Good evening. So, during the festival this year in August, the Fringe Festival that is,
I went with a couple of other people, who will remain nameless, and saw a comedian.
He's from the Republic of Ireland. He's a sort of minor TV celebrity over there.
Just up in this little tiny back room up in Bristol Square.
And he started his set by talking about drudgery and just being a bit miserable.
And how the people he knows, and generally sort of in the Republic of Ireland,
among the people he knows, people like drudgery.
Which didn't make a lot of sense.
But he explained, he said, you know, it's like the person next door, he gets a new car,
he gets this fancy big BMW or whatever, and then you think, oh, I wish I had that.
He's gone on a big holiday. I wish I had that. I wish I had went there.
And it goes on.
Until it's at the point now that it's just part of the culture.
It's part of the norm.
And it keeps people going, and they have this weird enjoyment of it.
And then, he turns to us, the audience, and asks, do you have that here?
And I was sitting in the front row, and me being me.
I was like, yeah, of course.
Big part of our culture as well.
We like more than about things other people have that we don't.
And we had a bit of our conversation, a back and forth about it then.
And that came to mind as I was thinking and dwelling and reading about this topic.
What does God expect from me in this life?
As part of our questions series just now.
Because we can have this thought that God expects all these things from me.
And I need to do all these things.
And that leads to drudgery.
Or we can take the opposite view when we read God's Word and we see, man, he's asking a lot.
He wants a lot.
And I don't want to give him half quarter of all that.
And do all that.
I don't want that.
I've got enough rules to follow.
I've got enough to do.
And that leads to a kind of drudgery.
Seeing God and God's law and God's Word is a kind of drudgery.
And so there are two dangers with this question.
And we are trying to get through the middle of them.
And those are the two dangers, as I've sort of mentioned.
And with all these questions, there are always questions and issues underneath and sort of behind them as well.
And one of the issues, particularly with this one, is, like I've said, does God, as I read his Word, want me to obey everything he says there?
And if he does, how do I do that?
How do I obey all this?
Because it seems impossible.
And that's true.
It is.
And the other side, again, we don't need to do all that because I'm a Christian.
I've been saved by the grace and love of Jesus.
So I'm not required to do and required to keep all these things.
And both of these things really fundamentally are a misunderstanding and a misapprehension of who God is and what he's like.
So just as we go forward tonight and think about this question and try to come to an answer,
one verse I want to think about and dwell on and sort of direct is Psalm 37, verse 4, which is up there on the screen.
And it says, take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Because this is a question of desire and what we want, who we want to serve.
And so this verse in our culture might seem topsy-turvy, counter-cultural, and it is.
And it should be topsy-turvy because it talks about taking delight in the Lord and he'll give us the desires of our hearts.
And surely a lot of us will think to him, but I want that guy's BMW next door or whatever that doesn't seem to fit, just for an example.
So we're going to hopefully use this verse to guide us and take us along the path to some sort of answer tonight.
So we're going to, as we go, discuss and think about these two dangers I've mentioned.
And then we're going to come to the answer.
So the first danger is joyless obedience.
We read our Bibles, we study, we come to church, and a lot of things get said about what God wants, what God says,
his rules and his commandments, and especially in the outside world, they think, oh, this is such a drag.
You know, but then a lot of us will have the thinking that if I just keep myself right and really try hard, really buckle down, pay attention,
I'll be able to follow a lot of these, I'll be able to keep a lot of these rules.
Others will be put off right away and think, close that, put that away.
Not for me, thanks.
So, and with the first view of I can do this, I can keep these rules.
I can do like God wants me to do.
I can be a good person, a good Christian.
You always sit and think, I can do that.
He says, don't murder.
Like that guy at work, he is annoying, but I'm not going to murder him.
I can do this.
But that thinking is just topsy-turvy, it's wrong.
And we're going to look at an example in our Bibles now of why that is wrong.
So if you want to look in your Bibles at Matthew chapter 19, Matthew chapter 19, verses 16 to 22.
