WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.780 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:20.780 that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:24.920 by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:31.520 for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:37.939 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really, 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:42.579 I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible, 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:48.760 they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:54.560 do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.340 non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:04.680 hesitate to send us questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.780 types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:12.099 --> 00:01:17.820 Let's just bow our heads in prayer. Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would continue to move 00:01:17.820 --> 00:01:24.460 with might and power and deep conviction upon us as we think about your Word. 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:32.159 guide us and lead us into all truth. Grant us wisdom and discernment. And we ask these things in the 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:36.379 name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated. 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:48.500 So I did my training in a downtown Anglican church, Anglican Church of Canada Church. And then after I was 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:55.840 ordained, I spent three years as an assistant curator, as a curate in an Anglican Church of Canada suburban 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:01.239 church. And then after I'd been there for three years, I went and had my first churches where I was 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:07.140 the rector, the senior pastor. I looked after four little tiny churches out in the country, a place 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:13.699 called Eganville, a place called Killaloo. Eganville had about 1,200 people. Killaloo, 700 people. 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:22.159 Clontarf and Traymore, they're now just bends in the road. And no community around them whatsoever. 00:02:22.659 --> 00:02:30.139 And I'm a city guy. I was raised in Montreal. We moved to Ottawa. I lived in Ottawa. Then we went into the 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:34.979 country. And after I'd been there a short while, I realized one of the big differences, there's lots of 00:02:34.979 --> 00:02:41.899 differences between country, rural Canada, small town, rural Canada, and cities. And by the way, 00:02:41.979 --> 00:02:46.419 all of those places, they're far enough away from Ottawa that in those days, nobody commuted to 00:02:46.419 --> 00:02:53.479 Ottawa. This was a complete rural-based economy. And in both of the churches that I'd been at before, 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:57.159 the Anglican Church of Canada churches, probably a significant number of people in the church 00:02:57.159 --> 00:03:02.419 fundamentally didn't believe the Bible. And by that I mean is they probably would have just said, 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:07.739 well, that's just what the Bible says, but there you go. You know, heard that. Let's just move on. 00:03:08.819 --> 00:03:13.779 That's really no particular authority or high respect for it. Maybe a respect for it as part of 00:03:13.779 --> 00:03:19.779 our tradition, our heritage, but beyond that, not really thinking it has any special claim on truth. 00:03:20.619 --> 00:03:27.339 One of the things I discovered in Eganville and Killaloo is most people had a basic respect for the 00:03:27.340 --> 00:03:33.020 Bible. Didn't mean they lived it. In fact, I think at the time that I was there, Renfrew County, that's 00:03:33.020 --> 00:03:37.199 the county I was in, that had the, of all the counties in Ontario, the highest percentage of, 00:03:37.300 --> 00:03:42.719 they had the highest alcoholism rate in the province of Ontario. And by the way, when men, 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:46.860 when men told me that, it wasn't as if they were embarrassed about it either. Almost it was a point 00:03:46.860 --> 00:03:51.819 of pride that they had the highest alcoholism rate in Ontario. But they had a basic fundamental 00:03:51.819 --> 00:03:58.419 respect for the Bible. And it can be illustrated even in a very funny, ironic way. My wife and I 00:03:58.419 --> 00:04:03.239 had been in this, in Eganville, I don't know, a year or two. And we went to a wedding reception. 00:04:03.359 --> 00:04:06.799 I'd done the wedding and we went to the reception. It was a big, big, big, big country reception. 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:14.639 And this, this inebriated fellow comes up to me, you know, moving to some wind that only he felt. 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:19.360 And he starts talking to me. And in particular, he started talking to me about this guy that did 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:26.759 something wrong to him. And he told me that he was going to go and punch him out. And then he said, 00:04:26.840 --> 00:04:34.120 but don't worry, Padre. I'm just doing what the Bible says. He probably saw my surprise look. He 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:41.540 said, says in the Bible, vengeance is fine, saith the Lord. So I'm just doing what the Bible tells you. 00:04:41.660 --> 00:04:46.379 So if you're not familiar with the Bible, it doesn't say vengeance is fine. It says vengeance is mine, 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:51.279 the exact opposite of what he wanted to do. But it's sort of interesting. He felt he had to reassure 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:57.639 me he was being biblical, even when he was going to go punch somebody out. So the text that we're 00:04:57.639 --> 00:05:08.300 going to look at today is a summary or an outline of how Paul talked to people who respected the Bible. 00:05:09.459 --> 00:05:14.379 That's how we can understand it. Later on in the book of Acts, you're going to get outlines of how he 00:05:14.379 --> 00:05:20.139 talked to people who had basically no knowledge whatsoever of any of the Old Testament or Jesus. 00:05:20.459 --> 00:05:25.480 We're going to get some ways as to how he spoke to them. But here we're having sort of an outline, 00:05:25.939 --> 00:05:30.800 a prairie, as to how he would speak to people who had a basic respect for the Bible. 