1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,840 Well, life is a struggle, just in case you didn’t know. 2 00:00:04,840 –> 00:00:08,520 It’s also an adventure, isn’t it? 3 00:00:08,520 –> 00:00:10,520 It’s like climbing a rock face. 4 00:00:10,520 –> 00:00:15,920 It’s a dangerous business, infinitely worth it. 5 00:00:15,920 –> 00:00:24,340 Over these next 10 weeks, we’re going to explore the struggle of living an authentic 6 00:00:24,340 –> 00:00:25,340 Christian life. 7 00:00:25,340 –> 00:00:27,719 Now, I tell you, it is a struggle. 8 00:00:28,260 –> 00:00:33,060 I really found the picture of climbing a rock face to be very, very helpful. 9 00:00:33,060 –> 00:00:35,259 There are moments, as we saw, of triumph. 10 00:00:35,259 –> 00:00:38,080 We think, yes. 11 00:00:38,080 –> 00:00:41,220 And then, there’s always another challenge ahead. 12 00:00:41,220 –> 00:00:46,220 The climb goes on throughout your entire Christian life. 13 00:00:46,220 –> 00:00:48,080 One day, you’re going to stand on the summit. 14 00:00:48,080 –> 00:00:52,380 Every believer will one day stand on the summit but that day will not come until you’re in 15 00:00:52,380 –> 00:00:54,680 the presence of Jesus. 16 00:00:54,779 –> 00:00:59,040 The whole of the Christian life is spent on the rock face. 17 00:00:59,779 –> 00:01:02,799 Now, some of us have been Christians for years. 18 00:01:02,799 –> 00:01:07,199 We’ve made some progress but you’re still climbing. 19 00:01:08,599 –> 00:01:12,699 And the most dangerous place, of course, for the rock climber is often when you think it’s 20 00:01:12,720 –> 00:01:13,879 getting easier. 21 00:01:13,879 –> 00:01:18,059 It’s possible to climb the most difficult phase. 22 00:01:18,059 –> 00:01:22,519 And then, when you think it’s getting easier, to slip – just when you think you’re making 23 00:01:22,540 –> 00:01:24,040 great progress. 24 00:01:24,739 –> 00:01:27,720 Others of us have only begun the climb. 25 00:01:27,720 –> 00:01:32,540 But it doesn’t really matter where you are on the rock, all climbers essentially face 26 00:01:32,540 –> 00:01:33,940 the same struggle. 27 00:01:33,940 –> 00:01:40,260 Some stages are harder than others, but you can never climb without the struggle. 28 00:01:41,099 –> 00:01:46,059 If you’re a new Christian, maybe you think that a pastor, or one of the elders, or someone 29 00:01:46,080 –> 00:01:50,559 who’s been a Christian for 40 years who you greatly respect, maybe you feel that kind 30 00:01:50,559 –> 00:01:57,779 of person must just bounce out of bed every morning filled with love for humanity and 31 00:01:57,779 –> 00:02:01,500 longing to spend at least an hour in prayer. 32 00:02:01,500 –> 00:02:06,099 And that such a person will instinctively be so close to the Lord that they always just 33 00:02:06,099 –> 00:02:08,740 know exactly what to do. 34 00:02:08,740 –> 00:02:13,660 That they have such purity of heart and don’t struggle anymore with unworthy thoughts or 35 00:02:13,660 –> 00:02:15,419 with mixed motivations. 36 00:02:15,419 –> 00:02:18,800 If that’s what you thought, let me give you some encouragement. 37 00:02:18,800 –> 00:02:20,380 Forget it. 38 00:02:20,380 –> 00:02:21,960 Forget it. 39 00:02:21,960 –> 00:02:27,039 The Christian life is a struggle for every one of us from the moment of your new birth 40 00:02:27,039 –> 00:02:29,960 until the moment you stand in the presence of Jesus. 41 00:02:29,960 –> 00:02:35,240 Sure, if you’re a climber, it helps to have some experience, but experience never takes 42 00:02:35,240 –> 00:02:38,600 the struggle out of the climb. 43 00:02:38,600 –> 00:02:42,440 But climbers do it because they want to. 44 00:02:42,520 –> 00:02:46,279 Because they have their hearts set on the summit, because something within them calls 45 00:02:46,279 –> 00:02:49,360 them to the climb. 46 00:02:49,360 –> 00:02:53,899 And even as they struggle, they find joy in the journey. 47 00:02:53,899 –> 00:03:00,619 Now the passage that we’re going to be studying together as we consider this expedition is 48 00:03:00,619 –> 00:03:06,059 in Exodus 20, and we find there the 10 commandments. 49 00:03:06,059 –> 00:03:12,539 Over some months now I’ve become increasingly impressed by the fact that these commandments 50 00:03:12,539 –> 00:03:20,240 really do target the ten greatest struggles of our lives. 51 00:03:20,240 –> 00:03:24,300 The ten commandments really frame the rockface. 52 00:03:24,300 –> 00:03:29,539 This is where the struggle of the Christian life really is lived and worked out. 53 00:03:29,539 –> 00:03:33,860 These are where you find all the issues that we face as followers of Jesus. 54 00:03:34,479 –> 00:03:38,399 Let me give just a quick overview, we’ll do a countdown from the last commandment to the 55 00:03:38,399 –> 00:03:39,399 first. 56 00:03:39,399 –> 00:03:42,740 I hope you have your Bible open at Exodus and Chapter 20. 57 00:03:42,740 –> 00:03:47,860 See if these are not your primary struggles. 58 00:03:47,860 –> 00:03:55,020 Starting with Number Ten, I’ve called it your struggle for contentment. 59 00:03:55,020 –> 00:03:58,440 You shall not covet! 60 00:03:58,440 –> 00:04:01,820 Is there anyone here who struggles over this whole issue of contentment? 61 00:04:01,860 –> 00:04:05,039 Can’t rest, won’t stop. 62 00:04:05,039 –> 00:04:09,880 Relentless in the pursuit of the next achievement, having more! 63 00:04:09,880 –> 00:04:13,039 The next job, the next challenge, the next relationship. 64 00:04:13,039 –> 00:04:17,279 It’s not easy to be content. 65 00:04:17,279 –> 00:04:21,000 Something within us wants more. 66 00:04:21,000 –> 00:04:24,500 Number Nine your struggle with truth. 67 00:04:24,500 –> 00:04:31,420 You shall not be a false witness like watching some court drama as. 68 00:04:31,420 –> 00:04:35,980 And there’s a great moment in the film, you may have seen a few good men when in the heat 69 00:04:35,980 –> 00:04:41,540 of cross examination in a military court an attorney played by Tom Cruise says, I just 70 00:04:41,540 –> 00:04:44,739 want to know the truth. 71 00:04:44,739 –> 00:04:47,720 And a colonel played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson just explodes. 72 00:04:47,720 –> 00:04:50,600 He says, You can’t handle the truth. 73 00:04:50,600 –> 00:04:54,239 A lot of truth in that. 74 00:04:54,980 –> 00:04:56,540 It’s not easy to handle the truth. 75 00:04:56,540 –> 00:05:02,339 That’s why we spend so much of our lives deceiving ourselves and playing games. 