WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:06.480 Let's just be honest. I'm going to be honest with you. I try to be honest with you all the time, so this isn't just like a weird thing. 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:19.580 But let's be honest. That long text of the Bible that Nora just read, my guess is that if you're at all like me, you started tuning out very quickly. 00:00:21.960 --> 00:00:26.820 Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's very, very theological. 00:00:26.820 --> 00:00:37.820 It seems to have all these abstract ideas. It doesn't seem very practical. It doesn't seem very gripping. It doesn't have a joke. It seems to be irrelevant. 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:44.320 And on top of it, all of a sudden, in the midst of all this stuff, we're just going on and on and on and on and on and on. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:48.280 Predestination. On and on and on and on. Predestination. 00:00:48.280 --> 00:00:56.380 So it seems to go from being irrelevant and boring to, what did he just say? 00:00:56.939 --> 00:01:02.179 Because many, many, many Christians are very, very bothered with this doctrine of predestination. 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:05.079 And it seems as if it was said twice in the text. 00:01:05.460 --> 00:01:07.780 So what we're going to do is we're going to walk towards this. 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:14.159 We're going to walk towards why is it that this text seems so boring, so abstract, so needlessly theological. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:17.019 Why it seems to be so impractical. 00:01:17.479 --> 00:01:19.700 And a lot of it is just revealing things about our hearts. 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:22.640 Because as I think we'll be able to see if we spend some time with it. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:25.420 And I'm confessing with you. I confess with my devotions. 00:01:25.539 --> 00:01:30.500 It's easy for me just to, my eye just rolls over and rolls over until I get to something interesting. 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:32.340 I'm being honest with you. 00:01:33.140 --> 00:01:37.459 I have that problem too, often when I read the Bible, especially when I read texts like this. 00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:40.159 But let's walk towards it, okay? Let's walk towards it together. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:45.799 So if you have your Bible, we're not going to jump into the Bible right away, but we will be looking at the Bible to go through this text. 00:01:46.039 --> 00:01:47.420 And it's Ephesians chapter 1. 00:01:48.019 --> 00:01:52.060 And as you sort of find your Bibles or power them up on your phone so you can find them, 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:55.959 and just look at the Bible, don't check your Instagram, just the Bible. 00:01:57.299 --> 00:02:02.179 And just as you're doing that, just keep in mind, we're not going to talk about this very much this week. 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:05.879 But it is really interesting to know that Paul wrote this while he was in jail. 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:10.120 Like, this doesn't sound like a jail letter, right? 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:16.579 If I was writing you a letter from jail, it would be, please pray for me. 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:18.240 This is scary. 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:22.680 You know, fortunately nobody's beaten me up yet. 00:02:22.859 --> 00:02:23.740 I mean, I don't know. 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:25.919 Like, that's how I would begin a letter from jail. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:28.079 But this doesn't sound like a letter from jail, but it is. 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:29.079 It's a letter from jail. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:31.400 But we're going to talk about that more. 00:02:31.540 --> 00:02:37.080 He's written either around the year 60, 61, 62, to a group of churches in a place called Ephesus. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.460 But here, let's walk in towards some of this stuff. 00:02:40.540 --> 00:02:46.400 I'm going to begin by telling you a story that helps us to understand the scary doctrine of predestination 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:47.780 and all that's going on with it. 00:02:49.220 --> 00:02:52.460 You know, usually when I talk about people, I use like Bob or Sue. 00:02:52.580 --> 00:02:55.220 But in this case, I'm going to use a person's name, Ruth Jo Bartram. 00:02:55.219 --> 00:02:59.580 Ruth Jo Bartram, who's now with the Lord, was a great woman. 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:02.900 And she played a really important role in our lives. 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:08.099 You know, we were probably at the time, I don't know, in our 30s. 00:03:08.500 --> 00:03:10.400 And she seemed really old. 00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:12.740 She was like probably 70 or something like that. 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:14.060 Really, really, really old. 00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:18.000 But she was a very wise woman, very loving. 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:22.199 And she had a real profound influence on our family. 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:27.839 She was in the first parish where I was privileged to be the rector in the parish of Eganville. 00:03:28.179 --> 00:03:31.419 And she was very kind to us, very giving, wise. 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:34.439 I can't say enough good things about her. 00:03:34.619 --> 00:03:36.159 You know, obviously she had her faults. 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:38.979 But she was just a very, very important woman in her lives. 00:03:39.819 --> 00:03:46.439 And I had done funerals for people who had Alzheimer's or Nementia. 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:55.099 But Ruth Jo was the first person where I actually entered into the reality of Alzheimer's in a small way. 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:58.359 Ruth Jo was always eccentric. 00:03:59.439 --> 00:03:59.699 Okay? 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:04.020 One of the things that was eccentric about her is she loved trees. 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:05.639 Like, I mean, she loved trees. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:07.819 Like, she didn't go hugging them and stuff like that. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:10.680 But, like, there was going to be, she, God had blessed her with some wealth. 00:04:10.780 --> 00:04:14.680 There was going to be a development, not that, just where she drove. 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:15.700 She drove by it all the time. 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:18.780 There was going to be a development, some restaurant, a bar, all that type of stuff. 00:04:19.280 --> 00:04:20.079 And she didn't want it to go in. 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:21.139 So she bought the land. 00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:22.720 Why did she buy the land? 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:23.280 To develop it? 00:04:23.340 --> 00:04:23.579 No. 00:04:23.740 --> 00:04:25.100 So the trees could grow there. 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:26.259 She's a bit eccentric. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:26.759 Okay? 00:04:27.220 --> 00:04:29.900 She knew what she liked and she put her money into what she liked. 00:04:29.960 --> 00:04:30.740 She liked trees. 00:04:31.579 --> 00:04:32.939 She liked kids as well. 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:33.800 She liked ice cream. 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:34.439 I could go on. 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:35.379 But here's the point. 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:36.379 She was eccentric. 00:04:36.780 --> 00:04:39.160 And all of a sudden she started to become more eccentric. 00:04:39.340 --> 00:04:42.460 Her decisions became a little bit more eccentric and random. 00:04:42.459 --> 00:04:49.199 And a person who was very close to her started to try to be very, I thought, rude and direct 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:52.060 and claim that she was having mental problems and dementia. 00:04:52.459 --> 00:04:54.180 And I denied it. