WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.160 It was a time when the pursuit of powered, piloted flight, everyone was kind of into it. 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:12.839 And Langley had all the ingredients of success. 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:19.240 He was given $50,000 by the United States War Department, another $20,000 by the Smith's 00:00:19.240 --> 00:00:25.300 Odeon Institute to figure out how to get someone to fly in a flying machine thing. 00:00:26.500 --> 00:00:28.620 And he was the guy to do it. 00:00:28.620 --> 00:00:30.339 He held a seat at Harvard. 00:00:30.560 --> 00:00:33.439 He was connected to all the great minds of the USA. 00:00:34.219 --> 00:00:39.260 He employed the best people that money could buy to be on his team to build this flying 00:00:39.260 --> 00:00:39.980 machine thing. 00:00:40.539 --> 00:00:46.060 And the interest in his progress was so great that the New York Times followed him everywhere 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:46.840 and everything he did. 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:51.500 He was kind of a celebrity trying to build this flying machine thing. 00:00:51.500 --> 00:00:59.140 A few hundred kilometres away in Dayton, Ohio, were Orville and Wilbur Wright. 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:06.579 They, on the other hand, paid for their dream of powered, piloted flight from the proceeds 00:01:06.579 --> 00:01:07.659 of their bicycle shop. 00:01:07.659 --> 00:01:14.359 Not a single member of their team had a college degree, including the Wright brothers. 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:19.579 And the New York Times virtually hardly knew they even existed and certainly didn't follow 00:01:19.579 --> 00:01:20.060 them around. 00:01:21.539 --> 00:01:26.840 Langley was driven by the results of success. 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:33.640 He wasn't as interested in the goal as he was in the product of the goal. 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:36.140 That is fame and fortune, personal fame and fortune. 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:41.400 The Wright brothers were driven by a purpose, a cause, a belief. 00:01:42.260 --> 00:01:48.680 They were convinced that powered, piloted flight would change the course of the world. 00:01:49.960 --> 00:01:53.500 It was the significant technology that needed to be nailed. 00:01:53.500 --> 00:02:00.200 And their team that they managed to form around them believed in this cause too, not in the 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:02.079 paycheck that would arrive at the end of the week. 00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:10.139 Each time they went out to do a test flight, they carried five sets of parts with them because 00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:14.439 that's how many times they crashed each day trying to get this thing to work. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:15.800 And still they kept on. 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:23.320 And eventually, the Wright brothers, if you know history at all, took flight on the 17th 00:02:23.320 --> 00:02:25.540 of December, 1903. 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:34.560 And that very same day, Samuel Pierpont Langley quit the pursuit. 00:02:35.420 --> 00:02:41.760 He didn't even offer his team or his resources to sharpen the technology of the Wright brothers. 00:02:41.880 --> 00:02:43.520 He simply walked away. 00:02:44.200 --> 00:02:44.800 That was it. 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:49.300 You see, motivation was the key to the Wright brothers' success. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:53.680 They were able to answer the question, why? 00:02:54.700 --> 00:02:57.340 Not how and what, but why? 00:03:01.620 --> 00:03:04.260 Why do you do what you do? 00:03:05.760 --> 00:03:06.680 Is it a paycheck? 00:03:07.900 --> 00:03:09.640 Is it the honor of a memory? 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:13.480 Is it because I can't do what I want to do? 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:15.879 Why do you do what you do? 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:17.019 Why do anything at all? 00:03:17.060 --> 00:03:20.000 In fact, you made a choice to be here tonight. 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:21.379 You make a choice every day. 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:22.819 You made a choice to be here tonight. 00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:23.719 Why? 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:33.620 To be able to answer the why question will make all the difference in your ability to face what comes tomorrow, 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:35.379 whatever it is that you do. 00:03:35.379 --> 00:03:38.719 And that's the question that's right in front of us. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:40.900 As we come to the end of Leviticus. 00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:44.500 Why would we follow this God? 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:46.500 Why? 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:46.520 Why? 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:55.639 Why would we want our lives to be conformed by this God, be conformed by his word and all these laws and regulations? 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:58.699 You see, it's not a popular option nowadays in the secular West, 00:03:58.699 --> 00:04:05.879 especially when the Christian faith touches on anything to do with sexual ethics or any kind of morality, 00:04:06.659 --> 00:04:08.699 and especially the stuff that we've seen here in Leviticus. 00:04:09.219 --> 00:04:16.899 To be a proponent of the sexual ethics of Leviticus is to put your head on the chopping block in this society. 00:04:16.899 --> 00:04:25.219 The English actor, Sir Ian McKellar, he's famous for playing Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. 00:04:26.699 --> 00:04:30.739 He is an outspoken gay rights activist. 00:04:31.579 --> 00:04:36.339 And he is on the record of saying that whenever he gets his hand on a Bible, 00:04:36.919 --> 00:04:41.779 he turns to Leviticus chapters 18 to 20, grabs hold of them and rips them out and throws them in the bin. 00:04:42.479 --> 00:04:45.819 Goes and stays in a hotel, pulls out the Gideon Bible out of the drawer, 00:04:45.819 --> 00:04:49.240 turns to Leviticus 18 to 20, rips them out and throws them in the bin. 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:55.800 He is so offended by the historical Christian teaching on homosexual practice. 00:04:55.959 --> 00:04:57.199 That's the mood of our society. 00:04:57.300 --> 00:05:00.800 He might not literally do that every time, but that's the mood of our society. 00:05:03.459 --> 00:05:05.519 Why would we want to follow this God? 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:10.939 Why would we want to live lives by his word with all its limitations and restrictions? 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:15.060 That's verse 3. 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:17.740 It's the chapter of Leviticus 26. 00:05:17.740 --> 00:05:22.399 It's the one core issue of this chapter, the one core command. 00:05:23.099 --> 00:05:25.180 And in fact, for all Leviticus, it's a summary here. 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:29.379 Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my commands. 00:05:30.300 --> 00:05:33.339 Verses 1 and 2 talk about total loyalty to God. 00:05:33.459 --> 00:05:38.399 Abandon all other loyalties and have total loyalty to this God. 00:05:38.539 --> 00:05:42.079 Why would you do that in Australia in 2017? 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:47.219 You see, the highest value in our society is freedom. 00:05:47.459 --> 00:05:49.439 You see this everywhere on social media. 00:05:49.919 --> 00:05:57.000 I should be free to live life as I see fit, so long as I don't harm anyone else. 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:59.360 Who cares what anyone else thinks? 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:02.740 I should be allowed to do whatever I want to do as long as it doesn't harm anyone else. 00:06:04.459 --> 00:06:09.579 Choice is seen as a good thing in life, even the ultimate thing. 