WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.800 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.760 that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.920 by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:31.520 for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:37.939 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really, 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:42.579 I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible, 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:48.760 they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:54.560 do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.340 non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:04.680 hesitate to send us questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.760 types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:12.340 --> 00:01:18.140 Let's just bow our heads in prayer. Father, over these last few weeks, we've looked at some very 00:01:18.140 --> 00:01:25.239 difficult words from you. And now, Father, we're looking at words that, well, that we resonate 00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:30.319 with when we read them. But Father, we know that your Word contains mysteries, and we want 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:35.240 to know all there is to know of your Word. So we ask, Father, that we give you, Father, an 00:01:35.240 --> 00:01:46.400 unqualified invitation, unconditional invitation, for you to speak into our hearts and rule our hearts 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:53.740 by your Word. And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Saviour. Amen. Please be seated. 00:02:05.260 --> 00:02:10.379 Yesterday, I did a very bonehead thing, and not yesterday, on Friday, I did a very bonehead thing 00:02:10.379 --> 00:02:15.500 and left my phone on the roof of my car while I was changing my shoes, because I went to a funeral. 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:20.639 And it was only when I got to the funeral that I realized I'd never taken my phone off the top 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:25.979 of my car. And of course, the phone's no longer on the top of my car. Anyway, I don't have a timer. 00:02:26.460 --> 00:02:34.460 I will try not to speak for 90 minutes. And anyway, turn in your Bibles to Jude chapter, 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:40.159 Jude, not chapter, just Jude. And we're going to be looking at verses 20 to 23. And here's the 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:45.340 issue. And Jude, by the way, is a tiny little book just before the book of Revelation, which is the 00:02:45.340 --> 00:02:50.139 last book in the Bible. Some of you might have had questions over the last few weeks when we've 00:02:50.139 --> 00:02:56.659 been looking at the book of Jude. And especially if you heard what Owen read just a few moments ago, 00:02:56.740 --> 00:02:59.979 which is what I'm going to look at, what we're all going to look at today as we study the Bible 00:02:59.979 --> 00:03:06.479 together. Owen read part of it that we are to build ourselves up into the most holy faith, 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:10.840 and that we're to keep ourselves in the love of God, and that we're to wait for mercy. 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:16.599 And some of you might have had a question over these last couple of weeks that the Bible seems 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:24.560 awfully harsh. The Bible text that we've been reading seems awfully harsh. And we've been wondering 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:31.259 if it's a little bit inconsistent, and not even a little bit, but if it's very inconsistent. 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:36.739 And some might have even wondered, why would you want to build yourself up on something which seems 00:03:36.739 --> 00:03:42.419 to be so harsh? Like, George, you don't normally seem like a harsh person. Maybe you are. But even 00:03:42.419 --> 00:03:47.039 last week, George, I mean, some of you might have seen some of the short clips and stuff, and you 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:52.979 might think, I said harsh things. You know, and if I was to say, well, what do you think of it? Well, 00:03:52.979 --> 00:03:58.459 you say, George, don't you, you know, don't you talk about, you know, these people that you're saying are 00:03:58.460 --> 00:04:03.760 godly influencers, that they're going to be like the people that rebelled against God and died in 00:04:03.760 --> 00:04:09.140 the desert. You sort of compare them to angels that fell, and you're now, they're now demons. You 00:04:09.140 --> 00:04:15.740 compare them to Sodom and Gomorrah, and its destruction. You talk about how they blaspheme, 00:04:15.980 --> 00:04:21.960 and they defile the flesh, and you talk about them as if God is going to pronounce this eternal 00:04:21.960 --> 00:04:26.660 woe on them, woe to them, for they walked in the way of Cain. And like, that just all sounds very, 00:04:26.660 --> 00:04:35.860 very harsh, George. And so, like, I just really don't understand, like, why would we want to build 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:42.980 ourselves up in something which seems to be so harsh? And if you've been wondering that, that's 00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:49.320 the type of question that our culture would, it's a very good question to ask, actually, right? We're 00:04:49.320 --> 00:04:55.800 not, we should never be afraid of asking good questions. And why is it that we want to build 00:04:55.800 --> 00:05:03.000 ourselves up in a faith that seems to talk in such harsh terms about some people? So let's look at it. 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:07.620 Let's look at these four verses. We're only looking at four short verses today. They're very packed. 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:13.220 And what I'm going to do is, you're going to see that there's sort of in three, there's three parts 00:05:13.220 --> 00:05:18.259 this week, and then our final bit of Jude, which we won't look at until the Sunday after Easter. 00:05:18.259 --> 00:05:25.379 In some ways, the first little bit, which is the first two verses, is sort of all about growing. 00:05:26.620 --> 00:05:31.360 The second, it's all part of now that we've, he's described the problem, and which now people are 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:36.240 wondering, maybe for two weeks, it's been very harsh. And we're going to now look at how you 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:42.319 actually contend for the faith. And the first part is, like, about how you, in a sense, you know, 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:48.099 you contend by building yourself up. Then the next bit is about the posture, or the heart, that you 00:05:48.099 --> 00:05:52.800 should have in terms of contending. And then after we get back from Easter, we'll look at the last bit, 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:59.939 which is hope, primarily. What is our great hope in contending? And so let's look at it. And I think 00:05:59.939 --> 00:06:04.319 that when we look at it a bit more closely, it's going to, we're going to see maybe why it is that we 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:09.439 want to build the faith, and even why it is that these harsh words aren't really harsh. There's another 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:19.379 way to understand them. So let's read verse 22 and 20, verse 20 and 21. But you, and by the way, 00:06:19.459 --> 00:06:26.720 in the original language, the but you is emphatic. And I actually really wish, no Bible publisher would 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:31.379 ever take my advice on this, but I wish they followed the modern convention. And when there's 00:06:31.379 --> 00:06:36.180 something emphatic in the text, if they would bold it, because if they bolded it, then we'd get, 00:06:36.180 --> 00:06:40.120 oh, this is emphatic. Like, it's not just, you know, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da. It's like, ta-da, 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:44.079 ta-da, ta-da, ta-da. Like there's something there trying to catch your attention. So the but you should 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:49.900 be bold in verse 20. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith, 00:06:51.220 --> 00:06:58.699 and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord 00:06:58.699 --> 00:07:04.340 Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. Those are four key things about building ourselves up. And 00:07:04.339 --> 00:07:10.519 you'll notice there, right, it's, there's all these been 14 verses, 15 verses of very hard language 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:17.159 comparing these people who are causing problem in the church to be like, like Cain, and like Balaam, 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:24.579 and, and all these, and Korah, and, and demons. Like very, very, very apparently harsh language. But now 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:29.620 Jude wants us to build ourselves up in the faith. Well, why would we do that? Well, let's listen to this 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:36.100 next bit, which is the, the heart behind contending. And it goes like this, verses 22 and 23. 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:43.759 And have mercy on those who doubt. Save others by snatching them out of the fire. 00:07:44.980 --> 00:07:50.920 To others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh, which sounds a bit 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:57.620 harsh as well. So let's look at it. Really, in fact, if you wanted to, to try to just get a very 00:07:57.620 --> 00:08:01.759 simple view of what he's saying here, is there's this fundamental command of, of be merciful. 00:08:02.780 --> 00:08:08.379 Like, be a person of mercy. And when you're being a person of mercy, there's three types of people that 00:08:08.379 --> 00:08:12.040 I'm specifically talking to you about that you have to show mercy towards. 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:17.980 First of all, those who have doubts. They've been listening to ungodly influencers. They doubt now a 00:08:17.980 --> 00:08:23.699 whole pile of key doctrines in the Bible. To doubt means to be in two minds. And now they partly think 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:29.399 like the, these people who are rejecting the Christian faith, but appear to be Christians. 00:08:30.300 --> 00:08:34.200 And they've, so they hear Christianity, they hear these, you know, this other way of understanding 00:08:34.200 --> 00:08:39.419 things. And now they're in doubt. They have two minds. And then the second group is actually 00:08:39.419 --> 00:08:44.740 those who now, they've gone a little bit farther than just doubting. They actually really push back. 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:48.399 They dispute with you. They really are starting to think that maybe this group here, 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:53.399 that they're right. And so they push back at those trying to represent what the biblical Christianity 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:59.120 is. And then the third group are those, and that's about, they're playing with fire now. 00:08:59.459 --> 00:09:04.139 They've gone farther down the path, so to speak. And they're actually trying to put into practice 00:09:04.139 --> 00:09:10.340 these things, which the Bible says are immoral, that are wrong. And what should our policy be when 00:09:10.340 --> 00:09:17.879 we're trying to address them? The word snatch is trying to capture this idea of you move towards them 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:23.159 forcefully. So you don't, you know, sit here with your hands in your pockets. You don't just sort of 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:30.039 shrug your shoulders. You walk towards them. And you deal with them, in a sense, with all that you have 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:35.559 to try to deal with them, to deal with their questions, and to deal with what they're saying, 00:09:35.620 --> 00:09:40.100 to talk to them, and pray for them, and do all of these other things. But you do it with a posture of 00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:48.120 mercy. Well, this all sounds sort of good, but here's, here's, here's a, mercy's more complicated 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:54.680 than we think. And many, many of us are probably thinking of mercy the way Canadian culture thinks 00:09:54.680 --> 00:10:01.480 of mercy. And Canadian culture does not think of mercy the way the Bible thinks of mercy. So we can 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:06.360 hear this, but actually, and we could actually be paying very close attention, but actually we're not 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:10.800 hearing what the Bible says. So let me illustrate what I mean by that. So first of all, I think 00:10:10.800 --> 00:10:19.639 the average Canadian and, and us would agree that showing mercy in general is good. That, you know, 00:10:19.659 --> 00:10:25.399 if I was to say in a Tim Hortons or some boutique expensive coffee place, you know, in general, 00:10:25.779 --> 00:10:30.600 showing mercy is a good thing. Well, everybody would just think I've seen a platitude. It would be boring, 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:35.139 like, not boring, but they'd all say, yeah, yeah, yeah, that, that's, that's, that's, that's a good 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:41.300 thing. But for Canadians, there's a, a bit of a problem, and, and we're very Canadian. And here's 00:10:41.300 --> 00:10:47.360 the first thing, like, you see, what we think of as mercy is we think that mercy should be shown to 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:54.060 those suffering, those who are suffering undeservedly. That's what we think of as mercy. 00:10:54.059 --> 00:11:01.439 Some of you are way too young to remember the, the, the, the, the shock of the United States and, 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:08.939 and many people in the world with the 9-11 attacks on September 1st, um, September 11th, uh, 2001. 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:16.979 And afterwards, George Bush took lots of applause, said, well, God may have mercy on them, but we're 00:11:16.979 --> 00:11:23.459 sure not going to show them any mercy. We're sure not going to show them any mercy. Why? 00:11:24.059 --> 00:11:30.500 Did that get such common applause? Well, because we understand that mercy is what you show to those 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:37.659 who are suffering undeservedly. Those who deserve, have done something wrong, they deserve judgment. 