1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,160 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:07,160 –> 00:00:15,420 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN365 or visit our website, openthebible.org. 3 00:00:15,420 –> 00:00:17,580 Let’s get to the message. 4 00:00:17,580 –> 00:00:19,520 Here is Pastor Colin. 5 00:00:19,520 –> 00:00:20,840 Morning everyone. 6 00:00:20,840 –> 00:00:26,340 We are returning to our series Don’t Lose Heart and so please turn in your Bible to 7 00:00:26,340 –> 00:00:29,260 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 8 00:00:29,260 –> 00:00:34,720 We’ve got to verses 14 and 15 which I’d like to read for you this morning. 9 00:00:34,720 –> 00:00:41,299 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verses 14 and 15. 10 00:00:41,299 –> 00:00:49,779 For the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this, that one has died 11 00:00:49,779 –> 00:00:56,880 for all and therefore all have died and he died for all that those who live might no 12 00:00:56,880 –> 00:01:04,919 longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 13 00:01:04,919 –> 00:01:09,260 Now I want very simply to walk through these verses today so that we may hear what God 14 00:01:09,260 –> 00:01:15,360 says to us in them and through them and enter in to the good that he offers. 15 00:01:15,360 –> 00:01:21,040 The love of Christ controls us. 16 00:01:21,040 –> 00:01:26,639 Now this is an amazing and a marvelous statement that I want us to tune into at the beginning 17 00:01:26,900 –> 00:01:33,620 today so here’s what I want to do, I want to give you five words that describe possible 18 00:01:33,620 –> 00:01:39,120 relationship that you may have with the love of Christ and I’m not going to ask everyone 19 00:01:39,120 –> 00:01:43,720 to stand or have a show of hands or whatever but I want you to mark your own card as it 20 00:01:43,720 –> 00:01:51,879 were to check whether you think these would describe your relationship with the love of 21 00:01:51,879 –> 00:01:54,400 Christ and I’m going to give you these five words. 22 00:01:54,400 –> 00:02:00,519 They are in an ascending scale so that each one is deeper richer and fuller than those 23 00:02:00,519 –> 00:02:03,879 that went before now here’s the first herd. 24 00:02:03,879 –> 00:02:10,399 I think everyone can check that box we have all heard of the love of Jesus Christ. 25 00:02:10,399 –> 00:02:11,399 Check! 26 00:02:11,399 –> 00:02:15,919 Many of you have heard that Jesus loves you since you were very very young and even if 27 00:02:15,919 –> 00:02:19,559 you know almost nothing about Christianity you cannot read the Bible for long or be in 28 00:02:19,580 –> 00:02:24,320 a church like this for long without hearing about the love of Christ so there you go 29 00:02:24,320 –> 00:02:25,800 pretty easy one to check. 30 00:02:25,800 –> 00:02:26,839 Here’s number two. 31 00:02:26,839 –> 00:02:34,100 Ascending scale, believed, now most of us will put a checkmark against this you believe 32 00:02:34,100 –> 00:02:40,240 that Jesus Christ loves you you perhaps look back to a time where you came to believe this 33 00:02:40,240 –> 00:02:46,279 and you say yes I I certainly believe that that is the case here’s number three received 34 00:02:46,320 –> 00:02:52,699 Many of us will put a check against this box also the love of Christ you would say is more 35 00:02:52,699 –> 00:02:57,479 than something that’s out there for me, more even than something that I believe in it’s 36 00:02:57,479 –> 00:03:00,500 something that I’ve come to receive and to experience. 37 00:03:00,500 –> 00:03:06,800 Romans 5 5 the love of God has been pulled out into my heart by the Holy Spirit. 38 00:03:06,800 –> 00:03:12,360 Here’s the next one number four field pen sort of hovering a little bit over this box 39 00:03:12,360 –> 00:03:13,619 when I check this box. 40 00:03:13,639 –> 00:03:17,860 Would you say that you are filled with the love of Christ? 41 00:03:17,860 –> 00:03:22,479 Paul prays that Christian believers would know this more and more that we would know 42 00:03:22,479 –> 00:03:26,679 the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of Christ and be filled to the 43 00:03:26,679 –> 00:03:29,619 measure of all the fullness of God. 44 00:03:29,619 –> 00:03:31,600 How marvelous would this be? 45 00:03:31,600 –> 00:03:38,520 To relate to the love of Christ in such a way that you’re empty tank is filled up by 46 00:03:38,520 –> 00:03:39,520 the love of Christ. 47 00:03:39,960 –> 00:03:44,779 Now, these words are going in an ascended scale and I’m giving you them so that you 48 00:03:44,800 –> 00:03:50,360 will see just how remarkable what Paul says in our verse today really is. 49 00:03:50,360 –> 00:03:54,740 Because verse number five, the top of the scale, is controlled. 50 00:03:54,740 –> 00:03:59,380 The love of Christ controls us. 51 00:03:59,380 –> 00:04:01,919 What would it mean to be controlled by the love of Christ? 52 00:04:01,919 –> 00:04:08,899 It would mean to be energized, to be moved into action, to be directed by the love of 53 00:04:08,899 –> 00:04:09,940 Jesus Christ. 54 00:04:09,940 –> 00:04:11,979 That’s more even than being filled. 55 00:04:11,979 –> 00:04:16,100 You could be filled with the love of Christ and simply be enjoying this love. 56 00:04:16,100 –> 00:04:21,179 To be controlled by the love of Christ means that this love not only comes to you and fills 57 00:04:21,179 –> 00:04:26,179 you up but it’s actually coming through you and directing you and moving you out into 58 00:04:26,179 –> 00:04:28,859 touch the lives of others. 59 00:04:28,859 –> 00:04:33,660 So I want simply then to draw your attention to the fact we’re looking at something absolutely 60 00:04:33,660 –> 00:04:35,140 wonderful here today. 