WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:09.679 Heavenly Father, we come before you as people from all sorts of different walks of life, 00:00:09.779 --> 00:00:14.900 all sorts of different professions, stages in life. 00:00:15.540 --> 00:00:20.859 Some of us have had excellent weeks, others have had really crummy weeks, weeks that they 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:22.719 wish they could do over or forget. 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:28.800 Yet here we are, Lord, both here at Ottawa Little Theatre and online. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:35.820 And wherever we've come from, Lord, we pray that you would help us to quiet our minds, 00:00:36.120 --> 00:00:43.640 to prepare our hearts, that we may hear and understand your word that we will read together 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:44.539 and look at together. 00:00:45.019 --> 00:00:47.740 Lord, bless us this morning as we do so. 00:00:47.960 --> 00:00:48.740 In Jesus' name. 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:50.000 Amen. 00:00:50.140 --> 00:00:50.700 Please be seated. 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:06.159 Terrific scene in The King's Speech, where King George VI finds out that his speech 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:12.759 therapist, Lionel Log, is a theatre actor and not a qualified speech therapist. 00:01:13.259 --> 00:01:14.140 It's a wonderful scene. 00:01:14.219 --> 00:01:15.620 I think it's in Westminster Abbey. 00:01:15.620 --> 00:01:25.140 The King has this growing confidence in his speech therapist and a growing confidence in himself. 00:01:26.060 --> 00:01:35.860 And he finds out, to his surprise, that his speech therapist is a fraud, or so he thinks. 00:01:35.859 --> 00:01:40.799 His confidence in Lionel plummets. 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:50.840 So too does his confidence in his ability to be a strong king for a commonwealth going to war. 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:58.659 I think this is a great example to show us when something or someone that we trust in, 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:04.620 that we have confidence in, it turns out that they're not who we thought they were. 00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:11.300 That it can crumble our confidence in just about everything. 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:17.740 Now, the example isn't the greatest because it turns out that Lionel's actually a fantastic 00:02:17.740 --> 00:02:18.420 speech therapist. 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:21.259 So the example falls short. 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:22.460 But you get my point. 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:30.960 It matters that we have confidence in someone when they say they are something. 00:02:31.700 --> 00:02:33.159 It's very important. 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:42.319 And that if that gets undermined, it is a very terrible thing for our confidence, for our lives. 00:02:43.359 --> 00:02:45.340 Some of us are new to the Christian faith. 00:02:45.900 --> 00:02:52.680 Some of us might not even be a part of the, be a Christian, but are seeking, are interested, 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:54.439 are interested in spiritual matters. 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:59.620 Some of you might have been at church since the day you can remember. 00:03:00.419 --> 00:03:02.840 You feel like you have a robust faith. 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:13.919 Some of you have gone from a fantastic faith in your youth to absolutely abandoning the faith. 00:03:13.979 --> 00:03:17.219 And maybe you're just coming back again for the first time. 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:19.479 Or you're in a season of return. 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:27.960 Wherever you may be on the spiritual spectrum, so to speak, we do have a lot of diversity here. 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:30.240 I'll ask you a question. 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:31.219 Who is Jesus? 00:03:33.320 --> 00:03:34.180 Who is he? 00:03:34.260 --> 00:03:39.060 If I, not in front of a bunch of people because that's rude to put somebody on the spot. 00:03:39.340 --> 00:03:42.379 But if it was just you and me, and I said, who's Jesus? 00:03:43.219 --> 00:03:44.319 Like, I'm not taking notes. 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:45.600 I'm not recording this. 00:03:45.700 --> 00:03:47.740 I'm not going to tell George. 00:03:47.900 --> 00:03:48.939 I'm like, who's Jesus? 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:50.460 How would you respond? 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:53.680 Is he just a great miracle worker? 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:55.740 Is he a prophet? 00:03:56.120 --> 00:03:57.900 A really righteous holy man? 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:06.780 Is he a historical person that was no different than any other messianic figure in the first century? 00:04:07.480 --> 00:04:12.960 But somehow his followers developed a bit of a fictitious myth around him. 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:15.500 Is he God? 00:04:15.819 --> 00:04:16.759 Is he man? 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:18.000 Is he God and man? 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:20.319 Who is Jesus? 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:26.859 Why does this matter? 00:04:27.259 --> 00:04:29.659 What bearing does it have on your life? 00:04:30.099 --> 00:04:32.039 What bearing does it have on your faith? 00:04:32.979 --> 00:04:34.779 Why does it matter who Jesus is? 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:45.079 So our text, our text is one of the very high points in the Bible when it comes to Christology. 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:51.019 That is the theology around who Jesus is, who the Christ is, who the Messiah is. 00:04:51.019 --> 00:04:55.719 It's going to tell us a few things about who Jesus is. 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:00.259 We're dealing with six verses this morning, maybe seven. 00:05:00.259 --> 00:05:11.199 It's a small portion of scripture, but this is absolutely packed with this Christology, with who Jesus really is. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:21.019 So it will tell us a few things about him and why, if he isn't those things, he can't be Savior and Lord. 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:26.599 So we're going to be in Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 to 11. 00:05:26.699 --> 00:05:29.299 Matt read the portion of scripture for us. 00:05:29.300 --> 00:05:35.759 But this, we'll jump into it in a moment, but this will tell us three things about Jesus, this portion of scripture. 00:05:36.699 --> 00:05:42.860 That Jesus is God, and that as God he became a man, yet remained God. 00:05:43.699 --> 00:05:45.740 A lot of this stuff is a bit of a mouthful. 00:05:46.780 --> 00:05:47.720 Just stick with me. 00:05:47.800 --> 00:05:48.680 Put on your thinking caps. 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:55.180 That Jesus is God, that as God became man, yet remained God. 00:05:55.959 --> 00:06:01.660 The second thing, that Jesus became a servant and humbled himself by dying on a cross. 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:07.879 And the third thing, that God exalted Jesus to be Lord and King over all. 00:06:08.840 --> 00:06:10.220 So let's take a look at the first thing. 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:15.259 That Jesus is God, and he became man, yet remained God. 00:06:15.259 --> 00:06:24.180 Nowhere else in the Bible do we see the incarnation so robustly described as in verse 6 and 7. 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:26.379 We're just going to read verse 6 at first. 