WEBVTT 00:00:00.540 --> 00:00:09.179 Did you see the New York Times article published on December 23rd, which stated that the average 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:14.480 American adult lives just 18 miles from his or her mother? 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:16.899 I read it. 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:20.320 If you read it, it might have confirmed a couple of thoughts you've had about Church 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:20.800 of the Advent. 00:00:21.080 --> 00:00:25.240 The first is, we are as strange and peculiar as we thought we were. 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:30.399 Most people in this room, I think, live far more than 18 miles from their mother, right? 00:00:30.439 --> 00:00:31.299 Just a few of us don't. 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:39.759 The second is, if you have experienced loneliness or disconnectedness in the city of Washington, 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:45.239 D.C., those feelings are probably normal, and probably a lot of people around you are 00:00:45.239 --> 00:00:47.459 experiencing or have experienced those feelings. 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:55.820 Last thought, it might confirm, if the Bible really describes the Church as God's family 00:00:55.820 --> 00:01:05.200 in the world, then right now we should be conforming ourselves to God's vision for what family 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:06.180 should look like. 00:01:06.780 --> 00:01:13.340 And if he makes promises concerning that family, that it's imperative that we claim those promises 00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:14.260 for ourselves. 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:22.200 The last two weeks, we've looked at these promises found in the Old Testament, what it means for 00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:25.480 God's people to be God's family in the world. 00:01:25.740 --> 00:01:32.320 The first week, which was three weeks ago, we looked at Genesis chapter 12, and in particular 00:01:32.320 --> 00:01:37.520 God's promise that he would make a family, one that covered the earth, and through this 00:01:37.520 --> 00:01:39.900 family all the peoples of the earth would be blessed. 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:47.900 In week two, which was two weeks ago, obviously, we looked at Isaiah 56, and we saw that this 00:01:47.900 --> 00:01:51.360 family that God is creating or will create is open to all. 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:57.740 It consists of the loneliest, the smallest, the weakest, the outsider. 00:01:58.340 --> 00:01:59.980 It's not for insiders. 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:03.160 It's not for the strongest or the most clever. 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:08.419 And today, we will look at how one enters that family. 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:15.500 And we enter God's family the same way that most people enter a family. 00:02:16.099 --> 00:02:17.259 We're born into it. 00:02:17.460 --> 00:02:17.979 We're born. 00:02:18.900 --> 00:02:24.500 And tonight, we're going to look at how this new birth is a matter of life and death. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:26.419 I'm not trying to be dramatic. 00:02:26.519 --> 00:02:27.479 Those are the two points. 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:28.460 We're going to look at life. 00:02:28.939 --> 00:02:29.840 We're going to look at death. 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:33.039 First, we're going to look at life. 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:35.599 We're going to look at new life that comes in Christ. 00:02:36.259 --> 00:02:43.500 But first, we need to ask God to help us, to give us wisdom and understanding to receive 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:46.699 and to get this passage from John chapter 3. 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:47.219 Let's pray. 00:02:47.219 --> 00:02:47.240 Let's pray. 00:02:53.699 --> 00:02:56.120 God, we would want a new life. 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:02.879 God, not just for ourselves as individuals, but for our church. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:06.020 And not just for our church, but for the people around us. 00:03:06.219 --> 00:03:11.800 For our families, our friends, our housemates, our neighbors. 00:03:18.259 --> 00:03:21.360 So would you help us to understand what this new life is? 00:03:21.480 --> 00:03:22.319 To receive it? 00:03:22.920 --> 00:03:24.039 To experience it? 00:03:24.099 --> 00:03:24.599 To live it? 00:03:26.300 --> 00:03:27.599 God, thank you for giving it. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:31.680 God, thank you for giving us your word that we might know you and understand you better. 00:03:33.239 --> 00:03:37.159 And that we might be members of your family. 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:38.919 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:03:38.979 --> 00:03:39.139 Amen. 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:47.019 So when Tommy read the passage from John, you would have heard Jesus say three times, 00:03:47.579 --> 00:03:48.819 truly, truly. 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:50.479 Some translations will say, 00:03:50.939 --> 00:03:52.459 verily I say unto you. 00:03:52.459 --> 00:03:55.039 In the original Greek, Jesus says, 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:56.000 Amen. 00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:57.199 Amen. 00:03:57.599 --> 00:03:58.079 Amen. 00:03:58.199 --> 00:03:58.400 Amen. 00:03:58.400 --> 00:03:58.479 Amen. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:03:58.599 Amen. 00:03:58.599 --> 00:04:00.439 You must be born again. 00:04:01.019 --> 00:04:01.460 Amen. 00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:02.539 Amen. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:05.659 You must be born of water and the Spirit. 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:09.500 With power and authority, 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:12.859 Jesus is saying, 00:04:13.019 --> 00:04:14.139 you must get this. 00:04:14.219 --> 00:04:16.040 You must receive this. 00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:19.259 You must take your whole life on this. 00:04:19.659 --> 00:04:22.620 You must have new life on God's terms. 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:30.600 So what in this conversation with Nicodemus causes Jesus to say this so emphatically? 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:37.700 It reminds me of a friend of mine who raises Akita dogs. 00:04:37.700 --> 00:04:40.060 These are really big, muscular, thick dogs. 00:04:40.060 --> 00:04:41.600 And one time he snapped. 00:04:41.980 --> 00:04:43.300 The dog snapped at his wife. 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:46.160 And asked, what did you do? 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.480 Well, my friend said, well, I took the dog by the jowls. 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:53.980 I pinned it to the ground and looked into his eyes until he stared away. 00:04:54.620 --> 00:04:55.400 I thought, how frightening. 