00:06:10.019 --> 00:06:14.420 And we have this view that the more choice we have, the happier we will ultimately be. 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:18.759 The greatest level of freedom, the happier we will be. 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:20.980 And that's true. 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:29.959 But in our society, all authority is regarded as inherently suspect. 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:34.019 Nobody should have the right to tell others what to think or behave. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:38.279 In much of our society, Christianity is seen as the arch enemy of freedom. 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:42.500 It is seen as restricting and even enslaving people. 00:06:42.500 --> 00:06:49.060 And so, is the choice that's before us today, as we get to the end of Leviticus, 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:53.699 a choice that we need to make between freedom or faith? 00:06:54.579 --> 00:06:55.360 Faith, freedom. 00:06:55.459 --> 00:06:56.079 Freedom, faith. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:57.800 Is that the choice that's before us? 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:00.279 Now, don't get me wrong. 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:04.000 The idea of individual freedom in which society has done a great deal of good. 00:07:05.420 --> 00:07:09.740 It has led to, I believe, a far more just and fair society, 00:07:09.740 --> 00:07:11.860 and especially for minority groups. 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:13.879 But that shouldn't surprise us. 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:19.000 Because the concept of individual freedom is a byproduct of the Christian gospel. 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:22.860 It did not exist before Christianity existed. 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:26.220 Individual freedom didn't exist before Christianity. 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:35.960 However, freedom has become to be defined as the absence of any limitations. 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:40.000 Modern freedom is the freedom of self-assertion. 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:41.939 And it doesn't work. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:42.680 It can't work. 00:07:44.339 --> 00:07:48.500 If freedom is to be able to do whatever I want, 00:07:49.359 --> 00:07:54.459 what happens when my personal wants are in conflict with each other? 00:07:55.060 --> 00:07:55.959 What happens then? 00:07:55.959 --> 00:08:01.620 For instance, imagine I'm a 75-year-old gentleman, 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:03.439 not quite there yet, 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:10.240 who has two major wants, desires, and passions in life. 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:12.479 The first is, 00:08:12.679 --> 00:08:16.659 I want to spend the most amount of time possible with my grandchildren. 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:22.759 And the other second major passion in my life is to eat KFC three times a day. 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:29.180 I would either have to accept the limitations of my eating, 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:31.939 or the limitations of my health. 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:36.779 You can't have freedom in both directions. 00:08:37.700 --> 00:08:40.220 You've got to choose a limitation. 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:45.279 At some point, my doctor is likely to mention to me 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:49.080 that my want, my desire, my passion for KFC 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:52.179 is going to get in the way of my want to spend time with my grandchildren. 00:08:52.179 --> 00:08:55.459 Because of heart attacks and whatever else. 00:08:56.779 --> 00:08:59.819 You've got to accept one limitation over against the other. 00:09:02.459 --> 00:09:07.539 We all have to choose which freedoms we will sacrifice for others. 00:09:10.219 --> 00:09:12.019 We all have to make that choice. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:14.919 And the real question is, 00:09:15.179 --> 00:09:19.019 which freedom is the most liberating freedom? 00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:25.079 What we should be looking for are the right freedoms, 00:09:25.199 --> 00:09:28.579 the most liberating constraints is another way to look at it, 00:09:28.579 --> 00:09:32.819 the most liberating constraints that fit our design as human beings. 00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:37.319 Christianity says that we're all created by God 00:09:37.319 --> 00:09:40.360 so that absolutely everything that we have is a gift from Him. 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:42.699 Christianity says that the problem of this world, 00:09:42.700 --> 00:09:47.879 every one of them is all linked to human beings' rejection of their creator God. 00:09:49.060 --> 00:09:51.980 But this same God has come into His world 00:09:51.980 --> 00:09:55.800 in order to rescue and redeem His rebellious creation. 00:09:56.520 --> 00:09:59.980 And not just rescue, but someday He's planning to renew it all. 00:10:00.540 --> 00:10:04.780 And Christianity says that this life, therefore, is not the only life. 00:10:04.779 --> 00:10:07.579 It's only part of life. 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:13.339 It claims that this life is, in fact, a relatively small part of our entire existence. 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:20.199 And that story shapes everything for the Christian. 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:23.959 There is not an area of your life, not an area of your existence, 00:10:24.339 --> 00:10:27.959 that that story does not touch, that does not shape, that does not inform. 00:10:28.459 --> 00:10:29.899 And that's what we've seen right through Leviticus. 00:10:29.899 --> 00:10:32.799 God gets right down the nitty-gritty details of His new people 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:34.919 as He forms a new community. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:37.600 Right down the very, very nitty-gritty details. 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:43.059 God calls His people to live as He has called them to live. 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:50.659 And when you do, what you discover is life in abundance. 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:56.240 And Leviticus 26, if you've got your Bibles, turn to that now, 00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:59.379 we have given three motivations here. 00:10:59.899 --> 00:11:06.620 Three whys, three reasons as to why we would follow this God in Australia in 2017. 00:11:07.259 --> 00:11:09.899 Verses 4 to 13 give us the first motivation. 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:11.120 It's the motivation of hope. 00:11:12.139 --> 00:11:13.879 God doesn't promise some vague blessing. 00:11:14.019 --> 00:11:15.679 He spells it out in detail. 00:11:16.179 --> 00:11:17.919 It's important to understand that these blessings 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:21.500 were not blessings that were earned because of their obedience. 00:11:22.319 --> 00:11:26.279 These are blessings that God was under no obligation whatsoever 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:29.379 to give His people as part of His adoption of them. 00:11:29.899 --> 00:11:34.840 And in verses 11 to 12, God's own presence is promised amongst His people. 00:11:35.620 --> 00:11:40.779 All aspects of God's blessings in these verses 00:11:40.779 --> 00:11:44.579 echo the promises of God to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden 00:11:44.579 --> 00:11:45.659 right at the beginning of the Bible. 00:11:45.659 --> 00:11:55.459 That is, there is one core key to all of God's blessings, 00:11:55.579 --> 00:11:57.000 and it's in verse 12. 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:01.419 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:07.179 The land is abundant because God is there. 00:12:07.179 --> 00:12:13.179 Where the source of life is, life flourishes. 00:12:13.359 --> 00:12:14.059 That's the point. 00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:15.559 God's not there. 