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:29.060 If you have your Bibles, please follow along. 00:06:29.539 --> 00:06:30.579 Verse 6 says, 00:06:31.319 --> 00:06:38.759 Who, though he, Jesus, was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:40.659 I just said that Jesus is God. 00:06:40.660 --> 00:06:45.700 And yet here we have verse 6 saying that he was in the form of God. 00:06:45.780 --> 00:06:49.500 I mean, I think it would be a bit nicer if it said that he was God. 00:06:50.520 --> 00:06:54.260 This idea of the form of God, I mean, was it a hologram? 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:55.980 Obviously not. 00:06:56.060 --> 00:06:57.180 There's no technology back then. 00:06:57.260 --> 00:07:05.260 But was it just some kind of spirit that looked like that he was like God, but he wasn't really like God? 00:07:05.259 --> 00:07:10.060 Like, what is it describing when it says that Jesus was in the form of God? 00:07:11.779 --> 00:07:16.699 I am no Greek scholar, but it helps to dig deep into the original language. 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:30.199 The word used here to describe form, so the form of God, is essentially to say that Jesus, in the biggest megaphone that you get, is God. 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:38.759 To say that Jesus is in the form of God means that he fully and truly expresses what is described. 00:07:40.039 --> 00:07:43.259 So it says here that Jesus is in the form of God. 00:07:43.339 --> 00:07:44.759 It is saying that he is God. 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:48.459 Everything that God is, so too is Jesus. 00:07:48.459 --> 00:08:11.240 That means that Jesus Christ had all of the attributes of God, his ability to know everything, that he's all powerful, that he's everywhere, that he is perfect, that he is unique, that he is one, that he is the source of beauty, the source of glory, the source of love. 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:16.219 Everything that God is, so too is Jesus. 00:08:16.220 --> 00:08:23.220 As God, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus always was. 00:08:23.280 --> 00:08:25.820 So he wasn't a created being. 00:08:25.980 --> 00:08:27.860 He always existed. 00:08:29.580 --> 00:08:37.100 So to say that Jesus was in the form of God, that one word just packs a whole punch, doesn't it? 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:38.320 Like, there's payload to that. 00:08:39.540 --> 00:08:41.180 Jesus is fully God. 00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:51.519 But if Jesus is God and equal to God, what, I mean, if we look at the second part of verse 6, it's, it kind of implies that he wasn't equal to God. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:55.159 Read with me, this, the second part of verse 6. 00:08:58.599 --> 00:09:00.559 Well, we'll read all of verse 6. 00:09:00.620 --> 00:09:07.079 Who, though he was in the form of God, here it is, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:09.840 So what does, what does that mean? 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:24.040 What this tells us is that Jesus did not leverage his divine glory, his divine majesty, his divine rights, his prerogatives, as God when he became incarnate. 00:09:25.180 --> 00:09:31.600 That God, the Son of God, took on human flesh but didn't cease to be God. 00:09:33.300 --> 00:09:34.259 So what do I mean? 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:39.100 And this is where we have to just kind of go slowly through this. 00:09:40.379 --> 00:09:52.240 The, the, the orthodox, the teaching of the scriptures that has been believed by the church for centuries and centuries has always affirmed that Jesus was fully man, yet fully God. 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:57.919 And for him to be fully man means that he has to be a human being. 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:03.399 And to be a human being inherently means that we are under the authority of God. 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:10.720 See, Jesus couldn't be a human being, fully a human being, if he wasn't under God's authority. 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:14.500 If he didn't give deference to God. 00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:24.419 And yet this is exactly what we're seeing when we see the second part of verse 6, when it says that Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. 00:10:24.419 --> 00:10:30.519 It means he came to earth as a man while also still being fully God. 00:10:32.199 --> 00:10:33.899 Let's continue on, verse 7. 00:10:35.259 --> 00:10:36.699 Verse 7 says this, 00:10:36.700 --> 00:11:01.120 Again, we have that, that, that word here, form. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:04.460 That he became, by taking the form of a servant. 00:11:04.560 --> 00:11:07.039 That he truly became a human being. 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:13.679 And again, as human beings, we are under the rule and reign of God. 00:11:13.779 --> 00:11:16.360 Whether we, whether we think so or not. 00:11:19.539 --> 00:11:22.000 We are under the authority of God. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:32.320 It means that Jesus was fully a man and as a man, he submitted to all of what it took to be, to, to be a man. 00:11:36.100 --> 00:11:37.600 But consider this again. 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:39.720 He empties himself. 00:11:41.059 --> 00:11:46.700 He voluntarily suspends his divine right in order to become fully man. 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:51.580 So that he becomes truly, truly, and in its fullness, a human being. 00:11:51.940 --> 00:11:53.340 But not only a human being. 00:11:55.220 --> 00:11:58.379 So when Jesus empties himself, he doesn't cease to be God. 00:11:58.540 --> 00:12:02.480 But he relinquishes all of his rights as God. 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:05.320 So that he can come under the authority of God. 00:12:07.100 --> 00:12:08.960 That's a, that's two verses. 00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:10.080 We still have a few more to go. 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:14.020 But that's, I mean, I've spent all week kind of laboring over this. 00:12:14.019 --> 00:12:17.799 I'm, full confession, struggled with this. 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:20.220 And I ask the question, why does this matter? 00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:22.000 Are we not just getting lost in the weeds? 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:31.259 Why does it matter of, of talking about God descending, but still remaining God, becoming fully man, but still fully God? 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:33.919 And does it seem like we're just splitting hairs? 00:12:34.299 --> 00:12:35.139 Why does this matter? 00:12:35.939 --> 00:12:37.100 Well, here's why it matters. 00:12:38.039 --> 00:12:43.740 Something wonderful about God, excuse me, is that he is unchanging. 00:12:44.019 --> 00:12:48.439 There is nothing to add to God or take away from God to make him better. 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:51.519 He, he is perfect in who he is. 00:12:51.620 --> 00:12:55.879 There is, there is, there is an unchangingness about him. 00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:57.100 He doesn't change his mind. 00:12:57.199 --> 00:12:59.720 He doesn't say, hmm, I never considered that before. 00:13:00.980 --> 00:13:02.819 There is nothing that he relies upon. 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:05.220 So he is an unchanging God. 00:13:05.220 --> 00:13:11.800 In fact, everything that's good and true and beautiful find their origins in him. 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:14.800 So here's where it matters. 00:13:14.920 --> 00:13:21.440 Therefore, when we see Jesus as being fully man and fully God, it means that everything Jesus does, 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:29.080 everything that Jesus does is a window to see the very character and essence of who God is. 