Confident
Series: Prayer of the Self
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 14th November 2009
Passage: Luke 18:9-30
00:00:00 --> 00:00:09 Let's pray as we take a look at, I'm going to focus particularly on the first few verses,
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:19 Those other verses that are there are really real life situations reflecting the parable
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 of the tax collector and the Pharisee.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:22 So let's pray.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:29 Gracious God, as we come to your word now, we ask that you would speak clearly to us
00:00:29 --> 00:00:41 particularly, Lord, as we gather in this place, we are more religious than your average Aussie person.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 And so, Lord, you are eyeballing us when you say these words.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:54 Father, if we trust in our religion and not in Jesus, then, Lord, convict us of that tonight.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:55 Open up our hearts.
00:00:56 --> 00:01:00 May we look only to Jesus and not what you're doing in us.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:01 And we ask it for your sake.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:02 Amen.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:12 I heard the story of a lad who mounted a campaign just before Christmas in order to secure a new bike for Christmas.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:16 And so he badgered his parents, as you kind of do at that age.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:27 His mother, confusing Jesus with Santa, said to him, well, why don't you write a letter to Jesus and tell him why you deserve to have this bike?
00:01:27 --> 00:01:31 And the young lad trudged upstairs and started to write his letter.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 Dear Jesus, I've been good all year.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:36 He thought to himself, no, that's not right.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:38 I haven't been good all year.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 So he screwed up, threw it again, threw it down in the bin.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:43 Started writing again.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 Dear Jesus, I've been good for the last six months.
00:01:47 --> 00:01:48 Nah, that's not true either.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:50 I mean, he's a realist more than anything, this kid.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:53 Strew it up, threw it away again.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:54 Started again.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 Dear Jesus, I've been good all week.
00:01:57 --> 00:01:58 Ah, no, hang on a bit.
00:01:58 --> 00:01:59 There was that incident yesterday.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 So he paused, really frustrated, threw that in the bin.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:11 Gets up, walks downstairs, walks into the living room, up to the mantelpiece.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:12 The nativity scene is there.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 Grabs Mary out of the nativity scene.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 Walks back up into his bedroom.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 Plonks her down on the desk.
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 Sits down and starts to write his letter.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 Dear Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again,
00:02:24 --> 00:02:30 He had a few things worked out about Jesus.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 He knew that Mary was Jesus' mother, and that's kind of a start.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 But in terms of how to relate to God, had no clue whatsoever.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 In one sense, you could say he's trying to relate to God like a terrorist.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 He's trying to force God's hand.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:52 And this story of the Pharisee and the tax collector really helped us in how we are to relate to God,
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 in our confusion of what it means for us in relating to God.
00:02:55 --> 00:03:03 This story is a story where Jesus introduces us to two extraordinary men.
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 They are almost comic characters.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:12 I think Jesus draws them so starkly apart so that we can see the issue so clearly.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 And the issue is there clearly in verse 9.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 It says there, take a look at it if you've got your Bibles there.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:19 It says,
00:03:19 --> 00:03:38 But it's not just a parable about looking down on other people.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:43 It's kind of got a little bit more depth than me just kind of turning my nose up at people
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 as I walk past them in the street or something.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 The core issue is where we stand with God.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 It's spelt out for us in verse 14.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:59 I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:02 That's the core issue.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:10 My confidence in my righteousness somehow leading me to be justified before God.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 That's the issue that Jesus wants to address.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:21 The story is about people who are self-confident, who are self-righteous,
00:04:21 --> 00:04:25 and somehow it makes them think that I'm okay with God, therefore.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 And when Jesus tells this story,
00:04:29 --> 00:04:35 He is talking particularly to people who make attempts at being religious.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 You could say that as He tells this story,
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 Jesus is eyeballing people like you and me
00:04:42 --> 00:04:46 who would gather in a church and sing hymns
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 and open up the Bible and pray
00:04:48 --> 00:04:52 and do all kinds of good Christian kind of stuff.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 And His message is very clear for us.
00:04:56 --> 00:05:01 God is not pleased by self-confidence or self-righteousness.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 He is only pleased with people who come to Him in humility.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:08 So let's have a look at it.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 Got your Bibles? Turn them open.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12 Luke 18.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 As you know from verse 10,
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 there are two men who go up to the temple to pray,
00:05:19 --> 00:05:20 but in verse 14,
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 it says that only one of them goes home okay with God.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:30 Only one of them goes home justified or as a friend of God's.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 In the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 there is this post-war scenario.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 And if two people get into a bit of biff,
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 then what they would do is they would go into the Thunderdome
00:05:42 --> 00:05:42 to sort it out.
