1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:02,440 Now we’re continuing our series today, entitled, 2 00:00:02,440 –> 00:00:07,440 Be Yourself, Discovering your New Identity in Christ, 3 00:00:07,800 –> 00:00:12,360 and the core of this series comes from 1 Corinthians 4 00:00:12,360 –> 00:00:14,660 chapter one and verse 30, 5 00:00:14,660 –> 00:00:18,200 a verse that I think is becoming very special to many of us 6 00:00:18,200 –> 00:00:20,959 where we read that Jesus Christ has become for us 7 00:00:20,959 –> 00:00:23,980 wisdom from God that is our righteousness, 8 00:00:23,980 –> 00:00:26,820 holiness, and redemption. 9 00:00:26,820 –> 00:00:28,320 This means, as we’ve been seeing, 10 00:00:28,340 –> 00:00:31,240 that in Jesus Christ, you are clean. 11 00:00:31,240 –> 00:00:34,360 It means in Jesus Christ you are free. 12 00:00:34,360 –> 00:00:38,380 Him being our redemption means that he sets us free, 13 00:00:38,380 –> 00:00:40,380 and that was our focus last week. 14 00:00:40,380 –> 00:00:42,500 Sin shall no longer be your master. 15 00:00:42,500 –> 00:00:45,639 Sin is still your enemy, but it is not your master 16 00:00:45,639 –> 00:00:47,959 because in Jesus Christ, you are set free, 17 00:00:47,959 –> 00:00:49,779 we still have our battles, 18 00:00:49,779 –> 00:00:51,779 we still have our struggles, 19 00:00:51,779 –> 00:00:53,380 but we’re not in the cage. 20 00:00:53,380 –> 00:00:55,380 We are in the field. 21 00:00:55,419 –> 00:00:56,259 So you’re free. 22 00:00:56,259 –> 00:00:59,459 So be who you are. 23 00:00:59,459 –> 00:01:02,160 Now today we come to the third dimension 24 00:01:02,160 –> 00:01:04,379 of who we are in Jesus Christ 25 00:01:04,379 –> 00:01:07,260 from 1 Corinthians 1 in verse 30, 26 00:01:07,260 –> 00:01:12,260 where we read that Christ has become for us our holiness. 27 00:01:12,440 –> 00:01:14,260 That’s in the new international version 28 00:01:14,260 –> 00:01:15,959 if you have the authorized version, 29 00:01:15,959 –> 00:01:17,540 the new American Standard Version 30 00:01:17,540 –> 00:01:20,059 or the English Standard Version, 31 00:01:20,059 –> 00:01:22,980 you will have the word sanctification in there. 32 00:01:22,980 –> 00:01:24,959 Christ has become our holiness, 33 00:01:24,980 –> 00:01:28,279 Christ has become our sanctification. 34 00:01:28,279 –> 00:01:31,779 The two words of course mean exactly the same thing 35 00:01:31,779 –> 00:01:34,940 and it is worth knowing them both. 36 00:01:34,940 –> 00:01:39,940 The Latin word sanctus, which of course means holy, 37 00:01:40,339 –> 00:01:43,379 is where we get our word sanctity, 38 00:01:43,379 –> 00:01:45,820 sanctity of human life, things like that, 39 00:01:45,820 –> 00:01:48,940 and our word sacred and also obviously 40 00:01:48,940 –> 00:01:52,540 our word sanctified or sanctification. 41 00:01:52,599 –> 00:01:55,320 Holiness, sanctify, sanctification, 42 00:01:55,320 –> 00:01:58,720 these are expressing the same thing. 43 00:01:58,720 –> 00:02:01,860 Now, this is an area where it is very easy 44 00:02:01,860 –> 00:02:04,540 for us to become confused 45 00:02:04,540 –> 00:02:07,699 and so it’s important for us to think clearly 46 00:02:07,699 –> 00:02:09,779 and so please follow me for a few moments 47 00:02:09,779 –> 00:02:12,779 as I try to explain the meaning of these words 48 00:02:12,779 –> 00:02:14,460 and then we’ll get to the significance 49 00:02:14,460 –> 00:02:16,660 of them for our lives. 50 00:02:17,660 –> 00:02:20,539 Now if I were to ask the question this morning, 51 00:02:20,539 –> 00:02:23,539 are you justified, 52 00:02:23,539 –> 00:02:26,619 and I was to ask that of all of us who are in Christ 53 00:02:26,619 –> 00:02:28,039 who are Christian believers, 54 00:02:28,039 –> 00:02:31,979 if I were to say, are you justified, 55 00:02:31,979 –> 00:02:35,339 you would say with great confidence, yes. 56 00:02:35,339 –> 00:02:36,860 Amen to that. 57 00:02:36,860 –> 00:02:39,240 If I were thinking of last week’s theme 58 00:02:39,240 –> 00:02:41,779 and to say to you in Jesus Christ, 59 00:02:41,779 –> 00:02:44,059 are you redeemed, 60 00:02:44,059 –> 00:02:46,820 you would say with confidence, yes. 61 00:02:47,660 –> 00:02:49,619 Now in coming to this subject, 62 00:02:49,619 –> 00:02:54,179 if I were to ask the question, are you holy, 63 00:02:54,179 –> 00:02:57,419 I think that 90% of us including myself 64 00:02:57,419 –> 00:03:02,419 would hesitate before we wanted to give an answer. 65 00:03:03,759 –> 00:03:06,699 We normally think, you see, about holiness 66 00:03:06,699 –> 00:03:10,619 or sanctification as an ongoing process. 67 00:03:10,619 –> 00:03:14,059 Justification is a once for all event 68 00:03:14,059 –> 00:03:17,020 by which we’re brought into a right relationship with God, 69 00:03:17,020 –> 00:03:21,399 but sanctification and ongoing process of growth 70 00:03:21,399 –> 00:03:23,839 in which we are increasingly made like Christ, 71 00:03:23,839 –> 00:03:26,820 but it’s a process that’s never quite complete in this life. 72 00:03:26,820 –> 00:03:29,979 I learned that as a youngster that’s a fundamental framework 73 00:03:29,979 –> 00:03:33,839 in my mind, and I’m sure clear for most of us. 74 00:03:33,839 –> 00:03:37,259 So I can see that I’m justified, that I’m redeemed, 75 00:03:37,259 –> 00:03:39,360 because these are ones for all events. 76 00:03:39,360 –> 00:03:42,259 They’ve happened, they’re true of me, 77 00:03:42,259 –> 00:03:45,979 but holiness is an ongoing process 78 00:03:46,080 –> 00:03:47,839 and maybe I might like to think 79 00:03:47,839 –> 00:03:51,539 that I would be a bit more holy than I am in 25 years’ time, 80 00:03:51,539 –> 00:03:56,199 but right now it sounds like something that I’m not. 81 00:03:56,199 –> 00:04:01,199 Let’s face it, not many of us think of ourselves as holy. 82 00:04:01,619 –> 00:04:04,839 If you ask your wife the question, 83 00:04:06,240 –> 00:04:09,979 darling, do you think that I am holy? 84 00:04:10,919 –> 00:04:14,460 She will probably say you cannot be serious 85 00:04:14,460 –> 00:04:15,919 or something of that sort. 86 00:04:16,700 –> 00:04:18,220 In fact, someone caught me in the foyer 87 00:04:18,220 –> 00:04:19,600 after the first service, he said I asked my wife 88 00:04:19,600 –> 00:04:20,839 if she thought I was holy. 89 00:04:20,839 –> 00:04:23,339 She said yes, only ridiculous. 