JOY through hope
Speaker: Sam Low
Date: 7th August 2016
Passage: Philippians 3:12-4:1
00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 any journey that you go on will always require three pieces of information. You need to know
00:00:06 --> 00:00:12 where you are. You need to know your starting point. You need to know where you're going. You
00:00:12 --> 00:00:17 need to know the goal, the destination that you're heading to. And lastly, you need to know which road
00:00:17 --> 00:00:24 to tack between those two points. The Christian life is very much a journey. Christians have not
00:00:24 --> 00:00:30 arrived yet. There is more to learn. There is more to come, more to discover. There's room to grow.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:38 And navigating life well as a Christian, navigating the life of following Jesus joyfully,
00:00:38 --> 00:00:47 requires those same three pieces of information. First off, we need to know our starting point.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:52 Paul's call in the first half of chapter three, which is what Jimmy opened up for us last week,
00:00:52 --> 00:00:58 to forsake all else, to consider all else in our lives garbage compared to the treasure of knowing
00:00:58 --> 00:01:06 Jesus, is not just a call, it's a testimony. Paul is sharing his own story of what it was like for him
00:01:06 --> 00:01:13 to begin the journey of following Jesus. It's a description of how his life shifted drastically
00:01:13 --> 00:01:21 when he became a Christian and for the very first time put his trust in the death of Jesus and the
00:01:21 --> 00:01:28 resurrection of Jesus as a means by which he could know God. When somebody becomes a Christian,
00:01:28 --> 00:01:34 what they do is they have their life radically reoriented. This is what Jimmy was talking about.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:38 What used to be really important, what used to take priority, what used to consume energy and
00:01:38 --> 00:01:45 imagination and time is reassessed in the light of the fact that they discover Jesus.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:53 They begin to, for the first time, recognise the majesty and wonder of what Jesus does in giving his life for people.
00:01:55 --> 00:02:01 Paul talks about being found in verse nine that Steve just read out for us, about gaining Jesus and in him
00:02:01 --> 00:02:05 getting a righteousness that is by faith and not from the law.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 See, what happens when somebody puts their faith in Jesus,
00:02:10 --> 00:02:19 the starting point when someone becomes a Christian is they discover that God loves them in spite of who they are.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:26 God loves them even though they don't deserve it. That, in fact, what they discover is that the only possible means
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 for them to be loved by God
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 is Jesus.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:36 It's his death so that they might be approved by God, that they might find forgiveness
00:02:36 --> 00:02:40 and be washed clean in the cross. And it's not just that they
00:02:40 --> 00:02:44 discover the idea that this is the only way they can be loved.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 What happens when somebody becomes a Christian is they actually
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 experience and encounter that love
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 for the very first time.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56 They experience what it is to be loved and adopted while they're at their worst,
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 while they are completely undeserving.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 And because they're loved even at their worst,
00:03:01 --> 00:03:05 they experience what it is to be securely loved.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 Because they've already put forward the most unlovable parts of themselves
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 and found God to love them anyway.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 They have a deep security and stability.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 God's love for Christians has nothing to do with how good or bad they are.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 How good or bad they were, how good or bad they will be.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 What the Christian discovers is that God loves because God chooses to love.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:34 God looks at people and makes the decision to love them in spite of their worthiness
00:03:34 --> 00:03:38 or otherwise. It's love that stretches further than people could run.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 And so it's a love that gives security and peace.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:44 Because it's not going anywhere.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 I remember the night that I decided to become a Christian.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 It was almost 20 years ago.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 It was late January 1996.
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 I was on a camp.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 And even though I'd heard about Jesus before,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:03 I'd been in churches before,
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 I'd been around Christians before,
00:04:06 --> 00:04:07 I'd heard the stories before,
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 I knew how Easter worked.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 It was the first time that I looked at Jesus
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 and the cross and his death
00:04:14 --> 00:04:18 and understood that that was God loving me unconditionally.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 That was God offering to accept me
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 regardless of what I had done
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 or even what I would do in the future.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:32 It was the first time that I felt unconditionally loved.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:34 And I remember sobbing.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 Those of you who know me know that I'm not a big crier.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:44 But I remember that night sobbing in a way that I never had before.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 Tears of joy because for the first time,
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 I felt absolutely securely loved.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 Like there was nothing I could have done
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 to convince God to stop loving me.