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 I mean, sort it out to the death was the idea.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 And as the two people would go into the Thunderdome,
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 this chant would go up,
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 two men enter, one man leaves.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 Two men enter, one man leaves.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 And that is what we're dealing with here in this parable.
00:05:57 --> 00:06:01 There is a very real sense that as Jesus tells this story,
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 two people go into the temple to do business with God,
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 but only one of them is actually going to walk away
00:06:06 --> 00:06:07 having dealt with God,
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 done any sort of business with God in any sort of meaningful way.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 We are told that one of them is a tax collector,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 the other is a Pharisee.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 We need to be careful not to muck it up right from the start,
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 because if you're familiar with the Bible at all,
00:06:22 --> 00:06:26 we automatically go boo his to the Pharisee.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:32 Because we know that the Pharisee is the dude that Jesus consistently sticks the booting to.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 The Pharisees are the guys that Jesus always sets up.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 They always look bad in Jesus' mind.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 And so we need to try and hear this story
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 as it would have been for Jesus' mates
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 when the very first time they heard it,
00:06:46 --> 00:06:47 Peter, James, John and the rest of the boys,
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 when they first heard this,
00:06:49 --> 00:06:53 they would have heard it very differently than what we hear it right now.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:57 They would have known the tax collector as the scum.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 The tax collector was the bad guy.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 He was the guy who wore the black hat
00:07:03 --> 00:07:07 and he was the guy who rode around on the mean-looking camels
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 with the doof-doof kind of music.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:17 It's kind of difficult for us to find a parallel in this world
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 of someone who was just as much of a scum
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 as what a Pharisee was in first-century Palestine.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 They were filth.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 They were traitors.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 They sold out their God for money.
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 They were not welcomed in any house of worship.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 They were scum.
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 The Pharisee, on the other hand,
00:07:36 --> 00:07:40 was deeply, deeply respected in first-century Palestine.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 They were highly regarded in society.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 You know, they were the guys who,
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 they wore the white hats.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 They were the good guys.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 They rode around on respectable camels,
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 speed-limited camels,
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 Camry kind of camels.
00:07:58 --> 00:08:04 They were not men who made their living out of religion.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 They were regular church attendees
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 who were deeply serious about God,
00:08:10 --> 00:08:11 their relationship with God.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 And so, in Jesus' day,
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 the people would go boo his scumbag
00:08:16 --> 00:08:17 to the tax collector,
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 but not to the Pharisee.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:25 The Pharisee is the guy who is deadly earnest about God.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 He is a valuable member of society
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 and a very significant contributor
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 to the people of God.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 Well, that's the two extraordinary men.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 So now let's look at their two prayers
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 because their two prayers reveal their hearts.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 First, let's have a look at the Pharisee's prayer.
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 It reveals his heart very clearly.
00:08:46 --> 00:08:50 Now, as a bit of amusement,
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 occasionally I read the personal ads in the newspaper.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 That's revealed something twisted about me.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 But I can't help but think
00:08:59 --> 00:09:03 why a person would want to publicly advertise
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 their finer points
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 in order to find someone else to love them,
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 you know, to do it in a newspaper.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 And sometimes when you look at the list,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:12 there's not a whole lot of good points.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 They don't really put, you know,
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 they're trying to put their best foot forward.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 So here's this guy I got,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 30-year-old, six foot tall, brown hair, green eyes.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:21 That's it.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 Six foot tall, brown hair, green eyes.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 And he's seeking a lady for a friendship and or relationship.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 Well, you're going to be ringing that guy up, aren't you?
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 I mean, he's not saying a whole lot about himself, is he?
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 He doesn't appear to have a lot of good points,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 but at the very least,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 he's not advertising his bad points.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 That's one thing that I've consistently noticed
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 in the personal ads.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:46 I've never noticed anyone to advertise their bad points.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 I've never noticed anyone to say,
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 I'm broke, I haven't got a job,
00:09:50 --> 00:09:51 I'm looking for somewhere to live,
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 I've got two greyhounds,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 I want someone to kind of mother me,
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 do my housework,
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 the washing, cook for me,
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 and all that sort of stuff.
