1 00:00:00,240 –> 00:00:02,640 Well, when you heard that passage of Scripture 2 00:00:02,640 –> 00:00:04,400 being read just now, 3 00:00:04,400 –> 00:00:05,640 you may have thought to yourself, 4 00:00:05,640 –> 00:00:10,000 my this is a very strange passage of the Bible 5 00:00:10,000 –> 00:00:11,800 for a weekend when we’re planning 6 00:00:11,800 –> 00:00:15,640 to welcome large numbers of first-time visitors 7 00:00:15,640 –> 00:00:19,459 in the public launch of a new campus. 8 00:00:19,459 –> 00:00:24,459 Is he really going to preach this weekend 9 00:00:25,400 –> 00:00:27,780 from these verses in the Bible? 10 00:00:27,780 –> 00:00:30,700 Well, I want you to know the same question occurred to me. 11 00:00:32,580 –> 00:00:35,180 On an occasion like this, you have to make a choice. 12 00:00:36,180 –> 00:00:40,939 You can do something different and say, this is special, 13 00:00:40,939 –> 00:00:45,939 or you can be who you are and you can say, 14 00:00:46,840 –> 00:00:49,840 this is what we’re about, 15 00:00:49,840 –> 00:00:52,160 and I’ve chosen this weekend 16 00:00:52,160 –> 00:00:53,799 which is a great weekend of joy 17 00:00:53,799 –> 00:00:56,939 for all of us to do what we always do 18 00:00:56,939 –> 00:01:00,840 for all of you who are visiting the orchard this weekend. 19 00:01:00,840 –> 00:01:05,320 Our pattern, as you will come to know and see, 20 00:01:05,320 –> 00:01:07,900 and I hope you will come to love and appreciate 21 00:01:07,900 –> 00:01:09,379 is that week by week, what we do 22 00:01:09,379 –> 00:01:12,239 is we simply take a passage from the Bible. 23 00:01:12,239 –> 00:01:15,559 And what we try to do is to place ourselves under it. 24 00:01:15,559 –> 00:01:17,680 We’re not coming as the sort of inspectors 25 00:01:17,680 –> 00:01:19,419 or evaluators of the Bible. 26 00:01:19,419 –> 00:01:24,260 We’re trying to have the Bible evaluate and inspect us. 27 00:01:24,260 –> 00:01:26,320 We want to listen to the Bible 28 00:01:26,580 –> 00:01:28,260 and we want to place ourselves under the Word of God 29 00:01:28,260 –> 00:01:30,820 in such a way that our thinking, 30 00:01:30,820 –> 00:01:33,699 our feeling, our choosing, our believing, 31 00:01:33,699 –> 00:01:38,220 and our behaving all get shaped over time 32 00:01:38,220 –> 00:01:41,540 by the Word of God. 33 00:01:41,540 –> 00:01:43,139 And it would be very easy, you see, 34 00:01:43,139 –> 00:01:45,059 simply for us to come to the Bible, 35 00:01:45,059 –> 00:01:47,099 picking the bits that we like 36 00:01:47,099 –> 00:01:48,900 and ignoring all of the bits 37 00:01:48,900 –> 00:01:51,300 that make us feel uncomfortable. 38 00:01:51,300 –> 00:01:53,139 But you see, if you do that, 39 00:01:53,180 –> 00:01:57,639 you are only hearing a reflection of your own preferences. 40 00:01:57,639 –> 00:01:59,180 What happens over time is that 41 00:01:59,180 –> 00:02:03,779 your pre-existing prejudices end up being reinforced. 42 00:02:03,779 –> 00:02:05,779 You find that you’re always being affirmed 43 00:02:05,779 –> 00:02:07,260 but never challenged. 44 00:02:07,260 –> 00:02:09,419 You find that you’re always being comforted 45 00:02:09,419 –> 00:02:12,360 but never actually changed. 46 00:02:12,360 –> 00:02:14,020 Now, that’s why we use the discipline 47 00:02:14,020 –> 00:02:16,979 of simply working through a book of the Bible 48 00:02:16,979 –> 00:02:19,960 so that we can listen to what God says 49 00:02:19,960 –> 00:02:23,100 on the subject that He wants to speak to us about. 50 00:02:23,100 –> 00:02:25,279 Rather than us simply set the range 51 00:02:25,279 –> 00:02:28,800 of what we’re prepared to listen to Him on. 52 00:02:28,800 –> 00:02:32,779 And last summer, long before we knew anything 53 00:02:32,779 –> 00:02:35,080 about dates of public launches, 54 00:02:35,080 –> 00:02:37,440 it was planned that we would listen to God 55 00:02:37,440 –> 00:02:40,160 through this part of the Scripture. 56 00:02:40,160 –> 00:02:44,240 And so that is what we are going to do this weekend. 57 00:02:44,240 –> 00:02:47,520 You know that it is often tempting for the preacher 58 00:02:47,520 –> 00:02:51,399 to fit the message to what people want to hear. 59 00:02:51,399 –> 00:02:53,500 But you will know this in your own experience 60 00:02:53,500 –> 00:02:55,220 as I know it in mine. 61 00:02:55,220 –> 00:03:00,220 I am not helped by people who only say what I want to hear. 62 00:03:01,380 –> 00:03:05,080 I am helped by people who say it like it is. 63 00:03:05,080 –> 00:03:07,199 And I especially need people in my life 64 00:03:07,199 –> 00:03:10,479 who will confront me with what I may be hiding from 65 00:03:10,479 –> 00:03:14,039 without even knowing that I am hiding from it. 66 00:03:14,039 –> 00:03:16,440 And I need to hear, we all need to hear 67 00:03:16,440 –> 00:03:20,940 what God has to say, especially, especially, 68 00:03:21,880 –> 00:03:25,800 where that makes us feel uncomfortable. 69 00:03:25,800 –> 00:03:28,600 And so I want us to kind of home in on this a little 70 00:03:28,600 –> 00:03:31,460 before we get into what the scripture is saying to us here, 71 00:03:31,460 –> 00:03:32,559 think about it. 72 00:03:32,559 –> 00:03:35,279 You could spend your whole life 73 00:03:35,279 –> 00:03:39,779 shaping a personalized God to your own liking. 74 00:03:39,779 –> 00:03:41,619 Shaping in your mind, tampering it out, 75 00:03:41,619 –> 00:03:43,240 a God who loves what you love, 76 00:03:43,240 –> 00:03:45,100 a God who says what you want to hear. 77 00:03:45,100 –> 00:03:48,559 A God who calls you to live as you’re already living. 78 00:03:48,559 –> 00:03:51,539 That God would only be a projection of yourself. 79 00:03:53,059 –> 00:03:54,279 And at the end of the day, 80 00:03:54,279 –> 00:03:57,380 what good is a God who is designed by you really? 81 00:03:59,000 –> 00:04:04,000 A God who is shaped by you will die with you. 82 00:04:04,080 –> 00:04:07,559 A God who was shaped by me would die with me. 83 00:04:09,059 –> 00:04:11,380 Such a God cannot help us 84 00:04:11,380 –> 00:04:15,240 because he or she has no existence apart from us. 85 00:04:16,019 –> 00:04:19,059 And the Bible has a word for that, 86 00:04:19,059 –> 00:04:21,019 the word is simply idolatry. 