WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:08.019 I'm going to go into the sermon. I have to get some of my stuff put together for us to do that. 00:00:08.519 --> 00:00:15.919 My notes. As I turn in my notes, I want to think of myself as a good person. 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:23.640 And in fact, not only do I want to be able to think of myself as a good person and know myself as a good person, 00:00:24.019 --> 00:00:26.660 I want you to think of me as a good person. 00:00:26.660 --> 00:00:34.460 And chances are, in fact more than chances, every single one of you who is listening to this probably thinks the same way, 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:41.219 that you desire to be able to think of yourself as a good person and you hope that other people think of yourself as a good person. 00:00:41.340 --> 00:00:45.000 It's very Canadian and very human. 00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:52.019 Part of the reason I was thinking about this is not just because of the scripture text that I've been meditating upon all week, 00:00:52.020 --> 00:01:01.400 but also because just a week or so ago I finished watching with my wife the two seasons of the Ricky Gervais show that's on Netflix, Afterlife. 00:01:01.940 --> 00:01:07.900 By the way, when I mention shows that I've watched, I'm never recommending that you necessarily watch these things. 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:13.579 As you know, Ricky Gervais, many of you might or might not know, he's a very, very funny English comic, 00:01:13.740 --> 00:01:17.560 has a very type of biting humor, and is a very, very well-known atheist. 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:24.840 And the show, on one level, deals very powerfully about the whole theme of suicide and grief. 00:01:25.600 --> 00:01:32.420 But especially in the second season, a very, very important part of the show is the question as to whether or not the main character, Ricky Gervais, 00:01:32.520 --> 00:01:33.579 is whether he's a good person. 00:01:33.960 --> 00:01:40.120 And he obviously has a great desire to be able to think of himself and be recognized as a good person. 00:01:40.520 --> 00:01:42.359 So it's very, very Canadian. 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:52.039 But if you think about it, though, let's say we call this the good person project that most of us, including myself at different times, 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:59.819 although I'm going to qualify it as the sermon goes on, if you think about it, there's lots of problems with the good person project. 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:04.780 If we're honest about it, seeking to be a good person is very fragile. 00:02:04.780 --> 00:02:13.280 Now, some of you might not think that's the case with you because you've had a long time of nobody ever getting mad at you or calling you names 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:19.439 or you haven't been fired, you haven't been called out by a boss or something like that. 00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:24.879 But for those of us who've had people come up and say, you know, you say very, very hard things about us 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:31.680 or being dressed down by a spouse or a child or a brother or sister or your friend or a neighbor, 00:02:32.379 --> 00:02:38.039 you realize that, in fact, many of us, our sense of being a good person is very fragile. 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:45.340 I think every single one of us is aware of how a person who might say something about us, 00:02:45.340 --> 00:02:51.700 pointing out some major character fault can cause us to be depressed and anxious. 00:02:52.640 --> 00:02:57.539 And for an hour, for a day, a week, a month, it can really bother us. 00:02:57.640 --> 00:03:02.400 And if you think about it, it's partially because the good person project is very, very fragile. 00:03:03.080 --> 00:03:07.020 And the second thing is that, in fact, there's a problem with it. 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:13.199 Like I just said, that probably every Canadian would say that they want to be able to think of themselves as a good person 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:15.519 and they want others to think of themselves as a good person. 00:03:15.959 --> 00:03:19.500 But if you think about it for another moment, there's lots of problems with that. 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:25.859 I mean, that means that the person who listens to CNN and watches CNN wants to think that they're a good person. 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:29.039 And the person who watches Fox News wants to think they're a good person. 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:32.939 But what do people who watch CNN think about people who watch Fox? 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:36.539 What do people who watch Fox think about people who watch CNN? 00:03:37.060 --> 00:03:42.919 What about the very, very, very orthodox and devout Muslim and the very, very, very secular atheist? 00:03:42.919 --> 00:03:44.799 Both of them want to be thought of as a good person. 00:03:44.899 --> 00:03:50.339 And both of them will think that there's huge parts of the other person that are just fundamentally wrong. 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:57.699 So we see that if we think about it for a second, on one hand, there's this human desire to think of yourself as a good person, 00:03:57.819 --> 00:04:03.539 to in effect have a good person project as, whether you recognize it or not, a part of who you are, 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:06.199 part of your human existence, so to speak. 00:04:06.539 --> 00:04:11.500 And at the same time, you think about it, there's actually lots of problems with this. 00:04:11.500 --> 00:04:19.939 The Bible text that we're going to look at today actually has very, very powerful insights into this project. 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:25.920 And we'll end up taking people who follow the Bible and listen to its wisdom in a very, very different place 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:29.800 to look at the whole project in a very, very different way, 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:36.779 but really in a way that actually answers the longings and yearnings of your heart in a wise and very powerful way. 00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:40.539 So just before we look at it, we're going to be looking at Philippians chapter 3, verse 1. 00:04:40.599 --> 00:04:41.859 I'm just going to say a brief prayer. 00:04:42.819 --> 00:04:46.079 Philippians chapter 3, verse 1, if you want to follow along in your Bible. 00:04:46.219 --> 00:04:47.439 But here's just a brief prayer. 00:04:48.099 --> 00:04:54.479 Father, we ask that the Holy Spirit would lead us and guide us into all truth. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:59.660 And that as the Holy Spirit leads us and guides us into all truth, 00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:04.120 that we would have a new and deeper appreciation for who Jesus is, 00:05:04.340 --> 00:05:09.700 for what he accomplished for us in his sinless life, in his sacrificial death, in his mighty resurrection. 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:15.500 And Father, grip us with this deep truth of what you have done for us 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:18.300 in the person of your Son and the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:05:18.819 --> 00:05:20.840 And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:05:20.839 --> 00:05:28.799 So just before we read this, just some of you know this because you've watched some of the other videos, 00:05:28.919 --> 00:05:33.679 the book of Philippians, Paul is writing this to the very first European Christians, 00:05:34.379 --> 00:05:37.199 and he is in chains. 