1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,820 Please open your Bible at Romans and chapter 12. 2 00:00:04,820 –> 00:00:08,420 Our series is entitled overcoming evil. 3 00:00:08,420 –> 00:00:09,680 And these words of course, 4 00:00:09,680 –> 00:00:12,320 are taken from Romans 12 and verse 21, 5 00:00:12,320 –> 00:00:15,000 the last verse in the chapter where we read, 6 00:00:15,000 –> 00:00:20,000 “‘Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.’” 7 00:00:21,639 –> 00:00:23,600 Now I think all of us are aware 8 00:00:23,600 –> 00:00:26,020 and we’ve tracked this earlier in the series 9 00:00:26,020 –> 00:00:29,320 of multiple ways in which evil seems to be 10 00:00:29,340 –> 00:00:32,799 on the rise, world becoming darker, 11 00:00:32,799 –> 00:00:35,599 spike in violence within our own city 12 00:00:35,599 –> 00:00:37,740 that we grieve and that we mourn, 13 00:00:37,740 –> 00:00:41,459 tensions in so many other cities around our country, 14 00:00:41,459 –> 00:00:45,439 fear of violence in many countries of the world, 15 00:00:45,439 –> 00:00:47,840 evil on the rise, so the question is 16 00:00:47,840 –> 00:00:52,439 how do we then overcome evil with good 17 00:00:52,439 –> 00:00:56,080 as we are told to in verse 21. 18 00:00:56,080 –> 00:00:57,599 Well, we’re looking through the verses 19 00:00:57,639 –> 00:01:00,480 that lead up to overcoming evil with good 20 00:01:00,480 –> 00:01:03,759 and we began last week in verse nine and ten, 21 00:01:03,759 –> 00:01:06,260 what we saw there was that the place to begin 22 00:01:06,260 –> 00:01:10,519 is love and it must be genuine. 23 00:01:10,519 –> 00:01:13,940 Let love be genuine, Romans chapter 12 in verse nine. 24 00:01:13,940 –> 00:01:16,959 That’s where we must begin if we are to get 25 00:01:16,959 –> 00:01:20,720 to overcoming evil with good 26 00:01:20,720 –> 00:01:23,400 and today, we come to verse 11 27 00:01:23,400 –> 00:01:26,519 that gives us the next step that leads, as it were, 28 00:01:26,519 –> 00:01:29,099 to overcoming evil with good and here it is, 29 00:01:29,099 –> 00:01:31,080 Romans 12, verse 11. 30 00:01:31,080 –> 00:01:34,099 Do not be slothful in zeal, 31 00:01:35,419 –> 00:01:38,220 be fervent in spirit, 32 00:01:39,059 –> 00:01:41,739 serve the LORD. 33 00:01:42,839 –> 00:01:45,699 Now we don’t use the word slothful or zeal 34 00:01:45,699 –> 00:01:47,860 I think very often these days 35 00:01:47,860 –> 00:01:50,699 but surely their meaning is quite clear. 36 00:01:50,699 –> 00:01:55,620 To be slothful in zeal is to be lethargic, 37 00:01:55,680 –> 00:01:59,239 low-energy, jaded, run down, 38 00:01:59,239 –> 00:02:02,959 weary, apathetic, dull, sluggish, 39 00:02:02,959 –> 00:02:07,680 lacking in enthusiasm, half-hearted, and even lazy. 40 00:02:07,680 –> 00:02:10,660 It is to be listless, it is to become lifeless, 41 00:02:10,660 –> 00:02:12,360 it’s to be lacking in purpose. 42 00:02:12,360 –> 00:02:15,800 It’s no longer to really care as you once did. 43 00:02:15,800 –> 00:02:18,000 I think the best way to say it 44 00:02:18,000 –> 00:02:21,220 in our phrase that is used today 45 00:02:21,220 –> 00:02:24,479 is don’t be in a funk. 46 00:02:24,479 –> 00:02:27,919 That’s the phrase that we use that kind of captures, 47 00:02:27,919 –> 00:02:32,139 I think, what is meant here by being slothful in zeal, 48 00:02:32,139 –> 00:02:35,479 to be in a funk. 49 00:02:35,479 –> 00:02:37,779 And then we’re given the opposite of that. 50 00:02:37,779 –> 00:02:41,100 We’re told to be fervent in spirit. 51 00:02:42,220 –> 00:02:45,919 Now, to be fervent in spirit 52 00:02:45,919 –> 00:02:48,820 really means to be on the boil. 53 00:02:48,820 –> 00:02:50,759 And I’ve been using that phrase all weekend 54 00:02:50,759 –> 00:02:52,860 and I have been told that, 55 00:02:52,899 –> 00:02:54,240 and the folks in this wonderful country 56 00:02:54,240 –> 00:02:55,479 don’t even understand it. 57 00:02:55,479 –> 00:02:58,179 So I’ve gotta explain this, 58 00:02:58,179 –> 00:03:00,779 and it’s all about making tea, 59 00:03:00,779 –> 00:03:03,880 and you wonderful folks need to learn how to make tea. 60 00:03:03,880 –> 00:03:06,899 The first thing you need for making tea is a kettle, 61 00:03:06,899 –> 00:03:10,199 because you need to be able to boil the water 62 00:03:10,199 –> 00:03:12,639 so that when you make the tea, 63 00:03:12,639 –> 00:03:17,639 it really is infused with the water on the boil. 64 00:03:17,960 –> 00:03:19,860 It’s got to actually be at boiling point, 65 00:03:19,860 –> 00:03:22,259 otherwise it isn’t right. 66 00:03:22,259 –> 00:03:23,759 And so here you have your kettle, 67 00:03:23,759 –> 00:03:26,860 and it’s no use putting in water 68 00:03:26,860 –> 00:03:29,300 that was boiled 10 minutes ago. 69 00:03:29,300 –> 00:03:31,220 Because if the water has been sitting in the kettle 70 00:03:31,220 –> 00:03:34,339 for 10 minutes, it has, by definition, gone off the boil. 71 00:03:34,339 –> 00:03:35,779 It is below the temperature that you need. 72 00:03:35,779 –> 00:03:39,139 You gotta switch it on again, get it on the boil, 73 00:03:39,139 –> 00:03:40,160 then you can make your tea. 74 00:03:40,160 –> 00:03:42,160 Now, you say, well, this was wonderful, 75 00:03:42,160 –> 00:03:44,580 we came to church, and we learned a new language, 76 00:03:44,580 –> 00:03:47,740 and we learned how to make tea as well. 77 00:03:47,740 –> 00:03:50,860 And I hope we’re gonna learn an awful lot more than that. 78 00:03:50,880 –> 00:03:52,820 But that’s the phrase, actually, 79 00:03:52,820 –> 00:03:54,220 that captures it quite well. 80 00:03:54,220 –> 00:03:56,020 I suppose we might say fired up. 81 00:03:56,020 –> 00:03:58,460 But that doesn’t have quite the same resonance, 82 00:03:58,460 –> 00:03:59,360 at least for me. 83 00:03:59,360 –> 00:04:00,399 What does it mean? 84 00:04:00,399 –> 00:04:03,779 It means to be passionate, fervent in spirit, 85 00:04:03,779 –> 00:04:06,399 on the boil inside. 86 00:04:06,399 –> 00:04:08,300 To be passionate, to be engaged, 87 00:04:08,300 –> 00:04:11,500 to be committed, to be active, to be energetic, 88 00:04:11,500 –> 00:04:14,660 to be bubbling, to be motivated. 89 00:04:14,660 –> 00:04:17,660 Don’t be in a funk. 90 00:04:17,660 –> 00:04:19,279 Keep yourself on the boil. 91 00:04:19,359 –> 00:04:23,420 That’s what Romans 12 and verse 11 is saying. 92 00:04:23,420 –> 00:04:25,519 Now, here’s the question. 93 00:04:25,519 –> 00:04:27,640 Why does Paul say this here? 94 00:04:28,600 –> 00:04:31,760 Why does he say this in Romans 12 and verse 11 95 00:04:31,760 –> 00:04:34,959 in the lead up to not being overcome by evil 96 00:04:34,959 –> 00:04:37,040 but overcoming evil with good? 97 00:04:37,040 –> 00:04:39,760 And surely the point here is 98 00:04:39,760 –> 00:04:41,920 that as the days get darker, 99 00:04:41,920 –> 00:04:44,239 the natural tendency is for Christians 100 00:04:44,239 –> 00:04:45,519 to become discouraged. 101 00:04:45,519 –> 00:04:46,579 We get jaded. 102 00:04:46,579 –> 00:04:47,920 We get tired of it all. 103 00:04:47,920 –> 00:04:50,320 We begin to lose energy and so forth. 104 00:04:50,320 –> 00:04:51,980 And it’s very easy for us, therefore, 105 00:04:51,980 –> 00:04:54,160 to say, well, you know, we’re just living in days 106 00:04:54,160 –> 00:04:55,779 in which we’ve gotta keep our heads down 107 00:04:55,779 –> 00:04:57,880 and we’ve gotta keep our faith private 108 00:04:57,880 –> 00:04:59,619 and so forth and so on. 109 00:04:59,619 –> 00:05:02,679 We all know that it’s hard to run fast 110 00:05:02,679 –> 00:05:05,220 when the wind is in your face. 111 00:05:05,220 –> 00:05:07,779 It’s really hard to make progress swimming 112 00:05:07,779 –> 00:05:11,000 when you’re swimming against the tide. 113 00:05:11,000 –> 00:05:14,019 And so when evil is on the rise, 114 00:05:14,019 –> 00:05:15,679 as it was in the first century 115 00:05:15,679 –> 00:05:17,359 when the Book of Romans was written 116 00:05:17,420 –> 00:05:19,959 and as it is again in our time today, 117 00:05:19,959 –> 00:05:23,920 when evil is on the rise, it’s easy to become jaded, 118 00:05:24,799 –> 00:05:27,119 to find yourself saying, well, what’s the point? 