WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.879 Matthew 5, verses 1 to 12, this is the word of the Lord. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.000 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:37.619 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:42.960 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:00:43.820 --> 00:00:52.519 And blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 00:00:53.539 --> 00:00:56.920 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. 00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:00.560 For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 00:01:00.820 --> 00:01:02.260 This is God's holy word. 00:01:03.020 --> 00:01:06.560 Last week we started a new evening series on the Sermon on the Mount. 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:10.579 And Flynn opened up looking at the Beatitudes. 00:01:11.579 --> 00:01:15.180 And he focused on the very center of the Beatitudes, verse 6. 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:23.099 And tonight I'll step back and broaden and look at the whole of the Beatitudes as we enter, again, another intro into the Sermon on the Mount. 00:01:23.099 --> 00:01:32.060 And he mentioned this last week, that the word Beatitude, this is what these blessings, these eight ways to be blessed, they're commonly called the Beatitudes. 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:34.659 And that is a Latin word. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.259 They were named by a Latin word. 00:01:36.379 --> 00:01:41.459 And the Latin word for Beatitude just means happiness or to be blessed, blessedness. 00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:45.699 And so this word blessed gets used a lot, and so they called them the Beatitudes. 00:01:45.700 --> 00:01:54.760 But another way that people throughout church history have talked about the Beatitudes is they've called this the description of the beautiful life. 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:56.439 The beautiful life. 00:01:57.420 --> 00:02:07.680 And in the old world, the classical world, people would often talk about this, the reality, these principles of truth, goodness, and beauty. 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:13.540 And how in truth, goodness, and beauty, you find the three great attributes of God. 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:14.140 God is truth. 00:02:14.260 --> 00:02:14.740 God is good. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:16.040 God is beautiful. 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:20.659 And God has made the world and gifted the world with truth, goodness, and beauty. 00:02:20.939 --> 00:02:22.879 And all three of these things work together. 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:23.920 Truth, goodness, and beauty. 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:26.960 You really need to have all three to have one. 00:02:28.540 --> 00:02:29.680 The beautiful life. 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:32.719 You've got to have all three, truth, goodness, and beauty, to have one. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.300 So let me make this more concrete. 00:02:36.300 --> 00:02:46.760 Maybe you're talking to your friend, your spouse, your partner, your parent, your sibling, and you say something to them, and it can be true. 00:02:47.580 --> 00:02:51.920 You can say something that's true, but your intention was to hurt them. 00:02:53.020 --> 00:03:00.260 And so you can say something that's true, that's not a lie, but it's not good because you had a bad intention, and therefore it's not beautiful. 00:03:00.600 --> 00:03:01.600 It's not beautiful speech. 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:07.639 So you see, if you want to speak beautifully, you've got to speak not only truth, but also goodness. 00:03:07.859 --> 00:03:10.099 You've got to have the right intention, goodness about it. 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:15.599 And so in the old theologians, the pre-modern philosophers, they talk about how you need all three. 00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:18.039 You need truth, goodness, and beauty to just have one. 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:28.859 And Christians of old have come and said, Jesus here gives you the prescription for the beautiful life, where truth and goodness meet in order to see what's beautiful about life. 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:32.080 In other words, it's not just that art can be beautiful. 00:03:32.200 --> 00:03:33.500 It's not just that paintings are beautiful. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:40.000 It's not just that landscapes are beautiful, but that you can be beautiful in your person, how you live. 00:03:40.580 --> 00:03:41.580 A life can be beautiful. 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:47.120 And this is what Jesus is talking about here at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:51.400 We started a new series this morning as well on practicing the Christian life. 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:57.560 And this semester you'll see that quite often morning and evening will really come together and coalesce. 00:03:57.939 --> 00:04:03.000 This morning was quite broad on taking up the Christian life and what it means to change. 00:04:03.420 --> 00:04:05.000 And tonight is also quite broad in that. 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:08.180 But as we go through the Sermon on the Mount, it gets more and more specific. 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:14.640 And you really get into the weeds, the details about living as a Christian through lots of specific topics. 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:23.180 But tonight we'll take a panorama view of the Beatitudes and see that Jesus here is talking about the beautiful life. 00:04:23.819 --> 00:04:25.719 And let's think about that. 00:04:26.339 --> 00:04:27.319 He teaches us something. 00:04:28.039 --> 00:04:31.919 He teaches us that to live the beautiful life you need truth. 00:04:32.539 --> 00:04:33.719 You need goodness. 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:34.740 You need the good life. 00:04:35.379 --> 00:04:38.779 And then you've got to learn from that how to live the beautiful life. 00:04:38.779 --> 00:04:45.039 So let's look at the truth himself, the good life that he teaches us about, and then how we can live beautiful lives. 00:04:45.779 --> 00:04:46.859 So first, the truth himself. 00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:54.119 The question really here is who, let's back up to verse 1 and say, who is giving the Sermon on the Mount? 00:04:54.659 --> 00:04:55.779 Who's the one speaking it? 00:04:56.199 --> 00:04:56.939 And it's Jesus. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:03.759 And you know that in other places like John chapter 14, Jesus says, I am the truth. 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:08.680 And so here you've got the truth himself telling you about the good life. 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:19.180 And Matthew is, in the very short introduction you have in verse 1 and 2, to verse 1 especially, to Jesus as he speaks the Sermon on the Mount. 00:05:19.420 --> 00:05:21.560 There's so much background there to help you. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:27.639 I think Matthew is trying to get you to ask the question, who is this speaker as he gives us the Sermon on the Mount? 00:05:27.639 --> 00:05:34.919 And here he is in verse 1 preaching on top of a mountain, on the side of a mountain, next to the Sea of Galilee. 00:05:36.060 --> 00:05:40.279 And so far in Matthew, Jesus has not taught yet. 00:05:40.419 --> 00:05:42.680 He's not given any teaching at all. 00:05:43.339 --> 00:05:45.539 So Jesus was born in the first four chapters. 00:05:45.659 --> 00:05:51.079 He was born, he was baptized, and then he went into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan. 00:05:51.479 --> 00:05:53.639 And now he comes up the mountain and he starts teaching. 00:05:53.719 --> 00:05:56.120 But so far there's been no teaching from Jesus. 00:05:56.120 --> 00:06:02.319 And now you've got three very full chapters, long chapters, of Jesus teaching. 00:06:02.660 --> 00:06:09.959 And in some sense all the action that's taken place in the first four chapters has been prepping you for the teaching that you're about to get. 00:06:10.040 --> 00:06:11.920 And three full chapters from Jesus. 00:06:12.220 --> 00:06:13.620 And just think about that action. 00:06:14.420 --> 00:06:16.579 What's led up to this moment for a second with me? 00:06:17.280 --> 00:06:19.340 In the first four chapters, who is Jesus? 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:23.699 Matthew's writing to a Jewish audience primarily in this gospel. 00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:27.539 And he opens Matthew chapter 1 with the genealogy. 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:32.199 And he says, Jesus Christ is the son of Abraham from the Old Testament. 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:36.439 And then if you just flip over to some of the stories, I'll just highlight a few. 00:06:36.860 --> 00:06:42.779 In chapter 2, verse 13, an angel comes to Joseph, the Lord. 