1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,240 Well, we’re continuing our series that’s entitled 2 00:00:03,240 –> 00:00:06,140 The Inside Story, and we’re asking the question, 3 00:00:06,140 –> 00:00:10,400 Why is the world as it is today? 4 00:00:10,400 –> 00:00:12,240 If you’re just joining us in this series, 5 00:00:12,240 –> 00:00:16,080 we started in Ecclesiastes chapter seven and verse 29, 6 00:00:16,080 –> 00:00:17,920 where we read these words. 7 00:00:17,920 –> 00:00:20,320 That God made Adam upright, 8 00:00:20,320 –> 00:00:24,160 but men have gone in search of many schemes. 9 00:00:24,160 –> 00:00:27,000 So God made Adam upright, 10 00:00:27,000 –> 00:00:29,280 but men and women today are not upright. 11 00:00:29,320 –> 00:00:30,660 But something has changed. 12 00:00:30,660 –> 00:00:34,160 We are not as Adam was. 13 00:00:34,160 –> 00:00:36,200 We have followed the story in the Bible 14 00:00:36,200 –> 00:00:38,959 to see how it is that this happened. 15 00:00:38,959 –> 00:00:41,660 And we have looked in Genesis 16 00:00:41,660 –> 00:00:44,279 at how Adam and Eve were tempted. 17 00:00:44,279 –> 00:00:48,180 Sin was outside of Adam when he was in the garden, 18 00:00:48,180 –> 00:00:52,439 but after he committed that first sin, sin got into him. 19 00:00:52,439 –> 00:00:55,439 And when Adam and Eve’s children were born, 20 00:00:55,439 –> 00:00:57,820 they were born not only in the image of God 21 00:00:57,820 –> 00:01:00,099 as Adam was made, but they were also 22 00:01:00,099 –> 00:01:02,660 born in the likeness of their father, Adam. 23 00:01:02,660 –> 00:01:05,860 In other words, from Seth onwards, 24 00:01:05,860 –> 00:01:08,739 we find that the generations of human history 25 00:01:08,739 –> 00:01:11,699 are in fact marked with the impulse of sin 26 00:01:11,699 –> 00:01:14,980 already within the nature that we inherit 27 00:01:14,980 –> 00:01:16,820 from our father, Adam. 28 00:01:16,820 –> 00:01:19,519 And so we saw from this, that all of us today 29 00:01:19,519 –> 00:01:23,459 live with what we call the enigma of the double image. 30 00:01:23,459 –> 00:01:25,379 The enigma of the double image, 31 00:01:25,379 –> 00:01:27,820 that is you are made in the image of God, 32 00:01:27,820 –> 00:01:31,660 which is what gives your life meaning, value and worth. 33 00:01:31,660 –> 00:01:33,459 But at the same time, we are all born 34 00:01:33,459 –> 00:01:35,860 in the likeness of our father, Adam, 35 00:01:35,860 –> 00:01:38,900 which means that by nature we are messed up 36 00:01:38,900 –> 00:01:40,620 and we are vulnerable. 37 00:01:40,620 –> 00:01:42,320 That’s what we’ve learned so far. 38 00:01:43,480 –> 00:01:45,699 Now, over the last few weeks, a number of you 39 00:01:45,699 –> 00:01:49,540 have asked or commented about the riots 40 00:01:49,540 –> 00:01:54,540 that broke out in various parts of Great Britain last month. 41 00:01:54,660 –> 00:01:56,620 Some of you have picked up on the fact 42 00:01:56,620 –> 00:02:00,019 that one of the hotspots for these sad troubles 43 00:02:00,019 –> 00:02:04,779 was Enfield, which was the small suburb 44 00:02:04,779 –> 00:02:06,220 on the north side of London 45 00:02:06,220 –> 00:02:10,720 where Karen and I lived for 16 happy years. 46 00:02:10,720 –> 00:02:13,740 I gotta tell you, when you hear news 47 00:02:13,740 –> 00:02:15,419 of such violence breaking out 48 00:02:15,419 –> 00:02:17,259 literally around the corner from the home 49 00:02:17,259 –> 00:02:18,580 where you have lived, 50 00:02:18,580 –> 00:02:21,279 it is really hard to take this in. 51 00:02:21,279 –> 00:02:24,500 Watching the news and knowing that the rioting 52 00:02:25,320 –> 00:02:26,300 was on the very streets that I walked 53 00:02:26,300 –> 00:02:29,240 from our home to the church every day in life, 54 00:02:29,240 –> 00:02:32,740 I found myself asking, how can this happen, 55 00:02:32,740 –> 00:02:37,720 and who would be doing these things and why? 56 00:02:37,979 –> 00:02:41,020 Well, of course, in the aftermath of these events, 57 00:02:41,020 –> 00:02:42,679 all of the common explanations 58 00:02:42,679 –> 00:02:46,399 that are often repeated have been rolled out again, 59 00:02:46,399 –> 00:02:48,300 is it deficiencies in education, 60 00:02:48,300 –> 00:02:50,699 is it deficiencies in housing and employment, 61 00:02:50,699 –> 00:02:52,020 and so forth and so on. 62 00:02:53,020 –> 00:02:55,820 But then, just last month, I read a piece 63 00:02:55,820 –> 00:03:00,179 in the London Times that really got my attention, 64 00:03:00,179 –> 00:03:02,820 and I’d like to read from it to you. 65 00:03:02,820 –> 00:03:07,520 This is the front page of the London Times 66 00:03:07,520 –> 00:03:10,619 on August 12th of this year, 67 00:03:12,160 –> 00:03:14,979 and the national newspaper led 68 00:03:14,979 –> 00:03:17,860 with a five-word banner headline. 69 00:03:18,720 –> 00:03:23,720 Why did I do it, why did I do it? 70 00:03:25,059 –> 00:03:27,460 And I read to you from the article as follows. 71 00:03:28,539 –> 00:03:32,940 Last month, Natasha Reid’s parents watched with pride 72 00:03:32,940 –> 00:03:36,259 as she graduated from university 73 00:03:36,259 –> 00:03:40,059 and prepared for a career as a social worker. 74 00:03:40,059 –> 00:03:43,039 Yesterday, they were picking up the pieces 75 00:03:43,039 –> 00:03:47,020 of her shattered life as she sobbed inconsolably 76 00:03:47,020 –> 00:03:50,139 in her bedroom, ruining the wrong-turn 77 00:03:50,139 –> 00:03:53,740 that had added a criminal record to her degree 78 00:03:53,740 –> 00:03:57,240 and had jeopardized her dream of professional success. 79 00:03:58,339 –> 00:04:01,960 Reid, age 24, from a comfortable upbringing 80 00:04:01,960 –> 00:04:06,699 in Edmonton, North London, walked in brazenly 81 00:04:06,699 –> 00:04:09,539 and stole a flat-screen television 82 00:04:09,539 –> 00:04:13,039 when she noticed that the Enfield branch of Comet, 83 00:04:13,039 –> 00:04:15,020 Comet’s kind of like Best Buys, okay, 84 00:04:15,020 –> 00:04:17,559 so Best Buys was prized open, 85 00:04:17,559 –> 00:04:19,220 if you think of what that image is like 86 00:04:19,220 –> 00:04:22,320 in this main town. 87 00:04:22,320 –> 00:04:24,519 She walks in, she steals a flat-screen TV 88 00:04:24,519 –> 00:04:27,200 when she noticed that the Enfield branch of Comet 89 00:04:27,200 –> 00:04:30,600 had been broken into on Sunday night. 90 00:04:30,600 –> 00:04:34,839 Reid’s mother, Pamela, told the Times last night 91 00:04:34,839 –> 00:04:37,279 that her daughter was, quote, 92 00:04:37,279 –> 00:04:40,040 baffled by her criminal behavior. 93 00:04:40,920 –> 00:04:44,160 The mother says she didn’t want a TV. 94 00:04:44,179 –> 00:04:46,940 She doesn’t even know why she took it. 95 00:04:46,940 –> 00:04:48,739 She doesn’t need a telly, she said, 96 00:04:48,739 –> 00:04:50,720 adding that a 27-inch television 97 00:04:50,720 –> 00:04:53,220 already hangs in her bedroom in the family home. 98 00:04:54,779 –> 00:04:56,839 Speaking from her home in Rosemary Avenue, 99 00:04:56,839 –> 00:05:01,359 where a huge, legally-acquired TV dominates the living room 100 00:05:01,359 –> 00:05:05,459 and an Audi sits in the driveway, 101 00:05:05,459 –> 00:05:09,459 Reid’s relatives said that she bitterly regrets 102 00:05:09,619 –> 00:05:14,100 the quote, apparently-spontaneous theft 103 00:05:14,100 –> 00:05:18,119 that at a stroke has put her future career in jeopardy. 