1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,220 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:07,220 –> 00:00:15,060 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website openthebible.org. 3 00:00:15,060 –> 00:00:19,780 Let’s get to the message, here is Pastor Colin. 4 00:00:19,780 –> 00:00:24,760 I’m not going to ask for a show of hands, because this will definitely be awkward, but 5 00:00:25,719 –> 00:00:32,160 Have you ever fallen in love with someone who did not feel the same way about you? 6 00:00:32,160 –> 00:00:37,220 I’m thinking of some friends of mine at college, Tim and Debbie. 7 00:00:37,220 –> 00:00:44,240 Tim was smitten with Debbie from the first moment he saw her and they became the best friends for two 8 00:00:44,240 –> 00:00:47,439 years they had everything in common, they were always together. 9 00:00:47,439 –> 00:00:54,000 But Debbie didn’t feel the same way for Tim as Tim felt for Debbie and after two years 10 00:00:54,400 –> 00:00:58,700 they went their separate ways and a year later Debbie married John. 11 00:00:58,700 –> 00:01:00,700 Tim was devastated. 12 00:01:01,740 –> 00:01:07,180 Well I tell you this unremarkable story to make the very obvious point that there are 13 00:01:07,180 –> 00:01:18,180 two sides to every relationship and you can pour your energy, passion, wit, wisdom, charm 14 00:01:18,739 –> 00:01:27,019 and money into wooing another person, but at the end of the day a true union is not 15 00:01:27,019 –> 00:01:29,760 just about what you feel about another person. 16 00:01:29,760 –> 00:01:34,260 It is also about what they feel about you. 17 00:01:34,260 –> 00:01:40,900 Now I’m going to make the assumption this morning that all of us are here in church 18 00:01:40,900 –> 00:01:46,480 because at least at some level we are interested in a relationship with God. 19 00:01:46,480 –> 00:01:48,639 The intensity of that desire may vary. 20 00:01:48,639 –> 00:01:52,220 Some of us are very intense about our desire to know God. 21 00:01:52,220 –> 00:01:53,779 We’ve prayed every day this week. 22 00:01:53,779 –> 00:01:56,900 We’ve made great sacrifices to be obedient to God. 23 00:01:56,900 –> 00:02:03,260 We’ve come here with a great passion to worship and it animates our response to God. 24 00:02:03,260 –> 00:02:06,779 Others of us have just fallen out of bed didn’t sleep very well. 25 00:02:06,779 –> 00:02:08,720 Not quite sure we’ve got it all together. 26 00:02:08,720 –> 00:02:09,720 We’re a bit confused. 27 00:02:09,720 –> 00:02:10,720 Things are a bit of a mess. 28 00:02:10,720 –> 00:02:11,720 We’ve been distracted. 29 00:02:11,720 –> 00:02:14,320 We might even have found it difficult to engage. 30 00:02:15,300 –> 00:02:23,259 But here we are and the reason that you are here is that in some measure you want to know 31 00:02:23,259 –> 00:02:25,059 God. 32 00:02:25,059 –> 00:02:36,759 Now, wherever you are in that range of intensity the relationship that you can have with God 33 00:02:36,759 –> 00:02:42,679 cannot go beyond the relationship that He desires to have with you. 34 00:02:42,759 –> 00:02:49,500 And so over these three Sundays we are going to explore God’s interest in us. 35 00:02:49,500 –> 00:02:52,919 In other words, we’re not going to ask the question, what does God mean to you? 36 00:02:52,919 –> 00:02:57,139 We’re going to ask, what do you mean to God? 37 00:02:57,139 –> 00:03:03,000 Not what is the intensity of your interest in God, but what is the intensity of God’s 38 00:03:03,000 –> 00:03:05,820 interest in you? 39 00:03:06,820 –> 00:03:11,199 And we are going to explore together three marvelous statements from the Scripture. 40 00:03:11,199 –> 00:03:16,460 First today, that God is for us in Jesus Christ. 41 00:03:16,460 –> 00:03:20,139 Then, next week, the marvelous truth from Colossians. 42 00:03:20,139 –> 00:03:25,539 That God is in us through Jesus Christ. 43 00:03:25,539 –> 00:03:32,720 And then thirdly, God is with us through Jesus Christ. 44 00:03:32,720 –> 00:03:38,979 Through Jesus Christ, God is for us, in us, with us. 45 00:03:39,880 –> 00:03:44,460 And if you can grasp these three great biblical truths, you will have discovered the heart 46 00:03:44,460 –> 00:03:47,279 of the attitude of God towards you. 47 00:03:47,279 –> 00:03:53,080 And I believe that as we discover the heart of God, we will be strangely and powerfully 48 00:03:53,080 –> 00:03:55,600 drawn towards Him. 49 00:03:55,600 –> 00:03:59,419 I do invite you to open your Bibles at Romans chapter 8 and verse 31. 50 00:03:59,419 –> 00:04:04,820 We’re just going to look at the first part of the verse, this magnificent statement, 51 00:04:05,059 –> 00:04:09,619 if God is for us who can be against us? 52 00:04:09,619 –> 00:04:15,460 If God is for us. 53 00:04:15,460 –> 00:04:17,019 Think about the possibilities. 54 00:04:17,019 –> 00:04:26,179 Think of what it would mean if God is for you. 55 00:04:26,179 –> 00:04:29,220 And of course this raises a huge question. 56 00:04:29,220 –> 00:04:33,260 How can I know if God is for me or against me? 57 00:04:33,279 –> 00:04:35,480 If you’re not persuaded that God is for you, 58 00:04:35,480 –> 00:04:38,320 you will never be drawn to him. 59 00:04:38,320 –> 00:04:39,940 If you think God is against you, 60 00:04:39,940 –> 00:04:43,140 you will always remain at a distance from him. 61 00:04:43,140 –> 00:04:46,019 That may be where some of us are right now. 62 00:04:46,019 –> 00:04:50,239 Let’s ask that God will change that position 63 00:04:50,239 –> 00:04:54,459 even as we open our minds to his word. 64 00:04:54,459 –> 00:04:58,019 I want to start by asking the simple and very obvious question. 65 00:04:58,019 –> 00:05:02,959 Why might we sometimes feel that God is against us? 66 00:05:02,959 –> 00:05:04,459 I think that there are three reasons. 