mum and dad, were. 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:19.879 Now, over the years, I've learnt to, partly because I'm a minister, 00:05:20.100 --> 00:05:24.759 and partly because as you get older, I've got used to filtering my thoughts, 00:05:25.100 --> 00:05:29.579 and I've learnt to process things before I verbalise them. 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:32.979 But I was only 18 years old on this occasion, 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:36.000 so I said the first thing that came into my head, 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:40.060 as I made a feeble attempt to try to redeem the situation 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:43.560 and turn it into what might seem like a normal conversation. 00:05:45.159 --> 00:05:48.339 So they looked at me and my tights, 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:50.319 and I looked at them, 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:53.319 and I said, with a straight face, 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:57.980 oh, you haven't seen Richard, have you? 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:01.639 And they didn't say anything. 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:03.319 They just went... 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:06.899 So I said, 00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:09.379 well, if you see him, let me know, and walked out. 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:15.180 Turning up inappropriately dressed 00:06:15.180 --> 00:06:17.000 isn't good. 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:19.959 And there's a famous quotation, 00:06:21.339 --> 00:06:23.360 and it's attributed to various different people, 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:25.959 Sir Ranulf Fiennes, Sir Alfred Wainwright, 00:06:26.100 --> 00:06:28.839 even, I've read, Billy Connolly was supposed to have come out. 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:31.040 I don't know who said it originally, it doesn't really matter. 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:32.199 But the quote is this, 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:34.939 there's no such thing as bad weather, 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:37.600 just inappropriate clothing. 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:42.899 And the New Testament calls us to consider 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:45.040 the way that we are dressed, 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:46.660 in a metaphorical sense. 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:48.879 In a spiritual sense. 00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:50.899 And when Paul says, 00:06:51.420 --> 00:06:53.019 symbolised in baptism, 00:06:53.259 --> 00:06:54.980 but it's a challenge that runs for us 00:06:54.980 --> 00:06:56.360 every single day of our lives, 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:58.060 that being a disciple of Jesus 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:00.259 is about taking off the new, 00:07:00.740 --> 00:07:02.139 so it's taking off the old, 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:03.180 and putting on the new, 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:05.399 it challenges us to the core, 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:07.100 as to what does it mean 00:07:07.100 --> 00:07:09.439 to be dressed spiritually? 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:12.300 Are we appropriately dressed spiritually? 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:13.519 What does it mean 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.079 for us to take off the old, 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:16.480 and to put on the new? 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:18.000 Well, let's just take a couple of minutes 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:19.680 to think about what that might mean. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:21.120 Firstly, Paul says, 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:23.700 that if you are a disciple of Jesus, 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:25.020 we need to get into the business 00:07:25.020 --> 00:07:27.000 of taking off the old. 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:29.120 You know, that's a really powerful image, 00:07:29.220 --> 00:07:31.060 because as we go through our lives, 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:35.460 we almost unwittingly end up putting on stuff, 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:37.600 spiritual stuff I'm talking now, 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:38.740 without noticing. 00:07:39.140 --> 00:07:40.740 We accumulate things. 00:07:40.740 --> 00:07:42.699 For example, 00:07:42.900 --> 00:07:44.900 we begin to accumulate masks. 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:47.280 Our habits and our behaviour 00:07:47.280 --> 00:07:49.860 is such that we don't even realise 00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:52.139 the way that we interact with others. 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:53.180 We wear masks, 00:07:53.319 --> 00:07:54.439 we project an image 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:55.840 that is not the real self. 00:07:56.120 --> 00:07:56.780 And a question, 00:07:56.900 --> 00:07:58.400 as we hear these words from Paul, 00:07:58.660 --> 00:07:59.600 for us to ask ourselves, 00:07:59.740 --> 00:08:02.400 is do we wear a false mask 00:08:02.400 --> 00:08:04.379 that really needs to come off? 