Good morning. Good morning. My name is Chris. I'm one of the pastors here at Watermark.
It's just really exciting to be here with you. I have a white shirt because it's the
World Cup and England are going to be playing soon. So I will probably not wear it afterwards
because I'll be too embarrassed. But at least before the World Cup, I can wear it with pride.
Let me pray for us before we start. Father, just thank you. Thank you that your word is living
and active and powerful. Thank you that you want to speak to us. I pray, Lord, that you would take
my feeble words and you would fill them with your power and your spirit so that you would just touch
our hearts. Would we have hearts that want to hear from you, that don't just want to listen and turn
away, but want to hear what you say and do what you call us to? I pray this in your name. Amen.
Just lower this slightly. Great. One of the amazing things about being a pastor in the church is I get
to do premarital counseling with some couples who are just so excited about spending the rest of their
lives together. And then I get to spend time with couples who've been married for a number of years
and they're sometimes saying, I don't know quite why I ever married this person. And then I get times
to spend with people who are just ecstatic about they've just landed their dream job. They're leaving
one job. They're just coming to their new job. And then I see them a few months later and they're
six months in and they're like, I wish I'd never changed from my previous job. And it doesn't matter
where you are in life. Work, family, relationships matter to us. They're significant. But even in the best
of these things, the best relationships, there's always something that's missing. There's something
that we were made for, which is more than what these things offer us. And today we're continuing
in our series in Colossians and we're going to see that Paul says, don't look to your marriage or to
family or to work to be what only Christ can be for you. Okay, that's where we're going. Don't look to
these things to be anything that only Christ can be for you. And so what we've looked at so far,
and I hope you have your passage open with you because we'll just kind of go through a little
bit together. We've looked in Colossians and Paul has said, when you become a Christian,
you don't just get a kind of get out of jail free card. It's you actually gain Christ. You become
united like in a marriage relationship with God, the creator of the universe himself. And Jesus' story
of his death and resurrection becomes your story. So your old life where you used to live for yourself,
a slave to your own desires, like a prisoner of war, as Kevin preached a couple of weeks ago,
that's died when Christ died. And you now have, when Jesus was raised from the dead, you have a new
life. Your life is hidden in him and you're liberated to live for him. And so we saw last
week how this new identity in Jesus, it changes everything, even within the church. We saw outside
people are valued according to their race, socioeconomic status, if they've double eyelids or
drive a Maserati. But inside the church, your value comes from your identity as a child of God,
regardless of any of those other things. That's why Paul says, there's no Greek, Jew, circumcised,
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free. In Christ, you now have value.
But today, what Paul is going to say is what you truly believe is not just seen on Sunday,
where we kind of sing nice songs together and we say, yeah, Jesus, we love you. But then if you want
to see how the gospel is working in your life, go through the keyhole into your home. Go into the
workplace because the gospel is not just for Sunday. The gospel is to come not just into your living room,
it's to come into your kitchen, into your bedroom, into your office. The gospel is to shape everything.
Okay. So that's what we're going to look at today. And I want to say just a couple of things before we
dive into this passage, because there's a few things in this passage which we as 21st century
people have got to get through to really understand what Paul is saying. So this part of the passage
that we're looking at is what's called a household code. And that was very common in those days. It's a
form of writing where people often used to say, okay, this is how you guys should deal with
relationships in marriage, family, and work. And actually, all of these things in their culture
would take place in the home. Slightly different for us, but it would all be in the home. So writers
came up with things that they thought would keep order for how to make sure things didn't get out of
control. And so you have things which in our culture we struggle with. You have things like
submission of wives. You've got slavery. And we look at these kind of things and we go,
ooh, that's a bit backward and repressive. But the thing is, when Paul was writing,
people would have heard what Paul was writing and said, oh, what you're writing is a little bit
offensive, but not for the reasons that we think it's offensive, for other things. So we mentioned
last week, Josephus, a Jewish historian, he says, the woman, says the law, is in all things inferior to
the man. Let her accordingly be submissive. That's what first century people around thought.