00:04:58.680 --> 00:04:59.620 For the dog. 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:00.620 If you knew my friend. 00:05:01.960 --> 00:05:02.220 Yeah. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:02.879 Yeah. 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:05.839 And when I read Jesus saying, truly, truly, 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:11.939 I feel like he is looking into my eyes with authority and power as my master saying, 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:12.959 you have to get this. 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:14.159 You have to get this. 00:05:16.719 --> 00:05:20.319 The passage tells us that Nicodemus was a man of the Pharisees 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:22.360 and a ruler of the Jews. 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:24.219 He's brilliant. 00:05:24.459 --> 00:05:25.219 He's powerful. 00:05:25.219 --> 00:05:26.199 And he's devout. 00:05:27.159 --> 00:05:30.159 Now, the Judaism that Nicodemus and Jesus both knew 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:34.800 had a good deal to do with being born into the right family. 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:40.540 What mattered in Nicodemus' day was being a child of Abraham. 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:46.400 And if you're born of this family, you need to keep the house rules, 00:05:46.580 --> 00:05:49.920 which are being circumcised, keeping the Sabbath, 00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:54.440 keeping and following the Jewish law and tradition, 00:05:54.440 --> 00:05:56.260 both written and oral. 00:05:56.259 --> 00:06:02.579 And this qualifies you to enter and receive the kingdom of God. 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:09.039 Now, for Nicodemus, to see the kingdom of God was to participate in the kingdom 00:06:09.039 --> 00:06:10.319 at the end of the age, 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:14.339 to experience eternal resurrection life. 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:17.159 Here, Jesus is saying, 00:06:17.579 --> 00:06:23.060 God is starting a new family in which this ordinary birth is not enough. 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:26.800 You need to be born all over again, born from above. 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:31.500 And that resurrection life begins here and now. 00:06:32.220 --> 00:06:34.939 Now, as an aside, ever since the 60s and 70s, 00:06:34.980 --> 00:06:38.480 the phrase born again has acquired all kinds of different 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:41.980 and often negative secondary meanings and connotations. 00:06:42.340 --> 00:06:43.939 When Jesus says it in Greek, 00:06:44.100 --> 00:06:47.680 it can be understood as both born again and born from above. 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:49.639 It means, the same word means both. 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:52.699 And we're going to assume they mean both. 00:06:52.699 --> 00:06:54.379 He means both at the same time. 00:06:54.779 --> 00:06:56.699 And because of that, I'm going to use them interchangeably. 00:06:57.879 --> 00:06:58.240 Okay. 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:00.899 But anyway, the key to this, being born again, 00:07:01.479 --> 00:07:03.539 being born from above, is transformation. 00:07:05.060 --> 00:07:07.039 Nicodemus had for years taught others 00:07:07.039 --> 00:07:09.839 the conditions of entrance into the kingdom of God, 00:07:10.659 --> 00:07:13.319 conditions cast in terms of obedience to God's commands, 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:17.360 devotion to God, and happy submission to his will. 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:22.199 But here, Nicodemus is facing a condition he has never heard expressed, 00:07:22.500 --> 00:07:25.699 the absolute requirements of birth from above. 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:31.080 Now, he doesn't really think that Jesus is saying that one must once again 00:07:31.080 --> 00:07:33.160 enter the womb of one's mother. 00:07:34.280 --> 00:07:39.000 Jesus, excuse me, Nicodemus' response is one of incredulity. 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:41.300 He was amazed at the very category. 00:07:41.300 --> 00:07:43.840 New life, new birth. 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.520 Well, this new birth takes place through God's initiative. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:48.160 Okay? 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:52.560 It takes place through God's initiative, as John says earlier in chapter 1, 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:55.740 in which we hear every year at the Lessons and Carol service. 00:07:55.740 --> 00:07:59.319 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:01.480 he gave the right to become children of God, 00:08:02.379 --> 00:08:08.699 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:12.199 nor of the will of man, but of God. 00:08:14.180 --> 00:08:19.060 Here again, we see in scriptures the uniqueness of the Christian religion. 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:23.160 It is not man that seeks God, but God that seeks man. 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:29.240 It's not man that attempts to ascend to heaven, but God descends to earth. 00:08:29.640 --> 00:08:36.100 Jesus, forsaking his own life to rescue us and bring us into relationship with his Father 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:38.820 to give us new life. 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:47.320 We are born from above, transformed, and being transformed into the image of the Father. 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:48.300 How does that happen? 00:08:48.299 --> 00:08:53.559 Jesus says you must be born of water and the Spirit. 00:08:54.659 --> 00:09:00.399 Now, last week, Tommy ended a sermon by saying that water is thicker than blood. 00:09:02.059 --> 00:09:07.339 The sign that we have been brought into the family is water baptism. 00:09:07.340 --> 00:09:12.540 And if you've never seen a baptism, we'll do them on Easter Sunday. 00:09:12.800 --> 00:09:15.100 That's March 27th. 00:09:15.160 --> 00:09:15.759 Don't miss it. 00:09:16.340 --> 00:09:19.360 Baptism is a seal of the promises he has made to us. 00:09:19.920 --> 00:09:21.780 That seal signifies ownership. 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:22.980 It's a seal. 00:09:23.800 --> 00:09:27.320 It signifies ownership and security and membership into God's family. 00:09:27.800 --> 00:09:32.540 To be baptized is to become a child in the household of the Father and a brother to Jesus Christ. 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:38.599 Because to be baptized is to be inducted into the family of God, the body of Christ. 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:50.139 Now, on the other side of this coin is being born in the Spirit. 00:09:51.139 --> 00:09:54.679 It's new life bubbling up from within. 00:09:54.819 --> 00:10:00.139 The Holy Spirit indwelling us, causing new life, a new heart. 00:10:00.139 --> 00:10:04.179 Water and Spirit are closely joined. 