119 00:05:27,119 –> 00:05:29,519 And to begin to feel that being all in 120 00:05:29,519 –> 00:05:31,500 and being sold out for Jesus Christ 121 00:05:31,500 –> 00:05:34,540 maybe isn’t worth it after all. 122 00:05:34,540 –> 00:05:37,839 And so this battle against lethargy, 123 00:05:37,839 –> 00:05:42,380 this battle against cooling down and going off the boil 124 00:05:42,380 –> 00:05:44,559 is one that all of us will experience 125 00:05:44,559 –> 00:05:46,059 many, many times in our lives. 126 00:05:46,059 –> 00:05:47,799 And particularly when it is tough 127 00:05:47,799 –> 00:05:50,200 and particularly when we’ve been in the battle 128 00:05:50,200 –> 00:05:52,839 for a long time. 129 00:05:52,839 –> 00:05:55,859 So I want to try and bring this as close to home as I can 130 00:05:55,859 –> 00:05:58,359 because this happens to us. 131 00:05:58,359 –> 00:06:02,880 This test comes to us in all kinds of spheres of life. 132 00:06:02,880 –> 00:06:05,679 Let me try and earth it with four very simple cameos 133 00:06:05,679 –> 00:06:07,459 and I’m sure you can add many more. 134 00:06:08,359 –> 00:06:10,579 So you are a young mother 135 00:06:10,579 –> 00:06:12,480 and you’re at home with your children 136 00:06:12,480 –> 00:06:15,720 and you feel overwhelmed by your task, 137 00:06:15,739 –> 00:06:18,500 and you’re constantly, your work is constantly 138 00:06:18,500 –> 00:06:22,140 to try and create order out of chaos 139 00:06:22,140 –> 00:06:23,839 and sometimes it seems that the chaos 140 00:06:23,839 –> 00:06:25,739 is winning over the order. 141 00:06:25,739 –> 00:06:28,940 It feels like your work never ends. 142 00:06:28,940 –> 00:06:31,700 It feels like sometimes you’re fighting a losing battle 143 00:06:31,700 –> 00:06:34,660 and some days you get just really discouraged 144 00:06:34,660 –> 00:06:36,859 and then you begin to lose energy 145 00:06:36,859 –> 00:06:39,160 and then you begin to lose motivation. 146 00:06:40,299 –> 00:06:42,700 Or you are a Christian teacher 147 00:06:43,519 –> 00:06:47,279 and you find yourself under increasing pressure 148 00:06:47,279 –> 00:06:49,200 living in a world that is marked 149 00:06:49,200 –> 00:06:52,500 by political correctness 150 00:06:52,500 –> 00:06:53,899 and some of the people around you 151 00:06:53,899 –> 00:06:55,820 are just hyper sensitive. 152 00:06:55,820 –> 00:06:58,760 You feel like you are walking on eggshells 153 00:06:58,760 –> 00:07:00,540 every day when you go into work. 154 00:07:00,540 –> 00:07:01,459 What can I say? 155 00:07:01,459 –> 00:07:03,739 What am I supposed not to say? 156 00:07:03,739 –> 00:07:06,619 And every year your job seems to get harder. 157 00:07:06,619 –> 00:07:09,059 Every year it seems to be less rewarding 158 00:07:09,059 –> 00:07:11,140 than it was the year before 159 00:07:11,140 –> 00:07:12,500 and you begin to lose energy. 160 00:07:12,579 –> 00:07:15,920 It’s harder to get yourself into work. 161 00:07:17,579 –> 00:07:19,220 Or you’re a high school student 162 00:07:20,359 –> 00:07:22,799 and you really love The Lord Jesus Christ 163 00:07:22,799 –> 00:07:24,299 and you have plenty of zeal. 164 00:07:24,299 –> 00:07:26,100 I mean you’re a high school student 165 00:07:26,100 –> 00:07:28,940 and the problem with your zeal 166 00:07:28,940 –> 00:07:31,720 is that it is not focused. 167 00:07:31,720 –> 00:07:33,459 You’re constantly distracted. 168 00:07:33,459 –> 00:07:35,920 You move from one thing to the next 169 00:07:36,799 –> 00:07:38,200 and you get so pumped up 170 00:07:38,200 –> 00:07:40,100 about following The Lord Jesus Christ 171 00:07:40,100 –> 00:07:42,140 when you’re in a camp 172 00:07:42,179 –> 00:07:44,779 and then like a balloon that’s pumped up with air, 173 00:07:44,779 –> 00:07:46,000 it loses the air. 174 00:07:46,000 –> 00:07:48,239 That’s what happens in your life 175 00:07:48,239 –> 00:07:50,160 and what you once felt passionate about, 176 00:07:50,160 –> 00:07:51,920 now you’ve moved on to something else 177 00:07:51,920 –> 00:07:53,320 and so you find yourself saying, 178 00:07:53,320 –> 00:07:54,920 well, I could make a new commitment 179 00:07:54,920 –> 00:07:56,940 to Jesus Christ, but what would be the point? 180 00:07:56,940 –> 00:07:58,220 Because after the new commitment, 181 00:07:58,220 –> 00:07:59,399 I just wouldn’t keep it up. 182 00:07:59,399 –> 00:08:01,320 It would sag, it would fade. 183 00:08:01,320 –> 00:08:03,700 I’d move on to the next thing 184 00:08:03,700 –> 00:08:05,079 and I’d be distracted. 185 00:08:06,679 –> 00:08:08,079 Or you’re a ministry leader 186 00:08:10,179 –> 00:08:12,019 and you have been serving The Lord 187 00:08:12,839 –> 00:08:15,459 and you’ve been serving The Lord well 188 00:08:15,459 –> 00:08:18,299 and you’ve been serving The Lord for a long time. 189 00:08:18,299 –> 00:08:19,559 You’ve been faithful 190 00:08:21,260 –> 00:08:22,420 and you still are. 191 00:08:24,059 –> 00:08:28,660 But sometimes, you just have this sense 192 00:08:28,660 –> 00:08:31,019 that you’re somehow on a treadmill. 193 00:08:32,599 –> 00:08:35,239 You’re under pressure at work. 194 00:08:36,260 –> 00:08:38,460 You have many commitments at church 195 00:08:39,500 –> 00:08:41,820 and there are demands that are on you 196 00:08:41,859 –> 00:08:43,960 in your home life as well. 197 00:08:45,099 –> 00:08:47,760 And besides, you’ve been around serving The Lord 198 00:08:47,760 –> 00:08:49,580 long enough to know that you don’t get through 199 00:08:49,580 –> 00:08:53,219 a life of serving The Lord without taking a few knocks 200 00:08:53,219 –> 00:08:55,119 and you’ve taken more than your fair share 201 00:08:55,119 –> 00:08:57,380 over the years and they’ve taken their toll. 202 00:08:59,159 –> 00:09:01,520 Well, you could add to these little cameos 203 00:09:01,520 –> 00:09:02,500 and perhaps that would be, 204 00:09:02,500 –> 00:09:04,539 by the way be a good thing for us to do 205 00:09:04,539 –> 00:09:05,780 in the Life Groups this week. 206 00:09:05,780 –> 00:09:08,340 Just for us to say now what are other situations 207 00:09:08,340 –> 00:09:09,900 in which we find ourselves jaded 208 00:09:10,000 –> 00:09:12,760 and run down and discouraged and low energy. 209 00:09:12,760 –> 00:09:13,859 What causes that? 210 00:09:13,859 –> 00:09:16,580 Where do we experience that in our lives? 211 00:09:16,580 –> 00:09:19,700 What I want you to see is that when 212 00:09:19,700 –> 00:09:23,159 God speaks to us in Romans 12 and verse 11 213 00:09:24,580 –> 00:09:29,580 about the danger of losing spiritual temperature, 214 00:09:29,840 –> 00:09:31,679 going off the boil, 215 00:09:32,659 –> 00:09:35,520 growing cool, becoming jaded, 216 00:09:35,520 –> 00:09:37,539 no longer being fired up in the way 217 00:09:37,580 –> 00:09:40,760 that perhaps we were at one time. 218 00:09:40,760 –> 00:09:45,760 He is speaking to something that everyone of us experience, 219 00:09:46,020 –> 00:09:49,619 and not only once, but may experience often, 220 00:09:49,619 –> 00:09:51,640 as we encounter the struggle 221 00:09:51,640 –> 00:09:54,320 in the course of our Christian lives. 