WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.080
 Well, welcome again for people who joined us, and if you're visitors here tonight, especially

00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:18.000
! welcome, we're very glad to have you with us. Psalm 102, if you want to keep that open,

00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:29.760
 that might be useful, page 501. When Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II says in her Christmas

00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:36.760
 message, this year's been a bit bumpy, that's a bit of a royal understatement there, isn't

00:00:36.760 --> 00:00:47.520
 it? What she's really saying is that we've had a rough year, it feels. Every year brings

00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:54.540
 with it challenges, that's the nature of living in a fallen world, but we're not surprised

00:00:54.539 --> 00:01:00.659
 by that. Fortunately, it's also full of joys, isn't it? It's not all doom and gloom. Hopes

00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:08.159
 were realised, children born, crises averted, people came to faith. Pregnancy centres were

00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:18.659
 registered. But if you speak to people, it seems like many people are weary, worn down

00:01:18.659 --> 00:01:29.340
 by the increasing grind, the constant churn, by the incessant progress, quote-unquote, hurtling

00:01:29.340 --> 00:01:37.239
 forward at an unstoppable pace, it seems. The uncertainty of not knowing where we're heading

00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:44.359
 as a country, as a world, what's going to happen to the big questions of climate change

00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:51.879
 and the crisis, climate emergency, or how's Brexit going to pan out. Maybe for you it's

00:01:51.879 --> 00:01:58.420
 not those things. Maybe it's just that you're overwhelmed by the barrage of information that

00:01:58.420 --> 00:02:04.560
 comes at us these days, or the communication and obfuscation that comes at us all the time.

00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:11.360
 We've just been through an election campaign, there's been a lot of that. A think tank in the

00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:19.080
 US called it the fire hose of falsehood. They say it's an unremitting, high-intensity stream

00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:25.580
 of lies, partial truths and complete fictions spewed forth with tireless aggression to obfuscate

00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:33.700
 the truth and overwhelm and confuse anyone trying to pay attention. That can wear you out.

00:02:33.699 --> 00:02:41.039
 Perhaps it's just the fact that while everything seems to change, at some level nothing seems

00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:50.899
 to change. And life grinds on day after day. I think perhaps, you know, it's not the change

00:02:50.899 --> 00:02:58.479
 itself that is the big thing that wears us down. It's the uncertainty that comes with it.

00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:04.119
 This isn't a Brexit sermon, I promise you, it's just that that's kind of been in the news.

00:03:05.539 --> 00:03:09.919
 But I don't know if you noticed how all of the businesses were saying eventually, you know,

00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:14.199
 we don't care what's going to happen, just tell us what's going to happen so we can make

00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:21.699
 a plan. Don't care if we stay or leave, just tell us. We need certainty. We're paralyzed

00:03:21.699 --> 00:03:26.619
 by the uncertainty. We can't make decisions. We can't plan. We can't take control of our

00:03:26.619 --> 00:03:33.219
 destinies. Maybe paraphrase a bit there at the end, but, you know, that's really what

00:03:33.219 --> 00:03:41.379
 they're after. That's what we're after, I'd argue. We want to, we need to, at some level,

00:03:41.459 --> 00:03:48.579
 be in control of our lives. That's what so much of our lives are spent trying to get, control,

00:03:48.580 --> 00:03:57.880
 because we're hardwired for having certainty, really. And that's where it goes all wrong, isn't it?

00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:07.140
 One translation of Romans 8, 21 has, and the hope is that in the end the whole of created

00:04:07.140 --> 00:04:17.139
 life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay. Everything changes. That's the nature

00:04:17.139 --> 00:04:23.459
 of living in space and time. And there was a time when that was all going to be good. And

00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:33.699
 we had certainty of a good world and a good creation living with God. And then it all went

00:04:33.699 --> 00:04:38.819
 wrong when we tried to make our own decisions and take matters into our own hands and gain

00:04:38.819 --> 00:04:46.420
 control. And now we're not the masters of change anymore. And we feel it, don't we?

00:04:48.819 --> 00:04:55.539
 The change can be a good thing. We know change isn't all bad. Adam and Eve were meant to change

00:04:55.539 --> 00:05:00.500
 the world as they went about subduing and cultivating it. That was always part of the plan.

00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:07.300
 And there's a truth even just on a very simple level in that old adage, isn't it, that you

00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:14.420
 can't cross the same river twice. We inevitably change the world whatever we do. We want to

00:05:14.420 --> 00:05:18.500
 feel like we've made a difference in our work. And that's so often what people struggle with

00:05:18.500 --> 00:05:25.399
 in their own work, that they feel like, if I didn't do this job, then it wouldn't have

00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:34.039
 mattered at all. We want to see good change in what we do. And often in a world full of

00:05:34.039 --> 00:05:40.519
 sorrow and pain and suffering, we should strive to see more change than the world. It's not

00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:46.439
 all bad. But I think what we're talking about here is not that kind of change, is it? It's

00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:57.079
 the kind of change that's outside of our control. The change is forced upon us. Sometimes just

00:05:57.079 --> 00:06:05.639
 by the biological fact of getting older. There's a time when you want to be older. And because

00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:10.759
 you're going to go to secondary school, and you're going to uni, and all the life, the world's your oyster.

00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:17.800
 And then there's a time when you don't want to grow older anymore. Or it's a world that changes

00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:30.279
 morally and ethically beyond what we recognize. Or a world that sometimes seems to grow more hostile

00:06:30.279 --> 00:06:38.360
 day by day towards Christians. One of the greatest sources of distress for Christians today, isn't it,

00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:44.439
 is the increasing hostility towards anything that smells of Christian values in the public sphere?