67 00:05:04,459 –> 00:05:06,839 The first relates to beliefs about God. 68 00:05:06,839 –> 00:05:11,000 There are many of us who carry a deep suspicion within us 69 00:05:11,000 –> 00:05:14,380 that God is somehow against us, even in church. 70 00:05:14,380 –> 00:05:17,459 There are many people who carry the idea 71 00:05:17,459 –> 00:05:19,619 somewhere in the deep recesses of your mind 72 00:05:19,619 –> 00:05:23,820 that God burns on a short fuse, 73 00:05:23,820 –> 00:05:25,959 that God is like a bubbling volcano 74 00:05:25,959 –> 00:05:28,459 that is always threatening to erupt. 75 00:05:29,579 –> 00:05:32,279 And of course, anyone who knows anything about volcanoes 76 00:05:32,359 –> 00:05:35,079 will know that it’s good to treat them with respect, 77 00:05:35,079 –> 00:05:37,500 but a wise person would always choose 78 00:05:37,500 –> 00:05:39,980 to live at a distance from a volcano. 79 00:05:41,239 –> 00:05:43,380 Now, if that is how you feel about God, 80 00:05:43,380 –> 00:05:45,959 then you will always, like Adam and Eve in the garden, 81 00:05:45,959 –> 00:05:48,579 be in hiding and be very cautious 82 00:05:48,579 –> 00:05:51,299 about any possibility of him getting too near. 83 00:05:51,299 –> 00:05:53,980 That’s why some people are edgy 84 00:05:53,980 –> 00:05:58,260 at the first mention of the name of God. 85 00:05:59,500 –> 00:06:01,100 There’s a great story in the Old Testament 86 00:06:01,100 –> 00:06:04,160 about two brothers, Esau and Jacob, remember that story? 87 00:06:04,160 –> 00:06:09,160 Jacob deceived Esau and when that happened, 88 00:06:09,299 –> 00:06:12,059 Esau was so mad with Jacob that Esau 89 00:06:12,059 –> 00:06:16,220 set out to hunt down and kill Jacob. 90 00:06:16,220 –> 00:06:19,059 So, Jacob fled from the family home 91 00:06:19,059 –> 00:06:21,260 and spent the next 40 years on the run. 92 00:06:22,399 –> 00:06:25,500 And eventually, the two brothers met. 93 00:06:26,540 –> 00:06:29,880 Jacob kept his wives and his property at a safe distance 94 00:06:29,920 –> 00:06:32,519 and then he took gifts with him 95 00:06:32,519 –> 00:06:34,160 to make his peace with Esau. 96 00:06:35,640 –> 00:06:40,640 Esau was gracious, Esau accepted Jacob’s gifts, 97 00:06:42,600 –> 00:06:45,299 Esau didn’t kill Jacob, 98 00:06:47,079 –> 00:06:49,640 but Jacob was wily enough not to hang around too long 99 00:06:49,640 –> 00:06:50,820 to test the point. 100 00:06:52,040 –> 00:06:53,959 He ran off, he got out of the area 101 00:06:53,959 –> 00:06:56,200 as far as he possibly could. 102 00:06:56,200 –> 00:06:59,239 We’ve got peace with Esau, let’s not test it too much. 103 00:06:59,239 –> 00:07:02,279 And he spent the rest of his life living at a distance. 104 00:07:02,279 –> 00:07:05,899 Now, some of us think God is like Esau. 105 00:07:07,720 –> 00:07:10,519 That he’s basically angry, 106 00:07:10,519 –> 00:07:13,839 that if he has forgiven us, he’s barely got over it, 107 00:07:13,839 –> 00:07:16,820 and it wouldn’t take too much to set him off again. 108 00:07:18,519 –> 00:07:21,160 And if that’s what you instinctively feel about God, 109 00:07:21,160 –> 00:07:22,579 then you will feel with God 110 00:07:22,579 –> 00:07:25,399 as you might feel about a difficult neighbour. 111 00:07:26,320 –> 00:07:29,220 You want to be at peace, 112 00:07:29,220 –> 00:07:31,260 but you don’t want to get too close. 113 00:07:33,880 –> 00:07:37,260 Now, these feelings about God are not unusual, 114 00:07:37,260 –> 00:07:39,600 in fact, they are almost universal. 115 00:07:40,660 –> 00:07:43,760 I think that it is enormously significant 116 00:07:43,760 –> 00:07:46,799 that there is an almost universal sense 117 00:07:46,799 –> 00:07:49,679 across the globe and throughout human history 118 00:07:49,679 –> 00:07:53,260 that something needs to be done to keep God happy. 119 00:07:54,260 –> 00:07:58,059 Having spent the last week sharing with those 120 00:07:58,059 –> 00:08:00,140 who are giving their lives to 121 00:08:02,119 –> 00:08:04,380 reaching out with the good news of Jesus Christ 122 00:08:04,380 –> 00:08:06,660 among animist tribes, 123 00:08:07,739 –> 00:08:11,420 I was reminded very forcefully that the animists 124 00:08:11,420 –> 00:08:13,899 are constantly making sacrifices 125 00:08:13,899 –> 00:08:16,579 because they believed the gods are always angry. 126 00:08:18,059 –> 00:08:20,100 The Muslim community in Central Africa 127 00:08:20,100 –> 00:08:22,220 does the same at the end of Ramadan. 128 00:08:22,339 –> 00:08:24,059 Meat prices have gone up because 129 00:08:24,059 –> 00:08:26,399 every family slaughters an animal. 130 00:08:27,579 –> 00:08:29,980 The Hindus do the same. 131 00:08:29,980 –> 00:08:32,140 Of course, the Jews have always done the same 132 00:08:32,140 –> 00:08:33,299 and would be doing the same now 133 00:08:33,299 –> 00:08:35,260 except that they do not have a temple 134 00:08:35,260 –> 00:08:37,580 which was destroyed in the year A.D. 70 135 00:08:37,580 –> 00:08:40,000 and their sacrifices are tied to that place 136 00:08:40,000 –> 00:08:42,460 and without the temple they cannot take place. 137 00:08:44,460 –> 00:08:49,460 If you were to ask of the history of the world, 138 00:08:49,500 –> 00:08:51,859 the population of the world across history 139 00:08:51,919 –> 00:08:55,179 and across geography, is it easier to fear God 140 00:08:55,179 –> 00:08:56,299 or to love Him? 141 00:08:56,299 –> 00:08:58,900 The vast majority of human beings who have ever lived 142 00:08:58,900 –> 00:09:01,900 would say it’s far easier to fear God 143 00:09:01,900 –> 00:09:03,059 than it is to love Him. 144 00:09:04,340 –> 00:09:07,659 In fact, the only community, perhaps, 145 00:09:09,460 –> 00:09:11,859 to imagine that there is not some reason 146 00:09:11,859 –> 00:09:14,580 to be apprehensive of God 147 00:09:14,580 –> 00:09:18,020 is a kind of liberal Western school of thought 148 00:09:18,020 –> 00:09:19,380 or the school of atheism 149 00:09:20,140 –> 00:09:23,299 that is a tiny minority of human history 150 00:09:23,299 –> 00:09:24,700 living in naivety 151 00:09:26,020 –> 00:09:28,479 and against the prevailing trend of all culture. 