76 00:05:02,339 –> 00:05:06,359 That’s one reason why it’s so popular in our culture today to have this idea that everyone 77 00:05:06,359 –> 00:05:11,339 has their own truth because we don’t want to face God’s truth and handle reality. 78 00:05:11,339 –> 00:05:15,880 You struggle for truth. 79 00:05:15,880 –> 00:05:17,799 Number eight, you struggle with integrity. 80 00:05:17,799 –> 00:05:19,899 You shall not steal. 81 00:05:19,899 –> 00:05:21,880 How much can you be trusted? 82 00:05:21,880 –> 00:05:26,559 What can God trust you with? 83 00:05:26,559 –> 00:05:33,600 Number seven of course goes to this whole issue of the struggle with purity. 84 00:05:33,600 –> 00:05:38,519 Is there anybody here who finds that easy? 85 00:05:38,519 –> 00:05:42,440 You can’t drive from here to Chicago without driving past billboards that are designed 86 00:05:42,440 –> 00:05:45,100 to lure your mind. 87 00:05:45,100 –> 00:05:50,279 Purity’s a struggle. 88 00:05:50,279 –> 00:05:52,359 Number six, your struggle for peace. 89 00:05:52,359 –> 00:05:53,359 You shall not murder. 90 00:05:53,359 –> 00:05:55,359 You say, well, I haven’t done that recently. 91 00:05:55,359 –> 00:05:57,059 Well, thankfully not. 92 00:05:57,059 –> 00:06:04,339 Remember this, murder is the last stopping point on the line of conflict. 93 00:06:04,339 –> 00:06:08,839 You may not have been to the terminus, but every one of us has been on the line. 94 00:06:08,839 –> 00:06:17,440 Anger, resentment, the churning of the stomach as you think about an unresolved conflict. 95 00:06:17,440 –> 00:06:20,000 Your struggle for peace. 96 00:06:20,440 –> 00:06:24,260 Number five, your struggle with authority. 97 00:06:24,260 –> 00:06:25,640 Honor your father and mother. 98 00:06:25,640 –> 00:06:29,119 Here are the first authority figures that God puts in our lives. 99 00:06:29,119 –> 00:06:33,079 But is there anybody here who does not know what it is to struggle with some person who 100 00:06:33,079 –> 00:06:38,760 is in a position of authority and you don’t find it easy? 101 00:06:38,760 –> 00:06:40,519 Number four, your struggle with time. 102 00:06:40,519 –> 00:06:42,640 Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. 103 00:06:42,640 –> 00:06:45,980 Get your work done in six days, the Bible says. 104 00:06:45,980 –> 00:06:49,200 Anyone find that easy or difficult? 105 00:06:50,100 –> 00:06:54,339 Get your work done so that you can give your time to God and give your time to those he 106 00:06:54,339 –> 00:06:57,640 has placed around you on the seventh day. 107 00:06:57,640 –> 00:07:05,519 It’s a struggle, to gain mastery over time with all that’s on our plate and to live an 108 00:07:05,519 –> 00:07:07,920 ordered life with the glory of God. 109 00:07:08,859 –> 00:07:12,839 Number three, your struggle with religion, huge one. 110 00:07:12,839 –> 00:07:17,559 You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. 111 00:07:17,640 –> 00:07:22,980 A lot of people today are really convinced that religion is the world’s greatest problem. 112 00:07:24,619 –> 00:07:27,299 And that’s hardly surprising. 113 00:07:27,299 –> 00:07:30,839 People blow themselves up today in the name of God. 114 00:07:31,839 –> 00:07:37,420 People have flown airplanes into tall buildings in the name of God. 115 00:07:38,679 –> 00:07:42,459 The world is in turmoil over the abuse of the name of God. 116 00:07:42,459 –> 00:07:47,239 And is there anyone of us who has not struggled in different situations where a person has 117 00:07:47,279 –> 00:07:51,119 used the name of God to try and justify their own agenda? 118 00:07:52,299 –> 00:07:54,299 Huge struggle. 119 00:07:54,920 –> 00:07:59,880 Number 2, your struggle to worship, you shall not make a graven image. 120 00:07:59,880 –> 00:08:04,679 There’s an impulse within us that wants to bring God down to our own level, to make Him 121 00:08:04,679 –> 00:08:08,440 more of a little God, because that makes him more manageable and makes us feel more in 122 00:08:08,440 –> 00:08:09,440 control. 123 00:08:09,440 –> 00:08:14,760 But as soon as we bring God down to a little God level, we lose the capacity to worship, 124 00:08:14,940 –> 00:08:19,679 because you cannot worship a little God. 125 00:08:20,399 –> 00:08:26,260 Number one struggle, I want to suggest the first commandment, your struggle with God. 126 00:08:26,260 –> 00:08:32,640 You shall have no other gods before me, and that is our biggest struggle. 127 00:08:32,640 –> 00:08:36,239 Because there’s an instinct in all of us, an instinct in me that wants to be my own 128 00:08:36,239 –> 00:08:41,979 God and live for my own glory, to pursue my own agenda, and when God calls me to do something 129 00:08:42,119 –> 00:08:47,119 difficult, I don’t find it easy to let God be God. 130 00:08:49,320 –> 00:08:57,380 So, I’m convinced that these commandments describe in a penetrating fashion the ten 131 00:08:57,380 –> 00:09:02,440 greatest struggles of our lives. 132 00:09:02,440 –> 00:09:06,919 Anyone who thinks that it’s easy to live the 10 commandments has really never tried. 133 00:09:07,059 –> 00:09:12,219 It’s easy to sit in a deck chair and talk about climbing, but it’s a different matter 134 00:09:12,219 –> 00:09:16,179 when you get yourself on the face of the rock. 135 00:09:16,179 –> 00:09:18,460 Now this is an introduction to the series this morning. 136 00:09:18,460 –> 00:09:23,200 Give us an overview of the journey and the challenge that lies ahead of us. 137 00:09:23,200 –> 00:09:27,640 I want to address a couple of questions that are very, very important before we begin the 138 00:09:27,640 –> 00:09:28,640 climb. 139 00:09:28,640 –> 00:09:29,880 The first is the question of relevance. 140 00:09:29,880 –> 00:09:31,460 I mean, why climb this rock? 141 00:09:31,460 –> 00:09:33,859 It’s a very important question. 142 00:09:33,960 –> 00:09:39,559 We’re going to spend 10 weeks in the study, and so we need to be absolutely sure and clear 143 00:09:39,559 –> 00:09:44,320 in our minds that these Ten Commandments really are relevant to us. 144 00:09:45,179 –> 00:09:49,700 There are of course easier ways to live than this, and if we’re going to engage in this 145 00:09:49,700 –> 00:09:56,099 struggle over a lifetime, we need to have absolute clarity that it is God who is calling 146 00:09:56,099 –> 00:09:57,500 us to this struggle. 147 00:09:58,020 –> 00:10:01,960 So I want to take ahead on this morning this important question that’s often tossed around 148 00:10:02,119 –> 00:10:03,719 even among Christian believers. 