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:06.379 A mask that is a projection, 00:08:06.939 --> 00:08:08.219 but is not the true self. 00:08:09.219 --> 00:08:12.199 Another thing that we can accumulate, 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:13.620 almost unwittingly, 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:15.319 is a sense of resentment. 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:16.680 Something can happen, 00:08:17.019 --> 00:08:18.060 perhaps years ago, 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:20.459 and we've never quite let go of it. 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:21.439 It becomes a grudge. 00:08:21.540 --> 00:08:23.240 It becomes part of us, 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:25.560 to the point that we don't even recognise 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:26.339 its presence. 00:08:27.159 --> 00:08:29.540 But we can pick up those resentments, 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:30.540 and they brew away, 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:32.399 and they stew away in us. 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:33.740 And as we get older, 00:08:33.819 --> 00:08:35.220 and we become more and more cynical, 00:08:35.819 --> 00:08:37.480 we can almost feel relaxed 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:38.620 about our cynicism, 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:39.659 and our attitudes, 00:08:39.860 --> 00:08:40.779 and we justify them, 00:08:40.819 --> 00:08:42.519 and even make a virtue out of them. 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:44.220 I saw somebody a while ago 00:08:44.220 --> 00:08:45.319 that had a t-shirt on, 00:08:45.379 --> 00:08:45.919 and it said, 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:47.340 I'm not cynical, 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:49.319 I'm just experienced. 00:08:52.199 --> 00:08:54.159 So we can pick up masks, 00:08:54.319 --> 00:08:55.819 we can pick up resentments, 00:08:56.059 --> 00:08:57.000 and grudges, 00:08:57.939 --> 00:09:00.159 but our attitudes themselves, 00:09:00.860 --> 00:09:01.659 over time, 00:09:01.659 --> 00:09:03.379 can be desensitised. 00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:05.639 Things that when we were younger, 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:07.559 we felt were true and real, 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:09.139 that perhaps we might now 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:11.899 just look at as ideals of being young. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:12.579 But actually, 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:14.839 things that we become desensitised, 00:09:14.899 --> 00:09:16.299 and we become accustomed to, 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.819 we end up putting these things on, 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:21.279 and we're not even aware 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:21.959 that they're there. 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:24.120 Tony Campolo, 00:09:24.459 --> 00:09:25.959 is a Pentecostal minister, 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:29.500 and a very well-known Christian speaker. 00:09:29.980 --> 00:09:32.259 He was quite famous for a moment, 00:09:32.560 --> 00:09:33.759 this was going back sometime, 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:35.540 probably about 30 years ago now, 00:09:35.740 --> 00:09:37.420 at a massive Christian conference. 00:09:37.560 --> 00:09:39.080 I think it might have been Spring Harvest, 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:39.940 something like that. 00:09:39.940 --> 00:09:41.740 But he was standing at the platform 00:09:41.740 --> 00:09:45.300 before thousands and thousands of Christians, 00:09:45.299 --> 00:09:49.059 giving a talk about the Bible. 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:51.519 And he was talking about social justice, 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:56.019 and the way that our consciences become eroded. 00:09:56.659 --> 00:09:57.399 And famously, 00:09:57.699 --> 00:09:59.120 he stood up in front of these, 00:09:59.419 --> 00:10:01.339 it's a huge gathering of Christians, 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:02.679 and he said to them, 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:05.199 today I want to say to you three things. 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:09.180 The first is that while we were sleeping last night, 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:14.220 approximately 30,000 children globally 00:10:14.220 --> 00:10:17.140 would have died of either starvation 00:10:17.140 --> 00:10:20.400 or malnutrition-related disease. 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:23.640 The second thing I want to tell you 00:10:23.640 --> 00:10:26.160 is that as you sit here listening to this as a Christian, 00:10:26.360 --> 00:10:29.080 frankly, you couldn't give an SH1T, 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:30.800 except he didn't spell it, 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:33.960 he said the word at a Christian conference. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:39.280 He said the third thing I want to say to you 00:10:39.280 --> 00:10:40.660 is I want to put to you as a question. 