WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.320 So tonight we're going to be looking at Mark chapter 7. 00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:05.160 If you want to turn there in the pew Bible, 00:00:05.700 --> 00:00:07.980 whoever gets there first can shout out the page number. 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:10.640 And what is it, Beth? 00:00:11.700 --> 00:00:12.060 842. 00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:13.019 That was quick. 00:00:13.200 --> 00:00:13.500 Thanks. 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:19.820 So Mark chapter 7, we're going to look at verses 1 through 23 tonight. 00:00:20.920 --> 00:00:22.519 Am I wearing this in the right spot, Jonathan? 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:38.380 All right, let me read Mark 7, 1 through 23 for us. 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:41.219 Mark writes this, 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:43.480 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, that is Jesus, 00:00:43.579 --> 00:00:45.420 with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 00:00:46.019 --> 00:00:49.920 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:51.460 that is, unwashed. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.780 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, 00:00:55.900 --> 00:00:57.379 holding to the tradition of the elders. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:00:59.820 And when they come from the marketplace, 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:01.780 they do not eat unless they wash. 00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:04.219 And there are many other traditions that they observe, 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:08.099 such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. 00:01:09.180 --> 00:01:11.659 And the Pharisees and the scribes around him said, 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:14.140 asked him, 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:17.740 Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, 00:01:17.900 --> 00:01:19.599 but eat with defiled hands? 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:21.280 And he said to them, 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:24.740 Well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites? 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:25.980 As it is written, 00:01:26.299 --> 00:01:28.280 This people honors me with their lips, 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:30.299 but their heart is far from me. 00:01:30.739 --> 00:01:32.280 In vain do they worship me, 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:35.799 teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:38.240 You leave the commandment of God 00:01:38.240 --> 00:01:40.680 and hold to the tradition of men. 00:01:41.379 --> 00:01:42.299 And he said to them, 00:01:42.379 --> 00:01:45.420 You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God 00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:46.859 in order to establish your tradition. 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:48.099 For Moses said, 00:01:48.219 --> 00:01:49.120 Honor your father and mother, 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:51.240 and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. 00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:51.920 But you say, 00:01:52.339 --> 00:01:53.939 If a man tells his father or mother, 00:01:54.119 --> 00:01:56.640 Whatever you would have gained from me is korban, 00:01:56.759 --> 00:01:57.879 that is given to God, 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:01.039 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 00:02:01.099 --> 00:02:03.560 thus making void the word of God by your tradition 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:05.060 that you have handed down, 00:02:05.539 --> 00:02:06.959 and many such things you do. 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:10.659 And he called the people to him again and said, 00:02:10.780 --> 00:02:12.340 Hear me, all of you, 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:13.479 and understand, 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:16.539 There's nothing outside a person 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:20.000 that by going into him can defile him, 00:02:20.459 --> 00:02:22.819 but the things that come out of a person 00:02:22.819 --> 00:02:24.519 are what defile him. 00:02:26.500 --> 00:02:29.079 And when he had entered the house and left the people, 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:31.000 his disciples asked him about the parable. 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:32.539 And he said to them, 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:34.859 Then are you also without understanding? 00:02:34.860 --> 00:02:38.840 Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:40.760 cannot defile him since it enters, 00:02:40.940 --> 00:02:41.720 not into his heart, 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:43.400 but his stomach and is expelled? 00:02:44.540 --> 00:02:46.520 Thus he declared all foods clean. 00:02:47.920 --> 00:02:48.560 And he said, 00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:51.000 What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:52.320 For from within, 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:53.920 out of the heart of man, 00:02:54.480 --> 00:02:55.460 come evil thoughts, 00:02:56.300 --> 00:02:57.220 sexual immorality, 00:02:57.660 --> 00:02:58.020 theft, 00:02:58.540 --> 00:02:58.840 murder, 00:02:59.320 --> 00:02:59.760 adultery, 00:03:00.060 --> 00:03:00.460 coveting, 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:01.560 wickedness, 00:03:01.760 --> 00:03:02.180 deceit, 00:03:02.820 --> 00:03:03.460 sensuality, 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:03.800 envy, 00:03:03.800 --> 00:03:04.360 slander, 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:05.080 pride, 00:03:05.720 --> 00:03:06.340 foolishness. 00:03:07.200 --> 00:03:08.980 All these evil things come from within, 00:03:09.980 --> 00:03:11.680 and they defile a person. 00:03:15.780 --> 00:03:17.400 Well, as I was preparing for tonight, 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:19.760 I was reminded of a story about G.K. Chesterton. 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:23.040 He was a writer and critic who lived about 100 years ago. 00:03:23.320 --> 00:03:25.000 He was incredible with words. 00:03:25.160 --> 00:03:26.720 Some of you know that if you've read some of his writings. 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:27.340 He wrote fiction. 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:28.780 He wrote art criticism. 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:30.760 He kind of wrote across the board. 