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 And not only was I secure in the love,
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 the love was bigger and deeper and wider
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 and more costly than anything I had ever encountered.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 I felt no pressure to do or be anything.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 I just felt loved.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 I desperately wanted other people to know
00:05:15 --> 00:05:16 what I was feeling at that point,
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 but it was what I wanted.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:19 It wasn't something that I had to do.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 I remember that night I felt joy
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 unlike anything I'd ever known.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 It was a life-defining,
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 life-altering joy.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 It's the same kind of joy
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 that Paul has been talking about here in Philippians.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:41 It's the same kind of joy
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 that leads him to look at his whole life
00:05:43 --> 00:05:44 before meeting Jesus
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 and joyfully say,
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 none of that is worth anything anymore.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 In fact, it's garbage
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 compared to what I've discovered in Jesus.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 He doesn't give up his old life begrudgingly.
00:05:56 --> 00:05:56 Joyfully, he says,
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 this is so much better.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 This is so satisfying
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 that is garbage by comparison.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 Even the good, best bits of his life
00:06:06 --> 00:06:07 don't come close.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:11 Paul was so content
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 from the point that he met Jesus
00:06:13 --> 00:06:17 that he became an impossible opposition
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 for those who would seek to oppose Christianity.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 He was joyful when he suffered.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 He was joyful in prison.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:26 He was joyful in persecution.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 He was even joyful in death.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 Happy to face it
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 because he knew what waited him on the other side.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 To become a Christian
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 is to have joy unlocked.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 It's to encounter joy.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 To discover how much God loves you
00:06:44 --> 00:06:48 is to discover joy.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 That's the start of the Christian journey.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 That's the beginning point.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:54 Joy.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:54 Joy.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 Now,
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 just as a side point,
00:06:59 --> 00:07:00 I just want to challenge you
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 that you could be sitting in this room
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 and feeling like
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 that is a foreign description for you.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:10 That's not something
00:07:10 --> 00:07:11 that you've ever encountered.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 That deep sense of release
00:07:15 --> 00:07:15 and confidence
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 that God loves you
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 even though he knows
00:07:18 --> 00:07:19 your deepest, darkest secrets.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:20 It could be that
00:07:20 --> 00:07:21 this is one of the first times
00:07:21 --> 00:07:21 you've ever heard about
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 that kind of love.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 And I want to encourage you
00:07:24 --> 00:07:24 today might be the day
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 that you encounter that joy
00:07:26 --> 00:07:27 for the first time.
00:07:28 --> 00:07:29 But it could also be
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 that you've been around church
00:07:30 --> 00:07:31 your whole life
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 and still
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 you wouldn't be able to point
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 to this sort of joy in your life.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 Gently,
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 I want to challenge you.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 This is what it looks like
00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 to become a Christian.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:48 to be filled with joy.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 To discover that unconditional security
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 and peace
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 that is found in the fact
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 that God's decided to love you
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 and you can't change his mind.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 The Christian journey starts with joy.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 That's the first point.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:04 But,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:06 it only increases.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:08 It gets even better
00:08:08 --> 00:08:08 as we look to the end.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:10 The second thing we need to know
00:08:10 --> 00:08:10 on a journey,
00:08:11 --> 00:08:12 having discovered our starting point,
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 is where we're going.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 For all that Christians already have,
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 Christianity is clearly
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 a faith that looks forward.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:23 Even as Paul is delighting
00:08:23 --> 00:08:24 in all that he has
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 in Jesus,
00:08:26 --> 00:08:27 even as he compares
00:08:27 --> 00:08:28 his old life as rubbish,
00:08:28 --> 00:08:29 he's clearly excited
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 about what's to come.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 There's a tangible anticipation.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:34 There's almost like
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 a sense of Paul
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 dancing on the spot
00:08:37 --> 00:08:37 as he gives you
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 these few verses here
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 because there's something exciting
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 just beyond his reach.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:43 Look at verse 12.
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 Having talked about
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 how amazing it is,
00:08:46 --> 00:08:47 his desire,
00:08:47 --> 00:08:48 he says,
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 not that I have already
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 obtained all this
00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 or have already arrived
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 at my goal,
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 but I press on
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 to take hold of that
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 for which Christ Jesus
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 took hold of me.