87 00:04:22,019 –> 00:04:24,000 In ancient times, the idols, you know, 88 00:04:24,000 –> 00:04:26,119 were made of wood and they were made of stone 89 00:04:26,119 –> 00:04:27,519 and they were made of metal. 90 00:04:27,519 –> 00:04:29,320 In our more sophisticated times, 91 00:04:29,320 –> 00:04:33,119 the idols are not so much metal, they are mental. 92 00:04:33,119 –> 00:04:36,880 We hammer them out in the caverns of our minds, 93 00:04:36,880 –> 00:04:38,959 this is who we think God is, 94 00:04:38,959 –> 00:04:41,440 this is what I want him to be like. 95 00:04:42,299 –> 00:04:44,320 And that is precisely why 96 00:04:44,320 –> 00:04:46,720 so many people in our culture today 97 00:04:46,720 –> 00:04:48,899 are convinced that Christianity 98 00:04:48,899 –> 00:04:52,440 is simply a projection of human thought 99 00:04:53,440 –> 00:04:56,640 mixed in with a power play by the church. 100 00:04:58,279 –> 00:05:00,420 And I want to try and open your mind up 101 00:05:00,420 –> 00:05:02,500 to something else this weekend, 102 00:05:03,720 –> 00:05:07,140 what if God was before us, 103 00:05:08,140 –> 00:05:13,040 what if He is without us, 104 00:05:13,040 –> 00:05:15,959 what if He always will be despite us, 105 00:05:15,959 –> 00:05:18,320 what if we are dependent on Him, 106 00:05:18,320 –> 00:05:21,059 not Him dependent on us? 107 00:05:22,320 –> 00:05:25,660 What if God were abundantly good 108 00:05:25,660 –> 00:05:28,899 and you are part of a world 109 00:05:28,899 –> 00:05:30,660 that is rebelling against him, 110 00:05:32,260 –> 00:05:34,899 what if God is love 111 00:05:34,899 –> 00:05:36,720 and you are spending much of your life 112 00:05:37,559 –> 00:05:38,799 running away from him? 113 00:05:40,000 –> 00:05:42,480 What if God sees a future disaster 114 00:05:42,480 –> 00:05:44,519 that you don’t even know about yet 115 00:05:44,519 –> 00:05:46,320 and is already reaching out 116 00:05:46,320 –> 00:05:49,119 to deliver you from that catastrophe? 117 00:05:50,760 –> 00:05:53,339 Well, folks, I have been studying this book 118 00:05:53,339 –> 00:05:55,279 all of my life, 119 00:05:55,279 –> 00:05:58,200 and that is exactly the message that I find here, 120 00:05:59,619 –> 00:06:04,200 God comes to us and He says I am who I am, 121 00:06:04,200 –> 00:06:06,059 I’m not whoever you want me to be, 122 00:06:07,359 –> 00:06:10,519 and He speaks to us in this book so that we may find Him, 123 00:06:11,600 –> 00:06:13,040 so that you can know Him, 124 00:06:14,119 –> 00:06:16,720 and so that we may be able to enjoy Him forever. 125 00:06:17,779 –> 00:06:20,119 So I hope you’ll open your Bible with me 126 00:06:20,119 –> 00:06:23,519 at the Second Book of Thessalonians. 127 00:06:23,519 –> 00:06:26,359 We saw last week that this letter was written 128 00:06:26,359 –> 00:06:29,920 to encourage Christians who were being persecuted. 129 00:06:29,920 –> 00:06:31,820 Now, let’s pause there for a moment. 130 00:06:31,820 –> 00:06:34,739 Persecution is always a terrible thing, 131 00:06:35,739 –> 00:06:37,700 a particular group of people, 132 00:06:37,700 –> 00:06:40,399 and it varies at different times and different places, 133 00:06:41,579 –> 00:06:43,179 but it is always a terrible thing 134 00:06:43,179 –> 00:06:45,820 when a particular group of people are picked on 135 00:06:46,859 –> 00:06:49,399 and they are singled out 136 00:06:49,399 –> 00:06:53,799 and they are attacked viciously and repeatedly. 137 00:06:55,279 –> 00:06:57,239 And the obvious question for people 138 00:06:57,239 –> 00:07:01,420 who are suffering persecution is, 139 00:07:01,420 –> 00:07:02,959 where is God in this? 140 00:07:03,899 –> 00:07:06,739 How are we supposed to stand up under this 141 00:07:06,739 –> 00:07:08,140 and survive through it? 142 00:07:09,059 –> 00:07:11,359 And this letter that’s open in front of us today 143 00:07:11,359 –> 00:07:14,640 is given to give us the answer. 144 00:07:14,640 –> 00:07:16,839 Now, I’ve asked two questions of these verses 145 00:07:16,839 –> 00:07:18,839 that I hope you have open in front of you. 146 00:07:18,839 –> 00:07:21,559 The first question is simply what does this say. 147 00:07:21,559 –> 00:07:23,040 And the second question is, 148 00:07:23,040 –> 00:07:26,880 how can I use what I learned here in my life? 149 00:07:26,880 –> 00:07:28,600 First of all, then, what does this say? 150 00:07:28,600 –> 00:07:31,760 Simply, I want to show you what you can see for yourself, 151 00:07:31,799 –> 00:07:33,720 if you have a Bible right there in front of you 152 00:07:33,720 –> 00:07:35,839 in these verses, two things. 153 00:07:35,839 –> 00:07:40,440 Number one, it says that God is just, verse six. 154 00:07:40,440 –> 00:07:44,440 God is just, 155 00:07:44,440 –> 00:07:48,899 and he will pay back trouble for those who trouble you. 156 00:07:50,480 –> 00:07:52,059 Now folks, the justice of God 157 00:07:52,059 –> 00:07:54,519 is not always obvious in this world. 158 00:07:55,839 –> 00:07:58,220 People who do good often suffer, 159 00:07:58,220 –> 00:08:00,940 people who do evil often prosper. 160 00:08:02,000 –> 00:08:04,100 But God is just. 161 00:08:04,100 –> 00:08:07,140 And even though his justice may be hidden now, 162 00:08:07,140 –> 00:08:10,100 verse seven tells us it will become obvious 163 00:08:10,100 –> 00:08:13,179 when Jesus Christ is revealed. 164 00:08:14,119 –> 00:08:16,640 This is very important because the justice of God 165 00:08:16,640 –> 00:08:20,019 is a central truth in all of the Bible. 166 00:08:20,019 –> 00:08:23,119 God never acts out of vindictiveness, 167 00:08:23,119 –> 00:08:28,119 but we are being reminded here he always acts out of justice. 168 00:08:28,640 –> 00:08:31,019 So you can have absolute confidence 169 00:08:31,040 –> 00:08:33,280 before we go any further, 170 00:08:33,280 –> 00:08:35,760 that not one person will be punished 171 00:08:35,760 –> 00:08:39,140 for a single sin that they did not actually commit. 172 00:08:39,960 –> 00:08:41,700 You can be absolutely confident 173 00:08:41,700 –> 00:08:44,479 that no one will ever be punished by God 174 00:08:44,479 –> 00:08:47,219 in a way that is disproportionate 175 00:08:47,219 –> 00:08:49,940 to the offense that they have committed. 