00:12:15.699 --> 00:12:16.639 It equals death. 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:23.139 You see, abundant life and peace is only possible with the presence of God. 00:12:24.439 --> 00:12:27.379 God has rescued these people from slavery to be His people, 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:29.700 and He calls them to be distinct people, 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:33.419 and promises the ultimate blessing to His distinct people, 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:34.500 and that is His presence. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:35.980 I will be there with you. 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:38.379 You see, hope shapes our lives. 00:12:39.899 --> 00:12:42.799 Every one of us, whether you're Christian or not, hope shapes your life. 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:45.220 Whatever our hope is, 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:48.379 determines the particular constraints 00:12:48.379 --> 00:12:51.200 that we are prepared to take on in our lives. 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:56.060 You can tell by what you do with your time, 00:12:56.160 --> 00:12:57.940 what values you want to instill in your kids, 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:00.020 and what you do with your money, 00:13:00.220 --> 00:13:01.440 and what you dream about, 00:13:01.520 --> 00:13:02.720 and spend time talking about, 00:13:02.800 --> 00:13:04.720 and what you think about your vocation, 00:13:05.040 --> 00:13:06.160 and what you do with your leisure. 00:13:06.340 --> 00:13:08.740 You can draw all of those lines out, 00:13:08.920 --> 00:13:10.360 and make the connections, 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:14.120 and it all points to what your hope is. 00:13:15.920 --> 00:13:17.520 In our secular West, 00:13:18.140 --> 00:13:20.660 generally, our hope is a secure, 00:13:20.659 --> 00:13:21.740 secure retirement. 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:24.259 Secure retirement until we die. 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:25.019 That's our hope. 00:13:25.100 --> 00:13:25.679 Not the die bit, 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:27.600 but the secure retirement until we die. 00:13:27.959 --> 00:13:29.539 Everything focuses on that. 00:13:33.339 --> 00:13:36.159 The Christian hope shapes every aspect of our lives too. 00:13:37.259 --> 00:13:40.339 Although, the Christian hope is a certain hope. 00:13:40.779 --> 00:13:43.000 Too often, we associate the word hope with, 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:45.480 you know, I wish kind of thinking, 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:47.899 sort of like aspiration, you know. 00:13:48.079 --> 00:13:49.039 I really hope so. 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:51.399 You know, as we're sort of doubtfully unsure 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:52.679 about what the outcome's going to be. 00:13:53.939 --> 00:13:55.639 That's what we usually mean by hope. 00:13:56.099 --> 00:13:57.519 And these words are meant to inspire 00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:59.039 a different kind of hope for us. 00:13:59.779 --> 00:14:01.079 Not a hope that is an uncertain wish, 00:14:01.139 --> 00:14:02.939 but a kind of hope that is dependent 00:14:02.939 --> 00:14:05.039 upon the reliances on the promises of God. 00:14:06.079 --> 00:14:08.639 And that's why this section ends in verse 13, 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:10.639 saying, 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:23.720 That's what it's saying. 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:26.680 And this is a reminder to the people here, 00:14:27.040 --> 00:14:29.340 that God's promises were no mere aspirations. 00:14:29.540 --> 00:14:31.700 The hope that they have is no mere wish. 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:34.820 It's a certain expectation that God will act 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:37.920 towards his people as he promises. 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:39.860 He's as good as his word. 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:41.300 That's the first motive, hope. 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:46.160 Second motive is a motive of fear. 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:49.980 It begins with a six-point description 00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:53.299 of disobedience in verses 14 and 15. 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:54.699 But if you will not listen to me 00:14:54.699 --> 00:14:56.259 and carry out all these commands, 00:14:56.759 --> 00:14:57.819 and if you reject my decrees 00:14:57.819 --> 00:14:58.620 and abhor my laws 00:14:58.620 --> 00:15:00.620 and fail to carry out all of my commands, 00:15:00.919 --> 00:15:02.259 and so violate my covenant, 00:15:02.939 --> 00:15:03.620 what's the result? 00:15:04.019 --> 00:15:06.959 God's going to bring disaster upon the land. 00:15:07.339 --> 00:15:08.740 Notice the description here. 00:15:09.079 --> 00:15:10.620 Not listening, not carrying out, 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:13.459 rejecting, abhorring, failing, violating. 00:15:13.460 --> 00:15:16.600 It all brings disaster. 00:15:17.340 --> 00:15:18.920 There's disease in verse 16. 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:20.400 There's enemies in verse 17. 00:15:20.800 --> 00:15:21.920 Their refusal to listen 00:15:21.920 --> 00:15:23.400 means that God breaks their pride 00:15:23.400 --> 00:15:24.600 through agricultural failure 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:26.460 in verses 19 and 20. 00:15:26.800 --> 00:15:28.400 And the hostility towards God 00:15:28.400 --> 00:15:30.240 brings disaster in land in verse 22 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:31.740 through the wild animals. 00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:33.160 God unleashes the wild animals. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:34.259 That's, you know, for us, 00:15:34.300 --> 00:15:35.100 we're sitting here in Chatsworth, 00:15:35.180 --> 00:15:36.700 that doesn't kind of mean a whole lot for us. 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:39.080 We're kind of more used in the Western society 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:40.759 to protecting the animals from us 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:41.980 than us being protected from the animals. 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:43.720 So that's generally the way, you know, 00:15:43.920 --> 00:15:44.399 unless, of course, 00:15:44.420 --> 00:15:46.220 there's some sort of rampant possum on the run 00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:46.980 or something like that. 00:15:47.019 --> 00:15:48.519 But that's about the worst 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:49.879 we could kind of hope for, I think, 00:15:49.940 --> 00:15:51.220 you know, in our society. 00:15:51.300 --> 00:15:52.940 But imagine, you know, 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:54.980 you're heading out this afternoon. 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:56.259 You've got to get some milk from here 00:15:56.259 --> 00:15:57.440 to get down to the corner store. 00:15:57.620 --> 00:15:58.899 And what you're doing the whole time 00:15:58.899 --> 00:16:00.259 is dodging lions and hyenas 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:01.480 and every other thing 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:02.519 that wants to chew on your leg 00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:03.600 and bite your head off. 00:16:03.680 --> 00:16:04.800 I mean, imagine that. 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:05.820 That's the picture here. 00:16:06.300 --> 00:16:06.980 The picture here is 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:08.539 you will not get to the corner store 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:10.659 and get back again with your milk. 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:14.399 Your kids get out in a play on the trampoline 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:18.319 and one's taken by a leopard sitting in the tree. 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:20.379 It's disaster. 