149 00:10:03,719 –> 00:10:09,320 Are the Ten Commandments relevant to Christians today? 150 00:10:10,340 –> 00:10:16,619 We really need to be absolutely clear about that before we launch on this struggle together. 151 00:10:17,900 –> 00:10:23,400 Now the question is an important one, because after all there are many commands in the Old 152 00:10:23,400 –> 00:10:27,280 Testament that Christians do not obey. 153 00:10:27,280 –> 00:10:28,080 Do not obey. 154 00:10:29,080 –> 00:10:34,640 We do not offer animal sacrifices, we don’t feel bound by laws relating to harvesting 155 00:10:34,640 –> 00:10:40,400 our fields or rotating our crops or cutting our hair or preparing our food. 156 00:10:41,219 –> 00:10:45,140 Now some people have noticed this, there are many laws in the Old Testament that Christians 157 00:10:45,140 –> 00:10:50,739 do not feel obligated to obey and therefore argue that the whole of God’s law in the 158 00:10:50,739 –> 00:10:54,119 light of this should be dismissed, including the Ten Commandments. 159 00:10:54,659 –> 00:10:58,380 If you don’t keep some, then you don’t need to keep any. 160 00:10:58,940 –> 00:11:02,580 Either they’re all for you or none of them are for you the argument goes. 161 00:11:02,580 –> 00:11:08,280 And folks who argue in this way quote from the Bible to support their position. 162 00:11:08,280 –> 00:11:14,880 In the New Testament it says Christ is the end of the law, that’s Romans chapter 10 in 163 00:11:14,880 –> 00:11:15,979 verse 4. 164 00:11:16,840 –> 00:11:22,280 We are not Paul says under law, but under grace. 165 00:11:22,340 –> 00:11:27,760 That’s Romans chapter 6 in verse 14, a verse by the way most often quoted by evangelical 166 00:11:27,760 –> 00:11:33,460 Christians driving over the speed limit we are not under law, we are under grace. 167 00:11:33,460 –> 00:11:36,239 It’s very important to know what that means. 168 00:11:36,239 –> 00:11:42,020 Now if it is that some laws don’t apply to Christians, how do we know that these do? 169 00:11:42,020 –> 00:11:44,000 It’s an important question. 170 00:11:45,479 –> 00:11:49,840 The word law in the Bible is rather like a Swiss army knife. 171 00:11:49,840 –> 00:11:52,200 I hope you find this a helpful picture. 172 00:11:52,200 –> 00:11:56,320 A Swiss army knife can be used in different kinds of ways. 173 00:11:56,320 –> 00:12:03,200 And when you say knife you might mean just the blade or you might mean the whole thing 174 00:12:03,200 –> 00:12:08,400 including the screwdriver and the pliers and goodness knows what else that’s useful is 175 00:12:08,400 –> 00:12:10,239 in there. 176 00:12:10,239 –> 00:12:16,440 Now like the Swiss army knife, the Old Testament law has several parts and when in the New 177 00:12:16,479 –> 00:12:21,340 Testament we read the word law it can sometimes refer to one of the parts or sometimes refer 178 00:12:21,340 –> 00:12:24,080 to the whole. 179 00:12:24,080 –> 00:12:30,880 The fact that the word law is used in different ways in the Bible, rather like the word knife 180 00:12:30,880 –> 00:12:36,400 is used in different ways in a Swiss army knife explains to us why we should expect 181 00:12:36,400 –> 00:12:41,200 that the New Testament would describe the law in different ways, as it does. 182 00:12:41,840 –> 00:12:49,039 Now over centuries, scholars have recognised that the Old Testament law divides into three 183 00:12:49,039 –> 00:12:53,280 essential parts, the civil, the ceremonial, and the moral. 184 00:12:53,280 –> 00:12:54,840 Let’s review them quickly. 185 00:12:54,840 –> 00:13:01,440 Number one, the civil law, that is laws in the Old Testament regulating life in Israel 186 00:13:01,440 –> 00:13:06,599 as a nation, and the civil law in the Old Testament would include, for example, laws 187 00:13:06,599 –> 00:13:11,880 that related to public health and safety in Israel in Old Testament times, penalties 188 00:13:11,880 –> 00:13:17,739 for criminal behaviour, laws about the use of land, about the payment of debts and about 189 00:13:17,739 –> 00:13:20,159 the waging of war. 190 00:13:20,159 –> 00:13:27,080 These laws, that is, the civil law, was given to Israel as a nation, recognising the unique 191 00:13:27,080 –> 00:13:34,039 calling of Israel as a nation within the plan and the purpose of God for the world. 192 00:13:34,219 –> 00:13:38,239 While there are obviously principles that can be taken from the civil law in the Old 193 00:13:38,239 –> 00:13:43,119 Testament and we can learn from them today, because what God says in the civil law does 194 00:13:43,119 –> 00:13:50,119 reflect God’s values for a society, nonetheless it would be a great mistake to try and draw 195 00:13:50,400 –> 00:13:55,080 a straight line from the Old Testament civil laws to a modern state like America or any 196 00:13:55,080 –> 00:13:58,419 other country in the world today. 197 00:13:59,080 –> 00:14:00,000 It is important for 198 00:14:00,000 –> 00:14:07,000 us to remember that the church is not a state and Christ’s kingdom, as he made very clear, 199 00:14:09,200 –> 00:14:15,719 is spiritual, not territorial. So it is a great mistake, therefore, to take the civil 200 00:14:15,719 –> 00:14:20,799 law and to try and suggest, as some have in different ways, that this should be imposed 201 00:14:20,799 –> 00:14:27,799 on a society today. It was not given for that purpose. Civil law given to Israel as a nation. 202 00:14:28,659 –> 00:14:35,119 Second, ceremonial law. Here we have laws relating to sacrifices and other religious 203 00:14:35,119 –> 00:14:41,020 rituals. This would include festivals, the bringing of crops into the place of worship, 204 00:14:41,020 –> 00:14:45,719 forms of worship, clean and unclean foods, slaughtering of animals and so forth and so 205 00:14:45,719 –> 00:14:52,719 on. When Paul says that Christ is the end of the law and we’re not under law, we’re 206 00:14:52,719 –> 00:15:00,059 under grace, he is using the word Law to mean the whole system of sacrifices and rituals 207 00:15:00,059 –> 00:15:04,979 given under Moses. And throughout the New Testament, both in Paul and in the letter 208 00:15:04,979 –> 00:15:11,619 to the Hebrews, it’s made abundantly clear that this is all gone! The sacrifices were 209 00:15:11,619 –> 00:15:19,260 given for a time in order to point us to Jesus Christ, but since Christ has come, the reason 210 00:15:19,739 –> 00:15:25,179 existence in pointing to him is now fulfilled, and that is why they have been superseded. 