1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,380 Now I want to invite you to open your Bible at 1 Timothy, the last verse in chapter 3 2 00:00:05,380 –> 00:00:09,160 and on through chapter 4 that’s been read to us. 3 00:00:09,160 –> 00:00:14,140 We have been learning that Christ calls the church to a global ministry of the Word and 4 00:00:14,140 –> 00:00:15,140 prayer. 5 00:00:15,140 –> 00:00:19,920 There is one mediator and that means that there is one gospel and it follows that if 6 00:00:19,920 –> 00:00:23,719 there is one gospel, it must be for all people. 7 00:00:23,719 –> 00:00:28,680 And we have been asking the question, what kind of people then will get this job done? 8 00:00:28,680 –> 00:00:32,919 What kind of people would be most useful and effective in this global ministry of the Word 9 00:00:32,919 –> 00:00:34,540 and prayer? 10 00:00:34,540 –> 00:00:39,639 And last time we saw that there is certain character and competence that we must seek 11 00:00:39,639 –> 00:00:44,799 to develop if we are to maximize our usefulness to Jesus Christ. 12 00:00:44,799 –> 00:00:51,080 The character lies in the area of wise judgment and healthy relationships and moral integrity. 13 00:00:51,080 –> 00:00:56,320 The competence we saw was in the areas of the ability to teach, that is knowing and 14 00:00:56,419 –> 00:01:00,580 grasping the truth and being able to apply it to yourself and to the lives of others. 15 00:01:00,580 –> 00:01:06,540 The ability to manage first oneself, then one’s family and then more widely within 16 00:01:06,540 –> 00:01:08,339 the household of God. 17 00:01:08,339 –> 00:01:13,000 And then thirdly the ability to stand against the attacks of Satan who wants to lure us 18 00:01:13,000 –> 00:01:19,199 into pride on the one hand, and for us to fall into disgrace as a consequence. 19 00:01:19,199 –> 00:01:21,860 And we saw that this is God’s calling for all of us to pursue. 20 00:01:21,860 –> 00:01:26,080 It’s particularly for leaders because leaders are to be an example to the rest of God’s 21 00:01:26,080 –> 00:01:30,660 people, but we saw that this is the kind of character and competence that is important 22 00:01:30,660 –> 00:01:37,339 for all of us if we are to maximize our usefulness individually and together in the great cause 23 00:01:37,339 –> 00:01:41,360 that Jesus Christ has given to His church. 24 00:01:41,360 –> 00:01:45,739 And we ended last time I think by saying, well now who is sufficient for these things? 25 00:01:45,739 –> 00:01:49,900 We would all have the same reaction and say this high calling seems to be something that 26 00:01:49,900 –> 00:01:51,059 is beyond us. 27 00:01:51,059 –> 00:01:54,660 None of us would be stepping forward and saying, you know, I’m the man who’s going to do all 28 00:01:54,660 –> 00:02:00,980 this and what is the answer to the question when we feel who is sufficient for these things? 29 00:02:00,980 –> 00:02:05,019 The answer is our sufficiency is of God. 30 00:02:05,019 –> 00:02:10,339 And we ended last time by saying that the character and competence that we need is found 31 00:02:10,339 –> 00:02:18,580 in Jesus Christ and that He is able to produce these things in us, and that’s our hope. 32 00:02:18,580 –> 00:02:20,100 Now that’s where we’re going to take it up today. 33 00:02:20,100 –> 00:02:24,580 This is one letter, and so it has a certain flow to it, and that’s why it’s important 34 00:02:24,580 –> 00:02:27,020 to get the sense of where we are. 35 00:02:27,020 –> 00:02:30,679 The question that’s before us in the light of this global mission that has been trusted 36 00:02:30,679 –> 00:02:35,779 to us by Jesus Christ and this character and competence that we need to develop in order 37 00:02:35,779 –> 00:02:37,460 to be useful in it. 38 00:02:37,460 –> 00:02:41,820 The question obviously is, well now how do we grow in this life? 39 00:02:41,820 –> 00:02:48,940 How are we to make progress in a godly life that has been described in chapter 3. 40 00:02:48,979 –> 00:02:56,139 How are we to become the kind of people who will get God’s work on earth done? 41 00:02:56,139 –> 00:03:01,479 That’s the question as we come to the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 42 00:03:01,479 –> 00:03:02,479 4. 43 00:03:02,479 –> 00:03:08,380 Now if you have your Bible open, and I hope you will, chapter 3 in verse 16 is right at 44 00:03:08,380 –> 00:03:09,520 the heart of the letter. 45 00:03:09,520 –> 00:03:13,360 It comes right in the middle, and it is of central importance. 46 00:03:13,360 –> 00:03:17,279 You’ll notice that it stands out even in the way that it is printed here. 47 00:03:17,699 –> 00:03:21,820 As poetry, not as prose. 48 00:03:21,820 –> 00:03:27,259 Scholars think that that indicates that this may well have been a hymn, or at least a fragment 49 00:03:27,259 –> 00:03:32,320 of a hymn that was actually sang in the early church in the times of the Apostle Paul by 50 00:03:32,320 –> 00:03:34,240 Christian believers. 51 00:03:34,240 –> 00:03:37,899 And it has six marvelous statements about the Lord Jesus Christ. 52 00:03:37,899 –> 00:03:41,800 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great. 53 00:03:41,800 –> 00:03:47,039 He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, 54 00:03:47,100 –> 00:03:54,899 was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, and was taken up into glory. 55 00:03:54,899 –> 00:03:59,919 You know that 3.16 seems to be a significant number in a number of books of the Bible. 56 00:03:59,919 –> 00:04:01,800 You know John 3.16. 57 00:04:01,800 –> 00:04:08,020 I hope you’ll come to savor 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16, one of the great statements 58 00:04:08,020 –> 00:04:11,979 in the New Testament about the glory of Jesus Christ. 59 00:04:11,979 –> 00:04:18,399 Beginning with His coming into the world, appearing in a body, and moving from His birth 60 00:04:18,399 –> 00:04:23,119 to His ascension, He was taken up in glory. 61 00:04:23,119 –> 00:04:28,760 You’ll notice by the way that the statements here are not in chronological order. 62 00:04:28,760 –> 00:04:36,359 Obviously, Christ was preached among the nations, and believed on in the world, after the ascension 63 00:04:36,359 –> 00:04:37,380 and not before. 