2017 The year to forget ... yourself
Series: Summer Hits
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 14th January 2017
Passage: 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7
00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 morning. It's good to be in church with you this morning. I'm not sure if you're one of those
00:00:04 --> 00:00:10 people who sets New Year's resolutions, but the top 10 New Year's resolutions for 2017
00:00:10 --> 00:00:19 are improve fitness, eat better, quit smoking, quit drinking, learn something new, travel more,
00:00:20 --> 00:00:26 volunteer, meet someone that is like a partner, sleep more, and get out of debt.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:31 And as of this morning, a New Year's resolution for me is to check with Sam what he's wearing
00:00:31 --> 00:00:40 for church on Sunday. Couple dressing is not appropriate, in my opinion, at any time,
00:00:40 --> 00:00:47 let alone if it's one of your work colleagues. Another goal for me for the next couple of years
00:00:47 --> 00:00:55 is in fact to run the city to surf before I turn 50 and to do it in personal best time.
00:00:57 --> 00:01:03 Given that I've never run it before, I should be able to hit the second goal, providing I get the
00:01:03 --> 00:01:09 first goal. And so far it's going okay. I've been seeing a physio, an exercise physiologist,
00:01:09 --> 00:01:15 and a masseur to deal with the injuries that I've already created in my body.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:20 I was doing a little bit of reading on New Year's resolutions, and one of the articles that I read
00:01:20 --> 00:01:27 said this, the New Year is when you think about the past and most importantly, reflect on how you
00:01:27 --> 00:01:34 can improve yourself for the upcoming year. Self-improvement, or at least the desire for it,
00:01:34 --> 00:01:40 is a goal shared by all Australians, which is why so many of us make New Year's resolutions in the
00:01:40 --> 00:01:48 first place. Unfortunately, only a fraction of us keep to our resolution, which experts estimate
00:01:48 --> 00:01:58 only about 8% commit to the very end. 8%. There is something in all of us that loves this
00:01:58 --> 00:02:04 idea of a fresh start, improve things that we don't like about ourselves. And I'm certainly
00:02:04 --> 00:02:10 committed to those things myself. I want to change. I want to grow. I cannot compute with an individual
00:02:10 --> 00:02:17 who's settled and comfortable. I want to see change and transformation. I think that that is,
00:02:17 --> 00:02:22 in fact, one of the key elements about the journey of the Christian life. Even as we've sung this
00:02:22 --> 00:02:28 morning, oh, for a closer walk with my God. That is, I desire to change from where I am at the moment.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:37 What is intriguing about today's passage is that it gives us a way of seeing ourselves and how we
00:02:37 --> 00:02:46 change that is absolutely, totally different than traditional cultures or even contemporary Western
00:02:46 --> 00:02:54 culture. See, up until the 20th century, traditional cultures believed that a too high a view of yourself
00:02:54 --> 00:03:02 was the main reason that you had personal problems and the reason why there was so much evil between
00:03:02 --> 00:03:11 people. The Greek word for it was hubris or is hubris. It's an excessive pride. It's an arrogance.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:18 It's an overconfidence of yourself. And so in our modern culture, we have developed a total opposite
00:03:18 --> 00:03:26 cultural consensus. Our belief today, which is deeply embedded into everything in our culture,
00:03:26 --> 00:03:35 is that people feel bad about themselves and do bad things to other people because of low self-esteem,
00:03:35 --> 00:03:42 not high self-esteem. Low self-esteem is the reason why there is drug addiction and domestic violence
00:03:42 --> 00:03:52 and our jails are full and so on and so forth. It's an attractive theory because you don't have to
00:03:52 --> 00:03:59 make any form of moral judgment on another individual in order to deal, or society, in order to deal with
00:03:59 --> 00:04:08 society's problems. All you have to do is put people on a path of self-improvement. That's how you fix
00:04:08 --> 00:04:14 society's problems, which is why our prison system aren't called prison system. It's called a
00:04:14 --> 00:04:21 corrective services. So in the most part, we believe that we can correct people. There's a bunch we don't
00:04:21 --> 00:04:25 think we can correct and so they never get released, but some others we think we believe that we can
00:04:25 --> 00:04:31 correct people, put them on a path of self-improvement. On the other hand, the way you dealt with these
00:04:31 --> 00:04:36 problems in traditional society is that you would clamp down on people, you'd convict them and call them
00:04:36 --> 00:04:48 really bad, nasty people. You'd make a judgment on them. And so do we fix our issues and the ones that
00:04:48 --> 00:04:54 we have between people and the ones we have between nations by everyone having a higher view of
00:04:54 --> 00:05:04 themselves or everyone having a lower view of themselves? That is, by high self-esteem or low self-esteem?
