WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.339 If you've got a Bible, turn to Revelation chapter 1. 00:00:03.339 --> 00:00:05.620 ! Revelation chapter 1. 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:20.379 I want to start by saying I don't assume in a congregation like this 00:00:20.379 --> 00:00:23.140 ! that everyone is a Christian. 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:24.480 I probably don't say that enough. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:29.580 I don't assume that you're convinced. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.960 You're really welcome. 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:38.240 But it is right, I think, to remind myself as a preacher that not everyone will be sitting 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:39.899 there thinking, yeah, I'm for this. 00:00:39.899 --> 00:00:41.200 I'm with this. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:44.079 You might be here with lots and lots of questions. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:48.000 And so maybe the things that I'm going to talk about and we talk about on Sunday mornings 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:53.799 are about something you are not yet or you're considering becoming one. 00:00:53.799 --> 00:01:03.799 But for the Christian who's here this morning, there are things about you that are different, 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:06.759 whether you feel it or not. 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:13.880 Whether you're experiencing it or not at this moment, whether you feel it or not. 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:19.979 And so I think we're going to kind of go through that and that juxtaposition that there are 00:01:19.979 --> 00:01:22.259 things that are true of us that we don't feel. 00:01:22.259 --> 00:01:26.000 There are things, for those of us who are in Christ, that are true of us that we don't experience. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.319 It's really important to understand that in the Christian life. 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:34.959 And we're doing a little mini-series, I'm going to do about three or four, I think, or four or five, on doxology. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:36.319 Doxology just means praise. 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:42.319 A doxology, whether it's a long one or a short one, is ascribing praise to God. 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:44.639 So the direction is from us to God. 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:52.839 It usually has language like, unto him be these things. 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:54.839 Unto you, O God, be these things. 00:01:54.840 --> 00:02:00.000 And so the doxology this morning, it is to Jesus Christ in particular. 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:02.260 It is to God. 00:02:02.960 --> 00:02:04.420 But it is in particular to Jesus Christ. 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:08.599 So look at verse, the middle of verse 6. 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:11.460 The middle of verse 5 of Revelation chapter 1. 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:18.400 To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:21.920 It's to Jesus Christ. 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:27.480 And the doxology is taken from the book of Revelation. 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:32.040 If you've never read Revelation, or you've only read a little bit of it, it can be frightening, can't it? 00:02:32.060 --> 00:02:32.840 It can be intimidating. 00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:34.920 It's full of frightening images. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:36.240 Dragons. 00:02:37.819 --> 00:02:41.060 But the intention of Revelation is that it's a book of comfort. 00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:44.580 The book of Revelation is not a puzzle book. 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:50.480 And we're not meant to read it and think, how does it fit in with all the charts and everything that's going on in the Middle East. 00:02:50.780 --> 00:02:52.939 And it's there to tell us what's going to happen. 00:02:53.160 --> 00:02:54.620 That's not the purpose of Revelation. 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:59.220 The book of Revelation is, it is to be a book that comforts and strengthens Christians. 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:03.280 And if it isn't doing that, you've completely misunderstood it. 00:03:04.780 --> 00:03:07.600 So the very beginning of the book of Revelation tells you what it is. 00:03:07.660 --> 00:03:09.480 It is a revealing of Jesus Christ. 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:15.159 It's not primarily there to get you to think of unfulfilled prophecy. 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:20.639 Revelation is primarily in the Bible to get you thinking about Jesus Christ. 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:22.739 Not the end of time. 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:24.979 It's about the Lord Jesus. 00:03:25.539 --> 00:03:26.579 And it's about his victory. 00:03:27.899 --> 00:03:33.799 And this doxology from the middle of verse 5 and all of verse 6 is to Jesus. 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:41.340 The first hearers of the book of Revelation would have been first century Christians who were under intense persecution. 00:03:43.040 --> 00:03:49.640 And when I say intense persecution, I don't mean that they were shunned and made to feel that they were outsiders in a culture. 00:03:50.300 --> 00:03:51.520 That isn't the case. 00:03:52.460 --> 00:03:55.740 It is those who were facing imprisonment and martyrdom. 00:03:55.740 --> 00:04:02.219 And so Revelation is to remind them of who they are and who Jesus is. 00:04:03.580 --> 00:04:06.680 So let me read you these amazing words from the middle of verse 5. 00:04:06.820 --> 00:04:18.180 To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:22.379 To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:23.199 Amen. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:23.420 Amen. 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:23.460 Amen. 00:04:25.520 --> 00:04:28.280 I don't know if you've heard of the name M. Scott Peck. 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:30.300 Anyone heard of the name M. Scott Peck? 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:35.160 There was an Australian friend of Judy's, David, who used to come every summer. 00:04:35.280 --> 00:04:38.379 And he'd every summer give me a book of Scott Peck's, which I didn't particularly appreciate. 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:40.759 He's not very well known anymore. 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:43.020 But he was very popular 20 years ago. 00:04:44.520 --> 00:04:46.000 M. Scott Peck was a psychiatrist. 00:04:46.340 --> 00:04:47.220 He came up with a book. 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:49.620 His most famous book was The Road Less Travelled. 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:51.540 And that was really popular. 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:56.540 Another book which is really thoughtful, although I probably wouldn't recommend it, is a book called The People of the Lie. 00:04:56.540 --> 00:05:00.460 It's really a book about human evil. 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:06.140 It recounts the exchanges that he had with his patients and his clients. 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:10.160 How Scott Peck came face to face with evil in different forms. 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:15.300 And I want to read to you an exchange that he had with a patient named Charlene. 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:17.220 It goes like this. 00:05:17.740 --> 00:05:20.320 Charlene is from a religious and a church background. 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:24.500 Everything seems meaningless. 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:27.240 Charlene complained to me one day. 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:31.019 What is the meaning of life? 00:05:31.019 --> 00:05:33.420 I asked her with seeming innocence. 00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:35.620 How should I know? 00:05:35.840 --> 00:05:37.540 She replied with obvious irritation. 00:05:39.579 --> 00:05:41.980 You're a dedicated religious person, I responded. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:46.060 Surely your religion must have something to say about the meaning of life. 00:05:46.060 --> 00:05:50.240 You are trying to trap me, Charlene countered. 