1 00:00:00,280 –> 00:00:04,280 Well, please open your Bible at 2 Thessalonians 2 00:00:04,280 –> 00:00:05,160 in Chapter Two 3 00:00:05,160 –> 00:00:07,480 that has been read for us. 4 00:00:07,480 –> 00:00:10,080 This little letter is really a treasure chest 5 00:00:10,080 –> 00:00:14,400 of spiritual wisdom for living the Christian life. 6 00:00:14,400 –> 00:00:15,860 And we’ve called this series 7 00:00:15,860 –> 00:00:18,760 Staying the Course when You’re Tired of the Battle. 8 00:00:18,760 –> 00:00:21,540 We’ve seen that 2 Thessalonians Chapter One 9 00:00:21,540 –> 00:00:24,799 is all about strength for staying the course. 10 00:00:24,799 –> 00:00:26,879 And as we’re getting into Chapter Two now, 11 00:00:26,959 –> 00:00:28,559 we’re discovering that this chapter 12 00:00:28,559 –> 00:00:32,599 is about wisdom for discerning the battle. 13 00:00:32,599 –> 00:00:36,400 What lies behind the great struggles of your life. 14 00:00:36,400 –> 00:00:38,740 People are not the problem. 15 00:00:38,740 –> 00:00:41,939 Behind people who may create many problems in your life, 16 00:00:41,939 –> 00:00:43,320 remember that our struggle 17 00:00:43,320 –> 00:00:45,419 is not against flesh and blood, 18 00:00:45,419 –> 00:00:47,380 but against principalities and powers, 19 00:00:47,380 –> 00:00:52,119 that is dark forces that are at work within this world. 20 00:00:52,119 –> 00:00:53,520 And in this chapter, 21 00:00:53,520 –> 00:00:56,520 we saw last week that these dark powers 22 00:00:56,560 –> 00:01:01,560 will reach their fullest and their most horrible expression 23 00:01:01,680 –> 00:01:05,199 in a person who is called here the man of lawlessness. 24 00:01:05,199 –> 00:01:07,699 John calls him the Antichrist, 25 00:01:07,699 –> 00:01:09,180 who will appear on the scene 26 00:01:09,180 –> 00:01:13,019 shortly before the day of the Lord. 27 00:01:13,019 –> 00:01:16,839 This man we saw will be a parody of the Lord Jesus Christ. 28 00:01:16,839 –> 00:01:19,680 He will exalt himself over all religion. 29 00:01:19,680 –> 00:01:22,959 Verse four, that is everything that is called God, 30 00:01:22,959 –> 00:01:24,860 everything that is worshiped, 31 00:01:24,860 –> 00:01:26,339 and he will in that same verse 32 00:01:26,339 –> 00:01:28,580 set himself up in God’s temple, 33 00:01:28,580 –> 00:01:32,059 proclaiming himself to be God. 34 00:01:32,059 –> 00:01:34,339 We saw that setting himself up in God’s temple 35 00:01:34,339 –> 00:01:37,239 means that he puts himself in the place of God’s law. 36 00:01:37,239 –> 00:01:40,400 He puts himself in the place of Christ’s sacrifice. 37 00:01:40,400 –> 00:01:44,059 He puts himself in the place of God. 38 00:01:44,059 –> 00:01:46,419 And we saw that this is what sin is made off. 39 00:01:46,419 –> 00:01:50,260 This is what sin actually looks like on the inside. 40 00:01:50,260 –> 00:01:53,660 This is the work of Satan at its core. 41 00:01:53,680 –> 00:01:54,800 You replace God’s law 42 00:01:54,800 –> 00:01:57,900 and Christ sacrifice, and God himself, 43 00:01:57,900 –> 00:01:58,739 with your own being. 44 00:01:58,739 –> 00:02:03,080 He sets himself up in God’s temple. 45 00:02:04,120 –> 00:02:06,540 Now we saw, and this was the most important thing 46 00:02:06,540 –> 00:02:07,680 that we saw last week, 47 00:02:07,680 –> 00:02:10,320 that the power that one day will animate 48 00:02:10,320 –> 00:02:13,179 this man of lawlessness, the antichrist, 49 00:02:13,179 –> 00:02:17,580 is verse seven already at work in the world 50 00:02:17,580 –> 00:02:21,380 and we see this, we see this all around us 51 00:02:21,399 –> 00:02:24,419 when someone is living or saying, 52 00:02:24,419 –> 00:02:26,779 it’s all about me, that’s putting yourself 53 00:02:26,779 –> 00:02:28,020 in the place of God. 54 00:02:28,880 –> 00:02:30,419 No one tells me what to do, 55 00:02:30,419 –> 00:02:33,619 that’s putting yourself in the place of God’s law. 56 00:02:33,619 –> 00:02:36,460 I’m a good person, that’s putting yourself 57 00:02:36,460 –> 00:02:38,300 in the place of Christ’s sacrifice 58 00:02:38,300 –> 00:02:42,440 because if you’re so good, why would you need a sacrifice? 59 00:02:42,440 –> 00:02:45,220 The secret power, the mystery of sin 60 00:02:45,220 –> 00:02:46,820 is already at work in us 61 00:02:46,820 –> 00:02:48,820 and when we began to recognize it, 62 00:02:48,820 –> 00:02:50,259 I think we quickly saw, 63 00:02:50,259 –> 00:02:53,759 even as Christian believers that this is in us 64 00:02:53,759 –> 00:02:56,539 and so we ended last week by asking the question, 65 00:02:56,539 –> 00:02:59,880 how can I overcome as a Christian believer, 66 00:02:59,880 –> 00:03:02,220 the mystery of sin in my own life. 67 00:03:02,220 –> 00:03:05,660 I found that stuff comes up from somewhere deep within me, 68 00:03:05,660 –> 00:03:08,279 from an abyss within me, I do not understand it, 69 00:03:08,279 –> 00:03:12,559 the mystery of sin and we ended here last week 70 00:03:12,559 –> 00:03:16,940 that when you know how the Antichrist will be destroyed, 71 00:03:17,839 –> 00:03:21,580 then you will understand how the spirit that animates him 72 00:03:21,580 –> 00:03:23,220 that is already at work in the world 73 00:03:23,220 –> 00:03:26,300 and there’s a great battle, can be overcome 74 00:03:26,300 –> 00:03:28,119 and so we got as far as verse eight 75 00:03:28,119 –> 00:03:30,419 where we’re told in these wonderful words 76 00:03:30,419 –> 00:03:32,899 that the Lord Jesus will overthrow him 77 00:03:32,899 –> 00:03:36,759 that is the Antichrist by, notice these two phrases, 78 00:03:36,759 –> 00:03:39,860 the breath of his mouth and destroy him 79 00:03:39,860 –> 00:03:43,259 by the splendor of his coming. 80 00:03:43,259 –> 00:03:46,880 Since that is how Antichrist will be overthrown, 81 00:03:46,899 –> 00:03:50,520 we discerned from that, the way that we overcome 82 00:03:50,520 –> 00:03:53,339 the secret power that will one day animate him 83 00:03:53,339 –> 00:03:55,720 that’s already at work in the world is the same way, 84 00:03:55,720 –> 00:03:57,240 it’s by the breath of Christ, 85 00:03:57,240 –> 00:03:59,679 it is by the splendor of Christ, 86 00:03:59,679 –> 00:04:02,360 it is in other words, by receiving the life, 87 00:04:02,360 –> 00:04:07,360 the breath of Jesus, it is by seeing the glory of Jesus. 88 00:04:07,539 –> 00:04:09,539 This is how evil is overcome, 89 00:04:09,539 –> 00:04:11,479 a very important principle, 90 00:04:11,479 –> 00:04:15,320 so practical for us to grasp today. 91 00:04:16,320 –> 00:04:17,519 Now let’s take a moment then 92 00:04:17,519 –> 00:04:20,420 with this marvelous truth of verse eight 93 00:04:20,420 –> 00:04:23,480 and let’s ponder it just for a moment together. 94 00:04:23,480 –> 00:04:28,359 Here is this man, the anti-Christ, 95 00:04:28,359 –> 00:04:33,359 in whom evil reaches its diabolical worst, 96 00:04:34,679 –> 00:04:36,359 here is a man who has yet to come 97 00:04:36,359 –> 00:04:37,820 on the scene of human history, 98 00:04:37,820 –> 00:04:40,459 he will be more powerful and more evil 99 00:04:40,459 –> 00:04:42,839 than Hitler or Stalin or Nero 100 00:04:42,839 –> 00:04:44,880 or any other person in history 101 00:04:44,959 –> 00:04:47,140 that you can think of today, 102 00:04:48,179 –> 00:04:50,440 and how will he be overthrown? 103 00:04:51,660 –> 00:04:54,480 Answer, verse eight, 104 00:04:54,480 –> 00:04:57,459 the son of God will be revealed 105 00:04:58,839 –> 00:05:01,459 and He will blow a breath 106 00:05:05,119 –> 00:05:08,019 and this greatest power of evil, 107 00:05:09,200 –> 00:05:10,579 completely overthrown. 