00:05:04 --> 00:05:12 1 Corinthians gives us an approach to the way of seeing ourselves that is absolutely different
00:05:12 --> 00:05:18 than both the traditional and the contemporary way. A way to see ourselves in 1 Corinthians is,
00:05:19 --> 00:05:29 in fact, to forget ourselves, which is why I've titled this sermon, 2017, The Year to Forget Yourself.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:37 It's, I've got the title of it from Tim Keller's little book, which is where I get most of my ideas
00:05:37 --> 00:05:45 from in this book, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness. The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness. So maybe 2017
00:05:45 --> 00:05:53 would be the year to find true freedom, freedom by forgetting yourself. The Corinthian church was full of
00:05:53 --> 00:05:58 divisions. Different people had connections with different prominent leaders. One person was
00:05:58 --> 00:06:05 mentored and discipled by the apostle Paul. Another was mentored and discipled by another leader in the
00:06:05 --> 00:06:10 church, like Apollos, for instance. And these relationships became the basis of power plays
00:06:10 --> 00:06:18 between groups within the church. Paul shows that the real core issue is pride.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:27 It's boasting. Chapter 3, verse 21 starts off with, no more boasting. That's the very first
00:06:27 --> 00:06:36 verse that Sam read. And then in chapter 4, verse 7, it says, why do you boast? And in chapter 3,
00:06:36 --> 00:06:47 verse 6, he urges them not to take pride in one man over against another. Verse 6 gives us a glimpse
00:06:47 --> 00:06:57 into the natural condition of the human ego. The word Paul uses here for pride is an unusual word.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:06 It's not hubris. The word literally means to be overinflated, to be swollen, to be beyond its proper
00:07:06 --> 00:07:17 size. And so what he does in using this word, he invokes a painful image of an organ in the human body
00:07:17 --> 00:07:26 that is bloated because so much air has been pumped into it. It's swollen, it's inflamed, and it's ready to burst.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:31 That is the natural human condition.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:39 And he uses that word about seven times in the New Testament to refer to the natural human condition.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:53 The ego is empty. It's full of air. The ego is puffed up and overinflated and there's nothing in the middle of it.
00:07:53 --> 00:08:03 So spiritual pride is the illusion that we are competent to run our own lives, to achieve our own sense of self-worth,
00:08:04 --> 00:08:09 and to find a purpose that's big enough to give us meaning in life without God.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:14 And it can't do it. And so the ego is painful.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 We do not notice our body. I don't know if you've noticed this,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 but you don't notice your body until there's something wrong with it.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:28 I never knew that I had a hip flex until it started to play up and started to cost me money to fix.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:36 It would be pretty rare for us to think how, you know, I walked down into Chatswood yesterday,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:41 and I was walking down there. I wasn't thinking how brilliantly my elbows are working today.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:46 There's just no problems there at all. I didn't even think about my elbows.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:53 Until, unless of course there was something previously wrong with my elbows,
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 or something became a problem with my elbows.