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:11.480 Nobody in the early church supposed that Spirit baptism mattered so much that you could do without water baptism. 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:16.519 Now, there are many instances in the New Testament where Jesus needs to correct this. 00:10:17.059 --> 00:10:21.720 Those who are baptized with water but don't seem to be baptized with the Spirit. 00:10:21.779 --> 00:10:24.460 Those who aren't acting in accordance with God's will and commands. 00:10:24.460 --> 00:10:30.400 The point in this passage is that this double-sided new birth, 00:10:31.060 --> 00:10:34.300 which brings you into the visible community of God's family, 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:36.120 water baptism, 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:41.320 and which gives you the new life of the Spirit welling up like a spring of water inside you, 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:42.759 which is spirit baptism, 00:10:43.420 --> 00:10:46.259 was now required for membership in God's kingdom. 00:10:46.259 --> 00:10:50.399 Now, hundreds of years before this, 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:52.059 Ezekiel prophesied this. 00:10:52.500 --> 00:10:57.059 In Ezekiel 37, which we heard Brian read for us earlier tonight, 00:10:57.279 --> 00:10:58.759 we find God saying, 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:00.740 I will sprinkle clean water on you, 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:03.659 and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses. 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:06.340 And from all your idols I will cleanse you, 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:10.860 and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you. 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:14.240 I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:16.980 and give you a heart, a flesh, 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:21.000 and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:23.259 and be careful to obey my rules. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:27.980 Apparently, Nicodemus had not thought of this passage, 00:11:28.100 --> 00:11:29.440 and other passages this way, 00:11:29.779 --> 00:11:33.919 that we need individual regeneration. 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:37.039 If he was like some other Pharisees, 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:41.099 he was too confident of the quality of his own obedience 00:11:41.099 --> 00:11:44.259 to think that he needed much repentance. 00:11:45.639 --> 00:11:46.240 Repentance. 00:11:46.299 --> 00:11:46.939 What is repentance? 00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:49.179 It's turning, right? 00:11:50.219 --> 00:11:53.719 I think we should think of repentance as an act of death, 00:11:54.659 --> 00:11:56.259 of death to ourselves, 00:11:57.019 --> 00:12:01.439 and our sinful inclinations as we turn to God and into new life. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:05.819 Do you know who Peter Thiel is? 00:12:05.820 --> 00:12:07.000 He's a billionaire. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:08.460 He co-founded PayPal. 00:12:08.900 --> 00:12:11.580 He's now focusing on anti-aging research. 00:12:12.680 --> 00:12:14.560 One time he was speaking about these initiatives, 00:12:15.140 --> 00:12:17.580 and he said, quite simply, 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:23.080 I think that the thing that's really incompatible with life is death. 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:25.760 And it's true. 00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:27.980 Like, life is, to him, 00:12:28.060 --> 00:12:29.600 and I think to most of us, 00:12:29.640 --> 00:12:31.320 a self-evident good. 00:12:31.820 --> 00:12:34.580 And death is the opposite of life. 00:12:34.580 --> 00:12:36.960 So how profound is what he said? 00:12:37.020 --> 00:12:38.400 That's what Jesus came to bring. 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:43.200 And as Christians, we know death to be our great enemy. 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:48.220 Yet the converse of what he said is equally true, 00:12:48.900 --> 00:12:50.520 and ironically true, 00:12:51.020 --> 00:12:54.040 that life requires death. 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:57.000 And that's our second point. 00:12:57.939 --> 00:13:00.159 New life requires death. 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:08.639 Over the last month, I've been reading on the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:11.480 Athanasius concerns... 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:13.059 Athanasius... 00:13:13.059 --> 00:13:14.899 Athanasius... 00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:15.599 Slow down, Bielman. 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:20.159 Athanasius concerns himself with this point, 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:23.700 that humanity's great enemy is death. 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:28.340 How would God overcome this enemy on behalf of humankind? 00:13:29.920 --> 00:13:31.320 So Athanasius writes, 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:36.420 But since the Savior is raising the body, 00:13:36.420 --> 00:13:37.420 which is the resurrection, 00:13:38.400 --> 00:13:41.060 no longer is death fearsome, 00:13:41.800 --> 00:13:45.960 but all believers in Christ tread on it as nothing, 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:50.640 and would rather choose to die than deny their faith in Christ. 00:13:51.800 --> 00:13:54.260 For they really know that when they die, 00:13:54.340 --> 00:13:55.360 they are not destroyed, 00:13:55.360 --> 00:14:01.320 but both live and become incorruptible through the resurrection. 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:05.620 Human beings, before believing in Christ, 00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:09.519 view death as fearsome and are terrified at it. 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:14.019 But when they come to faith in him and to his teaching, 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:19.039 they so despise death that they eagerly rush to it 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:22.720 and become witnesses to the resurrection over it, 00:14:23.220 --> 00:14:24.399 affected by the Savior. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:26.000 End quote. 00:14:27.139 --> 00:14:28.159 Now, could we do that? 00:14:29.680 --> 00:14:32.899 Would we be so confident in the resurrection 00:14:32.899 --> 00:14:35.500 that we wouldn't fear death? 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:38.440 That if we were being persecuted 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:40.480 and faced the prospect of martyrdom, 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:44.080 that we would go against the human nature to survive, 00:14:44.860 --> 00:14:47.360 and that we would do as our brothers and sisters did back then, 00:14:48.100 --> 00:14:50.120 and that they still do today in the Middle East, 00:14:50.560 --> 00:14:52.580 and we would so despise death 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:54.259 that we would eagerly rush to it 00:14:54.259 --> 00:14:56.279 and become witnesses to the resurrection? 