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:38.080 He, Jesus, manifests the very character and essence of God on earth perfectly. 00:13:39.900 --> 00:13:44.440 And it matters because sometimes we read in the scripture really tough things about Jesus. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:52.720 Things that, that our modern sensibilities don't like. 00:13:54.259 --> 00:13:55.360 Here's a great example. 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:57.279 Oh, before I give the example. 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:02.180 So we read things about Jesus that we don't really, don't really like. 00:14:02.620 --> 00:14:05.120 Certain things that rub us the wrong way, that seem offensive. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:11.300 And we are put in a, a bit of a, a conundrum. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:18.600 Do we admit Jesus is, I don't know, a rather unpleasant person? 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:20.840 And then somehow that means God is unpleasant? 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:24.519 Or do we then just say, well, you know what? 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:26.980 Maybe Jesus wasn't God. 00:14:27.920 --> 00:14:35.560 Maybe he emptied himself out of all of this kind of divine rights, but also his divine attributes. 00:14:35.560 --> 00:14:42.180 So that Jesus isn't no more omnipresent or all-knowing than you or I, because he's fully man. 00:14:42.179 --> 00:14:45.939 And there's a whole school of scholarship that, that looks at this. 00:14:46.239 --> 00:14:56.379 Because it's, in a sense, it's easier, it's easier to deal with those hard passages of scripture if Jesus is just a man and not fully man and fully God. 00:14:56.500 --> 00:15:03.339 Because then it would reflect something about God that's going to mess up our world. 00:15:03.340 --> 00:15:05.540 So here's the example. 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:15.280 A couple of weeks ago, there was a video that went viral from a self-described progressive, progressive minister. 00:15:15.860 --> 00:15:19.460 And he talked about how Jesus repented of his racism. 00:15:20.340 --> 00:15:25.780 So in the story of the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus calls her a dog. 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:28.980 I mean, call any woman a dog. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:30.440 She doesn't have to be Syrophoenician. 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:35.200 Like, don't do that, right? 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:38.080 So Jesus calls her a dog. 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:42.300 It's racist because Jews have this thing out for the Syrophoenicians. 00:15:42.760 --> 00:15:45.080 But this woman spoke truth to power. 00:15:45.180 --> 00:15:46.200 And what did Jesus do? 00:15:46.420 --> 00:15:48.720 He repented of his racism. 00:15:49.560 --> 00:15:53.720 He gives us the example that we too ought to repent of our racism. 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:57.000 Guys, you should repent of your racism if you're racist. 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:04.240 But what ends up happening is you take who Jesus is. 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:09.860 And because that makes you uncomfortable, you distort it. 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:10.720 You change it. 00:16:10.860 --> 00:16:13.000 You shift the goalposts. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:17.519 And all of a sudden, Jesus is no longer fully God. 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:22.319 And we help Jesus and God save face. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:25.860 Hey, we're helping Jesus and God save face. 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:30.360 But here's the thing. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:42.740 To strip Jesus of his identity as fully God and fully man renders him no more a savior than you or I. 00:16:42.740 --> 00:16:52.039 And what we need to do as people who are committed to the Christian faith, committed to knowing and growing in Jesus, 00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:57.879 is that we need to wrestle and struggle through some of those hard points of Scripture. 00:16:58.220 --> 00:17:01.680 Reading the Bible together as a community, as individuals. 00:17:02.460 --> 00:17:06.039 And never interpreting Scripture against Scripture. 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:15.240 So to never interpret that whole instance of the Syrophoenician woman against Philippians 2 that we're reading today. 00:17:17.019 --> 00:17:18.839 But this requires struggle. 00:17:20.259 --> 00:17:21.799 You know what the easy way out? 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:25.059 The easy way out is to say that Jesus repented of his racism. 00:17:25.899 --> 00:17:27.500 Like open and shut case. 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:28.740 That's the easy way out. 00:17:28.779 --> 00:17:33.799 The hard way, the difficult way, the courageous way is to struggle with that. 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:40.579 If Jesus truly is man, fully man, 100% man, and fully God, 100% God. 00:17:41.399 --> 00:17:49.200 And remember that Jesus perfectly expresses the character and essence of who God is when we read about him in the Scriptures. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:53.519 Then are we going to submit to Scripture? 00:17:53.960 --> 00:17:56.259 Or are we going to submit Scripture to us? 00:17:56.559 --> 00:18:01.299 Are we going to submit to Jesus or submit Jesus to us? 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:05.899 It matters who Jesus is. 00:18:06.139 --> 00:18:07.099 Who is Jesus? 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:14.119 So Jesus, you know, there's those hard bits of Scripture. 00:18:15.139 --> 00:18:22.819 But there's also bits of Scripture if we're talking about Jesus being the perfect example on earth of who God is, his character and his glory. 00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:30.099 Then we can also look at an instance where Jesus takes off his outer garment and wraps a towel around his waist. 00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:38.779 And one after another cleans the filth, the stink, the grime off of his disciples' feet. 00:18:38.779 --> 00:18:43.619 And that reflects the very heart of who God is. 00:18:45.139 --> 00:18:46.279 A servant God. 00:18:46.339 --> 00:18:48.440 A God that loves so deeply. 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:52.879 A God that wishes to restore, to clean, to cleanse, to fix. 00:18:54.200 --> 00:18:58.579 We get a window into the very character of who God is. 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:02.279 If Jesus isn't God, then he's washed some disciples' feet. 00:19:02.359 --> 00:19:03.099 He's a nice guy. 00:19:03.220 --> 00:19:04.099 Call him a nice guy. 00:19:04.099 --> 00:19:07.319 I don't know. 00:19:07.399 --> 00:19:07.719 It's good. 00:19:07.819 --> 00:19:08.839 He washed his disciples' feet. 00:19:08.919 --> 00:19:09.299 It's great. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:12.719 But then it's no longer a window into the heart of who God is. 00:19:14.699 --> 00:19:16.619 But he doesn't just clean feet, does he? 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:20.639 He doesn't just show his service by cleaning feet, does he? 00:19:22.899 --> 00:19:24.379 Look with me at verse 8. 00:19:24.380 --> 00:19:29.280 And being found in human form. 00:19:29.600 --> 00:19:30.840 Again, that word form. 00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:31.600 You see it. 00:19:31.700 --> 00:19:32.560 This is the third time. 00:19:33.040 --> 00:19:38.980 Being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:41.400 Even death on a cross. 