00:11:40.059 --> 00:11:50.159 They deserve the full weight of the law, so to speak. So that's how the average Canadian thinks, 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:57.120 but there's, and, and, and, and here to, to give a, give another example, maybe a non-political example, 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:05.639 um, you know, if we found out that there's some faceless bureaucracy, uh, some faceless bureaucracy, 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:11.319 and it's, uh, maybe because they've applied the rules incorrectly, or they've been really nitpicky 00:12:11.319 --> 00:12:17.980 in applying the rules, and as a result of that, you know, some poor, you know, single mom, uh, with, 00:12:17.980 --> 00:12:23.680 you know, three kids just struggling to get by, they're caught up in the, uh, in that whole mesh, 00:12:23.680 --> 00:12:28.500 and, and the gears of the bureaucracy, and it's just crushing her, and it gets reported in the media, 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:33.500 and all of us would say, listen, she didn't do anything to deserve this. Like, you know, what, 00:12:33.560 --> 00:12:38.500 whatever the, the nitpicky rules are, surely the minister, or the deputy minister, or the assistant 00:12:38.500 --> 00:12:44.480 deputy minister can step in, and some mercy should be shown to this person. Like, you know, 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:48.920 there, there, there were some honest mistakes being made, uh, they, they don't really deserve 00:12:48.920 --> 00:12:56.379 such, uh, such, uh, such overbearing treatment. They don't deserve it, so mercy should be shown. 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:02.800 But on the other side, on the other hand, if you read a, an article in a paper about, uh, a very, 00:13:02.920 --> 00:13:08.080 you know, smart, in quotation marks, businessman, who's been manipulating the rules, and paying, 00:13:08.180 --> 00:13:13.240 playing fast and loose, and filing false claims for, for the last 10 years, and finally, 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:19.639 CRA's caught catching up to, uh, to this guy, and, uh, the, the, the newspapers and the media report 00:13:19.639 --> 00:13:24.580 on it, and you're saying, no, no, this guy doesn't deserve any mercy, like, bring the hammer down on 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:29.240 this guy. Like, he's been cheating on his taxes, he's been lying about his income. Uh, you know, 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:34.799 like, a, a good example, a variety of this is, I, I've talked to, to some women over the years, who's, 00:13:34.860 --> 00:13:39.139 uh, they, uh, they have a divorce, and their husband is very wealthy, but has done 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:45.159 remarkable things to try to hide his wealth, his wealth from his wife, so he doesn't have to pay 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:49.340 any money. And, you know, we think, if that guy gets caught, like, bring the hammer down on that 00:13:49.340 --> 00:13:55.740 guy. Like, don't show him mercy. But you see, if you think about it now for, there's still some 00:13:55.740 --> 00:14:00.419 problems with this. Like, we're all sort of agreeing on this as Canadians, but, but here's, there's some 00:14:00.419 --> 00:14:05.600 more problems, because I think most people would say that if you show mercy, it shouldn't be, 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:13.800 it should be, um, freely given. Uh, it shouldn't be a right. Like, it, you know, mercy, showing mercy 00:14:13.800 --> 00:14:20.120 is a little bit like being generous. Uh, if the state takes 50% of your income, they can't say thank 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:26.580 you for your generosity. Because you want to say, well, to be honest, if I wanted to be generous, 00:14:26.920 --> 00:14:31.800 give me back the 50% of my income, and then we'll see how generous I want to be to you. It's not, 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:38.059 it's not generous if they require it of you, right? And, and so, you know, it's almost, so somehow, 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:43.599 on one hand, we think of mercy, it should involve freedom and something like generosity. But on the 00:14:43.599 --> 00:14:48.199 other hand, when we think of it as something you should show to somebody who's suffering 00:14:48.199 --> 00:14:53.399 undeservedly, then it becomes a right. So it's not really mercy at all, if you, if you think about it. 00:14:53.439 --> 00:14:59.279 So another example would be, um, if you call up 9-11 because, you know, uh, the person you're with 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:04.339 looks as if they've gone into cardiac arrest, you don't thank the ambulance driver, the paramedics, 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:09.799 for being merciful. No, they're supposed to come. Like, if they don't come, you're going to complain, 00:15:10.059 --> 00:15:15.819 right? That's not mercy. That's just dealing with it. There's, right? So, but here's the other, 00:15:15.939 --> 00:15:21.980 here's the other thing. It's also not mercy if, you know, I use some of those examples, if, 00:15:22.379 --> 00:15:25.620 you know, maybe the husband who's hiding his income so he doesn't have to pay his, 00:15:25.620 --> 00:15:31.259 his, uh, his, uh, ex-wife, the child support, which he should, he can pay and he should pay. 00:15:31.980 --> 00:15:39.419 Um, but if he claims that he needs some mercy and he wants to be treated differently, 00:15:39.419 --> 00:15:46.159 once again, remember I've said we, we wouldn't think that that's mercy. Um, we won't go through 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:52.220 a list, but when President Trump, just before he lost the election and had to hand over power 00:15:52.220 --> 00:15:58.580 to Biden, he pardoned a whole pile of people. And if you were a Trump supporter, you'd say, 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:07.920 yes. If you're a Biden part, uh, supporter, you'd go that dirty rat, despicable guy. Those cronies of 00:16:07.920 --> 00:16:14.019 his don't reserve mercy. They're guilty. That's just injustice. Now the shoe will be on the other foot. 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:20.120 I have, I'm not making any predictions, but if Biden loses this election and Trump comes in, 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:25.879 nobody's going to take a bet of me of a hundred dollars that Biden's not going to pardon a whole 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:32.439 pile of his cronies, probably his son, not getting political. I should, I apologize for having said 00:16:32.439 --> 00:16:39.360 that. But, um, uh, and you know, once again, people who are Biden supporters, they'll say, yeah, 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.720 that's good that he should show mercy to those people. But Trump supporters, you know, no, no, 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:46.680 that's, that's just complete and utter injustice. Those guys are guilty. They don't deserve mercy. 