222 00:09:54,320 –> 00:09:56,559 And there may be some right today, 223 00:09:56,559 –> 00:09:57,840 and you’ve come to church, and you say, 224 00:09:57,840 –> 00:09:59,539 well, this is exactly what I am. 225 00:09:59,539 –> 00:10:04,539 I can remember days when I was on fire for the Lord, 226 00:10:05,059 –> 00:10:07,599 but what has happened is somewhere along the line, 227 00:10:07,599 –> 00:10:10,700 a kind of lethargy has crept into me. 228 00:10:10,700 –> 00:10:13,599 I no longer feel as I once felt. 229 00:10:13,599 –> 00:10:16,140 And the word of God speaks directly 230 00:10:16,140 –> 00:10:18,679 into your circumstance today. 231 00:10:18,679 –> 00:10:21,979 Do not be slothful in zeal, 232 00:10:23,380 –> 00:10:25,859 be fervent in spirit. 233 00:10:27,020 –> 00:10:29,859 Now, the word fervent here literally translated 234 00:10:29,859 –> 00:10:34,059 carries with it the notion of heat, 235 00:10:34,059 –> 00:10:38,059 which is why I use the analogy of being on the boil. 236 00:10:38,059 –> 00:10:39,500 It raises the whole question. 237 00:10:39,500 –> 00:10:41,460 The word fervent raises the question 238 00:10:41,460 –> 00:10:44,820 of spiritual temperature. 239 00:10:44,820 –> 00:10:46,419 You remember our Lord Jesus said 240 00:10:46,419 –> 00:10:49,080 in Matthew 24 and verse 12, 241 00:10:49,080 –> 00:10:52,099 he gave two particular marks, there were others, 242 00:10:52,099 –> 00:10:53,979 but in this verse two marks 243 00:10:53,979 –> 00:10:56,159 of what will happen in the end times 244 00:10:56,159 –> 00:10:58,359 before the Lord Jesus Christ returns 245 00:10:58,359 –> 00:11:00,679 in power and in glory. 246 00:11:00,679 –> 00:11:02,739 First, he says watch for this, 247 00:11:02,780 –> 00:11:06,179 you will see a rise in lawlessness. 248 00:11:06,179 –> 00:11:07,960 Isn’t that interesting? 249 00:11:07,960 –> 00:11:11,200 A rise in lawlessness. 250 00:11:11,200 –> 00:11:15,299 Second, the love of many will grow cold. 251 00:11:16,320 –> 00:11:19,500 So that’s exactly the issue that we’re on today. 252 00:11:19,500 –> 00:11:22,900 How do we make sure that that’s not us. 253 00:11:22,900 –> 00:11:24,580 In the last days the love of many, 254 00:11:24,580 –> 00:11:26,020 the passion for Christ, 255 00:11:26,020 –> 00:11:28,260 the being on fire for the Lord, 256 00:11:28,659 –> 00:11:31,320 people will lose that in large numbers. 257 00:11:32,679 –> 00:11:36,260 How are we gonna make sure that we are not among those 258 00:11:36,260 –> 00:11:39,979 who become slothful in zeal. 259 00:11:39,979 –> 00:11:41,359 Now, you will remember, of course, 260 00:11:41,359 –> 00:11:43,840 how the Risen Christ spoke about 261 00:11:43,840 –> 00:11:46,219 the issue of spiritual temperature 262 00:11:46,219 –> 00:11:48,619 to the church in Laodicea. 263 00:11:49,479 –> 00:11:53,020 And he said, you’re neither cold nor are you hot, 264 00:11:53,020 –> 00:11:56,419 and because you are lukewarm, 265 00:11:56,419 –> 00:11:58,979 I will spit you out of my mouth. 266 00:11:58,979 –> 00:12:00,099 That’s not where we want to be. 267 00:12:00,099 –> 00:12:03,299 The scripture says be fervent in spirit, be hot. 268 00:12:04,679 –> 00:12:09,679 But, you see, as water in the kettle 269 00:12:09,780 –> 00:12:13,419 without the electric current quickly goes off the boil, 270 00:12:15,039 –> 00:12:19,780 as food on the table quickly grows cold, 271 00:12:20,739 –> 00:12:24,539 how are we gonna keep ourselves hot in the Christian life? 272 00:12:25,419 –> 00:12:28,659 I mean, you know what this is, everything becomes cold 273 00:12:28,659 –> 00:12:32,039 in its nature unless heat is applied. 274 00:12:33,619 –> 00:12:36,020 There’s a large dinner and people are served 275 00:12:36,020 –> 00:12:38,900 and it takes some time for all the dinner 276 00:12:38,900 –> 00:12:40,739 to be served on each of the plates 277 00:12:40,739 –> 00:12:42,700 and then there’s a long conversation. 278 00:12:42,700 –> 00:12:45,700 You eat slowly so you’re halfway through your dinner 279 00:12:45,700 –> 00:12:47,419 and it’s probably 20 minutes have passed 280 00:12:47,419 –> 00:12:49,979 since it was served and what’s on the plate is cold. 281 00:12:49,979 –> 00:12:51,539 So what do you do? 282 00:12:51,539 –> 00:12:54,219 Well, you take it out to the microwave, don’t you? 283 00:12:54,260 –> 00:12:55,460 You say, I’m gonna heat this up 284 00:12:55,460 –> 00:12:57,020 but I’m not gonna want to eat it otherwise. 285 00:12:57,020 –> 00:13:01,619 Unless heat is applied, the thing quickly grows cold. 286 00:13:02,820 –> 00:13:04,940 And that’s what we’re looking at today. 287 00:13:04,940 –> 00:13:07,059 There is this tendency within us, 288 00:13:07,059 –> 00:13:10,780 this principle that causes us naturally 289 00:13:10,780 –> 00:13:14,580 to lose spiritual fervor unless heat is applied 290 00:13:14,580 –> 00:13:16,239 and that’s what we’re looking at today, 291 00:13:16,239 –> 00:13:17,099 how do I do that? 292 00:13:17,099 –> 00:13:19,940 How do I keep my spiritual fervor? 293 00:13:19,940 –> 00:13:22,500 Serving the Lord. 294 00:13:22,580 –> 00:13:27,500 Now, there was a man by the name of Octavius Winslow, 295 00:13:27,500 –> 00:13:30,419 I love that name, who wrote a book 296 00:13:30,419 –> 00:13:32,760 with a somewhat untrendy title. 297 00:13:32,760 –> 00:13:34,659 I don’t think anyone would get away 298 00:13:34,659 –> 00:13:37,460 with this title in publishing today. 299 00:13:37,460 –> 00:13:42,460 But his book was called Personal Declension 300 00:13:42,679 –> 00:13:46,400 and the Revival of Religion in the Soul. 301 00:13:46,400 –> 00:13:48,239 Now how’s that for a title? 302 00:13:48,239 –> 00:13:50,359 Actually, what he was saying was very simple, 303 00:13:50,359 –> 00:13:55,359 personal declension, the way in which we all go into, 304 00:13:56,559 –> 00:14:00,440 unless something is done to prevent it, spiritual decline. 305 00:14:00,440 –> 00:14:03,960 The way in which faith and love and hope dissipate. 306 00:14:03,960 –> 00:14:05,559 The way in which your spiritual 307 00:14:05,559 –> 00:14:09,299 temperature grows cold, personal declension. 308 00:14:09,299 –> 00:14:10,700 And then the other part of his title 309 00:14:10,700 –> 00:14:11,880 was what you can do about it, 310 00:14:11,880 –> 00:14:14,760 the Revival of Religion in the Soul. 311 00:14:14,760 –> 00:14:17,239 How do you get yourself hot again? 312 00:14:17,239 –> 00:14:21,960 How do you find and renew spiritual passion? 313 00:14:21,960 –> 00:14:23,780 Now right at the beginning of his book, 314 00:14:23,780 –> 00:14:25,979 Octavius Winslow says this. 315 00:14:25,979 –> 00:14:30,979 If there is one consideration more humbling than another, 316 00:14:31,200 –> 00:14:33,539 we would say more humbling than any other 317 00:14:34,719 –> 00:14:36,619 to a spiritually minded believer, 318 00:14:36,619 –> 00:14:40,059 it is that after all that God has done for him 319 00:14:40,919 –> 00:14:43,760 there should still exist in the heart, 320 00:14:43,760 –> 00:14:46,020 in the redeemed heart, a principle. 321 00:14:46,900 –> 00:14:51,900 The tendency of which is to secret, 322 00:14:51,979 –> 00:14:56,979 perpetual, and alarming departure from God. 323 00:14:58,619 –> 00:15:00,280 Now he’s saying here’s the most humbling thing 324 00:15:00,280 –> 00:15:01,260 to a Christian believer, 325 00:15:01,260 –> 00:15:03,979 after all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ 326 00:15:03,979 –> 00:15:07,580 there still is even in our redeemed hearts 327 00:15:07,580 –> 00:15:11,000 this principle the tendency of which is to depart from God 328 00:15:11,000 –> 00:15:12,940 and he uses three words to describe it. 329 00:15:12,979 –> 00:15:15,659 He says it’s secret, 330 00:15:15,659 –> 00:15:18,919 which means that it can very easily creep up on you 331 00:15:18,919 –> 00:15:20,559 without you even noticing. 