WEBVTT 00:00:00.960 --> 00:00:03.080 Galatians chapter 5. 00:00:03.620 --> 00:00:10.700 You, my brothers, you were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. 00:00:11.339 --> 00:00:13.320 Rather, serve one another in love. 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.820 The entire law is summed up in a single command. 00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:19.080 Love your neighbour as yourself. 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:25.719 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:32.460 So I say, live by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:40.159 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. 00:00:40.820 --> 00:00:45.140 They are in conflict with each other so that you do not do what you want. 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:48.579 But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under law. 00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:51.739 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious. 00:00:51.740 --> 00:01:08.820 The acts of the spirit, sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:15.900 I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:25.500 But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:28.540 Against such things there is no law. 00:01:29.320 --> 00:01:37.360 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:42.140 Since we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit. 00:01:42.140 --> 00:01:47.719 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. 00:01:48.420 --> 00:01:54.540 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are sinful should restore him gently. 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:57.620 But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:03.439 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:08.280 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:12.479 Each one should test his own actions. 00:02:13.020 --> 00:02:18.159 Then he can take pride in himself without comparing himself with somebody else. 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:20.800 For each one should carry his own load. 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:27.199 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. 00:02:27.699 --> 00:02:28.360 Thank you. 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:34.220 Great. Thank you, David. 00:02:35.220 --> 00:02:38.160 Now, keep that passage open because we're going to work our way through it. 00:02:38.160 --> 00:02:39.360 I'm going to move that plant because otherwise... 00:02:42.020 --> 00:02:46.220 That will be on the YouTube video forever and ever and ever, and that's the only thing people will look at. 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:46.620 There you go. 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:50.420 I wonder as we start if I can ask you a question. 00:02:50.419 --> 00:02:52.759 And the question is this. 00:02:52.899 --> 00:02:58.339 What is your most significant contribution to West Kilburn Baptist Church? 00:02:59.519 --> 00:03:04.299 In other words, what is it that you do, or if you're new here or you're just visiting this morning, 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:12.899 what is it that you could do or that you do in your church that has the biggest blessing to the life of the church together? 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:20.840 What is the most significant contribution to our effort to revitalize the ministry of the gospel here that you can make? 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:21.379 What is it? 00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:26.080 Maybe, you know, you're thinking maybe it's the money that I could give. 00:03:26.659 --> 00:03:29.219 Maybe it's the rotors that I could join. 00:03:30.219 --> 00:03:35.140 Maybe I've got particular perceptive insights at church members meetings, 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:38.439 that ability to spot the mistakes that everyone else is making. 00:03:38.620 --> 00:03:42.280 Maybe I've got years of experience in church and church leadership. 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:50.819 Maybe I've got great musical skill or a friendship network that means I can be inviting others to come to church every single week. 00:03:51.640 --> 00:03:53.240 Maybe it's that you're a preacher. 00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:54.680 What is it? 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:01.740 Well, I want to suggest to you from this passage that we've just read that for all of us, 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:03.800 including for me this morning, 00:04:04.819 --> 00:04:09.439 our most significant contribution to the life of the church here 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:13.300 is a personal commitment to grow as a Christian. 00:04:14.859 --> 00:04:16.699 To put the same thing the other way around, 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:19.439 it doesn't matter what you do here. 00:04:19.699 --> 00:04:22.379 It doesn't matter if you have thousands of pounds to give 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:25.540 or hundreds of volunteer hours to pour in. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.159 It doesn't matter if you can preach brilliant sermons. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:32.780 If I am not and you are not growing as a Christian, 00:04:33.320 --> 00:04:35.380 then in a profound sense, 00:04:35.880 --> 00:04:37.560 we are not helping the church. 00:04:37.840 --> 00:04:38.560 We're not. 00:04:39.580 --> 00:04:42.800 Here's the point, as bluntly as I can put it. 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:45.020 If I don't grow, 00:04:45.660 --> 00:04:47.120 the church will die. 00:04:47.740 --> 00:04:48.680 If I don't grow, 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:49.660 the church will die. 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:52.020 Now that's a massive claim, isn't it? 00:04:52.019 --> 00:04:54.120 So I want to first prove that to you from the passage, 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:56.519 and then I'm going to give you six points, 00:04:56.639 --> 00:04:57.719 don't worry, they're not long, 00:04:58.159 --> 00:05:00.819 about discipleship and Christian growth from the passage. 00:05:00.979 --> 00:05:01.620 So here we go. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:02.979 If I don't grow, 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:04.240 the church will die. 00:05:05.259 --> 00:05:05.899 In a moment, 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:10.240 I'm going to try and explain to you a little bit more about Paul's freedom language in the passage. 00:05:10.719 --> 00:05:12.399 But his big point here, 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:14.819 having explained over and over again, 00:05:14.919 --> 00:05:16.779 and super clearly to the Galatian churches, 00:05:16.779 --> 00:05:23.059 that they can only be saved from God's wrath and future judgment by faith alone in Christ alone, 00:05:23.739 --> 00:05:28.459 he's now telling them that that life of faith has a particular shape. 00:05:28.739 --> 00:05:33.159 It looks like something that needs to be lived. 00:05:33.679 --> 00:05:34.859 And it's lived out, he says, 00:05:34.919 --> 00:05:38.099 in a collective commitment to personal discipleship. 00:05:38.619 --> 00:05:42.359 And you see that because you see the alternative painted in these verses. 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:43.579 Look at verse 15. 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:46.699 He says, this is the alternative to living the life of faith. 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:49.659 He says, if you bite and devour each other, 00:05:49.859 --> 00:05:52.219 watch out or you'll be destroyed by each other. 00:05:53.239 --> 00:05:54.799 Or again, down in verse 21, 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:56.759 I warn you, he says, 00:05:56.859 --> 00:05:57.819 as I did before, 00:05:57.899 --> 00:05:59.899 that those who live like this, 00:05:59.939 --> 00:06:03.019 having listed the ways of the flesh or the sinful nature, 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:05.099 will not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:06:06.179 --> 00:06:09.119 Or again, in chapter 6, verses 7 and 8, 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:10.939 just beyond the passage that we read, 00:06:10.939 --> 00:06:12.319 do not be deceived, he says. 00:06:12.459 --> 00:06:13.659 God cannot be mocked. 00:06:14.039 --> 00:06:15.979 A man reaps what he sows. 00:06:15.980 --> 00:06:19.360 Whoever sows to please their flesh or their sinful nature, 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:20.980 from the sinful nature or the flesh, 00:06:21.060 --> 00:06:22.140 will reap destruction. 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:24.700 Whoever sows to please the Spirit, 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:26.740 from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:31.460 These are hugely strong words that Paul is using, aren't they? 00:06:31.700 --> 00:06:33.759 In fact, in chapter 5, verse 15, 00:06:33.819 --> 00:06:34.460 if you look back at that, 00:06:34.540 --> 00:06:38.540 those are the Greek words used to describe wild animals in deadly battle. 00:06:38.540 --> 00:06:41.920 They bite, they devour, 00:06:42.200 --> 00:06:43.879 and they destroy one another. 00:06:44.620 --> 00:06:46.740 And the point is clear that for us, 00:06:46.780 --> 00:06:48.240 even as Christians this morning, 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:50.000 there remain in our hearts 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:52.920 ungodly, fleshly desires, 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:55.240 motives and practices, 00:06:55.620 --> 00:06:58.860 that if we don't work hard to put them to death, 00:06:59.220 --> 00:07:01.759 they will destroy not only us as individuals, 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:03.420 but also us as a local fellowship. 