00:08:56 --> 00:09:00 Parts of our body draw attention to themselves if there is something wrong with them.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:07 And the ego often hurts because there is something unbelievably wrong with our ego.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:13 It is always making us think about how we look and how we're treated.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:20 It is very hard to get through a whole day without feeling snubbed, ignored, feeling stupid,
00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 getting down on ourselves, thinking about how someone else has done it to us in the past.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 That's because there is something incredibly wrong with our egos.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 There is something wrong with our sense of self.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:40 Therefore, the ego is busy trying to feel the emptiness, to deal with the pain.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 It's busy comparing and boasting.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 There's no full stop.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:48 In verse 6, there's no full stop after the word pride.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:49 It says,
00:09:49 --> 00:09:59 And that's the very essence of the human ego.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:07 It tries to feel its emptiness, to deal with its pain by comparing itself with other people.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 In his chapter on pride in mere Christianity,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:16 C.S. Lewis points out that pride is by its nature competitive.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:21 Pride, he says, gets no pleasure out of having something,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:26 only out of having more of it than the next person.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 It's competitive.
00:10:33 --> 00:10:37 In other words, we are only proud of being more successful, more intelligent,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:41 more good-looking than the person that we're hanging with,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 which is why we tend to hang with people who make us feel good.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 In other words, that means they're people who are lower than us.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:52 When we are in the presence of someone who is more successful,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 more intelligent, more good-looking,
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 then we lose all pleasure in what we had.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 That's because we really had no pleasure in it at all.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 We were proud of it.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 We were proud of it.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 Which means the ego is always fragile.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 It's like a balloon full of air, ready to pop at any moment.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:24 Anything that's over-inflated is in imminent danger of being deflated.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 Painful, empty, busy, fragile.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 That's the normal state of the human self.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:39 Paul wants the Corinthian church and us gathered here today to know the difference that Jesus makes
00:11:39 --> 00:11:45 and how the Christian gospel transformed things for him and how they could do it for us too.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:56 In verses 3 and 4, Paul shows them how the Christian gospel has transformed his sense of self-worth.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:56 He says,
00:11:56 --> 00:12:15 The word translated judged here is the same meaning as the word verdict.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:22 It's referring to that elusive stamp of approval that we all crave.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 We all crave that elusive stamp of approval.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:35 And Paul does not look to the Corinthians or to any human court for the verdict that he is a somebody.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 It's as if he says here,
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 I don't care what you think.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 I don't care what anyone thinks.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:53 Paul's self-worth, his identity is not tied up with other people's evaluation of him.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 Now that doesn't seem terribly unusual, does it?
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 Really.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 Most parents would say to their child at some point,
00:13:01 --> 00:13:07 especially when that child is having problems with other kids or other people,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 we would say to them,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 It doesn't matter what your friends think of you.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 You hear yourself saying that, parents?
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 It doesn't matter what your friends think of you.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 In our modern world,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:25 there seems to be only one answer for the issue of low self-esteem,
00:13:26 --> 00:13:29 and that is fix it with high self-esteem.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:36 We tell someone that they need to see that they're a great person.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 We need to help them to see that they are wonderful,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 who they are.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 We tell them that they need to set their own standards
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 and accomplish their own standards
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 and then make their own evaluation of themselves.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:55 Paul's approach could not be more radically different.
00:13:57 --> 00:14:00 He cares very little if he's judged by the Corinthians or any human court,
00:14:01 --> 00:14:05 but he says he will not even judge himself.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 It's as if he's saying,
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 I don't care what your opinion of me is,
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 but then again, I don't care what my opinion of me is.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:16 That's radically different.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 I have a low opinion of your opinion of me,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 and I have a low opinion of my opinion of me.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 I don't care what I think either.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:36 He says that about his own opinion,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 even though he declares himself in this passage
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 of having a clear conscience.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 Look at verse 4.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:43 He says,
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 My conscience is clear,
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 but that does not make me innocent.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50 He knows that even if he does have a clear conscience,
00:14:50 --> 00:14:54 that doesn't necessarily mean he's innocent.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:57 You know, Hitler may well have had a clear conscience.
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 It doesn't make him innocent.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 And I'm pretty confident that Paul would say
00:15:03 --> 00:15:08 that it is a trap for us as we do today
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 in the modern Western society
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 set your own standards.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 Pretty sure Paul would say that's a trap.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 That's not the answer.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 You see, we feel rotten
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 when we can't meet our parents' expectations
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 or our friends' expectations.