00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:53.319
 The world has changed in that way. And in the new year, there's probably going to be another push

00:06:53.319 --> 00:07:00.280
 to liberalize abortion even further, just like it's been in Northern Ireland. Change might be good,

00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:09.399
 but change isn't always good. And our psalmist here understands the feeling of change, uncertainty,

00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:18.359
 and how wearying that is, isn't he? He's not in a good way, is he? Physically and emotionally,

00:07:19.399 --> 00:07:24.919
 he's stretched, it feels like, to the limits of human ability to withstand.

00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:33.879
 Verse 3, he feels like his days pass away like smoke and his bones burn like a furnace. He's physically

00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:42.120
 not well. And he's so occupied with that mental and physical distress he can't even eat. Verse 4,

00:07:43.400 --> 00:07:49.319
 he's isolated and he feels cut off from the world, like there's no one who understands,

00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:58.360
 like he's a desert owl in the wilderness. He can't sleep. And he feels, to be frank, abandoned by God.

00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:09.959
 I think when we listen to that, it's a case of tick all that apply. For some of us, it might be more of

00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:18.519
 those things than we even realize. The person sitting in the row next to you might have more things to tick off

00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:26.439
 there than you realize. But all of us can associate with some of those feelings, at least some of the time.

00:08:28.919 --> 00:08:36.039
 He's got wave after wave of uncertainty and change coming over him. It's a tsunami of uncertainty, really.

00:08:36.039 --> 00:08:44.120
 You know, if we think about it, when there's something physically wrong with us, isn't it? You know,

00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:50.439
 when we go to the doctor and people struggle to find a diagnosis of what is wrong, even when it's a

00:08:50.439 --> 00:08:58.439
 serious diagnosis, that certainty of knowing what it is that is wrong is a relief. It's the uncertainty

00:08:58.439 --> 00:09:04.439
 that's often even worse than knowing what is wrong with us. And when we know something can be done about

00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:11.880
 it, we can make plans. But it's the uncertainty that gets to us. He has many things that are outside

00:09:11.880 --> 00:09:20.840
 of his control, buffeting him. And he is worn down to the point of not wanting to live anymore.

00:09:22.040 --> 00:09:25.240
 And we don't know what all those individual troubles are for the psalmist.

00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:33.960
 And I think in a sense that's not what's important. We know some of those feelings.

00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:42.759
 And we know where he looks to for certainty, for stability, for help. This morning Paul spoke about

00:09:42.759 --> 00:09:50.200
 how no matter what happens in this new year, we know it is in God's sovereign and providential control.

00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:59.000
 And we can trust in that. The question is why? Why can we trust in God's sovereign control over

00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:06.360
 things? Why can we trust in God even though we know things are going to change, we don't know what's

00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:11.000
 coming. Why can we trust in God's sovereign control over things? Why can we trust in God when we can't trust in

00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:17.639
 our own decisions, our own resolutions and our own promises?

00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:27.720
 That's the question that the psalmist answers. People look in various different places and

00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:35.560
 look to answer that question in different ways to deal with the state of uncertainty that we're always in.

00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:43.720
 You're starting with the only slightly facetious. You know, that seminal Christmas movie,

00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:50.440
 Love Actually, Hugh Grant's prime minister character does a monologue at the beginning. And he says,

00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:57.720
 whenever I start to get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport.

00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:15.480
 For him, the answer is to rely on love, to rely on other people's love. That is where we find certainty and stability in a world that often seems like it's falling apart.

00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:20.759
 The problem with that is he's also editing out the toddlers who are coming off a 12-hour flight,

00:11:21.399 --> 00:11:25.480
 and the people with their lost luggage, and the people trying to find Hugh the birth.

00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:28.519
 And love can be fickle.

00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:39.159
 Another way is we might try and find certainty and control in making plans for the next year.

00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:45.639
 You might be one of those super organized people who've sat down, taken stock of the last year,

00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:54.439
 written up priorities for next year, and allocated each of those different areas of your life, different levels of focus and priority,

00:11:54.440 --> 00:12:04.760
 and then subdivided that into different categories, and then your three top priorities, and allocated time in your week for each of those.

00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:10.820
 Or you might only be doing that next year.

00:12:11.900 --> 00:12:18.020
 By the way, if you plan on stopping procrastinating, then I'll join you next week.

00:12:18.019 --> 00:12:24.899
 But, you know, we try and get control and certainty by making plans.

00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:29.860
 You know, we look to political solutions for the big problems.

00:12:31.199 --> 00:12:34.779
 And to be honest, I think that's a big part of what the problem was with this last year,

00:12:34.819 --> 00:12:38.960
 is people look to politics to solve things that it can't,

00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:46.539
 and look to people to solve issues that people will have imperfect solutions to always.

00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:51.139
 But it is difficult.

00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:57.319
 Just loving relationships and making plans and strategizing and being responsible,

00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:01.419
 they're not bad things in themselves, are they?

00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:07.799
 But we've got to realize they're never going to give us the certainty we're after.

00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:10.259
 We're always going to miss the point.

00:13:10.259 --> 00:13:17.179
 And, upon reflection, putting us, changeable creatures,

00:13:17.659 --> 00:13:21.319
 who live in space and enduring time, as someone says,

00:13:21.740 --> 00:13:23.519
 at the center of finding stability,

00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:26.659
 is probably not the best idea after all.

00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:32.000
 So the question is, where does the psalmist go,

00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:36.679
 when there seems to be no certainty and no hope,

00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:39.980
 when he's at his wit's end?