00:07:05.899 --> 00:07:08.060 We need to be really serious about this, don't we? 00:07:08.139 --> 00:07:09.459 The truth is, 00:07:10.039 --> 00:07:12.860 if we are not committed to personal discipleship, 00:07:12.980 --> 00:07:14.920 as individuals in a church, 00:07:14.980 --> 00:07:17.139 we're not committed to putting to death 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:20.139 these desires and habits of our old sinful nature, 00:07:20.139 --> 00:07:22.139 then it doesn't matter what else we do. 00:07:22.139 --> 00:07:27.539 It doesn't matter how spectacular the church looks, 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:29.379 the church will die. 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:31.599 Because in our sinfulness, 00:07:31.779 --> 00:07:33.240 we will eat one another up, 00:07:33.419 --> 00:07:34.899 bite and devour one another. 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:38.240 Maybe even perhaps showing that we were never Christians 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:39.079 in the first place, 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:40.439 and so reap destruction. 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:43.919 I know there's a balance here, 00:07:43.979 --> 00:07:45.300 and I don't want to overstate it, 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:46.300 so I want to get it right. 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:46.699 But listen, 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:48.800 understanding God's sovereignty, 00:07:49.300 --> 00:07:51.719 knowing that we absolutely rely 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:52.880 on the work of his spirit, 00:07:53.320 --> 00:07:54.380 knowing with confidence 00:07:54.380 --> 00:07:55.460 that the life of our church 00:07:55.460 --> 00:07:57.480 is in God's hands and not ours, 00:07:57.580 --> 00:07:58.580 rightly understand that, 00:07:58.960 --> 00:08:00.840 still there is a right sense 00:08:00.840 --> 00:08:03.620 in which the future of West Kilburn Baptist Church 00:08:03.620 --> 00:08:05.500 rests on our personal willingness 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:07.140 to fight anger, 00:08:07.960 --> 00:08:08.360 envy, 00:08:09.220 --> 00:08:10.080 sexual immorality, 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:11.260 pride, 00:08:11.900 --> 00:08:12.360 gossip, 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:14.180 slander and the like. 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:16.200 So much so, 00:08:16.640 --> 00:08:18.120 that when you're on your own at home, 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:19.560 when I'm on my own at home, 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:21.380 on my knees before the Lord, 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:23.100 asking for his help 00:08:23.100 --> 00:08:24.960 to fight sin and love Jesus, 00:08:25.420 --> 00:08:25.920 there, 00:08:26.140 --> 00:08:27.320 in those moments, 00:08:27.480 --> 00:08:29.500 I am serving West Kilburn Baptist Church 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:31.700 in the most useful way. 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:35.259 Because if I don't grow, 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:37.300 the church will die. 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:39.399 That means, doesn't it, 00:08:39.420 --> 00:08:40.420 that this morning's sermon, 00:08:40.540 --> 00:08:41.480 it's serious, isn't it? 00:08:41.540 --> 00:08:42.500 And it's personal. 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:44.040 It's both those things. 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:45.360 It's serious and it's personal. 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:46.680 And I've been praying, 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:47.879 as I've been preparing this week, 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:49.519 that the Lord might use our time together 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:50.259 around his word, 00:08:50.539 --> 00:08:52.240 just to shake us all up a little bit 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:53.259 in this area. 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:54.939 So let me try and give you six instructions 00:08:54.939 --> 00:08:56.299 on Christian grace from the passage. 00:08:56.840 --> 00:08:57.620 And then after lunch, 00:08:57.740 --> 00:08:58.299 stay for lunch. 00:08:58.740 --> 00:08:59.240 And after lunch, 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:00.319 you'll have a chance to ask questions 00:09:00.319 --> 00:09:01.740 and for us to discuss it together 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:02.399 in more detail. 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:03.799 First thing is this. 00:09:04.340 --> 00:09:06.319 Growth comes from freedom 00:09:06.319 --> 00:09:08.079 and makes me a slave. 00:09:08.179 --> 00:09:09.159 Growth comes from freedom 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:09.860 and makes me a slave. 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:11.899 Now, this first point 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:13.559 is a little theological, 00:09:14.079 --> 00:09:14.840 but it's vital. 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:16.340 So get your brain in gear, 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:17.639 look down at your passage 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:18.879 and let's try and work this out together. 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:20.060 Look down at verse 13. 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:22.980 You, my brothers and sisters, 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:25.160 were called to be free, he says. 00:09:25.560 --> 00:09:26.840 Is the clicker no longer working? 00:09:29.460 --> 00:09:29.960 There you go. 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:30.360 That's it. 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:31.480 You can go sit down now for a bit. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:33.480 Just sit on the front row. 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:35.259 That'll work. 00:09:37.680 --> 00:09:39.600 No one else will ever want to do the clicker, 00:09:39.780 --> 00:09:40.440 will they now? 00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:42.980 Look down at verse 13. 00:09:42.980 --> 00:09:44.300 They say, 00:09:44.659 --> 00:09:46.019 You, my brothers and sisters, 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:47.779 were called to be free. 00:09:48.860 --> 00:09:50.200 But do not use your freedom 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:51.560 to indulge the flesh. 00:09:52.100 --> 00:09:54.680 Rather, serve one another humbly in love. 00:09:55.340 --> 00:09:57.440 For the entire law is fulfilled 00:09:57.440 --> 00:09:59.100 in keeping this one command. 00:09:59.659 --> 00:10:01.320 Love your neighbor as yourself. 00:10:02.560 --> 00:10:04.060 That little phrase there, 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:05.759 called to be free, 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:06.860 is really important. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:08.600 It's working as a summary 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:09.940 of what Paul has been saying 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:11.680 so far in his letter to the Galatians. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:13.659 So the Galatian Christians 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:16.659 are saved from hell for glory, 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:18.659 not by their own good actions, 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:20.659 not even by their own commitment 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:21.899 to personal growth and godliness. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:23.899 Rather, they are saved 00:10:23.899 --> 00:10:25.379 by the death of Jesus Christ, 00:10:25.459 --> 00:10:26.639 the sacrifice of his blood, 00:10:26.699 --> 00:10:29.359 which he says has set them free. 00:10:30.359 --> 00:10:31.559 Free from the condemnation 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:33.139 which they deserve from a holy God, 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:34.359 given them a new life 00:10:34.359 --> 00:10:35.679 which they could never have earned. 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:39.019 How this works is that 00:10:39.019 --> 00:10:40.139 becoming a Christian 00:10:40.139 --> 00:10:42.819 involves being united with Jesus. 00:10:43.699 --> 00:10:45.439 So Jesus, when we talk as Christians 00:10:45.439 --> 00:10:47.199 about Jesus dying for us, 00:10:47.199 --> 00:10:48.859 it's not him dying for us 00:10:48.859 --> 00:10:50.419 in a sort of abstract sense, 00:10:50.419 --> 00:10:51.759 as if it's legal fiction. 00:10:52.319 --> 00:10:53.179 You know, God's sort of playing 00:10:53.179 --> 00:10:54.379 some legal hocus pocus 00:10:54.379 --> 00:10:55.659 whereby someone else 00:10:55.659 --> 00:10:57.479 just takes our punishment randomly. 00:10:58.120 --> 00:10:59.339 Now, actually, what the Bible says 00:10:59.339 --> 00:11:01.159 is we are included in Christ. 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:02.339 So as a Christian, 00:11:02.860 --> 00:11:04.039 Christ on the cross 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:06.839 is taking my sin on himself 00:11:06.839 --> 00:11:08.360 and bearing the punishment for it. 00:11:08.579 --> 00:11:10.240 And I receive his righteousness. 