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:23.259 It's fear everywhere in the land. 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:24.439 It says a little bit later, 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:27.679 there'll be a rustling of a leaf 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:29.459 because of a breeze that's come through 00:16:29.460 --> 00:16:32.500 and you're off we go. 00:16:33.040 --> 00:16:35.240 It's just fear everywhere. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:40.280 Verses 25 and 26 go 00:16:40.280 --> 00:16:43.019 in the terrible description of disaster in the land. 00:16:43.420 --> 00:16:45.000 Verse 29 is shocking. 00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:47.200 It says you will eat the flesh of your sons 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:49.019 and the flesh of your daughters. 00:16:49.500 --> 00:16:52.139 If you think this is a veiled threat here by God 00:16:52.139 --> 00:16:54.980 to see that, you know, 00:16:55.960 --> 00:16:58.200 this actually happened in history. 00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:05.700 2 Kings 6, Jeremiah 19, Lamentations 2, Lamentations 4, Ezekiel 5, 00:17:06.120 --> 00:17:09.759 we see this wretchedness being worked out 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:10.840 in the history of Israel. 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:15.340 The real heart of their rebellions in verse 25, 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:18.920 the breaking of the covenant, as it says, 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:22.120 this is not a list of individual sins and infractions. 00:17:22.220 --> 00:17:24.700 This is a sustained attitude towards God, 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:26.920 a deliberate choice to go against his word 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:29.600 and the consequence of their hostility toward God 00:17:29.600 --> 00:17:32.779 is God meteering out his punishment towards his people. 00:17:34.840 --> 00:17:36.820 So fear is the second motive here. 00:17:36.819 --> 00:17:44.619 And in our day, fear is regarded as probably the lowest motivation for actions. 00:17:45.740 --> 00:17:49.179 American writer H.A. Overstreet suggested 00:17:49.179 --> 00:17:52.779 that to fear is to be psychologically ill. 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:57.279 It is in fact the consuming illness of our time, he suggested. 00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:01.839 Franklin Roosevelt said that the only thing we need to fear 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:03.759 is fear itself. 00:18:05.019 --> 00:18:07.839 Now, there are some fears that we want to work to overcome. 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:09.099 You know, the fear of flying. 00:18:09.259 --> 00:18:11.299 You know, the Wright brothers sorted that one for us. 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:16.959 Closed spaces and ghosts and thunderstorms and darkness 00:18:16.959 --> 00:18:19.559 or what others think of me or what others might do to me. 00:18:19.919 --> 00:18:22.039 These are the kind of fears that are false 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:23.519 and they need to be overcome. 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:26.639 But what if the fear is something real? 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:30.900 What if it's a genuine and a true fear? 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:34.639 Are they not God-given guides for our good? 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:39.879 You see, I do not want an entirely fearless heart 00:18:39.879 --> 00:18:43.639 any more than I want an entirely fearless child 00:18:43.639 --> 00:18:45.859 that would be happy to play out there 00:18:45.859 --> 00:18:47.700 on the traffic at Fuller's Road this afternoon. 00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:49.839 I don't want that. 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:56.000 The judgment of God that he threatens to in this passage was real. 00:18:57.379 --> 00:18:59.500 All you need to do is read the rest of the Old Testament to see that. 00:19:00.220 --> 00:19:01.699 The very things that are threatened here 00:19:01.699 --> 00:19:04.579 are what happened in space and time. 00:19:05.639 --> 00:19:07.039 God was found to be good as his word. 00:19:07.939 --> 00:19:09.899 He warned them and it happened. 00:19:11.879 --> 00:19:15.939 Right fear can be an appropriate motive. 00:19:15.940 --> 00:19:21.559 But we get a sense of what is behind these warnings 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:24.580 in Exodus 20-20 where it says, 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:25.740 Do not be afraid. 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:27.860 God, again speaking to Israel, do not be afraid. 00:19:28.740 --> 00:19:29.960 God has come to test you 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:33.120 so that the fear of God will not be with you 00:19:33.120 --> 00:19:34.340 to keep you from sinning. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:39.480 In other words, my translation of Exodus 20-20, 00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:42.420 fear God so that you don't have to fear God. 00:19:45.940 --> 00:19:51.320 See, the fear of God does not sit by itself as a motivation. 00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:55.840 The Bible tells us that his grace and his mercy 00:19:55.840 --> 00:20:01.680 allows himself to be a place of refuge. 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:05.720 Proverbs 14-26 is, I think, quite remarkable. 00:20:06.299 --> 00:20:06.640 It says, 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:10.779 Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress 00:20:10.779 --> 00:20:14.640 and for their children it will be a refuge. 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:18.280 The fear of the Lord is a secure fortress 00:20:18.280 --> 00:20:20.060 and a place of refuge. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:24.800 Now, that might be a decision 00:20:24.800 --> 00:20:26.380 that some of you need to make tonight. 00:20:28.340 --> 00:20:29.740 You've heard this word of warning. 00:20:30.660 --> 00:20:32.660 It might be time for you to hear it 00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:34.759 as Israel was meant to hear it 00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:35.980 and turn back to God, 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:38.040 to repent, to come back to him 00:20:38.040 --> 00:20:40.700 and find refuge in him, in his love and his mercy. 00:20:41.620 --> 00:20:43.700 You see, this is not just a word of warning to Israel 00:20:43.700 --> 00:20:44.700 a few thousand years ago. 00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:46.480 We see the same sort of stuff in the New Testament. 00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:49.160 In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul gets up and says, 00:20:49.340 --> 00:20:52.660 Now he commands all people everywhere to repent 00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:56.140 for he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice 00:20:56.140 --> 00:20:57.360 by the man he has appointed. 00:20:57.559 --> 00:20:59.319 He has given proof of this to everyone 00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:01.120 by raising him from the dead. 00:21:02.779 --> 00:21:05.240 Maybe that's a choice you need to make tonight 00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:07.720 is to actually turn away from your rejection of God, 00:21:07.819 --> 00:21:08.940 turn towards him, 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:12.240 repent and find refuge in him. 00:21:12.299 --> 00:21:13.480 And if that is you, then please, 00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:15.599 I would love to talk to you after the service. 00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:20.440 So the second motive is fear, 00:21:21.019 --> 00:21:24.180 but fear that's meant to drive us to him in refuge. 00:21:24.819 --> 00:21:26.599 And that leads me to the third motive, 00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:27.819 and that is the love of God. 00:21:27.819 --> 00:21:30.519 His grace has the last word here. 00:21:31.419 --> 00:21:36.579 Now the word punish in verses 18 and again in 28 00:21:36.579 --> 00:21:39.559 can be understood to mean the word discipline. 