WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.660 If I'm in the car about half past five in the evening driving along and I turn on the radio, 00:00:05.660 --> 00:00:12.620 I always feel slightly uplifted and excited when I hear the sound of this. 00:00:17.500 --> 00:00:19.960 What am I talking about? Does anyone listen to this? 00:00:20.620 --> 00:00:24.660 Yeah, I'm talking about Simon Mayo's Confessions. 00:00:24.820 --> 00:00:26.240 Does anybody listen in to Simon? 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:31.779 Yeah, okay. Just in case you might not know what I'm talking about, 00:00:31.979 --> 00:00:36.899 it's a Radio 2 show during drive time. It's been running for ages. 00:00:37.780 --> 00:00:42.899 And listeners write in, email in, phone in with their stories. 00:00:43.340 --> 00:00:50.299 And they're read out and then they discuss it in the studio as to whether or not they deserve to be forgiven. 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:52.060 Here's a classic. 00:00:52.060 --> 00:00:59.740 Dear Simon, this confession makes me shake every time I think of it. 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:02.359 I hope you can forgive me. 00:01:03.480 --> 00:01:08.280 It goes back to one festive season many years ago in my youth. 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:17.359 For some reason we didn't get our usual Christmas presents from Uncle Eric and Auntie Sheila in Australia. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:26.020 But then a mysterious pot of exotic smelling herbs and spices arrived from Oz. 00:01:28.020 --> 00:01:34.120 Mum was delighted with the gift and she put them in the Christmas pudding and it tasted great. 00:01:34.120 --> 00:01:39.359 We ate half the pudding and kept the rest in the fridge. 00:01:41.460 --> 00:01:46.460 About a week passed and we heard from Auntie Sheila. 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:50.360 Very sadly, Uncle Eric had died. 00:01:51.360 --> 00:01:56.540 And she asked had we received his ashes to bury in our garden in Britain. 00:01:56.540 --> 00:02:02.400 Fortunately, our father happens to be a minister. 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:09.780 So we were able to have a little service of interment in the garden for the remainder of the pudding. 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:13.420 Or should that be the remainder of Uncle Eric? 00:02:14.460 --> 00:02:16.500 We are really, really sorry. 00:02:16.980 --> 00:02:19.819 We wouldn't have eaten Uncle Eric if we'd known. 00:02:20.540 --> 00:02:21.580 Can we be forgiven? 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:30.540 Sometimes it's a struggle to keep hold of the steering wheel when those come on. 00:02:31.060 --> 00:02:44.460 But at the risk of killing comedy by dissecting it, isn't it often the case that the reason we find something funny 00:02:44.460 --> 00:02:48.760 is because of the way in which it connects somehow with our experience. 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:56.259 Now, okay, that experience and a lot of the things you'll hear on that show may not exactly correspond with what you've experienced. 00:02:57.139 --> 00:03:01.299 But I think probably we can all experience, connect in some way or other, 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:07.840 with that experience of looking back on something in our past that we wish hadn't happened. 00:03:08.519 --> 00:03:13.319 And as I listen to those stories, although they may not chime with my experience directly, 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:16.859 time and time again, I'm thinking, okay, that hasn't happened to me, 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:21.819 but I can put myself in the shoes of what that person must have been feeling 00:03:21.819 --> 00:03:25.039 and probably feels as they look back on it right now. 00:03:25.979 --> 00:03:31.039 And the reason I think I can say that confidently is every single one of us has a past. 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:40.319 A past that contains things that when we look back at, gives us a sense of cringe. 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:41.780 We squirm. 00:03:42.819 --> 00:03:46.399 We feel that if only we could have rewound and start again. 00:03:46.519 --> 00:03:48.000 We just wish that hadn't happened. 00:03:48.840 --> 00:03:50.139 We feel a sense of shame. 00:03:51.739 --> 00:03:54.299 We feel a sense of regret. 00:03:54.300 --> 00:04:01.120 In our series, The Christian Atheist, seems a bizarre phrase, doesn't it? 00:04:01.160 --> 00:04:06.980 But it's basically focusing in on this idea that you can be a Christian 00:04:06.980 --> 00:04:09.900 in terms of what you say you believe, 00:04:10.640 --> 00:04:15.400 but you can actually live like an atheist by living as though God actually wasn't real at all. 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:21.720 And we think of today the issue of shame. 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:25.480 Because if it is the case that God is real, 00:04:26.440 --> 00:04:30.040 then we are called to live by the reality of that God. 00:04:31.200 --> 00:04:34.740 And the reality of that God in Jesus Christ 00:04:34.740 --> 00:04:38.400 is that we are forgiven from our past. 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:39.920 We're set free. 00:04:41.560 --> 00:04:44.660 But the challenge that we look at today is, 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.560 do we really live our lives by that conviction 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:52.699 that those things in our past we are genuinely released from? 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:56.560 When I was about 10 years old, 00:04:56.660 --> 00:04:59.620 there was a series of books out that I absolutely loved. 00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:02.399 They were called Choose Your Own Adventure books. 00:05:02.579 --> 00:05:04.519 I don't know if anybody remembers them. 00:05:04.519 --> 00:05:07.759 But they were game books 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:12.699 in which the reader assumes the central character of the story. 00:05:13.219 --> 00:05:15.159 And the way they work, they're very cleverly written. 00:05:15.379 --> 00:05:17.299 You would read a couple of pages 00:05:17.299 --> 00:05:20.579 and then you find yourself in a scene where you're faced with a choice. 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:22.879 And it's a multiple choice thing. 00:05:22.979 --> 00:05:25.659 And if you choose one particular course of action, 00:05:25.740 --> 00:05:27.620 then it would say turn to page 47. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.539 Another one, page 25 or whatever. 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:32.220 That took you to another scene 00:05:32.220 --> 00:05:34.300 at which you then eventually faced another choice. 00:05:34.780 --> 00:05:36.280 And then so on and so forth. 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:39.020 And so the story would be different 00:05:39.020 --> 00:05:41.280 depending on the consequences of the choices. 