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:45.919 An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:51.360 Rise, take the child and his mother and go down to Egypt and remain there until I tell you why. 00:06:51.780 --> 00:06:54.939 Because Herod is killing all the little boys. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:07:00.759 He's committing a genocide against the little boys because he thinks he's been told the prophecy about this Messiah. 00:07:01.580 --> 00:07:06.759 And so one of the very first things that happens to Jesus after he's born is he goes into Egypt. 00:07:07.900 --> 00:07:09.180 And why does he go into Egypt? 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:13.840 He goes into Egypt because there's an evil king who is killing all the little Hebrew boys. 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:18.959 And when you read that, you start to think, that sounds a lot like the story of the Exodus. 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:27.579 How when Moses was born, he went into Egypt because an evil king was killing all the little boys. 00:07:28.259 --> 00:07:29.379 And how did he escape? 00:07:29.479 --> 00:07:34.779 Well, his mom put him in a basket and sent him not away from Egypt, but deeper in, all the way to the palace. 00:07:35.819 --> 00:07:42.039 And Jesus, at the beginning of his life, he goes into Egypt because the evil king is killing all the little boys. 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:50.600 And then right after that, in chapter 2, verse 14, it says that after Joseph rose, he took the child and his mother and they went into Egypt. 00:07:51.020 --> 00:07:52.379 They remained there until the death of Herod. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:54.680 And this was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken. 00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:58.860 This prophecy, Hosea 11, out of Egypt I've called my son. 00:07:59.840 --> 00:08:03.740 And in Hosea 11, that prophecy was looking back at who? 00:08:03.900 --> 00:08:07.520 It was looking back at Moses and Israel being called out of Egypt. 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:16.319 And now, in Jesus' life, we're being told, Jesus went down into Egypt at the beginning of his life, but then God took him up out of Egypt to the promised land. 00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:18.339 And you start to get this picture. 00:08:19.620 --> 00:08:21.339 Jesus looks a lot like Moses. 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:25.079 He looks a lot like Israel in these stories. 00:08:25.299 --> 00:08:28.019 And then right after that, we could go on for a little while, but I'll only give you two more. 00:08:28.019 --> 00:08:33.860 Right after that, he comes up out of Egypt, back to Israel, and immediately he's baptized. 00:08:34.199 --> 00:08:40.100 In other words, he comes up out of Egypt and he goes down into the water, and then he comes back up again from the water. 00:08:41.379 --> 00:08:50.480 And in the Old Testament, when Moses and the Israelites left Egypt, they went down into the Red Sea and they came back up out of the Red Sea in salvation. 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:53.399 And then right after that, what's the very next story? 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:54.379 You could probably guess it. 00:08:55.500 --> 00:08:59.420 Jesus is driven from the Red Sea into the wilderness. 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:01.440 And how long is he in the wilderness? 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:08.460 He's in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, just like Israel was driven up out of the Red Sea into the wilderness for 40 years. 00:09:09.980 --> 00:09:11.300 And here we are now. 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:13.019 Jesus comes and sits on top of this mountain. 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:20.139 And you're starting to get the picture, I think, that we're being told Jesus Christ is reliving the Exodus story. 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:23.720 He is like Moses. 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:28.259 Jesus Christ, we're being told here, is the true and the better Moses. 00:09:29.560 --> 00:09:35.180 And Moses was a very great mediator, a very great savior for the people of Israel. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:40.000 But Matthew is trying to tell you that Jesus Christ has come to be the true and better Moses. 00:09:40.800 --> 00:09:46.899 And not only that, but he's actually also, it's not just Moses that went into the wilderness for 40 years. 00:09:47.860 --> 00:09:51.179 Jesus went into the wilderness and he was tempted and he withstood it. 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:56.639 And that means that he's not only, Hosea 11, one says, he's not only the true and better Moses, he's the true and better Israel. 00:09:57.899 --> 00:10:01.679 He is, he's taking on the very life of the people of God. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:05.479 But he's living it in their place without sin. 00:10:06.539 --> 00:10:14.500 And that means that we're being told so far, when we come to the Sermon on the Mount, very important for reading the Sermon on the Mount, that Jesus Christ is the true mediator. 00:10:14.819 --> 00:10:15.799 The true and better mediator. 00:10:15.959 --> 00:10:16.659 The better Moses. 00:10:17.199 --> 00:10:19.239 But he's also the true substitute. 00:10:20.379 --> 00:10:23.519 He's come to literally live the life of the people of God. 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:24.899 That they never lived. 00:10:25.099 --> 00:10:27.159 They were tempted and they succumbed to that. 00:10:27.159 --> 00:10:27.959 But he never did. 00:10:28.959 --> 00:10:32.939 He's come not only to be mediator, but also substitute as he comes to the Sermon on the Mount. 00:10:33.659 --> 00:10:35.039 And then, it doesn't stop there. 00:10:35.959 --> 00:10:39.000 When he comes here in Matthew chapter 5, verse 1. 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:43.799 We're told here that in verse 1, there's four verbs. 00:10:44.500 --> 00:10:47.759 In verse 1 and 2, it says that when he saw the crowds, here they are. 00:10:47.939 --> 00:10:49.600 He went up the mountain. 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:52.039 And then he sat down. 00:10:52.199 --> 00:10:52.899 That's the second one. 00:10:52.899 --> 00:10:56.240 And then in verse 2, he opened his mouth and he taught. 00:10:57.399 --> 00:10:59.179 Very stark Greek. 00:10:59.399 --> 00:11:00.240 Very sharp. 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:01.959 Four action verbs. 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:03.539 Jesus went up the mountain. 00:11:04.179 --> 00:11:06.860 After he came out of the wilderness, he sits. 00:11:06.980 --> 00:11:07.519 Very important. 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:09.480 He opens his mouth and he teaches. 00:11:09.659 --> 00:11:09.879 Why? 00:11:10.059 --> 00:11:10.980 What's going on here? 00:11:11.299 --> 00:11:12.319 You can't pass by this. 00:11:13.419 --> 00:11:15.759 Because Matthew is saying, this is the true and better Moses. 00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:22.360 And when Moses and the Israelites came up out of Egypt, they went and Moses came up the side of a mountain. 00:11:22.460 --> 00:11:24.879 He gave the second law before they entered the promised land. 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:25.439 Deuteronomy. 00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:26.519 It's the book of Deuteronomy. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:35.379 And you remember when Moses went up the Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, the great teaching on how to live life? 00:11:35.379 --> 00:11:42.899 He had to go up the mountain and he had to bow down before the Lord and hear the Lord tell him the law. 00:11:43.460 --> 00:11:45.059 Hear the Lord tell him how to live. 00:11:46.019 --> 00:11:52.620 But Jesus Christ here, the new, the true, the better Moses, he goes up the mountain and he doesn't hear teaching. 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:58.799 It says he sits down, the position of authority, the throne, and he just gives it. 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:03.879 You see, Matthew is trying to get you to see that this is not just the true and better Moses. 00:12:04.059 --> 00:12:11.000 This is not just the substitute of the people reliving the life of God's people but doing it without sin. 00:12:11.500 --> 00:12:12.279 This is God. 00:12:13.319 --> 00:12:17.639 He is able to go up to the top of the mountain and he doesn't have to be taught in order to teach you. 00:12:18.579 --> 00:12:20.419 He can just tell you this is the beautiful life. 00:12:20.959 --> 00:12:21.740 This is the way to live. 00:12:22.719 --> 00:12:27.899 In every way, wow, the fulfillment of everything the Old Testament has been talking about. 00:12:27.899 --> 00:12:29.019 Right here in this moment. 00:12:30.319 --> 00:12:31.600 And that's very important for us. 00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:34.360 It's very important in this series as we approach the Sermon on the Mount. 00:12:35.159 --> 00:12:40.600 Because we are, all of us in this room tonight, no matter how long you've been a Christian, 00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:44.100 you are a late modern human being. 