176 00:08:49,940 –> 00:08:52,820 And you can be confident that no one will escape 177 00:08:52,820 –> 00:08:55,219 the judgment or the justice of God 178 00:08:55,219 –> 00:08:58,940 because God knows all things and nothing is hidden from him. 179 00:08:59,919 –> 00:09:02,140 No one intimidates God. 180 00:09:02,140 –> 00:09:04,440 No one has leverage against him. 181 00:09:04,440 –> 00:09:08,659 You can have confidence in the absolute justice of God. 182 00:09:08,659 –> 00:09:09,700 That’s the first thing. 183 00:09:09,700 –> 00:09:12,419 God is just. 184 00:09:13,380 –> 00:09:15,320 Here’s the second thing that follows from it 185 00:09:15,320 –> 00:09:17,020 and it’s in verse eight. 186 00:09:17,020 –> 00:09:19,619 God will punish. 187 00:09:20,340 –> 00:09:24,119 He will punish those who do not know God 188 00:09:24,219 –> 00:09:31,020 and do not obey the gospel of our Lord, Jesus. 189 00:09:31,020 –> 00:09:33,400 Now it’s a plain statement. 190 00:09:33,400 –> 00:09:38,020 And then we are given two descriptions of this punishment. 191 00:09:38,020 –> 00:09:40,119 Notice them in verse nine. 192 00:09:40,119 –> 00:09:42,780 The first is they will be punished 193 00:09:42,780 –> 00:09:47,200 with everlasting destruction. 194 00:09:47,200 –> 00:09:49,840 Now just pause there for a moment, folks. 195 00:09:49,900 –> 00:09:53,520 Everlasting destruction. 196 00:09:54,739 –> 00:09:56,960 Now the combination of these two words, 197 00:09:56,960 –> 00:10:01,960 everlasting destruction is to me absolutely terrifying. 198 00:10:02,539 –> 00:10:03,460 Is it not to you? 199 00:10:04,900 –> 00:10:07,599 But the meaning is absolutely clear. 200 00:10:09,039 –> 00:10:12,739 This is a destruction that is without end. 201 00:10:14,039 –> 00:10:16,200 It is in the words of Matthew Henry 202 00:10:16,260 –> 00:10:20,159 to be always dying and never to die. 203 00:10:22,119 –> 00:10:23,960 Now you may say, now wait a minute. 204 00:10:23,960 –> 00:10:26,859 This sounds disproportionately. 205 00:10:26,859 –> 00:10:31,859 How can any sin deserve an everlasting punishment? 206 00:10:32,419 –> 00:10:36,520 If God is just, how can he punish like this? 207 00:10:36,520 –> 00:10:37,400 And you know what? 208 00:10:37,400 –> 00:10:40,140 The best answer I ever heard to that question, 209 00:10:40,140 –> 00:10:41,619 and it’s a good question, 210 00:10:41,619 –> 00:10:43,039 was given by a friend of mine 211 00:10:43,039 –> 00:10:45,619 who was talking to middle school students. 212 00:10:46,460 –> 00:10:47,520 And he said this, 213 00:10:48,479 –> 00:10:50,859 suppose a middle school student 214 00:10:50,859 –> 00:10:53,280 punches another member of the class. 215 00:10:53,280 –> 00:10:54,119 What happens? 216 00:10:54,119 –> 00:10:55,679 Well, he’s gonna get a detention. 217 00:10:57,080 –> 00:11:00,840 Suppose that in the detention, he punches the teacher. 218 00:11:01,780 –> 00:11:04,719 Oh, he’s gonna get expelled from the school. 219 00:11:04,719 –> 00:11:07,020 Suppose that on the way home from school, 220 00:11:07,020 –> 00:11:08,539 he punches a policeman. 221 00:11:09,440 –> 00:11:10,960 He’s gonna end up in the jail. 222 00:11:11,880 –> 00:11:13,679 Suppose that some years later 223 00:11:13,679 –> 00:11:15,919 he joins a crowd there to see 224 00:11:15,919 –> 00:11:19,159 the visit of the President of the United States. 225 00:11:20,280 –> 00:11:22,219 And as the President walks by, 226 00:11:22,219 –> 00:11:24,599 he lunges forward to punch 227 00:11:24,599 –> 00:11:26,440 the President of the United States, 228 00:11:26,440 –> 00:11:28,460 he’s shot dead by the secret service. 229 00:11:29,440 –> 00:11:30,520 Now think about it. 230 00:11:31,820 –> 00:11:36,460 The offense in every case is exactly the same. 231 00:11:37,919 –> 00:11:40,099 But the gravity of the offense 232 00:11:40,099 –> 00:11:42,020 and the consequences of the offense 233 00:11:42,119 –> 00:11:44,539 is measured by what? 234 00:11:44,539 –> 00:11:47,840 The person against whom it is committed. 235 00:11:49,520 –> 00:11:51,840 Now ask this question, 236 00:11:51,840 –> 00:11:55,520 what comes from sinning against God? 237 00:11:57,599 –> 00:12:00,919 Answer, everlasting destruction. 238 00:12:02,320 –> 00:12:04,539 Then there’s a second description. 239 00:12:04,539 –> 00:12:06,320 Verse nine, do you see it there? 240 00:12:06,320 –> 00:12:10,400 They will be punished with everlasting destruction 241 00:12:10,400 –> 00:12:15,400 and shut out from the presence of the Lord. 242 00:12:16,940 –> 00:12:20,700 Now, to be shut out from the presence of the Lord 243 00:12:20,700 –> 00:12:22,460 means to be without hope, 244 00:12:22,460 –> 00:12:25,380 it means to be without love forever. 245 00:12:26,260 –> 00:12:29,260 James Deney says it like this, 246 00:12:29,260 –> 00:12:32,659 obey the gospel and you will enter into light 247 00:12:32,659 –> 00:12:35,400 in which there is no darkness. 248 00:12:35,400 –> 00:12:39,039 Disobey the gospel, and you will enter into darkness 249 00:12:39,039 –> 00:12:40,820 in which there is no light. 250 00:12:41,780 –> 00:12:46,780 He speaks of this as a night on which no morning ever dawns. 251 00:12:49,299 –> 00:12:51,880 So folks very simply, I’m just saying to you 252 00:12:51,880 –> 00:12:54,099 what you can see for yourself in the Bible. 253 00:12:54,099 –> 00:12:55,700 This is what it says, 254 00:12:56,859 –> 00:13:01,440 God is just and therefore he will punish, 255 00:13:01,440 –> 00:13:05,559 and he will punish through and ever lasting destruction 256 00:13:05,559 –> 00:13:08,419 and those who are so punished will be shut out 257 00:13:08,440 –> 00:13:11,619 from the presence of the Lord forever 258 00:13:11,619 –> 00:13:16,619 and this will happen when Jesus Christ is revealed, 259 00:13:17,900 –> 00:13:19,659 and let’s pause there for a moment. 