Jesus and the Bible
Series: Your Word is Truth
Speaker: Ash Kwok
Date: 23rd June 2024
Passage: Mark 7:1-13
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 What gets you in and what gets you out?
00:00:03 --> 00:00:12 You see, back in the day, I remember that crocs were all the trend.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:13 They were all arranged.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 You'd wear socks with crocs.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 And the thing is, for me, crocs made you out.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:22 Crocs weren't cool.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:23 Bourbon socks were easy.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 You'll see me a lot of the time wearing Bourbon socks.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 In fact, I heard someone ask their parent recently,
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 and that's a new shoe.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 It got to the point where, even today,
00:00:33 --> 00:00:37 I was at another youth group preaching,
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 and I was talking about crocs and how old they were,
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 and everyone looked at the person, and they were like,
00:00:42 --> 00:00:46 crocs are the best thing because crocs are in acrimony.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:51 I remember when I was wearing puffy jackets,
00:00:51 --> 00:00:55 my friends said that I did not look cool.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 And it was only something that old people would wear.
00:00:57 --> 00:00:58 But guess what?
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 Crocs are in, and so are puffy jackets.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:06 It's what the young adults have been wearing for the last decade.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 You see, in today's passage,
00:01:08 --> 00:01:14 the Pharisees are about who is in and who is out.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 The Pharisees were so caught up in whether people were clean,
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 holy by their standards,
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 and the people who were in were the people who were clean
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 and following their religious and cultural traditions.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:29 And the people who weren't clean were out.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:35 During this period, the Pharisees were seen as the most holy people,
00:01:35 --> 00:01:39 the ones who knew God and went above and beyond to follow his law,
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 to adhere to these cleanliness customs.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:46 You would be of the same level of the Pharisees.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 So why wouldn't you keep these customs?
00:01:49 --> 00:01:54 Well, in this passage, the Pharisees have observed that Jesus and his disciples
00:01:54 --> 00:01:58 were not practicing these Jewish religious traditions,
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 and they tried to trap him.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:04 So for today's sermon, you can open up to the St. Paul's app,
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 or you can write four points that will follow along our sermon.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 Number one, the trap.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 Number two, Jesus' correction.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 Number three, what is our trap?
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 And number four, what is Jesus' solution?
00:02:20 --> 00:02:21 Well, number one, the trap.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 Let's look exactly what is going on in verse one.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:25 Have your Bibles open.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:26 It says,
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law,
00:02:29 --> 00:02:30 who had come from Jerusalem,
00:02:30 --> 00:02:34 gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food
00:02:34 --> 00:02:35 with hands that were defiled.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 That is, unwashed.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 Now, Mark goes further.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 He writes some little backstory for his initial audience,
00:02:44 --> 00:02:48 who most likely were non-Jews and were unfamiliar with these customs.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 It was just what the Jews did.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 It says in verse three,
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing,
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 holding to the tradition of the elders.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 And when they come from the marketplace,
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 they do not eat unless they wash.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 And they observe many other traditions,
00:03:07 --> 00:03:08 such as the washing of cups,
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 pitchers and kettles.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 What Mark is doing here is helping us understand
00:03:13 --> 00:03:18 that the tradition Jesus and his disciples were breaking
00:03:18 --> 00:03:23 were not from God's word.
00:03:24 --> 00:03:24 When you read the Bible,
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 often you'll see little letters that refer to footnotes.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:28 And in these footnotes,
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 you'll see other Bible references
00:03:30 --> 00:03:34 when a quote or an idea relates to other Bible passages.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 And that's actually to encourage us
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 to actually get some context
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 and to see how the Bible is unified in its message.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 In here,
00:03:46 --> 00:03:50 notice that there are no references to other texts,
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 no references to biblical laws.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:54 In other words,
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 what the Pharisees were actually catching Jesus on
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 were things from man and not from God.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 They added a blanket rule
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 on what it meant to be God's people,
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 but not listen to God's word himself.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:10 The term in verse three,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 the tradition of the elders,
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 refers to Jewish traditions
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 passed on from generation to generation
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 from the authority of each teacher of the law.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 That has become their authority.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 In other instances,
00:04:24 --> 00:04:28 this term would refer to not a tradition that's passed on,
00:04:29 --> 00:04:34 but what the authoritative contemporary Pharisees held.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 But it is not the authority of God.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 It's why we are in this series,
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 because we believe that the Bible is God's word,
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 that it is ultimate authority.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:47 It is trustworthy and necessary.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:49 It's clear and final.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 And we're encouraged to go deeper into God's word
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 to submit to God's authority.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 And what the Pharisees are really doing
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 is like us making a policy book here at St. Paul's
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 and say that the people who are in
00:05:02 --> 00:05:06 are only people who wear summer clothing in winter at church
00:05:06 --> 00:05:07 or only have cold showers.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 We already know that I will probably win one of those.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 Sometimes we might link it to,
00:05:14 --> 00:05:18 oh, it's because we want to be uncomfortable
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 to know that our comfort truly is in Jesus.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:22 Guess what?