108 00:05:12,179 –> 00:05:13,260 Don’t that strike you as marvelous 109 00:05:13,260 –> 00:05:14,779 and glorious and wonderful? 110 00:05:15,559 –> 00:05:18,019 Like a child blowing a candle, 111 00:05:19,519 –> 00:05:20,899 the breath of His mouth. 112 00:05:24,899 –> 00:05:29,540 One breath from Him and all His enemies are overthrown, 113 00:05:29,540 –> 00:05:31,519 that’s the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. 114 00:05:33,339 –> 00:05:36,100 So we read in the Bible about a great last battle, 115 00:05:36,100 –> 00:05:39,200 Armageddon, you can read about it in the Book of Revelation. 116 00:05:40,519 –> 00:05:43,500 But don’t when you read that imagine for one minute 117 00:05:43,540 –> 00:05:45,720 that this is some kind of Titanic struggle 118 00:05:45,720 –> 00:05:47,739 in which Christ barely wins. 119 00:05:48,980 –> 00:05:51,079 No, listen, the wicked are like the chafe, 120 00:05:52,179 –> 00:05:53,760 that the wind blows away. 121 00:05:55,619 –> 00:05:58,140 And Isaiah says in these marvelous words 122 00:05:58,140 –> 00:06:00,239 from chapter 40, you may know them, 123 00:06:00,239 –> 00:06:04,779 God reduces the rulers of the world to nothing. 124 00:06:04,779 –> 00:06:05,899 And how does he do it? 125 00:06:05,899 –> 00:06:08,959 Isaiah says, He blows on them, 126 00:06:10,380 –> 00:06:11,260 and they weather. 127 00:06:12,140 –> 00:06:17,140 Like a whirlwind, they are swept away. 128 00:06:17,859 –> 00:06:21,140 Now that is why God says to us in Psalm 37, 129 00:06:21,140 –> 00:06:23,739 do not therefore fret because of evil men. 130 00:06:23,739 –> 00:06:25,899 Are there evil people that you are seeing 131 00:06:25,899 –> 00:06:28,260 and you’re getting all worried and all anxious? 132 00:06:29,480 –> 00:06:32,260 Do not fret because of evil men, 133 00:06:32,260 –> 00:06:36,059 for they are like grass and they will soon weather. 134 00:06:36,059 –> 00:06:40,980 Like green plants, they will soon die away. 135 00:06:41,040 –> 00:06:42,799 So do you see how wonderful this is? 136 00:06:42,799 –> 00:06:44,600 What a glimpse of the sovereignty 137 00:06:44,600 –> 00:06:47,739 and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ we have here, 138 00:06:47,739 –> 00:06:50,540 that he overcomes the greatest power of evil 139 00:06:50,540 –> 00:06:52,040 in all human history, how? 140 00:06:53,420 –> 00:06:56,380 By the breath of his mouth, marvelous, 141 00:06:56,380 –> 00:06:58,640 and this is your savior. 142 00:06:58,640 –> 00:06:59,720 He’s for you. 143 00:07:01,299 –> 00:07:03,040 And then notice the second thing, 144 00:07:03,040 –> 00:07:08,040 and he will destroy them by the splendor of his coming. 145 00:07:09,000 –> 00:07:12,399 The splendor of his coming. 146 00:07:12,399 –> 00:07:15,679 That makes me think about a man called Saul of Tarsus. 147 00:07:15,679 –> 00:07:17,519 You remember his story? 148 00:07:17,519 –> 00:07:20,079 And here’s this man, he’s a mover, he’s a shaker. 149 00:07:20,079 –> 00:07:21,519 He’s gonna change the world. 150 00:07:21,519 –> 00:07:22,899 He’s gonna make his mark. 151 00:07:22,899 –> 00:07:24,399 He’s going to make things happen. 152 00:07:24,399 –> 00:07:26,799 He’s on the way to a place called Damascus, 153 00:07:26,799 –> 00:07:29,399 and suddenly he’s stopped in his tracks. 154 00:07:29,399 –> 00:07:32,119 And he’s down in the dust. 155 00:07:32,119 –> 00:07:32,959 Why? 156 00:07:33,880 –> 00:07:38,880 The splendor of the risen Lord Jesus Christ appears to him. 157 00:07:40,839 –> 00:07:43,459 He can’t move, he can’t see, he can’t speak. 158 00:07:45,619 –> 00:07:46,880 Earlier this month 159 00:07:48,119 –> 00:07:52,160 there was a partial solar eclipse. 160 00:07:53,079 –> 00:07:55,179 The moon passing between the sun and the earth 161 00:07:55,179 –> 00:07:57,940 and it was visible from much of Europe, 162 00:07:57,940 –> 00:08:02,119 North Africa, and central Asia. 163 00:08:02,739 –> 00:08:05,660 I enjoyed an article in the London Times 164 00:08:05,660 –> 00:08:10,220 that began by saying, in typical fashion, 165 00:08:10,220 –> 00:08:12,540 that the weather forecast for the third of January 166 00:08:12,540 –> 00:08:15,459 in Britain was cloudy 167 00:08:15,459 –> 00:08:18,019 and therefore there wasn’t much chance of seeing it there. 168 00:08:18,019 –> 00:08:21,260 I mean, typical, that is absolutely typical, I promise you. 169 00:08:21,260 –> 00:08:25,420 Nevertheless, the government had issued a warning, 170 00:08:25,420 –> 00:08:28,059 I love this, obviously concerned 171 00:08:28,059 –> 00:08:29,339 that in some small part 172 00:08:29,339 –> 00:08:30,179 of Great Britain 173 00:08:30,279 –> 00:08:31,880 there might actually be a glimpse 174 00:08:31,880 –> 00:08:33,900 of the sunlight during the day. 175 00:08:34,919 –> 00:08:38,320 And so I quote you from The Times, 3rd of January. 176 00:08:38,320 –> 00:08:39,719 While cloud is likely 177 00:08:39,719 –> 00:08:43,880 to obscure the partial solar eclipse this morning, 178 00:08:43,880 –> 00:08:48,200 doctors have warned that looking at it 179 00:08:48,200 –> 00:08:50,799 directly in clear spells, 180 00:08:50,799 –> 00:08:53,280 that’s as good as it’s going to get, clear spells. 181 00:08:54,840 –> 00:08:56,799 even for seconds 182 00:08:57,799 –> 00:09:02,299 may permanently damage your eyes. 183 00:09:03,440 –> 00:09:04,539 You think about that. 184 00:09:05,919 –> 00:09:07,460 To look at this partial eclipse, 185 00:09:07,460 –> 00:09:10,960 the doctors are saying even for seconds, 186 00:09:10,960 –> 00:09:12,559 you look at it directly, 187 00:09:12,559 –> 00:09:17,559 it may permanently damage your eyes. 188 00:09:19,000 –> 00:09:20,880 Now, I just put that down in the paper 189 00:09:20,880 –> 00:09:22,859 and I thought to myself, 190 00:09:23,619 –> 00:09:26,340 if that is what the splendor of the sun 191 00:09:26,340 –> 00:09:28,659 could do to me by looking at it 192 00:09:28,659 –> 00:09:32,799 in partial eclipse for a few seconds, 193 00:09:34,219 –> 00:09:36,659 what then is the brightness, and splendor, 194 00:09:36,659 –> 00:09:40,340 and glory of the son of God who made it? 195 00:09:42,500 –> 00:09:46,820 He will destroy them by the splendor of His coming. 196 00:09:50,239 –> 00:09:52,739 Does that give you a sense of the sovereign power 197 00:09:52,739 –> 00:09:55,580 of your risen Lord, Jesus Christ? 198 00:09:55,580 –> 00:09:57,940 Does that make you sense that it is wonderful 199 00:09:57,940 –> 00:10:00,140 that you are His, 200 00:10:00,140 –> 00:10:03,239 and that He is for you? 201 00:10:04,479 –> 00:10:08,559 Now, verses 10 that we’re coming to as our focus here, now, 202 00:10:08,559 –> 00:10:13,559 are really taking us deeper into this mystery of sin 203 00:10:15,020 –> 00:10:16,679 that Paul has been describing, 204 00:10:16,679 –> 00:10:18,960 the secret work of lawlessness 205 00:10:18,960 –> 00:10:22,039 that can only be overcome by Christ’s breath 206 00:10:22,080 –> 00:10:25,840 and by the splendor of His coming. 207 00:10:25,840 –> 00:10:27,599 Remember that this whole chapter 208 00:10:27,599 –> 00:10:29,659 is about wisdom for discerning the battle. 209 00:10:29,659 –> 00:10:32,179 It’s practical stuff for us to understand 210 00:10:32,179 –> 00:10:34,559 what we are up against in our own lives 211 00:10:34,559 –> 00:10:39,140 and in ministry and in mission in the world today. 212 00:10:39,140 –> 00:10:42,280 And last week, we looked at this particularly 213 00:10:42,280 –> 00:10:46,679 in application to our own battles as Christian believers. 