A Vision Of UNITY
Series: Vision Series 2016
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 29th October 2016
00:00:00 --> 00:00:01 It's great to be in church with us tonight.
00:00:02 --> 00:00:03 It's been a long day.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:04 It's been a great day.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 So many new things here at St. Paul's.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 We are sitting sideways.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:13 It was kind of interesting seeing people come into church this morning and for the first
00:00:13 --> 00:00:14 time trying to work out, where do I sit now?
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 You know, like it's all so different.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:20 We're faced the wrong way and there's a little bit of confusion, but it's a lot of different
00:00:20 --> 00:00:21 stuff, a lot of things backwards.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:27 You know, Sam's got his shirt tucked in tonight and he's wearing a tie and he's had a shower.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 Um, and, uh, you know, Andrew Green, it's summertime.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:31 It's 27 degrees.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 He's got shoes on and, uh, Nick's got his best thongs on.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:39 I mean, it's, uh, there's so many things and I'm saving money ready for vision Sunday with
00:00:39 --> 00:00:40 shampoo and hair care products.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 Uh, so it's, it's, it's a, it's, it's a lot of things different.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:49 We're coming to church today, uh, and it, it marks a vision month for us.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:53 Uh, this is the kickoff as Sam has indicated and it's one of the annual highlights, uh,
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 for me with church calendar.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 Uh, it's, you know, up there.
00:00:57 --> 00:01:01 I don't want to diminish Easter and Christmas at all, but it's up there in terms of my views,
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 in terms of for us and the importance of it for us as a church.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:09 Um, I'm especially excited for this, uh, four weeks.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 Uh, every time I get the vision month, I think this is going to be the best vision month ever.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 Like this is so important for us.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:19 And, and this one is particularly important because there is something that has, uh, been
00:01:19 --> 00:01:24 bothering me for about 18 months now, which has kind of been resolved for me in the
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 last couple of months.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:32 Um, it started for me at the end of our time to build project and the opening of the international
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 Chinese school at the beginning of 2015.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:42 Uh, they were, uh, two major projects that are a significant focus for us over a four year
00:01:42 --> 00:01:42 period.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:48 Uh, and both of these major projects and many small ones and a before and after required
00:01:48 --> 00:01:49 vision.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:54 Uh, and, but as I saw it, they weren't the vision.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:59 That is the, the vision for St. Paul's was not to do stuff with our buildings and to start
00:01:59 --> 00:02:00 a school.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:01 That wasn't the vision.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 That's, it was something else.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 There was a, they weren't the major goal for us.
00:02:05 --> 00:02:09 They served a much larger vision, but what was it?
00:02:09 --> 00:02:13 That was, that was the important and the missing piece for me.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:19 Uh, and it's an important missing piece because a common vision for a church has a special
00:02:19 --> 00:02:20 unifying effect.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:25 It draws people together to a common focus and commitment to see God's purposes achieved
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 through them, uh, as a church.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:34 And so a church without vision, uh, tends to lack cohesion as it clings to present or past
00:02:34 --> 00:02:38 traditions and resist the possibilities that change can bring.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:44 And without looking forward to the possibilities of what, uh, God can do, there is no challenge
00:02:44 --> 00:02:51 to our faith individually or corporately and, and no excitement associated with seeing specific
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 targets met become reality as God works amongst his people.
00:02:55 --> 00:03:02 Now, while we have had a vision that united us, uh, in time to build in the National Chinese
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 School, there were very significant things.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:08 In fact, 95% of the church voted to proceed with both of those things.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:12 We poured a bunch of resources into a short period of time and made it happen.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 They weren't the vision, the big vision.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 They wasn't the big thing that we're seeking to do together.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 Um, and yet the vision was there.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:29 Uh, we've, we've actually been working on it, uh, but the vision in fact needed to find us.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:35 Um, I wrote a vision statement for us in 2000, uh, sorry, I wrote a vision statement for us
00:03:35 --> 00:03:40 for vision 2020 when I launched it back in, uh, the end of 2009.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 Uh, that vision statement was a mistake.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 It's one thing that I regret.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:49 You know, we, we went through all this rigmarole, uh, back in the end of 2009.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 We got this thing printed up in a booklet.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:57 And, uh, basically as soon as the ink was dry in the booklet, it was like, eh, that's,
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 you know, uh, I, I, you know, I've, I've worked with everything else in there.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 I continue to push everything else in there.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:07 But the one regret was the vision statement that I'd wrote in that booklet.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:11 And it's still in print, still floating around, you know, old things die hard.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:21 Uh, what has been receiving quite a lot of attention since the end of 2009, uh, is our purpose and our values as a church.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 Our purpose and values are about who we are.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:31 And since 2009, we've been great on this gradual journey, if you like, of rediscovering who we are as a church.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:35 Our vision, if you like, has been to rediscover our purpose.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 That's kind of what we've been working on.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:44 And the process of rediscovering the reason why we exist has resulted in the vision finding us.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 As we've captured our purpose, the vision has found us.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:57 And this vision, uh, that I'll be talking to you about tonight is an intersection of my life and my ministry passion.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 Uh, it, it's, it's also an industry.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:07 It's also an intersection of the needs of our community and also the gifts and the passion.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:08 Uh, for us as a church.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:15 And you bring all those things together and where they meet, you have a common vision of God's purposes being worked out amongst it.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 And so I, I regard it as a God moment.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 Uh, it was in July this year.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:24 Uh, I was away on retreat with a purpose pastors and one of our wardens.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:33 And, uh, and our goal was to do as we do these retreats each year is to work out what's, what's the thing that we really need to nail as a church?
00:05:33 --> 00:05:34 What do we need to improve on?
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 And where, where do you think God's heading, uh, for us in the future?
00:05:37 --> 00:05:42 So we try and work on how to take that next step for us as a church into the next year.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:47 There was no plan for us at that moment to formulate a vision statement.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:54 Uh, but the more we talked and reflected on that very first night, it just became clearer and clearer that the vision found us.
00:05:54 --> 00:06:04 Uh, I went to bed on that first night with my mind just spinning and my heart was just sort of starting to burn again with this passion that I have for us as a church.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:17 And even in the very early stages of this, uh, forming vision, it was connecting so well with, with my passion for ministry, but also, uh, what I would see that we were being shaped here at St. Paul's.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:29 Uh, since then the staff and the parish council have been kicking it around, sitting on it, praying about it, sharpening it, um, and praying about it and just get to a point where we're just gone.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:29 That's it.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 It's so closely connected with our, with our purpose.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:40 Uh, we have had it in visual form since I introduced this new logo back in 2010.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:46 Back in 2010, I sat with some graphic designers and said to me, so what's your, what's your vision for the church?