332 00:15:21,900 –> 00:15:23,559 It is perpetual, 333 00:15:23,559 –> 00:15:24,919 which means there’s never a time 334 00:15:24,919 –> 00:15:28,880 when you’re somehow beyond this particular tendency, 335 00:15:28,880 –> 00:15:33,880 you always need to be applying heat to your spiritual life 336 00:15:33,880 –> 00:15:37,979 because the tendency to grow cold is just natural within us. 337 00:15:37,979 –> 00:15:39,640 And he says it is alarming 338 00:15:40,580 –> 00:15:42,219 and have you not brothers and sisters 339 00:15:42,260 –> 00:15:43,940 experienced this, 340 00:15:43,940 –> 00:15:46,900 when you think of all that God has done for you 341 00:15:46,900 –> 00:15:48,159 in Jesus Christ, 342 00:15:48,159 –> 00:15:50,900 have there not been times when you have been surprised 343 00:15:50,900 –> 00:15:52,719 and even alarmed, 344 00:15:52,719 –> 00:15:55,919 that your redeemed heart could still be so cold? 345 00:15:58,260 –> 00:16:02,119 So all of this leads us to the question, 346 00:16:03,359 –> 00:16:05,840 in the light of the secret and perpetual 347 00:16:05,840 –> 00:16:09,400 and alarming growing cold 348 00:16:09,400 –> 00:16:12,580 that tends to happen within us, 349 00:16:13,440 –> 00:16:18,440 how then can we apply heat to our lives? 350 00:16:19,080 –> 00:16:21,559 How can we be those who are fervent in spirit, 351 00:16:21,559 –> 00:16:23,039 those who are on the boil, 352 00:16:23,039 –> 00:16:25,679 those who are fired up, if you prefer, 353 00:16:25,679 –> 00:16:27,119 for Jesus Christ 354 00:16:27,119 –> 00:16:31,260 and in our living for him? 355 00:16:31,260 –> 00:16:33,679 Now, the first thing to say 356 00:16:34,719 –> 00:16:38,260 is that this verse clearly is a command. 357 00:16:39,020 –> 00:16:41,539 In fact, there are three commands here. 358 00:16:41,539 –> 00:16:45,760 Notice, do not be slothful in zeal. 359 00:16:45,760 –> 00:16:46,919 That’s a command. 360 00:16:48,140 –> 00:16:50,700 Be fervent in spirit. 361 00:16:50,700 –> 00:16:51,640 That’s a command. 362 00:16:52,780 –> 00:16:55,460 Serve the Lord. 363 00:16:55,460 –> 00:16:56,619 That’s a command. 364 00:16:57,880 –> 00:16:58,979 Now, this is important 365 00:16:58,979 –> 00:17:02,400 because when you feel jaded and lethargic 366 00:17:02,400 –> 00:17:04,500 and lacking in enthusiasm, 367 00:17:04,660 –> 00:17:08,699 when you become aware that somehow you are growing cold, 368 00:17:08,699 –> 00:17:11,339 that you are losing spiritual temperature, 369 00:17:11,339 –> 00:17:16,339 you have irresponsibility for your own condition. 370 00:17:18,260 –> 00:17:20,319 You have to take yourself in hand 371 00:17:20,319 –> 00:17:24,219 in the light of what God speaks to you directly here. 372 00:17:24,219 –> 00:17:25,880 You can’t just go with the flow 373 00:17:25,880 –> 00:17:27,560 of what is happening in your life, 374 00:17:27,560 –> 00:17:29,760 and you are able to take yourself in hand 375 00:17:29,760 –> 00:17:32,800 because you are in Christ 376 00:17:32,839 –> 00:17:35,359 and you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. 377 00:17:35,359 –> 00:17:37,280 You are not helpless, 378 00:17:37,280 –> 00:17:40,599 you are not at the mercy of the jading impulses 379 00:17:40,599 –> 00:17:43,359 that you may find within your own heart. 380 00:17:43,359 –> 00:17:47,880 You must take yourself in hand and you must rouse yourself. 381 00:17:47,880 –> 00:17:49,020 You must shake yourself. 382 00:17:49,020 –> 00:17:51,900 This command is given to us. 383 00:17:53,479 –> 00:17:56,439 But having said that that always leads only to the question, 384 00:17:56,439 –> 00:17:58,920 well, okay, well, then how am I to do that? 385 00:17:58,920 –> 00:18:00,439 How am I to rouse myself? 386 00:18:00,439 –> 00:18:04,640 How am I to shake myself out of this being in a funk? 387 00:18:04,640 –> 00:18:05,579 How do I do that? 388 00:18:07,959 –> 00:18:10,359 And there are certain truths 389 00:18:11,680 –> 00:18:16,500 that when wisely and rightly applied to your own condition 390 00:18:17,439 –> 00:18:21,439 will help you to restore your spiritual fervor. 391 00:18:21,439 –> 00:18:23,400 And I want to lay these before you today. 392 00:18:23,400 –> 00:18:27,079 So what we have here is how to rouse your soul 393 00:18:27,079 –> 00:18:29,239 when you’re in a funk, 394 00:18:29,239 –> 00:18:33,699 how to restore your spiritual fervor, 395 00:18:33,699 –> 00:18:36,319 how to get yourself in the new phrase 396 00:18:36,319 –> 00:18:37,959 that we’ve all so wonderfully learned, 397 00:18:37,959 –> 00:18:42,599 back on the boil when you’ve gone off the boil, 398 00:18:42,599 –> 00:18:44,719 how to renew your heart when you’re aware 399 00:18:44,719 –> 00:18:47,140 that you’re gradually becoming cold. 400 00:18:48,380 –> 00:18:49,359 There are three truths, 401 00:18:49,359 –> 00:18:52,520 and I’m going to call them the three Rs 402 00:18:52,520 –> 00:18:54,520 of renewing your spiritual fervor. 403 00:18:54,520 –> 00:18:55,339 Here they are. 404 00:18:55,339 –> 00:19:00,339 Christ redeems, Christ restores, and Christ reigns. 405 00:19:02,099 –> 00:19:05,260 These truths, properly applied to your condition, 406 00:19:05,260 –> 00:19:06,859 will be wonderfully effective 407 00:19:06,859 –> 00:19:09,900 in renewing your spiritual fervor. 408 00:19:09,900 –> 00:19:11,800 So let’s look at them together. 409 00:19:11,800 –> 00:19:16,119 First, Christ redeems. 410 00:19:16,119 –> 00:19:19,780 Now, I’m looking here at Romans chapter 12 in verse one, 411 00:19:19,780 –> 00:19:20,979 where we have these words. 412 00:19:20,979 –> 00:19:22,979 I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, 413 00:19:23,020 –> 00:19:25,500 by the mercies of God. 414 00:19:26,640 –> 00:19:31,260 Now, never forget that every verse in Romans chapter 12 415 00:19:31,260 –> 00:19:34,300 is written under the banner of verse one, 416 00:19:34,300 –> 00:19:37,459 the mercies of God, every verse. 417 00:19:37,459 –> 00:19:39,239 Everything that we are called to do 418 00:19:39,239 –> 00:19:40,900 in Romans chapter 12, 419 00:19:40,900 –> 00:19:42,140 and we’re going to see many things 420 00:19:42,140 –> 00:19:44,640 that we’re called to do over these weeks, 421 00:19:44,640 –> 00:19:47,739 they’re all in the light of God’s mercy. 422 00:19:48,579 –> 00:19:50,900 So when God says in verse 11, 423 00:19:50,900 –> 00:19:53,939 do not be slothful in zeal, 424 00:19:53,939 –> 00:19:55,839 that’s in the light of God’s mercy. 425 00:19:56,800 –> 00:19:59,260 When he says be fervent in spirit, 426 00:19:59,260 –> 00:20:01,579 that’s in the light of God’s mercy. 427 00:20:02,680 –> 00:20:05,859 When he says serve the Lord, 428 00:20:05,859 –> 00:20:09,359 that’s in the light of His mercy. 429 00:20:10,400 –> 00:20:14,079 So whenever you are run down, 430 00:20:14,079 –> 00:20:17,180 whenever you find that you’re getting sluggish, 431 00:20:17,180 –> 00:20:20,780 the place to begin in restoring your fervor 432 00:20:20,780 –> 00:20:24,920 is to take in a great dose, a good dose, 433 00:20:24,920 –> 00:20:28,020 of all that God has done for you in Jesus Christ 434 00:20:28,020 –> 00:20:29,880 as Paul has outlined that 435 00:20:29,880 –> 00:20:32,880 in the first 11 chapters of the Book of Romans. 436 00:20:32,880 –> 00:20:35,540 Now, I want to be as practical 437 00:20:35,540 –> 00:20:37,520 as I possibly can here today, 438 00:20:37,520 –> 00:20:40,459 and so, although I don’t do this often, 439 00:20:40,459 –> 00:20:43,380 I want to earth this for you today 440 00:20:43,380 –> 00:20:46,660 by sharing a personal testimony 441 00:20:46,760 –> 00:20:49,979 as to how this happened in my own life 442 00:20:49,979 –> 00:20:52,900 in a particular way not so long ago. 443 00:20:55,939 –> 00:20:58,859 I was in a place where I was tired, 444 00:21:01,180 –> 00:21:04,680 I had encountered various discouragements, 445 00:21:05,920 –> 00:21:07,920 I was feeling sorry for myself 446 00:21:07,920 –> 00:21:11,300 is really the only way that I can put it. 447 00:21:11,300 –> 00:21:13,140 Self-pity is a monster 448 00:21:14,920 –> 00:21:16,180 that often needs 449 00:21:17,280 –> 00:21:18,859 to be put to death. 