Hope for You
Series: GOOD FRIDAY 2021
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 1st April 2021
Passage: John 19:1-42
00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 Thank you for you on this Good Friday. If I've not met you before, my name is Steve. I'm the
00:00:06 --> 00:00:11 senior pastor here at St. Paul's, and I'd be grateful if you could have John 19 open in front
00:00:11 --> 00:00:19 of you. And also, just for a bit of a heads up, John chapter 4 as well. You may need that as we
00:00:19 --> 00:00:26 go through too. Let me just jump straight in and say, Easter is what Christianity offers a world
00:00:26 --> 00:00:35 that is losing hope in its ability to fix itself. That's Easter. It's what Christianity offers you,
00:00:37 --> 00:00:46 you who cannot change, you who cannot find peace, cannot find security, cannot find hope,
00:00:46 --> 00:00:54 cannot find meaning. And so today and the next three Sundays, we as a church are going to be
00:00:54 --> 00:01:03 looking at hope and the hope that Easter offers this world. And already, Deb has indicated this
00:01:03 --> 00:01:11 time a year ago, we were in lockdown. We were not able to meet together as we are now because of
00:01:11 --> 00:01:18 COVID-19. In the past year, we have been in the midst of the worst global pandemic in a century
00:01:18 --> 00:01:28 and hopes even now of an early solution and for life to go back to normal is dashed again and again
00:01:28 --> 00:01:37 and again and again. And the problem we know with this pandemic is not just sickness. Virtually every
00:01:37 --> 00:01:45 sector in society will be impacted and will feel the repercussions of COVID-19 for years to come.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:54 And especially the vulnerable in our society. They will bear the greatest burden once again.
00:01:55 --> 00:02:03 Death, pandemics, injustice, family breakdown, social isolation, cancel culture, the threat of wars.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:12 None of it has stopped. None of it has stopped while we have faced a global enemy against the life of
00:02:12 --> 00:02:23 humanity. Which is confusing for us. In the West, particularly. For over two centuries now,
00:02:24 --> 00:02:32 Western societies like ours have put hope in the progressiveness of history. To put it simply,
00:02:33 --> 00:02:40 every day and in every way, we're getting better and better. And yet we're not.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:48 It's the strong belief that came out of the age of enlightenment that every generation would
00:02:48 --> 00:02:57 experience a better world than the one before it. The assumption is that via human reason, ingenuity,
00:02:58 --> 00:03:08 science, once freed from the superstitions of beliefs from centuries past, we would have a better future
00:03:08 --> 00:03:16 future together. Now we should have learned that lesson. We haven't. We should have learned that
00:03:16 --> 00:03:24 lesson in the first four decades of the 20th century. In the space of four decades, we faced two world wars
00:03:24 --> 00:03:30 like we'd never seen before. A global pandemic and the Great Depression. In fact, in the 20th century
00:03:30 --> 00:03:37 alone, more people were killed in wars than all history prior combined.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:44 What followed those four decades was the Cold War and the threat of nuclear holocaust.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:52 And it seems that the greatest threat to our hope for a better world is not the natural environment
00:03:52 --> 00:03:59 around us, but the various forms of evil that spring from the heart of the human being.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:08 Science could come up with a vaccine for COVID-19, but it can't eradicate human evil.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:16 Now by evil, I don't mean just the really big stuff like, you know, the Jewish Holocaust.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:26 I mean the ordinary cruelties of self-interest day by day in business, racism, arrogance, pride,
00:04:26 --> 00:04:34 dishonesty, corruptions, abuse, sexism, the countless acts of selfishness that we all practice day by day.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:38 And that brings me to Easter.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 And the hope for humanity.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:50 The word the Bible uses for hope is so much stronger than the one that's used in the English language.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:54 It means a profound certainty.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 Profound certainty.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 Christians are profoundly certain,
00:05:01 --> 00:05:06 even in the midst of pandemics and hardships,
00:05:06 --> 00:05:14 that God is guiding every twist and every turn of their life towards the resurrection of their bodies
00:05:14 --> 00:05:21 and their souls for a new, eternal and perfect world where everything wrong doesn't exist.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 It's a profound certainty.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:31 And all of this profound, certain hope is fixed.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:38 All of it is fixed to the explosive three days
00:05:38 --> 00:05:43 where the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth,
00:05:43 --> 00:05:47 happened around 2 years ago in Jerusalem, Israel.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 In time, in space.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 It's a certain hope.