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:52.139 That's injustice. So here we see that we're a little bit, we're, we're a bit caught that we 00:16:52.139 --> 00:16:56.279 sort of, on one hand, we think, okay, yeah, we should be showing mercy. But on, on one hand, 00:16:56.279 --> 00:17:01.100 we think we should be showing mercy, but we only show mercy to people who, who don't deserve the 00:17:01.100 --> 00:17:06.140 suffering. Uh, but on the other hand, if people start to demand us to show mercy to them as a right, 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:09.299 then it's not really mercy, is it? Because mercy should be something which we, 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:15.539 we offer freely, like, like, um, like, uh, like being generous. And on the other hand, as well, 00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:20.059 you should never show mercy to somebody who, who actually deserves the punishment that they're 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:25.659 getting. That's not mercy, that's injustice. And, and, and, and if it's, you can't have mercy and, 00:17:25.659 --> 00:17:31.000 and justice fighting with each other. Yeah, you, you, you, you need to, they, they have to, 00:17:31.139 --> 00:17:35.699 they have to be at peace with each other. And so there can't be any type of injustice at all 00:17:35.700 --> 00:17:42.319 with mercy. And all of a sudden, this simple text, if you press into it, it realizes that there's some 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:46.180 problems with it. We all begin as Canadians as saying that mercy should be something that we 00:17:46.180 --> 00:17:51.900 should do. But there's lots of problems with it because most of the time, well, here's where it 00:17:51.900 --> 00:18:00.500 gets even more problematic. I think as you get older, when you're, when I was young, I thought that 00:18:00.500 --> 00:18:06.960 most of the time what I needed was justice. If, if people would just understand what went on 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:13.740 and I got justice, that would be good. But as I get older, I think most of the time what I need 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:20.240 is mercy, not justice. And sometimes I think I need justice. A lot of times what I realize is I 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:23.339 need some mercy. I need people to show me some mercy. 00:18:23.339 --> 00:18:32.980 But now we're sort of, we're, we're, we're stuck because you see really half the time, 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:39.959 no, that's not true. 80% of the time, no, actually that's not true. Probably 99% of the time 00:18:39.959 --> 00:18:47.720 when I'm hoping I get mercy, really what I am is somebody who's been a supporter of Biden, 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:55.360 who wants Biden to give me mercy just before he leaves office. So I evade justice. 00:18:57.579 --> 00:19:01.279 In other words, what I'm really looking for is God to treat me different. 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:09.700 I'm, I'm hoping that God will in a sense forget about justice when he looks at me and give me mercy. 00:19:09.700 --> 00:19:17.420 mercy. And if I'm at all self-aware and I, I, I'd say to another person, God, don't show that person 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:23.900 mercy because of, they, they really deserve this. But in my heart, I'm asking for the exact, I'm asking 00:19:23.900 --> 00:19:30.620 for that, for God to, to be set justice aside. And then we realize we're, see, the fact of the matter 00:19:30.620 --> 00:19:34.000 is, is if God was to treat us with perfect justice, we would be screwed. 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:46.680 We might think to ourselves that we're pretty good people. And we probably are. And we might 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:50.819 forget all of those things that we've done that deserve some type of justice that have not, 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:56.740 then that justice has not fallen on them. But you can be absolutely guaranteed that if God was to do a 00:19:56.740 --> 00:20:05.079 little, a survey about the people that we've hurt, uh, they would paint a very different picture of us 00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:08.240 than we try to portray for ourselves. 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:17.120 And if, if God was to now reveal our inner life, the motivations as to why we do things and how we 00:20:17.120 --> 00:20:23.579 think about other people, and that was to be revealed to other people, and they could then comment on it. 00:20:23.579 --> 00:20:28.319 They'd say, no, no, don't count George as a good person, God. Did you, you hear, did you see what he was 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:35.939 thinking? Did you, did you see why he did that? Like, did, God, did you see? Like, George, George, 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:39.240 God, if you were to show George mercy, you're being unjust. 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:48.059 There are many in our culture who feel trapped. They feel locked in. 00:20:48.059 --> 00:20:53.960 They know, they long for mercy, but they also know that they've done wrong. 00:20:56.299 --> 00:21:02.039 A couple of weeks ago, I, I was getting a coffee at a, at one of my favorite coffee places, and the 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:06.179 person dealing with the coffee at first, it looked like they'd made a mistake on the cash. 00:21:06.879 --> 00:21:11.539 And they said, I think I might have made a mistake, and I, I'm sure you didn't, you don't make mistakes. 00:21:11.539 --> 00:21:18.159 And they, they, they looked at me, and they paused. They said, you don't know me. If you knew me, you would 00:21:18.159 --> 00:21:24.440 never say I don't make mistakes. She didn't say it with a smile. She said it with a type of sadness. 00:21:26.639 --> 00:21:35.720 She said it with a type of sadness. And somebody that is locked in, they long for mercy, but they've done 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:49.400 wrong. The biblical gospel proclaims that God's mercy triumphs over justice, so that his mercy is extended to the 00:21:49.400 --> 00:21:58.059 undeserving. That's what we don't understand about this text. When this text is telling us to show mercy, it's not 00:21:58.059 --> 00:22:05.380 saying just to show mercy to people who deserve, who don't deserve their punishment. Biblical mercy, the whole 00:22:05.380 --> 00:22:17.540 message of the gospel is that God shows mercy to the undeserving. And he does it in a way that is not unjust. 00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:25.000 You see, if you think about people being trapped, and there's this combination of they really long, that 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:30.400 somebody would show them mercy, but they also understand that they've done these, these really bad things, and they 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:37.019 feel trapped. And in a sense, that trap or that lock, there's a, there is in fact a lock hole, a keyhole 00:22:37.019 --> 00:22:43.880 there. And only the person of Jesus fits that lock and can unlock you that you will be free. 00:22:45.500 --> 00:22:53.800 It is not found in any other religion, any other spirituality, any other philosophy. Only the gospel, only Jesus 00:22:53.799 --> 00:23:01.680 is that very unique lock, a key that goes into the lock and can turn it and can free you. 00:23:05.419 --> 00:23:12.919 God's mercy triumphs over justice. His mercy is extended to the undeserving. 