HUMBLE AUTHENTICITY
Series: Commitment Series 2014
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 8th November 2014
Passage: Isaiah 6:1-7
00:00:00 --> 00:00:08 I know a man who was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for a double murder.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 He murdered a mother and her baby.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 This was a number of years ago.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:22 At one point, this man was placed in the same section of Long Bay Jail
00:00:22 --> 00:00:30 as the guys who were involved, who were convicted for murder in the Milpere Bicy Bicy massacre
00:00:30 --> 00:00:34 back in Father's Day in 1984, I think it was.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 I'm a bit vague. I was pretty young at the time.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:43 And in that massacre, I think six bikies were killed,
00:00:43 --> 00:00:47 but they gunned down a 14-year-old girl in the crossfire, an innocent girl.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:53 And so one day in Long Bay Jail, these bikies grabbed hold of this bloke that I know,
00:00:54 --> 00:00:59 beat him up really badly, poured boiling water all over him and put him in intensive care.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:09 And the reason they did that was because they considered him to be such a lowlife for having killed a baby.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 Now, I find it remarkable.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:18 It's a remarkable trait of the pride-driven human heart
00:01:18 --> 00:01:23 that no matter where we are, no matter what we're guilty of,
00:01:23 --> 00:01:28 we can always find someone who makes us feel morally superior.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:35 Even in a supermax prison, surrounded by the worst of the worst,
00:01:35 --> 00:01:39 you will always find someone who makes you feel better.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:47 There will always be someone who will make our sinfulness and our lack of righteousness
00:01:47 --> 00:01:52 look positively praiseworthy in our eyes.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:59 Much like the Pharisee in the parable that was read out to us in Luke 18,
00:01:59 --> 00:02:00 where he says,
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 God, I thank you that I'm not like other men.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 And especially that tax collector over there.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:09 What a scumbag.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:15 Jesus directed this parable, he says right at the beginning in verse 9,
00:02:16 --> 00:02:22 to those who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:27 And the parable has a really tough ending.
00:02:27 --> 00:02:32 And the tough ending of this parable tells me that our core value of humble authenticity
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 that we're looking at tonight is a matter of life and death.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 This is how Jesus puts it.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:43 I tell you that this man, the tax collector, rather than the other,
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 went home justified before God,
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 That is, God will humble them.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 God will, in effect, crush them.
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 And he who humbles himself will be exalted.
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 God will lift up the humbled.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:06 So this issue of self-righteousness and humility is so crucial
00:03:06 --> 00:03:10 because it is ultimately about life and death and eternal life and death.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:15 And there is a stark contrast between the Pharisee and the tax collector
00:03:15 --> 00:03:19 and how they arrive at their self-evaluations.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:25 The Pharisee assesses his righteousness by looking at someone that he considers a scumbag.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:27 His tax collector.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:33 The tax collector, humbled by his own sense of sin,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 calls out to God.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:37 He doesn't even look up to heaven.
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 He doesn't even look at God.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:43 He is so crushed by his sin and he calls out to God.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 John Calvin, bloke from years ago, said,
00:03:46 --> 00:03:52 It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself
00:03:52 --> 00:03:56 unless he has first looked upon God's face
00:03:56 --> 00:04:01 and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinizing himself.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:09 For we always seem to ourselves righteous and upright and wise and holy.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 This pride is innate in all of us.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:19 Unless, by clear proofs, we can stand convinced of our own unrighteousness,
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 foulness, folly and impurity.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 And so that's what we're going to do tonight.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:27 Take a leaf out of Calvin's book
00:04:27 --> 00:04:32 and we are going to begin with contemplating God first
00:04:32 --> 00:04:36 and having contemplated the majesty and holiness of God,
00:04:36 --> 00:04:41 we'll get an assessment of ourselves as human beings.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:43 So let's have a look.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:48 Isaiah invites us to share his vision of God in Isaiah 6, verses 1 to 4,
00:04:48 --> 00:04:49 if you come with me on that one.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 Isaiah 6, 1 to 4.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 And this is obviously just one glimpse of God,
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 but I think it'll be enough for us at least to start for tonight.
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 And then you can continue on from here,
00:04:59 --> 00:05:00 studying the attributes of God.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 One thing that I want to encourage you to do.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:07 Attributes of God and study your own human heart.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 Know your heart and know God.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 At least seven glimpses of God here in these first four verses.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:19 Firstly, in verse 1, it says we see that God is alive.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:23 King Uzziah is dead, but God lives.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 Psalm 90, verse 2 says,
00:05:26 --> 00:05:39 That's two sermons ago I said that.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:44 God is ultimate reality because he existed before anything was made.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:48 God was the living God when this universe banged into existence.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 And that's not a sneaky reference to the Big Bang there.