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:54.500 That's right, I acknowledged. 00:05:55.280 --> 00:05:58.040 I am trying to trap you into seeing your problem clearly. 00:05:59.819 --> 00:06:02.680 What does your religion hold to be the meaning of life? 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:07.060 I'm not a Christian, Charlene proclaimed. 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:10.779 My religion speaks of love, not of meaning. 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:15.639 Well, what do Christians say as to the meaning of life? 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:17.359 Even if it isn't what you believe. 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:19.299 At least it's a model. 00:06:20.679 --> 00:06:21.959 I'm not interested in models. 00:06:23.619 --> 00:06:25.179 You were raised in the Christian church. 00:06:25.259 --> 00:06:28.439 You spent almost two years as a teacher of professional Christian doctrine. 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:29.919 I went on goading her. 00:06:30.799 --> 00:06:34.219 Surely you're not so dumb as to be unaware of what Christians say is the meaning of life, 00:06:34.299 --> 00:06:35.379 the purpose of human existence. 00:06:38.459 --> 00:06:40.099 We exist for the glory of God. 00:06:40.779 --> 00:06:43.299 Charlene said in a flat, low monotone, 00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:47.079 as if she was sullenly repeating an alien catechism learned by rote 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:48.799 and extracted from her by gunpoint. 00:06:51.239 --> 00:06:53.479 The purpose of our life is to glorify God. 00:06:54.919 --> 00:06:56.639 Well, I asked. 00:06:58.799 --> 00:07:00.019 There was a short silence. 00:07:00.919 --> 00:07:02.859 For a brief moment, I thought she might cry. 00:07:03.979 --> 00:07:05.799 The one time in our work together. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:06.659 I can't do it. 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:09.359 There's no room for me in that. 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.139 That would be my death, she said in a quavering voice. 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:15.960 And then with a suddenness that frightened me, 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:20.639 what seemed to be her choked-backed sobs turned into a roar. 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:22.240 I don't want to live for God. 00:07:22.340 --> 00:07:23.020 I will not. 00:07:23.300 --> 00:07:24.460 I want to live for me. 00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:25.600 My own sake. 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:31.180 It was another session in the middle of which Charlene walked out. 00:07:33.020 --> 00:07:34.540 That is honest, isn't it? 00:07:36.460 --> 00:07:39.060 That is jarringly honest. 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:41.040 That is candid. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:47.300 And you may not be sitting here this morning with that level of anger or disconnect. 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:54.439 But I wouldn't be surprised if more of us than we care to admit when we hear the language of, 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:55.439 to God be the glory, 00:07:56.480 --> 00:07:59.300 or we sing a song like, glory to the king of angels, 00:07:59.540 --> 00:08:00.960 or glory to the king of kings. 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:03.120 Actually, when we hear things like that, 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:05.780 be exalted, O God, above the heavens and the earth, 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:09.179 I suspect a lot of us might think, 00:08:09.339 --> 00:08:10.059 I don't want to say that. 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:14.259 I may be saying it, I may be singing it, 00:08:14.339 --> 00:08:15.619 but I don't connect with that at all. 00:08:16.799 --> 00:08:19.279 And really, at some level, I don't actually know what that means. 00:08:21.479 --> 00:08:25.099 Does it mean that I'm giving something to God that he doesn't have? 00:08:26.099 --> 00:08:29.119 Does it mean when I give glory to God and praise to God, 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:31.799 am I helping God? 00:08:31.919 --> 00:08:34.159 If I don't say those things, 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:35.480 or I don't sing those things, 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:37.360 does he have less glory? 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:41.779 What are we doing when we do doxology? 00:08:45.980 --> 00:08:49.799 Where there is that overt language to God, to Jesus Christ. 00:08:52.379 --> 00:08:53.579 Here's how I want us to look at this. 00:08:53.659 --> 00:08:56.259 I want us to see, first of all, the active son of God, 00:08:56.759 --> 00:08:59.159 and then the worthy son of God, 00:08:59.199 --> 00:09:00.519 and then we'll circle back to that question. 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:06.079 First of all, the active son of God. 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:11.379 If I asked you this morning, what is a Christian? 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:15.639 More often, we come up with an answer 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:17.860 that is answering another question. 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:20.819 Usually what we do is we say, 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:23.240 a Christian is somebody who believes the Bible, 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:24.860 believes the Bible is true, 00:09:24.860 --> 00:09:27.639 and that they believe the Bible is authoritative, 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:31.259 and they believe that God exists, 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:33.300 they believe that Jesus died on the cross, 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:36.000 they believe that Jesus came to save his people from their sins. 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:37.440 A Christian is someone who prays, 00:09:38.419 --> 00:09:39.800 a Christian is someone who goes to church, 00:09:40.519 --> 00:09:43.320 a Christian is someone who does good things in their community, 00:09:43.460 --> 00:09:45.360 they show the fruit of what they believe, 00:09:46.180 --> 00:09:47.460 and all those things are good, 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:48.519 and all those things are true, 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:51.360 but is that answering the question, 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:52.120 what is a Christian? 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:54.139 That is answering the question, what a Christian does. 00:09:58.659 --> 00:09:59.620 What is a Christian? 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:00.519 To answer that 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:04.259 is actually to talk about 00:10:04.259 --> 00:10:05.879 how a Christian is someone 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:08.460 who has had things done to them. 00:10:10.419 --> 00:10:11.799 A Christian is someone 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:13.440 for whom things have been done, 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:15.179 and to whom 00:10:15.179 --> 00:10:16.820 things have been done. 00:10:18.560 --> 00:10:19.519 I heard someone put it like this, 00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:20.080 a saint. 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:21.759 When we think of saints, 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:22.540 we often think of 00:10:22.540 --> 00:10:24.300 saints canonized by the church. 00:10:24.379 --> 00:10:25.480 That isn't how the Bible puts it. 00:10:26.259 --> 00:10:27.440 Think of the way that the New Testament 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:28.220 and the Old Testament 00:10:28.220 --> 00:10:28.940 use saint. 00:10:29.220 --> 00:10:30.700 A saint is just one of God's people. 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:33.280 Here's what it says, 00:10:33.500 --> 00:10:34.560 a saint is not someone 00:10:34.560 --> 00:10:36.080 who has done great things for God, 00:10:37.060 --> 00:10:37.920 a saint is someone 00:10:37.920 --> 00:10:39.560 for whom God has done great things. 00:10:41.740 --> 00:10:43.080 A saint is not someone 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:45.060 who's done great things for God, 00:10:45.540 --> 00:10:46.580 but a saint is someone 00:10:46.580 --> 00:10:48.220 for whom God has done great things. 