00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Good morning everyone.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:12 It's a pleasure to be back here at St Paul's bringing the Word of God this morning and to have been asked to share with you.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:21 My wife Vanessa and I are here from Africa for roughly two to three months and we'd love to catch up with you during that time.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:31 Vanessa arrives tonight, late tonight on a plane from Perth and we'll probably be having a rest for a few days but after that we'd love to catch up with any and all of you.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:46 Now the epistle of Peter, the first epistle of Peter is an epistle that Peter has written to Christians who are scattered throughout a pagan society.
00:00:46 --> 00:01:04 And it is a letter written to Christians who in their context will be undergoing suffering and persecution and where the values of the society around them are putting a pressure upon them to live a particular way.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:09 And so it's in this context that we look at the passage here today.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:17 It's quite applicable this passage really in that light for us here in Sydney and the church in Sydney.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:31 And although persecution here is not as overt as it was in the Roman Empire, it is nonetheless it is there and it is underlying a lot of the fabric of our society.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:37 And you will hear Christians and the Christian faith openly mocked on television or on the radio.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:42 There is so much media coming through with anti-God values.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:51 And so in that way our society in Sydney has a lot of things that are similar to the society back in the days of the Roman Empire.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:57 And of course they had gladiator events, then we have the rugby league.
00:01:57 --> 00:02:12 But there's a lot of similarities there and there is nonetheless a pressure on us as Christians to be living and responding a certain way when confronted and surrounded by people from a pagan society.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:19 So when this passage opens, we see it says,
00:02:19 --> 00:02:26 Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul.
00:02:27 --> 00:02:32 Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong,
00:02:32 --> 00:02:37 they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:44 These desires actually wage war against our soul.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:52 And in the passage, I don't actually think Peter is so much talking about the sinful desires of the flesh
00:02:52 --> 00:03:01 or about anger or greed or coveting as much as I think he is talking about things simply like submitting to authorities,
00:03:01 --> 00:03:07 respecting one another, respecting one another, loving one another, and honouring the king, fearing God.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:14 These are all temptations that with the pressure of the society around them, acting upon them,
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 it is a temptation not to do these things.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:24 Not only are these things waging war against our soul and against their soul,
00:03:24 --> 00:03:32 but we have an enemy, as Sam points out, we are in a war against an enemy who roams around like a roaring lion
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 waiting for someone to devour.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:41 And you see, the devil knows that Christians have a righteousness that is by faith.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:47 Our righteousness is because we believe that Jesus has died for our sins,
00:03:47 --> 00:03:51 and because of that, we are made completely righteous before God.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:55 And that is based on what we believe.
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 And so the devil knows that while ever we believe that,
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 and while ever our faith is at this level,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:06 then the life we live will accordingly be at an equal level.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:11 And so the devil's main aim is to get us to doubt,
00:04:12 --> 00:04:18 to get us to not believe that Jesus has paid the full penalty,
00:04:18 --> 00:04:22 not just for our sins, but for all our brothers' and sisters' sins.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 He does this through our conscience.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:31 That is the main weapon he uses, is our conscience.
00:04:32 --> 00:04:34 You know, Peter says later in the passage,
00:04:34 --> 00:04:38 he talks about not using our freedom as a cloak for evil,
00:04:39 --> 00:04:40 to hide sin.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:45 It is very easy in that society and in our society
00:04:45 --> 00:04:49 to compromise our values as Christians,
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 to compromise our walk with God,
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 and actually say, well, that's okay, I'm under grace.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 I'm under grace, so I'm under freedom,
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 so it doesn't really matter what I do so much.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 But, you see, because we have an enemy,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 and that enemy will use a pure conscience,
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 and he will come to someone with a pure conscience,
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 and he will try and get them to stop believing
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 they are righteous because of what Christ has done,
00:05:15 --> 00:05:20 let alone if we go forward with an impure conscience.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 If we go forward and go forward willingly in sin,
00:05:25 --> 00:05:30 then the devil will use the fact that our conscience is muddied,
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 he will use that to get us to doubt
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 that we are righteous before God,
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 and that we are completely forgiven
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 because he knows that our walk
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 will be always equivalent with what we believe.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:50 In 2 Peter 1, verses 5 to 9, it says,
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 for this very reason, make every effort
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 to add to your faith goodness,
00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 and to goodness knowledge,
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 and to knowledge self-control,
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 and to self-control perseverance,
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 and to perseverance godliness,
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 and to godliness brotherly kindness,
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 and to brotherly kindness love.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 they will keep you from being ineffective
00:06:15 --> 00:06:19 and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 But if anyone does not have them,
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 he is nearsighted and blind,
00:06:24 --> 00:06:28 and has forgotten that he has been cleansed
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 from his past sins.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 You see, the problem with a backslidden Christian
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 is not primarily about what he is doing.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 The problem with the backslidden Christian
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 is about what they have started to believe.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 And what they have started to believe,
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 their faith will naturally come out in what they do.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:53 If we are living lives
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 where our conscience gets seared,
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 we will start forgetting
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 that we have been cleansed from our past sins,
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 because that is what the devil will be helping us do
00:07:03 --> 00:07:04 by saying,
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 you're guilty,
00:07:05 --> 00:07:06 you're not forgiven.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 And we will forget
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 we have been cleansed from past sins,
00:07:10 --> 00:07:11 and as a result,
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 we will live accordingly to that.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 Our faith has to issue itself in action.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 What we believe
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 will always be demonstrated by what we do.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:26 And in a context
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 where the society's values have decayed,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 and Christians are suffering
00:07:30 --> 00:07:31 and are being persecuted,
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 the threat of Christians
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 using the freedom they have in Christ