214 00:10:47,840 –> 00:10:49,780 Today I want to do something different. 215 00:10:49,780 –> 00:10:52,859 I want us to look at the mystery of sin 216 00:10:52,859 –> 00:10:54,880 in the life of an unbeliever. 217 00:10:56,159 –> 00:10:58,979 What does the secret power of sin look like 218 00:10:58,979 –> 00:11:01,619 in the life of your unbelieving son, or daughter, 219 00:11:01,619 –> 00:11:04,340 or husband, or wife, or neighbor, or relative, 220 00:11:04,340 –> 00:11:07,539 or friend, or colleague who does not know Jesus Christ, 221 00:11:07,539 –> 00:11:09,460 doesn’t see anything of His splendor? 222 00:11:09,460 –> 00:11:12,500 Christ is not glorious to that person. 223 00:11:12,500 –> 00:11:14,020 Does you not yet know the life, 224 00:11:14,020 –> 00:11:17,900 the breath of Jesus Christ in their soul? 225 00:11:18,840 –> 00:11:21,619 And these verses, Second Thessalonians 2, 226 00:11:21,619 –> 00:11:24,179 verse 10 through 12, gives us one 227 00:11:24,179 –> 00:11:29,179 of the most comprehensive and incisive analysis 228 00:11:29,299 –> 00:11:32,719 of what sin does in the life of an unbeliever 229 00:11:32,719 –> 00:11:34,760 in all of the New Testament. 230 00:11:34,760 –> 00:11:37,140 And it’s of huge importance for this reason, 231 00:11:38,200 –> 00:11:42,820 that what you believe about sin will in large measure 232 00:11:42,820 –> 00:11:46,500 shape your convictions about mission and evangelism. 233 00:11:46,500 –> 00:11:48,580 Therefore, this is of huge importance to all of us 234 00:11:48,580 –> 00:11:50,179 who are believers, it’s of huge importance 235 00:11:50,179 –> 00:11:52,219 with regards to the church, 236 00:11:52,219 –> 00:11:57,200 what we as a body of believers believe about sin 237 00:11:57,380 –> 00:12:01,119 will in large measure shape our strategy 238 00:12:01,119 –> 00:12:04,979 with regards to the whole sphere of mission and evangelism. 239 00:12:04,979 –> 00:12:08,679 Therefore, it is very important that we have understood 240 00:12:08,679 –> 00:12:11,840 what the Bible has to say on this subject. 241 00:12:11,840 –> 00:12:14,960 How are we to engage in this work of evangelism? 242 00:12:15,000 –> 00:12:18,840 What is at the center of the work of Christian mission? 243 00:12:18,840 –> 00:12:21,940 Our answer to that will in large measure 244 00:12:21,940 –> 00:12:24,140 derive from our understanding 245 00:12:24,140 –> 00:12:28,280 of what the human problem actually is. 246 00:12:30,380 –> 00:12:32,780 I was having breakfast just a few weeks ago, 247 00:12:34,099 –> 00:12:39,000 and a friend was telling me that he is witnessing 248 00:12:39,000 –> 00:12:41,580 to one of his colleagues at work, wonderful thing, 249 00:12:42,619 –> 00:12:43,719 and we’re sitting over breakfast 250 00:12:43,719 –> 00:12:46,659 in this casual conversation and he said, 251 00:12:46,659 –> 00:12:51,659 you know Colin, he said, this guy lives like the devil, 252 00:12:52,559 –> 00:12:55,239 but he’s really good at heart. 253 00:12:55,239 –> 00:12:56,979 And I said, hey wait a minute, 254 00:12:58,599 –> 00:13:01,340 how can he be good at heart 255 00:13:01,340 –> 00:13:03,919 if he lives like the devil? 256 00:13:03,919 –> 00:13:06,580 Surely if he lives like the devil, 257 00:13:06,580 –> 00:13:10,719 there must be something wrong with his heart, 258 00:13:10,719 –> 00:13:12,239 and that’s what we’re on about you see, 259 00:13:12,239 –> 00:13:13,940 we talk like this over breakfast. 260 00:13:13,940 –> 00:13:15,159 Don’t we, people are good at heart 261 00:13:15,159 –> 00:13:16,320 and all this kind of thing. 262 00:13:16,320 –> 00:13:20,419 What actually is, what does sin do 263 00:13:20,419 –> 00:13:21,659 in the life of an unbeliever? 264 00:13:21,659 –> 00:13:22,500 Someone you’re praying for, 265 00:13:22,500 –> 00:13:23,940 someone you’re witnessing to, 266 00:13:23,940 –> 00:13:26,140 what is the nature of the human condition? 267 00:13:26,140 –> 00:13:27,700 Remember Jesus said this, 268 00:13:27,700 –> 00:13:30,679 it is out of men’s hearts 269 00:13:30,679 –> 00:13:32,960 that evil thoughts come, 270 00:13:32,960 –> 00:13:34,580 and sexual immorality, and greed, 271 00:13:34,580 –> 00:13:36,500 and malice, and envy, and arrogance, and folly, 272 00:13:36,500 –> 00:13:37,659 the list goes on and on, 273 00:13:37,659 –> 00:13:39,619 these things come from inside, 274 00:13:39,619 –> 00:13:42,260 it’s not environmental in its essence, 275 00:13:42,260 –> 00:13:43,500 it’s not from outside. 276 00:13:44,580 –> 00:13:46,020 Jesus says it is from inside, 277 00:13:46,020 –> 00:13:47,059 that heart of the problem 278 00:13:47,059 –> 00:13:50,840 is the problem of the human heart, 279 00:13:50,840 –> 00:13:52,340 so what we’re learning here 280 00:13:52,340 –> 00:13:55,700 is that sin is a secret power 281 00:13:55,700 –> 00:13:58,700 and it works in the soul, 282 00:13:58,700 –> 00:14:02,979 and these verses give us a devastating analysis 283 00:14:02,979 –> 00:14:05,580 of the power and the effect of sin, 284 00:14:05,580 –> 00:14:07,260 this mystery, this secret power 285 00:14:07,260 –> 00:14:08,659 that we’ve been looking at 286 00:14:08,700 –> 00:14:12,099 in the life of an unbeliever, 287 00:14:12,099 –> 00:14:13,979 so it’s very important for us to understand 288 00:14:13,979 –> 00:14:16,780 this is a huge building block 289 00:14:16,780 –> 00:14:19,539 of your understanding of the Christian faith 290 00:14:19,539 –> 00:14:21,940 and if you can get it clear today, 291 00:14:21,940 –> 00:14:23,200 then it will really help you 292 00:14:23,200 –> 00:14:25,619 and it will direct your thinking 293 00:14:25,619 –> 00:14:28,700 with regards to the most practical strategies 294 00:14:28,700 –> 00:14:31,140 of Christian ministry, 295 00:14:31,140 –> 00:14:32,780 so let me offer to you just very simply, 296 00:14:32,780 –> 00:14:34,940 I’m just gonna be reading through this, 297 00:14:34,940 –> 00:14:39,940 but I’m calling it Seven Bitter Fruits of Sin. 298 00:14:40,260 –> 00:14:45,260 Seven Bitter Fruits of Sin 299 00:14:45,299 –> 00:14:46,580 and if you have your Bible open, 300 00:14:46,580 –> 00:14:48,039 you’ll see all of them right there. 301 00:14:48,039 –> 00:14:49,640 We’ve looked at what sin is, 302 00:14:49,640 –> 00:14:51,960 putting yourself in the place of God. 303 00:14:51,960 –> 00:14:53,979 Now we’re looking at what sin does, 304 00:14:53,979 –> 00:14:57,460 what it produces in the life of an unbeliever. 305 00:14:57,460 –> 00:15:01,799 Number one, first bitter fruit, deceived. 306 00:15:02,659 –> 00:15:03,679 He speaks here, verse 10, 307 00:15:03,760 –> 00:15:06,619 of every sort of evil 308 00:15:07,500 –> 00:15:11,000 that deceives those who are perishing. 309 00:15:12,239 –> 00:15:14,159 Now notice these two words then. 310 00:15:14,159 –> 00:15:17,159 Scripture says, evil deceives, 311 00:15:17,159 –> 00:15:19,200 that’s its nature, it always does that. 312 00:15:20,099 –> 00:15:22,359 It is at the very heart of Satan’s work 313 00:15:22,359 –> 00:15:26,520 that he will find some way to make sin look attractive 314 00:15:27,359 –> 00:15:29,400 and it’s very important to understand this 315 00:15:29,400 –> 00:15:33,440 because candidly, some sin will disgust you. 316 00:15:34,059 –> 00:15:35,599 You will look at what other people do 317 00:15:35,599 –> 00:15:37,239 and you will say, that is so disgusting. 318 00:15:37,239 –> 00:15:39,619 I cannot imagine why anyone would ever do that. 319 00:15:40,900 –> 00:15:43,840 But what I’m telling you is that Satan will find a way 320 00:15:43,840 –> 00:15:48,739 to have some forms of sin that are attractive to you 321 00:15:48,739 –> 00:15:50,239 and that’s where the deception comes in. 322 00:15:50,239 –> 00:15:53,159 It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. 