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:37.040 And so on one hand, on one hand, it doesn't really help us to think about how we would talk to people 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:42.540 outside the door. Although on another hand, it actually has something very profound to help us 00:05:42.540 --> 00:05:49.240 speak to people outside that door, because it talks about something very, very, very unique about the 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:56.340 Christian message. And it also has some very profound insights about two great concerns that 00:05:56.340 --> 00:06:02.180 the average Canadian has, namely how to know and make sure that they're a good person and how to 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:07.360 forgive themselves. And this text actually has something quite profound and I think wise to speak 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:13.680 to those issues. So if you take your Bibles, we're looking at Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13, 00:06:13.780 --> 00:06:18.340 and we're beginning at verse 13. It's a big chunk of the Bible today. Hopefully we'll be able to get 00:06:18.340 --> 00:06:22.120 through it. I might have to skip a little bit, but I'm not going to, as you're going to see, I'm not 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:26.660 going to skip any of the problematic things, but hopefully we'll get through the whole thing. Acts chapter 13, 00:06:26.740 --> 00:06:29.860 beginning at verse 13, and here's how it goes. 00:06:29.860 --> 00:06:37.740 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos. So they're on their first missionary journey, 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:43.319 the very first missionary journey in the history of the Jesus movement of Christianity. They've been 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:51.639 to Cyprus. And verse 13, now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, 00:06:52.280 --> 00:06:56.960 and John left them and returned to Jerusalem. I just have to pause here for a second. So first of all, 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:02.539 they've left Cyprus and they go to what we now call Turkey. And hear this little phrase about John 00:07:02.539 --> 00:07:10.359 leaving them. What Luke is doing here is signaling something, but you don't necessarily, it doesn't 00:07:10.359 --> 00:07:17.319 jump out at you, but it's signaling something very important. The area that they're going to is where, 00:07:17.659 --> 00:07:23.379 those of you who know the Bible, the book of Galatians is written a couple of years after this to the 00:07:23.379 --> 00:07:29.639 church that in Antioch of Pisidia, which is where Paul is going. And so what you know, if you read 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:33.860 that letter, and if you read some other parts of the book of Acts, two very, very hard things are 00:07:33.860 --> 00:07:39.360 happening to Paul in this simple verse. It's, you know, it's very easy for us to sort of look back 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:43.819 at the Bible, especially the book of Acts, and think that somehow or another these are superhuman type 00:07:43.819 --> 00:07:47.740 of people and their life has nothing to do with yours, but it's quite the opposite. 00:07:47.740 --> 00:07:53.780 So what we discover from Galatians is that part of the thing that Paul is struggling with is he has 00:07:53.780 --> 00:08:01.340 a very, very, very serious illness. So he's making a hundred mile walk, it's 160 kilometers, 00:08:01.960 --> 00:08:10.780 160 kilometer walk while very, very ill. And by the time he arrives in Antioch, he's very ill. 00:08:11.220 --> 00:08:16.860 The other thing is not only is he dealing with a very serious physical problem, he's also dealing 00:08:16.860 --> 00:08:23.960 with a deep sense of betrayal. Because as you'll discover later on in the book of Acts, John, who 00:08:23.960 --> 00:08:29.980 we now know primarily as Mark, who wrote the gospel of Mark, he leaves Paul and Barnabas. 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:39.100 And Paul views it as a profound act of betrayal. A profound act of betrayal. And it's really important 00:08:39.100 --> 00:08:45.120 for us just to pause and think about this for a second. You see, the Bible doesn't promise 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:49.779 God, the triune God doesn't promise his children that they won't have hard times. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:55.460 Idols promise you that you won't have a hard time. 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:04.879 But the Bible doesn't. And so this is a, this is Paul and Barnabas persevering in a very, very hard 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:10.960 and difficult time. Now it's also, if you know this about Mark and John, one of the wonderful big 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:16.280 stories is that Mark is the final word about Mark is not betrayal. He will go on to write the gospel 00:09:16.280 --> 00:09:21.800 of Mark and he and Paul will again become companions and partners in ministry. But at this point in time, 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:26.660 there is an act of betrayal. And we all know what it's like to deal with, some of us don't know what 00:09:26.660 --> 00:09:30.519 it's like to deal with serious illness. Some of us do. And some of us also know what it's like to deal 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:34.320 with betrayal. And that's what's going on as they walk to where they're going. 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:40.580 Well, the story continues. Verse 14. By the way, I'm going to, not every verse will take that long 00:09:40.580 --> 00:09:49.660 to get through. Verse 14. But they went from Perga and came to Antioch and Pisidia. And on the Sabbath 00:09:49.660 --> 00:09:57.760 day, and on the, sorry, and in the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down. After reading 00:09:57.760 --> 00:10:03.840 from the law and the prophets, another way of referring to what we call the Old Testament or the Tanakh, 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:10.360 the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, that's Paul and Barnabas, saying, 00:10:10.520 --> 00:10:18.540 brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it. So Paul stood up and motioned 00:10:18.540 --> 00:10:26.220 with his hand, in other words, for quiet. Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen, you who fear 00:10:26.220 --> 00:10:33.180 God are people who are pagans, who are in the process of stopping living as pagans and living under the 00:10:33.179 --> 00:10:38.139 Jewish law, but they're not circumcised. So that's who they are. So men of Israel and you who fear God, 00:10:38.259 --> 00:10:44.299 listen, the God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their 00:10:44.299 --> 00:10:51.299 stay in the land of Egypt. And with uplifted arm, he led them out of it. Now just sort of pause here. 00:10:52.059 --> 00:10:58.599 So remember I said this is an outline or a sort of a structure about how Paul probably spoke about 00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:05.800 Jesus when he had his first go at people who had a basic respect for the Bible. And what he's going 00:11:05.800 --> 00:11:11.100 to do in this very first section can be illustrated to us in something which is very important for us 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:16.659 spiritually. And it's captured very wonderfully in one of the collects, which I forgot to look up the 00:11:16.659 --> 00:11:26.000 number. But here's the basic principle. God is more willing to speak to you than you are to listen to 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:35.779 him. God is more willing to listen to you than you are to speak to him. And God is more willing to act 00:11:35.779 --> 00:11:43.620 than you are to want him to. Now this is very important. It's very counterintuitive to our flesh. 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:47.600 It's a very common thing for people to wonder, you know, I pray and pray and pray and God doesn't 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:52.320 seem to listen. You know, why doesn't God speak to me and give me direction? Why doesn't God act? 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:59.200 That's a very, very common thing for us to think and feel. But the message of the Bible is that, 00:11:59.419 --> 00:12:04.279 you know, in a sense, it's telling us now something that God will tell us face to face when we see him 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:10.000 in the new heaven and the new earth. That if God was in a sense to replay your life, just rewind it, 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:15.519 you know, bring you into a theater and you play rewind your life in front of you, he'll just go, 00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:18.740 look, I was willing to listen, listening. I was willing, willing, willing, willing, willing, 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:23.899 never spoke. I was speaking, speaking, speaking, speaking. You were going around like this. 