00:05:41.900 --> 00:05:43.660 They actually produced one of these 00:05:43.660 --> 00:05:45.300 that actually was never-ending. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:47.700 It was impossible to bring the story to a close. 00:05:47.840 --> 00:05:50.120 But of the 30 or so titles that were made, 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:51.800 I think each book on average, 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.820 it was something like tens of thousands of possible combinations 00:05:54.820 --> 00:05:57.080 that that story could actually take. 00:05:57.079 --> 00:06:00.399 The story could be very long. 00:06:00.859 --> 00:06:02.959 It could be very, very short 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:05.339 depending on the choices that you made. 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:07.800 But the thing I loved about those 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:09.300 choose-your-own-adventure books 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:11.759 was that you could read them so many times 00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:14.459 and you could be as radically risk-taking 00:06:14.459 --> 00:06:16.360 and as adventurous as you wanted 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:18.379 because you knew 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:22.579 that even if it all ended very horribly, very suddenly, 00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:25.439 you could just close the book, reopen it, 00:06:25.500 --> 00:06:26.579 and start again all over. 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:29.699 I may have been only about 10 years old 00:06:29.699 --> 00:06:30.680 when I was into these, 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:32.279 but that was old enough 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:34.039 to understand 00:06:34.039 --> 00:06:38.099 that we don't have that luxury in real life. 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:41.360 That we just wish that we could rewind, 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:43.019 we could start all over again. 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:45.699 You know, the reality is 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:48.319 that we can't change what's happened in the past. 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:50.079 We can't. 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:55.639 We can change the way that we look at the present and the future. 00:06:58.300 --> 00:07:00.199 You see, the thing is, is our past, 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:05.360 when it gets a hold of us with that sense of shame, 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:08.939 means that the things that we have done in our past 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:10.599 that we feel guilty about, 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:13.219 we can be sucked into those things 00:07:13.220 --> 00:07:16.840 to the point that our past mistakes, 00:07:16.840 --> 00:07:20.380 the things that make us feel guilty and ashamed, 00:07:20.640 --> 00:07:22.340 actually become our identity. 00:07:23.380 --> 00:07:27.260 So that we carry around that living past 00:07:27.260 --> 00:07:28.800 that we cannot let go of, 00:07:28.840 --> 00:07:31.540 we cannot break free from and walk away from. 00:07:31.540 --> 00:07:35.920 We can become slave to it. 00:07:38.020 --> 00:07:40.280 Now, I need to say, before I go any further, 00:07:40.400 --> 00:07:43.560 that there is such a thing as positive guilt. 00:07:44.700 --> 00:07:48.180 Guilt can serve a very creative function. 00:07:49.259 --> 00:07:50.980 If there's something that has happened 00:07:50.980 --> 00:07:54.100 and you recognise that actually it ought not to have happened 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.240 and you begin to feel bad about it 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.600 and that bad feeling causes you to take action 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:01.580 and to try to put things right again, 00:08:01.900 --> 00:08:02.640 that's good. 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:06.160 It's a bit like physical sensitivity. 00:08:06.640 --> 00:08:07.780 You know, something's really hot, 00:08:07.860 --> 00:08:09.860 you touch it, ouch, that shouldn't have done that. 00:08:10.180 --> 00:08:12.640 You know, if you didn't have that sensitivity 00:08:12.640 --> 00:08:15.300 within the moral world, 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:16.439 then we're done for. 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:22.900 Guilt can serve a creative purpose. 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.200 A story I shared a couple of months back, 00:08:25.280 --> 00:08:26.000 you may remember, 00:08:26.220 --> 00:08:28.879 was about a guy who couldn't sleep at night. 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:31.640 He wrote a letter to the Inland Revenue 00:08:31.640 --> 00:08:34.360 and enclosed a cheque for £100. 00:08:34.940 --> 00:08:37.000 And he said, in his letter, 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:37.220 he said, 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:40.200 I'm sending this cheque for £100 to you 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:42.180 because I cannot sleep at night. 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:45.360 I omitted to declare this on my tax return. 00:08:46.540 --> 00:08:48.360 He paused and went back 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:50.740 and added to the letter, 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:52.500 if I still can't sleep, 00:08:52.620 --> 00:08:53.660 I'll send you the rest. 00:08:53.659 --> 00:09:01.799 Guilt has a purpose. 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:04.740 And in fact, 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:05.919 we wouldn't be human 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:08.819 if we didn't have that sensitivity. 00:09:12.620 --> 00:09:14.699 But not all guilt and shame 00:09:14.699 --> 00:09:15.899 is creative 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:18.339 and constructive in that way. 00:09:18.340 --> 00:09:22.860 20 years ago now, 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:25.660 a film called Saving Private Ryan 00:09:25.660 --> 00:09:26.759 was released. 00:09:27.060 --> 00:09:28.379 Anybody familiar with that film? 00:09:28.560 --> 00:09:29.639 I've watched it once 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:30.940 and I can't watch it again 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:33.680 and yet I think it was one of the greatest films ever made. 00:09:35.180 --> 00:09:38.360 Set in the Second World War, 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:39.980 it tells the story of how 00:09:39.980 --> 00:09:43.759 four brothers of the Ryan family, 00:09:43.900 --> 00:09:44.600 three of them, 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:46.920 were killed in action, 00:09:47.060 --> 00:09:47.500 in battle. 