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:55.259 I was in denial. 00:04:55.419 --> 00:04:59.879 There was a division amongst people who loved Ruth Jo as saying that this person was just 00:04:59.879 --> 00:05:02.459 trying to muscle in and get her money and doing all of this type of stuff. 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:05.219 But the fact of the matter is, as time went on, it became very obvious. 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:08.039 In fact, tragically, Ruth Jo had dementia. 00:05:08.419 --> 00:05:09.519 She had Alzheimer's. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:16.699 And the family member, the person who we thought was being really mean, she just recognized 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:18.500 it right away, way before the rest of us. 00:05:19.339 --> 00:05:24.599 And it's really, really hard to see a person who had been very independent, very wise, very 00:05:24.599 --> 00:05:29.279 loving, lose her free will, lose her control of her faculties. 00:05:29.339 --> 00:05:31.079 It's very hard to watch it happen. 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:35.879 And she, in fact, died a few years later from it. 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:36.779 I went back. 00:05:36.859 --> 00:05:42.279 It was the only, at the time, the only funeral I did that I had, after I left my former parish, 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:46.719 it's the only funeral I did where I went back to my parish, former parish, to do the funeral 00:05:46.719 --> 00:05:49.419 memorial service for her when she died. 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:52.120 But here's the point about all of this. 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:55.920 Here's the point about all of this. 00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:05.800 The doctrine of predestination implies that God is sovereign over all things. 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:11.840 And when he's sovereign over all things, things work together according to his will. 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:18.120 And the problem we have with this idea and with predestination is that we somehow think 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:23.280 we have to try to carve out some freedom despite God's will. 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:25.319 And I put it up like here, like on this. 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:29.839 You are not free despite the Lord being sovereign over all things. 00:06:30.300 --> 00:06:37.819 The truth is, whatever freedom you have is because the Lord is sovereign over all things. 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:39.740 See, that's why I shared this story. 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:47.120 The fact of the matter is, is that nature doesn't guarantee your ability to make free choices. 00:06:49.019 --> 00:06:53.980 The tiniest little breakdown in your chemistry takes away your free choices. 00:06:55.319 --> 00:06:57.079 I mean, you could talk to Jeremiah afterwards. 00:06:57.240 --> 00:06:57.800 He's in there a lot. 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:01.740 He can tell you all these little tiny, minus things that just take away your freedom. 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:05.800 And if we live long enough, I mean, most of us don't have the privilege of being able 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:06.779 to just sort of die. 00:07:07.420 --> 00:07:10.500 You know, we've just gone, you know, we're 98 years old. 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:15.779 We just went for a, you know, 20-mile walk and we're reading War and Peace after having 00:07:15.779 --> 00:07:18.459 had a nice cup of coffee and then we die in our favorite chair. 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:19.980 That doesn't happen to most of us, right? 00:07:20.379 --> 00:07:24.339 And so the fact of the matter is, is that nature conspires at some point in time to take away 00:07:24.339 --> 00:07:24.699 our freedom. 00:07:24.699 --> 00:07:28.740 And what happens, the problem I had when I, because I used to have lots of problems with 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:32.300 the doctrine of predestination, is I had what I call the Switzerland syndrome. 00:07:33.500 --> 00:07:37.959 And the Switzerland, Switzerland's been neutral for 450 years or something like that. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:40.659 And it's as if Christianity has this problem. 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:45.240 But outside of Christianity, everybody else has, I mean, you know, it's just obvious you're 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:45.620 free. 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:47.639 But that's not the way it is. 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.939 If you think about it, like most people just sort of somehow think that it's just a part 00:07:50.939 --> 00:07:52.000 of nature that we're free. 00:07:52.100 --> 00:07:56.019 But the story of Ruth, Joe, and countless other illnesses, and that's not, and that's 00:07:56.019 --> 00:08:01.240 separate from people who suffer from schizophrenia and bipolar and all of that, is that, in fact, 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:04.279 nature doesn't guarantee that you and I are free. 00:08:04.420 --> 00:08:07.079 That nature, freedom is always something like a gift. 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:12.560 And the very, very first crisis of faith that I ever had as a young Christian, I'd only been 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:18.120 a Christian eight months or six months, was I'd been sharing the gospel with these two 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:19.740 guys who are philosopher types. 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:22.519 And they looked at me with a very superior smile. 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:27.240 And they said, George, you think you believe all those things because you've come to a conclusion 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:27.639 about it. 00:08:27.639 --> 00:08:29.240 But you're completely and utterly wrong. 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:31.740 So, cause and effect, George, cause and effect. 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:38.060 You take a pool table and you roll the ball and the ball hits another ball and it all just 00:08:38.060 --> 00:08:38.460 bounces. 00:08:38.659 --> 00:08:44.139 It's all a cause creates an effect which creates another cause, which is another cause, which 00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:44.899 is another effect. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:47.320 That's what science teaches us, George. 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:48.480 That's how the world works. 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:52.220 There's just a cause to an effect to a cause to an effect to a cause to an effect. 00:08:52.600 --> 00:08:54.580 And you might think you're free, but it's an illusion. 00:08:54.740 --> 00:08:55.879 You're just eluding yourself. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:57.480 It's just all cause and effect. 00:08:57.480 --> 00:08:59.279 That's how science works. 00:08:59.639 --> 00:09:01.379 That was my first crisis of faith. 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:03.340 I didn't know how to answer it. 00:09:03.980 --> 00:09:05.080 Didn't know how to answer it. 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:10.879 I was, I mean, literally, I almost left, I almost stopped being a Christian over it. 00:09:11.940 --> 00:09:17.220 I won't go into all of it, how I eventually, what, here's a bit of a summary about it. 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:18.800 You see, here's the problem. 00:09:19.259 --> 00:09:22.620 And it's a problem that every system of thought has to answer. 00:09:22.620 --> 00:09:26.560 The fact of the matter is, is that just most people in Canada never even think about it. 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:28.820 But in fact, it's an issue. 00:09:28.980 --> 00:09:32.800 How can you live in a world, everything in the world seems to indicate that there is, 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:34.120 in fact, cause and effect. 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:39.080 Yet on the other hand, one of the things which is most obvious to us is that we have freedom. 00:09:40.379 --> 00:09:43.519 How can there be freedom in a world with cause and effect? 