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:47.220 You exist in the period of late modernism. 00:12:47.220 --> 00:12:51.419 And late modernism is an age where we are constantly being told all the time 00:12:51.419 --> 00:12:56.100 that the ideals of the enlightenment, the revolution away from authority, 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:58.240 are the most important thing in our lives. 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:05.820 Where we're being told that we are made, we exist to seek true individual, rugged individual freedom. 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:10.740 And that means that we want maximum choices in our lives. 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:14.440 We want to have choice without constraint. 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:19.960 We want to be people who are free from burdens, free from commitment, free from constraint at all costs. 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:23.340 And that's the lessons that our culture is constantly telling us. 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:26.000 And that means that as late modern people, even as Christians, 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:31.580 we can come to something like the Sermon on the Mount and read what the blessed life looks like 00:13:31.580 --> 00:13:39.340 and read what Jesus teaches about things like lust and forgiveness and reconciliation 00:13:39.340 --> 00:13:41.879 and all sorts of moments and say, 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:49.519 you know, Jesus' teaching, the Sermon on the Mount feels a little bit like a net closing in on me. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:52.019 It feels constraining. 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:55.439 You know, I feel like I'm a person made for freedom. 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:56.879 Options. 00:13:57.480 --> 00:14:01.879 I don't want to be constrained by law, by rules, by being told what to do in my life. 00:14:01.960 --> 00:14:05.980 And you've got to see that what God is saying here, what Matthew is saying here, 00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:11.779 is that this is the true and better Moses, God himself speaking with such authority that says to you, 00:14:12.259 --> 00:14:18.800 everything you've been taught about the modern life, the sense of freedom that our culture gives is not true. 00:14:20.220 --> 00:14:26.039 And that the only real path to freedom is through constraint, but the kind of constraint, 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:30.940 the kind of constraint that leads you, that gives you the ability to love. 00:14:30.940 --> 00:14:36.580 That true freedom is coming and submitting to the true and better Moses, 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:40.700 the God himself who really can teach you what it's like to live a beautiful life. 00:14:41.640 --> 00:14:43.700 And so that's this verse first. 00:14:44.300 --> 00:14:45.140 He came up the mountain. 00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:46.520 He sat down. 00:14:47.020 --> 00:14:47.880 He opened his mouth. 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:48.860 And he spoke. 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:50.720 He's the true and better Moses. 00:14:51.520 --> 00:14:52.480 He's the great lawgiver. 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:54.840 And it's the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount. 00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:56.180 And we've got to submit. 00:14:57.780 --> 00:15:00.060 We've got to see that what he teaches us is beautiful here 00:15:00.059 --> 00:15:01.559 about the way to live life. 00:15:02.339 --> 00:15:05.059 All right, secondly, so what is that good life that he teaches us about? 00:15:05.539 --> 00:15:08.919 And we'll move through it very quickly, these Beatitudes. 00:15:10.479 --> 00:15:13.759 One of the ways you can talk about it, if you look down at verse 2, 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:17.479 he says in verse 2, sorry, verse 3, 00:15:17.579 --> 00:15:20.739 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:24.459 And then down in verse 10, one of the very last Beatitudes, 00:15:24.939 --> 00:15:29.479 Blessed are those who are persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:34.779 And so this idea of being a person fit for the kingdom of heaven 00:15:34.779 --> 00:15:36.940 is the bookends of the Beatitudes. 00:15:37.820 --> 00:15:39.420 So what is the Beatitudes talking about? 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:43.519 It's talking about the life of a citizen of the kingdom of God 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:44.519 or the kingdom of heaven. 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:49.899 And really what it's talking about is bringing your citizenship as a Christian 00:15:49.899 --> 00:15:52.720 from the kingdom of heaven into the now, 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:57.899 reaching into the future when the kingdom of God will be fully realized in this world 00:15:57.899 --> 00:15:59.799 and bringing it into today. 00:16:00.139 --> 00:16:00.980 That's the Beatitudes. 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:02.539 That's the blessed life. 00:16:03.199 --> 00:16:05.980 And the commentators, I think, have been very helpful to look at this 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:10.620 and show us that the Beatitudes are broken down into two sets. 00:16:10.779 --> 00:16:14.360 There's four negative Beatitudes and then four positive Beatitudes. 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:18.980 And they're telling a story, the Beatitudes are. 00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:23.820 And you've got to really see that to get the deep meaning of the Beatitudes. 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:25.620 And so let me show it to you. 00:16:26.860 --> 00:16:28.120 Just look at the first three. 00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:29.919 The first three, he says, 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:31.639 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:32.980 Blessed are those who mourn. 00:16:33.500 --> 00:16:34.200 Blessed are the meek. 00:16:34.540 --> 00:16:35.840 So he's saying, first of all, 00:16:36.160 --> 00:16:38.500 if you want to live the blessed life, the happy life, 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.060 the life of the kingdom, the good life, 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:45.400 you need to know that you are in poverty. 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:46.440 You need to be in poverty. 00:16:46.680 --> 00:16:47.640 You need to mourn. 00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:48.460 You need to be sad. 00:16:49.300 --> 00:16:51.020 And you need to be meek. 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:52.020 Meek here is a word, 00:16:52.780 --> 00:16:53.280 praous, 00:16:53.420 --> 00:16:55.300 that just means powerless. 00:16:55.980 --> 00:16:58.240 It means so humble that you know you don't have any resources. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:00.140 All right? 00:17:00.139 --> 00:17:01.600 That's the good life. 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:06.420 Sadness, poverty, and powerlessness. 00:17:08.099 --> 00:17:08.960 Is that the good life? 00:17:09.019 --> 00:17:10.039 What is he doing? 00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:11.359 These are the negative Beatitudes. 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:13.339 You see what's going on in the Beatitudes. 00:17:13.460 --> 00:17:14.259 To read them correctly, 00:17:14.619 --> 00:17:16.180 you've got to see that he's telling a story. 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:21.599 And what he's talking about here is the process of the good life. 00:17:22.059 --> 00:17:24.440 In other words, the process of faith, 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:25.299 of coming to faith, 00:17:25.420 --> 00:17:27.420 of exactly what we talked about with the kids, 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:28.799 of what it means to be saved. 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:31.460 And a real key here is to see the first one. 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:33.960 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:17:34.579 --> 00:17:35.539 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:36.599 And you can see in your Bible, 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:38.079 it should be at least, 00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:38.960 that in verse 3, 00:17:39.419 --> 00:17:41.200 the word spirit is not capitalized. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:43.500 And that's because poverty of spirit 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:45.159 is not talking about 00:17:45.159 --> 00:17:46.960 blessed are the poor in the Holy Spirit. 00:17:47.139 --> 00:17:49.059 It's saying blessed are the poor 00:17:49.059 --> 00:17:51.519 who know they are poor in their spirit, 00:17:51.639 --> 00:17:52.220 in your soul. 00:17:52.399 --> 00:17:53.399 The first step is saying, 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:55.440 the first key to the good life, 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:56.119 the blessed life, 00:17:56.119 --> 00:17:56.699 is to say, 00:17:57.259 --> 00:17:58.959 I am poor in my soul. 00:17:59.919 --> 00:18:00.659 I have a poverty. 