Father, we confess before you that we often deceive ourselves.
We confess before you that we can deceive ourselves so often
it can become such a habit that we no longer are aware of our self-deception.
We confess before you that often we have many motives,
even for a single action, that we're blind to
and that some of those motives aren't very good.
And Father, we confess before you that given how we are inside,
that sometimes we think you're like this,
that we sort of make you in our own image.
Father, we need your help.
We need you to speak into the center of who we are, speak to our heart.
We need, Father, your Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our heart,
open the eyes of our heart to who we are in light of your word,
in light of your love and grace and mercy.
So, Father, we ask that you would do this wonderful work of your Holy Spirit
and your word in our lives this morning and for the rest of our lives.
And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.
Amen.
Please be seated.
Amen.
So, for...
I do other things outside of what I do on Sunday morning.
I don't just sort of work Sunday morning.
And sometimes I've been involved in different leadership teams
and organizing events.
And for quite a few years, I was part of this team,
leadership team that was doing a wide range of events all across the country.
And one of the problems I had with being on that leadership team
was a particular group of people.
I mean, you know, I think it was Bill Hybels who said
that whenever two or more people are together, there is friction.
And that's always true.
When there are two more together, there is friction.
But in this particular case, there was a group of people on the leadership team
that had several agendas,
other than just really trying to do a good job,
to work together to produce really effective events
that would further the kingdom,
that would bless people,
that would bring God glory.
They had a whole pile,
or at least several other very powerful agendas.
And most of the agendas
were all around themselves looking good
and themselves getting more and more power.
And one of the hard parts,
it's not only hard to deal with people
who have that as their motive,
especially when they won't acknowledge it,
but the other thing which was really hard
is that it was such a deep part of who they were
that they had these motives of,
you know, we're going to be on top,
we're going to be the ones who are most important,
we're going to be the ones who look good.
It was so deeply ingrained in them, those motives,
that they had a hard time believing
that everybody else on the team didn't have the same motives.
So they were always quite combative
because it just never,
it was, those motives of seeking power
were so powerful in them,
they just couldn't imagine that some other people,
they didn't have that motive.
That, no, actually, I don't care,
I don't have to be up on front.
No, I don't care, my logo doesn't have to be on that.
Like, I just want to have something.
It was really hard for them to understand that.
A few, quite a few years ago now,
I had a person who I thought was a friend,
I thought was like a person
who had the same type of desires as I did
to be able to preach and understand the Bible
and they offered to come alongside me
to give me some advice
so that I could preach better.
And every time I met with them,
I was depressed afterwards.
I was really depressed.
And then after I had been doing this
for four or five or six weeks
because I'm a slow learner,
it started to dawn on me
that they actually were trying to hurt me.
Like, it wasn't just that
they were speaking truth into my life
and I was having a hard time facing the truth.
They were actually trying to hurt me
and they were actually trying
to undermine my confidence in the Bible
and they were actually trying to turn me
in a very, very, very different direction.
They had a motive in terms of their action
which was in fact very hurtful to me
and I ended up having to have
a bit of a confrontation with them.
I mean, we could multiply these examples.
Many of you probably at school or at work.
How many of you, if you're at school or university
and you're doing a group project
and how many of you have had to deal
with a person doing a group project
where they basically have two motives
or three motives?
One, do no work.
Two, take all the credit for the work.
Three, get a good mark from your work.
And it's really hard to deal with somebody like that, right?
Many of us have been in workplace situations
where you can tell that the person involved
that you have to work with,
all they want is to take credit
and all they want is promotion.
That's all they want.
And they'll do whatever they have to
to get that promotion,
to get credit for good work
and to make sure that the bad work falls
and is seen somewhere else.
We're always having to deal with people
who have, in many cases, bad motives
and often unconscious motives.
There's many of us,
one of the things that happens as you grow older,
if God is kind to you and you have some growth,
is you realize maybe how there's things,
maybe from your past,
how you're raised as a child
or something that happened
in the early days of your marriage
that affect all of your motives
and everything that you do
and you've been blind and unconscious to it.
So does the Bible have anything to say about this?
Does the Bible have anything to say
that's helpful and insightful
about the role of motives in our lives?
Well, we're going to look at a passage in the Bible
that actually has an awful lot to say about motives.
In fact, very, very important and wise things.
So it would be a great help to me
if you would turn in your Bibles
to 2 Corinthians chapter 1.
2 Corinthians chapter 1.
And I know it sounded,
when Amanda was reading the text,
you were probably thinking,
good grief, you know,
he went there, didn't go here.
What does this have to do with my life?
But, you know,
it's like a lot of things in the Bible
that maybe at first glance
it doesn't jump out at us,
but as you look at it more closely,
you'll see that, in fact,
the Bible has very profound
and powerful things
to say about motives.
What motives should be
and how they should be grounded.
What are the right type of motives
that we should have?
