WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.920 Morning everyone. 00:00:03.459 --> 00:00:10.120 Question is, what difference does it make to our lives to be a follower of Christ? 00:00:10.599 --> 00:00:12.200 What difference does it make? 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:18.440 What is distinctive about our Christian life that impacts on other people? 00:00:18.940 --> 00:00:25.440 When we invite others into this life-giving relationship with God through Jesus Christ, 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:29.440 what exactly is it that we are offering them? 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.899 And do we know what we're offering them in all its fullness? 00:00:35.060 --> 00:00:39.840 These are really important questions as we ask ourselves what it means day by day, 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:42.280 week by week, to be followers of Christ. 00:00:42.520 --> 00:00:44.660 What does it actually mean to us? 00:00:44.840 --> 00:00:48.040 And if we don't know what difference the Christian life makes, 00:00:48.040 --> 00:00:57.620 then how can we invite people into that relationship that we know so well with integrity and with confidence? 00:00:57.619 --> 00:01:04.579 The last thing we want to invite people into is a church that just offers good social events, 00:01:04.759 --> 00:01:07.899 nice coffee, a very warm, fuzzy feeling. 00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:11.500 That's very nice and it's good to have relationship. 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:23.460 But the relationship that Paul is talking about this morning and that we offer is far, far, far, far more than a cozy club to which we welcome people and abide with. 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:30.140 Yes, friendship and deepening relationships are important, but a relationship with Jesus is imperative. 00:01:30.140 --> 00:01:35.480 We've just finished a group called Any Questions, which was great. 00:01:35.659 --> 00:01:40.799 Six people came along who had no or very little connection with church at all. 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:42.299 It was great. 00:01:42.859 --> 00:01:47.879 All the questions you have ever wanted to ask and most of them were asked. 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:49.859 And it was brilliant. 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:51.439 We had a great time. 00:01:52.079 --> 00:02:01.679 And it's about sharing and living the good news as we as people of God are alive in Christ and not dead to sin. 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:04.200 That's what we're talking about today. 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:15.479 And as I was preparing for this morning, I thought, where is one of the toughest places to actually share your faith openly, to put it on the line? 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:19.400 And I thought of street pastors and street preachers. 00:02:20.140 --> 00:02:30.039 What a great place to get out there into the community and talk about your faith openly to people so that they can respond. 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:36.180 I came across this clip and it's a street preacher on the Broadmead in Bristol. 00:02:37.099 --> 00:02:46.180 And if you know the Broadmead in Bristol, it's made up of quite a variety of different people who I'm sure have all got their different views. 00:02:46.180 --> 00:03:00.659 And in this clip, for 40 minutes, this street preacher is bombarded with all sorts of questions from a man who really, truly believed that we came from monkeys. 00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:08.560 And another guy who just thinks that we were all here because a meteor hit there and we all became a part of that. 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:17.180 But throughout, if you watch this, in the background, as I noticed, there were four young people. 00:03:17.340 --> 00:03:20.680 There was a young woman and four guys that were with her. 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:22.740 And they didn't move. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:33.159 40 minutes, they were listening and taking in the message that the street preacher was giving about this thing about being alive in Christ. 00:03:35.020 --> 00:03:36.199 What a great thing. 00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:46.419 This thing that we're talking about that Paul knew, that Paul is sharing, is what did he offer that day these people? 00:03:47.079 --> 00:03:48.939 He offered new life in Christ. 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:51.339 A new life that had begun. 00:03:52.379 --> 00:03:56.419 And the idea of the old self dying and being born into a new life in Christ. 00:03:56.699 --> 00:04:01.899 So let's unpack this passage that Paul said then, which was so fresh to us today. 00:04:02.299 --> 00:04:04.620 It makes, it is the same. 