64 00:04:38,260 –> 00:04:42,459 And I draw your attention to that for the simple reason that sometimes, particularly 65 00:04:42,459 –> 00:04:49,700 in ancient poetry, there is a parallelism between the first line and the last line. 66 00:04:49,700 –> 00:04:53,600 And then as you kind of move towards the middle, the second from first line and the second 67 00:04:53,600 –> 00:04:59,660 from last line twin up, and then as you move towards the center and so forth and so on. 68 00:04:59,660 –> 00:05:04,059 And I think that’s the case here, and I want us to see it together. 69 00:05:04,059 –> 00:05:12,380 If you’re a Christian, for the next few moments I want you just to sit back and enjoy, to 70 00:05:12,380 –> 00:05:21,420 savor the glory of your Lord Jesus Christ that has been the song of the church throughout 71 00:05:21,420 –> 00:05:27,540 history and is our praise and our joy today. 72 00:05:27,540 –> 00:05:33,059 Three affirmations, then, of the glory of Christ as we pair these lines together. 73 00:05:33,059 –> 00:05:38,859 First, in His incarnation, the first line and the last line, He appeared in a body and 74 00:05:38,859 –> 00:05:41,480 He was taken up into glory. 75 00:05:41,480 –> 00:05:44,059 Savor this with me. 76 00:05:44,059 –> 00:05:49,739 Your Lord Jesus Christ, He appeared in a body. 77 00:05:49,739 –> 00:05:54,000 He knows your life in this world. 78 00:05:54,000 –> 00:05:56,940 He worked in a carpenter’s shop. 79 00:05:56,940 –> 00:06:01,899 He would have had callus on His hands. 80 00:06:01,920 –> 00:06:03,260 He worked long days. 81 00:06:03,260 –> 00:06:08,059 He knew what it was, as you know what it is, to be exhausted sometimes at night. 82 00:06:08,059 –> 00:06:15,200 He knew pain in His body as some of us here experience pain even now. 83 00:06:15,200 –> 00:06:22,899 He knew great joy and He savored friendship as many of us rejoicing these wonderful gifts. 84 00:06:22,899 –> 00:06:24,519 He knew the joy of accomplishment. 85 00:06:24,519 –> 00:06:32,019 He knew the pain of disappointment, of sorrow when having taught His own friends so long 86 00:06:32,019 –> 00:06:36,579 they still have so little understanding of the truth that was in Him. 87 00:06:36,579 –> 00:06:39,399 He lived your life in this world. 88 00:06:39,399 –> 00:06:40,779 He knows your suffering. 89 00:06:40,779 –> 00:06:42,339 He knows your rejoicing. 90 00:06:42,339 –> 00:06:45,440 And He knows it from the inside. 91 00:06:45,440 –> 00:06:51,019 Not only did He appear in a body, but the glory of His Incarnation is seen in this, 92 00:06:51,019 –> 00:06:53,799 that He was taken up into glory. 93 00:06:54,079 –> 00:06:57,480 This happened, of course, at the ascension. 94 00:06:57,500 –> 00:07:02,720 Our humanity, your humanity is already in heaven. 95 00:07:02,720 –> 00:07:09,760 At the right hand of God, the Father who is invisible, stands the man, Christ Jesus, God 96 00:07:09,760 –> 00:07:12,179 in the flesh. 97 00:07:12,179 –> 00:07:17,480 He came into the world, coming to us, and then He ascended back to heaven from where 98 00:07:17,480 –> 00:07:23,179 the Son of God came and He is there for us at the right hand of the Father. 99 00:07:23,579 –> 00:07:30,239 There is a man in heaven, there is someone representing you, who knows your life from 100 00:07:30,239 –> 00:07:34,220 the inside in heaven and His name is Jesus. 101 00:07:34,220 –> 00:07:42,320 He came here to us and He has gone there for us, the glory of His incarnation. 102 00:07:42,320 –> 00:07:48,559 And then, savor with me the glory of His exultation, the second line in and the second last line 103 00:07:48,559 –> 00:07:49,559 together. 104 00:07:49,640 –> 00:07:55,799 He was vindicated by the Spirit and believed on in the world. 105 00:07:55,799 –> 00:08:00,619 The vindication of the Lord Jesus, of course, happened in many ways at His baptism. 106 00:08:00,619 –> 00:08:06,339 You remember this is my beloved Son, at the Transfiguration, when His glory was seen on 107 00:08:06,339 –> 00:08:13,200 the top of the mountain, as one day we will see His glory with our own eyes. 108 00:08:13,200 –> 00:08:18,500 But supremely the vindication of the Lord Jesus Christ was in His mighty resurrection 109 00:08:18,980 –> 00:08:20,059 the dead. 110 00:08:20,059 –> 00:08:28,299 Gods seal was placed on Him, in the resurrection, Romans 1.4. 111 00:08:28,299 –> 00:08:35,700 It was through the Spirit that Christ was declared with power to be the Son of God through 112 00:08:35,700 –> 00:08:37,780 the resurrection. 113 00:08:37,780 –> 00:08:40,359 He’s vindicated by the Spirit. 114 00:08:40,359 –> 00:08:45,419 But along with that, Paul reminds us He’s believed on in the world. 115 00:08:45,659 –> 00:08:52,820 Remind God that the triumphant affirmation of Jesus in heaven is echoed with a marvelous 116 00:08:52,820 –> 00:08:55,820 affirmation of the Lord Jesus on earth. 117 00:08:55,820 –> 00:08:58,140 He’s believed on in the world. 118 00:08:58,140 –> 00:09:00,099 We believe in him. 119 00:09:00,099 –> 00:09:04,979 Just as God’s seal is upon Him, so our faith is in Him. 120 00:09:04,979 –> 00:09:11,140 Christ is exalted by the Father in heaven, but He is also exalted by God’s people from 121 00:09:11,140 –> 00:09:13,559 every nation on earth. 122 00:09:13,559 –> 00:09:19,080 Those who love Him and those who trust in Him and those who like us today gather to 123 00:09:19,080 –> 00:09:22,719 declare His praise and His glory. 124 00:09:22,719 –> 00:09:28,659 And then the glory of Christ in his proclamation, the middle two lines, He was seen by angels 125 00:09:28,659 –> 00:09:31,960 and preached among the nations. 126 00:09:31,960 –> 00:09:38,159 You see the parallel here again, Jesus is the theme of the angels in heaven. 127 00:09:38,159 –> 00:09:39,640 They declare His glory. 128 00:09:40,299 –> 00:09:43,599 They never stop worshipping day and night. 129 00:09:43,599 –> 00:09:50,539 Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, worthy is the Lamb who was slain they say 130 00:09:50,539 –> 00:09:54,460 around the throne of Christ. 131 00:09:54,460 –> 00:09:59,219 But not only is He the theme of the angels in heaven, He is the theme of the church 132 00:09:59,219 –> 00:10:01,020 on earth. 133 00:10:01,020 –> 00:10:04,039 We proclaim Him. 134 00:10:04,039 –> 00:10:07,140 That is our mission, that is our work. 135 00:10:07,140 –> 00:10:11,200 And so here is this marvelous celebration of the Lord Jesus Christ. 136 00:10:11,200 –> 00:10:15,239 He came to us in a body, knowing our life from the inside. 