1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:01,920 Well, good morning, everyone, 2 00:00:01,920 –> 00:00:05,500 if you would have your Bible open at Romans chapter 12. 3 00:00:05,500 –> 00:00:07,900 I want to draw your attention today 4 00:00:07,900 –> 00:00:11,500 to the last verse that was read, verse 21, 5 00:00:11,500 –> 00:00:14,900 do not be overcome by evil 6 00:00:14,900 –> 00:00:18,480 but overcome evil with good. 7 00:00:20,080 –> 00:00:23,000 Now, friends, you don’t need me to tell you 8 00:00:23,000 –> 00:00:26,120 that these are difficult days for our country. 9 00:00:27,000 –> 00:00:31,100 After years in which we and many had hoped 10 00:00:31,100 –> 00:00:33,959 there would be substantial progress 11 00:00:33,959 –> 00:00:36,139 in regards to issues of race, 12 00:00:37,040 –> 00:00:39,700 we find ourselves in a circumstance 13 00:00:39,700 –> 00:00:43,259 in which anger and tension over these issues 14 00:00:43,259 –> 00:00:45,279 are reaching a new intensity. 15 00:00:46,259 –> 00:00:48,619 Loss of civility, 16 00:00:48,619 –> 00:00:52,959 loss of manners in public life 17 00:00:52,959 –> 00:00:57,099 is producing a new kind of meanness of spirit 18 00:00:57,099 –> 00:01:00,080 that often makes life increasingly unmanageable 19 00:01:00,080 –> 00:01:03,660 in the classroom, at work, 20 00:01:03,660 –> 00:01:06,620 and often in the home as well. 21 00:01:06,620 –> 00:01:08,900 One of our seniors said to me recently 22 00:01:08,900 –> 00:01:12,580 that she could not remember a time in her entire life 23 00:01:12,580 –> 00:01:17,580 where so many people were so angry so much of the time. 24 00:01:19,360 –> 00:01:20,660 And on top of this, 25 00:01:20,699 –> 00:01:23,459 the shared sense of right and wrong 26 00:01:23,459 –> 00:01:28,500 that has really bound our people together over centuries 27 00:01:28,500 –> 00:01:30,459 seems to have been discarded 28 00:01:30,459 –> 00:01:34,400 and in large measure swept away. 29 00:01:34,400 –> 00:01:35,900 Our nation, as you know well, 30 00:01:35,900 –> 00:01:40,660 is deeply divided over issues of life, marriage, 31 00:01:40,660 –> 00:01:44,120 gender, and increasingly will be divided, I believe, 32 00:01:44,120 –> 00:01:48,180 over issues relating to death as well. 33 00:01:48,180 –> 00:01:53,180 Having lost the sense of living under the authority of God, 34 00:01:53,660 –> 00:01:55,379 our culture now sees fit 35 00:01:55,379 –> 00:01:58,080 to take the great issues of life into its own hands 36 00:01:58,080 –> 00:02:01,379 and do with them as it pleases. 37 00:02:01,379 –> 00:02:04,440 And so all over the country, 38 00:02:04,440 –> 00:02:07,260 many people are asking the question 39 00:02:07,260 –> 00:02:09,300 that is before us today, 40 00:02:09,300 –> 00:02:12,339 what in the world are we to do? 41 00:02:13,339 –> 00:02:18,339 What in the world are believing people 42 00:02:19,679 –> 00:02:22,940 to do in days like these? 43 00:02:24,339 –> 00:02:26,639 Now, friends, the answer to that question 44 00:02:26,639 –> 00:02:29,699 is found in Romans and chapter 12. 45 00:02:29,699 –> 00:02:33,179 These verses that are before us for the next two months 46 00:02:33,179 –> 00:02:37,059 describe what God’s people are to do 47 00:02:37,059 –> 00:02:39,539 when we find ourselves surrounded 48 00:02:39,539 –> 00:02:42,279 by an increasing tide of evil. 49 00:02:43,100 –> 00:02:45,899 So over these next weeks, we are going to be camping out 50 00:02:45,899 –> 00:02:48,860 in the second half of Romans and chapter 12. 51 00:02:48,860 –> 00:02:51,580 And my prayer for this series is threefold. 52 00:02:51,580 –> 00:02:55,139 The first is that God will use his word over these weeks 53 00:02:55,139 –> 00:03:00,139 to calm our fears, to renew our hope, 54 00:03:00,660 –> 00:03:02,380 and to strengthen our resolve. 55 00:03:02,380 –> 00:03:03,899 These three things. 56 00:03:03,899 –> 00:03:06,679 Now, if these verses from Romans and chapter 12 57 00:03:06,679 –> 00:03:09,639 have really come to me with fresh force 58 00:03:09,639 –> 00:03:13,960 as I have studied the historical background 59 00:03:13,960 –> 00:03:15,259 of the book of Romans. 60 00:03:15,259 –> 00:03:17,419 Now, I just said the word historical 61 00:03:17,419 –> 00:03:19,600 and I know that for some of you, 62 00:03:19,600 –> 00:03:23,039 the very word historical make your eyes glaze over, 63 00:03:23,039 –> 00:03:25,179 make you think it’s time to reach for the cell phone. 64 00:03:25,179 –> 00:03:27,419 Please, please don’t do that. 65 00:03:27,419 –> 00:03:29,360 Please, please don’t do that. 66 00:03:29,360 –> 00:03:31,160 Cut me a bit of slack, give me a bit of trust 67 00:03:31,160 –> 00:03:33,320 for just a few minutes this morning. 68 00:03:33,320 –> 00:03:38,320 Because when you see what was going on 69 00:03:40,639 –> 00:03:43,520 when the holy spirit moved the apostle Paul 70 00:03:43,520 –> 00:03:48,460 to write to Christians in Rome, the book of Romans, 71 00:03:48,460 –> 00:03:52,139 you will see, I believe in a new way, 72 00:03:52,139 –> 00:03:55,660 the power and the relevance of these verses 73 00:03:55,660 –> 00:03:58,520 that are going to be before us over these next weeks. 74 00:03:58,520 –> 00:04:00,820 And you will say it is as if this was written 75 00:04:00,820 –> 00:04:02,559 just for us at this time, 76 00:04:02,559 –> 00:04:04,820 which of course all of the word of God is. 77 00:04:05,720 –> 00:04:09,059 Now, on the screen, you will see a timeline 78 00:04:09,059 –> 00:04:10,779 showing the years following the birth, 79 00:04:10,779 –> 00:04:14,440 life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 80 00:04:14,440 –> 00:04:18,220 During the first 70 years of the first century, 81 00:04:18,220 –> 00:04:21,320 there were five Roman emperors. 82 00:04:21,320 –> 00:04:23,739 The first of these was Augustus, 83 00:04:23,739 –> 00:04:25,940 referred to in Luke’s gospel chapter two 84 00:04:25,940 –> 00:04:27,660 in verse one read every Christmas, 85 00:04:27,660 –> 00:04:32,100 in those days decree went out from Caesar Augustus 86 00:04:32,260 –> 00:04:35,660 that all the world should be registered. 