So we're going to look at that.
We're going to begin
three verses before
where Amanda read.
We're going to begin
at 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 12.
And, you know,
one of the things to remember
when you're looking at this,
you know, the text,
is that it's a letter.
Paul began at verse 1.
He ended at whatever
the last verse is in chapter 13.
And when scholars study this,
they say that verse 12,
in particular,
is sort of a bit of an introduction
to what he's going to be talking about
right through till the end
of chapter 7.
Sort of gives you a bit
of a big picture overview
of some of the themes
that he's going to be talking about.
And so listen to verse 12.
For our boast is this,
the testimony of our conscience
that we behaved in the world
with simplicity.
And some of your versions of the Bible
have a different word there.
We'll talk about that in a moment.
I'll say it again.
For our boast is this,
the testimony of our conscience
that we behaved in the world
with simplicity
and godly sincerity,
not by earthly wisdom
or fleshly wisdom,
but by the grace of God
and supremely so toward you.
Very short, powerful, packed verse.
And Paul is going to be unfolding this,
especially in the next few verses
that come after.
Some of that part that Amanda read
that we found confusing.
But in fact,
all the way through,
it's going to be a continuing theme
that he's going to keep trying
to explain and unpack.
And so obviously,
I can only give you
a bit of an introduction.
But the first thing is,
if you could put up the first point,
that would be great.
In Jesus,
God's grace will lead me
towards good,
honest,
humble,
simple,
transparent motives
for each thing that I do.
That's the thing
that Paul is trying
to communicate here,
that the Bible,
the Word of God
is trying to communicate.
That in fact,
we don't have to listen
to the Dalai Lama
to learn about
how good motives,
although maybe we can learn from him.
We don't have to listen
to Jacques Derrida.
We don't have to listen
to Rousseau.
We don't have to listen
to the columnist
and the citizen.
That in fact,
the Bible itself
has profound teaching
about what it means
to become more like Jesus.
Like what it is
that God's plan
and intention is
for your life and mine.
And so what the Bible
is saying,
I'll just read,
I'll look at,
I'll say the point again
out loud,
but I'll just read the text again.
For our boast is this,
the testimony of our conscience
that we behaved
in the world
with simplicity.
And that can also mean
like a type of
a singular,
pure motive.
In other words,
that what he's saying is
he doesn't have
53 motives,
18 of which
he's unconscious of.
and 15 that he wants
to hide
and the rest he's sort of
willing to make public.
That he's not having
a whole pile of motives.
That there's a type
of purity
and singularity
and simplicity
to his motives.
A type of coherence
to them.
In other words,
motives that fit.
Like one of the things
that's going to be developed here
that to bring glory
to God
and to do good
for people,
in fact,
at a deepest level,
never contradict each other.
Like to bring glory
to God
and to do good
for people
don't contradict.
It can sound
for us as human beings
as if it's two motives
but properly understood
they're,
in a sense,
it's a type of singularity.
It's a motive,
it's a group of motives
that they fit together.
They're not rubbing
each other
the wrong way.
You know,
it's not like
when,
you know,
maybe,
you know,
somebody comes,
you know,
I don't know,
you know,
you come home late,
your teenager comes home late
and like way,
way late
and they have several motives
when they talk to you.
Their fundamental motive
is they want you to go away.
They want to try
to make you quiet
before you dig too deeply
into what exactly went on
and why you're so late
and they want to make
themselves look good
and they want to make you
look bad
and there's a whole pile
of different motives
that are going on there
and they don't want
to tell the truth.
Get the picture,
okay?
That's not what this
is talking about.
So,
for our boast is this,
the testimony of our conscience,
we behaved in the world
with simplicity
and it has this cluster
of ideas
of purity,
of coherence,
consistency
and godly sincerity,
a sincerity
that comes from God.
Not by earthly wisdom
but by the grace of God
and supremely so towards you.
So,
you see this?
It's what the text is saying
is that as God's grace
has a deeper and deeper role
and hold in our lives,
as God's grace
forms my mind
and forms my heart
and forms my will
and forms how I see the world
and how I hear the world
and how I understand the world
as God's grace,
which only,
of course,
means that you're getting
closer to Jesus
and thinking about
what he did for us
on the cross
and who he is
and his love for us,
is that as Jesus
comes closer to us
and we get closer to Jesus,
one of the byproducts
of that
will be
that our motives
become
good motives,
that they're honest,
that there's a humility
to our motives
because there should be
a greater concern
for the other
and a greater concern
for God
and that they're simple,
you know,
more like a dog's motives,
you know,
dogs just want to be fed,
padded,
you know,
they're not like cats
trying to plot
how to take over
your home
and the rest
of the universe.
Like,
you know,
did I just say that?
Yeah,
become more like a dog,
less like a cat.
Sorry,
there's no comment here
about you cat lovers.
You have your own reasons
to love cats.