00:09:48.180 --> 00:09:50.279 And to save their mother's agony 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:51.980 of losing all four sons, 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:54.300 a group of soldiers 00:09:54.300 --> 00:09:55.379 are given instructions 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:58.420 to go into enemy territory 00:09:58.420 --> 00:09:59.920 in France 00:09:59.920 --> 00:10:04.720 to rescue the last remaining surviving son, 00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:06.240 one Private James Ryan. 00:10:08.100 --> 00:10:09.360 Captain John Miller, 00:10:09.660 --> 00:10:11.379 who is played by Tom Hanks, 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:13.019 receives his instructions 00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:17.600 and he's not impressed 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:19.279 with what he's got to do. 00:10:19.740 --> 00:10:21.500 He feels that there are greater priorities 00:10:21.500 --> 00:10:23.919 than just saving this one lone soldier. 00:10:25.419 --> 00:10:25.960 And Miller, 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:27.360 when he receives his instructions, 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:29.100 says this kid had better be worth it. 00:10:29.539 --> 00:10:30.539 When all this is over, 00:10:30.620 --> 00:10:31.659 he'd better go home 00:10:31.659 --> 00:10:33.799 and cure some incurable disease 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:36.919 or invent a longer-lasting light bulb. 00:10:38.819 --> 00:10:40.279 It's a harrowing film. 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:43.279 Although it so compellingly reconstructs 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:44.740 the horrors, 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:45.799 the harrows 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:48.699 of being a young soldier at war. 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:50.919 But eventually, 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:53.899 the group of soldiers 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:55.319 are successful in their mission. 00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:57.019 They find and rescue 00:10:57.019 --> 00:10:58.339 and bring back to safety 00:10:58.339 --> 00:10:59.559 Private Ryan. 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:01.799 But not before 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:04.379 Captain Miller takes the bullet 00:11:04.379 --> 00:11:05.839 that costs him his life. 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:09.080 And there's this awesome scene 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:10.660 towards the end of the film 00:11:10.660 --> 00:11:13.000 where John Miller is lying 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.080 on the bridge 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:17.420 in front of the young Private Ryan. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:20.280 And as he draws his final breaths, 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:22.139 he reaches out 00:11:22.139 --> 00:11:25.000 and pulls Ryan's head towards his 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:26.940 and whispers into his ears, 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:28.780 James, 00:11:30.300 --> 00:11:31.759 earn this. 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:34.519 Earn it. 00:11:34.519 --> 00:11:39.079 That scene comes to a close 00:11:39.079 --> 00:11:40.799 and then we fast forward 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:43.319 some five or so decades later on 00:11:43.319 --> 00:11:46.039 and a now elderly James Ryan 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:49.840 is standing in Arlington National Cemetery 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:52.039 in front of thousands 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:53.500 and thousands of war graves. 00:11:54.220 --> 00:11:55.740 And he's standing before 00:11:55.740 --> 00:11:57.819 John Miller's grave 00:11:57.819 --> 00:11:59.720 with his family behind him. 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:03.139 And as he looks 00:12:03.139 --> 00:12:04.920 at Miller's grave, 00:12:05.139 --> 00:12:06.259 he says to him, 00:12:07.100 --> 00:12:08.879 every day I think about 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:10.120 what you said to me 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:11.060 that day 00:12:11.060 --> 00:12:12.300 on the bridge. 00:12:13.379 --> 00:12:15.139 I've tried to live 00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:15.960 my life 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:17.180 the best I could. 00:12:18.180 --> 00:12:19.420 I hope that was enough. 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:21.519 And then with tears 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:22.580 welling up in his eyes, 00:12:22.680 --> 00:12:23.820 he turns to his wife 00:12:23.820 --> 00:12:25.960 and almost with a sense 00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:27.279 of desperation in his voice 00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:27.480 says, 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:29.360 tell me I've led a good life. 00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:30.779 Tell me 00:12:30.779 --> 00:12:34.159 I've been a good man. 00:12:36.019 --> 00:12:36.500 Now, 00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:37.680 in many ways 00:12:37.680 --> 00:12:38.500 I found that film 00:12:38.500 --> 00:12:39.560 deeply inspiring, 00:12:39.940 --> 00:12:41.139 albeit very harrowing. 00:12:41.500 --> 00:12:43.039 It reminded me of, 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:44.960 in a way that no other film has, 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:46.460 of the extent of the sacrifice 00:12:46.460 --> 00:12:46.919 that was made 00:12:46.919 --> 00:12:48.840 for our freedom. 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:51.060 The horrors that people went through 00:12:51.060 --> 00:12:51.940 for our sake. 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:53.920 And the words 00:12:53.920 --> 00:12:54.940 that James Ryan heard, 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:55.659 earn this, 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:56.399 earn this, 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:57.759 in a sense, 00:12:58.539 --> 00:13:00.379 were creative words 00:13:00.379 --> 00:13:03.699 because they inspired him 00:13:03.699 --> 00:13:04.919 to live his life 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:06.000 the best he could. 