In Romans 1 we read,
Great. Thank you, Victoria.
Will you join me as we pray?
Let's come before our Father.
And just, if you're new, this is something we do every week.
This isn't me praying.
This is us as a church praying.
So agree with me.
Join in me.
Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, gracious Lord,
we come before you this morning to adore you and to worship you.
We come before you to sing your praises,
to remind ourselves, to remind one another of your greatness and your grace,
of your majesty and your mercy.
We come to proclaim your worth, God, that there's no one like you.
There's none in all creation that even comes close to being compared to you.
God, you are majestic and sovereign and glorious and wonderful.
And God, you are tender and gracious and gentle and so patient and so forgiving and so kind.
God, where could we go to find one like you?
God, we come to worship you and adore you this morning,
to find rest for our hearts and peace, God, in troubled times.
Father, thank you for your word that speaks to our hearts.
God, thank you for the wonder of the scriptures that aren't just good advice,
but it's your proclamation of good news to us, Lord.
Lord, and as we look at this passage in Romans 1 again today,
and as we consider the gospel,
Lord, we pray that for us as a church,
you'll calibrate our hearts or recalibrate our hearts with the truth of the gospel.
God, won't you realign our hearts to your hearts?
Jesus, come and do a deep work in us, I pray.
Fathers, over these weeks, we consider the good news of the gospel.
We pray that you set us free.
We pray, God, that you arrest our insecurities and our fears.
We pray, God, that you humble us of our pride.
And Jesus, come and make us more like you.
God, we really do want to be a gospel-centered church,
and so we ask you to come and do that in our midst.
But God, as the gospel goes deeper into us,
we pray also that the gospel will go through us to this great city,
that many people will come to know you,
come to know the life and the truth and the wonder of Jesus
because of ordinary people like us.
God, we pray that our friends and our family and our neighbors and our colleagues
and those we play sports with and those we interact with,
that God, some way we'll be able to share the wonderful news of Jesus with them.
We pray this Chinese New Year, God, as we get together with family
and as we are reunited, we pray, God, for opportunities to share the wonder of Jesus.
God, we pray that the gospel will go through us.
Father, we pray also for our great continent of Asia,
billions and billions of people that do not know you.
Father, we want to pray for churches and missionaries across Asia,
those that are in China and Korea and Japan and Mongolia and Indonesia and Bangladesh
and Pakistan and Myanmar and Malaysia.
God, we pray that across Asia a revival of the gospel will spread.
We pray for those that don't know you, God,
and we pray for our brothers and sisters across this continent that do know you.
Pray this morning you encourage them and strengthen them.
We pray for this great continent of ours.
Lord, we want to pray for Amelia, our sister in Taiwan.
We pray today, won't you encourage her and strengthen her.
Flood her with your love this morning, God.
Finally, God, we want to pray this morning for our friends Chris and Fiona
in the final weeks of sabbatical.
As they come back at the end of this month, we pray for them.
As they're spending good time with their family in the UK,
we pray that it will be a rich time, a rewarding time.
So I want you to be with them.
Pray for Chris and Fiona and little Etienne.
Encourage them and strengthen them.
We pray that they come back to Watermark so full of faith and courage, God.
And so be with our friends, we pray.
We pray these things in your wonderful and your powerful name.
Amen.
Okay.
We are in a series called Watermark Essentials.
And we are looking at the Watermark values,
these things that we talk about all the time.
And just like banks and schools and corporations and any NGO,
it's very easy for the values, the things that we talk about,
the things that are on the website and on posters and that,
just to merely be theoretical or aspirational,
things that we hope we will one day become.
But as a church, these values that we talk about,
gospel, community, and mission,
these are things that we don't just want to be theoretical.
We want them to be actual.
We want them to be the reality of our lives and our church.
And so we're taking a couple of weeks to talk through these
and to explain them and to dive back into the scripture
and to look at these things.
And we are starting off by looking at this thing called the gospel.
And the question we're asking is,
what is the gospel and what's the big deal about it?
Why is it that at Watermark,
we are always talking about the gospel?
What does gospel-centered actually mean anyway?
Why is it so special?
And why do we not shut up about this thing called the gospel?
Now, if you weren't here last week,
we started off last week and we said that the gospel
is the announcement of God's good news.
Not just his good advice about how to live your life.
That's one of the most important distinctions.
The gospel isn't just good advice how to become a nicer person.
It's the announcement of God's good news.
And we said that this good news, it leaks from our hearts.
Or we forget it.
Now, we don't forget the data points.
But its vividness, its potency leaks from our hearts.
And when that happens,
we lose some of the power of the gospel to transform us.