90 00:04:23,339 –> 00:04:28,339 So holiness sounds like something we’re not. 91 00:04:30,679 –> 00:04:32,579 It sounds like something we can’t really 92 00:04:32,579 –> 00:04:35,260 imagine ourselves to be. 93 00:04:35,260 –> 00:04:37,559 And since we feel that holiness 94 00:04:37,559 –> 00:04:39,700 is something essentially that we’re not, 95 00:04:39,700 –> 00:04:43,399 it feels as if anything that related to holiness 96 00:04:43,619 –> 00:04:47,940 would be rather false in relation to us. 97 00:04:47,940 –> 00:04:50,440 So while it’s very natural and easy for me 98 00:04:50,440 –> 00:04:51,739 to say in the light of the scriptures 99 00:04:51,739 –> 00:04:55,200 I have been justified, I feel this hesitation 100 00:04:55,200 –> 00:04:58,600 about saying I have been sanctified. 101 00:05:00,160 –> 00:05:01,399 But now turn with me in your bible 102 00:05:01,399 –> 00:05:04,079 to 1 Corinthians chapter six and verse 11. 103 00:05:04,079 –> 00:05:06,619 1 Corinthians chapter six and verse 11. 104 00:05:08,459 –> 00:05:11,000 And notice what the apostle Paul says here. 105 00:05:11,959 –> 00:05:15,299 You were washed. 106 00:05:15,299 –> 00:05:17,200 Well, we understand that. 107 00:05:17,200 –> 00:05:22,200 Then he says 1 Corinthians 6-11 you were sanctified. 108 00:05:23,660 –> 00:05:26,739 You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ 109 00:05:26,739 –> 00:05:28,779 and by the Spirit of our God. 110 00:05:29,640 –> 00:05:31,320 You were sanctified. 111 00:05:31,320 –> 00:05:33,779 He’s speaking about this as a completed act. 112 00:05:34,720 –> 00:05:36,200 He’s clearly talking about something 113 00:05:36,200 –> 00:05:38,399 that has already happened. 114 00:05:38,399 –> 00:05:41,220 He’s not talking about an ongoing process here, 115 00:05:41,220 –> 00:05:43,119 though the Bible does that in other places. 116 00:05:43,119 –> 00:05:46,799 He’s talking about a completed act. 117 00:05:46,799 –> 00:05:48,440 Now, this opens the window in our minds 118 00:05:48,440 –> 00:05:51,959 for something that is very important to understand. 119 00:05:51,959 –> 00:05:54,799 That in the Bible holiness is both used 120 00:05:54,799 –> 00:05:58,040 to refer to our position in Christ 121 00:05:58,040 –> 00:06:03,040 and the process by which we become increasingly like Christ. 122 00:06:03,720 –> 00:06:08,079 In fact, the original meaning of the root Hebrew word 123 00:06:08,079 –> 00:06:10,359 from which our word, holy, holiness, sanctified, 124 00:06:10,359 –> 00:06:12,640 sanctification comes from, 125 00:06:12,640 –> 00:06:16,119 the original root meaning of that old Hebrew word 126 00:06:16,119 –> 00:06:20,040 has two strands of meaning to it. 127 00:06:20,040 –> 00:06:24,859 First, it was used to speak of being set apart. 128 00:06:24,859 –> 00:06:29,700 And secondly, it could be translated by the word brightness. 129 00:06:30,859 –> 00:06:33,239 Now, if you think about these two root meanings 130 00:06:33,239 –> 00:06:35,079 of the Hebrew word that translates 131 00:06:35,079 –> 00:06:36,940 into our word for holy, holiness 132 00:06:37,019 –> 00:06:38,959 or sanctified, sanctification, 133 00:06:38,959 –> 00:06:42,679 that it can mean set apart and it can mean brightness, 134 00:06:42,679 –> 00:06:45,179 you’ll see how these two strands 135 00:06:45,179 –> 00:06:48,140 of meaning have developed. 136 00:06:48,140 –> 00:06:51,019 The first meaning, set apart, 137 00:06:51,019 –> 00:06:54,179 was used to describe a position 138 00:06:54,179 –> 00:06:56,179 in which something was given 139 00:06:56,179 –> 00:07:00,140 a special significance or purpose. 140 00:07:00,140 –> 00:07:02,779 So, for example, in the Old Testament, 141 00:07:02,779 –> 00:07:05,380 you could have a chair or a table 142 00:07:05,420 –> 00:07:07,459 in the tabernacle or in the temple 143 00:07:07,459 –> 00:07:10,079 that was referred to as being holy. 144 00:07:10,079 –> 00:07:11,179 Obviously, they weren’t saying 145 00:07:11,179 –> 00:07:14,679 that the chair was especially well-behaved, 146 00:07:14,679 –> 00:07:17,339 they were saying that the chair was set apart 147 00:07:17,339 –> 00:07:19,779 for a particular purpose in the temple, 148 00:07:19,779 –> 00:07:22,660 it wasn’t a common chair. 149 00:07:22,660 –> 00:07:26,500 My wife teaches a class of four year olds, 150 00:07:26,500 –> 00:07:27,760 and one of the things that she’s done 151 00:07:27,760 –> 00:07:30,059 for a number of years is every day, 152 00:07:30,059 –> 00:07:33,279 a leader is chosen for the four year old class 153 00:07:33,279 –> 00:07:34,660 from among the children. 154 00:07:34,660 –> 00:07:37,239 And they have a little bowl and all of their names 155 00:07:37,239 –> 00:07:38,940 are in there, and their name is picked, 156 00:07:38,940 –> 00:07:41,859 and then that person is the leader for the day. 157 00:07:41,859 –> 00:07:43,600 And the leader has a number of things to do 158 00:07:43,600 –> 00:07:46,440 and sits in the leader’s chair. 159 00:07:46,440 –> 00:07:48,600 Well, the parents of last year’s class 160 00:07:48,600 –> 00:07:50,720 evidently liked this idea 161 00:07:50,720 –> 00:07:53,119 and wanted to encourage it a little more, 162 00:07:53,119 –> 00:07:58,000 and so they got together and made a leader’s chair. 163 00:07:58,000 –> 00:07:59,579 And I’ll tell you this thing looks like 164 00:07:59,579 –> 00:08:02,940 the throne of the Queen of England. 165 00:08:02,940 –> 00:08:05,540 And it sits there in the classroom 166 00:08:05,540 –> 00:08:08,260 and every day a child’s name is chosen 167 00:08:08,260 –> 00:08:11,739 and that child gets to sit on the leader’s chair 168 00:08:11,739 –> 00:08:12,600 just for that day. 169 00:08:12,600 –> 00:08:14,320 This is not a common chair. 170 00:08:14,320 –> 00:08:17,899 That chair is, in Biblical terms, holy. 171 00:08:17,899 –> 00:08:20,299 It is set apart for the purpose, 172 00:08:20,299 –> 00:08:25,299 it is the chair of the four year old leader of the day. 173 00:08:26,140 –> 00:08:29,200 Well now, that’s the original meaning of the word 174 00:08:29,200 –> 00:08:31,160 so that, for example, when we read 175 00:08:31,220 –> 00:08:34,419 remember the Sabbath day 176 00:08:34,419 –> 00:08:37,780 and keep it holy, 177 00:08:37,780 –> 00:08:39,820 it means we’re to keep this as a day 178 00:08:39,820 –> 00:08:41,140 that is unlike any other. 179 00:08:41,140 –> 00:08:43,700 We’re not to make it common, like the rest of the week. 180 00:08:43,700 –> 00:08:44,940 We’re to keep it different. 