323 00:15:53,159 –> 00:15:56,880 Deceived, second, perishing. 324 00:15:58,159 –> 00:16:02,640 He deceives those who are perishing. 325 00:16:02,640 –> 00:16:04,820 I’m just, this is the bitter fruits 326 00:16:04,820 –> 00:16:05,820 just hanging from the tree. 327 00:16:05,820 –> 00:16:08,539 It’s just there in the scripture. 328 00:16:08,539 –> 00:16:10,039 You see it right in front of you. 329 00:16:10,039 –> 00:16:15,039 It’s what God says to us about the unbelieving condition. 330 00:16:15,200 –> 00:16:16,440 Perishing. 331 00:16:16,440 –> 00:16:20,919 Notice the present tense for those who are outside 332 00:16:20,919 –> 00:16:22,000 of Jesus Christ. 333 00:16:22,000 –> 00:16:23,960 There is an unraveling of life 334 00:16:23,960 –> 00:16:26,080 that is going on now. 335 00:16:27,640 –> 00:16:30,099 Not only in the judgment to come, now. 336 00:16:30,099 –> 00:16:31,119 Perishing. 337 00:16:32,119 –> 00:16:34,559 There’s a taking down, there’s a reducing, 338 00:16:34,559 –> 00:16:35,780 there’s a becoming less, 339 00:16:35,780 –> 00:16:38,539 that is a theme that runs through the life 340 00:16:38,539 –> 00:16:40,820 of a person without Jesus Christ. 341 00:16:42,239 –> 00:16:43,719 It’s already begun. 342 00:16:43,719 –> 00:16:48,440 By nature, the sinner is perishing, third. 343 00:16:50,080 –> 00:16:52,260 They perish, verse 10, 344 00:16:52,260 –> 00:16:56,500 because they refuse to love the truth. 345 00:16:56,500 –> 00:16:58,760 So there we are, we’re just reading through these verses 346 00:16:58,760 –> 00:17:00,780 our refusal to love the truth. 347 00:17:01,460 –> 00:17:03,919 Now notice what he says, it’s very significant, 348 00:17:03,919 –> 00:17:06,380 because these people have heard the gospel, 349 00:17:06,380 –> 00:17:08,339 the folks that he’s describing here, 350 00:17:08,339 –> 00:17:10,260 we’re not talking about people who’ve never heard, 351 00:17:10,260 –> 00:17:11,719 in this case, we’re talking about people 352 00:17:11,719 –> 00:17:15,020 who have heard the truth, as all of us have heard the truth. 353 00:17:15,900 –> 00:17:19,420 But here are some people who have not believed the truth, 354 00:17:19,420 –> 00:17:20,900 but the thing that he really picks up 355 00:17:20,900 –> 00:17:22,760 is not simply that they didn’t believe it, 356 00:17:22,760 –> 00:17:24,260 but that they didn’t love it, 357 00:17:24,260 –> 00:17:26,760 because that’s the thing that goes deeper, you see. 358 00:17:26,760 –> 00:17:28,500 That’s the real issue. 359 00:17:28,880 –> 00:17:32,140 The heart governs the life more than the head. 360 00:17:33,680 –> 00:17:35,219 The greatest barriers to faith 361 00:17:35,219 –> 00:17:38,859 lie not in the doubts of the mind, 362 00:17:38,859 –> 00:17:40,880 but in the desires of the heart. 363 00:17:42,979 –> 00:17:44,660 Long ago I heard a story 364 00:17:44,660 –> 00:17:47,540 that I found very helpful on this point, 365 00:17:47,540 –> 00:17:52,000 about an atheist that went into an old church, 366 00:17:52,000 –> 00:17:54,699 and as it’s sometimes the case with very old churches, 367 00:17:54,699 –> 00:17:57,859 they had the creed on one wall, 368 00:17:57,859 –> 00:18:01,140 and they had the 10 Commandments on another wall, 369 00:18:01,140 –> 00:18:03,219 and the pastor was there and the atheist came up, 370 00:18:03,219 –> 00:18:06,420 and he looked at the creed and he said to the pastor, 371 00:18:06,420 –> 00:18:09,459 well, of course, this I cannot believe. 372 00:18:10,880 –> 00:18:12,599 And the pastor pointed into the other wall 373 00:18:12,599 –> 00:18:15,020 and he said, are you sure that it’s not a case 374 00:18:15,020 –> 00:18:17,920 that these you will not obey? 375 00:18:19,020 –> 00:18:20,719 As he pointed to the commandments. 376 00:18:21,880 –> 00:18:24,859 The root of unbelief, 377 00:18:24,859 –> 00:18:27,900 the root of it lies not in the head, 378 00:18:29,020 –> 00:18:30,420 but in the heart always, 379 00:18:31,500 –> 00:18:33,680 because the life is governed more by the heart 380 00:18:33,680 –> 00:18:35,099 than it is by the head. 381 00:18:36,180 –> 00:18:38,619 Refusing to love the truth. 382 00:18:38,619 –> 00:18:42,400 It’s a momentum of the heart that’s pulling in another way. 383 00:18:42,400 –> 00:18:44,079 And what way is it pulling? 384 00:18:44,079 –> 00:18:47,140 Well, if you look in verse 12, there’s where it goes, 385 00:18:47,140 –> 00:18:48,500 it doesn’t love the truth, why? 386 00:18:48,500 –> 00:18:50,739 Because it delights in wickedness. 387 00:18:50,739 –> 00:18:52,780 Verse 12, all will be condemned 388 00:18:52,780 –> 00:18:54,619 who have not believed the truth, 389 00:18:55,459 –> 00:18:58,219 but have delighted in wickedness 390 00:18:58,219 –> 00:19:01,420 or found pleasure in wickedness. 391 00:19:01,420 –> 00:19:04,300 Now, do you see that how these two things are put together 392 00:19:04,300 –> 00:19:07,619 that delighting in wickedness is the explanation 393 00:19:07,619 –> 00:19:09,040 of not believing the truth. 394 00:19:10,219 –> 00:19:13,339 You may present your reasons for not believing, 395 00:19:13,339 –> 00:19:15,219 but what the scripture is saying to you here 396 00:19:15,219 –> 00:19:17,599 is that behind all these reasons 397 00:19:17,599 –> 00:19:19,819 that you keep putting forward for not believing, 398 00:19:19,819 –> 00:19:22,800 there is a delighting that’s going in the wrong direction. 399 00:19:23,739 –> 00:19:26,479 When the heart loves wickedness, 400 00:19:26,479 –> 00:19:28,339 it is impossible for the light, 401 00:19:28,339 –> 00:19:31,699 and for the mind to embrace the truth. 402 00:19:31,699 –> 00:19:33,839 So Jesus said to the Pharisees on one occasion, 403 00:19:33,839 –> 00:19:36,500 He said, now how can you believe? 404 00:19:36,500 –> 00:19:39,020 How can you believe? 405 00:19:39,020 –> 00:19:42,040 When what you’re doing is you’re seeking the praise of men 406 00:19:42,880 –> 00:19:43,920 and you’re making no effort 407 00:19:43,920 –> 00:19:47,199 to seek the praise that comes from God, you say? 408 00:19:47,199 –> 00:19:49,699 Your heart is on popularity. 409 00:19:49,699 –> 00:19:52,160 And as long as your heart is on popularity, 410 00:19:52,160 –> 00:19:53,359 the desire of your heart 411 00:19:53,359 –> 00:19:55,800 is making it impossible for you to believe 412 00:19:55,800 –> 00:19:57,280 because you know there’ll be a sacrifice 413 00:19:57,280 –> 00:20:00,280 and people will reject you if you follow Christ. 414 00:20:00,280 –> 00:20:02,280 That’s the real reason. 415 00:20:02,280 –> 00:20:04,479 That’s what’s actually going on at the core. 416 00:20:06,280 –> 00:20:10,959 And so we come to the fifth of these bitter, bitter fruits. 417 00:20:10,959 –> 00:20:12,040 One after another. 418 00:20:13,119 –> 00:20:16,180 Under a powerful delusion for this reason, 419 00:20:17,280 –> 00:20:19,079 what reason is that for the reason 420 00:20:19,079 –> 00:20:22,079 that they refused to love the truth, 421 00:20:23,199 –> 00:20:28,199 God sends them a powerful delusion. 