450 00:21:19,819 –> 00:21:21,239 I had lost energy, 451 00:21:22,500 –> 00:21:25,280 I had lost motivation, 452 00:21:25,280 –> 00:21:28,760 and I think the best way for me to say it is 453 00:21:28,760 –> 00:21:30,099 I was in a funk. 454 00:21:31,199 –> 00:21:32,040 I was. 455 00:21:33,219 –> 00:21:36,859 And I remember thinking to myself 456 00:21:36,859 –> 00:21:38,119 this is no good. 457 00:21:39,900 –> 00:21:43,800 How am I going to shake myself out of this? 458 00:21:43,939 –> 00:21:47,339 And it’s often helpful at times like these 459 00:21:47,339 –> 00:21:49,439 to ask the question 460 00:21:49,439 –> 00:21:51,319 where does the bible speak to 461 00:21:51,319 –> 00:21:54,959 or where does the bible in any way describe 462 00:21:54,959 –> 00:21:59,939 the kind of thing that I am experiencing right now? 463 00:21:59,939 –> 00:22:02,319 And just asking that question brought to my mind 464 00:22:02,319 –> 00:22:06,160 a phrase in Galatians chapter six and verse nine 465 00:22:06,160 –> 00:22:10,260 where Paul speaks about being weary in well-doing 466 00:22:11,239 –> 00:22:15,420 and I think that was something of what I was experiencing. 467 00:22:17,380 –> 00:22:19,859 I remembered that Martin Lloyd Jones, 468 00:22:19,859 –> 00:22:23,920 whose ministry has often been very, very helpful to me, 469 00:22:23,920 –> 00:22:26,979 had preached a sermon on that verse, 470 00:22:26,979 –> 00:22:29,560 being weary in well-doing. 471 00:22:29,560 –> 00:22:32,020 It’s in print and I had read it before 472 00:22:32,020 –> 00:22:33,780 but I thought maybe it’ll help me 473 00:22:33,780 –> 00:22:37,420 just to listen to what he has to say on this 474 00:22:37,500 –> 00:22:40,920 and so I Googled, in my study at home, 475 00:22:40,920 –> 00:22:45,380 Googled Martin Lloyd Jones and weary in well-doing 476 00:22:46,920 –> 00:22:51,040 and what popped up was a YouTube video 477 00:22:52,140 –> 00:22:55,660 that God used in a very striking way 478 00:22:55,660 –> 00:22:59,739 to shake me out of, that day, 479 00:22:59,739 –> 00:23:04,140 shake me out of the funk that I was in. 480 00:23:04,140 –> 00:23:05,420 Now I want to show you the video, 481 00:23:05,420 –> 00:23:08,140 it’s just about a couple of minutes long. 482 00:23:08,140 –> 00:23:11,959 I’m doing that by the kind permission of Mark Bocanegra 483 00:23:11,959 –> 00:23:15,020 who made the video and also 484 00:23:15,020 –> 00:23:17,060 of the Martin Loyd Jones Recording Trust 485 00:23:17,060 –> 00:23:18,880 who steered the great gift 486 00:23:18,880 –> 00:23:22,380 of the recordings of his ministry. 487 00:23:22,380 –> 00:23:25,160 The recording, of course, was made in the 1950s 488 00:23:25,160 –> 00:23:27,579 and so the visuals that Mark has provided 489 00:23:27,579 –> 00:23:29,880 will help you greatly in following 490 00:23:29,880 –> 00:23:32,459 what he was saying. 491 00:23:32,500 –> 00:23:37,500 But, God used this in my life 492 00:23:37,520 –> 00:23:41,439 because Loyd Jones described 493 00:23:41,439 –> 00:23:43,819 exactly what I was thinking. 494 00:23:43,819 –> 00:23:46,260 Exactly. 495 00:23:46,260 –> 00:23:50,479 And then, he answered it 496 00:23:50,479 –> 00:23:53,780 by pointing to the cross. 497 00:23:53,780 –> 00:23:55,199 So, let’s roll the video 498 00:23:55,199 –> 00:23:58,300 and let’s see this together. 499 00:23:58,300 –> 00:24:00,459 The danger at this point is to say something 500 00:24:00,500 –> 00:24:01,619 like this to yourself, 501 00:24:01,640 –> 00:24:05,199 Well, I’ve lost that something 502 00:24:05,199 –> 00:24:07,520 which I had. 503 00:24:07,520 –> 00:24:10,979 And obviously I’ll never have that back again. 504 00:24:10,979 –> 00:24:13,739 So I’ll just go on, I’ll go on formerly. 505 00:24:13,760 –> 00:24:15,079 I’ll go on out of habit, 506 00:24:15,079 –> 00:24:16,420 I’ll go on out of custom. 507 00:24:16,420 –> 00:24:19,280 I’ll go on as a sheer matter of beauty. 508 00:24:19,280 –> 00:24:20,819 I have lost the thrill, 509 00:24:20,819 –> 00:24:22,260 I’ve lost the enjoyment, 510 00:24:22,260 –> 00:24:24,040 I’ve lost the abandon 511 00:24:24,040 –> 00:24:27,160 that’s done and is undoubtedly gone forever. 512 00:24:27,160 –> 00:24:28,160 Well what do I do? 513 00:24:28,160 –> 00:24:30,300 Well I’ve just gotta put up with it. 514 00:24:30,300 –> 00:24:32,560 I’ll resign myself to my fate, 515 00:24:32,560 –> 00:24:33,880 I’ll stick it, 516 00:24:33,880 –> 00:24:35,000 I won’t be a quitter. 517 00:24:35,000 –> 00:24:36,300 I won’t turn my back. 518 00:24:36,300 –> 00:24:37,300 I won’t resign. 519 00:24:37,300 –> 00:24:38,380 I won’t go out, 520 00:24:38,380 –> 00:24:40,599 But I will go on. 521 00:24:40,599 –> 00:24:43,979 But I’ll go on 522 00:24:43,979 –> 00:24:47,260 well, feeling rather hopeless about it all. 523 00:24:47,260 –> 00:24:48,359 My dear friend, 524 00:24:48,359 –> 00:24:50,180 if you and I have come to regard 525 00:24:50,180 –> 00:24:51,540 any aspect of this Christian life 526 00:24:51,540 –> 00:24:53,400 as a task and as a duty, 527 00:24:53,400 –> 00:24:55,219 and that we have to cleanse and set our teeth 528 00:24:55,219 –> 00:24:57,500 in order to get through with it. 529 00:24:58,099 –> 00:25:01,040 Let’s say we are insulting God 530 00:25:01,040 –> 00:25:05,719 and we’ve forgotten the very essence of Christianity. 531 00:25:05,719 –> 00:25:06,760 What do I mean? 532 00:25:06,760 –> 00:25:09,760 I mean this, 533 00:25:09,760 –> 00:25:12,959 this isn’t a task. 534 00:25:12,959 –> 00:25:14,319 The Christian life alone 535 00:25:14,319 –> 00:25:18,699 is worthy of the name life. 536 00:25:18,699 –> 00:25:20,619 This alone is righteous and holy 537 00:25:20,619 –> 00:25:22,280 and pure and good. 538 00:25:22,280 –> 00:25:23,280 It’s the kind of life 539 00:25:23,280 –> 00:25:25,319 that the son of God himself lived, 540 00:25:25,319 –> 00:25:26,640 it’s like God himself 541 00:25:26,640 –> 00:25:29,819 in His own holiness. 542 00:25:29,819 –> 00:25:31,479 You have no right to look at yourself like that 543 00:25:31,479 –> 00:25:32,859 and look at your life like that. 544 00:25:32,859 –> 00:25:34,359 Not anything that you’re doing like that. 545 00:25:34,359 –> 00:25:36,400 And if you think of your Christian living 546 00:25:36,400 –> 00:25:40,160 in any sense or shape or form 547 00:25:40,160 –> 00:25:41,599 where there is a sense of grudge 548 00:25:41,599 –> 00:25:43,199 or a task or a duty 549 00:25:43,199 –> 00:25:46,839 or a wariness 550 00:25:46,839 –> 00:25:50,280 I say to you go back to the beginning for a moment. 551 00:25:50,280 –> 00:25:52,760 How did you ever come into this Christian life? 552 00:25:52,760 –> 00:25:54,079 Here you are on this narrow way 553 00:25:54,079 –> 00:25:55,560 about which you are grumbling so much. 554 00:25:55,760 –> 00:25:58,359 How did you ever come from that broad way 555 00:25:58,359 –> 00:25:59,939 on which you were once walking? 556 00:25:59,939 –> 00:26:01,319 What’s made the difference? 557 00:26:01,319 –> 00:26:04,000 And you ask that question, and there’s only one answer. 