181 00:08:44,940 –> 00:08:49,880 We’re to set it apart from all other days. 182 00:08:49,880 –> 00:08:54,880 When we talk about the sanctity of human life, 183 00:08:54,900 –> 00:08:58,340 what we mean is that human life is set apart 184 00:08:58,340 –> 00:09:00,260 from other forms of life. 185 00:09:00,299 –> 00:09:02,580 What we’re saying is there’s a world of a difference 186 00:09:02,580 –> 00:09:05,219 between a child and a chicken, 187 00:09:05,219 –> 00:09:07,500 and you cannot treat the two in the same way. 188 00:09:07,500 –> 00:09:11,619 A human life is not simply a biological form, 189 00:09:11,619 –> 00:09:13,979 it is so much more. 190 00:09:13,979 –> 00:09:16,299 Human life is sacred, 191 00:09:16,299 –> 00:09:20,479 it is set apart from all other forms of life. 192 00:09:21,599 –> 00:09:24,200 Now the second meaning, brightness, 193 00:09:24,200 –> 00:09:26,539 was used to describe a process, 194 00:09:26,559 –> 00:09:30,599 a process of gradual inward change in a person’s life 195 00:09:30,599 –> 00:09:34,840 by which they increasingly reflected the brightness 196 00:09:34,840 –> 00:09:38,780 of the character of the glory of God. 197 00:09:38,780 –> 00:09:40,799 And that is what Paul is praying for, 198 00:09:40,799 –> 00:09:44,219 for example, in 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 23, 199 00:09:44,219 –> 00:09:45,039 when he says, 200 00:09:45,039 –> 00:09:48,919 “‘May God himself sanctify you through and through.’” 201 00:09:48,919 –> 00:09:51,159 It doesn’t mean they’re moved to a new position, 202 00:09:51,159 –> 00:09:52,440 it doesn’t mean set you apart, 203 00:09:52,440 –> 00:09:54,200 that’s something that’s already happened. 204 00:09:54,200 –> 00:09:55,020 But he is saying, 205 00:09:55,700 –> 00:09:56,539 “‘May he make you more and more 206 00:09:56,539 –> 00:09:57,859 in every part of your being 207 00:09:57,859 –> 00:10:00,080 a reflection of the brightness 208 00:10:00,080 –> 00:10:02,239 of his own glory.’” 209 00:10:03,080 –> 00:10:05,739 Now, once you see that distinction, 210 00:10:05,739 –> 00:10:08,780 it immediately becomes obvious 211 00:10:08,780 –> 00:10:11,059 why we would hesitate 212 00:10:11,059 –> 00:10:12,820 if we were to be asked the question, 213 00:10:12,820 –> 00:10:14,679 are you holy? 214 00:10:14,679 –> 00:10:17,340 If I said to you, are you holy, 215 00:10:17,340 –> 00:10:18,640 you would rightly say to me, 216 00:10:18,640 –> 00:10:21,739 well, Colin, it all depends what you mean. 217 00:10:21,739 –> 00:10:23,900 If you’re asking, is my life 218 00:10:23,900 –> 00:10:25,979 a true reflection of the brightness 219 00:10:25,979 –> 00:10:28,739 and radiance of the character of God, 220 00:10:28,739 –> 00:10:30,960 then the answer has to be, no, 221 00:10:30,960 –> 00:10:32,460 only a very small part 222 00:10:32,460 –> 00:10:33,820 of his brightness and radiance 223 00:10:33,820 –> 00:10:34,820 is reflected in me, 224 00:10:34,820 –> 00:10:35,880 and it’s, frankly, mingled 225 00:10:35,880 –> 00:10:37,739 with far too many other things. 226 00:10:37,739 –> 00:10:39,440 I’m in the process. 227 00:10:40,619 –> 00:10:42,599 But if you are asking me the question, 228 00:10:42,599 –> 00:10:45,500 have I been set apart 229 00:10:45,500 –> 00:10:47,500 for a special purpose, 230 00:10:47,500 –> 00:10:49,820 the answer is, yes. 231 00:10:49,940 –> 00:10:53,400 Absolutely in Christ as a Christian believer, 232 00:10:53,400 –> 00:10:55,099 I have been set apart 233 00:10:55,099 –> 00:10:56,659 as one of God’s people 234 00:10:56,659 –> 00:10:59,539 for God’s own purpose. 235 00:10:59,539 –> 00:11:00,859 Now, it’s that meaning 236 00:11:00,859 –> 00:11:02,799 that Paul is using here 237 00:11:02,799 –> 00:11:04,539 when he talks about Jesus Christ 238 00:11:04,539 –> 00:11:06,739 being our holiness, 239 00:11:06,739 –> 00:11:09,179 you are holy in Christ. 240 00:11:09,979 –> 00:11:10,900 You are, 241 00:11:10,900 –> 00:11:14,700 even now, placed in an entirely new position. 242 00:11:14,700 –> 00:11:16,659 You are set apart by God 243 00:11:16,880 –> 00:11:20,119 for a new and distinct purpose. 244 00:11:20,119 –> 00:11:21,559 Now, with that background of understanding, 245 00:11:21,559 –> 00:11:23,080 let’s turn to our passage today, 246 00:11:23,080 –> 00:11:26,200 which is John, and chapter 17. 247 00:11:26,200 –> 00:11:29,840 The wonderful prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ. 248 00:11:29,840 –> 00:11:30,960 As returning there, 249 00:11:32,179 –> 00:11:33,520 let me remind you that the reason 250 00:11:33,520 –> 00:11:36,400 that we’re plumbing these great truths 251 00:11:36,400 –> 00:11:38,460 of the Bible as best we’re able, 252 00:11:39,880 –> 00:11:41,119 is that they touch some 253 00:11:41,119 –> 00:11:45,419 of the deepest personal issues of our lives. 254 00:11:45,419 –> 00:11:47,479 We’ve seen how the issue of being clean 255 00:11:47,479 –> 00:11:50,099 speaks to issues of abuse, 256 00:11:50,099 –> 00:11:54,400 of being free to struggles with addiction. 257 00:11:54,400 –> 00:11:56,299 You know, another huge issue that we face 258 00:11:56,299 –> 00:11:59,599 in our society is the issue of significance. 259 00:12:00,960 –> 00:12:03,760 Do I really matter. 260 00:12:03,760 –> 00:12:05,219 You ever asked that question? 261 00:12:06,979 –> 00:12:11,979 I go to work, I feel like a small cog in a big machine, 262 00:12:12,400 –> 00:12:14,760 and does anything that I do 263 00:12:14,760 –> 00:12:19,159 have any significance, does who I am really matter? 264 00:12:19,159 –> 00:12:20,979 Is there anything that I can really 265 00:12:20,979 –> 00:12:22,539 contribute to this world? 266 00:12:22,539 –> 00:12:24,979 If I was not here, would I ever be missed? 267 00:12:27,859 –> 00:12:28,780 Do I matter. 268 00:12:32,460 –> 00:12:35,419 Well, if you can get comfortable with 269 00:12:35,419 –> 00:12:39,140 the Bible’s teaching about how you are holy in Christ, 270 00:12:39,140 –> 00:12:41,539 you will have a whole new understanding 271 00:12:41,539 –> 00:12:44,440 of just how much you matter. 272 00:12:45,479 –> 00:12:50,479 And when you discover your new identity in Jesus Christ, 273 00:12:50,599 –> 00:12:55,599 you will find a new significance in being who you are. 274 00:12:57,340 –> 00:12:58,599 That’s where we’re headed today. 275 00:12:58,599 –> 00:13:03,200 I want us to grasp four dimensions 276 00:13:03,200 –> 00:13:08,200 of our identity as holy in Jesus Christ. 277 00:13:08,919 –> 00:13:10,500 And the first is simply with this word. 278 00:13:10,500 –> 00:13:13,559 You’ll find it in John 17, verse six and nine, 279 00:13:13,559 –> 00:13:15,479 that you are given. 280 00:13:15,479 –> 00:13:19,820 You are given by the Father to the Son. 281 00:13:20,979 –> 00:13:22,880 Now it is natural for us to think 282 00:13:22,880 –> 00:13:26,500 about Jesus being God’s gift to us. 283 00:13:27,580 –> 00:13:29,520 But have you ever thought about the fact 284 00:13:29,520 –> 00:13:34,500 that you are God’s gift to Jesus? 285 00:13:34,520 –> 00:13:37,400 That’s exactly what we find here in verse six. 286 00:13:37,400 –> 00:13:39,419 Jesus is praying to the Father and he says 287 00:13:39,419 –> 00:13:41,880 about the disciples and therefore about us, 288 00:13:41,919 –> 00:13:44,960 they are yours. 