152 00:09:30,460 –> 00:09:33,039 So the great question, of course, of human history, 153 00:09:33,039 –> 00:09:35,380 and it’s expressed in all these different cultures, 154 00:09:35,380 –> 00:09:38,380 is what does it take to keep God 155 00:09:38,380 –> 00:09:41,059 or the gods or whichever God happy? 156 00:09:42,739 –> 00:09:45,460 And this is one of the reasons why in Western culture 157 00:09:45,460 –> 00:09:48,460 there are some people in churches you’re here 158 00:09:48,580 –> 00:09:52,460 because you feel what does it take to keep God happy? 159 00:09:52,460 –> 00:09:53,460 Our God happy. 160 00:09:55,039 –> 00:10:00,039 So we come to view God almost like an unpleasant aunt 161 00:10:00,099 –> 00:10:01,200 in a nursing home. 162 00:10:02,520 –> 00:10:05,020 You know this lady, she’s constantly complaining. 163 00:10:06,159 –> 00:10:08,260 Whenever you visit she’s never pleased, 164 00:10:08,260 –> 00:10:10,580 it’s just some other moan that she has. 165 00:10:10,580 –> 00:10:13,719 You visit her on Sundays out of sense of duty. 166 00:10:14,700 –> 00:10:16,140 But never with delight. 167 00:10:17,020 –> 00:10:18,380 And when you leave the nursing home 168 00:10:19,099 –> 00:10:20,599 you quietly vow to yourself 169 00:10:20,599 –> 00:10:23,640 may I never, never, never become like her. 170 00:10:26,520 –> 00:10:27,619 You’ll never be drawn to God 171 00:10:27,619 –> 00:10:29,159 if you think of God like that. 172 00:10:32,859 –> 00:10:34,659 Secondly, some of us have the feeling 173 00:10:34,659 –> 00:10:37,380 that God is against us because not so much 174 00:10:37,380 –> 00:10:42,380 of our notions of God but our feelings about ourselves 175 00:10:42,640 –> 00:10:45,859 our feelings about ourselves. 176 00:10:45,859 –> 00:10:49,000 Just our own sense of personal failure. 177 00:10:50,020 –> 00:10:51,580 I’m not really pleased we may say 178 00:10:51,580 –> 00:10:53,320 with the way I’ve lived my life 179 00:10:53,320 –> 00:10:54,440 and if I’m not really pleased 180 00:10:54,440 –> 00:10:55,580 with the way I’ve lived my life 181 00:10:55,580 –> 00:10:57,580 I don’t know how God could possibly be pleased 182 00:10:57,580 –> 00:10:59,099 with the way that I’ve lived my life 183 00:10:59,099 –> 00:11:02,000 and so presumably, as I feel rather down on myself 184 00:11:02,000 –> 00:11:04,099 he must be down on me also. 185 00:11:05,780 –> 00:11:09,119 Most of us, of course, as we have our most honest moments 186 00:11:09,119 –> 00:11:11,940 if we measure ourselves against the 10 commandments 187 00:11:11,940 –> 00:11:13,440 certainly, if we measure ourselves 188 00:11:13,440 –> 00:11:15,380 against the Sermon on the Mount 189 00:11:17,260 –> 00:11:19,179 we will come up with the conclusion 190 00:11:19,179 –> 00:11:21,900 that we’re not squeaky clean, 191 00:11:21,900 –> 00:11:24,679 at least I’m just putting it at the lowest level, right? 192 00:11:25,719 –> 00:11:28,760 And that leaves us with a sense of unworthiness. 193 00:11:30,099 –> 00:11:33,619 Some folks who were brought up in really strict homes 194 00:11:33,619 –> 00:11:37,140 with high standards feel this most. 195 00:11:38,539 –> 00:11:40,960 We feel a constant unworthiness. 196 00:11:40,960 –> 00:11:43,159 We feel we’re never good enough. 197 00:11:45,640 –> 00:11:50,640 And the law always leaves you feeling that way. 198 00:11:52,359 –> 00:11:55,000 Just this last week, I read a brilliant description 199 00:11:55,000 –> 00:11:59,719 of this problem in a book given to me by Dwight Edwards 200 00:11:59,719 –> 00:12:01,700 and he describes it this way. 201 00:12:01,700 –> 00:12:05,719 Trying to measure up to the law of God 202 00:12:05,719 –> 00:12:10,559 is like being married to Mr. Perfect. 203 00:12:10,559 –> 00:12:11,799 Well, this isn’t too sensitive 204 00:12:11,799 –> 00:12:13,940 for those who feel they are married to Mr. Perfect, 205 00:12:13,940 –> 00:12:16,520 but let me read you his description. 206 00:12:16,520 –> 00:12:21,280 Mr. Perfect, he never makes a mistake. 207 00:12:21,280 –> 00:12:23,679 He never has a bad day. 208 00:12:23,679 –> 00:12:25,799 He never indulges himself. 209 00:12:25,799 –> 00:12:28,200 He’s always on time 210 00:12:28,200 –> 00:12:30,919 and on target in everything he does. 211 00:12:30,919 –> 00:12:34,840 Beyond this, he expects the same from you. 212 00:12:34,840 –> 00:12:37,640 Perfection is the only acceptable standard 213 00:12:37,640 –> 00:12:42,159 and he lets you know every time you fail to measure up. 214 00:12:42,159 –> 00:12:43,419 Women who are nudging their husbands, 215 00:12:43,419 –> 00:12:47,159 please stop, it’s not helpful at this moment. 216 00:12:47,159 –> 00:12:50,700 If you do nine things out of 10 right, 217 00:12:51,679 –> 00:12:55,539 you are still a failure in the eyes of Mr. Perfect. 218 00:12:56,479 –> 00:13:00,099 Moreover, if you dare to ask Mr. Perfect’s help 219 00:13:00,099 –> 00:13:02,919 in accomplishing this long list of responsibilities 220 00:13:02,919 –> 00:13:04,320 that he keeps giving to you, 221 00:13:04,359 –> 00:13:09,159 he turns a cold shoulder and just tells you to try harder. 222 00:13:09,159 –> 00:13:11,719 It’s all up to you. 223 00:13:11,719 –> 00:13:16,840 And you feel an abiding sense of hopelessness. 224 00:13:18,020 –> 00:13:20,400 That’s Mr. Perfect, that’s the law, isn’t it? 225 00:13:20,400 –> 00:13:24,619 No flexibility, no give, 226 00:13:24,619 –> 00:13:27,359 no encouragement that we’ve got so far, 227 00:13:27,359 –> 00:13:29,940 but we can continue moving on, 228 00:13:29,940 –> 00:13:32,200 no help, no appreciation, 229 00:13:32,200 –> 00:13:37,200 just rigidity, standard clinical law. 230 00:13:40,479 –> 00:13:43,599 Now, anyone who takes the law of God seriously, 231 00:13:43,599 –> 00:13:45,940 the 10 Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount 232 00:13:45,940 –> 00:13:48,400 and we measure ourselves by that standard, 233 00:13:48,400 –> 00:13:51,979 we are bound to feel a sense of hopelessness. 