422 00:20:30,400 –> 00:20:33,079 So this is looking down the line 423 00:20:34,260 –> 00:20:38,959 at what happens as a person continues 424 00:20:38,959 –> 00:20:42,319 to resist Jesus Christ and to push him away 425 00:20:42,319 –> 00:20:45,359 and to refuse to love the truth and so forth and so on, 426 00:20:45,420 –> 00:20:47,520 and you go down that line, 427 00:20:48,540 –> 00:20:51,219 and here’s what the apostle says in the scripture here. 428 00:20:51,219 –> 00:20:56,219 For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion. 429 00:20:59,959 –> 00:21:02,219 Now, think carefully what’s happening here. 430 00:21:02,219 –> 00:21:04,239 Follow what the Bible is saying to you. 431 00:21:05,819 –> 00:21:07,819 Here are folks who have heard the truth 432 00:21:08,760 –> 00:21:10,099 and they’ve refused the truth. 433 00:21:10,099 –> 00:21:11,800 I don’t want the truth, I don’t love the truth. 434 00:21:11,800 –> 00:21:13,359 A delight in wickedness. 435 00:21:15,020 –> 00:21:17,819 And God gives them what they desire. 436 00:21:19,339 –> 00:21:21,199 They do not want the truth, 437 00:21:22,540 –> 00:21:26,420 and so God causes them to be unable to receive the truth. 438 00:21:26,420 –> 00:21:29,319 He sends, so you can’t get away from God’s activity 439 00:21:29,319 –> 00:21:31,020 in this remarkable phrase, 440 00:21:31,020 –> 00:21:33,140 he sends on them, that is on those 441 00:21:33,140 –> 00:21:36,239 who have refused the truth, a powerful delusion. 442 00:21:38,020 –> 00:21:39,939 So here’s the burden of my heart today. 443 00:21:40,920 –> 00:21:45,859 I want to press on all of you 444 00:21:47,339 –> 00:21:51,979 who have not yet come to know and love Jesus Christ 445 00:21:51,979 –> 00:21:53,479 and respond to the gospel. 446 00:21:54,699 –> 00:21:59,699 I want to press on you today the spiritual danger 447 00:22:00,099 –> 00:22:05,099 of you continuing to resist Jesus Christ. 448 00:22:05,979 –> 00:22:09,660 See, some of you come to church, 449 00:22:09,660 –> 00:22:12,579 some younger, and some older. 450 00:22:12,579 –> 00:22:16,400 And you put Jesus off, 451 00:22:16,400 –> 00:22:17,579 you say, 452 00:22:17,579 –> 00:22:19,420 I will become a Christian later. 453 00:22:19,420 –> 00:22:20,900 You’ve been doing this for years. 454 00:22:20,900 –> 00:22:23,119 You’d say, well, 455 00:22:23,119 –> 00:22:24,079 I’ll make a response, 456 00:22:24,079 –> 00:22:25,020 but I’m not ready yet. 457 00:22:25,020 –> 00:22:27,520 And even right now, 458 00:22:27,520 –> 00:22:30,560 you would push Jesus Christ away. 459 00:22:30,560 –> 00:22:32,719 Now listen, 460 00:22:33,119 –> 00:22:35,359 as you’re saying to yourself, 461 00:22:35,359 –> 00:22:38,000 I can become a Christian later. 462 00:22:38,000 –> 00:22:39,280 How do you know that? 463 00:22:40,839 –> 00:22:42,339 You may not be able to. 464 00:22:43,579 –> 00:22:45,239 You have to be realistic. 465 00:22:45,239 –> 00:22:49,119 The secret work of sin is going on within you. 466 00:22:49,119 –> 00:22:51,079 It’s an active force. 467 00:22:52,540 –> 00:22:55,439 That is why the Bible says repeatedly today, 468 00:22:55,439 –> 00:22:57,040 if you hear his voice, 469 00:22:57,040 –> 00:22:58,699 do not harden your hearts. 470 00:23:00,540 –> 00:23:02,160 Warren Wiersbe says it so well. 471 00:23:02,160 –> 00:23:07,099 He says the human heart becomes harder 472 00:23:07,099 –> 00:23:10,800 every time the sinner rejects God’s truth. 473 00:23:12,739 –> 00:23:14,900 The human heart, your heart, 474 00:23:14,900 –> 00:23:16,680 if you’re not yet a Christian, 475 00:23:16,680 –> 00:23:21,880 becomes harder every time you 476 00:23:21,880 –> 00:23:23,660 reject God’s truth. 477 00:23:23,660 –> 00:23:26,500 You feel him reaching out to you. 478 00:23:26,500 –> 00:23:27,540 You push him away. 479 00:23:28,400 –> 00:23:31,400 Now here’s the burden of my heart today, folks. 480 00:23:32,520 –> 00:23:34,579 Who then is in the greatest danger? 481 00:23:36,099 –> 00:23:39,319 Kids, young folks, and you’re hearing 482 00:23:39,319 –> 00:23:40,680 Jesus Christ reaching out to you 483 00:23:40,680 –> 00:23:42,579 in the gospel every week. 484 00:23:43,739 –> 00:23:46,099 And you are forming a habit 485 00:23:47,280 –> 00:23:50,800 of not hearing and pushing away. 486 00:23:50,800 –> 00:23:52,079 And you’re saying to yourself, 487 00:23:52,079 –> 00:23:53,459 and this is Satan’s great deception. 488 00:23:53,459 –> 00:23:55,280 Why would I be able to deal with this some other time 489 00:23:55,280 –> 00:23:57,199 when I’m old like my mom or my dad? 490 00:23:57,880 –> 00:24:00,880 And I’m saying to you, 491 00:24:00,880 –> 00:24:02,780 how do you know that you can do that? 492 00:24:02,780 –> 00:24:06,359 I’m saying to you today 493 00:24:06,359 –> 00:24:09,239 if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. 494 00:24:09,239 –> 00:24:13,060 Listen, the word of God wherever it is preached 495 00:24:13,060 –> 00:24:15,660 never leaves one of us the same. 496 00:24:17,280 –> 00:24:19,859 As we place ourselves under the authority 497 00:24:19,859 –> 00:24:21,660 of the scripture in this time 498 00:24:21,660 –> 00:24:23,979 and in this context of worship today, 499 00:24:24,979 –> 00:24:27,459 every one of us in some degree will be changed, 500 00:24:27,459 –> 00:24:30,300 you will be either become softer towards Christ 501 00:24:30,300 –> 00:24:33,000 or you will become more resistant towards Christ. 502 00:24:34,800 –> 00:24:36,540 But not one of us will be the same. 503 00:24:38,500 –> 00:24:40,180 That’s why Jesus said, 504 00:24:40,180 –> 00:24:43,319 you are going to have the light just a little bit longer. 505 00:24:43,319 –> 00:24:46,400 And then can you imagine Jesus looking right into your eyes 506 00:24:46,400 –> 00:24:51,099 and He says, walk while you have the light 507 00:24:52,079 –> 00:24:54,319 before the darkness overtakes you. 508 00:24:56,760 –> 00:24:59,660 Listen when you understand that spiritual forces 509 00:24:59,660 –> 00:25:01,219 are at work within the world, 510 00:25:01,219 –> 00:25:03,880 you’ll become less passive about this whole business 511 00:25:03,880 –> 00:25:05,380 of your spiritual position. 512 00:25:06,640 –> 00:25:08,900 Life and death is at stake here folks. 513 00:25:11,160 –> 00:25:14,939 Sinners refuse to love the truth and down the line, 514 00:25:16,239 –> 00:25:19,520 they end up with a delusion 515 00:25:21,099 –> 00:25:23,780 that they can no longer even see what they once saw. 516 00:25:25,819 –> 00:25:28,239 This is how God’s judgment works in the world. 517 00:25:29,739 –> 00:25:34,719 He gives sinners what they ask for. 518 00:25:36,800 –> 00:25:38,319 So change what you’re asking. 519 00:25:40,260 –> 00:25:43,119 For a life that continues down the track 520 00:25:43,119 –> 00:25:44,819 of running from God, 521 00:25:44,819 –> 00:25:48,739 ends up with an eternity apart from God, 522 00:25:49,660 –> 00:25:54,439 with the God haters in the darkness, 523 00:25:56,359 –> 00:25:59,020 irrevocably separated from the light 524 00:25:59,020 –> 00:26:02,880 and the joy of his presence forever. 525 00:26:04,219 –> 00:26:06,819 Now I press this upon you with urgency today 526 00:26:06,819 –> 00:26:08,180 because it is on my heart 527 00:26:08,180 –> 00:26:10,900 as I’ve tried to meditate on this scripture. 528 00:26:11,939 –> 00:26:15,060 Today, if you hear his voice, 529 00:26:15,979 –> 00:26:19,939 do not harden your heart. 530 00:26:22,319 –> 00:26:24,319 Here’s the sixth root. 531 00:26:24,319 –> 00:26:28,640 The powerful delusion leads to believing the lie. 532 00:26:28,640 –> 00:26:30,839 God sends them a powerful delusion 533 00:26:30,839 –> 00:26:32,239 so that they will believe the lie. 534 00:26:32,239 –> 00:26:33,479 What is the lie? 535 00:26:33,479 –> 00:26:36,959 The lie that is the lie that Antichrist perpetrates. 536 00:26:36,959 –> 00:26:39,760 It’s the lie that has gone through all human history. 