289 00:13:44,960 –> 00:13:49,960 And you, the Father, gave them to me. 290 00:13:50,059 –> 00:13:51,880 This is the same thing in verse nine, 291 00:13:51,880 –> 00:13:56,080 I pray for them, I am not praying for the world, 292 00:13:56,080 –> 00:14:01,080 but for those you have given me. 293 00:14:01,080 –> 00:14:02,780 Now think about that. 294 00:14:02,780 –> 00:14:07,599 You are the gift of God the Father 295 00:14:07,599 –> 00:14:10,900 to his Son our Lord, Jesus Christ. 296 00:14:11,900 –> 00:14:13,559 Think about a wedding. 297 00:14:13,559 –> 00:14:16,080 Father, the bride comes in with the bride. 298 00:14:16,080 –> 00:14:17,679 The groom comes here, 299 00:14:17,679 –> 00:14:18,979 the pastor meets them at the front, 300 00:14:18,979 –> 00:14:21,440 begins the service, then he comes to his famous line. 301 00:14:21,440 –> 00:14:25,119 Who gives this woman to be married to this man? 302 00:14:25,119 –> 00:14:28,440 The father of the bride says, I do. 303 00:14:28,440 –> 00:14:30,440 Then he takes her hand and he joins it 304 00:14:30,440 –> 00:14:33,559 to the hand of the one who will be her husband. 305 00:14:34,799 –> 00:14:36,400 Now that’s the picture here, 306 00:14:36,400 –> 00:14:40,460 she is given to her husband. 307 00:14:40,500 –> 00:14:44,059 Now the church is the bride of Christ, 308 00:14:44,059 –> 00:14:45,739 so here is the position. 309 00:14:45,739 –> 00:14:49,340 The father has called you, he has drawn you to faith. 310 00:14:49,340 –> 00:14:54,260 He gives you to his Son, Jesus Christ. 311 00:14:55,820 –> 00:14:59,500 Now as we come towards Easter over this next week, 312 00:14:59,500 –> 00:15:02,099 we’re going to be thinking, I trust, 313 00:15:02,099 –> 00:15:06,820 about all that Jesus suffered and endured 314 00:15:06,820 –> 00:15:08,659 through his passion on the cross. 315 00:15:09,580 –> 00:15:14,200 As you think about all that Jesus endured in his passion, 316 00:15:15,299 –> 00:15:17,239 I want you to ask the question 317 00:15:17,239 –> 00:15:21,659 what did Jesus get out of it? 318 00:15:21,659 –> 00:15:22,960 What did he get out of it? 319 00:15:24,380 –> 00:15:29,380 And the answer is, out of it he gets you. 320 00:15:31,500 –> 00:15:35,359 That’s the answer, out of it he gets you. 321 00:15:36,359 –> 00:15:40,400 The father says what shall I give to the son 322 00:15:41,340 –> 00:15:44,799 that will be the fruit of all that he has suffered 323 00:15:44,799 –> 00:15:47,359 in all of his passion. 324 00:15:47,359 –> 00:15:49,659 What shall I give him that will be his 325 00:15:49,659 –> 00:15:53,919 for all eternity to rejoice in forever and forever? 326 00:15:53,919 –> 00:15:55,979 What shall I give to my son? 327 00:15:55,979 –> 00:15:59,400 And the answer is, you. 328 00:15:59,400 –> 00:16:00,820 I mean it is staggering isn’t it? 329 00:16:00,820 –> 00:16:04,380 That is the answer, that’s what Jesus says here. 330 00:16:05,359 –> 00:16:09,500 Those you have given to me. 331 00:16:10,520 –> 00:16:12,700 And it is not as if Jesus would look 332 00:16:12,700 –> 00:16:16,099 at the gift of the father and say, was that all? 333 00:16:16,099 –> 00:16:19,099 Isaiah says he will see the fruit 334 00:16:19,099 –> 00:16:20,679 that comes from the suffering of his soul 335 00:16:20,679 –> 00:16:24,299 and be satisfied, he will embrace his people. 336 00:16:24,299 –> 00:16:25,640 He will embrace you. 337 00:16:27,599 –> 00:16:29,599 It was well worth it for the gift, 338 00:16:29,599 –> 00:16:31,580 the fruit that came from it. 339 00:16:32,380 –> 00:16:35,440 Now I think that it’s very significant 340 00:16:35,440 –> 00:16:38,880 to notice that the Father’s gift 341 00:16:38,880 –> 00:16:42,039 to the son is not the world. 342 00:16:43,380 –> 00:16:45,940 See if you think about it, it was Satan 343 00:16:45,940 –> 00:16:50,099 who offered the world to Jesus. 344 00:16:50,099 –> 00:16:52,000 In the third temptation, you remember 345 00:16:52,000 –> 00:16:54,380 Satan came to the Lord Jesus Christ 346 00:16:54,380 –> 00:16:56,760 and he had the audacity to show him 347 00:16:56,760 –> 00:16:58,859 all the kingdoms of the world, however 348 00:16:59,039 –> 00:17:00,900 that happened, and he said, 349 00:17:00,900 –> 00:17:02,900 all this, the splendor of all these 350 00:17:02,900 –> 00:17:04,560 kingdoms I will give to you. 351 00:17:07,040 –> 00:17:10,119 Satan offered Jesus the world. 352 00:17:11,219 –> 00:17:13,719 Jesus turned his back on the offer. 353 00:17:14,780 –> 00:17:18,619 Jesus did not gain the world through his suffering. 354 00:17:20,599 –> 00:17:24,680 But he did gain you, and from that I think 355 00:17:24,680 –> 00:17:26,660 we can reasonably conclude that you 356 00:17:26,760 –> 00:17:29,640 are more than all the world to Jesus. 357 00:17:31,119 –> 00:17:32,959 There is a song that George Beverly Shea 358 00:17:32,959 –> 00:17:37,959 used to sing, and those of a certain age 359 00:17:38,439 –> 00:17:40,560 will certainly immediately recognize it, 360 00:17:40,560 –> 00:17:43,479 and you’ll almost hear his voice as we recall the words. 361 00:17:43,479 –> 00:17:44,920 Remember this one? 362 00:17:44,920 –> 00:17:49,219 I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold. 363 00:17:49,219 –> 00:17:53,439 I’d rather have Jesus than riches untold. 364 00:17:53,439 –> 00:17:56,239 I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands. 365 00:17:56,280 –> 00:17:59,180 I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hands. 366 00:17:59,180 –> 00:18:03,060 I’d rather that than to be the king of a vast domain 367 00:18:03,060 –> 00:18:04,959 and be held in sins-dread sway. 368 00:18:04,959 –> 00:18:08,420 I’d rather have Jesus than anything 369 00:18:08,420 –> 00:18:11,800 this world affords today. 370 00:18:11,800 –> 00:18:15,260 Now, you can sing that about Jesus, 371 00:18:16,400 –> 00:18:18,880 but here’s the really staggering thing, 372 00:18:18,880 –> 00:18:22,819 that he could sing like that about you. 373 00:18:23,800 –> 00:18:28,000 You are more than all the world to Jesus. 374 00:18:30,339 –> 00:18:35,339 You are the gift, the gift of the Father 375 00:18:36,800 –> 00:18:41,800 to Him, and that is the first dimension of your holiness. 376 00:18:41,880 –> 00:18:43,300 Oh boy, when you’re sitting there 377 00:18:43,300 –> 00:18:44,939 saying, oh, am I really anything. 378 00:18:44,939 –> 00:18:47,099 I account for nothing in this world. 379 00:18:47,099 –> 00:18:48,819 Feed your soul on that. 380 00:18:48,819 –> 00:18:52,500 You are the gift of the Father to His Son, 381 00:18:52,500 –> 00:18:54,640 the fruit of His suffering. 