234 00:13:53,200 –> 00:13:55,780 And if we conclude that we are not really succeeding 235 00:13:55,780 –> 00:13:58,119 in being the people that God calls us to be, 236 00:13:58,119 –> 00:14:00,039 then our natural conclusion is that God 237 00:14:00,200 –> 00:14:02,820 at the very least must be disappointed with us 238 00:14:02,820 –> 00:14:06,780 and probably downright against us. 239 00:14:06,780 –> 00:14:08,440 And there are many people even in churches 240 00:14:08,440 –> 00:14:12,260 who go through life with that as their primary orientation. 241 00:14:13,840 –> 00:14:15,679 Why might we feel that God is against us? 242 00:14:15,679 –> 00:14:18,880 Well, some beliefs about God lead in that direction. 243 00:14:18,880 –> 00:14:22,260 Some feelings about ourselves lead in that direction. 244 00:14:22,260 –> 00:14:25,719 Thirdly and briefly, some experiences of life 245 00:14:27,239 –> 00:14:28,440 lead in that direction. 246 00:14:30,239 –> 00:14:31,400 September the 11th, 247 00:14:34,359 –> 00:14:37,099 bereavement, suffering, pain. 248 00:14:37,099 –> 00:14:39,739 Look at the list that Paul came up with here. 249 00:14:39,739 –> 00:14:41,659 Nakedness, oh my. 250 00:14:41,659 –> 00:14:44,219 Danger, sword, famine. 251 00:14:46,000 –> 00:14:49,640 How can God be for people who are hungry? 252 00:14:53,440 –> 00:14:55,780 Well, these are the realities of life in this world 253 00:14:55,780 –> 00:14:57,440 and of course they seem to suggest 254 00:14:57,479 –> 00:15:00,260 that God may be against us 255 00:15:01,520 –> 00:15:03,320 and I’m going to suggest that if you put 256 00:15:03,320 –> 00:15:05,099 these three factors together, 257 00:15:05,099 –> 00:15:07,840 the notions that many carry about God, 258 00:15:07,840 –> 00:15:11,219 the fundamental feelings that many have about ourselves 259 00:15:11,219 –> 00:15:14,780 and the painful experiences that cross 260 00:15:14,780 –> 00:15:16,539 the globe of this world, 261 00:15:16,539 –> 00:15:18,619 you have a prima facie case 262 00:15:18,619 –> 00:15:22,820 that it might appear that God is against us. 263 00:15:25,340 –> 00:15:26,919 So I think it’s not surprising. 264 00:15:28,159 –> 00:15:32,700 Many people struggle to believe what Paul says here. 265 00:15:35,039 –> 00:15:37,400 Before we get in to his answer, 266 00:15:37,400 –> 00:15:38,840 let me just pause for a moment 267 00:15:38,840 –> 00:15:42,719 to give one or two inadequate answers 268 00:15:42,719 –> 00:15:45,679 because you see, realizing the intensity 269 00:15:45,679 –> 00:15:48,119 of this problem that we’ve just framed, 270 00:15:49,000 –> 00:15:53,000 there are a number of answers that need to be mentioned 271 00:15:53,000 –> 00:15:54,919 in order to be named and nailed 272 00:15:54,919 –> 00:15:56,119 but then to be dismissed 273 00:15:56,359 –> 00:15:58,119 because they are utterly inadequate. 274 00:15:59,559 –> 00:16:01,159 The first inadequate answer, 275 00:16:01,159 –> 00:16:03,080 it comes from those who have said, 276 00:16:03,080 –> 00:16:05,200 well, of course what you need to understand 277 00:16:05,200 –> 00:16:07,000 is that God doesn’t really get angry, 278 00:16:07,880 –> 00:16:11,559 that any notion that God is ever angry 279 00:16:11,559 –> 00:16:13,960 is just a kind of legacy of primitive ideas 280 00:16:13,960 –> 00:16:16,799 and than educated people like us 281 00:16:16,799 –> 00:16:19,960 should leave such things long behind us. 282 00:16:19,960 –> 00:16:20,799 The problem with that 283 00:16:20,799 –> 00:16:23,400 is that it just doesn’t fit with the Bible. 284 00:16:24,200 –> 00:16:25,919 In fact, the extraordinary thing 285 00:16:25,919 –> 00:16:29,080 about Paul’s statement in Romans 8, 31 286 00:16:30,919 –> 00:16:32,700 is that if you look at where he started 287 00:16:32,700 –> 00:16:35,440 in Romans chapter one and verse 18, 288 00:16:36,520 –> 00:16:38,179 the first main point that he makes 289 00:16:38,179 –> 00:16:39,919 in the whole of this book of Romans 290 00:16:39,919 –> 00:16:41,900 is that the wrath of God 291 00:16:41,900 –> 00:16:45,239 is poured out against wickedness and ungodliness. 292 00:16:46,960 –> 00:16:49,739 And so anyone who is reading this letter seriously 293 00:16:49,739 –> 00:16:50,960 has to grapple with the question. 294 00:16:50,960 –> 00:16:53,239 If the wrath of God exists 295 00:16:53,280 –> 00:16:55,340 and it’s being poured out against wickedness 296 00:16:55,340 –> 00:16:56,280 and ungodliness, 297 00:16:56,280 –> 00:16:58,400 how can the apostle in chapter eight then say 298 00:16:58,400 –> 00:17:01,340 that the same God is for us? 299 00:17:02,599 –> 00:17:04,199 It’s just not good enough 300 00:17:05,239 –> 00:17:08,040 to say that the God of the Bible doesn’t get angry. 301 00:17:08,040 –> 00:17:11,520 A god who doesn’t get angry isn’t the God of the Bible. 302 00:17:13,579 –> 00:17:15,599 Second, it’s just not good enough 303 00:17:15,599 –> 00:17:17,599 to say, as some want to say to us, 304 00:17:17,599 –> 00:17:19,880 hey, you’re not really that bad. 305 00:17:20,800 –> 00:17:22,119 You know, we’ve all got our failures. 306 00:17:22,119 –> 00:17:22,939 We all got our sins. 307 00:17:23,640 –> 00:17:25,020 Be careful, don’t be so hard on yourself. 308 00:17:25,020 –> 00:17:26,459 I mean, God’s not that hard on you. 309 00:17:27,939 –> 00:17:30,619 The idea that we can somehow convince ourselves 310 00:17:30,619 –> 00:17:32,579 that if we balance out the good and the bad 311 00:17:32,579 –> 00:17:34,939 that God will take a benevolent view of the whole thing 312 00:17:34,939 –> 00:17:36,500 and average it out. 313 00:17:36,500 –> 00:17:38,500 That will utterly fail because, again, 314 00:17:38,500 –> 00:17:40,880 this is not the God of the Bible. 