211 00:15:25,179 –> 00:15:31,679 He is the sacrifice for sin, He fulfills all of the ceremonial Law! 212 00:15:31,679 –> 00:15:36,260 And it’s important for us to remember, I think that some Laws are appropriate for a certain 213 00:15:36,260 –> 00:15:42,900 time. I mean, when you are four years old, you’re probably under a Law that says you’ve 214 00:15:42,900 –> 00:15:47,479 got to go to bed at seven o’clock in the evening! But that Law doesn’t apply when you’re a teenager, 215 00:15:47,580 –> 00:15:52,200 at least not in most families. It applies for a time! It’s got a purpose 216 00:15:52,200 –> 00:15:59,039 appropriate to a stage. And this is the nature of ceremonial Law in the Old Testament which 217 00:15:59,039 –> 00:16:06,960 is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Its purpose has been accomplished. 218 00:16:06,960 –> 00:16:11,440 But there are other Laws that do not change with time. And here we come to the third category 219 00:16:11,440 –> 00:16:16,559 which is our focus here, moral Law, that is Laws that reflect the life that God calls 220 00:16:16,599 –> 00:16:20,799 His people to pursue in every generation and culture. And as we’ll see in a few moments 221 00:16:20,799 –> 00:16:25,380 the reason that these never change is that they are a reflection of the character of 222 00:16:25,380 –> 00:16:27,440 God Himself. 223 00:16:27,440 –> 00:16:32,960 The moral Law is summarised in the Ten Commandments and it is important to recognise that even 224 00:16:32,960 –> 00:16:39,900 in the Old Testament Law, the Ten Commandments stand alone as a unique category all by themselves. 225 00:16:39,900 –> 00:16:45,200 These Ten Commandments uniquely were written by the finger of God engraved on two tablets 226 00:16:45,200 –> 00:16:54,700 of stone and these tablets of stone were kept in the ark of the covenant, this unchanging 227 00:16:54,700 –> 00:17:02,539 calling of God to a new kind of life that is to be distinctive among His own covenant 228 00:17:02,539 –> 00:17:04,180 people. 229 00:17:04,180 –> 00:17:07,219 And of course when Jesus came into the world He said, you remember, I have not come to 230 00:17:07,219 –> 00:17:08,500 abolish the law. 231 00:17:08,500 –> 00:17:14,599 He even said, till heaven and earth disappear not the smallest letter will pass from this 232 00:17:14,599 –> 00:17:17,020 law, will disappear from the law. 233 00:17:17,020 –> 00:17:20,640 He obviously didn’t mean that the sacrifices would never go away because they have, and 234 00:17:20,640 –> 00:17:24,140 He came for that very purpose, to be the sacrifice to end them all. 235 00:17:24,140 –> 00:17:29,939 But He was telling us that though the civil law and the ceremonial law have a uniqueness 236 00:17:29,939 –> 00:17:32,880 in the place of God’s plan for history. 237 00:17:32,880 –> 00:17:38,739 That moral law that has been given by God for all people is the path of life for every 238 00:17:38,739 –> 00:17:41,540 generation and in every culture. 239 00:17:42,359 –> 00:17:48,719 I want us to be absolutely clear that it is God who is calling us to the life that is 240 00:17:48,719 –> 00:17:50,420 described in the Ten Commandments. 241 00:17:50,420 –> 00:17:53,760 This really is our struggle. 242 00:17:53,760 –> 00:17:55,819 God calls us to it. 243 00:17:55,819 –> 00:18:05,060 Let’s be very clear, we are not saved by a life of obedience, but we are saved for 244 00:18:05,060 –> 00:18:07,800 a life of obedience. 245 00:18:07,800 –> 00:18:10,140 This is stated many times throughout the New Testament. 246 00:18:10,300 –> 00:18:12,060 Let me give one example. 247 00:18:12,060 –> 00:18:17,119 1 Peter 2 and verse 24 that speaks about why Jesus died for us. 248 00:18:17,119 –> 00:18:24,599 He bore our sins in his body on the tree, Peter writes. 249 00:18:24,599 –> 00:18:25,599 Now why? 250 00:18:25,599 –> 00:18:28,319 Why did he bear our sins in his body on the tree? 251 00:18:28,319 –> 00:18:36,099 Peter 2.24, that we may die to sin and live to righteousness. 252 00:18:36,099 –> 00:18:38,719 He died so that we live for righteousness. 253 00:18:38,719 –> 00:18:40,599 What is the righteousness for which we live? 254 00:18:40,599 –> 00:18:43,959 It’s laid out in the Ten Commandments. 255 00:18:43,959 –> 00:18:50,260 I’m not saved by it but we are saved for it. 256 00:18:50,260 –> 00:18:52,699 Now that’s irrelevant so we need to know it. 257 00:18:52,699 –> 00:18:55,900 But the second thing I think that’s really going to be critical for us as we begin this 258 00:18:55,900 –> 00:19:00,060 journey together is to understand the value of these Ten Commandments. 259 00:19:00,060 –> 00:19:02,599 I mean I don’t want anyone to be standing at the bottom of the wall saying, 260 00:19:02,599 –> 00:19:06,839 oh dear this is what we’ve got to climb, this is magnificent. 261 00:19:06,839 –> 00:19:14,520 I want you to see the beauty and the value of what God has given us here. 262 00:19:14,520 –> 00:19:16,839 Number one. 263 00:19:16,839 –> 00:19:23,579 The Ten Commandments are a mirror reflecting the character of God. 264 00:19:23,579 –> 00:19:31,760 As we probe these commandments that will in turn probe us, we are going to discover more 265 00:19:31,760 –> 00:19:35,640 and more of what God is like. 266 00:19:35,660 –> 00:19:38,439 See none of us have seen God directly. 267 00:19:38,439 –> 00:19:40,199 He’s invisible obviously. 268 00:19:40,199 –> 00:19:48,300 We cannot see God, but we can see the image of God, rather like you can see an image looking 269 00:19:48,300 –> 00:19:50,180 in a mirror. 270 00:19:50,180 –> 00:19:56,040 We can see the image of God and the law reflects the image of the God we cannot see. 271 00:19:56,040 –> 00:19:58,359 We come to know about Him through His law. 272 00:19:58,400 –> 00:20:06,180 So for example, the reason that we are called not to commit adultery is because God is faithful. 273 00:20:06,180 –> 00:20:12,000 The reason that we’re told not to bear a false witness is because God expresses the truth. 274 00:20:12,000 –> 00:20:13,979 He is the truth. 275 00:20:13,979 –> 00:20:18,839 The reason that we’re told not to covet is because God in the triunity of His person 276 00:20:18,839 –> 00:20:22,260 is completely content. 277 00:20:22,260 –> 00:20:27,079 This is what God is like, and since you and I were made in His image, this is what we 278 00:20:27,099 –> 00:20:31,180 were made to be like. 279 00:20:31,180 –> 00:20:37,640 You say, well that sounds very marvelous, but what would that look like in practice? 