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 Anyone interested?
00:09:59 --> 00:10:00 I've never noticed that.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 Because our normal human tendency,
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 when we relate to one another,
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 is to put our best foot forward.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:08 That's what we do.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:12 By the way, I apologise if you actually have done the personal ad thing
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 and it's worked out for you.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:14 Good on you.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 Our normal human tendency is to put our best foot forward,
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 to promote ourselves.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 We always do it.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 And it's no different when we approach God.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:34 We outline the wonderful things that we do,
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 who we are,
00:10:36 --> 00:10:36 and say,
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 please find me acceptable.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 And even when we do,
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 at times,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 mention the things we do wrong,
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 we kind of justify it,
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 or minimise it as much as possible.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 So, I don't evade tax,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 I just minimise tax.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 I don't lie,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 it's just the occasional white lie.
00:10:55 --> 00:10:55 I don't gossip,
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 I just share prayer points.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 I don't ridicule people,
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 because I was really only joking.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 I'm not committing adultery,
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 I'm having a midlife crisis.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:07 I don't steal stamps from work,
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 I was just borrowing the stamps from work.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 And so, in the end of it,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 it's not that bad in the end.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 But God knows the heart.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:22 And this is what the Pharisee prays in verse 11,
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 God, I thank you,
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 that I'm not like other men,
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 robbers,
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 evildoers,
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 adulterers,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 or even like that tax collector over there,
00:11:31 --> 00:11:31 God.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 I fast twice a week,
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 and give a tenth of all that I get.
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 Now, it's so easy to send this guy up,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:44 and I think it's the reason why Jesus actually does set him up like this,
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 because we are to send him up.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 He basically says,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:49 hey God,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:55 I'm just ever so terribly marvelous.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 Ever so terribly marvelous.
00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 And do you know what I think is the despicable thing about it?
00:12:01 --> 00:12:06 He spiritualizes it so well.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:10 He spiritualizes his self-righteousness.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 God,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 I thank you.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 I thank you that you've made a difference in my life.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 I thank you that I'm not like other people.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 I thank you that you've changed me.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:22 I thank you,
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 God.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 He at least recognized that it's God who's done it in him,
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 but it's self-righteous at the core.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 And then he goes on and explains how he's different from other people.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:36 He says,
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 I fast twice a week.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:38 That is,
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 he goes without food twice a week.
00:12:40 --> 00:12:45 General Jewish practice by first century was that they did it once or twice a year,
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 and occasionally they felt like it.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 This guy does it twice a week.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 And not just that,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 he gives a tenth of all that he gets.
00:12:55 --> 00:12:55 I mean,
00:12:55 --> 00:12:58 this guy is tithing his tomato plant,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 and his rosary bush,
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 and everything.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 He's giving a tenth of all that he gets.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 And what he is saying,
00:13:07 --> 00:13:07 in effect,
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 is,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:08 God,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:08 I'm okay.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 I'm okay.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 But the problem is,
00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 his evaluation of himself is based on the wrong standard.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 He looks around him,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:19 and says,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:23 I'm glad I'm not like those other scum.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:25 And God,
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 you've made the difference in me.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 I know a guy
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 who is
00:13:32 --> 00:13:36 serving two consecutive life sentences in Long Bay Jail
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 for a murder of a mother and a baby.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 And he was in,
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 at one stage,
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 in the same wing of Long Bay Jail
00:13:45 --> 00:13:50 as a bunch of guys known as the Milpera bikie massacre guys,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:54 the criminals who were charged with murder for that.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 They gunned down a seven-year-old girl and others.
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 They got this guy that I know,
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 these bikie guys,
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 got this guy that I know,
00:14:02 --> 00:14:02 beat him up,
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 poured boiling water all over him.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 Why?
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 Because he murdered a baby.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 Even in Long Bay Jail,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 and even being in Long Bay Jail
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 for the murdering of a seven-year-old girl,
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 you can still find people who are worse than you.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 You can still find people.
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 You can still look down the line and say,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 yeah, I might be a murderer,
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 but not as bad as that murderer.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 Even when you are daily,
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 and for the rest of your life surrounded
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 by the consequences
00:14:38 --> 00:14:41 of your sin,
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 you can still
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 self-righteously justify
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 a higher position than someone else.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 People who should be able to know better in one sense.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 And so it's a very significant warning for us
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 because we hide it so well.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:07 The tax collector is a total contrast to the Pharisee,
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 beats himself on his chest,
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 and he says,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 Who does he compare himself with?