00:18:01.679 --> 00:18:02.479 I have a lack. 00:18:03.019 --> 00:18:04.439 I am a rebel against God's will. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:05.919 I am not who God made me to be. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:06.639 And I am poor. 00:18:06.719 --> 00:18:07.579 I don't have the resources 00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:09.239 to ever achieve that. 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:10.299 I have a poverty of soul. 00:18:11.059 --> 00:18:12.359 And it moves on from there. 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:15.299 The commentators will say that 00:18:15.299 --> 00:18:17.199 in spirit controls 00:18:17.199 --> 00:18:19.479 the rest of the meaning of the passage. 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:21.400 And so this also happens 00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:22.259 in the Lord's Prayer. 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:23.620 But here, 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:24.920 you're supposed to read it like this. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:26.200 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:27.360 And then, 00:18:27.620 --> 00:18:29.579 blessed are those who mourn 00:18:29.579 --> 00:18:31.039 in their spirit. 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:32.579 Blessed are the meek 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:33.559 in their spirit. 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:35.180 In other words, 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:37.039 the negative beatitudes are negative 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:38.480 because they're saying at every level, 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:40.380 I lack all resource. 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:42.559 I have nothing to offer to the Lord. 00:18:43.640 --> 00:18:44.700 I'm without hope. 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:45.599 I'm without resources. 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:47.860 Blessed are the poor 00:18:47.860 --> 00:18:48.860 who know they're poor in spirit. 00:18:48.859 --> 00:18:49.139 And then, 00:18:49.339 --> 00:18:51.119 blessed are those who mourn. 00:18:51.479 --> 00:18:52.019 Blessed are those, 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:52.500 do you have, 00:18:52.639 --> 00:18:52.839 listen, 00:18:54.939 --> 00:18:56.139 does your sin make you sad? 00:18:57.779 --> 00:18:58.579 Do you have, 00:18:58.919 --> 00:18:59.459 in your heart, 00:18:59.579 --> 00:19:00.019 at all, 00:19:00.379 --> 00:19:01.199 the Holy Spirit working 00:19:01.199 --> 00:19:02.399 and saying to you, 00:19:02.479 --> 00:19:04.459 grieve. 00:19:04.619 --> 00:19:05.479 Grieve over your sin, 00:19:05.659 --> 00:19:06.219 over your struggle. 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:08.119 And then that makes you, 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:09.419 wakes you up and say, 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:10.259 blessed are the meek. 00:19:10.399 --> 00:19:11.399 Blessed are the powerless. 00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:12.799 To do anything about it. 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:14.399 Can you get to a place 00:19:14.399 --> 00:19:14.859 where you say, 00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:17.259 I have no hope to fix this. 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:18.559 That's what he's, 00:19:18.619 --> 00:19:19.619 that's the negative beatitudes. 00:19:19.819 --> 00:19:22.400 I love the essay competition. 00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:25.019 I've said this a couple times in 2024, 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:25.900 but not in 2025. 00:19:26.259 --> 00:19:28.859 So I'm free to use all the illustrations again. 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:29.519 New Year. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:32.700 What G.K. Chesterton said 00:19:32.700 --> 00:19:34.720 when the essay competition was put out 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:36.700 from the times in the early 20th century, 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:37.980 the essay competition, 00:19:38.099 --> 00:19:38.579 that said, 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:39.920 write an essay 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:41.400 that answers the question, 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:42.980 what is wrong with the world? 00:19:42.980 --> 00:19:44.420 And G.K. Chesterton wrote, 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:45.900 dear sir, 00:19:46.460 --> 00:19:46.940 I am. 00:19:47.500 --> 00:19:48.000 Yours truly, 00:19:48.120 --> 00:19:48.759 G.K. Chesterton. 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:49.799 He got it. 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:50.900 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:52.360 Blessed are those who mourn. 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:54.019 Blessed are the meek 00:19:54.019 --> 00:19:55.339 who know that they're powerless to fix it. 00:19:55.400 --> 00:19:57.480 And then the turn, 00:19:58.480 --> 00:19:59.180 the climax, 00:19:59.319 --> 00:19:59.860 the crux, 00:19:59.960 --> 00:20:00.339 the hook 00:20:00.339 --> 00:20:02.039 is the fourth beatitude. 00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:04.400 And it's the one that Flynn focused on last week. 00:20:05.019 --> 00:20:05.980 And in the fourth beatitude, 00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:06.940 it says, 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:07.779 blessed are those 00:20:07.779 --> 00:20:08.539 who hunger 00:20:08.539 --> 00:20:09.960 and thirst for righteousness. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:12.539 Meaning that when you're poor in spirit, 00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:14.019 when you're mourning over your sin, 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:14.859 when you're meek 00:20:14.859 --> 00:20:16.279 and you know you can't do anything about it, 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:17.480 you've got to come to a place 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:18.079 where you say, 00:20:18.700 --> 00:20:20.879 I must hunger and thirst 00:20:20.879 --> 00:20:21.920 for a righteousness 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:23.839 that I cannot provide. 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:25.379 A hunger and thirst 00:20:25.379 --> 00:20:26.399 for an alien righteousness. 00:20:26.940 --> 00:20:29.399 It's only somebody else's merit 00:20:29.399 --> 00:20:31.240 that could ever be enough 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:33.119 to bring me into the good life, 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:34.039 into the blessed life. 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:36.899 Now Flynn touched on this last week, 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:38.059 but I want to come back to it 00:20:38.059 --> 00:20:38.680 just for a moment 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:40.759 before we turn to the final point. 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:41.879 This metaphor 00:20:41.879 --> 00:20:43.299 of food and drink, 00:20:43.420 --> 00:20:44.700 blessed are you 00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:46.079 when you get to a place in your life 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:46.700 where you can say, 00:20:47.099 --> 00:20:47.759 I hunger, 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:48.799 I thirst 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:50.519 for righteousness 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:51.920 that I do not have. 00:20:52.900 --> 00:20:53.640 Why this metaphor 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:54.660 of food and drink, 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:55.500 hungering and thirsting? 00:20:55.579 --> 00:20:56.700 And Flynn pointed out last week 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:58.779 that in Genesis 00:20:58.779 --> 00:21:00.859 chapter 1, 2, and 3, 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:03.519 the very first context, 00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:05.519 God put in front of Adam and Eve 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:06.500 two trees, 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:08.039 the tree of life 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:09.500 and the tree of the knowledge 00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:10.039 of good and evil. 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:12.000 And they were told, 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:12.319 you know, 00:21:12.379 --> 00:21:13.240 you can take out 00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:14.099 and you can reach 00:21:14.099 --> 00:21:15.879 and you follow the Lord, 00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:17.099 you give yourself away to God, 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:18.879 you be who you were made to be 00:21:18.879 --> 00:21:19.799 and you eat 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:20.740 from the tree of life. 00:21:20.819 --> 00:21:21.759 You take and you eat. 