87 00:04:35,660 –> 00:04:38,040 After Augustus, there was Tiberius. 88 00:04:38,040 –> 00:04:41,760 And we read about him in Luke’s Gospel in chapter three 89 00:04:41,760 –> 00:04:46,760 in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar, Luke records. 90 00:04:46,760 –> 00:04:48,959 The word of God came to John the Baptist 91 00:04:48,959 –> 00:04:50,519 out in the wilderness. 92 00:04:50,519 –> 00:04:55,519 The 15th year of Tiberius would have been the year 29 AD 93 00:04:56,880 –> 00:04:59,760 and that gives us a clear date with regards 94 00:05:00,059 –> 00:05:02,619 to the start of our Lord Jesus ministry 95 00:05:02,619 –> 00:05:04,220 which of course followed immediately 96 00:05:04,220 –> 00:05:07,279 after the ministry of John the Baptist. 97 00:05:07,279 –> 00:05:12,279 After Tiberius came four traumatic years 98 00:05:14,059 –> 00:05:19,000 in which Rome was ruled by the infamous Caligula. 99 00:05:19,000 –> 00:05:21,660 Some months into Caligula’s reign he contracted 100 00:05:21,660 –> 00:05:25,500 an illness that seems to have affected him very deeply 101 00:05:25,500 –> 00:05:27,940 and turned him into a tyrant 102 00:05:27,940 –> 00:05:30,799 who was increasingly losing his mind. 103 00:05:31,640 –> 00:05:35,579 Caligula ordered that an altar should be built for himself, 104 00:05:35,579 –> 00:05:39,579 he thought of himself as being a god. 105 00:05:39,579 –> 00:05:44,579 The Roman historian, the secular Roman historian Suetonius, 106 00:05:44,899 –> 00:05:49,359 he records how Caligula ordered 107 00:05:49,359 –> 00:05:52,179 that all of the statues of the gods 108 00:05:52,179 –> 00:05:55,820 from around the empire should be brought back to Rome 109 00:05:55,820 –> 00:05:59,019 and the, whatever image was on the face, 110 00:05:59,019 –> 00:06:01,859 that the head should be cut off all the statues 111 00:06:01,859 –> 00:06:04,619 and a new head should be put on each statue 112 00:06:04,619 –> 00:06:07,059 that was his own image. 113 00:06:07,059 –> 00:06:10,339 He had a temple built and there was a golden statue 114 00:06:10,339 –> 00:06:13,779 in the temple that was an entire image of himself 115 00:06:13,779 –> 00:06:18,459 and he had a servant dressed that image 116 00:06:18,459 –> 00:06:21,779 in precisely a replica of the clothes 117 00:06:21,779 –> 00:06:24,899 that the emperor was wearing on that particular day. 118 00:06:24,980 –> 00:06:26,500 Can you imagine being that servant, 119 00:06:26,500 –> 00:06:27,660 what’s he wearing today? 120 00:06:27,660 –> 00:06:30,399 We gotta get a replica, we gotta put it on the statue. 121 00:06:30,399 –> 00:06:31,239 Extraordinary. 122 00:06:32,579 –> 00:06:35,019 Many of you are aware, and we don’t need the details 123 00:06:35,019 –> 00:06:39,179 about Caligula’s excesses and his indulgence. 124 00:06:39,179 –> 00:06:42,619 He was notorious in regards to the orgies 125 00:06:42,619 –> 00:06:45,320 that he held in the Imperial Palace 126 00:06:46,140 –> 00:06:47,579 and when it came to money, 127 00:06:47,579 –> 00:06:50,220 nobody could spend the money of the state 128 00:06:50,220 –> 00:06:52,260 like Caligula did. 129 00:06:52,260 –> 00:06:55,399 In fact, Zotonius records that he had a saying 130 00:06:55,399 –> 00:06:57,720 that he repeated often. 131 00:06:57,720 –> 00:06:59,220 Now think about this. 132 00:06:59,220 –> 00:07:00,040 He said, 133 00:07:00,040 –> 00:07:03,140 a man ought either to be 134 00:07:03,140 –> 00:07:07,359 a good economist or an emperor. 135 00:07:08,940 –> 00:07:11,100 Now, you think, shouldn’t it be, 136 00:07:11,100 –> 00:07:12,859 a man should be a good economist 137 00:07:12,859 –> 00:07:15,359 in order to be an emperor? 138 00:07:15,359 –> 00:07:16,619 But that wasn’t Caligula, 139 00:07:16,619 –> 00:07:19,420 he said I’ll let the economists talk and write all they want, 140 00:07:19,420 –> 00:07:21,820 I’m an emperor, I’ll spend as much as I want, 141 00:07:21,820 –> 00:07:22,820 and he did. 142 00:07:23,940 –> 00:07:24,779 Extraordinary. 143 00:07:26,380 –> 00:07:30,660 Spent all of the assets that had been passed on 144 00:07:30,660 –> 00:07:32,920 from Tiberius, who had a very different policy 145 00:07:32,920 –> 00:07:34,179 and a very different character 146 00:07:34,179 –> 00:07:37,459 in a very short space of time. 147 00:07:38,380 –> 00:07:40,779 Now these four years were a nightmare for Rome 148 00:07:40,779 –> 00:07:42,700 and was a huge relief to the people 149 00:07:42,700 –> 00:07:44,820 when finally this man was assassinated 150 00:07:44,820 –> 00:07:48,359 by two men, members of his own guard. 151 00:07:48,359 –> 00:07:50,859 After Caligula came Claudius 152 00:07:50,859 –> 00:07:55,160 who was referred to in Acts chapter 18 in verse two 153 00:07:55,160 –> 00:07:57,040 where we read about a married couple, 154 00:07:57,040 –> 00:07:59,000 Aquila and Priscilla, 155 00:07:59,000 –> 00:08:01,200 who moved to Corin from Italy. 156 00:08:01,200 –> 00:08:02,600 And the reason they moved 157 00:08:02,600 –> 00:08:04,260 was the Scripture tells us 158 00:08:04,260 –> 00:08:08,559 that Claudius had commanded all of the Jews to leave Rome. 159 00:08:08,559 –> 00:08:09,600 This was a Great Edict, 160 00:08:09,600 –> 00:08:11,679 the Jews were all expelled from Rome 161 00:08:11,679 –> 00:08:13,079 during his time. 162 00:08:13,079 –> 00:08:15,640 And there are for sure plenty of here raising stories 163 00:08:15,640 –> 00:08:17,980 that could be told about Claudius. 164 00:08:17,980 –> 00:08:20,320 But relative to what came before 165 00:08:20,339 –> 00:08:23,059 and certainly relative to what came after, 166 00:08:23,059 –> 00:08:26,500 he was something of a relief. 167 00:08:26,500 –> 00:08:28,640 Because the next Emperor of Rome 168 00:08:28,640 –> 00:08:32,000 was a man by the name of Nero, 169 00:08:32,000 –> 00:08:33,520 yeah, Nero. 170 00:08:33,520 –> 00:08:36,619 Nero came to power in the year 54 AD, 171 00:08:36,619 –> 00:08:38,440 he ruled for 15 years 172 00:08:38,440 –> 00:08:43,460 until he took his own life at the age of 32. 