WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.120 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:09.540 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:15.300 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:22.660 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:29.660 Good morning. I am Terri Kochi. 00:00:29.660 --> 00:00:34.079 I'm a member of the Women Reading Women in North Berkeley community groups. 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:43.399 Today's scripture reading is from 1 John 1, verse 5 through chapter 2, verse 2, as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:55.700 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 00:00:55.700 --> 00:01:04.020 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 00:01:04.019 --> 00:01:11.699 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, 00:01:12.199 --> 00:01:16.079 and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:23.759 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:32.219 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:01:33.620 --> 00:01:39.340 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 00:01:39.340 --> 00:01:45.380 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. 00:01:46.320 --> 00:01:52.240 But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 00:01:53.240 --> 00:02:00.719 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:03.120 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:03.939 --> 00:02:04.980 Thanks be to God. 00:02:04.980 --> 00:02:09.360 Thank you for that scripture reading, Terry. 00:02:09.620 --> 00:02:10.599 Good morning, Christ Church. 00:02:10.780 --> 00:02:11.500 My name is Andrew. 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:14.159 If you're new here, I'm one of the pastors here. 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:17.159 Our lead pastor is on sabbatical, so you might be seeing me a little bit more. 00:02:18.740 --> 00:02:19.920 Yeah, that's just how it is. 00:02:19.980 --> 00:02:20.740 That's the way it goes. 00:02:22.420 --> 00:02:25.580 Will you join me in prayer as we come into God's word? 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:33.960 Lord, we come before you wanting to acknowledge that you are a God. 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:39.240 God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. 00:02:41.760 --> 00:02:47.360 As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is your love toward us. 00:02:47.980 --> 00:02:53.140 As far as the east is from the west, so far have you removed our transgressions from us. 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:58.920 As a father shows compassion to his children, so you, Lord, show compassion to us. 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:04.259 Lord, would you make us a people that say wow to those truths? 00:03:05.519 --> 00:03:11.119 Help me to preach this morning in a way that does not just convey that I believe these things are true, 00:03:11.279 --> 00:03:15.039 but help me to preach in a way that conveys that I believe these things are beautiful. 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:19.759 And I pray that you'd convince my friends, my brothers and sisters here, 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:24.079 those exploring who Jesus is and what you're about, 00:03:24.419 --> 00:03:27.939 would you convince them as well that this is not just true, but it's beautiful. 00:03:28.060 --> 00:03:29.340 This is good news for the world. 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:33.039 And would you do so, Lord, to the glory of your name we pray. 00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:34.479 Amen. 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:34.560 Amen. 00:03:36.399 --> 00:03:40.939 So we are now in a series in the New Testament letter of 1 John. 00:03:41.019 --> 00:03:43.919 We're calling the series Life, Light, and Love. 00:03:44.179 --> 00:03:48.079 And last week we began it talking about the God who is life. 00:03:48.219 --> 00:03:50.599 John opens up by stating what his intentions are. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:55.259 Eternal life has appeared to these apostles in the flesh, in history, 00:03:55.359 --> 00:03:59.019 and they cannot help but proclaim what they saw and what they heard 00:03:59.019 --> 00:04:01.719 and what they touched and what they beheld, Jesus Christ. 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:06.659 The eternal life itself come into the world to bring us back into fellowship 00:04:06.659 --> 00:04:10.079 with the triune God for our joy. 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:16.899 But today we move on from 1 John's intentions to the actual content of this letter, 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:20.639 to the actual message that Jesus gave his apostles to share. 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:26.300 Today we move on to the first thing we absolutely have to know about God 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:30.699 in order to come into this completeness of joy and fellowship that he wants for us. 00:04:30.699 --> 00:04:32.500 Now I have a question for you. 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:36.759 If you were to summarize the main message of Jesus, 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:39.659 like what he came to reveal to us about God, 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.759 the central truth that he wanted us to know about God, 00:04:43.159 --> 00:04:47.060 in a three-word sentence, God is fill in the blank, 00:04:47.740 --> 00:04:48.439 what would you say? 00:04:49.539 --> 00:04:51.800 God is love. 00:04:51.919 --> 00:04:53.240 I heard a lot of love right there. 00:04:53.379 --> 00:04:54.319 Love, all right? 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:57.159 I imagine many of us, even those of us who aren't Christians, 00:04:57.459 --> 00:04:58.759 might say love. 00:04:59.019 --> 00:04:59.639 God is love. 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:01.719 Everybody knows that one, right? 00:05:01.980 --> 00:05:05.219 Everybody loves that one, that saying that God is love. 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:07.899 It's one of the most famous passages in the Bible. 00:05:08.339 --> 00:05:10.959 It's one of the most famous descriptions of who God is. 00:05:11.079 --> 00:05:12.420 It's popular at weddings. 00:05:12.779 --> 00:05:13.939 Even people who aren't Christians, 00:05:14.420 --> 00:05:17.240 this is what they know that Christians believe, that God is love. 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:19.759 And you know this famous saying, God is love, 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:24.199 it actually does come later here in this letter, 1 John. 00:05:24.379 --> 00:05:26.300 It comes later in chapter 4, but the thing is, 00:05:26.599 --> 00:05:27.459 we're not there yet. 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:30.480 It doesn't come, again, until chapter 4. 00:05:31.180 --> 00:05:33.339 And the interesting thing about our passage today, 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:35.920 still very much in the beginning of 1 John, 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:39.060 is that the message, the main point, 00:05:39.459 --> 00:05:41.939 that 1 John wants to transmit from Jesus, 00:05:42.139 --> 00:05:44.639 the starting point truth from which the whole rest 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:46.259 of this letter flows, 00:05:46.699 --> 00:05:49.259 in order that people might have this fellowship and joy 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:50.659 that's appeared to us, 00:05:50.719 --> 00:05:51.839 is not that God is love. 00:05:52.899 --> 00:05:55.279 Actually, as it says here in verse 5, 00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:57.379 this is the message we have heard from him 00:05:57.379 --> 00:05:58.759 and proclaimed to you, 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:01.399 that God is light. 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:05.180 And in him is no darkness at all. 00:06:05.899 --> 00:06:07.939 Now why in the world does this letter start with, 00:06:08.039 --> 00:06:09.120 God is light? 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:10.379 Why is that so important? 00:06:10.500 --> 00:06:12.819 What does that even mean, that God is light, 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:15.019 and in him there is no darkness at all? 00:06:16.019 --> 00:06:19.339 Well, I think that what 1 John is meaning to say 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:21.859 is that we have to start with the reality 00:06:21.859 --> 00:06:23.680 that in this world there is light, 00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:24.879 and there is darkness. 00:06:25.039 --> 00:06:26.719 There is truth, and there is falsehood. 00:06:26.799 --> 00:06:28.419 There is good, and there is evil. 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:32.019 And that God is light means that he is completely opposed 00:06:32.019 --> 00:06:34.019 to darkness and falsehood and evil. 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:36.359 And I want to try to unpack that for us this morning, 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:37.379 because it's so important. 00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:38.599 It's so important. 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:40.939 Because unless we are convinced 00:06:40.939 --> 00:06:43.140 that God is first and foremost light, 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:45.540 we will actually never really experience 00:06:45.540 --> 00:06:48.200 his abundant life and the fellowship and joy 00:06:48.200 --> 00:06:49.040 that he intends for us. 00:06:49.080 --> 00:06:51.020 Unless we're convinced that God is light, 00:06:51.460 --> 00:06:53.460 we won't know him truly as he is, 00:06:53.660 --> 00:06:55.480 as the God who is love. 00:06:56.340 --> 00:06:58.620 So will you look with me at verses 5 through 7? 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:00.460 Let's think about this for a second, all right? 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:01.460 Verses 5 through 7. 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:03.360 This is the message we have heard from him 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:06.060 and proclaim to you that God is light, 00:07:06.580 --> 00:07:08.740 and in him is no darkness at all. 