00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:19.860 I mean, when Jesus is first introduced in his public ministry, he's described as the Lamb of God who 00:23:19.860 --> 00:23:25.539 takes away the sin of the world. The whole, our whole understanding of Jesus in this is that Jesus 00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:30.820 is the one who never sinned. He, he lived the perfect life, the life that we should live that we were not 00:23:30.820 --> 00:23:36.460 able to live. The whole point of his virgin birth is that he, in a sense, becomes the second Adam. Our 00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:42.840 first Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled God, and we are all in, in a sense, that lineage of that Adam and Eve, 00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:49.099 and that we have now that propensity to sin, and we also sin, and we do things which deserve some 00:23:49.099 --> 00:23:54.339 type of punishment and some type of justice. The justice of the universe cries out against us, 00:23:54.459 --> 00:24:01.279 and we hold our ears to stop hearing it, but the cry for justice against us is very, very loud, 00:24:01.819 --> 00:24:09.859 and God, the Son of God, takes on flesh. He lives that sinless life. He lives that sinless life. He is the 00:24:09.859 --> 00:24:15.459 one who can represent us, and he walked amongst us, so he can, he can, not only is he one who can 00:24:15.459 --> 00:24:21.279 represent us, he identified with us, he experienced the temptations that we suffer only without sin, 00:24:21.659 --> 00:24:27.679 and he offers his life upon the cross as a substitute. He says, George, I can represent you, 00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:33.539 I understand you, I see right into the depths of who you are, and I am willing to die in the cross 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:40.960 instead of you, and I am willing to offer my life as a substitute and exchange my life for yours, 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:47.319 and I do it willingly. That's the whole point of the miracles, the miracles of how can one who walks 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:53.980 on the water, how could he die upon a cross? How can one who can multiply bread die upon a cross? How 00:24:53.980 --> 00:25:00.359 can one who raises the dead die upon the cross? How can one who stills the waves die upon a cross? 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:05.419 How can he do that unless he allows himself to die out of love for you? 00:25:09.339 --> 00:25:12.019 Because those nails could not hold him. 00:25:19.699 --> 00:25:29.459 And if on the last day, and there is a great plain, and God says, consider this person, George, 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:36.159 has George ever wronged you? And God plays all of my thoughts, all of the things I've done, all of my 00:25:36.159 --> 00:25:42.399 desires, all of my reasons, and he plays it before the whole room, the whole great plain, and the cry 00:25:42.399 --> 00:25:48.359 would be, he deserves judgment, George deserves judgment, George deserves judgment. And then there 00:25:48.359 --> 00:25:53.519 would be a second thing played, and Jesus seen every single one of those things that I have done in my life, 00:25:53.519 --> 00:26:02.379 all of my thoughts, all of my desires. And Jesus then says to the assembly, 00:26:02.379 --> 00:26:10.960 I saw all of those things, and I knew George when I offered to die on the cross for him. 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:15.259 And he accepted my offer. 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:23.940 And so God himself can say to the gathered crowds, the universe demanding justice, 00:26:24.539 --> 00:26:33.039 that Jesus' death upon the cross, God's justice has been maintained. 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:38.519 Because Jesus died as my representative, as my substitute. 00:26:41.460 --> 00:26:43.359 And Jesus does that in mercy. 00:26:47.319 --> 00:26:51.920 I did not deserve God's mercy, but God's mercy is extended to me. 00:26:52.099 --> 00:26:55.079 There's a beautiful hymn. Deborah and I were just talking. 00:26:55.159 --> 00:26:57.220 She's going to try to teach it to the congregation. 00:26:57.220 --> 00:27:01.640 It's one of those hymns that, it's called My Song is Love Unknown. 00:27:01.860 --> 00:27:06.140 And I was telling her for back in the day, those old ancient days when people sang hymns, 00:27:06.740 --> 00:27:12.660 congregations had a love-hate relationship with the hymn, My Song is Love Unknown. 00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:13.519 Google it. 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:18.500 Because it's sort of complicated to sing, My song is love unknown. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:19.980 My Savior is love. 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:23.519 Like it goes slow, it goes fast, it goes up and it goes down. 00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:24.120 It's a bit complicated. 00:27:24.119 --> 00:27:25.939 But once you master, it's a beautiful hymn. 00:27:26.299 --> 00:27:28.319 And it has one of this beautiful, beautiful line in it. 00:27:28.779 --> 00:27:33.119 Love for the loveless shown, that you might lovely be. 00:27:33.959 --> 00:27:34.899 That's the gospel. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:40.359 Love for the loveless shown, that you might lovely be. 00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:53.439 And that's to be our posture and our heart as we're dealing with those who doubt as we deal. 00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:56.740 Because of ungodly influencers taking them away from this truth. 00:27:56.899 --> 00:27:57.240 You see, this. 00:27:57.899 --> 00:27:58.659 See, now go back. 00:27:59.179 --> 00:28:02.619 Who wouldn't want to build their life on that truth? 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:06.179 The truth of the gospel. 00:28:06.839 --> 00:28:09.139 Who wouldn't want to build their life on that? 00:28:09.699 --> 00:28:11.739 Who wouldn't want to grow into that? 00:28:13.059 --> 00:28:17.779 Who wouldn't want to learn to enjoy and celebrate that and praise God for that? 00:28:18.219 --> 00:28:21.199 And if you have people in the church taking you away from that and say, 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:22.379 No, no, no, that's not how it works. 00:28:22.439 --> 00:28:23.459 No, no, no, that's how it works. 00:28:23.460 --> 00:28:25.960 Well, then you see, here's the thing. 00:28:26.539 --> 00:28:33.799 True love says strong words to protect people from ruinous danger. 00:28:34.940 --> 00:28:36.380 That's what Jude did. 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:43.319 He, because of his mercy, because of God's mercy, 00:28:43.319 --> 00:28:50.480 he says strong words to wake us up because of true ruin, true danger. 00:28:53.460 --> 00:28:54.799 Understanding mercy. 00:28:56.019 --> 00:28:57.480 And it's a very, very hard. 00:28:57.620 --> 00:29:02.700 In a sense, this mercy that is offered to you in the person of Jesus, 00:29:03.340 --> 00:29:05.240 that's what the Bible teaches. 00:29:05.819 --> 00:29:10.019 And it's when you understand the person of Jesus that you really understand the Bible. 00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:13.340 And now go back, just in closing, 00:29:14.740 --> 00:29:18.640 go back and look at these commands in verses 20 to 21 00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:19.440 and say to yourself, 00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:21.480 Why wouldn't I want to build my life into this? 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:24.140 Like, what's more beautiful? 00:29:25.860 --> 00:29:27.000 What's more hopeful? 00:29:30.299 --> 00:29:31.400 Like, there's nothing. 00:29:33.900 --> 00:29:34.720 There's nothing. 00:29:35.740 --> 00:29:37.360 Listen to verse 20 and 21 again. 00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:39.339 If you could put it up on the screen, that would be great. 