00:21:39.879 --> 00:21:43.980 You know, the discipline in the middle of this chapter 00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:47.339 is not evidence that God has finally gotten fed up 00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:48.099 with his people, 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:51.000 but in fact it's the exact opposite of that. 00:21:51.919 --> 00:21:54.439 His discipline is part of his careful love of his people, 00:21:54.539 --> 00:21:55.639 it's part of his covenant love. 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:59.900 His discipline is designed to bring his people to repentance. 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:02.520 Now every parent knows 00:22:02.520 --> 00:22:04.860 that we don't stop loving our children 00:22:04.860 --> 00:22:06.820 when we discipline them. 00:22:07.020 --> 00:22:08.400 Our discipline of them 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:11.120 is another expression of our love for them. 00:22:11.600 --> 00:22:13.280 It's one of the most difficult ways 00:22:13.280 --> 00:22:14.320 that we love our children, 00:22:14.620 --> 00:22:16.620 but it is still love for our children. 00:22:18.620 --> 00:22:23.460 And if you look at verses 18, 21, 23, 24, 27, sorry, 00:22:23.460 --> 00:22:27.960 you'd notice that the purpose of all of these punishments 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:31.259 was to get the people to finally turn back to God 00:22:31.259 --> 00:22:33.819 and away from the road of destruction. 00:22:34.380 --> 00:22:36.100 God sends them discipline 00:22:36.100 --> 00:22:37.579 in the hope that they will turn around 00:22:37.579 --> 00:22:38.279 and they ignore it 00:22:38.279 --> 00:22:39.500 and he sends them another discipline 00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:40.660 in the hope they'll turn around, 00:22:40.840 --> 00:22:43.400 but they ignore it again and again and again. 00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:46.299 The phrase that is used here over and over 00:22:46.299 --> 00:22:49.799 is listen to God, listen to me. 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:54.039 See the same thing in the New Testament. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:56.500 Jesus says in Luke 8 00:22:56.500 --> 00:22:57.700 that those who are part of his family 00:22:57.700 --> 00:23:01.419 are those who hear God's word and obey. 00:23:03.059 --> 00:23:04.720 The difference between the wise man 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:06.859 who built his house on the rock 00:23:06.859 --> 00:23:08.700 and the foolish man who builds his house on the sand 00:23:08.700 --> 00:23:10.779 is the difference between those who hear the word of God 00:23:10.779 --> 00:23:15.039 and those who hear the word of God and do it. 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:18.639 Jesus says, 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:19.940 if you love me, 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:21.619 this is how you show your love for me. 00:23:22.599 --> 00:23:24.319 You keep my commandments. 00:23:26.659 --> 00:23:27.879 So in verse 44, 00:23:27.879 --> 00:23:31.079 we see God's response to those who finally turn back. 00:23:32.399 --> 00:23:35.200 They've finally heeded God's warnings, 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:35.859 his discipline, 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:36.740 they've turned back 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:38.779 and these are the ones who have been humbled, 00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:40.039 they're turned back in repentance 00:23:40.039 --> 00:23:40.599 and he says, 00:23:40.700 --> 00:23:42.119 yet in spite of all of this, 00:23:42.619 --> 00:23:44.099 when they're in the land of their enemies, 00:23:44.099 --> 00:23:46.980 I will not reject them or abhor them 00:23:46.980 --> 00:23:49.359 so as to destroy them completely. 00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:53.859 Why would God be so loving 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:57.059 and so long-suffering? 00:23:57.879 --> 00:24:00.319 You see, the pressing question of Leviticus 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:03.039 is not how can a loving God 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:04.980 possibly send anyone to hell. 00:24:06.279 --> 00:24:09.959 It's actually how can a holy God 00:24:09.959 --> 00:24:12.659 possibly ever allow anyone into heaven. 00:24:14.099 --> 00:24:16.859 That is the issue of Leviticus. 00:24:18.939 --> 00:24:21.219 Why is this God so patient with rebellion? 00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:24.219 There is no other answer but his love. 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:26.859 All the covenant language 00:24:26.859 --> 00:24:30.219 of these last verses of Leviticus 26 00:24:30.219 --> 00:24:32.799 is not the language of a detached, 00:24:33.019 --> 00:24:35.599 cold negotiating table in a courtroom. 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:39.480 It is the heated language of love. 00:24:40.419 --> 00:24:43.459 This God commits himself in love to his people 00:24:43.459 --> 00:24:45.839 like a marriage relationship. 00:24:45.980 --> 00:24:47.740 And the Old Testament is, if you like, 00:24:47.779 --> 00:24:50.039 the panorama of God's patient, 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:53.459 gracious, merciful, long-suffering. 00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:57.360 His passion to love his people. 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:02.579 Before she married media mogul Ted Turner, 00:25:03.299 --> 00:25:04.640 Jane Fonda said, 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:06.559 for two people to live together 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:07.720 for the rest of their lives 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:08.940 is almost unnatural. 00:25:09.799 --> 00:25:10.500 As it turns out, 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:11.579 that marriage didn't last long. 00:25:11.579 --> 00:25:16.119 But there's a bucket of truth in that, 00:25:16.179 --> 00:25:16.599 is it not? 00:25:16.659 --> 00:25:17.939 I mean, it's one thing to say 00:25:17.939 --> 00:25:18.919 that, you know, 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:19.799 love at first sight. 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:20.899 That's kind of understandable. 00:25:22.199 --> 00:25:23.519 But how do you explain love 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:24.579 when you've been looking at each other 00:25:24.579 --> 00:25:25.539 for 20 years? 00:25:26.339 --> 00:25:27.439 Or 52 years, 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:29.619 as my parents celebrated this week. 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:32.939 this sense of the difficulty 00:25:32.939 --> 00:25:35.839 of being faithful to someone else, 00:25:36.979 --> 00:25:39.079 especially when that someone 00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:40.759 has faults and failings, 00:25:40.859 --> 00:25:43.319 let alone that someone 00:25:43.319 --> 00:25:45.939 who is actively hostile towards you. 00:25:48.339 --> 00:25:50.179 That's such an important aspect 00:25:50.179 --> 00:25:51.139 of the love of God. 00:25:52.699 --> 00:25:54.059 The tenacious love of God 00:25:54.059 --> 00:25:55.719 is always the basis 00:25:55.719 --> 00:25:57.479 of his relationship with his people. 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:58.659 As 1 John 4 says, 00:25:59.000 --> 00:25:59.559 this is love. 00:25:59.619 --> 00:26:00.719 Not that we loved God, 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:03.339 but that he loved us. 00:26:03.739 --> 00:26:04.459 That's love. 00:26:06.259 --> 00:26:07.039 And frankly, 00:26:07.159 --> 00:26:08.339 you're not easy to love. 00:26:09.919 --> 00:26:10.659 Neither am I, 00:26:10.719 --> 00:26:11.319 but, you know, 00:26:11.739 --> 00:26:12.879 I just want to drive the point home. 00:26:12.939 --> 00:26:14.239 You're not easy to love. 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:17.659 As long as we think of ourselves 00:26:17.659 --> 00:26:18.739 self-righteously, 00:26:19.659 --> 00:26:21.459 as long as we think of ourselves 00:26:21.459 --> 00:26:23.139 as people that are easy to love, 00:26:24.099 --> 00:26:26.699 then we can never, ever 00:26:26.699 --> 00:26:29.239 understand the good news 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:30.240 of Jesus Christ. 