Forgetting the past, straining ahead
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 1st January 2023
Passage: 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Well, good morning, everyone, and Happy New Year. I'll add that to everyone else's this morning.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 And New Year's resolutions, I'm not sure if you're one of those people who has New Year's
00:00:09 --> 00:00:14 resolutions. I personally highly encourage it, at least give you something to sort of work forwards,
00:00:15 --> 00:00:21 if you like. I'd be grateful if you could turn 1 Corinthians, grab a Bible, either physical Bible
00:00:21 --> 00:00:27 over here somewhere, and also on your app, 1 Corinthians 3 would be fantastic.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:33 Top 10 resolutions for last year, New Year's resolutions for last year were number one,
00:00:34 --> 00:00:43 only do exercise you enjoy. Number two, healthy eating. Number three, turn off the self-view
00:00:43 --> 00:00:51 on your Zoom calls. Number four was review your relationship with alcohol. Number five,
00:00:51 --> 00:00:57 find a new hobby. Number six, travel more. Number seven, volunteer. Number eight, meet someone.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:05 I'm assuming that's romantic as opposed to just meeting someone randomly. Number nine was to sleep
00:01:05 --> 00:01:14 more. And number 10 was to start therapy. So that's not my New Year's, that's New Year's resolutions.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:24 Number, so my New Year's resolutions for this year, number one, and I've got five of them. Number one,
00:01:24 --> 00:01:32 to forget about myself. Number two, to read the entire Bible and the New Testament and Psalms twice.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:41 Number three, to not buy any new pieces of clothing. With two caveats. I don't wear secondhand underwear.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:49 And I don't wear secondhand joggers. There's a reason for that. It has something to do with injury.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:59 Number four for me is to run my first ever marathon. Number five is to set a PB running a marathon.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 So providing I do number four, I should automatically do number five.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:12 What are your goals for 2023? Particularly, what is your discipleship goals? In other words,
00:02:12 --> 00:02:17 the question that we constantly ask ourselves around here is what might be your next step?
00:02:17 --> 00:02:24 Now, our summer series here in January is called Running the Race. It's based loosely around Hebrews
00:02:24 --> 00:02:28 chapter 12, verses one to three, sorry, one to two, which says,
00:02:28 --> 00:02:32 Since we are surrounded by such great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders
00:02:32 --> 00:02:38 and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:52 So what we've got here in January is five standalone messages around the theme of running the race of
00:02:52 --> 00:02:58 discipleship. A few of them will be biographies of those who have the, you know, some of the great,
00:02:58 --> 00:03:03 greats of the faith from past eras who have run the race and set a great example for us.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:13 What is I'm doing today, what is intriguing about today's passage is that it gives us a way to see
00:03:13 --> 00:03:21 ourselves, to start this new year in seeing ourselves differently.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 And seeing particularly how we might change.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:33 And it's totally different than traditional culture or contemporary Western culture on how
00:03:33 --> 00:03:43 it views we are to change. Up until the 20th century, traditional cultures believed that a
00:03:43 --> 00:03:52 too higher view of yourself was the main cause of personal problems and the breakdown of relationships.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:53 And society.
00:03:54 --> 00:04:06 The Greek word for it is the word hubris, an excessive pride and arrogance and overly high confidence in oneself.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:14 In our modern Western culture, we have developed the exact opposite cultural consensus.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:23 Our belief today, which is deeply embedded in everything, is that people, when people feel bad about themselves,
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 they do bad things to others.
00:04:28 --> 00:04:33 It's that is, the main problem is low self-esteem.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:46 And all you have to do is to put people on the right path of self-improvement and you will advance society.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:55 And so the question is, do we fix ourselves and fix our own issues, issues between people,
00:04:56 --> 00:05:01 by a higher view of ourself or through a lower view of ourself?
00:05:02 --> 00:05:03 Which one's right?
00:05:03 --> 00:05:17 One Corinthians 3 and into 4 gives us an approach to the way of seeing ourselves that is absolutely different than the traditional way or the contemporary way.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:24 The way that we see ourselves in 1 Corinthians is to forget ourselves.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:33 Real enduring change can come about when we actually forget about ourselves.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:42 So maybe 2023 is the year to find true freedom in your life by forgetting about yourself,
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 which is why, for me, it's number one on my New Year's resolutions.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:51 So if you're someone who likes to take notes, I've got three points.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:56 The fragile ego, the transformed ego, and how to get a transformed ego.
