WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 Amen. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.000 Amen. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.000 Amen. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.000 Amen. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:01.000 Amen. 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:04.700 Down to verse 21. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:57.979 Let's pray. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:11.159 Father God, for us this morning, we take this word in hand with complete confidence that it is exactly what we call it. 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:19.900 Your word, your inspired word, entirely reliable, trustworthy, and the truth. 00:03:19.900 --> 00:03:31.900 And it has been given to us that we who are your children may live lives that are marked by the glory of the cross and profitable. 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:40.800 That the man of God may be completely equipped for every task and appointment that you have placed before him. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:45.780 We want to be a people this morning that are confident in the word. 00:03:46.760 --> 00:03:51.860 We want to be a people that are governed and motivated by the word. 00:03:51.860 --> 00:03:59.640 And we want to be a people that when unbelievers look at our lives, what they see is the sweetness and the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:04:00.140 --> 00:04:04.620 Because the word of Christ dwells in us richly. 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:13.819 And we ask for the enabling of the Holy Spirit this morning, both in my preaching your word with faithfulness and clarity and passion. 00:04:14.780 --> 00:04:19.780 And in the reception of the word of God in the lives of your people, that it would produce fruit. 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:24.879 That causes glory to your name and joy to the believer. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:27.879 And salvation to those who need Christ. 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:30.339 We ask this in Jesus' name. 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:31.360 Amen. 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:39.199 Let me begin by marking the fact that over the years there are several different things that I have preached on on a consistent basis. 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:44.060 And around this time of the year when our nation celebrates its birthday, 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:51.659 I have seen that as an appropriate time to speak to the subject of being a citizen in the United States of America. 00:04:51.660 --> 00:04:58.240 And I appreciate the spirit with which we go about celebrating our nation's birthday. 00:04:58.960 --> 00:05:05.060 For most of you here, this is the only place that you've ever lived or ever really been part of a culture. 00:05:05.280 --> 00:05:09.180 And so you would imagine that patriotism looks like this. 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:16.420 And it is directly connected to this flag over here and the song that you associate with our national anthem. 00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:22.000 I want to tell you that about seven or eight years ago, I remember being in India. 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:25.480 I went with Mark Furman before he passed away. 00:05:25.939 --> 00:05:35.240 And I was actually in Bangalore at the time of the calendar when India celebrates its independence. 00:05:36.300 --> 00:05:37.220 And so here we are. 00:05:37.340 --> 00:05:38.879 We were having Bible classes. 00:05:39.460 --> 00:05:41.680 Mark Furman was actually teaching that morning. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:47.379 And one of the things that we did was we stopped and sang the Indian National Anthem. 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:51.900 And I got to tell you, about 70 different pastors were in that room. 00:05:52.139 --> 00:05:57.220 And they just blasted out the National Anthem with enthusiasm and fervency. 00:05:57.519 --> 00:05:58.079 And guess what? 00:05:58.160 --> 00:05:59.420 I could sing it. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:01.560 I like that. 00:06:01.740 --> 00:06:04.879 I can't remember what all the words mean. 00:06:04.939 --> 00:06:09.079 But I could sing it because I grew up singing that from childhood. 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:18.759 And we loved the day of independence when India was liberated or was given their freedom from the British Raj. 00:06:18.959 --> 00:06:21.680 And, you know, we did the same thing over there that you do here. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:23.360 Fireworks were all part of it. 00:06:23.579 --> 00:06:24.699 And, you know, holiday. 00:06:25.039 --> 00:06:26.159 And it was a great time. 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:35.180 And so over the years, I've taken time to kind of address the issue of what does it mean to be a citizen of the United States, 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:41.400 but also a citizen of eternity and a person who is marked by our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:06:42.180 --> 00:06:48.079 I find myself this morning and actually this year at a very interesting point. 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:54.460 So I would like to take time to kind of assess the moment and think about it in relationship to where we are presently 00:06:54.459 --> 00:07:01.560 and kind of put it together with not only this moment but where the church is in terms of the larger issue of church history. 00:07:02.099 --> 00:07:03.299 I'm almost 68. 00:07:04.479 --> 00:07:10.939 And I have to tell you that I cannot think of a time in the election cycles that I have endured and lived through 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:17.959 that I have seen a higher level of division and political rancor than where we are today. 