104 00:05:19,059 –> 00:05:21,540 Reid said that she had been on her way 105 00:05:21,540 –> 00:05:26,299 to McDonald’s in nearby Enfield on Sunday night 106 00:05:26,299 –> 00:05:28,140 when she noticed that the Commett’s store 107 00:05:28,140 –> 00:05:30,380 had been broken into. 108 00:05:30,380 –> 00:05:34,239 Caught up in the hysteria of the riots, 109 00:05:34,239 –> 00:05:38,019 she made a split-second decision 110 00:05:38,040 –> 00:05:40,940 to join the intruders. 111 00:05:40,940 –> 00:05:41,859 Well, you know what happens? 112 00:05:41,859 –> 00:05:44,839 Here’s this girl, and she’s just graduated from university, 113 00:05:44,839 –> 00:05:46,299 she’s gonna be a social worker. 114 00:05:46,299 –> 00:05:49,820 She comes from a very good family, prosperous family. 115 00:05:49,820 –> 00:05:52,059 And she has a tele already in her own bedroom 116 00:05:52,059 –> 00:05:53,859 as well as a huge one in the living room. 117 00:05:53,859 –> 00:05:56,179 And here’s this hysteria that’s going on, 118 00:05:56,179 –> 00:05:58,359 and she makes a split-second decision, 119 00:05:58,359 –> 00:06:01,100 and she goes, she walks out with a flat-screen T.V. 120 00:06:01,100 –> 00:06:04,019 It’s all of course recorded on the video cameras 121 00:06:04,019 –> 00:06:05,140 and a few days later, 122 00:06:05,140 –> 00:06:07,380 the police are knocking at Natasha’s door. 123 00:06:09,019 –> 00:06:10,700 And the code’s here. 124 00:06:10,700 –> 00:06:12,820 Natasha’s family told the reporter 125 00:06:12,820 –> 00:06:15,239 she hasn’t slept since Sunday night. 126 00:06:17,200 –> 00:06:19,079 She hasn’t eaten this morning. 127 00:06:20,880 –> 00:06:24,320 She’s bawling her eyes out. 128 00:06:24,320 –> 00:06:28,859 She says, I just don’t get it, 129 00:06:29,739 –> 00:06:32,619 why did I do it? 130 00:06:35,179 –> 00:06:36,880 Have you ever asked that question? 131 00:06:38,579 –> 00:06:39,779 Have you ever said something 132 00:06:39,779 –> 00:06:41,700 that just came out of your mouth 133 00:06:41,700 –> 00:06:44,179 and you knew immediately that it was a hurtful thing 134 00:06:44,179 –> 00:06:45,299 and you should never have said it, 135 00:06:45,299 –> 00:06:46,980 said why did I say that? 136 00:06:50,019 –> 00:06:51,540 Last week we looked at words 137 00:06:51,540 –> 00:06:54,040 from Jeremiah chapter 17 in verse nine. 138 00:06:54,040 –> 00:06:56,339 The heart is deceitful above all things 139 00:06:56,339 –> 00:06:57,739 and it is beyond cure. 140 00:06:57,739 –> 00:07:00,420 Who can understand it? 141 00:07:00,420 –> 00:07:01,980 Do you understand your own heart? 142 00:07:01,980 –> 00:07:03,839 Do you understand all that you do? 143 00:07:05,519 –> 00:07:07,459 And David says in Psalm 19 144 00:07:07,540 –> 00:07:08,820 he asks the same question. 145 00:07:08,820 –> 00:07:12,239 Who can discern his errors? 146 00:07:13,420 –> 00:07:16,160 So here’s David the king and here’s Jeremiah the prophet 147 00:07:16,160 –> 00:07:18,739 and they’re both making exactly the same point. 148 00:07:18,739 –> 00:07:21,059 They have discovered from their own experience 149 00:07:21,059 –> 00:07:22,200 as I’ve discovered from my 150 00:07:22,200 –> 00:07:23,980 and I’m sure you have from yours 151 00:07:23,980 –> 00:07:27,119 that there is something going on inside of me 152 00:07:27,119 –> 00:07:29,500 that makes me a mystery to myself. 153 00:07:29,500 –> 00:07:31,260 I cannot understand all that I say 154 00:07:31,260 –> 00:07:33,019 and even understand all that I do. 155 00:07:33,019 –> 00:07:35,119 Why did I do that? 156 00:07:35,899 –> 00:07:38,399 There isn’t a thoughtful human being alive 157 00:07:38,399 –> 00:07:41,299 who has not asked that question. 158 00:07:42,679 –> 00:07:44,359 Now, would you open your Bibles today 159 00:07:44,359 –> 00:07:46,720 at Ephesians in chapter two. 160 00:07:46,720 –> 00:07:49,260 Ephesians in chapter two, 161 00:07:49,260 –> 00:07:52,820 because God speaks directly to this question. 162 00:07:52,820 –> 00:07:55,579 Why did I do that in these verses 163 00:07:55,579 –> 00:07:57,260 that are before us today? 164 00:07:58,320 –> 00:07:59,480 Ephesians chapter two, 165 00:07:59,480 –> 00:08:01,359 I’m going to read just the first three verses 166 00:08:01,359 –> 00:08:04,019 and our focus will be on verse three. 167 00:08:05,700 –> 00:08:06,980 Ephesians chapter two, 168 00:08:06,980 –> 00:08:09,140 from the beginning we read these words. 169 00:08:09,140 –> 00:08:13,880 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins 170 00:08:13,880 –> 00:08:15,320 in which you used to live 171 00:08:15,320 –> 00:08:17,320 when you followed the ways of the world 172 00:08:17,320 –> 00:08:19,220 and of the ruler of the Kingdom of the air 173 00:08:19,220 –> 00:08:21,600 and the spirit who is now at work 174 00:08:21,600 –> 00:08:24,500 in those who are disobedient, 175 00:08:24,500 –> 00:08:25,839 and Paul says verse three, 176 00:08:25,839 –> 00:08:30,839 all of us also lived among them at one time 177 00:08:31,459 –> 00:08:36,460 gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature 178 00:08:36,539 –> 00:08:41,299 and following it’s desires and thoughts. 179 00:08:42,739 –> 00:08:45,580 I want to make just two observations from this verse today 180 00:08:45,580 –> 00:08:49,140 and then to apply them to all of our lives. 181 00:08:49,140 –> 00:08:51,020 The first very obvious observation 182 00:08:51,020 –> 00:08:53,659 is that sin goes everywhere. 183 00:08:53,659 –> 00:08:57,140 Do you notice in this verse, verse three, 184 00:08:57,140 –> 00:09:02,140 that sin clearly inhabits our thoughts, our desires, 185 00:09:02,859 –> 00:09:04,820 and when it refers to the cravings 186 00:09:04,820 –> 00:09:06,900 it is clearly referring there to the heart 187 00:09:06,900 –> 00:09:10,059 so you’ve got the mind and the will and the heart, 188 00:09:10,059 –> 00:09:12,260 you’ve got the thoughts, you’ve got the desires 189 00:09:12,260 –> 00:09:14,919 and you’ve got the affections. 190 00:09:14,919 –> 00:09:16,960 And what the Apostle Paul is saying here 191 00:09:16,960 –> 00:09:19,299 is that sin penetrates 192 00:09:19,299 –> 00:09:23,460 and corrupts all dimensions of the human personality. 193 00:09:23,460 –> 00:09:25,820 It is pervasive. 194 00:09:25,820 –> 00:09:30,780 It affects what we love, It affects what we want. 195 00:09:30,780 –> 00:09:33,260 It affects what we think. 196 00:09:33,260 –> 00:09:35,299 All of these things are shot through 197 00:09:35,299 –> 00:09:37,900 by the impulse of sin 198 00:09:37,900 –> 00:09:40,460 which is why our Lord Jesus says this is the verdict, 199 00:09:40,460 –> 00:09:42,520 the light has come into the world 200 00:09:42,520 –> 00:09:46,719 but men have loved darkness instead of light. 201 00:09:46,719 –> 00:09:49,299 It’s not just our failure to believe the right things, 202 00:09:49,299 –> 00:09:51,580 it’s our failure to love the right things 203 00:09:51,580 –> 00:09:53,460 because sin goes pervasively 204 00:09:53,460 –> 00:09:55,780 through the whole of the personality 205 00:09:55,780 –> 00:09:57,700 and so this issue of sin that we’re trying 206 00:09:57,700 –> 00:10:00,900 to get our minds around in this series, 207 00:10:00,900 –> 00:10:05,900 it runs deeper and it is wider than we may often think. 