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 Well, in the text,
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 he doesn't really compare himself with anyone,
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 as far as we can tell.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 A better reading of his statement is this,
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 God, have mercy on me,
00:15:30 --> 00:15:30 the sinner.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 He's not trying to find comfort in the fact
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 that he's part of a large group of people,
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 all in the same boat.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 You know, we're all sinners.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 We all fall short of the glory of God.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 Yeah, sure, I make my mistakes.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 I fall short.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 You know, I'm no different than anyone else.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 I am human after all.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 He doesn't care about that.
00:15:50 --> 00:15:53 He says,
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 God, I am the sinner.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 I'm the model sinner.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 I'm the essential sinner.
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 He doesn't compare himself with other people.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 This guy knows he's not okay with God,
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 and he cries out in despair.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:17 And Jesus says that that scumbag goes home justified by God.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:22 It's justified, never sinned.
00:16:23 --> 00:16:28 He goes home right with God as his friend.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 The way that we are to approach God is always,
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 God, have mercy on me, the sinner.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 The sinner.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 The fulfillment of religious duties doesn't put us into God's good books.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:46 There is no way to be right with the God of this universe
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 than to ask him for mercy.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 And so I want to encourage you to do just that,
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 to throw yourself on the mercy of this God
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 and ask him for his forgiveness.
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 Don't expect to get into his good books via the terrorist method
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 and make demands on God.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:08 Don't expect to get into God's good books with a resume method
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 and sort of, you know, write out all your good points
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 and say, God, this should be good enough.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 Certainly a lot better than a lot of other people.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:20 God is not impressed by religious activity.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 And that should be a warning for us.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 Let me say it should be a warning for you.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 Now forget that.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 It should be a warning for me.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 Now let's be realistic here.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 I'm the most religious person here, I'd imagine.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 I suspect so.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 I mean, I've got a reverend in front of my name.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:45 I've got some theological degrees and some other stuff behind my name.
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 I've been at church three times today.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 Anyone here beat that?
00:17:51 --> 00:17:55 I live at church for goodness sake.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 I work at church.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 I'm full-time in ministry.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:06 I travel and I speak in different parts of the country.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 I train leaders.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 I run youth ministry events.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 I've even got a special dress that I can wear at 8.30
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 when I do church to make me even look more religious.
00:18:16 --> 00:18:21 Are you impressed by that?
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 You wouldn't be if you saw me at 8.30.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 The fact is you shouldn't be.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 Because God isn't impressed by it.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 He's not impressed by it.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you impress God by what you do.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 It doesn't matter whether it's regular attendance at church,
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 you're giving lots of money,
00:18:42 --> 00:18:45 praying on your knees or standing in your closet.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 It doesn't matter what it is.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 It doesn't matter what it is.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:56 None of those things contribute anything to you being right with God.
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 God isn't impressed.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:05 In fact, I'd go as far as saying that God hates people putting their confidence
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 in their religious activity.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:16 Anyone who says that there is some kind of religious activity that you must do
00:19:16 --> 00:19:20 in order to be friends with God is wrong.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:21 Wrong.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 It's what you call heresy.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:31 And the best test case for it is perhaps the first believer.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:35 The first person to go to heaven straight after Jesus.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 You know, the dude is on the cross beside Jesus.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:42 And he's stuck up there on the cross beside Jesus.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 And he turns to Jesus and says,
00:19:44 --> 00:19:48 Remember me when you come into your kingdom.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 You see, it's a statement of faith.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 It's a statement of trust.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:59 He recognizes the bloke who's been crucified beside him is no ordinary person.
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 This guy's a king.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:05 And in his death, which is about to happen very soon,
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 he's going to enter his kingdom.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 This is a kingdom which goes beyond this world.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:19 And so what did Jesus say to him as he made his statement of faith and trust in Jesus?
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 Did Jesus say,
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 Yeah, mate, not a problem.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:27 Get yourself down off the cross and get off the church with you.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 And then you can come into my kingdom.