00:06:46 --> 00:06:47 What's your passion?
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 I went, ah, it's this, this, and this, and this.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:50 And they drew that.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 And it's like, it's been our logo ever since.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 And so, um, so the vision's been there.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 I'm just slow, you know?
00:06:58 --> 00:07:02 Uh, you know, as Sam said, we've got our limitations and that's one of my limitations.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 Well, you know, it's, it's been there and it's been obvious.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:06 Just haven't seen it.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 So in case here, so here it is.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:15 In case you didn't know what St. Paul's, uh, purpose is, uh, it reads, St. Paul's exists to know Jesus, treasure Jesus,
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 and represent Jesus for God's glory and the joy of all people.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 That statement is about who we are.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:27 You, you, it's absolutely essential for us that that statement is about who we are.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 That's the reason we exist.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 We don't exist for any other purpose than that.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:39 Therefore, given that that's who we are and that's why we exist, this is what we seek to do.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:44 Our vision is to be united in our desperation for the world around us to encounter Jesus
00:07:44 --> 00:07:49 and our desire to represent the diversity of Chatswood.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:57 Now, that vision just there is the basis by which we will evaluate all of our ministry practice
00:07:57 --> 00:08:02 and determine what we will and what we won't do, what we need to start doing, what we need to stop doing.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:08 Now, I've been reflecting on that and I've been working with it with parish council and, and, uh, staff since July.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:14 And, uh, and, and there is so much of my, my personal ministry passion, which is connected to that statement.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:19 So I don't, I don't expect you in this moment, having just heard it, to sort of all of a sudden,
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 oh, praise God, drop to your knees and yes, that's what I've been waiting for, that sort of thing.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 You know, I, you know, give it time, give it time.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:32 And, uh, my, my intention over the next four weeks is to unpack it for us.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:39 Um, and in, and in doing that, I want to make the connections between who we are and what God seeks for us to do, uh,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 to become a little bit clearer for us.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:52 Um, and that, and that in the hope of that, that your, your hearts will grow in passion for it in such a way that it changes your life.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:56 As it has already for me since July.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 We'll talk about that in a little bit.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:04 There are four key words linked in four key ideas here that are my focus over the next four weeks.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:09 The words unity, diversity, us, and the world.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 And today I want to simply focus on the word unity.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 It's there in the first part of the statement.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:18 It says, we seek to be united in our desperation for the world around us to encounter Jesus.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:26 And I think we want to be united in wanting that outcome because our purpose statement is explicit.
00:09:27 --> 00:09:32 Absolutely explicit in saying that Jesus is the main thing for us as a church.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 Jesus is our all-consuming passion.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:39 Now, I said a moment ago that a common vision for a church has a special unifying effect.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:40 And that's true.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 But it's not the foundation.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:47 It's not the deepest foundation of our unity together as a church.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:53 Our unity is founded on the person and the work of the Lord Jesus.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:57 On the person of the Lord Jesus and his work of redemption through his death and his resurrection.
00:09:57 --> 00:10:04 In Colossians chapter 1, we get a glimpse of why Jesus is the main thing for us.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:09 Why he is the ultimate and all other things are not ultimate.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 All other things should take their proper place as being less from Jesus.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:17 And this is part of the discovery that we've been making as a church.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 Rediscovering our purpose of Jesus being the main thing for us.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:30 Verses of 14 to 20, we are given, Colossians 1, 14 to 20, we are given a litany of amazing truths about the Lord Jesus.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:40 And they are probably the most concentrated descriptions of the glories and the majesty of Jesus in the entire New Testament.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 There are at least 15 of them that I want to run through very quickly for you.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 Verse 14, it says,
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 Verse 15, he is the image of the invisible God.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 Verse 15 again, he is the firstborn of all creation.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:58 That means he is the specially honored firstborn and only son over all creation.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 The inheritor of the estate, so to speak.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 Verse 16, it says,
00:11:03 --> 00:11:08 By him all things were created in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 Verse 16 again, all things were created through him.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 Verse 16 again, all things were created for him.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 Verse 17, he is before all things.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:21 Verse 17 again, in him all things hold together.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 Verse 18, he is the head of the body of the church.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 18 again, he is the beginning.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 18 again, he is the firstborn from the dead.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 18 again, in everything he is preeminent.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:34 19, in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 Verse 20, he reconciled all things to himself, whether on earth or in heaven.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:43 Verse 20 again, he makes peace by the blood of the cross.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:53 Let me just say, friends, if your heart ever wavers, grows cold to the magnificence and the treasure that Jesus is,
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 can I just encourage you just to come to these verses?
00:11:56 --> 00:12:04 Come to these verses and just reflect again and again who Jesus is, what he has achieved for you.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:10 Memorize this list of glories and ask God, this is the key point as well.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:18 Ask God to give you affections, to give you passions that correspond to the magnificence and greatness of Jesus.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:24 Because it is so easy for me to run through a list of that, it's the third time I've done it today,
00:12:24 --> 00:12:31 to run through a list of that and for my heart not to be warmed, strangely warmed.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:34 It's so easy for me to sit there and go, oh yeah, Colossians 1, I know it.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 Did a Bible study on that.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 Memorize it.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 It says here that Jesus created all that is.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 They were created through him.
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 And it also says that all things were created for him.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 All that came into being exists for Christ.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:56 That is, everything exists to display the greatness and the glory and the magnificence of Jesus.
00:12:56 --> 00:13:02 That means that nothing, absolutely nothing in the universe exists for its own sake.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 There's not a single thing in this universe that exists for its own sake.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:11 Everything, from the bottom of the oceans to the top of the mountains,
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 from the smallest particle to the biggest star,
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 from the most boring school subject to the most interesting science experiment,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 from the ugliest cockroach to the most beautiful human,
00:13:21 --> 00:13:25 from the greatest saint to the most wicked genocidal dictator.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:29 Everything, everything exists.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 Exists to make the greatness of Jesus more fully known.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:37 And that means you, it means me, and my life, and your life,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 and it means us at St. Paul's as a church.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:44 We exist to make Jesus look magnificent as he is.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 He's the sovereign Lord of all.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 He's the center and he's the foundation.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 Our unity is founded in who Jesus is.