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 We feel rotten
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 when we can't meet society's expectations.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30 And so the answer in the individualistic West
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 is to boost your self-esteem
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 by setting your own standards.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 And it can't deliver either.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 We can't keep it around.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 Only 8% of people
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 follow through with their new year's resolutions.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:49 So maybe the answer then is to set incredibly low standards.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 And then we feel rotten
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 because we know we're someone
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 who's set incredibly low standards.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 Boosting our self-esteem
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 by trying to live up to our own standards
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 or someone else's standards
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 is in fact a trap.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 But Paul does not look to the Corinthians
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 for the verdict that he is a somebody
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 but he also does not get it from himself.
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 And so now we start to discover
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 where Paul finds that sense of self
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 and he moves into territory
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 that is...
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 we frankly don't know anything about.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 Paul was a man of incredible stature.
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 I'd be happy to argue
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 that he is one of the most influential people
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 in history.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 Given that he wrote
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42 one third of the New Testament
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 and something like
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 two billion people in this world
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 say that they're followers of Jesus.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 I'd make that make Paul pretty influential.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 And yet in 1 Timothy
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 he says Christ Jesus came into the world
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 to save sinners of whom
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 I am the worst.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 Not I was the worst
00:17:01 --> 00:17:05 of whom I am the worst.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 We're not used to someone
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 who has incredible poise
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 and confidence
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 volunteering
00:17:12 --> 00:17:16 to give us that kind of an opinion
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 of themselves.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 Someone who is totally honest
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 and aware of all sorts of moral flaws
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 and yet who has incredible poise
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 and confidence.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 When he says that he does not let
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 the Corinthians judge him
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 nor does he judge himself
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 what he's saying there
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 he says that he knows
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 about his sins
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 he knows about his flaws
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 he knows about his failures
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 but he does not connect
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 those things to his sense
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 of worth and identity and self.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 He does not see sin
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 and let it destroy
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 his sense of self.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 Neither does he see
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 an accomplishment
00:17:56 --> 00:18:00 and congratulate himself.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 He sees all kinds of sins
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 in himself
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 and all kinds of accomplishments
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 in himself
00:18:08 --> 00:18:11 but he refuses to connect
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 those to who he is
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 his identity
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 his sense of worth.
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 Worth.
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 And what Paul is saying here
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 is something that's terribly astounding.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:23 He's saying that his ego
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 ego is not puffed up
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 it is filled up.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 Not puffed up
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 it's filled up.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 It's like he has reached a place
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 where his ego draws
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 no more attention to itself
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 than any other part
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 of his body.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 It's not constantly hurting.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 When he does something wrong
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 or something good
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 he does not connect it
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 to his sense of worth.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 C.S. Lewis
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 in Me Christianity
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 makes a brilliant observation
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 about gospel humility
00:18:58 --> 00:18:58 at the very end
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 of his chapter on pride.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 He says
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 if we were to meet
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 a truly humble person
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 we would never come away
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 from that meeting
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 thinking
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 that they were humble.
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 They would not be telling us
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 about
00:19:16 --> 00:19:19 that they were a nobody
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 a humble person
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 would not be telling us
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 that they were a nobody
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 because a person
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 who keeps saying
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 that they were a nobody
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 is a self-obsessed person.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 The person with low self-esteem
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 is just as self-obsessed
00:19:33 --> 00:19:36 as a person with high self-esteem.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 The thing that we would remember
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 for that meeting
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 Lewis says
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 is how much
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 they seem to be
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 totally interested in us
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 and how happy
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 and at peace
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 they are
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 with themselves.