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:10.560 The first thing is to say that we are joining Paul halfway through a conversation that he's having. 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:21.740 And the conversation is, in the first five chapters to the letter of the Romans, Paul has been laying out the theological understanding of where he is and where he comes from with the gospel. 00:04:21.740 --> 00:04:29.939 And that's why he begins with this slightly strange question in verse one, where he says, what then shall we say? 00:04:30.819 --> 00:04:31.960 What then should we say? 00:04:32.660 --> 00:04:36.060 Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 00:04:36.840 --> 00:04:39.819 Should we continue in that way or not? 00:04:39.819 --> 00:04:50.920 And over the last few chapters, Paul has been outlining to them the immensity of God's love and what that means and what they've seen in Paul as he's practiced that. 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:53.639 As Martin said, you know, Paul was a worker. 00:04:53.860 --> 00:04:54.899 Paul was a tent maker. 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:59.959 He was there carrying on his work around people while he was talking about his faith. 00:04:59.959 --> 00:05:03.039 Like we do, I hope, in the everyday. 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:17.039 And so he raises this question, which may have been in the mind of some of his hearers and, to be honest, may reflect some of our own thoughts at times about this thing about sin. 00:05:17.699 --> 00:05:21.740 So, well, I know I shouldn't really be doing this, God. 00:05:21.740 --> 00:05:25.759 But I know that you're going to forgive me, so it'll be okay. 00:05:27.060 --> 00:05:27.379 Yeah? 00:05:28.620 --> 00:05:29.860 Come on, be honest. 00:05:31.500 --> 00:05:36.139 You know, I'll do this stuff, but I know I'm okay because you're going to forgive me. 00:05:37.280 --> 00:05:40.519 Well, of course, none of us would ever actually say that, would we? 00:05:40.939 --> 00:05:44.900 But, of course, it goes on a little bit in our minds occasionally. 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:48.660 And here Paul names the elephant in the room. 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:54.200 Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 00:05:54.420 --> 00:05:56.620 Should we continue in that sin? 00:05:57.060 --> 00:06:00.640 And not surprisingly, Paul straight away says, no way. 00:06:01.140 --> 00:06:03.200 No, not at all. 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:06.280 And he said, by no means. 00:06:07.760 --> 00:06:13.680 But increasingly, the reason he gives for us not to behave like that isn't some sort of moral argument at all. 00:06:14.580 --> 00:06:17.220 No, he doesn't say that it's a bad attitude to have. 00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:25.940 Instead, he holds this deeply, deeply theological view that it is actually impossible for us to carry on this Christian life 00:06:25.940 --> 00:06:32.580 if we are actually living in another place in sin. 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.060 In verse 2, he asked the rhetorical question, 00:06:36.460 --> 00:06:42.140 what can he who died to sin, who can we who died to sin go on living in it? 00:06:42.139 --> 00:06:46.939 And you, as well as I do, know that when we're in sin, it's not a good place to be. 00:06:47.019 --> 00:06:47.979 It doesn't feel good. 00:06:48.039 --> 00:06:49.000 It doesn't feel right. 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:53.019 We know in ourselves we don't feel comfortable in that place. 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:59.240 And if we're not feeling comfortable in that place, well, maybe there is something that we need to do about it. 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:04.500 How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:08.340 Now, this seems an odd thing to say, because all of us continue to sin. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:10.460 And we do, day by day. 00:07:10.459 --> 00:07:15.239 So what is Paul talking about? 00:07:16.039 --> 00:07:17.959 Commentators on this passage are really helpful. 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:21.079 How can he who died to sin go on living in it? 00:07:21.159 --> 00:07:24.379 What he means is that when we give our life to Jesus, 00:07:25.060 --> 00:07:27.539 and we begin to live in the grace of the Father, 00:07:27.939 --> 00:07:32.539 then sin no longer has any ultimate power over us. 00:07:32.540 --> 00:07:35.900 No power at all. 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:39.300 Sin doesn't define our life. 00:07:39.580 --> 00:07:40.460 It doesn't stick. 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:41.980 It doesn't diminish us. 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:45.740 It doesn't take us away from the fullness of who we should be, 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:47.920 the power of God living in our lives. 