00:05:52 --> 00:06:01 And so my plan today is to take us into the beginnings of those events
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 and really just focus on two things.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:11 Two things that Jesus said on the cross in that Bible reading that was just read out to us.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:19 And the first of those things reveals the nature of the hope that Jesus offers us.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:26 And the second thing that he says is how we can take up the hope that he offers us.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:28 So first of all, that's all I'm saying.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:29 Two things.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 Take a little while, but two things.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 The nature of his hope,
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 the nature of his offer of hope.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:38 At the end of the crucifixion.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39 So this is John 19.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 If you want to dive into that, it'd be really helpful.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 John chapter 19, the end of his crucifixion account.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 We read this in verse 28.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:52 Later, knowing that everything had been finished.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:57 And so that the scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said,
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 I am thirsty.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 Now, our first reaction to that is,
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 well, of course he's thirsty.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 I mean, you know, it's the Middle East.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 It's really sand and sun there.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 It's really hot.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 He's been crucified under the Middle Eastern sun.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 He's losing lots of fluid.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:23 In fact, one of the things that you died from in crucifixion was dehydration.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 You died from dehydration amongst other things.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:31 And so, but if we linger over those words a little bit,
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 we realize that in actual fact,
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 it might be something significant that's happening here.
00:07:36 --> 00:07:37 Maybe there's something a little bit deeper.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 We need to think about this.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:44 You see, because Jesus has suffered an awful lot up until this point, right?
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 He has been beaten in the face with fists.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:51 He has been lashed with a whip across his back in such a way.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 His back looks like a chunk of steak.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 He's had tent pegs.
00:07:57 --> 00:07:57 No, no, no.
00:07:57 --> 00:07:58 You know, not three-inch nails.
00:07:58 --> 00:08:02 He had tent pegs driven through his hands and his feet.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:10 He's had a crown of thorns squeezed over his head and lacerated his head.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:14 He has endured all of that and he's not complained once.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:16 Not once.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 Not even a whimper.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 He's accepted it.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:23 He's submitted to it.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 Not even an, ow, that hurt.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:27 Nothing.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:27 Nothing.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:33 So why now, why now at the end of all of that, does he say,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 actually I'm feeling thirsty.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 There's something deeper going on here.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:49 Something a bit deeper than just mere, I need a drink.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:54 And what's going on deeper here is,
00:08:54 --> 00:08:59 is a connection to something happened that much earlier in John's gospel,
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 in John chapter four.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:05 Early in this biography, Jesus encounters a woman at a well.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 She's a Samaritan woman.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:12 And she is a mortal enemy of the Jewish people in the first century.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:17 And she is surprised, as she goes to draw water from the well,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 that Jesus says to her, a mortal enemy,
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 can you give me a drink?
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 Jesus says to her in chapter four, verse 13,
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 everyone who drinks from this water,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 the water that you will draw from this well,
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 will be thirsty again.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 But whoever drinks the water that I give them,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 will never thirst again.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 Indeed, the water that I give them,
00:09:45 --> 00:09:49 will become in them a spring of water,
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 welling up to eternal life.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:58 So again, even as he asked for a drink of water in John four,
00:09:58 --> 00:10:02 he's talking about here something that's much deeper than mere physical thirst.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:08 That's because in the Bible, thirst is a metaphor for emptiness.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:12 It's a metaphor for spiritual emptiness
00:10:12 --> 00:10:17 that comes when we do not put God, our creator,
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 at the center of our life.
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 For instance, Psalm 42,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 as the deer pants for the streams of water,
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 so my soul pants for you, my God.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:32 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 Where can I go and meet with him?