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 That is not a policy that we have here.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 And that would be a man-made thing.
00:05:27 --> 00:05:31 The original intention of this cultural custom
00:05:31 --> 00:05:35 was that they recognize that God cared about cleanliness.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:37 But boy, did they get it wrong.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 So how does Jesus correct them?
00:05:41 --> 00:05:45 Jesus answers two questions we might have for the text.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 Number one, where did the Pharisees go wrong?
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 And then number two, how then are we in?
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 How then are we made clean?
00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 So where did the Pharisees go wrong?
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 Jesus corrects them in verse six to eight.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:06 He replied, Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, hypocrites.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 As it is written, these people honour me with their lips,
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 but their hearts are far from me.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 They worship me in vain.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 Their teachings are merely human rules.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 You have let go of the commands of God
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 and are holding on to human traditions.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:28 Jesus, who loves God's word, he knows it.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 He uses it as a defence against temptation.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:35 He recognises that the Pharisees are those who want the identity
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 of being godly and religious.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:42 And he noticed how he characterises the Pharisees,
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 the lip service, the vain worship.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 They're just holding on to human traditions.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:51 And it characterises them as those of the world and of themselves.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 And it is as if these external observances
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 are what makes them God's people.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 In fact, Jesus later makes it known in verse nine to 13
00:07:01 --> 00:07:05 that it's not just clinging to human tradition as the problem,
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 but in fact, their human traditions,
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 the things that they're putting their pride in,
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 make it actually impossible to follow God's word.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:17 Verse 13, that they in fact nullify the word of God
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 by your tradition that you have handed down.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 And this is not the only time they do so.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:27 Cleanliness by God's standards,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 being in with the crowd of God,
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 has never been about how you look,
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 never been about the food you consume.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 God, from the very beginning,
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 has always been about the heart.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 1 Samuel 16 verse 7 tells us this.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 Although man might look to the external,
00:07:51 --> 00:07:52 the Lord looks into the heart.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 And Jesus says later in verse 15,
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 nothing outside of the person can defile them
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 by going into them.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 Rather, it is what comes out of the person
00:08:04 --> 00:08:05 that defiles them.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 For later in verse 20, he says that the things,
00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 that the unclean things that come out of a person,
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 comes from an unclean heart.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 We're in MasterChef season right now,
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 and I hope you're watching because it's just amazing.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:23 But there are so many times when contestants cook things
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 and the judge finds the tiniest thing to go on and say,
00:08:26 --> 00:08:27 nah, I can't eat it at all.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 There might be a raw component,
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 maybe there's a speck of dirt.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 If you didn't know, I didn't know because I eat it.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 Shock horror.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:40 In a prawn, there is an excrement vein in them.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:45 And you can see the judge's refusal to eat in their faces.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 They're just like pulling divisively,
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 oh, there's this thing, therefore I can't eat it.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:57 But we need a solution to our unclean heart.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:02 Any little bit is unacceptable to God
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 because he's perfect, he's pure.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 We can't just do more clean things.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 It's already unclean.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 It's useless washing our hands.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 Once it's made dirty, it's unacceptable.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:17 But the transformed heart is something that God promises his people
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 way back in the Old Testament.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 He promises in Ezekiel 36, 26,
00:09:22 --> 00:09:26 that one day he will give them a new heart, a new spirit.
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 The hope for us comes in Hebrews 10.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 The writer talks about Old Testament sacrifices
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 and their purpose before Jesus.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 It was the way to be made right with God,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:42 but by Christ's sacrifice on the cross,
00:09:42 --> 00:09:48 verse 22 is our battle song against our unclean hearts.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 It says,
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 and with the full assurance that faith brings,
00:09:55 --> 00:09:58 having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience
00:09:58 --> 00:10:02 and having our bodies washed with pure water.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 Faith in Christ makes us in.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:09 Faith in Christ purifies our heart.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:17 Friends, it is possible that we fall into the Pharisees trap too.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 We too can fall for human traditions
00:10:20 --> 00:10:24 or we might even distort truths of God's word
00:10:24 --> 00:10:29 or even his gospel and deceive ourselves like the Pharisees.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 We may not collectively do that as a church.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 We don't require scribal traditions
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 or have an additional law book.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:40 However, we have some subsumed ideologies for our culture
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 that we put as a priority
00:10:42 --> 00:10:46 or even some self-talk that diminish the reality
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 of the gospel in our lives.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 An awesome kids ministry Bible teacher
00:10:51 --> 00:10:53 named Jack Klumpenhower puts it this way.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:56 Take this torch light on the screen.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 Imagine this torch
00:10:58 --> 00:11:02 is someone who's discovered God's light.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 The beam of light will point to two things.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 Number one, the glory of God, his holiness.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 Number two, the knowledge of sin,
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 missing the mark of his glory in the law.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 And that's how we start our journey
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 as followers of Jesus, right?