00:05:51 --> 00:05:56 He was the living God in 1966 when Time magazine put on their front cover,
00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 God is dead.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:03 And he will be alive, living 10 trillion ages from now
00:06:03 --> 00:06:10 when all the puny human pot shots at his existence have dropped into oblivion
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 like a pebble into the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:20 Over 54 million people die each year.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 But not God.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 In a brief 120 years,
00:06:29 --> 00:06:35 this planet will be populated with at least 10 billion brand new people.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:41 And the 7 something or other billion of us right now
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 will all be gone
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 off the face of the earth
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 just like King Uzziah.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 But not God.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 He always has been and he always will be alive.
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 Secondly, we see that God is authority.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:01 Verse 2.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 Saw the Lord seated on a throne.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 God sits on his throne.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 And that is the picture that you see consistently throughout the Bible.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:10 God sits on his throne.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:11 He rules.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 All is at peace and calm in his heavenly kingdom.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:18 You get no picture of God in the Bible at all, anywhere,
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 of God needing to cut the grass, pull the weeds out, load a truck,
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 or direct traffic, or anything like that.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:27 He sits and he rules.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:34 The throne is his right to rule the universe that he has created.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 He has authority over our lives, whether we like it or not.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:42 And after him there is nowhere else to appeal.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 There is nothing beyond him.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 Thirdly, we see that God is all-powerful.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 The throne of his authority is not one among many thrones.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:51 It says,
00:07:51 --> 00:07:55 I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 That throne is,
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 God's throne is high and exalted,
00:08:00 --> 00:08:05 is that it signifies his superior power over every other throne,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 every other authority.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 No opposing authority can nullify God's decrees.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:19 He always fulfills and accomplishes what he purposes.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 Nothing can get in his way.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:27 As God says a little later in Isaiah 46, verse 10,
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 I make known the end from the beginning,
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 from ancient times,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 what is still to come,
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 I say my purpose will stand,
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 and I will do all that I please.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:47 And so to be gripped by the all-powerful sovereign God
00:08:47 --> 00:08:48 is either marvellous,
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 because you know he's on your side,
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 or it is terrifying,
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 because you know that he is against you.
00:08:56 --> 00:09:00 I want to say indifference to the sovereignty of God,
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 and he's all-encompassing power,
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 means that you just haven't seen him.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:08 You can't be indifferent to the sovereignty of God,
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 and he's all-encompassing power,
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 just means you haven't seen him.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 You haven't seen it for what it is.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:15 Let me tell you friends,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:19 if you're a person who trusts in the Lord Jesus,
00:09:19 --> 00:09:23 in this world of chaos and instability and sin,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 the sovereign authority of the living God
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 is a refuge full of joy.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 It is a refuge full of joy.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 It gets you out of bed in the morning.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 For me, the sovereignty of God is a matter of survival,
00:09:39 --> 00:09:40 day by day.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 Fourthly, we see that God is magnificent.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 I saw the Lord seated on a throne,
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 high and exalted,
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 and the train of his robe filled the temple.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:50 Most of you,
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 a number of you,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:53 weren't even alive when this happened.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:54 1981,
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 Diana, Princess of Wales,
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 married Charles,
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 and the wedding day was televised,
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 it was live.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 I was a young kid at this point,
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 like I was 11 or something like that.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 And what happened was,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 we had sort of like a wedding party.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:11 So,
00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 that is not I did.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 A bunch of families got together,
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 watched it all on this little TV.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 They weren't flat screens back in those days.
00:10:19 --> 00:10:19 This little TV,
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 we're all watching this stuff,
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 all the weddings happening.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 And I can remember it vividly
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 in this person's lounge room.
00:10:25 --> 00:10:26 It's the middle of the night.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:28 And,
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 what are we doing here?
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 At a wedding,
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 for goodness sake.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 But the big moment was,
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 when Diana copped out of the carriage,
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 and started to walk up the steps of,
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 of St Paul's Cathedral in London.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 And as she got out of the carriage,
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 the train of her dress,
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 just kept coming,
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 and kept coming,
00:10:47 --> 00:10:47 and kept coming,
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 and kept coming.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 It was eight metres long.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 And I didn't care,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 but all the women in the room went,
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 oh,
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 wow,
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 look at that.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:00 And,
00:11:01 --> 00:11:01 really?
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 That was my response,
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 as an 11 year old boy,
00:11:04 --> 00:11:04 and frankly,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:05 it still would be now.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:06 But,
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 what would it mean,
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 if the train of her dress,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 not just filled the steps,
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 as a ball's cathedral,
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 but all inside cathedral,
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 all the pews,
00:11:16 --> 00:11:16 and the,
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 the choir loft,
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 and the pulpit,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:18 and the,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 the balconies,
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 and the whole lot,
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 it was all made out of one piece of material.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:23 I think the oohs,
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 and the ahs,
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 and the wows,
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 would be even more,
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 magnificent,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 because that's the picture,
00:11:30 --> 00:11:30 of the train,
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 of the robe,
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 of God's,
00:11:32 --> 00:11:32 fills,
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35 all of the heavenly realms.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 It,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:36 it,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:36 it,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 the picture here,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 is that God is incomparable,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 in his splendor.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 The fullness of God's splendor,
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 shows itself,
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 in thousands,
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 and millions of ways,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 in what he has made,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 from the heights of the galaxies,
00:11:50 --> 00:11:50 and,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:51 you know,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:51 like,
00:11:52 --> 00:11:52 you go out there,
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 in the middle of the darkness,
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 I know you can't do it in Chatswood,
00:11:55 --> 00:11:55 but you go out there,
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 in the middle of the darkness,
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 and you just see the galaxies,
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 and you just read the passages,
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 where God says,
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 I just placed that one there,
00:12:01 --> 00:12:01 and that one there,
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 and that one there,
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 and spoke them into existence,
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 from the heights of the galaxies,
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 to the depths of the ocean,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 right down in the darkest deeps,
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 of the ocean,
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 where there are strange little fish,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 that have their own headlights,
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 and some of them have got these dangly lights,
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 on the front of them,
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 and some are attached to their chins,
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 and some are at the bottom of their eyes,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 and the noses glow,
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 and you can't even get your rod there,
00:12:22 --> 00:12:22 and you go,
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 what are they there for?