382 00:18:57,599 –> 00:19:00,099 He’d rather have you than all the world! 383 00:19:04,260 –> 00:19:07,099 Not only are you given to the Father, 384 00:19:07,099 –> 00:19:09,780 see you’re in an entirely new position in Christ, 385 00:19:09,780 –> 00:19:11,380 given by the Father to the Son, 386 00:19:13,099 –> 00:19:15,939 but secondly, you’re glorified. 387 00:19:15,939 –> 00:19:19,079 You share in Jesus’ glory. 388 00:19:19,599 –> 00:19:24,599 Now this, if it’s possible, is even more staggering. 389 00:19:25,979 –> 00:19:27,260 Look at verse 22. 390 00:19:28,359 –> 00:19:31,560 “‘I have given them,’ that’s the disciples 391 00:19:31,560 –> 00:19:32,760 and therefore us, 392 00:19:32,760 –> 00:19:37,760 “‘I have given them the glory that you gave me.’” 393 00:19:41,479 –> 00:19:42,920 You could spend a thousand years 394 00:19:42,920 –> 00:19:45,380 trying to let that one sink in. 395 00:19:45,400 –> 00:19:50,400 “‘I have given them the glory that you gave me.’” 396 00:19:51,719 –> 00:19:52,979 Now some of you will know the name 397 00:19:52,979 –> 00:19:55,819 of Donald Grey Barnhouse. 398 00:19:55,819 –> 00:19:57,619 Barnhouse was, for many years, 399 00:19:57,619 –> 00:20:01,979 the pastor of the 10th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, 400 00:20:01,979 –> 00:20:04,060 a very famous church. 401 00:20:04,060 –> 00:20:07,739 But over the years of his ministry as a pastor, 402 00:20:07,739 –> 00:20:10,640 Barnhouse conducted many weddings, 403 00:20:10,640 –> 00:20:14,219 but he never took any money for doing them. 404 00:20:14,219 –> 00:20:17,560 And this is what he says, and I quote, 405 00:20:17,560 –> 00:20:19,400 “‘For many years,’ he says, 406 00:20:19,400 –> 00:20:23,959 “‘it has been my custom whenever I married anybody 407 00:20:23,959 –> 00:20:28,079 “‘that when the bridegroom hands me an envelope 408 00:20:28,079 –> 00:20:29,939 “‘I go straight to the bride 409 00:20:29,939 –> 00:20:34,939 “‘and say, here is my wedding present to you. 410 00:20:35,560 –> 00:20:38,920 “‘If he has been generous to the preacher, 411 00:20:38,920 –> 00:20:42,959 “‘he has been generous to you.’” 412 00:20:43,260 –> 00:20:46,119 Now I rather like that, I think it’s a nice touch. 413 00:20:46,119 –> 00:20:50,339 Um, now look again at verse 22, 414 00:20:50,339 –> 00:20:53,000 Jesus says to the Father, 415 00:20:53,000 –> 00:20:58,000 “‘I have given them the glory that you gave me.’” 416 00:20:59,900 –> 00:21:04,219 We get the glory that the Father gave to the Son, 417 00:21:04,219 –> 00:21:05,219 that’s what he’s saying. 418 00:21:05,219 –> 00:21:07,439 How much glory is that? 419 00:21:08,239 –> 00:21:12,119 The glory that you gave me says Jesus, 420 00:21:12,119 –> 00:21:14,880 I’m taking it and I’m giving it to them. 421 00:21:17,119 –> 00:21:19,979 Here is the amazing thing about being a Christian, 422 00:21:19,979 –> 00:21:22,719 it’s not just that we will see the glory of Jesus, 423 00:21:22,719 –> 00:21:26,819 it is that we will share the glory of Jesus. 424 00:21:26,819 –> 00:21:29,699 It’s not just that his glory will be revealed to us, 425 00:21:29,699 –> 00:21:33,660 the Bible says his glory will be revealed in us, 426 00:21:34,339 –> 00:21:39,199 when we see him, we will be like him. 427 00:21:40,479 –> 00:21:42,900 Now most of us are familiar with the Bible’s teaching 428 00:21:42,900 –> 00:21:44,800 that we will be glorified, 429 00:21:44,800 –> 00:21:46,640 but notice that Jesus speaks here 430 00:21:46,640 –> 00:21:48,560 of it as something that’s already happened, 431 00:21:48,560 –> 00:21:52,280 I have given them this glory. 432 00:21:53,439 –> 00:21:56,719 You say it’s hidden within us. 433 00:21:56,719 –> 00:22:00,439 But it is a true expression of who you are, 434 00:22:00,439 –> 00:22:02,680 in Jesus Christ. 435 00:22:04,599 –> 00:22:06,660 That’s why John says in his letter 436 00:22:06,660 –> 00:22:08,219 later in the New Testament, 437 00:22:08,219 –> 00:22:12,819 now we are the children of God, 438 00:22:12,819 –> 00:22:15,800 and what we will be has not yet been made known. 439 00:22:17,060 –> 00:22:18,520 Now when you’re sitting around and saying, 440 00:22:18,520 –> 00:22:20,180 do I really matter for anything, 441 00:22:20,180 –> 00:22:22,119 have I got anything to contribute to this world, 442 00:22:22,119 –> 00:22:23,819 do I really matter, 443 00:22:23,819 –> 00:22:25,140 get a hold of this, 444 00:22:25,140 –> 00:22:27,160 you’re not a nothing or a nobody 445 00:22:27,160 –> 00:22:29,540 drifting through the history of time. 446 00:22:30,520 –> 00:22:35,579 You are a child of God in Jesus Christ 447 00:22:35,579 –> 00:22:38,579 and what you will be has not yet been made known. 448 00:22:40,479 –> 00:22:41,300 As Paul puts it, 449 00:22:41,300 –> 00:22:45,900 your life is hidden with Christ in God 450 00:22:45,900 –> 00:22:47,979 and when Christ who is your life appears, 451 00:22:47,979 –> 00:22:50,420 you will appear with him in glory. 452 00:22:52,540 –> 00:22:55,400 I was just trying to think about this yesterday. 453 00:22:57,540 –> 00:22:59,500 I looked out the window in my study at home 454 00:22:59,939 –> 00:23:01,760 and there’s the trees 455 00:23:01,760 –> 00:23:04,180 that have been bare all winter 456 00:23:04,180 –> 00:23:06,099 and just the beginnings 457 00:23:06,099 –> 00:23:08,540 of some red buds beginning to show 458 00:23:10,000 –> 00:23:12,339 and soon they’re going to be transformed. 459 00:23:12,339 –> 00:23:13,920 They’re going to flourish. 460 00:23:14,900 –> 00:23:17,500 They’re gonna look entirely different. 461 00:23:17,500 –> 00:23:19,739 The life has been in them. 462 00:23:19,739 –> 00:23:22,579 The life has been in them throughout all of the winter, 463 00:23:22,579 –> 00:23:23,719 it’s in them now 464 00:23:24,739 –> 00:23:28,640 but what they will be is something yet to behold. 465 00:23:29,839 –> 00:23:31,439 That’s a picture of you. 466 00:23:32,359 –> 00:23:35,180 Christ has given you his life, 467 00:23:35,180 –> 00:23:37,020 his life is within you, 468 00:23:37,020 –> 00:23:38,540 his for eternity. 469 00:23:38,540 –> 00:23:41,479 What you will be has not yet been made known. 470 00:23:44,300 –> 00:23:46,660 He shares his glory with you. 471 00:23:46,660 –> 00:23:47,920 So, be who you are. 472 00:23:49,380 –> 00:23:51,239 If you wander through life thinking 473 00:23:51,239 –> 00:23:53,239 I’m a nobody, I’m nothing special, 474 00:23:53,239 –> 00:23:54,400 I don’t really matter, 475 00:23:54,400 –> 00:23:55,780 that’s how you’ll live. 476 00:23:56,959 –> 00:23:58,579 You come to see the truth 477 00:23:58,599 –> 00:23:59,680 that the Bible tells you that 478 00:23:59,680 –> 00:24:03,839 you are the gift of the Father to his Son. 479 00:24:03,839 –> 00:24:06,920 You are the fruit of his suffering. 