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:44.580 Were you more shocked by the statistic 00:10:44.580 --> 00:10:48.000 or because you heard me say a four-letter swear word? 00:10:51.560 --> 00:10:52.200 You see, 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:56.140 we're not shocked by those things anymore, 00:10:56.420 --> 00:10:58.540 by those statistics, 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.180 not because we don't care, 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:03.960 but because we just get used to it. 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:06.100 You know, 00:11:06.140 --> 00:11:08.220 I had my bike serviced a while ago, 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.440 and one of the things they did to it 00:11:10.440 --> 00:11:12.320 was they put some new brakes on it, 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:13.080 some new cables. 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:15.200 I rode it away, 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:16.400 and the first moment 00:11:16.400 --> 00:11:18.840 that I just put the gentlest tap on the brake, 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:19.340 boom! 00:11:19.920 --> 00:11:21.340 I couldn't believe what had happened. 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:22.620 You see, 00:11:22.680 --> 00:11:24.620 all this time I've been riding around, 00:11:25.160 --> 00:11:25.980 and those brakes, 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:26.900 those old brakes, 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:27.900 had very gradually, 00:11:28.040 --> 00:11:29.140 gradually worn away. 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:30.800 And when it happens gradually, 00:11:30.800 --> 00:11:31.920 you don't notice it. 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:32.839 You don't. 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:35.399 Something similar, 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:35.899 I suggest, 00:11:35.979 --> 00:11:37.679 happens to us in our attitudes. 00:11:38.979 --> 00:11:39.959 And the danger is, 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:41.659 is that the longer we've been around, 00:11:42.079 --> 00:11:44.879 the more those attitudes build up 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:46.479 on us and around us. 00:11:46.740 --> 00:11:48.179 The clothes we accumulate, 00:11:48.319 --> 00:11:49.439 that we're walking around wearing, 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:50.259 and we don't even know. 00:11:50.339 --> 00:11:50.959 And Paul says, 00:11:51.199 --> 00:11:51.919 that stuff, 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:53.299 you need to take it off. 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:57.319 And it's not just a once-in-moment thing 00:11:57.319 --> 00:11:58.879 that happens at baptism. 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:00.639 It is expressed in baptism, 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:02.600 but it's a daily challenge for us. 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:03.639 Why is it daily? 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:04.659 It has to be. 00:12:04.899 --> 00:12:07.000 Because if we don't keep an eye on ourselves, 00:12:07.139 --> 00:12:08.840 if we don't keep things in check, 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:10.460 these things can build up. 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:12.320 It's a daily challenge 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:13.659 to throw off the old, 00:12:14.039 --> 00:12:15.019 and to put on the new. 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:16.279 So what is putting on the new? 00:12:16.360 --> 00:12:17.259 What might it mean? 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:18.519 You know, 00:12:18.539 --> 00:12:21.539 sometimes people who are new to Christian faith, 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:22.379 will say, 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:22.899 you know, 00:12:23.539 --> 00:12:25.679 so much of this Christianity stuff, 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:26.559 seems frankly, 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:27.080 well, 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:27.920 weird. 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:29.460 It seems strange. 00:12:30.220 --> 00:12:30.660 And you know, 00:12:30.700 --> 00:12:30.960 I'd say, 00:12:31.060 --> 00:12:31.200 yeah, 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:32.000 of course it does. 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:32.820 It should do. 00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:34.780 It's because it is weird, 00:12:34.920 --> 00:12:36.600 and it is strange, 00:12:37.400 --> 00:12:39.780 when our definition of normality 00:12:39.780 --> 00:12:40.700 is the world 00:12:40.700 --> 00:12:42.180 that we've become accustomed to. 00:12:43.180 --> 00:12:45.500 When we get used to those kind of statistics, 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:48.000 when we get used to the norms around us, 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:49.200 then yes, 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:51.420 the message of the gospel is strange. 00:12:51.620 --> 00:12:53.900 The gospel is about how this world 00:12:53.900 --> 00:12:55.220 can be changed, 00:12:55.300 --> 00:12:56.500 and will be changed, 00:12:57.379 --> 00:12:59.620 Jesus referred to that throughout his teaching 00:12:59.620 --> 00:13:01.220 as the kingdom of God. 