00:05:37.679 --> 00:05:42.259 So that's actually going to be one of the ironies of looking at the good person project, 00:05:42.479 --> 00:05:49.159 being a good person project, by Paul, who's in chains for a criminal, 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:52.740 and he's not sure if he's going to be executed for being an enemy of the state. 00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:54.360 And he's under house arrest. 00:05:54.740 --> 00:05:57.540 And he's writing to these Christians in another city. 00:05:57.780 --> 00:06:00.160 And here's how this particular chapter begins. 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:04.260 One of the things we do, by the way, at Church and Messiah is we preach through books of the Bible as much as possible. 00:06:04.620 --> 00:06:05.800 So there's no fine print. 00:06:05.879 --> 00:06:06.660 We look at everything. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:08.620 And anyway, let's go. 00:06:08.820 --> 00:06:09.879 Chapter 3, verse 1. 00:06:09.940 --> 00:06:11.080 It's going to be a bit... 00:06:11.080 --> 00:06:11.879 Well, let's go. 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:15.159 Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:19.759 To write the same thing to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 00:06:20.500 --> 00:06:22.139 And I'll just pause here for a second. 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:27.120 There's two pieces here, rejoice in the Lord, brothers and sisters. 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:33.360 And then there's this statement, to write this, the same thing to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:36.339 That second part of the sentence is a Janus. 00:06:36.939 --> 00:06:38.959 That's not something that most of you are thinking of. 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:42.959 It's a god of antiquity who had two faces looking in the opposite direction. 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:49.839 And what he says is good for me to write to you more and more and more is looking both what he's just said, 00:06:50.299 --> 00:06:54.019 that in fact, to rejoice in the Lord, that's a really good thing to be able to do. 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:55.199 It's very, very safe. 00:06:55.659 --> 00:07:00.199 There's lots of medical evidence that gratitude gives you a healthier life. 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:03.799 It makes you just a better person. 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:08.459 And then on the other hand, what he's also going to say is what I'm about to write to you, 00:07:08.459 --> 00:07:12.239 which is going to be a bit of a summary of the gospel and the good person project. 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:15.699 It's good for me to write about this and talk about this more and more and more and more. 00:07:15.799 --> 00:07:18.620 So the statement looks sort of in both directions at the same time. 00:07:19.599 --> 00:07:24.459 But then, all of a sudden, the next bit is very shocking for Canadians. 00:07:25.620 --> 00:07:29.959 And in fact, you think that what he's going to do now is maybe talk to you a little bit about gratitude, 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:31.359 a little bit about rejoicing. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:36.680 But all of a sudden, he goes way off course in a shocking way. 00:07:36.780 --> 00:07:37.420 Well, what happens? 00:07:37.500 --> 00:07:38.759 Look at verses 2 and 3. 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:40.180 Here's how it goes. 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:43.000 Look out for the dogs. 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:45.720 Look out for the evildoers. 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:48.439 Look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:53.800 For we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:56.240 and put no confidence in the flesh. 00:07:56.240 --> 00:08:03.019 So just a couple of points to understand what's going on with this name-calling, 00:08:03.379 --> 00:08:05.900 which is what it seems like to us as Canadians. 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:10.120 And the first one is, and I think it'll end up being in your notes or on the screen or something, 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:11.600 I have four different points. 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:17.699 I like trying to be able to have sermon points as a way for people who are a bit more visual 00:08:17.699 --> 00:08:19.120 to get to understand it. 00:08:19.220 --> 00:08:20.939 It helps me to stay on track. 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:22.420 And here's the first thing. 00:08:22.420 --> 00:08:28.280 Christian, in quotes, is not a synonym for good, in quotes. 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:31.000 That's a really important thing for you to understand. 00:08:31.580 --> 00:08:37.539 If I said that I could say that my ministry intern, Matt, is both he's done really bad things 00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:41.300 and he's a Christian, and I haven't contradicted myself. 00:08:41.420 --> 00:08:44.560 In fact, I could even say that he's a bad Christian, or I could say that about myself. 00:08:44.940 --> 00:08:46.539 And I haven't contradicted myself. 00:08:46.620 --> 00:08:48.600 It's not like saying I'm bad good. 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:53.480 And that's because, in fact, it's a very important thing. 00:08:53.920 --> 00:08:58.500 We Christians, we breathe the air of our culture and want to live the good person project. 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:01.800 And that's why we need to gather and worship. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:03.560 That's why we need to be in small groups. 00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:09.540 That's why we need to have mentors and spiritual friends and read Christian books 00:09:09.540 --> 00:09:11.980 to try to be formed by God's Word. 00:09:12.620 --> 00:09:17.460 And we can try to start to live the good person project ourselves. 00:09:17.460 --> 00:09:21.519 But at the end of the day, a Christian is one who is a disciple of Jesus. 00:09:22.540 --> 00:09:23.720 That's what the word means. 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:28.620 That we've come to understand that we need to have Jesus as our Savior and Lord 00:09:28.620 --> 00:09:32.100 to trust Him and to follow Him and be formed by Him. 00:09:32.580 --> 00:09:33.920 And it doesn't mean we're good. 00:09:35.680 --> 00:09:40.639 Now, so, George, are you saying that's why the Bible here has this name calling? 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:44.620 No, this brings me up to the second thing. 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:47.720 And if you think about this, then you're going to begin to have a bit of an understanding 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:49.519 of what Paul is doing here in the book. 00:09:50.199 --> 00:09:51.340 And here's the second point. 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:58.939 To live wisely and well, you need to both flee and pursue, reject and embrace. 00:09:58.940 --> 00:09:59.720 I'll say it again. 00:10:00.280 --> 00:10:05.800 To live wisely and well, you need to both flee and pursue, reject and embrace. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:14.800 We're all very conscious right now of the terrible, unjust killing of that African-American man 00:10:14.800 --> 00:10:18.020 that just took place and the riots that have ensued around it. 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:21.100 And we're all very conscious of racism in the States. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:25.639 And to different degrees, we're conscious of the racism which is in Canada. 00:10:25.779 --> 00:10:27.240 Racism is a human problem. 00:10:27.939 --> 00:10:30.059 It's a human problem in every country. 00:10:30.059 --> 00:10:31.279 I'm not saying that to belittle it. 00:10:31.340 --> 00:10:33.799 I'm saying that because it's something that we need to deal with. 00:10:34.179 --> 00:10:35.500 And how do you deal with racism? 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:39.879 Well, if you think about it for a second, your own racist beliefs, what do you want to do? 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:43.939 If you identify parts of you in your own experience that are racist, 00:10:43.940 --> 00:10:49.680 or if you see that in your child or your spouse or your best friend, what do you want them to do? 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:51.040 You want them to flee from it. 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:57.300 You want them to reject it and run as far away from racism as they possibly can. 00:10:57.500 --> 00:11:02.840 But you don't want them to just merely run away from racism as if they're then just indifferent. 00:11:03.040 --> 00:11:05.300 You want them to embrace something. 00:11:05.420 --> 00:11:07.040 You want them to pursue something. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:08.940 What do you want them to embrace or pursue? 00:11:09.020 --> 00:11:10.540 You want them to embrace compassion. 00:11:10.539 --> 00:11:15.240 You want them to embrace being very comfortable with the other and with difference. 00:11:15.379 --> 00:11:24.179 You want to have people actually have a love for people, regardless of the color of their skin or their sexual orientation. 00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:29.299 You want them to embrace love and reject hatred and evil. 00:11:30.219 --> 00:11:31.360 And we all understand that. 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:34.019 And if you understand that, what you see going on here is this. 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:38.539 Now, this is one of the cases where, and you sort of have to take my word for it, 00:11:38.539 --> 00:11:43.740 but in the original language, what you have here is biting irony. 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:51.339 It's a little bit like a very, very well done political cartoon that you might see in the newspaper or somewhere on the web. 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:55.219 And it's very biting and it's very ironic. 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:58.740 And there's very powerful plays on words. 00:11:58.740 --> 00:12:08.960 And it's still going to be a little bit shocking because one of the things that he's rejecting is all human credentials to be used in the Good Person Project. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:19.460 But what he does is, just think for a second about how people who are enamored with CNN think about people who wear MAGA hats. 00:12:19.460 --> 00:12:26.680 Or think about those who wear MAGA hats and how they might think about people who, you know, who love CNN. 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:29.980 And the types of names that they use for each other. 00:12:30.780 --> 00:12:37.740 And so what Paul is doing is he's taking people who want to turn the Christian faith in the gospel into a type of religion 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:44.919 which focuses on exalting human credentials to make themselves feel that they're more important 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:47.180 and are confusing people about it. 00:12:47.180 --> 00:12:49.940 And he's using the language that they use of other people. 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:53.720 And he turns it on them and says they're actually the ones who are doing this. 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:58.759 And it's especially powerful because the key idea of mutilation and circumcision, 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:02.840 the original hearer, people wouldn't have been reading this letter. 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:04.019 They would have been hearing the letter. 00:13:04.019 --> 00:13:08.699 And the two words sound very similar, but they have completely opposite directions. 00:13:09.819 --> 00:13:13.480 And so what Paul's doing is he's really calling people out in terms of what they're doing. 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:17.259 And he's doing it in a very, very stark and biting way. 00:13:18.059 --> 00:13:20.079 But it doesn't sound quite as bad. 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:23.179 I mean, it's very direct, and I'm sure they'd be upset. 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:27.600 But it doesn't sound as insulting quite in the original language as it does in English. 00:13:28.079 --> 00:13:32.539 And we're not going to talk about verse 3 right now because we need to understand, 00:13:32.539 --> 00:13:39.159 if you understand verses 4 and 6, you'll understand a little bit about what he's doing 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:46.079 by contrasting these people who want to turn the Christian faith into a type of religion 00:13:46.079 --> 00:13:48.240 based on human credentials. 00:13:49.439 --> 00:13:51.019 So look at verses 4 to 6. 00:13:51.019 --> 00:13:58.240 Now, what Paul's doing here is he's saying, listen, if you want to go down the human credential 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:03.199 corridor, if you want to walk down the human credential path, I get an A+. 00:14:03.199 --> 00:14:09.899 All those people who are against me, they think they have a good score on human credentials. 00:14:10.779 --> 00:14:16.419 You can add all their human scores together, and I'm going to beat them all by myself. 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:19.059 That's how great I am at human credentials. 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:19.819 And that's what he does. 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:21.159 Look at verses 4 to 6. 00:14:21.979 --> 00:14:27.219 Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh, that is, in a sense, on human 00:14:27.219 --> 00:14:27.719 credentials. 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:32.679 Every time you see the word flesh here in this text, one way to understand it is just thinking 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:37.620 from things from an earthly point of view, from a human credentials point of view. 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:39.039 So I'll read it again. 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:42.240 Though I myself have reason for confidence in human credentials. 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:48.959 If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the human credentials and divine credentials, 00:14:49.079 --> 00:14:49.779 I have more. 00:14:50.579 --> 00:14:54.439 Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew 00:14:54.439 --> 00:14:59.319 of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness 00:14:59.319 --> 00:15:00.980 under the law, blameless. 00:15:02.059 --> 00:15:03.419 Now, just sort of pause there. 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:13.159 Now, this text, indirectly, is part of the Bible's great revelation to us about the problem 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:14.099 of human credentials. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:15.919 Like, let's be honest. 00:15:16.579 --> 00:15:21.419 I just blew it up by saying, if you're going to go down the human credentials route, all 00:15:21.419 --> 00:15:24.479 of my opponents, I whoop them. 00:15:24.819 --> 00:15:25.599 I'm way better. 