173 00:08:43,599 –> 00:08:45,880 Three things to know about Nero. 174 00:08:45,880 –> 00:08:46,840 Number one, 175 00:08:47,700 –> 00:08:49,979 he had a good singing voice. 176 00:08:49,979 –> 00:08:51,760 To the astonishment of the Senate 177 00:08:51,760 –> 00:08:53,020 and their consternation, 178 00:08:53,020 –> 00:08:55,380 he would enter these singing competitions. 179 00:08:55,380 –> 00:08:58,239 Which, would you be surprised to know he always won? 180 00:08:58,239 –> 00:09:01,739 If you’re on the jury for a singing competition 181 00:09:01,739 –> 00:09:02,599 I vote for Nero. 182 00:09:04,460 –> 00:09:07,580 Then he moved to his own stage 183 00:09:07,580 –> 00:09:09,539 and put on his own concerts 184 00:09:09,539 –> 00:09:11,140 featuring himself, 185 00:09:11,140 –> 00:09:14,900 in which the audiences were effectively locked in. 186 00:09:14,900 –> 00:09:18,479 And some of Suetonius stuff on this is hilarious. 187 00:09:18,559 –> 00:09:21,900 He says, many of the spectators 188 00:09:21,900 –> 00:09:24,640 being quite wearied 189 00:09:24,640 –> 00:09:25,659 with hearing 190 00:09:25,659 –> 00:09:26,919 and applauding him. 191 00:09:26,919 –> 00:09:28,580 You know they had to keep going all the time 192 00:09:28,580 –> 00:09:30,340 after every number. 193 00:09:30,340 –> 00:09:33,280 Because the town gates were shut, 194 00:09:33,280 –> 00:09:36,799 they slipped away privately over the walls 195 00:09:36,799 –> 00:09:39,739 or counterfeited themselves dead 196 00:09:39,739 –> 00:09:42,119 in order to be carried out. 197 00:09:42,119 –> 00:09:44,260 I mean, you’re so desperate and think 198 00:09:44,260 –> 00:09:45,719 am I ever gonna get out of here 199 00:09:45,719 –> 00:09:47,359 and this guy won’t let me leave? 200 00:09:47,940 –> 00:09:49,900 Let me just, you know, 201 00:09:49,900 –> 00:09:53,380 let the ushers carry me out if they think I’m dead. 202 00:09:53,380 –> 00:09:55,359 The arrogance of this man 203 00:09:55,359 –> 00:09:57,359 and the self-obsession. 204 00:09:57,359 –> 00:10:00,340 He was of course also a man of extraordinary cruelty. 205 00:10:01,200 –> 00:10:03,520 He arranged for the murder of his first wife, 206 00:10:03,520 –> 00:10:06,919 of his aunt and also of his own mother. 207 00:10:06,919 –> 00:10:09,359 Three times attempted to poison her 208 00:10:09,359 –> 00:10:10,400 and failed each time. 209 00:10:10,400 –> 00:10:12,340 Apparently she’d be the antidote. 210 00:10:12,340 –> 00:10:14,219 He ordered on one occasion 211 00:10:14,219 –> 00:10:16,700 that the floor above 212 00:10:16,700 –> 00:10:18,679 where her bedroom was 213 00:10:18,679 –> 00:10:21,320 should be weakened in order that the ceiling 214 00:10:21,320 –> 00:10:23,679 would collapse on her and kill her. 215 00:10:23,679 –> 00:10:24,520 And that didn’t work. 216 00:10:24,520 –> 00:10:25,500 He ordered that a ship 217 00:10:25,500 –> 00:10:27,500 on which she was sailing would be wrecked 218 00:10:27,500 –> 00:10:28,719 and that didn’t work either. 219 00:10:28,719 –> 00:10:32,599 And finally, her life was taken after all these attempts. 220 00:10:34,599 –> 00:10:37,679 Nero was married over a period of 15 years, 221 00:10:37,679 –> 00:10:39,780 five times, 222 00:10:39,780 –> 00:10:42,280 to three women and to two men. 223 00:10:43,260 –> 00:10:47,179 Setonius speaks about sporas, 224 00:10:47,179 –> 00:10:49,960 and says this, I quote he, 225 00:10:49,960 –> 00:10:52,780 he even went so far as to marry him 226 00:10:52,780 –> 00:10:57,140 with all the usual formalities of a wedding settlement. 227 00:10:57,140 –> 00:10:58,659 When the ceremony was over 228 00:10:58,659 –> 00:11:02,739 he had him conducted like a bride to his own house 229 00:11:02,739 –> 00:11:05,500 and treated him as his wife. 230 00:11:05,500 –> 00:11:08,679 This sporas he carried about with him, 231 00:11:09,359 –> 00:11:12,580 that his sporas was dressed in the rich attire 232 00:11:12,580 –> 00:11:17,359 of an empress kissing him from time to time 233 00:11:17,359 –> 00:11:20,299 as they rode together. 234 00:11:20,299 –> 00:11:24,159 Setonius was of course a secular historian, 235 00:11:24,159 –> 00:11:27,380 no friend of Christianity whatsoever 236 00:11:27,380 –> 00:11:29,179 but he, the secular historian 237 00:11:29,179 –> 00:11:31,520 sums up Nero’s life in these words. 238 00:11:31,520 –> 00:11:34,119 The whole of his life 239 00:11:35,099 –> 00:11:37,979 was one continued scene 240 00:11:38,880 –> 00:11:43,299 of lewdness, sensuality 241 00:11:43,299 –> 00:11:46,219 cruelty and folly. 242 00:11:47,440 –> 00:11:48,700 Now that is what was happening 243 00:11:48,700 –> 00:11:51,940 according to the secular historian in Rome at that time. 244 00:11:51,940 –> 00:11:54,859 Now, let’s put the key events of the story 245 00:11:54,859 –> 00:11:58,580 on the church, of the church on to this timeline. 246 00:11:58,580 –> 00:12:01,000 Pentecost, that great day when the Holy Spirit 247 00:12:01,000 –> 00:12:02,700 was poured out on the church 248 00:12:02,700 –> 00:12:04,059 and the people of God, 249 00:12:04,059 –> 00:12:06,299 the church in the true sense was born. 250 00:12:06,340 –> 00:12:09,700 That was the year 33 AD. 251 00:12:09,700 –> 00:12:12,820 The events then that are covered by the Book of Acts 252 00:12:12,820 –> 00:12:15,359 cover the next 30 years 253 00:12:15,359 –> 00:12:17,979 and therefore they were in large measure 254 00:12:17,979 –> 00:12:21,419 set against the background of the reigns of Caligula 255 00:12:21,419 –> 00:12:25,359 and Claudius and Nero himself. 256 00:12:25,359 –> 00:12:28,760 The Book of Romans was written when Paul was in Corinth 257 00:12:28,760 –> 00:12:33,280 in the winter of AD 56, 57. 258 00:12:33,440 –> 00:12:35,359 So when you read Romans 12, 259 00:12:35,359 –> 00:12:39,000 you are reading the word that God gave to Paul 260 00:12:39,000 –> 00:12:41,780 by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit 261 00:12:41,780 –> 00:12:44,159 when Nero was emperor. 