137 00:10:15,239 –> 00:10:18,299 He ascended there to heaven for us. 138 00:10:18,299 –> 00:10:22,599 He is declared by the Father to be Son of God with power through the resurrection from 139 00:10:22,599 –> 00:10:28,719 the dead, and He is worshipped by us as the Son of God through faith in His resurrection 140 00:10:28,719 –> 00:10:30,059 from the dead. 141 00:10:30,059 –> 00:10:36,859 He is praise of the angels in heaven whose eyes are ever taken off Him, and He is the 142 00:10:37,080 –> 00:10:43,539 hope of all the nations on earth as the Church goes out into the world proclaiming His unique 143 00:10:43,539 –> 00:10:46,260 power and glory. 144 00:10:46,260 –> 00:10:55,260 What a marvelous celebration of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord, 1 Timothy chapter 145 00:10:55,260 –> 00:10:58,919 3 and verse 16. 146 00:10:58,919 –> 00:11:02,719 Now, here’s a question. 147 00:11:02,719 –> 00:11:14,239 Since this verse is obviously and entirely a celebration of Jesus Christ and His glory, 148 00:11:14,239 –> 00:11:25,739 why do you think the apostle Paul begins this verse by saying, the mystery of godliness 149 00:11:25,739 –> 00:11:26,719 is great? 150 00:11:27,020 –> 00:11:30,059 Why would he say that? 151 00:11:30,059 –> 00:11:33,960 The verse is about Jesus. 152 00:11:33,960 –> 00:11:40,099 But he begins the verse by saying, not, great is the mystery of Jesus Christ, which is what 153 00:11:40,099 –> 00:11:42,020 you’d expect him to say, right? 154 00:11:42,020 –> 00:11:44,419 He appeared in a body and so forth. 155 00:11:44,419 –> 00:11:47,500 But he doesn’t say, great is the mystery of Jesus Christ. 156 00:11:47,500 –> 00:11:53,479 What he says is, great is the mystery of what, say it with me? 157 00:11:53,479 –> 00:11:54,479 Godliness. 158 00:11:54,479 –> 00:11:59,059 That’s of huge importance. 159 00:11:59,059 –> 00:12:05,960 The heart of the message today is about understanding the Christian life, and there is so much confusion 160 00:12:05,960 –> 00:12:08,059 about the Christian life. 161 00:12:08,059 –> 00:12:12,799 It’s been my prayer and the burden that I carry today to try and make it as clear as 162 00:12:12,799 –> 00:12:19,460 I can, and if you can understand the heart of the Christian life, which is right here 163 00:12:19,460 –> 00:12:24,419 in this passage of Scripture, then it will be a blessing to you for the rest of your 164 00:12:24,419 –> 00:12:28,760 days, and it’s right here. 165 00:12:28,760 –> 00:12:35,919 Paul speaks about the glory of Jesus Christ, but he begins it not by saying, Great is the 166 00:12:35,919 –> 00:12:37,260 mystery of Jesus Christ. 167 00:12:37,260 –> 00:12:41,580 He says, Great is the mystery of what? 168 00:12:41,580 –> 00:12:42,799 Godliness. 169 00:12:42,799 –> 00:12:48,840 Now, let me take a run at trying to lay this out for us today. 170 00:12:48,840 –> 00:12:53,840 Godliness, that is a God-centered life, the life in which all of us want to grow as Christian 171 00:12:54,320 –> 00:12:57,919 believers, is the central theme of chapter four. 172 00:12:57,919 –> 00:13:03,679 So in chapter four, in verse seven, train yourself to be godly, verse seven. 173 00:13:03,679 –> 00:13:05,440 Chapter four, in verse eight. 174 00:13:05,440 –> 00:13:09,059 Physical training is of some value, but notice it again. 175 00:13:09,059 –> 00:13:12,380 Godliness has value for all things. 176 00:13:12,380 –> 00:13:15,059 Verse 12 begins to unpack what this looks like. 177 00:13:15,059 –> 00:13:21,520 Paul’s talking about an example in speech and life and love and faith and purity, that’s 178 00:13:21,520 –> 00:13:22,520 godliness. 179 00:13:22,520 –> 00:13:27,479 He tells us at the end of the chapter in verse 15 about how Timothy is to progress in this 180 00:13:27,479 –> 00:13:28,479 life. 181 00:13:28,479 –> 00:13:33,099 That everyone may see your progress, watch your life and your doctrine closely, and so 182 00:13:33,099 –> 00:13:34,159 forth and so on. 183 00:13:34,159 –> 00:13:37,260 So the whole of chapter four is about one question. 184 00:13:37,260 –> 00:13:39,619 How can I pursue a godly life? 185 00:13:39,619 –> 00:13:42,119 Which is of course exactly what you would expect. 186 00:13:42,119 –> 00:13:45,960 If you think about the flow of the letter, we’ve been commissioned with this great and 187 00:13:45,960 –> 00:13:48,260 global work of the gospel. 188 00:13:48,260 –> 00:13:52,440 We need to develop certain character and competence in order to maximize our effectiveness in 189 00:13:52,440 –> 00:13:56,039 it, the question is how then do I do that? 190 00:13:56,039 –> 00:14:01,479 How do I grow in a godly life? 191 00:14:01,479 –> 00:14:04,919 That is what chapter four is all about. 192 00:14:04,919 –> 00:14:13,000 And running into it, the apostle Paul says great is the mystery of what? 193 00:14:13,000 –> 00:14:15,359 Godliness. 194 00:14:15,359 –> 00:14:20,979 Let’s probe into what he’s saying here a little more. 195 00:14:21,119 –> 00:14:28,359 Notice that at the beginning of chapter four, he’s talking about false paths to godliness. 196 00:14:28,359 –> 00:14:32,140 In these first five verses, so let’s just clear this out of the way so that’s there’s 197 00:14:32,140 –> 00:14:39,960 no distraction, he says to us basically, beware of false paths to godliness, beware of dead 198 00:14:39,960 –> 00:14:43,979 ends that won’t get you where you need to go. 199 00:14:43,979 –> 00:14:48,340 He says in chapter four, verse one, that the spirit clearly says that in later times, some 200 00:14:48,460 –> 00:14:54,940 will abandon the faith and they’ll follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 201 00:14:54,940 –> 00:14:55,940 Wow. 202 00:14:55,940 –> 00:14:58,619 How do demons lead people away from the faith? 203 00:14:58,619 –> 00:15:04,619 He says verse two, such teachings come through hypocritical liars whose consciences have 204 00:15:04,619 –> 00:15:08,219 been seared as with a hot iron. 205 00:15:08,219 –> 00:15:12,679 You can see by the way why it’s so important then for Timothy to command certain people 206 00:15:12,940 –> 00:15:15,039 not to teach false doctrine. 207 00:15:15,039 –> 00:15:20,859 Because what Paul is saying is that the work of demons is advanced through false teaching 208 00:15:20,859 –> 00:15:22,880 in the church. 209 00:15:22,880 –> 00:15:28,280 If Christian people can become confused about how to pursue a godly life, they’ll never 210 00:15:28,280 –> 00:15:29,880 get there. 211 00:15:29,880 –> 00:15:35,119 That would be a great triumph for the demons, and therefore whenever there is confusion 212 00:15:35,119 –> 00:15:41,599 about this, there is a dark hand as it were at work underneath. 