00:15:25.979 --> 00:15:27.259 And you listen to that and you go, what? 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:31.000 Who cares about any of those things? 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:35.519 Who cares that you're circumcised or a Pharisee? 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:37.059 Who cares about any of that stuff? 00:15:37.259 --> 00:15:39.799 Paul, that is so lame. 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:42.620 That is so lame. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:46.120 But here's the point. 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:53.500 That's the whole problem with the human, the good person project, isn't it? 00:15:54.679 --> 00:16:00.259 I mean, the type of things that if you're connected to Antifa, or if you're connected to the alt-right, 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:06.000 the human credentials that you would use to establish that you're a good person will be 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:08.940 radically different and you will find the other ones repulsive. 00:16:10.139 --> 00:16:12.519 Or it could even just be historical. 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:17.379 I mean, it's hard for us to believe, but if you go back to the right time period, everybody 00:16:17.379 --> 00:16:19.000 loved residential schools. 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:23.740 The who's who in government, the who's who in business, the who's who in academia. 00:16:23.740 --> 00:16:28.799 Like if you went back in time, or you brought one of them there back from a time machine 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:32.580 into today, and they were to get up and to tell you why they're a good person, and they 00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:36.320 were to say, well, the reason I'm a good person is I was one of the masterminds and one of the 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:39.600 architects and one of the fundraisers and the supporters for the whole residential school 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:40.200 project. 00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:49.379 And they would be shocked to see everybody, well, I bet we'd want to lynch them. 00:16:51.900 --> 00:16:54.280 And you can go back to anything else. 00:16:54.300 --> 00:16:58.300 You could go back to the late 1800s in England, and one of the ways that you know that you're 00:16:58.300 --> 00:17:03.680 a good person is because I've served the crown in India and in Africa, and I've helped to 00:17:03.680 --> 00:17:07.799 extend the British Empire, and I've brought good British order to all those. 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:09.460 So you'd be going, what? 00:17:09.639 --> 00:17:11.539 You'd be throwing, putting your finger in your throat. 00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:12.539 You'd be gagging. 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:16.220 But it's not just political, and it's not just historical. 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:17.220 It's about yourself. 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:22.519 You know, I hope there's somebody here who's watching this who's 15, so you can't get this 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:24.019 illustration at all. 00:17:24.399 --> 00:17:28.279 Maybe you could if you just think about the fact that maybe your four-year-old sibling 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:33.599 thinks they're really good because they watch Paw Patrol, and you just think that's so 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:34.200 lame. 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:38.900 But the fact of the matter is, is if you think about it, if you're 30, you think about the 00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:42.200 type of things that you would have thought made you a good person when you were in grade 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:46.480 10, and you'd be embarrassed. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:53.380 Or 10 years ago, those of you who were 70, at one time you were cool hippies, and if you 00:17:53.380 --> 00:17:57.279 think back about the types of things that you thought made you a good person back then 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:59.559 compared to now, they're lame. 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:03.940 Or you want to throw up over it because it's so completely and utterly ridiculous. 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:09.679 But you see, that's, by the way, that's one of the whole problems with the main way that 00:18:09.679 --> 00:18:13.359 Canadians think is in terms of they want to be authentic to their real self. 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:18.259 But if you just think about how much, if you lived to be 50, what your real self was when 00:18:18.259 --> 00:18:23.379 you were 40, and when you were 30, and when you were 20, and when you were 14 is so different, 00:18:23.380 --> 00:18:28.540 you realize that trying to base your identity on those things which are authentic to you 00:18:28.540 --> 00:18:29.840 is vapor. 00:18:31.740 --> 00:18:36.700 It's like trying to build a house in a snowstorm, not on the ground while the snow's thingy, 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:38.340 but on top of the snow that's falling. 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:39.060 You can't do it. 00:18:39.080 --> 00:18:39.920 It just collapses. 00:18:41.280 --> 00:18:44.140 But our good person project is based on these things. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:46.740 And just as Paul's saying, here we go, what, this is so lame. 00:18:47.080 --> 00:18:52.660 The fact of the matter is, is that our own grounds for thinking that we're a good person is so 00:18:52.660 --> 00:18:53.180 lame. 00:18:56.740 --> 00:19:00.920 And on top of it, if you think about it, like you use the Antifa example, use the alt-right 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:04.019 example, use CNN, use, you just even, look, anything. 00:19:04.140 --> 00:19:08.600 One of the reasons why you think you're good, part of the good person project inevitably means 00:19:08.600 --> 00:19:10.240 looking down your nose at others. 00:19:11.180 --> 00:19:16.600 And if you think about it for a second, the entire good person project is the very definition 00:19:16.600 --> 00:19:18.660 of being self-righteous. 00:19:18.660 --> 00:19:24.080 But we always use self-righteous of other people as a put-down. 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:31.779 But our whole good person project is a project for self-righteousness. 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:38.419 So what does the Bible do? 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:39.339 It goes deeper. 00:19:40.679 --> 00:19:43.919 Paul is going to say something about that whole list that he just gave you. 00:19:44.579 --> 00:19:46.579 Look at what he does in verses 7 and 8. 00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:48.599 Verses 7 and 8. 00:19:48.599 --> 00:20:13.480 I'll read that to you again. 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:18.079 And I'll read that to you again. 00:20:18.220 --> 00:20:22.059 Actually, before I read it, Paul is using a different type of analogy here. 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:28.400 The analogy that he's using is of bank, because this is actually how the good person project 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:28.839 works. 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:30.339 I check this in. 