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 You see
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 the essence
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 of Christian humility
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 is not thinking
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 more
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 of myself
00:20:01 --> 00:20:01 or thinking
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 less
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 of myself
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 it's thinking
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 of myself
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 less.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 Thinking
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 of myself
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 less.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 It means
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 I stop connecting
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 every experience
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 and every conversation
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 and every interaction
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 with another individual
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 to me.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 It's somehow
00:20:19 --> 00:20:19 a reflection
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 on me.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 It's the freedom
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 of self-forgetfulness.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 It's the ego
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 that's not puffed up
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 it's the ego
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 which is
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 filled up.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 It's not high self-esteem
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 it's not low self-esteem
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 it's not even about
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 self-esteem.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 A truly
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 gospel
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 humble
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 person
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 is not
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 a self-hating
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 person
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 nor a
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 self-loving
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 person
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 they are
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 a self-forgetful
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 person.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 An example
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 of what this
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 might look like
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 for instance
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 the self-forgetful
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 person
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 would never
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 be devastated
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 by criticism.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 A person
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 who's devastated
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 by criticism
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 is putting
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 too much value
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 on someone
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 else's opinion.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 Our society
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 tells the person
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 who is thin-skinned
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 and devastated
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 by criticism
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 to deal
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 with it
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 by saying
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 to themselves
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 who cares
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 what other
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 people think?
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 People are
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 either devastated
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 by criticism
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 on the one
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 hand
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 or they are
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 not devastated
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 by criticism
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 because they
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 do not listen
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 to it
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 which is the
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 opposite problem.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 They will not
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 listen to it
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 or learn from it
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 because they
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 don't care
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 what other
00:21:37 --> 00:21:37 people think.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 In other
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 words,
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 our only
00:21:39 --> 00:21:39 solution
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 to low
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 self-esteem
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 is pride
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 and arrogance.
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 The person
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 who is
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 self-forgetful
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 is the
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 complete
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 opposite.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 When someone
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 whose ego
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 is filled
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 up
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55 gets criticized,
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 they're not
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 devastated.
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 They can
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 hear it.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 They can
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 see it
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 as an
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 opportunity
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 to change.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 As we
00:22:06 --> 00:22:06 launch
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 into 2017,
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 don't you
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 want to
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 be like
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 that?
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 Wouldn't
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 you want
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 to be a
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 person who
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 does not
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 need
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 honor,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 nor be
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 afraid of
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 honor?
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 Don't you
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 want to be
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 a person
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 who does
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 not last
00:22:20 --> 00:22:20 for recognition,
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 nor on the
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 other hand
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 to be frightened
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 to death
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 of recognition?
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 Don't you
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 want to be
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 a kind of
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 person who
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 does not
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 admire what
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 they see
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 in the
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 mirror,
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 but also
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 doesn't cringe
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 at what
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 they see
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 in the
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 mirror?
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 Wouldn't
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 you like
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 to be the
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 type of
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 person who
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 in your
00:22:40 --> 00:22:40 imaginary
00:22:40 --> 00:22:42 life does
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 not sit
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 around daydreaming
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 about the
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 successes that
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 would give
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 them the
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 edge over
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 other people?
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 If only I
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 did this,
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 I could
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 finally beat
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 my brother.
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 Or perhaps
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 you tend to
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 beat yourself
00:23:01 --> 00:23:01 up and to
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 be tormented
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 by regrets.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 wouldn't
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 you like
00:23:05 --> 00:23:05 to be free
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 from that?
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 Wouldn't
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 you like
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 to be the
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 athlete who
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 wins the
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 bronze and
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 he's so
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 thrilled to
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 celebrate the
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 gold medal
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 winner because
00:23:15 --> 00:23:15 you just
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 happen to be
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 there when
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 they did
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 this brilliant
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 run and
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 you experienced
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 it?
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 Don't you
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 want to be
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 free to do
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 that?
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 This is a
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 possibility for
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 you and for
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 me if we
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 keep on going
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 where Paul is
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 going here.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 we can
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 start to
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 enjoy things
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 that are
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 not about
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 me.
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 That is my
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 work's not
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 about me,
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 my sport's not
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 about me,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 my siblings are
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 not about me,
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 my friendships
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 are not about
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 me.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 You can
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 actually enjoy
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 things for
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 what they
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 are.