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:47.620 Why did Jesus empty himself of his divine rights? 00:19:47.619 --> 00:19:52.099 So that he would show the ultimate form of service to others. 00:19:52.179 --> 00:19:53.119 To you, to me. 00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:59.839 By dying for sins that he didn't commit. 00:20:00.299 --> 00:20:03.199 To pay the penalty that he didn't deserve. 00:20:03.959 --> 00:20:05.959 To take the punishment upon himself. 00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:06.879 For you and for me. 00:20:07.179 --> 00:20:08.099 That's service. 00:20:08.099 --> 00:20:11.539 He humbles himself. 00:20:12.159 --> 00:20:13.740 Not only from heaven to earth. 00:20:14.219 --> 00:20:15.459 But then to earth. 00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:18.439 To becoming a servant or a slave. 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:21.500 And not only to become a servant or a slave. 00:20:21.639 --> 00:20:26.139 But continuing to humble himself to the very lowest of low. 00:20:27.199 --> 00:20:29.879 Because in the first century, there was nothing. 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:31.980 Nothing worse than getting crucified. 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:36.480 Cicero says this of the crucifixion. 00:20:38.099 --> 00:20:40.919 He says the most cruel and hideous form of punishment. 00:20:41.679 --> 00:20:43.759 Far be the very name of a cross. 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:45.119 Not only from the body. 00:20:45.500 --> 00:20:46.939 But even from the thought. 00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:47.819 The eyes. 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:49.359 The ears of Roman citizens. 00:20:49.699 --> 00:20:52.579 You don't even mention a crucifix in polite society. 00:20:54.119 --> 00:20:56.639 Roman citizens didn't get crucified. 00:20:57.740 --> 00:21:00.819 I mean the lowest of the low got crucified. 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:03.759 And Jesus lowers himself to the very low. 00:21:03.939 --> 00:21:04.359 Why? 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:08.779 Because then he can identify with you and with me. 00:21:08.979 --> 00:21:10.799 And everybody above and below. 00:21:11.459 --> 00:21:17.159 That there's nobody that is a human being that he can't identify with. 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:24.080 So he empties himself of his divine prerogatives. 00:21:24.080 --> 00:21:27.820 And then becomes the incarnate son of God. 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:35.380 And then humbles himself to the very lowest rung of what it means to be a human being. 00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:39.380 How does... 00:21:40.380 --> 00:21:48.780 If Jesus is this window into the very character, the perfect character of God, what does that tell us about God? 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:54.780 I don't like taking much charity from people. 00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:59.340 I like having my charity ledger nice and in the black. 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:03.919 I don't like when people give and all too much makes me feel uncomfortable. 00:22:04.419 --> 00:22:06.759 I usually shift my feet and look down. 00:22:07.699 --> 00:22:09.740 I'm uncomfortable with it. 00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:20.539 What can I possibly give God who empties himself and humbles himself and dies on my behalf because of love? 00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:25.579 What can you possibly give to God in repayment? 00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:28.039 How can you possibly say, 00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:34.759 I mean, you owed me like I loved you a whole bunch or that was really great. 00:22:34.879 --> 00:22:36.119 I'll get you back for that. 00:22:36.980 --> 00:22:42.480 The ultimate form of love, the self-giving, self-humbling, selfless love. 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:48.740 Jesus becoming a servant and humbling self on the cross. 00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:54.079 So if he can identify with the lowest rung of society, can he identify with you? 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:58.700 Can he know what you are going through? 00:22:58.819 --> 00:23:07.240 Can he empathize with your hurting, with feelings of abandonment, with feelings of forgottenness, 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:11.960 from loneliness, from feeling like you are a worm? 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:13.759 Can he relate? 00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:16.539 He can. 00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:18.440 Emphatically, yes. 00:23:18.819 --> 00:23:19.740 Yes, he can. 00:23:20.900 --> 00:23:24.240 And he couldn't do it if he wasn't fully God. 00:23:24.599 --> 00:23:26.700 And he couldn't do it if he wasn't fully human. 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:34.539 He would have just been any old chap that died on a cross of the thousands of the tens of thousands 00:23:34.539 --> 00:23:38.160 that died on a cross at the hands of the Romans. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:46.960 God not only identifies with the depth of our brokenness, 00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:53.620 but what he does is he takes that banner that is over us, 00:23:53.619 --> 00:24:00.159 that label that is on our breast that says sinner, 00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:04.000 that says despised, 00:24:04.219 --> 00:24:05.739 that says condemned, 00:24:06.579 --> 00:24:08.779 that says no hope. 00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:10.899 And he takes it off. 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:12.500 And he says forgiven, 00:24:13.700 --> 00:24:14.339 redeemed. 00:24:17.339 --> 00:24:19.399 He says you're part of my family now. 00:24:20.399 --> 00:24:20.879 Irrevocable. 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:28.600 Love becomes the very thing that we see on the cross, 00:24:28.600 --> 00:24:34.320 and we see the very character of God being a God of love. 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:40.500 And the thing about this God of love is that he has always been a God of love. 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:47.019 And this is why the Trinitarian understanding of God is the only one that works. 00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:51.180 Because God has always loved. 00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:54.619 It's not that he just started loving when he created the world, 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:57.259 or he was in the garden with Adam and Eve, 00:24:57.579 --> 00:24:59.680 or when he made the promise to Abraham, 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:02.220 or rescued the Israelites from Egypt, 00:25:02.759 --> 00:25:07.980 or made these wonderful declarations of love to Israel through the prophets, 00:25:07.980 --> 00:25:10.180 or when Jesus came. 00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:11.980 No, he was unchanging. 00:25:12.120 --> 00:25:14.079 Remember, he's an unchanging God. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:16.079 So he's always loved. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:17.220 And the thing with love, 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:21.180 as much as you want to be a person that loves yourself, 00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:22.160 it's okay. 00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:24.660 You can't, 00:25:25.180 --> 00:25:26.539 love has to have an object. 00:25:27.980 --> 00:25:31.200 You have to love something outside of you. 