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:41.339 Just very briefly. 00:29:41.339 --> 00:29:47.539 But you, beloved, building yourself up in your most holy faith 00:29:47.539 --> 00:29:49.079 and praying in the Holy Spirit, 00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:51.480 keep yourself in the love of God, 00:29:51.919 --> 00:29:55.500 waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 00:29:56.559 --> 00:29:58.779 Remember, he spent verses 5 to 19 00:29:58.779 --> 00:30:02.599 talking about the character and the shape of these people 00:30:02.599 --> 00:30:05.279 who are causing problems in the church. 00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:07.879 And Nietzsche has a very true thing to say. 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:09.339 It's actually a very biblical thing, 00:30:09.420 --> 00:30:11.720 even though he was an atheist and hated Christianity. 00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:14.220 He said a very Christian thing when he said those. 00:30:14.660 --> 00:30:16.299 I think it's something to the effect of, 00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:17.879 beware of looking into the abyss, 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:20.240 because the abyss looks back at you. 00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:23.380 And there can be a great problem 00:30:23.380 --> 00:30:25.420 if you spend all of your time thinking about evil, 00:30:25.819 --> 00:30:28.019 because evil can start to form you. 00:30:29.620 --> 00:30:31.660 And so what we see here, right, 00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:32.660 he's given the problem, 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:34.420 and he's now giving these three things, 00:30:34.620 --> 00:30:37.240 these areas that we have to go in to contend for the faith. 00:30:38.220 --> 00:30:39.620 And so what he's beginning, 00:30:39.740 --> 00:30:41.120 it's just like in the airplane. 00:30:41.259 --> 00:30:42.880 In the airplane, at the beginning of the time, 00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:44.160 just before you take off, 00:30:44.180 --> 00:30:45.259 or just after you take off, 00:30:45.299 --> 00:30:47.359 the stewardess or the steward gets up 00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:50.639 and, you know, describes how in the event of some accident 00:30:50.639 --> 00:30:51.500 or some problem, 00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:53.500 the oxygen masks will have dropped down. 00:30:53.879 --> 00:30:55.139 And every time they say that, 00:30:55.199 --> 00:30:56.219 I inwardly say, 00:30:56.659 --> 00:30:58.599 and you should start to pray to your God 00:30:58.599 --> 00:31:00.119 because you're about to meet your maker. 00:31:00.259 --> 00:31:01.959 That's what I actually think they should say. 00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:04.099 I think they should actually have a little card 00:31:04.099 --> 00:31:05.359 that says the Lord's Prayer. 00:31:05.479 --> 00:31:07.619 They should say, yeah, get the oxygen things, 00:31:07.699 --> 00:31:09.639 but read the Lord's Prayer because you're about to die. 00:31:09.939 --> 00:31:11.759 But obviously that wouldn't be a good thing to say 00:31:11.759 --> 00:31:13.719 on an airplane just as you're taken off. 00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:15.199 But the principle, 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:17.740 I always say you put the oxygen mask on yourself first 00:31:17.740 --> 00:31:18.759 and then you can help others. 00:31:19.220 --> 00:31:20.380 And that's what he's doing here. 00:31:20.460 --> 00:31:21.140 He's saying, listen, 00:31:21.380 --> 00:31:22.680 you can get into trouble 00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:24.539 if you spend all your time thinking about error. 00:31:24.600 --> 00:31:26.420 You need to fill yourself up on the truth. 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:27.720 You need to feed on the truth. 00:31:27.840 --> 00:31:29.440 You need to build yourself up on the truth. 00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:31.080 You do this first. 00:31:31.920 --> 00:31:32.900 Do this first. 00:31:33.019 --> 00:31:35.019 And then you see error more clearly. 00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:37.440 And you have these four commands. 00:31:38.080 --> 00:31:39.120 And the first one is, 00:31:39.480 --> 00:31:41.720 and it's hard to translate into English, 00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:43.960 but the word build yourself, 00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:46.319 it actually has this double meaning. 00:31:46.460 --> 00:31:48.600 You build yourself on the faith 00:31:48.600 --> 00:31:50.299 and into the faith. 00:31:50.980 --> 00:31:52.319 That's the first thing it's telling you. 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:54.019 Build yourself on the faith, 00:31:54.059 --> 00:31:57.000 and the faith is this message of mercy 00:31:57.000 --> 00:31:58.420 which unlocks the Bible. 00:31:58.640 --> 00:31:59.600 And you read the Bible, 00:31:59.700 --> 00:32:01.319 and you start to see how it's, 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:04.100 and the Bible and the whole counsel of God, 00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:06.819 and it's not just, you know, 00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:08.880 truth about God and truth about yourself, 00:32:09.019 --> 00:32:10.759 but it's truth about right and wrong. 00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:13.859 And it will influence how your imagination works, 00:32:13.980 --> 00:32:15.359 and how your desires work, 00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:16.779 and how your longings work, 00:32:16.920 --> 00:32:18.019 and your affection. 00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:20.140 And it touches how you live your life 00:32:20.140 --> 00:32:21.339 in terms of your sexuality, 00:32:21.740 --> 00:32:23.619 and how you live in relationship with money, 00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:27.079 and how you live in relationship with power, 00:32:27.460 --> 00:32:30.039 and how you live in terms of your relationship 00:32:30.039 --> 00:32:31.039 with the state, 00:32:31.339 --> 00:32:32.680 and all of these types of things. 00:32:32.680 --> 00:32:34.220 And you want to build yourself up 00:32:34.220 --> 00:32:37.759 on this profound bedrock of mercy. 00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:39.420 That's what you build yourself on, 00:32:39.460 --> 00:32:41.440 and you build into it at the same time. 00:32:41.560 --> 00:32:42.720 And that's the first command. 00:32:43.100 --> 00:32:44.220 And all of these commands, 00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:45.840 they're both personal and communal. 00:32:46.240 --> 00:32:47.080 It's saying both, 00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:49.080 George, this is what you should do. 00:32:49.160 --> 00:32:49.660 And it's saying, 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:50.600 Church of the Messiah, 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:52.299 this is what you should do. 00:32:52.539 --> 00:32:53.680 It's both personal, 00:32:53.940 --> 00:32:54.980 and it's communal. 00:32:55.940 --> 00:32:56.460 Verse 20, 00:32:56.860 --> 00:32:59.440 build yourselves up in your most holy faith. 00:32:59.500 --> 00:33:01.200 It's holy because it comes from God. 00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:02.519 And the second thing is, 00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:04.580 pray in the Holy Spirit. 