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:51.039 Like, okay, you're making a cool, hip spirituality of your own. 00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:54.740 Okay, well, how do you answer the question? 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:55.759 Hinduism. 00:09:56.199 --> 00:09:57.639 You can't just say, well, it's all illusion. 00:09:57.720 --> 00:09:58.879 No, no, answer the question. 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:00.740 You know Buddhism? 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:01.980 It's all illusion. 00:10:02.079 --> 00:10:03.299 No, no, no, answer the question. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:06.759 Is it all just illusion that there's cause and effect? 00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:09.139 Like, if that's the case, then how did things come to be? 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:10.439 Like, answer the question. 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.679 Islam just embraces it by saying, well, it sucks to be you. 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:16.240 Everything's just caused by God. 00:10:17.100 --> 00:10:20.319 Sucks to be you for some of you and good to be you for others. 00:10:21.500 --> 00:10:24.620 I don't want to be belittling about it, but they just have a doctrine, 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:28.019 overwhelming doctrine of God's sovereignty causing everything. 00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:29.980 But think about it for a second. 00:10:30.139 --> 00:10:30.500 Like, huh? 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:34.439 How is it that there really is cause and effect? 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:36.040 And how is it that there's freedom? 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:42.780 You see, I think that only the Bible, in fact, these texts are going to help to make it clear, 00:10:42.880 --> 00:10:48.180 only the Bible actually helps you to understand why it is that there really is freedom 00:10:48.180 --> 00:10:49.660 and there really is cause and effect. 00:10:50.040 --> 00:10:51.120 Get your Bibles out. 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:54.680 We're going to look at verse 3, and then we're going to jump down to verse, 00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:58.500 sort of verse, last bit of verse 4, and then verse 5 and 6. 00:10:58.500 --> 00:11:04.039 I'm going to put the first one up here on the screen, which I'll do right now. 00:11:04.659 --> 00:11:08.799 And you'll notice we read normally from the ESV. 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:12.759 This translation that you see up here for verse 3 is a little bit different. 00:11:13.539 --> 00:11:17.440 What it is is I've taken some literal stuff in the translation 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:22.539 and I've added it to the ESV to sort of bring out something which is there in the original language. 00:11:22.659 --> 00:11:23.940 And here's what it says in verse 3. 00:11:23.980 --> 00:11:26.940 I'm going to read now from the screen, but it's in verse 3. 00:11:26.940 --> 00:11:38.220 Let's read that again. 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:40.460 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:45.640 who has blessed us with every blessing of the Spirit in the high heavenlies in Christ. 00:11:45.740 --> 00:11:48.660 And what we can see here is at the very beginning of this long prayer, 00:11:48.780 --> 00:11:52.340 this intensely theological part, is there's the doctrine of the Trinity. 00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:53.000 It's right there. 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:57.360 It's sort of hidden in our translation with the word spiritual. 00:11:58.200 --> 00:12:01.320 But really, if you look at the original language, spiritual is a good word. 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:02.340 It can be a bit confusing. 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:08.320 But what they mean in the ESV is not something inner and meaningful. 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:12.120 What they mean is something given by the Holy Spirit. 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:17.100 And so you see right off the bat in the text, there is this idea of the Trinity, 00:12:17.100 --> 00:12:20.639 something which we think of as being abstract and irrelevant, 00:12:20.820 --> 00:12:23.180 but it's an unbelievably important doctrine. 00:12:24.060 --> 00:12:26.920 You see, what it's saying is this, that from the beginning of creation, 00:12:26.980 --> 00:12:28.300 I've said this before, I'll say it again, 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:32.860 in a sense everything that exists, other than the evil which came into the world through us, 00:12:32.940 --> 00:12:35.180 came as a result of light and life and love. 00:12:36.659 --> 00:12:41.680 You see, from all eternity, the Father existed, the Son existed, and the Holy Spirit existed. 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:43.399 Three persons but one God. 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:45.779 They were in unity, but they were different. 00:12:46.019 --> 00:12:46.839 I know it's a mystery. 00:12:47.599 --> 00:12:50.339 But from all eternity, the Father has loved and known the Son. 00:12:50.439 --> 00:12:53.359 And from all eternity, the Son has known and loved the Father. 00:12:53.959 --> 00:12:56.759 And sometimes when you look at how the Holy Spirit is described, 00:12:56.919 --> 00:12:59.779 sometimes the Holy Spirit, he's always a separate person, distant, 00:12:59.899 --> 00:13:04.659 but also sometimes the Holy Spirit himself is the love that goes between the Father and the Son 00:13:04.659 --> 00:13:06.319 and back and forth from all eternity. 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:10.740 And what this means is this, it was when the triune God creates, 00:13:11.900 --> 00:13:15.300 he wasn't creating because he wished he had a puppet to play with. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.180 He wasn't creating because he was lonely. 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:21.760 He didn't create because he got tired of saying, 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:24.240 I'm so great, I'm so great, I'm so great. 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:27.780 I'd like to create beings that will say, God, you're so great. 00:13:27.920 --> 00:13:29.000 He didn't do it out of that. 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:32.680 From all eternity, the Father loved the Son, the Son loved the Father, 00:13:32.760 --> 00:13:35.960 and the Holy Spirit is both a separate person and the love from the Father to the Son. 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:38.019 And it's out of that love that God creates. 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:38.960 And so what does he create? 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:46.700 He creates a world that is going to have love as the most important ingredient of it. 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:52.660 And in love, you both have to have some degree of ability to have causality. 00:13:54.740 --> 00:14:01.160 Like, Louise can't make us supper if there's not something like causality. 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:08.519 But at the same time, God made us so that there can be love, which implies freedom. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:14.419 See, the way God made every human being is that on one hand, he made us as bodily beings, 00:14:14.419 --> 00:14:20.240 where if somebody punches me, the laws of physics can tell you how that punch is going to affect me. 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:25.139 But at the same time, he made every human being with a soul, a spirit. 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:32.740 And out of that comes the mind and the heart and the will, which is both acts into the world of cause and effect 00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:38.019 and is partially affected at times by cause and effect, but is outside of the flow of cause and effect. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:41.500 You can listen to it later on in the tape if I've gone a bit too quick. 00:14:41.500 --> 00:14:48.340 Only Christianity accounts for that within the sense of creation and why. 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:54.440 See, jump down to the next bit versus the last little bit of 4 and 5. 