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:35.599 And he was a devout Christian and also wrote just massively beautiful works about the faith. 00:03:35.979 --> 00:03:36.219 In fact, 00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:41.560 his book titled Orthodoxy is probably one of the better Christian works of the 20th century. 00:03:41.699 --> 00:03:42.379 Some would say the best, 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:43.699 but that's a superlative. 00:03:43.799 --> 00:03:44.439 We'll stay away from that. 00:03:44.799 --> 00:03:45.199 Orthodoxy. 00:03:45.239 --> 00:03:45.459 Great. 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:46.819 So a great Christian writer. 00:03:46.819 --> 00:03:56.359 And supposedly the story goes that a newspaper once wrote Chesterton and asked him to write a piece discussing what's wrong with the world. 00:03:56.979 --> 00:04:02.599 And I'm sure they were expecting a few hundred words of finely crafted prose to answer this probing question. 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:04.539 What's wrong with the world? 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:09.400 But in classic Chesterton style, his reply was simply this. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:11.959 Dear sir, I am. 00:04:12.659 --> 00:04:14.060 Yours, G.K. Chesterton. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:17.060 You see, what's wrong with the world? 00:04:17.459 --> 00:04:18.959 Chesterton says, I am. 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:21.019 End of discussion. 00:04:22.899 --> 00:04:27.699 Now our text tonight is perhaps one of the most illuminating analyses. 00:04:27.699 --> 00:04:32.240 One of the most sort of insightful discussions of the human condition. 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:37.879 It shows us exactly where our problem lies. 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:41.400 And it actually points us to where the solution is found. 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:43.400 And that's really important, right? 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:48.259 Because if you get the problem wrong, you never get the solution. 00:04:49.220 --> 00:04:49.420 Right? 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:54.460 If you go to the doctor and the doctor can never give you the right diagnosis, you'll never get the cure. 00:04:54.459 --> 00:05:04.839 So tonight as Jesus takes us into his analysis, into his sort of checkup, into his prognosis of what our condition really is, 00:05:05.719 --> 00:05:06.879 it's incredibly important. 00:05:07.379 --> 00:05:13.099 And what we see is that the problem of our human condition doesn't come, Jesus says, from anything outside of us. 00:05:13.679 --> 00:05:16.959 Our problem isn't in our environment and it's not in our circumstances. 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:21.239 Ultimately, he says, it comes from inside of us. 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:25.699 Jesus says it's our hearts that are the problem. 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:32.539 Now in verses 1 through 5, the Pharisees come to Jesus with a question about his disciples, right? 00:05:32.819 --> 00:05:39.579 And the issue that they bring is, hey, why don't your disciples follow the tradition of the elders and wash their hands before they eat? 00:05:40.259 --> 00:05:45.579 Now the hand washing thing here isn't just, you know, washing your hands before you sit down at the table. 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:50.019 We have a two-year-old, so we're always telling him to wash his hands before he eats because he's two and he gets into really gross stuff. 00:05:50.359 --> 00:05:52.060 That's not the kind of washing that they're talking about. 00:05:52.099 --> 00:05:54.759 They're talking about a ceremonial ritual thing. 00:05:55.579 --> 00:06:01.879 You see, the Pharisees had all sorts of regulations that had been developed over time to try to make sure, 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:05.539 so they could try to make sure that they were staying ceremonially clean. 00:06:05.540 --> 00:06:12.920 You see, the Mosaic Law did have regulations for ceremonial cleanness and uncleanness. 00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:14.860 If you've ever read through the Old Testament, you know this. 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:21.320 And what these clean and unclean ritual ceremonial laws were meant to be was a way of teaching God's people 00:06:21.320 --> 00:06:26.340 about God's holiness and their sinfulness and their need for forgiveness and their need for cleansing. 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:35.100 But what happened over time is that a whole bunch of human traditions were added to the ceremonial law 00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:38.740 to make extra sure that no one became unclean or defiled. 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:42.439 They were, as it were, attempts to sort of build a fence around the law, 00:06:42.500 --> 00:06:47.080 to sort of spread it out even just a little further so that no one got even close to becoming unclean. 00:06:48.820 --> 00:06:56.180 And what happened was that keeping these traditions started to become the sign 00:06:56.180 --> 00:06:59.480 that you were really serious about following God. 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:06.060 If you did all these extra traditions and extra rituals, then you were a true worshiper of God. 00:07:07.020 --> 00:07:10.780 Then you were in the right with God. 00:07:12.900 --> 00:07:16.920 And in verses 16 through 13, we have Jesus' reply to the Pharisees. 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:18.740 And he basically says this, 00:07:18.740 --> 00:07:38.800 Now that's pretty harsh words for guys who, if you would have asked them, took the law incredibly seriously. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:42.220 Took it so seriously that we made extra laws just so we could keep the law. 00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:46.220 But Jesus is so insightful here. 00:07:46.280 --> 00:07:50.500 He says, Though your lips are honoring God, your heart is far from him. 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:55.620 In fact, he goes on to say that by creating all these human regulations, 00:07:55.920 --> 00:08:03.520 you actually end up rejecting and even at times disobeying God's commands to keep your traditions. 00:08:04.460 --> 00:08:11.060 That's what 16 through 13 is all about, about this deal with honoring your father and mother and Corban and all of that. 00:08:11.060 --> 00:08:16.100 He's saying you've developed a practice that actually, if you follow through with that human tradition practice, 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:17.399 you disobey God's law. 00:08:19.780 --> 00:08:23.399 In essence, Jesus is showing us that the more we focus on human traditions, 00:08:23.579 --> 00:08:25.620 the less we start to care about God's commandments. 