213 00:15:41,599 –> 00:15:46,359 Paul gives a specific example of how this was already beginning to manifest itself in 214 00:15:46,359 –> 00:15:47,359 the early church. 215 00:15:47,359 –> 00:15:52,159 He says in verse 3 that there are certain people who are clearly advocating a path to 216 00:15:52,159 –> 00:15:55,159 godliness and they say this is how you do it. 217 00:15:55,159 –> 00:16:02,400 They forbid people to marry, and they order them to abstain from certain foods. 218 00:16:02,400 –> 00:16:06,859 There’s been a strand of that down through the history of the church. 219 00:16:06,859 –> 00:16:10,039 I think you can see where it comes from. 220 00:16:10,940 –> 00:16:20,780 The early pagan worlds in the apostle Paul’s date was really saturated with two things. 221 00:16:20,780 –> 00:16:29,200 People were concerned about the life of the body, and the culture was saturated with sex 222 00:16:29,200 –> 00:16:30,559 and with food. 223 00:16:30,559 –> 00:16:34,179 You’re saying, what’s changed? 224 00:16:34,179 –> 00:16:38,260 Well, nothing’s changed and nothing ever will change. 225 00:16:38,340 –> 00:16:39,400 No, the forms of it changed. 226 00:16:39,400 –> 00:16:46,320 They didn’t have the internet then, but at the end of the day human life without God 227 00:16:46,320 –> 00:16:48,159 descends to the body. 228 00:16:48,159 –> 00:16:55,380 That becomes its central focus, and it should not surprise us that in ever-evolving ways 229 00:16:55,380 –> 00:17:04,079 the same thing sort of manifests itself, that the culture becomes sated with sex and with 230 00:17:04,079 –> 00:17:06,439 food, with the things of the body. 231 00:17:07,099 –> 00:17:12,020 Now you can understand quite easily then why people in the church might begin to say, or 232 00:17:12,020 –> 00:17:16,060 at least some teachers would emerge and they would get a following going after them, saying 233 00:17:16,060 –> 00:17:23,640 now this obsession with the body and this sex and food that has so much sin that’s 234 00:17:23,640 –> 00:17:27,020 wrapped up in it, we want nothing to do with that. 235 00:17:27,020 –> 00:17:31,219 We’ve got to, if we’re gonna be godly, we’ve got to distance ourselves from that. 236 00:17:31,219 –> 00:17:35,640 You know, these are the things in which many people are sinning and therefore they are 237 00:17:36,219 –> 00:17:37,280 to do with us. 238 00:17:37,280 –> 00:17:41,119 And you can see how they would then get to say, well now if you’re really going to be 239 00:17:41,119 –> 00:17:45,979 godly, well now you must not marry. 240 00:17:45,979 –> 00:17:50,619 And you must go for the most frugal of all possible diets and certain foods that you’re 241 00:17:50,619 –> 00:17:53,140 not eating, and so forth and so on. 242 00:17:53,140 –> 00:17:59,979 And some of us may be familiar with that kind of a world and that kind of a train of thought. 243 00:18:01,020 –> 00:18:05,199 I want you to notice what the apostle Paul is saying about that in the New Testament. 244 00:18:06,000 –> 00:18:09,599 He is saying, that is completely wrong. 245 00:18:09,599 –> 00:18:13,560 That is a false path to godliness. 246 00:18:13,560 –> 00:18:17,900 That kind of teaching does not come from heaven. 247 00:18:17,900 –> 00:18:21,140 Godliness by abstention never gets you there. 248 00:18:21,140 –> 00:18:29,040 Or to try and encapsulate the main point here, you cannot love God more by enjoying life 249 00:18:29,040 –> 00:18:31,140 less. 250 00:18:31,400 –> 00:18:36,660 And, you know, there are lots of people in church world who feel that they’re going to 251 00:18:36,660 –> 00:18:40,020 become more holy only by abstaining from more and more things. 252 00:18:40,020 –> 00:18:43,339 And you can tell them by their sort of hunkered down misery. 253 00:18:43,339 –> 00:18:48,560 That they associate godliness essentially with unhappiness. 254 00:18:48,560 –> 00:18:56,180 And Paul says, that doesn’t come from heaven, it comes from somewhere else. 255 00:18:56,339 –> 00:19:01,420 And what’s more, godliness by abstention simply does not work which is the significance of 256 00:19:01,420 –> 00:19:02,640 the phrase in Verse 2. 257 00:19:02,640 –> 00:19:04,739 Did you notice it? 258 00:19:04,739 –> 00:19:06,400 Hypocritical liars. 259 00:19:06,400 –> 00:19:07,400 Hypocritical. 260 00:19:07,400 –> 00:19:12,060 In other words, he’s saying these folks are telling you that, you know, enjoying life 261 00:19:12,060 –> 00:19:15,140 less will lead you to love God more. 262 00:19:15,140 –> 00:19:17,319 They’re teaching this godliness by abstention. 263 00:19:17,319 –> 00:19:20,979 The bottom line is that the false teaching doesn’t work. 264 00:19:21,099 –> 00:19:24,900 Godliness by abstention only promotes self-righteousness and hypocracy. 265 00:19:24,900 –> 00:19:31,300 At the end of the day it becomes a veil that covers an unchanged life because there is 266 00:19:31,300 –> 00:19:35,339 no power to change in simply abstention. 267 00:19:35,339 –> 00:19:40,400 You cannot love God more by enjoying life less. 268 00:19:40,400 –> 00:19:46,819 Now let that be a breath of fresh air to some of us who have associated holiness and unhappiness 269 00:19:46,819 –> 00:19:49,339 in our minds all of our lives. 270 00:19:50,219 –> 00:19:52,540 And notice where Paul goes with it. 271 00:19:52,540 –> 00:19:54,699 He reminds us here that God is the creator. 272 00:19:54,699 –> 00:20:01,260 Verse 4, everything that God created is good, nothing is to be rejected if it is received 273 00:20:01,260 –> 00:20:02,699 with thanksgiving. 274 00:20:02,699 –> 00:20:07,800 He’s reminding us, who is it that gave the gift of marriage, and remember marriage was 275 00:20:07,800 –> 00:20:15,500 given even before the Fall, the beauties and the joys of sexual union and marriage. 276 00:20:15,500 –> 00:20:21,500 And who is it that gave the abundance of food in the earth, and not simply sufficient but 277 00:20:21,500 –> 00:20:24,339 for our enjoyment. 278 00:20:24,339 –> 00:20:26,680 These are the gifts of God. 279 00:20:26,680 –> 00:20:29,500 I find John Stott helpful here. 280 00:20:29,500 –> 00:20:32,099 He quotes from G. K. Chesterton. 