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 He is, as it says in Colossians,
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 he has the supremacy over everything.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 We are also united, not just in the person of Jesus,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 but also the work of Jesus.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 So we're united in Jesus and by his work on our behalf.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 Have a look at, let me jump to Ephesians chapter 1.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:20 We get again the magnificence of Jesus and what he has achieved for us.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:24 Verse 3 of Ephesians 1 is the summary verse of the chapter.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 It's about what God has done for us in Jesus
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 and what our response to Jesus should be.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 It says,
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 Praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:42 Every spiritual blessing in Christ.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:43 Nothing is lacking.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 Nothing is overlooked.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 Nothing is held back by God.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 And then we get a list over the next few verses of what these things are.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 Verse 5, it says,
00:14:52 --> 00:14:56 We have been adopted as God's children.
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 We call the creator of the universe Father.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 And all the intimacy that belongs with that.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 My dad's birthday today, I rang him up this morning.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 He's 78.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 Quick calculation.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 Fortunately, I didn't mention it, a number.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 And I rang him up and talked to him and said,
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 Hey, Dad.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 You know, the privilege of Christians to be able to do that
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 with the Father of the universe.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 At any time.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 Direct access to him.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 Through Jesus.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 We're adopted as his sons.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 Verse 17,
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 We have been redeemed.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 We were separated from God because of our rejection.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:39 But a price has been paid by God to buy us back to himself.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 Verse 7 again,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:43 We have forgiveness of sins.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:47 The very thing that separates us from God has been forgiven.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 The offended one, the rejected one,
00:15:52 --> 00:15:57 paid our debt to get us back to himself.
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 And the slate is clean.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 There is no record or wrong.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 Nothing is ever going to be brought back up again.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 There is nothing to pay.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 The debt's clean.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:08 I've heard this great story.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:13 In fact, it's a slight difference from the story I told this morning.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 I checked the facts since this morning.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:23 Bloke bought a Bentley and he's driving his Bentley in Europe.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 And it broke down on a motorway in Europe.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 So he rang his dealer back in London and said,
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 Hey, dude, my Bentley's broken.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 And they said,
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 We'll send a technician.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:34 And he's like,
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 What?
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 Send a technician over in Europe from London.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 I mean, it's not very far.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 It's here to Melbourne sort of thing.
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 And they flew this dude over on a private jet.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 They got the Bentley,
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 took it to the airport and put it on the plane.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 It was a jet that you could put a car on.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 Put it on a plane,
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 flew it back to London with the guy in the car.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 Now, of course, the guy who owns the car is thinking,
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 Crap, this is going to hurt.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 This is going to be very expensive.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:05 And about four to six weeks later,
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 no bill.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 Got his car back, no bill.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 And so he rang up the dealership and said,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 So, what's the damage?
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 And they said,
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 What do you mean?
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 They said, you know, fixing my car.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 And they said,
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 No, no.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:22 There's no bill.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:23 There's no problem with your car.
00:17:25 --> 00:17:25 Hang on a bit.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 This bloke came over at a private jet and flew my car back.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 No, that didn't happen.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 And they,
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 What are you talking about?
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 They said,
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 Bentleys don't break down.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 Bentleys don't break down.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:38 And so,
00:17:38 --> 00:17:41 this guy was just astounded
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 at something that should have been
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 thousands, thousands, thousands, thousands of dollars.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 The slate's wiped clean.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 No bill to pay.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 And this is the picture here of Ephesians.
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 We have forgiveness of sins.
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 In verse 8,
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 We have been lavished with all wisdom and understanding.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 God doesn't leave his people in the dark.
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 He reveals to us,
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 as we've just seen in our Proverbs series,
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 how things work in this world.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 The way things actually are.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:05 How they work.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 And how do we live in accordance with it.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:08 Verse 9,
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 God has made known to us the mystery of his plans for the world.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:16 We're not in the dark as to what the goal of eternity and time and space and everything,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 where it's all heading for.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 Verse 13,
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 We are so intimate with God that we have received the Holy Spirit.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 God lives in us.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 Verse 14,
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 Verse 14,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 We are now guaranteed an eternal inheritance.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:34 We have riches in heaven that would just blow our mind,
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 that have reserve written all over them.
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 They're guaranteed.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:41 And I think that Ephesians 1 is meant to overwhelm us.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:47 We put it together with cautions of the massive cosmic list of what God has achieved for us
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 in the person of the Lord Jesus.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:52 Every single one of these blessings is staggering enough in itself.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:59 But you put them together and it is an awesome scene of how much God has achieved for us.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:07 And the big statement right through Ephesians chapter 1 is this little statement in how God has secured all this stuff for us.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 It is in Christ.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 Verse 3,
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 Praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 which is what meant,
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 that's our response,
00:19:16 --> 00:19:21 who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 Verse 4,
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 God chose us in him.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 That's in Jesus.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 Verse 5,
00:19:25 --> 00:19:27 We are adopted through Christ Jesus.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 Verse 7,
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 In Jesus we have redemption.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 Verse 9,
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 God purposed these things.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:32 In Jesus.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 Verse 11,
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 In Jesus we were chosen.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:39 And please notice the motivation here from God.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 Verse 4,
00:19:42 --> 00:19:44 In love he predestined us.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:45 In verse 7,
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 We have redemption in accordance with the riches of his grace.
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 Verse 9,
00:19:50 --> 00:19:53 He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 Love,
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 grace,
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 good pleasure.
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 Why has God done all this?
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 It's because it's his character.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 It's who he is.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 It's not because we're lovely.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 It's because of who he is.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 And notice too that there's a direction.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 For those of you a little bit iffy about vision statements and stuff like that,
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 God has a vision.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 Verse 9,
00:20:15 --> 00:20:18 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure,
00:20:19 --> 00:20:23 which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the times would have reached their fulfillment,
00:20:23 --> 00:20:32 to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 That's God's vision of all things.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:41 God's grand plan is to move all of history towards a single unified goal.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:46 His vision is to bring all things in heaven and earth together under one head, even Christ.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 The goal of time,
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 the goal of space,
00:20:51 --> 00:20:56 is all things under the lordship of Jesus as they were meant to be at the beginning.