00:10:48.220 --> 00:10:49.920 The Christian, 00:10:50.060 --> 00:10:51.460 if you are a Christian this morning, 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:52.940 you are someone 00:10:52.940 --> 00:10:54.600 for whom things have been done, 00:10:54.860 --> 00:10:55.700 and they've been done 00:10:55.700 --> 00:10:56.560 by Jesus Christ. 00:10:59.040 --> 00:11:00.120 So what has been done? 00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:02.460 And what is he doing right now? 00:11:02.500 --> 00:11:03.480 Let's divide it in those two ways. 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:04.139 What has been done? 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:05.899 If Jesus Christ is active, 00:11:05.899 --> 00:11:06.940 what has he already done? 00:11:07.940 --> 00:11:08.800 What is he doing? 00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:12.799 You get what he's done already 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:13.579 right at the beginning 00:11:13.579 --> 00:11:14.199 in the doxology. 00:11:14.299 --> 00:11:15.059 Look at verse 5. 00:11:16.419 --> 00:11:17.339 It says, doesn't it, 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:19.779 he has freed us 00:11:19.779 --> 00:11:21.979 from our sins 00:11:21.979 --> 00:11:23.899 by his blood. 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:27.339 He has freed us 00:11:27.339 --> 00:11:28.599 from our sins 00:11:28.599 --> 00:11:29.219 by his blood. 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:32.279 We talk a lot about sin. 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:33.639 We preach a lot about sin. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:36.059 And we confess our sins 00:11:36.059 --> 00:11:36.919 like we did this morning. 00:11:38.100 --> 00:11:39.240 And we know, don't we, 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:39.939 that sin is something 00:11:39.939 --> 00:11:40.799 that brings guilt. 00:11:42.580 --> 00:11:43.960 So we talk a lot about 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:44.840 the need for cleansing 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:45.480 and for forgiveness. 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:47.980 But actually, 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:48.919 Revelation 1 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:49.759 is thinking about sin 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:50.539 in a different way. 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:52.740 It's thinking of sin 00:11:52.740 --> 00:11:53.580 like a captor. 00:11:55.460 --> 00:11:57.080 Sin as an enslaver. 00:11:58.620 --> 00:11:59.779 And John didn't invent this. 00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:01.860 It's how Jesus spoke about sin 00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:02.740 in John's Gospel. 00:12:03.259 --> 00:12:03.759 In chapter 8, 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:04.259 listen to this. 00:12:04.579 --> 00:12:05.259 Jesus answers them, 00:12:05.339 --> 00:12:05.899 truly, truly, 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:06.819 I say to you, 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:08.539 everyone who practices sin, 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:09.879 which is you and I, 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:10.720 is a slave to sin. 00:12:12.199 --> 00:12:13.459 So if the Son 00:12:13.459 --> 00:12:14.959 sets you free, 00:12:14.959 --> 00:12:16.339 you are free indeed. 00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:18.220 Let me read that to you again. 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:19.000 Truly, truly, 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:21.000 that is Jesus saying, 00:12:21.339 --> 00:12:22.000 this is important, 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:22.980 you can trust me on this one. 00:12:23.319 --> 00:12:23.720 Truly, truly, 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:24.339 I say to you, 00:12:24.419 --> 00:12:25.759 everyone who practices sin 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:27.139 is a slave to sin. 00:12:27.139 --> 00:12:29.919 And so if the sin sets you free, 00:12:30.299 --> 00:12:31.639 you will be free indeed. 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:34.220 If we don't fear God 00:12:34.220 --> 00:12:36.199 with that life-giving fear 00:12:36.199 --> 00:12:37.059 that the Bible talks about, 00:12:37.139 --> 00:12:38.360 not a tormented fear, 00:12:38.439 --> 00:12:39.460 not a slavish fear, 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:40.919 not that he's going to crush me 00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:41.539 kind of fear, 00:12:42.819 --> 00:12:44.960 but fear as an appropriate 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:46.439 awe of God is 00:12:46.439 --> 00:12:47.699 and who I am, 00:12:48.919 --> 00:12:50.019 if that fear 00:12:50.019 --> 00:12:51.799 doesn't rule our hearts, 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:54.399 then other fears will. 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:57.740 The fear that we won't be a success, 00:12:57.919 --> 00:12:59.579 the fear that other people 00:12:59.579 --> 00:13:00.579 won't think well of us. 00:13:02.139 --> 00:13:03.519 We think of the fear 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:04.240 of people pleasing 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:06.139 or the need for approval. 00:13:08.199 --> 00:13:09.120 Think with me on this. 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:12.740 When you are really fearful 00:13:12.740 --> 00:13:13.699 of others 00:13:13.699 --> 00:13:14.679 and when you are fearful 00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:15.759 of people pleasing 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:17.819 and when you're chasing 00:13:17.819 --> 00:13:19.019 the approval of others, 00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:21.439 you will feel slavery. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:24.380 You'll feel what slavery is like. 00:13:26.220 --> 00:13:27.120 And Jesus says, 00:13:27.220 --> 00:13:28.980 if you practice sin, 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:30.480 you are a slave to sin. 00:13:31.740 --> 00:13:32.960 And then he says this, 00:13:33.260 --> 00:13:35.240 so if the son sets you free 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:35.960 from that, 00:13:36.780 --> 00:13:37.560 you'll be free indeed. 00:13:39.640 --> 00:13:40.720 It doesn't mean, does it, 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:41.720 that you'll never sin again. 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:45.260 It doesn't mean that 00:13:45.260 --> 00:13:45.880 you'll be perfect. 00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:49.279 It means that you will be free 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:50.620 from that sin 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:52.139 being king in your life 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:53.179 and dominating your life. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:56.539 This doxology says 00:13:56.539 --> 00:13:58.299 that Jesus shed his blood for us, 00:13:58.379 --> 00:13:59.580 he died on the cross 00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:00.879 and he rose for us, 00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:03.259 and so not only is our sin forgiven 00:14:03.259 --> 00:14:04.879 and we are cleansed, 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:06.360 but we are free. 00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:09.620 We are not captives 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:10.539 of sin anymore. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:12.759 And then it says this, 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:14.019 he has freed us from our sins 00:14:14.019 --> 00:14:14.600 by his blood 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:16.279 and made us a kingdom, 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:18.139 priests to his God and Father. 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:21.139 He's made us a kingdom, 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:22.519 what is a kingdom? 00:14:22.819 --> 00:14:23.439 What kind of kingdom? 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:24.980 A kingdom of priests 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:26.279 to his God and Father. 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:27.120 And again, 00:14:27.299 --> 00:14:27.639 Revelation, 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:28.340 as you read it, 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:29.519 it's full of the Old Testament. 