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 as a cover-up for evil,
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 and subsequently forgetting
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 their cleansing from past sins,
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 was a very real one to Peter.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 So when Peter goes through this passage,
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 there are really primarily three things
00:07:49 --> 00:07:50 that he is on about,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 and the first thing he is on about,
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 it is God's will that by doing good,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 you should silence the ignorant talk
00:07:57 --> 00:07:58 of foolish men.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 That is the first thing
00:08:01 --> 00:08:02 in this passage he is addressing.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 The Christians are in a context
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 where for the Lord's sake,
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 they need to submit to all those authorities,
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 and we need to submit authorities
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 always anyway,
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 but especially in this pagan world
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 where they are under such scrutiny.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 See, the unbelieving world
00:08:22 --> 00:08:23 watches us like a hawk.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 They watch us so carefully
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 and try and find where we slip up.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 And so what Peter is saying
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 is that we have to live such blameless lives
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 in that world
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 by submitting to authorities,
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 by honouring the king,
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 by fearing God,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:40 by loving one another,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 that they have absolutely no substance
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 to any of the foolish accusations
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 that they make
00:08:48 --> 00:08:49 against the people of God.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 And so that those accusations
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 have no substance.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 We might remember back in Genesis chapter 41
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 when we saw Joseph,
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 and he was in Egypt,
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 and he was there
00:09:06 --> 00:09:07 with a pagan king
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 and a pagan society,
00:09:10 --> 00:09:11 and yet this pharaoh
00:09:11 --> 00:09:12 was able to say,
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 was able to say,
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 can we find anyone
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 like this man,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 one in whom
00:09:17 --> 00:09:18 is the Spirit of God?
00:09:21 --> 00:09:22 A pagan pharaoh.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:24 And back then, of course,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 there was no, you know,
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 no one really
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 officially knew
00:09:29 --> 00:09:30 the Holy Spirit
00:09:30 --> 00:09:30 in that way.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:34 But see,
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 the pharaoh could look at Joseph
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 and he could see
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 that inside that man
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 was something different,
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 and he could tell
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 by the way he conducted himself,
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 by the insight he was given,
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 and by the man that he was,
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 he could tell
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 that in that society
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 this was someone
00:09:52 --> 00:09:53 who stood out,
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 and he could tell
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 that within him,
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 even though being a pagan,
00:09:57 --> 00:09:57 he could tell
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 that within him
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 was a holy God,
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 was a Holy Spirit.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 And similarly,
00:10:03 --> 00:10:03 in Babylon,
00:10:04 --> 00:10:04 when Daniel had been
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 taken into captivity
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 with the rest of Israel,
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 King Nebuchadnezzar
00:10:09 --> 00:10:09 said of Daniel,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 he had named him
00:10:11 --> 00:10:12 Belteshazzar
00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 after the name
00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 of his God,
00:10:15 --> 00:10:15 and he said,
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 he is called Belteshazzar
00:10:17 --> 00:10:17 after the name
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 of my God,
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 and the Spirit
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 of the Holy Gods
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 is in him.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 This is coming
00:10:24 --> 00:10:24 from a king
00:10:24 --> 00:10:28 who made giant golden statues
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 and asked people
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 to come and bow down
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 to them,
00:10:31 --> 00:10:32 or he was going
00:10:32 --> 00:10:32 to chuck them
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 into a furnace.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 This is a pagan king,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 and yet he was able
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 to look at Daniel
00:10:39 --> 00:10:39 and say,
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 the Spirit
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 of the Holy God
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 is in him.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 You are the light
00:10:46 --> 00:10:46 of the world.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 A city on a hill
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 cannot be hidden.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 Neither do people
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 light a lamp
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 and put it under a bowl.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 Instead,
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 they put it on its stand,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 and it gives light
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 to everyone
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 in the house.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 In the same way,
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 let your light
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 shine before men
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 that they may see
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 your good deeds,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 and praise your Father
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 in heaven.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 It brings God glory
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 when the people of God
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 are living in such a way
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 that the pagan world
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 looks at them
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 as blameless,
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 and that when they are
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 making their accusations,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 everyone can see
00:11:19 --> 00:11:19 that they've got
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 no substance to it.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 That brings glory
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 to God.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:22 Similarly,
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 it brings slander
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 and blasphemy
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 to the way
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 of Christians
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 and to Christ himself
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 if we are living
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 in society
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 and we are walking
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 forward in sin.