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:58.419 Remember, because Paul is bringing this all out and this thing which seems so abstract, 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:00.500 yet it's accounting for freedom and causality. 00:15:00.980 --> 00:15:08.779 In love, in love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons. 00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:13.059 Later on, I'll tell you why it says sons and it doesn't say children, it says sons later on. 00:15:13.379 --> 00:15:16.439 If I forget to do it later on, ask me at coffee because it's really important. 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:21.740 In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:27.120 according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace. 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:35.620 In love, for love, he created us with a soul, a mind, which is outside on one hand, 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:44.860 the flow of cause and effect, but is partially affected by it and can act in to the flow of cause and effect. 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:48.919 And while you see nature, cause and effect can't guarantee freedom. 00:15:49.539 --> 00:15:51.740 Nature cannot guarantee freedom. 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:57.320 It is only if the Lord is the creator of all things and the sustainer of all things 00:15:57.320 --> 00:16:02.340 that he himself, who is uncaused, has no environment, 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:05.820 that he can guarantee to you and me the gift of freedom. 00:16:06.820 --> 00:16:11.980 Only if God is sovereign over all things can any human being have any freedom 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:14.160 or be able to love. 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:23.919 Oh, but George, come on. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:25.120 Okay, that's really interesting. 00:16:25.259 --> 00:16:26.679 You sort of caught me by surprise. 00:16:26.839 --> 00:16:28.079 But predestined? 00:16:30.339 --> 00:16:30.659 Predestined? 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:35.120 Doesn't that sort of imply, George, that you're some sort of like little puppet 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:37.240 at the hands of God? 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:42.460 And, you know, when you, I actually, when I gave my life to Christ, you know, 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:45.440 true confession, I walked down an aisle. 00:16:46.180 --> 00:16:48.560 I know altar calls aren't very trendy anymore. 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:53.539 I walked down an aisle in front of a whole 800 people or 500 people 00:16:53.539 --> 00:16:55.399 walked down the aisle to give my life to Christ. 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:56.700 That's what I did. 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:02.399 And, George, isn't predestined just to imply that God's up there 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:05.000 and he was just making you walk down the aisle? 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:06.980 Doesn't that sort of go against it? 00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:10.519 No, the sovereignty of God and the fact that he guarantees our freedom 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:15.360 is important to understand and understand what this doctrine of predestination 00:17:15.360 --> 00:17:16.620 is trying to communicate. 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:19.700 And I'm going to put it up here and then I'm going to show how it is there in the text. 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:26.500 In salvation, all of the initiative and all of the power comes from the triune God. 00:17:26.500 --> 00:17:29.980 There is no ground for you or me to be proud. 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:34.640 You and I can only marvel in gratitude and praise. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:47.500 Now, why do I say that? 00:17:47.500 --> 00:17:52.920 Just a little while ago, I was talking to somebody very influenced by, you know, 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:59.400 that we have an astral body and a higher body and different types of bodies 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:02.440 and, you know, there's spiritual energies and all that are in us. 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:05.420 And he had asked me, this is like a couple of months ago, 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:08.359 he'd asked me about a sermon and I was talking about a sermon of healing. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:09.000 He liked it. 00:18:09.380 --> 00:18:10.119 He looked at it and he said, 00:18:10.119 --> 00:18:14.599 what was really going on is that Jesus said these things and it inspired the man 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:19.099 and he was able to, you know, to align his chakras and his astral body was doing this. 00:18:19.139 --> 00:18:24.359 He gave me this long explanation about why all this stuff went and caused him to become healthy. 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:26.019 So I listened to it all. 00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:27.199 Ten minutes, he went on. 00:18:27.239 --> 00:18:28.019 I listened to it all. 00:18:28.719 --> 00:18:30.879 And then I said to him, once again, 00:18:30.879 --> 00:18:32.879 I don't know why anybody ever talks to me a second time. 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:34.439 You should pray that I'm nicer. 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:42.019 So I said to him, if that's true, I'm way better than you. 00:18:42.860 --> 00:18:44.840 So I said to him, he said, what? 00:18:45.580 --> 00:18:51.480 He said, by any objective analysis, I'm vastly more healthy than you are. 00:18:51.600 --> 00:18:53.019 In fact, the man actually has cancer. 00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:55.120 I'm vastly more healthy than you. 00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:56.279 Any doctor would say that. 00:18:56.299 --> 00:19:01.360 I bet my blood pressure is better, my fat content, you know, I'm not as pale. 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:02.580 I didn't say that to him. 00:19:02.579 --> 00:19:05.039 I just said, I'm way healthier than you. 00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:11.759 That obviously means that you're doing a bad job of aligning your chakras and your astral self. 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:13.240 And I'm doing it way better than you. 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:15.859 Doesn't that what that means? 00:19:17.199 --> 00:19:19.599 Nobody had ever said that to him. 00:19:20.159 --> 00:19:21.519 He was shocked. 00:19:24.699 --> 00:19:27.519 And he really came at me hard to try to. 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:30.759 And what he did is the way he came back at me, by the way, 00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:34.019 was completely and utterly reasonable because he's a very smart and reasonable man. 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:39.859 But the way he came back at me was he completely ignored the astrals and the chakras and the balancing 00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:41.059 and all that type of stuff. 00:19:41.099 --> 00:19:43.119 And he said, no, George, it has to also do. 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:47.680 I mean, maybe you just, you know, physiologically have like, you know, you're given a better body. 00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:51.779 And, you know, yeah, but you've left what you just said. 00:19:51.779 --> 00:19:53.899 See, now here's the thing. 00:19:53.960 --> 00:19:55.779 And this is what I said to him and I shared with him. 00:19:55.839 --> 00:19:57.920 I said, here's the reason why people hate religion. 00:19:58.660 --> 00:20:02.759 They both love religion and hate religion because we love pride and hate pride. 00:20:02.879 --> 00:20:04.139 We love pride in ourself. 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:08.039 We cannot detect pride in ourselves, but we hate pride in others. 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:09.700 That's what happens. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:14.440 You see, it's not just because, you see, really, if you take this doctrine, and that's how it is. 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:20.360 So all the healthy people, you know, the slim people who do all their yoga and they're vegans 00:20:20.360 --> 00:20:24.120 and they're going to live to be 153 and all of that stuff. 