00:13:06.379 --> 00:13:06.939 But, 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:07.959 as that story, 00:13:08.079 --> 00:13:09.860 that final closing scene, 00:13:10.439 --> 00:13:12.399 is presented before you, 00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:14.319 you can't help but wondering 00:13:14.319 --> 00:13:15.480 whether the words, 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:16.899 earn this, 00:13:17.299 --> 00:13:18.139 earn this, 00:13:18.259 --> 00:13:19.600 have become something 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:21.620 of a haunting whisper 00:13:21.620 --> 00:13:23.419 in James' ear 00:13:23.419 --> 00:13:25.659 throughout his entire life. 00:13:25.659 --> 00:13:29.179 You see, 00:13:29.719 --> 00:13:31.299 guilt can work like that. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:34.480 When it's outgrown 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:36.299 its creative function, 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:40.559 it just dogs us 00:13:40.559 --> 00:13:42.159 and tells us 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:42.879 that if only you do 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:44.079 that extra one thing, 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:45.740 it just might outweigh 00:13:45.740 --> 00:13:46.620 the bad stuff 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:47.279 that you've done. 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:49.319 If only you just try 00:13:49.319 --> 00:13:50.139 that little bit harder, 00:13:50.199 --> 00:13:51.459 if you just work a little bit more 00:13:51.459 --> 00:13:52.179 on here and there, 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:53.399 if only you do that extra act, 00:13:53.399 --> 00:13:54.620 then you might just, 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:55.919 it might just assage 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:57.039 the way you feel 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:58.000 about your past. 00:13:59.379 --> 00:14:00.379 It's good to be inspired. 00:14:00.500 --> 00:14:01.519 It's good to be prompted. 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:03.319 It's good to be energised 00:14:03.319 --> 00:14:03.879 in love. 00:14:06.340 --> 00:14:07.860 But guilt and shame 00:14:07.860 --> 00:14:08.799 in the very worst 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:09.779 and ugly sense 00:14:09.779 --> 00:14:12.720 actually is that itch 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:13.699 that can never be 00:14:13.699 --> 00:14:14.439 scratched away. 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:15.299 It can never, 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:16.500 ever be satisfied. 00:14:17.259 --> 00:14:18.559 It can haunt us. 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:19.299 It can become 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:20.319 our worst enemy. 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:21.040 You see, 00:14:21.160 --> 00:14:22.480 continually looking back 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:23.200 at our past 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:24.140 with anguish 00:14:24.140 --> 00:14:25.320 can nurture 00:14:25.900 --> 00:14:26.640 an outlook 00:14:26.640 --> 00:14:28.260 that faces the future 00:14:28.260 --> 00:14:30.000 not with hope, 00:14:30.860 --> 00:14:31.720 not with redemption, 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:32.960 but with despair. 00:14:33.800 --> 00:14:34.920 And the more we feed it, 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:35.960 the harder it gets. 00:14:37.400 --> 00:14:38.420 A few years ago, 00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:39.020 I was out 00:14:39.020 --> 00:14:40.820 on my bike one day 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:43.460 and a girl, 00:14:43.780 --> 00:14:44.380 she looked about 00:14:44.380 --> 00:14:45.360 eight years old 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:46.900 and very closely behind her 00:14:46.900 --> 00:14:47.180 was, 00:14:47.340 --> 00:14:47.800 I assume, 00:14:47.900 --> 00:14:48.420 was her dad, 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:51.199 came cycling towards me 00:14:51.199 --> 00:14:52.779 at a speed 00:14:52.779 --> 00:14:53.459 that would have 00:14:53.459 --> 00:14:55.339 seriously made her 00:14:55.339 --> 00:14:56.099 a contender 00:14:56.099 --> 00:14:57.199 for the Tour de Britain. 00:14:57.399 --> 00:14:58.620 She was going so fast. 00:15:00.579 --> 00:15:01.939 And they absolutely 00:15:01.939 --> 00:15:03.339 shot right past 00:15:03.339 --> 00:15:05.179 and they were 00:15:05.179 --> 00:15:06.740 both laughing, 00:15:07.099 --> 00:15:07.519 this girl, 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:08.639 I assume it was her dad. 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:13.159 But as they shot past, 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:14.339 he just called out 00:15:14.339 --> 00:15:15.099 to me, 00:15:15.099 --> 00:15:15.719 he said, 00:15:15.799 --> 00:15:16.019 well, 00:15:16.219 --> 00:15:17.480 it keeps her moving. 00:15:18.419 --> 00:15:21.439 And only as they went past 00:15:21.439 --> 00:15:22.039 could I see 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:23.379 what was taking place. 00:15:24.079 --> 00:15:25.039 Because she was 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:25.879 really, 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:26.919 really going for it. 00:15:27.599 --> 00:15:29.039 He was behind her, 00:15:29.079 --> 00:15:29.379 but obviously 00:15:29.379 --> 00:15:29.959 he's a lot older, 00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:30.479 a lot bigger, 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:32.120 but attached 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:33.599 to his handlebars 00:15:33.599 --> 00:15:35.039 and extending 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:35.839 by about 00:15:35.839 --> 00:15:36.419 a metre 00:15:36.419 --> 00:15:37.479 and a half 00:15:37.479 --> 00:15:38.399 and brushing 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:39.479 against the side 00:15:39.479 --> 00:15:40.399 of this girl's leg 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:41.719 was the biggest 00:15:41.719 --> 00:15:42.120 whopper 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:43.159 of a stinger nettle 00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:44.299 I've ever seen. 00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:47.919 Yep, 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:50.279 it worked. 