00:10:36 --> 00:10:40 You see, it's one thing to believe that God exists,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 as the vast majority of our world still does.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:53 But it's quite another thing to have him as the central reality of your life.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:58 It's not belief in God,
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 an intellectual assent that God exists,
00:11:02 --> 00:11:06 that our souls need so much as meeting God,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 knowing God, experiencing God.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 Without meeting, knowing, experiencing God,
00:11:10 --> 00:11:14 without him being the central reality of our life,
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 we thirst.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:21 We die.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 That is, it's possible to have a belief in God,
00:11:26 --> 00:11:31 but have something else as the central defining reality for your life.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 If I may continue this metaphor a little bit more,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 these other things,
00:11:38 --> 00:11:40 success, approval, comfort, friendship, family,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 sex and romance, influence, money,
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 a whole range of things,
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 power,
00:11:46 --> 00:11:53 the actual drink that we are pouring into our souls to quench the thirst,
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 the emptiness that we feel on the inside.
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 We are hoping that these things will fill us up
00:12:00 --> 00:12:03 and satisfy us and give us hope.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 And the point that Jesus is getting to
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 is if we attempt to quench the thirst of our soul
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 with anything else than the love and the beauty
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 and the comfort of God in Jesus Christ,
00:12:13 --> 00:12:19 then we will thirst again and again and again and again forever.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:26 Only God in Jesus can fully and satisfyingly quench the thirst of our emptiness.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:31 Everything else is like drinking seawater.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:36 It just simply makes you more thirsty.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:40 And so back in John 4
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 and Jesus meeting with this Samaritan woman,
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 Jesus says,
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 the water that I will give them
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 will become in them a spring of water
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 welling up to eternal life.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 And so the woman hears this
00:12:55 --> 00:12:55 and he goes,
00:12:55 --> 00:12:58 Sir, give me that water right there.
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 Give me that water
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 so that I don't thirst
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 and I don't have to keep coming here,
00:13:03 --> 00:13:03 drinking,
00:13:04 --> 00:13:04 you know,
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 drawing the water here.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 What's amazing here,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 Jesus wants to give it.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 She immediately wants it
00:13:11 --> 00:13:15 and then Jesus doesn't give it to her.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 Not straight away.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 Instead,
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 what appears to happen
00:13:22 --> 00:13:26 is that Jesus seems to change the subject in John 4.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 He says to her,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:28 well,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 go and get your husband.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 And her reply is,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:32 well,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:32 actually,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 I don't have a husband.
00:13:34 --> 00:13:34 And Jesus says,
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 you're absolutely right.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 You have no husband.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 The fact is,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 you've had five husbands
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 and the man you're currently with
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 is not even your husband.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 She wants to take up the offer of eternal life.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 He changes the subject.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 Brings up her broken,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 messed up love life.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:53 Why?
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 What are you doing,
00:13:56 --> 00:13:56 Jesus?
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 Why be so harsh
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 at this point with her?
00:14:02 --> 00:14:02 Why change the subject
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 and be so harsh?
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 And yet he isn't.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 He isn't changing the subject.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 And he's being incredibly tender.
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 He's pointing out to her
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 that all her messed up love life
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 is simply a result
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 of her looking
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 to men
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 to give her
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 what only God
00:14:26 --> 00:14:26 can give her.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 To use the metaphor again,
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 her life
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 has revealed
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 she's been drinking
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 sea water
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 all her life
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 in the form of relationships
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 with blokes.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 and she is thirsty.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 She is never satisfied.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 And Jesus offers her fresh water
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 that will fill her up
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 and satisfy her forever.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 The reason her life
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 is going so poorly
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 is because when
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 we look to someone
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 or something
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 other than God
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 for the love
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 and the significance
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 and the beauty
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 and the security
00:15:05 --> 00:15:05 and the hope,
00:15:06 --> 00:15:06 we will thirst
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 again
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 and again
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 and again
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 and again
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 because it will never
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 ever
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 satisfy.
00:15:13 --> 00:15:13 satisfy.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 You will thirst
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 for eternity
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 if you live your life
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 that way.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 What she needed
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 was God
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 as the living reality
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 at the center
00:15:30 --> 00:15:30 of her life.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 She needed to have
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 the love of God
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 at the center
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 of her life
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 so she didn't need
00:15:35 --> 00:15:35 to look
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 to the love of men
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 to give her
00:15:37 --> 00:15:37 what only God
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 can give her
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 to truly satisfy her.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 So Jesus was not
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 so much confronting her
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 but in actual fact
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 lovingly convicting her
00:15:47 --> 00:15:47 and putting her
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 to a greater hope.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 And what is interesting
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 about this Samaritan woman
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 is that she had
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 belief in God
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 but it wasn't enough.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 Jesus wasn't
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 the center of her life.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 God was not
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 the defining reality
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 of her life
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 and Jesus
00:16:08 --> 00:16:08 in this encounter
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 helped her to see it.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 Other things
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 were more important.