281 00:20:32,099 –> 00:20:38,420 Chesterton had such a marvelous way of affirming the good gifts of God in life. 282 00:20:38,459 –> 00:20:46,699 And he says this, you say, grace before meals, you know prayer to thank God for your food. 283 00:20:46,699 –> 00:20:54,239 He says, all right, but I say grace before the play and before the opera, and grace before 284 00:20:54,239 –> 00:20:59,780 the concert and the pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching 285 00:20:59,780 –> 00:21:05,459 and painting and swimming and fencing and boxing, and walking and playing and dancing, 286 00:21:05,739 –> 00:21:09,599 and grace before I dip the pen in the ink. 287 00:21:09,599 –> 00:21:11,060 You see what he’s saying? 288 00:21:11,060 –> 00:21:15,400 I celebrate all the good gifts of God. 289 00:21:15,400 –> 00:21:22,959 For He is the wonderful creator and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 290 00:21:22,959 –> 00:21:28,560 There are some Christians who feel guilty about pleasure. 291 00:21:28,560 –> 00:21:30,780 Where does that come from? 292 00:21:30,780 –> 00:21:33,300 Not from God and not from heaven. 293 00:21:33,300 –> 00:21:38,280 There are some Christians who if they catch themselves being genuinely happy, feel that 294 00:21:38,280 –> 00:21:41,739 they need to apologize for themselves. 295 00:21:41,739 –> 00:21:51,040 We had a really lovely meal but let me explain what the reason was. 296 00:21:51,040 –> 00:21:53,160 Whatever that is, it isn’t godliness. 297 00:21:53,160 –> 00:21:57,459 And it didn’t come from heaven either. 298 00:21:57,459 –> 00:22:00,160 You cannot love God more by loving life less. 299 00:22:00,160 –> 00:22:02,439 So how can you love God more? 300 00:22:02,479 –> 00:22:05,319 Let’s get back to the question. 301 00:22:05,319 –> 00:22:07,599 How can I love God more? 302 00:22:07,599 –> 00:22:12,000 How can I grow in godliness? 303 00:22:12,000 –> 00:22:19,939 And surely this is the significance of 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 where Paul lifts up Jesus 304 00:22:19,939 –> 00:22:30,579 Christ and he says, great is the mystery of, say it with me, – godliness. 305 00:22:30,579 –> 00:22:33,359 What is the mystery of godliness? 306 00:22:33,359 –> 00:22:40,579 What is the path, the way, what is the growth in this life that we seek after and cannot 307 00:22:40,579 –> 00:22:43,199 get there simply by a list of rules? 308 00:22:43,199 –> 00:22:46,660 The mystery of godliness is Jesus Christ. 309 00:22:46,660 –> 00:22:49,739 That’s what he’s saying. 310 00:22:49,739 –> 00:22:54,060 How am I going to grow in this character, this competence, that I need to maximize my 311 00:22:54,060 –> 00:22:56,739 effectiveness in the global work of the gospel? 312 00:22:56,739 –> 00:22:57,739 Through Jesus Christ. 313 00:22:57,739 –> 00:23:00,920 That’s the mystery of godliness right there. 314 00:23:00,920 –> 00:23:03,660 Not the other. 315 00:23:03,660 –> 00:23:05,380 Him. 316 00:23:05,380 –> 00:23:09,339 He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among 317 00:23:09,339 –> 00:23:12,719 the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up into glory. 318 00:23:12,719 –> 00:23:15,479 See what he’s saying? 319 00:23:15,479 –> 00:23:16,479 Understand this. 320 00:23:16,479 –> 00:23:19,119 Godliness is not a system. 321 00:23:19,119 –> 00:23:20,660 Godliness is not even a path. 322 00:23:20,660 –> 00:23:21,900 It’s not a program. 323 00:23:21,900 –> 00:23:25,660 It is a person. 324 00:23:25,660 –> 00:23:33,599 The mystery of a God-centered life for you lies in the person of Jesus Christ, who appeared 325 00:23:33,599 –> 00:23:38,479 in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, taken up into glory. 326 00:23:38,479 –> 00:23:45,300 Jesus Christ is godliness in the flesh and our hope, my hope and your hope in living 327 00:23:45,300 –> 00:23:52,219 a truly godly life and progressing in that, lies in Him. 328 00:23:52,219 –> 00:23:58,020 In other words, Jesus Christ is not only the object of our faith. 329 00:23:58,020 –> 00:24:03,540 Jesus Christ is the source of our life. 330 00:24:03,540 –> 00:24:07,219 Most of us get the idea that Jesus Christ is the object of our faith. 331 00:24:07,219 –> 00:24:10,160 But some of us live with the idea that we just – you know, we believe He died and 332 00:24:10,160 –> 00:24:14,300 we believe He rose, but as far as we’re concerned Jesus is kind of out there at a 333 00:24:14,300 –> 00:24:16,219 distance from us. 334 00:24:16,219 –> 00:24:19,540 We just believe certain things about him. 335 00:24:19,619 –> 00:24:23,380 But folks, Christian faith is much more than that. 336 00:24:23,380 –> 00:24:31,219 Christ is not only the object of our faith, He is the source of our life. 337 00:24:31,219 –> 00:24:38,420 Faith unites us with Jesus Christ so that His death and Resurrection becomes ours. 338 00:24:38,420 –> 00:24:41,540 Faith feeds on Christ. 339 00:24:41,540 –> 00:24:45,819 Faith possesses Christ. 340 00:24:45,859 –> 00:24:50,459 Christ, the New Testament says, is your life. 341 00:24:50,459 –> 00:24:58,099 Or to put it another way, Paul says Christ in you is the hope of glory. 342 00:24:58,099 –> 00:25:03,619 Not Christ far from you, not believing in Christ who is somewhere out there, but Jesus 343 00:25:03,619 –> 00:25:09,319 Christ in you is your hope of living this godly life. 344 00:25:09,319 –> 00:25:11,020 That’s what he is saying. 345 00:25:11,020 –> 00:25:13,459 This is the mystery of godliness right here. 346 00:25:14,300 –> 00:25:29,280 Do you remember he said, I am the vine and you are the branches? 347 00:25:29,280 –> 00:25:30,699 And what is that telling us? 348 00:25:30,699 –> 00:25:39,880 He is saying that a godly life is about the life of the vine flowing into the branches. 349 00:25:39,959 –> 00:25:46,739 The life of Jesus Christ flowing into you, you see how different that is from simply 350 00:25:46,739 –> 00:25:51,160 believing certain things about a Jesus who is out there. 351 00:25:51,160 –> 00:25:54,680 I am the vine and you are the branches. 352 00:25:54,680 –> 00:25:56,880 Christ in you is the hope of glory. 353 00:25:56,880 –> 00:25:58,979 Here is the mystery of godliness. 354 00:25:58,979 –> 00:26:06,099 Jesus Christ who appeared in a body, vindicated by the Spirit, taken up into glory, his life 355 00:26:06,099 –> 00:26:09,719 by the Holy Spirit in you, that’s the mystery of godliness. 356 00:26:10,579 –> 00:26:14,640 Not a bunch of rules. 357 00:26:14,640 –> 00:26:19,520 Now that takes us to this conclusion that is so important for us to grasp. 358 00:26:19,520 –> 00:26:24,199 We’re right at the heart of what it is to live a Christian life right now. 359 00:26:24,199 –> 00:26:29,520 Our hope of godliness therefore is in Jesus Christ. 