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:33.460 You might be the founding member 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:34.599 of the Pharisee Society, 00:26:35.400 --> 00:26:37.380 but you cannot be a Christian 00:26:37.380 --> 00:26:39.480 until you understand 00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:40.740 that you are not easy to love. 00:26:40.740 --> 00:26:45.680 only when we understand 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:47.160 how difficult we are to love 00:26:47.160 --> 00:26:48.099 because of our sin 00:26:48.099 --> 00:26:49.500 and our hostility towards God 00:26:49.500 --> 00:26:50.559 can we begin to understand 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:51.759 what God has done for us. 00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:53.920 And if you doubt 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:54.940 God's love for you 00:26:54.940 --> 00:26:55.680 and you doubt 00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:57.559 the consequence of your sin, 00:26:57.640 --> 00:26:58.279 look at the cross, 00:26:58.339 --> 00:26:59.740 you see them both collide there. 00:26:59.740 --> 00:27:06.640 Why would we follow this God? 00:27:07.859 --> 00:27:09.120 2 Corinthians 5 says, 00:27:09.339 --> 00:27:12.079 for Christ's love compels us. 00:27:13.559 --> 00:27:14.779 Christ's love compels us 00:27:14.779 --> 00:27:16.079 because we are convinced 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:16.740 that one died, 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:17.440 talking about Jesus, 00:27:17.620 --> 00:27:18.960 one died for all 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:20.400 and therefore all died 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:21.279 and he died for all 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:22.259 that those who live, 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:23.500 that's talking about us now, 00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:25.460 should no longer live for themselves 00:27:25.460 --> 00:27:27.299 but for him who died for them 00:27:27.299 --> 00:27:28.919 and was raised again. 00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:30.619 Why would we follow this God? 00:27:32.019 --> 00:27:33.899 Because his love compels us. 00:27:35.919 --> 00:27:37.779 The New Testament declares 00:27:37.779 --> 00:27:38.859 that the creator God 00:27:38.859 --> 00:27:39.639 came to earth 00:27:39.639 --> 00:27:41.579 to die for our sins on the cross. 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:44.379 God says in the Bible, 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:45.139 cursed is anyone 00:27:45.139 --> 00:27:46.119 who's hung on a tree 00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:47.559 and here we have in Jesus, 00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:48.480 God himself, 00:27:49.019 --> 00:27:50.359 God placing himself, 00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:52.139 willingly placing himself 00:27:52.139 --> 00:27:54.279 under his own curse. 00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:56.339 He forsakes his son, 00:27:56.339 --> 00:27:57.859 he turns his back on his son 00:27:57.859 --> 00:28:00.240 so that we might get the blessing 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:02.259 of being drawn close to him 00:28:02.259 --> 00:28:05.000 and being in relationship with him. 00:28:06.439 --> 00:28:08.159 You see, Jesus is the one Lord, 00:28:08.459 --> 00:28:09.319 he's the one master, 00:28:09.379 --> 00:28:10.279 he's the one boss 00:28:10.279 --> 00:28:11.799 who when we fail him 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:13.319 will not punish us 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:15.279 but in fact forgive us. 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:17.179 You see, if you serve your career, 00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:18.039 if you serve your family, 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:19.119 if you serve other relationships 00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:21.559 and if you fail them, 00:28:22.939 --> 00:28:25.119 it will crucify you internally 00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:27.459 internally with self-loathing. 00:28:29.019 --> 00:28:31.079 But Jesus was crucified for you. 00:28:33.179 --> 00:28:34.419 Every single one of us, 00:28:34.479 --> 00:28:35.539 the same as every single person 00:28:35.539 --> 00:28:36.039 in this world, 00:28:36.099 --> 00:28:37.339 every single one of us here tonight, 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:39.319 it lives for something. 00:28:40.139 --> 00:28:42.000 And that something is your Lord, 00:28:42.099 --> 00:28:43.039 it is your master, 00:28:43.139 --> 00:28:43.979 it is your boss 00:28:43.979 --> 00:28:47.459 and it constrains your behavior. 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:50.100 You are not free. 00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:53.860 Whatever it is that you live for 00:28:53.860 --> 00:28:56.400 puts constraints on your behavior. 00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:01.259 If you live to be an Olympic gold medalist, 00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:04.779 you don't eat KFC three times a day. 00:29:05.579 --> 00:29:06.460 Three times a week, 00:29:06.500 --> 00:29:07.279 you don't eat it probably. 00:29:08.740 --> 00:29:10.240 If you live for Olympic gold, 00:29:10.340 --> 00:29:12.360 if you live for a successful career 00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:13.539 or art or politics 00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:15.219 or a boyfriend or a spouse, 00:29:15.740 --> 00:29:20.039 they all put limits on your choices. 00:29:20.719 --> 00:29:23.359 There are things that you will not do. 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:25.059 You are not free. 00:29:25.059 --> 00:29:32.179 Therefore, the question is not, 00:29:32.359 --> 00:29:33.000 am I free? 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:34.919 But rather, 00:29:35.819 --> 00:29:37.000 how do I know 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:38.980 if I'm taking on 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:42.000 liberating constraints 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:44.079 rather than the constraints 00:29:44.079 --> 00:29:45.480 that will crush me 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:47.200 and abuse me? 00:29:48.179 --> 00:29:49.980 That's the more appropriate question. 00:29:50.899 --> 00:29:53.019 What constraints am I taking on? 00:29:53.019 --> 00:29:56.319 And the answer of Christianity, 00:29:56.559 --> 00:29:57.119 the answer of the Bible, 00:29:57.200 --> 00:29:57.960 the answer of Leviticus 00:29:57.960 --> 00:30:00.160 is that if we are living 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:02.039 for the one who both created us 00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:03.900 and redeemed us 00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:05.700 and loves us, 00:30:06.099 --> 00:30:07.759 then by definition, 00:30:08.619 --> 00:30:12.139 whatever he calls us to do 00:30:12.139 --> 00:30:14.819 is a liberating constraint. 00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:19.660 It's where true, 00:30:19.859 --> 00:30:22.259 true freedom is found. 00:30:23.019 --> 00:30:26.980 in the same way 00:30:26.980 --> 00:30:29.400 that you get a boat 00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:33.980 and put up its sail 00:30:33.980 --> 00:30:35.460 and let it go 00:30:35.460 --> 00:30:36.819 in the water, 00:30:38.879 --> 00:30:40.099 providing it doesn't hit any rocks 00:30:40.099 --> 00:30:40.619 or anything out, 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:41.660 it is truly free. 