61 00:04:35,200 –> 00:04:39,140 In fact I’d suggest to you that this may describe the 62 00:04:39,140 –> 00:04:44,540 highest thing that can happen in the life of a Christian believer in this world, to 63 00:04:44,540 –> 00:04:51,059 be controlled by the love of Christ, energized by the love of Christ, day by day. 64 00:04:51,059 –> 00:04:53,540 How marvelous would that be? 65 00:04:53,540 –> 00:04:57,899 Now if you’ve got your mind tuned into that at all and you’re going to be asking this 66 00:04:57,899 –> 00:04:59,660 question, well how is that possible? 67 00:04:59,739 –> 00:05:05,820 How could I know more of what it is to be controlled by the love of Christ, energized, 68 00:05:05,820 –> 00:05:11,720 motivated, directed by the love of Christ in my life? 69 00:05:11,720 –> 00:05:17,980 Well the answer to that question is given to us directly in the verses that are before 70 00:05:17,980 –> 00:05:22,839 us today so I hope you’re tuned in as to why this is now so important. 71 00:05:22,839 –> 00:05:24,179 Look at what he says. 72 00:05:30,040 –> 00:05:32,619 So he’s going to tell us how. 73 00:05:32,619 –> 00:05:34,920 That’s always the big question isn’t it? 74 00:05:34,920 –> 00:05:37,019 How can I be filled with the love of Christ? 75 00:05:37,019 –> 00:05:41,920 How can the love of Christ be more to me than something I’ve heard or believed? 76 00:05:41,940 –> 00:05:44,899 How can I be moved, energized by the love of Christ? 77 00:05:44,899 –> 00:05:49,859 Now many of the life groups, I hope you’re a member of a life group by the way, many 78 00:05:49,859 –> 00:05:55,019 of our life groups that meet at different times in the week follow the pattern of what 79 00:05:55,019 –> 00:05:58,660 we’re learning at the weekends from the Word of God and if that’s what your life 80 00:05:58,660 –> 00:06:03,660 group’s doing you might like to reflect a little bit on the many answers that are 81 00:06:03,660 –> 00:06:08,720 given to this question how can I know more of the love of Christ, because there are all 82 00:06:08,720 –> 00:06:10,040 kinds of answers out there. 83 00:06:10,040 –> 00:06:13,739 You know I rededicated my life, I had more faith, I became more disciplined. 84 00:06:13,739 –> 00:06:16,720 Make a list of all the things that would come to mind. 85 00:06:16,720 –> 00:06:23,579 All the things that are said and then come down to the Bible and what the apostle Paul 86 00:06:23,579 –> 00:06:28,459 says here it will blow you away. 87 00:06:29,260 –> 00:06:33,660 Look at what he says, verse 14. 88 00:06:33,660 –> 00:06:44,660 The love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded. 89 00:06:44,660 –> 00:06:46,559 We have concluded. 90 00:06:46,559 –> 00:06:57,739 Now he goes on, as we’ll see in a moment, to state two settled convictions about what 91 00:06:58,440 –> 00:07:01,600 happened through the death of Christ. 92 00:07:01,600 –> 00:07:07,739 And what he’s saying is that the settled convictions that become active in his mind 93 00:07:07,739 –> 00:07:14,220 are the kind of fountain out of which this growing joy in and motivation by the love 94 00:07:14,220 –> 00:07:18,779 of Christ actually comes to happen. 95 00:07:18,779 –> 00:07:23,260 Now we’re going to see what these two convictions are so that they may become settled in our 96 00:07:23,260 –> 00:07:27,540 mind so that we may be more and more controlled by the love of Christ. 97 00:07:27,679 –> 00:07:32,140 But just before we get there, I do want to pause here for a moment because this is telling 98 00:07:32,140 –> 00:07:37,779 us something very important about how the head and the heart are connected. 99 00:07:37,779 –> 00:07:41,739 We are controlled by the love of Christ because we have concluded. 100 00:07:41,739 –> 00:07:44,899 Heart and head are clearly joined there. 101 00:07:44,899 –> 00:07:48,320 Now many Christians are really confused about this. 102 00:07:48,320 –> 00:07:54,200 I mean I’d tell you, I really wish that I had a dollar for every time someone has said 103 00:07:54,200 –> 00:08:02,160 in the last 35 years that I’ve been a pastor, has said, well I believed it in my head, but 104 00:08:02,160 –> 00:08:04,660 it didn’t get down to my heart. 105 00:08:04,660 –> 00:08:12,940 Now many may have said that and we’re confused about how the head and the heart are actually 106 00:08:12,940 –> 00:08:13,940 related. 107 00:08:13,940 –> 00:08:14,940 Do you know you hear this phrase? 108 00:08:14,940 –> 00:08:17,980 The longest 18 inches in the world are between the head and the heart. 109 00:08:17,980 –> 00:08:20,880 How are your head and your heart connected? 110 00:08:20,959 –> 00:08:26,079 Paul speaking about this directly here in these verses that are right in front of us 111 00:08:26,079 –> 00:08:27,079 here today. 112 00:08:27,079 –> 00:08:34,039 By the way, here’s what I found over the years repeatedly as this comment often comes 113 00:08:34,039 –> 00:08:37,039 up, I believed it in my head, but not in my heart. 114 00:08:37,039 –> 00:08:45,020 When the love of Christ is missing in the heart, the settled convictions that Paul speaks 115 00:08:45,020 –> 00:08:49,119 about here are usually missing from the mind. 116 00:08:49,200 –> 00:08:53,960 And conversely, when the settled convictions that Paul speaks about here are active in 117 00:08:53,960 –> 00:09:00,020 the mind, usually the knowledge of the love of Christ is present in the heart, in other 118 00:09:00,020 –> 00:09:02,799 words, these two go together. 119 00:09:02,799 –> 00:09:05,140 And here’s the principle to get hold of. 120 00:09:05,140 –> 00:09:09,359 Whatever grips your mind controls your heart. 121 00:09:09,359 –> 00:09:10,479 That’s how it works. 122 00:09:10,479 –> 00:09:12,479 That’s how you’re made. 123 00:09:12,479 –> 00:09:17,739 Whatever grips the mind controls the heart. 124 00:09:17,979 –> 00:09:21,099 And that is why in Romans 12, 1, Paul says, 125 00:09:21,099 –> 00:09:24,619 you’re to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 126 00:09:24,619 –> 00:09:30,479 That’s where it begins, that’s the fountain from which the heart is changed. 127 00:09:30,479 –> 00:09:35,359 Always remember your heart is more a follower than a leader. 