262 00:12:45,260 –> 00:12:46,580 And it’s very significant 263 00:12:46,580 –> 00:12:48,919 especially when you read Romans 13 264 00:12:48,919 –> 00:12:50,539 where the word of God speaks about 265 00:12:50,539 –> 00:12:52,159 submitting to governing authorities 266 00:12:52,159 –> 00:12:54,059 that that word was given and spoken 267 00:12:54,059 –> 00:12:56,539 to Christians in Rome in the time of Nero. 268 00:12:58,679 –> 00:13:01,960 Shortly after the Book of Romans was written, 269 00:13:02,059 –> 00:13:05,820 false charges were brought against the apostle Paul 270 00:13:05,820 –> 00:13:08,020 in a place called Caesarea, 271 00:13:08,020 –> 00:13:10,140 and he was arrested. 272 00:13:10,140 –> 00:13:12,979 Serious charges that people wanted 273 00:13:12,979 –> 00:13:16,020 that the death penalty should be applied to him. 274 00:13:16,020 –> 00:13:18,840 They wanted to stop him from preaching the gospel. 275 00:13:19,700 –> 00:13:22,140 But Paul was a Roman citizen 276 00:13:22,140 –> 00:13:25,940 and so any Roman citizen who was charged with a crime 277 00:13:25,940 –> 00:13:29,380 had the right of appeal to be tried in Rome itself 278 00:13:29,380 –> 00:13:31,219 rather than in one of the provinces 279 00:13:31,219 –> 00:13:33,820 that had been conquered by Rome. 280 00:13:33,820 –> 00:13:36,299 And so having been arrested, 281 00:13:36,299 –> 00:13:37,820 the apostle Paul said, 282 00:13:37,820 –> 00:13:40,299 and this is recorded in Acts 25, 283 00:13:40,299 –> 00:13:42,359 I appeal to Caesar 284 00:13:43,500 –> 00:13:44,979 and the local governor, 285 00:13:44,979 –> 00:13:46,219 a man by the name of Festus, 286 00:13:46,219 –> 00:13:47,059 said to him, 287 00:13:47,059 –> 00:13:48,679 well, to Caesar you have appealed 288 00:13:48,679 –> 00:13:50,979 and to Caesar you will go. 289 00:13:50,979 –> 00:13:52,900 And so you can read this at the end of the Book of Acts. 290 00:13:52,900 –> 00:13:54,419 What followed was that 291 00:13:54,419 –> 00:13:58,299 Paul was taken by an armed guard on a ship to Rome. 292 00:13:58,299 –> 00:14:00,059 The ship got shipwrecked 293 00:14:00,080 –> 00:14:02,440 but finally, in the last chapter of Acts, 294 00:14:02,440 –> 00:14:07,440 the apostle Paul actually arrives in Rome itself. 295 00:14:07,460 –> 00:14:11,940 And the Book of Acts ends with two years 296 00:14:11,940 –> 00:14:14,179 in which we are told Paul was effectively 297 00:14:14,179 –> 00:14:16,900 under a kind of house arrest in Rome. 298 00:14:16,900 –> 00:14:21,679 And these would have been the years 60 and 61. 299 00:14:22,820 –> 00:14:24,359 Two years after that, 300 00:14:24,359 –> 00:14:28,020 we know that the apostle Peter was in Rome, 301 00:14:28,099 –> 00:14:29,979 and while he was there, 302 00:14:29,979 –> 00:14:32,820 he wrote what we have in the new Testament, 303 00:14:32,820 –> 00:14:35,179 the first letter of Peter. 304 00:14:35,179 –> 00:14:36,640 And moved by the Holy spirit 305 00:14:36,640 –> 00:14:39,619 while he was in Rome, he writes these words. 306 00:14:40,500 –> 00:14:41,780 Chapter four in verse 12, 307 00:14:41,780 –> 00:14:46,780 do not be surprised at the fiery trial 308 00:14:48,020 –> 00:14:50,479 when it comes upon you to test you. 309 00:14:51,859 –> 00:14:54,780 Now he speaks prophetically there surely. 310 00:14:54,780 –> 00:14:57,179 The Fiery trial, when it comes upon you. 311 00:14:57,419 –> 00:14:59,340 It’s gonna be a fiery trial, he says. 312 00:15:00,739 –> 00:15:02,260 That’s A.D. 63. 313 00:15:02,260 –> 00:15:04,700 What happened one year later? 314 00:15:04,700 –> 00:15:06,559 The great fire of Rome. 315 00:15:06,559 –> 00:15:09,140 Rome, the whole city set ablaze. 316 00:15:09,140 –> 00:15:12,059 And the Roman historian Tacitus records 317 00:15:12,059 –> 00:15:14,799 there were 14 precincts in the city. 318 00:15:14,799 –> 00:15:17,760 Only four of them were unaffected. 319 00:15:17,760 –> 00:15:21,179 The rest of the city utterly devastated. 320 00:15:21,179 –> 00:15:24,239 And Tacitus also records that at the very time 321 00:15:24,299 –> 00:15:29,200 that Rome burned, Nero got on his platform and was singing. 322 00:15:29,200 –> 00:15:30,840 See, he was happy about this. 323 00:15:30,840 –> 00:15:31,679 Why? 324 00:15:31,679 –> 00:15:33,700 Because the fire was giving the opportunity 325 00:15:33,700 –> 00:15:36,840 for the building of a grander and more glorious city. 326 00:15:38,140 –> 00:15:39,640 And that’s, by the way, where you get 327 00:15:39,640 –> 00:15:41,659 the phrase fiddling while Rome burns 328 00:15:41,659 –> 00:15:44,919 because he was rejoicing while the city was being destroyed. 329 00:15:44,919 –> 00:15:45,919 Extraordinary thing. 330 00:15:47,400 –> 00:15:50,500 Now of course people perceived and quickly got 331 00:15:50,500 –> 00:15:53,900 that, actually, Nero himself was behind the fire 332 00:15:53,919 –> 00:15:58,340 and that was widely believed and widely spread around. 333 00:15:58,340 –> 00:16:02,799 And so Nero needed a scapegoat someone else to blame 334 00:16:02,799 –> 00:16:05,479 for starting this fire. 335 00:16:05,479 –> 00:16:10,479 And the scapegoat that he chose was Christians. 336 00:16:11,919 –> 00:16:13,979 Now the Roman historian, Tacitus, 337 00:16:13,979 –> 00:16:16,619 again, no friend of Christianity records, 338 00:16:16,619 –> 00:16:18,599 and I quote his exact words. 339 00:16:19,500 –> 00:16:23,900 To scotch the rumor, Nero substituted as culprits 340 00:16:25,340 –> 00:16:30,159 and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty 341 00:16:30,159 –> 00:16:35,159 a class of men whom the crowd styled Christians. 342 00:16:37,299 –> 00:16:41,840 Christus, from whom they got their name 343 00:16:41,840 –> 00:16:44,219 had been executed by the sentence 344 00:16:44,219 –> 00:16:47,299 of the procurator Pontius Pilate 345 00:16:47,380 –> 00:16:49,599 when Tiberius was the emperor. 346 00:16:50,799 –> 00:16:53,419 First then those who confessed themselves 347 00:16:53,419 –> 00:16:55,200 Christians were arrested. 348 00:16:56,099 –> 00:16:58,640 Next on their disclosures, 349 00:16:58,640 –> 00:17:02,299 a vast multitude were convicted. 