480 00:24:06,920 –> 00:24:09,819 You are the one he shares his own glory with 481 00:24:09,819 –> 00:24:12,439 even though it is not seen in its splendor, 482 00:24:12,439 –> 00:24:14,079 it is in you already. 483 00:24:17,359 –> 00:24:19,640 Do you ever question again the 484 00:24:21,640 –> 00:24:24,160 significance of the position 485 00:24:24,160 –> 00:24:27,439 in which you have been put in Jesus Christ? 486 00:24:27,479 –> 00:24:28,339 You’re holy! 487 00:24:28,339 –> 00:24:29,599 You’re not like 488 00:24:31,660 –> 00:24:33,079 mass of humanity. 489 00:24:35,959 –> 00:24:36,800 Called. 490 00:24:38,140 –> 00:24:39,560 You’re in Christ. 491 00:24:41,280 –> 00:24:42,280 You’re holy. 492 00:24:46,280 –> 00:24:47,119 Third, 493 00:24:48,160 –> 00:24:49,339 we are called. 494 00:24:50,699 –> 00:24:52,280 We are called. 495 00:24:52,280 –> 00:24:55,599 First I mentioned, we’re given. 496 00:24:55,739 –> 00:24:56,800 Second, we’re glorified. 497 00:24:56,800 –> 00:24:58,619 Third, we’re called. 498 00:24:59,739 –> 00:25:01,619 And perhaps the best way to express this 499 00:25:01,619 –> 00:25:03,079 is in the well-known phrase, 500 00:25:03,079 –> 00:25:07,239 you are in the world, but not of it. 501 00:25:07,239 –> 00:25:09,119 I was really brought up with that phrase. 502 00:25:09,119 –> 00:25:10,599 I guess many of us are very familiar with it. 503 00:25:10,599 –> 00:25:12,560 It’s a good phrase. 504 00:25:12,560 –> 00:25:15,199 That summarizes our relationship with the world. 505 00:25:15,199 –> 00:25:17,939 Christians are called to be in the world, but not of it. 506 00:25:17,939 –> 00:25:18,800 And that phrase, of course, 507 00:25:18,800 –> 00:25:22,079 comes directly from John, chapter 17. 508 00:25:22,079 –> 00:25:23,439 See the two parts of it here. 509 00:25:23,439 –> 00:25:26,640 First in verse 14, Jesus says of his disciples, 510 00:25:26,640 –> 00:25:30,920 they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 511 00:25:30,920 –> 00:25:33,839 He repeats it again for emphasis in verse 16. 512 00:25:33,839 –> 00:25:38,359 They are not of the world any more than I am of it. 513 00:25:38,359 –> 00:25:40,099 You’re not of the world. 514 00:25:40,099 –> 00:25:42,520 But at the same time, it is obviously true 515 00:25:42,520 –> 00:25:44,319 that you are in the world, 516 00:25:44,319 –> 00:25:47,439 and Jesus states that equally in verse 11, 517 00:25:47,439 –> 00:25:50,160 still in the world, he says. 518 00:25:50,160 –> 00:25:51,540 And then in verse 15, 519 00:25:51,540 –> 00:25:54,300 my prayer is not that you take them out of the world. 520 00:25:54,300 –> 00:25:55,420 It’s very important. 521 00:25:56,739 –> 00:25:59,500 We are in the world for a purpose. 522 00:26:00,420 –> 00:26:03,380 By the way, the purpose is not to get ready for heaven. 523 00:26:03,380 –> 00:26:05,800 You’ll be no more ready for heaven the day that you die 524 00:26:05,800 –> 00:26:08,660 than you would be one second after you trusted in Christ, 525 00:26:08,660 –> 00:26:09,979 because your entrance into heaven 526 00:26:09,979 –> 00:26:11,420 depends on what he has done for you 527 00:26:11,420 –> 00:26:13,239 through your justification by faith. 528 00:26:14,219 –> 00:26:16,560 So the purpose of the Christian life, 529 00:26:16,560 –> 00:26:17,900 the purpose of your remaining in the world 530 00:26:17,900 –> 00:26:19,479 is not to get ready for heaven. 531 00:26:19,479 –> 00:26:20,800 The purpose of being in the world 532 00:26:20,880 –> 00:26:22,739 is that he’s got work for you to do. 533 00:26:23,839 –> 00:26:24,979 That’s why we’re here. 534 00:26:26,099 –> 00:26:28,459 No other reason God could take us immediately there, 535 00:26:28,459 –> 00:26:30,599 but he’s called us to be in the world 536 00:26:30,599 –> 00:26:32,900 though we are not off the world. 537 00:26:34,079 –> 00:26:37,780 Now it isn’t easy to be in the world when we’re not off it, 538 00:26:37,780 –> 00:26:42,160 and yet that is our distinct calling from God. 539 00:26:43,280 –> 00:26:44,119 I was thinking about this, 540 00:26:44,119 –> 00:26:47,119 my mind went back to a particular soccer game. 541 00:26:47,119 –> 00:26:48,900 I’ll probably lapse into calling it football, 542 00:26:48,900 –> 00:26:50,060 but I said soccer once. 543 00:26:50,319 –> 00:26:52,560 So you do know what I’m talking about here, 544 00:26:52,560 –> 00:26:55,079 that I went to a number of years ago in London. 545 00:26:55,079 –> 00:26:59,540 In north London, there is an intense rivalry 546 00:26:59,540 –> 00:27:02,880 between two teams, one known as the Arsenal, 547 00:27:02,880 –> 00:27:06,359 the other Spurs or Tottenham Hotspur. 548 00:27:06,359 –> 00:27:09,079 Now when I say intense, I mean intense. 549 00:27:09,079 –> 00:27:10,280 You take the Cubs and the Sox, 550 00:27:10,280 –> 00:27:14,339 ratchet it up 25 times and you’ve got the general idea. 551 00:27:16,239 –> 00:27:19,020 And one thing that makes the rivalry very intense 552 00:27:19,160 –> 00:27:24,160 is that the fans regularly wear the team colours, 553 00:27:24,260 –> 00:27:27,560 none of your foam fingers and this kind of stuff. 554 00:27:27,560 –> 00:27:30,859 I mean, we actually get the team colours there 555 00:27:30,859 –> 00:27:35,119 and tickets are allocated according to which team 556 00:27:35,119 –> 00:27:36,859 you are supporting. 557 00:27:36,859 –> 00:27:41579 So for this local game that was a major, major event 558 00:27:41,579 –> 00:27:43,660 every year, Arsenal against Spurs, 559 00:27:43,660 –> 00:27:48,300 when it was at Arsenal, you would have 80% of the ground 560 00:27:48,300 –> 00:27:52,119 covered in red, and 20% of the ground down the 561 00:27:52,119 –> 00:27:55,239 other far end that would be covered in blue. 562 00:27:55,239 –> 00:27:57,719 And the usual thing folks would do would be to bring 563 00:27:57,719 –> 00:28:01,780 their scarves, you see, and when things were going well 564 00:28:01,780 –> 00:28:04,160 you would get the scarf up. 565 00:28:04,160 –> 00:28:05,959 This was before they had spoiled it by bringing in 566 00:28:05,959 –> 00:28:07,119 all Cetres stadiums. 