Another guy called Plutarch in the first century, he said, a virtuous woman ought to be most visible
in her husband's company and to stay in the house and hide herself when he's away.
That's what people were teaching at those times. In other words, for them, submission meant a woman
is inferior, her identity and value only comes from her husband. And actually, when most of us hear
that, that's often historically what people have meant by submission. And then with slaves,
Aristotle, who really influenced first century, he said a slave is a living tool and some people are
just born to be slaves. It's the same idea. Your worth and your value is found in your position in
society. You're inferior. And Paul, as we've said, has said, no, no, no, no, no. That is not where your
value is found. Your value is found in Christ. You know, and from what I've just shared before about
what he says, there's no slave or free. In Galatians 3, 28, he also says in Jesus, there's no male or
female. There's no inferiority or superiority. In fact, if in the church you start doing that, you've
missed what Christ is all about. No one has any right to look down on anyone else. And in the first
century culture, that would have been radical. But then you've got to ask, well, why does Paul
still call wives to submit and slaves still to obey? Is he affirming these institutions?
So let's just start with slavery. Because many people think, how can the Bible justify slavery?
And they look at these kind of passages. And what we've got to understand is, Paul is speaking to
people in this church who are slaves, many of them. And do you know how you became a slave?
Many of the times, you were actually kidnapped by pirates, or you were a prisoner of war, or your
family had been so poor that they'd had to sell you into slavery. And some slaves were actually highly
educated. Some even attained some top jobs. Some even owned their own slaves. But the point was this,
that if you were a slave, if you started a revolution to kind of rise up against slavery,
slavery, you would almost certainly, and we know from the first century people tried to do it,
you would be killed, or you'd be thrown out on the street with no support.
Basically, Paul, when he's writing to slaves, he's not trying to overturn the institution of slavery,
because what he's trying to do, he's facing the reality of where these Christians were.
And he's saying, the gospel is to reshape you where you are.
Now, in 1 Corinthians 7, he actually says, if you can get free, get free.
But if you can't, many of you are so trapped in these situations, here's how the gospel is going to reshape you.
So that's the context of the slavery, context of marriage and family.
And here is a biblical context, where in verse 9 and 10, which we didn't read today,
Paul talks about us being renewed in the image of our creator.
And the Bible story has this narrative where it says,
God has set up certain institutions of government and of marriage and of parenting,
and there is to be order in those.
Just as it reflects order within the way that God himself works.
Because God is both equal and a Trinitarian God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but there's diversity of roles.
And so, what you see is, when you see Jesus,
because as Christians, Jesus shapes who we're being made into.
He is both equal to the Father, but when he goes into the Garden of Gethsemane,
do you know what he says?
He says, it's not my will, but yours be done.
He submits to his Father, though he's equal to him.
He's not repressed, he's not inferior,
but he's offering a gift of love to honor his Father.
And in Ephesians 5, Paul then says,
just as Jesus submits to his Father,
he also leads the church by laying down his life sacrificially for her,
to love her.
And Paul says, in marriage,
God has set up the same way to reflect
how Jesus and the Trinity work together.
So, the husband is called to lead,
as Jesus does,
laying down his life for her,
serving her for her good,
not for his interest.
Wives are called to submit,
not as repressed or inferior,
but as a voluntary gift of love to your husband.
The wife is called to put his will before hers,
the husband is called to put her interest before his.
Because that's what images,
Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit working together.
So, we've got to kind of get through some of that.
That's what Paul's talking about.
But let's kind of come and get into the text a little bit more.
Because it doesn't matter if you're single,
or if you're married,
if you're a parent,
or if you're a worker in the marketplace,
there's principles here that Paul's going to say
they apply to every single one of you,
wherever you're up to.
But we're going to spend more time focusing on marriage
and on parenting
with just a short time at the end on work.
Okay?
You with us so far?
Good.
Oscar is.
Okay.
So,
G.K. Chesterton,
he's a fun guy,
he once said,
marriage is an adventure
like going to war.
And he's right.
Marriage is war.
Family is war.
The workplace is war.