00:11:10.839 --> 00:11:12.819 If you look back at Galatians chapter 2 00:11:12.819 --> 00:11:13.799 and verse 20, 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:15.539 just go back a few pages in your Bible, 00:11:15.659 --> 00:11:17.079 Galatians chapter 2 verse 20, 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:19.299 Paul summarizes it like this. 00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:20.480 He says, 00:11:20.939 --> 00:11:23.579 I have been crucified with Christ 00:11:23.579 --> 00:11:25.299 and I no longer live, 00:11:26.019 --> 00:11:27.399 but Christ lives in me. 00:11:28.019 --> 00:11:29.459 The life I now live in the body, 00:11:29.460 --> 00:11:31.519 I live by faith in the Son of God 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:33.580 who loved me and gave himself for me. 00:11:34.259 --> 00:11:35.220 Being a Christian involves 00:11:35.220 --> 00:11:36.500 the death of an old life 00:11:36.500 --> 00:11:38.300 and a new life being lived, 00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:39.540 a life of faith. 00:11:40.560 --> 00:11:42.220 Now, coming back to chapter 5, 00:11:42.300 --> 00:11:43.620 and Paul is assuming by this point 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:45.200 in his letter that we all know that. 00:11:45.800 --> 00:11:47.000 And he's explaining now 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:49.000 how having been set free 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:50.500 from sin and the wrath of God, 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:52.100 having been united with Christ, 00:11:52.460 --> 00:11:55.080 what do these new lives of faith look like? 00:11:55.580 --> 00:11:56.740 He says, verse 14, 00:11:57.360 --> 00:11:59.180 these lives are informed by the law. 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:01.620 God's moral law in the Old Testament, 00:12:01.780 --> 00:12:03.740 a law which is summarized in its ethics 00:12:03.740 --> 00:12:06.019 by that instruction from Leviticus 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:07.000 repeated by Jesus, 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:07.560 which says, 00:12:08.100 --> 00:12:09.440 love your neighbor as yourself. 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:11.519 So here it is, 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:13.600 you have been called by God 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:15.120 to the freedom of salvation. 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:17.440 And that freedom is lived out 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:19.060 in love for others, he says. 00:12:19.740 --> 00:12:21.259 If you look at the end of verse 13, 00:12:21.400 --> 00:12:22.879 how is that freedom expressed? 00:12:23.300 --> 00:12:24.980 Well, we don't indulge the flesh. 00:12:25.980 --> 00:12:27.100 That's what we're free from. 00:12:27.220 --> 00:12:28.460 Instead, we serve, 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:29.259 or literally, 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:31.759 slave ourselves to one another. 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:34.600 Let me try and illustrate it, 00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:34.980 if I can. 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:35.920 Imagine it like this. 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:37.519 Imagine you have a child 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:39.220 who loves to sing. 00:12:39.860 --> 00:12:40.879 They love to sing. 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:43.059 But the problem is, 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:44.840 they have a terrible, 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:46.299 terrible voice. 00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:49.840 And every time this child tries to sing, 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:50.600 you know, 00:12:50.700 --> 00:12:52.580 the cat starts screaming, 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:54.100 the glasses break, 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:55.980 the neighbors are banging on the ceiling, 00:12:56.200 --> 00:12:57.879 and kicking in your door. 00:12:58.580 --> 00:12:59.779 They love to sing, 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:00.939 but they have been born 00:13:00.939 --> 00:13:02.539 with a terrible voice, 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:03.740 and they are a slave 00:13:03.740 --> 00:13:05.019 to this terrible voice. 00:13:05.059 --> 00:13:05.799 They can't change it. 00:13:05.820 --> 00:13:06.980 It's ruining everything. 00:13:07.620 --> 00:13:08.559 You're no longer friends 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:09.559 with your neighbors anymore. 00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:11.519 There's not a glass in your house 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:12.139 that's intact, 00:13:12.139 --> 00:13:13.620 because they've all been shattered 00:13:13.620 --> 00:13:15.059 by the voice of this desperate, 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:15.840 singing child 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:16.779 who's ruining everything. 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:19.179 You've got a constant headache. 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:22.220 So at great expense, 00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:24.700 you call London's finest doctor, 00:13:24.700 --> 00:13:26.500 and you arrange for your child 00:13:26.500 --> 00:13:29.240 to have a miracle operation, 00:13:29.400 --> 00:13:31.140 whereby their voice box 00:13:31.140 --> 00:13:33.440 is swapped out and removed, 00:13:33.560 --> 00:13:34.280 and they are given 00:13:34.280 --> 00:13:36.879 Ariana Grande's voice box instead, 00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:38.680 so that they sing like her 00:13:38.680 --> 00:13:39.620 and not themselves. 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:41.820 Now, Jen told me this week 00:13:41.820 --> 00:13:42.540 that none of you would know 00:13:42.540 --> 00:13:43.580 who Ariana Grande is, 00:13:43.660 --> 00:13:44.920 but some of you do, 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:45.460 and if you don't, 00:13:45.500 --> 00:13:46.900 you can ask the children 00:13:46.900 --> 00:13:47.860 when they come back in. 00:13:49.300 --> 00:13:50.320 Now, think about it. 00:13:50.520 --> 00:13:51.960 After all that expense 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:52.860 for your child 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:54.759 to swap their voice box out 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:55.580 for another one, 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:57.600 what is it that you want 00:13:57.600 --> 00:13:58.779 your child to do 00:13:58.779 --> 00:13:59.840 more than anything 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:01.279 when they get home? 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:02.940 What is it that you want them to do? 00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:06.419 You want them to sing, don't you? 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:07.560 That's what you want them to do. 00:14:08.560 --> 00:14:10.480 Not to pay you back 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:11.300 for the operation, 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:12.379 not even because 00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:13.080 if they don't sing, 00:14:13.139 --> 00:14:13.800 it means the operation 00:14:13.800 --> 00:14:14.580 wasn't successful. 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:16.139 Rather, you want them to sing 00:14:16.139 --> 00:14:18.159 because that's what it was all about 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:19.899 in the first place, isn't it? 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:21.879 That was the purpose 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:23.199 for which you have been working. 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:26.120 Now, the same with being a Christian. 00:14:27.199 --> 00:14:28.579 Everyone in this room, 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:29.720 including me, 00:14:29.819 --> 00:14:32.259 without the Lord's miraculous intervention, 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:34.279 are the spiritual version 00:14:34.279 --> 00:14:35.959 of a cat-screaming, 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:37.079 glass-breaking, 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:38.639 chaos-bringing sinner. 00:14:39.340 --> 00:14:41.819 We create in our actions 00:14:41.819 --> 00:14:43.480 many outposts of hell 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:45.559 as we shut God out of our lives 00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:47.139 and live our own 00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:48.879 self-destructive desires. 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:50.960 I'm battered by the 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:52.500 self-destructive desires of others 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:54.120 so that none of us 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:55.460 are capable in our own strength 00:14:55.460 --> 00:14:56.059 of living a life 00:14:56.059 --> 00:14:56.759 that pleases God. 00:14:56.860 --> 00:14:58.820 Every time we open our mouths, 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:01.460 it comes out as a screech, 00:15:01.860 --> 00:15:03.399 which means all of us 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:04.860 need an action of the Lord Jesus, 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:06.539 a miraculous action 00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:07.899 of the Lord Jesus, actually, 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:10.179 received by faith 00:15:10.179 --> 00:15:11.379 in response to his calling 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:12.580 where he can transform us 00:15:12.580 --> 00:15:13.720 from the inside out, 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:15.679 taking our sin, 00:15:15.820 --> 00:15:17.019 giving us a new life. 00:15:17.019 --> 00:15:20.039 not Ariana Grande's, 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:21.779 but Jesus' life, 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:23.240 life by the Spirit, 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:24.980 a life which loves 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:26.779 to love others above itself, 00:15:27.259 --> 00:15:28.039 a life which loves 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:29.399 to obey God's moral law 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:30.259 above its own desires, 00:15:30.620 --> 00:15:32.079 not because it has to, 00:15:32.620 --> 00:15:34.059 but because it was made to. 00:15:34.139 --> 00:15:35.220 It's what it wants to do, 00:15:35.299 --> 00:15:36.340 not because it must do, 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:37.439 but because it loves to. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:39.740 And so that's Christian growth. 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:42.060 It's not earning credit with God 00:15:42.060 --> 00:15:44.039 so that he somehow owes us stuff. 00:15:44.419 --> 00:15:46.039 Rather, it's living the new life 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:47.180 that he's given us, 00:15:47.620 --> 00:15:49.840 being who we now are in Christ, 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:51.480 which is a servant of love 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:52.279 towards one another. 00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:54.480 It is singing with the new voice 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:55.299 that God has given us, 00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:56.600 and he's given it to us 00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:57.460 for that purpose 00:15:57.460 --> 00:15:58.320 that we might sing. 00:15:59.299 --> 00:16:00.500 Now that means, doesn't it, 00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:01.279 this morning, 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:02.580 we need to ask ourselves, 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:04.100 before we consider anything else 00:16:04.100 --> 00:16:05.060 about growing as a Christian, 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:06.519 you need to ask yourself, 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:07.700 I need to ask myself, 00:16:07.700 --> 00:16:09.379 am I really a Christian? 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:11.680 Have I really experienced that? 00:16:12.940 --> 00:16:14.220 And if you're not a Christian 00:16:14.220 --> 00:16:14.780 this morning, 00:16:15.060 --> 00:16:16.120 it's so good you're here. 00:16:16.180 --> 00:16:16.879 I'm really pleased 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:17.740 to have you this morning. 00:16:17.980 --> 00:16:20.160 But I want to be really clear with you. 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:22.740 You don't become a Christian 00:16:22.740 --> 00:16:25.320 by living a Christian life. 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:27.280 That's not how it works. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.740 Rather, you live a Christian life 00:16:30.740 --> 00:16:32.560 because you have been made a Christian 00:16:32.560 --> 00:16:33.800 by the Lord Jesus, 00:16:34.900 --> 00:16:35.920 by faith in him. 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:37.799 And then if you ask yourself, 00:16:37.860 --> 00:16:38.759 well, how can I tell 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:40.339 if I've actually put my faith in Jesus? 00:16:40.439 --> 00:16:41.199 How can I tell 00:16:41.199 --> 00:16:42.959 if I've been made a Christian by Jesus? 00:16:43.319 --> 00:16:44.479 Well, you can tell 00:16:44.479 --> 00:16:46.919 because you have this overwhelming desire 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:47.899 to live like him 00:16:47.899 --> 00:16:49.039 and to love like him 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:50.939 because the new Christian life 00:16:50.939 --> 00:16:51.939 longs to be lived. 00:16:52.699 --> 00:16:54.120 And if those desires are not there, 00:16:54.179 --> 00:16:55.679 don't try and rustle them up on your own. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:57.019 Rather, come back to the Lord Jesus 00:16:57.019 --> 00:16:57.740 and say, listen, 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:01.819 Lord Jesus, please have mercy on me 00:17:01.819 --> 00:17:04.480 and give me a heart that loves you 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:05.839 and longs to live for your glory. 00:17:06.299 --> 00:17:07.920 I can't earn your favor 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:09.000 or deserve your kindness. 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:11.360 Please hear my prayer and transform me. 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:13.680 So that's the first point. 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:14.779 Growth comes from freedom 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:15.700 and makes me a slave. 00:17:15.860 --> 00:17:16.599 Secondly, we're going to move 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:17.079 a bit more quickly. 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:19.799 Growth is war. 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:21.120 Growth is war. 00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:23.860 Let's notice this quickly. 00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:25.140 Growing as a Christian 00:17:25.140 --> 00:17:26.720 will feel like war. 00:17:27.420 --> 00:17:28.880 Not a war with other people, 00:17:29.259 --> 00:17:30.299 but an internal war, 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:31.839 a war with what Paul calls 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:33.159 the desires of the flesh 00:17:33.159 --> 00:17:34.480 or the desires of the sinful nature 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:35.159 in verse 16. 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:36.579 Listen to his explanation, 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:37.399 verse 17. 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:38.299 Look down at your Bibles. 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:40.279 For the flesh desires 00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:42.379 what is contrary to the spirit 00:17:42.379 --> 00:17:44.079 and the spirit what is contrary 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:44.759 to the flesh 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:45.659 or the sinful nature. 00:17:46.159 --> 00:17:47.939 They are in conflict with each other 00:17:47.939 --> 00:17:50.039 so that you are not to do 00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:51.179 whatever you want. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:53.939 Surely this is all of our experiences 00:17:53.939 --> 00:17:55.199 if we're a Christian this morning, 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:56.439 that living the Christian life 00:17:56.439 --> 00:17:58.019 turns out to be way more difficult 00:17:58.019 --> 00:17:58.720 than we thought. 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:02.279 not so much because those around us 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:02.920 make us difficult, 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:03.980 although they do at times, 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:06.039 but because actually within me 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:07.720 rages this battle 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:10.400 with the desires of my sinful nature 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:12.799 against what I now want to do 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:13.500 as a Christian. 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:16.720 So much so 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:19.259 that the growth of our local church 00:18:19.259 --> 00:18:21.259 is the lived out experience 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:23.700 of this transforming work of Christ 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:24.819 is hard. 00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:28.119 because at one fundamental level 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:31.379 the work of growing as a Christian 00:18:31.379 --> 00:18:32.799 involves not doing 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:34.379 what you want to do. 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:35.399 Do you get that? 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:38.659 It means deliberately ignoring 00:18:38.659 --> 00:18:40.139 the desires of the flesh. 00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:42.619 An athlete won't compete 00:18:42.619 --> 00:18:43.500 at the highest level 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:44.899 if they don't kill that desire 00:18:44.899 --> 00:18:45.799 for an extra donut. 00:18:46.659 --> 00:18:48.159 Or a great musician 00:18:48.159 --> 00:18:50.539 won't perform the best 00:18:50.539 --> 00:18:51.740 if they don't fight that desire 00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:52.679 to watch TV 00:18:52.679 --> 00:18:53.679 instead of practicing. 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:56.039 So as a Christian this morning 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:57.019 we won't grow 00:18:57.019 --> 00:18:58.560 unless we double down 00:18:58.560 --> 00:18:59.460 in war 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:00.960 against a whole set of desires 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:02.019 that would ruin 00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:02.799 our Christian lives 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:03.539 if we let them. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:05.700 You know, 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:07.539 if your Christian life, 00:19:07.580 --> 00:19:08.240 if I can put it like this, 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:09.100 if your Christian life 00:19:09.100 --> 00:19:09.759 this morning 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:11.560 is largely shaped 00:19:11.560 --> 00:19:12.360 around doing 00:19:12.360 --> 00:19:13.140 whatever it is 00:19:13.140 --> 00:19:14.340 that you just want to do, 00:19:15.340 --> 00:19:17.420 if you come to church 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:18.900 when you feel like it 00:19:18.900 --> 00:19:20.299 or you read your Bible 00:19:20.299 --> 00:19:21.580 when you want to 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:22.519 or if you pray 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:24.059 when you're in the mood, 00:19:24.659 --> 00:19:25.939 well then let me tell you 00:19:25.939 --> 00:19:27.879 you're losing the war. 00:19:28.639 --> 00:19:29.599 You're losing the war. 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:32.119 Because the Christian life 00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:32.939 is a war, 00:19:33.059 --> 00:19:33.659 a battle 00:19:33.659 --> 00:19:34.720 against a whole set 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:35.159 of desires 00:19:35.159 --> 00:19:36.460 which if we let them flourish 00:19:36.460 --> 00:19:37.899 will ruin our Christian lives. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:40.519 Thirdly, 00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:42.099 growth is seen 00:19:42.099 --> 00:19:43.159 in relationship with others. 00:19:43.259 --> 00:19:44.220 This is Paul's list 00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:45.619 in verses 19 to 21. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:47.019 It's worth looking at again. 00:19:47.099 --> 00:19:48.000 Let me read it to you. 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:49.819 The acts of the flesh 00:19:49.819 --> 00:19:50.299 are obvious. 00:19:50.460 --> 00:19:50.720 He says, 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:51.640 sexual immorality, 00:19:51.859 --> 00:19:52.359 impurity, 00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:53.220 debauchery, 00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:54.759 idolatry and witchcraft, 00:19:55.180 --> 00:19:55.500 hatred, 00:19:55.940 --> 00:19:56.359 discord, 00:19:56.599 --> 00:19:56.900 jealousy, 00:19:57.500 --> 00:19:58.240 fits of rage, 00:19:58.420 --> 00:19:59.079 selfish ambition, 00:19:59.279 --> 00:19:59.740 dissensions, 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:00.980 factions and envy, 00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:02.220 drunkenness, 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:03.180 orgies and the like. 00:20:03.660 --> 00:20:04.279 I warn you 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:05.099 as I did before 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:06.400 that those who live like this 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:07.440 will not inherit 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:08.859 the kingdom of God. 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:12.019 This then is the battleground 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:12.779 of the Christian life. 00:20:12.859 --> 00:20:13.339 This if you like 00:20:13.339 --> 00:20:14.740 is the psalm 00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:15.720 of discipleship 00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:16.759 or the D-Day beaches 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:17.720 of Christian growth. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:19.900 It's personal relationships. 00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:21.079 Personal relationships. 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:22.740 This is where the battle 00:20:22.740 --> 00:20:23.960 for Christian growth 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:24.579 and life 00:20:24.579 --> 00:20:25.700 is the hardest. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:27.940 And on the one hand 00:20:27.940 --> 00:20:28.359 you notice 00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:30.059 it's for sexual purity. 00:20:30.259 --> 00:20:30.680 That's where 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:31.660 the battleground is. 00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:33.400 Sexual immorality, 00:20:33.619 --> 00:20:34.579 the word that's translated 00:20:34.579 --> 00:20:35.500 like that in our Bibles 00:20:35.500 --> 00:20:36.220 is the Greek word 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:36.839 porneia. 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:39.220 It's a catch-all word 00:20:39.220 --> 00:20:40.200 that covers 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:41.299 not just what we might 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:42.180 consider the worst 00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:42.839 sexual sins 00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:43.380 but it covers 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:45.180 all sexual activity 00:20:45.180 --> 00:20:46.299 outside of the marriage 00:20:46.299 --> 00:20:47.099 of one man 00:20:47.099 --> 00:20:47.940 to one woman. 00:20:48.859 --> 00:20:49.519 And Paul is saying 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:50.720 that for all of us 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:52.519 every one in this room 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:53.240 our flesh 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:54.319 will push against 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:55.319 and fight 00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:57.680 that version of purity. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:20:59.359 All of us in our flesh 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:00.519 will long to deviate 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:01.819 from God's version 00:21:01.819 --> 00:21:02.559 of sexual purity 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:03.799 in a myriad of ways. 00:21:05.259 --> 00:21:05.900 None of us 00:21:05.900 --> 00:21:06.539 will ever 00:21:06.539 --> 00:21:07.640 only want 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:08.839 what God wants 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:09.599 for us sexually. 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:11.680 And there will be a war 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:13.619 a war against impurity 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:15.559 fighting the desire 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:16.279 for porneia 00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:17.220 in all its forms 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:17.839 whether it's the 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:19.159 longing for pornography 00:21:19.159 --> 00:21:20.179 whether it's flirting 00:21:20.179 --> 00:21:20.619 with someone 00:21:20.619 --> 00:21:21.419 I'm not married to 00:21:21.419 --> 00:21:22.059 whether it's 00:21:22.059 --> 00:21:22.559 hooking up 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:23.539 for casual sex 00:21:23.539 --> 00:21:23.980 whether it's 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:24.519 taking part 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:25.259 in gay sex 00:21:25.259 --> 00:21:26.379 sexual purity 00:21:26.379 --> 00:21:27.399 is not the battle 00:21:27.399 --> 00:21:28.159 of the few 00:21:28.159 --> 00:21:29.399 it's the battle 00:21:29.399 --> 00:21:30.139 of us all. 00:21:30.140 --> 00:21:31.000 Paul says 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:34.160 it might have a 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:34.640 slightly different 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:35.320 shape for each 00:21:35.320 --> 00:21:35.840 of us 00:21:35.840 --> 00:21:37.000 but none of us 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:37.820 are free from this 00:21:37.820 --> 00:21:40.340 and even age 00:21:40.340 --> 00:21:41.500 doesn't take it away. 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:43.140 You will not 00:21:43.140 --> 00:21:44.160 grow out of this 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:45.660 because says Paul 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:46.480 this is the battle 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:47.120 ground of Christian 00:21:47.120 --> 00:21:47.400 growth 00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:48.180 and it's a 00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:48.960 controversial one 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:49.480 isn't it? 