280 00:20:37,640 –> 00:20:42,640 The answer is you will see that life lived out in the real world perfectly, beautifully 281 00:20:42,640 –> 00:20:45,119 in Jesus. 282 00:20:45,119 –> 00:20:51,560 His life is the most beautiful expression of the law in action that this world will 283 00:20:51,560 –> 00:20:54,520 ever see. 284 00:20:54,599 –> 00:21:00,760 He takes the image of God from the page of the old testament law, and he lives it in 285 00:21:00,760 –> 00:21:01,780 the flesh. 286 00:21:01,780 –> 00:21:09,520 He is the image of the invisible God, the exact representation of his being. 287 00:21:09,520 –> 00:21:16,359 So as we discover more of these Ten Commandments, we’re going to be drawing near to an expression 288 00:21:16,359 –> 00:21:18,660 of the image of God. 289 00:21:18,660 –> 00:21:22,680 We’re going to get to know Him better. 290 00:21:22,780 –> 00:21:30,500 Second, the law really acts as a mentor bringing us to Christ, a mirror reflecting the character 291 00:21:30,500 –> 00:21:34,020 of God and a mentor, bringing us to Christ. 292 00:21:34,020 –> 00:21:35,839 I love this word, mentor. 293 00:21:35,839 –> 00:21:41,000 It’s got a warmth to it, and I think it’s important for us to recognize this because 294 00:21:41,000 –> 00:21:45,439 some of us have the idea that the laws are very cold thing. 295 00:21:45,439 –> 00:21:47,660 But the New Testament tells us otherwise. 296 00:21:47,680 –> 00:21:56,579 In Galatians 3 and verse 24, Paul says that the law is a mentor or a tutor bringing us 297 00:21:56,579 –> 00:21:59,060 to Christ. 298 00:21:59,060 –> 00:22:04,180 The Christian believer delights in the law of God because it’s a friend. 299 00:22:04,180 –> 00:22:09,739 The law properly understood will walk you to Jesus Christ. 300 00:22:09,739 –> 00:22:15,859 And just like a mentor is someone who shows you where to go and how to get there and walks 301 00:22:16,060 –> 00:22:21,500 there with you, that is what the law applied by the Spirit does in the life of a person. 302 00:22:21,500 –> 00:22:22,760 It’s a wonderful thing. 303 00:22:22,760 –> 00:22:28,180 The law will walk you to Jesus Christ. 304 00:22:28,180 –> 00:22:31,380 See you start this climb. 305 00:22:31,380 –> 00:22:33,900 Maybe there’ll be someone here who says, you know this is good stuff. 306 00:22:33,900 –> 00:22:36,599 I need to get my act together. 307 00:22:36,599 –> 00:22:41,280 My life together a little bit, shape up, and I’m going to get going in this climb as part 308 00:22:41,280 –> 00:22:44,459 of what we’re doing in these next weeks. 309 00:22:44,459 –> 00:22:54,880 You won’t be doing it long before you begin to say I need some help. 310 00:22:54,880 –> 00:22:59,040 You start looking at yourself honestly in the light of these commandments, you’ll soon 311 00:22:59,040 –> 00:23:05,319 begin to see how far you are as I am from the life that God calls us to live. 312 00:23:05,319 –> 00:23:11,079 I find the 10 commandments are still doing that for me. 313 00:23:11,079 –> 00:23:21,359 The longer you walk with Christ the more you see your own need and your own sinfulness 314 00:23:21,359 –> 00:23:26,319 and therefore the more closely you cling to Christ and the more you appreciate all that 315 00:23:26,319 –> 00:23:29,219 he has for you. 316 00:23:29,219 –> 00:23:33,680 So as the law probes us we are going to be walked to Christ. 317 00:23:33,680 –> 00:23:38,260 It is going to be like a mentor to us, it is going to take us where we need to go, it 318 00:23:38,359 –> 00:23:47,099 is going to increase our valuing and our appreciation and our worship of Jesus. 319 00:23:47,099 –> 00:23:53,040 And then thirdly the law is like a map showing us the way of love. 320 00:23:53,040 –> 00:23:57,859 Now the New Testament tells us about an occasion when Jesus was asked now which is the most 321 00:23:57,859 –> 00:23:59,500 important commandment? 322 00:23:59,500 –> 00:24:01,619 And Jesus gave a very wonderful answer. 323 00:24:01,619 –> 00:24:04,959 He didn’t pick one of the ten and say well this is more important than any of the others 324 00:24:05,199 –> 00:24:08,359 He wrapped all of the ten up in one summary description. 325 00:24:08,359 –> 00:24:12,619 And He took the ten commandments and summed them up like this. 326 00:24:12,619 –> 00:24:16,300 Love the lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor 327 00:24:16,300 –> 00:24:18,420 as yourself. 328 00:24:18,420 –> 00:24:23,439 Now that’s great but it raises some questions. 329 00:24:23,439 –> 00:24:28,540 There are thousands of people in this world who have no idea what love is. 330 00:24:28,540 –> 00:24:30,959 How do you know what love is? 331 00:24:30,959 –> 00:24:33,579 What is love? 332 00:24:33,579 –> 00:24:34,939 What does it mean to love God? 333 00:24:34,939 –> 00:24:36,260 With all your heart. 334 00:24:36,260 –> 00:24:39,040 What does it look like to love your neighbor? 335 00:24:39,040 –> 00:24:43,319 And how do you go about loving yourself? 336 00:24:43,319 –> 00:24:47,880 Two years ago was the queen’s Golden Jubilee in Britain. 337 00:24:47,880 –> 00:24:53,939 And the queen opened up Buckingham Palace, the gardens of the palace, for a couple of 338 00:24:53,939 –> 00:24:58,160 great celebrations of what was really a national kind of a festival. 339 00:24:58,160 –> 00:25:04,199 They had a concert of classical music one night, followed about a week later by a pop 340 00:25:04,199 –> 00:25:10,599 concert to appeal to all strands of society, and people were invited for these great occasions. 341 00:25:10,599 –> 00:25:14,680 And on the last night for the pop concert they had, you know, Elton John, they had Paul 342 00:25:14,680 –> 00:25:18,040 McCartney, they had just about every name you could think of, certainly from the British 343 00:25:18,040 –> 00:25:23,979 music industry, and tens of thousands of people celebrating 50 years of the queen. 344 00:25:23,979 –> 00:25:26,500 The marvelous night. 345 00:25:26,500 –> 00:25:32,839 And at the end, they got Paul McCartney up, and they got this crowd, this massive crowd, 346 00:25:32,839 –> 00:25:38,979 and they were all singing together, All you need is love. 347 00:25:38,979 –> 00:25:41,719 All you need is love. 348 00:25:41,719 –> 00:25:45,780 All you need is love. 349 00:25:45,780 –> 00:25:48,540 Love is all you need. 350 00:25:48,540 –> 00:25:55,199 It was great, but what does it mean? 351 00:25:55,199 –> 00:25:58,319 What does it look like? 352 00:25:58,319 –> 00:26:00,859 How’s it gonna be worked out in your home? 353 00:26:01,520 –> 00:26:05,420 How’s it gonna be worked out among us? 354 00:26:05,420 –> 00:26:10,260 Now, you see, you find the answer to that question in the 10 Commandments. 