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:29.879 In fact, 00:14:29.939 --> 00:14:30.840 I'd argue there's nothing 00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:31.259 in Revelation 00:14:31.259 --> 00:14:32.299 that isn't in the Old Testament. 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:36.779 So a kingdom of priests, 00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:37.360 wherever you heard 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:38.120 that language before. 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:41.379 It comes from a really important moment 00:14:41.379 --> 00:14:42.139 in Israel's history 00:14:42.139 --> 00:14:43.080 when the Israelites 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:44.000 had been enslaved. 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:44.919 They were literally, 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:45.259 weren't they, 00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:46.799 under physical slavery in Egypt. 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:47.360 Do you remember? 00:14:48.700 --> 00:14:49.440 And what did God do? 00:14:49.539 --> 00:14:50.320 God freed them. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:51.960 He broke the power 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:52.779 of their captives, 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:53.360 captors, 00:14:53.639 --> 00:14:54.860 and they come into the wilderness 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:56.139 and after a few days, 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:57.659 they come to Mount Sinai 00:14:57.659 --> 00:14:58.940 and God speaks to them 00:14:58.940 --> 00:14:59.740 from Mount Sinai 00:14:59.740 --> 00:15:00.840 and this is before 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:01.360 he gives them 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:02.200 the Ten Commandments. 00:15:03.340 --> 00:15:04.700 And it's so terrifying 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:05.419 to the Israelites, 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:06.600 God speaking to them, 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:07.659 they say to Moses, 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:08.259 their leader, 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:09.300 you go and talk to him, 00:15:09.540 --> 00:15:10.980 we'll do anything he says, 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:12.920 but if we keep hearing that voice, 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:13.700 we're going to die. 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:16.500 And so what does the voice say? 00:15:17.980 --> 00:15:18.720 One of the things 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:19.779 that God said to his people 00:15:19.779 --> 00:15:20.159 was this, 00:15:20.259 --> 00:15:21.960 you are my treasured possession 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:24.440 and then he says, 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:26.040 you will be to me 00:15:26.040 --> 00:15:27.000 a kingdom of priests, 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:28.960 a holy nation. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:31.960 Why is that interesting? 00:15:33.860 --> 00:15:34.460 It's interesting 00:15:34.460 --> 00:15:35.440 on loads of levels, 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:36.200 but think about this, 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:37.940 he says to all of Israel, 00:15:38.300 --> 00:15:39.180 to hundreds of thousands 00:15:39.180 --> 00:15:39.920 of people at the foot 00:15:39.920 --> 00:15:40.379 of a mountain, 00:15:40.560 --> 00:15:41.560 at the base of Mount Sinai, 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:43.000 you will be to me, 00:15:43.160 --> 00:15:43.680 a lot of you, 00:15:43.780 --> 00:15:44.680 a kingdom of priests. 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:50.000 But some of the law 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:50.820 that God gives 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:51.740 on Mount Sinai 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:52.960 is very specific 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:53.580 that not everyone 00:15:53.580 --> 00:15:54.240 can be a priest. 00:15:56.560 --> 00:15:57.300 Do you remember that? 00:15:57.980 --> 00:15:58.700 In the Old Testament, 00:15:58.940 --> 00:15:59.860 it wasn't like you went 00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:00.700 to a careers fair 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:01.020 and said, 00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:01.540 I want to become 00:16:01.540 --> 00:16:02.500 a priest in Israel. 00:16:03.680 --> 00:16:04.580 God was really specific, 00:16:04.640 --> 00:16:04.800 isn't it? 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:05.120 He had to be 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:05.699 from the tribe 00:16:05.699 --> 00:16:06.079 of Levi. 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:08.279 He had to be 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:08.979 in a particular family, 00:16:09.059 --> 00:16:09.419 he had to do it 00:16:09.419 --> 00:16:10.279 in a particular way. 00:16:11.099 --> 00:16:11.819 But God says, 00:16:12.139 --> 00:16:12.719 at Sinai, 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:13.500 all my people 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:14.899 are priests. 00:16:16.179 --> 00:16:16.679 He says, 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:17.339 men and women, 00:16:18.139 --> 00:16:18.779 boys and girls 00:16:18.779 --> 00:16:19.439 are priests. 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:22.099 What does that mean? 00:16:22.199 --> 00:16:22.559 Why? 00:16:24.319 --> 00:16:25.159 It means this. 00:16:27.059 --> 00:16:28.139 It means that Israel, 00:16:28.259 --> 00:16:28.819 the people of God 00:16:28.819 --> 00:16:29.579 as a nation 00:16:29.580 --> 00:16:30.720 in the Old Testament, 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:31.700 that they were 00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:32.280 his people, 00:16:32.500 --> 00:16:33.220 men and women 00:16:33.220 --> 00:16:33.860 and children. 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:36.379 And as a priest 00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:37.320 was to represent 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:38.440 the people before God, 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:40.000 so Israel was to 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:40.680 represent God 00:16:40.680 --> 00:16:41.320 before all the peoples 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:41.800 of the world. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:44.540 And so you, 00:16:44.680 --> 00:16:45.180 as a people, 00:16:45.259 --> 00:16:45.879 the people of God, 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:46.379 men and women, 00:16:46.560 --> 00:16:47.259 boys and girls, 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:48.120 all the tribes, 00:16:48.460 --> 00:16:49.960 you are to represent me 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:50.560 to the world. 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:51.400 You are to be a light 00:16:51.400 --> 00:16:51.920 to the nations. 00:16:52.040 --> 00:16:52.440 You are to be 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:53.040 a holy people, 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:53.379 different, 00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:54.320 a treasured possession. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:57.460 The people of God 00:16:57.460 --> 00:16:57.980 in the Old Testament, 00:16:58.120 --> 00:16:58.400 Israel, 00:16:58.520 --> 00:16:59.160 were to show 00:16:59.160 --> 00:17:00.260 the rest of the world 00:17:00.260 --> 00:17:01.040 what I am to like. 00:17:01.300 --> 00:17:01.820 And that is why 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:02.560 they were to love 00:17:02.560 --> 00:17:03.300 the Lord their God 00:17:03.300 --> 00:17:04.000 with all their heart 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:04.779 and mind and soul 00:17:04.779 --> 00:17:05.180 and strength 00:17:05.180 --> 00:17:06.400 and to love their neighbor 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:07.620 as themselves. 