00:20:56 --> 00:21:03 And I would suggest, therefore, that the single-minded submission to Jesus,
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 single-minded submission to Jesus,
00:21:05 --> 00:21:11 is essential for the function of the church that's united under Jesus, under his lordship.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:16 It is practicing now what will be for all of eternity united under the lordship of Jesus.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:23 And so our purpose statement as a church says that is our main purpose.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:28 We want to know Jesus and treasure Jesus and represent Jesus for God's glory and the joy of all people.
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 And if this vision for all things is to be united under Jesus,
00:21:33 --> 00:21:36 if that's the vision for all things,
00:21:36 --> 00:21:40 then that is the vision that shapes our life as a church and our practice as a church.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:43 Jesus is the primary basis of our unity.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:45 God has made us one.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 We belong to him.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 He is our lord.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 He is our savior.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 And we are mutually accountable to him.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 And what Ephesians goes on from there into chapter 2,
00:21:55 --> 00:21:59 calls God's people to work out the unity that they already have in Jesus,
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 in our life together.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:03 As we're called to not just have unity,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 but also to practice unity,
00:22:05 --> 00:22:08 Ephesians 2, we see that all the barriers that separate people
00:22:08 --> 00:22:11 have been broken down by Jesus.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 Jesus is the great leveler,
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 the great uniter of people.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 In Ephesians 4,
00:22:15 --> 00:22:20 we are told to live out our status of unity with our fellow believers in Jesus.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:23 In the first two verses of Ephesians 4,
00:22:23 --> 00:22:26 we are told to live as true followers of Jesus,
00:22:26 --> 00:22:32 with an attitude of humility and gentleness and patience and bearing with each other.
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 Then in the third verse,
00:22:33 --> 00:22:36 we are called to make every effort.
00:22:36 --> 00:22:39 That's hard work, in other words.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:43 Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:48 Verse 3 in Ephesians 4 doesn't call us to develop a unity.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:53 It calls us to maintain the unity that we already have in Jesus.
00:22:53 --> 00:23:01 And verse 4 names seven key elements that affirm the base of our unity.
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 And they all proceed with the word one.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 Seven elements.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:09 These seven elements are on the front page of our website.
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 They were put there in 2010.
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 You know, I'm slow.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:21 One body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:24 That's who we are as a church.
00:23:26 --> 00:23:29 What Ephesians affirms is that unity within the church
00:23:29 --> 00:23:33 is the natural outcome of being reconciled to God through Jesus.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 But we need to work on it.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:45 Ephesians 4 doesn't just refer to behavior that works for unity.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:48 It describes behaviors that, in fact, fractures unity.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:54 Sensuality, impurity, greed, falsehood, anger, laziness, unwholesome talk, bitterness,
00:23:54 --> 00:23:57 raging, brawling, slander, and malice.
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 You see, we've got to work at it
00:24:00 --> 00:24:04 because the church is made up of natural enemies.
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 That's who we are by nature.
00:24:09 --> 00:24:14 And our diversity as a church always, always threatens our unity.
00:24:15 --> 00:24:18 And what binds us together is not a common education,
00:24:18 --> 00:24:20 not a common race, not common income levels,
00:24:20 --> 00:24:23 not common politics, not common nationality,
00:24:23 --> 00:24:26 not common life experiences, not common accents,
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 not common jobs, not common church tradition,
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 not common dress, not common hairstyles,
00:24:30 --> 00:24:32 not common interests, not common denomination,
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 not common Bible understanding,
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 not common Bible understanding,
00:24:35 --> 00:24:38 or anything else, a myriad of other things.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:43 The key to practicing unity is embracing the wonder of what we have in Jesus.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 The Lord Jesus, as I've already said,
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 is the great leveler of humanity.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:52 The very basic admission requirement into the local church
00:24:52 --> 00:24:57 and to this church is to see our desperate need for Jesus.
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 That's the basic admission requirement,
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 our desperate need for him.
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 We have every one of us,
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 every single one of us,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 no matter how well we project from the outside,
00:25:09 --> 00:25:12 have fallen short of what God expects for us,
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 and therefore every single one of us come to Jesus as a beggar.
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 Our hands open saying,
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 please give me mercy.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:21 And so whether this is your first time at St. Paul's tonight,
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 or whether you've been here for 40 years,
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 we're all in the same boat.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 All in the same boat.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:30 This is a level playing field as a church.
00:25:30 --> 00:25:34 There is no place of special privilege and acknowledgement,
00:25:34 --> 00:25:37 only places of grace and responsibility.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 We all began at the cross.
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 If you're Christian, you began at the cross,
00:25:43 --> 00:25:46 and we all finish at the cross.
00:25:46 --> 00:25:48 And that is humbling, and that is unifying.
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 We are just as much in need of his grace.
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 Now, when you start the Christian life,
00:25:53 --> 00:25:55 as what you live, you've done it for 60 years.
00:25:57 --> 00:26:01 Christians come together because they have been saved by Jesus Christ
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 and come under his common lordship.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:05 And I just cannot put the central,
00:26:05 --> 00:26:09 central importance of unity any better than the great John Stott
00:26:09 --> 00:26:11 in his commentary on Ephesians,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 when he wrote,
00:26:12 --> 00:26:16 it is simply impossible with any shred of Christian integrity
00:26:16 --> 00:26:19 to go on proclaiming that Jesus by his cross
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 has abolished the old divisions
00:26:20 --> 00:26:24 and created a single new humanity of love,
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 while at the same time we are contradicting our message
00:26:27 --> 00:26:32 by tolerating racial or social or other barriers
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 within our church fellowship.
00:26:33 --> 00:26:36 We need to get the failures of the church
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 and our conscience to feel the offense to Christ,
00:26:38 --> 00:26:40 to weep over the credibility gap
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42 between the church's talk and the church's walk,
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 to repent of our readiness,
00:26:44 --> 00:26:47 to excuse and even condone our failures
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 and determine to do something about it.
00:26:49 --> 00:26:52 I wonder if anything is more urgent today
00:26:52 --> 00:26:54 for the honor of Christ and for the spread of the gospel
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 than the church should be,
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 and should be seen to be,
00:26:57 --> 00:27:00 what by God's purpose and Christ's achievement
00:27:00 --> 00:27:03 it already is a single new humanity,
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 a model of human community,
00:27:06 --> 00:27:09 a family of reconciled brothers and sisters
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 who love their father and love each other,
00:27:12 --> 00:27:14 the evident dwelling place of God by his spirit.