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 And so,
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 part of that,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 and what Peter
00:11:37 --> 00:11:37 is saying,
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 is that to silence
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 the talk of foolish men,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 we need to submit
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 to the authorities
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 that have been put
00:11:43 --> 00:11:43 in place.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:44 And of course,
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 we learn in Romans 13,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 verses 1 to 3,
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 everyone must submit
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 himself to the
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 governing authorities,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 for there is no authority
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 except that which God
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 has established,
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 and the authorities
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 that exist
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 have been established
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 by God.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 Consequently,
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 he who rebels
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 against the authority
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 is rebelling
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 against what God
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 has instituted,
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 and those who do so
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 will bring judgment
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 on themselves.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:10 I mean,
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 it's pretty straightforward.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 Unfortunately,
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 as Aussies,
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 we come from
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 originally
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 a settlement
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 of convicts,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 so we have a bit
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 of an attitude
00:12:20 --> 00:12:20 to authority,
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 which works
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 a little bit like this.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:23 I figured it out
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 from being,
00:12:24 --> 00:12:24 well,
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 it's not that hard
00:12:25 --> 00:12:25 to figure out,
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 actually,
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 but you see it
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 very clearly
00:12:28 --> 00:12:28 when you're living
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 in another culture
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 where submission
00:12:31 --> 00:12:31 to authority
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 is a very,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 very different thing.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:34 So,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 the way our thinking
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 works is like this.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 This man is in authority.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 What's he doing?
00:12:39 --> 00:12:39 What's he saying?
00:12:40 --> 00:12:40 And so,
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 we sort of judge
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 and rate what he is doing
00:12:43 --> 00:12:43 and saying,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 and then determine
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 from our judgment
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 and our rating
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 as to whether
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 we should submit
00:12:50 --> 00:12:50 to his authority
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 or not.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 Now,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:52 in Africa,
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 submission to authority
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 can be authorities
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 who are treating them
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 very badly,
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 but they will always
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 submit to the authority
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 because submission
00:13:02 --> 00:13:02 to authority
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 is not about
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 what the person
00:13:05 --> 00:13:05 in authority
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 does or says,
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 it is about
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 his position.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 Completely unconditional.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 It is about
00:13:14 --> 00:13:14 his position.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 It is a position
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17 that we know
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 that God
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 has given
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 to that person
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 and so,
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 like they do
00:13:22 --> 00:13:22 in Africa,
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 we should submit
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 to the authorities
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 that have been
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 put in place
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 simply because
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 of the position
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 they have been
00:13:30 --> 00:13:30 given
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 by God.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 And in so doing,
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 we are acknowledging
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 that it is God
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 who put them there
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 and we are confirming
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 that the word of God
00:13:41 --> 00:13:41 is true.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:45 And so,
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 it is for the Lord's
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 sake that we do this.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 Now,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 the second point
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 that Peter is making
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 here is suffering
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 for doing good
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 is commendable.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 Suffering for doing
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 good is commendable.