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:25.420 And then there's the rest of us. 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:29.680 And, you know, they can be, they can, we hide it because we're Canadians. 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:32.380 You're not supposed to be proud, but it comes out to people. 00:20:32.380 --> 00:20:36.519 And that's why the people in the bar, you know, who are drinking their fourth Jack Daniels 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:40.160 and have just had their third plate of nachos, and they don't like those people 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:44.059 because they're so self-righteous about their yoga and stuff like that. 00:20:44.059 --> 00:20:45.220 And it's not just religious. 00:20:45.379 --> 00:20:48.000 It goes everywhere, you know, because it could also be, well, look at me. 00:20:48.059 --> 00:20:48.579 I exercise. 00:20:48.779 --> 00:20:49.579 I do this and that. 00:20:49.659 --> 00:20:49.940 Look at you. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:50.779 You're a couch potato. 00:20:50.899 --> 00:20:51.579 Like, look at me. 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:52.319 I'm better than you. 00:20:52.639 --> 00:20:53.599 It could be the money people. 00:20:53.659 --> 00:20:55.119 George, you waste money in Starbucks. 00:20:55.419 --> 00:20:55.839 Look at that. 00:20:55.940 --> 00:20:57.519 You don't do this. 00:20:57.579 --> 00:20:58.440 You don't do that. 00:20:58.500 --> 00:20:59.240 You don't do that. 00:20:59.319 --> 00:20:59.700 Look at me. 00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:00.980 I heck a lot more money than you. 00:21:02.259 --> 00:21:03.980 We don't detect our own pride. 00:21:04.099 --> 00:21:05.419 We love our own pride. 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:07.240 We're blind to it. 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:09.279 And we hate it when we see it in other people. 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:15.059 And what is Paul showing in this text? 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:23.839 Friend, if you are a Christian, if I am a Christian, you have nothing to be proud of. 00:21:24.759 --> 00:21:25.680 Get out your Bibles. 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:26.639 We're going to go through it. 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:27.839 I'm just going to read it from the screen. 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:29.139 We're going to go very, very quick. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:30.139 Look at this. 00:21:30.139 --> 00:21:31.539 What does the text say? 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:34.899 God the Father chose you before time began. 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:36.740 I didn't do it right. 00:21:36.740 --> 00:21:37.259 I did. 00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:37.940 Okay. 00:21:38.299 --> 00:21:41.579 God the Father chose you before time began. 00:21:43.120 --> 00:21:43.880 One moment. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.980 Before he knew how witty and smart I am. 00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:53.599 Before he knew my good people skills. 00:21:54.519 --> 00:22:00.120 Like, before he knew how holy I could be and how well I can interpret the Bible. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:03.279 He chose me before any of that. 00:22:06.740 --> 00:22:10.220 God chose you before time began. 00:22:10.339 --> 00:22:10.880 Verse 4. 00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:15.319 He predestined you for adoption. 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:16.620 Verse 5. 00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:20.019 He blessed you in the beloved. 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:22.680 You didn't earn your blessing. 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:26.839 It's not because he blessed you. 00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:31.019 He lavished his grace upon you. 00:22:31.579 --> 00:22:32.299 Verse 7 and 8. 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:39.059 He provided you redemption through the blood of Christ. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:40.259 Verse 7. 00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:46.159 He provided you forgiveness through the blood of Christ. 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:47.139 Verse 7. 00:22:48.099 --> 00:22:51.379 He blessed you with grace through Christ. 00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:52.639 Verse 7. 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:57.480 He made known to you the mystery of his will. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:58.460 Verse 9. 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:02.080 He provided Christ Jesus for you. 00:23:02.380 --> 00:23:03.000 Verse 9. 00:23:03.820 --> 00:23:08.560 He bestows upon you a full inheritance. 00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:11.100 You didn't earn it. 00:23:11.600 --> 00:23:13.020 He bestowed it upon you. 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:16.960 He sealed you with the Holy Spirit. 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:19.079 And that means two things. 00:23:19.220 --> 00:23:24.200 It means on one hand, if you could see from God's perspective, if you were a child of Christ, 00:23:24.840 --> 00:23:26.819 he's put a big tattoo on you. 00:23:29.120 --> 00:23:30.700 To say, this is mine. 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:32.779 Precious possession. 00:23:32.779 --> 00:23:34.980 And there's another sense of it. 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:43.460 The same thing is you can imagine as if he's put a force field around you to keep you his and to protect you from things from the outside. 00:23:44.379 --> 00:23:45.579 He sealed you. 00:23:46.639 --> 00:23:47.559 He did it. 00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:48.259 Not you. 00:23:49.339 --> 00:23:49.920 And he. 00:23:50.579 --> 00:23:51.440 Not you. 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:54.180 Not because you come to Church of the Messiah. 00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:57.200 Not because you're an evangelical or you're a charismatic or you're whatever. 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:07.160 Not because you're white or you're black, because you're a victim, because you're heterosexual or because you're gay or because you're comfortable with your gender or find your gender a problem. 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.920 Not because you are North American or rich or poor. 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:12.420 Not because of that. 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:19.160 He guarantees your inheritance until you possess it in full. 00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:21.160 And why does he do this? 00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:23.860 To the praise of his glorious grace. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:24.600 Verse 6. 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:26.740 To the praise of his glory. 00:24:26.939 --> 00:24:27.539 Verse 12. 00:24:28.099 --> 00:24:29.299 To the praise of his glory. 00:24:29.919 --> 00:24:30.699 Verse 14. 00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:40.219 I have problems with pride. 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:44.159 And probably most of you do too. 00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:48.259 And the world is filled with proud and arrogant Christians. 00:24:48.259 --> 00:24:50.819 But the fact of the matter is. 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:53.940 It is foolish and delusional. 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:59.480 Because in salvation all of the initiative and all of the power comes from the triune God. 00:24:59.579 --> 00:25:01.720 There is no ground for you to be proud. 00:25:02.220 --> 00:25:06.000 You can only receive it with gratitude and praise. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:06.099 It is. 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:10.720 It is. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:11.619 It is all you can do. 00:25:16.460 --> 00:25:22.039 Well, okay, George, but maybe what it is, George, is that, okay, God chose me and he did that. 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:24.279 But he works me and he helps me. 00:25:24.359 --> 00:25:25.900 He gives me the power. 00:25:26.420 --> 00:25:29.839 He gives me the power to accomplish all of these types of things. 