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:25.939 The issues that are out front and center are matters that are of deep concern to all people in our culture. 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:32.959 And it goes without saying that you cannot have a conversation with individuals that touch on the subject of politics 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:38.000 without ending up having a little bit of tension and a little bit of earnestness in that conversation. 00:07:38.539 --> 00:07:40.399 You listen to the news. 00:07:40.599 --> 00:07:43.019 You pick up on the radio. 00:07:43.459 --> 00:07:45.339 You read an article on the Internet. 00:07:45.339 --> 00:07:50.859 Wherever it is, you'll find that politics is at a high level of intensity 00:07:50.859 --> 00:07:54.979 and it really is something that is on everyone's mind. 00:07:56.239 --> 00:08:00.419 Last week, actually, I think you're aware that Donald Trump held a conference. 00:08:00.919 --> 00:08:06.599 You may not be aware of it, but I'm telling you that he held a conference with about 1,000 evangelicals 00:08:06.599 --> 00:08:12.659 who sat down with the presumed GOP nominee and they asked him a variety of questions. 00:08:12.660 --> 00:08:21.140 Trump's meeting with these perceived evangelical heavyweights was really followed by a number of gushy reports. 00:08:21.260 --> 00:08:22.560 Do you know what a gushy report is? 00:08:23.020 --> 00:08:26.860 It's where people are just over themselves with enthusiasm for how things came out. 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:31.600 And there were comments on the fact that he actually has a newfound faith 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:34.960 and that he has taken on a more magisterial tone. 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:42.780 And I want you to know that I kind of listen to all of that and kind of look at the options out there 00:08:42.780 --> 00:08:48.200 and I find myself wondering, wow, where are we at really in our country? 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:54.879 In addition to what that represents, I got to tell you, 00:08:54.960 --> 00:09:01.300 I've never found a higher degree of interest and curiosity on the subject of who you vote for. 00:09:01.299 --> 00:09:06.899 I mean, in the past, it's been fairly easy to figure it out and I don't see that that way today. 00:09:07.539 --> 00:09:10.699 At the same time, I've had a number of people come up to me and ask me, 00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:15.159 so, Pastor, who are you going to vote for and why are you going to vote for them? 00:09:15.219 --> 00:09:18.959 Well, I want to tell you right now, I'm not going to tell you who I'm going to vote for. 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:20.559 I haven't decided for one. 00:09:22.179 --> 00:09:28.639 And I find the subject to be something that is demanding to my attention and to yours as well. 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:38.199 And I think it's important for us to recognize that we are at a point that deserves careful, deliberate thinking on the part of believers. 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:42.600 We're at a significant and divisive time in our nation. 00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:54.019 I can't remember a time in my thinking in history that I have not seen a higher level of division, 00:09:54.019 --> 00:09:58.519 of argument, of belligerence on the part of all parties. 00:09:58.620 --> 00:10:01.279 And I've got to tell you, it's a messy environment that we live in. 00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:08.559 So, the elections are on November 16th or on November in this coming year or this year. 00:10:09.100 --> 00:10:14.360 And I want you to think with me just for a moment beyond that in a larger picture 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:21.740 and recognize that while it may seem to us that politics is really way up there as a significant challenge, 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:27.379 I want you to understand that the place we're sitting in and the environment we are in 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:35.060 is really no different than the environment and the significant setting that the church has been in throughout history. 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:42.440 Over and over again, the church has been challenged to kind of think very carefully about where it falls on the matter of politics. 00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:46.400 And it's impossible for the church in the culture. 00:10:46.520 --> 00:10:51.520 Remember the statement in 1 Corinthians, be in the world but not of the world? 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:53.880 You find the church in the midst of this. 00:10:54.020 --> 00:11:03.060 And we recognize we live in a day and age that things in our community and culture are different than maybe even 10 years ago. 00:11:03.059 --> 00:11:13.559 I remember going to seminary and the things that I was cautioned would be significant challenges for my ministry. 00:11:14.079 --> 00:11:23.799 Nobody ever imagined when I was sitting in seminary back in the 70s that the issue of homosexuality and lesbianism and bisexual bathrooms, 00:11:24.119 --> 00:11:26.139 nobody ever thought that that was going to be an issue. 00:11:26.579 --> 00:11:27.679 Never crossed the mind. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:38.679 People were worried primarily about very, very different subjects and never even broached the subject of the environment that we live in today. 00:11:39.139 --> 00:11:49.079 And we are living in a time when the church is coming under increased attack and under increased pressure for faith. 00:11:49.080 --> 00:12:02.480 I have no doubt that should the Lord tarry and I live a little longer, I anticipate that the day is going to come when churches lose their tax benefit as a non-tax agency. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:07.300 I believe that we're going to see persecution on a growing basis. 