208 00:10:05,940 –> 00:10:09,659 Not only are we sinners because we sin 209 00:10:09,659 –> 00:10:10,960 but what we are learning here 210 00:10:10,960 –> 00:10:14,979 is that we sin because we are sinners 211 00:10:15,979 –> 00:10:18,039 and most people grasp the first statement. 212 00:10:18,039 –> 00:10:21,400 You know, we all do wrong things at least some of the time 213 00:10:21,400 –> 00:10:24,580 but Ephesians chapter two is going behind the fact 214 00:10:24,580 –> 00:10:26,780 that we all do wrong things some of the time 215 00:10:26,780 –> 00:10:28,200 and it’s asking the question, 216 00:10:28,200 –> 00:10:31,020 why, why do I sin, why did I do it? 217 00:10:31,020 –> 00:10:32,119 That’s the question. 218 00:10:33,919 –> 00:10:35,179 Where does this come from? 219 00:10:35,179 –> 00:10:37,119 And the answer that we are gaining here 220 00:10:37,119 –> 00:10:40,500 is that we sin because we are sinners. 221 00:10:40,500 –> 00:10:41,940 It comes out of us. 222 00:10:41,940 –> 00:10:46,280 There is a nature within us that produces sin. 223 00:10:46,280 –> 00:10:49,619 So if you think of that awful image of the oil well 224 00:10:49,619 –> 00:10:51,799 that seemed to take forever to be capped 225 00:10:51,799 –> 00:10:53,679 and every night earlier this year 226 00:10:53,679 –> 00:10:57,539 we were hearing of oil that was spewing itself 227 00:10:57,539 –> 00:10:59,780 out into the Gulf. 228 00:10:59,780 –> 00:11:01,700 See, that’s what the sinful nature is like. 229 00:11:01,700 –> 00:11:05,440 It’s always producing, always producing, 230 00:11:05,440 –> 00:11:09,140 always throwing up some new way 231 00:11:09,140 –> 00:11:13,900 of wrong thinking and wrong affections and wrong desires. 232 00:11:13,900 –> 00:11:15,179 And if you’re a Christian, 233 00:11:15,179 –> 00:11:20,179 you’re battling that all of your life. 234 00:11:20,280 –> 00:11:24,380 So to repeat the analogy that we used from last week, 235 00:11:24,380 –> 00:11:29,099 the problem of sin, it’s bigger than crayon on the wall. 236 00:11:29,099 –> 00:11:30,619 You know, a kid crayons on the wall. 237 00:11:30,619 –> 00:11:33,140 You can wipe that off or you can paint it over. 238 00:11:34,000 –> 00:11:37,380 But the problem of sin is bigger than crayon on the wall. 239 00:11:37,380 –> 00:11:41,059 It’s more like mold in the wall. 240 00:11:41,059 –> 00:11:42,559 You can’t just paint over that. 241 00:11:42,559 –> 00:11:44,320 It’s a living thing. 242 00:11:44,320 –> 00:11:45,179 It spreads. 243 00:11:45,179 –> 00:11:47,739 It grows and unchecked, 244 00:11:47,780 –> 00:11:51,320 it will take you to your destruction. 245 00:11:52,380 –> 00:11:55,460 In other words, the Bible’s teaching is that sin is in us, 246 00:11:55,460 –> 00:11:57,919 not just around us, not simply environmental. 247 00:11:57,919 –> 00:12:01,440 It’s not that we’re sort of born really good people 248 00:12:01,440 –> 00:12:03,820 at heart, but then we’re put into a bad world 249 00:12:03,820 –> 00:12:05,140 and that’s where the problem lies. 250 00:12:05,140 –> 00:12:07,780 No, the problem lies in us. 251 00:12:07,780 –> 00:12:09,619 Which is why we read the words of Jesus 252 00:12:09,619 –> 00:12:12,260 from Mark Chapter Seven, where he says, 253 00:12:12,260 –> 00:12:17,260 “‘Tis from within, out of men’s hearts.’” 254 00:12:17,840 –> 00:12:20,400 That’s where greed comes from. 255 00:12:20,400 –> 00:12:22,960 That’s where malice, or deceit, or envy, 256 00:12:22,960 –> 00:12:25,400 or arrogance, or folly comes from. 257 00:12:26,479 –> 00:12:28,900 In other words, Jesus is saying quite clearly, 258 00:12:28,900 –> 00:12:31,820 foolishness comes out of your heart. 259 00:12:32,900 –> 00:12:35,359 Putting other people down, that put-down line, 260 00:12:35,359 –> 00:12:37,320 it came out of your heart. 261 00:12:38,219 –> 00:12:41,020 The endless desire for more, where does that come from 262 00:12:41,179 –> 00:12:42,580 that drives so many men? 263 00:12:42,580 –> 00:12:44,780 It comes out of the sinful heart. 264 00:12:46,700 –> 00:12:48,539 These things are in us. 265 00:12:49,719 –> 00:12:51,460 That’s where sins comes from. 266 00:12:51,460 –> 00:12:53,539 That’s the Bible’s answer to the question, 267 00:12:53,539 –> 00:12:57,280 why did I do it? 268 00:12:58,580 –> 00:13:00,340 So sin goes everywhere. 269 00:13:00,340 –> 00:13:02,380 And here’s the second very simple observation 270 00:13:02,380 –> 00:13:05,619 this morning, sin is in everyone. 271 00:13:05,619 –> 00:13:07,500 Notice verse three again. 272 00:13:07,619 –> 00:13:11,239 All of us, all of us. 273 00:13:11,239 –> 00:13:12,559 Very important words. 274 00:13:12,559 –> 00:13:13,960 The apostle Paul’ writing. 275 00:13:13,960 –> 00:13:16,239 And he includes himself. 276 00:13:16,239 –> 00:13:18,460 All of us also lived among them at one time, 277 00:13:18,460 –> 00:13:20,640 that’s we were all in these sins, 278 00:13:20,640 –> 00:13:22,599 in this pattern of disobedience, 279 00:13:22,599 –> 00:13:24,760 gratifying the cravings of the sinful nature 280 00:13:24,760 –> 00:13:28,619 and following its desires and its thoughts. 281 00:13:28,619 –> 00:13:29,700 This is very significant. 282 00:13:29,700 –> 00:13:34,159 You notice how Paul moves from you in verse one 283 00:13:34,159 –> 00:13:37,179 to us in verse three. 284 00:13:38,500 –> 00:13:41,580 There were particular forms of darkness 285 00:13:41,580 –> 00:13:45,320 that no doubt were part of the Ephesian past 286 00:13:45,320 –> 00:13:48,299 with the gross immorality of the culture. 287 00:13:48,299 –> 00:13:52,599 And the apostle Paul as a Pharisee was not part of that. 288 00:13:52,599 –> 00:13:56,099 But notice by the time he gets to verse three, 289 00:13:56,099 –> 00:14:00,260 he very deliberately includes himself. 290 00:14:00,260 –> 00:14:03,900 So that this problem of sin, and of the sinful nature, 291 00:14:03,900 –> 00:14:07,000 we cannot simply say it is with the rebel out there, 292 00:14:07,020 –> 00:14:09,739 here’s the apostle Paul who was the most religious man 293 00:14:09,739 –> 00:14:10,659 you could imagine. 294 00:14:12,200 –> 00:14:14,320 Folks this was about the most conservative 295 00:14:14,320 –> 00:14:15,599 man you would ever meet. 296 00:14:16,500 –> 00:14:18,960 This was one of the most moral men you would ever meet, 297 00:14:18,960 –> 00:14:21,520 this was one of the most disciplined men 298 00:14:21,520 –> 00:14:22,820 you could ever meet. 299 00:14:24,159 –> 00:14:28,679 And he poured his life effort into being a good person. 300 00:14:30,780 –> 00:14:35,780 And for many years in his life he felt that he was righteous. 301 00:14:37,380 –> 00:14:40,359 And the strange thing is that his own religion 302 00:14:40,359 –> 00:14:44,299 actually reinforced that impression within his own soul. 303 00:14:45,239 –> 00:14:48,799 But then he had a living encounter with the risen 304 00:14:48,799 –> 00:14:52,960 Lord Jesus Christ and he discovered how far 305 00:14:52,960 –> 00:14:55,159 from righteous he really was. 306 00:14:56,200 –> 00:14:58,039 And everything changed. 