Anyway,
simple,
transparent motives
for each thing that I do.
That's what the Bible
is saying here.
It's a very,
very simple thing,
a very,
very powerful thing.
And it helps to explain,
once you understand this
as a bit of a key,
it helps you to understand
some of the confusing things
that are going on
in the letter,
right from the beginning
of the letter
and on and on and on,
is that Paul is trying
to demonstrate
to his hearers
what his motives actually are.
He's saying,
one moment,
you've misunderstood me.
I'm acting in a way
which is for your good.
I'm acting in a way
which brings glory to God.
I'm acting in a very
consistent way
and I'm keeping my word.
If you understand it,
like I'm letting you know
what I'm doing,
I'm only doing things
to love you
and I'm only doing things
that magnify the grace of God
and try to make the grace of God
more operative amongst you.
So,
like jump ahead
to chapter 2,
verses 1 to 11.
And if you sort of
understand verse 12,
you can start to tease out
a little bit
about what's going on
in some of these confusing texts
in the Bible.
See,
that's the thing about the Bible.
There's often,
you don't have to sort of think,
oh,
I need to read this quote
from somebody else
to try to understand the Bible.
God himself
usually provides
the way to understand it
within the text itself.
But look at verses 1 to 11.
For I made up my mind
not to make another painful visit
to you.
Because he'd had a previous visit
that had been very painful.
It had been painful
because he loved them.
He had to confront them.
He'd had to confront them
about some things
that they were doing
that were just deeply wrong.
Like,
a man was sleeping
with his mother
and he had to confront them
about that.
People were using
the law courts
to rip each other off
and he had to confront them
about that.
Not because he wasn't honest,
not because he wasn't humble,
not because he wasn't good
or loved them,
but because those things
are just wrong.
Okay?
I'll go back.
For I made up my mind
not to make another painful visit
to you.
For if I cause you pain,
who is there to make me glad
but the one whom I have pained?
In other words,
he wants to be with them.
And I wrote,
as I did,
so that when I came
I might not suffer pain
from those
who should have made me rejoice.
For I felt sure
of all of you
that my joy
would be the joy of you all.
For I wrote to you
out of much affliction
and anguish of heart
and with many tears
not to cause you pain
but to let you know
the abundant love
that I have for you.
And then he goes on
to another issue
like that some of the people
that he had to deal with
there had in fact
been repentance
and amendment of life.
And he's revealing here
that his goal
had always been
restoration of relationships.
His goal had always been
that grace is extended.
Not judge,
not that,
you know,
you messed up once
and it's one strike
and you're out of my life
for the rest of your life.
That that's not the way,
no, no,
there's going to be grace.
There's got to be grace.
The goal with grace
is to restore relationships,
to restore people,
to get people back
on the right path,
to build relationships.
So in verse 5,
now if anyone has caused pain,
he has caused it not to me
but in some measure,
not to put it too severely,
but to all of you.
For such a one,
this punishment
by the majority is enough.
So you should rather turn
to forgive and comfort him
or he may be overwhelmed
by excessive sorrow.
So I beg you
to reaffirm your love for him.
For this is why I wrote,
that I might test you,
not in terms of like test,
like a laboratory.
It's testing,
it's as if you're trying
to walk across
a pot,
you know,
some water that's frozen,
you're testing the ice.
So it's not like
a malicious superior
type of testing.
It's just making sure
that it's nice and solid.
You're going to go across it
first
so that the people behind you
can go across it
and they won't get
their feet wet.
So that's the type
of testing that's meant.
For this is why I wrote,
that I might test you
and know whether you
are obedient in everything.
Anyone whom you forgive,
I also forgive.
Indeed,
what I have forgiven,
if I have forgiven anything,
has been for your sake
in the presence of Christ
so that we would not
be outwitted by Satan
for we are not ignorant
of his designs.
Why?
Because the devil,
he's the accuser,
he's the slanderer,
he's the destroyer,
he's the ruiner
of relationships
and that's what he does.
He blasphemes.
He makes us doubt God.
He blasphemes
and makes us want
to take the place of God.
And Paul is saying,
I understand that the devil
never misses church
and never misses a time
you get together
for your Bible study
or your prayer meetings.
I'm aware of that.
And that's why we need
to be rooted here
in grace
and in the gospel.
That's what's going on.
And so we see
it's a deep teaching
in the Bible.
It's a very,
very important teaching
in the Bible.
Now, actually,
it's not just that Christians,
of course,
have problems
with mixed motives.
and one of the things
is that the text
is going to,
as we go on
in weeks and weeks,
is going to try
to confront us
of motives
that we didn't realize
that we have.
But the text
has also hinted
at something
that touches
on a great Canadian fear.
It's a great Canadian
and American fear
that affects Christians.
You know,
a few years ago,
the Da Vinci Code
was really popular
and it's like 30 million books
or something like that.