128 00:09:35,359 –> 00:09:37,979 Your heart rarely leads the way. 129 00:09:37,979 –> 00:09:44,340 Your heart follows and your heart follows in the direction that is shaped by core convictions 130 00:09:44,340 –> 00:09:46,940 that exist in your mind. 131 00:09:46,979 –> 00:09:49,460 You change the mind and the heart then is changed. 132 00:09:49,460 –> 00:09:54,760 This is why on the road to Emmaus, do you remember Jesus opened the scriptures and he 133 00:09:54,760 –> 00:09:56,700 teaches them about himself. 134 00:09:56,700 –> 00:10:00,179 Then as a result, their hearts are strangely warmed within them. 135 00:10:00,179 –> 00:10:01,880 That’s how it works. 136 00:10:01,880 –> 00:10:04,520 Heart’s not the leader, heart is the follower. 137 00:10:04,520 –> 00:10:08,780 That’s why Jesus says where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 138 00:10:08,780 –> 00:10:11,599 Heart’s always following. 139 00:10:11,599 –> 00:10:16,380 So here’s something that is very important, whenever you find an impulse or a desire within 140 00:10:16,419 –> 00:10:21,000 your heart, it’s always good to ask, why is that there? 141 00:10:21,000 –> 00:10:27,640 And if you ask that question, you will soon be pointed to what conviction in the mind 142 00:10:27,640 –> 00:10:31,679 would give rise to this in the heart? 143 00:10:31,679 –> 00:10:38,119 Because a false belief always lies behind every misdirected affection. 144 00:10:38,119 –> 00:10:43,200 And so if you trace the affections of your heart back to the source in the mind, you 145 00:10:44,099 –> 00:10:49,940 conviction in the mind that relates to a particular belief about what will make you happy, and 146 00:10:49,940 –> 00:10:53,880 the heart is following after that. 147 00:10:53,880 –> 00:10:57,719 So if that sounds a little theoretical, let me give to you a quote from someone who wrote 148 00:10:57,719 –> 00:11:04,080 to me from the congregation this week, and here’s what this lady very honestly says this 149 00:11:04,080 –> 00:11:05,719 week. 150 00:11:06,219 –> 00:11:15,559 When I was growing up, I thoughtóso here we areóthat each stage would bring me more 151 00:11:15,559 –> 00:11:17,520 worth. 152 00:11:17,520 –> 00:11:22,140 When I get this husband, then I will feel loved. 153 00:11:22,140 –> 00:11:28,299 When I finally have kids, then I will be important. 154 00:11:28,320 –> 00:11:37,159 I got all of these thingsóthe husband, the kids and the good jobóand you know what? 155 00:11:37,159 –> 00:11:40,479 I am still a mess. 156 00:11:40,479 –> 00:11:43,239 So you see what this lady is saying? 157 00:11:43,239 –> 00:11:45,880 And it’s very honest. 158 00:11:45,880 –> 00:11:50,780 My heart was set on the husband, the kids and the job and here’s why. 159 00:11:50,780 –> 00:11:53,239 Because there was a deep unsettled conviction in the mind. 160 00:11:53,239 –> 00:11:56,919 I thoughtóthat’s her words. 161 00:11:56,919 –> 00:11:59,679 I thought that this would be what would give me more worth. 162 00:11:59,679 –> 00:12:01,900 This would be the thing that would make me more important. 163 00:12:01,900 –> 00:12:11,280 You see what grips the mind controls the heart because your heart is a follower not a leader. 164 00:12:11,280 –> 00:12:17,140 It’s very important to understand how we’re made so that we can understand how it is that 165 00:12:17,140 –> 00:12:22,099 we’re changed which is why the reshaping of the mind through the Word of God is so important 166 00:12:22,099 –> 00:12:24,419 in the life of a Christian. 167 00:12:24,419 –> 00:12:26,320 The love of Christ controls us. 168 00:12:26,659 –> 00:12:32,700 Because we have concluded certain things have come to reshape the mind and that is what 169 00:12:32,700 –> 00:12:34,200 has brought a change in the heart. 170 00:12:34,200 –> 00:12:36,880 That is what he said. 171 00:12:36,880 –> 00:12:39,840 Now let’s get back then to what these things are. 172 00:12:39,840 –> 00:12:43,940 The love of Christ controls us because we have concluded. 173 00:12:43,940 –> 00:12:51,780 Okay Paul what did you conclude that reshaped the mind and therefore refired the heart? 174 00:12:51,780 –> 00:12:59,900 Number one how Jesus changes death and number two how Jesus changes life. 175 00:12:59,900 –> 00:13:03,099 These are the two things that are before us today. 176 00:13:03,099 –> 00:13:06,679 Now look at the first how Jesus changes death. 177 00:13:06,679 –> 00:13:09,479 We have concluded this. 178 00:13:09,479 –> 00:13:17,619 That one has died for all and therefore all have died. 179 00:13:17,619 –> 00:13:22,500 Now to understand the change that Jesus has brought to death which is what he is speaking 180 00:13:22,500 –> 00:13:29,599 about here, it’s important to remember that death can be, will be, for every person, one 181 00:13:29,599 –> 00:13:31,880 of two things. 182 00:13:31,880 –> 00:13:38,820 Either it will be a passing into condemnation or it will be an entering in celebration. 183 00:13:38,820 –> 00:13:43,460 It will always be one or the other for every person it cannot ever be both and these two 184 00:13:43,460 –> 00:13:46,820 are incomparably different. 185 00:13:46,900 –> 00:13:51,140 Now it is almost impossible for us to imagine because it’s so far from our experience what 186 00:13:51,140 –> 00:13:56,080 it would be to enter into condemnation, or what it would be to enter into celebration, 187 00:13:56,080 –> 00:14:01,099 that we really need the Word of God to give us some framework as to what these things 188 00:14:01,099 –> 00:14:03,179 would be like. 189 00:14:03,179 –> 00:14:09,099 So I’m going to paint two pictures for you and I want you to try to compose them in your 190 00:14:09,099 –> 00:14:14,500 mind, this is an imagination moment, I want you to paint a picture in your own mind as 191 00:14:14,619 –> 00:14:17,380 describe these words from the Bible. 192 00:14:17,380 –> 00:14:22,059 The first is the description of what it would be like to pass into condemnation and I’m 193 00:14:22,059 –> 00:14:27,539 taking that from Exodus and chapter 19. 