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.720 I was willing to do those things and I knew in your heart you didn't want me to do those things for 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:33.820 you. That in fact, the initiative is always on God's part. That God, in fact, the God that really 00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:39.840 does exist, the God that is the triune God that's revealed by Jesus and the scriptures is a God who's 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:45.460 always more willing to speak to you and me than I am to listen. He's always more willing to listen to 00:12:45.460 --> 00:12:50.620 me than I am to speak and he's always more willing to act than I am willing to let him act. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:58.140 And we're going to get that basic idea in a series of statements as Paul is going to describe what 00:12:58.139 --> 00:13:05.939 happens from the time that Israel and Joseph and his brothers enter into the land of Egypt up until 00:13:05.939 --> 00:13:13.860 just a few years ago. Listen to the verbs. I'll read verse 17 again. Listen to the verbs, okay? I'm 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:21.759 going to emphasize them. The God of this people chose our fathers and made the people great during their 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:31.519 stay in the land of Egypt. And with uplifted arm, he led them out of it. And for about 40 years, he put up 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:39.539 with them in the wilderness. And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them 00:13:39.539 --> 00:13:45.960 their land as an inheritance. Now just pause. God just said here that God destroyed seven nations to 00:13:45.960 --> 00:13:51.299 give the land of Israel as an inheritance. And if this was any other Sunday other than today, 00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:55.679 I would probably take a big part of the sermon to talk about this. I'm not going to say anything 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:58.519 about it right now. You know why I'm not going to say anything about it? Not because I'm afraid to 00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:03.319 talk about it. Because Paul Copen is going to talk about this very topic on Friday night and Saturday 00:14:03.319 --> 00:14:07.620 morning, and you should go hear him if you have questions about it. He's written books on the subject. 00:14:08.139 --> 00:14:13.339 So if you're curious, go hear Paul Copen Friday night, Saturday morning. Ask him your hardest questions. 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:18.519 He's written several books on the subject. So I'm not going to say anything about it. And by the way, 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:23.779 he will be here on Sunday preaching at the 10 o'clock service. And he's going to preach on one 00:14:23.779 --> 00:14:29.360 of those, another difficult text in the Old Testament, Psalm 137, by the waters of Babylon, 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:34.199 we sat down and wept by the willows there, we played our harps. And that's a very, very beautiful 00:14:34.199 --> 00:14:39.220 psalm. And then it ends with smashing babies' heads against rocks. And it's a very, very hard text. 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:43.860 And he's going to preach on that. And he'll be available for coffee afterwards, where if you want, 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:50.460 you can have grilled Paul Copen after the service. Anyway, back to this. Notice the verbs. Back to 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:59.800 verse 20. All this took place about 450 years ago. Sorry, all this took place about for 450 years. And 00:14:59.800 --> 00:15:07.100 after that, God gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king. We finally get 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:14.560 people actually asking for something. And God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of 00:15:14.560 --> 00:15:22.639 Benjamin for 40 years. And when God had removed him, God raised up David to be their king. And then 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:28.899 God testifies and says, I have found in David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all 00:15:28.899 --> 00:15:37.519 my will of this man's offspring. God has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus, as he promised. 00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:44.459 Now just sort of pause here for a second. So you see from the verbs, that's the first thing that Paul's 00:15:44.459 --> 00:15:49.980 going to try to do. He's trying to deal with, in fact, a common human problem, especially for those 00:15:49.980 --> 00:15:55.159 of us who have some sense of what the Bible is, and maybe some respect for Christianity. We have a deep 00:15:55.159 --> 00:16:01.659 prejudice that somehow, really, we know that we're trying our best. We're not sure if God's trying 00:16:01.659 --> 00:16:05.759 his best. We know that we're really trying to do things. We don't know if God's trying to do things. 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:09.860 And it might surprise people, if you're here and you're outside the Christian faith, you might be 00:16:09.860 --> 00:16:15.620 surprised to know that that's a problem for Christians. And so Paul's going right after it. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:20.819 No, no, no. No, no. Look, look, just think about the history. Just think about your history. 00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:27.360 Just think about the verbs. Who's doing what? God is more willing to act for his people than we are 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:32.080 willing to let him. He's more willing to speak than we are to listen. He's more willing to listen 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:39.240 than we are to speak to him. That's who we're dealing with. Now, I don't know, 70, 80 years ago, 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:44.360 there was a man by the name of C.S. Lewis, who's famous nowadays primarily for having written the Narnia 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:54.220 Chronicles. And he wrote a talk at a university. He did a very interesting talk called Myth Became 00:16:54.220 --> 00:17:01.879 Fact. And he talked a little bit about how in Jesus you can see that all these ancient myths 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:09.519 in imperfect ways were pointing to Jesus and that what you see in Jesus is the best part of these 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:15.079 myths. They actually become fact. And what Paul is going to do now, he's going to move, in a sense, 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:23.980 into something similar. He's going to say that the promises of God have now become a fact of history. 00:17:24.940 --> 00:17:29.859 So he goes from, in a sense, our spiritual issue and the heritage, all these things God has done, 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:34.139 he now, in a sense, brings them up to the present day. And he's going to talk about how 00:17:34.140 --> 00:17:42.720 these promises of God that he has been making for centuries have, in fact, now become a fact of 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:52.740 history. Look at what he says. It continues on. We'll say verse 23 again. Verse 23. 