350 00:17:03,500 –> 00:17:07,280 Not so much on the charge of arson 351 00:17:08,300 –> 00:17:10,380 because of course there wasn’t any evidence whatsoever 352 00:17:10,380 –> 00:17:12,020 that any of them had been involved in the fire, 353 00:17:12,020 –> 00:17:13,280 none of them were. 354 00:17:14,119 –> 00:17:18,079 A vast multitude of them were convicted, 355 00:17:18,079 –> 00:17:21,439 not so much on the charge of arson 356 00:17:21,439 –> 00:17:26,439 but for hatred of the human race. 357 00:17:27,680 –> 00:17:28,500 Oh. 358 00:17:29,640 –> 00:17:31,719 Any echoes coming to your mind there? 359 00:17:33,160 –> 00:17:35,079 You see, the Christians weren’t going 360 00:17:35,079 –> 00:17:36,739 in the direction of the culture 361 00:17:36,739 –> 00:17:38,420 and so what did the culture say about them? 362 00:17:38,420 –> 00:17:40,219 You folks must be haters. 363 00:17:41,099 –> 00:17:45,660 You must just be people who hate everyone else. 364 00:17:45,660 –> 00:17:47,939 You must be haters of the human race 365 00:17:47,939 –> 00:17:49,560 and if you’re haters of the human race, 366 00:17:49,560 –> 00:17:52,000 there’s no place for you here in the human race. 367 00:17:53,640 –> 00:17:55,140 I continue to quote Tacitus, 368 00:17:55,140 –> 00:17:58,380 their death was made a matter of sport. 369 00:17:58,380 –> 00:18:00,800 They were covered in wild beasts’ skins 370 00:18:00,800 –> 00:18:03,199 and torn to pieces by dogs 371 00:18:03,199 –> 00:18:06,579 or were fastened to crosses and set on fire 372 00:18:06,579 –> 00:18:09,079 in order to serve as torches by night 373 00:18:09,099 –> 00:18:11,000 when daylight filled. 374 00:18:11,000 –> 00:18:15,079 Hence, and this is Tacitus, the Roman historian, 375 00:18:15,079 –> 00:18:19,060 hence there arose a feeling of pity. 376 00:18:19,060 –> 00:18:22,140 Ordinary people had pity towards Christians 377 00:18:22,140 –> 00:18:26,780 because it was felt that they were being sacrificed 378 00:18:26,780 –> 00:18:28,560 not for the common good 379 00:18:29,699 –> 00:18:33,739 but to gratify the savagery of one man. 380 00:18:35,119 –> 00:18:38,280 Now notice how quickly the world changed for Christians. 381 00:18:38,500 –> 00:18:40,660 In the late 50s, Paul could say, 382 00:18:40,660 –> 00:18:43,699 I appeal to Caesar and be very confident 383 00:18:43,699 –> 00:18:48,280 that if he was in Rome, even under a bad Emperor, 384 00:18:48,280 –> 00:18:51,260 the Roman system of justice was sufficiently strong 385 00:18:51,260 –> 00:18:54,579 that it could protect his liberty to preach the gospel. 386 00:18:55,540 –> 00:18:58,300 He said I’ll tried there, I’ll get a fair trial there. 387 00:18:59,540 –> 00:19:01,819 Within about six years, five or six years 388 00:19:01,819 –> 00:19:03,979 of the Apostle Paul saying that 389 00:19:03,979 –> 00:19:04,900 what do you have? 390 00:19:04,900 –> 00:19:07,599 You have Christians being thrown to the lions in Rome. 391 00:19:08,780 –> 00:19:10,560 Here’s where it comes home for us today 392 00:19:10,560 –> 00:19:12,540 because you’ll have heard many resonances 393 00:19:12,540 –> 00:19:14,380 in the account that I’ve given to you. 394 00:19:14,380 –> 00:19:16,699 When you find yourself saying 395 00:19:16,699 –> 00:19:20,040 it seems that our freedoms are under threat, 396 00:19:21,079 –> 00:19:23,540 when you find yourself saying 397 00:19:23,540 –> 00:19:25,420 that morality, as we have known it, 398 00:19:25,420 –> 00:19:27,660 seems to be swept away. 399 00:19:27,660 –> 00:19:28,959 Remember this friends, 400 00:19:28,959 –> 00:19:31,459 Christians have been here before. 401 00:19:33,180 –> 00:19:35,040 The church has been here before 402 00:19:35,040 –> 00:19:37,500 and you know what, the church is alive and well today 403 00:19:37,579 –> 00:19:40,140 and the Roman empire is not. 404 00:19:40,140 –> 00:19:40,979 Remember that. 405 00:19:42,760 –> 00:19:45,239 Always remember the joy in England, 406 00:19:45,239 –> 00:19:46,900 of course England being part 407 00:19:46,900 –> 00:19:49,819 of what was conquered by Rome. 408 00:19:49,819 –> 00:19:51,119 Scotland never was. 409 00:19:51,119 –> 00:19:52,859 Sorry, I really mustn’t. 410 00:19:52,859 –> 00:19:57,859 I’m sorry, that’s actually not even in the note so. 411 00:20:01,660 –> 00:20:05,839 But I remember going to a new church opening in England 412 00:20:05,839 –> 00:20:08,719 and it was held in a museum 413 00:20:08,719 –> 00:20:13,640 and here were the people of God 414 00:20:13,640 –> 00:20:15,640 in this large room in a museum 415 00:20:15,640 –> 00:20:18,500 and their hands are raised 416 00:20:18,500 –> 00:20:19,760 and they’re praising God 417 00:20:19,760 –> 00:20:21,640 at the launch and birth of a new church 418 00:20:21,640 –> 00:20:23,400 and all round on the walls 419 00:20:23,400 –> 00:20:27,119 there are glass cases with artifacts 420 00:20:27,119 –> 00:20:29,699 of the Roman empire, coins, 421 00:20:29,699 –> 00:20:33,699 bits of bone, dead. 422 00:20:34,459 –> 00:20:37,459 In the church of Jesus Christ, alive. 423 00:20:38,939 –> 00:20:41,280 Do not be overcome by evil 424 00:20:43,439 –> 00:20:46,660 but overcome evil with good. 425 00:20:47,739 –> 00:20:48,920 Now what I want you to see 426 00:20:48,920 –> 00:20:50,780 as we take this journey through Romans 427 00:20:50,780 –> 00:20:53,180 and chapter 12 then over the weeks 428 00:20:53,180 –> 00:20:56,040 is that these are the very words of God 429 00:20:56,040 –> 00:20:57,979 that were spoken to his own people 430 00:20:57,979 –> 00:21:00,939 after they had endured all the excessive Caligula 431 00:21:01,119 –> 00:21:03,180 and while they were in 432 00:21:03,180 –> 00:21:06,380 the middle of the nightmare of Nero. 433 00:21:06,380 –> 00:21:08,099 How were Christians to respond 434 00:21:08,099 –> 00:21:10,939 to days of rapid social change? 435 00:21:10,939 –> 00:21:12,520 What does God say to them 436 00:21:12,520 –> 00:21:14,180 and therefore what by definition 437 00:21:14,180 –> 00:21:15,300 does He say to us 438 00:21:15,300 –> 00:21:17,619 as we face particular challenges today? 439 00:21:17,619 –> 00:21:19,839 Here we have it, the living word of God. 440 00:21:19,839 –> 00:21:22,420 Do not be overcome by evil 441 00:21:22,420 –> 00:21:25,900 but overcome evil with good. 442 00:21:27,099 –> 00:21:29,219 Now these words are a kind of summary, 443 00:21:29,219 –> 00:21:32,300 the bottom line that sums up 444 00:21:32,300 –> 00:21:34,020 everything that has been said 445 00:21:34,020 –> 00:21:36,500 from verse nine through to verse 21. 