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:30.700 Nyet. 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:31.420 Nyet. 00:25:31.420 --> 00:25:31.900 Nyet. 00:25:32.940 --> 00:25:34.300 I think that's Russian for no. 00:25:37.340 --> 00:25:39.400 Trying to be a Renaissance man here, okay? 00:25:39.880 --> 00:25:40.740 So, nyet. 00:25:40.840 --> 00:25:41.100 Nyet. 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:42.140 That's not the way it works. 00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:43.440 You know, look at the text. 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:48.539 And in this case, I just, I provided an image to try to understand. 00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:50.600 Well, here, I'm going to say this first. 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:56.940 In salvation, all that had to be done was accomplished by Jesus Messiah. 00:25:56.940 --> 00:25:59.620 There is no ground for you to be proud. 00:25:59.740 --> 00:26:02.240 You can only marvel in gratitude and praise. 00:26:02.340 --> 00:26:04.740 You can only marvel and receive it in gratitude and praise. 00:26:04.840 --> 00:26:09.160 In salvation, all that had to be done was accomplished by Jesus Messiah. 00:26:09.259 --> 00:26:10.240 None of it by you. 00:26:10.340 --> 00:26:11.059 None of it by me. 00:26:11.360 --> 00:26:13.220 There is no ground for you to be proud. 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:15.860 You can only marvel in gratitude and praise. 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:22.100 And what I've tried to do is take chapter 1, verse 1 to 14, and I put it up in a picture. 00:26:22.099 --> 00:26:31.559 If you go through, and at the time, I didn't know that it was going to actually fit on the screen, 00:26:31.659 --> 00:26:32.659 so I didn't put the verses. 00:26:32.819 --> 00:26:35.359 If you go through, you can take a picture of it, or you can look it up online. 00:26:36.119 --> 00:26:36.980 Notice the arrow. 00:26:37.259 --> 00:26:41.159 By the way, I have to confess, one of the problems I had for a long time as a Christian 00:26:41.159 --> 00:26:45.039 is I never understood that there's this profound mystery 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:51.559 that Jesus dying upon the cross as the Christ, the anointed one, 00:26:51.659 --> 00:26:55.879 the fulfillment of all the prophecies as the Lord, as God himself, 00:26:56.019 --> 00:26:57.980 that him dying upon the cross, 00:26:58.500 --> 00:27:03.039 the benefits of that mystery of his substitution in my place 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:07.759 and the exchange of his destiny for my doom, 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:13.920 that the mystery of this is such a deep mystery that one image doesn't cover it, 00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:18.700 one analogy doesn't cover it, one metaphor doesn't cover it. 00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:23.320 It goes into the very depth of what it means for us to be human. 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:26.200 And I used to think that somehow you had to figure out how, 00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:30.880 how, I don't know, peace, you know, you're forgiven, 00:27:31.120 --> 00:27:34.000 and that creates, like the arrows had to go all around the outside 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:35.660 as if there was some type of order. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:37.140 No, no, no, no, no. 00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:39.320 And Ephesians, you go back and look at it, 00:27:39.360 --> 00:27:41.840 Ephesians, it throws these things out. 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:43.120 Some of them will be covered. 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:46.759 He'll explain them a little bit more later on in chapter 1 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:48.259 and in chapter 2 and chapter 3. 00:27:48.359 --> 00:27:51.379 He'll sort of unpack and give it a bit more of a metaphor. 00:27:51.899 --> 00:27:56.259 But through Christ's death in the cross, I receive blessing. 00:27:56.879 --> 00:28:00.359 It's because of Christ crucified on the cross that when I receive it, 00:28:00.579 --> 00:28:01.959 I get the Holy Spirit. 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:03.939 One of the things for me to, 00:28:03.959 --> 00:28:05.979 and this is what the power is of some of these images. 00:28:06.179 --> 00:28:09.759 Are you here suffering, feeling as if you were in slavery, 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:14.180 slavery to the inability to conquer something, 00:28:14.279 --> 00:28:16.359 slavery to what your parents said about you, 00:28:16.440 --> 00:28:18.339 slavery to something that's going on, 00:28:18.660 --> 00:28:20.920 then you can grab this idea of redeemed, 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:24.079 because redeemed means that as Jesus dies on the cross 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:25.559 and rises from the dead, 00:28:25.619 --> 00:28:29.640 what we see is people being delivered from slavery. 00:28:29.900 --> 00:28:33.379 A ransom was paid that you might be delivered from slavery. 00:28:33.380 --> 00:28:37.600 If you are struggling like me with not feeling that you are holy enough 00:28:37.600 --> 00:28:39.860 or not set aside for God enough, 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:41.720 not as moral as I should be, 00:28:41.800 --> 00:28:43.480 He is the one who makes you holy. 00:28:43.840 --> 00:28:46.300 If you are feeling completely and utterly abandoned, 00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:49.720 if you are feeling as if your family has been a complete disaster, 00:28:49.840 --> 00:28:50.700 they don't love you, 00:28:50.940 --> 00:28:51.840 they hate you, 00:28:52.080 --> 00:28:55.320 they don't want to have anything to do with you, 00:28:55.340 --> 00:28:56.600 or they only call you names, 00:28:56.640 --> 00:28:58.700 and you feel like nobody has ever chosen you, 00:28:59.080 --> 00:29:01.780 through the death of Jesus upon the cross and the resurrection, 00:29:01.779 --> 00:29:03.779 you are offered adoption. 00:29:08.420 --> 00:29:09.399 Meaning to life. 00:29:10.119 --> 00:29:11.319 If you go through this, 00:29:11.559 --> 00:29:12.940 in the ESV it says, 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:14.740 He unites all things in Himself. 00:29:14.859 --> 00:29:17.720 A better translation is He sums up everything. 00:29:18.619 --> 00:29:19.539 What does that mean? 00:29:20.299 --> 00:29:24.139 You know my life has been here and here and here and here and here and here and here 00:29:24.139 --> 00:29:26.220 and here and it just feels like it's going like this, 00:29:26.700 --> 00:29:28.180 but what does it say that in Christ, 00:29:29.319 --> 00:29:30.599 He sums it all up. 00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:32.939 He sums up your life. 00:29:34.879 --> 00:29:36.500 There's a type of meaning to it. 00:29:37.879 --> 00:29:40.740 That's what's going to happen when you appear before God face to face. 00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:42.879 And I'll stand there before Him, 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:46.879 and I'll be so conscious of all those times I nursed pride, 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:47.779 and I nursed anger, 00:29:47.859 --> 00:29:48.559 I nursed envy, 00:29:48.639 --> 00:29:50.459 and I'll be so conscious of my sloth, 00:29:50.859 --> 00:29:51.579 and sloth, 00:29:51.699 --> 00:29:53.579 and I wish I'd accomplished this, 00:29:53.619 --> 00:29:54.639 and wish I accomplished that. 00:29:54.679 --> 00:29:55.759 And I think one of the things that will happen, 00:29:55.819 --> 00:29:56.679 it says here in the text, 00:29:56.680 --> 00:29:59.900 He will sum up my life. 00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:01.720 George, this is what was really going on. 00:30:01.900 --> 00:30:03.799 This was the meaning and the significance of it. 00:30:04.600 --> 00:30:06.019 And all I can do 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:11.900 is throw my face before Him 00:30:11.900 --> 00:30:15.279 in wonder and awe, 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:19.700 marveling in gratitude and praise. 00:30:19.700 --> 00:30:25.080 He makes me blameless. 00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:27.120 He gives me peace with God. 00:30:27.299 --> 00:30:28.460 He gives me grace. 00:30:28.860 --> 00:30:29.980 It's through Him I'm forgiven. 00:30:30.140 --> 00:30:31.180 It's through Him I'm saved. 