00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 The fragile ego.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:02 The Corinthian church, if you read earlier in 1 Corinthians 3,
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 you'd see that it's a church that's filled with all these divisions.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:13 Paul shows that the real core issue of those divisions is pride and boasting.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:21 In chapter 3, verse 6, he urges them not to take pride in one person over against another.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:27 They're flocking to certain leaders and taking their sense of worth attached to a particular leader.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:37 The word Paul uses here for pride in chapter 3, verse 6 is in fact an unusual word.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 The word literally means to be overinflated.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 It means to be swollen.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 Something that is beyond its proper size.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 It's swollen, inflamed, it's ready to burst.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:59 That's the condition, it says, of the natural human ego.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:05 And the ego is therefore empty.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:12 The ego that is puffed up and overinflated is just a bunch of gas.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 It's nothing at its centre.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 The ego is empty.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 The ego that is puffed up has nothing at its centre.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:34 Spiritual pride is the illusion that we are competent to run our lives by ourselves.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 Achieve our own sense of self-worth.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:47 To find a purpose big enough to give us meaning in life without God.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:55 Not only is it not possible, but the overinflated ego is also painful.
00:07:55 --> 00:08:03 We do not notice our body until something goes wrong with it.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 That's the nature of it.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 It'd be pretty rare for us to think.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 Like, I've never actually gone at the end of it.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 My goodness, my elbow is working really well today.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:20 Just, well done.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:25 You know, it's not until something's wrong with the elbow
00:08:25 --> 00:08:29 that you notice it's either not working or it's now working brilliantly.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:40 The ego often hurts because of something unbelievably wrong with it.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:48 It is always making us think about how we look and how we're treated.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:53 It is very hard to get through a whole day without feeling snubbed,
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 without feeling ignored, without feeling stupid,
00:08:57 --> 00:09:01 without getting down on ourselves in some way or another.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:07 That's because there's something unbelievably wrong with our sense of self.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:16 And therefore the ego is incredibly busy trying to feel the emptiness,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 to deal with the pain.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 It's busy comparing and boasting.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:24 In verse 6,
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 there is no full stop after the word pride.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 It says,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 then you will not take pride in one person over against another.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 And that is the very essence of the fragile ego.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 It tries to feel its emptiness,
00:09:43 --> 00:09:49 to deal with its pain by comparing itself to other people.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 In his chapter on pride,
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 in his classic book,
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 Mere Christianity,
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 C.S. Lewis points out that pride,
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 by its very nature,
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 is competitive.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 He writes,
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 pride gets no pleasure out of having something,
00:10:10 --> 00:10:16 only out of having more of it than the next person.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 It's competitive.
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 In other words,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 we're only proud of being more successful,
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 more intelligent,
00:10:25 --> 00:10:28 and more good looking than the next person.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 That's his point.
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 When we're in the presence of someone
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 who is in fact more successful,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 more intelligent,
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 more good looking,
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 then we are,
00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 then what we have there is a loser sense of the pleasure of what we had.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:48 It then becomes a problem with us.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 And so we tend not to gravitate towards people who make us feel bad.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:57 We gravitate towards people who make us feel better about ourselves,
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 because we are by nature competitive.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 The hollow ego is competitive.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 It's fragile.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:14 Anything that is overinflated is always in imminent danger of being deflated.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:19 Empty, painful, busy, and fragile.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 The normal state of the human self without God.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 And Paul wants the Corinthian church here,
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 and us,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 to know the difference that Jesus Christ makes.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 And how the Christian gospel
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 has transformed things for him,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 and how it can be for us too.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 Which is my second point,
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 the transformed ego.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 In verses three and four,
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 Paul shows them how the Christian gospel
00:11:48 --> 00:11:52 has transformed his sense of self-worth.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 He says,
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 he writes there,
00:11:54 --> 00:11:58 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court.