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:23.099 You hunger and thirst 00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:23.659 for God, 00:21:23.859 --> 00:21:24.240 righteousness, 00:21:25.159 --> 00:21:26.500 you eat something 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:27.859 that will satisfy you forever, 00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:28.680 the tree of life. 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:30.159 But when the serpent 00:21:30.159 --> 00:21:31.059 came into the garden, 00:21:31.700 --> 00:21:32.180 he said, 00:21:33.180 --> 00:21:34.259 do you want to be like God? 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:34.980 In other words, 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:37.140 do you want to have autonomy, 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:37.920 freedom, 00:21:38.120 --> 00:21:38.660 true freedom, 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:40.720 where you can define 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:41.440 who you are? 00:21:41.980 --> 00:21:42.759 You don't have to listen 00:21:42.759 --> 00:21:43.460 to the constraints 00:21:43.460 --> 00:21:44.400 that God has put on you. 00:21:44.740 --> 00:21:45.799 You can become like God, 00:21:45.900 --> 00:21:46.660 knowing good and evil. 00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:47.480 That's the temptation 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:48.960 to be truly free, 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:50.000 to have all your options, 00:21:50.740 --> 00:21:51.819 to be self-defining. 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:52.759 You can determine 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:53.380 your own essence. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:54.299 It's the essence 00:21:54.299 --> 00:21:55.500 of the modern life. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:57.099 That's the great temptation 00:21:57.099 --> 00:21:57.620 of the serpent. 00:21:58.500 --> 00:21:59.140 And what did they do 00:21:59.140 --> 00:21:59.460 to get it? 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:00.799 Do you hunger and thirst 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:01.720 to live a life 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:02.160 that's not, 00:22:02.819 --> 00:22:03.420 where you're not told 00:22:03.420 --> 00:22:04.319 by God who you are 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:05.179 and how you should live? 00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:06.559 And they took out, 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:07.359 and Derek Kidner, 00:22:07.539 --> 00:22:08.539 as Flynn quoted last week, 00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:09.579 Derek Kidner said, 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:11.299 when they took, 00:22:11.399 --> 00:22:12.019 when she took, 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:13.200 when Eve and Adam 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:13.939 took and ate, 00:22:15.019 --> 00:22:16.279 so simple the act, 00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:18.119 such a simple act, 00:22:18.379 --> 00:22:20.439 but so hard it's undoing. 00:22:21.679 --> 00:22:22.740 Such a disaster. 00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:24.819 And one of the things 00:22:24.819 --> 00:22:25.339 you can do 00:22:25.339 --> 00:22:26.519 is you can ask yourself, 00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:28.839 what do I hunger 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:29.579 and thirst for? 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:31.099 Here's the test 00:22:31.099 --> 00:22:31.599 that we give. 00:22:31.879 --> 00:22:32.579 What do I hunger 00:22:32.579 --> 00:22:33.200 and thirst for 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:34.440 when I am alone? 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:36.799 When nobody's around me, 00:22:36.860 --> 00:22:37.559 when nobody's holding 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:38.080 me accountable, 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.580 it's me standing 00:22:39.580 --> 00:22:40.160 before the presence 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:41.160 of God by myself. 00:22:41.460 --> 00:22:42.779 What is it that I desire? 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:44.819 And boy, 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:45.519 I bet some of us 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:46.039 can say, 00:22:46.340 --> 00:22:48.120 I don't usually 00:22:48.120 --> 00:22:49.500 sit by myself 00:22:49.500 --> 00:22:49.880 and think, 00:22:50.100 --> 00:22:50.940 I want God 00:22:50.940 --> 00:22:51.700 above everything. 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:53.319 I want to know Him. 00:22:53.420 --> 00:22:54.220 I want to see Him. 00:22:54.539 --> 00:22:55.400 I hunger and thirst 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:56.799 for a vision of God 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:57.220 to see, 00:22:57.400 --> 00:22:58.340 what did David pray? 00:22:58.339 --> 00:23:00.059 I long to gaze 00:23:00.059 --> 00:23:00.759 upon the beauty 00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:01.299 of the Lord 00:23:01.299 --> 00:23:02.500 all the days 00:23:02.500 --> 00:23:02.980 of my life. 00:23:03.919 --> 00:23:04.659 And when you're alone, 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:05.879 what are your desires like? 00:23:06.139 --> 00:23:07.199 Where does your heart go? 00:23:07.259 --> 00:23:07.799 What do you hunger 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:08.859 and thirst for? 00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:10.399 Now here it is, 00:23:10.439 --> 00:23:11.179 the beauty of the gospel. 00:23:11.399 --> 00:23:11.559 The great, 00:23:11.699 --> 00:23:12.000 this is, 00:23:12.500 --> 00:23:13.179 the fourth beatitude 00:23:13.179 --> 00:23:13.859 is the gospel. 00:23:14.699 --> 00:23:15.079 Why? 00:23:15.199 --> 00:23:15.439 How? 00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:17.519 Because Jesus Christ 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:17.959 came, 00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:20.259 the true and better Moses, 00:23:20.659 --> 00:23:21.279 the mediator, 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:22.879 and took on 00:23:22.879 --> 00:23:23.879 the very life 00:23:23.879 --> 00:23:24.299 of the people 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:25.019 of God of Israel. 00:23:26.059 --> 00:23:26.500 And in that, 00:23:26.639 --> 00:23:27.480 what was He saying? 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:27.880 He was saying, 00:23:28.019 --> 00:23:29.860 I've come to live the life 00:23:29.860 --> 00:23:31.400 with the desires 00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:32.720 you should have had, 00:23:33.120 --> 00:23:34.059 but you never did. 00:23:35.819 --> 00:23:36.759 Jesus Christ came 00:23:36.759 --> 00:23:38.079 and not only lived 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:38.759 in perfect obedience, 00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:40.279 He desired God 00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:40.480 perfectly 00:23:41.099 --> 00:23:41.740 at every way, 00:23:41.860 --> 00:23:43.180 at every step, 00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:43.960 across every step. 00:23:45.220 --> 00:23:46.640 And the gospel says, 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:47.519 look, 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:48.019 here it is, 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:49.759 the gospel is not that, 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:50.420 it's not this, 00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:51.279 it's not that if you 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:52.079 really, 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:52.420 really, 00:23:52.539 --> 00:23:52.779 really, 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:53.740 really desire God, 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:54.420 if you really, 00:23:54.500 --> 00:23:54.680 really, 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:55.539 really look into your heart 00:23:55.539 --> 00:23:55.839 and say, 00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:56.620 I'm a sinner 00:23:56.619 --> 00:23:58.119 and I want God, 00:23:58.419 --> 00:23:59.339 that God will forgive you. 00:23:59.359 --> 00:23:59.759 Not at all. 00:23:59.859 --> 00:24:00.679 The gospel says, 00:24:01.439 --> 00:24:02.299 you were never, 00:24:02.639 --> 00:24:03.939 ever going to merit 00:24:03.939 --> 00:24:04.699 God's favor 00:24:04.699 --> 00:24:05.579 by your desires. 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:07.159 You were never going 00:24:07.159 --> 00:24:08.019 to desire God, 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:08.519 you were never going 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:08.879 to work through 00:24:08.879 --> 00:24:09.479 these beatitudes 00:24:09.479 --> 00:24:11.059 and ever do it good enough. 