446 00:21:36,500 –> 00:21:38,140 And if you look back to verse nine 447 00:21:38,140 –> 00:21:39,819 you’ll see that these verses 448 00:21:39,819 –> 00:21:41,939 are almost like bookends 449 00:21:41,939 –> 00:21:43,819 on the word of God 450 00:21:43,819 –> 00:21:48,020 that is given to direct his people at this time. 451 00:21:48,020 –> 00:21:50,040 They say almost exactly the same thing. 452 00:21:50,040 –> 00:21:51,079 You see verse nine. 453 00:21:51,079 –> 00:21:52,800 Abhor what is evil 454 00:21:52,800 –> 00:21:55,219 and cling to what is good. 455 00:21:55,219 –> 00:21:58,140 Verse 21, do not be overcome by evil 456 00:21:58,160 –> 00:22:00,479 but overcome evil with good. 457 00:22:01,339 –> 00:22:04,680 So, although this last statement 458 00:22:04,680 –> 00:22:07,099 because it is a kind of summary statement 459 00:22:07,099 –> 00:22:09,619 I’m regarding it almost as a headline. 460 00:22:09,619 –> 00:22:11,780 This is what the whole section is about 461 00:22:11,780 –> 00:22:13,979 and what we’re going to look at over these weeks 462 00:22:13,979 –> 00:22:16,660 is an unpacking of what it looks like 463 00:22:16,660 –> 00:22:18,900 to overcome evil with good. 464 00:22:21,560 –> 00:22:26,199 Now, notice that in this wonderful word from God 465 00:22:26,199 –> 00:22:29,680 there are two possibilities quite clearly announced. 466 00:22:30,599 –> 00:22:35,599 The first is that it is possible to be overcome by evil. 467 00:22:37,760 –> 00:22:42,479 When God says, do not be overcome by evil, 468 00:22:43,439 –> 00:22:45,479 the plain implication of the fact 469 00:22:45,479 –> 00:22:49,680 that he says that is that this is something that can happen, 470 00:22:49,680 –> 00:22:52,079 something that does happen and that he’s saying 471 00:22:52,079 –> 00:22:54,839 to his people make sure that it does not happen to you. 472 00:22:55,839 –> 00:23:00,839 Do not be overcome by evil. 473 00:23:02,400 –> 00:23:03,599 Now what would it look like 474 00:23:03,599 –> 00:23:06,420 for a person to be overcome by evil? 475 00:23:06,420 –> 00:23:07,939 Let me give you some examples. 476 00:23:09,079 –> 00:23:14,079 Here is a person who at home fills her mind and her heart 477 00:23:15,400 –> 00:23:20,400 with the drip feed fear mongering of the news channels. 478 00:23:21,199 –> 00:23:23,239 It’s always on in her house. 479 00:23:24,560 –> 00:23:25,400 And over time 480 00:23:25,400 –> 00:23:27,040 though she doesn’t really notice it herself, 481 00:23:27,040 –> 00:23:28,939 she becomes increasingly weighed down, 482 00:23:28,939 –> 00:23:30,800 more and more burdened, 483 00:23:30,800 –> 00:23:32,839 more and more gripped by fear. 484 00:23:32,839 –> 00:23:34,420 It’s all in her conversation 485 00:23:34,420 –> 00:23:38,400 and gradually she loses her peace and she loses her joy. 486 00:23:38,400 –> 00:23:42,060 What is that but to be overcome by evil? 487 00:23:43,400 –> 00:23:46,680 To so subject yourself to a drip feed of fear mongering 488 00:23:46,680 –> 00:23:48,119 that you actually imbibe 489 00:23:48,119 –> 00:23:51,680 and become a kind of embodiment of fear yourself. 490 00:23:51,680 –> 00:23:53,119 That is to be overcome by evil. 491 00:23:53,119 –> 00:23:54,660 Don’t let that happen to you. 492 00:23:56,459 –> 00:24:00,280 Here is a student on a sports team at school. 493 00:24:00,280 –> 00:24:01,640 Most of the team are pursuing 494 00:24:01,640 –> 00:24:03,839 a completely different lifestyle 495 00:24:03,839 –> 00:24:05,880 from what this lad has learned 496 00:24:05,880 –> 00:24:08,040 at the home in which he’s been raised. 497 00:24:08,040 –> 00:24:10,300 But he feels a lot of pressure to conform 498 00:24:10,300 –> 00:24:11,699 now that he’s on the team. 499 00:24:13,359 –> 00:24:16,319 So he goes to the parties and he tries the drugs 500 00:24:16,319 –> 00:24:18,680 and he experiments in different ways with sex. 501 00:24:18,680 –> 00:24:22,339 And what is that but to be overcome by evil? 502 00:24:24,160 –> 00:24:26,599 Here is a person at work, 503 00:24:26,599 –> 00:24:31,599 the culture is brutal in this company. 504 00:24:31,660 –> 00:24:34,459 It’s dog eat dog in this business. 505 00:24:34,459 –> 00:24:36,959 It’s devour or be devoured. 506 00:24:38,000 –> 00:24:40,719 Pride fills the air in that office. 507 00:24:40,719 –> 00:24:42,439 Cynicism is rife. 508 00:24:42,439 –> 00:24:45,719 Understanding and compassion are hardly to be found. 509 00:24:45,800 –> 00:24:49,359 And over time as you work in that environment, 510 00:24:49,359 –> 00:24:52,000 almost unnoticed, there is a growing hardness 511 00:24:52,000 –> 00:24:56,239 and a growing cynicism that is creeping into your own heart. 512 00:24:57,459 –> 00:25:00,339 What is that but to be overcome by evil? 513 00:25:02,020 –> 00:25:04,099 May I ask you, please think about this with me. 514 00:25:04,099 –> 00:25:09,099 What evil have you suffered in your life 515 00:25:09,719 –> 00:25:12,119 that might threaten to overcome you? 516 00:25:13,619 –> 00:25:15,680 Have you suffered violence? 517 00:25:16,280 –> 00:25:20,060 Have you been discriminated against? 518 00:25:21,000 –> 00:25:24,500 Have you been abused verbally, 519 00:25:24,500 –> 00:25:27,040 physically, sexually? 520 00:25:29,079 –> 00:25:30,520 As I’ve been preparing for today, 521 00:25:30,520 –> 00:25:32,319 I’ve been thinking about and praying again 522 00:25:32,319 –> 00:25:35,079 for people whose names and faces come to mind 523 00:25:35,079 –> 00:25:37,020 in this congregation. 524 00:25:37,020 –> 00:25:40,119 Members of the orchard who have been scarred 525 00:25:40,119 –> 00:25:43,660 by neglect or abuse from parents who should have loved them. 526 00:25:44,599 –> 00:25:47,540 I think of people who have been wrongfully accused, 527 00:25:48,719 –> 00:25:50,099 falsely accused, 528 00:25:51,239 –> 00:25:52,859 wrongfully imprisoned. 