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 He doesn't have
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 all of the joy.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:02 He doesn't have
00:09:02 --> 00:09:02 all that he wants
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 in Christ yet.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:05 He's got some.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:07 He's got the joy
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 that comes at the beginning.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:09 He's got that sense
00:09:09 --> 00:09:10 of being loved and forgiven,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:12 but he's pressing on
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 towards the destination.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:14 Verse 13.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:15 Brothers and sisters,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 I do not consider myself
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 yet to have taken hold of it,
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 but one thing I do,
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 forgetting what is behind
00:09:21 --> 00:09:22 and straining
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 toward what is ahead,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 I press on
00:09:25 --> 00:09:26 toward the goal
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 to win the prize
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 for which God
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 has called me heavenward
00:09:29 --> 00:09:30 in Christ Jesus.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 Forgetting the past,
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 eyes on the prize,
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 straining forward,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 pressing on.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 He just wants to reach
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 the final goal
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 and win his prize,
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 but what's the prize?
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 It's all very exciting language,
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 but it's kind of vague.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:49 Even heaven
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 doesn't seem really clear
00:09:52 --> 00:09:53 to kind of wrap it up.
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 Where are Christians going?
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 Where does the journey finish?
00:09:58 --> 00:09:59 What's the goal
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 that Christians aim for?
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 It's there in verse 20.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:09 Our citizenship is in heaven.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 And we eagerly await
00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 a saviour from there,
00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 the Lord Jesus Christ,
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 who by the power
00:10:15 --> 00:10:16 that enables him
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 to bring everything
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 under his control,
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 will transform
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 our lowly bodies
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 so that they will be
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 like his glorious body.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 Just read that last bit again.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:33 will transform our lowly bodies
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 so that they will be
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 like his glorious body.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:38 Transformation.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 That's the final goal.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:42 Christlikeness.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 When we reach the end,
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 we will be fully transformed.
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 We'll be sinless.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 We'll be perfect.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 There'll be no sickness.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 There'll be no disability.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 There'll be no sadness.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 There'll be no loneliness.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 We will be perfect
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 and whole and complete.
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 We'll be in heaven.
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 That's the goal.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 That's what we're aiming for.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 When I visit schools
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 to teach scripture,
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 I often get asked about heaven.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:07 Lots of people
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 have different ideas
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 of what heaven might look like,
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 what it's supposed to be.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:12 And I remember
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 that when I was younger,
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 I was convinced
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 that heaven would consist
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 of two main things.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 An endless supply
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 of free McDonald's
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 and an amazing beach
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 for me to go surfing at.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 Now, it sounds ridiculous,
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 but my basic premise was
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 take the things
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 that I enjoy most in life,
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 and I can concede
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 they were slightly shallow joys,
00:11:32 --> 00:11:32 take the things
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 that I enjoy most in life
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 and heaven will be that
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 just kind of turned up
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 a little bit,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 maybe slightly improved.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 And I imagine
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 you probably have
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 your own version
00:11:42 --> 00:11:42 of what you think
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 heaven will be like
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 or maybe what you want
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 heaven to be like.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:46 And I imagine
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 that it might be not
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 that dissimilar to mine,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 at least in process.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 You take the things
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 that you enjoy most
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 in your life
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 and you imagine
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 a whole bunch more of that.
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 Maybe you think heaven,
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 clouds, halos, whatever.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 But in the Bible,
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 heaven's not a location
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 in the way
00:12:06 --> 00:12:06 that we sometimes
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 like to think of it.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 The Bible doesn't set about
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 trying to describe something
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 that's going to be
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 a mental picture
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 of a future physical reality.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:19 heaven is the place
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 where what's fundamentally
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 wrong with our world
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 is fixed.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 And the core issue
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 is not sickness,
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 it's not injustice,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 it's not even sin.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 They all matter,
00:12:36 --> 00:12:41 but they're symptoms
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 of the main issue.
00:12:43 --> 00:12:43 They're evidence
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 of the core problem.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 The main issue
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 with this creation,
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 the main issue
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 with our lives now,
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 the issue that will be fixed
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 when Jesus comes back,
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 the difference between
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 heaven and earth
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 is relational.