260 00:13:21,599 –> 00:13:25,679 Friends, this is one of the hardest truths 261 00:13:25,679 –> 00:13:29,719 in all of the Bible, but do you know what I’ve found, 262 00:13:30,979 –> 00:13:35,979 the hardest truths can produce the most tender of hearts 263 00:13:36,539 –> 00:13:39,940 and I’m going to show you how that is the case 264 00:13:39,940 –> 00:13:44,679 in just a moment here and I give you this promise 265 00:13:44,679 –> 00:13:49,039 that if you will grasp this most difficult of truths 266 00:13:49,039 –> 00:13:51,820 that is plainly stated here in the Bible, 267 00:13:51,820 –> 00:13:56,200 it will soften your heart, God will make you 268 00:13:56,200 –> 00:14:00,739 as a result of believing this more tender towards Him 269 00:14:00,739 –> 00:14:03,080 and more tender towards other people as well. 270 00:14:03,140 –> 00:14:06,559 I promise you and I’ll show you how in just a moment. 271 00:14:07,739 –> 00:14:11,059 So let me suggest to you now six ways 272 00:14:11,059 –> 00:14:15,200 in which you can use this truth that is so plainly stated 273 00:14:15,200 –> 00:14:18,219 for us in the Bible today. 274 00:14:18,219 –> 00:14:23,219 Number one, use this truth to sustain your faith 275 00:14:24,500 –> 00:14:26,080 in a suffering world. 276 00:14:27,700 –> 00:14:31,919 Now, if you have suffered at the hand of another person, 277 00:14:33,179 –> 00:14:36,260 or if you have a loved one who has suffered 278 00:14:36,260 –> 00:14:37,979 at the hands of others, 279 00:14:37,979 –> 00:14:41,799 as these early Christians were clearly suffering greatly 280 00:14:41,799 –> 00:14:44,140 at the hands of violent people 281 00:14:44,140 –> 00:14:47,119 who were causing agonies in their lives. 282 00:14:48,359 –> 00:14:52,039 You will ask the question, where is God in this? 283 00:14:52,039 –> 00:14:53,419 Honestly, in a suffering world, 284 00:14:53,419 –> 00:14:55,559 are there any of us in this congregation here 285 00:14:55,559 –> 00:14:57,900 who have not asked the question, where is God in this? 286 00:14:57,900 –> 00:15:00,099 We all ask that question. 287 00:15:00,099 –> 00:15:01,440 Every single one of us. 288 00:15:02,380 –> 00:15:07,440 And I want to say to you that this truth helps 289 00:15:07,440 –> 00:15:10,520 when you are asking that question, and here’s why. 290 00:15:11,359 –> 00:15:14,239 Because it reminds us that when you see 291 00:15:14,239 –> 00:15:18,280 the righteous suffering and the wicked prospering, 292 00:15:18,280 –> 00:15:20,619 you have not yet seen the end of the story. 293 00:15:22,000 –> 00:15:25,320 And God says to suffering believers, 294 00:15:25,320 –> 00:15:26,599 to those who are doing good 295 00:15:26,599 –> 00:15:29,059 and are suffering in it and for it, 296 00:15:29,059 –> 00:15:32,659 there is a day coming when Jesus Christ will be revealed. 297 00:15:32,659 –> 00:15:36,559 This is a word that some of us need to hear today. 298 00:15:36,559 –> 00:15:39,539 You are right in the middle of suffering 299 00:15:39,539 –> 00:15:40,979 as you are doing what is right. 300 00:15:40,979 –> 00:15:43,099 And the Lord Jesus Christ says to you, 301 00:15:43,099 –> 00:15:46,919 you will see on that day when Jesus Christ is revealed. 302 00:15:46,919 –> 00:15:49,780 You will then see the full measure of God’s justice 303 00:15:49,780 –> 00:15:53,260 and you will then see the full measure of God’s love. 304 00:15:53,260 –> 00:15:55,619 So use this in the meantime, 305 00:15:55,619 –> 00:15:58,880 to sustain your faith in a suffering world. 306 00:15:59,900 –> 00:16:02,020 That’s a huge part of the answer 307 00:16:02,020 –> 00:16:04,299 as to how we live in this world 308 00:16:04,299 –> 00:16:06,219 where so often the righteous suffer 309 00:16:06,219 –> 00:16:07,799 and so often the wicked prosper. 310 00:16:07,799 –> 00:16:09,500 You need this truth 311 00:16:09,500 –> 00:16:11,500 and you need to use it to sustain your faith 312 00:16:11,500 –> 00:16:12,940 when sometimes you see things 313 00:16:12,940 –> 00:16:15,859 that you cannot begin to understand 314 00:16:15,859 –> 00:16:17,059 or begin to explain. 315 00:16:18,700 –> 00:16:19,539 Second, 316 00:16:20,440 –> 00:16:22,179 use this truth 317 00:16:23,179 –> 00:16:27,580 to restrain your desire to even the score. 318 00:16:29,219 –> 00:16:33,099 Now, this is just practical stuff in life, folks. 319 00:16:33,099 –> 00:16:34,559 When someone hurts you, 320 00:16:34,559 –> 00:16:36,440 your natural instinct will be 321 00:16:36,440 –> 00:16:39,359 that you want to hurt them back, 322 00:16:39,359 –> 00:16:40,599 that’s in all of us. 323 00:16:41,659 –> 00:16:42,820 They brought you down, 324 00:16:42,820 –> 00:16:44,260 you wanna bring them down. 325 00:16:45,219 –> 00:16:46,700 Now you look into your own heart. 326 00:16:46,700 –> 00:16:48,659 You see something of this ill will 327 00:16:48,659 –> 00:16:50,179 towards another person. 328 00:16:51,159 –> 00:16:55,799 How do you restrain that desire to even the score? 329 00:16:56,780 –> 00:16:58,320 And again, I’m saying to you today 330 00:16:58,320 –> 00:17:01,539 that this truth that we’re learning helps. 331 00:17:01,539 –> 00:17:04,660 Listen to how it’s applied in Romans chapter 12. 332 00:17:04,660 –> 00:17:05,500 Paul says this, 333 00:17:05,500 –> 00:17:09,160 now look if it is possible as far as 334 00:17:09,160 –> 00:17:11,579 it depends on you, he says, 335 00:17:11,579 –> 00:17:13,979 live at peace with everyone. 336 00:17:13,979 –> 00:17:17,780 You say, hey Paul, as your head in the clouds, 337 00:17:17,780 –> 00:17:19,660 you realize what goes on in this world 338 00:17:19,680 –> 00:17:21,400 and you’re saying live at peace with everyone 339 00:17:21,400 –> 00:17:23,020 as far as it’s possible on me, 340 00:17:23,020 –> 00:17:25,119 he says, here’s how. 341 00:17:25,119 –> 00:17:28,380 Do not take revenge, my friends, 342 00:17:28,380 –> 00:17:30,979 but leave room for God’s wrath 343 00:17:30,979 –> 00:17:33,300 because it is written 344 00:17:33,300 –> 00:17:37,300 it is mine to avenge I will repay says the Lord. 345 00:17:38,160 –> 00:17:39,000 And you see the truth 346 00:17:39,000 –> 00:17:41,540 that’s being brought into the picture here, 347 00:17:41,540 –> 00:17:42,699 it’s the truth that we’re looking at 348 00:17:42,699 –> 00:17:44,900 from second Thessalonians. 349 00:17:44,900 –> 00:17:48,180 God will repay the wrong, 350 00:17:48,180 –> 00:17:53,180 so leave room Paul says for God’s wrath. 351 00:17:53,280 –> 00:17:56,380 Look, here’s it put simply, as simply as I can. 352 00:17:56,380 –> 00:17:59,119 You don’t need to take it into your hands 353 00:17:59,119 –> 00:18:02,260 if you know that it’s in his, that’s what he’s saying. 