00:24:11.619 --> 00:24:11.939 Never. 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:14.279 But Jesus Christ came 00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:15.919 and lived for you, 00:24:16.099 --> 00:24:17.339 desired for you, 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:19.519 hungered and thirsted 00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:20.339 for God the Father 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:21.079 for you. 00:24:22.239 --> 00:24:23.039 And then He went 00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:23.539 to the cross 00:24:23.539 --> 00:24:24.619 and He was murdered 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:25.619 in your stead, 00:24:25.739 --> 00:24:26.419 in your place. 00:24:26.619 --> 00:24:26.939 You know, 00:24:26.979 --> 00:24:27.799 the one person 00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:28.659 in all of world history 00:24:28.659 --> 00:24:30.399 that deserved to be heard 00:24:30.399 --> 00:24:31.079 by God the Father 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:32.879 because He desired God the Father 00:24:32.879 --> 00:24:33.500 perfectly, 00:24:33.619 --> 00:24:34.379 heard silence 00:24:34.379 --> 00:24:35.799 in the moment of the cross. 00:24:37.139 --> 00:24:38.459 He came and desired 00:24:38.459 --> 00:24:39.299 in your place 00:24:39.299 --> 00:24:40.299 so that you could have 00:24:40.299 --> 00:24:40.879 the righteousness 00:24:40.879 --> 00:24:42.279 that you don't have, 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:43.159 an alien righteousness. 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:45.859 And that means here 00:24:45.859 --> 00:24:46.639 that Derek Kidner, 00:24:46.719 --> 00:24:47.379 I'll finish the quote, 00:24:47.479 --> 00:24:48.239 Kidner says this, 00:24:48.959 --> 00:24:49.559 in the beginning, 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:50.439 the Garden of Eden, 00:24:50.579 --> 00:24:51.119 Adam and Eve, 00:24:51.199 --> 00:24:51.959 they took and they ate, 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:53.000 so simple the act, 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:54.319 so hard it's undoing. 00:24:55.240 --> 00:24:56.039 God Himself 00:24:56.039 --> 00:24:57.679 had to taste 00:24:57.679 --> 00:24:58.859 poverty and death 00:24:58.859 --> 00:25:00.419 before take and eat 00:25:00.419 --> 00:25:01.139 would once again 00:25:01.139 --> 00:25:02.359 become verbs of salvation. 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:04.919 Now lastly, 00:25:05.379 --> 00:25:06.259 if you've got that, 00:25:06.839 --> 00:25:07.359 you can live 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:08.159 the beautiful life, 00:25:08.500 --> 00:25:09.579 and we'll finish 00:25:09.579 --> 00:25:09.960 with this. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:11.799 How to have 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:13.619 the blessed life. 00:25:14.299 --> 00:25:15.559 Four negative beatitudes 00:25:15.559 --> 00:25:16.559 that lead you 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:17.179 to the gospel, 00:25:17.419 --> 00:25:18.679 four positive beatitudes 00:25:18.679 --> 00:25:19.579 to respond. 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:20.740 And here's how 00:25:20.740 --> 00:25:21.500 we can respond tonight. 00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:23.380 One commentator 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:24.039 points this out. 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:24.960 When you get to 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:25.880 the negative beatitudes, 00:25:25.980 --> 00:25:26.440 when you get to 00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:27.319 really all of them, 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:28.380 what it doesn't say, 00:25:28.440 --> 00:25:29.259 it doesn't say this, 00:25:29.740 --> 00:25:30.619 blessed are those 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:32.099 who hunger and thirst 00:25:32.099 --> 00:25:33.019 for blessedness. 00:25:34.700 --> 00:25:35.500 In other words, 00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:37.119 it doesn't say, 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:38.079 blessed are those 00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:39.920 who hunger and thirst 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:40.440 and long 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:41.799 for a happy life. 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:43.220 No, it says, 00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:44.019 blessed are those 00:25:44.019 --> 00:25:45.299 who hunger and thirst 00:25:45.299 --> 00:25:45.940 for a righteousness 00:25:45.940 --> 00:25:46.839 that is not their own. 00:25:47.420 --> 00:25:48.279 In other words, 00:25:48.619 --> 00:25:49.839 one writer 00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:50.480 puts it this way, 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:51.740 if the happy life, 00:25:51.940 --> 00:25:52.279 if you've, 00:25:53.620 --> 00:25:54.099 if right now 00:25:54.099 --> 00:25:54.559 in your life, 00:25:55.960 --> 00:25:57.180 you desire 00:25:57.180 --> 00:25:57.960 above all else 00:25:57.960 --> 00:25:59.460 to seek the things 00:25:59.460 --> 00:26:00.140 that you think 00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:00.880 will make you happy, 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:03.579 if the happy life 00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:04.420 is your ultimate goal, 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:06.319 you will never get it. 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:09.380 You will just put 00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:10.299 so much pressure 00:26:10.299 --> 00:26:11.900 on every object 00:26:11.900 --> 00:26:12.740 that you're chasing, 00:26:13.220 --> 00:26:14.120 every person 00:26:14.120 --> 00:26:14.980 that you think 00:26:14.980 --> 00:26:15.799 is going to make you happy, 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:17.880 that they will all 00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:18.680 be crushed 00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:19.680 by the weight 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:20.240 of that burden. 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:20.740 By the weight 00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:21.240 of that job. 00:26:22.620 --> 00:26:23.279 If you say, 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:24.360 I just want to be happy, 00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:25.299 that will never 00:26:25.299 --> 00:26:25.960 make you happy. 00:26:26.660 --> 00:26:27.279 What are the Beatitudes 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:27.599 saying? 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:28.160 They're saying, 00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:30.059 not, 00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:31.339 blessed are those 00:26:31.339 --> 00:26:31.940 who hunger and thirst 00:26:31.940 --> 00:26:32.400 for happiness. 00:26:32.620 --> 00:26:32.920 They're saying, 00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:33.680 blessed are those 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:34.799 who hunger and thirst 00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:36.079 for a righteousness 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:37.140 that's not their own, 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:37.960 that leads them 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:39.500 towards the four 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:40.440 positive Beatitudes. 00:26:40.660 --> 00:26:41.160 And what are they? 00:26:42.039 --> 00:26:43.240 Blessed is the person 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:44.960 who seeks 00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:45.759 to give mercy. 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:47.740 Blessed is the person 00:26:47.740 --> 00:26:49.500 who seeks purity 00:26:49.500 --> 00:26:50.380 in their heart, 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:51.480 who wants to kill 00:26:51.480 --> 00:26:51.900 their sin. 00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:53.660 Blessed is the person 00:26:53.660 --> 00:26:54.920 who is the peacemaker. 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:56.819 And blessed is the person 00:26:56.819 --> 00:26:58.220 who's willing to suffer 00:26:58.220 --> 00:26:59.240 for the name 00:26:59.240 --> 00:26:59.940 of Jesus Christ. 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:01.120 In other words, 00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:02.420 you don't get happy, 00:27:02.620 --> 00:27:03.559 you don't get a blessed life, 00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:04.579 you don't get contentment 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:04.920 in your life 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:06.000 by chasing contentment. 00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:07.799 You don't get happiness 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:08.620 by chasing happiness. 