307 00:14:58,960 –> 00:15:03,080 And Jesus opened his eyes, Paul’s eyes, 308 00:15:03,080 –> 00:15:08,080 to see how lost he really was. 309 00:15:09,119 –> 00:15:11,700 And so he writes, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit 310 00:15:11,700 –> 00:15:13,159 in this verse, it’s not just you. 311 00:15:13,159 –> 00:15:16,140 It’s not just people who are pursuing 312 00:15:16,140 –> 00:15:19,299 an openly immoral life out there, as it were, 313 00:15:19,299 –> 00:15:23,679 it’s all of us, it is all of us. 314 00:15:23,679 –> 00:15:27,719 The apostle includes himself. 315 00:15:27,719 –> 00:15:29,520 By the way, here’s a great question. 316 00:15:29,979 –> 00:15:34,979 When did you first realize that you were totally lost? 317 00:15:40,340 –> 00:15:42,280 I think I’m gonna suggest that question 318 00:15:42,280 –> 00:15:43,940 for membership interviews. 319 00:15:43,940 –> 00:15:47,000 We got a new membership class coming up, you know? 320 00:15:47,000 –> 00:15:49,320 We ask people, how did you become a Christian? 321 00:15:49,320 –> 00:15:50,419 And people say, well, yeah, 322 00:15:50,419 –> 00:15:53,099 I think I had a long time and I’m all very vague. 323 00:15:53,099 –> 00:15:55,260 Here’s a specific question. 324 00:15:56,099 –> 00:16:00,659 When did you first realize that you were totally lost? 325 00:16:01,820 –> 00:16:04,340 Do you realize that apart from Jesus Christ, 326 00:16:04,340 –> 00:16:05,960 that’s your reality now? 327 00:16:07,960 –> 00:16:11,900 When did you come to the place of seeing for the first time 328 00:16:13,219 –> 00:16:17,900 I am a sinner by nature and by practice? 329 00:16:20,099 –> 00:16:23,619 Is it clear to you today, as you sit in church this morning, 330 00:16:23,619 –> 00:16:27,619 apart from Jesus Christ, I am absolutely lost 331 00:16:27,619 –> 00:16:31,539 for all eternity, even if judged at my best? 332 00:16:33,099 –> 00:16:37,080 At my best, is that clear to you? 333 00:16:39,619 –> 00:16:41,419 Friends, this is what the Bible teaches, 334 00:16:41,419 –> 00:16:43,700 this is what a true Christian believes. 335 00:16:43,700 –> 00:16:45,059 Is it what you believe? 336 00:16:46,719 –> 00:16:47,559 All of us. 337 00:16:48,739 –> 00:16:49,580 All of us. 338 00:16:50,320 –> 00:16:54,380 Now, these are the two simple observations then. 339 00:16:54,380 –> 00:16:56,659 Sin goes everywhere in the human personality 340 00:16:56,659 –> 00:16:59,559 and it is in everyone, there are no exceptions. 341 00:16:59,559 –> 00:17:04,640 This is my reality and yours, 342 00:17:05,599 –> 00:17:06,439 by nature. 343 00:17:07,520 –> 00:17:09,160 Sinners by nature. 344 00:17:10,000 –> 00:17:11,219 And by practice. 345 00:17:12,339 –> 00:17:14,540 Now, let’s try and look a little more closely 346 00:17:14,540 –> 00:17:17,000 what this means in practical terms for us. 347 00:17:17,000 –> 00:17:19,260 Here’s what this looks like. 348 00:17:19,339 –> 00:17:21,739 And again, two observations, here’s the first. 349 00:17:22,880 –> 00:17:26,599 The sinful nature produces 350 00:17:26,599 –> 00:17:31,599 what the Apostle Paul here calls sinful cravings. 351 00:17:32,140 –> 00:17:33,579 Notice what he says in verse two 352 00:17:33,579 –> 00:17:35,479 as we focus in more closely. 353 00:17:35,479 –> 00:17:40,199 Gratifying the cravings, very strong word. 354 00:17:40,199 –> 00:17:45,199 The cravings of our sinful nature. 355 00:17:46,000 –> 00:17:51,000 Now a craving, of course, is a strong desire 356 00:17:51,420 –> 00:17:55,439 or an intense longing. 357 00:17:57,319 –> 00:18:02,319 A few years ago, I decided to try the Atkins diet. 358 00:18:04,520 –> 00:18:07,439 Now I’ll tell you why this appealed to me. 359 00:18:07,439 –> 00:18:11,160 This is the one where you can eat all the protein 360 00:18:11,160 –> 00:18:14,739 that you want, just so long as you eat no carbs. 361 00:18:15,959 –> 00:18:18,880 Now think about this, it appealed to me, 362 00:18:18,880 –> 00:18:23,880 a diet in which you can eat as much steak as you want 363 00:18:24,400 –> 00:18:27,359 and burgers and sausage. 364 00:18:27,359 –> 00:18:29,739 I mean this is a guy kind of a diet. 365 00:18:31,140 –> 00:18:32,540 I thought I’m gonna try this one. 366 00:18:33,400 –> 00:18:35,920 Well, I have to tell you it didn’t last long for me 367 00:18:35,920 –> 00:18:36,880 for two reasons. 368 00:18:36,880 –> 00:18:40,800 Number one, my wife was implacably opposed to it. 369 00:18:41,160 –> 00:18:45,739 Number two, if you’ve tried it you will know this, 370 00:18:45,739 –> 00:18:50,739 after a few days my whole body was crying out 371 00:18:51,060 –> 00:18:54,400 for just one slice of bread. 372 00:18:54,400 –> 00:18:59,400 Crying out, a craving, a craving, 373 00:19:00,400 –> 00:19:04,420 strong desire, intense longing. 374 00:19:05,760 –> 00:19:09,719 Now what are the cravings of the sinful nature? 375 00:19:11,040 –> 00:19:14,060 Well let me just give you 10 quickly, 376 00:19:14,060 –> 00:19:17,040 randomly chosen examples and you could double the list 377 00:19:17,040 –> 00:19:20,540 I think very, very quickly, but just to give you the idea. 378 00:19:21,939 –> 00:19:26,939 When you are blessed the sinful nature produces pride. 379 00:19:29,640 –> 00:19:31,140 Hey look what I did. 380 00:19:32,739 –> 00:19:36,640 When other people are blessed 381 00:19:36,640 –> 00:19:40,599 the sinful nature produces envy. 382 00:19:40,599 –> 00:19:42,099 Why them and not me? 383 00:19:44,079 –> 00:19:48,280 When you do good the sinful nature 384 00:19:48,280 –> 00:19:50,859 produces self-righteousness. 385 00:19:52,280 –> 00:19:57,040 When you do wrong the sinful nature goes into denial. 386 00:19:57,040 –> 00:19:59,939 Oh wasn’t my fault no no no no, gotta understand. 387 00:20:02,280 –> 00:20:06,180 When you suffer you will find that 388 00:20:06,180 –> 00:20:10,040 the sinful nature produces within you self-pity. 389 00:20:10,739 –> 00:20:12,280 And you have to deal with that. 390 00:20:14,079 –> 00:20:16,079 When you don’t get what you want 391 00:20:17,520 –> 00:20:20,079 the sinful nature will get irritable, 392 00:20:20,079 –> 00:20:22,599 it will get frustrated and get angry. 393 00:20:24,920 –> 00:20:27,239 When your work is not appreciated 394 00:20:28,079 –> 00:20:31,800 or what you do is not recognized by others 395 00:20:31,800 –> 00:20:34,119 the sinful nature will get resentful. 396 00:20:36,000 –> 00:20:39,319 When you’re in a conflict the sinful nature 397 00:20:39,319 –> 00:20:42,599 will tell you how absolutely right you are at every point 398 00:20:42,599 –> 00:20:45,000 and will fill you with self justification. 399 00:20:46,780 –> 00:20:49,040 When you hear about the love of God 400 00:20:49,040 –> 00:20:51,660 the sinful nature will produce unbelief. 401 00:20:51,660 –> 00:20:53,079 It will produce this sense of, 402 00:20:53,079 –> 00:20:54,939 no, that can’t be right, that can’t be true, 403 00:20:54,939 –> 00:20:56,880 yet yes but. 404 00:20:56,880 –> 00:20:58,939 That’s what the sinful nature does then. 405 00:21:00,000 –> 00:21:03,339 And when you hear what the Bible says about sin 406 00:21:04,319 –> 00:21:06,380 the sinful nature produces evasion. 407 00:21:07,640 –> 00:21:08,859 Dodges and weaves. 408 00:21:09,920 –> 00:21:12,199 So that for example I ask you just to think back 409 00:21:12,199 –> 00:21:14,119 for a few moments in this very sermon. 