00:08:26.819 --> 00:08:32.059 And inevitably what happens is that an increasing obsession with our own rules and our own regulations 00:08:32.059 --> 00:08:36.379 will lead us to trust more and more on ourselves. 00:08:36.379 --> 00:08:41.159 After all, we're the ones who made them and we're the ones who have to keep them, 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:43.159 so we end up trusting ourselves. 00:08:45.059 --> 00:08:47.279 But you see, that's not the way it was meant to be. 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:55.480 God's law, God's word was meant to be enough for God's people. 00:08:55.480 --> 00:09:04.840 And really attending to God's law was meant to drive people not to trust in themselves, 00:09:05.259 --> 00:09:07.639 but to trust in God. 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:14.860 You see, it was meant to be set up so that the more and more God's people heeded God's commands, 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:18.379 the more and more they would have to depend on God. 00:09:18.379 --> 00:09:24.059 Because, you see, the law goes straight to the heart. 00:09:25.580 --> 00:09:28.120 It reveals our true spiritual condition. 00:09:29.439 --> 00:09:31.820 And that's where Jesus goes in the last part of our text. 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:37.879 In verses 14 through 23, Jesus tells us what really defiles a person. 00:09:38.100 --> 00:09:41.879 And he says it's not what goes into us from the outside that defiles us, 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:45.019 but that it's what comes out from within, from the heart. 00:09:45.019 --> 00:09:49.679 He says you can control your environment all you want, 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.439 and you can create all the traditions you want, 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:56.019 but ultimately none of those can keep you from being undefiled. 00:09:56.480 --> 00:10:00.039 They won't stop the corruption, and they won't take away the stain. 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:03.779 Because in essence, Jesus says, you are the problem. 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:10.399 This, this couple weeks ago, well, just last week, 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:12.620 Beth and I were down at her parents for Christmas, 00:10:12.840 --> 00:10:13.659 hanging out with the family. 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:17.199 And we have a niece who's going to be in eighth grade. 00:10:17.579 --> 00:10:21.339 She was actually the wedding, the flower girl at our wedding, 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:22.059 and she was like two. 00:10:22.339 --> 00:10:24.000 So it's really weird to see her now. 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:25.600 She's like 13 and this tall. 00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:27.919 But anyway, so she's growing up, 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:30.500 and she brought to the Levis family gathering 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:32.579 her copy of The Hunger Games. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:35.240 We were all talking about The Hunger Games. 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:39.279 And, you know, some people were saying 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:41.159 how they couldn't believe people were reading The Hunger Games, 00:10:41.199 --> 00:10:41.939 and it was so bad. 00:10:41.940 --> 00:10:44.680 And then someone said, well, kids read The Lord of the Flies in school. 00:10:44.800 --> 00:10:45.760 What's worse than The Hunger Games? 00:10:45.820 --> 00:10:47.600 And I hated that book too, you know, so. 00:10:48.060 --> 00:10:49.800 But interesting, it got me thinking about The Lord of the Flies. 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:52.080 Now, what's the point of The Lord of the Flies? 00:10:52.160 --> 00:10:52.900 Do you remember this book? 00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:54.560 Remember what happens in The Lord of the Flies? 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:55.540 Yeah? 00:10:55.880 --> 00:10:58.020 There's a group of high, I think they're high school kids, right? 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:00.660 They end up on this island all by themselves. 00:11:00.659 --> 00:11:03.759 You know, it's Russo's perfect project. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:09.259 Untainted by external controls or society or anything else, 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:14.559 just pure, undefiled humanity on an island to just start afresh. 00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:16.139 And what happens? 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:19.219 They just eat each other alive. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:21.899 It's just pure barbarism by the end. 00:11:23.439 --> 00:11:27.720 You see, the point of that book is that the problem's in us, 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:29.500 not outside of us. 00:11:30.340 --> 00:11:32.000 That's the point that Chesterton was making 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:34.720 with his short little reply to the time so many years ago. 00:11:35.460 --> 00:11:38.100 What's wrong with the world is our hearts. 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:44.480 After all, where do the things that really break God's law, 00:11:44.540 --> 00:11:46.920 not our traditions, but the things that really break God's law, 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:47.860 where do they come from? 00:11:49.060 --> 00:11:50.720 Look at verses 21 through 22. 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:52.960 Where do evil thoughts come from? 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:56.960 Where does sexual immorality come from or theft? 00:11:57.720 --> 00:11:58.279 Or murder? 00:11:58.860 --> 00:11:59.820 Or adultery? 00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:01.600 Or coveting? 00:12:02.100 --> 00:12:03.300 Or wickedness? 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:05.620 Where does deceit come from? 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:07.980 Where does sensuality come from? 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.019 Where does envy come from? 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:13.600 How about slander? 00:12:14.560 --> 00:12:15.660 Or pride? 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:17.740 Or foolishness? 00:12:18.420 --> 00:12:19.879 Where do these things come from? 