And so at Watermark,
one of the things we try to do is we want to be a church
that isn't only referencing the gospel
or considering the gospel.
We want to be a church that really,
our lives and as a church,
we are centered on the gospel.
We are empowered by the gospel.
So another way of saying that is,
as a church,
we really do believe that the commands
and the instructions that Jesus gives us,
all the things we find in the Bible,
these are good things.
These are important things.
We really do want to follow Jesus.
We really do want to live lives that honor Him
and glorify Him.
Jesus said,
Be holy as I am holy.
We want to do that.
But at the same time,
we want to be empowered by the gospel.
And we've realized the only way we can live the lives
that God has called us to
is from deep meditation,
deep reflection,
and deep heartfelt response
to who God is
and the good news of the gospel.
And so that's one of the things that,
as a church,
we're passionate about.
And that means that,
as a church,
we don't just want to consider the gospel
the way into the Christian life.
It's the way of the Christian life.
It's not just the way you become a Christian.
It's the way that you grow as a Christian
and become the Christian
that God has called us to be.
And so today,
I want us to explore that a little bit further.
And in order to do that,
let's just go back and recap
what exactly is the gospel.
And so one of the things we said last week
is this good news announcement
of the good news.
And the reason it's good news
is because there was prior to that
some bad news.
And the bad news is our sin, right?
And sin is not just the bad things we do,
like lying or stealing
or being dishonest
or having an affair.
Okay, that is a bad thing.
We shouldn't do that.
Okay, don't do those things.
That's not good.
But sin is actually far more than that.
Sin is the orientation of our hearts
that says,
I want to be my own God.
I want to live for myself.
At its essence,
sin is a rejection
of the one true God
and His role
as being Lord of the world
and Lord of my life,
God of the world
and God of my life.
And at its essence,
sin is saying,
I want to be my own God.
I want to be my own Lord.
I want to be in control of my life.
And ever since sin entered the world,
that has been the default position
of every human being.
It's the root cause
behind everything else
that goes wrong.
It's the infection
behind the fever, right?
It's the cancer
behind the headache.
It's the underlying issue.
And so every horizontal
and human problem
we see in the world
is symptomatic
of a deeper real issue,
which is that our lives
are out of sync
with the God that made us
to be in relationship with Him
because we want to be
our own gods.
And to this problem,
the stunning announcement
of the good news
of the gospel
rushes in
with incredible force
that says,
Jesus lived the life
that we should have lived.
Jesus,
by dying the death
that we should have died,
took the punishment
for our sin
upon Himself.
God poured it out
upon Jesus
as our substitute.
He took our punishment
in our place.
And the reason He did this
is because of
His profound love for us.
His incredible love for us.
That's the essence
of the gospel.
Okay, did you get that?
Does that make sense?
Okay, this is going
to be hard work.
Okay.
And so,
in light of that,
what I'm trying
to persuade us of
in these couple of weeks
is that this
stunning announcement
of good news
is not just
the power
to save us,
it's also the power
that changes us.
Well, another way
of saying that is
it's not only necessary
to believe
and respond to the gospel
in order to become
a Christian.
Okay, that is important.
You do need to do that.
But if our lives
are ever going to become
anywhere close
to the kind of lives
that the Bible describes
or anywhere close
to the kind of lives
that Jesus wants us to have,
we need to be those
that are continually
being shaped
and formed
according to that
good news announcement
of the gospel.
And more and more
and more
as the years go by,
not less
and less and less.
Okay, that's what
I'm trying to do
these couple of weeks.
And that's why
the New Testament
is absolutely full.
The apostles
are constantly
hammering home to us
that every instruction
they give us,
everything they ask us
to do,
always comes back
to the gospel.
That's why Paul says
in Romans chapter 1,
what Victoria read
to us this morning,
he says,
you Christians in Rome,
I want to come to you,
I want to strengthen you,
I want to impart
some spiritual gift to you,
I want to remind you
of the gospel.
I'm not ashamed
of the gospel,
it's the power of God
for salvation.
But not only for salvation,
but also to change us.
It's why Paul writes
in Corinthians,
he says,
now I want to remind you,
brothers and sisters,
of the gospel.
That Jesus died
as the scripture said,
that he rose again
as the scripture said
he would.
It's why
when Paul in 2 Corinthians 8
wants to encourage
the Christians
to be generous
with their money,
he comes back
to the gospel.
He says,
remember how
God left heaven
and became poor
for your sake
and said you can be
rich in Jesus.
Your riches aren't found
in your bank account,
it's found that you're
in Jesus.
It's why
when Peter writes
to the Christians
and says,
I want you to share
the gospel
with those that don't know it.