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 I don't know,
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 except,
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 it's a display of the splendor,
00:12:33 --> 00:12:33 of God.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 You see,
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 God is lavish in his splendor,
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 and his creative fullness,
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 spills over,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 spills over in excessive beauty,
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 and if that's the way the world is,
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 in all its,
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 intricate detail,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:52 and beauty,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 and majesty,
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 how much more spectacular,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 is the God who,
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 thought it all up,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 and brought it all into existence?
00:13:03 --> 00:13:03 Fifthly,
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 God is revered,
00:13:05 --> 00:13:05 above him,
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 were seraphs,
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 each with six wings,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:08 with two wings,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:09 they cover their faces,
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 with two they cover their feet,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:11 and with two,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 they were flying.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:16 For whatever is going on here,
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 these six strange winged creatures,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 with feats,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:19 and eyes,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 and intelligence,
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 they never appear in the Bible again,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:23 at least,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 not under the name of seraphim.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 One thing is for sure,
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 given the grandeur,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 of the,
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 the scene,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 that we get a glimpse here,
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 of the heavenly realms,
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 and the power,
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 of these angelic hosts,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 it's best for us,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 not to picture,
00:13:41 --> 00:13:41 chubby little babies,
00:13:42 --> 00:13:42 with wings,
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 flushing around the ears of God.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 That's not the picture here.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 These are awesome beings.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 Verse four says,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 that when one of these dudes here,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 speak,
00:13:52 --> 00:13:52 the,
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 the foundations of the temple,
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 the foundations of heaven,
00:13:56 --> 00:13:56 shake.
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 So there's no puny,
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 silly little creatures in heaven,
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 only magnificent one.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 And even they,
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 these magnificent beings,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 as great and as good as they are,
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 as untainted by human sin,
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 as they are,
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 even they,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 revere their maker,
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 with great humility.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 Two wings cover their face,
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 they won't even look upon the Lord,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 nor do they even feel worthy,
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 to have their feet uncovered in his presence,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 two are covering their feet.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 How much more,
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 would we shudder and quake in his presence?
00:14:35 --> 00:14:35 We,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 who could not even bear to endure,
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 the presence of one of these seraphs.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:42 They,
00:14:42 --> 00:14:42 they,
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 they would freak us out.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:47 Six,
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 God is holy,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:49 verse three,
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 and they were calling to one another.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:52 This,
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 this is the seraphs,
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 the ones who speak,
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 and the whole foundation shudder.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 Holy,
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 holy,
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 holy,
00:15:00 --> 00:15:00 holy,
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 is the Lord almighty.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 The possibility of language,
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 carries the meaning of God,
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 and eventually,
00:15:09 --> 00:15:09 you get to a point,
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 where it just runs out.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 I mean,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 what's left there to say?
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 And the word holy,
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 carries us to the brink.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:17 This is,
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 this is kind of as far as we go.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 And from there,
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 the experience of God,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:22 is,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 is beyond words for us.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 And the reason I say that,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 is every effort that you have,
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 in terms of trying to define,
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 what the holiness of God means,
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 it just keeps coming back around to say,
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 God is holy,
00:15:34 --> 00:15:34 means,
00:15:35 --> 00:15:35 God is God.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 That's basically it.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 God is one of a kind,
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 in a class by himself.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 In that sense,
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 he is utterly holy,
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 but then you have just said nothing more,
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 than he's God.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 God is absolute reality,
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 beyond which there is only more of God.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 There's nothing beyond God.
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 There's nothing else that he answers to.
00:15:58 --> 00:16:01 There's nothing else that he is separated from,
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 to make him distinct in his being.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 He is incomparable.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 His holiness determines all that he is,
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 and all that he does,
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 and it's not determined by any person,
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 or anything.
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 The arrogance of human beings,
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 to think that we can determine,
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 what God is like.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 His holiness is what he is as God,
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 which no one else will be.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 His holiness determines,
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 what it means is that,
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 he's not me,
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 and he's not you.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 He is other than us.