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:24.659 They don't come from the foods that we eat or don't eat. 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:29.340 And they don't come from whether you do or don't wash your hands in a particular way. 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:33.840 And they don't come from any of the other human traditions that we think we have to keep. 00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:36.639 All these things come out of our hearts. 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:43.199 It's not what goes in, but what comes out that defiles us. 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:46.000 That's what makes us unfit for God. 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:51.419 And that means we don't need more and more and more human regulations and external rituals, 00:12:51.419 --> 00:12:54.799 because those things just distract us from God's true commands 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:57.620 and distract us from the heart problem that we have. 00:12:57.620 --> 00:13:04.139 You see, because what Jesus is showing us here is that we don't just need external rituals. 00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:06.240 We need new hearts. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:11.500 If the problem is our hearts, if that's where it comes from, 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:16.519 then our only hope of redemption is to get a new heart. 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:20.320 You see, that's the point of the law. 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:25.039 The law shows me that I'm the problem, and it's supposed to drive me to the gospel. 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:31.159 And the gospel says that through faith in Christ, who died for my sins, God gives us a new heart. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:34.839 A heart that loves him, and a heart that worships him, 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:37.519 and a heart that has a relish for God and the things of God, 00:13:37.719 --> 00:13:39.919 and wants to please him, and wants to be with his people. 00:13:41.500 --> 00:13:45.860 God gives us a heart through Christ that treasures him above all things. 00:13:48.860 --> 00:13:52.659 Now, if that's what Jesus is saying here, stop for a minute and consider this. 00:13:52.659 --> 00:13:58.719 If what we need is a new heart, if it's things that come out of us that defile us, 00:13:59.719 --> 00:14:01.860 consider what that means. 00:14:01.980 --> 00:14:07.839 Most of us, I think, default, tend to believe that we're basically good, 00:14:08.139 --> 00:14:10.799 and from time to time we make some mistakes, right? 00:14:12.839 --> 00:14:14.079 I'm basically a good person. 00:14:14.699 --> 00:14:15.779 Sometimes I make mistakes. 00:14:15.779 --> 00:14:21.199 And you see, when you hold to that belief, the idea that God would judge us, 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:23.480 sounds kind of harsh, doesn't it? 00:14:23.959 --> 00:14:27.559 After all, how could God judge me if I've just made some mistakes? 00:14:29.179 --> 00:14:32.500 But you see, Jesus' analysis of our human condition is very different. 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:36.959 According to Jesus, the bad things we do aren't mere mistakes, 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:44.240 but they're symptoms and they're evidence of the inner reality of our heart, 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:49.360 the inner trajectory or the inner disposition of our hearts. 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:55.480 Those things that come out aren't just sort of slip-ups. 00:14:56.759 --> 00:14:58.960 They're proof that our hearts are unclean, 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:01.680 that our hearts are in rebellion against God, 00:15:02.680 --> 00:15:04.360 the God who made us and who loves us. 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:07.659 And if our hearts are truly the problem, 00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:11.639 then that means we're in a very desperate condition, doesn't it? 00:15:12.899 --> 00:15:15.759 Because after all, you can change all sorts of things on the outside. 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:18.860 You can make all sorts of rules and regulations and traditions, 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:20.500 and you can even keep them all. 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:23.680 But none of that changes your heart. 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:26.399 Because if your heart is selfish, 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:28.960 you'll just keep all those traditions and rules 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:30.980 and all those regulations for selfish motives. 00:15:31.980 --> 00:15:33.940 And if your heart loves human approval, 00:15:33.940 --> 00:15:34.960 if that's what it lives for, 00:15:35.020 --> 00:15:37.540 you'll just keep traditions to get human approval. 00:15:38.560 --> 00:15:41.020 Or if you're someone who loves control and has to have control, 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:44.280 then you'll just keep all those things to feel in control. 00:15:45.980 --> 00:15:48.420 And no matter how much you change the outside, 00:15:48.520 --> 00:15:52.240 you see you're still on the inside marching to the same beat. 00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:54.220 You're still worshiping the same thing. 00:15:54.300 --> 00:15:55.660 You're just wearing a new mask. 00:15:56.800 --> 00:15:58.340 You're still not worshiping God. 00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:02.500 And you're still leaking all these things along the way, 00:16:02.580 --> 00:16:05.300 like evil thoughts and envy and pride. 00:16:07.300 --> 00:16:10.820 Do you see how serious our problem is? 00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:16.360 That nothing you can do can change your heart. 00:16:16.760 --> 00:16:19.980 And you can try all you want and wear a thousand different masks 00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:21.980 and do a thousand good deeds 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:26.520 and take the most strenuous religious rituals upon yourself, 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:32.039 and you'll wake up and find that your heart's still bad. 00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:38.759 But not only does this show us how serious our problem is, 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:41.939 it also shows us how amazing the gospel is. 00:16:42.939 --> 00:16:48.039 Because Jesus came not just to give us more rules to follow 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:50.559 or to give us different traditions that we have to keep. 