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 That is they
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 don't exist to
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 fill my ego,
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 to puff up
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 my ego.
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 Don't you
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 want to be
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 like that?
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 this is
00:23:58 --> 00:24:01 gospel humility
00:24:01 --> 00:24:03 because it's
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 the place of
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 blessed self
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 forgetfulness and
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 peace and rest.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 Our society
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 doesn't know
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 what category
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 to put this
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 stuff in.
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 Simply just
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 thinking of
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 myself less.
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17 It's the key
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 to people
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 like us
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 getting on
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 and solving
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 differences and
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 treating each
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 other as we
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 ought to be
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 treating each
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 other.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 So Paul
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 tells us
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 how he
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 got to
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 this place
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 of self
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 forgetfulness.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 He says
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 my conscience
00:24:36 --> 00:24:36 is clear
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 but that
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 does not
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 make me
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 innocent.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 The word
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 translated
00:24:42 --> 00:24:42 innocent
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 comes from
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 the word
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 justify.
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 It's the
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 same word
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 he uses
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 right throughout
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 Romans,
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 right throughout
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 Galatians.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 Here Paul
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 is saying
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 that even
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 if his
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 conscience
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 is clear,
00:24:55 --> 00:24:57 it does
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 not justify
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 him,
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 it does
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 not give
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 him that
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 stamp of
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 approval.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 What Paul
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 is looking
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 for is what
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 we are all
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 looking for
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 and that
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 is that
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 ultimate
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 verdict.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 That ultimate
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 verdict that
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 we are
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 important,
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 that we are
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 valuable.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 We look for
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 that ultimate
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 verdict every
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 day in all
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 kinds of
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 situations
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 with everyone
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 around us.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 every single
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 day,
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 every single
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 day,
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 every single
00:25:25 --> 00:25:27 day,
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 every day,
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 we put
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 ourselves in
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 the courtroom,
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 so to
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 speak.
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 Notice what
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 Paul says,
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 he says,
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 I care very
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 little if I'm
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 judged by
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 you or
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 by any
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 human court
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 in verse
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 three.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 And I
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 think he's
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 speaking
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 metaphorically
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 there,
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 I don't
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 think he's
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 actually in
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 a courtroom
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 on trial.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46 However,
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 the problem
00:25:46 --> 00:25:48 of self-esteem,
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 whether it's
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 high or low,
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 is that
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 every single
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 day you're
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 on trial.
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 There's the
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 prosecution,
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 there's the
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 defense.
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 Everything we
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 do is
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 providing
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 evidence for
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 the prosecution
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 or the
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 defense.
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 Some days
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 we feel like
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 we're winning
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 the trial,
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 some days
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 we feel like
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 we're losing
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 it,
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 and Paul
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 says,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 for me,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 the trial's
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 over.
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 He's out
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 of the
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 courtroom
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 because the
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 ultimate
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 verdict is
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 in,
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 and he
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 knows that
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 the Corinthian
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 church can't
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 justify him.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 He knows
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 that he
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 cannot justify
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 himself.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 He says,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 it's the
00:26:24 --> 00:26:26 Lord who
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 judges him.
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 It is only
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 God's opinion
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 that counts.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 It's only in
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 the gospel of
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 the Lord
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 Jesus that
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 Paul and
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 us get
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 the final
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 verdict,
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 the ultimate
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 verdict that we
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 all crave
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 for.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 And
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 crucially,
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 it comes,
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 the final
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 ultimate
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 verdict comes
00:26:50 --> 00:26:52 before the
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 performance.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 Most get
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 their self-image
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 from being a
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 good person
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 and hope that
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 eventually they
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 will get a
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 verdict that
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 confirms that
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 they're a good
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 person.
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 That is,
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 my performance
00:27:07 --> 00:27:09 leads to the
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 ultimate
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 verdict.
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 verdict.