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 We discover the wonder of Christ and the glory of God.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:27 Wow, there's something about him that's so cool.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 But we also have the spirit
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 who convicts us of our sin
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 and we recognise our sinfulness.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 When a person becomes a Christian,
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 they discover that what bridges the gap
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 is the gospel.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 The gospel reconciles the two ends
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 of the spectrum of God's holiness and our sin.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 And when we grow in our faith,
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 we discover more about God
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 and we realise our imperfections even more.
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 So the beam widens
00:11:58 --> 00:12:03 and so we have a gap in our faith.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 And if our understanding of the totality
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 of Christ's accomplishment and the cross
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 does not grow alongside this,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 we will fill these gaps with anything else.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 We'll fill it with things of this world,
00:12:16 --> 00:12:20 or we'll say things to ourselves like,
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 if our knowledge and love of the gospel hasn't grown,
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 we will fill the gap to reach the holy standard of God.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 Well, all that matters
00:12:31 --> 00:12:34 is that I personally think that I have a good heart
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 or I'm doing my bit for society.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 I'm not perfect,
00:12:40 --> 00:12:44 but surely God recognises that I'm serving,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 that I'm coming to church.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 Surely God is good with my little obedience
00:12:50 --> 00:12:53 or following all the Bible is impossible.
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 In other words,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 we lower God's standard
00:12:58 --> 00:13:03 or make less of the creator of the universe.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 I know I have done that.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 But we will also fill the gap
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 when we realise that our sin
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 is way too deep.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 You might say or think that
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 I just need to hide my sin from others
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 or
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 I might
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 look like a good Christian to others
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 and surely
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 that will be okay.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 Maybe we get defensive
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 when we are called out on our sin.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 Maybe my sin isn't so horrible.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 And in these situations,
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 you and I fall in the same trap as the Pharisees.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 We've made it about man
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 and not about God.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 See, the only solution
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 is when the gospel grows
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 alongside our understanding of God's law
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 and our sin.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 Last week, we were reminded by John
00:13:52 --> 00:13:56 that we are all on the journey as Bible students.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 And naturally, what will happen is
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 we will realise that God is so gracious,
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 glorious and merciful.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 Remember that the only solution,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 rather than be ashamed in your sin
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 or hide from God,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 is when the cross grows alongside everything else.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 The gospel makes you ever more certain
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 about your status being forgiven,
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 adopted and totally accepted.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 You'll no longer fall into legalism
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 or be given into yourself,
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 free licence to live your own way.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 It's the grace that keeps on giving.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 Because Jesus himself valued God's word.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 He affirms it all.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 He doesn't ignore it.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 He doesn't say,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 don't worry about the Old Testament.
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 Steve pointed to us early in the series
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 that Jesus in Luke 24, 27 says
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 that the whole scriptures point to himself.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 Every single story we read from the Old Testament,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 the law, the prophets, the songs,
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 they are filled with God's glory
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 and his promises for his people.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 And friend, for you,
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 they have never been more true,
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 more realised,
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 better than ever in Jesus.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 When you read Psalm 32
00:15:08 --> 00:15:11 about how God is our hiding place in tribulation,
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 you recall to how Colossians 3, 3 says
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 that our hiding place is in Jesus.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:20 It's even easy for me
00:15:20 --> 00:15:24 to get confused about a book like Leviticus
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 when it's talking about sacrifices, worship.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 But you recall to mind,
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 the core of the gospel
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 is that Jesus is our Passover lamb
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 who was sacrificed,
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 who took away the sin of the world.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 When you come across the pages
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 about David and Goliath,
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 you don't go and read that God
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 will help you against your impossible giants.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 No, you look to Jesus.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:50 The pioneer and perfecter of your faith
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 who says that even though
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 you can never reach the glory of God
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 on your own,
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 Luke 18, 27 says directly to that matter
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 that nothing is impossible for God
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 and through Jesus,
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 you can receive forgiveness and freedom
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 that was seemingly impossible.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 But the gospel does not just have the power
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 to change your Bible reading,
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 but in every high and low of your life.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 See, what the gospel does
00:16:14 --> 00:16:17 is make the law not a bar that we can attain
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 because we've established already
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 what makes us clean is the blood of Jesus.