But don't do it arrogantly.
Don't do it like
you're superior
or better than them.
Do it humbly.
Do it gently.
Why?
Because Jesus died for you
and you didn't have it
all together.
Every single thing
the Bible says
comes back
to this gospel.
Okay,
so that's what
we're trying to do.
Now today,
I want us to look
at this question,
how does the gospel
actually change us?
And by the way,
I'd produced some
very beautiful
PowerPoint slides.
They were amazing.
And I uploaded
the wrong ones
to the website.
And so,
Henry and Christina
put some slides together
and so,
I'm sorry,
some of the quotes
that aren't there today.
You just kind of
have to pay extra attention
to listen to me.
Okay,
so maybe I should
do that more often.
So,
how does the gospel
change us?
Well,
three ways.
The gospel gives us
a new identity
that is not based
on performance.
The gospel drives,
it gives us,
how do I say,
it gives us
humility
that drives out pride.
And the gospel
gives us a love
that drives out fear
and insecurity.
Okay,
so firstly,
the gospel gives us
a new identity.
500 years ago,
there was this German monk
called Martin Luther
and he was grappling
with the gospel.
And in fact,
the verse that Victoria
read to us,
Romans chapter 1,
verse 17 and 18,
was the verse
that changed his whole life.
He was meditating
on this verse
and he suddenly realized
the gospel.
And Martin Luther
then went
and was sharing
the gospel with others
and he lit a bomb
in Europe.
He didn't light
a physical bomb.
But as he shared
the gospel,
the whole of Europe
was turned on its head.
Now,
Martin Luther summarized
the Christian life
as this.
Okay,
you ready for a little
Latin lesson?
This is what he said.
The Christian
is simul justus
e precator.
Did you get that?
Okay.
Simultaneously,
sinful,
and yet accepted.
The Christian life
is somebody
who is simultaneously
at one and the same time
sinful,
broken,
flawed.
They don't have it
all together.
And yet at the same time,
loved,
and accepted,
and cherished by God
because of who Jesus is
and what he's done
on the cross.
So Tim Keller
very famously
says a simile.
He says,
the gospel tells us
that if I am in Christ,
at one and the same time,
I am both more broken
and sinful
than I could possibly
think I am.
In other words,
my heart is more
self-centered,
self-orientated.
There's more pride
in my heart
than I realize.
And yet at the same time,
I am more loved,
more accepted,
more acceptable
to God
than I could ever
dare,
possibly,
even hope
to be possibly true.
You see, friends,
apart from the gospel,
your identity
and your self-worth
is always going to be
based on some kind
of performance,
on how well you think
you're doing,
either in God's eyes
or in the world's eyes
or in your parents' eyes
or maybe in your own eyes.
But in the gospel,
we are given an identity,
a sense of self-worth
that says you're loved
and accepted
and acceptable
despite your flaws
and your shortcomings.
And it is an identity
which is not earned
or achieved
through hard work.
It's not earned
or achieved
through some kind
of performance.
It is freely given to you
because Jesus died
on the cross.
And friends,
that changes everything.
It changes the way
that you relate
to yourself.
It changes the way
that you relate to God.
But it also changes
the way that you relate
to every other person
in your life.
So Richard Lovelace,
who is a seminary professor
in the U.S.,
he said it like this.
This is one of the quotes
I'm meant to have up there.
So you're going to have
to listen.
He says,
for most Christians,
we intellectually know
that God's acceptance of us
is because of what Jesus
did on the cross.
Okay?
We know that
in our heads.
But in our actual
day-to-day existence,
most of us still rely
on our performance
as good Christians
to assure us
of God's love
and acceptance.
We rely on either
our spiritual sincerity
or our past experience
of conversion
or maybe our recent
religious performance
or the relative infrequency
of our conscious sin.
Okay?
So saying,
we believe in our heads,
yes, Jesus died for me,
I know He loves me,
but actually,
in the day-to-day
trenches of life,
Monday to Friday,
what gives me confidence
or assurance
that God loves me
is that I think
I'm not such a bad person.
Now, friends,
can I just say,
up until a few years ago,
that absolutely
described my life.
Absolutely.
If I had a good week,
I did my devotions,
I led a Bible study,
I led some meeting
and it went well,
I felt good about myself.
God must really love me.
He must be so thankful
that I'm on His side.
I mean,
I wouldn't say that,
but somewhere in the back
of my mind,
I thought that.
And sure,
a tinge of self-righteousness,
right?
But if I had a bad week,
some sin,
didn't do my devotion
so well,
oh,
felt miserable.