00:13:42.179 --> 00:13:46.219
 And what's quite striking is he doesn't go to any of those standard bolt holes

00:13:46.219 --> 00:13:49.759
 in our arsenal against change and uncertainty, does he?

00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:56.179
 And what's really interesting is when you read on in this psalm,

00:13:56.259 --> 00:14:01.559
 that uncertainty, that change from the situation that Israel had before,

00:14:01.659 --> 00:14:05.879
 the state that he longs for when God dwelled with Israel in the temple

00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:10.840
 and when Zion wasn't destroyed before the exile,

00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:14.860
 is really at the heart of his distress.

00:14:14.860 --> 00:14:22.300
 He looks beyond himself in a way that is probably a good example for us.

00:14:23.300 --> 00:14:26.779
 Whatever he's feeling personally,

00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:30.300
 whatever other emotional and physical distress and worry and uncertainty

00:14:30.300 --> 00:14:32.259
 he's facing in his own life,

00:14:32.800 --> 00:14:37.759
 his concern about God's honor is actually where most of his focus is at.

00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:44.779
 If 2019 was a bumpy year,

00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:47.960
 as our Sovereign Lady rightly said,

00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:49.379
 then heads up,

00:14:50.340 --> 00:14:54.559
 don't be surprised if 2020 has more speed bumps,

00:14:55.259 --> 00:14:56.360
 aggressive speed bumps,

00:14:56.860 --> 00:14:59.939
 than a newly resurfaced West Ealing suburban street.

00:15:02.460 --> 00:15:05.539
 Unfortunately, it's a good thing that people turn to God

00:15:05.539 --> 00:15:09.120
 when there's uncertainty and change, isn't it?

00:15:09.839 --> 00:15:12.399
 After 9-11 and after the financial crash,

00:15:12.980 --> 00:15:15.079
 churches in New York and London were full.

00:15:15.639 --> 00:15:16.599
 They overflowed.

00:15:19.079 --> 00:15:22.679
 The sad thing that comes with that is,

00:15:22.819 --> 00:15:24.179
 unfortunately for many people,

00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:27.339
 the solution to a changing attitude

00:15:27.339 --> 00:15:29.579
 towards the church, towards God,

00:15:29.699 --> 00:15:30.719
 towards Christian values,

00:15:30.719 --> 00:15:32.259
 and even indeed Christians,

00:15:33.259 --> 00:15:35.240
 is that we must become more relevant.

00:15:36.219 --> 00:15:37.439
 We must become more relevant,

00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:40.019
 you know, to reach people,

00:15:40.719 --> 00:15:42.199
 whatever that means.

00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:43.980
 That means so many different things for different people.

00:15:45.099 --> 00:15:47.240
 For some people, that means the gospel must change

00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:50.079
 and we must bring a new gospel for a new era.

00:15:50.939 --> 00:15:52.279
 If the world is changing,

00:15:52.439 --> 00:15:54.899
 then God must change with us.

00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:57.379
 We need a new God, a different God,

00:15:57.899 --> 00:16:00.980
 a God who responds to our needs and our desires.

00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:06.539
 I was really struck by a piece I read the last couple of days

00:16:06.539 --> 00:16:08.120
 in The Guardian.

00:16:09.899 --> 00:16:12.159
 The Guardian does have good things as well,

00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:14.740
 where the writer talks about how churches

00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:17.620
 should follow the models of many cathedrals.

00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:22.019
 That seems to be a me-centered, one-stop shop,

00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:24.100
 he says, of therapy and community.

00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:27.019
 That's what people need.

00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:31.779
 The answer to a longing for congregation,

00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:36.320
 the cathedral's answer to a longing for congregation

00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:37.500
 and communal space.

00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:41.580
 The key is a quality unfashionable to social analysis.

00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:44.540
 The offer of solitude with beauty.

00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:48.840
 You need not be of faith to sit quietly

00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:50.940
 and contemplate the loveliness of a cathedral.

00:16:51.899 --> 00:16:53.860
 As the dean once hinted to me in a whisper,

00:16:54.740 --> 00:16:56.639
 here we don't bang on about God.

00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:00.420
 The sociologist Grace Davey described a cathedral

00:17:00.420 --> 00:17:02.160
 as a vicarious religion.

00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:04.759
 Somewhere an individual can be private,

00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:08.000
 undisturbed and uplifted by architecture and music.

00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:11.759
 They are psychotherapy in glass and stone.

00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:15.559
 Now, unfortunately,

00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:19.460
 if we think that creating a calm space for ourselves

00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:22.759
 is going to solve our need for certainty and stability

00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:26.420
 in an inherently uncertain and changing world,

00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:30.140
 then that writer's got another thing coming.

00:17:31.640 --> 00:17:34.240
 So we can't block out the uncertainty and the change

00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:36.700
 and the hostility in the world forever.

00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:39.019
 And the psalmist doesn't go there either.

00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:41.000
 He finds his hope, doesn't he,

00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:44.859
 in an entirely different way.

00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:47.839
 I don't know if you saw that,

00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:51.539
 but for him it's the fact that God doesn't change

00:17:51.539 --> 00:17:52.980
 that gives all the hope.

00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:56.680
 In contrast to that cathedral dean

00:17:56.680 --> 00:17:58.359
 who says we don't bang on about God,

00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:01.259
 for the psalmist, it's all about God.

00:18:02.420 --> 00:18:04.920
 And it's all about a God who doesn't change.

00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:09.599
 And that's a very counter-cultural thing for us to do,

00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:12.619
 to find our trust in a God who doesn't change.