So it says,
Just then, a man came up to Jesus and asked,
Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?
Why do you ask me about what is good?
Jesus replied, there is only one who is good.
If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.
Which ones?
He inquired.
Jesus replied,
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give false witness.
Honor your father and mother and love your neighbor as yourself.
All these I have kept, the young man said.
What do I still lack?
And Jesus answered,
If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor.
And you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.
When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he had great wealth.
So with this passage, it can seem because of that last verse,
when the young man heard this, he went away sad because he had great wealth,
that the issue primarily is one of just purely money, possessions,
and the things he had and how he didn't want to give them up.
But the issue really is far deeper and more serious than that.
So the issue really behind all this and this young man and his attitude
and what he says to Jesus and how he went away disappointed
is that he was seeing God's law, God's rules, God's word as a checklist,
something to be obeyed and followed,
putting ticks in boxes and keeping yourself right.
And in fact, what he's missed, the big, huge, massive thing he has missed
is the person that's given the law.
He's missed the good God behind the law.
God gave the law as a kind of mirror to hold up to us and our state
and who we are and to show us who we really are,
apart from anything else and all the other influences and things
that tell us who we are and try and show us who we are.
There's a lot of other mirrors out there, but God's word is the true mirror.
All the other mirrors are like mirrors in a haunted house
that distort the body and are sort of trick.
So when we look in this mirror, the mirror of God's word and God's law,
it's like any other kind of mirror.
You look in it and you see you've not got anything in your teeth,
that you're all right, and then you leave the house.
And so God's law is like this as well.
It's a mirror, as I've said.
We look in it, but unlike other mirrors where we see that we're all right
and sort of fix ourselves, make sure our hair's looking all right,
it shows us the sorry state we're in in our hearts
and before God in terms of sin and rebellion.
It shows us sort of like a West Coast expression.
Look at the state of you when we look in it.
We look in the mirror of God's law and see someone there with food all down them,
bloodstains, oil, bruised, and all these terrible things you would fix in a normal mirror.
And that's just our state before God.
We're dirty and we are not fit for purpose when we look in God's law.
And it's a huge way to try and think of keeping and making sure we obey all of God's law
and we just can't do it.
It's an unbearable way for us, ourselves, and in of ourselves.
And that's the whole point of this mirror.
That's the whole point of God showing us the state we're in.
We're in is that he holds the mirror and then we are drawn from the mirror
to the person holding the mirror and what else he tells us.
We're drawn from the law to the author of the law
who's going to clean us up and give us new clothes and dress our wounds
caused by a rebellion against him.
And the author of the law, God, wants us to come in this simple faith
and rest in him and not worry ourselves with trying to keep this law to the letter
because we just can't do it ourselves.
So in verse 20 of this passage in Matthew, the young man says,
I've kept all these since I was a youth in reference to the commandments
that Jesus shares with him and reminds him of.
But the young man knows in himself there's something else here,
there's something more, I need to go deeper.
And he presses Jesus and he says to Jesus in the rest of the verse,
what else is there, what else do I still lack?
And it tells us in verse 22, again, that the young man went away disappointed
because of Jesus' answer, because of his great wealth and possessions.
But all through this conversation that this young man has with Jesus,
he's asking about how he can get eternal life.
And there are a couple of things in this conversation
that the young man does correctly,
which we don't always think about with this passage or talk about,
which, you know, we should think on the good things that are in it
from the young man's point of view.
First off, he shows this concern for God's kingdom.
He comes to Jesus and says, how can I get into the kingdom?
How can I be a member?
How can I get involved?
And that's right.
And we need to follow that example and show this concern,
how we can get into God's kingdom and how we can be involved.
So that's one positive element that we can take away from this story
and what the young man says.
And then the next thing that I noticed that the young man does correctly
and does right and that we can take away from as a positive for us
is that he sought out Jesus to ask about the kingdom of God
and he sought out Jesus for answers to his questions,
to these ultimate questions of life and death and eternal life.