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:11.560 If we say we have fellowship with him 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:12.860 while we walk in darkness, 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:15.600 we lie and do not practice the truth. 00:07:16.080 --> 00:07:19.220 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:20.980 we have fellowship with one another, 00:07:21.080 --> 00:07:22.420 and the blood of Jesus his son 00:07:22.420 --> 00:07:24.840 cleanses us from all sin. 00:07:25.620 --> 00:07:27.439 Now one trick I want to teach you 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:29.020 for interpreting the Bible, 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:31.360 one trick that I think can help us 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:32.900 better understand the significance 00:07:32.900 --> 00:07:34.639 of many of these verses 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:36.920 is to try to imagine the opposite 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:38.639 of what these verses are saying. 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:40.180 Like try to imagine the alternative 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:42.040 to what 1 John is saying here. 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:43.180 So try to imagine with me, 00:07:43.840 --> 00:07:45.800 what if God wasn't light? 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:47.680 And what if in him, 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:50.720 he like allowed within himself darkness, 00:07:50.860 --> 00:07:52.160 or even a lot of darkness? 00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:55.360 What if he was still cool with fellowshipping 00:07:56.040 --> 00:07:57.699 with those who walked in darkness 00:07:57.699 --> 00:07:59.000 outside of the light? 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:01.000 What if God was cool with all those 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:02.699 who did not practice the truth? 00:08:02.779 --> 00:08:03.399 Imagine that. 00:08:04.139 --> 00:08:05.720 What would that mean for us? 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:08.860 Even if we still held on to our favorite passage, 00:08:09.259 --> 00:08:09.980 God is love. 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:12.720 It wouldn't be so compelling anymore, would it? 00:08:13.740 --> 00:08:15.480 Well, I think it'd mean that his love 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:16.699 was a compromised love 00:08:16.699 --> 00:08:19.139 if we didn't also recognize that God is light. 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:20.740 Like sure, God is love, 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:22.699 but it's a love that just tolerates 00:08:22.699 --> 00:08:24.920 and coexists and commingles 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:27.360 with darkness and falsehood, right? 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:30.360 And I wonder if that's how a lot of us 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:32.360 understand God and his love 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:34.200 when we say God is love. 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:35.600 We understand the love of God 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:37.440 through the lens of this cultural moment 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:39.120 that we're in where we just have 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:41.700 this simplistic and selective acceptance 00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:42.500 and tolerance, 00:08:42.700 --> 00:08:44.720 where we so often just say certain things 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:46.220 are just okay. 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:48.779 Hey, that unhealthy thing in your life, 00:08:49.139 --> 00:08:50.820 that bad habit, that selfishness, 00:08:50.820 --> 00:08:52.860 that greed, that gluttony. 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:53.879 Hey, it's okay. 00:08:54.379 --> 00:08:55.020 We all do it. 00:08:55.420 --> 00:08:56.600 We're all human, 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:58.100 and therefore it's not so bad. 00:08:58.140 --> 00:09:00.620 It's not that offensive to God. 00:09:01.140 --> 00:09:02.440 It doesn't really grieve him 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:04.240 in any significant way. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:07.000 God's ultimately just about accepting 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:08.420 all of us anyway, right? 00:09:08.460 --> 00:09:09.220 Just as we are. 00:09:09.560 --> 00:09:10.879 That's what God's about, right? 00:09:10.920 --> 00:09:12.560 Making us feel better about ourselves 00:09:12.560 --> 00:09:14.560 no matter how much of a mess we're in. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:16.260 Let's just hold hands, 00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:17.200 sing kumbaya, 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:18.960 and worship the God of low 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:21.420 or maybe no standards at all, right? 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:24.540 It is something to cry about. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:28.420 But my question is, 00:09:28.780 --> 00:09:30.280 is this really the kind of God 00:09:30.280 --> 00:09:31.220 we actually want? 00:09:31.900 --> 00:09:33.300 Is this really the kind of God 00:09:33.300 --> 00:09:35.620 that we believe the world needs? 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:38.300 Do we really want a God 00:09:38.300 --> 00:09:39.820 who can have fellowship with darkness? 00:09:40.139 --> 00:09:41.740 Do we want a God whose love 00:09:41.740 --> 00:09:44.460 does not absolutely abhor and hate 00:09:44.460 --> 00:09:47.320 the darkness in and around and within us? 00:09:48.020 --> 00:09:50.040 Do we want a God who doesn't burn 00:09:50.040 --> 00:09:51.340 with wrathful passion 00:09:51.340 --> 00:09:52.940 against all that is wicked 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:54.320 in this world, 00:09:54.900 --> 00:09:57.220 even what is wicked within us? 00:09:58.100 --> 00:09:58.700 You know, recently, 00:09:58.920 --> 00:10:00.580 one of our youth mentors 00:10:00.580 --> 00:10:02.000 shared a question with me 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:03.400 that he got from one of our youth. 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:05.379 And I don't know who this youth was, 00:10:05.540 --> 00:10:06.879 but I think the question 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:07.820 really illustrates 00:10:07.820 --> 00:10:09.960 why we need a God who is light 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:12.100 and in whom there is no darkness. 00:10:12.300 --> 00:10:13.360 The student asked the mentor, 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:15.399 wouldn't it be better 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:17.879 if God just got rid of Putin? 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:20.840 Wouldn't it be better for the world? 00:10:22.300 --> 00:10:24.279 And I won't get into all the complexities 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:25.680 of answering this question. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:27.019 I'll leave that to the mentors. 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:29.860 But I do want to highlight 00:10:29.860 --> 00:10:32.480 the impulse behind that question, right? 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:34.220 Like, God, this is evil. 00:10:34.379 --> 00:10:35.399 This is evil stuff. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:37.379 And wouldn't the world be better 00:10:37.379 --> 00:10:39.519 if you got rid of evil? 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.539 You know, for so many of us, 00:10:41.620 --> 00:10:42.879 privileged, educated, 00:10:43.259 --> 00:10:45.139 professional, western types of people 00:10:45.139 --> 00:10:46.299 who can afford, you know, 00:10:46.340 --> 00:10:47.500 not to believe in God 00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:49.379 or who've never been wronged so badly 00:10:49.379 --> 00:10:50.919 that we've cried out to God 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:52.159 for justice, 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:55.240 it can be easy for us to think of God 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:57.699 as a divine, cosmic teddy bear, 00:10:57.919 --> 00:10:58.919 you know, just gushing 00:10:58.919 --> 00:11:00.199 with the kind of generic, 00:11:00.699 --> 00:11:01.519 sentimental love 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:02.159 that the Beatles 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:04.120 so naively sang about, right? 00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:05.659 All you need is love 00:11:05.659 --> 00:11:06.559 and flower power. 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:09.679 But is permissiveness 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:11.059 and tolerance 00:11:11.059 --> 00:11:12.559 and low-bar acceptance 00:11:13.199 --> 00:11:15.359 really the same thing as love? 00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:18.059 Is that really the same thing as love? 00:11:18.259 --> 00:11:20.879 Is that really such a high expression of love? 00:11:22.259 --> 00:11:23.139 See, I don't think so. 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:24.919 And I want to read to you 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:26.839 a quote from this Croatian theologian 00:11:26.839 --> 00:11:28.859 who once had trouble 00:11:28.859 --> 00:11:30.199 believing in the wrath of God 00:11:30.199 --> 00:11:31.559 because he wanted to be all about 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:32.559 God is love. 00:11:33.359 --> 00:11:34.659 This Croatian theologian, 00:11:34.699 --> 00:11:36.019 his name is Miroslav Volf, 00:11:36.019 --> 00:11:37.199 he said, 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:38.899 I used to think 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:41.299 that wrath was unworthy of God. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:42.919 Isn't God love? 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:44.639 Shouldn't divine love 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:45.759 be beyond wrath? 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:46.679 God is love. 00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:48.679 And God loves every person 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:49.439 and every creature. 00:11:50.439 --> 00:11:52.579 That's exactly why God is wrathful 00:11:52.579 --> 00:11:53.759 against some of them. 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:55.840 My last resistance 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:57.299 to the idea of God's wrath 00:11:57.299 --> 00:11:58.759 was a casualty of the war 00:11:58.759 --> 00:12:00.120 in the former Yugoslavia, 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:02.319 the region from which I come. 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:04.360 According to some estimates, 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:06.539 200,000 people were killed, 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.120 over 3 million were displaced. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:11.220 My villages and cities were destroyed, 00:12:11.340 --> 00:12:13.800 my people shelled day in and day out, 00:12:13.899 --> 00:12:16.340 some of them brutalized beyond imagination. 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:18.800 And I could not imagine God 00:12:18.800 --> 00:12:20.419 not being angry. 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:22.139 Or think of Rwanda 00:12:22.139 --> 00:12:24.060 in the last decade of the past century, 00:12:24.379 --> 00:12:25.879 where 800,000 people 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:27.560 were hacked to death in 100 days. 00:12:27.779 --> 00:12:29.560 How did God react to the carnage? 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:31.259 By doting on the perpetrators 00:12:31.259 --> 00:12:32.699 in a grandparently fashion, 00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:35.179 by refusing to condemn the bloodbath, 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:36.099 but instead affirming 00:12:36.099 --> 00:12:37.779 the perpetrators' basic goodness, 00:12:38.119 --> 00:12:40.059 wasn't God fiercely angry with them? 00:12:40.619 --> 00:12:41.739 Though I used to complain 00:12:41.739 --> 00:12:43.159 about the indecency 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:45.039 of the idea of God's wrath, 00:12:45.479 --> 00:12:46.459 I came to think 00:12:46.459 --> 00:12:47.899 that I would have to rebel 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:48.699 against a God 00:12:48.699 --> 00:12:50.199 who wasn't wrathful 00:12:50.199 --> 00:12:52.199 at the sight of the world's evil. 00:12:53.019 --> 00:12:54.119 God isn't wrathful 00:12:54.119 --> 00:12:55.399 in spite of being love. 00:12:55.659 --> 00:12:56.599 God is wrathful 00:12:56.600 --> 00:12:58.600 because God is love. 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:00.600 See, Wolf understands 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:02.440 that we need a God 00:13:02.440 --> 00:13:03.700 who is light, 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:06.800 in whom there is no darkness at all. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:08.500 And this is the God revealed to us 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:09.560 in 1 John. 00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:11.000 Not some generic, 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:11.639 ambiguous, 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:12.759 anything-goes, 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:13.740 feel-good God 00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:15.040 constructed from our fickle, 00:13:15.340 --> 00:13:16.600 finite, fallible imaginations. 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:18.659 He's the God of Israel. 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:20.860 The triune God revealed to us 00:13:20.860 --> 00:13:22.560 in the person of Jesus Christ 00:13:22.560 --> 00:13:23.879 in history. 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:25.540 Jesus Christ of Nazareth. 00:13:25.539 --> 00:13:26.579 And yes, 00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:27.519 he wants our joy, 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:28.599 but definitely not 00:13:28.599 --> 00:13:31.459 on our own sin-stained terms. 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:33.339 While the God of 1 John, 00:13:33.719 --> 00:13:35.319 he genuinely wants 00:13:35.319 --> 00:13:36.179 the joy of the world, 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:37.159 while he wants to unite 00:13:37.159 --> 00:13:39.139 all people with each other 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:40.199 into his life 00:13:40.199 --> 00:13:42.059 of eternal triune fellowship, 00:13:42.299 --> 00:13:43.179 he's not a God 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:44.480 without standards. 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:46.319 And that's an amazing thing 00:13:46.319 --> 00:13:46.719 about him, 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:47.699 that he can unite 00:13:47.699 --> 00:13:48.599 all peoples 00:13:48.599 --> 00:13:49.439 and still maintain 00:13:49.439 --> 00:13:51.059 the highest of standards. 00:13:51.959 --> 00:13:53.759 See, this God of life, 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:54.439 Jesus himself, 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:55.400 full of grace 00:13:55.400 --> 00:13:56.120 and what truth. 00:13:56.660 --> 00:13:57.520 He intends for us 00:13:57.520 --> 00:13:59.060 to live out our eternal lives 00:13:59.060 --> 00:14:00.420 in a certain way, 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:02.060 in a specific way. 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:03.060 He wants us to live 00:14:03.060 --> 00:14:04.140 in his light 00:14:04.140 --> 00:14:06.620 and in his presence. 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:07.500 In his presence, 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:08.500 there are some things, 00:14:08.740 --> 00:14:09.440 many things, 00:14:09.500 --> 00:14:10.700 that are simply black and white. 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:12.440 There are things 00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:13.360 that are of God 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:14.320 and there are other things 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:15.540 that are not of God. 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:16.580 There are things 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:17.520 that God celebrates 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:18.460 and there are things 00:14:18.460 --> 00:14:19.539 that he condemns. 00:14:19.799 --> 00:14:21.220 There are things God loves 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:24.179 and things God also hates 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:26.379 because God is light. 00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:27.779 He isn't some 00:14:27.779 --> 00:14:29.620 all-permissive father, no. 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:31.159 And honestly, 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:32.279 he hates the darkness 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:33.379 in his children. 00:14:33.779 --> 00:14:34.360 He hates it, 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:35.139 just as I hate it 00:14:35.139 --> 00:14:36.039 when my own daughters 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:37.179 lie to me 00:14:37.179 --> 00:14:38.259 or hit each other 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:39.759 or disrespect my wife, 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:40.319 their mother. 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:42.079 God won't abide 00:14:42.079 --> 00:14:42.860 with the darkness 00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:43.559 in his children. 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:45.039 He will neither 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:46.319 compromise his character 00:14:46.319 --> 00:14:47.879 nor allow his children 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:48.839 to self-destruct 00:14:48.839 --> 00:14:49.919 in their own darkness. 00:14:50.939 --> 00:14:51.819 So as the God 00:14:51.819 --> 00:14:52.319 who is light, 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:53.379 he calls out 00:14:53.379 --> 00:14:54.299 all the liars. 00:14:54.859 --> 00:14:55.319 And honestly, 00:14:55.539 --> 00:14:56.359 if this sounds like 00:14:56.359 --> 00:14:57.000 a wake-up call, 00:14:57.119 --> 00:14:58.159 well, it should. 00:14:59.019 --> 00:14:59.539 It should. 00:15:00.339 --> 00:15:00.839 Verse six, 00:15:00.919 --> 00:15:01.599 if we claim 00:15:01.599 --> 00:15:02.259 to have fellowship 00:15:02.259 --> 00:15:03.559 with God but walk, 00:15:04.059 --> 00:15:04.319 that is, 00:15:04.359 --> 00:15:05.699 if we live in a sustained 00:15:05.699 --> 00:15:07.159 and unbothered lifestyle 00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:08.639 outside of God's light, 00:15:09.619 --> 00:15:10.279 God doesn't care 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:11.079 what you claim. 00:15:11.959 --> 00:15:12.799 He could care less 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:13.859 if you call yourself 00:15:13.859 --> 00:15:14.699 a Christian. 00:15:15.439 --> 00:15:16.740 He isn't even that interested 00:15:16.740 --> 00:15:17.699 in what you might believe 00:15:17.699 --> 00:15:18.359 in your head. 00:15:18.419 --> 00:15:19.379 Even the demons believe 00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:20.139 the right things 00:15:20.139 --> 00:15:21.120 in their heads. 