355 00:26:10,260 –> 00:26:13,000 They fill in the how to of love. 356 00:26:13,000 –> 00:26:15,859 See, this isn’t some kind of cold code. 357 00:26:15,859 –> 00:26:20,640 This is a reflection of the character of the God who is love, and it tells us what love 358 00:26:20,640 –> 00:26:26,719 means, Commandments 1 to 4 they really fill out what it means to love God with all your 359 00:26:26,719 –> 00:26:31,380 heart, soul, mind, and strength, and Commandments 5 to 10 that fills out the dimensions of what 360 00:26:31,380 –> 00:26:33,819 it means to love your neighbor and indeed to love yourself. 361 00:26:33,819 –> 00:26:38,520 So we’re going to find a map that shows us how to love. 362 00:26:38,520 –> 00:26:41,699 I’m excited about this journey. 363 00:26:41,699 –> 00:26:49,239 Now, the last thing this morning is I want us to take a moment before we set out for 364 00:26:49,959 –> 00:26:58,160 us to consider honestly where you stand right now in relation to the Ten Commandments as 365 00:26:58,160 –> 00:27:00,900 we begin this series. 366 00:27:00,900 –> 00:27:06,199 I want us to think of this as where each of us individually and personally stands in relation 367 00:27:06,199 –> 00:27:09,319 as it were to the rock face of the Ten Commandments. 368 00:27:09,319 –> 00:27:14,420 I want to suggest three possibilities. 369 00:27:14,420 –> 00:27:20,199 Some of us think we’ve already climbed the wall. 370 00:27:20,199 –> 00:27:26,839 Now there are a lot of folks who feel like that who hang around in churches, comes out 371 00:27:26,839 –> 00:27:28,619 when something goes wrong in your life. 372 00:27:28,619 –> 00:27:32,819 You immediately protest about how good and how faithful you’ve been and how could God 373 00:27:32,819 –> 00:27:36,739 possibly allow anything to happen to such a good person as you. 374 00:27:36,739 –> 00:27:41,160 Instinctively, we think we’ve climbed the wall. 375 00:27:41,160 –> 00:27:46,599 Now there was an occasion in the Bible when a rather brilliant young man got into conversation 376 00:27:46,599 –> 00:27:50,959 with Jesus and Jesus spoke to him about the Ten Commandments, and his immediate response 377 00:27:50,959 –> 00:27:54,660 was, all these I have kept since my youth. 378 00:27:54,660 –> 00:27:57,359 And I think he was sincere. 379 00:27:57,359 –> 00:27:58,979 I think he really believed that. 380 00:27:58,979 –> 00:28:04,739 He’d read the Ten Commandments and at one level he probably had kept them. 381 00:28:04,739 –> 00:28:07,300 Hadn’t murdered anybody. 382 00:28:07,300 –> 00:28:10,479 Had been faithful to his wife. 383 00:28:10,479 –> 00:28:13,800 Never told any whopping lies. 384 00:28:13,800 –> 00:28:17,119 Never raided a bank. 385 00:28:17,119 –> 00:28:18,699 No doubt had got straight As. 386 00:28:18,699 –> 00:28:19,880 Was a good upright citizen. 387 00:28:19,880 –> 00:28:22,819 Flossed his teeth and paid his taxes. 388 00:28:22,819 –> 00:28:28,060 Look you’re talking to a good living person he’s saying. 389 00:28:28,060 –> 00:28:34,599 Now the problem here for him and for many of us who think in the same kind of a way, 390 00:28:34,599 –> 00:28:38,959 the problem is that he didn’t understand the commandments. 391 00:28:38,959 –> 00:28:43,359 Jesus made it clear you see, that the commandments are not limited simply to one action. 392 00:28:43,359 –> 00:28:49,500 That’s why we said earlier, the command, you do not murder, addresses the terminus 393 00:28:49,500 –> 00:28:53,180 that is at the end of a long line that’s called conflict. 394 00:28:53,180 –> 00:28:58,839 You may never have been at the terminus, but everyone of us have been somewhere on the 395 00:28:58,839 –> 00:29:01,479 line many times. 396 00:29:01,479 –> 00:29:04,099 Many times. 397 00:29:04,099 –> 00:29:10,180 More than that every negative command, you shall not murder, carries with it a reflective 398 00:29:10,180 –> 00:29:13,040 positive duty. 399 00:29:13,040 –> 00:29:20,380 And the positive duty for example of not murdering would include the positive caring, for example, 400 00:29:20,380 –> 00:29:21,939 of your own body. 401 00:29:21,939 –> 00:29:26,560 Because if you don’t care for your own body as you ought to, and that’s a trust from God, 402 00:29:26,560 –> 00:29:31,400 then on which direction are you moving? 403 00:29:31,400 –> 00:29:36,560 So each commandment you see relates not just to one sin that we can wrap up in a box and 404 00:29:36,560 –> 00:29:38,400 say, well I’ve checked that one off. 405 00:29:38,400 –> 00:29:43,040 But actually to a whole category of sins with which we daily struggle. 406 00:29:43,040 –> 00:29:51,160 So for example, I was reading from the Westminster Catechism – a very helpful document in exploring 407 00:29:51,160 –> 00:29:55,160 the relevance of these commandments to the struggles of our lives. 408 00:29:55,160 –> 00:30:00,040 And it has a long list of what would be included in each commandment. 409 00:30:00,040 –> 00:30:01,280 Here’s half. 410 00:30:01,540 –> 00:30:05,520 Roughly of what it says about the 9th commandment – just to give you a flavour. 411 00:30:06,180 –> 00:30:09,680 I wilt after about the third line. 412 00:30:09,680 –> 00:30:12,000 The 9th Commandment sounds very simple. 413 00:30:12,000 –> 00:30:13,339 Don’t lie. 414 00:30:13,339 –> 00:30:18,719 Here’s what the Westminster Catechism says about what that means. 415 00:30:18,719 –> 00:30:23,619 It includes all prejudicing of the truth, and the good name of our neighbours as well 416 00:30:23,619 –> 00:30:30,560 as our own, giving false evidence, calling evil good and good evil, forgery, concealing 417 00:30:30,560 –> 00:30:39,160 the truth, undue silence in a just cause, slandering, backbiting, detracting, tail bearing, 418 00:30:39,160 –> 00:30:46,920 whispering, scoffing, reviling, rash or harsh censuring, misconstruying intentions, words 419 00:30:46,920 –> 00:30:51,599 and actions of another person, flattering, boasting, thinking of … are you getting 420 00:30:51,599 –> 00:30:52,979 the idea here? 421 00:30:52,979 –> 00:30:57,839 Thinking or speaking too highly or too meanly of ourselves or others, denying the gifts 422 00:30:57,979 –> 00:31:04,520 and the graces of God, aggravating small faults, raising false rumours, receiving and countenancing 423 00:31:04,520 –> 00:31:07,099 evil reports and so forth and so on. 424 00:31:07,099 –> 00:31:10,819 That’s the negatives, then he’s got a similarlist as to what the positive duties that are 425 00:31:10,819 –> 00:31:16,380 applied by this command also are and you say, well that’s just the ninth commandment. 