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:55.259 It is far, far greater that God's power in our life is far greater than any sin that will hold us. 00:07:56.320 --> 00:07:56.640 Why? 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:59.140 Because a transaction has occurred. 00:07:59.980 --> 00:08:02.160 This is what Paul's talking about this morning. 00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:06.020 There has been a change, a significant change. 00:08:06.420 --> 00:08:10.340 Once we were dead to God, living under the power of sin, 00:08:10.520 --> 00:08:16.240 but now we are dead to the power of sin and living under the power of God. 00:08:16.440 --> 00:08:21.520 There has been a reversal of our fortunes, a total reversal. 00:08:23.460 --> 00:08:28.500 Life has come, new life in all its fullness, and that's what we live in. 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:30.660 Hallelujah, I hear you say. 00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:34.159 And the more we acknowledge and we set that, 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:37.279 the more we allow that to become a reality in our lives, 00:08:38.019 --> 00:08:40.199 that we are of Christ. 00:08:41.459 --> 00:08:44.779 And the more ridiculous the idea in verse 1 becomes, 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:50.639 that we no longer want to treat God's grace like some common cheap commodity, 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:55.319 that we can do things wrong with impunity, 00:08:55.319 --> 00:08:57.480 just knowing that we'll be forgiven. 00:08:59.379 --> 00:09:00.899 We wouldn't want to do that, would we? 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:02.199 I mean, who would do that? 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:05.059 I dare not say we wouldn't maybe do that intentionally, 00:09:05.199 --> 00:09:06.399 but it doesn't feel good. 00:09:07.259 --> 00:09:09.819 None of us would want, along with the ones that we love, 00:09:09.939 --> 00:09:12.980 no basis maybe for a happy marriage or a relationship. 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:16.379 So why should it be the basis of our relationship with God? 00:09:16.539 --> 00:09:18.580 To do one thing and then to do another. 00:09:19.659 --> 00:09:21.259 It just doesn't work like that. 00:09:21.580 --> 00:09:24.899 In this transaction, the reality of our lives are now different 00:09:24.899 --> 00:09:26.300 because we live as Christians. 00:09:26.740 --> 00:09:31.420 We live this Christian life so that everybody knows, 00:09:31.860 --> 00:09:36.580 and we know exactly where we are in this relationship with God. 00:09:36.580 --> 00:09:41.900 Now that the old life has died and the new risen life is with us. 00:09:42.420 --> 00:09:44.980 Quite simply, through our union with Jesus Christ 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:47.759 and what he has done for us on the cross, 00:09:48.020 --> 00:09:49.860 it is that clear. 00:09:50.540 --> 00:09:52.379 That's what Paul is telling people. 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:55.200 And as Paul goes on to say in 3 and 4, 00:09:55.720 --> 00:10:00.800 do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Jesus Christ 00:10:00.800 --> 00:10:02.960 were baptised into his death? 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:07.160 Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:11.500 so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, 00:10:11.820 --> 00:10:14.700 we too might walk in newness of life. 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:17.860 Here is the transaction in practice. 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:21.080 This is what the baptism was all about. 00:10:21.340 --> 00:10:23.980 This is what our baptism was all about. 00:10:24.180 --> 00:10:26.980 If you haven't been baptised, please come and talk to us. 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:29.400 We'd love to get the tub out and baptise you. 00:10:30.019 --> 00:10:32.840 We have become united to Christ. 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:35.340 And his death becomes our death. 00:10:35.620 --> 00:10:39.820 And his new life becomes our new life. 00:10:40.620 --> 00:10:42.780 Do you feel like a people who have new life? 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:45.259 I hope so. 00:10:46.900 --> 00:10:49.879 It is nothing we have earned or achieved ourselves. 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:51.540 Jesus has done it for us. 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:54.900 If we unite ourselves to him, 00:10:55.100 --> 00:10:56.879 then his death becomes ours, 00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:01.259 and his resurrection life becomes ours too. 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:05.580 We know the cost and we live in that cost. 00:11:06.179 --> 00:11:09.039 The resurrection life isn't just something that will happen to us 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:11.500 on the last day when Jesus comes again. 