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 Indeed, I do not even judge myself.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 My conscience is clear.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 But that does not make me innocent.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 It is the Lord who judges me.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 Now the word translated judge here,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 it has the same meaning as the word verdict.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 It's referring to that,
00:12:19 --> 00:12:19 if you like,
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 elusive stamp of approval
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 that we all crave.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 We all crave.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 Some of us have grown up in families
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 where we've never had that elusive stamp of approval.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 Always striving,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:38 always seeking to fill the empty ego.
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 And what says here,
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 Paul's saying his self-worth is not tied to that.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 He's not tied to the Corinthians' evaluation of him.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:55 Now most parents would say to their child at some point,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 especially when they're having problems with other kids,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 you know, in the schoolyard or something like that,
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 we would normally say things like,
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 it doesn't matter what your friends think of you.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 It doesn't matter what other people say about you.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:13 Any parent ever heard them repeat those words?
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 It doesn't matter what other people think about you.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:18 In our modern world,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 there seems to be only one way
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 of dealing with low self-esteem.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 And that is fix it with high self-esteem.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 We tell someone
00:13:30 --> 00:13:34 that they need to see that they are a great person.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 They need to see how wonderful they are.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 And Paul's approach here is very different.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:45 He cares very little if he is judged by the Corinthians,
00:13:46 --> 00:13:50 but he doesn't turn that around and go,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 well, I think really well of myself.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 So it doesn't matter what you say about me.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 He says, I don't care what you think about me,
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 but I don't care what I think about me either.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 I don't even judge myself.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 It's as if he says,
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 I don't care what you think
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 and I don't care what I think.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:12 Look carefully what he says in verse four.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 My conscience is clear,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 but that does not make me innocent.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:21 Now, I'm pretty sure that Paul would not say,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 or that he would say,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 it's a very significant trap
00:14:25 --> 00:14:30 to set your own standard,
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 your own bar of standards.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 You know, the way you can feel better about yourself
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 is to set your standards so low
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 that you will meet it every time.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 We feel rotten
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 because we often can't live up to other people's standards,
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 and so the answer is to boost our self-esteem
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 by living up to our own standards,
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 and we just keep dropping them.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 That can't deliver either.
00:14:56 --> 00:15:01 We cannot keep our own standards.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 Did you know a little bit of a tip for you
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 who do set New Year's resolutions?
00:15:07 --> 00:15:10 Only 8% of people will follow through
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 with their self-improving New Year's resolutions.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:15 8%.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:24 92% will break those resolutions,
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 will give up on those resolutions
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 by the end of January.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 So what's the answer?
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 Set less resolutions?
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 Set really low resolutions.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 That makes us feel terrible
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 because we realise that we're the type of person
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 who just constantly lowers the bar.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 Every time we break our standards,
00:15:45 --> 00:15:45 we just lower them.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 Boosting our self-esteem
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 by trying to live up to our own standards
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 is a trap.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 And Paul here does not look to the Corinthians
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 for the verdict that he's a somebody,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 but he also doesn't look to himself
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 to get the verdict that he's a somebody.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 Now, he's now moving into a territory
00:16:09 --> 00:16:14 that very, very few people know anything about.
00:16:14 --> 00:16:18 And this is the Apostle Paul,
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 to this day,
00:16:20 --> 00:16:24 still rated in the top five
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 most influential people in human history,
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 to this day.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:35 And this is what he writes
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 in 1 Timothy 1, verse 15.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 Jesus Christ came into the world
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 to save sinners
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 of whom I am the worst.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 Not that I was the worst,
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 but of whom I am the worst.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:57 We are simply not used to someone
00:16:57 --> 00:17:02 who is that incredibly confident,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 volunteering that sort of opinion
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 about themselves.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:12 Someone who is totally honest
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 and aware of all sorts of moral flaws,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 and yet at the same time
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 has incredible poise and confidence.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:25 A man who literally changed
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 the course of human history.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 A man who Western civilization
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 is built on.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 When he says that he does not
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 let the Corinthians judge him,
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 nor will he judge himself,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 he is saying that he knows
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 about his deep failures,
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 but he does not connect
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 those deep failures
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 to his identity,
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 to his sense of self.