558 00:26:04,000 –> 00:26:05,880 I’ve come from that to this 559 00:26:07,760 –> 00:26:11,640 because the only begotten Son of God 560 00:26:11,640 –> 00:26:13,780 left heaven and came down to Earth 561 00:26:13,780 –> 00:26:16,560 having digested himself of the insignia 562 00:26:16,560 –> 00:26:18,280 of His eternal glory 563 00:26:18,280 –> 00:26:19,079 and humbled Himself 564 00:26:19,079 –> 00:26:20,859 and was born as a bbe 565 00:26:20,859 –> 00:26:22,239 and put in a manger 566 00:26:22,239 –> 00:26:26,079 and endured the life of this world for 33 years 567 00:26:26,079 –> 00:26:28,000 and was spat upon and reviled 568 00:26:28,000 –> 00:26:30,880 and had a crown of thorns thrust into His head 569 00:26:30,880 –> 00:26:34,000 and was nailed upon a cross 570 00:26:34,000 –> 00:26:36,920 and bore the punishment of my sins 571 00:26:36,920 –> 00:26:39,199 that’s how I have come from that to this. 572 00:26:42,239 –> 00:26:43,959 And if I ever find myself 573 00:26:43,959 –> 00:26:46,560 even for a fraction of a second 574 00:26:46,560 –> 00:26:48,699 doubting the greatness and the glory 575 00:26:48,699 –> 00:26:51,599 and the wonder and the nobility of this walk 576 00:26:51,660 –> 00:26:53,079 in which I’m engaged 577 00:26:53,079 –> 00:26:55,920 well then I’m spitting upon Him. 578 00:26:57,400 –> 00:27:01,719 Well, that was like a splash 579 00:27:01,719 –> 00:27:04,540 of cold water in my face 580 00:27:06,319 –> 00:27:08,760 wakening me up out of the stupor I was in 581 00:27:10,800 –> 00:27:11,719 and I needed it, 582 00:27:13,079 –> 00:27:15,920 spitting in the face of my crucified Savior 583 00:27:15,920 –> 00:27:17,219 how could I do that? 584 00:27:18,040 –> 00:27:21,780 And here I am living this redeemed life 585 00:27:21,780 –> 00:27:24,119 in which He’s forgiven all of my sins, 586 00:27:24,719 –> 00:27:27,699 lovingly adopted me into His family, 587 00:27:27,699 –> 00:27:29,859 given me the gift of His Holy Spirit, 588 00:27:30,979 –> 00:27:33,959 given me a destiny of everlasting joy, 589 00:27:33,959 –> 00:27:38,660 why in the world am I feeling sorry for myself? 590 00:27:41,020 –> 00:27:45,660 You see, apply the truth of what God has done 591 00:27:45,660 –> 00:27:50,660 for you in Jesus Christ and you will be renewed in spirit. 592 00:27:51,060 –> 00:27:53,719 You will be shaken from the sluggishness 593 00:27:53,719 –> 00:27:55,319 that can creep over your soul. 594 00:27:57,540 –> 00:27:59,040 That’s the first truth that needs to be 595 00:27:59,040 –> 00:28:01,619 applied to our lives at these times środ tenhoos 596 00:28:01,619 –> 00:28:04,099 Christ redeems. 597 00:28:05,579 –> 00:28:07,420 The second truth that needs to be applied 598 00:28:07,420 –> 00:28:09,680 to our lives, and here is a very wonderful truth, 599 00:28:09,680 –> 00:28:12,060 Christ restores. 600 00:28:12,060 –> 00:28:13,900 And I’m thinking here of Psalm 23 601 00:28:13,900 –> 00:28:16,140 that all of you know well. 602 00:28:16,140 –> 00:28:20,400 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 603 00:28:21,420 –> 00:28:24,140 And then David in that psalm, as you know, 604 00:28:24,140 –> 00:28:27,339 goes on to list what the shepherd does for us 605 00:28:27,339 –> 00:28:30,339 so that we will not lack anything that we need. 606 00:28:30,339 –> 00:28:32,300 And here’s something that he says, 607 00:28:32,300 –> 00:28:37,300 I shall not want because he restores my soul. 608 00:28:38,880 –> 00:28:42,300 See, the Lord commands us not to be slothful in zeal, 609 00:28:42,400 –> 00:28:45,280 but to be fervent in spirit. 610 00:28:45,280 –> 00:28:48,199 But we do not have in ourselves 611 00:28:48,199 –> 00:28:51,920 what it takes to fulfill all that He commands. 612 00:28:51,920 –> 00:28:55,839 I’m reminded of the great prayer of Augustine 613 00:28:55,839 –> 00:28:58,400 when he looked at what God commanded. 614 00:28:58,400 –> 00:28:59,800 He simply said this, he said, 615 00:28:59,800 –> 00:29:02,599 God, command whatever You will, 616 00:29:02,599 –> 00:29:05,959 only give what You command. 617 00:29:05,959 –> 00:29:09,699 I need Your help to fulfill all that You call me to, 618 00:29:09,739 –> 00:29:13,160 and I cannot do it apart from Your work within me, 619 00:29:13,160 –> 00:29:15,339 and therefore I’m looking to You for my help. 620 00:29:15,339 –> 00:29:20,339 And this is why David says God restores my soul. 621 00:29:21,020 –> 00:29:23,020 This is something that he does. 622 00:29:23,020 –> 00:29:26,079 We no more restore ourselves 623 00:29:26,079 –> 00:29:28,760 than we did in the first place save ourselves. 624 00:29:28,760 –> 00:29:31,619 It is God who restores my soul. 625 00:29:31,619 –> 00:29:34,640 Jesus Christ died to save you, 626 00:29:34,640 –> 00:29:37,979 and Jesus Christ lives to keep you, 627 00:29:38,020 –> 00:29:41,660 and because in our nature we often grow cold, 628 00:29:41,660 –> 00:29:46,660 keeping us involves regularly the restoring of our soul. 629 00:29:49,119 –> 00:29:52,339 So aren’t you glad that God does this? 630 00:29:52,339 –> 00:29:54,780 Aren’t you so thankful that he doesn’t leave us 631 00:29:54,780 –> 00:29:57,339 just to get run down and to grow cold, 632 00:29:57,339 –> 00:29:59,319 in which case there would be no future for us, 633 00:29:59,319 –> 00:30:00,640 that’s just how we’d end up. 634 00:30:00,640 –> 00:30:02,420 We’d just be all downhill 635 00:30:02,420 –> 00:30:04,099 from the moment that we were converted. 636 00:30:04,099 –> 00:30:07,380 But it’s not, why, because he restores the soul. 637 00:30:07,380 –> 00:30:09,640 And you can trust him to do it, 638 00:30:09,640 –> 00:30:12,140 and he does it in all kinds of ways. 639 00:30:12,140 –> 00:30:15,060 I mean, he may restore your soul as we gather for worship, 640 00:30:15,060 –> 00:30:17,780 and you’re lifted by something that you sing 641 00:30:17,780 –> 00:30:19,680 or something that you hear in a sermon, 642 00:30:19,680 –> 00:30:22,560 and you say, that was exactly where I am, 643 00:30:22,560 –> 00:30:24,500 and I just knew as I heard that, 644 00:30:24,500 –> 00:30:26,760 that God knows where I am and he spoke to me 645 00:30:26,760 –> 00:30:28,739 and he helped me and he lifted me. 646 00:30:28,739 –> 00:30:30,739 He may come through the words of a friend 647 00:30:30,739 –> 00:30:33,500 who comes along side and says an apt word 648 00:30:33,500 –> 00:30:35,939 at the right time, encourages you, 649 00:30:35,939 –> 00:30:38,800 prays with you, it may happen through other believers 650 00:30:38,800 –> 00:30:41,300 in a life group encouraging one another. 651 00:30:41,300 –> 00:30:43,900 It can even happen because God is sovereign 652 00:30:43,900 –> 00:30:47,339 through a video on YouTube 653 00:30:47,339 –> 00:30:49,099 that you find when you’re Googling. 654 00:30:50,140 –> 00:30:51,439 And I thank God for that. 655 00:30:52,680 –> 00:30:54,939 This is what he does. 656 00:30:54,939 –> 00:30:57,579 Jaded, rundown, lethargic, 657 00:30:58,459 –> 00:30:59,699 in a funk, 658 00:31:00,819 –> 00:31:05,040 you can come to God who restores the soul. 659 00:31:06,020 –> 00:31:10,380 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 660 00:31:10,380 –> 00:31:14,520 He’s your shepherd and He provides everything that you need. 661 00:31:15,479 –> 00:31:17,459 So come to Him and ask Him to give you 662 00:31:17,459 –> 00:31:19,099 what you do not have. 663 00:31:19,099 –> 00:31:23,020 Restore to me the joy of my salvation, Lord. 664 00:31:23,020 –> 00:31:24,280 That’s a good prayer. 665 00:31:25,599 –> 00:31:29,880 Grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. 666 00:31:29,880 –> 00:31:31,800 Lift me from being grudging, 667 00:31:31,800 –> 00:31:34,540 from viewing things merely as a task. 668 00:31:36,760 –> 00:31:38,800 Now, here’s something really important. 