But the enemy is not supposed to be the other person.
Did you get that?
You see,
what often happens is
all of these things do become war.
But the way that we work is
we want control.
We want our desires to be met.
We want our way.
And when we don't get it,
we go into verbal or mental,
like passive-aggressive
kind of war with each other.
But Paul is going to say
with all of these relationships,
in these areas,
these are arenas
where God supplies them
not primarily to make yourself happy,
to get what you want
and be fulfilled in a self-centered way.
It's provide you with opportunities
to put to death
the areas of your life
where you're still living for yourself.
Did you get that?
And it's not just to provide you
with opportunities
to put yourself to death.
It's also to provide you
with opportunities,
like he's talked about in the passage,
to grow in compassion,
to grow in patience,
to grow in meekness,
to grow in humility and forgiveness
in every area of your life.
That's what your work is about.
That's what your family is about.
That's what your marriage is about.
So here's how the gospel shapes us
in these things.
The gospel shapes us
because it turns us
from ourself to others.
Verse 18.
Wives,
submit to your husbands
as is fitting in the Lord.
Husbands,
love your wives
and don't be harsh with them.
Paul is saying,
since you've died with Christ,
you're no longer a prisoner to yourself.
Your orientation of your marriage
is going to shift
from you
to the other person.
So the wife,
as I've said,
puts his will before hers.
Husband puts her interest
before his
and they're flourishing
in together
in a lifelong process
of growing more and more
like Jesus,
glorifying him
in your relationship.
So for the husband,
it looks like this.
Love your wives.
Do you know,
love is not a passive action.
It's not active.
Active love,
because love is always active,
is not sitting on the sofa
just thinking about work.
Active love is not meditating
on all the things
that are wrong on your spouse.
Active love
is initiating,
thinking of,
and proactively doing
what will enable
the other person to flourish.
And to do that,
you have to get to know them.
Right?
You have to spend time with them.
You have to listen to them.
Because I've read books
which tell me
how to love my wife
and they say things like
take her out for meals
and buy her flowers.
But my wife
is not that into
just always going out for meals.
She likes to eat at home.
And actually,
she's not really into flowers either.
So,
to lovingly lead her
as God calls me to,
I've got to spend time
getting to know her.
So that's why
you can't just take
a principle
from whatever anyone says
and just slap it
on your own marriage.
You've got to know each other.
It's relationship.
relationship.
But,
you know in Genesis,
God calls Adam
to be the leader
in the relationship
and he gives a command
to Adam.
He says,
don't eat from the tree
of knowledge of good and evil
or you'll die.
Okay?
It's pretty clear.
Now,
who eats from the tree?
First.
Eve does.
What was Adam doing?
Do you know what it says?
It says he was right there
with her.
You think,
I think if he'd had an iPhone,
he would have been
on his iPhone
just watching YouTube videos.
Watching to see,
okay,
what's going to happen to her?
God said,
we're going to die
if we eat this,
but let's see.
Because if she doesn't eat,
then maybe
I'll have some afterwards.
But,
is Adam
taking leadership?
Is he loving his wife?
No,
because you know what happens?
God comes straight to him afterwards
and says to him,
okay,
Adam,
why did you eat from the tree?
And he goes,
it was her,
not me.
And you see,
when God has called Adam
to take leadership,
he's not doing that
because he's not loving his wife.
He's only being passive
and thinking of himself.
And actually,
I was talking with my wife this week
and just convicted
I'm so much more like Adam
sometimes
in my life.
But,
you know,
Pastor John Piper,
he says something like,
he says something
that actually has convicted me.
He says,
do you want to know
who's leading
out of love
in your marriage?
He says this,
who says let's more?
Who says let's more?
Let's go out to eat tonight.
Let's get our finances in order.
Let's get to CG together.
Let's pray together.
Let's work on our marriage together.
And it's not just,
let's watch football every night
because that's what I want to do.
Right?
And he says,
as a generalization
and there's exceptions,
but if the wife is saying
let's far more than the guy,
that's both a burden on the wife
and it's a problem with the guy
because he's not doing
what God has called him to do,
which is to lay down his life
and lead her,
flourishing her.