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:31.519 So, 00:25:32.620 --> 00:25:35.279 God the Father has always loved God the Son, 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:37.620 and God the Son has always loved God the Father, 00:25:37.619 --> 00:25:38.759 and the Holy Spirit, 00:25:39.059 --> 00:25:40.619 being the third member of the Trinity, 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:42.500 loves the Father and loves the Son, 00:25:42.579 --> 00:25:46.319 but is the very love that the Father loves the Son, 00:25:46.359 --> 00:25:47.379 and the Son loves the Father. 00:25:47.479 --> 00:25:47.799 It's just, 00:25:48.139 --> 00:25:49.359 the Godhead is love. 00:25:51.419 --> 00:25:53.859 And we see that in what Christ has done, 00:25:53.919 --> 00:25:56.419 by laying down his life for you, 00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:57.199 and for me. 00:25:58.479 --> 00:26:00.500 This ultimate picture, 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:05.159 into the very character and essence of who God is. 00:26:05.160 --> 00:26:08.460 So Jesus dies on the cross, 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:09.540 and does he stay dead? 00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:11.580 He does not. 00:26:12.460 --> 00:26:13.860 He rises again, 00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:16.100 and this is where the rubber hits the road 00:26:16.100 --> 00:26:18.360 when it comes to Jesus' divinity, 00:26:18.500 --> 00:26:21.019 because we all are going to die. 00:26:21.560 --> 00:26:22.560 I mean, this past year, 00:26:22.660 --> 00:26:24.360 death has been thrust in our face. 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:27.460 Regardless of where you land on, 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:30.660 on how you feel about COVID-19 or not, 00:26:30.660 --> 00:26:33.380 but death has been thrust on our face. 00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:34.080 Every morning, 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:35.519 I make breakfast for the kids, 00:26:36.300 --> 00:26:37.519 listen to 1310 News. 00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:39.420 It's exhausting. 00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:43.740 Everything in the morning is about case counts, 00:26:43.960 --> 00:26:45.360 or lockdowns, 00:26:45.420 --> 00:26:46.440 or we're out of a lockdown, 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:47.700 or vaccines are coming, 00:26:47.779 --> 00:26:48.560 and no vaccines. 00:26:48.779 --> 00:26:49.400 And you, 00:26:50.120 --> 00:26:50.480 I mean, 00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:51.660 you're living it with me. 00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:53.759 And it's just, 00:26:53.800 --> 00:26:54.700 it's just there. 00:26:54.800 --> 00:26:55.940 It's just there in your face. 00:26:55.940 --> 00:26:59.500 The mortality of humanity this past year 00:26:59.500 --> 00:27:00.660 has been thrust upon us, 00:27:00.840 --> 00:27:01.840 and when we die, 00:27:01.980 --> 00:27:02.640 we die. 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:05.400 Nobody is, 00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:08.779 I don't know, 00:27:08.900 --> 00:27:11.720 jumping out of a fridge at the morgue 00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:12.440 three days later. 00:27:14.259 --> 00:27:17.279 Nobody is clawing their way out of a casket 00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:18.100 three days later. 00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:23.420 If Jesus is truly God, 00:27:23.420 --> 00:27:25.779 then, 00:27:26.300 --> 00:27:27.539 if he rises, 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:28.900 if he rises from the dead, 00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:30.000 that he is truly God. 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:33.539 That death has no bearing on him anymore. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:37.640 And the rest of our passage communicates this to us, 00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:39.560 that Jesus does not stay dead. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:41.000 We'll finish off here, 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:42.340 verses 9 to 11. 00:27:44.340 --> 00:27:46.519 Therefore God has highly exalted him, 00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:46.880 Jesus, 00:27:47.120 --> 00:27:48.220 and bestowed on him 00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:50.980 the name that is above every name, 00:27:50.980 --> 00:27:53.500 so that at the name of Jesus, 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:55.360 every knee should bow in heaven, 00:27:55.539 --> 00:27:56.019 and on earth, 00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:56.660 and under the earth, 00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:57.700 and every tongue confess 00:27:57.700 --> 00:28:00.460 that Jesus Christ is Lord 00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:03.519 to the glory of God the Father. 00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:07.039 Not only does Jesus rise from the grave, 00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:08.059 it's implied here. 00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:09.720 He's dead, 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:10.620 but then here he is, 00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:11.319 he's risen up. 00:28:11.380 --> 00:28:12.220 It's not that he's just 00:28:12.220 --> 00:28:14.259 rising from the grave, 00:28:14.339 --> 00:28:15.460 that he's resurrected, 00:28:16.279 --> 00:28:17.759 defeating sin and death forever, 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.839 but he is also exalted by God 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:21.359 to the very highest place, 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:22.819 the highest authority. 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:26.539 Jesus, 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:28.799 who refused to count equality with God, 00:28:28.859 --> 00:28:30.160 a thing to hold on to, 00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:31.339 a thing to be grasped, 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:34.200 has it bestowed on him 00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:36.140 because he was in perfect obedience 00:28:36.140 --> 00:28:37.720 to God the Father 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:40.759 by laying down his life 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:42.160 as a servant on the cross. 00:28:45.859 --> 00:28:47.140 You know what we try to do? 00:28:47.140 --> 00:28:50.800 We try to grasp at God, 00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:52.300 at the divinity. 00:28:52.800 --> 00:28:56.400 This was what caused Adam to fall 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:57.780 in the garden. 00:28:59.500 --> 00:29:01.200 He counted himself as equal to God. 00:29:01.420 --> 00:29:02.800 I'm going to reach up, 00:29:02.860 --> 00:29:03.540 and what happens? 00:29:03.980 --> 00:29:06.000 He gets humbled in the most 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:10.080 just horrible way. 00:29:10.540 --> 00:29:12.140 No more relationship with God. 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:13.840 No more union with God. 00:29:14.140 --> 00:29:15.320 But what does Christ do? 00:29:15.380 --> 00:29:16.460 He humbles himself. 00:29:17.140 --> 00:29:18.240 And then is elevated. 00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:21.600 It's a complete reversal. 00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:25.800 These verses emphatically declare 00:29:25.800 --> 00:29:27.220 that the incarnate Jesus 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:28.740 is indeed God himself, 00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:30.040 and not just God, 00:29:30.460 --> 00:29:33.100 but he bears the name of God, 00:29:33.340 --> 00:29:34.320 the divine name, 00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:36.300 the name that we see 00:29:36.300 --> 00:29:40.040 when God visits Moses 00:29:40.040 --> 00:29:40.980 at the burning bush. 00:29:41.140 --> 00:29:42.500 I am who I am. 00:29:42.500 --> 00:29:44.440 I have always existed. 