537 00:26:39,760 –> 00:26:42,699 Right back to the book of Genesis, 538 00:26:42,699 –> 00:26:43,680 you shall be as God. 539 00:26:43,680 –> 00:26:45,000 Put yourself in the place of God. 540 00:26:45,219 –> 00:26:46,420 Put yourself in the place of God’s law, 541 00:26:46,420 –> 00:26:47,439 just work out your own way. 542 00:26:47,439 –> 00:26:49,680 You’re a good person, you don’t need Christ’s sacrifice. 543 00:26:49,680 –> 00:26:51,839 When a man feels that he’s the captain 544 00:26:51,839 –> 00:26:53,760 and the commander of his own life, 545 00:26:53,760 –> 00:26:54,839 that he’s his own God, 546 00:26:54,839 –> 00:26:56,439 that he can find his own way, 547 00:26:56,439 –> 00:26:58,119 that he can stand on his own goodness, 548 00:26:58,119 –> 00:27:01,599 you know that that man has swallowed the lie 549 00:27:02,760 –> 00:27:05,800 and that he is under the powerful delusion. 550 00:27:08,660 –> 00:27:09,819 Here’s the last. 551 00:27:10,300 –> 00:27:12,479 All will be condemned. 552 00:27:12,479 –> 00:27:13,400 Verse 12. 553 00:27:15,079 –> 00:27:17,219 Who have not believed the truth 554 00:27:18,920 –> 00:27:20,719 but have delighted in wickedness. 555 00:27:22,339 –> 00:27:24,060 Is that not a terrible word? 556 00:27:25,300 –> 00:27:27,959 Don’t you shudder when you read that word, condemned? 557 00:27:27,959 –> 00:27:29,199 Really, don’t you? 558 00:27:30,819 –> 00:27:34,459 I love to read Romans 8 and verse one 559 00:27:34,979 –> 00:27:39,979 that says there is now no condemnation 560 00:27:42,040 –> 00:27:44,479 for those who are in Christ Jesus. 561 00:27:46,160 –> 00:27:49,099 But friends Romans 8 chapter one only has meaning 562 00:27:49,099 –> 00:27:52,319 because of the awful reality 563 00:27:52,319 –> 00:27:55,479 of Second Thessalonians chapter two and verse 12 564 00:27:55,479 –> 00:27:58,260 which says all will be condemned 565 00:27:58,260 –> 00:28:00,599 who have not believed the truth 566 00:28:00,599 –> 00:28:02,599 but have delighted in wickedness. 567 00:28:02,599 –> 00:28:03,780 Could that be plainer? 568 00:28:05,260 –> 00:28:07,699 To those who have resisted the claims of the Savior 569 00:28:07,699 –> 00:28:10,439 who have not loved the truth, who have believed the lie 570 00:28:12,000 –> 00:28:17,000 Christ will say, depart from me, I never knew you. 571 00:28:20,479 –> 00:28:24,880 And then Jesus used a phrase, it’s an awful phrase. 572 00:28:25,900 –> 00:28:30,819 He said, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 573 00:28:30,819 –> 00:28:33,619 Did you know that Jesus said that seven times? 574 00:28:33,619 –> 00:28:34,439 That one phrase. 575 00:28:35,319 –> 00:28:36,719 That’s seven times he said it. 576 00:28:36,719 –> 00:28:41,219 Jesus said there will be weeping 577 00:28:42,959 –> 00:28:45,319 and there will be gnashing of teeth. 578 00:28:45,319 –> 00:28:47,260 I do not want that for you. 579 00:28:48,500 –> 00:28:49,900 You don’t want that for you. 580 00:28:51,599 –> 00:28:54,739 Those who pray for you don’t want that for you. 581 00:28:54,739 –> 00:28:55,619 I plead with you, 582 00:28:57,339 –> 00:29:00,760 today if you hear his voice do not harden your heart. 583 00:29:00,760 –> 00:29:02,420 Every time you push him away, 584 00:29:02,420 –> 00:29:05,099 you’re making another layer on the shell 585 00:29:05,099 –> 00:29:07,400 of your resistance to Christ. 586 00:29:09,000 –> 00:29:09,880 I plead with you. 587 00:29:11,959 –> 00:29:14,540 So this is a weighty subject folks. 588 00:29:14,540 –> 00:29:17,420 But if we are going to be robust Christians 589 00:29:17,420 –> 00:29:20,219 in an evil world, we’d better get in touch with reality. 590 00:29:21,739 –> 00:29:23,040 We’ve looked at what sin is, 591 00:29:23,040 –> 00:29:25,459 putting yourself in the place of God in the place of Islam 592 00:29:25,459 –> 00:29:27,239 in the place of Christ’s sacrifice. 593 00:29:27,239 –> 00:29:30,300 We’ve now looked at what sin does 594 00:29:30,300 –> 00:29:31,939 in the life of an unbeliever 595 00:29:32,180 –> 00:29:35,099 and here it bears seven bitter fruits. 596 00:29:35,099 –> 00:29:37,780 And they’re right there in 2 Thessalonians 2, 597 00:29:39,680 –> 00:29:43,819 deceived, perishing, refusing to love the truth, 598 00:29:43,819 –> 00:29:47,099 delighting in wickedness under a powerful delusion, 599 00:29:47,099 –> 00:29:51,939 believing the lie and ultimately condemned. 600 00:29:54,099 –> 00:29:56,400 Folks, that is why we need a savior, isn’t it? 601 00:29:57,280 –> 00:29:59,300 That is why Jesus Christ has come into the world. 602 00:29:59,339 –> 00:30:03,780 That is what every person born into this world needs saving 603 00:30:03,780 –> 00:30:07,640 from the mystery of sin that isn’t working 604 00:30:07,640 –> 00:30:08,900 in every human life. 605 00:30:11,619 –> 00:30:14,160 So let me, in these last minutes give you three uses 606 00:30:14,160 –> 00:30:16,939 or three applications of this massive truth. 607 00:30:16,939 –> 00:30:18,319 I hope you get this truth. 608 00:30:18,319 –> 00:30:21,079 And if you have to chew on it for a week or a month 609 00:30:21,079 –> 00:30:23,760 or a year, I grapple with it 610 00:30:23,760 –> 00:30:26,900 because it’s right there in your Bible in front of you. 611 00:30:29,420 –> 00:30:31,479 First application. 612 00:30:31,479 –> 00:30:36,479 Use this truth to mature beyond naive optimism 613 00:30:37,979 –> 00:30:39,579 about the human condition. 614 00:30:40,939 –> 00:30:45,180 Use this truth to mature. 615 00:30:46,239 –> 00:30:49,140 As a Christian to mature beyond 616 00:30:49,140 –> 00:30:52,760 naive optimism about the human condition. 617 00:30:54,520 –> 00:30:56,359 Years ago back in England, 618 00:30:56,359 –> 00:30:58,199 Karen and I were enjoying an evening 619 00:30:58,880 –> 00:31:00,640 with some dear friends of ours 620 00:31:00,640 –> 00:31:03,619 who served alongside us wonderfully in the church 621 00:31:03,619 –> 00:31:07,060 where we served the Lord for 16 years. 622 00:31:07,060 –> 00:31:08,859 And we were spending a Friday evening together 623 00:31:08,859 –> 00:31:10,500 and we were playing a game. 624 00:31:10,500 –> 00:31:13,619 It was one of these games where in the group 625 00:31:13,619 –> 00:31:15,180 one person answers a question 626 00:31:15,180 –> 00:31:17,699 and then everyone else in the group has to work out 627 00:31:17,699 –> 00:31:20,420 what they think the person’s answer would be. 628 00:31:21,339 –> 00:31:24,520 And the question that came out the box, 629 00:31:24,520 –> 00:31:25,380 it was quite extraordinary really, 630 00:31:25,380 –> 00:31:30,380 was by nature are people good at heart, 631 00:31:30,439 –> 00:31:33,099 bad at heart, or somewhere in between? 632 00:31:34,219 –> 00:31:36,479 And I nudged Karen as we looked across to the other cover 633 00:31:36,479 –> 00:31:38,640 I said, no brainer we’ve got this one, 634 00:31:38,640 –> 00:31:39,640 we got this one. 635 00:31:39,640 –> 00:31:44,640 By nature are people good at heart, 636 00:31:44,839 –> 00:31:47,180 bad at heart, or somewhere in between? 637 00:31:48,579 –> 00:31:50,640 And our friend circled the answer 638 00:31:50,640 –> 00:31:54,859 and the answer she chose was by nature, good at heart! 639 00:31:56,000 –> 00:31:57,900 And we had a good conversation 640 00:31:57,900 –> 00:31:59,079 with our dear friends about it, 641 00:31:59,079 –> 00:32:01,900 but I still, don’t invite Karen and me 642 00:32:01,900 –> 00:32:04,000 around for a game on a Friday evening. 