So guys,
how are we doing?
How are we doing
with leading
and flourishing our wives
so that they spiritually
grow in Christ
so that our marriage
is wanting to be centered on him?
Are you saying let's?
And notice,
he doesn't say
love your wives
when they're giving you sex.
He doesn't say
love your wives
when they're prioritizing you
above their kids.
He doesn't say
love your wives
when you feel respected by them.
He says,
love your wives
and don't be harsh with them.
Do you know what that means?
That means literally
don't be embittered by them.
You see,
precisely when you feel
they're not meeting
your needs for
and desires
for sex
and respect
and time,
that's precisely
the time
where God has called you
to still keep loving.
It's tough.
You know,
there's a book called
His Needs,
Her Needs.
Has anyone read that?
It's a good book.
I recommend it.
And what it says is
men have needs
and women have needs
and it's like a love tank.
You know,
you kind of fill each other up
and you,
you know,
men have needs for sex
and respect
and women have needs
for like to be listened to
and to be cherished
and for conversation.
So,
wives,
give him what he needs.
Men,
give them what your wife needs
and it will be great.
And there's a lot of wisdom in it.
There's just one problem.
If you look back
in verse 13,
Paul tells us,
everyone,
but in the context of marriage,
he's applying it here,
bear with one another in love.
Forgive each other.
If you have a complaint,
and this includes your spouse,
if you're having a complaint,
forgive and walk with each other in this.
Why does he say this?
He says it,
when you get married,
who do you marry?
And if you're not single,
if you're single,
listen carefully.
Who do you marry?
You marry a sinner.
Right?
Every time.
And who did they marry?
They married a sinner too,
and that's you.
Now,
through sin
or through circumstances,
there will be times
where your spouse
will not fill your love tank,
will not meet all your needs.
And as guys,
and actually in both senses,
for men and women,
we can end up looking elsewhere
into work,
into other women,
into pornography,
even if it's just in your mind,
and we get resentful and bitter
because we're not getting what we want,
and we're not getting what we want
at that moment
because we've failed also
to see that Jesus says,
you've died,
and your life is hidden with Christ.
He's your life,
not your wife.
Your wife cannot justify you,
only Jesus can.
Your wife cannot fulfill you,
only Jesus can.
That can free you
if you realize
that in a relationship,
each other is at some point or other
going to disappoint you,
and the only place
for your salvation
is not in each other,
it's in Jesus.
That frees you to be thankful.
That frees you to be patient,
and it frees you to say,
let's talk about this,
but without demands,
without accusations,
but with patience,
compassion,
and gentleness.
husbands,
love your wives.
I've spent more time on that,
but that is every single guy here.
Whether you're married or not,
God has called you
to be active in love.
How are we doing?
But wives,
submit to your husbands.
Notice he says,
not to all men,
just to your husband.
He doesn't say,
husbands,
make your wives submit.
He doesn't say that.
He says,
submit in the Lord.
In other words,
you're submitting with Jesus
as your highest authority.
Your husband is not
your highest authority.
Jesus is.
So you submit only
in matters of preference,
not in matters of sin.
And submission doesn't mean
wives be a doormat.
It doesn't mean
be a punch bag.
It doesn't mean
give up your own opinions.
It doesn't mean
give up the ways to influence.
It's not about
who earns more money.
It's not about
who washes the dishes.
It's none of those things.
Because God wants
strong and godly women
who know and think
and influence
for the cause of Christ.
Jesus and Paul's ministry
is filled with women
who are playing key roles
advancing the gospel
in a male-dominated society.
But here's what submission is.
Again, I'm using John Piper.
Submission is the defined calling
of a wife to honor
and affirm her husband's leadership
and so help to carry it through
according to her gifts.
It's to honor and affirm
her husband's leadership.
It's a voluntary gift of love
you give to your husband.
It's being willing to yield to him
the casting vote
when after discussion
you still can't agree.
It's making space for him to lead
so he can flourish in that.