00:17:52.740 --> 00:18:04.180 Of this man's offspring, that's David, God has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus, as he promised. 00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:12.019 Before Jesus' coming, John, in this case it's John the Baptist, John the Baptist had proclaimed a 00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:18.680 baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John the Baptist was finishing his course, 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:27.120 he said, what do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:32.960 the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie. Now just pause here for a second. 00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:39.420 You might say, well, George, you know, I know the Bible a little bit, and I mean, John the Baptist is 00:18:39.420 --> 00:18:46.779 just an internal Bible character. Well, no, that's actually not, I mean, that is, in fact, true. 00:18:46.779 --> 00:18:55.779 But, you know, the other day at a funeral, I said something which I've said in many places at 00:18:55.779 --> 00:19:01.619 different times, which catches people by surprise. Do you know that there's really, really, really good 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:08.539 historical evidence to say that Jesus rose from the dead on one of two dates? And I think that the 00:19:08.539 --> 00:19:15.180 evidence points to the fact that on April 5th, 33, Jesus rose from the dead. The other date is in the year 00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:20.860 30. And people can differ over which one of the two dates is the better choice. And you might say, 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:26.100 what, like, really? What? Like, isn't it just all like religious stuff? No, no, there's really good 00:19:26.100 --> 00:19:30.779 historical reasons to believe that the date of the resurrection is the 5th of April of the year 33. 00:19:31.320 --> 00:19:37.120 And the reason is, is that the New Testament has so many cross-references with secular history. 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:43.879 So even here, we shouldn't think of John the Baptist as mainly just being a biblical character. 00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:50.319 John the Baptist was famous at the time and was recorded by sources outside of Christianity. 00:19:50.719 --> 00:19:56.239 He's recorded historically. He's a well-known historical figure. Just as when Paul mentions 00:19:56.239 --> 00:20:01.059 casually that he studied under Gamaliel, if you go to an Orthodox Jewish synagogue and say, 00:20:01.219 --> 00:20:04.859 was there in the old days a rabbi named Gamaliel? And they'll say, of course there was. 00:20:04.859 --> 00:20:09.759 We still study his thinking. Like, he's a well-known historical character. 00:20:11.579 --> 00:20:17.959 And so John now, so Paul is now bringing something to the fore of a, well, even probably an Antioch. 00:20:17.979 --> 00:20:22.319 And he's also doing something else, which I've talked about in other weeks, that if people wanted 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:27.799 to go check out whether or not Paul is just, you know, making up stuff, they can go and they can go 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:32.659 to Jerusalem and they can ask around, you know, about these different types of things. So anyway, 00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:37.380 and you'll notice there that it's promised, that a savior has been promised. And then he's bringing 00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:41.960 in John the Baptist, who's very famous. And John the Baptist said, listen, I'm not this prophet that's 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:49.340 been promised. In fact, I'm pointing to you to the guy who's so much greater than me that I can't even 00:20:49.340 --> 00:20:54.980 be, I can't even, I'm not even worthy in and of myself to touch his sandals. And then it continues 00:20:54.980 --> 00:21:02.920 in verse 26. Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear God, 00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:11.740 to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, 00:21:12.360 --> 00:21:18.940 because they did not recognize Jesus, nor did they understand the utterances of the prophets, 00:21:18.940 --> 00:21:26.940 which are read every Sabbath, they fulfilled the utterances of the prophets by condemning Jesus. 00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:34.039 And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:39.920 And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:45.960 another reference to an Old Testament way of understanding the cross, and laid him in a tomb. 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:57.700 But God raised him from the dead. God raised him from the dead. God raised him from the dead. 00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:07.100 And for many days, he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:13.880 who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God has promised 00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:20.740 to the fathers. This he has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising Jesus. 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:26.440 And then he's going to give a couple of Bible verses, and we'll just sort of skip them. It's just 00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:34.620 some different Bible verses. You can look them up later. And verse 36, for David, King David, 00:22:34.740 --> 00:22:39.340 after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, that's another word for 00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:40.579 Jesus. And he said, 00:22:40.579 --> 00:22:42.519 he said, 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:43.799 And he said, 00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:53.819 In other words, his bones decayed and turned into dust. But he, whom God raised up, did not 00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:59.179 see corruption. Now just pause here for a second. 00:22:59.180 --> 00:23:07.420 Jesus, Paul is now, remember, he's gone from a basic spiritual condition. He also wants to see, 00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:13.519 help people to see, in a sense, a really big picture of the big part of the Bible, basically 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:19.680 all of the Old Testament. From early on, I can't remember what chapter is, 23 or something like that, 00:23:19.740 --> 00:23:27.299 25 in the book of Genesis, right up until that day. He brings it now into history. He's making very, 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:34.279 very, very specific claims about God acting to save people. And he did something in history. 00:23:34.879 --> 00:23:40.700 And what he did in history involved God, the Son of God, dying on the cross and rising from the dead. 00:23:40.819 --> 00:23:46.700 Now, just pause here for a second. One of the well-meaning things I hear all of the time 00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:52.399 when I get into conversations, whether it's a coffee shop or some other place, 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:58.040 is, you know, maybe they'll ask me about a Bible story or I'll say something. So I'll just say, 00:23:58.080 --> 00:24:03.180 well, listen, you know, everybody has holy books and they all tell you different stories. 