There's loads of other sources for answers,
but the other sources are wrong and are incorrect.
There's any number of places that people and we can seek out answers,
but there's only one source of truth and authority in these issues of life
and death and eternal life that we have been thinking and talking about
in all these sermons and many others,
and that is Jesus himself.
Both then when he was speaking to the young man
and now as we hear his voice speaking to us in the Bible.
But unfortunately that's really where the positive aspects
of this passage in Matthew end,
where the young man is concerned.
But there's more to learn from this conversation
and it helps us inform our journey to our answer.
What does God expect from me in this life?
So the young man, as I've said, comes to Jesus
and through what he says we see that he has this misunderstanding
of who God is and what he wants, what he expects.
For him God's law is about gaining brownie points,
earning kudos from God.
And he's really looking at the sort of bare minimum he can do
and achieve in his own strength and in his own way
to get in, to get through the door.
And for him the law and God are sort of really detached by this point
and are unrelated to each other.
Really the correct view is that the law and keeping it
is about glorifying God and it's about enjoying God,
not just ticks and boxes and keeping yourself right
and keeping yourself on the straight and narrow
and the hope that with that, that'll be enough,
that'll get me in, that'll get me over the bar
and across the threshold.
So that's what God wants from us
and expects of us from this point of view.
He wants us to glorify and enjoy him.
And that's what the law is about,
as well as pointing to our condition, our sinful condition.
He wants all of us to enjoy him.
He doesn't want us just to obey him without thinking
and without that enjoyment and without that joy.
Not just for, we're not just to enjoy the commands in and of themselves,
but we're supposed to enjoy the good and gracious God
who gives the law and who is holding that mirror that we thought about.
So, we thought about that angle.
And then the second danger in this topic and with this question
is what I've deemed Christian freedom.
And I'll explain in a moment what I mean by that.
So, as part of my studies up at ETS,
in the first year we had to read a book,
which is called, should I put a picture up of it?
But, too late now.
And that book is called,
if you have a pen and a piece of paper there,
you should take a note of it,
and I'll talk about it again later.
It's a book called The Whole Christ by Sinclair Ferguson.
And Sinclair Ferguson is talking about this issue
of sort of legalism and speaking about obeying the law
to the best of your ability and just cracking on,
trying to put ticks in boxes.
And then the other side of the debate and the issue,
this Christian freedom of,
well, I'm saved.
I'm a Christian.
I'm enjoying the grace of God.
This has relieved my worries and my stress.
I can go about and do as I please now.
And in this book,
although the two seem like completely unrelated,
completely nothing to do with each other,
Sinclair Ferguson really thrashes it out.
It's a really hard book to read for me anyway,
but well worth the read.
He calls Christian freedom and the other danger of joyless obedience,
this legalism,
as non-identical twins from the same womb.
So they seem completely at odds with each other,
but actually he says,
no, in fact,
these things are the two,
one and the same.
They're the same thing and from the same place.
That misunderstanding of who God is
and what he wants and what he expects.
And these are both errors.
And both of them really see God
cast as a sergeant major in a uniform
and he's barking orders
and one says,
aye, aye, sir,
I'll get that done.
I'll do that.
I'm going to stick to this.
And the other says,
no way,
I don't need anyone else barking orders at me
and tell me what to do.
So,
just like the young man,
as we thought about,
and people
here in Brunsfield
and other churches
and various other places
in the outside world
who see this all negatively,
who are obeying joylessly,
they see God and his word
as lifeless and joyless.
And then on the other side of it,
with this one,
it's people seeing the grace of God
that is there
and we should enjoy
and we should love
and revel in
that we have this joy
and this grace of God.
They see it
as a get out of jail free card
from like Monopoly
where you play the card
and you're off scot free.
That's what salvation and faith is
to them to some extent.
And an example of that,
in our sort of modern culture
would be like a Christian
boyfriend and girlfriend
who start having sex
and doing that
without ever being married.