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 What the gospel does,
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 it makes us look to Jesus even in our life.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 The law is no longer a means
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 to be legalistic and tick a box,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 but one that is aspirational,
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 that by the Holy Spirit,
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 you are becoming more like Jesus.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 For example,
00:16:37 --> 00:16:41 if I'm in a perpetual state of people pleasing,
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 my boss, my family, my parents,
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 but I know that Jesus
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 is my saviour,
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 I have an audience of one.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 I live to worship the Lord
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 knowing he already deeply affirms me
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 because I am his child.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 If you're a parent
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 who feels like you need to be striving
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 harder and harder
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 for your child's happiness
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 or for their achievement,
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 hit the brakes.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 Know that your value doesn't come
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 from being class parent of the year,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 but that you are loved as a child of God.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 If you're making a priority
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 to nurture a home
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 for your kids to know and love Jesus,
00:17:18 --> 00:17:18 you are already doing
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 what God calls you to do as a parent.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 And this is regardless of whether
00:17:22 --> 00:17:25 your child trusts in Jesus at the end.
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 That is God's work, not yours.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 If you're single and want to be married,
00:17:31 --> 00:17:34 married is a wonderful gift.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 It is right to be desired.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 But marriage isn't your solution.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 The gospel solution is knowing
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 that in Jesus,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 you are never alone.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 For the spirit that rose Jesus Christ
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 from the dead is in you
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 and that your marital status now
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 reflects the marital status
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 of all Christians in eternity.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 That we will all be single.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 Those who are married right now
00:17:58 --> 00:18:01 will all be single in eternity,
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 solely committed to God.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 When you look at your own sin
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 and keep wondering why you aren't changing
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 and you feel like,
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 maybe God's forgotten about me.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 No, he hasn't.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 For Jesus became defiled
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 by your sin
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 so that you might have a clean heart,
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 so that you can be confident
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 in the promise of Philippians
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 that God is doing a good work in you
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 and will carry it to completion
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 when Jesus returns.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 Friends,
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 the gospel is gold for all.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 Do you see how every narrative
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 in the Bible,
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 old and new,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 familiar and foreign,
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 they weave in together
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 and it all converges
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 to the climax of the cross.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 Every story,
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 longing,
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 triumph
00:18:47 --> 00:18:49 and problem in your life
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 is and can be met
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 and fulfilled in Jesus.
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 As we've been opening the Bible,
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 we've seen that it commands us
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 to value the scriptures
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 as God's authoritative word.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 To not just glance at it
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 and be ready
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 to gaze,
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 but be ready
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 to gaze at
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 God's grace
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 and glory.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:11 So what I want us to do
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 is to consider
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 some questions
00:19:14 --> 00:19:14 for both
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 our life
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 and times we read the Bible.
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 Number one,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 when it comes to your Bible reading,
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 here are three
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 really simple questions
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 to help you
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 every time you read.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 Number one,
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 what is God doing
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 for his people
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 in this story?
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 Number two,
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 how does he do
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 the same for us
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 but better
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 in Jesus?
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 Number three,
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 how does believing
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 this change
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 how we live?
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 And here are three questions
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 to reflect on your own
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 about your life.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 What is the deepest longing
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 in your life
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 you wish to be resolved?
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 How does Jesus address
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 the deepest longing
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 in the gospel?
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 What from God's word
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 brings you
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 this comfort?
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 I want to give you
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 a few moments
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 to jot down right now
00:20:03 --> 00:20:03 these questions.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 Maybe just answer
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 the first question
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 and get your calendars out
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 to reflect on
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 how the gospel
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 is the solution
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 to your deepest need.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 Take a photo of the screen
00:20:12 --> 00:20:15 but if your heart
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 has been stirred,
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 do something.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:18 I would hate
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 for us to be
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 like the man
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 who looks in the mirror
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 then forgets
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 what he looks like.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 I'll pray in a bit.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 Heavenly Father,
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 we thank you
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 for your word.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 We thank you
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 that the pinnacle
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 of scripture
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 aligns our hearts
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 to see the gospel
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 clearer.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 We thank you
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 for Christ crucified.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 We thank you
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 for the risen Lord Jesus
00:20:46 --> 00:20:49 that in trusting
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 in him
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 we have a gospel
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 that does not just
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 have the power
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 to save
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 but to change.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 We pray
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 that we might
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 trust you
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 as the one
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 who changes hearts.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 We know we cannot.
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 So Lord,
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 give us your spirit
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 to renew us
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10 and renew the joy
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 of our salvation
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 but we pray as well
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 that you might give us
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 a new heart,
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 a clean
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 and contrite heart.
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 Amen.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 Amen.
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 Amen.
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 Amen.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 Amen.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 Amen.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 Amen.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 Amen.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 Amen.