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:23.179 Truth is not something 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:23.959 merely believed, 00:15:24.059 --> 00:15:24.839 it's something lived 00:15:24.839 --> 00:15:25.759 and practiced 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:27.000 and walked in. 00:15:27.859 --> 00:15:28.659 If we claim 00:15:28.659 --> 00:15:29.279 to have fellowship 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:29.779 with God 00:15:29.779 --> 00:15:30.719 but don't walk 00:15:30.719 --> 00:15:32.859 in his light, 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:34.159 then we are lying 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:34.899 to ourselves 00:15:34.899 --> 00:15:36.019 and are far 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:37.339 from the only truth 00:15:37.339 --> 00:15:38.319 that can really 00:15:38.319 --> 00:15:39.099 give us life. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:40.659 Now understand 00:15:40.659 --> 00:15:41.979 that this is a pretty hard 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:43.120 word and even 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:44.519 an exclusive word. 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:46.080 And maybe this is 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:46.700 what some of us 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:48.240 despise about Christianity 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:49.700 or religion in general, 00:15:49.779 --> 00:15:50.399 these rigid 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:52.800 and restrictive standards, 00:15:52.860 --> 00:15:53.080 right, 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:54.080 that only seem 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:54.639 to divide 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:55.840 and alienate 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:56.519 and condemn 00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:57.300 in the name of some 00:15:57.300 --> 00:15:59.420 supposedly divine authority. 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:00.279 The God of light, 00:16:00.580 --> 00:16:01.440 Moses' God, 00:16:01.700 --> 00:16:02.340 the God revealed 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:03.279 in Jesus Christ, 00:16:03.420 --> 00:16:04.500 a God who is Lord 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:05.539 over our whole lives, 00:16:05.680 --> 00:16:06.720 Lord over all truth 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:07.460 and knowledge 00:16:07.460 --> 00:16:08.080 and morality 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:09.060 and justice. 00:16:09.059 --> 00:16:10.739 maybe you're not sure 00:16:10.739 --> 00:16:11.239 if you're ready 00:16:11.239 --> 00:16:12.199 to bow before 00:16:12.199 --> 00:16:13.299 such a God. 00:16:14.079 --> 00:16:15.099 But can I ask, 00:16:15.819 --> 00:16:16.739 what is your better 00:16:16.739 --> 00:16:17.500 alternative? 00:16:18.379 --> 00:16:19.399 What is your alternative 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:20.379 light? 00:16:20.959 --> 00:16:21.899 A God whose light 00:16:21.899 --> 00:16:23.239 isn't so bright? 00:16:24.299 --> 00:16:24.639 Maybe 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:25.939 no God 00:16:25.939 --> 00:16:26.779 at all? 00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:28.979 If you are here today 00:16:28.979 --> 00:16:29.979 and feeling uncomfortable 00:16:29.979 --> 00:16:30.879 with this God 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:31.799 who is light, 00:16:31.979 --> 00:16:32.519 then one, 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:33.979 I've done my job 00:16:33.979 --> 00:16:35.399 and two, 00:16:36.199 --> 00:16:36.339 hey, 00:16:36.339 --> 00:16:37.279 I'm right there with you. 00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:38.779 I'm right there with you 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:41.059 because in my many moments 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:42.459 of darkened thinking 00:16:42.459 --> 00:16:43.079 and living, 00:16:43.199 --> 00:16:43.839 if I'm honest, 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:45.740 I very often prefer 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:46.860 other lights, 00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:47.179 right? 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:49.059 I prefer other lights too, 00:16:49.179 --> 00:16:50.679 lights that flatter me 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:51.919 and shine on just 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:52.620 the right spots, 00:16:52.699 --> 00:16:53.579 maybe my eyebrows 00:16:53.579 --> 00:16:54.740 and not my love handles, 00:16:54.839 --> 00:16:55.079 you know? 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:57.720 I prefer muted lights 00:16:57.720 --> 00:16:59.339 that don't expose 00:16:59.339 --> 00:17:00.379 the dark areas 00:17:00.379 --> 00:17:01.159 in my life, 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:03.059 lights I can conveniently 00:17:03.059 --> 00:17:03.860 turn off 00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:05.319 or dim 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:06.700 when they don't serve 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:07.539 my agenda. 00:17:08.399 --> 00:17:09.679 I prefer gentle lights 00:17:09.679 --> 00:17:10.279 that leave me, 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:11.779 that just leave me be 00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:13.179 and don't purge me 00:17:13.179 --> 00:17:14.220 toward becoming 00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:15.039 the man I'm supposed 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:16.000 to be. 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:17.439 Ultimately, 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:18.919 I often don't want 00:17:18.919 --> 00:17:20.299 God to be light 00:17:20.299 --> 00:17:22.220 because God as light 00:17:22.220 --> 00:17:23.519 is terrifying. 00:17:24.179 --> 00:17:24.919 It's terrifying 00:17:24.919 --> 00:17:25.939 and I don't know 00:17:25.939 --> 00:17:27.079 if I could handle 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:28.639 the God of light. 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:29.480 I mean, 00:17:29.500 --> 00:17:29.859 think about it, 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:30.839 God as light, 00:17:30.919 --> 00:17:31.700 a light brighter 00:17:31.700 --> 00:17:32.299 than the sun, 00:17:32.379 --> 00:17:32.899 the very light 00:17:32.900 --> 00:17:33.540 that inspired 00:17:33.540 --> 00:17:34.580 and created 00:17:34.580 --> 00:17:35.460 the sun. 00:17:36.280 --> 00:17:37.160 As the Apostle Paul 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:38.000 says in his letter 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:38.980 to Timothy, 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:40.600 the Lord Jesus Christ 00:17:40.600 --> 00:17:41.740 is the blessed 00:17:41.740 --> 00:17:42.640 and only sovereign, 00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:43.500 the King of kings 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:44.540 and Lord of lords 00:17:44.540 --> 00:17:45.400 who alone 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:46.560 has immortality 00:17:46.560 --> 00:17:47.400 and dwells 00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:50.100 in unapproachable light. 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:52.100 This is the God 00:17:52.100 --> 00:17:54.259 whom our Old Testament saints 00:17:54.259 --> 00:17:55.500 could not come before. 00:17:56.560 --> 00:17:57.160 The God who, 00:17:57.320 --> 00:17:57.860 they had to take off 00:17:57.860 --> 00:17:58.700 their sandals before, 00:17:58.840 --> 00:17:59.820 they could not see him 00:17:59.820 --> 00:18:01.400 or they would die. 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:02.940 This is that kind of light. 00:18:03.280 --> 00:18:04.220 How could anyone bear 00:18:04.220 --> 00:18:05.320 to stand in the presence 00:18:05.320 --> 00:18:06.100 of the God 00:18:06.100 --> 00:18:06.960 who is light? 00:18:08.019 --> 00:18:08.940 God as light, 00:18:09.320 --> 00:18:10.540 as the Holy Lord of all, 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:11.240 this can be 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:12.060 an incredibly 00:18:12.060 --> 00:18:13.340 unsettling truth. 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:14.720 I totally get it. 00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:16.000 I totally get it. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:17.740 But what I need 00:18:17.740 --> 00:18:18.759 to preach to myself 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:19.820 and what I'm here 00:18:19.820 --> 00:18:20.200 to preach 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:21.180 to all of us today 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:22.220 is that as scary 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:23.340 as this may sound, 00:18:24.360 --> 00:18:25.420 whether we like it or not, 00:18:25.560 --> 00:18:27.380 God is light. 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:28.800 And that's actually 00:18:28.800 --> 00:18:29.420 good news. 00:18:29.420 --> 00:18:31.019 It's actually good news 00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:32.160 for all of us. 00:18:33.300 --> 00:18:33.500 I mean, 00:18:33.560 --> 00:18:34.500 consider the alternative. 00:18:34.700 --> 00:18:35.800 What if something else 00:18:35.800 --> 00:18:37.039 was light? 00:18:37.340 --> 00:18:38.300 What if someone else 00:18:38.300 --> 00:18:39.000 was Lord 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:40.240 instead of God? 00:18:41.320 --> 00:18:41.519 You know, 00:18:41.600 --> 00:18:42.740 the enlightenment, 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:43.180 right, 00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:43.880 the enlightenment 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:45.440 suggested the lights 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:45.860 of what, 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:47.240 science and reason 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:49.580 could save humanity. 00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:50.900 If you just put 00:18:50.900 --> 00:18:53.060 the gods of science 00:18:53.060 --> 00:18:53.519 and reason 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:54.220 into the hands 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:54.820 of humans, 00:18:54.820 --> 00:18:56.480 they could save themselves. 