426 00:31:16,380 –> 00:31:23,599 So if you think you’ve already climbed the wall, you haven’t really understood the Commandments. 427 00:31:24,599 –> 00:31:29,400 And once you see what the Ten Commandments are really all about and how they speak right 428 00:31:29,400 –> 00:31:34,800 in to the categories of our greatest struggles, you will begin to say, you know, once I thought 429 00:31:34,800 –> 00:31:41,939 I was finished, now I see I haven’t begun. 430 00:31:41,939 –> 00:31:48,199 There are a lot of good model folks around who have never experienced the struggle and 431 00:31:48,199 –> 00:31:55,880 honestly, if you’ve never experienced the struggle, that may be the first indication 432 00:31:55,880 –> 00:31:59,500 you’ve never begun the climb. 433 00:31:59,500 –> 00:32:03,040 And it’s a sad thing when a person sitting in the deck chair thinking that they’ve finished 434 00:32:03,040 –> 00:32:04,920 the climb when actually they’ve not started. 435 00:32:04,920 –> 00:32:11,719 If you think you have climbed the wall, it’s time to get out of the deck chair and as you 436 00:32:11,800 –> 00:32:18,859 get on that wall, you’ll quickly discover how much you need Jesus. 437 00:32:18,859 –> 00:32:26,780 Secondly, there are some of us who know for sure that right now we are stretched out on 438 00:32:26,780 –> 00:32:30,300 the wall. 439 00:32:30,300 –> 00:32:37,060 You have come to Christ and you’ve begun the climb, you want to please the Lord with 440 00:32:37,060 –> 00:32:39,540 all your heart. 441 00:32:39,540 –> 00:32:46,119 You want to do what is right but it is so hard. 442 00:32:46,119 –> 00:32:49,819 And you’ve been struggling with the issues of living a Christian life for a long time 443 00:32:49,819 –> 00:32:55,579 on this Rock Face and your arms feel numb, you can remember some victories in the past 444 00:32:55,579 –> 00:33:00,579 but right now your legs just feel sore as it were, you feel about exhausted. 445 00:33:00,579 –> 00:33:05,859 I was speaking to someone just a few weeks ago and he described the difficulties he was 446 00:33:05,939 –> 00:33:12,060 facing in his marriage, it was a horrible situation and he was really really trying 447 00:33:12,060 –> 00:33:18,459 to honour the Lord in it and he said, I’m just so tired of the battle. 448 00:33:18,459 –> 00:33:29,040 And we’ve all been there, in one area or another of our life, tired of the battle. 449 00:33:29,040 –> 00:33:34,140 For some of us God has called you to work in an environment where it’s not easy to 450 00:33:34,140 –> 00:33:35,760 be a Christian. 451 00:33:36,439 –> 00:33:42,839 And you really want to model truth and integrity but it is so hard. 452 00:33:45,619 –> 00:33:51,079 The pressures are enormous and every day you feel like you’re stretched out on the wall. 453 00:33:52,959 –> 00:34:01,739 I want you to know this, that this series is not about condemnation, it’s about encouragement. 454 00:34:02,599 –> 00:34:04,280 It’s about encouragement. 455 00:34:05,260 –> 00:34:11,840 The Christian life isn’t easy but by the grace of God you can make progress one step at a time. 456 00:34:13,760 –> 00:34:19,800 And the very fact that you’re struggling means you’re on the wall and you should thank God for that. 457 00:34:21,820 –> 00:34:27,979 In fact, the fact that you want to be more holy than you are right now 458 00:34:28,459 –> 00:34:32,600 is the greatest single evidence of the fact that the Holy Spirit is at work within you 459 00:34:32,639 –> 00:34:34,840 and you should thank God for that reality. 460 00:34:37,620 –> 00:34:45,040 Years ago, I found very significant help and encouragement from a document called the Heidelberg Catechism. 461 00:34:45,219 –> 00:34:49,540 It’s many years old. Some of you know it well because you were brought up with it. 462 00:34:49,540 –> 00:34:56,419 I discovered it in my early 20s and it was a great help to me at that point in my Christian life. 463 00:34:56,780 –> 00:35:02,719 The Heidelberg Catechism divides the whole of the Christian faith into three categories. 464 00:35:03,560 –> 00:35:10,760 Misery, deliverance, and gratitude. 465 00:35:10,760 –> 00:35:12,899 Whole of the Christian Faith, misery, deliverance, gratitude. 466 00:35:13,120 –> 00:35:24,600 It’s very significant that the Heidelberg Catechism deals with the Ten Commandments not under misery but under gratitude. 467 00:35:25,580 –> 00:35:29,739 See, this is the life into which we have been delivered. 468 00:35:29,739 –> 00:35:34,879 We have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ and now we engage in the pursuit of this difficult 469 00:35:34,879 –> 00:35:40,780 and challenging life not out of some kind of miserie but out of gratitude for the grace 470 00:35:40,780 –> 00:35:43,459 that has touched us. 471 00:35:43,459 –> 00:35:47,340 I want to draw your attention to the question that really helped me more than twenty years 472 00:35:47,340 –> 00:35:48,340 ago. 473 00:35:48,760 –> 00:35:52,679 It’s question 114 in the Heidelberg Catechism. 474 00:35:52,699 –> 00:35:58,159 Can those converted to God obey these commands perfectly? 475 00:35:58,159 –> 00:35:59,159 That’s a great question. 476 00:35:59,159 –> 00:36:00,159 It’s a very important one. 477 00:36:00,159 –> 00:36:04,179 We’re talking about about Christian people now redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ. 478 00:36:04,179 –> 00:36:05,199 We want to live for the Lord. 479 00:36:05,199 –> 00:36:07,159 We’re stretched out on the wall. 480 00:36:07,159 –> 00:36:13,239 Can those converted to God obey these commands perfectly? 481 00:36:13,239 –> 00:36:18,399 Some of us by nature, we want to be everything that we can be. 482 00:36:18,399 –> 00:36:19,739 We really struggle at this point. 483 00:36:19,739 –> 00:36:22,620 We really stretch out on the wall. 484 00:36:22,620 –> 00:36:26,439 Here’s the Heidelberg Catechisms answer. 485 00:36:26,439 –> 00:36:31,340 No. 486 00:36:31,360 –> 00:36:36,239 You say, I thought you said this was going to be encouragement. 487 00:36:36,239 –> 00:36:38,439 That’s not the end of the answer. 