00:27:15 --> 00:27:19 Only then will the world believe in Christ as peacemaker.
00:27:20 --> 00:27:24 Only then will God receive the glory that is due to him.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:27 Jesus is our all-consuming passion.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:38 Now, Agnes Malauka was a renowned deep-sea cave diver.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:41 It was, in her words, an all-consuming passion.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:45 She uploaded her thoughts on YouTube,
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 and this is what she said.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 She said,
00:27:46 --> 00:27:48 I dream of caves.
00:27:49 --> 00:27:51 It's an all-consuming interest.
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 It's a passion.
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 It's an obsession.
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56 There is no greater feeling in the world
00:27:56 --> 00:28:00 than finding a passage that no one ever
00:28:00 --> 00:28:03 in the history of the world has ever seen before.
00:28:04 --> 00:28:07 It is like a pursuit that is inherently dangerous.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:09 If you are pursuing the boundaries of your sport,
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 you will find yourself taking bigger and bigger risks.
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 And to me, those risks are worth it
00:28:14 --> 00:28:16 because the rewards are worth it.
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 And on the 27th of February, 2011,
00:28:20 --> 00:28:22 she met that risk head-on
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 when she died in one of Australia's
00:28:25 --> 00:28:28 longest underwater caves in South Australia.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:32 Now, we can admire the passion that drove her,
00:28:33 --> 00:28:37 a passion for which she paid the ultimate price.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 What Christianity proclaims
00:28:40 --> 00:28:43 and what I want to emphasize for us as this church,
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 I want to continue to emphasize,
00:28:44 --> 00:28:46 I want it to be the banner over my life
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 and over your life in an increasing sense,
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 week after week, month after month,
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 year after year,
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 is that there is something grander,
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 there is something bigger,
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 there is something more majestic,
00:28:56 --> 00:29:00 more fulfilling to be consumed by than caves.
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 Or by your reputation,
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08 or your vocation,
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 or your family,
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 your spouse,
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 your kids,
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 or your possessions,
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 or your health,
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 or your shopping,
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 or your travel,
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 or your books,
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 or your education,
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 or sex,
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 or toys,
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 or tradition,
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 or ministry,
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 or even St. Paul's,
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 or even the vision statement of St. Paul's.
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28 In fact, it's not something,
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 but someone,
00:29:29 --> 00:29:31 and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 What if the Lord Jesus,
00:29:32 --> 00:29:34 what if his people were passionate,
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 they were obsessed,
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 they were consumed by him
00:29:39 --> 00:29:41 above all other hopes,
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 and dreams,
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 and visions,
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 and identities.
00:29:43 --> 00:29:45 Our treasuring of the Lord Jesus
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 above everything else,
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 I believe,
00:29:47 --> 00:29:49 has risen over the last number of years,
00:29:49 --> 00:29:51 but I believe it's got to go even further.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:53 Only when we are taken by the wonder,
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 and the glory,
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 and the awe,
00:29:55 --> 00:29:57 and the majesty of the Lord Jesus,
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59 when we treasure him above everything else,
00:29:59 --> 00:30:01 will we start to make the choices
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 that God calls us to.
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 And I think that's the point
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 of those two little parables
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 that Sam read out for us
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 in Matthew 13.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 There's one main point
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 in those parables,
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 and it's simply this,
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 having the sovereign
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 and saving reign
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 of Jesus
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 in our lives
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 is so valuable
00:30:18 --> 00:30:20 that if we lose everything
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 in order to have it,
00:30:22 --> 00:30:24 it is a joyful exchange.
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 It says,
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 the kingdom of heaven
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 is like a treasure
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 hidden in a field.
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 When a man found it,
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 he hid it again,
00:30:31 --> 00:30:33 and then in his joy,
00:30:33 --> 00:30:35 he went and he sold all that he had
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 and he bought that field.
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 Now,
00:30:36 --> 00:30:39 I'm taking the kingdom of heaven there
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 to,
00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 in its full biblical context,
00:30:42 --> 00:30:45 as the reign of God and Jesus
00:30:45 --> 00:30:47 triumphing over everything
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 that stands between you
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 and everlasting life
00:30:49 --> 00:30:51 and everlasting joy
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 in God's presence.
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 I'm treating the kingdom of heaven here
00:30:53 --> 00:30:55 as the rule of God
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 to save us
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 from eternal destruction
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 and to bring us
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 into the enjoyment
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 of Christ forever.
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 And it says here
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 that when that man
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 found that,
00:31:03 --> 00:31:05 he sold everything he had
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 and he did it with joy.
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 To know Jesus,
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 to be known by Jesus
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 is so valuable
00:31:11 --> 00:31:13 that losing everything else
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 in this world
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 but getting Jesus
00:31:15 --> 00:31:17 is a happy trade-off.
00:31:17 --> 00:31:19 That is phenomenal.
00:31:20 --> 00:31:20 Or to put it more
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 personally specifically,
00:31:22 --> 00:31:24 you can lose everything
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 with joy
00:31:25 --> 00:31:28 if you gain Christ.
00:31:31 --> 00:31:33 And so the most basic question
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 that God poses
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 to each of us,
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 to each of our hearts
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 tonight
00:31:37 --> 00:31:39 and I think to us collectively
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 as a church
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 as we look to the future,
00:31:41 --> 00:31:44 has something
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 or someone
00:31:45 --> 00:31:47 besides Jesus
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 taken title to you,
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 to your heart,
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 to our collective
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52 heart,
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 that is,
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 that is,
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 we're looking for something
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 else apart from Jesus.
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 Something else is our
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 functional trust.
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 Something else is our
00:32:01 --> 00:32:01 preoccupation.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 Something else is our
00:32:02 --> 00:32:04 loyalty,
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 our service,
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 our fear
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 and our delight.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 What is it
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 that you're looking to?
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 Who is your
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 functional
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 saviour and Lord?
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 I'm not asking you
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 whether you've got a fish
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 sticker on your fridge.
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 I'm not asking you
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 whether you've got a cross
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 tattered in your head
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 somewhere or
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 what your daily
00:32:20 --> 00:32:22 quiet time like
00:32:22 --> 00:32:22 or whether you can recite
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 the prayer book
00:32:23 --> 00:32:25 or that you give
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 vast amounts of money
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 to justice and mercy
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 stuff around the world.
00:32:28 --> 00:32:30 I'm asking whether
00:32:30 --> 00:32:30 Jesus
00:32:30 --> 00:32:32 has the functional
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 title of your heart.