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:52.419 And I would be 00:15:52.419 --> 00:15:53.539 lying through my teeth 00:15:53.539 --> 00:15:54.459 if I was to say to you 00:15:54.459 --> 00:15:55.419 that in telling this story 00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:56.339 there wasn't just 00:15:56.339 --> 00:15:57.339 one moment 00:15:57.339 --> 00:15:58.519 that I thought 00:15:58.519 --> 00:15:59.299 to myself, 00:15:59.699 --> 00:16:00.559 actually, 00:16:00.719 --> 00:16:01.539 why have I never 00:16:01.539 --> 00:16:02.500 thought of that? 00:16:02.500 --> 00:16:07.460 But 00:16:07.460 --> 00:16:09.600 they were laughing 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:11.940 and I think 00:16:11.940 --> 00:16:12.820 it wasn't too serious, 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:13.120 but 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:15.600 that is the way 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:16.419 in which 00:16:16.419 --> 00:16:17.440 our past 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:18.820 can chase us. 00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:21.000 When guilt 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:21.679 lays a hold 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:22.080 of us, 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:23.519 when our guilt 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:24.320 and our shame 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:24.960 and the list 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:25.419 of things 00:16:25.419 --> 00:16:26.179 that we are ashamed 00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:26.759 of actually 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:28.320 becomes our identity, 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:29.559 where we look back 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:30.240 and not only see 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:30.980 the things that we've 00:16:30.980 --> 00:16:31.840 done that make us squirm, 00:16:31.920 --> 00:16:32.259 but actually 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:33.740 they've become us. 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:35.000 That's a problem. 00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:38.440 And no matter 00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:39.100 how hard 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:39.899 we try to 00:16:39.899 --> 00:16:41.440 push ourselves 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:41.940 forward, 00:16:42.060 --> 00:16:42.680 our past 00:16:42.680 --> 00:16:44.279 generates that dynamic. 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:45.800 Haunted by shame, 00:16:45.899 --> 00:16:46.940 we try to move forward, 00:16:47.060 --> 00:16:47.840 but it's always 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:48.680 there lurking, 00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:50.200 chasing us, 00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:52.420 haunting us. 00:16:53.620 --> 00:16:55.120 We try to move forward 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:55.720 desperately 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:56.800 with greater speed, 00:16:56.920 --> 00:16:57.820 focusing on the future, 00:16:57.980 --> 00:16:58.960 but that past 00:16:58.960 --> 00:16:59.940 just won't let us go. 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:04.279 Paul writes, 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:05.259 which we heard 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:05.799 just now, 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:07.360 therefore, 00:17:07.579 --> 00:17:08.180 if anyone 00:17:08.180 --> 00:17:09.900 is in Christ, 00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:12.860 he or she 00:17:12.860 --> 00:17:13.980 is a new 00:17:13.980 --> 00:17:14.700 creation. 00:17:20.620 --> 00:17:21.559 If we say 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:22.420 we believe in God, 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:24.819 but we're 00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:25.579 dogged by that 00:17:25.579 --> 00:17:26.400 sense of shame, 00:17:28.059 --> 00:17:28.640 then either we 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:29.220 don't really 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:29.960 believe in God, 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:31.620 or the God 00:17:31.620 --> 00:17:32.480 that we believe in, 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:33.559 is a very 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:34.240 different one 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:35.240 from the one 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:35.559 that Paul 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:36.299 is talking about. 00:17:39.120 --> 00:17:40.140 I say this 00:17:40.140 --> 00:17:40.799 not to 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:42.000 rub the guilt 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:42.660 in more, 00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:45.380 but in the hope 00:17:45.380 --> 00:17:45.920 that it might 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:46.740 just set us 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:47.200 free that 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:47.660 little bit 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:48.019 more. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:51.220 Because when 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:51.660 we're hounded 00:17:51.660 --> 00:17:52.579 by that sense 00:17:52.579 --> 00:17:53.279 of earn this, 00:17:53.380 --> 00:17:53.759 earn this, 00:17:53.840 --> 00:17:54.319 because you've 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:54.840 done that wrong 00:17:54.840 --> 00:17:55.360 in the past. 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:56.579 When we're chasing, 00:17:56.579 --> 00:17:57.600 we feel chased 00:17:57.600 --> 00:17:58.200 by that thing 00:17:58.200 --> 00:17:58.559 that's going 00:17:58.559 --> 00:17:59.200 to sting us. 00:18:01.139 --> 00:18:01.819 We're thinking 00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:02.399 about the wrong 00:18:02.399 --> 00:18:02.980 kind of God. 00:18:05.399 --> 00:18:06.079 The God 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:06.440 of the New 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:07.240 Testament says, 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:08.619 you are a new 00:18:08.619 --> 00:18:09.159 creation, 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:09.940 you are set 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:10.339 free. 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:12.419 That is the 00:18:12.419 --> 00:18:13.319 new identity. 00:18:15.099 --> 00:18:16.259 Those things 00:18:16.259 --> 00:18:16.980 that you would 00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:18.440 otherwise let 00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:19.460 define you, 00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:21.859 don't. 00:18:23.460 --> 00:18:24.279 You're a new 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:24.779 creation. 