What Richard Loveless
is saying,
how easy it is
for his Christians
to believe
that we need the gospel
to become a Christian,
but from there on out,
we operate
by a different principle,
which is that
we look inside of ourselves.
Yesterday,
I was walking in the street
and I walked past a lady
who wore a t-shirt
and it said,
look for the inner peace
inside of yourself.
And I wanted to grip her
and say,
no, no, no,
don't do that.
That's a terrible idea.
What Richard Loveless
then goes on to say
is this.
Listen up,
this is so important.
It says,
Christians who are not sure
of God's love
and that God accepts them
in Jesus,
apart from some spiritual performance,
are subconsciously
radically insecure persons.
Oh my goodness.
Friends,
am I the only one
that that describes?
I think not.
Friends,
until I understood the gospel
clearly a few years ago,
I was radically,
radically insecure.
Now,
as a Christian,
I would do all the right things.
I acted like a fantastic Christian,
but deep inside,
I was so radically insecure
because I wasn't assured
of the,
despite the fact that I'm sinful,
God loves me.
So what does that actually mean?
Friends,
in the gospel,
you and I are given
the truth
that while it's true,
we are flawed and broken.
At one and the same time,
we are unbelievably loved.
Not because of what we've done,
but because of what Jesus
has done for us
in the gospel.
So what does that mean?
Many,
many years ago,
there was a guy called
Jonathan Edwards,
one of America's greatest
theologians and pastors.
He was a theologian
at Yale University.
And he wrote this book
about 300 years ago
called
The Nature of True Virtue.
Virtue means morality or ethic,
the nature of good behavior.
And in this book,
he says that
for most of us,
the motivation that we have
for it to be moral
or ethical or virtuous
is we appeal to either
pride or fear.
And he gives an example.
He says,
how do we teach people
to be honest
or to be truth-telling?
How do we teach our children
to tell the truth?
Well,
we often say something like,
you know,
you really should tell the truth.
Don't lie
because one day
somebody will catch you
and then
bad things are going to happen.
Then nobody will trust you anymore.
Okay?
So we appeal to a sense of fear.
Don't lie
because the consequences
will be bad.
Now,
we do this in contemporary
Christianity as well.
We say to people things like,
don't have sex
outside of marriage.
Don't sleep with your girlfriend
because,
you know,
someone may fall pregnant
and then,
you know,
you may drop out of college
or out of high school
and then you won't get the job
that you want
and your life will just be difficult.
So don't sleep around
outside of marriage.
Okay?
Or don't sleep around
outside of marriage.
You might contract some disease.
So we use fear
as a motivation.
Or,
we use pride
as a motivation.
We say,
don't lie,
don't be dishonest
because one day
somebody will catch you out
and then everyone will know
that you're a liar.
No one will trust you anymore.
You'll bring shame
on your family.
Then your reputation
will be gone.
So we appeal
to some kind of pride.
We think,
don't do that
because you're better than that.
That's not what Murphys do.
Right?
I remember my dad
growing up saying,
Murphys,
we don't lie.
Right?
We're better than that.
Those guys down there,
maybe.
But us Murphys,
we don't do that.
Now,
motivating somebody
out of fear
and pride
isn't necessarily wrong,
but it's just ineffective.
It doesn't change
the inner driver
or the motivation
of my heart.
Now,
it's not necessarily wrong
to warn somebody
of the consequences
of their actions,
but just think about this.
If I tell somebody,
don't lie,
don't be dishonest
because one day
they're going to catch you out,
that can stop me lying,
but it doesn't make me
love truth.
It doesn't make me
love honesty.
If I tell somebody,
don't sleep around
because there might be
bad consequences,
I might constrain
or restrain
their behavior,
but that doesn't deal
with the lust in the heart.
That doesn't deal
with the addictions
in my heart.
It might restrain
my behavior
so I act like
a good Christian
and do the right things,
but the sin
and the self-centeredness
of my heart
is still intact.
In fact,
if anything,
it's strengthened
because I appeal
to my self-centeredness.
I say,
you want to live
a good life?
Well,
then don't do this,
don't do this,
don't do this.
You'll have a successful life.
I look to my own interests
to think of myself
as a better person
and I strengthen
the self-centeredness
in my heart.
I can stop somebody lying,
but that doesn't make them
love truth and honesty.
I can stop somebody
sleeping around,
but that doesn't dismantle
the lust or the addiction
in our hearts.
So how are we really
going to change?
The Bible says
that the gospel
needs to get hold
of our hearts.
The gospel needs
to get hold of our hearts.