00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:46.240 The only God, 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:47.099 the divine name, 00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:48.299 is given to Jesus. 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:50.160 Not only that, 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:51.759 but all authority 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:52.680 is given to him as well, 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:54.359 that at the name of Jesus, 00:29:54.500 --> 00:29:55.619 every knee will bow, 00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:57.000 every tongue will confess. 00:29:57.740 --> 00:29:58.819 Isaiah 42 says, 00:29:58.900 --> 00:29:59.880 God shares his name 00:29:59.880 --> 00:30:00.640 with nobody. 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:02.759 A bit later, 00:30:02.839 --> 00:30:04.000 Isaiah 45 says, 00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:07.119 that all knees will bow, 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:08.480 all tongues will confess, 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:09.860 that God is the Lord. 00:30:09.860 --> 00:30:15.259 Jesus is exalted 00:30:15.259 --> 00:30:16.480 to his rightful place 00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:17.140 with the Father 00:30:17.140 --> 00:30:18.519 with all the honor 00:30:18.519 --> 00:30:19.460 and dominion 00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:21.759 over all of the universe. 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:26.019 that he is king, 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:27.859 that God is finally king. 00:30:30.859 --> 00:30:32.440 It's a wonderful picture 00:30:32.440 --> 00:30:34.500 of the end of the age, 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:35.879 the consummation 00:30:35.879 --> 00:30:37.539 of all of time, 00:30:37.980 --> 00:30:39.099 the very pinnacle 00:30:39.099 --> 00:30:40.140 of the story. 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:44.440 This entire section, 00:30:44.619 --> 00:30:45.900 it's written in a letter 00:30:45.900 --> 00:30:46.960 that Paul writes 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:47.879 to the Philippian church, 00:30:48.099 --> 00:30:49.779 but it is a hymn of praise. 00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:51.779 It is a liturgy 00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:54.819 of just absolute astonishment 00:30:54.819 --> 00:30:56.059 and praise and wonder 00:30:56.059 --> 00:30:57.500 to who God is, 00:30:57.920 --> 00:30:59.379 to who Jesus is, 00:30:59.799 --> 00:31:01.240 that he is God himself. 00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:05.639 But here's the thing. 00:31:06.420 --> 00:31:07.319 The Christian faith 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:09.200 starts and ends with Jesus. 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:10.740 His life, his death, 00:31:10.819 --> 00:31:11.440 his resurrection, 00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:12.700 his exaltation, 00:31:12.759 --> 00:31:14.059 we see it all 00:31:14.059 --> 00:31:15.680 in these six verses. 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:18.799 And inherent to that 00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:21.180 is Jesus being supernatural. 00:31:21.859 --> 00:31:23.099 That this whole thing 00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:23.859 is supernatural. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:25.960 That people don't rise 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:26.680 from the dead. 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:29.299 People don't do miracles. 00:31:29.779 --> 00:31:30.779 The Bible is full 00:31:30.779 --> 00:31:32.559 of supernatural things. 00:31:33.559 --> 00:31:34.759 And these claims, 00:31:35.419 --> 00:31:37.039 if they are removed, 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:39.639 it's like putting dynamite 00:31:39.639 --> 00:31:40.799 around a house 00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:41.680 and lighting the fuse. 00:31:41.879 --> 00:31:44.579 The foundation crumbles. 00:31:44.779 --> 00:31:45.559 There's no more house. 00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:48.220 And if you struggle 00:31:48.220 --> 00:31:48.779 with this, 00:31:49.259 --> 00:31:50.359 I don't blame you. 00:31:50.879 --> 00:31:51.799 We swim 00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:52.819 in 00:31:52.819 --> 00:31:55.759 very, very 00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:56.579 modern 00:31:56.579 --> 00:31:57.419 waters. 00:31:57.679 --> 00:31:58.799 We are 00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:00.259 rationalists. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:02.059 Whatever we see 00:32:02.059 --> 00:32:02.500 with our 00:32:02.500 --> 00:32:03.519 eyes, 00:32:03.659 --> 00:32:04.919 whatever we can 00:32:04.919 --> 00:32:07.339 empirically measure 00:32:07.339 --> 00:32:09.220 with our science, 00:32:09.379 --> 00:32:10.019 and this isn't like 00:32:10.019 --> 00:32:11.259 a hit against science, 00:32:11.399 --> 00:32:12.819 but that's the only thing 00:32:12.819 --> 00:32:13.500 that exists. 00:32:13.500 --> 00:32:14.940 We are 00:32:14.940 --> 00:32:16.140 anti-supernatural. 00:32:20.460 --> 00:32:21.559 So if you struggle 00:32:21.559 --> 00:32:22.039 with this, 00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:22.799 listen, 00:32:22.940 --> 00:32:23.500 I'm with you. 00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:24.740 I struggle with this 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:25.180 as well. 00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:28.019 But here's the thing. 00:32:29.299 --> 00:32:30.859 This is a worldview. 00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:33.319 This is a belief system 00:32:33.319 --> 00:32:34.000 that's just 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:36.500 as much based 00:32:36.500 --> 00:32:37.119 on faith 00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:38.400 as ours. 00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:40.519 And this belief system 00:32:40.519 --> 00:32:41.220 at best 00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:42.359 is flat 00:32:42.359 --> 00:32:43.000 and 2D. 00:32:43.500 --> 00:32:45.220 It doesn't 00:32:45.220 --> 00:32:46.200 celebrate 00:32:46.200 --> 00:32:46.940 the good, 00:32:47.299 --> 00:32:48.619 the true 00:32:48.619 --> 00:32:49.359 and the beautiful. 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:50.319 It doesn't recognize 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:51.700 that there is 00:32:51.700 --> 00:32:52.579 a source 00:32:52.579 --> 00:32:53.839 of all goodness. 00:32:54.680 --> 00:32:55.420 It somehow 00:32:55.420 --> 00:32:56.039 puts man 00:32:56.039 --> 00:32:56.680 at the pinnacle. 00:32:57.240 --> 00:32:57.900 And we have 00:32:57.900 --> 00:32:58.460 limitations. 00:32:59.059 --> 00:32:59.940 So at best, 00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:00.579 we create 00:33:00.579 --> 00:33:01.619 this world 00:33:01.619 --> 00:33:03.339 that's 00:33:03.339 --> 00:33:03.960 rife 00:33:03.960 --> 00:33:04.759 with limitations. 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:06.759 It's never 00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:07.240 what God 00:33:07.240 --> 00:33:07.900 intended it 00:33:07.900 --> 00:33:08.640 to be. 