It's making space to honor
and affirm his leadership.
So how do you do that?
How do you do that well
so there's a healthiness?
Well, here's how you don't do it.
Okay?
You don't affirm someone's leadership
when you focus on all the things
he doesn't do
rather than all the thinking
of all the things he does do.
Okay?
You know, he agreed to go shopping for you.
And he comes back
having forgotten
seven of the ten items
you asked him
and having bought a drone
on the way
for himself.
Now,
women who are not affirming
their husband's
leadership
say things like,
you never remember
things I want.
You always think of yourself.
Now, that may be 90% true.
But,
it doesn't work
in a relationship.
But those who are looking
to affirm
their husband's leadership,
do you know what they do?
They say they point out
what he's doing well.
So they build this culture
of gospel affirmation.
They say,
thank you for serving me
by shopping for our family.
I really appreciate you
taking the time to do that.
Is there any way
I can help you remember
the other items next time?
And you know what?
When you try that,
you see what happens.
When my wife does that to me,
I kind of go,
I was quite selfish,
wasn't I?
It doesn't work
when you're actually
so focused
on trying to undermine
whether Christ calls us
to affirm and honor.
That's what it means,
submit leadership.
And you know,
how do we do that?
Because he says,
we died with Christ
we're putting to death anger.
We're putting on compassion,
putting on patience,
putting on meekness.
That's a strength
that is gentle.
And the only way
that husbands can love,
the only way that wives
can submit
is if you realize
that Christ is your life,
not your spouse.
Only Christ is your life,
not your spouse.
That's the first thing.
The gospel changes us.
And if you're dating
or single,
by the way,
don't settle
for someone
who is not
seeking to lead you
towards Christ
if you're a woman.
And if you're a guy,
don't settle
for someone
who is not
wanting you
to lead them
towards Christ
because your marriage
will not picture
what Christ
has called you to be.
God
is not
so that's
from self
to others.
That's what the gospel does.
The second thing
the gospel does,
it takes us
from provocation
to hopeful confidence.
And again,
I'm going to spend
less time
on the next two points
just in case
you were kind of wondering.
Children,
obey your parents
for this pleases
the Lord.
Fathers,
don't provoke
your children
lest they be discouraged.
Notice Paul,
he values children
by speaking to them.
That was unusual.
That didn't happen
in their culture.
And he speaks to them
as those who can know
and please Jesus.
As those who can have
a relationship
with Jesus
even when they're young.
But I'm going to focus
on the parents here.
And notice
that in this
first part of the verse
he focuses
and mentions
both parents,
mothers and fathers.
But then in the second
he says
to fathers
specifically
because they were called
to be the spiritual heads
of the household.
And he says
don't provoke
your children.
And that literally
provoke means
to stir up,
to irritate them
lest they be discouraged.
And you can see
from what he calls
the children to be
to obey parents
so that it pleases God
that actually
he's saying
don't act
in such a way
that they're going
to be irritated
to the point
of losing
courage
and motivation
to please Christ
and to obey you.
Okay?
Don't act in a way
that does that.
Now you cannot
make your children
love Jesus
but you can provide
a gospel soil
for them to experience
the goodness
and love
of Jesus
through your parenting.
So I want to take
this particular angle
here today.
There's so many things
we can say.
Simon has said
most of the things
already.
But I want to just
talk about
it's alright
Simon can preach
next week.
But I want to talk
about a couple of things.
What is the opposite
of discouragement?
What's the opposite?
it's being filled
with confidence
and hope.
Gospel parenting
builds a household
filled with confidence
and hope.
And he's saying
don't undermine that
by bringing
discouragement.
Now here's the difference
between secular thinking
and Christian thinking.
Secular thinking
the world says
build your child's
self-confidence.
confidence.
The gospel says
build your child's
God confidence.
The world says
build your child's
hope in their
school achievements
in their career
in their ability
to have a secure
financial future.
The gospel says
build your hope
your child's hope
in Jesus
in whom your life
is hidden.