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:44.160 It's doing what it was designed to do. 00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:47.359 Take that boat, 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:48.099 put it out in the desert 00:30:48.099 --> 00:30:49.680 and plant it on a sand hill 00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:51.019 and put the sail up, 00:30:51.600 --> 00:30:52.539 wind comes along, 00:30:53.140 --> 00:30:55.560 it's not truly free. 00:30:56.680 --> 00:30:58.460 It's not doing what it was designed to do. 00:30:58.460 --> 00:31:05.400 We were made to know, 00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:05.980 to serve, 00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:06.680 to love God 00:31:06.680 --> 00:31:08.360 and if we try to live for anything else 00:31:08.360 --> 00:31:10.319 it leads to slavery. 00:31:12.019 --> 00:31:14.279 Anything else leads to slavery. 00:31:16.819 --> 00:31:17.819 When we live for God 00:31:17.819 --> 00:31:18.680 and follow his will, 00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:20.819 we find that we are actually becoming 00:31:20.819 --> 00:31:22.200 who we are meant to be. 00:31:22.200 --> 00:31:22.740 You see, 00:31:22.980 --> 00:31:23.860 the Christian offer 00:31:23.860 --> 00:31:24.799 is not merely 00:31:24.799 --> 00:31:26.840 complying with the regulations 00:31:26.840 --> 00:31:27.819 of a creator 00:31:27.819 --> 00:31:29.100 out of a mere duty. 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:30.360 It consists of 00:31:30.360 --> 00:31:31.160 a new, 00:31:31.660 --> 00:31:32.100 growing, 00:31:32.360 --> 00:31:33.299 inward passion 00:31:33.299 --> 00:31:34.380 to love 00:31:34.380 --> 00:31:35.500 and be close 00:31:35.500 --> 00:31:37.420 to our God and Saviour. 00:31:37.779 --> 00:31:38.059 You see, 00:31:38.120 --> 00:31:38.660 when a Christian 00:31:38.660 --> 00:31:40.160 grasps 00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:40.960 how Jesus 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:42.000 saves them 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:44.000 at infinite cost 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:44.440 to himself, 00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:45.960 how he emptied himself 00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:46.860 of his glory 00:31:46.860 --> 00:31:47.940 and took a humble 00:31:47.940 --> 00:31:48.200 form 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:50.160 to serve 00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:51.400 our best interest, 00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:51.980 what it does, 00:31:52.060 --> 00:31:53.000 it creates 00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:55.280 a grateful joy 00:31:55.280 --> 00:31:57.620 and it would move 00:31:57.620 --> 00:32:00.460 for us to please him 00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:01.440 and to know him 00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:03.860 and resemble him 00:32:03.860 --> 00:32:05.800 to be holy 00:32:05.800 --> 00:32:09.080 because he is holy. 00:32:10.120 --> 00:32:10.800 Our happiness 00:32:10.800 --> 00:32:12.100 gets put into his happiness 00:32:12.100 --> 00:32:13.320 and serving him 00:32:13.320 --> 00:32:14.660 becomes our perfect liberation. 00:32:15.140 --> 00:32:16.160 That is why 00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:18.780 we follow this God 00:32:18.780 --> 00:32:21.140 even when it's not popular. 00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:25.300 And the call 00:32:25.300 --> 00:32:26.380 to God's people now, 00:32:26.560 --> 00:32:27.259 if you're a Christian, 00:32:27.360 --> 00:32:28.080 the call to God's people 00:32:28.080 --> 00:32:28.780 right now 00:32:28.780 --> 00:32:30.700 is still the same 00:32:30.700 --> 00:32:31.180 as it was 00:32:31.180 --> 00:32:32.080 to the first recipients 00:32:32.080 --> 00:32:32.680 of Leviticus. 00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:34.460 Be holy 00:32:34.460 --> 00:32:36.680 because I am holy. 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:37.580 1 Peter 1 00:32:37.580 --> 00:32:38.380 quotes that 00:32:38.380 --> 00:32:39.040 call to holiness 00:32:39.040 --> 00:32:39.780 from Leviticus 00:32:39.780 --> 00:32:41.300 when he exhorts Christians 00:32:41.300 --> 00:32:42.660 to look forward 00:32:42.660 --> 00:32:43.560 to the hope 00:32:43.560 --> 00:32:44.360 that they have 00:32:44.360 --> 00:32:45.440 of Christ's return. 00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:47.380 And in looking forward 00:32:47.380 --> 00:32:47.940 to that hope, 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:48.720 he calls us 00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:50.059 to be distinct now 00:32:50.059 --> 00:32:51.279 no matter how difficult 00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:51.779 it gets. 00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:52.600 He calls us 00:32:52.600 --> 00:32:53.640 not to be conformed 00:32:53.640 --> 00:32:54.819 to the evil desires 00:32:54.819 --> 00:32:55.539 we once had. 00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:56.279 He calls us 00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:57.500 to love one another deeply. 00:32:57.660 --> 00:32:57.920 Why? 00:32:59.500 --> 00:33:00.140 Because that's 00:33:00.140 --> 00:33:01.279 the character of God. 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:03.240 That's who we're becoming. 00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:05.200 Love one another deeply. 00:33:06.059 --> 00:33:06.779 To be holy 00:33:06.779 --> 00:33:07.720 as he is holy. 00:33:07.960 --> 00:33:09.120 To get rid of everything 00:33:09.120 --> 00:33:10.420 that is not characteristic 00:33:10.420 --> 00:33:11.500 of a person who loves. 00:33:11.500 --> 00:33:12.019 He says, 00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:12.860 get rid of things 00:33:12.860 --> 00:33:13.759 like malice 00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:14.220 and deceit 00:33:14.220 --> 00:33:14.940 and hypocrisy 00:33:14.940 --> 00:33:15.819 and envy 00:33:15.819 --> 00:33:16.440 and slander. 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:17.820 Christians are called 00:33:17.820 --> 00:33:18.660 to be distinct 00:33:18.660 --> 00:33:19.660 from everyone else. 00:33:19.980 --> 00:33:20.519 And as a church, 00:33:20.580 --> 00:33:20.960 we're going to set 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:21.420 a core value 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:22.059 just on the outside 00:33:22.059 --> 00:33:22.519 of that wall 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:23.039 that you'll see them 00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:23.539 over supper. 00:33:23.880 --> 00:33:24.400 Turn to them, 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:25.120 have a look at them. 00:33:26.980 --> 00:33:28.120 And those core values 00:33:28.120 --> 00:33:29.259 show a number of ways 00:33:29.259 --> 00:33:30.420 that we in this place 00:33:30.420 --> 00:33:31.779 are looking to be distinct. 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:34.019 We hold a course. 00:33:34.220 --> 00:33:36.180 We heard about it 00:33:36.180 --> 00:33:36.880 just a moment ago, 00:33:36.980 --> 00:33:37.759 Pathways. 00:33:38.120 --> 00:33:38.920 And that course 00:33:38.920 --> 00:33:39.820 is about membership 00:33:39.820 --> 00:33:41.039 in this Christian community. 00:33:41.940 --> 00:33:43.220 It's how our Christian 00:33:43.220 --> 00:33:44.700 distinction gets worked 00:33:44.700 --> 00:33:45.259 out here 00:33:45.259 --> 00:33:46.599 at St. Paul's Chatswood. 00:33:47.299 --> 00:33:48.039 I don't care how long 00:33:48.039 --> 00:33:48.440 you've been here 00:33:48.440 --> 00:33:49.059 in this church. 00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:50.019 If you've never been 00:33:50.019 --> 00:33:50.720 to Pathways, 00:33:50.859 --> 00:33:51.920 get to Pathways. 00:33:53.180 --> 00:33:53.740 There's one on 00:33:53.740 --> 00:33:57.440 on the 19th of March. 00:33:59.359 --> 00:34:00.299 Sign up for it 00:34:00.299 --> 00:34:01.160 tonight 00:34:01.160 --> 00:34:01.680 just out there 00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:02.279 on the Connect Desk. 00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:03.879 Why would we want 00:34:03.879 --> 00:34:04.819 to do that? 00:34:04.879 --> 00:34:05.359 Why would you want 00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:05.900 to be distinct? 00:34:06.839 --> 00:34:08.000 Why be constrained 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:08.920 by God's word? 00:34:09.019 --> 00:34:09.900 Why go against 00:34:09.900 --> 00:34:10.800 the tighter society 00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:11.300 and be holy 00:34:11.300 --> 00:34:12.139 because I am holy? 