00:12:07.299 --> 00:12:19.219 It's a fact that in California today, there is legislation that is looking to strip all Christian colleges of their tax, what's it called? 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:21.399 Tax exemption, right. 00:12:21.939 --> 00:12:29.120 And all agencies that will not abide by the homosexual agenda are under attack. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:34.759 And the proposal is that if they're not going to allow homosexuality to be approved and accepted, 00:12:35.060 --> 00:12:40.580 and they're not going to go along with the state's proposed legislation, 00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:44.240 that they are not allowed to be a tax-exempt organization. 00:12:44.379 --> 00:12:53.120 It's a matter of record that in Oregon, a Christian baker has been under tremendous fine, 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:59.980 180-some thousand, I think, because he refused to bake a cake for the wedding of a lesbian couple. 00:13:00.919 --> 00:13:05.299 And yet, you hear that on that side and you recognize what's coming on, 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:10.179 but all you have to do is turn on some of the right-wing radio and guess what you hear? 00:13:10.259 --> 00:13:17.720 You hear as much faction and attitude and militancy on that side as you hear on that side. 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:22.379 And so, you find yourself in this messy, messy environment, and you look around and say, 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:26.420 well, really, what should a pastor do and what should God's people do? 00:13:27.560 --> 00:13:37.680 I want you to understand that where we are today is not substantially different than most times that the church has endured. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:44.019 And it is critical in the midst of this not to lose sight of our Savior and His purposes. 00:13:44.160 --> 00:13:45.279 And I want you to lock that in. 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.299 It is important to stay focused. 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:55.600 The songs that we sang this morning were first theological, and they have bearing on us politically. 00:13:55.740 --> 00:13:56.559 Do you understand that? 00:13:56.779 --> 00:13:59.559 For me to live is Christ. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:07.759 At the heart of what you and I are engaged in is that we are here as His representatives 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:17.100 with a reminder that the one thing that can turn a person's life around and bring hope and life into a broken and ruined existence 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:19.379 is the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel. 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:20.559 Nothing else will do that. 00:14:21.419 --> 00:14:27.899 And so, it's important for us in the midst of this not to lose sight of why Jesus came and why He left us here. 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:38.459 So, with that in mind, I want you to recognize that this passage here is a passage that really helps us frame the issue of what we are to be engaged in 00:14:38.459 --> 00:14:40.539 and how we're to go about doing it. 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:46.319 Let me quote a little thing that I picked up from D.A. Carson before we get into the text itself. 00:14:47.019 --> 00:14:51.159 D.A. Carson, a preeminent theologian and a great thinker, said this, 00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:58.139 If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, He would have sent an economist. 00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:05.439 If He'd perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, He would have sent us a comedian or an artist. 00:15:06.419 --> 00:15:12.100 If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, He would have sent us a politician. 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:17.899 If He'd perceived our greatest need was health, He would have sent us a doctor. 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:24.059 Now, but God perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from Him, 00:15:24.179 --> 00:15:28.419 our profound rebellion, our death, and He sent us a Savior. 00:15:29.059 --> 00:15:34.100 And it's important for us to have that fixed in our mind in the midst of the environment that we are, 00:15:34.319 --> 00:15:40.919 that we don't lose sight of the most important thing that we have is our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:44.699 And we keep that front and center and communicate it to other people. 00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:48.640 Now, look at the passage in 1 Corinthians 10. 00:15:49.820 --> 00:15:51.500 I'm sorry, 1. I'll say it again. 00:15:52.060 --> 00:15:54.420 And I want you just to kind of put your finger on verse 1. 00:15:54.520 --> 00:15:56.000 We're going to move forward from that. 00:15:56.460 --> 00:16:01.820 But in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 10, here is Paul addressing the church in Corinth. 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:08.940 And he begins there by kind of cautioning them about where they had gone as a church. 00:16:08.940 --> 00:16:16.340 They had been distracted from their central ministry of gospel living and gospel focus 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:19.800 by getting kind of broken up and following different leaders. 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:25.660 Now, I want you to understand that Corinth is a classic illustration of a perfect pagan city. 00:16:26.380 --> 00:16:27.220 It was godless. 00:16:27.400 --> 00:16:28.080 It was immoral. 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:31.200 It was a place that abuse kind of abounded. 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:32.940 It was a messy, messy environment. 00:16:32.940 --> 00:16:37.440 And so here is Paul writing to the church in that kind of structure. 