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 That's the background
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 of John 19
00:16:17 --> 00:16:17 so let's just
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 flick back now
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 to John 19
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 and the crucifixion
00:16:21 --> 00:16:21 of Jesus.
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 That is the reason
00:16:25 --> 00:16:25 why Jesus
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 is thirsty.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 His thirst
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 is a picture
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 of what he is
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 really going through
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 on the cross.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 On the cross
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 Jesus Christ
00:16:36 --> 00:16:36 is experiencing
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 the ultimate thirst
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 as the prophet
00:16:39 --> 00:16:39 Nahum
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 in the Old Testament.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:41 Centuries before
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 he put it like this.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 Who can withstand
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 his indignation?
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 Who can endure
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 his fierce anger?
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 His wrath
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 is poured out
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 like fire.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 On the cross
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 Jesus
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 was getting
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 what the whole
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 human race
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 deserved
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 for putting
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 its evil
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 in putting
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 everything else
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 apart from
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 God
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 at the center
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 of their lives.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 He was getting
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 what we deserve
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 for our life
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 of ignoring
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 our created God.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 He was experiencing
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 the divine
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 justice.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 It was like
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 a million
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 Middle Eastern
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 sons
00:17:21 --> 00:17:21 burning
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 down on him.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 He is thirsting
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 thirsting
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 in our place
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 so that we
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 can have
00:17:29 --> 00:17:29 living water.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 He is dying
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 of spiritual
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 thirst.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 He is being
00:17:33 --> 00:17:33 emptied.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:34 The one
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 who was always
00:17:35 --> 00:17:35 full
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 was being
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 emptied
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 so that we
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 can be filled.
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 He is experiencing
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42 the agony
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 of being separated
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 from God
00:17:44 --> 00:17:44 the fountain
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 of living water
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 so that we
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 can have
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 direct access
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 to the fountain
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 of eternal
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 living water.
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 Jesus experienced
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 the agony
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 of separation
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 of love
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 from his
00:17:56 --> 00:17:56 father.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 The experience
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 of his
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 fire of judgment
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 so that we
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 can experience
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 his presence
00:18:02 --> 00:18:02 and love
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 and the
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 never ending
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 refreshment
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 of the water
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 of eternal
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 life.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 He got
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 what we
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 deserve
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 so that we
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 can get
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 what only
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 he rightly
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 deserves.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 He suffered
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 so that we
00:18:20 --> 00:18:20 can have a
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 river of life
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 welling up.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 That is his
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 favour,
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 his love,
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 his approval,
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 his acceptance.
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 That is the
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 nature
00:18:28 --> 00:18:31 of his
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 offer of hope
00:18:32 --> 00:18:32 for us
00:18:32 --> 00:18:32 this Good
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 Friday.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 So secondly,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 how do we
00:18:36 --> 00:18:36 take it up?
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 The last
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 thing that
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 Jesus breathes
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 on the cross,
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 the last thing
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 he says is
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 in verse 30.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 It
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 is
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 finished.
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 Now
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 Jesus is
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 using a
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 word here
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 that means
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 totally paid
00:18:55 --> 00:18:55 for.