00:18:13.899 --> 00:18:15.859
 But it was in those days, too, to be honest,

00:18:15.919 --> 00:18:17.740
 when all the cultures around Israel had gods

00:18:17.740 --> 00:18:18.679
 that you could change.

00:18:18.939 --> 00:18:21.399
 When you were tired of one, you got a new one.

00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:23.000
 When one didn't seem to work anymore,

00:18:23.099 --> 00:18:24.579
 you got another nation's gods

00:18:24.579 --> 00:18:26.359
 because they seemed to be working.

00:18:26.459 --> 00:18:30.399
 You could swap them around like football cards.

00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:34.480
 And he gets things back in perspective

00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:38.220
 when he realizes that

00:18:38.220 --> 00:18:40.980
 while God's able to take him out of this life,

00:18:41.980 --> 00:18:45.920
 God's years endure throughout all the generations.

00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:48.580
 God, he says,

00:18:49.120 --> 00:18:52.000
 will outlast the foundations of the earth.

00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:54.759
 He will outlast the heavens.

00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:56.819
 I don't know if you knew this,

00:18:57.059 --> 00:18:58.619
 but Mount Etna,

00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:01.940
 the volcano outside Sicily,

00:19:02.180 --> 00:19:04.599
 is actually sliding into the ocean

00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:07.879
 at a rate of about 14 millimeters a year.

00:19:10.140 --> 00:19:12.619
 Now, don't be entirely worried just yet.

00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:15.119
 It's going to take about 100,000 years at that pace

00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:17.339
 for it to slide into the Mediterranean Sea.

00:19:18.019 --> 00:19:19.900
 And I think it might cause a tsunami.

00:19:19.900 --> 00:19:24.780
 Mount Etna,

00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:27.480
 that's caused destruction

00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:30.519
 over centuries,

00:19:30.780 --> 00:19:32.040
 is sliding into the ocean.

00:19:33.340 --> 00:19:33.900
 I don't know.

00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:36.920
 I hope this doesn't come as news to you,

00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.620
 but God is going to outlast Mount Etna.

00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:44.880
 There's a qualitative difference

00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:46.480
 between us and God, isn't there?

00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:49.140
 And the rest of creation and God.

00:19:49.140 --> 00:19:50.620
 We change.

00:19:50.740 --> 00:19:52.020
 The world we live in changes.

00:19:53.320 --> 00:19:54.280
 And since the fall,

00:19:54.380 --> 00:19:55.660
 much of that change isn't good.

00:19:57.600 --> 00:19:59.200
 But it isn't so with God.

00:20:00.800 --> 00:20:02.660
 The fact that God doesn't change

00:20:02.660 --> 00:20:03.860
 is good news.

00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:07.660
 Because it means this God who is love,

00:20:08.340 --> 00:20:09.700
 this God who has promised

00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:11.840
 mercy and forgiveness

00:20:11.840 --> 00:20:14.100
 to those who return to him,

00:20:14.200 --> 00:20:15.780
 that this Lord God

00:20:15.780 --> 00:20:17.660
 who made a covenant with his people

00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:18.840
 to be their God

00:20:18.840 --> 00:20:20.440
 and for them to be his people,

00:20:20.540 --> 00:20:22.440
 who promised a saviour for his people,

00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:24.360
 and who promised that

00:20:24.360 --> 00:20:26.820
 no one that he gave to his son

00:20:26.820 --> 00:20:27.860
 will fall away,

00:20:28.940 --> 00:20:30.620
 it means that God will not

00:20:30.620 --> 00:20:32.680
 and cannot break those promises.

00:20:33.840 --> 00:20:35.800
 We can't trust in our own resolutions.

00:20:36.019 --> 00:20:36.620
 I don't know if you're

00:20:36.620 --> 00:20:38.620
 going to the gym next week.

00:20:39.080 --> 00:20:40.120
 We'll see how that goes

00:20:40.120 --> 00:20:41.000
 by the end of January.

00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:44.259
 We get promises by politicians.

00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:46.180
 We'll see how much we can rely on that.

00:20:47.140 --> 00:20:48.240
 But we need a God

00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:49.359
 that we can trust in

00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:50.480
 who doesn't change.

00:20:52.819 --> 00:20:54.140
 And we need that

00:20:54.140 --> 00:20:54.839
 more than just

00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:56.640
 for our day-to-day needs

00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:58.119
 for the next year.

00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:02.279
 Malachi talks of a day

00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:04.000
 when God will deal

00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:04.680
 decisively

00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:06.819
 with the brokenness

00:21:06.819 --> 00:21:07.420
 and the change

00:21:07.420 --> 00:21:07.940
 in this world,

00:21:08.019 --> 00:21:08.400
 doesn't he?

00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:09.800
 Malachi writes

00:21:09.800 --> 00:21:12.240
 a prophecy from God.

00:21:12.340 --> 00:21:12.540
 He says,

00:21:12.620 --> 00:21:13.840
 I will draw near to you

00:21:13.840 --> 00:21:14.580
 for judgment.

00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:16.560
 There will be a swift witness

00:21:16.560 --> 00:21:17.519
 against the sorcerers,

00:21:17.620 --> 00:21:18.400
 against the adulterers,

00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:19.820
 against those who swear falsely,

00:21:20.180 --> 00:21:21.280
 against those who oppress

00:21:21.280 --> 00:21:23.019
 the hired worker

00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:23.700
 and his wages,

00:21:24.060 --> 00:21:25.280
 the widow and the fatherless,

00:21:25.660 --> 00:21:26.460
 against those

00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:27.440
 who thrust aside

00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:28.120
 the sojourner

00:21:28.120 --> 00:21:29.600
 and do not fear me,

00:21:29.640 --> 00:21:30.620
 says the Lord of hosts.