488 00:36:38,439 –> 00:36:40,340 No. 489 00:36:40,340 –> 00:36:48,600 In this life, even the holiest have only a small beginning of disobedience. 490 00:36:49,120 –> 00:37:00,540 Nevertheless, they do begin to live according to all, not only some of God’s commandments. 491 00:37:00,540 –> 00:37:05,199 That has helped me so much when I feel stretched out on the wall. 492 00:37:05,199 –> 00:37:12,020 What we have here and now is a beginning of truth, a beginning of contentment, a beginning 493 00:37:12,020 –> 00:37:17,500 of loving God, a beginning of worship, a beginning of all that it means to be faithful. 494 00:37:17,760 –> 00:37:19,479 It is a true beginning. 495 00:37:20,040 –> 00:37:23,679 It’s not everything that it one day will be when we stand on the summit in the presence 496 00:37:23,679 –> 00:37:28,600 of Jesus, but it is a true beginning, and that beginning, by the grace of God, will 497 00:37:28,600 –> 00:37:30,280 one day be complete. 498 00:37:31,679 –> 00:37:38,760 I find that has given me strength and encouragement when I’m stretched out on the wall. 499 00:37:40,719 –> 00:37:45,500 Then thirdly, there are some of us who have fallen off the wall. 500 00:37:45,639 –> 00:37:47,860 Let’s be real honest about this. 501 00:37:47,860 –> 00:37:49,300 You know it. 502 00:37:49,300 –> 00:37:51,500 There was a time when you were walking with Christ. 503 00:37:51,500 –> 00:37:55,179 You were making progress as a Christian, but somewhere along the line, your foot slipped 504 00:37:55,179 –> 00:37:57,199 and you came off the wall. 505 00:37:58,659 –> 00:38:02,719 Maybe it was the chaos of a workaholic lifestyle that got to you. 506 00:38:03,620 –> 00:38:05,360 Maybe it was an unresolved conflict. 507 00:38:05,379 –> 00:38:07,020 Maybe it was a secret deception. 508 00:38:07,020 –> 00:38:11,159 Whatever it was, you came off the wall. 509 00:38:11,159 –> 00:38:12,260 You lost it. 510 00:38:12,939 –> 00:38:16,639 And here’s what I want to say to you. 511 00:38:16,639 –> 00:38:20,239 Thank God there’s a rope. 512 00:38:21,179 –> 00:38:26,780 The rope is called the mercy of God and it reaches you through Jesus Christ. 513 00:38:26,780 –> 00:38:33,500 If it were not for the mercy of God, you would be gone, lost forever. 514 00:38:34,739 –> 00:38:40,800 You have been held in the mercy of God and that mercy reaches you in Jesus right now. 515 00:38:41,360 –> 00:38:49,000 You’re not where you used to be but you’re not lost either. 516 00:38:49,000 –> 00:38:55,479 There is hope for you whatever you have done. 517 00:38:55,479 –> 00:39:03,919 So, I want to say to you, get back on the wall and as you climb, thank God that his 518 00:39:03,919 –> 00:39:08,560 mercy has reached you and that it has held you and that it will never let you 519 00:39:09,120 –> 00:39:19,840 Now here’s the very last thing. 520 00:39:19,840 –> 00:39:23,139 The wonderful thing about this difficult new life is that it is lived out in 521 00:39:23,139 –> 00:39:24,419 the power of the Holy Spirit. 522 00:39:24,419 –> 00:39:28,959 I’m going to end by telling a story that I’ve told before but I’ve found it 523 00:39:28,959 –> 00:39:31,320 helpful and others seem to have found it useful too. 524 00:39:31,320 –> 00:39:38,479 It’s the story of a man who had lived as a thief, had been caught by the longarm 525 00:39:39,000 –> 00:39:41,659 of the law and had served time in prison. 526 00:39:41,659 –> 00:39:43,719 It had been his lifestyle for years. 527 00:39:43,719 –> 00:39:48,239 But wonderfully during the time that he served, he found faith in Jesus Christ. 528 00:39:48,239 –> 00:39:49,719 He was wonderfully converted. 529 00:39:49,719 –> 00:39:54,439 When the time came for his release, he knew he was going to face a difficult 530 00:39:54,439 –> 00:39:55,840 passage of his life. 531 00:39:55,840 –> 00:39:58,639 Most of his old friends were in the criminal world. 532 00:39:58,639 –> 00:40:02,639 It wouldn’t be easy to break from the ingrained pattern of an old way of life 533 00:40:02,639 –> 00:40:06,360 once he was out in the free world again. 534 00:40:06,360 –> 00:40:09,979 So the first thing that he wanted to do when he had the opportunity was to go 535 00:40:09,979 –> 00:40:10,560 the church. 536 00:40:10,560 –> 00:40:15,879 And so on his first Sunday he did, slipping into the back of a church, 537 00:40:15,879 –> 00:40:16,699 an old building. 538 00:40:16,699 –> 00:40:19,280 He saw at the very front there were two plaques and they 539 00:40:19,280 –> 00:40:23,320 had the words of the Ten Commandments. 540 00:40:23,320 –> 00:40:28,399 Of course, his eye was immediately drawn to the words that haunted him. 541 00:40:28,399 –> 00:40:31,139 You shall not steal. 542 00:40:31,540 –> 00:40:37,020 They looked at it and the words just seemed to condemn him all over again. 543 00:40:37,020 –> 00:40:41,840 It’s the last thing I need, he thought. 544 00:40:41,840 –> 00:40:44,000 I already know the misery of my failure. 545 00:40:44,000 –> 00:40:45,020 I know my weakness. 546 00:40:45,020 –> 00:40:49,620 I know the battle I’m going to have. 547 00:40:49,620 –> 00:40:54,139 As the service progressed, he just kept looking at that plaque and as he did, 548 00:40:54,139 –> 00:40:59,860 as he read and as he rered the words, it seemed to take on a new meaning. 549 00:40:59,860 –> 00:41:03,580 That he had never quite grasped before. 550 00:41:03,580 –> 00:41:08,120 Previously he had always read these words in the tone of a command, 551 00:41:08,120 –> 00:41:13,280 You Shall Not Steal! 552 00:41:13,280 –> 00:41:20,479 But now it seemed that the same God was speaking to him these words as a promise, 553 00:41:20,479 –> 00:41:25,979 YOU SHALL NOT STEAL! 554 00:41:26,100 –> 00:41:32,780 He was a new person in the Lord Jesus Christ and what was commanded in the law 555 00:41:32,780 –> 00:41:36,479 was made possible by the Spirit. 556 00:41:36,479 –> 00:41:42,000 The Spirit was taking the law that once condemned him and writing it onto his heart 557 00:41:42,000 –> 00:41:47,360 as a new path that was opened up and made possible 558 00:41:47,360 –> 00:41:52,459 by the power and the presence of God in his new life. 559 00:41:52,500 –> 00:41:57,080 What once seemed to be a condemning command now opened up whole new possibilities 560 00:41:57,080 –> 00:42:00,399 because the Spirit of God was with him. 561 00:42:00,399 –> 00:42:09,060 The Christian life is a struggle but the Spirit of God is with you every step of the climb.