Sort of in the thinking that,
oh, we're Christians,
it's okay,
we're saved,
we're going to get married someday,
it'll be fine.
We're just wanting to have
a bit of fun now.
So that's just
massive misunderstanding
of God and his grace.
And this problem
was even present
back in the sort of
early church
right at the very beginning.
And I want to
look at another passage
just now
in 1 Peter.
So Peter sort of
addresses this kind of problem
and this thinking
that was prevalent
in being taught
in the early church
by some teachers.
So 1 Peter,
just chapter 1.
If you look at that,
we'll look at it in a moment.
So 1 Peter,
part of this book
addresses this problem
with this Christian freedom.
I'm saved,
I've enjoyed the grace of God
and now I'm free
to do as I like.
And people are actually teaching
that the more we sin,
the more God
pours out his grace,
the more he's gracious,
which is just so
topsy-turvy.
And that thinking,
sin particularly
was used
as a
reason
for
immorality
of all sorts,
but especially
in the sexual realm
where people were
having affairs
and having sex
with each other
in the church.
And it was just like
the more we sin,
the more God
pours out his grace
and we're saved
so we are free
to enjoy our bodies
and use them
as we see fit,
really.
So Peter writes
this letter
to correct this,
to address this
and in 1 Peter chapter 1
he does this
in a positive way
and then in chapter 2
he does it in a more
stronger way
where he's correcting
the errors
and really
sort of calling
these false teachers
out for their errors
and for leading
God's people astray
into this wrong thinking.
And he's not just
interested in saying this
and he's not just
saying this to these
Christians because
it's violating God's law
so it's just like
stop doing that,
you're being naughty,
you better stop that,
that's wrong.
He's really invested
in caring
about God,
not just his law
but about God himself
and he is
obsessed with
and his desire is
that God
would be glorified
and that these people
would come back
to glorifying God
properly
and enjoying God
and enjoying the
inheritance
and the good things
of God.
So in 1 Peter
I want to look
from verse 13
sort of on
for a few verses
I'll just read that
Therefore
with minds
that are alert
and fully sober
set your hope
on the grace
to be brought to you
when Jesus Christ
is revealed
at his coming
as obedient children
do not conform
to the evil desires
you had
when you lived
in ignorance
but just as
he who called you
is holy
so be holy
in all you do
for it is written
be holy
because I am holy
since you call
on a father
who judges
each person's work
impartially
live out your time
as foreigners
here in reverent fear
for you know
that it was not
with perishable things
such as silver
or gold
that were redeemed
from the empty
way of life
handed down to you
from your ancestors
but with the precious
blood of Christ
a lamb
without blemish
or defect
he was chosen
before the creation
of the world
but was revealed
in these last times
for your sake
through him
you believe in God
who raised him
from the dead
and glorified him
and so your faith
and hope
are in God
now that you
have purified yourself
by obeying the truth
so that you have
sincere love
for each other
love one another
deeply from the heart
for you have been
born again
not of perishable seed
but of imperishable
through the living
and enduring
word of God
so Peter's
bringing back to them
and reminding them
what's been done
for them
and why
what they're doing
and what they're thinking
and teaching
and believing
about grace
and about the law
is wrong
and topsy-turvy
and upside down
Peter's saying to them
these people
in the early church
and to each one of us
here tonight as well
just as much
set your attention
and desire
on the things of God
and not this
cheap
petty
selfish
worthless
and ultimately
temporal
like
it'll run out
it'll expire
way of life
that you had before
God
who you've
got this faith in
and who you've
received faith from
is eternal
and he's glorious
he's our glorious
heavenly father
who sent his own
beloved son
not just anyone else
his own beloved son
into the world
to redeem you
by his blood
you weren't
redeemed
by earthly things
jewels
gold
silver
or whatever else
but by the blood
of the son of God
so you need to
just see the great
thing this is for you
and how important
it is
to
throw off