00:32:36 --> 00:32:38 Ask yourself some questions.
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 to who or what
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 do I look for
00:32:40 --> 00:32:42 for life-sustaining
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 stability,
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43 for security
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 and for acceptance?
00:32:45 --> 00:32:45 What is it?
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 What do I really want
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 or expect out of life?
00:32:49 --> 00:32:51 What would really,
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 really make me happy?
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 What would really make me
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 an acceptable person?
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 Where do I look
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 for power,
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 for success?
00:32:59 --> 00:32:59 There's some of the
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 questions to ask
00:33:00 --> 00:33:00 as to
00:33:00 --> 00:33:03 what has the functional
00:33:03 --> 00:33:03 title of your heart.
00:33:04 --> 00:33:04 Now the answers
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 to those sorts of
00:33:05 --> 00:33:07 questions begin to tease
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 whether Jesus is in fact
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 our true treasure,
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 our greatest treasure
00:33:10 --> 00:33:12 or whether we have
00:33:12 --> 00:33:12 something else
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 which is a functional
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 idol,
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 something that we're
00:33:16 --> 00:33:16 looking to
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 that takes on
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 a God-like status
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 for us.
00:33:21 --> 00:33:21 Whether we're looking
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23 to Jesus for our hope,
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 for our security,
00:33:24 --> 00:33:24 for our identity,
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 for our meaning
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 or whether we're looking
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 to something else,
00:33:27 --> 00:33:27 an idol.
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 You see,
00:33:28 --> 00:33:30 everything that displaces
00:33:30 --> 00:33:32 Jesus from front and center
00:33:32 --> 00:33:34 in our lives
00:33:34 --> 00:33:36 displaces him from
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 the place of supremacy
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 the Bible calls it
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 an idol.
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 In the Old Testament
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 especially,
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 in the New Testament
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 words like inordinate
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 desires.
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 Romans 1,
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 18 to 25
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 is very telling.
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 I'm not going to read
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 the whole thing.
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 It says that the reason
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 we create idols
00:33:53 --> 00:33:55 is because we want
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 control in our lives.
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 Even though we know
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 we owe God everything.
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 Verse 21 says,
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 For although they knew
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 God,
00:34:02 --> 00:34:04 they neither glorified
00:34:04 --> 00:34:04 him as God
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 nor gave thanks to him.
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 And then down
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 a few verses
00:34:07 --> 00:34:07 in 25,
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 it describes the
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 strategy by which
00:34:10 --> 00:34:12 we take control
00:34:12 --> 00:34:12 of our lives.
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 We get God
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 moving over to here
00:34:14 --> 00:34:16 and this is the
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 strategy that we
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 take control
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 moving God
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 out of the way.
00:34:19 --> 00:34:19 It says,
00:34:20 --> 00:34:22 we take created
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 things,
00:34:23 --> 00:34:23 good things
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 that God
00:34:24 --> 00:34:24 has made,
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 we set our
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 hearts on them,
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28 we build our
00:34:28 --> 00:34:30 lives around them.
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 That's what we do
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 according to
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 verse 25.
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 We take good
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 things that God
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 has made and
00:34:37 --> 00:34:37 we make them
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 the ultimate
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 thing.
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 You see,
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 because we are
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 made by God,
00:34:45 --> 00:34:45 we are made
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 to worship,
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 we are worshipping
00:34:48 --> 00:34:48 beings,
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 and we are made
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 to worship
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 something.
00:34:51 --> 00:34:51 And because,
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 that's because how
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 we are created,
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 and we cannot
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 eliminate
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 treasuring Jesus,
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 we cannot
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 eliminate God
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 out of our lives
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 without creating
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 God's substitutes.
00:35:01 --> 00:35:03 and every
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 single one of
00:35:04 --> 00:35:04 us does it.
00:35:06 --> 00:35:06 They are the
00:35:06 --> 00:35:07 thing we look
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 to for hope,
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 for identity,
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 for contentment,
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 for satisfaction,
00:35:10 --> 00:35:10 for salvation,
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 for joy.
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 And they never
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 give it to us.
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 You see,
00:35:17 --> 00:35:17 all treasures,
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 all idols,
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 all inordinate
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 desires shape
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 our identity,
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 they demand our
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 allegiance,
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 they capture our
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 hearts,
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 and we will give
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 our attention to
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 them,
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 we will spend
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 money on them.
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 To grow in
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 unity in Jesus,
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 we need to grow
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 in treasuring Jesus,
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 but to grow in
00:35:32 --> 00:35:32 treasuring Jesus,
00:35:33 --> 00:35:33 we need to
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 dislodge the
00:35:34 --> 00:35:34 other treasures
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 that we have
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 both individually
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 and corporately
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 as a church.
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 Now,
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 every one of us
00:35:42 --> 00:35:42 has treasures
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 that we look to,
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 and hopefully on
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 your seat tonight,
00:35:45 --> 00:35:45 I just gave you
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 a sheet.
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 This is out of
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 Tim Keller's
00:35:48 --> 00:35:50 Gospel in Life
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 study book.
00:35:52 --> 00:35:52 Just,
00:35:53 --> 00:35:53 the whole book's
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 worth the price
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 of that sheet,
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 but I encourage you
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 to buy the book
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 anyway.
00:35:57 --> 00:35:58 And he's also
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 got a book
00:35:59 --> 00:35:59 called
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 Counterfeit Gods,
00:36:01 --> 00:36:01 which also has
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 a section on
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 how to dislodge
00:36:03 --> 00:36:03 the idols of
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 our hearts.
00:36:05 --> 00:36:05 What I encourage
00:36:05 --> 00:36:05 you to do,
00:36:06 --> 00:36:06 what I encourage
00:36:06 --> 00:36:06 the whole church
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 to do this
00:36:07 --> 00:36:07 throughout the
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 course of this
00:36:08 --> 00:36:09 week,
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 is to go away
00:36:10 --> 00:36:11 and just reflect
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 on this moment.
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 What is it
00:36:13 --> 00:36:14 that's got the
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 functional trust
00:36:15 --> 00:36:15 in my life?
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 Let me tell you
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 that I am so
00:36:18 --> 00:36:19 grateful for the
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 leaders in this
00:36:20 --> 00:36:20 church,
00:36:20 --> 00:36:20 the people I get
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 to work with.