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 Totally
00:18:58 --> 00:18:58 paid for.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 It's a
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 word that
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 you used to
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 write across
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 an account
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 in the
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 first century.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 Paid in
00:19:07 --> 00:19:07 full.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 See,
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 one of the
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 great
00:19:11 --> 00:19:14 and wonderful
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 paradoxes of
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 history
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 is that
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 here
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 on the
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 cross
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 just
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 outside
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 of
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 Jerusalem
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 is the
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 helpless,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 powerless,
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 almost dead,
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 dependent
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 Jesus
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 on a
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 cross
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 and his
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 last words
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 that he
00:19:32 --> 00:19:32 uttered,
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 I did it.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 I've
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 triumphed,
00:19:38 --> 00:19:38 I've
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 accomplished
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 it,
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 it's
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 finished.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:47 And what
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 he's
00:19:48 --> 00:19:48 accomplished
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 for us,
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 what he
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 describes,
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 is beautifully
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 described for
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 us a little
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 bit later
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 in the
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 New
00:19:54 --> 00:19:54 Testament.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:55 It
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 says,
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 Christ also
00:19:57 --> 00:19:57 suffered once
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 for sins,
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 the righteous
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 for the
00:20:00 --> 00:20:00 unrighteous,
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 to bring
00:20:02 --> 00:20:02 you
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 to God.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 You see,
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 there's this
00:20:06 --> 00:20:06 infinite
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 chasm between
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 us and
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 God and
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 Jesus has
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 done
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 everything
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 required.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 He has
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 paid every
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 debt that
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 we owe
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 to God,
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 dealt with
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 every single
00:20:16 --> 00:20:16 bit of
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 shame and
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 guilt and
00:20:18 --> 00:20:18 sin.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:19 He's
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 accomplished
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 it all,
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 there's
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 nothing
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 more to
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 pay.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 There is
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 nothing more
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 that we have
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 to do to
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 bridge the
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 gap between
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 us and
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 God.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 And so
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 contrast,
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 contrast
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 Jesus'
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 last word
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 here with
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 the last
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 word of
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 Buddha.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 The last
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 word of
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 Buddha,
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 strive
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 without
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 ceasing.
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 Jesus,
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 it's
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 finished.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 I've
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 thirsted for
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 you and
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 it is
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 finished
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 versus
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 strive
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 without
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 ceasing.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 ceasing.
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 Now let
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 me say,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 there's a
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 lot of
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 admirable
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 things about
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 Buddhism,
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 like the
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 self-denial
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 and the
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 recognition
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 that selfishness
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 is one of
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 humanity's
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 biggest
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 problems.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 problems.
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 But if you
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 know anything
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 about
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 Buddhism,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 you would
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 know that
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 the
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 eightfold
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 path of
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 Buddhism is
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 extremely
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 hard and
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 incredibly
00:21:25 --> 00:21:27 demanding and
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 you would
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 never actually
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 have hoped
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 that you've
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 done enough.
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 Strive
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 without ceasing.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 Keep
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 going and
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 you may get
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 enlightenment.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 fulfillment.
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 That's why
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 these last
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 words of
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 Jesus here
00:21:42 --> 00:21:45 is so
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 important.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 I've done
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 all the
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 striving for
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 you.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 I've done
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 everything to
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 bring you to
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 salvation.
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 I've thirsted
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 so that you
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 might be
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 fully satisfied.
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 Religion is
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 where you
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 give God a
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 performance and
00:22:01 --> 00:22:03 hope and
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 hope and
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 hope that he
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 might wishful
00:22:06 --> 00:22:06 thinking,
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 that he may
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 in fact bless
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 you.
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 The core
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 message of
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 Christianity,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 the core
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 message of
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 Easter,
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 the good
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 news of
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 Easter,
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 which is why
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 it's called
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 Good Friday,
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 is that God
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 blesses us in
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 Jesus Christ
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 and we get
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 to live,
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 to love and
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 serve him,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 the only one
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 who has
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 already given
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 us every
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 love,
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 every blessing
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 and every
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 acceptance.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 Jesus has
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 done it all,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 fulfilled it
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 all.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 Any effort
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 on our
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 behalf to
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 make his
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 completed,
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 finished work
00:22:40 --> 00:22:40 any better
00:22:40 --> 00:22:42 actually makes
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 it worse.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 Anything that
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 we think we
00:22:46 --> 00:22:48 contribute makes
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 it worse.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 It unpacks
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 it, any
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 effort, any
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 striving.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 When Jesus
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 says it is
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 finished, what
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 he actually
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 means is it
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 is finished.
00:23:01 --> 00:23:06 finished, we
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 cannot receive
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 his salvation
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 and act as
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 if we can
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 add to it.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 So let me
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 just go on a
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 little bit of a
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 tangent here.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 There are two
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 kinds of people
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 in this world
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 who attempt to
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 add to the
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 finished work of
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 Jesus.
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 There's the
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 one kind of
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 person is the
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 beat myself up
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 person and the
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 other person is
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 prove myself
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 person.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 There's the
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32 self-beaters and
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 the self-provers
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 and all of us
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 on one way or
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 another on a
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 scale there.