529 00:25:54,339 –> 00:25:56,739 And I think of people in our own congregation 530 00:25:56,739 –> 00:26:00,000 whose own loved ones have been violently killed. 531 00:26:01,319 –> 00:26:03,479 These are great evils. 532 00:26:05,180 –> 00:26:08,560 Now, whatever is the greatest evil in your life, 533 00:26:08,560 –> 00:26:12,739 the greatest evil that you have experienced and encountered, 534 00:26:12,780 –> 00:26:15,420 you will know that the toughest challenge you face 535 00:26:15,420 –> 00:26:18,380 is to make sure that it does not overcome you. 536 00:26:19,699 –> 00:26:22,579 How easy it would be to live off 537 00:26:22,579 –> 00:26:26,719 a hatred of a person 538 00:26:26,719 –> 00:26:28,959 who has done this or that to you. 539 00:26:29,920 –> 00:26:33,260 How easy it would be to move through life 540 00:26:33,260 –> 00:26:36,119 with a kind of inner rage 541 00:26:36,119 –> 00:26:38,540 that never really is at peace. 542 00:26:39,540 –> 00:26:42,339 How easy it would be to move through life 543 00:26:42,380 –> 00:26:46,800 with the wounds that you have experienced defining you 544 00:26:46,800 –> 00:26:49,859 so that you lose confidence to go and do things, 545 00:26:49,859 –> 00:26:52,739 so that you lose your peace and you lose your joy 546 00:26:54,739 –> 00:26:56,800 to be overcome by evil. 547 00:26:59,180 –> 00:27:03,000 Do not let that happen to you, God says, 548 00:27:03,000 –> 00:27:05,380 because there is another way that you can go. 549 00:27:07,260 –> 00:27:09,479 You don’t have to be overcome by evil 550 00:27:09,479 –> 00:27:11,959 because there is another possibility. 551 00:27:12,339 –> 00:27:15,319 There is another path that by his grace 552 00:27:15,319 –> 00:27:17,500 is a possible path for you. 553 00:27:19,359 –> 00:27:23,040 Do not be overcome by evil. 554 00:27:23,040 –> 00:27:24,719 Here’s what you can do. 555 00:27:25,839 –> 00:27:28,959 Overcome evil with good. 556 00:27:30,079 –> 00:27:32,119 Now remember again that the Apostle Paul here 557 00:27:32,119 –> 00:27:35,859 is writing to these Christians in Rome under Nero. 558 00:27:36,99 –> 00:27:38,380 And you see what he’s saying. 559 00:27:39,280 –> 00:27:41,900 The evils that you have suffered, 560 00:27:41,900 –> 00:27:44,319 he’s saying do not need to define you. 561 00:27:45,500 –> 00:27:48,140 The evils of this culture in which you live 562 00:27:48,140 –> 00:27:50,339 do not need to shape you. 563 00:27:51,599 –> 00:27:53,579 You can overcome. 564 00:27:53,579 –> 00:27:55,400 Overcome, that’s the word he uses. 565 00:27:55,400 –> 00:27:59,500 You can overcome what has been done against you 566 00:27:59,500 –> 00:28:03,420 and you can overcome this awful evil that is around you. 567 00:28:03,420 –> 00:28:04,300 So, do you see? 568 00:28:04,300 –> 00:28:06,719 This is the most marvelous message of hope. 569 00:28:06,719 –> 00:28:10,119 This is bringing to us the light of hope 570 00:28:10,119 –> 00:28:12,479 in the darkness of this world. 571 00:28:12,479 –> 00:28:15,560 You do not have to be overcome by evil, 572 00:28:15,560 –> 00:28:19,119 by the grace of God, there is another possibility here. 573 00:28:19,119 –> 00:28:24,119 Now, what does it look like to overcome evil with good? 574 00:28:26,239 –> 00:28:29,040 Well, that’s what we’re gonna learn 575 00:28:29,040 –> 00:28:31,239 together over the next seven weeks, right? 576 00:28:31,239 –> 00:28:33,939 Because that’s what Romans 12, 9 to 21 is. 577 00:28:34,219 –> 00:28:39,219 It’s an unpacking of what it means step by step 578 00:28:39,400 –> 00:28:41,420 to overcome evil with good. 579 00:28:41,420 –> 00:28:44,140 So I do hope that you will make the commitment 580 00:28:44,140 –> 00:28:46,979 to be part of this journey and that together 581 00:28:46,979 –> 00:28:50,660 as we immerse ourselves in this wonderful part 582 00:28:50,660 –> 00:28:54,699 of scripture, that God will enable us 583 00:28:54,699 –> 00:28:57,719 to overcome our fears and renew our hope 584 00:28:57,719 –> 00:29:00,099 and that in his great mercy, he’ll strengthen our resolve 585 00:29:00,099 –> 00:29:01,500 but I can’t just leave you there. 586 00:29:01,500 –> 00:29:03,500 So let me just in these last few moments 587 00:29:03,500 –> 00:29:06,660 let me just give you a trailer, just a trailer okay 588 00:29:06,660 –> 00:29:08,540 as to what’s to come. 589 00:29:08,540 –> 00:29:11,319 Everything in Romans 12 is written to people 590 00:29:11,319 –> 00:29:16,060 who are in Christ and notice right at the beginning 591 00:29:16,060 –> 00:29:17,979 of the chapter, you have the word therefore. 592 00:29:17,979 –> 00:29:21,060 I appeal to you therefore brothers, 593 00:29:21,060 –> 00:29:24,260 so everything in Romans 12 is to be read 594 00:29:24,260 –> 00:29:26,400 not only against the awful background 595 00:29:26,400 –> 00:29:27,900 of what was happening in Rome 596 00:29:29,060 –> 00:29:30,959 but against the wonderful background 597 00:29:30,959 –> 00:29:34,160 of everything that is taught in Romans chapter one 598 00:29:34,160 –> 00:29:36,239 through 11 and if you want a quick summary 599 00:29:36,239 –> 00:29:39,939 of everything in Romans chapter one to 11, 600 00:29:39,939 –> 00:29:43,619 it would be just two words, in Christ, in Christ. 601 00:29:43,619 –> 00:29:45,880 All the time Paul is talking about that. 602 00:29:45,880 –> 00:29:47,680 He talks about the righteousness of faith 603 00:29:47,680 –> 00:29:49,819 that is in Christ Jesus, the redemption 604 00:29:49,819 –> 00:29:52,119 that is in Christ Jesus, no condemnation 605 00:29:52,119 –> 00:29:54,719 for those who are in Christ Jesus. 