I read the book
after it sold 20 million copies.
I took it out of the library.
It was really
a poorly written book.
I'm not just saying
that to diss it,
but it wasn't really
a very well-written book,
but it sold so many copies.
And part of the reason
I think it sold
so many copies
is it touched
on a deep fear
that people have
about the Christian faith,
that the Christian faith
is based on lies
and a desire for power,
that it's not honest,
that it's inauthentic,
and they've hurt people
and the Christian faith,
I mean,
there are all those priests
and the pedophiles
and it's all those guys,
you know,
who head up,
you know,
they're all against gays
while they're having sex
with male bodybuilders
and, you know,
like that.
I'm not making stories up.
Those are things
that have happened
over the last few years,
right?
Ted Haggard.
And so many people
in our culture,
they have this sense
that you can't trust
the Bible,
you can't trust
the Christian faith,
that there's been lying
that's going on,
there's been hiding
that's going on
and you can't trust it
and I think people
like the Da Vinci Code
partially because
it expressed a lot of that
and so here there's
a bit of a full disclosure.
What we call
2 Corinthians
could really be called
4 Corinthians
because
Paul wrote
at least four letters
to the church
to the church in Corinth
and only two of them
are in the Bible.
So is this
evidence
of
something really bad?
Well first let me
just show it to you.
If you turn in your Bibles
to 1 Corinthians
chapter 5
verse 9
1 Corinthians 5
verse 9
it says this
I wrote to you
in my letter
whoa
I wrote to you
in my letter
not to associate
with sexually immoral people
and we won't go on
about what it is
I just want to bring
that out to you.
So in 1 Corinthians
he mentions
that he wrote
an earlier letter
and if you just now
turn back to the text
that we're looking at
2 Corinthians chapter 2
I sort of combined
several letters
in my explanation
of the text
but if you look again
at verses 1 to 3
chapter 2
verses 1 to 3
for I made up my mind
not to make another
painful visit to you
for if I cause you pain
who is there
to make me glad
but the one
whom I have pained
and I wrote
as I did
so that when I came
I might not suffer pain
from those
who should have
made me rejoice.
Now here's the point
you know all that stuff
which is a bit confusing
I went to Troas
I went to Macedonia
like really careful
Bible scholars
when they look at
all of that stuff
they can piece together
things
and the letter here
you just have to
trust me on this one
that the letter here
that it's referring to
can't just be
1 Corinthians
so in a sense
you could say
there's Corinthians A
then 1 Corinthians
Corinthians A
that's Canadian
eh?
I'm sorry
Corinthians A
1 Corinthians
Corinthians B
and then 2 Corinthians
so what's going on here?
Are Christians
like what's the Christian
claim here?
Should we be worried?
When I was preaching
a class
teaching a class
on Monday
I began
one of the things
I began with
was this
if they found
one of those other letters
should it be in the Bible?
For instance
well here's the thing
if you could put that up
on the screen
it would be very helpful
Paul's writings
are not in the Bible
because they are Paul's
you just have to understand
what Christians
are claiming
it's a very transparent
honest
simple
understanding
okay
but sometimes
people don't understand
what Christians claim
Christians aren't claiming
that there's something
inherently special
about Paul
we aren't claiming
that
Christians aren't claiming
that like our poets
our philosophers
our mystics
our hymn writers
our philosophers
they're better than
Muslim and Buddhist ones
you know
because we have ones
who are more inspired
and are
being able to think
about God
better
and are able to reach
higher into God
and to understand
God better than all those
that is not a Christian claim
no well instructed
Christian who's read
the Bible
who's listened to Jesus
should ever believe that
Christians don't believe
that somehow
our poets
and our philosophers
and theologians
are somehow better
at reaching up to God
no
we believe
that we cannot
possibly know
anything true
about the infinite God
and unless
the infinite God
speaks to us
we could not know
anything true
about him
so what Christians
claim
is that at the end of the day
when you read the New Testament
what you're really listening to
is the teaching of Jesus
because you're listening to
Jesus
who spent
many many years
three years
and then some other time
after the resurrection
three years
teaching the apostles
and then
the New Testament
basically goes back
to the apostolic witness
the test
that it ultimately
comes from Jesus