360 00:26:29,520 –> 00:26:34,800 That’s the natural conclusion if we’ve understood what Paul is saying – your hope of godliness, 361 00:26:34,880 –> 00:26:39,219 your hope of becoming the person that God is calling you to be. 362 00:26:39,219 –> 00:26:43,099 Not in any system, not in any programme, but it is in Jesus Christ. 363 00:26:43,099 –> 00:26:46,160 And not Christ afar from you, but Christ in you. 364 00:26:46,160 –> 00:26:48,599 Christ in you, the hope of glory. 365 00:26:48,599 –> 00:26:53,699 I want you to see this hope, because this is the big encouragement for us, in verses 366 00:26:53,699 –> 00:26:55,660 9 and 10. 367 00:26:55,660 –> 00:26:59,739 And it’s obviously important, because Paul does his double underlining thing that he 368 00:26:59,739 –> 00:27:02,099 does three times in this letter. 369 00:27:02,339 –> 00:27:06,979 He says, this is a trustworthy saying, verse 9, and it deserves full acceptance. 370 00:27:06,979 –> 00:27:11,979 That’s Paul’s way of saying, slow up here, this is really, really, really important. 371 00:27:11,979 –> 00:27:22,800 Here’s a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance, for this we labor and strive, 372 00:27:23,420 –> 00:27:39,719 Now, remember the hope he’s talking about. 373 00:27:39,719 –> 00:27:47,140 It’s the hope of godliness, the hope of a godly life, the hope of your life becoming 374 00:27:47,140 –> 00:27:49,520 a reflection of what God wants you to be. 375 00:27:49,640 –> 00:27:55,160 In other words, to give it another Bible term, he’s talking about our hope in sanctification. 376 00:27:55,160 –> 00:28:02,800 So, when we talk about Jesus our Savior, always remember salvation involves two wonderful 377 00:28:02,800 –> 00:28:03,800 gifts. 378 00:28:03,800 –> 00:28:09,339 There’s our justification, forgiveness, by which we have entrance to heaven and there 379 00:28:09,339 –> 00:28:17,020 is our sanctification, our growth in godliness which makes us fit for heaven, which prepares 380 00:28:17,020 –> 00:28:19,199 us for heaven. 381 00:28:19,199 –> 00:28:25,079 And Paul is thinking particularly about our sanctification here, and we know that because 382 00:28:25,079 –> 00:28:33,459 he says in verse 9, this is a trustworthy saying and for this we labor and strive. 383 00:28:33,459 –> 00:28:36,339 Do we labor and strive for justification? 384 00:28:36,339 –> 00:28:41,260 I want us as a congregation to get to the place where we can be real confident about 385 00:28:41,260 –> 00:28:43,160 the answers to these questions. 386 00:28:43,160 –> 00:28:45,160 Do we labor and strive for justification? 387 00:28:45,160 –> 00:28:46,160 No. 388 00:28:46,660 –> 00:28:53,959 We rest in Jesus Christ holy only for justification, right? 389 00:28:53,959 –> 00:28:58,939 Do we labor and strive to make progress in the Christian life? 390 00:28:58,939 –> 00:29:01,479 You bet we do, you bet we do. 391 00:29:01,479 –> 00:29:02,699 Never make any progress otherwise. 392 00:29:02,699 –> 00:29:06,280 So he’s talking about that part of salvation that relates to our sanctification. 393 00:29:06,280 –> 00:29:11,380 Godliness, the growth of a godly life, the whole theme that’s at the center of this 394 00:29:11,380 –> 00:29:13,079 letter. 395 00:29:13,099 –> 00:29:18,420 And so I want you to notice how Paul puts these two things together in verse 10. 396 00:29:18,420 –> 00:29:23,180 He’s now talking about our hope of making progress in this great mystery of godliness. 397 00:29:23,180 –> 00:29:29,339 We labor and strive, he says, and we put our hope in the living God who is our Savior. 398 00:29:29,339 –> 00:29:35,439 Now, you know the great phrase from the scripture about marriage, what God has joined together 399 00:29:35,439 –> 00:29:36,800 let no one ever separate. 400 00:29:36,800 –> 00:29:41,780 I want you to think about that in this very important verse that Paul double underlines, 401 00:29:41,780 –> 00:29:50,780 for this we labor and strive, we have put our hope in the living God our Savior. 402 00:29:50,780 –> 00:29:59,680 These two marvelous statements and realities are wedded together, bonded together, inseparably 403 00:29:59,680 –> 00:30:06,280 in the scriptures in our sanctification, in our growth in a godly life. 404 00:30:06,280 –> 00:30:13,300 And, folks, the reason that many people are really confused over the Christian life is 405 00:30:13,300 –> 00:30:18,339 that what has happened too often in the history of the church is that many teachers have separated 406 00:30:18,339 –> 00:30:20,780 what God has placed together. 407 00:30:20,780 –> 00:30:27,420 In other words, we have divorced the labor and strive from the put our hope in the living 408 00:30:27,420 –> 00:30:31,579 God who is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe. 409 00:30:31,900 –> 00:30:36,619 And, if you separate what God has joined together you end up with all kinds of confusion and 410 00:30:36,619 –> 00:30:39,859 distortion of the Christian life. 411 00:30:39,859 –> 00:30:45,979 If you separate these two you end up with some people who, I’m going to call this, they’re 412 00:30:45,979 –> 00:30:47,520 hard labor Christians. 413 00:30:47,520 –> 00:30:51,719 They have a hard labor version of the Christian life. 414 00:30:51,719 –> 00:30:57,180 They grasp we labor and strive and that’s all you ever see in them and that’s all you 415 00:30:57,180 –> 00:30:58,900 ever hear from them. 416 00:30:59,180 –> 00:31:02,640 This is the Christian who goes around with slightly hung shoulders and a great sense 417 00:31:02,640 –> 00:31:08,060 of misery and, usually, of defeat, and his or her view of the Christian life is it’s 418 00:31:08,060 –> 00:31:13,819 all just one great effort, but it’s all terribly overwhelming, and the temptations are all 419 00:31:13,819 –> 00:31:15,560 much greater than I am. 420 00:31:15,560 –> 00:31:17,060 And so forth and so on. 421 00:31:17,060 –> 00:31:18,060 Labor and strive. 422 00:31:18,060 –> 00:31:19,060 Labor and strive. 423 00:31:19,060 –> 00:31:22,239 It’s all so impossible and you’re endlessly discouraged. 424 00:31:22,239 –> 00:31:28,660 I won’t ask for a show of hands, but I’m sure there’s an awful lot of us this morning who 425 00:31:29,000 –> 00:31:30,119 are right there. 426 00:31:30,119 –> 00:31:31,339 Labor and strive. 427 00:31:31,339 –> 00:31:32,680 Labor and strive. 428 00:31:32,680 –> 00:31:34,219 Labor and strive. 429 00:31:34,219 –> 00:31:37,800 And you’re exhausted. 