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:50.960 Because our world 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:51.820 has a very different 00:21:51.820 --> 00:21:52.840 view of sexual purity 00:21:52.840 --> 00:21:54.100 to God. 00:21:54.099 --> 00:21:56.240 we don't have time 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:57.039 to go through the list 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:57.740 in lots of detail 00:21:57.740 --> 00:21:58.399 but you'll notice 00:21:58.399 --> 00:21:59.039 that most of the 00:21:59.039 --> 00:21:59.980 other words in this 00:21:59.980 --> 00:22:00.759 list are also 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:01.279 relational 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:02.399 not sexual 00:22:02.399 --> 00:22:02.819 relationships 00:22:02.819 --> 00:22:03.639 but just all 00:22:03.639 --> 00:22:04.179 relationships 00:22:04.179 --> 00:22:05.579 we're tempted to 00:22:05.579 --> 00:22:06.559 envy and to 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:07.019 anger 00:22:07.019 --> 00:22:08.240 to be ambitious 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:08.839 to get ahead 00:22:08.839 --> 00:22:09.439 of one another 00:22:09.439 --> 00:22:10.679 in other words 00:22:10.679 --> 00:22:11.359 it's not just 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:12.639 disordered sexual 00:22:12.639 --> 00:22:13.319 desire that will be 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:13.839 a challenge for 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:14.199 our Christian 00:22:14.199 --> 00:22:14.419 growth 00:22:14.419 --> 00:22:15.299 but also a wrong 00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:15.859 sense of being 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:16.519 in competition 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:17.139 with one another 00:22:17.139 --> 00:22:17.799 in church 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:19.159 that feeling that 00:22:19.159 --> 00:22:20.059 the success of 00:22:20.059 --> 00:22:20.819 others is my 00:22:20.819 --> 00:22:21.339 failure 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:22.539 or that church 00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:22.959 is a place 00:22:22.959 --> 00:22:23.339 where I 00:22:23.339 --> 00:22:24.740 accumulate power 00:22:24.740 --> 00:22:25.500 by taking it 00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:26.199 off other people 00:22:26.199 --> 00:22:27.159 all of that is 00:22:27.159 --> 00:22:27.539 wrong 00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:28.619 it's like being 00:22:28.619 --> 00:22:29.119 given a new 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:30.199 voice but insisting 00:22:30.199 --> 00:22:31.039 on singing out of 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:31.339 tune 00:22:31.339 --> 00:22:32.980 in the voice 00:22:32.980 --> 00:22:33.519 that breaks 00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:34.099 stuff 00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:36.179 but let me try 00:22:36.179 --> 00:22:36.659 and land this 00:22:36.659 --> 00:22:37.399 really specifically 00:22:37.399 --> 00:22:38.000 for us this 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:38.839 morning if I can 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:40.500 in a church 00:22:40.500 --> 00:22:41.819 revitalization like 00:22:41.819 --> 00:22:42.139 ours 00:22:42.139 --> 00:22:44.000 it is likely that 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:44.799 relational hurt 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:45.579 and trouble in the 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:46.319 church is something 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:47.039 we're just going to 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:47.799 have to face up to 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:48.539 and deal with 00:22:48.539 --> 00:22:50.399 because all of us 00:22:50.399 --> 00:22:51.039 in the room 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:52.599 will have at times 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:53.559 behaved in ways 00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:54.139 that are touched 00:22:54.139 --> 00:22:54.799 on in this list 00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:55.099 here 00:22:55.099 --> 00:22:57.319 a church under 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:58.159 stress is bound 00:22:58.159 --> 00:22:59.039 to experience that 00:22:59.039 --> 00:22:59.740 even more 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:00.779 than normal 00:23:00.779 --> 00:23:02.039 and if we don't 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:02.940 address that 00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:04.839 if we don't repent 00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:05.539 of that and seek 00:23:05.539 --> 00:23:06.460 reconciliation with 00:23:06.460 --> 00:23:07.000 one another and 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:07.759 learn to sing with 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:08.399 our new voices 00:23:08.399 --> 00:23:09.460 then we won't 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:10.119 grow as Christians 00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:10.799 and if we won't 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:11.399 grow as Christians 00:23:11.399 --> 00:23:12.559 the church will 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:13.420 die 00:23:13.420 --> 00:23:14.859 because my 00:23:14.859 --> 00:23:15.440 individual 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:16.879 Christian growth 00:23:16.879 --> 00:23:17.720 is my vital 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:18.559 contribution to the 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:19.139 fellowship here 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:20.720 and you will see 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:21.300 that Christian 00:23:21.300 --> 00:23:22.259 growth where 00:23:22.259 --> 00:23:23.740 primarily in my 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:24.420 relationships with 00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:24.800 others 00:23:24.800 --> 00:23:26.140 that's where you'll 00:23:26.140 --> 00:23:26.560 see it 00:23:26.560 --> 00:23:28.380 so listen this 00:23:28.380 --> 00:23:28.900 morning perhaps 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:29.480 there's someone in 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:30.040 church that you need 00:23:30.040 --> 00:23:30.820 to say sorry to 00:23:30.820 --> 00:23:32.800 perhaps there's even 00:23:32.800 --> 00:23:33.800 someone who has left 00:23:33.800 --> 00:23:34.780 the church who you 00:23:34.780 --> 00:23:35.700 need to say sorry to 00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:37.060 maybe there's a 00:23:37.060 --> 00:23:37.759 relationship that 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:38.560 needs to be repaired 00:23:38.560 --> 00:23:39.880 maybe there's a 00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:40.540 bitter root that 00:23:40.540 --> 00:23:41.500 needs cutting out 00:23:41.500 --> 00:23:43.120 well don't delay 00:23:43.120 --> 00:23:44.320 and don't put it off 00:23:44.320 --> 00:23:45.540 because we all need 00:23:45.540 --> 00:23:46.280 you to do that 00:23:46.279 --> 00:23:47.680 because Christian 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:48.700 growth is seen in 00:23:48.700 --> 00:23:49.379 relationships with 00:23:49.379 --> 00:23:49.819 others 00:23:49.819 --> 00:23:51.839 fourthly then 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:53.299 growth is beautiful 00:23:53.299 --> 00:23:54.660 growth is beautiful 00:23:54.660 --> 00:23:56.359 there's obviously 00:23:56.359 --> 00:23:57.079 lots that we could 00:23:57.079 --> 00:23:57.759 say about the list 00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:58.339 of the fruits of 00:23:58.339 --> 00:23:58.940 the spirit and I 00:23:58.940 --> 00:23:59.440 know we touched 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:00.240 on this earlier 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:02.920 I think it for a 00:24:02.920 --> 00:24:03.599 start it's a really 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:04.539 brilliant illustration 00:24:04.539 --> 00:24:05.579 of how Christ's work 00:24:05.579 --> 00:24:06.139 on the cross 00:24:06.139 --> 00:24:06.879 transforms our 00:24:06.879 --> 00:24:07.579 personal godliness 00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:08.700 it's way better than 00:24:08.700 --> 00:24:10.180 my voice illustration 00:24:10.180 --> 00:24:11.799 because although 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:13.720 fruit on a tree is 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:14.500 inevitable isn't it 00:24:14.500 --> 00:24:15.399 it comes as a result 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:16.120 of being a fruit 00:24:16.120 --> 00:24:17.860 tree still the 00:24:17.860 --> 00:24:18.519 great thing about 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:19.320 this illustration is 00:24:19.320 --> 00:24:20.540 that the fruit comes 00:24:20.540 --> 00:24:22.440 slowly even if it's 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:24.360 inevitable so 00:24:24.360 --> 00:24:25.360 Christian growth 00:24:25.360 --> 00:24:26.620 comes slowly 00:24:26.620 --> 00:24:27.860 requires cultivation 00:24:27.860 --> 00:24:29.080 and pruning even 00:24:29.080 --> 00:24:30.820 probably also 00:24:30.820 --> 00:24:31.840 significant I think 00:24:31.840 --> 00:24:33.080 that Paul calls 00:24:33.080 --> 00:24:34.759 this a singular 00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:36.519 fruit with lots of 00:24:36.519 --> 00:24:37.480 different aspects 00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:38.860 so you're not to 00:24:38.860 --> 00:24:39.400 think that there's 00:24:39.400 --> 00:24:40.019 lots of different 00:24:40.019 --> 00:24:40.820 fruits the fruit of 00:24:40.820 --> 00:24:41.960 love joy peace 00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:42.620 patience kindness 00:24:42.620 --> 00:24:43.560 goodness self-control 00:24:43.560 --> 00:24:44.580 but actually there is 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:45.619 one fruit which is 00:24:45.619 --> 00:24:46.679 itself love joy 00:24:46.679 --> 00:24:47.319 peace patience 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:47.839 kindness goodness 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:48.839 self-control so 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:49.439 these things are 00:24:49.439 --> 00:24:51.119 describing the one 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:53.299 thing but I want us 00:24:53.299 --> 00:24:54.379 to see just briefly 00:24:54.379 --> 00:24:55.139 at the end of verse 00:24:55.139 --> 00:24:56.240 23 what he says 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:57.179 there look at it 00:24:57.179 --> 00:24:57.740 with me what does 00:24:57.740 --> 00:24:58.919 he say against such 00:24:58.919 --> 00:24:59.779 things there is no 00:24:59.779 --> 00:25:01.399 law now that just 00:25:01.399 --> 00:25:01.859 might sound an 00:25:01.859 --> 00:25:02.960 obvious point but 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:03.779 the