but it's making
a deeper type
of claim
with this
because it's claiming
that Jesus just isn't
the best of the prophets
the best of the mystics
the best of the philosophers
the best of the theologians
the best at trying
to figure things out
Christians believe
that Jesus himself
came from heaven
outside of earth
and time and space
and the entire created order
and that God does a miracle
in the womb of Mary
and by an act of creation
God the son of God
the second person of the Trinity
one of the
that God who's responsible
for creating
and sustaining
the entire universe
that God
the son of God
in the form of that
a fertilized egg
created in the womb of Mary
that God
enters his creation
he comes from outside
into this created order
so Paul's writings
are not in the Bible
because they are Paul's
some of Paul's writings
are in the Bible
only because
they are some of the words
that God wanted
in his word written
see at the end of the day
Christians believe
that God used
all sorts of different
human means
in the sense
there's always a dual
authorship of the Bible
and that God used
human means
but at the end of the day
Paul who
who knows
maybe Paul wrote
a hundred letters
maybe he wrote
three hundred letters
maybe he wrote
four hundred letters
if Paul was somehow
the greatest philosopher
and poet
and theologian
and we were making a claim
that he's better at reaching
God than somebody else
then every one of his writings
should be in the Bible
but we're not making that claim
we're making a claim
that in a sense
Paul is no different
than Balaam's ass
who braid
and braid
but God was able
to make that ass speak
and that out of all
of the writings of Paul
some of them
are the actual writings
that God wanted to have
in this book
which is how he speaks
to us
as human beings
so there's nothing evil
or anything going on there
that it was just all part
of God's providence
of working through the church
and working through
early Christians
to make sure
that the words
that he wanted
spoken
and recorded
for our good
would be there
so
2 Corinthians
is in the Bible
not because Paul wrote it
at the most fundamental level
but because we believe
that it was the words
that God himself
wanted to speak to us
now
some of you might say
well George
that's sort of
you know
that is a little bit
interesting
but
so here's the thing
you're making this claim
George
that
if you get closer
to Jesus
you're going
to end up
having pure motives
George
how pure
are your motives
like George
just be honest
with us
for a second
when you get up
front and preach
like do you want
people to like you
do you preach
George
so maybe
in the hope
that there'd be
a bigger congregation
like do you want
a bigger congregation
because it helps
your ego
George
when you preach
do you want
to make it look
like you're smart
George
when you preach
do you want
to make it look
like you're nice
George
when you preach
and lead the service
are you actually
doing it for our good
and for God's glory
or some of these
other things
working
how's it going
with you George
in other words
George
are you just
trying to pull
a religious
fast one
on us
without people
noticing
because George
I'm going to
really be honest
with you
yeah
you know
I know
I need to have
better motives
and yeah
you know
I know
that people
with bad motives
have messed
my life up
and I know
that I've actually
maybe messed
some other people
up because
I've had
mixed motives
George
but you know
what if you're
just giving me
a whole pile
of religious advice
and that's all
it is
and I don't
know George
you know
my profs
give me advice
my mom
gives me advice
my friends
give me advice
I'm getting
beaten up
with advice
George
I don't need
to leave here
with more advice
I mean
George
if you have
to have
all these
pure motives
and all that
to get close
to Jesus
then I don't
understand
how anybody
could ever
become a Christian
I don't even
know why
you'd want
to become
a Christian
I mean
trying to
articulate
things like
that are not
bad things
but good
things
and it
really gets
at something
which is
really really
can be
easily missed
you know
because the
fact of the
matter is
I didn't
have pure
motives
when I
called out
to Jesus
to be my
savior
and my
lord
and if
you're here
thinking that
you have to
have pure
motives
before you
can call
out to
Jesus
to be
your
savior
and lord
I'm going
to tell
you right
now
stop
waiting
for
pure
motives
because
actually
that's
just
the
devil
trying
to
confuse
you
and
twist
you
you see
what the
text is
talking
about
is
something
that
comes
after
grace
that
constantly
needs
grace
but is
still
dependent
upon
grace
that the
text
is all
talking
about
grace
not
more
rules
and not
more
advice