00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:26.980 It means 00:18:26.980 --> 00:18:27.759 listening to 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:28.359 the voice 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:29.740 of a dying 00:18:29.740 --> 00:18:30.379 man who 00:18:30.379 --> 00:18:30.819 does not 00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:31.220 say, 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:31.980 earn this, 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:32.599 earn this, 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:33.160 but listening 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:33.639 to the voice 00:18:33.639 --> 00:18:34.139 of a dying 00:18:34.139 --> 00:18:34.799 man on a 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:35.379 cross who 00:18:35.379 --> 00:18:35.660 says, 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:37.139 it is 00:18:37.139 --> 00:18:38.799 finished. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:42.139 You can't 00:18:42.139 --> 00:18:42.579 change your 00:18:42.579 --> 00:18:43.039 past, 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:45.559 but you can 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:46.119 change your 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:47.440 future because 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:48.420 God has 00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:49.319 changed us. 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:55.000 two very 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:56.079 brief references 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:57.480 to scripture 00:18:57.480 --> 00:18:58.079 that I want 00:18:58.079 --> 00:18:58.359 to share 00:18:58.359 --> 00:18:58.799 with you 00:18:58.799 --> 00:18:59.539 as we 00:18:59.539 --> 00:18:59.799 come to 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:00.039 pray. 00:19:01.399 --> 00:19:02.279 The first 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:03.379 is the 00:19:03.379 --> 00:19:03.919 words that 00:19:03.919 --> 00:19:04.519 Jesus says 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:05.019 right at the 00:19:05.019 --> 00:19:05.759 start of his 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:06.200 ministry, 00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:06.819 when he 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:07.960 calls his 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:10.779 disciples 00:19:10.779 --> 00:19:11.200 together. 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:13.539 And at the 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:13.839 beginning of 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:14.439 Mark's gospel, 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:15.279 we're told that 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:16.299 Jesus comes on 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:16.839 the scene and 00:19:16.839 --> 00:19:17.079 says, 00:19:17.079 --> 00:19:17.519 the time 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:18.000 has come, 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:19.419 the kingdom 00:19:19.419 --> 00:19:19.960 of God is 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:20.199 near, 00:19:20.339 --> 00:19:21.379 repent and 00:19:21.379 --> 00:19:21.939 believe the 00:19:21.939 --> 00:19:22.480 good news. 00:19:24.399 --> 00:19:25.240 For years I 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:25.659 used to think 00:19:25.659 --> 00:19:26.159 that repent 00:19:26.159 --> 00:19:26.879 meant stop. 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:27.799 It doesn't. 00:19:28.099 --> 00:19:28.759 It means go. 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:29.519 It's a dynamic 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:29.919 word. 00:19:30.460 --> 00:19:31.299 It means to 00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:32.019 turn around. 00:19:32.179 --> 00:19:32.619 To go back to 00:19:32.619 --> 00:19:33.240 Clive's analogy 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:34.039 this morning with 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:35.019 a windmill, 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:36.079 it means to 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:39.259 stop going with 00:19:39.259 --> 00:19:39.960 your back against 00:19:39.960 --> 00:19:40.500 God and turn 00:19:40.500 --> 00:19:41.039 and face in 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:41.259 God. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:42.699 Change direction, 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:44.139 move, but move 00:19:44.139 --> 00:19:44.740 in the direction 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:45.079 of God. 00:19:45.199 --> 00:19:45.699 Move in the 00:19:45.699 --> 00:19:46.339 direction that God 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:47.000 wants you to go 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:47.160 in. 00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:47.759 That's what 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:48.660 repent, 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:49.299 metanoia, 00:19:49.579 --> 00:19:50.079 means. 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:52.779 Thing is, 00:19:52.819 --> 00:19:54.079 is that we 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:55.940 perhaps tend to, 00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:56.859 in a sense, 00:19:57.019 --> 00:19:57.900 rightly emphasize 00:19:57.900 --> 00:19:58.839 the importance of 00:19:58.839 --> 00:19:59.740 making a decision 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:01.000 as a moment in 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:01.900 time for Christ. 00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:02.599 To say, 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:03.039 I'm going to 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:04.079 commit my life to 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:05.180 Jesus and I'm 00:20:05.180 --> 00:20:05.680 going to make a 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:06.200 decision there. 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:06.940 That's important. 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:07.339 It's the most 00:20:07.339 --> 00:20:07.960 important decision 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:08.700 you'll ever make. 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:10.299 And in a sense, 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:11.359 the church is right 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:12.740 to emphasize that 00:20:12.740 --> 00:20:13.980 as a decision-making 00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:14.519 moment. 00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:14.660 moment. 