00:14:57.879 --> 00:15:00.960 If we want to attain that level of confidence and courage 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:04.059 that our brothers and sisters had in Athanasius' day, 00:15:05.059 --> 00:15:07.340 or that many of our martyred brothers, 00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:11.179 I'm thinking of the 21 on the shore of North Libya, 00:15:11.179 --> 00:15:15.539 if we would have that kind of confidence and courage, 00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:19.879 then perhaps the key lies in something that Athanasius says just a little bit later. 00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:27.979 He refers to men and women despising this present life and practicing dying. 00:15:28.479 --> 00:15:29.579 What an interesting phrase. 00:15:30.579 --> 00:15:31.620 Practicing dying. 00:15:31.620 --> 00:15:33.740 What would that mean? 00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:38.639 It means that you would so prefer the love of Christ 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:42.139 and your life in Christ 00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:45.440 that you would do without the things of this world 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:47.759 that would compete for that love. 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:50.100 You'd die to yourself. 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:52.319 You'd die to your desires. 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:55.039 You'd die to your sinful tendencies. 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:58.360 You'd die to the things that are giving you life apart from God. 00:15:58.580 --> 00:16:00.600 You'd die to the things that you would hate to lose 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:01.840 if you had to depart this world. 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:04.019 And this is our application for today, 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:06.319 that living a life, a new life, 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:07.439 a born-again life, 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:08.840 a life from above, 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:09.580 means dying. 00:16:09.580 --> 00:16:12.680 In 11 days, 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:14.960 the season of Lent begins. 00:16:15.460 --> 00:16:16.700 This is the time of year, 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:19.500 the 40 days between Ash Wednesday 00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:21.200 and Easter Sunday, 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:23.040 that Christians around the world 00:16:23.040 --> 00:16:25.020 take a deep, hard look at themselves 00:16:25.020 --> 00:16:26.500 and at their desires 00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:28.360 and choose to give up things 00:16:28.360 --> 00:16:30.220 that would compete with their love for Christ. 00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:33.360 They take stock and see, 00:16:33.540 --> 00:16:33.940 like, wow, 00:16:34.379 --> 00:16:35.920 social media has assumed 00:16:35.920 --> 00:16:37.840 too dominant a place in my life. 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:41.139 Or I too easily go to a glass of wine 00:16:41.139 --> 00:16:42.160 or to sweets 00:16:42.160 --> 00:16:44.580 or to binge-watching on Netflix 00:16:44.580 --> 00:16:46.840 to attain confidence or life 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:48.000 or release. 00:16:49.300 --> 00:16:51.480 I do these things instead of going to God. 00:16:53.280 --> 00:16:56.080 Last year, I gave up buying cups. 00:16:56.379 --> 00:16:57.800 This is my Lent from last year. 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:00.600 I gave up buying cups of coffee from stores, 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:02.139 like Starbucks and what have you. 00:17:03.560 --> 00:17:07.059 I would find myself walking by a store. 00:17:07.059 --> 00:17:09.480 Like, one day I found myself walking by an LPQ, 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:10.359 Le Pong, Quotidian. 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:12.819 And the next thing I know, 00:17:12.879 --> 00:17:14.000 I'm outside that same store 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:15.099 with a cup of coffee in my hand. 00:17:15.139 --> 00:17:15.399 Like, what? 00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:16.240 How did that happen? 00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:17.240 Like, without thinking, 00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:18.019 I just went in, 00:17:18.259 --> 00:17:19.000 got a cup of coffee, 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:19.639 and walked out. 00:17:19.700 --> 00:17:20.579 Like, just randomly. 00:17:21.579 --> 00:17:21.859 Yikes. 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:25.639 You know, if we give our money, 00:17:25.879 --> 00:17:27.379 like, to the things that we love, 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:28.659 can we take that as a maxim? 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:29.519 Then I was, 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:31.399 I saw how this ritual was giving 00:17:31.399 --> 00:17:33.059 my love for Christ competition. 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:35.059 So I cut that out for Lent. 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:35.579 For Lent. 00:17:36.819 --> 00:17:37.919 I gave up something else. 00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:39.200 I gave up, 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:40.579 I gave up resentment. 00:17:41.859 --> 00:17:44.359 And I found that I had been 00:17:44.359 --> 00:17:45.399 nursing a grudge. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:48.399 And, you know, 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:48.960 it was thrilling. 00:17:49.059 --> 00:17:49.759 It was life-giving 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:51.940 to nurse that grudge. 00:17:54.059 --> 00:17:55.879 And think about that phrase, 00:17:56.460 --> 00:17:57.359 nursing a grudge. 00:17:59.639 --> 00:18:00.480 Imagine nursing. 00:18:00.819 --> 00:18:01.720 Like, it's not hard for me 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:03.420 to imagine that as I get older, 00:18:03.940 --> 00:18:04.579 I haven't worked out 00:18:04.579 --> 00:18:05.339 in a few years, 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:06.200 and my, 00:18:06.259 --> 00:18:06.660 my, 00:18:07.700 --> 00:18:08.860 never mind. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:11.019 Forget it. 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:11.940 But, 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:13.059 we, 00:18:13.180 --> 00:18:14.940 we keep a grudge 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:16.579 close to our hearts, 00:18:17.240 --> 00:18:18.980 and, 00:18:19.100 --> 00:18:20.240 and nurse it. 00:18:20.819 --> 00:18:21.059 You know, 00:18:21.079 --> 00:18:22.100 had I opened up 00:18:22.100 --> 00:18:23.500 the overcoat of my soul, 00:18:24.140 --> 00:18:26.700 you would have seen me 00:18:26.700 --> 00:18:27.819 keeping this monster 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:28.640 at my breast, 00:18:28.980 --> 00:18:29.200 right? 