In the book of Titus
in the New Testament,
the Apostle Paul
writes to the readers
and he says this,
I want you to say no
to ungodliness
and worldly passions
and to say yes
to self-controlled,
upright,
godly lives.
Okay,
so that's a good thing.
As Christians,
if you're a believer
this morning,
that's what we want.
No to ungodliness
and worldly passions.
Yes to a self-controlled,
upright,
godly life.
Okay?
Now think about this.
Think about all the
different ways
that you can tell yourself
to say no
to ungodliness
and worldly desires.
You can say no
because it'll make me
look bad.
You can say no
because then I'll be
excluded from certain
social circles
that I want to belong to.
You can say no
to doing the wrong things
because then God
will not give me
health and wealth
and happiness.
You can say no,
I'm not going to do
those bad things
because then one day
I'll go to hell.
You can say no
because then I'll hate
myself in the morning
and my self-esteem
will go down.
All of those things
appeal to a self-centeredness
and they keep
the self-centeredness
of my life still intact.
But look at how Paul
calls Christians
to change.
Paul says
it's the grace of God
in the salvation
of Jesus
that teaches us
or trains us
or coaches us
to say no
to ungodliness
and worldly desires
and yes
to self-controlled,
upright,
godly lives.
You see what he's saying?
He's saying
it's the grace
of God
in Jesus
that coaches
or trains our hearts
that reorientates
our hearts
away from
a self-centeredness
to saying yes
to God,
yes to loving
those around me
and yes to the life
that God wants me to.
And how does he define
this grace of God
and salvation?
Well in chapter 3
he goes on and says
God saved us
not because of
righteous things
we've done
but because of
his mercy.
See another way
of saying that is
it's God's profound
love for us
expressed in the gospel
that gives our hearts
such a security
such a peace
and a confidence
that it changes
not only our behavior
it changes the inner
workings of my heart.
It makes me the kind
of person that wants
to tell the truth.
It makes me the kind
of person that wants
to say no to lust
and addiction.
It makes me the kind
of person that wants
to be the person
that Jesus wants me to be.
Not just somebody
that behaves
in a Christian way
but actually reorientates
the inner workings
of my heart.
Paul is saying
friends if you want
true change
you must let the truth
of the gospel
train our hearts.
Say no to ungodliness
yes to him
let the grace of God
that brings salvation
train us
to say no to ungodliness.
Friends when we let
our hearts to be trained
by the gospel
through deep meditation
and reflection upon it
two things happen.
The first is
it gives us a humility
that drives out pride.
See the gospel
gives us a new
kind of humility.
A humility
that dislodges us
from being the center
of our lives
because the gospel
tells us
Kevin
you're more sinful
than you realize.
You're actually not all
that you think you are.
And that dislodges
the pride in my heart.
I remember a few years ago
reading Scotty Smith
if you've never read him
he's an amazing blogger
find Scotty Smith.
I remember a few years ago
reading an article
by Scotty Smith
in which he talks
about the way
that the Apostle Paul
updates his
professional resume
throughout the New Testament.
Anybody here
updated your resume
recently?
If your boss
is sitting next to you
don't raise your hand.
Water marks off
don't raise your hand.
Anyone?
Okay.
The Apostle Paul
throughout the New Testament
updates his
professional resume.
Look at what he says.
In 57 AD
he says
I'm the least
of all the apostles.
1 Corinthians 15.
3 years later
in 60 AD
he says
I am the least
of all of God's people.
Ephesians 3.
3 years later
63 AD
he says
I am the chief
of sinners.
Now if you know
anything about
the Apostle Paul
this humility
that the gospel
produced in him
wasn't because
he is a naturally
humble person.
Okay.
In Ephesians
in the Philippians
it tells us
what an arrogant
self-centered person
he was
before he encountered
Jesus.
He was bent
on destroying
anyone that
disagreed with him.
He went to the courts
and said
got a court order
to arrest
and persecute
and throw in jail
anybody
that wanted
to follow Jesus.
Anyone that wasn't
like him
that disagreed
with him
he hated them
he wanted them
in jail
he wanted nothing
to do with them.
But when he
encounters the grace
of God
in the gospel
what happens?
Something changes
inside of him.
He doesn't just
put on Christian
behavior
he doesn't just say
I guess I better
act humble now.
Something inside
the inner driving
of his life
changes.
The gospel
gave him
a humility
that drove out
the pride
of his life
and continued
to do so
as he got
older and older.
The more
that he grew
in the gospel
the more humble
he became.
The gospel
friends
produces
a different
kind of person
a genuine
gentleness
and a humility
humility
because such
a person
is seen
inside
their own
heart
and knows
what it is
that they've
been saved
from.