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:14.019 Hebrews 12, 14 00:34:14.019 --> 00:34:14.780 says this, 00:34:15.139 --> 00:34:16.800 make every effort, 00:34:17.739 --> 00:34:18.380 every effort, 00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:19.380 really work at it, 00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:20.800 really, really work at it 00:34:20.800 --> 00:34:21.579 to live at peace 00:34:21.579 --> 00:34:22.159 with everyone 00:34:22.159 --> 00:34:24.079 and to be holy 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:25.880 because without holiness 00:34:25.880 --> 00:34:27.679 no one will see 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:28.440 the Lord. 00:34:29.300 --> 00:34:30.500 Why does holiness matter? 00:34:31.320 --> 00:34:32.840 Because we get God back. 00:34:34.759 --> 00:34:36.420 We get to be 00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:37.199 in his presence. 00:34:38.280 --> 00:34:39.559 That's the goal of Leviticus. 00:34:39.659 --> 00:34:40.099 That's the goal 00:34:40.099 --> 00:34:40.780 of the whole Bible. 00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:41.380 That's the goal 00:34:41.380 --> 00:34:42.920 of history in fact. 00:34:42.920 --> 00:34:45.099 Revelation 21, 00:34:45.400 --> 00:34:46.119 this is the end of it. 00:34:46.180 --> 00:34:46.880 This is our hope. 00:34:46.980 --> 00:34:48.320 This is what Peter 00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:49.740 calls us to look forward to. 00:34:50.380 --> 00:34:50.840 Then I saw 00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:51.340 a new heaven 00:34:51.340 --> 00:34:51.920 and new earth 00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:52.619 for the first heaven 00:34:52.619 --> 00:34:53.180 and the first earth 00:34:53.180 --> 00:34:53.920 had passed away 00:34:53.920 --> 00:34:55.039 and there was no longer 00:34:55.039 --> 00:34:55.720 any sea. 00:34:55.820 --> 00:34:56.579 I saw the holy city, 00:34:56.659 --> 00:34:57.240 the new Jerusalem 00:34:57.240 --> 00:34:58.200 coming down out of heaven 00:34:58.200 --> 00:34:58.720 from God, 00:34:59.099 --> 00:35:00.380 prepared as a bride, 00:35:00.840 --> 00:35:01.539 beautifully dressed 00:35:01.539 --> 00:35:02.240 for her husband. 00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:03.519 And then I heard 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:04.360 a loud voice 00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:04.980 from the siren 00:35:04.980 --> 00:35:05.380 saying, 00:35:05.539 --> 00:35:05.880 look, 00:35:06.599 --> 00:35:07.220 look, 00:35:07.220 --> 00:35:07.280 look, 00:35:07.860 --> 00:35:11.720 God is there. 00:35:11.719 --> 00:35:13.899 it says something 00:35:13.899 --> 00:35:14.199 like that. 00:35:14.259 --> 00:35:14.379 It says, 00:35:14.759 --> 00:35:15.980 God's dwelling place 00:35:15.980 --> 00:35:17.500 is now amongst 00:35:17.500 --> 00:35:18.199 his people 00:35:18.199 --> 00:35:21.159 and he will dwell 00:35:21.159 --> 00:35:21.679 with them. 00:35:23.379 --> 00:35:24.699 They will be his people 00:35:24.699 --> 00:35:25.359 and God himself 00:35:25.359 --> 00:35:26.299 will be their God 00:35:26.299 --> 00:35:27.859 and he will be with them. 00:35:27.939 --> 00:35:28.639 He will wipe away 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:29.199 every tear. 00:35:29.279 --> 00:35:30.019 There'll be no more death 00:35:30.019 --> 00:35:30.399 or mourning 00:35:30.399 --> 00:35:31.339 or crying or pain. 00:35:31.339 --> 00:35:32.179 To the thirsty, 00:35:32.339 --> 00:35:32.959 I will give water 00:35:32.959 --> 00:35:33.539 without cost 00:35:33.539 --> 00:35:34.019 from the spring 00:35:34.019 --> 00:35:34.779 of the water of life 00:35:34.779 --> 00:35:36.219 and those who are victorious 00:35:36.219 --> 00:35:38.019 will inherit all of this 00:35:38.019 --> 00:35:39.079 and they will be 00:35:39.079 --> 00:35:40.639 with their God 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:42.159 and they will be 00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:43.719 my children. 00:35:44.920 --> 00:35:46.239 That's the goal. 00:35:49.900 --> 00:35:51.199 But hear the warning. 00:35:53.319 --> 00:35:54.679 But the cowardly, 00:35:55.279 --> 00:35:56.420 the unbelieving, 00:35:57.360 --> 00:35:58.059 the vile, 00:35:58.360 --> 00:35:58.900 the murderers, 00:35:58.960 --> 00:35:59.699 the sexually immoral, 00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:00.579 those who practice 00:36:00.579 --> 00:36:01.340 magic arts, 00:36:01.460 --> 00:36:02.000 the idolaters 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:03.639 and all liars, 00:36:04.259 --> 00:36:05.079 those who refuse 00:36:05.659 --> 00:36:06.079 to listen, 00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:09.500 they will be consigned 00:36:09.500 --> 00:36:10.719 to the fiery lake 00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:12.000 of burning sulfur. 00:36:12.179 --> 00:36:13.599 That is the second death. 00:36:13.679 --> 00:36:14.639 There is no coming back 00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:15.099 from that. 00:36:17.900 --> 00:36:19.000 And so hear 00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:20.940 the warning of God 00:36:20.940 --> 00:36:21.519 tonight 00:36:21.519 --> 00:36:23.279 and find refuge 00:36:23.279 --> 00:36:24.059 in his mercy. 00:36:25.400 --> 00:36:26.159 If this is a decision 00:36:26.159 --> 00:36:26.699 you need to make, 00:36:26.799 --> 00:36:27.279 speak to me. 00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:28.380 Please, please, please 00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:28.860 speak to me 00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:29.579 after this service. 00:36:31.360 --> 00:36:31.940 Choose today 00:36:31.940 --> 00:36:32.880 the blessing 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:34.059 of God's presence forever 00:36:34.059 --> 00:36:34.699 or the curse 00:36:34.699 --> 00:36:35.460 of being cast away 00:36:35.460 --> 00:36:36.139 from him forever. 00:36:36.639 --> 00:36:37.579 The 17th century 00:36:37.579 --> 00:36:38.440 Puritan preacher 00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:39.380 Thomas Goodwin 00:36:39.380 --> 00:36:40.400 once said, 00:36:41.599 --> 00:36:43.220 if I were to go 00:36:43.220 --> 00:36:43.659 to heaven 00:36:43.659 --> 00:36:45.159 and find that 00:36:45.159 --> 00:36:46.720 Christ was not there, 00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:48.460 I would leave 00:36:48.460 --> 00:36:49.320 immediately 00:36:49.320 --> 00:36:50.699 for heaven 00:36:50.699 --> 00:36:51.639 would be hell 00:36:51.639 --> 00:36:53.720 without Christ. 00:36:55.599 --> 00:36:56.599 Goodwin understood 00:36:56.599 --> 00:36:58.000 that the joy 00:36:58.000 --> 00:36:59.480 of our salvation, 00:37:00.740 --> 00:37:01.260 the joy 00:37:01.260 --> 00:37:02.260 of our hope 00:37:02.260 --> 00:37:03.820 is not the promise 00:37:03.820 --> 00:37:05.000 of a certain place, 00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:06.320 but in fact 00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:06.900 a restoration 00:37:06.900 --> 00:37:08.880 to a relationship 00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:10.539 with our glorious 00:37:10.539 --> 00:37:11.019 creator 00:37:11.019 --> 00:37:12.300 through the self-sacrifice 00:37:12.300 --> 00:37:13.019 for us 00:37:13.019 --> 00:37:14.360 of our great 00:37:14.360 --> 00:37:15.039 and glorious 00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:15.559 redeemer. 00:37:15.960 --> 00:37:16.539 The heart 00:37:16.539 --> 00:37:17.679 of the Christian gospel 00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:19.059 as expressed 00:37:19.059 --> 00:37:20.099 throughout the Bible 00:37:20.099 --> 00:37:21.420 and these closing 00:37:21.420 --> 00:37:22.420 bits of Leviticus 00:37:22.420 --> 00:37:24.019 is the promise 00:37:24.019 --> 00:37:25.199 of eternal, 00:37:25.679 --> 00:37:26.800 joy-filled, 00:37:27.460 --> 00:37:28.800 totally free 00:37:28.800 --> 00:37:29.739 communion 00:37:29.739 --> 00:37:29.839 communion 00:37:29.839 --> 00:37:31.919 with God 00:37:31.919 --> 00:37:32.879 our creator. 00:37:34.359 --> 00:37:35.579 That is why 00:37:35.579 --> 00:37:37.399 we are who we are 00:37:37.399 --> 00:37:38.659 and we do 00:37:38.659 --> 00:37:39.619 what we do. 00:37:39.619 --> 00:37:40.739 you 00:37:40.739 --> 00:37:41.000 or 00:37:57.619 --> 00:37:58.799 you