00:24:04.820 --> 00:24:11.519 Why should we believe anything from your holy book? Like, yeah, okay, so it says that in your 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:15.460 holy book. But, you know, the Koran says certain things and, you know, the, you have the different 00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:21.640 Hindu scriptures and the Buddhist scriptures. Why should I believe your book over that? And then 00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:24.920 the other thing they might say is, and by the way, you know, they all say the same thing. 00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:30.779 Like, they all say the same thing. So they're all saying the same thing. And, and, and either that's 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:35.759 done in two ways. That one, it's, it's all said the same, they all say the same thing in a way that 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:42.620 means that, therefore, they're all sort of equally untrue. Or it means that they're all true in their own, 00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:45.679 you know, there's just a bit of confusion. Why should, why should we believe this? 00:24:46.739 --> 00:24:51.059 Well, the response to it is, is very interesting. Here's how we should respond. 00:24:53.239 --> 00:24:56.659 Okay. Like, where do those other religions say this? 00:25:01.639 --> 00:25:08.179 You're going to tell me that in the Koran, there's a history of prophecies that God is going to save you. 00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:14.640 And then at the end of, and that he's going to do something in history. Like, like, where is that 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:22.400 in the Koran? Like, just tell, show me where it's there. It's in the Hindu scriptures. Well, 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:26.240 the Bahava Gita or something. Okay. I've just, out of curiosity, like, where, where, where is it in the 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:31.820 Bahava Gita? Like, those things are actually said. Like, where is it in the Buddhist scriptures? 00:25:31.819 --> 00:25:39.559 Well, it's not there. In fact, not only is it not there, it can't possibly be there. 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:42.220 Allah does not save people. 00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:48.220 There is no salvation in Buddhism or Krishna. 00:25:50.419 --> 00:25:50.859 Hinduism. 00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:54.960 They have a completely and utterly different understanding. 00:25:54.960 --> 00:26:00.759 The highest thing we can hope for in Islam is to be God's slave. 00:26:05.360 --> 00:26:13.140 In Judaism, you have to do a whole pile of acts to try to be worthy of the kingdom of God. 00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:19.600 And as we know, if you follow Buddhism or Hinduism, it's all a matter of you attaining some type of 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:24.559 enlightenment and then having a change some type of, with enlightenment, something that will mean 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:28.359 that the cycle of birth and rebirth will come to an end. There's no idea of salvation. 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:30.919 Like, this is completely unique in Christianity. 00:26:33.899 --> 00:26:34.859 Completely unique. 00:26:36.639 --> 00:26:42.619 And not only that, that, that, that, unique that there's a God who loves you, who actually acts to save you, 00:26:42.619 --> 00:26:52.159 but that he did something in history for that to actually happen, is completely and utterly unique. 00:26:56.539 --> 00:26:57.019 Now, 00:26:57.739 --> 00:27:01.479 I think there's very good evidence 00:27:01.479 --> 00:27:06.199 that the death and resurrection of Jesus is something that actually happened. 00:27:06.399 --> 00:27:08.619 And if it happened, it changes everything. 00:27:08.619 --> 00:27:12.319 If Jesus really rose from the dead, 00:27:12.959 --> 00:27:16.000 in the context of centuries of prophecies, 00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:20.159 for the reasons and to accomplish something that's said, 00:27:20.539 --> 00:27:23.219 it changes everything. 00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:25.359 Everything. 00:27:30.959 --> 00:27:33.000 And it's not just that there's this 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:35.339 particular fact, 00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:38.619 but it's what it is that he's actually accomplished. 00:27:38.619 --> 00:27:41.459 And it touches upon our great needs. 00:27:41.839 --> 00:27:44.459 Look at how the story continues in verse 38. 00:27:46.459 --> 00:27:47.639 Let it be known to you, 00:27:47.740 --> 00:27:48.539 therefore, brothers, 00:27:49.500 --> 00:27:51.039 that through this man, 00:27:51.679 --> 00:27:53.139 forgiveness of sins 00:27:53.139 --> 00:27:54.720 is proclaimed to you. 00:27:54.879 --> 00:27:56.439 And in the original language, 00:27:56.579 --> 00:27:57.759 the implication is 00:27:57.759 --> 00:27:59.779 total forgiveness 00:27:59.779 --> 00:28:01.019 of sins. 00:28:01.459 --> 00:28:02.679 In the original language. 00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:04.120 Complete, 00:28:04.660 --> 00:28:05.920 total forgiveness. 00:28:07.060 --> 00:28:08.140 In a sense, 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:10.200 that if you were to think of your life as a string 00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:11.820 that has a beginning and has an end, 00:28:12.320 --> 00:28:14.580 and you don't know where you are in that string, 00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:15.460 you don't know if, 00:28:15.600 --> 00:28:19.060 I don't know if I'm going to die on driving home today, 00:28:19.539 --> 00:28:21.640 I don't know if I'm going to die when I'm 100, 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:24.600 so I don't know where the end of the string is, 00:28:24.980 --> 00:28:26.620 but if you view your life as a string, 00:28:26.740 --> 00:28:28.519 and God sees the entire string, 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:31.279 all of the sins from that entire string of your life 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:32.879 have been completely and totally forgiven. 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:34.940 That's the claim being made here by the Bible. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:37.720 Read it again. 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:38.839 Let it be known to you, 00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:39.599 therefore, brothers, 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:41.160 that through this man, 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:42.900 forgiveness of sins 00:28:42.900 --> 00:28:44.079 is proclaimed to you, 00:28:44.180 --> 00:28:45.259 and by him, 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:47.319 everyone who believes, 00:28:47.379 --> 00:28:48.420 that's believed in him, 00:28:48.539 --> 00:28:49.579 believes this message, 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:50.599 and believes in him, 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:52.019 is freed, 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:53.240 or justified, 00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:54.559 or vindicated, 00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:55.819 or made right 00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:59.259 from everything from which you could not be free, 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:00.319 or justified, 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:01.000 or vindicated, 00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:01.579 or made right 00:29:01.579 --> 00:29:03.039 by the law of Moses, 00:29:03.139 --> 00:29:03.559 in other words, 00:29:03.639 --> 00:29:05.240 by your own particular actions. 