00:33:05.080 --> 00:33:06.259 Be people of prayer. 00:33:06.460 --> 00:33:08.100 Pray into this situation. 00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:09.960 And the Holy Spirit's not saying 00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:10.860 about speaking in tongues. 00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:12.279 If you have the gift of speaking in tongues, 00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:12.980 well, praise God. 00:33:13.059 --> 00:33:14.100 Go ahead and speak in tongues. 00:33:14.380 --> 00:33:16.440 But it's not just that you have to speak in tongues. 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:18.400 It's saying that you have to understand 00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:21.779 that the Holy Spirit desires to have you pray. 00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:24.120 The Holy Spirit will empower you to pray, 00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:26.160 and that you should ask God 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:28.559 for the Holy Spirit's help in praying, 00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:31.140 that He might give you energy, 00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:31.580 to pray. 00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:33.620 He might guide and direct your prayers, 00:33:33.720 --> 00:33:35.980 and that you want to pray to God, 00:33:36.059 --> 00:33:37.059 and about other people, 00:33:37.140 --> 00:33:37.860 and about yourself, 00:33:37.940 --> 00:33:39.220 and you want to be understood 00:33:39.220 --> 00:33:40.380 as a person of prayer, 00:33:40.460 --> 00:33:41.400 and praying in the Holy Spirit. 00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:43.799 You know, there's that wonderful thing. 00:33:44.380 --> 00:33:45.720 I can't remember the name of the hymn. 00:33:45.799 --> 00:33:46.080 It says, 00:33:46.440 --> 00:33:48.420 Tune my heart to sing your praise. 00:33:48.660 --> 00:33:49.940 That's capturing this idea 00:33:49.940 --> 00:33:50.799 about the Holy Spirit. 00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:53.720 Tune my heart so I can pray. 00:33:54.360 --> 00:33:55.640 And then verse 21, 00:33:55.640 --> 00:33:57.680 John, keep yourself in the love of God. 00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:00.580 Keep yourself in the love of God. 00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:01.940 We've just heard about the love of God, 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:03.320 and it is profound mercy. 00:34:04.340 --> 00:34:06.600 And John, if you go back and you read, 00:34:06.660 --> 00:34:08.420 I don't have time to do this right now. 00:34:08.460 --> 00:34:09.440 If you go back and you read 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:12.340 John chapter 14, verses 15 to 24. 00:34:12.820 --> 00:34:16.260 John chapter 14, verses 15 to 24. 00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:17.460 Jesus says, 00:34:17.620 --> 00:34:19.040 The way you love God 00:34:19.040 --> 00:34:20.400 is by keeping his commands. 00:34:24.720 --> 00:34:26.880 Obedience is key to knowing God 00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:27.980 and knowing his love. 00:34:30.580 --> 00:34:33.100 And then finally, it says, 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:37.320 this fourth command is wait. 00:34:38.700 --> 00:34:39.960 Learn to wait. 00:34:40.540 --> 00:34:41.680 And look what you're waiting for. 00:34:42.160 --> 00:34:44.520 Waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ 00:34:44.520 --> 00:34:45.760 that leads to eternal life. 00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:47.640 Now, George, didn't you just say 00:34:47.640 --> 00:34:49.260 that you receive that mercy 00:34:49.260 --> 00:34:52.140 when you give your life to Christ? 00:34:53.660 --> 00:34:55.040 You see, you have to understand 00:34:55.040 --> 00:34:56.380 all three tenses of this. 00:34:56.660 --> 00:34:58.220 This is what's so beautiful, folks. 00:34:58.320 --> 00:34:59.240 It's so beautiful. 00:35:01.560 --> 00:35:03.360 I have received mercy. 00:35:04.720 --> 00:35:06.380 I am receiving mercy. 00:35:07.040 --> 00:35:08.540 I will receive mercy. 00:35:09.720 --> 00:35:11.060 It isn't as if I have some mercy 00:35:11.060 --> 00:35:11.880 to become a Christian, 00:35:12.020 --> 00:35:12.640 and then after that, 00:35:12.720 --> 00:35:14.100 it just, you're all up on your own. 00:35:14.100 --> 00:35:14.660 No. 00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:17.400 It begins with mercy. 00:35:18.560 --> 00:35:19.740 You breathe mercy. 00:35:19.860 --> 00:35:21.040 It continues with mercy. 00:35:21.980 --> 00:35:23.340 And the end is mercy. 00:35:25.040 --> 00:35:26.540 It's mercy all the way down 00:35:26.540 --> 00:35:27.280 and all the way up 00:35:27.280 --> 00:35:28.520 and all the breadth and breadth. 00:35:28.640 --> 00:35:29.820 It's all mercy. 00:35:31.040 --> 00:35:32.540 And waiting is about hope. 00:35:33.860 --> 00:35:35.220 You know, it can be really hard 00:35:35.220 --> 00:35:36.960 if you get concerned 00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:38.000 about ungodly influences. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:39.360 That's a very important message 00:35:39.360 --> 00:35:40.059 for the church. 00:35:41.760 --> 00:35:44.260 Many of us know institutions 00:35:44.260 --> 00:35:45.980 are crumbling around us. 00:35:46.980 --> 00:35:48.739 If Jesus doesn't come back 00:35:48.739 --> 00:35:50.139 in the next 20 years, 00:35:50.280 --> 00:35:52.800 the denominational framework of Canada 00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:56.239 and the institutional Christian framework 00:35:56.239 --> 00:35:57.820 of Canada will be quite different. 00:35:58.820 --> 00:36:00.360 Many parachurch organizations 00:36:00.360 --> 00:36:01.719 will no longer exist. 00:36:01.719 --> 00:36:03.879 Many denominations will no longer exist. 00:36:04.039 --> 00:36:04.819 There'll be merges 00:36:04.819 --> 00:36:06.179 and there'll be new organizations. 00:36:07.719 --> 00:36:09.839 And sometimes it can get you really down 00:36:09.839 --> 00:36:12.419 when you see how ungodly influencers 00:36:12.419 --> 00:36:15.579 are persuading whole churches 00:36:15.579 --> 00:36:16.719 and groups of people 00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:18.219 to leave the Christian faith 00:36:18.219 --> 00:36:20.099 and embrace something 00:36:20.099 --> 00:36:22.819 that is not going to unlock your soul, 00:36:22.939 --> 00:36:24.339 that's not going to lead you to Jesus. 00:36:24.340 --> 00:36:27.660 And we can get down. 00:36:29.079 --> 00:36:30.440 That's why it's really important 00:36:30.440 --> 00:36:31.400 to practice hope, 00:36:31.840 --> 00:36:33.000 to learn to wait. 00:36:35.320 --> 00:36:36.640 They might win the battle 00:36:36.640 --> 00:36:37.780 over this denomination. 00:36:39.039 --> 00:36:40.940 They might get to keep a property 00:36:40.940 --> 00:36:44.000 and others might have to walk away. 00:36:47.039 --> 00:36:48.260 But I don't say this 00:36:48.260 --> 00:36:49.940 with any type of boasting whatsoever. 00:36:50.200 --> 00:36:51.700 I am one who received, 00:36:52.140 --> 00:36:54.300 I am one who does not deserve mercy 00:36:54.300 --> 00:36:55.840 who received mercy 00:36:55.840 --> 00:36:57.260 in the person of Jesus. 00:37:00.200 --> 00:37:02.000 And the final word about me 00:37:02.000 --> 00:37:03.500 that God will say 00:37:03.500 --> 00:37:05.420 is when I enter death 00:37:05.420 --> 00:37:07.820 and I see God face to face 00:37:07.820 --> 00:37:10.320 and he will smile at me 00:37:10.320 --> 00:37:12.039 and he will say welcome. 