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:09.480 You get happiness 00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:10.880 by getting out 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:11.500 of your own head, 00:27:12.380 --> 00:27:12.880 by getting out 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:13.380 of your own heart, 00:27:13.460 --> 00:27:14.000 by getting away 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:14.579 from yourself 00:27:14.579 --> 00:27:16.079 and becoming a person 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:17.660 who wants to give mercy 00:27:17.660 --> 00:27:19.420 because you've gotten mercy. 00:27:20.660 --> 00:27:21.460 Becoming a person 00:27:21.460 --> 00:27:23.299 who wants to seek purity, 00:27:23.460 --> 00:27:24.480 seek to kill your sin 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:26.180 because Jesus Christ 00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:28.359 became impurity for you. 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:29.440 You want to become 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:31.180 a person who's a peacemaker 00:27:31.180 --> 00:27:33.160 precisely because 00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:34.400 Jesus Christ came 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:35.400 and made peace with you 00:27:35.400 --> 00:27:36.299 while you were at war 00:27:36.299 --> 00:27:36.680 with Him. 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:38.680 You want to give yourself away 00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:39.819 and even suffer, 00:27:39.940 --> 00:27:40.880 even be persecuted 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:42.640 for the name of Jesus Christ 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:43.420 because you say 00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:44.220 He suffered for me. 00:27:44.300 --> 00:27:44.640 In other words, 00:27:44.660 --> 00:27:45.019 He's saying 00:27:45.019 --> 00:27:46.220 the truly blessed life, 00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:47.259 the truly content life 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:48.480 is actually to get 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:49.140 out of yourself, 00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:50.100 to get out of your head 00:27:50.100 --> 00:27:51.539 and to give yourself away 00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:52.779 because He gave 00:27:52.779 --> 00:27:53.820 everything away for you. 00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:55.539 That's the positive Beatitudes. 00:27:58.100 --> 00:27:59.640 Speaking of illustrations 00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:00.840 that we used in 2024 00:28:00.840 --> 00:28:02.500 in a new year, 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:05.600 C.S. Lewis' 00:28:05.840 --> 00:28:06.380 wonderful book, 00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:07.200 The Great Divorce, 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:09.759 it's a thought experiment 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:10.420 about heaven. 00:28:10.820 --> 00:28:11.700 It's not a theology. 00:28:11.880 --> 00:28:12.880 Do not build your theology 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:13.920 of heaven on C.S. Lewis' 00:28:14.040 --> 00:28:14.680 Great Divorce, 00:28:15.220 --> 00:28:16.300 but it's a helpful 00:28:16.300 --> 00:28:17.480 thought experiment at times. 00:28:17.820 --> 00:28:19.840 And in one instance 00:28:19.840 --> 00:28:20.380 in the book, 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:21.380 there's a man 00:28:21.380 --> 00:28:23.980 and he's taken up 00:28:23.980 --> 00:28:24.320 into heaven 00:28:24.320 --> 00:28:25.220 to see a vision 00:28:25.220 --> 00:28:27.300 of the heavenly life 00:28:27.300 --> 00:28:28.800 and he sees a woman. 00:28:28.900 --> 00:28:29.620 He sees a parade 00:28:29.620 --> 00:28:30.440 and he sees a woman 00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:31.560 and this woman 00:28:31.560 --> 00:28:33.700 is described as 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:34.500 having lived out 00:28:34.500 --> 00:28:35.100 the Beatitudes. 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:36.480 This is my paraphrase. 00:28:37.080 --> 00:28:38.060 But he sees this parade 00:28:38.060 --> 00:28:38.820 and this is what he writes. 00:28:38.819 --> 00:28:41.059 If I could remember 00:28:41.059 --> 00:28:41.779 the singing 00:28:41.779 --> 00:28:43.579 and write down the notes, 00:28:43.819 --> 00:28:45.339 no man who read that score 00:28:45.339 --> 00:28:46.879 would ever grow sick or old. 00:28:47.819 --> 00:28:49.059 Between them, 00:28:49.159 --> 00:28:49.779 the angels, 00:28:49.899 --> 00:28:50.619 the people in the parade 00:28:50.619 --> 00:28:51.740 went musicians 00:28:51.740 --> 00:28:52.839 and after these, 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:53.819 there was a lady 00:28:53.819 --> 00:28:55.200 in whose honor 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:56.579 all this was being done. 00:28:57.419 --> 00:28:58.839 I've forgotten most of it. 00:28:59.919 --> 00:29:01.259 Only partly do I remember 00:29:01.259 --> 00:29:02.579 the unbearable beauty 00:29:02.579 --> 00:29:03.339 of her face 00:29:03.339 --> 00:29:04.740 and I asked my guide, 00:29:05.179 --> 00:29:05.519 is it, 00:29:06.299 --> 00:29:06.779 is that? 00:29:07.399 --> 00:29:08.019 He thought it was, 00:29:08.159 --> 00:29:08.899 he thought it was Mary, 00:29:09.699 --> 00:29:10.740 the mother of Jesus. 00:29:11.500 --> 00:29:12.379 And the guide said, 00:29:12.459 --> 00:29:12.619 no, 00:29:13.459 --> 00:29:14.179 not at all. 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:14.519 He said, 00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:15.399 this is someone 00:29:15.399 --> 00:29:16.259 you'll have never heard of. 00:29:16.299 --> 00:29:17.220 Her name on earth 00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:18.179 was Sarah Smith. 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:19.980 She lived at Golders Green. 00:29:21.159 --> 00:29:21.899 And I said, 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:22.879 she seems to be, 00:29:23.059 --> 00:29:23.059 00:29:23.139 --> 00:29:24.679 a person of particular importance. 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:25.959 And he said, 00:29:26.019 --> 00:29:26.220 aye, 00:29:26.299 --> 00:29:27.539 she is one of the great ones. 00:29:29.159 --> 00:29:30.059 You'll have heard, 00:29:30.339 --> 00:29:31.879 you've heard that fame 00:29:31.879 --> 00:29:32.480 in this country 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:33.319 and fame on earth 00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:34.559 are two very different things. 00:29:35.220 --> 00:29:35.360 Well, 00:29:35.420 --> 00:29:36.019 was she famous? 00:29:36.180 --> 00:29:36.380 No, 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:37.380 not like what you mean. 00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:39.519 Was she beautiful on earth? 00:29:40.039 --> 00:29:40.460 No, 00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:41.779 not like what you mean. 00:29:42.740 --> 00:29:43.660 All this people, 00:29:43.860 --> 00:29:44.759 they must have been 00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:45.539 part of her family 00:29:45.539 --> 00:29:46.299 or something like that. 00:29:46.980 --> 00:29:47.380 No, 00:29:47.539 --> 00:29:48.720 not in the way that you mean. 00:29:49.720 --> 00:29:49.880 No, 00:29:49.900 --> 00:29:50.460 the guide said, 00:29:50.680 --> 00:29:51.599 all the boys and girls 00:29:51.599 --> 00:29:52.940 that Sarah encountered, 00:29:53.180 --> 00:29:54.980 she regarded 00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:56.500 as her sons and daughters. 00:29:57.120 --> 00:29:58.120 Every single person 00:29:58.120 --> 00:29:59.460 was her brother and sister. 00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:01.599 She gave to the least. 00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:03.519 She forgot herself. 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:05.379 Because of the mercy 00:30:05.379 --> 00:30:06.079 she had gotten, 00:30:06.199 --> 00:30:08.279 she lived the life of mercy. 00:30:09.199 --> 00:30:10.439 She lived the life 00:30:10.439 --> 00:30:10.919 of the kingdom 00:30:10.919 --> 00:30:11.740 in a place 00:30:11.740 --> 00:30:12.319 that the kingdom 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:13.539 was not on earth. 00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:14.779 And now, 00:30:15.159 --> 00:30:16.259 her true beauty 00:30:16.259 --> 00:30:17.059 is on display. 00:30:18.179 --> 00:30:19.179 A fierce beauty, 00:30:19.379 --> 00:30:19.859 he writes, 00:30:20.379 --> 00:30:21.500 at which I could barely 00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:22.539 stand to look at. 00:30:24.099 --> 00:30:24.519 Now, 00:30:25.439 --> 00:30:26.099 in Christ, 00:30:27.099 --> 00:30:27.799 the true Moses, 00:30:28.019 --> 00:30:29.059 the true and better Moses, 00:30:29.059 --> 00:30:30.379 he is calling us 00:30:30.379 --> 00:30:31.119 to exchange 00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:32.779 the ugly life 00:30:32.779 --> 00:30:34.419 of self-seeking, 00:30:35.099 --> 00:30:36.019 autonomous freedom, 00:30:36.579 --> 00:30:37.819 and personal selfish ambitions 00:30:37.819 --> 00:30:39.240 for the beautiful life, 00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:41.379 a life lived for something 00:30:41.379 --> 00:30:41.919 much better, 00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:42.500 much greater, 00:30:42.779 --> 00:30:44.399 and you can never do it 00:30:44.399 --> 00:30:45.899 apart from the mercy 00:30:45.899 --> 00:30:46.399 of the gospel. 