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:36.480 If I go to my Simply Financial online record of my finances, which, by the way, are almost 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:43.599 always dismal, there's funds in, there's funds out, and there's a running balance. 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:48.700 And if you think about that, and of course, to open a bank account, you have to have an 00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:49.400 opening balance. 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:52.299 And if you think about that, that's how the good person project works. 00:20:52.740 --> 00:20:56.500 And this is part of the reason why we, on one level, comfort ourselves, but other times 00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:58.360 people can find what we do so reprehensible. 00:20:58.359 --> 00:21:05.759 Because we say, well, because I'm me, because I'm me, my opening balance starts at $10 billion. 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:10.299 And then we look down our nose at somebody else and think, boy, their opening balance 00:21:10.299 --> 00:21:12.119 probably just started at $5. 00:21:12.439 --> 00:21:13.939 In fact, they probably started at a negative. 00:21:14.659 --> 00:21:16.759 And then what we do is we go throughout life, and you know what? 00:21:16.779 --> 00:21:20.819 You do something bad, and that means that your balance goes down. 00:21:21.639 --> 00:21:24.919 But then you do something good, and that means it's like you're putting money back into 00:21:24.919 --> 00:21:26.000 your bank balance. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:30.900 In fact, if you watch the Ricky Gervais show, After Life, you'll see that's very much how 00:21:30.900 --> 00:21:32.619 the whole show works. 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:37.440 In his preoccupation in the second season with whether or not he's a good person, that he 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:43.099 does, he says abysmal things about people, but then he says good things about people, 00:21:43.140 --> 00:21:44.160 or does something generous. 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:47.519 And you can see that in his own mind, and in the mind of each of us, he's just revealing 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:48.400 how we think. 00:21:48.900 --> 00:21:54.680 That, in fact, if you do something mean, okay, your good person balance has gone down, maybe 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:55.460 even into the negative. 00:21:55.460 --> 00:21:58.440 But now you do something really good, and so now it's gone back up. 00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:02.860 But if you think about it for a second, and this is how it all works for us, right? 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:07.440 The fact of the matter is, is we don't like banks because they're brutally honest. 00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:09.620 We all have the experience. 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:15.140 You look at your credit card bill, and you say, oh my, how on earth did it get that high? 00:22:15.620 --> 00:22:20.259 And then you maybe look, did I really spend $523 on cigars? 00:22:20.259 --> 00:22:22.339 I'm sure it was just $150. 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:24.579 It's hard to believe it was so much money. 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:29.160 And in terms of our good person project, what we do is we don't write down the $523. 00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:30.279 We put down $125. 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:35.500 And the money we invest, it's more, and it gets better interest, and all of that type 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:37.119 of stuff because we play with the books. 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:43.839 We're brutal with other people, but really, really giving ourselves mulligans all the time 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:44.500 on our side. 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:49.319 And it really bothers us that people are brutal with us, not giving us mulligans. 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:52.440 We see them giving themselves mulligans while they're brutal with us. 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:59.340 And once again, why often the good person project can lead to conflict and insecurity. 00:23:00.600 --> 00:23:06.059 What Paul comes to realize, I'm going to read it again, is what Paul comes to realize is 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:11.820 that because he was engaged in the good person project in the religious form as being a devout 00:23:11.820 --> 00:23:18.600 Jew, that all of the things that he thought were actually putting money in the bank in his 00:23:18.599 --> 00:23:22.459 good person project were actually things that were withdrawing money. 00:23:24.359 --> 00:23:27.699 And he was in an impossible debt situation. 00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:32.240 Listen to it again, because he uses actually literally, he uses literally the language of 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:32.759 finance. 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:42.439 Verse 7, but whatever gain funds in, good operating bank balance, I count as loss for the sake of 00:23:42.439 --> 00:23:42.679 Christ. 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:43.879 I'm going to explain that in a moment. 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:48.579 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ's 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:49.839 Jesus, my Lord. 00:23:49.939 --> 00:23:54.679 For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, as dung, 00:23:54.899 --> 00:23:56.699 in order that I may gain Christ. 00:23:56.819 --> 00:24:02.699 Have Christ be the one who handles the balance, handles the debits, and handles the assets. 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:04.679 Put it all in Christ's hands. 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:09.579 In fact, Paul literally is saying that he suffered the loss of all things because he's bound by 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:14.019 chains and he's under house arrest and he's lost his prestige. 00:24:14.659 --> 00:24:18.179 He's lost his economic security and his finances and all of those things. 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:19.660 He's literally lost them. 00:24:20.299 --> 00:24:23.000 Here's the point before we go on a little bit more about this. 00:24:23.080 --> 00:24:23.880 It's my third point. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:32.720 The gospel reveals that you are far worse than you ever realized and far more saved and loved 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:34.519 than you can ever imagine. 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:36.779 Say that again. 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:42.580 The gospel reveals, this is what came to Paul as he understood the gospel, the good news 00:24:42.579 --> 00:24:49.059 of what God, the triune God, has done to make us right with himself in the person of his 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:49.339 son. 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:56.899 And what Paul came to understand was that the gospel reveals that you are far worse than 00:24:56.899 --> 00:25:04.240 you ever realized and far more saved and loved than you can never imagine. 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:10.779 And that's part of the reason why to be gripped by the gospel is one of the things that allows 00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:14.220 you, in a sense, to die to the good person project. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:19.519 And actually, as the more the gospel grips you, the more the gospel grips myself to have 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.220 a type of security to look at the bad that I've done. 00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:27.380 And to not be completely and utterly unmade by it. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:33.420 Because I know that whatever is revealed about me that is bad, it probably is bad. 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:34.700 And I'm far worse. 00:25:35.360 --> 00:25:36.019 Far worse. 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:39.059 Far more need and salvation than I can ever realize. 00:25:39.620 --> 00:25:42.160 And far more loved and saved than I can ever know. 00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:49.579 So, if you think about it, the good person project, not only is it insecure, the different 00:25:49.579 --> 00:25:54.439 ways that I've shown it, but many of us, and those of you who are listening to me, you 00:25:54.439 --> 00:25:55.119 know who we are. 00:25:55.179 --> 00:25:55.859 You know who you are. 00:25:55.939 --> 00:25:56.759 We know who we are. 00:25:57.379 --> 00:26:03.939 One of the deep fears underlying many people is this, that if people really knew me, they 00:26:03.939 --> 00:26:04.699 wouldn't like me. 00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:12.559 That if people really got close to me, they'd like me less. 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:20.599 And that's a very, very deep, unsettling fear underneath the whole good person project. 00:26:21.220 --> 00:26:24.339 But the Bible reveals that the triune God knows you perfectly. 00:26:25.179 --> 00:26:34.899 And knowing you perfectly still shows you unmerited kindness in working to make you right with 00:26:34.899 --> 00:26:36.799 him and fit you for heaven. 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:46.599 Just before I read the next few verses to finish this, Philippians chapter 3, verses 9, 10, and 11, 00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:51.419 I just want to say a summary that summarizes these three verses. 00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:53.759 It's my fourth point, and it goes like this. 00:26:54.799 --> 00:27:04.299 By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, I am made right, grow right, and end right. 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:06.240 I'll explain what it means. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:09.700 It's a way to understand what these next three verses are teaching. 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:15.819 There's three verses which would be very, very wise for you to memorize and to meditate upon. 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:16.579 But I'll say it again. 00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:25.859 By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, I am made right, grow right, and end 00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:26.460 right. 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:30.680 So look at verse 9, which talks about that first thing of being made right. 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:32.960 And here we mean being made right with God. 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:38.279 And to be made right with God is to begin to be made right in terms of who we are as a 00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:40.420 person, because God made all things. 00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:41.440 He made human beings. 00:27:41.539 --> 00:27:44.120 He knows what human beings are supposed to be like. 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:49.220 So to be made right with God is the first step towards being made right in terms of growing 00:27:49.220 --> 00:27:50.180 right and ending right. 00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:51.480 Listen to verse 9. 00:27:52.340 --> 00:27:53.420 It goes like this. 00:27:53.420 --> 00:28:01.019 Remember it says, the last part of verse 8 is that I may gain Christ, continues, and 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:08.360 be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, that is 00:28:08.360 --> 00:28:13.660 from rules, but that which comes through faith in Christ. 00:28:13.660 --> 00:28:18.820 The righteousness from God that depends or is grounded on faith. 00:28:19.820 --> 00:28:23.060 So what does this righteousness from God mean? 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:26.220 Well, here's a very simple analogy to help you understand. 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:30.360 It's just a whole idea of something needs to be made right. 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:36.460 So just go back and think a year from now, and we're able to go to restaurants again, and 00:28:36.460 --> 00:28:40.779 you have a mom, and the mom goes into the restaurant with her three kids. 00:28:40.779 --> 00:28:45.220 And she ends up having the restaurant visit from hell. 00:28:45.660 --> 00:28:47.399 It's as if it's not from hell. 00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:49.180 She's descended into hell. 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:52.139 And the waiters ignore her. 00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:55.819 The waiter ignores her, doesn't bring water. 00:28:57.059 --> 00:29:01.220 You know, you can tell he's really bothered by the kids. 00:29:01.859 --> 00:29:04.619 And then he brings the wrong food. 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:09.720 And when you say that's not what you ordered, he attacks you, and he does it in a loud voice 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:13.759 and makes it look like you're too stupid to know how to order things, too stupid to look 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:14.660 after your kids. 00:29:14.860 --> 00:29:17.079 You just get more and more and more red. 00:29:17.140 --> 00:29:18.460 You just feel like crying. 00:29:19.100 --> 00:29:24.980 And then he gives you the bill, and, you know, he said, you know, you better leave me a good 00:29:24.980 --> 00:29:25.880 tip, and all that. 00:29:25.940 --> 00:29:27.880 And it's just a horrific experience. 00:29:28.100 --> 00:29:29.980 You're embarrassed in front of everybody. 00:29:30.059 --> 00:29:31.059 Your kids are unhappy. 00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:32.059 You feel ashamed. 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:33.539 Everything is wrong. 00:29:33.539 --> 00:29:38.000 And you just sort of feel, you're just having one of those days where you just feel like 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:39.579 you can't really defend yourself either. 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:43.359 You know, with the kids, and you're tired, and all of that type of stuff. 00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:44.819 And this was going to be a special time. 00:29:44.879 --> 00:29:49.379 You really wanted it to be special for your kids, and now it's all ruined, and all of that 00:29:49.379 --> 00:29:49.960 type of stuff. 00:29:50.019 --> 00:29:53.599 And you're walking out of the restaurant, and there's tears in your eyes. 00:29:53.879 --> 00:29:55.799 There's tears in your eyes as you walk out. 00:29:55.799 --> 00:30:02.680 And as you're walking out, this older woman, a middle-aged woman comes in and sees you crying. 00:30:02.759 --> 00:30:03.639 She says, what's wrong, dear? 00:30:04.419 --> 00:30:05.879 And you say, oh, it's nothing. 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:07.019 And she said, no, no, no, no. 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:08.200 Like, what's wrong? 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:10.039 Like, I own the restaurant. 