00:37:13.600 --> 00:37:15.160 Not because of my deserving, 00:37:16.420 --> 00:37:17.320 but because of Christ. 00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:21.000 And that joy, 00:37:22.140 --> 00:37:23.519 that joy, 00:37:24.300 --> 00:37:25.760 that joy频, 00:37:25.760 --> 00:37:27.039 that joy, 00:37:27.140 --> 00:37:28.380 that joy, 00:37:29.340 --> 00:37:30.180 that joy, 00:37:30.180 --> 00:37:30.260 that joy. 00:37:30.260 --> 00:37:30.820 That joy, 00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:31.180 that joy, 00:37:31.180 --> 00:37:31.280 that joy, 00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:31.500 and that joy, 00:37:31.500 --> 00:37:32.300 that joy is when I enter death 00:37:32.340 --> 00:37:33.060 well, that joy. 00:37:33.060 --> 00:37:33.240 That joy, 00:37:33.240 --> 00:37:33.700 that joy, 00:37:33.700 --> 00:37:34.000 that joy, 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:34.440 that joy, 00:37:34.440 --> 00:37:34.539 that joy, 00:37:34.539 --> 00:37:34.800 that joy, 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:35.100 that joy. 00:37:35.099 --> 00:37:35.779 for the faith. 00:37:37.119 --> 00:37:38.599 And it's worth remembering 00:37:38.599 --> 00:37:40.039 the final word about you. 00:37:40.380 --> 00:37:42.119 So you might have strength for this day 00:37:42.119 --> 00:37:43.960 and strength for tomorrow. 00:37:46.139 --> 00:37:47.259 And all the more 00:37:47.259 --> 00:37:49.079 while you want to walk towards those 00:37:49.079 --> 00:37:50.900 leading people astray 00:37:50.900 --> 00:37:52.860 and pray for them 00:37:52.860 --> 00:37:55.279 and share the Bible with them 00:37:55.279 --> 00:37:57.059 and share arguments with them 00:37:57.059 --> 00:37:58.960 and urge them to turn. 00:38:00.059 --> 00:38:01.000 Urge them to turn. 00:38:02.219 --> 00:38:03.699 I want to just close 00:38:03.699 --> 00:38:05.359 by this idea of the waiting. 00:38:05.480 --> 00:38:06.960 I want to read in closing. 00:38:07.859 --> 00:38:08.879 In fact, why don't you stand 00:38:08.879 --> 00:38:09.579 while I read it? 00:38:10.500 --> 00:38:12.439 It's 2 Corinthians 4, 00:38:12.879 --> 00:38:15.419 verses 16 to 18. 00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:17.119 It's a verse that many of you know 00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:18.980 and have memorized. 00:38:20.939 --> 00:38:23.439 2 Corinthians 4, 16 to 18. 00:38:23.699 --> 00:38:25.419 So we do not lose heart. 00:38:27.059 --> 00:38:28.399 We do not lose heart. 00:38:29.279 --> 00:38:30.919 Though our outer self 00:38:30.919 --> 00:38:32.139 is wasting away, 00:38:32.139 --> 00:38:33.739 our inner self 00:38:33.739 --> 00:38:35.279 is being renewed day by day. 00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:36.960 God's grace is working. 00:38:38.960 --> 00:38:40.139 For this light, 00:38:40.379 --> 00:38:41.599 momentary affliction 00:38:41.599 --> 00:38:43.719 is preparing for us 00:38:43.719 --> 00:38:46.940 an eternal weight of glory 00:38:46.940 --> 00:38:48.980 beyond all comparison 00:38:48.980 --> 00:38:51.639 as we look not to the things 00:38:51.639 --> 00:38:52.319 that are seen 00:38:52.319 --> 00:38:53.940 but to the things that are unseen. 00:38:54.940 --> 00:38:56.599 For the things that are seen 00:38:56.599 --> 00:38:57.339 are transient, 00:38:57.340 --> 00:38:59.620 but the things that are unseen 00:38:59.620 --> 00:39:02.079 are eternal. 00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:03.500 I'm going to continue reading. 00:39:03.620 --> 00:39:04.780 For we know that if the tent, 00:39:04.920 --> 00:39:05.740 that is our body, 00:39:05.880 --> 00:39:06.860 that is our earthly home, 00:39:06.900 --> 00:39:07.440 is destroyed, 00:39:07.800 --> 00:39:11.340 we have a building from God, 00:39:11.800 --> 00:39:13.160 a house not made with hands, 00:39:13.260 --> 00:39:14.160 eternal in the heavens. 00:39:15.160 --> 00:39:16.440 For in this tent, 00:39:16.940 --> 00:39:17.900 we may groan, 00:39:18.280 --> 00:39:19.140 longing to put on 00:39:19.140 --> 00:39:20.039 our heavenly dwelling. 00:39:20.039 --> 00:39:23.960 just skipping down. 00:39:24.460 --> 00:39:25.500 But we know that mortal 00:39:25.500 --> 00:39:27.719 will be swallowed up 00:39:27.719 --> 00:39:29.279 by life. 00:39:29.960 --> 00:39:31.480 And he who has prepared us 00:39:31.480 --> 00:39:32.400 for this very thing 00:39:32.400 --> 00:39:32.940 is God, 00:39:33.619 --> 00:39:34.980 who has given his Holy Spirit 00:39:34.980 --> 00:39:35.639 as a guarantee. 00:39:36.199 --> 00:39:37.320 That is our blessed hope. 00:39:38.679 --> 00:39:39.900 I invite you just to bow your heads 00:39:39.900 --> 00:39:40.320 in prayer. 00:39:40.320 --> 00:39:40.380 Okay. 00:39:45.619 --> 00:39:46.880 Father, we give you thanks 00:39:46.880 --> 00:39:47.420 and praise 00:39:47.420 --> 00:39:48.619 that you extended mercy 00:39:48.619 --> 00:39:49.599 to the undeserving 00:39:49.599 --> 00:39:51.539 in the person of your Son, 00:39:52.299 --> 00:39:53.460 in his life and death 00:39:53.460 --> 00:39:54.139 and resurrection. 00:39:57.019 --> 00:39:58.079 Father, we ask 00:39:58.079 --> 00:40:00.679 that you would help us 00:40:00.679 --> 00:40:01.279 to remember 00:40:01.279 --> 00:40:02.719 what he has done 00:40:02.719 --> 00:40:03.679 for us on the cross, 00:40:03.839 --> 00:40:04.519 that you would 00:40:04.519 --> 00:40:05.839 have the truth 00:40:05.839 --> 00:40:08.219 of what he did 00:40:08.219 --> 00:40:10.039 and what he accomplished. 00:40:10.599 --> 00:40:11.639 We give you thanks 00:40:11.639 --> 00:40:12.159 and praise 00:40:12.159 --> 00:40:13.400 that he is present with us, 00:40:13.460 --> 00:40:14.179 that the Holy Spirit 00:40:14.179 --> 00:40:15.039 indwells us. 00:40:15.920 --> 00:40:16.839 And we ask, Father, 00:40:16.920 --> 00:40:17.539 that you help us 00:40:17.539 --> 00:40:18.719 to build ourselves up 00:40:18.719 --> 00:40:19.360 in this faith, 00:40:19.460 --> 00:40:20.619 that you help us 00:40:20.619 --> 00:40:22.159 to pray in the Holy Spirit, 00:40:22.300 --> 00:40:22.940 that you help us 00:40:22.940 --> 00:40:24.960 to be kept in your love, 00:40:25.079 --> 00:40:26.300 and that you help us 00:40:26.300 --> 00:40:27.460 to wait in hope 00:40:27.460 --> 00:40:29.639 for the new heavens 00:40:29.639 --> 00:40:30.440 and the new earth, 00:40:31.079 --> 00:40:32.719 for our new resurrection bodies. 00:40:33.639 --> 00:40:34.880 And having a posture 00:40:34.880 --> 00:40:35.900 of mercy, Father, 00:40:35.980 --> 00:40:37.119 help us to deal with all 00:40:37.119 --> 00:40:38.420 with a posture of mercy, 00:40:39.079 --> 00:40:40.400 with merciful prayer 00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:41.619 and merciful words, 00:40:42.860 --> 00:40:43.519 knowing, Father, 00:40:43.579 --> 00:40:44.940 that sometimes those words 00:40:44.940 --> 00:40:46.380 will have to be very strong 00:40:46.380 --> 00:40:47.460 and bold and clear. 00:40:48.320 --> 00:40:49.000 But, Father, 00:40:49.099 --> 00:40:50.519 may you purge our hearts 00:40:50.519 --> 00:40:51.700 from any vain glory 00:40:51.700 --> 00:40:52.480 or anger, 00:40:53.099 --> 00:40:55.139 and may it be mercy, 00:40:56.159 --> 00:40:58.460 mercy that we stand on, 00:40:58.720 --> 00:41:00.220 mercy that propels us, 00:41:00.679 --> 00:41:02.079 mercy that draws us, 00:41:02.659 --> 00:41:03.820 mercy that shapes us. 00:41:04.179 --> 00:41:04.980 And we ask this 00:41:04.980 --> 00:41:06.039 in Jesus' name. 00:41:06.700 --> 00:41:07.059 Amen. 00:41:07.059 --> 00:41:07.220 Amen. 00:41:07.220 --> 00:41:07.260 Amen. 00:41:07.260 --> 00:41:07.280 Amen. 00:41:07.280 --> 00:41:07.300 Amen.