00:20:15.859 --> 00:20:16.859 But the danger 00:20:16.859 --> 00:20:17.660 with it is we 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:19.119 can, in emphasizing 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:20.000 the importance of 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:21.279 making a decision as 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:22.379 a single event in 00:20:22.379 --> 00:20:24.079 our lives, is that 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:25.579 we can forget that 00:20:25.579 --> 00:20:26.660 to repent is not 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:28.059 just a one-moment-in-time 00:20:28.059 --> 00:20:29.519 thing, it's a 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:30.319 lifelong thing. 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:33.000 That means that 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:33.740 whether you become a 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:34.819 Christian suddenly or 00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:35.460 whether it's been a 00:20:35.460 --> 00:20:36.599 gradual thing, that 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:37.359 that meaning of 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:38.400 moving, of 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:39.039 traveling, of 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:39.599 metanoia, 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:41.099 repenting, is an 00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:41.879 ongoing thing every 00:20:41.879 --> 00:20:42.480 day of our lives. 00:20:42.539 --> 00:20:43.240 It doesn't mean to 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:43.839 say that we're 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:45.039 continually looking at 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:45.919 our guilt and shame. 00:20:46.199 --> 00:20:46.980 It means the very 00:20:46.980 --> 00:20:47.379 opposite. 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:49.559 To repent as an 00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:50.779 ongoing thing, as a 00:20:50.779 --> 00:20:53.259 process, refers to 00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:54.579 that lifelong learning 00:20:54.579 --> 00:20:56.259 and lifelong coming to 00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:57.559 terms with Christ's 00:20:57.559 --> 00:20:57.939 forgiveness. 00:20:59.699 --> 00:21:00.639 That's why Paul writes 00:21:00.639 --> 00:21:01.740 in Philippians that we 00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:03.259 are to work out our 00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:03.939 salvation. 00:21:05.419 --> 00:21:06.159 Yeah, coming to 00:21:06.159 --> 00:21:07.019 terms with the fact 00:21:07.019 --> 00:21:08.759 that Christ has said on 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:09.680 the cross, it is 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:10.099 finished. 00:21:10.619 --> 00:21:11.259 Which means every 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:12.379 time we're confronted 00:21:12.379 --> 00:21:13.119 with that sense of 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:14.019 guilt or shame from 00:21:14.019 --> 00:21:15.019 the past, where we 00:21:15.019 --> 00:21:15.440 feel we're going to 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:16.559 get stung again or we 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:18.160 hear that word, earn 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:19.839 this, we're actually 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:21.279 reminded once again of 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:22.400 the words of Christ on 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:23.299 the cross, it is 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:23.740 finished. 00:21:24.140 --> 00:21:25.059 You're a new creation, 00:21:25.500 --> 00:21:26.220 it is finished. 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:28.160 And working that out, 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:29.400 that ongoing process of 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:30.200 repentance is that's 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:31.000 kind of coming to 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:31.559 terms with it. 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:32.660 Every time we need to 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:33.400 be reminded, oh, 00:21:33.559 --> 00:21:33.759 really? 00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:34.500 We are forgiven. 00:21:34.700 --> 00:21:35.420 Yes, you are. 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:36.220 We are forgiven. 00:21:36.420 --> 00:21:37.460 Yes, you are. 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:38.259 You are forgiven. 00:21:38.259 --> 00:21:39.299 Yes, you are. 00:21:39.460 --> 00:21:40.500 It's a daily message 00:21:40.500 --> 00:21:41.319 that we need to be 00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:42.920 reminded of again and 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:43.900 again and again. 00:21:44.579 --> 00:21:45.940 Metanoia, repentance, 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:47.799 continually moving in 00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:48.680 God's direction. 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:50.519 Yes, there's a time when 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:51.400 that might happen for the 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:52.619 first time, but it's an 00:21:52.619 --> 00:21:54.619 ongoing reality every day 00:21:54.619 --> 00:21:55.339 of our lives. 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:58.019 The second thing, 00:21:59.539 --> 00:22:00.740 second thing, 00:22:03.299 --> 00:22:04.400 Psalm 23, 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:07.680 Psalm 23. 00:22:09.860 --> 00:22:10.720 I'm going to read it in 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:11.140 just a moment. 00:22:11.280 --> 00:22:11.940 It's probably the most 00:22:11.940 --> 00:22:14.240 famous psalm that exists 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:14.800 in the Bible. 00:22:16.980 --> 00:22:17.900 The thing is, is if you 00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:18.960 ever look back at your 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:20.660 life and you see 00:22:20.660 --> 00:22:22.460 something that makes you 00:22:22.460 --> 00:22:24.140 squirm, makes you cringe 00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:25.080 over the sense that I 00:22:25.080 --> 00:22:26.060 really wish that hadn't 00:22:26.060 --> 00:22:28.460 happened, that itself is a 00:22:28.460 --> 00:22:29.660 sign that the growth and 00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:31.100 the maturity of Christ in 00:22:31.099 --> 00:22:32.299 you is taking place. 00:22:33.199 --> 00:22:34.319 The very fact that you 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:35.259 wish it hadn't happened 00:22:35.259 --> 00:22:36.179 is a sign that God's 00:22:36.179 --> 00:22:37.319 Holy Spirit is working 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:38.719 in you and putting that 00:22:38.719 --> 00:22:39.839 distance between that 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:40.740 thing that makes you 00:22:40.740 --> 00:22:41.980 ashamed and the way you 00:22:41.980 --> 00:22:42.879 feel about it now. 