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:54.159 Jesus didn't come to clean us up on the outside 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:56.679 and make us look presentable to one another. 00:16:57.959 --> 00:17:01.399 Friends, Jesus came to give us new hearts. 00:17:03.139 --> 00:17:04.799 And that's what Jesus himself taught. 00:17:06.500 --> 00:17:08.419 Let's do some Bible flipping for a second. 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:11.639 If you have your Bible open, or if you don't, open it. 00:17:11.919 --> 00:17:13.039 Turn to Mark 14. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:17.119 Mark 14, verses 22 through 25. 00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:19.059 Just go over a few pages from where we are. 00:17:19.059 --> 00:17:21.159 Mark 14. 00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:23.599 Beth, did you find the page number? 00:17:24.399 --> 00:17:24.819 Not yet. 00:17:25.159 --> 00:17:25.679 Too fast. 00:17:26.679 --> 00:17:27.399 Mark 14. 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:31.079 So this is Mark's telling of the Passover meal, 00:17:31.259 --> 00:17:33.759 the last Passover meal that Jesus ate with his disciples. 00:17:34.379 --> 00:17:37.919 This is when Jesus institutes what we call the Lord's Supper or communion. 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:38.940 Let me read this for us. 00:17:39.179 --> 00:17:41.319 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:44.319 and after blessing it, he broke it and gave it to them and said, 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:46.119 Take, this is my body. 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:48.619 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, 00:17:48.619 --> 00:17:50.019 he gave it to them, and they drank, 00:17:50.539 --> 00:17:51.779 and they all drank of it. 00:17:52.099 --> 00:17:53.019 And he said to them, 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:55.799 This is my blood of the covenant, 00:17:56.679 --> 00:17:57.879 which is poured out for many. 00:18:00.959 --> 00:18:03.639 What Jesus is telling the disciples here is that the bread and the cup 00:18:03.639 --> 00:18:07.439 represent his upcoming death on the cross for us, 00:18:07.500 --> 00:18:08.119 for us sinners. 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:10.879 But how does Jesus describe it? 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:13.079 He says that through his death, 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:15.439 he's setting up a covenant. 00:18:16.879 --> 00:18:19.799 Now, a covenant is a binding relationship. 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:20.859 It's like an oath. 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:24.939 It's like an unbreakable bond or agreement between two parties. 00:18:24.940 --> 00:18:28.980 And what's the covenant that Jesus is setting up with his death? 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:34.519 Well, it's the one that the prophets had been speaking about for hundreds of years. 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:37.580 It's the one that they called the new covenant. 00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:40.699 Okay, turn to Jeremiah 31. 00:18:41.500 --> 00:18:42.599 Back in the Old Testament. 00:18:44.299 --> 00:18:46.939 If you look at Jeremiah 31, 31. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:55.740 Let's take a look at this new covenant that Jesus is setting up with his own death. 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:00.059 Did you find it? 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:02.159 I could look at the page number. 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:03.840 What is it, Antoine? 00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:06.120 Oh, thanks, Ant. 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:06.800 660. 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:07.680 Okay, good. 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:08.240 We all there? 00:19:08.800 --> 00:19:10.360 Look at Jeremiah 31, 31. 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:13.540 Behold, Jeremiah says, the days are coming, declares the Lord, 00:19:13.860 --> 00:19:15.840 when I will make a new covenant, there it is, 00:19:16.019 --> 00:19:17.460 with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 00:19:17.560 --> 00:19:19.759 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:22.740 on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, 00:19:22.980 --> 00:19:24.300 my covenant that they broke, 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:26.560 though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:31.200 This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:36.960 I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, 00:19:37.180 --> 00:19:40.660 and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 00:19:41.180 --> 00:19:45.100 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:47.420 Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, 00:19:47.640 --> 00:19:50.140 from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, 00:19:50.220 --> 00:19:55.740 for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. 00:19:57.160 --> 00:20:00.660 Jesus says, this is what I'm doing through my work on the cross. 00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:01.660 Jesus says, this is what I'm doing through my life. 00:20:01.660 --> 00:20:06.000 He's doing something with our hearts, right? 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:09.160 Now, one more passage. 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:11.880 Look at Ezekiel 36. 00:20:14.140 --> 00:20:19.060 Ezekiel also talks about this new covenant that God is going to affect. 00:20:19.059 --> 00:20:22.319 Just over a couple pages. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:23.500 Ezekiel 36. 00:20:23.879 --> 00:20:26.839 Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, chapter 36. 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:30.639 Verse 22 through 27. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:42.280 Therefore, say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, 00:20:42.540 --> 00:20:45.280 it's not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I'm about to act, 00:20:45.540 --> 00:20:49.560 but for the sake of my holy name, which you've profaned among the nations of which you came. 00:20:50.100 --> 00:20:54.100 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, 00:20:54.540 --> 00:20:55.860 and which you have profaned among them. 00:20:55.859 --> 00:20:59.979 And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God. 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:04.059 When through you, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:10.439 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:16.359 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness. 00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:19.039 And from all your idols, I will cleanse you. 