430 00:31:37,800 –> 00:31:44,180 If we separate what God has joined together the other way, we end up with a second distortion 431 00:31:44,180 –> 00:31:50,359 of the Christian life, which is not the hard labor version, it’s the no-lbor version. 432 00:31:50,359 –> 00:31:54,520 The no-labor version of the Christian life, which is always going to be popular for a 433 00:31:54,520 –> 00:31:58,579 very obvious reason, except it doesn’t work. 434 00:31:58,579 –> 00:31:59,579 And what is this? 435 00:31:59,579 –> 00:32:04,579 This is to simply say, we have put our hope in the living God and to jettison the labor 436 00:32:04,579 –> 00:32:06,060 and the strive. 437 00:32:06,060 –> 00:32:08,680 So, you’re familiar with this. 438 00:32:08,680 –> 00:32:10,319 This teaching goes like this. 439 00:32:10,319 –> 00:32:11,319 It’s very passive. 440 00:32:11,319 –> 00:32:14,319 It says, you know, there really is nothing that we can do. 441 00:32:14,319 –> 00:32:19,619 It is God who sanctifies, and therefore there’s nothing that we can contribute to this at 442 00:32:19,780 –> 00:32:25,060 And, therefore, what we have to do is we simply have to yield. 443 00:32:25,060 –> 00:32:29,099 And you’ll hear the word yield again and again and again and again, and you wonder why you 444 00:32:29,099 –> 00:32:32,540 don’t keep hearing it in the Bible. 445 00:32:32,540 –> 00:32:33,979 And then you’ll hear phrases like this. 446 00:32:33,979 –> 00:32:35,660 You can finish this one for me. 447 00:32:35,660 –> 00:32:41,160 Folks, what we have to do if we’re really to grow in a godly life is we have to let 448 00:32:41,160 –> 00:32:46,760 go, and we have to let it go, right? 449 00:32:46,760 –> 00:32:51,760 So that grasps well, that we put our hope and trust in the living God, but the problem 450 00:32:51,760 –> 00:32:58,640 with it is it’s entirely passive, like getting in a car and just sitting there and wondering 451 00:32:58,640 –> 00:33:00,920 why it’s not going anywhere. 452 00:33:00,920 –> 00:33:06,160 You talk to an 18-year-old guy in high school about the temptations that he’s really struggling 453 00:33:06,160 –> 00:33:10,239 with and say to him, let go and let God come on. 454 00:33:11,239 –> 00:33:12,400 So what we have to go 455 00:33:12,400 –> 00:33:20,040 for, then, is not the hard labor that’s endlessly discouraging and certainly not the no labor 456 00:33:20,040 –> 00:33:27,520 that’s totally unrealistic, but I want you to grasp that gospel life, right here, wedding 457 00:33:27,520 –> 00:33:35,479 these two things together, is the active pursuit of godliness through the power and presence 458 00:33:35,479 –> 00:33:37,060 of Jesus Christ in you. 459 00:33:37,060 –> 00:33:38,540 That’s the heart of the Christian life. 460 00:33:38,540 –> 00:33:40,000 That’s our hope of godliness. 461 00:33:40,000 –> 00:33:45,380 That’s the mystery that Paul is taking us to, and this is the hope that he is pointing 462 00:33:45,380 –> 00:33:46,380 us to. 463 00:33:46,380 –> 00:33:48,760 For this we labor and strive. 464 00:33:48,760 –> 00:33:51,199 We have put our hope in the living God. 465 00:33:51,199 –> 00:33:59,079 The gospel life is neither a dreary, defeated activism, we all labor and we all strive, 466 00:33:59,079 –> 00:34:05,180 nor is it a kind of passive yieldedness in which we are no longer actively engaged but 467 00:34:05,180 –> 00:34:08,459 just sitting around and waiting for God to do something to make us different kind of 468 00:34:08,620 –> 00:34:17,080 people gospel life, gospel life folks is the active pursuit of godliness through the presence 469 00:34:17,080 –> 00:34:19,500 and the power of Jesus Christ in you. 470 00:34:19,500 –> 00:34:25,159 I engage in this struggle, I engage in this fight, I press forward towards the mark, active 471 00:34:25,159 –> 00:34:27,540 you see, but I do it with hope. 472 00:34:27,540 –> 00:34:28,540 Why? 473 00:34:28,540 –> 00:34:34,300 Because Jesus Christ lives within me, because his life is now flowing with me, because I 474 00:34:34,439 –> 00:34:38,739 am not the person I was because the Holy Spirit lives within me. 475 00:34:38,739 –> 00:34:42,340 Paul puts it another way in Colossians 1 and verse 29. 476 00:34:42,340 –> 00:34:46,020 He says to this end I labor, notice that. 477 00:34:46,020 –> 00:34:47,300 Struggling, how? 478 00:34:47,300 –> 00:34:50,139 With all his energy that so powerfully works in me. 479 00:34:50,139 –> 00:34:54,500 Do you see that’s blending these two things together, holding them together in the marriage 480 00:34:54,500 –> 00:34:58,620 that God has made of these great truths. 481 00:34:58,620 –> 00:35:02,239 This is the mystery of godliness. 482 00:35:02,239 –> 00:35:07,600 It’s Christ in you, that’s the hope of glory. 483 00:35:07,600 –> 00:35:10,679 And for this we labor and strive. 484 00:35:10,679 –> 00:35:15,959 That’s why the Christian life is not a dreary defeat. 485 00:35:15,959 –> 00:35:22,560 That is why the Christian life is an active pursuit in the power of the Holy Spirit who 486 00:35:22,560 –> 00:35:26,439 lives within you. 487 00:35:26,439 –> 00:35:31,399 I want to end with illustration in wanting to make this as clear as I can. 488 00:35:31,719 –> 00:35:37,020 And I want to use one that I’ve used before, but I really can’t think of one better. 489 00:35:37,020 –> 00:35:45,020 And I want to remind you of the words that Winston Churchill wrote on the night of December 490 00:35:45,020 –> 00:35:49,979 the 7th, 1941. 491 00:35:50,679 –> 00:35:54,679 And you remember the situation, at least from Churchill’s point of view, as he’s writing 492 00:35:54,679 –> 00:35:59,239 his diary for 19 months he has really been the very lonely leader. 493 00:35:59,239 –> 00:36:08,120 His nation has been taken, a-pounding, staring defeat in the face, laboring and striving 494 00:36:08,120 –> 00:36:10,360 if you like. 495 00:36:10,360 –> 00:36:16,459 But without any hope, without any real prospect of victory. 496 00:36:16,459 –> 00:36:27,979 And then on the night of December the 7th, 1941, a mighty power becomes engaged in what 497 00:36:28,419 –> 00:36:31,540 until that moment had been Churchill’s war. 498 00:36:31,540 –> 00:36:35,060 And he writes this, I love these words. 499 00:36:35,060 –> 00:36:43,780 No American will think it wrong of me if I proclaim that to have the United States at 500 00:36:43,780 –> 00:36:47,659 our side was to me the greatest joy. 501 00:36:47,659 –> 00:36:48,979 We had one after all. 502 00:36:48,979 –> 00:36:53,459 Can you imagine, he wrote that on the 7th of December 1941. 