00:17:51 --> 00:17:55 He does not see his sin
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 and let it destroy his sense of self.
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 Nor does he look at his accomplishments
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 and congratulate himself.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:08 He sees all kinds of sin in himself
00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 and all kinds of accomplishments,
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 and yet he refuses to connect
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 any of those things
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 to his sense of self.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 Paul is saying here
00:18:20 --> 00:18:24 that his ego is not puffed up,
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 it's filled up.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:32 It's like he's reached a place
00:18:32 --> 00:18:36 where his ego draws no more attention
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 to itself.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 When he does something wrong
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 or something good,
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 it's not connected
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 to him anymore.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 C.S. Lewis again
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 in Mere Christianity
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 makes a brilliant observation
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 right at the very end
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 of his chapter on pride.
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 If we were to meet
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 a truly humble person,
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 we would never come away
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 from meeting them
00:19:04 --> 00:19:07 thinking that they were
00:19:07 --> 00:19:07 actually humble.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:16 They would not be always telling us
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 that they were a nobody
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 because a person
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 who keeps saying
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 that they're a nobody
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 who's got low self-esteem
00:19:22 --> 00:19:25 is actually a self-obsessed person.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 The thing we would remember
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 about meeting a truly humble person
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 is how much they seem
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 to be totally interested
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 in you,
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 in us.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 And how happy
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 and at peace they were
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 whatever the circumstances
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 are in life.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 The essence
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 of a transformed ego
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 is not thinking
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 more of oneself
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 or thinking less
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 of oneself.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 It's thinking
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 of oneself
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 less.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 It's the freedom
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 of self-forgetfulness.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 It's not a high self-esteem.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:09 It's not a low self-esteem.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 It's not even about self-esteem.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 A truly humble person
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 is not a self-hating person
00:20:16 --> 00:20:19 or a self-loving person.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:22 They are a self-forgetful person.
00:20:22 --> 00:20:26 For example,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:30 the self-forgetful person
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 would never be devastated
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 by criticism
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 because they don't put
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 too much value
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 in other people's opinions.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 The fragile
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 ego
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 is either
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 devastated
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 by criticism
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 or they're not
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 devastated
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 by criticism
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 because they do not
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 listen to criticism.
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 They won't accept
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 criticism.
00:20:50 --> 00:20:54 The person
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 who's a self-forgetful
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 person
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 is the complete
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 opposite.
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 When someone
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 whose ego
00:21:00 --> 00:21:02 is filled up
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 gets criticised,
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 they're not
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 devastated,
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 they listen to it
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 and they see it
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 as an opportunity
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 to change.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 Wouldn't you want
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 2023
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 to be like that
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 for yourself?
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 Wouldn't you want
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 to be a person
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 who does,
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 who neither
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 needs honour
00:21:28 --> 00:21:31 nor afraid
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 of it
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 when you receive it?
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 Someone
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 who does not
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 lust for recognition
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 nor,
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 on the other hand,
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 frighten to death
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 of it.
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 Don't you want
00:21:45 --> 00:21:45 to be the kind
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 of person
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 who does not
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 admire
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 what they see
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 in the mirror
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 but not
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 cringe
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 by what they
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 see in the mirror?
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 Don't you want
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 to be the kind
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 of person
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 who in
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 your imaginary
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 life
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 doesn't sit
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 around daydreaming
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 about successes
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 that gives you
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 an edge
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 over others?
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 Or perhaps
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 you tend
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 to beat
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 yourself up
00:22:08 --> 00:22:10 to be tormented
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 by the regrets
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 of your life?
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 Wouldn't you like
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 to be free
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 of all of those
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 things?
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 Wouldn't you like
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 to be the athlete
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 who wins
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 the bronze medal
00:22:19 --> 00:22:22 and yet
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 is thrilled
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 to celebrate
00:22:24 --> 00:22:26 with the gold
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 medal winner?
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 Because you've
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 got to be there
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 to experience
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 their brilliance.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39 This is the possibility
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 for you and for me
00:22:40 --> 00:22:42 if we keep
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 on going
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 where Paul
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 is going
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 here.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 We can start
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 to enjoy
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 things
00:22:47 --> 00:22:49 that are
00:22:49 --> 00:22:49 in fact
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 not about
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 me.