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:09.560 In fact, 00:33:09.560 --> 00:33:10.060 it's actually 00:33:10.060 --> 00:33:10.640 the opposite 00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:11.080 of verses 00:33:11.080 --> 00:33:12.200 3 and 4 00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:13.280 of Philippians 00:33:13.280 --> 00:33:13.759 chapter 2. 00:33:13.800 --> 00:33:14.040 If you want 00:33:14.040 --> 00:33:14.360 to quickly 00:33:14.360 --> 00:33:15.020 look at that, 00:33:15.380 --> 00:33:16.060 it says this, 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:16.600 do nothing 00:33:16.600 --> 00:33:17.300 from rivalry 00:33:17.300 --> 00:33:18.080 or conceit, 00:33:18.140 --> 00:33:18.860 but in humility 00:33:18.860 --> 00:33:20.060 count others 00:33:20.060 --> 00:33:21.480 more significant 00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:22.259 than yourselves. 00:33:22.840 --> 00:33:23.320 Let each 00:33:23.320 --> 00:33:23.780 of you look 00:33:23.780 --> 00:33:24.280 not only 00:33:24.280 --> 00:33:24.840 to his own 00:33:24.840 --> 00:33:25.160 interest, 00:33:25.280 --> 00:33:25.680 but also 00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:26.259 to the interest 00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:26.740 of others. 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:28.020 Our world 00:33:28.020 --> 00:33:29.340 pays lip service 00:33:29.340 --> 00:33:29.900 to this. 00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:31.180 I pay lip service 00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:31.700 to this, 00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:32.700 but my 00:33:32.700 --> 00:33:33.220 default 00:33:33.220 --> 00:33:35.039 is the 00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:35.420 opposite. 00:33:36.900 --> 00:33:37.860 It is. 00:33:38.059 --> 00:33:38.720 Your default 00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:39.080 is the 00:33:39.080 --> 00:33:39.380 opposite. 00:33:40.039 --> 00:33:40.680 Our world's 00:33:40.680 --> 00:33:41.080 default 00:33:41.080 --> 00:33:41.880 is the 00:33:41.880 --> 00:33:42.279 opposite. 00:33:42.279 --> 00:33:43.160 When we 00:33:43.160 --> 00:33:44.100 put ourselves 00:33:44.100 --> 00:33:44.559 at the 00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:44.940 throne 00:33:44.940 --> 00:33:45.980 of God, 00:33:46.059 --> 00:33:46.460 when we 00:33:46.460 --> 00:33:46.799 are the 00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:47.160 ones 00:33:47.160 --> 00:33:48.500 who are 00:33:48.500 --> 00:33:48.759 writing 00:33:48.759 --> 00:33:49.360 the story. 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:53.519 But if 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:54.059 these grand 00:33:54.059 --> 00:33:54.600 stories, 00:33:54.799 --> 00:33:55.360 these big 00:33:55.360 --> 00:33:56.140 narratives 00:33:56.140 --> 00:33:57.700 is what 00:33:57.700 --> 00:33:58.620 our society 00:33:58.620 --> 00:33:59.080 is built 00:33:59.080 --> 00:33:59.279 on, 00:33:59.340 --> 00:33:59.799 consider 00:33:59.799 --> 00:34:00.380 the biblical 00:34:00.380 --> 00:34:01.539 story, 00:34:01.539 --> 00:34:02.099 the biblical 00:34:02.099 --> 00:34:02.659 narrative, 00:34:03.299 --> 00:34:04.579 that God 00:34:04.579 --> 00:34:05.799 himself makes 00:34:05.799 --> 00:34:06.879 everything good 00:34:06.879 --> 00:34:08.000 and that we 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:08.800 try to go 00:34:08.800 --> 00:34:09.639 after God 00:34:09.639 --> 00:34:10.800 and we 00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:11.719 utterly failed 00:34:11.719 --> 00:34:12.519 and have spent 00:34:12.519 --> 00:34:13.820 all of human 00:34:13.820 --> 00:34:14.619 history trying 00:34:14.619 --> 00:34:15.219 to achieve the 00:34:15.219 --> 00:34:15.920 very thing that 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:16.539 we rejected, 00:34:16.980 --> 00:34:17.340 but that we 00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:18.159 deeply desire. 00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:18.980 And God 00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:19.699 doesn't leave 00:34:19.699 --> 00:34:21.239 us in our 00:34:21.239 --> 00:34:22.659 terrible, 00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:24.239 pitiable state. 00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:26.179 He condescends. 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:27.059 He becomes 00:34:27.059 --> 00:34:28.079 fully man, 00:34:28.659 --> 00:34:29.500 yet remaining 00:34:29.500 --> 00:34:30.420 fully God. 00:34:30.420 --> 00:34:32.019 and dies 00:34:32.019 --> 00:34:32.320 in our 00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:32.680 place, 00:34:32.780 --> 00:34:33.599 redeeming us 00:34:33.599 --> 00:34:33.980 again, 00:34:34.340 --> 00:34:35.079 uniting us 00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:35.659 once again 00:34:35.659 --> 00:34:36.159 with God 00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:36.680 himself. 00:34:37.720 --> 00:34:38.260 So that 00:34:38.260 --> 00:34:38.860 the very 00:34:38.860 --> 00:34:39.460 thing that 00:34:39.460 --> 00:34:39.860 we've gone 00:34:39.860 --> 00:34:41.280 after with 00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:41.960 our pursuits 00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:42.940 of people, 00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:43.780 places, 00:34:43.960 --> 00:34:44.700 or things, 00:34:45.139 --> 00:34:47.280 we find in 00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:47.680 God. 00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:48.019 And our 00:34:48.019 --> 00:34:48.599 history, 00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:50.200 from the 00:34:50.200 --> 00:34:50.980 moment we 00:34:50.980 --> 00:34:52.539 have put our 00:34:52.539 --> 00:34:53.000 faith and 00:34:53.000 --> 00:34:53.420 trust and 00:34:53.420 --> 00:34:53.780 hope in 00:34:53.780 --> 00:34:54.019 Jesus, 00:34:54.200 --> 00:34:55.240 is to enjoy 00:34:55.240 --> 00:34:56.139 him forever. 00:34:56.139 --> 00:34:56.219 forever. 00:34:59.159 --> 00:35:00.119 That God 00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:00.699 is a God 00:35:00.699 --> 00:35:01.779 that condescends, 00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:03.039 that meets 00:35:03.039 --> 00:35:04.599 us because 00:35:04.599 --> 00:35:05.199 of love. 00:35:06.599 --> 00:35:07.359 That is 00:35:07.359 --> 00:35:08.359 three-dimensional. 00:35:08.940 --> 00:35:09.339 That has 00:35:09.339 --> 00:35:09.980 meat to it, 00:35:10.019 --> 00:35:10.259 that has 00:35:10.259 --> 00:35:10.920 weight to it. 00:35:11.480 --> 00:35:12.139 And all of 00:35:12.139 --> 00:35:13.039 our best 00:35:13.039 --> 00:35:14.000 stories that 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:16.199 we see in 00:35:16.199 --> 00:35:16.699 film, 00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:17.259 or in 00:35:17.259 --> 00:35:17.659 theater, 00:35:17.940 --> 00:35:19.480 or that we 00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:20.059 read, 00:35:20.819 --> 00:35:21.440 they all have 00:35:21.440 --> 00:35:21.879 hints of 00:35:21.879 --> 00:35:22.199 this. 00:35:23.099 --> 00:35:23.739 They all have 00:35:23.739 --> 00:35:24.259 hints of 00:35:24.260 --> 00:35:24.640 redemption. 