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 No, that wasn't it.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:34 Did he say,
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 Okay, disciple guys, bring up the buckets.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 We're going to baptize this dude here.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:42 And then he can be in my kingdom.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:48 Or, hey, mate, have a crack at speaking in some other weird languages.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 And then you can be in my kingdom.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 No.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:57 Today, you will be with me in paradise.
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 Today, you will be with me in paradise.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:06 Because this man had placed his faith in Jesus Christ.
00:21:06 --> 00:21:10 Christianity is not about self-righteousness.
00:21:10 --> 00:21:13 It is about God given righteousness.
00:21:13 --> 00:21:21 But this is not just a message for those who need to come to Jesus.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:25 It's a message for those who already follow Jesus.
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 Who have already put their trust in Jesus.
00:21:28 --> 00:21:31 Because we could stop here right now and we could pray and say,
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 Father, thank you that I'm not like the Pharisee.
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 But that would be wrong.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 Because we are.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:42 We'd miss the whole point.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:45 You see, it's so easy to start with faith in Jesus.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 We look at where we're at.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 We look at what God has done for us in Jesus.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 It makes an easy kind of choice.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 We follow Jesus.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 We trust in him.
00:21:54 --> 00:21:58 But then from that point on, we can start to slide back into religion.
00:21:58 --> 00:22:04 It's often a subtle shift, but it's so easy to do.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 It's easy because the longer you've been a Christian,
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 the more you hang around with Christian people,
00:22:09 --> 00:22:12 the more you're involved in church and youth group and Bible studies
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 and Christian activities and stuff like that,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:19 the more time God has had to work on you and shape you and mould you and change you.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 And after a while, you can start to think,
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 Hey God, I'm not too bad.
00:22:22 --> 00:22:27 You really have done a marvellous thing in me, God.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 Of course, I've been working with you on that,
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 but you've done a marvellous thing in me, God.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:36 And you can start to look down your nose at others.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 It is such a danger.
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 It's such an easy thing to do.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:48 And let me tell you that the more religious activity you do,
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 the easier it is to do.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:57 I find it an enormous temptation to be the Pharisee,
00:22:57 --> 00:23:02 to look down my nose at other people who don't come up to scratch
00:23:02 --> 00:23:05 and wonder why they don't come up to scratch.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:07 That's just in the Gist Church.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 Forget about anyone else.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:17 As if somehow I have mustered up a righteousness all on my own.
00:23:17 --> 00:23:24 It's so easy to shift from faith in Jesus back into what I do.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 And you start to think,
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 I'm not too bad.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 In fact, Jesus really knew what he was doing
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 when he invited me to be part of his kingdom.
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 And you start to trust in your religion.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:40 I got a shocking but marvellous email this week
00:23:40 --> 00:23:43 from someone that I know and who's fairly dear to me.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:46 This is a person who grew up in a church,
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 went to church all of his life.
00:23:47 --> 00:23:49 He's always gone to church.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 Went through Sunday school, youth group,
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 became a youth leader.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 He ended up as a warden in his church.
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 I've been involved in this person
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 with a number of events,
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 a youth ministry kind of events.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:07 He has worked for an Anglican organisation
00:24:07 --> 00:24:09 in a high profile position
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 for a number of years.
00:24:13 --> 00:24:15 He then left that
00:24:15 --> 00:24:18 and went off to study in Bible College full time
00:24:18 --> 00:24:21 and has been going really well at Bible College.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 Two days ago, I got an email from him and said,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 Steve, I became a Christian.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:30 Two days ago, I became a Christian.
00:24:30 --> 00:24:32 And I'm like, what?
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 I was going to give you a job.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 You had me fooled.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 You had me fooled.
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 All the time I've known him.
00:24:44 --> 00:24:46 Could talk the talk, walk the walk.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:52 But he trusted in his own righteousness.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:56 Got to a point where he realised
00:24:56 --> 00:24:59 that the sin that was there,
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 he couldn't hold it back any longer
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 and he needed to repent.
00:25:03 --> 00:25:06 He needed to confess that it's all been a facade.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 He needed to...
00:25:09 --> 00:25:12 And God did an amazing work in his life.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 He has been blown away by Jesus.
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 He reads the Bible now
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 and he just weeps.
00:25:17 --> 00:25:22 He used to put up with the singing at church.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 Now he enjoys the singing at church.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 He could never stand singing at church.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 For some reason, it was a problem for him
00:25:29 --> 00:25:31 and now he just loves it.
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 Yeah, same stupid old hymns
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 and he still...