00:29:05.339 --> 00:29:07.039 So just sort of pause here for a second. 00:29:07.819 --> 00:29:10.859 There's two particular things here 00:29:10.859 --> 00:29:12.220 which are absolutely huge. 00:29:16.259 --> 00:29:17.220 If afterwards, 00:29:17.599 --> 00:29:18.619 Steve and I, 00:29:19.579 --> 00:29:19.839 you know, 00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:20.939 sometime during the week, 00:29:20.980 --> 00:29:22.079 we're the only ones in the office, 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:24.159 and I claim that he punches me. 00:29:25.819 --> 00:29:27.539 Which he'd never do. 00:29:27.819 --> 00:29:28.939 He's way nicer than me. 00:29:29.019 --> 00:29:30.299 Maybe I should use the other example. 00:29:30.460 --> 00:29:31.919 He claims I punched him. 00:29:34.179 --> 00:29:35.559 If after it's all over, 00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:36.700 and it just happened in private, 00:29:36.879 --> 00:29:38.139 if on Sunday, 00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:39.299 when Steve mentions that, 00:29:39.379 --> 00:29:40.759 if Andrew says to Steve, 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:41.000 well, 00:29:41.460 --> 00:29:42.480 I forgive you. 00:29:44.079 --> 00:29:45.220 Steve could go, 00:29:45.619 --> 00:29:46.079 or I could go, 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:46.240 what? 00:29:46.379 --> 00:29:46.559 Like, 00:29:46.919 --> 00:29:48.579 you're forgiving Steve for punching me? 00:29:48.659 --> 00:29:48.859 Like, 00:29:48.879 --> 00:29:49.539 you weren't even there, 00:29:49.879 --> 00:29:50.379 dude. 00:29:51.599 --> 00:29:52.159 You know, 00:29:52.159 --> 00:29:53.899 if Steve punches me, 00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:55.240 only I can forgive Steve, 00:29:55.240 --> 00:29:55.640 right? 00:29:56.559 --> 00:29:58.319 So this message implies that 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:00.240 that action is not just something 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:01.279 he does against me. 00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:01.579 Only, 00:30:01.700 --> 00:30:03.140 if only the person wronged 00:30:03.140 --> 00:30:04.000 can forgive. 00:30:04.259 --> 00:30:05.559 This is implying that God, 00:30:05.680 --> 00:30:07.599 who's involved in all actions 00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:08.539 of wrongdoing, 00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:10.660 he pronounces this complete, 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:12.299 total forgiveness. 00:30:13.259 --> 00:30:13.620 You see, 00:30:13.720 --> 00:30:14.940 what the text is saying 00:30:14.940 --> 00:30:16.839 is that there's this nexus 00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:18.680 of death and sin, 00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:21.519 and with this nexus of death and sin, 00:30:21.579 --> 00:30:23.440 which connect with guilt and shame, 00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:25.559 that the death and resurrection 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:27.220 of Jesus deals 00:30:27.220 --> 00:30:28.880 with this nexus 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:30.860 of guilt and shame, 00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:32.820 and deals with it totally. 00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:34.640 And one way that he deals with it 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:35.880 is that when you put your faith 00:30:35.880 --> 00:30:36.860 and trust in Jesus, 00:30:37.460 --> 00:30:39.559 that God has completely 00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:41.519 and utterly forgiven you. 00:30:42.259 --> 00:30:43.820 From the earliest moment 00:30:43.820 --> 00:30:45.220 that you were able to make 00:30:45.220 --> 00:30:46.519 what we would call a sin, 00:30:46.580 --> 00:30:47.700 what God would claim a sin, 00:30:47.779 --> 00:30:48.759 to the moment of your death, 00:30:48.759 --> 00:30:49.599 you were completely 00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:50.920 and utterly forgiven. 00:30:51.579 --> 00:30:52.579 And it's not just 00:30:52.579 --> 00:30:53.599 that you have been forgiven. 00:30:54.339 --> 00:30:55.839 This other word about made free 00:30:55.839 --> 00:30:57.400 is saying that there's something else. 00:30:57.599 --> 00:30:59.140 And if we think about it for a second, 00:30:59.240 --> 00:30:59.920 there's something else 00:30:59.920 --> 00:31:00.879 which we need as well 00:31:00.879 --> 00:31:01.920 on top of forgiveness, 00:31:02.379 --> 00:31:04.420 and that is we need to make it right. 00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:06.500 So let's say once again, 00:31:06.619 --> 00:31:08.200 I've punched Steve, 00:31:08.799 --> 00:31:12.180 and then I ask for his forgiveness. 00:31:12.180 --> 00:31:15.279 And then maybe I have to say to him, 00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:16.740 like, is it right now 00:31:16.740 --> 00:31:17.759 between the two of us? 00:31:18.120 --> 00:31:19.660 Like, are we, is it right? 00:31:20.360 --> 00:31:21.660 Has it been, like, fixed? 00:31:22.740 --> 00:31:23.700 And Steve might say, 00:31:23.779 --> 00:31:25.500 well, not quite. 00:31:28.519 --> 00:31:29.700 It's still not right. 00:31:31.320 --> 00:31:32.400 And I don't know what it might be. 00:31:32.460 --> 00:31:33.000 He might say, you know, 00:31:33.060 --> 00:31:34.060 I think you need to get up 00:31:34.060 --> 00:31:35.720 and confess to the congregation 00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:36.580 that you did it. 00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:40.880 And maybe you need to have some therapy. 00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:42.940 And maybe if you've done that, 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:44.160 then it'll be right with us. 00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:45.420 But it'll take a while 00:31:45.420 --> 00:31:46.500 because you really hurt me. 00:31:49.240 --> 00:31:50.480 Is it made right? 00:31:53.460 --> 00:31:56.100 And use another example, 00:31:56.320 --> 00:31:57.680 which, because even the example 00:31:57.680 --> 00:31:58.760 of that physical thing, 00:31:58.840 --> 00:31:59.600 I mean, in a sense, 00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:01.440 the person who's wrong 00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:03.640 still has to swallow some 00:32:03.640 --> 00:32:06.120 of what's happened to them. 00:32:07.740 --> 00:32:09.160 You know, another example would be 00:32:09.160 --> 00:32:12.279 if somebody loaned you $10,000 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:14.019 and then you wasted it 00:32:14.019 --> 00:32:15.140 and didn't spend it back, 00:32:15.300 --> 00:32:15.980 give it back, 00:32:17.120 --> 00:32:19.220 and then they ask for forgiveness, 00:32:20.980 --> 00:32:23.320 and you might be able to forgive them 00:32:23.320 --> 00:32:24.800 or say, I'm going to work on forgiving you. 00:32:24.840 --> 00:32:25.660 But at the same time, 00:32:25.860 --> 00:32:27.860 the $10,000 is still gone, 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:28.540 and they might say, 00:32:28.600 --> 00:32:29.740 is it right between us? 00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:31.840 How can I make it right? 