these things
and get rid of them
to come back
to where you were
before
seeing the goodness
of the word of God
the law of God
and what it tells us
about our salvation
and God's grace
that he has for us
so this word
redeemed is important
in this passage
and a lot of other
passages
in the New Testament
because it comes
out of the
slave trade
which is different
from modern slavery
and American
chattel slavery
that we often
think of
when we say
that word
and
to redeem
people out of
slavery
you would go
to the slave market
and you would see
some person
that you wanted
to be taken
out of slavery
and you would
pay a sum
for them
in money
or land
or whatever else
and you would
give them
their freedom
so that
you would pay
a price for someone
and it would be
a hefty price
so Peter
is really driving
home to them
and they would
have had a much
better understanding
of that language
than we do
in our own
modern context
but that's some of it
that what a dear
and huge price
God has paid
in sending
his own son
to us
we've been
redeemed
not just
with money
or land
or whatever else
was used
but by the life
of the very
son of God
so that we can
become members
of God's family
it's not just
in those days
when people
were redeemed
from slavery
they wouldn't
then get into
the royal house
or whatever
the emperor
or king
or local lord
or whatever
but this is the
case
in our redemption
in our purchase
from slavery
that we become
members of the
royal house
of God's family
which is so much
bigger than just
receiving your freedom
there you're free
go and do as you
please
we're bought into
this new
better family
so surely
in reading this
passage
and various other
places as well
with what Peter
is saying
and what he's
teaching us
surely we should
do is he
encourages
and set
our desire
on God
and his glory
rather than
our own
for the glorious
thing that has
been done
on our behalf
so that is
sort of the
two sides
of the equation
that we can
that we're all
danger of falling
into in both
and we will fall
into at different
times and in
different ways
so what is
the answer
Peter you'll
like that one
with the
rubric cube
so the answer
to some extent
and it's a huge
topic for discussion
and better minds
and people than me
have written
extensively on it
and spoke about it
but it is
joyful obedience
that is the answer
to our question
tonight of
what does God
expect from me
he wants
obedience from us
because of the
love that he has
for us
and the good
thing that God's
law is and what
it's been done
for us like we
thought about
from Peter
he doesn't want
us to be robots
who see ourselves
as programmed
to do what we
have to do
because God
said it
just plain
and simple
black and white
to get into
heaven just to
get us in there
just do enough
to earn our way
to earn our passage
but he wants us
to be people
who have had
their desires
changed completely
because of the
faith we have
and the work
of the Holy Spirit
who is indwelling
in us
who makes
our desires
change
who makes
the things
we want
change to the
things that God
wants and the
things that God
desires
and the love
the things that
God loves
which is an
encouragement for us
because as I said
I've thought about
we can't do this
ourselves
so the Holy Spirit
has been sent
to help us in this
through this faith
in the Lord Jesus
that we're given
we are also given
this sweet freedom
from these chains
that bind us
metaphorically speaking
from the chains
of sin and death
and that's great news
and we should all
celebrate that
and love that thought
and that is the way
God wants us
to be
he wants us to
celebrate these
things and revel
in them
and love
the freedom
that we've been
given in this
grace
in this
tremendous thing
that's been done
for us
but it doesn't
free us
just to live
and do
as we please
and it's a fine
line between
these two things
these two dangers
and both of them
like I'd said
at the start
involve this
drudgery
the drudgery
of being told
what to do
and thinking
what a drag
I need to go
and I need to
really crack on
and get knuckled
down and get
this done
and the other
side of the
drudgery of
I'm not interested
in this
this is far too
much and I'm
not going to do
it because it's
seen as this
drag
so it is this
fine line
between
just following
along
and the freedom
and just
exploiting the
grace that we've
been given
and abusing it
as well