410 00:21:15,599 –> 00:21:20,000 When I told you the story about Natasha, age 24, 411 00:21:20,000 –> 00:21:22,959 in that crowd, and she, on the spur of the moment, 412 00:21:22,959 –> 00:21:26,140 goes in to the Comment store 413 00:21:26,140 –> 00:21:28,479 and she comes out with a flat screen TV 414 00:21:28,479 –> 00:21:30,479 and we engaged in that story, 415 00:21:30,479 –> 00:21:32,540 was there a little voice in your mind that said 416 00:21:32,540 –> 00:21:34,380 I don’t think I would have done that? 417 00:21:35,839 –> 00:21:37,439 Where did that voice come from? 418 00:21:38,300 –> 00:21:39,780 I’m better than that. 419 00:21:41,160 –> 00:21:42,760 I wouldn’t have fallen there. 420 00:21:44,760 –> 00:21:46,020 Where did that come from? 421 00:21:47,359 –> 00:21:51,579 I tell you, the sinful nature is at the height 422 00:21:51,579 –> 00:21:56,280 of its production during the preaching of the word of God. 423 00:21:57,780 –> 00:22:00,699 It will dodge, and it will weave, 424 00:22:00,699 –> 00:22:03,020 to make sure as far as is possible 425 00:22:03,020 –> 00:22:05,280 that nothing lands on you, 426 00:22:06,040 –> 00:22:09,500 and nothing comes into you, 427 00:22:10,500 –> 00:22:14,119 so that you would go out as you came in, 428 00:22:14,119 –> 00:22:16,719 never having truly encountered God. 429 00:22:18,920 –> 00:22:22,119 Now, to know what the sinful nature does, 430 00:22:22,119 –> 00:22:25,760 and to begin to read it, and to develop your own skill, 431 00:22:25,760 –> 00:22:28,599 even in predicting its moves, 432 00:22:29,959 –> 00:22:32,160 write down situations that you’re facing, 433 00:22:32,160 –> 00:22:33,680 and just stand back from it and say, 434 00:22:33,680 –> 00:22:35,239 if I just look at this theoretically, 435 00:22:35,619 –> 00:22:38,599 what would I expect the sinful nature to produce here? 436 00:22:38,599 –> 00:22:41,520 Predict it so that you can be armed against it. 437 00:22:44,000 –> 00:22:47,400 So for example, and I’ll just give you two examples here, 438 00:22:47,400 –> 00:22:50,180 and then you can multiply out all kinds of others, 439 00:22:50,180 –> 00:22:53,859 if the fires of your marriage are burning low, 440 00:22:55,599 –> 00:22:59,839 expect that at some point 441 00:22:59,839 –> 00:23:03,000 your sinful nature will produce a thought about divorce. 442 00:23:03,599 –> 00:23:05,479 Something within you will say, 443 00:23:05,479 –> 00:23:08,300 you deserve better than this. 444 00:23:08,300 –> 00:23:10,359 Why should you have to put up with this? 445 00:23:11,660 –> 00:23:13,479 There’s another person and a better person 446 00:23:13,479 –> 00:23:14,739 more worthy of you. 447 00:23:16,520 –> 00:23:17,680 Expect that. 448 00:23:19,680 –> 00:23:22,280 And when you’re discouraged in ministry, 449 00:23:22,280 –> 00:23:24,780 to take just a very different example, 450 00:23:24,780 –> 00:23:28,119 expect that the sinful nature 451 00:23:28,119 –> 00:23:30,420 will produce thoughts about quitting. 452 00:23:30,979 –> 00:23:33,359 The sinful nature will say to you, 453 00:23:33,359 –> 00:23:35,140 well, you’ve been doing this a long time 454 00:23:35,140 –> 00:23:37,239 and you deserve better than this 455 00:23:37,239 –> 00:23:39,439 and there’s something else for sure that you could do, 456 00:23:39,439 –> 00:23:41,180 expect that because that’s what you’re 457 00:23:41,180 –> 00:23:42,380 gonna have to counter. 458 00:23:44,619 –> 00:23:46,800 So I understand this, the sinful nature 459 00:23:46,800 –> 00:23:49,400 will always be producing these cravings, 460 00:23:49,400 –> 00:23:53,400 like that oil well, always pouring this stuff up 461 00:23:53,400 –> 00:23:55,339 into the environment of your life. 462 00:23:55,339 –> 00:23:57,839 That’s the stuff you have to deal with, 463 00:23:57,839 –> 00:23:59,479 as a Christian. 464 00:23:59,479 –> 00:24:01,520 The Christian life is a constant battle 465 00:24:01,520 –> 00:24:03,619 against these impulses of sin that, 466 00:24:03,619 –> 00:24:04,680 before you knew Christ, 467 00:24:04,680 –> 00:24:06,520 you didn’t even have much awareness of. 468 00:24:08,439 –> 00:24:11,920 If you are a Christian, your sin is forgiven, 469 00:24:11,920 –> 00:24:16,560 your heart is renewed but sin is not yet expelled 470 00:24:16,560 –> 00:24:17,719 that awaits the day when you will 471 00:24:17,719 –> 00:24:19,319 be in the presence of Christ. 472 00:24:21,060 –> 00:24:24,640 And so you are involved in a lifelong struggle, 473 00:24:24,640 –> 00:24:25,479 we all are, 474 00:24:26,160 –> 00:24:29,479 with this stuff that gets produced every day, 475 00:24:29,479 –> 00:24:31,880 learn to read it, learn to predict it, 476 00:24:31,880 –> 00:24:34,239 learn to expect it, learn to fight it. 477 00:24:36,560 –> 00:24:38,640 Here’s what it looks like in practice, 478 00:24:38,640 –> 00:24:41,520 the sinful nature is always producing 479 00:24:41,520 –> 00:24:44,420 these sinful cravings. 480 00:24:44,420 –> 00:24:49,079 And then here’s my second practical description, 481 00:24:49,079 –> 00:24:51,199 the cravings of your sinful nature 482 00:24:51,199 –> 00:24:54,880 will find expression in your thoughts 483 00:24:54,880 –> 00:24:56,219 and in your desires. 484 00:24:56,219 –> 00:24:59,560 Notice how that’s made very, very clear in this verse, 485 00:24:59,560 –> 00:25:02,599 gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature 486 00:25:02,599 –> 00:25:07,599 and following its desires and its thoughts. 487 00:25:10,540 –> 00:25:15,540 Now, I have a quotation that I want to give to you 488 00:25:15,739 –> 00:25:18,339 that speaks about sins in the thoughts 489 00:25:18,339 –> 00:25:21,199 and in the imagination and in the desires 490 00:25:22,199 –> 00:25:25,660 probably more powerfully than any other quotation 491 00:25:25,660 –> 00:25:27,420 that I have read on this subject. 492 00:25:28,420 –> 00:25:31,260 Here’s what’s fascinating to me about it. 493 00:25:32,520 –> 00:25:35,180 I’m going to quote to you from a Scottish pastor 494 00:25:35,180 –> 00:25:40,180 by the name of Thomas Boston who described so perceptively 495 00:25:41,760 –> 00:25:46,099 how the imagination enables the sinner 496 00:25:46,099 –> 00:25:49,040 to indulge the cravings of his heart. 497 00:25:50,000 –> 00:25:52,280 And all of us know what he’s talking about. 498 00:25:54,000 –> 00:25:55,560 Here’s the fascinating thing. 499 00:25:55,560 –> 00:25:57,880 The quotation that I’m going to read to you, 500 00:25:57,880 –> 00:26:02,880 he wrote in 1729, which is long before the Internet, 501 00:26:06,660 –> 00:26:10,439 long before the television and more than a century 502 00:26:10,439 –> 00:26:12,180 before the invention of the camera. 503 00:26:14,520 –> 00:26:17,719 So when we think about the battles that we experience 504 00:26:17,859 –> 00:26:19,439 in terms of sins of the imagination, 505 00:26:19,439 –> 00:26:21,239 or we say well, the problem of course is all out there. 506 00:26:21,239 –> 00:26:23,260 You know, we live in this media-saturated culture 507 00:26:23,260 –> 00:26:25,239 and all these images that we’re bombarded with 508 00:26:25,239 –> 00:26:27,180 and poor us and so forth. 