00:16:40 --> 00:16:45 Then the seventh and final thing about God,
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 God is glorious.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:47 Verse 3,
00:16:47 --> 00:16:47 Holy,
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 holy,
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 holy is the Lord God Almighty.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 The whole earth,
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 is full of his glory.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 And the best way to understand that,
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 in this context,
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 is probably to say,
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 the glory of God,
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 is the display,
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 or the exhibition,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 of his holiness.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 God's holiness,
00:17:04 --> 00:17:08 is the incomparable perfection,
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 of his divine nature,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 and his glory,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 is when,
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 that divine nature,
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 is made public to us,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:16 so that we can see it.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 God is glorious,
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 means,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 that his being,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 has gone public,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 so that we can understand,
00:17:28 --> 00:17:28 what he's like.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:31 In Leviticus 10 verse 3,
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 God says,
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 Among those who approach me,
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 I will show myself holy,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 in the sight of all people,
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 I will be honoured,
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 or a better translation,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 in the sight of all people,
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 I will be glorified.
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 When God,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 shows himself to be holy,
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 what we see,
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 is glory.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 And what we are meant to do,
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 when we see glory,
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 is worship.
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 That's our response.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 And so when the seraphim say,
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 the whole earth is full of his glory,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 what they're saying is,
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 the whole earth,
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 displays him.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 We're meant to make the connection.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 And the seraphim can say that,
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 it's because from the heights of heaven,
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 where they are in the throne room of God,
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 they get to glimpse,
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 all that God's made here,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 and they go,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 oh,
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 oh,
00:18:19 --> 00:18:19 yeah,
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 I get that.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 I get the connection.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 I can see how this God,
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 has made that.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 And this is a reflection of this God.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 They see that.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:36 The whole created order reflects something of the beauty,
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 and the character,
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 and the worth,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 and the splendor,
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 and the holiness of God.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 And so friends,
00:18:45 --> 00:18:49 that is the necessary first step,
00:18:50 --> 00:18:53 towards a life of humility.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 It is seeing something of God,
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 something of his glory.
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 And can I say,
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 it is a continual process of seeing his glory.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 And as I said in the first sermon on this series,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 in Christ-centered Bible saturation,
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 the ability to see God,
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 is the gracious work of God in our lives.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:17 And without his help,
00:19:17 --> 00:19:22 we are blind to the facts about God.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 No,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 that's not what I said.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 What did I say?
00:19:25 --> 00:19:25 Two Sundays ago.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:29 We're not blind to the facts about Christ.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 We're blind to the glory.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 We can't see glory.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 We can't,
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 therefore,
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 we cannot see God.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 Because glory is what he's revealed.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 Without his help,
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 we are blind to his glory.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:49 We can't even see God by our own strength,
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 and that is humbling.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 But know this,
00:19:54 --> 00:19:57 when God graciously allows us to see him,
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 when he reveals his glory to us,
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 we actually,
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 correspondingly,
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 at the same time,
00:20:07 --> 00:20:10 we see our sin,
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 our lack of glory.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:15 Isaiah 6,
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 5,
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 Woe to me,
00:20:18 --> 00:20:18 I cried,
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 I am ruined.
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 For I am a man of unclean lips,
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 and I live among a people of unclean lips,
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 and my eyes have seen the King,
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 the Lord Almighty.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 So to quote John Calvin again,
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 Isaiah sees in this moment
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 his unrighteousness,
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 foulness,
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 folly,
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 and impurity.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 Impurity.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 And it's the same experience that Peter had
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 when he'd been out fishing all night.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 Remember the occasion,
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 he's fishing out all night,
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 doesn't catch anything,
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 so he kind of is about as good of a fisherman
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 as what I am.
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 And then Jesus comes along
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 and says to him,
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 cast your net on the other side of the boat.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 And he's like,
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 really?
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 And so he does,
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 and he gets this huge haul of fish,
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 tries to bring it on the boat,
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 huge haul of fish.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 And what happens in that moment?
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 Peter goes,
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 my goodness,
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 look at all these fish.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 Retirement plan.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 This is fantastic.
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 No, he doesn't.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:15 This is how Luke records his response.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 When Simon Peter saw this,
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 he fell at Jesus' knees and said,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 go away from me, Lord.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 I am a sinful man.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 You see,
00:21:25 --> 00:21:28 Peter had been walking with Jesus
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 and talking with him
00:21:28 --> 00:21:30 and eating food with him for some time,
00:21:30 --> 00:21:33 and then in this moment,
00:21:33 --> 00:21:36 God allows him to see glory.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 And the immediate response is,
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 I'm a sinful man.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:45 God allowed Peter to see his glory
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 in the face of Christ in that moment.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 And when that happens,
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 your own lack of glory,
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 your own sinfulness is what's exposed.
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 And Peter's experience
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 is the same as Isaiah's experience
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 because both of them got the same glimpse
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 of the same God.
00:21:59 --> 00:22:02 John 12, 41 says,
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 Isaiah said this
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 because he saw Jesus' glory
00:22:06 --> 00:22:08 and spoke about him.