00:16:37.980 --> 00:16:39.460 And he starts out by saying this, 00:16:39.560 --> 00:16:42.260 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:16:42.640 --> 00:16:46.380 that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you. 00:16:47.340 --> 00:16:52.340 What had happened is that the church had broken down into little parties and little factions. 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:55.060 There were those who said, well, I'm a Paul. 00:16:55.059 --> 00:17:00.779 I am a follower of the preeminent theologian of the New Testament, 00:17:01.239 --> 00:17:05.299 and I completely trust in following his example and model. 00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:06.480 I'm all about Paul. 00:17:07.259 --> 00:17:09.500 Others came along and said, well, I'm of Apollos. 00:17:09.639 --> 00:17:12.119 You know, he is far more eloquent than Paul. 00:17:12.419 --> 00:17:14.460 He is a crafted rhetorician. 00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:16.159 He's the guy I'm following. 00:17:16.299 --> 00:17:19.460 And then there were others that said, oh, no, no, I'm of Cephas. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:21.799 I am a follower of Peter. 00:17:21.899 --> 00:17:23.379 And then there were the hyper-spiritual. 00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:24.460 Guess what they said? 00:17:24.460 --> 00:17:26.240 They said, well, I'm of Jesus. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:27.680 You know, I'm better than all of you. 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:30.380 And the church was kind of broken up into these little packages. 00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:34.259 We find that Paul makes the appeal. 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:37.039 He said, listen, guys, that's not why I was sent. 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:38.940 That's not what my mission was. 00:17:39.840 --> 00:17:41.059 There in verse 17, it says, 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:46.180 For Christ did not send me to baptize, get caught up in this factionalism, 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:50.360 but to preach the gospel and not with words of eloquent wisdom, 00:17:50.360 --> 00:17:54.340 but lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 00:17:55.340 --> 00:18:03.759 And so you find here is Paul addressing the way in which the culture had broken the church up into these little different packages 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:05.200 and little groups. 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:11.519 And he says, listen, guys, let's come back together again around the central thing that we are to be focused on. 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:18.180 And so I guess I play that out practically when a person says to me, well, what party are you for? 00:18:18.299 --> 00:18:21.700 I am for the party that is gospel focused. 00:18:21.879 --> 00:18:26.039 And that's my primary focus is staying focused on the gospel. 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:28.599 And I think it's important for us. 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:35.579 We have a golden opportunity in the present environment to keep pointing people back to Jesus. 00:18:35.579 --> 00:18:38.819 There will be no remedy in Washington. 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:49.339 There will be no radical improvement of our culture after November apart from God bringing revival first in the church 00:18:49.339 --> 00:18:52.779 and then bringing salvation on unbelieving nation and world. 00:18:53.299 --> 00:18:54.339 And we need to remember that. 00:18:55.159 --> 00:19:00.519 So here is Paul reminding the believers there in Corinth. 00:19:00.599 --> 00:19:02.799 He says, listen, don't get caught up in these factions. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:05.579 Stay focused on the things that are really important. 00:19:05.679 --> 00:19:10.079 So I want to think with you about this business of choosing what is most important. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:13.339 And I put it this way in very, very simple terms. 00:19:13.500 --> 00:19:18.699 An unrelenting focus on the gospel is the thing that brings transformation, first of all, 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:22.059 in the life of the person who is affected by the gospel testimony 00:19:22.059 --> 00:19:25.740 and then in the life of those who are affected by gospel living. 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:29.439 So if you want to think with me just for a moment, 00:19:29.439 --> 00:19:38.839 recognize that Corinth was an absolute petri dish in which gospel truth could show its power 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:40.519 and bring about transformation. 00:19:41.259 --> 00:19:45.359 It was a country or as a city actually that was a trade center. 00:19:45.980 --> 00:19:47.139 And it was a port. 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:55.859 And it was a place that was so grossly immoral that the term Corinthianized was used as a substitute 00:19:55.859 --> 00:19:57.139 for the word fornication. 00:19:57.819 --> 00:20:03.459 Now, some Bible scholars have kind of played that forward to say that Corinth was the worst city. 00:20:03.959 --> 00:20:06.720 And I would tell you that probably, no, that's not the case. 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:11.440 It's probably no different than many of the other ports in the ancient world. 00:20:11.900 --> 00:20:16.519 And for that matter, it's a little bit like saying Las Vegas is the worst city in the world. 00:20:16.620 --> 00:20:17.200 Is that true? 00:20:17.380 --> 00:20:18.460 No, no, no, no. 00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:19.440 It's not. 00:20:19.620 --> 00:20:21.380 You could probably add New York City to that. 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:23.039 You could add Chicago. 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:24.700 You could add L.A. 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:26.779 You could add Columbus for that matter. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:27.640 I mean, guess what? 00:20:28.279 --> 00:20:32.120 Godlessness seems to do well in every single environment. 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:36.379 And so here is Paul writing to the church there in Corinth. 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:40.279 And he says, listen, guys, let's not get carried away with this factionalism. 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:45.819 Let's recognize that we have one particular responsibility. 00:20:46.639 --> 00:20:48.939 And that is this of preaching the gospel. 00:20:50.199 --> 00:20:54.539 Now, you look at the passage there in chapter 1, verse 17. 00:20:54.539 --> 00:20:54.960 He says, 00:20:55.319 --> 00:21:13.839 Why am I here? 00:21:14.639 --> 00:21:15.680 Why are you here? 00:21:16.259 --> 00:21:17.519 What is your job? 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:18.879 What is my job? 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:26.820 At the heart of it, we are under assignment in a fashion similar to the apostles in that 00:21:26.820 --> 00:21:32.460 we are to be an example of the gospel and a person who proclaims the gospel. 00:21:32.560 --> 00:21:33.120 Isn't that right? 00:21:33.740 --> 00:21:36.800 Now, I don't mean that you go around saying to everybody in your neighborhood, 00:21:36.940 --> 00:21:37.280 Guess what? 00:21:37.320 --> 00:21:38.880 I'm a pastor in a Baptist church. 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:41.060 And that is what I am. 00:21:41.300 --> 00:21:41.740 It was funny. 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:45.800 Our neighbors had a big blowout. 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:51.659 They must have had 60 people in their home and around their house and all over the driveway 00:21:51.659 --> 00:21:52.740 and all over everywhere else. 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:54.200 It was quite an interesting evening. 00:21:55.079 --> 00:21:58.779 And I remember my neighbor decided that he would introduce me. 00:21:58.859 --> 00:22:00.019 What's he going to introduce me as? 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:02.799 This is Reverend Tim Knoyer. 00:22:02.919 --> 00:22:05.879 He is a pastor of a Baptist church. 00:22:06.039 --> 00:22:06.619 He's like, ah! 00:22:08.379 --> 00:22:10.099 You don't have to go that far, right? 00:22:11.339 --> 00:22:14.379 The truth of the matter is, is that forget that label. 00:22:14.380 --> 00:22:18.740 Well, the day is coming when I am not going to be on staff. 00:22:19.540 --> 00:22:22.300 And I will continue to be his neighbor. 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:28.340 And whether or not I have the official title of being a Baptist pastor, what I am, just like you, 00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:31.580 I am a preacher of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:32.180 Isn't that right? 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:38.800 It's the gospel that wraps me into the purpose that I have in life and wraps you into that purpose. 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:45.299 You look at this passage and here is Paul saying, hey, listen, I was sent to preach the gospel. 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:51.720 I was sent to preach it, not with this eloquence and well-crafted statements. 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:59.099 I was sent to preach it in simplicity and purity for this reason, so that the cross would be the thing that has power. 00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:07.139 And as you look at this passage, you recognize that here is Paul saying, my life and my energy is focused on that one thing. 00:23:07.199 --> 00:23:09.459 And I have to ask you, is that what you're all about? 00:23:10.639 --> 00:23:20.079 When people talk to you, when people think about you, would they say that the thing that characterizes your life in their view 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:25.779 is that you have this very, very central focus on the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ 00:23:25.779 --> 00:23:33.919 and your satisfaction in Him causes you to speak about Him freely and joyfully at every hand and every opportunity you have. 00:23:34.779 --> 00:23:37.699 Now look at the passage also, if you will, there in verse 21. 00:23:39.339 --> 00:23:40.519 Here's what Paul says. 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:40.799 He says, 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:44.379 For since in the wisdom of God, in other words, this is God's plan, 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:48.159 the world did not know God through wisdom. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:50.940 So get this locked into your mind. 00:23:51.940 --> 00:23:58.860 The unbelieving world is not going to get gospel truth just because they do the math and figure it out intuitively. 00:23:59.060 --> 00:24:00.580 How many of you got that already understood? 00:24:01.340 --> 00:24:02.920 It's not like, oh yeah, yeah. 00:24:03.540 --> 00:24:06.700 It's just undeniable logic and it's just very simple. 00:24:07.300 --> 00:24:10.620 A, B, whatever, you get it and there it is. 00:24:10.660 --> 00:24:11.580 It's all figured out. 00:24:11.840 --> 00:24:12.720 No, it's not. 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:16.540 It is the work of God that brings people to understand, first of all, 00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:20.000 their need for Christ because of their sin 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:27.059 and then recognize that God sent His Son to be the satisfaction for sin by dying on the cross in their place. 00:24:27.980 --> 00:24:32.500 Paul says that in the wisdom of God, the world didn't figure it out because it pleased God. 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:32.899 How? 