00:30:47.980 --> 00:30:49.480 But when you come to Christ 00:30:49.480 --> 00:30:50.419 and the Holy Spirit 00:30:50.419 --> 00:30:51.059 comes into your life, 00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:51.419 he's saying, 00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:52.339 now look 00:30:52.339 --> 00:30:53.500 at the Beatitudes 00:30:53.500 --> 00:30:55.240 and say, 00:30:55.400 --> 00:30:56.259 I want to be 00:30:56.259 --> 00:30:57.119 a person of mercy 00:30:57.119 --> 00:30:58.000 and peacemaking. 00:30:58.799 --> 00:30:59.900 I'm willing to suffer 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:00.859 for the sake of Christ. 00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:02.619 I'll finish with this. 00:31:03.059 --> 00:31:04.420 I'll combine this morning 00:31:04.420 --> 00:31:05.140 with tonight. 00:31:05.880 --> 00:31:06.839 Practicing the Christian life, 00:31:06.900 --> 00:31:07.859 we said the one thing 00:31:07.859 --> 00:31:09.220 this week you can do 00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:10.299 to practice the Christian life 00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:11.299 based on Colossians 3, 00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:11.980 seek the things 00:31:11.980 --> 00:31:12.859 that are above this morning, 00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:13.980 was when you wake up 00:31:13.980 --> 00:31:14.400 in the morning, 00:31:14.859 --> 00:31:15.900 don't touch your phone, 00:31:16.599 --> 00:31:17.140 keep your phone 00:31:17.140 --> 00:31:17.980 far away from you 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:18.420 in the room, 00:31:19.559 --> 00:31:21.500 and get on your knees 00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:22.680 next to your bed 00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:24.960 and take three to five minutes 00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:25.920 to set your mind 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:26.619 on the things above 00:31:26.619 --> 00:31:27.420 to talk to yourself 00:31:27.420 --> 00:31:28.299 and tell yourself 00:31:28.299 --> 00:31:29.619 who you really are in Christ. 00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:31.180 That's what Paul means 00:31:31.180 --> 00:31:31.839 in Colossians 3. 00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:32.839 That's a way to practice it. 00:31:32.920 --> 00:31:33.559 But here's a way 00:31:33.559 --> 00:31:34.680 to be more specific. 00:31:35.420 --> 00:31:36.400 Now you can use 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:37.039 the Beatitudes. 00:31:38.180 --> 00:31:38.640 And tomorrow 00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:40.039 you can take the Beatitudes 00:31:40.039 --> 00:31:41.140 and you can walk through them 00:31:41.140 --> 00:31:42.000 in that three to five minutes 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:42.359 twice. 00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:43.200 And here's what you do. 00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:45.079 Christian meditation, 00:31:45.259 --> 00:31:45.700 taking on, 00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:46.500 preaching to yourself 00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:47.660 in the early morning. 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:48.920 Here's what you do. 00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:49.799 You say first, 00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:50.980 who am I? 00:31:51.500 --> 00:31:53.819 Apart from Jesus, 00:31:53.940 --> 00:31:55.299 I'm poor in spirit 00:31:55.299 --> 00:31:57.440 and I'm sad 00:31:57.440 --> 00:31:59.660 at the reality of my son. 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:01.819 And I am powerless 00:32:01.819 --> 00:32:02.740 to do anything about it. 00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:03.640 And then you say to yourself, 00:32:03.880 --> 00:32:04.680 what do I need? 00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:08.000 I need a righteousness 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:09.220 that is not my own, 00:32:09.700 --> 00:32:10.339 an alien righteousness. 00:32:10.579 --> 00:32:11.200 And then you say, 00:32:11.460 --> 00:32:12.500 but what could I become? 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:13.720 And you say, 00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:14.039 boy, 00:32:14.180 --> 00:32:15.180 because Jesus' righteousness 00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:15.720 is enough, 00:32:15.779 --> 00:32:16.759 I can become today 00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:18.359 a person of mercy 00:32:18.359 --> 00:32:19.359 because I've received mercy, 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:21.079 a person that's pure in heart, 00:32:21.079 --> 00:32:23.119 because God has pronounced me cleansed. 00:32:23.139 --> 00:32:24.079 I can become a peacemaker 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:25.240 because he made peace with me. 00:32:25.659 --> 00:32:27.319 I can today seek 00:32:27.319 --> 00:32:29.119 to reflect the reality 00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:30.039 of my heavenly life 00:32:30.039 --> 00:32:31.319 by being willing to suffer 00:32:31.319 --> 00:32:32.799 with Christ in his name, 00:32:32.879 --> 00:32:33.599 for his name's sake. 00:32:35.500 --> 00:32:36.059 In other words, 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:36.679 you gotta wake up tomorrow, 00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:37.639 you gotta talk to yourself 00:32:37.639 --> 00:32:38.599 and you gotta pray 00:32:38.599 --> 00:32:39.379 and you gotta say, 00:32:39.779 --> 00:32:40.679 this is who I am 00:32:40.679 --> 00:32:42.480 because of the righteousness 00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:43.460 that is not my own. 00:32:43.460 --> 00:32:45.640 Let us pray. 00:32:45.819 --> 00:32:46.059 Father, 00:32:48.059 --> 00:32:49.600 help us to practice 00:32:49.600 --> 00:32:50.319 the Christian life. 00:32:50.480 --> 00:32:51.059 We ask, 00:32:51.220 --> 00:32:51.819 help us to 00:32:51.819 --> 00:32:54.140 see the truth 00:32:54.140 --> 00:32:54.759 about who we are, 00:32:54.860 --> 00:32:56.380 to turn outside of ourselves 00:32:56.380 --> 00:32:57.759 for a righteousness 00:32:57.759 --> 00:32:58.920 that we don't possess. 00:32:59.600 --> 00:32:59.779 Lord, 00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:00.900 and tomorrow, 00:33:01.220 --> 00:33:01.860 do the work 00:33:01.860 --> 00:33:02.980 of deep change in us 00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:03.559 that we would 00:33:03.559 --> 00:33:05.860 be like Christ. 00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:06.519 We would see 00:33:06.519 --> 00:33:08.740 great examples 00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:09.720 in the lives 00:33:09.720 --> 00:33:10.799 of other people around us 00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:12.559 of mercy and peace 00:33:12.559 --> 00:33:15.039 and being willing 00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:16.180 to suffer for the sake 00:33:16.180 --> 00:33:16.559 of Jesus. 00:33:16.779 --> 00:33:16.899 Lord, 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:17.299 we ask, 00:33:17.379 --> 00:33:18.299 we wanna be those people. 00:33:18.759 --> 00:33:19.519 We long for that. 00:33:19.659 --> 00:33:19.779 So, 00:33:20.599 --> 00:33:21.180 Holy Spirit, 00:33:21.259 --> 00:33:21.859 we ask that you would 00:33:21.859 --> 00:33:22.559 come and kill 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:23.379 all the parts 00:33:23.379 --> 00:33:23.919 of our deep, 00:33:24.019 --> 00:33:24.680 deep desires 00:33:24.680 --> 00:33:25.740 that are selfish 00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:26.819 and self-interested 00:33:26.819 --> 00:33:28.599 and overly attached 00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:29.220 to freedom. 00:33:29.579 --> 00:33:29.980 Lord, 00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:30.839 that we would be trained 00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:32.399 far more by the Beatitudes 00:33:32.399 --> 00:33:34.039 than by selecting things 00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:34.919 on Netflix tonight. 00:33:35.919 --> 00:33:36.619 We pray for that. 00:33:36.680 --> 00:33:37.319 We want that. 00:33:38.359 --> 00:33:39.980 But we also don't want it 00:33:39.980 --> 00:33:41.099 in our old self. 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:41.880 And so we ask, 00:33:42.019 --> 00:33:42.099 Lord, 00:33:42.180 --> 00:33:42.680 that you would just 00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:43.539 do a great work in us 00:33:43.539 --> 00:33:44.900 to continue to change us, 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:45.720 to purify us, 00:33:45.779 --> 00:33:46.079 we pray. 00:33:46.579 --> 00:33:47.200 And we ask this 00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:48.140 in Jesus' name tonight. 00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:48.980 Amen.