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:13.519 Like, if there's something that we've done here, I want to know about it. 00:30:13.819 --> 00:30:15.720 And then it just gushes out of you. 00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:17.119 It just gushes out of you. 00:30:17.159 --> 00:30:22.319 The waiter, the food being cold, and how he treated you and embarrassed you in public. 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:25.399 And you know that when you were leaving there, what do you want? 00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:28.820 You want someone to make it right. 00:30:30.300 --> 00:30:31.880 And what does make it right mean? 00:30:32.480 --> 00:30:34.780 Well, she says, she takes your hand. 00:30:34.860 --> 00:30:36.440 She says, dear, I'm going to make it right. 00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:39.019 And she really does make it right. 00:30:39.280 --> 00:30:41.440 And she goes in, and she fires the waiter. 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:49.240 And she tells to the whole room, by the way, I just want to really apologize for the behavior 00:30:49.240 --> 00:30:52.960 of my waiter and how humiliated this young woman and the kids. 00:30:53.019 --> 00:30:53.900 We love kids. 00:30:53.900 --> 00:30:58.500 And just because I'm really bothered by the reputation that might have happened, all of 00:30:58.500 --> 00:31:00.160 you are having free desserts on me. 00:31:00.740 --> 00:31:03.820 And then, you know, and then she turns to the, you know, the woman. 00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:06.640 And as they're going out, she says, you know, I just want to make sure you come back. 00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:10.060 Here's four free meals to come in the future with you and your kids. 00:31:10.600 --> 00:31:11.580 And just everything. 00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:15.740 And the owner has to pay, in a sense, for the tickets. 00:31:16.179 --> 00:31:17.839 The owner has to pay for the dessert. 00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:22.039 But the woman goes out, and she feels vindicated. 00:31:22.379 --> 00:31:24.019 And she feels listened to. 00:31:24.179 --> 00:31:25.559 And she feels loved. 00:31:25.939 --> 00:31:27.339 And she feels respected. 00:31:27.859 --> 00:31:31.000 And she knows that things were made right. 00:31:31.339 --> 00:31:36.720 And as she walks out of the room, she has satisfaction because things have been made right. 00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:41.880 And the owner has acted to make it right for her. 00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:44.980 And she feels made right. 00:31:45.220 --> 00:31:47.460 And the owner did it at cost to herself. 00:31:48.120 --> 00:31:50.940 And that's what Jesus does for you. 00:31:50.940 --> 00:31:58.180 That's what Jesus does for you. 00:32:01.420 --> 00:32:07.140 Everything that you have had a hand in to mess up, to do wrong, anything to do with shame, 00:32:07.720 --> 00:32:11.860 anything which has been all of that stuff, that's why he left heaven. 00:32:12.019 --> 00:32:13.460 That's why he became human. 00:32:13.620 --> 00:32:15.140 That's why he identified with you. 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:16.920 That's why he lived the sinless life. 00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:19.320 That's why he does it on thighs on the cross. 00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:23.159 He does it knowing what you're like and loving you. 00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:30.500 And he dies to do everything that has to be done in the way that only the owner can do it 00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:34.339 to make it right because you can't make it right for yourself. 00:32:37.159 --> 00:32:42.319 And you enter into what Christ has done for you purely by faith. 00:32:43.960 --> 00:32:45.700 I don't deserve it. 00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:48.500 You've done it for me out of love. 00:32:48.500 --> 00:32:50.299 It's a love I don't really deserve. 00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:53.440 Do you really, God, if you really knew what I was like, would you? 00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:56.279 No, God says, I do know what you're really like. 00:32:57.119 --> 00:33:01.579 And loving you, I did it for you to make things right with me. 00:33:02.940 --> 00:33:05.019 And that's what it means when it says here, 00:33:05.099 --> 00:33:11.000 a righteousness from God that we receive through faith in Christ. 00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:17.140 And we're made right with the triune God through union in Christ. 00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:20.240 It's as if Jesus takes your hands. 00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:21.920 You call out to Jesus, will you be my Savior? 00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:25.819 And he takes your hands and says, oh, my beloved, I love you so much. 00:33:25.819 --> 00:33:32.319 And in a sense, as he embraces you, there's that union with him. 00:33:32.419 --> 00:33:37.740 In a sense, you become united in him so that all that he did with his life, 00:33:37.799 --> 00:33:41.500 all he did with his setting aside his glory, his life, his death, 00:33:41.559 --> 00:33:45.059 his tasting everything there is to taste, to death, to bearing your sins, all of that, 00:33:45.419 --> 00:33:47.839 you're united in that he's done that all for you and you're in him. 00:33:47.839 --> 00:33:50.200 You now have his standing before God. 00:33:50.299 --> 00:33:51.460 You're made right in him. 00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:52.860 And you have union with him. 00:33:52.940 --> 00:33:54.519 That's what this is telling you about. 00:33:55.039 --> 00:33:57.880 Remember I said, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, 00:33:58.380 --> 00:34:01.319 I am made right, grow right, and end right. 00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:04.880 Because verse 10 talks about being made right. 00:34:05.220 --> 00:34:08.400 It's a completely different way to understand the good person project. 00:34:08.579 --> 00:34:09.900 It's not a good person project. 00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:12.199 It's something different. 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:14.199 Listen to verse 10. 00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:17.559 So verse 9 is, 00:34:17.800 --> 00:34:21.300 And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, 00:34:21.300 --> 00:34:25.400 but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. 00:34:25.740 --> 00:34:26.280 Verse 10, 00:34:26.720 --> 00:34:29.760 That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, 00:34:30.180 --> 00:34:34.539 and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. 00:34:35.220 --> 00:34:37.760 This is a very, very, very beautiful passage. 00:34:38.840 --> 00:34:41.440 You know, one of the big problems with the good person project 00:34:41.440 --> 00:34:43.940 is the good person project can't handle suffering. 00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:48.300 The good person project can't handle death. 00:34:48.300 --> 00:34:55.360 And what this is talking about here is that when we have this union with Christ, 00:34:55.460 --> 00:34:58.100 we're made right with the triune God through faith in Christ. 00:34:58.180 --> 00:34:59.260 We have union with him. 00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:01.440 And that means we're now in Christ. 00:35:01.539 --> 00:35:03.380 It doesn't just mean that we're made right with God, 00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:04.920 and then we have to wait until he dies. 00:35:04.960 --> 00:35:06.120 That we have union with him. 00:35:06.140 --> 00:35:08.700 If you're a Christian, you have union with Jesus right now. 00:35:09.700 --> 00:35:12.780 And when it's said earlier in verse 3 about worshiping by the Spirit, 00:35:13.260 --> 00:35:14.940 there's a bit of a mistake nowadays. 