194 00:14:27,539 –> 00:14:33,179 This tells us the story of when God came down to Mount Sinai and it’s significant in the 195 00:14:33,179 –> 00:14:38,580 Bible because this was an event that took place before God had given all of the sacrifices 196 00:14:38,580 –> 00:14:43,260 that pointed forward to Jesus Christ. 197 00:14:43,260 –> 00:14:52,539 In Exodus 19 and verse 12, God says in preparation for this, set limits around the mountain, 198 00:14:52,539 –> 00:14:58,059 barriers really, so that the people don’t come too close, because the appearing of the 199 00:14:58,059 –> 00:15:04,080 Lord is going to be so awesome and so terrifying and if anyone even touches the mountain on 200 00:15:04,080 –> 00:15:08,840 which God will come, He is only going to come to the top, but if you even touch the bottom 201 00:15:08,840 –> 00:15:12,640 then such a person will surely die. 202 00:15:13,580 –> 00:15:19,179 Now, imagine then a million people and they’re beyond barriers at a distance from the bottom 203 00:15:19,179 –> 00:15:23,340 of the mountain on to which the presence of God is going to come and now here’s the picture 204 00:15:23,340 –> 00:15:25,640 that I want you to compose in your mind. 205 00:15:25,640 –> 00:15:31,840 On the morning of the third day, Exodus 19 verse 16, there were thunders and lightnings. 206 00:15:31,840 –> 00:15:39,500 Ok, so get that going in your mind, you’ve got that picture, really big storm, the lightning 207 00:15:39,500 –> 00:15:48,119 cracking, thunder and there’s a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast. 208 00:15:48,119 –> 00:15:55,500 So you hear this trumpet blaring, blaring and its sound is so loud and it’s over, it’s 209 00:15:55,500 –> 00:16:00,580 piercing through even thunder and even through lightning. 210 00:16:00,580 –> 00:16:05,239 And then it says all the people in the camp trembled, all the people, there about a million 211 00:16:05,239 –> 00:16:10,919 of them, and there wasn’t a single one who was saying, hey I’m not very impressed so 212 00:16:10,919 –> 00:16:12,900 far. 213 00:16:12,900 –> 00:16:16,080 Nobody was saying, I don’t believe. 214 00:16:16,080 –> 00:16:22,559 The presence of God was about to come down and just the anticipation of it as heaven 215 00:16:22,559 –> 00:16:32,840 has sort of opened and every person, the entire community, everyone is trembling with fear. 216 00:16:33,239 –> 00:16:37,080 Then we’re told that there was fire and there was smoke on the mountain and then the next 217 00:16:37,080 –> 00:16:40,739 thing we are told is that the whole mountain itself trembled. 218 00:16:40,739 –> 00:16:45,000 So now there’s thunder, there’s lightning, there’s this piercing sound, there’s all a 219 00:16:45,000 –> 00:16:47,559 million people around the bottom and they’re trembling. 220 00:16:47,559 –> 00:16:52,520 Now there’s smoke and fire and the mountain itself, think of an earthquake coming into 221 00:16:52,520 –> 00:16:55,719 the middle of this. 222 00:16:55,719 –> 00:17:01,599 And the mountain itself is moving and then we’re told the Lord came down to Mount Sinai, 223 00:17:01,619 –> 00:17:04,239 to the top of the mountain. 224 00:17:04,239 –> 00:17:11,359 Do you see why the Bible says, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living 225 00:17:11,359 –> 00:17:12,699 God. 226 00:17:12,699 –> 00:17:19,319 For a sinner without the sacrifice that is offered by Jesus Christ to come anywhere close 227 00:17:19,319 –> 00:17:26,439 to God, is absolutely terrifying. 228 00:17:26,439 –> 00:17:29,560 And that’s what death does, it brings you into the presence of God. 229 00:17:30,479 –> 00:17:34,540 And why would this be in the Bible, is to teach these people then, and to teach us people 230 00:17:34,560 –> 00:17:42,199 now, the sheer terror of standing in the presence of, or anywhere close to, our holy God. 231 00:17:42,199 –> 00:17:44,040 Even Moses was shaking with fear. 232 00:17:44,040 –> 00:17:49,719 If Moses was shaking with fear, then where would that leave the rest of us? 233 00:17:49,719 –> 00:17:56,099 How grateful he must have been when God told him about the sacrifices that pointed to Jesus. 234 00:17:56,099 –> 00:18:00,180 So, death can be a passing into condemnation, and I’m just giving you that picture of the 235 00:18:00,180 –> 00:18:06,800 sheer terror of what that would be, to get even close to a holy God without a sacrifice. 236 00:18:06,800 –> 00:18:10,380 And then let me give you another picture that’s completely and utterly different, and this 237 00:18:10,380 –> 00:18:13,359 one’s from Hebrews and Chapter 12. 238 00:18:13,359 –> 00:18:18,479 What’s significant here is that the whole book of Hebrews is written to Jewish believers 239 00:18:18,479 –> 00:18:19,760 in Jesus Christ. 240 00:18:19,760 –> 00:18:24,180 So these people really knew the Old Testament, and what the writer to the Hebrews does is 241 00:18:24,180 –> 00:18:30,060 he recomposes, recollects the picture from Exodus 19 of absolute terror that would’ve 242 00:18:30,060 –> 00:18:35,260 been familiar to all of them, and then he says this, Verse 18 of Hebrews 12. 243 00:18:35,260 –> 00:18:41,780 You, you who have come to believe in Christ, have not come to. 244 00:18:41,780 –> 00:18:45,819 And then he describes the mountain that may be touched, the blazing fire, the darkness, 245 00:18:45,819 –> 00:18:51,000 the trumpet, the voice that made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to 246 00:18:51,000 –> 00:18:52,000 them. 247 00:18:52,819 –> 00:18:55,619 I think it’s so terrifying that even Moses said, I am trembling with fear. 248 00:18:55,619 –> 00:18:59,979 You in Jesus Christ are not coming there. 249 00:18:59,979 –> 00:19:00,979 Thank God for that. 250 00:19:00,979 –> 00:19:06,760 Friends, when you die, you do not want to be at the bottom of Mount Sinai. 251 00:19:06,760 –> 00:19:09,260 You do not. 252 00:19:09,260 –> 00:19:10,260 Where do you want to be? 253 00:19:10,260 –> 00:19:13,540 Well, here it is in Hebrews 12 and Verse 22. 