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:12.899 No, not at all. 00:11:13.139 --> 00:11:16.419 The resurrection life is what you and I walk in 00:11:16.419 --> 00:11:20.360 every moment of every day. 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:22.620 Please hear that. 00:11:24.180 --> 00:11:27.879 That's the life that we walk in every day. 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:31.360 As Paul writes elsewhere in 2 Corinthians, 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:35.120 we are always carrying in our body the death of Jesus 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:40.360 so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our bodies. 00:11:40.919 --> 00:11:45.440 The people will see in us and through us that life that he brings. 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:46.740 And in our daily lives, 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:49.780 we carry in our bodies both the death and resurrection of Jesus, 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:53.280 but the old is gone and the new has come. 00:11:53.540 --> 00:11:55.960 So our moral conduct, our character, 00:11:56.380 --> 00:11:59.260 the way we behave, the way we seek, 00:11:59.380 --> 00:12:03.160 and the way we interact with our Lord Jesus Christ 00:12:03.160 --> 00:12:06.060 is life-giving, not just for ourselves, 00:12:06.340 --> 00:12:09.420 but the community that we've been called to serve. 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:12.440 Now this is a really important verse. 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:15.680 And the body, as Paul says in verse 6, 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:18.600 we know that our old self was crucified with him 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:21.080 so that the body of sin might be destroyed 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:24.280 and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 00:12:25.800 --> 00:12:26.860 Really important. 00:12:27.780 --> 00:12:29.200 Like with the word sin, 00:12:29.300 --> 00:12:31.460 there are two different meanings to the word body 00:12:31.460 --> 00:12:32.700 when Paul uses it. 00:12:33.040 --> 00:12:34.820 The first is the physical body, 00:12:35.220 --> 00:12:38.400 but the second is that thing that we bring 00:12:38.400 --> 00:12:40.760 in our social relationship, our character. 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:42.919 very much our character. 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:45.899 So when Paul says that the body of sin is destroyed, 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:47.639 he means that as we as Christians, 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:50.379 we have a new way of relating to the world, 00:12:50.659 --> 00:12:52.460 a new way of relating to people. 00:12:53.100 --> 00:12:55.759 People see in us something different, 00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:57.679 something that they want. 00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:00.340 Like the two guys on the broad beat, 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:04.500 they saw something that they wanted in that point 00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:06.279 and came to know Jesus. 00:13:07.439 --> 00:13:08.740 Fundamentally, the old has gone, 00:13:08.740 --> 00:13:09.539 and the new has come. 00:13:09.539 --> 00:13:11.500 And the result is that we now relate 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:12.539 to the world differently. 00:13:12.899 --> 00:13:14.600 We relate to one another differently. 00:13:15.700 --> 00:13:17.139 We have love, we have grace, 00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:19.379 we have understanding, we have compassion. 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:22.180 All those things that we saw in Jesus 00:13:22.180 --> 00:13:25.480 is given to us to share with the world 00:13:25.480 --> 00:13:26.919 in the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:30.100 We relate to our community of Clevedon differently. 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:32.899 And as he goes on to say in verse 7 and 8, 00:13:32.899 --> 00:13:35.720 for whoever has died is freed from sin. 00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:37.659 But if I have died with Christ, 00:13:37.860 --> 00:13:41.120 we believe that we will also live with him. 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:46.220 We live in that resurrection life. 00:13:47.259 --> 00:13:49.480 So what does it mean for us to live with Christ 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:52.559 in relation to our social context today? 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:54.299 What does that actually mean for us 00:13:54.299 --> 00:13:56.879 as we go out, our world, our wider community? 