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:11.660 And so when the people 00:17:11.660 --> 00:17:13.120 of God fear God 00:17:13.120 --> 00:17:14.120 and when they love 00:17:14.120 --> 00:17:15.220 their neighbor as themselves, 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:16.160 when they keep 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:17.120 his holy law, 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:18.640 you show to the nations 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:19.400 of the world 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:21.220 what I am like. 00:17:23.080 --> 00:17:23.720 All of you 00:17:23.720 --> 00:17:24.339 will be priests. 00:17:24.740 --> 00:17:25.940 And this doxology 00:17:25.940 --> 00:17:27.200 in Revelation 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:28.180 reaches back 00:17:28.180 --> 00:17:29.079 to Mount Sinai, 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:30.880 takes this exact language 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:31.960 and says, 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:32.759 Jesus Christ 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:33.759 has already 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:35.279 made us priests. 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:37.980 A kingdom of priests. 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:42.860 And so that means 00:17:42.860 --> 00:17:43.339 this morning, 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:43.940 if you believe 00:17:43.940 --> 00:17:44.759 in Jesus Christ 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:46.400 and if you have 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:47.500 entrusted yourself 00:17:47.500 --> 00:17:48.079 to Jesus, 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:51.380 it means 00:17:51.380 --> 00:17:52.019 in your home, 00:17:52.019 --> 00:17:54.000 in your street, 00:17:54.339 --> 00:17:56.079 in your workplace, 00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:58.579 in your school, 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:01.960 you are a priest there. 00:18:04.539 --> 00:18:05.339 Whether you feel 00:18:05.339 --> 00:18:05.920 like it or not, 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:09.379 he has made you 00:18:09.379 --> 00:18:09.859 a priest 00:18:09.859 --> 00:18:10.740 to represent him. 00:18:13.180 --> 00:18:14.359 And you are called 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:15.400 as a child of God, 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:16.220 as someone who knows 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:17.240 the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:18.559 to represent 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:19.160 to the people 00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:19.759 in your life 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:20.540 what God is like. 00:18:22.340 --> 00:18:22.900 And Jesus 00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:23.720 has made you that. 00:18:26.060 --> 00:18:26.759 He's not saying 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:27.360 try to be that, 00:18:27.420 --> 00:18:27.700 he's saying 00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:28.400 I've made you this. 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:31.000 And so don't lose 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:31.640 sight of the fact 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:33.019 that he has made us 00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:34.019 a kingdom of priests. 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:35.140 And so when those 00:18:35.140 --> 00:18:35.840 Israelites came out 00:18:35.840 --> 00:18:36.440 of slavery, 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:38.820 did they have to worry 00:18:38.820 --> 00:18:39.600 about who was king 00:18:39.600 --> 00:18:39.960 in Egypt? 00:18:41.460 --> 00:18:42.660 There was zero doubt, 00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:43.259 was that, 00:18:43.420 --> 00:18:44.259 who was king in Egypt? 00:18:44.460 --> 00:18:45.620 Pharaoh was king, 00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:46.439 they felt it 00:18:46.439 --> 00:18:47.239 in their bodies. 00:18:48.479 --> 00:18:49.159 But they'd been 00:18:49.159 --> 00:18:49.799 delivered from that. 00:18:50.719 --> 00:18:51.539 They had a new king. 00:18:54.439 --> 00:18:55.099 And when this verse 00:18:55.099 --> 00:18:55.939 says Christ has 00:18:55.939 --> 00:18:56.959 made us a kingdom, 00:18:57.579 --> 00:18:58.219 it is saying 00:18:58.219 --> 00:18:59.119 far more I think 00:18:59.119 --> 00:18:59.419 that we are 00:18:59.419 --> 00:19:00.059 comfortable with. 00:19:02.739 --> 00:19:03.379 It is saying 00:19:03.379 --> 00:19:04.239 we have been delivered. 00:19:04.579 --> 00:19:05.239 There is a new 00:19:05.239 --> 00:19:06.019 sheriff in town, 00:19:06.119 --> 00:19:06.599 there is a new 00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:06.919 master, 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:07.859 that Christ has 00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:08.679 conquered us. 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:11.359 He's conquered us 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:12.219 body and soul 00:19:12.219 --> 00:19:13.579 in the same way 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:14.000 that the slaves 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:14.459 in Egypt 00:19:14.459 --> 00:19:15.199 belong to Pharaoh. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:15.960 We now belong 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:16.779 to Jesus Christ. 00:19:17.340 --> 00:19:18.059 And so everything, 00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:18.700 my friendship, 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:20.220 my money, 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:21.319 my secrets, 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:22.340 my solitude, 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:23.200 my sexuality, 00:19:23.600 --> 00:19:24.640 the way I describe 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:25.319 myself, 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:26.539 my future, 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:27.480 I hear his, 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:30.160 he conquered me. 00:19:31.140 --> 00:19:31.680 And that is 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:32.460 already done. 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:34.580 It doesn't say 00:19:34.580 --> 00:19:35.720 Jesus is doing that, 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:36.920 he says it is done. 00:19:39.080 --> 00:19:40.240 But then the doxology 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:41.039 moves on to what 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:41.980 Jesus is doing now, 00:19:42.980 --> 00:19:44.640 what the Son of God 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:45.100 is doing, 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:45.840 present tense. 00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:47.600 What does it say? 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:49.440 Just look at the 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:49.720 middle, 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:51.380 the start of the 00:19:51.380 --> 00:19:52.100 doxology in verse 00:19:52.100 --> 00:19:52.460 five. 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:54.480 What does it say? 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:57.400 To him who loves 00:19:57.400 --> 00:19:57.700 us. 00:19:59.539 --> 00:20:01.480 To him who loves 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:01.720 us. 00:20:04.259 --> 00:20:04.900 Can you imagine 00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:05.299 what it would have 00:20:05.299 --> 00:20:05.920 been like if you 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:06.519 were a first century 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:06.880 Christian? 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:09.340 You didn't grow up 00:20:09.340 --> 00:20:10.279 with Christian parents 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:11.279 and Christian role 00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:11.559 models. 00:20:11.840 --> 00:20:12.420 You didn't have 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:13.140 Christian grandparents. 00:20:15.060 --> 00:20:15.800 You're the first 00:20:15.800 --> 00:20:16.200 one ever. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:18.960 You come from a 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:19.759 long line of people 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:20.240 that worshipped 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:21.019 other gods 00:20:21.019 --> 00:20:22.820 and other temples. 