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:29.840 Daily, 00:18:30.420 --> 00:18:31.559 hourly nursing it 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:33.259 with resentful thoughts 00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:34.420 and feelings 00:18:34.420 --> 00:18:37.080 until it become part of my life, 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:38.920 like a tumor. 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:42.440 My, 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:44.539 my Lenten practice, 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:47.259 how I practiced dying, 00:18:47.819 --> 00:18:49.480 was to pray for this person 00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:49.980 every day. 00:18:50.940 --> 00:18:52.059 And each time I prayed, 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:53.340 it was like cutting 00:18:53.340 --> 00:18:54.220 into this tumor. 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:54.339 Easter. 00:18:55.539 --> 00:18:56.839 And it was painful. 00:18:58.299 --> 00:18:59.700 To pray for this person 00:18:59.700 --> 00:19:01.019 felt like death to me. 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:02.180 It felt like dying. 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:05.319 But at the end of Lent, 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:07.759 I feel like I experienced 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:08.539 new life. 00:19:10.140 --> 00:19:10.279 Like, 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.799 Easter felt like resurrection. 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:14.720 I felt forgiveness 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:15.700 for this person. 00:19:16.620 --> 00:19:16.799 You know, 00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:16.940 I, 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:18.140 I felt great, 00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:19.180 as one often does 00:19:19.180 --> 00:19:20.680 when they stop drinking poison, 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:21.220 right? 00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:21.460 It's, 00:19:21.620 --> 00:19:27.960 so I didn't grow up 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:29.100 in the Anglican tradition. 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:29.860 And so, 00:19:30.140 --> 00:19:31.400 Lent is probably 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:32.140 as new to me 00:19:32.140 --> 00:19:33.299 as it is for many of you. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:34.980 And I might have said 00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:36.180 10, 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:36.920 20 years ago, 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:38.279 as some of you might say, 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:39.400 or could say, 00:19:39.960 --> 00:19:41.019 as an objection 00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:42.220 to observing Lent. 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:42.440 Like, 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:43.500 shouldn't we be doing that 00:19:43.500 --> 00:19:44.039 all year long? 00:19:44.120 --> 00:19:44.980 Shouldn't we be dying 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:45.600 to ourselves, 00:19:46.140 --> 00:19:46.900 giving up things 00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:47.880 that are wrong, 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:48.200 like, 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:48.980 all year long? 00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:49.579 And, 00:19:49.660 --> 00:19:51.940 and yes. 00:19:52.039 --> 00:19:52.140 Like, 00:19:52.180 --> 00:19:52.839 the answer is 00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:54.860 both and, 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:55.360 okay? 00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:57.599 Of course, 00:19:57.640 --> 00:19:58.259 we should be dying 00:19:58.259 --> 00:19:58.860 to ourselves 00:19:58.860 --> 00:19:59.839 all year long. 00:19:59.900 --> 00:20:00.360 It's just that 00:20:00.360 --> 00:20:01.660 we give repentance 00:20:01.660 --> 00:20:03.259 a seat of honor 00:20:03.259 --> 00:20:03.960 at the table 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:05.299 during Lenten season. 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:06.380 Just as we should be 00:20:06.380 --> 00:20:07.599 celebrating all year long, 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:08.759 we push celebration 00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:10.640 to a seat of honor 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:11.559 at the table 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:12.779 during Christmas 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:13.960 and Advent. 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:14.940 So, 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:16.299 over the next 11 days, 00:20:16.420 --> 00:20:17.259 consider what 00:20:17.259 --> 00:20:18.500 you can give up. 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:19.420 It's not a requirement. 00:20:20.420 --> 00:20:20.779 But give, 00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:21.619 consider what 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:22.240 you can give up 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:22.900 for Lent, 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:23.880 and we will be meeting 00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:26.019 here the morning 00:20:26.019 --> 00:20:27.819 of February 10th, 00:20:28.140 --> 00:20:29.259 7.30, 00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:31.240 or earlier, 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:32.839 7.30, 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:35.460 here in this room 00:20:35.460 --> 00:20:36.039 and celebrate 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:36.779 Ash Wednesday, 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:38.460 a day that we remember 00:20:38.460 --> 00:20:39.200 our mortality, 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:40.779 and we commit ourselves 00:20:40.779 --> 00:20:41.900 together to practicing 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:43.140 dying during the season 00:20:43.140 --> 00:20:43.680 of Lent. 00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:45.900 So, 00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:46.599 it's a both and, 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:46.799 right? 