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:00.139 It means that we must always be governed 00:14:00.139 --> 00:14:02.559 by the same principles that govern Jesus 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:05.740 in his interaction with his own social context. 00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:08.360 What does that mean? 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:12.000 Like Jesus, we are to be motivated by kindness. 00:14:12.860 --> 00:14:14.919 Like Jesus, we are to be motivated 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:16.759 by hospitality and generosity 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:18.480 and a welcome to others. 00:14:19.059 --> 00:14:20.980 Like him, we are to be motivated 00:14:20.980 --> 00:14:22.700 by that love and compassion. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:24.460 Like him, we are to move 00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:26.700 in the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:14:27.019 --> 00:14:28.700 Like him, we are to be courageous 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:30.400 and bold like the guy 00:14:30.400 --> 00:14:31.560 who was street preaching. 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:32.620 My hands sweat 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:35.780 when I think I may actually be called to that. 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:37.560 What a great gift. 00:14:39.139 --> 00:14:41.139 But maybe your hands sweat too 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:42.980 when you are actually called 00:14:42.980 --> 00:14:45.019 to witness for Christ in the everyday. 00:14:46.660 --> 00:14:48.160 Come on, Lord, give me the words. 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:49.840 Give me the power. 00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:52.060 Pray to bring others 00:14:52.060 --> 00:14:53.740 into a relationship with you. 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:55.919 I guess that's what resonated 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:57.480 with those young people on the street. 00:14:57.940 --> 00:14:58.779 And as individuals 00:14:58.779 --> 00:15:00.159 and as church corporately, 00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:04.019 the body of sin has been destroyed. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:07.220 Let's really be clear about that 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:09.279 because we now belong to Christ. 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:11.340 And as Paul says in verse 8, 00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:13.180 but if we have died with Christ, 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.320 we believe that we will also live with him. 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:19.159 Have we died with Christ 00:15:19.159 --> 00:15:21.419 to the things in our sin? 00:15:21.419 --> 00:15:24.939 Have we died with Christ as individuals? 00:15:25.319 --> 00:15:26.479 Have we died with Christ 00:15:26.479 --> 00:15:27.779 as a Christian community? 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:28.979 And if we have, 00:15:29.299 --> 00:15:30.899 then the old is gone 00:15:30.899 --> 00:15:34.059 and the new is here. 00:15:34.740 --> 00:15:37.079 And we should be truly alive in him. 00:15:38.079 --> 00:15:39.199 Are you with me? 00:15:40.199 --> 00:15:40.979 So far? 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:42.839 Well done. 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:44.980 And once we grasp that, 00:15:45.080 --> 00:15:47.160 once we truly grasp the truth 00:15:47.160 --> 00:15:49.740 of what a mission-shaped church looks like, 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:51.720 of us as Christians together, 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:54.120 there is no turning back. 00:15:54.680 --> 00:15:57.200 Just as there was no turning back for Jesus, 00:15:57.680 --> 00:16:00.200 there was no turning back from what he did. 00:16:00.580 --> 00:16:02.399 He died and rose again. 00:16:02.660 --> 00:16:04.060 No turning back. 00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:07.980 There is no turning anything back for us in Christ. 00:16:07.980 --> 00:16:09.700 And as Paul writes in 9 and 10, 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:10.899 we know that Christ, 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:12.159 being raised from the dead, 00:16:12.420 --> 00:16:14.320 will never die again. 00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:17.700 Death no longer has dominion over him. 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:21.480 And neither has it for us. 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:25.539 That we have life in all its fullness. 00:16:26.100 --> 00:16:27.100 The death has died. 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:28.980 He died to sin once for all. 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:30.539 But the life he lives, 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:31.920 he lives to God. 