point seems to 00:25:03.779 --> 00:25:04.740 be not only does the 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:05.399 fruit of the spirit 00:25:05.399 --> 00:25:06.699 fulfill this law to 00:25:06.699 --> 00:25:08.179 love others that we 00:25:08.179 --> 00:25:08.759 saw at the beginning 00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:10.220 but also that there's 00:25:10.220 --> 00:25:11.919 a universal beauty and 00:25:11.919 --> 00:25:13.500 obvious commendability to 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:15.059 this fruit no one has 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:15.920 anything to say against 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:17.900 it they can't so that 00:25:17.900 --> 00:25:19.019 for us as a church this 00:25:19.019 --> 00:25:20.099 commitment to grow as 00:25:20.099 --> 00:25:20.900 Christians to be 00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:21.839 disciples of the Lord 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:22.779 Jesus and to follow 00:25:22.779 --> 00:25:24.119 his way to live 00:25:24.119 --> 00:25:25.619 pleasing him that will 00:25:25.619 --> 00:25:26.660 bring about something 00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:27.940 beautiful in the life 00:25:27.940 --> 00:25:30.380 of our church something 00:25:30.380 --> 00:25:32.140 beautiful in its fruit 00:25:32.140 --> 00:25:33.880 of peace and patience 00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:34.839 and kindness and 00:25:34.839 --> 00:25:36.420 goodness a group of 00:25:36.420 --> 00:25:37.259 people who don't fly 00:25:37.259 --> 00:25:37.980 off the handle when 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:38.819 things go wrong who 00:25:38.819 --> 00:25:39.960 are kind and 00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:41.420 forbearing with gentle 00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:42.360 and full of peace who 00:25:42.360 --> 00:25:43.640 don't moan or gossip 00:25:43.640 --> 00:25:45.460 or slander who are 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:46.380 not jealous of the 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:47.240 gifts of others wanting 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:48.039 them for themselves 00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:49.200 they're not envious of 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:50.440 them wishing that they 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:52.340 weren't so good but are 00:25:52.340 --> 00:25:55.500 self-controlled do you 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:57.500 see this is the opposite 00:25:57.500 --> 00:25:58.320 of what the flesh 00:25:58.320 --> 00:25:59.460 produces do you notice 00:25:59.460 --> 00:26:01.120 this our fleshly desires 00:26:01.120 --> 00:26:01.880 the desires of our 00:26:01.880 --> 00:26:03.640 sinful nature in the end 00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:04.860 kill us and destroy 00:26:04.860 --> 00:26:06.820 those around us our 00:26:06.820 --> 00:26:08.080 fleshly desires are 00:26:08.080 --> 00:26:10.779 uncontrolled a taste a 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:12.119 foretaste of hell itself 00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:14.299 but the fruit of the 00:26:14.299 --> 00:26:15.220 spirit builds the sort 00:26:15.220 --> 00:26:16.259 of place that everyone 00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:18.119 longs to be don't you 00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:19.200 long to be in a place 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:20.359 of peace and patience 00:26:20.359 --> 00:26:21.259 and kindness and 00:26:21.259 --> 00:26:22.559 goodness and self-control 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:24.680 that is a taste of 00:26:24.680 --> 00:26:27.759 glory growth is 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:29.740 beautiful fifthly 00:26:29.740 --> 00:26:31.379 growth requires 00:26:31.379 --> 00:26:33.019 membership of a church 00:26:33.019 --> 00:26:35.019 jumping over to chapter 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:36.099 six and you can see 00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:36.920 that Paul's assumption 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:38.460 here is that it takes a 00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:39.299 church to grow a 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:41.599 Christian so first in 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:42.519 verse one Paul's 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:43.859 assumption is that in 00:26:43.859 --> 00:26:45.019 the life of a church 00:26:45.019 --> 00:26:46.799 people will sin and 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:48.099 will be caught in sin 00:26:48.099 --> 00:26:50.419 so even in a healthy 00:26:50.419 --> 00:26:51.859 church we're not to 00:26:51.859 --> 00:26:52.940 assume that it will be 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:54.019 sinless that's 00:26:54.019 --> 00:26:55.039 unrealistic isn't it 00:26:55.039 --> 00:26:55.859 this side of glory 00:26:55.859 --> 00:26:57.680 but when people are 00:26:57.680 --> 00:26:58.720 caught in sin the 00:26:58.720 --> 00:26:59.379 church are not to make 00:26:59.379 --> 00:27:00.240 them pay for it 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:00.859 they're not to make an 00:27:00.859 --> 00:27:02.319 example of them but 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:03.099 neither are they to 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:04.779 ignore them instead 00:27:04.779 --> 00:27:05.700 we're told they're to 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:06.980 seek to restore them and 00:27:06.980 --> 00:27:09.500 to do so gently now we 00:27:09.500 --> 00:27:10.160 don't have time to go 00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:11.000 into all the details of 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:11.759 this but this is really 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:13.180 talking about church 00:27:13.180 --> 00:27:15.000 discipline which is 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:17.299 church discipleship it's 00:27:17.299 --> 00:27:18.319 the idea that the body 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:19.519 of the church is involved 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:20.420 in the life of its 00:27:20.420 --> 00:27:22.319 members seeking to 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:24.019 restore sinning members 00:27:24.019 --> 00:27:25.039 to the fellowship by 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:26.200 gently encouraging them 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:27.799 to repent and turn back 00:27:27.799 --> 00:27:28.480 to the Lord Jesus 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:31.000 creating together a 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:32.440 community where repentance 00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:34.960 is normal and notice this 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:35.860 isn't just the leaders 00:27:35.860 --> 00:27:37.660 doing this the passage 00:27:37.660 --> 00:27:38.819 doesn't say listen if 00:27:38.819 --> 00:27:39.660 someone in the church is 00:27:39.660 --> 00:27:41.299 caught in sin drag them 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:42.180 to the leaders and let 00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:43.420 them tell them off it 00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:44.340 doesn't say that does it 00:27:44.340 --> 00:27:46.360 no this is brothers and 00:27:46.360 --> 00:27:47.180 sisters in the church 00:27:47.180 --> 00:27:49.100 this is the the whole 00:27:49.100 --> 00:27:50.440 church working together 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:52.240 who together seek to 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:53.259 restore the church 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:54.640 member whilst also verse 00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:56.860 two being very conscious 00:27:56.860 --> 00:27:58.319 that they themselves are 00:27:58.319 --> 00:27:59.600 tempted by exactly the 00:27:59.600 --> 00:28:00.579 same things 00:28:00.579 --> 00:28:03.379 now there are some 00:28:03.379 --> 00:28:04.000 really practical 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:04.799 implications of this 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:06.339 aren't there it means 00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:07.159 that if you're a member 00:28:07.159 --> 00:28:08.159 of the church here and 00:28:08.159 --> 00:28:09.099 let me say if you're a 00:28:09.099 --> 00:28:10.039 Christian this morning 00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:12.559 you've been baptized and 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:13.599 this is your spiritual 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:15.259 home you should be a 00:28:15.259 --> 00:28:17.839 church member right a 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:18.839 membership of the local 00:28:18.839 --> 00:28:20.099 church is an invitation 00:28:20.099 --> 00:28:21.500 to the church to say 00:28:21.500 --> 00:28:22.939 listen church hold me 00:28:22.939 --> 00:28:23.919 accountable for my 00:28:23.919 --> 00:28:24.859 statement of faith in 00:28:24.859 --> 00:28:27.339 Jesus Christ gently 00:28:27.339 --> 00:28:29.519 restore me when you catch 00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:31.139 me sinning do it 00:28:31.139 --> 00:28:32.099 quickly and early 00:28:32.099 --> 00:28:34.859 please hold me to 00:28:34.859 --> 00:28:36.119 account if I stop 00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:38.259 attending in other 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:39.680 words as members of a 00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:41.160 church in our 00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:42.319 