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 And now he loves them.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38 Blown away by Jesus.
00:25:38 --> 00:25:40 The other amazing thing is he sits
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 his end of year exams at Bible College
00:25:43 --> 00:25:47 and having just gone to his vice principal
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 and soon his principal
00:25:48 --> 00:25:52 and repented of the last 12 months
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 and sending emails to all these Christian people he knows
00:25:54 --> 00:25:57 and repenting of deceiving them
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 and exposing his sin to them
00:25:58 --> 00:26:00 and what he's held close in his heart.
00:26:00 --> 00:26:02 And I'm just broken for this guy.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 I mean, it's just...
00:26:02 --> 00:26:04 But awesome stuff
00:26:04 --> 00:26:07 as he sits his final exams
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 in the middle of Stuvak right now
00:26:09 --> 00:26:11 for the first time in his life
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 he has no fear.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 He has no anxiety.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 But
00:26:18 --> 00:26:23 he could have been like this Pharisee
00:26:23 --> 00:26:25 and walked away.
00:26:26 --> 00:26:28 Walked out of the temple
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 and not been justified.
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 And I would have got to heaven
00:26:33 --> 00:26:35 and I would have been surprised.
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 The question for us is
00:26:40 --> 00:26:44 are we totally looking away from ourselves?
00:26:45 --> 00:26:49 When you see yourself standing before King Jesus,
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 the Holy Judge,
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 what are you going to look to?
00:26:54 --> 00:26:56 What are you going to trust in
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 in that moment?
00:27:00 --> 00:27:03 Friends, it would be shocking for us
00:27:03 --> 00:27:05 not to be terrified
00:27:05 --> 00:27:07 by those four words
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 in the middle of verse 14.
00:27:08 --> 00:27:11 terrified by them
00:27:11 --> 00:27:15 rather than the other.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 I tell you,
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 this man,
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 the tax collector,
00:27:20 --> 00:27:22 he went down to his house
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 justified
00:27:23 --> 00:27:25 before God
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 rather
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 than
00:27:27 --> 00:27:29 the other.
00:27:29 --> 00:27:32 the Pharisee,
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 the righteous one,
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 the one thanking God
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 for his righteousness
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 was not justified,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 he was condemned.
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 People who trust
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 in the righteousness
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 that God has worked in them
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 for the basis of their acceptance,
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 their acquittal,
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 their justification
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 before God
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 do not
00:27:51 --> 00:27:53 go down
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 to their house
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 justified.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 People who
00:27:57 --> 00:27:59 really believe
00:27:59 --> 00:28:01 that the righteousness
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 that God
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 helps them do
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 in this life
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 is a sufficient
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 basis
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07 for their justification
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 before God,
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 Jesus says
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 will not
00:28:11 --> 00:28:13 be justified.
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 justified.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 So Paul's
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 friends,
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 this
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 is very
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 serious stuff
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 because
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 Jesus is
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 eyeballing
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 people like
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 you and me
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 when he says
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 these words.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 We are not
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 justified
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 by the righteousness
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 that Christ
00:28:33 --> 00:28:35 works in us
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 but by the
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 righteousness
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 that Christ
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 is
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 for
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 us.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:42 And so I
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 plead with you
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 today
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 on behalf
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 of Jesus
00:28:45 --> 00:28:47 that for
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 your justification
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 you do
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 not look
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 to
00:28:50 --> 00:28:52 or trust
00:28:52 --> 00:28:52 in
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 what God
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 has worked
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 out in your
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 life.
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 Instead
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 look to
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 and trust
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 in Christ
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 alone
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 and all
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 that God
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 is for you
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 in him.
00:29:09 --> 00:29:14 So hear
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 the words
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 of Jesus
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 again.
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 Everyone
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 who exalts
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 himself
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 will be
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 humbled
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 and he
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 who
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 humbles
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 himself
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 will be
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 exalted.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 Everyone
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 who exalts
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 himself
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 will be
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 humbled
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 and he
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 who
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 humbles
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 himself
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 will be
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 exalted.
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 This is
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 what we're
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 going to do.
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 We're going
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 to bow
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 our heads
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 and I
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 want each
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 one of
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 you to
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 pour
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 over
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 those
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 words.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 To
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 think
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 to
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 search
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 to
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 pray
00:29:45 --> 00:29:48 am
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 I
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 the
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 Pharisee
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 or am
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 I
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 the
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 tax
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 collector?