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:39.000 Through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:46.640 Now recognize that what Paul is saying is this, is that God's plan, that which pleases Him, 00:24:47.019 --> 00:24:53.700 is to bring salvation to people through the preaching of the gospel of the cross, the work of Christ. 00:24:54.720 --> 00:25:03.819 God, recognizing our need, willingly sent His Son to be the sacrifice for our sin. 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:09.759 And so I want you to recognize that as you look at this situation that you and I live in, 00:25:09.779 --> 00:25:13.779 in this country that is in complete turmoil and uncertainty over politics, 00:25:14.179 --> 00:25:17.339 guess what the overarching message we have is? 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:23.500 It is not that if so-and-so wins, the world is going to become a happier place. 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:24.379 That's not the case. 00:25:24.380 --> 00:25:37.560 Remember what Jesus said? 00:25:38.120 --> 00:25:38.400 He said, 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:44.840 The implication is this, 00:25:44.839 --> 00:25:48.139 is that in the absence of personal relationship with Christ, 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:50.679 no matter who you are, what you've accomplished, 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:53.059 where you've been, how much you have, 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:57.039 it doesn't amount to a hill of beans because when it's all over, 00:25:57.779 --> 00:26:00.079 you will stand before the judge and be condemned 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:05.480 for all eternity as a sinner that's unrepentant. 00:26:06.199 --> 00:26:10.199 And I want you to understand that God, realizing our desperate needs, 00:26:10.199 --> 00:26:14.779 sent His Son into the world to be the sacrifice for our sin. 00:26:14.839 --> 00:26:15.919 He died in your place. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:17.119 He died in my place. 00:26:17.959 --> 00:26:23.119 And He died to satisfy the judgment of God against my own personal sin. 00:26:24.339 --> 00:26:29.019 Secondly, God ordained salvation through Christ before the foundation of the world. 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:33.980 He planned it out, recognizing that I cannot save myself, nor can you. 00:26:33.980 --> 00:26:39.000 It was necessary for Him to do something for me that I couldn't do myself. 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:49.819 Why is it that salvation is so difficult for the unbeliever to receive, 00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:52.480 for one, because it's hidden from Him apart from grace, 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:56.880 but another thing is that at the heart of the message of the cross 00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:01.920 is that we do not save ourselves, and we'd like credit for doing that. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:05.800 When you talk to a lot of people about, so how are you going to get to heaven, 00:27:05.860 --> 00:27:07.039 the standard answer is what? 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:10.320 Well, I'm doing the best I can. 00:27:11.160 --> 00:27:12.800 I am trying very hard. 00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:15.640 I love the people that say to me, well, I'm keeping the Ten Commandments. 00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:16.840 That always just, really? 00:27:17.840 --> 00:27:20.900 So I'm a pretty good person. 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:21.300 Really? 00:27:21.299 --> 00:27:26.700 You know, here is the apostle saying, let me tell you something. 00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:30.039 It pleased God through the folly. 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:32.180 It just seems so ignorant. 00:27:32.339 --> 00:27:34.919 I mean, why would God do something like that? 00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:40.220 Send His Son to die for your skanky, ugly life, 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:46.039 that you can have salvation entirely by grace and free? 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:48.000 That's what God did. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:52.039 And so God in His wisdom ordained salvation through Christ, 00:27:52.140 --> 00:27:58.880 and God in His justice saw to it that Christ satisfied the judgment that I deserved. 00:27:58.980 --> 00:28:00.240 He paid the penalty for me. 00:28:01.119 --> 00:28:02.400 So I guess I tell you this. 00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:06.019 When you think about what is most needed, we don't need better roads. 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:07.420 That'd be nice. 00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:10.039 We don't need better health care. 00:28:10.460 --> 00:28:11.259 That'd be nice, too. 00:28:11.259 --> 00:28:19.900 We really don't need better citizens in the nation as much as we need people who've come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ 00:28:19.900 --> 00:28:24.119 and whose lives are transformed by the power of the cross. 00:28:24.980 --> 00:28:29.460 The fact of the matter is, is that the thing that needs to change in our culture the most 00:28:29.460 --> 00:28:34.259 is not the political system, but the hearts of people. 00:28:34.259 --> 00:28:38.980 As you think back into the Old Testament, stop and recognize just for a moment, 00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:45.240 most of the prophets, when they preached, and they lived in an ugly time, as bad as the time we live in, 00:28:45.559 --> 00:28:50.740 their focus was not on redeeming the community through changing the political system, 00:28:50.940 --> 00:28:53.240 but it was in calling people to repentance 00:28:53.240 --> 00:28:58.960 and bringing them to the place of coming to grips with their sin and their need before a holy God. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:07.079 And so I want you to understand that when we recognize this morning the task that we have in the world that we live in, 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:12.340 we have to come to grips with the fact that the gospel is God's plan for transforming human life. 