00:22:08 --> 00:22:10 That's a reference to Isaiah,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 chapter 6, verses 1 to 4.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16 When God allows us to see his glory,
00:22:17 --> 00:22:19 we also see how far short
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 we have fallen of that glory.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 Romans 3, 23,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 for all have sinned
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 and fallen short of the glory of God.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:28 The Bible diagnoses sin
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 as a universal deformity of human nature
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 which is found at every point
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 in every person.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39 The phrase that gets brandished around
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 is total depravity.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 And it's commonly used
00:22:43 --> 00:22:45 to make explicit
00:22:45 --> 00:22:48 the implication of sin in our lives.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 It means that there is a corruption
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 of our moral and spiritual nature
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 which is total.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 Not in the sense
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 that we are all as bad
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 as we could be
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 because none of us,
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 none of us
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 are as bad
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 as we could possibly be.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 Not one of us.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:11 God graciously
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 restrains
00:23:12 --> 00:23:14 our wickedness.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 If he did not,
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 no two of us
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 could be left
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 in the same room
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 at the same time.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:24 We would destroy each other.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 That's kind of a glimpse
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 of hell
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 when God takes his hands away.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 The only reason
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 you are sitting here today
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 or I'm standing here today
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 and not in a prison cell
00:23:36 --> 00:23:39 is the gracious hand of God.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 My friends,
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 that is humbling.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 Total depravity means
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 that no part of us
00:23:45 --> 00:23:47 is untouched by sin.
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 There is no action of ours
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 that is good
00:23:49 --> 00:23:51 as it could possibly be.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:53 Even the good things we do
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 are tainted by sin.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 I mentioned this morning
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 at church this morning
00:23:56 --> 00:23:59 that a month or two ago,
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 I can't remember exactly
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 what it was,
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 there was an elderly lady,
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 she was up reading the Bible
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 and then stepping down
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 off the stage,
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 I was up to preach
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 and I grabbed,
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 I put my hand out,
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 she grabbed my hand
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 and I helped her down the stairs,
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 you know,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 help an old lady thing,
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 you know,
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 one good deed sort of stuff.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 And in that moment,
00:24:15 --> 00:24:17 when I saw her coming down
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 and realizing that she needed to help,
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 it was no problem for me
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 to stick my hand out
00:24:20 --> 00:24:20 and help her.
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 And once she was down safely,
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 she walked off
00:24:23 --> 00:24:25 and I started to ascend the stairs
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 and before I even got
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 to the lectern,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 the thought in my mind was,
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 I wonder how many people
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 saw me do that.
00:24:30 --> 00:24:34 Just like that,
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 just happened like that.
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 Everything that we do
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 is tainted by sin.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:39 You know,
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 I don't just need
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 the blood of Christ
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 to cover the wrong things I do,
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 I need the blood of Christ
00:24:44 --> 00:24:46 to cover even the good things I do
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 because there's no such thing
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 as a perfect performance.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 I don't ever get anything
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 perfectly right.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:56 Nothing in us or about us
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 ever will match
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 God's perfect standards.
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 Everything is tainted by sin.
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 And like Isaiah,
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 we are ruined
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 unless something is done for us.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 And there is only one solution.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 Isaiah 6.6
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 says that one of the seraphs
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 flew to Isaiah
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 with a live coal
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 and touched his unclean lips.
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 See,
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 this has touched your lips,
00:25:17 --> 00:25:19 your guilt is taken away
00:25:19 --> 00:25:21 and your sin is atoned for.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 The seraph came from God
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 to Isaiah
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 to deal with Isaiah's sinfulness.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:32 God atoning for our sin
00:25:32 --> 00:25:34 is our only hope.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 The seraph and the live coal
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 coming to Isaiah
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 is simply a forerunner
00:25:39 --> 00:25:41 to God himself
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 coming to us
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 in the person of Jesus Christ
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46 to deal with our sin.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 1 John 4.10
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 This is love.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 Not that we love God
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 but that he loved us
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 and sent his son
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 as an atoning sacrifice
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 for our sins.
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 1 John 2.1-2
00:25:56 --> 00:25:58 makes it explicit.
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 Jesus Christ,
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 the righteous one,
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 the only one who's not sinned,
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 he is the atoning sacrifice
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 for our sins
00:26:04 --> 00:26:06 and not only for ours
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 but also for the sins
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 of the whole world.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 We are only saved
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13 from our sin
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15 by the action of God.
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17 It is all of God
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19 from first to last.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 And so Christianity
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 is not about good people
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 getting better.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:26 It's not about good people
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 getting better.
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 If anything,
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 it is good news
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 for bad people
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 coping with their failure
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 to do anything good.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 Winston Churchill.
00:26:38 --> 00:26:40 He was the master
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 of the clever put-down.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 He once described
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 a political opponent
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 as a modest little man
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 who had a great deal
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 to be modest about.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:51 But the Bible
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 consistently leads me
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 to believe
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 that I've got a great deal
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 to be modest about.
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 I've got every reason
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 to be humble.