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 The self-beater is
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 the one every
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 time someone
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 criticizes, they
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 are just going to
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 crumble.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 They are
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 devastated and
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 they beat
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 themselves up.
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 Every time they
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 do something wrong
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 and make a
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 mistake, they
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 beat themselves
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 up.
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 In fact, it's
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 quite possible that
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 you did something
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 30 years ago and
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 you're still
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 beating yourself
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 up about it.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 You cannot get
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 past it.
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 You feel bad
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01 about it.
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 In fact, you
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 only feel good
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 about yourself
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 when you are
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 feeling bad
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 about yourself.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 You're a
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 beat yourself up
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 person and you
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 need to know
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 this Good Friday
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 that Jesus was
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 beaten up from
00:24:13 --> 00:24:15 you and it
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 was finished.
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 He paid for
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 your sins.
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 Why do you
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 still keep
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 trying to pay
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 for them?
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 It is finished
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 attempting to
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 add anything
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 to what
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 Jesus done
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 simply detracts
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 from it.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 The other
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 person is the
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 self-prover.
00:24:35 --> 00:24:37 They usually
00:24:37 --> 00:24:37 feel much
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 better about
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 themselves than
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 the self-beater.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 They're often
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 proud, self-made
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 person.
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 You've done a
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 little bit of
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 success in life,
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 you think it
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 means something.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 The need to
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 have money,
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 success,
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 possessions,
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 family,
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 career, in
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 order to
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 feel secure
00:24:55 --> 00:24:57 and significant
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 means you
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 are trying to
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 add to
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 Jesus' work
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 to make us
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 all secure
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 and acceptable.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 The message
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 of Christianity
00:25:05 --> 00:25:07 is that we
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 are all,
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 every single
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 one of us,
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 is a sinner
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 saved by grace
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 if we trust
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 in the
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 finished work
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 of Jesus
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 who has
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 thirsted for
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 us.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:22 what
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 Christianity
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 tells us,
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 what
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 Isa
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 tells us,
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 is our
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 hearts
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 are more
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 evil than
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 we ever
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 dare to
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 believe.
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 That's what
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 the cross
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 tells us.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 Our hearts
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 are more
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 evil than
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 we ever
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 dare to
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 believe and
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 we are
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 more loved
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 than we
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 ever dare
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 hope or
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 imagine.
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 At exactly
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 the same
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 time,
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 the person
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 who tries
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 to prove
00:25:49 --> 00:25:49 themselves
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 doesn't
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 understand
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 that they
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 can never
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 do it
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 because in
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 fact they
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 are more
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 evil than
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 they could
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 ever possibly
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 imagine.
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 Conversely,
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 people constantly
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 trying to
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 atone for
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 their flaws
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 by beating
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 themselves up
00:26:02 --> 00:26:04 never will
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 because they
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 are already
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 loved and
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 affirmed more
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 than their
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 wildest dreams
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 could ever
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 hope.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 God
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 humbles the
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 one and
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 affirms the
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 other.
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17 It is
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 finished.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 Jesus'
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 death on
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 the cross
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 doesn't
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 make us
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 a contributor
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 to our
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 salvation.
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 It is
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 our
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 salvation.
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 All of
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 our overwork
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 and anxiety
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 and constant
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 striving,
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 our lack
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 of gratitude
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 and rejoicing
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 is because
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 we do not
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 know that
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 it is
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 finished.
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 It's
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 done.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:44 the amazing
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 truth of
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 Easter is
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 summarised
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 really
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 succinctly
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 in a
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 little bit
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 later in
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 the New
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 Testament.
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 Here is a
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 trustworthy
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 saying that
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 deserves full
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 acceptance.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 Jesus Christ
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 came into
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 the world
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 to save
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 sinners
00:26:58 --> 00:27:01 and he
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 did it.
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 It's
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 finished.
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 is there
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 any more
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 wonderful
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 news for
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 people like
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 us who
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 know we
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 cannot measure
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 up to the
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 demands of
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 our own
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 conscience,
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 let alone the
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 demands of
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 our own
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 holiness,
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 while still
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 living in
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 fear of what
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 this future
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 of this world
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 might hold.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 Easter is
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 full of hope
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 for the
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 self-beaters
00:27:27 --> 00:27:29 and the
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 self-provers.