00:21:31.800 --> 00:21:32.840
 For I, the Lord,

00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:33.980
 do not change.

00:21:35.080 --> 00:21:35.480
 Therefore,

00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:36.200
 you,

00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:37.320
 O children of Jacob,

00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:38.120
 are not consumed.

00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:41.100
 Now that,

00:21:41.100 --> 00:21:42.680
 that last bit

00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:43.420
 seems to come out

00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:44.060
 of the blue a bit,

00:21:44.100 --> 00:21:44.540
 doesn't it?

00:21:45.500 --> 00:21:46.080
 I mean,

00:21:46.100 --> 00:21:46.820
 we know God

00:21:46.820 --> 00:21:47.620
 is not going to let

00:21:47.620 --> 00:21:48.500
 injustice by

00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:49.360
 without action,

00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:50.280
 no matter how

00:21:50.280 --> 00:21:51.000
 the world looks.

00:21:51.180 --> 00:21:52.140
 And that's a great

00:21:52.140 --> 00:21:52.900
 source of comfort

00:21:52.900 --> 00:21:54.000
 as the world seems

00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.660
 uncertain and unjust

00:21:55.660 --> 00:21:56.700
 in so many ways.

00:21:57.700 --> 00:21:57.900
 You know,

00:21:57.940 --> 00:21:58.740
 we know that God

00:21:58.740 --> 00:21:59.780
 is going to deal with it

00:21:59.780 --> 00:22:01.560
 because he does not change.

00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:02.940
 He's the same just

00:22:02.940 --> 00:22:04.000
 and righteous God

00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.160
 for always.

00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:09.360
 But he says,

00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:10.540
 because he doesn't

00:22:10.540 --> 00:22:11.200
 change,

00:22:11.800 --> 00:22:12.860
 we won't be

00:22:12.860 --> 00:22:13.460
 consumed.

00:22:16.660 --> 00:22:17.800
 Because he doesn't

00:22:17.800 --> 00:22:18.140
 change,

00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:18.759
 he won't forget

00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:19.600
 his promise of mercy

00:22:19.600 --> 00:22:20.220
 to us.

00:22:22.279 --> 00:22:22.420
 Yeah,

00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:23.540
 and the glory

00:22:23.540 --> 00:22:24.380
 of the Christian

00:22:24.380 --> 00:22:25.019
 doctrine

00:22:25.019 --> 00:22:26.400
 of God

00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:28.000
 is that

00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:29.080
 it is the

00:22:29.080 --> 00:22:30.300
 unchangeable one

00:22:30.300 --> 00:22:31.540
 who is

00:22:31.540 --> 00:22:32.420
 in control

00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:33.420
 of all the change

00:22:33.420 --> 00:22:34.080
 in the universe.

00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:37.980
 He is

00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:38.820
 who he is,

00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:40.120
 isn't he?

00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:41.320
 Not

00:22:41.320 --> 00:22:42.180
 who he might

00:22:42.180 --> 00:22:43.180
 become with us.

00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:44.820
 Yeah,

00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:46.460
 to wrongly

00:22:46.460 --> 00:22:47.120
 paraphrase

00:22:47.120 --> 00:22:48.300
 Hebrews 6 a bit,

00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:50.240
 it's not

00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:51.080
 that he swore

00:22:51.080 --> 00:22:52.100
 by himself

00:22:52.100 --> 00:22:53.820
 so that,

00:22:53.960 --> 00:22:54.560
 so let us

00:22:54.560 --> 00:22:55.620
 hold relatively

00:22:55.620 --> 00:22:56.259
 tightly

00:22:56.259 --> 00:22:57.800
 to the hope

00:22:57.800 --> 00:22:58.480
 we profess

00:22:58.480 --> 00:22:59.640
 because he

00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:00.240
 who promised

00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:01.300
 probably won't

00:23:01.300 --> 00:23:02.019
 let us down.

00:23:03.420 --> 00:23:03.860
 That

00:23:03.860 --> 00:23:04.900
 wouldn't be

00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:05.340
 any hope

00:23:05.340 --> 00:23:05.779
 at all.

00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:06.759
 No.

00:23:08.500 --> 00:23:09.440
 A changing,

00:23:09.700 --> 00:23:10.580
 uncertain world

00:23:10.580 --> 00:23:11.560
 needs a God

00:23:11.560 --> 00:23:12.320
 who does not

00:23:12.320 --> 00:23:12.880
 change.

00:23:15.140 --> 00:23:15.960
 The amazing

00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:16.539
 thing is,

00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:17.140
 God doesn't

00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:17.720
 need us.

00:23:19.340 --> 00:23:20.039
 He's perfect

00:23:20.039 --> 00:23:20.660
 and he's always

00:23:20.660 --> 00:23:21.039
 been.

00:23:22.080 --> 00:23:22.440
 So,

00:23:22.820 --> 00:23:23.400
 any change

00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:23.700
 in God

00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:24.060
 would be a

00:23:24.060 --> 00:23:24.580
 change for the

00:23:24.580 --> 00:23:24.960
 worse.

00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:31.720
 God

00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:32.279
 isn't a

00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:32.620
 creature

00:23:32.620 --> 00:23:33.440
 like us.