503 00:36:53,939 –> 00:36:59,959 Yes, after Dunkirk after the fall of France, after 17 months of lonely fighting and 19 504 00:36:59,979 –> 00:37:08,000 months of my responsibility alone in dire distress, we had won the war. 505 00:37:08,020 –> 00:37:14,959 How long the war would last or in what fashion it would end no man could tell nor did I at 506 00:37:14,959 –> 00:37:18,219 that moment care. 507 00:37:18,219 –> 00:37:24,979 Many disasters, immeasurable cost and tribulation lay ahead. 508 00:37:24,979 –> 00:37:29,560 But there was no doubt about the end. 509 00:37:29,560 –> 00:37:38,219 He says, all the rest was merely the proper application of overwhelming force. 510 00:37:39,219 –> 00:37:47,840 Now, that picture has helped me grasp this critical important teaching of the Apostle 511 00:37:47,840 –> 00:37:52,639 Paul about the Christian life clearly, and I hope it will you too. 512 00:37:52,639 –> 00:37:59,300 Think about Churchill in December 1940. 513 00:37:59,300 –> 00:38:05,860 In December 1940, Churchill is laboring and striving, he’s staring defeat the face. 514 00:38:05,979 –> 00:38:13,120 He has a friend with mighty power, but the friend is far away, and the friend is not 515 00:38:13,120 –> 00:38:14,979 involved in Churchill’s battle. 516 00:38:14,979 –> 00:38:19,760 And you see, that is exactly the experience of some of us. 517 00:38:19,760 –> 00:38:23,560 You have a belief in a Jesus that you’ve carried from childhood, and you believe that 518 00:38:23,560 –> 00:38:28,100 he died and rose, but as far as you’re concerned, He is a Jesus who’s far away from you, 519 00:38:28,379 –> 00:38:29,899 not engaged in your battle. 520 00:38:29,899 –> 00:38:33,060 Of no help to you. 521 00:38:33,060 –> 00:38:40,739 And you feel defeated, and you feel like Churchill felt in December 1940, you’re fighting on 522 00:38:40,739 –> 00:38:45,580 alone, you lose hope. 523 00:38:45,580 –> 00:38:46,979 You need to hear the gospel. 524 00:38:46,979 –> 00:38:51,340 You think you’ve heard it, but you need to hear the gospel. 525 00:38:51,340 –> 00:38:57,979 The Lord Jesus Christ is not saying to you, I will be your powerful friend from far away, 526 00:38:57,979 –> 00:39:03,040 that you have to fight your own battle, the Lord Jesus Christ is saying, I will engage 527 00:39:03,040 –> 00:39:04,699 with you in this fight. 528 00:39:04,699 –> 00:39:06,699 I will come and stand with you. 529 00:39:06,699 –> 00:39:09,540 I will get under this burden alongside you. 530 00:39:09,540 –> 00:39:12,899 I will be your savior. 531 00:39:12,899 –> 00:39:19,020 How can you be a savior if you’re miles away and nothing to do with the realities of 532 00:39:19,020 –> 00:39:21,280 the struggles of life? 533 00:39:21,280 –> 00:39:26,219 Well, someone came up to me after the service last night and he said, you know, I was in 534 00:39:26,219 –> 00:39:30,600 church all my life and I’ve always believed these things that Jesus died and rose, he 535 00:39:30,600 –> 00:39:35,379 said, but I’ve discovered that it’s not simply believing these things out there, it’s having 536 00:39:35,379 –> 00:39:39,979 his life in here. 537 00:39:39,979 –> 00:39:44,979 But in December 1941, Churchill has hope. 538 00:39:44,979 –> 00:39:47,899 Why does he have hope? 539 00:39:47,899 –> 00:39:52,219 Because a great and mighty power has come to his aid. 540 00:39:53,199 –> 00:40:02,120 A great and mighty power is now engaged in his battle. 541 00:40:02,120 –> 00:40:05,419 Now think with me just one more step and then we’re through. 542 00:40:05,419 –> 00:40:08,000 How does Churchill respond to that? 543 00:40:08,000 –> 00:40:14,459 Now you’ll be very glad about this, what he did not do is say, oh, a mighty power has 544 00:40:14,459 –> 00:40:21,260 come to our aid, so let’s let go and let America. 545 00:40:22,260 –> 00:40:25,360 What does he do? 546 00:40:25,379 –> 00:40:35,340 He says, I will fight as never before, I will fight with renewed energy, I have been a man 547 00:40:35,340 –> 00:40:41,860 staring defeat in the face, I am now a man who will go into battle with hope because 548 00:40:41,860 –> 00:40:47,320 whatever the cost and whatever the defeats and whatever the setbacks, between here and 549 00:40:47,620 –> 00:40:51,379 the end, the outcome from this day is secure. 550 00:40:51,379 –> 00:40:54,340 That’s the Christian life. 551 00:40:54,340 –> 00:41:05,000 For this we labor and strive, we have put our hope in the living God who is our savior. 552 00:41:05,000 –> 00:41:15,639 Father, help us in the pursuit of this life through Jesus Christ, who lives in us by the 553 00:41:16,199 –> 00:41:17,199 Spirit. 554 00:41:17,199 –> 00:41:21,659 Do you know, if you’re a Christian today, let me just encourage you in this moment of 555 00:41:21,659 –> 00:41:22,659 prayer. 556 00:41:22,659 –> 00:41:24,800 Christ is not far from you. 557 00:41:24,800 –> 00:41:34,860 He is for you and with you, and the outcome of your struggle is certain through Him. 558 00:41:34,860 –> 00:41:44,879 You may have failed and fallen, but today get up and press forward with hope in Jesus 559 00:41:44,879 –> 00:41:46,260 Christ. 560 00:41:46,260 –> 00:41:52,800 And friend, if the only faith you have ever known is a faith in a Jesus who is far from 561 00:41:52,800 –> 00:41:57,199 you and not engaged in your battle, I want you to put your hope in the Living God, who 562 00:41:57,199 –> 00:41:58,879 is the Savior today. 563 00:41:58,879 –> 00:42:00,800 Why shouldn’t He be your Savior? 564 00:42:00,979 –> 00:42:03,580 He’s at work in the lives of others. 565 00:42:03,600 –> 00:42:07,479 Why not yours? 566 00:42:07,479 –> 00:42:12,360 And please remember as you believe today that faith is more than believing certain things 567 00:42:12,360 –> 00:42:13,360 about Jesus. 568 00:42:13,360 –> 00:42:16,040 It unites you with Jesus. 569 00:42:16,040 –> 00:42:24,000 Not just in a moment now, but as you believe every day of your life, from this day forward, 570 00:42:24,000 –> 00:42:27,040 He walks with you. 571 00:42:27,800 –> 00:42:33,000 You’ll be able to say, I’ve been crucified with Christ, it’s no longer me who’s 572 00:42:33,000 –> 00:42:35,760 living, but Christ really lives in me. 573 00:42:35,760 –> 00:42:43,500 In the life I live, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for 574 00:42:43,500 –> 00:42:44,500 me. 575 00:42:44,500 –> 00:42:49,739 Father, thank you for the mystery and the hope of godliness. 576 00:42:49,739 –> 00:42:52,219 Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 577 00:42:52,219 –> 00:42:53,340 Amen.