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:35.519 There is no turning back. 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:38.199 Likewise, we as a community of Christchurch, 00:16:38.340 --> 00:16:40.159 we have died with Christ to sin 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:41.960 and we have been raised to new life 00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:43.799 and there is no going back. 00:16:44.819 --> 00:16:45.639 Throughout the Bible, 00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:48.379 you see people who have been tempted to go back. 00:16:48.740 --> 00:16:51.220 It was better to be brick slaves back in Egypt 00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:53.779 than to carry on and go with God. 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.899 And so often, we are tempted, aren't we? 00:16:57.899 --> 00:17:00.220 We are tempted to go back to an old life 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:01.559 because that was safe. 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:02.819 That was what we knew. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:04.059 That is regular. 00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:05.139 That was okay. 00:17:05.140 --> 00:17:06.060 We can carry on. 00:17:06.300 --> 00:17:07.940 But what Paul here is talking about 00:17:07.940 --> 00:17:09.300 is talking about a new life. 00:17:09.780 --> 00:17:12.060 A new life where we don't have to go back. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:13.780 That sin has been dealt with. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.480 That we don't even have to go there. 00:17:16.140 --> 00:17:18.600 And in the final verse, in verse 11, 00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:21.100 he says, Paul urges us, 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:23.600 so you also must consider yourselves 00:17:23.600 --> 00:17:25.280 dead to sin and alive to Christ. 00:17:25.560 --> 00:17:27.320 So as an individual, 00:17:28.280 --> 00:17:29.520 let's acknowledge that. 00:17:30.280 --> 00:17:31.120 And when we do, 00:17:31.280 --> 00:17:33.500 how will that be reflected in your life? 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:35.500 And I can tell you, 00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:37.859 because we've been singing about it this morning 00:17:37.859 --> 00:17:38.900 and talking about it, 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:42.099 and as Martin Luther said in a famous speech, 00:17:42.779 --> 00:17:43.819 free at last, 00:17:44.420 --> 00:17:45.480 free at last, 00:17:46.259 --> 00:17:46.779 freedom. 00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:52.119 And about you as a follower of Christ, 00:17:52.180 --> 00:17:53.000 as an apprentice, 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:54.160 as a disciple, 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:55.559 as we all are, 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:57.200 do you sense that freedom? 00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:59.160 The old is gone, 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:00.100 the new has come. 00:18:00.779 --> 00:18:03.279 How do we experience that? 00:18:03.860 --> 00:18:05.900 Because so often you may be sat there 00:18:05.900 --> 00:18:07.160 thinking now, 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:08.779 in this very place, 00:18:09.180 --> 00:18:10.819 that a word comes to you and said, 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:12.600 I can't have that 00:18:12.600 --> 00:18:14.960 because of something I've done in the past. 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:17.519 The list will be there. 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:19.620 He will come and remind you, 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:20.500 the evil one, 00:18:20.600 --> 00:18:21.519 again and again. 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:24.559 I can't have this fullness in Christ 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:26.099 because of that 00:18:26.099 --> 00:18:27.519 that I did in my life. 00:18:27.660 --> 00:18:29.099 And it may be years back 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:31.180 and he will drag it up 00:18:31.180 --> 00:18:33.180 like a cesspit of dirt 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:35.440 to bring it back to mind 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:36.480 to stop you 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:38.480 having a fullness in Christ. 00:18:38.879 --> 00:18:39.879 The issue is, 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:41.200 is do you want to live 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:42.639 with one foot in the grave? 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:45.839 In the grave of the past? 