00:18:56.480 --> 00:18:57.940 And sure, 00:18:58.019 --> 00:18:58.460 I will admit, 00:18:58.539 --> 00:18:59.220 they have shed 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:00.220 some helpful light 00:19:00.220 --> 00:19:01.039 on this world, 00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:02.339 helping us to discern 00:19:02.339 --> 00:19:03.160 what is real 00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:04.299 and good and true. 00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:05.000 But while much 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:05.500 of the world 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:06.640 still worships 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:08.460 these two impersonal gods, 00:19:09.380 --> 00:19:09.779 honestly, 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:11.039 science and reason 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:12.079 have yet 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:13.000 to permanently 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:14.720 save and unite us all. 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:16.559 And arguably, 00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:18.299 these two secular gods, 00:19:18.420 --> 00:19:19.460 science and reason, 00:19:19.539 --> 00:19:20.420 have even contributed 00:19:20.420 --> 00:19:21.640 their own evils 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:22.240 to this world 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:22.740 in the hands 00:19:22.740 --> 00:19:23.759 of evil people. 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:25.539 Nuclear weapons, 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:26.599 chemical warfare, 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:27.440 think of the countless 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:29.339 logical justifications 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:30.859 made by various 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:33.440 genocidal supremacist regimes, 00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:33.779 right? 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:35.920 Or maybe you're beyond that. 00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:36.740 You know you shouldn't 00:19:36.740 --> 00:19:37.240 have faith 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:38.740 in science and reason 00:19:38.740 --> 00:19:39.480 in the hands 00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:40.220 of sinful people. 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:40.839 Maybe you're 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:43.000 more of a post-enlightenment 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:43.519 kind of person. 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:44.140 You know enough 00:19:44.140 --> 00:19:45.079 not to trust people 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:46.019 or institutions 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:46.759 in their use 00:19:46.759 --> 00:19:47.420 of science and reason. 00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:48.039 You're trying to chart 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:48.619 your own path. 00:19:48.700 --> 00:19:49.539 You're trying to be 00:19:49.539 --> 00:19:50.940 your own light, right? 00:19:51.379 --> 00:19:52.019 Like the words 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:52.720 of Nietzsche's 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:53.860 fictional character 00:19:53.860 --> 00:19:54.640 Zarathustra, 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:55.740 you have your way, 00:19:56.059 --> 00:19:56.980 I have my way. 00:19:57.140 --> 00:19:58.079 As for the right way, 00:19:58.160 --> 00:19:58.819 the correct way, 00:19:58.860 --> 00:19:59.620 and the only way, 00:19:59.960 --> 00:20:01.140 it does not exist. 00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:02.360 Or as we like to say today, 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:03.539 you do you, man. 00:20:04.100 --> 00:20:04.759 You do you. 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:05.799 Follow your own 00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:06.299 inner light, 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:07.720 make your own meaning, 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:09.200 discover whatever it is 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:10.740 that makes you happy. 00:20:11.740 --> 00:20:12.620 But let's be real. 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:14.299 We all make 00:20:14.299 --> 00:20:15.299 for terrible lords. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:16.759 We all make 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:17.640 for terrible lights 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:18.920 of our own lives. 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:19.759 You do you 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:20.740 is not only a terrible 00:20:20.740 --> 00:20:22.700 way to live 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:23.579 because it's selfish 00:20:23.579 --> 00:20:25.000 and individualistic, 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:26.680 but it's an impossible 00:20:26.680 --> 00:20:28.119 and self-destructively 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:29.259 crushing way to live. 00:20:29.859 --> 00:20:30.900 Like who the heck 00:20:30.900 --> 00:20:31.660 am I 00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:32.879 to make my own meaning? 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:34.200 How could I 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:35.039 bear the burden 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:35.859 of finding out 00:20:35.859 --> 00:20:36.980 what makes me happy? 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:38.619 And what if my search 00:20:38.619 --> 00:20:39.460 turns up empty? 00:20:40.339 --> 00:20:41.379 What hope then 00:20:41.379 --> 00:20:42.319 is left? 00:20:43.299 --> 00:20:45.279 Maybe that empty search 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:46.920 and that hopelessness 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:47.740 describes some of us 00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:48.240 here today. 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:49.420 And if so, 00:20:49.539 --> 00:20:51.019 I really feel for you. 00:20:51.380 --> 00:20:51.759 I do. 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:53.019 And I believe that you 00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:54.079 are trying your hardest 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:55.279 and we so respect 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:55.920 your search 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:57.460 for life-giving light 00:20:57.460 --> 00:20:58.240 and truth here, 00:20:58.319 --> 00:20:59.400 your quest to live 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:00.259 a life of love 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:00.819 and truth. 00:21:01.539 --> 00:21:02.460 But may I suggest 00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:03.380 that unless we come 00:21:03.380 --> 00:21:04.700 to terms with this message 00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:06.940 that God is light, 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:08.559 we'll never live 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:09.740 the joyous lives 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:10.400 of love 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:11.539 that we were made for. 00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:13.359 I understand 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:14.539 how God is light 00:21:14.539 --> 00:21:15.900 and the implications 00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:16.599 here can seem 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:17.420 pretty terrifying. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:19.420 Like if you're walking 00:21:19.420 --> 00:21:19.980 in darkness 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:20.839 and therefore not 00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:21.420 in God's light, 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:22.299 you cannot have fellowship 00:21:22.299 --> 00:21:22.720 with God. 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:23.579 That's what it says here. 00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:25.680 And maybe some of us here 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:26.779 live with that kind of fear 00:21:26.779 --> 00:21:27.700 like am I walking 00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:28.299 in the light 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:29.319 or am I walking 00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:30.220 in the darkness 00:21:30.220 --> 00:21:30.880 or am I walking 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:31.380 in the light 00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:32.500 enough, right? 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:33.859 And how can I know? 00:21:34.620 --> 00:21:35.700 I mean, I'm not perfect 00:21:35.700 --> 00:21:36.819 but I try. 00:21:37.779 --> 00:21:39.279 And maybe in this tightrope 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:40.339 of trying to walk 00:21:40.339 --> 00:21:41.019 in God's light 00:21:41.019 --> 00:21:41.960 where you find yourself 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:42.880 continually falling, 00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:44.339 you are tempted 00:21:44.339 --> 00:21:45.500 to either avoid 00:21:45.500 --> 00:21:46.519 the sin and darkness 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:47.299 in your life. 00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:48.559 Just put it out 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:49.079 of your mind 00:21:49.079 --> 00:21:50.700 or you tell yourself 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:51.440 that your sin 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:53.339 is actually not that bad, 00:21:53.700 --> 00:21:55.000 not that offensive 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:55.880 to God. 