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:23.339 And I'll give you a new heart and a new spirit I'll put within you. 00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:30.180 And I'll remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:38.299 And I'll put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 00:21:38.299 --> 00:21:46.220 So you see, friends, if Jesus has come to establish the new covenant through his death and through his resurrection, 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:50.339 that means he's come to fulfill all of these promises for his people, 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:53.839 to cancel our sins and to give us new hearts, 00:21:54.639 --> 00:21:59.839 hearts that finally want to love and obey and cherish God. 00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:05.319 So let me close with three things. 00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:11.039 First, maybe you're here tonight and you're still kind of exploring Christianity. 00:22:11.659 --> 00:22:12.700 Maybe you're not a Christian. 00:22:12.879 --> 00:22:14.079 Maybe you're not sure whether you are. 00:22:14.500 --> 00:22:16.639 But maybe you kind of feel like you've got it all together. 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:22.319 Maybe you're pretty good at being moral, at keeping your nose clean, at being respectable. 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:25.279 And maybe even kind of pride yourself on being a good person. 00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:31.839 Friend, tonight, if that's you, I urge you to listen to what Jesus says in this passage. 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:39.220 That it's possible to have it all together externally and still have a heart that is far from God. 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:43.679 You know, maybe you've even seen glimpses of how unclean your heart is. 00:22:43.980 --> 00:22:49.339 Maybe you catch yourself kind of getting angry or sort of frustrated at work with coworkers and you sort of snap out at them. 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:55.339 Or maybe you've even caught yourself sort of bending the truth at times, you know, to save face. 00:22:55.339 --> 00:22:59.579 Or maybe you catch yourself lusting after a neighbor or a colleague. 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:05.399 Or maybe you find yourself envying after some of the things that your friends have or your neighbors have. 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:10.439 Maybe tonight you've got it externally all together, but you sort of see these things coming out from within. 00:23:10.679 --> 00:23:14.519 And the lie that we tell ourselves that they're just slip-ups. 00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:15.259 They're just mistakes. 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:16.019 They're not the real me. 00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:16.779 I was tired. 00:23:17.019 --> 00:23:18.019 I was frustrated. 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:19.339 I'm basically a good person. 00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:26.899 But don't you see, Jesus says it's what comes out from the inside that tells you what you really are. 00:23:27.959 --> 00:23:30.759 Imagine I was holding a piece of fruit in my hand. 00:23:30.819 --> 00:23:34.879 And on the outside, it was just a beautiful-looking piece of fruit. 00:23:34.980 --> 00:23:36.359 The color was just right. 00:23:37.159 --> 00:23:39.439 You know, the skin was nice and firm. 00:23:40.220 --> 00:23:43.000 And then imagine I just kind of punctured it with my thumb. 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:48.759 And what came out was sort of this brown, oozy, smelly stuff. 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:51.599 What would you say about that piece of fruit? 00:23:52.819 --> 00:23:53.680 It's bad. 00:23:54.200 --> 00:23:55.980 It doesn't matter what it looks like on the outside. 00:23:57.480 --> 00:23:58.480 The fruit has gone bad. 00:24:01.059 --> 00:24:05.779 Friends, the things that we call those mistakes or slip-ups are the indicators. 00:24:06.299 --> 00:24:07.880 They're the warning signs, actually. 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:12.099 That something deep in our hearts is broken and needs to be fixed. 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:15.339 That we're unclean and we need the new hearts that Jesus can give. 00:24:15.639 --> 00:24:19.699 And Jesus says that it's actually hypocritical to act otherwise. 00:24:20.899 --> 00:24:25.139 He says that if you see those things coming out and you still pretend like you're a good person, 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:28.740 you're just putting on a show and wearing a mask. 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:33.859 And this passage is saying, enough's enough. 00:24:34.659 --> 00:24:38.059 Take off the mask and stop putting on the show. 00:24:38.059 --> 00:24:42.879 And admit that evil things are coming out of your heart. 00:24:44.500 --> 00:24:48.460 And that you're not basically a good person who makes mistakes, but that we're sinners. 00:24:49.419 --> 00:24:53.159 That we're sinful people whose actions are symptoms of a heart problem. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:25:01.960 Friend, it's not until you admit that fact that you'll ever find hope to really answer your problem. 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:09.539 If you don't get to that place, you will keep going from remedy to remedy to remedy to remedy to remedy. 00:25:09.700 --> 00:25:11.019 And none of them will work. 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:15.000 And you will never find the cure for what you are looking for. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:24.619 Second, maybe you know full well that you're unclean. 00:25:24.819 --> 00:25:27.000 That your heart is unclean. 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:30.460 Maybe you look over some of the things that Jesus mentions in verses 21 and 22, 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:33.880 and you actually see how many of them come out from within you. 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:38.880 And maybe the Holy Spirit has even begun to convict you that your heart is unclean. 00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:39.599 That you're a sinner. 00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:41.599 That you're rebelling against God. 00:25:41.640 --> 00:25:42.960 And that you're separated from Him. 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:44.980 And if that's true, then you're under His judgment. 