254 00:19:13,540 –> 00:19:16,979 But you have come to Mount Zion. 255 00:19:16,979 –> 00:19:20,020 Now compose this picture. 256 00:19:20,040 –> 00:19:21,660 The City of the Living God. 257 00:19:21,660 –> 00:19:24,680 So see in your mind’s eye, the city and the brightness. 258 00:19:24,680 –> 00:19:28,780 Just try and get that image in your mind, and then add to it. 259 00:19:28,780 –> 00:19:32,719 To innumerable angels in festal gathering. 260 00:19:32,719 –> 00:19:35,400 Now picture a crowd of angels. 261 00:19:35,400 –> 00:19:37,099 This is like in the book of Revelation. 262 00:19:37,099 –> 00:19:39,920 More than you could number, and they’re all rejoicing. 263 00:19:39,920 –> 00:19:43,979 They’re all in festivities. 264 00:19:43,979 –> 00:19:45,680 And why are they in festivities? 265 00:19:45,680 –> 00:19:49,760 Because you’ve come to the assembly of the first born who are enrolled in heaven. 266 00:19:49,760 –> 00:19:54,780 Here are all of these people, a vast crowd of men and women and children, who are in 267 00:19:54,780 –> 00:19:59,599 the presence of Jesus and they belong in the presence of Jesus in heaven. 268 00:19:59,599 –> 00:20:00,939 And they’re enrolled there. 269 00:20:00,939 –> 00:20:05,140 And they’re in the presence of God because no one escapes God. 270 00:20:05,140 –> 00:20:06,859 But they’ve not come before God in terror. 271 00:20:06,859 –> 00:20:08,339 They’ve come before God in delight. 272 00:20:08,339 –> 00:20:13,920 They’re in His presence because they’ve been reconciled to him. 273 00:20:14,020 –> 00:20:16,280 And how has all of this happened? 274 00:20:16,280 –> 00:20:19,060 Because there has been a true change in them. 275 00:20:19,060 –> 00:20:21,939 The spirits of righteous people made perfect. 276 00:20:21,939 –> 00:20:22,939 How? 277 00:20:22,939 –> 00:20:29,380 Through Jesus the mediator of a new covenant and because of His sprinkled blood. 278 00:20:29,380 –> 00:20:36,020 Now, the scene here could hardly be more different from Exodus and chapter 19. 279 00:20:36,020 –> 00:20:42,880 And please understand that in these two pictures, he’s not describing heaven and hell. 280 00:20:42,959 –> 00:20:46,000 He’s not actually specifically speaking about death. 281 00:20:46,000 –> 00:20:54,760 The contrast we have here is between standing before God without Jesus and without a sacrifice 282 00:20:54,780 –> 00:21:02,619 and without a mediator and standing before God with Jesus and His blood, shed for you, 283 00:21:02,619 –> 00:21:05,479 applied to your life. 284 00:21:05,479 –> 00:21:10,439 And there is all the difference in the world. 285 00:21:10,680 –> 00:21:17,500 Without Jesus, death will be a passing into condemnation with Jesus and entering into 286 00:21:17,500 –> 00:21:20,780 celebration. 287 00:21:20,780 –> 00:21:25,780 Now that’s what he is talking about here in verse 14. 288 00:21:25,800 –> 00:21:31,699 One has died for all and therefore all have died. 289 00:21:31,699 –> 00:21:38,020 Jesus in other words entered the condemnation, the death that you would have died, so that 290 00:21:38,020 –> 00:21:43,859 when death comes for you, if you’re in Jesus Christ, it will not be a passing into condemnation. 291 00:21:43,859 –> 00:21:47,579 It will rather be an entrance into celebration. 292 00:21:47,579 –> 00:21:49,699 And so here’s settled conviction number one. 293 00:21:49,699 –> 00:21:54,719 We’ve concluded, Paul says, let me put it this way, Jesus died in my place and he has 294 00:21:54,719 –> 00:21:58,439 changed the face of death for me forever. 295 00:21:58,439 –> 00:22:01,599 That’s settled in my mind, I’ve got that. 296 00:22:01,599 –> 00:22:07,199 He passed into our condemnation in order to bring us into celebration. 297 00:22:07,260 –> 00:22:15,959 If you are in Jesus Christ, passing into condemnation happened for you at the cross. 298 00:22:15,959 –> 00:22:18,880 It happened at the cross as far as you’re concerned. 299 00:22:18,880 –> 00:22:23,339 That’s why it says he died for all and therefore all died. 300 00:22:23,339 –> 00:22:27,660 Passing into condemnation happened as far as you are concerned if you’re in Jesus Christ 301 00:22:27,660 –> 00:22:28,800 at the cross. 302 00:22:28,800 –> 00:22:32,780 So whenever the moment of death comes for you, whether it’s through a sudden accident 303 00:22:32,780 –> 00:22:36,959 that was completely unforeseen or it may be years and years from now, when that moment, 304 00:22:37,420 –> 00:22:42,140 that moment comes for you, it will not be a passing into condemnation that was done 305 00:22:42,140 –> 00:22:45,319 in Jesus, it will be an entrance into celebration. 306 00:22:45,319 –> 00:22:50,459 That is what is left and what is ahead for you. 307 00:22:50,459 –> 00:22:53,319 Now that is the most amazing transformation. 308 00:22:53,319 –> 00:23:00,900 It says it’s settled in our minds that Jesus has changed the face of death for us forever 309 00:23:01,300 –> 00:23:07,420 and forever and the more that grips the mind, the more the love of Christ that caused Him 310 00:23:07,420 –> 00:23:14,420 to do this begins to permeate into our experience, it takes control of the heart when this settles 311 00:23:16,020 –> 00:23:19,280 in the mind. 312 00:23:19,280 –> 00:23:25,319 And then there is something else, not only how Jesus changes death but how Jesus changes 313 00:23:25,319 –> 00:23:25,920 life. 314 00:23:25,920 –> 00:23:30,520 Now I want you to notice what he says here, the love of Christ controls us 315 00:23:30,540 –> 00:23:35,500 because we’ve concluded this, that he died for all that 316 00:23:35,500 –> 00:23:42,000 those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died 317 00:23:42,000 –> 00:23:43,380 and was raised. 318 00:23:43,380 –> 00:23:50,380 Now think about this, the default death for every person apart from Jesus Christ is passing 319 00:23:53,640 –> 00:23:56,780 into condemnation. 