669 00:31:40,439 –> 00:31:44,959 You have to come to Jesus Christ as you are, 670 00:31:46,560 –> 00:31:49,780 and Octavius Winslow makes this point very powerfully 671 00:31:49,780 –> 00:31:52,119 in the book that I referred to earlier, 672 00:31:52,119 –> 00:31:56,599 and to translate his old words into our language 673 00:31:56,599 –> 00:31:58,160 and paraphrase them, 674 00:31:58,160 –> 00:32:03,160 always remember that Satan wants to keep you in a funk. 675 00:32:03,939 –> 00:32:05,800 Octavius Winslow wouldn’t have said that, 676 00:32:05,800 –> 00:32:08,380 but that’s what he’s getting at. 677 00:32:08,380 –> 00:32:11,660 Satan wants to keep you in a funk. 678 00:32:11,660 –> 00:32:13,459 He wants to keep you jaded, 679 00:32:13,459 –> 00:32:15,180 he wants to keep you low energy, 680 00:32:15,180 –> 00:32:17,000 he wants to keep you lethargic, 681 00:32:17,000 –> 00:32:18,800 he wants to keep you discouraged 682 00:32:18,800 –> 00:32:21,459 and for that reason he will do anything in his power 683 00:32:21,459 –> 00:32:23,760 to keep you from coming to Jesus Christ 684 00:32:23,760 –> 00:32:25,280 who restores your soul. 685 00:32:26,979 –> 00:32:30,119 And here’s the argument that he will use, 686 00:32:30,119 –> 00:32:32,000 and you will recognize this one 687 00:32:32,000 –> 00:32:34,459 having come across your own mind 688 00:32:34,459 –> 00:32:35,959 and you need to know where it comes from. 689 00:32:35,959 –> 00:32:38,959 Here’s the line of argument that Satan uses. 690 00:32:39,939 –> 00:32:41,920 My heart is cold 691 00:32:43,520 –> 00:32:47,300 and I can’t come to God in this condition. 692 00:32:48,680 –> 00:32:52,000 So I better wait until I’m not feeling as bad 693 00:32:52,000 –> 00:32:54,739 as I am right now and then when I feel better 694 00:32:54,739 –> 00:32:56,400 I will come to him. 695 00:32:57,920 –> 00:33:01,260 Friends, whenever that kind of line of thought 696 00:33:01,260 –> 00:33:03,979 comes across your mind, recognize where it comes from, 697 00:33:03,979 –> 00:33:07,300 it is Satan’s great argument. 698 00:33:07,300 –> 00:33:10,500 He uses it time and again to keep 699 00:33:10,500 –> 00:33:14,819 Jaded Christians jaded by keeping them away 700 00:33:14,819 –> 00:33:17,219 from the one place where they will find help 701 00:33:17,219 –> 00:33:19,619 and find relief. 702 00:33:19,619 –> 00:33:21,500 So whenever this line of thought, 703 00:33:21,500 –> 00:33:23,260 you know I can’t come to God right now 704 00:33:23,260 –> 00:33:25,359 because I’m in a funk. 705 00:33:25,359 –> 00:33:27,060 Whenever that comes across your mind 706 00:33:27,060 –> 00:33:29,380 you need to know how to answer that thought 707 00:33:29,380 –> 00:33:31,599 and here is how you answer that thought, 708 00:33:31,599 –> 00:33:34,339 you come to Jesus Christ as you are. 709 00:33:35,380 –> 00:33:38,540 You come to Him not because you have a warm heart. 710 00:33:38,540 –> 00:33:41,260 You come to Him because you need a warm heart 711 00:33:41,260 –> 00:33:44,780 and you come to Him in order to get a warm heart 712 00:33:44,780 –> 00:33:46,479 because you don’t have the capacity 713 00:33:46,479 –> 00:33:48,040 to generate it yourself. 714 00:33:48,040 –> 00:33:50,099 He’s the one who restores your soul 715 00:33:50,099 –> 00:33:52,520 and he is able to give that to you. 716 00:33:53,719 –> 00:33:56,619 So I say go to the Lord Jesus Christ 717 00:33:56,619 –> 00:33:59,300 in your worst frame of mind 718 00:33:59,300 –> 00:34:00,780 because if you’re in your worst frame of mind, 719 00:34:00,780 –> 00:34:02,260 how else can you come? 720 00:34:02,260 –> 00:34:04,319 Don’t wait until you’re better. 721 00:34:05,219 –> 00:34:08,919 Satan’s argument is you can’t go to Christ 722 00:34:08,919 –> 00:34:11,239 with a cold heart, why not? 723 00:34:12,300 –> 00:34:15,979 If your heart is cold, how else are you going to come? 724 00:34:18,379 –> 00:34:20,699 And the marvelous thing is that Jesus Christ 725 00:34:20,699 –> 00:34:22,699 does not say to us, 726 00:34:23,659 –> 00:34:28,659 get yourself fired up, and then come to me. 727 00:34:30,379 –> 00:34:32,580 He doesn’t say get yourself back 728 00:34:32,580 –> 00:34:35,800 on the boil, and then come to me. 729 00:34:37,040 –> 00:34:42,040 He says, come to me all you who are weary, 730 00:34:42,520 –> 00:34:45,340 so you come weary as you are. 731 00:34:45,340 –> 00:34:47,300 How else are you going to come? 732 00:34:47,300 –> 00:34:49,459 And all you who are heavy-laden. 733 00:34:50,620 –> 00:34:51,979 So you’re going to arrive in the presence 734 00:34:52,699 –> 00:34:56,100 of Jesus, run down and in a funk. 735 00:34:57,199 –> 00:34:59,379 And he says, you come to me just like that. 736 00:35:00,239 –> 00:35:02,439 Because I’m the one who will give you rest. 737 00:35:02,439 –> 00:35:04,739 I’m the only one who will give you rest, 738 00:35:04,739 –> 00:35:06,219 or can give you rest, and therefore 739 00:35:06,219 –> 00:35:10,959 you must come to me, and you must come to me as you are. 740 00:35:10,959 –> 00:35:14,919 I love the hymn that says this, it’s an old hymn. 741 00:35:14,919 –> 00:35:18,580 Come, you weary, heavy-laden, 742 00:35:18,580 –> 00:35:21,939 bruised, and ruined by the fall, 743 00:35:21,939 –> 00:35:24,979 if you wait until you’re better, 744 00:35:24,979 –> 00:35:28,979 you will never come at all. 745 00:35:28,979 –> 00:35:29,820 All right? 746 00:35:29,820 –> 00:35:30,959 If you wait until you’re better, 747 00:35:30,959 –> 00:35:32,979 you’ll never come, that’s why Satan says 748 00:35:32,979 –> 00:35:34,479 you better wait until your better. 749 00:35:34,479 –> 00:35:36,100 He didn’t want you ever to come. 750 00:35:37,239 –> 00:35:38,260 So, come as you are. 751 00:35:40,060 –> 00:35:43,100 It was a hymn that we often sang growing up 752 00:35:43,100 –> 00:35:46,100 in Scotland because it was written by Horatius Bonor, 753 00:35:46,100 –> 00:35:48,899 and therefore was popular in the land 754 00:35:48,899 –> 00:35:51,300 of his birth and mine, and we used to sing this, 755 00:35:51,679 –> 00:35:53,580 but perhaps you will not know it or have heard it. 756 00:35:53,580 –> 00:35:56,820 I heard the voice of Jesus say, 757 00:35:56,820 –> 00:35:59,340 come unto me and rest. 758 00:35:59,340 –> 00:36:02,620 Lay down, oh weary one, lay down your head 759 00:36:02,620 –> 00:36:04,419 upon my breast. 760 00:36:04,419 –> 00:36:06,479 I came to Jesus 761 00:36:06,479 –> 00:36:09,540 as I was, 762 00:36:09,540 –> 00:36:13,659 weary and worn and sad. 763 00:36:13,659 –> 00:36:17,540 I found in him a resting place 764 00:36:17,540 –> 00:36:20,520 and he has made me glad. 765 00:36:21,340 –> 00:36:22,179 That’s it. 766 00:36:22,179 –> 00:36:24,780 You gotta come as you are. 767 00:36:24,780 –> 00:36:29,000 I came to Jesus as I was. 768 00:36:30,520 –> 00:36:32,620 Christ redeems. 769 00:36:33,600 –> 00:36:36,040 Christ restores. 770 00:36:37,100 –> 00:36:38,939 And here’s the last truth very briefly. 771 00:36:38,939 –> 00:36:41,179 Christ reigns. 772 00:36:41,179 –> 00:36:42,639 There are the three R’s 773 00:36:42,639 –> 00:36:46,219 for restoring your spiritual fervor. 774 00:36:46,219 –> 00:36:48,560 Christ reigns, and I bring this in here 775 00:36:48,560 –> 00:36:51,719 because of the last word in verse 11. 776 00:36:51,719 –> 00:36:55,159 Do not be slothful in zeal, 777 00:36:55,159 –> 00:36:57,500 be fervent in spirit. 778 00:36:57,500 –> 00:37:00,080 Serve, serve who? 779 00:37:00,080 –> 00:37:03,459 The Lord, the Lord. 780 00:37:04,320 –> 00:37:06,199 Now, why of all the titles 781 00:37:06,199 –> 00:37:08,800 that are given to our Lord Jesus Christ 782 00:37:08,800 –> 00:37:11,800 is this particular title used here? 783 00:37:12,879 –> 00:37:15,199 Because of course it speaks 784 00:37:15,199 –> 00:37:18,360 of his sovereign victory 785 00:37:18,360 –> 00:37:21,639 and of his almighty power. 786 00:37:21,639 –> 00:37:23,520 And we are reminded here 787 00:37:23,520 –> 00:37:24,959 that whenever we are serving, 788 00:37:24,959 –> 00:37:27,120 whatever we are doing 789 00:37:27,120 –> 00:37:29,040 the work that we are given 790 00:37:29,040 –> 00:37:32,820 is service for the Lord. 791 00:37:32,820 –> 00:37:36,479 There is a verse that I have over my study 792 00:37:36,479 –> 00:37:40,840 at home just above the door going into that room, 793 00:37:40,840 –> 00:37:45,060 and it’s from Colossians 3 verse 23. 