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 For
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 some of
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 us here
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 we need
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 to make
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 a choice.
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 The
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 choice
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 is we
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 actually
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 do
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 need
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 to put
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 our
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 trust
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 in
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 Jesus
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 and
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 for
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 some
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 of
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 us
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 we
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 need
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 to
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 make
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 a
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 choice.
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 We
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 need
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 to
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 say
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 actually
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 I
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 have
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 been
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 swinging
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 towards
00:30:02 --> 00:30:02 my
00:30:02 --> 00:30:02 religious
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 activity
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 thinking
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 somehow
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 that
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 helps
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 me
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 to be
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 right
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 with
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 God
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 and
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 I
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 need
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 to
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 come
00:30:08 --> 00:30:08 back
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 and
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 look
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 only
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 to
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 Jesus.
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 Let's
00:30:17 --> 00:30:17 take a
00:30:17 --> 00:30:17 moment
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 and
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 search
00:30:19 --> 00:30:19 our
00:30:19 --> 00:30:19 hearts.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:33 Gracious
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 God
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 in your
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 mercy
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 we ask
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 that you
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 pour out
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 your
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 spirit
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 upon us
00:30:37 --> 00:30:37 now
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 firstly
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 that we
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 might
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 see
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 that
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 we
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 are
00:30:42 --> 00:30:42 justified
00:30:42 --> 00:30:44 only
00:30:44 --> 00:30:44 and
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 ever
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 only
00:30:45 --> 00:30:47 by
00:30:47 --> 00:30:47 Christ.
00:30:50 --> 00:30:50 Father
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 we
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 pray
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 that you
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 would
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 help
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 us
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 to
00:30:53 --> 00:30:55 see
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 that
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 clearly
00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 for
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 some
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 of us
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 here
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 tonight
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 Lord
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 we
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 need
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 to
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 for
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 the
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 first
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 time
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 come
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 to
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 you
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 and
00:31:01 --> 00:31:01 we
00:31:01 --> 00:31:01 need
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 to
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 acknowledge
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 that
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 we
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 need
00:31:03 --> 00:31:03 you
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 we
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 need
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 to
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 acknowledge
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 that
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 we
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 have
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 failed
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 you
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 that
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 we
00:31:07 --> 00:31:07 are
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 like
00:31:08 --> 00:31:08 this
00:31:08 --> 00:31:08 tax
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 collector
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 and
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 that
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 we
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 are
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 the
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 essential
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 model
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 sinner
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 reveal
00:31:14 --> 00:31:16 dig deep
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 Lord
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 as difficult
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 as it is
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 for us
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 to do
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 reveal
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 that
00:31:20 --> 00:31:20 darkness
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 that
00:31:21 --> 00:31:23 that evil
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 that wickedness
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 that blackness
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 which is in
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 us
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 that filth
00:31:27 --> 00:31:29 which offends
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 you
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 may it
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 come out
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 in the
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 open
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 so that
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 you can
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 deal
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 with it
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 so that
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 you
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 can
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 forgive
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 it
00:31:35 --> 00:31:37 father
00:31:37 --> 00:31:37 for some
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 of us
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 we have
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 known
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 your love
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 for a
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 while
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 but we
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 have
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 slipped
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 from
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 that
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 and
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 that
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 we
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 have
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 moved
00:31:43 --> 00:31:45 gradually
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 bit
00:31:46 --> 00:31:46 by bit
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 at
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 least
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 being
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 pleased
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 by what
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 you're
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 doing
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 in us
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 in such
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52 a way
00:31:52 --> 00:31:54 that it
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 gives us
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 confidence
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 self
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 confidence
00:31:57 --> 00:32:00 our father
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 bring us
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 back
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 to the
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 cross
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 bring us
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 back to
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 the son
00:32:04 --> 00:32:06 bring us
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 back to
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 Jesus
00:32:07 --> 00:32:09 may our
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09 confidence
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 be him
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 so that
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 we might
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 walk away
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 from this
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 place
00:32:13 --> 00:32:16 walk away
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 from here
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 justified
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 and walk
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 into
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 eternity
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 with you
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 justified
00:32:22 --> 00:32:24 and we
00:32:24 --> 00:32:24 ask it
00:32:24 --> 00:32:24 for your
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 sake
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 amen