that in
fact all
of this
advice
and everything
is all
trying to help us
to understand
something that
God does
for us
not something
that we need
to do for
God
look at
the text
again
go back
to 2
Corinthians
chapter 1
verse 15
because I
was sure
of this
I wanted
to come
to you
first
so that
you might
have a
second
experience
of grace
it's a
funny
expression
I'm not
going to
talk
about it
it's
caused
lots
of
mischief
in the
church
throughout
the
years
but it's
sort
of
neat
verse
16
I wanted
to visit
you
on your
way
to
Macedonia
and to
come
back
to you
from
Macedonia
and have
you send
me
on my
way
to
Judea
I know
that's
all this
back
and forward
stuff
here's
the thing
was I
vacillating
when I
wanted
to do
this
do I
make
my
plans
according
to
the
flesh
ready
to
say
yes
and
no
you know
at the
same
time
in other
words
is he
actually
you know
is he
a guy
that's
yeah
I want
to do
this
but
really
I'm
trying
to do
this
I'm
trying
to do
that
actually
before I
read these
next three
verses
could you
put them
up on
the screen
please
could you
all say
this with
me
because
this is
the heart
of the
passage
this is
the heart
of the
passage
these are
good
verses
to
memorize
and we're
going to
say them
out loud
several
times
together
I was
going to
try to
give you
points
but I
have no
points
better
than this
why can
I
how can
I
adorn
God's
word
better
than
God's
own
word
has to
be
read
slowly
to try
to get
it in
the
different
steps
but this
is an
explanation
of God's
grace
and who
you are
and how
you become
a Christian
and how
you grow
as a
Christian
that's
dynamite
you should
memorize
this
and I've
only changed
two words
in it
in the
original
language
it keeps
saying him
and you
can lose
who the
him
have
taken out
and it
is God
who
establishes
us
with you
in Christ
and has
anointed
us
and who
has also
put his
seal on
us
and given
us his
spirit
in our
hearts
as a
guarantee
it's a
very very
powerful
text
so what's
the text
saying
remember I
was saying
at the
beginning
that as
you get
closer to
Jesus
there's
going to
be simple
transparent
what Paul
is saying
is that
God is
simple
and transparent
in fact
the problem
for human
beings
is that
God is
too simple
for us
to understand
we are
my mind
is not
just a
singular
mind
my mind
is 15
hummingbirds
all
overdosing
on Red
Bull
and if
my mind
is 15
hummingbirds
overdosing
on Red
Bull
how can I
understand
the simplicity
and faithfulness
and consistency
of God
and the
whole point
about the
Christian
revelation
is that
it's a
public
open
revelation
God
doesn't
call
the
illuminati
the
special
anointed
ones
who know
the
decoder
key
to
interpret
the
Bible
God's
word
is
open
it's
transparent
it's
public
it's
a
public
revelation
anyone
who has
ears
to hear
anyone
who has
eyes
to read
can hear
and
understand
it's
to be
read
and
proclaimed
openly
in the
church
it's
to be
studied
from
cover
to
cover
in our
Bible
studies
and so
what the
Bible
here is
telling
us
is that
God
has
made
promises
notice
this is
how
Christianity
is so
different
than
Buddhism
is very
popular
on
university
campuses
and in
secular
culture
and part
of it
is because
of our
profound
cultural
despair
and cynicism
that anybody
will ever
keep their
promise
nobody
believes
their
employers
will keep
their
promises
so many
of us
are either
have had
divorces
and products
of divorces
and breakups
and separations
from family
members
and we
don't think
things hold
together
we don't think
people keep
their promises
and there's a
profound cynicism
and so this
message that
Buddhism
that what we
have to do
is to kill
all desire
is very
powerful
and speaks
very differently
but you know
underneath this
fear that no one
keeps their
promises
is a desire
that people
will keep
their promises
there's a
sense when you
go out on a
really really
really beautiful
day
some of the
beautiful days
we've had
this last
few days
I've kept
going out
outside
and thinking
gosh God
you are so
good
this is such
a beautiful
day
you are so
kind to us
and somewhere
in all of
our souls
there is a
sense or
longing
no matter
if we're
an atheist
or an agnostic
or a Buddhist
or a Hindu
or a Muslim
some sense
that such
a beautiful
day
such a
glorious
day
a day
when maybe
our bodies
are feeling
really good
and we've
been properly
caffeinated
and properly
fed
and there's
some sense
that the
world is a
world of
promise
that promises
are real
that they're
not just us
projecting them
on the
created order
but it's
some hint
that we are
getting in
our minds
and our hearts
and our souls
that there is
a creator
there is one
we can know
that there is
some type of
promise
of even
greater
and even
more
there are
some hints
in our
longings
and yearnings
that there