00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:34.620
 He isn't

00:23:34.620 --> 00:23:35.279
 an inanimate

00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:36.019
 object that

00:23:36.019 --> 00:23:36.579
 doesn't

00:23:36.579 --> 00:23:36.960
 change.

00:23:37.019 --> 00:23:37.440
 When we say

00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:37.980
 God doesn't

00:23:37.980 --> 00:23:38.460
 change,

00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:40.180
 it's not

00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:40.640
 like we

00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:41.180
 think of a

00:23:41.180 --> 00:23:41.880
 table or a

00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:42.319
 chair or

00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:43.059
 something that

00:23:43.059 --> 00:23:44.019
 stays the

00:23:44.019 --> 00:23:44.539
 same day

00:23:44.539 --> 00:23:45.220
 after day,

00:23:45.860 --> 00:23:46.200
 dead.

00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:47.019
 No,

00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:48.240
 he's life

00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:48.720
 itself,

00:23:48.840 --> 00:23:49.220
 isn't he?

00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:51.279
 He's utterly

00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:51.720
 perfect,

00:23:51.860 --> 00:23:52.779
 utterly alive.

00:23:52.779 --> 00:23:54.500
 And he

00:23:54.500 --> 00:23:55.160
 is his

00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:55.799
 mercy and

00:23:55.799 --> 00:23:56.240
 his love

00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:56.500
 and his

00:23:56.500 --> 00:23:56.859
 forgiveness

00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:57.299
 and his

00:23:57.299 --> 00:23:57.940
 justice and

00:23:57.940 --> 00:23:58.099
 his

00:23:58.099 --> 00:23:58.799
 trustworthiness.

00:23:58.899 --> 00:23:59.480
 He is all

00:23:59.480 --> 00:23:59.819
 of those

00:23:59.819 --> 00:24:00.319
 things,

00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:01.599
 always,

00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:02.559
 totally.

00:24:03.879 --> 00:24:04.759
 He's more

00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:05.500
 alive than

00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:06.200
 we can think

00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:06.619
 of being

00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:07.200
 alive.

00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:09.680
 Even when

00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:10.240
 we talk about

00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:10.539
 God,

00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:11.359
 even at some

00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:11.639
 level,

00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:12.379
 it's even

00:24:12.379 --> 00:24:13.399
 like our

00:24:13.399 --> 00:24:14.500
 language starts

00:24:14.500 --> 00:24:14.960
 to strain,

00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:15.720
 our language

00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:16.779
 stops being

00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:17.379
 able to

00:24:17.379 --> 00:24:18.099
 talk about

00:24:18.099 --> 00:24:18.599
 how God

00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:19.319
 really is,

00:24:19.539 --> 00:24:20.099
 more than

00:24:20.099 --> 00:24:20.519
 we can

00:24:20.519 --> 00:24:21.799
 imagine.

00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:22.299
 He is,

00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:22.960
 for the

00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:23.359
 lack of a

00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:23.879
 better term,

00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:24.960
 the most

00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:25.779
 mostest.

00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:28.440
 And if he

00:24:28.440 --> 00:24:28.700
 had to

00:24:28.700 --> 00:24:29.039
 change,

00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:29.480
 he wouldn't

00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:29.740
 be.

00:24:32.460 --> 00:24:32.940
 And here

00:24:32.940 --> 00:24:33.299
 at Christmas

00:24:33.299 --> 00:24:33.619
 time,

00:24:33.740 --> 00:24:34.460
 we remember

00:24:34.460 --> 00:24:35.000
 the gift of

00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:35.579
 Jesus Christ,

00:24:35.659 --> 00:24:36.079
 it's good to

00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:37.480
 remember James

00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:38.240
 1 as well,

00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:39.279
 where he says

00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:39.899
 every good

00:24:39.899 --> 00:24:40.359
 gift and

00:24:40.359 --> 00:24:41.019
 every perfect

00:24:41.019 --> 00:24:41.619
 gift is from

00:24:41.619 --> 00:24:42.059
 above,

00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:43.819
 coming down

00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:44.159
 from the

00:24:44.159 --> 00:24:44.619
 Father of

00:24:44.619 --> 00:24:44.940
 lights,

00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:45.419
 with whom

00:24:45.419 --> 00:24:46.139
 there is no

00:24:46.139 --> 00:24:47.159
 variation or

00:24:47.159 --> 00:24:48.599
 shadow due

00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:49.299
 to change.

00:24:49.299 --> 00:24:54.680
 this very

00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:55.240
 source of

00:24:55.240 --> 00:24:56.000
 stability that

00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:56.879
 the psalmist

00:24:56.879 --> 00:24:57.579
 turns to,

00:24:57.720 --> 00:24:59.519
 this perfect

00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:01.159
 gift from

00:25:01.159 --> 00:25:01.680
 God,

00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:03.139
 Jesus Christ,

00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:05.859
 is what the

00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:06.299
 writer of

00:25:06.299 --> 00:25:07.019
 Hebrews talks

00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:07.539
 about when he

00:25:07.539 --> 00:25:08.240
 talks about the

00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:08.779
 Son of God,

00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:10.119
 when he talks

00:25:10.119 --> 00:25:11.240
 about why the

00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:12.079
 Son of God is

00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:12.859
 more perfect than

00:25:12.859 --> 00:25:13.159
 angels.

00:25:13.299 --> 00:25:14.159
 He quotes these

00:25:14.159 --> 00:25:14.940
 verses from

00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:15.759
 Psalm 102.