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 I'm finite,
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 I'm weak,
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 I'm limited,
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 I'm sinful,
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 I'm inept,
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 I'm flawed,
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 I have a beginning,
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 I will have an end.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 And yet,
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 the deceitfulness
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 of sin
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 means that I am not
00:27:11 --> 00:27:13 immune from the
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 logic-defying effects
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 of pride.
00:27:15 --> 00:27:18 When I first heard
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 about that incident,
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 about,
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 a number of years ago,
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 that incident about
00:27:22 --> 00:27:24 those guys
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 in Long Bay Jail
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 and what they did,
00:27:27 --> 00:27:29 I was amazed
00:27:29 --> 00:27:32 how self-righteous
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 they were.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:38 What right do murderers
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 have to judge
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 another murderer?
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 What makes them think
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 they're any better?
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 You know,
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 those guys,
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 I mean,
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 my goodness,
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 filth,
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 scumbag of the earth,
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 you gunned down
00:27:46 --> 00:27:48 an innocent
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 14-year-old girl,
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 who gives you
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 the right to say
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 this guy,
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 because he killed a baby,
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56 is worse than we are?
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 And yet,
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 when I say that,
00:28:02 --> 00:28:04 I actually elevate
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 myself over them
00:28:05 --> 00:28:08 as if they're worse
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 than I am.
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 How easy it is
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 to put ourselves
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 into this parable
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 of the Pharisee
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 and the tax collector
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 and know
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 and know
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 and know
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 that I must be
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 the tax collector
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 in order to be
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 right with God
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 and read this
00:28:21 --> 00:28:23 parable
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 and go,
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 God,
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 I thank you
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 that I am not
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 like that
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 self-righteous Pharisee.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 The irony
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 of sneering
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 at the one
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 who sneers.
00:28:35 --> 00:28:41 is so entangled
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 in our hearts.
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 It's so easy
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 for us
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 to move
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 from dependency
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 in Jesus
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 back into
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 self-dependency.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 The key
00:28:52 --> 00:28:52 to living
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 the Christian life
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 is to never
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 get up
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 from the foot
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 of the cross.
00:28:57 --> 00:28:59 You came
00:28:59 --> 00:29:01 to Jesus
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 as an open
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 handed
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 beggar
00:29:04 --> 00:29:07 and nothing
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 ever changes.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 Nothing
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 ever changes.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 When I see
00:29:16 --> 00:29:18 beggars in the street
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 I used to think
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 get a job.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:24 now I think
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 that's me.
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 I might be
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 wearing different
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 clothes
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 and I might be
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 showered
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 but that's me.
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 You came
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 as an open
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 handed beggar
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 and nothing
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 ever changes.
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 I rediscovered
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 this a fair bit
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 recently
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 in the last
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 number of years
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 in the life
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 of Charles
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 Simeon.
00:29:48 --> 00:29:50 he was a
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 Christian minister
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 suffered greatly
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 and after
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 you've been
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 a Christian
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 for 40 years
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 he wrote
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 this
00:29:55 --> 00:29:57 there are
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 two objects
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 that I've
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 ever desired
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 for these
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 40 years
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 to behold.
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 The one
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 is my own
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 vileness
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 he means
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 his own
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 sinfulness
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 and the
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 other
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 is the
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 glory of
00:30:08 --> 00:30:08 God
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 in the
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 face
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 of Christ
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 and I've
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 always
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 thought
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 that they
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 should be
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 viewed
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 together.
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 You want
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 to get a
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 bigger
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 bigger
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 bigger
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 picture
00:30:18 --> 00:30:20 of
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 God
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 and his
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 glory
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 what will
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 happen is
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 you'll
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 discover
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 your own
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 lack
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 of
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 glory
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 and to
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 mine
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 the
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 depths
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 of
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 your
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 own
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 lack
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 of
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 glory
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 and
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 your
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 own
00:30:30 --> 00:30:30 sinfulness
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 you need
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 to cling to the
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 cross
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 you go
00:30:33 --> 00:30:33 together.
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 He actually
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 labored to know
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 his true
00:30:37 --> 00:30:37 sinfulness.
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 heart
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 heart
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 He wrote
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 the tender
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 heart
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 the broken
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 and contrite
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 spirit
00:30:44 --> 00:30:44 are to
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 me
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 far above
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 all these
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 joys that I
00:30:47 --> 00:30:47 could ever
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 hope for
00:30:48 --> 00:30:48 in this
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 veil of
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 tears.
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 I long
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 to be
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 in my
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 proper
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 place
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 my
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 hand
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 on my
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 mouth
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 and my
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 mouth
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 in the
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 dust.
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 I feel
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 that this
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 is safe
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 ground
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 here I
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 cannot
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 err
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 for I'm
00:31:01 --> 00:31:01 sure that
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 whatever
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 God may
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 despise
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 he will
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 not
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 despise
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 the
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 broken
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 and
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 contrite
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 heart.