is something
greater
that our
longings
and yearnings
fit with
and the
Bible is
saying that
whatever promises
that we have
this sense
it's saying
the Bible is
not saying
kill all
desires for
promises
it's saying
follow this
desire for
promises
one of the
things that
can help
you in
evangelism
and one of
the things
that's so
scary about
evangelism
is the word
evangelism
get rid of
the word
evangelism
just think
bearing witness
to Jesus
and one of
the things
which is
very interesting
is every
person has
some sense
that there's
some promises
some great
hope
some great
longing
and they
might not be
able to
articulate it
and they
won't put it
in Christian
terms
but at the
end of the
day
all longings
all yearnings
are connected
all true
longings
and yearnings
all true
hopes
all true
hopes
find their
yes in
Jesus
everyone
say this
with me
again
for all
the promises
of God
find their
yes in
Jesus
that is
why it
is through
Jesus
that we
utter our
amen to
God
for his
glory
and it
is God
who
establishes
us
with you
in Christ
and has
anointed
us
and who
has also
put his
seal on
us
and given
us his
spirit
in our
hearts
as a
guarantee
so the
Bible
is saying
that God
he's
transparent
about what
he's
promising
read Isaiah
52 and
53
you know
he was
bruised
for our
iniquities
he was
crushed
for us
the punishment
that brought
us peace
was laid
on him
that's
he kept
his word
and Jesus
died upon
the cross
it's
open
and the
promises
that are
that God
makes
they're
open
and he
fulfills
every
single
one of
them
to
Jesus
and
what
is
the
gospel
the
gospel
is
the
promise
that
you know
the
gospel
is
that
God
has
made
this
promise
he
said
the
promise
is
I
know
that
you
cannot
save
yourself
I
know
that
you
want
to
hide
from
me
I
know
that
your
motives
are
impure
I
know
that
your
motives
are
chaotic
I
know
that
your
mind
is
really
not
a
singular
mind
but
15
hummingbirds
on
Red Bull
I
know
exactly
who
you
are
I
know
the
dreams
you
have
at
night
that
when
you
wake
up
you
don't
remember
them
I
know
all
of
the
different
masks
you
have
I
know
how
you
go
from
one
mask
to
another
I
know
how
you
keep
people
distant
I
know
about
those
things
in
your
past
that
you're
deeply
ashamed
of
I
know
those
longings
and
yearnings
you
have
that
sometimes
so
overwhelm
you
that
you
don't
even
want
to
share
them
because
you're
going
to
burst
I
know
how
sometimes
when
you
listen
to
a
piece
of
music
or
see
something
in
nature
or
see
something
really
beautiful
in
human
love
that
your
heart
feels
like
it
wants
to
explode
I
know
every
single
thing
there
is
to
know
about
you
and
I
know
that
you
cannot
make
yourself
right
with
me
and
so
I
will
cross
that
infinite
distance
to
make
you
right
with
myself
I
will
send
a
savior
who
will
save
I
will
be
the
one
who
gives
you
the
Holy
Spirit
I
will
be
the
one
who
will
establish
you
I
will
do
everything
that
it
takes
I
am
not
waiting
for
your
hands
to be
so
strong
and
so
pure
that
they
can
hold
on
to
me
I
know
your
hands
are
weak
and
I
know
that
you
don't
want
to
give
them
to
me
and
I
know
and
I
am
completely
and
utterly
shameless
because
I
am
completely
and
utterly
committed
to
loving
you
that
if
you
even
with
mixed
motives
put
your
hands
up
and
say
Jesus
be
my
savior
and
maybe
you're
saying
Jesus
be
my
savior
as
a
way
to
diss
your
parents
maybe
you're
saying
Jesus
be
my
savior
partially
so
you
can
be
accepted
by
other
people
maybe
you're
saying
Jesus
be
my
savior
so
you
can
have
some
type
of
particular
emotional
experience
maybe
you're
saying
Jesus
be
my
savior
because
you
have
this
sense
that
God
really
exists
and
you
need
him
to
save
you
and
I
know
that
your
motives
are
mixed
and
I'm
not
waiting
for
your
motives
to
be
pure
your
motives
will
never
be
pure
but
I
can
tell
you
that
when
you
put
your
hands
up
I
will
be
faithful
to
my
promises
and
all
of
my
promises
find
their
yes
in
Jesus
and
Jesus
will
take
your
hand
and
his
purity
will
become
yours
and
your
impurity
has
fallen
on
him
and
already
been
dealt
with
on
the
cross
and
your
hand
cannot
establish
a
relationship
with
me
but
I
can
establish
a
relationship
with
you
and
I
will
never
let
go
of
your
hand
and
you
ask
for
small
partial
things
not
knowing
all
of
the
promises
that
I
have
made
for
you
but
I
have
promised
in
my
word
that
there
will
be
a
time
when
the
Holy
Spirit
will
come
and
live
within
you
I
have
promised
that
the
Holy
Spirit
will
come
and
Lord
but
I
will
tell
you
that
when
you
reach
that
hand
out
with
mixed
motives
I
take
that
hand
in
yours
not
only
are
you
made
right
with
me
not
only
are
you
established
for
all
eternity
and
I
will
never
let
you
go
but
I
will
put
my
Holy
Spirit
upon
you
I
will
put
my
Holy
Spirit
within
you
and
that
coming
of
the
Holy