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 in this life now,
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 we live separated
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 from the source
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 of life and life.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 In this life now,
00:13:07 --> 00:13:07 we live kind of
00:13:07 --> 00:13:09 cut off from God.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 People live in ignorance
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 of the fact
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 that their life
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 is sustained
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 by a God in heaven.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 In ignorance of the fact
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 that God created them
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 and they owe
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 all their allegiance to him.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 And even Christians
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 who have been forgiven
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 by Jesus
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 and discovered God's love
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 and have been drawn back
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 into a relationship
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 know that
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 the relationship
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 they have now
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 is not what it should be.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 It's not what it will be.
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 Even as they get loved by God,
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 they know they still
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 mistreat God.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 They know they still fail.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 They know that
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 the experience
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 of being in a relationship
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 with God now,
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 while more satisfying
00:13:50 --> 00:13:50 than anything
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 that this life has to offer,
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 is just the smallest fraction
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 of how good it will be
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 to know him fully.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 In another part
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 of the New Testament,
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 Paul describes
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 the version we have now
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 as like looking
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 in a mirror dimly.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 But then,
00:14:07 --> 00:14:07 when we get to heaven,
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 we will know face to face.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 Being transformed
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 in these verses,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 being transformed
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 to be like Christ,
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 is about being restored
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 into full relationship
00:14:20 --> 00:14:20 with God.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 Sin will be removed,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 sickness will be removed,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 all those other things
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 will be dealt with,
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 so that
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 we can have
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 that relationship
00:14:29 --> 00:14:29 with God.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 That intimate closeness.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 That's the goal.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 That's the prize.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 That's the finish line
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 that Paul longs for desperately.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 That he would get
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 God himself.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 That he would be
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 face to face
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 with the one
00:14:47 --> 00:14:47 who loves him
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 more than any other.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 That he would get
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 access to the author
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 of every good thing
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 he has ever encountered,
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 access to the creator,
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 access to the one
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 who sacrificed his son
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 and showed greater love
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 than any other.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 Access to him.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 Unhindered.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:05 Forever.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 That's the finish line
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 for the Christian.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 That's the destination.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 It's almost like
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 we get hold
00:15:15 --> 00:15:15 of the goose
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 that lays the golden eggs.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 The golden eggs
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 are all the good things
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 that we enjoy
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 in this life,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:23 all the great gifts
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 which unquestionably
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 come from God,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 but heaven will be more
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 than just an endless supply
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 of golden eggs.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 It'll be access
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 to the source
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 of all those good things
00:15:33 --> 00:15:33 we enjoy.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 It'll be access
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 to the one
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 who actually in love
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 and in generosity
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 gives those things.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 We get the golden goose.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 We get Jesus.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 Heaven might not be
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 exactly what you envisage.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 I have a sneaking suspicion
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 McDonald's won't make the cut.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 But I'm confident
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 that it will be better
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 than anything
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 that I have experienced
00:15:58 --> 00:15:58 so far.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 I'm confident
00:16:01 --> 00:16:01 that it will be better
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 than any of our
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 grandest imaginings.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 Because all we have now
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 is the incredible gifts
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 that we've been given.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 And a relationship
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 that is just the beginning.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 But then we will have
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 fully.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 Then we will have
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 the one who created
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 the thing that gives us
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 our greatest joys now.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 The Christian life
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 is a life where
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 every day is Christmas Eve.
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 It's a life of anticipation
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 and excitement.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 It's a life where
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 you tolerate
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 the dodgy Christmas Eve dinner
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 because you know
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 that the extra effort
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 is going into
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 tomorrow's feast.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 and so you smile
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 and you say thank you
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 for the toasted sandwich.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 The excitement
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 of gifts
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 and presents.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 But this time
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 you know exactly
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 what you're getting
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 and it's everything
00:16:58 --> 00:16:58 you've ever hoped for.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 The Christian life
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 is one of
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 eager anticipation
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 for something incredible
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 that awaits
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 just around the corner.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 There is joy
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 in this life now
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 in the anticipation
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 of the finish line.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 Joy substantial enough
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 to change
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 even dark situations.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 Paul says
00:17:22 --> 00:17:22 in another letter
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 that
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 our present sufferings
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 are not worth
00:17:25 --> 00:17:25 comparing
00:17:25 --> 00:17:28 to the future glory.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 That even
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 our deepest
00:17:31 --> 00:17:31 pains now
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 will seem
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 so insignificant
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 when we encounter
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 the full joy
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 of being face to face
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 with the one
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 who made us
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 and loves us.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 But if we're honest
00:17:47 --> 00:17:50 even with all that joy
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 from the beginning
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 and all that joy
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 to look forward to
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 this bit in the middle
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 can be
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 kind of hard work.