00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:23.019 angels. 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:26.159 And now you gather 00:20:26.159 --> 00:20:27.399 on a Sunday, 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:28.439 on the Lord's Day, 00:20:28.500 --> 00:20:29.159 a different day to 00:20:29.159 --> 00:20:30.299 how you always 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:31.099 worshipped and you 00:20:31.099 --> 00:20:31.639 gather with the 00:20:31.639 --> 00:20:32.819 people of God and 00:20:32.819 --> 00:20:33.859 you meet in a room 00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:34.439 and they are the 00:20:34.439 --> 00:20:35.159 oddest bunch of 00:20:35.159 --> 00:20:35.460 people. 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:37.259 You hear someone 00:20:37.259 --> 00:20:38.679 preach, you share 00:20:38.679 --> 00:20:39.299 bread and wine 00:20:39.299 --> 00:20:40.179 together. 00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:43.740 And now you claim 00:20:43.740 --> 00:20:44.500 that your God 00:20:44.500 --> 00:20:45.240 is a man who 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:46.160 you've never seen 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:47.240 physically and you 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:48.620 can't see him and 00:20:48.620 --> 00:20:49.480 he's called Jesus 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:50.460 Christ and he grew 00:20:50.460 --> 00:20:51.960 up in Nazareth and 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:52.799 he was a carpenter 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:53.799 for many years. 00:20:56.680 --> 00:20:57.000 And can you 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:58.060 imagine you go 00:20:58.060 --> 00:20:58.720 down that road of 00:20:58.720 --> 00:20:59.360 discipleship, you 00:20:59.360 --> 00:21:00.200 start to follow Jesus 00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:01.380 of Nazareth and you 00:21:01.380 --> 00:21:02.299 meet with pushback 00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:05.539 and arrest and 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:07.320 violence and 00:21:07.320 --> 00:21:08.400 unemployment and 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:10.120 they confiscate your 00:21:10.120 --> 00:21:10.840 bank account and 00:21:10.840 --> 00:21:11.480 they confiscate your 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:13.740 property and the 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:15.880 friends that also 00:21:15.880 --> 00:21:16.600 believed in Jesus 00:21:16.600 --> 00:21:18.519 are dragged off to 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:19.440 prison and some 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:20.259 have actually been 00:21:20.259 --> 00:21:21.019 killed for the sake 00:21:21.019 --> 00:21:21.580 of the Lord Jesus. 00:21:22.660 --> 00:21:23.720 And you live every 00:21:23.720 --> 00:21:24.640 day with the pressure 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:25.800 of that. 00:21:27.560 --> 00:21:28.440 Can you imagine how 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:29.480 badly you need to 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:31.360 hear that Jesus 00:21:31.360 --> 00:21:32.620 Christ loves you? 00:21:35.740 --> 00:21:37.340 He loves you right 00:21:37.340 --> 00:21:37.600 now. 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:41.300 And you may this 00:21:41.300 --> 00:21:42.240 week get led off to a 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:42.840 place you don't want 00:21:42.840 --> 00:21:43.780 to go to and it'll 00:21:43.780 --> 00:21:44.780 be a one-way trip if 00:21:44.780 --> 00:21:45.720 you're arrested and 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:46.180 you're not coming 00:21:46.180 --> 00:21:47.160 back but you must 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:48.220 understand he loves 00:21:48.220 --> 00:21:48.460 you. 00:21:50.780 --> 00:21:51.960 And when a 21st 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:52.840 century congregation 00:21:52.840 --> 00:21:54.100 gathers in leafy 00:21:54.100 --> 00:21:57.180 West London with all 00:21:57.180 --> 00:21:57.900 the pressures of life 00:21:57.900 --> 00:21:58.480 we need it too, 00:21:58.540 --> 00:21:58.860 don't we? 00:22:00.380 --> 00:22:01.360 That right now, 00:22:01.600 --> 00:22:04.300 present tense, the 00:22:04.300 --> 00:22:05.880 Son of God loves 00:22:05.880 --> 00:22:06.080 you. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:09.519 He loves the people 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:10.119 he bled for. 00:22:11.919 --> 00:22:13.559 He loves us right 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:13.859 now. 00:22:17.299 --> 00:22:18.159 Think about this for 00:22:18.159 --> 00:22:18.460 a moment. 00:22:21.299 --> 00:22:22.819 We want to be sane 00:22:22.819 --> 00:22:23.619 people, don't we? 00:22:24.139 --> 00:22:25.079 I hope you don't want 00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:25.919 to be insane. 00:22:28.119 --> 00:22:28.740 And part of what 00:22:28.740 --> 00:22:30.659 sanity is, is dealing, 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:32.579 trafficking in what is 00:22:32.579 --> 00:22:33.619 real in the truth. 00:22:37.619 --> 00:22:38.720 What is necessary, 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:41.159 what is trafficking and 00:22:41.159 --> 00:22:41.839 dealing with what is 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:42.939 true, not necessarily 00:22:42.939 --> 00:22:43.819 how you feel. 00:22:43.819 --> 00:22:47.480 I don't know how you 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:48.559 feel this morning, but 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:49.279 what I do know about 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:51.359 my own heart is my 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:52.659 own feelings don't 00:22:52.659 --> 00:22:53.599 always line up with 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:54.099 the truth. 00:22:56.939 --> 00:22:58.679 They don't line up, 00:22:58.720 --> 00:22:59.639 my feelings don't 00:22:59.639 --> 00:23:00.500 line up with what I'm 00:23:00.500 --> 00:23:01.960 told about who I am 00:23:01.960 --> 00:23:03.379 in God's word. 00:23:04.779 --> 00:23:05.939 And so here is what 00:23:05.939 --> 00:23:07.399 is real this morning, 00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:09.019 here's what is true, 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:10.740 if you belong to 00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:12.500 Jesus Christ, you are 00:23:12.500 --> 00:23:13.259 free. 00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:17.240 And if right now your 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:18.500 mind goes to that sin 00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:19.440 which always gets to 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:20.519 you, that pattern, 00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:22.359 that addiction, you are 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:24.099 freed by his blood. 00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:27.819 And you are a priest, 00:23:27.940 --> 00:23:28.799 and you might think I'm 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:30.259 the most rubbish 00:23:30.259 --> 00:23:31.720 priest of all. 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:34.599 But you are a priest, 00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:37.500 and you are loved. 00:23:39.160 --> 00:23:40.119 And you don't have to 00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:40.819 jump through a hoop to 00:23:40.819 --> 00:23:41.200 earn it. 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:43.660 you are loved right 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:44.759 here, right now. 00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:49.080 And you do have a 00:23:49.080 --> 00:23:49.340 king. 00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:52.759 And you are loved by 00:23:52.759 --> 00:23:53.160 the king. 00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:56.600 And so you stay in that 00:23:56.600 --> 00:23:57.180 reality. 00:23:58.340 --> 00:23:59.819 You live out of that 00:23:59.819 --> 00:24:00.340 reality. 00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:02.559 And that is what Jesus 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:03.140 is doing. 00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:03.980 That is what the son of 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:04.539 God is doing. 