Remember the
famous C.S. Lewis
quote?
He says
being humble
isn't thinking
less of yourself
it's thinking
about yourself
less.
Okay?
So you might
begin to think
I'm a really
humble person
because I'm
just
I think of
myself
so miserable
I'm such a
sinner
I'm such a
loser
no one could
ever love me
woe is me
friends that's
not a humble
person
that's a proud
person
you're still
thinking about
yourself all
the time
a genuinely
humble person
is someone
that's forgotten
about themselves
all together
and the gospel
does that
because it says
yes you're a
sinner
yes you're
broken
but at the
same time
you loved
in Jesus
and you're
perfectly
acceptable
by him
so you don't
need to think
of yourself
as a miserable
loser
you're loved
by Jesus
you have an
identity
that's found
in him
I'm sure
my parents
won't mind
me sharing
this
but if they
do
maybe they'll
never find
out
so let's
just keep
this between
the 200
of us
okay
my parents
are the
greatest parents
in the entire
world
honestly
I'm sure
you have
wonderful
parents
I've got
the best
parents
in the whole
world
and growing
up
the greatest
mom and dad
my dad
was a businessman
for most of his
life
fairly
successful
and when my
dad turned
50
my parents
felt God
called them
to move
to Asia
so they
moved to Asia
first to
Malaysia
Jehor
Baru
and then
Singapore
and then
they were there
for 6 or 7
years
and when my
dad was
about 57
they felt
God calling
them to move
to Vietnam
and so they
moved to
Ho Chi Minh
City
and after a
year
coincidentally
or by God's
leading
my dad became
the pastor
of this church
and they
led that church
fantastically
this church
just grew
massively
led it for
6 or 7
years
and then they
moved back
to Singapore
and they were
in Singapore
for 2 or 3
years
and they were
and during
that time
they joined
a church
that was
so crystal
clear on
the gospel
what the gospel
is and how
it changes
you
and so for
2 or 3
years my
parents were
part of this
church and
then they
moved back
to South
Africa
one of the
things that
was so
incredible
for me
is to
see my
parents
then in
their mid
60s
these incredible
incredible
people who
had loved
us so well
and loved
God so well
these people
who are my
biggest heroes
in their
mid 60s
soften
become more
gentle
more gracious
more generous
more humble
my friends
what makes
a 65 year
old man
that has been
successful in
business
successful in
ministry
CEO of
large corporations
what's going to
make someone like
that grow in
humility in their
mid 60s
most men
get more
agitated
and more
grumpy
and more
cantacorous
as they get
older
ladies
don't
nudge
your husbands
you can talk
about this
at home
but honestly
most men
the older we
get the more
grumpy we
become
what's going to
make a 65
year old man
more humble
more gracious
more generous
friends I'll tell you
what it was
it was a deep
heartfelt reflection
and revelation
and meditation
on the gospel's
penetrating
proclamation
that yes I'm
simultaneously
sinful
and yet loved
and accepted
you see friends
often we look
at Christians
people look at
Christians as
judgmental and
bigoted right
and if I'm honest
I look back on my
life with such
embarrassment and
shame oh my
goodness that was
me I wish I could
go back in the
years and change
that and when I
look back at the
kind of Christian I
was I was so
judgmental and
bigoted arrogant
I did all things
that Christians were
meant to do but
man if I'm honest I
was such a dork
about it I knew
how to act the
part I looked
down on those that
weren't as good
as me or I
didn't think they
could get their
lives together
friends what's the
antidote to that
kind of arrogance
what's the antidote
to that kind of
judgmentalism it's
not following Jesus
less it's not
becoming less
committed to Jesus
it's getting the
truth of the gospel
deeper into my
heart it's more of
Jesus not less of
Jesus it's more
humility and
following him not
less following him
it's more realization
of the sinfulness of
my heart and the
love of Christ that
he poured out for
me that's what's
going to change my
heart and if I
dare am allowed
to say I've
seen it probably
still arrogant and
still judgmental but
I know I'm less so
now than I was a
few years ago
friends when my
identity and self
worth are centered
on how good I am
on my performance I
can't help but look
down at those that I
think are weaker
than me or not as
good as me of
course I'm going to
feel superior to
others but when my
identity and self
worth are centered on
the one who went to
the cross for me who
died for me because I
was unable to rescue
and save myself I
can't look down to
those who are
different at me I
can't look down on
those who practice
something different to
me or treat or
believe something
different to me because
everything that I have
is by grace and grace
alone see that the
gospel gives us a new
identity that isn't
based on performance and
it gives us a new
humility that drives
out pride third thing
and final thing how does
the gospel change us it
gives us a love that
drives our fear and
insecurity I know we
spoke about this a lot
but the gospel gives
us a real honest
assessment of
ourselves we're
broken we're sinful
our hearts are
disorientated that's
true but friends if
that's all that you
think the Bible says
about you you haven't
understood the gospel
and you haven't
understood Christianity
because the gospel
says that while that
is true at the same
time we are so
extravagantly I'm
trying to think of
adjectives to describe
this super extravagantly