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 We can
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 actually enjoy
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 things for
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 what they are
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 or people
00:22:55 --> 00:22:55 for who
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 they are.
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 They are
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 not just
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 there
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 to fill
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 up my
00:23:01 --> 00:23:01 emptiness
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 or your
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 emptiness.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:05 That's the
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 transformed ego.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 That's the
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 life,
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 the blessed
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 life of
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 self-forgetfulness.
00:23:10 --> 00:23:12 And our
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 society
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 has got
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 no categories
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 for this
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 kind of
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 life.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 Don't know
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 where to put
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 this kind
00:23:20 --> 00:23:20 of life.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 So how
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 do we get
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 this
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 transformed
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 ego?
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 Paul tells
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 us he got
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 to this
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 place.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 He says,
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 my conscience
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 is clear
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 but that
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 does not
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 make me
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 innocent.
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 The word
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 translated
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 innocent
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 comes from
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 the word
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 justify.
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 He's
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 saying that
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 even if
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 his conscience
00:23:39 --> 00:23:41 is clear,
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 that does
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 not
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 justify
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 him.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 What Paul
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 is looking
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 for is a
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 verdict,
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 the ultimate
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 verdict that he
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 is important,
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 that he is
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 valuable.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 We look for
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 that ultimate
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 verdict every
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 single day of
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 our life in
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 all kinds of
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 situations and
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 people around
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01 us.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 The problem
00:24:02 --> 00:24:04 with self-esteem,
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 whether it's
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 high or whether
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 it's low,
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 is that every
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 single day we
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 are on
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 trial.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 Every single
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 day you're
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 on trial.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 There is this
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 prosecution and
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 there is defense
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 sitting on either
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 shoulder.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 Everything we do
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 is providing
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 evidence for the
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 prosecution or
00:24:24 --> 00:24:26 evidence for the
00:24:26 --> 00:24:26 defense.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 And some days we
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 feel like we're
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 winning the trial
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 and other days we
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 feel like we're
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 losing the trial.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 And Paul says
00:24:33 --> 00:24:33 for him the
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 trial is over.
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 It's done.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 He is out of
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 the courtroom
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 because the
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 ultimate verdict
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 has come in
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 for him.
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 He knows that
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 the Corinthians
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 can't justify
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 him and he
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 knows that he
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 can't justify
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 himself.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 He says it
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 is the Lord
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 who judges
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 him.
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 What Paul is
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 saying here,
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 it is only,
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 only in the
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 gospel of the
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 Lord Jesus
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 Christ that Paul
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 and us get
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 the final
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 verdict.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 And crucially,
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 he says,
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 it comes before
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 any performance
00:25:10 --> 00:25:13 on our behalf.
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 Most people
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 get their
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 self-image
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 from being a
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 good person
00:25:21 --> 00:25:23 and hope that
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 eventually they
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 will get a
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 verdict that
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 confirms that
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 they are a
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 good person.
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 Performance
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 leads to a
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 verdict, in
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 other words.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 All the
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 great religions
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 and philosophies
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 of this world
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 work on that
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 principle.
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 Performance
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 leads to the
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 verdict.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 It is only
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 in the
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 Christian faith,
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 only in the
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 Christian faith,
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 does the
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 verdict lead
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 to performance.
00:25:52 --> 00:25:55 in Christianity,
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 the moment we
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 believe, God
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 says, you
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 are my
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 beloved
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 child, in
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 whom I am
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 well pleased.
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 Only in
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 Christianity do
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 you get the
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 praise of the
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 praiseworthy
00:26:09 --> 00:26:12 before anything
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 that you've
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 done.
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 And in
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 spite of all
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 the things that
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 you have done
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 that you
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 shouldn't have
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 done.
00:26:18 --> 00:26:21 or Romans
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 8 verse 1
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 which says,
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 therefore, there
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 is now no
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 condemnation for
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 those who are in
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 Christ Jesus.
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 The moment you
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 trust in Jesus
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 Christ, God
00:26:31 --> 00:26:33 credits Jesus'
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 perfect performance
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 to you as if it
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 was your own.