00:17:58 --> 00:18:04 even with the glorious
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 hope of heaven
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 life can be
00:18:07 --> 00:18:07 discouraging.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 Heaven can feel
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 so far away
00:18:10 --> 00:18:10 that it makes
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 no difference
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 to what I'm going
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 through right now.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 Maybe you started
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 your Christian life
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 with that deep
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 overflowing sense
00:18:18 --> 00:18:18 of joy
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 like I did.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 But now that you
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 have responsibility
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 now that you
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 have the pressures
00:18:27 --> 00:18:27 of life
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 now that you've
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 been at this
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 for a while
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 and it's not
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 going exactly
00:18:30 --> 00:18:30 the way you
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 wanted it to
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 it's just
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 harder to be
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 joyful.
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 It's harder
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 to actively
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 rejoice each
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 day.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 I remember
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 when I was
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 little
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 I've shared
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 this with you
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 before
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 my mum
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 used to try
00:18:44 --> 00:18:44 and bribe
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 me to eat
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 vegetables.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 She would
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 try every trick
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 in the book
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 she'd coat
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 them in things
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 she'd tell me
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 I couldn't
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 have dessert
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 all the classics
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 there'd be
00:18:53 --> 00:18:53 yelling
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 there'd be
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 punishments
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 whatever you
00:18:55 --> 00:18:55 needed
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 but when all
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 else failed
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 she would
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 tell me
00:18:58 --> 00:18:58 that I
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 needed
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 the vegetables
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 that if I
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 didn't eat
00:19:02 --> 00:19:02 them I
00:19:02 --> 00:19:02 wouldn't grow
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 big and
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 strong
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 and otherwise
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 I'd be
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 small forever.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 She'd play
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 the inadequacy
00:19:07 --> 00:19:07 card between
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 me and my
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 two brothers.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 Now I was
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 given permission
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 at this point
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 to not enjoy
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 the vegetables.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 I was allowed
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 to scowl
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 gag
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 do whatever
00:19:17 --> 00:19:17 else as long
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 as at the
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 end of the
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 day they
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19 ended up
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19 in my
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 stomach.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 She was just
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 hoping that the
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 outcome would
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 be enough to
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 push me
00:19:25 --> 00:19:25 through.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:29 Now you
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 could be
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 forgiven for
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 feeling like
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 that's the
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 trick I'm
00:19:32 --> 00:19:32 trying to
00:19:32 --> 00:19:32 pull now.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 Kind of
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 feels like I'm
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 saying if
00:19:38 --> 00:19:38 your life's
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 difficult and
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 painful and
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 you're not
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 enjoying it
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 right now
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 just suck
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 it up and
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 there'll be
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 joy later.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 Just kind of
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 grin and bear
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 it, it'll all
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 be okay in
00:19:51 --> 00:19:51 the end.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:54 And while
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 there's truth
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 to that, Paul
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 just said it's
00:19:58 --> 00:19:58 not worth
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 comparing our
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 present
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 sufferings to
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 our future
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 glory, that's
00:20:02 --> 00:20:02 not the whole
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 thing.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 The Christian
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 starting point
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 is God's
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 grace in
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 sending Jesus
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 to forgive
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 us, to
00:20:10 --> 00:20:10 die in our
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 place, to
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 invite us into
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 a relationship
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 with him.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 The destination
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 is heaven.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 It's a perfect
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 relationship with
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 God himself.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:18 self.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 And the
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 road that we
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 choose in the
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 middle is the
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 hope road.