320 00:23:56,780 –> 00:24:03,780 The default life for every person apart from Jesus Christ is what he refers to here living 321 00:24:04,219 –> 00:24:07,199 for yourself. 322 00:24:07,199 –> 00:24:14,199 The Bible says this quite clearly in Philippians chapter 2 verse 21, all seek their own interests, 323 00:24:14,219 –> 00:24:18,359 not that of Jesus Christ. 324 00:24:18,359 –> 00:24:23,260 In other words, unless something radically changes, unless there’s some amazing intervention 325 00:24:23,459 –> 00:24:29,619 in a human life. The default life is to live for ourselves, the default death is to pass 326 00:24:29,619 –> 00:24:34,520 into condemnation and what we’re being told here is that not only has Jesus changed the 327 00:24:34,520 –> 00:24:41,000 default death, but he also changes the default life. 328 00:24:41,000 –> 00:24:44,680 So that we will no longer live for ourselves. 329 00:24:44,680 –> 00:24:51,680 Now friends, what does it mean to live for yourself? I spent some time meditating on 330 00:24:52,180 –> 00:24:59,180 that. What is it to live for self? If you live for self, self is an uncrowned king. 331 00:25:06,339 –> 00:25:13,339 Self is a pretender to the throne of God. If you live for self, it is a very dangerous 332 00:25:14,420 –> 00:25:20,099 thing to do, it’s very dangerous to live for and serve an uncrowned king because what happens 333 00:25:20,199 –> 00:25:25,780 when the true king comes back? What happens to self and to the servant of self when the 334 00:25:25,780 –> 00:25:32,780 true king returns? Second, if you live for self, self is always an unhappy boss. Now 335 00:25:33,560 –> 00:25:38,380 think about this with me. It’s a bit of a brain twister but I think you’ll get there. 336 00:25:38,380 –> 00:25:45,219 The problem with living for yourself is that you make yourself both the boss and the servant. 337 00:25:45,260 –> 00:25:52,260 You put yourself, in other words, both sides of the ledger. If you live for yourself, you 338 00:25:52,500 –> 00:25:59,500 are both the one who is served and you are the one who does the serving. Live for yourself. 339 00:26:00,239 –> 00:26:07,239 So the demands that you set become the demands that you have to keep, and this is why the 340 00:26:08,959 –> 00:26:14,859 experience of a person who lives for self is always that you’re robbing Peter to pay 341 00:26:15,439 –> 00:26:19,699 Paul. It’s like taking stuff out of one bank account, putting it into another. They’re 342 00:26:19,699 –> 00:26:25,099 both yours. Nothing actually changes. The balance is still the same. You just move things 343 00:26:25,099 –> 00:26:32,099 around. And that is why the person who, who lives for self is constantly in conflict. 344 00:26:32,859 –> 00:26:38,400 You will find this to be the case. If you live for yourself, you will often find, in 345 00:26:38,400 –> 00:26:45,180 the strange position that you are beating up on yourself because you are unhappy. Now 346 00:26:45,180 –> 00:26:51,719 how illogical is that? If self is unhappy, who is there to beat up on, except the one 347 00:26:51,719 –> 00:26:56,199 who is serving self, that is, the one who is living for self. So you end up beating 348 00:26:56,199 –> 00:27:01,380 up on yourself. It’s inevitable. It is a completely miserable and impossible existence. 349 00:27:01,380 –> 00:27:08,060 Here is how it works. Let me give you some examples and you could take this much further 350 00:27:08,099 –> 00:27:18,119 in conversation this week and in application. You look in the mirror and self the boss 351 00:27:18,140 –> 00:27:28,140 is not happy because she wants to have a more pleasing image. So she beats up on self, the 352 00:27:28,140 –> 00:27:37,760 servant, who suffers for not being pretty enough. You look at your life and self, the 353 00:27:37,760 –> 00:27:48,579 boss, says you should have accomplished more. So who’s to blame? Self, the servant, 354 00:27:48,579 –> 00:27:55,319 gets beaten up for not measuring up. Then here’s what happens. You do that for some 355 00:27:55,380 –> 00:27:59,920 years and you beat up on yourself because, who else is there to beat up? You’re living 356 00:27:59,920 –> 00:28:04,540 for yourself and so the boss and the servant are both you. 357 00:28:04,540 –> 00:28:08,219 So you come to this point and say, now, this is no good, I need to go and get some counselling 358 00:28:08,219 –> 00:28:12,040 and you get some counselling and you’ve got this new insight. You say, I know what 359 00:28:12,040 –> 00:28:19,099 it is, I know why I’m not happy, I’m being too hard on myself. I need to lighten up, 360 00:28:19,099 –> 00:28:24,239 I need to give myself a break. So that’s what you do and here’s the problem, you’re 361 00:28:24,239 –> 00:28:30,199 still not happy because while self the servant has been given a break, guess what? Self the 362 00:28:30,199 –> 00:28:34,900 boss is no longer being served. So you’re still not happy, living yourself 363 00:28:34,900 –> 00:28:41,560 is an absolute nightmare when you lay it out as the master, you get crushed as the servant, 364 00:28:41,560 –> 00:28:46,239 when you lighten up on the servant, you get short changed as the master, you cannot possibly 365 00:28:46,239 –> 00:28:52,900 win and all around us is a culture that says, live for yourself, be whatever you wanna be, 366 00:28:53,079 –> 00:28:57,800 be your own lord, be your own savior and it’s just assumed that this is gonna be the path 367 00:28:57,800 –> 00:29:02,839 on which everybody finds happiness and that it would be a great sacrifice if you did anything 368 00:29:02,839 –> 00:29:08,160 other than live for yourself and what I’m saying to you is if you just think about it, 369 00:29:08,160 –> 00:29:14,760 it is not possible to be happy on the basis of living for yourself. You’re always gonna 370 00:29:14,760 –> 00:29:20,800 be in conflict, you’re always robbing Peter to pay Paul, you’re never any further forward, 371 00:29:20,859 –> 00:29:27,859 whichever way you come at it. And so here’s marvelous, good news. That Jesus Christ comes 372 00:29:28,040 –> 00:29:33,699 