00:30:31.299 --> 00:30:32.000 It's through Him 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:34.299 that my inheritance 00:30:34.299 --> 00:30:35.759 is guaranteed. 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:41.779 By the way, 00:30:41.819 --> 00:30:44.839 just before I close with one final thing. 00:30:46.819 --> 00:30:47.379 You know, 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:50.279 this whole idea of what's just gone on in Ephesians, 00:30:51.619 --> 00:30:53.140 it's because of this 00:30:53.140 --> 00:30:55.299 that we can have hope in evangelism 00:30:55.299 --> 00:30:56.220 and hope in holiness. 00:30:57.960 --> 00:30:58.980 In evangelism, 00:30:59.339 --> 00:31:00.160 why is it? 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:02.059 Because God is choosing 00:31:02.059 --> 00:31:03.960 and calling people to Himself. 00:31:03.960 --> 00:31:06.640 It doesn't depend upon me 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:07.480 being really witty, 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:09.160 coming up with the perfect analogy, 00:31:09.360 --> 00:31:10.559 never making a mistake. 00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:12.500 I think I'm going to do a blog 00:31:12.500 --> 00:31:13.660 over the next couple of weeks 00:31:13.660 --> 00:31:14.640 that every Christian 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:16.480 who tries to share the gospel 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:17.900 does one yoga pose. 00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:21.019 It's called foot in mouth, actually. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:24.140 Because you can't make any attempt 00:31:24.140 --> 00:31:24.900 to share the gospel 00:31:24.900 --> 00:31:25.920 without eventually putting 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:27.079 that old foot in the mouth. 00:31:27.160 --> 00:31:28.059 And then you put the other one in. 00:31:28.100 --> 00:31:29.500 If you had a third and fourth foot, 00:31:29.539 --> 00:31:30.400 they'd all go in as well. 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:31.180 You know what? 00:31:31.180 --> 00:31:32.600 The hope is 00:31:32.600 --> 00:31:34.080 that God is doing this. 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:34.920 In the city of Ottawa, 00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:35.600 here's the thing. 00:31:35.660 --> 00:31:36.700 In the city of Ottawa today, 00:31:36.779 --> 00:31:37.279 there are people 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:38.519 that God is calling to Himself. 00:31:39.080 --> 00:31:40.220 And wonders of wonders, 00:31:40.460 --> 00:31:41.400 He is going to use 00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:43.279 imperfect people like you and me 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:44.880 saying something like, 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:46.440 have you ever considered Jesus 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:47.519 or praying for them 00:31:47.519 --> 00:31:50.799 to make that call effective. 00:31:51.320 --> 00:31:52.560 The same thing with holiness. 00:31:54.100 --> 00:31:54.360 You know, 00:31:55.100 --> 00:31:56.039 some of you, 00:31:56.299 --> 00:31:57.640 I was using the example 00:31:57.640 --> 00:32:00.140 of Peter doing his PhD. 00:32:00.600 --> 00:32:01.700 And he's a smart guy. 00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:03.180 He's probably guaranteed his PhD. 00:32:03.280 --> 00:32:04.680 I think only 30% of people 00:32:04.680 --> 00:32:05.360 who start a PhD 00:32:05.360 --> 00:32:06.240 get their PhD. 00:32:06.360 --> 00:32:08.100 It's some statistic like that. 00:32:08.600 --> 00:32:08.960 But you know, 00:32:09.180 --> 00:32:10.060 there can be times 00:32:10.060 --> 00:32:10.800 when you're wrestling with it 00:32:10.800 --> 00:32:11.320 and you think to yourself, 00:32:11.420 --> 00:32:11.759 I don't know, 00:32:11.780 --> 00:32:12.780 is it worth spending 00:32:12.780 --> 00:32:14.300 all this time in the dry text? 00:32:14.380 --> 00:32:15.720 Is it worth learning the language? 00:32:15.840 --> 00:32:16.980 Is it worth doing this? 00:32:17.360 --> 00:32:18.440 Is it worth doing that? 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:20.540 Because there's all this drudgery to it. 00:32:20.840 --> 00:32:21.759 And if all of a sudden 00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:22.820 God was to show up 00:32:22.820 --> 00:32:23.380 and say to you, 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:24.820 I am guaranteeing 00:32:24.820 --> 00:32:26.480 that you will get that PhD. 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:27.460 And all of a sudden 00:32:27.460 --> 00:32:28.160 there's an energy. 00:32:28.299 --> 00:32:28.720 You know what? 00:32:29.620 --> 00:32:31.420 Memorizing Greek words 00:32:31.420 --> 00:32:32.519 or learning French 00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:33.660 or learning German 00:32:33.660 --> 00:32:35.500 or learning ancient Norse, 00:32:35.940 --> 00:32:37.420 spending time memorizing, 00:32:37.539 --> 00:32:38.259 it's worth it. 00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:38.980 There's going to be 00:32:38.980 --> 00:32:40.759 the end is guarantee. 00:32:40.900 --> 00:32:42.339 It's worth the sacrifice. 00:32:43.140 --> 00:32:43.860 Is it worth it 00:32:43.860 --> 00:32:44.680 to sit at the door? 00:32:44.779 --> 00:32:45.440 Is it worth it 00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:46.440 to care for the children 00:32:46.440 --> 00:32:47.640 downstairs in the nursery? 00:32:47.740 --> 00:32:48.400 Is it worth it 00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:49.140 to make coffee? 00:32:49.440 --> 00:32:50.220 Is it worth it 00:32:50.220 --> 00:32:51.279 to lead a small group? 00:32:51.559 --> 00:32:52.360 Is it worth it 00:32:52.360 --> 00:32:53.099 to do these things? 00:32:53.539 --> 00:32:53.940 Yes. 00:32:56.480 --> 00:33:01.680 Because the result 00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:02.440 is guaranteed. 00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:06.900 Just one final thing, 00:33:07.299 --> 00:33:08.720 just in closing. 00:33:12.120 --> 00:33:13.200 Like what about you? 00:33:13.400 --> 00:33:14.860 Is this all true? 00:33:16.500 --> 00:33:17.660 Here's the big mistake 00:33:17.660 --> 00:33:18.680 we make about the Bible 00:33:18.680 --> 00:33:19.920 and with texts like this, 00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:20.799 and it's going to become 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:21.559 more and more obvious 00:33:21.559 --> 00:33:22.400 as the week goes on 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:23.160 with this text. 00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:25.960 Paul, 00:33:26.340 --> 00:33:27.740 the Bible is not 00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:29.700 proposing an hypothesis. 00:33:33.600 --> 00:33:34.560 God himself 00:33:34.560 --> 00:33:36.019 is making a proposal 00:33:36.019 --> 00:33:36.800 to you. 00:33:37.280 --> 00:33:38.340 And what is the proposal 00:33:38.340 --> 00:33:39.280 that we see this week? 00:33:40.180 --> 00:33:41.400 Can I adopt you? 00:33:42.780 --> 00:33:43.780 Can I adopt you? 00:33:45.660 --> 00:33:45.980 I said, 00:33:46.080 --> 00:33:46.680 whoa, one moment. 00:33:46.860 --> 00:33:47.540 Okay, it's not just 00:33:47.540 --> 00:33:48.280 about ideas, 00:33:48.360 --> 00:33:49.300 about predestination 00:33:49.300 --> 00:33:49.980 and sovereignty 00:33:49.980 --> 00:33:50.740 and free will 00:33:50.740 --> 00:33:51.500 and causality 00:33:51.500 --> 00:33:52.640 and it's not just 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:53.120 about pride. 00:33:53.160 --> 00:33:53.819 It is about all 00:33:53.819 --> 00:33:54.400 of those things, 00:33:54.480 --> 00:33:55.140 but at the end of the day, 00:33:55.180 --> 00:33:55.900 it's more than that. 00:33:55.980 --> 00:33:57.039 It's God himself 00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:58.859 looking you in the eye 00:33:58.859 --> 00:33:59.980 right this morning 00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:00.259 and saying, 00:34:00.359 --> 00:34:01.200 can I adopt you? 00:34:02.620 --> 00:34:04.059 I'd like to adopt you. 00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:05.779 See, this is one 00:34:05.779 --> 00:34:06.079 of the things 00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:06.900 which is so wonderful 00:34:06.900 --> 00:34:07.480 about the fact 00:34:07.480 --> 00:34:08.099 that the text 00:34:08.099 --> 00:34:08.480 was written 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:09.079 when it was. 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:09.480 You see, 00:34:09.599 --> 00:34:10.679 in the ancient world, 00:34:11.239 --> 00:34:12.139 a guy my age 00:34:12.139 --> 00:34:12.940 could be adopted. 