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:13.900 Let me have that fixed in your mind. 00:29:14.299 --> 00:29:18.420 The gospel is God's plan for transforming human life. 00:29:18.860 --> 00:29:19.380 That's it. 00:29:19.940 --> 00:29:20.700 Focus on it. 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:21.740 Have it clear. 00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:22.640 Understand. 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:26.460 And when it comes down to the central issues of your life, 00:29:26.840 --> 00:29:33.940 I am persuaded that nothing can change a human life apart from the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:43.920 That being a fact, I want you to recognize that Jesus has sent me and Jesus sent you 00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:48.520 in exactly the same fashion in which Jesus himself was sent, 00:29:48.520 --> 00:29:52.080 with the same message and the same purpose. 00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:54.580 I want you to look at two different passages, 00:29:54.820 --> 00:29:57.700 and you would have to guess that they would come from John. 00:29:59.020 --> 00:30:01.480 John 17, verse 18. 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:06.680 Here is Jesus. 00:30:10.620 --> 00:30:12.860 John 17, verse 18. 00:30:12.860 --> 00:30:19.040 As you sent me into the world, so have I sent them into the world. 00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:30.059 That little word, as, is saying in the same manner, for the same purpose, with the same intention. 00:30:31.019 --> 00:30:38.039 And so I want you to recognize that Jesus here understood that his Father had sent him into the world 00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:39.839 for a particular task. 00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:43.000 That's why he was there. 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:51.200 The truth of the matter is, is that same purpose is the one he sent you with. 00:30:51.859 --> 00:30:52.700 Why are you alive? 00:30:53.539 --> 00:30:55.319 For the same reason Jesus came. 00:30:56.259 --> 00:30:58.160 Why are you working where you're working? 00:30:58.859 --> 00:31:01.500 For the same reason that Jesus was sent. 00:31:02.500 --> 00:31:05.740 Why is it that you are in the neighborhood where you are? 00:31:05.740 --> 00:31:13.299 I trust that you recognize that you are in that neighborhood for the same gospel reason that Jesus was sent into this world. 00:31:14.099 --> 00:31:16.700 For the same purpose. 00:31:17.640 --> 00:31:20.279 Have you look at one other passage in relationship to that. 00:31:20.380 --> 00:31:22.759 John chapter 20, verse 21. 00:31:22.759 --> 00:31:32.339 Jesus said to them again, 00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:37.599 Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, even so I'm sending you. 00:31:38.599 --> 00:31:42.559 I wonder this morning, as you think about this issue, whether you recognize or not, 00:31:42.819 --> 00:31:46.420 that at the end of the day, the purpose that you have in life is this, it's gospel. 00:31:46.420 --> 00:31:54.759 You are here, you draw breath, for the reason of lifting up the testimony in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:31:55.160 --> 00:31:57.180 And so, guess what this evening is going to be? 00:31:57.880 --> 00:31:58.840 It's a gospel evening. 00:31:59.560 --> 00:32:02.039 When you leave this place, it's a gospel opportunity. 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:07.220 It's an opportunity for you to display your confidence and your joy in the Lord Jesus Christ 00:32:07.220 --> 00:32:09.820 and lift up the sufficiency of the cross 00:32:09.820 --> 00:32:13.519 and recognize that nothing else can change the world that we live in. 00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:18.660 So, let's put it into practical terms as we kind of bring this down to a close here. 00:32:18.740 --> 00:32:21.000 I want you to think about what is it to live in the here and now? 00:32:21.940 --> 00:32:25.039 So, how do we go about live, living? 00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:26.859 How do we go about voting? 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:32.119 And how should we treat others that don't agree with us that we kind of bump into? 00:32:32.220 --> 00:32:38.039 For one, live by making the main thing the plain thing and keep the gospel first. 00:32:38.339 --> 00:32:39.500 I want you to focus on that. 00:32:39.500 --> 00:32:43.440 Live by making the plain thing the main thing. 00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:45.740 By making the main thing the plain thing. 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:47.680 You say it either way and it works, but here's the point. 00:32:48.559 --> 00:32:52.240 It's worth remembering that at the heart of what you are here for 00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:58.079 is to make the gospel clear and to make it plain in the life that you live 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:00.639 and in the conversations that you have. 00:33:00.640 --> 00:33:12.840 Christ's ministry took place in a tyranny and a corruption that would make our present day look like kindergarten. 00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:13.720 Do you understand that? 00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:19.400 And in the midst of all of that, you can read through all four gospels. 00:33:19.579 --> 00:33:23.180 You can read the apostles and all the epistles and whatever else. 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:26.460 You will not find a great deal of focus on the political scene. 00:33:26.839 --> 00:33:34.140 You will find a consistent focus on the greatest need is people to come to grips with their need for the Lord Jesus as their personal savior. 