not only to change the face of death for us but to change the face of life for us and 373 00:29:33,699 –> 00:29:40,219 here’s the change, that those who are in Him will no longer live for themselves, be released 374 00:29:40,219 –> 00:29:47,219 from that, from the utter misery, the dead end that it always is, the perpetual conflict 375 00:29:47,520 –> 00:29:54,520 and to bring you into the joy that can only be found in living for Him. And as if it were 376 00:29:55,140 –> 00:29:59,579 not bad enough that to live for self is to live for an un-crowned king and to live for 377 00:29:59,579 –> 00:30:06,579 a perpetually unhappy boss, to live for self means that you end up with an un-rewarded 378 00:30:07,479 –> 00:30:14,479 servant. If you live for yourself who is there to reward you? Who is there to smile on you 379 00:30:18,219 –> 00:30:25,219 when your work is done if you live for yourself? Who is there to embrace you? Who is there 380 00:30:25,979 –> 00:30:32,979 to rejoice with you? If you live for yourself who can ever say to you, well done good and 381 00:30:35,140 –> 00:30:42,140 faithful servant, enter into your masters. Joy. Who could say that to you if you live 382 00:30:42,180 –> 00:30:48,420 for yourself? No. You live for yourself when your work is done, you look up and you find 383 00:30:48,420 –> 00:30:55,420 you are all alone, and there is no smile, and there is no well done, and there is no 384 00:30:56,400 –> 00:31:03,400 love, and there is no joy, because the one for whom everything has been done is yourself. 385 00:31:04,319 –> 00:31:11,160 done. So here’s settled conviction number two, that 386 00:31:11,160 –> 00:31:16,660 Jesus died, not only to change the face of death for me forever, but Jesus died to bring 387 00:31:16,660 –> 00:31:23,660 me from the misery of living for myself into the joy of living for him. That’s the only 388 00:31:26,000 –> 00:31:32,540 way that real joy can ever be found. We have concluded this, He says. The Christ died for 389 00:31:32,579 –> 00:31:39,579 all that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake 390 00:31:40,780 –> 00:31:47,780 died and was raised. Here we have it friends, there is for human 391 00:31:48,119 –> 00:31:55,119 beings a default life and a default death. The default life is that we live for ourselves. 392 00:31:56,000 –> 00:32:02,439 The default death is that we pass into condemnation and here is what Jesus Christ has done. He 393 00:32:02,439 –> 00:32:09,439 has died our default death to change our default life. He died for all that, those who live 394 00:32:11,959 –> 00:32:18,520 should no longer live for themselves but for him who died and was raised. 395 00:32:19,000 –> 00:32:23,260 Now, Paul says, these are the two convictions, a transformation of death, transformation 396 00:32:23,260 –> 00:32:29,839 of life, by Jesus Christ, which as they settle in the human mind, we’ve concluded. We’re 397 00:32:29,839 –> 00:32:36,839 convinced, we’re persuaded about this, and as that has restructured our thinking, Paul 398 00:32:37,199 –> 00:32:44,119 says, so it has fired our hearts.This is why we are controlled by the love of Christ. 399 00:32:44,900 –> 00:32:50,359 Now, three words, and then we’re through. Actually, there are a few words about each 400 00:32:50,359 –> 00:32:54,880 of the three words, but we’re nearly there is what I’m telling. Here’s word number 401 00:32:54,880 –> 00:33:01,520 one, Jesus. Jesus. Don’t miss the most obvious thing about these marvelous verses. They’re 402 00:33:01,520 –> 00:33:06,199 all about Jesus. It’s Jesus who died. It’s Jesus who rose. We’re being delivered from 403 00:33:06,199 –> 00:33:11,079 living for ourselves in order to live for Him. It’s all about Jesus. That’s why we 404 00:33:11,119 –> 00:33:17,520 read the story of the rich, young ruler earlier in the service because here was someone who 405 00:33:17,520 –> 00:33:24,479 was moral, and here the rich, young ruler was someone who was deeply religious. Because 406 00:33:24,479 –> 00:33:28,920 He was all about Himself, He wanted to make sure that He got heaven as well. I want everything 407 00:33:28,920 –> 00:33:35,920 in this world, and I want everything in the next world as well. His story is a very sad 408 00:33:36,819 –> 00:33:43,359 one because it tells us that, did you notice this word when it was read? He walks away 409 00:33:43,359 –> 00:33:47,619 from Jesus because He’s not willing to become a follower of Jesus. He just wants to be moral 410 00:33:47,619 –> 00:33:54,619 and religious and have heaven. And so He walks away from Jesus disheartened, the Bible says. 411 00:33:56,560 –> 00:34:02,319 Disheartened. Don’t lose heart. He did lose heart. Why? Because he walked away from Jesus. 412 00:34:02,319 –> 00:34:09,320 Our series is called Don’t Lose Heart. How am I not to lose heart? I walked towards Jesus. 413 00:34:10,439 –> 00:34:17,439 Here’s the thing. Have you discovered yet, and you see this with great sadness sometimes, 414 00:34:18,719 –> 00:34:24,100 that moral and religious people can sometimes be the most selfish people on the face of 415 00:34:24,100 –> 00:34:31,780 the planet? Have you noticed that? And here’s the reason. That being moral and being religious 416 00:34:32,020 –> 00:34:38,780 has no power whatsoever to break the default human life, which is to live for self. 417 00:34:38,780 –> 00:34:41,879 And so you see this in the Pharisees. You see it in the rich young ruler. You can see 418 00:34:41,879 –> 00:34:47,360 it all around us in religious circles. Sadly, too often the people who are moral and religious 419 00:34:47,360 –> 00:34:53,199 are fundamentally about themselves. All this in heaven too. 420 00:34:53,199 –> 00:35:00,199 And not the love of Christ. Not the love of Christ. 421 00:35:00,419 –> 00:35:07,419 So being moral will never release you from the default mode of living. It takes the power 422 00:35:07,459 –> 00:35:13,520 of a risen Savior to change that direction of life. And that’s why Paul at the end of 423 00:35:13,520 –> 00:35:18,820 the verse says that, he not only died, but he rose. You can’t be saved by a dead Savior. 