00:24:04.779 --> 00:24:06.319 The active son of God, 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:07.340 and then the worthy 00:24:07.340 --> 00:24:08.160 son of God. 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:08.620 God is doing it. 00:24:08.620 --> 00:24:09.160 And that is what the 00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:09.160 00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:10.120 And that is what the 00:24:10.120 --> 00:24:11.200 word is. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:14.640 The word worship is really 00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:15.360 two words, 00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:16.080 worth-ship. 00:24:18.620 --> 00:24:20.240 To worship something is to 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:22.759 ascribe worth to them or to 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:22.900 it. 00:24:24.779 --> 00:24:26.660 And the danger I fear is that 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:28.100 we hear this word of 00:24:28.100 --> 00:24:29.360 worship and that we are 00:24:29.360 --> 00:24:31.259 called to worship, and we 00:24:31.259 --> 00:24:32.240 think this is something that 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:33.600 doesn't come naturally to 00:24:33.600 --> 00:24:33.900 us. 00:24:33.900 --> 00:24:36.860 We need to learn this new 00:24:36.860 --> 00:24:38.120 behavior to worship. 00:24:39.060 --> 00:24:39.940 But that misses the point. 00:24:40.360 --> 00:24:41.780 We are worshipers, every 00:24:41.780 --> 00:24:42.480 single one of us. 00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:45.360 We have worshipped this 00:24:45.360 --> 00:24:45.660 morning. 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:49.480 We worship when our heart 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:50.800 says, this is how the 00:24:50.800 --> 00:24:51.700 universe works, this is how 00:24:51.700 --> 00:24:52.200 it operates. 00:24:54.280 --> 00:24:55.920 I've got to have something 00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:57.200 that makes my life worth 00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:57.480 living. 00:24:57.480 --> 00:25:00.200 And if I find the thing 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:02.279 that makes my life worth 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:03.480 living, I'm going to praise 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:03.720 it. 00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:08.099 Whatever that is, you don't 00:25:08.099 --> 00:25:08.980 find it hard to talk about 00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:09.200 that. 00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:11.799 You don't find it hard to 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:12.339 think about that. 00:25:13.880 --> 00:25:15.099 You don't find it hard to 00:25:15.099 --> 00:25:16.640 give money towards that, to 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:17.420 buy what it is. 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:20.319 You don't find it hard to 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:23.120 bend towards it, to give 00:25:23.120 --> 00:25:23.799 energy to it. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:25.460 In fact, when that person or 00:25:25.460 --> 00:25:26.759 when that subject comes up, 00:25:27.019 --> 00:25:28.000 you light up. 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:31.640 Those of you who are 00:25:31.640 --> 00:25:34.600 parents, it's a really good 00:25:34.600 --> 00:25:35.380 thing, isn't it, to say I 00:25:35.380 --> 00:25:36.079 love my child. 00:25:38.380 --> 00:25:39.299 You're more than one to say 00:25:39.299 --> 00:25:39.960 I love my children. 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:42.900 Of course it is. 00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:43.799 That's what we want. 00:25:45.840 --> 00:25:46.740 But it's another thing, 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:47.640 isn't it, for a parent to 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:51.480 say, my kids are my 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:51.880 everything. 00:25:53.940 --> 00:25:55.779 My kids are my 00:25:55.779 --> 00:25:56.299 everything. 00:25:58.660 --> 00:25:59.980 Because when you say that, 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:03.079 in so many words, you are 00:26:03.079 --> 00:26:06.259 saying glory and honor be unto 00:26:06.259 --> 00:26:06.740 my children. 00:26:09.140 --> 00:26:10.120 Or let's go back to people 00:26:10.120 --> 00:26:11.559 pleasing, that needing the 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:13.360 approval of others, not just 00:26:13.360 --> 00:26:14.799 wanting it, but needing it. 00:26:14.980 --> 00:26:16.180 And if I don't get it, I'm 00:26:16.180 --> 00:26:16.680 devastated. 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:20.019 And a lot of us struggle 00:26:20.019 --> 00:26:20.480 with that, don't we? 00:26:20.500 --> 00:26:21.120 A lot of us do it. 00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:22.080 A lot of us have done that. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:24.340 A lot of us know in our 00:26:24.340 --> 00:26:25.340 heart of hearts what a 00:26:25.340 --> 00:26:26.779 slavery that is, to be 00:26:26.779 --> 00:26:28.660 defined by the need for 00:26:28.660 --> 00:26:29.039 approval. 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:33.539 And what we're saying when 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:34.960 we fall for that is all 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:36.460 authority be unto them. 00:26:36.560 --> 00:26:37.220 That is worship. 00:26:38.320 --> 00:26:39.259 It's bad worship. 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:41.360 But this is life-giving 00:26:41.360 --> 00:26:42.480 worship in Revelation 1. 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:46.180 Let me come back to the 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:46.400 point. 00:26:47.160 --> 00:26:48.579 What is doxology doing? 00:26:50.660 --> 00:26:52.160 If God doesn't need us, if 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:53.299 Jesus Christ doesn't need 00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:54.539 us, then why am I saying 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:56.039 glory be to you, O God? 00:26:57.660 --> 00:26:58.900 Dominion, authority be to 00:26:58.900 --> 00:26:59.240 you. 00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:02.360 Does that give God something 00:27:02.360 --> 00:27:03.120 he doesn't have? 00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:05.799 If I say dominion be to you, 00:27:05.860 --> 00:27:07.000 Lord Jesus, does that give 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:07.779 him more dominion? 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:10.259 Hopefully you know the 00:27:10.259 --> 00:27:10.860 answer is no. 00:27:10.859 --> 00:27:13.459 So is what we're doing 00:27:13.459 --> 00:27:14.399 this morning a colossal 00:27:14.399 --> 00:27:14.959 waste of time? 00:27:16.639 --> 00:27:17.799 Is this just a religious 00:27:17.799 --> 00:27:18.740 way of talking that's 00:27:18.740 --> 00:27:19.099 outdated? 00:27:19.339 --> 00:27:20.319 Why do we do doxology? 00:27:20.439 --> 00:27:21.299 Why do we do praise? 00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:24.139 It's because of this. 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:25.599 We are worshipping beings. 00:27:28.419 --> 00:27:29.740 Because if we don't find 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:31.939 something or someone to 00:27:31.939 --> 00:27:34.559 say this is why life is 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:37.740 worth living, this is why 00:27:37.740 --> 00:27:40.339 it is worth getting up in 00:27:40.339 --> 00:27:40.699 the morning. 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:41.859 If we cannot find that 00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:42.819 thing, what happens is we 00:27:42.819 --> 00:27:43.379 despair. 00:27:46.019 --> 00:27:47.359 And we may despair to the 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:48.119 point of taking our own 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:48.439 lives. 00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:51.220 If we cannot identify that 00:27:51.220 --> 00:27:51.500 thing. 