354 00:18:03,500 –> 00:18:05,219 You don’t know that you’ll always be taking 355 00:18:05,219 –> 00:18:07,500 putting everything right into your own hands. 356 00:18:08,819 –> 00:18:10,479 God will deal with this, 357 00:18:11,420 –> 00:18:13,239 you can leave it to him, 358 00:18:13,239 –> 00:18:15,099 and so it’s on this foundation 359 00:18:15,099 –> 00:18:17,459 that in Romans, the apostle goes on to say 360 00:18:17,459 –> 00:18:22,060 so if your enemy is hungry, feed him. 361 00:18:23,959 –> 00:18:26,180 And if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. 362 00:18:26,180 –> 00:18:27,239 How can you do that? 363 00:18:27,239 –> 00:18:28,699 Only if you know that justice 364 00:18:28,699 –> 00:18:30,300 can be left in the hands of God. 365 00:18:31,699 –> 00:18:33,839 Otherwise you’ll always be caught up 366 00:18:33,839 –> 00:18:36,939 in evening the score with someone who’s wounded you. 367 00:18:38,339 –> 00:18:41,260 See why I say that the hardest of truth 368 00:18:41,260 –> 00:18:43,380 can produce the most tender of hearts? 369 00:18:45,420 –> 00:18:46,699 Here’s a third application 370 00:18:46,699 –> 00:18:48,119 and it’s along the same lines. 371 00:18:48,119 –> 00:18:53,000 Use this to increase your compassion 372 00:18:53,939 –> 00:18:55,500 for people who harm you. 373 00:18:56,880 –> 00:18:59,280 And some of us in the congregation have known what it is 374 00:18:59,280 –> 00:19:02,079 for another person to do terrible things. 375 00:19:03,979 –> 00:19:05,979 And then you read the Bible and you read, 376 00:19:05,979 –> 00:19:07,520 Jesus says this, 377 00:19:08,780 –> 00:19:10,739 love your enemies. 378 00:19:12,000 –> 00:19:15,160 Pray for those who persecute you, 379 00:19:15,959 –> 00:19:18,280 and here you are, you’re a Christian. 380 00:19:18,280 –> 00:19:20,680 And so you want to take every word that Jesus said 381 00:19:20,680 –> 00:19:22,280 absolutely seriously. 382 00:19:22,280 –> 00:19:24,599 And you think of what someone has done to you, 383 00:19:24,599 –> 00:19:26,819 and you read these words, 384 00:19:26,819 –> 00:19:28,839 love your enemies, 385 00:19:28,839 –> 00:19:31,000 pray for those who persecute you 386 00:19:31,000 –> 00:19:32,079 and you’re saying to yourself, 387 00:19:32,079 –> 00:19:34,359 how in the world do I begin to do that? 388 00:19:34,359 –> 00:19:36,680 Where would I even start? 389 00:19:36,680 –> 00:19:37,839 How is it possible? 390 00:19:39,420 –> 00:19:42,319 Oh, you know, if someone has done something terrible, 391 00:19:42,319 –> 00:19:45,079 and then that person sees what he or she did 392 00:19:45,099 –> 00:19:46,959 and they truly repent. 393 00:19:46,959 –> 00:19:49,959 Well, then you might find it in your heart to forgive them. 394 00:19:51,520 –> 00:19:54,760 But if they go on, as sometimes is the case, 395 00:19:54,760 –> 00:19:58,280 with absolutely no awareness of what they have done for you, 396 00:19:58,280 –> 00:20:00,719 if even worse they continue to do the same thing 397 00:20:00,719 –> 00:20:02,239 in the lives of others, 398 00:20:03,459 –> 00:20:05,239 then how in the world 399 00:20:06,160 –> 00:20:09,119 are you going to have compassion for them? 400 00:20:10,880 –> 00:20:12,920 Now these are deep things in life friends. 401 00:20:12,920 –> 00:20:14,780 But I simply want to say this, 402 00:20:16,079 –> 00:20:17,839 the teaching that we are considering 403 00:20:17,839 –> 00:20:20,979 in the Bible today helps. 404 00:20:20,979 –> 00:20:22,119 Let me show you how. 405 00:20:23,319 –> 00:20:25,199 When you think 406 00:20:26,859 –> 00:20:27,719 about everlasting destruction 407 00:20:31,599 –> 00:20:33,319 in relation to that person, 408 00:20:34,939 –> 00:20:39,119 when you think about what that would mean for them 409 00:20:40,439 –> 00:20:44,780 to be shut out from the presence of the Lord forever. 410 00:20:44,900 –> 00:20:48,319 I tell you, you would not wish that on your worst enemy. 411 00:20:48,319 –> 00:20:49,420 You would not. 412 00:20:51,060 –> 00:20:53,859 And the more clearly you grasp this truth, 413 00:20:53,859 –> 00:20:56,739 the more you will be helped to pray 414 00:20:56,739 –> 00:20:58,599 for those who persecute you. 415 00:20:59,500 –> 00:21:01,160 And here is what you will find. 416 00:21:02,699 –> 00:21:07,439 Bitterness cannot survive long when you begin to pray. 417 00:21:08,500 –> 00:21:11,699 Compassion will sneak in 418 00:21:11,699 –> 00:21:14,339 through the back door of your heart, it really will. 419 00:21:14,359 –> 00:21:15,660 I have proved it my own life, 420 00:21:15,660 –> 00:21:17,300 as countless of you have as well. 421 00:21:18,800 –> 00:21:19,900 That’s why I’m saying to you 422 00:21:19,900 –> 00:21:21,900 that this hardest of truths, 423 00:21:21,900 –> 00:21:25,260 when it is embraced and it is internalized, 424 00:21:25,260 –> 00:21:28,400 can produce the most tender of hearts. 425 00:21:28,400 –> 00:21:33,160 And some of you have discovered freedom precisely here. 426 00:21:33,160 –> 00:21:34,300 It is an amazing thing. 427 00:21:36,219 –> 00:21:40,739 Number four use this truth to help you understand 428 00:21:40,819 –> 00:21:45,280 what happened at the cross? 429 00:21:45,280 –> 00:21:46,300 Now, folks, this takes us 430 00:21:46,300 –> 00:21:48,739 to the very heart of Christianity today. 431 00:21:49,819 –> 00:21:52,280 Jesus Christ came into the world 432 00:21:52,280 –> 00:21:55,280 because there is a future catastrophe 433 00:21:55,280 –> 00:21:57,020 that you need saving from. 434 00:21:57,020 –> 00:21:58,780 That’s true for every one of us. 435 00:22:00,000 –> 00:22:02,380 Now think with me about the Lord Jesus Christ. 436 00:22:02,380 –> 00:22:03,540 He comes into the world. 437 00:22:03,540 –> 00:22:05,839 We’ve celebrated that at Christmas. 438 00:22:05,839 –> 00:22:08,780 Then for three years of ministry, 439 00:22:08,780 –> 00:22:11,500 Jesus does so much good. 440 00:22:11,500 –> 00:22:12,780 Think of what Jesus did 441 00:22:12,780 –> 00:22:14,380 in the three years of his ministry. 442 00:22:14,380 –> 00:22:16,560 He’s feeding the hungry. 443 00:22:16,560 –> 00:22:18,579 He’s healing the sick. 444 00:22:18,579 –> 00:22:21,099 He is giving the greatest teaching 445 00:22:21,099 –> 00:22:24,400 that this world has ever heard at any time in its history. 