509 00:26:27,180 –> 00:26:31,199 Boston writing in 1729 lived before any of that. 510 00:26:33,560 –> 00:26:37,319 And what’s so fascinating is that he describes 511 00:26:37,319 –> 00:26:39,180 as if he was writing last week 512 00:26:41,640 –> 00:26:42,880 what all of us experience 513 00:26:42,880 –> 00:26:44,760 which makes the point you see that the problem. 514 00:26:44,760 –> 00:26:47,099 Well, I know there’s all kinds of problems out there 515 00:26:47,339 –> 00:26:49,979 but the real place where the problem exists is in here 516 00:26:50,979 –> 00:26:53,099 which is what Paul is saying in Ephesians. 517 00:26:54,540 –> 00:26:55,680 So listen to Boston. 518 00:26:57,079 –> 00:27:02,079 The sinful mind supplies the lack of real objects 519 00:27:04,040 –> 00:27:05,459 to the corrupt heart 520 00:27:06,900 –> 00:27:10,300 so that it may make sinners happy 521 00:27:10,300 –> 00:27:15,300 at least in the imaginary enjoyment of their lusts. 522 00:27:16,199 –> 00:27:21,199 The corrupt heart feeds itself with imagination sins 523 00:27:24,099 –> 00:27:25,900 imagination sins. 524 00:27:27,040 –> 00:27:32,040 The unclean person is filled with speculative impurities. 525 00:27:33,660 –> 00:27:37,219 The covetous man fills his heart with the world 526 00:27:37,219 –> 00:27:40,040 even though he cannot get his hands on it. 527 00:27:40,619 –> 00:27:45,619 The malicious person fills his mind with acts of revenge 528 00:27:47,319 –> 00:27:50,300 and the envious man beholds with satisfaction 529 00:27:50,300 –> 00:27:51,819 his neighbor laid low. 530 00:27:53,540 –> 00:27:55,579 You’re saying all of this goes on in the human mind, 531 00:27:55,579 –> 00:27:57,160 the imagination. 532 00:27:57,160 –> 00:28:01,619 He says every lust finds the corrupt imagination 533 00:28:01,619 –> 00:28:04,380 to be a friend to it in time of need. 534 00:28:06,599 –> 00:28:09,260 And he adds finally, this the heart does 535 00:28:09,260 –> 00:28:12,000 not only when people are awake, 536 00:28:12,000 –> 00:28:15,719 but sometimes even when they are asleep, 537 00:28:15,719 –> 00:28:17,640 whereby it comes to pass 538 00:28:17,640 –> 00:28:21,439 that those sins are acted in dreams 539 00:28:21,439 –> 00:28:26,439 which their hearts pant after when they are awake. 540 00:28:28,599 –> 00:28:32,640 Everybody here knows exactly what he’s talking about 541 00:28:32,640 –> 00:28:36,000 and that’s the struggle of the human heart in 1729. 542 00:28:37,839 –> 00:28:38,880 What’s changed? 543 00:28:9,900 –> 00:28:44,520 The title for today’s message is 544 00:28:44,520 –> 00:28:45,959 A Quip from Woody Allen. 545 00:28:45,959 –> 00:28:50,959 The Heart Wants What It Wants. 546 00:28:52,119 –> 00:28:55,359 Woody Allen said this in 1992 547 00:28:55,359 –> 00:28:59,439 when he had been living with a woman for some years 548 00:28:59,439 –> 00:29:03,599 and then he left her to take up with her daughter. 549 00:29:03,599 –> 00:29:06,900 And even the secular world was at least surprised by that 550 00:29:06,900 –> 00:29:08,800 and asked the question why he would do that 551 00:29:08,800 –> 00:29:10,319 and when he was asked that question 552 00:29:10,319 –> 00:29:12,599 Woody Allen came up with this comment 553 00:29:12,599 –> 00:29:14,680 The heart wants what it wants. 554 00:29:16,560 –> 00:29:19,599 And friends that is exactly the teaching 555 00:29:19,599 –> 00:29:22,140 of Ephesians chapter two and verse three. 556 00:29:22,140 –> 00:29:24,420 That’s exactly what it says. 557 00:29:24,420 –> 00:29:26,959 The heart wants what it wants. 558 00:29:26,959 –> 00:29:30,959 So all of us are going to have to make 559 00:29:30,959 –> 00:29:31,939 and it will have to be made 560 00:29:31,939 –> 00:29:33,699 on a daily and a continuing basis 561 00:29:33,699 –> 00:29:36,599 a choice as to how we will live. 562 00:29:36,599 –> 00:29:38,079 And the choice you make 563 00:29:38,099 –> 00:29:41,579 about how you live will be a direct reflection 564 00:29:41,579 –> 00:29:44,500 about what you most deeply believe 565 00:29:44,500 –> 00:29:47,699 regarding the condition of your own heart. 566 00:29:47,699 –> 00:29:49,880 If you believe that your heart is good 567 00:29:49,880 –> 00:29:51,239 if that at the deepest level 568 00:29:51,239 –> 00:29:53,199 is what you continue to believe 569 00:29:53,199 –> 00:29:55,920 you will follow the inclination of your heart 570 00:29:55,920 –> 00:29:59,079 and you will live on impulse, just as Woody Allen did. 571 00:30:00,640 –> 00:30:02,619 But if you believe what we are learning 572 00:30:02,619 –> 00:30:04,920 from the Bible today 573 00:30:04,920 –> 00:30:08,280 you will learn to distrust your own heart. 574 00:30:09,459 –> 00:30:11,719 And so the next time someone says to you, 575 00:30:11,719 –> 00:30:13,300 oh, follow your hearts 576 00:30:13,300 –> 00:30:15,939 doesn’t that phrase sounds so wonderfully pious? 577 00:30:15,939 –> 00:30:18,060 Follow your heart, you’ll say, 578 00:30:18,060 –> 00:30:20,979 wait a minute, follow my heart? 579 00:30:22,819 –> 00:30:25,880 This heart was born in the likeness of Adam. 580 00:30:28,020 –> 00:30:29,339 If I follow my heart 581 00:30:29,339 –> 00:30:32,540 it may lead me into all kinds of sin and folly. 582 00:30:35,439 –> 00:30:37,599 I need to follow the Word 583 00:30:38,859 –> 00:30:42,099 and check what is in my heart against it 584 00:30:42,099 –> 00:30:44,859 and put what is in my heart under it 585 00:30:44,859 –> 00:30:47,760 and let it be the judge of my heart. 586 00:30:47,760 –> 00:30:51,560 Otherwise I will drive myself to a wreck. 587 00:30:54,079 –> 00:30:57,160 A few weeks ago I met with some of our pastors 588 00:30:57,160 –> 00:30:59,160 to talk about the series, 589 00:30:59,160 –> 00:31:01,160 it’s one of the great joys of my life 590 00:31:01,160 –> 00:31:04,060 to gather with the guys in different groups 591 00:31:04,119 –> 00:31:05,699 at different times and just for us 592 00:31:05,699 –> 00:31:07,099 to talk about the scriptures 593 00:31:07,099 –> 00:31:10,099 and for me to benefit from some of their insights. 594 00:31:10,099 –> 00:31:12,339 One of our pastors said, Colin, 595 00:31:14,420 –> 00:31:16,359 he said this series is gonna be important 596 00:31:16,359 –> 00:31:18,579 because many of our people are reading the Bible 597 00:31:18,579 –> 00:31:21,380 but they do not really believe what it says about sin. 598 00:31:22,800 –> 00:31:27,800 The default position in middle-class suburban evangelicalism 599 00:31:31,439 –> 00:31:32,959 is that we’re basically good. 600 00:31:35,000 –> 00:31:39,619 Then Josh Newton, who’s our youth pastor at Barrington 601 00:31:39,619 –> 00:31:43,599 said to me, Pastor Colin do you know the song 602 00:31:43,599 –> 00:31:47,140 by Lady Gaga called Born This Way? 603 00:31:47,140 –> 00:31:52,140 He said students at middle school and high school 604 00:31:55,459 –> 00:31:57,099 believe what that says. 605 00:31:57,660 –> 00:32:01,979 So I said well can you get the words and email them to me. 606 00:32:01,979 –> 00:32:02,819 He had his cellphone. 607 00:32:02,819 –> 00:32:03,979 He said, I just did. 608 00:32:04,780 –> 00:32:07,099 That’s another world isn’t it? 609 00:32:10,180 –> 00:32:11,660 Let me read the words to you. 610 00:32:13,660 –> 00:32:18,660 My mama told me when I was young we are all born superstars. 