00:32:33.019 --> 00:32:35.120 And maybe you have some compassion 00:32:35.120 --> 00:32:35.980 and freedom with them, 00:32:36.019 --> 00:32:36.580 and so you say, 00:32:36.660 --> 00:32:37.519 well, the way to make it right 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:38.139 would be, I don't know, 00:32:38.279 --> 00:32:39.559 I think you need to take out 00:32:39.559 --> 00:32:40.539 a bank loan, 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:43.559 and I, you know, 00:32:43.579 --> 00:32:44.559 maybe take a bank loan out 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:45.000 for $8,000 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:47.440 and make those payments, 00:32:47.579 --> 00:32:49.160 and I'll swallow the rest. 00:32:50.819 --> 00:32:51.859 Maybe if it's a lot of money, 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:52.920 you can't even take anything, 00:32:53.319 --> 00:32:53.680 you know? 00:32:55.619 --> 00:32:56.799 Another example of this 00:32:56.799 --> 00:32:58.319 making right here 00:32:58.319 --> 00:33:00.420 is the example I've used before 00:33:00.420 --> 00:33:01.779 of a single mom 00:33:01.779 --> 00:33:02.819 with three little kids 00:33:02.819 --> 00:33:03.879 goes into a restaurant, 00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:05.900 and she's really struggling 00:33:05.900 --> 00:33:06.700 financially, 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:08.300 but her mom has said, 00:33:08.360 --> 00:33:09.000 listen, I'd love you 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:10.000 to take the kids 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:11.040 to Swiss Shelley, 00:33:11.900 --> 00:33:13.780 and they didn't pay me 00:33:13.780 --> 00:33:14.360 for saying that, 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:15.420 using that as an example, 00:33:15.520 --> 00:33:15.860 by the way. 00:33:16.500 --> 00:33:17.380 It's on me, 00:33:17.940 --> 00:33:19.560 and give you a gift certificate, 00:33:19.560 --> 00:33:20.460 and she goes, 00:33:20.580 --> 00:33:21.560 and the kids are a bit rambunctious 00:33:22.180 --> 00:33:23.600 and all of that type of stuff, 00:33:23.740 --> 00:33:24.520 but, you know, 00:33:24.560 --> 00:33:26.080 she goes in with the three little kids, 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:27.720 and the waitresses ignore her, 00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:29.680 and the food is really slow, 00:33:29.980 --> 00:33:31.460 and the, you know, 00:33:31.539 --> 00:33:32.620 the waitress asks 00:33:32.620 --> 00:33:34.039 in an exasperated way, 00:33:34.240 --> 00:33:35.779 and every time something happens, 00:33:35.839 --> 00:33:36.860 you can see that the waitress 00:33:36.860 --> 00:33:38.660 is almost trying to stir up 00:33:38.660 --> 00:33:40.279 support of the different customers 00:33:40.279 --> 00:33:42.180 about how terrible this woman, 00:33:42.299 --> 00:33:43.319 and this woman's just feeling 00:33:43.319 --> 00:33:44.900 completely and utterly humiliated, 00:33:45.380 --> 00:33:46.799 and finally she leaves, 00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:47.740 and she's in tears, 00:33:47.839 --> 00:33:48.559 and as she's going out 00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:49.759 of the restaurant in tears 00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:51.039 with her three little kids, 00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:52.420 this older woman 00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:53.600 comes into the restaurant 00:33:53.600 --> 00:33:55.799 and sees her leaving in tears 00:33:55.799 --> 00:33:56.399 and says, 00:33:57.119 --> 00:33:57.500 Honey, 00:33:57.919 --> 00:33:59.059 what's the problem? 00:34:01.980 --> 00:34:02.419 Well, 00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:05.799 the woman is just so overcome 00:34:05.799 --> 00:34:06.619 with kindness 00:34:06.619 --> 00:34:08.380 that there's been kindness 00:34:08.380 --> 00:34:09.039 towards her. 00:34:09.159 --> 00:34:10.159 After what she's gone through, 00:34:10.219 --> 00:34:11.400 she blurts the whole thing out, 00:34:12.019 --> 00:34:14.159 and the older woman says, 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:15.079 Honey, 00:34:15.360 --> 00:34:16.940 I'm so sorry. 00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:19.840 I'm the owner of this franchise. 00:34:21.239 --> 00:34:22.619 How can I make it right? 00:34:25.800 --> 00:34:29.860 Maybe it's a couple of free meals. 00:34:30.539 --> 00:34:32.060 Maybe it's firing the waitresses. 00:34:34.120 --> 00:34:35.960 But the owner wants to make it right, 00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:38.820 and she makes it right 00:34:38.820 --> 00:34:41.140 so that that young woman 00:34:41.140 --> 00:34:42.140 with the three kids 00:34:42.140 --> 00:34:44.180 can go to that restaurant again. 00:34:45.260 --> 00:34:46.560 This is what the image is 00:34:46.560 --> 00:34:47.920 of what Jesus has done for us 00:34:47.920 --> 00:34:48.580 on the cross, 00:34:48.960 --> 00:34:49.420 friends, 00:34:49.720 --> 00:34:49.920 brothers, 00:34:50.060 --> 00:34:50.500 and sisters. 00:34:50.780 --> 00:34:51.920 It's not just 00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:53.280 that through his death 00:34:53.280 --> 00:34:53.940 and resurrection, 00:34:53.940 --> 00:34:55.679 this nexus of sin and death 00:34:55.679 --> 00:34:56.760 has been dealt with, 00:34:57.320 --> 00:34:58.559 but it's been dealt with 00:34:58.559 --> 00:34:59.500 in such a way 00:34:59.500 --> 00:35:00.940 that when you put your faith 00:35:00.940 --> 00:35:01.700 and trust in him, 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:03.119 it is God's provision 00:35:03.119 --> 00:35:04.960 for you to be completely 00:35:04.960 --> 00:35:06.159 and utterly forgiven, 00:35:06.679 --> 00:35:08.360 and it is God's provision 00:35:08.360 --> 00:35:10.220 for you to be made right 00:35:10.220 --> 00:35:10.960 with him. 00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:12.760 He has done 00:35:12.760 --> 00:35:13.780 what had to be done, 00:35:13.860 --> 00:35:15.039 which I cannot do 00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:16.099 and you cannot do, 00:35:16.220 --> 00:35:18.480 to make things right. 00:35:18.480 --> 00:35:24.400 And this is just very important. 00:35:24.539 --> 00:35:24.800 I want to, 00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:25.820 I'm looking at time, 00:35:25.940 --> 00:35:27.019 I need to wrap it up, 00:35:27.059 --> 00:35:27.920 but here's why it's very, 00:35:28.039 --> 00:35:28.360 very good. 00:35:28.659 --> 00:35:29.500 See, one of the things 00:35:29.500 --> 00:35:30.340 that the world says 00:35:30.340 --> 00:35:31.480 time and time and time 00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:32.219 and time and time 00:35:32.219 --> 00:35:32.920 and time again 00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:34.019 is it says you need 00:35:34.019 --> 00:35:34.940 to forgive yourself. 00:35:35.219 --> 00:35:36.400 And I've talked about it before, 00:35:36.500 --> 00:35:37.719 but the fact of the matter is, 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:39.559 is trying to forgive yourself 00:35:39.559 --> 00:35:41.639 is going down a rabbit hole 00:35:41.639 --> 00:35:43.559 that will only make things worse. 00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:47.519 what human beings need 00:35:47.519 --> 00:35:49.619 is to know that they've been 00:35:49.619 --> 00:35:51.279 completely forgiven by God. 00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:53.460 And for those of us 00:35:53.460 --> 00:35:54.559 who've accepted Christ 00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:55.279 as our Savior, 00:35:55.480 --> 00:35:56.579 we need that to become 00:35:56.579 --> 00:35:57.880 more real to our hearts. 00:35:58.340 --> 00:35:59.860 I need that to become 00:35:59.860 --> 00:36:01.139 more real to my heart, 00:36:02.340 --> 00:36:03.480 that I have been 00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:04.880 completely forgiven. 