00:27:53.099 --> 00:27:55.959 Or if they failed us or we 00:27:55.959 --> 00:27:56.459 failed them. 00:27:58.659 --> 00:28:00.059 Or if it is punishing them. 00:28:00.059 --> 00:28:01.059 glory be to you. 00:28:01.059 --> 00:28:03.339 All of us, with all of our 00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:04.319 lives, our money, our 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:06.000 priorities, our to-do 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:07.980 lists, are saying to 00:28:07.980 --> 00:28:09.440 something or someone, glory 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:10.000 be to you. 00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:12.619 Do you know what? 00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:13.299 We might be saying it to 00:28:13.299 --> 00:28:13.720 ourselves. 00:28:16.659 --> 00:28:18.079 I want every conversation to 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:18.819 bend towards me. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:21.480 I want all the attention to 00:28:21.480 --> 00:28:22.359 bend towards me. 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:24.240 I want people to talk about 00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:25.319 me, to think about me. 00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:27.220 glory be to me. 00:28:28.379 --> 00:28:29.899 And that is life-robbing 00:28:29.899 --> 00:28:30.319 worship. 00:28:36.179 --> 00:28:38.919 And if nothing else, to 00:28:38.919 --> 00:28:40.559 say glory and dominion be 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:42.099 unto Jesus Christ is a way 00:28:42.099 --> 00:28:43.519 of saying glory and 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:47.339 dominion not be to us, not 00:28:47.339 --> 00:28:50.119 be to me, but unto him be 00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:51.500 dominion and authority and 00:28:51.500 --> 00:28:52.119 honor forever. 00:28:56.659 --> 00:28:57.639 Let me be honest with you. 00:28:57.719 --> 00:29:00.619 If you want a recipe for 00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:06.319 boredom, of boredom for 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:07.899 Christianity, just do this. 00:29:10.139 --> 00:29:11.619 Whatever this looks like for 00:29:11.619 --> 00:29:12.579 you, just pull up at the end 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:14.739 of the day and dwell on the 00:29:14.739 --> 00:29:16.979 grind of life and think of the 00:29:16.979 --> 00:29:18.359 11 things on your to-do list 00:29:18.359 --> 00:29:19.239 and the five things that you 00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:20.319 haven't done and so you feel 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:20.740 like a failure. 00:29:22.539 --> 00:29:23.599 And think about the ways 00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:25.220 your body, your marriage, 00:29:25.299 --> 00:29:27.319 your family, your house 00:29:27.319 --> 00:29:28.620 compares with others. 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:31.359 And then, when you've got all 00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:33.359 of that, try to wedge in just 00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:35.000 a little bit of Bible and a 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:35.839 little bit of prayer and a 00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:36.420 little bit of church. 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:40.140 And that is a recipe for 00:29:40.140 --> 00:29:40.980 boredom for the gospel. 00:29:42.120 --> 00:29:43.099 Boredom with the gospel. 00:29:46.380 --> 00:29:47.880 It's another thing entirely to 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:49.019 engage in doxology. 00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:52.660 To actually do this in private 00:29:52.660 --> 00:29:53.180 this week. 00:29:53.220 --> 00:29:54.200 We do it in corporate worship. 00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:55.579 But we need to do it with our 00:29:55.579 --> 00:29:56.539 mouths this week. 00:29:56.700 --> 00:29:58.620 To say, Jesus Christ, to you be 00:29:58.620 --> 00:30:00.220 glory and dominion and authority 00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:01.059 forever. 00:30:02.339 --> 00:30:03.579 And I don't care how I feel right 00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:03.799 now. 00:30:04.980 --> 00:30:06.359 I'm a priest and you've made me a 00:30:06.359 --> 00:30:06.660 priest. 00:30:07.140 --> 00:30:08.200 And you've made me your subject. 00:30:08.380 --> 00:30:09.640 And I have a king and that king 00:30:09.640 --> 00:30:10.319 loves me. 00:30:10.700 --> 00:30:12.400 And glory be to him. 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:14.720 And if you and I do this, we will 00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:16.440 actually be engaging with our real 00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:17.000 selves. 00:30:18.660 --> 00:30:20.600 And we will be doing what God put 00:30:20.600 --> 00:30:22.519 us on this earth to do. 00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:26.299 To know him and to delight in him. 00:30:26.299 --> 00:30:31.539 I was reading around this week and I 00:30:31.539 --> 00:30:34.099 came across a sonnet by John 00:30:34.099 --> 00:30:34.639 Dunn. 00:30:37.059 --> 00:30:38.480 It's from his holy sonnets. 00:30:39.819 --> 00:30:41.220 I don't often give you poetry like 00:30:41.220 --> 00:30:41.460 this. 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:44.200 But it's a remarkable poem and it's 00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:44.639 called this. 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:48.440 Batter my heart, three persons God. 00:30:50.040 --> 00:30:52.259 Batter means rough up. 00:30:54.140 --> 00:30:56.460 John Dunn in this sonnet is saying, 00:30:56.780 --> 00:30:59.180 Beat up my heart, oh three persons 00:30:59.180 --> 00:30:59.580 God. 00:31:01.300 --> 00:31:03.520 It's a really beautiful and a jarring 00:31:03.520 --> 00:31:04.020 sonnet. 00:31:05.520 --> 00:31:07.960 It's saying, quite shockingly, Lord, 00:31:08.060 --> 00:31:08.880 don't play nice. 00:31:10.520 --> 00:31:12.580 I am not going to know you. 00:31:12.579 --> 00:31:16.139 And you are not going to be king 00:31:16.139 --> 00:31:17.379 unless you take over. 00:31:17.439 --> 00:31:18.539 Let me read to you just the last 00:31:18.539 --> 00:31:19.240 three lines. 00:31:21.539 --> 00:31:22.460 Take me to you. 00:31:24.220 --> 00:31:25.740 Imprison me for I. 00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:28.899 Except you enthrall me. 00:31:29.220 --> 00:31:30.319 Never shall be free. 00:31:32.019 --> 00:31:33.079 Nor ever chaste. 00:31:33.339 --> 00:31:34.939 C-H-A-S-T-E. 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:35.539 That means pure. 00:31:36.199 --> 00:31:37.419 Nor ever chaste. 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:39.879 Except you ravish me. 00:31:41.179 --> 00:31:41.939 End of sonnet. 00:31:42.579 --> 00:31:45.339 Nor ever chaste. 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:47.879 Except you ravish me. 00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:52.480 I think the danger for churches like 00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:54.199 ours is that we are playing it safe. 00:31:55.460 --> 00:31:57.059 And we want God, but not too much. 00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:03.119 But this is radical, extreme language. 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:06.459 And so let me say to you, 00:32:06.799 --> 00:32:07.439 as I finish, 00:32:07.579 --> 00:32:08.699 if you are not a Christian, 00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:10.619 if that's, you're here and you're just exploring, 00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:11.599 or if you are a Christian, 00:32:11.739 --> 00:32:13.659 you do not need a little help 00:32:13.659 --> 00:32:15.839 here and a little help there. 00:32:17.259 --> 00:32:18.319 God needs to do everything. 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:20.859 And we need, 00:32:20.859 --> 00:32:23.359 we have a saviour who does that for us. 00:32:26.859 --> 00:32:28.919 And that is not saying that we don't exert ourselves, 00:32:29.859 --> 00:32:32.359 but he has done everything that was necessary, 00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:33.299 and he loves us. 00:32:33.299 --> 00:32:37.379 And so to him who loves us, 00:32:38.639 --> 00:32:40.079 and has freed us from our sins, 00:32:40.299 --> 00:32:41.099 by his blood, 00:32:42.440 --> 00:32:43.819 and made us a kingdom priest, 00:32:44.019 --> 00:32:45.319 to his God and Father, 00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:45.859 to him, 00:32:47.139 --> 00:32:48.299 be glory and dominion, 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:50.440 forever and ever. 00:32:50.440 --> 00:32:52.360 Amen. 00:32:54.220 --> 00:32:54.759 Let's pray.