00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:17.279
 At the end

00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:17.519
 there,

00:25:17.879 --> 00:25:18.259
 he says,

00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:19.660
 in Hebrews

00:25:19.660 --> 00:25:19.900
 1,

00:25:19.980 --> 00:25:20.140
 he says,

00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:20.680
 And you,

00:25:20.779 --> 00:25:21.220
 the Lord,

00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:22.259
 laid the

00:25:22.259 --> 00:25:22.819
 foundation of

00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:23.160
 the earth in

00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:23.519
 the beginning,

00:25:23.619 --> 00:25:23.980
 and the heavens

00:25:23.980 --> 00:25:24.440
 are the work

00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:25.000
 for your hands.

00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:25.339
 They will

00:25:25.339 --> 00:25:25.660
 perish,

00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:26.019
 but you

00:25:26.019 --> 00:25:26.480
 remain,

00:25:27.019 --> 00:25:27.379
 they will

00:25:27.379 --> 00:25:27.879
 all wear

00:25:27.879 --> 00:25:28.319
 out like

00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:28.799
 a garment.

00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:30.559
 Like a robe,

00:25:30.599 --> 00:25:31.039
 you will roll

00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:31.440
 them up.

00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:32.140
 Like a garment,

00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:32.640
 they will be

00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:32.980
 changed,

00:25:33.059 --> 00:25:33.539
 but you are

00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:33.960
 the same,

00:25:34.039 --> 00:25:34.299
 and your

00:25:34.299 --> 00:25:34.879
 years will

00:25:34.879 --> 00:25:35.279
 have no

00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:35.619
 end.

00:25:37.059 --> 00:25:37.740
 That is the

00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:38.240
 Son of God

00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:38.819
 who was born

00:25:38.819 --> 00:25:40.879
 as a person,

00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:41.480
 as a human

00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:41.900
 being,

00:25:42.900 --> 00:25:43.900
 God and

00:25:43.900 --> 00:25:44.379
 man at

00:25:44.379 --> 00:25:44.799
 Christmas.

00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:48.819
 It is

00:25:48.819 --> 00:25:50.519
 right at

00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:51.299
 Christmas time

00:25:51.299 --> 00:25:51.879
 that we talk

00:25:51.879 --> 00:25:52.339
 about how

00:25:52.339 --> 00:25:53.680
 God became

00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:54.059
 man.

00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:56.599
 How the

00:25:56.599 --> 00:25:57.180
 Son of God,

00:25:57.259 --> 00:25:57.599
 the second

00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:58.099
 person of

00:25:58.099 --> 00:25:58.559
 the Trinity,

00:25:59.160 --> 00:25:59.879
 took a human

00:25:59.879 --> 00:26:00.480
 nature as

00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:00.980
 well to

00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:01.259
 him.

00:26:01.420 --> 00:26:02.339
 A changeable,

00:26:02.940 --> 00:26:03.940
 changing human

00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:04.240
 nature.

00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:05.119
 He grew up

00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:07.140
 through being

00:26:07.140 --> 00:26:07.599
 a toddler,

00:26:07.859 --> 00:26:08.220
 and being a

00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:08.579
 child,

00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:09.500
 and becoming

00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:09.960
 a human

00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:10.400
 being.

00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:12.119
 He had

00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:13.099
 human emotions

00:26:13.099 --> 00:26:13.640
 as well.

00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:17.259
 But maybe

00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:18.640
 we will do

00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:19.180
 well to

00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:19.740
 remember that

00:26:19.740 --> 00:26:20.180
 it is the

00:26:20.180 --> 00:26:20.700
 unchanging

00:26:20.700 --> 00:26:21.279
 God who

00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:21.799
 did that.

00:26:24.680 --> 00:26:25.059
 And that

00:26:25.059 --> 00:26:25.700
 he came

00:26:25.700 --> 00:26:26.180
 into this

00:26:26.180 --> 00:26:26.740
 world of

00:26:26.740 --> 00:26:27.279
 uncertainty,

00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:28.019
 this world

00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:28.940
 of tyranny,

00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:29.579
 of change

00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:30.160
 and decay,

00:26:30.819 --> 00:26:31.799
 so that he

00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:32.379
 will be that

00:26:32.379 --> 00:26:33.099
 unchanging

00:26:33.099 --> 00:26:33.640
 hope that

00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:34.099
 we need.

00:26:34.099 --> 00:26:40.399
 he's still

00:26:40.399 --> 00:26:41.099
 the internal

00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:41.819
 unchangeable

00:26:41.819 --> 00:26:43.579
 God who

00:26:43.579 --> 00:26:44.240
 will accomplish

00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:45.199
 his plans to

00:26:45.199 --> 00:26:45.899
 save a people

00:26:45.899 --> 00:26:46.579
 for himself

00:26:46.579 --> 00:26:47.039
 from all

00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:47.480
 nations.

00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:50.740
 What's really

00:26:50.740 --> 00:26:51.439
 fascinating is

00:26:51.439 --> 00:26:53.059
 when the

00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:53.599
 psalmist looks

00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:54.179
 beyond his

00:26:54.179 --> 00:26:55.259
 own knees,

00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:55.519
 when he

00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:55.859
 looks to

00:26:55.859 --> 00:26:56.319
 who God

00:26:56.319 --> 00:26:56.699
 is,

00:26:57.179 --> 00:26:58.299
 he sees

00:26:58.299 --> 00:27:00.699
 how there's

00:27:00.699 --> 00:27:01.139
 a point

00:27:01.139 --> 00:27:02.799
 where all

00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:03.619
 nations will

00:27:03.619 --> 00:27:04.079
 come to

00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:04.539
 Jerusalem.