abundantly loved and
accepted not because of
what we've done but
because of what Jesus
has done over and
against us the gospel
screams at us it's a
loud halo it says God's
extravagant love for you
and I his radical
acceptance and pleasure
at us God's love for us
isn't based on anything
that I've done but based
purely on what Jesus
done God's love for us
friends isn't based
because of what's found
in my life or my
heart or my performance
it's based solely because
of what's found in his
heart and that's never
going to change if I'm
honest I think up until
a year and a half ago I
didn't fully understand
this I remember about a
year and a half ago
saying I was praying a
prayer and I remember
saying God I know you
love me because that's
your job but I don't
know if you really like
me I don't know if you
really please with me and
as I was praying and I
felt like God just say
to me Kevin do you
think I love you because
of what's in your heart
or because of what's in
my heart and I
realized God's love for
me his acceptance of me
is not based because of
what's in my heart my
heart is rotten and
sinful it's based because
of what's in his heart
and his heart is rock
solid and steadfast and
it's never going to
change friends that is
going to change us forever
I don't know if any of
us have ever been in a
relationship where the
doesn't need to be a
romantic relationship
could be your relationship
with your boss maybe your
parents maybe a friend
maybe a spouse a
relationship where you
never feel like you're
good enough everything
you do you just feel
like they're going to
criticize me I'm going
to try my absolute best
and for some reason it's
not going to be good
enough you know how that
feels does that soften
your heart does that
make you want to be
generous does that make
you want to be gracious
does that make you
want to be servant
hearted and loving
friends when you're in
a relationship and you
are never good enough
what happens our heart
closes over we become
hard-hearted to protect
ourselves we become
more defensive in the
gospel Jesus tells us no
matter what you do I
love you and my love
for you is not going to
change Romans Ephesians
chapter 1 Jesus says
this his love for us or
it says this God is
in his love for us he
predestined us for
salvation before the
foundation of the world
before you done a single
thing right or a single
thing wrong God in his
love chose to set his
love upon you
Ephesians chapter 2 says
because of his great love
for us Jesus went to the
cross for us
friends in Romans in John
chapter 15 Jesus says
this as the father has
loved me so I have loved
you
is that not astounding
as God the father loves
Jesus Jesus loves you and
I
Claire and I once knew a
young lady in Cape Town
who always struggled not to
be in a romantic
relationship she was
forever in a romantic
relationship didn't always
last long but as soon as
the one ended within a week
or two she was in another
one and these romantic
relationships were always
a mess she was always
getting herself in trouble
and just they didn't end
well right I remember one
day she said to us this is
bad news I've got to stop
this I've decided no more
dating and no more dating
good news but then pretty
soon she started drinking
quite a lot every day a
bit more and one weekend
she went away to a music
festival with some friends and
the week after she told us she
said you know on Sunday
often you know realized I
couldn't remember anything of
the festival it's just one
big blur my drinking is
really getting out of hand
I've got to stop this
drinking so she signed up
for AA join the club got
clean got sober right but
when she stopped drinking she
couldn't stop spending money
she always get herself into
debt credit card debts she
buy expensive bags and shoes
and nice clothing and
accessories she get
herself in credit card debt
she then realized this is bad
she'd save her pay off her
debts and as soon as she paid
off her debts she'd spoil
herself with a big splurge
right go and buy a nice
handbag as a reward for
paying off her debts what was
happening there what is
happening friends all those
things were symptoms of a far
deeper insecurity you see what
is happening was even though
she'd call herself a Christian
and served in church in many
ways unfortunately she had no
concept that she was loved and
accepted by the one person in
the universe whose opinion
really counts and so initially
she'd throw herself at boys
wanting to be loved and wanting
to feel loved and lovable wanting
to feel acceptable by the boys in
her life she'd throw herself and
give herself foolishly to these
guys and they would just take
advantage of her and then she
realized this isn't good and so
she'd try and numb the pain with
alcohol and then realized this
isn't good and so she'd try and
buy expensive bags and shoes and
clothing to make herself feel
loved and lovable friends all those
things were mere symptoms of a far
deeper insecurity Richard Lovelay
said this Christians who are not
sure that God loves and accepts
them in Jesus are subconsciously
radically insecure persons friends do
you know the deeply profound profound
love of God has it arrested your
hearts has it brought about a deep
security which is not only humbling
you but also drawing you near softening
your heart friends that's what the
gospel does and that's why we must be
a community which is continually being
shaped by the good news of Jesus now
there are a thousand applications of