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 The road that
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 is literally
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 just littered
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 with joy,
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 littered with
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 opportunities to
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 rejoice, is
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 the hope road.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 When I was
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 growing up, my
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 dad taught me
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 how to surf.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 Part of the
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 process was
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 teaching me how
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 to be safe in
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 the ocean.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 He taught me
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 how to get out
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 of a rip, how
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 to see currents,
00:20:48 --> 00:20:48 how to be
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 aware of what
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 was going on,
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 and basically
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 how to look
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 after myself.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 With five
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 kids, they
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 didn't have
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 much chance
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 of covering
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 all of us
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 all the time.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 And one
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57 thing that he
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 taught me was
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 how to stay
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 in one place
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 when you're
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 out surfing.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 This might
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 sound like a
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 really easy
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 thing to do,
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 but when you're
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 sitting on your
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 surfboard bobbing
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 around in the
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 ocean, a fair
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 way out from
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 shore, it's
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 quite difficult
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 to tell if
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 you're in the
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 same place
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 where you
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 started.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 You can kind
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 of turn around
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 and look and
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 see your
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 family on the
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 beach or your
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 towel or some
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 marker that
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 you've picked,
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 but currents
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 will sweep you
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 around, and the
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 perspective's
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 different because
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 when I started, I
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 was on the
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 beach, so I
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 had about this
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 much distance to
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 check where I
00:21:32 --> 00:21:32 was.
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 Now I'm hundreds
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 of metres away
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 from my point
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 of reference, and
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 very quickly I
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 can drift down
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 the beach while
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 still being able
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 to see my
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 point of
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 reference.
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 reference.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 I could be a
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 hundred metres
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 away from my
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 family and still
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 think I'm in
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 exactly the right
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 spot because I
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 turn around and I
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 can still see the
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 towel, I can still
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 see my mum, I can
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 still see the thing
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 that I'm looking at.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 You can drift while
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 still having a clear
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 line of sight to your
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 point of reference.
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 You can be out of
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 position before you
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 even realise it.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 But there is a
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 surprisingly easy
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 solution.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 instead of looking
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 at one point of
00:22:10 --> 00:22:12 reference, my dad
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 explained I need two
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 points of reference
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16 and all I need to do
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 is make sure that I
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 stay inside those two
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 points of reference.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 As long as I keep
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 them on either side
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 of me, I would know
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 exactly where I am.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:30 Christian hope needs
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 two points.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 By definition, hope
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 is forward-looking.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 It longs for what it
00:22:38 --> 00:22:40 does not yet have.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 That's why Paul
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 strains forward, it's
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 why he presses on.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 Christian hope looks
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 forward to heaven.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 It anticipates, it
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 gets excited, but
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 without a second
00:22:49 --> 00:22:52 point, it's possible
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 to drift away so
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 that that point
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 becomes more and
00:22:55 --> 00:22:58 more distant and has
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 less and less impact
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 on you right now.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 It's possible to move
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 in the wrong direction
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 while still being able
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 to see your point of
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 hope, the thing that
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 you're supposed to be
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 looking forward to.
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 Christian hope is
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 future-directed, but
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 it's founded on what
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 is past.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 It's based on what
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 has already happened.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:18 It's strengthened and
00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 possible and concrete
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 because of what God
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 has already done in
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 Jesus on the cross.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 See, the better we
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 know and experience the
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 benefits of what Jesus
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 has won for us on the
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 cross, the forgiveness,
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 forgiveness, the
00:23:32 --> 00:23:34 unconditional love, the
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 adoption into God's
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 family, the relationship
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 with God, the better we
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 encounter those things,
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 the more clearly we will
00:23:43 --> 00:23:46 see and long for and
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 anticipate the glorious
00:23:47 --> 00:23:49 prize at the end.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 See, the desire for that
00:23:51 --> 00:23:53 full relationship with God
00:23:53 --> 00:23:55 flows out of an experience
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 of the beginning relationship
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 with God that was bought
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 for us with the blood of
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 Jesus on the cross.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 Our confidence and our
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 security in what we hope
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 for is based on what God
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 has already done.
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 The two points of
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 Christian hope strengthen
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 each other.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 See, as we look to the
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 cross, our excitement for
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 our future in heaven
00:24:17 --> 00:24:20 grows because that
00:24:20 --> 00:24:23 incredible love will
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 suddenly be face to
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 face.