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:45.259 So be encouraged by that. 00:22:46.639 --> 00:22:47.459 But it's a lifelong 00:22:47.459 --> 00:22:49.919 process and in Psalm 23, 00:22:50.019 --> 00:22:50.899 which I'm going to read, 00:22:51.539 --> 00:22:54.939 we have a hint here of how 00:22:54.939 --> 00:22:56.379 God is caught up in that 00:22:56.379 --> 00:22:57.579 throughout our whole lives. 00:22:57.699 --> 00:22:58.719 Let me read it to you. 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:00.620 The Lord is my shepherd. 00:23:01.100 --> 00:23:02.460 I shall not be in want. 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:04.420 He makes me lie down in 00:23:04.420 --> 00:23:05.220 green pastures. 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:06.700 He leads me beside quiet 00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:07.059 waters. 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:08.360 He restores my soul. 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:09.920 He guides me in paths of 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:10.819 righteousness for his 00:23:10.819 --> 00:23:11.480 name's sake. 00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:13.039 Even though I walk through 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:14.200 the valley of the shadow 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:15.759 of death, I will fear no 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:17.380 evil for you are with me. 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:19.059 Your rod and your staff, 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:19.860 they comfort me. 00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:21.779 You prepare a table before 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:23.079 me in the presence of my 00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:23.440 enemies. 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:25.100 You anoint my head with 00:23:25.100 --> 00:23:25.380 oil. 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:26.860 My cup overflows. 00:23:26.860 --> 00:23:27.759 Now get this. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:30.579 Surely goodness and love 00:23:30.579 --> 00:23:32.799 will follow me all the 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:34.059 days of my life. 00:23:36.220 --> 00:23:37.839 Now this psalm starts off 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:38.660 with the imagery of a 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:39.960 shepherd shepherding the 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:40.259 sheep. 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:42.279 But it is reckoned by some 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:43.860 biblical scholars that a 00:23:43.860 --> 00:23:45.799 rendering of the Hebrew in 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:46.579 which this psalm was 00:23:46.579 --> 00:23:48.160 originally written actually 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:50.480 ends up using hunting 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:51.380 terminology. 00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:54.120 So we have the image that 00:23:54.120 --> 00:23:55.319 starts with a shepherd and 00:23:55.319 --> 00:23:56.259 ends with a hunter. 00:23:56.259 --> 00:23:58.480 So when we read in our 00:23:58.480 --> 00:23:59.359 English translation, 00:23:59.619 --> 00:24:01.079 surely goodness and love 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:02.700 will follow me all the days 00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:03.259 of my life. 00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:04.839 What the psalmist actually 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:06.559 was getting at was the 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:07.279 image of a hunter. 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:09.759 Surely goodness and love 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:11.799 will hunt me down. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:16.579 Now, think about that for a 00:24:16.579 --> 00:24:17.279 few moments. 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:21.119 Think about whatever it might 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:22.680 be that resonates in your own 00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:24.339 experience of past that you 00:24:24.339 --> 00:24:25.220 wish hadn't happened. 00:24:25.879 --> 00:24:27.619 That sense of trying to let 00:24:27.619 --> 00:24:28.779 go of it, that sense of 00:24:28.779 --> 00:24:30.359 being haunted by words that 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:32.000 might say, earn this, earn 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:33.619 this, or the sense of being 00:24:33.619 --> 00:24:34.959 stung by something that's out 00:24:34.959 --> 00:24:35.679 to pursue you. 00:24:36.639 --> 00:24:37.679 In Christ, you're being 00:24:37.679 --> 00:24:39.039 hunted down by something 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:39.379 else. 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:42.179 And when we stand before God 00:24:42.179 --> 00:24:43.819 at the last, we will see a 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:45.579 God who is continually about 00:24:45.579 --> 00:24:47.059 the business of chasing us, 00:24:47.159 --> 00:24:48.619 tracking us down, hunting us 00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:50.599 down as the determined hunter, 00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:52.299 not the one who's out to get 00:24:52.299 --> 00:24:55.019 you through wanting to beat 00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:56.519 you up and to punish you, 00:24:56.859 --> 00:24:58.939 but the one who relentlessly 00:24:58.939 --> 00:25:00.719 hunts and tracks us down 00:25:00.719 --> 00:25:03.379 because he wants us to know 00:25:03.379 --> 00:25:05.980 that he loves us unconditionally. 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:09.719 Surely goodness and mercy 00:25:09.719 --> 00:25:12.159 will hunt you down. 00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:15.079 It's been chasing you your whole 00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:15.439 life. 00:25:16.379 --> 00:25:18.099 You may not recognise it. 00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:20.059 You may have occasionally caught 00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:21.000 the odd glimpse of it. 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:23.740 Eventually we'll all see it. 00:25:24.859 --> 00:25:26.199 But God calls us in this 00:25:26.199 --> 00:25:28.119 psalm to see it now. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:31.219 He's there and he's determined.