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:10.320 And many, many people 00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:11.440 in our culture desire 00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:12.940 to be known as a good person, 00:36:13.559 --> 00:36:15.320 the problem with that 00:36:15.320 --> 00:36:16.820 is that it never works. 00:36:17.960 --> 00:36:19.880 Because even as they insist, 00:36:19.980 --> 00:36:21.380 the only people who insist 00:36:21.380 --> 00:36:22.059 that they're really 00:36:22.059 --> 00:36:22.900 a good person 00:36:22.900 --> 00:36:24.079 are people who are 00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:25.219 dealing with the fact 00:36:25.219 --> 00:36:26.440 often that they've done 00:36:26.440 --> 00:36:27.599 terrible things. 00:36:30.139 --> 00:36:31.259 And so they make 00:36:31.259 --> 00:36:32.519 that self-declaration. 00:36:33.380 --> 00:36:35.139 What they're really longing for 00:36:35.139 --> 00:36:36.960 is to hear that in Christ, 00:36:37.779 --> 00:36:40.460 he has made them right 00:36:40.460 --> 00:36:41.159 with God. 00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:43.980 They need that 00:36:43.980 --> 00:36:45.299 to be real to their heart. 00:36:45.659 --> 00:36:46.420 I need that 00:36:46.420 --> 00:36:47.759 to be real to my heart. 00:36:48.299 --> 00:36:49.039 You need that 00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:50.259 to be real to your heart. 00:36:54.559 --> 00:36:55.859 And it might sound 00:36:55.859 --> 00:36:57.539 as if believing these things 00:36:57.539 --> 00:36:58.319 is a recipe 00:36:58.319 --> 00:37:00.579 for unbridled narcissism. 00:37:00.579 --> 00:37:03.319 But brothers and sisters, 00:37:03.840 --> 00:37:06.079 as Christ enters your heart 00:37:06.079 --> 00:37:07.079 and what he has done 00:37:07.079 --> 00:37:07.860 for you on the cross 00:37:07.860 --> 00:37:09.420 becomes more real to you, 00:37:09.799 --> 00:37:11.480 as you begin to be able 00:37:11.480 --> 00:37:12.719 to live out of the fact 00:37:12.719 --> 00:37:14.079 that you're completely forgiven 00:37:14.079 --> 00:37:15.559 and he has made you right, 00:37:16.679 --> 00:37:18.440 it is only that 00:37:18.440 --> 00:37:19.719 which actually starts 00:37:19.719 --> 00:37:21.079 to make you and me 00:37:21.079 --> 00:37:22.079 whole enough 00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:23.539 that we can actually 00:37:23.539 --> 00:37:24.500 look at the wrong 00:37:24.500 --> 00:37:25.159 we've done 00:37:25.159 --> 00:37:28.159 and seek forgiveness 00:37:28.159 --> 00:37:29.239 and amendment of life. 00:37:29.239 --> 00:37:33.279 only that 00:37:33.279 --> 00:37:34.339 makes us secure 00:37:34.339 --> 00:37:35.019 enough 00:37:35.019 --> 00:37:38.379 to see who we really are. 00:37:38.379 --> 00:37:39.379 Thank you. 00:37:45.379 --> 00:37:46.779 I invite you to stand 00:37:46.779 --> 00:37:48.899 and we'll close in prayer. 00:37:48.900 --> 00:37:58.920 just before I pray 00:37:58.920 --> 00:38:00.280 the text goes on 00:38:00.280 --> 00:38:01.800 and says beware. 00:38:02.300 --> 00:38:03.559 I've just run out of time 00:38:03.559 --> 00:38:05.039 to be able to deal with it. 00:38:07.539 --> 00:38:08.980 If this is true 00:38:08.980 --> 00:38:11.780 it changes everything. 00:38:11.780 --> 00:38:14.840 and if it's true 00:38:14.840 --> 00:38:16.600 and you reject it 00:38:16.600 --> 00:38:19.519 this is not good for you. 00:38:23.180 --> 00:38:24.220 And this is recorded 00:38:24.220 --> 00:38:24.940 in God's word 00:38:24.940 --> 00:38:27.200 because God wants you 00:38:27.200 --> 00:38:27.920 to say yes. 00:38:29.540 --> 00:38:30.320 He wants you 00:38:30.320 --> 00:38:31.260 to receive this 00:38:31.260 --> 00:38:33.920 and learn to live out of it 00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:34.560 and that's partly 00:38:34.560 --> 00:38:35.540 what our church should be. 00:38:35.640 --> 00:38:36.280 Our church should be 00:38:36.280 --> 00:38:37.280 a place of encouragement. 00:38:38.460 --> 00:38:39.600 I was talking to somebody 00:38:39.600 --> 00:38:40.380 the other day about 00:38:40.380 --> 00:38:41.480 you know there was somebody 00:38:41.480 --> 00:38:42.160 I had to deal with 00:38:42.160 --> 00:38:42.940 another organization 00:38:42.940 --> 00:38:43.640 I'm a part with 00:38:43.640 --> 00:38:44.740 and I said 00:38:44.740 --> 00:38:45.500 I'm going to approach 00:38:45.500 --> 00:38:46.200 the conversation 00:38:46.200 --> 00:38:47.740 not as I'm the righteous person 00:38:47.740 --> 00:38:48.320 there the sinner 00:38:48.320 --> 00:38:50.579 but I'm a sinner 00:38:50.579 --> 00:38:51.640 talking to a sinner 00:38:51.640 --> 00:38:52.740 and we both need grace. 00:38:53.800 --> 00:38:55.140 We need to be encouraging 00:38:55.140 --> 00:38:55.660 each other 00:38:55.660 --> 00:38:56.820 to accept the forgiveness 00:38:56.820 --> 00:38:58.280 and the made rightness 00:38:58.280 --> 00:38:59.440 that only comes from Christ. 00:38:59.619 --> 00:39:00.280 Let's bow our heads 00:39:00.280 --> 00:39:00.700 in prayer. 00:39:02.160 --> 00:39:03.220 Father we ask that 00:39:03.220 --> 00:39:04.420 you would bring 00:39:04.420 --> 00:39:05.460 these wonderful truths 00:39:05.460 --> 00:39:06.099 of the gospel 00:39:06.099 --> 00:39:07.579 deeply home to us. 00:39:07.579 --> 00:39:09.739 that these truths 00:39:09.739 --> 00:39:10.340 would begin 00:39:10.340 --> 00:39:11.739 to form our hearts 00:39:11.739 --> 00:39:12.779 they would form 00:39:12.779 --> 00:39:13.559 our minds 00:39:13.559 --> 00:39:15.119 form our imaginations 00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:16.880 that these profound truths 00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:17.500 would be that 00:39:17.500 --> 00:39:18.619 on which we stand 00:39:18.619 --> 00:39:20.059 the solid ground 00:39:20.059 --> 00:39:21.199 on which we stand 00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:22.699 the solid end 00:39:22.699 --> 00:39:23.940 that we long for 00:39:23.940 --> 00:39:24.819 and yearn for 00:39:24.819 --> 00:39:26.440 the way that we can 00:39:26.440 --> 00:39:27.679 start to look at ourselves 00:39:27.679 --> 00:39:28.739 and look at the world 00:39:28.739 --> 00:39:30.199 that it will not create us 00:39:30.199 --> 00:39:31.099 and make us pride 00:39:31.099 --> 00:39:32.579 but it will humble us 00:39:32.579 --> 00:39:34.480 humble us in a good way 00:39:34.480 --> 00:39:35.880 so that as we bow to you 00:39:35.880 --> 00:39:37.099 and bow to these truths 00:39:37.099 --> 00:39:38.000 and receive them 00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:38.860 that they make us 00:39:38.860 --> 00:39:40.380 strong in you 00:39:40.380 --> 00:39:42.200 and so Father we ask 00:39:42.200 --> 00:39:42.840 that you would make 00:39:42.840 --> 00:39:43.400 these truths 00:39:43.400 --> 00:39:44.940 really deeply true 00:39:44.940 --> 00:39:46.000 in each of our lives 00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:47.019 and deeply true 00:39:47.019 --> 00:39:48.579 Father in us 00:39:48.579 --> 00:39:49.760 as a congregation 00:39:49.760 --> 00:39:53.300 and Father if there are 00:39:53.300 --> 00:39:54.300 any who are hearing this 00:39:54.300 --> 00:39:55.300 and they have not yet 00:39:55.300 --> 00:39:55.900 said yes 00:39:55.900 --> 00:39:57.380 to this profound message 00:39:57.380 --> 00:39:58.420 and offer from Christ 00:39:58.420 --> 00:40:00.340 we all pray Father 00:40:00.340 --> 00:40:01.400 that this will be the time 00:40:01.400 --> 00:40:02.539 that they say yes to him 00:40:02.539 --> 00:40:04.539 and we ask all these things 00:40:04.539 --> 00:40:05.460 in the name of Jesus 00:40:05.460 --> 00:40:06.619 your son and our savior 00:40:06.619 --> 00:40:08.059 amen 00:40:08.059 --> 00:40:08.579 amen