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 All the
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 great religions
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 and philosophy
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 of the world
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 work like that.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 Performance
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 leads to the
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 verdict.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 Follow this
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 set of rules,
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 follow this
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 guidance,
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 this wisdom,
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 and you'll
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 get maybe
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 the verdict
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 that you're
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 looking for.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 Every day
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 you're in the
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 courtroom hoping
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 the verdict
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 swings your way.
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 In Christianity
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 the verdict
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 leads to
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 performance.
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 In
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 Christianity
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 the moment
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 we believe
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 that God
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 says,
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 this is
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 my son
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 in whom
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 I am well
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 pleased.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 Or Romans
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 8.1
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 Therefore
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 there is now
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 no condemnation
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 for those
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 who are in
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 Christ Jesus.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 The moment
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 we trust
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 in Jesus
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 God
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 credits
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 Jesus'
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 perfect
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 performance
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 to us
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 as if it
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 was our
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 perfect
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 performance.
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 And he
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 adopts us
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 into his
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 family.
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 We get
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 the ultimate
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 verdict
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 of
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 approval.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 God
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 can say
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 to us
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 just as
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 he once
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 said to
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 Jesus
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 you are
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 my son
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 whom I
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 love
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 with you
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 I am
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 well
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 pleased.
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 The
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 verdict
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 is in.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 And now
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 we perform
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 on the
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 basis of
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 that
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 verdict.
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 Because
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 he loves
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 us and
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 accepts us
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 we don't
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 have to
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 do
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 things that
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 build up
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 my
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 reputation.
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 Free
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 now to
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 do
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 things
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 for the
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 joy of
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 doing
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 them.
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 Free
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 to actually
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 help
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 people in
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 order to
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 help
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 people.
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 And to
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 do it
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 with a
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 sense of
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 joy.
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 Not
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 because it
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 makes me
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 feel better
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 about
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 myself.
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 Not
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 because I've
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 got a
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 New Year's
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 resolution to
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 volunteer.
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 And
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 self-improve.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 Not so
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 that I can
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 fill up the
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 emptiness
00:28:50 --> 00:28:53 of a
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 consumeristic
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 culture.
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 In
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 Christianity
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 Jesus
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 Christ went
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 on trial
00:28:59 --> 00:29:01 instead of
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 us.
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 Jesus
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 went to
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 the
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 courtroom.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 It was
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 an unjust
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 trial.
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 It was
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 a kangaroo
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 court as
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 we say
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 in Australia
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 but he
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 did not
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 complain.
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 He faced
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 the trial
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 that should
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 be ours
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 so that we
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 do not
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 have to
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 face that
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 trial
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 anymore.
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 He took
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 the condemnation
00:29:16 --> 00:29:16 that we
00:29:16 --> 00:29:16 deserve for
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 our lack
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 of performance
00:29:18 --> 00:29:20 to give
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 us his
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 perfect
00:29:22 --> 00:29:25 performance.
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 performance.
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 And we
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 simply need
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 to ask
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 God to
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 accept us
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 because of
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 what Jesus
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 has done.
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 And when
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 you do,
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 the only
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 person whose
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 opinion counts
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 looks at
00:29:38 --> 00:29:40 us and he
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 sees us as
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 being more
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 valuable,
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 of much
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 more worth
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 than all
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 the jewels
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 of the
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 world.
00:29:48 --> 00:29:51 Now,
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 perhaps for
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 those of you
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 who are here
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 today,
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 some of you,
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 this is
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 totally new.
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 Can I say
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 don't let
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 this pass
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 you by?
00:30:02 --> 00:30:02 This is
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 revolutionary.
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 2017,
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 make it the
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 year to forget
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 yourself and
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 to embrace
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 Jesus.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:08 Set us a
00:30:08 --> 00:30:08 New Year's
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 resolution.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 Keep digging,
00:30:10 --> 00:30:10 keep looking,
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 keep asking
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 questions.
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 There is so
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 much to
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 discover.