in a sense
so the only
true solution
that we have
as a touchstone
is this
trust in Jesus
we thought about
the faith
and the
Holy Spirit
that's been sent
to Elvis in this
but it's through
this faith
in Jesus
so if we find
ourselves in the
first camp
of the
joyless obedience
following along
doing as we're
told
as best we can
for all intents
and purposes
where God's
like this
sergeant major
barking orders
at us
and we're
determined to
follow them
that will bring
us no pleasure
and we will
not grow
in our
Christian lives
whatsoever
we'll be
stunted
but in
saying that
if we do
find ourselves
there as we
will do
from time
to time
then
we have
to stop
and remember
the price
has been
paid for
us
by Jesus
and remember
as well
that it's not
down to our
work
the work
has been
done
the price
has been
paid
we are
redeemed
we can't
do this
work ourselves
we can't
pay this
price ourselves
but it has
been paid
for us
and that
was done
through
this perfect
obedience
to the will
of God
that Jesus
had all
through his
life
and we
can rest
in that
work
and thank
God for
it
and if we
find ourselves
rather
in this
second camp
of thinking
how we want
to break
free
get gone
run off
stop worrying
about all
these rules
and all
these setbacks
then stop
and remember
again
that Jesus
obeyed his
father perfectly
which we
can't do
but he
obeyed his
father perfectly
and cherished
the law
of God
and took
delight in it
says it all
through
the gospels
so if the
Lord Jesus
cherished it
and delighted
in it
and to obey
it as well
there must be
something good
about it
and we should
follow suit
as the Lord
Jesus did
and when we
ultimately do
find all of this
hard going
the two dangers
are there
when we find
all of this
tough
as we will
and it
happens a lot
to all of
us
remember
that Jesus
is sitting
there
at the
right hand
of God
to this
day
interceding
for us
and speaking
for us
on our
behalf
and as I've
said the
Holy Spirit
has been
sent to
help us
on our
way
to an
answer
to this
question
and to
help us
apply it
and live
it out
and if
we think
about this
if we
can
obey
joyfully
in light
of all
this
how good
will it
be when
people
in the
office
and in
the hospital
and wherever
else we
go on
life's
journey
how good
would it
be for
those people
we mix
with to
see people
who are
obeying the
law of
God
joyfully
and obeying
their heavenly
father
joyfully
like the
Lord Jesus
did
that have
been moulded
by the
love of
the Lord
and love
of his
word
because that
is true
freedom
for all
of us
and I
think that
would really
turn the
world
upside down
and so
that is
an attempt
to answer
the question
what does
God
expect from
me in
this life
and I
just want
to end
with this
verse
here
that's up
on the
screen
Psalm
37
verse 4
take
delight
in the
Lord
and he
will give
you the
desires
of your
heart
how true
that is
when we
delight in
the Lord
we will
be rewarded
so much
more for
the things
that we
give up
here in
this life
and he
will give
us the
desires
of our
heart
which will
be so
much
sweeter
than
the
desires
we
had
previously
let's
just pray
and then
we can
have a
break
and get
a drink
heavenly
father
we
thank you
so much
for your
word
and for
your law
and how
you use
it to
teach us
and to
lead us
and to
show us
how much
we
need you
and we
need the
Lord Jesus
and the
Holy Spirit
that it
shows us
just in
what a
sorry and
poor state
we're in
by ourselves
but we
thank you
Lord that
you know
our hearts
you know
our minds
you know
our desires
you know
all these
things about
us
and yet
when we
come to
you in
faith
you accept
us
and we
thank you
that that
is because
of the
Lord Jesus
and his
work
and we
are given
that freely
and we
are represented
and we
don't need
to work
ourselves
and Heavenly
Father we
pray that
as we go
from this
place
tonight
into the
coming week
that we
will remember
that you
want your
children
your people
to love
you
and to
obey
and serve
you
not out
of
obligation
and not
out of
trying to
put ticks
in boxes
but really
out of
true love
and devotion
and we
pray Lord
like that
Psalm
37
verse 4
says
we pray
Lord
that we
would take
the light
in you
and that
you would
be giving
us the
desires of
our hearts
and we
pray Lord
that you
would be
changing
the desires
of our
hearts
so that
we would
be
honouring
and glorifying
you
and we
just pray
this now
for all of
us in the
precious name
of the Lord
Jesus
Amen