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 To
00:31:09 --> 00:31:09 paraphrase
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 him a
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 little
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 bit
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 I
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 think
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 what
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 he's
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 saying
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 is that
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 the
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 safest
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 place
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 in the
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 world
00:31:14 --> 00:31:14 is at
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 the
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 foot
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 of
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 the
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 cross
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 of
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 Christ
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 with
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 your
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 face
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 in
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 the
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 dust
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 in
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 humble
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 submission
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 in
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 total
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 dependency
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 upon
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 him.
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 Clinging
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 to his
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 righteousness
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 not
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 yours.
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 And
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 I
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 think
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 that
00:31:28 --> 00:31:28 he
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 also
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 gets
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 that
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 from
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 Isaiah
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 66
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 2
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 that
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 tells
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 us
00:31:33 --> 00:31:33 what
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 actually
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 draws
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 the
00:31:35 --> 00:31:35 approval
00:31:35 --> 00:31:35 of
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 God.
00:31:37 --> 00:31:37 Not
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 our
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 ministry
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 budgets
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 not
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 our
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 building
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 program
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 not
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 how many
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 people
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 are
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 sitting
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 here
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 in
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 church
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 not
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 what
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 sort
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 of
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 good
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 deeds
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 you
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 do
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 or
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 what
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 money
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 you
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 give
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 in
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 church
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 this
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 is
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 what
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 gets
00:31:46 --> 00:31:46 God's
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 attention.
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 He
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 who
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 is
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 humble
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 and
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 contrite
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52 in
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52 spirit
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 and
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 trembles
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 at
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 my
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 word.
00:31:58 --> 00:31:58 I
00:31:58 --> 00:31:58 am
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 thoroughly
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 convinced
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 that
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 there
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 can
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 be
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 no
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 effective
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 life
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 Christian
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 growth
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 or
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 ministry
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 or
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 mission
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 without
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 the
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 cultivation
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 of
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 humiliation
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 in the
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 heart
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 and the
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 weakening
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 of pride
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 in the
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 life.
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 Living
00:32:08 --> 00:32:12 living
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 out
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 humbly
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 in
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 authentic
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 way
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 will
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 look
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 sort
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 of
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 like
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 this.
00:32:17 --> 00:32:17 When
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 you're
00:32:18 --> 00:32:18 confronted
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 with
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 the sin
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 and the
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 failure
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 of
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 another
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 person
00:32:21 --> 00:32:23 you'll
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 be
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 more
00:32:24 --> 00:32:24 aware
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 the
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 humble
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 person
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 will
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 be
00:32:26 --> 00:32:26 more
00:32:26 --> 00:32:26 aware
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 of
00:32:27 --> 00:32:27 their
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 own
00:32:28 --> 00:32:28 sin
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 and
00:32:29 --> 00:32:29 their
00:32:29 --> 00:32:29 own
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 failure
00:32:30 --> 00:32:30 towards
00:32:30 --> 00:32:30 God
00:32:30 --> 00:32:32 than
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 another
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 person's
00:32:33 --> 00:32:33 sin and
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 failure
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 towards
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 them.
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 That's
00:32:36 --> 00:32:36 humility.
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 you'll
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 be more
00:32:40 --> 00:32:40 aware of
00:32:40 --> 00:32:40 your
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 own
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 failure
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 than
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 another
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 person's
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43 failure.
00:32:45 --> 00:32:45 Therefore
00:32:45 --> 00:32:45 you'll
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 be less
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 judgmental
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 and less
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 critical.
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 You'll
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 also
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 mean that
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 you won't
00:32:52 --> 00:32:52 try and
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 smooth over
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 your sin
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 to excuse
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 it, make
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 it less
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 than what
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 it is.
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 You'll
00:32:58 --> 00:32:58 be real
00:32:58 --> 00:32:58 about it.
00:32:59 --> 00:32:59 I'll be
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 frank with
00:33:00 --> 00:33:00 you.
00:33:01 --> 00:33:01 I'm
00:33:01 --> 00:33:01 standing
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 here looking
00:33:02 --> 00:33:02 at all
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 you right
00:33:03 --> 00:33:03 tonight and
00:33:03 --> 00:33:03 I think
00:33:03 --> 00:33:03 you're a
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 bunch of
00:33:04 --> 00:33:04 rotten
00:33:04 --> 00:33:04 sinners.
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 That is
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 my
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 assumption.
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 My
00:33:08 --> 00:33:08 assumption
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 with every
00:33:09 --> 00:33:09 single
00:33:09 --> 00:33:09 person sitting
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 here right
00:33:10 --> 00:33:12 now is
00:33:12 --> 00:33:12 that you
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 all have
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 skeletons in
00:33:14 --> 00:33:14 the closet
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 that you
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 would be
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 absolutely
00:33:17 --> 00:33:19 mortified if
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19 we jammed
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19 them up there
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 on the
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 screen right
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 now.
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 The reason
00:33:23 --> 00:33:23 I know it's
00:33:23 --> 00:33:25 true is
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 because that's
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 me as well.