315 00:17:42,060 –> 00:17:45,099 A God who smiles and who turns a blind eye 316 00:17:45,099 –> 00:17:49,319 towards sin simply isn’t the God of the Bible. 317 00:17:50,260 –> 00:17:55,160 Thirdly, I think it’s an utterly adequate answer 318 00:17:55,160 –> 00:17:57,300 to go to someone who is suffering and to say to them 319 00:17:57,300 –> 00:17:58,819 hey, look on the bright side. 320 00:18:00,819 –> 00:18:03,640 You try saying that to someone who’s really suffering. 321 00:18:05,540 –> 00:18:07,479 Every cloud has a silver lining. 322 00:18:08,939 –> 00:18:11,479 Look on the bright side, it always could be worse. 323 00:18:14,439 –> 00:18:16,699 Now the problem with these answers, you see, 324 00:18:16,819 –> 00:18:20,479 is not just that they minimize the problem. 325 00:18:20,479 –> 00:18:22,699 Now God’s not really angry, sin’s not really sin, 326 00:18:22,699 –> 00:18:25,079 suffering’s not really suffering. 327 00:18:25,079 –> 00:18:26,680 I mean we know that that’s nonsense. 328 00:18:26,680 –> 00:18:29,280 The problem is not just that these answers 329 00:18:29,280 –> 00:18:30,680 minimize the problem. 330 00:18:32,439 –> 00:18:36,439 The difficulty is that at best, that kind of answer 331 00:18:36,439 –> 00:18:39,939 that is too often been used in a kind of thin layer 332 00:18:39,939 –> 00:18:44,479 of Christianity, it leaves us with a God 333 00:18:44,479 –> 00:18:48,780 who is at best, neutral towards us. 334 00:18:50,079 –> 00:18:53,739 A God who’s not angry, but there’s nothing positive 335 00:18:53,739 –> 00:18:54,939 to say about him either. 336 00:18:56,920 –> 00:19:00,160 God who’s not that bad, but not that good either. 337 00:19:02,479 –> 00:19:05,400 They leave us with a disinterested God 338 00:19:05,400 –> 00:19:08,180 who’s somewhat aloof like the Pharisee 339 00:19:08,180 –> 00:19:11,040 in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan. 340 00:19:11,040 –> 00:19:12,380 Remember the man who was beaten up 341 00:19:12,520 –> 00:19:14,020 left by the side of the road. 342 00:19:14,900 –> 00:19:17,300 And there were a priest, and there was a Levite, 343 00:19:17,300 –> 00:19:19,599 and they came along and they walked by 344 00:19:19,599 –> 00:19:21,140 on the other side of the road. 345 00:19:22,020 –> 00:19:24,380 They didn’t beat the Samaritan up again, 346 00:19:24,380 –> 00:19:25,619 they didn’t attack him. 347 00:19:26,579 –> 00:19:28,020 They weren’t against him, 348 00:19:28,920 –> 00:19:31,780 but they didn’t do anything for him either, 349 00:19:31,780 –> 00:19:33,800 they were disinterested. 350 00:19:35,420 –> 00:19:38,300 And this kind of approach to the fundamental questions 351 00:19:38,300 –> 00:19:42,199 of life leaves us with a disinterested God. 352 00:19:43,339 –> 00:19:45,599 And if God is not interested in you, 353 00:19:45,599 –> 00:19:47,699 why are you going to be interested in him? 354 00:19:50,819 –> 00:19:53,300 See, it’s not enough to say negatively, 355 00:19:53,300 –> 00:19:55,579 well, God is not against us. 356 00:19:58,040 –> 00:20:01,619 What Paul says is, God is for us! 357 00:20:04,660 –> 00:20:09,219 Not passively indifferent, for us. 358 00:20:10,020 –> 00:20:12,560 Now, let’s look at how he sets this out 359 00:20:12,560 –> 00:20:16,520 in Romans, in chapter eight, 360 00:20:16,520 –> 00:20:21,520 how do you know that God is for you? 361 00:20:23,500 –> 00:20:28,339 Firstly, as we think of this issue of God’s anger, 362 00:20:29,560 –> 00:20:34,560 he poured out his wrath on Jesus Christ. 363 00:20:34,760 –> 00:20:38,719 Jesus Christ, that’s at the heart of verse 32. 364 00:20:38,719 –> 00:20:42,680 As Paul unpacks for us, the meaning and the magnificence 365 00:20:42,680 –> 00:20:44,760 of this great statement. 366 00:20:44,760 –> 00:20:49,760 God is for us, he who did not verse 32, 367 00:20:50,359 –> 00:20:54,839 spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, 368 00:20:54,839 –> 00:20:57,140 how will he not also along with him 369 00:20:57,140 –> 00:20:59,680 graciously give us all things? 370 00:21:00,359 –> 00:21:04,619 Here is what God has done for us. 371 00:21:07,619 –> 00:21:12,319 He gave up his son, and in that statement, 372 00:21:12,319 –> 00:21:16,319 Paul includes this richness that in the giving up 373 00:21:16,319 –> 00:21:20,099 of the son, on the cross where he died, 374 00:21:20,099 –> 00:21:22,760 the wrath of God was poured out, 375 00:21:22,760 –> 00:21:26,300 the son was given up to this suffering, 376 00:21:26,479 –> 00:21:31,300 he absorbed the judgment of God in himself. 377 00:21:32,780 –> 00:21:37,420 Think of this, God took human flesh in Christ 378 00:21:39,300 –> 00:21:41,900 and he became the propitiation, 379 00:21:41,900 –> 00:21:44,400 that’s the Bible’s word, for our sins. 380 00:21:44,400 –> 00:21:48,119 Think of it this way, he became the lightning rod 381 00:21:48,119 –> 00:21:51,780 that diverted the judgment of God away from us 382 00:21:51,780 –> 00:21:54,280 because it went through him. 383 00:21:55,219 –> 00:22:00,219 He laid down his life and became a sacrifice for our sins. 384 00:22:02,760 –> 00:22:06,780 This is God acting for us. 385 00:22:06,780 –> 00:22:11,180 It is the Father and the Son who are two 386 00:22:11,180 –> 00:22:13,439 and yet who are one, 387 00:22:15,619 –> 00:22:18,599 acting together for us. 388 00:22:19,540 –> 00:22:24,140 The Father gave the Son, the Son gave himself. 389 00:22:25,079 –> 00:22:27,579 He loved me and gave himself for me. 390 00:22:27,579 –> 00:22:28,540 They’re both giving. 391 00:22:28,540 –> 00:22:31,160 This is a common act of giving together. 392 00:22:31,160 –> 00:22:33,839 If the Father and the Son were not one, 393 00:22:33,839 –> 00:22:36,020 the cross would be the greatest act 394 00:22:36,020 –> 00:22:38,000 of abuse in human history. 