446 00:22:24,400 –> 00:22:28,079 He did so much good, in just three years. 447 00:22:29,060 –> 00:22:31,660 How much more good could he have done 448 00:22:31,660 –> 00:22:33,520 if he had gone on doing the same things 449 00:22:33,520 –> 00:22:36,020 for 30 years or another 50 years? 450 00:22:36,060 –> 00:22:40,939 And yet he says to his disciples again and again 451 00:22:40,939 –> 00:22:45,939 that he has come into the world in order to die. 452 00:22:47,300 –> 00:22:48,540 Now, if you think about that, 453 00:22:48,540 –> 00:22:50,640 it will produce this obvious question. 454 00:22:50,640 –> 00:22:53,900 What could he then accomplish by dying 455 00:22:53,900 –> 00:22:55,859 that he could not accomplish by living? 456 00:22:57,459 –> 00:22:59,219 And the answer is right here. 457 00:22:59,219 –> 00:23:03,099 He died as a sacrifice 458 00:23:03,819 –> 00:23:06,099 and in the great love and mercy of God. 459 00:23:06,099 –> 00:23:09,199 Our sins were laid on him. 460 00:23:09,199 –> 00:23:10,660 Isaiah says it plainly, 461 00:23:10,660 –> 00:23:15,479 the Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all. 462 00:23:15,479 –> 00:23:18,400 He can’t bear our sins and be a sacrifice living. 463 00:23:18,400 –> 00:23:21,640 He has to do it by entering into death, dying. 464 00:23:21,640 –> 00:23:23,859 That’s why he came into the world. 465 00:23:23,859 –> 00:23:26,640 And bearing our sins, our sins being laid on him 466 00:23:26,640 –> 00:23:30,160 inevitably meant him burying the punishment 467 00:23:30,180 –> 00:23:32,239 that is tied to these sins, 468 00:23:32,239 –> 00:23:37,060 and that is precisely what was happening at the cross. 469 00:23:37,540 –> 00:23:39,280 Isaiah says it plainly, 470 00:23:39,280 –> 00:23:44,280 the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. 471 00:23:48,699 –> 00:23:53,699 On the cross, Christ was punished for human sins. 472 00:23:55,640 –> 00:23:58,000 On the cross, think about this with me, 473 00:23:58,000 –> 00:24:02,520 on the cross, he was shut out from the presence 474 00:24:02,520 –> 00:24:05,859 of the father, which is why he cried out in those words, 475 00:24:05,859 –> 00:24:08,900 my God my God why have you forsaken me? 476 00:24:08,900 –> 00:24:10,000 He shut out, 477 00:24:11,900 –> 00:24:13,359 think what that’s telling you, 478 00:24:14,640 –> 00:24:19,339 Jesus Christ endured everything that hell is on the cross, 479 00:24:20,699 –> 00:24:23,699 and he endured everything that hell is on the cross 480 00:24:23,699 –> 00:24:26,300 so that you should never know what it is like, 481 00:24:27,140 –> 00:24:28,119 it’s amazing, 482 00:24:30,339 –> 00:24:31,500 you may have wondered, 483 00:24:33,199 –> 00:24:38,199 how is it that one man can bear the sins of many millions? 484 00:24:43,900 –> 00:24:45,439 Or you may have asked this question, 485 00:24:45,439 –> 00:24:48,800 how can his hell on the cross 486 00:24:50,140 –> 00:24:53,459 remove our everlasting destruction. 487 00:24:53,459 –> 00:24:54,560 You ask that question? 488 00:24:57,160 –> 00:24:59,800 You might like just to ponder this. 489 00:24:59,800 –> 00:25:02,859 See, just as the weight of our sin 490 00:25:02,859 –> 00:25:06,439 is measured by the one we offend against, 491 00:25:07,660 –> 00:25:12,380 so the value of Christ’s sacrifice is measured 492 00:25:12,380 –> 00:25:15,400 by the one who is being offered. 493 00:25:16,900 –> 00:25:19,560 And the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ 494 00:25:19,560 –> 00:25:21,939 is of infinite value, 495 00:25:21,939 –> 00:25:26,719 it is enough to cover all the sins 496 00:25:26,719 –> 00:25:31,839 of all who will come to Him for all of eternity. 497 00:25:32,459 –> 00:25:33,660 It’s enough for you. 498 00:25:35,140 –> 00:25:38,260 So use what we’re learning in the Bible today. 499 00:25:38,260 –> 00:25:39,900 It has multiple uses, 500 00:25:39,900 –> 00:25:44,260 use it to understand what was going on in the cross. 501 00:25:45,939 –> 00:25:47,500 And then here’s the fifth thing. 502 00:25:47,619 –> 00:25:48,459 Here’s the fifth thing. 503 00:25:49,619 –> 00:25:54,140 Use this to motivate your obedience to the gospel. 504 00:25:56,479 –> 00:25:59,020 Now I hope you still have your Bible open in front of you 505 00:25:59,020 –> 00:26:02,099 and will you notice what it says there in verse eight, 506 00:26:02,099 –> 00:26:04,920 describing the ones who are outside, 507 00:26:04,920 –> 00:26:07,660 experiencing the everlasting destruction 508 00:26:07,660 –> 00:26:09,859 shut out from the presence of the Lord. 509 00:26:09,859 –> 00:26:10,719 Who are they? 510 00:26:11,660 –> 00:26:13,900 We’re told in verse eight 511 00:26:13,920 –> 00:26:17,079 that they are those who do not obey 512 00:26:17,079 –> 00:26:21,939 the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 513 00:26:22,959 –> 00:26:24,680 So the ones who are outside, 514 00:26:25,839 –> 00:26:28,959 we read in the scripture are those who do not obey 515 00:26:28,959 –> 00:26:32,520 the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 516 00:26:33,959 –> 00:26:35,459 So if I want to be delivered 517 00:26:35,459 –> 00:26:38,819 from that unspeakable eternity, 518 00:26:40,020 –> 00:26:43,479 if I want to be inside with the light and the joy 519 00:26:43,520 –> 00:26:46,680 and the presence of those who are redeemed by Jesus Christ, 520 00:26:46,680 –> 00:26:48,859 what must I do if those who are outside 521 00:26:48,859 –> 00:26:50,760 are those who do not obey the gospel, 522 00:26:50,760 –> 00:26:52,800 what I must do, the one thing I must do, 523 00:26:52,800 –> 00:26:56,040 the thing that will determine your eternity friend, 524 00:26:57,000 –> 00:27:01,760 is you must obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, you must. 525 00:27:01,760 –> 00:27:04,119 This matters more than anything else in your life. 526 00:27:04,119 –> 00:27:06,420 It is more pressing and of more consequence 527 00:27:06,420 –> 00:27:09,520 than anything else you can imagine in this world, 528 00:27:09,520 –> 00:27:13,400 has to be, we’ll see what that means in just a moment, 529 00:27:14,000 –> 00:27:17,880 but first just this, I am so glad 530 00:27:18,859 –> 00:27:23,119 that it speaks about obeying the gospel 531 00:27:24,699 –> 00:27:26,520 because think with me, 532 00:27:26,520 –> 00:27:30,680 if it had said those who do not obey the law are outside 533 00:27:30,680 –> 00:27:32,359 with this everlasting punishment 534 00:27:32,359 –> 00:27:35,319 and are excluded from the presence of the Lord forever. 