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:05.120 Putting on the new means getting ready 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:06.620 for that which is coming, 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:08.679 and which Jesus is going to bring about 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:09.419 in his kingdom. 00:13:10.500 --> 00:13:11.019 So, 00:13:11.460 --> 00:13:14.700 many things may seem weird to our ears at first, 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:17.379 but it's because they are the things of the kingdom 00:13:17.379 --> 00:13:21.279 that are contrary to what wider culture would say to us. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:22.319 So, 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:25.120 the call to give radically of our time and money 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:26.179 is something that we do, 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:28.439 not because it's just a kind thing to do, 00:13:28.839 --> 00:13:33.639 but because that's how it is going to be from now on. 00:13:33.779 --> 00:13:35.579 We are getting ready for the kingdom 00:13:35.579 --> 00:13:38.819 in which we will be completely and utterly dependent 00:13:38.819 --> 00:13:40.459 on God throughout, 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:42.679 and it will be an amazing relationship. 00:13:43.539 --> 00:13:44.799 Daring to speak out, 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:46.979 and to challenge the status quo. 00:13:47.839 --> 00:13:50.559 It's not because we're activists, 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:52.679 although there's nothing wrong with being an activist, 00:13:53.219 --> 00:13:56.159 but it's because we are about the business 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:58.599 of anticipating a radical newness 00:13:58.599 --> 00:13:59.939 when God's kingdom comes. 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:01.960 You know, 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:03.560 when we dare to live by faith 00:14:03.560 --> 00:14:04.400 and dream in hope 00:14:04.400 --> 00:14:06.020 in the face of what the world, 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:08.460 of what would seem to be 00:14:08.460 --> 00:14:10.860 apparently hopeless circumstances, 00:14:11.280 --> 00:14:13.340 it's not because we're under some illusion, 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:15.680 but because we take seriously 00:14:15.680 --> 00:14:17.560 the Bible's call to believe 00:14:17.560 --> 00:14:18.820 that God is on the move 00:14:18.820 --> 00:14:20.640 and the best is yet to come. 00:14:21.620 --> 00:14:23.360 When the Bible presents us 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:25.600 with a vision of how we are to flourish 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:27.700 as human beings, 00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:29.280 as sexual beings, 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:30.959 whether that be in our marriage 00:14:30.959 --> 00:14:32.319 or in our singleness, 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:33.519 it is, 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:35.240 and it is contrary to the views 00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:36.639 of secular society, 00:14:36.939 --> 00:14:38.839 it's not because it's out of date 00:14:38.839 --> 00:14:39.819 or out of touch, 00:14:40.299 --> 00:14:41.720 but it's because it looks ahead 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:42.980 to the kingdom of God 00:14:42.980 --> 00:14:44.879 in which we will all flourish 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:45.899 forever and ever. 00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:48.799 When we refuse to be crushed 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:51.000 by anxiety or depression, 00:14:51.339 --> 00:14:52.639 even though we feel 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.480 its haunting cloud looming, 00:14:55.139 --> 00:14:57.919 it's not just through personal resolve, 00:14:57.919 --> 00:14:59.379 but it's by knowing 00:14:59.379 --> 00:15:00.559 that God's promises 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:01.839 are to be trusted 00:15:01.839 --> 00:15:03.659 and that he who is in us 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:05.599 is greater than he who is in the world. 00:15:06.439 --> 00:15:08.319 When we sense that grief 00:15:08.319 --> 00:15:10.459 and despair could overwhelm us, 00:15:10.659 --> 00:15:12.159 but we lay hold instead 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:14.539 of that peace that is deep within, 00:15:14.899 --> 00:15:16.719 that peace that comes from God alone, 00:15:16.959 --> 00:15:19.120 it's not because we're just optimistic, 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:21.399 but it's because that we believe 00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:23.299 that some 2,000 years ago, 00:15:23.480 --> 00:15:25.339 one man actually did walk away 00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:26.180 from his grave. 00:15:27.680 --> 00:15:29.340 See, the call to follow Jesus, 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.060 the call to cast off the old 00:15:32.060 --> 00:15:33.340 and to put on the new, 00:15:35.540 --> 00:15:37.240 even though it is one 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:39.379 that may seem strange, 00:15:39.920 --> 00:15:41.420 but we should expect it 00:15:41.420 --> 00:15:44.420 to seem strange in our culture. 