606 00:29:54,719 –> 00:29:58,219 He makes it very clear that faith joins you to Jesus 607 00:29:58,780 –> 00:30:01,500 in the bond of a living union and when you’re joined 608 00:30:01,500 –> 00:30:05,180 to Jesus Christ what you wear is buried 609 00:30:05,180 –> 00:30:07,420 because of his death and now you’re brought 610 00:30:07,420 –> 00:30:10,319 into a new life because of his resurrection 611 00:30:10,319 –> 00:30:13,060 in which the power of his spirit, the holy spirit, 612 00:30:13,060 –> 00:30:14,819 is given to you to give you the hope 613 00:30:14,819 –> 00:30:16,780 of living anew and a different life. 614 00:30:17,619 –> 00:30:20,000 Therefore, the evils that you have suffered 615 00:30:20,000 –> 00:30:21,939 may define what you wear. 616 00:30:23,099 –> 00:30:27,380 But if you are in Christ, they cannot possibly 617 00:30:27,400 –> 00:30:31,260 define what you are because what you are 618 00:30:31,260 –> 00:30:35,780 is defined by being in Christ and nothing 619 00:30:35,780 –> 00:30:37,780 can separate you from the love of God 620 00:30:37,780 –> 00:30:39,880 that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 621 00:30:41,479 –> 00:30:46,319 And no one ever faced more evil than Jesus did. 622 00:30:48,819 –> 00:30:50,739 I mean, think about the evils 623 00:30:50,739 –> 00:30:52,540 that were perpetrated against him. 624 00:30:52,540 –> 00:30:54,040 I mean some of you have been thinking 625 00:30:54,040 –> 00:30:56,300 about the injustice that you have suffered 626 00:30:56,300 –> 00:30:57,819 and the great evil that is. 627 00:30:57,819 –> 00:31:00,060 Think about the injustice he suffered. 628 00:31:01,579 –> 00:31:02,780 Think about the violence. 629 00:31:02,780 –> 00:31:04,819 Some of you have thought about the experiences 630 00:31:04,819 –> 00:31:07,060 of violence that have scarred your life. 631 00:31:08,239 –> 00:31:10,699 Think about the violence that he suffered. 632 00:31:11,780 –> 00:31:15,660 Think about the physical and verbal abuse 633 00:31:15,660 –> 00:31:17,280 that was poured out on him. 634 00:31:17,280 –> 00:31:20,219 People mocked him, people spat on him. 635 00:31:21,660 –> 00:31:24,859 They took a stick and they beat him over the head, 636 00:31:24,859 –> 00:31:27,640 the scripture says again, and again. 637 00:31:29,859 –> 00:31:33,979 No one ever endured evil in the way that Jesus did, 638 00:31:33,979 –> 00:31:38,979 but Jesus was not overcome by evil. 639 00:31:40,560 –> 00:31:42,479 He overcame evil with good. 640 00:31:44,079 –> 00:31:46,979 And the good with which He overcame evil, 641 00:31:46,979 –> 00:31:49,199 and here’s where we’re going over these next weeks. 642 00:31:49,199 –> 00:31:54,199 The good of faith, that even when he did not know 643 00:31:55,140 –> 00:31:57,520 all that was happening in that darkness. 644 00:31:57,520 –> 00:32:00,719 He said, my God, my God, why? 645 00:32:02,380 –> 00:32:04,119 And there’ll be times when in the darkness, 646 00:32:04,119 –> 00:32:06,219 you say God, why are you allowing this? 647 00:32:06,219 –> 00:32:07,280 What did he do then? 648 00:32:07,280 –> 00:32:09,839 He said, Father into your hands I commit my spirit. 649 00:32:10,959 –> 00:32:13,979 So he trusted the father in the darkness, 650 00:32:13,979 –> 00:32:16,719 in the middle of this great torment, 651 00:32:16,719 –> 00:32:20,780 and all that he did not at that moment grasp. 652 00:32:22,459 –> 00:32:23,300 The good of faith. 653 00:32:23,319 –> 00:32:24,540 The good of hope. 654 00:32:25,939 –> 00:32:29,119 How did he get through all of that appalling evil 655 00:32:29,119 –> 00:32:30,300 that was unleashed on him? 656 00:32:30,300 –> 00:32:33,900 He endured the cross for the joy that was set before him. 657 00:32:33,900 –> 00:32:36,219 That’s how he was able to deal with all the shame, 658 00:32:36,219 –> 00:32:37,839 he was able to put it behind him 659 00:32:37,839 –> 00:32:41,420 because he was looking ahead to what would be accomplished, 660 00:32:41,420 –> 00:32:44,680 the glorious outcome of all that he would suffer, 661 00:32:44,680 –> 00:32:46,859 the gathering together of the entire company 662 00:32:46,859 –> 00:32:47,719 of the redeemed. 663 00:32:49,319 –> 00:32:51,680 And he overcame this evil with the good of love. 664 00:32:52,339 –> 00:32:55,000 They’re nailing him to the cross. 665 00:32:55,839 –> 00:32:58,640 And out of agony, what does he say? 666 00:32:58,640 –> 00:33:00,579 Father forgive them. 667 00:33:01,760 –> 00:33:03,819 They do not know what they are doing, 668 00:33:04,800 –> 00:33:09,800 and with compassion, even in the face of such great evil, 669 00:33:10,800 –> 00:33:15,160 he prays to the father and in that prayer he creates room 670 00:33:15,160 –> 00:33:20,160 for evil men to repent. 671 00:33:22,160 –> 00:33:24,400 Now a good response to God’s word today 672 00:33:24,400 –> 00:33:26,719 would surely therefore be for everyone of us 673 00:33:26,719 –> 00:33:28,140 to say something like this. 674 00:33:28,140 –> 00:33:33,140 Lord, I don’t want to be overcome by evil. 675 00:33:34,560 –> 00:33:37,680 I don’t want to be overcome by the fear of it. 676 00:33:38,900 –> 00:33:41,739 I don’t want to be overcome by participation in it. 677 00:33:43,000 –> 00:33:47,900 I don’t want to be defined by the evils I have suffered. 678 00:33:48,660 –> 00:33:52,079 And I do not want to be shaped 679 00:33:52,079 –> 00:33:54,660 by the evils of this world in which I live. 680 00:33:55,920 –> 00:33:57,319 And as you come to that place 681 00:33:57,319 –> 00:33:59,479 as we enter on this new series today, 682 00:33:59,479 –> 00:34:02,239 the good news is there is hope for you 683 00:34:02,239 –> 00:34:04,839 in Jesus Christ today. 684 00:34:04,839 –> 00:34:08,919 Evil did not overcome him. 685 00:34:10,000 –> 00:34:13,399 And if this Jesus Christ is for you 686 00:34:13,399 –> 00:34:17,280 and with you and in you, evil, 687 00:34:17,979 –> 00:34:19,459 will not overcome you. 688 00:34:20,500 –> 00:34:22,120 Let’s pray together. 689 00:34:22,120 –> 00:34:27,120 Father please calm our fears. 690 00:34:30,439 –> 00:34:33,560 Let us not be overcome with evil in that regard. 691 00:34:36,100 –> 00:34:41,100 Please renew our hope as we lift up our gaze 692 00:34:41,300 –> 00:34:44,520 to your sovereign Son, our triumphant Savior. 693 00:34:45,239 –> 00:34:48,360 And please renew our resolve 694 00:34:49,739 –> 00:34:52,199 that whatever the circumstances of our lifetime, 695 00:34:52,199 –> 00:34:55,760 we may serve you faithfully and for your glory 696 00:34:55,760 –> 00:34:57,699 and in the power of your Holy Spirit, 697 00:34:59,040 –> 00:35:00,939 for these things we ask in Jesus’ name 698 00:35:00,939 –> 00:35:03,020 and everyone together said amen.