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:46.960 So, 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:47.539 we should be, 00:20:47.919 --> 00:20:49.819 we can practice this, 00:20:49.899 --> 00:20:50.680 we can practice dying 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:51.559 during Lent, 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:52.500 but we should be 00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:53.460 practicing this 00:20:53.460 --> 00:20:54.500 all year long. 00:20:54.539 --> 00:20:55.079 We should be dying 00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:55.839 to ourselves 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:57.539 every day. 00:20:58.759 --> 00:20:59.779 And that's what it means 00:20:59.779 --> 00:21:00.559 to have new life 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:01.399 in our new family 00:21:01.399 --> 00:21:03.139 when we are 00:21:03.139 --> 00:21:04.519 born from above, 00:21:04.899 --> 00:21:05.639 when we are born 00:21:05.639 --> 00:21:06.519 into God's family. 00:21:08.440 --> 00:21:09.500 Being a part 00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:10.700 of a family 00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:12.039 completely reshapes 00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:12.980 one's priorities. 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:16.059 in this family, 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:16.980 we die to our 00:21:16.980 --> 00:21:17.400 preferences 00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:18.019 and prefer 00:21:18.019 --> 00:21:19.279 one another instead. 00:21:20.220 --> 00:21:20.860 And this is why 00:21:20.860 --> 00:21:21.220 John, 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:21.740 in a letter 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:22.380 he would write 00:21:22.380 --> 00:21:23.319 later, 00:21:24.360 --> 00:21:24.980 which Alex 00:21:24.980 --> 00:21:26.079 read for us 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:26.539 earlier, 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:27.599 the book of 1 John, 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:28.880 John writes, 00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:30.799 everyone who believes 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:32.099 that Jesus is the Christ 00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:33.180 has been born of God, 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:34.680 and everyone 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:35.759 who loves the Father 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:37.279 loves whoever 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:38.039 has been born 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:38.860 of him. 00:21:38.859 --> 00:21:41.019 By this we know 00:21:41.019 --> 00:21:41.619 that we love 00:21:41.619 --> 00:21:42.579 the children of God 00:21:42.579 --> 00:21:43.759 when we love God 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:44.919 and obey his commandments. 00:21:46.939 --> 00:21:48.459 So what if we used Lent 00:21:48.459 --> 00:21:49.299 to ask our brothers 00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:49.899 and sisters, 00:21:50.099 --> 00:21:51.539 what are our blind spots? 00:21:52.159 --> 00:21:53.159 We can use the season 00:21:53.159 --> 00:21:53.859 as a checkup, 00:21:54.199 --> 00:21:55.099 asking those closest 00:21:55.099 --> 00:21:55.659 to us, 00:21:55.939 --> 00:21:56.740 what are the things 00:21:56.740 --> 00:21:57.799 about ourselves 00:21:57.799 --> 00:21:59.179 that we don't realize 00:21:59.179 --> 00:21:59.699 that are causing 00:21:59.699 --> 00:22:00.819 friction in the family 00:22:00.819 --> 00:22:02.039 or are undermining 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:02.619 our integrity? 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:03.899 Things that we're 00:22:03.899 --> 00:22:05.099 making idols out of, 00:22:05.139 --> 00:22:05.719 things that aren't 00:22:05.719 --> 00:22:06.539 easily visible 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:07.639 to us, 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:09.220 but are pretty 00:22:09.220 --> 00:22:10.080 obvious to others. 00:22:13.560 --> 00:22:14.920 Dying to ourselves 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:15.640 is the way 00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:16.600 we will get along 00:22:16.600 --> 00:22:17.900 and love each other 00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:18.220 deeply. 00:22:19.300 --> 00:22:20.200 It will be how 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:21.040 our church becomes 00:22:21.040 --> 00:22:22.060 a place of welcome 00:22:22.060 --> 00:22:22.980 and healing 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:23.700 for the world. 00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:27.040 This act of dying 00:22:27.040 --> 00:22:27.660 to ourselves, 00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:28.400 we must admit, 00:22:28.460 --> 00:22:29.520 is a supernatural feat. 00:22:29.840 --> 00:22:30.520 So where do we get 00:22:30.520 --> 00:22:31.500 the power to do this? 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:32.780 Where do we find 00:22:32.780 --> 00:22:33.580 the power to die 00:22:33.580 --> 00:22:34.259 to ourselves? 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:35.900 Look to your baptism. 00:22:35.900 --> 00:22:38.780 When we're saved 00:22:38.780 --> 00:22:39.940 by water and spirit, 00:22:40.140 --> 00:22:40.880 we are baptized 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:42.600 into the life of Christ. 00:22:43.100 --> 00:22:44.320 We are united to him 00:22:44.320 --> 00:22:44.920 in his death 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:45.880 and his resurrection. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:48.019 Not only does life 00:22:48.019 --> 00:22:49.019 require death, 00:22:49.019 --> 00:22:50.160 as I said earlier, 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:52.019 but life requires 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:52.840 a death. 00:22:53.460 --> 00:22:54.640 It requires one death. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:58.019 Jesus Christ came to earth 00:22:58.019 --> 00:22:58.600 and died 00:22:58.600 --> 00:23:00.880 that we might have life. 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:03.040 We read in the book 00:23:03.040 --> 00:23:04.760 of Numbers 00:23:04.760 --> 00:23:07.680 that during their wandering 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:08.320 in the wilderness, 00:23:08.520 --> 00:23:09.600 the Israelites grumbled 00:23:09.600 --> 00:23:10.580 against Moses 00:23:10.580 --> 00:23:12.420 and they were punished 00:23:12.420 --> 00:23:13.620 by poisonous snakes 00:23:13.620 --> 00:23:14.720 invading the camp, 00:23:15.760 --> 00:23:16.660 killing many of them. 00:23:18.040 --> 00:23:19.360 God gave Moses the remedy. 00:23:19.760 --> 00:23:20.620 He was to make a serpent 00:23:20.620 --> 00:23:21.500 out of bronze 00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:23.040 and put it on a pole 00:23:23.040 --> 00:23:24.240 and hold it up 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:25.580 for people to look at. 00:23:26.540 --> 00:23:27.820 Jesus cites this. 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:29.360 Oh, anyone who looked 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:30.839 at the serpent on the pole 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:31.459 would be saved 00:23:31.459 --> 00:23:32.479 and cured and healed? 