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:46.619 No. 00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:47.660 Paul is saying 00:18:47.660 --> 00:18:48.879 you don't have to do that 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:50.380 because it is done 00:18:50.380 --> 00:18:51.700 once and for all 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:53.500 and we can live the new life. 00:18:53.780 --> 00:18:54.900 Buzz the past eight, 00:18:55.220 --> 00:18:56.200 it has been done 00:18:56.200 --> 00:18:58.360 and we live this new life 00:18:58.360 --> 00:18:59.440 in Christ. 00:19:02.140 --> 00:19:04.600 So the question I found asking myself 00:19:04.600 --> 00:19:07.000 in this morning's reading, 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:08.820 are you dead to sin 00:19:08.820 --> 00:19:10.340 and alive to God in Christ? 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:11.540 It was that simple. 00:19:12.320 --> 00:19:14.440 It was that simple as I read this. 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:15.000 Clive, 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:17.620 are you dead to sin 00:19:17.619 --> 00:19:19.759 and alive to God in Christ? 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:21.779 And I offer that to you 00:19:21.779 --> 00:19:23.419 this morning. 00:19:23.959 --> 00:19:25.179 I offer it to you 00:19:25.179 --> 00:19:27.159 wherever you may be. 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:30.019 Is there something today 00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:31.659 that is clinging to you? 00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:35.299 Preventing you from being 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:37.199 fully alive in Christ? 00:19:37.959 --> 00:19:39.759 Something that's been held on to, 00:19:39.899 --> 00:19:40.919 something that's stuck, 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:42.219 something that's cleared. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:43.319 At this very moment, 00:19:43.619 --> 00:19:44.379 now that thought, 00:19:44.659 --> 00:19:45.139 that's saying, 00:19:45.140 --> 00:19:46.880 no, no, you can't be 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:47.980 because of this. 00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:48.920 No. 00:19:51.600 --> 00:19:53.420 Something that is preventing you, 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:54.600 a thought, 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:55.700 a past sin, 00:19:56.020 --> 00:19:58.000 a sense of being unworthy. 00:19:58.160 --> 00:19:59.240 I'm not good enough. 00:20:00.800 --> 00:20:01.520 Hear this. 00:20:02.520 --> 00:20:03.360 As a Christian, 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:05.680 you are dead to sin 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:08.700 when you give your life to Christ. 00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:09.820 You have, 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:10.840 as Paul says, 00:20:11.280 --> 00:20:12.160 a new life. 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:14.900 live in it. 00:20:16.360 --> 00:20:17.240 Live in it. 00:20:18.700 --> 00:20:20.540 Live in this new life 00:20:20.540 --> 00:20:22.140 to the fullness. 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:24.640 Nothing to hold us back. 00:20:28.340 --> 00:20:30.100 So maybe in this series 00:20:30.100 --> 00:20:31.400 that we've been following now, 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:32.700 at this very moment, 00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:33.320 at 00:20:33.320 --> 00:20:36.560 11.32, 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:39.159 on Sunday, 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:40.319 the 9th of July 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:41.899 at Christchurch in Clevedon, 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:43.700 or whatever time 00:20:43.700 --> 00:20:44.599 you're listening to this 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:45.579 on the podcast, 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:47.539 whether you're in lane 3 00:20:47.539 --> 00:20:48.359 of the M4 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:49.440 passing Swindon, 00:20:50.399 --> 00:20:51.639 wherever you might be 00:20:51.639 --> 00:20:52.679 at this time, 00:20:53.399 --> 00:20:54.799 in your home group, 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:56.379 listening in your lunch break, 00:20:57.379 --> 00:20:59.720 is this the time 00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:00.579 when we declare 00:21:00.579 --> 00:21:01.220 that whatever 00:21:01.220 --> 00:21:03.220 is trying to bind us, 00:21:03.659 --> 00:21:04.559 hold us back 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:06.039 from that joyous freedom, 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:07.179 our fears, 00:21:07.339 --> 00:21:07.819 our cares, 00:21:07.980 --> 00:21:08.599 anxieties, 00:21:09.179 --> 00:21:10.039 current sin, 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:10.879 past sin, 00:21:11.139 --> 00:21:12.159 long past sin, 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:13.519 sense of being unworthy, 00:21:13.919 --> 00:21:15.099 we declare 00:21:15.099 --> 00:21:16.899 those things 00:21:16.899 --> 00:21:17.839 are dead. 