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 And I am sure
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 at this stage,
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 Peter was recalling
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 Jesus' words
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 in Luke chapter 6
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 which are also
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 recorded in Matthew
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 chapter 5.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 He says,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 But I tell you
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 who hear me,
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 love your enemies,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 do good to those
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 who hate you,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 bless those
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 who curse you,
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 pray for those
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 who mistreat you.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 If someone
00:14:20 --> 00:14:20 strikes you
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 on one cheek,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 turn to him
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 the other also.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 And if someone
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 takes your cloak,
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 do not stop him
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 from taking your tunic.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 Give to everyone
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 who asks you
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 and if anyone
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 takes what belongs
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 to you,
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 do not demand it back.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 Do to others
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 as you would have
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 them do to you.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 If you love
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 those who love
00:14:40 --> 00:14:40 you,
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 what credit
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 is that to you?
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 If you just
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 love those
00:14:45 --> 00:14:45 who love you?
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 Even sinners
00:14:48 --> 00:14:48 love those
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 who love them
00:14:49 --> 00:14:49 and if you do
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 good to those
00:14:50 --> 00:14:50 who are good
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 to you,
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 what credit
00:14:52 --> 00:14:52 is that to you?
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 Even sinners
00:14:54 --> 00:14:54 do that.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 And if you lend
00:14:56 --> 00:14:56 to those
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 from you
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 what credit
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 is that to you?
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 Even sinners
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 lend to sinners
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 expecting
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 to be repaid
00:15:03 --> 00:15:03 in full
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 but love your
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 enemies,
00:15:05 --> 00:15:05 do good to
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 them and lend
00:15:06 --> 00:15:06 to them
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 without expecting to get anything back.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 Then your reward will be great
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 and you'll be sons of the Most High
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:20 Be merciful just as your father is merciful.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 And so it is only in the light of being mistreated
00:15:24 --> 00:15:27 and being harshly spoken to
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30 and being unfairly done by,
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 it is only in the light of our response to that
00:15:34 --> 00:15:39 that people will see that we are in actual fact different
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 and the one that is in us
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 is different to the one that is in the world.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 Otherwise we're just doing what the world does.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 We just, I mean, we can be Christians
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 and we can be really nice people
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 who are really nice to the people who are really nice to us.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 But let me ask you a question.
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 Is there anyone on your heart
00:15:59 --> 00:16:03 who you do not look at as absolutely righteous
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 and spotless before God?
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 Is there another human being in your heart,
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 in your mind,
00:16:10 --> 00:16:13 who you do not look at as absolutely spotless?
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 And if they don't know Christ,
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 that they potentially could
00:16:17 --> 00:16:20 and therefore that you should still treat them in that light.
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 Or are we storing up all the faults that people have,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 all the things they've said wrong against us,
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 all the times they've ticked us off a bit?
00:16:30 --> 00:16:38 You see, Jesus has wiped our slate completely clean
00:16:38 --> 00:16:42 and we have got to do that right now
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 with anyone we are storing things up about
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 that we should not be storing up about.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 Because in God's sight,
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 they are completely holy and righteous.
00:16:53 --> 00:17:01 In God's sight,
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 they are completely holy and righteous.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 So if there's anyone in the body of believers
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 that we have got a problem with,
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 then we are really having a problem with God
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 because God has declared them innocent.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 God has declared them righteous.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:20 God has declared them pure and faultless.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:26 And that's how we have to treat them
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 and that's how God expects us to treat them.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 So if your enemy is hungry,
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 give him food to eat.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 If he is thirsty,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 give him water to drink.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 And in doing this,
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 you will heap burning coals on his head
00:17:39 --> 00:17:42 and the Lord will reward you.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 And doing this is a powerful testimony
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 to the one we worship
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 and is a form of spiritual warfare.
00:17:48 --> 00:17:51 I think in 2 Corinthians 10,
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 verses 3 to 4,
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 it says,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 For though we live in the world,
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 we do not wage war as the world does.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 The weapons we fight with
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 are not the weapons of the world.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 On the contrary,
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 they have divine power
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 to demolish strongholds.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 And we can be very spiritual
00:18:07 --> 00:18:07 and we can say,
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 well, that's the prayers of the saints.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 And I think it definitely includes that.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 But I tell you,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 when you turn the other cheek
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 when someone strikes you,
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 it demolishes strongholds.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 When you love those who hate you,
00:18:21 --> 00:18:23 when you bless those who curse you,
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 when you pray for those who persecute you,
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 you demolish strongholds.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 It is a form of warfare.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:37 Jesus didn't say these things
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 without demonstrating them in his life.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 He demonstrated all these principles
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 through what he did.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 And we might remember
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 in Matthew chapter 27,
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 verses 12 to 14,
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 when he was accused by the chief priests
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 and the elders,
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 he gave no answer.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 Then Pilate asked him,
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 Don't you hear the testimony
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 they are bringing against you?