424 00:35:18,820 –> 00:35:24,820 You need a living Savior whose power is actually able to come and transform your life. 425 00:35:24,820 –> 00:35:30,020 And this is what happens when a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ. 426 00:35:30,020 –> 00:35:33,560 Changes the face of death for you, changes the face of life for you. But that never happens 427 00:35:33,560 –> 00:35:40,560 by being moral or being religious. It’s Jesus who does it, Jesus. 428 00:35:40,560 –> 00:35:47,340 Second word now, that those who live might no longer live for themselves. See what he is saying? 429 00:35:47,340 –> 00:35:52,100 That’s why I say this is the default life is to live for self. He says no longer, just 430 00:35:52,300 –> 00:35:59,300 assumes that that’s how it always was, how it always is and will be except for Jesus. 431 00:35:59,479 –> 00:36:06,479 But you come to a living knowledge of Jesus you can no longer live for your self. 432 00:36:07,939 –> 00:36:14,500 As we’ve been brought into this place today, where what Jesus has done to change death 433 00:36:14,500 –> 00:36:21,219 and what Jesus has done to change life has been opened up before us, why would anyone 434 00:36:21,320 –> 00:36:27,239 in the congregation spend one more day living for self? How could you possibly do that? 435 00:36:27,239 –> 00:36:35,580 And the misery of it. Why would you not, why would every one of us not today be saying 436 00:36:36,000 –> 00:36:44,300 Jesus Christ I am so done with living for self, I have as best as I can right now to 437 00:36:44,300 –> 00:36:50,820 give into your hands all that I am and all that I have that I may live for you. 438 00:36:51,679 –> 00:36:56,699 And that you as my Lord will show me and lead me in what that actually means for me but 439 00:36:56,699 –> 00:37:08,699 I am so done with living for my self. No longer, no longer. How could you hang about with life 440 00:37:08,739 –> 00:37:13,739 as it is when Jesus offers the transformation of death and of life to you? 441 00:37:13,800 –> 00:37:23,780 And the last word is simply this. Jesus now, and the third word is you. And I just end 442 00:37:23,780 –> 00:37:28,959 here for this reason, did you notice verse 14, we have concluded this that that one died 443 00:37:28,959 –> 00:37:36,679 for all. All means every person in the third service. And it included everyone in the 444 00:37:36,679 –> 00:37:40,679 first two services by the way as well. And everyone in every other campus, it includes 445 00:37:40,679 –> 00:37:48,199 everybody in the world. It includes you it includes you. And here’s what it means. It 446 00:37:48,199 –> 00:37:55,679 means that there is hope for you for this reason. That everything that God did through 447 00:37:55,679 –> 00:38:02,159 Jesus Christ on the cross to change death and to change life can be yours today. There 448 00:38:02,159 –> 00:38:07,719 are no exclusions. Nobody who has pushed Jesus away so long that he would not welcome you 449 00:38:07,879 –> 00:38:12,679 today, nobody who is beyond the bounds of grace because you have sinned to badly and 450 00:38:12,679 –> 00:38:19,679 he would turn his back on you today. He died for all. So what God has done in Jesus Christ 451 00:38:22,919 –> 00:38:29,919 to change death and to change life can be yours today. So why would you not come to 452 00:38:30,620 –> 00:38:37,280 him? Tell him you see you need him. In death and in life more then you have ever seen it 453 00:38:37,280 –> 00:38:42,500 before. Tell him that you see that the only hope of a changed experience at death and 454 00:38:42,500 –> 00:38:47,719 a changed experience right now of life your only hope lies in him, but you do have hope 455 00:38:47,719 –> 00:38:52,020 in him. Tell him you are tired of living for yourself. Tell him that you have seen now 456 00:38:52,020 –> 00:38:58,620 that it can only ever leave you in conflict and misery. Tell him your many sins and ask 457 00:38:58,620 –> 00:39:04,560 him to forgive you. Ask him to make you his own. Ask him to lead you into this new life. 458 00:39:04,560 –> 00:39:16,360 Be my Lord be my Savior. Come to him today and as you come to him settle these convictions 459 00:39:16,360 –> 00:39:28,199 in your mind that Jesus died in your place to change the face of death for you forever 460 00:39:29,199 –> 00:39:35,560 and that Jesus died to deliver you from the misery of living for yourself and that he 461 00:39:35,560 –> 00:39:43,000 is able to lead you into a new life. And not only is he able to do this he is ready to 462 00:39:43,000 –> 00:39:51,600 do this and he is willing to do this for you. And so unlike the rich young ruler who was 463 00:39:51,600 –> 00:39:59,000 so disheartened as he walked away from Jesus. You come to Jesus Christ as you are and put 464 00:39:59,000 –> 00:40:08,580 your trust in him, as you walk towards Jesus you will not lose heart. 465 00:40:08,580 –> 00:40:15,760 Father, please settle these deep convictions in every mind and heart. Let no one go from 466 00:40:15,840 –> 00:40:22,520 the sanctuary and the service saying, well I’m just gonna live for myself anyway. 467 00:40:22,520 –> 00:40:28,679 Please deliver and by the power of your Holy Spirit, let none be like the rich, young ruler, 468 00:40:28,679 –> 00:40:37,600 so disheartened and off away from Jesus. Let everyone of us be those who come to him and 469 00:40:37,600 –> 00:40:44,879 find in him the change, the transformation of life and of death, that is his great gift 470 00:40:45,000 –> 00:40:55,020 to all his people and in this we rejoice through Jesus, our Lord, and everyone said, Amen. 471 00:40:55,020 –> 00:40:56,520 You’ve been listening to a sermon with 472 00:40:56,520 –> 00:41:04,719 Pastor Collins Smith of Open the Bible. To contact us, call us at 1-877-Open365 or visit 473 00:41:04,719 –> 00:41:07,379 our website, openthebible.org.