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:21.319 We declare 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:22.039 they are dead 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:25.519 because of our new life, 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:27.460 that we are alive 00:21:27.460 --> 00:21:28.659 to God 00:21:28.659 --> 00:21:30.419 in Christ Jesus, 00:21:31.379 --> 00:21:32.599 that we are free. 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:37.159 to stand as one people 00:21:37.159 --> 00:21:37.919 in strength 00:21:37.919 --> 00:21:39.059 and the power of God 00:21:39.059 --> 00:21:39.859 together 00:21:39.859 --> 00:21:41.099 in repentance 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:43.859 and joyous repentance 00:21:43.859 --> 00:21:45.959 because we are free. 00:21:47.879 --> 00:21:48.480 Amen. 00:21:49.619 --> 00:21:50.259 Amen. 00:21:52.379 --> 00:21:53.439 So come on people, 00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:54.139 should we do that? 00:21:55.179 --> 00:21:56.619 Should we do that now together? 00:21:57.740 --> 00:21:58.839 Should we do that 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:00.639 now as one? 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:02.820 I invite you, 00:22:03.660 --> 00:22:04.200 if you are able 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:04.900 to stand, 00:22:05.780 --> 00:22:06.820 if you are able 00:22:06.820 --> 00:22:07.380 to stand, 00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:08.200 stand with me. 00:22:08.259 --> 00:22:08.960 If you are not able 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:09.560 to stand, 00:22:09.840 --> 00:22:10.840 maybe if you agree 00:22:10.840 --> 00:22:11.600 you just maybe 00:22:11.600 --> 00:22:12.800 like to raise your hand, 00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:14.620 if you are not able 00:22:14.620 --> 00:22:15.580 to stand. 00:22:17.860 --> 00:22:18.700 So all those, 00:22:19.560 --> 00:22:20.740 all the things 00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:21.340 that evil one 00:22:21.340 --> 00:22:22.600 wants to hold us 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:23.640 with one foot 00:22:23.640 --> 00:22:24.220 in the grave, 00:22:24.560 --> 00:22:25.720 we now declare 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:26.759 and celebrate 00:22:26.759 --> 00:22:28.160 that in the truth 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:28.880 of the gospel 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:29.800 that we have heard 00:22:29.800 --> 00:22:30.620 this morning 00:22:30.620 --> 00:22:33.020 that we are 00:22:33.020 --> 00:22:35.080 dead to sin. 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:37.260 Should we say that 00:22:37.260 --> 00:22:37.600 together? 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:38.780 We are dead to sin. 00:22:39.340 --> 00:22:41.020 We are dead to sin. 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:43.040 And alive to God 00:22:43.040 --> 00:22:44.120 in Christ Jesus. 00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:46.280 And alive to God 00:22:46.280 --> 00:22:47.260 in Christ Jesus. 00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:48.140 Should we say that 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:48.980 louder again 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:49.720 so that the whole 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:50.500 town can hear? 00:22:50.940 --> 00:22:52.740 We are dead to sin. 00:22:53.780 --> 00:22:55.500 And we are alive 00:22:55.500 --> 00:22:56.100 to God 00:22:56.099 --> 00:22:57.619 in Christ Jesus. 00:22:58.519 --> 00:22:58.799 Amen. 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:00.519 Holy Spirit, 00:23:00.619 --> 00:23:02.059 would you come now 00:23:02.059 --> 00:23:03.619 and fill us afresh 00:23:03.619 --> 00:23:05.000 in the power 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:06.579 of the risen Jesus 00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:08.480 to live and work 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:09.359 to your glory 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:10.639 alive to you 00:23:10.639 --> 00:23:11.859 every minute, 00:23:12.379 --> 00:23:13.259 every day 00:23:13.259 --> 00:23:15.119 through the power 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:16.139 and presence 00:23:16.139 --> 00:23:18.059 of Jesus Christ 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:18.659 our Savior. 00:23:19.379 --> 00:23:19.899 Amen. 00:23:19.899 --> 00:23:19.939 Amen. 00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:21.799 Amen. 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:27.099 Amen.