611 00:32:21,540 –> 00:32:24,819 There’s nothing wrong with loving who you are, she said 612 00:32:24,819 –> 00:32:28,599 because he made you perfect, babe. 613 00:32:29,780 –> 00:32:32,619 So hold your head up girl and you’ll go far. 614 00:32:32,640 –> 00:32:36,339 Listen to me when I say, I’m beautiful in my way. 615 00:32:38,020 –> 00:32:41,640 Cause God makes no mistakes, I’m on the right track, baby. 616 00:32:41,640 –> 00:32:43,020 I was born this way. 617 00:32:45,020 –> 00:32:48,380 Don’t hide yourself in regret, just love yourself 618 00:32:48,380 –> 00:32:50,540 and you’re set. 619 00:32:50,540 –> 00:32:54,959 I’m on the right track, baby, I was born this way. 620 00:32:57,020 –> 00:32:59,540 Let me say these words from a deep place 621 00:32:59,540 –> 00:33:01,819 in my own heart to all parents today. 622 00:33:03,579 –> 00:33:08,140 You may not allow your son or your daughter 623 00:33:08,140 –> 00:33:11,180 to watch or listen to Lady Gaga, 624 00:33:13,459 –> 00:33:17,880 but could it be that you are unwittingly teaching 625 00:33:17,880 –> 00:33:21,479 your children exactly what she is saying? 626 00:33:23,619 –> 00:33:27,979 We live in an affirming culture that gives us the idea 627 00:33:27,979 –> 00:33:30,699 that the best thing we can do for our children 628 00:33:30,699 –> 00:33:34,459 is to constantly tell them how good they are. 629 00:33:36,640 –> 00:33:41,119 Here’s the problem, and I choose my word very carefully. 630 00:33:41,119 –> 00:33:43,619 That is the most damning thing 631 00:33:45,599 –> 00:33:49,859 you could tell your children, and here’s why. 632 00:33:49,859 –> 00:33:52,000 If nothing in your child is broken 633 00:33:52,000 –> 00:33:55,160 what is there in your child to redeem? 634 00:33:56,119 –> 00:34:00,359 How will your child ever see his or her need of a redeemer 635 00:34:00,579 –> 00:34:03,540 if you keep telling him or her how good 636 00:34:03,540 –> 00:34:05,959 and how great they really are? 637 00:34:09,060 –> 00:34:11,139 You say are you suggesting 638 00:34:13,800 –> 00:34:16,139 that I start telling my child 639 00:34:17,540 –> 00:34:20,379 that he or she is a little sinner? 640 00:34:22,699 –> 00:34:25,620 And I say to you no, I’m suggesting 641 00:34:25,840 –> 00:34:28,260 I’m suggesting that you start 642 00:34:29,399 –> 00:34:31,979 by telling your son or your daughter 643 00:34:31,979 –> 00:34:34,080 that you are a big sinner? 644 00:34:36,800 –> 00:34:38,639 I’m serious. 645 00:34:38,639 –> 00:34:42,479 I say to every father in the congregation this morning 646 00:34:42,479 –> 00:34:46,659 does your son know that you see yourself as a sinner 647 00:34:48,300 –> 00:34:51,120 who hangs on the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ 648 00:34:51,120 –> 00:34:53,959 as his only hope, even at his best? 649 00:34:54,800 –> 00:34:57,320 Does your son see in you, 650 00:34:57,320 –> 00:35:00,899 have some knowledge of your intense longing 651 00:35:01,959 –> 00:35:05,699 to battle the cravings of your own heart 652 00:35:05,699 –> 00:35:07,580 in order to grow in the likeness of Christ? 653 00:35:07,580 –> 00:35:12,120 Does your son see that and know that about you? 654 00:35:12,120 –> 00:35:15,540 Does he see some growing, developing likeness of Christ 655 00:35:15,540 –> 00:35:18,399 or does he just see you as a church guy? 656 00:35:18,399 –> 00:35:20,699 Because if he just sees you as a church guy 657 00:35:20,780 –> 00:35:22,959 why is he gonna want to follow that? 658 00:35:25,439 –> 00:35:27,580 Mother, I speak to every mother in the congregation 659 00:35:27,580 –> 00:35:28,899 and every grandmother too, 660 00:35:28,899 –> 00:35:30,580 is your daughter, your granddaughter 661 00:35:30,580 –> 00:35:33,419 seeing a spirit of humility in you? 662 00:35:35,020 –> 00:35:36,080 Does she see repentance? 663 00:35:36,080 –> 00:35:38,919 Does she see brokenness over the pride of your own heart? 664 00:35:38,919 –> 00:35:41,020 Does she see a great longing within you 665 00:35:41,020 –> 00:35:43,219 to be more like Jesus Christ? 666 00:35:43,219 –> 00:35:46,760 Or does she see a self-satisfied contentment 667 00:35:46,760 –> 00:35:50,179 with the position you have gained in life? 668 00:35:51,500 –> 00:35:54,500 Let me tell you about my aha moment on this. 669 00:35:57,219 –> 00:35:59,100 When our boys were in middle school, 670 00:36:00,419 –> 00:36:02,300 we were driving together in the van, 671 00:36:02,300 –> 00:36:03,679 we were heading up to Door County, 672 00:36:03,679 –> 00:36:05,820 the end of the year, we had a couple of days break 673 00:36:05,820 –> 00:36:07,979 and we were bringing in the new year 674 00:36:07,979 –> 00:36:09,260 up there together. 675 00:36:10,179 –> 00:36:12,300 So we have a five-hour tor per whatever it is 676 00:36:12,300 –> 00:36:14,560 and as often happened in our family, 677 00:36:14,560 –> 00:36:16,379 we managed to get into a good 678 00:36:16,379 –> 00:36:18,000 and an interesting conversation. 679 00:36:18,939 –> 00:36:20,739 We got going on this thing, 680 00:36:20,739 –> 00:36:22,379 it’s going to be New Year in two days 681 00:36:22,379 –> 00:36:25,760 and so let’s all come up with ideas 682 00:36:25,760 –> 00:36:28,620 about one thing that each of us could change 683 00:36:28,620 –> 00:36:30,020 in the new year. 684 00:36:30,020 –> 00:36:31,560 What would you want that would be different 685 00:36:31,560 –> 00:36:35,100 from each of us and we all had a free opportunity 686 00:36:35,100 –> 00:36:36,399 to throw in our suggestions. 687 00:36:36,399 –> 00:36:37,659 Well, it went round the family 688 00:36:37,659 –> 00:36:39,780 and you know that the suggestions for dad 689 00:36:39,780 –> 00:36:41,459 are always gonna come last 690 00:36:41,459 –> 00:36:43,699 and finally, the moment comes. 691 00:36:43,699 –> 00:36:45,699 Okay, what do we want dad to change? 692 00:36:46,520 –> 00:36:50,399 And one of our boys said from the backseat of the van, 693 00:36:50,399 –> 00:36:55,060 I wish dad would mess up more. 694 00:36:55,060 –> 00:37:00,060 I wish dad would mess up more. 695 00:37:05,360 –> 00:37:09,100 I will tell you that was a wake up call to me 696 00:37:11,040 –> 00:37:15,459 because I thought this boy actually thinks 697 00:37:15,699 –> 00:37:20,239 that his dad has got his life all sorted out 698 00:37:20,239 –> 00:37:23,800 and that he really hardly messes up at all. 699 00:37:23,800 –> 00:37:28,560 I have got to change that perception 700 00:37:28,560 –> 00:37:32,199 otherwise he will never be drawn to Christ. 701 00:37:33,300 –> 00:37:34,860 How could he be? 702 00:37:37,659 –> 00:37:42,659 So I started a new habit called confessing the mess ups. 703 00:37:42,739 –> 00:37:47,739 The mess ups, and of course we had some fun with it, too. 704 00:37:48,239 –> 00:37:51,959 It was not at all unusual when our family was eating 705 00:37:51,959 –> 00:37:53,199 during the years that followed. 706 00:37:53,199 –> 00:37:54,820 Our kids were in middle school at that time 707 00:37:54,820 –> 00:37:57,040 for me to come in and say well, 708 00:37:57,040 –> 00:37:59,479 dad messed up again today, let me tell you about it 709 00:37:59,479 –> 00:38:01,340 and out would come something. 710 00:38:01,340 –> 00:38:03,600 And you know what happened within a very short period 711 00:38:03,600 –> 00:38:06,620 of time when it was, dad messed up again today, 712 00:38:06,620 –> 00:38:09,860 then it was, oh no dad, not again. 