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:47.040 And because it seems strange, 00:15:47.800 --> 00:15:50.740 it doesn't always fit comfortably 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:51.600 at first. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:54.279 And it's not just at first, 00:15:54.379 --> 00:15:55.580 but it's throughout our lives. 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:57.120 And being a disciple of Jesus, 00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:58.500 taking this stuff seriously, 00:15:58.740 --> 00:15:59.980 means that there will be stuff 00:15:59.980 --> 00:16:02.779 that we will be confronted by 00:16:02.779 --> 00:16:04.159 in God's word 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:06.360 that doesn't always sit comfortably 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:07.360 with how we feel. 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:09.240 But we are called, 00:16:09.340 --> 00:16:10.980 if we are serious about this, 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:12.820 about pulling on the new, 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:14.779 about putting on stuff 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:16.600 that doesn't fit comfortably, 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:17.720 but we grow into. 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:20.160 I always chuckle 00:16:20.160 --> 00:16:22.899 around about September time, 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:26.160 whenever it's either just before 00:16:26.160 --> 00:16:28.100 or at the end of school time. 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:30.480 And across this town, 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:33.860 you see lots of kids 00:16:33.860 --> 00:16:34.940 going off to school, 00:16:35.040 --> 00:16:35.940 to the secondary school, 00:16:36.040 --> 00:16:37.460 but you can always spot 00:16:37.460 --> 00:16:40.100 the New Year sevens, 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:42.279 not just because of their size, 00:16:42.420 --> 00:16:43.540 but because of their blazers. 00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:46.680 They usually come down to the knee 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:48.919 and there's little fingertips 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:51.359 poking out the end of those sleeves 00:16:51.359 --> 00:16:52.919 as these great big blazers 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:54.679 are hanging off them, 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:56.059 blazers that eventually 00:16:56.059 --> 00:16:58.120 they will grow into. 00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:01.919 And I offer that to all of us 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:02.859 as an image, 00:17:03.599 --> 00:17:04.919 as we come to pray now 00:17:04.919 --> 00:17:07.019 and as we move to this time of baptism. 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:09.579 Because it doesn't matter 00:17:09.579 --> 00:17:11.819 how old or how young we are, 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:13.240 whether you've been a Christian 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:14.160 for decades, 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:17.160 or whether it's brand new to you. 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:19.240 Faith is something 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:20.880 that we're called to put on 00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:21.579 every day, 00:17:21.660 --> 00:17:22.460 to grow into. 00:17:23.059 --> 00:17:24.500 And whatever stage we are at, 00:17:24.579 --> 00:17:25.359 there will always, 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:26.059 in this life, 00:17:26.180 --> 00:17:27.160 this side of eternity, 00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:28.140 be that stuff 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:29.720 that doesn't seem to fit 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:30.559 quite right. 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:33.259 It's not because it's not right, 00:17:33.339 --> 00:17:34.480 it's because we're not right. 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:37.279 But God invites us to grow. 00:17:37.620 --> 00:17:38.880 And that's what's so exciting 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:40.440 about being a Christian, 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:42.820 is you cannot outgrow God. 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:44.779 Because he has his kingdom promises 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:45.420 ahead of us 00:17:45.420 --> 00:17:46.700 that will always be bigger 00:17:46.700 --> 00:17:47.440 and more wonderful 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:48.299 than anything else 00:17:48.299 --> 00:17:49.860 you can experience in this world. 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:51.320 But he calls us now, 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:52.500 every day of our lives, 00:17:52.820 --> 00:17:53.880 to get into this habit 00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:55.299 of putting on the new stuff 00:17:55.299 --> 00:17:56.320 in anticipation 00:17:56.320 --> 00:17:57.660 of that which is coming.