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 it is full
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 of hope
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 for you.
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 It is
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 finished
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 in Jesus.
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 So see
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 your need
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 met in
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 him and
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 centre your
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 life on
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 him.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 The hope
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 of Easter
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 is summed
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 up so
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 wonderfully
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 and possibly
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 the most
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 famous Bible
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 verse of
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 all.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 God so
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 loved the
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 world that
00:27:54 --> 00:27:54 he gave
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 his only
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 son that
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 whoever
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 believes in
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 him should
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 not perish
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 but have.
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 eternal
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 life.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 One of the
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 things that
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 we get to
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 do as
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07 a bunch
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 of people
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 gathered in
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 a room like
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 this today
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 is to
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 celebrate in
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 a visual
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 form the
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 death and
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 the resurrection
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 of Jesus
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 with the
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 communion
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 elements.
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 We get to
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 do this
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 together,
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 have a
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 physical
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 reminder of
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 the hope
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 that we
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 have in
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 Easter.
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 Can I
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 just say
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 that if
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 you are
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 someone who
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 trusts in
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 the Lord
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 Jesus,
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 you are
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 someone who
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 got your
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 life centred
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 on Christ
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 right now,
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 then I
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 would invite
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 you to
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 participate in
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 these elements
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 right now.
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 If you are
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 someone who is
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 with us today
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 and you are
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 just not
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 sure where
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 you are or
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 if you might
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 be clear you
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 don't know
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 where you are,
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 can I just
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 encourage you to
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 let these
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 elements go
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 past you?
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 Take this
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 opportunity right
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 now to
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 reflect on
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 what we have
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 just seen in
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 John 4 and
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 John 19
00:28:55 --> 00:28:57 and find
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 that the
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 thirst of
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 your soul
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 is only
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 ever satisfied
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 in Jesus
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 Christ.
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 And as
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 we receive
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 these elements,
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 bow your
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 head and
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 receive Christ
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 for the first
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 time.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 Do that
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 today.
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 But
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 acknowledging
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 that we
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 are flawed
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 and we
00:29:17 --> 00:29:19 are sinful
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 people,
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 up on the
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 screen,
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 we're going
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 to say a
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 prayer
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 together
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 acknowledging
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 our need
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 for
00:29:25 --> 00:29:29 no,
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 it's not
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 on the
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 screen.
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 So let
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 me instead
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 lead us in
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 that prayer.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 Bow your
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 heads.
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 This is for
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 the kids
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 amongst us
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 as well,
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 so I've
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 sort of
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 made it
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 easier for
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 them to
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 grapple with
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 some of
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 this language.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 Oh
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 Father God,
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 we are
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 sorry for
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 living,
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 for
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 ourselves,
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 for loving
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 other things,
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 other people
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 more than we
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 love you,
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 and forgetting
00:29:59 --> 00:30:01 to pray and
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 asking you to
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 forgive our
00:30:02 --> 00:30:02 sins.
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 Father,
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 forgive us.
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 Wipe away
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 our guilt
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 and our
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 sadness.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 Take away
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 our shame.
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 Change our
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 hearts to
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 love what you
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 love and to
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 turn away from
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 what you
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 hate.
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 Thank you
00:30:17 --> 00:30:17 for your
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 love,
00:30:19 --> 00:30:19 for your
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 never-stopping,
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 unbreaking,
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 unbreaking,
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 always and
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 forever love.
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 Thank you
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 for our
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 life of
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 freedom that
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 we have
00:30:30 --> 00:30:30 because Jesus
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 died.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 Thank you
00:30:33 --> 00:30:33 for our
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 hope in
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 Jesus that
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 never changes,
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 that never
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 fades away.
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 Thank you
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 in Jesus
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 that we
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 never thirst
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 and are
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 fully satisfied
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 forever
00:30:44 --> 00:30:46 in such
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 a way
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 that the
00:30:46 --> 00:30:48 well of
00:30:48 --> 00:30:48 water of
00:30:48 --> 00:30:50 life just
00:30:50 --> 00:30:50 flows into
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 us.
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 And so
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 in Jesus
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 name we
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 give you
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 thanks.
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 Amen.