00:34:12.940 --> 00:34:15.760 You see, 00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:16.860 because in the ancient world, 00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:17.460 there might be 00:34:17.460 --> 00:34:19.900 a wealthy man 00:34:19.900 --> 00:34:22.500 in the congregation 00:34:22.500 --> 00:34:24.679 and he's a little bit 00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:25.360 older than me 00:34:25.360 --> 00:34:26.340 but he never was blessed 00:34:26.340 --> 00:34:27.000 with children. 00:34:27.179 --> 00:34:27.679 He's amassed 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:29.139 a great fortune. 00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:30.480 He doesn't want to just 00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:31.880 see it all just dissipated. 00:34:32.659 --> 00:34:34.019 So, in the ancient world, 00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:35.059 at the time of this writing, 00:34:35.159 --> 00:34:36.119 that man could come up 00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:36.539 to me and say, 00:34:36.619 --> 00:34:36.940 George, 00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:39.780 you know, 00:34:39.820 --> 00:34:40.519 you look healthy 00:34:40.519 --> 00:34:41.940 and you have sons. 00:34:41.940 --> 00:34:42.539 You have sons. 00:34:42.679 --> 00:34:42.760 I mean, 00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:43.220 that's just how they 00:34:43.220 --> 00:34:43.519 would have thought 00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:44.119 in the ancient world. 00:34:44.500 --> 00:34:45.420 Can I adopt you? 00:34:48.599 --> 00:34:49.940 And I'd have to consider it. 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:51.460 If I accepted his offer 00:34:51.460 --> 00:34:52.220 to adopt me, 00:34:52.260 --> 00:34:52.820 it means that 00:34:52.820 --> 00:34:53.860 whatever other inheritance 00:34:53.860 --> 00:34:54.579 I have, 00:34:54.659 --> 00:34:55.460 I'm going to have to 00:34:55.460 --> 00:34:56.300 just say I won't have it. 00:34:56.579 --> 00:34:57.260 In my case, 00:34:57.340 --> 00:34:57.679 by the way, 00:34:57.700 --> 00:34:58.320 in case you're thinking 00:34:58.320 --> 00:34:59.019 of adopting me, 00:34:59.280 --> 00:34:59.960 my inheritance 00:34:59.960 --> 00:35:00.800 will be zero 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:02.099 probably from my parents. 00:35:02.220 --> 00:35:04.039 So, I'd be giving up 00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:05.200 something that I have 00:35:05.200 --> 00:35:06.519 nothing to get everything. 00:35:07.619 --> 00:35:08.500 And that's how adoption 00:35:08.500 --> 00:35:09.639 worked in the ancient world. 00:35:09.960 --> 00:35:10.320 You say, 00:35:10.420 --> 00:35:10.539 okay, 00:35:10.619 --> 00:35:11.639 I'm going to go by his name. 00:35:11.639 --> 00:35:13.659 I'm now legally his son. 00:35:13.799 --> 00:35:14.559 And whatever other 00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:15.819 inheritances I might want 00:35:15.819 --> 00:35:16.179 to claim, 00:35:16.299 --> 00:35:17.819 I will not accept it. 00:35:17.980 --> 00:35:18.699 And here's the thing 00:35:18.699 --> 00:35:19.460 which is so wonderful 00:35:19.460 --> 00:35:20.839 about the adoption of sons. 00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:21.219 You see, 00:35:21.519 --> 00:35:23.319 this is what was so unbelievably, 00:35:23.839 --> 00:35:24.739 this is why 00:35:24.739 --> 00:35:26.039 in the ancient world, 00:35:26.179 --> 00:35:27.619 most of the first Christians 00:35:27.619 --> 00:35:28.859 were women and slaves. 00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:29.379 Why? 00:35:31.420 --> 00:35:32.980 A woman could be adopted 00:35:32.980 --> 00:35:34.960 as if she was the son. 00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:37.960 in a world where she could not 00:35:37.960 --> 00:35:38.780 own property 00:35:38.780 --> 00:35:40.500 and did not have a proper status 00:35:40.500 --> 00:35:41.400 in Christ. 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:43.059 She would be adopted 00:35:43.059 --> 00:35:44.780 as if she was the son 00:35:44.780 --> 00:35:46.159 who will inherit all things. 00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:48.159 The slave with no status 00:35:48.159 --> 00:35:49.240 even as a person 00:35:49.240 --> 00:35:50.940 can be in Christ 00:35:50.940 --> 00:35:52.740 adopted as the son. 00:35:52.739 --> 00:35:59.119 And this is the thing 00:35:59.119 --> 00:35:59.839 that God is saying 00:35:59.839 --> 00:36:00.899 to each one of us right now. 00:36:00.959 --> 00:36:02.179 This is what the Christian faith is. 00:36:02.299 --> 00:36:03.059 God is looking at you 00:36:03.059 --> 00:36:03.419 in the eye 00:36:03.419 --> 00:36:03.859 and he's saying, 00:36:04.119 --> 00:36:05.500 I've done everything. 00:36:05.959 --> 00:36:07.159 You have nothing to boast about 00:36:07.159 --> 00:36:08.459 and I've accomplished anything. 00:36:08.899 --> 00:36:09.939 Can I adopt you? 00:36:09.940 --> 00:36:14.480 Are you willing to give up 00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:15.400 whatever status 00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:17.019 and whatever other inheritance 00:36:17.019 --> 00:36:17.800 you have 00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:19.440 and be my child 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:21.400 and I will give you 00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:22.519 your new status 00:36:22.519 --> 00:36:23.659 and your new inheritance? 00:36:24.360 --> 00:36:26.960 Can I adopt you? 00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:29.039 Please stand. 00:36:37.420 --> 00:36:38.880 Just bow our heads in prayer. 00:36:39.940 --> 00:36:55.179 Father, 00:36:55.800 --> 00:36:58.000 if there are any here 00:36:58.000 --> 00:36:59.679 who have never accepted 00:36:59.679 --> 00:37:00.639 that proposal 00:37:00.639 --> 00:37:03.099 to be 00:37:03.099 --> 00:37:06.599 your child by adoption 00:37:06.599 --> 00:37:07.380 and grace, 00:37:07.380 --> 00:37:08.200 I ask, Father, 00:37:08.280 --> 00:37:09.099 that your Holy Spirit 00:37:09.099 --> 00:37:10.360 would move them towards that 00:37:10.360 --> 00:37:11.719 or that even now, 00:37:11.819 --> 00:37:12.360 today, Father, 00:37:12.420 --> 00:37:13.199 would be that time 00:37:13.199 --> 00:37:14.420 when in their heart of hearts 00:37:14.420 --> 00:37:14.860 they say, 00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:15.239 yes, 00:37:15.799 --> 00:37:16.799 please adopt me. 00:37:16.920 --> 00:37:17.799 Thank you, Father. 00:37:18.219 --> 00:37:19.159 Thank you, Jesus. 00:37:19.519 --> 00:37:20.500 Please adopt me. 00:37:20.699 --> 00:37:22.159 I want to be your child. 00:37:23.659 --> 00:37:25.079 I want to be your child. 00:37:25.219 --> 00:37:26.239 I turn from whatever 00:37:26.239 --> 00:37:27.059 other inheritance 00:37:27.059 --> 00:37:28.079 I think I have 00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:28.960 through my acts, 00:37:29.079 --> 00:37:29.960 through my idols. 00:37:31.279 --> 00:37:32.440 Please adopt me. 00:37:33.400 --> 00:37:33.819 And Father, 00:37:33.900 --> 00:37:34.500 for all of us, 00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:35.699 grip us with these truths. 00:37:35.699 --> 00:37:36.679 Make us unashamed 00:37:36.679 --> 00:37:37.299 of the gospel 00:37:37.299 --> 00:37:38.079 and your world, 00:37:38.460 --> 00:37:39.099 your word. 00:37:39.759 --> 00:37:40.119 And Father, 00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:41.659 grip us with this truth 00:37:41.659 --> 00:37:42.299 that you, 00:37:44.359 --> 00:37:45.899 not weighing our merits 00:37:45.899 --> 00:37:47.119 but pardoning our offenses, 00:37:47.359 --> 00:37:48.119 that in Christ 00:37:48.119 --> 00:37:49.559 you adopt us 00:37:49.559 --> 00:37:51.719 and our inheritance 00:37:51.719 --> 00:37:52.919 is guaranteed. 00:37:54.599 --> 00:37:55.119 Father, 00:37:55.239 --> 00:37:56.299 grip us with this truth. 00:37:57.179 --> 00:37:58.579 And all God's people said, 00:37:59.379 --> 00:37:59.739 Amen. 00:37:59.739 --> 00:37:59.939 Amen. 00:37:59.939 --> 00:37:59.960 Amen. 00:37:59.960 --> 00:38:00.000 Amen. 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:00.019 Amen. 00:38:00.019 --> 00:38:00.059 Amen. 00:38:00.059 --> 00:38:00.079 Amen. 00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:02.000 Amen. 00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:02.019 Amen. 00:38:02.019 --> 00:38:02.079 Amen. 00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:03.960 Amen. 00:38:03.960 --> 00:38:04.079 Amen. 00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:05.679 Amen.