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 But Jesus made no reply,
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 not even to a single charge,
00:19:01 --> 00:19:04 to the great amazement of the governor.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 I don't know about you,
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 but if I was Jesus
00:19:06 --> 00:19:09 and I had people saying to me,
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 are you the king of the Jews?
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 I'd start pointing them
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 to all the miracles I'd done.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 I'd start saying,
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 am I the king?
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 I mean, have a look.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 I walked on water.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21 I mean, I made the lame walk.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 I made the blind see.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:25 I cast demons out of men.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 But he doesn't do any of that.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 He just says, so you say.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 You see, the powers of darkness
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 are baffled
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 when we do not wage war
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 on the same terms
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 and in the same fashion
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 that they wage war.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 That's what confuses them.
00:19:49 --> 00:19:55 And Jesus said to his disciples,
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 if anyone would come after me,
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 he must deny himself,
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 take up his cross and follow me.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 For whoever wants to save his life
00:20:02 --> 00:20:02 will lose it,
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 but whoever loses his life for me
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 will find it.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:09 Whoever loses his life for me
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 will find it.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 Are we prepared to do that?
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 Are we prepared,
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 just as Jesus set us an example
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 and going before us,
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 are we prepared
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 to follow in that example
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 and lose our lives
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 for Christ's sake?
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 Are we prepared
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 to suffer ridicule
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 and meet it with love?
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 Are we prepared
00:20:36 --> 00:20:39 to bless those who persecute us
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 and pray for those
00:20:40 --> 00:20:42 who are bad to us?
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 Are we prepared
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 if our enemy is hungry
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 to feed him
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 or if he is thirsty
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 to give him a drink?
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 You see,
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54 as Brian said earlier,
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 we are in a war.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 We are in a war
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 and the people of this world
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 are suffering
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 because they are under
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 the power of slavery
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 to fear of death.
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 And the powers of darkness
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 use the fact
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 that there are
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 handwritten requirements
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 of the law
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 which are built up
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 in their conscience
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 against them
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 and they know
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 that the handwritten
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18 requirements of the law,
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 the wages of those requirements
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 is death.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 Everyone knows it.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 You might have people
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 saying,
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 I'm an atheist,
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 but they know it.
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 They know it.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 We all know
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 because in our conscience
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 we know
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 when we've done
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 something wrong.
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 And those things
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 build up and up
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 and up and up
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 and up
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 and the powers
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 of darkness
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 use those things
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 and constantly
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 hold them up
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 to people
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 to show them
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 you're going to die,
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 you're under sin,
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 you're going to hell
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 and it keeps them
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 in that guilt
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 and it keeps them
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 pinned down
00:21:50 --> 00:21:52 in a sinful lifestyle.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 And the way
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 to battle it
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 is to proclaim
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 that those powers
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 have been defeated
00:21:59 --> 00:22:01 at the cross of Christ.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 That's the irony
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 is we defeat
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 those powers
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 by proclaiming
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 that they have
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 been defeated.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 It says that
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 Christ paraded them
00:22:20 --> 00:22:20 and he took
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 that handwritten
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 requirements,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 that list of
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 handwritten requirements
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 and he nailed it
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 to the cross.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:29 Taking us up
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 with him
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 into that cross
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 and purging us
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 of all our sin,
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 all our judgment,
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 all our guilt.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 so that we are
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 completely pure.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 So that we can
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 live a godly life.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 Because the grace
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 of God
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 that brings salvation
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 has appeared
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 to all men
00:22:53 --> 00:22:55 and it teaches us
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 to say no
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 to ungodliness
00:22:57 --> 00:22:59 and worldly passions
00:22:59 --> 00:23:03 while we wait
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 for the blessed hope,
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 the glorious appearing
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 of our great God
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 and Saviour,
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:23:10 --> 00:23:12 So my friends,
00:23:12 --> 00:23:14 surrounded by a similar
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 world that the Christians
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 were surrounded in then,
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 there's not as much
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 overt violence
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 in our society,
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 but given the right
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 pressures,
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 there would be.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:26 But surrounded
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 by a pagan society,
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 we have to be those
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 whose goodness
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 is shining out of us,
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 who are shining
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 the light of Christ
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 to a dark
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 and sinful world.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 God bless you.