00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:18.079 A lot of Christian churches say the part of time of singing is worship, 00:35:18.179 --> 00:35:20.340 but the word for worship is a certain type of service. 00:35:20.480 --> 00:35:23.220 It's a 24-7, 365 word. 00:35:24.519 --> 00:35:27.260 That my whole life is to now, in a sense, 00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:31.579 as I remember the gospel, as I remember that I'm united with Christ, 00:35:31.679 --> 00:35:34.800 as I remember that I am vastly worse than I ever realized, 00:35:34.900 --> 00:35:38.820 but vastly more loved and saved than I can ever possibly imagine. 00:35:38.820 --> 00:35:42.080 And as I remember that and I live out of that, 00:35:42.140 --> 00:35:45.840 as that begins to frame the way I understand myself and my identity 00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:47.640 and my destiny and my presence, 00:35:47.900 --> 00:35:49.660 it's not just that I do that on my own, 00:35:49.740 --> 00:35:53.059 but Jesus is with me and the Holy Spirit is with me 00:35:53.059 --> 00:35:57.940 to empower me to do this and empower you. 00:35:59.640 --> 00:36:04.620 And the word know, you see, is a personal knowing. 00:36:04.619 --> 00:36:09.559 It's not just ideas, it's to know in a personal type of relationship. 00:36:11.679 --> 00:36:15.699 And so the gospel gives you Jesus' presence and the power of the Holy Spirit 00:36:15.699 --> 00:36:18.739 at the same time a whole new way of understanding the world 00:36:18.739 --> 00:36:21.179 and understanding yourself that grounds you and shapes you. 00:36:21.480 --> 00:36:22.859 And it does more than that. 00:36:22.860 --> 00:36:26.340 But it begins to draw you. 00:36:27.539 --> 00:36:30.539 Look at verse 11, you see, because remember the point was that 00:36:30.539 --> 00:36:32.760 by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, 00:36:32.860 --> 00:36:35.220 I am made right, grow right, and end right. 00:36:35.780 --> 00:36:37.039 You see, because some of you might say, 00:36:37.099 --> 00:36:39.840 George, I don't know, like you, 00:36:40.700 --> 00:36:42.160 I know you say you're not like a good person, 00:36:42.220 --> 00:36:43.099 but you're like a good person. 00:36:43.140 --> 00:36:43.660 You're religious. 00:36:43.780 --> 00:36:44.660 Like you read the Bible. 00:36:44.800 --> 00:36:45.420 Like you pray. 00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:46.780 Like I'm not like that, George. 00:36:46.780 --> 00:36:51.920 Like if you knew, if you knew how much envy controls me, 00:36:51.980 --> 00:36:55.100 if you knew how much anger controls me, 00:36:55.140 --> 00:36:59.160 if you knew how I can't let go of certain types of things, 00:36:59.260 --> 00:37:02.180 you'd know, George, that I might do this for a week or a month 00:37:02.180 --> 00:37:04.420 or three months, but then it would collapse 00:37:04.420 --> 00:37:07.500 because I'm just not like you. 00:37:07.580 --> 00:37:08.480 I have good news. 00:37:08.600 --> 00:37:09.960 I am no different than you. 00:37:13.460 --> 00:37:15.540 And God knows all of those things. 00:37:15.539 --> 00:37:17.119 The triune God knows all of those things, 00:37:17.199 --> 00:37:18.239 and still Jesus died. 00:37:18.320 --> 00:37:20.900 Remember I said you're vastly worse than you ever realized, 00:37:21.039 --> 00:37:23.759 but you're vastly more loved and vastly more saved in the gospel 00:37:23.759 --> 00:37:25.840 than you can ever possibly imagine. 00:37:27.239 --> 00:37:29.960 And the Holy Spirit is with you with all of those things. 00:37:30.039 --> 00:37:32.300 The Holy Spirit and Jesus, they're with you in your anger. 00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:33.500 They're with you in your envy. 00:37:33.679 --> 00:37:35.380 They're with you with your lack of forgiveness. 00:37:35.619 --> 00:37:36.840 They're with you with your fears. 00:37:37.039 --> 00:37:38.599 They're with you with your depression. 00:37:38.779 --> 00:37:41.099 They're with you and not abhorred by you. 00:37:41.179 --> 00:37:42.579 They love you, and they're with you. 00:37:42.940 --> 00:37:44.840 And the thing that the Bible wants you to understand 00:37:44.840 --> 00:37:47.059 is that when you put your hands in the hands of Jesus, 00:37:47.320 --> 00:37:49.019 and he takes you as yours, 00:37:49.260 --> 00:37:51.320 and you are now made right with God, 00:37:51.380 --> 00:37:53.700 and you now begin to be able to grow right with God, 00:37:53.780 --> 00:37:56.620 the end of the matter is that you will end right with God, 00:37:56.660 --> 00:37:59.700 not because there's anything excellent in you or me, 00:38:00.039 --> 00:38:03.420 but because the triune God is unfailingly, 00:38:03.600 --> 00:38:05.180 unstoppingly loving. 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:08.120 Listen to verse 11. 00:38:08.119 --> 00:38:10.500 that by any means possible, 00:38:10.599 --> 00:38:12.000 and this is just him being humble. 00:38:12.460 --> 00:38:13.819 It's not that he has any doubts. 00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:16.199 It's just self-depreciation. 00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:18.779 It's being self-effacing. 00:38:20.019 --> 00:38:22.659 I may attain the resurrection from the dead, 00:38:23.659 --> 00:38:27.480 which is the perfection of everything that it means to be human, 00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:31.199 in a perfected creation, 00:38:31.839 --> 00:38:34.699 with perfected other people who are in Christ, 00:38:34.699 --> 00:38:37.399 and in a perfect walk with God. 00:38:37.579 --> 00:38:39.419 Friends, there is no better time now 00:38:39.419 --> 00:38:41.099 than to put your hands in the hands of Jesus 00:38:41.099 --> 00:38:42.279 if you have not done so. 00:38:42.659 --> 00:38:43.759 No time better than now, 00:38:43.819 --> 00:38:44.759 just to call out to him 00:38:44.759 --> 00:38:45.960 and say, 00:38:46.179 --> 00:38:47.399 all you have to say is, 00:38:47.480 --> 00:38:49.960 God, all this stuff in Philippians 3, 00:38:50.039 --> 00:38:51.379 I want it to be for me. 00:38:51.480 --> 00:38:52.480 That's all you have to say. 00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:53.239 There's no match. 00:38:53.439 --> 00:38:54.960 I want it to be for me, 00:38:55.019 --> 00:38:57.679 and thank you that you will not say no. 00:38:58.679 --> 00:39:00.819 And Jesus, come in and be my Savior and my Lord 00:39:00.819 --> 00:39:01.639 and never let me go. 00:39:01.639 --> 00:39:04.400 And for those of us who are in, 00:39:06.079 --> 00:39:07.159 actually for some of you, 00:39:07.219 --> 00:39:08.819 this can be just a daily prayer. 00:39:08.900 --> 00:39:10.400 It's actually in the blog. 00:39:10.699 --> 00:39:12.599 It's the prayer that I write every week in the blog. 00:39:13.759 --> 00:39:14.879 If you don't get the blog, 00:39:14.980 --> 00:39:15.819 just send us an email, 00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:18.259 and you can get on the mailing list for the blog. 00:39:18.819 --> 00:39:21.339 This is a great prayer for every day, 00:39:21.659 --> 00:39:23.319 and it's also a conversion prayer, 00:39:23.339 --> 00:39:25.559 and I'll close with this prayer from the pastor's blog. 00:39:26.199 --> 00:39:27.079 Heavenly Father, 00:39:27.079 --> 00:39:29.960 in times of hardship and suffering, 00:39:30.380 --> 00:39:33.219 and in good times as well, 00:39:33.500 --> 00:39:35.840 by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit, 00:39:36.519 --> 00:39:39.539 please help me to know more and more deeply 00:39:39.539 --> 00:39:42.400 that in Christ I have been saved, 00:39:42.840 --> 00:39:43.840 am being saved, 00:39:43.940 --> 00:39:44.920 and will be saved. 00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:45.860 Amen. 00:39:45.860 --> 00:39:46.000 Amen.