395 00:22:39,239 –> 00:22:41,540 But the mystery is that in the unity 396 00:22:41,540 –> 00:22:43,800 of the Father and the Son, 397 00:22:43,800 –> 00:22:47,280 God absorbed the wrath of God 398 00:22:47,479 –> 00:22:51,479 so that it shot through himself in Christ 399 00:22:53,079 –> 00:22:56,000 and is diverted away from us. 400 00:22:58,739 –> 00:23:00,319 So the Bible’s problem, 401 00:23:00,319 –> 00:23:02,619 answer to this issue of the wrath of God, 402 00:23:02,619 –> 00:23:03,839 the anger of God, 403 00:23:03,839 –> 00:23:06,599 is not to pretend that the problem doesn’t exist. 404 00:23:08,599 –> 00:23:11,040 Nor is to pretend that there is some series 405 00:23:11,040 –> 00:23:13,199 of unending sacrifices that needs to go on 406 00:23:13,199 –> 00:23:14,939 and on and on in every culture. 407 00:23:15,939 –> 00:23:19,439 It is to declare that the instinct in every culture, 408 00:23:19,439 –> 00:23:22,540 that something needs to be done to make peace with God 409 00:23:22,540 –> 00:23:25,819 has been done and it has been done by God Himself 410 00:23:25,819 –> 00:23:28,420 in Jesus Christ, his son. 411 00:23:29,780 –> 00:23:34,699 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins 412 00:23:34,699 –> 00:23:37,819 and he died once for all, 413 00:23:37,819 –> 00:23:41,839 absorbing the wrath of God in his own body on the tree. 414 00:23:41,839 –> 00:23:44,260 God gave him up for this. 415 00:23:44,280 –> 00:23:49,280 The son gave himself to this and it was done for us. 416 00:23:53,079 –> 00:23:54,880 That’s why by the way the communion service 417 00:23:54,880 –> 00:23:56,959 that we’ll share in in just a few moments 418 00:23:58,680 –> 00:24:01,880 is not a ritual to deal with our sins, 419 00:24:02,839 –> 00:24:06,719 but it is rather a public declaration and thanksgiving 420 00:24:06,719 –> 00:24:11,719 that God has dealt with our sins through his son, 421 00:24:12,319 –> 00:24:13,660 Jesus Christ. 422 00:24:14,540 –> 00:24:16,260 How do I know that God is for me, 423 00:24:16,260 –> 00:24:18,280 how do we know that God is for us? 424 00:24:19,420 –> 00:24:23,140 He poured out his wrath on Christ. 425 00:24:24,180 –> 00:24:28,160 Second, how do we know that God is for us? 426 00:24:29,280 –> 00:24:33,660 God views his people in Christ. 427 00:24:34,979 –> 00:24:37,819 Verses 33 and 34, 428 00:24:37,819 –> 00:24:41,500 who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen 429 00:24:41,500 –> 00:24:45,000 that it’s God who justifies, who is it that condemns? 430 00:24:45,000 –> 00:24:46,640 Christ, Jesus, who died, more than that, 431 00:24:46,640 –> 00:24:49,439 who was raised to life, he’s at the right hand of God 432 00:24:49,439 –> 00:24:52,380 and is interceding for us. 433 00:24:52,380 –> 00:24:55,800 Now, Paul is dealing here 434 00:24:55,800 –> 00:24:57,599 with this whole business of charges, 435 00:24:57,599 –> 00:25:00,099 accusations, condemnations, 436 00:25:01,040 –> 00:25:04,160 and we know that Satan is the great accuser, 437 00:25:04,160 –> 00:25:07,780 but the only basis of accusation that he has 438 00:25:07,780 –> 00:25:09,800 lies in the law of God. 439 00:25:10,780 –> 00:25:13,119 That is why the Bible says the sting of death is sin 440 00:25:13,119 –> 00:25:15,680 and the power of sin is the law. 441 00:25:15,680 –> 00:25:17,920 When we’re measured against the law, 442 00:25:17,920 –> 00:25:21,000 there is basis for accusation, 443 00:25:21,000 –> 00:25:23,939 there is basis for condemnation. 444 00:25:25,219 –> 00:25:29,780 Charges and condemnation arise from our failure 445 00:25:30,780 –> 00:25:34,619 when measured against the law of God. 446 00:25:35,959 –> 00:25:38,760 So here is what God does for us. 447 00:25:40,599 –> 00:25:43,000 He says, I have poured out your sins 448 00:25:43,000 –> 00:25:46,680 and all their dreadful consequences on my son Jesus Christ. 449 00:25:48,300 –> 00:25:53,300 If you will come to him in repentance and faith, 450 00:25:54,839 –> 00:25:59,719 I will deal with you in a whole different way. 451 00:26:01,160 –> 00:26:05,599 Instead of measuring you against the yardstick of the law, 452 00:26:06,540 –> 00:26:08,439 and you will fail that measurement as long as you live, 453 00:26:08,439 –> 00:26:10,619 however good you manage to be. 454 00:26:10,619 –> 00:26:13,719 Instead of measuring you against the yardstick of the law, 455 00:26:13,719 –> 00:26:18,719 I will view you in my son Jesus Christ. 456 00:26:21,939 –> 00:26:25,579 Now, the Bible has a wonderful illustration of this, 457 00:26:25,579 –> 00:26:27,260 and you can read it later if you would like to 458 00:26:27,260 –> 00:26:29,579 in Romans and chapter seven. 459 00:26:29,579 –> 00:26:32,020 It’s the first part of the chapter, 460 00:26:32,020 –> 00:26:37,020 and Paul uses there the illustration of a second marriage. 461 00:26:37,439 –> 00:26:39,280 And here’s the illustration. 462 00:26:39,280 –> 00:26:40,479 Remember when we talked earlier 463 00:26:40,479 –> 00:26:42,859 about being married to Mr. Perfect. 464 00:26:43,800 –> 00:26:48,719 Well, Paul says, in a sense, under the Old Testament, 465 00:26:48,719 –> 00:26:51,739 you were married to the law of God. 466 00:26:51,739 –> 00:26:54,739 That was the yardstick by which you were judged. 467 00:26:54,739 –> 00:26:57,300 You were married to Mr. Perfect. 468 00:26:59,099 –> 00:27:01,079 But now in Jesus Christ, 469 00:27:01,079 –> 00:27:03,040 when you come to faith in Jesus Christ, 470 00:27:03,040 –> 00:27:05,000 you have died and you have risen again. 471 00:27:05,040 –> 00:27:07,680 You become a whole new person by a new birth. 472 00:27:08,579 –> 00:27:12,280 And in that new life, you contract a new marriage. 473 00:27:12,280 –> 00:27:14,959 The old one doesn’t count because you died to it. 474 00:27:16,119 –> 00:27:18,060 And you come into a second marriage 475 00:27:18,060 –> 00:27:21,619 in which you’re not married to the law, old Mr. Perfect. 476 00:27:21,619 –> 00:27:24,719 You are married to Jesus Christ. 