00:25:47.840 --> 00:25:49.799 And you know it's not your circumstances. 00:25:50.039 --> 00:25:52.200 And you know it's not your upbringing to blame. 00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:53.259 You know that it's you. 00:25:55.819 --> 00:26:01.720 Friend, if that's you, then tonight, Jesus is calling you to place your trust in Him. 00:26:02.840 --> 00:26:04.640 You see, Mark 7 is here. 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:09.120 It's not meant to just have us leaving us in our guilt. 00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:12.059 It's meant to drive us to the gospel. 00:26:12.059 --> 00:26:21.399 It's meant to drive us to the fact that with His death, Jesus has established a way for your sins to be forgiven and for your heart to be renewed. 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:26.579 That when He died on the cross, the penalty of your sins were completely canceled. 00:26:27.339 --> 00:26:35.700 And His resurrection demonstrated that it was paid in full and there was nothing left to be done to reconcile you to the Father. 00:26:35.700 --> 00:26:47.759 And that everyone, absolutely everyone, who turns from sin and trusts in Christ will be forgiven and made new. 00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:54.279 That He'll take out your heart of flesh and give, take out your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 00:26:54.279 --> 00:27:02.399 And finally, your heart will start beating with a new desire that you had never even imagined before. 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:04.460 A desire for the things of God. 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:09.980 For a beauty and a majesty unlike anything you've ever imagined. 00:27:09.980 --> 00:27:20.599 So tonight, if that's you, if you feel that tug on your heart, by all means, put your trust in Christ. 00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:22.279 In a few minutes, we're going to take the Lord's Supper. 00:27:23.019 --> 00:27:23.920 Use that time. 00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:27.519 Even a simple prayer of commitment to Christ. 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:28.400 He hears. 00:27:30.740 --> 00:27:31.960 And He'll receive you. 00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:38.740 Third, and last, if you are a Christian, what does this text have to say to us? 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:43.220 If you are a Christian, you've placed your trust in Christ, my guess is that you still struggle with sin. 00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:45.740 Christ has given you a new heart. 00:27:45.840 --> 00:27:48.759 You see how you're sort of spiritually alive in all these new ways. 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:56.440 And yet still, even though you have this new heart, you see that parts of your old self and old life still seem to hang on and hang around, right? 00:27:56.440 --> 00:28:02.100 It seems as if that sort of old person keeps kind of coming out. 00:28:02.299 --> 00:28:06.160 Even though you know that Christ has redeemed you and given you new life. 00:28:07.360 --> 00:28:08.480 Well, how do we deal with that? 00:28:09.320 --> 00:28:14.360 Well, again, this passage Jesus is saying, go to the heart. 00:28:15.120 --> 00:28:22.019 If you want to see lasting growth as a Christian, you need to be living out of the new heart that God has given you in Christ. 00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:27.940 You need to be exercising, as it were, that new dynamic heart that He's given you. 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:30.819 And there are really two ways of doing that. 00:28:31.400 --> 00:28:34.019 Two ways of sort of working out this new heart. 00:28:35.500 --> 00:28:36.139 Two of them. 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:40.900 One, keep reminding yourself of your new identity. 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:44.019 I heard this example. 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:45.000 Someone give this example. 00:28:45.099 --> 00:28:46.879 And it was a good one because I resonated with it. 00:28:46.940 --> 00:28:47.900 So I'm going to use it tonight. 00:28:47.900 --> 00:28:54.140 When Beth and I moved into our apartment building, we used to live in number seven on the first floor. 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:54.820 We'd come right in. 00:28:54.880 --> 00:28:55.100 Boom. 00:28:55.180 --> 00:28:55.600 There we were. 00:28:55.660 --> 00:28:56.180 Number seven. 00:28:56.420 --> 00:28:59.780 And then we moved up to 54, the complete opposite end of the building. 00:29:00.320 --> 00:29:03.040 And you know what happened when I would come, like, after the first, like, few months? 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:07.600 Like, even though we'd been living there for months, when I would come into our building, you know where I would go when I came to the building? 00:29:08.700 --> 00:29:09.360 Number seven. 00:29:09.700 --> 00:29:10.140 You know it. 00:29:10.200 --> 00:29:13.720 Every single time I'd come in and go to number seven, even though we didn't live there anymore. 00:29:14.460 --> 00:29:14.740 Right? 00:29:14.740 --> 00:29:16.080 Come on. 00:29:16.100 --> 00:29:17.360 I'm not the only one that's happened to you. 00:29:17.900 --> 00:29:18.220 I know. 00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:19.380 It's kind of an idiotic thing to do. 00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:20.280 But I did it, you know? 00:29:21.840 --> 00:29:24.100 And the guy who lives there now is the Yale rowing coach. 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:24.840 He's a cool guy. 00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:26.420 But, you know, I didn't want to eat dinner with him. 00:29:26.500 --> 00:29:27.759 So, you know, I had to go back up to 54. 00:29:28.440 --> 00:29:32.140 Isn't it the same way with us and our new life as Christians? 00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:35.420 You come to a decision. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:45.519 And because you're so habituated to go this way, you have to stop and you have to remind yourself, 00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:47.799 that's not where I live anymore. 00:29:48.599 --> 00:29:49.799 That's not my home. 00:29:49.900 --> 00:29:51.000 That's not my heart. 00:29:51.379 --> 00:29:52.359 I'm here now. 00:29:52.359 --> 00:29:57.619 So, in the midst of temptation, how do you exercise your new heart? 00:29:57.679 --> 00:29:59.759 You remind yourself of your identity. 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:02.059 I'm not the old person anymore. 00:30:02.179 --> 00:30:02.939 I'm the new person. 