Because jobs
will come
jobs will go
but only in Christ
will they have
confidence
regardless of
any circumstance.
It's the greatest
thing you can give
your children.
And so how can we
provoke our children
to lose
or not have
that kind of confidence?
Well I want to
just give you one
specifically.
It's when your own
confidence and hope
is in your performance
it's in other things
other than Jesus.
It's in when you
as parents
it's in things
other than Jesus.
You know
you can give
your children
moral principles.
Christian moral
principles.
You can discipline
them with the law
to make them
good people
on the outside
but if you
yourself
are not
delighting
in the grace
and the love
and the forgiveness
of Jesus
it will provoke
and discourage
them.
You know
when I was
at school
we had a
Christian assembly.
I hated
Christian assembly.
There was in my
school there were
two Christians
out of 1500
people
and so
but we had to do
we had Christian
moral teaching
the teachers
would give us
Christian moral
teaching
and I knew
that none of the
teachers believed it
and then we were
made to sing
these hymns
and
I knew
none of the
teachers
really delighted
in what they
were singing.
it was words
to them
and even
now
I just
despise it
it made me
just irritated
and angry
because the
hypocrisy
that I saw
and actually
if I hadn't
had a great
example
from my
parents
of the
gospel
I would have
despised
Christianity.
John Piper
again says
this
some parents
fail to be
happy and
hopeful and
confident in
God.
Mothers and
fathers
what you
are in
relation to
God is
far more
important than
any particular
parenting technique
you try and
employ.
Will your
children hope
in God
if you hope
in money?
Will your
children be
happy in
God if
they see
that your
phone or
your work
is a
happier
experience
for you
than worship?
Will your
children be
confident in
God if
your whole
demeanor
communicates
the desire
to be seen
as self
confident?
God
this is the
challenge of
the gospel
for all of
us.
You know
you can come
to church
and then you
get that
dreaded call
from kids
ministry
that your
kids are
the one
who are
causing
all the
trouble.
What goes
through your
minds?
Are we
confident in
the love of
Jesus to
say okay
this is not
about me
what an
amazing
teachable
moment to
help my
child understand
the gospel
better?
Or are
we so
worried about
what everyone
else is going
to think that
we come down
harder on our
kids than we
normally would?
Our kids
know your
relationship with
God is the
most important
gift you will
ever give to
your children.
So are you
investing in
that gift?
Are you
investing in
that gift?
Paul Tripp
says this,
I have
never seen
a particular
sin,
weakness,
or fear
in my
child that
I couldn't
identify or
see its
effects in
my own
heart.
No parent
gives mercy
better than
one who is
convinced that
he desperately
needs it
himself.
You see
there's so
much pressure,
there's so
much expectation
in Hong
Kong on
parents,
on kids,
but if you
as a
parent know
that your
confidence
rests not
in how
great you've
been as
a parent,
not in
whether you've
done everything
correctly,
but in the
grace and
mercy,
the compassion,
the patience,
the kindness
that Paul
talks about
that is all
characteristic of
God's love
for us.
Then when we
discipline,
we discipline
out of firmness
but out of
patience and
grace,
and your
kids will
experience a
goodness of
God,
not just
moral teaching
but delighting
in who
Jesus is.
The gospel
changes you
from self
to others.
The gospel
changes you
from provoking
to hopeful
confidence for
yourself and
for your
kids.
Last thing,
and this is
going to be
short,
and this
actually,
all of these
things apply
in every
relationship in
different ways.
And this
one, the
last thing I'm
going to say
is the gospel
changes us
from present
reward to
worship of
Christ.
And Paul
applies this
to work,
and we'll
spend more
time looking
at work
and things
later on,
but I just
want to talk
about two
things.
Paul goes
on to say,
slaves,
obey your
earthly masters,
not out of
eye service,
not just when
they're looking,
not just when
they're there
in front of
you, and
then when
they're not
there, you
go on
Facebook,
but with
sincerity of
heart, fearing
the Lord.
And then he
says, you
know, knowing
that from the
Lord, you're
going to
receive the
inheritance as
a reward.