567 00:28:07,119 –> 00:28:08,319 We’d just packed in like that. 568 00:28:08,319 –> 00:28:10,719 You see you’d sort of swing with the scarf, 569 00:28:10,719 –> 00:28:13,760 which would give this massive colour that covered 570 00:28:13,760 –> 00:28:14,800 the whole of one end of the ground, 571 00:28:14,800 –> 00:28:18,040 and sing songs mainly directed against 572 00:28:18,040 –> 00:28:22,500 the opposing fans in their languishing defeat, 573 00:28:22,500 –> 00:28:25,219 and in their pathetic choices of support 574 00:28:25,219 –> 00:28:27,979 in life and so forth, and so on. 575 00:28:29,079 –> 00:28:32,660 Well one day a friend of mine, a church in London 576 00:28:32,660 –> 00:28:34,359 phoned me up, he said, hey Colin, 577 00:28:34,359 –> 00:28:36,599 I’ve got a spare ticket for the big game, 578 00:28:36,599 –> 00:28:37,959 do you want to come? 579 00:28:38,880 –> 00:28:40,859 Now we’ve always been Spurs fans so I immediately 580 00:28:40,859 –> 00:28:43,479 said to him, well which end of the ground is it for? 581 00:28:44,420 –> 00:28:45,339 Arsenal, he said. 582 00:28:46,180 –> 00:28:49,719 I said, well I’m not very sure I’m going to fit in there. 583 00:28:49,719 –> 00:28:52,560 He said, oh come on, he said leave your scarf at home. 584 00:28:52,560 –> 00:28:57,560 He said, just come, it’ll be fine, we’ll have a great time. 585 00:28:57,640 –> 00:29:01,040 Well, I did, and I have to tell you 586 00:29:01,040 –> 00:29:03,520 it was the strangest experience. 587 00:29:04,939 –> 00:29:08,040 I mean here we were pressed into the swarming mass 588 00:29:08,040 –> 00:29:10,920 of humanity covered in red. 589 00:29:11,839 –> 00:29:16,000 Covered in red to which I did not belong. 590 00:29:17,239 –> 00:29:20,020 And here’s me in that swarming mass of humanity 591 00:29:20,020 –> 00:29:23,479 looking down the length of the field 592 00:29:23,479 –> 00:29:26,319 at a smaller mass of humanity 593 00:29:26,319 –> 00:29:28,900 covered in blue to which I did belong. 594 00:29:30,319 –> 00:29:32,239 And as the game went on the whole thing 595 00:29:32,239 –> 00:29:33,400 got more and more strange 596 00:29:33,400 –> 00:29:37,079 because when they got really excited and cheered 597 00:29:37,079 –> 00:29:40,400 I was holding my head in my hands. 598 00:29:40,439 –> 00:29:43,780 And when they were wracked with despair 599 00:29:43,780 –> 00:29:47,160 I found myself overwhelmed with joy. 600 00:29:47,160 –> 00:29:49,479 Now, it’s hard to be different 601 00:29:49,479 –> 00:29:52,959 and I tried not to make it too obvious. 602 00:29:53,920 –> 00:29:57,000 Now, is this not precisely our position? 603 00:29:57,000 –> 00:29:59,040 You see, we come here on Sunday morning 604 00:29:59,040 –> 00:30:00,880 and we talk about holiness 605 00:30:00,880 –> 00:30:02,439 and we’re here with a group of people 606 00:30:02,439 –> 00:30:04,880 who are all under the same colour. 607 00:30:04,880 –> 00:30:08,640 It’s like cheering when you’re surrounded by the home team 608 00:30:08,640 –> 00:30:11,020 but tomorrow you find yourself 609 00:30:11,020 –> 00:30:13,520 at the other end of the ground. 610 00:30:13,520 –> 00:30:15,800 You find yourself in the middle of a large crowd 611 00:30:15,800 –> 00:30:19,119 who are cheering for the opposite thing. 612 00:30:19,119 –> 00:30:22,079 They admire what you are trying to flee 613 00:30:22,079 –> 00:30:25,239 and the flee what you admire. 614 00:30:25,239 –> 00:30:27,079 You find yourself saying this is a very strange 615 00:30:27,079 –> 00:30:30,680 experience for me, I am working with all these people 616 00:30:30,680 –> 00:30:33,079 I’m doing the same job but I’m not like them 617 00:30:33,079 –> 00:30:35,400 I’m among them but I’m not one of them. 618 00:30:35,400 –> 00:30:38,319 I’m operating with a completely different set of values 619 00:30:38,439 –> 00:30:40,880 and I perceive myself to be in an entirely 620 00:30:40,880 –> 00:30:44,339 different position, it is a very very strange experience. 621 00:30:48,280 –> 00:30:51,000 I have to tell you that Spurs won the game. 622 00:30:53,400 –> 00:30:55,239 And it was a strange experience actually 623 00:30:55,239 –> 00:30:59,160 to be in this great crowd of dejected people 624 00:30:59,160 –> 00:31:04,160 walking out the ground, my face was covered with glory. 625 00:31:05,119 –> 00:31:05,959 Oh. 626 00:31:08,219 –> 00:31:11,400 Do you know when the final whistle blows, 627 00:31:12,800 –> 00:31:14,520 the home team is going down. 628 00:31:16,619 –> 00:31:19,020 And those who have sought to live without God 629 00:31:19,020 –> 00:31:23,280 and without truth will leave the field of play 630 00:31:23,280 –> 00:31:24,540 with their heads hanging. 631 00:31:26,199 –> 00:31:29,819 But that’s not where it’s going to end with you. 632 00:31:30,780 –> 00:31:35,479 You are in the world but you’re not off it. 633 00:31:36,760 –> 00:31:40,060 You have been given by the Father to the Son, 634 00:31:41,540 –> 00:31:43,699 you will be covered with his glory. 635 00:31:45,300 –> 00:31:48,459 You will share in his triumph. 636 00:31:49,500 –> 00:31:52,839 It’s who you are, be who you are. 637 00:31:54,180 –> 00:31:57,140 Don’t ever be ashamed of it in this world. 638 00:31:57,819 –> 00:32:00,900 And then here’s the last thing and it’s very important 639 00:32:00,900 –> 00:32:03,300 that we hear these two things together. 640 00:32:03,300 –> 00:32:04,359 That you’re sent. 641 00:32:04,359 –> 00:32:08,199 This is part of our new position in Jesus Christ. 642 00:32:08,199 –> 00:32:10,060 You see, it’s not enough for us to say, 643 00:32:10,060 –> 00:32:11,900 well the world’s going its own way 644 00:32:11,900 –> 00:32:14,099 but we’re destined for everlasting glory. 645 00:32:14,099 –> 00:32:15,420 There’s more to it than that. 646 00:32:15,420 –> 00:32:16,579 The Lord cares about the world 647 00:32:16,579 –> 00:32:18,739 and the way in which he expresses that care 648 00:32:18,739 –> 00:32:20,339 is that he sends us. 649 00:32:20,339 –> 00:32:22,400 You are sent to the world 650 00:32:22,400 –> 00:32:25,619 and that is part of the holiness of our calling. 651 00:32:25,619 –> 00:32:29,619 We are set apart for this, to be sent into the world. 652 00:32:29,619 –> 00:32:32,939 Notice how Jesus puts it, as you sent me into the world, 653 00:32:32,939 –> 00:32:37,939 he says to the father, I have sent them into the world. 654 00:32:40,219 –> 00:32:44,699 Then he continues, for them I sanctify myself 655 00:32:45,760 –> 00:32:49,180 that they too may be truly sanctified. 656 00:32:49,180 –> 00:32:50,900 Now notice that phrase. 657 00:32:50,900 –> 00:32:54,619 When Jesus says, I sanctify myself, 658 00:32:54,619 –> 00:32:57,219 he’s obviously not talking about a gradual growth 659 00:32:57,219 –> 00:32:59,560 in holiness, there is he. 660 00:32:59,560 –> 00:33:02,479 I mean he is the holy one. 661 00:33:02,479 –> 00:33:04,199 And there was never a moment in his life 662 00:33:04,199 –> 00:33:06,020 when he fell short of his calling. 