477 00:27:25,880 –> 00:27:27,140 Now this does not mean, of course, 478 00:27:27,140 –> 00:27:29,880 that the law is irrelevant to the Christian. 479 00:27:29,880 –> 00:27:33,060 But it does mean that God will not measure you by the law, 480 00:27:33,079 –> 00:27:36,160 but rather he will see you and accept you 481 00:27:36,160 –> 00:27:39,180 in your relationship with Jesus Christ. 482 00:27:40,239 –> 00:27:44,400 And the demands of the old husband, 483 00:27:44,400 –> 00:27:49,079 Mr. Perfect, are replaced by the help 484 00:27:49,079 –> 00:27:52,939 of the new husband, Jesus Christ. 485 00:27:52,939 –> 00:27:55,300 There’s all of the difference in the world. 486 00:27:55,300 –> 00:27:57,119 We may be pursuing the same things 487 00:27:57,119 –> 00:27:59,140 if you pursue the analogy a little bit further. 488 00:27:59,140 –> 00:28:00,660 You know the rubbish still needs to be taken out 489 00:28:00,660 –> 00:28:01,500 and so forth. 490 00:28:01,520 –> 00:28:03,400 Instead of this guy who is Mr. Perfect 491 00:28:03,400 –> 00:28:04,719 telling you what to do, 492 00:28:04,719 –> 00:28:06,739 there is one who comes along and helps 493 00:28:06,739 –> 00:28:09,339 that in Christ what he has called us to do 494 00:28:09,339 –> 00:28:12,520 may increasingly be done. 495 00:28:12,520 –> 00:28:14,540 All of the difference in the world. 496 00:28:14,540 –> 00:28:17,280 I will not measure you against the law, 497 00:28:17,280 –> 00:28:18,180 God is saying, 498 00:28:19,020 –> 00:28:21,699 but I will view you in Christ. 499 00:28:21,699 –> 00:28:24,119 And as you are brought into this new relationship 500 00:28:24,119 –> 00:28:25,560 of union with Jesus Christ, 501 00:28:25,560 –> 00:28:27,520 there will be no charges, no accusation, 502 00:28:27,520 –> 00:28:29,160 no condemnation, 503 00:28:29,160 –> 00:28:31,280 not because you’ve lived a perfect Christian life, 504 00:28:31,280 –> 00:28:32,800 none of us have done that, 505 00:28:32,800 –> 00:28:35,540 but because God is no longer measuring you 506 00:28:35,540 –> 00:28:37,479 in the old way. 507 00:28:37,479 –> 00:28:40,800 This is what the Bible calls justification. 508 00:28:40,800 –> 00:28:42,459 It is the way that God brings a sinner 509 00:28:42,459 –> 00:28:43,920 out of condemnation 510 00:28:43,920 –> 00:28:47,239 and into a joyful relationship of love 511 00:28:47,239 –> 00:28:50,959 and acceptance with himself in Jesus Christ. 512 00:28:50,959 –> 00:28:54,359 And it’s all possible for us 513 00:28:54,359 –> 00:28:58,920 because of the death of Jesus on the cross. 514 00:28:58,920 –> 00:29:00,439 How many people think the second marriage 515 00:29:00,640 –> 00:29:02,939 sounds better than the first? 516 00:29:02,939 –> 00:29:03,780 Amen. 517 00:29:04,819 –> 00:29:07,280 Third, how do we know that God is for us? 518 00:29:09,060 –> 00:29:12,939 Christ bore the wrath of God on the cross for us. 519 00:29:14,280 –> 00:29:17,959 God chooses to measure all his people in Christ 520 00:29:17,959 –> 00:29:19,280 and not against the law. 521 00:29:20,859 –> 00:29:21,939 Thirdly, God is for us 522 00:29:21,939 –> 00:29:24,520 because he will accomplish his purpose 523 00:29:25,459 –> 00:29:27,739 through Jesus Christ. 524 00:29:27,800 –> 00:29:30,560 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 525 00:29:32,300 –> 00:29:36,040 God has given us his Son. 526 00:29:37,839 –> 00:29:41,479 e has justified us and brought us into this new marriage, 527 00:29:41,479 –> 00:29:44,280 to use that analogy from Romans in chapter seven. 528 00:29:45,599 –> 00:29:48,040 And he will complete his purpose 529 00:29:48,040 –> 00:29:51,140 in bringing every one of his children to glory. 530 00:29:52,660 –> 00:29:54,500 And then in the last part of this great chapter, 531 00:29:54,500 –> 00:29:55,719 Paul really raises the question, 532 00:29:55,880 –> 00:29:59,439 well, is there anything that could stop that from happening? 533 00:29:59,439 –> 00:30:02,920 Is there anything that could overwhelm the purpose of God 534 00:30:02,920 –> 00:30:05,599 and lead us to being disappointed in the end? 535 00:30:05,599 –> 00:30:08,400 And he lists a catalog of experiences 536 00:30:08,400 –> 00:30:10,199 that plumb the depths of trouble 537 00:30:10,199 –> 00:30:11,859 that could be known in this world. 538 00:30:11,859 –> 00:30:15,959 Hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, 539 00:30:15,959 –> 00:30:18,560 facing death all day long. 540 00:30:20,819 –> 00:30:22,140 And then he says verse 37, 541 00:30:22,140 –> 00:30:24,979 and knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors. 542 00:30:26,020 –> 00:30:28,400 See, he’s not saying, 543 00:30:28,400 –> 00:30:30,260 Hey, look on the bright side, 544 00:30:30,260 –> 00:30:33,560 God will fulfill his purpose despite these things. 545 00:30:35,079 –> 00:30:38,339 He is saying that God will fulfill his purpose 546 00:30:38,339 –> 00:30:42,239 even through these things. 547 00:30:43,479 –> 00:30:46,780 God has determined to fulfill his purpose 548 00:30:46,780 –> 00:30:49,219 and when he has determined to do a thing, 549 00:30:49,219 –> 00:30:52,319 this God is unstoppable. 550 00:30:53,300 –> 00:30:55,420 And there is nothing that you can experience 551 00:30:55,420 –> 00:30:57,859 in this life or in death itself 552 00:30:57,859 –> 00:31:00,900 that can prevent him from bringing one of his children 553 00:31:00,900 –> 00:31:04,640 into his immediate presence in glory. 554 00:31:05,800 –> 00:31:08,199 Think of a jigsaw puzzle. 555 00:31:08,859 –> 00:31:12,680 Every piece in the box has a place in the picture. 556 00:31:13,579 –> 00:31:17,459 Sometimes I look at a piece and I can’t see where it belongs 557 00:31:17,459 –> 00:31:20,959 and it may be a long time before I find out, 558 00:31:21,680 –> 00:31:24,920 but when the picture is complete 559 00:31:24,920 –> 00:31:29,359 you will see where every piece, even the dark one, fits. 560 00:31:30,400 –> 00:31:35,420 And God will lead you through every painful passage of life 561 00:31:35,420 –> 00:31:39,160 for it is through these passages that he leads us 562 00:31:39,160 –> 00:31:42,239 into his everlasting glory. 