Throughout every
relationship, where
is your reward
from?
Who is your
master?
If you think
you're stuck in
a work situation,
a relationship,
if you think
you're stuck
struggling with
your boss, the
slave had no
choice as to
which workplace
they were going
to be in.
He was stuck.
The only choice
he had or she
had was this.
I can do what
I'm going to do
out of just fear
of my boss or
out of worship
to Jesus.
I can do what
he says just
when his eye
is on me,
and then do my
work holiday
planning when
he's not there.
Or I can see
that my boss
is always
watching me,
and my heart
is that I'm
not just working
for an earthly
master, I have
a heavenly
master, and I
want to please
him more than
anyone else.
And this is
hard, because
the prize we're
often looking for
in our lives is
this.
I want a fully
fulfilling,
satisfying,
meaningful job
where my boss
and my colleagues
appreciate me
and feel like I'm
doing something
purposeful in life.
Isn't that what
we want from
our work?
Actually, work
is made to be
fulfilling and
satisfying.
But just as in
marriage and in
family, it doesn't
always satisfy us
the way it should.
I don't think many
slaves had any of
those things.
But in the
gospel, Paul says,
your workplace,
whether it's
fulfilling or not,
whether you're
appreciated or not,
if you've died and
Jesus has given you
a new life and is
your new boss, you
have a new reward
and your purpose is
to please him.
Tim Keller, I'm
going to finish
with this, tells the
story of Chariots of
Fire, where two
runners, Harold
Abrahams and Eric
Little, were running
in the 1924
Olympics.
Abrahams was
obsessed with
winning.
He loved the sport
and before his
final race, he
says this, he
says, and now in
one hour's time, I
will be out there
again, I will raise
my eyes, I will look
down that corridor
four feet wide with
ten lonely seconds to
justify my whole
existence.
But will I?
Little loved running,
but he did it to
worship and please
God.
And he says, I
believe that God made
me for a purpose,
but he also made
me fast.
And when I run, I
feel his pleasure.
Abrahams thought his
ultimate reward was
in the gold medal.
That medal was his
life.
And so he lived
constantly fearful
that he might miss
out, that if he
couldn't get everything
he wanted in his
work, in his time,
then he might not
have life.
Little wanted to
win equally, but he
knew Jesus had
already died to
justify him.
His life was
hidden now in
Christ.
A new identity, he
had nothing to
prove.
Jesus' pleasure was
his reward.
So he could go out
and run hard and
run well, but afterwards
he could rest secure
knowing whether he
won or not, knowing
whether your family
is going well or
not, knowing whether
your marriage is
going well or not.
But when Christ is
your reward, you look
to him as your life.
You look to him as
your hope.
You look to him as
your confidence.
You look to him as
the one who's going to
satisfy you in a way
that no matter how
good your marriage,
your parenting, your
family, your work life
is, whatever any of
those things, Jesus is
everything you need.
So preach it to
yourself.
Preach it to each
other.
Preach it to your CG.
Every day we need
help to remember
my hope is not
found in myself.
My hope is not
found in getting what
I need.
My hope, my
confidence, my life
is in Jesus alone.
Let me pray.
Maybe you just want to
stop and just think
at the moment.
Am I living with my
eyes set on that prize
of the pleasure of
Christ?
Am I living, turning
with the responsibility
that God has given me,
whether it's your
husband or wife,
whether it's your
single, whether it's
you are a parent or
not, whether it's
you're a child of
your father and
mother, whether it's
you're an employee or
an employer?
where is my life?
Because you died, I
died, and our lives
are hidden with
Christ in God.
I pray, Father, this
week you would help us
to see you.
I pray this week you'd
help us to see with
confidence that you are
with us, that you
challenge us, that you're
going to move us
forward.
Lord, your grace and
your compassion and
your mercy is what we
need every single day.
I pray that you would
open our eyes to see
our need of you.
Don't let us be
satisfied with just
living for ourselves,
because we've died,
and our lives are in
you.
Thank you, Jesus.
Amen.
Yes.
Amen.