535 00:27:35,319 –> 00:27:38,040 If it said those who don’t obey the law are outside, 536 00:27:38,040 –> 00:27:39,339 that’s all of us, isn’t it? 537 00:27:39,339 –> 00:27:41,859 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 538 00:27:41,859 –> 00:27:43,819 If I have to keep the law in order to get in, 539 00:27:43,819 –> 00:27:45,060 I don’t get in. 540 00:27:46,339 –> 00:27:47,979 No one has lived a perfect life. 541 00:27:49,959 –> 00:27:52,540 So what we’re learning here, even in this very verse 542 00:27:52,540 –> 00:27:55,439 is that salvation does not come by obeying the law, 543 00:27:55,439 –> 00:27:58,699 which we can’t do, but by obeying the gospel, 544 00:27:58,699 –> 00:28:00,459 which by God’s grace we can do. 545 00:28:01,680 –> 00:28:02,520 You say, okay, tell me, 546 00:28:02,520 –> 00:28:03,739 what does it mean to obey the gospel? 547 00:28:03,739 –> 00:28:06,439 Jesus made it so clear in just three words. 548 00:28:07,380 –> 00:28:09,319 The first word was the word repent. 549 00:28:10,319 –> 00:28:13,500 God commands all people everywhere to repent. 550 00:28:15,000 –> 00:28:17,680 Jesus came preaching, and calling people to repent. 551 00:28:17,680 –> 00:28:19,959 You say, well, now, what does that mean? 552 00:28:19,959 –> 00:28:23,560 Well, repentance is a decisive turning away 553 00:28:23,560 –> 00:28:25,599 from all that God calls sin 554 00:28:25,599 –> 00:28:28,920 in order that I may offer myself and my life, 555 00:28:28,920 –> 00:28:31,040 all that I am to Jesus Christ. 556 00:28:32,040 –> 00:28:36,140 And it begins when I say in the light of the cross, 557 00:28:36,140 –> 00:28:38,959 and in the light of him going into that hill for me, 558 00:28:39,000 –> 00:28:40,439 and bearing my sin, 559 00:28:40,439 –> 00:28:42,540 my life can no longer be about myself, 560 00:28:42,540 –> 00:28:45,040 it has to be for Jesus Christ. 561 00:28:46,719 –> 00:28:49,760 You say, well, now wait a minute, how can I do that? 562 00:28:49,760 –> 00:28:53,760 I know myself, I know my habits, I know my own stubbornness. 563 00:28:53,760 –> 00:28:56,459 I know how difficult it is to change. 564 00:28:56,459 –> 00:28:58,239 How am I going to do this repenting? 565 00:28:58,239 –> 00:29:01,280 Here’s the second thing, and the answer to it. 566 00:29:01,280 –> 00:29:02,680 You must believe. 567 00:29:03,719 –> 00:29:07,599 You must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 568 00:29:07,599 –> 00:29:09,959 And there is a real relationship here 569 00:29:09,959 –> 00:29:11,439 between you and Christ. 570 00:29:11,439 –> 00:29:14,400 That relationship is formed by faith. 571 00:29:14,400 –> 00:29:15,239 What does it mean? 572 00:29:15,239 –> 00:29:18,800 It means you trust that He is the Son of God. 573 00:29:18,800 –> 00:29:21,920 It means that you trust His death for your sins, 574 00:29:21,920 –> 00:29:23,959 and you trust the power of His life 575 00:29:23,959 –> 00:29:26,780 to enable you to change. 576 00:29:26,780 –> 00:29:29,939 You trust that His grace and His power are sufficient 577 00:29:29,939 –> 00:29:32,380 for everything that you will face in your life, 578 00:29:32,380 –> 00:29:33,680 now, and through the future, 579 00:29:33,680 –> 00:29:36,319 and even in death and into eternity. 580 00:29:36,319 –> 00:29:38,099 You trust Christ. 581 00:29:39,020 –> 00:29:40,160 That’s how this life is lived. 582 00:29:40,160 –> 00:29:42,319 That’s how this change is accomplished. 583 00:29:43,500 –> 00:29:46,619 You trust Christ, and you trust Christ 584 00:29:46,619 –> 00:29:50,699 because Christ is altogether worthy of your trust. 585 00:29:51,699 –> 00:29:53,760 No one deserves your trust more than Him. 586 00:29:55,719 –> 00:29:57,459 And here’s the third thing. 587 00:29:57,459 –> 00:29:59,400 You follow, you follow. 588 00:30:01,079 –> 00:30:03,900 James Denny says, and I love this simple statement, 589 00:30:03,900 –> 00:30:08,900 he says, salvation is not only a gift, it is a vocation. 590 00:30:09,380 –> 00:30:10,880 I love that. 591 00:30:10,880 –> 00:30:14,060 Salvation is not only a gift. 592 00:30:15,060 –> 00:30:18,540 It is a vocation, a calling, a life. 593 00:30:20,660 –> 00:30:23,000 And it begins when we respond 594 00:30:23,000 –> 00:30:25,020 to the words of the Lord Jesus who says 595 00:30:25,020 –> 00:30:29,319 to every one of us today, follow me, follow me. 596 00:30:29,319 –> 00:30:34,160 Repent, believe, follow. 597 00:30:35,719 –> 00:30:36,900 Obey the gospel. 598 00:30:39,180 –> 00:30:41,099 And you may have been saying to yourself 599 00:30:41,099 –> 00:30:42,459 for some time, well, you know, 600 00:30:42,459 –> 00:30:45,339 I will think about Christianity someday. 601 00:30:45,339 –> 00:30:47,479 Listen, I have to say to you today, 602 00:30:47,479 –> 00:30:51,119 do not be passive about this, please, please. 603 00:30:53,140 –> 00:30:56,060 Eternity hangs on it, your eternity hangs on it. 604 00:30:57,040 –> 00:30:59,180 God is calling you through his word. 605 00:30:59,180 –> 00:31:00,400 This is how he speaks. 606 00:31:00,400 –> 00:31:03,280 He speaks through his word and you’re hearing his word 607 00:31:03,280 –> 00:31:06,599 and he’s calling you to repent, 608 00:31:06,599 –> 00:31:07,900 to believe in his son 609 00:31:08,800 –> 00:31:11,500 and to become a follower of Jesus Christ. 610 00:31:13,339 –> 00:31:15,280 You say you’re trying to scare me into that. 611 00:31:15,280 –> 00:31:17,300 I’ll do anything to bring you to that. 612 00:31:17,300 –> 00:31:20,280 The Bible says the fear of the Lord 613 00:31:20,280 –> 00:31:21,560 is the beginning of wisdom. 614 00:31:21,560 –> 00:31:23,500 It’s not everything, but at least it’s a beginning. 615 00:31:23,500 –> 00:31:25,140 And if you are moved by thinking 616 00:31:25,839 –> 00:31:28,599 about this reality, towards faith in Jesus Christ, 617 00:31:28,599 –> 00:31:30,219 thank God for it. 618 00:31:30,219 –> 00:31:31,959 Something’s got to get you moving. 