00:23:32.959 --> 00:23:34.039 And Jesus cites 00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:36.139 this Old Testament narrative 00:23:36.139 --> 00:23:38.000 and he appropriates it. 00:23:38.839 --> 00:23:40.599 Jesus says in verses 14 and 15 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:41.599 of our passage tonight, 00:23:42.219 --> 00:23:43.159 and as Moses lifted up 00:23:43.159 --> 00:23:43.639 the serpent 00:23:43.639 --> 00:23:45.279 in the wilderness, 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:47.199 so must the Son of Man 00:23:47.199 --> 00:23:47.879 be lifted up 00:23:47.879 --> 00:23:49.500 that whoever believes in him 00:23:49.500 --> 00:23:50.679 may have eternal life. 00:23:51.439 --> 00:23:52.579 That's the frankest answer 00:23:52.579 --> 00:23:53.719 to Nicodemus' question. 00:23:54.139 --> 00:23:54.919 How can this happen? 00:23:55.179 --> 00:23:56.119 How can one be born again? 00:23:56.439 --> 00:23:57.259 The kingdom of God 00:23:57.259 --> 00:23:58.479 is seen or entered, 00:23:58.480 --> 00:23:59.900 new birth is experienced, 00:24:00.120 --> 00:24:01.240 and eternal life begins 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:03.400 through the saving cross work 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:04.360 of Christ, 00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:06.259 his death on the cross, 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:08.380 that work received by us 00:24:08.380 --> 00:24:09.099 in faith. 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:10.759 Jesus' response 00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:11.720 ultimately shows 00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:13.079 that Nicodemus' problem 00:24:13.079 --> 00:24:14.160 wasn't a problem 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:15.000 of understanding, 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:16.700 it was a problem of belief. 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:19.140 It wasn't about rules 00:24:19.140 --> 00:24:19.839 and concepts, 00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:21.759 it's about a person 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:23.440 who Jesus really is 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:24.440 and what he really has done 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:25.059 for humanity. 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:26.779 Humankind as a whole 00:24:26.779 --> 00:24:27.440 has been smitten 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:28.440 with a deadly disease. 00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:29.519 The only cure 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:30.900 is to look at the Son of Man, 00:24:31.100 --> 00:24:31.360 Jesus, 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:32.640 dying on the cross 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:34.259 and find life 00:24:34.259 --> 00:24:35.180 through believing in him. 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:37.380 Do you have new life? 00:24:39.420 --> 00:24:40.279 That's the question. 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:41.720 That's really the only question 00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:43.340 to ask after reading 00:24:43.340 --> 00:24:44.120 this passage, right? 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:46.400 Do you have new life? 00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:50.279 Have you been born again? 00:24:51.180 --> 00:24:52.360 Have you been born from above? 00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:58.479 If you haven't 00:24:58.479 --> 00:25:01.439 and you want new life, 00:25:02.399 --> 00:25:04.379 the answer is to look to Jesus. 00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:08.679 Look to the person of Jesus. 00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:11.219 Talk to me 00:25:11.219 --> 00:25:12.139 or Tommy 00:25:12.139 --> 00:25:13.059 or Josh 00:25:13.059 --> 00:25:14.659 or any of our prayer ministers 00:25:14.659 --> 00:25:15.779 who congregate here 00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:16.659 during communion 00:25:16.659 --> 00:25:19.479 and we can show you the way 00:25:19.479 --> 00:25:20.399 how to put your life 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:21.580 in submission to Christ, 00:25:22.040 --> 00:25:22.680 how to be trusting 00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:23.700 in the work of Christ 00:25:23.700 --> 00:25:25.380 for forgiveness of sins, 00:25:25.860 --> 00:25:26.960 for eternal life, 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:28.360 and for access 00:25:28.360 --> 00:25:29.400 to an intimate relationship 00:25:30.040 --> 00:25:31.040 with God the Father. 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:35.240 Now, have you been born again 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:35.880 and you know 00:25:35.880 --> 00:25:36.759 you're in the family, 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:38.300 but it doesn't feel like 00:25:38.300 --> 00:25:39.100 you're experiencing 00:25:39.100 --> 00:25:40.080 this new life? 00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:44.019 You don't feel, 00:25:44.500 --> 00:25:45.360 experience the joy 00:25:45.360 --> 00:25:45.880 that comes from 00:25:45.880 --> 00:25:47.040 having your sins forgiven 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:48.299 and your relationship 00:25:48.299 --> 00:25:49.940 with the Father restored. 00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:52.159 And the answer is the same. 00:25:53.259 --> 00:25:54.019 Look to Jesus. 00:25:55.059 --> 00:25:56.059 Look to Jesus. 00:25:56.500 --> 00:25:57.819 Precisely because evil lurks 00:25:57.819 --> 00:25:58.899 deep within each of us 00:25:58.899 --> 00:26:00.539 for healing to take place, 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:01.599 we must ourselves 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:03.000 be involved in the process. 00:26:03.339 --> 00:26:03.920 This doesn't mean 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:05.460 that we just try harder 00:26:05.460 --> 00:26:07.000 to be better, 00:26:07.379 --> 00:26:08.519 to pull ourselves up 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:10.259 by our bootstraps. 00:26:10.859 --> 00:26:12.079 All we can do, 00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:13.420 just as it was 00:26:13.420 --> 00:26:15.039 all the Israelites could do 00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:15.700 in the desert, 00:26:16.539 --> 00:26:17.339 is to look 00:26:17.339 --> 00:26:18.700 and to trust. 00:26:19.859 --> 00:26:20.759 Look at Jesus. 00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:22.759 See in him 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:23.920 the full display 00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:25.599 of God's saving love 00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:27.099 and to trust in him. 00:26:29.740 --> 00:26:30.899 When we're born from above, 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:31.920 we're born into a family 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:32.720 and Jesus becomes 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:33.299 our big brother. 