794 00:37:45,439 –> 00:37:46,899 And it says 795 00:37:46,899 –> 00:37:51,159 whatever you do, work at it with all your heart 796 00:37:51,159 –> 00:37:53,820 as working for the Lord, 797 00:37:54,879 –> 00:37:55,939 not for men. 798 00:37:57,040 –> 00:37:59,739 And very often when I go into the study, 799 00:37:59,739 –> 00:38:01,199 I touch that text, 800 00:38:01,199 –> 00:38:02,520 it just reminds me 801 00:38:02,520 –> 00:38:04,239 what I’m doing, 802 00:38:04,239 –> 00:38:05,399 I’m doing for the Lord. 803 00:38:05,399 –> 00:38:08,639 I’m going into this room in order to work 804 00:38:08,639 –> 00:38:10,800 and I’m working for the Lord. 805 00:38:10,800 –> 00:38:14,120 And what I do is offered a service to him. 806 00:38:14,120 –> 00:38:14,959 Now you’ll say, 807 00:38:14,959 –> 00:38:16,860 Yeah of course because you’re a pastor, 808 00:38:16,860 –> 00:38:17,800 No listen, 809 00:38:17,800 –> 00:38:20,699 your work maybe a mother or a mechanic. 810 00:38:21,580 –> 00:38:24,560 Your work may be a student or a surgeon. 811 00:38:25,439 –> 00:38:29,399 Your work maybe a plumber or a pastor. 812 00:38:29,399 –> 00:38:33,020 But when you see the work that you do 813 00:38:33,020 –> 00:38:35,679 as that which has been given to you by God, 814 00:38:35,679 –> 00:38:39,080 which you then offer as worship and service to Him. 815 00:38:39,080 –> 00:38:40,560 It will give new meaning, 816 00:38:40,560 –> 00:38:42,040 it will give new motive, 817 00:38:42,040 –> 00:38:43,479 it will give new energy 818 00:38:43,560 –> 00:38:45,239 and it will give you encouragements 819 00:38:45,239 –> 00:38:47,919 in regards to the work that God has given you to do, 820 00:38:47,919 –> 00:38:49,439 whatever it is, 821 00:38:49,439 –> 00:38:50,840 work at it with all your heart 822 00:38:50,840 –> 00:38:53,520 because you’re doing it for the Lord 823 00:38:53,520 –> 00:38:55,300 and when you see that you see, 824 00:38:56,379 –> 00:39:00,919 other people may or may not appreciate what you do. 825 00:39:00,919 –> 00:39:05,479 Other people may or may not reward you for what you do. 826 00:39:05,479 –> 00:39:07,800 But when you keep clearly in your mind 827 00:39:07,800 –> 00:39:10,320 that what you are doing when you go to your work 828 00:39:10,320 –> 00:39:12,560 is that you are serving Him 829 00:39:12,560 –> 00:39:15,060 and that you are offering what you do 830 00:39:15,060 –> 00:39:16,719 as worship before Him 831 00:39:16,719 –> 00:39:20,560 that motivates you with regards the quality of your work, 832 00:39:20,560 –> 00:39:22,000 the energy of your work, 833 00:39:22,000 –> 00:39:23,760 it is wonderfully renewing 834 00:39:23,760 –> 00:39:27,219 to know that you are serving the Lord. 835 00:39:27,219 –> 00:39:31,520 That will keep you from being slothful and zeal. 836 00:39:31,520 –> 00:39:34,540 That will help you as you do whatever you are doing 837 00:39:34,540 –> 00:39:36,020 to be fervent in spirit 838 00:39:36,020 –> 00:39:37,500 because what I’m doing 839 00:39:37,500 –> 00:39:40,479 as I do the work that I’ve been given to do 840 00:39:40,500 –> 00:39:44,379 is offering service to the Lord. 841 00:39:44,379 –> 00:39:46,600 I just love this and this is the very last thing 842 00:39:46,600 –> 00:39:49,540 that it is the Lord that we are serving. 843 00:39:51,399 –> 00:39:53,239 The risen Lord. 844 00:39:54,419 –> 00:39:55,719 The conquering Lord. 845 00:39:55,719 –> 00:39:57,679 The sovereign Lord. 846 00:39:59,120 –> 00:40:01,780 That is so renewing to the spirit 847 00:40:01,780 –> 00:40:05,080 because how hard is it for a soldier 848 00:40:05,080 –> 00:40:09,080 to follow a general in a battle and a campaign 849 00:40:09,159 –> 00:40:10,979 if the soldier in his heart 850 00:40:10,979 –> 00:40:14,479 feels that the general’s campaign in the end 851 00:40:14,479 –> 00:40:16,179 will end in defeat. 852 00:40:17,260 –> 00:40:20,260 How wonderful that in following our Lord, 853 00:40:20,260 –> 00:40:25,219 Jesus Christ who triumphs over death and sin and hell, 854 00:40:25,219 –> 00:40:27,340 that we know the end of the story 855 00:40:27,340 –> 00:40:30,080 that he actually wins 856 00:40:30,080 –> 00:40:31,939 and therefore whatever the difficulties 857 00:40:31,939 –> 00:40:35,459 that we have in life as followers of Jesus Christ, 858 00:40:35,459 –> 00:40:38,820 we know what the outcome is actually going to be. 859 00:40:39,679 –> 00:40:42,459 The good news for followers of the Lord Jesus Christ 860 00:40:42,459 –> 00:40:45,199 is that the grave was not the end for him 861 00:40:45,199 –> 00:40:48,399 and the grave is not gonna be the end for us. 862 00:40:48,399 –> 00:40:50,560 The good news for followers of Jesus Christ 863 00:40:50,560 –> 00:40:55,239 is that our master, our Lord was not overcome by evil. 864 00:40:55,239 –> 00:40:57,919 He overcame evil and therefore evil 865 00:40:57,919 –> 00:40:59,199 will not overcome us. 866 00:40:59,199 –> 00:41:02,000 In him, we will overcome, 867 00:41:02,000 –> 00:41:04,199 and the good news for Christian believers 868 00:41:04,199 –> 00:41:05,760 is that the end of the world 869 00:41:05,919 –> 00:41:08,100 will not be the condemnation 870 00:41:08,100 –> 00:41:11,199 of the planet’s being overrun by evil. 871 00:41:12,199 –> 00:41:14,840 The end of this world, the end of this planet 872 00:41:14,840 –> 00:41:17,000 will be a great transformation, 873 00:41:17,000 –> 00:41:21,280 a new Earth that will be filled with the glory of God 874 00:41:21,280 –> 00:41:23,979 as the waters cover the sea, 875 00:41:23,979 –> 00:41:26,100 and this new Earth is going to be populated 876 00:41:26,100 –> 00:41:29,080 by a new humanity that will be drawn from people 877 00:41:29,080 –> 00:41:32,020 from every tribe and tongue and nation and language 878 00:41:32,020 –> 00:41:35,100 redeemed by Jesus Christ, 879 00:41:35,100 –> 00:41:37,500 and these people in this New Earth 880 00:41:37,500 –> 00:41:40,760 will be brought into a resurrected life 881 00:41:40,760 –> 00:41:44,459 in which at last sin will be no more, 882 00:41:44,459 –> 00:41:46,260 not in us and not around us, 883 00:41:46,260 –> 00:41:49,699 not anywhere in this new Earth, 884 00:41:49,699 –> 00:41:54,699 and God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. 885 00:41:56,379 –> 00:42:00,260 So here’s the three Rs of renewing your spiritual fervor, 886 00:42:00,260 –> 00:42:01,479 Christ, redeems, 887 00:42:01,479 –> 00:42:03,300 Christ, restores, 888 00:42:03,300 –> 00:42:07,139 and Jesus Christ the Lord reigns. 889 00:42:07,139 –> 00:42:09,080 Therefore, brothers and sisters, 890 00:42:09,080 –> 00:42:11,600 be steadfast and unmovable, 891 00:42:11,600 –> 00:42:15,600 always be abounding in the work of the Lord 892 00:42:15,600 –> 00:42:19,080 because you know that your labor, 893 00:42:19,080 –> 00:42:24,080 your hard work in the Lord will not be in vain. 894 00:42:24,719 –> 00:42:27,620 Do not be slothful in zeal, 895 00:42:27,659 –> 00:42:32,659 be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 896 00:42:34,540 –> 00:42:36,199 Let’s pray together. 897 00:42:36,199 –> 00:42:41,199 Father, please work the renewing power of your word 898 00:42:43,639 –> 00:42:48,639 into the deepest place of the most discouraged heart today 899 00:42:51,520 –> 00:42:56,020 and bring its good into all of our hearts and lives, 900 00:42:56,120 –> 00:43:00,959 we pray for the sake of Jesus Christ, 901 00:43:00,959 –> 00:43:05,379 our crucified savior and our triumphant Lord, 902 00:43:06,560 –> 00:43:08,919 in whose name we pray, amen.