619 00:31:33,540 –> 00:31:34,880 Otherwise you’re going to drift through the rest 620 00:31:34,880 –> 00:31:39,880 of your life and then into an eternity that is outside. 621 00:31:39,900 –> 00:31:44,900 So use this to motivate your obedience 622 00:31:47,359 –> 00:31:48,900 to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 623 00:31:48,900 –> 00:31:50,300 Repent, believe, follow. 624 00:31:51,680 –> 00:31:54,260 And here’s the very last thing 625 00:31:54,260 –> 00:31:59,219 for all of us here today, and you have embraced Christ, 626 00:31:59,219 –> 00:32:03,319 you love Christ, I want you to use this, 627 00:32:03,319 –> 00:32:08,319 the last thing, to deepen your joy in the mercy of God. 628 00:32:10,859 –> 00:32:13,140 Folks, I’ve been thinking about this scripture all week 629 00:32:13,140 –> 00:32:14,579 and this most obvious point 630 00:32:14,579 –> 00:32:16,520 never occurred to me until late on. 631 00:32:18,319 –> 00:32:22,119 But think about the man who’s writing these words. 632 00:32:22,920 –> 00:32:25,079 God is just. 633 00:32:26,359 –> 00:32:30,939 He will repay those who persecute the church 634 00:32:30,939 –> 00:32:33,479 with an everlasting destruction. 635 00:32:33,479 –> 00:32:36,359 Listen, the man who wrote these words 636 00:32:36,359 –> 00:32:39,599 once persecuted the church himself, didn’t he, 637 00:32:39,599 –> 00:32:41,140 of the apostle Paul? 638 00:32:42,119 –> 00:32:44,520 Saul of Tarsus was his name then. 639 00:32:45,439 –> 00:32:48,839 And he was the terror of the early church, 640 00:32:48,839 –> 00:32:50,699 a man of violence, 641 00:32:51,640 –> 00:32:54,400 a man arranging murders. 642 00:32:55,680 –> 00:32:58,020 And the Book of Acts tells us 643 00:32:58,020 –> 00:33:01,459 that he was so intense about all of this 644 00:33:01,459 –> 00:33:06,000 that breathing fire and slaughter, the Book of Acts says, 645 00:33:06,000 –> 00:33:08,939 he was on his way to a place called Damascus. 646 00:33:10,619 –> 00:33:13,859 And there, he was going to carry out a campaign of violence 647 00:33:13,859 –> 00:33:16,219 to persecute Christian believers there. 648 00:33:18,260 –> 00:33:19,380 And some of you know this story, 649 00:33:19,380 –> 00:33:23,339 Jesus Christ stopped him in his tracks. 650 00:33:23,339 –> 00:33:27,459 The ascended Lord, giving a blinding light 651 00:33:27,459 –> 00:33:29,060 and then an audible voice, 652 00:33:29,060 –> 00:33:33,040 “‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 653 00:33:34,420 –> 00:33:36,000 Well, he was persecuting the church, 654 00:33:36,000 –> 00:33:38,560 but you see the point of what the Lord was saying. 655 00:33:39,680 –> 00:33:42,719 “‘Saul, you think that your struggle is with Christians? 656 00:33:43,819 –> 00:33:46,339 You think that your battle is with the church?’ 657 00:33:47,260 –> 00:33:50,780 I’m telling you, Saul, that your real fight, 658 00:33:50,780 –> 00:33:53,680 the fight that’s going on in your soul right now, 659 00:33:55,000 –> 00:33:56,199 it’s a fight against me. 660 00:33:57,780 –> 00:34:00,900 And Saul of Tarsus is down there in the dust of the road 661 00:34:02,420 –> 00:34:05,520 and he repents and he believes. 662 00:34:06,699 –> 00:34:09,820 He becomes a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. 663 00:34:09,820 –> 00:34:11,479 He takes a new name 664 00:34:11,479 –> 00:34:14,239 because the change in his life is so radical, 665 00:34:15,100 –> 00:34:19,860 and Saul of Tarsus becomes the Apostle Paul. 666 00:34:21,719 –> 00:34:24,659 And now here he is ,the Apostle and the Spirit of God 667 00:34:24,659 –> 00:34:29,659 is on him and giving him these words to write to the church. 668 00:34:29,879 –> 00:34:31,919 Can you try and put yourself in his skin 669 00:34:31,919 –> 00:34:33,139 in this last moment? 670 00:34:34,959 –> 00:34:37,600 What did he feel when he wrote this? 671 00:34:39,560 –> 00:34:42,540 I was a blasphemer. 672 00:34:42,739 –> 00:34:44,600 I was the persecutor. 673 00:34:46,179 –> 00:34:48,219 I was a violent man. 674 00:34:50,080 –> 00:34:52,500 I deserve this everlasting judgment. 675 00:34:52,500 –> 00:34:56,020 I deserve to be shut out forever and forever 676 00:34:56,020 –> 00:34:58,739 but I have been shown mercy 677 00:34:59,780 –> 00:35:02,379 and it has transformed my life. 678 00:35:04,439 –> 00:35:08,060 Friends that is the power of the gospel, 679 00:35:08,060 –> 00:35:10,260 that is the gospel by which we are saved, 680 00:35:11,179 –> 00:35:13,919 is the gospel on which we take our stand, 681 00:35:15,219 –> 00:35:17,399 it’s the gospel for which we live. 682 00:35:18,260 –> 00:35:19,899 It is the gospel that we believe, 683 00:35:19,899 –> 00:35:21,699 it is the gospel that we proclaim. 684 00:35:21,699 –> 00:35:23,520 It is good news, 685 00:35:24,699 –> 00:35:27,179 not only for all of us who are here today 686 00:35:28,300 –> 00:35:30,040 but for everyone in our community 687 00:35:31,060 –> 00:35:32,800 and for everyone in our great city 688 00:35:33,760 –> 00:35:37,459 and for every person in this world. 689 00:35:38,419 –> 00:35:39,919 Let’s pray together, shall we? 690 00:35:41,219 –> 00:35:42,060 Father, 691 00:35:44,820 –> 00:35:48,040 help us to savor right now more deeply 692 00:35:48,040 –> 00:35:51,100 the breadth and length and height and depth 693 00:35:53,040 –> 00:35:55,139 of what you have done for us 694 00:35:55,139 –> 00:35:57,459 and are doing for us and will do for us 695 00:35:57,459 –> 00:35:59,620 through Jesus Christ, 696 00:36:00,739 –> 00:36:02,320 our savior and our lord. 697 00:36:03,860 –> 00:36:07,439 May no person having glimpsed eternal things today 698 00:36:07,439 –> 00:36:09,580 turn away from Jesus Christ 699 00:36:11,000 –> 00:36:13,260 but grant to us individually and together 700 00:36:14,219 –> 00:36:15,840 to repent and to believe 701 00:36:15,840 –> 00:36:18,320 and to follow hard after the Savior 702 00:36:19,399 –> 00:36:23,399 who went to that cross and entered my hell 703 00:36:25,639 –> 00:36:27,699 so that I should never know 704 00:36:29,260 –> 00:36:30,399 what it is like. 705 00:36:32,860 –> 00:36:36,139 Hear our prayers in Jesus’ name, Amen.