563 00:31:43,239 –> 00:31:44,800 God is for you 564 00:31:45,680 –> 00:31:47,839 and nothing can separate you 565 00:31:49,000 –> 00:31:50,719 from the love of Christ. 566 00:31:51,839 –> 00:31:54,020 A brief conclusion and then we’re through. 567 00:31:57,400 –> 00:31:59,420 Here’s a story you might recognize. 568 00:32:01,040 –> 00:32:05,280 It’s called the parable of the prodigal college student. 569 00:32:07,239 –> 00:32:10,959 A certain man had a son who was accepted for college. 570 00:32:11,859 –> 00:32:14,280 The son came unto the father saying, 571 00:32:14,280 –> 00:32:16,839 father, please pay my college fees 572 00:32:16,839 –> 00:32:19,199 and buy me a laptop computer and give me a car 573 00:32:19,219 –> 00:32:22,859 and also also give me money to go out with my friends. 574 00:32:24,400 –> 00:32:27,459 The father gave unto the son as he asked 575 00:32:27,459 –> 00:32:29,239 and the son so did leave for college. 576 00:32:29,239 –> 00:32:30,239 Over the next two years 577 00:32:30,239 –> 00:32:33,459 the son squandered the father’s money in riotous living, 578 00:32:33,459 –> 00:32:36,180 ran up massive debts and wrecked the car. 579 00:32:36,180 –> 00:32:37,699 At the end of his sophomore year, 580 00:32:37,699 –> 00:32:41,160 he was expelled from college and got a job in a local diner. 581 00:32:41,160 –> 00:32:42,239 The diner went out of business 582 00:32:42,239 –> 00:32:45,020 and the boy found himself homeless and desperate. 583 00:32:45,020 –> 00:32:45,859 Question. 584 00:32:46,859 –> 00:32:50,199 Under what conditions will the boy come back to the father? 585 00:32:53,660 –> 00:32:58,319 Only if he is deeply convinced 586 00:32:59,400 –> 00:33:02,540 that the father is for him. 587 00:33:06,040 –> 00:33:09,000 And many remain at a distance from God 588 00:33:09,000 –> 00:33:11,579 because we know we’ve messed up 589 00:33:12,219 –> 00:33:17,219 and we’re not really convinced that God is for us. 590 00:33:20,300 –> 00:33:25,300 God is for you in Jesus Christ. 591 00:33:31,400 –> 00:33:32,640 Two sons in high school, 592 00:33:32,640 –> 00:33:34,920 Karne and I have enjoyed all the debate that goes on 593 00:33:34,920 –> 00:33:37,660 in trying to sort out the great business 594 00:33:37,660 –> 00:33:39,880 of who is going to go on 595 00:33:40,000 –> 00:33:42,760 of who is going to go with who 596 00:33:42,760 –> 00:33:45,540 to homecoming and to prom. 597 00:33:45,540 –> 00:33:49,140 It really is quite a business getting it all sorted out. 598 00:33:49,140 –> 00:33:50,599 And the fascinating thing to me 599 00:33:50,599 –> 00:33:53,119 is that there is a kind of circuit of whispers 600 00:33:53,119 –> 00:33:56,439 that goes on for some weeks before these events 601 00:33:56,439 –> 00:33:59,839 as to who wants to go out with who. 602 00:34:01,199 –> 00:34:02,959 This is very helpful to a guy 603 00:34:04,199 –> 00:34:07,280 because it is much easier to ask 604 00:34:07,280 –> 00:34:11,139 if you already know that the answer is going to be yes. 605 00:34:13,040 –> 00:34:16,080 And if you will come in repentance 606 00:34:16,080 –> 00:34:19,080 and faith to Jesus Christ today, 607 00:34:20,520 –> 00:34:24,439 his answer will be yes 608 00:34:26,340 –> 00:34:28,800 on the authority of the Word of God. 609 00:34:28,800 –> 00:34:31,860 He is for you. 610 00:34:32,600 –> 00:34:36,239 If you ask him to take your sin, 611 00:34:36,239 –> 00:34:38,040 his answer will be yes. 612 00:34:39,080 –> 00:34:42,080 If you ask him to measure you in Christ 613 00:34:42,080 –> 00:34:43,840 and not against the law, 614 00:34:43,840 –> 00:34:47,139 his answer will be yes. 615 00:34:47,139 –> 00:34:48,780 If you ask him to bring you through 616 00:34:48,780 –> 00:34:50,899 the painful passage of your life 617 00:34:50,899 –> 00:34:53,280 into his immediate presence and his time, 618 00:34:53,280 –> 00:34:56,899 his answer will be yes. 619 00:34:57,679 –> 00:35:03,760 And since God is for you in Christ, 620 00:35:03,760 –> 00:35:09,739 why would you remain at a distance from him? 621 00:35:09,739 –> 00:35:11,459 Let’s pray together, shall we? 622 00:35:15,560 –> 00:35:18,159 Lord, today I bow in your presence as a rebel 623 00:35:18,159 –> 00:35:19,580 who deserves your wrath, 624 00:35:19,580 –> 00:35:24,419 and a sinner who does not measure up to your law. 625 00:35:24,419 –> 00:35:26,060 If you did not act to save me, 626 00:35:26,520 –> 00:35:30,320 I would have had no hope. 627 00:35:30,320 –> 00:35:35,600 Thank you Father, that you did not spare your son but gave him up for me. 628 00:35:35,600 –> 00:35:41,620 Thank you Jesus, that you loved me and gave yourself for me. 629 00:35:41,620 –> 00:35:45,360 I believe that you took my sin and guilt when you died on the cross 630 00:35:45,360 –> 00:35:51,899 and bore wrath that would otherwise have been mine. 631 00:35:51,979 –> 00:35:57,300 Almighty Father, plunge me into Jesus Christ. 632 00:35:57,300 –> 00:36:00,040 Wash me in his blood. 633 00:36:00,040 –> 00:36:08,820 Do not measure me according to your law but view me in your perfect son Jesus Christ. 634 00:36:08,820 –> 00:36:14,979 Keep me in your everlasting love through every step of life in this difficult world. 635 00:36:14,979 –> 00:36:20,100 Sustain me through the darkest days of suffering and bring me into the glory of your everlasting 636 00:36:20,100 –> 00:36:22,639 presence. 637 00:36:22,639 –> 00:36:27,280 Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 638 00:36:27,280 –> 00:36:29,580 Amen. 639 00:36:29,580 –> 00:36:34,919 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 640 00:36:34,919 –> 00:36:40,699 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. 641 00:36:40,699 –> 00:36:43,600 Or visit our website, OpenTheBible.org.