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:34.440 So let me leave you 00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:35.000 with a story 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:35.779 about two brothers. 00:26:36.519 --> 00:26:37.000 It's a story 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:37.980 that singer-songwriter 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:39.299 Sandra McCracken tells 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:41.039 about two young boys 00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:41.639 in Missouri 00:26:41.639 --> 00:26:43.180 who spent their summer 00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:43.980 playing by some 00:26:43.980 --> 00:26:45.259 sandbag levees. 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:46.940 These levees 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:47.440 had held back 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:48.599 some of the extreme flooding 00:26:48.599 --> 00:26:49.279 that had happened 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:50.259 over the past decade 00:26:50.259 --> 00:26:51.799 on the Mississippi River. 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:54.440 But the levees broke 00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:55.920 and the boys 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:56.759 found themselves 00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:57.480 in quicksand. 00:26:58.860 --> 00:26:59.960 When rescue workers 00:26:59.960 --> 00:27:01.079 finally found them 00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:01.880 and came to them, 00:27:02.599 --> 00:27:03.240 they found 00:27:03.240 --> 00:27:04.579 only the young boy. 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:07.059 So the rescuers asked, 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:07.920 where's your older brother? 00:27:08.920 --> 00:27:09.420 And he said, 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:10.059 he's here. 00:27:10.860 --> 00:27:11.640 I'm standing 00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:12.279 on his shoulders. 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:16.940 The older brother 00:27:16.940 --> 00:27:18.180 had sacrificed his life 00:27:18.180 --> 00:27:19.399 to save his younger brother. 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:24.619 Just as this young boy 00:27:24.619 --> 00:27:25.279 needed saving, 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:26.180 we too 00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:27.480 were once sinking 00:27:27.480 --> 00:27:28.240 in the sand 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:28.980 of our sin 00:27:28.980 --> 00:27:29.799 and it took 00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:30.839 our older brother Jesus 00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:32.139 to sacrifice himself 00:27:32.139 --> 00:27:34.299 so we could be saved. 00:27:34.359 --> 00:27:35.420 And like the little boy, 00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:37.139 we are still 00:27:37.139 --> 00:27:38.160 in the sand of sin 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:38.720 but saved 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:39.220 from the death 00:27:39.220 --> 00:27:39.839 it would cause. 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:42.159 we stand on Jesus' shoulders 00:27:42.159 --> 00:27:43.720 and one day 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:44.879 the rescue worker Jesus 00:27:44.879 --> 00:27:45.679 will come back 00:27:45.679 --> 00:27:46.740 and pull us out completely. 00:27:48.819 --> 00:27:49.699 That's what it means 00:27:49.699 --> 00:27:50.299 to be saved 00:27:50.299 --> 00:27:52.079 and to have eternal life. 00:27:52.399 --> 00:27:53.299 So believe in him, 00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:54.079 look to him, 00:27:54.299 --> 00:27:54.959 trust in him, 00:27:55.579 --> 00:27:57.019 maybe for the first time, 00:27:57.379 --> 00:27:58.959 maybe for the thousandth time. 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:00.399 Look to Jesus 00:28:00.399 --> 00:28:01.740 in the name of the Father 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:02.699 and of the Son 00:28:02.699 --> 00:28:04.119 and of the Holy Spirit. 00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:05.579 let's pray. 00:28:16.159 --> 00:28:16.559 Father, 00:28:16.659 --> 00:28:17.599 we give you glory 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:18.359 for your plan 00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:19.979 to rescue humankind 00:28:19.979 --> 00:28:21.339 stuck 00:28:21.339 --> 00:28:22.439 in the quicksand 00:28:22.439 --> 00:28:23.059 of sin 00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:23.819 and death 00:28:23.819 --> 00:28:25.119 for sending 00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:25.939 your Son Jesus 00:28:25.939 --> 00:28:27.259 to die for us 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:31.819 and to rise again 00:28:31.819 --> 00:28:33.019 that we might experience 00:28:33.019 --> 00:28:33.779 new life 00:28:33.779 --> 00:28:34.400 that death 00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:35.119 and sin 00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:35.779 would be conquered 00:28:35.779 --> 00:28:36.619 and we could experience 00:28:36.619 --> 00:28:37.200 life forever 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:37.879 with you 00:28:37.879 --> 00:28:38.700 forever 00:28:38.700 --> 00:28:39.859 but even in the here 00:28:39.859 --> 00:28:40.359 and now 00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:41.000 new, 00:28:41.220 --> 00:28:42.579 abundant life 00:28:42.579 --> 00:28:43.480 in the midst 00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:44.319 of our suffering 00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:45.259 in the midst 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:45.859 of our pain. 00:28:45.859 --> 00:28:45.940 Amen. 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:46.059 Amen. 00:28:46.059 --> 00:28:46.160 Amen. 00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:46.559 Amen. 00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:47.059 Amen. 00:28:47.059 --> 00:28:47.160 Amen. 00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:47.259 Amen. 00:28:47.259 --> 00:28:47.279 Amen. 00:28:47.279 --> 00:28:47.339 Amen. 00:28:47.339 --> 00:28:47.400 Amen. 00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:47.420 Amen. 00:28:47.420 --> 00:28:47.480 Amen. 00:28:47.480 --> 00:28:48.019 Amen. 00:28:57.259 --> 00:28:57.420 Amen. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:28:59.799 Amen. 00:28:59.799 --> 00:29:00.400 Amen. 00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:01.619 Jesus, 00:29:01.700 --> 00:29:02.400 thank you for dying 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:03.200 that we might live. 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:07.480 It's in your name we pray, 00:29:07.640 --> 00:29:07.940 Jesus, 00:29:08.099 --> 00:29:08.559 our Savior, 00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:09.279 our big brother. 00:29:09.700 --> 00:29:09.920 Amen.