663 00:33:06,020 –> 00:33:08,439 Never a moment where he strayed from the path. 664 00:33:08,439 –> 00:33:10,800 Never in his entire life was he short 665 00:33:10,800 –> 00:33:12,560 of what God called him to do. 666 00:33:12,560 –> 00:33:14,579 There’s no question of somehow growing 667 00:33:14,579 –> 00:33:16,640 to be brighter in Jesus. 668 00:33:16,640 –> 00:33:19,579 So he’s not talking about a process that’s going on here. 669 00:33:19,579 –> 00:33:21,800 He’s clearly using it in the other sense 670 00:33:21,800 –> 00:33:23,239 that we’re focusing on today. 671 00:33:23,300 –> 00:33:27,560 He’s talking about setting himself apart for a task. 672 00:33:27,560 –> 00:33:31,500 For them I sanctify myself, I set myself apart 673 00:33:32,680 –> 00:33:37,079 and of course the task that he’s setting himself apart for 674 00:33:37,079 –> 00:33:40,660 is the unique calling of bearing the cross. 675 00:33:42,239 –> 00:33:45,739 Remember this is the night he was betrayed. 676 00:33:45,739 –> 00:33:50,160 He is coming to the climax of his own prayer. 677 00:33:50,180 –> 00:33:53,699 Remember that Matthew, Mark and Luke 678 00:33:53,699 –> 00:33:57,920 all record the story of how Jesus wrestled 679 00:33:57,920 –> 00:34:01,839 with the agony that he would face in enduring the cross 680 00:34:01,839 –> 00:34:04,119 in the garden of Gethsemane. 681 00:34:04,979 –> 00:34:08,659 He said if it be possible, let this cup be taken from me 682 00:34:08,659 –> 00:34:10,540 and then he said nevertheless, 683 00:34:10,540 –> 00:34:13,379 not my will but yours be done. 684 00:34:13,379 –> 00:34:16,520 And he gave himself to that task. 685 00:34:16,520 –> 00:34:18,520 Have you ever notice that John does not record 686 00:34:18,580 –> 00:34:21,179 the story of the garden of Gethsemane? 687 00:34:21,179 –> 00:34:22,820 It goes straight from chapter 17 688 00:34:22,820 –> 00:34:24,959 and chapter 18 to the arrest. 689 00:34:26,120 –> 00:34:30,600 This is John’s Gethsemane. 690 00:34:32,760 –> 00:34:37,080 Right here, Jesus says, I sanctify myself, 691 00:34:37,080 –> 00:34:40,679 I give myself with all that that will mean 692 00:34:41,879 –> 00:34:45,600 to the work that the Father has given me to do. 693 00:34:46,360 –> 00:34:48,699 Notice that in the same breath, 694 00:34:48,699 –> 00:34:51,560 Jesus calls us to do precisely the same thing. 695 00:34:51,560 –> 00:34:55,260 I sanctify myself, I give myself to my calling 696 00:34:55,260 –> 00:34:57,760 so that they, too, may be sanctified, 697 00:34:57,760 –> 00:35:01,120 so that they may give themselves to their calling. 698 00:35:01,120 –> 00:35:04,179 He’s praying for this. 699 00:35:04,179 –> 00:35:06,239 At the very moment in the presence of the Father 700 00:35:06,239 –> 00:35:09,159 that he gives himself to all that 701 00:35:09,159 –> 00:35:11,080 will be involved in the cross, 702 00:35:11,080 –> 00:35:14,320 he prays that we will give ourselves 703 00:35:14,320 –> 00:35:16,060 to all that’s involved in our calling, 704 00:35:16,060 –> 00:35:18,000 which is not to hang on the cross 705 00:35:18,000 –> 00:35:21,639 but it is to go into the world. 706 00:35:21,639 –> 00:35:24,699 So he says, As the Father has sent me, 707 00:35:24,699 –> 00:35:26,820 so I am sending you. 708 00:35:29,560 –> 00:35:34,560 So when Christ sees a high school in all its need 709 00:35:37,560 –> 00:35:39,699 and kids who are lost, 710 00:35:41,399 –> 00:35:42,600 what does he do? 711 00:35:44,479 –> 00:35:46,780 He sends you. 712 00:35:48,919 –> 00:35:52,479 When Christ sees the world of business called, 713 00:35:55,120 –> 00:35:57,320 people cutting each other up. 714 00:35:59,020 –> 00:36:01,060 The triumph of self. 715 00:36:02,479 –> 00:36:04,280 What does Jesus do? 716 00:36:04,280 –> 00:36:07,239 He sends you. 717 00:36:08,239 –> 00:36:11,979 When Jesus sees someone who is cold and hungry 718 00:36:13,840 –> 00:36:18,820 or has AIDS, what does Jesus do? 719 00:36:19,879 –> 00:36:21,379 He sends you. 720 00:36:23,600 –> 00:36:26,399 He doesn’t send all of us to every place, 721 00:36:26,399 –> 00:36:29,179 but He does send each of us to some place. 722 00:36:30,739 –> 00:36:33,260 He doesn’t make us all responsible for every need, 723 00:36:33,260 –> 00:36:36,399 but He does make us all responsible for your needs. 724 00:36:37,419 –> 00:36:39,500 You are all responsible for some need. 725 00:36:41,379 –> 00:36:43,959 And as He gives Himself to His work, 726 00:36:43,959 –> 00:36:45,500 I sanctify myself, 727 00:36:45,500 –> 00:36:48,239 His prayer is that we will give ourselves 728 00:36:48,239 –> 00:36:49,979 to our work. 729 00:36:51,219 –> 00:36:53,260 You are sent. 730 00:36:54,580 –> 00:36:56,620 You see why it’s so critical 731 00:36:56,620 –> 00:36:59,219 that we should be who we are? 732 00:37:01,020 –> 00:37:04,739 Jesus said, you are the light of the world. 733 00:37:04,739 –> 00:37:06,199 You are the light of the world 734 00:37:06,659 –> 00:37:08,919 You are the light of that school 735 00:37:10,379 –> 00:37:12,439 You are the light of that office 736 00:37:13,659 –> 00:37:15,939 You are the light of that family 737 00:37:17,340 –> 00:37:19,419 You are the light of those children 738 00:37:21,020 –> 00:37:23,360 And if the light becomes darkness, 739 00:37:23,360 –> 00:37:25,139 then how great is the darkness? 740 00:37:25,139 –> 00:37:27,379 If the light in you is not shining, 741 00:37:27,379 –> 00:37:30,179 where will the light come from in this broken world? 742 00:37:31,419 –> 00:37:32,760 You are the light. 743 00:37:33,239 –> 00:37:35,979 Be you who you are. 744 00:37:38,820 –> 00:37:42,360 Now how can anyone who is in the Lord Jesus Christ 745 00:37:42,360 –> 00:37:47,139 question the significance of their life? 746 00:37:48,719 –> 00:37:51,419 Do you see your holiness in Christ? 747 00:37:52,679 –> 00:37:55,620 You are holy. 748 00:37:57,179 –> 00:38:00,479 You are given to Christ. 749 00:38:01,459 –> 00:38:04,860 You are glorified in Christ. 750 00:38:05,760 –> 00:38:09,239 You are called through Christ. 751 00:38:09,239 –> 00:38:11,840 And you were sent by Christ. 752 00:38:13,760 –> 00:38:16,620 Be who you are. 753 00:38:19,399 –> 00:38:20,399 Let’s pray together. 754 00:38:22,780 –> 00:38:27,199 Father, it is almost overwhelming to us 755 00:38:28,040 –> 00:38:36,639 to try and comprehend our new position in Jesus Christ. 756 00:38:39,179 –> 00:38:42,360 We simply bow before you in worship and adoration 757 00:38:42,360 –> 00:38:43,899 and gratitude and praise. 758 00:38:46,219 –> 00:38:49,800 And ask that, by your spirit, with new joy 759 00:38:49,800 –> 00:38:53,320 and with a renewed sense of privilege, 760 00:38:53,320 –> 00:38:57,280 we may be who we are, for Jesus’ sake. 761 00:38:59,159 –> 00:39:00,000 Amen.