faithfulness to live the 00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:43.460 Christian life is not 00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:45.019 just a personal matter 00:28:45.019 --> 00:28:47.119 it's a corporate one 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:49.339 because and this is it 00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:51.299 one of the best tools 00:28:51.299 --> 00:28:52.160 that God has given us 00:28:52.160 --> 00:28:52.920 to grow us as 00:28:52.920 --> 00:28:54.599 Christians and that 00:28:54.599 --> 00:28:55.799 this includes me as 00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:57.859 well as all of us is 00:28:57.859 --> 00:28:59.180 the love prayers 00:28:59.180 --> 00:29:01.180 and gentle correction 00:29:01.180 --> 00:29:02.220 of the church 00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:04.240 fellowship that's what 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:05.700 it's there for it's a 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:06.779 tool given to us by 00:29:06.779 --> 00:29:07.700 God to grow us as 00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:09.980 Christians the church 00:29:09.980 --> 00:29:10.840 membership if you like 00:29:10.840 --> 00:29:12.000 is like driving a stake 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:12.740 in the ground and 00:29:12.740 --> 00:29:14.799 saying listen I stand 00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:16.240 here in faith in Jesus 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:17.360 Christ I want to live 00:29:17.360 --> 00:29:18.080 for him I want to live 00:29:18.080 --> 00:29:19.279 a life that pleases him 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:19.980 I want to live for his 00:29:19.980 --> 00:29:21.600 glory I'm driving this 00:29:21.600 --> 00:29:22.380 stake into the ground 00:29:22.380 --> 00:29:23.279 now in my membership 00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:24.039 of the local church 00:29:24.039 --> 00:29:25.660 but I know my heart and 00:29:25.660 --> 00:29:26.519 I'm likely to wander 00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:27.519 away so please if you 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:28.559 see me wandering away 00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:29.859 bring me back to the 00:29:29.859 --> 00:29:30.680 stake that I've driven 00:29:30.680 --> 00:29:31.400 in the ground here 00:29:31.400 --> 00:29:32.200 will you please 00:29:32.200 --> 00:29:34.619 I know we're all 00:29:34.619 --> 00:29:35.460 fellow strugglers 00:29:35.460 --> 00:29:37.599 growth requires 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:38.539 membership of a local 00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:39.299 church that we might 00:29:39.299 --> 00:29:40.099 call one another to 00:29:40.099 --> 00:29:41.700 account finally then 00:29:41.700 --> 00:29:43.039 growth requires 00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:44.220 personal responsibility 00:29:44.220 --> 00:29:46.200 now without 00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:47.019 contradicting anything 00:29:47.019 --> 00:29:47.759 that we've just said 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:48.720 Paul comes on to be 00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:49.740 very clear that while 00:29:49.740 --> 00:29:50.759 the church seeks to 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:51.759 disciple one another 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:53.139 brothers and sisters 00:29:53.139 --> 00:29:53.940 working together 00:29:53.940 --> 00:29:55.279 still verses four and 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:56.619 five we are each 00:29:56.619 --> 00:29:57.359 responsible for 00:29:57.359 --> 00:29:58.099 ourselves look at 00:29:58.099 --> 00:29:59.259 verse four each one 00:29:59.259 --> 00:30:00.339 should test their own 00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:01.660 actions that's what you 00:30:01.660 --> 00:30:02.200 should be doing this 00:30:02.200 --> 00:30:03.720 morning then they can 00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:04.680 take pride in themselves 00:30:04.680 --> 00:30:05.920 alone without comparing 00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:06.720 themselves to someone 00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:08.579 else for each one should 00:30:08.579 --> 00:30:09.779 carry their own load 00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:11.980 well so for you and me 00:30:11.980 --> 00:30:13.240 this morning the church 00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:14.279 is not ultimately to 00:30:14.279 --> 00:30:15.619 blame for any lack of 00:30:15.619 --> 00:30:16.440 growth in my Christian 00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:18.940 life I am and I need 00:30:18.940 --> 00:30:19.779 not to look around 00:30:19.779 --> 00:30:21.559 others and think well I 00:30:21.559 --> 00:30:22.440 might not be doing great 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:23.319 as a Christian this morning 00:30:23.319 --> 00:30:24.179 but I'm sure doing better 00:30:24.179 --> 00:30:26.059 than they are so I must 00:30:26.059 --> 00:30:27.539 be okay no I'm not to 00:30:27.539 --> 00:30:29.339 do that rather I'm to 00:30:29.339 --> 00:30:30.240 look to carry my own 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:31.240 burden and seek before 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:32.220 the Lord to grow as a 00:30:32.220 --> 00:30:34.099 Christian myself looking 00:30:34.099 --> 00:30:35.539 at the plank in my eye 00:30:35.539 --> 00:30:36.839 before thinking about the 00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:37.960 speck in everyone else's 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:39.899 and I do that because I 00:30:39.899 --> 00:30:41.619 know that if I don't grow 00:30:41.619 --> 00:30:43.619 as a Christian the local 00:30:43.619 --> 00:30:45.899 church will die because 00:30:45.899 --> 00:30:47.599 our sinfulness will kill 00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:49.419 it as we devour one 00:30:49.419 --> 00:30:51.799 another so let's return to 00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:52.679 where we started what can 00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:53.420 you do to serve the 00:30:53.420 --> 00:30:55.259 church here what will 00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:56.779 help us revitalise the 00:30:56.779 --> 00:30:57.900 work and witness of our 00:30:57.900 --> 00:30:58.840 church family well here 00:30:58.840 --> 00:30:59.580 it is this is what you 00:30:59.580 --> 00:31:01.400 can do you can get on 00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:02.100 your knees and pray 00:31:02.100 --> 00:31:04.340 commit yourself again to 00:31:04.340 --> 00:31:05.240 growing as a Christian 00:31:05.240 --> 00:31:07.160 to live the godly life 00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:07.840 that God has given you 00:31:07.840 --> 00:31:09.660 in the gospel to commit 00:31:09.660 --> 00:31:10.620 to membership of the 00:31:10.620 --> 00:31:11.440 fellowship that we might 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:12.380 pray these prayers 00:31:12.380 --> 00:31:13.880 together for one another 00:31:13.880 --> 00:31:16.120 and if all of us will do 00:31:16.120 --> 00:31:18.519 that together well then 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:19.539 church life will be a 00:31:19.539 --> 00:31:20.980 taste of future glory 00:31:20.980 --> 00:31:22.500 and it will be brilliant 00:31:22.500 --> 00:31:25.099 but if we won't do it 00:31:25.099 --> 00:31:26.740 our church will die 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:29.339 let me pray for us 00:31:29.339 --> 00:31:32.099 maybe take a moment just 00:31:32.099 --> 00:31:33.500 to think and reflect on our 00:31:33.500 --> 00:31:33.819 own 00:31:33.819 --> 00:31:36.819 and then I'll close in prayer 00:31:36.819 --> 00:31:54.259 heavenly father it's 00:31:54.259 --> 00:31:55.619 remarkable to us that you 00:31:55.619 --> 00:31:56.460 would put something as 00:31:56.460 --> 00:31:58.439 precious as the local 00:31:58.439 --> 00:31:59.879 church in our hands 00:31:59.879 --> 00:32:03.220 and give us this opportunity 00:32:03.220 --> 00:32:04.759 to contribute to it by 00:32:04.759 --> 00:32:05.679 growing as Christians 00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:10.140 and Lord as we look at 00:32:10.140 --> 00:32:12.560 our lives we see really 00:32:12.560 --> 00:32:14.460 clearly our failures in 00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:17.440 this area and so we say 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:19.340 again individually and 00:32:19.340 --> 00:32:24.039 corporately please restore 00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:27.019 us we turn from our sin 00:32:27.019 --> 00:32:28.360 and we turn to Christ we 00:32:28.360 --> 00:32:29.560 ask for your help to live 00:32:29.560 --> 00:32:32.519 life by the spirit not led 00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:35.660 by the flesh we pray that 00:32:35.660 --> 00:32:36.839 our church life together 00:32:36.839 --> 00:32:38.839 might be a taste of 00:32:38.839 --> 00:32:41.639 glory we know that these 00:32:41.639 --> 00:32:44.500 characteristics here are 00:32:44.500 --> 00:32:46.940 very counter-cultural so 00:32:46.940 --> 00:32:48.240 please we pray make us an 00:32:48.240 --> 00:32:51.180 outpost of future glory that 00:32:51.180 --> 00:32:52.299 others might see something 00:32:52.299 --> 00:32:53.680 beautiful and wonderful here 00:32:53.680 --> 00:32:56.019 that's not done by us it's 00:32:56.019 --> 00:32:58.759 done by you as we sing life 00:32:58.759 --> 00:33:00.079 with these new voices that 00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:02.720 you've given us as we pray 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:06.019 in Jesus name amen amen 00:33:06.019 --> 00:33:36.000 thank you so much for