00:36:21 --> 00:36:23 At the retreat
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 in July,
00:36:25 --> 00:36:25 they were,
00:36:26 --> 00:36:26 they,
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 and I know
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 they love me
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 and they graciously
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 love me by telling
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 me you were
00:36:30 --> 00:36:30 failing.
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 They graciously
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 pointed something
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 out which they
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 said,
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 that thing in you
00:36:36 --> 00:36:36 Steve gets in
00:36:36 --> 00:36:38 the way of
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 this church,
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 this church's
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 vision.
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 It's the thing
00:36:43 --> 00:36:43 that's getting in
00:36:43 --> 00:36:43 the way.
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 It was fantastic.
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 It was hurt,
00:36:46 --> 00:36:46 obviously.
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 Every prick
00:36:48 --> 00:36:48 hurts.
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 I mean that in
00:36:50 --> 00:36:51 the pointy sense.
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 And they,
00:36:53 --> 00:36:55 they love me
00:36:55 --> 00:36:56 enough to say
00:36:56 --> 00:36:58 to me that,
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 Steve,
00:36:59 --> 00:37:01 even though we
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 know you love
00:37:02 --> 00:37:02 the people of
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 St. Paul's,
00:37:03 --> 00:37:05 it's not always
00:37:05 --> 00:37:05 evident.
00:37:06 --> 00:37:07 It's not always
00:37:07 --> 00:37:08 obvious.
00:37:10 --> 00:37:10 And they need
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 to know it.
00:37:11 --> 00:37:12 They need to feel
00:37:12 --> 00:37:12 it.
00:37:12 --> 00:37:12 They need to know
00:37:12 --> 00:37:12 it.
00:37:14 --> 00:37:16 And I know
00:37:16 --> 00:37:18 enough about my
00:37:18 --> 00:37:19 heart to know
00:37:19 --> 00:37:21 that that there
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 is tracking
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23 down to some
00:37:23 --> 00:37:25 idol in my
00:37:25 --> 00:37:25 heart that
00:37:25 --> 00:37:25 needs to be
00:37:25 --> 00:37:26 dislodged,
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 that I might
00:37:26 --> 00:37:27 treasure Jesus,
00:37:27 --> 00:37:27 that I might
00:37:27 --> 00:37:28 love people
00:37:28 --> 00:37:28 more.
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 And I'm
00:37:30 --> 00:37:30 grateful for
00:37:30 --> 00:37:31 them pointing
00:37:31 --> 00:37:31 it out,
00:37:31 --> 00:37:32 something I
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 knew was
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 true,
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 but I'm
00:37:33 --> 00:37:33 grateful they
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 pointed it
00:37:34 --> 00:37:34 out for me.
00:37:35 --> 00:37:36 Every sin
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 has its
00:37:36 --> 00:37:37 foundation of
00:37:37 --> 00:37:37 something other
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 than Jesus
00:37:38 --> 00:37:38 being the
00:37:38 --> 00:37:39 functional center
00:37:39 --> 00:37:39 and treasure
00:37:39 --> 00:37:40 of our heart.
00:37:40 --> 00:37:40 If you
00:37:40 --> 00:37:42 flip over on
00:37:42 --> 00:37:42 your sheet,
00:37:42 --> 00:37:42 or it
00:37:42 --> 00:37:43 depends on
00:37:43 --> 00:37:43 what side
00:37:43 --> 00:37:43 you're on,
00:37:44 --> 00:37:44 but there's
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 a list of
00:37:45 --> 00:37:45 four things
00:37:45 --> 00:37:46 there,
00:37:46 --> 00:37:46 power,
00:37:46 --> 00:37:46 approval,
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47 comfort,
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47 control.
00:37:49 --> 00:37:50 The main
00:37:50 --> 00:37:51 controlling
00:37:51 --> 00:37:52 idol in my
00:37:52 --> 00:37:53 heart is
00:37:53 --> 00:37:54 control.
00:37:56 --> 00:37:57 That's a
00:37:57 --> 00:37:57 good thing
00:37:57 --> 00:37:57 that God
00:37:57 --> 00:37:58 has given.
00:37:59 --> 00:37:59 I'm the
00:37:59 --> 00:38:00 senior pastor
00:38:00 --> 00:38:01 of this church
00:38:01 --> 00:38:01 and so there
00:38:01 --> 00:38:02 is an element
00:38:02 --> 00:38:02 where I
00:38:02 --> 00:38:02 ought to be
00:38:02 --> 00:38:03 in control.
00:38:03 --> 00:38:04 But when it
00:38:04 --> 00:38:05 becomes the
00:38:05 --> 00:38:05 main thing,
00:38:07 --> 00:38:07 it's an
00:38:07 --> 00:38:07 idol,
00:38:07 --> 00:38:08 it dislodges
00:38:08 --> 00:38:08 Jesus.
00:38:09 --> 00:38:09 What I need
00:38:09 --> 00:38:10 to see to
00:38:10 --> 00:38:10 grow in
00:38:10 --> 00:38:11 Jesus is to
00:38:11 --> 00:38:11 repent where
00:38:11 --> 00:38:12 I put something
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 else,
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 success for
00:38:13 --> 00:38:14 St. Paul's
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 vision and
00:38:14 --> 00:38:15 success as a
00:38:15 --> 00:38:15 church or
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 whatever it is,
00:38:16 --> 00:38:17 I put that as
00:38:17 --> 00:38:17 a functional
00:38:17 --> 00:38:18 thing in terms
00:38:18 --> 00:38:19 of my identity
00:38:19 --> 00:38:19 being wrapped
00:38:19 --> 00:38:19 up in that,
00:38:19 --> 00:38:20 a sense of
00:38:20 --> 00:38:20 security wrapped
00:38:20 --> 00:38:21 up in that,
00:38:21 --> 00:38:21 a sense of
00:38:21 --> 00:38:21 purpose being
00:38:21 --> 00:38:22 wrapped up in
00:38:22 --> 00:38:22 that,
00:38:22 --> 00:38:23 and saying,
00:38:23 --> 00:38:23 no,
00:38:24 --> 00:38:25 Jesus control.
00:38:25 --> 00:38:25 I need to
00:38:25 --> 00:38:26 repent of that
00:38:26 --> 00:38:27 idol and I
00:38:27 --> 00:38:27 need to say,
00:38:28 --> 00:38:28 thank you,
00:38:28 --> 00:38:28 Jesus,
00:38:28 --> 00:38:29 because you're
00:38:29 --> 00:38:29 in control.