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 I work on
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 the assumption
00:33:30 --> 00:33:32 that you're
00:33:32 --> 00:33:32 all human
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 and you've
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 all fallen
00:33:34 --> 00:33:34 short of the
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 glory of
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 God.
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 reality
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 and I
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 believe
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 that
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 reality
00:33:43 --> 00:33:45 ought to
00:33:45 --> 00:33:45 be evident
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 more and
00:33:46 --> 00:33:46 more in
00:33:46 --> 00:33:46 the church.
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 When we
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 present that
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 we've got it
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 all together
00:33:49 --> 00:33:51 and we
00:33:51 --> 00:33:51 present that
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 to the
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 world,
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 it is
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 anti-gospel.
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 Let me
00:33:58 --> 00:33:58 give you an
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 example of
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 authenticity.
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 One episode
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 of the TV
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 show The
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 Simpsons,
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 Homer Simpson
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 is being
00:34:06 --> 00:34:06 interviewed
00:34:06 --> 00:34:08 for a job
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 at the
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 nuclear power
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 plant,
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 Springfield
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 nuclear power
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 plant.
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 There's two
00:34:12 --> 00:34:12 jobs,
00:34:12 --> 00:34:12 three blokes
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 going for
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 an interview.
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 The three
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 of them
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 were asked
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 the question,
00:34:17 --> 00:34:17 what would
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 each of you
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 say is
00:34:19 --> 00:34:19 your worst
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 quality?
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 The first
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 guy says,
00:34:22 --> 00:34:22 well,
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 I'm a
00:34:23 --> 00:34:23 workaholic.
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 The second
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 guy says,
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 he responds
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28 in a similar
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 kind of
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 self-righteous,
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 not really a
00:34:31 --> 00:34:31 weakness,
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 more like a
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 strength kind
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 of way.
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 He says,
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 I push
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 myself too
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 hard.
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 Homer Simpson
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 on the other
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 hand answers,
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39 well,
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 it takes me a
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40 long time to
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 learn anything.
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 I'm kind of a
00:34:42 --> 00:34:44 goof off and
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 things start to
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 disappear from
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 the workplace.
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 And he
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 starts going on
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 and the
00:34:51 --> 00:34:51 interviewer,
00:34:51 --> 00:34:51 that's enough,
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 that's enough.
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 Somehow he got
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 the job.
00:34:55 --> 00:34:55 Now,
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 I want to say
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 to you,
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 I don't
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 recommend it
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 as an
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 interview
00:34:58 --> 00:34:58 technique.
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 But the
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 honesty is
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 refreshing.
00:35:03 --> 00:35:05 His
00:35:05 --> 00:35:06 authenticity
00:35:06 --> 00:35:07 is appealing
00:35:07 --> 00:35:09 especially
00:35:09 --> 00:35:09 against the
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 self-righteous
00:35:10 --> 00:35:12 false humility
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 of the other
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 two.
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 Because that's
00:35:15 --> 00:35:16 what false
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 humility is.
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 It's actually
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 pride in
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 disguise.
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 Designed to
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 extract
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 praise.
00:35:27 --> 00:35:27 My friends,
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 we start the
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 Christian life as
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 beggars at the
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 foot of the
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 cross and we
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 finish the
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 Christian life as
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 beggars at the
00:35:34 --> 00:35:34 foot of the
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 cross.
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 As we sing,
00:35:37 --> 00:35:37 nothing in my
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 hand I bring,
00:35:39 --> 00:35:39 only to the
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 cross I cling.
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 It never
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 changes.
00:35:44 --> 00:35:44 We must
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 labor to lay
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 aside any
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 remnant of
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 self-righteousness
00:35:48 --> 00:35:48 that lurks in
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 our hearts and it
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 lurks there in
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 every dark
00:35:51 --> 00:35:51 corner.
00:35:52 --> 00:35:54 At the cross is
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 where we must
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 begin and end
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 if we have
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 experienced the
00:35:56 --> 00:35:58 daily joy of
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 living by God's
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 transforming grace.
00:36:00 --> 00:36:00 grace.
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 We need the
00:36:01 --> 00:36:01 spirit of God
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 to help us to
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 see our total
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 spiritual bankruptcy
00:36:04 --> 00:36:06 and also to
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 drink deeply
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 from God's
00:36:08 --> 00:36:09 infinite grace
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 to us in the
00:36:10 --> 00:36:11 Lord Jesus.
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 May we experience
00:36:12 --> 00:36:14 both deep
00:36:14 --> 00:36:16 humiliation for
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 our sin and
00:36:17 --> 00:36:19 deep joy in
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 Christ at the
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 same time.
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 And then in
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 deep awareness
00:36:24 --> 00:36:26 of what we have
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 received,
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 looking only to
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 Jesus and
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 only having
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 our comparison
00:36:30 --> 00:36:30 with him,
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 may we extend
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 that same
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 spirit of
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 grace to
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 others as we
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 authentically live
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 out who we
00:36:38 --> 00:36:40 are, beggars,
00:36:41 --> 00:36:43 in daily need
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 of grace.
00:36:45 --> 00:36:45 Amen.