643 00:32:04,000 –> 00:32:08,180 I still remember, and maybe there was self-pity in this, 644 00:32:08,180 –> 00:32:12,619 but I still remember the distress I was in 645 00:32:12,619 –> 00:32:13,619 as we drove home. 646 00:32:14,739 –> 00:32:18,400 I said, Karen, I’ve been preaching the Bible 647 00:32:18,400 –> 00:32:20,500 in this church for 10 years, 648 00:32:21,680 –> 00:32:24,380 and here’s one of our closest friends 649 00:32:24,420 –> 00:32:25,780 and she loves Christ, 650 00:32:25,780 –> 00:32:27,260 and she’s in the thick of the ministry, 651 00:32:27,260 –> 00:32:28,339 and she attends church, 652 00:32:28,339 –> 00:32:30,020 and she reads the Bible. 653 00:32:31,199 –> 00:32:33,079 She actually believes that, 654 00:32:33,079 –> 00:32:35,339 by nature, people are good at heart. 655 00:32:36,400 –> 00:32:38,239 Give me a break. 656 00:32:38,239 –> 00:32:41,520 How is this possible? 657 00:32:43,900 –> 00:32:47,180 Many Christians are utterly unrealistic 658 00:32:47,180 –> 00:32:48,680 about what we’re up against 659 00:32:48,680 –> 00:32:51,020 when it comes to mission in evangelism. 660 00:32:51,020 –> 00:32:52,579 That maybe, by the way, one reason we’re 661 00:32:52,579 –> 00:32:54,180 so weak on prayer. 662 00:32:54,180 –> 00:32:55,079 Don’t you think? 663 00:32:56,140 –> 00:32:57,579 If you don’t know what you’re up against, 664 00:32:57,579 –> 00:32:59,199 you’ll feel you can do it. 665 00:32:59,199 –> 00:33:00,439 A bit of organization. 666 00:33:01,439 –> 00:33:02,520 A few programs. 667 00:33:03,380 –> 00:33:05,479 That’ll put Johnny right, won’t it? 668 00:33:07,040 –> 00:33:08,140 Not if you’ve understood 669 00:33:08,140 –> 00:33:09,760 the seven bitter fruits of sin. 670 00:33:12,119 –> 00:33:15,040 So, then, second of the three applications. 671 00:33:15,040 –> 00:33:19,660 Use this truth to shape your convictions 672 00:33:19,660 –> 00:33:22,079 about mission and evangelism. 673 00:33:23,000 –> 00:33:25,420 Now, you see, inevitably it goes here. 674 00:33:25,420 –> 00:33:28,119 What you believe about the secret power of sin 675 00:33:28,119 –> 00:33:31,459 will shape your convictions about mission and evangelism. 676 00:33:32,920 –> 00:33:34,119 And so, people who have 677 00:33:34,119 –> 00:33:36,479 a very optimistic view of human nature 678 00:33:36,479 –> 00:33:38,719 tend to have an unrealistic view 679 00:33:38,719 –> 00:33:40,199 of missions and evangelism. 680 00:33:41,459 –> 00:33:43,060 There’s the informational view, 681 00:33:43,060 –> 00:33:45,560 which says all we have to do is tell them. 682 00:33:45,560 –> 00:33:46,800 The problem is, people haven’t heard. 683 00:33:46,800 –> 00:33:47,619 We just need to give them 684 00:33:47,619 –> 00:33:49,359 a clear and compelling presentation. 685 00:33:50,719 –> 00:33:51,859 Or, there’s the friendship view, 686 00:33:52,239 –> 00:33:53,800 that says all we need to do is love them. 687 00:33:53,800 –> 00:33:56,119 If we just love them then, that will solve it. 688 00:33:57,160 –> 00:33:59,000 Or there’s the environmental view, 689 00:33:59,000 –> 00:34:01,359 which says all we’ve got to do is connect them. 690 00:34:01,359 –> 00:34:03,800 If Johnny has good friends, Johnny will be okay. 691 00:34:04,900 –> 00:34:06,380 Just get them in a great Sunday School Program 692 00:34:06,380 –> 00:34:07,880 at the orchard, that’s all we need, isn’t it? 693 00:34:07,880 –> 00:34:10,139 No, that’s not all we need. 694 00:34:12,020 –> 00:34:14,379 All these things are necessary, 695 00:34:14,379 –> 00:34:15,820 I do not question one of them, 696 00:34:16,939 –> 00:34:18,600 but none of them are sufficient. 697 00:34:19,600 –> 00:34:21,439 None of them are sufficient. 698 00:34:21,439 –> 00:34:22,580 Not if you have understood 699 00:34:22,580 –> 00:34:24,879 the seven bitter fruits of sin. 700 00:34:26,820 –> 00:34:29,139 The fruit of sin is such that the salvation 701 00:34:29,139 –> 00:34:31,459 of your son, your daughter, your colleague, 702 00:34:31,459 –> 00:34:33,020 your friend, your neighbor 703 00:34:33,020 –> 00:34:36,500 can only be accomplished by a miracle of grace. 704 00:34:37,639 –> 00:34:39,100 It’s going to take what? 705 00:34:39,100 –> 00:34:42,419 The breath of Christ, and the splendor of Christ, 706 00:34:42,419 –> 00:34:43,739 that’s the only thing that’s gonna do it. 707 00:34:43,739 –> 00:34:46,540 That’s the only thing that will overwhelm this spirit 708 00:34:46,540 –> 00:34:48,239 that is at work in him or her. 709 00:34:48,979 –> 00:34:53,979 That is why, missions and evangelism 710 00:34:54,179 –> 00:34:57,620 must have at its center two things, 711 00:34:57,620 –> 00:35:00,860 proclaiming Christ’s splendor 712 00:35:00,860 –> 00:35:03,820 and praying for Christ’s breath. 713 00:35:04,820 –> 00:35:07,239 Which of course is why the apostles said 714 00:35:07,239 –> 00:35:08,659 whatever else is going on 715 00:35:08,659 –> 00:35:11,020 in the multiple programs of the church 716 00:35:11,020 –> 00:35:12,780 feeding people and all the rest that’s going on 717 00:35:12,780 –> 00:35:15,540 in Acts and chapter six, multiple wonderful ministries. 718 00:35:15,540 –> 00:35:17,459 What did the apostles say? 719 00:35:17,479 –> 00:35:20,020 They said we must give ourselves to two things, 720 00:35:20,020 –> 00:35:22,699 the ministry of the Word and the ministry of prayer. 721 00:35:22,699 –> 00:35:23,520 What’s that? 722 00:35:23,520 –> 00:35:25,139 Proclaiming Christ’s splendor, 723 00:35:25,139 –> 00:35:27,419 that’s the ministry of the Word. 724 00:35:27,419 –> 00:35:29,300 Praying for Christ’s breath, 725 00:35:29,300 –> 00:35:30,840 that’s the ministry of prayer. 726 00:35:32,000 –> 00:35:34,899 That has to be a priority therefore, for every pastor, 727 00:35:35,899 –> 00:35:37,139 for every missionary, 728 00:35:38,139 –> 00:35:40,340 for every evangelist 729 00:35:40,340 –> 00:35:43,500 and for every Christian who wants to see others 730 00:35:43,500 –> 00:35:45,560 unto Jesus Christ. 731 00:35:46,280 –> 00:35:48,300 I do not say it as the only thing, 732 00:35:48,300 –> 00:35:49,360 I say it is the central thing 733 00:35:49,360 –> 00:35:51,239 and it must be the central thing 734 00:35:51,239 –> 00:35:54,000 if we have understood what we are up against. 735 00:35:55,800 –> 00:35:57,199 So here’s what I have to do 736 00:35:57,199 –> 00:35:59,780 and ask for the help of God to do in my preaching 737 00:35:59,780 –> 00:36:02,040 and it’s the same thing that you have to do 738 00:36:02,040 –> 00:36:03,820 in your witnessing. 739 00:36:03,820 –> 00:36:06,479 We proclaim His splendor. 740 00:36:07,399 –> 00:36:09,780 You try to explain to another person 741 00:36:09,780 –> 00:36:12,199 why Jesus Christ is compelling to you. 742 00:36:12,199 –> 00:36:14,520 What it is in Him that so has drawn you, 743 00:36:14,540 –> 00:36:16,120 but what have you seen in Him 744 00:36:16,120 –> 00:36:18,739 that would make it worthy of the ultimate sacrifice 745 00:36:18,739 –> 00:36:21,060 of your friend to go and follow Him. 746 00:36:21,060 –> 00:36:23,139 Jesus said, when I am lifted up, 747 00:36:23,139 –> 00:36:24,919 I will draw people to myself. 748 00:36:24,919 –> 00:36:26,679 So lift Him up. 749 00:36:26,679 –> 00:36:28,800 Don’t attack another person’s lifestyle, 750 00:36:28,800 –> 00:36:30,120 that’s not the way to do it. 751 00:36:30,120 –> 00:36:32,540 No, lift Jesus up, exalt Him. 752 00:36:32,540 –> 00:36:36,260 Commend Him, tell people what you have found in Him 753 00:36:36,260 –> 00:36:39,659 because the only way to overcome the mystery of sin 754 00:36:39,659 –> 00:36:43,620 is to proclaim the mystery of Christ. 