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:57.619 This is how my little girls 00:21:57.619 --> 00:21:58.339 deal with their 00:21:58.339 --> 00:21:59.519 many, many sins. 00:22:00.059 --> 00:22:00.960 My youngest girl, 00:22:01.059 --> 00:22:02.000 Leah, she's two. 00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:03.140 When she knows 00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:04.559 she's done something wrong, 00:22:04.940 --> 00:22:05.519 she chooses 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:07.079 the route of avoidance. 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:07.799 She turns her head 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:09.019 away in shame. 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:10.680 She won't apologize. 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:12.000 She won't say sorry. 00:22:12.660 --> 00:22:13.420 I can lock her 00:22:13.420 --> 00:22:14.240 in her room for days. 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:15.460 She will not say sorry. 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:16.579 I have. 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:19.640 She stubbornly refuses 00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:20.380 to acknowledge 00:22:20.380 --> 00:22:21.680 the wrong she's done. 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:23.980 And I can see the shame 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:24.980 and the guilt on her face, 00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:26.240 the fear of what might happen 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:27.440 if she faces the truth 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:28.599 that what she's done 00:22:28.599 --> 00:22:29.000 is wrong. 00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:30.299 She doesn't want 00:22:30.299 --> 00:22:30.839 to face it. 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:32.539 But then my oldest, 00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:33.720 Cammie, she's the opposite. 00:22:34.660 --> 00:22:36.019 She'll push her sister over, 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:37.299 she'll slap our dog, 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:39.220 she'll blatantly disobey us 00:22:39.220 --> 00:22:40.819 and then when called out 00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:41.299 for it, 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:42.720 she'll just ham it up, 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:43.859 you know, smile, giggle 00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:44.459 and say, 00:22:44.699 --> 00:22:46.579 sorry, right? 00:22:46.919 --> 00:22:47.759 Like it's a game. 00:22:47.919 --> 00:22:48.539 Like we're just looking 00:22:48.539 --> 00:22:49.500 for a magic word 00:22:49.500 --> 00:22:50.639 to absolve her 00:22:50.639 --> 00:22:51.359 of this behavior 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:52.159 that she is not 00:22:52.159 --> 00:22:53.079 totally convinced 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:54.299 is really bad 00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:55.500 in the first place. 00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:57.639 But what I try to teach 00:22:57.639 --> 00:22:58.500 and communicate 00:22:58.500 --> 00:23:00.419 to my girls 00:23:00.419 --> 00:23:01.059 is that yes, 00:23:01.179 --> 00:23:01.679 their sin 00:23:01.679 --> 00:23:02.879 is wicked. 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:04.919 They're really bad. 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:06.179 I tell them that every day. 00:23:06.419 --> 00:23:07.639 You're so bad. 00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:10.480 Because sin, 00:23:10.600 --> 00:23:11.480 it paves a path 00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:12.480 of self-destruction 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:13.420 and harm 00:23:13.420 --> 00:23:14.020 to others 00:23:14.020 --> 00:23:15.420 and this whole world. 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:18.060 Even what we might consider 00:23:18.060 --> 00:23:19.280 the smallest offense, 00:23:20.100 --> 00:23:20.960 the smallest sin, 00:23:21.040 --> 00:23:21.820 the smallest act 00:23:21.820 --> 00:23:22.700 of selfishness 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:23.800 and malice, 00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:26.740 of just lack of concern 00:23:26.740 --> 00:23:27.480 for someone else 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:28.340 is the very seed 00:23:28.340 --> 00:23:29.759 of every atrocity 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:30.280 ever committed 00:23:30.280 --> 00:23:30.780 in the world. 00:23:32.320 --> 00:23:33.200 People don't go 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:35.240 into markets 00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:35.779 in Buffalo 00:23:35.779 --> 00:23:36.599 and just shoot 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:37.620 people up 00:23:37.620 --> 00:23:38.920 just like that. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:40.859 That doesn't happen 00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:41.940 just like that. 00:23:43.299 --> 00:23:44.620 That seed of sin 00:23:44.620 --> 00:23:45.220 is within 00:23:45.220 --> 00:23:46.720 each and every one of us 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:47.460 and it's up to us 00:23:47.460 --> 00:23:47.880 whether or not 00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:48.980 we want to feed it 00:23:48.980 --> 00:23:50.140 or whether or not 00:23:50.140 --> 00:23:50.859 we want to walk 00:23:50.859 --> 00:23:51.819 in the light. 00:23:53.220 --> 00:23:53.620 But you know what? 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:54.420 1 John says that 00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:54.980 even so, 00:23:55.620 --> 00:23:57.980 even though 00:23:57.980 --> 00:23:59.700 the seed of sin 00:23:59.700 --> 00:24:01.140 is within all of us, 00:24:02.140 --> 00:24:02.779 what I pray 00:24:02.779 --> 00:24:03.839 my girls learn 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:05.220 is that even though 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:06.779 our sin is far worse 00:24:06.779 --> 00:24:08.100 than we could ever imagine, 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:09.759 there is nothing 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.640 to be gained 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:11.680 by hiding 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:12.440 or minimizing 00:24:12.440 --> 00:24:13.019 our sin. 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:14.880 But there is everything 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:15.779 to be gained 00:24:15.779 --> 00:24:16.900 by admitting our sin 00:24:16.900 --> 00:24:17.799 and receiving 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:18.779 the full forgiveness 00:24:18.779 --> 00:24:19.700 and mercy 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:20.720 of God in Christ. 00:24:21.500 --> 00:24:22.100 Yeah, that's right. 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:23.519 I want my girls 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:23.960 to know 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:24.660 that they are 00:24:24.660 --> 00:24:25.880 awful little sinners. 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:28.620 I want them to know 00:24:28.620 --> 00:24:29.279 how heinous 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:30.100 their sins are, 00:24:30.680 --> 00:24:31.620 how much they deserve 00:24:31.620 --> 00:24:32.539 the consequences 00:24:32.539 --> 00:24:33.519 of bringing more 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:34.639 and more darkness 00:24:34.639 --> 00:24:35.759 into this world. 00:24:37.180 --> 00:24:38.440 But I also want them 00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:38.900 to know 00:24:38.900 --> 00:24:41.279 that God is light. 00:24:42.779 --> 00:24:43.799 God is light, 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:44.700 which also means 00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:45.539 that no darkness 00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:46.599 is too dark 00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:47.559 for His light 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:48.259 to expose 00:24:48.259 --> 00:24:49.819 and to expel 00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:50.839 from their lives. 00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:52.659 listen to verses 00:24:52.659 --> 00:24:53.359 8-10. 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:55.059 If we say 00:24:55.059 --> 00:24:56.259 we have no sin, 00:24:56.659 --> 00:24:57.779 we deceive ourselves 00:24:57.779 --> 00:24:58.439 and the truth 00:24:58.439 --> 00:24:59.379 is not in us. 00:24:59.959 --> 00:25:00.559 If we confess 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:01.199 our sins, 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:01.919 He is faithful 00:25:01.919 --> 00:25:02.459 and just 00:25:02.459 --> 00:25:03.139 to forgive us 00:25:03.139 --> 00:25:03.599 our sins 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:04.720 and to cleanse us 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:06.339 from all unrighteousness. 00:25:06.899 --> 00:25:07.419 If we say 00:25:07.419 --> 00:25:08.259 we have not sinned, 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:09.279 we make Him a liar 00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:09.899 and His word 00:25:09.899 --> 00:25:10.799 is not in us. 00:25:11.459 --> 00:25:12.439 And this is God's word 00:25:12.439 --> 00:25:13.220 to us this morning, 00:25:13.679 --> 00:25:14.459 that the answer 00:25:14.459 --> 00:25:15.139 to our guilt 00:25:15.139 --> 00:25:15.879 and shame 00:25:15.879 --> 00:25:17.039 is not to say 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:18.299 that we have no sin. 00:25:18.399 --> 00:25:19.240 As it says in verse 8, 00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:20.599 that's only to deceive ourselves 00:25:20.599 --> 00:25:21.920 and to walk further away 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:22.559 from the truth. 