00:27:04.679 --> 00:27:04.979
 There's a

00:27:04.979 --> 00:27:05.459
 point that

00:27:05.459 --> 00:27:06.399
 is beyond

00:27:06.399 --> 00:27:07.039
 what he's

00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:07.519
 known,

00:27:08.439 --> 00:27:10.459
 a change

00:27:10.459 --> 00:27:11.279
 from before,

00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:11.779
 but a good

00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:12.279
 change.

00:27:13.139 --> 00:27:13.679
 He's looking

00:27:13.679 --> 00:27:14.639
 with certainty

00:27:14.639 --> 00:27:15.339
 to a time

00:27:15.339 --> 00:27:15.639
 when all

00:27:15.639 --> 00:27:16.019
 the nations

00:27:16.019 --> 00:27:16.399
 will come

00:27:16.399 --> 00:27:17.059
 to Jerusalem,

00:27:17.739 --> 00:27:18.519
 when a new

00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:18.859
 thing will

00:27:18.859 --> 00:27:19.199
 happen,

00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:21.019
 when all

00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:21.439
 the people

00:27:21.439 --> 00:27:21.939
 and kingdoms

00:27:21.939 --> 00:27:22.500
 coming to

00:27:22.500 --> 00:27:22.939
 Jerusalem

00:27:22.939 --> 00:27:23.279
 will be

00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:23.619
 there to

00:27:23.619 --> 00:27:25.059
 worship God.

00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:27.339
 And that

00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:28.419
 change

00:27:28.419 --> 00:27:29.379
 started to

00:27:29.379 --> 00:27:30.399
 happen when

00:27:30.399 --> 00:27:31.199
 the unchanging

00:27:31.199 --> 00:27:31.959
 God came

00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:32.539
 into this

00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:33.700
 world to

00:27:33.700 --> 00:27:34.180
 become one

00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:34.620
 of us.

00:27:36.340 --> 00:27:36.940
 A changing

00:27:36.940 --> 00:27:37.579
 uncertain

00:27:37.579 --> 00:27:38.220
 world doesn't

00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:38.600
 need more

00:27:38.600 --> 00:27:39.079
 change.

00:27:41.259 --> 00:27:41.980
 It needs,

00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:42.960
 it doesn't

00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:44.059
 need a more

00:27:44.059 --> 00:27:44.940
 relevant church

00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:45.620
 which doesn't

00:27:45.620 --> 00:27:46.319
 bang on about

00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:46.720
 God.

00:27:47.940 --> 00:27:48.759
 The nations

00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:49.480
 will come to

00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:50.100
 Christ, the

00:27:50.100 --> 00:27:50.620
 rock of our

00:27:50.620 --> 00:27:51.480
 salvation, because

00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:52.299
 he is the

00:27:52.299 --> 00:27:53.059
 unchangeable,

00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:54.600
 eternal God.

00:27:56.259 --> 00:27:57.240
 A changing

00:27:57.240 --> 00:27:57.779
 uncertain

00:27:57.779 --> 00:27:58.720
 world needs a

00:27:58.720 --> 00:27:59.100
 God who

00:27:59.100 --> 00:27:59.819
 doesn't change,

00:27:59.819 --> 00:28:01.299
 the God

00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:01.679
 we can

00:28:01.679 --> 00:28:02.379
 depend on,

00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:03.639
 that same

00:28:03.639 --> 00:28:04.019
 God who

00:28:04.019 --> 00:28:04.359
 came to

00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:05.079
 rescue us.

00:28:07.299 --> 00:28:08.240
 Your plans

00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:08.659
 for next

00:28:08.659 --> 00:28:10.259
 year, for

00:28:10.259 --> 00:28:10.859
 your life,

00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:12.119
 might not

00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:13.079
 last the

00:28:13.079 --> 00:28:13.700
 next week,

00:28:13.939 --> 00:28:14.439
 or month,

00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:14.939
 or year,

00:28:15.899 --> 00:28:16.720
 but those

00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:17.299
 things aren't

00:28:17.299 --> 00:28:17.819
 the things that

00:28:17.819 --> 00:28:18.019
 are going to

00:28:18.019 --> 00:28:18.259
 give you

00:28:18.259 --> 00:28:18.700
 certainty.

00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:20.439
 It's not

00:28:20.439 --> 00:28:20.819
 going to come

00:28:20.819 --> 00:28:21.519
 from politics,

00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:22.659
 it's not

00:28:22.659 --> 00:28:23.099
 going to come

00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:23.679
 from Twitter,

00:28:24.259 --> 00:28:24.539
 from your

00:28:24.539 --> 00:28:25.339
 school results.

00:28:26.980 --> 00:28:27.700
 Do work

00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:28.200
 hard at school

00:28:28.200 --> 00:28:29.319
 though, or

00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:29.720
 going through

00:28:29.720 --> 00:28:30.179
 the motions

00:28:30.179 --> 00:28:30.779
 at church.

00:28:31.659 --> 00:28:32.259
 Those things

00:28:32.259 --> 00:28:32.939
 all change.

00:28:33.980 --> 00:28:34.639
 The question

00:28:34.639 --> 00:28:35.079
 for you and

00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:36.299
 me is, are

00:28:36.299 --> 00:28:36.740
 we going to

00:28:36.740 --> 00:28:37.619
 rely on changing

00:28:37.619 --> 00:28:38.399
 things this

00:28:38.399 --> 00:28:40.039
 coming year, or

00:28:40.039 --> 00:28:40.480
 are we going to

00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:41.000
 rely on the

00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:41.980
 unchanging God?

00:28:43.839 --> 00:28:44.279
 Amen.