this but I want to just land with one
of them pointing out the obvious when
this gets in our hearts this will make
us a completely new kind of community of
course this church won't be perfect of
course we will still make mistakes why
because we still sinners we still
flawed right the gospel doesn't deny
that so we won't be a perfect community
we will let each other down there'll be
misunderstanding of course but you know
what the gospel will make us a
community which is gracious and not
judgmental because we know that we're
just as flawed as the person next to us and
so we'll have to offer grace to them just
as we've been offered grace when we see
someone has let us down we're not on a
high horse judging them but we see
ourselves just as much in need of grace
as them friends this will make us a
forgiving and not a resentful community
because as we meditate on the
forgiveness of God towards us our hearts
will be softened with love to forgive
those around us it'll make us a
vulnerable and not a defensive community
you'll be able to come to church and
don't have to have this squeaky clean
image of perfect lives you'll come and
we can just be real this is who I am
this is the kind of week I've had
because we know that everyone in the
church is in the same position we don't
have to show up put our best foot
forward we can be full of weakness and
fear and we people challenge us we
don't need to get defensive because we
will be secure in God's love friends
those will make us a community which is
real and not fake because the gospel
gives us a security that allows us just
to be ourselves can I just say one of
the things that I love the most about
watermark church as we've been here two
years this is an incredibly real church
one of the things that actually amazes
me I've never encountered a church that
is as real as watermark people can
confess sin really people are just real
this is who I am this is the kind of
week I've had it's an incredible thing
and that's the gospel that's at work
within us the reason watermark is like
that is because of for 10 years Tobin
for six years the elders for years off
that have been sharing the gospel with
this community it'll make us real and
not fake and finally it'll make us a
community which is giving and not
taking we don't need to look to others
to get a whole lot of stuff on
affirmation we're securing God we're
able to give ourselves away friends
we're only beginning to scratch the
surface of what the gospel is and what
it means to be a gospel center church
Paul writes to Romans and he says I
long to be able to come to you to
share the gospel with you to encourage
you and you to encourage me I long to
come and share the gospel to you for
indeed I'm not ashamed of it it's the
power of God for salvation for
everyone who believes friends whatever
we do let's continue to make sure that
we are church that doesn't just talk
about the gospel but loves trust obeys
the Jesus of the gospel and as a
result of that are being changed into
his image from one degree to the next
let's pray together
Lord Jesus we so thankful for
so many things God we thank for God for
simply who you are that you're glorious
and majestic thank you Jesus for your
for who you are but God not only who you
are but also what you've done for us on
the cross Jesus thank you that when we
were far gone from you when we were at
our worst you loved us enough to go to
the cross and die for us God I pray for
each one of us as a church each one of
us here this morning God I pray Lord
Jesus that the truth and the reality of
the gospel won't just be things that we
talk about but it really will get deep
inside of our hearts it really will
change us and transform us God I pray
that we father will become more humble
more gracious more gentle more generous
more loving and kind as the gospel
changes and transforms us God I pray
that at the same time we'll be more
secure Lord God oh father God come and
wash us and flood us in the good news of
Jesus God I pray that our identity be
rooted in this and that though we are
sinful and flawed that God your love for
us covers over a multitude of sins
Jesus I pray that these won't just be
words father but these will be the deep
reality of our hearts God come and cause
revival to take hold of each one of us
revive us we pray God revive our hearts
Lord
father come and renew us I pray
father for those of us that still look to
our spiritual performance for some kind of
confidence or assurance God won't you
humble us
won't you humble us God
God for those of us that feel
unloved unlovable
for those of us that feel God insecure
Christ come and change us come and give us a
new identity come and let your love change
our hearts God
father we don't just want to be religious
people going through the motions we don't
just want to do the Christian thing we
want to be those that are in the deepest
recesses of our hearts being changed by
you
are becoming more like you
because we secure in our relationship
with you we are obeying you and trusting
you and loving you
Christ come have your way I pray
God bless you we are志 mate for'?
Jesus Christ come and wondering how is his
Father you and having done our relationship is
with you He để need you to be in the
guild was this wholeäm разм old Oh He has a
heartние
Lord, can we take care of you?
For the tej into saya
Lord, can we take care of You can
let Him rebuild you
drink it
Seth and Lord of theIVIS