00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:23.279 Even worse, 00:25:23.319 --> 00:25:24.079 as it says in verse 10, 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:25.240 to say we have not sinned 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:26.339 is to neglect God's word, 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:27.140 is to call God 00:25:27.140 --> 00:25:27.920 a liar. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:30.099 No, the best response 00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:30.680 to the God 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:31.460 who is light 00:25:31.460 --> 00:25:33.920 is not to diminish 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:35.160 the brilliance 00:25:35.160 --> 00:25:35.819 of His light 00:25:35.819 --> 00:25:36.740 and to lower 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:38.019 His holy standard 00:25:38.019 --> 00:25:39.480 that requires perfection. 00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:41.240 And nor should our response 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:42.079 be to downplay 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:42.799 our darkness, 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:43.980 to downplay our sin. 00:25:44.019 --> 00:25:45.380 No, the best response 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:46.500 is to tell the truth, 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:48.599 to admit our sin 00:25:48.599 --> 00:25:49.599 all of it. 00:25:50.419 --> 00:25:51.539 Proverbs chapter 23, 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:53.319 chapter 28, verse 13, 00:25:53.619 --> 00:25:54.480 whoever conceals 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:55.480 his transgressions 00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:56.799 will not prosper, 00:25:57.219 --> 00:25:58.919 but he who confesses 00:25:58.919 --> 00:25:59.899 and forsakes them 00:25:59.899 --> 00:26:02.099 will obtain mercy. 00:26:02.099 --> 00:26:03.379 Even when we confess them 00:26:03.379 --> 00:26:04.399 before the holy God 00:26:04.399 --> 00:26:04.879 of light 00:26:04.879 --> 00:26:05.980 who hates sin 00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:07.219 with all His being 00:26:07.219 --> 00:26:08.099 and He wants to put it 00:26:08.099 --> 00:26:09.219 to death. 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:10.579 Look at verse 7. 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:12.119 Walking in the light, 00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:13.319 it doesn't exactly mean 00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:14.779 that we don't have any sin. 00:26:15.019 --> 00:26:15.519 In fact, 00:26:15.659 --> 00:26:16.639 it's presupposed here 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:18.040 that we have sin 00:26:18.040 --> 00:26:19.580 that needs to be cleansed. 00:26:20.320 --> 00:26:21.140 See, walking in the light 00:26:21.140 --> 00:26:22.360 is about direction, 00:26:22.800 --> 00:26:23.880 not perfection. 00:26:25.080 --> 00:26:26.060 And the proper direction, 00:26:26.180 --> 00:26:27.560 it begins with confession. 00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:29.400 Now wait. 00:26:30.280 --> 00:26:31.140 How could we confess 00:26:31.140 --> 00:26:31.780 our darkness 00:26:31.780 --> 00:26:32.740 before the God 00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:33.580 who is light 00:26:33.580 --> 00:26:35.120 with any expectation 00:26:35.120 --> 00:26:36.700 of a good outcome for us? 00:26:37.420 --> 00:26:38.180 Well, it's because here, 00:26:38.280 --> 00:26:38.660 verse 9, 00:26:38.800 --> 00:26:40.280 if we confess our sins, 00:26:40.920 --> 00:26:41.900 He is faithful 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:43.060 and just 00:26:43.060 --> 00:26:44.420 to forgive us our sins 00:26:44.420 --> 00:26:45.380 and to cleanse us 00:26:45.380 --> 00:26:47.180 from all unrighteousness. 00:26:47.320 --> 00:26:47.620 And no, 00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:48.580 this is not some 00:26:48.580 --> 00:26:49.900 blanket forgiveness 00:26:49.900 --> 00:26:51.060 like, oh God, 00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:52.519 He's just gonna forgive me 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:53.000 no matter what. 00:26:53.060 --> 00:26:53.640 That's His job. 00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:54.180 That's His duty. 00:26:54.259 --> 00:26:55.240 That's just what He does. 00:26:55.420 --> 00:26:56.200 We just say sorry 00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:56.960 and He forgives. 00:26:57.759 --> 00:26:58.940 No, it is God's prerogative 00:26:58.940 --> 00:26:59.400 to forgive. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:00.080 He doesn't have 00:27:00.080 --> 00:27:00.740 to be merciful. 00:27:01.820 --> 00:27:02.960 But the God of light 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:04.700 does absolutely 00:27:04.700 --> 00:27:06.039 have to be faithful 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:06.860 and just. 00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:07.720 And that's why verse 9 00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:08.800 is one of my all-time 00:27:08.800 --> 00:27:09.800 favorite verses. 00:27:09.940 --> 00:27:10.940 If we confess our sins, 00:27:11.019 --> 00:27:11.160 look, 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:11.580 it doesn't say 00:27:11.580 --> 00:27:12.539 He is merciful 00:27:12.539 --> 00:27:13.519 and gracious 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:15.000 to forgive us our sins. 00:27:15.099 --> 00:27:16.639 It says He is faithful 00:27:16.639 --> 00:27:17.980 and just 00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:19.119 to forgive our sins. 00:27:19.299 --> 00:27:19.659 What? 00:27:20.659 --> 00:27:21.099 What? 00:27:21.779 --> 00:27:23.119 How does that make sense? 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:24.259 How is it just 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:25.099 for the God 00:27:25.099 --> 00:27:25.839 who is light 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:27.720 to forgive my sin? 00:27:28.879 --> 00:27:29.619 Well, look down with me 00:27:29.619 --> 00:27:30.420 at the last two verses 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:31.079 of our text. 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:32.960 My little children, 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:34.700 I am writing these things 00:27:34.700 --> 00:27:35.119 to you 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:36.500 so that you may not sin. 00:27:37.180 --> 00:27:38.359 But if anyone does sin, 00:27:38.819 --> 00:27:39.799 we have an advocate 00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:40.559 with the Father, 00:27:40.700 --> 00:27:41.420 Jesus Christ, 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:42.240 the righteous, 00:27:42.539 --> 00:27:44.759 He is the propitiation 00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:46.099 for our sins 00:27:46.099 --> 00:27:47.440 and not for ours only, 00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:48.839 but also for the sins 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:50.839 of the whole world. 00:27:51.879 --> 00:27:53.420 Two words to learn today. 00:27:54.379 --> 00:27:54.960 Advocate 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:56.859 and propitiation. 00:27:57.720 --> 00:27:58.319 Advocate 00:27:58.319 --> 00:27:59.200 and propitiation. 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:00.099 Burn them 00:28:00.099 --> 00:28:00.779 into your memory, 00:28:00.899 --> 00:28:01.779 teach them to your kids, 00:28:02.099 --> 00:28:03.299 share them with your coworkers. 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:04.359 Advocate 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:05.480 and propitiation. 00:28:05.619 --> 00:28:06.240 The good news 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:06.980 of the gospel 00:28:06.980 --> 00:28:08.279 is that though God 00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:08.819 is light 00:28:08.819 --> 00:28:09.960 and we are participants 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:10.900 in darkness, 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:12.759 we have an advocate. 00:28:13.720 --> 00:28:14.579 We have an advocate 00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:15.259 with the Father, 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:15.980 Jesus Christ, 00:28:16.059 --> 00:28:16.440 the righteous, 00:28:16.620 --> 00:28:17.680 who, like a lawyer, 00:28:17.860 --> 00:28:18.940 stands in the court of heaven. 00:28:19.539 --> 00:28:20.440 Jesus Christ stands 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:21.200 before the Father 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:22.380 for us. 00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:23.500 And while the devil 00:28:23.500 --> 00:28:24.319 indicts us 00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:25.579 for breaking the law 00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:26.759 again and again 00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:27.519 and again, 00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:28.880 our advocate, 00:28:29.140 --> 00:28:29.360 Jesus, 00:28:29.579 --> 00:28:30.559 the righteous one 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:31.420 who fulfilled the law 00:28:31.420 --> 00:28:31.880 for us, 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:32.079 says, 00:28:32.380 --> 00:28:32.980 yes, Father, 00:28:33.299 --> 00:28:33.720 Andrew, 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:34.779 He did it again. 00:28:35.660 --> 00:28:36.819 But I would remind you 00:28:36.819 --> 00:28:38.379 that there has already been 00:28:38.379 --> 00:28:39.799 a propitiation, 00:28:40.339 --> 00:28:40.799 that is, 00:28:41.019 --> 00:28:41.980 a satisfaction, 00:28:42.399 --> 00:28:43.240 an atonement 00:28:43.240 --> 00:28:44.599 for his sins. 00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:46.099 And as evidence 00:28:46.099 --> 00:28:46.700 for the court, 00:28:46.819 --> 00:28:48.000 Jesus rolls up 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:48.500 his sleeves 00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:49.420 and shows forth 00:28:49.420 --> 00:28:50.920 his nail-pierced hands 00:28:50.920 --> 00:28:52.000 and he pleads our case 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:52.220 saying, 00:28:52.379 --> 00:28:52.660 Father, 00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:54.379 I would remind you 00:28:54.379 --> 00:28:55.819 that Andrew's sins 00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:56.700 and the sins 00:28:56.700 --> 00:28:57.539 of his brothers 00:28:57.539 --> 00:28:58.299 and sisters 00:28:58.299 --> 00:28:59.180 and the family of God 00:28:59.180 --> 00:28:59.980 all throughout the world 00:28:59.980 --> 00:29:00.980 for all time, 00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:02.960 they've been put to death. 