755 00:36:43,620 –> 00:36:45,820 You’ll find that in Colossians chapter one 756 00:36:47,199 –> 00:36:49,540 where Paul speaks about how among the Gentiles 757 00:36:49,540 –> 00:36:51,919 and he’s referring to all the heathen nations of the world, 758 00:36:51,919 –> 00:36:55,500 the glorious riches of the mystery of Christ 759 00:36:55,500 –> 00:36:56,340 has been made known. 760 00:36:56,340 –> 00:36:57,820 And here’s the mystery, he says, 761 00:36:57,820 –> 00:37:01,260 it’s Christ in you and that’s why we proclaim Him. 762 00:37:01,260 –> 00:37:02,479 You see He’s grasped. 763 00:37:03,899 –> 00:37:06,320 This is what we must grasp. 764 00:37:06,320 –> 00:37:10,739 The only way to overcome the mystery of sin 765 00:37:10,820 –> 00:37:13,820 is through the mystery of Jesus Christ. 766 00:37:17,580 –> 00:37:19,719 And so as you try in the best way 767 00:37:19,719 –> 00:37:21,860 that you possibly can with the help of the Lord 768 00:37:21,860 –> 00:37:24,959 to lift Him up in your conversations 769 00:37:24,959 –> 00:37:27,260 and as we try to do that in all of our worship 770 00:37:27,260 –> 00:37:29,239 and commend the Lord Jesus, 771 00:37:30,939 –> 00:37:33,520 pray for His breath as you do it. 772 00:37:35,459 –> 00:37:36,919 If you’re a believer, pray for His breath 773 00:37:36,919 –> 00:37:38,500 right now in this place. 774 00:37:39,399 –> 00:37:42,399 Pray that Christ will breathe His life 775 00:37:42,399 –> 00:37:44,199 into some unbelievable person, 776 00:37:45,219 –> 00:37:49,939 that He will blow that wind that will not destroy them, 777 00:37:49,939 –> 00:37:51,699 but this time will heal them. 778 00:37:53,899 –> 00:37:55,540 Proclaiming Christ’s splendour. 779 00:37:55,540 –> 00:37:57,239 Praying for Christ’s breath. 780 00:37:57,239 –> 00:37:59,340 That’s at the heart of New Testament missions 781 00:37:59,340 –> 00:38:00,439 and evangelism. 782 00:38:01,340 –> 00:38:02,179 You know what? 783 00:38:02,179 –> 00:38:04,500 Anything else, anything less than that 784 00:38:04,500 –> 00:38:07,679 is like trying to treat cancer with aspirin. 785 00:38:09,479 –> 00:38:11,500 The church doesn’t do these things, 786 00:38:13,020 –> 00:38:16,600 while we have no hope, not of real conversions. 787 00:38:18,479 –> 00:38:21,020 And here’s the very last thing just briefly. 788 00:38:21,020 –> 00:38:26,020 Use this truth to deepen your gratitude 789 00:38:27,620 –> 00:38:31,320 for the miracle of your salvation. 790 00:38:33,199 –> 00:38:35,739 Now, to all of you who are in Christ today, 791 00:38:36,100 –> 00:38:37,439 let me just say this. 792 00:38:38,739 –> 00:38:41,500 Do you see yourself today as a person 793 00:38:41,500 –> 00:38:43,979 in whom a miracle has taken place? 794 00:38:45,500 –> 00:38:47,800 Because if you are in Christ, if you love Christ today, 795 00:38:47,800 –> 00:38:49,199 that is true of you. 796 00:38:50,340 –> 00:38:52,379 Your story may be very, very simple. 797 00:38:52,379 –> 00:38:54,300 It cannot be simpler than mine. 798 00:38:55,739 –> 00:38:59,979 I asked Christ to be my savior at the age of six. 799 00:39:01,179 –> 00:39:03,500 It can’t get much simpler than that, can you? 800 00:39:03,500 –> 00:39:04,340 It really can’t. 801 00:39:04,379 –> 00:39:06,100 Can’t get less dramatic than that. 802 00:39:07,780 –> 00:39:10,379 I began to love him, I began to trust him. 803 00:39:11,360 –> 00:39:13,580 And with all my faults, and with all my feelings today, 804 00:39:13,580 –> 00:39:15,919 that is true and that is the reality today. 805 00:39:17,100 –> 00:39:18,639 That is a miracle of grace. 806 00:39:19,600 –> 00:39:23,120 Where with the secret power of sin have taken me 807 00:39:24,600 –> 00:39:26,479 if it were not for His grace? 808 00:39:26,479 –> 00:39:28,979 Where would it have taken you if you’re a believer? 809 00:39:29,860 –> 00:39:33,159 What would that secret work of sin have made 810 00:39:33,159 –> 00:39:35,159 by way of wreckage in your life? 811 00:39:36,600 –> 00:39:38,780 And here you are, all you’ve been through, 812 00:39:38,780 –> 00:39:42,100 and you’re in Christ, and you still believe the truth, 813 00:39:42,100 –> 00:39:44,000 and you still love the truth. 814 00:39:44,000 –> 00:39:45,179 And how is that? 815 00:39:46,260 –> 00:39:48,860 And the answer is Christ has breathed His life into you, 816 00:39:48,860 –> 00:39:50,260 and Christ has opened your eyes 817 00:39:50,260 –> 00:39:52,179 so that you do see His splendor, 818 00:39:52,179 –> 00:39:53,860 and that is why you follow Him. 819 00:39:53,860 –> 00:39:58,320 That is a miracle of grace that has happened in your soul. 820 00:39:58,320 –> 00:40:00,260 Never underestimate it. 821 00:40:00,919 –> 00:40:03,260 And my very last word must be to the person, then, 822 00:40:03,260 –> 00:40:05,939 who says, Well, that hasn’t happened to me. 823 00:40:06,919 –> 00:40:11,919 And I say to you today, You need a miracle of grace. 824 00:40:12,020 –> 00:40:13,639 You need a new heart. 825 00:40:15,080 –> 00:40:18,439 You need a work of the Holy Spirit in your soul 826 00:40:18,439 –> 00:40:20,260 that will change what you love 827 00:40:20,260 –> 00:40:23,699 and will open your eyes to who Jesus is 828 00:40:23,699 –> 00:40:26,179 so that you too will be compelled by His glory 829 00:40:26,179 –> 00:40:28,739 as others around you are. 830 00:40:29,719 –> 00:40:31,679 And honestly, please understand this. 831 00:40:31,679 –> 00:40:33,739 Having Christian friends won’t do this for you. 832 00:40:33,739 –> 00:40:36,919 Studying 25 books on Christianity won’t do this for you. 833 00:40:36,919 –> 00:40:41,360 You need Jesus Christ to breathe his life into your soul 834 00:40:41,360 –> 00:40:44,840 and open your eyes to His glory and to his splendor. 835 00:40:44,840 –> 00:40:46,939 You need Him to bring you to the place 836 00:40:46,939 –> 00:40:49,899 where these first disciples were, where they just knew, 837 00:40:49,899 –> 00:40:53,439 the best thing I can do with my life is follow Him. 838 00:40:53,439 –> 00:40:55,479 When you say that, you’ve seen His glory. 839 00:40:56,300 –> 00:40:57,139 You have. 840 00:40:58,139 –> 00:41:00,739 And so I invite you to come to Jesus Christ today, 841 00:41:00,739 –> 00:41:02,120 not to push him away. 842 00:41:03,100 –> 00:41:04,419 You just tell Him, 843 00:41:04,419 –> 00:41:07,379 I need you, Jesus, to do, for me, 844 00:41:07,379 –> 00:41:09,899 what I now know I cannot do for myself. 845 00:41:11,100 –> 00:41:13,439 I can’t do this as a turnaround in me. 846 00:41:14,899 –> 00:41:15,739 So ask Him. 847 00:41:16,959 –> 00:41:20,040 Lord Jesus, breathe your life into me. 848 00:41:21,260 –> 00:41:23,320 Open my eyes to your glory. 849 00:41:23,580 –> 00:41:26,719 Change this heart that loves sin 850 00:41:27,500 –> 00:41:29,620 and resists, you change it 851 00:41:31,419 –> 00:41:36,000 and do this miracle of grace in me. 852 00:41:36,000 –> 00:41:39,639 And I give you this promise from the very words of Jesus. 853 00:41:39,639 –> 00:41:42,340 He says, whoever comes to me, 854 00:41:42,340 –> 00:41:47,280 I will never turn away. 855 00:41:48,679 –> 00:41:50,399 Lord Jesus Christ, 856 00:41:50,399 –> 00:41:52,459 breathe your breath of life 857 00:41:52,459 –> 00:41:57,459 into the deadened souls of many this weekend. 858 00:42:00,479 –> 00:42:02,479 Right here in the service, 859 00:42:03,879 –> 00:42:07,080 open eyes to the glory of Christ, 860 00:42:08,479 –> 00:42:10,719 change hearts, 861 00:42:11,979 –> 00:42:13,959 do miracles of grace 862 00:42:15,419 –> 00:42:17,879 for your own glory and for your own honour. 863 00:42:18,239 –> 00:42:21,419 For your own glory and for your own honour, 864 00:42:21,419 –> 00:42:23,419 and we ask it in Jesus’ name, amen.