00:38:29 --> 00:38:30 It's your
00:38:30 --> 00:38:30 church.
00:38:30 --> 00:38:31 You take that
00:38:31 --> 00:38:32 idol away from
00:38:32 --> 00:38:33 me because I've
00:38:33 --> 00:38:33 got something
00:38:33 --> 00:38:33 greater.
00:38:34 --> 00:38:34 I've got Jesus
00:38:34 --> 00:38:35 who is in
00:38:35 --> 00:38:35 control of
00:38:35 --> 00:38:36 his church.
00:38:36 --> 00:38:36 He's Lord
00:38:36 --> 00:38:36 of his
00:38:36 --> 00:38:37 church.
00:38:38 --> 00:38:39 And he's
00:38:39 --> 00:38:39 got something
00:38:39 --> 00:38:39 better.
00:38:40 --> 00:38:40 My security
00:38:40 --> 00:38:40 needs to be
00:38:40 --> 00:38:41 wrapped up in
00:38:41 --> 00:38:42 him, not in
00:38:42 --> 00:38:42 this idol.
00:38:42 --> 00:38:43 Becky Pippitt
00:38:43 --> 00:38:43 writes in her
00:38:43 --> 00:38:44 book, Out of
00:38:44 --> 00:38:45 the Salt
00:38:45 --> 00:38:45 Shaker,
00:38:45 --> 00:38:46 whatever controls
00:38:46 --> 00:38:47 us is our
00:38:47 --> 00:38:47 Lord.
00:38:47 --> 00:38:48 The person
00:38:48 --> 00:38:48 who seeks
00:38:48 --> 00:38:49 power is
00:38:49 --> 00:38:49 controlled by
00:38:49 --> 00:38:49 power.
00:38:49 --> 00:38:50 The person
00:38:50 --> 00:38:50 who seeks
00:38:50 --> 00:38:51 acceptance is
00:38:51 --> 00:38:51 controlled by
00:38:51 --> 00:38:52 the people
00:38:52 --> 00:38:52 they want to
00:38:52 --> 00:38:53 please.
00:38:53 --> 00:38:53 We do not
00:38:53 --> 00:38:54 control ourselves.
00:38:54 --> 00:38:55 We're controlled
00:38:55 --> 00:38:55 by the Lord
00:38:55 --> 00:38:56 of our life,
00:38:56 --> 00:38:57 whatever that
00:38:57 --> 00:38:57 is.
00:38:59 --> 00:38:59 And I want
00:38:59 --> 00:39:00 to be,
00:39:00 --> 00:39:00 and I want
00:39:00 --> 00:39:01 to keep calling
00:39:01 --> 00:39:01 us to be
00:39:01 --> 00:39:02 captivated by
00:39:02 --> 00:39:03 the wonder and
00:39:04 --> 00:39:05 more of the
00:39:05 --> 00:39:05 Lord Jesus
00:39:05 --> 00:39:06 Christ.
00:39:06 --> 00:39:07 No lesser
00:39:07 --> 00:39:07 treasures.
00:39:09 --> 00:39:10 See, when we
00:39:10 --> 00:39:10 treasure Jesus
00:39:10 --> 00:39:11 above everything
00:39:11 --> 00:39:13 else, every
00:39:13 --> 00:39:13 other treasure
00:39:13 --> 00:39:15 that leads to
00:39:15 --> 00:39:15 factions and
00:39:15 --> 00:39:16 frictions, we
00:39:16 --> 00:39:16 put in their
00:39:16 --> 00:39:17 proper place,
00:39:17 --> 00:39:17 because that's
00:39:17 --> 00:39:18 what they do.
00:39:18 --> 00:39:19 These idols
00:39:19 --> 00:39:19 lead to
00:39:19 --> 00:39:21 frictions amongst
00:39:21 --> 00:39:21 us.
00:39:22 --> 00:39:23 Don't miss
00:39:23 --> 00:39:24 the word joy
00:39:24 --> 00:39:25 in this verse.
00:39:27 --> 00:39:28 In his
00:39:28 --> 00:39:29 joy, he
00:39:29 --> 00:39:29 goes and
00:39:29 --> 00:39:30 sells all that
00:39:30 --> 00:39:31 he has and
00:39:31 --> 00:39:32 buys the
00:39:32 --> 00:39:32 field.
00:39:32 --> 00:39:33 The loss of
00:39:33 --> 00:39:34 all treasures
00:39:34 --> 00:39:34 is not
00:39:34 --> 00:39:35 sad when
00:39:35 --> 00:39:35 we gain
00:39:35 --> 00:39:35 Jesus.
00:39:37 --> 00:39:37 It's not
00:39:37 --> 00:39:38 sad when
00:39:38 --> 00:39:38 we gain
00:39:38 --> 00:39:38 Jesus.
00:39:39 --> 00:39:39 And so
00:39:39 --> 00:39:40 St. Paul's
00:39:40 --> 00:39:41 friends, we
00:39:41 --> 00:39:42 exist to know
00:39:42 --> 00:39:43 Jesus, treasure
00:39:43 --> 00:39:43 Jesus, and
00:39:43 --> 00:39:44 represent Jesus
00:39:44 --> 00:39:44 for God's
00:39:44 --> 00:39:44 glory and
00:39:44 --> 00:39:45 the joy of
00:39:45 --> 00:39:45 all people.
00:39:46 --> 00:39:46 That's who
00:39:46 --> 00:39:47 we are, and
00:39:47 --> 00:39:48 therefore, as a
00:39:48 --> 00:39:48 result of that,
00:39:48 --> 00:39:49 the consequence
00:39:49 --> 00:39:50 is we are
00:39:50 --> 00:39:51 united in our
00:39:51 --> 00:39:52 desperation for
00:39:52 --> 00:39:52 the world around
00:39:52 --> 00:39:53 us to encounter
00:39:53 --> 00:39:55 this Jesus, and
00:39:55 --> 00:39:55 we are united
00:39:55 --> 00:39:57 in our desire to
00:39:57 --> 00:39:58 represent the
00:39:58 --> 00:39:59 diversity of
00:39:59 --> 00:39:59 Chatswood.
00:39:59 --> 00:40:00 I want to
00:40:00 --> 00:40:00 talk about
00:40:00 --> 00:40:01 diversity next
00:40:01 --> 00:40:01 week.