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:04.279 They've been nailed 00:29:04.279 --> 00:29:05.400 to a cross. 00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:07.860 And that the wrath 00:29:07.860 --> 00:29:08.600 due them 00:29:08.600 --> 00:29:09.819 and their sins, 00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:11.720 it's already been exhausted 00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:13.319 upon me. 00:29:14.340 --> 00:29:14.799 When I, 00:29:14.940 --> 00:29:15.980 the light of the world, 00:29:16.120 --> 00:29:17.220 endured the darkness 00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:18.960 of Good Friday's cross 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:20.340 in their place, 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:22.500 there is blood 00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:23.460 for their cleansing, 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:24.799 mine. 00:29:25.579 --> 00:29:26.579 I've already shed it. 00:29:27.299 --> 00:29:28.000 The blood of Jesus 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:28.519 poured out 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:29.160 for the forgiveness 00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:30.120 of sins. 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:31.480 So Jesus says, 00:29:31.620 --> 00:29:31.880 so Father, 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:32.920 forgive these children 00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:34.080 who have repented 00:29:34.080 --> 00:29:34.800 of their sins 00:29:34.800 --> 00:29:35.640 and come to be united 00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:36.000 with us. 00:29:36.039 --> 00:29:36.560 You must. 00:29:36.759 --> 00:29:37.019 He says, 00:29:37.220 --> 00:29:37.940 you must, 00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:38.500 Father, 00:29:39.660 --> 00:29:40.279 because you have 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:40.960 to be faithful 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:41.759 and you have 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:42.460 to be just. 00:29:43.539 --> 00:29:44.360 There is no 00:29:44.360 --> 00:29:45.259 double punishment. 00:29:46.279 --> 00:29:47.539 It's once and for all. 00:29:48.039 --> 00:29:49.340 Justice has been satisfied. 00:29:49.580 --> 00:29:50.320 We did it, Father. 00:29:50.920 --> 00:29:51.660 We did it. 00:29:52.039 --> 00:29:52.640 We've written 00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:53.340 and fulfilled 00:29:53.340 --> 00:29:54.860 the greatest story 00:29:54.860 --> 00:29:56.100 ever told. 00:29:56.740 --> 00:29:57.940 The victory of God 00:29:57.940 --> 00:29:58.860 as both just 00:29:58.860 --> 00:30:01.039 and the justifier. 00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:02.519 And that's the gospel. 00:30:02.519 --> 00:30:03.759 That God is just 00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:05.299 and the justifier. 00:30:05.680 --> 00:30:07.839 Victory of light 00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:08.879 over darkness 00:30:08.879 --> 00:30:10.500 without compromise. 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:12.839 God is light. 00:30:13.639 --> 00:30:14.579 He remains light. 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:15.680 And somehow 00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:16.299 we are forgiven 00:30:16.299 --> 00:30:17.700 because of what 00:30:17.700 --> 00:30:18.500 Jesus Christ, 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:19.440 our advocate, 00:30:19.799 --> 00:30:20.299 has done. 00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:21.680 The propitiation 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:22.920 for our sins. 00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:23.879 And this is the gospel. 00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:25.379 This is the gospel. 00:30:25.480 --> 00:30:26.019 The good news 00:30:26.019 --> 00:30:26.779 that we don't need 00:30:26.779 --> 00:30:28.180 to hide our darkness 00:30:28.180 --> 00:30:28.900 from the light. 00:30:28.900 --> 00:30:30.740 but that the God 00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:31.660 who is light, 00:30:32.100 --> 00:30:33.180 he does us one better. 00:30:33.820 --> 00:30:34.620 And he draws us 00:30:34.620 --> 00:30:36.660 into his unapproachable light, 00:30:36.780 --> 00:30:37.740 once unapproachable 00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:38.900 yet now approachable 00:30:38.900 --> 00:30:40.220 through the cleansing, 00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:42.180 propitiating blood 00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:44.080 of our righteous advocate, 00:30:44.840 --> 00:30:45.120 Jesus. 00:30:46.620 --> 00:30:47.620 What kind of people 00:30:47.620 --> 00:30:50.160 do you think that forms 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:51.960 who believe this truth? 00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:53.900 How free 00:30:53.900 --> 00:30:54.980 do you imagine 00:30:54.980 --> 00:30:56.340 that they would be 00:30:56.340 --> 00:30:58.019 knowing that 00:30:58.019 --> 00:30:59.480 the God who sees all, 00:30:59.579 --> 00:31:00.500 the God who is light, 00:31:00.620 --> 00:31:01.079 and who knows 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:02.559 every darkness 00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:04.400 in each and every one of us 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:06.640 is still able 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:07.600 to forgive us 00:31:07.600 --> 00:31:08.360 without at all 00:31:08.360 --> 00:31:09.019 compromising 00:31:09.019 --> 00:31:10.079 his justice. 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:10.279 forgiveness. 00:31:11.399 --> 00:31:12.359 There's nothing else 00:31:12.359 --> 00:31:13.059 like this. 00:31:13.679 --> 00:31:14.799 This is the beautiful truth 00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:15.799 of the gospel, 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:17.419 that he is faithful 00:31:17.419 --> 00:31:18.639 and just 00:31:18.639 --> 00:31:20.039 to forgive us 00:31:20.039 --> 00:31:20.759 our sins 00:31:20.759 --> 00:31:21.799 because he was merciful 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:22.699 and gracious 00:31:22.699 --> 00:31:23.699 to pour out 00:31:23.699 --> 00:31:24.559 the blood of Christ 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:25.839 for us 00:31:25.839 --> 00:31:27.359 and satisfy the wrath 00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:27.839 of God 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:29.119 in our place. 00:31:29.939 --> 00:31:30.679 This is the gospel. 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:31.480 Will you pray with me? 00:31:35.639 --> 00:31:36.960 Lord, would you bring us, 00:31:37.139 --> 00:31:37.960 would you bring the world 00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:38.899 this kind of liberty 00:31:38.900 --> 00:31:42.060 this freedom 00:31:42.060 --> 00:31:42.759 to be real 00:31:42.759 --> 00:31:43.220 about 00:31:43.220 --> 00:31:44.420 who we are 00:31:44.420 --> 00:31:45.080 before you? 00:31:46.900 --> 00:31:47.840 We are wretched 00:31:47.840 --> 00:31:48.620 sinners. 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:51.160 We have done things 00:31:51.160 --> 00:31:52.480 that we ought 00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:53.259 not to have done 00:31:53.259 --> 00:31:54.040 and we have not done 00:31:54.040 --> 00:31:54.380 the things 00:31:54.380 --> 00:31:55.200 that we ought 00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:56.080 to have done. 00:31:56.200 --> 00:31:56.940 We have not loved 00:31:56.940 --> 00:31:57.540 our neighbors 00:31:57.540 --> 00:31:58.700 as ourselves. 00:31:59.660 --> 00:32:00.300 We have not 00:32:00.300 --> 00:32:01.040 given you 00:32:01.040 --> 00:32:01.800 all the glory, 00:32:02.060 --> 00:32:02.280 honor, 00:32:02.360 --> 00:32:02.820 and praise 00:32:02.820 --> 00:32:03.920 that is due to you. 00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:05.720 And still, 00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:07.420 we have the gall 00:32:07.420 --> 00:32:07.840 to think 00:32:07.840 --> 00:32:08.400 that we're not 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:09.000 that bad. 00:32:10.900 --> 00:32:12.180 Lord, forgive us. 00:32:13.640 --> 00:32:14.620 Lord, forgive us. 00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:15.500 Convict us 00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:16.019 of sin 00:32:16.019 --> 00:32:16.780 by your spirit. 00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:18.480 And as you 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:19.060 convict us 00:32:19.060 --> 00:32:19.640 of sin, 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:20.200 would you 00:32:20.200 --> 00:32:21.840 enliven us 00:32:21.840 --> 00:32:22.460 with the beautiful 00:32:22.460 --> 00:32:22.940 truth 00:32:22.940 --> 00:32:24.340 that you still 00:32:24.340 --> 00:32:24.940 love us 00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:26.140 in Christ, 00:32:27.100 --> 00:32:27.740 our advocate, 00:32:28.580 --> 00:32:29.400 our propitiation. 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:30.660 Thank you 00:32:30.660 --> 00:32:31.320 for this gift, 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:32.120 we pray in the name 00:32:32.120 --> 00:32:32.540 of Jesus. 00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:33.420 Amen. 00:32:33.420 --> 00:32:33.519 Amen. 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:33.580 Amen. 00:32:33.580 --> 00:32:33.600 Amen. 00:32:33.600 --> 00:32:33.620 Amen. 00:32:33.620 --> 00:32:33.640 Amen.