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:04.219 This is who I am. 00:30:04.419 --> 00:30:05.359 This is who I love. 00:30:05.559 --> 00:30:06.619 This is where I live. 00:30:06.619 --> 00:30:12.159 But the second thing is not just reminding ourselves of our identity and where we live 00:30:12.159 --> 00:30:17.719 or where our heart is, but also you have to kind of get the blood flowing in your new 00:30:17.719 --> 00:30:17.959 heart. 00:30:18.059 --> 00:30:19.579 You have to get it beating, right? 00:30:19.639 --> 00:30:20.439 Now, this is what I mean. 00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:22.979 The heart is the thing in you that worships, right? 00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:25.119 It's the thing that loves, that desires. 00:30:25.339 --> 00:30:26.859 It's the very core of who you are. 00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:29.019 And we all worship something. 00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:36.680 And the only way that will stop worshiping other things is by worshiping God more. 00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:39.119 Do you see that? 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:44.259 Because when you sin, there's an act of false worship going on. 00:30:44.379 --> 00:30:45.879 That's what Jesus is saying in this passage. 00:30:46.220 --> 00:30:47.000 It's out of your heart. 00:30:47.299 --> 00:30:50.240 It's out of the worshiping core of who you are that all these bad things come out. 00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:55.900 Under every act of disobedience is an act of false worship. 00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:58.940 When I lie, I'm worshiping something other than God. 00:30:59.980 --> 00:31:00.819 Do you see how that works? 00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:03.139 Now, me, I'm very prone to human approval. 00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:07.079 So when I'm tempted to lie to someone, why do I lie to someone? 00:31:07.440 --> 00:31:09.099 Because I don't want them to think bad of me. 00:31:09.559 --> 00:31:12.700 If I forgot about an appointment that I made with someone, this happens a lot. 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:19.460 So if I forget an appointment with you, it's because I'm just forgetful and I need a better 00:31:19.460 --> 00:31:20.019 day planner. 00:31:20.500 --> 00:31:25.819 But no, when I forget an appointment with someone, they call me, hey, where are you? 00:31:25.819 --> 00:31:30.819 I'm so tempted to be like, hmm, you know, I can make a thousand excuses right now and 00:31:30.819 --> 00:31:33.279 bend the truth because I don't want this person to think less of me. 00:31:33.899 --> 00:31:35.259 What's happening in that moment? 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:38.000 I'm worshiping their approval. 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:45.480 I'm worshiping their thinking well of me instead of worshiping God who loves me and has created 00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:46.160 all things. 00:31:46.940 --> 00:31:47.359 You see? 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:50.779 It's like that with every single sin. 00:31:51.379 --> 00:31:54.759 Not just lying, but lust and pride and envy. 00:31:55.419 --> 00:32:00.219 Underneath them all are hearts craving something other than God. 00:32:00.799 --> 00:32:05.879 And the only way that you're going to break down the worship of those other things that 00:32:05.879 --> 00:32:10.599 your heart is going after is by worshiping the true God more and more. 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:13.059 Paul says this in Galatians. 00:32:13.179 --> 00:32:17.619 He says, there are two principles that were within you, the spirit and the flesh. 00:32:18.379 --> 00:32:20.959 And the one you feed the more is the one that's going to overcome. 00:32:22.159 --> 00:32:23.019 So how do we do that? 00:32:24.599 --> 00:32:26.599 All sorts of ways God has given us. 00:32:27.199 --> 00:32:35.419 Gathering together like this, meditating on his word, taking a walk outside, taking in creation, 00:32:36.199 --> 00:32:39.099 starting a journal and just writing down all the things you're thankful for. 00:32:39.099 --> 00:32:46.059 Let me exhort you as we're starting a new year to begin practices of private worship. 00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:52.500 Get your heart satisfied in God and you'll find that you're sinning less and less. 00:32:54.679 --> 00:32:59.859 One of the last things that Jesus has given us to really get our hearts enlarged for him 00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:02.980 is what we're setting up right behind us, the Lord's Supper. 00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:09.420 As we just read, Jesus, on his last night with his disciples, instituted this thing. 00:33:10.120 --> 00:33:17.400 When we remember through bread and through a cup, his death for us, his dying on the cross for our sins, 00:33:17.940 --> 00:33:21.620 in a most tangible and sensory way. 00:33:22.660 --> 00:33:29.880 Isn't it amazing that Jesus gave us something that appeals to all of our senses to get our hearts longing for him? 00:33:29.880 --> 00:33:37.860 That in the Lord's Supper, we take something in our hands and we feel it and we eat something and we taste it and you can smell it. 00:33:37.859 --> 00:33:41.659 Because this is what Jesus wants us to do with what he's done for us. 00:33:41.859 --> 00:33:48.679 To just immerse our senses in it and to get our hearts loving it and remembering it more and more and more. 00:33:48.680 --> 00:33:54.420 So we're going to do that tonight with a few minutes of the Lord's Supper. 00:33:54.779 --> 00:33:56.820 We're going to celebrate the cross. 00:33:57.220 --> 00:33:59.360 And we're going to use this time, if you're here and you're a Christian, 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:06.259 use this time to just do some self-examination, to repent of sins, 00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:11.539 to confess to God some of those false gods that have been vying for your heart's worship. 00:34:11.539 --> 00:34:17.300 And as you do that, remember that his death for you has taken away your sins. 00:34:18.039 --> 00:34:22.079 If you're here tonight and you're not a believer, if you're not sure that you're a Christian, 00:34:22.199 --> 00:34:25.679 if you've placed your trust in Christ, you don't know about all this stuff with having a new heart and all that, 00:34:25.980 --> 00:34:31.519 instead of taking the bread and cup, pray to the one that these things are meant to signify. 00:34:32.340 --> 00:34:33.679 Pray to God who hears. 00:34:33.900 --> 00:34:38.300 Pray to Jesus Christ who can actually give you the new heart that you're longing for. 00:34:38.300 --> 00:34:42.960 So Greg, why don't you come on up and we'll go ahead and take it up. 00:34:43.320 --> 00:34:47.900 And guys, if you want to go up so we can sing together, we'll do that as well.