00:35:24.820 --> 00:35:25.520 They all have 00:35:25.520 --> 00:35:26.800 hints of 00:35:26.800 --> 00:35:28.340 a self-sacrificing 00:35:28.340 --> 00:35:28.680 for the 00:35:28.680 --> 00:35:29.200 betterment of 00:35:29.200 --> 00:35:29.840 somebody else. 00:35:30.120 --> 00:35:30.440 And they're 00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:30.940 just little 00:35:30.940 --> 00:35:32.160 whispers of 00:35:32.160 --> 00:35:32.800 the gospel 00:35:32.800 --> 00:35:33.500 and of who 00:35:33.500 --> 00:35:34.280 God actually 00:35:34.280 --> 00:35:34.820 is. 00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:37.420 If Jesus 00:35:37.420 --> 00:35:38.240 isn't God, 00:35:38.300 --> 00:35:38.540 if the 00:35:38.540 --> 00:35:38.920 incarnation 00:35:38.920 --> 00:35:39.900 isn't real, 00:35:40.440 --> 00:35:41.040 if Jesus 00:35:41.040 --> 00:35:41.820 died as 00:35:41.820 --> 00:35:42.960 a regular 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:43.480 criminal, 00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:45.120 didn't rise 00:35:45.120 --> 00:35:45.420 from the 00:35:45.420 --> 00:35:45.880 grave, 00:35:46.460 --> 00:35:47.020 is not 00:35:47.020 --> 00:35:47.720 at the 00:35:47.720 --> 00:35:48.180 Father's 00:35:48.180 --> 00:35:48.620 side, 00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:49.360 is not 00:35:49.360 --> 00:35:49.840 Lord and 00:35:49.840 --> 00:35:50.160 King, 00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:50.900 has not 00:35:50.900 --> 00:35:52.580 saved you, 00:35:52.579 --> 00:35:54.460 then take 00:35:54.460 --> 00:35:55.139 next Friday 00:35:55.139 --> 00:35:55.679 and Sunday 00:35:55.679 --> 00:35:56.079 off. 00:35:57.960 --> 00:35:58.619 And while 00:35:58.619 --> 00:35:58.960 you're at 00:35:58.960 --> 00:35:59.199 it, 00:35:59.599 --> 00:36:00.239 just be 00:36:00.239 --> 00:36:00.679 done with 00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:01.119 reading the 00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:01.460 Bible. 00:36:04.239 --> 00:36:04.900 Prayers are 00:36:04.900 --> 00:36:05.219 kind of 00:36:05.219 --> 00:36:05.500 tedious, 00:36:05.840 --> 00:36:07.599 so be 00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:07.940 done with 00:36:07.940 --> 00:36:08.259 that as 00:36:08.259 --> 00:36:08.519 well. 00:36:12.519 --> 00:36:13.699 Our faith 00:36:13.699 --> 00:36:14.739 rises and 00:36:14.739 --> 00:36:15.299 falls on 00:36:15.299 --> 00:36:16.039 who Jesus 00:36:16.039 --> 00:36:16.539 is. 00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:18.920 And he 00:36:18.920 --> 00:36:19.619 is fully 00:36:19.619 --> 00:36:20.259 man and 00:36:20.259 --> 00:36:20.940 fully God, 00:36:20.940 --> 00:36:22.159 and the 00:36:22.159 --> 00:36:23.079 scriptures tell 00:36:23.079 --> 00:36:23.720 a better 00:36:23.720 --> 00:36:24.220 story. 00:36:26.539 --> 00:36:27.159 Heavenly 00:36:27.159 --> 00:36:27.679 Father, we 00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:28.300 thank you so 00:36:28.300 --> 00:36:29.340 much for 00:36:29.340 --> 00:36:29.820 your goodness 00:36:29.820 --> 00:36:30.460 and kindness 00:36:30.460 --> 00:36:32.159 that we do 00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:32.840 not deserve, 00:36:32.960 --> 00:36:33.400 that you 00:36:33.400 --> 00:36:35.559 humbled 00:36:35.559 --> 00:36:36.940 yourself, 00:36:37.059 --> 00:36:37.400 your son 00:36:37.400 --> 00:36:37.880 humbled 00:36:37.880 --> 00:36:38.539 himself, 00:36:39.139 --> 00:36:39.500 emptied 00:36:39.500 --> 00:36:40.019 himself, 00:36:40.700 --> 00:36:41.400 lived a 00:36:41.400 --> 00:36:42.340 perfect human 00:36:42.340 --> 00:36:42.780 life, 00:36:43.280 --> 00:36:43.820 fully God, 00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:44.519 fully man, 00:36:44.940 --> 00:36:45.780 and suffered 00:36:45.780 --> 00:36:46.260 on our 00:36:46.260 --> 00:36:46.840 behalf so 00:36:46.840 --> 00:36:47.099 that we 00:36:47.099 --> 00:36:47.420 might be 00:36:47.420 --> 00:36:48.220 united with 00:36:48.220 --> 00:36:48.480 him, 00:36:49.099 --> 00:36:49.880 so that we 00:36:49.880 --> 00:36:50.159 would have 00:36:50.159 --> 00:36:50.799 the mind 00:36:50.799 --> 00:36:52.139 of Christ 00:36:52.139 --> 00:36:52.759 to know 00:36:52.759 --> 00:36:53.239 him and 00:36:53.239 --> 00:36:53.679 to love 00:36:53.679 --> 00:36:54.079 him and 00:36:54.079 --> 00:36:54.779 to be in 00:36:54.779 --> 00:36:55.460 communion and 00:36:55.460 --> 00:36:56.119 fellowship with 00:36:56.119 --> 00:36:56.339 him, 00:36:56.859 --> 00:36:58.359 to live 00:36:58.359 --> 00:36:59.039 lives that 00:36:59.039 --> 00:36:59.759 then reflect 00:36:59.759 --> 00:37:00.619 his goodness 00:37:00.619 --> 00:37:01.399 and glory, 00:37:01.779 --> 00:37:02.940 and he did 00:37:02.940 --> 00:37:04.279 it all for 00:37:04.279 --> 00:37:05.920 our sakes, 00:37:06.779 --> 00:37:07.440 before we 00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:08.000 were even 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:09.239 a twinkle in 00:37:09.239 --> 00:37:09.879 our father's 00:37:09.879 --> 00:37:10.279 eye, 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:11.460 before we 00:37:11.460 --> 00:37:11.779 were even 00:37:11.779 --> 00:37:12.859 known he 00:37:12.859 --> 00:37:13.559 died for us, 00:37:13.599 --> 00:37:13.859 while we 00:37:13.859 --> 00:37:14.219 were still 00:37:14.219 --> 00:37:14.679 sinners, 00:37:14.839 --> 00:37:15.039 while we 00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:15.500 were still 00:37:15.500 --> 00:37:17.380 hanging out 00:37:17.380 --> 00:37:18.000 with death 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:19.199 spiritually. 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:20.639 So Lord, 00:37:20.699 --> 00:37:21.320 I pray that 00:37:21.320 --> 00:37:21.539 you would 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:21.940 help us 00:37:21.940 --> 00:37:22.380 this week 00:37:22.380 --> 00:37:22.760 as we 00:37:22.760 --> 00:37:23.380 enter into 00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:23.880 Holy Week 00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:25.519 to behold 00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:27.119 Christ, 00:37:28.380 --> 00:37:29.599 fully man 00:37:29.599 --> 00:37:30.000 and fully 00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:30.340 God, 00:37:30.420 --> 00:37:31.139 that we 00:37:31.139 --> 00:37:32.880 would read 00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:33.440 scripture, 00:37:33.980 --> 00:37:34.340 read the 00:37:34.340 --> 00:37:34.900 gospels, 00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:35.239 read the 00:37:35.239 --> 00:37:35.820 entirety of 00:37:35.820 --> 00:37:36.199 the Bible 00:37:36.199 --> 00:37:36.739 in light 00:37:36.739 --> 00:37:37.199 of that, 00:37:38.039 --> 00:37:38.659 and if we 00:37:38.659 --> 00:37:39.199 struggle with 00:37:39.199 --> 00:37:39.360 it, 00:37:39.440 --> 00:37:39.579 Lord, 00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:40.599 please have 00:37:40.599 --> 00:37:41.139 mercy on 00:37:41.139 --> 00:37:41.539 us and 00:37:41.539 --> 00:37:42.139 help us 00:37:42.139 --> 00:37:42.880 as we 00:37:42.880 --> 00:37:43.260 struggle. 00:37:43.260 --> 00:37:44.460 We are 00:37:44.460 --> 00:37:45.220 prone to 00:37:45.220 --> 00:37:45.660 wander. 00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:46.620 Lord, 00:37:46.680 --> 00:37:47.180 we feel 00:37:47.180 --> 00:37:47.420 it. 00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:49.660 So Lord, 00:37:49.760 --> 00:37:50.260 please help 00:37:50.260 --> 00:37:51.020 us bolster 00:37:51.020 --> 00:37:51.500 our faith, 00:37:51.580 --> 00:37:52.420 help us to 00:37:52.420 --> 00:37:53.240 trust in 00:37:53.240 --> 00:37:54.240 the truth of 00:37:54.240 --> 00:37:54.660 the scripture, 00:37:54.780 --> 00:37:55.260 to take the 00:37:55.260 --> 00:37:56.320 scripture as 00:37:56.320 --> 00:37:57.080 it is, 00:37:57.480 --> 00:37:57.980 to not make 00:37:57.980 --> 00:37:58.600 excuses. 00:38:01.060 --> 00:38:01.540 Lord, 00:38:01.600 --> 00:38:02.380 we love 00:38:02.380 --> 00:38:02.700 you, 00:38:03.240 --> 00:38:03.720 help us to 00:38:03.720 --> 00:38:04.000 love you 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:04.360 more. 00:38:04.620 --> 00:38:04.760 Lord, 00:38:04.860 --> 00:38:05.420 we believe 00:38:05.420 --> 00:38:05.660 in you, 00:38:05.760 --> 00:38:06.200 help us to 00:38:06.200 --> 00:38:06.560 believe in 00:38:06.560 --> 00:38:06.980 you more. 00:38:08.300 --> 00:38:09.020 Help us to 00:38:09.020 --> 00:38:09.940 embrace the 00:38:09.940 --> 00:38:10.580 beauty of 00:38:10.580 --> 00:38:11.580 this perfect 00:38:11.580 --> 00:38:12.060 and good 00:38:12.060 --> 00:38:12.480 story. 00:38:13.260 --> 00:38:13.740 In Jesus' 00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:14.100 name, 00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:15.740 Amen.