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 As we anticipate
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 heaven, our
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 appreciation of the
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 cross will grow because
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 this incredible future
00:24:33 --> 00:24:35 is certain because of
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 what God has already
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 done, because of the
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 love and the
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 irreversible forgiveness.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 As both get stronger,
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 our hope gets stronger,
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 our hope gets more
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 stable.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 You've got to remember
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 who's writing this
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 letter.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 Remember what life
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 looked like for Paul as
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 he wrote these words.
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 As he eagerly got
00:24:56 --> 00:24:58 excited about heaven and
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 tripped over himself to
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 share the joy that he
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 discovered when he became
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 a Christian.
00:25:01 --> 00:25:03 He's in prison.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 Death is likely.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09 His life is full of
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 suffering and yet his
00:25:10 --> 00:25:12 hope so transforms his
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 circumstances that it's
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 not just a matter for him
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 of suck it up and it's
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 going to be good in the
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 end.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 Because of those two
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 points, he actually has
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 joy in prison.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 in suffering.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 I think for a lot of
00:25:28 --> 00:25:31 Christians, the bit
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 between what Jesus has
00:25:32 --> 00:25:34 done and heaven can
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 drag.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 It is full of pain.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 It is full of failure.
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 It's full of sin and
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 temptation.
00:25:43 --> 00:25:46 And we all encounter it
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 differently.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 It's what Francis Schaeffer
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 calls our particular mix of
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 the fall.
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 Even though we're loved and
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 forgiven, we know we're not
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 perfect yet.
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 And in this bit in the
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 middle, we all experience
00:25:58 --> 00:26:00 our own version of what
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 sin looks like.
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 We have different points of
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 struggle and failure.
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 Some Christians really
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 struggle with pride.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 For others, that's a
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 non-issue.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 Some struggle with greed.
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 Others don't.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 Some struggle with same-sex
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 attraction.
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 Others don't.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 Some struggle with
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 judgmentalism.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 Others don't.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 Some struggle with lying.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 Others don't.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 The point being that even
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 though there's differences
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 in how we struggle,
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 differences in how well or
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 how poorly we go, how many
00:26:30 --> 00:26:32 times we fail, how committed
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 we are, the point is that we
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 all struggle to honour God.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 We all struggle to live in a
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 way that reflects the fact
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 that the God of heaven and
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42 earth has purchased us with
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 the blood of his Son.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 And it's easy to get
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 discouraged and frustrated and
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 feel like heaven is just so
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 far away.
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 None of us is perfect yet.
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55 And with that imperfection comes
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 discouragement and frustration,
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 maybe even insecurity.
00:26:59 --> 00:27:02 A whole bunch of things that
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 aren't going to help you be
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 joyful.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 Hope needs two points.
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 Because both those points feed
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 our joy now.
00:27:12 --> 00:27:15 Every step of the journey
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 between them is an opportunity
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 to encounter and engage
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 Jesus as the source of our
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 joy.
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 Let's just remember that.
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 We've said it a few times
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 this series.
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 The series is joy for
00:27:24 --> 00:27:26 everyone, but it's Jesus for
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 everyone because Jesus is where
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 we find the joy.
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 At the first point,
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33 what do we encounter?
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35 The forgiveness of Jesus and
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 the chance for a relationship.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:38 At the end point, what will we
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 encounter?
00:27:38 --> 00:27:41 That Jesus returning to fully
00:27:41 --> 00:27:43 transform us to be like him so
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 that we can be face to face
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 enjoying him.
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 It's Jesus at both ends and
00:27:46 --> 00:27:48 every step in the middle is
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 Jesus as well.
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 Every step is an opportunity to
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 be excited and joyful in
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55 anticipation of what is ahead
00:27:55 --> 00:27:58 and in thankfulness for what is
00:27:58 --> 00:28:01 before, which guarantees what is
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 ahead.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:04 We're literally surrounded by joy
00:28:04 --> 00:28:06 in Jesus because of these two
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 hope anchors.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 Regardless of which direction
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 you look, you have the
00:28:11 --> 00:28:13 opportunity to rejoice in how
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 much God is loving you.