00:30:13 --> 00:30:13 I've had
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 maybe 30
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 minutes on
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 this so far
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 and I have
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 covered a
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 whole bunch
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 of ground
00:30:19 --> 00:30:19 in a really
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 short space
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 of time.
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 There are
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 lots of
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 pieces of
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 the jigsaws
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 to put
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 together.
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 Why did
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 Jesus have
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 to die?
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 Why did
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 he rise
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 from the
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 dead?
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 Is he
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 really the
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 son of
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 God?
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 Keep
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 looking until
00:30:30 --> 00:30:32 you understand
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 the whole
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 picture and
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 you find this
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 place of
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 peace and
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 rest in
00:30:37 --> 00:30:37 him.
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 Make this
00:30:39 --> 00:30:39 a matter of
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 central importance
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 this year.
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 But maybe
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 you're in a
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 different position.
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 Maybe you
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 trust in
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 Jesus.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 You might have
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 been trusting
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 in Jesus for
00:30:47 --> 00:30:47 so many years
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 but every
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 day you're
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 finding yourself
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 just sucked
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 back again
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 and again
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 and again
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 into that
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 courtroom.
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 You do not
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 feel that you're
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 living like Paul
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 says here.
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 You're getting
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 sucked back in
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 and all I can
00:31:02 --> 00:31:04 say is that
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 you have to
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 relive the
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 gospel
00:31:07 --> 00:31:09 every day.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:12 you have to
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 relive the
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 gospel every
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 time you
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 pray,
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 every time
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 you come to
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 church and
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 interact with
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 someone else,
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 every time
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 you feel
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 rejected,
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 every time
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 someone changes
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 something that
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 you had a
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 hand in
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 building or
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 creating,
00:31:24 --> 00:31:26 forgetting
00:31:26 --> 00:31:28 self and
00:31:28 --> 00:31:30 remembering the
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 gospel is the
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 key to
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 treasuring
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 Jesus.
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 It's the key
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 for us as a
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 church to
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 embracing
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 diversity and
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 discomfort as a
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 church.
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 It's the key
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 to letting go
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 and finding
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 rest.
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 We have to
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 relive the
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 gospel in the
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 supermarket.
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 We have to
00:31:46 --> 00:31:46 relive the
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 gospel when we're
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 doing the
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 dishes.
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 We have to
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 relive the
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 gospel when
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 we're raising
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 our kids.
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 We have to
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 relive the
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 gospel in our
00:31:53 --> 00:31:53 marriages.
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 Everything.
00:31:58 --> 00:31:58 Everything.
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 Asking myself,
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 am I constantly
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 being drawn back
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 into the
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 courtroom?
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 Where's my
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 identity?
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 Where's my
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 security?
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 Where's my
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 sense of
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 worth?
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 And like
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 Paul, we can
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 say, I don't
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 care what you
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 think.
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 I don't care
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 what I think.
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 I only care
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 what the Lord
00:32:22 --> 00:32:22 thinks.
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 And he's the
00:32:24 --> 00:32:24 one who says,
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 therefore, there
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 is now no
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 condemnation for
00:32:28 --> 00:32:28 those who are in
00:32:28 --> 00:32:30 Christ Jesus, and
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 you are my
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 beloved child.
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 With you, I am
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 well pleased.
00:32:36 --> 00:32:38 Embrace Jesus and
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 all his work
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 more each
00:32:40 --> 00:32:42 day this
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 year.
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 Make it the
00:32:44 --> 00:32:44 year to
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 forget self.
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 Put self-forgetfulness
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 to the top of your
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 New Year's Eve
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 resolutions, or
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 forget New Year's
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 Eve, just make a New
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 Year's resolution.
00:32:54 --> 00:32:56 And pray for the
00:32:56 --> 00:32:58 help to remember
00:32:58 --> 00:33:00 Jesus moment by
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 moment and what
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 he's achieved for
00:33:02 --> 00:33:02 you.
00:33:02 --> 00:33:04 relive the
00:33:04 --> 00:33:06 gospel every time
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 you're in the
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 courtroom.
00:33:07 --> 00:33:07 Amen.