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 And he adopts us
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 into his family.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 The verdict is in.
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 And now we
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 perform on that
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 basis.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 because he
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 loves us and
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 he accepts us.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 We don't have to
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 do things that
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 just build up our
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 reputation.
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 We are free now
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 to do things
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 for the joy of
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 them, simply for
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 the joy of
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 them.
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 Free to help
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 other people in
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 order to help
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 them, not
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 because it makes
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 us feel better
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 about ourselves,
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 not because it's
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 filling up our
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 emptiness and
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 building up our
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 ego.
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 In
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 Christianity,
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 Jesus Christ
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 went on trial
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 instead.
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 Jesus went into
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 the courtroom
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 on our behalf.
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 He faced the
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 trial that should
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 be ours so
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 that we don't
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 have to face
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 that trial
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 ever.
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 He took the
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 condemnation that
00:27:28 --> 00:27:30 we deserve for
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 our lack of
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 performing to
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 God's standards
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 of perfection.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 perfection.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 And we just
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 simply need to
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 ask God to
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 accept us on
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 the basis of
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 Jesus.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 That's it.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 And when we
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 do, the only
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 person whose
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 opinion actually
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50 matters looks at
00:27:50 --> 00:27:53 us and he finds
00:27:53 --> 00:27:57 in us a person
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 more valuable than
00:27:58 --> 00:28:00 all the jewels of
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 the earth.
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 Now, perhaps
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 that's brand new
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 for some of you
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 here today.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 Don't let this
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 moment pass you
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 at the beginning
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 of 2023.
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 This is
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 fundamentally
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 revolutionary,
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 as it has been
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 for millions of
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 people for
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 centuries.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 Keep looking,
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 keep digging,
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 keep asking
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 questions.
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 There's a lot to
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 discover.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 I've covered a
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 lot of ground
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 in a very short
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 space of time.
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 There are lots
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 of pieces of the
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 jigsaw puzzle to
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 put together.
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 But keep looking,
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 keep searching,
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 keep exploring the
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 Christian faith.
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 Understand the
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 whole picture.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 Make it, can I
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 encourage you to
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 make it of central
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 importance in
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 2023.
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 But maybe you're
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 in a different
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 position.
00:28:54 --> 00:28:56 maybe you've
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 already trusted in
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 Jesus, maybe
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 done so for many,
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 many years.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 But every single
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 day you find
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 yourself being
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 sucked back into
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 that courtroom.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 Keep getting
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 sucked back into
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 it.
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 And all I can
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 tell you is
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 that you must
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 relive the
00:29:14 --> 00:29:16 gospel every
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 single day.
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 We must live
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 the gospel every
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 single, every
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 moment we pray,
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 every time we
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 gather as a
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 church, every
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 time we feel
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 rejected.
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 Forgetting
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 self-remembering
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 the gospel of
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 Jesus Christ is
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 the key to
00:29:30 --> 00:29:32 treasuring Jesus
00:29:32 --> 00:29:32 and embracing
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 diversity and
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 discomfort for us
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 as a church.
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 It's the key to
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 letting go and
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 finding true and
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 enduring rest.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 We have to
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 relive the
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 gospel in every
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 single experience
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 of life.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 life.
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 We need to relive the
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 Christian gospel on
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 the spot and
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 ask ourselves, am
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 I putting myself
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 back into the
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 courtroom here?
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 Am I turning this
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 around to be about
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 me again?
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 Like Paul, we can
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 actually live day by
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 day saying, I
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 don't care about
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 what you think.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 I don't even care
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 what I think.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:12 only care what the
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 Lord thinks.
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 And he's the one
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18 who has said, you
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 put your trust in
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 Jesus, you are my
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 much loved child.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 The verdict is in.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:29 So embrace Jesus and
00:30:29 --> 00:30:31 all of his work more
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 and more each day
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 this year.
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 Put self-forgetfulness
00:30:36 --> 00:30:38 at the top of your
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 new year's resolutions
00:30:39 --> 00:30:41 and pray for the help
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 to remember Jesus
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 moment by moment, to
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 preach the gospel to
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 yourself moment by
00:30:45 --> 00:30:47 moment and what he
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 has achieved for you.