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 Christian hope makes every
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 situation and circumstance you
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 are in an opportunity to
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 encounter Jesus.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:25 If you fail as a Christian, if you
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 fall back into that habit of sin
00:28:26 --> 00:28:31 again and again, encounter Jesus
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 as your sufficient saviour.
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 Encounter him as the one who
00:28:36 --> 00:28:38 takes your punishment and loves
00:28:38 --> 00:28:42 you in spite of who you are and
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 rejoice.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 When you grow in godliness, when
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 you have the victory over the
00:28:49 --> 00:28:51 temptation and struggle, encounter
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 Jesus as the one who is empowering
00:28:53 --> 00:28:56 you by his spirit to grow more and
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 more to be like him.
00:28:58 --> 00:29:00 Encounter him as the one who is
00:29:00 --> 00:29:02 bringing towards completion the
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 work that he begun when he forgave
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 you at the cross.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08 And be thankful and rejoice.
00:29:10 --> 00:29:13 When you doubt, encounter Jesus as
00:29:13 --> 00:29:15 the one who guarantees your finish,
00:29:17 --> 00:29:19 not because of how strong your faith
00:29:19 --> 00:29:22 is, but because he has loved you in
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 the cross.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 And rejoice.
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28 In persecution, in suffering,
00:29:28 --> 00:29:31 encounter the risen Jesus who stands at
00:29:31 --> 00:29:33 the finish line and beckons you home
00:29:33 --> 00:29:35 to the room he's prepared for you
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 and rejoice.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:40 In pain and difficulty, encounter Jesus
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 as the one who guarantees to never
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 leave you nor forsake you, but to walk
00:29:44 --> 00:29:46 with you in the dark times, to finish
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48 the work that he begun and to make sure
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 that you get to the finish line and
00:29:49 --> 00:29:51 rejoice that you are not alone.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:53 Rejoice that you cannot be taken away
00:29:53 --> 00:29:55 from that goal that God has purchased
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 for you.
00:29:58 --> 00:30:00 When our hope is anchored in these two
00:30:00 --> 00:30:02 points, every step in the middle is an
00:30:02 --> 00:30:05 opportunity to encounter Jesus and
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 rejoice.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 It's not about suck it up.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 There'll be pain.
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 There'll be difficulty.
00:30:13 --> 00:30:15 But there we find a sufficient
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 saviour.
00:30:17 --> 00:30:20 There we find our Lord on the throne.
00:30:20 --> 00:30:24 And there we are reminded that every step,
00:30:24 --> 00:30:27 good, bad or otherwise, is a step closer
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 to the finish line that God's prepared
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 for us.
00:30:29 --> 00:30:31 A step closer to heaven.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 Hope motivates.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:35 Hope drives us forward.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 It makes us strain for what's ahead.
00:30:38 --> 00:30:40 It enables us to let go of what was
00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 behind because it's begun to taste the
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 joy of knowing Jesus.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:48 And hope longs for nothing more than the
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 fullness of that joy when we will see him
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 face to face.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:55 And so Paul finishes emphatically,
00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 chapter 4, verse 1,
00:30:57 --> 00:31:00 Therefore, because of that two-pointed
00:31:00 --> 00:31:03 hope, because of the joy that God has
00:31:03 --> 00:31:05 built into every day and every situation
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 and every circumstance,
00:31:06 --> 00:31:09 therefore, my brothers and sisters,
00:31:09 --> 00:31:12 you whom I love and long for, my joy and
00:31:12 --> 00:31:15 my crown, stand firm in the Lord in this
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 way.
00:31:16 --> 00:31:22 Dear friends, stand firm anchored to the cross
00:31:22 --> 00:31:24 of Christ and your future hope of heaven.
00:31:27 --> 00:31:29 Stand firm anchored in the irreversible,
00:31:30 --> 00:31:32 unconditional love that God has shown you in
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 Jesus.
00:31:34 --> 00:31:37 Stand firm with eyes open to encounter Jesus
00:31:37 --> 00:31:41 in every situation that God places in front of you.
00:31:42 --> 00:31:45 Stand firm knowing that the destination is
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 guaranteed.
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 And rejoice.
00:31:47 --> 00:31:50 Amen.