00:33:34.140 --> 00:33:39.180 I want you to recognize that in every place where the gospel has had its effect 00:33:39.180 --> 00:33:42.380 and people have been drawn to the cross that the outcome is this, 00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:46.400 is that the community has had a change as a result of that. 00:33:46.700 --> 00:33:49.800 You who are here, who have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:53.100 later in your life, guess what you will tell me over and over again? 00:33:53.340 --> 00:33:54.759 Here's what I hear the people tell me. 00:33:54.759 --> 00:33:58.160 I am not the same person I used to be. 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:06.359 Christ has changed me and I live a different life, different ambitions, different interests. 00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:08.719 I have been changed by conversion. 00:34:09.940 --> 00:34:16.400 And so I want you to recognize that we who know Christ are to live by making the plain thing the main thing. 00:34:17.139 --> 00:34:21.539 Secondly, I encourage you here, vote your own conscience and be informed. 00:34:22.539 --> 00:34:24.599 You know, I've had people say, well, tell me who to vote for. 00:34:24.599 --> 00:34:25.539 I'm not going to do that. 00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:31.019 I am still trolling through the information and not real happy with any of the choices. 00:34:32.460 --> 00:34:36.259 But I encourage you to vote according to your own informed conscience. 00:34:37.259 --> 00:34:42.619 I've done a lot of reading, probably more this election cycle than any that I can remember. 00:34:43.179 --> 00:34:46.139 And I got to tell you, one of the things that I have been affected by 00:34:46.139 --> 00:34:52.480 is how many godly, conscientious Christians are on two different sides in this subject. 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:56.559 I would like to tell you that everybody who loves Jesus is over here. 00:34:56.639 --> 00:34:57.380 Do you understand that? 00:34:57.980 --> 00:34:59.079 That's not the way it is. 00:35:00.780 --> 00:35:04.119 And so I would encourage you as conscientious, godly believers, 00:35:04.579 --> 00:35:09.079 you do your praying, you do your studying, and you make an informed decision. 00:35:10.539 --> 00:35:10.980 You pray. 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:12.300 You study. 00:35:13.380 --> 00:35:14.800 You exercise your conscience. 00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:21.860 Third, respect the sole liberty of those who do not agree with you in the body of Christ. 00:35:21.940 --> 00:35:22.660 Can I tell you that? 00:35:23.100 --> 00:35:28.140 Respect the sole liberty of those in the body of Christ that do not agree with you. 00:35:28.200 --> 00:35:31.080 You're going to end up, this election cycle, 00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:35.039 I think you're going to see more people who are of different opinions. 00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:39.440 I wish I could tell you that's not the way it's going to be, 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:40.920 but that is probably where it's going to be. 00:35:42.119 --> 00:35:44.360 Let me close with this and have you focus on it. 00:35:44.739 --> 00:35:46.420 Keep the gospel first. 00:35:47.400 --> 00:35:49.000 Keep the gospel first. 00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:57.179 It is no accident that we are where we are as a nation at this moment. 00:35:57.259 --> 00:35:58.019 Do you understand that? 00:35:58.019 --> 00:36:03.159 And in the midst of the turmoil of the moment, 00:36:03.420 --> 00:36:07.840 there is only one thing that I am absolutely confident of, 00:36:07.920 --> 00:36:08.699 and it is this. 00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:12.320 It is that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, 00:36:12.500 --> 00:36:13.920 of whom I am chief. 00:36:14.340 --> 00:36:19.759 And I, Tim Knoyer, have been sent with the same purpose that Jesus was sent with, 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:26.460 and I am going to focus on living my life for the testimony of the glory of Christ. 00:36:26.460 --> 00:36:28.400 I call you to do the same. 00:36:29.380 --> 00:36:30.639 Let's close in prayer. 00:36:33.579 --> 00:36:37.179 Our Father God, this morning, as we think carefully of what it means 00:36:37.179 --> 00:36:40.699 to be a citizen in this great United States, 00:36:41.559 --> 00:36:45.280 we recognize that the blessings that we enjoy are from your hand. 00:36:46.179 --> 00:36:51.159 We recognize also that the turmoil of the moment is something that is very sobering to us 00:36:51.159 --> 00:36:54.880 as we consider the blessings that our nation has enjoyed. 00:36:54.880 --> 00:36:57.340 And yet, in the midst of all of this, 00:36:57.420 --> 00:37:00.099 we are very thankful that the one thing that is preeminent 00:37:00.099 --> 00:37:02.440 and overshadows everything else 00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:06.340 is that Christ Jesus came into the world to be the Savior of the world. 00:37:07.160 --> 00:37:10.280 And we who know Him live and breathe 00:37:10.280 --> 00:37:13.840 for the same purpose that you sent Jesus into the world. 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:17.920 Help that to be the thing that drives us in the week that lies ahead, 00:37:18.160 --> 00:37:23.059 that makes today and the way in which we celebrate this day special. 00:37:23.059 --> 00:37:26.559 Make it the conversation of our lives 00:37:26.559 --> 00:37:28.699 and the testimony of the way we live 00:37:28.699 --> 00:37:33.719 that we, by our testimony and our work and actions, 00:37:33.860 --> 00:37:37.340 would draw people to seek Jesus as the only hope they have. 00:37:37.820 --> 00:37:39.480 We ask this in Jesus' name. 00:37:39.900 --> 00:37:40.199 Amen. 00:37:40.199 --> 00:37:42.439 I'm going to ask that you stand together. 00:37:42.439 --> 00:37:42.480 Thank you. 00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:42.500 Thank you. 00:37:42.500 --> 00:37:42.500 00:37:42.500 --> 00:37:42.500 00:37:42.500 --> 00:37:42.519 Thank you. 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:42.519