Spirit
within
you
is
the
first
what
you
will
have
forever
and
that
Holy
Spirit
will
seal
you
will
mark
me
you
that
you
are
mine
forever
no matter
what
you
do
in
the
future
you
are
mine
forever
and
the
Holy
Spirit
will
start
to
push
you
and
nudge
you
to
Jesus
and
all
that
other
stuff
the
purity
of
motives
as
we're
gripped
by
the
gospel
as
we're
gripped
by
the
gospel
as
we're
grounded
in
the
gospel
as
we're
shaped
by
the
gospel
well
then
it
starts
to
become
more
sensitive
motives
should
be
good
and
honest
and
pure
that
Holy
Spirit
that
the
Lord
has
given
us
starts
to
not
just
convict
us
that
you
know
what
I
shouldn't
be
treating
that
person
with
these
mixed
motives
that's
wrong
it
flows
from
grace
it
flows
from
being
gripped
by
the
gospel
I'd
like
to
put
up
the
first
of
my
final
three
points
actually
sorry
before
we
do
that
let's
read
this
text
again
sorry
testing
how fast
you can
move
let's
all
say
this
again
for
all
the
promises
of
God
find
their
yes
in
Jesus
that
is
why
through
Jesus
we
utter
our
amen
to
God
for
his
glory
and
it
is
God
who
establishes
us
with
you
in
Christ
and
has
his
seal
on
us
and
given
us
his
spirit
in
our
hearts
as
a
guarantee
put
up
the
final
this
is
a
conversion
prayer
if
you
don't
know
if
you
know
it's
not
only
a
conversion
prayer
but
it's
a
daily
walk
prayer
it's
how
you
enter
the
Christian
faith
it's
how
you
live
the
Christian
faith
and
I
just
encourage
you
to
these
will
be
online
if
you
want
to
you
God
says
in
his
word
he
hears
it
he'll
make
you
Jesus
and
what
better
thing
than
we
do
every
day
is
to
ask
the
Lord
to
grip
us
by
the
gospel
so
it
will
change
us
and
shape
us
and
push
us
and
pull
us
and
draw
us
and
you
know
when
you
have
this
security
to
know
that
it's
God
who
establishes
me
it's
not
me
who
establishes
myself
with
God
as
the
gospel
grips
us
we
begin
to
have
the
ability
to
look
into
ourselves
and
face
really
uncomfortable
truths
about
ourselves
next
prayer
please
actually
why don't
you read
this out
loud
with me
father
in
heaven
please
pour
out
your
Holy
spirit
upon
the
gospel
of
self
deception
and
grow
in
humble
penitent
self
knowledge
of
my
motives
you
see
as
we're
gripped
by
the
gospel
you
see
when
we
think
that
we
have
to
establish
a
relationship
with
God
it
is
terrible
to
maybe
confess
you
know
why
I
sing
so
loud
and
so
well
in
church
I'm
singing
so
loud
and
well
in
church
to
impress
the
people
around
me
or
I'm
singing
you
know
or
I'm
singing
really
loud
because
you
know
I
sing
loud
for
the
praise
choruses
but
I
don't
sing
the
hymns
because
I
don't
like
hymns
or
I
sing
loud
for
the
hymns
I
don't
sing
loud
for
the
praise
choruses
because
I
hate
praise
choruses
you
know
when
we're
trying
to
establish
ourselves
with
God
it's
really
hard
to
acknowledge
those
things
about
ourselves
but
when
realize
how
many
ways
we
deceive
ourselves
and
we
have
to
die
to
it
we
have
to
die
to
it
and
then
grow
in
this
other
thing
the
humble
penitent
self
knowledge
of
my
motives
the
final
prayer
I'm
going to
ask
you all
to
stand
I
mean
the
last
prayer
was that
negative
work
in a
sense
it's
the
prayer
for
no
right
father
I
don't
want
to
have
mixed
motives
I
don't
want
to
have
bad
motives
I
don't
want
to
have
unconscious
motives
that
drive
me
I
don't
want
to
have
self
deceptive
motives
I
want
to
say
no
to
all
of
those
things
right
there's
a
sense
that
there's
a
good
way
to
say
no
and
there's
a
way
to
say
yes
I
don't
want
to
look
to
self
deception
and
I
can
humbly
look
at
them
and
I
can
be
willing
to
repent
of
the
motives
I
see
in
my
life
as
bad
but
I
don't
want
to
say
no
to
bad
things
I
want
to
have
good
motives
I
want
to
put
the
brakes
to
those
things
in
my
life
that
are
self
deceiving
and
I
want
to
step
on
the
gas
pedal
to
go
for
those
things
that
will
make
my
motives
honest
and
simple
and
transparent
and
good
for
people
and
good
for
God's
glory
and
so
you
see
how
this
fundamental
prayer
being
gripped
by
the
gospel
it's
to
be
the
wellspring
the
motive
by
which
we
live
our
lives
I
invite
you
to
pray
this
prayer
with
me
Father
in
heaven
please
pour
out
your
Holy
Spirit
upon
me
and
make
me
a
disciple
of
Jesus
gripped
by
the
gospel
and
as
I
am
gripped
by
the
gospel
please
shape
my
motives
and
actions
as
I
live
for
your
glory
Father
pour
out
your
Holy
Spirit
upon
us
make
us
disciples
of
Jesus
gripped
by
the
gospel
who
are
living
for
your
glory
Father
we
ask
that
you
would
do
this
wonderful
work
in
our
lives
as
we're
gripped
by
who
Jesus
is
what
he
did
for
us
on
the
cross
and
how
you
establish
us
and
seal
us
when
we
put
our
hands
in
him
Father
thank
you
that
you
do
not
wait
until
we're
perfect
you
do
not
weigh
our
merits
but
you
give
us
Jesus
all
this
we
ask
in
Jesus
name
Amen