713 00:38:12,659 –> 00:38:16,719 So sometimes it was with great humor. 714 00:38:18,459 –> 00:38:20,540 But I will tell you as they grew in middle school 715 00:38:20,540 –> 00:38:22,860 and then began to develop and through their high school 716 00:38:22,860 –> 00:38:25,139 years more privately and one-on-one, 717 00:38:26,699 –> 00:38:29,840 there were repeated and very real moments 718 00:38:29,840 –> 00:38:34,840 with genuine sadness and on a couple of occasions 719 00:38:35,000 –> 00:38:40,000 with tears saying, son, you need to know 720 00:38:40,080 –> 00:38:45,000 how much your dad right now needs a savior. 721 00:38:48,320 –> 00:38:50,120 What are you teaching your children? 722 00:38:52,560 –> 00:38:55,939 Are you helping them realistically as they grow up 723 00:38:55,939 –> 00:38:59,560 to understand the mystery of sin in their life 724 00:38:59,560 –> 00:39:03,760 because they’re battling all the same things that you are? 725 00:39:03,760 –> 00:39:05,760 Why don’t you come clean with them? 726 00:39:07,439 –> 00:39:09,080 Why don’t you get real with them? 727 00:39:10,919 –> 00:39:13,399 Are you helping your children to understand 728 00:39:13,399 –> 00:39:15,719 the mystery of sin that is in them, 729 00:39:15,719 –> 00:39:20,719 or are you actively blinding their minds to the gospel 730 00:39:20,860 –> 00:39:25,120 by drip feeding them the false gospel of self-esteem? 731 00:39:27,959 –> 00:39:30,560 I have a great burden as you can tell on my heart today 732 00:39:30,560 –> 00:39:34,320 that in too many of our homes we may actually be 733 00:39:34,320 –> 00:39:37,419 undercutting the credibility of the gospel 734 00:39:38,360 –> 00:39:43,360 by drip feeding the false gospel of self-esteem. 735 00:39:47,139 –> 00:39:50,179 And early through, I just want to tell you this that 736 00:39:50,179 –> 00:39:53,820 my mama didn’t tell me when I was young 737 00:39:53,820 –> 00:39:55,860 that we are all born superstars, 738 00:39:58,000 –> 00:39:59,820 and I’m very thankful for it. 739 00:40:01,179 –> 00:40:04,739 My mama loved me greatly and still does, 740 00:40:04,760 –> 00:40:06,239 and I am so grateful for her 741 00:40:06,239 –> 00:40:09,239 and her godly influence in my life. 742 00:40:10,739 –> 00:40:13,620 But with apologies to lady Gaga, 743 00:40:14,520 –> 00:40:17,040 I have rewritten her song. 744 00:40:17,040 –> 00:40:19,939 And with this we end. 745 00:40:19,939 –> 00:40:21,419 Because this is my story, 746 00:40:22,479 –> 00:40:26,659 and it’s polar opposite of what the vast majority 747 00:40:26,659 –> 00:40:28,340 of students are believing today. 748 00:40:29,840 –> 00:40:33,239 My mama told me when I was young, 749 00:40:33,239 –> 00:40:35,020 we are all born sinners. 750 00:40:36,479 –> 00:40:41,120 There’s everything wrong with loving who you are, she said, 751 00:40:41,120 –> 00:40:44,139 because you’re are from perfect, babe! 752 00:40:47,199 –> 00:40:51,360 So bow your head down, boy, and you’ll go far. 753 00:40:51,360 –> 00:40:55,560 Listen to me when I say, become beautiful in God’s way, 754 00:40:56,639 –> 00:40:58,639 because God makes no mistakes. 755 00:40:58,639 –> 00:41:00,540 You’re on the wrong track, baby. 756 00:41:00,540 –> 00:41:01,780 You were born that way. 757 00:41:03,560 –> 00:41:05,919 Draw near to God in regret. 758 00:41:07,379 –> 00:41:10,479 Seek faith in Christ, then you’ll be set. 759 00:41:12,179 –> 00:41:13,959 You’re on the wrong track, baby. 760 00:41:15,280 –> 00:41:16,439 You were born this way. 761 00:41:18,399 –> 00:41:20,479 And I ask you, for the good of your own soul 762 00:41:20,479 –> 00:41:22,639 and for the good of your extended family, 763 00:41:22,639 –> 00:41:25,100 what do you most deeply believe today? 764 00:41:25,100 –> 00:41:27,280 Do you believe the word of God 765 00:41:27,280 –> 00:41:29,540 or do you believe the words of Gaga? 766 00:41:30,060 –> 00:41:33,500 Because if nothing in you is broken, 767 00:41:33,500 –> 00:41:36,040 there’s nothing in you to redeem. 768 00:41:36,040 –> 00:41:38,699 And if you can see nothing in you to redeem 769 00:41:38,699 –> 00:41:40,340 then as long as that is the case, 770 00:41:40,340 –> 00:41:41,739 you will never come to Christ 771 00:41:41,739 –> 00:41:43,659 and then you will die in your sins. 772 00:41:45,840 –> 00:41:47,739 But if you see today that you are a sinner 773 00:41:47,739 –> 00:41:49,260 by nature and by practice 774 00:41:49,260 –> 00:41:51,020 and you believe the word of God, 775 00:41:52,179 –> 00:41:54,620 then I say to you there is a redeemer today 776 00:41:54,620 –> 00:41:55,939 to whom you can come. 777 00:41:55,939 –> 00:41:57,780 Jesus Christ, the righteous one. 778 00:41:57,979 –> 00:41:59,659 Jesus Christ, the righteous one. 779 00:41:59,659 –> 00:42:01,120 And he is ready to receive you 780 00:42:01,120 –> 00:42:02,379 and to walk with you. 781 00:42:02,379 –> 00:42:03,739 And he will change you. 782 00:42:03,739 –> 00:42:06,280 And there is hope for every person 783 00:42:06,280 –> 00:42:09,899 in him today. 784 00:42:09,899 –> 00:42:11,399 Let’s pray together, shall we? 785 00:42:12,260 –> 00:42:13,620 What a great time this would be 786 00:42:13,620 –> 00:42:17,000 to come with a prayer of confession 787 00:42:17,000 –> 00:42:17,959 before God today. 788 00:42:24,020 –> 00:42:25,580 You may want to say something like this, 789 00:42:25,679 –> 00:42:29,820 Lord, I came here feeling pretty good 790 00:42:29,820 –> 00:42:32,379 about what I’m doing and who I am. 791 00:42:32,379 –> 00:42:34,959 And now I’m seeing my need of Christ 792 00:42:34,959 –> 00:42:36,379 in a whole new way. 793 00:42:39,219 –> 00:42:41,120 I see that I am a sinner by nature 794 00:42:41,120 –> 00:42:42,060 and practice. 795 00:42:42,060 –> 00:42:45,760 I see that this is all through me 796 00:42:45,760 –> 00:42:48,459 and within me. 797 00:42:48,459 –> 00:42:49,679 That it is in my flesh. 798 00:42:49,899 –> 00:42:52,500 And oh how much I need the righteous One 799 00:42:52,500 –> 00:42:53,520 Jesus Christ. 800 00:42:57,479 –> 00:43:00,820 And as this risen Savior who bled on that cross 801 00:43:00,820 –> 00:43:05,820 for our sins reaches out those nail-pierced hands 802 00:43:07,219 –> 00:43:09,659 to you by faith and in repentance you can draw 803 00:43:09,659 –> 00:43:11,060 near to Him today. 804 00:43:11,060 –> 00:43:13,100 Lord Jesus I need you, I see this. 805 00:43:13,100 –> 00:43:15,820 I come to you, I put my hope in you. 806 00:43:15,820 –> 00:43:17,739 I embrace you as you embrace me. 807 00:43:20,260 –> 00:43:23,479 And I ask that you will strengthen me in this battle, 808 00:43:23,479 –> 00:43:25,939 that you will change me from within, 809 00:43:25,939 –> 00:43:28,379 that in your mercy and in your grace 810 00:43:28,379 –> 00:43:31,840 you will help me to follow you all the days of my life 811 00:43:31,840 –> 00:43:34,219 until I enter your holy presence, 812 00:43:34,219 –> 00:43:37,860 not on the basis of who I am or what I have done, 813 00:43:37,860 –> 00:43:41,639 but on the basis of who you are and what you have done 814 00:43:41,639 –> 00:43:46,179 and that you are mine and I am yours. 815 00:43:46,399 –> 00:43:51,399 So today, I see as never before that all my good is in you. 816 00:43:54,659 –> 00:43:59,360 And lift my heart in thanksgiving, in Jesus’ name.